Sports Hero Day

Check out our latest episode of BYU Weekly.

I did a story on Sports Hero Day...

founded by my good friend Jacob Blickenstaff.

These kids are too funny not to watch.

My story is around 18:30 if you don't want to watch the whole thing.

http://byutv.org/watch/173-533#ooid=1id2QwMjod1p4tgWGHIgo-e9R9GDKuyL

Final Semester

One month down in the final semester of my undergraduate degree and I don't really know how I feel about it.

Excited that I made it through.

Yet sad my BYU years are coming to a close.

It's been such a growing experience in every aspect of my life.

But, ready or not, it's time for the next chapter.

So, I figured might as well go out with a bang.

This semester has been wonderful so far.

It took too much time to solidify my schedule...

but after many hours...here's what I've been up to!

- Finishing up that dang Business Minor with a Financial Management and Marketing class

(I secretly enjoy both...Marketing would have been such a fun major)

- Taking 3 Religion classes

1. History of the Church with the legendary Susan Easton Black

Everyone MUST take her classes before they graduate.

She has a photographic memory. No Powerpoints. No notes. Just talks about the subject from memory. While her students take copious notes. Seriously, she is a walking church history book. I leave that class with an ache in my hand that stays for an hour.

Botton line: she's incredible.

2. Living Prophets

I have a better knowledge and appreciation for our Church leaders.

We learn about a member of the Twelve each lecture.

Their childhood, education, family life, and careers.

I think their should be a class just on their wives...

Needless to say, I find myself wanting to do the reading for this class.

3. Pearl of Great Price

A pleasant surprise.

I heard this was a good class to take before you leave BYU, so I signed up.

I haven't spent alot of time in the PGP,

but we've already touched on some pretty deep doctrine.

Before I applied to BYU, I heard the religion classes were way too hard, hurt the GPA, and weren't all that beneficial.

I could not disagree more.

I feel these classes have been one of the biggest blessings.

I leave class enlightened with my testimony stregthened.

- And my last elective as a BYU undergrad...Event Planning.

My group just completed our biggest project of the semester,

so now it's smooth sailing.

Our professor is darling.

She's been a single mother of four for the past eight years and just got engaged.

She even wants us to help her plan her wedding.

Talk about hands-on experience.

Aside from classes:

- I anchor ElevenNews at Noon on KBYU Channel 11 on Wednesdays.

We have the best news crew.

I love my co-anchor, Andrew Reeser.

My roommates say he's the next Tom Brokaw.

Pretty sure my grandma is our only viewer.

But, we have a good time...and learn lots along the way.

- Lastly, I started working as a reporter for BYU Weekly.

My first paid reporting job ever.

I love my boss and everyone else at the show.

And....best part....we have our own cameramen.

And editors.

So I can actually focus on writing and interviewing.

This set up will probably be better than my first four jobs in the real world.

More on that to come.

This semester is a great way to go out.

I may even say, after four years, I'm a true Coug fan.

Feature on 78-Year-Old Butcher Dennis Dixon

This semester has been much busier than expected. I find myself gravitating toward the newsroom almost every day. I chose to do twelve news stories for my broadcast capstone class, which has occupied most of my time, to say the least. I truly LOVE my major and am so thankful for the many people that have come into my life because of it. Each story is a little adventure. And once the story is edited I have a video journal of what I did that day. One of the many perks of broadcast journalism is the wide variety of people we meet while doing a story.

One Tuesday afternoon, I drove to Payson, UT and spent a couple hours with this guy, 78-year-old Dennis Dixon. He attended Stanford University on scholarship, served a mission in East Germany, and graduated from BYU in economics and political science. He then went back to his hometown to work at his father's butcher shop. He is one of the sweetest men I have ever met. He reminded me what's important in life. While conducting the interview I started to tear up. He's such a dear.

Take a look. See for yourself. You will fall in love too...don't let the red meat gross you out too much...look past it.

Marathon Mendi

This woman ran her lil bum off this weekend.

26.2 Miles in the Long Beach Marathon to be exact.

She's trained for the past four months, spent countless hours in the gym, and most importantly, survived Douglas' tough eating regimen.

She finished in 5.5 hours.

I guess my dad would find her every couple of miles, run with her, feed her goo, and give her one of his famous pep talks.

What a guy.

My mom told me he wouldn't let her cry or quit.

Needless to say, she did neither.

Good work, Mom!

I'm so proud of all your hard work.

You impress me beyond words.

Tia Rosa's chicken burritos await you.

Check that marathon off your bucket list.

One Year Ago...

I left the city I fell in love with.

Where I made some of my best friends.

With whom I:

Toured the coolest castles.

Ate too many treats, i.e. Magnum Bars, Galaxy Chocolate, Caramel Digestives, Cadbury Products. Saw some great musicals.

Discovered the best markets.

Fell in love with British History.

Served in wonderful wards.

Crammed for exams in McDonalds on field trips.

Spent too many hours trying to sleep on the coach.

Packed our days with sight-seeing, museum-visiting, and exploring.

One year and another adventure later, I realize how blessed I was to spend a summer in London with these girls. I learned a lot about Europe, traveling, and problem-solving. I learned even more about myself.

I miss having 7 roommates and getting maybe 5 hours of sleep every night. I miss always carrying an umbrella with me. I miss the Tube, Tube riders, Trafalgar Square, Sister Schlur's cooking, Embassy Road, traveling an hour to church, and London shopping. I found it doesn't matter where you are in the world, what you are doing, what you are seeing, but who you are with. People make all the difference. Thank you London Summer 2009 Crew. 27 Palace Court will always have a special place in me heart.

London, you are so clean, charming, historical, and lovely. I think you surpass New York in my book. Samuel Johnson said it best, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life."

