Hiking and Feasting

 A couple of weekends ago we took the kiddos hiking to Stewart Falls.  We started at Sundance and took the lift to the trail and hiked to the falls (ate a picnic lunch) and then hiked back to the base of Sundance...so basically the entire hike is downhill!  The perfect hike for little kids!  Plus the weather was amazing...not too hot, and not too cold.  It was so beautiful!

Stud.

That evening I planned our Back to School Feast!

I know I'm a bit late, as we've been in school for a month already, but it just seemed something came up every weekend!  So finally we got to it!

As you can see, I kept things pretty darn simple!  Ha!

But the important thing is that we dedicate the evening to a fresh school start and discuss goals for the year that each person wants to achieve.  It's never too late to make goals!!

 Gumballs are a major hit in this house!  My kids (and maybe Ryan) are obsessed with them! 

 We made personal pizzas for our feast.  And for dessert (which I forgot to take a picture) was personal pan cookies with ice cream on top...I seriously was looking forward to this dessert all week, Ha!

And yes, 3 out of 4 of my kids are in their pajamas.

It's not uncommon for my kids to come home from church or an outing (hiking) or school, and throw on pj's.  We're all about comfort in this house!

Our new saying for the year:  Stay Posi or in other words, Stay Positive.  

Always a good reminder to stay on the bright side when things get rough.

And our new glass star.

Hope everyone is having a great start to the school year!

Happy Thursday!

New Job!

Some fun new things are happening around here!

As you know, this year Rory started half day Kindergarten, she's a year away from being in school full day.  So, I've been thinking about returning to teaching when that takes place.  However, I'm not yet licensed for Utah.  I received my teaching credentials from Indiana and then got my license for California to teach when we lived there, but once I moved to Utah, everything kinda took a backseat while I took care of my littles.

Well, a few weeks ago I was just poking around online seeing what I had to do to get my Utah license and I discovered that my kids' school had a job posted for a half day Kindergarten teacher!!  On a whim, I went ahead and applied for it and then went in for an interview the following week.  Well, I did not get the Kindergarten teacher position...sad face.  BUT, the principal was impressed with my upper grade experience in Long Beach (years ago) and offered me a position where I'll be working with 3rd-6th graders in a newly adopted reading intervention program at the school.  It's part time, as I will only be working while Rory in her class...the schedule is perfect!

I was hired on Friday and then that afternoon I went through a quick orientation through the district.

Monday, I went though a crash course of the program with a trainer, and then hopefully on Wednesday I'll be working with the students!

It's a little weird, having been a parent in the school to now an employee.  But it's nice too because I'm pretty familiar with everyone as I've been involved with this school for the last 8 years.

I look forward to this year and I'm excited for what may come!

Perhaps this will be a little stepping stone that I need to get back into the classroom as a teacher again!

Wish me luck!