Look who's back, Back again!

Ok so after months of absence from my lovely blog I've decided to return.

I really do love blogging.
I've just been very busy, and pessimistic....
It is very hard to blog when you are barely treading water in life.
I like to be known as a pleasant girl... so the phrase "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all" took hold of this blog.
But after surviving the only legal form of slavery left in this country (aka Student Teaching) I can finally breathe and smile.

I loved student teaching but it was A LOT of work. I loved the students and especially 2nd grade but the phrase "Oh well my student teacher could do that for you" got really old really fast. There is so much pressure that comes with student teaching because your teacher has your future in their hands with a little thing they call "Letter of Recommendation" You think I am being Dramatic but I'm not kidding. I loved teaching but pleasing the teacher and proving yourself is exhausting. In the end I learned a TON and am better for it.

Anyways enough of that... I survived and my Diploma will be here in 4-6 weeks! Hallelujah! Can you believe I am a college grad... WoW!

Now for Some Mattoon Highlights

Top ten without pictures sorry!

10. We survived a semester living off of one part time job!!! Wowza!! We should win a prize. Our savings "saved" us and we avoided debt! My sweet wonderful husband took 16 credits and worked nights bless his lovely stubborn heart!!

9. I Survived student teaching and got extra experience by extending until December. 12 weeks in Special Ed 6 weeks in 2nd Grade. Wrote an IEP/Eligibility report for a little boy with cerebral palsy. Took me 30 hours. Mother said it was the best IEP written for her son! BOO YA BABY!!

8. I turned 22! Went shopping with the girls, got yummy red robin and a heated mattress pad from my mom that is just HEAVENLY a must have for Rexburg. So now I sleep nice and toasty.

7. My Friend Mindy is having a baby!! and so is my cousin Jess. My two married BFF's! I can't wait. Both will be here in MAY!! Hurry up May!

6. A new movie has finally replaced my top favorite movie. It was Edward Scissors Hands for the LONGEST time (go ahead and roll your eyes but that movie is amazing for so many reasons) But the new movie is (drumroll) The Blindside. Oh my gosh it is the best. If you have not seen it you need to go ASAP! It is just incredible!!!

5. Travis decided he doesn't want to teach. So we changed his major to Generals. Got him signed up for a Coaching Cluster and signed him up for 21 credits! He will have his AA in April and we are looking into our options to get him away from BYU-I and into the Collegiate Coaching World so he can start climbing that Totem Pole.

4. My little sister living with us was such a great idea. So suck it all you haters. We had a blast together. Even Travis didn't mind it (ya right they are best friends)! Even though Clara had a rough start at school I think she enjoyed her time with us and I can't wait until she is back on track in April (although she is happy to be in Seattle, who wouldn't) I bawled like a baby when I said good-bye. I didn't see that one coming.

3. I got a new Job. Well 2 new jobs. I am going to be an account/assistant/secretary for this satellite company in Rexburg. It is great pay and I am enjoying an office job until I can get a job in a classroom this fall. I am also going to do some PSR work (Psychosocial Rehabilitation. I will work one-on-one with a child and their family both in their homes and in the community to help them gain skills needed to reduce the impact their mental illness has on their life. Mental illness ranging anywhere from ADD to Schizophrenia. I don't know who I will be working with yet but I am glad I found something so I can still work with children a little bit.

2. Had the best Thanksgiving with Travis' side of the family. Went to his G&G house. GOT A SERGER!!!! If you don't know what that is it is basically a sewing machine on steroids! Holy cow I love that thing. Mesa is her name and making things fabulous is her game.

1. Christmas with my family and Travis' for a few days. I love my house at Christmas time. I love Jesus. We were so ridiculously spoiled. I got this book of all our past christmas pictures, clothes, jewelry, a Coach purse, perfume, new rain boots, a sonic care tooth brush the list goes on for days. Thank you mom and dad.

So there you go. All that waiting and checking my blog for updates had now paid off (don't pretend you didn't do it) So leave a comment and welcome me back. Love you all.

We hope you had a very merry Christmas. I am looking forward to this new year and hope you all are safe and happy during this wonderful season.

