there is light...

...at the end of the tunnel!

4 hours to go.

a couple more pages to write.

amid a feeling of panic,

there is also a sense of relief!

thanks for all your support,

fam and friends!

going crazy...

... a little at a time.

this weekend commemorates my

last assignment as a "to-be Master!"

and though that's really exciting and all,

i'm not sure i'm going to come out of it sane.

...but bring it on.

Lindsey J. Cracroft, M.Ed

...wish me luck on the last

20 pages of my 40 page paper!

lovin' the gospel...

there is nothing i love more than

October General Conference.

(okay, maybe chocolate covered cinnamon bears... maybe)

this weekend,

Smash and her family

let me tag along to the Sunday Afternoon Session.

it was a BEAUTIFUL day

and hotter than the dickens.

but the words spoken and the spirit felt

were worth every minute of standing in the heat.

what could be better?

smash and cool j

the following are our "i'm melting" faces...

cute papa and mama thomps

and their children.

smash, you look like a rockstar.

love you, girlfriend!

i think fall is here to stay.

another day as a midget wrangler...

(okay, i know this photo is a little blurry, but it's hilarious...)

last Thursday, i took my 23 surrogates

out to recess a few minutes early

because they were being SO obnoxious

and i could not shut them up.

(oh, side note: i was also on recess duty that day.)

well, after recess, my little abby

(remember abby here)

says to me:

"Miss Cracroft, I made this drawing for you

while we were at recess.

it's YOU!"

i look at the drawing and this conversation follows:

me: "oh abby, i LOVE it. look at the slides! oh and the swings!

oh, and look at my face. what a lovely beard i have!"

abby (with a sudden drop of enthusiasm): "that's not a beard."

me: "oh. of course it's not... umm, what is it?"

abby: "it's your smile!"

my smile really isn't that big, people.

but i think, for just that one moment that day,

it really was...

love my job!!

just a sample...

...of the 1st grade "haps" this month!

September is Apple Month in Room 5...

while learning about neighborhoods,

my kidlets built themselves their own house...

and moved it into our Room 5 Neighborhood.

(they were SO cute!)

we tasted apples and chose our favorite flavor...

(move over Granny Smith... yellow apples are the new hit!)

and round 1 of our "class store"

was a HUGE hit.

next up: the month of pumpkins!

fallen for fall...

i know i've said that July is my favorite month of the year,

but for sure my most favorite season is FALL!

september.... oohhhhhh september!

there is nothing more beautiful than the colors of fall.

sunday, jonny and i took a little trip up Guardsman Pass

to document the beauty of Utah mountains in the fall.

we had a good time hanging out in the Beems.

i brought home a souvenir

and it's made our home feel so warm and cozy.

happy fall, ya'll!

you know you've got one foot in the grave when...

so teaching 1st grade is really teaching me

to find the joy and humor in the simple things in life.

yesterday, i was reading a story about school "then and now,"

explaining to my kiddos that going to school is a lot different

now then it was years and years ago.

the following conversation took place:

miss c: "So, today we are going to be reading a story

that will help us compare the

differences between school today

and school a long, long time ago."

abby: "Oh yeah! Like in the 1980's?"

miss c: "Yeaaaaah, Abby. Exactly. Like the in the 1980's..."

way to go, 80's babies.

we've officially graduated to "ancient" status.