The Allphin Family

Future Big Sister

2012-02-13T10:49:00.004-07:00

My sister Melissa has a two year-old daughter and a 6 month-old baby. The toddler loves to "change" her baby sister's diaper by taking off all of her clothes and diaper. There's also the infamous stories of my nieces and nephews taking off their diapers and smearing the contents all over the wall. I have not been looking forward to that stage of removing diapers and had been so glad that Callie had not yet figured out how to take off her diaper. Well, this weekend, she made steps towards such behaviors.

It all started on Friday when she became quite interested in putting a new diaper on herself (thankfully her own diaper stayed on). She layed her diaper out just like we do and then proceeded to lie on top of the diaper, trying to put it on. She even wiped herself (and her baby doll, and me) with a wipe.

On Saturday, she had been throwing a fit for no apparent reason and that typically means she's just overly tired and needs a nap, so Jason tried to put her down for a nap, closing the door. She screamed and cried and then all of the sudden got quiet. We thought she had fallen asleep, but then heard her knocking at her door a little while later. Jason opened her door to find that she had taken off her diaper. Thankfully it was only a little wet, so there wasn't anything to smear on the walls, but I guess we have now entered THAT stage of toddler-ism. Oh joy. I guess she's just getting ready to be a big sister and change her own baby sister's diapers :)

Little Tease

2012-02-13T10:30:00.002-07:00

Here's my bedrest spot. I sleep in bed and then spend pretty much every waking hour on this couch with the exception of the occasional bathroom break or trip to the kitchen for a snack/drink.

When I get up and Callie is nearby, she loves to run to the couch and steal my spot, even pulling up the blanket on herself. She thinks she is so funny, and it does make me laugh. She gets this little mischievous look on her face and she giggles when I return. The great thing about it is that she'll usually stay and sit with me for a while (and try to steal my drink, or "dink" as she calls it).

2012-02-09T15:53:00.003-07:00

I'm pretty sure everyone who reads this already knows, but I should probably officially announce on my blog that I am pregnant. I'm now 28 weeks, actually, but it has been a long time since I have had a chance to blog. I am having another girl, which I am so excited about. I would like to eventually have a boy (although the odds are not in my favor, seeing as this will be my parents' 8th granddaughter out of 9 grandchildren), but for now I am completely content with girls.

This pregnancy has been a little different than my first pregnancy. I was definitely sicker at the beginning, a lot more moody, and more tired, but I have had less heartburn. When I was around 22 weeks pregnant with Callie, I had a little scare with early contractions, but it turned out to be a bladder infection. Two and a half weeks ago, on a Sunday, I woke up with cramping pain and contractions. My doctor said I should head to the hospital to get things checked out. I was a little concerned, but I figured it was just another infection that could be taken care of with an antibiotic. Well, it was no infection. They did a test (a very painful, horrible test) to see if I was in labor, but it came back negative. Everything seemed to be fine, except that I was having that pain and frequent contractions as if I were in pre-term labor, so the doctor decided to treat it like pre-term labor.

They gave me a series of drugs, trying to stop the contractions and to prepare the baby in case she came early (antibiotics in case I was positive for strep B, steriods to help her lungs develop more quickly). Before each drug, they would tell me some possible reactions, and I pretty much always had every reaction. I hate drugs. They do not get along well with my body. At one point, they progressed to a drug that required an I.V., among other things, and it took them 11 tries to find a vein for the I.V. My veins are hard to find (it's some hereditary issue), but it's never taken that many tries before. They finally found a drug (magnesium something or other) that stopped the contractions. They planned to keep me on it for 24 hours and then stop it to see if the contractions returned. If they did not return, they would send me home with a pill to prevent contractions. While I was on the magnesium, I started having chest pain, so they stopped the drug and decided not to send me home with anything in case I had another adverse reaction. My doctor said I needed to be on bed rest at least for a few weeks and then I might be able to increase my activity after that.

Well, that next Saturday, I once again woke up to the same pain and contractions. I waited a few hours, hoping they would go away, but the contractions got closer together and started to get more painful, so I headed back to the hospital. Thankfully I didn't have to be admitted again. They just checked everything out again (it all looked fine), and sent me home with a pill to stop/prevent contractions. At my doctor's appointment that next week, my doctor said I need to stay on bed rest at least until I'm 34 weeks when the risk for long-term problems from an early birth are greatly diminished.

I was told that science does not yet know what causes pre-term labor, but there are a number of things that can irritate the uterus. I'm pretty sure my issue came from the week leading up to that day. I had a lot of projects going on for church and home and became quite stressed. Also, Jason had recently started a crazy schedule of studying for his CPA exam while going to school full-time and work part-time, so the level of stress in the house was pretty high. The couple weeks after the original incident, I could tell when I did too much or when I got stressed because I would start to get contractions and pain. Even thinking about things that stressed me out seemed to irritate my uterus.

Although this whole ordeal has been scary and it's not very fun being stuck on a couch all day, I feel greatly blessed for many reasons.

Through that whole ordeal, the baby's heartbeat remained strong and she remained very active, as if nothing fazed her. She's still safely growing inside of me.

I have had an overwhelming number of family members and friends who have volunteered to care for Callie, make us meals, bring me entertainment, etc.

I have an incredible mother who dropped everything, drove down from Idaho, and stayed for two weeks to take care of our family.

My dad has rearranged his work schedule so they can come down every Monday-Wednesday (my dad is working on a project down here for his job).

My two wonderful sisters have supported me, comforted me, and advised me (they have both been on bed rest for pregnancies. the funny thing is we have all been on bed rest for different reasons).

My sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and cousin have all agreed to help out with Callie every week.

My incredible friend (who is my sister's sister-in-law, but I consider her family) has agreed to drive down from Ogden every Friday to take care of Callie and hang out with me.

My awesome Relief Society has agreed to bring us some meals every week.

My Braithwaite grandparents have loaned my mom a car so she can do our shopping and other errands while she's down here.

My Grandma Black has brought us meals, beautiful lilies, and has made frequent calls and visits.

My parents just had internet set-up in our house and are paying for it so that I have a link to the world and something to do every day. (YES! I FINALLY have internet!!!)

My loving husband has been amazing through all of this. He has so much on his plate right now, yet he still takes care of Callie and I on the nights and days when no one is here, and still has a smile on his face even though I know he is absolutely exhausted.

Aside of all of these blessings, my Father in Heaven has also blessed me with strength, a great feeling of peace concerning all of this, patience at the situation, gratitude, and optimism.

We've Got a Walking Callie!

2011-09-26T16:19:00.006-06:00

Well, seeing as I haven't updated my blog since...Feb. 24...I thought I should put forth the effort to do so.

Our Summer
We had a great summer. Jason worked the entire summer and took classes during Spring term. He got to come home for lunch during Summer term, which I always love. Callie and I went swimming, went to Seven Peaks, went hiking, and went on walks every day. As a family, we went up to Idaho to visit my parents’ new home. While there, I went with my mom and Aunt Sheri to Time Out for Women. It was wonderful! We celebrated my birthday in June, our anniversary in June, and Callie’s birthday in July. My parents visited often since the weather is nice this time of year. For the first time in probably 5 years, my skin saw the sun! It felt great.

Updates on Callie
Callie is a couple weeks away from being 15 months old and she started walking a few weeks ago. I really enjoy watching her carefully hobble around the room, and she is pretty proud of herself.

She has developed a love of (and possibly an obsession with) books. She loves to find books and bring them to me so I can read them to her. Her favorite book is called “Colors”, which has a color with two objects on each set of two pages.

She finally got her first tooth a couple weeks before her first birthday and another one on her birthday. She now has six teeth, and I am thoroughly enjoying feeding her normal food (and she is thoroughly enjoying eating it).

Her current vocabulary incudes: mama, dada (her favorite person and word), hi, uh oh, teddy (or something like it), and nana (banana).

Her favorite toys are 1. her baby doll and stroller, which she loves to push around the house (along with anything else she can push—her high chair, her basket of diapers, her box of toys, etc.); 2. any kind of ball, and 3. anything of Mommy’s and Daddy’s.

The other day she found this little purse, put it on her shoulder and walked around the house with it. I’m not sure where that funny little pose came from (lifting her chin, squinting her eyes, and scrunching up her nose), but she sure thought it was funny.

Callie’s birthday was in July. We had a cupcake party with grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Now
Jason has started Fall Semester (his LAST fall semester) and is officially considered a master’s student. That pretty much just means we have to pay a lot more for tuition and he can’t get pell grants, but on the bright side, we get to park in the graduate parking spots. Callie and I are continuing to enjoy home life. I have started playing tennis with women in the ward, which has been so fun. I hadn’t played since I was pregnant because we hadn’t dared try it with Callie, but it is working out pretty well!

Since living in Utah, I have had a hard time enjoying fall because the cold seems to come too quickly and stay too long, but I cannot deny that I enjoy the cool (yet still warm) weather, the changing of the colors, and Thanksgiving, so I am going to try to focus on my good feelings for fall this year.

Dear Callie,

2011-02-24T10:01:00.003-07:00

Why do your living room travels always take you to the cords in the most awkward location in the room?

How can these boring old cords be so much more entertaining than all these fun toys?

I guess we'll never know.

The Princess and her Daddy

2011-02-24T09:58:00.001-07:00

My Valentines

2011-02-15T14:07:00.007-07:00

We kept it simple this year for Valentine's Day. We spent our evening cooking dinner together (our usual--Lasagna, salad, and garlic bread with the addition of a yummy Brownie Mallow dessert). We then enjoyed our dinner, watched a movie, did some cutesy Valentines-ish stuff, and Jason pampered me with a back and foot massage.

Play Date with Kaden

2011-02-15T13:58:00.005-07:00

My friend Katie and her son Kaden came over for a play date (yes, I think it's cool that we have the same name. We also both have older sisters named Melissa, husbands whose names start with the letter "J", and child relatives named Kaden). Kaden is a couple months older than Callie. He can crawl and say "dada" (and knows who Dada is). Callie was fascinated just watching him. Kaden liked to grab Callie's hands and face. We had a great time together

In Callie's adventures scooting/rolling around the room, she got herself trapped between the couch and table. I thought it was pretty funny, but she didn't think so.

Snow Days

2011-02-15T13:44:00.004-07:00

We had about 5 snow days between two weeks (already mentioned) and here are some pictures of our Texas snow and Jason's home workplace.

The canal behind my parents' house froze over! The ducks congregated in the unfrozen part of the canal.

