Engagement Photos

Taylor's sister, Jessica Feely, flew out to take our engagement photos. It was so fun to spend time with her that weekend and to get to know her. It was rainy all weekend (and I was kind of freaking out), but we had just enough sun on Sunday to get some great pictures. So without further adieu, the link.

Love my Mum

Today I got to talk to my mom while on her mission in London. It took me back to the two phone calls I got to make home for Mother's Day when I was on a mission in Spain. Coincidentally, I was searching through files, looking for my passport (honeymoon to Mexico--yes, please), when I found a card that I had made for my mom in 2007 while I was on my mission. Here is part of what I wrote:

"HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! I hope you have a great day talking to your missionaries. ... I'm so grateful to have a great mother. I have seen a lot of people who have made bad decisions in their lives and the effect that it has had on their children. I am so grateful for your good decisions and the wonderful traits that you have developed that have affected me in my life. I'm so grateful to have a loving, intelligent, faithful, kind, patient, helpful mother. You are a great example to me, Kirsten and your daughters-in-law."

I still have these sentiments, and they multiply as I contemplate becoming a wife and (at some point) a mother. I am blessed to have such an angel mother. Happy Mum's Day!

Taylor and Jen Love Story Q & A

Since I got a few of you curious from my last post, here are the details, FAQ style.

Q. Who is the lucky fellow?

A. Taylor Ralston. He’s from the Sacramento area. He’s about to finish his degree in Chemical Engineering at BYU. He’s brilliant. He wants to work in the biomedical engineering field. He is very curious and loves to learn new things. He loves to sing and play the piano. I love to listen to him or sing with him. He has a wonderful family. He is good to the core. He is a family history ninja. He is really fun to be around and doesn’t take himself too seriously. He cares a lot about other people. I could go on for hours, but I’ll spare you the excessive sap. I’ll just tell you that I love him.

Q. How did you meet?

A. We met at church. Taylor gave a talk the second week he was in the ward, and I was impressed. I also thought he was attractive. He noticed me too when I made some comments in Sunday School. I was wearing pearls, which he loves. He came up and introduced himself to me after church and we had a short conversation.

It took a few weeks, but he finally asked me out. We went and hit golf balls at the driving range and got some Cold Stone. The last time I went on a date to the driving range was disastrous (my golfing skills are subpar), so I tried to hint to him that it wouldn’t be a good idea. He didn’t get the hint and we went anyway. This date turned out much better than I imagined, since Taylor isn’t necessarily an avid golfer and not judgmental of my golfing skills. We got along so well, and had so much to talk about. He kept asking me out, and I happily obliged.

Q. How did he propose?

A. On Thursday, March 10 we were supposed to go on a date to the Provo Beach Resort, a new games center that is located in the Riverwoods. I knew that a proposal was imminent, but I wasn’t sure when it would happen. The fact that we were going somewhere akin to Trafalga made me think that it wouldn’t happen, but I was suspicious of a change of plans, so I made sure to look good and to bring my camera.

We got to the place, and we decided that it would be fun to visit, but maybe with kids or with a group of people, so Taylor asked if we could go for a walk around Riverwoods. For those of you who haven’t been there recently (or have never been there), it is an outdoor pedestrian mall that they just redid it with lights, bonfires, fountains, etc. It’s very romantic.

As we were walking, a couple asked us if we would take their picture. Taylor obliged, and then asked them if they would take our picture.

We took the photo, and it looked like this:

Since it turned out kind of dark, the people wanted to take another. I turned around, and Taylor said that we should try this pose:

And of course I was delighted, and said YES!

He put the ring on my finger.

We were thrilled!

Q. When is the big day?

A. June 25, 2011 and we’re getting married here:

Q. What does your ring look like?

A. This:

I had Taylor pick it out. I love it. I wouldn’t have done a better job if I had picked it out myself.

Q. Aren’t your parents on a mission in London? Can they come home for your wedding?

A. Yes and YES!!! I just got the news today and I’m so happy!

The End of the Term

The term ended Friday. Hallelujah. The last week of the term is not my favorite. Beyond having to enter a million grades (my least favorite task in teaching), I have to deal with certain students:

It is common to have students come in the last week asking, "I have a 'D+' but I need an 'A', is there anything that I can do?" Yep. Go back in time, come to class on a regular basis and turn in your work.

