The Glad Life

Life around here has been crazy. We keep waiting for Spring and it doesn't seem to be coming any time soon, but we decided to take an afternoon and go up to Kolob Canyon. It was beautiful even though it is still really cold. What a beautiful drive.


Easter has come and gone and we did enjoy. My kids even though they are big still enjoy getting candy and having a Easter hunt. It was a great day to remember the resurrection of our Savior one of the greatest gifts we are given. This year Easter was also on General Conference weekend. What an extra treat. I can't remember a year when I felt we were taught better than this year. It was so great. I am always reminded of how much more I need to do as a mother and how much I haven't done but at least it gives me something to work towards. We all were thinking about AJ and hoping his Easter was great. He told us that he actually received an Easter basket from one of the families in Ohio. We also sent him an Easter basket. We sure miss our missionary, our AJ BEAR.

At our house it is always a tradition to have yummy treats for General Conference and it is also for Easter so this year we had an extra amounts of treats. What can we say. We all need to diet now.

Todd has been real busy with Sterling Scholar preparations for months now and it finally all came to an end last week. He has been having mock interviews, putting together his portfolio and many other things to get ready for it. We even bought him a suit. He looks so handsome. One of the last things we had to do to prepare him was to get his hair cut. He wasn't real excited about this but he knew it needed to be done.
Here are some before and after shots of his hair cut.

Before

After ( does he look happy about it???)

What a handsome looking guy. Todd is such an exceptional kid, young man. We went to Dixie State College last week and had a dinner and then program where they presented the Sterling Scholars that won for regional competition. Todd didn't win the regional competition but we sure thought he should have. You can tell he is a little stressed. He looks so awesome. Times like this is payment for moms. I can't believe that I have such an awesome young man. What would we do without him and his great desire to excel and give the best in every thing that he does. Todd you are a winner!!!

This last Saturday we also had the chance to go out and show how slow we really can run, just kidding. We had to do our annual 5K ROTC run. I actually felt like I had trained for it this year and it has been a while since I have felt prepared for it. It was a great run to do with my kids. We ran up Canyon Park trail. The bad part about that is it is almost all uphill and I am an old lady and those hills are really hard to run up. This is a tradition that we have been doing for about six years now.

I actually placed third place. That was kind of nice. This made me think twice about possibly doing the Cedar City half marathon in a couple of months but not sure I am up for it.

OTHER: A little more about life here in the Glad home. AJ is doing good on his mission. Our highlight is hearing from him on his email every week.

I have been trying to substitute and not getting as many calls as I used to. I really need something to do. I have been feeling quite lonely during the day and just not feeling needed. I hope to find a job for this next year, I hope you are all praying for me. I need something to keep me busy and I don't think getting pregnat is an option.

I am getting used to my braces, and I can actually eat. I do get tired of carrying around my food when I eat, always very self conscious of if there is food in them after eating out. I actually lost weight too. That is an added bonus.

We are starting to plan our graduation that is coming up in three weeks. Todd, Karrilyn and I will all be walking at SUU. I am getting my bachelors degree and Todd and Karrilyn are getting their Associates degree. This is such a big accomplishment for all of us. It will be quite an experience to have my kids get to graduate with me. I sure love them and I am so proud of them. Now for arrangements for graduation. I need to decide what to feed my family that is coming in for the graduation. ANY IDEAS???

Student Teaching 09

I finally finished my student teaching in November of 2009. My first placement was in first grade at Enoch Elementary. I was really worried about first grade at first but I ended up really loving it and I really enjoyed the teacher that I worked with. She was a great mentor to me. The kids are so cute and so loving. I wish I could post some of their pictures but I haven't received permission from them. I learned a lot in first grade. First grade would be very hard to teach. There is so much to teach the first graders and you are so busy because you have so much that they need to learn.

My second placement was in the same school but in fourth grade. I really enjoyed it also. Fourth grade is definitely different, but they kids are great. This class had 31 students in it. There is so much that is expected of the teachers these days I don't know how they can keep up and do all that is expected. I was required to teach four lessons in each grade that were evaluated but I was mostly teaching all of the time. It is crazy how each teacher is so different on how they discipline, how they interact with the kids and just how they run their classroom. I learned many things that I won't do and many things I will love to try when I get my own classroom. I can't believe how fast the twelve weeks went by, at the time I kept thinking will this ever get over with and now I miss it. I miss the kids, I miss teaching, I miss making a difference. I just hope that I can find a job soon so that I can actually teach.

