“i feel very strongly that change is good because it stirs up the system.” – ann richards

highlights from my life since i blogged last:

• finished first year of teaching
• packed/cleaned and moved out of our apartment
• joined tayte in germany

a couple of thoughts about each of those things.

• finished first year of teaching

wow.
i often noticed that some days or even weeks seemed to drag on for about an eternity, but time flew by. that did not feel like a whole school year. and i know i’ve already talked a lot about my school, but it was the best! if i could, i would stay there for the rest of my teaching career. it was a hard population as far as students go, but i really liked {most} of them. (i think i only had 2 or 3 that i actually disliked) i had the best math department i could have asked for and i made some really good friends while i was there. i will really miss that place.
i didn’t think i had really learned that much or that i really had any strong opinions about how to run a classroom or how to treat students/other teachers. but one of my coworkers asked if i would have dinner with her and her daughter. her daughter was about to start her first year as a math teacher, and my coworker thought it would be good to get some pointers from someone who had just gone through that. i was more than happy to oblige, but i was  and worried i wouldn’t have a thing to say because i didn’t feel any different than i had at the beginning of the year.
boy, was i wrong.
i had so much to say! i really had learned a lot of things and i knew what would and would not work for me in my classroom. i was so grateful for that opportunity to open up and share all those things because it showed me my own growth! here are some examples:

• collaboration is KEY. i feel bad when i hear about teachers that don’t work together. i had a successful first year of teaching (translation: i didn’t give up) because of the teachers i had to work with. not only was i able to get lesson plans from them (which was amazing, by the way), but i was able to go to them for anything and everything. i knew that for 20-30 minutes sometime after school was my vent time. the other new teacher (she was older than me, so she wasn’t as immature, but it was her first year too) would find another of the math teachers that was free and we would just talk about our day. you have to have mental as well as academic collaboration!!
• let your students see you. teachers don’t have perfect lives. teachers have bad days. teachers aren’t always happy. more often than not, teachers speak bluntly and say stuff they don’t mean. but that’s ok. your students won’t treat you like a person unless they see you as one (and even that isn’t a guarantee). one of the best things a student told me was that i treat my students like people, not like students. crap happens in everyone’s life, and sometimes, my math class is not their top priority (it really never is). i get it. my favorite moments in that first year weren’t when i was teaching a hard concept and everyone understood or when i had a perfect lesson (neither of those things ever happened. i wish i was joking). it was when i pulled off my professional, teacher face, sat down on top of a desk at the front of the room, and talked to my students about life. i told them some of my opinions about the world, which i probably shouldn’t have told them as their teacher, but i wanted to be honest. i obviously couldn’t do that every class period, and usually not even every week. but it’s important to not stop that from happening. (it also happened to be the only time when everyone was truly listening, which was a bonus. everyone, that is, except the kids that were already asleep.)
• even if you only reach one student (literally one. like uno. as in, not two), it’s totally worth it. at the end of this year, i wasn’t as satisfied as i thought i would be. this made me question whether or not teaching was really my calling. (that scared me, because i became a teacher because i couldn’t do anything else) but then one of my students brought in a poster to me before school, and she had written me this note that pretty much took up the entire poster (that is not an exaggeration). she thanked me for all i had done and for being the best teacher she had ever had since kindergarten. she was so sweet and genuine, and in that moment, i realized that i couldn’t allow myself to do anything else. she was one student, but that was all i needed.

i could probably go on and talk about phones and how i hate it when students talk in my class, but i won’t go there.

• packed/cleaned and moved out of our apartment

tayte left for germany at the beginning of may, and i still had 4 weeks of school left. that was an amazing distraction. i didn’t realize it at the time, but as soon as school got out and i had all day every day for 2 more weeks to myself, i knew i would have gone insane. so after school got out, i busied myself with packing. (we had to pack all our stuff and move it to tayte’s parents’ basement, where it would stay until we got back from germany, then move it all to st. louis) and by that i mean that i played and frantically packed everything up in the last 3 days. my cousin got married, which pushed my deadline for packing stuff up a few days (which was good). tayte’s parents and brothers came and helped me move and finish cleaning. (clarification: the boys moved the boxes, the women cleaned) i literally could not have done it without them, and i’m so grateful for their help. i have the best in-laws i could have ever asked for!

