Arise and Shine Forth

We presented our "New Beginnings" program this week! Each Spring, the Church begins a new year-long theme for the youth program. Activities throughout the year center around that theme. The Young Womens' program has a special evening ("New Beginnings") where the new theme is presented.

This year's theme is Arise and Shine Forth. It comes from a book of modern revelations and scriptures, The Doctrine and Covenants Section 115 verse 5: "Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations." This is such a beautiful scripture. To me, it is a challenge to be the best you can be and shine the light of Christ through your actions and the way you live your life, bringing others towards His light. It is a good reminder.

We decided to have a "Tangled" New Beginnings. All of the references to light in the movie were a perfect fit with the theme. It was a lot of work (especially making all the purple pennant flags!), but the result was beautiful.

The girls helped make a large poster (that hopefully we can re-use during girls' camp this summer!)

Brooke made a cake to look like Rapunzel's castle. I found out afterwards that it is really just frosted donuts!

Simple centerpieces for the tables.

We got a spiffy chart to keep up with all of the girls' goal setting for the Personal Progress Program.

Me, Carrie, Farrah, Theresa, and Chanda

For refreshments, we had berries, nutty bread, cheese, veggies, and mixed nuts.

All of our girls are so sweet and so fun!

I am so blessed to be around such wonderful people, and to have constant reminders to be my best and shine the light of Christ by following His perfect example.

A Rough 24 Hours

We've had a rough couple days here in Nashville. It started Friday with severe torando warnings across the state of Tennessee. I planned to leave school right after dismissal and hurry home, but as I was leaving I remembered that I had to write substitute lesson plans for Monday and hadn't done them. I hurried and wrote them, but just as I finished, the sirens started going off near my school. The adults left in the building, along with the after school daycare, went down to the basement room and waited it out. Meanwhile 15 miles away, Brian was waiting under a rug in the center of our apartment while hailstones the size of golf balls pounded our apartment.
After the main storm passed, I made a break for home and got home safely before some smaller spots hit. We were so blessed to be so safe during this storm that was devastating to other parts of the midwest and south.

Fast forward 24 hours. We had just finished moving, loaded all the leftover junk into our car, and were on our way to Goodwill and then the airport to pick up Brian's sister, Stacey. We were driving along 8th Ave. South. Two cars ahead of us, a car had stopped to turn left across traffic. The car in front of us slowed and stopped, so we slowed and stopped. Seconds later, a Jeep Grand Cherokee plowed into us from the back. It was such a shock! I couldn't stop saying "Oh my goodness..." and Brian was saying "what just happened?" It was all very confusing.

We pulled over and then waited 30 minutes for a police officer to come file a report. We looked like we had been living out of our car-- there was Goodwill-bound junk everywhere. Our back window was completely shattered and gone, and our hatchback trunk was smashed 1.5-2 ft into the vehicle. The officer told us that we could drive our car but not after dark and only as much as we absolutely needed to. So we eventually got Stacey and made it home.

Our poor, sad Mazda.
Thankfully we are both fine, besides some very sore/stiff necks and backs. It is a miracle that things weren't much worse!

Time Warp

We're back! Actually, we've always been here, I've just been neglecting our poor blog since my discovery of pinterest. If you don't know what it is, check it out. You will either thank me for opening a world of possibilities or curse me for the imminent addiction. Or maybe a little of both. So..... here's what we've been up to!

August: To celebrate/commemorate the ending of summer, we cabin-ed (too luxurious to say camped) in Gatlinburg with some good friends.
September: I whipped my students into shape. :) Here they are executing perfect restroom behavior.

I went with my girlfriends to Atlanta for a baby shower and Ikea Trip.
October: We both had fall break at the same time, so we spent a few days in Atlanta

...highlight of the trip was the Atlanta Aquarium and the whalesharks!Brian turned 27 and all his birthday wishes came true! (Costco cake and Wicked Tickets)


November: We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with friends! Somehow, the only picture I took was of the place settings...

