Tilly

Alright. This has probably been my favorite part of the semester...going with my roommate Ashley to her psychology lab to watch her train her rat, Tilly.

This is when they first brought Tilly out. Tilly really loves Ashley, and was ready to come out to be trained. They'll use treats, but mostly Tilly is motivated by being where she is happy.

This is me with Tilly on my shoulder. Tilly is very friendly, and I took to her much better than I thought I would. I really have an aversion to rats, but I sometimes forget that Tilly is a rat.

Ashley and her partner, Katie, have taught Tilly to do a couple of things. One thing that Katie has taught Tilly is how to climb across from one table to another using a rope.

As you can see, Tilly really loves Ashley.

Ashley has taught Tilly how to jump from one table to another. I think she's pretty talented, especially for a rat.

In this next one, Tilly jumps again. Ashley rewards her with a Cheerio at the end.

What do you think?

the new byu-i center

For one of my classes (facilities management with Brother Anderson), I was able to tour the BYU-I Center before it opens on December 17.

It was really amazing--it is almost exactly like the big Conference Center in Salt Lake.

Do you see those shiny discs on the ceiling? They actually don't give off any of their own light! They are reflecting light from the spotlights you can see on the sides. The ceiling was so high that it would have been very expensive to purchase the equipment needed just to change a light bulb, so they put up reflective discs instead. I was amazed.

This is a room that has 10 basketball courts that can be divided and also used for soccer, volleyball, and one other sport I can't remember. Do you see the raised track that goes around it? They are connecting this part of the building to the old Hart building so that people can walk back and forth without going through the snow, and that way, the designers didn't need to build whole new locker rooms.

Does that look familiar?

The design is just like the Conference Center, only smaller. The stage has all those same capabilities...and I know you're thinking exactly what I'm thinking...

See those three rows of seating areas? That first row (where we're standing) has 100 more seats than the entire Hart auditorium (which is the current largest gathering place on campus). It looks like just the right size for Rob Gardner to come up to Rexburg!!

I forgot to get a picture of the boys' bathroom...but look how big the girls' bathroom is! It's like an airport! The boys' bathroom only had four stalls, which is why we all thought this was funny at the time. The boys' bathroom had more sinks than stalls.

I really do hope that Rob Gardner will start coming to Rexburg at least as often as he comes to Salt Lake. "The Lamb of God" would be great here, wouldn't it?

program management and the last leaves

I just wanted to show you some pictures of what I've been doing lately.

These are the last leaves of fall...since I've taken these pictures, all the leaves are gone. I thought it was pretty how these couple of trees kept all their leaves when all the others were already gone.






Aren't these trees beautiful? I like the way the lamp post is behind the reddish one--it almost looks like Narnia, doesn't it?

I thought it looked like a magical place, anyway.









...and then, there's program management. This is what we had on the study board as we studied for our final exam:



If you click on it, you can see all the ways that program management is like a bad relationship...

I don't know what the rest of the writing on the board means.

I did get 103% on that final, though!

Lark, Jessi and myself

Hello, everyone! Aren't Lark and Jessi just lovely?












It's good to have friends! (I had to put my glasses up in the picture below so I could look straight at the camera instead of at the frame of my glasses.)

The other night after my program management thing that I had to do (which was not so bad after all, I must say), Lark and Jessi asked if I would come with them to get ice cream. I figured I would. After all, the only class I had was canceled the next morning.

So, we went to some ice cream place. The boy serving us really liked Jessi's hair. Lark and I discussed whether or not Lark would look alright with curly hair. Somehow, I asked the boy if he knew about Rob Gardner (he'd been talking about music), and he had! I couldn't believe it, and we talked about music for about 5 minutes. Then we left.

What would you do if you were in Rexburg and wanted to do something with your friends or family?

Below are also a couple of pictures that Lark took of me after I was done with my program. I was very happy and excited to be finished with it, and I am so glad that Lark and Jessi were such good volunteers and helped me with everything at my program. Am I lucky or what?














These are not the most flattering photos of myself, but I figure it's all I've got. I wonder who designed that amazing poster that's in my hand?

beauty, quizzes, and winter

I really love Idaho! When I left my apartment to go to class, the sky was almost blue, but not quite, and you could see some dark clouds that were headed our way.

I decided to park where I could walk by the maple trees that have shed all their leaves already. I like walking that pathway; the trees seem to still be so alive even though they're sleeping for the winter. Their red leaves blanket the ground directly beneath them, and, right outside the building I'm going to enter, there is a large tree (that the squirrels really like, I must add) that has scattered it's golden leaves all over the ground. You cannot see the grass beneath; everything looks golden.

I decide that it will be a great day in class.

It is Facilities Management again. We are to come up with a quiz for each class period. A random person is called, and they give their quiz to the class (and Brother Anderson takes it, too!). Today is different, however. We break off into groups of three or so and choose our top three questions from all three of our quizzes. I was in a group with Jason and Lark.

