Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

Two weekends ago Jabin and I headed down to Enterprise, UT to his family's ranch, the Evans Beefmasters Ranch.  We left Friday when I got done with work at 5 and started our journey.  We stopped for some delicious In-n-Out and then at his aunt and uncle's house to pick up his brother and his fiance (Kaleb and Katie).  We then continued the trek down to the ranch.  We pulled into the huge town of Enterprise at about midnight and we headed to the Sleep-E Motel where Katie and I would be staying.  Enterprise reminded me of Byron, WY (for those of you who don't know where Byron is, if you blink, you might miss it).

cheese!!

We got up Saturday morning and headed to his grandparent's house for breakfast.  Every year the have a huge two week long excursion to move the cows to to the corrals and then to the new area where they will stay.  We were only able to be there for the weekend, but it was when they would be in the corrals and branding.  Jabin's dad, younger brother (Corbin), and younger sister (Donni) had been there all week, so we met up with them and headed to the corrals.  We saddled up a couple horses and went to meet up with the group as they brought the cows closer to the corrals.  Jabin and I helped move the cows the rest of the way to the corrals, which only ended up taking about an hour.  A lot of people think that since I am from Wyoming that I ride horses all the time, but that is just  not true.  I was quite excited to ride!

Evans Beefmasters Ranch

Donnie getting her horse ready

I am so ready for this...

They put me on Joe because he is getting old and is a good horse to ride.  After we got the cows into the corrals, we stopped for lunch.  Some of his family came and brought lunch to all of us.  After that we started working the cows and sorting the calves from the mamas.  This was quite the adventure...let's just say that my boots are officially broken in now! And they need to be hosed off.  After sorting the cows, the real fun began.  We had about 130 calved to brand.  I started off just watching and kind of helping getting the next group ready to go through.  Then I got recruited to really help.  I branded my first calf and after I did a less than adequate job at that, they had me help with the chute.  I did not want to man the header because I knew I would get harassed if one of the calves got away.  I manned the other part of the table that closes the chute and tips it on its side.

Katie, Donni, and Kaleb hanging out

branding a calf

Me and Donnie 

working hard...

It was fun to actually get into the action, despite all of the flying poop.  It was a long day, but it brought back some great memories.  We used to go to the ranch up in Montana and help brand cows.  This reminded me so much of the ranch and hanging out with my cousins up there.   After all day in the sun, dirt, and cows, we headed back to freshen up before dinner.  We had dinner at his aunt and uncle's house and played some cards.  Sunday morning we went to church with his grandpa and then went for a drive around the ranch.  We then started the long drive back to Logan.  I had so much fun playing cowboy on the ranch and loved getting to meet more of Jabin's family.  I think I passed the "ranch test" even though I wouldn't preg test a cow. Maybe next time...or not!

An Official College Graduate

Well, I did! It is official...I am a college graduate! This post is two weeks late, but things have been a little crazy lately.  On May 7, 2011 I graduated cum laude from the Jon M. Hunstman School of Business at Utah State University.  I actually finished classes in December, but this year they only had one commencement ceremony so I had to wait until May to "walk".  That Friday, my mom, dad, Jill, and the boys made it to Logan to party with me.  That night we went to eat at Firehouse Pizza to enjoy some delicious pizza and dessert.  We then headed to the hotel to take the boys swimming so they could get some energy out.

Saturday morning we got ready and headed up to campus.  I decided not to walk in the big graduation that they do in the morning.  For that, everyone meets on the Quad and then walks through campus to the Spectrum.  I didn't want to make everyone (and myself) sit through two graduation ceremonies, so I just walked in the Business School commencement.  We got there early and took some pictures outside before going in.  It was so great to finally be "graduating" even though I had been done with school for a few months.  It has been a long road full of late nights, early mornings, hectic schedules, too many tests, huge group projects, and countless other  tasks but it was definitely worth it.  Jon M. Hunstman donated $25 million to the business school a couple years ago, so he and his wife were there.  She spoke and then she invited him up to say a few words.  He is an amazing man and has done so much to help progress cancer research and now to help this business school.

