Jason and Meghan

Goodbye, Goodbye

2011-05-20T16:52:00.000-07:00

Goodbye, goodbye!

It's time to go.

Goodbye, goodbye.

I don't wanna go!

This is how our goodbye song starts, and I think this was the first day I agreed with the last line. We sang it every day before going out to the buses. My kids sang it to me for the last time today at school. I couldn't sing with them, of course, because I was too busy trying to not cry more than necessary. These are my kids. They're the only ones I've got, and I love them. We had such a great year together. Not every day was perfect by any means, but boy we had fun. I made a point to just enjoy our last day together. We worked for the first hour and a half, but then we watched Toy Story. During the credits it played "You've Got A Friend in Me." I told them to listen to the words, and everyone was silent. Their smiles turned downwards, though, probably mostly from seeing their teacher sad, so after that song we livened it up a bit. I played their favorite "dance party" song and let them sing and dance as loud as they wanted to "Alabama, Mississippi " (while eating popsicles--what more could a first grader ask for?) It's a silly, pointless song, but for some reason they love it. I wish I could post the picture I took of them dancing. It was so cute. We boogied for a couple more songs and then lined up to leave and they sang the goodbye song for me. They all gave me a hug--a few with tears in their eyes, and all of them telling me they'd miss me and that they loved me. That just made me less able to speak, so I just hugged tighter. They know I love them.

You know what always made my day, even though it's a completely normal, simple mistake kids make? When they call me "mom" and even "grandma." What a compliment. I miss them already.

C.S. Lewis is Amazing

2011-03-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading this book was a spiritual experience. The first chapter introduced into Narnia priestcraft and a ridiculous but powerful anti-Christ. This quickly resulted in separating the true followers of Aslan from those who were "for themselves". Even when the lie of the anti-Christ was revealed, the seeds of mistrust and doubt had been sown. I saw more clearly why some people nowadays struggle so much to accept Christianity in any form. They realize that one form is a hoax, and they're either resentful of being tricked or afraid of putting their faith in something else that might turn out to be manufactured by a self-serving fake. I kept waiting for everything to turn out right again in Narnia, but that's not how it works at the end of a world. That part is scary. The ending is not just temporary happiness, though. It's everlasting--and for most, it holds the promise of always moving "onward and upward" into greater happiness and a more pure reality. I am astounded at how much C.S. Lewis understood about the gospel and how clearly he taught it to me through my experiences in Narnia--especially in this book. The last 40 or 50 pages helped me understand and experience the temple and three degrees of glory more than anything else I've read. Instead of picturing the three degrees of glory as three separate worlds, now I picture one beautiful place where only those who allow themselves to see it can. There are those like the dwarves who will never move past the gateway, taste more than rotting apples, or see more than darkness. There are those honest-hearted who are surprised they're there with Aslan, though they had devoted their lives to serving another god. Those and other pure-hearted will forever move on into what is higher and happier and more REAL. I highly recommend this book. It was truly enlightening.

View all my reviews

Lesson Learned

2011-03-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a morningside with Wendy Nelson and Sherri Dew. It was wonderful. Sister Nelson (Elder Russell M. Nelson's wife) said we need to infuse our lives with holiness. At first, I wondered if I'd done the right thing in going to this meeting, because I came to be uplifted, not to have something else added to my list of inadequacies. Thankfully, though, she suggested we choose one thing each day to do with holiness, or as a holy woman would do it. That sounded reasonable, and she made it clear that's enough to get us closer to the spirit and feeling happier, so I wouldn't need to try being holy all the time. I decided to try this, and the pattern I see already is that just by consecrating that one moment of my day to the Lord, I feel like I did something meaningful that day. This morning, I got ready for church like I thought a holy woman would. I envisioned myself doing it like my mom did while I was growing up--church music playing, waking up early enough to not be in a hurry, letting things that I could take personally just roll off my back. I found myself biting my tongue a couple times instead of saying a biting remark to my husband. After the initial disappointment in not getting to have the last word (I know this is really awful of me), it felt really good. Amazingly, we arrived to church 5 minutes early (rarely happens), and I had the awareness to notice a new couple behind us and the guts and time to introduce myself. We ended up sitting by them for the next three hours and making friends. All of this happened just because I decided to get ready for the day with holiness. This has helped me see the Lord's hand in my day and notice the blessings he's given me for trying to be a little better.

