Davis "Adventures": Adventure is out there! : Last Days in Utah

Between the 4th of July weekend and that next Thursday, there were a lot of late nights with me working on my prospectus. No, not at all ideal, but my thesis chair wasn't helping. She was in and out of the country traveling and then was being very inconsistent in the suggestions and edits she was making to the drafts I sent her (such as changing things she herself had written because she said it didn't make sense). I know I have not been blameless in the progress (or lack thereof) of my prospectus, but I didn't feel like I had her support for a LONG time either. Carly had helped me more than she had as far as getting started and I had to ask other graduate students what their advisors had told them, because I wasn't getting any direction from her. THEN when she realized I was moving, she suddenly wanted to be all involved (rather, just re-writing EVERYTHING multiple times), but I was also trying to do other things, so I couldn't give all my time to it either. She wrote to another of my committee members that I had "put it off too long" and I was initially really offended by that. I should have been better about doing little steps along the way. Yes. But simply nagging and making negative comments wasn't helping.Yes, I wished the timing had been different and I wasn't rushing to squeeze in the prospectus before leaving, but she hadn't been involved enough along the way to recognize what I HAD been doing this whole time. Using her words, I "put it off":
-to have a baby and figure out being a new mom WHILE still working with clients and taking classes
-while my husband was unemployed and looking for a job
-while we had to move suddenly when our owners sold our place
-while taking over a year to collect data BY MYSELF (no research assistants- which meant planning and implementing EACH session in addition to clinic and coursework)
-so Tyler could focus on studying for the GMAT to apply for schools- which is ultimately the priority for our family
-to focus on my internship (that I was taking out more student loans to pay for a babysitter in order to complete)
-while Jordy had a broken leg
-to make moving arrangements and to make final internship arrangements...to name a few :)

ANYWAY. It's been a sensitive topic for me. Tyler and I decided when I was going to finish the program, sacrifices would have to be made. Unfortunately, some of those have been in the time I've been able to give to both Tyler and Jordy, but I also was not going to give EVERYTHING to school. I have made adjustments in my expectations for myself with my school work and accepting my work may not be as "perfect" as I would like, but if I was learning the material and meeting requirements, that was what had to work at the moment. I have never been great at time management and unfortunately, through LOTS of experience during my school years, I've learned I get a lot done under pressure! But I also have come to recognize my need to "unwind" at times and do things for myself to stay "sane." So yes- all these things are my "excuses" and justification for myself. (Sorry if anyone kept reading my rant...remember, this is our attempt of "journaling" for our family, so some of my long-windedness comes out at times!)

All that aside, I got something acceptable-enough (45 pages for a prospectus!) and met with my committee. Whew! What a relief. And perfect timing- because there were still things I wanted to do before we left Utah!

We used our Pass of All Passes one last time and went to Trafalga (oh boy. If that's still there when Jordy goes to BYU, let's just hope it gets some MAJOR renovations before then!) But it was super fun for Jordy. He's been practicing his golf swing for awhile now! (He saw Tyler "practicing" his air swing and naturally, started copying dad!) Jordy even got to go with Tyler once when Tyler had a tee-time with work.

I like Jordy's style of golfing...he's sure to get it in the hole! :)

There were SO many hikes we still wanted to do, but we just didn't have time to do them all (a good reason to come back to Utah for visits!) We were able to meet up with my friend, Rachel and her family in Little Cottonwood Canyon and go for a family-friendly hike to Cecret Lake.

As we were getting ready, I was grabbing some snacks to put in the pack to eat when we got to the lake (like granola bars and fruitsnacks). Jordy saw me grabbing food and wanted to "help" pack. I looked at what he had grabbed from the cupboard and apparently he wanted more substance for lunch! :)

Jordy and his buddy Bennett! The boys were super excited about the shuttle bus we rode to get to the trailhead! (who wants to hike when we could just ride a bus?!)

And we were on our way! Jordy walked, oh, the first 25 feet maybe, then we decided if we ever wanted to get there, he had to be in the pack! (Rachel's boys were troopers though and even Bennett walked most of the way!)

I'm going to miss this girl!!!

And the mountains! :)

Tyler claims he was making a Jordy face here...but even Jordy doesn't seem convinced! :)

We made it! It was not as sunny as we would have liked, but it was still a good little hike!

The boys were trying to share some of their snacks with chipmunks

Oh, to be in the outdoors in Utah!

We were hiking on 7/11-- which meant we got to enjoy free slushies at 7/11 when we were done with our hike! YUMM! :)

We then met up with Jess in Spanish Fork and played at the splashpad and playground by her house.

They actually look like they are making the same face, but I don't think that was intentional! :)

Jordy had fun in the water for a few minutes, but then he saw a big grassy area where he could run around and watch Tyler kick the ball...which was more entertaining than the water...

...until he found the swings! :)

"Jordy, smile!" (I wonder where he gets that face from!)

Jordy was having a good time!!! :)

Here are just a few other pictures that were taken around this time:

Tyler's work group had a BBQ at the CEO's house (or whatever his official title is- he's rich and owns a lot of the company). He had a pool and really nice patio furniture, so I was paranoid about letting Jordy just run around, but luckily Jordy had fun on his playground...

...so did Tyler! :)

Now- how am I NOT supposed to miss Utah after seeing this?! If you look closely, there is actually a double rainbow there...with gorgeous mountains in the background. Seriously- packing was not going so well when I saw this... :)