End of Soccer--WAC Champs!

Soccer is over. :( It has been a really exciting season. Utah State won the WAC regular season championship, the WAC tournament championship and earned ourselves the program's first automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. We played at Auburn in the 1st round and lost 2-1. Somehow during all the craziness, I was able to attend my first ever Utah State football game! It was actually pretty fun....I miss watching college football! During the month of October and November, I was able to see friends and family when traveling with soccer. While in Hawaii, my friend Sierra Kenny came to visit me while the team spent the day at the beach! When we went to Idaho, I saw my good friend and old roommate, Christina, and her cute little family. They came to our game and her girls loved being able to run around...and it was their first sporting event! On our way home from Idaho, via Spokane, my cousin Paul, his wife and daughter joined me for dinner with the team! While in Fresno, I saw my old high school soccer coach whose daughter plays for Fresno State, and my good friend, Sara, drove down to our championship game from Stockton! When we went to Auburn, my friend, Chris, who used to coach at Auburn, drove down from Indiana for the game...even though he was cheering on Auburn, it was still fun to see him. This season was a memorable one...and its been great to be a part of a program that is making history and continuing to progress and get better! I am still working at the high school with as a special education aide...grateful for things that I take for granted everyday. Each day is a new experience, and I am learning a lot of patience, I'm learning to celebrate the little things, and I'm just happy to have the opportunity to give these kids a chance to experience everyday life just as you and I do on a regular basis. I am truly blessed and life is good! I am now at home ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family..everyone will be here except for Tyler's kids....its going to be a lot of fun to have the family together once again...this doesn't happen very often! I did get to see Tyler's kids on Friday...when we went to Goofy's Kitchen at Disneyland! We saw Goofy (obviously), Minnie Mouse, Captain Hook (my favorite of the night..and the kids' too!), Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Chip and Dale, and Pluto! Way fun with the kids!

Update

Things have been crazy busy in my life. Coaching college soccer for "part-time' pay when you aren't considered "part time" is a lot harder than it sounds. Putting in full time hours, but having to find another way to supplement income makes things difficult. But I have been blessed....three weeks ago, I was hired as a Life Skills Aide at Sky View High School in Smithfield where I work with students with severe disabilities. My hours are M-Th in the mornings and I am able to find a sub for when I miss for soccer. I can still recruit, and travel with USU soccer...and it will fill the financial void I was experiencing to try and make ends meet. This job has blessed me in other ways too...I work with kids who need help with the day to day things that the rest of us take for granted. It really puts things into perspective and has reminded me what's really important...things still get to me, but not to the magnitude they used to because at the end of the day, I can function mentally, emotionally and physically independently and at full capacity, and I have three jobs (USU, Sky View and Goalkeeper Academy) that pays the bills. The goalkeeper academy is basically me training local goalkeepers....some are through the actual academy and others are kids I have trained since I've been in Logan who are still with me! So aside from a very hectic schedule, my life is in pretty good shape.

Soccer has been a lot of fun this season....we started winning our first 8 games...8-0. That doesn't generally happen in college soccer! We are now 8-4-1....its been quite the ride. Conference is underway...I hope we can get back on a winning streak soon!!!! :)

Sara Evans and Rascal Flatts Concert!

Never thought I would ever catch myself in a cowboy boots and cowboy hat...but when Sara Evans and Rascal Flatts came into town, its hard NOT to get dressed for the occasion! I went down with two girls who also work in the athletics department at Utah State, and my friend Sara who drove down from Pocatello and caught the last part of the concert. I have seen Rascal Flatts before and they are great performers (obviously with great music!), but I have always wanted to see Sara Evans in concert....I absolutely LOVE her music. As a person and performer, she is quite impressive. It was really fun and good break from work...and life! :)

And So It Begins....

Preseason starts....TOMORROW!!!! I can't believe it is here already! I finished off my summer with USU camps last week where our numbers tripled from the year before, and then went recruiting in San Diego. I am really excited to start season again...always an exciting, yet stressful time of year! GO AGGIES!!!!!

Reflections of Texas

Texas.....it was a blast. I was exhausted and tired....but I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I love coaching and everyone told me that I would be so tired of camps by the time these six weeks were done, but I wasn't. I love being on the soccer field, I love helping kids learn new things to become better...I met some great people while I was there and had the opportunity to work with some wonderful coaches. I am so appreciative to the Texas Soccer staff who took a chance on me and as the 6 weeks went on, I was able to create a rapport with them...I was really impressed with how down to earth they all are, and you can tell that they love their jobs and do them well. I got some valuable feedback while I was there, and I feel like I grew in confidence as a coach, and I grew in confidence in coaching topics that I am not always asked to coach because my expertise is in goalkeeping. I remember in January that I was told that I am a very good coach but I need more practice coaching a variety of topics...and I feel like these camps and this time in Texas helped me in that sense. I am blessed to have this opportunity and was very much taken care of while I was there.

