I Just Want to Dance with You

This is from one of my favorite musicals Oklahoma!

Every Wednesday night from 8-11, I head on over to country dancing on campus. It should be a rite of passage for all BYU-I graduates...I know I know...really? How hick can you be? What is so thrilling about being herded around the dance floor like cattle to a medley of the same country songs every week? It can't be that great...right? Ok, well it's a matter of opinion I suppose, but anyone who can handle living in Idaho for a couple of years should be able to enjoy at least one song of the country genre without cringing...right?

Well, I've been attending country dancing for a few semesters now- every Wednesday night. That's some dedication! The thing is, I haven't grown bored with it yet. Even when I don't get asked to dance, I get to watch people dance, which is the second best part (the best part is of course actually dancing!). I love to people watch, and watching people dance (or attempt it :) I find myself enjoying being a wall-flower for a song or two.

Usually the same people come every time...the same cowboys/nerds/think-their-too-cool for this guys (yet they come every week)/funny/friendly/awkward/interesting people come out. I found myself contemplating this as I watched a few of the "regulars" dance by last Wednesday night. One cowboy always looks off in the distance and rarely makes conversation with his partner, another can barely walk around the floor he's so enthralled in the conversation, a few always find themselves in the middle of the circle showing off their country swing moves. Once in a while you get a "new shipment" (as my friends and I used to say) of new dancers. Just enough to keep things interesting.

My favorites are the cowboy cha cha (typically danced to Neon Moon or My Maria both by Brooks and Dunn), country swing, and once in a while the polka (my favorite). Of course, the "more willing dancer" (name that movie!) makes a much better dance. I just hope they don't mind dancing with a grinning, out of breath, excited partner!

Those guys out there who know how to twirl a girl around the dance floor without making her sick have got the key. What girl doesn't want to twirl? If you can find a guy who knows how to dance with you, you are one of the luckiest girls out there!

Spring is Coming!!

I've spent my first winter here in Rexburg, Idaho and I cannot wait for the sun to actually shine down and feel it's warmth for once! It hasn't been as horrible as past winter survivors say the winters are, but it's a far cry from the California winters where I grew up! I mostly miss the green hills scattered with daffodils and the refreshing rainstorms. At home the flowers are blooming and the blossoms are out. Here the snow is just barely melting, revealing brown, dead grass and mud. Oh joy! At least it can only get better from here on out! (At least I hope so) One lesson I have learned here is to look at the little things that are beautiful and then that makes everything else better! Spring is on it's way and the first spots of color are beginning to appear all over campus.

This is one of the best times of year as are every other time when the weather is just beginning to change. We always look forward to the changing leaves in the fall, the first snows of winter and signs of Christmas, and the first hot day in the Summertime when everyone pulls out the sunscreen and it just smells like the beach. By the time the season is almost over, we are ready for a change of scenery. That's one thing that I am grateful for- the changing seasons.

Anyway, that's all for now! I promise next time I won't just talk about the age-old small talk topic of the weather!