Lana

Girls' Weekend

2011-10-14T05:45:00.000-07:00

So, I am a little behind on posts, but I will try and catch up week by week. Before the wedding, my awesome friends Raegan, Sierra, and Courtney took me on a weekend getaway to Deer Valley Resort in Park City. You will notice there is snow, and it is May....Welcome to Utah! The resort was beautiful! We had so much at the resort. We had our own private butler! They also drove us around Park City wherever we wanted to go.

We had a blast in the hot tub, wearing our robe, and talking about babies. Sierra was 8 months pregnant at the time, (she now has a beautiful baby girl, Presley). I am lucky to have such great friends!

Sierra and I grew up together and have been friends our whole life. Raegan's husband Lange is one of Rylan's very best friends, and Courtney and I met through college rodeo.

the wedding 5-19-11

2011-07-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

Wow! All I can say, is that I had the best day EVER!

On Wednesday, May 18th, all of the bridesmaids, groomsmen,and family met at the farm. It was kind of a rainy day. I was wearing my "muck boots" a ball cap, and a hoodie. (classic rehearsal clothes, right?) We were all so excited to see each other. Most all of our bridesmaids and groomsmen weren't from around here, so it was amazing to all get together! Thanks to Rylan's sister Kobi, she had us all organized and we rehearsed the ceremony. It was fun walking down with my brother, Ty. He was the one who "gave me away." Ty and I have always been close. We have traveled to rodeos together, and have always hung out. We get along really good. My older brother Austin is amazing too, but because Ty is shorter than my mom, Austin had to escort my mom. We had a tent ordered in case of bad-weather, and I am so glad we did. We all go this brilliant idea to put up christmas lights in the tent to make it light. It was hilarious watching all of us climb up on ladders and string lights. My poor friend Sierra was 8 months pregnant, and nothing stopped her. The guys were crazy about how cute she was pregnant. My bridesmaids, Reagan, Sierra, Courtney, and Hadly, were the best! They did so much for me. Reagan made the cute "trail mix" sign, Sierra created our sign-in book, and they all did a lot of wonderful things. I really appreciate all that they do for me. The night before the wedding was a lot of fun. We had fun all hanging out. After all was said and done, we went to bed that night at about 11:00, my friend Courtney stayed at my house with me.

The next morning, we wake up to 2 inches of snow! Ridiculous! Record cold and snow for May. This May is going down as one of the wettest and coldest Mays in history, go figure! :-) Mother nature decided she would also dress in white on my wedding day, so I just thought of how special I was!

Everyone was calling, texting, and freaking out about the weather. I didn't care, all I wanted to do was get married (and be on a flight to Mexico the very next day). Everyone was oddly surprised that I didn't care. They couldn't believe that I wasn't upset. I knew that it would be perfect no matter what. So, that morning Sara and Courtney ran to McDonalds to get us breakfast. We ate a nice breakfast and laughed about the snow.

The luncheon started at 11:30 that day. Close friends and family came as we had a great lunch up at Soldier Hollow. We played our slide show, and our family and friends got up and told stories (some were embarassing) some were also really sweet. Rylan's sister Megan spoke about the time when Rylan was little (about 6th grade) and he engraved my name in EVERY cupboard at their house. He always had a picture of me hanging up in his room (sweet, right?) since he was a little boy.

Rylan's dad spoke of a time when Rylan wanted to bring me flowers. It was right before my dad passed away, and Rylan was only about 11 years old. He was really scared of my dad, and wanted his dad to go with him. Rylan's dad called my dad and told him we were coming over, needless to say, Rylan was a little scared. To this day, Rylan sends me flowers quite a bit!

After the luncheon, Reagan and Sierra took me to Megan's to get my hair done. I was relaxed as I could be, and she had my hair looking fabulous in only about 20 minutes! After that, we came back to the house to find Kellie (one of my dear friends) doing my bridesmaids' and sisters' hair. (they looked awesome!) We got dressed, and laughed and just relaxed for a bit.

At my Aunt's house, (where I got dressed) the sun started to peek through. At the luncheon, the sun was shining bright and melting all of the snow. Once we got to my Aunt's, it was still shining, but then it started to rain a little bit, so we decided to get married in the tent. As I was getting dressed, we struggled a bit to get the dress on. I had to suck it up, and finally we got it to button! We laughed, and had a great time just hanging out right before the ceremony.

When the ceremony started, the rain had stopped and we had a beautiful view of the fields and the mountains (just what I wanted). It then cleared out to be a beautiful night and we did some of the reception outside, and some inside. Who would have thought that 2 inches of snow would be melted and it would turn out to be an OK-day? I knew it would work out and I had no worries.

It turned out to be the most beautiful day! As Rylan and I look at all of the pictures, we decided that it was the funnest day of our life! It was the happiest, too, but we had so MUCH FUN!!

We stayed at the Hilton that night, then left for Mexico the next day. It was perfect and we LOVE married life!

Thanks to my mom for making all of the fabric flowers for the bouquets, boutinerres, and all of the table settings. We bought the blocks, glued the pictures on them, then texturized the picture so that it had a rough-feel. My mom did most of the wedding work (the food, the decorations, etc) and I can't thank her enough for the DIY wedding. I think we need to rename it to the Mom-made-Do-It-Yourself Wedding :-) Thanks mom!

and so it begins...

2011-05-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

I told myself that no matter what circumstances were happening in my life, I would be sure to always update my blog. Because I do not have facebook, I feel like I need to keep up on the blog so that I can journal the many things that go on in my life. I am a few months behind, and I feel guilty about it, but better late than never, right?

What an amazing last few months. The wedding was PERFECT. Everything was just how I wanted it to be, some things even BETTER. Mexico was a blast, and Rylan and I are enjoying living together. We love it! I felt like things wouldn't change much, seeing how we have been together for so long, but I was wrong. Everything in our lives have changed and we love every minute of it!

Here are some engagements and bridals. If you would like to see more, go to sunnydaysphotography.blogspot.com! This chick is amazing! I can't wait to post pictures of the actual wedding and pictures from the honeymoon!

Wedding, St. Patrick's Day, Crafts

2011-03-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Wow! I have really SLACKED the past couple of months. My nights consist of my favorite TV shows, a little bit of crafts, and an early bedtime. (And no blogging as you can see.) You ask when do I plan my wedding? Well.. I really don't. I do a "little" planning each week, but I realized I am being a procrastinator. I am usually SOOOO not like this. However, I am not a "bridezilla" or anything of that sort. I know this may seem weird, but I don't really care how my wedding happens, or anything like that. (OK, I care a little bit) But I just want to be MARRIED. I have waited 25 years and that is all I want to do. I am hoping the rest of the planning will just fit in to place. Haha, OK I will be honest....we are on the right track for wedding planning and I am doing more planning then I just admitted. We are doing what we can when we can. I am not letting it get me "down" or completely stress me out. I am trying to plan an AWESOME wedding as easy as I can. Thank goodness for Rylan's sisters Megan and Kobi...They are my angels! I cannot wait to be their sister! I feel so lucky to have such great in-laws.

My mom has helped me with things for the wedding the last few months. My brother decided last month he would get married this month (POOR MOM!) My mom has done an excellent job planning/paying for two weddings. I owe her EVERYTHING. My brother's wedding was absolutely wonderful and I am so happy for him and Sara. Our family is chaning so much and it is so much fun! I feel like all we have been doing is hanging out and having a great time with the family lately. His wedding was very windy (sorry about the hair-it was REALLY windy).

I am not crafty or creative. However, something inside of me has wanted to "make" things lately. I have been making fabric flowers to incorporate in my centerpieces at my wedding. These pictures that you see are only one type of fabric. I have a lot more fabric to cut out and make. Thanks to Megan (Rylan's sister) we are getting these done slowly, but surely. I will try and keep them posted as I make them! I would love to know what everyone thinks! I also have been painting house decorations. I am in LOVE with the Wood Connection. I buy all of the wood and then come home and paint away. These are not the cutest things, but I have to start getting my creative juices (or lack there of) flowing somehow!

And then there was St. Patrick's Day. "Lucky" the Leprechaun visted our classroom. He destroyed it, tipped over desks, and left us cookies and drinks! My students believe in Leprechauns. Their reaction went a little like this.

"I know Leprechauns are real because Miss Bingham would NEVER mess this room up! She is too much of a clean freak! She hates things out of order and not-organized." Haha.. I LOVE MY JOB!

my inspiration......

