My soap box for the day

Sorry it's been so long since I posted last, but I literally have no time anymore. I'm lucky if I am home for a few hours in the evening, and I'm lucky if the dishes get done, so consider yourself lucky that I am able to update.

Just have a few thoughts. This semester has seriously been one of the most challenging times in my life. My classes are soo hard, that's an understatement. I am normally a good student who gets A's and 90's on her tests. This semester is not the case. I am the student that is sitting there saying, "What the heck is he talking about?" It's been a humbling experience, and I look at learning from a completely new perspective. It has been rough, and it has not been pretty, but somehow I'm still floating and passing my classes. I just pray and I can make it to the end.

This semester I have also been pretty hurt from some people. Due to the extra extra stress, it has made me overly sensitive and I have become so hurt and so bitter I was miserable. I finally realized that through the hurt I was feeling, I was becoming someone I didn't enjoy, and the negativity that I was around was really rubbing off on me. Because I have been having such a hard time, it's really hurt my self esteem and I have been beating myself up and believing the things that others around me were saying about me. Yesterday in my religion class we talked about the act of gratitude. President Monson said that the act of ingratitude is a serious sin. This is scary. How many times have we been the lepers who didn't return to thank Jesus Christ for blessing us? How many times in our lives have people done incredible things for us, and we never even thought to thank them?

It is so important that we start now and count our many blessings. Rather than focusing on all of the things we can't do and all of the things we don't have, we must focus on all of the things we DO have and all of the things we CAN do. It's incredible the difference it will make in your life. As women, we tend to compare our weaknesses to others strengths.... or at least I do anyways. We should never ever do this. We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, and we are made this way for a reason. Heavenly Father never gives us something that we can't overcome. Whether it be anxiety, bad grades, family problems, etc, we have the strength to overcome them. If the issue is never taken away such as an illness, we can always learn and grow from it and become a better person in the end. It is all in our perspectives.

We should always remember to compliment those around us rather than bring them down and trying to build yourselves up. Something that I have learned is to always show kindness to those around me, especially to those that are unkind to me, because they obviously need the kindness the most. If someone offends us 7 times, we should not only forgive them 7 times, but 70 times 7. Forgiveness is a continuous process, and it can be very difficult. It is so hard when someone does something so hurtful and so cruel, but we must always remember that it is not our place to judge, and we are taught to forgive.

By showing kindness, gratitude, and forgiveness we too can be forgiven. If we do these things the negativity will be taken away from our hearts and we can feel of the spirit. As hard as these things can be, they are so important. I am trying to live by them each and every day. I challenge everyone to do their best to compliment those around, and when we are feeling pity on ourselves consider service rather than thinking woe is me, nothing good ever happens to me. Turn the m in me upside down to we. Try to put others first and our lives will fall into place.

Sorry for my soap box, but this is something I am struggling with. I remind myself each and every day of the importance of these values, and I have seen a difference in my life when I am living this way, rather than becoming like the rest of the world and having unkind thoughts when someone offends me. I know that it is my choice to become offended, and it is my responsibility to forgive others. I love you guys and I am so grateful for all of my family and friends. You are great examples to me and you all make me a better person.

Aspire

Wow... this week has been a doozy! We're back in school and man, it's going to be a hard semester! I've been swarmed with homework everyday, and I have a sinus infection on top of it. My body needs rest but I haven't been able to give it any. Derek... bless his heart. He's been working nights and going to school. He is SOOO behind on his sleep, and he basically will fall asleep anywhere. Tonight is his last night working for the week, and then he has a full week off so hopefully he can feel on top of it again.

