Where is November going?

I'm going to attempt to make an uneventful week appear exciting. Let's see how I do.

Today we had our ward's primary program in sacrament meeting. Fortunately, as the Primary President, I wasn't in charge of it. Our primary consists of 6 children under three-years-old and we're happy if they can say "Jesus," "Joseph Smith," and “prayer.” So needless to say our primary didn't actually do anything for the primary program. The ward music chairman organized it all. It included six 2 1/2 min. talks and six musical numbers from the Children's Songbook. My only part in it included accompanying one of the couples that sang "A Child's Prayer." It turned out really well and was a nice change of pace.

Jason and I also had tithing settlement. What it really turned out to be was a chance for our Bishop to tell me how wonderful my husband is and how much he appreciates having him serve as the ward clerk. I already knew this of course, and just nodded my head and smiled while Jason sat beside me blushing. (Jason's accuracy would make me delete the part about him blushing, but it just makes the story sound better. ☺) I think he said a few nice things about me too. ☺

Friday night and Saturday morning Jason spent about nine hours taking four Korean tests for the Defense Language Institute (Military branch of language studies). They paid him to take the tests so they could "test out the test." We both thought he would enjoy doing it, but unfortunately each of the tests consisted of 58 problems of reading a passage anywhere from a paragraph to a page of Korean text and then only ONE corresponding question. Jason said he could only do about the first 14 problems and the rest were too hard for him. Not surprisingly however, he spent the rest of the allotment of time trying to read and understand the other 44 problems. It turned out to be a very frustrating and not fun experience.

To make up for it, Jason volunteered at the MTC, we watched most of the BYU v. New Mexico game, and that night we watched the movie Cheaper by the Dozen 2. It was a fun, silly movie and I think Jason laughed more than I did.

This week I also started Christmas shopping a little. This might be the earliest I've ever started Christmas shopping. I'm sure it was only by accident though because I went the mall for one thing and found a really great sale at JC Penny. Jason wasn't with me and he really doesn't like shopping, so instead of dragging him to the mall, I brought the mall to him. I just bought several things that I thought he would like so he could try it on at home. In the end we both were happy because Jason actually liked the stuff I brought home and he didn't have to make a trip to the mall. I think that by itself is like a Christmas gift to him. (Okay, so I may be exaggerating a little. ☺ )

October Ends

This is going to be short, but I just wanted to mention a few highlights from last week. Jason spent a lot of week trying to finish an ORCA grant proposal. It took him a lot longer than he thought, but he got it in by the deadline. Unfortunately that meant that he read several hundred pages of a book on Sat. and Mon. so he could take a test. Fortunately, he did really well on his test.

My sister Kristilyn had a birthday and we celebrated on Saturday by shopping at the mall. I haven't been to a mall in several months, so it was kind of fun to go with my sister. I'm not a big shopper myself, but Jason really, really dislikes it, so someone has to go. :) He was especially glad that I went shopping with my sister so that he didn't have to go. :) After several hours, we found a lot of good stuff for her, but I was enjoying her company so much that I didn't find anything to buy for myself. It was a nice break for both of us. I really enjoy talking to Kristilyn. She introduced me to California Pizza Kitchen which was really, really yummy. I hope to go back again sometime.

Homecoming

This week went by very quickly without anything too exciting to report. I had my only midterm of the semester last week. Considering the fact that it was my only midterm, I probably should have spent more time on it, especially considering it was a closed book eight page essay test. I felt kind of rushed taking it since I didn't give myself enough time, but hopefully it will turn out okay.

It was BYU homecoming this week. Receiving a distinguished alumni award for the McKay School of Education, Sister Mary Cook of the General Young Women Presidency came to speak to our college. She did a really great job and spoke about being "more fit for the Kingdom." She related a lot of her personal life and tied it together by encouraging us to develop our skills and talents so that the Lord can use us in building up the kingdom. She talked about how because of her college education, she was prepared later to serve in Mongolia with her husband and eventually help open up the missionary work there. It was very inspiring and I felt the truth of her words in the responsibility I have to develop my own gifts and talents so that "more used can I be."

