Our trip out West

We left on Good Friday for Las Vegas to visit Kyle's Grandma and returned this past Wednesday. It was truly one of the best vacations we have ever taken! Grandma's house is beautiful and it was so fun to wake up each morning to sunshine and 75 degree days. We spent our time with Grandma eating delicious food, going to a cool church for Easter, learning how to play video poker, doing a little gambling at some casinos, seeing Cirque de Soleil, visiting the Hoover Dam, visitng Lake Mead, and visiting the Grand Canyon. We even got to see Grandma win a Royal Flush at a huge casino on the strip called Treasure Island! She definitely has luck on her side. Here are some pictures that depict what a great time we had with Grandma.

Here's Kyle at the Hoover Dam.

This is the typical post card picture of the Dam. It's huge!

This is an engineering feat if you ask me. They are building a TALL bridge over Lake Mead (above the Dam) so cars need not drive through the dam to get from Nevada to Arizona.

Kyle and I decided to go hiking on a trail around Lake Mead. Isn't it gorgeous?

This is the view from Grandma's back yard. The fountain is so fun and I think its so great that you can see both Las Vegas AND the mountains!

This one is of Grandma in the back yard. I think it was a candid shot.

Kyle and Grandma on our first night at the casino.

Happy Easter!


The flower garden at the Bellagio.

Walking around on the Strip.


We left Grandma at Treasure Island for 40 minutes and she won the Royal Flush!


We've arrived at the Grand Canyon!

Kyle's working on his photography skills. What a beautiful place!


Look how close you can get to the edge. Yikes!

Hiking down one of the trails. See the snow and ice? I was pretty freaked about this.

These crazy people are about a foot away from falling to their death over the edge. It made me nervous to look at them.


Breathtakingly gorgeous! Sunset at the Grand Canyon.

Kyle and I had the BEST time and it was all possible because of Grandma. Thank you so much for being so kind and generous to us and for helping us plan this trip. We love you and can't wait to come and visit again!

And the week of craziness begins...

The snow is starting to melt outside and thoughts of spring are starting to be in the air. Tomorrow night, I have my class at CSU until 8:00. On Tuesday morning, I will be back at school at 4:15 a.m. to leave for the 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. I went last year and it was a fun but not restful time. I am lucky to have many good students on my bus so I think it will be a good trip. We are returning on Thursday evening and then on Friday morning, Kyle and I will be leaving for Las Vegas to visit Grandma Cox. We are looking forward to that so much and we're hoping that its much warmer there than it is here. Let the traveling begin...

The HUGE snow storm

On Friday afternoon, the snow started. This continued through the night and all day on Saturday. We now have about 20 inches of snow on the ground. Its hard to believe that it was 68 degrees just a week ago. Kyle shoveled the driveway 4 times yesterday and it still wasn't enough to keep up with the snow. Riley has enjoyed jumping over Kyle's snow piles. Today it was sunny and it gave us time to dig out. Here are some pictures of our house.

The idea of Nation

In my class last week, we got into a huge discussion about the concept and importance of nation. I have thought about the idea of nationalism quite a bit since I studied music history in college. When I think about how I define myself in terms of culture, I have always thought "I'm an American." What does that really mean? Why is the idea of nationalism so important to us? Why is music so centered around the idea of nation?

The first thing that we must consider is the definition of nationalism and the definition of nation. The best definition that I could find for nation is "a politically organized body of people under a single government." I found 4 different definitions for the term nationalism: 1. patriotism (love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it), 2. the doctrine that your national culture and interests are superior to any other, 3.the aspiration for national independence felt by people under foreign domination) 4. the doctrine that nations should act independently (rather than collectively) to attain their goals.

These definitions left me a little more disturbed than satisfied. I could agree with the above definition of nation. However, if I went into a particular country and tried to characterize certain traits of that nation, I believe we would be at a loss with this definition. For example, I could tell you the different nationalities of Americans and describe our democratic government, but each region of the nation has different qualities and traits that do not necessarily match up. I find the definitions for nationalism particularly unnerving. As a music teacher, I follow the standards set by the national organization MENC which states that all students should know the words to the "Star Spangled Banner." I teach this song and "God Bless America" each year and make sure my students know every word in order to be contributing musical members of our American culture.

However, the more I read into the concept of nationalism, the more weary I become. If a country emphasizes the importance of nationalism too much, this creates moral problems. This belief in nationalism implies that certain characteristics are essential and that each cultural background is already uniquely different. Some call this essentialism. In essence, ethnicity predetermines (speaking musically) what you compose. The concept of nation seems to make no sense logically now. Should we be concerned about the amount of nationalistic values we instill in our children? How far is too far?

No School Again - Day 3

Yes, its true. Now we have to make up 3 days more in June because we have missed 8 days of school so far this year. As far as my update from yesterday with the car, I am actually quite happy with Volkswagen. I took my car in to the dealer on a moment's notice this morning and they repaired my radio, washed my car and had it back to me in 10 minutes. All for FREE! I take back what I said about the car yesterday. I am still happy with it.

I have been doing more reading for my class and I have some interesting questions to share. You can look forward to that later on today. I have all of our tax information gathered and ready to go so I will take care of that today and I am going to the beauty school to get my hair done this afternoon before another wave of snow hits us this evening. I miss my students and if we have to use music on the concert next week, so be it.

Stupid car

Two days ago, my radio/CD player system in my car just decided to stop working. This is the second time this has happened THIS YEAR. Needless to say, I am a bit peeved at my Volkswagen. Whose radio really just quits? So, now I will drive to the sound of my own thoughts until I can take it to the dealer again. Grrr...

No school again

I am home again today because all of Madison lost power in yesterday's snow/ice storm. I spent the entire day yesterday cleaning our house, taking down snowman-themed items (yes there is still snow outside...I'm just trying to think about spring) and once again procrastinating my research for my paper. I am actually a little sad that we don't have school today because my spring concert is just one week away. I always get a little leery of their memorization of the music before each concert so I like to spend the last few days really working the nitty gritty aspects of the repertoire. But, the good part is that I can do some more research today and meet Kyle for lunch at Quizno's. Mmmmm...

Ice day

No school for me again today. Last night, we had a LOT of wind and freezing rain that coated every surface with a thick layer of ice. This then changed over to snow and made for a big commuting mess. Riley and I are home together again today and I think he is either getting extremely lazy or just plain bored. He is such a cuddly friend. Only 15 more days until we go to visit Grandma Cox in Las Vegas. We can't wait!

My cousin is on ESPN today!

Congratulations to Lindsay on winning 2nd place in the National Varsity Cheerleading Competition in Orland, Florida! She will be on ESPN2 today at 3:00. Here are 2 pictures from the competition. In the group photo, Lindsay is in the front row on the far left and she is the highest "E" on the other photo. We are proud of you!

New template

I was starting to get tired of looking at my pink background and thought my blog needed a face lift. Hence, spring-like green. Also, I am procrastinating my paper research. Can you tell?