The Ride

It's that time again for my monthly blog post. I feel like there's not a lot going on with us, but tons going on at the same time. Do you ever feel that way? So this post serves mostly as an update for those who are interested. Though, be warned, it's pictureless.

Let's start with Brad:

1. He's the second counselor in the Young Men's Presidency for our church. He goes to YM activities on Wednesday nights with them and the occasional weekend camp out. He has a grand total of 3 deacons in class on Sunday, if every one's there, but they're good kids and he loves working with them.

2. He designed "Footloose" for the University, which goes into tech this week and opens on March 25th. Which also means I'll be husbandless until the 25th. But I'm excited to see it, I love watching it go from drawings to models to the real thing on stage. The best part of it all is going to the show opening night and watching him watch everybody else enjoy his work. Make sense? Good.

3. He designed "RENT" last semester, and took it to ACTF (American College Theater Festival) in February where he won second in the Region! He also placed third for his Technical Direction in the whole region.

4. He has an interview at Disney this week! I don't know who's more excited about it, me or him. (Would you believe I haven't been able to convince him to get season passes?! I know, but this is so much better!) He'd be doing "Tech Services" but don't ask me what that means because I still like to think everything at Disney is done by fairy dust and happy thoughts.

5. He starts his LAST year of Graduate school in August! Hallelujah! Again, I'm not sure who's more excited...ok, he probably is on this one. It's definitely been a tough couple of years, in fact the other guy who started with him dropped out, and the new girl is thinking about dropping out. I'm really proud of him, he has worked so hard!

As for me...

1. I'm still teaching 16-17 year old Sunday school class. It's awesome..most of the time. I feel like I need to write every Sunday school teacher I ever had a thank you note, for putting up with me. I definitely learn waaay more than anyone in my class. And I'm still the Girls Camp Director for this year. It turns out they've taken the "camp" part out of Girls Camp this year...we're staying in cabins, with showers and swimming pools and everything!

2. I'm still in school at the blasted Community College. As far as my education goes, nothing has gone at all according to plan since I've been here in CA. But to make a long story short, things are working out perfectly. In fact, I think I have officially decided to change from being a Child Development major, to a Geography major. Or possibly a Liberal Studies major with a minor in Geography. I have taken two Geography classes and have absolutely fallen in love! Brad thinks I've lost my marbles, and I thought I had too, at first. But so many little things kept happening that led me in that direction, and I don't think it was a coincidence. Then in my Child Development class I thought "If I have to talk about the difference between gender and sex one more time I'm going to poke my eyeballs out with this pencil!" That may have been a little dramatic, but it was a turning point for me. Now if I could just transfer...

3. I applied for another job within the company that I already work for. The official title of the position is Travelling Training Liaison. I would go to a 4 day training session then come back and travel to all the stores in the LA area to train then on what I learned. I'd still be getting my 20 hours a week, and I'd be based out of the store I work in now. I'm waiting to hear back to see if I get an interview. If I get it, great! If not, my life will continue as usual, no harm done. But I couldn't let it pass by and not TRY for it. So, keep your fingers crossed!

4. I babysit for a cute little family in my ward two days a week. They have two boys. Sawyer, two years old. And Liam, whom I believe is just 4 or 5 months. They're pretty much angels, Liam almost never cries and he lets me cuddle him all day! And when he's napping I get to run around or build trains with Sawyer. It does wonders to cure any baby fever that might sneak up. Brad is grateful!

5. I have the tiniest hair-brained idea that maybe I want to train and run a half marathon or something. But I have to start from scratch. For real, I can't remember the last time I actually ran aside from running to make it on time to work. I walk around campus, I stand ALL day at work, and I go for an occasional ride on the cruiser but that's it! I'm scared. Somebody talk me into it.

Our lives are pretty much consumed by school and work and it gets hard. Our schedules are sometimes completely opposite so we don't see eachother as much as we would like. And sometimes we feel like we're stuck in a rut, and we just need to get out of town, but we just can't because of time or money. But I always think of this quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley that I'm sure you've heard:

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

I am thankful to the Lord for this crazy, beautiful ride that we're on. And I'm especially thankful to be on it with Brad.