Fun with Grandma

2011-02-04T08:54:00.002-07:00

My mom came to visit for a couple weeks to help us get settled into their home, see Callie, and keep me company. We had a great time together! We shopped, played Wii (especially Just Dance--I am so uncoordinated with my feet, but it's a lot of fun), watched HGTV and other shows, played with Callie, and spent time with Andrea, Ryan, and the kids. I regret to say I was negligent with picture taking, but she'll be back in 6 weeks for our family reunion so I'll have to make up for it then.

Tuesday morning, we woke up with snow/ice and freezing temperatures. Jason was told not to go in to work and we were glad because let's face it--for the most part, Texans don't know how to drive in snow/ice. Typically, when you get these ice storms in Texas it melts during the day, but it is Friday morning and we are still stuck inside. In fact, we woke up to a blanket of snow this morning (and it's still snowing). Jason has been able to work from home this week. It's been fun having him here. Yesterday, the roads were improved so my mom and I braved the cold and the roads to get out of the house for a few hours.

It's supposed to warm up above freezing this weekend, but then it's supposed to get cold and snowy again. I was supposed to be escaping winter weather by coming to Texas!!! But sitting inside instead of having to drive or walk in it isn't too bad.

Transportation--

2011-01-18T12:59:00.006-07:00

It doesn't really matter how...just as long as you get there!

1. Head back

2. Legs ready

3. Bottom up

and off she goes! From point A...

to point B!

Who needs crawling when you can scoot up-side-down-backwards?

my sweet Callie,

2011-01-12T12:40:00.002-07:00

Mommy is so excited to be done with school.

I can now be completely yours.

I get to be the one to be with you all day long.

I finally get to spend all of the time in the world feeding you, talking to you, playing with you, staring into those beautiful blue eyes, listening to your every coo, comforting you when you cry, reading you stories, taking pictures of you, laughing with you, and loving you like crazy!

I love you with all my heart,

Mommy

Socks..

2011-01-07T08:40:00.002-07:00

Why do I even bother putting them on when they only last a few minutes?

I found this little pile next to her car seat the other day ;)

I'm back: Part II

2011-01-05T10:49:00.007-07:00

December 24-26: Callie's first Christmas- We had a great Christmas. We were able to spend time with both our parents, Jason's siblings, and my grandparents. Christmas morning was so fun with Callie (not that she cared that much, but we had fun). She liked grabbing and pulling the paper, but mostly so she could try to eat it.

We spent Christmas Eve with Jason's family. We ate dinner, opened family gifts, and sang Christmas songs (I attempted to play the piano for the first time in over a year...it was rather embarrassing). We had our own Christmas morning with Callie and then my parents and grandparents came over for breakfast. We stopped by for a while at Jason's family's to see their new presents. Then we went to my Grandma Black's for Christmas dinner with my parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins. The next day we spent the whole day at Jason's family's house since this would be our last time with them before going to Texas. It was hard to say goodbye.

December 26-27: Jason Got the stomach flu on Sunday evening and was up sick all night long. This kept me awake most of the night as well...I spent Monday working hard to get everything packed and ready to leave for 3 months while Jason recovered from his illness. We had to leave Tuesday in order to beat a big snow storm coming that week. Jason did what he could, but I ended up needing some more help. My awesome mother-in-law came to the rescue. She took Callie for the afternoon and evening to keep her from getting sick and so that I could get as much done as possible. The night came and I was feeling quite overwhelmed and exhausted, so my mother-in-law and her daughter Shaina came over to help me finish up.

December 28-29: Jason felt much better Tuesday morning and I was tired, but not sick so we headed off for Texas. The drive the first day was great and we made it to Santa Rosa, NM. Wednesday morning, I was not feeling well. I thought (or rather hoped) that I was just car sick, but around 2:00pm I found out I had the flu...The last 2 hours of our drive took about 4 or 5 hours. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that was the most miserable drive of my entire life. Aside of that fact, we finally made it to Texas!!

December 31: We saw my sister, Andrea and her kids.

Present: Jason started his internship with PWC in Dallas on Monday. He's pretty excited about it, although the past couple of days have just been filled with boring training. Callie and I are enjoying are time together, and I am loving being back in Texas and especially being so close to my sister!

I'm back!! Part I

2011-01-05T10:19:00.010-07:00

I'm back to Texas and I'm back to the internet! After being MONTHS without internet...here you go:

October 27: Callie's first snow!

October 31: Callie's first Halloween- She's a pumkin, of course. Can't you tell? (we weren't about to pay $20 for a costume she would wear once that wasn't even cute and I didn't have time to make one so we improvised).

November 14: Callie's first solid food (4 months old)

November 28: Callie's rolling over a lot now

December 5:

December 10: I finished my student teaching and my degree!!! Jason bought me roses, a card, and a Symphony chocolate bar. I'll be attending the graduation ceremony in April.

December 13: Jason and I went to a Jazz game together for the first time. It was part of his Christmas present (as was the cool jersey he's wearing).

School

2010-10-11T22:17:00.005-06:00

This is Jason's first semester in the MAcc (Masters of Accounting) program, and things are going well. Over the past month or so he has been interviewing for internships for Winter semester. Out of the top 4 accounting firms, he has been accepted for second-round interviews by 3 of them. They are each flying him out to Dallas during October and November to have one more interview before making a decision.

This semester has been very busy with student teaching. I wake up at 4:45 or 5:00 every morning so that I can get myself and Callie ready for the day. We then leave at 6:30 or 6:45 and I spend the next hour as a taxi driver. I drop off Jason on campus (an hour before his classes even start), then I drop off Callie at Grandmas in Highland. I then drive to Pleasant Grove to the schools I'm teaching at. Although this has been a very difficult and stressful semester, it has been much better than expected thanks to the Lord sending many angels to help, including:

Jason: He helps me with Callie (he's so good at pacifying her) and he helps make lunches most days. He has been so patient in putting up with a messy house, and he is always there to encourage me, talk with me, and have fun with me!

My Mom: She came out to help the first week of school, taking care of Callie all day to cut down on driving time and stress. She has also been a great help and support, even if we are living in different states. I love being able to talk with her frequently during my long drives.

My Mother-in-law: She takes care of Callie all day every day while I'm at school. I am grateful to her for being so willing to give up so much of her time, and she is always happy to do so.

My Grandma Black: She cooks our family a meal once a week (that lasts at least two meals). Since I go pick up Callie in Highland, it's easy to drop by Grandma's house on my way home. I have loved visiting with her each week and her food is delicious! She has really helped make my burden lighter.

My cooperating teacher, Mr. Beck: I worried and prayed all summer long that my cooperating teacher would be understanding of my situation, because that one factor would make or break my semester. I don't think I could have been put with someone more understanding or helpful. He knows my top priority is and should be my daughter and he treats me accordingly.

My sisters: Although we are all thousands of miles away from each other, I feel strengthened and uplifted when I talk with them. Andrea is doing a similar thing right now (only her life is even crazier than mine), working as a teacher's aid at a school, completing her education, and mothering 2 children. Melissa also student taught with a daughter (and was pregnant), so she also knows what it's like and successfully made it through to graduation. They are great sisters and great friends.

I have already learned a lot this semester, and I am striving to enjoy the journey.

At Three Months Old, Callie is:

2010-10-11T21:32:00.007-06:00

*Smiling more frequently and readily

*Rolling from her tummy to her back (she's been able to roll from her back to her side for a while): Video to come

*Talking baby talk

*Laughing

*Still sleeping through the night (I don't know how I would student teach otherwise). She frequently ends up upside down, sideways, and with her covers thrown off.

*Eating a TON

*Trying to sit up (when she's laying on her back, she tries to sit up by lifting her head sometimes accompanied by grunting and a look on her face of trying with all her might)

*Sucking on her fingers (no particular one, she just shoves whichever fingers she can into her mouth)

*Starting to use her hands to grab things (my hair, my shirt, my arm, her toys, her clothes, etc.)

*Bringing great joy to her mommy and daddy!

One Month Old

2010-07-30T16:23:00.009-06:00

Callie is now one month old! I can't believe how quickly time is going. During Callie's first few weeks, my parents, sister Andrea, and Andrea's two kids visited. My mom stayed with us for almost a month--she was such a great help to us as we adjusted to having a baby. I loved spending time with my sister. I don't get to see my sisters often enough so that was a special treat.

My recovery has been more difficult and...complicated than I had anticipated. The first 3 weeks were especially hard, but after many tears, seeing 3 different doctors (4 visits total), and taking 6 different medications, I am on the mend and am feeling much better.

Callie is doing wonderful. For the most part, she sleeps great at night. She's been going to bed around 8:00 or 9:00 and only wakes up once or twice during the night. I love being home with her all day.

Here are some things she enjoys:
-sleeping (especially in anyone's arms, but she does well in her crib too)
-eating
-tummy time (but it usually doesn't last long)
-her pacifier
-her swing
-car rides

Here are some things she doesn't enjoy:
-baths
-being naked
-having her diaper changed
-being put in or taken out of her car seat (although she loves being in it while the car is moving or while daddy swings it)

I've posted a lot of pictures on my facebook, but here are some recent pictures of her as well as a video. The video is for Grandma Black (too big to e-mail).

Callie is finally here!!

2010-07-11T09:07:00.005-06:00

Callie arrived on July 10 at 12:11pm weighing 6 lbs 10 oz and measuring 19 inches tall. Here's her birth story:

Everything was ready. Bags packed, house cleaned, laundry done and put away, room set up, both grandmas in town, and all I had left to do was wait. Callie's due date was July 6, but she wasn't ready to come yet. I had a doctor's appointment that day and the doctor said I was maybe dilated to 1+ (I was at a 1 the week before). I had been having contractions the week before and they progressively got stronger as the days went by. By Friday morning my contractions woke me up and were getting painful. My mom and I went about our day doing various things and that evening I started keeping track of my contractions. They were 5-9 minutes apart for 3 hours straight and were getting stronger so we decided it was time to go to the hospital.

When we arrived I was at 3cm, but I did not progress over the course of an hour. The nurse thought we'd be sent home but called the doctor to let him know my stats. He was concerned that my blood pressure was high initially so he wanted me to stay the night and take some tests to make sure things were looking good and then send me home or keep me depending on if things progressed.

They discovered that I had a bladder infection, so they decided to put me on an IV and get some antibiotics into my system. I continued to have very painful contractions a few minutes apart during the night. I was in so much pain (augmented by the infection), but they didn't seem to think I was really ready to have the baby. They gave me some strong pain medication, but it mostly just made me so loopy I didn't really know what was going on. By the second dose, it wasn't even doing that for me. At some point I progressed to 5cm and then my water broke so they finally decided to give me an epidural (it was way past time in my opinion).

