bloggable

I usually have at least one thing make me laugh each day in my classroom, but this was actually worth writing about. I think this is something that we all wish we would have done at some point in our lives, or actually did (patience?), but the ending is something you would wish would happen to someone else. Okay here goes nothing.

I am in the classroom calling roll... (by the way, the names are all changed, because I don't remember the actual name of the kid.)

Me: "Anthony?"

Kid: "Que pasa hombre?"

Me: "What?"

Kid: "Oh, Uh, no hablo inglis."

Me: "Esta bien, hablo espanol."

Kid (with an appropriate expression of disbelief on his face): "Well, in that case..."

Class: Laughing out loud.

Tough break when you try and tell the teacher you don't speak english and they don't fall for it. Don't worry, I gave him tips at the end of the class hour about how he could actually get away with it next time. Such as...don't call a female teacher "hombre". Got to love sophomores.

My little brother...

My brother has had a lot of things going on recently. For example, yesterday was his birthday, and just a short time ago his wife had a baby, and well it wasn't that long ago he got married...you get the picture. So since I got to go to BYU with him when he was just starting, I thought I would share some pictures that you might not have seen of Ian. Happy birthday Ian.

Only in Alaska

I was coming home yesterday from somewhere and while driving down the road my mom and I saw a disabled 4-wheeler. That is not unusual, what was however was the driver who was trying to fix it was wearing high-water, blue checked pajama bottoms with brown water boots, and a heavy winter coat.

Only in Alaska...I laughed the rest of the way home.

Summer

This summer was full of sunshine, friends, and family. I feel blessed that I have all three. I know from the friendly reminders that I haven't posted in a while, so I thought that I would just give you a glimpse of what happened to me in July. I spent the fourth of July in a cabin with my parents, my sister, and her family. We had lots of fun and you should all see the pictures posted on her blog. After the fourth was my birthday.

For my birthday, two of my good friends and I went swimming. (yes Tiffany, 78 is hot enough to jump in a lake) We waited about 10 minutes after we got out of the water to decide that we were also hungry and then we went to IHOP. Good friends, good food, good memories. After this celebration on my real birthday, I took a day off of work in the middle of the week and took my mom hiking. We headed up to one of my favorite spots ever, Reed Lakes.

We started are hike at about 9:30 and by lunch time we had made it to the first lake. The photos are good, but you should have been there. The lake really was that turquoise blue color, and the day was perfect. The sun was shining, and we were some of the only people on this popular trail. That was probably a good thing for mom since I made her pose for pictures. One of my favorite pictures is the one of the Marmot posed on a triangular rock. I defiantly learned that to balance on a point lots of fat hanging over both edges is important.

The sun has been shining, and the summer has been wonderful. August was a month full of family, but I didn't take the pictures, so you will just have to see if one of my family did.

I look forward to whatever adventures await me in the fall, and if I take pictures, then I promise to post.

An encounter with a mother

So as some of you know, I am now back in Alaska. The trip was good and we saw lots of bears. As others of you know when in Alaska, I spend my Tuesday nights doing this:

Or in other pictures, this:

For those of you that have no idea what this and this are, I go hiking. It is one of the things that I look forward to most each week. This last Tuesday a group of us went up Wishbone (in Sutton). My mom and I were the first up what is known as the chute and so due to the narrowness of the trail we continued on ahead while the rest of the group headed up. We were on a ridge-line of sorts, and were not really talking. I was going down the trail first when I came upon one of these:

I immediately pointed it out to my mom, and we both started talking. She to me, and me to the moose. Here moose, moose, moose...in a very conversational polite tone. I asked the moose to please let us past as we were not going to hurt it in any way and we were almost at our destination. While talking to the moose, we kept walking. The moose just looked at me. Then the moose started to paw the ground and huff and puff at me. She put her head down and was giving every sign of unhappiness at my position.

I turned around and said to my Mom, we should go that way, and we should do it fast. I pointed to where we had just come from, and then proceeded to help her along with my running into her. The moose just watched. We got a safe distance away (aka I could keep my eye on the moose and she could do the same for me) and waited for the group. They caught up, and I again walked toward the moose, and got the same results. Then I saw one of these:

That explained all. We ended up bushwhacking our way around, giving her plenty of room, and then continuing on our way. An adventure worth having, and one more thing that I can now say I did.

By the way, the 360 degree picture at the top was worth every huff and puff from both me and the moose. Oh and my Mom is coming with me again next week.