Already October

Yes, I know it is already October and I can't believe it. That means I am almost half way through with student teaching. Halloween is around the corner, with the holidays right after that. It is also General Conference weekend, which I can't believe but has been such a blessing to me in my life this year, already and it is just the first day.

I felt like General Conference was incredibly great, which I always say it is but there was so much that I needed to hear and my family also. I felt like there was a lot of focus on love and don't we all need to be a little more loving and tolerable to everyone that we are around in our every day. I can't wait for tomorrow.

I just love this time of the year. Fall, I don't know what it is but it is great and I just enjoy. This year, however has been quite different with me doing student teaching every day until 4 and Mike being at home. Our life has been turned upside down and we are still wondering what side is up. This Wednesday I will be shifting to fourth grade and I am excited but I will definitely miss all of my little kids in first grade. What will they do without me??? I know they will be fine but will I. It is so unbelievable to me that I really will be graduated by Thanksgiving. I haven't experienced being gone so much for years. I have been able to stay at home and take care of the kids so now I am experiencing not wanting to go anywhere on the weekend. I just want to stay home. This isn't always easy because I do have other obligations and commitments. I just need to get over it and get used to it.

Thanksgiving, I can't believe it is really in sight. We are actually going to be having Thanksgiving at our house this year. That makes for a little more preparation with family coming down to stay and having it with us.

I know this has been a lot of rambling on and on but there is so much going on in our home at this time. My kids are so busy and have so much going on in their own lives. I will definitely have to blog about them soon.

I Never Knew

This week has been hard but it is definitely better than last. The hard thing about this week is that I have a funeral to go to on Thursday. You probably are wondering who is it for??? I would have to say it is for one of my favorite people in the world. My husband's Uncle Roy passed away on Saturday morning. Why should I care??? I care because from the very second that I met him he has always treated me like a queen and as if I walk on water or something. I just can't explain it.

Mike and I, when we were just starting out with Karrilyn and AJ lived in Draper in a tiny little house behind Uncle Roy's and Aunt Mary's house. They rented it to us for $105 a month. It was small but what do you need when you are such a small family. I remember we had only a shower, no tub and the kids bedroom was also the laundry room. Oh well it was great for us.

Back then, I used to get up every morning and take my little kids to another person's house and babysit to make money so I wouldn't have to work. I would have to get up early and take my little kids out into the weather. I remember every morning that the weather was bad I would go out to my car and Uncle Roy had already scraped my windows in my car for me. He was an angel. Uncle Roy and Aunt Mary also told us not to pay rent two times a year for Christmas and during the Summer so we could have money for vacations and Christmas. They spoiled us. I just adored him and his wife. I always felt like I belonged and Aunt Mary had red hair which made me feel like I was truly family. They were both there in the temple the day we were married too. Even though I haven't seen Uncle Roy much, when I do he treats me as if it was just yesterday and that I still mean the world to him. He will truly be missed but I am sure his lovely wife is so happy to finally be reunited with him.

Well, back to this week. That is the hard part, funeral... The good part about this week is that I am adjusting to student teaching. I can finally say that I am loving it. I taught almost the entire day today. I love the kids. They are so cute even though at times they are frustrating. It is amazing how much I have learned already.

I just hope that I can find a job teaching when I get finished. It would be awful if I finally had my dream come true and wasn't able to find a teaching job.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Angela finished her first Cross Country Race. I was so proud of her. Todd has been doing it now for two years and does wonderful but it has been quite a struggle for Angela. Why is it that I start crying when she came across the finish line??? I am so proud.

And it all starts...

This week has been very crazy for all of us Glads. Angela and Todd started back to school last Thursday and Karrilyn, AJ and I started back this Monday. It will be a crazy year for all of us. We will be working hard in many classes. I think we will need much chocolate and cookie dough to help us get through it all.

