i think its cold outside...

When the snow sticks to the windows, it must be cold (and very windy!)  Haha!

I actually had my first "snow day" ever yesterday.....  there was a black out on campus because of the wind and snow.   However.... the building where my class is has solar panels and therefore had power... so our Professor decided to have class rather than try to reschedule... worked out well since all of us were there before we got the notice about the snow day.     Not much of a snow day for me!

Graduation!!!

Troy's GRADUATION was on May 8th! Hooray!!It was so great to see him walk through and get his degree! (well technically 2 bachelor's degrees and a certificate-- Political Science, International Studies and a certificate in International Relations.)
I am so very proud of him for completing this very hard challenge, and for remaining so dedicated to graduating. Way to go, my love!

Troy's sister, Tanya, little Henry, and Troy's Mom all came to the graduation. I know Troy loved having them all there to support him. We were also lucky enough to have my Dad in town on a layover from Vancouver, so he was able to come to the graduation and lunch as well! Thanks for changing your flight Dad! And thanks for getting up so early in Vancouver too! :)

One Last "All-Nighter"

Before finishing the current semester Troy had one last all-nighter he had to pull. He had a take home final that was very difficult so he, his buddy Gillis and a few other students headed to the library to get it all done. The following photos were taken at 3 or 4 am...That's a whole lot of pizza and gatorade....

Graduation!!!!

Troy is "walking" at the University of Utah's Graduation Ceremonies on FRIDAY!! Hooray!!!! I am sooo very proud of my College Graduate!!

Non-Profit Academy

As some of you know I have been working towards a Certificate from the Non-Profit Academy for Excellence that the University of Utah offers. I was accepted to the program last year and started the classes last fall. With only working part-time I have been able to complete the program much faster than I had planned. I finished my last class last week and here is my certificate...

I am no longer dating a college student!!

Yeah!!!! The LAST paper was just turned in!! Now we just pray for good grades! :) And offer thanks that its OVER!!

I am soooooo very proud of you Troy! Love you!

A life of leisure...

OK... it's not really a life of leisure when you are looking for a job, getting up to speed on coaching curriculum for your contracting job, stressed about money, and praying constantly that Troy passes all his classes..... BUT - I am enjoying sleeping in! :) Haha!

Getting laid off from any job isn't really any fun, but it especially sucks when it was a job that you loved. I have sort of been in mourning for the last 2 weeks... but I think I am finally snapping out of it.

I am still doing some consulting for the company, and I am working to get up to speed so that I can work as a "Money for Life Coach" when we get back from the holiday. The Money for Life Coaching Program is a program based on the books that I was the Editor for, and all the curriculum is taken from the books or from other articles that I either wrote or helped with so... getting up to speed hasn't been to bad. Haha! Hopefully come January the Coaching will keep me pretty busy, but I am still keeping my options open and looking for other jobs as well.

In fact... Troy and I have both decided that we should look for jobs in Salt Lake, but also in the other cities that we have talked about possibly moving to... so.... we'll see what happens. We are planning to explore all our options and spend lots of time in prayer to see where the Lord wants us to be. Leaving Salt Lake would make me sad in many ways (we would miss Troy's family and all of the work that we are doing in the Arts Community) but at the same time, the idea of moving back to the beach (and being closer to my family and old friends) sounds very appealing... so... we shall see...

Hopefully, in the meantime, I can complete my Non-Profit Academy Certificate Program before I get too busy again!

P.S. TROY WILL BE DONE WITH SCHOOL TOMORROW EVENING!!!!! HOORAY!!!!

Mid-week Date Night....

It's rare lately that we are able to find time during the week to see each other, let alone go out on a dinner date... but this week we did! And it was awesome! We went to Macaroni Grill and did a little shopping, etc.... basically just enjoyed some time together. This semester has been really tough on Troy so it was a much needed night off. :) Gotta love mid-week date nights! :)

Tonight we are off to the symphony to celebrate Halloween... haha! No, we aren't in costumes, but I am at least in a orange top and shoes. :) And tomorrow is the Ballet... looking forward to that too!

