My Levels Were What?

So when you do IVF and get a positive pregnancy test, they draw your blood every 2-3 days to make sure that your HCG levels are rising appropriately. By this point in the process, I am so used to being poked and prodded by needles and invasive ultra sounds(Sorry if I'm the one to break this news for those who are going though this process now) so it really was no big deal to go in for them to take what felt like gallons of blood to make sure my pregnancy was viable.

I went in for my blood test on February 6, 2015 for the doctors to find out that I'm pregnant- I already knew at this point that I was, if you want that story, go to my previous post. I was anxious to find out if my HCG levels were high enough to stay pregnant. They drew my blood that morning and I was supposed to get the results around 1pm that day. I was working again that day and wasn't able to answer the phone when the office called. After my meeting, I checked my voicemail and the nurse who called told me my levels were above 500 (She told me the exact number but I can't remember where I wrote it down- blaming the pregnancy brain on that one.) I didn't know what this meant so I did some research and in order to have a positive pregnancy your HCG level needs to be above 50. That means I was 10x what I needed to be to be pregnant. I was almost in shock that my levels were this high and I hadn't had any pregnancy symptoms.

I then started thinking about how and when we were going to tell our family we were pregnant, as no one knew we had even done the embryo transfer, at least that I can remember :) My brain is hardly working these days. While I was on bed rest after they transferred the embryos I made a little valentine that we were going to send out if we were pregnant. I am a planner, I can't help it. After that phone call, I had Costco print out the Valentine's so I could make it a scratch off valentine. I put gold paint over the heart and my plan was to send them to my family in the mail. and we would give them to his family when they came to visit the next week. Well, McKell had a different idea as he wanted to see their reaction in person so he convinced me, after taking the time to make them scratch off, that we would get them on FaceTime and send the Valentine to them in a text message so we could see their reaction. We did this the Sunday after we found out. We aren't very good at keep secrets for very long. I do admit that this way was much more fun, but also filled with many tears, of happiness of course.

I went in 4 days after my first blood draw for another blood draw and you want your levels to double every 2 - 3 days. Well, my HCG levels were now at 2,513, almost tripling every 2-3 days. I then started to do some more research, thank goodness for the internet, and found that high HCG levels is a sign of a multiple pregnancy, not with every case but about 50%.

I have always wanted twins, or my first 2 really close to each other, so I had a feeling that both embryos implanted but I was also hesitant to think this and get my hopes up for twins when the only way to confirm is to see it on the ultrasound.

I had to wait another week for my next blood draw as my levels were growing as they should. My next levels were 25,000. Who knew you could have soooo much of a hormone in your blood but still no pregnancy symptoms? The next step was to have an ultrasound to hear the heart beat. We went in another week later, Tuesday, February 24 for the ultrasound. Right as she put the monitor on me, this is what we saw:

I knew right away that there were twins in me! See the 2 little peanuts? The doctor wasn't too surprised as my levels were sooooo high and come to found out the other nurses had a bet going if there were twins in me. We were able to hear and see 2 healthy heartbeats at only 6 weeks along. It really is soooooo miraculous seeing those two little babies inside of me. When I reached 8 weeks, my fertility doctor would longer see me, she had done her job and I needed to find another specialist who would help with this pregnancy and deliver my babies. I found a fantastic doctor who specializes in twin pregnancies and high risk situations.

I can't say enough how blessed we really are for having 2 babies. We are also so blessed that we have had no complications so far- I am now 26 weeks along as I am typing this. I also get to see these babies in an ultrasound every month as there is no other way to measure and make sure they are doing alright. It's also been so crazy at how quickly my body has changed, once the babies decided to get out of back and pop out in my stomach.

Baby "Bump" at 6 weeks- More like booty bump :) My booty grew way faster than my belly.

Baby Bump at 7 weeks

Babies at 9 Weeks

Bump at 9 Weeks

Babies at 14 weeks

Baby Bump at 14 Weeks

Babies at 17 Weeks

Bump at 17 Weeks

Babies at 20 Weeks

Bump at 21 weeks

Baby A at 23 Weeks

Baby B at 24 Weeks

Bump at 24 Weeks

It is now getting harder to get both of the babies to cooperate and see both of their faces in an ultrasound. They are growing about a week ahead of schedule which is great. My due date is October 16, my doctor hasn't told me how far along he will let me go as he is anticipating an early delivery anyways but our goal is still October 16 so that these babies can come out as healthy as possible and we don't have to leave them at the hospital.

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for letting me have this experience. Pregnancy isn't always fun but I am so happy that I have been able to experience it and can't complain one bit about this pregnancy. I haven't even thrown up! All I do is sleep, which isn't a bad thing because sleep is fantastic. I also have to eat all the time! Like every 2 hours or else I am starving. I am also always thirsty and drink about 2 gallons of water a day. But other than that, pregnancy has been a cinch. I have passed my gestational diabetes and anemia test. The only "problem" we have come upon is that my Rh factor is negative and I just have to get a shot at 28 weeks.

I was so afraid of the complications that come with carrying twins as I have seen so many of my friends have to be put on bed rest or deliver way too early and I know that my Father in Heaven has taken care of me and calmed all of those fears so I can enjoy this journey.

Are We Out of the Woods Yet?

