A delightsome weekend

Casey freely shared stories from her mission. She busted out the photo album and captured the attention of everyone that walked by.




We had quite a crowd that gathered. The group picture is the family photo. Of course there were a few taking naps--young and old alike--who aren't pictured. This is the greatest number of Gauses we've had together in a long while.



















As you can see, the weekend was somewhat exhausting. Casey took a short nap in the only place she could find solace, my mom's bathtub, while I finished doing Amy's hair.
I was holding Grant, my cousin's son, while he struggled to stay awake. It wasn't long before we were both asleep.

Welcome Home, Casey

Hermana Casey Gause returned from the Texas-McAllen Mission last night, Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 8:30pm.

We were all so happy to see her. In attendance was her immediate family: Barkley, Donna, Will, Amy, and Katie. She met her brother-in-law, Joe, for the first time. Also there were dear friends and recently returned missionaries: Lacee, Deon, and Jared. Sheila, my mother's friend, also came. Lacee's parents, Sue and Randy, proudly welcomed Casey home.

The video contains pictures of the event. The music, two John Denver hits, are sentimental. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" was the last song Casey listened to before she was set apart. We also played it on the ride home after she was released. "Annie's Song" is a favorite sung often by Casey, Lacee, and Deon.

Welcome Home, Casey. We are so glad to have you back.

Delayed reunion

Casey was scheduled to land at 6:25pm. She missed her connecting flight in Salt Lake City. Now, she won't land until 8:40. Oh, I wish she'd hurry up and get here already!

Welcome home, Lacee

My little sister's best friend returned from her mission yesterday. Lacee and Casey both entered the MTC the same day. I could hardly believe that Lacee was back. I was bawling. I can only imagine what it will be like on Thursday.

Trendiness demonstrated through this Tag

I feel like if I don't respond to the tag it'll be like breaking a chain letter. I don't want that curse on my head.

10 years ago:

I was in high school transitioning from super shy friendless girl at my millionth new school to the ever changing person who has turned out to be me. *Note: I have changed since I typed this message. Hopefully it is for the better.

5 things on my to do list:

Decide whether I'm still going to work my office job.
Finish cleaning out my stuff at my mom's house.
Register for the Praxis.
Learn to Yodel. (This is my goal every morning. I just don't know how to go about accomplishing it.)
Learn my roommate's name. (There's one girl I have seen at least a dozen times, but I don't even know her name. Oops.)

5 snacks I enjoy:

Watermelon
Strawberries
Otter Pops
Popcorn
Chocolate

5 places I've lived:

Alabama (only for a short hospital stay immediately after I was born, then my family took me home to...)
Florida
Utah
Wyoming
Peru (Technically, it was a 5 week vacation, but I rented a room while I was there.)

What would I do if I became a Billionaire:

Oh, wow! I would do so many amazing things. I would buy a house in a small town and go about doing good in that place. Of course, I'm afraid the townfolk might be offended that this new girl comes to town and thinks she knows what is best for their community. I would definitely have to be wise about how I go about it. Maybe I would have young people write proposals for how their town could be improved and then grant their wishes. Of course, I wouldn't bring in anything commercial, but if they wanted an art gallery, community center, concert hall, theatre, or something wholesome that would encourage development of talent and culture, then I'd do that so fast.
Also, I'd love to go on a service mission and use my money and talents to build school houses, teach people how to farm better, dig wells, design irrigation strategies, teach music lessons, teach people to read, you know cool stuff like that.
Also, I would donate money to Dixie State College to build a new building for Education students. The building would contain several places for group study but more importantly stress relieving activities like karaoke and guitar hero and couches to nap on.
Of course, I would invest the majority of my money so that I could do cool things like this for the rest of my life.
Oh, and I would hire the best yodeling instructor west of the Mississippi.

5 Jobs I've had:

Night Manager at Taco Time
Work Study for the Music Department at Dixie State
Automotive Sales Associate and Tire & Lube Technician
Cake Decorator
Waitress (yeah, I was just politically incorrect)

5 things you don't know about me:
I would love to live in a small town and be a part of the country music group that performs at every town function.
I had so many career dreams growing up. The three most recurring were a pediatrician, an astronaut, and a math teacher.
I can't wait to graduate so that I can buy some land and work towards being self-sufficient/self-sustaining.
I wish I had a bumper sticker that says, "In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned."
I like having secret goals (as Celina would call them). My very first secret goal was set in middle school which was to never ever eat a Honey Bun. They were so popular. All the kids ate them. Except me. Intentionally (like the sentence fragments).

