Locked

A week from today, I rode up to campus on my bike before my GRE class. I went to lock it to the bike rack but realized Eric had taken our one good bike lock for his bike that morning (we have two...but one, the one on my bike...has a non-existent key). Scared to leave it unlocked, I fiddled with the lock to make it "look locked." I was thinking I was so clever until I heard a "click" and realized what happened. Needless to say, I spent the entire past week stressing over how I was going to get my bike back. Yes, it has been locked on BYU campus for a week while I've walked to and from work and classes everyday. I seem to have a talent for locking things when I don't have keys. Like the times I've locked my door and gotten to my car, only to realize that my house keys and car keys are locked inside my apartment. One day I spent four hours sitting on my doorstep, waiting for my hubby to get off work so I could get inside my apartment. Oh, and the time I locked his AND my keys in the house. Or the other time I left my apartment just in time to drive to a final I was already running late for, just to realize I left the keys inside the house. Locked. And Eric was fast asleep, inside. No matter how much door banging you do at six in the morning, you won't hear it when you sleep with earplugs. I learn things the hard way, but we always laugh at them later. Anyways...
A few friends suggested calling BYU police to cut my bike lock, but that always makes me nervous because every time I look their phone number up it says, "For emergencies or to report a crime dial..." and so I usually chicken out. To complicate things more, the bike isn't even mine. We've been borrowing it from a friend...who came over to dinner Sunday. And all I could say was,

So ... we decided we better REGISTER the bike first, since it is parked on campus, and then I would have to muster up the guts to call the police. So finally, a week later, I walk into the parking office to register my bike. Things are going great until the lady asks a question about the serial number and I get a funny look. "Don't you have your bike? Can you go get it so we can look at it? Where is it?" So I sigh deeply and tell her the story. 

Turns out, you can't have a police cut your lock off without proof of it being your bike. Which means it has to be registered. I stood there biting my lip while the lady talked to her boss, and then his boss, and then the head cop. Was it really that big of a deal? Finally she turns to me and says, "You have such an honest face and a pure heart, we'll just trust you." 

Ten minutes later I was climbing into the front seat of a police car to drive down to the racks and have my bike cut. It was a little humbling as all the students around were looking at me get in thinking 'wonder what she did'. I guess there is a first time for everything. 

Thankfully the officer was really nice and we talked about all kinds of things. I found out he played rugby for BYU back in the 70's and he told me some neat stories about living in Portland and his 12 grandchildren. After trying ten minutes to cut the thick cord on the lock off, we still had no luck. I was beginning to think it wouldn't happen, when the lock just decided to unlock itself and pull apart. The cord still wasn't cut, and the lock wasn't broken. Or locked, apparently. He just smiled and looked up at me, and I, felt pretty stupid. Long story short, I learned a few small lessons today. 

1) Never lock a lock that you don't have a key to.

2) The BYU police are really nice.

3) Riding in a police car, even when you're innocent, is embarrassing.

4) If you think it's locked, pull harder. It probably is unlocked, and then you can save yourself seven days of stressing about how to get an unlocked lock...unlocked.

A Hard-workin' Man

I'm so proud of my hubby and all the hard work he does every single day. He's been juggling four jobs since school got out, and is now working over 60 hour weeks. He leaves at 7 am and gets back often later than 10 pm. Still, he never misses a day at the gym. Neither does he slack on anything else. Yesterday he got the morning off and it was so nice getting to eat breakfast together and have a few hours of "laziness." I left for work while he was still home but when I got back last night, he had cleaned the kitchen and emptied the dishwasher (my least favorite thing to do in the kitchen). I am so grateful for Eric and how much he helps me around the house.

So after work I spent almost two hours making this fancy-smanshy spinach lasagana. I was so excited for Eric to get home because he LOVES lasagna and we usually don't make it because we don't have the time. Here's the link if you want the recipe Ground beef, caramelized onion and spinach lasagna. It's from my all time favorite cooking blog...we try new recipes off of it at least two or three times a week!

Last Sunday Eric and I went on a 13 mile bike ride and we passed these wild orange flowers that were GORGEOUS! I wanted to take them home so bad but I didn't want to carry them back 8 miles. So when Eric got home last night he had stopped by the field at work and picked them for me. Needless to say, we both were feeling a little spoiled.

Today we allowed ourselves to both sleep in since we both had the morning off of work. We finally got up around 11 (I know...I know...), tied on our running shoes, and left for our Saturday 13 mile run. Since we're both so busy during the week, we usually only run 5-6 miles a night. But the last 3 Saturday's we've managed to go on a 13 mile run and are going to make a habit of it. Not even 2 minutes into our run, it started raining. We ran along the Provo river trail and were amazed by how beautiful and luscious everything looked in the rain. It reminded us a lot of our trip last Summer to Nauvoo and flooded our minds with memories. I'm glad that I married a motivator because he keeps me going and is always willing run an extra mile or two with me. 

