Back 2 School

This is where I will be spending my Tuesdays and Thursdays until December! I get to work with the school counselor and teach kids how to get along, be polite, get good grades, cope with life and other fun stuff. It's a private elementary school grades Pre K-8th. The kids are all really cute in their little uniforms and they are all really polite. Here are some major highlights from my day

1. School is a sad place. The teachers and adults are so mean to the kids. "Be Quiet!, Get back in line!!! Don't touch anyone!!! Say Please" I even heard one of the teachers rudely say "Be Polite!!" If adults talked to each other like this we'd all be punching each other.

2. The teachers lounge isn't as cool as I always imagined it to be. I distinctly remember the faculty lounge being a mysterious place where children weren't allowed. Today I was sad when I realized it's just a room with tables and a fridge. What a let down.

3. School counseling is the perfect job for me! I'm really excited to work as a counselor some day. The counselor gets to be the nice person in the school. I'll never have to yell, I have fun games in my office to help kids relax and I get to be the friend that the kids can trust.

I'll be sure to keep you posted on what other great things I learn while living in the elementary world.

Utah

Taurean has been using my computer for school, so I'm way behind on blogging. I went home to Utah last month. It was good to see family and friends.

Take a look at these giant water slides! Can you say lucky grandkids?

Nothing like a night out with the friends

Abby and I spent an afternoon with Tia! It was really good to see her

While I was home we were able to get away to Vegas for the weekend! We ate wonderful food, shopped and got to see the Lion King and the Beetles 'Love' Show

Serendipity's frozen hot chocolate! It was delicious!

Summer Fun

We have had a really busy July. Here are just a few highlights from the past eleven days.

The photo we've all been waiting for!

Taurean wearing his scrubs on his first day of Dental School! I thought it was pretty funny that he was brushing his teeth when I asked him to pause for a picture. I think it completes the outfit. He's got his name tag on that says "Taurean Smith- Student Doctor"

So exciting!

I've been doing A LOT of swimming at the pool at our apartment complex. Every now and then friends from the ward will come and escape the heat. We've had lots of fun swimming!

U of L's Dental School hosted a "night at the downs" party for all the first year dental students. There is nothing better than a free night at churchill downs and $20 in food vouchers! We had a great time and I got to meet all of the LDS students in Taurean's dental class. There are a ton of them!

Taurean had his birthday. Since his birthday was on a Sunday (not only a Sunday, but a fast Sunday) Taurean wasn't expecting much for his birthday. Well! I sure showed him wrong. I sent him on an Amazing Race that led him to clues to find his birthday cake and his one present, A flat screen for our bedroom! We had an unforgettable dinner at the Anderson's with some amazing steaks. Thanks again Lance and Tiffany, especially since Tiffany went into labor the next morning and had their baby girl Macie.

Yesterday we went boating with the Stake President. Us and two other couples bid on a 'day on Taylorsville Lake with President Stuki' at a young mens silent auction. We had a blast! President Stuki was so nice to take us out all day. The weather was perfect and we all got some good sun.

Don't worry, in spite of the busy schedule, we managed complete this puzzle I found at a garage sale for 50 cents!!!! Possibly the greatest purchase of my life!

Oh, I almost forgot. On top of all the fun activities, we moved. Because our rent was about to raise $120 per month, we moved to a new two bedroom apartment. Moving was terrible, but I'm really enjoying all the space of our new apartment, even though we can't go to the pool anymore :( Here are a few photos.

The bedroom. Taurean's birthday present is on the dresser. We love it!

The dining area and washer/dryer! After being married almost 2 years, we are finally the proud owners of a washer and dryer!

The living room

And the Kitchen

It's been a great month so far and I expect the fun to continue since I'm going home to Utah for a few weeks on Tuesday! I love summer

Trip to Idaho

I'm way behind on the blog, so here is a quick recap of what Taurean and I have been up to so far this summer. In June we went to Idaho to visit Taurean's folks. We had a great time traveling to Idaho City (an old mining town), fishing and going to the theater.

This is a store in Idaho City. It's hard to tell, but it's a REALLY old house that is covered in layers of junk. This store is the epitome of 'one man's trash is another man's treasure'
Here is Taurean on the boat. Fish were jumping right and left, but he never got a bite. Poor guy.

Here's a little gem that I caught while we were at the farmers market in downtown Nampa. It needs no introduction. Enjoy.

Cedar Point!

