~Laura Ann~

2010-09-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I last posted (broken camera-BUT it's fixed now!)

So I'm back in Moscow at the University of Idaho, and loving it as much as ever! This last weekend I had a great Labor Day Weekend!

My Boyfriend and I went to Coeur d'Alene. His Aunt and Uncle took us around the lake and up the river on tier boat-it was so much fun!Then on our way back we stopped off in a little town, St. Maries, for their annual Paul Bunyan Days celebrating the logging industry. It was a fun little fair then they had an amazing firework display! Here are some of the fun pictures I took (in random orders because I'm having issues changing them around!)

~National Convention~

2009-10-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

Yes.... I am indeed a has-been. I should be pretty well done with FFA... but I can't. What can I say, it's one of my passions. So this year I went, once again, back to the National FFA Convention. This year, however, I was not competing, nor was a delegate for Idaho. I just went to help out with the Colliget FFA. While there though, I made sure to enjoy myself. Here is the stage when we went to the opening session.

The first day I got in I didn't have much to do. So I played! This is at the NCAA Museum. Jared, a state officer from this year, and I are posing with the "Flying Wedge".... football historians should know what that is...
This is the hotel we stayed in. It has 20 floors, plus a resaurant with a rotating floor at the top. (Some friends and I made sure to check that out... it was really cool)

One of the keynote speakers we got to see and listen to was Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. It was really interesting to hear what he had to say. I really enjoyed it.

A kind police officer pointed this sign out when he saw I had a camera in hand. He said I needed to take a picture with it. It is a pretty awesome and massive sign.

Samantha and I took advantage of the fact that the State Capitol Buliding of Indiana was just a block away from our hotel. So we went and took a self guided tour... :)

This is the group of CFFA members who came from the U of I to help out with the Parliamentary Procedure event. It was fun to get to know them better!

I'm kind of nerd... and I LOVE this massive gavel!!!! It was just amazing...

When everyone participating took the written exam I thought it was sooo cool that you could see all the states across the jackets. Ohhh that beautiful blue courdoury jacket... :)

The other reason for my travels back to Indianapolis was to recive my American FFA Degree. Only 2% of FFA members recive this degree. It is the highest honor of membership bestowed upon members... basically, I'm kind of a big deal in the FFA... haha!

Here are some of the other BIG DEALS of the FFA... Samantha, Valerie, Stephen, and me.
Oh how I miss my blue jacket and all the bubbly FFA members. I'm so glad I was able to make it back for this years national convention! Yay for all those FFA nerds out there who can't get enough of FFA, even after they're a has-been.

2009-09-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Wow... I haven't written for awhile... so I guess it really is time for a quick update!

First of all, I'm back at college in Moscow at the University of Idaho. YAY! I still live in my sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. It's nice to be back up here with all my friends. Also I'm a senator on our student government this year. So far, I've loved it! It's been great! Oh and classes are okay too... :)

Also, I'm no longer dating Sean... now I'm dating his friend Mikkel! haha... funny how that works out, huh. This is Mik:Since being to school I have done a few really fun things! A few weeks ago some friends and I drove over to Spokane one evening to go meet up with our friend who attends Gonzaga and went to a concert at the Spokane Fair. It was a Josh Gracin concert. He was a very good live singer! I was impressed...Then we went back to drop of our Gonzaga friend. While there we (as in I) decided to be the crazy Mormon running around a Catholic campus taking lots of dumb pictures! It was great! Here I am with good ole Bing!

Another fun adventure was going to Seattle this past weekend with my Mom and sisters!!! We met up with our Aunt and Uncle and had a wonderful time!!!! We played all day on Friday, and on Saturday went shopping. Then, the best part of it all, we went to WICKED!!!!! It was absolutely amazing!!! I loved it soooo sooo sooo sooo sooo sooo soooo much! Basically that is what I have been up too... Life is good, school is great! It's just kind of weird to think that I'm a sophomore in college... But hey! I'm not complaining! :)

Fun Weekend!

