Preschool Graduation.

The beginning of Summer results in the end of school and a change of schedules. To celebrate the end of the school year, we decided to do a little graduation for all the kids in our mom-style preschool. At the graduation, the kids sang songs they had been working on all school year. They read some stories, ate some snacks, and received their books about themselves they had been working really hard on. They also got little diplomas and cute caps. Kennadi was pretty disappointed when she found out she wouldn't be going to preschool anymore. She grew to love the kids in her little class. Lucky for us, they all live close by so it wasn't goodbye forever!

Preschool.

Kennadi started preschool this Fall! Me and a few other moms in the ward opted to put our kids in a co-op preschool. This just means that we take turns teaching from a set curriculum at our houses. I was really excited to be a part of this because I wanted to Kennadi to go to preschool but I was hesitant to fork out $100+ a month for it. I also wanted Kennadi to benefit from socializing with other kids and having to listen and learn from other teachers. Plus I LOVE the break when i'm not teaching. This co-op preschool was a win-win! 

Kennadi's first day of school went great. Saying she enjoyed it would be an understatement. Kennadi loved it so much that there were many tears when it was time to go home. She refused to leave. And then I got the pleasure of listening to her talk about preschool all day every day until it was time to go again. 
 
Here are some things I want to remember as Kennadi starts her first year of preschool....
-Her favorite color is pink.
-She can count to 14. She can count a bit higher but after 14 it gets a little sketchy!
-She can sing the ABCs.
-Her favorite song is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
-When She grows up she wants to be a Princess.

End of Semester.

The semester is finally over! Praise the heavens above. This semester was torture. I barely survived taking 15 credits without damaging my GPA too bad. It’s not that my classes were hard; it was just my lack of motivation. Having a baby at the beginning of the semester tends to do that to ya. I am happy to say, I only have one more semester and then I will officially be a college graduate. Wahoo!

Most of my late night homework sessions were spent with this little one. Doesn’t she look like a big help? Can you see now why I had a lack of motivation to get anything done? All I wanted to do was kiss those chubby little cheeks!

     

First Day of School.

The new school year has officially begun and I have a feeling it may be a hectic semester. With a new baby, Austin squeezing in more work hours, and many night classes I am praying I at least see my husband once in a while. I am really fortunate to have planned my schedule in a way that I can still stay at home with the baby, take online classes, and still be on track to graduate by April. Horray!

Of course no school year is complete without the cheesy first day of school pictures, backpack and all.

Neglected Blog. Neglected Husband.

The semester is over. My internship is over. I feel like my life is finally starting to slow down. Hopefully it will slow down enough that I will be able to update my blog more than once every other month.

These past couple of months have been hell for lack of a better word. I had 20 credits, an internship, and a part time job. To top it off I have been pregnant which means I am unusually tired, emotional, and always hungry. I couldn't have survived without my sweet husband, Austin.

Austin has been pretty neglected this past semester, I can't even count how many times he had to eat mac'n'cheese or PB&J for dinner because I didn't have the time to fix him something a little more filling.
OR when he was stranded for hours at work, school, or home because I had the car.
OR when he got his shirt all wet and stained with make-up from letting me cry on his shoulder yet again.
OR when I had zero motivation to roll out of bed on the weekend so he would scrub the house clean by himself.
OR when he would spend hours rubbing my back and feet when I know when he had much more important things to do (like his own homework).

Moral of the story: Austin is fantastic. I don't know what I would do without him.

Internship.

I have reached the downward slope of my undergraduate degree. Yet I don't feel old enough to be more than a halfway through my bachelors degree. I don't feel responsible enough to start taking LSAT prep classes. And I definitely don't feel grown up enough to start applying for law school. Reality really hit when I got asked to be UVU's Presidential Cabinet Intern. I will be interning directly with the Vice President of Student Affairs. From talking with him I have realized that we have alot in common regarding education and careers. Our educational paths align with political science degrees, master degrees, and juris doctrates (with no intention of ever actually practicing law). Our career paths are parallel with dreams of public administration and service. He is going to be a great mentor and advisor. One that I am confident will help me reach my full potential. One of my main responsibilities as an intern will be to help teach his American Government class. While some may find this slightly intimidating I find it extremely exciting. I have always had an internal struggle on whether I wanted to do law school or teach high school government. While a college level government class is nothing like high school it is going to be a definite learning experience. What am I saying? This whole internship will be a definite learning experience. One that will help me reach my goals, learn and grow, as well as succeed in all aspects regarding my future.

Sophomore Year.

Growing up I always heard the line, “College is where you find your true self.” Being the young and naïve little girl I was I thought to myself “I already know who I am.” Then came the day when I walked down the stage, shook my principles hand and grabbed my diploma. After that summer I packed up my car and moved out of a small town I barely stepped out of it. That was when reality hit. These past two years of college have been quite an adventure. I can honestly say these have been the most trying times in my life but also the most beneficial. I have been able to watch myself grow from the know-it-all teenager to the know-absolutely-nothing young adult. I have struggled financially, academically, and emotionally. As I was living my college dream I learned who my true friends were. Markel has been the best roommate/friend anyone could ask for. She stuck with me through thick and thin, through arguments and happiness, and through early mornings and late nights. That woman will forever be my best friend. I learned money and nice things are unimportant.I learned if you want something bad enough you will lose sleep to gain it. If anyone knows me they know I worship sleep. The nights when I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning studying, finishing projects, or writing that final paper were not joyous by any means. The final grade at the end of the semester made it all worth it though. And I learned that the gospel is the only thing that stays constant in your life.