Student Teaching
I actually started my student teaching on Monday. I was very nervous the first day but after that things have continually become better. I am in the first grade. It has been a shocking experience for me. First graders can't do a whole lot, but they sure are adorable. The days have seemed long but as the week has gone by it has seemed to get better and better. I am teaching quite a lot of each day. I think the kids are getting used to me and I think I am also adapting. There is so much that goes into teaching each day. It is quite intense. I am student teaching out at Enoch Elementary school. I will be in first grade for thirty days and then fourth grade for thirty days. I can't believe that I am finally to this point where I will actually be graduating from school. What a dream I have been waiting for. I hope you are all cheering me on, because I can use it. I just hope once I am finished that I can actually find a job and teach.

I guess the hardest thing is to be gone all day from my kids and not being there every second when they need me. Mike has been wonderful. The first day he made enchiladas for dinner and cleaned the entire house. NO!! he has never made enchiladas before but they were great. He has definitely been cheering me on. Who knows maybe I will actually be a teacher some day.

Todd also had a birthday this week. He turned 17. For his birthday we gave him a laptop. He has all college classes this year but a few high school. He will need it. We also went out to dinner to the Pizza Factory. It was very yummy. My kids totally love it and we haven't been there for quite a while. I can't believe Todd is actually 17. I sure love my TODD. He is an exceptional boy with so much desire and most of all the desire to do good. Happy Birthday to my Todd Schmodd, Todderoo, one of my best friends. He is awesome!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Back!!!

Yes, I am finally back from vacation to Disneyland and Six Flags in California. It was great. I will post pictures real soon and tell you all about it. We just arrived home last night. My oldest daughter turns 21 tomorrow. My husband has his birthday next Sunday, so as you can imagine it is crazy around here.

Grades are in- I don't know if any of you have been wondering but we did receive our grades. My son did real well with it being his first year in college. My daughter passed her Math class. We are all so happy. This is the second time for her to take the class and she passed with a B+. We still need to celebrate. I made the Deans List again and was very happy about that.

PLT test results- Some of you may remember me complaining about taking a test a couple of months ago that took forever, well I finally received my scores from it. It is a test that is required for me to pass to become a teacher. I PASSED!!!!! I was ecstatic to find out that I passed and did quite good on it. SO HAPPY to not have to take it again.

My Student teaching Placement- Some of you also asked me to let you know when I received my placement for student teaching in the Fall. I finally did. I will be student teaching out at the Enoch Elementary school. I will be student teaching in first grade and then in fourth grade. I was a little unhappy because I asked for Iron Springs Elementary and didn't get that school and now I am quite concerned about having enough cars for all of my kids to get to school and home again. I just hope it all works out. I am very excited to student teach and think it will be great to learn about first grade and fourth grade. More Adventure!!!

I will soon post pictures and information about our Disneyland Adventure of 2009

I'm Done !!!!

I can say I am really done with school now. All I have left is student teaching and I will be doing that in the Fall. I am so excited. It was very sad to say good bye to all of my friends but I am so happy to have some time to me and my family.
They probably think that I have abandoned them for the last three years. There is so much going on in my family life that it will be nice to focus on that instead of worrying about school too.
I am hoping that I will get my placement for student teaching next week. That will be exciting.

Three of my kids also had finals this week, so I am hoping that they all passed. We will all be very thankful that we are done for school until Fall.

Three and a half hours of what????

I just finished my last test that I am going to have to take to qualify for teaching other than my finals this week. This test is called the PLT. It is basically about Principles, Learning and Teaching children. There were about 15 case study questions that I had to write about each one of them according to the questions and 24 multiple choice questions. It took forever. It is so frustrating when it takes them four tries just to hand out the testing booklets.

I HATE TESTS!!!!!!!! At least I finished, some of the students didn't get finished. I hope I passed so I don't have to take it again. I hope you are all crossing your fingers that I pass. It is so nice to have one more thing behind me. Angela also had to take the ACT about four weeks ago because if she passed with a certain score she could start to take college classes and she did. She received a 23, which I think is pretty good for a Freshman in High School. Congrats Ang.

I can't believe my Summer is right around the corner.
I wish I had more Summer fun trips planned. Any ideas????

5K Fun Run with the whole family

I know I can't believe it either, a blog post two days in a row. If you haven't checked out my last post make sure to scroll down and check it out!!!

