Date Night

 Our date nights (we have decided) are going to be on Thursday nights. We got out of the habit for a while and we really wanted to start again! So Spencer planned for us to go and hike the Y. It's fun, cheap, and a great workout! Training for my half marathon has gotten me into better shape then I thought, which made me happy when I was climbing those big hills!

The Y is special to us because on our second date a year ago this is where we really started to like each other...and don't tell anyone, but this is the first place we held hands! We had so much fun hiking it again and trying to remember how everything went the first time. It's hard to remember all the little details which is why it's so important for me to keep a journal! After our date we took a drive down to the place I used to work for 3 years while at BYU. It was so fun telling Spencer about my college life and all the places in Provo that I used to live, etc. You can see so much from up high on the mountain!

The same spot we held hands for the first time! We spent a good hour up there talking, planning, and just catching up from a busy week. For us it's really important to go back to the basics and remember how you fell in love all over again!

The view from here is incredible. I love Utah Lake!

At the end of our hike. It sure gets dark fast!

Hopefully I'll have some more Thursday date nights to post later!

last week of teaching

I began the week really looking forward to it being Thursday. Now I'm starting to get really sad that this is my last week at Timpanogos (for this year). It is only Tuesday and I'm thinking the next two days are going to FLY by. I am planning on going back next year but I am having a hard time saying goodbye to the kids for the summer. Today my third grade class (that is usually a difficult class to manage) said they are going to miss me and that I made PE fun. A kindergartner said I'm the best coach in the whole world! I said "I'm the only PE teacher you've ever had, but thanks!" I really have fallen for these kids. They are so full of energy, love,  sometimes anger, but mostly they just want to have fun and feel respected. I never thought I would like being an elementary school teacher but now I feel like I never want to change grades. I am starting to feel closer to the teachers. Today we had a kickball tournament. Teachers vs. 6th grade. We kicked their trash! 39-9. I played first base and made a bunch of outs. A couple of the teachers kicked the ball almost over the fence! Man, this last week is so fun! Today we played parachute and tug-of-war with my classes. They LOVE those activities.

RADkids is also over this week. I have learned a lot about teaching and in general just how to teach the subject. We had our simulation night last Tuesday and it went REALLY well! We had a lot of parents come out and we even had some parents volunteer to go through training to help me teach it next year. What a bonus!

I can't believe my second year of teaching is almost over. It seems like just yesterday I graduated from BYU and started my long-term sub job in Salt Lake. My have things changed in just over a year. Anyway, cheers to a great year of teaching!

my testimony

This past week we had family home evening  with some of our friends and it really got me thinking about the gospel and how much I miss having regular family home evenings when I wan in college. I religiously went to fhe nearly every week and I know my testimony grew because of it. Spencer and I have decided to start doing fhe every week because it felt so good to do it and we know since the prophets have told us to do it, we probably should! With that being said I just want to tell my heavenly father how much I love him. How much I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and how much my life is fulfilled knowing that I can always get down on my knees and ask him for love, guidance, forgiveness, strength, and anything else that is on my mind. It is my Savior who truly understands me--my likes, dislikes, fears, talents, shortcomings, sense of humor, etc. If this is the case I wonder why I am not on my knees more often. I love reading the scriptures and feeling the spirit when I take the sacrament. I love knowing that I have an eternal family who loves me and is always going to be there for me. I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet who restored the church to the earth, and I'm very thankful for our current prophet--Thomas S. Monson--who is inspired and a true messenger from our father in heaven. I'm also very thankful for the temple. Ever since I went to the temple with my sweet husband and I have fallen in love with the ordinances performed there. It is the most beautiful, peaceful, hopeful place I have ever been in. 

With that being said, I was wondering if anyone would ever like to come over on a Monday night to have family home evening with us. If we have people do it with us then I know we will really do it! Any takers?

BLACK & WHITE DAYS!!

