becoming a licensed teacher through ARL

in the state of utah, you are able to become a licensed teacher if you have earned you bachelor's degree in your given field and are working full or part time as a teacher.  i have been teaching for over a year now and have recently began my progress to becoming a licensed math teacher.  the first step was to take the praxis II test.  it is a content knowledge test in your field so i had to take a 50 question 2 hour test on math.  i was pretty nervous about it because i hadn't even taken a test in about 5 years!  but, i passed!  so i don't have to take it over.  i needed a score of 138 and scored 148 on it.  so my next step is to take the following few classes to finish.  

Methods of Teaching Secondary Mathematics and Application of Computers and Calculators in Mathematics

Instruction, Technology, Assessment, and Planning

Creating a learning Environment

Introduction to Special Education

and

Literacy Strategies

soon enough i'll be a licensed teacher and i'll get a raise!  hopefully these classes won't take me too long to finish - i have 3 years.  wish me luck! :) 

broken

a couple of weeks ago i was uploading some pictures and when i took my camera out of my bag, something was missing... the inside of my lense!  it was a bummer.  but, it is replaceable.  take a look: 

 

i dont' quite know when it happened, there could have been many moments i suppose, but the focus ring cracked just enough to allow for the part that holds the glass just fell right out!  at least it wasn't a really expensive lens!

baby, you're a firework

the 4th of july is one of my favorite holidays.  ever since i was little i can remember loving it - sitting on our roof or at the park or at the beach watching fireworks with the family and grandpa making sound effects for every one that went flying into the air.  this year we stayed home and participated in the Hurricane's celebration.  i bought a wrist band this year and let jorel play the games, jump in the bouncy house, and go down the big slide.   he raced in the races and had such a good time.  he picked out lip whistles for his prize.  we wen to our friends house again to see the fireworks.  they are the best for inviting us!

bossypants

if anybody likes tina fey, they should read her book "bossypants."  it was hilarious - cover to cover (i mean look at it!  <----)!  the way it was written i could imagine her sitting in the room actually reading it to me.  she really is a woman to look up to.  

more jorel-isms?

jorel has had this blanket since his aunt deni gave it to him for christmas, but has only recently found interest in it. he LOVES it now and tries to take it everywhere.  he puts his arms in it every night to sleep.  if he wants it, he'll asks for his "snuggly one" instead of his snuggie...

yesterday we went to the park after dinner and getting back into the car, he said, "mom, i love you, thanks for taking me to that place."  it was very sweet and kind of out of no where.  

when the sprinklers are on and running over the trampoline, he pretends its his car wash.  also he is terrified of going through an actual car wash.  

speaking of the trampoline, jorel has decided that he likes to climb up and then jump OFF of the trampoline - he is SUCH a boy! (he also was jumping off a stack of chairs in sunday school)

speaking of being a boy, he loves to run around in his underwear, especially his boxer briefs and also likes to sleep in them... 

when jorel is playing with his toys and making them talk, especially with his thomas trains or cars, he plays like he's telling a story  - for example "'i'm puffing around the bend,' says thomas."
he is such a little stinker monkey!

family visit

we were so lucky to have my sister's cute little family make a trip out to see us!  and so soon after we had been out there.  i know babies grow fast and change a lot, but man, within the month we had seen little stevie, he was rolling over and laughing and being so much more interactive.  he is just so great!  he was decked out in his brand new helmet and glasses and it just melts your heart. jorel got to play uncle paul's iPad and they became great friends all over again.  of course, i think i took maybe one picture while they were here.  i mean, come on, my sister is professional and SO good at it.  and i mean she is good and i'm not just saying it because she is my sister - check it out for yourself!  (there are some links at the bottom).  we mostly got to hang out and visit and eat and took a special trip to wal-mart for my best bro-in-law.  i can't wait to take a girl's trip out to missouri in just a month!  yay!

