Jackson Hole- celebrating our graduation.

The Friday after I finished student teaching, we decided to take a night to ourselves. It's always funny to think like that, because we live alone. We're pretty much as "to ourselves" as we're going to get. But, it was fun!

We found this motel for like $50, and it was actually pretty clean. It was about the size of our bedroom and bathroom put together, but what else could you expect. (Side note: we forgot to get a picture, but as we were leaving we realized we were in room 207. Same as our apartment number.)

We ate at Mile High Pizza Pie for dinner, and it was super good. The next day we went down to the Elk Reservation, and tried to get the elk close to us. Unfortunately, they were right in the middle of the reservation and too far from any end for us to get a good picture. But we tried.

Brandon was still excited, so I got a picture with him.

I'm glad the reservation was free.

Afterwards, we kept driving down the road all the way to the Yellowstone entrance... but we didn't want to pay for that right then. The land there is SO beautiful, I can't believe it. Idaho sometimes looks so drab and blah, but just on the other side of the Teton Mountains is this oasis of beauty.

We made our way back, and over to Jenny Lake by the airport. Every time we go over there, I hope to catch a glimpse of Harrison Ford. But I digress. Jenny Lake was closed, because there was still snow on the ground. But we want to come back and camp another time.

We then drove up that way, seeing if we could see more animals. And boy, did we!

As soon as I saw these animals, I yelled "BUFFALO!" We pulled over, and Brandon said, "Noooo, that's a moose." Ooops, Southern California girl here. Besides, their heads were down. But we did get a closer picture.

One of them started staring at us, so we backed up.

Then we saw hundreds of buffalo, which was pretty cool.

I just about burst Brandon's eardrums when I screamed "MOOSE!"

Brandon said, "Umm, no those are elk." Dang it! But we were super close so we got a lot of pictures.

I wanted to get a picture with them, to show how close they were. But by the time we thought of that they were gone...

We found a picturesque outlook over a river. It was perfect to get a good shot of the scenery. Seriously hard to explain.

(My eyes were hurting at this point, because it was so bright. That's why I look like that.)

He's funny.

My face has been acting like it's 16... I apologize.

Sometimes you just need a night away from your regular life to get it back on track. It was very enjoyable.

Well, it's done.

I survived student teaching.

And you know what? I'm going to miss those little bugs.

On my last day, one of my boys gave me a bouquet of flowers and a necklace that said "#1 Teacher". It's so sweet. They also all signed cards and gave me some school supplies for my next teaching job. When they were leaving, one of the girls said, "Don't worry Mrs. Giullian, I probably won't cry until I get home." How do you not miss that?!

But now I'm on my first day of unemployment.

What will I do?

-Get my teaching license.

-Go to the temple.

-Train for my 5k in July (that I've been badly neglecting).

-Keep applying for jobs.

SPEAKING OF WHICH: I got a job offer and another call for an interview. One is a teacher's assistant at a Montessori school in Sacramento, and the call for the interview is at a Goddard preschool in Durham, North Carolina. Because who wouldn't want to live by Dane?! (And Alyse and Tommy, of course). It depends on the position they want to offer me, though.

-Keep up my Etsy shop. (Visit it! http://www.etsy.com/shop/CamillesCrochet)

But I can do anything I want to! I can continue to learn Spanish like I've wanted to. I can get a Master's degree if I want to. I can work full time if I want to (and can get hired).

Soooo, yeah. It's sweet.

Only for Uncle Austin's sake.

Ok, this was the funniest story and totally just my bragging as an aunt, so bear with me.

Today during recess I was eating in the staff room when I got a call from Alyse. I answered it, and couldn't hear anything over the other end. Then, I heard a couple of beeps like some little hand was pushing the buttons on the phone... and then I hear, "Mehhhhhhh... mehhhh... EHHHHHHHHH!" I started saying "Dane? Daaaannnnne! Dane! Hi Dane!" like the aunt of a baby that I am. I mean, chances are he didn't even have his ear to the phone. Then, Alyse got on the phone and was laughing. Apparently, Dane saw the phone out of the corner of his eye and rolled over on the bed for the first time (and last time) and grabbed the phone. Then, as he is so advanced, he called me and wanted to talk.

I laughed about it all day long. I sure do love that little guy.

Fifteenth Week of Student Teaching.

I haven't done this in a while, but here goes!

This week, I only had to teach one lesson a day, as opposed to the whole day. Mrs. Stanger is trying to transition back to her teaching.

Day 71. I think it's hilarious to watch these kids play football. When they get into the game, they REALLY get into the game. While I was watching on bus duty, I watched as a kid got burned by another boy to score a touchdown. Sure enough, one of my students (half the size of the rest of them) comes around running and screaming "ARE YOU KIDDING  ME! WHAT HAPPENED THERE!! COME ON!" I just had to laugh... but I will say it now. I don't want our kids to play football.

Day 72. Brandon the best husband ever came to visit me at school on his way from his job interview (YESSSS HE HAS A JOB!). The kids wanted to ask him some questions, so I told them they could ask 5 questions. They asked things like "What do you like?" "Have you seen the Hobbit?" "What's your favorite color?" When Brandon said he played football the boys all cheered and yelled. Boys.

Day 73. Today, a boy came up to me and said, "Look at what I can do!" And before I could stop him, he said, "Everybody do the FALL!" and dropped himself to the ground, smacking his head on the ground so hard it shook the floor by my feet. I asked him if he was ok, and he stood up with his hand covering his forehead. When he took his hand away, he had major carpet burn on his forehead. I was laughing so hard I couldn't help it. This is the boy who reads at a 3rd grade reading level...