This past weekend we sojourned to the much anticipated weekend of Black and White Days in Richmond, Utah (again!) This is another Bagley tradition. Last year I couldn't go with Spencer because I was in California, so I was pretty stoked to go this year. This event has been going on for years and every year it seems to be getting smaller. The biggest event they have are the HORSE PULLS where two horses pull thousands of pounds of weight a specified amount of distance. It was really cool to watch. Back in Sonora they do "truck pulls" which are much different.

We drove up late Friday night to West Jordan and stayed the night. We again played basketball and played on the Wii until 1:00 in the morning. We left for Richmond at 8:00am the next morning. We made a pit stop in Logan to see Christie and Ben's new house and to help move a piano into their house. Pianos are VERY HEAVY! I'm glad there were lots of people to help move it because it 'aint easy!

Some of the horses getting ready for the horse pulls

Hay Bay bill throwing the hay for the hay throwing contest. Spencer nearly won!

We decided to get caricatures drawn of ourselves. So cute. They guy was really nice and the pictures don't look anything like us :) It was still fun!

Richard, Tyler, and James (cousins) climbing up the climbing wall. Richard dressed up in his cowboy attire. Just call him Clint Eastwood.

Michael and I participated in 3 rounds of "jousting". I got jousted off onto my keester 3 times. It was still fun but I was mad I lost to a 17 year old. Grrr.

After a few hours of festivities Spencer and I drove up to our FAVORITE place in Utah--High Creek. This is where Spencer and I decided to get married and where he would have proposed to me if it was closer to where we lived. It is so desolate and beautiful during the Spring and Summer. We always go hiking around it too while we're there and this time I ended up slipping and falling but it is part of the adventure! I had wet socks and shoes the rest of the day, but oh well! TO HIGH CREEK!

Right behind me is where I fell in. Yes, we did cross that river. And yes, I did shimmy my way up that log...My pants are almost ruined. But not QUITE. Some of our best times together is when we're out hiking in Utah.

The second best part of the day is the Black & White Days Parade. Legend has it that they pass out candy. We were no fools and some of us brought plastic bags to collect all the candy. We were like ants that just found a big piece of bread or something. Every time candy was thrown we'd dive into the street to get it. Spencer kept shoving the candy in my pants and said "that candy is going straight to your butt!" It literally was. We finally caught on and got a bag and started putting the candy IN the bag...thankfully!

The cow lady's

from left to right

Michelle, mad cow woman, Hope, and Nan

A pretty girl from the parade. We had the lovely opportunity of one of the horses leaving a big giant green surprise in front of where we were standing.

The crew
I'm pretty sure this group got the most candy because we were cheering the loudest!

Me, Christie (sis-in-law), and Hope (cousin). They are just awesome and so fun to be with!

After the parade we made our way to the horse pulls. Buddy (our uncle) saved us seats for two hours so we got a pretty good view of everything.

Here we are at the horse pulls. It was SOOOO COLD!!!

We (me) ate lots of pickles, candy (from the parade), hot dogs, and sandwiches that day. TOO much probably.

The light weight horses. This event lasted from 7pm-10pm. The heavy weight division horses pulled 9,000 pounds! These horses are truly amazing!

Michael, Richard, and Christie looking all mischievous

Brad and Michelle--Michelle has the COOOOLEST outfits! All made possible through DI :)

Sadly, the night had to end. Spencer and I had the BEST time together that day. When we get to spend quality time together like this we grow so much closer and feel so happy.I really did marry my best friend and I got such a great family out of it! The drive home that night was torturous because we were SO tired. We got home at 1a.m and had early church the next morning.

We found out that Spencer got a new calling! He is the teacher's quorum adviser and is also a scout leader on Tuesday nights. He's really excited because he LOVES to work with the youth. I know he'll do a great job because he's such a great teacher.

I'm so excited to go back to Black and White days again next year. Thanks again Richmond for providing such a fun-filled weekend!

Another weekend in St. George

Michelle H. Bagley, Master's of Education

That's right, Spencer's mom graduated with her Master's two weeks ago from SUU!!! We were so excited for her so we all drove down to St. George for the weekend. Spencer and I drove down early Friday afternoon and spent the evening over-eating at Texas Roadhouse with the Harper grandparents. They always feed us so well! Later that evening we went on a bike ride on a trail that leads to a river.