The epidural was wonderful! I was finally able to rest and not feel the pain. Within an hour I was dilated to 10cm. The nurse was pretty shocked. She had to check a few times just to be sure, and then I began to push. In our prenatal class they told us to plan to push for 2 hours and then if it was less we would be pleasantly surprised. Well, after almost 3 hours of pushing, the doctor asked if I wanted him to use forceps to help her out. By that point I was completely exhausted and in a lot of pain in my lower back (we found out later that the mattresses on the bed had separated so I had a nice chunk of metal digging into my back), so I gladly obliged and it wasn't too long after that that Callie was delivered.

The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice and she gulped some amniotic fluid before coming out, but it wasn't long before she was okay and breathing fine. I can't even describe the incredible feeling of relief, excitement, and amazement when I saw my sweet baby girl for the first time. Suddenly I forgot about all of that pain and how tired I was. The only thing in the world that mattered was that beautiful little girl. She is so sweet and doesn't cry much (yet). She has mostly slept through her first 22 hours of life. Jason and I are so excited to finally have her here!

Day 1 of Freedom!

2010-06-21T13:23:00.002-06:00

Today as been my first non-holiday, non-sick weekday without school or work in a long time!! I must say I am thoroughly enjoying it. Finals ended on Thursday, and Friday was my last day working.

We go to Jason's parents' house on Sundays for dinner and usually stay late. On Sunday nights, I typically start feeling stressed about school the next day, the studying I should have done over the weekend, and the need to get to bed at a decent hour. Last night I felt so relaxed and carefree. I didn't have anything to stress about because Monday was coming, and it really didn't matter what time I went to sleep. It was awesome. Jason, on the other hand, plays basketball at 5:00am and then works all day, so this time he was the one pushing me out the door. Now I get to stay at home and nest until Callie comes!

2nd Anniversary

2010-06-14T11:57:00.003-06:00

Jason and I celebrated our second anniversary on Saturday!

I had to take my Praxis exam that morning (part of teacher certification), but I came home to a clean house (including candles and music) and my sweet husband, ready to spend the day with me. We didn't do anything elaborate, but we had a wonderful day just spending time together, playing basketball and games together, watching a movie, and we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (one of our favorite restaurants). We thought it was pretty funny that when we got married it was about 107 degrees outside, but two years later in Utah it was in the high 50's. For our anniversary, Jason had one of our engagement pictures printed on a 12x12 canvas to hang in our room. I'm so excited to see it!

36 Weeks

2010-06-10T09:16:00.002-06:00

Baby things and Us things

2010-06-07T11:53:00.002-06:00

Over the past number of weeks, more like months, Jason and I have been very involved in preparing and planning for Callie's arrival. As each weekend approaches and we think about what we want to do together, our plans usually involve doing "baby things." This past weekend I asked Jason if he wanted to do more "baby things" on Friday night and he responded that he wanted to do some "us things" instead, so I surprised him after work with a picnic in the park and a short game of catch (part of his on-going attempt to teach me how to throw and catch a baseball. Even though my parents joke that I was raised on a softball field, I never really mastered the catch and throw myself). We had a great time together!

My pregnancy is still going well and is coming to a close! We're down to weekly doctor's appointments now (no progress yet toward labor). I feel like I'm carrying around a basketball of a tummy, and I think it's getting pretty squished in there because of the smaller amount of food that fits in my stomach at one time, the shortness of breath, the difficulty in bending over and getting up, etc. I'll have to post a picture soon.

Good News!!

2010-05-15T08:51:00.002-06:00

Jason found out yesterday that he has been accepted into the Masters of Accountancy program at BYU!!! All of his hard work, late nights, and studying has paid off! Jason officially has two years left of school, including an internship, and then he'll be done with school. It's so nice to know what we'll be doing and where we'll be for the next couple of years.

We only have 4 weeks left of Spring term. Just 4 more weeks of Music 306...I can do it. I must say, I like taking classes during Spring. I tend to enjoy them much more than during Fall or Winter semesters and they're over quicker, but having 10 tests in 7 weeks of school for 1 class is pretty rough. It'll be over soon though, and then all I will have left of school is student teaching.

I also only have about 5 weeks left of working. It'll be nice once that's over, as much as I love listening to angry mothers yelling at me when their child's graduation is on the line because their child procrastinated and neither parent nor child bothered to read the Read Me First (so appropriately named). I just find it rather fascinating how many people don't plan ahead and look into what they need to do in order to finish a course when a diploma is at stake...Anyway, enough of my ranting. On the positive side, it's a wonderful feeling when I am able to help someone graduate or when I speak to a customer who is appreciative of the great lengths we go to to help them graduate.

Jason and I are so excited for our little girl to come! Only approximately 54 days left! We are most likely going to name her Callie Fae Allphin. Fae is the middle name of Jason's grandma who recently passed away. The name Callie doesn't really have any ancestral significance. We just liked that name.

Well, it is time to get back to studying for my 3rd and 4th exams for Music 306...

Vacation

2010-04-30T16:26:00.008-06:00

Jason and I recently drove to Irvine, California to visit my parents. My dad got a new job in a brand new company so he and my mom have been traveling back and forth for the past several months. We had a great time sight-seeing and relaxing with my parents. Here are some highlights:

We visited a mission that had beautiful landscaping!

We saw lots of beautiful beaches and cities.

We walked along the beach on Balboa Island, got our feet wet in the freezing cold ocean, and watched a large group of sailboats preparing for a race.

We went on a boat tour around Balboa to see the $15 million houses and that evening, we went on a gondola ride complete with romantic music, treats, and a beautiful sunset. I really wasn't trying to match the gondolier when I got dressed that morning...

We saw lots of beautiful sunsets.

Flowers

2010-04-30T16:04:00.003-06:00

I am going to pretend like it hasn't been snowing and cold the past couple days and post pretty pictures of the flowers that have been blooming in our yard.

Spring is here!

2010-04-20T15:26:00.008-06:00

Not only is it finally warm, free of snow (I refuse to talk about the forecast for this weekend), and beautiful outside, but I am done officially done with Winter semester! Jason takes his last exam tomorrow morning and then it will be vacation time (for a few days until Spring term starts).

The horrible pain I was experiencing is gone now! It was pretty bad for about a week, but then progressively got better. I am so grateful that it doesn't appear to be something I'll have to deal with the rest of my pregnancy and I'm so glad it wasn't anything serious.

Here are some pictures since it's been a while:
March 8: 22 weeks, 4 days

April 18: 28 weeks, 3 days

Here are some things we've bought for her.

Amazing Story

2010-04-10T10:37:00.003-06:00

This is an incredible story of a young man born without eyes and with a severe, crippling disability and his incredible father who has devoted his life to his son and his son's ambitions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTiYA1WiY8

Just when I thought this was an easy pregnancy...

2010-04-02T08:13:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday morning, around 3:30am, I woke up to some bad pain in my lower right abdomen going through to my lower back. I thought maybe I was sleeping in a weird position or something, so I rolled over and went back to sleep after a few minutes. When I woke up I still had pain, but it was not as bad so I went to school. After my first class I headed to work. I was running a little late so I walked pretty fast. The intense pain in the same spot set in again. I thought if I could just make it to work, it would probably go away, but it didn't. About 15 minutes into work I couldn't handle it any longer so I left, sobbing.

On my way home I called Jason, but he didn't answer because he was in class. I left a message and sent him a text to call me. Many things were going through my head: "what if the same thing happens to me that happened to Andrea...what if my appendix ruptured...what if they have to do surgery? They can't do surgery, I have a baby inside! what if something's wrong with the baby?" I was so scared and was in so much pain. Shortly after I got home Jason called and said he'd come home right away (he walked all the way home from his class because he didn't want me to get up and drive). I began pleading with the Lord that everything would be okay.

While waiting for Jason to get home, I called my doctor's office and they told me I should go to the hospital so they could check things out. We spent about 4 hours in the hospital while they asked me a hundred questions, hooked me up to machines to monitor the baby and me, and took a bunch of tests. Although I didn't realize it, I was having contractions along with the worst times of pain. They decided it wasn't pre-term labor and the baby seemed to be doing fine. They didn't really figure out what was going on. They found some bacteria and thought it could be an oncoming infection, or I could have pulled a muscle or tendon and my body was reacting badly. They sent me home with an antibiotic and told me to "take it easy." That's easier said than done when you're in the second to last full week of the semester and working...

Things seem to be improving. I have less episodes of intense pain and contractions each day. The pain rarely completely goes away and is aggravated by moving, standing, and walking so I'm beginning to think I injured myself. Although I'm still in a lot of pain, I'm so grateful it wasn't anything serious or threatening to the baby.

Grandma Cook

2010-03-17T18:42:00.003-06:00

Last week, Jason's Grandma Cook passed away from a heart attack. We went up to Oregon for her funeral this past weekend. Donna Fae Cook was an amazing lady. She was hard-working, loving, fun, and made a special impression upon all she came to know, including me. She has an amazing legacy, too. She has 8 living children, 57 grandchildren, and 76 great-grandchildren. She lived with her husband in Oregon where they worked on their farm. They also served four missions for the Church.

We last saw Grandma Cook a few weeks ago when she and Grandpa drove down to Utah for the sealing of Jason's sister Kelsie, her husband Rick, and their baby Owen. Grandpa Cook performed the sealing. Just after seeing them, I told Jason that Grandma Cook treated me like her own granddaughter. She was always so loving toward me and was always interested in my life. I felt a special connection with and love for her. I think everyone she knows has felt the same way. We all love her and will miss her, but we know she is in a better place and is no doubt sharing her love and testimony with those on the other side.

Updates

2010-02-26T08:10:00.012-07:00

Okay, I've been seriously slacking with my blogging so here's an update. I apologize for the monstrosity of this post, but a lot has happened since I last posted!

3 Weeks Ago: Jason and I went to St. George for the Utah Music Educator's Association conference. I learned a lot myself and felt inspired in my teaching. Also, it was a really nice get-away for us. This was one of the few Fridays Jason could get away with missing school because he had midterms that week and finished them early. Also, while we were down there, I felt the baby move for the first time!

While there we visited the temple. It looked so white and beautiful compared to the red rock surrounding the city. Unfortunately none of my pictures show the red rock. As you can see, we didn't get the warm, sunny weather I was hoping for, but there wasn't any snow there and it was a little warmer than Provo.

On our way home, we stopped at Cove Fort. In 1867, Brigham Young asked Ira Hinckley to build a fort in Cove Creek to serve as a resting station for the many Saints who passed through on their way to settle in Southern Utah. Ira and his family lived there for several years to maintain the fort and serve as hosts for the travelers who stayed there.

2 Weeks Ago: We had a three-day weekend for President's Day and Valentine's Day. Jason and I spent most of the weekend celebrating Valentine's Day. On Saturday Jason pampered me with gifts, took me out to lunch, took me shopping for some maternity clothes, and then we watched a movie that evening. Sunday was mostly spent at church and with his family. On Monday evening I made a special dinner. We ate on our China with candles. It was a wonderful weekend.

