11:18 :)

My cousin had a beautiful healthy baby boy - Tripp - last night at 11:18pm!! I'm headed to TC right after work to see him and cannot wait!

Things are going really well lately! For work...I put on a community photo contest as part of the Frankfort Water Festival and it got a lot of publicity and participation, which was sweet! This last weekend we helped before a Seth and May concert and then went to the concert - aaaawesome! They are so talented and harmonize so incredibly! Not to mention their percussion guy is...wow! It was really cool! For anyone who knows Seth and May, you probably know what I'm talking about, but those two are so great! They're incredibly talented and SO down to earth. If only more musicians could be more like them! 

Also for work, I got to start a weight lifting class with female athletes and it's been SO nice to train people again! The track coach emailed me last week asking me to be his assistant coach (which sadly can't possibly work since I work for an after school program haha). I will be as involved as possible though - and it was cool that some girls' had asked him to ask me! 

We've been talking about summer programming for work and have decided (broadly) on running a summer camp for JR high kids that will run for 3 weeks, then take an adventure camping trip in the UP, week off, 3 more weeks, then maybe one more camping trip...whiiiiich I will be the chaperone for :/ Eee! Haha oh I can't wait for summer! So anyway, work has been good...I love my students and they make it more and more worth it all the time!

I fiiiinally sang in public a few nights ago!! My church asked me to sing and play for a womens' night fundraiser a while back and I hesitantly agreed (kind of)! I basically said that I would do it (in hopes that I could convince myself before the day of), but also told the woman in charge not to tell anyone, so that I had the option of backing out even up until the last minute! Somehow between what feels like years of trying to just get over it, lots of prayers, and the most encouraging friends/family around...I did it! I doubt that I'm totally cured...but am stoked that I did it, I didn't forget anything, and it went well overall! :)

Other than that...SPRING BREAK STARTS FRIDAY!!!! I'm going home Thursday night and fly to Cali to see Brett Friday!! Bonus - David and Jill are picking Kendall up in the morning and me up in the evening and we're going to dinner before heading to Brett's! Thennn Kendall and I will be taking a train back to Tuscon Sunday and I'll be spending the week with her and flying home Friday overnight! Woweeee I'm so stoked to see two of my besties!! Praying for more springy weather and none of that white stuff when I return :) SPRING! SUMMER! SUNSHINE! BEEEEEEEACH! Sweet times are just around the corner!!

Here are some recent quotes that made my day...

Just after our drum instructor did a killer solo...one student said, "Do you just keep an imaginary box of awesome next to you and just pull stuff out?"

One of the kids I babysit jumped in my arms at church last week and said, "I just caaan't stoooop loving you!"

Not a quote - but still so great...The little boy I babysit, 3yrs old, basically hates me in public and is fine with me when I babysitting...I think it's because I represent his parents leaving, so it's pretty much law that he has to hate me. At a concert the other night, I was sitting next to him as he fell asleep in his mom's arm. He looked so precious and peaceful with a little smirk on his face and eyes shut. Then he opened his eyes just long enough to give me this awful glare/angry face that he often gives me, then shut his eyes and smirked and looked completely satisfied and peaceful again. This happened 3 times! hahaa 

One student to one of our drum class kids, "Do you ever think about just bringing a lady friend in here and seranading her with the drums? Like 'here I wrote this for you!'"

One of my kids always listens to screamo, so one day another student and I were mocking it and he said, "Hey can we harmonize screams?" Naturally we tried. It was weird. I'd do it again though.

While playing a beautiful little number on the guitar, this student told this story in a calm, nostalgic tone... "So there I was, sitting on a rock in God's beautiful creation and pondering over my purpose in this world. Then I said, "God what do you have planned for me in this life? What should I do with my time and talents?" Then God looked to me and said "AAHH!" (The "AAHH" was this awful screeching noise that totally ruined what seemed like a beautiful memory! Fake! hahaaa what a jokester!)

Two kids were playing bumper pool and making bets. One kid kept losing and his overall punishment added up to having to wear a girls' tanktop, short jorts, doing the stankyleg, while the other kid took pics that would of course go public via the good old FB. The winner felt bad and eventually just said that the other kid could just carry his books for him. The next day he forgot so the kid went into the other kids class to get him to come carry his book hahaa..Now I know this might sound like bullying, but you have to know the relationship and personalities of the guys I guess!

"WHAT who ate all my Gushers? ...Oh yeah it was me." The turn around between being super mad then remembering he had ate his own Gushers...priceless! 

A student said he was going to enter the water photo contest by submitting a pic of him drinking from a drinking fountain. That alone was great (and did, by the way, get a lot of votes!) but then this other kid said,  "Just you drinking from a fountain? I'd just take a picture of this blue ball...water's blue aint it?"

A kid came in with this joke..."What's 5+6?" Everyone said 11.."nope 9...see" ...he proceeded to write the word NINE one line at a time so that it took 11 marks to make it. The rest of us are like ok we get it, but one student goes, "No but 5+6 is 11, I know it is!" He was so confused!

love&gushers

PS For all of those worried about my sanity, the purple room is gone! Yay for YELLOW :)