This past weekend I was able to convince Taurean to go to Cedar Point with me! Cedar Point is just outside Cleveland, Ohio and is a 5 hour drive from Louisville. We left Friday night and spent the night with our dear friends, the Leale's in Columbus. Saturday morning we woke up early and drove 2 hours to get to Cedar Point!

In case you don't know, Cedar Point has the more roller coasters than any park in the world!! Taurean and I love thrill rides and it was great to satisfy our need for speed.

We rode this bad boy twice. However, it paled in comparison to the ride in the next photo!

The red ride is called the Top Thrill Dragster. It shoots you off and goes 120 mph in 4 seconds! You then go up 500 feet in the air straight up and straight down. It was so much fun!!! We both loved it.

By the end of the day we both had pounding headaches and our feet were throbbing. But we would do it all over again. It was a great getaway. I love living so close to the exciting destinations!

Here is a video of top thrill. so much fun.

The Holy Land

Where to start? Taurean and I just got back from a 10 day trip to Israel with my family! We saw so many incredible places and learned so much about our saviors life. We were part of an LDS tour group and had a guide who would teach us about each place we were visiting. It was incredible to open the bible, read about ancient stories and realize that we were at those sites. We visited Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Mount Tabor, Mount of Beatitudes, The Garden Tomb, Caesarea, Pools of Shilom, Masada, The Dead Sea, Haifa, The Jordan River, Hezikiah's Tunnel, and many other places. In no particular order, here are some photos from the trip.

Here is the camel that we all took turns riding.Oh, The things we'll do for memories

Here is a picture of what the streets look like inside the Jerusalem City wall. There were lots of shops and things to buy.

This was taken in Jerusalem. Not exactly the cleanest city. But what can you expect when it's 3000 years old?

This is also taken within the Old City. Jerusalem has lots of stone steps, and lots of Israeli guards walking around with their giant guns. Strangely enough their guns made me feel safe.

The wailing wall. The lower stones are original and date back to the time of the savior. This is a sacred site where Jews offer prayers to God

Oh...just your everyday riot shields. They were at the wailing wall, and have definitely been used.

The garden tomb. This is where Jesus was resurrected. The spirit was really strong here. You actually get to go inside. It looks nothing like the pictures make it look

These stone steps used to be part of Caiaphas's Palace. Jesus walked up these steps just after Judas betrayed him. This is where Peter denied Christ three times.

This is Hezikiah's Tunnel. An ancient water channel that carried water into the old city. We got to walk through the tunnel that is still filled with water. It was pitch black inside and really cool.

This is the traditional site where Jesus was born. It's an underground cave that has 3 giant church's on top of it.

This is a cave in Bethlehem that gives a good feel as to what the cave would have looked like when Mary and Joseph were there. Even though it was so hot outside, the caves were extremely cool.

Taurean on top of some Roman aqueducts built by Herod.

This is Caesarea. An extremely beautiful area near the Mediterranean Sea. Herod built Caesarea as a port and a lot of it still remains today. I can only imagine how magnificent it must have been in it's time.

Family photo at the Synagogue in Capernaum. This is the actual synagogue where Christ taught many times.

What Nazareth looks like today

I was so afraid they were going to shoot me if I asked for a photo. Turns out I'm still alive. My little sister fell in love with all the Israeli men.

Dome of the Rock. This is where the ancient temple was located during Christ's time.

BYU Jerusalem Center. You can see these arches from the entire city of Jerusalem. Can't help but think about the role it might play in the second coming. We actually got to go to sacrament meeting there. It was awesome to take the sacrament just minutes from the Garden of Gethsemane.

Me and my sisters at the Mediterranean Sea.

This is the view from the Mount of Beatitudes. Overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It was amazing how much the area looks like Utah. Coincidence?

The Jordan River. Unlike the tomb, and Golgotha, the river looks just like all the pictures that depict it. It was really pretty.

Sorry for the extremely long post. This is the result of much editing and cutting, so I got it down to the bare necessities. It was a great trip and I recommend it to all.

Kentucky Derby!

Last Saturday was the Kentucky Derby! We really enjoyed getting into the 'derby' spirit. We had a party with our friends from the ward and watched the race on TV. They had live coverage from Churchill Downs all day.

I even made a hat for the party. I paid $3 for a gardening hat, spray painted it black and glued some dollar store flowers on it. Maybe next year I'll drop some big bucks on a real derby hat (although not likely). Here I am in my hat. I thought I'd put the picture in black and white because black and white pictures are all the rage.