Happy Halloween!

Today I am recreating my 2011 halloween costume.

I wanted to dress up for my students--but, I was afraid that if I dressed up as the dalmatian without my fireman, I'd just be mistaken as a cow. big fear over here. haha

So, in honor of Halloween, let's take a look at mine and taylor's costumes since we've been married!

2011

2012

(still so proud of that teased hair turned lion mane. thanks to taylor's aunt for that one!)

2013

 (understanding my cow fear? haha!)

Tonight we will be relaxing in front of a Halloween movie while passing out candy to my cute primary kids! I'm pretty excited!

former students

I've been thinking a lot lately about my former students.
Maybe only fellow teachers will understand this post.
Or maybe I'm just a weird, sentimental teacher.
But I needed to get this out and write it down.
so this is a post dedicated to my former students who I'm sure don't even know this blog exists.

Dear former Summit Academy students:

Do you know that I think about you almost daily?

And when I think about you as individuals, I feel a pang deep in my heart.

I wonder: who are you becoming? are you doing good things? are you happy? are other teenagers nice to you? do they know how awesome you are? do YOU know how awesome you are?

sometimes, while teaching new faces at a new school, I think about the fun times we shared.

As I form new relationships with new students, I often think about the special chemistry each class had, and I hope that I can create something that special with these kids, too.

Sometimes, I'll mistake a student in the hall for one of you.

And for a split second my heart skips a beat, a smile spreads across my face--and then the realization kicks in: of course it's not you! 

But for a brief second it felt like being reunited with old friends.

Sometimes, when I'm out of my comfort zone, or things just aren't going how I wish they would, I wish it would be one of your familiar faces smiling back at me from one of those desks.

Sometimes I think about those of you who caused me extra headaches and stress--and sometimes when I'm faced with a new teenage punk, I wish it were you, instead of this new one.

At least I knew how to deal with you. ;)

 I really think that you lot will always fill a special place in my heart.

You were my first guinea pigs, the causes of my first stresses, my first classroom laughs, the causes of my first cries, my first learners.

I think about the one who noticed me crying on my own and took the time to stop in and sincerely ask me if everything was okay.

I think about the one who was defensive when someone said something inappropriate about me.

I think about the one who talked to me about his family that was falling apart.

I think about the one who always smiled--no matter what was happening.  Thank you for that.

I think about the one who told me about the heartache over his mother passing away.
I think about the ones who brought me food during lunch.
I think about the one who cried to me when her boyfriend broke up with her.
I think about the one who always shouted out the funniest/inappropriate answers to every question.
I think about the one could make me laugh with the stupidest funny face.
I think about all of you.
And I miss you.
Mostly because I've slowly come to the sad realization that I'll probably never see you all again.
I want you to know that you impacted my life more than you know.
I hope I can raise teenagers to be as kind, clever, and sweet as you are.
But I mostly hope that you are happy. 
I hope that good things come to all of you.
I hope that you will never forget the fun times we had.
I really do love you (in the most appropriate way a teacher can love her students).

Thank you for the memories and for helping me become a better teacher.

tuesday tangents

#1. got my school pictures today. haha it always makes me feel so nostalgic to get these.

it also made me nostalgic for summer. 

missing a tan.

#2. Taylor seriously has the WORST luck with cars.

we just bought him a brand new car, because we've been having so many problems with his poor little truck. He has been SUCH a good sport about not having a working car the past couple of months.

Of course, he walks out to find this last night:

 Can you believe it!?

He's had this brand new car (which means brand new tires) for less than three weeks!

there was a huge wood chunk stuck in the tire.

good going, tay. ;)

#3. Love being able to facetime with this cutie.

I can't wait to see him in just three weeks!

#4. I also like facetiming with this ugly. 

haha just kidding, M.

We have "ugly face contests" all of the time on facetime.

It's usually a pretty close tie.

#5. I seriously have the best mom-in-law ever. 

The other day, she texted me to tell me to come over after work where a glass of cold milk and warm chocolate cookies would be waiting for me. Perfect on a brisk fall afternoon. Is that the best news or what?

#6. Watching Taylor and his brother together always makes my heart smile.

They play video games while I watch movies on my laptop. 

best life, I tell ya.

a little halloween party

On Saturday night, Tay and I hosted a super fun halloween party!

