They said I'd never do it...Yes Dayna lives in Utah!

Well I now know why so many teachers are always a little on the edge. I have started trying to set up my classroom and get everything together for the first week of school. There is so much to do!! I'm trying not to get too stressed, but it's hard. SO much to do in so little time. I just spent over 3hrs cutting out laminated decorations for my classroom and I didn't even finish! But, as always, I'm sure things will work out and I'll get everything done. It is kind of fun setting up your very own class. I'm doing lots of really cool stuff for the kids. We should have a fun year.

Life in Utah is still interesting. There is just a different breed of people here. It's not bad...just different. It will take me a while to get used to things here. I sure do miss the Minnesota Nice though. I thought all of the happy Mormons here would be extremely friendly...but they're not. Oh well..I guess I'll just have to make sure to come back and visit Minnesota often. One really cool thing is that there are so many different places to eat around here. I bet I could eat at a different one everyday for a year, and never have to eat at the same one twice. It's crazy! I'm excited to try all this new food.

Since I've been here I have become re-aquainted with family friends of ours. It's a hilarious Brazilian family. My dad served his mission in Brazil and he happened to meet another missionary in his mission who was actually from Brazil. His name was Henrique. Well, Henrique and my dad became good friends, and Henrique and his entire family now live here in Utah. They have sort of adopted me now. They harasss me and force me to come over and eat very large meals (they're super good meals!!). They are taking really good care of me and I am very fortunate to have them around. They have 4 kids and they are a lot of fun to hang out with too. I have had so many good laughs with them!!

Here are some pictures of Utah:

The Mormons are watching you!! (This is huge blow-up missionary on top of the Missionary Mall in the town I live in). It's hilarious.

This is the front of my school.

Here's the entryway of the school. It's beautiful. If you look out the wondows you can see the mountains.

Here's a picture of Clarence running around in the weeds in our backyard. We have a pretty good view of the mountains.

Here's a picture looking out over my front yard.

Posted by Dayna Groom at 1:21 AM | Permalink

Well, I finished the triathlon. I was definately in the bottom half of the racers, but I did pretty good. I didn't have to stop or walk once. I actually had a lot of fun..I was surprised. I honestly think it is something that I would like to get into and train for. I did this one with only two weeks of training under my belt and it was great! I wasn't even that sore....just my legs a little the next day. I've included some pictures from the race day (I know my bike shorts are really sexy...haha!)

Also, I finally have a place to live!! It only took months to find one, but all that matters is I have one. I'll be living at 89 E. 1000 S. Orem, Utah. It's kind of a dump, but Rachel and I can fix it up. It will just have to do. it does have a nice fenced in backyard for Clarence though, so that's good. Now that I have a place to live I can relax a bit, but it's still chaotic around the house. I still have a lot to pack and only a few days to do it. Oh well. I never do anything ahead of time anyways..why start now? This week is going to be exciting though. I am going to a good friend's wedding on Saturday and then Saturday night I am going to an amazing concert with my mom. We're going to see Xavier Rudd in Minneapolis. He's an incredible singer from Australia. He's a one man band- even plays the digereedoo!! Anyways, I saw him when I was in Australia and the show was awesome! I'm really excited! I'll have to take a bunch of pictures. Finally, I'm having a going away party on Sunday. I'm also excited for that, but I bit sad. That's the last time I will get to see a lot of friends for a while. I'm especially sad to leave one of my best friends- Jill. I've included a sweet picture of Jill wearing some really cool pink leather biker clothes..haha.

This is the group of church people who I did the race with.

Here's me coming into the transition area after the bike ride.

Here's me finally crossing the finish line.

Here's Jill..doesn't she look fine?

Posted by Dayna Groom at 1:05 PM | Permalink

Nothin much new here. We are just palnning the move dates. We are planning on heading out to Utah early the morning of August 1. It should take us two days to get to Utah. Ask me how we plan on doing it with Clarence in the car....PRAY! It is going to be madness with that dog in the car. That's all I know. I am looking forward to the drive though. It should be pretty. I'm just now starting to pack. That is no fun, and I can guarantee you that I will not have all my stuff packed in time and my dad will yell at me. Oh, well.

I'm getting ready to do a mock triathlon tonight at 6pm. I have signed up to compete in a triathlon in Chaska on the morning of July 22. We'll see if I live to tell the story. I'm excited to compete though. It has been pretty fun training so far. Check back in after the 22 to see if I needed to have rescue breathing done on me or not.

Also, I have recently decided to sponsor a Tibetan nun. Her name is Yonten Choekyi 'B'. She so beautiful and you can tell by her picture that she has a beautiful sprit. She has just very recently escaped over teh mountains from her native country of Tibet and now lives in exile in a nunnery in India. For those of you who don't know..I am fairly active in supporting efforts to Free Tibet. No....I'm not a hippi. Yes...I do care about the rights of otehr human beings. Tibetans are a very peaceful and beautiful peolel who have had their own country taken away from them by the Chineese in 1950 for absolutley no reason. Over the years approximatley 1.2 million innocent Tibetans have be killed by the Chinese for absolutely no reason. The siuation in Tibet is very similar to what we did to the Native Americans many years ago but WAY worse. The Chineese are still to this day commiting very horrible crimes against Tibetans, and are brutally imprisioning and torturing innocent people. At this very moment it is still illegal for the Tibetan flag to be flown in Tibet. It is also illegal to have a picture of the Dali-lama in Tibet. Anyways, what has happened to Tibet is horrible. I will nevr be able to understand how or why someone would choose to do these to these peaceful and innocent people. It is my hope that someday with the efforts of these strong native Tibetans, along with the efforts of those who know and care about the situation, peace will be brought to Tibet and Tibetans will again be free in their own land. If any one who reads this has any questions about Tibet, or how you can become involved, please let me know.

Here is a picture of the nun I've adopted:

Posted by Dayna Groom at 3:44 PM | Permalink

I don't know if it's just me, but it can't be. I am pretty sure I have stumbled across the funnies thing ever invented. Be careful though...it could consume hours of your time, but it's worth it.

Go to this site and let the fun begin:

http://www.careerbuilder.com/monk-e-mail/Default.aspx?siteid=sep_gps_kw_monkey_email&sc_extcmp=gps_kw_
monkey+email&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=b09bc45c42264ef981d69aef18d5c3a6-205976480-X8-2

Posted by Dayna Groom at 10:39 PM | Permalink

I know. I know. I said I would NEVER move to Utah. Well, what can I say? I have accepted a first grade teaching position at Eagle Valley Elementary. The school is located about a half hour outside of Provo in a town called Eagle Mountain. It is a beautiful town that is situated in sort-of a valley inbetween a bunch of mountains. It is a new city and is growing very fast. It's beautiful and I'm very excited. I'll be living in Provo with a friend from high school named Rachel. It should be lots of fun!!

Here is a link to information about Eagle Mountain:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Mountain,_Utah

Here are some pictures of the city of Eagle Mountain:

Posted by Dayna Groom at 5:30 PM | Permalink