It is always such a beautiful place in St. George. We have thought about moving down there after Spencer graduates because we love it so much!

The next day we went to SUU to see the graduation. It was a LONG ceremony but we were so proud of MUSH! aka Michelle. She works so hard. While she was getting her masters she was also teaching middle school English in West Jordan. This woman never stops! She cried the minute we saw her come out. But we love her anyway.

Finally a sunny day!

Our sister, Christie, graduated the next week with HER Master's from Utah State.
We got a shot of both of them in their gowns. So cute!

Like mother, like daughter!

I love these girls!

Ruth Ann and Grandpa Harper

Michelle's sister Denise flew down in her private airplane to see the graduation. Unfortunately when we dropped her off her plane wouldn't start! So we spent a couple hours at the airport trying to figure out what was wrong with it. I really like Denise. She is fun, has a PhD, used to be a marathon runner, and is writing her own books! I love spending time with her. I was happy to find out she had to stay with us for a night. hehe.

After that we went to the Golden Corral and stuffed ourselves silly. Especially my husband. He ate 3-4 plates of food and couldn't move after! He is funny. I love how much guys can eat. After dinner we went on a drive up Snow Canyon to Tuacahn Ampitheatre. This place is amazing!~ They have shows, plays, and concerts there all year round.

The whole group
Spencer, me, Michelle, Ben, Christie, Richard, Grandpa, Brad, Denise and Michael.

Tarzan is playing there this summer!

We drove up further to Snow Canyon and took a hike to see some beautiful scenery. It was awesome to be out in nature again, especially with the red rock. I just love it!

Boys will be...BOYS
This is why I like hanging out with these two.

We found some sand. I like it in between my toes.

Kind of reminds me of Angel's Landing! Not quite as magnificent.

They wandered all around up and down the canyon

I am growing to really love the Bagley/Harper family.
The more time I spend with them, the more I love them. And also the more it makes me miss my family :( Too bad my family lives all the way in California! Oh well.

Later that night we went and watched Avatar and went shopping at the Outlet malls. I found some great deals. We left around 11am the next morning and were sad to say goodybe to St. George.

See you in two weeks!

I'm In!

I made it into the St. George Marathon! I am so excited, but REALLY nervous! Wish me luck!

Small and Large Victory

Yesterday evening I ran 9 miles! It was A LONG WAY, but I did it. I ran from American Fork all the way to Alpine and back. Today my legs hurt really bad. And teaching physical education doesn't make it much better! My half marathon is a little more than a month away. I will find out if I make it into the St. George Marathon on Friday. I hope I do! If not at least I've gotten myself into better shape. So I guess that's all. Hurray for finishing a hard run!

Canoeing Trip and Bon Fire in the Canyon

Originally we planned to go down to Southern Utah at the end of the semester with our dinner club friends. Unfortunately the weather did NOT cooperate, so we made do with the great outdoors of Provo. The time was 3:00p.m., the day was Saturday. We met up with Katelyn, Trevor, Christain, and Stephanie and went canoeing down the Provo River and even made our way down to parts of Utah Lake. We had so much fun enjoying the sun and the calm river. Provo is beautiful during the Spring time, especially the water and trees down by the lake!

Our adventure started at C.L.A.S. Ropes Course down Center Street and ended up past Vivian Park with a bonfire and tin foil dinners.

Christian, Stephanie, and in the back, Katelyn and Trevor

Onward!

Catching some rays...

BATTLE OF THE SEXES

The canoe ride was interesting because Spencer and I paddled a three man canoe (so it was slower than everyone else). I ended up getting wet because Spencer wanted to swing on the rope swing. He turned into a wrecking ball and knocked me back to the bottom of the canoe where all the water was! It was a blast. We had fun running into each others' boats and racing down to the lake. If you haven't ever been canoeing it's a great deal. Only $12 for every two people.

