California 2012

A few days at home after Lake Powell I went to Newport Beach, California with my family.  After a long car ride being fiance-less with too much traffic we arrived at our Beach House.  I love the beach so much and I had so much fun being with  my whole family.  The first beach day I had a little injury (I'll blog about that next).  Then I hobbled around Knott's Berry Farm, and Disneyland going on as many rides as I could fit in.  Kevin arrived on Wednesday and I was so excited to see him.  I was always the independent girl who didn't outwardly miss my significant other.  Well, that sure changed once I met Kevin.  I missed him so much and I am happy he was able to come after his dive meet and go to disneyland with me.  The day after he arrived we went to Disneyland/California Adventure for about 14 hours.  It was magical, tiring, wonderful, and fun.  My favorite parts were Pirates, Tower of Terror, the color show, and Indiana Jones.  (btw single riders are the way to go if disneyland is way crowded.)  Now here are some pictures.....

Sweet little Chloe

This cute little girl had a birthday.  I can't think of a better way to spend your second birthday than going to Disneyland

Knott's Berry Farm!  The rollercoasters are awesome!

Cuties.  all of them. 

They love him.  More than me, it's ok.  

Balboa Island

She has the biggest crush on him.  It's adorable, except she wants nothing to do with me when he's around. 

Nice......

DISNEYLAND!!

Mrs. Knott's chicken dinner

Beach time!  

Lake Powell 2012

Hello blog world.  I have much to blog about.  I decided to start with my recent trip to Lake Powell.  It's the Bowen tradition to go to Lake Powell every summer, and this was the second time going with them.  I thought this would be a normal trip, but it was far from that.  For a while now, Kevin and I have been planning our wedding, without being engaged.  We decided probably about 3 or 4 months ago to for sure get married, and Kevin called the temple to confirm a date in April.  So, I knew a proposal was coming.  However, I did not think it was going to happen in Powell because a) he told me he didn't have the ring yet, and b) he's usually a really bad liar when it comes to this kind of thing.  When he bought the diamond with his uncle, he called me on the way home telling me all about it, so I thought for sure I knew when the proposal was coming.  I was wrong.

It happened on our second day there (I think.)  Time is very weird in Powell, the days seem to mesh together.  My most favorite thing to do in Lake Powell is tube.  I love it, except the fact that sometimes you get minor whip lash.  So when the time came to go tubing I was all for it.  I didn't seem to notice that only the  Bowen family was going, and that multiple cameras, the video camera, and martinellis were also along for the ride.  Once we got on the tube we were in this pretty channel.  We started going really slow and I was a little confused on why we weren't going on the normal death ride I was used to.  All this time his family was taking pictures and filming.  Then Kevin starts shifting on the tube and I thought we were going to try to stand up or something.  (I was so obvlivious.) He was on his knee and I was still trying to figure out what we were doing when he proposed and pulls out the fake ring. (the real ring was on the boat just in case of an accidental drop in the lake).  I was very shocked.  I probably asked him 25 times if he was serious.  Then I said yes, we hugged, kissed, fell in the lake, and took pictures and drank martinellis with his family.  I am so excited and happy.  I found my match, my best friend, and my eternal companion.

I do not have any pictures of the event because it's not on my computer.  Once I get them I'll post a few.  There are only a few decent ones because I am sunburned, in shock, and soaking wet.  All of that doesn't matter because I had the most perfect engagement.

One More College Post

and then I'll be done forever.  I promise.


 Leaving My Last Final

See Ya Never College

Well, I graduated from college on Saturday.  It was fun, nerve racking, sad and exciting...  Just to name a few of the emotions.  It has been quite the ride. Here's to the rest of my life!

                                                             Ran into my Jessica friend

                                 We did this before every performance during senior concert

                                                         I'm going to miss these people

Thank you Class of 2012!  (We missed you Laja and Lindsay).  I seriously could not have done this without you.  Now let's go take over the world!

Makeup

I'm the type of girl who loves makeup, but never buys any. I can never justify spending $20 on a tiny eyeshadow. I would rather spend my money on food, shoes, a movie, or, I don't know... tuition.

