Welcome to the Fast Lane

In the words of my teammate when I got my new job-"Welcome to the fast lane!" Boy oh boy was she correct on that one. Since I wrote last I have been busy busy! Judy's visit was a complete success, we went to Mesa falls, Yellowstone,Grand Targhee, Jackson, on hikes, shopping, and to great restaurants. We also cooked at home, went on walks around the house, and I even had to work one night so she was able to have a down day.

The day she left my old friend from high school came to town with his wife for the Widespread Panic show at the Drive-in movie theater down the street from my house. It was a great July 4Th. We filled every waking second with activities. Took them up to the wind caves, and then to the God Bless America festival on the 3rd. On the fourth we went up to Targhee and rode the chair lift, before the concert. The concert was a mega blast. WE all had such fun. The next week I made it in the newspaper! It was a riot.

Once Bart left on Monday Nick and I were so exhausted from the past two weeks, we ordered a pizza and a movie and never left the house. It was great and well needed day of rest. This past weekend we climbed up Taylor Mountain on Sat which was a steep hike that took about 6 hours round trip. Then Sunday we went on a killer dirt bike ride to packsaddle and everyone jumped off the rope swing. It was such a blast.

I am working at the Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse two nights a week for extra money during the summer. They called me back for the summer and I accepted. Pretty cool. I am still working on my classes for my Masters, they started back up July 1st. I am hoping to be done with all of the classes come December. Then I can just work on my Thesis. Life is great, it is flying by so quickly I can hardly believe it. I guess it is true about what they say-Time flies when you are having fun. I am sorry this post is such a broad summary, but I think you get the gist. Once again I will try to update more often!

Until next time...

Cloud Nine

Cloud nine, what a wonderful feeling. Such relief. So thrilled, I got the job!! Let me repeat, I got the job! I am now officially the Reading Intervention Specialist for Jackson Hole Middle School.WHOHOO!! Nick and I both were so excited we were doing cartwheels in the lawn. Widespread Panic is coming in two weeks to play at The Spud!! Kari's and I best friend from high school is driving in from Arizona with his wife to see the show. What a grand fourth of July this will be.

Judy is coming to town next Wednesday for a week and I am so excited. I have a super busy weekend all mapped out to keep us all busy. We rented a cabin in Yellowstone to stay the night. The cabin is on the Grand Canyon side of the park, not on Yellowstone Lake like when I took my wonderful grandparents. But it still will be beautiful. You can bet there will be many pictures to follow!

The pictures posted above are from Ski Lake, a new spot Nick and I found this morning. 6 miles round trip and a pretty mellow hike, but once you get to the top there is a hidden lake and the dogs had a field day. It was sunny and warm, but once we got home the storm stated blowing in. I had a horrible dream last night that Tuaca got attacked by a grizzly so today I got out the bear bells for the dogs collars and made Nick take TWO cans of bear spray with us. The hike was wonderful, I am so surprised I have never been there before. The valley blows me away every summer with it's simple beauty. And every summer I keep discovering new spots. I love this place. Paradise.

Until next time...

Humpday...

Ok, my interview for this afternoon was moved to Friday at 1:00. But, the interview yesterday was a hit! I felt really good about it and at the end the principal told me I was a top candidate! I really hope out of the two I am given an offer. Although I found out today there is only one other candidate, an English teacher I work with. So if I don't get offered the English position at the high school, than I have a 50/50 shot to get an offer from the middle school. So I am feeling good about the whole thing.

My first race is this Sat in Rexburg. First 10K! I am so excited, not to run super fast but to complete the race with my girlfriends. Plus, Nick is going down also for support and he is going to take tons of pictures. I will post them afterwards.

The weather has been super wet and raining here. I wish the sun would come out for more than 20 minutes. I would like to take the bikes out, go on a hike, go camping, and get a tan! Plus I don't like running in the rain nearly as much as a beautiful sunny day. Sun-come out come out where ever you are!!

Until next time,

Jenn

The pressure! Oh, the pressure!!

I know I know, it has been too long since I have last updated my blog. Well, my mind is fully occupied with work and my interviews. I have two interviews this week, one at the middle school and one at the high school tomorrow morning. Yikes! Also, I just found out that an English teacher here at the middle school is applying for the RtI position!! Arg! So my nerves are a little on edge due to the fact that she has worked here forever and will be my strongest competition. Jill, my partner, keeps telling me to go in there with confidence and own this job. I started the build-up with this program this year-it is my baby! I just have to get the job. I just have to. I saw this amazing rainbow driving home from work last week. I pulled over to take this picture because it was so striking. I looked out the window and my jaw dropped to the floor. I feel like it was a sign for good things to come. I have eaten my nails down to the bone and chewed off all the skin on my lips from anxiety. Yikes! Oh the stress, only 4 more days till summertime and no more classes. If I can only make it to then-and not fall over from stress. In four days all this waiting should be over...I'll now if I have a contract in four days. Four more days to hurry up and wait. Then in five days I can relieve all of the stress I have harbored and run my first 10 K foot race!!