Merry Christmas to me! :)

Ok... so its no where near Christmas yet, but I was so happy that we finally have FALL WEATHER that I got out my new Ugg slippers.... hooray! I love them!! I purchased them MONTHS ago and have just been waiting for weather cool enough to get them out. It's finally here! :) We have fresh snow on the mountain tops and some cooler temps in the valley.... and even a few changing leaves! This weekend (while I am away in ABQ) we may even get our first snow in the city... I hope not! I don't want to miss the first snow! And it will make Troy really grouchy.... he really doesn't like the snow.

This past weekend we had our first Studio D event of the season... after Repertory Dance Theater's "The Messengers." The show was very good and the after-party turned out well. We were a little worried about the party - a new person planned it and there wasn't as much marketing as we have had in the past... but it turned out ok. It was a little smaller crowd, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and that was the most important part. Thanks for the help Darren! The show had some pieces that we really liked and some we didn't care much for, but overall it was quite enjoyable. PF Chang's catered the after party and the food was delicious! Hopefully we will have some photos to share soon.... Troy was in a lot of them and making funny faces in all of them, I am sure. Haha!

Tomorrow I head out to Albuquerque to join the family for our Hot Air Balloon Festival Vacation... I can't wait to see all the balloons! And I also can't wait to see all the nieces and nephews! :) And since I know there is no fun going on without me (yeah, right!)... I can't wait for the fun to begin! :)

Troy is skipping the vacation, sadly... this semester is just brutal! And with Colleen in the middle of chemo, etc... he just wants to be closer to home this week, which I fully understand. Still makes me sad though... I always have more fun when he is with me. [ Troy - I will miss you tons, mi amorcito! But next week hopefully we can find a little time to play and goof off! You need at least a small break from homework and classes! ]

time flys...

Wow... is it Tuesday already? Time is just FLYING right past! We had a fun weekend but it went by way too fast, as usual!

Ririe-Woodbury had its first show of the season this past week and it was phenomenal! Troy and I actually ended up going twice because we enjoyed it so much! Haha! We were able to work with the cutest little bakery to provide cupcakes for the intermission receptions, and everyone seemed to love them - Including us! Thank you So Cupcake!! (http://www.socupcake.com). And there were, of course, gorgeous flowers from Every Blooming Thing as well! Here is the arrangement that we hijacked after the last show... love it!! I just wish we didn't have to return the vase! Spanish classes also started last thursday....Yikes! I NEED to practice! I was sooo very lost last week! I hope it is more smooth this week... I have been working with my vocab flash cards all week.. hopefully it will pay off.

Saturday evening I went to the Women's Conference at the Conference Center with one of my girlfriends... we had a wonderful time and the speakers were all wonderful! They focused alot on performing acts of service and recognizing/maximizing our own talents... both good reminders for me. :)

Other than that, the mountains are all decked out in the beautiful fall colors! My favorite time of year!! Troy and I went up to Park City on Saturday and it was great to see the gorgeous colors all along the mountainsides.... I just can't get enough of it!

Last but not least... October is breast cancer awareness month... go get checked out!! Both of my visting teachers are fighting this disease right now, as have many other people that we all know so... please be vigilant in getting exams, etc! The sooner its diagnosed, the better the chance of survival!

P.S. Happy Birthday Tommy!!! Hope you have a wonderful day!!

As for the rest of the weekend and this week....

I think I must have decided that I was feeling left out with all the school stuff for Troy so... I applied and got accepted to the NonProfit Academy for Excellence at the U of U, and I enrolled for another Spanish class. Fun, fun!

I took my first NPA class yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it! It was a great experience and I met some wonderful people! I even learned a few things that I think will really help RWDC, Vivace and Studio D.

Spanish starts tomorrow and I am VERY rusty! I hope I can get through class ok! yikes!