During Relief Society, the teacher read some notes from five or six anonymous women in the room sharing their worries and fears. One sister said she worries about helping her son who was just diagnosed with ADHD and what she'll do when her husband is away from their family for two months. Another woman said she feels alone and different from everyone since struggling with breast cancer. An elderly woman said she's afraid of being a lonely shut-in for the rest of her life. There were others, but all of them shared real, honest, valid fears and concerns. I knew right away what I would write if she'd handed me a paper. I want to be a mother more than anything, but no matter what we do, it hasn't happened yet. It's completely out of our control, which drives me crazy. If I know just what I'd write, then I'm sure every other woman in that room knew exactly what they would write. I have to be more friendly and reach out to others. This proved to me that no matter how perfect and happy others' lives may seem, everyone has fears and unfulfilled dreams. We all need each other and our Savior to get through the rough times. Like Sherri Dew said yesterday, there is power in us to bless and heal others. That's what Relief Society is for.

Ebates Deals!

2010-11-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

Since everyone is on the brink of going crazy with Christmas shopping, I thought I'd tell everyone about Ebates. It gives you a percent back on what you spend, so I use it whenever I order something online. You go to your website through the Ebates homepage, then you order like normal, and Ebates records how much you spent at the other website and gives you a percentage back through a check in the mail. It's free. I've been using it for two years and love it! When I ordered my contacts, I spent $300 and it gave me 11% back in a check ($33). Other times it's only 4% back, but it's something. All the percentages back double around the holidays, so it's a good time to sign up. They also let you choose a gift card $5-$25 to certain places when you sign up. My brother Garrett signed up today and is kicking himself for not listening to me last time I told him about it, because he spends a good $5000 a year online for his little business. Click on this link to sign up:

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=B4Mi2C7IfS7xcA4LS67mhw%3D%3D

I am not going to leave the house on Black Friday, but I might buy a few online things (I like to sleep in on my days off.). Everyone have a great Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

2010-11-10T18:21:00.000-08:00

These are really yummy! The original recipe came from www.thefloweringdogwood.com, and I just made a few changes. She created the recipe to imitate some from Starbucks. I have never been in a Starbucks, so I can't tell you how close they are to the real thing, but they look the same. The original recipe didn't sweeten the cream cheese at all, but I didn't like that very much, so I added some powdered sugar to the second batch. They are very yummy and fall-festive--delicious with a hot cup of cocoa. I made the mistake of leaving them on the counter all day, and Jason ate five of them while I was at school.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon (I didn’t have anything but nutmeg and cinnamon, so I just added lots of cinnamon.)

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 pinch cardamom

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 cups pumpkin

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (Next time I am going to exchange apple sauce or yogurt for half of the oil.)

Chocolate chips (optional) (Not in original recipe, but Starbucks should seriously consider it.)

Chopped pecans (optional)

8 ounces cream cheese

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Makes 24 muffins.

Cream Cheese Filling

1. Blend cream cheese with about 1/2-1 c. of powdered sugar--just enough to give the cream cheese a hint of sweetness.

2. Put the all of the cream cheese on a piece of wax paper or parchment paper and shape it into a long log.

3. Put it in the freezer while you mix and fill the pans (up to one hour).

Muffins

1. Mix dry ingredients together.

2. In another bowl, mix eggs, oil, and pumpkin.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture. Mix until just combined.

4. Fill muffin tins 1/2 to 2/3 full.

5. Unwrap and slice cream cheese log with a sharp knife so each cream cheese disk equals 1-2 teaspoons. If they are too big around, cut thick slices and then cut them in half. Put cream cheese disc in the middle of each muffin, pressing it down. It doesn't go under the batter.