Have you heard that Taylor Swift song? Out of the Woods? Well, I first heard it back in October as we were starting the IVF process and even though the song is about a crazy relationship, I felt like it summed up the past 3 years of our life and the IVF process. Full of anxiety, hope, frustration, and joy. Wanting to give up but knowing that there was a brighter side that I would never see if I did, all I had to do was get out of the woods. It was one of those songs that just speaks to you, you know? You need to go listen to it if you never have. It has been my anthem since October, in fact I may be listening to it right now.

Since our first round of IVF didn't take, I was very hesitant to get started right away, like I was ready to wait another 3-6 months before trying again. Luckily, we went out of town in December for Christmas and we weren't able to do another round right after. My doctor told me to call on Day 1 of the cycle when I wanted to do another transfer. She also told me that she thought we should transfer 2 embryos the next time. I told her I would let them know when I wanted to try again and left for Utah for 2 weeks.

While I was out of town I decided to see an Iridologist, a doctor who can look at your eyes and from the patterns they see can help determine what isn't working right in your body. I have heard of several people going to one of these natural doctors and heard great results. I thought
, why not, I have nothing more to lose, my body is pretty messed up from all the hormones I have been taking, it needs a good cleanse. I show up and the doctor shined a light in my eyes and then started coloring in different things on a paper version of my eye. The doctor then told me that my thyroid wasn't working, my digestive system wasn't working, which was the cause of my endometriosis, my progesterone and estrogen levels were off, and my left ovary wasn't functioning right. Most of these things I already knew so it was no surprise to me, but what was different from other doctors that have told me this, she had a solution to help my body fix them, not just put a bandaid on the problem to cover up the symptoms. She put me on several, and by several I mean about 40 pills a day, different herbs and a 30 day cleanse, like before, I thought what can it hurt. I started taking all of the herbs and started waiting for any results.

We came back to Texas and I went right to work the next day. (I had a lot of work to catch up on from being gone for 2 weeks.) I was working out in Frisco and as I was driving past my doctors office I had this sudden feeling of excitement about my frozen cycle. Then I had a battle conversation with my inner self.

Me: "Wait, I am not even going to think about this yet. I am not ready to think about doing this again."

Inner Self: "What are you talking about? You are excited. This is the time to try again!"

Me: "No. This wasn't the plan. I still have 2 more months to figure it out."

Inner Self: "Well I think I just figured it out for you. Now is the time."

Me: "It doesn't matter if this is the month, it is too late to start. I am on Day 2 of my cycle. They won't let me do it this month."

Inner Self: "You don't know that for sure. Just call them and talk to the nurses to see if it is possible."

Me: "Ok, I will call them, but that's it. I already know what the answer is going to be anyways and then I can put this crazy idea to rest."

So I called them and, to my surprise, it wasn't too late. They told me that I could get my body ready for the transfer and I could change my mind up until the day of the transfer. They also told me in order for me to start I needed to have an ultrasound by day 3, then start taking some medicine. I thought, well if I can change my mind whenever, then why not. (I was totally anticipating changing my mind somewhere in the process and waiting another cycle and we weren't going to tell anyone we were doing it because of this.) They got me in the next day for an ultrasound and then I started the medicine, which was 2 tiny pills. Much less invasive than the millions of shots that I had to take last round. Seriously, frozen embryo cycles are sooooo much better. I also only went in one other time to make sure my uterus was ready to accept the embryo and then we scheduled the transfer. I started Progesterone shots on January 22 and had the transfer scheduled for January 28. We really did the transfer of 2 embryos on the 28th (I didn't chicken out) and now all we had to do was wait until February 6, (1.5 weeks later) for the pregnancy blood draw.

Side note- I ended my 30 herbal cleanse on January 21. I know this had something to do with the outcome of this transfer. So crazy or not, the iridologist made me feel so much better! My doctor wanted me to stop taking the herbs after the transfer because there are not many published studies on herbs and IVF.

After 1 long week, Feb. 4, I was talking to one of my friends at mutual and she made me realize that if it was a traditional cycle, I would've been able to know if I was pregnant that day. I had one pregnancy test left from last cycle and I decided right then when I got home I was going to take it, you know, to prepare myself for the negative I was going to get this round because I felt that I still wasn't out of the woods yet.

I cam home around 9pm and took the test, without telling McKell, because I knew he would talk me out of it, or at least try. I have a little bit of a stubborn personality. I went into the living room to wait because I knew I wouldn't be patient enough and look too soon. I went back into the bathroom and looked at the test, totally expecting a negative, but no, it was positive. I was in complete shock. I was not prepared for this. I was not ready, yet so ready, to see the light at the end of the tunnel. So what did I do? I set the positive test on the bathroom counter and started getting ready for bed. Mckell and I never talked about how I wanted to tell him that I was pregnant and I am not always the smartest thinker when I am in shock. I decided I would wait for him to come start getting ready for bed with me and he would see the test sitting there and we would have a happy little moment together. Flash forward an HOUR AND A HALF later. Me: Still trying to "get ready for bed" without seeming annoyed that McKell is still out snacking and watching TV. McKell: Sari takes sooooo long to get ready for bed.

