At his sister's wedding in Seattle, WA.
This is Mike and I with our nephews, Calvin and Walter, on our wedding day.
Fernando (our foreign exchanged student from Bolivia), myself, my sister (Tiffany), my brother (Corey) and his wife (Stacy).
We celebrated my mom's birthday by attending a "Painting with a Twist" class. We had a blast!
My sister and I are both MSU alums and represent our Spartan pride at the MSU football games.
Mike and I traveled to Bonaire, which is a small island in the southern Caribbean. We spent most of our time in the water, marveling at the beautiful sea creatures. I even saw my favorite animal, a sea turtle!
I got to hold a sweet baby alligator during my visit to the Florida Everglades.
Mike and I traveled to Puerto Morelos, Mexico for our July 2016 honeymoon. We had an amazing time!
During our honeymoon, Mike and I got to hold a nursing shark. It was mildly terrifying, but I finally got over my fear of sharks.
When we went to Seattle for Mike's sister's wedding, we got to check out the Space Needle. Very cool experience!
With two of my college roommates, Alex and Jamie, at our undergraduate graduation in December 2012.
My amazing and hardworking parents, Bob and Carol.
One of my favorite people in the world is my Grandma Louise. She says what is on her mind, loves unconditionally, and is the best cook.
Leslie has been my best friend since the 1st grade and we've made so many fun memories during our long friendship.
When I'm with my family, we have several "laugh until your stomach hurts" moments. This image captures just one of those moments!
A few years ago, I didn't miss a single day of work and was recognized at our end of the year assembly. My students were so thrilled for me!
Many people think Tiffany and I could be twins, but we are actually 4 years apart! Sometimes I have to do a double take in photos myself.
My favorite animal is a sea turtle, so my talented sister painted this for my birthday. It is proudly hanging in my ocean-themed classroom.
I am so lucky to work with this amazing group of ladies on a daily basis!
In June 2017, Mike and I bought our very first house. Our free time is spent on various projects around the house.
Mike absolutely loves dogs. I jokingly refer to him as the "dog whisperer". As I am typing this caption, he just went next door to play fetch with our neighbor's dog. Haha!
For our October reading celebration, we got to "mummify" our principal. Students that read each week also got to dress their teachers up as mummies. I work with a lot of fun people!
I may be biased, but I think my nephews, Calving and Walter, and the cutest kids ever!
When your 4-year-old nephew wants to jump on the bed before your wedding, you say yes and jump on the bed!
About Me
I grew up in Vicksburg, a small town in southwest Michigan. I have the most amazing family and am so thankful for the love and support they have given me over the years. My parents, Bob and Carol, are both kind, loving, and incredibly hard-working. I am the baby of my family and have an older brother (Corey) and an older sister (Tiffany). My husband, Mike, and I met on Michigan State University's campus in 2010 and got married in July 2016. In high school, my family hosted a foreign exchanged student from Bolivia named Fernando. He became part of our family and my "hermano" (Spanish for "brother") comes to visit us often. My brother and his wife, Stacy, gave Mike and I two wonderful nephews, Calvin and Walter.
I absolutely adored my 1st grade teacher and decided at an early age that I would be a teacher when I grew up. Fast forward about 15 years and my dream became a reality as I entered the teaching profession. I graduated from Michigan State University in 2012 with my degree in Elementary Education and a Spanish teaching minor. I had the opportunity to do my student teaching in a 1st grade Spanish immersion classroom at Averill Elementary in Lansing, MI. I had an amazing mentor teacher that taught me so much about being an effective educator. During the 2014-2015 school year, I took my first teaching job with Charlotte Public Schools as the K-3 Spanish teacher. I taught nearly 800 students and traveled to multiple elementary schools and really enjoyed working with so many students. Unfortunately, budget cuts eliminated the K-3 Spanish program after my first year of teaching. Thankfully, Charlotte had a 2nd grade opening at Parkview Elementary and thought I would be a great fit for the position. I gladly accepted the job and thoroughly enjoy this grade level. I am still teaching 2nd grade at Parkview and each day is a new adventure with my students.
Mike and I are very close to our families and enjoy spending time with them whenever we can. My brother and sister are my best friends and we always have a great time together. Going on adventures with my nephews is one of my favorite things. They truly bring out the inner child in me and I absolutely adore them. To keep myself busy, I play on an indoor soccer team, read, help with the after school lego club, and do various craft projects. Mike and I bought our first home in July 2017 in Lansing, MI. The majority of our free time is spent on various projects around the house. We are learning to be DIYers ("do it yourself"ers) and we are really making some great progress on our new home! When we don't have paintbrushes in our hands, Mike and I enjoy traveling and visiting new places. Our favorite vacation spots are Bonaire, Puerto Morelos (Mexico), and Florida. We also love going to MSU's campus for tailgating and football games.
Life is truly an adventure and I wan't wait to see what the future has in store for me!
FAMILY/BACKGROUND
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
INTERESTS
Check out some other pages on my website to learn more about me!