As for the part of the weekend that wasn't spent at the zoo.... we had so much fun! We went to the Gallery Stroll on Friday night and had a wonderful time visiting with everybody! We also made another stop at the UMFA for one last tour through Monet to Picasso so that Troy could really spend some time on it.. we were so rushed last time. He was very happy that he got to go see it again. :)

One of the coolest things we did all weekend was go on a tour of a private collection that a couple in the Federal Heights area has in the their home. It was really neat! They had a ton of paintings, etchings, photographs, etc - but the BEST part was hearing their stories of how they acquired them, the story behind each piece, etc. It was such a wonderful experience and they were just the neatest people. We both thoroughly enjoyed the evening!

Sunday we also had the privilege of seeing TJ (Troy's nephew - Tommy's son) be ordained a Deacon. It was great to be there to show TJ our support - we are proud of him! It will be fun to see him pass the sacrament when we visit their ward!

OK... now I am off to practice my Spanish and get some stuff ready for the RWDC intermission parties this weekend... ahh, the joys of being on the Board... Haha!

oh my...

.....what a week! Needless to say, I am glad its the weekend! :)

I had all these great intentions of posting my RS lesson from last week, and an update on the opening weekend of the Symphony... but it just hasn't happened. Sorry! The "season" is in full swing and I am definitely feeling the strain of the extra time commitment that the Vice Chair position holds.... tiring, but STILL FUN! :) And Troy is feeling a little stressed out too... between school and trying to help with arrangements for the intermission parties next week, he's a bit overwhelmed.

So.... very briefly... the Symphony last week was great! We arrived to a lovely rose on my chair (since we are season ticket holders) and it was a very nice gesture. :)

Tonight we are off to the Gallery Stroll (several galleries and shops host little parties/receptions on the 3rd Friday of the month to help encourage patrons to come to the galleries, etc.) Every Blooming Thing (our friend's flower shop) is hosting a reception tonight at their shop and we are very much looking forward to checking out their art collection.

Tomorrow evening we are going to another Young Benefactors event. This time we are touring the private collection of a family in the Federal Heights area. It's supposed to be a rather extensive collection and we are very much looking forward to it.

And sometime in there we hope to get lots of time to visit with the Burgoyne's too! However, Troy may be hiding in the basement doing homework.... hopefully he will get it all done quickly!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

oh boy....

now what?? Yikes... the DJ for the fund-raising party on the 23rd just told me that he has a conflict and won't be able to make it...... can't really have a dance party without a DJ!!! So..... if anyone knows anyone in the Salt Lake or Provo area that would VOLUNTEER their DJ services, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! :) THANKS!!!!

On a happier note... Troy has gotten most of his grades back (with the exception of the class that's still going, of course...) and he has 3 As, 1 A-, 1 B and 1 B-..... pretty awesome, if you ask me! I would have loved to have grades likes that! Troy is one smart boy! Congrats to him on the wonderful grades!

Here are a couple more photos from our fun Symphony/Time for Three concert on August 1st...

The Vivace Party at Red Rock -
Tracy and Troy -
Me, looking goofy - The band (Time for Three) with our friend Tonya - I'll be honest - I have no idea what was going on here with Troy and Tracy but it was probably trouble... They had out lots of $1 bills and were laughing way too much! I'm going to have start separating those two at future events... Haha!

Deer Valley Music Festival

So as you all know... we went up to the Deer Valley Music Festival last weekend so... here are a few photos! :)

This one turned out a little blurry but, here we are, none-the-less...

This is our friend and fellow RWDC Board Member, Tracy... he is a just a blast to hang out with and we are so happy that we have gotten to know him!

The venue was gorgeous, as always!!The concert was absolutely wonderful and we had a great time... especially because there was no rain like the week before! Haha! The vivace after-party was at Red Rock on PC and it was a great opportunity to hang with friends and get to know the musicians from Time for Three. They are just hilarious and fun and it was a pleasure to hang out with them again!

