Another Day, and a BIG Headache

I woke up today with a headache. Not a great way to start, especially when I knew I would be in class until 8 p.m. I headed to the institute building to study...which wasn't very productive cause my head hurt too much to focus. I mostly stared at the pages.

I had my first class today. It's about educating young children and their development. I think I'm really going to enjoy it. It's not too much work, but it still will keep me busy with reading. The teacher called me an "overachiever" because I had already gone to the library to get some articles for next week....she has them on reserve so I could have done it from home. Wish I would have known that yesterday. ;)

I had my Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith class tonight. I think it's going to be good. I took it at BYU, but a different teacher always brings new insights.

Here is a little story that I found in a book called "Reclaiming Childhood" by William Crain. The book is about how we often push children too hard, too quickly to grow up. It's in the chapter about children being dramatists:

"One New York City mother and father spent a year getting their four-year-old daughter ready for the intelligence test required for admission to many prestigious kindergartens. But when the test examiner asked the child her name, she said, "Amanda," the name of their cat. Then, to every question the examiner asked, the child simply responded, "Meow."" (pg. 34)

I laughed so hard after reading this. It was a great story!

Choir, Choir, Choir

It seems the last couple of days has been taken up by Institute Choir. As mentioned in previous posts, my classes really don't start until tomorrow. Tonight was the huge (500 people) practice for the choir. We are singing at the CES fireside on Sunday, September 13. Be sure to watch on BYU-TV. I'm sure I'll be easy to spot. I'll be the old one. ;)

I played for one of the choirs today. I won't be able to do it on their other day because of a class, but it was fun today. I'll also be playing the organ on Fridays for devotionals. I promised my mom I would get active in institute, and I believe I have. I also have a regular class that I will attend on Wednesday nights, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I took it at BYU, but can always, always learn new things.

One thing I forgot to mention in my post yesterday is that after choir I went to visit one of the institute teachers, John Harding. He taught seminary in Lovell over 20 years ago. People still talk to him so when I saw him on the list of teachers, I thought I'd go say hi. His expression was priceless when I told him who I was. I was only 9 when they moved away, but he remembered a lot about the family and Lovell. Everyone knows someone from the Big Horn Basin!

The First, With MANY More to Come

Today was the first day of school. Originally, I only had 2 classes. On Friday during orientation, they told us newbies of another one that meets on Mondays. So, I headed up to campus around 10 a.m. and parked in the stadium parking. USU is awesome in that they offer shuttle services all over campus, pretty much any time of the day. The campus isn't all that big, but it's on a hill, so it seems big. I rode the shuttle up to campus, saw the institute building, and headed that direction. Good that I did. I saw that they have a choir on MW, so I signed up. Wahoo! I haven't been in a choir in a long time. I may even get to accompany once in a while.

My "real" class was before choir. It's an intro to the program. Sounds like it will be insightful and helpful. I'm still wondering how I got into the program. There are about 15-20 TOTAL who got admitted this year between the masters and PhD programs. I'm not sure how many applied, but I'm surprised that I'm here. Should be interesting, to say the least.

I got home about 3 hours later than I had originally planned because of choir. I then met my friend Jessica for lunch/dinner at Taco Bell. Overall, it's been a good/long/productive day. Tomorrow I'm going to the other section of choir to see if they need an accompianist, but that's all that's planned. Trying to get a head start on reading for one of my courses...don't know how helpful that will be, but I've got nothing better to do at this moment. (I'm sure I'll look back and this and wish I had done 100 other things, had I known what was coming.)

The Longest Week Ever...Until Next Week

It has been a VERY long week. Right after Sacrament meeting on Sunday, I headed to Rexburg. I stayed with my friends the Wildes in Rigby (just next to Rexburg). I asked Landon to give me a blessing because I was freaking out inside. My brothers had given me a blessing the week before, which I truly appreciated, but I guess I just needed more confirmation that I was doing the right thing. It was an AMAZING blessing. (Thank you, Landon!)

Monday morning, first thing, I had a doctor's appointment in Rexburg. It wasn't the most fun visit, since it was my yearly check-up, but I got a clean bill of health (or as clean as I can get). He did tell me to watch my blood pressure, but I was already working on that. He put me on a new medication to help with some issues I have been having. Another $35 to add to the growing list of medicines. I remember the gold old days when I was healthy and had no medicine to take. Of course, I had the same issues then that I do now, I just didn't know it yet. After my appointment, I went back to the Wilde's and spent a few hours playing with the kids and Marianne. It was so much fun to be with them again. They were some of my best friends when I lived in Rexburg and I miss seeing them so often.

Tuesday I did pretty much nothing. It was great.

Wednesday I decided I needed to be productive so I unpacked a few more boxes and got my computer desk set up. My apartment is coming together nicely. I have pictures of it, but have the wrong USB cord for my camera, so I can't post them yet. That night I went over to the Pope's house for a bit. They've been so nice to let me hang out with them. I'm afraid I might make a nuisance of myself over there.