2011-01-03T19:17:00.001-08:00

My wedding inspiration. I have been pulling things together (and visiting the DI on a regular basis) to go for this kind of a look. You never know, things could change, but let the wedding planning begin....in full force! I love oncewed.com and thepinkbook.com! This is where I am getting all of my ideas. I have decided that I am so NOT-Creative! Other people have LOTS of good ideas!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-30T12:43:00.000-08:00

I belong to a very "tradional" family. We do the SAME thing every year. AND it is the BEST! We always start Christmas Eve out with taking candles to the cemetery at dark. After that, it is in to our Santa PJ's and dinner at Grandma's. We also play cards. Christmas Day means up early to open our gifts at my mom's house, then go to the niece's and nephew's house for excitement! Then, at around 11, we head to an outstanding breakfast back at Grandma's (better than Thanksgiving dinner) and more presents. If there is time for a nap, we take a nap, then head to aunt Susan's for southern-style food. Gumbo, hot wings, and stuffed mushroom... AND... another game of cards. The day after is always our snowmobilling trip with Rylan's family. So, to sum it all up, I think I picked the perfect profession. After all of this excitement, I have a week to catch up on my sleep (and have more fun!)

Finally!

2010-12-23T06:39:00.000-08:00

So, the past month has been NOT fun. I started having body aches on my birthday. My birthday was November 19th. Today is December 23rd. The problem with this? I HAVE BEEN SICK FOR A MONTH! I am not complaining, because the past week I have only had a cough/sore throat, which I will take ANYDAY over meningitis. I can actually function on a head-cold, so I am OK with that right now. My blog has suffered majorly because I just haven't felt "good" for the past month. After being in and out of the doctor, they finally concluded that I had a case of meningitis. My poor family. I am such a baby when I am sick. If anybody would have seen me during those 3 weeks they probably thought I was going to DIE! It was terrible. Anyway, I went back to work and I was feeling OK. However, my activity at school was limited. I wasn't as "energetic" as I usually am. The students seemed to understand and they were just glad to have me back. During Thanksgiving Break I kept telling myself I was better. However, that was only the beginning of my sickness. I did manage to snag a day and grab lunch with Jena over Thanksgiving Break. (We did not plan to wear the same hoodie) I felt sick that night after lunch, but at least I am happy to say I felt OK enough one of those days to go to lunch. Going in to Christmas Break I am quite excited to actually EAT (my appetite came back strong) SLEEP (Ok, so not sleep really well because of the sore throat/cough) and do pretty much whatever I want. My poor blog has suffered tremendously the last month....Along with everything else in my life. Merry Christmas everyone!

the story of my life...

2010-11-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

I am always on the go. If I blogged about something that I have done every day the last couple of weeks, I would seriously have a "post overload." So, here goes! It started out that Rylan and I went on a ride with grandma. This is one of my most favorite things to do. It makes me so happy. Hello hunting season? I wish the hunting colors were like hot pink or neon green, but orange will do. At least it is bright! It was a beautiful day and even though I ride quite often, somehow I still get sore when I ride for that long of a time.

This last week was red ribbon week at school. We had "support your favorite team" day, and "career day" I had to sport the UTAH gear (they did move up to #5 in the BCS standings) and this day just happened to be the day that we went on a field trip to BYU. Yes, I did it! I wore my UTAH clothes to BYU. I was very proud of myself. The next day was "career day" I dressed up as a zumba teacher. My kids kept saying, "Wow, Miss Bingham! That is what you want to be when you grow up?" I just responded "Yes, of course!" They have no clue that teaching is a "career".

Then, there was Halloween! Oh, how I love Halloween. I didn't dress up this year, but I still had chilli and flu shots at grandma's. Isn't it a great combination? My grandma's friend always comes and gives us our flu shots on Halloween. I cried and said some really bad words. I HATE shots. Oh yeah, and you gotta love the cute litte ones in the family.

Sunday was family day. Ty and Sarah came up from Springville, Hadly and Tyler were here, and Austin, Lee and the kids were all around. You know it is hunting season when I bring in a big slab of meat to be cut and cooked for Sunday dinner. (I promise we aren't that redneck.) And I had a good time hanging out with my Belle.

Wedding & Then Engagement

2010-10-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

So, a lot has happened lately. First of all, my best friend from college rodeo, Courtney, got married! I am so happy for her, she has been a huge part of my life the last 6 years. I remember the first day we met. We were at our first college rodeo in Logan. I was warming up my horse before the barrel racing and I saw a girl warming up beside me. We got talking and she was in one of my brother's college classes. My brother went to Weber State at the time, where Courtney went, and I was at UVU. I was just as scared as she was for this "big rodeo". We talked, laughed, and had a good time. Before we knew it we were on our way to Moab to pick up a horse for one of her friends. We cranked up the music to Matchbox 20's "Bright Lights." That started our awesome friendship. I visited her in Arizona when she would go home for breaks, and she managed to pretty much LIVE with me while she was in Utah. Shopping, cold stone, and singing loudly in the truck is some of the things we enjoy. We have gone through a lot together, and I was so happy to be a part of her wedding. Our other friends: Riccy, Italy, and Texie were also apart of the wedding. They have been my friends for awhile also. Italy and Texie rodeoed in the same region as Courtney and I. They also went to the College National Finals the same years we did. They are both such a good time! Italy lives in Texas and Texie lives in Idaho. Riccy has been a great friend also. She is from California and currently lives in Texas. It was really good to see all of my rodeo friends. I miss them so much. The wedding was beautiful and I am so happy for Courtney and Cole.

And then.....Tuesday was the big exciting day for me! Rylan called me at work at about 3:45 and asked me if I could come help him. I had no idea what was going on. Rylan said his dad lost his wallet up Cascade Springs that day 4-wheeling. Rylan's eyes are really bad and I thought that he could use an extra set of eyes, so I agreed to run up there and help them. I was in leggings and a dress, but I am always up for a ride in the mountains. Once we got up there, we drove through a ton of gates and got to this beautiful area of land. As I started walking around, I had no idea what was going on. Ok, let me rewind to earlier that day, Rylan wasn't having the best day, everything seemed to be going wrong, or so I thought...So when I started looking for a "wallet" and couldn't find one...I walked around to a place where there was a tree with a bouqet of flowers. I looked at him and said, "Oh, it is OK that you had a bad day today. You didn't have to go to all of this trouble to make it better." He then pulled out the ring and asked me!!! I was so shocked I didn't know what was going on for like five minutes! Haha.. Rylan knows that I don't catch on too quick, so he knew that it would be easy. However, he was expecting me to know what was going on when I saw the flowers, but of course I didn't "get it". I am so excited to get married and we are both sooo ready. We are at such a good place in our lives and I am so happy!

So Proud!

2010-09-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

So I spend many days (and long nights) at rodeos. I would not trade it for the world. I am so proud of Rylan and all that he has accomplished. He is so humble about bull riding. He is such a star and I enjoy watching him and supporting him. I just wanted to share with everyone how great he is! Check out the video!

What My Summer Consisted Of....

2010-08-18T17:41:00.001-07:00

With the end of summer around the corner, I have to admit that I am getting excited to get back to work. We have been on the road a lot going to rodeos and PBRs. We have been to many different states and have seen a lot of great things. I have become a really excellent driver, but better passenger!

When I am home, I never thought in my whole life I would be obsessed with a clean house. I wake up, clean, and then I find myself filling my time with workouts at the gym, eating out A LOT, riding my horse and having a sick obsession with making brownies pretty much everyday. Oh yeah, and don't forget... working on my tan! I have become addicted to summer TV, thanks to TiVo I get to watch my shows in between rodeos and bull ridings. My summer line-up has included, The Bachelorette, (now the Bachelor Pad) Teen Mom, (love it!) Jersey Shore, (I find myself talking like them sometimes) The Real Housewives of New Jersey, (can't stand Danielle) and of course, Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami. I know you are probably thinking I am so lame, but TV shows make me happy for some reason. I am becoming anxious for my favorite fall line-ups to start in the next month.

I am excited to start the new school year and I hope that it is as successful as can be. I will be sad to see my tan go, but all good things must come to an end, right?

Boston

2010-07-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Boston and I had a blast. The most memorable thing for me was the food. We had really good dinners everynight. I also ate a whole lobster! Ok, not the whole lobster, but it still had it's eyes on it when I ate it! It was YUMMY. We were there for almost a week and we had a great time. I stayed in a room with Rachel and Lorie which was really fun!
We learned so many things about history. We visited the Minute Man Museum, Plymouth Rock, saw an exact replica of the Mayflower, learned about Paul Revere and his "alarm" that the British were coming. We also road the subway, visited Harvard in Cambridge, and watched the Blue Man Group. We did lots of shopping, TONS of eating, and learned some great ideas about assessment at the conference. But most of all, we enjoyed each other! We had a great group and a good time! I feel very lucky to be able to have so much fun through work... It is the best!

