Changing Over

Attention! Attention! After a lengthy testing period, I have decided to roll my blog over to Blogger because, in short, I find it to be more user-friendly and it has options/functions which better suit my blogging needs. So, for any who may occasionally still glance at this rather pathetic excuse of a blog and who wish to continue following my drab life, please refer to kokays.blogspot.com from now on. Thank you.

Nuptials, Honeymoon, and Luau, Oh my!

“Hang onto your hats and glasses, folks, cause this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!” –Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Okay, so this may not be the wildest ride in the wilderness, but it is a monumental occassion.  I, Kaysie, am coming out of blogging hibernation after three long months.  For those of you who may actually still think to check this on occassion, I appreciate the votes of confidence.  And know that while I myself may have fallen silent on the blogging front, I like to think that I have perfected the art of blog stalking and love reading your updates, philosophies, opinions, and other random thoughts.

Phew, I think that’s enough for today.  Baby steps, right?  No???  Hmm…Well I suppose I have enough to update to keep typing.

Last time I wrote, I had just agreed to marry Jason and we were just beginning the stress-filled process of planning a wedding.  Thankfully, that is all over now.  As of 1 o’clock on May 16, I am officially Mrs. Kaysie Ziebarth.  Crazy, eh?  I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing wedding day.  While I may not have been the girl to have my wedding planned out by the time I was 16, I had still been preparing for this day my entire life.  And it was well worth the wait!

I was so grateful for all of the family and friends who made the effort to come and support us (I’m still working on thank you cards).  It wouldn’t have been complete without them!  Thank you!!!  Click here to see your pictures!  The weather was perfect and turned out to be one of only two rainless weekends since then.  This made picture taking much less of a drag and enhanced the setting of our reception, since it was up Provo Canyon.  It was nice to see all of the planning come together for such a fantastic result (if I do say so myself).  If you haven’t seen pictures yet and would like to, click on one of the following cuz I’m too lazy to upload them again:

Temple Pictures

Reception

After the whole event was over and done with, we had one week back at work before we left for our honeymoon, for which we were California bound.  We started off at Disney’s California Adventure for a day, Disneyland the next, and Magic Mountain for a few hours the next day.  It was great to be able to share one of each of our favorite vacation spots with eachother!

The day we were in Disneyland I was also celebrating my 23rd birthday so I got a pin to wear so that everyone was wishing me a happy birthday all day long.  We also got a birthday fun card with $70 on it to spend on merchandise in the park.  Definitely one of my best and most memorable birthdays!

DCA

 

Small World

After we were all theme-parked out, we headed to Oceanside and Jason’s family to help prepare for our Open House Luau!  His parents had been cooking and pulling pork for days and I’ve never cut so many vegetables in one day, but the whole event turned out great!  Although it made us miss Hawaii something fiere, it was nice to be able to meet more of Jason’s family and friends and get a feel for the people who have supported him and helped him become the wonderful man he is today.  Once again for pictures, click here!

So yes, I am still LOVING married life.  I am filled with joy at having tied myself to my best friend for time and all eternity.  I look forward to strengthening our relationship over time and continuing to learn more about him.

Valentine’s Day and so much more!

I know I’ve been a slacker of late and that even my most recent entries merely scratched the surface and were more for entertainment than informational. But the reason for that is that I was thinking/feeling things which I should not have been.  I had jumped the gun and was utterly ashamed at that.  But there is no longer a need for concern.  The situation resolved itself in a spectacular manner this weekend.  And it is that resolution that I intend to share with y’all today.

This weekend was Valentine’s Day.  For those who know me at all, Valentine’s Day is by far my least favorite holiday.  And it wasn’t just because I didn’t have a significant other to share it with (although I’m sure that didn’t help matters).  My Valentine’s Days have just always been subpar.  Plans didn’t work out, I’d end up fighting with some of my closest friends, and worst of all was high school when people were so outwardly affectionate to “the one.”  The one that they had gotten together with a week before and would break up with a week later (if it even lasted that long).  It was disgusting.  However, despite my distaste of the holiday for personal reasons, overall, I felt the holiday had potential for people who actually had someone to express love for, as long as it was tastefully done.  That being said, I was flabbergasted as to how I would approach the holiday now that I have a very significant other.