Courtney's Back, Tell your friends
Look who's back, Look who's back, Look who's back- Slim Shady

popsicles

Today I was teaching my math group about "even groups" like a precursor to division. I told the little boy I was working with, "The popsicle man gives you 4 popsicles, but says you have to share them with your brother. How many will you give him so you both have the same. So it is fair." He divided the popsicles and gave himself one and made another pile of three. I told him that doesn't look fair and his brother had more than him. He replied, "well Mrs. Mattoon, if I eat too many popsicles I get a tummy ace so I just want one." You can't blame him for being so smart. Sometimes these kids are so clever. So then I asked him what he can eat more than one of. He replied, "cheese." so I changed the problem. "if you had 4 pieces of cheese would your brother get three?" he said "heck no" and divided them evenly. Man I love what I do!

East Idaho State Fair!

We decided to get out to the fair this year!! We didn't go on any of the rides but we walked through all the animals and saw horses, pigs, and rabbits. But not just any horses, pigs and rabbits but enormous versions of these animals. People wonder why i am terrified of horses. It should be pretty obvious when you see how absolutely gigantic they are. They could trample and kill anyone at will. I wanted to see some of the little boys in my class show their rabbits for 4-H but we missed it. It was a great time at the fair for some cheap entertainment. Clara and I supported the Tiger Troops (boy scouts of america) by purchasing some yummy elephant ears and travis went with a burger and fries and the rest of our elephant ears. It was a great little trip.







Yesterday was also a great day. Clara is now all moved in and adjusting to Rexburg. My mom left early sunday morning with my brother and we were sad to see them go. Thanks for everything!! We love you.


Also clara brought her camera and i found a couple more pictures from our seattle trip to share. Enjoy!

Ahh the life of a teacher!

I love love love Special Education. SO i always knew i liked it but now i know i love it. It is the most rewarding thing i have ever done. (mind you i am not a mother yet) but it is just so much fun.

A funny story to share. Today one of the little boys in my class was sad. I asked him what was wrong. He said he had to go to the dentist. I said "you don't like the dentist" he replied saying "my grandma gets mad when i go to the dentist" i asked why she gets mad and he said "cuz i bite the dentist" I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. I could just picture this snaggle tooth little 2nd grader sitting in the dentist chair. Ha ha.

My sister will be here tomorrow and i can't wait. I love my family!

We have successfully been on a spending FREEZE for the last 2 weeks. Travis got laid off and no one is hiring... i wonder how long buying nothing will last... i am so proud of myself honestly!

A funny question for people who pay electric bills. How do you conserve energy... i was not pleased with my energy bill and would like to cut back. How do you do it? i mean other than turn the lights off when your not in the room and don't use the heat?

My new Niece!

I need to show off my wonderful amazing niece KayleeAnn. She didn't come when we were home!! i was way sad. But here she is in all her cuteness!!

Seattle Trip and 1st day of Student Teaching

I had a short "summer." Since i went to school until July 23 then worked full time until August 7th then went to Seattle for 10 days, I only really got 2 days to completely relax and do nothing. So needless to say it has been quite a whirl wind summer.
I thought i'd share some of the pictures from our trip.
Can i first just say that we have the BEST family ever. My family is great and i have the greatest in-laws so basically i am just double lucky. Travis' family and my family live like 5 minutes apart so it's super convenient to see both sides when we visit.
We had a super fun time shopping, eating out, eating good home baked meals, playing with my niece and nephew and catching up. I just loved every minute of it.
We made it to a mariners game and even though we lost i was so excited to be at safeco. Here are some pictures. We are wearing matching Griffey jerseys ahhh






I also got to see Abe my favorite little boy ever. He has Down Syndrome and we've been friends since he was 4. i can't believe he is already 11! anyways he absolutely adores travis and his family is wonderful so i was glad we had the chance to see him again. They also own a SNAKE and i kissed it !! it licked my nose!






For those who want an update how my first day of student teaching went it was great. I already get along great with my cooperating teacher. I can't wait to work with the kids and get more and more experiences.

The Woodshed

I haven't came up with a new name for our place... if you recall i name everywhere we live... the hallway home (Rexburg), the indy pad (Indianapolis), and the timeshare (Va Beach) but i haven't quite come up with the perfect one for this place. but i thought i'd share pictures of the new place and if you can't tell how big it is from the pictures it is about twice as big as the hallway home. Clara don't worry there is space.

I'd also like to announce the arrival of my NEW favorite thing. Take a look at these beauties!

my new RED kenmore washer and dryer!! yay!!



Next we have the bathroom. we got a new shower curtain to extend the shower and that cool built in shelf for added storage!



These are shots of our new living room. travis got a new recliner because there is now room for one. My desk is now my sewing table with room for my crafties! you can also see my new WII FIT its the lime green thing against the wall. My Mother and Father in-law got it for me for graduation and it is so fun!!



Here is a shot of our kitchen coming in from the living room. It is a big and spacious and actually has room for our kitchen table. We also got our microwave also a lovely red color!!



Here is our bedroom. we got these wonder hangers and are using the two shelves to hang everything instead of getting a dresser. Since our bed is so big it all wouldn't have fit. but we love it!



And these are shots for my sister. Clara will be moving in next month so i just wanted her to see what she's working with. Love ya sis!

There it is. come by anytime. were right by the Porter Park splash park. we hope you enjoyed your tour today. have a nice day

picnic in the park!

It was Dinner and a Show!!
Travis and I went with our good friends Tom and Mindy to the park to enjoy Quiznos and Horkleys. Quiznos is having this sweet deal right now and if you buy one sandwich you can get another (of the same type and size) for one dollar!! so we got those and our favorite 44oz drink spot Horkley's has 71 cents drinks. So then we went to the park by our house and sat on blankets to watch these grown men play battle with fake swords and shields. there was was like 6 of them all playing in the grass so we just watched them while we ate!! Dinner and a Show.
here is some photo documentation of the evening.



Travis hates getting his picture taken. this describes us perfectly. i am all smiles and he looks like a monkey.



Tom and travis are alike in a million different ways, so it is no surprise he hates pictures too. But Mindy is happy to be on a double date!



Me and Mindy in a tree photo opportunity



The "show" we were trying to be desecrate while taking their photo. The best part was the commentary though "you won't fight like me until you reach the level of synine i have worked so hard to achieve" It was exactly like Role Models if you have seen that movie where if they get hit in the legs they have to fight on their knees and if they loose an arm they put it behind their backs.



And Me and Mindy again!!

GrAdUaTioN!!

I am so excited that i graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho last night. It was so great to see my mom and dad and chloe and chase. I had a great time with them and all those who could make it last night. Travis' parents came in too and are staying until Saturday. I can't wait to go get our toes done while the boys go golfing. Thank you Mom and Dad for coming and taking us out to eat, buying us new dishes among other things and spending quality time. I hope i make you proud. I was so sad when they left because 2 days did not make up for the 8 months i haven't seen them. But we are going back to "the party house" (aka my parents house) in TWO weeks!! yay.
Here are some pictures we took last night!



Here I am with Travis' parents Chris and Jim!!



Me and Opal. She has been there for everything the last 7 years there is no way she'd miss this!!



Me and my PROUD husband ha ha



My happy family, minus Clara and Christian they had to work, Chase and Chloe and My mom and Dad. I was so glad they made it!



WE DID IT!!!

BEST NEWS EVER

MY FAMILY IS COMING TO MY GRADUATION!!!

My mom called me yesterday to tell me that my dad, my mom, my sisters and brothers are all coming to my graduation!!!! I was so happy i almost cried.

My mother and father in-law will also be there.

I can't believe it is so so so so sooon and i will have all those i love around me.

Hooray. Have a great day.
Ps we moved and were so happy to be in a new home. Pictures of the new place soon!!

Good news and More Pics

Even though Michael Jackson Died yesterday it has been a great week. I am tired so very tired but i have good news.
I passed portfolio!! I presented a 15 minute speech on what i have learned these past 3 years of college and i proved i learned enough to go out to the teaching field!! yay. I am so excited. I will be teaching 2nd grade at Jefferson Elementary starting August 20th.

More good news. I teach today Monday and Wednesday and then i am done teaching preschool. I am teaching my lessons on the Body.

Travis got to go golfing with a pro on Wednesday and supposively learned a lot. He also played in the final tournament for basketball. His team lost but he had 15 rebounds and 12 points. It was the best I've ever seen him play.

Still no news if Clara can live with us but we are moving in a week. We are not ready AT ALL but we have time to move it over slowly. We have to buy dressers and i have NO idea where to get them. I just wish trav was a handy man that could build them for us. Thats the next skill i need to learn... wood shop

And here are a few more pictures for my Graduation that Geoff took. I promise if you have him take your photos you won't be disappointed.

sneak peek of the senior picks

Geoff took my pictures today. Here is a couple he e-mailed that I loved. Take a look and let me know what your think.