A sigh of relief...

I just finished grading the third of four finals, and it looks like everyone will pass this year. Tomorrow in celebration I am going to bring root beer floats.

Last weekend, we got the day off on Friday. So instead of using my time and packing and getting ready for a week in the car, I decided to go and see Santa. And as you can tell I did. I even went in his Christmas village.



Okay so truth be told, I did not just go to see Santa, it just happened and well any time I can get a word in with him before Christmas, things just seem to happen. In reality I went to hang out with George, Tom, Teddy, and Abe.



Yep, I went to Mt. Rushmore. It was awesome.



They had a rock tunnel that you could go into to get the picture above, and well I almost didn't leave it was really incredible.





This was my first ever view of what they call a mountain sculpture. Who grows up thinking that is what they would like to be when they grow up? I also learned that Rushmore was named after a lawyer who happened to be passing through at the right time. He asked the sculptor what the mountain was called. The reply was that it was not yet named, but would now be known as Rushmore. It kind of makes me want to ask questions.

Anyway Rushmore was a cool mountain, but on the recomendation of some friends, I also went to see Crazy Horse. It was even larger. But maybe not as impressive yet cause it is not done.



The story behind this monument is almost as impressive as how Rushmore was named. This one was commissioned by the Lakota chiefs. After finding the scultpor to do the work, it has been worked on for like 50 years. As you can see it is not done. That is because this is not a national park and all the funds come from dontaions and the door admission. The mountain will some day look just like the white statue, but since they will not take federal money, I do not know when it will finally be done.



Just to give you some prespective on size, the hole that you can see that looks like a tunnel is large enough to fit a 10 story building. Yeah, I was shocked too.

So my words of advice to all who have a long weekend...go and see something that you have never before seen. And for all that are wondering, yes this was definitly worth the 6.5 hour drive.

The updated countdown

Today there are 14 days left. Tomorrow, only 13...which means on Monday I can change the countdown to 12...

Countdown

The end of the school year countdown has begun...28 days.

Leaving you thinking...

One of my students on accident shut my finger in a door. As He was walking out of the room, I couldn't help but mention it one more time. This was his response.

Him: "Miss Pierce, you can't be upset or mad about that."
Me: "Why not?"
Him: "Cause when I was 5, a spider crawled up my boot and bit me on the ankle. And now I am scared of spiders. So you can't be mad."

Then he walked out of the classroom. So just think about trying this technique the next time someone is getting angry or annoyed at you, just tell them they can't be mad because of a totally unrelated event and walk away. Believe me it works. I am still thinking about this story and it happened on Tuesday.

One day...

impulsive
adjective
1.	proceeding from natural feeling or impulse without external stimulus; "an impulsive gesture of affection"
2.	without forethought; "letting him borrow her car was an impulsive act that she immediately regretted"
3.	having the power of driving or impelling; "a driving personal ambition"; "the driving force was his innate enthusiasm"; "an impulsive force" [syn: driving]
4.	determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason; "a capricious refusal"; "authoritarian rulers are frequently capricious"; "the victim of whimsical persecutions" [syn: capricious]
5.	characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation; "a hotheaded decision"; "liable to such impulsive acts as hugging strangers"; "an impetuous display of spending and gambling"; "madcap escapades"; ('brainish' is archaic) [syn: hotheaded]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Cite This Source

I decided to include the definition for the word that describes my weekend. I decided since I had Good Friday off, that I was not going to spend my time doing nothing. Instead I called Ian. And then I drove to Utah.

I had a fantastic time. It was not really a bad drive and who knows, maybe my next day off will find me driving once again across Wyoming. Or maybe Mt. Rushmore...

Thanks for all those with whom I got to visit.

Heard on the Radio

So we had a blizzard, and school was canceled so as I was listening to the radio this morning, I heard that in England they have stopped teenagers from loitering by using a pink light that highlights acne. I am just wondering what would happen if they did the same thing in Middle and High school hallways? Would student want to go to class? Maybe I'll suggest it at the next staff meeting...

Spring Break Part 2

Welcome to Philadelphia! I met one of my old roommates Carolyn in Pennsylvania for an adventure. It was cool to travel to a place that neither of us had been before, but that had so much history it kept us busy. I would say that we probably could have spent another 3-4 days and not seen all that there was to see. So I will probably go back again. We had a hotel that was right in the middle of it all so we did not have to drive which was nice because after about 2 minutes neither of us wanted to drive in this city. We were content to walk and explore.

