Ok... Well we can't completely ignore the last 5 months because a LOT happened- - so just ignore the fact that I didn't blog a single time in that span of time. Deal? Deal.
Here it is in a nutshell:
-Student teaching was hard. and tiring. and awesome. and I loved/hated it. but mostly loved. :)
-I graduated from BYU!
-I was offered a job the day I graduated!
-Scott and I drove to CA to attend Kenadie's celebration of life and run in the UCLA 5k in memory of her.
-Scott studied for the MCAT. EVERY. DAY. for HOURS.
-I worked as an aide at Sharon Elementary, where I did the first part of my student teaching
-One week into working as an aide they switched me to a long-term sub for a 4th grade class until the end of the school year.
-Scott began working in 2 different research labs on campus.
-School ended and I got to celebrate with the great faculty of Sharon.
-I attended training for teaching the new 6th grade math curriculum and got to know my 6th grade team.
-Scott applied to Medical School [30 different ones to be exact- in 18 different states]
-I read TONS of books on my Kindle [which was a graduation/birthday gift!]
-We got to spend a weekend at the Davies family cabin with family and yummy s'mores.
-We enjoyed a ward campout with fun times at a lake.
-Attended Stadium of Fire where we sang along to the Beach Boys and enjoyed a James Bond themed firework display
-Drove to Saint George for Scott to take the MCAT.
-We bought our own car.
-Enjoyed a great week at Lake Powell with extended family
-I got to start working in my classroom
-We flew to Virginia for a relaxing, fun vacation where I experienced lots of humidity, we hiked, we ran, we enjoyed a double feature at the movies, and I got some moles removed.
-I flew back to Utah a week later for teacher meetings and classroom prep while Scott stayed in Virginia to spend more time with family and shadow a few doctors.
-I worked every day all day in my classroom. and Skyped Scott whenever possible. It was a very, very hard week.
-Scott drove across the country in 4 days with a friend.
-I started teaching 6th grade!
And that brings us to now! whew. We made it. It was a great summer and now real life is starting, somehow. Crazy. But life is great!
I'll be better about posting so I don't have to try and remember a whole bunch all at once again. And I'll post about teaching soon. Promise :)
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Wintery Weekend
Here in Provo we enjoyed a rather warm week where people busted out their flip flops and short sleeve shirts to enjoy the sun. But this weekend Winter shook her fist at us and said that she wasn't finished with us yet. It has been snowing most of the day up here on the mountain in our cozy little home.
Thankfully the snow didn't come yesterday, so our 5k was in relatively nice weather. It was cloudy and a bit windy, but nothing was falling from the sky to trip me up like I worried about.
Scott and I ran the Rex Lee Run yesterday. There was a 5k and a 10k and there were SO MANY people there! It was a really cool experience to be surrounded by so many other people running. We had our own lane [or two!] of the road for the whole race around BYU campus and it was great. [sorry, no pictures because I was not about to focus on anything other than running and I didn't want to carry a camera the whole 3.1 miles either]
I didn't stop to walk at any part during the race... although I wanted to real bad near the end... and I was very happy with my performance. Scott and I have been running together for months now, but we had never even gone a full 3 miles - only a little over 2 a couple times, so this was a whole new distance and a whole new experience for me. I was super tired for the last leg, but I had some great support from Scott and a friend we spotted during the final part of the race, so they helped me finish strong. I am already looking forward to our next opportunity to do a 5k so that I can beat my time :)
ALSO- tomorrow I start my 2 weeks of solo teaching in the first grade class I am working with! I will be teaching EVERYTHING for the next 2 weeks, and then I will just have 3 more days in the class before I am completely done with student teaching! CRAZY! I am going to be very busy and very tired... but I am excited. Wish me luck!
AAAAND! My husband started a blog too! Check it out here: Greater Provo
Thankfully the snow didn't come yesterday, so our 5k was in relatively nice weather. It was cloudy and a bit windy, but nothing was falling from the sky to trip me up like I worried about.