1 Week and 3 Days Ago: Jason and I found out that we're having a girl!! This came as a shock to many people (including Jason and I) who were convinced we were having a boy for various reasons. I took digital pictures of the ultrasound pictures. They're kind of hard to see.

This is a profile picture showing her face and part of her upper body with her arm on top.

This picture shows her face with her arm across the bottom of the picture.

Here's the proof that she's a girl. As the technician said it, "nothing pointing North...it's a girl!"

There are her cute little legs and feet (her feet are crossed at the ankles).

So far, Jason and I are thinking of naming her either Callie or Clara. Which do you like best?

1 Week Ago: Jason and I had dinner with Stefani and Nathan. Stefani is Melissa's sister-in-law and one of my good friends from childhood. They went on a cruise this week and we agreed to dog-sit for them, so they had us over for dinner and games so we could meet their cute puppy, Tinkerbell. Stefani and I haven't had much interaction since her family moved away when we were younger, but we had a great time that night! They made the most delicious Alfredo (Jason's begging me to get the recipe) and we played Uno Attack. Jason and I don't do much with other people because of our crazy schedules (and maybe we're a little anti-social), but we had a lot of fun and hope to do something with them again soon!

This Morning: Jason felt the baby kick for the first time! It was also the first big kick I've felt. Although I've felt her moving for a few weeks, I have to be laying on my back and concentrating on nothing but feeling her move and it's been subtle even then. It's so amazing feeling life inside. It makes it feel much more real. I love this sweet baby so much and I just can't wait to meet her!

New Calling

2010-01-28T10:16:00.002-07:00

After a year and a half of teaching primary, Jason and I finally get new callings! Don't get me wrong, Primary is fun, but we were definitely ready for a change. Especially because I still feel like we don't know half the ward. My new calling is the MiaMaid advisor! I am so excited. I absolutely loved Young Women's as a youth. It's such an amazing program. Jason doesn't have a new calling quite yet, but there is one in the works. For now, he gets to go to Elder's Quorum for the second time since we've been in this ward.

3 weeks and 5 days...

2010-01-21T10:18:00.003-07:00

...until we find out what we're having!!! I just had an appointment yesterday and everything is looking good. I love hearing the baby's heartbeat. I think it is the best sound in the world. I still don't have much to see from the outside and I haven't felt anything yet from the inside, so hearing the baby's heartbeat is so reassuring and makes it feel much more real.

Jason wants to have a boy. No, it goes further than desire. He is convinced we're having a boy. He always talks about the baby as if it's a boy and we're already set on a boy name, so I think it will be funny if it's actually a girl. As for me, I can't decide which I would prefer. Hypothetically speaking, I think I would prefer to have a boy first because I always wished I had an older brother around. On the other hand, I cannot wait to have a little girl.

Any guesses? Boy or girl?

Baby Bump

2010-01-15T18:43:00.003-07:00

Here are some pictures of my baby bump. I know it doesn't look like much yet, but it sure looks like a huge bulge to me! The picture of me in a maroon shirt is my wanna-be-baby-bump picture from December. The other two were just taken the other day (15 weeks).

New Classes

2010-01-06T18:15:00.002-07:00

This is my last winter semester ever!!! I can also officially say that I graduate in less than a year! Here's a brief look at my classes this semester:

1. String Workshop (second half): we learn how to play and teach all of the stringed instruments. I played the cello for the first time today and loved it! I'll also be playing the violin briefly this semester.

2. Instrumental Practicum: learning all of the nuts and bolts of teaching (scheduling, budgets, how to choose repertoire, etc.). We also do more conducting in this class.

3. Pre-student teaching: I go to Springville High School for one class period to start teaching in a real classroom (the teacher there says I should be teaching the whole class period on my own by the end of the month--scary!).

4. General Music Methods: this class focuses mostly on teaching elementary-aged kids (and acting like them; during the first class period we sang and danced around the room). We'll also be helping out and teaching in our teacher's music pre-school for kids ages 2-4.

5. Multicultural Education: this class focuses on "designing and adapting instruction for diverse learners, collaborating with families, cultures, and communities in promoting and sustaining learning."

6. Adolescent Development: pretty self-explanitory. This class won't start until halfway through the semester so I don't know much about it yet.

Jason is continuing in the accounting junior core and all of its pertaining joy.
It should be a great semester!

2009 Highlights

2009-12-30T14:01:00.004-07:00

Here are some highlights from 2009 (and all the pictures I've been meaning to post). It has been a great year! Jason started the intense junior core for the accounting program. This resulted in many late nights at school working on projects and homework. I officially started the music education major. Both of us have loved the change in majors. Jason and I also worked part-time; Jason in the registration department of Continuing Education and then as a student accountant for the Sports and Dance Camps, and I continued working at BYU Independent Study. 2010 will bring the end of my schooling, a continuation of Jason's schooling, and the adventure of parenthood!

2009 Highlights

Christmas

2009-12-28T13:22:00.002-07:00

We had a great Christmas with Jason's family. We had our own little Christmas together on Christmas Eve. We stuffed each other's stockings with a few things and opened some gifts from my family.

We went over to the Allphin's on Christmas Eve for a very yummy, candle-lit dinner. In his family we draw names for presents. We drew Kaden's name, so we bought him this little Cars sleeping bag (little did we know that he begged his mom for a similar sleeping bag at a store). After that we sang some Christmas songs and played some games before heading to bed so Santa could come. I loved watching the kids' excitement on Christmas morning as they opened their presents.

The most exciting presents were the live frogs in a little aquarium, a scooter (I think everyone in the family took a ride around the house over the next few days), the T-Shirt game (very similar to Apples To Apples), and Kaden's helicoptor toy, which has gone through a few sets of batteries. We spent the rest of the day playing with the toys and eating lots of candy.

Temple Square

2009-12-22T11:09:00.004-07:00

Last night, Jason and I took our annual trip to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. On the way to Salt Lake we stopped to eat at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. When we got to Temple Square we wandered around looking at the lights and then we stopped and sat on the bench where Jason proposed.

Here's the view of the temple from our bench (sorry the lighting is so bad--I'm not on my computer so I can't fix it):

Done!

2009-12-16T12:56:00.003-07:00

I am done with finals!!! I finished yesterday at about 1:30. I only had 3 finals this semester. It was the easiest finals week I've ever had. Now I have 2 1/2 weeks to relax. Jason still has 2 more exams to take and they are all scheduled, the last one on Friday.

The weather this week has been great! It was really cold last week and it snowed a lot. The snow is still here, but is cleared from the roads and it's been in the 30's, which I am sad to say feels good compared to last week.

I am 11 weeks now, so that means I get to start my second trimester next week! The first really wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Yeah, I've been ridiculously tired (I fall asleep between 8:00 and 8:30 most nights), I have to use the bathroom every hour or so, I'm very emotional at times, I feel sick frequently, I usually have no appetite, and certain smells and foods make me want to puke...but really, it hasn't been that bad. I thought I would be throwing up a couple times a day, but I haven't once. I also haven't had to miss any class or work because of not feeling well, so I am counting my blessings.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-02T18:03:00.002-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving! Jason's parents went on a cruise with his mom's siblings, so we had Thanksgiving with his brothers and sisters. Kelcie, Rick, Jason, and I all made various things for our meal and it was all great! Jason's youngest brother, Kaden, is 3 years old so he needed babysitting while his parents were gone. We took him for three days (along with his 9 year-old sister, Halie). We had lots of fun together watching movies, making holiday goodies, going shopping (we bought a crib!), and playing games. Jason and I also put up Christmas decorations, including a 7 foot tree that my Grandma is letting us borrow.

It was so hard coming back to school after Thanksgiving break, but we only have 7 days left of classes and then finals. I'm so excited for this semester to be over. This semester I have taken some really good classes with great teachers, and I love my new major, but it has been exhausting and I am definately ready for Christmas break and a change in classes.

1st Prenatal Appointment

2009-11-24T16:58:00.002-07:00

Today I went to my first appointment and found out there really is a baby inside of me! They did an ultrasound, so we were able to see the baby and hear the heartbeat. It was amazing! They told me my due date is July 6, which happens to be my brother-in-law Kyal's birthday and my uncle Steve's birthday. Our doctor is really nice and caring, so I think we made a good choice. What a way to start off my Thanksgiving break!

I have some good news...

2009-11-13T14:22:00.002-07:00

Jason and I are going to have a baby!

We are so excited! I am six weeks along, so the baby will be born in July. We have lots of July birthdays in our family. It is so crazy and amazing to think that I have a baby growing inside of me! I haven't been too sick yet. Almost 24/7 I am either nauseous or starving, but last night Jason bought me some saltines for the nausia and goldfish for the starvation, so I'm all set!

Halloween Eve

2009-10-30T16:47:00.002-06:00

I must admit that I am not a huge fan of Halloween. I have not dressed up since high school. This year, however, I decided to wear a cowgirl costume to work so that I could wear jeans!! So here I sit with an itchy hat, an uncomfortable button-up shirt, and painful boots--all so I can wear jeans to work. I walk around campus every day in my "business casual" watching the majority of my fellow students wearing jeans and flip-flops. I miss those days Freshman and Sophomore year when I could wear anything I wanted! In all of my time here at Independent Study I have worn jeans twice, including today. The other occasion was our moving day last December since we were closed to the public. You know, I understand the whole thought about people's attire influencing their behavior, but I really don't think I act any different when I wear jeans as opposed to khaki's. In fact, I think if anything I'm happier wearing jeans!

Fall semester

2009-09-19T16:35:00.002-06:00

Well, in case you haven't been able to tell from my lack of blog posts, Fall semester has started. Jason has started the infamous Junior Core for accounting and I have officially started music education. Jason is enjoying accounting and is so glad he switched, but so far he has been very very busy. He was assigned a group project on the first day of class. They were told it would take 40-50 hours and they only had a couple weeks to do it! Some perks we have found with his new major are a plethora of free food and other free stuff (sweatshirts, T-shirts, backpacks, etc.) from the Big Four accounting firms. Jason also found a new job a couple weeks ago. He's now a student accountant for the sports and dance programs in the Continuing Education Department. He loves it! He no longer has to talk to crazy, angry customers over the phone. Instead he gets a great job doing something that will give him great experience for his future career!

My new major has been quite busy and stressful, but also very exciting. I am now going to junior high schools and high schools almost every day to observe, teach (eventually), and play in their orchestras and bands. As much as I hated going to junior high when I was that age, it is a lot of fun going now! We have seen some amazing teachers who really inspire and motivate me. I am also currently learning to play the bass (which is a lot harder than I thought) and I'm taking percussion lessons. It's a pretty exciting and busy time!

