At Long Last...

I decided to take a break from packing to mark this momentous occasion. After living in Carriage Cove Apartments since August 2007, I am moving. I am no longer staying in Carriage Cove. My parents are moving from the state of beautiful Oregon to Utah (not that it doesn't have it's own beauty because it does...I am just slightly bitter that my parents will no longer be living in my home state). It doesn't seem real to me. I will be moving from the furtherest Northern end of Provo to the furthest Southern end of Provo. I am excited though. I get to paint my room, go through stuff and down size, organize my room the way I want it organized and arranged, and save money living at home! I will be excited when the piano gets here so I can practice! I am especially excited for my niece, Baby Claire to visit quite often (can you say babysitting?)! Even though, I don't like the fact that I am moving, I am looking at all the positives to it!

A Great Saturday!

I had the blessed opportunity to sleep in this morning (if you call waking up at 8:30am sleeping) and very excited about this fact. I rolled out of bed, got some things done...and then went to Seven Peaks Water Park to celebrate the end of band camp! For the last week, Monday through Friday, from 8am to 5 pm, the Springville High School Marching Band and Colorguard practised, staged, drilled, rehearse and worked very very hard to get a difficult and visually challenging show on the field! We got 3/4 of the drill in place with music, about 30% of the work for the colorguard done and brainstormed several ideas about potential future rehearsals! The kids will have a refresher rehearsal on Tuesday. I was told not to give any new work, but I think completing the dance feature and the flag feature will put the colorguard right where they need to be those to sections alone complete 112 or 50 music measures or 6 drill pages of the show bringing the colorguard to 50% of the work completed)! Then the next rehearsal after that I will fill in minute details and flag work to complete what we have so far.

I came to a decision yesterday, that I slept on and feel good about today (another reason why it is a great Saturday)! While writing work for my girls, I heard all of them say everything except the flag feature, rifle feature and dance feature are super easy. I sat down with Jamie Teot, the band director to talk to her about this. I know the girls want a difficult show, but they also want to achieve higher scores this year (last year they never got higher than fifth as a colorguard in any captions or sub-captions). I can't give them both...not yet. So, I sat down with Jamie and told her that I am making everything easy for several reasons (as I will list below):

1. Even though their show is heavy on the visuals, giving them too much at this time will not be good for them. They will shut down and not be able to achieve the work until later in the game (maybe even when it is too late).

2. I have a plan to get them clean and perfect for their first show. So clean, in fact, that I want the judges to tell me to make their work more difficult! The girls have beautiful doubles and triples, but they are inconsistent when they catch. I see improvements from them everyday and that gives me hope. I think if they start getting their catches down, they can move their tosses up! But we have to start easy for a reason!

3. I want them to have an excellent movement book this year (when I say book I mean I write and they execute)! I am making work super easy so that they can have leaps and turns. Movement is not their strongest category so I am hoping with more movement that practice and get stronger!

4. When I see them have glazed over looks, I know their brains are trying to process everything and giving them more when they are note ready to receive it yet will only do more harm than good!

I am confident that they will succeed if they are willing to put in the time and effort!

Then, Seven Peaks today was a nice way for me and Jamie to unwind and relax. We spent most of the time together and had a blast!

Now, I watch the DCI scores! Blue Knights got 9th place (yes!) with a score of 89.2 (their colorguard received eighth overall)! Amazing season BK and congratulations to all my drum corp friends for such an amazing season! Best Saturday ever!

Wild Wednesday

I just have to make it through the day and then I will be happy. I will still have lots of homework and lots to study for, but I won't have everything due in one day (four papers, two research projects and two midterms...all today). I just have to get through all of it and then some (my plan is to get a head in homework tonight) and then I can relax a bit (only a bit) tomorrow!

Love should not be conditional...