Finally, after I am so ticked that my "brilliant" plan wasn't working, Mckell finally walks in the bathroom and sees the test after a few minutes, picks it up, and asks, "What is this?" "What do you think it is?" I say. "I can't tell, it is kind of faded. I can't tell what it says." (No duh! I took it almost 2 hours ago, I am thinking.) "That's because it's been sitting here for a bit. Can you see the second line?!" I ask. "Barely. Does that mean that your pregnant?" "YES!" I exclaim. "Well, we better wait until the doctor confirms on Friday. Don't get too excited." "But you it is very rare to get a false positive at this time of the cycle. I am pregnant, honey." He then gets over his skeptical-ness and I get over my anrgy-ness and can't believe we are having this discussion because after 4 long, frustrating, growing years we finally can see the path out of the woods.

But do you know what is funny about getting "out of the woods," is there is another forest always waiting for you. I'm not saying this to be a dream crusher. I've realized this is life. Since I've found out I was pregnant, I have started on a whole different path through a different set of woods, full of stresses and anxiety about how many embryos implanted, carrying the babies full term,  ALL of the complications that can come with the pregnancy, miscarrying the babies, who will deliver my babies if I get to that point, what can and can't I eat, will we be able to afford children, what is my relationship with Mckell going to be like when the babies come, etc?

I have learned from this experience that I don't think we will ever be "in the clear" with the troubles and challenges life throws at us. It seems as though life isn't necessarily about getting out of the woods, but finding a beautiful path to take while we are in them to appreciate being in that particular forest at that time of life. Who knows what life has in store for us and what challenges we will face in the future? Why not hang on and enjoy the journey.

Why We Bought a Puppy

I am not a dog person- at all. Actually I am not really an animal person. I think they carry millions of deadly diseases, except cats. Cats are legit. Anyways, a few people have asked why we bought a dog. Honestly, this story is more for me than anyone else, a way to close a chapter in my life. Some of you may know that Mckell and I have been trying to start a family for the past 4 years. We have done some low intensity fertility treatment and looked into adoption. But for some reason, adoption or higher intensity fertility treatments, IVF or In Vitro Fertilization, have never seemed like the right thing to do at that time in our lives. When we came to Texas, we both knew we were supposed to give IVF a try. I have always been hesitant to try it because number one, you give yourself a million shots, and number two, the price. I always thought, “Why give yourself a 60% chance of having a baby, when you can adopt and get 100% chance of a baby for the same price.” I know not all people will agree with this point of view but that was what was going through my mind.  But in Texas, I felt so calm about trying IVF and knew it was what we were supposed to do.

Now this next part is mainly an explanation of what IVF is, so feel free to skim and skip to the next paragraph. We started the process in October 2014. I had to start off by taking birth control pills. Weird, huh? Why do I need to take birth control when trying to get pregnant? This is so my body will stop trying to produce an egg so when I take the stimulation shots then all the eggs can grow at the same rate. Soon it was time for me to start the stimulation shots. I would give myself 3 shots a day that caused my hormones to soar through the roof and made me act like a crazy person. I was literally crazy- Mckell, you know that I used the word literally in the right context. I would be so happy and on cloud 9 and then out of the blue I would be some mad and frustrated for no good reason. Poor Mckell. After 2 weeks of these injections, we did an egg retrieval. They were able to retrieve 21 eggs! We were a little worried with how many eggs I would produce so this was amazing news. Just warning you, you may think from 21 eggs you would get 21 healthy embryo babies, however you never will keep that many. Out of my 21 eggs, 13 fertilized normally, and after 5 days of watching them grow, we had 4 amazing embryos. When it came time to transfer them, we only transferred 1. After the egg retrieval, I had to start taking progesterone shots, with a 2 inch needle, in my butt, every night. These were by far the most painful ones because of the knotting that would happen in my muscle. Some days I could barely walk. By the way, I have an amazing husband and an amazing friend who would give them to me every night. After the retrieval, you are supposed to wait 2 weeks before the pregnancy test. Add progesterone shots to this and it makes for a really, really long waiting period. But because of when my egg retrieval was, I had to wait an extra 3 days because of Thanksgiving. 

We love our doctor. They have this technology where you can watch the fertilized egg turn from a 1 cell to a 1,000 cell embryo. At the end you can even see the little baby in the top right of the circle. The video below documents the life of our baby that was transferred.

I went in on December 1, 2014 for a blood draw pregnancy test. Luckily I had a lunch appointment for work so that kept me occupied until I got the call from the doctor’s office in the afternoon.  The call came in at 1:30pm as I sat in my car in the parking lot where the lunch appointment was. Usually when I get a phone call with blood draw results it is a nurse calling. This time it was my doctor. I knew that this was either a really good sign or a bad sign. She started out with the HCG results before she told me what they meant. “Your HCG levels are at a .5 which is not high enough to be pregnant, so unfortunately the procedure didn’t take.”

I was heart broken, devastated, frustrated, angry. So many of my thoughts and time was spent planning this. I have never thought so much about having a baby as I did this month. Never have I had as much faith that I would get pregnant this month. So much was counting on this happening. So many success stories of it working on the first try. Why wasn’t I one of those people? What is going on in my body? What is wrong with me?

