Our Trip to Zions

For Memorial Day this year, Jon, Jessica, and I went to Zions National Park.

It was sooo awesome!!!

But it wasn't at first, when we woke-up at 2 am to leave to get there.

That's right. Knowing that it would be a very busy day at the park, we wanted to get there in time to leave on the 6 am shuttle so that we could beat some of the rush. Jon drove the whole way there while Jessica and I slept in the car (thanks, Hon!) When we got there we shuffled onto the shuttle and made our way to our first hike: The Narrows.

We were so excited! Especially Jessica:

'Kinda look like she's photo bombing, right? But she wasn't. Her face just comes that way sometimes.

Getting to The Narrows super early was a fantastic idea. We were there as the sun was coming up and the angle of the light on the rock brought out all the deep, rich colors in the rock. It was GORGEOUS!!!

We tried to take pictures:

They didn't do it justice.

Another awesome part about getting there super early was that it was fairly empty. We were able to go at our slow pace and be goofy and have fun without prying eyes or impatient people.

See, look! Here Jessica and I are getting into the water without anyone else around!

And here we are being silly and having fun!

I will admit, it was pretty cold and the numbness in my feet didn't go away until we'd been out of the water for an hour...

...but it was worth it!

After The Narrows, we hiked to Emerald Pool and ate lunch on the edge. At this point, the whole waking-up at 2 am thing was really hitting us and we were getting pretty tired.

But we were still awake enough to take pictures of Jon sitting in his model pose:

He begged me to post this picture. You're welcome, Jon! 

We were super tired for a long time. But then, we woke-up!

And decided to do one last hike to Hidden Canyon!

Hidden Canyon went up super high and had some of those scary parts you see in pictures online where you have to hold onto the chains in the mountain side. We only held onto chains for one little part, and then went back down (I'm not a fan of heights).

The view it gave us was spectacular, though!

Right before we turned around to head back down, we found this really awesome staircase built into the side of the mountain:

And so I took a picture on it:

And then Jon and I took engagement pictures part two on it:

And then Jessica asserted her singleness and took a picture by herself on it with Jon in the background:

And then we hiked back down and went home.

On the ride home we had one of the most memorable moments of the trip. In anticipation for this day, Jon had spent several hours compliling music about Zion. "Israel, Isreal God Is Calling," "Faith In Every Footstep," "As Zion's Youth In Latter-Days"...pretty much, it was an hour of solid Mormon Tabernacle Choir music. We're playing this music in the car on the way home, singing along and feeling the Spirit. Then, the very last track on the CD starts playing and it wasn't a Mo-Tab song. With beautiful violins, I thought that maybe Jon had found a pretty instramental version of a Zion church song. And then suddenly, the violins cut out--being replaced by a heavy beat--and the song transforms into a Mexican pop song.

"What the heck is this?!!!" Jessica and I both ask.

Jon's eyes are sparkling and he looks like it's Christmas. "It's a Mexican song sung by a guy named Zion!"

"WHAT??!!!"

But Jon was lost by that point, dancing to the hip-hop rhythm of the song, which ocassionally sung out something like: "Yea, Zion! Sing it, Zion!"

I would find a youtube version of it and post it here so that you could appreciate the absurtity of the situation, but upon finishing the song Jon turned to us and informed us that we should probably never listen to the song again because there were some pretty bad Spanish words. Regardless, it caused for a pretty good laugh!

And that's our trip to Zions!

An Awesome Way to End the School Year

I ended my school year by giving my students a really easy final: They had to write a "This I Believe" essay, which focused on something that they believe (who'd thunk?) It was an awesome way to end the year because it helped me see my students in a good light and end the school year with a good taste in my mouth.

Yesterday, I had a few of the students volunteer to read their essay out loud to the class. They were all so good and I was touched by them all, but one stood out.

The student who wrote this essay has a heart of gold, but he also has a hard time staying on task. He's one to be constantly talking with neighbors or trying to go be with his friends. Because I knew there was no malicious intent behind his actions, I never got mad at him, but there were probably some days when it was harder to be patient with him than others. Regardless, I pretty much figured that he just saw me as his English teacher and that I was just another hoop to pass through to get to the next year of school.