6. Sprinkle each muffin with 1 tsp chopped nuts.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part.

8. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely.

Snow.

2010-11-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

It was 70 degrees on Saturday, and it has snowed four inches in the past eight hours. It's still coming down, heavy and wet.

O Christmas Tree

2010-11-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

We drove up in the mountains yesterday to search for the perfect Christmas tree. It was a gorgeous day! All I wore was a long sleeved shirt, and I didn't see a speck of snow. That's my kind of Christmas tree hunt! I took some pictures along the way, and I'm kinda proud of this one--especially since I snapped it fast while trying to chase Jason up another hill.

We found this tree stump that was five feet in diameter. We counted all the ridges, and it is about 300 years old! We can't be exact because several inches in the middle already rotted out.

I'm starting to see some beauty in Idaho. This is good, considering how long I will live here. I love the aspen (after painting them several times in my watercolor class), and I like the expanse of land between me and the mountains.

Here is Jason sawing down our beautiful tree! (Don't worry, I apologized to it, and the money we paid for the permit will plant a new one.) Last year, our tree took up the entire living room, so we tried to find a smaller one this time. They all look tiny compared to some of the old folk trees up there, so it's hard to tell!

It's amazing how difficult it is to find the perfect Christmas tree. You see all those trees in the background of the picture? There is something "wrong" with all of them, according to Jason. He's a perfectionist. Trees can be dazzling in the forest and completely wrong for our home. It took me an hour and a half of double checking several clearings (and some reverse psychology) to convince him this one was good enough.

Marcus brought Army MRE's for his lunch and let us watch him eat. He showed us how the little heating bag works and let us sample his food. I just tried the peanut M&M's. They were good.

This is Eric and Jessi hauling back a tree. My right arm is still numb from carrying ours out of the forest. For those of you wondering if we're putting the trees up already, the answer is no. I guess they went dormant when it got cold, so they are sort of hibernating until they get warm again.

This is me and Jason watching Marcus eat his MRE.

This is Jessi and Shawn. They are really cute together.

I think Betsy and Justin took a nap while some of us were still looking for the right tree.

And last, but not least, this is my adorable niece September and her dad, Justin.

It was a fun day and wonderful to be in the woods with Jason for awhile. We will miss this tradition a lot while we're at dental school.

P.S. Jason and I just played Scrabble, and I scored 319! Jason won, though, because he got 318 and I had to subtract 3 points for my leftover tiles. :( Still, I count it as my first unofficial victory against my Scrabble Champion husband.

Troubled Water

2010-11-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

Jason and I were at Rigby Lake today. I was in a rotten mood all day at school, and I needed some time away from everything. We were the only two people in the entire park, and it felt like we were the only ones in the world. I hopped on a swing, pumped till I could get going without the luxury of being able to touch the ground, and closed my eyes. To be a kid again--nothing to worry about past today--nothing but dreams full of hope and expectation--nothing to think about but the last sunny day before winter. I spent a good half hour on the swing, then I fell asleep on the grass.

We went to a Collin Raye concert tonight. It was a lot of fun. The best song though wasn't his. It was Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water. The words felt so personal today for me and I imagine for several other people I've been thinking of tonight.

P. Simon, 1969

When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes,
I will dry them all
I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
When you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

For me the "I" in the song is the Savior. The line "All your dreams are on their way, See how they shine," gave me hope and courage today.

This Is Halloween

2010-11-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was so much fun. At school, my kids could hardly contain their excitement. We played a "game" where none of us could say the words Halloween, costume, or party before lunch. One student came up to me during seatwork time and said, "Mrs. Scoresby, I can't stop thinking about the secret words! They just keep distracting me!" I empathized and just told him to do his best to put it out of his mind for a little longer. He walked to his desk with his fingers pressed to his temples and his eyes squeezed tight against the beckoning thoughts of candy and Halloween costumes. It was the cutest thing.

I love how even their faces got into character--and trust me, no one had to ask.