This weekend Troy has VERY LITTLE homework so we are very much looking forward to a "normal weekend"! We may even go wild and go out to a movie! Haha! Friday night we are attending the "student showcase" for the RWDC workshop students who have been in town attending a 3 week dance workshop. We are looking forward to the show and visiting with everyone from the company since we've all had most of the summer off... Well, that's not really true - the dancers have been working like mad, but the Board took the summer off because we are spoiled like that. :)


P.S.
Sandy - this one is of course for you! :) I had never actually seen a bacon wallet until last night... and there is was, in the hands of our friend Dave! Haha!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Troy got a B- in his Spanish class! Yeah! This has been a major source of stress for him and I am so proud of him for getting the grade he needed!

Finals are NOT fun!

It's finals week for Troy... and I must say, I really don't think he is enjoying it. He has been studying like mad, writing papers, reading, etc. But, at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel.... classes and tests are done tomorrow for this term and then he just has one more paper to do this weekend (due by Monday). Yeah! Of course, it all starts again on Monday with his two week class... but starting on the 16th he has a WHOLE WEEK to play and not worry about school! :) Not nearly long enough if you ask me... but we are excited for our trip to Newport for a few days of beach and playtime!

So while Troy has been studying, I have been working on all the arrangements for the fundraising party on the 23rd (for the Simon Says Foundation), and helping to plan an after party for the first Ririe-Woodbury Show of the season (well, its actually the alumni show, but close enough) that is on the 21st. We will have a very busy rest of the week when we get back from Cali because that's all the same week as Brandon's wedding... oh boy! But, it should be lots of fun!! (By the way... Craig and Carly - what is your schedule for when you will be in Salt Lake, when you will head home, etc? And do you need a place to stay for any of that time? You are, of course, welcome to come stay with me)

This weekend we are heading up to the Symphony (at Deer Valley) on Friday for the New World Symphony featuring Time for Three. They are such an entertaining group and you may recall us talking about their concert last summer. They are a trio consisting of a Base and 2 Violins (if I remember correctly... one or both could be a Viola) and they play a mixture of blue grass and funk. They are so energetic and just a blast to watch and listen to. Can't wait! And of course, after the concert we are headed to the Vivace After-Party, which is always a good time!

This weekend it also sounds like the Burgoynes are all coming to town which is always lots of fun! Looking forward to it!

P.S. So who watched 'So You Think You Can Dance' last night? And who do you think will get voted off tonight?

P.S.S. Thanks for all the awesome text messages last night, Trevor! They were so great!

rain rain go away... come again another day - preferably one when we are not at an outdoor concert!

The summer is half over… and time is flying! Troy’s first semester is ALMOST done! Can’t wait! Despite the fact that the summer semester is almost over, I was really beginning to think that all our usual summer activities were going to get missed this year… we hadn’t been on any of our “Sunday drives,” nor to any concerts, symphonies, the theater or even an afternoon movie… But, as I mentioned on Friday, we finally carved out some time this weekend to head to Park City/Deer Valley! Yeah!!

We went and saw the “Classical Mystery Tour” a tribute to the Beatles and it was such a blast! Our friends James and Michelle came with us (their first time going to the Symphony at Deer Valley) and they really seemed to enjoy it – which we are VERY thankful for considering that we got caught in a large thunder storm and spent half the concert getting drenched my the rain.

The pictures below don’t do it justice, but it was rather entertaining to see the ideas people had to try to shield themselves from the rain – everything from plates to chairs to programs to plastic shopping bags were on peoples heads! Some of the lucky few (us included in those few thankfully – even if our umbrella was way too small to keep anything besides our heads dry) had umbrellas but the majority of people just braved the water and tried to enjoy the concert.

(See Mom- He does this in all photos, not just when you are trying to take photos of us... Haha!)