After graduation, we headed to Hamilton's for lunch.  My roommate Andy also joined us.  It was very good food and so fun to have my family and friends there to celebrate with.  Jill took the boys back to the hotel for naps and my parents and I went to look for some furniture for my new apartment.  We found everything we needed at the first store and in less than an hour...that is pretty dang good for me!! We dropped our purchase off at my apartment and went back out for some more shopping and dinner at Cafe Rio. We went swimming again that night and had lots of fun with the boys!

Sunday morning we went to IHOP for breakfast then started moving my stuff from my old apartment to my new one.  It was so nice having extra help to make the moving process less stressful.  I truly appreciate all of the help from my parents and Jill and the boys.  After getting everything shuffled over to the new place, we went to dinner at The Beehive Grill.  They had to head back in the morning and I had to work, so we hit the sack pretty early that night.  It was so much fun having them here to celebrate with! I was so happy that they were able to come to Logan and spend the weekend with me.  They are amazing and helped me out so much.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout the years as I worked towards my degree.  It has meant the world to me and I could not have done it without you!!

New Job!!

On Monday I got a very exciting phone call...I got a job!  The whole story is a little longer than that so here it goes.  A month or so ago I sent my resume to a utility billing company, Conservice, that had a position for a billing manager.  They called me back a week or so later and wanted me to come in and do some skill assessments.  This consisted of formatting an excel spreadsheet, a 10-key number test, writing a response to a letter from a customer, and reading through information about the billing processes and then answering some questions about it.  I thought that I did very well and felt comfortable doing all the tasks.  Later that week they called me back for an interview. YAY!! I was so excited but nervous.

The interview was one of the most nerve-wracking situations of my life because it was me on one side the table with 5 interviewers on the other side just firing questions at me.  But amazingly enough that was the calmest I have ever been in an interview.  I felt comfortable with them and just gave them the best I could.  Here is a little background info--I currently work at a restaurant called the Beehive Grill.  I have worked there since they opened in June 2009.  It has been a great place to work because they were flexible with my schedule and always gave me the time off that I wanted (so awesome!!) The day before the interview my manager at work talked to me about training to be an opening Manager.  I was open with her and told her about the interview I had with Conservice and that if I got that job I would take it because it was full-time with benefits.  

A couple days later I got a call from Conservice while I was at work and they told me that they had filled the position but they anticipated a couple more positions would open up in the next couple weeks.  I called them back and told them to keep my resume and information on file for those positions.  I then talked to my manager at  Beehive to get more information about the manager position.  They just needed someone to start training as an opening Manager and they had one day in April that they needed a manager to work then after that it would kind of a back up position.  I decided to go ahead and start training because it was not a permanent position and would be good experience.  I also figured that if they ended up needing to hire another full-time manager then I would right in line for that position.  I did one day of training the first week and also work just regular shifts as a server.  I still had two more training shifts before the day that I would open as Manager.

Then...I got the call!  Conservice called me on Monday and offered me the job.  They wanted me to start training that next Monday, but would allow me to take the full two weeks if I needed to finish up at my current job.  I was so excited but so nervous to talk to my manager.  It all actually worked out perfectly.  If I put in my two week notice that day then I would still be able to work the Managing shift they needed me to cover for them.  I talked to my manager that night after work (I was so nervous for some silly reason!) and she was so excited for me!! She was just happy that I would be able to finish training and still work that day as Manager.  She also said that she knew I probably wouldn't be there for much longer since I had just graduated and all that.  Whew!! What a relief! So my two week notice was submitted on Monday and I only have two training shifts, two (possibly only 1) server shifts, and a manger shift left!!!! 

