#4

So I know I am the last one to report on this, but I am an aunt again! Lucy Cameron was born on May 26 to my sister Rebekah and her husband Sean. She was 8lb 5oz and 21 in long. She has the cutest chubby cheeks and I'm so sad I won't see her in person for 4 more weeks.

We are up to 4 nieces now, so the men in this family are getting seriously outnumbered. I love them all though and I'm so lucky to have these sweet little girls in my life!

I live here!

This is the lake today...about an hour or two ago. It's been cloudy and a little cold, but still beautiful. I am so lucky I get to live here and experience these awesome views every day!
I just wish I had a better camera to capture it all.

I have to give a shout out to John, who drove me to my new home. After a long drive and quite the adventure of traveling with 2 cats, we ended up taking a trip to Grand Junction the next day so I could get some much-needed groceries. It was so much driving! Then, the next day after only a brief time spent exploring the marina, he had to drive all the way back to Logan all by himself. I tell him all the time, but I want to publicly say how great he is and how much I appreciate all that he does for me. I miss him lots!

This is a view from the road that goes up to the Lodge of my little "neighborhood." It is fondly called Trailer Village and is home sweet home for me. My trailer is kind of in the back to middle part. The brown trailers there in the front are actually the family rental units for guests. They are cheaper than renting 2-3 hotel rooms if you have a big family.


This is my cute little kitchen. It is very basic, but it has everything we need (because I brought so much). I share the kitchen with a woman named Billie and she works in Dry Storage. She is really nice and she likes my cats, but we have different work schedules so I don't see her very often.















Here are my kitties, in their favorite spot. They love to sit on the heater thing and watch out the window. It's actually really convenient for me because they like to see out and they would climb on anything I put close to the window anyone. Of course you can see my lovely curtains too. :-) These were already in the room when I got there, but I think they add character to the place.

This is my bedroom/living room. As you can see, I have plenty of space. I'm still working on finding a place for everything because there is really no storage space and I have a small closet. With no doors. Trying to keep things away from the cats is tricky.

















Another shot of the lake...I get to live here!

Update! Finally!

I finally get to update my blog! This is the first time I’ve had personal internet access in almost 2 weeks, and I was homeless for a week before that, so it’s been awhile. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes for my trip and all the support at graduation!

Anyway, one thing I have learned so far, living in the middle of nowhere, is not to be so dependent on technology. The internet is really unreliable here, and even when you can get it, it is very slow. I have been spoiled with fast cable connections and easy wireless access for far too long. I hear we are getting a new network at our Rec Center, but in the meantime, I make the short hike to the Lodge and sit in the lobby. Good times.

My cell phone service is spotty too, so I can’t really depend on that either. In some places (like my office) it’s really good, other places (like my house) it’s not so good.

I live in a trailer park. I live behind the post office and in the same building there is a laundry mat, an upholstery shop, and pay showers the campers and boaters can buy. It’s cute and cozy and I actually really like it. I even have a brand new swamp cooler, although I haven’t needed it much yet because the weather has been unusually cold here. Basically, I live in one room…kind of like a studio apartment, but actually bigger than my last place. The bathroom and closet are tiny, but are perfect for the space. I do have a shared kitchen with one other person, but it’s pretty hot in there so I haven’t spent much time cooking yet. The couch in my house is a sofa sleeper, so if anyone wants to come visit, let me know!

So far, I have mostly been doing training and doing lots of planning. I have a junky office at the Rec Center, but I do have a computer and a nice laser color printer for all my flyers and calendars and such. I’ve been working on planning June’s events and I think it’s going to be a fun month. Besides shopping in Grand Junction, I’ll be boating to Rainbow Bridge, hiking in Capitol Reef, Goblin Valley, and Arches (on my birthday!), and fishing here at the lake. I get to take people tubing and wakeboarding, host sporting events, BBQs and movie and game nights. I have the greatest job!

I do miss all of my family and friends though, so hopefully I will be able to stay updated on what you are all doing. I can view your blogs (usually) but I can’t see any pictures and I can’t view or make comments (even on my own) as long as I’m using a computer on our corporate network. They heavily monitor internet use (even for our rec center computer that we can use on our time off) and popular sites like myspace, facebook, and blogger are all blocked.

Anyway, so far thing are going great and I’m having a good time. Things aren’t very busy yet, but will pick up soon once I get out of the planning process and start having my activities and events. I’m excited to explore more of Southern Utah and to get to play on the water. Please keep me updated! Email is good (bkyoungs@gmail.com) but for anyone who wants it, my summer mailing address is: PO Box 4209 Bullfrog, UT 84533.

Stay tuned for some pictures if my connection will cooperate!

Graduation!

Yesterday was a long, but fun and exciting day. My parents drove up early and picked me and John up so we could go to commencement in the morning. We all lined up by college on the Quad and then did this processional thing through part of campus and over to the Spectrum (the longest route ever). Commencement was pretty good, but the best part is it was short and sweet. There were a couple of good speakers, some honorary degrees, and then we stood by college and were "officially" awarded our degrees by President Albrecht.

After a delicious lunch with my parents, we headed back to the Spectrum for my college's ceremony, which was the most chaotic event I've ever attended. Basically, the whole point of it was so we could hear our name called and walk across the stage and get our diploma cover. We don't actually get our diploma for 6-8 weeks. :-) They didn't have a professional photographer so they allowed a family member for each graduate to come down to the front and take a picture. It was so funny because there were all these people coming and going and talking throughout, but I guess the whole ceremonial aspect of it was still cool. I was grateful to my parents for coming up to see me and it was important for me to participate so I could have a sense of closure about this whole adventure.

Getting my "diploma cover"

With Dr. Nelson, my department head and professor

The obligatory picture on the 'A'

I did get to take a good, long, nap and then John and I had a little graduation party at his fraternity house. Really it was a celebration for everyone for finishing out the year, but it was good to see our friends (some even from out of state that we haven't seen in forever) and just relax, knowing that we are finally done!

With my friend Emily at the party

Kappa Delta sisters-Malika and Jenn (fellow graduate)

This has been a long journey for me, but I wouldn't change a thing. I am very excited to be done, but it is bitter sweet because I will miss my friends in Logan; I really had some good times here. I am so excited to start my next adventure in Lake Powell and I have nothing but good feelings about my future and the opportunities that await me. Thanks to all my family and friends for always supporting me-through the good times and bad-and for helping me achieve this goal.

With John at our party-we did it! Woo hoo!