Other than that not too much is new. I am so happy to be dancing again! 3 years has been far too long! I'm taking a ballet and jazz class at the college, and I am on an amazing contemporary team called Aspire Dance Company. The new director just made a website and it was finished yesterday. Go check it out, it's amazing!! So grateful for dance in my life!http://aspiredance.weebly.com/index.html

Arizona trip

Derek and I were lucky enough to go to Arizona for a week!! Oh my word! Why did we ever leave? I miss it so much!! I can't wait until we're done with school so we can be back there again!!
Basically last Wednesday morning after Derek got off work from his night shift, we drove with Thayne and Kiama down to Maricopa, Arizona and spent the week with Raylene and Raylon. There were a lot of kids so it made it difficult to really get to go out and explore and do all the things in the city, but that's ok. We had a lot of fun family time and we were still able to do some fun things.
We went swimming 3 days, went to the Chandler Fashion Center, the girls went to Emili's bridal shower while the boys went to Jesters for Raylon's bachelor party. Jesters is an improv stand up comedy center. It's basically like watching Who's Line Is It Anyway in person. We had lots of ping pong and air hockey tournaments, and we played late night games together. I got 2 of my requests in. 1 was going to In N' Out Burger. It is so fresh and yummy, we even went twice!! I also requested that we go to RA Sushi, and luckily we were able to!! I was one happy lady!!
The best part of the trip was visiting our old ward. Our ward in Arizona is seriously the MOST amazing ward hands down!! The bishopric is amazing and that ward is so involved and active. Everyone wants to be there and everyone does their part. It was so fun seeing all of our friends. It was crazy because all of our friends now have babies and they are all so big! It was crazy but so fun catching up with everyone and seeing how much they have all grown. Derek and I were able to spend an evening with some friends from Idaho that have just recently moved literally a block away from our old apartment!! It was fun seeing them and playing games together.
All in all the trip was a blast, and we were sad to leave!! It's always hard to come back to the real world after a fun trip. Today was my last day of work and we start school on Monday. YUCK!! I am soooo not ready for it!! My semester consists of Physics and Chemistry along with 4 other classes. I am dreading it. This is what I plan on being my hardest semester. It's going to be very difficult for Derek to balance working full time all night long, sitting through class all day, finding time to sleep, and finding time to study on top of it all. I feel really awful but right now we don't really have another choice!! I hope we can come out on top after this semester! Wish us luck!!!

The Best 3 Years of My Life

WOW!!! These past 3 years have been the absolute best of my life! They have flown by so fast, I can't even believe it!! I am the luckiest girl in the entire world, and let me tell you why!!

1. My husband is hott
2. Derek is the most patient person in the entire world
3. He teaches me something new every day
4. He is the hardest worker I know
5. He knows everything it's disgusting!! I would be entirely lost without him!
6. He is incredibly talented with his hands. He can make anything, he can fix anything, and he will work at it until it's perfect. He has saved us thousands of money by hand making furniture, fixing our kitchen, plumbing, car, house, doors, yard etc. My parents absolutely adore him and they need his help frequently, considering Maeser's are the most un-handy people out there.
7. He has the perfect smooth clear skin
8. He's an amazing kisser
9. I feel safe in his arms. When he holds me the world stops. Even after 3 years of marriage, this feeling is still there with every single hug.
10. He's creative. He can come up with the coolest inventions whether it's in the house, or in the kitchen. Sometimes he's too creative, but I love this quality about him.
11. He makes me laugh soooooo hard!! His sense of humor is unlike anyone I've ever met. He is so random and it throws me off every day. You'd think I would see it coming by now, but he still manages to throw me off. It's my favorite.
12. He loves being active and outdoorsy just like me.
13. He's spontaneous and we always have a blast together
14. He has insane math skills!
15. He's not a normal boy, I LOVE IT!!! Nothing is more annoying than a single boy who's a perv and is into their material things. Derek is respectful and smart with his money. (Although he does love his toys, he's smart to know not to buy them when it's unafforadable)
16. He's thrifty
17. He has a strong testimony and he is a worthy priesthood holder, this is the best quality a girl could ever ask for.
18. He protects and takes care of me, but at the same time he lets me take care of him when needed.
19. He is gentle and caring. He's going to be the cutest dad in the entire world!
20. Everything about this boy is attractive all the way from his personality to his looks, to his voice. He is so charming!

