White Christmas! In Georgia?!?

I was so sad that a couple days after I left Utah there was a big snow storm. We haven't really had any snow this winter, which I am ok with. I like the snow for a little while, but not for months and months. It is pretty for a little while, but it means I have to drive in it, walk in it, go outside for recess, and be in it. I would just rather have it for a short period of time. Winter break is the perfect time for snow, so when I missed the big snow I was sad.

As we were sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast on Christmas morning, someone said, "look, it's snowing!" I thought, "yeah right, snow in Georgia." Much to my surprise, it was snowing! These weren't just little flakes either. They were big, fluffy flakes. I was so excited! Travis and I decided to go outside and catch some snowflakes.It snowed off and on all day and into the night, but not a lot stuck. I got this picture the next day to prove that it does actually snow in Georgia.
I had a great Christmas morning spent with my family and Travis. We opened presents, ate a big breakfast, played with our presents, and spent time together. It was perfect. Here are just a couple pictures from Christmas morning as well.

Mom passing out presents.Nathan got miniature sized presents and money to go buy real ones. Dad opening his gift from Travis.Travis was sitting right beside me, so it hard to get an action shot of him.My new camera bag from Travis!Andrew got a laptop.

I'm a firefighter!

This morning, Christmas Eve, Dad, Andrew, Travis and I set out to make some deliveries to some families in our ward. As we were driving to the bishop's house to make our first delivery, we drove past this scene: two kids trying to put out a field fire and the mother running to their small house while on the phone. Dad says, "should we stop and help." I say yes so we find a place to turn around and go back. We miss the house again and turn back around. I say to dad, "I don't really know what to do." He explains that first we are going to park out of the way so when the firemen get there, they can get through. In the meantime, another man stops. He found a pile of scrap wood that we can use to put it out. So together the 5 of us climb over the barb wire fence and run towards the circle of fire. We all take different approaches and places to put out the fire. I started from the outside and started working my way to the middle and Travis went straight to the big flames. It was crazy! I could see the progress, but also see it spreading. The family was yelling, but everyone else was staying calm. It started heading towards their humble home. Travis went to fight those flames. He slowed the flames, but lost some of his eyebrows and receded his hairline in the process. (picture below) I am just glad he didn't get hurt. After getting the roadside out, I went to the back where it started spreading more. It was harder there because the grass was taller. Luckily the firemen got there soon after because the wind started to blow and the spreading increased. Further back were some woods. The first truck couldn't reach all the way to the back so a backup rescue truck had to come in. As they drove through the field, I stood watching. Then I heard someone yell my name. It was Keith Kolvig, a highschool friend. He was the one in the rescue truck to finish off the fire. His truck had a remote control nozzle on the front that blasted out the flames. The firemen told us that we did a great job containing the fire until they got there. It was exciting, but hard work. There were times when I had to step away because the flames were so thick. By the end, we were all worn out, dirty and coughing. The next day I was sore because it was strenuous work. The other lesson we learned that day: Never play with bottle rockets in a dry field.

Old Friends

Last night some of the old winterguard crew got together for a mini-reunion. I have not seen most of the people there since I graduated back in 2004. This reunion was inspired by a video Mrs. Armstrong posted on facebook of the year we did "He Lives in You." It was fun to see everyone and interesting to see where everyone is in their lives. With my 25th birthday coming up, I have been doing a lot of self-reflecting wondering what I have done with my life. After last night, I realize that I have done a lot. I have graduated from college, served a mission, found a good job, moved out on my own, bought a car, I am healthy and very happy. I have made many memories and friends along the way and I don't regret a thing I have done. Sometimes I get wrapped up in Utah culture that tells you that if you are this old and not married something is wrong with you. That is not true! I would not change the things I have done for anything. I would not be who I am without them. One of my instructors, JB, that I really respect sent me a sweet message today. He said that "I remember the timid, pretty girl I first met in the fall of 2001.... telling me "I can't..." when we asked you to throw a quad. ;-) And you've more than surpassed throwing quads in your life. I'm thrilled to see the beautiful, young woman you've become." This really meant a lot and helped me realize that the world doesn't determine your worth.

