Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...

There I go again, answering my phone when I know I shouldn't!  A few months ago, I was asked to again work with the YCLs (Youth Camp Leaders).  I really, really enjoyed last year and knowing how hard it is to replicate a good thing, I still said YES!  Was I crazy????  My schedule is horrific this semester!!!!  Of course, this year will be different, as we are NOT going to have a stake-wide camp as usual - they are camping as wards wherever they want this summer.  So, it's been weird doing leadership trainings and preparation meetings with these girls, knowing that we won't be camping with them! 

Anyway, we've been getting them prepared for this BIG night...the 1st Aid/Certification Night.  This was their night to shine - and they did a great job.   We had planned on doing a lot of the rotations outside, but as it turned out, we enjoyed a big DROP in temperature and some great winds, so we ended up moving most of it inside (except the building fires rotation!)  The girls taught all sorts of things for first aid (although, I'm not sure I'd want a single one of them working on me if I ever got hurt, bless their little hearts!)  I think the real purpose is to allow them experiences in teaching and to gain some much-needed leadership skills and empathies.  They did a great job and we (Sueann, Mindy, and I) were really proud of them!  We were EXHAUSTED after that long night!!!!!  They make me laugh - I think that's a real perk! 

Here are some of my girls from LAST year -

still coming out to help! 

It was fun to see them!!!!

Beautiful day for a wedding

Our friend, Hannah, got married yesterday.  It was a very nice ceremony in the home of some wonderful friends of hers.  Hannah is an amazing gal - from Kenya - who has inspired all of us in many ways.  I wish her all the best in her new life with Robert.  He surely doesn't know what he's gotten himself into!!!!!!! 
She was beautiful! 

"All the single ladies...all the single ladies..."
Not anymore!!!!!

She'll be comin' round the mountain...

This was our annual Science Camp week up at Mt. Charleston.  We take 1/2 our 5th grade classes up Mon-Wed and then the other 1/2 comes up Wed-Fri to do science experiments all day long.  The kids and several teachers/parents sleep up there in the cabins, but I choose to drive up and back each day.           I've enjoyed being the "cook" for a few years - heading up at 6am to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for about 80, then making the drive back down before dark.      As each year has progressed, the 'adult' meals have evolved into something grand.  You see, who wants to eat the same menu twice in one week?             So this year, I brought out all my guns (4 recipes I know how to cook...yep, that's it...4) and spoiled the adults as much as possible.  We had salsa chicken burritos, green chili rice with terriyaki chicken, taco soup, creamy tacos salad, made some white chocolate popcorn up there as well.  If the adults are happy, the kids fare better!                It was fun hanging out with people I enjoy - we laughed, played great practical jokes on our assistant principal (it was her first time up there - her car was the target), and I spent hours set up in a make-shift office working on our school's new Title 1 plan - how to spend close to $200,000.  We also decorated a cake to look like a "moose" for the principal who was certain she almost hit one at night on the way home (there are NO moose in So. NV)!!!!            The kids were great, the food was good, the entertainment was fun, the weather was perfect, the drives were good times for contemplation.  This was my last year doing science camp and it was a good one.     Fun times.

Stepping out into the darkness...

After 7 years at the same school, I have made the decision that it's my time to move on.  This decision didn't come lightly and leaving so many friends and kids and their familes I've made relationships with will be extremely difficult.  But I was trained in my education program that when you can do your job in your sleep and/or do not feel challenged or like you're growing anymore, then it's time for a change or time to get out of education completely.   I have decided to make a change.  It's interesting how all the stars aligned for this.....

1.  About 2 months ago, my friend Vicki (who has my same position at Bunker ES) told me she is retiring and that I should consider replacing her.  Coincidence? I think not.   You see, I about 9 years ago, I worked at Bunker and left for a "promotion" type job in the district.  So the wheels were in motion in the back of my mind.  Hers would be one of only 2 open for me to get this year, when there would normally be at least 12 available.  It would be scary to go back - they are a highly collaborative school who knows their "stuff."  I THINK I know stuff, but who knows next to people who really do!  It would be a scary challenge!

2.  I'd been mulling it over since then and really started to consider if I truely was happy and content with where I am.  I have been overly spoiled, am very comfortable, and have been afforded innumerable opportunites for learning administrative things.  But I feel like I've done all I can do to promote positive change.  I decided that I would try and make my decision in Hawaii where I was truely relaxed and happy.  I had been fretting over the impending zipline adventure and the night before on the beautiful beach at sunset, I had prayed hard.  In fact, I kind of made a deal that if I could conquer the zipline fears, then I could conquer the "leaving Priest" fears I have.  If you read the previous post about the zipline, you'll remember that I was very blessed - I had NO fear whatsoever - not even a heartbeat of panic.  In fact, it was the most exhilerating thing I've probably ever done.  Coincidence? I think not.   I knew after the last zipline, that I was going to call for an interview and step out into the dark. 


