Chase and Kerri
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
An Exciting Week: Part IV
To end the week of graduation, my parents decided they wanted to see Old Town Scottsdale. In the 2 years we have lived here, we have never really walked Old Town Scottsdale. I'm glad my parents suggested it. Old Town Scottsdale is really a bunch of art galleries. It was fun to walk into some of them. We went to one gallery that had a ton of Norman Rockwell prints. They were expensive. Anyways, while we were their the gallery owner invited dad into the restricted section to look at a painting of Abraham Lincoln. The rest of us were not invited. Apparently Mr. Rockwell did some designing for Frederick's of Hollywood, as well as other fashion designing.
After the art galleries we walked into the tourist traps of Old Town. Scottsdale's motto is "The west's most western town" and one block of old town is certainly meant to look like the Old West. Then we found a gem, The Scottsdale Farmer's Market. It is by far the best farmer's market I have been too, and puts Provo's to shame. This market has more food vendors than craft vendors, and everything is really good. We have actually gone back a couple of times, but now that it is June, the hours are from 7am-2pm. While we were there we spotted a dog that weighed almost as much as I do. It was big.
Saturday night we went to Los Sombreros for dinner. After all, it was Cinco de Mayo. That restaurant is fantastic. Anyone who wants to come down and go to it, let us know, we will gladly go again. I was a little disappointed that my mom did not try the hibiscus enchilada, but the waitress said it was sweet, so I understand why my mom chose something else.
Sunday morning it was time to say goodbye to my parents, and I took them to the airport. Poor Ella did not like seeing them go. She grew quite attached them, especially to my mom. It seemed like all week long Ella was sitting on my mom's lap doing something. She also played with my dad, and he was able to get her to laugh. According to Kerri, after we left for the airport, Ella was inconsolable for quite some time.
After the art galleries we walked into the tourist traps of Old Town. Scottsdale's motto is "The west's most western town" and one block of old town is certainly meant to look like the Old West. Then we found a gem, The Scottsdale Farmer's Market. It is by far the best farmer's market I have been too, and puts Provo's to shame. This market has more food vendors than craft vendors, and everything is really good. We have actually gone back a couple of times, but now that it is June, the hours are from 7am-2pm. While we were there we spotted a dog that weighed almost as much as I do. It was big.
Saturday night we went to Los Sombreros for dinner. After all, it was Cinco de Mayo. That restaurant is fantastic. Anyone who wants to come down and go to it, let us know, we will gladly go again. I was a little disappointed that my mom did not try the hibiscus enchilada, but the waitress said it was sweet, so I understand why my mom chose something else.
Sunday morning it was time to say goodbye to my parents, and I took them to the airport. Poor Ella did not like seeing them go. She grew quite attached them, especially to my mom. It seemed like all week long Ella was sitting on my mom's lap doing something. She also played with my dad, and he was able to get her to laugh. According to Kerri, after we left for the airport, Ella was inconsolable for quite some time.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
The Ninja Twins
Every once in a while So You Think You Can Dance brings out the oddest individuals. Below is an example from this season. I highly recommend watching the entire clip, if you can stand it. The dancing begins around the 5:50 mark. Surprisingly they are pretty good.
Friday, May 11, 2012
An Exciting Week: Part III
My college Convocation was Friday night. As much as a lot of us like to think that the College of Public Programs contains only the School of Public Affairs, it does not. It also includes the School of Social Work, the School of Criminal Justice, and the School of Community Resources and Development. With only 4 schools, and some of the programs being brand new, you would think that convocation would be short. It was not, but at least it started on time.
Overall, the convocation ceremony was nice. The MC was Dr. Timothy from the School of Community Resources and Development. He was goofy, which was nice that he saw the absurdity in some of what was going on. He also looked goofy. He looked like he was straight out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It was awesome. If you want a really cool set of Ph.D regalia, get your Ph.D from the University of Waterloo.