New friends

Yesterday I left Utah to spend my Christmas break in Georgia. I had a day full of meeting new friends. First I met Bessie and her husband, Ernest. I met them while sitting at our gate. They were in their 60s. They are both from Georgia, met in Utah and that's where they live now. Ernest served in Vietnam and Bessie works in the medical field. She is a stylish old lady and he is a jolly old man. He talks to everyone, loves children, and has a hearty laugh. I sat and talked to Bessie for a good 30-45 minutes. We talked about all kinds of things. My favorite thing that she told me is not to tell men how great they are because it will go straight to their head. She was telling me how lucky she was to meet her husband. While we were talking, another couple in their 60s came and sat down next to Ernest. He started talking to them. Ernest and the other man were hilarious! They just fed off each other. Ernest mentioned how Bessie had him do something and the other man said he had one for himself and she was redhead and spent his money too. Then later they talked about visiting the gift store and how there was a $300 pair of jeans. The old man said that they were worn out and had holes in them. It made me laugh because it was such an old person comment.
On the plane, I made another friend. His name is Rodarious and he is 12 years old. In the first 30 minutes of the plane ride, he told me his life story and he didn't stop talking to me the whole plane ride. Even if I put my head phones in to get a break, he would tap me on the shoulder and ask another question. He has been in and out of foster homes and living with relatives his whole life because both his parents have been in and out of jail. He was in Utah visiting his grandmother. When he arrives in Florida, he will go back to a "program." Then he gets to live with his mom starting in January for a couple months, but he doesn't want to because he is scared his anger problems will come back. Today he gets to go visit his dad in jail. He mentioned to me that he just wants to find someone to adopt him. At some point in our first conversation, I mentioned that we used to have foster kids live with us when I was younger. A couple hours into the plane ride, he asked me if my parents still took in foster kids. That made me begin to think how lucky I was. Here is this 12 year old boy that just wants a stable family. He would rather go live with my family than his own parents. It made me wonder how many other children there are out there in situations like these. They just want someone constant in their life to love them. I am lucky to have a mom and dad that have supported me in everything I have done and love me no matter what. Rodarious also asked me if I was going to adopt any kids. That is something I will have to think more about in the future, but it has opened my eyes more to the option.

911 Call

I promised a post about my drive home from the airport, so here it is. After dropping Travis off at the airport last Sunday, I drove back around and sat in the park and wait to see if his flight would be delayed and he could jump on the later flight. After waiting 30 minutes or so, he called and said that they would be leaving on time and I should just head home. I thought this was crazy because there was already a lot of snow on the ground and it was still snowing.

Anyways, I left the airport not looking forward to my long journey ahead in the snow. Because the roads were snowy/icy, I had to drive slow and I was on high alert. (I do have to say, my car is amazing in the snow. I love it!) I had a lot of experience in Canada driving in the snow, so the part that scares me the most is not my own abilities, but the cars around me. I saw some idiot drivers going to fast or just doing stupid things.

At one point, I was driving alongside another car and up ahead of us there was another car. All of the sudden, the car in front of us started spinning. He was in the far left lane and he spun across all 4 lanes of traffic and hit the barrier on the left side. The car beside me swerved around him and kept going. I had to slow down so I wouldn't hit him, but I didn't want to stop too fast or I would lose control too. I pulled over to where his car had come to a stop. Then a million thoughts started going through my head. I looked at him and he looked dead. He was just bent over not moving. I decided that the best thing to do was to go ahead and call 911 so they could head over right away.

I sat in my car and called 911. "911 What is the location of your emergency?" "uhhh...I think I am on 215" "What happened?" "I just saw a man get in an accident." "Does he need medical attention?" "uhh...can I get out of my car and go see?" At this point the lady probably thinks I am crazy. I don't really know where exactly I am and I ask her if I can go talk to the man. I go up to him and I open his door. I tell him that I called 911 and ask if he needs medical attention. He said he hurt his arm but he is ok. I tell the lady his response and she says "ok, let me transfer you over to police dispatch."