I adore this boy, and I honestly don't know what I would do without him!!! I can't imagine life without him, and I wouldn't have it any other way!! People said we couldn't get married young, but to be quite frank, we have the best marriage I've ever known!! I wouldn't have done it any other way, and I am in love with Derek with everything that I have!! Thank you Derek for all that you do for us. You are incredible and you are an amazing example to me and to those around you! Thank you for being my family, and thank you for going through life with me hand in hand! I adore you, and I think the world of you!!!

Love always,
Your wifey Mary

SUMMER!!!

Yes!!! We officially made it to our summer break!! Somehow I managed not to fail any of my finals, and came out with pretty good grades. I was .4 points away from getting a full tuition scholarship, so that is frustrating, but luckily I am eligible to receive a half tuition scholarship, and Derek that smarty pants received a full tuition scholarship!! It is such a blessing and I don't know how we would be able to afford college if it weren't for grants and scholarships!
I am working at Access Point for the rest of the summer, and I really do love it! I am only working 2 days a week as of right now, but hopefully I can get some more hours. I work with developmentally delayed children and I just adore them!! It is a very challenging job, but a very rewarding job overall. Other than work, I am dancing on the Aspire Dance Company, and I am really enjoying it.

As for my amazing husband, he starts his new job tomorrow!! We are so blessed that Derek was somehow able to get such a great job! He got the job almost a month ago, but he had to wait for his background check, and he had to get all his shots and test for TB and whatnot. But now that he is officially starting training tomorrow, I thought I would share with ya'll! He is working at EIRMC (Idaho Falls hospital), and he will be working as a Medical Transporter in the E.R. I could NEVER do that, but Derek is a macho man! He will be working the night shift from 7pm to 7am. 6 hours of his shift will be transporting patients, and the other 6 hours will be doing clerical work such as filing, paging doctors, paperwork, etc. He will be working 3 days on and 4 days off. It will be really hard once he's in school trying to find any sleep, but I know that he can do it!! Derek never ceases to amaze me!! It really is incredible that he got this job, let alone an interview. They only look at the first 50 resumes out of the hundreds and hundreds that come into the hospital. From there, then they choose who is a potential candidate and they do interviews for a couple weeks. Derek was so grateful for the interview. When he left they told him that they would get back to him in a week..... and they called him 3 hours and later and told him that he got the job!! We were so ecstatic!! Our patience has finally paid off, and he has been given the opportunity to grow and develop, and to gain knowledge and experience in the field he is planning on going into.

Other than that, we have been LOVING having nothing to do or worry about. We have loved not having homework, and we have really just enjoyed spending time with each other. Thus far I have read a book, and we have been able to go to Table Rock with Thayne and Kiama. We had so much fun, but I will say... this hike is a real butt kicker! It is the second hardest hike I have ever done, and it feels like one of the greatest accomplishments when finished.
It really was quite the experience. We started out the day before 5 am, we missed the turn off and drove WAY out of the way. Once we got there, a man told us the wrong trail so we hiked 3 miles up the wrong trail, discovered we were on the wrong hike, and we ran the 3 miles all the way back to the car. We then decided to take a little break to try and find some motivation, so we carb loaded in the car before starting the brutal hike. The hike is incredibly steep for almost the entire way. Once to the top of table rock, we sprawled out on the rocks totally exhausted, we ate more food, and talked and laughed. We didn't get home until 7 pm. It was the longest day of my life, but we honestly had a blast!!

I hope that the rest of this summer will be filled with fun adventures. I hope to go boating, camping, read the Hunger Games, and go on a small trip. I hope the rest of you are all enjoying your summer and staying safe!!

