Product Reviews

 I get sick of writing the same old same every time, so, this time I will have a "Product Review" theme. Here we go...

Up in the gym just a workin' on ma fitness he's ma witness

I know I do that joke a lot but really, who doesn't love a good Fergie reference? Anyway, my review of LA fitness is that the personal training is over priced, and the mesa location is nicer than the gilbert location. With regard to this, I'm getting slightly better. Dallin has been really inspiring lately because he's been going pretty much every day, and we talked about how I have the knowledge but not the motivation and that made me feel lazy so I'm trying harder again. lol we'll see how long that lasts. Public service announcement- LA fitness has handicapped treadmills that will not go faster than 3.5. After looking like an idiot and trying 6 different treadmills and getting all frustrated, I figured that out.

Spin class with Cycle Michael= changed my life. You have to reserve your spot cuz he's so good. And I did so well he gave me a free cd! #endorphindealer

lol that's really his hashtag 

 Walmart Grocery Pick Up

It was so easy. It did not cost more. They had everything we needed. They loaded the car for us. They told us how to get the price match thing. Ugh just perfect. If you know us, you know how much we both hate grocery shopping and how it's a stand-off every week until one of us finally breaks down  and goes to the store since we're out of food. And since when has Walmart ever been helpful? Maybe they're turning over a new leaf or something because I actually loved this experience. I will never shop normally again. 

 Massage Envy

We had our 2 year anniversary! Crazy right. The time flew by. Anyway, we celebrated by getting a massage, and it was pretty good because massage envy gives you an introductory price if you haven't been there before so of course we go to a different one every time. lol Anyway the guy told me a have a messed up neck, and Dallin's told him he has a crazy amount of tension in his feet. But it was pretty good. Dallin told his "deep tissue" and then he could barely stumble out of there so that was entertaining. :)

 Red White and Brew

After that we were going to go to fancy place in Scottsdale where Dallin made reservations but I was starving and we were both oily so we went to Red White and Brew instead. It was good. I don't feel like that place ever disappoints.

This was us at dinner. After this pic was taken, Dallin immediately said, "Oh you're not going to like this picture at all. I look like a hunchback and you look bald." So there we go. But it was a great dinner and a great 2 years with that hunky hunchback!

 MacBook Air

This is the part where you all learn how crappy of a wife I am. I didn't get Dallin anything but a card, thinking we were going on a vacation in the fall to celebrate. And Dallin got me a computer. So I clearly feel no guilt over that whatsoever. He's always showin' me up. Anyway, after my last computer I knew I wanted a Mac because I love using iMovie, and my old computer was running slow. He made our anniversary so memorable, and this was a thoughtful gift because he heard me complaining about my computer being slow. This computer is really fast and nice. I'm still trying to figure out how to use it but I do like it. It's extraordinarily light and thin!

 The Office for the 2nd time around

Just as good as the first time. If not, better.

Dallin bet Chaz 50$ that when he got home I'd be watching the office. And this is what he found :) I have such diverse hobbies.

Chewy

I signed up for automatic delivery for dog food, and it's amazing. I freaking hate buying dog food, so having it delivered to your door and not having to remember when you need more is perfect. The kids eat a dog food that isn't always carried, so I got so sick of going to 5 different stores before I found some. Anyway it's cool because you can decide how often you want it to come and it's automatic!

 Parks Coffee 

They are so nice. The owner and workers always bring free stuff to the school and set it up so that the teachers can come get it whenever they can throughout the day. Yesterday I got a free donut, and on our anniversary they brought coffee and donuts. YUM.

 These.

I love anything that makes you feel cleaner because you get to see something that's gross come off of you. Like after you use the swiffer and you look at the bottom and it's black and gross! No better feeling. Anyway, these are so cool because I get a shiny face here so easily. I have no idea how it works, but I'd recommend it. Must be magic. 

 The Animal Clipper

They are so nice, and they love jake and jo-jo. Anyway they fixed Josie's bangs and even taught me how to do it better next time I try to trim them! 

This is how she turned out! Cute and happy.

Brian/Clearlink

If I had to give a review for Brian on yelp it would be 5 stars because he came down and stayed with us for the week just to help Dallin with everything down here at the Scottsdale office. Dallin was finding that it was impossible for him to get everything done, and needed help, so Clearlink let Brian come down to help train coaches and give ideas for how things could run smoother. Dallin was sooooo much happier after he got that help, and he said how grateful he was that Brian did it. Although they played video games like old times their first night, the whole week was nothing but work, work, work. We know it was a sacrifice for Brian to leave the Orem office, so we're really thankful.

 The Josie Alarm

This is the face I get to wake up to every morning. On average, she wakes me up 2 minutes before my alarm. If it's a day when I want to sleep later, she WILL NOT allow me to sleep longer than 20 minutes past my alarm. It's annoying, but she's saved me more than once. I know with her around, I'll never wake up late for work. lol She then proceeds to stare at me for my entire morning routine until I leave. (including walking me to the door.) I'd highly recommend a Josie Alarm for everyone. It's very effective. 