Even worse are the students who I have met a grand total of twice and I don't know who they are when they come in. They come in after school, right as I'm supposed to leave for tennis practice and have the following conversation with me:

Student: Hi Miss Roberts
Me: It's actually "Robertson". Who are you?
Student: I'm in your A1 class
Me: Oh, you're So-and-so. I didn't know you existed. Where have you been?
Student: My life's crazy right now
Me: That's too bad. What can I do for you?
Student: I need to pass your class
Me: Oh really, why didn't you figure out what you had to do at the beginning of the semester?
Student: I'm sorry. I just really need to pass your class or I won't graduate.
Me: My class wasn't designed to be a week-long crash course in government. Nor do I just have packets to hand out with all of the information. I don't really know what to tell you.
Student: Isn't there anything I can do?
Me: Well, I guess you can do this worksheet, all the info is in the book. Get started with that and then we'll see what we can do.

Something close to this conversation really did happen this week (I did recognize the kid though; that was just for dramatic effect). I haven't seen the kid since. And the sad thing is, it's not the first time I've had a similar conversation. It boggles my mind that any kid can really expect to pass a class without even going to it.

Other students turn something in two months late and then hound me because I haven't entered the score yet. "But Miss Robertson, I turned it in two days ago and you still haven't put it in the computer!" I usually tell them that if they turn in something on their own time, I'll grade it on my own time. That usually quiets them.

On the other hand, I've had a few students who have solid A's that come to me with concerns about an assignment that they didn't get 100% on. I usually tell them to calm down.

I can't identify very well with the aforementioned students, but the type of student that I do understand is the one that has like five assignments that they turn in and say, "I found these in my backpack. Can I still turn them in?" I'm usually a little more patient with them, which leads to piles of late work to grade. So yeah, that's what I've been doing this week.

An Announcement

Amazing

photo here

5k in California

Over Christmas break, my sister-in-law Sarah was talking about how she had a list of 30 things she wanted to do before she turned 30. One of them was to run a 5k. I decided that I need to be more fit, so I would start running again and run it with her. I found one that took place over Presidents' Day weekend and signed us up. Unfortunately, I didn't really start running again. But I ran it anyway. And I didn't die.

It was a really fun race. It rained and hailed, which I thought added to the excitement. I was soaking wet by the time I got in, but I was feeling good.

Sarah (who was running sick) came in right after me, so here Christian is getting his camera ready. He handed me my nephew Blaine, and you can see how much he liked that.

My niece Anna made us signs to cheer us on.

My biggest fan once again showed up to support me :)

And here is the pic of the sisters-in-law. I'm so glad I took the trip out (even though it was a quick one). My family is the best. Seriously.

Homecoming

Yesterday I was cramming the final pieces of information on Latin America into the brains of my geography class when one of my students stopped me and told me that someone was at my door. As I walked out the door, I saw a woman with a man in a military uniform. She told me that her son was in my class and unbeknownst to him, his dad had returned form Iraq. I invited them in. Any description I could give for the look on that boy's face wouldn't suffice. It was some combination of puzzlement, excitement and joy. His mom had tears in her eyes, as did I and other members of the class. I dismissed him those two minutes early so he could enjoy the two weeks he gets before his dad has to go back. It was beautiful.

BYU v. Utah

The big game is tomorrow, so I wore my fancy shoes to school. My student wore his. We took a picture with my iPod.

How to Get Published on ESPN.com and Two Free All-Sport Passes...

...when it's the last thing in the world that you want.

1. Write a letter to the editor that gets published in the Daily Universe calling the BYU community to repentance for worshiping Jimmer.

2. Leave your Facebook account for ANYONE to comment (uhhh, why on earth would you do this?).

3. Have somebody on Cougarboard find the letter.

4. Watch the comments fly in (warning: some comments are irreverent).

5. Have the story go viral.

6. Become a notable resident of your hometown on its Wikipedia page.

7. Get offered BYU All-Sport Passes so you too can become a heathen idol worshipper.

(You can see a nice story about the guy in the previous video here. Go to 10:55 in the episode.)