Scott and I ran the Rex Lee Run yesterday. There was a 5k and a 10k and there were SO MANY people there! It was a really cool experience to be surrounded by so many other people running. We had our own lane [or two!] of the road for the whole race around BYU campus and it was great. [sorry, no pictures because I was not about to focus on anything other than running and I didn't want to carry a camera the whole 3.1 miles either]
I didn't stop to walk at any part during the race... although I wanted to real bad near the end... and I was very happy with my performance. Scott and I have been running together for months now, but we had never even gone a full 3 miles - only a little over 2 a couple times, so this was a whole new distance and a whole new experience for me. I was super tired for the last leg, but I had some great support from Scott and a friend we spotted during the final part of the race, so they helped me finish strong. I am already looking forward to our next opportunity to do a 5k so that I can beat my time :)
ALSO- tomorrow I start my 2 weeks of solo teaching in the first grade class I am working with! I will be teaching EVERYTHING for the next 2 weeks, and then I will just have 3 more days in the class before I am completely done with student teaching! CRAZY! I am going to be very busy and very tired... but I am excited. Wish me luck!
AAAAND! My husband started a blog too! Check it out here: Greater Provo
Sunday, March 11, 2012
I, Holly Morris Whitlock, am now a runner!
In January Scott and I were driving along the I-15 freeway and saw a billboard that said "Thou Shalt Run: Provo City Marathon" and it got us talking about running. I have had several thoughts every now and then about starting to run, so I mentioned this to Scott. We kept talking about it and before I knew it we agreed to start running together and train for a 5k!
We started going to the indoor track on campus 3 times a week and we followed a schedule provided by the program couch to 5k [c25k.com]. It started me off nice and slow so that I could build up my ability and endurance so the time has come. This Saturday, March 17 [St. Patrick's Day] we are running our race! It is the Rex Lee Run around campus.
I am very excited, but very nervous too! I'm counting on the adrenaline to push me through - I'll let you know how it goes next week!! :D
We started going to the indoor track on campus 3 times a week and we followed a schedule provided by the program couch to 5k [c25k.com]. It started me off nice and slow so that I could build up my ability and endurance so the time has come. This Saturday, March 17 [St. Patrick's Day] we are running our race! It is the Rex Lee Run around campus.
I am very excited, but very nervous too! I'm counting on the adrenaline to push me through - I'll let you know how it goes next week!! :D
Sunday, March 4, 2012
March March March
Time sure is Marching on quickly! How am I only a month away from the end of my student teaching already?!
Last weekend the dreaded Teacher Work Sample was due. Oh Man that took waaay more time than I thought it would - and now that it is finally turned in I still just have a little bit of worry in the back of my mind whether or not I will pass... Basically the Teacher Work Sample is my capstone project before I can graduate that basically tells the McKay School of Education that I am capable of being a teacher and effectively instructing students as well as assessing, measuring, etc. It was huge. Cross your fingers for me, ok? :)
The day that I turned in my TWS was the day I started at a new elementary school also. I am sad to no longer be working at Sharon Elementary with the amazing 6th grade team. I learned a LOT there and had some really neat experiences. I am now at a school in Lehi where I am working with 1st graders. I went from 6th grade to 6 years old! BIG difference! They are so cute though and so eager to learn, it is great. I have a lot of adjusting to do, but I am excited to spend more time in the lower grades and learn as much as I can from my new mentor teacher.
The first week in 1st grade was interesting, but also super fun - because Friday was Dr. Seuss' birthday and that is a holiday in the younger grades! We had a read-a-thon, parents come in to read, fun activities like drawing what you would do on a snowy day instead of getting into trouble with The Cat in the Hat when he comes back, throwing Wockets into pockets, Hop on Pop Hopscotch, Thing 1 and Thing 2 patterns, and even some green cupcakes and green milk to celebrate. I also got to make my own Cat in the Hat hat along with all the kids and we had fun wearing them all day.
First graders are so young in their schooling, so its a big adjustment for me, but I think I am really going to enjoy my time working with them :) I only will be with this class until April 4th [exactly one month from now] and then I will be all ready to graduate! Crazy!! AND- tomorrow is Scott's birthday! This is just a great time of the year!
Last weekend the dreaded Teacher Work Sample was due. Oh Man that took waaay more time than I thought it would - and now that it is finally turned in I still just have a little bit of worry in the back of my mind whether or not I will pass... Basically the Teacher Work Sample is my capstone project before I can graduate that basically tells the McKay School of Education that I am capable of being a teacher and effectively instructing students as well as assessing, measuring, etc. It was huge. Cross your fingers for me, ok? :)
The day that I turned in my TWS was the day I started at a new elementary school also. I am sad to no longer be working at Sharon Elementary with the amazing 6th grade team. I learned a LOT there and had some really neat experiences. I am now at a school in Lehi where I am working with 1st graders. I went from 6th grade to 6 years old! BIG difference! They are so cute though and so eager to learn, it is great. I have a lot of adjusting to do, but I am excited to spend more time in the lower grades and learn as much as I can from my new mentor teacher.
