Two cute chicks!

Shelley and Cason took the girls to get their pictures done in their Halloween costumes last week. Aren't they adorable? They're getting so big!

Wow!

Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I've posted anything. I will try to get right on it. School has kept me REALLY busy. I'm trying to learn two operas and memorize other music all at the same time and it's got my brain doing flip flops. I will post some pictures soon.

Sunday fun!

Tonight I had Jamilyn, Danny and Brady over for dinner along with my roommates Adele and Brandi. We celebrated Brady's birthday, played games and fluffed up the love sac and did crazy jumps onto it. It kind of made you feel like you were five again. Too muich fun! It's nice to have some Utah State people down here to hang out with every once in a while. I love Arizona!

Wicked Awesome!

Today I had the rare priviledge of sitting in on a rehearsal of the broadway show Wicked. The show is touring around the country and has stopped in Phoenix at the ASU Gammage theater for two weeks. A few students had the opportunity of sitting in on the rehearsal as part of a class today. They were doing a staging rehearsal of the defying gravity scene so there were no costumes, make-up, set or special effects being used but it was nice to see professionals at work. They are doing what many of us hope to do in some capacity in a few short years. Thanks to my roommate Adelle I am also going to have the priviledge to see the show on Thursday. All the shows are sold out as it's been a huge success here it Phoenix so I feel very lucky to be going.

They're getting big!

The girls are getting so big! I just saw them a week ago and now they are sitting up by themselves. I miss them so much.


Shelley & the girls

Jocelynn

Emberly

Emberly is not too happy because she just face planted in the grass. Jocelynn thought it was pretty funny!

Baby cowgirl

Emberly loves her cousin's pony. Savannah got it for her birthday from her grandma and grandpa but she was terrified of it so Emberly took a ride and can almost hold herself up. Pretty cute!

Life is Crazy!

This weekend has been crazy! I had graduate diagnostic testing Friday and Monday of this week along with choral auditions. We tested for three hours Friday morning and for three hours tonight. I am SO glad that's over. I feel like I'd been beaten with the stupid stick. I studied for these tests but not as much as I guess I should have. Some of the stuff I haven't looked at again in three years and so I looked at the test as if it was in a foreign language. Fortunately they are just a formality. You don't have to actuallly pass the tests you just have to take them. Kind of seems like a lot of work for nothing. Whatever! I guess your advisor (your private teacher) can ask you to retake stuff if they want but they usually don't. In my case she may say go back and do your undergrad work over again. You'd think that a 3.7 GPA and a Bachelor's degree would count for something I guess you have to prove it too! Like I said at least it's over. On top of all this Jamilyn and Ithought that class didn't start until Tuesday and it really started today! Funny huh? It's the first day of school and we're already playing hookey. Once we realized our mistake we went and talked to the teacher and he just laughed and handed us the syllabus. Nothing like starting off on the right foot! Hopefully things will look better tomorrow.

My trip to Utah

Last week I went to Utah to spend time with my family. My Dad even flew out so that we could all be together. The twins are adorable and getting big. Little Jeffrey Chase is as cute as a button as well. While we were there we even had a chance to take a family photo. The one the one I have here is not the best one we took but the only one I had on my camera. I sure hate living so far away from those cute babies!

The Happiest Baby

Have you ever seen a two week old baby smile like this? I thought it was the funniest thing that I've ever seen. At first I thought it was a joke but it's not. This is my two week old nephew Jeffrey Chase. Michael was talking to him and he just started smiling. Fun huh?

California Here I Come!

I arrived in California today about noon. My mom and I went shopping and had lunch at the Irvine Spectrum (awesome shopping if you've never been). Tonight we went down to Balboa Island with my Dad and ate dinner at a little diner called Wilma's. The food's pretty good considering they serve everything from pancake's to fish tacos. Then we took a stroll along the bay. The weather here is great right now. Here's a picture of the bay! Sorry so small.

Publish your own story!

Hey you guys! Check this out. It is a new website that is a whole new take on scrapbooking. Forget the paper, sissors, glue, die cuts, etc. You can actually create a bound book online and all you have to do is add pictures and text and they make it for you. Check out this website: www.heritagemakers.com .

This doesn't happen everyday!

Here it is! The five generation picture. Great-Grandma Hagen, Grandma Barlow, Kim Badger, Shelley Smith, and Emberly and Jocelynn Smith. What a great bunch of ladies. It's not everyday that you get to have a moment like this!

The Twins!

Here they are! Aren't they so cute? They are getting so big! I am so excited to see them when I go to Utah in a week and a half. To see more pictures visit Shelley and Cason's new website www.casonshelley.blogspot.com . The pictures are so cute!

Beauty & the Beast

While I've been in Arizona this summer I've been living with my cousin Elisia and her husband Kim and their three adorable kids Katelynn, Emily and Brennik. This week Elisia & Kim were in New York for their anniversary so I took the girls to see "Beauty & the Beast" at a dinner theater. They had a blast and met all the characters.

Emily, Me & Katelyn

Emily & Katelynn with Belle

Brennik (Didn't go with us but he sure is cute!)

Broadway Palm West presents "Beauty & the Beast"!

Guatemala

I went to Guatemala in May with nine other students and my opera director and her husband. We did three concerts in La Antigua, Guatemala where we stayed and we did one in the National Opera House in El Salvador. It was such a wonderful experience and the country has amazing scenary. Enjoy the photos!

La Antigua, Guatemala

Karlee, Travis, Michelle, Erin, M.J. & Brian at the SLC airport as we're headed to Guatemala.

Me and Michelle in the courtyard of our hotel. No we didn't plan the matching outfits but yes we were roommates!

Our hotel room in La Antigua

Dinner the first evening that we were in La Antigua.

"Central Park" in La Antigua. It is a very beautiful and clean city compared to most.

Guatemala

Me and Jamilyn at dinner

La Antigua Cathedral

The three Volcanos

Nephite Ruins

Burial Grounds

Caves in the Nephite ruins

M.J., Erin, Me and Karlie in a tomb tunnel

Syster Ann Marshall

Ann and I at her farwell. I love this girl! We were roommates for two and a half years and have had almost every class together for the last 5 years! She is off to Sweden now to be a missionary and I am so excited for her.

New Arrival!

Here he is! Jeffrey Chase Badger son of Michael and Karlie Badger. Born on June 30th he was 7 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long. He had a rough start as he came into the world. His chest filled with air but his lungs would not expand so they had to do some major work on him and life-flight him to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. It was a scary couple of hours but he is a fighter!