Recent Happenings

I'm sorry for the lack of posting. I have been keeping very busy with school and chose to spend my precious moments of freetime doing activities other than blogging for a little while, but I'm finally here to catch up! I haven't been taking quite as many pictures either but I do have a few!
First of all, the block has been going great (that is what my group of classes are called...in case I forgot to mention that earlier). I have lots of projects and lessons to work on but I really enjoy it! The hardest part is the monotony of sitting in one chair day after day. If all I had was class once a week and the homework it would be perfect! :) The positive note is that I have gained a whole new perspective of why students are wiggly and antsy in class. My practicum with the kindergarten is going great. I love teaching. I can only imagine how much fun it will be once I have my very own class to run!
And now for a few fun freetime things! (try saying that 5 times fast!)
A couple of weeks ago Aubree came home to visit (yay! if only it were longer...) and we made our way over to Bryce Canyon for some cross country skiing. It was beautiful, fun, a good workout, and it gave us a whole new appreciation for the Olympic cross country skiiers! Our technique wasn't quite as commendable as theirs but it got us from point A to point B. At least I only fell one or two times this year!

A few days ago Casey and I had a nice relaxing day off that began with a pancake lunch prepared by myself! I had to take a picture of my masterpiece pancake creation. When I was little my mom made us Mickey Mouse pancakes for our birthdays or just for fun every once in a while. When Casey and I first started hanging out as friends we were making lunch one time and he told me he loves pancakes. I tried to make him a mickey mouse pancake but it was a complete disaster thanks to the temperamental stove and sticky college-house pans my roommates and I had. It turned out to be a pile of wierd pancake...stuff. I don't think he was sold on the whole decorative pancake idea then, but I'm pretty sure I finally convinced him. This was more of a teddy bear than a mouse, but it was cute nonetheless! We topped our pancakes off with my mom's delicious caramelly syrup and it was a feast to remember!

After that we got out the date jar (pictured below) and used our change for a fun date in St. George. We did a little climbing, had a picnic inside the car because it was actually colder in St. George than Cedar City, enjoyed a nice peacful walk around the temple, and had dessert at Coldstone. It was a much needed break!

In other news, this week was stake conference and I played the violin in every session including leadership training this morning. I hadn't played in church for almost a year but apparantly it was time to share my talents again! I played a solo a few weeks ago in our ward so hopefully now everyone has had their fill and won't want to hear from me in a while. :) Actually I kind of enjoy the practice performing and hopefully can touch some people with the Spirit through music. It's a powerful tool.

The visiting General Authority we had was Elder Gong and I really enjoyed his talks. On Saturday evening he showed us these youtube videos and they made me smile. When you have time, check them out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jds1QZrJq1Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzetq32VO_g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPmSyOlv5D4