Allergies and Eclipse

2010-07-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

So this post is going to be a two-in-one. You ask if it goes hand in hand? Yes! It does. I realized how bad my allergies were when I had to start searching through my purse (as most of you know, my purse is not something fun to search through) to find my allergy medicine. As I had a congested nose, I would tend to get distracted from "Eclipse" and annoy people around me (sorry Jennifer) because of my stupid allergies! I finally said "this is it!" and went to the doctor today. After 87$ in medication (thanks PEHP for not making pay all of it) I have to take five different forms of medicine every 6 hours and try to stay inside the house. Yeah right! How am I supposed to work on my tan when I am stuck inside all day? I can see this not really working out.

Just so you understand how bad my allergies are, please observe the pictures above. This was after I thought I would offer to help haul hay with the family. My services did not pay off. I suffered for the last entire week because of that darn hay! Never again will I try to haul hay. My horses are blessed to have a good family who will pick up my load so I don't feel like I want to die after ever crop!

Allergies aside, Eclipse was amazing! I think I had just as fun hanging out with the "fab 5" as I did watching the movie. It was so great to catch up on all of our teaching stories and laugh and have a good time. It made me miss the days when we were in college and hung out EVERYDAY. Those girls were my life for 2 + years and it is so awesome to me that we have remained so close. We are definitely best friends for life! Thanks girls! Oh yeah, for some reason I thought the best part of the movie was when Jacob and Bella kissed on the mountain top, holy ROMANTIC! I am still in the middle though when it comes to "teams". I am neither team Edward or Jacob, but that was probably my favorite part of the movie.

Mustache May is Finally Over!!

2010-06-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

So, for some odd reason somebody somewhere ivented "mustache May." I personally would like to meet that person and ask why they think it is necessary for every cowboy (and some non-cowboys) to grow a mustache? Really? Any ways, May has been a really fun month. I have been super-busy (reason for not updating the blog)wrapping up the end of the school year, and hitting rodeos and bull ridings along the way. We had a field trip to This is the Place Monument, Field Day (please excuse the no-make-up or hair done, I was sweating like a pig the entire day) and we also did a lot of fun activities. Field day was awesome because the teachers played the fourth graders in kick ball. I have to say I did pretty well. My students were cheering MVP, MVP, as I walked back to them after the game. I scored 3 out of the 5 runs. I am not super-athletic so I was excited that I did so well. I accidentally took out a kid on third base and knocked the wind out of him, but other than that it was an outstanding game!
It is tradition that every Memorial Day our family goes to seven peaks. Luckily the weather was nice. It was Trey's first time there, and he had a blast! The weather has been so crappy on and off, that I was way excited to go lay in the sun that day. My summer will consist lots of sun, rodeos, vacations, and being absolutely LAZY! I can't wait. It officially started last Thursday and I am way excited! I still can't believe that you can lay around for three months and get paid the same that you do all year! It is crazy, but I wouldn't change it for the world!

The End of Spring Break..and so much more!!

2010-04-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

The end of Spring Break was pretty crazy! My mom had this brilliant idea (ok, with the help of me) to attend a sale at Old Navy. 50% off of everything for the first 50 customers. That sounds great, right? WRONG! First of all, we woke up at 7:00 AM on a Friday morning (I don't even have to wake up that early for work!) and we had to stand in line at Old Navy. Luckily we got there right in time and we were the 45th customer. So, going in to old navy, we were pretty stoked! We started grabbing everything we could think of, trying stuff on, and getting excited that we were saving so much money! Then the terrible part came....We stood in line for over 2 hours at the checkout! (check the picture above to see Hadly and I as we are asleep in the check-out line) There were only probably four customers ahead of us, but each customer averaged about a half-hour. Their system was slow because of all of the cards being processed at the same time all over the country. Well...DUH!! I was so grumpy, hungry, and tired that I am still not sure if it was worth it. But at least I can look back and laugh a little. Oh, and I also went to the thrift store for the very first time with Jena!

The college rodeo was also in town at the end of the week. That was fun to see some of my old friends. I really don't miss college rodeo though. It is interesting to me how I now realize that there is so much more to life than college rodeo. I spent five years practicing, stressing, competing, and I feel like I am in a good place right now. I just enjoy riding my horses stress-free (P.S. there was ONE day it didn't snow and I was able to ride my horse) The rodeo was fun. However, Rylan really hates taking pictures, as you can see in the picture above. I get that dramatic reaction when he closes his eyes and puts his hands over his face every single time I try and take a picture! He is impossible to get to take pictures!

The next week we headed to Mesquite for a bull riding! Talk about HOTTTT! I wasn't complaining though! I had a blast. We swam, gambled, and hung out with friends. We were browsing the gift shop and came across a fake snake. We are both soooo scared of snakes. We picked one up and pretended like it was going to get us. We had a great time!

Spring Break Day 3

2010-04-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of Spring Break was a blast! I didn't do much, but I had a lot of fun! I went and got my nails done (Thanks Brianne, you're the best!) Ate Taco Time, went to Zumba, and got some cleaning done. I have decided that I love having breaks from work, but at the same time, I get bored easily. I am hoping I can ride my horse sometime during the break...oh wait! That means it would have to quit snowing!

Spring Break Day 1 and 2

2010-04-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

So, my first day of Spring Break was really fun! We took my nephews to the zoo and we had so much fun! I climbed on the back of a gorilla statue. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, but I didn't care! My favorite thing was riding the train. I love to ride the train at the zoo. My nephews are so cute and they were soooo good. My second day of Spring Break, (well technically the third)I went shopping with Rachel. We had a blast. We had lunch at Chilli's and did lots of shopping! I can't see what tomorrow entails...haha...I will admit, I am a little bored. And I think I miss my class...

Easter in the Snow

2010-04-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

This year, we woke up to tons of snow on Easter. Yuck! How are we supposed to wear our cute spring clothes when there is snow on the ground? We tried to make it as fun as possible. The Easter Bunny hid eggs outside my house. Little did he know, it would snow the next day and burry almost all of them. When you have five kids ranging from 14-25 at my mom's on Easter Sunday, you know it has got to be for a good cause. And boy it was! There was 60$ worth of money in Easter eggs. It was hilarious how we got out the shovels, rakes, and anything else we could find to dig through the snow. We also had the "bunny trail" at grandma's. That was really fun. There was tons of candy and presents all around! It was a great Easter!

Pet Day!

2010-03-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

So, it seems almost every post I do has something to do with work. But, because I spend about 30 hours a week with 30 kids, I can't help but capture the great moments. Last week we had pet day. Yes..pet day! It was a reward that my students earned...and it was CRAZY! We had turtles, horses, birds, cats, dogs, and any other silly animal you could think of. The amazing part was that each time a parent brought an animal....the kids would go crazy, I mean they would seriously go crazy over a cat, like they had never seen one before! I didn't understand it, but it was fun. Oh yeah, Rylan brought Belle and Ugg to school and the kids loved that! And....the teacher next to me (and my very best friend) Mrs. Talley got on a horse at recess. It was hillarious because she is very scared of horses. She thought it was going to "bite" her. She was way funny!

Some Fun in the Sun

2010-02-21T10:31:00.000-08:00

My ideal life would be to live somewhere where it DOESN'T snow! I hate being cold and everything about it. This President's Day/Valentine's Day weekend was awesome! We went down south to spend time with friends. We were able to ride our horses OUTSIDE! That is something very hard to do here in Heber, unless you bundle up and wear three pairs of long-johns. It was definatly T-shirt weather. We roped and bucked bulls all weekend long! It was a great way for me to spend my three day weekend! We also had a lot of fun going to the movie and eating lots of yummy food! I didn't want to come home!..... Do ya blame me? A picture is worth a thousand words!

Field Trip!!

2010-02-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

Today we went on a field trip. FINALLY SOMETHING TO BLOG. I haven't had much time to blog the last month, so I am going to use the excuse that I had nothing to blog about until now.
We had a good day today. We went to the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum and looked at artifacts that the Mormons brought with them across the trail. We do so many things with UTAH history, so it was really neat for the kids to see the museum.
After the museum, we headed to the State Capitol. It is absolutely beautiful in there. We had a great time and I have to say that I have a really good class. They were SOOOOO good!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was amazing! It was probably one of the best! We started out Christmas Eve by going to the cemetery. This has always been something that our family has done. It was freezing cold, but we lit the candles, took some pictures, and then went on our way. After that we went and played cards at Grandma's. This is always so much fun. We woke up Christmas morning, opened all of our presents, and then went and watched Camrynn open her presents. After all of that, it was off to Grandma's for the best Christmas breakfast ever!! We opened presents and then it was nap time! It was a really fun Christmas. It is always fun to get together with all the family and have a good time.

On Friday we went snowmobilling with Rylan's family. Afterward, we had a yummy lunch at Daniels Summit Lodge. It was a really fun day. I was so tired when we got home, but it was totally worth it!

