oh the memories

Yesterday was my last day working at Brick Oven. After working there for over 3 years, I went to work that day with mixed feelings. 

After working at the same place for over 3 years, I've seen a lot of people come and go. Yesterday, it was finally my turn to go. There are a lot of things I will miss, like getting to work with my husband, my team lead discount, the many guests who touched my heart with their generous tips and words of encouragement, the cute babies that grab things out of my apron pocket, the BYU football game rushes, the babies crying from seeing Cosmo, the 25 cent sampler pizza. But the thing I will miss the most are the people I worked with-the friends that I made. I have so many fond memories at Brick Oven (most of which include Ammon)

Megan & Me

I won BYU football tickets from a contest at Brick Oven

Bowling for a Brick Oven Christmas party

An old school picture of Ammon & Me in 2012

Halloween 2012

Karioke

Halloween 2013. Lexi & Angela

Melinda as Mary Poppins

Taylor as Evil Minion

Nick

Austin and Ammon

Ammon and Matt

My manager as the "Gingerbread man"

Brianna and her husband as Adventure Time!

Me :)

Ammon and I won these for having the best costumes!

"Mug shots" with one of my favorite Monday night teams.

Serving my cousin, Bryen, before he left on his mission.

Ammon's last day (or so we thought... he came back) :)

Putting in my 2 weeks with Brianna

Here is how my last day went: 

My sweet managers, Cassi & Leah got me these. Then, to give it to me, they gathered a bunch of servers and announced my last day. It made me so happy! :)

My last table left me this. :) So sweet of them! 

I served Ammon, Nephi, Shad, & Whitney

And then Brianna & I got pied big time! Tonya and Jenny did a great job!

I love this girl so much!!

Do you see Brianna back there? haha!

Last time clocking out. Last time slip.

It was the best last day I could have asked for. Brick Oven took good care of me while I was there, but I am excited to be moving on. I don't plan on going back. The only thing that would bring me back next summer, is if I'm not a mom by then. But I really hope that doesn't happen, if you know what I mean. Wink, wink. :)

my wakeboarding accident

I keep wanting to tell people that I was in a wakeboarding accident, but that makes it sound a lot worse than it was.But I got your attention, right? And now that I have your attention, here's the story:

On Tuesday night, Ammon and I spent the evening boating with our good friends Shad & Whitney. They were so kind to invite us. Mark & Rachelle came too. I hadn't wakeboarded in years so my heart was pounding as I sat in the water, board strapped to my feet, rope in my hands, and just hoping that my body would remember how to get up. I hesitantly yelled, "READY!" and before I knew it, I as up! I was so glad it didn't take me more than 10 tries to get up, like it did my first time. However, the board I was using was really big and it was difficult staying up. So after three attempts of getting up and then sort-of crashing, I was done for the night. So far so good. But then...

The next day we all woke up super early and hit the water. Like, before 7:00 a.m. early. This time, it was just Shad, Ammon, Whitney and I. Ammon went first. Then Shad. Then Whitney. Then we dropped off Whitney at the dock because she had to leave early. Then it was my turn. The sun was officially above the clouds so I had no excuse for not getting in. Once I was in, the water felt nice. It was just getting out of the water that felt cold.

This time, I was using a smaller board, and after I realized that I needed to lean back and not forward, I was cruising! I was getting in and out of the wake no problem! After a couple really good runs, I told Shad, "One more" with a smile on my face. My body was aching, but I knew I might not get to wake board for a long time. Also, if you've wakeboarded before, then you know that after you figure out how to get in and out of the wake, the next step is to attempt jumping. So that's um... exactly what I tried to do. Notice I said try...

Here's what happened:
I was outside the wake on the right side feeling good. After gaining confidence (or should I say arrogance?) I veered left and caught a little bit of air. However, when I landed, instead of landing on my heels, I landed on my toes. The SECOND I hit the water, I shot forward and face planted it HARD. The first sensation I felt was that feeling of almost passing out. In that moment, I thought of two things. I thought I really hope I don't black out. And it's okay if I black out because I have this life jacket. But luckily I didn't pass out! The next sensation was my tangled feet. So I untangled them and that's when the pain hit me! My face felt like it had smashed against concrete. I was relieved because I knew that I would be okay, but I wasn't so sure about my face. I was certain that my face was flat as a pancake. Due to the pain and shock, I just laid there, facing the sky, groaning. That's when Shad and Ammon appeared. They asked if I was okay. I don't remember what I told them, but I remember saying something about my face. They reassured me by saying it looked fine. That was a relief! I started to believe them, because the more that I talked to them, the more the pain started fading. I could feel my face again! My face felt like a face! I slowly unstrapped myself from the board, swam back to the boat, and climbed in.

After getting in the boat, I wrapped myself in a towel and started laughing about it all. I also kept saying how fun it was! (Not the pain of course, but just being out there in that smooth water!) After sitting and talking for a while, that's when the reddness started appearing. Reddness around my right eye and my forearms were splotchy and purple! But I wasn't upset, I was more excited that I had some battle wounds to accompany the story. Sometimes I like to say, "It's worth it if it makes a good story." It's definitely not my life mantra, but this is an example of when it was worth it. It makes a good story. :)

After getting back home, Shad came to our apartment, and the three of us got ready for work. We looked like we were all heading to a funeral in our black attire. But as Shad said, "Luckily not to Leah's funeral!" haha. Once at work, I started getting a bad headache and my eyes felt very strained, as if I had stayed up all night staring at a computer screen. It wasn't difficult interacting with my tables, but my eyes and head hurt. Oh and my jaw started hurting too. Ammon, the good husband that he is, started worrying about me and insisted I go see a doctor just in case. I was really stubborn and resisted at first. But after some persuasion, I finally decided I should go see a doctor. My managers were really helpful and made it so both Ammon and I could leave for the doctor's.