 
"When you come to the edge of all the light you have known (my current location) and are about to step out into the darkness (new job, new experiences, discomfort, self-doubt, etc.), FAITH is knowing one of two things will happen...There will be something to stand on or you will be taught how to fly."  I was taught to fly (literally) on the zipline and have confidence in my new adventure ahead of me.

3.  My good friend spoke with her good friend the coordinator for that region...who will be my new other "boss" in the district.  Many details of that were "stars aligning" and no coincidence.  The timing was amazing and it was interesting to me that she remembered who I was and had an opinion about me just from watching me from afar at district things we've been at together.  She made a recommendation to the principal, who happened to be asking that very day.   Coincidence?  I think not.

4.  The morning of my interview, one of my seminary students told me his mom was down the hall subbing.  I went down to visit with her and it came out that I was interviewing that day.  When she found out where, she simply stated, "My best (or close) friend is the principal.  Do you want me to call her?"  Um, yes????  Coincidence? I think not.

5.  The interview was an amazing experience in and of itself and I felt very calm - no nerves - like being up on the zipline platform.  I interviewed them as much as they did me.  It is always so uncomfortable talking about myself (no comments, please!!!!!), especially when it's for the purpose of "selling" them.  As I worked on putting my resume and evaluations, letters of commendation, etc together in preparation, I sat back amazed at how much I have done and learned in my career.  I just feel like I'm just me - I'm not sure who this person on paper is!!!  From what I heard and saw there, it was much of what I, and a good group of teachers, have been trying to get going at my current school for the past 5 years with little success.  They are in to learning new things and collaboration; the principal is an instructional leader and knows her stuff instructionally; I would be able to have the freedom to set up my own program based on the needs of the students and teachers.   It would be a good fit.

6.  Because I felt that I would accept it if they offered it to me, the next morning, before I had to leave for the day to a department training, I had the "talk" with my current principal who was cordial, showed understanding, and supported me in my change.  I expressed my gratitude for ALL the learning opportunities she provided me and told her that I would work my hardest with all the projects on my plate to set up this school for next year as if I weren't going anywhere.  I know it was a blow to her, after a week of district blows, but I had to talk to her about it.  I was glad to be gone from the building that day so I couldn't "jinx" my chances or talk to too many people. 

7.  Finally, upon setting up my new room at the university for a new class I'm teaching, the phone rang and I was officially offered the position at Bunker.  I sign the transfer papers on Monday morning.  I believe in coincidences, but not this many, and others - this really feels like what I am supposed to do and it couldn't have been set up more clearly for me to see.  And so I head out on my own, stepping into the darkness with the faith that one of two things will happen - that there will be something for me to stand on or that I will again be taught how to fly!

To be continued....... 
.

Hawaii 4-0

As my friends and I apprehensively approach the big 4-0, we've decided to do some trips to celebrate.  Last summer, 5 of us went to New York for Suzie and these past 10 days I spent in Hawaii with Carolyn for hers.  It was a TOTAL BLAST and I couldn't believe how much we did.  It was absolutely beautiful, adventurous, entertaining, relaxing, challenging, and overall - possibly the best vacay ever so far!  Thanks to Carolyn for researching and planning so much beforehand - we didn't have a day without an adventure, road trip, or fun activity.  I've got the best friends around - and feel very lucky.

To recap, we spent 5 days in Oahu - Waikiki and touring all around the island, then flew to Maui for 4 nights - lots of physical adventures there.  Loved them both.  Here's some of the highlights, in no particular order (and my AWESOME photos!)

Pearl Harbor - USS Arizona Memorial in distance.  We took a ferry over to the memorial to see the sunken ship below.  My dad has a cousin on that ship.  It was very somber.

Our 10th floor room in Waikiki - yep, that blue stuff out there is OCEAN!  We had the best view to wake up to - and felt so spoiled.

The first of 9 beautiful beach sunsets.  Carolyn's thing is "feet" pictures, so I had to do one myself - so you would know I didn't just find that shot on Google images!  You'll be happy to know (or not) that my 2 big toenails are growing back in quite nicely!!!

Our 2nd day, we headed up towards the North Shore and stopped in at the Dole Pineapple Plantation.  It wasn't open yet, so this is all the pineapple we got!

On the eastern shores of Oahu we came across the temple - such beautiful landscaping! 

After that, we headed to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  It's cool because 80% of all the people who work/perform there are BYU Hawaii students from all the different islands.  These are our Figi friends.  We did the luau and the cool show that night - had seats on the second row center - couldn't have been any better. 

What's that...another beautiful sunset???  So glad I cut the hair off a few hours before we left - it was so windy most of the time...especially later when we flew to Maui.

Now, that's the ipitamy of attraction, right there!  That's Hanama Bay, where I began to conquer my fear of snorkeling.  I had a slight panic attack in the beginning and was so concerned with touching the coral that I didn't venture off too far.  Carolyn, on the other hand, went back and forth across that bay a few times.  There were so many fish and such a variety...swimming right there with you! 

After snorkeling, we hiked to the top of Diamond Head (volcanic crater) to see the views.  The climb itself was an adventure - tight spaces and lots of people.  But teh view at the top made it all worth it.