"Police dispatch, what is the location of your emergency." We already went through this. I don't really know. I just follow the signs from the airport. I say, "I think I am on 215." She asks which exit. I ask the man if he knows where we are and he looks around and sees a Pepboys sign and says we are by Pepboys. Great. Then I remember that I just passed California avenue. "Are you going north or south?" "I don't know. I am coming from the airport and headed towards Provo." The lady probably thinks I am crazy. I just can't really think at this point in time. Hopefully I never see an accident that is serious or we are in big trouble. "Is the accident on the left or right side of the road?" "Right" (that was easy) "What kind of car is it?" I ask the man what kind of car he drives and he couldn't really think either. Finally he gets out that it is a Sebring. "A Chrysler Sebring" "What color is it?" "Silver" Are the questions ever going to end? She went on and on...you get the idea.

Finally she said. "The Police is on their way. Now, you need to go get in your car and turn your hazard lights on or leave if it is safe to do so without causing another accident." First of all, my hazards were on. Second, she wants me to leave this poor man here all by himself?!? I tell him the police are on the way and he can just wait. He replies that he is not going to wait because he will freeze to death before they get there. He told me that he wanted to try to drive away. Here I am, little 24 year old Amber, telling big 50 year old man what to do. I said, I don't really think that is a good idea. I think you should wait until the police arrive. I remind him that his bumper is no longer attached to his car and that he has no trunk because it has been crushed. He was like, "no, no, I think I can go." (he was a little crazy) So me, not wanting to get hit and realizing that my car was blocking his view to oncoming cars said, "Well, let me move my car so you can see." Not knowing what else to do and remembering that the police said I can leave, I start to drive away. I drive slowly so I can watch in my rear view mirror what happens.

I see him start to drive, but he doesn't make it far. Not wanting to cause an accident myself, I continued on. I don't know what happened to that man. Hopefully the police found him and didn't think I was just some crazy person calling in a fake accident because they got all my information too. I never heard from them so I assume they found him. It was an exciting morning if nothing else.

Thanksgiving Break

I think I appreciated this break more than normal. I don't know if I needed the break from teaching or I was excited for Travis to come visit, but boy was I ready for it.

My break started on Tuesday with a predicted blizzard. My principal sent us all home as soon as the kids left. I planned on staying to get some stuff done so I wouldn't have to over the rest of the break, but I left not wanting to get snowed in. Later in the evening, I regretted my decision of leaving as my roommate and I made fun of our "blizzard." It flurried a little...not even enough to stick to the ground. But let me tell you, the stores were crazy. It was like the world was coming to an end.

Wednesday was pretty relaxing. I slept in until 8. Cleaned my apartment. Watched Aspen. Planned a little for the following week. Then went over and helped Bradford prepare his turkey to be fried the next day. While I was over there, I got to see what his new house will look like and their lot. Then I don't really remember what I did the rest of the day. I just know it was the longest day of my life because I didn't have work to keep me busy and Travis wasn't getting here until late that night. Finally I went and picked him up at the airport. His flight was delayed so he didn't land until about 12:00. We stayed with his brother for a couple days in Farmington.

On Thursday I slept in again. After getting ready, we left to drive to Logan to have Thanksgiving dinner with his Dad's side of the family. They actually got some snow there and it was freezing. Dinner was good, but nothing compared to good ole Southern Thanksgiving dinners. I missed my fried turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese and pecan pie. They did have cute little turkey favors that they made for everyone. After lunch, we went and saw Travis' dad's grave. It was pretty cool because he doesn't get to see it very often. That evening we went back to Devin and Kati's house. We watched Toy Story 3 and had dessert.