Kick the Can

What a fun weekend! Of course I forgot my camera, but oh well, I will still blog about it. Finals week is this week, and I am freaking out, not gonna lie. Instead of studying like crazy this weekend,(which I probably should have done), I had a great time with friends instead.
Friday night, Derek and I went to Ryan's parent's house on the river, and we played volleyball with Ryan and Syd. The first game, Sydni and I dominated, the second game, we weren't as fortunate. We grilled some hot dogs and enjoyed each others company. Afterwards, we invited more friends and we went to Freeman Park and played night games. Now.... when I was a kid, we played night games on a weekly basis, so I was very excited to play night games again! We played a game of kick the can, and next we played Grey Wolf. I am the only one that calls it grey wolf, everyone else calls it Ghost in the Graveyard..... so that's what we called it. It will always be Grey Wolf to me though.
Saturday I went to my friend Sarah Stanger's bridal shower. She is an amazing girl, and I adore her! I couldn't be happier for her, and her and her fiance make an adorable couple. After the bridal shower, Derek and I went shopping and we bought a SUPER cute bed set. We were in dire need of a new set, and we found the perfect set for the perfect price! The sheets, pillow cases, and the comforter are all reversible, so there are like 8 different combos you can do. So if we get bored with one, we can switch it up to another design.
Last night we went to Joe's parents with Joe, Lindsay, Drew, Kenye, Dalin, Ryan, and Syd, and sat around the camp fire roasting marshmallows, coconut marshmallows, starbursts, and sour patch kids. It was delicious!!! I LOVE the summer and I love my friends! I can't wait to be done with this week of finals so I can have more summer adventures with the friends and family that I love!

10 Things

10 Things I Do Every Day Without A Doubt

1. Go to the bathroom
2. Eat
3. Brush my teeth
4. Wash my face
5. Get ready (hair, makeup, get dressed, etc)
6. Tell my husband I love him
7. Homework
8. Kiss my husband
9. Think about family
10. Attempt to get things done off of my to do list

10 Things About My Personality

1. I am pretty Sensitive
2. I care WAY too much about others. I stress when something bad happens to other people and I hate watching them suffer.
3. I am the hardest person on myself
4. I am an overall very happy person, and I laugh everyday
5. I have anxiety and I do my best to control it, although it is difficult at times.
6. I would do anything for anyone
7. I am a perfectionist about certain things
8. I'm not ok with just meeting someone. I love knowing people, helping people, and building close relationships with them.
9. I have a sarcastic sense of humor, and I love when I meet others with the same sense of humor as myself.
10. I don't ever deny something that I've experienced or felt, and I'm proud of it.

10 Things I Absolutely Hate

1. Repeating myself. I don't know why, but I can't stand when someone doesn't hear what I said and I have to repeat the entire thing.
2. Liars
3. Judgmental people. I've known too many people who have fallen away from the church because of these types of people.
4. Bragging and people who are cocky and think the world of themselves. We all know you're not perfect!
5. Sluts... I feel bad for you, you have no self respect.
6. Bad drivers
7. People who only have one volume and that's loud. I hate when people don't know how to whisper at the appropriate times.
8. I hate when people are unaware of something that's called a bubble. They're in their own world and don't even realize they are now standing right in front of you with their hair in your face and they stepped on your toe.
9. People who deliberately hurt others
10. Watching someone suffer

(Sorry, I didn't mean to base that entirely off of others, apparently other people bug me at times)

10 Things I'm Ashamed Of

1. Not treating my mom the way I should've as a teenager
2. Losing a best friend over a boy
3. Having serious boyfriends at such a young age.
4. Not standing up for myself
5. Being too scared to have a missionary moment
6. Treating one of my best friends poorly and falling so far apart for so long
7. Hurting anyone's feelings
8. Fighting with anyone
9. Holding myself back in fear of other people's opinions
10. Letting someone control me and not doing what I wanted

10 Things I Absolutely Love

1. Derek Ray Dawson, he is perfect for me!
2. My family
3. My in laws
4. The close friends I have made over the years
5. Dance!
6. Sunny days and beaches
7. Popcorn ( it is my comfort food)
8. The Gospel, don't know where I'd be without it
9. Having deep conversations with people
10. Laughing until I cry

I love to DANCE!!

Today we started our rehearsals for Aspire Dance Company, and man have I missed dancing! I haven't danced on a team for 3 years! It's been way too long. Today I realized how much I need to work on some technique and flexibility, but I'm sure it will come back in no time.
We had a choreographer come in today and the way she moves is incredible. When she shows us what to do and then I try and do it I just wish my body could melt and fold the way that hers does, but it will come along! She has rheumatoid arthritis so a lot of the movements she does hurts her body. It makes me grateful for a healthy youthful body, and it makes me want to dance that much more, because before long, my body won't be able to move the same.
I can't wait to get to know the girls (and 1 boy) on my team! I am excited to be performing again, moving my body, and I'm excited to share my talents with others!! I love dance, and that's all there is to it!

