Oct 21 2010

Happy one year to Cameron!

Happy Birthday to Kyle! (Yesterday. :/)

Yesterday I got to do the coolest thing ever!! For our Intro to Deaf Education class we have to take two trips to Deaf Schools. Yesterday we got to go the the Jean Massieu School (JMS) for the Deaf in West Valley. (Part of the new totally ridiculous Utah School for the Deaf and Blind. For those that don't realize the ridiculousness of this, look at the title for a while, and ponder what that truly means.) Anyway, we got to go. :] It was the greatest experience of my life. I was amazed at the intelligence and signing capability of these kids! What has taken me years to learn, and granted I am far from mastering the art, these kids just seem to know! It was amazing. We started with a tour of the whole school (which was basically just one long hallway they called Death Row.) It was so cool to see each classroom. There is nothing special about the decor, it seriously is just like every elementary classroom I ever attended in my life. However, the numbers are so few. There are only about 5-6 kids tops in each classroom. The desks are arranged in a small square, with the teacher on a chair in the middle. After our tour we broke off into small groups and went and observed each of the classrooms. My favorite and first class we visited was the fourth grade teacher. She was amazing with those kids. She used books, not to read, but to teach the kids real life concepts and signs. She had a way of using classifiers (which I never saw a point for before this moment I'll have you know) to get the kids to recognize the signs and concepts for themselves. She was amazing! I was so fascinated with the way she signed to those kids. There was a really problematic student and the way she handled him was amazing. She would get right down on his level, and not give up until he signed what she wanted him to, no matter how distracted he got. All at the same time of giving her attention to the other kids. After this, we went to the math class and watched the students learn math. This was also really cool, because the teacher incorporated hidden English and Reading into her math lessons to help the kids learn as well. It was cool, and she was my second favorite teacher. :] We got to go outside for a couple of minutes and watch the kids interact with one another during recess. It was really fun. We visited the Pre-K class, and they had us laughing so hard. These little three and four year olds were fascinated with us, and would sign full blown conversations with us. They knew more words than any other three or four year old I have ever met, and they were Deaf! It makes me even more mad at the statistics and facts that the hearing world labels these kids with. Why do they believe these Deaf kids are disabled? I spent an entire day with 70 or so of them, and never once did I notice a disability. They learn in a different language. They are not learning slower than the average hearing child. They are not learning less. The third graders I visited could speak 2 languages! They knew the correct English grammar and the correct ASL grammar. I know I couldn't do that when I was in third grade, and I was intelligent! This is not me saying I hate the hearing world, audiologists, oralists (kind of), or speech teachers. I hate the fact that everyone of those kids in that school is labeled as disabled in a hearing world where correctly functioning ears are a necessity. The only thing these kids can't do, is hear. And I don't believe that is going to stop them from doing anything they want. The only that will stop them is the people that can hear and can't understand. Now who is the less intelligent? If we can send someone to the moon, see Mars, build an iPhone and every other strange technology, why can't we believe that someone who can't hear can do anything we can? It's totally stupid. We believe in so much, why can't these kids be believed in too? It is really humbling to me. I value everything I have that much more now, because although I worked hard to get where I am, I know those kids will have to work ten times as hard to even get accepted to college. Let alone get the freedoms and scholarships I have in my college experiences. I am proud to say that I will get to teach these gifted individuals.

Oct 18 2010

Fall Break was great.

I was so ready to go home last week, I was dying! Troy was getting so sick of me counting down the days until we got to go home. But it finally came, and I was thrilled! We headed home Thursday afternoon, because neither of us had class so we just took our time, slept in, and then headed south. That night we went to dinner with Troy's roommate from last semester, Derek and his new fiance Tara. It was really fun, we went to the Mayan and ate and watched the divers. I had never met Tara, and we hadn't seen Derek all summer so it was good. After this little outing, the madness began. Our Fall Break turned into something like a wedding-planning extravaganza. Friday I spent the day with Melissa, running around picking up and looking at random things for decorations and the bridesmaid outfits. It was hectic, but it was fun to catch up with her and get to go to lunch with her. We got a lot done too. Friday night, me and Troy spent forever in Bed Bath and Beyond registering for stuff. It was crazy. It didn't go too bad, we were just so exhausted after. We went to his house and his dad made us a delicious omelet and we watched Letters to Juliet with Craig and Becky. Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and headed to my final dress fitting. It was fun, Becky, my mom, Parker, and my grandparents came with to see the whole thing. I'm glad it's finished and I love it! After that we rushed home, picked up my little sisters and ran to Melissa's to have everyone measured for their bridesmaid dresses. Then we rushed off again to the bridal shower that the Butterfield side was throwing for me. It was really fun, I got to meet a whole bunch of the family on that side that I hadn't yet, and we got a lot of cool gifts. It was fun. :] I really enjoyed it. After the shower we took Parker to her grandma's and then met my family for bowling at Jack and Jill's. It was really fun, Troy beat all of us of course. Even my father. Ha. After bowling we went to Pizza Factory and all ate way too much food so we had a ton of leftovers. It was good and fun though. We stopped by Red Mango and got some delicious frozen yogurt that I have been missing so greatly while we have been in Logan. That was basically our Fall Break in a nutshell. Lots of wedding stuff, and not much relaxation. But it was still so good to get to spend time at home with both sides of the family. It all just ended way too soon!