This was a crazy big tree near the beach and our hotel.  I don't know what they are, but they're everywhere in a variety of sizes.  This was the largest we saw.  Ain't got nuthin like that growing in Vegas, that's for sure!

We also went kayaking one day and then laid on the beach until it rained on us.  It was so much fun!

That's it in a nutshell (and the fewest pictures possible) for Oahu.  The next stop was Maui.

Part TWO - Maui

So on Sunday, we milled around doing last minute touristy things (back to the swap meet at the stadium amongst others) and spent much of the late afternoon in the airport, headed to Maui.  The 25 minute flight landed in the windiest place I think I've ever been, but it was cool.  We got our car (a low-riding Mitsubishi Eclipse..hated it) and made our way to Lahaina.  Our condo was amazing there.  We of course headed out for a sunset picture before looking around for some grub.
Monday - wild crazy boat adventure to the lava flow caves, whale watching (amazingly close) and snorkeling, including in Turtle Town.  Awesome adventures, and VERY sore from the wild wave-jumping boat ride.  Would do it again in a heartbeat!

Tuesday - we went ziplining.  Now, I have a story about this one.  I had actually been quite worried about this activity - I am not one for leaping off a platform to fall into the abyss hoping that a small caribeaner will hold me.  So, I had to gear myself up for this for quite some time.  The night before, I was trying to show no fear, but I was scared out of my mind.  I just prayed and prayed for help to overcome this fear and to give me the courage to do this - if I could do this, I could do other hard things (to be described in a future blog).  We geared up and went hiking into the woods.  Upon arriving at the first (of 5) ziplines, I felt absolutely NO fear, NO extra heartbeats...nothing.  It was a normal day at the office.  I watched 8 others go before me and I just got hooked up to it, stepped on out, didn't look down, and did it.  I enjoyed it the very moment my feet left the platform.  What a great time we had as each of the 5 ziplines got longer and steeper (and faster).  I had such a great experience - I'd LOVE to do it in the rainforst canopies of like Costa Rica now!  Prayers are answered.  Courage is gained. 

After that, we continued driving up to the summit of the ancient volcano (Haleakala) to the freezing cold wind to see the crater.  It was enormous and awesome at the same time.  We were about 10,000 feet up and as you can see, much higher than the cloud level.  We looked OVER the clouds!  Cool.

Wednesday, we took the dangerous, but famous "Road to Hana."  Now, this road is so narrow that in MANY parts of the 55 miles, only ONE car can pass through.  There are over 650 curves (tight, narrow, and one right after the other) as well as about 55 one-car only bridges to cross.  Hana itself was nothing special, but we went on another 10 miles the same way to the national park.  There we hiked up 2 miles through the most amazing bamboo forest ever to some tall waterfalls.  Hearing the clanking of the bamboo in the wind was like listening to several windchimes.  It was incredible.  The waterfall at the end was over 100 feet and provided some much needed cool-down.  It was sooo hot and humid that day.  We hiked back down to the "Seven Pools" that lead out into the ocean where hungry sharks awaited the perfect tide which would bring them one of us. 

Along our windy way home (as in the road curvature, not the wind) we stopped in various coves and bays.  In one of them, we found a Black Sand Beach which was interesting. 

Friday we just beach-hopped for a few hours before returning to shower and finish packing.  We got a late checkout (2:30) which was nice.  Since we didn't have to be to the airport until 6:30, we just milled around in different places.  One of the places we found was I'ao State Park and the "Needle" mountain.  It was a nice hike around in nature and a good use of some of that time.

All in all, it was a FANTASTIC trip - one of, if not THE, best trip I've done.  Carolyn did so much research beforehand that we did all that we could do at the best prices around.  The sunsets were breathtaking.  The adventures were challenging and memorable.  The relaxation was necessary.  It was so hard coming home today and getting back to work.  I'm so thankful to have been able to work extra this year so that I could do something as great as this.  Happy birthday, Carolyn!

For now, the sun has set on Hawaii.

Bucket List - check

I hauled my netbook all the way to Hawaii, intending to update my blog every few days with pictures and wild stories, but I couldn't get the wireless to connect.  I'm sure it was a simple button or window or something, but I did everything I knew how to do before giving up.  Oh well.  I did journal every day and will work on a blog entry later tonight with highlights and pictures from the most fantastic 9 day trip to Hawaii ever! 

But I did cross some things off my BUCKET LIST on the left side of this blog.  Check, check and check.

1.  I ziplined in the forest, not once, but 5 different lines.  There is a deep reflection about his soon to follow.

2.  I kayaked in the ocean - we double kayaked to a small island.  The wind was crazy fierce, but we did it.
3.  I snorkeled in the ocean - with sea turtles and crazy fish and beautiful coral.
4.  I went to the Polynesian Cultural Center 

It's good to have things on your bucket list.  What's on YOURS?????

Coming soon...pictures and highlights from Hawaii.  Come back, ya hear?  And leave a comment...please!