We just explored the city on our first afternoon and we got down to serious touristing on Thursday. We had talked to someone that was working in a gift shop, and she helpfully circled all the things on our map that we just HAD to see. So we went with it. That meant that the first stop the next day was to the Second National Bank. This was a beautiful building that is only open to tours twice a day. Carolyn and I were the only people on the tour, and well it was more like a wander. The tour guide was not really very helpful, or friendly, and well he just kind of followed us around until I asked questions such as, "Is the pink color authentic?" The inside of the bank was pink, and well it was a good question. As it turns out it is authentic as is the clock which is only right twice a day. The bank itself is modeled after the First National Bank, and so I feel like we got to see both even though one is closed. One thing that I thought interesting is that all of the historic sites we went to are declared National Parks and so the guides are all park rangers. Odd huh? Anyway, on Saturday we went to the display called "Money in Motion" at the Federal Reserve building, so it was kind of like money then, money now. Interesting.

What do you get when you put two people in a gift shop with odd things? Carolyn and I could not resist trying on the "Ben Franklin glasses." We had a couple of flashbacks to "National Treasure," and were a little disappointed that neither of us thought to bring a copy to watch while we were here. Oh well, what do you think of the glasses? I felt a little like I was back in the 7th grade, but the frames were not pink...

Standing in the room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed was incredible. We took a tour of Independence Hall as it is now known, and except for the grumpy tour guide it was more than I imagined. This is the actual room, and if you believe everything I heard, the chair is original. It is the same one that George Washington sat on to sign both historic documents. I have taught United States History to my 8th graders this year, so it was cool to know the history before I saw what was in the building. I never realized how much history there was in Philadelphia before going. I do not think that I saw everything that there was to see, so I might have to go back sometime so that I get to explore some more. I did not take pictures of some of the places that we went, but we also went to Carpenter's Hall which is where the First Continental Congress met and sent their petitions to King George so that they would not have to go to war. I am sure that Carolyn was tired of the history lesson, but at least she listened which is something that I am not sure my 8th graders did. When I told them where I had been, they had no response. Oh well, someday when they visit perhaps they will remember that I tried to teach them how cool this place was.

While visiting the Liberty bell I was extremely grateful for the liberty that I have. It was one of the artifacts that I had not realized was in Penn. This bell has been the symbol of liberty for more than one cause, and just reading a history of the bell makes me think of what our ancestors must have sacrificed to bring us Liberty and Freedom. I was even more grateful when I thought of all the people that do not have the same privileges. We visited a museum dedicated to liberty called the National Liberty Museum. I kind of hate to admit that we went in because it had a display of jellybean children. Once we got in the museum however, we were able to learn about all of the rights that we have and all the people that sacrificed so that we could maintain those rights. It was interesting, and yes the jelly bean children were there although I did not take any pictures.

We visited the grave of Benjamin Franklin. It is in a beautiful cemetery that is one of the oldest in America. It was in Christ Church Cemetery. Along with Franklin there are 3 other signers of the Declaration of Independence. We enjoyed walking around. Weathering and a weak marble means that you can not read most of the grave markers impossible to read, so we spent some time speculating on the people that must be buried in that location. We did ask who was the last person to be buried in the cemetery and were interested to learn that they still use it for family vaults. And they are building a crematorium on the grounds. I do not think it will work well, but hey.

To please Carolyn's brothers, we walked to the Rocky statue. I have never seen the movies, nor have I any desire to do so, but I figure, I walked 2.5 miles to see this, I better take a picture. So I did.



Show your love.

Okay because it takes forever for pictures to post, I think I will just give you some brief highlights on the rest of trip. We visited what seems like everywhere. We went to the Betsy Ross home, the congress hall where John Adams was inaugurated 2nd President of the U.S., the National Archives, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the home of James Madison (we didn't go in someone lives there), the Independence visitor's center, City Hall, Welcome Park, Penn's Landing, Sonny's (home of a delicious Philly Cheese stake), and Darling's Cafe and Cheesecake Boutique (home of the original Philly cheesecake--YUM!!!!). In short, we had an awesome time and it was amazing how much we were able to see in just three days.

I am fully converted to spring break. Who knows where I will be next year at the same time.