On Friday, we went shopping. This is the first time that I have ever gone shopping on Black Friday. It was crazy! We got up at our own leisure and didn't even get to the store until 11ish. Travis even took the time to play a game of ping pong with Devin. I couldn't believe how many people were there. I ended up buying a camera! I have been wanting one for a long time and I was given some money as a graduation gift to buy a camera, and I finally got around to doing it! I am really excited about it! It was a hard decision and it took me about an hour to decide even though I had done lots of research prior to going. Since I got a camera, of course we had to take some picture! By the time we finished shopping, ate dinner and charged my battery, it was too late to take pictures outside so we decided to go on a carriage ride to look at some lights at Thanksgiving Point instead. We got lucky because we missed the big group ride so we got our own little carriage. It was freezing, but I had a lot of fun. It was my first carriage ride ever!

First picture with my new camera. I like it a lot! (the camera and Travis)

Us in our personal carriage!

Me with our horse named Jody.

On Saturday, we finally got some pictures! Travis and I drove up the canyon to find a pretty spot. Unfortunately there was no snow, but we still got some fun pictures. Travis is a good sport to let me take pictures of him and to take some of me.

I voted this as the most artistic picture of the day.

After getting some pictures, we drove down to Jeff's house to watch the BYU vs. Utah football game. That's all I will say about the game. A bunch of Travis' friends came over to see him. After, a bunch of us went to the mall and the out to eat. (I feel like all we did was eat while he was here) It was exactly a year ago that Travis, Jeff, Caleb and I went to eat at Applebee's. It was a memorable night. We have decided to make it a tradition to go out to eat every year on that day. Then Travis and I left to go watch Tangled. He thinks that Rapunzel looks like me. It was pretty cute.

Travis, Caleb and Jeff after the BYU game

It started snowing Saturday night and I was praying for a real blizzard so Travis' flight would be delayed, but sadly it didn't. I took him to the airport at 5am. It was a sad parting, but it is only 3 more weeks until I see him again.

I will have to save another post to tell you about my drive home from the airport in the snow/ice. It was pretty exciting, so you will have to be on the lookout for it.

Teacher Help

Just because I haven't posted in a little while, I thought I would tell you about a funny/odd experience I had today. After school, a mom came up to talk to me. I was a bit nervous because I thought she was upset that I made her check her daughter in late instead of just letting her come into the classroom. This mom speaks little English, so in her broken Chinese accent she said, "teacher, I need your help. Tell (student) to sleep." I was so confused. I asked her if she meant go to bed at night. She said, "yes, I hope she listen you. She need sleep in bed." I asked a couple more questions and finally figured out that this student still sleeps in bed with her parents and not in her own bed...at 5 years old. The mom thinks that maybe her daughter will listen to me. I have had some weird requests before, but never one like this.

I Have a Baby...Kind Of

So, I moved into a new apartment back in August. It is a little 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom place in Pleasant Grove. I debated whether or not I wanted to have a roommate or not. After looking for a little bit, I couldn't find anyone to move in with me, so I gave up. Then after getting my first paycheck and realizing that teachers don't get paid as much as I wish, I decided it was time to start looking again. My friend Missy is moving in at the beginning of January so I posted online that I was looking for someone from September to December. Within the week, I had several interested people.

I made a verbal agreement with a girl named Alisha, she gave me money, I gave her a key, and I didn't see her for the rest of the month. In October, she came to pay rent again, she moved in a bed frame and a couple boxes, and I never saw her again. So, I have been living by myself and getting paid...a good deal if you ask me! For September rent, she paid it early and just left it on the counter. Then this past Monday, I got a text while I was at school letting me know that she was moving in and not to be scared when I get home and people are there.

Monday was crazy! I thought I had a lot of stuff! I think she has me beat! And...did I mention she has a baby? So guess what that means? I feel like I have a baby. I look in my apartment and I see my table, then I see a little kiddie table. In my living room I see my stuff, then I see a box of toys. Monday night was the worst. I woke up 4 times to a crying baby. I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Come to find out, it was because she was getting sick.