Pioneer Christmas

2009-12-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

The day before we got out of school for Christmas break, we had a Pioneer Christmas. We played pioneer games, line danced, made a quilt, and made butter. I even brought a home-made pinata for the students to play with. It was a huge hit! We had a tug-o-war, wheel barrow races, and even played jacks and marbles. I decided this is a really fun grade and we get to do some really fun things. It was a little crazy doing all of this the day before the break, but it made me thankful that I have a couple weeks off. We also had a school sing-a-long in the morning before our pioneer Christmas. Mr. Campbell dressed up as Santa, and all of the teachers sang. It was a very fun time, but I couldn't wait to get home and enjoy myself for awhile!

Never Too Old..

2009-12-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

When I woke up this morning and looked out the window, I saw TONS of good snowman-making snow. It was 7 a.m. and I thought maybe I shouldn't go outside just yet. So, me and mom watched the "Grinch" and had hot chocolate. When It was about 9, we both went outside. She shoveled and I made a snowman. Who cares if I am 24, I love snowmen! Hadly informed me that he looked like a "big blob of snow". Whatever Hadly....I had fun! I don't care what you say!

Rendezvous, Thanksgiving AND Black Friday

2009-11-28T18:13:00.000-08:00

What a fun week! It all started Tuesday with our Rendezvous at school. We learn a lot of Utah History in Fourth Grade, and what a better way to let the students understand more about Rendezvous than to have one! It was a blast. We all dressed up as either Native Americans or Mountain Men. The kids loved it. We made "possible bags" to put their "beaver bucks" in. They earned "beaver bucks" and exchanged them for goods that the kids brought from home. (They brought everything from toys to baked goods). It was a lot of work putting it all together, but it turned out to be really fun!

We had a blast on Thanksgiving Day. We ate lots of food, played cards, and I went for a ride on the zip line at the Graves'. It was so much fun! After Thanksgiving dinner, we got in the car and we shopped 'til we dropped. I witnessed a chick-fight at Wal-Mart, which was priceless. Here is a little bit of how it went...(Let me warn you, it is a little PG-13)

5:03 A.M. Wal-Mart, Orem, Utah

Lady #1(about 40 years old): "Would you please hurry up!"
Lady #2(about 30 years old): "You are being a really big ______ right now"
Lady #1:"Just hurry the H up!"(and hits Lady #2 in the back of the head with a box)
Lady #2: Turns around and hits her with her box, then keeps walking
Lady #1: Throws her stuff down and runs up behind Lady #2 and starts punching her in the back
Lady #2: Turns around, throws punches, and starts pulling hair
Peace Maker Lady: "Ladies, you are better than that! Knock if off"
Lady #2: Storms off, cussing the entire time
Lady #1: Looks at Peace Maker Lady and says in a crying voice, "I didn't even do anything wrong, you don't understand"
ME: I walk away laughing my butt off at how ridiculous people are.

P.S. The picture above with myself, Hadly, and Jena, is at 3:00 A.M. on our way to Old Navy, please excuse our hair and no-make-up faces...This what you look like after too much turkey and red bull.

The Best Birthday Ever!

2009-11-21T16:43:00.000-08:00

So, I have to say that turning 24 was AWESOME!! I think that it is fate that my birthday fell on the day that New Moon came out. (the time leading up to new moon anyway) I went with Joelle and Rachel to Chili's (thanks for an awesome dinner guys!) And of course, had chocolate molten cake for dessert. We then waited in line with Rachel's Aunt, Mom and Sis and experienced a really awesome showing of New Moon. Thanks guys!!If anybody knows me, they know that I celebrate my birthday for a at least a week. So, today Hadly and Rylan went to New Moon with me AGAIN, and then on Sunday we will have family dinner.

I also got some really great presents...Rylan knows that Ed Hardy is my fav and he bought me the cutest things. I am so spoiled.

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday so awesome.

Aunt Lana

2009-11-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

So, this weekend my mom had this crazy idea to go to Wendover. She had already told my brother that she would watch his kids. So of course, Friday night at 7:00 p.m. she called and asked if I could watch the kids for her so she could go to Wendover. I told her I would. I like it when she can go and have fun, so I agreed. I started to put the kids down at 9:00 for bed. At 11:15 I finally had both of them asleep. Trey was teething a little bit, so we gave him some Tylenol (he is six months old) Braylon, who is four, fights his head when going to sleep. When he starts to fall asleep he wakes right back up in fear that he may miss out on something really interesting. I didn't care that it took that long to get them to bed, because I love them more than anything and I have so much fun with them. Trey decides to wake up at 3 a.m.....After four restless hours of me sleeping, I wake up instantly as he whines for his binki. Just because I went to sleep at 11:15 with the kids, doesn't mean I slept good. I don't know if anyone has ever slept with a four year old, but for some reason they think that they need to move around ALL NIGHT. He totally thought that the bottom of the bed was right in my side, because that is where his feet were all night long. So my sister-in-law told me that Trey might wake up, but just give him his binki and he will go back to sleep.
Right........How can I resist not picking up the cutest little boy ever! He was so happy when he woke up, just talking, making noises, and laughing. I picked him up, went into the other room and played peek-a-boo and sang to him until 3:30. I couldn't resist! Too much fun.....Anyways, after laying him back down he woke up at 6:00 for a bottle. I threw him in bed with me and fed him. He then fell asleep and both of them woke up about 7:30. I got them dressed, took them to Chick's to get a pancake (I fed Trey his baby food there, and he was such a good boy) and then we came home and took a nap! I have to say that I was really tired the next day, but it was all totally worth it! Besides hanging around in my pajamas and not even worrying about doing my hair or putting make-up on (as you can see in the pictures) I had fun!

I Love My Job!

2009-10-23T16:23:00.001-07:00

I came back to school just in time for red-ribbon week. We had red day, crazy hair day, and ROCKSTAR day. Then, on Friday we went on a Field Trip to Wasatch Mountain State Park. I have been taking it pretty easy this week,I just didn't want to run myself down..So I did a couple half-days and when we went on the field trip I didn't go on the hike. I really wanted to, but they said it was going to be a long one. I just have to say that I love my job....and as you can see I love the three other fourth grade teachers. We are best friends. :-) On rockstar day I played music ALL DAY. We sang and danced everywhere we went. Of course, we did sign autographs for each other too. I had one little boy tell me I was the "coolest teacher ever!" Thank goodness for my students, they keep me thinking I am cool....who cares if they are 9!

Surgery and Recovery

2009-10-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

The last month I have had the worst pains of my life. It actually has been going on for a year and a half, but for some reason the doctor would just give me prevacid and send me home. A few weeks ago, I had the worst stomach pains ever. They lasted for five days straight. I decided to go to the doctor and see if everything was OK. After a lot of tests were ran (numerous blood tests) They couldn't figure out what was wrong. My stomach was HUGE! It had started to swell underneath my ribs. It looked like I had golfballs all over on my stomach. This caused my lower stomach to swell too. It was very uncomfortable. So they decided to send me to Utah Valley Regional Hospital to get checked out. They performed a HIDA SCAN on me. That was very painful. They gave me some dye in an IV to see how I would react and the pain was so bad. I was crying so hard. I kept thinking to myself how big of a baby I was, but I couldn't handle it. I got a call from my doctor explaining that my gallbladder was not functioning properly. He then told me to go see a surgeon. I decided to get a surgeon who had done cancer surgeries on my grandma and my aunt. He also took out my cousin Jena's gallbladder. So, I made an appointment with him. He saw me on a Monday, and wanted me to come back the next morning because it was so swollen. The first doctor I had went to in the beginning had told me that my stomach was infected. Dr. Anderson (the surgeon) was very worried about the inflamation in my stomach and said that the bacteria had spread everywhere. He wanted to do surgery ASAP. I thought to myself, "Seriously? Tomorrow? What about my students? Getting a substitute? Parent-Teacher Conferences are this week!" I was very stressed. I was able to compromise with him and schedule for the next week. He decided that would probably be OK. I was in SO MUCH pain the week before. Parent-Teacher conferences weren't so fun. So last Monday night (October 12) The nurse called and told me to be at the hospital at 6:00 AM Tuesday morning.
I didn't sleep well the night before. The pain was getting worse and worse. My mom wanted to take me at 3:00 because I couldn't sleep. I decided that wasn't a good idea, all I wanted to do was lay there. So we headed toward Salt Lake at 5:00 AM, Tuesday October 13. When I get there they call me "1.1" because I am the first surgery of the day. I thought that was kind of funny. My mom was a little nervous, she wouldn't sit still. They put me in the hospital bed and put an IV in me. It really hurt...I HATE needles. The nurse couldn't find my vein so it was quite the ordeal. After she had injected me with the electrolytes she had me lay there while she prepped me for surgery. at approx. 8:00 AM the hospital had a "parade" is what the nurses called it. There were 16 patients headed upstairs to the surgery suites. They started rolling us down the hall and to the elevators. Once we got up to the surgery floor they just leave you in the hall until the doctor comes in. Another nurse comes and puts these leg things on my legs. The doctor then tells me in 20 seconds I will feel tired. They roll me into the surgery room and it was very cold. The room starts spinning..............and then BAM!!! I wake up and don't know what is going on. There is a nurse next to me on the phone saying, "I have patient 1.1 and she is starting to wake up, however one of her four incisions is bleeding more than usual.." I had no idea what was going on! I started crying instantly because of the pain I was feeling in my right side. She immediatly had the doctor come and they injected me with some hard core meds.
As I lay there crying, the nurses are all watching me...I felt really akward. I wanted to leave. They wouldn't let me. I had to stay there for a longer time because of the bleeding, but once they got it undercontrol they took me to another recovery room.
That's when all the fun began....I was very sick to my stomach, in pain, tired, and didn't have a clue what was going on. I kept telling everyone to just take me home, that I wanted to go home, but they wouldn't let me go! My brother Ty came in and visited me..He wasn't much help. He was checking out the nurses the entire time! He would make comments like, "You look like I do when I have a hangover.." "Do you feel drunk?"....SERIOUSLY TY!! I just had surgery :-)
After much debate, pain meds, crying, sickness, and dizziness I was released to come home. A couple days after coming home from the hospital I got really sick. I was throwing up and I felt weak and dizzy. I decided right then and there I was giving up. I was done! I don't know how I was going to do it, but I wanted to quit the recovery process. I have to say that today is DAY 6 of recovery. Still on pain meds, still taking stomach pills and haven't moved around much. All I want to do is feel 100% better and I want to feel it NOW!