Here is an example of one of my questions:

3. Do you recall the mandatory fee for each membership/household?

a. $1,587.27 per month
b. $335 per year
c. There was no fee; that was just a rumor
d. $20 and a jar of mayonnaise for a lifetime membership

(b is the correct answer, by the way)


Anyway, we ended up using one of Jason's questions because he makes questions that are easier than either mine or Lark's.

Here is Brother Anderson, contemplating the answer to a question.

I don't think he knows when I'm taking pictures of him.

After class, I climbed up the stairs to go outside (this classroom is in a basement kind of room). It was snowing! It was so pretty, but I couldn't get a good picture of it for you. Later, I took a picture of some of the coneflowers after it had stopped.

It almost looks sad, does it not? That's what I thought at first. But, I started thinking about how everything goes to sleep in the winter. Some things do die. In the spring, everything either wakes up, or new things grow.

While I was thinking about these things, I thought about how the disciples, all those who followed the Savior, must have felt when he died. In the tomb for three days. I don't know what I would have thought.

The Savior is the victor over death. Winter doesn't last forever, and it helps me remember who I should look to for hope. In the end, spring comes, and life grows better after the most heavy of snowfall.

I've always liked the winter, I thought of it as a time of rest...but it sure isn't that way when you have horses to care for, is it? :)

Anyway, I love you guys, and I can't wait to see you the week after next!

I thought I'd be married by now

Well, it just goes to show that it's not just BYU-Idaho. This was from a popular magazine I saw at the checkout stand when I was purchasing green smoothie ingredients.

Another "interesting" item that someone was buying just ahead of me:


Green doughnuts? It's no longer "halloween" time, by the way. The boy did seem very excited about his purchase, though.

Don't you just wish you could be here shopping with me?

let it snow...

I would be more excited, but I really did want to go to Arizona. Now I know what Mr. Gardner meant about the weather not cooperating.

We got about 5-6 inches today. I felt I was transported to a magical land not too far from Narnia.

Kim and I did not know what to do for an FHE activity. I slyly suggested that we go swimming (I personally knew that no one would want to go, and I really just wanted to go with Kim). We ended up going swimming in the Hart building, and then we did a workout called ZUMBA!

Yes. Can you imagine the crazy antics that were Kim and I dancing?

a visit home

I was so happy to see my family this past weekend! I am so lucky to have such good siblings and parents.

I had a great time going to "The Price of Freedom." The only thing I forgot to do? Get pictures with all of the cast!! Emily, wouldn't it have been just smashing to have had a picture with Jordan Bluth? I think so.

So...

What did you all think of my friends? I think they had a most enjoyable time with all of you.

What did you think of Miss Jessi? Wasn't she fun? I hope you can see why Lark and I like to have her with us whenever we are doing something fun.

Speaking of Lark, can you all see that she is like having another sister while I am here at school? It isn't very often that one can have a friend like her. They are few and far between; I am so happy that Heavenly Father blessed us to meet each other at Badger Creek.

It can be hard to be away from home at times; Lark and Jessi make it quite a bit easier. My roommates (especially Kim, Mo and Ashley) have also been very kind to me. I wish you all could get to know them, too!

It was hard to leave you all, but thank you so much for jumping up and down and waving goodbye to us--it made us feel very grand!

Well, I have a lot of pictures and not a lot to say about them.

Just continue to scroll down and read, and you will see what it is I'm talking about.






Adam really seemed to enjoy reading "The Tale of Jeremy Fisher."



Let's see...just a few more. When it was time to wake up Ephraim for church, it took about ten minutes to wake him up!!


Even when I patted him on the back, he just sighed and continued to rest. I wonder why he threw out the blankets? I thought that perhaps it was because his green ones were being washed. What do you think?


What a cutie!

After we left, the sunset over the mountains was very pretty. I wish I could have taken a better picture, but, it is what it is. I hope you can kind of see how pretty that sunset was as we made our way back to Idaho before the snows came.

management

Sometimes it can be difficult to stay focused when studying management. This particular day, it was facilities management.

The teacher is great--you remember Brother Anderson. It is just sometimes that the subject matter is not the most exciting. Like when we learned about budgets. Brother Anderson did say that it could be exciting, though. I just need to figure out how to make it so.

Today, we had a guest speaker that talked about some things BYU-Idaho is doing with their gym building. It was interesting to learn how you have to plan things, how some plans don't work if there are codes or restrictions, and how you need to be creative and open-minded while doing a project like they are.

I was fascinated with the plans. They had drawings of what they will do, and it reminded me of books you read about people having to sneak into a study to swipe the floor plans of a castle so they know where all the secret passageways are. I thought about that for a long time. I wanted to ask the lady if she knew how to design secret passageways and rooms. I didn't, though, because I felt that she might not take me seriously.

After she put away the blueprints, things went more slowly. She was wrapping things up and taking questions from the class. Some students had questions, but I mostly kept thinking about secret passageways behind library bookshelves. When I stopped to look around the classroom, this is what I saw:

The girl closest is Lark, the one sleeping next is Sarah Bedke, then there's Jodi, Rebecca is the girl in red that looks as if she might fall asleep at any time, and Brother Anderson is on the end, probably thinking about secret passageways.

