favorite places

It must be that spring is in the air because I am suddenly dreaming of nice weather and relaxation and my favorite places. I wanted to share just 3 of my all-time favorite places that I never tire of visiting.

1. the beach

I don't really care which beach it is, but the one I've visited the most often is Seaside, Oregon. As you can tell from the picture, it is never the warmest place on earth but we never seem to care. We're just happy to be there. To be honest, I have never really had the luxury of being near warm beaches that don't make you get goose bumps everywhere when you touch the water or even just walk outside, but I'm ok with that. Of course, I am looking forward to going to Hawaii someday or even a nice Southern California beach. I love walking barefoot through the sand, searching for sand dollars, writing notes in the sand, jumping the waves, and getting that salty air in your lungs and flipping through your hair in the wind. The beach, and any water for that matter is my happy place.

2. new york city

I've only been here twice, but I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. I love all the monuments, the museums, the shows, Times Square, Central Park, Yankee stadium, riding the subway, eating good food, and seeing the most random people and things. I am dying to be there someday for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and at Christmastime, hopefully for our anniversary one year. This place is magical and so full of energy and light.

3. disneyland

This place is pure magic. It just never gets old! I could ride every single ride a million times, watch the fireworks, go to the other shows, eat the food, walk around all day, and see those characters an excessive amount of times and never get bored or tired of it all! I've only been at Halloween and Christmas which are really busy times and I still didn't care! I am a full-on disney lover.

All three of these places hold such special memories and are places that I love being with the people that matter the most to me, my family. They are the best travel and adventure buddies.

What are some of your favorite places? I'd love to know in the comments!

An Irish Dinner

I got to host St. Patrick's Day dinner this year and I was so excited about it! I had never cooked corned beef before, but I grew up loving it and was ready to give it a shot! Everything turned out perfectly and everyone remembered to wear to green so there was no pinching involved.

I failed to get a picture of the corned beef though and it was plated beautifully by Bryan!

If you ever want to host your own St. Patrick's Day dinner, here's the essentials.

• shamrock napkins - we used this tutorial and I think they turned out pretty well! It wasn't as easy as you might think though!
• corned beef (with cabbage if you prefer) - usually the instructions on on the package. You can also add other glazes or sauces to it if you would like!
• potatoes
• an all green salad!
• green fruits - the only ones we could think of were apples, kiwi, and grapes
• shamrock shakes for dessert - I would definitely add more ice cream than it calls for to make it thicker!
• I was so tempted to have little treats or even a little scavenger hunt, but didn't get it put together

It was so fun!

I also whipped out my Claddaugh ring. My mom bought it for me when I was in high school and it is a cherished present! Claddaugh rings are Irish wedding rings. The hands represent friendship, the heart; love, and the crown; loyalty. Depending on how you wear it (which way its facing and which hand its on) mean different things. I love it!

You also need some good St. Patrick's Day children's books. Here are some of my favorites:

That's What Leprechauns Do

Tim O'Toole and the Week Folk

The Luckiest Leprechaun

pi day

I feel like I'm at that point in my life when I can finally start planning ahead for things and make it a point to celebrate holidays without letting them slip by or being completely overwhelmed. Although I'm busy (who isn't?) it's a manageable type of busy.

This year, I was so stoked to have a pi(e) day party! In case you're unaware, pi is the circumference of any circle divided by its diameter. It is a constant in math but it doesn't have a definitive value because the digits go on forever. But the first three digits are 3.14 so naturally on March 14th we have to celebrate with its homonym, PIE.

I really wanted to host a party where everybody brings a different type of pie, you vote on your favorites, and of course give a prize to whoever can recite the most digits of pi. Sadly, I had parent teacher conferences on this day so as soon as I got done, I rushed to Provo to meet the rest of the Robins clan at Village Inn to eat some pie!

I didn't have time to practice, but Bryan and I almost tied on our memorized digits of pi. I think it's a fun tradition to start! Hopefully next year we can have a full on party!!

book review: emma

Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters. Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like." In the very first sentence she introduces the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." Emma, however, is also rather spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives; and her imagination and perceptions often lead her astray.

Classics are such a doozy to get through, but it is always so rewarding once you've finished! Emma was one of those books that took me an entire MONTH to get through. Not because I wasn't reading it, or because I didn't enjoy it, but just because if I read for 20 minutes I would get through a maximum of 5 pages. I promise I'm a faster reader than that! It was one of those books that because of the language, it took a good page or so to really get immersed back into it, remember what was going on, and also start to understand the language again.

I was told before I read the book that a lot of the things that happened involving dating definitely still applied to today and I totally agree! Those college dating days were filled with fun, awkwardness, over-zealousness, and heartbreak and it turns out that this regency period was filled with pretty much the exact same things. Humans are human, I suppose.