2009-07-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I went on a fun little road trip! My boyfriend, Sean, and I went to Salt Lake City for his mission president's homecoming!
We took off on Saturday afternoon after Sean's dance competition at BYU-Idaho, and drove non-stop. When we got to Salt Lake we went to his Aunt's house. We had talked forever, got acquainted, and had dinner. After that we went to my cousin Bethani and her husband Darnell's house just a mile away. We got to see there cute new home they bought not to long ago and chatted with them for a while.
Then we met up with one of Sean's old mission buddies for the evening. On our back to my cousin's house for the night, we got off a wrong exit, then our handy-dandy GPS re-routed us on what had to be the LARGEST loop of all the highway systems in Salt Lake City. Finally, we got it right and made it back to Bethani's house a half an hour later than what we should have.
The next morning we got up, dressed up, and set off to find the church building in Holladay, Utah, where his mission president would be speaking. We arrived about an hour early, to find MANY return missionaries already filled the foyers. I just kind of stood back and let Sean run around like a little boy at a candy shop- so excited to see everything/everyone he loved for two good years of his life. Occasionally he would grab my hand and use me as eye candy for all his single R.M. friends to be jealous of. haha!
It was so much fun to see about 50+ missionaries from the Washington D.C. South Mission come to support there Mission President and see him again as he returned home. My favorite part was when they had all the missionaries present stand up and sing "Called to Serve" for the full overflowing sacrament meeting.
Overall- it was a super fun weekend meeting so many people and just hanging on Sean's arm. The car ride was a lot of fun too! Not only did we get to talk a lot, but singing some of our favorite songs at the top of our lungs with the windows down was great! (I'm talking songs from Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge, and some A Capella CD).
Now if only I didn't forget my camera to take some pictures..... I'll have to work on that... haha

Babysitting Adventure

2009-07-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

The other day all the family went to the Idaho Falls Temple to be with Kylee, my brother Adam's wife, as she went through the first time. Meanwhile, Rachel and I had babysitting duty. We too the two little munchkins out to a fine dinner at Wendy's, then went and played at the park. We took just a few pictures of them enjoying dessert, and they made me laugh. So I thought I'd share the joy of kids and frostys.

Tanner enjoying licking the spoon

Kailynn still eating her fries

Here Tanner is really getting into licking his spoon, and Kailynn is putting fries in the frosty. Most of the time she would just drop them in it for us to find later. Some she actually ate.

Tanner eating a fry he found in the frosty, thanks to his darling cousin.

It was a pretty interesting time taking these two out for dinner. Maybe too much work... but wee had a fun time, and lots of laughs. So did everyone else in Wendy's that evening.

Summer Update!

2009-07-02T21:03:00.001-07:00

Since being home from school it seems like life has slowed down a bit, so I fail at updating my blog.(Also, I lost my camera battery, but finally got a new one today!) But now that a few things have happened, maybe I can give a quick update!

First of all, I'm unemployed. That's what happens when you are home for just 3 months in a tough economy. Well, I guess I'm working on the farm still, so I can say I'm employed by Clark Farms. Yay for raking and hauling hay! :D

Next, I do miss the FFA a lot, and it makes me sad that I'm a has been. haha!

Also, my birthday was June 21st, Fathers Day, and I turned 19! It's weird to think I'm almost 20. haha!

And finally the most exciting thing.... I have a boyfriend! YAY! Finally some fun for the summer! His name is Sean Rochford. He is from Montana (and is oddly convinced it's the best place on earth... hmmm...) He is a returned missionary of the Washington D.C. South Mission, and currently a student at BYU-Idaho. We met at country dancing a few weeks ago. He's a great guy, and a lot of fun!

This is us before we went dancing last night. :D Aren't we just adorable.... haha!

Anyways, that it basically summer so far. Before long I'll be headed back to Moscow for my Sophomore year! YAY!

Theta Chi Cruise

2009-05-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had sooo much fun! One of the fraternities up here, Theta Chi, had a function this weekend called Cruise. We went to Couer d'Alene and goofed around for a while. Then we changed and got all dressed up for the evening. Our group went out to dinner at this Japanese place called Bonsai Grill. It was pretty interesting, and very tasty. Then we boarded our boat at the Couer d'Alene resort and cruised the lake. Meanwhile, the DJ played music and we danced all night! Here are some pictures!