We had several activity stations that the kids rotated through for the party. They painted pumpkins, did a foam pumpkin craft, danced the "Hooky Spooky," mummified themselves in toilet paper, played Halloween games, and balanced eyeballs on spoons. We sang Halloween songs and read spooky stories. As if that weren't enough excitement, they gulped down entire cups of soda pop and big sugar cookies before walking in our school's costume parade. I can't remember having more fun at school!

Saturday night, Betsy hosted her Second Annual Halloween Party at the Scoresby's. It was even better than last year.

Giselle and Tyson (her boyfriend) came up for it. Giselle was so excited to see September, her adopted niece. I love this picture of them!

We decorated all day. We carved an entire bin of pumpkins in one afternoon--and the results were stunning.

Jason hefted this 150 lb. pumpkin all the way across the yard behind him, and we turned it into a mummy.

Betsy and Justin made this amazing scarecrow-vampire.

Justin, Daniel, and Shawn masterminded two pumpkin totem poles.

Jason and I brought 70 severed fingers and toes for party food. Delicious and disturbing.

Jason and I went as Bonnie and Clyde. I'm trying to think of what we could be next year that requires Jason to wear the same suit....Isn't he handsome?

Betsy and Justin dressed as Ben and Dorcus from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (underwear scene), and little September is a fairy princess. (Betsy made the wings!)

My favorite costume of the night is definitely the Hillbillies--Shawn and Jessy.

For the first activity, we performed hilarious "Un-Talents." We girls won the trophy for a mesmerizing interpretive dance to "I Put a Spell on You."

After the show, we had another round of "Disco King." If you haven't had the honor of participating, I'm so sorry. I look forward to it every year. Jason was just one person away from being crowned King, but Shayann took the prize.

It was such a fun weekend! I wonder where we'll be next Halloween. Louisville? Omaha? Phoenix? L.A.? I hope not L.A.

Boys & Girls

2010-10-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Jason says I should write down all the funny things I hear the kids say at school, so why not on my blog? Here's what I observed during second grade playground duty last Thursday:

Boy taps girl on shoulder and says,

"Hey, are you gonna chase me, or am I supposed to chase you?"

Did you get that, college lovers? Let's be a little more clear on how you're playing the game.

Another one that I will never forget happened last year during first grade recess duty. The bell had just rung, so all 100 six-year-olds were making a beeline for their line up spots--except one.

Little girl tugs on my neon yellow duty vest and says,

"Duty, my b.... hurt."

"What sweetheart? I couldn't hear you," I say, kneeling down to listen better.

"I said, my balls hurt," she whispers.

( I couldn't possibly have heard her right.)

"Um, what did you just say?" I ask.

"My balls hurt!" she says louder, through gritted teeth.

(Seriously?)

"Um, you don't have any balls, honey. But I hope you feel better."

This girl must have all brothers.

Goodbye, Summer

2010-10-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Oooh, I can't believe summer is over. I held onto it as long as I could, but with snow on its way tomorrow, I have to let go. I bought a new sweater to wear on the first snow to make it a little easier. Autumn used to be my favorite season, but not here. It's just another reminder that winter is coming. I remember the day six years ago BYUI asked for volunteers to pull out all the flower beds before the first frost. For me, it wasn't so much a service project as my last chance to soak in all the bright colors before there was only gray. I took home a bouquet of survivors and cried when they, too, died.

I think the trees here hang onto summer as long as they can. They don't rejoice in fall like they do in the Midwest and East--taking on a million golden hues and shimmering like jewels. In Idaho, there are two colors: Green and yellow. It's a dull palette against a gray sky.

And so, I soak up every bit of green I see and resign myself to nine more months of gray ice and gray snow. I can only hope we move to Kentucky or Nebraska for dental school where winter is at least confined to three months of the year!

