As promised...

As promised, here is the long awaited update! Well, I like to think it is long awaited anyway. I am not even sure where to begin.

So I have run into some major stumbling blocks as far as my administrative/grad school program goes. To make a REALLY long story short, after them "accidentally" putting me on academic suspension (yes, it was by mistake.....how you accidentally put someone on academic suspension is beyond me!) over the summer, the final straw came at the beginning of September. Well, I was taking an ESL class (which after finishing, I found out I could have bypassed because I have an ESL endorsement!!), and in the last week of class I contacted the instructor about why several of my assignments had not been graded and returned. Well, it too her a while to get back to me....and the course ended in the mean time.....but she said she hadn't graded any of my assignments because I didn't appear to be in the class!!! I called my advisor (who actually is pretty nice, and helpful.....or so I thought) and he said he would look into, and not to stress....there was probably just a glitch in their system. Well, I have yet to hear from him about it......and the class I "supposedly" was not in....well somehow, I got a grade.....a failing grade! Tell me how you get a grade in a class you aren't in....yet paid for? So, understandably I am really annoyed with GCU.....therefore, am not going to finish my masters degree with them. I am not going to keep paying for classes I may or may not be getting credit for. So, I am going to take a break for a while to weigh my options. I'm going to a meeting in a few weeks about the U's program, and have looked into the University of Phoenix (the Murray location). It all comes down to who will transfer the most credits.....because I can't afford to take a bunch of classes over again. I think it will do me some good to take a little break (no matter what decision I make, I will be school free until May. That way we can focus on getting Cam DONE with nursing school!

Which leads me to our next happening.....nursing school. So, Cam is off and running with his 3rd semester of nursing school! He always amazes me with how much he can retain so fast!! They seriously cover so much material in a short period of time! But, he is doing great! He is constantly studying or working on care plans, but all in all, I think he is off to a great start! He is more than half way finished with his clinical rotation this round, then can focus on the assignments and tests. He is SO close to being finished!! May cannot come fast enough!! We have been super lucky to have so many people helping to get Cam done!! He keeps trying to tell me he isn't going to graduation.....but he has worked to hard to not go!!!!! So, give him some grief about not wanting to go! I know he will end up going.....he just needs to be harassed a little :).

School has been officially back in session for about a month now. I wish I could say it has been an easy start. Everyone told me that having a group of boys (19 of them....and 4 girls) was going to be easy.....no girl drama or whining or crying. Well, I would rather have a whining and crying group......instead of the fighting, rough group of boys that I have. Don't get me wrong, I do have some good kiddos, but I have so many rough, tough boys who think that slugging kids in the face, or stomach is how to deal with problems. Friday was probably the best day I have had all year.....so I am hoping we are turing a corning with them. If you have any ideas that might help me get these little people to to quite beating on each other.....please let me know. I am not sure what more to try.....calling parents, taking away things, and rewarding the good ones hasn't worked yet, so I am open to any ideas! Other than the fighting, the year is off to a pretty good start. I think if I can get that under wraps, the year could be a good one. Next week we are learning about apples.....one of my favorite weeks of the year!

I love fall, and all of the fun school themes that come along with it.....apples, pumpkins, leaves, fire safety, and Halloween!



I really do like Halloween......and this year I am not going to cop-out and just wear Cameron's scrubs to school as my costume. So, if you have any great ideas....please share!! I am looking forward to it cooling down (mostly so my power bill goes down), and all of the other things that come with fall......like delicious pumpkin flavored things!! And, the most exciting yearly fall activity......my birthday! Although I will be 26 this year.....I still love my birthday like a 5 year old (they really do rub off on me I suppose).

Ohhhh.....I almost forgot about one fabulously exciting school related item! In July, I created a Donors Choose project, where people could donate money to help get materials for my students. Well, 2 weeks ago a nice donor from Illinois, donated the final $83 to fully fund my project!!! And, I have already received the materials I requested!! I want to give a special THANK YOU to everyone who made a donation (no matter how big or small) to my classroom project! I am so excited to use these materials in my class to increase their sight word fluency!!! So to all my teacher peeps out there......go and create a project to help get materials in your classroom! It is SO easy to do!! And to all those out there who donated to my class.....keep donating to help the classrooms around the country! Donors Choose is a great organization, and I am so glad I heard about them!!!



Along with the fall season...comes the return of some great television shows! While I love mind numbing reality TV, there are some great sitcoms out there that help keep me sane after a day of chasing small children! Some people like to listen to music while they clean the house....well not me....I need the TV on in the background to motivate me to do my chores. I have a few favorites that have returned this week..........

While Hoarder is technically a reality show.....I LOVE it!! I am fascinated with how these people think this way of life is normal! I get that it is a mental illness.....and I think that is why I am so interested in it. How do people live this way?!?!?



