Day by Day

Wow this last month has flown by and yet has been some of the longest days of my life. Some of you may or may not know the tragedy that my family has been going through. My little brother Riley passed away unexpectedly on January 19th. Words can't really express the emotions or feelings that accompany a death. There are so many things that I wish I could have or would have said. Wishing I had invited him over one more time to hang out or go and do something. I must say that I feel blessed to have had the time that I did with Riley. Josh and I were able to go to a movie on New Year's Day with Riley-just the 3 of us hanging out.
I thank my Heavenly Father for the amazing memories that I am able to have of Riley. As I think about the last few weeks I am so incredibly grateful for the knowledge that I have of eternal families. The knowledge that I KNOW I will see my brother again has brought much comfort. I am blessed to KNOW that we will be together as a family someday. That is why life can continue for me-that is why I will never forget him.

This picture is me and my beautiful sisters.


One last family picture with Riley's casket.


This last picture from that day is our family doing a group hug at the cemetery. It was a wonderful moment that we were able to share.


Here are some of my favorites...
Riley's high school graduation!


Here we are in DC...what a stud!


Chilling on the tour bus..we thought we were pretty cool!


Now compare the next 2 pictures...taken in the same place...he is "one tall drink of water" :)



And lastly from my wedding...love him!

The Joys of Teaching...

When I started teaching I really wondered how many funny stories and positive things I would have...well I have quite a few! I love my job and I love my class. My little kiddos are wonderful (most days :)) and I am constantly amazed at their little minds...here are just a few stories...


• This story takes place over several weeks...one student gets bored very easily. He was at home and playing in the backyard...he decided to climb the wooden fence in the yard to go out in the neighborhood. Then after the parents discovered this they put another wooden fence up-so that it was straight fence slats. At this point the student decided to get his VERY large dog to help-by playing with a dog toy and then throwing it over the fence and telling the dog to dig...student then preceded to climb after dog. That took some serious problem solving-little stinker.

• Another student decided he didn't want to come to school one day-all of my students are picked up at their homes by a bus. This student had gotten into a little trouble the day before. So the student who was at this point home with just dad decided to take all of his shoes and dad's shoes and hide them throughout the house-no two same shoes put in the same place. So dad couldn't find any pairs. The student ended up staying home for the day-at lunch dad said to him "well I guess there is no point in going to school now" the student immediately went and got all of the shoes and put them back where they belonged.

• Every day I am greeted with a bright smile from a certain little student-when I ask how the student is doing it is always "fun"-even though the student means "fine" even after correcting the student we are yet to hear anything different :)

• Another student knows Disney and Star Wars movies better than anyone I know. If you show the student a picture of any character or actor/actress the student can tell you the movie and the name of the person/character you are asking about. I have to constantly remind the student that we only play Star Wars at home-otherwise we have constant "x-wing" and "destroyer" fights and flights :) sometimes even lightsaber fingers are in our classroom.

• One more student loves to look in mirrors and will work for holding a small mirror. Even without a mirror we are constantly hearing "(insert student's own name here) cute", "(insert student's own name here) pretty", or even "cute hair"(while the student plays with own hair.

Well this is just a sampling of the last few months in my room...at least the positive ones-these things help me get through the hard times.

Don't know where the time has gone....

It is amazing to me how fast time flies. Life has been crazier than ever! Our lives have been a whirlwind. So instead of trying to do a million blogs I will just give you a list of a few of the things we've done since we last blogged…
• We took a road-trip up to Oregon for Clint and Michelle’s wedding (where Josh looked amazing in a tux ☺)
• We spent time in the ocean while in Oregon.
• We moved to a little house-I call it our cottage-in Sandy and are LOVING not having any neighbors through the walls or ceilings.
• We made our first BIG purchase as a married couple…a brand new Washer and Dryer-I LOVE them!
• We had our nephews sleep over a few times and spend some time with us-I love those three.
• We had a great time for our one-year anniversary in August by going to Park City and enjoying quality time alone.
• I set up my very first classroom-with lots of help from my mom, my sisters, and two of my nephews, and of course Josh. I could not have done it without them-I got into my classroom the Wednesday before school started...
• Josh started his first semester of college-He’s doing awesome! Way more on top of things than I was ☺
• We both celebrated our 24th birthdays…it is fun being only 3 weeks apart!
• We have both seen more leaves and pods than we care to think about ☺-for those of you that have seen our house you understand. Over 40 bags this year…
• We got to see “New Moon” before the official premiere because of a teacher at my school who had a whole theatre and a private showing.
• I am still enjoying teaching ☺-I will have to do a whole separate blog about the fun stories I have from being a teacher (not including names of course ☺)
• I got to enjoy my first "black friday" with my sister and her good friend-it was a BLAST and definitely worth doing! Can't wait until next year!
• Josh and I get to set up a "real" Christmas tree this year-no more 6 1/2 foot ceilings for us.