The first week in 1st grade was interesting, but also super fun - because Friday was Dr. Seuss' birthday and that is a holiday in the younger grades! We had a read-a-thon, parents come in to read, fun activities like drawing what you would do on a snowy day instead of getting into trouble with The Cat in the Hat when he comes back, throwing Wockets into pockets, Hop on Pop Hopscotch, Thing 1 and Thing 2 patterns, and even some green cupcakes and green milk to celebrate. I also got to make my own Cat in the Hat hat along with all the kids and we had fun wearing them all day.
First graders are so young in their schooling, so its a big adjustment for me, but I think I am really going to enjoy my time working with them :) I only will be with this class until April 4th [exactly one month from now] and then I will be all ready to graduate! Crazy!! AND- tomorrow is Scott's birthday! This is just a great time of the year!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
3-Day-Weekend!
Last week was a particularly long week... not like I had a ton of things to do compared to other weeks, but the problem was that every day I kept thinking it was Friday- and then I would be disappointed. This happens to people every once in a while, but there were several days where I had to realize over and over and over and OVER that it was in fact only Tuesday. Or Wednesday. and no Wednesday does not magically become Thursday once you finally realize it is NOT Friday. It was bad.
So when Friday finally really did come I was so happy! I had a little work meeting to go to right after the Elementary school got out, but once that was over I was free! Scott and I had delicious Indian food with some friends from church and decided we wanted a fun relaxing weekend and didn't need any elaborate plans. We never have the luxury of getting bored, so this was a very exciting plan for us :)
Saturday I cleaned a bit while Scott had a review session, then we ate our leftovers and did some school work, relaxed, went for a run, and watched Inception. We also were able to rescue our friend Ashley who was locked out of her apartment and hung out with her til Mark got off work. It was a fun relaxing day.
Then Sunday [today] was snowy and we stayed cozy inside reading, making yummy Cafe Rio style burritos, and talking to family. So nice!
Tomorrow is the final day of this extended weekend and I don't know what we will do, but it will be nice to do it together :) I Looooove 3-day weekends!
So when Friday finally really did come I was so happy! I had a little work meeting to go to right after the Elementary school got out, but once that was over I was free! Scott and I had delicious Indian food with some friends from church and decided we wanted a fun relaxing weekend and didn't need any elaborate plans. We never have the luxury of getting bored, so this was a very exciting plan for us :)
Saturday I cleaned a bit while Scott had a review session, then we ate our leftovers and did some school work, relaxed, went for a run, and watched Inception. We also were able to rescue our friend Ashley who was locked out of her apartment and hung out with her til Mark got off work. It was a fun relaxing day.
Then Sunday [today] was snowy and we stayed cozy inside reading, making yummy Cafe Rio style burritos, and talking to family. So nice!
Tomorrow is the final day of this extended weekend and I don't know what we will do, but it will be nice to do it together :) I Looooove 3-day weekends!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Awesome Sunday
Today Scott and I taught our very first lesson together in Sunday School. It was nerve-wracking, but it went well. Somehow it is way easier to teach twenty-three 6th graders about multiplying decimals than a room of BYU married students about 2 Nephi chapters 1-2... Good thing I have Scott by my side!
Our lesson was about choosing eternal life rather than captivity and how we have to be active in doing so. We talked about habits that lead us on the right path and help to prepare us and as we did so we shared this cool story Scott had. Here it is:
There is an interesting story coming out of India to the effect that in that country 50,000 natives are killed annually by pythons. These deadly reptiles first coil themselves about their victims and then crush out their lives. In the spring of the year, as the pythons lay their eggs in the sand and grass, the natives search out and destroy as many eggs as possible in order to reduce the risk that they themselves may be later destroyed by the pythons.
We should take a leaf out of the book of the natives of India and destroy the eggs while we can. We have the awful alternative that either we get rid of the eggs, or the pythons get rid of us. We should stamp out our bad habits while they are in their infancy. It is easier to dispose of alcoholism before the taste is developed or at elast while it is in the egg stage, than it is to fight the deadly python when it holds us in its vice-like grip.
