proud wife moment

(One last post before I turn my computer off and say goodnight)

Ashton is back to the grind of school.  It stresses him out a bit, but he always does well.

Here is another example of just how well he does:

He came home on Monday and told me that he finished 2nd in both of his summer classes!

I have a smarty pants for a husband and I am so proud!  Here's to my future air traffic controller!!

Love this man!

p.s.  We have been married for three months and 5 days!

Don't Limit Me

So, I just posted this on facebook and for those of you who see me through social media, I am sorry for the repeat.  This is worth the extra attention though.

Over the last two weeks, I have been going from one training to another, to a meeting, to organizing paperwork, to setting up my classroom.  Most of the time, it just makes me miss Utah - the place where I knew the laws, what everything was called, each of my students, and how my class was going to work.  I miss my aides.  My heart just wants to be with my students (they will all, forever and always, be considered mine and I sure hope they know that!).

Today, we watched an inspirational video.  It reminded me that no matter where I am or who I am teaching, I have an important job and responsibility to those in my class.  It reminded me of just exactly why I love my job!  I love seeing my students as they grow in their independence and Megan is the product of teachers and parents who helped who shoot for the stars and accomplish her goals.

I am looking forward to this school year.  The beginning of the year is always hectic and we tend to forget just how crazy it was within a few weeks or less.  I do know that I have an amazing team to work with out here.  They are a team I am so grateful to be a part of.  Tuesday is the first day of school and, while I am overwhelmed now, I know that the minute I am with my students, everything else will fall into place.

Throwback Thursday: That video my friends and I made at BYU

It was spring break of my senior year and I wanted to do something fun.  Of course, I gathered my friends (Alyse, Andy, and Owie) and we took a road trip to Utah.  Alyse and I spent most of our time with Kelly who was now a sophomore at BYU.  One night, we decided it would be fun to walk around dorm lobbies and ask kids to dance.  The final product turned out amazing!  We even became friends with some of our dancers.  This video will always bring a smile to my face.

Minnesota State Fair!!!

We have been hearing about the Minnesota State Fair since we moved here.

So, of course, we went!  We spent Friday evening there with the Days and it was awesome!

I was amazed at how many people were there!  It was more crowded than Disneyland.  I tried to take a picture of the crowds, but it doesn't do it justice.

It was a hot day (Minnesota is in an extreme heat wave right now - ahhhh).  So of course, we found some fair lemonade and root beer.

While we were waiting for the Day's to show up, I talked Ashton into going through a haunted house with me!  He probably agreed just because of the AC, but he went!

As soon as Amber and Brant were with us, we got a bucket of cookies and all you can drink milk.  Got to love fair food!

Then came the highlight of the night.  A concert!  Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray, and Smash Mouth.

Sugar Ray was definitely the reason why I wanted to be there - I have been listening to them since I was 12 years old.  They have been on our Shaver Lake playlist since the beginning.  They are a part of my childhood and they are still my first choice for summer music.  The pictures I took didn't turn out, but the videos were pretty great.

I took several videos and I wish I could share them all, but that would be a little over kill.  Mark McGrath was the best part!  He was so much fun.

Then, to top it off, when the concert ended there were big booming fireworks.  My favorite.

The Minnesota Fair was as good as everyone said it was and a night to remember.

Throwback Thursday: That one time I went to Egypt.

Having a throwback for Thursday is the cool thing to do and it lets you share with everyone those adorable baby pictures you have.

Well, I am going to start adding it to my blog, because I love to reminisce.  Simply put, I have a nostalgic heart.

Today, we are going to throwback to my trip to Egypt in 1998.  I was 10 years old so my Egypt memories are very limited and I didn't really understand all that was going on around me.

Anyhow, my Thorkelson cousins and I had the opportunity to travel to Cairo, Egypt to represent the United States in some type of international children's chorus (Don't ask me how we got so lucky.  I know my grandpa arranged it).  It might have been a competition?  If it was, we were disqualified pretty early on because we didn't have an original song - we had prepared "It's a Small World". (Once again, this is just how my 10 year old brain remembers it)  And I apologize - my pictures in this post aren't the best quality since they are pictures of pictures.