Everyone has been great to help me! I appreciate all of the people in my life for loving me ALL the time. Even when I am entirely helpless.

My Life the Last Month

2009-10-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

September has been a crazy month! I am sure October will be just as crazy too! But, I decided to take time to blog. I took some pictures of the final results of my classroom last week when I put up the fall decorations. I really like to decorate. That doesn't mean I am good at it, I just like to do it. Here is a picture of the corral that is in my classroom. My kids love it! They think it is so fun to go in the corral to read and get a book. They LOVE opening the gate and closing it. I decided that whatever makes them want to go get a book---I am for it! However, they see the corral as a reward, I see it as a pen that holds animals (haha) because that is what the kids act like sometimes :-) As long as they keep wanting to read, I will keep the corral in my classroom!

First Day Jitters

2009-09-01T17:39:00.001-07:00

I know many people don't "blog" in the summer. (or maybe I am just using that as a lame excuse because I only get one comment on each post...) However, I still try to keep up because this is my journal. I don't write in a journal, and I probably should, but I figure this is good enough... So here goes another journal entry!
As I read this book to my class, First Day Jitters, I realized that something must be wrong with me. I don't know if it is because I am so used to taking a new class under my wing and putting all of the responsibility on myself, or what! All I know is that this was the easiest first day of school! Although I never got to any "core" instruction, my class can line up (even in lunch line order) They can sit quietly, walk down the halls, and listen to me when I speak. What happened to the days when teachers didn't have to review the rules because students were just expected to KNOW the rules and abide by them? A lot has changed over the years (since I have gone to school anyway) But all-in-all I feel pretty good about my first day of school. For some reason I slept all night, I wasn't frantic or stressed when the bell rang, and I didn't even get butterflies in my stomach! I wonder if something is wrong with me? Maybe I just feel like one of the kids (haha). Last night I heard a student tell his mom, "Mom? Is she really our teacher? She doesn't look old enough!" OLD ENOUGH!! Excuse me, I am 24 Years old :-)
All I know is that I LOVE my job. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else right now but this, so here is to an awesome year! Thanks to all of you who have helped me get ready all summer...My classroom looks awesome! I will post the final pictures sometime this week (OK, maybe next!)

Fun in Philly!!

2009-08-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

So I had the best oppurtunity ever to go to philadelphia for a teacher conference. We were there for five days and we had a blast! I am so lucky to be part of a great faculty. The people are awesome and we had so much fun. We learned some really great things while we were there... (like when you eat 3 philly cheese steaks in one day you will probably gain ten pounds, which I did!) But we learned lots of great ideas to use this year in the classroom. It was very motivating to go there and hear all of the ideas. I can't wait to start using them! Here are some pictures of some of the fun things that we did! We did some touring around Philly to some of the most interesting American History sites. We went to Ben Franklin's house, Independence Hall, and we were able to see where the Declaration of Independence was signed! We were rudely interuppted one of the nights by the New England Patriots. Apparantly, they are a big deal or something. We were just walking down the street minding our own business when the cops stopped us. I thought we had committed a crime! They made us stay clear of the road and stop and let the football players off the bus. (that explains the random pictures of football players that you see) Anyways, after the "important people" got in their hotel, we were on out way to a great Italian restraunt to celebrate Mr. Campbell's birthday! It was a four-course meal that was AMAZING!!! We also took a night tour on the buses that are two levels (way fun!) we spent a lot of time eating cheesesteaks. We took a taxi to another side of town just to eat at GENO's.. the best cheesesteaks around! We spent a lot of time also at the Reading Market. It was so fun! They had all kinds of food and CANDY!! We visted lots of parks (to give our feet a rest) and did TONZ of shopping! Coming home was kind of stressfull.. The subway broke down and we had to wait an extra half hour for another one to come and get us. (we were already running late for our flight) But after lots of sweat, tears, and no make-up.. we made it to the airport and caught our flight home!

I need your help!!

2009-07-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

So, I have decided to go with a wild west theme for my classroom this year. In fourth grade, a lot of Utah history and social studies is taught, so I figured with a "cowboy"-type theme I could tie it in to the pioneers,indians, and the people that settled the west. I have a few different ideas, but if any of you have cute suggestions/decorations let me know! I have come up with a few.. but I need lots more! I am going to have "chuckwagon choices" for their choice in hot or cold lunch for the day. (which will be posted on a bulliten board in the front of the room) I am working on making a corral for the back of the room that surrounds my classroom library. I think I will call it the "reading ranch" or something like that... I also have a border that I will put around the walls on the ceilings of my room...What I really need help with is decorating the outside of my door..I want it to be very catchy and cute! PLEASE HELP WITH ANY IDEAS THAT YOU HAVE!! Thanks guys!

Havin' Some Fun!

2009-07-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

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July has been pretty fun... We have a BBQ at grandma's every Sunday. That is ALWAYS fun! All of the grandkids like to play horse-shoes and sometimes we like to play baseball. On this particular day, my cousin Demi was my BEST FRIEND. Now, this usually never happens. Demi doesn't like anyone to talk to her or sit by her or anything when we are at grandma's. For some reason, this day was different. She LOVED me! She kept wanting to take pictures and hang out with me. She kept calling me "Mary-Kate" and she was "Ashley" from the Olsen twins. She is such a cute girl and I love hanging out with her! The very next day we went on a trail ride! This is a picture of me and my horse by the pond, it was a very pretty ride! My grandma goes every Monday with my Aunt Susan and Shirley...This was the first Monday I was able to go... My grandma is awesome! She got off her horse like it was no big deal after our 4 hour ride....I however couldn't even get off my horse because I was so sore. Something is wrong with that! She is 70 and I am 23!! I hope I can do the things that she does when I am her age :-)

Crazy Few Weeks!

2009-06-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

I decided to blog today.. something I haven't done for awhile for the fact that I have really had nothing "blog-worthy". Although I feel like I haven't had anything great to blog about, I look back at the pictures I have taken over the last few weeks and realize it has been kinda crazy!! So here is a few photos to play catch-up! I have been enjoying myself going to my Braylon's baseball games, taking a trip to Jackson Hole, and the best part MY NEW CLASSROOM (and lots of planning for next year)YAY!!! I can't wait to start setting things up for the school year!

A New Addition to the Family

2009-05-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Look at this cute present Rylan got for me! She is so stinkin' cute!! I love her so much and I am so glad that I got her! Since Molly died, our house has been so lonely. This is Belle. She is a registered Corgi and is the cutest thing I have ever seen. She loves to play and is always so content. I am very excited to have her!

I Got a Job!!!

2009-05-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

I wish I would have had time to post this as soon as I found out yesterday, but I was kind of waiting for the part where they told me they were just kidding! But they aren't! I got a job at Heber Valley Elementary! I can't believe that I went up against some of the most incredible teachers in this valley and the surrounding areas. I cried and cried all last week because I thought I did terrible in my interview. I am at Midway Elementary right now teaching a second grade class, and I don't know who was more happier that I got a job next year.. me... or the kids.... I have been leaving early some days the last couple weeks to attend these interviews and they were getting sick of it. The kids are glad that I got a job. They all stood up and clapped for me! I am so thankful that there is one school in this district that had a couple openings and that I got one of them. I can't believe it!There were a couple hundred applicants and numerous interviews, and they chose ME to be a part of their staff. I have a great team of teachers that I will be working with and I am so eager to get comfortable!

