I stayed in Idaho for THIS!?

I left the proximity of Rexburg and BYU-Idaho on Wednesday and I'm still in eastern Idaho! I never planned on staying with my relatives too long since I'm anxious to get home and I have 12 hour drive ahead of me. But before I go, I got talked into doing gyoza one more time...

Sittin' pretty in the freezer!

Only the best Japanese treatment for my relatives who have been here for me while at school!

The End of Another Long Semester

I had my last class on Monday and took my one and only testing center final exam the Saturday prior, so that means Spring Semester of my Sophomore year at BYU-Idaho has come to an end. After two semesters of having four days of classes per week, this recent semester definitely required some getting used to since I had to go back to a routine of five days of classes per week; I really could have used that extra day out of my week to unwind and spend time getting assignments done but beggars can't be choosers. A few of my classes felt non-stop all the way to the bitter end so naturally, I feel like I've been chewed up and spat back out. But that's life... And besides that, I finished the semester with straight A's for all my classes, which of course is a pretty great accomplishment.

This past Spring Semester was full of highs and lows; let's start with the lows so I can end this post on a high note (no pun intended!)... Classes and crazy assignments aside, one of the biggest frustrations I've had this semester was (believe it or not!) Church-related. I wrote about these frustrations here on my religion blog last month but to summarize, I was a Sunday school teacher and after the middle of June, I ended up not teaching for the rest of the semester because the class I was assigned to for the semester apparently got cancelled. To be honest, this felt like a big waste of my time and efforts I put into for the class. I was already worn out from my classes, the time I needed to study for them, as well as the commitments to volunteering at the Legacy Flight Museum but this whole debacle with my college ward Sunday School organization made things worse for me by adding unneeded stress. But the semester's done and I'm officially off from school so I can finally breathe easy from this!

Now for some semester highlights! I had great roommates this semester. What was even more nice was that there was only four of us in the six-man apartment this semester so there was room to spare amongst us. But I really enjoyed the company of my roommates this semester simply because I could easily relate to them due them being from the eastern part of the U.S., areas I once lived at and fondly familiar with. And let's not forget my relatives who conveniently live in the area. That means quality time spent with them and being able to turn to them in times of need. I said it before and I'll say it again and again: My family is awesome.

And last but not least, being an aviation geek (AvGeek for short), one of the biggest highlights I've had so far this year has to be volunteering at the Legacy Flight Museum located in the same town where I go to school to. The museum afforded me opportunities to be around what is to me, the greatest sources of inspiration in my life. It also gave me a place where I could "retreat" to in order to get away from the monotony and rigors of the school campus. Being a volunteer, I had a variety of tasks I could do so it was never boring. One minute, I was giving tours to visitors; the next minute I would be cleaning a vintage World War II-era aircraft. And sometimes, the museum was my quiet place to get some homework assignments done. Not only that, I met and got to know some incredible people who are part of the regular museum staff. What happened in the middle of the semester was the bi-annual air show hosted by the museum, which is held on even-numbered years. Once again, I got benefits of being a volunteer by getting to attend a V.I.P portion of the air show, which is held the day before the main event. This was perhaps the high point for me during this past semester. But then again, anything that has something to do with aviation is a high point for me!

Well, I'd say it was pretty great and interesting semester and a job well-done. But one thing's for sure: it is definitely time for me to head home for a well-deserved off-time from school and enjoy being around my immediate family for a change.

4th of July Shenanigans

I can't believe I spent my 4th of July in Ashton for two years in a row now! If you recall, what I did for the fourth last year, there was a parade, there were some cool fly-overs by some P-51s. Yeah, all that happened again this year and I'm glad I'm getting to spend the weekend with my relatives. The Legacy Flight Museum brought their two P-51 Mustangs over for a couple fly-by passes again this year. And of course, there was the parade:

Gotta love the retro stuff! Later on we went boating out on the Snake River in my uncle's boat. Definitely a good way to spend a hot summer afternoon on the 4th of July!

Hmmm... Should he be texting and boating at the same time???

Just to be clear, it's not a jet boat; we can't make those giant rooster tails with the water.

I'd say we had some great 4th of July Shenanigans! Happy Independence Day! Go America!