Disney Land

After we spent a fantastic weekend at the beach and seeing friends we made our way to Anaheim for Disneyland and California Adventure fun. We were both so excited because both Jed and I hadn't been to Disneyland for a very long time. We spent three days at the park and because we didn't get park hoppers we had one day at DCA, one day at Disneyland, and the third day we would decide where to go based on what we hadn't done or wanted to do again. A bonus to our Disneyland trip was Cami and Ethan happen to be going to Disneyland at the same time. It made the trip extra special to spend two of the days with them. They also had a stroller so we got to go to the front on the line sometimes!
The first day it was just Jed and I and we went to DCA. We wanted to go on ever ride possible in order to make the most of the experience. We woke up super early only to find we got there a little too early. We waited in line to go into the park for an hour but in only built up our excitement. The first thing we did in the park was grab a fast pass for the new Cars ride because the line is always so long. Jed and I did an incredible job utilizing the fast pass and on our three day trip we never waited in a line longer than twenty minutes. That day we rode our favorite ride, California Scream-in, about 8 times. It was great. We watched the parades, played the 3D toy story game (which Jed and I got dangerously competitive at and very good at :))  rode the Cars ride, the Tower of Terror (which Jed had never been on so that was awesome) and rode ever little ride along the way. The night ended with the Wonderful World of Color water show which was INCREDIBLE. Jed and I got so emotional because it brought back so many childhood memories and how much Disney has been apart of our lives.
The second day we went to Disneyland. We had a magic morning so we got to go in the park an hour early.We rode in the very front row of space mountain. Let me tell you, that is an incredible sensation. We also did Star Tours which was way more fun than I thought it was going to be. It was fun to see how Star Wars really influenced Disneyland, it was great. That day we met up with the Wings. Man was it so fun to see Kelsey get so excited to see characters and ride rides. One ride she didn't like though was Pirates of the Caribbean. She started to get scared when it got dark and when the first big drop came, it sealed the deal. She screamed the rest of the way. I got to ride Splash Mountain for the first time and also Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Don't underestimate the childish lookingness of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. That coaster rocked.
Jed and I had decided we would eat one meal in the park. After eating the same food every meal (peanut butter sandwich, clementines and fruit snacks) by day two we were ready for a real meal. Jed and I got sour dough bread bowls with gumbo. I don't know if it was actually good, but that night it  was the best meal I've ever had.
The third day we decided to go to DCA again. We really just wanted to ride California Screamin the whole time and that's where the Wings were going. All in all we went on California Screamin about 15 times. Because we had done a lot already we went to the Aladdin play. That was so much fun. One of my favorite memories from that day was when Ethan and Cami wanted to go on the water raft ride but didn't want to get wet and of course they got soaked. We were all laughing so hard. By the third day Jed and I were so tired we didn't stay until closing. Instead we went back to our hotel room, got a Little Cesears Pizza and watched a movie.
Our graduation trip had come to an end and we were satisfied with every moment.

Pure Joy

Moab II

We have a lot of favorite places in Utah. However, when we realized that we had limited time in Utah left it wasn't too hard to choose Moab as one of our last Utah destinations before heading out to Memphis. We made a camping reservation at our go to place, the OK RV resort and made plans for a three day trip right after graduation. It turns out that we went during a perfect time; there had just been a strong rainstorm a couple days leading up and the weather was perfect in the 70's while there. 

The first day was spent in Arches where we hiked the Devils Garden. We were much better prepared with plenty of sun screen this time and it was great weather. We hiked out to Double-O arch and back and played around for a bit before heading back to camp. 

 Landscape Arch

 Devils Garden

 Back side of Double-O

Hot showers + grill + brats + Doritos = glamping

It was just as fun as the first time but in all honesty it was hard not to get excited about the next days activity. 

Andrea has been wanting to go mountain biking with me for a long time and we were finally able to go together on the second day. I had recently sold my mountain bike but we rented some from Chile Pepper Bikes on our second day. We arrived at 8 am and were fitted to their cheapest "standard" bike which was probably worth more than my car or my life for that matter. There were features on the bike I didn't even know existed but it made for one of the best rides I've been on.

