Semester Summary...

This was like the quickest semester I have ever experience! It just flew by all so quickly I've hardly been able to catch my breath.  Here's just a few notes on everything that's gone down since December.

Christmas Break-
       Spent with the family in New Mexico. It was a wonderful time as usual filled with all of my favorite traditions. The best part being the fact that we just stay in our pajamas all Christmas day long and play with each other while continuously snacking on Christmas goodies.




New Year's- 
         I left New Mexico just a couple of days after Christmas to hurry back to Salt Lake for the wedding of a roommate.  Such a great wedding. So happy for you still Melissa and Danny! (Little side note, Melissa and I actually tried setting Danny up with another one of our roommates. So glad that didn't work out).

        
        
The actual night of New Year's Eve was spent with two of my favorite girly girls ever! The activity of choice ended up being dancing our little booties off at the coctail lounge Spark (Provo Style). Greatest truth ever sung in lyrics... girls just want to have fun! We went, we danced, we conquered.










Other Choice Activities of the Semester-

          Crafternooning!!!! It's true! Nothing hits the spot like an afternoon of solid crafts.... hence the term Craft-er-noon! This is a photo from our crafternoon marathon day during Christmas break! We did everything from decorating frames to decorating our notebooks for the semester.







Snowboarding!!!

          Okay... so after living in Utah all of last year and only going snowboarding ONCE (and on the last day of the season) I decided there needed to be some major changes in my life! So what was done to resolve the previous year's crisis? Season Passes to the Canyons!  DeeAura, Whitney, the two Jasons, Bend, Cody, David, and a few others all broke down and bought the passes as well.  So what did we do with all of our free time? Yup, nothing but snowboarding! Almost every Saturday there was a group of us carpooling to Park City! It was such a great snow season.  Powder powder powder everywhere!!! The first day we went we packed lunches which we took time to eat while sitting down in our cars.... we later decided to rethink that game plan and decided to eat all of our snacks while taking breaks on the lift to enhance our time on the mountain. We are addicts.  I learned a lot about boarding this season.  Some of the better moments happened  through taking risks (no worries. I started wearing a helmet)... some moments resulted in exhilarating highs and others resulted in huge wipe outs. All part of the learning and the fun. You better believe a season pass will forever be a part of my winter vocabulary.

Schooliness! 
         Okay... I now understand why they consider 9 credit hours full time for a Grad student.  Well, I unknowingly decided to literally double that number this semester! It was definitely a lot of work and I think I just barely survived (although I really did learn a ton and had a lot of fun).  My classes this semester included the following:

• Score Analysis- how to look at, identify, and interpret different musical scores
• Orchestra Lit- wanna know what it feels like to be responsible for memorizing a hundred years of symphonies and be able to identify them all in a 2 hour listening exam? Take this class!
• Philosophy of Music Education- In this class you'll read until your eyes start to bleed, but you leave the class with lots of new ideas and being highly enlightened
• 2 Different Art Education Classes- Don't remember the course titles, but they were classes that I wanted to take to be better prepared to write curriculum focusing on interdisciplinary arts
• Cello lessons- this was the performance instrument of choice this semester. I learned lots and would even be happy to play for you the Breval Cello Sonata.
• Fiddle lessons- I decided I needed my violin skills to be more versatile.  It's a work in progress.
• Beginning Tap- okay... so it has my life's dream to be the next Jean Kelley... I now realize that tap dancing like him will be just that... always a dream.  Although I have great fine motor skills, I realize that my large motor skills are quite lacking.  And it wasn't a pretty sight.  That's all I'm going to say about that.
• Folk Ensemble- I love my Celtic Band! This was my second semester with them, and I still think it's a blast.  This semester I also incorporated a little bit of cello action into the group as well. It's just a whole side of music that I had never before been part of and I am quickly falling in love!

How I pay the Bills-

          I love love LOVE being a student, but I do need to eat and also be able to pay for my fun-time activities! How do I do it?