Here Sarah and I are after getting ready and previous to being wind blown and getting rained on! Unfortunately it rained for most of the day, but we still made it up to the upper deck for a while, it was a little chilly! Good thing the lower deck is closed in!

This is a picture of all of the girls from my house that got asked to Theta Chi Cruise. There are a lot of us! (must mean we're a pretty awesome group of girls! :D)

This is Mason, my Big Bro in the Greek System. He is super cool! I work with him too! We're attempting to look gangster! haha, funny funny!

This was my date, Davey. We were set up so we didn't really know each other, but we still had fun!

This is all the other girls in my group. All from my house, Kappa Alpha Theta! YAY! Overall, it was a great weekend and I had a lot of fun cruisin' the lake in Couer d'Alene! :D

Date a Theta

2009-04-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

So my friend and I were talking about our greed houses and how much cooler mine is than his. (well at least that is what I was saying...) So since we were at work and not doing much, he looked up my sorority on Urban Dictionary.com, an interesting place. This is what it said under Kappa Alpha Theta:

The most classy and fabulous group of sorority girls you will ever meet. Not only are they beautiful, smart, and funny, but they have charisma and grace. Where other sororities falter, you can always count on Theta to set the bar higher!!!

"DATE A THETA"

When my son first left for college,

his dad gave him advice for life:

you can date each and every Kappa

But bring home a THETA for a wife.

You can party with the Tri-Delts,

and it's fine to date a Zeta,

but when it's time to marry,

be sure to find a THETA

Chi O's can be on your agenda,

and Pi Phi's are fun for a date,

but never, ever forget

that you'll want a THETA as your mate.

We want you to enjoy your college years

and give all the sororities a spin.

But never buy a ring unless

KAPPA ALPHA THETA is on her pin.

During your four years of college,

you'll go from one house to another,

but take the advice of your smiling ol'dad

and bring home a THETA to your mother.

The first Greek letter fraternity for women is only Kappa Alpha Theta!!!

Here are some of my Theta sisters! :D I love us!

LIFE DOES GO ON AFTER FFA!

2009-04-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

So I had heard from many people that there is life after FFA. I didn't believe it.... I was also told that state office wasnt' everything, that it wouldn't even be one of the greatest things I did. I also didn't believe that... well I still don't really... BUT I have found out that life REALLY DOES GO ON! Now our state conference was just last week, but lets just say I was preparing for having so much extra time after conference was over ahead of time. I knew I would need something to keep me busy. SOOOOOOO... I ran for a spot on our student government's senate here at the University of Idaho.
My friend, Stephen Parrott, and I decided to run our campaigns together. (Yes he is also one of my state officer teammates) Another one of our friends (also a former FFA member) who loves photography volunteered to take pictures and put together these little things for us that were displayed on Facebook. I think they are kind of cool. (even though Stephen and I feel we weren't the most photogenic that day...)

Anyways, we didn't campaign very hard because we were getting ready for our state conference and doing all that FFA stuff, but we still put forth a small amount of effort. We hanged two banners, talked to people, made a Facebook group, and told our friends to say good things. For the most part, we relied on word of mouth.

The results were announced last night. I did receive a seat on the Associated Students of the University of Idaho Senate. Stephen, however, did not. It's okay though. He is currently in a board position as the Director of Community Relations, and is perfectly fine with keeping that job a bit longer! Also, Samantha Perez, my good friend from high school (and FFA buddy), won a seat on senate!

Long story short, there is a life after FFA. I was Madame Reporter for Idaho FFA, now I'm Senator Clark for ASUI. I think that is something I can deal with.... :D

(Please note though, most everyone I mentioned was also involved in FFA. So even though we've outgrown the jacket, we'll never outgrow the experiences we had and people we met.)

Joining the PSO Club... Now I'm a Has-Been

2009-04-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

For the past year my life has been consumed by the FFA Organization. The Idaho FFA Association to be exact, as I served as the Idaho FFA Reporter for 2008-2009. This past week was our State Leadership Conference. It was so much fun! We, the state officers, got to go on business and industry tours before the conference started, we were on a local radio show, we got to run the conference, gave out awards, gave our retiring addresses, and installed the new team of officers. Then we were given our PSO pin- Past State Officer. It was a LOT of fun, yet a little sad.