I'm done...

2009-08-21T08:08:00.003-06:00

...with American Heritage!!!!!

I know this is pathetic, but after 2 years, 3 months, and 5 days I have finally finished that class! I've never really considered myself a procrastinator. In high school I always did my homework, projects, and papers well in advance. I loved to be on top of things. Then I took this class... Suddenly everything in the world easily took precedence. I guess it didn't help that I've been working, going to school, and getting married. Anyway, it feels so good to be done. I feel so free!

Wedding and Family

2009-08-17T10:28:00.002-06:00

We had a great weekend! Melissa, Cory, Katelund, and Cloey were in town for Stefani's wedding. Stefani is Cory's younger sister and my friend. I hadn't seen Melissa or her family since our cruise last June, so it was very exciting to see them again.. The girls are so adorable and have grown up so much since I last saw them. Stefani's family did the entire wedding themselves, so they were working on it almost 24/7, but we did get to spend some time with Melissa and family. The temple sealing was absolutely beautiful (Jason and I were able to attend), and their reception that night was magical. They all did such a great job on the decorations, food, music, and entertainment. It was so fun to be a part of it and share in that special time.

We were also able to see my cousin Shanna, her husband Matthew, and their new baby Austin. Austin was born on July 18, the same day as my nephew, Owen. He is adorable and so sweet. Even though they live pretty close by, I hadn't seen them in quite a while. It was fun catching up with them.

This week is Education Week at BYU so that means Jason gets to work extra long hours this week. We won't get to see each other as much this week, but he does get paid overtime (Ed Week is one of the FEW times BYU is okay paying overtime), so that makes it worth it.

Owen Pictures

2009-08-11T13:02:00.002-06:00

I have pictures of Owen!

Here are his proud parents, Kelsie and Rick.

Owen Richard Wirsch

Baby Owen

2009-08-10T08:21:00.005-06:00

I was waiting to post about my new nephew until I had a picture, but between dead camera batteries, my forgetfulness, and my lack of Facebook priviledges at work, I still don't have a picture. I will post one soon, though.

Anyway, my sister-in-law, Kelsie, recently had a baby boy named Owen Richard Wirsch. He was born August 18th and weighed a little over 5 pounds. He was born a week early, but is healthy and doing great. I fell in love with that sweet baby boy the first time I held him. There is just something so awe-inspiring and exciting about holding a baby. I hold him as often as Kelsie (and Grandma) will let me!

Taste of Home

2009-08-03T15:31:00.002-06:00

Friday night, Jason took me to the new Texas Roadhouse in American Fork. We pass it on our way to Jason's parents' house so we have watched it being built for the past couple of months and have been so excited to go. It was really really busy. Our wait time was about an hour and a half, but it was definitely worth it. Their food was great, the atmosphere was great, and the prices were better than we expected. They had these amazing dinner rolls that were almost sweet and came with honey cinammon butter. Oh, and they had line dancing. I was tempted to get up and join them! It's been way too long since I've line danced. We had a great time, and I felt right at home.

Side note: Something that first caught our attention at the Texas Roadhouse was the Texas flag on top of the restaurant. The Texas flag flies at the same height as the USA flag (as can be seen frequently in Texas, if not flying higher than the USA flag). I realized that I have never actually seen a Utah flag around in Utah. In contrast, it's hard to take a drive anywhere in Texas and not see a Texas flag. I found it amusing that here I am in Utah, and even though I do not see a Utah flag flying, there is still a Texas flag flying.

Fingerprints

2009-07-27T16:51:00.004-06:00

I had to get fingerprints and FBI clearance for a class I'm taking in the fall for music education, but before I could get my fingerprints I had to register with the state (fill out some online form and pay $79). The fingerprints cost another $10. I didn't realize how expensive fingerprints could be. I think they should pay me for taking my fingerprints. Anyway, I went to a place on campus that does them. They do electronic scans of your fingerprints. It took forever! My fingers were apparently dry (it probably doesn't help that they're also caloused from playing viola), so the guy had to keep getting them wet with a water bottle. It was an interesting experience.

School Supplies and Fans

2009-07-16T10:30:00.008-06:00

Jason and I went to Shopko yesterday to take advantage of their back to school sale. Although we only bought one notebook for each of us, it was very exciting. I love buying new school supplies. I don't really know why, but I just find such excitement and satisfaction from it. As I stroll down the aisles I miss those days of school supply lists--buying glue, colored pencils, pencil bags, binders, folders, paper, pens, pencils, rulers, book covers, and backpacks. Now that I'm in boring old college, all I ever need is a notebook, some pens, an occasional highlighter, and ridiculously expensive textbooks. I look forward to my years of parenting when I can vicariously live the life of a student and buy new school supplies again.

During this same expedition, we looked for a fan for Jason. I know they say men's body temperatures are slightly higher than women's, but sometimes I think Jason's temperature is 5-10 degrees hotter than mine. We like to keep our AC off as much as possible to save money, so we open our windows at night to cool the house down (a luxury not available in Texas). While this does cool down our house to around 70 degrees by the next morning, it usually cools down after we've gone to bed, so Jason is frequently too hot at night. He's been wanting a fan for our house since before we got married, so when he found the 20% discount coupon from Bed, Bath, and Beyond in the mail, it didn't take him long to decide to use it to buy a fan. As pictured above, we found the Borg Oscillating Stand Fan with remote control. Jason has had it turned on almost every waking moment that we've been at home since we bought it, and he takes it with him from room to room.

Buying our Borg Oscillating Stand Fan with the 20% off coupon = $42.73. The joy, relief, and satisfaction felt by Jason from our new fan = priceless.

Good news!

2009-07-07T13:19:00.003-06:00

After lots of waiting and praying, Jason just found out that he has been accepted into the accounting program!!!!

Texas

2009-07-06T08:23:00.006-06:00

Jason and I had a great time in Texas visiting family. We were there for a little over a week. It had been almost a year since we had seen Andrea, Ryan, Abby and Ethan so it was great to finally see them again! We stayed with my parents in their new house. During that week we went swimming, went in my parent's kayak in the canal/pond behind their house, played lots of Wii, rented jet skiis for a day, went to a Ranger's game, ate lots of TexMex, barbeque and Blue Bell ice cream, and drove down to San Antonio to see the Alamo, go to the river walk, and go to the San Antonio Temple (which was absolutely beautiful). As beautiful as the Utah mountains are and as wonderful the summer weather is, it was very refreshing to go back to the Texas wide open spaces and it was so good to see my family again. I just wish Melissa and her family could have been there, but thankfully we will see them later this summer. I do have pictures to share, but some are on my mom's camera, so I'll just share a few for now.

More pictures to come!

Summer!

2009-06-19T12:05:00.002-06:00

Jason and I are done with Spring term, so we finally get to start our summer! Jason actually finished last week, because his teachers are cool like that. I finished my last final exam on Thursday morning. I am so excited to be done with Music 301. That class I have dreaded for years. After watching so many other people suffer through that ridiculous class and then suffering through it myself, I'm so glad to be done with it. It wasn't absolutely horrible. I actually really enjoyed the lectures and thought I had a great professor. I just think the class in general is a little too much. It is useful and good, but it is a TON of material and it's kind of hard to relate to, listen to, learn and enjoy music from 800-1600 AD. Our final exam was comprehensive and was 50% of our grade. Not only did it cover 800 years of history, but we had over 60 music examples that we had to know in great detail. Anyway, enough of my ranting.

It is so nice to just relax and enjoy the summer. Jason and I will start working full-time on Monday, and I was so glad I was able to get the shift I want (8:00-5:00, like Jason) instead of 10:00-7:00 like I feared. Not only that, but we're extremely slow. Most of the high school graduations are over so instead of having 20-40 calls on hold, we each only get calls every 4 minutes or so. It's great. A little boring at times, but great. I still have to finish American Heritage, so it will be good having so much time to work on it.

Jason and I get to go to Texas soon!!! I'm so excited! I haven't been back since our wedding last year. It will be weird going "home" to a different house, but I guess both of my sisters went through that as well. I can't wait to see my parents, Andrea, Ryan, the kids, and Margaret! It's been too long. While we're there, we're going down to San Antonio with my parents. Jason's never been, and I love it there. I can't wait!

21st Birthday

2009-06-16T17:20:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I turned 21! I was born on my mom's birthday and my sister Andrea's birthday is the day after. This was my first birthday without my mom or sister, so that was kind of sad, but I still had a great birthday!

Once again being such a sweet husband, Jason woke up really early to make me a pankcake breakfast. Not only did he make me breakfast, but he cleaned the kitchen and living room (which were both a mess as a result of our final exams and previous celebration). I had a rehearsal with my trio at 9:00, but I didn't have my usual class from 10:00-11:50 so my Grandma Black came over to visit! It was so good to see her again. Even though I live in Utah, I don't get to see my extended family much because of my crazy schedule, so it really was a special treat to see her. She made me a delicious lemon bundt cake (so delicious I couldn't wait to take a picture before eating some).

I worked my normal shift from 12:00-7:00 (which I hope to never do again). After work, Jason made me a yummy spaghetti dinner with garlic toast. We played Ticket to Ride (the European version), watched Princess Diaries 2 (Mia has her 21st birthday), and ate MORE cake, but this time with candles and the birthday song.

1st Anniversary!

2009-06-16T16:22:00.010-06:00

Friday was our first anniversary! Part of me feels like I've known Jason forever, but the other part of me feels like this year went by really fast. It has been a great year. I love Jason so much and I feel so blessed to have found him. He is my best friend, my confidant, my support, my joy, my life and my love. It makes me so happy and excited to think that I get to spend forever with him!

Friday morning, he woke up early and made me a wonderful breakfast, complete with a beautiful bouquet of roses and lit candles.

Unfortunately we still had classes and work that day, but I was able to get off of work early. Jason took me to Ruby River. It's a great steak restaurant that has a Texas-looking theme, and it is incredibly delicious! After that we drove up the canyon and went to Squaw Peak to watch the sunset. Squaw Peak has a great view of Utah Valley. There was an approaching storm, which was also cool to watch, that covered up our sunset and forced us to leave a little early, but it was really fun.