• TA for the String Education Department- grade papers for the class Careers in Music, take attendance for String Workshop, etc....
• Teach 3rd and 4th Semester Sight Singing- I don't mind teaching that class, but am so glad that part of my education is done and done.
• Assistant Conductor for the New Horizon's Orchestra- It's a beginning adult orchestra. It really is kind of cool. I love working with this ensemble. We make some killer music together. And in case you're wondering our oldest current orchestra member is 85 years old and going strong!
• Nanny for Life- If I can pick up a weekend babysitting, I totally jump on it! One of the best jobs I have!
• EFY Office Coordinator- Since I have to take classes this summer and can't be involved with EFY like I normally do, I decided working in the office would still be a great way to stay involved with this youth program! I love my job! 

Sam's Baptism-

            He's the final sibling to get baptized in our family so of course we needed to be there! We drove through the night on Thursday to get there and then drove back all day Sunday.  It was definitely worth the 24 hours of time in the car.  Sam is an Angel! No joke, all he wanted for his birthday was a Liahona (from the story of Nephi in the Book of Mormon) which you can see him holding in this family photo. 

Aloha Hawaii!

           Here was the initial conversation:

           Uncle Peter to Me-"When's your spring break?"

           Me- "BYU doesn't have one."

           Peter- "Well we have an extra room in our condo in March"

           Me- "Oh well if that's the case I definitely have a spring break that seems to be the exact same week you'll be in Hawaii. How convenient."

            Yup, I couldn't handle not having a Spring Break or missing out on that opportunity so I made one! Whit, Mom, Dad, and I all went to Kauai to meet up with Peter and Kristen for a magical week in Paradise! Our week's activities included lots of snorkeling, hiking through the jungle, kayaking, driving around in our Jeep Wrangler with the top down, paddle boarding, and jumping off waterfalls.  It was an Amazing week!

"I drove all night to get to you...." (literally)

            If you do not recognize those song lyrics they are from a more recent song by the legendary Celine Dion.  Now I'm not gonna lie, seeing Celine Dion in concert was never on the top of my personal top 10 list, but I am all about supporting friends living out their life-long dreams! So Celine it was! Britt, Emily, and I made the journey together to Vegas for this iconic show.  Due to our busy lives it was quite the legendary trip.  I worked till noon on Wednesday, met up with Emily and Britt, got sandwiches from Kneaders, and we hit the road.  As soon as we reached Vegas we went to our favorite store, H&M! Slightly detrimental to my bank account, but way worth it! We then hurried to the Celine concert which really was a killer show. We then hit up the Cheese Cake Factory for some food and made a quick stop at Anthropology before hitting the road again.  We drove through the night getting back close to 8am and right in time for us to be in our Thursday classes! Now that's what I call a road trip! Oh the joys of being young (although it did take a few days for my body to recover). Next Vegas roadtrip goal: Beatle's Love!

Well... this is all I can think of to share about for now... Life update? Check!

This time I mean it...

Okay... I know I've been horrible at this whole blogging thing, and every time I post I seem to make empty promises about trying to do better.  Well.... this time I hope this promise isn't an empty one. Really, I've decided it wouldn't be that hard to just take 10 min once or twice a week to write down a few thoughts.  Yup, this time I'm going to be better for reals!

The reasons for this newly restored determination are 1. I never document anything about my life 2. It really is fun and a great outlet for expression 3. This summer I am going to have more free time than I've ever had before 4. I do get quite envious of all of my friend's cute and witty blogs (not that mine will fall under either of those two descriptions) and 5. I'm tired of being the last blog link on my best friend's blog page because mine is never updated.

Britt... get ready for my blog to finally have a purpose and for it to no longer be in "last place."

The End.
But only for tonight. More postings to come soon. Real soon.

Thoughts from the Library

Yup... it's that time of year. The time of year where school work is at its peak the brain in on overload! The ironic part of it all is that it is also that time of year where there are endless social event, dance parties, ugly sweater parties, tree decorating parties, cookie decorating parties, concerts, and pretty much any other distraction you can think of! And yet here I am sitting in the library... trying to write a paper.

