Whirlwind Weekend!

We had a wild weekend. Allyson's, Nate's sister, got hitched to a top notch guy. It was a lot of fun to be part of their union. They are definitely MFE. We are all super happy for them. Anyway, they had a reception Thursday day night and then the Sealing was Friday morning in the the Salt Lake Temple. Then a luncheon to top it all off. We had a great time. During the reception I sneaked in with chicken nuggets for the kids. We tried to hide so the other grandchildren wouldn't be jealous, but you can't hide chicken nuggets from a bunch of hungry children. They followed their noses right to us. So, we had an impromptu picnic. Lots of fun. We finally made it home Friday night and had a good night of sleep. At nine o'clock Saturday morning Sean, Nate's brother, called. They were trying to get home to Washington, but the Idaho border was closed because of the weather. They were stranded. They spent Saturday enduring our almost clean house and the almost gourmet meals we fed them. We had a great time. We were sad they couldn't get home, but happy that we had the chance to spend the day with them.

So, that was our great weekend. I wish it hadn't ended so soon.

Job Updated

I'm still cruising through my first year of teaching. I've crashed my cruiser multiple times but it hasn't been totaled yet. I have a permanent bruise on my leg because I keep getting kicked by a little girl in my class. I have learned a lot about anger and anger management. Not for the kids. For myself. These kids just know how to push buttons. At work I am busy all the time. If I am not teaching then I am planning or handling a crisis. We have a lot of those. Friday the Superintendent of the district came into my room. I don't know what miracle was at work, but for the ten minutes that he was in my room my students were actually on task, in their seats, and quiet. That literally never happens. It was awesome. I looked like I actually maintain good control of the classroom.

I had to laugh the other day. I went into Ben's 1st grade class at the end of the day. They were all cleaning up and getting ready to go home. Ben's teacher said "It really isn't as chaotic as it looks." just as I was thinking in my head "Here is a class of 27 students getting ready to go home and they are 10 times quieter than my class of 7 students. I must be doing something wrong."

On the positive side, I have gained some really good experience and I have gotten a huge confidence boost. Don't get me wrong, I miss being at home, but I have to admit that it feels good to be earning money and getting some good feed back from other people about how I am doing. That will be hard to give up. And, I was able to renew my teaching license recently which will guarantee me another 3 years of security.

And, I have gotten the opportunity to love. Yea, some of my students really bug me sometimes, but I love all of them. How could I not. They are just children. Children dealing with things that no child should ever have to. I hope that they find a lot of people who will give them a break in life. They deserve it.

"I learned it by watching you"

Nathan and I often joke about that old commercial where a father is getting after his son for smoking pot or something. He ends his lecture with "Who taught you how to do this stuff?" The son replies "You. I learned it from watching you!" Very dramatic, but we like to make fun of it.

Well, Rachel is saying "What in the heck are you doing" lately. I'm pretty sure that I didn't intentionally teach her that phrase, but I am also pretty sure she learned it from me.

Emily is saying "I need to tell you something." A phrase I wish she hadn't learned from Rachel because "I need to tell you something." really just means "I want your attention. Give me ten minutes so I can think of something to say."

Benjamin smiles at me when I am getting mad at him. A trick he learned because the first couple of times he did it I couldn't help but start laughing and he wasn't in trouble anymore. Now he thinks the trick will keep working. He hasn't figured out that I am on to him. He just keeps doing it. I have to tell him "It's not funny Ben" in my very sternest voice.

Sometimes it would be better if kids didn't pay such close attention.

How Emily Plays Hide and Seek

I suppose this is based on the premise "If I can't see them they can't see me". It's possible that Emily gained these amazing skills at playing hide and seek from Rachel, who was hiding and seeking with Ben earlier in the day. Rachel hid under a blanket in the front room. Ben was standing right next to her so she decided to throw him off her scent by yelling "I'm upstairs Ben." Then when that didn't get rid of him she changed her mind and yelled "I'm in my room, Ben."

Oh, October!

Well, this has probably been one of the most beautiful October's Utah has seen in awhile. Day after day of perfect fall weather and we enjoyed every minute. I can't believe it is already over.
We had fun tonight and learned a good lesson. After enjoying a short stint at the trunk or treat at our ward meeting house we decided to take the kids on a real trick or treating adventure. We drove to North Ogden and headed up the hill to a nice neighborhood. We knew we had done the right thing when the first house we went to offered us a choice of candy from a bowl filled with full size candy bars. Our kids were amazed. Needless to say, they came home with a load of nice candy. I am not sure we will bother with the trunk or treats anymore now that we have discovered where the real jackpots are found.
For those of you who are curious, my teaching career is going well. After a difficult beginning I am starting to get the hang of things and feeling more confident. It is definitely a wonderful experience for me to have. Enjoy the slide show.

Husband Tag. . . Just to Bring Me Back.

1. Full Name: Nathan Russell Baxter

2. How long have we been married: We just had our eighth anniversary, barely surviving the seven year itch.

3. How long did we date: If you don't know the story of how long we dated then you don't know me very well.

4. Who eats the sweets: Nathan likes some sugar, but mostly he eats potato chips. I am the one who could eat an entire meal at the dessert bar at Golden Corral. MMMMM.

5. Who said "I love you" first: Me. Of course. I can't keep my big mouth shut. I told him the night of graduation. While I think he was shocked he didn't write me off completely. I was too good of a kisser.

6. Who is taller: Nathan. Too bad, I always wanted to be taller.

7. Who sings better: For sure that is me, but Nate can hold a tune.

8. Who is smarter: I would have to say it depends on what kind of smarts. Nathan is good at science and history. I am good at talking. He is a little smarter but I got better grades.

9. Who does the laundry: Nate helps around the house all the time, but I hate it when he does the laundry. However, lately I don't get anything done, so he has been doing the laundry more than he should.

10. Who pays the bills: Me.

11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed: Nate sleeps there now, though we have traded depending on whether I am pregnant and need to have easy access to the bathroom or a babies room right after the baby is born.

12. Who mows the lawn: Mostly Nathan, but I have done it a number of times.

13. Who cooks dinner: Nate cooks most of the time right now, but when I wasn't working I cooked.

14. Who drives: I drive 75% of the time because I don't like to take care of the kids in the car.

15: Who admits they are wrong: Probably me, but Nate might disagree.

16: Who kissed who first: Nate gave me a tiny kiss the night of Preference, senior year. Slightly awkward moment.
17: Who asked who out first: I guess Nathan took me out first. We went to the groundbreaking for the Mount Timpanogos Temple. I didn't realize it was a date at the time. He spent the afternoon telling me "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handey. For instance "If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did." I was hooked.

18: Who wears the pants: Nate lets me think that I wear the pants, but really, the we share the load pretty equally when it comes to making decisions. Sometimes he lets me talk him into bad ideas though (like our last car purchase).

It Feels Like Forever

My life isn't as agreeable to blogging as it used to be. Unfortunately, that puts me way behind on things. Rachel had her fourth birthday. Nothing flashy, just a family party, but we gave her some good gifts. Nathan and I went away for a weekend. That was AWESOME!!!!!!! I didn't even fully comprehend how awesome it was until we got back home and took on our day to day duties again. We spent two days sleeping in Midway and playing in Park City. It was one of our best anniversaries we have had by far. A huge thanks to those who made it possible. Mom, Dad, Sandi, and Heather all pitched in to watch the kids and my parents donated a couple of days of their Worldmark timeshare to us.