With my junior year of college completed, I jetted back home for the most wonderful season of all....SUMMER!
My summer didn't exactly go according to my original plan, but I think it turned out for the best. When I got to Utah, I spent the whole first month catching up with old friends and scouring the streets and the internet for any possible summer jobs. Most of my days in both June and July were spent in panicked agony about not having an income. To help relieve my stress though, I spent time with some good old friends. We went up the canyon for a bon-fire and we also went to the Days of 47 Rodeo. In July, my stress about money was somewhat relieved by the fact that my mom was moving into a new office building and she needed someone to help get the place ready. I spent about 2 weeks painting and helping her prep the office before the new carpet and such came in and I made some pretty good money in the process. At least it was enough to help me cover August's rent for my new place at school.
July also brought on the miracle of a new baby niece! Little Baby Ana came into the world just the right way! Tenille, after two Cesarean Sections for her two boys was finally able to have a baby the good old fashioned way. Little Ana is possibly the sweetest little girl I have seen in a long time and it doesn't hurt that she has a full full head of dark hair, which is extremely unusual for girls in our family.
Once August rolled around, I finally landed a real job. A fantastic family with two amazing and adorable children hired me to be their temporary nanny while their regular nanny took some time off to go through a session of chemotherapy. The situation which brought me the job was less than ideal, but it truly was a blessing for me and I am so thankful for the opportunity that an unfortunate situation granted me. And I am pleased to report that the chemo was a success for the girl, which allows me to feel a little better about the whole situation.
August was a month of pure bliss. I got to spend my days being paid to play with children, swim with them a local community pool, take them hiking, and just generally goof around. My evening were spent hanging out with my sister and my nephews and niece or with my brother rock climbing. And of course, every weekend was a fun filled vacation at my favorite place on earth! I love love love Bear Lake and I am so glad that I not only got to grow up there, but that I continue to be able to semi-live there every summer! It truly is an amazing place and it has all the fun activities a person could want for their summer vacation.
August was also an extremely exiting month because I did something entirely new and crazy with my mom. As most everyone who knows me knows, my mom is an extremely avid runner. She runs Marathons and Half Marathons every year. Running is almost as good as candy to her, and we all know my mom loves candy! I have been into really into running for about 2 years now but I had never really considered running long distances until about a year ago. While in school last year, I started training for a Half Marathon I planned to do up near the Seattle area, but plans fell through, I didn't run it and I never finished my training schedule. I still wanted to do one though so in June, I told my mom to sign me up to do one with her while I was home for the summer. Although I had true intentions to take it seriously and train for the race, I failed to run most of the summer. The most I ran was an easy 4 miler about two weeks before the race and then an 8 or 9 miler the weekend right before the race. That was a fun run because I ran down Immigration Canyon with my mom and her best friend Julie at like 4:30 in the morning. It was dark and quite and we were all alone. It was really awesome! Plus we went to Ruth's Diner for breakfast afterwords which totally made it all worth it.
The actual race was the morning of August 25! Mom, Julie and I went and stayed the night at my Grandma's house in Logan and then woke up super early to head to the base of the canyon to get on the buses to take us to the starting line. It was a crisp cool morning. Almost like a fall morning. It was perfect running weather and once we got to the top, I was both crazy nervous and crazy excited.
Despite many personal set backs along the course, I finished the race in a dead sprint with a smile across my face and my shoes on my hands! Yes, I said shoes on my hands! My shoes were pretty old and they had been giving me really big and painful blisters, so at the mile 11 marker, I took off my shoes and socks, put them on my hands and finished the last two miles in bare feet. My mom's face as I crossed the finish line was priceless. She looked at me in pure shock and said, "Aubrey! Why are you running in bare feet?!" It was pretty funny and awesome. And the best part was, right after the race, we drove from Logan over to Bear Lake and went water skiing! It was a fantastical day!
My last weekend at Bear Lake was particularly awesome because it was the one weekend that we finally made it up to Bloomington for the summer. We usually go up there at least twice a summer, but with all the little kids around, it hasn't happened as often in recent summers. I love going off the rope swing up there though! Definitely another favorite past time of mine!
Although it had a bit of a rocky start, my summer ended up being truly amazing. I got to spend much needed time with family, friends, and no worries about school, tests, papers, and deadlines. Now I am back to real life in the city with school and all that fun jazz.
Senior year is off to a good start! I am living in a house with four amazing friends just a few blocks off campus. My classes are difficult but definitely lovable and I am starting to develop my departmental honors project which is supposed to be the foundation of my possible future graduate thesis. It is my last year here and I know it is going to be difficult, but I also know it is going to be great! I am definitely going to make the most of my last year here in the city so get ready for some exciting tales to come!
Lata!