I was able to see two of my best friends, Sam Minty and Kassandra Schoaff-Eickstead. I appreciated even more their friendship, their support, and just how comfortable I am when I am around them. They are two people who have accepted me for all of my quirks and they are two people who have always believed in me.

While in Texas, I had another weekend off where I had the chance to come home for a family reunion and see my entire family! We took some family pictures, played on the beach...it was a lot of fun!


Now I'm back, getting back into the swing of things, excited to start another season of USU Soccer! Girls check in on August 2. Last week I worked camp at the UofU, and this coming week, USU has our camps. Our numbers have tripled since last year, and I am so excited for that. I am running camps this year at USU, and I have spent so much time over the last three months advertising, responding to phone calls and emails, and just getting things ready. My hard work is paying off...I wasn't so sure what the end result would be three months ago, but I am excited to see the growth in our camps and the support we are getting from our community!!!!

Dallas and Camps!

I am currently in the middle of my 3rd week of camp. I am actually really enjoying it and we aren't out on the fields ALL day. The way the schedule works, we get a little bit of a break each day. This week I am working the day camps and I am training the two groups of 13-17 year olds, and then I train the goalkeepers the last 45 minutes of the day. I have a 2.5 hour break inbetween the morning and afternoon session, which is enough time to rejuvenate, etc. Everyday, we have gotten new t-shirts to wear at camp...so technically I have enough shirts to last me for two weeks! Pretty sweet deal, for sure. It's also been good for me to be gaining experience coaching different topics each day and then being able to practice them or try new things each week.

This past weekend, I drove up to Dallas to see Kass and her husband, David. Kass and I met playing college soccer together and have been friends ever since. We had a blast. Kass and I went to the Stockyards in Ft. Worth and walked around, and even got to sit on a Longhorn steer! That was pretty cool. We also saw the movie Green Lantern and definitely had some downtime where we rented movies and just hung out. It was so good to see her and David. They have been such good friends over the years. I also had the opportunity to visit with my friends, David and Marie Hinckley, and their children. They just bought and moved into their first house this past Saturday! I went to church with them on Sunday then visited with them for a little bit after church. So good to see them. David was my home teacher when I lived in Provo and became a very good friend during that time. :)

This trip has definitely been a blessing in many ways...and I feel myself growing in ways I never expected to. Three and a half more weeks to go

Memorial Day and Austin, Texas

Over Memorial Day, I flew home to see my family. On Friday, I spent the afternoon with Tyler (I talked him into going to my favorite place to eat...BJs! And we shared three mini pizookies!!!). That night and Saturday morning, we spent some time with his kids. When we picked them up, Tyler told them that they were going to have some fun with Aunt Marla, and then Leah said, "Golden Spoon!" And Laura said, "Golden Spoon with marla" and all three started chanting at the same time, "Golden Spoon with Marla!" I know, I'm the cool aunt, what can I say? :) I had a blast with those three! On Saturday afternoon, Tyler and I headed to the condo where we spent the day with mom...and took naps, and enjoyed the warm weather outside, and Sunday, Mom and I just lounged around before heading home that night. Monday, Scott and Tyler BBQed steaks and I got to see my new niece, Madison Sophia!" She was born on April 27th! She is so cute!



A little over a week ago, I left for Austin, Texas...I have seen a little bit of it! I arrived here last Saturday night and stayed with my good friend, Sam Minty, his wife, Kim, and their 16 month old, Cameron...and Cameron is now my little buddy! Sam and Kim were great hosts! They made dinner and breakfast for me, we went to lunch on Sunday at a place called TacoDeli that has a huge list of tacos to choose from! Then on Monday, Sam and I went to explore a little bit of the city, including a park, a natural spring where the water is always 72 degrees, and the botanical gardens. and we went to this place in downtown called Hut's Hamburgers. THE BEST HAMBURGER I HAVE EVER EATEN!!!! After lunch we headed to Whole Foods, which had the BIGGEST dessert area I have ever seen!!! I had to take pictures! That night Sam BBQed steaks! SO GOOD! They totally spoiled me! On Tuesday, I packed up my stuff and Sam took me down to UT-Austin to check into soccer camp. I will be staying at UT for two weeks working the soccer camps. Sam made sure I was all settled, and then I was off to start work! My dorm room overlooks downtown which is pretty cool. I have really enjoyed the week. I had a great group of girls....SO coachable. My first night here, I had the opportunity to meet the head coach of Texas and his staff. Another staff coach and I were trying to find the coaches meeting and they all drove past on a golf cart and offered us a ride but they had to stop by their offices first. The head coach invited us up so we could see how they do things there....yeah...this is how they do things here...$$$$$$$$$!!! AMAZING facilities. WOW. And the football stadium....my mouth dropped open when I saw it. The Texas staff are very friendly, and so are the other coaches working the camps this week. Today, with my day off, Sam and Kim drove down from North Austin and they took me to lunch at BJs, then we went to a baby store so they could grab a few things for Cameron. When I got back, I did laundry, then I decided to go explore the UT campus a little and take a few pictures. I have five more weeks here!