camping for work

one of the many joys of my job is that we get to go on some really cool outings - i may have mentioned this in the past.  the first week in june was our annual camping trip.  despite the fear of how cold it would be with still 3 feet of snow up on cedar mountain, i prepared and slept pleasant both nights i was up there.  we camped at pine lake, about 15 minutes from bryce canyon.  the girls were pleasant and the food was delicious - our science teacher is quite the good cook!  his dutch oven potatoes are to die for!  it is also quite amazing how many of our girls have NEVER and i mean NEVER EVER roasted a hot dog or made s'mores over a fire.  we played games and hung out and we got to hike in bryce and get too much sun, i was so pleasantly surprised with the great weather.  it was a good time and makes me look forward to next years trip even.

i wonder if this lady has ever roasted a hot dog?

was she a sight to behold!

Stevie P's Christening

over memorial weekend we headed out to california to be a part of a big day in my little nephews life - and his parents.  this little fighter of a kid was getting baptized.  it was a really quick trip again - darn it - we drove out there friday after work, stephen got baptized on saturday and we went on home on sunday.  it was a really good trip though.  of course i didn't take very many pictures, so i'll steal at least one from my sister.  :)

the baptism was a really cool experience.  it is an armenian church and most of the prayers were in song form and very beautiful.  there was a little bit of english, but very broken and hard to understand.  it was a great experience to be a part of though.  jorel was being a big poop during all of that - and i can only think his nap wasn't long enough.   afterwards was a big get together with lots of family, friends, and yummy food, and jorel was better. 

 bummer to have such a short trip, but the cousins did have time to nap together!  silly boys. 

  we got back sunday night and monday was memorial day - i don't remember doing anything for it except for maybe going to the "circle store" and barnes and noble to let jorel play with the trains and i even got a book to read.  weird... 

in-n-out

 here's a look into the things that jorel has been doing lately.  you know how at in-n-out they have the stickers they give to kids?  well jorel decided to imitate one - you'll see in these pictures, it was pretty funny.  

this was from back in may.  some of the girls at work like to hear the funny things that he says, and so here are some of their favorites and some of them happened a while ago and maybe i've even told them already, but pretty funny anyway:

jorel was running around the house and decided that he wanted a piece of bread after seeing me eat one. so i was holding his piece of bread while he came a took a bite out of it.  he went running off again and came back to me and said "YOU ATE MY FREAKING BREAD!" and all i could do was laugh because he was the only one who had taken a bite out of it.  

one that happened more recently was when he was sitting on the toilet and had a little toot he said "Mom, that was my steam."  Keep in mind that he is OBSESSED with thomas the tank engine.  next time he called it his "steam puff" that's how i know it was related.  

while visiting at my sister's house he walked into her room while she was pumping and he said "oh, Aunt Jaana, you're getting milk out of your belly buttons" meanwhile pointing at her "belly buttons."  all she could say was "yep" haha.  oh man.  i hope i won't have to explain that one later....

he's starting to come up with funny names for things by association of what he knows.  like target is now the circle store and maverick was the big rectangle store.  

his leg hairs were eyelashes one day. 

while jorel was treating me to my father's day dinner at red robin, his pants were barely high enough to cover the essentials - he's been doing so many things on his own, and when those pants are up, they are up.  i didn't notice "mom, my pants aren't working" until he was climbing on the seat and lifting his arms.  maybe you needed to be there for that one...  just love him!

anyway, i know there are so many more, but these are the ones i'm remembering right now.  he is just too funny and is growing up too fast.  he's the best!

oh yeah, if mom is mowing the lawn, you won't find her without jorel

one at a time

so, like i said in my last post, i really can't believe that three months have gone by and i haven't hardly even looked at my blog.  i guess this is the typical journal patterns that i have, but usually it is a little bit longer, so i'm trying not to let it get too far away from me!  so instead of updating them all here, i'm going to break them up into different posts.  :) 

alive and....

has 3 months really just gone by?  i can't take how fast time is moving, it's craziness!  guess i better at least let you all know i'm alive... maybe i'll actually update sometime soon.... the end.