With that being said I am officially done with my sophomore year. Horray! I am on track to graduate in the next year or so. Hopefully the next couple of years are as great as the past ones.

Ambassador.

I have the world’s coolest job. Seriously. And I am not just saying that because a couple of people from work follow my blog. I seriously have the world’s coolest job. I am currently a recruitment ambassador for good ol’ Utah Valley University (also referred to as the school of champions). Being an ambassador means I get to give campus tours, visit a few high schools, and interact with eager high school students daily.

Plus I also get my face plastered on a billboard. Aren’t me and my co-workers simply adorable?

I get to write sweet blog posts on the UVU website about my experience at UVU which can be found here

I also got to be an actress for a few days and be filmed for videos showing off our incredible university. (Video will be posted later. Don’t fret.)

This past week me and my super talented co-workers brought home the coveted UVU’s Office of the Year trophy. This was not an easy task but somehow we managed to do it, probably because we all rock. Because of our valiant efforts we get a sweet lunch, the trophy, and bragging rights.

My adorable sister Madison has been chosen to be a scholarship ambassador next year. Madison is pretty excited about joining our champion office but I think it is safe to say I just may be more excited. I can’t wait to let her experience the joy and satisfaction it is to be an ambassador. I can’t wait to let her meet all the amazing people I get to work and interact with. I can’t wait to have an excuse to see her beautiful face and make sure she is still surviving the life of a college student.

Because I do have such a marvelous job that I absolutely LOVE I will probably stick around forever or at least until they kick me out….

I stole these pictures from some of the nice people I work with facebook pages. Hopefully they don't mind :)

New Semester.

A new year always means one thing...I get the privilege of going back to school after a long and much needed Christmas Break. Yeah! (insert hint of sarcasm here) Believe it or not though, I think I am actually going to enjoy this semester of school. I am finally done with my dreaded Generals so I can focus on my degree and I get to go to class that I actually find to be entertaining. It also helps that I picked a major very few people of the female species has chosen to pursue, thus leaving my options open and the views of class to be rather beautiful. The only downside of being one of the only girls in my class, I always get picked on to answer questions. Apparently they like to see the "females perspective" which I think is a bunch of bologna but whatever. This semester I am taking International Relations, International Terrorism, Us Presidency, American Government, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Intro to Music. Total of 18 Credits. Yep, I didn't stutter. 18 credits. Torture right? Not only is this resulting in mountains of homework but it has always drained my bank account. It bites when classes require 3 books each and they are each around sixty bucks. But thats alright. I just have to keep thinking 3 more semesters and an internship in DC and I will be living my dream of Law School (preferably at Georgetown). Holla Holla!

Finals Week.

Finals week is here upon us. Here are a few of my suggestions on how to survive. Good luck ya’ll.

How to survive Finals Week
1. Move into the library- just start packing your pajamas and toothbrush in your backpack and spend the majority of your time in the good ol’ library. This is beneficial for two reasons. First, it is quiet, so it is easy to concentrate. Second, if you are looking for distractions, there are a ton of weirdos hanging out getting way to into their World of Warcraft. They can be pretty entertaining to watch.
2. Take a break- now studying for a week straight can get pretty old. So take a break. Go grab dinner (highly recommend Café Rio), finish up some Christmas shopping or watch the jazz game. (go jazz go!)
3. Sleep- ahh, nothing is better than a good nights sleep. Even a quick cat nap can get the job done.
4. Visit your family (or friends)- in my case, I visit my grandma. She feeds me dinner. It’s a win-win situation. I get fed and she gets to see me. You know what they say, its better to think on a full stomach.
5. Study in groups- this is your last time to get to know that hottie in your class. It’s a genius way to get his number, spend some time with him, oh...and study.
6. Reward yourself- if you have survived finals week, pat yourself on the back. Make someone take you out to dinner, bake you cookies, or throw you a little parade. Conquering finals week is not an easy task.
7. Don’t stress- now I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but odds are if you don’t know the material now, you aren’t going to know it later. So don’t freak out. It happens to the best of us. You are going to fail a class every now and again. Its called life.

College. Sigh.

The way College should be (now if i can only get my parents to see this point of view)...

“You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. The work never ends, but college does..."”

Midterms were last week, and thank goodness they are over. I always seem to stress out way too much when it comes to stuff like that. I worry to much about my grades, my GPA, keeping my scholarship, and most of all getting into Law School. With so much on my plate, I struggle sometime just stopping and smelling the roses and enjoying the wild and unique period of life I am experiencing. I guess this means only one thing, I am going to have to a have a wild weekend to make up for lost time :)

SCHOOL!!

So....school sucks. The end.

just kidding. But seriously, I swear all I do with my life is go to school, go to work, do homework, sleep, and then repeat. I think I need a social life. I guess I can't complain too much. I have a job which i absolutely love, I have the opportunity to actually get a college degree, and the worlds best roommates (except the one who just got arrested but thats a different story...). This semester I am rooming with my cousin Markel (the one who never sleeps), Carlie Jo (the one who feeds me), Danielle (the one with the scary boyfriends), and Kelli (also known as "stripes"). I dunno what I would do without our yozone trips, Pizza Pie Cafe nights, Waffle Cone Wednesdays, or tye-dye nights. Ahh....the joys of being young!