Mostly, it was an excuse for us to dress up and for me to have fun planning a party!

A couple of years ago on Halloween, my super-crafty-super-party-planner-sister, Marci, planned the best Halloween party. We played "The Mole" (did you ever watch that tv show?).

So, I decided to recreate it.

It's hard to explain--but basically one person is secretly chosen to sabotage the group's effort to get "money in the pot."

Instead of money, we used giftcards.

What really matters is that the two winners go home with a jackpot of giftcards--who doesn't love that!?

Thanks to Marci's help (and Taylor's patience), I'm calling it a success!

I think everyone had a lot of fun!

 I had SO much fun putting these costumes together:

just a fireman and his dalmatian.
(p.s. taylor, my homie, where are your eyes? hahah)

Oh, and the best part?

I even got a dog tag made with my name on it ;)

 

 I kind of failed at taking pictures.

Some of these are bad iphone pictures--but you'll get the gist.

I asked everyone to bring a treat--and man! 

thanks to the girlies, there were some adorable festive treats!

(once again--picture fail on my part, I didn't get some of them pictured)

And here are some of our cute friends and their creative costumes

(still hitting myself for not getting everyone--or even a group picture!)

the few "party fun" pictures I actually have!

Thanks to everyone who came!

We had such a fun time celebrating the season.

I'm ready to plan another party...who's in!? ha.

a laundry story.

It's been awhile.

I have been so busy with the following:

-the primary program is in just a couple of weeks...ah!

on top of being a new primary president and trying to get everything in order, the program has put me on the top of the "overwhelmed chart."

-we are having a halloween party this weekend, and I have been running from place to place to get everything put together

-due to our party, our costumes need to be ready a little early this year! ohhh, I'm so excited! I've been a little busy bee making everything perfect for the costumes.

-end of quarter=madhouse. seriously.

hey students--here's a novel idea: check your grade and your missing assignments earlier than two days before the quarter ends. I know, I know, I'm brilliant.

How about a laundry story?

I've got a good one.

I hate laundry.

I'm always behind.

this is pretty much my stance on laundry:

sort? tomorrow.

wash? later.

fold? next week.

iron? NEVER.

Well, it just so happens that our washing machine is out of business.

aka its giving us an error code and we need to get someone to come fix it.

(well...taylor tried fixing it. and we thought it was a success. but turns out it's not. It took him like three hours to try to "fix it" the first time, so we've decided to just hire someone to look at it).
So on Monday night, we spent the night at the laundromat.
And for some reason, I giggled the whole way through.
Taylor and I have never been to laundromat together, and the prospect was just so fun.
AND we got ALL of our laundry done in just two hours!

I think Taylor wins the award for "smartest person ever"
I always complain about folding socks and the normal woe of ALWAYS ending up a sock short!
 Taylor finally came up with a solution.
He bought two small mesh laundry bags.
He hung them over our laundry baskets, and when he takes off his dirty socks, he just sticks them in the little mesh bag.
There is one bag for dress socks and one back for regular socks.
I just stick the whole mesh bag into the washer--and the socks never go missing!
PLUS, so easy to just match them together now.
I think I'm especially going to do this when we have all our little kiddies.
Just a different color mesh bag for each kid!
brilliant, right!? right.

We've got a busy weekend ahead of us--but we are so excited!
And I'm especially excited to dress my cute man up.
He's such a good sport!

93% match :)

This week, I am having my financial literacy classes take an online career survey.

 I decided that I would take it myself, so I could explain the directions well.

I smiled so big when I saw my 93% career match:

Ha! I guess I really am in the right career field!

No wonder why I love my job so much.

I didn't even try to skew the results in this favor

(the questions were pretty hard to skew though).

The path that took me to become a teacher was kind of a weird one.

One that was 100% influenced by divine being.

Because...I'll tell you this: I did NOT want to be a teacher.

It was not the career I ever dreamed of.

I grew up my whole life wanting to be in the medical field.

I graduated as valedictorian of my high school class, got scholarships to college, and even started college during the summer so I could get a jumpstart on my medicine degree.

But as my college career started, I kept having the distinct feeling that I needed to change my major.

 I battled back with the thoughts: why would I change? I loved my major!