Wish me luck-send me prayers-until next time,

Jenny

Epiphany!!!

I have been so busy that I have neglected you, my blog. I am sorry, but now I am back. On my run yesterday (4 miler) I had a vision. The reason I have been struggling trying to find a writing intervention to use with my students is because I haven't written one yet!! I have decided to plan and create my very own writing intervention for students that score below basic on the PAWS writing assessment. The idea is to teach students the skills they need to show growth during progress monitoring. In order to do this, the fidelity of the intervention has to be consistent. I haven't been able to find an actual writing intervention that I can record data for accurate results. Until now! I have decided to create an intervention aligned with my school and district's curriculum and create a binder showing the step by step the process I used. I am so inspired and feel like this is my role in the district. A pseudo-curriculum writer!! Hooray!

We only have 16 days of school left until summertime!!! I am so excited for the break. My principal caught me this morning walking in and told me her gut feeling is that they are opening up the position for next year! She also said they have to interview all applicants, which means I would still have to interview. But, the good side to that is I have already been doing the job all school year this year--so I am the only person this time who has experience. I have home court advantage. I feel in my heart of hearts it is now my time to shine. This will be my year to get that contract. I just know it.

Well, for now...

until next time.

I am back!!

So I haven't posted since Nick and I went to Spring Creek Ranch for our weekend get-a-way. That Saturday morning I ran 8 miles with my friend Katie. Woke up that Sunday and had pulled my hip-flexer, to the point that I was limping a little up until this past Wednesday! So, with little guilt I took the week off from all exercise trying to get that hip-flexer back into shape. I think it was pulled from over-use. Last time I had issues with my hip was when I hiked up Table Mountain-12 miles round trip! So needless to say, this weekend I was extremely antsy! I

wanted to get out and run so bad, but did not want to further injure myself. On Saturday I went into the gym and did a great workout, and my girlfriend Kari and I hiked up Mud Lake. This felt fantastic!

Mud lake is super steep in spots. It is a great hike because of how steep it is. The hike really stretched out that hip-flexer and I woke up Sunday feeling pretty darn good. I am back!! Running and weight training look-out! Sunday afternoon I went for an experimental 3 mile run and felt great. The hip is a little sore today, but today I do not run. Instead, I go back to the gym for an hour or so weight training. Tomorrow I will try and run 3-4 miles. I kind of had to take a step back to recoup. Hopefully if I take it easy I can try for 8 again this Saturday.

This is a snapshot of my very first homemade heart healthy pizza! I made from scratch the whole wheat dough, topped it off with spicy turkey sausage, and made a wonderful tomato sauce with tons of garlic and red pepper, then topped it off with bocolini and low-fat sharp cheddar cheese. It was a hit, Nick ate FIVE pieces!! I guess the heart healthy wears off if you eat five pieces, but it had been so long since we ate pizza!! And it was so good, If I do say so myself. I was joking around and said I needed to open up my own restaurant and Nick's reply was, "Naw, then you wouldn't like to cook at home." I thought that was funny. Nick would rather me be home cooking for him and that way he doesn't have to share. Flattering in a way. Love that husband of mine!

Until next time..

Our Spring Creek Ranch get-a-way.

Nicky and I decided we both needed to take a weekend and spend some together time rekindling. We found a great deal at Spring Creek Ranch. When we arrived and checked into the room I was fully impressed. The rooms had the most amazing views of The Tetons I had ever seen. The back deck looked out over a huge valley. The room also had a huge stone fireplace. Super relaxing. We had dinner reservations at The Granary and I had the elk tenderloin. The entire meal was so relaxing. We stopped in the bar before dinner to have a couple of cocktails. They were serving strawberry and jalapeno infused tequila to make the most amazing margaritas! Yum! We were the only ones in the entire place so it was very mellow. I could actually feel stress melting away. I could see Nick was also starting to relax. The views outside the restaurant were stunning, and the entire wall of the building was made of glass so we could look out. There wasn't a bad seat in the house. Truly an amazing experience. After dinner we took a soak in the hot tub and looked out over the Spring Creek pond, with the sounds of a babbling creek nearby. Nick is such a great person to spend time with, my best friend. We love and enjoy the same things. I love being married to him and feel really blessed, especially this weekend. (Awe..heart-warming.)

The next morning we ate the most delicious breakfast, soaked in the hot tub watching the morning wake up, and then went 'drivin round' looking for wildlife. Nick was my tour guide. He claimed he would show me wildlife and boy did he get lucky. We saw several herds of elk super close to the road, as well as, a bison crossing the road as we drove by! It was great, it reminded me of when I was younger and my granddad would take Jeff and I to the wildlife refuge to "grind up smoke". I came home with a grin from ear to ear. Great weekend. Hope to go back every year.

Until Next time..