He seemed rather excited for the day, not to mention intent on reversing my opinion of the holiday.  So I decided not to put up a fuss.  I even got a bit excited about getting his gift together: a package with a little bit of Hawaii inside including Hawaiian music, Hawaiian drinks, tropical straws with umbrellas, a Hang Loose vinyl sticker, a tiki cup, mini palm trees, and a handmade latchook rug with a Hawaiian scene.  You see, the original plan for Valentine’s Day had been a trip to Hawaii, but due to circumstances out of our control, that didn’t pan out.  So I decided to bring a bit of Hawaii to him.

Happy Valentine's Day Honey!

How Sweet!

Thus with the exchange of gifts, our evening began.  One of his conditions for the day had been that he got to plan everything and that I would be completely clueless.  Being out of the know is also something that tends to drive me insane, but I once again allowed it (man, I really am a sucker for the kid!).  We headed off to find a restaurant.  His first plan had been to go to the Cheesecake Factory, but in calling ahead and finding out they had a three and half hour wait for a table, he opted for plan B, Tepanyaki.  Only he was a little late picking me up and by the time we got to the restaurant we only had an hour before the next item on the agenda and they too had a wait of at least an hour and a half.  So, much to his discouragement we ended up at L&L Hawaiian BBQ.  I was throughly enjoying myself, partly because for once it wasn’t my plans that were falling through (yes, I realize that sounds a bit mean hearted, but sadly it is still true).

After fueling ourselves with chicken katsu, we were off to BYU campus where we went to a Divine Comedy performance.  They did a bunch of sketches including a spoof on the Twilight series.  It was hilarious!  It was about 9:00 when we left campus and apparently still had some time to kill so we went to Coldstone.  Then it was off to the Provo Towne Center for a movie.  When I realized we were going to another show, I was not only confused but a little let down.  Let’s just say I had been expecting something…different.  Anywho, this proved to be another instance in which my being involved with an activity causes unexpected glitches to arise.  He’d been counting on a ten o’clock showing of the Pink Panther 2, only there was no ten o’clock showing.  So we altered plans yet again and ended up watching Paul Blart: Mall Cop (if you have any desire to see this movie, I would recommend waiting for the dollar theater).

By the time the movie was over, it was getting late.  We got in the car and he made as if he was going to take me home, but on the way he needed to stop at his apartment really quick.  We stopped and he told me to wait in the car.  I was waiting in the car and getting thoroughly frustrated with myself for having expectations for the evening which obviously weren’t coming true.  And then trying really hard not to be frustrated because I knew it would hurt his feelings and its not like it was a bad evening.  Definitely my best Valentine’s Day ever.  After mentally flagellating myself in the car for five minutes, Jason texted me and told me that this might take a little longer than expected and that I should come inside.

My hope was rekindled, but I still had no idea what to expect when I walked in the door.  He had completely decorated his apartment with Hawaiian decor.  He had an Aloha banner, pineapple, bananas, palm trees (which he’d crafted himself), coconut cups, a picture of Sunset Beach on his big screen TV, and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” being sung by IZ playing in the background.  I was stunned.  Once I regained control of my legs, I walked a little further in, admiring all of the details he’d put into this.  We both donned leis and he gave me a green shell necklace and bracelet.  Before I knew it he was down on one knee asking me to marry him.  I said yes, of course and have been grinning like a fool ever since!