The feeling kept coming. Every day.

I was so conflicted with these impressions, that I finally knelt down in prayer and asked what I should do.

The next day, I changed my Chemistry major to History Teaching.

A complete 180.

But I trusted the Lord.

And man! He really does know me.

Guess I'm supposed to be with these chillens afterall. ;)

these girls.

Last night I got to talk to my two best friends from high school AT THE SAME TIME.

We seriously had a blast.

This was the best idea we've ever had.

It's been TWO full years since we've been reunited.

(actually two years since I've seen either of them)

It was so fun to reminisce about all of the good times we had.

So strange to think that we are growing up, all live in different states, and all live with gross boys ;)
and we are determined to make this a tradition! every other week, ladies!

Oh my, oh my, I'm still smiling.

I love these beauts.

Park City getaway

We ran away to Park City this weekend to continue our anniversary celebration!

I made a little video of our quick getaway (featured at the end of this post).

Here are things you should know before watching our little film.

1. Last year, on our one year anniversary, we went to Park City as well.  It was a stressful time of the year--Taylor had just finished midterms and I was still coming home from my first year of teaching crying every day and ready to quit my job. (p.s. so grateful that tay made me stick it out! but dear first year: I never EVER want to meet you again).  We had all of these fun plans of things to do while we were there, but somehow, we ended up laying in bed ALL weekend watching The Office. We didn't do any of the things we planned to do--and it was the BEST weekend ever! So this year, we decided to do the same thing!

2. Per tradition, we stocked up on junk food from a local grocery store before caving ourselves in our hotel room for the rest of the weekend.

3. We only ever eat about 10% of all of the food we get.

4. Our stomachs hurt the whole next day--but it was SO worth it.

5. Last year, we watched The Office.  This year? Harry Potter movies.  I am in the middle of rereading the series, and have never seen all of the movies.  Taylor agreed to watch the whole series with me this weekend! We felt like we were reliving our childhoods. It was awesome.

6. I forgot to bring the adaptor to connect our laptop to the hotel tv.  We drove all over town, and finally found an adaptor for $40. ugh. but it was well-worth it!

7. I fall asleep five minutes into all movies.  But I was determined to stay awake.  Taylor made me drink a rockstar all night long.  Which I think he may have regretted in the end? I've only had maybe two sips of an energy drink in my entire life. man, those things are nasty!

8. We act like little kids when we're in hotel rooms. But I'm blaming it on the rockstars.

9. Last year, I saw these cute little scarecrows along a walking path.  I asked Tay if we could stop and see them, and he grudgingly agreed.  But then we couldn't find parking, so I gave up my scarecrow dream and waved goodbye to the unseen scarecrows. I had completely forgotten about those little scarecrows until I saw them again this year! Taylor let out the biggest groan when I asked if we could go again.  I guess he doesn't understand why a 22 year old would want to go see scarecrows? Uh--hello. Every 22-year-old-girl's dream. duh.

10. After I gave Taylor my best puppy-dog face, he agreed to see the scarecrows.  Taylor just started getting interested in our little scarecrow adventure, when my two-year-old bladder screamed at me that it was going to burst (seriously, I have the smallest bladder ever.  A lot of women would probably choose to make two specific body parts bigger. Me? I just choose one. MY BLADDER). I told Taylor that we had to turn back and go to the nearest restroom we could find.  Poor Taylor--I took him away, just when he started to enjoy it. haha

this one killed us...pumpkins as boobs? haha!

11.  Of course, the first bathroom we find looked like this:

I cried.

12. We went to the Park City olympic park and got to watch some awesome jumps!

13. A couple of weeks ago, Taylor asked me if I wanted a shopping spree in Park City or a surprise gift for our anniversary.  I said "shopping spree" so fast, that I think I might have offended him. haha
So we ended our adventure shopping at the best outlets in the world. And....maybe I went a little overboard? But I lovelovelove all of my new fall clothes!

14. Man alive, this place is beautiful this time of year.

15. I am so grateful for memories.  What a wonderful weekend it was!

and here is our little film:

Another post about love?

Okay, I know this has been a really lovey-dovey week here on the gilbert blog
(wait...which week isn't, right?)
But with it being our anniversary week, I'm just on a love over-load.
is that even possible? ha.