Exercise Physiology is definitely for me!

Well, I got accepted for fast grad here at BYU-Idaho. What that means is that I am accepted to go straight through with each semester without taking any breaks. I am required to take at least 15 credits each semester. If all goes well, I will be graduating in 3 semesters, but if it doesn't all fall into place perfectly, I will be graduating in 4 semesters and that's still great! It's awesome to think that I could be a college graduate within a year. That will be an amazing accomplishment in my life!! It is a scary thought, but a relieving thought all at the same time.
Thinking about coming to the end of my schooling, I have really been thinking more and more about what I would like to do with my degree. I originally really wanted to be a Physical Therapy Assistant. I can still do that, but that requires another 2 years of schooling, and it would not be a Master's degree, it would just be a certificate. It really would be a great job for me, but I'm still keeping all my options open.
Something that I have recently really been looking into is Cardiac Rehab. The heart is fascinating to me, and so many people suffer with heart problems. Something that my job would consist of is monitoring patients hearts while it is under stress while exercising. My job would be to view what the heart is undergoing, where the problem is coming from, and working as a team to discover what we can do to fix it. To me, this sounds like a fun job because it still involves exercising, and is somewhat similar to physical therapy, but is all focused around the heart. This job would require no further schooling and I could do this with my bachelors degree.
Something else I have been looking at truly is the whole aspect of helping clients lose weight, determine an exercise program that best suits them, and get them under proper nutrition. I am not fully convinced that this is for me, but all I know is it would sure be fun to motivate people and watch the transformation happen.
How cool would it be to be Jillian Michaels? I could whip your butt into gear, make you cry, and then make you love me in the end for turning your body into a fit firm bod. Honestly.... I'm not one to get in someone's face and scream at them, but it's fun to think about people being afraid of me and knowing I could beat them up. Haha. I know I would never be Jillian, but it's fun to think about helping people get their bodies back into a healthy condition.
I know for sure that as Derek and I begin to have a family, I would love to have a side mom job. I want to teach a workout class on the side to stay in shape and make some extra income for our home. I haven't decided what exactly I want to teach, but I know that this is something that I would be eligible to do and would absolutely love doing!
I absolutely love what I am going into and I am so excited to see where it leads me in my future. Who knows if I'll even work with this degree or if I'll be able to focus entirely on being a mom? But all I know is I'm so grateful for the opportunity to receive an education, and I hope that I can help others with the knowledge that I am gaining.

Oh how I miss you....

Today I am having one of those days where I am homesick for Arizona!!! I am missing my old ward, I'm missing the warm weather, my job? weird I know, going swimming when it's 115 outside and getting burnt to the crisp, my loving friends, I miss that I never had to get ready to leave my house because I never would run into anyone I knew, I miss the adventure of being on our own, I miss having a fresh slate where no one knew my past, I miss Raylene and Scott and their sweet kids, and good ol' Raylon, I miss the huge malls all within 10 miles of our house, I miss spring training games, I miss the brown scenery (never thought I would miss that), I miss the beautiful sunsets, the beautiful spring colors when everything is in bloom, I miss the stucco houses, I miss In N Out Burgers, I miss the cactus, I miss hiking, and I miss having a billion things to do all within 10 minutes of our house.

Derek and I eventually want to end back up in Arizona once we are done here at BYU-Idaho, and I honestly can't wait for this day!! Who knows if it will happen, but as for now, this is our plan. Today I was looking up jobs and housing in Arizona, and there was the exact job in the exact city that I want. The job is working as a Physical Therapy Technician in Maricopa Arizona. Do you know how tempted I am to apply? But then, this would throw off our schooling. I hate timing sometimes!! Right now you can buy a 4 bedroom 3 bath house for $80,000, and I really am hoping we will still be able to get an opportunity like this in a couple of years. Ugh, timing is everything, but apparently I am supposed to be right here right now. Oh how I love you Arizona, and I can't wait to join you again someday soon!! Until then, I will just keep dreaming about you!

