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.

Anatomy and Proper Names

Tonight as Ben was running naked after his bath he was paying a little too much attention to his special friend. Nate, wanting to teach his son good manners gently chided "Ben, stop playing with your thing." To which Ben matter a factly replied "Dad, it's not a thing," Nate and I waited patiently wondering how he had figured out the proper name for his little friend, but then Ben finished "it's a thingy." HAHAHAHAHA. It will be a sad day when he learns it's not really a thingy. Oh well.

Ben's Heading for the NFL

Ben started flag football this week. Of all the sports experiences he has had, I can see that this one is his favorite. He absolutely loves it. His first game he ran the ball. . . the wrong way. . . but he didn't give a hoot. He had the ball in his hands. Tonight was his second game. He chased someone down and got their flag. It was his first success at that and he was so proud. He ran up to Nate and described it in detail. Here is a little clip for you to enjoy.

I Couldn't Imagine Using It . . .

The time-out booth. The first time I saw it I couldn't imagine using it but then I was spit at, kicked, sworn at, hit, threatened with a ruler, threatened with teeth . . . and suddenly it became a lot easier to use. Three weeks into my career and despite the bad days I like it. Despite the children's somewhat erratic behavior I can't help but love them. And, despite my original cringing at the sight of the time-out booth, I find I am very grateful for it. Here are a couple other pics of my room just for fun.

Week Two and Counting!

Well, after a smashing start to my teaching career I have been running in to plentiful road blocks to my happiness. Children here and children there, driving me crazy everywhere. I can handle the hyper activity and the inability to focus. . . but I am struggling with the more severe anger management issues some of my students seem to have. Today was an especially frustrating day in which I spent over an hour with a student who was fighting on the playground. Following that incident the particular student continued to refuse to follow any instructions or take any responsibility. Instead he spent an hour pretending he was a wild animal. In the end, all I can do is get up in the morning and wipe the slate clean. Start over. 4 out of 5 days are manageable. I read the story "The Little Engine that Could" to my kids this morning. That's how I feel tonight. The hill is huge and the load is heavy but "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can". In the end I am doing this hoping that I will make some kids life better, even if it is only one. These kids need somewhere to go and be educated. They struggle in the regular classroom. I can handle them and love them and hopefully teach them something. I really believe that. It will just take getting through the occasional horrible day in the process.