Idleness or the lack of a purposeful design in life provides excellent breeding sands for pythons, and it is pretty difficult to clean out the reptiles from our minds as long as those minds are lying idle and unused. And where we allow ourselves to vacillate between distractions, we no sooner get one problem out of the way than another takes its place.
--Sterling W. Sill The Law of the Harvest
While we were in church the world of Provo continued to whiten and become completely blanketed in snow, so as I now sit in our awesome little home this is the view I have:
Life is great! And now I'm going to go cuddle to stay warm with my husband as we enjoy this weather :)
Our lesson was about choosing eternal life rather than captivity and how we have to be active in doing so. We talked about habits that lead us on the right path and help to prepare us and as we did so we shared this cool story Scott had. Here it is:
There is an interesting story coming out of India to the effect that in that country 50,000 natives are killed annually by pythons. These deadly reptiles first coil themselves about their victims and then crush out their lives. In the spring of the year, as the pythons lay their eggs in the sand and grass, the natives search out and destroy as many eggs as possible in order to reduce the risk that they themselves may be later destroyed by the pythons.
We should take a leaf out of the book of the natives of India and destroy the eggs while we can. We have the awful alternative that either we get rid of the eggs, or the pythons get rid of us. We should stamp out our bad habits while they are in their infancy. It is easier to dispose of alcoholism before the taste is developed or at elast while it is in the egg stage, than it is to fight the deadly python when it holds us in its vice-like grip.
Idleness or the lack of a purposeful design in life provides excellent breeding sands for pythons, and it is pretty difficult to clean out the reptiles from our minds as long as those minds are lying idle and unused. And where we allow ourselves to vacillate between distractions, we no sooner get one problem out of the way than another takes its place.
--Sterling W. Sill The Law of the Harvest
While we were in church the world of Provo continued to whiten and become completely blanketed in snow, so as I now sit in our awesome little home this is the view I have:
Life is great! And now I'm going to go cuddle to stay warm with my husband as we enjoy this weather :)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Epic Fail
I have been neglecting this blog and I finally need to pick it back up again.
A LOT has happened since my last post.... all the way back in OCTOBER. Yeesh- I'll do better now I promise! Here is a brief re-cap for the time being:
The last couple months/weeks leading up to the wedding were very stressful as I had classes, Practicum, huge final assignments, and then actual finals. As well as last-minute wedding details, packing up my apartment, and packing for the whirlwind Christmas break.
It all worked out though! Despite a few hiccups here and there [remind me to tell you about the life lesson I learned at the airport when we flew to CA].
Scott and I were married on December 17, 2011 and I am the happiest ever because I am sealed to him for Time and All Eternity!! I love Scott so much and am so grateful to be his wife :D
From CA we flew to Saint John, US Virgin Islands for our honeymoon which was incredible! Mike and Shannon seriously hooked us up and we had the BEST time! After a few days of paradise we flew to VA for Christmas through New Years. We had a blast with the Whitlocks and had a great Open House/celebration in Virginia.
Then on January 1st we flew back to UT and Scott and I started setting up our home together. Its come a long way and we love our apartment!
We are now getting close to half-way through the semester as I am student teaching and Scott is taking lots of science classes. Married life is the best and having Scott by my side makes anything possible :)
A LOT has happened since my last post.... all the way back in OCTOBER. Yeesh- I'll do better now I promise! Here is a brief re-cap for the time being:
The last couple months/weeks leading up to the wedding were very stressful as I had classes, Practicum, huge final assignments, and then actual finals. As well as last-minute wedding details, packing up my apartment, and packing for the whirlwind Christmas break.
It all worked out though! Despite a few hiccups here and there [remind me to tell you about the life lesson I learned at the airport when we flew to CA].
Scott and I were married on December 17, 2011 and I am the happiest ever because I am sealed to him for Time and All Eternity!! I love Scott so much and am so grateful to be his wife :D
From CA we flew to Saint John, US Virgin Islands for our honeymoon which was incredible! Mike and Shannon seriously hooked us up and we had the BEST time! After a few days of paradise we flew to VA for Christmas through New Years. We had a blast with the Whitlocks and had a great Open House/celebration in Virginia.
Then on January 1st we flew back to UT and Scott and I started setting up our home together. Its come a long way and we love our apartment!
We are now getting close to half-way through the semester as I am student teaching and Scott is taking lots of science classes. Married life is the best and having Scott by my side makes anything possible :)
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