Oct 7 2010

So, I have a crow problem.

Those great birds and nature noises I was such a fan of a few posts ago, now they have a friend. A lovely devil crow that refuses to leave me alone. It is the worst thing ever. He doesn't start his great song until about seven in the morning. And since I sleep with my window open, he sings right into me and wakes me up. Lately, I have finally been getting up and shutting my window. The dumb bird hates me. As soon as I shut the window, he shuts up. No joke, the bird knows. I tested this this morning. Closed the window, waited, didn't hear him singing. For about twenty minutes. That is too long for him to just be catching his breath. Open the window again, and there he goes. I think he watches me. It's a game to him now, and I'm constantly losing. This is no joke. I really have tested this, and it is backed by extensive research. I feel like Zooey Daschanel on Failure to Launch, when she has to kill the Mockingbird outside her window with the Air-soft gun.

Anyone have an air-soft gun I can borrow for the weekend?

Oct 3 2010

Yay I'm finally posting! This one has pictures of things we have been up to (and things we did FOREVER ago, but I figured visuals are always great!) We have been really busy lately, and it has been fun. We had a good week, with lots of school stuff going on. This Friday was the BYU/USU game, so all week we were really pumped for that. So pumped in fact, that we decided we needed the best seats in the house, so we camped out on Thursday to get them. :] It was cold and windy, and we didn't sleep at all, but it was really fun! It's all about the experience. So Friday we got special early seating for the game, and got to sit right up front on the fifty yard line! It was awesome, considering just how many people were there! It was nuts! And it was a really good game, because we won. :] There were a couple of slanderers around, and that wasn't great, but all in all, it was good clean fun. Here are pictures from the game. It was so hot we were dying!

These are from Zion's but, hey, they were just there. :]

Sept 29 2010

We had a busy weekend!

I had no time to post. :/ Sorry.

So this weekend we went home to see Troy's sister who was visiting from Colorado who I had not yet met. We all just hung around Friday night and chatted. It was pretty fun. :] Staci is super pregnant, she is due on my birthday! So that is fun. :] The first girl of the family.

Sidenote: we have have been watching Lost. I'm sitting by myself in the Hub, and I just saw a tall bald man walked by. I thought it was John Lock. No big deal. I can't stop thinking about Lost.

Anyway, Saturday morning I had a dress fitting so me and my mom went to that. That went well. It's going to be all done in a couple of weeks. Yay. :] We spent the rest of the day at a park with Troy's family and ate a picnic lunch and just played outside. It was fun to just relax and do nothing. Saturday was also homecoming for my sisters, so I spent a couple hours waiting around for them and then helping them get all ready. It was really fun. I did Courtney's hair and I must say, it looked really good. :] They all looked adorable and their dates were quite studly. They had a good time too, so that is important.

Westlake won their game, so now they are 6-0! That is really cool. I'm excited for them. I cheer for them now, since Lehi had to go and be all lame on me. (Not for football, just in general.) I'm disappointed in Westlake's student council though. But oh well. Courtney has a blast being the manager, and she has the opportunity to letter this year and the next! Pretty cool. They are going to be playing Timpview this Friday, and I'm super excited to see how that goes. I hope they beat them. That would be just awesome. We have to stay up here in Logan, because BYU is coming to play. :]

School is still going on just like always. We are starting to get the hang of it now, and are having a little more fun. I fixed my work schedule so it's not quite so bad. These are my favorite things about my job:

1-When a small child answers the phone, and says something hilarious. That gets me through at least an hour.

2- How people believe that messing with the people that call them is the best thing ever. Look, that joke did not just make my day. You did not make me laugh. And you still have to complete the survey.

3- The people that rant on and on about not having the time to take the survey, blah blah blah on and on for 8 minutes about not taking a 3 minute survey. Thank you for wasting 5 minutes of your time.

We cook our own meals now, and we are doing a really good job at it. We planned a legit menu and everything. I'm proud of us. :] We can totally handle being married and living together.

Pretty exciting, this summer we might go work up at Bear Lake with Troy's dad. He runs the Scout Camp up there, and we would just camp out all summer and help out. I'm actually excited about it, and think that it is a really good idea. Even if I do have to live in a tent for 3 months. No big deal. :] Free rent, and free food. That will be a big help!

I'm taking a Family Finance class and I absolutely LOVE it. I'm making Troy take it next semester. I hope that I actually take what I am learning and apply it to us, so that we can feel good in 15 years, and not be stressed out financially. We will see. :] I suggest everyone read Automatic Millionaire however, and any other books by David Bach. He will make you rich. Really.

Sept 22 2010

Oh man!

Nothing has happened really, I just felt I should be getting everyone's hopes up for something exciting. :] We don't really do anything, which is a problem! We need pictures for our wedding slideshow, and pictures of us sitting around doing boring things like watching Lost, homework, or working are not going to make for an interesting photo montage!

