California here we come!

I ended my first block of student teaching with a bang! Such a great class, I loved every one of them! They really taught me a lot, and I felt like a real teacher. 

Here's a funny story for you. I have a strict NO NOTES policy in the class (especially because I have two 'mean' girls who can write really interesting notes). I noticed one girl was walking around the class, and I finally saw she had a note in her hand.  So of course I stopped her and told her that she knows there isn't notes in this class and that I was disappointed in her. She held up the note and this is what I saw:

I felt so bad! Poor girl was doing something so sweet for me! So there's one of those FAIL moments as a teacher, but oh well. 

Moving

The last thing I watched as we drove out of the valley was the mountains. How I’m going to miss those beautiful, tall mountains that surround the valley like a big hug. I cried a little as we drove away. I’ve lived in Utah for 22 years. Each move I’ve made hasn’t been far, and I’ve always had my family near by. I guess I’ve been spoiled until now.

The drive was pretty long but made livable because of Harry Potter on CD and talking with Brent. We got to stop in Lake Tahoe with Brent’s cousin for the night which was an awesome way to break up the trip. She even took us out to the lake in the morning! Then it was off again on the road.

California is in a drought right now, so we were a bit amazed at how dry it was. Thankfully we found our apartment and our Bishop got some men from the ward to unload us. The elders came too and it was fun to see them. One of them is from Pleasant Grove, which is the town next to my parents.

I was very overwhelmed and felt completely alone and scared. New place, new everything! We had actually never seen our apartment before we got there. Thank heavens it was quite nice and turned out to be bigger than we had thought.

We had a place lined up, but it fell through. So two weeks before we were supposed to move we were trying to find a place. It was so scary because we didn’t know what the ghetto areas were and where we would be safe. So dad told us to call bishops in the area. We called seven bishops and none answered. I prayed so hard the whole time Brent called. The next day one bishop called Brent back and said, “you’re in luck, I manage an apartment complex right across the street from our church. It is expensive…but it is safe and nice.” I was so excited! So without looking at it we got it. Talk about a leap of faith…

The day after we moved here the next-door lady invited us over. She is from Sri Lanka and is a convert of four years. She said she was so worried about who would move in next door because she is a single mother and wanted to be safe. The missionaries here fasted and prayed for her to get good neighbors. And she got us! Isn’t it cool how the lord works? We needed an apartment, and she needed us.

She has been a huge help to us. Bringing us food and all kinds of stuff. I babysit her daughter for her sometimes in return. I don’t have pictures yet, but it’s a pretty nice place. We like our ward; it is very different though. We also met a couple in our ward where the husband is also going to Brent’s school. They are amazing, and it was so nice to finally get friends.

I’m back in Utah to finish my student teaching, leaving Brent for five weeks. It has been pretty hard and it’s only been a week! I can't believe all the preparation needed for the start of a school year. But I loved writing the name tags and putting up the cute decorations. I can't wait to meet my next batch of students!