2012 London Summer Olympics. I will be there. Who's in? Anyone? Anyone?

Currently...

I'm exhausted.

Just finished my first week as an EFY Counselor in Provo, UT.

Yes, you heard me. EFY.

After a week full of cafeteria food, constant cheers, awkward dances, and dorm living

My heart is full.

I'm truly blown away by the spiritual maturity of the youth I worked with.

They impressed me like I never thought possible.

I learned something from every person in our group.

Each one.

They were the perfect group of girls for me.

So patient.

I even lost a girl the first day.

I know, worst counselor ever!

Group, thank you for reminding me that our Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows the intricate details of our lives and what's important to us. Thank you for teaching me that it's okay not to hit every bullet point on my lesson outline. Your experiences and insights are much more beneficial for everyone to hear.

Thank you for reminding me that we can do anything with the Lord on our side. I only wish you could see the potential I see in all of you.

It was an absolute joy to play a small part in their experience this past week.

They were exactly what I needed.

My next group has tough shoes to fill.

Round two starts tomorrow.

I'm resting up.

Happy 4th, everyone.

Here's to one of my favorite holidays.

I think I'll head to the most happening place in Provo...

Stadium of Fire and love me some

Carrie Underwood.

Love summer. Love sunshine. Love fireworks.

It's going to be a good day.

P.S.

Final New York Posts to come...super behind.

Fam Damily Visits The City

Sweet Mendi Sue and Grandma Marilyn came to New York for a visit. Despite a few flight delays and a shuttle mix up, I found them amidst all of the chaos at Penn Station. It was so wonderful to see familiar faces in the city. I knew I would be in good hands for the week.

I was fortunate to work on the crash "Oil Spill" story at Dateline, so things were a bit crazy at work. However, My mom and grandma did get to meet me for lunch on Wednesday at my favorite salad place, Hale & Hearty. They ventured off on their own the first few days while I was working and saw Ground Zero, Century 21, Central Park, and shopped on 5th Avenue. I was able to take Friday off and spend lots of time with them. It was so wonderful to stay in their nice hotel during the hottest week I was there. A BIG thanks to Aunt Cyndi for getting all of the traveling arrangements/tickets taken care of. We so wish you could have joined in on the fun! Here are a few highlights from the week.

1. Pinkberry. These two went twice in one day. Talk about love. There was on right next to our hotel and the employees knew us by name...pathetic.

2. Yankees Game. They beat the Baltimore Orioles. We sat next to a few New Jersey Policemen who were not to happy that we were late and made them get out of our seats. But, by the end of the night they knew I was a BYU student and kept asking me questions about the HBO Series "Big Love". They were a treat. I was so glad my mom and grandma got to see the new stadium. It is unreal.

3. MEMPHIS. This musical is a must-see. It just won this year's Tony Award for "Best Musical". We hadn't heard much about it, but I think it's one of my favorite Broadways I have ever seen. Good call, Aunt Cyndi.

If you are headed to New York City anytime soon, please do yourself a favor and see this musical. The leads are incredible, the music is unforgettable, and the dancing is amazing. Chad Kimball plays Huey and he's probably the best acting performance I have ever seen in a musical. He stays so in character throughout each scene. Montego Glover plays Felicia and has a remarkable voice. The plot follows a white DJ who is ready to take on the world and a black singer ready for her big break. We were lucky enough to have Scott Maddux join us! Grandma was loving him.

Classic Times Square Shot

4. Tiffany & Co. We spent a good amount of time there one morning. Our sweet helper, Gary, was too good to us! They LOVED FAO Schwarz, highlight of the trip.

5. Carousel Ride in Central Park. Call us 8-years-old, but we HAD to do this. After our lil ride, we watched a co-ed softball game followed by some fine dining at Shake Shack.

6. In The Heights. We all entered the lottery for the matinee showing of In The Heights. FYI - if you are searching for Broadway tickets, there are multiple options to get them for better prices. Each theatre varies, but some have similar policies. For instance, some offer student-discounted tickets for under $30 if you go to the theatre's box office day of. The seats are normally in the first 2 rows which are still pretty good! However, In The Heights has a lottery system that takes place two hours before the show at the theatre. All you have to do is show up, fill out a form, have cash and a photo id available and you are good to go. There were quite a few people that entered the drawing so we were unsure as to what to expect. Turns out they called both my name and my grandma's name. We were able to get four front row tickets for under $100, isn't that great?!

This musical took place in Washington Heights, a Latino community just 25 streets north of where I stayed in Manhattan. Corbin Bleu is the lead and he raps throughout the musical. It's extremely fast-paced, modern, fresh, humorous, and hip. It's unlike any musical I have seen before. It attracts a younger audience, but I think everyone had a good time. I even teared up in a couple of scenes, nothing unusual, but I wasn't expecting it. If are looking for a show in the city, see In The Heights. There's nothing like a good show.

7. John's Pizzeria. I took the crew to John's Pizzeria, my favorite NYC pizza. This particular location is in an old theatre. I think it even passed Grandma's test, no easy task!

8. Macy's. This was my first time going to the HUGE Macy's. It's right next to Penn Station and takes up an entire block. This was a priority for Grandma, she is a shopper. So we spent a couple of hours looking for things for family members.

9. I took them to sacrament meeting at the singles ward. They loved the Manhattan Temple. The location is so interesting. It's such an escape from the honking cabs, constant sirens, and hurried pedestrians.

They were quite the sight to see on the subway! I loved every minute with these two. I just dragged them from place to place. They were such troopers. Grandma held up like a champ, I was so impressed. Thanks for all of the fun Mom and Grandma! NYC wasn't the same after you left. Thanks for the comfy hotel bed, pinkberry runs, musicals, shopping, yummy food, etc. I will never forget our week.