I have 22 little bright spots with me this winter, though. My first graders give me plenty to do and plenty of love to give and receive. On the first day of school I told them I'm moving to Florida when the first snow comes. (It was so cold on September 1st, I was worried it would be there within days!) I still joke with them about it when we count the sunny, cloudy, rainy, and snowy days on our weather graph. "Zero snowy days! And it's a good thing, or I'm moving to Florida!" And they squeal, "No! 'Cuz then we'd have to go with you so you can still be our teacher!" I just love them. We have fun and we work our tails off, and I'm actually glad we still have seven months left.

My Summer...Backwards

2010-08-11T11:36:00.000-07:00

I uploaded some of my pictures from this summer in the order I took them, and it put them on my post backwards. So much for chronological order.

Jason and I were in Utah for the closest of three of his cousins' weddings we attended this summer. (Seems like we go to a lot of weddings and reunions every summer.) We also picked up Giselle at the airport. She's living with us for a few weeks and working at the fruitstand. Brenton and Katie came up and had lunch with us, too! It was fun to see everyone, and it was really yummy food.

Abby met us for lunch at Beto's in SLC. It was so good to see her and finally meet her two babies! She is one of my best friends and roommates from college, and she has the most adorable kids! We spent our 4th of July weekend attending another of Jason's cousin's weddings all the way in Minnesota. On the way home, we stopped at Mt. Rushmore. It was amazing.
These skeptical-looking people are my in-laws. This picture makes me laugh bc they look so onery! In fact, they are the most wonderful and happy people! Must have been that long car ride.

We watched fireworks at Mill Ruins Park in Minneapolis. The stone bridges and flour mill ruins were beautiful. We took some pictures on Jeff's cell phone, but I don't have them yet.

I love fireworks. It has been a really fun summer. Three weeks left!

Good News

2010-08-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Jason was invited for his first dental school interview yesterday! It's at Midwestern in Glendale, AZ in October. This one came about a month earlier than the invite he got to ASDOH last year, so I'll take that as good news. I hope this time this is only the first of many invites.

I babysat my niece, September, yesterday. She's 5 1/2 months now, and she gets cuter and chubbier everyday. We went for a walk and played under a shady tree for a good half hour. It was peaceful and satisfying. I can't wait to be a mom. Yes, she cried for quite awhile at some points yesterday, and no, I didn't have a clue what she wanted, but when we got home from our walk and she was fast asleep, that was cool. I very gently got her out of the stroller and used my free hand to gather the bottle and toys and put away the stroller. By the time I got her upstairs and into bed, I thought my arm was going to fall off. (At least newborns start out small so my muscles can grow along with the baby.) She looked so sweet snuggled with her blanket.

Last night we had family home evening with a family in our ward whose third baby was born just a week ago. Today I'm visiting Shannon and her week-old baby girl. At the end of the month I'll have my first little nephew, Ryan. So many beautiful babies this month!

Oh, this morning I tried to toss some of September's clothes accidentally left here down the stairs to Jason, but they landed on our awning instead! The broom-attack just pushed them farther away, so this is Jason fishing them down. Miraculously, it worked--and he didn't even snag the clothes. He is quite the fisherman.

Pictures from D.C.

2009-05-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Picasa Web Albums - Linnea - Brent & Katie's wedding May 2009

Since it's been a long time...

2009-05-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me would testify of my distractability: I'm always busy trying to get things done, but in the middle of doing one thing, I find something else that needs done and start it, etc., etc. If I'm really lucky, most of it is finished by the end of the day. Ha! See--just now I remembered I needed to sell one of Jason's textbooks on Amazon, so I opened up a new tab and went to Amazon.com before realizing that is exactly what I'm talking about. I am so ADD. This is why I have a million tabs open at any given time on my computer. It drives Jason crazy.

Anyway, where I was going with that is to simply say I started writing in my journal daily again, but it got a little monotonous this week, so I stopped and am back to writing online. Hmm.

The pictures up there are of when Jason and I flew out to D.C. for my little brother's wedding. They're way up there and don't have captions because I have no idea how to do it. This blog thing is way different than Word. The top picture is of Brenton and Katie. They were sealed in the D.C. temple on May 1st. It was beautiful. Below that is my aunt, out foreign exchange sister Jessi, and my cousin Rachel. Under that is my brother and I.