New Classes

2009-04-29T14:22:00.002-06:00

Today is day two of Spring term. I think it will be nice only taking a few classes, even if they are monsterously hard and long. I'm taking Music History 301 (the first part of the music history class I was stressed about last semester). In our first class meeting, our professor made a funny but true comment. He was talking about how every music major seems to really struggle with this class and he was listing off his reasons for it. One of which was that most students' reasons for majoring in music are not really...substantial. They just love to sing or play an instrument and decide they want to do that for the rest of their lives, but they seldom desire to know how music works or the history behind it. As a result, they struggle through and sometimes hate classes like this one. Not going to lie, I was one of those shallow-minded students. While it might be interesting to learn Solfege with its accompanying hand signs, the different church modes and how they function, what a fully diminished 7th chord is, how to aurally identify a 12-tone series, or who Metastasio was, that wasn't really why I decided to major in music. Now I do see the usefulness of being a well-rounded musician who understands the inner workings of music, but not going to lie, when I entered BYU that's not what I thought I had signed up for.

Moving on...I am also taking Music 395 which is Form and Analysis. I have been intimidated by this class, but after the first day it doesn't seem so bad (so far). The third class I am taking is String Chamber. I'll be in a duet, trio, or quartet depending on who actually takes the class during Spring. Meanwhile, I am still trying to finish my online American Heritage class. I have one more quiz, a big paper, and my final exam. Two years after registering (embarrassing, I know) I am determined to finish...

I hate Burger King...

2009-04-21T16:30:00.005-06:00

It seems like every post I've written has just been me complaining about finals and being stressed, but I have a crazy story to tell. Even though most of it is negative, I promise it has a good ending!

As of yesterday, I had two finals left. My two hardest finals that would require the most preparation and that caused the most stress. One was my 3,000 word essay for Anthropology that I had written one page for and that had to be turned in by Tuesday at 12:18, and the other was my music history written exam that I had barely started studying for that I had to take at 11:00 the next morning. Yesterday morning I took a different final and then went to work from 2:00-7:00 and we were really busy so I didn't really have time to study. Jason had left after he got off of work at 5:00 to take one of his finals, so I just went home after work to study. At 8:30 I went to pick up Jason from the testing center. Since I had tons to study and a huge paper to write I thought it would be better to just pick some dinner up somewhere to save some time. We decided to stop at Burger King on our way home.

As we parked our car at Burger King we saw this guy go up to the door and return to his car because the door was locked. Apparently only the drive through was open. We didn't really want to do drive through so we decided to walk over to the Costa Vida that was next door. We figured, why drive when we can get a little exercise and walk. After eating, we headed back to the Burger King parking lot to find that our car was GONE.

The first thought that entered my mind was that our car had been stolen. While I was greuling over that possibility, Jason knocked on the Burger King door. When the kid (he looked like he was maybe in high school) opened the door he said "honda civic, right? We had it towed. Our parking is for customers only." I could not believe the nerve of that kid! If only he knew how much stress I was already under and how much time I was going to have to spend that night and the next morning...It felt like that was the worst possible night that something like that could have happened. It just made us so mad that we went there intending on eating at Burger King, and just because they, for some reason, decided to close the lobby at 8:30 at night, we had to eat elsewhere. We've been to that Burger King many times, and I have NEVER seen that sign. So after we finally found the stupid sign, Jason called the number to get directions to the tow place. Jason told him where we were, and the tow guy told us to keep going down University and cross the street at 500 West. Then we should be able to find it from there. He also told us it would cost us $121 to get our car back if we paid in cash. Otherwise it would be more. Seeing as we didn't have that much cash on us, we had to stop at the ATM at our bank on the way (luckily it really was on the way).

Jason said the guy was really hard to understand, but we attempted to follow his directions and ended up wandering downtown Provo in vain, searching for this place. After 2 more confusing phone calls to the guy and a total of 30 minutes of walking, we decided to call Jason's mom to see if she could interpret his directions. He kept telling us about 500 W and University and he said it was near a DI drop-off place. We were really confused because the only DI we knew of was clear across town. Jason's mom didn't answer, so Jason called his brother Kyal to see if he was at home. Thankfully, Kyal was driving around Provo with his friends instead of at home in Highland (30 or more minutes away). He knew where a towing place was that seemed to fit the guy's directions, so he came and picked us up. He had three other friends in the car, so Jason and I squeezed in (I sat on his lap).

Once we arrived and saw that the door was locked and there were no cars in the parking lot, Kyal called the guy to see if he could get better directions or at least understand him better. He was able to figure out where it was so he drove us there (it wasn't far from the first one). The tow guy was actually really nice about it and felt bad that we got our car towed. He said Burger King called him and asked him to tow it, and he also thought it was ridiculous that they towed our car. If Kyal hadn't been in Provo, who knows how long it would have taken us to figure out where the tow place was, and even if we had figured it out it probably would have taken us at least an hour to walk there from where we were. Even though it was a horrible situation, the Lord was definitely helping us.

An hour after our adventure began, we were finally able to drive our car home. I was way worried about my exam and finishing my paper, but with the Lord's help I was able to get my paper finished (it was probably the worst paper I've ever written, but at least I finished) and I was able to adequately study for my exam. My exam actually went a lot better than I expected. I was so relieved when it was all over.

Now I am greatly enjoying my break from classes and the associating stress. It's so awesome actually having time to do the things I want and need to. Our house is finally looking cleaner, the dishes are no longer piled up in the sink, and I feel like I can breathe again.

Ugh...Finals

2009-04-20T13:37:00.002-06:00

I really really hate finals. It's absolutely miserable. I feel like there just isn't enough time to adequately prepare for my tests. Luckily I only have two left, but these two will take the most time and preparation and I only have until tomorrow morning to do so! It's almost over though, and then I'll get a few days off before the next round of classes...

The end...

2009-04-15T16:00:00.004-06:00

This week marked the end of my private lessons with Dr. Bigelow, my last masterclass with the viola studio at BYU, and my last jury. I have had such mixed feelings. Obviously I love playing solo repertoire and enhancing my viola skills, but having weekly lessons this past semester has caused a good deal of stress. Ever since I started working part time while going to school full time, I have really struggled getting in enough practicing. I just haven't had enough time in the day to get 3-4 hours in, and I have a really hard time being productive at night because I'm always so exhausted after a full day of school and work. I especially did not have much time this semester since I had to get my music education application all ready.

With all of these thoughts in my head, I was mostly relieved to be done. This morning I had my final jury. It went really well. I was nervous physically (my legs were shaking and my hands were clammy) but mentally I was calm and nostalgic. I felt like I was really able to express myself and it seemed to be well received. When I walked out into the hallway afterwards I got all teary-eyed when the realization hit that my private lessons are over.

On a lighter note, classes are OVER!! The class I am most excited to be done with is Anthropology. I like the concept of the class, but I wasn't particularly fond with my professor or my TA. We didn't have any exams in the class, which was nice, but our entire grade was based on 5 papers and a little bit of attendence. I still have to write my last paper, but I'm glad I at least don't have to go to those boring lectures anymore.

My favorite class this semester was the family history class I took with Jason. For those of you who don't already know, my dad is crazy about family history. He has done tons and tons of work over the past several years (somewhere around 30 years). Because it has been a great passion for him I have found interest in it as well, but I never knew where to get started. It's a pretty overwhelming undertaking when you don't know the first thing about family history. After a semester of taking a family history class, it is still overwhelming, but now I feel better equiped with the knowledge and resources I need to get started. The problem is I don't really know where to get started since my dad has done so much already...but I'll worry about that later.

Today and tomorrow are reading days and then finals officially start on Friday and end next Wednesday. I have 4 finals to take including my last Anthropology paper. The Tuesday after finals end, Spring term starts. I'll be taking music 395 (form and analysis), music 301 (a music history class), and I'll be in a string chamber group (either a viola duet or a quartet). In the mean time...I need to get to studying...

This post is for Andrea!

2009-03-30T18:40:00.002-06:00

Since my sister, Andrea is stuck in bed and said on her blog that she's bored and wants us all to write, I decided to finally write a post.

I had a Philharmonic concert last Friday night. We played Wagner's Overture to Tannhauser, a violin solo (I can't remember the name of it and I'm frankly too lazy to look it up) with a guest violinist from the LA Phil, and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. It was AWESOME.

My parents usually come up to Utah for one concert a year, and this happened to be the one! They arrived here last Wednesday and are leaving tomorrow morning. On Thursday night we had a big family dinner at Chili's with all my grandparents, most of my aunts and uncles, and some of my cousins. Friday night, my grandparents, parents, and Jason came to the concert. We were going to go out for ice cream, but a Friday night + Provo and its plethora of dating youth = crazy busy ice cream places. We ended up buying ice cream from the grocery store and taking it back to our house to eat. My dad, Jason and I all went in to pick out the ice cream. My dad said, "well, seeing as half of us are diabetic, I chose this sugar free ice cream." Jason and I of course picked sugar packed ice cream (Bunny Tracks). When we got to the house and showed everyone the ice cream selection, my dad ended up being the only one to eat the sugar free banana split ice cream. It was pretty funny.

On Saturday, we hung out with my parents all day. We went to the Provo Temple in the morning (7:00AM). It was the first time in almost 30 years that my parents had been there. After that I taught my Saturday violin and viola lessons. Then we ate lunch, and ran around town the rest of the day. That night we played Ticket to Ride 3 or 4 times. It was great fun!

Well, I get off work in 1 minute, so I'll have to finish this later...

To Be Continued...

Promotion!

2009-02-20T17:46:00.003-07:00

Well, this has been a great week!

Jason and I had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Jason snuck and made breakfast while I was still sleeping. When I walked into the kitchen I found pancakes, a beautiful Hyacinth flower, Lonestar playing in the background, and See's chocolates on the table. It was so sweet! Then we randomly went to get our hair cut (greatly needed). After I taught viola/violin lessons we went grocery shopping and saw Twilight again. Later, I made him dinner (lasagna, salad, and strawberry poke cake) on our China with candles.
We had Monday off of work and school, which was great because I had a lot to do.
I finished and turned in my huge Anthropology paper.
I recorded myself for my music education application.
I finished and turned in my music ed application.
I got a promotion at work! I am now a trainer. Well, I still have to be trained to be a trainer, but that is now my official title. I also got a raise with it!
I found out I received a full scholarship for Spring term and Jason received the same amount, but spread over Spring and Summer terms!
It's already the weekend again!

February

2009-02-09T18:03:00.002-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, but life has been insane! Here's a quick update:

December: Christmas was great! I had a lot of fun with Jason and his family! It was a lot of fun watching Halie and Kaden get so excited about opening presents and talking about Santa. It was so wonderful having a break from school and spending time with Jason.

January: My sister-in-law, Kelsie, got married on Jan 10 to Rick Wirsch! My busiest semester started including 15.0 credits (I know that doesn't sound like much, but this is the music major we're talking about. They basically require you to sign your life away and give you hardly any credit for it), 20 hours of work per week, and the process of applying to the music education major. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday I have class and work from 8am until 7pm. Thursday I have class and work from 8am until 5pm and then I teach a viola lesson. Wednesday (up until this week) I had class and work from 8am until 9:30pm.