With only 8 hours of rental time we took off to slickrock with intentions of doing the practice loop once or twice to get Andrea accustomed to things. It can be a bit intimidating riding on pure rock (it's not the most comfortable crash pad) but Andrea picked it up quickly during the second loop. I was a bit rusty myself but it became clear very quickly that the we could trust our bikes to handle even the trickiest of descents. Andrea was hooked and we finished our third loop in about 15 to 20 minutes. 

We loaded up the bikes again and started out toward the Bar M trail system north of Moab. This is my favorite area to bike because whether you are a beginner or advanced mountain biker there are trails galore to ride on. We picked out a nice 10 mile loop that went over all sorts of terrain and it made for a great day of biking. A few good memories include: suicidal lizards, a bee flying into Andrea's shirt, and flying over my handlebars into a bush. It was perfect weather and beautiful southern Utah scenery all day. We were exhausted by the time 4 oclock rolled around but it was a blast.

Trailhead at BarM

The third day we went back into Arches and spent the day in the Fiery Furnace which is a permit only portion of the park. There are no trails, tall cliff walls, narrow canyons and few visitors which makes it difficult to navigate but a must visit. We worked our way to the top of one of the tallest spines to look over the whole furnace. It was difficult getting up and terrifying looking over the cliff edge but it was a great view. Getting back down and out to the car was a whole adventure in itself but after scaling down a few walls, scrambling over boulders, and squeezing through tunnels and canyons we made it back.

We both agree that Moab was a good choice as one of our last activities in Utah and we know we will be back in years to come.

Gradiashun

BYU Grads!!!

We did it! After Andrea came to Provo as a baby Freshman in 2010 and I came shortly after as an RM in 2011 we finished up our bachelor's degrees at BYU.

After a grueling semester of student teaching and a coaching internship Andrea graduated with a degree in Teaching Social Science. Andrea was loved by all of her students and athletes. Doug, Edie and I were able to go to Andrea's athletic banquet where she was honored as a graduating athlete.

I graduated in Neuroscience - a subject I have come to love over the past few years. I loved my last semester and had a blast really digging into my major.

This is pretty random but this is a 3D image of my brain. I volunteered to be an MRI subject in my Advanced Neuro lab and it was sweet! If anyone is nerdy enough to care the MRI machine at BYU is 3x's more powerful than the Earth's magnetic field. After showing me a video of an MRI machine tearing a metal chair to shreds they then said, "As long as you have no metal you're fine!" then they stuck my head in the middle for 40 minutes... awesome.

The graduation ceremonies were a bit long but I'm glad we went. We almost skipped out on commencement but we decided the day of to go (Doug and Edie were there also). Elder Steven Snow spoke and did a great job. It was also neat to honor President Samuelson one last time as he received an honorary doctorate degree presented by our new President Worthin.

Friday, April 24th, Andrea and I walked and received our "diplomas". Both Andrea's and my parents were able to be there. We are very grateful for their support throughout both of our educations. We couldn't have done it without them.

Ethan also graduation with his MBA. Here we are rockin our new alumni t-shirts

Jazz and Cougars: First and Last

Andrea and I have always loved watching sports. Whether it's cheering for the US in the Olympics, making picks for March Madness, or supporting BYU's various athletic teams we are big fans. With graduation approaching quickly we wanted to get in a few more local athletic events. Two that really stand out are our 1st Jazz game together and our last BYU game ever as students.

We had been wanting to watch a live Jazz game for a while and when I saw some discounted tickets for the last home game of the season (April 13) I knew we had to make it. They were most definitely nosebleed seats but it was still a great experience.

Caleb and Hannah met up with us at Crown Burger (a tradition my dad started when taking us to Jazz games) and after having a delicious meal we worked our way over to the stadium. (It was entertaining watching Shawn Bradley duck as low as he could to pass through the metal detectors just in front of us.) Although most of the starters didn't play for either team (the playoffs already being determined) it was still a fun game and we were glad we were able to make at least one game while in Utah.