The D.C. temple is gorgeous. It sits in the middle of a forest and is surrounded by azaleas and dogwoods. I could have wandered the grounds for hours if it weren't for my high heels. I love springtime in the East. It was wonderful to see my family, too. It had been almost a year! Married life monopolizes your money and minimizes trips home.

Giselle graduated high school today and will go to BYU this fall, so I'll have a little sister down there to visit. Brenton and Katie will be going to school there too again. In January Garrett comes home from his mission and also goes to BYU, so I'm going to get to make several trips to see my brothers and sisters. I can't wait!

Jason and I are searching for an affordable-but-nice apartment to move into next month. I got a job teaching first grade in Rigby, and he'll be working in Idaho Falls, so we need someplace more middle ground than Rexburg. I've spent HOURS scanning the classifieds and craigslist for potential apartments and calling for information asking the same few questions. Does it have a dishwasher? Washer and dryer hook-ups? New or old apartment? Etc. Today I talked to a guy about an apartment in IF whom I've apparently already spoken with, because he said, "Oh, you're the one who has to have the dishwasher. You could wash them by hand, you know." Irr. Yes, I have been for a year, and I'm sick of it. Call me spoiled, but I would like a dishwasher, please.

It's late and I'm rambling and I really don't care, because as far as I know, no one reads this blog (and if you do you should tell me so I write more coherently next time).

Blue Ribbon Writing

2009-02-02T15:42:00.001-08:00

When Christmas break started I asked Sister Morgan for a list of books I should read. She said 1) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (which I'd already read a few months ago) and 2) All the Newberry Medal books. And so I began. So far, I've read the following (including a few Newberry Honor books too):

-Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
-Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
-The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
-Holes by javascript:void(0)Louis Sachar
-Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
-The Giver by Lois Lowry
-Homesick: My Own Story by Jean Fritz
-The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
-Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
-A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
-A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
-The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
-The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
-Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan
-Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
-Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (just started this today)

It's been wonderful to just sit down and read for a few minutes or an hour in the evenings. And having the goal to read all those Newberry books makes me rush across the street to the library as soon as I finish the last one in the pile to get another stack. Luckily they're all marked in the library with a sticker on the spine. They are all very well-written. A few of them remind me of novel-length personal essays. Jean Fritz's Homesick was like that. She even wrote at the front of her story that she'd taken all of her experiences as a girl in China and used them to recreate the flow of her childhood. She said she made up the dialogue and reordered events, but she didn't apologize for it. That's creative non-fiction--a genre of its own rising in popularity, according to Sister Morgan. She liked my essay about Nana and Tata's house. That was easy to write. I'll write some more about that. I'll post the essay on here so you can read it.

Maybe if I spent half as much time writing as I have been reading, my writing would improve enough to create my own book someday. The problem with that is I don't know where to begin, so I don't. Third graders don't usually have that problem. Their imagination sweeps them across the page and creates stories I'd never dream up. Who would have ever put elbow pads and a skateboard on a newly hatched dragon, anyway? That image sure stayed in my mind. I just don't write. It's easier that way. I sure miss the Writing Center. On slow days I could sit at the computer and write for hours and not feel like it was a waste of time.

Anyway, I'm back to reading as much as I did when I was a kid. What's extra nice is that my husband sits right next to me with his nose in Louis L'amour books.

Third Grade Writing Center

2009-01-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

I'm student teaching in a third grade class this semester, and while most of my lessons are scripted and quite boring, I do get to teach writing every once in awhile! Apparently most teachers don't like doing it, so they don't. That drives me crazy. Well, these kids got a three day writing workshop "Writing Center Style" last week, and they loved it.

