Merry Happy. 2nd Edition: July 2014

An SLC Lunch Date.

4:12 PM

On Friday morning I took my cousin Jess to the Airport, and since I was in Salt Lake anyway, I just decided to hang out there for the day and wait for Stephen to get off work. I found a park not far from his office and did some serious 6th grade start-of-the-year planning. Well...at least I tried. During his lunch break we met up and went to a restaurant called My Thai. Since we are trying to be frugal (!!!) we decided to split one lunch-special plate and then top it off with the peanut butter and honey sandwiches I had packed in Stephen's lunch. :) (How that man eats three PB&H sandwiches EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for lunch never ceases to amaze.) Unfortunately the sandwiches paled in comparison to the delicious Massaman Curry and rice and noodles from the restaurant. Lesson learned: Next time start with the crusty sandwiches. ;)

After the lunch break he went back to work and I went back to the park. I made some headway in reading the book The First Days of School by Harry Wong, but unfortunately made very little headway in actually figuring out what I will do for them. [worried face emoji] It's almost crunch time!

On our way back from SLC we stopped at Nordstrom Rack -- which could be detrimental if you're trying to use money sparingly -- luckily all we ended up with was a sweater for less than $10! (Steal!!!) [Also, have I mentioned on this blog that Stephen loooooooves to shop?! I'm the luckiest girl in the world! ;)]

Oh how I love this man of mine!

Date Night

Wild Wild Wednesday.

9:25 PM

Last Wednesday Stephen and I went to the Fiesta Days Rodeo in Spanish Fork. Neither Stephen nor I had ever been to a rodeo before, so we were glad Bailee and Brady were there to explain what was going on! The evening included: Bucking Broncos, Barrel Racing, Cattle Roping, Equestrian Vaulting, Mutton Busting, American Flags, many pairs of cowboy boots, Brand-name dropping (advertising), Bull Riding, and great company. :)

^^This little guy was the "Mutton Bustin'" Champ! Mutton Busting was my favorite event in which little kids (like the adorable one above) hold on for dear life while a sheep runs full speed into the arena. It was both hiliarious and adorable.^^

Throughout the evening we joked about how it seemed like every contestant in the rodeo was a "World Champion!" (Seriously, I think the announcer probably said the phrase "World Champion" at least 30 times...which is especially impressive considering there were probably less than 100 contestants...)

The night finished off with the famous (and much anticipated) bull-riding event. Unfortunately, the bulls were abnormally angry/vicious/crazed, so only two riders were able to stay on for the required 8 seconds! ...either that, or the contestants weren't quiiiite of the world-class caliber we were led to believe. ;)

It was a very memorable and enjoyable night :)
Thanks for inviting us Bailee & Brady!

Everyday Life

Last Day of Work + Too Many Hashtags

10:04 AM

Today is officially my last day of work in the Multi Media Lab. In just a few short weeks I will be responsible for twenty-something 6th graders and expected to fill their inquisitive minds with knowledge regarding a plethora of different topics.

HOW'S THAT FOR INTIMIDATING?!

My time will now be filled with putting the finishing touches on my classroom, attending New Teacher Orientation, District Development Days, an Olson Family Reunion, and a week soaking up the sun at Lake Powell. #mylifeishard ;)

Anyway - back to the MMLAB. I will seriously miss working here! I have learned so so so much during the past year and have LOVED every second of it. Having this job was such a HUGE blessing. I'm still so grateful to Stephen for pushing me to apply for it last summer when I was 100% sure I wasn't qualified. Let's be honest - I wasn't qualified, but the fact that I got the job anyway was proof that prayers are heard and answered. #imamormon

Although I won't be working in the Lab, I have no doubt that I'll spend my free time here during the next few years! (Not that I'm planning on having much free time during the next 8+ months...) I really want to keep up the skills I have been able to develop and work on improving them. Plus, the resources of the lab are just TOO GOOD to not utilize. AND, the employees are phenomenal. #ifisaysomyself

(These pictures were taken on our supervisor Shay's last day of work during Winter semester. Although it's not very up-to-date and not everyone is pictured - it's the only one I could find.)