Everything was going along just fine, the speaker was excellent, but don't ask me what he was talking about, I don't remember, and then came the giving of diplomas. It took forever. Clearly the professors didn't know what they were doing at first, they all looked confused, but soon they got the hang of it. On one side of the stage the School of Social Work, and School of Public Affairs received their diplomas, and the other two schools were on the other side of the stage. About an hour into the reading of the names, the School of Social Work was still awarding MSWs, while the other side of the stage had switched schools. My advisor estimated that there were at least 250 MSW candidates, and then you had all the BSW candidates. If you ask me, the School of Social Work needs to be more selective in who they admit, and maybe limit it to 50 MSW students a year. Just a thought. Also, I think the School of Social Work needs their own convocation. It took so long, that my friend who is 8 months pregnant started joking that she would go into labor before she graduated, and it did feel like that. One of the best names called during the night was a student named Cherry Pink. I kid you not.
Every time we thought we saw an end to the Social work line, it just grew longer, but eventually it was the School of Public Affairs turn to walk across the stage. Keep in mind that my school is very small. There were maybe 100 of us, and at least half were graduate students. By the time we lined up to receive our diplomas, all of the other graduates were walking out of the ceremony. I guess they had something better to do than be respectful for those of us who waited patiently. It was rude, but what made it worse, was that they didn't just walk out of the ceremony and congregate in the hall. They congregated in the ballroom and started talking so people couldn't hear, or see. I don't know what it looked like from the audience, but from the front of the room it looked classless. I actually made me a little mad.
At the end of the ceremony, the Sun Devil Singers were supposed to sing the Alma Mater song. BTW, what is an Alma Mater Song? but the tech people sang a prerecorded version, and the Sun Devil Singers looked really confused. It was amusing. The lyrics of this song are:
Where The Bold Saguaros
Raise Their Arms On High
Praying Strength For Brave Tomorrows
From The Western Sky
Where Eternal Mountains
Kneel At Sunset's Gate
Here We Hail Thee, Alma Mater
Arizona State
Now try to sing it in a slow love ballad type way, and you'll get the picture. It is weird.
After graduation I go some pictures with the Phoenix sky line in the background, and we all went home to put Ella to bed and eat dinner. It was a long day, but I had finally 100% graduated.
Overall, the convocation ceremony was nice. The MC was Dr. Timothy from the School of Community Resources and Development. He was goofy, which was nice that he saw the absurdity in some of what was going on. He also looked goofy. He looked like he was straight out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It was awesome. If you want a really cool set of Ph.D regalia, get your Ph.D from the University of Waterloo.
Everything was going along just fine, the speaker was excellent, but don't ask me what he was talking about, I don't remember, and then came the giving of diplomas. It took forever. Clearly the professors didn't know what they were doing at first, they all looked confused, but soon they got the hang of it. On one side of the stage the School of Social Work, and School of Public Affairs received their diplomas, and the other two schools were on the other side of the stage. About an hour into the reading of the names, the School of Social Work was still awarding MSWs, while the other side of the stage had switched schools. My advisor estimated that there were at least 250 MSW candidates, and then you had all the BSW candidates. If you ask me, the School of Social Work needs to be more selective in who they admit, and maybe limit it to 50 MSW students a year. Just a thought. Also, I think the School of Social Work needs their own convocation. It took so long, that my friend who is 8 months pregnant started joking that she would go into labor before she graduated, and it did feel like that. One of the best names called during the night was a student named Cherry Pink. I kid you not.
Every time we thought we saw an end to the Social work line, it just grew longer, but eventually it was the School of Public Affairs turn to walk across the stage. Keep in mind that my school is very small. There were maybe 100 of us, and at least half were graduate students. By the time we lined up to receive our diplomas, all of the other graduates were walking out of the ceremony. I guess they had something better to do than be respectful for those of us who waited patiently. It was rude, but what made it worse, was that they didn't just walk out of the ceremony and congregate in the hall. They congregated in the ballroom and started talking so people couldn't hear, or see. I don't know what it looked like from the audience, but from the front of the room it looked classless. I actually made me a little mad.