I called Mckell in tears. He knew immediately what it meant. He told me that he was done with work and that I should come home.  I didn’t think I could face anyone yet who knew. I tried to convince Mckell that I needed to stay out and go visit all of the doctor’s offices to keep my mind off of it. Who was I kidding? I made it to one office and then headed home. Side Note: I had mentioned earlier that I had a friend helping me with shots. This beautiful friend of mine is Katelyn Patricia Lowe. She was in town visiting and I knew I would need her moral support whether the answer was positive or negative. I walked in the door and she was there to greet me. She didn’t need to say anything to make me feel better. She knew I just needed a hug. Mckell was there waiting for me on the couch. I went over to him. After a few minutes in silence, I said, “Can we go buy a kitten?” He laughed and opened up the computer screen to show that he was just searching were we could buy a kitten. He knows me so well.

Apparently when Mckell got home, he told Kate, “We need to go buy a kitten. That is going to be the only thing that will make Sari feel better. It is the only thing.” Honestly, could I have married anyone better? He spoils me. We immediately head out to a pet store in Frisco. When we got there, we were holding a playing with several different kittens. My favorite was a gray Persian kitten, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy her, which is completely unusual for me J As I was debating, Mckell went to look at the puppies. He fell in love with this Beagle. We spent hours there trying to decide what to do. We debated if we should buy both so they could have a friend, but since we have never owned a pet we ruled that out and we were stuck trying to decide which one to buy. The debating ended as we were putting the animals back. The cat started meowing and trying to jump out of my arms. I tried to restrain it, but to my dismay, the cat was freaking out because she had to use the restroom. She started diarrhea-ing all over me. Seriously, the most runny, nasty smelling thing I have ever come in contact with all down the front of my jacket, shirt, and pants. After spending 20 minutes trying not to throw up and cleaning myself up, we left the pet store without an animal. Another reason why I don’t like animals was added to my list. To give the cat some credit, I was holding her for a long time and she did try to warn me and run away.

We went to dinner and Mckell just kept talking about a pet.  He was expecting to come home with a pet. I told him that we could go back to the pet store one more time. He immediately got the beagle and started playing with him. He kept saying that he wanted it and that he would take care of it, just like an 8 year old trying to convince their parents to buy a puppy J But how could I not let him get it? For so long he has ached to be a dad. I have had so many opportunities with teaching to build a relationship with kids. He has to work with ornery old men. He is going to be the best dad ever but hasn’t had nearly the same opportunity as I have to be a “parent.” For some reason I knew that it was going to be ok to get this dog. Before I knew it the paperwork was written up and we had the puppy in our car on the way home. Also, I did want to mention how Kate is a rock star. She was so patient as we spent all night at the pet store while she chased around her 2 boys. She also taught me about how to take care of a puppy because I had no idea what I was doing. You are amazing.

Now I have one more part to this story that I want to clarify. This puppy has helped keep me busy and not think too hard about what happened. But it hasn’t made it easier. The main thing that has helped in this is process is how much love that has been showed to Mckell and I. I know the Lord is aware of our broken hearts and has prompted so many of my friends and family to randomly call or text this last week., most of them not even knowing what we were going through. Thank you for reaching out. It has meant more than you will ever know. It has been hard but I feel like that is life. There are always going to be good times and hard times. I can either focus on what is going right or focus on what is going wrong. No matter what circumstance I am in, I feel like this is the lesson that I will be able to apply for the rest of my life. Be grateful for what I have and enjoy. True gratitude isn’t just saying you are thankful for it. It is actually finding the joy in what you have. I used to get so frustrated with people who weren’t always grateful for their kids or upset that they were pregnant. It would make me so mad. But Malcolm has given me a small glimpse into what it is like to be a parent. Getting up in the middle of the night sucks. I am always tired. I have realized that everyone has their trials of faith and patience. I am actually grateful for my infertility. It has given me insight and knowledge on so many things that I would not have if it were otherwise. I know that I need this experience right now because there is a greater plan ahead for me. I don’t quite know what that is. But I do know that I have been promised a family and received healing priesthood blessings. It is all going to be on the Lord’s timing though I am grateful for that. Even our Savior was denied what he wanted for a greater purpose. He asked God, “Remove this cup from me.” But even He had to suffer for a plan that was better than His. He was willing to accept the answer “No” matter what it was because He understood that our Heavenly Father loves us all and knows what is going to be the very best. My Father in Heaven knows me and loves me. I knew this principle before but this experience has strengthened that understanding.

I can’t wait to see what is ahead for Mckell and I. But right now I am going to be grateful for what I have. I have an amazing husband who works so hard to provide for me. He takes such good care of me. I have the best family anyone could ask for. We may be spread all over America but that doesn’t change our relationship. I have the greatest friends anyone could ask for. I have Father in Heaven who loves me for who I am, not what I do or don’t have. I have a Savior who is there for me every step I take. Who can truly understand what I am going through and how I feel. And now I have a dog, I hate to admit, that I actually enjoy. Life is good.

Starting Over

After a Summer of fun, Hairspray, family, Harispray, and relaxing, I decided to apply for a teaching position. I wasn't going to teach this year because of a few reasons but when a position opened up at a new elementary school by my house, I decided to apply. Through the application process I felt that no matter what happened, it would be the right thing and I ended up getting the job and I can tell you I love it! I am teaching 2nd grade and it is a whole different experience, not just with the grade change but also the students. I have a difficult class but I love them and I am learning how to work with children from all different backgrounds. I have an awesome team! I have new experiences every day with my students, one including some profanities being yelled at me coming from a student... Another story for another time. I probably won't have time to update much this year as I am working 10 hour days again but I love it and wouldn't change where I am.