My parents also came down on Friday night. We had a yummy dinner at our apartment and then went to the Homecoming Spectacular. I've gone to Homecoming Spectacular almost ever year for the last ten years and it is always fun to see what new things they put together. The men's and women's chorus put on a really fun series of number that had them dancing and acting and playing around. I think it was one of our favorite numbers.

Saturday Jason watched part of College Game Day on TV and then headed out to make his own game day. He played football at the park with some ward members and got one great interception, two sprained fingers, one bruised lip, one sore jaw, and one big headache. To make me not worry so much he only emphasized the interception when he told me about the game. I just tell him to be careful. He tells me he never gets hurt playing sports, but ever since the staples in the head incident I worry a little bit more.

I ended up going to a baby shower that morning for a childhood friend. It was fun to see all the fun baby stuff and hear the latest popular baby names. I really went to see my friend, but after greeting her in the first 5 minutes I found myself talking to strangers or forgotten acquaintances for the next hour and a half. Gotta love those showers!

Red bushes are my favorite!!!

What have we been up to?

Jason has been reading, coding, studying, learning, babysitting, and making applesauce. Every once in a while he has a little time to play.

Julie has been reading, writing, teaching, programming, cleaning, cooking, and grocery shopping. Every once in a while she has a little time to play. If you want to see what she's been programming you can go HERE.

Jason's good news for the week is that he did well on his test today and that he's doing awesome in his tennis class. Not to mention playing a little basketball and football when he gets the chance.

Julie's good news for the week is that she passed her Prospectus Defense and can now officially start working on her development project. Anyone wanting to know more about what she's doing for her project is welcome to read her 20 page paper!

In celebration we went to a corn maze and got lost! I highly recommend it.

The end of September

It hasn’t been a really exciting week, but a good week. My classes and project are going pretty well, although slower than I would like. I really enjoy teaching the Educational Psychology class for the most part and spend many hours planning and teaching. I assigned a fairly large assignment on assessment that was due on Friday, and it’s so interesting to see the differences among students in how they approach and value school. Thursday I arranged a meeting with a student that I was concerned about. She pretty much hadn’t cracked the textbook in spite of the weekly reading assignments for the past three weeks, and when I asked about the assessment assignment, she hadn’t done a thing for it and just told me she didn’t understand it. I spent almost an hour re-explaining what we had gone over in class (that she had missed) and walking her through it so she would feel capable of doing the assignment.
In contrast I talked to another one of my students after class on Friday who is a native Brazilian and still struggles with the language. She was on the verge of tears for most of our conversation as she explained how difficult the assignment was for her and how many hours she had spent trying to do it “just right.” I suggested a couple of ways she could improve it before she turned it in later that day and I’m sure spent a lot more time trying to implement what I said. I have two other native Spanish speakers as well and my heart just goes out to them in their struggles to do well in school and in taking tests, and yet they seem to be some of the most conscientious students.
Friday afternoon I was reminded of an important lesson. I walked to the library after class. On the way home from the library, I passed the McKay Building and remembered that I had left my jacket there this morning in the graduate lab. It was so hot though, so I decided I could get by without it for the weekend. Well, as I was mostly past the building I thought about it again, but again I rationally pushed the thought aside. I was so hot and tired by the time I arrived home and as I walked up the stairs, I reached for my apartment keys in my backpack. They weren’t there. It was then that I realized I had left them in my jacket pocket which was now still up on campus. As I walked all the way back up to campus and back again I was clearly reminded that I need to listen to the promptings of the spirit and that even though I may not know why at the time that I’m being prompted, I still need to listen for the blessing and benefit not only of others, but also for myself.
Friday night Jason and I picked up some dinner at Costa Vida and drove up to the look out point of Squaw Peak. We enjoyed eating dinner while overlooking the valley and then walked along the trails for a little bit until the sun set. It was so gorgeous, definitely one of the benefits of living so close to the mountains! Unfortunately our camera batteries were dead and we didn’t get a single picture.
Saturday I went to a great enrichment (now called a RS meeting ☺ ) on provident living. We had great classes on managing money and saving money on food and decorating. Later that afternoon we babysat a 9 mo. old baby while his parents went to the football game. I tried cutting Jason’s hair while we watched the BYU football game and tried to keep the 9 mo. old out of the cut hair. It was kind of funny.
Jason took our bikes in to get fixed and tried to get some homework done on Saturday. I don’t know how much he managed to get done, but he’ll have a busy week this next week. Fortunately, we did manage to play a few games of Lost Cities in which I have been the champion in recent history. ☺

