Homeward Bound

It seems like it has been forever since I have lived at home for more than two weeks. But tomorrow I will be heading home for one month before I start my student teaching. I am excited about moving home for awhile, but mostly the chance to spend time with my family. I don't get to see my family too much during the year, so it will be nice although I have to work. My family is pretty spread out over the entire country. for the last several years we have had someone in every time zone, but that will change in a few weeks with my sister moving to Utah. It will be odd to have family living only about an hour away from me, but I think I could get used to it. I have enjoyed my time in school, but I think it is time for a new part of my life to begin. Although saying goodbye to my best friends will be hard, since they are still up in Rexburg. I have spent the last few days in Utah, in the area I will be living in for my student teaching. Although I don't really know the area too well, every little bit helps. Yes every little bit helps, but I have honestly been laying around all day watching T.V. not being too productive. But I guess I deserve a few days off between school and going home to work. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't worried about growing up, but I don't really have a choice. I have been saying to everyone that I am a "baby" that I wasn't an adult. I think my parents might actually get their wish and have me start saying I'm an adult, now that I'm done with school.

I'm Free....Free Fallin'

The moment that I'm done with my last final each semester the song "Free Fallin' " goes through my head, and that moment was at about 11:00 this morning. I almost wanted to run out of class and run all the way home, but then I realized there wasn't anyone home for me to tell. So I settled on calling my sister and dad to tell them that I was finally done. Amazingly I am done a week before finals week starts. Well I was only taking one class so I only had one final. That is both good and bad for me. I was already leaving the week after finals, so I now have 14 days before I leave to go home to South Carolina. On the other hand it helps with packing and white glove. Now I don't have to hurry and clean for hours on end, I can slowly clean and slowly pack. White glove is on Saturday and I am NOT looking forward to cleaning the bathroom. I would rather do the bathroom than the kitchen any day though. I believe it is time to party, I need to celebrate being done with college, well besides that whole student teaching thing. Maybe I can get some friends to go out with me tonight. I think I'm starting to get worried about student teaching because I have now had two or three dreams about it and they have been kind of scary dreams. I hope student teaching is nothing like my dreams. If they are, I'm not sure teaching will be for me. Right now I'm just trying to relax and enjoy my life.

Toy Cars

Well Happy Factory is almost over, only one more week. Honestly I am happy and sad that it is over, but there is nothing I can do about it either way. Here is a picture sanding one of the toy cars. We made about 215 cars in about three days in the wood shop, we fell short of our goal of 250, but it was enough. It is a great experience working with tools like that, but I prefer not to.

That sander might look fun, but it is going extremely fast and if you get to close, you fingers will get sanded down in a hurry. Sanding was just part of about a six step process of taking a block of wood and turning into a car that is ready to be painted. It was a lot of work and it is really hot in the wood shop with all those machines going.

4th of July

Today being the 4th of July, I, like most Americans think about the Independence of this country. It is easy to get caught up thinking about the Revolutionary War or men like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. While I love and appreciate what these men and everyone since that has fought for our freedom has done for this country. I spend a great deal of time on the 4th of July thinking of another great American, my grandpa, Archie O. Elkins. My grandpa was born July 4, 1911 and sadly died when I was quite young. I have very fond memories of the times that I spent with him. I would sit on his lap, watch sports with him, and laugh every time he called me "Wrinkly Nose." He said that whenever I smiled my nose would wrinkle up, and that is where the nickname came from. As long as I had known my grandpa he hadn't had great health. But I would love to hear stories about how he would check himself out of the hospital, thinking that he was fine or the doctors couldn't help him anymore. I always wanted to know more about when he worked in the coal mines of Kentucky, but he never really told me much, and I still don't know much about it. I am sad that I didn't get to know him more, but I am very proud to be an Elkins because of the type of man he was and the type of man he taught my father to be. He has taught my family to work hard, but enjoy life, don't take anything for granted. I hope that he is proud of the person that I have become, and I hope that my nose still wrinkles up when I smile. So every 4th of July I think of this great American that had a great impact on my life, that I only knew of a few short years. I love you Grandpa!