But here's just another reason why this guy is a gem:

My mom just texted me to tell me that Taylor sent her flowers!

Okay--this guy needs a golden star.
a little utah boy sending flowers to his cute californian mother-in-law.
it's adorbs, guys.

I didn't even know he did that! He is the most thoughtful man ever.

This isn't the first time I've found out that he's done something like this.

I love that he is so selfless about his service.

He never boasts or brags; but just simply does.

(okay--I guess I'm boasting about it...but that's different, right?)

I am so grateful to be with this man as we escape the world this weekend on our little getaway.

geesh, he still gives me butterflies.

Our anniversary.

We had the most wonderful anniversary on Tuesday!

I woke up in the middle of the night to set up some presents--I wanted Tay to see them before he left for the gym in the morning.

But I was too tired to remember to take a picture of the actual set-up! Oh well...

I had these little cards set up around his gifts.

Each one has a little message inside.

When I got home from work, I walked in to this:

I just couldn't stop smiling.

He's such a gem!

Guess what Taylor wanted for an anniversary present?

A subscription to the New Yorker.

A literature magazine. Ha! So him.

But because I felt like it was boring for him to know what he was getting, I added a few other gifts to the mix.

So here's a picture of one of the other gifts: Tay's fancy new shoes.

For our special day, we went to PF Changs for dinner (our favorite!) and then to the temple.

It was so fun to think about our wedding day while sitting in the temple.

I still can't believe it's been two years!

I made Taylor take a picture with me before dinner.

Well...a few pictures. haha

Hence, the sad face. He was starving.

Man, I sure love this guy.

We are SO excited to run off to Park City this weekend and continue our celebration.

How did I get so lucky with this guy?

He is my everything.

He makes me happy every day.

I feel sorry that no one else gets him, because he really is the cream of the crop. ;)

YESSSSSS

we just purchased our tickets for BRIAN REGAN.

He's coming to SALT LAKE in February!

WE CAN'T WAIT.

Happy, happy, happy.

Can I tell you just how happy I am with life today?

For so many reasons.

1. We had the most beautiful, wonderful, perfect anniversary yesterday. More to come about that later today!

2. How have I not mentioned that today is the last day of work before fall break!? (another reason being a teacher is off-the-charts-awesome).  I don't have to work again until next TUESDAY!

3. We went to the temple last night--and man. If that doesn't make you happy all over the place, I don't know what will.

4. Per tradition, we are running away to Park City this weekend to continue our anniversary celebration.

5. I am still plugging away at Harry Potter. ugh, I love these books. Feeling like a drug addict.

6. I truly, truly, truly love everything about my job. I smile every day when I leave this place, and feel so grateful to LOVE what I do. These kids are so fun, so awesome, so bright, so talented. I feel like I'm just playing everyday with a bunch of friends. (shhh don't tell them I said that. you know--I've got to be the "authoritative figure"...not "the friend". haha) But seriously--my job is the bees knees. (p.s. I don't think I've ever said "bees knees" before)

7. I have a new goal to read one general conference talk a day.  I've succeeded for the last two weeks, and I can't express the impact it has had on my daily mood. I feel so inspired and uplifted! One quote I loved from the talk I read yesterday: "The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world." It's okay to be different, people! I loved hearing that. I may not be the coolest, most talented, prettiest instrument in the orchestra, but I'm going to play my music as loud as I can--even if it's off-tune. And I'm going to dance while I play!

8. Another student asked me today if anyone has told me that I look like julianne hough. and then the whole class freaks out and says, "Oh my gosh, you totally do!" Then they pull out pictures on their phone and hold the picture up to my face for everyone to see. ha! I will admit--I follow her on instagram, love her, and think she's adorable. so...keep it coming, students! You're making me feel good!

9. It's pleasantly chilly outside. And I made the yummiest hot chocolate/perro combination on my way to work. And who cares if I stuck it in a smoothie cup and it's already luke-warm? It's still yummy and I'm still happy.

Happy two years to my love.

Happy two year anniversary to the man who gave me his forever.

To the man who knows me better than I know myself.

To the man who forgives me when I err and make mistakes.

To the man who shows me what true love is everyday.

To the man who is patient with my cooking.

