Summer Break: A Precious Treasure

Yeah, so summer break is awesome. I figured it's about time for another blog post, and maybe time to document what we've been up to.

BYU-Idaho is not like other universities. In many ways, mostly good ways. One of its oddities is the Three Track System. Basically, by having three semesters, there's only 2/3 of the total student body on campus at any time, and the campus is almost never empty. Both of which allow the school to serve more students and drastically reduce costs. It also gives the unique Seven Week Break. The Seven Week Break is the gap between the end of Spring semester (Usually 3rd week of July) to the beginning of Fall semester (Usually 2nd or 3rd week of Sept.). And it is a magical time.

Blissful, really.

The produce section of the grocery store isn't crowded with gossiping groups of girls trying to decide if they want to pick out vegetables in case they meet boys in the store, or just skip straight to the cereal and milk. But even that's not really a big deal. The real beauty of the Seven Week Break is Time.

It's something I haven't experienced for quite a while. I don't have to be anywhere except church, besides an occasional work meeting every few weeks. And it's beautiful.

Jake is working as a drafter for a manufacturing company, and he loves it. They're experiencing a gap between projects though, so he hasn't had work this week. Prayers that work will come in soon would be appreciated. It will, we're sure, and he really enjoys working there. So that's good.

As for me, I've realized that I haven't grown out of being a homeschooler. Given vast amounts of free time, alone by myself in the apartment, I default to basically exactly what I spent my childhood doing. I get up early. Jake works at 6 am, so I usually get up at 5 with him, then go back to bed until 7 (because I can). Then I run or do strength training (Btw, I love my Crowley genes. Defined arms in two workouts!), shower, read scriptures, eat breakfast, and clean the house a little and do the dishes. If I have work, I'll do some editing for a few hours, then read a classic, watch some math videos on Khan Academy (which if you haven't heard of, you're missing out. Best educational tool ever!), watch some tutorials on cameras and Photoshop, do some Relief Society visits or phone calls, and maybe watch an episode of The Office so I feel like part of a real workplace. Then I might do something fun outside with Tina, or plan dinner. Jake comes home at 5:30; we have dinner and work on projects or do something with friends or watch a movie. We go to bed at 9:30 or 10 at the latest.

Ok, so it's not exactly exactly what I did as a child, but it's principally the same. I spend a lot of time reading or studying on my own. I've read

• This Boy's Life, by Tobias Wolff 
• Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
• The Book Thief, by Markus Zuzak 
• The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne 
• A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson
• "All My Sons" and "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller. 

So about a book a week all break (the two plays count as one book because they're short), or about 1,700 pages total. I've still got a week left, and I've got Running and Being by George Sheehan to get through. I probably could have spent the whole break studying one book, but that feels like school. And I do what I want. 

Besides our trip to Washington, we spent a two weekends with Jake's family for his nephew's blessing and a cousin's wedding, and we spent Labor Day weekend in Utah with my family. No pictures because I'm an airhead. (Hopefully my photography class will solve that. Hopefully.) But those were all super fun trips, and we got massively sunburned at a water park, because we're airheads, but it felt like summer initiation. 

Now that it's almost over, I'm starting to get ready to go back to school, just for the sake of routine and productivity. And boots and sweaters. And I'm really excited for my classes. It blows my mind that I'll graduate in four short months. But wahoo for an awesome last semester! And wahoo for a great summer!