The first day we brainstormed details they could potentially use for their dragon stories (their reading theme this week). One boy said his dragon ate meat. I asked what KIND of meat? All the students added onto that description right down the abstraction ladder: meat to water animals to frogs to fire-bellied toads! It was so much fun. I felt right at home, and they couldn't wait to share their ideas. After that I let them loose to finish their brainstorming and plan the beginning, middle, and end of their own stories. They finished quickly and began writing. They wrote with zero disruptions for 30 minutes! I was so excited to get their two and three and four page drafts. We have a boy with Asberger's, and he HATES writing (in general). Every time he has an assignment that requires writing very much, he asks for help and often throws fits because he can't write fast and doesn't like to do it. While we were writing their dragon stories, however, my cooperating teacher and I didn't even know he was there. He didn't say a word the whole three days and turned in a great story. I conferenced with most students as they wrote, then I read everyone's drafts and made comments on them WC style. I asked everyone at least one question that involved adding more detail for the reader. I didn't comment on anything grammatical. Their spelling was extremely creative. Reading it was like playing Mad Gab, the game where you have to say a string of words in various ways to try and figure out what phrase it sounds like. I remember someone spelled "excellent" "eggscalent." All of their dragons were quite original. There were beat-boxing dragons, ballerina dragons, and even Japanese Samurai dragons.
The second day we discussed revision. I taught them how it means to "re-see" what you write and that our motto is Revise, Revise, Revise. We'll get it in them early. :) A volunteer student helped me model our partner revisions in front of the class. He read his paper aloud, and I asked a couple of questions and told him what image I remembered the most from it (One of the questions on their revision questionnaire was what picture comes back into their mind when they think about their partner's story.) Everyone clapped for him afterward. He was very proud of his story. Everyone divided into partners and read each other their stories, then they returned to their seats and made revisions. They did a better job than the fifth graders did last semester. That could be because we modeled exactly what to do, but I was pleased with them. The only thing that did NOT work was editing. I had no idea what to do for that, or if it was even important at this level. I didn't want to write all over their paper. This is their first experience with writing, and I want them to feel successful at it. I finally decided to have them circle three or four words they thought they'd misspelled. We teachers ran around to all of the students and wrote the correct spelling above their circled words, and then they got to start their final drafts on Day 3. They couldn't wait to "publish" their stories, so I made lined paper in the shape of a "dragon egg" and printed it on colored paper. They wrote in their best handwriting. They look great!

Also, one student told me the first day that he couldn’t think of what to write and didn’t like writing. He likes math a lot better. We talked about some ideas that went along with what he had so far and came up with a cute scenario of him and his dragon eating at McDonald's. They had a contest for who could eat the most, and his dragon ate 200 Big Macs and definitely won. That got him excited. Since that couldn’t be the beginning of his story very easily, I suggested his start in the middle and then fill in the beginning and end later. He did it! He got the middle written—like six lines or so right in the middle of his paper. I talked to him before we ended writing time, and he was back to feeling down about it. He’s such a sweetheart. I told him that he would need to work on it at home so it would be finished by the next day. He said he wouldn’t have time that night, but I convinced him he’d find time at daycare. He started coming up with other times he could do it too. The next day he came with a very full page of his completed story! I was impressed that somehow his beginning and end fit right above and below his middle and flowed seamlessly into each other. I told him how much I enjoyed reading it and why I liked it, and he said he spent two hours the night before trying to come up with what to write. At the end of the day after we peer revised I mentioned again that I was pleased with his work, and he said shyly, “You know, this writing thing might not be so bad after all. I guess I kinda like it.” That made my day!

So this is my dream job: teaching children writing. If anyone has heard of such a thing, let me know.

Christmas Tree Hunt

2008-11-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Jason introduced me to his family's annual tradition: Christmas tree hunting in the mountains. We drove with his family, cousins, aunts, and unlcles to the Caribou forest with our $10 per tree permits (twice what they've been in the past, I guess, but still a good deal) and set out in couples to find the perfect Alpine. Jason and I tromped through the mountain for hours looking for one that matched all his requirements: no "doubles" (two trees growing in one), no "bald spots," no dead spots, not too tall, not too short, not too fat or thick or bushy or skinny....Those poor trees had no idea of the strict criteria that needed to meet by this fall.