HAIRSPRAY WOW!

So I am currently rehearsing for the show Hairspray! It has always been my dream to be in this show, mainly because I love the music and the message, but also because I get to picture Zac Efron as Link in every scene *Sigh* Every since High School Musical, Zac Efron will always have a special place in my heart. (Don't worry, Mckell knows he is my celebrity crush. He has his, Taylor Swift, and I have mine. It's cool.) Anyways, my dream role is to play Amber in this show. She has the best lines and she is so opposite of me. As I am afraid of failure and I didn't want to have to dedicate my entire summer to rehearsal (although I have to anyways), when I auditioned I just listed wanting a part on the Teen Council (the Dancers on the Corny Collins Show) and I got it so I am perfectly happy with it. I get to hang out with Amber and do basically everything that she does, except say all the clever little lines that try to belittle Tracy. However, I do have one line in the show and a name. It is Shelley and I get to say it during our "Role Call" so I feel pretty cool.

We started rehearsing in April and don't perform until July 21-30 (you better write this down so you know when you get to come see me.) This is the LONGEST I have ever had to rehearse for a play in my entire life! In high school, we would put shows together in 4-5 weeks tops. One time we only had 2 weeks to learn all the music and dances for a show before we performed, crazy I know. So as you can imagine I have been dying with this long of a rehearsal process. We still have 6 weeks to master the show...... 6 weeks, do you know how long 6 weeks is? 1 1/2 months, that's how long it is. We have already been rehearsing for 8 weeks and we have learned basically everything we have had to do and now we have 6 weeks of rehearsals to perfect it so you better believe our show will be stinkin' amazing! That's right, stinkin' amazing. That means you have to come see it because it will be awesome.

You may be asking yourself, where is this post going? Well, I will tell you right now, I have been dying to get to perform and I finally did! (Well, kinda) To help promote the show, we get to be in the Springville and Spanish Fork parades! And this past Saturday was the Springville Art City Parade and I got to dance and sing along the parade route! It was finally a chance to show off all of the hard work our cast has done. So we start the parade and we are all trying to dance the choreography and walk at the same time (Extremely tricky, you should try it if you don't believe me.) and I start seeing the crowd trying to get a better look at our sweet dance moves, and the Disney parade instincts take over and I want to get the crowd involved and "feel the magic" so I lean over to my friends and say, "Hey, Let's turn and face the crowd while we dance and stay there to perform for a minute and then run to try to catch up!" Brilliant, right? I sure thought so, but no one else did. I couldn't convince anyone to try to involve the crowd more, I mean they wanted to get them up on their feet dancing as much as I did but they thought that it would work by showing off how to walk and dance at the same time. I love my cast mates but that really wasn't working and I took the matter into my own hands. I decided to just face the crowds and dance all by myself. Did I look like a fool? Probably. Did I get the crowd up and dancing? Sure thing! I even have pictures to prove it.


Here I am on the left of the picture facing the crowd and getting my groove on and notice the little girl dancing along. Okay so maybe she might not be dancing but it sure looks like it. I do however have real proof of getting someone in the crowd to dance with me. Keep scrolling to see it....






This guy was awesome, I asked if anyone knew how to do the twist and his family started chanting his name (I think it was Trevor or Travis... something along those lines) and so I started chanting too and then he came up and danced with me for like 5 min, He wouldn't really stop and I felt bad leaving him but the group was already so far ahead I had to. So you can see how dancing facing the crowd works so much better then showing off your dance walking skills :)

I loved the chance to perform the dance moves we have been practicing forever and I got to touch roots with my Disney parade performing months. Thanks for the pictures Jennifer!

Anyways, I really do love the cast! Everyone is extremely talented and we already have learned so much of an awesome show! And we couldn't have done it without our amazing directors. You can witness the amazininity of our cast in this photo that was taken right before the parade.

If you would like to see more, we will be in the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Parade on July 25. Or if you would like to see even more, we will be performing July 21 - 30 except on Tuesdays and Wednesday and on the 25th, our show will be at 5 pm for those who would like to go to the rodeo that night. We perform at Spanish Fork High School on Center Street in Spanish Fork. Google it if you are unsure where it is exactly. (What would we do without Google!?!)

Also, THIS SATURDAY, June 18, we are having a Car Wash/Bake Sale Fundraiser for our show. Talent can only get us so far people, we need your money :) JK but seriously we would love any donations you have. We will be at the Spanish Fork Rec Center, 775 North Main Street in, can you guess it?, Spanish Fork from 10:00 am to 1:00pm. Come meet the sweet cast and get the best car wash you will ever have brought to you by "Ultra Clutch Hairspray" and have a snack while you wait. Be sure to write the info down so you don't forget it on Saturday when you think, "Man, my car really needs a good wash. Where was that rad car wash again?!"

I'm Back!

It has been 9 months since I have posted on my blog! So pathetic I know, well now that I have the summer off and, as of now, won't be working next year I have time to waste, I mean update, on my journal.

This past year has been amazing! I was teaching 3rd grade down in Salem at an amazing school. The students and parents there were awesome to work with as well as the staff and other teachers. I didn't know I could grow so close to 30 students over 9 months. The last day was an emotional roller coaster for me. I would be so excited to be done with 10 hour work days but then I would remember I would never see my students again and start crying.