Conflicting emotions aside, I'm very excited for the adventures that await!

family

Hannah [in] Montana.

11:17 AM

Last weekend Stephen and I were able to spend a few days at the family cabin on Montana!

My phone didn't get reception up there and I have to admit it was kind of refreshing not checking Instagram and Facebook every hour. (Though I will admit I snuck in a game or two of Two Dots and Jelly Splash...) Instead we filled our time by sitting at the lake ~~and getting sunburned~~, playing games, doing puzzles, eating delicious food, taking naps, reading Divergent, visiting with family, and not getting dressed until noon [or later]. Of course we also attended a play at the Playmill Theatre in West Yellowstone. I have loved going to plays there since I was a little kid, and this year's production of Beauty and the Beast did not disappoint!

After church on Sunday we went into Yellowstone National Park. It was beautiful! We joked about how people probably thought we were Mennonite, especially based off of dad's and Stephen's outfits. It gave us a few good laughs.

It was so fun to finally introduce Stephen to the cabin I have many childhood memories from! One of my favorite memories from the cabin was when I had a pioneer-themed birthday party there when I was little. HAHAHA. How many kids do you know who have pioneer-themed birthday parties complete with square-dancing, candle making, bonnets, and a covered wagon cake?! OH how I love my life. (And my mom for always planning such FAB b-day parties.)

hehehee. It might be impossible for me to look at this picture without giggling.

faith

Missin' Miss Lys

8:17 PM

Alyssa is one of my best friends of all time. We met when we were roommates in Jerusalem, but it wasn't until the following year that we really became BFFS. We lived next door to each other and had sleepovers multiple times a week. (Sometimes on purpose, sometimes because I got locked out of my apartment...unfortunately I didn't learn from this mistake the first time so this happened more than I'm willing to admit...)

Alyssa is one of the most selfless people I know. She is one of those friends that really makes me want to be a better person when I'm around her. For the last 16 months she has been selflessly serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in The Philippines, and reading her emails each week make me SO happy because I can tell that SHE is so happy. In March of last year I was able to surprise her by driving out to California for her farewell address and popping out of a cardboard box on her front porch. It was one of the top 10 best moments of my life. (It was on that trip that these beach pictures were taken.)

Alyssa finally gets back from her mission next month, and I'm SO EXCITED to be able to pick up where we left off with our constant texting (with wayyy too many emojis) and hours spent talking and laughing. Even though I have to admit I haven't been the most faithful pen pal this past year and a half -I'm so grateful to have this girl as my best friend.

And Lys, if you ever read this - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I love ya!

crafts

More Maps!

9:02 AM

As I've been scouring Pinterest the last few ~~weeks~~ months, trying to find anything and everything map related, I came across a cool image of the quote, "Be the change you hope to see in the world," inside of a simple globe shape. I really liked the idea of the piece, but it looked bit too grainy and "old" for my taste. I decided to see what I could do to "fix it up a bit" and maybe if I liked it well enough I'd hang it up in my classroom.

After a few hours of working with the image this is what I came up with!

To get the basic design of the image, I used the image trace feature in Adobe Illustrator. This worked for the base of the globe, and some of the simpler leaf-like shapes. It did not, however, work with the words. I tried out a few different fonts to match the original, but they all looked horrible, so I decided to just write the words myself! Using a nifty little Wacom tablet at work (it's basically like a drawing tablet with a pen) I drew out each letter. It took like a million tries before I was happy with the way the letters looked, but finally I was pleased. Also, since I was writing the words, I decided to change the word "hope" to "wish" because that's how I've always heard the quote said, and I just liked it better.

After I had all of that done, I took the file into Photoshop and created clipping masks with the pictures of maps. I'm hoping to hang the image on the wall behind my desk - just pray there aren't too many issues with the printing! ha.

Even more map crafts coming soon!

PS If you missed my last classroom map craft, feel free to check it out here :)

Everyday Life

Amazing Grace.

3:37 PM

This fourth-of-july weekend was tons of fun! Stephen and I went up to Grace, Idaho with our friends Bryce and Melissa, and Isaac and Chelsee. It was so much fun relaxing, four-wheeling, exploring around the farm, playing Taboo, swimming in the pond, laying (lying?) on the hammock, eating delicious food, watching fireworks, playing with puppies, and staying up wayyy too late chatting about toilet paper! It was also fun re-visiting the spot where Stephen and I got engaged last April :) According to Chels, we are all officially "real friends" now that we've taken a roadtrip together, even though we've all known each other well over a year. haha.

Grace Weekend from Hannah Olson on Vimeo.

I'll be honest - I don't know how entertaining this video will be for other people. I mostly made it to document our trip and learn a little bit about GoPro cameras (which are surprisingly good quality!). This was filmed with a GoPro Hero 3+ Black.

Grace Trip, 2013 :)

Thanks for the wonderful weekend, guys!

Everyday Life

Sunshine, Smiles, and Stripes.

8:51 AM

Since I had that fancy camera for the weekend, I thought I'd take advantage and take pics at the park with some cousins. I got a little over-anxious with the sunlight (I'm still trying to figure out how best to work with light) but it was still lots of fun! Ohh what I give to have a fancy camera like that one someday! Also, can I point out how attractive this bunch is? There were so many good pictures it was really hard to narrow down which ones to post! I am just loving summertime.

Friends

Photographer Phony.

8:54 PM

Last week my friend Bailee asked me to take some pictures of her and her husband just for fun. I was happy to oblige. I had a DSLR camera reserved through work, but due to a last minute mix up - the camera was checked out to someone else! I was really bummed until my supervisor offered to let me borrow his reaalllly fancy camera with an awesome lens. Then I was stoked! THAT THING WAS A BEAST.

Aren't they adorable? It's pretty easy to take decent pictures when you have a fancy camera and good-lookin' subjects. Bailee has seriously saved me this past year and a half. We had all but one class together during winter semester and it was the best thing ever. She is always willing to listen to my rants about silly assignments or the fact that our classes are tooooo early in the morning, and she has me laughing and in a much better mood by the end. Also, she's one of the coolest people I know - she is an amazing dancer (she used to be a cougarette!) AND she ran a marathon a few weeks ago. I'm so glad she's still willing to be my friend even though I'm an awful dancer and terrible at running! haha

This morning at work I had an ~~argument~~ semi-intense discussion about photography. My supervisor is of the opinion that in 20 years from now, professional photographers will be a thing of the past "much like typists and telephone operators." I disagreed. Although photography probably isn't a very lucrative field to go into, I think that people will still want professional quality photos in 20 years. But I guess only time will tell!

I am by no means a professional photographer, but I have really enjoyed learning about photography the last few years and it is something that I want to continue learning about. And who knows - if professional photographers are still around in 20 years...I wouldn't mind being one of them :)

Everyday Life

Sixth Grade in Six Weeks.

11:00 AM

It only takes a quick look at my Pinterest to see that in my mind, I'm pretty crafty. A quick look around my house, however, would probably portray exactly the opposite.

I would like to be crafty, I just usually don't know where to start, so the fact that I kinda "dreamt" this particular craft up is almost shocking!

I'm decorating my classroom with maps. I'm still trying to figure out how exactly I'm going to do that, so hopefully I'll continue dreaming things up as I go. This little "Olson" I made out of letters from Hobby Lobby, Modge Podge, and maps from an old atlas, didn't turn out too bad! As a matter of fact, I think it almost looks good on my teacher desk :) It's definitely not perfect and if you look at it closely you can see just how imperfect it is - but I must say I'm pleased! (Just don't ask how long it took...)

More maps coming soon!

PS Okay okay so I don't actually start teaching until 8 weeks from now, but I have to have my classroom ready in 4 weeks, so in my mind that averages out to 6 weeks. ;)

Newer
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Older
Stories

An SLC Lunch Date.

Wild Wild Wednesday.

Last Day of Work + Too Many Hashtags

Hannah [in] Montana.

Missin' Miss Lys

More Maps!

Amazing Grace.

Sunshine, Smiles, and Stripes.

Photographer Phony.

Sixth Grade in Six Weeks.

WELCOME

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