Best Christmas So Far

So, now that it's been at least 3 weeks since Christmas, I figure I better catch up quick! December was such an eventful and wonderful month! I love the feeling of the holidays and for the time I always get to spend with loved ones. Curtis came out to Utah the week before my Christmas break. He finished finals and wanted to see his family out here before he headed with me to NY for Christmas. We had a really great week. He came and visited me at school and my kids got to meet him...which may not have been the best decision on my part. Today, my students brought up the fact that "Miss Hess has a boyfriend...oooooo" and they talked about Curtis for a few minutes. They loved him of course, so all is well. He played hacky sac with some of them, flew airplanes across the classroom, and just gave attention to a couple who crave love and attention. One student even put a bow on him and brought him over to me saying, "Here Miss Hess. He's your Christmas gift this year." We all laughed pretty hard about that.

Here is a picture of us at The Nutcracker in Salt Lake. So fun! I was in The Nutcracker when I was little but it was really cool to see the actual performance by a real ballet company! Thanks Curtis!

We also met up with my siblings that are in Utah and Idaho at the Christmas lights on Temple Square.

Here is a picture of Curtis and Jayden. They're best buds.

  Curtis and me...

One of the Hess families

  



   The kids chilling at McDonalds.








So for some reason, I don't have any pictures of Tyler and Mckenzie or Nicole and Juston.... sorry guys! Not quite sure how that happened. It was a very enjoyable night but we definitely missed Andrea, mom, and dad, who were in NY.

After a few more days of hanging out in Utah, we flew to Ohio and had an 8 hour road trip to NY! We spent a few days at my home, a few days in NYC, and a day in Hershey, PA with my mom's side of the family. It was a very, very quiet Christmas at our house this year, even with adding Curtis. All of my married siblings were at their in-laws, so it was just Dad, Mom, Andrea, Curtis, and me. We had a really good time though and enjoyed being out of school for a few weeks. Here are some pictures. If you want to see more of NYC, you'll have to look at my sister Andrea's facebook account.

Airports are MUCH more fun when you have somebody to fly with you!

 

 The Rockefeller Christmas Tree in NYC

 

This is on the Staten Island Ferry. The Statue of Liberty is behind us somewhere in that bright glare of light.

Also, one of my best friends from BYU, Pam, and her mom, met us one evening in NYC for dinner and to go to the Broadway show, West Side Story. It was sooooo fun to see her and to get to spend time with her. LOVE this girl! She makes me laugh and always keeps me on my toes. Especially when I find pickles in my purse...hm.... wonder where that came from?

       My favorite picture of us...

My Year In Review

So now that we're already halfway through January, I finally decided to look at some of my major highlights from 2009. It was an amazing year with so many incredible memories with family and friends, along with millions of learning experiences and lessons learned. Here are just a few of the highlights.

• I began 2009 by starting my last semester of school in Provo. I didn't know that it would be my last semester in Provo, but it turned out to be great. I did my practicum experience in a 4th grade classroom working with two different teachers. It was such an amazing experience. I also had the opportunity to bond with many of the other girls in my classes and I built some friendships I will always remember. It was during these few months that I made a last minute decision to go to DC for my student teaching. 
• In June, Tyler and Mckenzie got married! It was a beautiful day full of family and friends. They had a garden wedding with an outdoor reception. It was a gorgeous day and we had a lot of fun! (especially decorating their car, which I have been told that when my turn comes...I have already been warned) 
• In July I had the opportunity to go to Ecuador with my mom, Vicki, and my sister Nicole. Vicki has some church friends down there, so we spent a few days touring the country and also a couple of days in the indigenous community. We went bridge jumping, go-cart driving, horseback riding, spent a night in the rain forest with cockroaches, killed a tarantula in our room, spent hours with little kids playing Ecuadorian games, and almost died a number of times! It was an incredible experience that was so so humbling. I was embraced into a culture that I never would have imagined getting the chance to do first hand. What an amazing 10 days! This was just the beginning of my travel bug.  
• In August I graduated from college with my Bachelors! Well I didn't really graduate because I still had my student teaching to do in DC, but I walked for graduation. It was very exciting, yet kind of mind boggling at the same time! Since when was I old enough to graduate from college?! And what did I really want to do with my life?!?!? 
• This past summer was my last summer in Provo. It was such an eventful time filled with camping, star gazing, LOTS and LOTS of sand volleyball, pool time, summer loving, and Partying! Many memories! 
• In September I moved to Washington DC to do my student teaching. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I was blessed with incredible roommates, an awesome mentor teacher, and amazing students. Those students taught me WAY WAY WAY more than I could ever imagine or more than I ever taught them during this time. It was here that I learned some really important life long lessons and grew more than I had ever thought possible in ALL aspects of my life. 
• In October, Allie and Tiff flew out to New York City. I was able to meet them up in the city for the weekend! It was so unforgettable! We did a lot of new things I had never done in the city, which was great! We went to the Doughnut plant, the Shake Shack, the Metropolitan museum, ate some NY pizza, and saw the 9/11 sites. Allie and I went to Wicked Saturday night and Tiff went to the Lion King. Wicked was my favorite Broadway show I think I've seen so far! I LOVED IT! The music, acting, and set were incredible! Just amazing! 
• This Thanksgiving was the first Thanksgiving since 8th grade that I was able to spend with my family! It was So So nice to go to Philadelphia and spend the time with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. It was a nice break from school and chance to get away from life for a few days. 
• And finally...we come to Christmas break. I finished up in DC and stopped in Philly at my Grandmas for a day. She spoiled me of course, and then I picked up Nicole and her boyfriend Juston at the airport for the drive home. We considered this our road trip for the year. Chris and Kristine flew in with the kids a few days later. We sure missed Tyler and Mckenzie this year at Christmas, just wasn't quite the same without them! Coley and Juston got engaged Christmas morning, so we're now all preparing for an April wedding! I had the opportunity to go out a few nights with the girls, some of which I hadn't seen in two years and I also got to go to lunch with a few guy friends from high school. What a great Christmas break and end to another fabulous year! 

This past year was full of so many blessings in my life and people that have touched me in ways they will never know the impact of. I have no idea where I will be in the next couple of months or what this next year will bring for me. I do know though, that Heavenly Father is fully aware of me and everything that I do and He'll guide me in the decisions I make. I'm really really looking forward to seeing what this year will bring and where I will be by December!

Filling Time

This whole "moving home after graduating thing" was never in the plan for me. So as I sucked up my pride to move home for a few months I'm trying to look at some positives. The options were to move home for a few months and save up to travel Europe, or live in a city and barely make ends meet. So, seeing as my best friend Allie and I have been saying for three years that we would go travel Europe, I decided now would be a good time to do this. I mean, when else will I get the opportunity to travel like this?! So that's the plan for now. These next few months will also be an excellent time for me to be able to reflect and evaluate some goals in my life. Over the past four months I had the opportunity to live in Washington DC and do my student teaching in a third grade classroom. One of the biggest lessons and learning experiences I had during that time is Heavenly Father's love and understanding He has for each of His children. He is so so so incredibly aware of each of us and He is listening and ready to answer our prayers. So as I live at home for the next couple of months I know that my Heavenly Father is listening to my prayers and knows of my struggles and my joys!