• joined tayte in germany

so i officially moved out of my apartment and into campbell hq on a saturday, and i flew out on a monday to join my dearly beloved in the land of the germans.
i’ve taken over tayte’s blogging since i officially have nothing else to do, so i’ll be posting regularly on his blog about our adventures and such: taytecampbell.blogspot.com
feel free to check it out.
*in case the above url doesn’t work (which it should), try this one: taytecampbell.blogspot.de

"insane people are always sure that they are fine. it is only the sane people who are willing to admit that they are crazy." -- nora ephron

as i sit here, typing, i’m still not sure what i should even say, or what will come out.

but that’s half the fun, right?

before i really get into the nitty gritties, i should probably clear up a few things (one, to be exact)

reason for my blogging hiatus: lack of a working computer and lack of time.

now that we have all that cleared up…

let’s see. what has happened since the last time we were together?

oh yeah.

i got a job. (aka: i am now the breadwinner as well as tayte's sugar mama. and proud of it)

also we moved to murray.

we miss our friends in provo, but so far this move has been a good thing. we have really enjoyed the change of scenery, as well as the opportunity to seriously consider getting ferrets. (like, as pets). maybe a cat. we’re just really happy where we are. tayte loves the feeling of having a place in our new ward (especially in the nursery—not a joke), and he is also obsessed with the open space in our apartment. i love our apartment too, especially now that everything has dried and the pictures have been hung and we feel like we have officially moved in. we love living closer to tayte's familia. and to top it all off, our neighbors across the street are relatively quiet, which is always appreciated.

note: we live across the street from the murray cemetery.

tayte’s research is going swimmingly. he still looks at dirt, and he still loves it. and he’s gonna graduate in april, and that’s about all I know.

note #2: on a quick pitstop or some gas on our way home from san diego, i got locked in craig’s car, and i had no idea how to get out. that is not a joke.

i absolutely love my job. it is the hardest thing i have ever done in my life (including cutting bread and taking hot things out of the oven), but it is the most rewarding. and no, my new job is not motherhood. although in a weird way, it kind of is. i teach math to high schoolers. they can’t wait to come to my class so they can learn math, which is their favorite subject, and they are always quiet and respectful and they never use snapchat during class and i love every one of them every day and i never yell or get upset.

ha.

but i really do love it. only one time ever since i started my student teaching have i woken up and not wanted to go and teach, and that was after an inexplicably hard day that left me feeling like a total failure. thankfully i was able to get over that. i’m excited to go and see those hooligans every single day.

don’t worry. i don’t get it either.

note #3: yes, i am human and i would rather stay in bed forever then get out of bed and do anything else. i literally have to force myself to get out of bed every morning. it's actually kind of pathetic.

you may think that i'm crazy. you may be turning to the person next to you, saying "you tell her. someone has to tell her."

and you'd be right.

crazy doesn't even begin to cover it.

i’m just excited to get better. i have really good days, really bad days, and a lot of days in between. when i have really good days, it gives me a glimpse of what i can be, and it makes me giddy. (the use of that word is not an exaggeration. it really isn’t) i feel a sense of pride whenever i talk to my principal and he tells me how good i’m doing, even though it’s my first year and that he doesn't want to see me go.

description of this principal character: a perfect mix of my dad (picks on me whenever he can, especially if it’s about the cougars) and dick van dyke (ridiculously tall and full head of white hair. also he’s funny), with a hint of a grandpa (not necessarily because he’s old, he’s just friendly and you can’t help but like him)

anywho, i really do feel like i get better every day. i have learned what does and doesn't work for me and for my students. i have great coworkers that answer all my questions (i think they feel like they have to ever since they found out that they have daughters that are my age. something about motherly instincts)

i have about million and a half stories of students and the things they've said and done. i won’t share them all right here, right now—i’ll write a book someday. but here is the best one yet. this wasn't said to my face, but a teacher I eat lunch with told me all about it. Apparently she was talking about me to some of her students, and one of the students said, “mrs. Campbell...she can be a b****, but she’s the coolest teacher.” i was on cloud 9 for the rest of the day.

you may think that’s a weird compliment and that i should be offended. or at least shouldn't be as pleased about that. 

and you would be right. 

but it must be a high school teacher thing, because it took a really long time to wipe that smile off my face.

i keep adding to this, and i think i should just post it. 

it does seem appropriate that i post it on brigham’s birthday.

brigham (brig-um), n: one of my nephews, the only person that checks this blog with ridiculous frequency.

happy birthday, brigham. may your day be filled with cake, presents, and drinks in a certain green cup.

