Fall

This semester has literally flown by for us. It has been good, but very busy. I've been digging in to my dissertation research. I'm still in the very early stages, but it's nice to think that I'm working on my very last paper (I try not to dwell on the fact that it will probably take me over a year to write it!). I am enjoying the research, though, and hopefully I can stick to my timetable. My optimistic goal is to defend it December of 2011, but a safer goal might be April of 2012.

Tyler is still studying for his GMAT. He took a test prep course, and has been doing a lot of studying out of some great test prep books. He will also be taking some prerequisite course starting in January through BYU-Idaho so we don't have to pay for them through his graduate institution.

The holidays have been a lot of fun. Tyler and I were asked to be a part of the annual BYU-Idaho Halloween Concert as guest characters! It was a western/cowboy theme this year, so we fit right in. Abby and her boyfriend David were playing in the orchestra, so it was kind of a family show. Tyler and I played the characters of Roy and Dale, two wandering musicians who accompanied a cowboy poet (played by Ted Ashton). We did a medley of Chime Bells, a yodeling song, and the Orange Blossom Special. The orchestra conductor wrote a simple accompaniment for the orchestra to play along with us. It was a riot, and we had so much fun. People from the music department and our ward were shocked to learn that Tyler is secretly an expert yodeler!

We stayed in Rexburg for Thanksgiving. It was nice to not have to worry about traveling since we were hit with a blizzard earlier in the week. We all went over to my parents' house and had a great time.

December will also be busy for us. Besides the end of the semester and Christmas stuff, we have a concert in Arizona, my studio double-header recital, and symphony concerts. Gotta love it!

Here are some pictures from the past two months. Most of them are from Halloween and Thanksgiving

Update

I don't have a whole lot to say, except

I PASSED MY COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS!!

Now on to my dissertation!

Busy Times

Just when we thought our lives couldn't get any crazier, it has. We are still really enjoying life, but it is keeping us on our toes!

At the beginning of July, the chairman of the music department was named dean of the College of Performing and Visual Arts. A few weeks later, the full-time viola professor of the department was named department chair. This meant that he would be far too busy with his administrative responsibilities to teach any viola students, masterclass, or any other viola related commitments. So it is that I am now teaching the entire viola studio, running masterclass, handling recruiting, and everything else! I'm still just adjunct, but my responsibilities have greatly increased. It has been a bit overwhelming filling Brother Call's shoes. He has been very influential in my career, and he is such a great teacher. The semester is going very well, and the students are fantastic. I definitely feel more prepared to teach the college students than I did when I first came back to Rexburg.

In September I also took my doctoral comprehensive exams. It was a 16 hour test lasting 2 days, and it was horrible. Tyler was so supportive and encouraging during the last part of the summer as I was studying like a madwomen. I ended up typing about 60 pages for the test, and I still don't know if I passed. Fingers crossed!

Tyler has now taking up the studying. He is preparing to take his GMAT sometime in the next few months. He will be pursuing his MBA starting next year, so we'll continue to have students in our house for a while yet.

We're still finding time to have a bit of fun. Last weekend we went down to Salt Lake for a great weekend of concerts. Friday night was Brad Paisley, and Saturday was Hilary Hahn! We are trying to keep balance in our lives, and we know we are very blessed.

Farewell Parties

David and Emily's family moved down to New Mexico this month for a job. We're going to miss them so much, but we were able to have a few parties before they left. David had to leave at the beginning of the month, but Emily and the kids were able to stay long enough to go camping with the rest of us up near the Tetons at a cabin. We all had a great time.

We had great food

We did some exploring.

We did some hanging out.

We made a few friends.

We wore everyone out.

We got a little silly.

We knitted a few friends.

We even had an extra visitor.

Viola Congress

You're going to get the rest of our trip in one big picture-filled post.




For the opening session of the congress, the CCM and Julliard violists (and some alumni) played a viola ensemble version of Fanfare for the Common Man, and I got to play with them as an alumn. It was awesome. We got to play for Kim Kashkashian, Tabea Zimmerman, Nubuko Imai, and many other viola gods.


We ate at all of the mandatory Cincinnati places, including the classic Clifton Skyline!





Somewhere under all that cheese is spaghetti and chili.

I was also successful in getting Tyler hooked on Graeters ice cream
(especially raspberry chip. YUM!!)


We drove by my old ghetto Kroger (which I probably shouldn't have ever shopped at).


and my old apartments.

Atkinson street (1st year)

Rohs street (2nd year)

I also gave Tyler the grand tour of the campus, and I got to catch up with some of my old teachers. We had such a great time.

Bearcats stadium





Emery Hall- Where I had all of my academic courses


Memorial Hall- 5 floors of practice rooms! (I spent many, many, many hours in this building).

And finally, a nice sunset from our drive home.