Bitter Sweet

2009-05-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

So, I never thought I would actually do it! It is crazy for me to think that I actually MADE it through college. Who would have known? I have many mixed emotions right now.. most of which are happy! I am a big goal-setter, and I have to admit this was never a "goal" of mine. I sometimes tend to give up on things that I do in life. I get bored, and I always need a change. However, I think school was different for me. It was a constant change. Whether the change was good, or bad, nothing was ever completely the same as before. For example, classes changed every semester, the classrooms I would do work and student teaching in changed, and I honestly think that is why I stayed. I love teaching little kids. I want to change somebody's life the way that mine was changed in elementary school. I want kids to LOVE school and realize that there is a connection to the real-world and we really do go to school to survive! Thanks to all of my friends and family who helped me through, and of course, THE FAB 5..... We rock. Thanks for the awesome memories. I can't wait to see what the future holds! Graduation was amazing and I will never forget it. Chills ran through my whole body while I listened to President Monson speak, and I couldn't believe that I was there to see him in person, and that he came to speak to us. I feel so lucky! It is a day that I will never forget!

Lanaology

2009-04-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your namefollowed by "ology".

***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice?*the dressing from Claim Jumper
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?*Everyone knows that it is Don Pedro's!
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?*Pizza
What are your pizza toppings of choice?*cheese, cheese, and cheese
What do you like to put on your toast?*peanut butter

***********TECHNOLOGY***************
How many televisions are in your house?*Seven.. it is insaine around here!
What color is your cell phone?*Berry

***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed?*right
Have you ever had anything removed from your body?*Everytime I get the flu!
What was the last heavy item you lifted?*My laptop
Have you ever been knocked unconscious?*Yes. I gave blood one time, passed out at dairy keen, was hauled off in the ambluance on a stretcher, and didn't wake up until during the catscan!

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?*Yes. Then I would eat anything I wanted, spend all of the money I have (which is not much) and not work-out.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to?*Something that doesn't mean butt-hole backwards!
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?*Maybe a million?

************DUMBOLOGY******************
How many pairs of flip flops do you own?* probably about ten! They are only like three bucks at old navy, the more the merrier!
Last time you had a run-in with the cops?* A month ago, I was speeding, I cried, and I didn't get a ticket. I was going twenty over.. oops!
Last person you talked to?*Hadly Jo
Last person you hugged?*My sweet baby nephew

**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Season?*Summer... I love a good tan!
Holiday?*Christmas
Day of the week?*Sunday. Lazy day, and eat all day!
Month?*December

***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
Missing someone?*my dog Molly, she died a couple weeks ago :-(
Mood?*Exhausted.. if that is a mood?
What are you listening to?*Miley Cyrus.. don't judge me
Watching?*Entertainment Tonight
Worrying about?*My busy day tomorrow

***************RANDOMOLOGY*****************
First place you went this morning?*Main Street Station
What's the last movie you saw?*Slumdog Millionaire, I loved it!
Do you smile often?*If there isn't anything in my teeth
Sleeping Alone Tonight?*If my cat Sam counts, then no!

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************
Do you always answer your phone?*No. I am bad!
Its four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?*Rylan, telling me that he can't sleep and seeing if I am awake.
If you could change your eye color what would it be?*I do have to say that I am blessed with my dad's blue eyes. I wouldn't change them for the world.
What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?*Cherry Lime-ade for sure!
Do you own a digital camera?*yes.. random question?
Do you have a pet fish?*No, I have a hard time keeping my goats alive!
Favorite Christmas song(s)*Song for a Winter's Night.
What's on your wish list for your birthday?*Considering it is in November....Not sure
Can you do push ups?*Yes, but not willingly
Can you do a chin up?*Probably, but I don't want to find out
Does the future make you more nervous or excited?*Both
Do you have any saved texts?*No
Ever been in a car wreck?*No. Knock on wood
Do you have an accent?*NO
What is the last song to make you cry?*God Be With You Til We Meet Again.
Plans tonight?*American Idol, Bath, Real World/Road Rules Challenge.
Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?*Not yet...
Name 3 things you bought yesterday.*surprisingly nothing.
Have you ever been given roses?*Yes!
Current worry?*Who is going to get voted off American Idol
Current hate right now?* My body!
Met someone who changed your life?* Not recently.
How will you bring in the New Year?*Considering it is so far away... probably Rylan and the family!
What song represents you?* When I Grow Up.. because I think it would be fun to be a star!
Name three people who might complete this?*? Jennifer, Rachel, Jena/Sara
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?*No. I am too excited for the future, and I wouldn't want to change anything that would change my future!
Do you have any tattoos/piercings?*Piercings. Ears.
Will you be in a relationship 4 months from now?*Of course!
Would you be a pirate?*Nope
What songs do you sing in the shower?*Whatever is playing on my ipod.
Ever had someone sing to you?*Yes.
When did you last cry?*Last Thursday, at a funeral.
Are you afraid of being alone?*No
Do you like to cuddle?*Depends. If I am hot then no.
Have you held hands with anyone today?*Yes. A little Kindergartner was lost and wanted me to take her back to her class.
Who was the last person you took a picture of?*Trey
What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school?* George Strait. He was my fav!
Do you believe in staying close with your ex?*No!!!
Are most of the friends in your life new or old?*Half and Half.
Do you like pulpy orange juice?*Heck yes!!
What is something your friends make fun of you for?*If you asked Jennifer it would be too much online shopping for Ed Hardy, if you asked Ty he would make fun of me for complaining about how much I have to do today.

I tag Sara, Jena, Jennifer, Sierra, Rachel, and anyone else!

Trey Kenneth Bingham

2009-04-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

We have a new baby in our family!! Trey was born at 9:12 a.m. on April 16th. He weighed 8lbs 3oz and was 20 inches long! He is so adorible. We couldn't wait for another baby in our family. However, I think Braylon is starting to feel a little jealous, but I think he will grow out of it!

Britney....

2009-04-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

I had the best oppurtunity ever! I was able to go to Britney Spears, and it was amazing! She ALWAYS puts on a good show. This was the second time I saw her and I loved every minute of it. She was there with the Pussycat Dolls, and they were awesome too! I had so much fun, and it was much needed. Thanks to Raegan and Lacy, it was a great night!!

Rodeo In Heber!!

2009-03-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Me and Dusty at the College National Finals Rodeo last year

Hey all you crazy bloggers....UVU is hosting the college rodeo this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night at the Wasatch County Events Center. It starts at 7:00 Thursday and Friday and 5:00 on Saturday. It will be lots of fun! So if any of you are bored this weekend and want to come, leave a comment and I will get you some tickets. Bring the whole family! We are just trying to get people there! It is one of my last college rodeos and it is so crazy to me how time has flown by! However, I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Spring?

2009-03-18T17:26:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness.. What a nice week! It started off on Saturday when we went to the Lane Frost Challenge bull riding. That was so fun! I was able to see my friend Mikelle and her little girl Maclee, who by the way, is so adorible! I also got to help babysit twins.. and that was fun! I was surrounded by babies and I loved every minute of it. Saturday was so nice, and I was able to go play outside with Braylon. He loves it when I can go outside and play with him. Tuesday I got to spend time with the girls. We had a blast! It was nice taking a break from school. I really needed it. Plus, it was St. Patrick's Day, so the substitue got to manage the kids. (they tend to get a little crazy on holidays.) I can just see it now... They were probably fighting over who was wearing green and who wasn't, and they were probably trying to pinch each other all day long! I am glad the sub was there and not me! I feel very blessed to have such good friends like Rachel, Joelle, Lorie, and Jennifer. They are so good to me. We have been through some really stressful times together and I appreciate all they have done for me! It is so fun when it is just the girls. (by the way Jennifer, we missed you lots!)

Vegas was awesome!

2009-03-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

So, things have been so crazy I haven't even had time to post. I went to Vegas a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome! I wish I could have stayed longer, but planning for a substitute for my class takes WAY too much time! :-) I figured I could sacrafice a day or two in Vegas and just make it a weekend trip. Less stress that way....Anyways, it was a blast. We went there for my sister's cheerleading nationals. They looked so cute and it was so nice. We stayed at Treasure Island and had VIP services ALL WEEKEND (we got to cut in line at the buffet!) It was a well-needed trip. I am so glad we went and I can't wait to go back. I really like Vegas. We did so many fun things in those short days. Thanks to "the girls" for making it fun!

Wow! Crazy Few Weeks!