Not only were the students wonderful but they taught me so much. I learned how to be strict and nice at the same time, spring fever is REAL, 3rd graders like to make homemade pictures to give their teacher, if you think something is cool you can convince the entire class that it is too, students' parents aren't as scary as I thought, they can actually become your friends, as a teacher, working 60+ hour weeks is normal, etc. I love teaching and helping students going from confused to getting the concept. I will miss the best 3rd grade class at our elementary because really they were. I had such hard working, smart students to work with I feel spoiled to have such an amazing class and nothing can compare to this year.

This year has been filled with a lot of work for Mckell and I. On top of me staying busy with school and being in the Young Women's in my ward, Mckell was more busy than I was. In order for Mckell to graduate this spring, he needed to take 20+ credits each semester and he did it while working a full time job as well! He also has discovered a love of golf. Working so hard on the weekdays he needed a release on Saturdays and golf was the best thing! I don't love his, now obsession with golf but I am always so busy that I am glad he has something to do.

This summer I have been able to start performing again! I am Hairspray down here in Spanish Fork but I will post more about that later. I am staying busy now with that and helping my older sister who just had her third baby girl! She is so precious, I will post pictures of Little Elanore Rose Lewis later, I don't have many pictures to upload yet but they will come.

I am so excited to not only keep up on my blog but also everyone's as well!!!

FYI

I am still alive! Teaching is so busy but I am loving it! I spend every second working on it but the kids make it all worth it! This is all I have time to post but just wanted you to know that everything is still great here!

I Just Have to Post This!

Many of you have probably read this on my sister's blog but it is so funny that I have to post it too. Below you will see a conversation that my niece, Addie, has with her dad and it is a perfect follow up to my Bieber Fever post.

The other night the dinner conversation went something like this:

Addie: Daddy, I love you!

Dad: I love you too Addie.

Addie: Dad, do you know who else I love?
Dad: Who?

Addie: Justin Bieber

Dad: Really? What do you love about Justin Bieber?

Addie: Well, you know he has that blond hair that he shakes his head, kinda like this. (Addie shakes her head) I love that.
Dad: Oh I see

Addie: I think I will marry him.

Dad: Well you better make sure he knows that.

Addie: Oh he just knows.

She is such a character!! Ha ha I love this little girl!

Acting Up!

All of high school and junior high I was in a performing group called Acting Up! Acting Up! was started by a very talented lady, Laurel, who I met in 2nd grade at my elementary school and she put on these shows at school that were amazing! I remember being in the audience of The Wizard of Oz (my brother Jason was the Lion) and just wanting to be up on that stage but you couldn't join the club until 4th! So I waited patiently until I was finally in 4th grade. My first show was Alice in Wonderland and I was a penguin. Random I know but if you knew me back then I was the shyest of shy girls. That show got me hooked on performing, even though all I did was walk around in a caucus race. The club soon evolved into a youth performing group that switched from the Scera to the Hale and then back to the Scera where it is now. While we were performing at the Hale, we did a show called Starmites. If you haven't heard of this show, it is quite the treat!! It has superheroes, princesses, divas, villans, banshees, etc. It was written in the 80s and if you are a fan of broadway musicals, this is definitely one to check out. The music is so clever and so fun to sing.You may be wondering why I am bringing up this one show. Well I am glad to announce that the Alumni of Acting Up! will be performing Starmites again!! And yes this means your truly will be in it again! I will be playing a banshee! Wahoo! I am not sure when we will perform it but it will most likely be before August 10th. We are just starting rehearsal and they are bringing back so many flashbacks! It is like I am 15 again! I love it. I have included a picture of the original cast, sorry the quality isn't the greatest- it was taken in 2002. I have also included one of the marvelous songs. It is called Reach Right Down and it makes me want to be part of a huge soul choir. Enjoy!!

Bieber Fever

I will admit it - I have Bieber Fever. I love love love all of his songs! There is one little girl who might have a fever higher than mine. Her name is Addilyn Lewis and she is 3 years old. She knows all of his songs, literally every word she has memorized. Here is an example. This is the rap section of Justin's song "Baby." Even though it is sung by Luda, what other 3 year old do you know that can rap? She is a little distracted in the video from my camera case so you don't get very much eye contact. I have included the words to the rap so you can see how pretty dead on she is. Love this girl!



When I was 13, I had my first love,
There was nobody that compared to my baby,
And nobody came between us or could ever come above
She had me goin' crazy,
Oh I was starstruck,
She woke me up daily,
Don't need no Starbucks.
She made my heart pound,
And skip a beat when I see her in the street and,
At school on the playground,
But I really wanna see her on the weekend,
She know she got me gazin',
Cuz she was so amazin',
And now my heart is breakin',
But I just keep on sayin'...

Baby, baby, baby ohh
Like baby, baby, baby noo
Like baby, baby, baby ohh
I thought youd always be mine, mine

Baby, baby, baby ohh
Like baby, baby, baby noo
Like baby, baby, baby ohh
I thought youd always be mine, mine

(I'm gone)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Now Im all gone, now im all gone, now im all gone)
Gone, gone, gone,(gone)
I'm gone.

Our House!! Finally!!

The long and overdue pictures of our house that I have been promising. Because I have my new camera I finally took pictures! So here you go. Enjoy!