Labor Day

Jason and I had a good week. It was nice to have Labor Day off from school, but we really spent the day laboring. We spent the morning rearranging the furniture in our apartment so we could have the desk out in the front room where the new internet connection is located. It looked like deceptively simple job--one of those jobs that looks like it will take an hour and then takes three more. Needless to say, a lot of places got vacuumed, dusted, and cleaned that hadn’t been in more than a year. We actually moved almost every piece of furniture in the apartment before we finally found a way that we liked, and that way required us to take the top of the desk off so it wouldn’t block the kitchen. The top of the desk has now become a wobbly shelf in our room and to conserve space we stacked two bed tables on top of each other. You can look at the pictures to see what I’m talking about. The rest of the day was dedicated to laundry, work, and homework, with FHE to finish off the day.Stacked tablesComputer desk in front room

Classes are going well so far, but Jason and I often feel overwhelmed with the responsibilities we have with school and work and feeling behind. It can be discouraging at times, but we both try to make a little time to spend together every day which is nice.

Friday we went to a Stake Barbeque and Saturday Jason babysat a little girl in our ward while I went to an aerobics class and then to a get-together with some friends. Jason is going to be a great dad with all the practice he gets babysitting. ☺ We also watched most of the BYU game which had some really great plays as well.

Today was busy with meetings, church, and visiting teaching. We went to the CES fireside given by Elaine Dalton, the YW General President at the Marriott Center. It was so powerful! A really great choir sang the opening and closing songs so powerfully and Sister Dalton gave a very motivating talk about our responsibility to lead the nations in a return to Virtue. I felt the Spirit so strongly almost the entire time, more strongly and for a longer period of time than I have for a while. I’m so glad that we went and that we saw it in the Marriott Center. It was a very memorable experience.

Go BYU!

Well, I definitely think the big news for the week is the BYU win over Oklahoma yesterday. I don’t ever remember BYU feeling so much like a “college town” as it did yesterday. We watched the game over at Jeff and Sally’s new home in North Provo after helping them do some cleaning and such. I didn’t think BYU would do very well and was possibly thinking about coming home early to get some things done at our apartment. Well, it turned out to be a very exciting game with a very happy ending and there was lots of cheering going on not only at the house, but all over Provo. We drove home shortly after the game and people were honking and yelling and cheering for hours afterwards. Almost every car we drove by would greet up with a honk and we would honk back, or we would honk at people walking around outside and they would cheer. Jason especially liked it and wasn’t afraid to do a lot of honking. ☺ It was fun!

Yesterday morning Jason also went riding dirt bikes with his dad in Santaquin. Fortunately Jason listened to me when I told him to be careful and not get hurt, and I think he only came home with a blister, so that’s good.

Friday night we went to the dollar theatre to see the movie Up. Neither one of us knew anything about it but we both liked it even though it was kind of sad. That was the second movie we’d ever seen in the theatres together which represents about ¼ of the movies we watched the rest of the year. For anyone who knows Jason, that’s about a 400% increase in watching movies just from being married. ☺ That’s how I know he loves me. ☺

We also just finished our first week of school, although with the number of classes Jason attended, I think he can count his as two weeks of school. ☺ Unfortunately that means he didn’t have time to do much homework, so Chelsey is definitely beating him in the number of hours spent doing homework so far, but if I had a backpacking and scuba diving class, I wouldn’t mind doing my homework either. ☺

I think Jason is finally settled on which classes to take for the semester, which can be a really stressful thing when you can’t predict the workload. In fact, he’s been trying to make a lot of big decisions regarding post graduation stuff so please keep him in your prayers as someone who needs a lot of guidance right now.

I’m only taking two classes this semester, a programming class, and a principles of learning class. Fortunately I know a lot about principles of learning, but I know practically nothing about programming, so maybe it will be a good balance. I’m also teaching the Educational Psychology class again and then spending as much time as I can writing my proposal so I can work on my project. Some days I wish I could just get a master’s degree without doing a big project or thesis paper!