Trevor and Katelyn. They should be models don't you think?

Our first exposure to the sun...

After the canoe ride we made our way up to the canyon for a bon fire. It was FREEZING at first but eventually with the raging fire we had it warmed up pretty quickly. We brought some wood but by the end of the night other people brought doors to burn. Yes, doors. They broke them into pieces and put them on the fire. We had the biggest fire at the park. Even people from other camps were coming over and asking to stand by our fire because it was so big.

KATELYN AND TREVOR ORGANIZED AND PLANNED A LOT OF THIS. THEY ARE SO AWESOME AND WE'LL MISS THEM IN COLORADO THIS SUMMER!

THESE GUYS ARE THE BEST. SO MUCH FUN TO BE WITH. STEPHANIE HAD FUN TIMES LAUGHING ABOUT OLD PROFESSORS WE HAD IN COLLEGE THAT HAD FUNNY TICKS.

HERE'S JES AND HIS DATE. SHE WAS SO MUCH FUN! A COUPLE OTHER PEOPLE JOINED US FROM FRESNO THAT NIGHT. THEY WERE THE ONES WHO BROUGHT THE DOORS TO BURN!

ME AND MY CUTE HUSBAND! WE LOVE SPENDING TIME TOGETHER IN NATURE. IT'S OUR FAVORITE THING TO DO TOGETHER. YOU CAN SEE THE KETTLE KORN POPCORN BELOW THAT GOT BURNED TO A CRISP!

THIS WAS THE BEGINNING STAGES OF THE RAGING FIRE.

We had a surprise visit from Jes Bradshaw and his cute friend. We played a game of bocce ball and enjoyed some s'mores. Spencer and I had the best time--especially since we brought steaks to eat :) We enjoyed using our new car and enjoying the outside beauty. Can't wait for our next chance to go out on the lake!

Camilyn Vach's Baby Shower a.k.a. Girl's NIGHT!

We had a great time a few weeks ago celebrating Cami's soon-to-be baby Caden. She isn't due until August, but since Chelsea was going to be gone for the summer we figured we should do it now. We called it a girls' night/ baby shower and invited Chelsea, Ashley, Mary, Stephanie, and Katelyn. It was SUPPOSED to be a surprise for Cami, but she ended up almost not showing up because she got sick and almost had to cancel! I told her it was a baby shower for her so she willingly decided to come! I was so happy because we really ended up having a great time.

Mary, Julie, Ashley, Cami, Chelsea

It was a perfect night for a shower because our husbands were all busy studying for finals! I have planned a lot of bridal showers but this was my first baby shower. All the girls chipped in and brought food while I provided the location, movie, and baby shower games. It is so weird to think that we are all married and some of us are already having babies! I wonder who will be next?

Me, Chelsea, Stephanie, Katelyn

Games:

#1. Baby pictionary. Before the shower Spencer wrote words or phrases that had to do with babies or pregnancy. We divided into teams. Each team had to choose one member to pick a card and draw whatever was on their card. The first team to guess won that round. We played for about 10 rounds and the winner got a prize. Kinda funny!

#2. Guess the mommy's tummy size. We used string and each girl had to cut a piece of string and guess how big around the mom's tummy size is. We actually changed this game a little bit to make it more fun ;)


#3. Blindfold/guess the prize. I bought a bunch of baby cleaning items from the store. I brought them all on a plate out to Cami and while she was blindfolded I handed her one item at a time. She had to guess what each item was. She did a great job!

#4. Presents, food, and girl talk!

Me and Cami



Old roommies: Mary, me, and Chelsea.


She made me do it. But that's why I like Mary.

After the shower Mary and Chelsea stayed behind and we attempted to watch Father of the Bride II. I LOVE that movie! Steve Martin is hilarious and I'm usually caught cackling when I see his movies. Yes, I do cackle. We didn't watch too much of it though because we got to talking and catching up on our lives. I love these girls so much! I can't wait for another girls' night. Let's make it very soon!