Saturday was a day of many fun events. We started out the day with all of us running in the SUU ROTC 5 K fun run. It was quite cold but it was fun. I took a picture of my kids all being quite funny, you can tell they aren't very warm.


This is a picture of all of us after the run. I look a little more of a red head here than my last post. I am truly a red head but do have some blonde highlights. My kids all did great on the 5K. Todd placed first in his division, AJ and Angela placed third and Mike placed second. They all did great. I think I placed fourth but not sure.
This has become a tradition for us each year to all of us run this race.

Questions to be answered
Some of you have commented about my husband's retirement and what our life will be like after that, so I thought I would clarify a little.
1. He doesn't retire until December, he just happened to speak at the dining out and they thought it was a great time to award him with some awards.
2. He definitely needs to get a job after that. He has his masters in business so we are hoping he can find something.
Thanks for all of your COMMENTS!!!

Special Night

This week has been a week of many special occasions for us. We have been very busy. On Thursday night , we went to the military awards formal banquet. My husband was the speaker for the evening. It is always fun to go to these because they are formal and it is fun to get all dressed up.
My husband is retiring this year and so they wanted him to speak. He did a terrific job. He is so talented. The students presented him with a flag that they all signed and one of them drew a portrait of him. I think they did a tremendous job. I was amazed how many students came up to him afterwards to tell him how great of an instructor he is and how much they will miss him. Everyone wanted a picture with him. Well, I can understand that.

I asked someone else that was there that night if they would take a picture of us together. I just love it with the big flag in the background. I am so proud of my husband, he is truly an instructor to be admired.

I know, many of you probably are saying that looks like the picture of you from last winter, but it is of this year's special night. I look a little different but not much. I just love the opportunity to dress up and spend a special night with my hubby. What a night to remember always.

My diet and other randomness

This week has been very crazy. I am so sorry that I haven't posted, but school has been very busy and stressful. It is so hard to have a growing family and go to school full time too and keep my house up.

Texting- Anyway, to all of those wanting to know if we decided to get texting or not for Todd, yes we did!!! Thanks for your input. I told Todd that we were going to try it for one week and if for any time, texting begins to overcome his life then we would cancel it. We also made him and his sister help pay for it. One of the things that has a big deciding fact in this matter is that we receive texts all the time anyway even though we don't have texting, because I am going to school and friends from school text me about assignments and Karrilyn also has friends that text her, so we end up paying for those texts anyway. Wish us luck!!! I really think Todd won't abuse this, because he is such a good kid and I can't see him texting all day and night. We will see.

Diet( new way of life)Next thing on my mind, I have been on a diet(a way of life change) now for almost four weeks. It has been hard, but I have a great husband that also did it with me. I can't believe that he put up with it. Yes, we actually paid for a new diet plan that is out there and it really worked and helped quite a lot. If you are really interested, let me know and I can give you some information on it. It is definitely not for everyone.

The good news is that my husband lost 18 pounds and I lost 12 pounds. I was really thinking that I would have lost more, but I must be getting old. You are told that you do have the possibility of losing between 10-30 pounds, so of course, I am on the tail end of the weight loss. I guess I should add that I lost the weight in the first three weeks on the diet and the last week has just been a stabilization, but you are still pretty much on a diet but it is less strict. It is supposed to help you to not gain back what you have already lost. The other good news is that I feel great. We both had our blood drawn before and then again after and it lowered my cholesterol 45 points and also my blood sugar. It lowered my husband's too but not as much as we had hoped.

Would I do this again if I knew what I know now? yes, I probably would. I have learned a lot and I really think it has helped me to change how I live and how I eat. I haven't had any sugar for almost four weeks, that is just part of it but it does feel good.

School-The last thing on my mind is that I just can't believe how close I am to being finished with school. The end of this month I will be finished and then all I have is student teaching in the Fall. I am so excited but I will truly miss all of the friends that I see all day every day. It will be sad too.

I definitely need some fun ideas for this Summer down here in southern Utah. If you have any ideas let me know.

Are you glad I'm home??

I'm home. Did you miss me??? This week I have spent in Mesquite, Nevada for school. We were assigned to a certain elementary school and a grade and we went in and spent the week with the kids in a certain class. We observed and even had some chances to teach.

