He Said He Wanted to be Cultured...

As many of you know ballet has been an important part of my life for many, many years! I grew up dancing hours upon hours each week, spent summers at dance camp and even sacrificed my beautiful feet for this hobby of mine! Okay...so maybe the feet were never beautiful but still, pointe only made them more ugly!

So as you can imagine one of those things I had on my list of qualities needed in a future husband included being open to appreciating an occasional ballet! Now when I say appreciating I do not mean appreciating like my father did for years! Instead of a dozing date like my dear father was all those years he endured watching my ballets, I wanted a man who could at least pretend to enjoy the dancing along with me!

Well, a few years back when Broc and I weren't even dating but just going on dates, I invited him to accompany me to a ballet performance by one of BYU's ballet company's! You can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when Broc kindly informed me that he had never been to a ballet before but that he wanted to be cultured! So he accompanied me to ballet and that one simple night made me realize just how lucky I was to have this manly-man by my side!

So now it's been three years and I am glad to announce that that man of mine is STILL being cultured! I think I've trained him well because this year for Christmas without any prompting, that cultured man of mine got me tickets to the Washington Ballet! Way to be the best cultured husband any ballet dancing gal could ever hope for Broc! We enjoyed the flirtatious and outrageous Carmen, a personal childhood favorite a few weeks ago and it made me happier than happy! Here's to many more years of ballet watching ahead! Love you Broc!

Legacy!

I've always known that I was born into a wonderful family! My grandparents, my parents, my siblings! All amazing people! Well over graduation weekend I had the opportunity to see just how amazing my grandma and grandpa Merritt truly are! We had the unique chance to go on a little tour of Springfield, Virginia where my grandparents lived for 10 years as they raised their young family!My dad lived in Springfield from 6 to 16 years old! Well over those ten years, my grandparents did some amazing things! Lucky for me, we had time to go and see just how much of an impact my grandparents had on this small Virginia town they once called home!



The tour started at a little baseball field that has a lot of history! This little field was just that, a field and nothing more before my grandpa got a grand idea! For months he worked with a few other fathers to transform this shabby field into an amazing baseball field! My grandpa built that very concession stand that is still selling candy and goodies to many families! He built the back stops and dugouts and made this field a place for children and families to gather and enjoy the excitement of little league games for generations of time! How neat is that? When we drove up to the field there were literally hundreds of kids and parents taking joy in a pleasant Saturday afternoon at the ball field! How neat!



After a stop at the baseball field we were fortunate enough to swing by both my dad's Elementary school and Junior High School! That rock has been in front of the Junior High School for 50 years! It's been around as long as my dad! He remembers the year his class got to paint that rock with pride! Every year the 8th grade class gets to paint the rock! How neat to get a glimpse into my daddy's childhood!



We then swung by house number 8143 where my grandparents spent their 10 years! The same man that my grandpa sold the house to 37 years ago was still living there! He was kind enough to let us in to see most of the basement that has gone unchanged! My grandma was thrilled to see the basement wall she so carefully painted white, orange and black so many years ago! She was delighted that this act of love done for her children was still standing! Even more shocking was the framed picture on the basement wall, the bell my grandpa installed to wake my dad up in the mornings and the flower beds built by my grandpa! Oh and not to mention the ivy they planted a lifetime ago is still growing strong in the front yard! Talk about quite the experience!



All in all, this little walk down memory lane made me so grateful for the wonderful legacy my grandparents have left! Their actions from so long ago have impacted generation after generation and for that I must say I am eternally grateful! I love you grandma and grandpa! Thank you again for a wonderful graduation weekend and for the special opportunity you gave me to appreciate the legacy you have left! I must admit I am proud to call you both mine! :)