What do you guys think of this picture? What do you think everyone in the picture is thinking? What does it look like they're looking at?

the fish tank

I really enjoy watching fish tanks. There is a fish tank in the building that I have most of my classes in that I love to look at. It is in the Geology Museum.

I could not get a closer picture, but there are all sorts of fish in this tank! One that I especially like hides under the coral, scooping up piles of sand with his mouth and spitting it out everywhere. What an interesting fish.

I looked at the fish tank for a while. Lark and Adam were there, too. I don't know if they enjoy the fish tank as much as I do. However, Lark did find something pretty amazing inside one of the cases that had many precious stones and rocks on display.

Can you see what that is in the very center? It's not a rock, and there was no label. It is behind locked glass so I could not touch it or examine it more closely. What do you think it is?

I love it when...

I love it when program management gets canceled...especially when I've slept in and would have been late, anyway. If I had a picture of myself from this morning, it would be funny. I got back under the blue cozy-blanket right after I received a text from Jason-Greg-Wiggle telling me that class was canceled.

It just seemed to good to be true.

Well, I visited Lark last night, and I got to watch a rainbow come and go.


Isn't it beautiful? It went across the whole sky in a perfect arc, but I couldn't capture that with my camera. The best part was everyone in the apartment complex coming out to just watch it. One girl, especially, was very excited. She had come out of her apartment to take out the trash or something, saw the rainbow, squealed, jumped up and down, ran back into her apartment, and spoke (loud enough for everyone to hear): "You all need to come see this rainbow!"

It reminded me of being at home with all of you.

ye shall gather yourselves in marriage...

I don't know why, but I found this to be really funny as I was sitting and waiting for Sunday School to start.


Do you see what it says on the chalkboard? We always talk about marriage in church. Not that it's bad, but it can be amusing when people write things like that on the chalkboard before class even starts.

...(Actually, you see the boy in the picture? He is actually the teacher, and he didn't realize that that was written on the chalkboard! I think he felt silly when he saw it. He erased it very quickly and we talked about Isaiah.)

boo at the zoo

I decided to go to the zoo with Lark and her sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. Also a boy named Adam came along. He's very kind, and I hope that he and Lark will go on a date.

Well, while we were at the zoo, I got to see some penguins.

I also saw some really cute monkeys, but I was unable to get a picture.

The goats were probably one of my favorite parts. This picture is pretty fuzzy, but you can sort of see the goat:

I really like Lamanchas. If we were to get a milking goat, a Lamancha would be fun to have--they act like little puppies!

What kind would you want to get? Nubian? It would be fun to make their own noises back at them, I suppose.

this is what happens...

This is what happens if you stay up too late.



I hope that you all go to bed on time so that you won't stay up late and have your sense of judgment be skewed.

squirrels

Do you all remember Fat Squirrel? I love how Fat Squirrel used to sunbathe right next to the swimming pool.

Since I've been at school, I stop to watch squirrels. One was too fast to take a picture, but he surely was entertaining! He kept picking up pine cones off the ground and trying to race up the tree while carrying them in his mouth. Once he got to the top, he couldn't seem to remember that he was holding the pine cone and would drop it to chatter at people passing by. He then had to start all over, speeding down the trunk to grab a pine cone and returning to the top just as quickly...only to drop it again.

I think he thought there was something wrong with the pine cones, because he eventually gave up and jumped to another tree.

Another squirrel that I liked was strolling along the sidewalk as I walked to class. I stopped to watch her (Lark was with me at this time), and the squirrel stopped to examine some rather large trash cans. I don't know why. She never tried to get into them or anything.

Phoebe, the Squirrel

Lark decided to name the squirrel Phoebe. It seemed as good a name as any, but all I could think about was those Phoebe birds that are not very pretty when they're babies!

What do you think? What would you name this squirrel?

I thought later about what I would think if I saw some trashcans that were that large compared to me. I wonder what I'd think about them if I were a squirrel and didn't know what they were! What would you think?

I love Idaho sunsets

When I came out of my last class, the sunset was so beautiful. I couldn't see the actual sunset from where I was standing because of the buildings, but the sky and all the trees were lit up.

I took a picture of these pine trees that were right by where I had parked Vader.

I like the way the sky looks kind of smokey, don't you?

I wish you all could have been right there with me. The air smelled so crisp and clean--and it was just cold enough to feel refreshing, but not to where it hurts when you run really fast and have to take deep breaths.

I felt that Heavenly Father was being so kind when I saw all of these beautiful things. When I had been in class, the discussion somehow got on the topic of divorce.

I was so saddened by the number of my fellow classmates whose lives have been shadowed by divorce. I knew that it was more common than it once was or should be, but I hadn't realized how rampant it had become.

Two girls in my class in particular were having a hard time. Both of them had parents who had gotten a divorce within the last three months. We talked afterward and gave each other hugs. I wish I could do more.

When we all walked outside and saw the sunset, though, it was interesting to see how many of my classmates stopped to look at it. There were quite a few.

It's comforting to know that there are people out there who know and appreciate the beauty of Heavenly Father's creations.