Grinning like a Fool

 

Close Up

Oh, and it turns out that everything that we did during the evening was a reflection of activities we’d done together in Hawaii.  The original restauarant of choice was Cheesecake Factory–a common get away for our group and Jason was often the chauffeur.  However, the restaurant we ended up at also worked into the plan since it was a Hawaiian BBQ (and a popular restaurant in the islands).  The comedy show was on a BYU campus (we met at BYU Hawaii).  We went to Coldstone together at least once in Hawaii (which is when I first learned how much he loves his sprinkles).  And the movie was not only reminiscent of our first date here, we went to and/or watched many a movie together in Hawaii.  Yes, he had all of the details worked out pretty darn well I’d say.

Confessions of a Bookaholic

Close to 1200 pages in 2 different books over 2 straight days.  There’s a good chance I will get sucked in again this afternoon.  Yes.  My name is Kaysie and I’m a bookaholic.  Admittedly, the books were an easy read and I’d read them before, but still.

 

See the resemblance?

There was a time when one of my favorite activities was to go to the public library, select a book, and settle into one of the most comfortable chairs I’ve ever been in.  During my Hawaii years, there were many instances when I would take an hour bus ride just to spend some time in the mini-bookstore at the mall.  Imagine my delight when this tiny shop became a full blown Borders.  I can spend hours in a bookstore without getting bored.  No exaggerating.

 

I have always thoroughly enjoyed reading.  Biographies, historical fiction, fantasy, I’m up for trying just about anything.  Once I find something I enjoy, I tend to devour it.  As in no breaks, little food, and no sleep until I reach that final page.  I have noticed that I like to read series, probably because they satiate the addiction for a little bit longer.  I also enjoy reading the same books repeatedly.

I would SO love a chair like this!

I’m not sure what it is that fascinates me so.  It just provides a wonderful escape from the drugery of my day to day life.  I can visit far away places, experience happiness, sorrow, guilt, grief, and joy from a safe distance.  Books are reliable and unchangeable.  They can’t hurt me.  Or if they do, then I don’t have to keep reading.

 

This addiction tends to hit me in waves, especially if I start in on a series (like I did this week).  And it almost never applies to assigned reading.  All throughout my public education, I was the kid who would start reading a book the night before it was due even though I’d had weeks to read it.  And I usually wouldn’t finish it, even if it was a short, quick read.  Ironic, isn’t it?

Packrats R Us

Packrats-collectors of miscellaneous useless objects, aka my family.

Out of sight, out of mind; right?

Letters, cards, bills, report cards, progress reports, school assignments, birth certificates, flyers, advertisements, social security cards, pictures, programs, you name it and we’ve got it stashed away somewhere.  The stash site over the last several years has been what used to be our den.  Now it is our storage-for-the-crap-we-don’t-know-what-to-do-with room.  I am talking about boxes upon boxes upon boxes of stuff some of which is important (like tax documents), some of which is sentimental (such as an envelope containing the evidence of my baby sister’s first haircut), but most of which is just plain old junk.

 

I have spent at least 10 hours over the past two days sorting through all of these boxes.  And I am still not done yet! I managed to fill up both of our large rubbish cans along with the large recycling bin.  And this is all just the first sweep.  Since the boxes represent a conglomeration of seven people’s stuff, I felt I needed to give them a final chance to salvage some of the items.  So I sorted these items into individual boxes for each person and am going to have them go through them.  I still haven’t tackled the closet or desks and I need my dad to get rid of the remains of past computers, but at least its a start.

 

The worst part?  For the past four years I have been going to school/living in Hawaii.  Since flying was my only option of getting to and fro (not so into being on a boat for that long) my luggage was limited to two suitcases and two carryons.  Believe you me, I got very good at packing a bag. 

 

Yet even with these restrictions, my stuff expanded expontentially.  By the time graduation rolled around, I sent one full suitcase home with my family, completely stuffed two more, shipped 2 boxes home, and dumped the contents of at least one more.  I left one suitcase in Hawaii while I ventured off to Taiwan and by the time I returned for it a mere two months later I had to do yet another round of purging.  Is there a storage-for-the-crap-I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with room in my future? 

How Many Shots Does It Take?