Video of the Animals!

Here's a video of the animals I saw in Africa on the Game Drives! I hope I got all the names right! It was an amazing trip, I'm still trying to make sure it really happened! Getting back in the swing of normal life again!

Africa Animals

Johannesburg, Zambia, Botswana.....the last leg!

On Saturday, we drove from Kruger National Park to Johannesburg making some stops along the way to take pictures…and of course to go shopping!!! I got some good stuff….don’t ask me what I got now, I can’t remember..but at the time it was good! When we checked into the hotel, we went to dinner with Leon and Iris, and Anna and Marcia. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to them as they were not going on to Victoria Falls. It was a lot of fun to have formed this little group along the way. I am bummed with Anna gone, we became good buds on this trip and it was nice to have someone my age to chat with!

When we got to Zambia, it took us close to an hour just to get our visas and get through customs….well, the whole three counters they had in the airport for customs. Then we crammed ourselves into two little buses (25 on our bus) and drove to a village called Mukuni Village. I’m not gonna lie…it was pretty depressing. 7000 people living in thatched roof houses made of mud, stone and sticks. 3000 children are in the village….their clothes are torn, dirty, mismatched..they literally have hardly anything. We visited two families in the village, then went to a street market. Basically, there is no electricity and no running water here. The street market is made up of different vendors trying to earn money for their families. There is a king of this village, but I’m not quite sure what he does. As soon as the people selling stuff found out we were American, they wanted ridiculous prices. $25 for an elephant I could buy on the street for $5 (just an example). They would say things like, “if you don’t buy from me, my family will not eat for a week.” So I bought an elephant and a rhino made out of wood for an amount that I could’ve slashed in half….don’t worry, it was a lot less than $25…and then made sure my mom didn’t buy anything because it was all stuff that we could buy anywhere, even though we were told that the men in the village make everything that is sold there. I feel bad for the people, it was just a sad place to go. Very humbling...made my life seem like I am living the high life!

Today, we went into the country of Botswana to go to Chobe (choe-bee) National Park. After driving for 45 minutes, we went through the border (which took a good 30 minutes), then walked across the border and took small river boats over to the Botswana side. Then we went through border control there. These two countries are pretty much third world countries….I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been in a third world country before. It’s pretty sad. The people hardly have anything. We drove by a long row of trucks transporting goods across the border…the line went on for over three miles…and those drivers sit there and wait for anywhere from 2-4 weeks just to get across the border because there is one ferry that can take one truck across the river at a time. We saw tons of people wanting to cross the border for work, to buy things, or for whatever reason. They made the natives wait and had us cut in line to go through border control. We drove to Mufana Lodge, where we met up with the boat taking us on the river cruise. We saw Hippos, lizards, crocodiles, different kinds of birds, and then we went into the park and saw more giraffes, elephants (including two young elephants fighting), etc. The one highlight was seeing the little dung beetle pushing a ball of dung across the road…it may seem like that’s a very small thing but it was actually really interesting!

Tuesday morning my mom and I went on a Lion Encounter done by an organization that helps lion cubs prepare to be placed in the wild. We got to walk with four lions, pet them, watch them play, etc. It was actually a lot of fun…except the lady who took the picture of me and my mom cut off part of the lion, but you can at least see that we are petting something! Mom and I went back to the hotel, took a short nap, then we walked around the falls. We walked down to the Knife Edge Bridge….and got soaked. It was literally a downpour from the spray of the falls. It was actually a lot of fun. We walked around and enjoyed the scenery a little bit more, then went back to the hotel to get ready for our final excursion of the trip, a sunset cruise. We went up the river which splits the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. We saw more birds, crocodiles and hippos. We ended the night with a beautiful African sunset followed by an amazing African moonrise. It was a perfect way to end the trip. Now after flying 2 hours from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg, a 5.5hr layover in Jo-Burg, a 16 hour flight from Jo-burg to Atlanta, and now heading to Salt Lake City (yes, I am posting this from the airplane), this amazing trip has come to an end. ☹

Drive from Kruger to Johannesburg along the Panoramic Route



Zambia, Botswana, Chobe National Park


Lion Encounter, the Falls, Sunset Cruise