I have had it. I am taking a stand. Yes, this is a ranting blog, but I am so sick of such close-minded people. Yes, I do believe in God and that His love IS unconditional. I am also a liberal-minded person, or as some people might say, a democrat (I am more toward the independent party but a good chunk of what I believe falls into the Democrat category). Yes, my best friend (one of them) is gay. Next person that tells me that I am going to hell because I am associating myself with homosexual people is going to get socked in the face...hard. Last time I checked, Christ walked among sinners. He never judged anyone. So, why are we all judging.

I had someone tell me that righteous judging meant disassociating myself from "those gay people." I have decided not to judge anyone. I have a tendency to trust people whom I probably shouldn't trust and forgive them after they have hurt me. Why? Because that is exactly what God would do. Are we not trying to become like God? So, why are so many Christians going after homosexual people who are seeking equality? You want to know what I believe? Are you sure? Okay, I don't care who marries who aslong as they are willing to abide by all laws. We have more important matters to worry about such as child and human trafficking. Why don't we show love to them? Oh, wait. Because we are so wrapped up in deciding who is allowed to marry who and so on. Why don't we take care of the drug issues, or trafficking? Why don't we focus more on our failing economy and less on why gay marriage is or is not okay.

I truly believe the entire world is sick and broken and needs to be healed. There are two BIG factors that I think will help...love and forgiveness for ourselves and others. That's it. That is what I believe will heal this world. Love includes respect. You don't have to like someone, just respect them and agree to disagree. I had a professor that told me, if we didn't choose to disagree, no one would research problems. No one would get informed about political and religious matters. I am not anti-religion. I am just wondering, why must love be conditional? Because of the fact that I believe in so much more, in love and kindness, in forgiveness, I believe the world can be saved.

So, I don't care what you believe, just believe in love. I have seen it work wonders for people when I do something so simple as show love and kindness. I don't care if you don't believe the same things I do, just know that I love you! My love could never be conditional...

What We All Have Been Waiting For!

Fall season is officially here! Today was the second to last parade for my kids but the next parade is a joke so we are not worried about it and it is all the way in September). Now, this week, the kids are getting part of their show and then have two weeks of camp (phew). I just have to make through these next few weeks. Not only do I have every possible assignment due Wednesday, I have to get some fall contracts out, generate the calendars for the colorguard, order shoes and uniforms, take round-up to the back yard at the new house, get through my dance history timeline, generate a rough draft for my long research paper and still have some "me" time in there.

I have decided to include a fun little video involving my students. Their show was titled "In My Arms" with music by Plumb. The video below is the techno version. Take note that I am the one that says "you may now take the floor" and Lindsay is the one yelling "Exhibition!!" After which Lindsay and I could not stop laughing at how hilarious these kids are:




I love these kids. They are crazy and make me laugh!

I Don't Want It to End

Here I am on a Monday morning still happily sitting in my Grandfather's computer room, occasionally looking out the window and remember that I am a Northwest girl looking for the rain and overcast skies and having nostallgic moments. I remember our family trips consisted of driving three hours to Bellevue, Washington to visit the family or the have "cousin camp" for two weeks prior to school starting. Then, everybody grew up and got busy. I sit here and decided, I don't want it to end. I would rather stay here for a long time. I would even be  willing to take care of my grandparents if it meant I could stay. But school and work loom over me and I must return to my students before anyone has a mental breakdown. The next four weeks will be some of the busiest weeks I have known. I will need to get my room at the new house painted by August 17th (since that is when I have to be out of my apartment), have a guard camp and band camp in two weeks (back-to-back), complete finals the week of band camp, take care of all the copyright issues for fall and winter, finish the handbook and website for colorguard, get the media programing for the Springville High School marching band set up, homework, possibly find a second job, AND help around the house. I will be one busy girl for a while.

I love being here in Washington. I don't want to leave, I don't want this trip to end, and I don't want to go. Even the times when I sit and listen to everyone talk, I just feel relaxed. I feel that everything I knew about this place is going to change. I sure hope everyone is happy and healthy for a little while longer. I want to come to everything I knew at least one more time and stay longer than just the weekend.

I don't want any of it to end.

It's not the critic that counts...

"It is not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement. And at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-President Theodore Roosevelt
Paris 1910