The Entry Way

Part of our Living Room

The Kitchen

A look at the Living Room from Kitchen

The Loft that I just painted and Decorated

Our Bedroom

Master Bathroom

The Shower(Mckell's Favortie Design)
The Office

The Extra Bathroom

The Extra Bedroom

Some of these rooms still need a lot of work, but you get the idea!!!

My Birthday!

My Birthday was on Saturday May 22 and I turned 22! 22 is my favorite number so this was a big year for me. I decided to have a little pool party and BBQ with my family in the afternoon. It was alot of fun and the weather was actually nice enough to get in the pool for a little bit. Mckell "surprised" me with a new camera!! But he really surprised me with a life vest of my very own. Whenever we go to Lake Powell I have to fight against 10 other girls to get the one vest that fits all of us. Because of this I started looking for a vest all to myself in February when I started getting Spring Fever but I haven't looked for any since. Mckell remembered this and also got me an awesome life vest that was designed just for me. Not really but it could've been, it is teal with gold on it. After the pool party, Mckell took me to Spark in Provo. I have been wanting to go try it out and it was pretty good. The menu was small so I got fancy Mac and Cheese and Mckell got salmon. But they did have yummy drinks! I would go there again but just for the drinks. The drink I got was a Shirley Temple and it had cotton candy in it!! So good! After dinner, some of my friends came over and watched a movie and had shakes by Mckell. It was an awesome birthday!!!

Mckell and I at Spark Restaurant

My Drink and Dinner

I am a Girl

So I recently found this video and I just love it! The song is so catchy and it just makes me feel happy! I wish I had all of their outfits and glasses. This is a show that Brooke White from American Idol (from the best season) and another girl, I think her name is Sammy started but you have to check it out! They call it The Girls with Glasses, so cute. It is such a great song and show!

I Am A Girl - The Girls With Glasses Theme Song from The Girls With Glasses on Vimeo.

Disney Land

I love this place so much!! I had a great time and wish I could be back there right now as I watch my nieces experience it for the first time. They are both little princesses! Oh can I say I am so glad they brought back Captain EO!!! Loved seeing this show!!

I went to Disneyland with UVU and this included a few of my friends that I have met through the mentor program who I will miss so much! We played hard for two days and were completely worn out! We went and met the princesses and fairies which I love to do so much and I am glad that others enjoyed doing it to! It is so fun to interact with them! Here are just a few pictures from our adventures in the parks!

Princess Aroura

Tinkerbell and Terrance

Just Keep Going...

I feel like Thomas the Tank Engine lately. No matter how much time I spend on homework, I just have to keep on going. It is double the amount of work that I thought I would have to do this semester but I have learned so much! It is amazing what hard work can get you. I am loving this semester and even though I have spent a googol (1 with 100 zeros behind it) hours of my time the past two weeks, the end is in sight! I am going to be completely done with homework next Monday and the rest of the week I get to PARTAY!!! (including going to DISNEYLAND!!) *Notice the ticker above:) I love Spring and Summer time and I can't wait to get started with planning my classroom next year- If you have any hints or ideas to help please post below! I have been absent on my blog lately but don't worry- I plan to update more and get a new camera soon-hopefully so I can post more pictures. I don't even know who reads this so I hope someone cares about my posts... Oh side note, my closet rod broke today so I may be in need of an assistant to help me clean out my closet because I tend to be kind of a pack rat! Love you all!

That's Right

Free Disney Tickers

I get to visit the happiest place on earth!!! I am so lucky! I love Disney Parks with all my heart, heaven sakes I worked there! I have been having the worst Disney Withdrawals the past couple of months. Let me explain to you why I have been having these withdrawals. We will being in 2004.
2004- Disneyland with Acting Up!
2005- Disney World with MVHS Choir Tour
2006- Disneyland with Cheerleaders
2007- Disney World for 8 months straight
2008- (May) Disney World with Ambree
2008- (October) Disneyland with Mckell and his family (one of the funnest trips of my life in a DisneyPark)
2009- NOTHING!!
2010- April 30th - May 3 trip with UVU! And hopefully I can stay and get to play with my Nieces and Nephew!

I have been spoiled and conditioned! I am so used to going to Disney on a yearly basis if not more. Sadly, Mckell doesn't enjoy Disney as much as I do so he won't be coming with me on this trip (at least not at this point, still trying to talk him into it) but I don't want to wear him out just yet. We need to save some of his Disney Park capabilities for when we have kids. Luckily Mckell is letting me go without him (to his relief) so I can get my Disney fix for the next year. But I get to go on this trip with some of the best friends that I have made at school through the Mentor program and it is an early graduation present for me, I won't be graduating until next April but I will be teaching full time next year so I won't have the same school schedule. I have had a lot of past experiences and memories in California and Florida and I can't wait to make some more.

Awesome Week!