Anyway, this week has been dragging on. I hate weeks like this. We missed a couple of classes, my bad, had a couple of tests, and worked a bunch of hours. Well, I did. :] But good news, Troy got called from Golden Corral today, so hopefully they will hire him! Then he can work with the lovely April! It sucks, because I feel like we haven't really seen anyone in forever. I hardly even see Parker anymore. :/ It's super lame. But we want to try to plan a get-a-way for the roommates, because we hardly know them. So I'm working on getting that whole thing planned out. Cross your fingers it works out. I am less stress about our financial situation, for the time being. We will see how long that lasts.

I'm excited for this weekend, we get to hang out with Troy's sister. It's funny how much I still want to go home even with Troy up here. Home is just so much less stressful. I love it.

Sleeping at my new apartment (even though it's not really new anymore....) I have realized that now I cannot sleep without the ridiculous animal noises that go on in the "woods" behind mine and Parker's windows. We have the back rooms, and behind the building there are like 7 or 8 trees, but it looks like the woods, because you can't see anything else. Plus, they are infested with all sorts of obnoxious creatures. No joke. There is a squirrel that crawls along the power lines, that I swear crawls over and sits next to my window at seven every morning and makes the most obnoxious high-pitched squeaky noise. But every night you can hear all the crickets, and in the morning different birds and things. It's like my own relaxation sound machine. I am learning to like it. :]

We are still obsessed with Lost. We probably watch 3 episodes every day. We love it. I know, so against everything I wanted to be, but hey, don't judge.

Me and Troy also started a new thing. I thought of this, and am still weary of if it is a good idea or not. Yesterday (Sept. 22) was our 100th day to our wedding. So I created something I called "The 100 Books." We have 100 different questions/stories that we put in a little jar, and every day for the next 100 we will pull one out and write down an answer. Yesterday was our fist day and Troy seems to like it so we will see. Hopefully it has the same in the future value I want it to have. Something kind of cool for us to look back on and see. :]

Sept 20 2010

This weekend I did something pretty cool.

I bought a dress! We went home late Friday night after Parker got off work. We hung out at my house for a while, looked at our engagements and got a whole bunch of wedding stuff figured. Kind of. Ha. Saturday morning we woke up early and headed out to look at bridal shops. Everyone went, my mom, sisters, Parker and Melissa. We started in a little shop in Provo, Sweethearts. It was really cute! I tried on about seven or eight dresses, but was really in love with the first one I tried on. We had an appointment at David's, so we went over there to check out what they had. And weren't we glad. It was kind of like a wanna-be Kleinfeld's, but it was still pretty cool. I walked around and picked out a ton of dresses I thought I might like to try on. I tried on about six here, and then I found it. I love it! It is really pretty, and only the sleeves need to be altered (because it is sleeveless. :/ ) But they will figure that out, and I will be modest. Phew. :] We also managed to find the perfect bridesmaids dresses too, and the girls love them and they go really well with my dress. So we got quite a bit done, I was proud of us!

Later that night we all went to dinner. The Page family and then the Butterfield's. We went to Texas Roadhouse, and it was really fun! The food was good, and it was good to get both families all together finally. Woo! Sunday was pretty low-key, we ate dinner with my family, and then played in the yard. From our front yard we could see two fires, one to the North, and one to the South. We never found out much about the Southern one, but the Northern one worked up quite the reputation. Over in Herriman, a fire had started due to a military practice by Camp Williams. It was really windy, so the fire started quickly and spread even quicker. There were houses burned, and thousands were evacuated. It is really sad, and is still burning. Apparently it was pretty close to Grandma and Grandpa Yager's house, so we will see how it turns out. Hopefully there will not be any more damage to homes. It got us on the Today Show.

Today was Monday and that isn't very fun. But me and Troy got a lot done. We knocked out a bunch of homework, and I have been studying for my first test. We both are liking our classes, and it is good we are not too overwhelmed. I still have my job (Ha) and am still doing great. I won a hat today for getting the first 30 completes. Woo. I don't know what I'm going to do with all these random prizes, I think they should just be giving me money! :]

Right now we are making brownies for Troy's roommates, because last night, they had a little epidemic. They had bought a box of brownies, and turned the oven on. When we got home, we could smell the burn. They believed it was just the oven at first, and once they "fixed" the problem, they popped their pan in. However, about fifteen minutes later when the smell was only getting worse, Quin, went over to check on his precious chocolate desert. Burned. Scorched. Fried. The entire top inch of the pan was completely charred, while the bottom was still not quite cooked. The top coil of the oven was the only one on, and no one could figure out the problem.

About thirty minutes ago, I fixed the problem.

The knob that turned the temperature and such, was a little lose. So when you turned it, to what you thought was 325, it was actually not turning the entire knob, but just the pretty plastic labely part. So, it was on broil. Quin officially broiled his brownies. :]

But now, in an apartment of all boys, who all tried to fix the oven, a girl has emerged. Tightened the knob, and cured the "mysterious" oven problem. That's right, the girl. :]