To the man who eats my food, even when it sucks.

To the man who makes me want to be a better person.

To the man who I get to kiss every day.

To the man whose keys I have to find every day.

To the man who has the heart of a little boy and the soul of a man.

To the man who loves literature deeply and inspires me with new ideas.

To the man who makes me feel beautiful inside and out.

To the man who leaves me love notes.

To the man who helps me understand my true potential.

To the man who cleans the whole house in the middle of the night.

To the man who laughs with me.

To the man who listens to my crazy rants and stories.

To the man who is my best friend.

To the man who shows me that I am a daughter of God.

To the man who cuddles with me.

To the man who watches my favorite movies and tv shows with me.

To the man whose hair I get to run my fingers through.

To the man who exercises with me.
To the man who eats junk food with me.

To the man who has the cutest dimples.

To the man who tickles me.

To the man who carries me to bed when I fall asleep on the couch.

To the man who I am excited to see at the end of every day.

To the man who I will share all of my "firsts" with.

To the man who will be the father of my children.

To the man who will be the best, cutest, most loving father around.

To the man who loves silly things.
To the man who prays with me.

To the man who inspires me.

To the man who loves me.

To the man who I gave my forever to.

how we lost the naming rights of our first born child.

A couple of weekends ago, Taylor and I had our siblings over to our house for dinner.

(ryan, rachel, jamie, and seth)

Seth and I started playing "paper football."

You know...when you fold up a piece of paper into a triangle and flick it into an "L-shaped" goal made by the other persons hands.

We've all played it before, right?

Anyways, as we were playing, Seth decided to make it interesting. 

He put his fingers at the oddest angle and told me that if I could score, I could have ANYTHING of his I wanted. Anything--his new car, his macbook, his ipad...it was all up for grabs.

Of course I agreed.

And of course, I completely missed. ha.

So I offered him the same deal.

I held my hands at the same awkward angle.

He flicked the little triangle, and by the grace of God, it arched perfectly, turned to the left, and sailed smoothly into the goal.

I think everyone's expressions were pretty priceless.

I fell to the floor in a loud "noooooooo"

Taylor had a pure "oh shiz" expression smeared across his face.

Seth yelled and knocked over his chair, and then started walking around our house deciding what he wanted to take.

I offered him lots of "cool" things: a stapler, a toy panda, a snowglobe, a picture of me and Taylor. ha.

And then he stopped and said, "Wait. I know exactly what I want."

His confidence and sly smile scared me.

"I want the middle name of your first born child."

Taylor looked at me with a "I can't believe you agreed to this" look.

I slumped my head down, admitted my defeat, and told him, "Alright, fine! But be nice!"

And that is how we lost the naming rights of our first born child.

I think I win "stupidest-future-parent" award.

Ha.

Oh, and you better believe we will live up to this.

So far, Seth has told us all of his amazing ideas.

Spoc, Crabbe&Goyle, Myparentslostabet, Myunclerocks

Awesome, right?

At least he was nice enough not to take the first name.

But I think he knows I would have killed him--Taylor and I have had our kids names picked out since marriage.  

Hey, at least when the dreaded question "what is one interesting thing about yourself?" comes up, our future little will be set for life.

little things

When I walked outside on Friday morning and saw the snow, I stopped in my tracks, let out an audible groan and a "noooooooo."

As much as I'm looking forward to it--let's face it.

Summer rocks and I miss it already. ha

At least I didn't have to scrape the snow off of my windshield.

Can't wait for that...

While Tay was (once again) in Salt Lake on Friday, I spent the evening decorating our home.

^ I love these little guys! ^

 I made these little DIY ghosts last year.

And I was SO excited to pull them out again!

They are my favorite little things.

I am currently obsessing over this picture of little Taylor. 

I stuck it in the corner of our bedroom mirror, and I smile every time I see it.

I want our little boys to look JUST like this!

Our weekend will look like this:

Lounging whilst watching general conference.

(saturday 10-12, 2-4; sunday 10-12, 2-4...UTAH times, people!)

Oh my, it's one of my favorite times of the year!

Oh, and I purposely included my sockies in the picture. haha

The one good thing about the cold is that I got to pull out my long socks, sweaters, scarves, and big blankets.