Brian and Mary Rice

Let's Have a Conversation

2012-01-24T18:17:00.000-08:00

Hannah likes to be talked to. She seems to alternate between watching my eyes and my mouth. I think these are both good harbingers of verbal development. Anyway, the first picture is her at the beginning of our latest talk.

And here she is by the end of it.

Baby Tricks

2011-12-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

Hannah's newborn clothes were mostly boring pajamas, but her 0-3 month clothes feature outfits. She looks especially good in red, I think. I have been putting things in Hannah's hands and sometimes she grips them and sometimes she doesn't. This is bottom picture is from Christmas day. We were playing under the tree, looking at the blinking lights and she gripped this toy bear for a good minute or two.

No Temple Square Light Picture

2011-12-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

We went to the lights on Temple Square with my husband's parents, but it was too cold for Hannah. We waited downstairs in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building while everyone else strode through the lights.

One Month Old

2011-11-28T18:31:00.000-08:00

Hannah has figured out that if she is uncomfortable and she sucks, milk will come and discomfort will subside. She has also figured out how to hold onto her mom's fingers to help her go to sleep and that her dad is complete and total pushover. I am going back to work on Wednesday. Grandmom and Granddad Rice are watching her at our house until Christmas.

Baby Hannah

2011-11-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

Hannah was born at the end of October. She is a very sweet little baby. I am gone from work on Maternity leave until December.

Happy Birthday to Brian

2011-09-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

Brian came closer to finishing his 4th decade on September 10. His cake was lemon with cream cheese frosting, which is the only kind of cake he will eat. For his birthday, he asked to be able to sleep in, eat lunch at In-N-Out and have chili dogs for dinner. All wishes were granted.

Happy Birthday to Mary

2011-08-31T15:53:00.001-07:00

My birthday was Monday. I got a lot of phone calls on my birthday from good friends. That was nice. Brian gave me this little Smurfette figurine for my birthday cake, but it never really made it to the cake. The cake was very good though. Baskin-Robins Ice Cream!

From Alaska to Ohio and Kentucky

2011-06-05T04:21:00.000-07:00

Glacier in Alaska. My friend Ramona took this.

Here is a moose in Alaska. You can't go to Alaska without seeing moose AND photographing it.

Here are my nephews. Lori had the baby about a year ago and I had never met him. The older one I hadn't seen in two years.

Cincinnati golden arch bridge.

School got out on Thursday the 27th of May. I flew to Alaska the 28th. I came home June 1st. I flew to Kentucky on June 2nd. It was a real whirlwind of traveling. Brian couldn't come with me because he had internship hours to do for his master's degree. So in Kentucky/Ohio, it was me, and a rental car versus the road and the summer storms. Very scary, but I think I became even tougher. The purpose of the Alaska trip was to participate in a works in progress research consortium. The purpose of the midwest trip was to present my almost 2 year master's thesis at a major conference before it got too old to be good research. I barely made it. And I was delighted that everyone loved it at the Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Conference. When I was done being an academic, I met my sister, her husband, and her boys. That was the best part of either trip.

Yearbook

2011-05-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Since Brian and I teach at the same school, we get to be in the yearbook together. Here is us this year.

"Christmas" Concert

2011-03-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

My students didn't get to have a Christmas party because we had a snow day, so I said we would do it after the break. In mid-January we had a concert put on by the students where the performed original works and old favorites.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T22:58:00.000-08:00

I had never seen the lights at Temple Square before so this year I finally went. The other picture is of me unwrapping gifts on Christmas Eve. The book is from an 8th grade student.

Graduation

2010-08-13T17:11:00.001-07:00

I went to convocation for my Master's Degree today. It is a good feeling to be done.

New Orleans

2010-06-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

I went to New Orleans with a colleague from the university. While I was there, I went to the aquarium and found Nemo and Dori.

Spring Break

2010-04-09T00:51:00.000-07:00

This year for Spring Break we went to Las Vegas. We stayed at the Venetian Hotel. There are canals in this hotel and people to paddle you in gondolas. Here is Brian and I having a good time.

Valentine's Day

2010-04-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

Brian always makes me a little gift for Valentine's Day and brings it to me at school. Here is this year's offering. It is a poster with candy. It is very cute. So is Brian. Our school mascot is the Knight and Brian makes reference to that in the poster.

Me and My Professor

2010-01-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

I made a cake for my professor that looks like the textbook that he wrote. He was very impressed. His name is Michael Tunnell. He is an award-winning children's book author and a two-time member of the Newberry Committee. He has been one of my favorite professors in this program. I look a little haggard because it was finals week and Brian was in the middle of having surgery and I had to come to campus for finals.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-27T00:28:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas at our house this year because Brian was recovering from surgery. Christmases at home are always so relaxing. I got a new wedding band for Christmas. I lost my old one and I don't even know where.