American Leadership Academy

My review of the school is that it's good. They have an instructional coach who's full time job is to help you get better, and they have lots of resources, and good kids. However, I've had some rough days. Like, really rough. The only thing that gave me hope was remembering last year because it ended up being an awesome year but I still had those "I wanna gouge my eyes out" days. So you just have to start over again the next day with renewed patience and optimism. And so far, that plan is working, because there have been lots of good days and only like 3 bad.

The kid who was terrorizing everything wrote me a nice letter apologizing, and it was so sweet. I was so thankful. Little kids really are sweethearts, even if they don't show it all the time.

I also got a sweet note from my assistant principal!

I was passed the "sunshine jar, " (no idea why it's black) but teachers pass this around and it's full of candy and encouraging notes!

And someone made that cute PE sign for my window!  I think that although teaching is hard, you get so many perks so it's all worth it.

So this is a weird looking panoramic pic of my office. This school has so much equipment! It's any pe teacher's dream!

I love having my own space.

My review of Speed Stacking cups is this: they can be the funnest thing in the world or the thing that ruins your life. After doing cups for 2 weeks I am excited to be done with them next week. Giving out a set of cups to each kid and having them get all out of order, broken, scattered and kicked, was chaotic. There were times when it was awesome, but for the most part I had to be very vigilant about them making huge towers only to knock them down and make a huge mess. So they were kind of fun at first but on further inspection, I'm not a fan. I didn't see students really getting that much faster or improving their hand-eye coordination, it just seemed like I was babysitting those cups so they wouldn't get destroyed.

My review of kids bop is that it gets real annoying after the thousandth time. But I need upbeat music and it makes PE fun and there's not much that's clean enough to play around small children. 

Salt River Tubing

We went last weekend with Elizabeth, Joel, Sophie, and Jon. We brought our tube that I love, only for it to be popped getting off the bus. It was sooooooo frustrating. We had to hunt down the cooler that we left on another bus, and go back to the bottom to rent tubes, and the money we spent on our tube kind of went down the drain. But the people at Salt River Tubing were so nice about it. They helped us as fast as they could since we had friends waiting for us, and the manager thanked us for being so polite about it and gave us a free tube rental! They hunted down our cooler for us and we were tubing in no time. I'd give a very high recommendation for them because they made a terrible situation much better. 

Plus, we saw wild horses! Some of them were so skinny it was heart breaking. But it was probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen, and I was reminded of all sorts of country songs for some reason.

Don't we look majestic! (Jon got fried by the way! lol)

I have a habit of smiling just a little too big for pictures.

A Review for Having Pet Dogs.... I guess?

I'm really reaching with that one, but trying to keep with the theme. Oh! maybe i could say it's a review for having "Jakey the bed maker". Seriously, he likes to pull all the blankets, pillows and sheets into one pile and sit right on top of it. I left for 2 seconds and I came back to this...

Steak and Stone

This was the most amazing experience! I having raving reviews for this one. They bring it out to you on a million degree stone and you cook your steak yourself! It was really cool. We all had the meat sweats bad, but it was worth it. 

I'm getting so used to hanging out with all guys, that I don't know if I'll be normal hanging out with female people again. lol Seriously though, it's like having dinner with comedians. I was partly embarrassed at times, but it was hilarious. They're like Michael Scott, Dwight Shrute, and Andy Bernard. I'll let them decide who's who. But that's how funny they are.

MJ Morgan

I finally got Dallin's parents a wedding print. And MJ did it. This was his edited version. Once again, and I love his work. He is by far the best photographer I've ever seen.

Gilbert Fire Department

On Fridays I don't teach PE I teach character ed, and last Friday the students wrote letters and drew pictures thanking the local firemen and women. It was really sweet. Plus I got to deliver them, and the  guys at the station were really excited. They don't look like it in this picture though because I was photographing them against their will. 

Old Town Gilbert and Postinos

It's so cute in Gilbert. Their old town area is so charming, and the water tower reminded me of the mid west. The people, food, and ambiance of Postinos was amazing and I'd highly recommend it. 

We walked around with Elizabeth and Joel before we ate. Look how cute it is!

Afterwards, we saw her apartment and met her cute doggies. It was a lot of fun!

Arizona Diamondbacks/Chase Field

We got to go to a game with clear link!

My review of chase field is that it is amazing. Every time I go to a professional sports game I am blown away- and chase field was no exception. There is a retractable ceiling, a petsmart patio where you can bring pets, and it's just huge and grand. 

The D-backs got spanked. So my review of them would be that they're in a "building year." (Isn't that how you say a team sucks while still being nice?)

I thought this was funny. This is us trying to get a picture.

And this is our best one.

This job is teaching me patience, and I highly agree with the following statement. There are so many good things happening.

Last but not least, I will leave you with the Dallinism of the week. "You have the insides of a thousand pound man.... because your heart is so sweet." Aw.

-Syd