Choreography

Does anyone want to finish choreographing my dance... please? I quit. My brian juices are dry. I need to go to a dance concert or take someone else's dance class for a little motivation. Maybe for now I'll just go to bed and pray that a perfect, complete dance comes to me in my dreams and that I miraculously remember it all when I wake up.............. but since there is a negative 10% chance of that happening, I guess I'll buckle down and go to work in the morning. And you know what else might help? Cookies. Cookies always help when you're trying to create something (a dance, a term-paper, a lesson plan). Yes. Cookies and a fresh start. But seriously, if anyone wants to make up my dance and then give me all the credit, please, shout out!

It's Jimmer-time

Today is the day that thousand of BYU fans across the globe have been waiting for... BYU's first ever appearance in the Sweet 16 round of the March Madness tournament. Bret and I are skipping out on Institute (sorry Brother Jeppson!) to cheer on our boys. In preparation for the big game, I learned a few things about the man who has become synonymous with BYU basketball --> Jimmer Fredette.

1. Jimmer is this the Moutain West Conference player of the year, the MWC all-time leading scorer, and definitely a contestant for this year's NCAA player of the year.

2. President Obama loves the Jimmer.

3. HIS NAME CAN BE USED AS A NOUN, VERB, ADJECTIVE, ETC! (click on this link... it will make you smile) jimmer glossary

Yes, we too have fallen victim to the Jimmer craze. But it wouldn't be fair to talk about tonight's game without mentioning "my boy" Jackson Emery. (That's what Bret always says when he does something good... "Cami, that was your boy Jacks!") What a clean-cut looking kid. We'll be cheering him on too!

You know what the Wardles will be doing tonight! Go Cougars!

Camping... sort of.

It's SPRING BREAK in Texas! We are loving that we both have a week off with no real commitments or obligations. That means lots of time to spend together... not just in the same room, but actually doing things together!

We decided that awesome weather + no plans + wanting to get away = perfect time for a camping trip. We almost changed our minds when we realized our area is on a "burn ban" but decided that we could live without a fire. Besides, Bret really wanted to test out the propane griddle my parents gave us for Christmas last year and we both were excited to go to the "hill country" for some semi-legitimate hiking.

However, the campsite we had heard about (Enchanted Rock) was all filled up for Spring Break and we didn't know how much actual hiking we could find to do, so we decided to make it a 3-part mini-cation.

PART ONE: San Antonio

We drove to San Antonio on Tuesday morning. We stopped at the Livsey's to say hi, went fabric shopping at JoAnn's, got a piece of Oreo cheesecake fromCheesecake Factory, did initiatories at the Temple (which was wonderful!) and grabbed some dinner at Chipotle.

PART TWO: Camping

After dinner we drove to Fredericksburg, just an hour out of San Antonio (its between San Angelo and San Antonio but we've always taken a different route). Since Enchanted Rock was all full we camped at Lady Bird Johnson, which a dance student recommended. Turns out it was more of an RV park where you could camp on a big open field if you wanted. So we pulled our car right up on the grass and literally camped steps away from our car (and a few more steps away from other campers). We actually had lots of fun just hanging out inside our tent.

The weather was great when we went to bed and yucky when we woke up. It was misting rain, super foggy, cold and windy. Bret cooked a fantastic breakfast, despite paper plates flying all over. The weather was so gloomy that it really turned us off from doing all the outdoor activities we were planning on, so we cleaned up and went into Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg is an old German town that has become an artsy, kind of touristy place for people to come shop and walk around and stay at bed and breakfasts. We spent a few hours walking up and down Main Street. There were such fun stores... lots of vintage/modern and western clothing and home decor. Bret was a good sport and encouraged me to go into every store that caught my eye. We didn't buy anything (everything is very unique but very expensive) but we sure had fun wandering! At the end of our exploration we found this museum/monument to the Pacific War. Go figure... in the middle of small-town Texas!

Well the weather slowly improved, but it was still gloomy enough that we decided to head home earlier than expected. When we got back to San Angelo it was mid-80s and sunny. Sigh. Maybe we'll get to do recreational stuff next time. Either way, we had a great few days together!

Happy Birthday Jackson!

Today Jack turns 10. Can you believe it?! I feel like every time I see him he looks so much taller. He is such a great little brother and since I can't be with him on his birthday I wanted to let him know some of the reasons I love him most...

1. Because he is a goof-ball. He loves being silly, and wouldn't we all agree that silly people make us happy?! Thanks for always putting a smile on my face, Jack. :)

2. Because he's not afraid to be himself. If he likes something, he likes it. If he doesn't, he doesn't. He doesn't worry about what others think. I hope you always stays that way, buddy. (ps - this is a pretty darn cute picture from a few years ago!)

3. Perhaps this is in line with #2, but I love that Jack is a triple-threat... he's sporty (mostly tennis right now), artsy (singing, dancing, acting, piano... if you know him you know he's always loved to perform, but if you were one of the few lucky people who witnessed Jack's Christmas Eve Catch-Phrase performance, you know he's destined for the spotlight!), and brainy (he's great in school). Jack - you're lucky to have so many interests and talents... keep them up!

4. Because he's friendly. Jack has lots of friends and treats them well. He's just a fun guy to be around.

5. Because he has a tender heart. One way Jack shows this is in his love for animals. He loves taking care of and playing with his pets. When one of them died recently I was so touched to see the effect it had on him. He wants to be a vet when he grows up. Jack - I hope you always stay so caring, not only for animals but for the people all around you.

6. Because when he answers the phone he will play along if I decide to talk in a funny voice or say something stupid. And because before he hangs up or hands off the phone he always says, "Okay, I love you too."

Jackson, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and know that your big sis sure loves you. I will give you a big birthday hug (and maybe a little birthday surprise!) when I come home next month for Lauren's wedding. I LOVE YOU!

-Cami

PS - Bret loves you and wishes you happy birthday, too!

30... That's Right.

Today they had "Fitness Gram" during English class. I guess that its a state-mandated fitness testing, but its dumb - there is no goal, no real point to having students do the testing except to say they did it. Well there are a couple loud-mouth boys in that English class - nice, but mouthy - who were big talking and I said, "just wait till I show you up!" Well they came back from testing, one with 6 and one with 11 push-ups. I had to tease them a little. So they said that's it... show us how many you can do. So in front of they class they got showed up as a GIRL did 30 push-ups and casually decided to stop (really I was dying!). That's what they get for big-talking. Ha.

Stuck in a Rut

I have a question for all you readers out there... Do you ever feel like you aspire to be great at things and you do your best, but somehow you just get stuck in a rut. Its like you realize that you're not as wonderful as you hoped you could be and you're stuck somewhere between wanting to invest your whole self to becoming better and just settling for lower expectations? If that makes any sense to you, then you'll understand how I feel today... not unhappy, not mad, not gloomy... simply in a rut.

I don't post this for pity. Like I said, I am loving life. It has been a fantastic week so far and I have nothing to complain about. I am posting this because I'd love to know (both for inspiration and out of curiosity) how you go about getting yourself out of that funk. When you feel like you just aren't measuring up to either your own or others' expectations, how do you motivate yourself to improve without feeling overwhelmed? This can apply to your expectations as a friend, wife, student, mother, teacher, employee, cook, etc etc etc.

Please share!