The family that plays together, stays together

This weekend my family came down from Washington and watched our last day of SPAC! It was absolutely incredible getting to spent a few precious hours with them. I think that's the hardest part of being married: planting your own roots and not getting to go home often. I hadn't really seen them since Thanksgiving and it's very likely I won't be going home until Christmas - though I'm going to pull any strings I can and get there for Garrett's farewell in August.

The minute I spotted my family walking into our first school, I just broke down and bawled. I couldn't even talk as I squeezed everyone tightly - I'm sure my brothers were thinking, "Please...she's just like mom!" I couldn't believe how much the boys have all grown up! It was even more fun dancing with our whole family in the audience. I often get teary eyed when I'm dancing with Garrett because I never want the moments we have to end. But I found myself getting even more teary eyed watching Garrett ham everything up and glancing over at my brothers who were laughing. I know they've all missed their big brother.

Saturday I sadly had an all day rehearsal in South Jordan for Clog America, but luckily we got out a little early and Eric dropped me off at the mall so I could join the mission shopping party. It was really cute watching how excited my dad got as they walked around picking out shoes, jackets, and suits. My mom and I just sat there smiling and talking about how weird it is that Garrett is growing up. Sometimes I wish we could just go back to being little.

Though my family headed back to my cousin's in Bountiful a few hours later, it felt so good to see them and spend time with them. I miss them everyday. When it came time to say goodbyes, I broke down again. You think it would get easier, but it only gets harder. Later that night when Eric got home from work he was also really sad that he hadn't gotten anytime to be with my brothers. We decided to go get comfort food to cheer us up, but then decided against it since it was almost midnight and we're trying to be healthy. Instead, we just cried in each others arms for a good hour. I feel very fortunate to have supporting parents who are willing to drive 11 hours one way to see me dance. They are such good examples of support and sacrifice. Eric and I are truly blessed to have the families that we do. We tell each other all the time, no one could be luckier.

Smiles and Tears

Tour has been rewarding for the mere fact that I get to be with my little brother all.day.long. It isn't that we're joined at the hip, but I love getting to watch him and observe all the good things he is constantly doing for other people. I've got a pretty awesome brother. After our last show Friday we were all pretty tired. I'll admit, I was grumpy, and ready to go home. A class of kids came in the gym and started what looked like a dance or P.E. class. Before I knew it, Garrett had run over and joined the kids. He caught on pretty quickly to the choreography, and then really started getting groovy. I started filming and laughing along with the rest of our team who were cheering him on. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. I know, I'm related to my mother. Only two more weeks with him and then he's headed home for the Summer. We'll never really be again for a very long time. I cry every time I think about it. We've been buddies and partners in crime for as long as I can remember. Though I get frustrated at times on tour or wonder why I did it again, all it takes is me looking at Garrett to know why I was supposed to do SPAC again. The time we've had together is priceless and what a neat opportunity we've had to learn and grow together. Nineteen years, and soon he will be off to Peru! I sure will miss him,but until then I will be here in Provo soaking up any minute I can to be with him.

Friday night our SPAC team got to volunteer at an elementary school "Extravaganza"! We all worked at different booths - I bounced between the prize and dart throwing booths. It was really fun to see all the different personalities of the kids and cheer them on as they did different activities. But my favorite thing was watching the kids who's parents had come with them and would help them and cheer them on, no matter how good or bad they were at what they were doing. All the sudden I got really excited to be a mother someday. I cannot wait to be the parent there all the time, cheering them on. I'm also very grateful for the parents I have. All throughout my life, they've been there, picking me up when I fall and cheering me on to the finish line. I'm incredibly blessed to be me.

Love Those Around You

The past few days have been pretty productive! Today I took the GRE, ran 6 miles with Eric, cleaned my whole house, cooked a delicious dinner, and ran a lot of over-due errands! He gets off work in a few hours and then we're going to celebrate Cinco De Mayo! I'm so proud of my man...he's worked over 60 hours this week! We hardly ever see each other except when we're both home around 10 or 11 pm and go on our nightly runs and tell each other about our day. We look forward to our runs all day long and love the time together. I'm training to run a half marathon in June up in Salt Lake, and then after that, hopefully a marathon! All I need to do is talk Eric into joining me...