After Thanksgiving, I was in the glad process of finishing up all of my early childhood coursework.  I was ecstatic, until I realized that this meant that the proverbial next step now had to be taken.  Only I wasn’t sure what that step was.  After careful consideration, I came up with some options.

1) In order to actually get the early childhood license (the entire reason for going back to school in the first place) I still technically need to finish up 5 weeks of student teaching in a kindergarten class.  I was less than thrilled with this option.  As tedious as the semester was for me, I was feeling done with school (for now).  Besides, Utah is in the midst of changing all of their licensing requirements, so the early childhood license is going to become obsolete.  I also had visions of the anti-social, poor, starving college student I was for my last year in Hawaii as a result of student teaching.  I didn’t want to have to quit my job, but full-time student teaching doesn’t lend itself well to additional activities.  Needless to say, this option was not top on my list.

2) As much as the idea of student teaching repulsed me, I still wasn’t quite ready to give up on getting the additional certification, even it will soon be obsolete.  At least it would still show potential employers my area of emphasis.  So I was in a pickle until I thought of a brilliant idea.  I wouldn’t mind getting paid to student teach.  Plus, it would give me more experience.  Yes, I thought I’d struck gold.  I started filling out applications for local districts and daily checking for job postings.  Then one day it happened.  There was a posting for a kindergarten teacher at an elementary school just down the road from my house!  Needless to say, it was perfect!  I quickly applied and anxiously waited to hear back. 

I finally got the call and nervously went for my first “real job” interview.  I was a nervous wreck!  It didn’t help that I had to sit there for an hour before actually going in because they were running late.  Nor did it help that I caught a brief glimpse of the list of interviewees and was devastated by how long it was.  To cap off the whole experience, the couple other interviewees that I saw definitely had teaching experience under their belts.  Something that I am severely lacking–which I was reminded of during the first question of the interview: “Describe to us your educational and professional background and experience.”

I left the interview feeling glad that I’d done it, but was fairly positive there was no way they were going to choose me.  So imagine my surprise when I got a phone call the next week asking me to come back down to the school and read a short story to the class. 

The butterflies instantly re-entered my stomach and I spent the next day figuring out a story I could read along with a simple activity to go with.  The only problem was that once I got there, they had a book for me.  A book that definitely wouldn’t go with my preparations.  But I dove in nonetheless remembering that flexibility is an important characteristic in a teacher.  I read the story, interacted with the class, and then went on my merry way, feeling a bit more confident this time around.

All such confidence was shattered when I received the final phonecall.  I hadn’t gotten the job.  They ensured me that I was one of the top candidates.  That their decision was no reflection on me.  That they’d chosen to go another direction–a direction who happened to have experience.

I was devastated.  Everything had fallen in to place so perfectly that I’d foolishly believed it was meant to be.  By this point the semester was over and Christmas Break was upon me.  By investing so much into the job opportunity, I hadn’t even followed through on Option 1 (student teaching) which would be impossible to set up during the break.  I let myself mope around for a while, but eventually picked myself back up and began brainstorming once more.

3) At this point my biggest concern was finding something to keep me busy.  With my current job I only work until noon Monday-Friday.  That leaves a lot of open afternoons.  Afternoons which I could see myself wasting in front of the tv or just lazing about the house.  I know that prolly doesn’t sound all too terrible to most people, but for me, it would be.  So I looked into substitute teaching.  True, it wouldn’t give me the opportunity to finish up the certificate requirements, but it would still be good experience, look great on my resume, and give me the chance to get to know schools, principals, etc.

But this option was also difficult to look into over the break since the schools and the district office were closed.  I spent the break relaxing and was rearing to get a move on as soon as school was back in session.  During a talk with a principal in my neighborhood, she suggested that I get on the district sub list but also take a resume and business card around to the local elementary schools to try and get higher on the priority list.  So I spent hours this week creating clever business cards (in the shape of a pencil), tweaking my resume, and updating my website.

