Memories #.....5?

I decided to do this post on school memories. I think that if I could go back to any time in my life, it would be to elementary school. How can you get better? Recess, double-dutch jump rope, library day, hardly any homework. It was great! When I think back on elementary school I always think of my favorite teacher, Miss Stiles. This was 4th grade and was kind of an interesting year. I started of the year with Mrs. Dokalovich (Mrs. D), but she left at the end of October to have a baby. Then we had Mrs. Gialanella (sp? we called her Mrs. G.), who was just a long-term sub until Christmas break. After the break Miss Stiles started and she was the best! She was young, I think she had just graduated not to long before, and she was actually LDS (we lived in CA, so that was kind of odd). She was so nice, and if I do say so myself, I think I may have been one of her favorites. When I was about 16 or something we went to visit old friends in Cali and while we were there we went to a wedding reception for a girl who was in our ward there. While we were there Miss Stiles walked in! By that time she was a Mrs., but I don't remember her married last name. My mom told me to go say hi to her, but I didn't want to because I didn't think she would remember me. But she came right up to me and gave me a hug and said, "Of course I remember you!" It was great. Here I am with her and my youngest sister:


I have always been an avid reader. My favorite day of the week at school was library day; especially after I hit 3rd grade and was allowed to check out two books a week instead of just one. A lot of classes did reading contests and gave prizes to the student who read the most books in a certain month. I won this one:

Each feather on the turkey represents one book read in the month of November. Don't be too impressed though. I bet most of them were Babysitter's Club books. I'm pretty sure I was addicted to those.

At the end of every school year the whole school put on a spring show thing, doing dances and singing songs and stuff. My fourth grade year was probably the coolest year when we did an awesome hip-hop dance choreographed by my neighbor Cindy Rivera. The fifth graders always did the Maypole Dance, and I couldn't wait to do that one. Finally the year arrived, and here we are (I'm the one in the back wearing the white dress with flowers):


On a side note, in a previous "Memories" post I talked about participating in the 4th of July parades every year and mentioned that one year my whole family dressed up like the Jetsons. I found the picture, and I'm pretty sure we were the most decked-out family at the parade: