Washington & Thanksgiving

I had a WONDERFUL time in Washington. Megan and I were busy the entire weekend, but I have to say it was definitely worth it. The game was such a good game and a bunch of fun to watch! Here's a picture of me, Megan and her roommate Kelsey at the game:I also had a pretty good Thanksgiving break, I say pretty good because I spent the majority of it working on my unit plan that is due this Tuesday, luckily I just about have that finished now; all that is left is a few more thoughts in my paper :).

I can't believe that it is already the last week of classes, this semester has flown by, I'm not quite sure where it went!

I also got to meet my mentor teacher on last Monday. I have to say that I am very excited for student teaching and I think that I will get along very well with my mentor. He seems about as excited to have a student teacher as I am to be one!

Well, I think that is about all I have to report! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I'm almost outta here!!

I am so excited to be on my way to Washington...I've had a countdown going for awhile now...but I leave tomorrow!!!! I've borrowed a picture of Megan from her boyfriend's trip to WA, I'll have my own soon enough :)

I also realized that I only have 12 classes until the end of the semester...how crazy is that????

What am I going to do with my life?

I have been thinking a lot lately about what I am going to do with the rest of my life. My college career is quickly approaching an end. I can't believe how fast the last four years have flown by! It seems like yesterday that I was moving into the dorms my freshman year anxious for a new adventure to begin, and now I have to start packing to move to Casper for my last semester of college. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited for the adventures of student teaching and graduating and going out into the real world, but I am also terrified of what is to come! As of late I have been giving a lot of thought into getting my masters. Right now, I think I want to teach for a couple years, in order to get my feet on the ground and to get some experience out in the real world. When I go back I think I would like to get a post-bacc degree in elementary education and a masters in curriculum and instruction. This, I believe, would allow me to be like a math "specialist" in elementary schools where I would help teachers and students alike with math. I am meeting with one of my professors to discuss the masters program at UW and to make sure that this is what I would need to complete in order to do what I want. I believe it is just because I've been discussing it with my dad and it sounds like that is what I would need. We'll just see. My meeting is next Tuesday...so I'll find out soon enough! Well, I suppose that is all for now!

Road Trip 2008

This last week my friend Joshua came back to Laramie to visit, and find an apartment in Denver (where he will be moving in a few short weeks!!) Josh and I met in the dorms my freshman year. We had a very competitive friendship at the beginning. Another boy on our floor brought a fooseball table and Joshua and I had quite the competition going on between us (along with Cassie and I and Josh and Cassie), but Joshua and I were also an unstoppable team when it came to fooseball. I have so many fond memories with him, from hours upon hours of fooseball playing for chocolate milk (our favorite!) to the most amazing trip of my life.

(From left to right: Joshua, me, Cassie, and Jeremy)

Joshua graduated from UW in May 2008 with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Management, and to help him go out with a BANG we (my friends Jeremy, Cassie, Joshua and I) took a road trip from Laramie all the way to Merrimack, New Hampshire. We took about 9 days to get to NH and then spent about a week there before Cassie and I began the long trip home (which we completed in 3 days, not including a day of rest with her Grandma in Iowa).

The trip began early on May 12 as we headed out on our adventure to our first stop, Rapid City, SD.

There we went to Reptile Gardens (Jeremy's pick) and Mount Rushmore.

After we camped out we got up early the next morning and headed off to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Joshua's girlfriend is from Rochester (which is about an hour south of Minneapolis), so we stayed with her and her parents.

(Cassie, me, Meghan, Joshua, and Jeremy)
We spent a day at the Mall of America and then we were off on our way to Chicago, Illinois. Before we got to Chicago, we made a stop in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

There we went to a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum (Josh's pick), which was interesting...to say the least.

We also spent some time walking around and enjoying the beautiful weather and the Wisconsin River!!

After a few hours we continued on our way to Chicago where we camped out in Joshua's uncle's back yard in Arlington Heights (which is a suburb of Chicago).