This week I've been doing a lot of observing and pondering about the concept of showing those around you how much you love them. Thursday when our team was on the road and heading up to Salt Lake for our first show, we got stuck in some major traffic on the freeway. As we approached an accident we all saw a man who had died from a motorcycle - which was now nothing but little shredded pieces scattered around the road - and saw the EMT'S trying to revive him with chest compressions. That image will probably never be forgotten, along with the gut-wrenching feelings that accompanied it. I realized that you never know when the last time is that you're going to see someone. They can be taken in an instant. Never pass an opportunity to express your appreciation and love to those close to you. And NEVER pass up any time you can have with them...even if it means running together at 11 pm.

Like A Child

Our SPAC (Spring Performing Arts Company) started our Utah tour two weeks ago. For one month we will visit over 50 elementary schools, put on about 60 shows, and perform for over 20,000 kids. It has been such a treat getting to go meet and interact with the children. It is amazing how much they look up to us "BYU Dancers" and it is indescribable the feelings we experience watching their faces light up while we dance. Though we are not sharing our testimony through words, our dances and the message that we share with our show always leaves an imprint on their hearts.

Thousands of the children that we dance for come from abusive, single-parent, or just extremely broken homes.  It is heart-wrenching at times to see the children who harbor feelings of self-doubt and fear. Even though we only dance for them for 45 minutes, or get to have a 1 or 2 minute conversation with them, it is amazing the difference that we observe in them. One of my favorite things is after the show they just surround all us dancers and everyone wants a high-five. In the past two weeks I've given well over 300 high fives. I've been doing a lot of thinking about the thousands of children I've seen in the past two weeks. Each one is a child of God, and he knows each of them by name. The scriptures are full of references referring to the innocence and power that little children carry. I am so incredibly blessed to be an example to these children and to remind them of their individual worth and bring hope into their lives. Though all of us dancers are tired and worn-out from performing show after show, but we are filled with motivation and are constantly witnessing blessings and miracles throughout our long days. I know without a doubt that if Christ were here, he would be doing the same thing.

 This little boy was named Hayden. I found him before the show sitting in a small room by himself, hidden in a corner, and drawing. I knelt down next to him and began a conversation. He was very scared and shy at first. I asked if he was going to the assembly, but he told me he didn't do well in crowds and that he had some "social problems". He then proceeded to explain that he was drawing friends on his paper to talk to him while everyone else was at the assembly. I showed him an area where he could hide from everyone but look through the glass window and watch our assembly. Periodically throughout the show I saw him peeking through the window and I waved at him. Afterwards I went back to him and asked to take a picture with him. He absolutely lit up and even gave me a hug afterwards. Even a small and simple action like reaching out to a lonely child made my testimony grow and this sweet little boy taught me that though we at times may feel forgotten, we are never alone because God is always there for us.

 While waiting to "check-in" in one of the elementary school offices today, Delynne (our director) pointed out a small boy who was sitting in the office. He'd apparently gotten into a fight and was waiting to talk to the principle. Delynne explained that she'd been observing him and that earlier a few little girls came in the office and he stood up to offer his chair because there wasn't enough. I was so impressed by this little boy's respect and it made me wonder what kind of a home he came from. I grabbed Amber and we went and sat next to him. He kept his head down and didn't really want to talk to us - you could tell he was worried about getting in trouble from the principle. But I told him that we saw him give his seat to the little girl and how much it impressed us. Antonio started to smile, but it quickly went back to a stern and worried face. I continued talking to him in a very sweet and kind voice, and he eventually warmed up and wasn't so afraid of me. When the principle walked out of his office, he got a big grin when he saw us talking to Antonio. He cheerfully asked him, "Do you know who these beautiful girls are talking to you?" Antonio, head hung low, shook his head no. "These are the BYU dancers!" the principle said. The change in Antonio was priceless. His jaw dropped and he quickly looked at us. I saw a sparkle in his eye and I instantly knew that all this boy needed was to feel important.

As the boys began un-loading our costumes, I had a couple of them go in the office and meet Antonio. While dancing our first number, I spotted him in the middle of the crowd - it helped that he was wearing a lime green shirt. Then after the show, I climbed over a few hundred kids and asked him for a picture. All his friends were ooing and awwwing and asking him how I knew his name. All the sudden I saw him turn into the popular boy and he got a small grin across his face. I hope Antonio never forgets that he has friends like Amber and I, and that people are always watching and noticing when you do good things.

These cute kids screamed and screamed the entire show in excitement and it kept all of us dancers going. After talking to these kids after the show, they were just completely star-struck by all of our dances and colorful costumes. I asked them to take a picture and they acted like I was Justin Bieber. Priceless.