love me some weekend.

don't you love those sundays that are just good?

today was one of those sundays.

i was sustained and set apart to be the secretary in my wards relief society presidency, and although an overwhelming responsibility, i accept it gladly.

this will be the third presidency i've been apart of and the previous two times were very humbling learning experiences and i feel blessed that i've been given the opportunity to serve again.

i'm just grateful for the tender mercies and simple things that we have in our lives.

...........

now i'll backtrack a day.

yesterday i spent the day up in burley, and it was so fun! 2 of my best friends, basically sisters, are from up there, and one of them, aspen, is getting married soon. we had a shower up there for her and then spent the rest of the day having fun!!

we went jet skiing on the snake river and later that evening went to a nearby town's pioneer day rodeo and fireworks. all in all it was a jam-packed, very fun saturday!

hope you all enjoy the week ahead. those of you in utah, hopefully you'll be able to do something fun tomorrow if you get the day off for the holiday!

peace and blessins'.

miracles.

so i'm typing up this post, sitting on my bed, with the air conditioner blowing from the ceiling down on me and i think to myself "brrrrr i'm cold!!"

with almost a slap in the face, i instantly think back to about 3 hours ago while i was sitting in a movie called "17 miracles". i should be grateful i have plenty of warm blankets to snuggle under in my climate controlled home. "cold"? let's be honest here...the house is a cool 69 degrees. i bet the pioneers would have been thrilled to pull handcarts in that temperature.

17 miracles is a movie about the james g. willie handcart company, who suffered so much heartache, pain, devastation and loss.

we had seen previews and heard great things about it, so mom, dad, krista, jason, and i decided to go check it out. so glad we did.

if you get the chance, watch it! it tells the stories of 17 different miracles that happened to people in the handcart company, both in their homelands as well as on the trail. it was such a strong reminder to me of everything those early saints went through just to get to the salt lake valley.

ironically enough, here in utah it's pioneer day weekend. what a great weekend to watch a movie about the pioneers! but be forewarned-it is not a movie for anyone who doesn't like to cry :)

sure, i was expecting maybe two glistening tears to roll down my cheek. but i wasn't prepared for the niagra falls that happened. i literally had tears in my eyes for 95% of the movie. there's something to be said of the spirit of the pioneers, that's for sure.

so today...i'm thankful. thankful for the foresight that the prophet joseph smith had to send saints to utah. thankful for those who sacrificed EVERYTHING to follow the prophet. thankful for my great-great grandmother, ellen showell and her sister harriet who made the trek across the plains with the willie handcart company. thankful for the opportunity i had to pull a handcart through wyoming and camp at independance rock and rock creek hollow, where the willie company took cover during a blizzard. thankful for the faith of those who came before me. thankful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

a word to the wise.

when purchasing razors...

don't 'cut' corners

just fork out the extra couple bucks...

and save yourself a band-aid.

no such thing as too much fun.

talk about time flying while you're having fun.

i can't believe that it's already the middle of july...which means before i know it i'll be takin' roll and making seating charts.

here's a few highlights.

{1.} starting a new job.

coolest thing ever. i'm working with great people, great kids, and in a great community. who knew work could be so fun? my days in the summer are filled with visiting student's supervised agricultural experience projects...i.e helping them with their fair animals, checking out their crops and gardens, and even helping restore an old tractor. highlights from my new job:

{summer ag teacher conference.} eighty-something ag teachers in one place at one time=lots of learning. even more laughing.

{chapter officer retreat.} jason, wayne, and i (the other 2 ag teachers at box elder) took the 8 chapter officers on an overnight campout up to cinnamon creek for a leadership retreat. it's a camp ground owned by the church and operated by senior missionaries couples. we managed to have a lot of laughs and good times and i'm so excited to work with these kids that i already love so much!

