Hey, I went to Hawaii.

Spring Break was P E R F E C T.

How it came about was probably my favorite part.

One day, Katie and I were texting,

It went something like this:

Me: I need a vacation

Katie: Me too. Let's go far away. Hawaii?

Me: And go see Brooke? Y E S

Katie: Let's look up flights right now...

....and within a few hours, our flights were booked.

Fast forward three weeks and this is what my reality was. 

I had been to Hawaii before, but this time was so different. 

My good friend from BYU-Idaho, Brooke, was living on the North Shore. 

Since she was a "local" she hooked us up with all of the hot spots. 

Which was nice because both Katie and I had already done all of the touristy things on Oahu.

 

 

 

Take me back to those nine days in Paradise.

Oh, and jumping out of a plane?

Highly recommended. I feel like I can conquer the world now. 

I actually didn't tell a SOUL I was going Skydiving. Only Katie and Brooke knew.

I called my mom immediatley after and she was yelling at me:

Mom: "Stephanie I hope you are kidding me right now!" 

Me: "Nope!"

Mom: "What if you would have died?! How selfish would that have been? I would have hated that phone call."

Me: "Well, you were actually my number two emergency contact sooo you wouldn't have gotten that phone call. AND at least I was thinking of you 15,000 feet in the air with your name tattooed to my hand, so technically I wasn't being that selfish." 

Now I have the itch to keep traveling.

I think Thailand is calling my name....

Teacher things!

They say it takes an army to raise a child. 

I may not be a mother, but I am enlisted. 

Somedays being a teacher is hard, real hard.

I've never worked so hard in my entire life.

A lot of people don't understand the actual job of a teacher. 

Most people think all I do is arts and crafts.

But it's more than that. So much more. 

Although my job can be stressful and a lot of work, but I wouldn't change it. 

It is the most rewarding thing I have ever done.

The other day, my little cousin (2nd grade) said to me, "Stephanie I bet you're going to be a good mom because you are a good teacher." Touched my heart! Teachers (and Mom's for that matter) may not get all the credit they deserve, but it's little things like that keep us going. 

With all of that being said, I was awarded with the Outstanding Teacher Award for our entire school this year. I was SHOCKED! And HONORED! 

My Dad said to me, "If that doesn't tell you that you are doing a great job, I don't know what will."

I can't believe that this next school year will be my THIRD year of teaching. Time is flying!
Love all my kiddos and this rewarding job of mine.