2009-02-15T17:49:00.001-08:00

What can I say, I haven't even had time to blog! I figured it was time to post, because I have had a really crazy past few weeks. I love my class to death, I really do, but they got me terribly SICK. So I pretty much puked my guts out three times before I finally left school to go home. (I was determined I wasn't sick, and I wanted to stay!) Sure enough, I get home, and I am sick the rest of the night. This was not the way I wanted to start out my three-day weekend. So after lots of rest and care (thanks to my Rylan and my sweet family) I was ready to get going in no-time, or so I thought... I thought I felt good enough to go to Chuck E. Cheese's to my nephew's birthday. I lasted there about a half-hour and I had to go home! It was cute to see him, and I did get some pictures. So off to bed I went... STILL SICK!!! There was a Barrel Race on Saturday and I really wanted to go, so I did. I am glad I did, because I took 2nd! So that was nice. Then Rylan and I decided to spend our Valentine's at the State Wrestles. Random, I know! I haven't been there in 5 years! The last time I was there, I was on the mat cheering!! But, my brother's nephew from Cedar City was in the finals, so we went and supported the fam! I still felt kind of sick, so we came home and hung out with Ty and my family on Valentine's Day. It was way fun.... I love to stay home, order pizza, and watch a movie. (plus, I was asleep by nine...which is like the best thing ever!) So, now I want to say thanks to everyone who put up with me the last few days. First of all Rylan, for bringing me sprite, vitamin water, ginger ale, gatorade, crackers (much needed) Ty... for making fun of me the whole time and telling me "that's what you get for teaching kids!" (come to find out, Austin,Rylan's brother-in-law, his neice, his step-mom, and RYLAN had the flu last weekend, that would have been nice to know....)My mom for feeling bad for me at midnight when I was crouched over the toilet, Hadly for being so glad it was me and not her... Grandma Nancy for helping me at the barrel race, and everyone who came to watch me at the barrel race. This weekend was nuts, but it is Sunday night and I am finally feeling good again!

Washington

2009-01-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

So, I decided I have a pretty good life. I get to go to so many new places all of the time. For the last few years anyway. The last few weeks I have really appreciated the "vacations" I get to take. I have come to the conclusion that I don't take enough pictures and I don't soak up every moment. I want to become more "touristy" when I visit all of these wonderful places, because for all I know I may never get to go back. So this weekend we went to Spokane, Washington. Rylan was entered in a PBR there. He did awesome. The crowd went crazy when he rode, and the judges thought he did well too! So that was neat....But I was quite disappointed in the people there. Whenever I would ask somebody about Forks, they looked at me like I was crazy. Then I would tell them, "You know, in the book Twilight" nobody knew what I was talking about.
I wish I had taken some more pictures. Especially of the trees, they were just like the ones in the movie (You are thinking, duh! Lana the movie was made in Washington!) But it was really cool because those big trees are EVERYWHERE!! It took me back to the moment when Edward and Bella are standing up in the very top of the tree. (I am not obsessed... ok, just a little) Anyways, back to the trip...All-in-all it was fun. It was cold, but it is always interesting to see new places. Here are some random pictures I took. Please excuse the no-make-up or hair thing, I like to travel comfy. Oh yeah.. Next stop El Paso, Texas.

New Orleans/Biloxi

2009-01-05T16:56:00.000-08:00

I had the oppurtunity to go on a well deserved vacation. It was much needed. It was a really great trip. The temperatures were in the high seventies, I won $375 gambling, (an addiction I will never get over)we went to a CBR in Biloxi that Rylan was entered in, which was so much fun, and UTAH won! It was so much fun telling people we were from Utah, because they were mostly Alabama fans. We went to the beach, which I could live at forever, and we stayed at one of the nicest places I have ever been in my life. It was only four days, but it was the funnest four days I have had in a really long time!

Farewell

2008-12-30T07:50:00.001-08:00

So, anyone that knows me knows that our family is super-close! Dexter leaves Jan. 7 for the MTC. All of us cousins have been so close since we were litte. I will really miss Dexter always being at my house. Whenever I would come home from work or school I would usually find him on my couch asleep with a coke in his hand and the remote.He has been a huge part of our whole familys' life. We will miss him so much but we are so proud of him!Here is a slideshow of the farewell luncheon!

The Best Christmas Ever!

2008-12-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

So, every year I don't think Christmas can get any better, but this year it was! Thanks to my family, they make it the best! Not just my bros and sisters, or my mom, but my WHOLE family, cousins, aunts, uncles, and everyone makes Christmas amazing!Here are a few pictures of us Christmas Eve, at the cemetery lighting candles for the people we love who aren't with us on Christmas.This is our last Christmas with Dexter for a couple years since he will leave for his mission in Canada in a couple week, so it was extra special!

First Cheer Comp!

2008-12-16T16:24:00.000-08:00

So Saturday was the first competition of the season! The girls took first! It was a fun day... although the whole snowy-day thing didn't go over so well, it was still a great day!

Four Christmases

2008-12-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

So... the other night we went and saw Four Christmases. It was amazing!It was so funny. Even the previews were funny. We went with Jennifer and Griff and Heath and Kellie. We had an awesome dinner at Tepanyaki and then went to the movies. Thanks you guys, it was great!I highly recommend this movie to anyone!

Gingerbread Houses!

2008-12-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

So, we decided to make home-made gingerbread houses. I wish I could say these were one of the kids' houses, but it's not.. this is mine. And the sad part of this story is that it took me two hours to make these two houses. I am so not creative, nor do I have the patience to do stuff like this. The house was a mess, my dog had sticky candy stuck to her all day, and all the kids ate the candy the whole time! It was fun seeing everyone elses, but I was depressed when I put mine next to the other ones.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

So, Thanksgiving was awesome!! We ate lots of food and played cards. There was SOME family drama, but that is nothing new with my family! I love them and we had fun! After our card game me, my mom, Jena, and Hadly decided to drive to Provo at midnight and sleep in the car. (that explains the scary pictures with none of us wearing make-up and our hair is NOT done at all!) We "slept" in the car at circuit city. Needless to say it was probably one of the funnest things I have ever done! We had a blast!

Tag!

2008-11-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

Rachel tagged me, and I thought this would be fun...

TV Shows I Love to Watch: (only 8? I have a ton more than that!)
1. The Hills
2. Friday Night Lights
3. 90210
4. Desperate Housewives
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Reba
7. Real World/Road Rules Challenge
8. The Girls Next Door

Things that Happened Today:
1. It was early-out day and I didn't get to finish my Math lesson.
2. It rained!
3. I went to the indoor arena to see when I could ride
4. I ate Taco Time.
5. I woke up early (unusual)
6. I complained ALL DAY (my Math professor is to thank for that)
7. I fed Buster and the goats (twice already)
8. I blogged...(should be doing homework, But..)

Favorite Places to Eat:
1. Chili's
2. Cafe Rio
3. Dairy Keen
4. Don Pedro's(I love it)
5. Olive Garden
6. Claim Jumper
7. Bajio
8. Applebee's

Adventurous Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Marriage
2. Traveling around the world. (I WILL do it one day!)
3. Living in a Mansion
4. Having babies!
5. GRADUATION!! (adventurous for me, right?)
6. Retiring
7. Winning the college finals
8. Growing Old! :-)

Things on my Wishlist's:
1. A great library (for my classroom)
2. A million dollars.
3. Lots of good horses
4. exemption from ALL college work until Graduation
5. A Mansion with a swimming pool
6. A private jet.
7. My future family to be healthy
8. Lots of fun vacations

Stockings

2008-11-08T17:22:00.001-08:00

So my mom's friend at work, Lynsee, made these stockings with her family. She told my mom how to do it and we have made that our little project the last couple of weekends. The picture with all of the stockings is the whole families. The top left is Ty's, the middle one is my mom's, the end one is an extra. The bottom row far left is Hadly Jo's, the middle one is mine and the one on the end is Rylan's. Then here is just a picture of mine and Rylan's. It was fun!

Braylon

2008-11-08T17:18:00.000-08:00

So.. I thought I had better take the time to blog about my favorite (and only) nephew, Braylon. He loves having sleepovers at the house. He gets all of his toys out and scatters them everywhere. Of course, he NEVER gets in trouble. He is the cutset thing ever. He is pooped here in this picture as you can see, passed out surrounded by his toys!

Halloween

2008-10-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

So, our family is so lame. We don't even have any "kids" in our family. My nephew that lives in Heber went to Cedar City for the weekend.. But we still wanted to dress up. My sister thinks she is Hannah Montana, my mom is wearing the pirate costume, my brother thinks he is some "sexy stud" and who knows what I am. Oh well, at least we have fun?

Halloween

2008-10-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Rachel posted this same picture on her blog, but it is too cute to not put it on mine either! We have way too much fun at school. It is off to teaching we go! I will miss you guys so much, but thanks to Jennifer and her little one we will have an excuse to see each other. (other than just study groups for the praxis!) I love you guys and let's stay in touch lots!!!

I NEEDED A CHANGE...