(Jeremy and me)

The next day we got up early and caught a train to downtown Chicago (my pick).

We spent the day exploring Chicago and played a little at the Navy Pier.

(A ferris wheel at the Navy Pier in Chicago)

After our adventures in Chicago, and eating a LOT of Chicago-style pizza (so yummy!) we were on our way to Sandusky, Ohio. (Don't worry, he didn't ride the entire way to Sandusky like that!)

(We had to buy firewood in Ohio, this was the only way it would fit in the car!)

Sandusky is a little town about twenty miles from a giant amusement park called Cedar Point (Cassie's pick).
Cedar Point has about 17 roller coasters, including one of the fastest roller coasters in the WORLD!!! This roller coaster takes you up 420 feet at 120mph.

(Cassie and Jeremy after riding the Top Dragster)

I'm sure it was terrifying. I was not brave enough to go on this particular ride, but Cassie and Jeremy were completely up for it! However, Joshua and I had a good laugh while we were waiting for them to ride; we saw a grown man come off of the roller coaster searching frantically for a restroom...that's when Josh noticed the man had peed his pants. Needless to say, that confirmed my decision in not riding THAT roller coaster! We spent as long as we possibly could at Cedar Point before we got rained out...but despite the rainy weather we had a wonderful time!

(Enjoying an elephant ear at Cedar Point)

The following day we ventured off to Niagara Falls, New York. We got lost a lot in New York, but it wasn't all bad, this is something we saw while we were lost in New York:

This was one of my favorite spots on the road trip. The falls are so powerful and absolutely beautiful! It is definitely something I would recommend to EVERYONE to see at least once in their lifetime. We went on the Maid of the Mist, which is a boat ride that takes you as close to the falls as you can physically get in a boat before the current is too strong.

We were all a little exhausted from camping out on the ground in our tent, and we had a little extra cash in our budget, so we decided to rent a cabin in Niagara Falls. It was a cute, comfy little cabin and definitely worth the extra bucks!

We definitely picked the right day to go to Niagara Falls too, because it just so happened to be a Canadian holiday so Canada was going to shoot off fireworks over the falls that night. What a spectacular thing to get to see!

After Niagara Falls we ventured off to Killingsworth, Connecticut where Josh's uncle lives in his gorgeous house and two private lakes (this is also where Joshua spends his summers).

Now this was luxury! We spent a few days relaxing and fishing on the lakes before we headed off to Merrimack, New Hampshire (where Jeremy is from).

(A few of the animals we caught in Connecticut, a turtle with three legs, blue gill aka sunfish, and a duckling)

We got to Merrimack late because we spent most of the day fishing, but nevertheless Jeremy's family stayed up to meet and greet us all, even though his brothers had school the next day! However, our trips and adventures didn't end in Merrimack. We took several day trips. One day we took the subway down to Boston, MA. There, we wandered the streets of downtown Boston, went to the Boston Aquarium and caught an IMAX movie (where we were mistaken for high school students :P on several different occasions! haha!)

Another day trip we drove all the way to Waterbury, Vermont to go to the Ben & Jerry's factory. I must say that this trip was definitely well worth it! It was only 3 dollars for a full tour and free ice cream samples!! I love Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and I have to say that this adventure only reinforced that, and fresh Ben & Jerry's is even better then the stuff I get in WY (which is hard for me to believe!).

We also took a day trip to a place in New Hampshire called Franconia Falls, which was a set of waterfalls that had turned into a natural water slide. It was absolutely beautiful! You hike about three miles in before you reach the falls and then it was time to play!

(Cassie, Mike and I hiking to the falls. Mike hanging off of a bridge on the hike to Franconia Falls)

(Now, remember it was still May and the winter runoff was still going, so the water was FREEZING and the current was super strong!) We were warned by a ranger to not go off the falls because the current was too strong and the water was too cold, but that didn't stop us! It was a beautiful day (probably somewhere in the 80's), so there were quite a few people at the falls, but no one was going down the falls.