While we looked, I collected a beautiful fall boquet of a velvety red star leaf, cream seed pods, etc. The mountains are so beautiful! It was the most perfect day to go out. Pine saturated the air, reminding me of camping on Mt. Lemon as a little girl. Birch trees covered every space in the forest, though. Jason told me they all share one (or a couple) root systems. That's amazing. It felt good to be up there with my husband.

When we didn't have any luck finding a tree within a mile or two of our cars, I took my first ride on a four-wheeler to look for other clearings. It was fun! We just stayed on the trail and then walked to any trees we thought might work. They always look so perfect from far away. I can't wait until we have a 20-ft. ceiling in a billion years and can put up one of those gorgeous tall ones...

Well, we eventually found our tree. Jason expertly cut it down with a big chain saw. Now it's resting in Eric's yard completely oblivious to the fact it's no longer standing in the forest. Jason says it will wake up from its dormant state when it gets into our warm (yeah, right) living room. Then, it thinks it's spring, and a lot of times it even puts on new growth. That's cool! I'm enjoying my introduction to live Christmas trees.

Jason's aunt and uncle left a chainsaw by a tree they'd cut down somewhere in the middle of the forest a few miles out, and then they headed toward another tree that looked just perfect. Awhile later, they realized they were completely lost and had no idea where they were, let alone the chainsaw. A couple of hours later they finally found civilization, but all the guys formed a search party for the tree and chainsaw. After an hour they came back with both, and then as we were starting the Yukon to leave, it wouldn't start! The trunk had been open all afternoon because people had been getting food out of it, and the battery had died. Luckily, ONE out of five vehicles had a jump cable. Sad, isn't it? I'm just glad one of them had one! We were half an hour late for stake conference, but at least we made it! It was a great day.

My birthday

2008-10-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

As you've noticed, I've decided to start this website. We don't call it a blog. Jason hates that name even more than I do. So this is my new Sunday project. Just hold me to it. :)

Today it's my birthday! This morning I woke up early to get ready to spend another day with my fifth graders. Jason had a late night studying the past couple of nights, and he still got to sleep for another hour. When I went into the bathroom, I was a little disappointed that the mirror wasn't decorated in dry erase marker and that their weren't any flowers or anything. That's what Mom always did, and I loved that tradition! I couldn't expect Jason to do that though, since I never told him about it. (I'll have to change that!) Anyways, when I went back into our room though awhile later, there was a great big gift bag and a little one and a card on my side of the bed. Jason was "asleep" on his side still. I was very happily surprised! That was thoughtful of him! The card was really sweet. It's always disappointing to get a great looking card and to open it up and have it say "love, Bob," or whoever, and that's it. :) Dad's always make me cry, of course, but I like it. I'm glad Jason is a good card maker. Maybe by the time he's forty something, he'll write as long of notes as Dad does.

Last night Jason mentioned that we should eat right after he gets home from class tonight (I think he's planning something for tonight). I was a little sad that I'd have to grow up and make my own birthday dinner. He did bring up that we'd already had my birthday dinner Saturday night at Johnny Carino's though. So whatever. But then I got home today from school and on the dry erase board in the kitchen said "I fibbed. Don't touch anything in this kitchen! Love, Jason. :)" That made my day even better! I can't wait to see what else he does!!

Oh, my fifth graders were so great today. I made them cupcakes to celebrate my birthday, which they loved. All of them told me happy birthday at least a half a dozen times, it seemed. During lunch, the office lady came in saying they had flowers delivered for Mrs. Scoresby. I was surprised and thought, "oh, so this is what Jason has up his sleeve?" but it wasn't from him! It was from Melissa, one of my students. I guess her mom owns a flower shop, and she wanted to give me some. I got a beautiful peach rose with glitter sprayed on it (my favorite) with little bluish-purple flowers around it. It's beautiful! That was so thoughtful of her.

Can't wait to find out what Jason has planned for tonight! He always thinks up the sweetest things.