A New York Minute

New York was beautiful this weekend! I met up with an old roommate Traci and later with a childhood friend Jenni Mae and it was fantastic!

Traci, her roommates and I at the Manhattan Temple

Beautiful murals in the subway

We enjoyed riding the Staten Island Ferry each day

NYC skyline

I just love Traci

Jenni Mae's little cutie Megan

Her other little cutie Jane

We went on a walk to Central Park. The Park is definitely my favorite place in NYC!

We all had a great time on the carousel.

Love the Muirheads!

One of the greatest women in the world!

More of Central Park

Can anyone say "The Apprentice"

My friend Map. The two of us hung out for a while, it was a very Prehistoric, non-Smartphone moment for me.

The 9/11 Memorial was extremely peaceful

Waiting for Hugh Jackman! AAAAAH!

We were standing so close to him, it was amazing!

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree prep

I was so exhausted that I took a nap on the floor while we waited for the Staten Island Ferry

View from where we stayed on Staten Island

View from the front seat of the second story of the Megabus bus.

All in all it was a great trip to NYC to see some wonderful friends.



Remember That Time We Stormed the Castle...and Other Adventures

One of the best things to happen to me lately was a weekend trip to rustic Connecticut to see 2 of my favorite people, Ammon and Monica Hepworth.

Ashley and I joined the two of them in their newly bought house on 2 acres and went back in time to our BYU days at the BC.

Back of the House

Front of the House

The Awesome Fire Pit

And it wouldn't have been the same without 3 very magical objects.

The Ta-Da Cape, The Viking Helmet and The Lightsabers.

Let the adventures begin!

More magical moments!

(in no particular order)

Date with Elmo

Ashley really really loved this sweater

I could sit here the rest of my life and be content

Tamara Lil' One Gordon

Hotstuff

I am a lover of clouds

Coolest swinging bridge ever!

You can see that I'm pretty excited about it!

'nuff said

our fuzzy friend that Ashley saved

a great little house

Awesomeness!

Connecticut River

Same Same But Different

Bonfire time

Leather Jacket = Strong Chica

Maybe I'm scared? No, I really wasn't. It was one of the most peaceful moments sitting out in the woods looking up at the stars and staying warm by the fire.

Hotdog Roast

Engulfed in the Ta-Da cape

Love these ladies! Let's do it again soon.

p.s. Thanks Ash for providing a lot of these pics taken on your fancy camera. Wouldn't be a trip without your fabulous pics!

We need us some Mountain Men

One of my most favoritest people in the whole world, Kim Walters, was back in town for a few days and I got to spend a few glorious hours with her tonight. And of course we had to sing. Here's Kim's original and brilliant song, "Mountain Man."



Doesn't Kim's talent just blow your mind?! Well these two gals are on the search for some wood choppin', flapjack flippin', muscley mountain men! If you see any, let us know!

p.s. I found this amazing double rocking chair that's got my name on it. Now all I need is my mountain man and a nice porch and I'm set!!

At the End of the Day...

Today ended my first full week of working in my elementary school. And what a week!! Although it's been extremely exhausting and at times trying...

AT THE END OF THE DAY...

• an earthquake couldn't tear me away from that little 3rd grade class.
• even when a child sasses back to me and says, "talk to the hand," he'll be giving me a big hug before he leaves.
• waking up at 4:45 in the morning everyday is worth it to see their smiling faces.
• having my feet go numb on a daily basis won't kill me, it will only make me stronger.
• having a 3rd grader tell me that he's almost as tall as me brings a smile to my face.
• connecting with my kids on a personal level makes me the happiest person in the world.
• walking the preschoolers and pre-K kids to the bus reminds me that even though I'm not a mother yet, I have a school full of darlings to make my own.
• hearing a student sweetly raise his hand and say "Miss Woolley" makes my heart melt.

This school year is going to be amazingly difficult but extremely rewarding. Pray for me!

'Reppin the 20020

WE are the change we want to see in Southeast!

Our Mission at the Septima Clark Public Charter School, preschool to 8th grade boys master advanced academic skills and knowledge to compete, achieve, and contribute in academic institutions of distinction.

I love our school culture. I love that we have a great team building opportunity each morning in our huddle. I love that we give eachother energy fingers. I love that we bring it in and yell a cheer together. I love that we talked about why we are here. I love that our Septima Family is passionate about helping close the achievement gap. I love that I get to work with young boys from DC. I love that the boys are willing to exceed high expectations and are EXCELLENT!

Speaking of, here's a video I found on youtube of some scholars reciting our Declaration of Excellence.



And my biggest hope of all is that I'll come to love wearing khakis everyday. :) You know I will!

Jiminy Cricket, I'm so excited for Monday!

Change

Change means that what was before wasn't perfect. People want things to be better.

    ~ Esther Dyson

This summer has been a whirlwind of changes and just thinking about it I can't get this smile off my face. There's something special about discovering what your dreams are and then living them...and I'm livin' the dream!

This past month as I have immersed myself into a new learning experience I have seen incredible growth within myself. I have reflected on the person I have become over the past 10 years and realized that my life has started to come back to where I want it to be: HAPPY! Not that I've been depressed the past 10 years, but I've definitely had some changes to my personality and today I feel like I'm 20 again. I'm seeing hope in the future, happiness in what I'm doing to bring about real change in the lives of others...and as Katryna would put it, "I feel like I'm in a space" to accept who I am and what I need to do to bring about hope and change.

Today was our last day of "Summer Institute" at UTC. I would be lying if I said I'm not going to miss it. My summer experience has been absolutely a notch above awesome. From the friends I made, the children I worked with, to the enjoyment of the small things such as pink cake, playing ultimate frisbee, sitting outside and reading for fun on the lawn, having real and meaningful conversations with my cohort friends and much more, I'm going to miss it!

But, it's time for change and I'm just as excited about what the future holds! I'm going to be working with the Inclusion Specialist in an all-boys public charter school in the Anacostia region of DC. I'm extremely excited and somewhat nervous to meet her and the rest of my new colleagues tomorrow morning. But what I'm most excited for is Monday, August 22, 2011 when I get to see those strong, happy, unique boys that I will be working with. It's going to be hard, but I can do hard things!

The best way to see the future is to create it.

To infinity and beyond!!