Here is my team outside of Idaho Milk Products that we were doing a business and industry tour at when the fire alarm went off. So we posed with the firetruck. No worries, it was kind of a false alarm. Better safe than sorry though, right!?

From left to right we have, Kelsey Day, President. Above here is Katie Mosman, Secretary. Then Whitney Tuckett, Treasurer. Stephen Parrott, Vice President. Kristin Myers, Sentinel. Laura Ann Clark, Reporter (That's me!)

Throughout the conference (that lasted 6 sessions spread out over 3 days) we as officers give our retiring address. Basically, it's out moment in the spotlight. The final speech we give as officers trying to inspire others, and let people know how we were inspired. After we give our retiring address we take off our jacket and hang it up. Here we all are after the 6th and final session, officially retired. (Jealous I can say I retired before the age of 20!?! haha!)

Here is the team after the conference, in regular clothes (it was sadder changing out of my blue corduroy jacket than you think. Pretty sure I cried. Well I cried all week practically. haha, we all did, even Stephen, our lone man. Even in our plain clothes though, we still got to hold up our banner that we all signed after the conference. Our Theme this year was, "Dream, Dare, DO". Those are the little words in the stars above the guy on the banner. We really enjoyed our theme, and our year to leave a mark on the FFA.

And now I have to show off my really cool Gonzaga shirt! My blonde buddy, Kristin, goes to Gonzaga and we all tease her constantly and try to get her to come back to the University of Idaho where she should be with us. So she got all of the team a Gonzaga T-shirt! haha, we love it! It was the first shirt all of us wore after we took off official dress.
Finally, here is a little video of what is called our Final Tribute. Feel free to check it out. It has lot of pictures of us throughout our year and each officer takes time to thank the people who have made the biggest difference in our lives. It is a long video, but kind of fun to flip through for a minute or two. (My tribute part is the second part, so like 2/6 of the way through! :D)

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me and my team throughout the year. Mostly thanks to all the Idaho FFA Members who made this year worth it! Thanks for being there and welcoming us to all of the events you guys had. I hope that we have inspired at least one of you the way that you all have inspired and touched us. Thanks!

Laura Ann Update!

2009-03-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

So I once again have failed in keeping this thing updated very well, but I try occasionally! I figure that not everyone knows whats going on with me, so here is just a little update!

This last week I officially switched my major. It was formerly Agriculture Industry Management and Communications, and now it is Business Management and Human Resources with the emphasis in Human Resources, and I'm am still getting my minor in Public Relations.

FFA stuff is keeping me really busy this month. My spring break is next week (14th-22nd) and for most of it I will be in Oregon attending there State FFA Conference, and helping out with events, and I also get to be a workshop presenter. I'm really excited for that!!! Also, a month from today will be the kick off of the Idaho FFA State Conference- YIKES! I'm currently busy memorizing my parts of our three day 65 page script, award and degree ceremonies, and my retiring address speech. I'm even more excited for that. Also, this last weekend I attended the DECA State Conference as a workshop presenter and chaperon. (I feel so grown to say that! haha) It's been lots of fun!

Also, I am trying to get really involved here at the University of Idaho! Currently I am serving as the parliamentarian for the ASUI Senate. ASUI is the student government here at the U of I. It stand for the Associated Students of the University of Idaho. It's a lot of fun to be parliamentarian, and I love using parliamentary procedure. But of course, being parliamentarian I don't get to talk and debate, and voice my opinion. So this semester I am running for senate! I don't actually get to start campaigning yet, but I'm excited to start after spring break!

Other than that, I am just your typical college student who goes to class, goes to work, tries to get enough sleep, and does homework while playing on facebook all day!

