My Turn!

It's been a long time coming but finally it's our turn now. AJ and I are officially trying to get pregnant! I am way too impatient to wait even until I am actually pregnant to announce anything like this, so here it is. I am excited!

Uncle Kenny

My cousin Ali posted this link to an article about her dad. I know my parents read my blog sometimes and thought my dad might like to read the article about his big brother.

http://www.mormontimes.com/ME_index.php?linkTrack=mtEmail&id=3800

First Day of School

Thanks to everyone who remembered my first day and wished me luck. It was a really great day. I didn't get very much sleep last night, my mind was running over all the things that haven't been done yet and all the questions I still have left to ask and the problems left to solve so I was a little stressed. But the day went well.

Our first 3 days of school are spent in Jumpstart Week where we acquaint the students to Paradigm's way in an assembly followed by a series of workshops. Today we went to the student government, commonplace book, and the school policies workshops.

The student government is made up of a legislative group who are all presidents of their class and an executive branch who are like the student body president. Each Mentor class (it's like homeroom) elects a president and then brings the class's issues to congress.

The commonplace book is basically an education journal where students can record ideas and ah-ha moments as they learn. It is meant just for them and is not graded or analyzed.

School policies are self explanatory.

Then we split down into our Mentor groups. I have about 13 students who are all great. They are very participatory and willing to contribute. We discussed the assembly message and talked about how to make that Paradigm shift. This was my favorite part of the day.

Our Mentor groups meet with us each day and in class we have opportunities to work on homework, read, or pursue our educational interests. This is where class presidents discuss school business. We meet one-on-one with students and we hold discussions. It is an unstructured time to learn.

Survivor - Mays Family Edition

FRIDAY

We met up with my parents on Friday for a weekend of camping. I was excited to show AJ some fun hikes from my childhood like a slot canyon hike and a natural rock playground. We set up shop at Singletree, a campground south of Bicknell on highway 12 off of hwy 24. We caravaned with the Williams. The day was sunny and warm with few clouds. At camp we set up our tents and played Frisbee and catch. The Cardons came at dusk. We had grilled hamburgers for dinner while we waited for them to arrive.

SATURDAY

I got up early Saturday morning because of course I had to use the restroom even though I specifically made a point not to drink anything after 8pm or but apparently that wasn't a big enough sacrifice for my bladder. As I walked to the flushing toilet (thank you!) my eyes were pulled to the orange and pink sky. The sun was on its way up and was rolling out the red carpet for its grand entry. I took several pictures. It was easily one of the most spectacular sunrises I have ever seen.

After everyone finally got up and I had told them they missed the best sunrise ever we ate and got ready for a long exciting hike. We packed lunches in preparation and drove out toward Escalante to hike the Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons. I'm not sure what happened when we arrived but rather than eating our packed lunches (thereby foregoing the energy we needed to hike) we started on our journey.

When we reached Peekaboo we found there was a giant thigh deep pool of water at the entrance that had accumulated from earlier in the week (which my parents had to suffer through when they arrived).

We decided to bypass the entrance and hike around to the middle of the canyon and continue from there. We finished Peekaboo and found Spooky. We wormed our way around tight corners and between narrow walls.

With such spectacular hiking I was prompted to take several pictures. This upset the party behind me; they grew ever restless in the tight space with the heat and their empty stomachs. But we finally made it through. The walk back to the trail head is in a deep sandy wash. Luckily thick, hard clay had been washed down in the years between my first visit and last weekend. This clay created a hard coating on the sand and made walking much easier. Even with the path's "candy coating" the walk back was probably the hardest part of the hike. We had a steady upward path after the wash but after eternity it was over.

As we heading into Escalante to gas up we noticed foreboding clouds in the distance near our campground. We decided to eat in town rather than try to cook in camp as it looked like rain. We dined at Subway and topped our dinner off with raspberry cheesecake frozen yogurt.That night the rain poured heavily onto our tent, but we stayed warm and dry. It was fun to listen to the drops rap on the tent as they fell.

SUNDAY

We woke on Sunday to more rain. A steady drizzle really. I laid awake in my tent for a while before the rain stopped and made my morning visit to the restroom. On my way I saw a large jackrabbit who was white, with black tipped ears and tail. He scurried off too quick for me to take a picture even though I followed after him.

The Williams went into town in search of a sacrament service while the rest of us stinkies stayed in my parents' tent trailer talking about where the sites of the Book of Mormon may have taken place and other more doctrinal topics. We played a very long and fruitless game of Phase Ten. There seemed to be a bit of giddiness among the group, we were all very giggly. We laughed as we saw Monica return to her tent in a skirt and high heels. Not something you see camping often.

Later that afternoon Erika, Marcus, Olivia, AJ, and I took the half mile campground hike to see a waterfall. My parents who had done this hike earlier in the week warned us that it wasn't quite a Sunday stroll but was rather steep. It started out very gentle and I doubted my parents' warning until about halfway in. It does get steep but the falls are nice. I didn't get any pictures so I will have to steal some from Erika when she posts hers. The boys liked the falls so much that when we returned to camp they got their swimsuits and some soap and went back down the trail for a shower.

That night we had mesquite grilled chicken breast and tinfoil dinners with beef, potatoes, and carrots. We huddled around the fire until the last of the wood grew dark and rain began to fall. You would have thought the rain was acid by our speedy reaction to it (that's for you Erika). We went to bed with a light drizzle.

I woke up in the middle of the night...again. This time I realized there was another reason for my consciousness when I saw our blue tent flash bright and then a harsh bang shook the ground. Lightening and thunder invaded our campsite with such intensity I clung to AJ. (I am now a little embarrassed about how frightened I was, my excuse is my grogginess.) When the storm subsided I dashed to the bathroom. As I listened to the Coyotes yapping and singing in the distance, I kept telling myself, "Just keep walking!" I ran all the way back to the tent. I laid there with AJ and all of a sudden we heard this loud whooshing sound. It sounded like rushing water but it was wind. With the wind cooing me to sleep I drifted off.

I was started awake again by shaking, not the ground this time, but the tent. The tent was quivering in the wind. The cooing had become rushing. And it came again and again with increasing intensity. Like an ocean wave tearing toward the shoreline I could hear it crashing against the trees until it reached our little tent.

And of course again I had to use the restroom, but this time I was more afraid. If I went by myself, what if I was blown away? What if the coyotes are closer now? If I ask AJ to go with me, what if our tent blows away? I finally just asked AJ to go with me, he was already awake anyway. We ventured out and on the way back we noticed the stars were out and bright.We paused to name a couple constellations.

MONDAY

Back in the tent, the wind still whirled and bowed our tent. AJ couldn't sleep so he sat outside holding our tent and checking on the Williams and Cardons. Earlier in the morning My parents' tent trailer awning came crashing onto the trailer's roof. I was able to sleep and awoke with the morning light to find a cloudy sky and little wind. AJ jumped in the tent to sleep while I climbed out to see if my parents were awake. We spent the morning in the trailer until it was time to clean up and take down camp.

Then we went our separate ways. :(