A Utah man sir, will be till I die!

The Utah football team came to visit me last weekend! Too bad they just showed up to visit and not to play football...
Utah Utes vs. Oregon Ducks. I very much love college football and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to watch my Alma mater play in the very state where I live. Shannon and I went to the game, and had a ton of fun! Even if Shannon did accidentally wear the colors of the opposing team. (She is new to college football). HA, at least she looked cute! Now it has been beautiful in Oregon for the last 3 weeks. But the 4 hours that we decided to sit at a football game were the same 4 hours the Oregon skies decided to mist. So our once styled and straight hair was better suited under red Utah hats so it could frizz out all it wanted and we could enjoy the game! The Utes didn't bring home a 'W', in fact they lost 28-24. Even still, the game was great, aside from what felt like a million preventable Oregon interceptions. The Duck fans were very nice given we were the only 2 Utah fans on our side in a sea of yellow (plus they were ahead for most of the game). Shannon now knows the Utah fight song, that skill could come in handy - you never know when you'll need to bust out in perfect tune in a college fight song. And next time, Ducks - you better watch your backs! Go Utes!
I would also like to add that if I choose an Oregon team to cheer for, or even a PAC-10 team for that matter, I think I will choose U of O. This team is sponsored by Nike and oh my gosh I have never seen so much CUTE college paraphernalia. Let's be honest - I may already have a jacket! I'm still a Ute though! ;-)

That Sugar Tastes SO Sweet

As a Ute Alum and a girl born a University of Utah fan, I don't have much to say except I am very excited for the 13-0 Sugar Bowl winner, Utah Utes. They played a great season and it was so fun to watch them take home a victory of such sweet success. I watched the first half of the game with Bryce and a house full of BYU fans. Camden, who decided for himself which team he would cheer for, was on my side! You can tell Bryce wasn't too excited about that!

I watched the end of the game with my parents. We were so excited for the Utes. We love watching Utah football together, but we love even more to see them win! Go Utes!

GRADUATION!

It happened! It's over and it was just as wonderful as I could have imagined.... although I was exhausted when it was over. On Thursday before graduation Bryce took me to Flemming's. We had the best steak ever, the restaurant gave me chocolate covered strawberries as a gift, and to top it off we sat right next to Yao Ming, Dikembe Mutombo, and Carl Landry from the Houston Rockets. They are so tall! Yao couldn't even fit his legs under the table. Anyway, I tried to get a picture but it didn't turn out. Bummer!

The day of graduation, the commencement was at 9 and the college ceremonies were almost immediately afterward at 11:15. There were over 7,000 graduates from the U this year, but probably only about 2 or 3,000 at the commencement exercises. We had to walk down the tunnel and out into the stadium. Below is a picture of us walking down the tunnel. Look at all the graduates!

Mario R. Capecchi, 2007 Nobel Laureate in physiology, spole at the commencement. He is very smart and had some nice things to say. He said one thing that I just had to write down. He said, "After you have worked hard, you can always work harder." I liked that statement and completely agree.

After the commencement I met up with some friends before we went to our college ceremony. Man! I will miss these guys everyday, and wish them all the luck in the world!

We had a nice ceremony, a little long and a tad boring... so I truly do appreciate all those who came! The best part of the ceremony was when I walked onto the floor and they handed me the fake diploma! YAY, what an amazing feeling! Afterward, I was able to see everyone who came to see me. Thank you, thank you to my parents, grandparents, sister Bobbi, Uncle Jerry, Bryce, Ashley, and Ryan for taking the time to come and support me. You rock! When the day was over and we got food in our starving stomachs and I took a long nap, I was exhausted! But the festivities didn't end there... Thanks to my fam, Erica, Ryan, Britt, Jessica, Bryce, Chris, Sus, Greg, Ashley, Ashley, Ashley (yes, there are 3) for helping me celebrate the big day! I am so lucky to have such amazing friends. Here are some pictures from the rest of the day. Including of course, the dress! I am so glad this day has come and gone, thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way.

Reflection...

It's the last few weeks of the last semester of my college career (as long as I don't decide to go to graduate school, for now we'll just say last). This semester has been, by far, the most time consuming to the point where a lot of other things were pushed out of my life... like shopping! As I finish my final everything I can't help but think back on all the time that I have spent as a student. I started my education at SUU where I finished my first 2 years as a biology student. When I made the choice to move to Salt Lake it wasn't long until I was offered a great job that in tandem slowed down my education. I have always been grateful for my job and the opportunities that it has given me. They have paid for my education, offered me travel opportunities, taught me professional etiquette, opened up worlds of experience and expertise. Oftentimes I found myself working 50 - 60 hours a week and since I began it seemed that I allowed my job to come before school and although I never stopped going to school I took classes at night or during a lunch hour when it would fit in my schedule. This last semester I couldn't take my classes at night, as they weren't offered, and I had to do a morning internship. After some pursuasion I was allowed to work part time (30 hours a week) so I could take classes during the day and do an internship in the morning. For the first couple months of the semester I was still working 40+ hours a week as people settled into the new schedule. However, as things started falling into their places, school for the first time became my first priority. That was very exciting! Now, that I look back, I loved every second of it. Even the moments when I wanted to pull my hair out cause I didn't have enough time to finish something or when I wanted to cry when my hard drive crashed. I have learned from so many people and have loved them for taking time to teach me. Now it is time to take in the goodness and sit back and relax. At least for a weekend!

Yay for graduation! Yay for taking time to relax and reflect! And a special YAYAYAYAY for the search for the PERFECT graduation dress!

You requested...

A couple of you have asked to see pictures of my eye. For some reason it hasn't all cleared up yet, so here is my best effort to get you pictures. Apparently it is really hard to take good pictures of your eyeball. Haha!!

Also, check out my first report for the college newscast! This is my first story that has been on the air, so there will be plenty more to come! Go to http://www.newsbreak.utah.edu/ and scroll down until you see, The U's Dance Department Ranks Third In The U.S. You can click 'video Mp4' and view the report.

GO UTES!

Let me start by saying that college football is hands down my favorite sport to watch and I admit I have been a terrible Utah fan this season! for that I offer my apologies. Why have I been this way? To that I have no answer that will suffice, there is no excuse that will make up for time lost. I know it may be too late but, I would like to give a shout out to the Utah football team and fans! I will be in attendance at the final home game tomorrow cheering them on and you know I wouldn't miss Utah play BYU! Go Utes!!