2009-02-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

So I've been told that I never update my blog so people can't keep tabs on me. Well I don't think it'd be fun to see pics of my studying my little heart out, going to classes, and working. Since I don't do too much else (besides FFA, but I have already let you all see a lot of that I suppose) so I decided to go find some random pics on Facebook, (yah, I know, pathetic) that I have been tagged in from other peoples pictures and put some of them up some explainations! So here it goes!

This picture was actually taken earlier this year, in October I do believe. This was the night that we after our Big/Little night. For those of you who may not know what that is, it's a Greek thing. In the Sororities and Fraternities up here there are a lot of people. So after being in the house for a while, everyone kind of gets to everyone else- our sisters. We then get placed with "Big Sisters". (Different houses have different ways of putting people together.) You get your Big after being the house for a little while. So next year when we get new freshmen coming in, I will get my "Little Sister". Here in this picture we had all just found out who our Bigs are. My big is Ashley (Not in this picture). She is super nice and I love her! The girl next to me in the grey hoodie is my "Twin Sister"! Basically, my big got two littles! And just like real family's, we have a family tree. The other girls in the picture are cousins and second cousins! (Complex, I know, but it's my Greek family tree!)

This picture has more of my family in it! This is most of us that are still in house, or on campus. My pic is the girl right behind me. Her Big (My Big Big- like a grandma I suppose) is right next to her in the brown jacket. And some of my aunts are in there and more cousins!

Here we have a picture of some of the gals at a sisterhood activity. We are in our dinning room painting bed tags. (We sleep on "sleeping porches". basically its a big room with lots of bunk beds in it) That way we can know who sleeps where if we have to find someone or wake them up!
This is me and Amanda!

This picture is actually very recent. I'm actually thinking this was Friday night... so two nights ago. We went out that night to a fraternity- Alpha Kappa Lambda. For some reason I look like I just stepped out of the 80's. haha!! It was super fun!
From left to right we have, on the back row- Karen Margaret, Emily, Michelle, and Amanda. On the front row there is ME! and Montanna. (Yes that is her real name.)

This picture has nothing to do with my sorority, but I was tagged by Kristin and I love it. For one of our more recent FFA events last month our state officer team went on some business and industry tours. At the United Dairymen of Idaho they gave us milk. Kristin and I were really excited to get a dairy product in our favorite color, PINK! Yahoo for the blondes on the team! haha!

So hopefully I will have something fun to update you all with here in the new future! But until, maybe this random pictures from facebook think will work out! I had fun finding and explaining them anyways!

"Oh so this one time on a chapter visit..."

2008-12-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

Every time I say that phrase I get laughed at. My roommates and all my friends say that it's one of my often used phrases. It how I start out most of all my stories. So I decided to start this entire post out the same way!

For being a state officer for FFA I get a lot of really great opportunities. One of which is doing chapter visits. I get to go around to various high schools that have FFA programs and put on workshops for the students. A lot of the workshops I do are about the FFA Organization, and the great opportunities involved. One of my other favorite workshops is about communication. It gets students involved, and never fails to get everyone laughing. Not only do I get to meet lots of awesome people and do all this fun stuff, I get to travel with some of my favorite people!!! (The other state officers!!!!) So here are some pictures of what I do on my chapter visits:

Oh the joys off the FFA, and my amazing chapter visits that I so enjoy... maybe next post I'll tell about how Stephen, Mr. Vice President, got us lost on our way to a chapter visit. ha ha!!!

College 101: Random Road Trips

2008-12-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

So this past weekend my friend Stephen, a fellow FFA State Officer, and I decided to take off to Seattle for the weekend to get away and have some fun (while working on a little FFA stuff if we were to get the chance). We took of Friday after our last class, went and stayed with some of his relatives, and got back around midnight on Sunday night. Check out some of our adventures!

First off, the Ferry:

Second, we have Idaho kids in the BIG CITY:

See that lit up sign in the background? After further inspection we realized what that was....
WHAT THE DEVIL!?!?! YOU DON'T FIND THAT IN MENAN!

Finally, our sushi experiment:
(this may have needed a post of it's own! haha!)

I have Uncle Brian and Aunt Kathi to thank for this delightful opportunity at Sushi Land in Renton. Oh what an adventure.... Here goes the first bite of... who knows what!?!