I have really enjoyed working at the Beehive, but it is definitely time to move on.  Beehive has been so great to me by always giving me the time off I wanted, which was a lot!! They were so good about giving me the shifts that I wanted and worked with my school schedule.  I always got along with the workers and managers and I was grateful for the opportunity to train as a manager.  They are all sad to see me leave, but are very understanding and supportive which is so great!! I am so excited to start this new job too. I will  be a billing manager and will have my own portfolio of apartment complexes that I will be in charge of.  It really seems like a great place to work with amazing people and wonderful atmosphere.  It will definitely be a change of pace going from waiting tables to a desk job.  I will definitely like the hours better...I will not miss having to close the restaurant or not knowing when I will get done with work.  It will be so nice to not have to deal with annoying people who are picky about everything, or cleaning up after other people's messy children!! 

I am finally truly entering the "real world" now that I have a "real" job.  It will be so great and I have been truly blessed to have this opportunity.  I know that everything has worked out the way it has for a reason and that the Lord has helped get me to this point in my life.  I can honestly say that I LOVE MY LIFE!!! I have so much to be grateful for and can't wait to see where it leads me next! So here's to a new adventure and saying goodbye to a wonderful chapter of my life.  It's time to grow up, I guess. :)

Jackson Hill Climb

This past weekend Andy, Hillary, and I traveled over to Jackson for the snowmobile Hill Climb.  Andy's sister and brother-in-law, Amy and Frank, were going and already had a room so we tagged along with them for the weekend.  We left Friday evening about 6:00 and were ready for a fun-filled weekend of hicks, snow, country music, and snowmobiles.  Saturday we got up and headed over the mountain, which was only about 2 minutes away.  At the bottom of the hill were a bunch of vendors, booths, and spectators watching the hill climb.  We walked around for a little bit then Andy, Hill, and I decided to take the ski lift up the mountain so we could watch it on the way up and also find a spot on the mountain to watch.

It was pretty cool riding the lift up and watching the snowmobilers ride underneath you trying to climb up the steep mountain.  Once we got to the top we tried to find a good spot along the fence so that we could watch them as they got to the top of the hill.  There were a lot of people up there and the only way you could see anything was if you were right along the fence.  Since we were on the top of a mountain, it was pretty steep and covered in snow, so the only way to move down to another spot was to slide.  This was the funnest part of the whole day, I think!  We would slide down a little ways and try to watch for a bit, then slide a little farther.  Amy and Frank eventually made their way up the mountain so we met up with them.  We found a good spot a little farther down the mountain and watched the climb for a while.

The crowd at the bottom of the mountain

Me and Andy riding the lift 

Jackson, WY

Hill found a cozy spot to rest and eat some snacks

One of the hill climbers on his way up

Andy and Hill watching the Hill Climb

The next part was the funnest thing! We had to slide all the way down the mountain, and I mean MOUNTAIN!  It was like a big snowy waterslide because there were grooves that had been formed from other people sliding down and they took you through the trees and down these little drop-offs.  I really wish that I had been able to video us going down the mountain because it was so much fun.  We got to a flat spot and had to walk over to where one of the ski runs was to finish sliding down.  There was a group of people getting ready to race down so we joined them.  It was pure craziness!  It started out fun and then we picked up a lot of speed.  As we tried to slow down, the snow would just spray up into our faces making it impossible to see and freezing our faces.  I was trying to slow down because I was flying down the hill, but I couldn't breathe because of the snow and ice flying at my face.  At one point I had turned completely sideways and was afraid I could just start tumbling down the hill.  Eventually we all stopped and just busted up laughing because our faces were covered in ice and snow!! It was so hilarious and I really wish we had videoed it.

This video was from one tiny little hill that we went down.  Sliding down the whole mountain was way more fun and bigger than this!

After that adventure, Andy, Hill, and I went back to the hotel and sat in the hot tub then got ready to go out to dinner.  We met up with Amy and Frank for dinner at The Merry Piglets.  It's a mexican restaurant and it is so yummy! Sunday we got up and had breakfast then walked around downtown and checked out the shops.  It had snowed that night so it was pretty cold which made walking around outside not too fun.  We headed back to Logan after that and I think we all had a super fun and relaxing weekend in Wyoming!  It is always fun to go to Wyo...even if my friends make fun of it! :)