I Hope They Call Me on a Mission!

And they did! Well, not my mission but Kolton's mission call arrived in the mail today! Before he opened his letter we wrote on the board where we thought he was going to be called. It was fun to see where people guessed.

Kacey, Kade, and Kody weren't home when we opened the call but Crystal called Kacey and had him on speaker phone, Megan called Kade and had him on speaker phone, and Nic had Kody on speaker phone. We were all so excited we could hardly stand it. Kolton was shaking - he had quite the adrenaline rush!



Kolton has been called to serve a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He will serve in:


TORREON, MEXICO

Torreon is found near the topish-middle of Mexico. His mission boundaries are from Torreon to the West coast of Mexico (including Puerto Vallarta & Mazatlan - but it's not guaranteed he'll spend time in those areas).

We had so many family and friends at the house. After he opened his call and we all shouted for joy, we had a delicious dessert made by my mom. It was Angel Food Cake with vanilla pudding, cool whip, and fresh strawberries on top. My Grandma also made a delicious Pistachio cake. It may not sound the best but I'll tell you what! It's AMAZING!

I know Kolton will make an incredible missionary. He has a sensitive heart and such a genuine spirit. I know Kolton will fall in love with the people in Mexico. I know this mission will make Kolton a better (future) husband and father. I also know this will prepare him for a successful career.

My family is so excited to support Kolton in his desire to serve a mission. We are anxious to write to him, send him packages, hear of his experiences, and learn the gospel with him. I know he will come back a stronger, more determined man.

Congratulations, Kolton! We love you!!!

Memory/love Garden

After our beautiful Mercydez passed away, Nic & Ashley and my parents created a beautiful memory garden. Whenever we share vegetables from this garden we tell people it's from the memory garden - from our little Angel. For some this can be a little uncomfortable but most seem to love it. It's a little way to continually remember our little girl and bless others lives, like she blessed ours. Though our sharing is minimal in comparison to what she shared with us, we're grateful for the opportunity to follow her example.

This year I am wanting to make it a memory garden for both my beautiful Mercydez and for my beautiful Grandmother, Ruby. Mercydez passed away a little over two years ago and my Grandmother's first anniversary of passing is a little over a week away. I know they are together up there..."best friends" without a doubt. ;)

So, I'm going to post pictures of the garden through out the summer. I know many people read this blog (thanks for showing interest in our lives) and live away from us. I thought I'd share the memory garden in pictures, since I can't give you vegetables (once they've grown).

For those who live nearby, feel free to let us know what you'd like and we'll bring it over.


MEMORY GARDEN: WEEK 1



My mom and I spent hours working on the garden last weekend. We bought soil/compost, seeds, shovels, etc. We were able to plant: tomatos, onions (green and red/purple), lettuce (romaine, spinach, and another kind I can't remember), swiss chard, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, peas, radishes, bell peppers, anaheim peppers, jalepenos, and more. We are very excited!!!

My dad and brother, Kade, tilled the garden for us. We were going to try to do it ourselves - me and my mom - but there was NO WAY! We would have looked so gimpy!

holy shiz-nit...my grades are in

I must say I'm more relieved than I think I'll ever be able to express. I thought this semester was honestly going to be the one to undo all my doing. But thankfully things turned out alright.


CONCERT CHOIR (1 credit hour)..........................A
-I was a student conductor in concert choir. It was an amazing experience.

WOMEN'S CHOIR (1 credit hour)........................A
-I hated women's choir; way too much estrogen. NEVER AGAIN.

CHAMBER CHOIR (1 credit hour).......................A

PRIVATE OBOE LESSONS (1 credit hour)................A

PRIVATE VOCAL LESSONS (1 credit hour)..............A

SMALL ENSEMBLES (1 credit hour)......................A
-I played the oboe in a trio. That was a lot of fun!

MUSIC HISTORY & LIT (3 credit hours)................A-

FORM & ANALYSIS (3 credit hours)..................B
-The bane of my existence. I came to realize how much I DON'T know after taking this class.

OPERA WORKSHOP (1 credit hour)......................A
-I was able to play the Queen of the Night from Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE. It was a great stretching opportunity for me. Give me another 10 years and hopefully I'll have tackled the aria I performed.