I tag: no one. By all means, if you want to do this one anyway, pretend like I tagged you.

Soon enough

I just sent my last email to Casey while she is a missionary. She'll be home on Thursday evening! I am so tickled.
She is worried she won't know how to adjust. She has poured her heart and soul into missionary work. She won't know what to do when that stops.
My brother said he felt the similarly at the end of his mission, but he said it only took a couple days before he remembered how to be lazy again. When he was on the phone with her on Mother's Day, he said, I know you don't want to end your mission and come home. Just know that when you get here, you'll be able to play Mario Kart on the Wii. I hope that playing Mario Kart will fill her void. I also hope that our father says more to her than "What does that green turtle shell do?"
I'm excited for Casey to come home. I am excited to hear her report her mission and share the beautiful experiences from her mission.
I am so proud of you, Casey. I'll see you on Thursday!

Attendance at the Southwest Symphony and Chorale Concert is Mandatory

Now that you've read this, you are required to attend the Southwest Symphony and Chorale Concert on Saturday in Springdale at the O.C. Tanner Outdoor Amphitheater at 8pm. The only people who are exempt from attending are those who live more than 60 miles away from Springdale. I don't expect you to drive more than an hour for this performance, but if you did, you wouldn't regret it.
The concert will be AMAZING! It has an Americana theme. The Chorale is singing "When the Saints Go Marching In" with a Dixieland combo playing along with us. There will be a guest pianist who will perform the Gershwin favorite "Rhapsody in Blue" with the symphony. That alone is worth the trip up to Springdale.
There is no concert like this one. The amphitheater is nestled next to the towering mountains of Zion National Park. The concert starts while there is still a little daylight, but it will end with a star studded sky. There is nothing more beautiful than the light blue that outlines the mountain's edge as the rest of the sky gets black. That scene is one of my favorite things about Southern Utah.
See you all at the concert on Saturday. Bring some cash to purchase the BBQ dinner before the concert or some snacks from concessions.

Happy Mother's Day

In my ward today, we opened the meeting by singing "Joy to the World". Yes, you are thinking of the right hymn. As the music chairperson, I was meeting with my Bishop a month ago. I wondered out loud why we don't sing certain songs all year long. During that meeting, he decided for Mother's Day he would assign talks about Mary, mother of Jesus, Lucy Mack Smith, the Prophet Joseph's mother, and about modern day mothers. He suggested we sing "Joy to the World" for the opening hymn and "Jesus Once of Humble Birth" as the Sacrament hymn to remind us that Jesus was born and was raised as was every child.
During the talk about Lucy Mack, I was pondering the hymn that I knew was coming up, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer". Joseph's parents, particularly his mother, raised him to be God-fearing, to read his scriptures, and to pray. Had he not been taught these principles growing up, he may have never read and pondered the scripture passage in James. Had his mother not been such a great example of faith and seeking truth, he may have never been desirous to seek out his Father in prayer.
As we sang the hymn, I imagined Mary and Lucy. I became very excited to be a mother in Zion. I want to teach my children the gospel principles so that they may also bring about great works and be a contributor to the Kingdom of God. It is a great responsibility, but as I pondered this I felt peace in my heart that I could do it. Even now as I type, I am not overwhelmed but rather joyful at the opportunities to come.
I look forward with patience and faith for the opportunity to be a mother. I look forward to the extension of trust from my Father in Heaven to care for His children. I will teach them the principles of the gospel, namely faith, repentance, and baptism. I will teach them diligently in love.
For things my mother taught me, read "As long as you know what you're doing is right" and "Education for Real Life" on my other blog.

Edible Vegetable People

I'm teaching a lesson for the Water Conservancy in the morning. The activity is Storytime in the Garden. My book is called No More Vegetables. In the story, the little girl has a dream about vegetables. The picture depicts people made of vegetables. For my activity, I will have the children draw people on paper using their favorite vegetables. I decided to create some real examples with my friend, Celina. This is how they turned out. The kids will leave with their own edible vegetable person; they won't be nearly as big.

I chopped it

I cut of all my hair, and I couldn't be happier! I'll post a picture as soon as I can find my camera. P.S. I'm sure you saw the haircut in the picture above.