Day 74. As mentioned before, today I was stressed out about not having a job. I was super tired and just wanted to go to bed, but I remembered that I had signed Brandon and I up to clean the temple. I really didn't want to go, which sounds terrible. Luckily, I realized that if I didn't want to go, that was probably Satan and that I needed to go. Brandon was getting trained at his new job, so he couldn't go. I'm so glad I did, not for the least of which this picture I got:

Day 75. I don't remember much of what happened. I was exhausted from cleaning the temple, and didn't have the patience to get into arguments with the kids so I didn't. Luckily, Mrs. Stanger said I seemed so much more relaxed and natural with the kids. I guess running on fumes helps.



I'm going to miss these kiddos. I still have 2 more days, which makes it seem like student teaching is dragging on... oh wait it is.
But tomorrow starts with (gasp) a job interview! It's with an agency that has a position in Psycho Social Rehabilitation. I know that it generally works with people who have mental illnesses, but I'm not entirely sure what else I would do.
I think cleaning the temple helped, I'm going to make sure to go more often to see if I can get more blessings (aka job interviews).

Ok, I'm going to level right now.

I'm 3 class days away from finishing student teaching. I've applied to over 50 jobs, and I haven't heard anything positive from a single one. I've applied to jobs in 5 states (Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Wyoming), and am getting nervous. If anyone can pass on job opportunities I'd really appreciate it. I'm trying to stay positive.... but yeah.

For the record, I'm still applying. I have applications started in other states and districts as well.

I am open for business!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CamillesCrochet

There's only 2 things on there, but it's going to be awesome! I'm planning on making millions this way... obviously. 

I found out how to make coupons on there, and I might make coupons for people who read my blog. Mainly for publicity. Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

So, here's a trend we've been noticing in dates:

April 19, 1993: Siege in Waco, TX ends.

April 19, 1993: Fire in psychiatric institute in Korea kills 40.

April 19, 1995: Bombing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

April 20, 1999: Columbine shooting.

April 19, 2013: Boston locked down as they hunt for the Boston Marathon bomber.

BUT. Here is one thing I love about April 19.

Happy birthday to the best guy I know!

Top 10 things I have loved about Brandon these past few months:

1. He is so kindhearted to everyone he meets.

2. He worked nights for our first year of marriage so we could have food to eat.

3. He has brought me lunch a couple of times during student teaching when I have forgotten mine at school. P.S. it's a 40 minute drive.

4. Despite his busy schedule, he's made sure we have food to eat for every meal.
5. He loves animals, even if they don't necessarily love him...

(This is Teddy, our friend's dog. He's a Pomeranian Chihuahua mix, and for some reason really hated Brandon laying down last night.)
6. More than animals, he loves Dane. That is a MUST.
7. He's got big plans for his education, so that he can support us and our future family.
8. He has been such a good example for my brothers who have been looking to serve missions. He has been giving Dallin good advice on what to do in a Latin country.
9. He is so forgiving of how lame I've been during student teaching. I haven't been myself for a while, and my life has been revolving around this class. I would have starved to death without him.
10. He lets me do what I want, which includes getting as much as education as I want. As I've talked about different courses I want to take after school ends, he lets me talk about it and will let me decide.

Happy Birthday Brandon! Thanks for being such a good part of my life!

Praying for Boston.

Ugh, the world is such an awful place to live right now.

The Boston Marathon is an accomplishment. It shouldn't be something that people fear... again, like a movie theater or an elementary school. This is terrible!

But I have loved hearing about the humanity that has happened as a result. I wish it didn't have to happen, but hearing what these athletes have done is beautiful. I loved the fact that the Red Cross couldn't even take more blood because so many people were running straight from the race to the hospital. It may be an urban legend, but I find it inspiring.

This picture has been going around Facebook, and I think it applies to so many of the awful things we see in our world today.

I just hug Brandon when I hear of stuff like this. I'm grateful for the sealing power of marriage. This world is so unpredictable, and I know that if something this horrific ever happened to a member of my family, I would be OK in the long run because our marriage goes beyond "Til death do us part".

So, I'm praying for Boston. And I sure hope that this world gets to be a better place soon.

Job Hunt continues.

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If you know of any jobs in Sacramento, Phoenix Mesa area, Houston, Charleston (West Virginia), Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Portland, or pretty much anywhere else, let me know. I've applied to about 50 jobs and uploaded my resume to a ton of websites.

The Graduation-ators!

134 credits.

11 semesters.

5 years.

1 GRADUATION.

So yes, it happened. We graduated! For the sake of time, here are some pictures:

Both our sets of parents came into town Thursday night, and we went to dinner at Garcia's.

Friday, I just had to plan my lessons for next week.

After that, it was time for pictures:

(Note: I told them I didn't want to do a jumping picture, because I knew I could never jump at the right time.)

We had people honking at us.

Where I have had sooooo many classes.

My mom sent me this picture, probably without realizing that I completely closed my eyes at the wrong time.

I have more pictures we'll put up, but these are mainly for Austin's sake. So he can believe that it actually happened.
it was pretty surreal, when President Clark said he bestowed the degrees upon us I wanted to laugh and cry and scream for joy at the same time. I'm so glad that I have a husband and parents and in-laws and so many friends and family members who have helped support me through this time.


The irony is... I have to go student teach now. Oh yeah, they didn't tell you? They extended student teaching so I still have 2 more weeks... Press on.