Soon afterward we went to a BYU Baseball game which even though it was our first time to a BYU baseball game it happened to be our last ever sporting event as students. To top it off it was against Utah so it was a full crowd and high tension throughout. The Wings joined us for most of the game and it was fun to be there with them. The game was very entertaining and we were able to see three homers including a grand slam. When BYU won in the 9th with an RBI single and the crowd rose to sing "Rise and Shout" Andrea and I began choking up as we realized it was our last time singing that song as students. We have loved our time at BYU and are sad to move on but we have really enjoyed it all.

Watching the game with new baby Madison

Student Teaching

My last semester at BYU was spent away from the track and campus. I was student teaching at Maple Mountain High School in Mapleton Utah. It was such an incredible experience and I feel so blessed to be able to have worked with the staff and kids there. I worked with Darrell Wyatt teaching his Introduction Psychology classes. Because of a rule change at BYU I also had to teach in my minor which is teaching psychical education and coaching. At first I was really upset but then I grew to love working with my mentor Haley Peck and teaching Zumba class. It was a blast!!!

Student teaching was not nearly as hard as everyone said it was going to be. The hardest time was when I had food poisoning and wanted nothing to do with anything. But I never stayed up late into the night/morning working on lesson plans or grading like my other classmates. I think it is because I was teaching psychology. It is an elective class so the students want to be there. The school itself is also unique. It just runs smoothly because parents and teachers care. Sometimes the parents cared a little too much but it was still very supportive.

My psychology classes were great and very rewarding. When I did activities that the students liked it was really fun to see them get into it. I definitely had my off days both with the kids and with teaching but I think that just comes with the job. My worst day ended up being a really fun day when the projector exploded and all my activities were with a projector. But it ended up working out just fine.

Zumba was so much fun to teach. I also taught an all guys PE class and they were a hoot. PE gave me my most interesting stories. One time on the same day, two girls got in a full on hair pulling (like literally clumps of hair on the ground) slapping fight. I had to break that up. I was scared to death when I went to break it up and so mad at them that all I could say was "what the heck are you doing?" the girls just stopped and looked at me and said "what does it look like?" The next class period a kid stopped dead in his track and stated he had a lizard in his pants. Being a prankster I was like, "ok whatever," but then he started really freaking out. I told him to go to the locker room and check (why he had a lizard in his pants was beyond me). Sure enough there was a lot of screaming and then he came out with a lizard. Apparently at lunch, him and his buddy found a lizard and were playing with it. They lost it and he thought it went up his sweatshirt but they couldn't find it. Well it did go up his sweatshirt and then down his pants.

Along with student teaching, I also helped coach the track team there. That was what made my time at Maple Mountain the best. I found out that I really like being on the other side of track and field. It was rewarding to see the slowest girl on the team run a new PR and be the happiest person in the world. It was incredible. I would run with them and help them with workouts and weight lifting. I worked with Brett Andrus, who happened to coach some of my teammates in high school and ran with Rich at BYU. Brett was incredible and really made me a part of the team and helped me be a leader. He listened to my input and we talked back and forth about what we should do. Brett always made me feel like an equal and just and intern. The girls did so well this year and it was fun to watch. Maddie Ball and Brittany Lund were some of my favorite girls. I ran a lot of miles with them and felt like I could give the a new perspective to running great. They ended up getting in the top 3 in the 32, 16, and 8 and won the 4x4. The Maple Mountain girls ended up winning state which was so much fun.

Track Athlete of the Year

I had the honor of receiving the Female Track Athlete of the Year for the 2014 season. It was an incredible honor. I will forever have my name in front of the track office along with some other incredible past athletes. It was a fun ceremony where many of my family members attended. Christine an the girls came, Karolyn an Skyler came, my Mom, and the Wings came. And of course Jed was there. The MC was an idiot, but it was still a huge honor and I appreciated the support from my family and teammates. This was an incredible honor that really capped my time here at BYU.