And then yesterday his friend read his essay to the class (he didn't want to read it himself), and I started crying in front of the whole class! The good kind of crying! The thing this student said he believed in was making people laugh. He talked about how he doesn't like English, but how "Mrs. Self makes it awesome because she teases us and it is great because it is funny and makes english 100 times better." He then went on to share a story about a time when we had joked around in class and about how that story showed why it's important to be funny.

Fast forward to today, and this kid brought me a little gift with a card to say thank you for the year. Then, when I announced that I wanted students to sign my yearbook, he was the first in line and took-up half a page to write about how I was his favorite teacher and about how much he appreciated me talking to him when he was having a bad day at times and things like that.

I was wrong. I hadn't been just another hoop for this kid to pass through, I was his favorite teacher!

Middle Schoolers: just when you think you've got them figured out, they surprise you. Man--it was an awesome way to end the school year.

Home Teaching with Jon

Yesterday Jon asked me to go home teaching with him.

(Sidenote For Those Who Don't Speak LDS Lingo: home teaching is a program the church has where the men in the church get split into pairs and then assigned several families to visit each month. It's our way of looking after each other and making sure that everyone's taken care of!)

I said: Sure, I'll come home teaching with you Jon!

And so we went. The visit itself was fantastic! The five minutes before was awesome too, but in a very different way. I think it's a good example of what being married to Jon is like. This is how it went:

We park in front of the family's house. Jon goes to get out of the car.

Me: Wait! Shouldn't we say a prayer first?

Jon: Eh, I guess.

Me: You're supposed to! (Okay--so I admit: no official church handbook says you're "supposed" to say a prayer before home teaching, but I've heard from lots of people that it's a good idea!)

Jon: Not necessarily...

Me: I'll say it.

We fold our arms, bow our heads, and close our eyes.

Me: Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive Jon for being so grouchy about wanting to say prayers before going home teaching, and please bless me for being so awesome and righteous for wanting to.

Jon: HEY!

Me, laughing: Please be with us as we home teach and let us have an enjoyable visit. We say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

We get out of the car, Jon making some remarks about the inspired words in my prayer, and then we start heading towards the house.

Jon: Oh...

Me: What?

Jon: I parked on the wrong side of the block. The house is over there...

Commentary: What Jon means here is that he actually parked on the wrong block all together. Did I mention that it's raining?

Me: Are you serious?!

Jon, laughing: This is what you get for your prayer!

Me, (Ignoring the previous comment): Come on! Let's run! I'm cold!

We start running. We get to the next block over. After going to the wrong house, going around to the one next to it (which was also the wrong one), walking accross that person's lawn, realizing that we're on the evens side of the street and not the odds, and running accross the street, we made it to the right place.

Seriously, guys--we could have walked to their place from our house and it would have taken less time. But the visit was great, and Jon is too, and I'd be willing to run around looking for his home teachees' place in the rain with him any day. Good thing that it's too warm to snow in May and that it doesn't snow much in Washington.

The Payson Temple Open House

On Saturday Jon, Jessica and I went to the Payson Temple Open house. Because temples are such sacred buildings, normally only members of the church who have been interviewed by an ecclesiastical leader can go in them. However, when a new temple is built, before it is dedicated, they allow the public to come in and see it.

Since it was the last day of the open house and a Saturday afternoon and Memorial Day weekend, the
place was packed. I think we spend about an hour waiting in line to get into the building.

See--look at Jessica waiting to get in!

It was well worth the wait, though! The place was like a palace! Something Jon and I whispered about as we walked through the halls was how no other buildings these days are built quite like temples are. Things in today's world are built to be so functional. Temples, however, are built to be beautiful. I love how the Payson Temple in particular had tons of apple-esc furniture and stained-glass windows because of the apple orchards in the area.

Visiting the temple open house was a great reminder of things that I need to be keeping in better perspective--Christ, family, heaven, eternity.

SHE'S HERE!!!

Friday was the day I've been waiting for for a long time.

IT WAS THE DAY JESSICA MOVED TO UTAH!!!!

See--look! This is me picking her up from the airport!

I've been so super excited to have her come live in the same town as me so that we can play and so that when I have free time and I don't feel like being productive and Jon is gone and I have nothing to do I can hunt her down and be annoying to her and it won't even matter! Also, it's soooo nice to have a female family member back in my life in person. Jon just doesn't get it when I say "How 'bout we just sit and talk?"