As you can likely guess... whatever that was that we put in our mouths was... interesting to say the least. Somehow Stephen managed to swallow it quickly (maybe whole!?) But a good 5 minutes later this was still me....

Lets just say that was really really really chewy!!!

Here is me, failing at using chopsticks, so I used my fingers to place the sushi on the chopsticks... I'm a white girl (one of the four white people, and the only blonde in the entire restaurant not to mention) who was raised on a cattle ranch people!!! So you can just cut me some slack!
This dish was better consumed without viewing...
Oh and Aunt Kathi... she's not a fan of sushi....

Overall, it was a great weekend! If only I had pictures of me driving and freaking out in 5 or 6 lanes of traffic, Stephen attempting to calm me down while giving directions and figuring out the map, us eating Tai food the night previous our sushi dinner, our reaction to a 9 story Macy's department store, us finding the ferries, and Pikes Place Market. But after this little trip, it got me thinking... taking off on random road trips is a pretty good idea.... next trip NEW YORK CITY!!!! (ha ha... I wish...)

~Roller Disco~

2008-11-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

So this past Saturday I went to a Roller Disco! My friend James from the Fraternity next door, Theta Chi, asked me to come along with him. So of course I said yes! (Who turn down dressing up like you're from the 70's and then go roller skating!!!) Friday we went shopping at Goodwill and Ross to find us some fabulous 70's clothes! Here is what we found:

My $2 sunglasses and $8 dress

Not sure how much his stuff was, but yes, those are girl dress pants!!! Ha ha!!!

Then here we are the roller rink skating the night away!!! (I think we skated until 12:30!!!)

Here are some girls in my house... and one really confident Theta Chi Boy!

These are all of the Kappa Alpha Theta girls who went to the Roller Disco! (And a guy in sparkly nylons who somehow snuck into the picture...)

And here is whole group of us! It was a pretty fun and exciting night!!!

National Convention!!!

2008-10-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

FFA- they excitement just never seems to stop! Two weeks ago was the National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana! (It has taken me awhile to post cause I've been trying to catch up on School work!) Early Monday morning we left Moscow and arrived at the Spokane airport were we flew to Indianapolis, Indiana. It was a really great trip, and here are some pictures of the week!

Excitedly awaiting take boarding.... we waited a long time! But we had fun while we waited!

Can you guess which one is mine!?! Ha ha!!!! We knew when our luggage arrived by the polka dots!

We're on the plane and ready for take off!!! We're leavin' on a jet plane!!! la la la! (We sang that song on our way to the airport...)

You can't see it that well, but that is the Limo that picked us up at the airport! :)

Some of the sponsors of our Delegate Luncheons, and there keynote speakers

Katie and I bearing the Idaho State Flag for the parade to kick off the first general session

They block off this street for FFA members to walk down re-name it FFA Way for the week!

Our group, minus Katie our Secretary, going out for dinner!

Look at all the blue jackets flooding out of the Conseco Field house!

Some of the entertainment- the top female escape artist in the world!

Some of our favorite vehicles at the career fair and show!!!!

The new National Officers for 2008-2009

Us down in front of the stage in our Delegate seats (We had our seats reserved right upfront!)
By the end of the week, we were exhausted.... We were sad we had to leave, but excited to go back to school, where- surprisingly- we get more sleep and are less busy! But what can I say... we miss being at the National FFA Convention.

University of Idaho Ag Days 2008

2008-10-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was extremely busy!!! It seems like every thing always accumulates a hits at the same time... and I've had 2 months of non-stop go! That just must be the college lifestyle...

Anyways, this weekend was Vandal Preview- for high school seniors to check out campus (I work in New Student Services, which was hosting that event... life was busy at work!!!) It was also Dad's weekend (Daddy and Momma, and Rachel came clear up to Moscow to see me!!! It was so fun!!!) and last, but not at all least- the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences was hosting its annual Ag Days for middle school to high school students. So of course, as and Idaho FFA State Officer, I had the privilege of helping out!

