I really, really miss my Grandmother and my Mercydez. I was thinking about both of them and cried myself to sleep the other night. Just one of those "moments", I guess.

"I lub-bah you!" (I'm blowing a kiss)

inside, outside, and through my mind

I've had a lot weighing on my mind lately. Since I've had a little more time than usual to "think" I'm just wanting to put a few things out there.


1) "Knowledge comes from experience. Everything else is just information." (Einstein)
Life isn't a text book.


2) "Your abilities don't define your character. Your choices do." (Dumbledor)
Typically those who claim to be open-minded are some of the most narrow-minded I know.


3) "The best way out is through." (Anonymous)
I have no problem admitting or attempting to persuade those I know and love to see a therapist. I recently started seeing one and I'm so grateful I made this choice (thanks to Ashley persuading me). There's nothing wrong with doing all one can to heal properly.


4) "Make the most of yourself for that is all there is of you." (Emerson)
I may not be the best musician out there. But I don't care. I love my music and will keep doing all I can to develop musically.


5) "If we judge, we have no time to love." (Mother Teresa)
People are the way they are for a reason. I may not know why so-and-so is the way they are, but there's usually a [good] reason. It's very humbling to be, repeatedly, reminded of this.


6) I mourn because I love.
My Angel Mercydez and my Angel Grandmother (Ruby)...What can I say? I refuse to "forget". I love these two elect ladies. I am so grateful for them.


7) "The good man is the friend of all living things." (Ghandi)
This is my husband. Wow. Did I luck out or what? Honestly. I don't think Travis has a single fault or character flaw. Truly. And that's been on my mind for a while now. I love my husband.


8) "Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” (Aristotle)
School is hard. Sometimes I just want to quit. Pull the plug. Flip the switch. Go back to the ease of work only. No homework. No school drama. No am-I-failing-this-class drama. No annoying class mates (I told you I'm judgmental. urg!). No late nights doing homework. No nightmares about memorizing music. No anxiety about performance. But if I quit now I know I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Excellence is attainable.

I can do this, right?!


9) "An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it." (Ghandi)
Secrets and privacy are polar opposites. If the understanding is they are one and the same, there's a rather large misunderstanding taking place. I'll just leave it at that.


10) "Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's true." (Steve Eastmond)
Emotion is merely that. Emotion. Nothing more, nothing less. Really think about that quote. I have. Just because I feel angry or hurt doesn't mean so-and-so intentionally meant to make me angry or hurt. Just because I feel guilty doesn't mean I SHOULD.


11) "You become what you habitually admire." (Pres. Thompson)
Our thoughts stem from our beliefs. Our thoughts and our beliefs are not the same thing. One is nearly ingrained in our souls. The other is the offspring of it. To truly change a thought we must dig deeper and change our beliefs. But to do that takes incredible determination, discipline and work. It's completely possible. With patience.


12) "Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." (Oprah)
Time, yes time, is a gift.


13) "Every soul is precious." (Joseph Fielding Smith)
Families are forever. Thank goodness.


14) "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher." (Oprah)
Things happen for a reason. I need to remember this. Sometimes people choose to end relationships. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere and other times it's completely expected. It's been hard to watch those I care about hurt. It's also been hard to deal with my own "issues" as I feel I've been treated wrongly. When one door closes another opens - and if it doesn't - look for an open window.


15) "Be the change you wish to see..." (Ghandi)
To be genuinely good, through and through, is a worthwhile goal.


16) "Without fear, courage could not exist." (Unknown)
Fear is crippling. And I'm determined to fight mine.


17) "I'm [_________], I don't feel burdened by it and I don't think it's a huge responsibility. It's part of who I am. It does not define me." (Oprah)
I am fiercely loyal. I had no idea I could snap so quickly when it comes to certain things until recently: my husband, my family, my religion, my country, my God.

Oprah filled in the blank with "black". I could fill it in with: a wife, a sister/daughter, a future mother, a Mormon, an American, a believer...and so much more. These descriptions alone do not define me. No, they merely create my being. They are a part of who I am.

Family Pictures

We recently did family pictures with my side of the fam. We had a lot of fun with this project, as you'll quickly see. I included more formal pictures as well as natural pictures because they all turned out great. I posted a lot of 'em and didn't really organize them the way they should be. Ah well. You get the idea... :)


The girly's




I love this shot. It's soooo eye catching. And, of course my husband is the king of the hill! Boo yeah!



The boys being dorks



The girls did it first so we're cooler.




"Side tracked"



The whole family



My boy. What can I say?? He's the "life of the party". hehe.



I honestly don't remember this ugly moment. ;)



My beautiful parents (I really like this shot. It's very gentle.)



The kids



Auriel & Maggie



Mom with her children (Dad had to leave before we took this picture, darn it.)



The boys being boys






Kacey being Kacey...these pictures make me laugh soooo hard!




Kade & Megan


I really like this picture of Kade and Megan. It's naturally beautiful, I think.



Kacey



Kacey & Nic trying to jump on the tramp. It didn't last long. Don't worry.



Nic & Ashley



Kolton




Kolton & Kacey



Us



Kody



The two red heads of the family



PaRtY!!



I'm also pleased to say that NONE of these pictures have been altered in any way. Photoshop?? NOPE. Nothin'. Not bad, eh??

My husband

..is the best man in the world. I absolutely love and adore him. I find so much goodness in him.

Travis is the most genuine man e.v.e.r. He cares about people - REALLY cares. He is so loyal and trustworthy. He is so patient and supportive of others. He is slow to judge and quick to help. He believes in me. He has been one of my inspirations. Honestly, if he didn't believe in me, I know I wouldn't believe in myself. He is always encouraging me to stick with it. He is always pointing out the beautiful things throughout our days.