Bff Brittany just left, which made me think my productivity would increase... but since I am here writing on my blog (something I rarely do), I'm assuming that wasn't the case. So here are some random thoughts while I sit here trying to re-focus on the real task at hand (my paper on principles of learning).

• First off, kudos to the girl that wore her onesie pajamas to the library and is sitting Indian style in the chair. I am jealous of your comfort.
• I have decided that I am like a "moth to the flame" as my friend Britt so kindly described... I know that whenever I eat Taco Bell for dinner I feel gross afterwards, and yet ever time I'm hungry and walking by the Cougar Eat I think "Taco Bell sounds good right now." How do I so easily fill my head with such lies? I should know better by now. And then the result is that I gripe about it for the rest of the day... like I'm doing now :)
• It is also difficult I decided to motivate myself to write papers, when the device on which I need to type my paper also happens to be the biggest distraction of all in itself! Even if I make a point not to get on facebook, there is also some other random thing I find myself googling about.
• Thank you BYU for placing a Christmas tree up here on the 5th floor. It does make the place feel more cozy.
• Thank you random girl that is sitting across from me for sharing you chocolate advent calendar with me. It was a great little pick me up!
• Thank you other girl sitting at my table who decided to bring a crystal pitcher with her to help her refill her water bottle when it gets empty. Classy touch.

Ok... I think I'm ready to start tackling my paper again.  Basically, I just love people and could watch them all day! Oh the things that one sees in the library! And oh the stress and joys of finals week!

Year in a Nutshell

Ok... so it's been a very long time since I've posted about my life. And if fact, one of the last entries talked all about my summer... in 2009! So here we go... life since then in a nutshell.

• Moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. No job, but after my summer working EFY, staying here just felt right.
• Started volunteering as an early morning seminary teacher at Jordan High School.
• Found a job teaching 5th and 6th grade orchestra at an elementary school in Provo.
• Started two other orchestra programs at elementary schools in West Jordan and Riverton.
• Got a job being a substitute teacher on my days off from my other jobs.
• Started a private piano and violin studio.
• October road trip with the extended family to Newport, Cali.
• Had a blast living my life in both Salt Lake and Provo. Not a huge fan of the drive though.
• November road trip with two dear friends back to Arizona and New Mexico.
• December 2009 I turned 25! Milestone, I know!
• Crazy road trip with my brother Jonny in a giant snow storm back to New Mexico. It really did take like 20 hours to get home going 30 miles an hour almost the whole way there.
• January 2nd decided to randomly pack my belongings and move from SLC to Provo. Quick (literally made in a day) decision, but it just felt right. Moved in with the most amazing roommates ever!
• Last minute decision to turn in a graduate school application to BYU.
• Got hired as a student teacher for the CES seminary program.  Started also teaching 2 periods at Brighten High School during the day along with all of my other schools and jobs.
• Got accepted into grad school at BYU.
• Beginning of summer road trip with the bff to Cali to see Glee Live! Did it also include Disneyland, H&M shopping, and the beach? Heck yes!
• Stopped teaching seminary on Friday (summer finally had arrived) and started my job with EFY the next Monday.
• Worked for EFY (I still just love it so much!)... 1 week in Montpillier, ID, 3 weeks in Logan, 4 weeks in Ogden, 1 week in Provo, 2 weeks in Nauvoo! 11 straight weeks total! That's right baby!
• July 29th picked Whit up from the airport in Salt Lake! She was finally home from Italy! Joyous reunion!
• Flew to New Mexico from Nauvoo to be with the fam.  Stayed for a few days, bought a new car, and then drove home to Provo.
• Got re-hired as a seminary student teacher at Alta High School in the fall.
• Decided to resign from the seminary program in order to better focus on grad school. (not an easy decision).
• Had a few days to unpack my belongings and chilled for a weekend in Park City.
• Started school as a BYU student getting a Master's in Music Education!

Well there it is... the last year of my life in a total nutshell.  Obviously I left out a lot of details.  It really was a great year filled with fun, friends, family, lots of road trips, heart break, self discovery, growth, and everything else that life throws at you. But looking back I wouldn't change anything about it. I lived, I loved, and I learned!