Just to warn you- this is a long post! This is what happens when I don't update in over a month:)

I just have to tell you that I have had an awesome week! It started out a little scary but it all turned out great! Last Friday, I had two interviews for a teaching internship, one for Nebo School District and one for Provo School District. I felt really good about both interviews but I was also nervous so I kind of played the funny card and I didn't know if the districts thought that I wasn't serious about the internship. If I would get the internship than I would get to teach in my own classroom for next year and still be able to finish up my last semester of school. I would also get half salary. If I didn't get the internship, I would have to do student teaching next semester for ten weeks and then get my teaching certificate. I have been debating over this decision for about three months, and I couldn't make up my mind. I knew I do better when I just jump in and go for it, but I also didn't want to do the work that interning takes (I know I am lazy.) The day the intern applications were do, I was talking to Mckell about whether or not I should go for the internship. He said, "What are you going to loose if you try for it and don't make it? Are you going to regret not doing it?" As I thought about this, I remembered something that I teach the students that I mentor and it is "Risk Being a Fool." Which is basically having the courage to fail. Well I hate failure. I hate losing. I am a winner, I get upset if I don't win and many of you know this about me. It isn't a pretty sight. Well obviously I just went for it because I knew that I would regret not even trying and then hating life because I am restricted in a teachers classroom. So originally said that we would find out about the internship on Friday night, but then that day they said it wouldn't be until Monday after 12 and we would get a call whether we got it or not. I was in anticipation all weekend. It was not fun at all.

So to make the weekend even more nerve racking, Mckell went snowmobiling on Friday with his Dad and Boss and when he got back into cell phone service range there was a voice mail on his phone from the CEO of the company saying that he might want to rethink his position in Condie Construction and that he needs to take an unpaid day off on Monday and meet with him on Tuesday morning to discuss. Story made short, we were both nervous wrecks! That night we went on a date to the mongolion grill in Springville and I got a fortune that said "Wish upon a star you luck will be with you thhe next day." I took that to heart and on Sunday I did.

Monday was one of the longest days of my life as I sat in class from 8-11 and then had a meeting from 11-12. I was so anxious to get that phone call!! It was 12:03pm and a number I didn't know came up on my cell phone. My stomach did a flip!! I was in UVU's cafeteria with some of my Mentor friends. I ran outside so I could hear better and I picked up the phone. "Hi is this Sarianne? This is Ed Schollenberger from Foothills Elementary and I was wondering if you would be interested in teaching 3rd grade with us next year?" I couldn't believe it!!! I got the internship!! I accepted and then ran into the cafeteria to tell me friends! I literally was jumping for joy in front of the entire student body of UVU!! It was one of the best moments of my life! The next thought that came into my head was, "Where is foothill elementary?" So to save you from having to look it up, it is in Salem about 5 miles from my house!!

Now for Mckell's luck on Tuesday. He went to the meeting and luckily the wishing on the star carried into Tuesday and for Mckell as well. He didn't loose his job and really the only thing is that he is the bosses son. People in the company just like to complain about Mckell because apparently he gets the royal treatment in the company. He is one of the hardest workers I know and he started on one of the lowest levels of the company and has worked his way up. The only thing that Mckell has to do is spread his work week out to five days instead of four. We are so lucky!!

Well to keep this week going great, I am an AUNT(again)! Mckell's Sister, Cassidy, had her baby on Wednesday night. She is one of the cutest babies! She was 10 pounds 1 oz and 21 inches long! (Don't worry she had to have c-section because the baby was too big) On Thursday, I spent half of my day hanging out at the hospital with the baby. I went there right after class at 12pm, then went back with Mckell at 1:30pm then back at 4pm with Kali, Mckell's other sister. It was awesome! I am so excited for them to bring the little girl home! And now Cass has no excuse not to have a blog!! Yay welcome to the blogging world!!

So as you can see, it has been an awesome week! I also got an A on all 4 of my class presentations this week! We are so blessed and I have seen it so much this week!! We love you all and I hope I update this again before two months :)

(P.S. My camera is broken so until I get a new one I will just be writing and there won't be pictures of my house up yet! Sorry for those who are anxious to see it!)

DISNEYLAND!!!

SO... I am going to Disneyland!!! But not until April 30th *sigh* I keep telling myself that it isn't too far away but in reality it is! I have only 64 days left of school and that means I have 64 days until Disneyland. I leave the day after my last final and it will I am really enjoying most of my classes this semester and I am learning so much about who I am as a teacher and how I want to teach. It makes me excited to go and teach in the fall. I have intern interviews this Friday and if I get it then I get to have my very own classroom to teach in all year. If I don't get it then I will be doing student teaching for 5th grade at Cherry Creek Elementary in Springville. Either option I will be excited to do but I wish I just knew what I will be doing doing in the fall. I will find out on Friday and all my waiting will be over, at least for that anyways.

Addie Mareid Lewis

This is my niece, who is the smartest three year old around. I mean who can hear a song two times and have it memorized just like that? and on top of that make up her own dance moves?? See what I mean... this is her having a grand old time watching the set up of a gingerbread house festival, she of course found the stage and then started performing for all of the PTA ladies there. Love her!

Craft Night

So my friend, Jessica, from school has a monthly craft night. This month we made a countdown to Valentine's Day. You use a muffin tin and you make cute circles to put on top of each muffin hole with magnets. Well I spent 3 hours making 12 circles, cutting everything out by hand. (This is when a Cricut would've been useful.) I went home to put the magnets on and finish this project but the magnets I got weren't strong enough and the circles kept sliding off the muffin tin. I tried putting more magnets on but it didn't help! So I decided to make them fridge decorations. They still look cute but they don't really have a point anymore besides looking cute. So here are my 12 circles hanging on my fridge that I am pretty proud of!! I will admit it is nice to have something on my fridge! (I already took the creative arts class a few semesters ago so I don't have anymore fun art projects that I get to hang on my fridge. It looks boring most of the time.)