An Adventure in Rupert Idaho

An Adventure in Rupert Idaho 

March 22 & 23, 2013

"Where you are going Bilbo?" 

I am going on an adventure!" 

~Bilbo Baggins; The Hobbit

 

My Mom and I decided to go an adventure to Idaho. My niece lives in Nampa Idaho and she decided to come visit family in Utah, for spring Break. After talking to her we decided to go pick her up in Twin Falls Idaho, so she wouldn't have to drive all the way to Utah. The weather was suppose to be decent enough to drive in not knowing that it would turn into a blizzard on the way back. After picking up Sadie in Twin Falls well that is after we took the wrong exit meaning we took the Twin "Falls" exit not knowing that would take us to the falls and not the actually city well so we thought. After what it seemed like hours and talking to Sadie and getting directions from her we finally found it. My mom and I found it quite hilarious and so typical that we got lost. After finally picking up Sadie with Sadie's sigh of exasperation lol we went to this small town cafe called Connor's it was way yummy!! Sadie unfortunately got a stomachache but she said that it was because she ate too much, poor little Sadie. On the road again we put directions back to Ogden in the GPS so we wouldn't miss where the turn off was.... An hour or so later Sadie is asleep in the back seat and I am playing on my phone and of course we miss the exit!!!! My mom starts to panic because at that point it has started to snow. Instead of being on 84 west we are on 86 west so now we have to figure out how to get back on 84. I proceeded to put directions to 84 on my phone so we could continue going the right way. After turning around we were heading in the right direction. A few miles down the road there was a SUV that had flipped over on its back and I told my mom we have to pull over to see if they are okay and also since I am first aid and CPR certified I am required to stop to help. My mom had called 911 in the mean time and she was so frazzled from the storm she had a hard time giving directions to where we were. Luckily two other cars had pulled over and were helping the people and someone else had called 911 a few minutes before we did. No one was hurt who were in the SUV so that was a huge relief. While helping the people I made a new friend that was traveling to Twin Falls for spring break so that was nice to make a new friend and on the plus side he was way cute!!! After getting back in the car my mom decided to call home and tell my dad that we were going to stay the night in Rupert Idaho which is a small town 10 minutes from where we were. My dad eventually was okay with the idea since trying to drive home in the blizzard was no longer an option. I goggled places to stay in Rupert and we were very blessed to come upon Henry's Drift Inn and Restaurant. This place that we stayed in used to be a First National Bank that was built in 1939. I told Said the place was probably haunted ha ha. I always think old places like this are probably haunted. Sadie totally believed me ha ha I then told her it probably wasn't lol! The room we stayed in was very awesome and very roomy. Even though my mom and didn't have a change of clothes and other necessities we were able to pull our resources together and make do with what we had. It being a hotel so toiletries were provided thank goodness for that!  It was a very fun night of playing Yahtzee and watching Movies. The next day we went for brunch and walked around the small town. We left in the afternoon and made it home safely. I know that Heavenly father works in mysterious ways and I think this happened for a reason in a very scary disguise because of the storm! I will always remember this night and now can laugh about how crazy everything was but It will always be a fond memory!!!!

 

Changing Lives one child at a time

Changing Lives one child at a time.

March 13, 2013

"Do not expect to be Perfect at once. 

If you do you will be disappointed. 

Be better today than you were yesterday,
 And be better tomorrow than you are today." 
 ~President Lorenzo Snow 

My jobs consists of working for Club Heights Afterschool Program, and running the P.E. Program. You may think that I am brave, crazy and out of my mind for wanting to work with kids 5 days a week, but I look at it as changing lives one child at a time. I love my job and I know like many others I am not doing it because I get paid billions of dollars, but I do it because I want to make a change in the lives of the kids I teach. Yes, they drive me crazy and I want to duct tape them to their seats so that they will sit still. Ha ha like I would ever do that, but in all reality I love the kids I teach they bring a smile to my face daily. I learn so much from them and I in turn can teach them how to change the world and make a difference, well at least I try to lol!! 

      Anyway I came across this short story while in the faculty room I thought it was very profound and it got its point across. I hope after you read this that you too will understand what we as teachers do everyday to help the kids we teach.

                 The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" 

                To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make? Teacher Bonnie who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...)

    "Well,  I make kids work harder then they ever thought they could. 

I make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 minutes without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental. 

You want to know what I make? (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it. 

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them how to write and then I make them write. 

Keyboarding isn't everything.  

I make them read,read,read.

I make them show their work in math. 

They use their God given brain,not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. 

Finally, I make them understand that if they use their gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life. 

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay not attention because they are ignorant. 

Yo want to know what I make? 

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ALL OF YOUR LIVES, EDUCATING KIDS AND PREPARING THEM TO BECOME CEO's, AND DOCTORS AND ENGINEERS.... 

What do you make Mr. CEO? 

His Jaw Dropped; and he went silent. 

                 I loved this, because like many people they forget or are ignorant and forget the impact we as teachers have in so many lives. And we are the ones that will send them off to become; doctors, lawyers, CEO's and Engineers, because without us they wouldn't be able to get to where they want to go in life.