ADVANCED CHORAL CONDUCTING (2 credit hours).......A-

STRING PRACTICUM (1 credit hour)....................A-
-I learned the fundamentals of the upright bass, cello, viola, and violin in this class. I quite enjoyed myself.

STRING METHODS & LIT (2 credit hours)......A-
-Another bane of my existence. Only it's because the teacher wouldn't teach but would take every opportunity he could to test us on what he didn't teach. Quality, I must say. I wrote to the dept chair and requested to meet with her and this Professor to discuss ways this class could be more beneficial. I still haven't received a response to my email.


GPA: 3.7


I'm going to take some rather large breaths and count my lucky stars. Wow. 12 classes in one semester, totaling 18 credit hours. I hope to never do that again. Ever.

THANK YOU'S:
And I want to put a huge THANK YOU out there to my amazing, never-stops-supporting-me, kind husband. I love you, Travis. :) Thank you for being so patient with me. Thank you for believing in my ability to make it through, to finish what I started. I love, LOVE, LoVe you!

And thank you to my parents who have let us live with them, helping us to avoid financial stress on top of everything else. My parents have been so supportive of us. I love you, Mom and Dad. Thank you for your willingness to share your home, your food, and your toilet paper with us. :)

May is finally here!!!

It's May!!! A lot happened the last few days.

1) My older brother, Kade, was hired to work as a helicopter tour guide at the Grand Canyon! He starts next week, I believe, and he's thrilled about it! He'll work seven days in a row, and have the next seven days off (one week on, one week off). We're all thrilled for him. He's waited a long time for this. He'll do great, I just know it. Yay Kade!! We're so happy for both Kade and Megan!

2) Kacey and Kody, my other two brother's, left for Georgia this past week. They will be spending the summer in Georgia and Alabama installing security systems. They've had quite the adventure getting out there (they're driving). Their first night out they got stuck at the top of a mountain in a snow storm. It was so bad they had to pull over and spend the night in their cars. Thankfully they had blankets and water. But they only had a half a tank of gas, so they could only run their car for twenty minutes at a time through out the night. They survived but when they woke up their cars were covered in snow and ice. We were all terrified here at home. There was nothing we could do and there was nothing they could do. The roads were ice and straight down. They had to be towed to the top of the mountain (where they spent the night) and the tow truck told them he couldn't take them any further because he had to rescue other people. He encouraged them to stick it out and spend the night at the top of the mountain because the roads were too dangerous. So they did. We just found out they went through some of Georgia, a town called Ringgold. Apparently Ringgold (or whatever it's called) was one of the cities hit by a tornado last week because Kacey said it was freaky. Everything was demolished.

3) Nic and Ashley, my twin sister and her husband, left last night for a Caribbean cruise! They will be gone all week long! Trav and I wanted to join them soooo bad, but money was an issue as was scheduling. We hope they have a terrific time! They both deserve a nice, refreshing vacation. :)

4) My semester at school is officially over. I had my last performance today. We were able to perform at the Holocaust Memorial held by the Jewish community at the State Capital. It was incredible. They had three survivors come and speak to us about their experiences. A member of the Jewish community sang a prayer and it was one of the most moving experiences I've had in a while. I had to really focus on NOT crying because the choir had to sing shortly after he sang his prayer. It was gorgeous. I'm so grateful I was a part of that. May 1st - May 8th is Holocaust Remembrance Week in Utah. I am planning on wearing my Star of David all week as a reminder of what so many wrongly suffered.

UVU's Chamber Choir performance at The State Capital, May 1st, 2011





5) I read my first book since Christmas break. I started it Thursday night and finished it last night. It felt AMAZING to finally sit down, relax, and read a good book. The book is titled "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore. There was a short scene in the book, so I wouldn't recommend it for teenagers unless parents read it first and approve it. But overall I loved the book. It's a light read and easy to get into. My hair dresser let me borrow it. If you decide to pick up a copy don't read the back of the book. Just start it. Sometimes the back of the book gives things away, I think, and make the book not so involved.

Now I'm in need of another good read. I have one week to "play" and then my summer semester starts. Any suggestions??? Pllleeeeeeeeeaaasssssssssssse help!

I hope Spring is treating you beautifully well.