Despite the drenched clothing, soaking blankets and slippery wet grass, we really had a great time! The concert was excellent and there were even Beatles Impersonators singing… they did a wonderful job! It was fun to hear some of the songs performed in different arrangements (some with a more orchestral feeling). Even James, who is not really a Beatles fan, enjoyed the music and learned that some songs he really likes are actually Beatles songs, so perhaps his opinion has changed a bit. By the end of the night EVERYONE was up dancing and singing along... mostly to keep warm and an attempt to dry off, I think. Haha!

And the best part (ok not really the 'best,' but I have to share it for Shelly’s benefit) - the fish sneakers handled the rain beautifully!

Can’t wait for the concert on Friday! Time for Three and the New World Symphony – should be great fun!

P.S. Heard a great story in a talk at church on Sunday – (I am paraphrasing from the way it was told, so bear with me)

There was little 3 year old boy heading off to primary, full of energy and excitement. After class he approaches his Mom looking rather sad and a bit distressed. She asks what is wrong and he says, “All my life I have wanted to be a fireman, and now Jesus wants me to be a Sunbeam!”

Christmas in July!

I started my Christmas shopping over the weekend!! Wahoo! Talk about a head start?!?! Ok... so I only bought one present but, still! I have never started so early on my shopping and it feels great!! :)

Anyway... Troy and I went a little crazy at the Nordstrom sale, but we had a great time!! We shopped, we had dinner, we shopped some more! And over multiple days... Haha! Troy hadn't bought any new shoes that we can think of since we met... and we all know that is a really long time!! Haha! (With the exception of the $3 flip flops he bought at Target awhile back, and the $1 flip flops from the Old Navy sale.... but no REAL shoes!) So we got him some great Puma tennis shoes and yes, another pair of flip flops! Haha!

And I got these.....

Can't wait to sing the fish head song every time I wear them!! :)

And now... Troy is back to studying 24 hours a day... I am glad he was able to take a little time off over the weekend so that we could relax a bit! :)

We are both very excited for our trip to Newport at the end of the semester! It will be so nice to have a whole week with no worrying about school! We will be in Newport from the 16th to the 20th... and are looking forward to a wild B-Day bash for Trev on the 16th! Yeah!

And I'm off to find my food scale... thanks for the info Shell! And the encouraging words Mom and Carly! :)

i'm tired of school... how about you?

Troy and I seem to be taking turns being sick of his school schedule... luckily we are somehow managing to balance each other out when needed - otherwise he might have dropped out by now. Haha!

I am not sure what we were thinking when we decided it would be a good idea for him to cram all the classes into 2 semesters with 25 credit hours each semester and continue to work.... but alas, here we are! He has about 4 weeks left of this block and is exhausted constantly... but he is getting awesome grades, which is wonderful!

After this block is done he has a 2 week intensive class that meets everyday for those two weeks. He is looking forward to it... Not as many papers as his other classes and a good chunk of the grade is earned by showing up (not always an easy task for Troy in the past - he has a history of not attending class but showing up for tests and getting straight A's - but I think he will make it work if it will help his grade. Haha!)

Anyway.... He has one week off in August and then we start it all over again.... I am still wondering what we were thinking, but it will be sooo great when he is all done!! I am already counting down the days until December 19th!!

So... now if he can just get his spanish paper done, his 12 page history test, his 200+ pages of reading, his outline, and his other paper ALL done today (they are all due on Monday)... we can have a nice holiday weekend in Newport! Sounds easy, right? Haha!

End of the block...

It’s the end of the first block for summer classes at the U. Today Troy finishes a couple classes (World History and Fatherhood – sadly because the Fatherhood class was one of his favorites and perhaps the most interesting) and tomorrow he starts a couple new ones (Advanced Spanish Grammar and an International Relations class). He of course also has a few classes that go the whole semester (Law and Politics, Geography, and International Business) as well.

He has been working so hard and I think he will have A’s in both of the classes that just finished! Yeah! I definitely do not envy all the work and long hours he is having to put in, but I am proud of him for getting it done and doing so well! Hopefully at the end of the semester he will have A’s in all the other classes too! So far it is looking really good for that!

PS – Askie arrives tomorrow! Yeah!!!!