Spring Break Part 1

Welcome to Florida! I was really lucky to have one of my friends and her husband decide to move to Florida. So when spring break rolled around, I asked and they agreed to let me come and visit. I was able to have a lot of fun, new experiences, and even fulfill a dream. I left for Florida on a Friday and got into town that evening. On Saturday we went into the Everglades and went looking for Gators. We ended up waking one of them up and then we all took pictures and watched while he tried to get away. On Monday, Tiffany, Tyler, and I went to the beach. I spent lots of time in the ocean. It was the perfect temperature. I would have stayed in longer, but I was getting all wrinkled. So I got out. I also got a nice sunburn. Yes I had on sunscreen. It is fine now, and after my students realized that I just had a sunburn, they stopped looking to close. On Tuesday we went and visited Butterfly World. It exceeded my expectations. I loved the beautiful plants, the colors of the butterflies and being surprised at every turn. The following pictures are from my trip. And they are backwards. I do not feel like putting them in order. I am sure that if you are looking, then you do not mind too much. Finally just a tip, but Tiffany is much better at taking pictures, and well she has some great ones on her blog. She is listed under my family and friends as Tiffany and Tyler. Enjoy Florida!

Part of the display at Butterfly world was all about birds.

A display of passiflora was worth the trip. There were flowers of every shape and color. It was really beautiful.

Every kind of butterfly, every shape and size, and every color. I felt like I was in some sort of movie. It was an unusual experience to see butterflies of all colors and not just yellow. And I understand about the eyes on the back of the wings.

One of the dreams that was fulfilled here in Florida was my dream of seeing an Alligator and touching it. I was able to do both. I would do it again without hesitation, and well, I would suggest everyone try it someday. This is actually a photo of us looking for a Gator. Here gator, gator, gator...

Thanks to Tiffany and Tyler for the awesome first time experience in Florida. If you want to see more pictures of the gator (one where I am holding him) and the beach since I did not get any pictures of either events, you can visit Tiffany's blog on under my friends and family. It is called Tiffany and Tyler. She really did get some good pictures. So check it out.

Disneyland

I was lucky enough to catch a break on a ticket and have a sister who was willing to let me tag along with her and her family on my first trip to Disneyland. We had lots of fun in the sun, and even if we were the whitest people in the park (check out those legs!), we probably had the most fun.

Jamila and I were lucky to be in the right place at the right time. We were standing by a fence while Patience and Ethan were getting cotton candy, when Goofy came. So we got to be first in line to get our picture taken. When we were visiting California Adventures we both got our picture taken with Goofy again, so we were the luckiest Alaskans on the trip.

We went through Chip n' Dale's tree house at the request of Chloe. When we were on the way down there was a rock, and well it was impossible to keep these three off the rock. Kanani and I actual went through the tree house another time, as did the other girls, but she did not want to get on the rock when we finished the second time.

Train! Train! We were in line for the Casey Jr. and Mateo and Kanani were trying to push the gate open. Sad enough it didn't work, but we did get on the train and we got to sit in the "Wild Animals" car. It seemed appropriate.

This is the silly picture of Mateo.

Kanani loved it so much she wants to go again I am sure. I loved it too, but mostly cause I got to be with fun people. Thanks for letting me crash Disneyland.

Photography by Kanani

Each morning while in California with Patience and her family, the girls and I would wake up and Patience and Ethan would still be asleep. So we would tell stories or play with quiet toys or other such entertainments until parents finally woke up. Well one morning I was looking at some pictures I had taken and I asked Kanani if she wanted to take one. Well one turned into 35, but this is just a sampling of her "pictures".

I am afraid...

I am not afraid in the typical sense, I am however that my students think and act like the following clip from Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren.

Junie B. has just finished telling everyone how she stayed on task during class for the whole afternoon when she says,

"Also I drew a sausage pattie on my arm.
Only that wasn't even an assignment.
That's called working on your own."

And that is my students. I will for sure update this again if and when I see sausage patties.

New Year and New adventures

So I wanted the first post of the year to be something good, so it will be pictures. On the night before I got on a plane, Mom, Dad, and I were in Anchorage and we stopped to take some pictures of the ice sculptures.

Some of the sculptures were really cool. I enjoyed the both bears. For the bear that we are sitting on (yes we were allowed), you will notice that I am sitting on my hands, which had gloves on which was smart of me. Dad on the other had was sitting on the ice. BURRR! It was 13 below after all. I am grateful for the cold snap however because it meant that we had really good ice sculptures.

The reason that you do not see Mom, is because she sat in the car with the heat on.So this is me wishing everyone a happy new year, and may I say, I LOVE ALASKA!