It finally happened!!

So the Hunt's, Holderman's and Rendel's and us Burns' have been talking about all going camping and getting to use all our camping stuff we got for our wedding since we have been married, so for about the past year now, and it finally happened!!

Labor Day weekend we went up by Big Bear and found a great camping spot at a campground called Barton Flatts. We only got to go Sunday through Monday but it was well worth it, and we can't wait to go again!!

Here are all our cute tents all lined up! Ours is the red one! (Thank you VanGroningen's!)

The guys being manly.

Ladder Ball was a hit! This is a game we borrowed from Brandon's family.

We had a tournament:

1st: Hunt's

2nd: Holderman's

3rd: Burns!!

4th: Rendel's


We went to the lake on Monday for just a little while. It was colder than we hoped, so we really just enjoyed the pretty view!!

We feel our camping trip was a success and we can't wait to go again. What a blessing it is to have these friends that we can share this time of life with. We are so thankful for them and all the fellowship we get to share with them!!

"I Believe"

One of the first writing activities I gave my students was to write at least 20 things that they believe. One of my very favorite English teachers in high school gave us this assignment and I really loved it so I thought my students might too and they seemed to. Through this assignment I was also able to find out more about them and some things they believe.

So here are some things they believe that I pulled from some of their papers that I thought were sweet or just made me laugh. :)
Enjoy:

I believe . . .

That girls should have long hair and boys short
That everyone should shave their legs
That flowers are the perfect way to get your mom not to be mad at you,
That it is essential to eat something sweet everyday,
That everyone should have a second chance,
That French toast is better than pancakes,
That old people should have to be healthy,
That monsters are real in your closet,
In going fishing at least 2 times a week,
That my sisters shouldn’t take so long to get ready to go places,
That everything God puts in my life is to make me stronger,
In diversity,
That Mrs. Burns looks like me,
That jamoca ice cream came from Heaven,
That boys can be as emotional as girls,
That being pure isn’t a fad but a life choice,
That when my parents tell me to do something it’s from God,
Nobody needs TV,
Mango are mangolicious.

I obviously have some silly students. :)

First Day of School!

Today was my first day of school and I had such a great day! My stomach was in knots all week and I was worried about today but I was so encouraged by all the people who were lifting me in prayer today. I can't thank you all enough. I woke up this morning, after actually getting some sleep last night, and felt very ready for my day. The awesome rolled up/Mickey Mouse pancakes that my husband got up and made me helped also! :-)

I am so happy to be teaching. It felt wonderful to be conducting class in my room room in my own way. I pray that the students and myself will learn much this year and that Jesus will be known by these students. My goal is that they leave 8th grade, feeling prepared for high school and feeling prepared to take on life with our Lord leading their way. I could use your prayers throughout the year for I know many bend in the road will come.

Here are some pictures of my classroom!

This is my COUGAR board-possibly one of my favorites! This is for my Journalism students to use to stay updated on the news.

Here are the perfectly arranged desks done by my awesome brother-in-law Chase! Thanks again! They were perfect!

My Fruit of the Spirit wall. My amazing husband helped me with this one.

Classroom rules :)

Love my Mary Engelbreight borders and calendar!


And the beautiful flowers that my mom sent to my classroom today! My mom came down about a month ago and helped me put all my fabric and borders up which was a huge help! I love how everything turned out!

Thank you again for all your prayers! I can't for the rest of the year!

GO COUGARS!!!

Our Adventure

Here is a story of 14 good friends who planned a hiking trip. . .
We all have been dying for some good mountain time since summer started. Let me tell you, trying to get this many people together all at the same time for a fun event is quite difficult but we finally made it happen this past Monday.

The plan: Meet at the Holderman's. Leave for Big Bear at 4:30pm sharp! Head up the mountain and experience an awesome hike while enjoying the beautiful sun set! Conclude our evening at the Holderman's with a BBQ and games. Sounds great right. . . Here is what actually happened. . .
Left the Holderman's at 5:00pm with 3 cars. 20 min up the mountain, one car realized they did not have enough gas to get to the hiking spot which was about a 1 hour drive from the Holderman's. While that car dealt with their gas situation the other 2 cars pulled over. 1 of the cars that pull over randomly begins spraying a green liquid all over!! 9 of us are now on the side of the road dealing with this situation. Us girls realize that we can drive back the working car back to the Holdreman's and bring back up another car to pick up the guys and reach the hiking spot. So we go get my car. We get there and realize that my car also needs gas. Great. Corie says she know if a place right up the mountain that has gas. We get there-gas station is broken!! Great! While we are stranded there we realize that the little red car next to us at the unusable gas station is our other friend's car. We call them. They crossed the street and began hiking up a random mountain side. The guys with Staci's broken car come and meet us and we join our friends up this trail!!

Wow! it was not at all what we had planned but we had a great laugh and still enjoyed a beautiful hike with a great view(even though it was not of Big Bear Lake) and had an amazing time. We were starved to say the least when we finally got back, all safe-thank you Lord!- and enjoyed an amazing dinner and fun games! I haven't laughed that hard in a while! We didn't leave till 1am.
We are so thankful for our amazing friends who love the Lord and are seeking to serve Him in all they do. It is because of them ans their great joy from God that situations like these are so memorable and fun! Thanks for a great adventure!!


Ready to go!!


Can you tell who is excited to be hiking in this picture?!

These are for you Laura Moore-how bout that lighting!! :)

Fun Family Time

Brandon and I were blessed this week with having my mom and brother come down for a few days to enjoy some summer with us! We began our week with a wonderful day at the Santa Monica Pier. It was gorgeous weather and we indulged in an amazing Bubba Gump dinner!!

We then spent the next 2 days decorating my classroom! It was a lot of work, but I was so thankful that my family was able to help me set up my first classroom! There is still much to do but it looks great so far!

Thank for again Kevin and Mom for coming down, as well as Bev and Chase for helping in the classroom! This was a memorable time and you are already greatly missed!!

New Job!!

Brandon and I are SO excited for a new job opportunity that I will have this coming fall!

I got a position as the new 8th grade English/Journalism teacher at

Riverside Christian Middle School!!

I spent the last year substitute teaching there so I am already very familiar with the students, principal, and the way the school functions. I am so thankful that I believe this will greatly help in getting comfortable with having my own classroom and students.

This has been a goal of mine that I have been working towards for quite some time now and I can't believe it is all coming together.

According to my mom, :) here is one of the best parts of the job . . .

I grew up Blue and Gold and am a proud graduate of Clovis High School.

Our motto at Clovis High is

"Once a Cougar, Always a Cougar"

and surely enough, Riv. Christian is Blue and Gold and their mascot is a Cougar!!!

I am excited to be a part of this school and to be a Cougar once again. :)

9 Month Anniversary

We can not believe we have been married for 9 months already! We have enjoyed every minute of it and we also enjoyed celebrating it Saturday evening!

I picked up a shift during the day while Brandon was at the Angel/Yankee game with his dad and brother Blake and some friends. It was an awesome game and guess who won... GO ANGELS!!

I'm sure you can tell who was most pleased about this win!! :)

After our afternoon adventures we came home and got fancied up and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at The Olive Garden which is always a great treat for us!

When we got home we decided to play Sequence while we let out stomachs settle and look who decided to play with us!

Here is our little Punkin contemplating her move . . .

. . . she did good but her mommy won! :)

We had a fun night!!