Check out his business site at http://gdbstudios.blogspot.com/

Were not Homeless

Reading the title describes the week i've had, i am relieved not to be homeless...
The song homeless (from the forgotten carols) has been sung over and over by Travis this week as we have been stressing out if you haven't heard this religious catchy song that gets stuck in your head i invite you to click here for a preview

We found out that University Village was a bit deceiving. My sister Clara is trying to live with us in the fall and the rule at UV is that you have to have sole custody over the people that live with you. When i talked to the housing department back in February when they recommended UV. so i was a little annoyed. They tried to play it off saying they thought i was talking about my own child coming to college. I was livid by this point saying
1) how do i look old enough to have a child in college.
2) why would i need your permission if it was my own child and
3) when i do have children i won't refer to them as "sister"

So then we were in a panic to find somewhere new because we move next month. All the places i looked into were all for the fall. So that is 7 weeks to be homeless because we sold our contract for the apt we live in now. 2 other places gave us hope and then fell through. but finally we found a cute little 2 bedroom in our price range right by porter park. It is called "the woodshed" and travis has made plenty of jokes about taking people out to beat them. But they are nice and we are excited.

I am getting closer and closer to my "Portfolio interview" and i just need to finalize everything. It's not really stressing me out like i thought it would i just want to make it creative and struggling with trying to make it my own and memorable. So if you have any ideas on spicing up a speech let me know.



I finished my purse. I love it. i am so excited it is done. My sewing machine is a trooper although i have a feeling its going to need to be replaced soon enough.

Also i have been doing Indexing for family history. It is so fun for me. Kinda like detective work as you try and decode old cursive handwriting from the 1900s. I called my grandma j for some tips and its been a lot of fun trying it out.



My friend sarah had her baby on Saturday too and we went to see her. she has the fullest lips i've ever seen on a baby. She was like making this kissing sound and her dad was like "nuh uh your not starting that already" it was funny.

Pretty much that was the excitement of the week. I am excited for this upcoming week and finalizing all my projects. I'll keep you posted.

P.S. I am super wife and did 7 loads of laundry last night... or maybe i shouldn't brag about that since its been so long since i did laundry last i washed everything we owned pretty much.

Almost Done

I only have 6 weeks left of college!!!!

I can't believe i am almost done. I am so excited to be a teacher!!

These next 6 weeks are going to be busy ones:
I need too...
Make and Present a portfolio of all i learned in college
Write and Teach a week long lesson about the body to preschoolers
Finish the final touches on my Resume
Make and send announcements of my graduation
Move
and countless other assignments to finish off my last classes.


Wow i am going to be busy but it is so worth it!!

and for good old times here is a pic of me as a freshman in College

Part 3 the Boise Adventure

Oh we were so spoiled this past Memorial day. We got to go Boise to see Travis' parents and brother and sister in law. It was such a great trip and even better break from Rexburg.

We first went to see Travis' cousin graduate from Highschool in Mountain Home. It was a beautiful day. We spent a lot of time with travis' aunts uncles and grandparents. I love spending time with all the family. They are hysterical joking and messing with one another. It different than my family outings but in a good way. I am lucky to have such great in laws

Of course we went SHOPPING!!! it was so nice to finally go shopping where there is more options then the Teton Mall.
I got a new swim suit and a new jacket and jean skirt. My mother in law Chris is so nice and fun. I love shopping with her and my sister in law. We also got pedicures. Which went great with all my new sandals. I have been searching high and low for ones that i can wear on campus here is the assortment i have saved up... Jesus sandals here we come



Travis got a new putter (the one i said he couldn't get) so thanks Jim!! he loves it!!

We also went to the Zoo!! I LOVE THE ZOO. i was so excited to see the aminals. I got this cool african sounding bracelet and trav got some new sunglasses.



This little monkey was such a show off . That's that type of animal i would be if i was in a zoo.

We got to eat out at the best places. We ate at this Brazillian BBQ where they sliced the meat right off the skewers for you. It was so yummy and we ate SO much. and we got to eat at my favorite restaurant The Cheesecake Factory.

Before we left town i got this cute sewing machine cover at Hancocks and because of the the Memorial day sale i got it 50% off!! yay



Thanks again for a GREAT weekend Chris and Jim