December: Our Christmas break started with a bang (or, rather, a crash) in Tucson when Michael crashed his bike and suffered a minor concussion and 3 fractured vertebrae. It is a huge blessing that he is ok and only needs to wear a neck brace for 3-6 months.

Brian was cast as "Joseph" in the traditional Oldham Family Christmas Eve Nativity Story thanks to his newest and biggest fan, Carrie (who played the part of Mary).

We went to a UofA Basketball game (Go Wildcats!)

Brian constructed a Gingerbread-stadium. Well, technically speaking, it was made of graham crackers.
We got to spend New Years in Oregon-- we enjoyed the beautiful real tree, playing with neices, and dancing to Wii games with family (I'm so bugged I didn't get any photo evidence of that)!January: Brian gave me the BEST birthday present EVER: a teddy bear that is almost as big as me. Coupled with a warm blanket and the books Stacey gave me for Christmas, I was in my version of paradise.

Natalie Fight

My sweet 14 year old girls at Mutual (youth activity night):

M: Hey Natalie, I like your cardigan.
S: Oh yeah, well I like her necklace!
M: Well, I like her hair!
S: I like her shirt!
SJ: Well, I like her PERSONALITY!
E: Well I like her... spirit and...TESTIMONY!

Aw.....They totally made my night! I am so blessed to hang around with these amazing girls.

Voracious

This year I am trying out a new way to teach/manage literacy called "The Daily Cafe." We have a C.A.F.E. Menu board that we keep our strategies as we learn and use them (C for Comprehension, A for Accuracy, F for fluency and E for Expand Vocabulary).

This week one of the strategies that I was teaching that would help our fluency was "Voracious Reading: the more we read, the more we learn." To introduce it, I was going to have the kids act out some animals who eat voraciously, then connect that back to how our brains should be "hungry for books" and we should just read and read and read and never stop, just like these "voracious" animals.

Great plan, right?

Well here's how it went:

Mrs. Wright: Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I would like you to please close your eyes. Now, imagine a BIG dinousaur in your mind (a few muted shrieks and giggles). Imagine what that dinosaur looks like when he is eating. Now, open your eyes and show me what that dinosaur looks like when he is eating.

Students: 3 just stare at me, and the other 18 all start slowly working their jaws around, like a cow chewing it's cud.

Mrs. Wright: Friends, I want you to think about a FEROCIOUS dinosaur! How does a T-Rex eat it's food?

Students: Same slow chewing motions with a few growls.

Mrs. Wright: (Thinking fast). Ok, ladies and gentlemen, let's try a different example. Um... Put your hand on your head if you know who cookie monster is....

The cookie monster analogy worked a lot better.

Four Days...

In four days

... I will become "Mrs. Wright" again.

… I will be nervous the whole drive to school because I have "First Day Jitters."

... I will have pencils sharpened and new office supplies handy.

… I will begin the new journey with 24 (give or take a few) smiling (I hope) faces.

... I will have 24 crazy new names to remember. (I wonder how many apostrophe's this year...)

… I will lay the foundation for reading, writing, math, and friendships.

… it will be the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!

Memphis

I'm a little behind on the times (you'd think that since it's summer I'd have more time.... not the case), but Brian and I went to Memphis 2 weeks ago to see the Broadway musical "Beauty and the Beast."

If you haven't been to Memphis, don't go. No offense to you if you live there/love it. But it's dirty and run down a little scary. Now that we can say we've gone, we probably won't go again.

That being said, we did have a fun time just being there for 1 day.


They love Elvis in Memphis!
This is as close as we got to "Graceland"-- Elvis Presley's home. Tickets were $18 each and parking was $10! We did a drive-by of Elvis' private jet.
The Pyramid was closed due to flooding. :(We spent most of the day on Mud Island, where they have a wading river that is replica of the Mississippi River scaled down to .5 mile. The cool water felt so good on such a hot day!

Brian crushing the mini dam.

Drying off.
We ate at "Gus's World Famous Chicken." It was rather good, if a little spicy.


After walking down Beale Street (just to say that we have), we went to the theater for Beauty and the Beast.