“it is hard work, but there is happiness in it.” – takayuki ikkaku et al.

hello lovelies.
remember that time when i was a blogger?
yeah well let’s continue that, shall we?
bear with me as i bring you up to speed.

right after i finished my student teaching, brad flew me down to arizona so i could spend some quality time with his children while he spent some quality time with his wife. the kiddos were still in school, so i basically kicked it with lando all day. not a bad setup, eh? i had a blast while i was down there.
favorite moments from that adventure:
sunday morning, 8:08 am. church had already started (props to me for only being 8 minutes late, especially since i haven’t woken up for 8:00 church in, well, forever.) i hate walking into the chapel and up to the front after church has started, so we walked in the back of the cultural hall. i had planned to find one of the last few rows back there for us to sit in. the children all filed into the row, with me counting them as they passed me. i was one short. i looked up to see koen sauntering up to the third row in the chapel, turn around and wave us all forward. i shook my head and beckoned him to come back. he shook his head, pointed to the row, and waved us all up again. i shook my head harder, and beckoned him to get his little heiny back to where we were. he did, and we made it through church, with only two of the five children laying on the wooden floor. #nailedit
i woke up one morning to koen banging on my door and yelling at me that it was time for me to get up. despite how rude i thought he was, i complied, only to find that it was 7:48. (we were supposed to leave by 8 or 8:15) i ran around like a chicken without a head, trying to wake people up and get them to please hurry move it or lose it. somehow everyone was awake, dressed, and in the car by 8:10. (braden was probably wearing the basketball shorts and t-shirt he wore the day before and to bed, but i didn’t really care.)

when i was finally reunited with my starving husband, it was time to get ready to graduate, which happened without any hiccups.
proof:
rylee tallulah carling, best friend
tayte paul campbell, husband, #1 fan
the parental unitsthelissa blackhurst, lovely eldest sister

this picture is epic. on the left is tennery norton, who roomed with the above thelissa while in college. the above parental units loved the name so much, they decided to name the girl on the right tenery. and we came together for this historic picture. nbd.
it was a hoot and a half.

the day after i graduated, we went to DISNEYLAND with one of tayte’s brothers, jaren, his wife, lindsey, and their 2.5 children, flint, hinkley, and baby in tummy.
meet the whole crew:

we were there for a week and had so much fun! tayte and i did our own thing for a couple days, then hung out with them for the other days. it was amazing. it’s been years since either of us had been to DISNEYLAND, so we really enjoyed it. we had park hopper passes, so we could go to california adventure as well. it was my first time going there, and i LOVED it.
favorite DISNEYLAND rides:
splash mountain and space mountain
favorite california adventure rides:
tower of terror and cars (tayte didn’t love cars, but he’s a grouch so it’s ok)
also screamin and the toy story ride.
flint always wanted to ride with me, and hinkley always rode with tayte.
proof that we went on rides and loved it:

you probably can’t even tell what is happening in those. that’s ok. there are lots of joyous faces. here are my two favoritest pictures:

first time riding cars, which i LOVED. i loved carsland. it was just adorable and very well done. but i love this picture because of my hair. it is epic, and it is awesome.

the only time we successfully posed on splash mountain. every other time, i chickened out or we forgot. can’t you just see the utter bliss on our faces?
oh wait.
you can’t.
that lady’s hand is completely covering my face and my arm is perfectly covering up tayte’s face. we couldn’t have planned this better if we had tried.
moral of the story: WE LOVED DISNEYLAND AND WISH WE WERE THERE ALL THE TIME. the end.
note: i did NOT get sunburned. booya.

for mother’s day, this happened:

his name is jarvis, and we love him. i’m taking a class to learn how to use him properly.

shortly after that, brigett flew to utah to run the ogden marathon. we went up to cheer her on. she did awesome!
proof:

i got FRIED that day. i got the worst farmer’s tan i’ve had in a long time, and i’m still trying to get rid of it! ugh.

then we did some hiking, because we’re outdoorsy like that. (this is stewart falls)


then this cute girl got home from her mission. i missed her so much and i’m so glad she’s back.


then we bought ourselves some new books. i’m obsessed with the book thief.


then we went rock climbing in a new place: maple canyon. it was super fun! also, i did my first lead climb! tayte was so proud.