So this is what happens when you get a full nights rest...

Have you ever just had one of those amazing days where you accomplished everything on your lengthy "to do" and then some? I must admit, it rarely happens to me so this feeling of pure joy is quite rare for me. To be honest, I think it has a lot to do with the fact I actually slept for a full 7 hours last night (which is a good deal more as far as sleep goes than the normal 5 hours I get most nights). I guess I will go ahead and just share a little of what I actually accomplished today.

• 7:30 am- woke up in Provo and ate breakfast (normally I wake up at 4:45 and teach early morning seminary, but today I had the day off)
  
• 8:30 am- arrived at Marie's house (in Salt Lake) where I babysit her 4 year old, 2 year old, and the 4 month old twins (while the children were napping I even emailed my sister Whitney who's still on her mission and who has her Preparation Day tomorrow)
  
• 1:30 pm- I arrived home and cooked a pot of soup that will hopefully last me the rest of the week
• 2:00 pm- wrote the 2nd essay needed for my graduate school application which is due at the end of the month
• 3:30 pm- start my letter of intention which is also part of my grad school application
  
• 4:00 pm- taught violin lesson (in Riverton)
  
• 4:45 pm- picked up my computer (from Sandy) It crashed over break and thank goodness my uncle was able to help me repair it
• 5:15 pm- did my reading assignments for my Institute class
• 6:30 pm- arrived at my Institute class (which is the 2nd pre-service class for future seminary teachers in case you're curious)
• 8:00 pm- arrive at my aunt's house to babysit my little cousins while they go to the U of U basketball game
• 8:30 pm- write out my seminary lesson plans for the next 2 days
• 9:00 pm- complete all grading of my seminary students from this last term
• 9:30 pm- complete the "additional information and work experience" portion of my graduate app
• 10:00 pm- have time left over that I don't know what to do with so I decide to blog about it!

Seriously though, this NEVER happens to me! All I had hoped to accomplish today was write the 2nd essay needed for my application. Everything else up on that list was a total bonus! (which I can now proudly cross off my "to do" lists from other days :) And somewhere in all of that I even had time to fit in an episode of Hannah Montana. I guess the point of this story is... sleep is good! The end!

Oh Sweet Summer!

I know we are already in December, but since I have been horrible at keeping a journal I really want to document all of my events from the year somehow. Thus, I am starting with everything that happened this summer. Once I get this out of the way I can start keeping my blog updated with things that are currently going on in my life!

Graduation (por fin!)

• Yes, I graduated! And it was a great feeling! I now have my degree in Music Education! Whoo hoo! (what I ended up doing with my degree though is a whole different story).
• My parents came down to Tucson and I graduated Saturday, May 16th. Sunday, May 17th, I loaded my car with my things (well basically just my clothes and stuff) and drove to Salt Lake City to move in with my grandparents. Monday, May 18th I flew to Spain to visit my mission!

España (Home Sweet Home)

• Spain was great. I spent the first couple of days on my own just visiting various places and people from different areas.
• Katie Whitlock, a very dear mission companion, flew over and met up with me in Madrid. We traveled and visited places such as Alcalá and Salamanca. Another companion, Estefania Torres, from Barcelona, also met up with us. It was a lot of fun.
• On the very last day of my trip, my trainer from the mission, Randilyn Nordstrom, flew in and we were able to spend the day in downtown Madrid together.
• During my 10 days there I got to visit with my mission president and his wife at the mission home, visit recent converts, attend church in two of my old wards, attend a special fireside celebrating the 40th year anniversary of the church being in Spain, go salsa dancing with some of my friends, and several other memorable activities. It was a great way to remember and in some ways add closure to the year and a half I spent serving in that wonderful place!

EFY (My Oh My!)

