The last week of July was a crazy one for me (and Rand too since he was there with me all along the way!) I started my Executive MBA program. I was in class everyday from 8 - 5 (some days started a little earlier). It was a little overwhelming at times with all the work and seeing all the other students who have so much experience, but over-all it was a great week in the program. I think I'm really going to enjoy the program and my fellow classmates. We were put into 'teams' and my team is great. I've definitely been the biggest slacker so far (reasons why are to follow), but hopefully I start making up for that now that my work has slowed down some.
Oh, and did I mention that the same week of my residency week was also my biggest camp of the summer! I seriously don't know how I survived the week and didn't end up sick or anything. Pure blessings! I was in my office the Saturday night before the camp started until midnight, and it was more of the same the whole week. I'd go into the office early to make sure things were good, then off to class. Almost every break I was calling or stopping by the camp. Then class would get over, I'd head up to the camp to see how the day went and then back to my office to work for a number of hours more; either fixing things from that day or getting the ready for the next day. It was a totally crazy week!
The week ended on Friday night with the final banquet and performances which was fun to be at and see. The professional dancers all performed two numbers each and put on a great show. I really enjoyed working with them; they were very nice, gracious and fun. Of course, we had to get some pictures with them all at the end of the night.
Here I am with Jean Marc Genereux and France Mousseau
(If they look familiar, yes...you are right, they were choreographers on So You Think You Can Dance.)
Jean Marc is such a crack up and France is as spunky and fun as her hair!
Us with Pierre Allaire and Mireille Veilleux.
Pierre is one of the nicest people I've met and Mireille is so sweet.
Here I am with JT Thomas and Tomas Mielnicki.
She is so cute and fun. And Tomas was constantly talked about by the single girls in the office!
Rand and I also got to do a little dancing, luckily we both have other day jobs (and hobbies)!
Here I am with (L-R): Sam, Kasey, me and Amy.
These girls were the glue that held it all together during the days when I was in class!
The next two pictures are ones that Rand took on two different nights after getting home. It usually took me about 5 minutes after walking through the door to hit the love sac and be gone! Rand was a really good support that week as well, including staying with me at the office late at night (a couple of those nights being until 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM).
That weekend after the camp ended, my friend and old roommate Jenn had come into town from Texas for a work party (she works remotely). She invited me to come with her and her little baby since her husband wasn't able to fly out with her. A couple of our friends from our old singles ward also work where she does and we were able to meet up with them and their families. I lived in that ward for three years and loved it, and a lot of it had to do with the people who were in the ward, especially these guys. It was a great ward with great people and friends!
Brian, Ben, Jenn and I.
I also loved playing with Jenn's little boy Daniel. Such a cutie and great laugh.
Well, the weekend wasn't really long enough! It was a quick return back to work and another busy week. After a crazy week of school and the adult ballroom camp, we then had the youth ballroom camp. I'm not as involved with this camp because one of the student planners is in charge. It ran really well and we again had great professionals at the camp. We ended the week again with a banquet (that despite a crazy mom, went really well). If you haven't heard the phrase 'helicopter parent', please look it up. For the most part, camps would go really well in the summer if not for this! :o) But again, the professionals were GREAT to work with and tons of fun this week! The Youth Camp is much less hectic and high-maintenance that the Adult Camp and it was just a much more relaxed week overall.
She is TINY! They are both SO, SO nice! Great to work with and amazing dancers!
Here I am with Christian Perry. We decided that he looks a little like a darker Nicholas Cage.
And here we are with the life of the camp: Thomas Lewandowski. This guy has more energy than anyone I know. By the end of the week we found out why: the large amounts of caffeine he consumes in the form of coffee and energy drinks. In what could have been the worst night of my camp experience (due to early mentioned mom), he helped turn around with continuous jokes and offers to 'take care of it'. He kept us all smiling.
Again, Rand was right there with me through it all. I think sometimes he wishes he could do more to help (or take care of some people himself). In one month he saw me put ridiculous amounts of time and effort into camps and conferences, including tears, frustrations, major lack of sleep and working extra (EXTRA) hours...and it was nice to still find time to enjoy some things about them all (see picture below). I wish we had a picture of us joining the kids during the week in their 'fun' dance which included a karate dance to 'Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting'. :o)
so I decided to post it for all to see!
The end of the summer! Kasey came in to say goodbye before heading for California so we took a quick picture with all who were there. Kasey was such a huge help for me (starting way back when we had our Chinese Conference last year.) She was graduated but would come back to help when needed. She was always the one to come in, volunteer or just hang around late to make sure I didn't need anymore help! I SO appreciated her!
And the below picture summarizes some of the wackiness that happens in the office. Here are Travis, Ryan and Eddie trying to make themselves the height of Yao Ming by standing on chairs and desks with a measuring tape just so they can see what it's like to be as tall as him.
And even after all of this, we still tried to manage to have some other type of normal life:
We said goodbye to our neighbors who lived below us, Craig and Veva. We realized we didn't spend as nearly as much time with them as we should have! We miss having them just below us to hang out with. Who's window will Rand throw snowballs at in the winter? Who will I bother at 10:30 at night when I'm vacuuming? What other incredible athlete will I find to play all my sports with that could possibly take Veva's place? But we wish them luck as they start the next phase of their lives in Arizona...with a baby on the way!!!
I also got to do some babysitting for a family in my ward. I love the Samek's, they are awesome. They were one of my favorite families when we moved into our ward. They have 3 adorable kids who are SO full of energy! I love all the fun they bring with them to church! One time Rand and I watched them during sacrament meeting while their parents spoke. I took Jack out to get a drink. His older brother asked where we were going. When we told him, his reply was,
"You aren't going to get a drink, you are going on a date." Gotta love kids and the things they come up with!
Also during these two weeks was Tyson and Lauren's wedding. They were married in the Fresno, California temple and then had a reception out in West Valley a few weeks later. Rand loves getting together with all the guys. Below are (L-R, F-B): Kenny, Nick, Rand, Josh, Ian, Tyson, Jimmy Joe and Ike.