February: To keep this brief, in addition to the previously mentioned schedule, this month I have 5 midterms, a few papers, 2 concerts, my portfolio and application for the music education major, a talk in church, a workshop for a primary activity to prepare and teach, and stake relief society conference to perform at. I'm trying to follow my sister's great advice to find joy in the journey amidst all my stress. We'll see how it goes!

Snow Day

2008-12-24T09:37:00.003-07:00

Finals are over. All stress is gone. Christmas is tomorrow. Life is good.

Jason and I were so excited to have this semester over with! He finished his last final on Thursday, and I finished mine on Friday morning. We chose to work full-time over Christmas break, but we do get two 4-day weekends for Christmas and New Years, so that'll be nice. Independent Study moved on Friday from the Harman building to the Morris Center. Yes, the cafeteria of what was once Deseret Towers. The building is a little ghetto and it smells like a cafeteria, but we got brand new desks, bouncy chairs, and really nice, fast, computers with HUGE screens!

On Monday it snowed at least a foot here. It was snowing constantly all day, and it looked like a blizzard to me! So as many of you already know, BYU and pretty much most of Utah NEVER cancels anything for snow, but for probably the first time in the history of BYU, the Dean decided to close all of BYU campus at 2:00pm, so we all got to go home! I must say, the roads were terrible, so it was a good thing they let us go home. Jason and I decided to play in the snow when we got home. We started building a huge snowman, but the body ended up too heavy to lift onto the bottom, so we didn't get very far...Then we built snow forts and had a snowball fight. It was really fun! The best part, is that we still got paid for the time we would have been working.

Today is the last day of work this week. It is kind of lame that we have to work on Christmas Eve, but I'm hoping we'll be slow so they'll let us go home early. I mean, seriously, why would anyone want to think about their Independent Study class on Christmas Eve? Jason and I decided to go spend the night at the Allphin's tonight so we can share in the excitement of Christmas with the kids in the morning. I don't think I've ever been around little kids on Christmas morning besides myself and my older sisters, so this will be an exciting Christmas!

As fun as this Christmas will be with my new husband and new family, I am sad that this is my first Christmas away from my family and home. I have such wonderful memories of Christmases with my family - reading the Forgotten Carols with the CD, smelling and eating all the yummy Christmas treats my mom makes, decorating the house and tree (yes, including the painful and long process of wrapping the stair railing with holly and lights), opening presents, our awesome breakfasts including Monkey Bread (or Pull Apart Bread, Bubble Bread, Pluckin' Bread, whatever you want to call it) on Christmas morning with Andrea, Ryan, and the kids, going to Mike and Nancy's, and the list goes on. This will be a new and different Christmas, and I guess it's time to create our own family Christmas traditions, but I will never forget the wonderful memories I have of past Christmases.

Finals

2008-12-16T09:08:00.003-07:00

Well, we are in the middle of finals. Jason is currently taking one and will then have 2 left. I have my Tuba final in a couple of hours and then I will have 2 left. I can't wait to be done!

Our 6 month celebration on Friday was fun. Jason had been sick all week with the stomach flu, but he was feeling mostly better by Friday. We ended up going to Olive Garden instead of the Mayan, because Jason thought it'd be easier on his stomach. Olive Garden is probably my favorite restaurant, and that's where we go for special occasions, so it was great. Then we went up to Temple Square and looked at the beautiful Christmas lights. It was really cold, but unlike last year there was no snow.

So after a week of Jason being really sick and miserable, we had a really fun weekend since he was finally feeling better. Then Monday came and I got sick...luckily with a cold and not the stomach flu, but goodness, I'm sick of sickness!

Jason and I have been having issues with our laptop not charging well for the past few months. We had to always keep it plugged in for it to stay charged. Then, the plug started not working. We had to do all kinds of things to try and get it to charge. It's to the point where we can't really even get it to work, so we took it in to the BYU Bookstore at the computer repair place. When the guy first inspected it and heard our sad tale, he decided we would need to replace something internally between the plug and the battery. He said on most newer computers this is attached to the motherboard. His estimate was $600 including replacing the motherboard for $500 and the labor which would be around $100. We were NOT happy to hear that, and we were thinking we'd just as well buy a new laptop, but then he and this other guy that work there did some more thinking and after many different estimates and more investigating, we some how got down to thinking it was just the plug and possibly the battery that need to be replaced. The plug will cost about $30, and if we have to replace the battery it would be another $60-$100. That's still a lot of money, but we were really excited to hear that after their initial estimate of $600!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T18:50:00.003-07:00

Well, Jason and I had a great Thanksgiving, but it went by way too quickly. We had Wednesday through Sunday without school. It was a really nice break from our hectic lives. Here's our week in a glance:

Wednesday: We worked 8-5, which is kind of lame, but that was also time spent doing homework (which probably wouldn't have been done otherwise) and getting paid for it! Jason and I both had huge research papers to do as well as the normal studying.

Thursdsay: We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Allphin family at his aunt and uncle's. Out of all the delicious food my favorites were the mashed potatoes, turkey, rolls, and pumkin pie. These are pretty much always my favorites. I haven't had homemade rolls in a looong time (Thanksgiving last year), so that was very exciting.

Friday: Because of Jason's fond childhood memories and the desire to get some Christmas shopping done with good prices, we decided to participate in the insanity of Black Friday. Our determination after experimentation: NOT WORTH IT. Pretty sure I'll never do that again. We woke up at about 4:30 in the morning, drug ourselves to Walmart where we found hoards of people gathered around the palettes ready to claw at the merchandise. We came out with about 6 DVD's. They were good prices, but for all we went through it wasn't worth it. Then we headed over to Target. It wasn't quite as bad, but we again didn't come out with much. We went to a couple more stores to do more productive shopping and then went home and slept for a couple of hours. It was crazy, tiring, and not very fun.

Saturday: As I said earlier, Jason and I both had big papers to write. Unfortunately we didn't realize before the weekend that two papers and one laptop doesn't really work so well. My sisters and I decided to do homemade gifts this year for each other's families so I worked on those all Saturday while Jason worked on his paper.

Sunday: Jason and I presented our sharing time about treating God's children with kindness and respect. After worrying about what in the world we would do for sharing time, I discovered an outline on the primary section of the church website. I wish I had known about that before frantically trying to pull something together last Saturday night so we could prepare the kids. We had been given a pamphlet that had a section about sharing time with the weekly themes, but ours didn't offer much help. It just said what the theme was and gave a couple of scriptures. Anyway, I used that outline and it went...alright. After church I finally finished my paper, and then we went to the Allphin's (like we always do) for dinner and games.

It was a great Thanksgiving weekend, but like I said, it went way too quickly. We now only have a week and a half left of classes and then we have finals!

Help!

2008-11-18T06:31:00.002-07:00

Okay, so I need the help of all of my creative, teaching sisters and cousins! Jason and I have to do sharing time in a couple weeks, and we need ideas! The topic is "showing respect and kindness to all of God's children." I've never done sharing time before, and I am having a hard time coming up with anything. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Twilight!!!

2008-11-12T18:51:00.001-07:00

Hooray!!! I've somehow convinced Jason to come see Twilight with me!! We bought our tickets yesterday, and we're going on opening day!! I'm so excited!!

8 Tag

2008-11-10T18:53:00.006-07:00

RULES

1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six "8" items
3) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. The Office
2. Lost
3. ALIAS
4. Everybody Loves Raymond
5. 24
6. Home Improvement
7. Super Nanny
8. Biggest Loser

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Woke up at 6:00 am
2. Went to 4 hours of classes
3. Ate lunch with Jason
4. Went to 2 more hours of class (orchestra)
5. Went to work for 4 hours
6. Got home after 7:00
7. Ate pizza for dinner
8. Relaxed on the couch and watched TV with Jason instead of studying or practicing

8 Things I look forward to
1. The weekend (as always)
2. The end of my 3rd round of midterms
3. The Twilight movie!!
4. The end of this semester
5. Thanksgiving
6. Christmas
7. The day I get to see my parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, and nephews again (whenever that'll be...)
8. Graduation!!!!

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. On the Border
2. Olive Garden
3. Outback Steakhouse
4. Ruby River
5. The Mayan (that's where Jason and I went to dinner the night he proposed!)
6. Wendy's
7. Joe's Crab Shack
8. Cafe Rio

8 Things on my wish list
1. Internet
2. A dog...some things never change :)
3. A printer that works!
4. Time
5. One of those little buggy's that took us to and from the huge ruin in Cozumel to take me to my class and work (except then I'd get fat)
6. A treadmill!!
7. Canon Rebel
8. A day off

8 People to tag
1. Shanna
2. Stefani Mann
3. Stefanie Martin
4. Sheri
5.-8. Andrea stole mine...I have no other friends...

Good Luck!

Thankful Thursday

2008-11-06T07:27:00.002-07:00

I liked Melissa's idea of thankful Thursday, so I want to add my own thanks.

Today I am thankful for the angels in my life. I loved Elder Hollands talk in general conference about angels. He talked about the people in our lives who can act as angels bringing us strength, comfort, and joy. Jason and I had a sweet angel (or angels) perform a simple act of kindness last week. Jason and I got home one night after a long day of school and work to find a surpise on our doorstep. Someone had left two carved pumkins and a plate of halloween cookies. They didn't leave a card or anything else to give away their identity. It was such a simple thing, but it really touched me. I can't explain the joy and love I felt from two carved pumkins and a plate of cookies.

Angels often come as an answer to prayer, and they manifest the Lord's love and concern for his children. You never know when you will be able to act as someone else's angel, but the impact that you can have on that person is great.

Halloween

2008-11-02T19:05:00.002-07:00

Halloween was pretty fun. I had to work till 7, but we did have a party at work...sort of. Our party was in our "new" office (I'll discuss later), and there were 6 different times we could go in designated groups so that there were always people on the phones. I was assigned to go in the last group at 4:30. The group before us was really late getting back (15 minutes) and we didn't want to leave 3 people to handle all the calls (don't ask me why people would worry about their online classes on Halloween anyway). So we finally got to the party at 4:50. Now the party was supposed to consist of the Charlie Brown Halloween, Pin the Hat on the Witch, a cake walk, a costume contest, food and homemade root beer. When we arrived, they were already cleaning up, so we took some of the remaining food (the root beer was gone) and talked...Kinda lame, but whatever. I was being paid to eat food and relax for 20 minutes.

Jason had a nice surprise for me when I got home (he gets off at 5:00). He had cleaned the house and moved the couch in front of the TV with Halloween-ish movies and candy laid out. We made dinner (chicken and salad) and then enjoyed our evening together.

