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| First ride of the year, too bad you can't see all the mud on me. |
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| Snowshoeing |
Over the years I have played college soccer, high school soccer, basketball, and track. With friends we often go play softball or volleyball at the local park. Since meeting Brandon I have picked up cycling, mountain biking, and this year we have started rock climbing. Every September we ride in LOTOJA with Brandon’s family-- a 206 mile bike race from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It is a ride that starts at 6 am and finishes between 4-8PM the same day. It is the most grueling one-day ride. We often ride this race as a relay, riding somewhere from 40 to 100 miles.
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| Before the race! |
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| Water break. |
Traveling is another passion of mine. Over the years I have traveled to most of the United States while playing soccer or on vacations with my family. One of my favorite memories is when I was younger and I flew up to Seattle, Washington and then spent the next week driving the coast with my sister Nicole. We stopped at Redwood National Forest, the beach, and just laughed and chatted while driving down the coast. I have also traveled Europe, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and multiple parts of Mexico. I will never forget while in Guatemala we woke up at 4 am to drive to the top of a mountain to see the Quetzal Bird, but instead we froze and saw the sunrise. No bird that day. While in Costa Rica we went river down the Pacuare River. It is a category five river run, and was an experience I will never forget. Watching my Mom and sister Tera fly over the raft through the first rapid was both scary and incredibly funny (once they were safe, of course), but ultimately we knew we were in for an exciting ride.
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| Where did we go? What a ride! |
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| The only calm part of the river. |
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| Hawaii with Brandon |
When not traveling and just being home in Utah, springtime is one of my favorite times of year; I love watching tulips and daffodils fill our garden. To me, springtime is a new beginning, a fresh start. Each year tulips and daffodils multiply, their beauty increases, as they take the nutrients from the previous year to grow stronger. For me, this resembles life. Each spring I have a new sense of beginning. I can take experiences, struggles, and triumphs’ and weave them into my life to become a more refined and strong person. I wait and wait for greenhouses to bring in new spring and summer options for my yard. I often make a few visits prior to making a selection, waiting for the perfect colors or flowers for that year. I don’t have a favorite. I like to find different ones each year. I love annuals because then the look and feel of my garden can match my feelings for life at the time. I pick flowers that need care and nurturing to survive--because for me, carefully pruning and fertilizing the flowers is invigorating. I love working in the yard, and enjoying the beautiful flowers of summer.
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| This year a late snow covered them. |
Professionally this similar feeling also applies. As a classroom teacher and then a reading specialist, I get to fulfill my own passions of reading, learning, and discovering while I simultaneously see young minds light up. When adults learn, they light up too, but kids—their eyes light up as they suddenly see that letters make sounds, sounds make words, words make sentences, and sentences make stories—and stories make life.
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| My 4th graders & student teacher. Last year before I became a reading specialist. |
I recently received my Masters degree in Education and since then, I have had the opportunity to work as an educational consultant. A couple of days each month I travel across the country and work with teachers; coaching and instructing them on best practices of literacy, especially comprehension. This experience, while with adults rather than kids, has also helped my own discovery. Perhaps I am learning more and more to “comprehend” humanity. I have learned that people are genuinely good, that children, and adults, are the same everywhere—and uniquely different. I have learned how to navigate through various airports and cities and through various relationships and personalities. Although, I am the teacher when I travel, I often leave with more knowledge gained; the best aspect of teaching any age group. This has helped me see outside my “bubble” and helped me to be open to new ideas, different ways of living, and to appreciate what I have. I have been fortunate to meet dozens of people and establish friendships that enrich my life daily.
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| The day I got my Masters, what a great feeling. |
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| In Boston, a trip to Harvard |
I am also fortunate to educate and learn alongside youth in a religious setting as the first counselor in the Young Women’s Program for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. I love working with the girls, seeing them grow, helping them navigate through their trials and triumphs just as my leaders did for me.
I am happily married to the greatest guy, whom I love! Spending time with Brandon AKA “B”, riding bikes, hiking, playing soccer, swimming, boating, water/snow skiing, and hanging with family and friends are some of my favorite times. I look forward to the day that these adventures are also shared with our children. The day that I can watch our children running and playing with their cousins, building lifelong memories.
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| A perfect day for snowshoeing. |
Visit 'More Stories" to find more about:
-Winning the State Championship
-Playing college soccer
-Lake Powell, a favorite family vacation
-My fear of hospitals
