The Highlight of My Day

So if you've talked to me and asked me how my new job is going, you've probably gotten an earful of my complaints and issues with the curriculum and my frustrations with how they want me to run the class. That is not what I'm going to post about because I much prefer complaining in person.

But. 

My teaching coach came an observed the beginning part of my class one day and wrote me a really nice email, which really made my day!

Boyfriend of the Year Award

....And this years winner of the "Boyfriend of the Year" award goes tooooooooo....

Trent Peterson!

Trent snuck up from St George and surprised me after work to take me to dinner and the temple. I walked out of my school and BAM there he was! He had my roommate pack a dress for me to change into so we could just leave right from there. I was so surprised!...and horrified because of all the days for him to show up, this day I was in a sloppy ponytail and some baggy pants with raisins smeared on the cuffs. Not my cutest moment. But definitely one of my most excited moments.

 We ate at Texas Roadhouse -- I'm sure we ate half a raw cow each -- then went to the Timpanogos Temple, where we began slowly (and, in my case, loudly) digesting that heifer.

While sitting in the chapel, a worker came and asked us to be the witness couple. We told him we weren't married, but he said that didn't matter, and he felt led to ask us. So we agreed and really enjoyed that experience.

Afterwards, while sitting in the celestial room, where you can discuss the deepest and most sacred parts of the gospel, I had to secretly confess that the steak dinner was making it's way through my guts, and I had been holding in a toot the entire session. He didn't run away, so I think it's love.

Picture Day

This is my first year teaching at a real school where we have real picture day. I had a lot of stress about this because I haven't looked good in a picture day picture since about 1993. So this was my year to shine! I'm a grown up now! I take showers now! I have teeth now! I am not ugly now!

Those are true in theory.

But there is just something about sitting in that doomed picture day chair--in front of the blue hazey backdrop--that turns you from a blossoming bud of beauty into a frumpy wideloaded acne bag.

From this:

(Which is my carefully crafted hair and outfit to be exceptionally perfect for picture day)

To this:

 

Okay I haven't gotten the pictures yet, but after each shot, the photo lady would show me the digital copy and I'm telling you, they were all HORRIBLE. Like two strands of nasty hairs that were more kinked than curled and a random part in my bangs and chubby red cheeks that shut one eye and a broad body with awkwardly placed arms. There's just no way to win that game. 

Four Eyes

I got new glasses and tried them on but I still had my contacts in...

so it didn't work out so well.

So here are some real pictures.

My eyes are magnified larger than life. So good thing they're pretty.

Rachel Moves to the City

For those of you just tuning in, I moved. 

And if this is your first time hearing about it, shame on ya.

I packed up all of my earthly belongings and drove up to Salt Lake. Of course, not everything fit in my small Mazda...and if you think all of my belongings would only take up a small sedan, you don't know me and shame on ya.

I'm sharing a room with my friend Abbey Hafen from St. George. This is our stuff piled in the room. 

I moved in a few weeks before her so I had some time to get things organized. And since I had no bed or dresser, I camped on the floor for about a week.

I had my strong, strapping nephews help me move a dresser and a book case.

Connor was working hard.

And Garren was hardly working.

This picture is just to show my incredible backing up job...i got this whole huge van in between the lines in this crowded parking lot! I'M A WOMAN.

Look at these hard working boys. So strong. So handsome. So good to their aunt.

So this is my room now. Pillows and duvet covers are courtesy of IKEA. Well...I guess I paid for them. So it was not much of a courtesy.

 So far, Salt Lake is fine. I'd say it's good, not great. I am intimidated by the crowds of people and I feel like it's just an unmanageable size for me. But regardless, I am happy with my roommates, my apartment, and....that's about it. Everything else, I'm working on loving. :) 

Deer Valley

So I went on a trip with my good friend Trent (and by 'good friend' I mean we're kind of dating) (and by 'kind of dating' I mean we are dating, I just like to make it sound not serious so no one gets excited because I have commitment issues and like to downplay relationships) up to Deer Valley with his family. 

He's from Kamas, which is up near Park City. It was like 20 degrees cooler than St. George and super pretty.

We rode in his uncle's rented convertible Camero.

 We rode a four wheeler up pretty trail.

We rode a ski lift up a mountain instead of hiking it.

We took this picture that looks like we hiked something, but you all know better than that.

It was a fun trip and I'd say that maybe I'll let Trent keep coming around. He's a nice guy.

My mission farewell

About every four or five months, my mission buds who also live in St. George and I would get together to catch up, eat food, tell the same stories, laugh at the same jokes, bring up the same weird companions, then go home. 

Since we only had time for one more visit before I moved, I FORCED them to remake this picture with me. And we didn't regret it. Well they may resent it, but no regrets, I'm sure.

Sister Fillmore, Elder Poulson, Elder Cunningham

Lots changes in five years. Elder Cunningham's wife is pregnant with their second child. Elder Poulson just got married. And me? I got new teeth. So, it's been quite eventful for all of us.

Found: Long Lost Cousin

I guess something can't be "long lost" if you didn't even know it existed. But anyway.

So there I was in Sunday School when a new girl in the ward got up to introduce herself. She said her name was Jenn Soderborg. I immediately shot up from my seat (they are used to my outbursts...) and said "Soderborg? My mom is a Soderborg!"

Turns out, she's Uncle Grant's granddaughter. Her dad is James Soderborg, whom I have never met.

Small world, right? Some people do family search online. I do family search at church. 

Although maybe I would have known that she existed if I actually did family search...

The Angels Have Landed

One very important thing on my "do before leaving St George" list was to hike Angels Landing. It's a super popular hike in Zion National Park and I knew that I would never hear the end of it if people knew I lived down there but never hiked it. (As if 'people' care about what I've hiked...)

I asked my hike-iest friend Paul to accompany me since he took me on my first hike in Zion four years ago when I decided to move down to St. George. I thought it was only fitting for him to take me on my last.

Here we are!

I packed some uber dry crackers as a snack. I didn't realize they would be uber dry, but in the scorching heat, regular dry crackers become uber dry crackers.

We climbed up this whole mountain! Plus some. It was death.

                      Looking off the edge of the world....then sitting on the crux of it.

Me and Paulito at the top

We finished the trip with another bucket list item -- eating at Oscar's, which is apparently a really big deal and important to do when you visit Zion. And I can see why; the antelope art pieces make excellent picture frames.

Over all, the hike was steep, had a hundred switchbacks, steep, hard on the knees, beautiful, and steep. But I did it and had a great time.

Only in St George

At the dentist office. St. George has it all...college kids, old folks, and polygamists. 

At the lake

A group of us went boating at Gunlock Reservoir. We wake boarded and climbed up some big rocks. Everyone else jumped off the big rocks, but I'm no dummy so I clearly didn't. Haha 

I got up on my first try wake boarding which was a Christmas miracle. The problem was that they only gave me directions on how to get up...once I was out of the water, I had no idea what to do. So I promptly fell back in the water. Time and time again.