Wasps used to be my favorite word...okay, it still is

I had almost forgotten what fear feels like. Until today.
I was driving home when out of nowhere a giant, yellow WASP landed on my dashboard. My windows were up, so it had been in the car with me. Eek!
I've never been stung by a bee, but I was stung by a wasp once. I will never forget that day. I will also never forget the time my cousin, Joseph, got stung by a wasp on his bare chest. I had never before and have not since seen him freak out like that. Wasps, although a favorite word of mine, are not a favorite creature of mine. It's amazing how something as small as an insect can illicit such a great response.
I immediately rolled down my window, hoping the wasp would get carried away. Of course, my fear was that the wasp wouldn't fly out the window but rather into my face. I wanted to pull over, but I couldn't come up with a good exit strategy quick enough.
Just when I had figured out a plan, the wasp flew and landed on the steering wheel. WHY?! Now, I definitely didn't know what to do.
I was freaking out inside, but I didn't dare flail my arms like I wanted. There was no way I was going to disturb this frightening creature.
When I turned left into my neighborhood, the wasp disappeared. I don't know for sure if it went out the window. I pretended it did and tried to calm down. Of course, there was always the chance it was still in the car and that it was going to land on the back of my neck.
I couldn't get home fast enough. I bailed out of my car as fast as I could.
I will have to do a detailed inspection of my car from the outside before I can get in it again.

Amazing Summer Ahead

I landed an amazing summer job today. I'll be working for the Utah State Extension Office planning the Aggie Adventures Summer Day Camps. The camps are designed to give students the opportunity to explore the world of science through fun hands-on activities.
I'll be planning five camps with a teammate and will be assisting on five others. The five camps I'll be planning are

1. Slimy, Gooey, & Disgusting: Discover all kinds of slimy and gross things through experiments and investigations. Learn about worms, snot, smells, bats, and more!
2. Inventors Laboratory: Learn to control the elements as we explore the awesome power of water, heat, and air. Create gliders, hover crafts, and much more.
3. FUNdamentals of Science: This camp is full of fun, hands-on science experiments that teach basic science ideas. Activities include: crazy chemical reactions, rocket lauches, animal investigation and more!
4. Shooting for the Stars: Have you ever wanted to fly into space? Join us for a spacey adventure as we learn about the stars, planets, and a trip to the moon!
5. Owls, Spells, and Potions: Enter the magic of fantasy! In this camp, youth will explore the science behind the imagination. Chocolate frogs, potions, and flying brooms are just a taste of what we will explore.

This is going to be an amazing summer! I can hardly wait. I start planning tomorrow at 1:30.

Go to dixie4H.org and check out summer camps or stop by 44 N 100 E in St. George for more information.

Happy Birthday, Casey

Today is my sister's golden birthday! I wouldn't wish her a better experience on her birthday than to be in the mission field. I hope she got all the silly birthday cards we sent her.

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu

Today was my last day of Practicum at George Washington Academy.
Three of my classmates and I were assigned the two fifth grade classes there. Today, the four of us taught the entire day. We had to go out strong. We split the classes into groups and rotated them through spelling games. Mine was a team spelling game involving a Scrabble board and tiles.
I also taught an amazing lesson about the Underground Railroad. The students went on an adventure outside doing numerous team-building activities.
For PE, the students voted on their two favorite activities that we had done this semester, and so we played Front of the Boat/Back of the Boat and Reverse Charades.
My favorite part of the day came at the end. My Practicum class always ends their Wednesdays with Show and Tell. We decided to combine the two classes and have the college students do their own Show and Tell. Jodilyn drew an amazing picture on the white board (since her Photo Story of her artwork wouldn't play). Jana read two of her favorite poems. Ashley, who had a hard time coming up with something despite being ridiculously amazing, stood up and let the students ask her 10 questions. They wasted most of them by asking things like, "Do you want to be a teacher?" and "Do you like pickles?"
My Show and Tell was sharing my love for singing--especially karaoke. I busted out my karaoke machine and sang "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick. I encouraged the students to sway their arms and join with me on the chorus. They loved the karaoke thing so much that they requested an encore. As a class, we sang the sappy Celine Dion hit, "My Heart Will Go On." The students took turns with the microphone while the rest busted their chops singing this song with so much passion. I wish I could post pictures or a video--but posting pictures of other people's children without their permission is CREEPY.
It was such an amazing day. I was definitely tired at day's end, but it was well worth it.
To my dyad partner and the neighboring dyad: Thanks for a rockin' Practicum experience. I had so much fun every week.
To all the fifth graders at George Washington Academy: I had such a wonderful time in your classroom. You are all amazing kids. I got tickled every Tuesday night thinking about going to your class the next day. I was sad to leave. I hope we cross paths again in the future.