I know I am forgetting lots of things but these are the ones I can think of at this point. I am hoping to be more on top of this blogging thing but can’t promise anything…

BUSY BUSY BUSY...and no internet...

So I know that it has been over a month! But with graduating came moving and that resulted in being without internet. We have waited to get any because right now we are living in my grandmother's basement until we move in late July to a more permanent place! This has been one crazy month-Josh is now a specialist in the Millworks department at Lowe's and is enjoying his time there as much as he can (it is still a job :)) I have been substituting and job hunting...which finally came to an end on Wednesday! I am going to be teaching in a special education classroom that will have 12 students that are in the 3rd or 4th grade. Elementary wasn't my first choice but I have fallen in love with this school and know that this is where I am supposed to be-so off we go into the adventure.
We are excited for the warmer weather and have even helped my grandma plant a small flower and tomato garden that we are excited to see growing. But one of the most exciting things for us that is coming up is our trip to Oregon! We can hardly wait! One of our best friends is getting married and Josh is the best man. We are so excited for you Clint and can't wait to have Michelle officially inducted in the group! This will also be the opportunity for us to have our first road trip as a married couple that is more than to Idaho. Nothing else too exciting has been happening...we are just feeling super blessed to be doing and having all the things we do.

CRAZY!!!!

Wow! It has been an insane month here at the Gee house. I finished up my student teaching the last part of April and turned in my portfolio. I got the official news today that I had officially passed student teaching and would be graduating tomorrow! It is hard to believe that all my work these last five years have led to this-me graduating with 2 bachelor degrees. I am not sure that it has really sunk in fully yet. I have been interviewing in the Salt Lake valley and I have some promising prospects-but I better let them remain nameless until things are finalized. I am so grateful for all the love and support I have had these last few years. My family has been so wonderful. My new family (Josh's side) has also been great. It has been a long road but one that has been well worth it. I am so blessed! Josh and I have been very blessed these last few months. It is hard to believe that just over a year ago we got engaged. I am amazed at how supportive and loving he has been to me. I also want to brag a little about him...he took care of so many things this year so that I could focus on school-dishes, laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. On top of all of that he worked full-time so that I wouldn't have to work at all. He was the best thing that I could ask for. He even got a great transfer and promotion at his work down in Salt Lake.
We are excited for our new adventures that await us down in Salt Lake and one thing we can't wait for is to be closer to our families. I have missed seeing my nephews growing up and our siblings. I have also missed my best friend-my mom. This next year is going to be a busy one but one full of great things! We are stoked to go to Oregon in June for our best friend from childhood's wedding-we love you Clint!

So to all those who have been involved in our lives so far-THANK YOU! It's been fun! To those friends I have made in Logan-you have helped shape my life. To my SPED family-where would I be without you? You guys are awesome and I can't wait to see where all of our lives take us. And to "M" thanks for being my rock and the one I knew I could turn to. I have loved seeing you and your family grow and you may be one of the only things that could ever make me even begin to think of living in Logan. I had better see you tons and hear from you even more. Thanks for pulling me through and being there when I needed you most. True friends never part!

HAPPY GRADUATION Utah State University-Class of 2009!!!!!!

And the winner is.....

Ok so just to preface this I want to say that I never win drawings EVER...but I think that it has all been leading up to this...Utah State had their grad fair the last two days where you needed to buy your cap and gown and they tried to sell you other stuff. Well if you went to the few booths and had then punch out their block you could turn your card in for a drawing. The grand prize being an iPod touch. Well even though I never win I decided to try any way and thought that I might win one of the small prizes (a USU cup with candy). To my surprise I got a call today to come in and pick up my prize at the bookstore. And this is what she handed me...



That's right I won the grandprize! I almost wanted to hug her right there. I couldn't really believe it and even checked to make sure it really was my entry card taped to the box! So I am now the proud owner of an iPod touch! And just think-Josh and I almost went and bought some iPods a few weeks ago... :)

Something to think about

Today I had the opportunity to have some thinking time while my students were out at their mentor classes (they get to go to spanish, p.e., music, art, etc.). I worked on some lesson plans and was searching some things online and came across a qoute by Cat Stevens-"I always knew looking back on my tears would bring me laughter, but I never knew that looking back on my laughter would make me cry." I look back at my life and find this quote so incredibly applicable. Especially right now. So many things in my life have changed in the last few months and will continue to change. Especially as I get ready to graduate-looking back on the last 5 years of my college life. I have been so lucky in so many areas and then unlucky in others. But all in all I am proud of what I am doing and what I have done. I am more than willing to admit that I did not make the wisest of choices as some points. However I know see that those choices have helped shape me into who I am today. So to those that have helped me in my journey to where I am today and for giving me things to "cry" about now.