Thursday I had a 4 1/2 hour long orientation. B-O-R-I-N-G. My head hurt afterwards, mostly from trying to stay awake through it all. That night I went with the Popes up to the creamery. We decided to walk, not knowing that it was about a mile away. (Josh knew, but didn't tell us exactly how far because he thought we already knew.) Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but USU is on a HUGE hill and I was wearing flip flops. I'll just say that I dang earned my ice cream. (By the way, USU has the BEST icecream I have ever tasted. Sorry, BYU. Makes a great root beer float.) We were tired and sweaty (Josh and I at least) by the time we got back to their apartment.

Today I had a job interview for a "Child Development Teacher" at the hospital. Basically, it's a fancy name for a day care for the hospital employees. It would be fun to work there. I should hear next week sometime. I then had a 2 hour orientation with my department today. It was much more entertaining and informational. Now I am freaking out again wondering if I am going to be able to succeed at this stuff. I feel so unprepared and I'm not sure what questions to ask, so I feel like I have blinders on. Should be interesting, to say the least. Tonight I went to dinner with the Popes. (Like I said, I'm becoming a nuisance to them.)

Anyhow, it's been a long, tiring, stressful week, and school hasn't even begun. Plus, I miss my family so dang much it doesn't make things easier. It would be great if I could see my munchkins for just a few minutes and get a hug from my mom. *Sigh*

The Park

Yesterday I was able to take Whitney and Wilson to the park for a while. These are some pictures of them both.


Wilson enjoying the view. He mostly watched as Whitney ran around the park and went down the slide.

Whitney pushing brother in the swing. He enjoyed it once I situated his hands so they weren't hanging out like wings.

Wilson enjoying the swing.

Whitney on the "big" slide.

My Cuties

These are my cute nieces and nephews. My brother Mike will tell me that they aren't MINE, but I still think of them that way. They are the main reason I moved home last year. I just couldn't stand to be away from them any longer. It will be so hard to leave them in a few days since I know them so much better than I did last year. With their pictures I have included a few of my favorite characteristics of each.

Riah

"Hi, my name is Sariah and I'm 7." This is how to introduces herself to EVERYone that she meets. She is not shy and loves everyone. She loves dirt, especially wet dirt (aka MUD). She is usually happy, only cranky when tired. She gives great hugs.

Bekah Boo
Bekah has one of the greatest laughs, and she laughs often. She plays great pretend games. She, too, loves to play in the dirt. She usually has a stuffed animal playing with her. She wants to be just like her big "Sissy," Sariah.

Hannah Banana

The girl of many faces, this is the least crazy one I could get this past weekend. She is constantly moving and shaking (literally...her bum). She is a gumby-like girl in that she can flex into almost any position. She loves to watch cartoons. Once she has warmed up to you, she is a friend for life.

Whit-a-wee

A little lady with her own mind, Whitney comes up with the craziest things. Her favorite color is pink and she loves balloons. She loves to be outside and to "help" with the other kids. She is very nurturing, always making sure everyone is comfortable and happy. She loves to dance and sing, and doesn't mind telling you to join her. She is also amazing at doing "trickies".

Mr. Magoo

This kid can always make me smile, even if he's grumpy. Like his sister Hannah, Hayden is a kid with many faces...most of them goofy. He knows how to egg on his sister to the point of her screaming at him, all the while with an innocent expression on his face. He loves to play, especially at nap or bed time. He is a very touchy-feely person, which is great for kisses and cuddling.

Little Mister

As his personality emerges, I am amazed at how smart and alert Wilson is. He loves to watch people, especially Sariah when she is around. He always wants a bite to eat of whatever is going into someone else's mouth, and "talks" (yells) at them until he gets to taste. If there isn't food in his mouth, there is a finger or toy there instead. He always has a smile to share at me when he first sees me.

All you need is DIRT

This past weekend all of the nieces and nephews were in town. To keep them entertained, we sent them outside to play in the dirt. Yes, what horrible adults we are. (I dare you to try it and then tell me it's an awful thing to do.) ;) They loved it. They were entertained for a heck of a long time. It wasn't that difficult to find, since the yard is in dissaray because of the garage going up. Here are a few pics from the blessed event.

Grandma feeding the kids marshmellows so they would hold still long enough for me to try and get a picture of them. Thus the reaching and sincere interest in Grandma all at once.

The two boys: Boy Blue (Wilson with the blue eyes) and Boy Brown (Hayden with the brown eyes). Wilson wasn't feeling too well. He usually smiles a lot.

The dirt playing. Need I say more?

Watching as Grandma pulls out the marshmellows....right before the mad rush.

Randomness

I was reading my 2007 posts on the blog and I was much better at writing on it then. Now I just seem to wait for something big to happen before posting. I need to be better, since I decided to start it as kind of a journal. So, just a warning that some of the posts in the future will be boring for you readers. I would apologize, but I'm not sorry because then I'll have something to remember my life by.

Last night I couldn't fall asleep until 4 a.m. I started reading and got caught up in a book. Then, my left leg and hip started aching like never before. At about 3 I went in and got the muscle cream from my mom's room. I thought I would fall asleep pretty quick so I didn't take anything for it. Hmm, not such a good idea. It still took awhile for me to drop.

Today I went to the dump in Powell with Mike and Whitney. We went in a REALLY old truck. The max speed was 60, and that was going down hill. The seats were made of plastic, so our bums were wet when we got out. I have to say that the dump was nice...for a dump. I was surprised. It was a fun trip, for it being to the dump and all.

Well, that's about all the randomness for today. More to follow. :)