I Miss You Guys!!

Hey Gang! I'm sure missing everyone and every experience we had last week! My husband and I went out to dinner last night to (finally) celebrate our anniversary and there was a group of people a few feet away discussing the Donner party, The Mormon Trail, and I even heard them mention Evanston. I WANTED SO BADLY to jump into their conversation and see what they knew and to share what I knew! But alas, I restrained!

This is my official "last post" but who knows...I just might have more to say at a later date!

As you all saw, (sorry...I tried to hide it behind sunglasses) I was very emotional throughout this experience; especially that last day. It started with the book at Martin's Cove being opened right up to my ancestor, Christina McNeil, and feeling her spirit with me all week long as we traveled in her footsteps. I felt as though on Monday, at Martin's Cove, she was saying to me, "I know you're here." Throughout the week, I felt her saying to me, "Look." (Like in Nephi's Dream.) And I looked and I've seen and had my heart touched. I've seen what it was like for them. I've felt the ruts, seen the trails and felt the spirit of my heritage. I gained a much deeper appreciation for the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice my ancestors made because they had courage and faith. What a gift we've been given! I hope to keep this feeling all the time! We might need to do a yearly trip together so I don't lose this feeling! :)

Tim's strategies were AWESOME! I loved them and plan on implementing ALL of them! My Mormon Trail Binder won't be far from my reach throughout the entire school year.
Off the top of my head, I plan on using the classification strategy for as many different subjects as I can come up with. I loved that this makes the student defend their thoughts.
I also really liked the summary in 20 words. Easy. Quick. Fabulous!
One of my favorite strategies was the happiness scale. How cool was that? I loved that it brought up issues and opinions for us to defend and discuss.

To conclude, I want EACH and EVERY ONE of you to know how much you mean to me. I loved that we didn't form little cliques. I loved that we felt comfortable around whomever we happened to be next to. I loved that we laughed and bonded and truly made lasting friendships.
I learned so much from you. Especially our wonderful mentor, Tim and our handsome, fearless leaders, Val and Gene. I look forward to seeing you at our reunion and anytime in between then!

With Much Love! God be with you till we meet again!
Hugs, Kim Almond :)