Grandpa Ben

2009-12-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

Here is me at the grave of Benjamin Rush, a signer of the declaration of independence and apparently my relation. He is in the same cemetery as Benjamin Franklin. Chelsea and I went on a tour of Christ's Church Cemetery while we were in Phily. It was a really good tour. The top picture is of the inside of Christ's Church, where Grandpa Ben went to church. He sat on the right side looking forward at the front of the church.

Philadelphia

2009-12-16T18:08:00.000-08:00

My colleague Chelsea and I went to Phily in November so we could attend a conference. It was very fun. We got to go to a session with Julie Andrews and we also got me meet some other authors like Matthew and Jennifer Holm who do my favorite series, Babymouse. Here are some picks of us having fun. The top picture is one of Chelsea and I. The bottom one is at the famous Reading Terminal Market where I went to eat lunch with Chelsea and some friends from Georgia. It was so crazy. There were so many people.

Requiem for my glasses

2009-10-30T21:36:00.001-07:00

Here lies my most recent pair of glasses. I have had prescription eyeglasses since I was in seventh grade. I probably needed them with I was in fifth or sixth. I started wearing contacts in tenth grade. Over the years my prescription slipped to about 20/500. I decided to have laser vision correction. I had to wear my glasses for a little over three weeks while the blood vessels that had grown on my eyes from contact lens wear, dissappated and my tear ducts started working optimally again. They performed the surgery in Salt Lake on Thursday. I got to hold a teddy bear while they cut open my eyes and shot a laser into them. When they finished, my vision was 20/30. People told me that it would not hurt, but it did after the numbing drops wore off and my eyes were extremely light sensitive. It was so painful. I took some pain medicaton and went to bed and when I woke up 12 hours later, I felt amazing. And even better, I could see. When I went to the doctor 22 hours after the surgery for a follow-up, I could see 20/15 and my eyes were 90 percent healed. I cannot remember ever seeing this well. Many of my students have been fascinated with the process. My ESL students were worried. I told them that since they were my first class of the day, they would be the ones I saw first with my improved eyes. I am excited to see all of my wonderful students on Monday.

2009-10-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

I have many fun colleagues at work. This is another English teacher at our school. Today was dress up like a student day for teachers and dress up like a teacher day for students. We are skaters. I think we totally pulled it off.

Spirit Week

2009-10-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Since I have been a first year teacher, some of the students every year try to dress like me. I used to be embarrassed and avoid it. But I have come to embrace those days when I share a shirt with a student. Since this is spirit week, this student and I both have tennis jerseys. She wasn't trying though, it was just good luck.

Visiting California

2009-09-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from when we went to Brian's class reunion in California in August. These aren't of the reunion, they are actually from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. The weather was so nice there and we had a really good time at the reunion with Brian's amazing friends.

My Graduate School People

2009-08-06T09:13:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of my with people from my master's program. I will miss them, but I won't miss going to bed at 2 and getting up at 6.

We Finally Have Tile

2009-08-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we have tile now. It actually looks pretty good. I painted the room and then we have to put some new baseboards. I am on my third week without laundry though. That is a pain.

Class Reunion

2009-07-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess this means that I have to admit that I have been out of high school for 10 years. But here are a few pictures of me and my old friends. I put more photos on my class reunion site and on Facebook.

Home Improvement

2009-06-24T19:39:00.001-07:00

We have been re-doing our laundry room and downstairs bathroom. We sort of cruised right through demolition and then stopped because we had to get a new water heater and we wanted to do the laundry room and this room at the same time. Here is our bathroom in its dilapidated glory. Hopefully I can post a picture of both places in a finished state soon.

2009-06-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

The school year is over. The penultimate day of school is often spent at Lagoon, a local amusement park. Here is a picture of Brian and his friend Jethro, who teaches art at the junior high, but will be leaving to another school in the fall.

2009-05-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

I review books for ALAN-The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents. This is a national organization affiliated with National Council of Teachers of English in which I hold office. Here is the link to ALAN Reviews. Depending on the month, I have a review in ALAN Picks.

http://www.alan-ya.org

Come Fly with Me

2009-04-17T22:59:00.001-07:00

While we were in San Diego we did some sightseeing. Here I am tinkering around on a plane aboard the Midway, a retired Naval Ship.

Take Brian Out to the Ball Game

2009-04-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

We went to a conference in San Diego as part of my work with BYU and thanks to Brian's brother Michael, we got to go to a Giants/Padres game on Opening Week. Here is Brian enjoying the game.

Roses

2009-03-12T00:07:00.000-07:00

I got roses at work from a very nice man. Maybe I should go out with him.

Oh so long ago.