Well, it is now Sunday and my thoughts have already changed. Although she does cry when she has to go down for a nap, and sometimes there is a toy in the hallway, I love having her around. Today Alisha helped me cut out lamination and Aspen just played and loved being with the big girls. Then when she had to leave the room to go eat, she started to leave then came back to give me a hug first. It was adorable. Or she loves to just help me do the laundry or wipe off the table. Even though I am around kids all day, it is fun to come home to a kid you can pick up and hug. (plus, I don't have to do the dirty work like change her diapers!)

So, I guess what I am saying is, having a baby isn't so bad, but then again she isn't really mine.

How Many Kids do you Have?

The other day, I was meeting with a financial adviser to set up my retirement plan. He asked me a bunch of information to help me figure out which plan was best for me. This included mostly personal information about myself and my finances. We finished and I decided on a plan, so I began filling out the papers. As I was doing so he asked, "How many kids do you have?" I answered, "I am not married. I don't have any." He chuckled and I was a bit confused. Then he said, "no, how many kids are in your class?" Apparently our brains were on two different tracks. I replied, "I have 27 in my morning and 28 in my afternoon, so I have 55 altogether." So from now on whenever people ask how many kids I have, I know my answer...55!

Like most mothers, my "kids" are my life right now. I don't really know if I am supposed to, but here are my classes. These were taken on our "color" days. I love these kids! Aren't they adorable?!

Ohio

After a long anticipated trip and a much needed vacation, I flew out to Ohio for Fall Break. The trip started out with Travis picking me up from the airport and taking me to his apartment. (Of course he had flowers waiting there for me.) After taking the grand tour, and seeing the great need, we went to pick out a couch for his new place. After going to about 5 different stores, we ended back up at the first one to buy a couch. We ended up getting one of my favorite ones. He said my favorite one was too girly.

On Friday, I hung around his apartment all day while he was at work. It was actually pretty nice because I was able to catch up on some sleep and get some school stuff done (yes, I did school work on my vacation). After he got home, we went and picked up the couch. We had dinner, did a little shopping, and headed to THE HAUNTED CAVE. This cave will be in the Guinness Book of World Records this year for being the longest haunted cave. I normally don't really like scary things, but this wasn't too bad. We were at the front of the group, so I think we missed a lot of the action. There was one part where we were in "hell" and the "devil" was talking to our group and he said he was going to pick someone to sacrifice. Of course he picked me. I was probably the most innocent looking one there. Then all of the sudden the chainsaw guys came out. In past experience, the chainsaw guys are the people that actually scare me. I just grabbed on to Travis and hid behind him. It was really well done though.



















Saturday was our outdoor adventure day. We went to Hocking Hill Parks where there are all sorts of sites to see. There were tons of people there because it was a beautiful day (and there is nothing else to do in Dayton). Travis describes this place as an outdoor playground. There were all sorts of bridges and caves and tunnels. We stopped to take lots of pictures. We went to a place where there was supposed to be a waterfall, but it was sadly all dried up. Funny story, a man stopped us and asked where we were from because he heard me talking and thought I had an accent. He thought we were from Switzerland. I wish! He was really nice and told us some places that we should visit in the park.
































After we explored this section of the park, we decided to head over to the repelling area. Travis was excited because he LOVES rock climbing and repelling. I don't have much experience with repelling. Once we got on the trail, it split in three directions. We choose the one most traveled, hoping it would lead us to the right place. We got to a rock wall that we thought could be it, but we weren't sure because it was so small compared to what we are used to out west. Travis went to ask a group of people if that was the only place to go repelling. The guy's response was, "yeah, this is where most people go, but if this is too tall for you the wall is shorter a little ways down." I almost laughed out loud when he said that. If he only knew that Travis climbs and repels hundreds of feet and this wall was about 60 feet. So, Travis decided this was a good wall for me to practice on. We did it a few times before heading back home.






























