Colorado 2026 Trip

My dad and I visited Katie in Denver over the weekend. We got to meet sweet baby Heath for the first time. He was adorable and loved to smile. We did not really do any touristy things this trip. We mostly went to Katie and John's favorite restaurants and the farmer's market. I'm so happy to be Heath's aunt and see him as he grows up!

Applied Research Project

I finished the coursework portion of my doctoral program! I am now in the applied research project class. I've had some struggles getting my topic approved but I hope to have it done by early next week. I basically have 3 weeks to write 35 pages. It will be the introduction and literature review. I'll be a busy bee! I will update.

Cancer Scare

It has been a stressful past couple of weeks. Let's just say a couple of weeks ago, I discovered a breast lump! Given my mom's history with breast cancer, I was worried to say the least. I thought it felt like a skin thing, so I first went to the dermatologist. The PA didn't know what it was, prompting me to call my OBGYN office. The nurse practioner there was more certain it was a skin cyst but ordered a mammogram just in case. I couldn't get in for two weeks so I ended up booking a private ultrasound last week due to anxiety. They confirmed it was a skin cyst and the mammogram today confirmed that as well. I am so happy I don't have cancer but it was a stressful two weeks. I don't know why the dermatology PA couldn't diagnose a skin cyst. The yearly mammograms start now.

Utah Activities Spring 2026

We have done a lot of fun things this spring. In March, we went to Family Discovery Day at Rootstech, Hunchback of Notre Dame at Hale Center Theatre, and the Lindon Temple open house. In April, Wesley and I saw the Phantom of the Opera national tour. In May, we saw Come from Away at Pioneer Theatre. We are also going to a Salt Lake Bees Game tomorrow and seeing Princess Bride at Desert Star next Saturday. My favorite was definitely Hunchback! I love the music.

California 2026 Trip

Since I talked about Jessica's wedding last week, I thought I'd do a separate post about what we did in California. We flew in on the 9th. While we waited to check in at our hotel, we went to Glendale Galleria and had lunch at Din Tai Fung. On Friday, we took William to Kidspace Children's Museum and had lunch at Eggslut. On Saturday, we drove up to Great Wolf Lodge in Anaheim. On Sunday, we hung out for a few hours at the waterpark. We had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. William did not care about the characters at all. We then went to Disney Channel Night at Disneyland! They were definitely catering to the milennial audience with lots of High School Musical, Cheetah Girls, and Camp Rock. We hardly had to wait to go on any rides. It was a blast! I'm happy I wasn't sick and I could walk this time. On Monday, we had lunch at Guy's Burger Joint and flew home! I love going to California!

Jessica’s Wedding

Jessica got married on April 11th! Leanna and I were bridesmaids and got to walk down the aisle together. We traveled to Los Angeles for the wedding. It was a beautiful week. The Thursday before was the bachelorette party and we got to meet her other friends/bridesmaids. On Friday, we had the wedding rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. The wedding was Saturday. Jessica's new husband is great and works in film post-production. I loved celebrating our 14 years of friendship. Sometimes I reminisce about our freshman year at college. Our lives have changed a lot since then!

Creativity, Innovation, and Intrapreneurship in Education

I started a new class on Wednesday: Creativity, Innovation, and Intrapreneurship in Education. I learned that intrapreneurship means to foster entrepreneurship from within an organization. This is the last class in the coursework portion of my doctoral program. I then have 40 weeks of the dissertation. I am finally making progress and am nearing the finish line. Also, Katie's baby boy's name is Heath!

New Nephew

Katie is getting induced today! I cannot wait to meet my new baby nephew. We do not know his name yet. We will be meeting him at his sip and see in June in Denver. I cannot wait to have another nephew and for William to have another cousin!

Snowless Winter

We are in the middle of March and I think we only got 2 inches of snow this winter in Salt Lake. I hope this is not a sign of climate change to come.

Boise Trip 2026

We spent last weekend in Boise. It was fun to spend time with Tyler, Ashley, and Harper. We also saw the national tour of The Lion King. We also ate at some of our favorite Idaho restaurants, including Idaho Joe's where Wesley and I had our first date. I cannot believe we used to live there!

18 Months

William is officially 18 months. He is finally walking. He can also say and understand so many words. He is even doing some sign language he learned from Ms. Rachel. He still hates most meat and fruits and veggies.I love seeing how his sweet and mischievous personality is developing. I love my sweet boy so much!

Utah Activities Winter 2025-2026

It's time to cover all the fun we've been up to this winter. In December: Logan activities,ZooLights, Frozen at Hale Center Theatre,and a Utah Mammoth hockey game. In January: Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Peter Pan Goes Wrong at Hale Center Theatre, and a BYU women's basketball game. In February, I am seeing Hallmarked at Hale with my mom and Leanna. Wesley and I have Hale season tickets, so we will be seeing many shows this year.

Transformative Learning Environments

I started my second to last class in the classwork portion of my doctoral program on January 7th. The class is "Transformative Learning Environments" and teaches us the theories and practices of creating transformative learning experiences. I like it because it's significantly less busy than the doctoral research and writing class. I am doing a beast of a PowerPoint this unit though. I am getting closer to the dissertation!

Las Vegas Trip

Wesley and I had a great couple trip to Las Vegas last week. We dropped William off with my dad on Wednesday night. On Thursday, we drove to Las Vegas. We stayed in a pyramid room at the Luxor. We did the sea turtle feed at Shark Reef Aquarium in Mandalay Bay. We fed them vegetables and lettuce with a picker in the water. We also got to see some backstage areas. It was one of my favorite animal encounters. We also went to the Discovering King Tut exhibit at the Luxor and saw Tournament of Kings at Excalibur. We also stopped by the Hershey store at New York, New York. On Friday, we did Meow Wolf, a hot air balloon ride, and Universal Horror Unleashed at Area 15. I loved it all except Universal Horror. I only walked through Universal Monsters and I had to leave out the emergency exit. Never again will I do a haunted house-like event. Haha! We also saw Cirque du Soleil's O and the Lunar New Year conservatory exhibit at the Bellagio in addition to watching the fountain show. On Saturday, we went to the Coca Cola and M&M stores and drove home. We also ate at a ton of unique restaurants: White Castle, Gordon Ramsay Burger, Salt and Straw, Gordon Ramsay Fish and Chips, and Whataburger. As for the toothache, my dentist prescribed me some antibiotics and I got a root canal. I am also getting a crown.

Toothache 2026

I started the new year off with a horrible toothache. I am worried it's a tooth infection which will need a root canal. Wesley and I are also on our Las Vegas trip. Why do these things always happen to me on vacation? I have a dentist appointment on Monday and I will update.

Thanksgiving Point Community Volunteer

After realizing I was not in the season of life to have a regular volunteer position at the aquarium, I became a community volunteer at Thanksgiving Point. I am just going to volunteer at special events a few times throughout the year. I was going to volunteer at Luminaria but sickness prevented that. I am hoping to volunteer at the Tulip Festival in the spring. I loved working in the Education department back in 2015 and I am happy to be volunteering in the wildlife/science field again!