Thursday, May 31, 2012

Memorial Day

I have fond memories of many Thackeray get-togethers and picnics on holidays. Rosemary described it perfectly as I remember here.
"Memorial Day conjures up memories of going up Crystal Creek to have a Thackeray family picnic. We had a long black grill with a honeycomb grate on top. You would crank the handle and it would lift up so you could fill it with briquettes. On it we would cook our hamburgers. We would eat them along with the other yummy food that the aunts would fix, including Aunt Barbara's taco salad [Grandma's Potato Salad, Uncle Charlie's Mississippi Mud Pie]. Afterwards we would play a game of softball in the clearing [and ride the "pully" (zip line) for hours] . The men would sit around talking 'ranch.'"
I have so many great memories! So, being away from home, it's great to be able to get together with the Thackeray crew and still have a good time! :)

We convened at Rosemary's for delicious food (as always).
 Naturally, the food put us all in a coma!
We played some Five Crowns. It wouldn't be a family party without some cards!
S'Mores were next on the agenda! :)
The evening commenced at the "Sing Off" concert at the SCERA. We went an hour before thinking that would be plenty of time to get tickets and get a seat. How popular could it be? Um... apparently we were wrong?
So.... we enjoyed the concert from the park!
 Played some more Five Crowns... my luck was not as good the second round. :)
 It was a fantastic day, spent with fantastic people! Love traditions and family! :)

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Happy Anniversary to the BEST parents in the world! :)

Friday, May 25, 2012

School's Out For Summer!

I have about 5 "new posts" and none of them are finished! :) So... I figured I'd start with this one and we'll back track and play catch up as the summer starts! I seriously have NO idea where this school year went? It's cliche! But seriously! Time goes by way to fast! Don't get me wrong... I'm super excited for school to be out, and summer to be here! But, I also am sad to see the year end! So many great memories, teaching, coaching, etc.

I was watching Castle (TV show) the other day. One of the characters was graduating from high school. This was her valedictorian speech:
“There is a universal truth we all have to face whether we want to or not-- everything eventually ends. I’ve always disliked endings. The last day of summer, the final chapter of a great book, parting ways with a close friend; but endings are inevitable. Leaves fall, we close the book, you say goodbye. But just because things come to an end there are some people who are so much a part of us they’ll be with us no matter what. They are our solid ground, our north star, and the small clear voices in our hearts that will be with us... always.”
This quote stated everything I was feeling at that moment. I despise change. I hate when things end. However, there are people who are very much a part of us, that will always be with us! That's how I feel about this year! So... here's some happenings of the last little bit! While I am sad that they are over, everything does eventually have to end! I will take from the experiences some of my favorite memories with some of my favorite people!

This was probably one of my favorite years of coaching. The softball team was so much fun. I coached a majority of them since they were freshmen, and it was fun to be able to continue up the ranks with them! :) We had some great memories! (There is a copy of "The Book" for the year highlighting those hilarious memories... I'm still contemplating whether or not it will be posted...) 

Some picture highlights of the year...

First game of the year... the COLDEST game I have played in or coached to date! And there's been some cold ones... 
Pitching batting practice... took a line drive straight back at me in the stomach... left this dandy of a bruise! Yes there was a screen... yes I had a glove on... I don't know how it happened? Needless to say... it HURT!
In the MIDDLE of one of our games... we look over... and our starting pitcher is ASLEEP in the MIDDLE of the game! Come to find out she had MONO... and she napped every inning!
Senior Night was... LONG! :) One of my favorite groups of seniors. I said "one of" because there have been a lot! But what a fun group of girls to coach! They taught me SO much in the four years that I have known them!
 
Memories of "AWESOME" practice outfits... and FINALLY a Tangled party! I tried to convince Miranda to watch Tangled the entire year last year, to no avail. She said if we made it to state that she would watch it! We made it to state! :) We had a party! And it was AWESOME!
On the bus ride to our last state game... apparently everyone was tired? :)
We had our banquet a couple of nights ago! It was fun to get together with everyone and reminisce! In my classroom, I have a "wall" of pictures of all the teams that I've coached. Two of my students were our managers this year. They missed team pictures and really wanted to get on "the wall". So we took this picture for them!
Such a fun softball season! I am going to miss the seniors so much!

Other happenings as of late...

Graduation was this past week! Two graduations in one day... wow! I went to ours... and then to Maple Mountain's to watch Porter graduate. We went to dinner at Olive Garden after.
The reason of the title of this post... SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! Last day of school was yesterday! I spent the past two days MOVING CLASSROOMS! I am upgrading that is for certain! My new room is awesome! However, I DESPISE moving! Thankfully, I had some students help me move everything over to my new room! The daunting part comes with organizing and getting everything put away. After being the ONLY one left at school yesterday, I finally just left and decided to worry about it next week! :) Bring on the summer!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Family Parties

I have a few family parties to blog about! First one goes back... all the way to March! We had a single sista's party and Michelle was here visiting! We had a great time and as always ate delicious food!
 
 
The next party I missed because I was home for spring break! I heard it was a success! After that came our "Pizza Night", which will become a monthly tradition!
And last but certainly not least! Another SOD laying party! :) We have a great time together! Love, love, love family!
Before and After
Laying the Sod
Kneaders for Lunch! YUM! 

Saturday, May 12, 2012

E-T-N-A, Etna, Etna, All the Way! :)

It really is a special thing to be from Etna! So many great memories of growing up! The best part is that there is always a connection to home, no matter where you are at! Doesn't matter where you are, when you find Etna people you have a good time! This weekend we did just that! :)

Max Gordon, who used to live in Etna with his family, plays for the Oregon State Beavers. They were playing the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, so Tracy, Tilly and I headed up to watch the game. It just so happened that Ken and Theresa Harris were passing through Utah on their way to Montana and they were able to join us at the game with their relatives! We had a great time and Max played great. We were the Scott Valley Crazy Crew and definitely lived up to the name!
Pregame
 Jumbo Screen
 Go-ahead RBI in the top of the 11th!
 The Scott Valley Crazy Crew
 Post Game
 Afterwards we went to the City Creek Center and walked around and to Temple Square while we waited for Max to get ready. Then we picked him up and headed to Ken's sister's in Sandy and had a nice BBQ in their backyard! We had a great time reminiscing and catching up!
 The Whole Crew
It was such a fun weekend! I love Etna people! :)