Sunday was the worst day. I had the same sort of anticipation of flying back, but this time it was because I didn't want to come back to Utah. I was getting ready for church and I broke down crying. It was horrible, but Travis is so patient with me. He just let me cry on his shoulder. I think that it was harder to leave this time than the first time. At least this time it will only be a month before I see him again. We went to church and then headed to the airport. On our way, we stopped at a little park to take some pictures because all the leaves were changing colors. It was beautiful! (Warning: There may be a kissing picture)





























I had a great time and I can't wait until Thanksgiving when he gets to come out here to see me!

Candy Grams and Crushes

At school, the 6th grade is doing a fundraiser by selling candy grams during lunch. My classes have not even heard of them because we do not go to lunch, so it came as a surprise to me when someone came to deliver a candy gram to my classroom. She handed it to me and it took me a minute to realize who it was to. It was for me from "Harvey the Hawk," our school mascot. I couldn't help but laugh because of a couple reasons. First, my name wasn't quite right. Second, there was a period after Miss. Third, it was elementary school writing. So do you know what that means? I have a little elementary school crush. It made my day. :)

Speaking of crushes, there is a little boy and girl in my class that have started showing interest in each other. They hold hands while sitting at the carpet. I actually think it is adorable because they are two of my favorites. The funniest part is that another little boy saw them and it tickled him that they were holding hands and he let out the cutest giggle. I couldn't help but laugh. I love those kids.

As for my crush, I leave tomorrow to go out and see him. I can't wait! We have a five day weekend, so I am flying to Ohio! It has finally started getting easier being apart, so this may make it more difficult again, but it will be worth it! He has the whole weekend all planned out already. I will make sure and take some pictures to put up.

Apples and Bananas

A couple weeks ago in class, we read a book that had a picture of a little boy handing his teacher an apple. One student asked why he was giving her an apple, so we had a discussion about how children used to give their teachers apples to tell them thank you or to say they liked you. After the discussion, one of my students raised his hand and said, "Miss Broadhead, tomorrow I am going to bring you a banana because I LOVE bananas." I kind of chuckled and told him I would love that. Then about ten more hands shot up wanting to tell me what they wanted to bring me. Here we are, almost 3 weeks later and I am still getting apples and bananas and roses and anything else you can think of. Kids just make me laugh with their creativity and their desire to make others feel good. Max loves bananas, so that is what he wanted to bring me...not an apple. Now every time I get something, I think of Max and how excited he was to share something he loved with me.

Conference Weekend

Sometimes in life we look over all the little moments that we have to be grateful for. This blog is to help me remember all the little things that make up life...sometimes good and sometimes bad. In the end, that is what makes it worth living for. I hope you enjoy sharing with me all my little life's experiences.

Let's start with this weekend. It was absolutely wonderful!!! I am actually going to start my weekend early. I left work early on Thursday (not really early, but early for me) to go boating with some co-workers. I think this is the first "fun" thing I have done for myself since school has started. I got to go wakeboarding for the first time since before my mission. I was so proud because I got up on my first try. The water was perfect and no one else was out on the lake. One of my co-workers took a turn and did some pretty cool jumps, but he is a guy, so they are always better. Then we got out this huge tube. I seriously thought I was going to die. The teacher driving said that this is how she gets out her frustration, and I believe her! I took another turn on the wakeboard, and guess what I did this time? That's right! I jumped! (Don't tell anyone it was an accident) It was a blast, but now I feel like an 80 year old lady walking around because I am so sore.

Friday made the weekend even better. I had my mission reunion and my mission President and his wife were there for the first time. There were so many missionaries there! It was so much fun seeing everyone! It brought back such great memories!




The weekend kept getting better and better. I had the chance to go up to General Conference with my brother and one of his friends on Saturday afternoon. We barely made it there on time. We drove around the parking garage 20 minutes before I finally moved a parking cone so we could have a spot to park. Then I had to run to keep up with long-legged Nathan to get to the Conference Center. Thank goodness I saw my old roomie Brittany so we could sneak into line with her. Later, I had a girls night with Jessica and watched Conference with her family on Sunday.



We are so blessed to be able to listen to the words of the prophets! If you didn't get to hear Conference, or you don't know what it is, check it out at lds.org