Just call me Aunty

Well, I am now an aunt and I am super excited. My little baby niece came on September 8 weighing 8 lbs 9 oz with a head full of black hair. She is definitely one of the cutest newborns I have ever seen. I've been to visit her a few times already and plan to do so a lot more. I haven't really been around little kids much growing up so I'm excited for the first one!

the 80s = pure bliss

I have to preface this by saying even though I have done a lot in my life, at the same time I haven't. There are a lot of "firsts" that I am still working on. I just barely watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Apparently I hadn't been living before seeing them. I also barely watched Top Gun this year too.
I've also been listening to 80s music for about the last 3 weeks and I don't see any end in sight. I love it! It all started when my roommate, Lindsay, played a song one Saturday morning to be heard throughout the house. Fading like a Flower by Roxette. I put Roxette into Pandora (the Internet radio station) and it's been pure bliss ever since. I can't get enough of it. Bands like Roxette, Journey, Heart, Steve Winwood, A-Ha, Genesis, Cheap Trick, The Cure, Boston, etc. I'm sure you're well familiar with them. I was too young in the 80s to fully appreciate the culture. Good thing I'm catching up now!

Physician Assistant School

I have decided once again to apply to Physician Assistant School. I applied 3 years back and got put on a waiting list. I only applied to one school, which was kind of pointless, but that one school called me the end of May and said they had a spot for me. I would have taken it in a heartbeat had I not been in Spain awaiting a 6 week backpacking trip with my 2 sisters. I wouldn't make it back to the States until 2 weeks after the program start date. They wouldn't let me come late and they wouldn't let me defer for a year. So I said heck with it, I'll reapply later down the road if I want to. I don't regret that decision at all either. That was the most memorable trip with my sister and we had SO much fun exploring. I wouldn't have had the experiences teaching and coaching that I've had either or met the amazing people along the way.

It's time again. I just decided about a month ago that I would reapply. Just out of the blue too. Actually, I found out my prereq's are going to expire soon so I might as well see if it's even an option. Do you think I'll get in? I spent a whole week 24/7 working on applications. I still have about 4 supplemental applications to finish off as well. It's taken a ton of time. Hopefully it's worth it! Here's where I applied........ What's your vote? Where do you think I'll get in? Where do you think I should go?

University of Washington - Seattle, WA
Pacific University - Portland, OR
University of California, Davis - Sacramento, CA
AT Still University - Mesa, AZ
Quinnipiac University - New Haven, CT
Northeastern University - Boston, MA
George Washington - DC

John Mayer Concert

On Tuesday I went to the John Mayer Concert at USANA with some friends and Elise & Erik. I have always loved Johnny boy's music (music only). I was hoping for some amazing guitar playing and rocking out. I wasn't disappointed either. John Mayer is such a good musician.

I was hoping to see something like this....

But instead we got bitter Johnny boy sportin' his hippie band and long hair. Just imagine the hippie band....

If only I had known, I would have worn my hippie band too! It's a newly acquired purchase from Mexico. It's probably the coolest thing I own.

Rock Climbing!

This past winter was my first introduction to rock climbing. I went on a few dates to some indoor climbing places and discovered I really liked it. I also discovered I couldn't stand the shoes you jam your feet into as well as the fact I didn't really have sufficient upper body strength to be a good climber.

This summer, though, I have been climbing outdoors twice and there's just no comparison. It is so much better and as you already know, I prefer to be outside. The walls are more challenging too. The first time I only got about half way up, but only tried once because our group was pretty big.

But I just went climbing about 2 weeks ago with two other dudes. I got several climbs in and.....guess what? I totally made it to the top! I was so proud of myself! It was a pretty tough wall in my opinion for a beginner and I even passed up the other guy climbing next to me, granted his wall was even harder. But you don't need to know that, right? It was a lot of fun and I hope to further my rock climbing skills. The shoes aren't even that bad either..... This first picture is me. Look at me rock it, literally.

The Great Outdoors

I LOVE being outside. I try to do as much outside as possible. Now you understand why I despise winter. It robs me of my true love. My friend Nisha and I went on a hike up to Lake Solitude from Silver Lake.

It was beautiful and we even saw some moose, or should I say meese, maybe even moosen? I tried to pet one but it didn't work out so well.

I remember going up to Silver Lake every summer growing up as a kid. I love the boardwalk that goes around it. My goal is to one day take my raft out on it.

I love summer!

And yet, sadly it's over. I went back to work this last week and school starts on Tuesday. I'm excited to see my kids (ahem, students) this week though. Here's what I've been up to most recently after all my world travels. Summer is so much fun!

Starting in the top left corner....girls night out at Comedy Sportz, puppet making and entertaining for FHE, riding a Segway for the first time!, delicious snow cones, eating out at Red Robin (I don't know if you can tell but there are about 50 or so of us), Orem Owlz baseball game. Oh, and there's still more adventures to come!

BYU Intramurals

This is one thing, among the many, that I really love about BYU. This summer our ward put together a co-ed softball team. This is our fierce picture (we actually play more fierce than we look) from the semi-final tournament game. We actually made it to the championship game undefeated, but barely lost both times. We were this close to winning one of the coveted BYU intramural shirts. Go Sluggers! We now find ourselves in the flag football season with basketball and volleyball coming right up! Hopefully we'll have better luck. Or skill.