I intern at Ballet West, so yesterday I was able to help out with the Charity Gala at CityCreek. I was at one of the check-in posts, punching peoples tickets, saying things like "How are you", "Thank you so much for coming", "Enjoy your evening" about 500 times. I also gave them a book filled with coupons, and a $20 gift card. I worked for about an hour, then the woman in charge told us that we could leave and explore the mall with our own tickets, coupons, and a $20 gift card. That's right, I got to explore the mall early, and got a $20 gift card for working for one hour. Best. Deal. Ever.

I have been thinking about what I'm going to do with this free money I obtained. I decided to buy something that I never do, splurge a bit. I am going to hop on TRAX, go down to the incredible CityCreek and spend some time in Sephora so that I can own my way too expensive eyeshadow.

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P305300&categoryId=S10501&shouldPaginate=true

Or maybe this...
http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P304000&categoryId=S10505&shouldPaginate=true

Or even this...
http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P276324&categoryId=C11724&shouldPaginate=true

I can't wait.

Things I've Learned in College

I graduate in about 1.5 months, and it's so surreal. I've been waiting for this moment since I was a Sophomore and now that's it's here, I honestly can't believe it. I've been thinking about what I've learned, so I decided to put together a list, both funny and serious. Here goes.

- Dancers are a very different breed of human, in the best possible way.
- Sometimes the mistakes and the unplanned are the most beautiful.
- I've never been more proud of myself than making it through technique class some days.
- Speaking of technique class, it is very possible to dance with little sleep and a major headache, but I wouldn't recommend it.
- Going back to the basics is often times essential for growth.
- Much of the population know absolutely nothing about modern dance, nor will they ever try to understand it or see it as a valid form of education. I have learned to accept this. (Although it still makes me upset deep down.)
- I honestly believe that I have learned more about myself, my body, my relationships, and the way I handle different situations through dance than I could have studying anything else. It has opened my eyes to new experiences and challenges.
- I have learned that when you're discouraged, you must always keep going and have a good attitude about it. Your grade depends on it. :)
- Even if I could have had the opportunity, I would never dance with Martha Graham. She terrifies me.
- Nothing can compare to the bonds and friendships you make while dancing. You get to know someone on a whole new level.
- In a front attitude, your Sartorius muscle is in a concentric contraction.
- I don't know what it'll be like to not be sore or have a bruise somewhere.
- Production, music and rhythm, dance technology, and so much dance history.
- I've learned how to become a good (hopefully) dance teacher, through classes and mentors.
- Contact improv still scares me to death, but now I have the basic skills to try.
- It is normal to walk into the dance building and see people laying on the floor, walking around with no shoes on, lying in 'unnatural' positions, and dancing in a corner by themselves with headphones on.

There is so much more, but I won't bore you with more. I can't explain how much this program has changed me for the better and I'm so happy that I made the decision to be a dance major.

February

I'm blogging about my February on March 1. I know I know, I'm a little behind. February was a good month and I always feel accomplishment when its through. It's really hard to get through this month, sometimes. But I did manage to have a good time.

I've been working on my senior piece and it's just about finished. Almost. I have 4 more long rehearsals then it's time to perform. I'm freaking out a bit. But my cute sister surprised me and told me she's coming from NYC to see me. (Along with her husband and adorable littler girl) My other sisters are also coming so I'll give them the credit they deserve too.

I finally feel like I'm getting used to this whole teaching idea. I'm learning how to structure a class and make it flow. It's also very exciting to see my students improve. I even get hugs after every class from my 4th graders. I know I won't get that in High School, but it sure makes me feel important.

On Valentines Day I had school, work, and work at CBT until 8. It was a rough start but we had a good night. We had Zupas for dinner (my absolute favorite place). Kevin set up a little picnic in his basement which was very cute, then we had a relaxing rest of the night watching Midnight in Paris, which is a great movie. I just wish I knew the literary jokes. I am definitely not an English major.

Side note: Kevin surprised me at home with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.... but I was in the shower at the time. He banged on the door while I had soap in my hair and I was a bit annoyed until I saw what he brought me. I made him some pretzel-kiss-m&m things and a CD.