1 year older...and wiser too!

Happy 1 year anniversary to us! Kurtis and I made to a year of marriage on Sunday. We couldn't be happier. We have jobs (or did, and hopefully will continue to), we just put an offer on a house (after looking at about 30 houses), and are even more in love then when we got married. We have learned so much this year including how to share the bedcovers, think before you speak, do chores together and the list goes on! We are so grateful for each other and that we have included the Lord in our marriage. What a special Spirit we have in our home. We're excited for all the years to come. :)

Happy Independance Day!

We had a fun-filled day yesterday fo the 4th! Our ward had a flag-raising and pancake breakfast in the morning. Then we had our friends' family the Warners over to go fishing at our lake and cook hot dogs over the fire for lunch. They had 5 kids, the littlest being twins age 2. Whew! Good birth-control they said. What? Like nursery didn't do that? :) haha.. Then we had dinner with a whole bunch of other families and played a US trivia game. Julie killed everyone. (I think it was all those games of 'Know your America' with Andrew :) ) Then we went over to the Warner's house to watch the downtown fireworks show on their neighbors' roof. Yes, on the roof. It was so much fun! We are grateful to live in a free country and hope to do our part to give back to the community and the people who helped us along the way. Happy birthday America!

10 things I forgot about Girl's Camp

I was the camp director for my ward's group of girls and went with them to girl's camp this year. It was an exciting week! I'm grateful for the experience. I had a blast my own years at camp and was happy to go again. We had a baseball theme this year and our 'team' name was the Seekers! It was based off of D&C 88:63-64 with a Harry Potter twist. My camera died the first day I was there so I have no pictures. But I've put together a list of things I had forgotten (or learned) about camp though..

1. If the past winter and spring were wet, there will be LOTS of bugs. I don't know how many mosquito bites I had, but I had so many on my ankle that it swelled up like I had sprained it. True story. I'm like a giant strawberry to them! There was also something crawling on my nose one night...
2. Don't forget to bring tissues to the testimony meeting on the last night. I forgot and had to use my dirty hands. Oh well, it was worth it to hear the beautiful testimonies (and sometimes thank-you-monies) of those sweet girls.
3. Girls will be girls-caddy, sweet, loud, scared by bugs, dramatic, homesick, daughters of God.
4. Sleep is not an option at camp. Let's just say earplugs were a lifesaver along with an airmattress!
5. Everything (almost) can be burned in the fire. Glowsticks are especially fun to watch! I got the pyromaniac award one year at camp.. someone got that award this year. It also saves on trash.
6. Prayer works. On the last day it rained and many vans got stuck in the mud. Only after they said a prayer did they get unstuck.
7. Prepare for all contingencies-it always rains at camp. In past years, the camps here have had issues with tornado warnings and had to spend nights crammed into the bathrooms. Luckily this year we had great weather. However, I didn't bring raingear so the last morning we got soaked while we packed up camp in the pouring rain.
8. Camp gives you a reason to be you. No makeup, no shower, no boys, no worries! The girls had a great time just getting to know themselves, each other and their divine nature as a daughter of God.
9. Camp bathrooms, flusing toilets or not, are always gross. I always had latrines (tin can pit toilets) at my camp but these girls had flusing toilets. They were still gross. Luckily, they let the leaders in on some secret showers up the road. So while they went hiking..we showered in luxury.
10. Anything tastes good at camp. No matter how gross it looks or how burned it is, everything (almost) tastes good at camp. Especially smores.

Thanks for not freaking out

Kurtis wanted to go fishing for a Father's Day treat. He spent over an hour fixing up his fishing pole and getting it ready to go. He bought a fishing license but hasn't been able to get the 100 ft to the lake to fish. Anyway, we got down there with our worms and my book and Kurtis cast out. After 20 minutes or so I asked if I could cast (yes, I can fish) and let 'er fly. You have to understand our lake is private and stocked with bass every year. The fish come right up to you on the dock waiting for food like starving orphans. On my second cast the line went tight and I started reeling. "I caught a fish! I caught a fish!" I calmly yelled. The thing was pulling tight and I suddenly remembered you're supposed to pull back really hard to make sure the hook has caught the fish. I did that and kept reeling. I'm thinking this is a small bass, maybe 10 inches. It was 16 inches and very nice looking. I reeled it in and we kept it for Kurtis to eat-I don't eat fish, I only catch them. He caught a few more, kept another one and I caught another one not quite as big. Now I don't have a fishing license so Kurtis was very leery of letting me fish. So I never made a big show of it. I just wanted to cast a couple times. Afterward, he said "Thanks for not freaking out when you caught it." I'm a biology teacher who catches bugs, worked with cadavers and have also changed many diapers. I think I can handle a fish. :) I love you babe! Happy father's day.

More like gold

So, I did it. I completed my first year of teaching, teaching 7th grade life science at Kellogg Middle School. I don't know whether to feel proud of myself for not losing it in the middle of class (almost happened 8th period a few times), not hitting a child (although there were a few sweatshirts grabbed), and being fairly prepared every day even with a plan B and C (which often were movies or reading aloud)! It was a great year I have to say and I will never forget the kids or the wonderful people I had the opportunity to work with. It was truly a miracle year.

I really gained a testminoy of how important it is to raise your children with good values like working hard, being responsible, being polite and respectful and more. It is also important for parents to raise their children. How sad I was when I found out the stories behind some of my students. No wonder they act the way they do. Don't get me wrong, I had a number of sweet, funny, eager-to-learn students who made my day exciting. But even the kids who gave me the most grief kept me going too. Kurtis said often how he should have been a teacher because it's definatly not a boring job!

I guess you could say I did a good job this year because some of my students "hate me." "You do too many projects! You pick on me too much [for talking/behavior]. Your class is hard!" I often heard. I also heard "I love your class Mrs. Tucker! You always have a way of making things fun and pushing us to be better! I love science! WOW! That's so cool!" So no matter how much work this year was, I'm not deterred from doing what I love.

One of the reasons I had a great year is because I was a member of the Silver team. Each grade is divided into 2 'teams' each with their own color. There are 4 core teachers who all have that half of the grade. Our team works together to plan events, discuss student concerns, etc. My team was full of energy, is driven and cares about the kids. They were great examples to me of what master teachers do and were supportive when I needed advice. They were more like gold to me then silver. :) There were so many other people in the school who were supportive and gave me great friendships. All I can say is thanks and maybe I'll get the chance to work with you again.