Who doesn't love The Office? I wish Jim and Pam were real people so I could be friends with them!



LOVE me some Criminal Minds......again I think it comes back to the mental illness stuff. Maybe I should have been s psychologist!



And.....Modern Family. If you have never watched it.....YOU MUST!! Cameron is by far my favorite character on TV! He makes me laugh every episode........and so does Manny. I think I need a Columbian son!



And now....for the story I know you have all been waiting for.....puke on the stairs. Everyone knows how I feel about puke. I hate, hate, HATE it!! I truly live in fear EVERY single day that one of my students will puke and I will have to see it. It is sickness. But anyway, last Saturday Cameron went to take his car to get washed and vacuum it. When he came in, he was laughing. "Well, someone puked on the stairs outside.....and just left it there to rot." Seriously?!?! In my mind I thought......"how will I ever go outside to my car now!" Yes, I hate puke that much!!! Well, I braved the puke and went to the grocery store. It really wasn't that bad......I think it was probably a dog and not a human.....but it was still puke. The best part of the whole story is........someone.....possibly the offender.....tried to scrape it off on Sunday night.....but failed MISERABLY!! So, a week later there are still remnants of the puke on the stairs. So gross! I thought about taking a picture of it......but refrained as to not gross everyone out.

Well, there you have it. The past month of our lives in a nut shell, I promise I will be a better blogger in October.....as hopefully we will be more entertaining.

I will blog again.....I promise!

It has been too long.....but my life is a never ending marathon. I promise my blog will get some love this weekend.

Here are some things to look forward to:

--School Drama (Grad school that is....)
--New School Year
--Boy Drama (5 year old boys that is......)
--3rd Semester Nursing School for Cam (Only 1 more to go!!)
--Puke on the Stairs (This is a good one.....)
--The Return of Good TV.
--And much more :)

Until then......I will leave you in suspense!

Sweet Video

I found this SWEET video this morning of my sisters first race in Italy! Watch for her cute face when they check out Team USA!!



Seriously, so cool!!

Team Chirio Forno D'Asolo

Tayler's time in Italy has been extended for a bit! She was asked to ride with a new Italian team.....Team Chirio Forno D'Asolo! She raced with them this weekend in France, and is headed to Holland later this week for another! We don't have official race results yet, but we anticipate a 9th place overall finish for her today!! AWESOME!! She will be home in just over a week.....and I can't wait! I miss her little face!

Antennagate?

Let me begin by saying how annoyed with blogger I am. Since they made all of these changes, I converted my blog to their new "design" mode. Well, I can't change a lot of my settings now. I can't change the font or font color, center my text, and create links to other websites or blogs.....annoying! My other blog, the teacher on (the link is on my blog list if you care to read it) let's me do all of that, but this one doesn't. Ok....enough with my ranting.

This week has been pretty busy. We have spent lots of time with family at BBQ's and chatting. Susan and Gerry (my auntie and uncle from Boise) came down for a visit. It was good times as usual! We were hoping to get to iChat with Tayler (she is still in Italy), but the internet at her hotel was not working. It was sad! I miss her face a lot and can't wait for her to come home. She was supposed to be home Tuesday, but was offered a chance to stay longer and race with an Italian team!! What an amazing experience for her! I wish I was there with her to take it all it! I told her next time she goes, I will need to go with her and be her personal assistant/PR person. Great idea, right? I think so. Here are some of her latest pics from her European adventures!





Cam has had an interesting few weeks at work. It all began with the iPhone 4 launch, and has continued on to "Antennagate" (I giggle a little every single time I say it).



Ever since people have "heard" about the supposed reception issues with the new iPhone people have been obsessed with "Antennagate"....they call the Apple Store and tell them that "They got antennagate"....like it's a disease! Too funny! I say, if your phone has issues, get the free case Apple is giving you and quit whining!

Since my summer fun is coming to an end, Cam and I are trying to spend as much time with each other as possible. This week we went and saw Inception. All I can say is WOW!! It was like a mind Olympics!! It was such an awesome movie, but left my brain sore from all of the deep thinking I had done.



If you haven't seen it yet, go see it! You won't regret it!

We also had a chance this week to go to the Bee's game with all of the Romero's. We sat in one of the suites (Thanks Greg and Karine!), and had an awesome time watching the game and the fireworks afterwards. As I have said before, the Bee's game fireworks never disappoint!



I have to admit, I spent a portion of the game sitting inside watching the Tour de France. The Bee's were loosing, and I wanted to feel like I was in Europe with Tayler!

Finally, I have been doing a lot to get ready for the upcoming school year....yes, sad that my summer is coming to an end. I decided to write a project with Donor's Choose to get materials to use in my classroom. It is a great website that has helped a lot of teachers get awesome materials to help their kids learn!