2009-02-09T22:54:00.000-08:00

I found this old picture of me on a girls' trip to Yellowstone I went on before I got married.

You never can have too many trees

2009-01-08T22:59:00.001-08:00

We went with our friends out into the west desert just before Christmas and cut down a tree. We already had two, but the more the merrier, I guess. Here is Brian with his conquest.

Let it snow!

2008-12-29T11:16:00.000-08:00

The snow is starting to melt off a little bit today. But there is still a good 8-9 inches. I don't ever remember this high of a concentration of snowstorms in all my years in Utah. Most of this fell over the course of two weeks. Two days ago, it was probably closer to 11 inches.

Who was naughty? Nice?

2008-12-29T11:10:00.000-08:00

Here is Mary's pile of presents (left), versus Brian's (right). I ask, who was better this year?

Remember the Alamo?

2008-11-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

Mary went to San Antonio this month to participate in the National Council of English Teachers annual meeting where she had been invited to speak. San Antonio is a beautiful city with loads of really nice people and the conference was great. She is trying to figure out how to get to NCTE in Philadelphia next year.

Brian Loses His Facial Hair

2008-11-13T10:22:00.001-08:00

Mary is glad to have finished teaching her classes at BYU until next semester. She does, however, still have to take some. Brian's big news is that he shaved his face for the first time in almost three years.

Meeting Karl

2008-10-15T17:10:00.001-07:00

Karl Malone asked us if we would take a picture with him, so we thought about it and said okay.

Teacher of the Year

2008-10-12T15:10:00.001-07:00

Mary was very excited to find out that she was being honored as the Teacher of the Year by the Utah Association of Bilingual Educators. Of particular delight was the fact that some of her students were present at the dinner in her honor and one was allowed to introduce her.

Brian's Birthday

2008-09-09T22:15:00.001-07:00

It is Brian's turn to get older for the year now, starting at midnight. He wants to go and get chicken tomorrow and then go out for the weekend. He never asks for things for his birthday. For my birthday I got House, Season 4 and we finished watching it last night. We also went to Delta for the weekend so I could speak at a conference and Brian could visit the site of Topaz, the former internment camp during World War II.

2008-08-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me. Brian made this cake!

School is in Session

2008-08-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we have been back for several days now and everything is going well. Students are in the middle of caucusing about which texts they would like to read for Mary's class. Brian is busy setting up his tennis program for the year.

Trip to England

2008-08-10T21:21:00.001-07:00

We are back from England where I was asked to speak at a conference at Herstmonceaux Castle. While we were all the way over there, we did some touring. In London, we went to

-The Houses of Parliament (Big Ben)
-Tower of London
-Globe Theatre (rebuilt)
-Sir Francis Drake's Ship (rebuilt)
-National Gallery
-Trafalgar Square
-Marble Arch (French Style Arc d'Triumphe)
-Notting Hill
-Buckingham Place
-Hyde Park
-St. James' Place
-Piccadilly Circus
-St. Paul's Cathedral
-Tate Modern Art Museum
-Original Roman wall from about 43 AD
-Westminster Abbey
-Tower Bridge
-London Bridge
-Waterloo Bridge
-Westminster Bridge

We didn't get to Greenwich, and I wanted to go to Bath, but it was too far away. We also asked about the temple, but it was too hard to get to. Most of the trip felt like a sprint. We spent a day in London when we first arrived, then I went to the conference the first day of it while Brian went sightseeing with some friends, then the second day we went to Brighton, and the third day of the conference I spoke. The last day we went back to London to see some more stuff and then we stayed at this really amazing superposh European Hotel and then the next morning we traveled back, for a grand total of six days. I have class tomorrow. I was trying to minimize missing class because some of my professors have not been kind about my going. Brian is planning our next trip already. He wants to cruise around the Mediterranean and go to Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey in 12 days. At least he wants to go on a ship and not kayak. (Brian has been trying to sell me on kayaking lately.)

Head Above Water

2008-07-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

My 10 credits in graduate school are taking their toll, especially since I have to hurry so I can go to England in two weeks. Brian is being kind about the books strewn all over the house and giving me study breaks where I can watch HGTV and CSI reruns.

Visiting Family

2008-07-13T20:01:00.001-07:00

Brian's brother and his wife came to visit us and we had fun going hiking, eating BBQ, and seeing movies. For the 4th of July, we went to a cul de sac of fire with some friends. It was way cooler than having to fight traffic at the stadium!

Our Anniversary

2008-06-29T18:44:00.001-07:00

We celebrated six years of mostly happy times on Saturday by going to Park City for the day. The sport of the year was apparently cycling, as I received new cycling apparel, a wireless cycling computer, and our bikes were taken in for a tune up. Last year I got a tennis racket and the year before I got free weights. I don't think Brian is trying to send me a message...