then, charisse flew us down to arizona to babysit for her. here’s what a typical day looked like:
9:15 am: tenery wakes up and goes in to the kitchen to find something to eat. ellie and bella are already awake, so she asks what they want for breakfast. ellie requests 2 pieces of toast with nutella and milk. bella requests 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter with the crusts cut off and chocolate milk. tenery starts eating a bagel. bella informs tenery that she (tenery) forgot to cut her (bella) toast into squares like her mom usually does. tenery cuts the toast into squares.
9:38 am: tenery suggests that the girls work on their chores. they disappear into their room.
10:05 am: tayte wanders into the kitchen, turns on the world cup, and eats breakfast.
10:08 am: the girls go downstairs and ellie sets the timer so she can practice her piano attempt to teach bella to play twinkle, twinkle, little star.
10:45 am: tanner wanders into the kitchen and announces that he is off to work, then the gym. exit tanner.
11:30 am: tenery takes advantage of the fact that the girls are busy playing in their room to sneak some peanut butter oreos. world cup game half time, so tayte also takes an oreo break.
12:24 pm: tenery calls the little girls into the kitchen for lunch. ellie requests a corn dog, bella requests a peanut butter sandwich. ashley wanders into the kitchen, disoriented from her hibernation, and eats a bowl of cereal.
1:17 pm: reese’s peanut butter oreo break
1:34 pm: the farming game is pulled out.
1:49 pm: ashley asks if she can go hang out with friends. exit ashley.
2:30 pm: tenery (still in pajamas), asks tayte (also still in pajamas) if he’s interested in going swimming. after he agrees, she asks the little girls if they want to.
2:32 pm: swimming games have begun.
4:45 pm: time to get out of the pool. tenery tells the little girls to shower, then we’ll make dinner.
5:00 pm: ellie has decided that there is no scorpion in her shower, so it’s safe to get in.
5:30 pm: tenery goes into the kitchen to start making dinner. tayte soon follows and turns on the world cup.
5:32 pm: ellie enters the kitchen with her hair literally dripping wet. tenery dries it with some paper towels.
5:40 pm: bella enters kitchen wearing a towel and carrying a brush, detangling spray, and curls rock. tenery begins to brush hair. meanwhile, tayte and ellie make dinner.
5:54 pm: tenery finishes brushing bella’s hair and sends her back to get dressed.
6:00 pm: dinner.
6:30 pm: reese’s peanut butter oreos.
7:00 pm: the farming game.
8:00 pm: tenery and/or tayte goes to the store to buy laundry detergent reese’s peanut butter oreos and black raspberry dark chocolate chunk ice cream.
8:30 pm: the girls are sent to get their pajamas on and tenery takes advantage of their absence to sneak some ice cream.
8:45 pm: tanner and a friend (or two or 5) come in and eat some ice cream and oreos. they then head downstairs to play ping pong. the girls come back out and want to watch disney channel.
9:45 pm: tenery is tired of the disney channel and suggests a reese’s peanut butter oreo break.
10:00 pm: frozen.
11:15 pm: two sleeping girls are carried to their beds.
11:20 pm: reese’s peanut butter oreo break. tanner and co. come upstairs and he says they’re all going to a friend’s house to watch a movie. they all leave.
11:40 pm: ashley calls, needs a ride. exit tayte and/or tenery.
12:10 am: tayte and tenery decide that tanner is a big boy and that he’ll come home soon. they go to bed.
(note: lindsay was at EFY for most of the time we were there, which is why she doesn’t make an appearance in this schedule.)

wowzers. that was a lot of words. but i think we’re about to the present time, so let’s be done now, k?
kthanksbye.

“if you can read this, thank a teacher.” – anonymous

so there i was, doing my student teaching, trying to get the children to not talk to their neighbor while i was talking, planning lessons, trying to show them the wonder and beauty that math is, and all of a sudden…
it was over.
my last day was on friday, i had my official exit interview with my professor yesterday, and i am home free.
i graduate in a couple weeks, and i have no academic responsibilities until then.
i have my To-Do list for this week, but i’m almost done with it already.
but here’s the thing.
i already miss it.
i miss this school:

i miss this classroom, my home away from home:

i miss {most of} my students.
i miss them making fun of my 3D (and 2D) shapes and my multiple failed attempts to pull down that dang projector screen.
i miss the awkward moments in first period when i crack jokes and it’s too early for them to laugh.
i miss the constant happiness {aka nonstop talking} in fourth period.
i miss the kids that come in at lunch and tell me stories.
i miss working with this girl every day:

i miss all the laughs and good times we had.
i miss our mentor teacher, keith richards.
i miss his extremely dry sense of humor.
i miss the students telling me that they don’t think mr. richards likes them.
those students.
every day, they made me want to pull my hair out and yell, sometimes cry.
but they also made me laugh and incredibly happy.
i was nervous about student teaching because i had heard that a lot of people hated student teaching, that it was the worst experience.
for me, i don’t know if i can top it.
i absolutely loved it, and i would do it for the rest of the year if i could.
if i knew that i would teach those same kids every year until they graduated, i would be willing to stay in utah an extra year.
on our last day, some of the students made us a cake:

we obviously didn’t take a picture quick enough, but it was tasty :)
i really am gonna miss those hooligans.

and you know, i think they’ll miss me too.