• Saturday, May 30th, I flew back from Spain to Salt Lake. Sunday, May 31st, my EFY team came and picked me up from my grandparents' house and we all drove to Montpelier, ID.
• I honestly had absolutely no idea who I would even be working with this summer until just one day before we started our 8 weeks together... could I ever have imagined a better team though! Heck no! Our team this summer was a total dream team... no our team was more than that... we were family! The team consisted of David Kidd (good friend from the previous summer) Staci Meacham (girl I definitley didn't know, but we shared a bed our first week together so I got to know her real quick!) Christian Hong (no one knows more about Disney than this kid) Brooke Betenson (we shared a dear mutual friend and now we're dear friends ourselves) Ryan Stewart (1. He's a Stewart 2. Is his best bud one of my favorite peeps? You betcha) Elle Bray (one of the biggest & best surprises of the summer, we worked together the summer before & she was the only person in the history of EFY who was too young to be hired as a counselor but still met the BC qualifications!) Oh how I love my team!
• We worked a grand total of 8 weeks... one in ID, three in Sandy, three in Taylorsville, and one in Ogden. All glorious, each with it's own funny moments, random experiences, awesome youth, (a few annoying kids), interesting challenges... but overall there was nothin but good times!

Backpacking Bliss

• Who doesn't love a few days in the mountains with just your best buds, a back-pack, millions of mesquitos (ok well that part was unfortunate), surprisingly good camping food, gorgeous mountains, beautiful lakes, and fly fishing rods! We only had one week off of EFY and boy did we use it wisely... our little camping crew consisted of Ryan, Ryan's freshly returned missionary cousin Carson (super swell kid), Staci, Elle, Chase (one of our favorite summer counselors), and me!
• Were scary stories told, do I now believe is Sasquatch, did we see an actual UFO, did I de-hook a fish all by myself in a rescue mission, did we play in the beautiful but ice cold waterfalls?... yes to all of the above and I loved it!

California Dreamin'

• It's our annual family vay-cay! One week + 7 Kids + Newport Beach + Marriot Resort = Endless Adventures... because let's be honest... we put the fun in dysfunctional!
• This year there were obviously only 6 kids because my dearest sister Whitney is still enjoying an amazing time as a missionary in Southern Italy... we missed having her but are still oober proud of what she's doing.
• This year's activities included the X Games for the boys. Wicked for the girls (plus dad). Deep Sea fishing like every year. And lots and lots of beach and pool time!
• Did I wear sunscreen the first day like a good girl?... oh yeah sure thing! But did I forget to re-apply that sunscreen during the day like I should have?... sadly I did not :( I got so sunburned day 1 that it really made it kind of rough the rest of the week, but it's okay... I'm over it! (now that the flesh eating pain is no longer fresh in my memory) :)
• Other than the bad sunburn (of which my brother Jon was also a victim of) everything went pretty smoothly (no lost children, no sting ray bites, etc...) Oh yeah, exept for the fact that when I plugged in Newport Beach into my GPS, and without me realizing it, it did not register as Newport California. And since I've never driven to California from Utah before it never registered in my mind that I was driving in the wrong direction. I didn't even know I was going the wrong direction till my mom called to see where I was and I told her Wendover, ID. I then spent the next few hours driving across Idaho to get me back on the correct route to our condo. I honestly have no regrets though. It was a beautiful little desolate freeway and I saw a whole lot of Idaho that I probably would have never seen (EVER!) in my entire life if it weren't for the destination GPS mess-up.
  

Wild White Water With the Ward (if that's not alliteration I don't know what is)

• That's right... my little Single's Ward is so cool that at the end of the summer we all went up to Jackson Hole to do some camping and white water rafting. It was great fun & made some great friends.

Well folks, that really is all I can recall from this summer. Of course I'm sure there were a ton of random, awkward, potentially funny moments that would have been great fun to blog about... but alas, since it's January 1st and I'm finally just getting around to blogging about my summer, those memories have faded like dark denim jeans in sink of bleach.

I'm back!

Ok... So it has been a really long time since I've blogged... a really long time. I am going to change that though starting today. The only really hard thing is that it's been so long I don't even know where to start. Life has changed so much since the last time I have posted (which was me packing up my things in Tucson and getting ready to graduate and move to Utah). I have now been a post grad for 8 months and life has taken me in directions that I never expected. Coming soon... My Life After College! (don't get to excited though... post graduate life isn't as exciting as one would hope!)