I would
like to start my personal life history with a brief overview of my family. I was born Taylor Nicole Arnold, to my
parents Mark and Kimberly Arnold. I have
two sisters and one brother. My older
sister’s name is Jessica Arnold, now Jessica Nash because she got married. My younger sister’s name is Megan Arnold.
Last is my younger brother David Arnold.
I love them! I could not have asked for a better family to grow up with! Jessica, Megan and I all played softball when
we were younger, I then moved to colorguard.
Jessica moved to drama and choir, she has a beautiful voice! Megan stayed with softball she now plays for
BYU, and she is amazing. David tried all
different sports, but never found one he really loved. He started to really like football, but then
he crushed two disks in his back so, he had to stop playing. We have two family dogs, as of now, Abby and
Ziva, they are both King Charles Cavalier Spaniels.
My parents
were high school sweethearts. They
started dating when they were sophomore’s in high school and have been together
every since. My mother is a convert and
my dad’s family was not active when they started dating and when they got
married. My dad went to a construction
trade school and started his own businesses.
My mom went to ASU for a couple semesters and then worked for my dad for
a while. Once she had children she
became a stay at home mom. I loved that
growing up and hope to emulate that in my future life. My mom was super hands on when I was growing
up. She was always helping in my
classrooms and offering to be team mom.
I am
married to the most wonderful man Andrew Kay Barney, but everyone calls him
Drew. Drew moved to California when he
was 10 and into my ward. His dad became
bishop, but Drew and I did not really associate while growing up. It was not until we were both up at BYU-Idaho
that our love started. I am so lucky to
have him in my life. Here are some
stories of our married life and some of the fun times we had.
We got
married November 26, 2011 and it was the most perfect, wonderful, amazing day
of my life! The weather was BEAUTIFUL! And that was the biggest blessing
because we were not prepared for rain. We were sealed in the Newport
Beach Temple!
Drew and I
went to the beautiful island Oahu for our honeymoon!! It was perfect
and so much fun!
So this is
the story of Drew and I's epically, deliciously, embarrassing night!
Today (Feb. 20) started out relatively
normal, I had a group project and Drew did a lot of homework. When I got
home around 3 we decided to go to the gym and then the grocery store.
While there I decided I needed to treat Drew to some real meat since I
have only fed him, chicken and ground beef so far. I found two little New
York steaks for a reasonable price and it was just perfect!!
So as soon as I got home I called my
dad to see what he puts on steak as a dry rub, then I went to the internet to
see how to cook a steak on a skillet, since I have never cooked one before! I
got the meat all ready and waited for the skillet to be burning hot, since the
website said that was the whole trick of cooking steak on a skillet, AND that's
what started the whole night!
The second, no joke, second, I put the steaks
on the skillet the fire alarm goes off! And it is loud!! And has the
whole seizure strobe light thing going on too!! So I pull the steaks off the
grill and put it outside, then open all the windows and door! And guess
what?? The fire alarms in the bedroom and office start going off! And of course
not at the same time so our ears get a tiny break between piercing squeals, all
three alarms going off at different times! Yay.
So by now we have a bunch of curious neighbors
wondering who or what is on fire. All the while Drew and I are scrambling
around, me trying not to cry from embarrassment and the pain in my ears, trying
to fan out what we thought was the smoke detector. So I open our
fire-safe box, lots of good it did us today and found our lease agreement with
the emergency number, which of course nobody answers, and let them know our
fire alarm will not go off. Let me tell you there was no smoke in our
apartment and it had been going off for about 10 minutes now. Drew and I
hear sirens on the road outside and laugh to ourselves about the ironic-ness of
it.
Finally and thankfully the fire alarms stop.
I literally collapsed on the couch with relief that it was finally over,
but it wasn't. As soon as Drew walks over to close the window, since our
apartment is now 30 degrees and its snowing outside, he sees the firemen
walking over to our building. Yay, again.
Lucky us the firemen came to check on us, so
nice, but just more stress for the moment, but they just came in a truck and no
fire engine thankfully! But of course they need to be certain it was our
steaks that set off the fire alarm so they had to knock on all our neighbors
doors, so if the ear piercing alarm didn't cue them in to our situation, the
fire men did. Finally after an official report they were on their way,
just in time for the actual fire truck to roll on up, triple yay.
Now after all the people had gone I lost it!
Just hysterically crying because I was completely and utterly
embarrassed! I know it sounds stupid now, but at the time my ears were
ringing, my steaks were ruined (I thought) and I was just sad. My sweet
husband tries to console the crazy crying thing that I was at that moment and
believe me it took some work on his part to get me to stop crying. After
my tears had dried I decided to look at my 'ruined' steaks, and GUESS WHAT?