A "Memoriable" camping trip

Sometimes.... things come out of my mouth, now I'm not saying I like the things that come out of my mouth, but sometimes I don't think it all the way through first. Last weekend we had the opportunity to go camping with our friends the Pasley's. While on our camping trip, getting mixed up with the weekends obviously, because Memorial day is this weekend.... I said, "This camping trip is will be a great memoriable weekend." Well, it stuck, and this is the terms we used to describe the weekend.
We had a fun time! We went up last Saturday and set up camp. I always amaze myself at how little I know about camping, so I gave myself the easiest jobs possible. I "helped" set up the tent, and I gathered sticks. Due to this, I was given the title of "Mary, the stick gatherer." Sydni started to prepare food and was given the name, "Sydni, the food preparer." She wasn't thrilled about this name so we re-established the name of "Sydni, the knife slicer." Ryan was given the name,"Ryan, the prepared man." Let me tell you.... Ryan brought EVERYTHING!! He had like a thousand little bags filled with everything you could imagine. I laughed at this, but in all reality, I think I'm going to take him on every trip with me. It's always handy to have the friend that is prepared. We gave Derek the name of, "Derek, the wood chopper." We had very important jobs and all felt so special with our names.

We made corn on the cob and tin foil dinners filled with hamburger, carrots, and potatoes. They were good other than the fact that we burned the CRAP out of them. They were still good considering, and it was the experience that mattered. Afterwards it started raining so we hung out in the tent for about 30 mintues. Once it stopped raining we sat around the camp fire laughing, talking, and of course making yummy s'mores. All in all it was a great weekend full of laughter and fun memories. I will say that I learned how to chop wood and I pretty much went crazy with the ax and wood. I may have got carried away.... but who's to judge? Anyways, Derek and I forgot our camera, so I stole a few from Ryan and Syd. Enjoy! For real this time... have a "Memoriable" weekend..... it's more fitting this time!! I know I will. Dawson family reunion, here I come!!

I really should be studying but....

I have an Anatomy and Physiology test tomorrow, and a Statistics test, and a whole lot of reading to do, but...... instead I found myself here. I don't have much time but I thought I would write a quick blurb.

Derek is officially certified as an EMT. Well.... I guess technically he has to wait for a certificate to come in the mail, but yes, he's taken all of the tests and he passed!! I am so proud of him, he truly worked so hard for this!! We stayed the night in Pocatello on Friday night, and woke up at 5:30 to go to Preston where he could take his Practical Test. He did awesome, and he is so thrilled to be done and to have passed.

Of course you can't go on a weekend trip without having car problems... I don't want to get into that story but Derek worked his little fanny off on our car for hours and hours and hours on Friday and Saturday. Derek is extremely talented and when everyone gives up and says, "I can't do it", that's when Derek says...., "Well I can, and I will prove it!" I married one hard worker you guys!! I love him to pieces and I am so grateful that our car is now working right.

It was my mom's birthday over the weekend, and we were stuck in Blackfoot working on the car, so I wasn't able to go see her until Sunday. We went to my parent's and ate dinner with them. It was fun because my brother and his fiance were able to visit us on their way from Montana to Boise. I haven't seen Karl since Christmas break so it was sooo fun to see him! I got to see his fiance's beautiful ring. I literally don't know how Karl turned out to be this cute romantic boyfriend, but he did something right. Haha, I'm really happy for them to get married and I'm excited for Tanya to become a member of the family!

On a side note, I have decided not to teach ballroom next year because we are moving to Rexburg and I was asked to be a on a local performing team. I am really excited about it! The TA from when I was on Dance Alliance my first year of college is starting up her own company. Auditions haven't even been held yet, so I was thrilled when she came to me and asked if I would join her company. We will be performing locally, I get to dance for free, and she is trying to find sponsors to pay her dancers. Living in Idaho Falls, this is probably not likely to happen, but I don't care. If I get to dance on a company and perform for free, sign me up, I'm in!

