Mat Kearney and Harry Potter

So on Wednesday night, I went to see one of my favorite artists, Mat Kearney, play at In the Venue.  He was opening for Owl City, and my gracious mother bought my brother and I some tickets.  We aren't fans of Owl City, but we had to see Mat play.  I took Katie with me and Jesse took his friend Hannah.  He was absolutely amazing and is wonderful live!  Through out the whole time that he sang, he continually kept looking over in our direction and  was smiling at us.  I swear that he was looking at me!  Well.. I am hoping and imaging that he was. 



If you have not heard Mat Kearney, I highly recommend
that you check him out!  His new album comes out
on August 2nd! 






Katie and I decided that black and white pictures are
always better



 

AND THEN

Last night I went and saw the permiere of Harry Potter 7: Part 2.  I just have to tell you, that it was abolutely epic!  I didn't think that I was going to be able to go because I didn't have a ticket.  Tickets went on sale while I was in China, and by the time I got home, they were sold out for all the midnight showings.   I had been to every midnight showings of the Harry Potter's and I thought that I was going to miss the LAST one.  However, Katie saved me!  She called me and told me that she had an extra ticket for an early showing at seven!  I was so excited that she invited me to go.  Not only did we get a free ticket, we got free popcorn, free candy, and free soda.  And we saw it in 3D!  The movie was so great, and I think that it might be one of my favorites so far.  I am sad to say that Harry Potter is now over.  I feel like my childhood just came crashing down.

                                                

Jesse and his friends all dressed up as death eaters.  My mom drew the dark mark on Jesse's arm.  Didn't she do such a good job?!???    

        HP FOR LIFE!!

Car Shopping

I have decided that I am not a fan of car shopping.

I realized that it might be considered a problem, or obsession, when I catch myself checking KSL every hour.

Maybe I will just result to the Yamaha scooter for awhile.   

Happy Fourth of July!

Oh, how I love America!

I had a great day which consisted of...

Seeing transformers 

Having a bbq with the family

and watching fireworks.  

Overall, it was a great day!

waiting for the fireworks to start!

Talk about the perfect independence day outfit... I was only wearing white shorts, a blue-white stripped shirt and a red belt.

 My dad proceeded to sing "America The Beautiful" as the fireworks were going off.  It made for some nice background music. 

Hope yours was just as good!  

Home

You guessed it... I am finally home and it is good to be back!
It was a long day of traveling, but definitely worth it when we eventually reached salt lake city.
I don't even know how to express how happy I was when I saw my family! 
It was so nice being able to see them face to face.
They have treated me like a princess since I have been home.
The house was clean, my room was ready, and A LOT of food was bought.
Even though it was hard to say goodbye to china, it feels good to be home.

Goodbye Grade One

Today was my last day of teaching.  I have been anxious for today, because I knew that had to say goodbye to my kids.  Saying goodbye is definitely not one of my favorite things to do.  Coming to China, I had to say a lot of goodbyes.  I was extremely sad saying goodbye to my family at the airport.  However, I knew that I would be able to see my family in a couple of months.  Saying goodbye to my kids was a lot harder because I don't know if I will ever see them again. 

For the last day of teaching we had a movie day.  They thought it was so much fun!  They were so focused in the movie and their eyes were glued to the screen.  It made me have a flashback to when I was a child and how excited I was when we would watch movies in Elementary school.  Whenever I would watch a movie in class, I would consider it the best day ever!  As we were watching the movie,  I would randomly sit among the kids because I wanted to make sure that I spent time with each of them.  I was making my rounds, and decided to sit by Bobby last.  As I sat next to Bobby, he reached for my hang and clung on tight.  I am going to miss Bobby!  He can't speak much English, but this small gesture was all I needed. 