We celebrated the night by taking her to one of our favorite restaurants--El Gallo Giro. I ordered a burrito and they brought me a tortilla stuffed to the size of a baby.

Trust me--this picture doesn't do it justice.

Of course by the time they brought it out, I was already so full of horchata that I barely had room to fit any of it inside my belly.

I ate most of it.

When we got home, we initiated Jessica into the house by playing several rounds of Monopoly Deal. I won the first three games and Jon won the last, though Jon will tell you I really only won two out of three because the first round was just a practice round and he wasn't really trying his hardest. Apparently, Mr. Pride couldn't face the truth.

It's going to be an awesome summer!

Teaching's Coming to an End!

 My classroom doesn't look like this anymore.

I have one four-day week left of teaching at Salem Junior High, and it's getting kinda' sad.

I started to feel sad last Wednesday when my classroom went from looking like it does in these pictures to looking like an empty hospital room. As kids have filed in and seen the room, they make remarks like: "It looks so empty in here!" and "If you leave there'll be no cool teachers for me to come say hi to next year" and "Why do you have to move to Washington?"

Normally I don't take much joy in other peoples' sorrows, but this is one time that I am grateful that there is a little bit of sadness. It's good to know that, amid all the confusion and learning (on my part and theirs) and mess-ups and trying agains, that the kids still liked me and thought I did a decent job.

Now, it's on to finding a teaching job in Washington!

(PS- The kids made me promise to curl my hair for the last day of school!)

She Remembered My Name

Saturday I was walking in the produce isle in WinCo when an old lady who had just walked past me whipped around and exclaimed: "Lindsey Rogers!"

It took me a moment to place her face, but after a couple of seconds I realized who this lady was...one of the women who had served in the stake Relief Society presidency when I had been a Relief Society president in my single's ward over two years ago! We talked and said hi for a couple of minutes and then went our different ways to continue shopping, but for the whole rest of my shopping experience I couldn't stop myself from beaming and feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside. Two whole entire years later, and this dear older lady still remembered my name! And it's not like we even saw each other a whole lot when I was serving.

I learned a lot from this lady yesterday about how to really magnify a calling. It's not about to-do lists or activities or percents or meetings or lessons; it's about really loving those I serve and making sure that they know it. Even after my time to serve in a position is over, my responsibility to love those I served never will be.

It would have been so easy for this lady to have seen me and gone on her merry way without saying hi to me. After all, it has been two years since we've seen each other. But instead of putting her head down and avoiding eye-contact while shuffling past me (like I feel most people do) she reached out and said hello. In that moment I felt God's love for me personally.

Grace

Tonight I've been reading Stephen E. Robinson's "Believing Christ." This is a timeless book about grace and our relationship with Christ. In the part where I'm at, Bro. Robinson is talking about 2 Nephi 25:23:

"...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

He argues that members of the church frequently interpret this scripture incorrectly, that "the correct sense of 2 Nephi 25:23 would be that we are ultimately saved by grace apart from whatever we manage to do. Grace is not merely a decorative touch or a finishing bit of trim to top off our own efforts--it is God's participation in the process of our salvation from its beginning to its end." 

After considering his thoughts, I have thought of yet another way to look at this scripture. In the part that goes "after all we can do," I have usually considered the "we" to be me--an everyday person. After all, this makes the use of "we" parallel with how it is used earlier in the sentence. However, after thinking about it, I realized that if I break all grammar rules and look at it differently, the "we" could be considered Christ and I. 

Looking at the scripture this way changes everything. Taken this way, this scripture never suggests there is a moment when I'm the only one doing the doing. Rather, it suggests that Christ is always there, a part of the "we" team, and that when I can't keep the team going anymore, His grace steps in and fills the void I leave. 

How awesome is that?! One of the biggest misconceptions about grace just dispelled by using the scripture that is probably the reason why so many people have said misconception! Man, I knew there was a reason why I performed so poorly in my grammar class!

If you want even more insights on what Nephi meant when he wrote this verse, President Uchtdorf put it pretty fantastically in this past General Conference, which you can find here. Or, you could read one of my all-time favorite talks ever, which happens to be about grace, here.

What a beautiful, happy reminder that we do not walk through this life alone! I'm so grateful for a Savior who keeps on pulling when I fall off the "we" bandwagon. I know I couldn't do it without Him--before and after that point.