Hi!  I’m so excited to be teaching again and especially in Kindergarten!  I grew up in Taylorsville, Utah close to lots of cousins and my grandparents’ farm.  I’ve also enjoyed living briefly in Idaho and New Mexico, following my husband’s work for several different Universities.  We met at Utah State University (go Aggies!) and he currently works for Weber State University (go Wildcats!).  I love life, my family, and teaching. I often have a hard time picking a favorite something, because there’s so many things to love, but here is a list of some top favorites I’m confident of:

• I LOVE going out to eat, trying new recipes, learning about healthy foods, grocery shopping and just about anything related to food! Spaghetti and watermelon are still my favorite since I was a child 
• Arches National Park, Lake Powell, 4 wheeling at the sand dunes, England, New York, and Hawaii
• Summer evenings, fall days, winter sweatshirts, and spring flowers
• The color yellow (such a happy color!)
• Watching movies WITH popcorn
• Exercising, hiking, and volleyball
• Reading and talking about books
• My amusing family
• Math and Science
• Kindergarteners!

Things you might be surprised to find out about me:

• I like to think the Disney Channel copied the brilliant naming of my children, Austin and Allie, when they named one of their sitcoms “Austin and Ally”.
• I played volleyball in college and I play the piano and flute.
• My dad knows how to do bird taxidermy and I can honestly say I’ve stuffed a pheasant.  One tool we used was called a “brain scraper” (gross or fascinating; I’m still trying to decide).
• Mowing lawns was always my summer job. I also helped take care of my dad’s animals from his Biology classroom. One of the most interesting being a 16-foot Burmese Python snake called Mr. Squeeze.  My mom never slept well in the summer…
• I have to change my pillowcase every night!
• I really want to visit Prince Edward Island in Canada (I’m a fan of Anne of Green Gables) and see more of Europe.  It wouldn’t hurt me to go back to Hawaii…a few times.

I’m sure Kindergarteners have a lot of favorite things and interesting facts about their lives too!  I’m excited for you to share them with me!