So other than that nothing else is new. We are just sleep deprived college students, trying our best to get straight A's, and trying to live up to our highest potential!! I hope all ya'll are doing well!!

Love these kiddos!!

Do you want to see the cutest kids in the world?? Well I am lucky enough to have been their dance teacher over the past year. We have had some fun times, and some not so fun times. We had adventures when some kids decided to wrestle each other rather than play freeze dance, we've had crying, laughing, screaming (for joy), some yellow puddles of oops, I was having so much fun I forgot to tell you I had to go to the bathroom, (to clarify, I never had this probelm, it was a student), and most of all we have all grown to love each other. I am so proud of these kiddos for not only learning 1 dance routine, but 2 dance routines. They have also learned the basic steps to the cha cha and all love to say 2, 3, cha cha cha, 2, 3 cha cha cha. The girls love to shake their hips, and smile pretty up on stage. The boys love the physical aspect of it, and sometimes I don't know quite how to handle it when they decide they want to start wrestling in the middle of the dance routine.

Let me tell you. I have really grown to love and adore these children. They are the biggest sweet hearts, and they have grown immensely over the past year. The very first day of class I thought I was doomed when I could not even get them to do a rock step. Well let me tell you, they know how to do a rock step and sooo much more, and even if they don't know all the steps, they are still darn cute and are having the time of their lives!!

Friday is the end of the year concert and it is a bitter sweet time. So happy for a break, but so sad to see these kids go!! I have adored working with each student and I love them with all my heart!! Enjoy their cuteness!! I don't blame you if you're jealous that I got to work with them! :)

Ever had one of those weeks?

Ok.... let me tell you about my week. It is ridiculous really, but please eat a snack and enjoy the comedy of my life.

Let's see.... I'll start out with I no longer am employed. It is a long story, and extremely frustrating but long story short, my boss knew I was looking to move to Rexburg so she took my hours away and I couldn't afford to stay. Put us in a crappy situation so I walked away from the job. Not to mention we were under new employment, the business was up for sale, and our boss was a month behind on paying her employees. Sounds professional eh? Needless to say, a load has been lifted off my shoulders. Working with 30 girls is way too much drama.

2nd of all.... we found a place that we are in LOVE with in Rexburg. It is everything we are looking for and in our price range. There was only 1 draw back, and it was that this condo was $50 more than the exact same condo next door. Reason being is that each complex is owned by a different land lord, and regardless whether they were bought during bad times or good times of the economy depends on how expensive rent would be. Well we decided the $50 more although it's annoying was not too big of a deal and we could still afford it. So we call the land lord first thing in the morning and guess what? Someone had JUST beat us to the catch. They called her right before us, so we are 2nd on the waiting list. Yes... poopy I know.

3rd... I thought I qualified for a $2000 smart scholarship. My friend works in financial aid and she was the one that told me about it. Well she looks everything up and guess what? I'm 5 credits short of getting this scholarship. Plus it is the very last semester they are handing this out. Yeah, I really wish I hadn't even heard about this scholarship.... then I would have not been let down.

4th, my friend works in student housing on campus. She texted me and told me to call this number because there was an opening in the exact same condo we want and it was for the $50 cheaper. So I called, and I was excited as ever! Well guess what? The tenants decided that they wanted to stay for another year. Who does that? Who posts it online and then decides to stay another year? Well... they definitely knew how to top it all off for me.

5th my friend texted again with a number for the same condos. I call.... and it was a realtor who sales the condos, not rents. I felt foolish.