The doctor's was frustrating. I waited for a long time. And I found out my insurance doesn't come into effect until August. After meeting with the doctor, I found out that I pretty much just have a mild concussion. He told me that I should be fine and that I could go back to work if I wanted. I left that office feeling way more stressed about money than about my head. Without insurance, my bill was around $100. I don't regret going though, because it's better to be safe than sorry.

After coming home from the doctor's I slept for a good 2 hours. Then I woke up and went to work at 5. It was fun seeing everyone at work again and telling them what happened. Plus my head was only hurting a little bit. Ammon and I worked in the same section, so that made work more enjoyable. The whole night, everyone was tipping me really well and I started feeling a little less stressed about money. And then... my second to last table... left this:

I was in tears! I'm still in tears as I write this. The guy that did this was a friend of mine from Jr. High. He's going to college right now so I know he's not made of money. Just a really good guy who was an answer to mine and Ammon's prayers. I have a HUGE testimony of paying tithing and tender mercies. Some people might say this was just a coincidence, but this was not a coincidence. I had told this person about my wakeboarding "accident" but I never mentioned anything about seeing a doctor, let alone being stressed about money. This was the result of paying our tithing, having faith, and having a prayer in our hearts. I will feel FOREVER grateful toward this person and his generosity. I can't pay him back (and I'm sure he wouldn't want me to), but one day I can pay it forward when Ammon is done with school. I can't wait for that day! :)

So that's my wakeboarding accident story. Until then, it doesn't look too bad. You can't even really tell. :)

my very own classroom!

The moment has finally come where I have my VERY OWN classroom! These past few months, I have thoroughly enjoyed planning and decorating the classroom I call mine. There were definitely times I felt overwhelmed with how much wasn't done, but for the most part, I enjoyed seeing it all come together and thinking I did that. 

Here is a sneak peek of my room: 

My best friend, Brianna helped make this door and she did a FANTASTIC job! I like it a LOTT. :)

But before I begin, I need to explain what the room used to look like.

The teacher that had the classroom before me is Natalie Fish

Natalie is one of the best teachers I had the privilege of observing for a few weeks in May. 

With a last name like Fish, she was able to create a super cute/effective classroom.

Here are some pictures of Natalie's room that I snapped. 

Her reading corner.

The front of the room.

Amazing, right? The only downside to her classroom was that the walls were yellow! Natalie didn't paint them yellow, it was already yellow when she got the room. But she picked the room because it was bigger which is a smart move because having a lot of room is really nice. 

On the last day of school, Natalie went on vacation and didn't come back for a couple weeks. But she said I could take down all her stuff and get started on painting. So I did! You might be wondering why I didn't just wait for Natalie to come home, thus saving myself a lot of effort and time. The best explanation I have is that I was excited. That's the thing about being a teacher. We have been dreaming about our room for years and when we finally get the chance to get started, we take it! 

Ammon was an asset when it came to painting my room. He helped me pick out the colors, he helped me take down everything, plus he could reach all the tall places that I couldn't-even standing on a chair. My brother, Ryan also came and helped on the first day.

By the way. If you're ever looking for cheap paint, go to the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Orem. I got a 5 gallon bucket of paint for only $30. But I didn't want just one shade of blue, so I snagged a small can of a dark blue for only $3. I checked Wal-Mart. To get the same amount of paint, it would have cost me over $100. Thank you, Rachelle for telling me about that place!

Ryan painting the first wall

Ammon took a few breaks to work on his Nursing Application

This was just the beginning

After going back and forth to my school for a couple weeks to paint. Spending MANY hours on compiling and making things for my room. Then spending even more hours getting it on the walls, and having my good friends, Jenny and Brianna come help, this is what I have so far:

TUH-DUH!!

I still have a lot I need to hang up, organize, and finalize, but I thought I'd snap and post some pictures while I still have time. Almost everything you see on the walls are things that I made.

A special thanks to my mother-in-law who gave me a Cricuit for Christmas. I used it to make EVERYTHING! It is a million times cheaper that way. Plus there's a lot more creativity. 

Dry Erase calendar that I made.

I'm the first spotlight.

My dad got me this poster and I'm obsessed! 

I've had this chair since college, but after getting married it's just been sitting in storage.
I'm glad I could find a good use for it!

My dad found me these & I LOVE them! Especially that ship!

As you can see, I'm still in the process of organizing and planning.

My desk! I promise it's there.
If you look closely, you can see my diploma and teaching certificate! It felt pretty good hanging those bad boys up on the wall.

I'm in love with these goggles. On the first day of school I'm going to take pictures of the kids wearing them.
They're going to look a lot cuter in them, that's for sure!

That's pretty much the schedule I'll have for the next 9 months.

Absent work.
 I stole this idea from Natalie. Plus I kept the green sign she made.

More pictures of my door:

My objectives.

My writing center. It needs a little TLC, but it's coming!

That's my classroom so far.
What do you think?