2008-10-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

So, I had a wild hair up my butt on Friday and decided to go car shopping. With the economy the way that it is, if you have REALLY good credit and get a loan, I hear buying a car wouldn't be stupid because car dealerships are willing to MAKE GOOD DEALS if you can get approved. That was true! I got a great deal on a car (I am paying less for this than I did my civic). He knocked off $5,000.00 from the original price! WHOA! I couldn't help but get it. I needed something that was bigger, and safer.. and that is what I got!!

I love Rosalie!

2008-10-21T18:40:00.001-07:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!
You are straightforward, tenacious, and beautiful, but unfortunately aware of it. You are
attention loving, and people easily flock to you, but deep down you are mistrustful of
people in general. You can be judgmental and thoughtless, but you love deeply and are
extremely protective of those that you hold dear.

Another quiz

2008-10-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

So, I was totally just doing this quiz for fun because I saw it on Rachel's blog. I am terribly bored sitting in class right now, so I was just doing it for fun. I wasn't really going to post it until I saw my results. I had to laugh and post this. Don't be surprised if I post one or two quizzes a day. I can't get enough of them. Rachel is probably the only person in the world that looks at my blog anyway, so these are for you Rach!!

Your Love Life is Like Pretty Woman

"I want the fairy tale"

You believe that love is truly blind, unpredictable, and surprising. Two very different people can easily find true love.

At least, that is how it will happen when you marry a gorgeous billionaire someday ;-)

Your love style: Sensual and flirty

Your Hollywood Ending Will Be: Surprisingly happy

What Movie Is Your Love Life Like?

Who is your celebrity twin?

2008-09-30T14:30:00.001-07:00

Your Result is: Kate Hudson

Your ideal life is that of a Bohemian beach bum. You're the quintessential fun girl - the one all the guys want to hang out with for her natural beauty and laid-back attitude.

Take Who is your celebrity twin?

I was interested to see who I would vote for!

2008-09-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Your Issue Profile: 52% Obama, 48% McCain

Truth be told, you're not really satisfied with either of the candidates.

You could vote for either of them. You are the typical coveted swing voter.

You may want to narrow yourself down to a particular set of issues in order to pick your president.

Or start looking at third party candidates. One of them might suit you better.

Should You Vote for Obama or McCain?

Buster and the Buggy!

2008-09-22T09:51:00.001-07:00

So.. when we got home from the mountains we decided that wasn't enough fun, so we got Buster out! Buster is Rylan's miniture pony that he brought up to my house for my nephew. Buster bucks everyone off and has a mind of his own. He is a stud horse and thinks that he is hot stuff around the neighborhood. As we went down the road every horse in Center Creek was going crazy when Buster came by. We blew a tire down by the Sweat's house and luckily we made it back home ok. He is the most stubborn horse ever. With his attitude you would think he thought he was ten feet taller than he really is. He is a little stinker... We had fun though!

Fall is here!

2008-09-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

The trees on our ride were so pretty. It has been such a long time since I have been up in the mountains. I decided to take lots of pictures because I am pretty sure I won't make it up there again for a really long time. The leaves were pretty. It was a cold day, but it turned out just fine because my mom brought lots of blankets for us! I even got to shoot the gun a few times. I like to shoot, I just never have any time to do it.

"Ugly had fun"

2008-09-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yes... even Ugly had fun on our Sunday outing. Rylan's dogs' name is UGLY. Most of you probably find this very interesting as I do... But he is named after his dad (I think). He loves to jump high and play!

My mom's idea of "family time"

2008-09-22T09:22:00.001-07:00

So.. What a fun day. My mom had this great idea that we should do something as a family. Considering, this is not even close to being all my family and basically it was just my mom, me, Hadly, Rylan, and Ty. After church we went to one stop, got some chicken and potatoe logs, loaded up the truck (some of us sat in back) and had a redneck experience. We drove up Center Creek, over the mountain and cam down through Lake Creek. We were gone about four hours. I have to say.. this was a lot funner than some of her crazy ideas. I like how she tries to do "family time" when her oldest is 30 and her youngest is 14, and she expects us all to be there when we do these little outings. I remember doing family stuff when we were little, but we haven't done anything like this for a long time. It was fun, I found myself constantly laughing at us in the back of the truck with blankets on... Oh well.. It made mom happy!

What Character Are You?

2008-09-11T10:44:00.001-07:00

Me and Hadly Jo!

2008-07-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture we took of the fireworks in Kamas. The last week has been so much fun! I went to so many rodeos and I loved it! The only thing that sucked was waking up early every morning for work- but it wasn't too bad! So I want you guys to check out the jewelry box in the picture with me and Hadly Jo. (top right corner) This is in my mom's room, I had to laugh because how 1980's is she? :-)

24th of July Fun!

2008-07-27T18:30:00.001-07:00

Rylan was really hot this day. We have a pool in our backyard-it isn't very big but it was so hot we couldn't stand not to get in it. Braylon won't ever put his swimming shorts on, he likes to swim in his spiderman underwear and cowboy hat. I guess Rylan thought we were doing some hardcore swimming with those goggles?

Goin to the rodeo!

2008-07-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

We decided to hit up the Kamas Fiesta Days rodeo. Rylan won the bull wars, and a saddle-which he gave to me :-) Hadly and my mom and braylon and everyone decided to go! It was a family event-we had a blast!

2008-07-15T14:32:00.001-07:00

Here is me and my horse Shay, who is like my little baby. This was just over a month ago at a rodeo we went to before I left for Casper. I am wearing a coat and this was just a little over a month ago. Something is wrong with that! She is 21, and is getting up there in her old age. But I love her and she is still going strong! I hope she lives forever! :-)

Baby Davin and Me!

2008-07-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

While I was away, Sierra had her baby! How exciting! He is so adorible. I loved going to see her and Steve. They are the cutest ever! Davin is so cute. I was around him quite a bit the first week that I was back, and he never cried once! I am so happy for Steve and Sierra. I can't wait to start a family one day. (don't get your hopes up guys--I won't even start thinking about having kids until I am like 28 or 29!) Anyways, it is so fun having friends that have babies. I love to hold Davin and visit Steve and Sierra!

Update

2008-07-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

So.. Many changes are being made on my blog because I felt like it was time! I have been away for so long going to rodeos that I haven't been able to post. I will be able to post more now that I will be around more. I just wanted to start fresh, so my page will probably be boring for a little while. The College Finals went great! I won a $2,500.00 scholarship. It was the Shane Drury Scholarship. To read more about Shane and the scholarship, go to www.shanedrury.net. He battled cancer and died just a couple years ago. It was an emotional presentation when I recieved it, but well worth it! I am so grateful for people who support college rodeo kids. All in all- Casper was ok! I floated the river and hung out with my family most of the time. Now that I am home I will be going to lots of rodeos trying to get ready for the college season to start up agian in September. I am going to have to work my butt off this fall, because I know next Spring I will be so busy student teaching I won't have as much time to get practice in for the Spring rodeos, but it will be well worth it! I can't believe it is my last year in college rodeo. I don't know what I will do with myself when I start teaching! :-)

Lana

Girls' Weekend

the wedding 5-19-11

and so it begins...

Wedding, St. Patrick's Day, Crafts

my inspiration......

Happy Holidays!

Finally!

the story of my life...

Wedding & Then Engagement

So Proud!

What My Summer Consisted Of....

Boston

Allergies and Eclipse

Mustache May is Finally Over!!

The End of Spring Break..and so much more!!

Spring Break Day 3

Spring Break Day 1 and 2

Easter in the Snow

Pet Day!

Some Fun in the Sun

Field Trip!!

Christmas 2009

Pioneer Christmas

Never Too Old..

Rendezvous, Thanksgiving AND Black Friday

The Best Birthday Ever!

Aunt Lana

I Love My Job!

Surgery and Recovery

My Life the Last Month

First Day Jitters

Fun in Philly!!

I need your help!!

Havin' Some Fun!

Crazy Few Weeks!

A New Addition to the Family

I Got a Job!!!

Bitter Sweet

Lanaology

Trey Kenneth Bingham

Britney....

Rodeo In Heber!!

Spring?

Vegas was awesome!

Wow! Crazy Few Weeks!

Washington

New Orleans/Biloxi

*Farewell*

The Best Christmas Ever!

First Cheer Comp!

Four Christmases

Gingerbread Houses!

*Thanksgiving*

Tag!

*Stockings*

*Braylon*

Halloween

Halloween

I NEEDED A CHANGE...

I love Rosalie!

Another quiz

Who is your celebrity twin?

I was interested to see who I would vote for!

Buster and the Buggy!

Fall is here!

"Ugly had fun"

My mom's idea of "family time"

What Character Are You?

Me and Hadly Jo!

24th of July Fun!

Goin to the rodeo!

*Baby Davin and Me!*

*Update*

Farewell

Thanksgiving

Stockings

Braylon

Baby Davin and Me!

Update