6th, first day of school yesterday. I'm on overload and already stressed with how I'm going to make it through the semester. Well it's towards the end of the day, I'm starving, I had to stay after class to add the class, and I'm speed walking across campus to make it to my Statistics class. I had 3 minutes to spare and I literally was going to pee my pants. I rush into the bathroom a little dizzy because I am so hungry. Afterwards I rush into my class room, climb all over the students to get into the crammed seat in the very middle of the lecture hall. Well I'm all settled in with my notebook and pencil out. The teacher hands our notecards and tells everyone to put their name, and then write yes or no if they are willing to pray in class. I put my name and write yes, and pass it back down to the end of the row. Next we pray and then the teacher says, "Welcome to Psychology 211", and writes Psychology on the chalk board. I am mortified! How the heck did I go to the wrong class? Who does that? I sat and debated in my head whether to sit in the wrong class for the entire hour, or lower my pride and go find my Statistics class. Well, I decided I had to make it to Statistics the first day so I wouldn't get behind everyone else. So.... I literally climb over all of the students in my row. I stepped on several toes, and wacked the back of many people's heads with my massive backpack. I have to face the class and walk all the way to the door with everyone staring at me. I felt like I was living one of my nightmares I've had before. It was awesome, I tell you what!

I don't know if I'm doing something wrong and the things I want out of life are not where I'm supposed to be. Or whether I'm going in the right direction and Satan is trying to keep me from getting there. Regardless, I really hope that this comes to an end. Haha it really is quite entertaining. It really has been a silly week. Rather than breaking down and wondering why we keep coming so close to getting a condo, or getting scholarships, I finally had to step back and laugh at myself. I'd rather deal with it that way than cry over all these frustrating things going on in our lives.

On a lighter note, my Birthday is Wednesday, Easter is Sunday, and I am married to the man of my dreams!! I hope that you guys are all having a much better week than I am, and if any of you are struggling I hope you can look back and laugh at yourself. It's too hard to take life seriously all the time.

3 words....

Ok I have 3 words for you.....

JUST DANCE 2!!!

This game is so fun and hilarious! This weekend was my Grandpa's 90th birthday. We had a fun party for him at his church. I truly have decided that I hope I get his genes in the family. That man is still sharp as a tack. After his party we just spent the weekend as a family partying it up at my parent's. My sister Julia came up for the weekend and brought her boyfriend. They are the cutest couple I know. We had way too much fun this weekend! My voice was hoarse from laughing so hard!

I wish you all could have seen my parents dancing, and Derek and my sister's boyfriend busting out duets together. We had so much fun! I highly recommend you all play this game!! If you don't know anyone who has a Wii or this game, call me up and I will play with you!! Too fun!

I really am alive I promise!!

Holy moly!!! I know it, I suck at this blogging thing! It's been far too long my friends! I will tell you why.... first of all, I don't have free time. I'm going to school full time, teaching dance, and working as Assistant Manager at Massage Envy. When I'm not at school or work, I am doing homework up the ying yang!! A typical day at the Dawson residence anymore is Derek and I sitting next to each other quietly going to town on our homework. It's crazy how we're together but so not at the same time. Driving to and from Rexburg we find ourselves talking about more school on top of it all.... can you tell what's always on our minds?

We are doing really good! We are staying super busy with school, and on top of going to school full time during the day, Derek is taking an EMT course at EITC and he is gone to class all night. Poor guy, I honestly don't know how he does it!! Actually I do know how... because he is amazing!! I really do enjoy school, and I enjoy learning. It's always fun when you have a random fact to share with others about something you learned in class. Right now in my Anatamy class we are learning about the muscles. That means.... cadavar lab for me. Now that they no longer use fermaldihyde (I have no clue how you spell it), I actually am able to stay in the same room as the cadavars without wanting to pass out. The human body is fascinating, and it truly is a gift from our Heavenly Father! So that is roughly what is new with us. To be honest, a lot more has been going on, but it's pretty private. I have a hard time with blogging right now because I have a lot on my mind but I don't want to share it all publicly. That's another reason why I've been avoiding blogging. When I'm writing a lot of the time I like to just get things off my chest, but that's what my journal is for! Everything is all good, but all I ask is for a few prayers for my family. :) Thanks you guys! I really hope everything is going well for all ya'll, and let me know what's new with you guys!! Anyone else getting spring fever? And any other Glee fans our there getting ready to ditch Glee because of their past couple of episodes? Hit me up, and let me know what's new!!