***Update.  I googled it.  I participated in the First International Children's Song Competition.  How cool is that?!

I think we were there for about a week and we got to experience some amazing things:

• We had a forever long layover in New York on our way to Egypt.  My aunts had us sing "It's a Small World" over and over and over again.  Plus, we were all matching...Super adorable, right?

• When we arrived in Egypt, they had a welcome crew for us.  We spent our first hour in Egypt dancing with the Egyptian versions of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, and other popular American characters.  It was more scary than it was fun.  I wish I had a picture of this!  One of my most vivid memories is doing some type of conga line and having Pluto's nose bouncing off the top of my head.

• We met other kids from around the world.  None of us spoke the same language, but that didn't stop us from making friends.

• I rode a "felucca" on the Nile.  It took us to a papyrus making museum. I remember being pretty shocked at how dirty the water was.

• We went to the Egyptian Museum.  According to my memory, we saw the mummified King Tut.  It was so spookily great.  Did you know that mummies still have their hair?

• I rode a donkey to the pyramids AND the Sphinx and then a camel back.  This was definitely my favorite part of the trip.  Let me tell you though, riding a camel is terrifying.  I think I cried it when it was time to get off - you are so far from the ground.

Random things I remember:

• The pizza from Pizza Hut was super salty.

• I think we were supposed to be there for a few weeks - but my childhood memory recalls some drama that my family came across that we weren't supposed to?  So they cut our trip short.  Maybe I made this part up, I have never talked to any of my cousins about this.

• Our hotel was amazing.  Breakfast was my favorite.  I got to watch them make my omelet every morning.

• There was a little girl on the flight home who wouldn't leave me alone.  I tried to get my cousins to help, but most of them were asleep (it was a long flight).  I think the little girl just wanted to play card games - which is hard when you don't speak the same language.  At one point she spilled her soda on me.  It was not my favorite.

I hope that there is a box somewhere at my parent's house full of more pictures, the journal I kept while there, bottles of sand from Egypt, the certificate saying I was a part of the competition, samples of papyrus, and other touristy type souvenirs.

Shortly after we got back, The Prince of Egypt came out.  I was obsessed and saw it a few times in the theaters.  I eventually had the entire soundtrack memorized, but you probably did too.

Looking back at all of this I am in awe at what I was able to experience at such a young age.  And what a neat adventure to be able to share with my cousins. 

After that trip I decided I wanted to travel to every continent.  I discovered my love for different cultures and being immersed in something completely unknown and new.  It opened my eyes to how big the world is and is something I will most definitely never forget.

our wedding pictures

We finally have them "in hand" and I could not be happier.

Yan has done it once again - check her out because she is for real.
The flowers were more beautiful than I could have imagined.  Lizy is beyond talented.
Wedding cake by Julie Brannelly.  It looked like a dream and tasted just as amazing!
All goodies and treats were made by my mom and so many of my wonderful family and friends.
Marina set it all up, made the perfect little details, and orchestrated everything at the reception.

I uploaded a good portion of them (there are nearly 400 pictures!) to facebook.  Feel free to admire them, because I certainly can't stop.

It is hard to pick favorites, but here are a few that have stolen my heart.

Grandma and Scotty.             Officially Mr. and Mrs. Smith

My sweet mama.                         The Smith ladies! Love them.

Best nephew ever.                                The Smith's.

 I've had him wrapped around my finger from the beginning.    Favorite sibling shot.

 Squiiiishhh.  Love Porter's face.      Smith boys.  So handsome right now.

True love. Soon to be family of 3.         Favorite group photo.

In love with the artsy feel in these.

 Ankles.                         That smile gets me every single time.

Of course I love this.                           Simply beautiful.

Elegant.                       Trying our best with the serious face.

 Sweet whispers.                      Beauty in the details.

Favorite cake.                  Favorite flowers.

In love with my rings.                  Mother son dance. 

 Our first dance.                          PDA.

Cutest girls.  The man who had me crying, dancing, and laughing in a few minutes.

Teaching special ed and doing the wobble.  It's what we do best.

Magical.

Wish I could relive this day. Over and over and over.