Looks great, if I do say so myself

 I got all dressed up yesterday and set off.  The plan was to go to the district office first and then hit as many of the schools as I could.  But even this option was not to be.  At the district office I was quickly told that they were overflowing with subs and couldn’t possibly take on anymore.

So where am I?  After a month of planning, hard work, and let downs, I am exactly where I started: optionless.  So instead of trying to figure anything else out for my open afternoons, I am going to start thinking a little further ahead and look into jobs for next fall.  Wish me luck!

Schooling Update

Yeah, I know you are all in shock.  I am writing another post and it has only been a few days.  But breathe easy.  I simply remembered something that I should probably update y’all on.

So, when I started the semester I was under the impression that I needed to work towards a 1 year early childhood certificate.  This entailed taking 30 credits of coursework, only 4 of which were covered by my studies in Hawaii.  I am currently taking 5 classes, which left 4 for me to take next semester: Music Methods, Child Development, Assessment, and a Preschool Practicum (sorta like student teaching). 

After the repetitiveness of this semester, I really didn’t want to have to take yet another development class (I’ve already taken two) and wasn’t so keen on repeating music methods either.  So I decided to appeal my case to the advisor and see if I could somehow wave these two classes during my meeting with her to get into the practicum.
 
Only in talking with her yesterday, I found out that the 1 year certificate ISN’T going to give me the certification to teach kindergarten–the entire reason I was going through this to begin with.  Thankfully, as she listed the 6 classes I DO need to take, I have completed or will complete all of them this semester.  
 
Therefore, after this semester, I just have to complete 5 weeks of student teaching in a kindergarten class, and I’ll be good to go.  A much simpler load than I was planning on, that’s for sure.
 
This also opens up a few other possibilities.  For example, since I’m so close to the additional certification, I could try and get a part time teaching job in a kindergarten class which would both fulfill the student teaching requirement and give me some paid teaching experience.  Definitely tempting.  Especially if I could keep my current job AND teach half-day kindergarten.  But that’s just a possibility.  I could also sub on a part-time basis.  Not my preference, but still experience. 

Regardless, I’ll definitely have to find something to fill in the school-void next semester.  It may as well be something that’ll benefit me down the road, right?

Happy Halloween Everybody!

Pretty much from beginning to end, this week was dedicated to the preparation and enjoyment of Halloween!  It all started Monday night with the annual Larsen pumpkin carving festival.  We even invited Jason to join us.  Carving pumpkins with my family is definitely one of the many things I missed a bunch while I was in Hawaii.  The final results?

Jared made his own pattern, using the cover of The Host to guide him.

Annie’s pumpkin said EAT and the ‘A’ was a piece of candy corn.

I did the Joker.

Jason did two–Darth Vader and the Death Star.  Not shabby for his first pumpkin carving experience.

Jori took the cake this year though.  She also did two.  Her first one was Gilligan but because of the unusually warm temperatures and how early we carved, he didn’t make it til Halloween.  So she also carved the Cowardly Lion.

Much of the rest of the week was spent preparing costumes.  Not my own though.  No, I had mine at the beginning of the month.  I ended up sewing Jason’s costume.  Then, Thursday night, Jared asked me to make him a shirt.  So on Thursday I ended up spending almost 12 hours on the sewing machine.  But it was worth it.

On the actual holiday, I went to work in costume.  During my four hour shift, I participated in a costume contest and had a potluck.  Basically I got paid for an hour and half of playing! That night Jason and I joined up with Cadence for a party. 

It was fun to get out and be with different people, but we ended up the evening back at my house where we kept with our theme and watched Star Wars.  A great day indeed!

More Fall Fun

 It is rough to get back into life after a nice, long break.  I’ve spent much of the last week recuperating from my vacation.  Can’t I have a vacation to recover?  No?  Hmm…

Actually, after a slight school-related panic attack followed by a nasty head cold, life was right back up to being fantastic.  Friday night I got together with Cadence and Dan (friends from my freshman semester in Provo) and we carved pumpkins! 