Even though we were going for school, it was a great break and a lot of fun. One of my friends booked us a room at Casablanca. Our room was great. We had a kitchen, two bedrooms and three bathrooms. Here is a picture of part of our room that four of us shared. I must say I was spoiled to have my own bedroom. It was so nice to not have to share a bed. I am so used to snuggling with my husband I was glad that I didn't have to share because I might accidentally during the night start snuggling with one of them. That wouldn't be good.

The weather in Mesquite was so nice. I thought we would be roasting but it was pleasant.


We had so much fun in the evenings. We had a party at the park one night and the second night we went to Virgin River for their buffet. Here are the girls that were my roommates for the week.

We all met at the buffet and visited and visited. There is quite a group of us. A lady that was at the buffet offered to take our pictures. Her husband decided that he wasn't going to give up a chance to be in a picture with a couple of cute girls. There is quite a big group of us. You can tell we are having a great time. It has been so fun to get to know all of the other students in the block. We are almost family because we are in all of our classes together.

I really enjoyed my chance to learn at this school. The kids were awesome. I was assigned fifth grade. The teacher that I had to work with was great and gave me a lot of information and ideas for my own classroom. This is a picture of me actually teaching one of the days that we were there. The kids were so sad to see me leave. I was also sad to say good bye.

Yesterday, when I was finished with school I was so anxious to get home. I hopped in my car and off we went. I had a great time but I am SO GLAD to be home with my family.

The house is actually still standing but everyone missed me immensely. I think it gave them all a new perspective of what I do in every day life.

I really missed my blogging friends. Thanks to all of you that comment and thanks to my followers!!!

Week in Mesquite

This week is Spring Break for me. It has been full of many fun things, but I sure need a day to just rest.

This week started out by Mike and I going to SLC and staying overnight and just spending time together. We also had a chance to go and see my family and his parents. It was nice to just visit and also to spend time away for a day or two.

I spent Friday all day shopping in St. George with Karrilyn. It was nice. She also really needed a break and there is no place to shop here that is for sure. In the evening we had some friends over for homemade ice cream. It was very delicious. Mike makes the best homemade ice cream and carmel.

Today we have spent the entire day going to Manti. It was a long day but well worth it. We were able to go and do a session at the Manti LDS temple. It is so gorgeous not just on the outside but inside too. I always gain so much by taking time to go to the temple. The only bad part was spending the entire day in the car.


Tomorrow, is Sunday. Yeah, I just wish that I could just take it easy all day. Tomorrow night we will be going to the Draper Temple dedication that is being put on at our stake center. I am excited because all of our kids will be going except for our youngest.

On Monday morning I will be driving to Mesquite. What is there to do there???? I will be spending four days there with everyone that is in the block at SUU with me. We have rented a condo and will be observing at some of the schools there. It is part of our curriculum.

How do you think my family will do without me?? I have never been gone this long without my husband going on a trip with me. It will be interesting.

Have any of you been to Mesquite and if so is there anything fun to do besides gambling? I hope that I will end up having an ok time. It is going to be strange being with all 20 year olds. I hope that I fit in ok and that we can find something fun to do.

I will be back Thursday night so don't panic if I don't post until then. Wish me luck.

Of Course I do

The last four weeks have been real crazy in my life. I am in the block at SUU. I am going to be an Elementary Education teacher. The block is the semester right before student teaching and my schedule is very rigorous. I am at South Elementary for 8 hrs a week in third grade and then all of the other days I have classes. I have a Math, Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, and a Management class. There is a lot of work that is due each week in all of these three hour classes. How am I handling it?? For the most part good, but I have my days where I almost have a melt down.

I have been asked so do you still want to be a teacher??? Of course I do. I have ever since I can remember wanted to be a teacher. I want to hopefully make a difference in children's lives. I really love the eight hours a week that I am in third grade. They are so fun. I have had many opportunities to teach and it has been great. I hope that this dream that I have put off until my family was a little older will really come true. I think education is the greatest thing and it makes you feel so young. I come home feeling like I am a 20 yr old until I look in the mirror and then I am brought back to my senses.

This week they brought us all of our graduation papers to fill out. That was kind of exciting, I guess it means it is getting closer. Thanks to all of you that are concerned and very supportive. I always can use friends on many of my days. If any of you have questions, should I go back to school, "Do it". I don't think you will regret it.

