First Week of School

This week I earned the right to wear this shirt.
I have actually been a "True Aggie" for a few years, and on Thursday I participated in the annual blood battle between USU and UofU. This is a competition between the two schools to see who could donate the most blood to the Red Cross. Anyone who donated at USU got a blood battle T-shirt. In case you can't read it in the picture, it says "True Aggies Bleed Blue." I must admit that I am not really much for being poked with needles so I was kind of nervous, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. The girl who took care of me was great. I barely felt a little stick and I couldn't feel the needle at all while I was sitting there, and it only took 4 1/2 minutes to get the unit of blood. In fact from the start of paperwork to the point that they gave me snacks and a T-shirt was less than a half an hour! I won't hesitate to donate again! I haven't heard the results yet, but I think that historically, the Aggies usually win!

Other highlights from my first week of school...

I actually have one more class that I didn't mention yet because it doesn't start until Sept. 1, but it is water aerobics. (to hopefully help make up for all of the hours I spend sitting in class and sitting at home doing homework!)

I like all of my classes and I can tell that I have some pretty entertaining instructors. I think my classes are going to be fun!

A couple of differences between attending at the Brigham Campus and the Logan campus
1. The built in exercise plan, or in other words, long walks between classes (probably good for me now, but will be not so great when the weather gets bad.)
2. Bigger classes, definitely a plus if you like to sleep in class and not be noticed by the instructor, but I will admit that I miss the more personal attention you get in a small class.
3. Parking is not as convenient. I need to plan on 10-15 minutes from where I park to my first class, and it isn't free either, however, it is covered, a fact I know I'll appreciate this winter.
4. Just like USU BC, there are a lot of really nice people who care about me and the educational experience I am having here. Maybe I'll carry around my camera one of these days and introduce you to a few of them!
I think that once I get used to the differences this year will be a great experience for me and I'm ready to dive in and get going!

Camping

This weekend we went camping near Mink Creek Idaho with some of my husbands family. It was perfect weather and we had a lot of fun together.

We picked huckleberries Saturday afternoon and then tried making a pie in a dutch oven with them. The final product wouldn't have won any beauty contests because we didn't have a rolling pin so we used a glass bottle instead, but it was delicious!

My boys love dutch oven cooking and so does my sister-in-law so the food was wonderful. I think I gained at least a couple of pounds over the weekend.

This was a fun end to my summer, but I have to admit that I am having a hard time being enthusiastic about returning to school this semester. I feel like I am missing out on the rest of summer. Not only do my kids not start school until Aug. 31, but the county fair is happening this week and I usually spend a lot of time at the fair with my family. I think that I will feel better about it next week when life begins to settle into the normal school year routine.

So, here is what my class schedule looks like this semester:
Monday- 12:30-1:20 Psy 4950 Undergrad apprenticeship
Tue & Thur - 10:30-11:45 Psy 3510 Social psychology
1:30-2:45 FCHD 2610 Child guidance
3:00-4:15 Geo 3100 Natural disasters
Besides the class schedule, I am involved in research as part of my undergrad apprenticeship class so I will be spending some time on campus working on that, and I have ASUSU meetings on Tuesdays at 5:oo.
I don't get much time at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I am hoping to keep my Wednesdays and Fridays clear so I can stay home and do homework, laundry, cook dinner for my family, etc.

New Student Reps.

This week all of the student reps from the regional campuses met on the Main campus in Logan for training before the new semester begins. I really enjoyed meeting the reps I didn't know already and getting to know each of them better. I am really optimistic and excited about this year. The regional campuses have some very enthusiastic new student reps who have a lot of ideas for their campuses and are really excited to make a difference for their students. I was very impressed with how well the new presidents and their VP's work together. I left the training feeling now only that it had been successful but that I had made a lot of new friends. I look forward to seeing what they accomplish over the next 9 months.

In this picture the student reps are setting up blogs just like this one. I am adding links to all of the new blogs so everyone can check out what is happening at all of the regional campuses.

Road Trip- Uintah Basin

This week I had the opportunity to visit the campuses in Uintah Basin and Salt Lake.
Here are some photos from my trip.

Meet Brian Greene the Student government president for the Uintah Basin campus.
Just kidding this was my favorite model of a dinosaur at the Natural history museum in Vernal,
but the next photo is really the new V.P. Brad Litton performing in a local talent competition that I got to watch while I was there visiting.

This is me with the real Brian Greene who was nice enough to take me on a grand tour of not only the campus but also the city and the new buildings that USU will be sharing with the local technical school.

This is the new Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center that is just being completed. It will be the new home of the Utah State University campus in Vernal and the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College.

This is Dean Wes Holley, I met up with him at his office at the Roosevelt campus.

Touring part of the Uintah Basin campus located in Roosevelt.

Meet Nicole Woodburn. She is the new student rep. for the Wasatch area. I met with her at the Salt Lake Center and judging by this picture, we had too much fun in our meeting!

Vacation

OMAHA NEBRASKA

Last weekend we went to Omaha to bring my youngest daughter home. She spent her summer vacation visiting my sister there. We made the trip into a little family vacation and took the opportunity to do some fun things with our kids in Omaha and along the road home. This picture is taken along the river front in Omaha, that is the Missouri river in the background.

The next few pictures were taken at the Henry Doorly Zoo. We had a lot of fun there especially because we went with my sisters family including her 3 year old daughter and a friends 1 year old. I think my "big" kids had as much fun with the little girls as they did looking at the animals.



This is the Archway museum which is near Kearney Nebraska. It is a history of travel and it appropriately reaches right over I-80 . It begins with the gold rush and the Mormon pioneers and then moves on to the pony express, building the transcontinental railroad, then the construction of the nations interstate system and all of the things that came with it including roadside diners and drive-in movies.

It isn't your typical museum. You wear headphones and as you walk through you hear sounds that make you feel like you are really back in time. Everything in the museum is life sized from replicas of covered wagons and a 49ers camp to a cabin with a screen behind it so that you can watch a Pony express exchange take place through the open doorway and a car with tail fins parked under a movie screen with clips from old movies being shown.

The museum tour ends in this 1950's era diner that has windows that overlook I-80 so you can watch the traffic go by below you. It is definitely worth the stop if you are traveling that way!


We made a couple of short stops to stretch our legs and see an original Pony Express station in Gothenburg, a museum about sod houses, and even the Lincoln memorial near Laramie Wyoming. This buffalo was a novelty we found that is is made entirely of barbed wire.