{chapter officer leadership training (colt).} i have a lot of fun memories from colt after being a state officer and national officer candidate. it was fun to sit back and relax and let the state officers do the work. hey, i paid my dues! there were about 15 chapters at northern colt and the sitting around and chatting with other ag teachers was definitely a highlight. i left the camp feeling so unbelievably right about where i was in life.

i can't imagine doing anything else.

{2} family vacation.

each year, our family takes a trip up to alberta (usually) and glacier national park in montana. it's easily one of my favorite places on earth. for as long as i can remember we've been going on trips to glacier so it has become a very important part of my summer :). this year, every

one was able to come except for angela, john, and clay. hopefully everyone will be there next year!! we camped for a couple nights at our favorite campground, apgar, at lake mcdonald, and then headed over to the whitefish lake lodge, also a place we grew up going to. this year, as we all know, was record-breaking in the snow department. glacier was obviously not overlooked by mother nature. we arrived in west glacier and much to our dismay, read a sign that said, "logan

pass closed. going-to-the-sun road open 16 miles" what?? it was July 9th! that is unheard of! the pass had never been stayed closed this late before. fortunately, we were able to stay until it opened on July 13th. our family has been there for 2 pretty historic days. first, in 2003 when the largest forest fire hit glacier and we were pretty much caught in it. and now

this, going over the pass on the latest open-date in history. the snow was still covering the restrooms at the visitors center at the top of the pass, meaning it was still at least 10 feet deep!

{lake mcdonald on a beautiful clear morning,

and again later that everning}

{dylan becoming a junior forest ranger}

{the family at the lake}

{ella and papa payne at whitefish}

{at the top of the pass...lotta snow}

{3.} life lessons.

this summer has proven to be one of the most interesting learning experiences of my life. i have learned so much about myself and who i want to be. maybe graduating from college flipped a switch on me. i have always known who i want to become, however it has all really been solidified over the past few months. prioritizing what is most important and focusing on how to get there has really helped me understand the perspective that i need to have.

happy trails.

New Strings

After all the waiting and patience....I finally have some news!

I am officially Box Elder School District's newest employee :)

It's going to be a bit of a crazy first year....But I am SO excited!

Box Elder may or may not have been my first choice of employment, and I was lucky enough to be offered a job.

Here's why it's going to be a bit crazy:

In order for them to make this offer as close to full time as possible, I will be teaching ag classes between three schools in Brigham. Here's a glimpse of what my schedule will look like:

One section of 7th Grade Introduction to Career and Technical Education class at Adele C. Young Intermediate School. (Intro to CTE is just a basic intro class that goes over the very basics of things like woodshop, computers, business, basic ag, general shop stuff etc.)

Two sections of 9th Grade Intro to Ag Science at Box Elder Middle School. I taught 3 sections of this during student teaching and LOVED it. We cover a little bit of everything. Units on Plant Science, Animal Science, Wildlife and Natural Resources, Ag Business, Ag Communications, Public Speaking and Leadership and FFA stuff.

My courses at the High School haven't been decided yet, but it will be 2 courses of either Greenhouse Management or Woodshop.

It's going to be such a great job and I am so excited to get started. June 6th is my first day because ag teachers work through the summer. In Ag Ed we have something called a Summer Ag Program where we take the FFA chapter officers on leadership retreats, visit student projects, help with the fair and do inservice. I will be working with great people and I couldn't be happier :)

On My (our) Way.

So here's the thing. I'm a college graduate. From quite possibly the best university in the United States :)

And Landon is now a Seminary Graduate, soon to be Sky View High School Graduate. So here is a post dedicated to him and everyone else who made it to the end in this great year of 2011 :)

So here's a little somethin-somethin that I love...in honor of all graduates, from the late and great Dr. Seuss.

Oh The Places You'll Go

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You have come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

Simple Things.

Just a simple thought from a guy I'm a pretty big fan of.

"God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic);

He expects you to embrace and shape the future--to love it and rejoice in it

and delight in your opportunities.

“God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has.

But He can't if you don't pray,

and He can't if you don't dream.

In short, He can't if you don't believe."

-Jeffrey R. Holland-