It just might be worth it

I have been wishing lately that I was graduating this May instead of this fall. I know it shouldn't be a big deal but it really is. I don't know how many of you know but President Thomas Monson the prophet for the Church of Latterday Saints if speaking at graduation at SUU. I can't believe it. What an awesome thing. I kind of wish I was doing my student teaching in Las Vegas this summer and then I would be able to graduate this May but I don't know what my family would do without me for 12 weeks if I moved to Las Vegas for 12 weeks this summer. I guess I will just have to wait and graduate in the fall. Bummer... How often does this happen??? What a great thing to have him come and speak. He is such a great speaker.

Mike has to be at graduation so maybe I will just HAVE to go and give him support and company, it just would be even cooler if I was walking and graduating too. (Oh well. Only if I had started a little earlier with my schooling instead of worrying about my RS president calling.)
I wonder if there will be any protesters at it. This will be interesting.

Wow for me

This last week has been very hard at school. As all of you know I was having a very hard day this week at school, but as I knew it would things got better as the week went on. On Friday I went to the elementary school that I will be working at two days a week this semester. I am very excited about it. All of my other classes I would rather not talk about.

I had such a great thing happened yesterday when I came home. There was an envelope there for me and I opened it up and it said that I am on the Dean's list for the college. This means that I am in the top 10% of the college. I was SO excited. I guess all of my hard work has paid off. I don't know right now if I will actually graduate and become a teacher but at least it looks a little closer. Yeah for me.

Thanks to those of you that truly care and made uplifting comments and tried to cheer me up the other day. I really appreciate it. You are true friends.

I thought this was cute

Mike just sent this to me and I thought it was SO funny. Some of his cadets here at ROTC made it and put it on the end of year slide show. I hope you enjoy just a little laugh on Mike's expense.

Cute Pictures

AJ and Karrilyn both went to the Institute Formal Dance this last Saturday night. They both are going to SUU for school and their is also an institute and they always have activities and dances. They both had a great time with their dates. I thought their pictures turned out real good so I thought I would post some of them.
This is a picture of AJ and Kelly. I thought her dress was gorgeous.

Here is a picture of Karrilyn and her date, Bryan. She had a great time. He was very nice and I thought the dress she wore and her hair turned out great.

Winter SUU ROTC formal 08

I am finally getting to post about my GREAT evening this week. I know I promised to post these and so here they are.
On Thursday night, Mike and I went to the SUU ROTC formal in the Great Hall at SUU. It is a gorgeous room. I decided that I wanted to do my hair different so I had someone do an updo for me. What do you think? It was so fun to get made up and dressed up and go with my great looking hubby. I really enjoy the formal in the winter because it is very entertaining. They tease each other and harrass each other during the night. Here are a couple of pictures of our night.

During the night they do port of orders and these are when a cadet or cadre member(instructor) finds something that has been done improperly during the semester or even that night and then there is a Mr. Vice that decides if it is relevant and if so then the cadets have to put quarters in a big bucket and at the end of the night they take the money to a charity for the holidays. They usually end up with a lot of money, all quarters. Some of these port of orders were not being in class on time, or at pt on time. Another might be not picking up your date for the formal, or not carrying a watch, or not knowing the soldier's creed. Anyway it is real entertaining and makes me laugh every year.

This is my favorite picture from the night. It definitely is not as great as the pictures that Lara took last year, but they are still good.

I am so lucky to be married to my sweetheart. We had such a great time. It is always fun to feel like a princess for one night.

Here are a couple of just me that Mike and the kids took, probably because I don't take my picture often and don't ever do my hair up.

I think the dress might be a little big, it kind of makes me look a little chubby. That is one good thing about having someone take the pictures and do some editing on them. I am still trying to decide if I like my hair up or down. I was looking at my pictures from last year with my hair down and I am not sure. Those pictures are posted on my blog (postings for 2007).

FYI

I am so excited!!!! I just turned in my electronic portfolio for assessment. It is a portfolio with much of what I have done during my time in school. It has artifacts and I have to send it to the professors at the school and they look at it and assess it. It is one of the requirements for graduation. I am getting a little closer each day. If you are interested in looking at it, let me know and I will give you the link. It isn't anything great but it is to me.