At the end of the ceremony, the Sun Devil Singers were supposed to sing the Alma Mater song. BTW, what is an Alma Mater Song? but the tech people sang a prerecorded version, and the Sun Devil Singers looked really confused. It was amusing. The lyrics of this song are:
Where The Bold Saguaros
Raise Their Arms On High
Praying Strength For Brave Tomorrows
From The Western Sky
Where Eternal Mountains
Kneel At Sunset's Gate
Here We Hail Thee, Alma Mater
Arizona State
Now try to sing it in a slow love ballad type way, and you'll get the picture. It is weird.
After graduation I go some pictures with the Phoenix sky line in the background, and we all went home to put Ella to bed and eat dinner. It was a long day, but I had finally 100% graduated.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
An exciting week: Graduation Part II
If you missed part one, you can go find it.
So after the ceremony we went to lunch, and then I had a job interview later in the afternoon. We took mom to a fashion jewelry store at the mall, and then we went home. The next day, we had nothing planned, as my college convocation was on Friday.
Thursday morning Kerri took Ella to her doctor's appointment in the morning where Ella checked out just fine. She is super tall, and average weight. While Ella was at the doctors, I took mom to a spice store because I had to buy chipotle powder, Mom was amazed at the different spices they had. It really is an amazing store. We then wandered around the same mall. That afternoon we all joined up (dad had finished working) and spent quality time together. We ordered PF Changs take-out and played games. I almost won Clue, but dad caught on, and right before I made my accusation, he did, and he won.
Friday was hot. I my convocation ceremony was not until 5 pm, so we had time to kill. We showed mom and dad the Tempe Campus, and frankly we showed me too. I had only stepped onto that campus once, and that was to work out a financial aid issue 2 years ago. It was nice. We found the institute building with an extremely unfriendly secretary, and the bookstore. We got some loot, and wandered around campus, and then we went home. Our family had family nap time, while mom and dad did their own thing.
Friday night we drove into downtown for convocation. So that this post isn't as long as that convocation was (I'll explain later) I'm stopping here.
So after the ceremony we went to lunch, and then I had a job interview later in the afternoon. We took mom to a fashion jewelry store at the mall, and then we went home. The next day, we had nothing planned, as my college convocation was on Friday.
Thursday morning Kerri took Ella to her doctor's appointment in the morning where Ella checked out just fine. She is super tall, and average weight. While Ella was at the doctors, I took mom to a spice store because I had to buy chipotle powder, Mom was amazed at the different spices they had. It really is an amazing store. We then wandered around the same mall. That afternoon we all joined up (dad had finished working) and spent quality time together. We ordered PF Changs take-out and played games. I almost won Clue, but dad caught on, and right before I made my accusation, he did, and he won.
Friday was hot. I my convocation ceremony was not until 5 pm, so we had time to kill. We showed mom and dad the Tempe Campus, and frankly we showed me too. I had only stepped onto that campus once, and that was to work out a financial aid issue 2 years ago. It was nice. We found the institute building with an extremely unfriendly secretary, and the bookstore. We got some loot, and wandered around campus, and then we went home. Our family had family nap time, while mom and dad did their own thing.
Friday night we drove into downtown for convocation. So that this post isn't as long as that convocation was (I'll explain later) I'm stopping here.
An exciting week: Graduation Part 1
WARNING: This post will contain some bragging. If you don't want to read it, I suggest you go somewhere else.
I graduated this week. I have officially made it through the Arizona State University system, and I received my Master of Public Administration. It feels good to be done. Technically I graduated with a 4.0, although if A+'s were worth more, my final GPA was 4.12, (it would have been higher if I didn't get an A- in economics, but, whatever).