I enjoyed the book, but I wouldn't list it as one of my favorites. I definitely wouldn't read it again (I hardly ever do read books again). I didn't feel like anything really exciting happened until the last 50 pages!! There was a major plot twist (I'm also horrible at predicting things ha!) and then I was hooked for the last little bit. But the rest was just your typical travel to the neighbors and gossip sesh for literally the entire book.

I did and always do enjoy our book club discussions though. We really analyzed the character of Emma. Apparently Jane Austen wrote her as a character that was not supposed to be loved. She is a little bit self-centered, speaks her mind when she shouldn't, and even though she may have had good intentions, she got herself in a lot of trouble because of things she said or did. Some of the other characters are not easy to love either! Their lives were simple, yet also superficial.

As per usual, Jane Austen is amazing at creating a swoon-worthy male lead that makes you believe in true love and in perfect matches. Mr. Knightley is no exception to that. He might have been my favorite character in the book as well.

I've also heard that watching a rendition of the movie is super helpful in keeping the characters straight and understanding the story line.

How Harry Potter Changed My Life

As with most people who were born in the 90's, the release of Harry Potter completely changed my life! Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published in the U.S. in 1998 when I was 6 years old. I don't remember when I first started reading it, but it had to be not long after it first came out. I specifically remember each one after that being published and often counting down the days! Life is really hard when you have to wait a year or so for the next book in a series. I also remember getting a little antsy when I would get to the end of each book. Loving every minute obviously, but also not being very patient to finish the often very long books!

I also have very fond memories of going to Borders books for the midnight release of each of the books. I was never one to dress up in my best witch attire, but it was always fun to see what costumes other people came up with and enjoy the activities that were abundant throughout the store.

The waiting and the midnight premieres continued as the movies started being made in 2001. It is always so interesting to me to compare what I thought the characters looked like, the setting, and how I imagined different scenes playing out in my head to how they are in the movies. We can all laugh about this now, but my elementary school self definitely envisioned Dumbledore's "half-moon spectacles" to be vertical, NOT horizontal. Horizontal obviously makes more sense ha!

Although I feel like they did a great job with each of the movies, they never quite lived up to the books. I mean, how could you include ALL of the details that J.K. Rowling so intricately weaves into her books.

My first read through the books, I loved Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was my favorite out of the seven. I would say my favorite movie might have been the first one.

After 12 years, I finally decided it was time for a re-read of the entire series. I started in May of last year listening to the audio books which are incredibly read by Jim Dale. Unfortunately, school ends in May so I was in my car a significantly less amount of time. This meant that it took me until January of this year, so 8 months to complete the series.

I have a horrible memory when it comes to the details of books that I've read. I remembered the overall idea of the story line, but there were definitely some surprises throughout! This time, I think #4 was my favorite! And #1 is probably still my favorite movie! There is something so magical about it! Sadly, I didn't feel extremely that way about the books this time. It's just not the same as reading them the first time when the story is new and you don't know what to expect! But I did still love the refresher!

Have you ever wondered what makes a book so good that it completely captivates the entire world? What is it about Harry Potter and his life that not only allows us to identify with him, but also leaves us wanting more? How can you not fall in love with Hagrid and his genuine love for all creatures? Do you not wish that you had Ron and Hermione for friends? Did you ever not know how to pronounce Hermione's name? haha! Or Dumbledore and his wisdom? How can you  not totally loathe Snape and his detest for Harry?  How can you not sympathize with Harry over his sad background of parents he never knew and being treated so horribly by the only family he has left?

Ahhh, I could go on and on! Coming to know the wizarding world was a complete adventure that I never wanted to end! Thankfully we have the new Fantastic Beasts movies to keep us connected to all things magic.

As much as I could go into deep themes and analyzing characters, I think I'll end by saying that I am grateful to J.K. Rowling for her contribution to literacy and inspiring readers young and old! Thank you for persevering when it wasn't easy, when the story wasn't coming as naturally, and when people told you you couldn't make any money writing children's literature. Thank you for following through with "just an idea" that became a sensation this world has never known before.

For now, I'll just keep hoping that Hogwarts letter comes in the mail :)

Dr. Suess

I decided to go all out for Dr. Seuss week this year and it was a blast! It took a little bit of extra prep work, but I think the students really enjoyed having activities each day to remind them about this special week and reread some of their favorite Dr. Seuss books.

My school does a family literacy night on the Monday of Dr. Seuss week filled with activities for students and their families to do. It is always a hit! We also have dress-up days for the whole week which of course, the kids love!

Also, each teacher picks a Dr. Seuss book and has their class do some sort of art or writing to go along with the book to put in the hallway. It makes the school look so festive!

Here's some of the activities that we did throughout the week!

One fish, Two Fish Jello Science Experiment

Redesign The Cat in the Hat's Hat

If Thing One and Thing Two Came to School

Horton Hears a Who Art

Oh, the Place You'll Go Balloons

Moral of the Story

We also did Dr. Seuss Trivia, a timeline of his life, and finished our week with a read-a-thon complete with our PJ's and popsicles. It was a great week!