Ah, dread!

Well, tomorrow's the dreaded day for me. Trav's was Monday.

ScHoOl StArTs!!!!

I'm feeling a little if-y on things. I'm not sure if I'm ready to dive back in and getter done or if I'm ready to hyperventilate. I guess only time will tell. Trav was much more graceful in his return. No freak outs. No tears. No fear. He just got up and went to school. I, on the other hand, am a different story.

I'm registered for 19 credits (I've gotta get through some how) and hoping to handle this load with much more pizazz than my last semester. My hope is that I'll be really good at focusing and staying on top of my work load. My other hope is that I'll be brave enough to tell my fellow peers NO. One thing I've learned about people is there are a lot of needy ones out there. They'll suck you dry in no time. I'm going to have to learn how to say no and stick to it.

More than anything, though, I want to pack my bags and run away from "life". Just disappear and leave all my worries behind. And of course, I'd have Trav by my side. Hehe. Too bad that's not realistic. :s

I'll try to keep ya'll posted on things through out the semester. Please be patient with me if a week or two...or three rolls by and there's not a new post. It's not because I'm leaving town - it's because I'm trying to stay alive. LOL.

My sweetest blessing

Happy birthday my little Mercydez. Uncle Trav and I love and miss you. We hope you're able to have cake and ice cream in heaven with Grandmother & Grandpa. We are celebrating you today, sweetie. I love you!

back again

Well, we're home. We had such a wonderful vacation out in Minnesota. As scary as snow can be to drive in, I sure loved playing in it. I also loved looking out the windows and seeing the ideal white Christmas.

We had so much fun playing games (kicked Nolan's trash in seven's! Mwahaha!), visiting extended family, getting together with friends, cooking, reading, sitting by the fire place, playing with our adorable niece, Kherington. It was sooooooo nice. Trav and I were discussing how quickly the time went. It honestly felt like we blinked a couple of times and BAM! It was time for us to leave. :(

Since being home we haven't done a lot. Our flights were delayed, our luggage was lost, and on our way home from the airport, the car in front of us fishtailed, spun in a few circles, and hit the barriers on one side of the bridge we were on - then spun and hit the barriers on the other side of the bridge. It was terrifying to witness. I was pretty shook up. For a few seconds we thought we were going to hit them. After we realized we were safe, we pulled over to check on the people in the SUV. I couldn't tell how bad the injuries were or how many people were in the car because the windows were tinted. Thank goodness they were okay. In shock, but okay. Needless to say, we didn't get home until 10:30 or 11:00 on New Years Eve.

We also didn't do a whole lot of celebrating because I started vomiting shortly after the clock struck 12:00 midnight. I celebrated New Years with my head in the toilet. Not joking either. I looked at the clock, 12:03, and wished Trav a happy New Years as I made a mad dash for the bathroom. It's was awful. I wasn't able to keep anything down. And I was so dizzy I was even DREAMING things were spinning. I woke up dizzy. It was bizarre.

I'm starting to feel better now, but I'm terrified to eat anything solid. That'll hurt coming back up. Gross, I know. But I have to think about these things. :s

Trav goes back to school tomorrow and I start my next semester this Wednesday, January 5th. Neither of us are quite ready to get back in the groove of things, but what can we do about it? Not much. So, we're trying to be strong. We're keeping our chins up. :)

Anyway, we hope you had a better New Years celebration than we did! We hope this year brings a lot of goodness and growth.

Christmas & Kherington

Aw, how cuuuuuute!


Trav made and gave this beautiful bowl to his parents. Isn't it cool?!










Kherington loved her doll - hugged and kissed her as soon as she was out of the box.



Kherington also really likes to talk on the phone. She knew exactly what to do when we gave her this phone.



She loved her horse too.

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Kherington turned 1 years old shortly after Christmas! Happy birthday "blue eyes".

Kherington loves balloons, so Grandma bought some specially for her.



Two brothers and the little birthday girl



What a doll. She gives the best kisses in the world! We love you Kherington!!

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I absolutely LOVE this picture! When Kherington's asked to point to her nose, this is what she does! Ha! She definitely takes afeter her daddy. hehe.

My first REAL snow fort

Freakin' huge snowbanks out here...they're as tall as I am. That hole at the end of the driveway is one of our entrances into the fort.



I was diggin' away on one end of the fort...



While Trav took over the other side



We worked on the fort for about an hour and a half - finally meeting up in the middle of the snowbank. We had to stop after because I was frozen. I honestly couldn't feel my legs or feet.





Trav and Nolan decided to get as much done on the fort as possible the next day. They opened it up and found our grassy carpet.


You can't get the full idea of how long the tunnel was (before it was made into a "fort") but this shot gives you an idea.



Aw, Brothers :) Nolan was chiseling away with a hammer while Trav used the shovel. This snow fort was awesome!


Inside the snow fort.


We were going to do more throughout the week but found out it was supposed to rain. And as we know, rain melts the snow. So we decided to stop and keep it as it was. Sure enough, the rains came down and the fort collapsed. But it was fun and TOTALLY worth it!

So...they just posted my GPA

Go figure. As soon as I publish my last post, I check (to reconfirm I passed!!) and my GPA is posted now. So, here they are:

Instructional Media (2 credit hours) A-
Curriculum, Instruct, & Assess (4 credit hours) A-
Private Oboe Lessons (1 credit hour) A
Group Vocal Class (1 credit hour) A
String Practicum (1 credit hour) B
Chamber choir (1 credit hour) A
Women's Choir (1 credit hour) A
Music History & Lit (3 credit hours) B
Small Ensembles (1 credit hour) A
Private Vocal Lessons (1 credit hour) A
Advanced Independent Study (2 credit hours) A

GPA: 3.67

I am so, so grateful.

AhHhHhHhHhHhH!!!

I passed all my classes! I took 18 credit hours (and worked part-time) this semester. I honestly didn't know if I was going to pass one or two of my classes. They were a little more demanding than I'm used to. So, yes. I was honestly, truly worried. I will post my grades as soon as I can. I'm waiting to get the word on my GPA. I'm sooooooo happy! Oh my goodness! It feels like a weight has been lifted.


Also, in a little over 24 hours Trav and I will be on our way out to Minnesota to spend Christmas with his family. This is the first year we've done this, so we're pretty excited. Travis' parents usually come out to Utah but since they're serving a local mission they're not able to this year. We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to spend Christmas in Minnesota. It's been nearly 8 or 9 years (I believe) since Trav has been home for the holidays. So, here's to hoping I don't freeze to death out there!

Merry Christmas!