The boys decided that they were going to give it a try, so they all tried it at least once (we also took Jeremy's little brother Nathan, and their friends Mike and Chris). Everyone made it down, and people were pretty shocked.

(The boys and their battle wounds from the falls)

It was a common occurence for them to get sucked back into the back current and get stuck, which was very frightening, but we always pulled them out. I finally decided that I was going to go down, I swam in high school so I figured I could make it out okay, but the water was so cold and the current was so strong that I was terrified. I would get ready to go down and then back out, then I'd be ready to go again, and then I would get scared...AGAIN, this went on for at least 20 minutes and I definitely had a crowd watching, especially since I was the only girl to even THINK about going down! I finally went, and as I was pulled out (I got stuck in the back current as well) people began cheering and clapping for me.
I must admit it was a bit embarrassing, but so much fun! However, I was completely frozen and it took me a long time to get warmed up again, and I was only in the water for a matter of seconds, probably not even a full minute!

(Trying to warm up after going down the waterfall)

We spent some more time in Merrimack, but Joshua had to get back to Connecticut so he could start making some money and try to figure out what he was going to do with his life (he was waiting to hear back from the U.S. Coast Gaurd, which didn't work out in the end). So, Jeremy, Cassie, and I had several more adventures in Merrimack, NH including (but not limited to) going bowling, going candlepin bowling (there is a difference!) and swimming in a river! After about a week in New Hampshire, Cassie and I were on our way back to Laramie. It was hard to say goodbye to all the wonderful people we had met and spent some of the best weeks of our lives with, but it was also nice to get home. We made the trip back pretty quick. The first day we drove all the way to Cleveland, OH where we stayed in a hotel, got up early the next morning and drove to Des Moines, Iowa to stay with Cass's grandma. We stayed there an extra day (to help break up the trip and to spend time with Cassie's grandma and aunt) and we were spoiled rotten! From Des Moines we drove all the way back to Laramie. So, we had 3 pretty long days of driving, but it was definitely worth it! I hadn't realized how much I had missed Wyoming until we crossed that border! That feeling was amazing, and I knew then that I was home :)

Not a Lot Going On...

So I don't really have much to report but I feel like I should report something! My life, as of late, has been taking place mainly in class or in the library. I'm not sure I'm home except to sleep and to eat a couple meals. This tends to make my life very uneventful, but incredibly busy. Those two things don't seem to go together too well, but they seem to describe my life perfectly! Last night I actually had a night off, I completed all of my homework for the rest of the week, so I don't have anything to do tonight either. It is a strange feeling, being free of homework. Although, I do have a paper due on Monday, but my mind would rather not focus on that right away :)
This weekend should be fun, I have been looking forward to it for about a month now! A good friend of mine from high school is coming into town from Washington State University. I am very excited to get to see her again and then in about a month I am off to visit her at WSU! I booked my flight at the very beginning of the year and I am super excited to head up into that country again!
Once I get back from Washington I have to drive immediately to Casper to meet my mentor teacher and go to a workshop for next semester! The plus side to this is that all my classes are excused on Monday (the day I'll be in Casper) and then all my classes on Tuesday are cancelled! My plan, as long as the roads permit, is to drive to Buffalo after my workshop in Casper and stay there until its time to go back to school the next week! Which means, I will have a very long Thanksgiving break! (I leave for WA the Thursday before Thanksgiving)!!
I suppose I had more to say than I had originally planned, which, hopefully, is just as exciting for you as it is for me!