You should check out my project at this website:

http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/117292

I almost forgot one of the highlights of my week!! We all know how much I LOVE trashy television. Well, this week I have fallen in love with this lady.........



Yes, you are correct. I am officially one of Bethenny Frankel's (one of the Real Housewives of New York) biggest fans. She is darling, annoyoing, and just all around fabulous! I am so going to buy her Skinny Girl Books!!

I also have grown to love these ladies........



Yes, more housewives! This time, it is the ladies from New Jersey! Thank you Bravo for introducing me to this wonderfully delicious smut!!

Until next time my friends......enjoy some trashy television!!

Very Aero!!

Tayler looking very aerodynamic during the time trial in stage 2 of the Tour de Feminin en Limousin. She was the fastest US woman by 1 min!!!



For more picture from France......visit this website:

http://cyclismefeminin.over-blog.com

The Best 100th Post Possible......

After cycling for two years, Utahn now cycles for Team USA in top European courses

Article by: Jared Eborn (Deseret News, July 22, 2010)



SALT LAKE CITY — Two years ago, Tayler Wiles was your typical college student, happily going through the days and preparing to start her second year at the University of Utah.

Then a friend talked her into signing up for a bike race, and Wiles, a 2007 Murray High grad, was transformed.

"I fell in love with it from the moment I got on the bike," Wiles said.

And now, the bubbly blonde with an infectious smile is wearing the stars and stripes as she represents the United States on an elite team of young cyclists racing in some of Europe's top women's races.

Wiles, who celebrated her 21st birthday a few days ago in style while racing in Italy's GP Cento Carnevale d'Europa, will soon race the Tour de Feminin en Limousin in France.

"I had no idea I had the potential to do this," Wiles said. "I just signed up because it sounded fun."

That race, the Sanpete Classic in 2008, was a mix of success and failure. Wiles said she jumped out and joined a breakaway in the women's Cat 4 field but eventually fell off the pace and settled for a mid-pack finish.

But it lit a fire that has not slowed down since.

"The first race was a huge eye-opener," she said. "We were pacelining and I had no idea what that was. I was just trying to keep up."

Those days are long gone. No longer is Wiles simply trying to keep up with the pace — she's setting it.

Though Wiles was "hooked" on the sport after that first race, she had to wait several months for the next season to start. When it did, she wasted no time in rocketing up the local racing scene. She won her first two races in 2009 — including the Tour of the Depot stage race — and quickly upgraded to Cat 3.

As a Cat 3, Wiles was eligible to race against the Cat 1 and 2 racers and more than held her own. She had frequent top-5 finishes and won the grueling 170-mile Tour of Park City.

A month later, Wiles was part of a breakaway in the 206-mile LOTOJA race — winning the sprint for second while the overall winner had escaped up the road several miles earlier.

Those results caught the attention of more than just the local racers.

Pro development team Colavita Cycling noticed Wiles and signed her to race for them. At the recently completed national championships in Oregon, Wiles finished ninth overall in the Women's Elite race and was second in the U-23 results.

"I finally felt like I belonged," Wiles said. "There have been some national races this year where it was kind of intimidating. I was used to racing in Utah and keeping up just fine. But the national races are tough. Those girls are no less cutthroat than the guys. It's really intense."


As the season progressed — 2010 is just the second full year of racing for Wiles — her confidence grew and the results came. She has had top-10 finishes at the Tucson Bicycle Classic and Tour of Walla Walla where she won the road race in the stage race and finished second overall.

Her success was noticed by other racers, but also by USA Cycling. Wiles' coach, Corey Hart, was contacted by USAC just before nationals and was told there may be a spot for Wiles on the development team it was sending to Europe.

Instead of telling Wiles, though, Hart sat on the news hoping not to distract her.

"I think he didn't want me thinking about anything but nationals," Wiles said. "But when he told me, I was like 'Yes, yes, yes, definitely.' "

Always an athlete when she was growing up — Wiles played soccer and ran on the track team at Murray High — cycling, obviously, came naturally. The long, endurance aspects of the sport were no trouble and the explosive bursts of speed needed to win sprints have come fairly easily.

Yet Wiles — who nearly always races with a huge grin on her face — admits to suffering on the bike.

"It's so hard," she said. "You work for hours and push yourself to the absolute limit. But in the end, it's so worth it."

Especially when all that work results in a trip to Italy to celebrate your 21st birthday while racing against many of the world's best young cyclists.



I love my sister! She is (and should be if she isn't to you already) an inspiration to a lot of people including me. I am so proud of her accomplishments (cycling and otherwise) and know no matter how far she goes, or what she does, she will be good at it! Show everyone at the Tour de Feminin en Limousin what you are made of Tayler!!