They were cooked perfectly on one side!!! Saving grace?? I THINK SO!!! So
I got to work finishing dinner for my now starving husband, and it was
delicious, if I do say so myself! I have never cooked a steak inside
before tonight, and I do not think I will again, but the stress and embarrassment
was definitely worth those steaks!! YUM!!
Oh our lives in Idaho, crazy!!
Drew and I
had a GREAT and packed weekend! It was just awesome! We started the
weekend as soon as Drew got home from school and the fun didn't stop till
Saturday night!
On Friday it was off to Beaver Dick Park for some camping
and fishing! It is only about 5 minutes outside of Rexburg and it is
right next to a fishing river! Our friends Steve and Kelly came along and
I am so glad! It was a super fun time as usual with this great couple!
The weekend
of General Conference Drew had a mission reunion. It was with his Mission
President Gardner! It was really fun for me to be able to meet some of
Drew's companions and hear their stories of Drew! Definitely worth the trip down to Utah!
As I have
found out Pioneer Day/Week in Utah is a BIG deal! We wanted to avoid the
crowds, so a couple days before we went to Home Depot and bought a huge thing
of plastic sheeting and dish soap. Then we were good to go!
So Rexburg decided to snow like CRAZY this week!! I guess
winter is here now. This all happened
over night! I woke up on Thursday morning and found my car covered! So, since
this it is Halloween weekend and there is snow everywhere, we decided to do the
ONLY logical thing! Make a SNOW MONSTER!! It is our version of a
Halloween snowman!
Our
anniversary was the Monday after Thanksgiving so we stayed in Salt Lake in the
Peery Hotel. The website described this hotel as historic and quaint, I
now know that means old and bad service.
It was a great memory though!!
So I may be
a bit naive, but when Drew and I decided to go into the wilderness and cut down
our own tree, I sort of thought it would be like walking into a field or flat
plain. Oh how I was so wrong!! I
had to hike up a mountain!! I guess it makes sense, but I was not prepared for
this hike up a steep snow covered mountain and then back down it with a 7-foot
tree!! It was so worth it though! I love our tree and the spirit it
brings into our home
I went to
Glenknoll Elementary School, Bernardo Yorba Middle School, and Esperanza High
School. I am now at BYU-Idaho and I will
be graduating in the fall. I cannot wait
to be done with school! My husband goes
to BYU-Idaho as well.
Now I want
to talk about my future career and profession.
I have always wanted to be a teacher. My parents emphasized education from before I
can remember and I learned at a young age that not everything comes easy. I was
a good student, but did struggle in certain subjects. I think this has helped
me grow to be a more patient person in all aspects of life, but especially in
teaching.
While
growing up I knew that I wanted to be a teacher, however it
was not until later
in life that I learned that I wanted to work with
people who have special
needs. It was through a few very
extraordinary events that I made my decision.
Some family friends of ours had a child with a disability, who never talked to
anyone he did not know for a very long time. One day the whole family went to
the beach and this young man and I went out into the water to play in the surf.
We talked and I got to know him a littler better. When we came back in everyone
was amazed that we had a little conversation. That was one of my first
interactions with someone who had a disability. Later, I volunteered with the
Special Olympics in California for a few summers and that grew my understanding
of what I wanted to do with my life. I loved working with the younger ages of
children who have disabilities. Watching them learn a new sport in Special
Olympics warmed my heart and I knew that this was the age group I wanted to
work with.
I
recently got married and it is so fun to teach my husband more about what I am
doing with my education. He, like most people, did not have very many
experiences with people who have special needs. I thought this was a perfect
change to practice one thing that I find so important, educating people so that
they are more comfortable around people with disabilities. It was a great
chance for me to work with him and show him how a disability is not something
to be afraid of.
My
teaching philosophy is a child and family centered one. I think that education
needs to be diversified and adapted so that all children have the chance to
learn. Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development is key to how a
child learns. If we cannot help a child by working with the level they are at,
then we are not doing any good. The child needs to be in their instructional
zone to be able to learn anything, especially when you are working with
children who have disabilities. While working as a tutor I found that the best
way to find out where a person is at is to talk to them, have them help you
understand where you should start. Everyone deserves to learn at his or her own
level and grow to become better.
Students
need a teacher who cares about them and about their education. I want to be a
teacher who cares and is there for my students, so they can grow and succeed.
Thank you so much for your time.