After the movie, we split the kids up into our homeroom groups and we gave out gifts.  Everything was going well, and I was holding my emotions, until the kids had to line up to go back to Chinese class.  They were standing in line and I made eye contact with Steven.  He immediately burst out into tears.  Steven is a trouble maker!  He is very wild, and was the hardest to handle during class.  I couldn't believe that out of all of the kids, he was the one crying.  Sara and I rushed over to Steven, and hugged him as all of us cried.  This started a chain reaction, before I knew it all of the children were crying and hugging us.  They didn't want to let go.  I held onto each of them as they cried.  Some of the children asked us why we had to leave.  They told us that they loved us and that they were going to miss us. 

Even though today was an emotional day, I know that my kids will be okay.  I know that they are in good hands and that they will be taken care of.  They are all amazing and have so much potential!!  They each are brilliant students and they have a great future ahead of them. 

I came to China because I wanted to experience something new and different.  Little did I know, that not only would I experience something new and different, but I would love the teaching aspect!    Teaching here in China has actually helped me decide what I would like to do for my career.  I have been thinking for a long time what I would like to do, and I think that I have decided that I would like to become an Elementary teacher.  I have found that I love spending time with children.  What a better way to spend time with children than to teach?  Not only was I able to find my love for teaching, but I was able to spend time with the cutest children!  Each child had something to give, and I was able to learn and grow because of their examples.  The children that I taught, definitely made my teaching experience!  If it weren't for them, I would still be unsure of what I want to do for my education path.

WO AI NI GRADE ONE! 

Under The Sea

Our performance is done! 
We spent a lot of time rehearsing with the kids, and now it is over.  
Hours and hours were spent on rehearsing, memorizing lines, and getting ready to perform.
We were told that we needed to put make up on them. 
So we decided to paint bubbles on their faces.
They were dressed up in the school uniforms, and they looked so cute! 

I was so proud of my kids!
They were amazing. 
They sang their songs loud enough and you could understand what they were saying.
The kids all remembered their lines, and spoke them clearly.
Even Sky said his line!
Sky is one of my students, who I believe has autism. 
Justin, another student, has helped so much with Sky the past couple of weeks.
He helped Sky practice his line, he helped him walk to his spot on stage, and he made sure that Sky was taken care of.
It was really good for me to see Justin's patience as he helped Sky.
Justin was Sky's friend, and it made me feel really good knowing that someone was watching out for him.   

It was pretty funny because my group  didn't understand the concept of passing a microphone, so instead "Teacher Lindsay" held it for each of them. 
The performance went wonderfully and they were the best group of sea animals that I have ever seen.

Picture 1: The Performance
Picture 2: Justin with Sky

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the best Dad that I could ask for!

I am so grateful for my Dad!  My Dad is such a great example to me and I have missed him so much while I have been here in China.  I love skyping my Dad!  We always have the best conversations, and he is always so happy that he gets the chance to me.  It makes me feel really good that my Dad enjoys talking with my as much as he does.  Fortunately, I will be returning home this Saturday and I will be able to give my Dad a gigantic hug!  My Dad is such a caring person.  He is always looking for ways to serve and has taught me how important service is.  My Dad is very dedicated to what he does.  He is a great leader as he is always fulfilling his calling.  He has taught me how important it is to do what is asked of you.  My Dad is a hard worker!  Growing up, I would complain when my Dad would ask me to help him around the yard.  I did not like to WORK.  But as I have gotten older, I have realized how important work is.  My Dad is HILARIOUS!  He is such a funny guy and he is always making me smile.  My Dad has the best laugh, and he loves having a good time.  My friends will come over to my house to hang out with my Dad.  One of the most important things that my Dad has taught me, is to always have a good attitude.  He often reminds me to live in the moment, and not stress about the future.  He reminds me that I need to be positive no matter what the circumstance may be.   I am grateful that my Dad has taught me these simple qualities and I hope one day to teach my children them as well.

I am looking forward to having lunch with my Dad and doing the dishes with him!

I LOVE YOU DAD!