 

 

I LOVE CARVING PUMPKINS!  And I didn’t get to carve much while in Hawaii, so I loved it.  I haven’t spent a lot of time with either Cadence or Dan in recent years either, so it was great to catch up.  I also capped the night off by seeing a certain someone, which added to the greatness of the evening.

Saturday morning I was awoken from the depths of a deep and peaceful sleep by my mother.  In the midst of my hazy confusion, I came to the realization that one of her friends had two tickets to the BYU football game that afternoon and was offering them to me.  So I called up Jason, got ready, and headed out.  The weather was perfect.  My cheeks even got a bit sunkissed!  They were playing UNLV and it was another sold out game (meaning there were 64,000 other people there).  It was a high-scoring game that only shook out in the last few seconds–in BYU’s favor.  Yay!

 

But the fun wasn’t over yet!  Mathoni (one of my neighbors & fellow ELED majors in Hawaii) invited Jason and I to a free concert with the Goo Goo Dolls.  And since he ended up with an extra ticket, we were able to meet up with Kirsten too.  The Goo Goo Dolls may not be my all-time favorite band, but I still had a great time.

With all of that, it is no wonder that I was utterly exhausted come Sunday.  But I still had a few hours which needed coherency before I could crash.  I teach in my home ward’s Primary and it was time for the Primary program.  The kids all did a really good job and had several of the mothers in tears.  The strong spirit of young children continues to astound me.

Yes indeed.  A pretty wonderful weekend to help me gear up for another week.  And Halloween is this Friday!!!

Fall Break

Updating REALLY shouldn’t be so difficult, should it?  I mean, I did so well for quite a while and now?  Well, I seem to be lucky if I remember once a month.  And it’s not like I don’t have anything to write about.  The last month has been wonderfully packed with everything from hiking in the fall mountains, to family time, to Laurel coming to visit, to continuing to spend time with Jason.  And yet, until now, my blog remained updateless.  I write today to change that.

Last weekend was Fall Break and UVU’s miraculously coincided with Alpine School District.  Unfortunately BYU-Idaho didn’t get the memo, so Ashley still had school, but the rest of us loaded in the Beauty for one last family camping trip of the season!  Our destination was southbound in an effort to escape the cold (and snow!) of Utah Valley, and it worked.

Thursday night we stayed at beautiful Watchman’s Campground in Zion’s National Park Thursday night where we watched the sunset on the surrounding red rock cliffs and were lulled to sleep by the sound of the nearby Virgin River.  Jori and I also ventured to explore the realms of Phase 10 dice and eventually had Jared and Annie playing too.

Friday morning we got up and going, which, in our family, means it was actually afternoon before we were on the road once more.  We ditched our car and trailer in Springdale and took the shuttle into the park itself.  We got off at the lodge where we grabbed a quick bite to eat before setting off on a little hike.  The original destination was the lower Emerald Pools which was a simple half mile hike.  We were then persuaded on the the middle and eventually even the upper pools.

 

We were glad we went all the way though.  The upper pool/fall was definitely the most incredible.  There was a huge bolder that I quickly set about climbing, only it proved much more difficult that I had originally expected.  Eventually all but Mom made it up though, and we had quite the gathering of other young children attempting to follow our suite.

On the way back down we opted to take a different trail thinking that it would still lead us back to the lodge.  We were wrong.  We walked and walked and walked some more until we eventually made it to The Grotto shuttle stop–one stop away from the lodge.  Needless to say we were thankful that the shuttle was there and that we didn’t have to hike back to our car.

The next day we stopped off in St. George to recharge our batteries, get cleaned up, and enjoy some “city life.”  After attending church Sunday morning, we made our way over to Bryce Canyon where we camped at Ruby’s Inn.  We arrived just in time to freshen up and go into the park for sunset and family pictures.  Yes, overall it was a pretty great vacation.