“those that can’t do, teach. and those that can’t teach…teach gym.” – dewey finn (school of rock)

so i’ve started student teaching.
it’s a bit of a whirlwind.
my teaching isn’t all that great.
i come home exhausted every single day.
it’s so hard to wake up in the morning.
the children are crazy and sometimes frustrating.
some days it’s like this:

but i love it.
the students are so entertaining and make me laugh every day.
i have a great partner and i learn so much from her.
we were given an awesome mentor teacher who teaches us so much.
i don’t have homework when i get home.
life is great :)

“not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.” – brendan gill

yay for 2014!
it’s gonna be a great year because 2013 was a good year and 2014 is bound to be better!
we’ve set some resolutions* that will help us to be just a little better.
we’re pretty excited about what this year will bring.

in other news, here is a pretty good list of stuff that happened in the past few weeks:
school ended
finals (last ones forever for me)
hung christmas cards we received on our front door (including one from a local politician. i was hoping people would think that we knew everyone and that we were liked. i also wanted to hang the one that was sent to the wrong address, but tayte wouldn’t let me. rude)
christmas with the campbells (i missed my family so much, but i love my other family, and it was great to spend some time with them!)
got our grades (did a lot better than i thought i did! also tayte did well in his first semester of grad school! it was a close call though…but don’t tell him i said that)
read divergent (pretty good read. i got it for christmas. i was done the day after christmas. not a joke)
got a crapload of texts from my siblings
laughed so hard i cried over the blackhurst’s christmas letter
laughed so hard i cried over the blackhurst’s christmas letter from last year…that i read last year
saw ender’s game
broke one of our most favorite cups in the whole house
got some good music that we’ve listened to nonstop for a long time
donated plasma together (i was nervous for tayte—he can be a baby sometimes)
did a lot of crosswords
played a lot of citadels (best. game. ever.)
went through my phone contacts and found one named “NKMO’s Mom”**
played some other games and drank some bubbly to usher in the new year
slept in a lot

…i think that about covers it.
oh wait. this also happened:

deal with it.

i guess we’re pretty boring folks.
but here’s to an exciting new year full of great, exciting things!
huzzah!

*when i was a senior in high school, i was in ssl 2, meaning i was with a bunch of eighth graders (and asians, but we won’t get into that). my spanish teacher was nuts and a little bit of a pushover. when we came back to school in january, she declared “i made some new year’s resolutions that you guys will respect me more.” i don’t know what else she said because i stopped listening and started thinking about how she couldn’t make a resolution for me. resolutions aren’t supposed to be dictated or decided for you. fast forward 5 years to where my husband and i were making our resolutions. did i dictate/decide some of his resolutions for him? well yeah. i’m his wife. it’s my job.

**i have no idea who that is. i don’t even know who “NKMO” is. it’s spelled wrong too, so it’s probably a nickname. if you’re reading this and we have an inside joke about that, please fess up. it means i’m probably really good friends with your mom and she probably misses me. (i should probably also point out that i haven’t had a “ncmo” with anyone other than my husband [long story, don’t ask], so i can’t even imagine who this is, much less who their mother is.)

“a lot of people like snow. i find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.” – carl reiner

i should be working on my last couple assignments or be studying for finals or anything else that’s productive.
but this morning, as i was hitting the snooze button for the upteenth time, tayte kept hitting me and telling me to get out of bed.
he told me i could do it one more day (today is the last day of classes).
then it hit me: today is the last time i will go to class as an undergrad!
crazy, huh?
i literally never thought this day would come.
i almost quit school, but dad was right—i guess i will graduate someday.
you’re probably wondering how i can be so sure when i haven’t even taken finals yet, but don’t you fear—i’ve calculated my grades and i could get a 50 on my finals and still not have to retake any classes.
{besides, i only have 4 classes. this is what my finals week will look like:
stats test monday (i can have an 8.5x11 both-sided cheat sheet. aka don’t have to study)
meeting with my teacher for 10 minutes on wednesday (i have an assignment to do for that, but no test)
cryptography final due friday by 11 am (take-home = open note, open book. aka no studying)
and a music 101 test in the testing center that i can take anytime.
i’m going to crush next week.}
so i’m feeling pretty good right about now.
ok i should probably go work on those assignments now.
i already wasted the last 30 minutes on facebook and minesweeper.

wish me luck!

ps – if you don’t hear from me again, i wanted you to know that it’s not because i didn’t survive finals—it’s because i froze to death.