A Game of TAG

Copy, Paste, Fill in the blank
I am watching the presidential debate
I know that I have a lot left to learn
I want all of my school work to be done
I have amazing friends and family
I wish the economy would get better
I hate how some people can make me feel
I miss being a kid
I fear growing up too fast
I feel overwhelmed
I hear Barack Obama
I smell with my nose
I crave chocolate
I search for answers
I wonder where I'll be in five years
I regret nothing :)
I love my life and the people in it
I care about a lot, maybe too much
I always sleep at night
I am going to take a test tomorrow
I believe many things, but I am skeptical about a lot too
I dance in silly ways
I sing in the shower
I fight for human rights
I write lesson plans
I lose cash :P
I win when people are happy
I never thought I'd be where I am
I listen carefully, or I try to
I am scared I won't succeed
I need to clean my room!
I hope to go all around the world

I would tag someone else, but Andrea got them all :)

A Meltdown and a Celebration

I had a bit of a rough day yesterday. It didn't start out too bad though, both of my classes were cancelled. However, they ended up being much needed cancellations. I worked all day (from about 7:30 am to 4:30 pm) on my unit plan. I was feeling pretty good about how much I got done, but I knew I still needed to do some more later that night. So after dinner I went to the office with my mom so I could concentrate and be more productive. (I have a hard time getting things done at home). I worked diligently from about 7pm until 8:45 when I was going to email myself all of the work again so I could access it at home. I had been saving all of my work as I went (or so I thought) and realized that after I emailed myself my lesson plans and then closed out of them one had some data that wasn't saved into it. So, I decide to delete the last email I had sent myself and send a new one with the new lesson plans. (I had already closed out of all of the lesson plans I had written) and go to send myself a new email when I realize that I can not find the documents that I had just saved! I looked EVERYWHERE; mom and I searched the entire computer for about 10 minutes, but alas, they were gone. Nevertheless, I had a breakdown, all of this work I had put in was gone! I then, realized that it may be in my "sent items" folder, and WOOHOO!!! It was, so I was saved!!! So all in all the day ended pretty well and still productive!

Oh, and I found out last night that I have received another College of Education scholarship for this school year! It's always nice to know that my hardwork pays off! (I think we actually made money out of my scholarships this semester!!)

More information!! :)

I've been playing a little phone tag with my mentor teacher and today we finally got ahold of one another! I was so excited to finally get to talk to him and to learn more about where I'll be in a semester! This is what I found out:

• I will be teaching 8th grade students pre-algebra and algebra, which are some of my favorite math topics!!
• Each student will have their very own laptop for use at home and in the classroom, which will make some very exciting lesson plans! Computers are so much fun and math is very applicable to them!
  
• Each class is only 45 minutes, so a little short, but I'll just have to learn to manage my time superbly!
• I get to plan a lesson on one of three topics: exponents, functions and graphing (which will be excellent with the computers!) and/or geometry (for PAWS testing, which is the WY standardized tests)!

Some other things that I thought were neat was that my mentor is sending me the classes textbooks through an email because they can be found online so I can plan my lessons while using the actual book! (I have to plan two units for my methods 2 course this semester, one which I will use next semester in my student teaching). My mentor sounded very excited to have a student teacher, he said he's had some in the past but he hasn't had any for awhile. When I talked to my methods professor, she said that they had not sent a math student teacher to the school I am going to, since she has been at UW (for around 10 years). But the school has had other student teachers over the years, just not math. I could hardly contain my excitement for the rest of the afternoon after the phone call. I find it so exciting to learn all these details!

The Beginning...

So, I decided I would try this "blogging" thing out. I enjoy keeping up with my family through theirs so I thought it would only be fair if they could do the same for me. Although, I don't think my life is quite as exciting...I just work and go to school! But next semester I am moving to Casper to do my student teaching, so that should be a bit more exciting!!! I'm really excited about the move, but it is still a few months away. I don't even know many details about what I will be doing next semester yet. I know that I will be teaching at a Jr. High and I will be living with an old friend from high school! (What a blessing it is to not have to find housing! I hear it's been incredibly difficult in Casper, so lucky me!) I suppose that is about all that is going on in my life right now. I've just been bogged down with quite a bit of homework as of late, and its only been three weeks! Oh well, its my last semester of classes so I should try to enjoy it right?