WHY AM I SO LUCKY?!?!?!

I love you Travis. Thank you for the gift of 7 years together. I'm more than thrilled about the next 7...what an adventure we'll be on!

..and I know our anniversary was last weekend. I'm still celebrating and marveling at my blessings - Travis being at the top of my list.

7 years of pure BLISS

Today we celebrate our 7th anniversary. Wow.

I decided to surprise Trav with a little getaway. I found some killer deals online for flights to Denver and decided to jump on it. So, here we are in Colorado. I won't lie, Denver's been kindof disappointing. However, Boulder has more than made up for it. Boulder is beautiful! It's so earthy and healthy feeling. There are so many runners and bikers here. It's just a refreshing environment. My suggestion would be this: if you're going to Denver..be sure to drive to Boulder. It's worth it. And Colorado University campus is beond gorgeous.

...I could live here.

Trav & I have thoroughly enjoyed simply spending time together. We haven't done a lot of exciting things out here (we're trying to keep it cheap), but that doesn't matter. We've loved reconnecting without school or work overwhelming our thoughts. It's been exactly what we've needed. We're so blessed.

Nic & Ashley tagged along for the vacation. It's been quite fun! I swear Nic is like a little boy. He called our hotel room nearly 10 times in 30 minutes the first night we got here. He also knocked on our door and ran. He ALSO called Trav and told him to come down to their room...which Trav did only to find out Nic (intentionlly) gave him the wrong room number. He ALSO lead us to a creepy stairway/hallway in a movie theater. We were locked in the stairway...ans Ashley was freaking out. I'll post my recording later (I'm blogging from my phone).

Like I said, he's a little boy. Currently we're sitting in Applebee's (on our anniversary) watching Nic's beloved BYU Cougs. Yes. We all love Nic. Especially Trav. Trav's so laid back....he just goes with it. I love Trav.

Okay, well, happy anniversary to us. Go cougs - you sad, sad team. I love you Travis William. You're such a blessing in my life. (((Mwah)))

PS Please excuse the typo's and such. As mentioned before, I'm blogging frm my phone, while sitting at Applebees.

October

Beautiful October.



This month marks our SEVENTH anniversary! Holy cow! It has gone by so fast! It's been awesome though. October is the best month of the year - by far. Not only is it our special month - it's the official kick-off for the holidays, fall colors start to present themselves in nature and in home decor, there's a certain crispness in the air, football season's in full swing, hot chocolate with homework, sweaters and boots are pulled out...

I could go on and on. I love October. I love our special month. We picked an awesome season to make special. I'm so grateful for my Travis William. He has been such an inspiration and support. We've been through a lot together. Family and friends, successes and failures, happiness and sorrow, laughter and tears, faith and fear.



I am surprising him with a get-away. I can't say where because he reads this. He already knows we're going somewhere but he doesn't know where. Well, he's been guessing - really thinking things through - which is adorable. I told him I wouldn't confirm or deny any of his guesses. He'll know when we get there. :)

I love you handsome. Thank you for being the most wonderful best friend and husband a crazy girl could ask for. I don't deserve you but I'm sure grateful to have you.

Can you elaborate please?

Sure.

I was told last weekend that I need to blog more (thanks Nikki!). I know I need to be better. But I swear my life is out-of-balance right now. All I do is work, school, homework, sleep, eat, and occasionally use the restroom. Although I find myself sqeezin' my cheeks more than I ought too, I think. No time for bathroom breaks. :(




I have become heavily involved in my schooling. I'm the vice president (president-elect) of the UVU Music Educators Club (MENC). It's a nationwide club for professional music teachers and collegiate students in training. I am social chair leader in the Women's Choir (Ash is the other social chair leader! Go twins!!), I am on the committee with the Music Rep for Student Government, and I am taking on some independent study hours and my project for that is to set up a recruiting tour with local High Schools, Jr. Highs, etc.



I've been meeting with people constantly, emailing, making/returning calls, scheduling....oh boy, what else?! Presentations, announcements, creating a book with pictures, creating multiple power-point presentations...ugh. I don't know. I'm nearly going insane.

And yes, I'm still working. How? I just don't know.

Last year our choral director retired so this year we have a new choral director. The man is FREAKING insane (in a good way). He's totally up to date and whipping us in shape. It's been hard on my ego (what ego I had). He's a genius, I think. He has two masters degrees - one from Stanford University and the other from The Eastmond School of Music - and is working on his doctorate. While that's all fine and dandy the thing that's kicked my confidence down the toilet is HE'S TWO YEARS OLDER THEN ME! Oh. My. Gosh. Wow.

Travis has been very patient and understanding as I cry and boo-hoo about my insecurities. Unfortunately, it's become a daily happening. :(

Travis is doing amazingly well. He was offered another "class" at school this year. But the cool thing is is right now he doesn't have students in this "class". Rather, the Principle asked him to be in charge of updating the school's website and making it look all sorts of cool. Travis has been a little nervous, rightly so. He didn't major in anything technological - meaning web based. He majored in art. You know? Canvas, special paper products, etc. But he has decided to dive in and take it on. I admire this about Travis. He's incredibly determined and confident. Even if he doesn't know how to execute projects - he finds a way and he does it. And he does it well. He's fantastic.

Other than taking on one more "class" he's been staying busy with his students. Some of his stories are pretty funny. I'll tell you, Jr. High kids are a different breed. They're their own monsters. But Trav is awesome with them. He has a great time. Not to say everyday is good. But for the most part it seems to be semi-goodish.

So, that's where we're at. I wasn't lying in my last post consisting of less than five words. We're just moving forward. Trying to take things on one day at a time.