Yesterday was pretty busy. I now teach four students (one started yesterday), so that filled up my morning. Jason always does the yard work while I'm teaching. He mowed the lawn and cleaned up tons of leaves. Then we had our primary class party. We had planned to eat pizza, play games, and have a store for the points they had earned for being good. We passed out invitations last Sunday, but only ONE out of 6 kids came...so Leilani, Jason, and I ate pizza (we bought 2 pizzas), played Life, and Leilani picked out her prizes and went home. It was kind of disappointing, but we plan to actually call the parents next time in the hope of greater attendance. This morning in primary, three of the boys were sitting together at the other end of the row, and one of them came up to me with the saddest face and said "we all forgot to come to the party." It was really cute.

Tag!

2008-10-17T18:50:00.003-06:00

Here are the rules: I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others.
The questions are as follows:
1. Where is your cell phone? backpack
2. Where is your significant other? waiting
3. Your hair color? caramel?
4. Your mother? compassionate
5. Your father? selfless
6. Your favorite thing? food!
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your dream/goal? family
9. The room you're in? office
10. Your hobby? viola
11. Your fear? dark
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? mother
13. Where were you last night? opera
14. What you're not? deaf
15. One of your wish-list items?
16. Where you grew up? Texas
17. The last thing you did? studied
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? boring
20. Your pet? nonexistent
21. Your computer? black
22.Your mood? excited
23.Missing someone? family
24. Your car? civic
25. Something you're not wearing? jacket
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? amazing
28. Love someone? Jason
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? lastweek (I know...I cheated)

I tag...Andrea, Melissa, Ciera, Jenna, Shanna, Sheri, and Stefani Mann

Heater

2008-10-16T07:01:00.002-06:00

Since September 1st, Jason and I had not run the air conditioning or the heater because the weather was basically perfect. Well...last week it got really cold so about Tuesday or Wednesday we decided it was time to turn on the heater (it was getting down to the low 60's during the night in our house). We soon discovered it wasn't working...Jason's dad came and tried to fix it and spent a whole day working on it, but couldn't figure out what was wrong so he tried to meet with a technician he works with. The guy flaked out 2 or 3 times and Jason's dad couldn't fix it without his help, so we were left freezing in our house for almost a week. We had a little space heater that we would drag around to whichever room we were in and we tried to stay bundled up. At night before we went to bed we would turn on the heater in our room and shut the door to warm it up. Then we would turn it off (we didn't want it to start a fire while we were sleeping) and add extra blankets to our bed. We'd set our alarm for an hour before we were supposed to get up, turn on the heater, and sleep for another hour while it warmed our room up. Then, because it was way to cold to eat breakfast in our kitchen, we would eat breakfast in bed. Over the weekend it was ridiculously cold (20's at night and low 40's during the day), so we stayed over at the Allphin's Saturday night. Anyway, Jason's dad and his coworker were finally able fix it on Tuesday so now we're nice and warm.

Another wave of midterms and papers are upon us...and with it, the opera! Yesterday started our business. We went to the Guarneri Quartet concert. They are one of the best quartets in the world. They've been performing together for 45 years and this is their last concert season. They are all really old now, but they are absolutely incredible! I'm so sad last night was the last concert of theirs I'll ever go to, because I just found out about them a couple years ago from Dr. Bigelow and I heard them for the first time last year when they performed at BYU. The concert was in Salt Lake and was 2 hours long so it took up our whole night, but we had a great time. Tonight is the first of rehearsals for the opera, Don Giovanni. I perform tonight, Tuesday night (another dress rehearsal), and Saturday night (the last performance). Opera is fun, exhausting, and stressful because of the timing with midterms, but I really like playing in the opera. Everyone in the area that reads this should go see it! It's going to be awesome!

Reunion

2008-10-05T18:30:00.002-06:00

Friday night was Jason's mission reunion (he served in Sao Paulo Brasil), held in a chapel south of Salt Lake City. There were lots of return missionaries there, many of which brought girlfriends, fiances, and wives (and there were 2 babies). It was fun to finally meet his mission president and the president's wife since I've heard so much about them. I was excited to hear that they love Texas (they lived in the Richardson Stake where I grew up, but moved before I was born). They bought a house in Provo only a few minutes away from our house. They had a nice fireside, sang songs in Portuguese, and the most recently returned missionary gave an update on the area. Afterwards, they had cookies, brownies, and a Brasilian drink that I can say, but I'm not going to attempt to spell. We had a great time.

General Conference has been wonderful, as always. One of my favorite talks was Elder Perry's talk about simplifying life. My life has been absolutely crazy lately with work, school, a house to take care of, and a husband that I'd rather spend my whole day with; simplifying my life sounds really good. My other favorite talk was the one about angels. I can't remember whose talk it was, but, like my mom was saying, it was really cool to hear about angels in conference. I also really liked the story about when Clyn Barrus was a little boy. Clyn was the BYU orchestra director before the current one and he taught private lessons to my viola professor.

Well, here goes another busy week!

Exams...

2008-10-01T18:46:00.002-06:00

Man, this week and last week have been so busy! The downside to taking GE's is all the tests! I guess I only had 2, but still. I hardly have time enough for homework and practicing as it is! Poor Jason will have had a total of...I think 4 tests. He's taking his last one tomorrow night.

Learning the trombone has been kind of difficult because I started the class 2 weeks late, our teacher has been absent a few days, and Jason can't teach me like he can the clarinet. So that leaves probably 3 classes I have attended with our professor present. I missed all of the basics of how to play the trombone, so I have had to learn tidbits here and there from other students. Luckily, it seems to be a pretty easy instrument to learn (much easier than clarinet), but I have still been unsure if I am even playing it correctly. Today I received my answer. In class, Dr. Kimball gave us some time to practice for our next playing test. During that time he came up to me and asked "are you doing ok?". I told him I didn't know if I was even playing it right, so he asked me to play for him. To my surprise he told me I am holding it right, my embouchure is good, and my sound is good (and could be improved if I blow harder). So that was a relief.

New Major

2008-09-12T16:22:00.002-06:00

Tuesday night, I decided to change from music performance to music education! At the time it all seemed really random and sudden, but there's a story...

When I first came to BYU I wanted to double major in music education and elementary education. It's a five year program, but usually takes longer. The first year as a music major, students are just considered General Music Majors. At the end of the first year you declare your emphasis. So anyway, about halfway through the year I decided to do performance instead because I didn't want to turn into one of those typical music teachers who stops playing/practicing and loses what they worked so hard for for so many years. So I was accepted into the performance degree, but job options are bleak. The only job options I came up with were playing in a professional symphony (costing lots of time, money, and hard work. Even though it's a good paying job, there's no guarantee I'd get into one with a life-long contract), teaching at a university (which would require a doctorate...who knows with life's little surprises if I'd ever get that far), or just teaching a private studio in my home (which I could do with any degree). At the time those sacrifices for a symphony or university job didn't seem like that big of a deal, but since I got married and have higher priorities like my husband and future children involved, I've been deliberating for months over what I should do.

I thought about trying to get a masters in music education, because then I could actually be qualified for a decent job, but there's the problem again of time and money that may not be available. In a combined string music major meeting Tuesday night, the head of the music education department said there is a high demand for music educators across the country, and not many of the music majors are ed majors. He also talked about how, with a music ed degree, we can still do everything we want to do with music (perform, teach privately, etc), but in addition you would actually have a stable job. That really hit me, and it sounded like a perfect solution to my dilemma. So the next morning I ran around talking to my professor and the head of the music ed department to get everything figured out. Between their help and my own course planning, it looks like I will only graduate a semester later than I would have otherwise. There's a pre-requisite I have to take before I can officially be admitted (which is only offerred Winter semester), but this year I'm taking a woodwind workshop class. This semester I'm learning clarinet and saxaphone. Luckily Jason plays both, so I have a private teacher!

Anyway, that's what's new in my life. Oh, and today is our 3 month aniversary! We're going to eat a nice dinner on our beautiful China, play games, and watch a movie. I can't wait to get off work!

School

2008-09-04T10:06:00.003-06:00

The first week of school is almost over! Jason and I have crazy schedules because of taking lots of credit hours and working part-time. Every day of the week we get home after 7:00 with the exception of Thursday, when we get to go home at 5:15. Monday, Wednesday and Friday we wake up around 6:00 and Tuesday/Thursday we wake up around 5:00. We've been pretty tired this week. I was so excited to start school so I wouldn't have to work full-time, but now that school has started, work seems to be a nice break from all the running around on campus, practicing, and homework. I'm really excited for the weekend when we can finally relax!

New Job!

2008-08-24T14:47:00.002-06:00

I was finally hired! Last weekend, while at the movie theater with Jason, I got a call from a lady that interviewed me for the Independent Study job, and she told me I was hired! I was sooo excited! I started work last Monday as a customer service representative (answering phones) working full-time and training. At first it was really overwhelming because there's so much we have to know to answer everyone's questions, but by the end of the week I was feeling much more confident. I started out with a headset, listening to my trainer talk on the phone. Then I started doing the typing or talking. By Friday afternoon I was taking phone calls on my own without a trainer.

Since it was education week and Jason's job deals a lot with that, he worked about 65 hours! We were both exhausted and so ready for the weekend. Because of the need to train lots of new employees in his department, Jason is only working 9 hours this week. Lucky him. Anyways, I am so grateful that my prayers were finally answered and I found a job. It is such a relief.

Jobs

2008-08-13T12:13:00.002-06:00

Well, Jason was recently hired for a job working at the continuing education office in the Harmon building. He is answering phone calls, registering people for Education Week and for Independant Study courses. His first day was Monday, and he just trained for half a day. Yesterday was his first official day. He really likes the atmosphere and thinks he'll really like the job. I, however, am still searching for a job.

I technically found an option working in the dish room at the MTC, but the hours are awful (I'd be working nights, weekends, some Sundays, and holidays) and I would hardly see Jason. So I'm keeping it as an option, but am still searching. It's so hard to find a job that fits my schedule because of classes in the morning, orchestra in the afternoon, and viola masterclass Tuesday night...that doesn't leave a lot of options. I'd love to just teach viola lessons, but I won't be able to get a big enough studio in such little time. I'm hoping to find a decent job and work there until I can expand my studio.

It's pretty boring staying at home alone all day, but I've been filling my time with Stephanie Meyer books, cleaning, studying for American Heritege, practicing viola, and talking on the phone to my mom. As much as I'm not looking forward to a crazy schedule, a lame job, and homework, I'm getting a little excited to start school, just so I am not so bored at home! But don't get me wrong, Jason and I have loved our evenings and weekends together to play. We just play games, watch movies, and play tennis. It's great!