My parents flew in from Utah this week to join in the festivities, and Kerri was able to take vacation for most of the week. Ella quickly fell in love with my mom and dad, and would not do anything without Grandma. I'm pretty sure that Ella had more fun, but Grandma was a good sport.
The University Graduate Commencement was on Wednesday morning. In someways it was better than BYU's, and in someways it wasn't. It was definitely more a party. ASU honored some of the graduates that achieved excellence in their studies by putting their picture and degree on the JumboTron before the ceremony, they asked for my information, so before the ceremony my face was flashed on the big screen.
Only 15 students were part of the processional, those students carried the gonfalons (try saying that without smiling). BYU doesn't have gonfalons, but they are basically banners that say the different college names on them. ASU picked 15 students that had high academic achievement to carry the gonfalons, and I was asked. So I carried my college's (the College of Public Programs) gonfalon into the ceremony ahead of the University President. Not all 15 students were able to carry their college gonfalon. There is a theory among family members that this is an indication that I was the top of my class. I have a hard time believing that that was really the case.
At the ceremony on Wednesday, they read every graduate student name as they walked across the stage. Some people almost fell of the front of it, but I was not one of them. However, I did mess up and not walk the proper route to my seat. Realizing I didn't give my parents a good photo op, I got up (I was on the front row) and walked up into the stands of the Wells Fargo Arena, and stood in the aisle so I could get good pictures. The only thing I found memorable about the things said at the ceremony was when President Crow said "Do well, so that you can do good." At the end there was no formal recessional, balloons fell from the ceiling, and rock music was played. It was more fun than BYU's ceremony.
I've decided this post is too long. The rest of the festivities will come in later posts.
I graduated this week. I have officially made it through the Arizona State University system, and I received my Master of Public Administration. It feels good to be done. Technically I graduated with a 4.0, although if A+'s were worth more, my final GPA was 4.12, (it would have been higher if I didn't get an A- in economics, but, whatever).
My parents flew in from Utah this week to join in the festivities, and Kerri was able to take vacation for most of the week. Ella quickly fell in love with my mom and dad, and would not do anything without Grandma. I'm pretty sure that Ella had more fun, but Grandma was a good sport.
The University Graduate Commencement was on Wednesday morning. In someways it was better than BYU's, and in someways it wasn't. It was definitely more a party. ASU honored some of the graduates that achieved excellence in their studies by putting their picture and degree on the JumboTron before the ceremony, they asked for my information, so before the ceremony my face was flashed on the big screen.
Only 15 students were part of the processional, those students carried the gonfalons (try saying that without smiling). BYU doesn't have gonfalons, but they are basically banners that say the different college names on them. ASU picked 15 students that had high academic achievement to carry the gonfalons, and I was asked. So I carried my college's (the College of Public Programs) gonfalon into the ceremony ahead of the University President. Not all 15 students were able to carry their college gonfalon. There is a theory among family members that this is an indication that I was the top of my class. I have a hard time believing that that was really the case.
At the ceremony on Wednesday, they read every graduate student name as they walked across the stage. Some people almost fell of the front of it, but I was not one of them. However, I did mess up and not walk the proper route to my seat. Realizing I didn't give my parents a good photo op, I got up (I was on the front row) and walked up into the stands of the Wells Fargo Arena, and stood in the aisle so I could get good pictures. The only thing I found memorable about the things said at the ceremony was when President Crow said "Do well, so that you can do good." At the end there was no formal recessional, balloons fell from the ceiling, and rock music was played. It was more fun than BYU's ceremony.
I've decided this post is too long. The rest of the festivities will come in later posts.
Friday, March 9, 2012
The honey boo boo child and her special juice
No, this post is not about our little Ms. Mae. It is about a 6 year old pageant girl. I shared this with my family, but I couldn't resist posting it here. One word of advice, don't drink the special juice.
Enjoy.
Here is the longer version of the clip. I especially like the mom's burp at the end. Classy.
Enjoy.
Here is the longer version of the clip. I especially like the mom's burp at the end. Classy.
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