Hard To Believe It's Over

Ok. How on earth did Christmas come and go so quickly? I'm still having a hard time believing that summer is over - and here it is 4 months into the school year and a new calendar year about to start. I spent some time with Andy and Sarah on Christmas Eve in SLC and then went to Layton to spend the rest of the evening and Christmas day with Aaron and Cyndie and their darling little family. Having little kids around certainly makes things more exciting. I came home Christmas night and have been lazy ever since. Aaron and Cyndie were such great hosts and so good to me and I sure enjoyed my visit there. My children and spouses gave me a new wardrobe for Christmas. Andrea, Anneke, Anna, and I also went to the John Schmidt concert on the 18th, compliments of the girls and that was just wonderful. So entertaining and we enjoyed it a lot. We went out to eat too. Anna got to go for a present for her birthday that was on the 4th. The only thing that would have made that day more fun would have been to have Amy, Cyndie, and Natalie there with us. What a lucky mom/grandma I am to have such a wonderful, loving family, who are good to each other and good to me. Love them!!!!

Being Thankful

It's that time of year when we officially think about our blessings. Where do I even start? First of all - the gospel. And my testimony of it. And my precious, precious family. We've had the blessing of adding 3 little girls to our family this year. They are healthy and beautiful and I'm in love with them. Yes siree - my family. What a blessing they are to me. I'm thankful for my job and the wonderful people I get to associate with every day. I have a good class this year that I enjoy a lot too. I have a lovely home, a car that runs, plenty to eat and would have plenty to wear if I didn't have plenty to eat. I live in a beautiful corner of the world in a great community. And in spite of all the sickness that has gone through the school, I've stayed healthy. yay. So the next time anyone hears me complain about anything, tell me to hush up and count my blessings.

Words of Wisdom from 3rd Graders

Today one of the girls in my class left this note on my desk:

The only thing that keeps you going is knowing somewhere in the day you may find the key of life.

Well. That's certainly a deep thought, huh? She also wrote me this other note:

Happy Halloween!!!!
Dear Mrs. Bayles,

I think that you should give us kids your addres tomorrow. Why you ask? I'll tell you! If you give us your addres then we can go trick-or-treating to your house! If you do give us your addres then I will surly come to your house! I bet if you do give us your address then a bunch of other kids will go trick-or-treating to your house too! Plus since you won't see our costumes here in shool, you'll be able to see our costumes right in your very own doorway!

One day my friend, Amy, substituted for me and she noticed that one of the girls kept disappearing to go in the bathroom, so she got after her for it. A while later, the girl wrote this note to her saying: I'm sorry. I'm the person who has to buetify myself, so I went to fix my hair.

For some reason I got lots of notes and pictures today. I have such a cute class this year. When they earn 100% of their Accelerated Reading goal, they get a bag of microwave popcorn and get to pop it in our classroom. I had run out of popcorn when one little girl earned hers and I forgot to take some the next day. In a very serious voice she said to me, "You know, if I was a teacher and I needed to remember to take popcorn to school the next day, I would write a little note and stick it on my bag, then when I picked up my bag I would see the note and remember to take some popcorn to school." I said, "Wow! What a great idea. I'll try it." And you know what? I remembered the popcorn the next day. :)

Fun With Amy and Maiya

Look at that cute little fat face. Little Salote Maimoa Levatau and her mom, Amy, came to Utah/Idaho for a little visit on Friday - Monday. We had a family get together on Saturday at Aaron and Cyndie's house and were real sad that Anneke and Tom and girls couldn't come because of sickness. Ammon's girls weren't there either, because Paige was sick too. And Natalie was working. And Maiya's daddy, Sam, wasn't able to come because of work. BUT everyone else was there and we always have fun when we get together. I loved having Amy and Maiya here Saturday night until Monday morning.

Aaahhhh .

This is Amy and Sam's little Maiya. She was born on the 10th of September. This is my favorite look of her's. Isn't that the cutest little scowl?

Aaahhhh again.

This is Anneke and Tom's newest little bundle of joy, Kara. She was born on September 29th. Oooo kissy cheeks.

Thanks for the dikchunery.

The Preston Elks Lodge and Rotary Club give a dictionary to every third grader each year. It's an exciting time when they walk in with those boxes and hand the kids a dictionary that they keep for their very own. I had my class write thank you notes to them and they were really cute. Here are a couple of cute things they wrote besides saying thank you:

. . . its speshal to me cuz i love words.

. . . may all your wishes come true.

. . .p.s. I'm a girl.

. . .I really couldn't believe my little eyes when I saw those dictionaries.

And then on the back of one, a little girl made an invitation to the Back to School carnival and listed all the information about it. I just hope that all the members of the Elks and Rotary Clubs remember to come to the carnival. :)