On Friday out State Officer Team put on a communications workshop! It was so fun interacting with the students. Then, later that night was the Night at the Rec. Many of the students got to stay the night at the rec. Of course who actually sleeps much when there are activities going? We got to hang out with students, and of course bond as a team... Stephen being the only guy often feels the team love... ha!We were able to observe and join into a lot, including: volleyball, dodge ball, basketball, movies, and my favorite... ROCK CLIMBING!!!! Our officer team could not resist but to climb the largest rock wall at any college campus nation wide!!!We basically had a really great time! We were doing this about midnight... who doesn't have fun rock climbing at midnight!?! ha ha! So basically we were up till about 3:00 a.m. Just to turn around and be up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready for our early day with more Ag Days Events at 7:00 a.m.

Overall, it was a very eventful weekend! And very enjoyable! I almost felt like I was living a double life. Check out my mom's blog for the other Laura's weekend... ha ha! But for now, I'd just like to say that we have decided the State Officers need some more adventures... perhaps the next adventure for the State Officers will be skydiving.... Oh I do hope so! ha ha!

Weekend Fun!

2008-09-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

This was the weekend I had been anticipating for the past three weeks... since the last time I had seen Cole, my boyfriend. Originally, the plan had been for me to drive down to Walla Walla, WA to see him. Then, on Thursday, the day before I was going to leave, the arraignments we had made fell through so I couldn't go to see him any more. I was so sad... THEN it just so happened that it was possible for him to come see me in Moscow! Luckily, JP, my best friend Samantha's boyfriend, lives in the dorms and happened to have a roommate who was going out of town for the weekend. We asked him if Cole could borrow his bed, he gave it his okay (I owe him snicker doodles though...) and this weekend turned out to be perfect!

On Saturday morning, we woke up and Cole and JP took Sammi and me out to breakfast at a little place in Pullman, WA. in our PJ's (no make-up or anything either!) So it may have been a little scary for those looking at us, but we sure had a good time! After we got back from breakfast they gave us a whole 40 minutes to get ready for the day, then we went out for a nice walk through a little wooded area at the top of campus. It was pretty, and it looked like we were out in the middle of the woods! We took lots of fun pictures. JP, Sammi, Cole and I all took turns playing photographer with our cameras! We also used Sammi's lovely sunglasses to give our pictures a festive touch! hee hee!

After leaving the woodsy area, the camera clicking fun did not stop! We found a nice little tree with a lovely patch of grass and took some more pictures. JP was really enjoying playing photographer... I think He did a pretty good job at it too!!

Then later that night, we attended Rock the CASA. This event was put on by my sorority to raise money for CASA- Court Appointed Special Advocates. There were a few bands who were playing, some food, and lots of raffles. it was a pretty fun evening! I'm so happy that Cole got to come see me! It was a good weekend to relax before my first big test this Monday!

Game On!!!

2008-09-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

"I-D-A-H-O, IDAHO, IDAHO, GO GO GO!!!!"

The chant echoed through the Kibbie Dome as all of the college kids and other Vandal fans jumped out of there seats yelling for the black and gold uniforms racing down the field after the football... "Whoa, this is intense!!!" was the thought that kept running through my head.

That's right, this weekend was the first home game for the Mighty Vandals of University of Idaho versus the Idaho State University Bengals, and we totally rocked! The score was Vandals 42 and Bengals 27.

Of course the afternoon started out with some tailgating first.

The football game was great fun to watch! It helped that we were only 3 rows back from the field!!!

Then at half time the Vandal Marching Band came out and performed. My favorite part was definitely the dancing tuba men in the skirts. Ha haha! It was so great!

Here are some of the girls in my house at the game!

And at the end of the game the score was Idaho 42, Bengals 27! Woohoo, GO VANDALS!!!

Tag!

2008-09-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

Rules: list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current goals, 3 current obsessions, and 3 random facts about your self.
Then tag at least 5 people at the end.

Joys:

1) Laughter

2) My family (I miss them...)

3) The color PINK!

Fears:

1) Failing in life

2) Disappointing others

3) Letting myself down

Current Goals:

1) Getting my degree

2) Organize my desk! (It needs it bad!)

3) Scrapbook all my pictures

Current Obsessions:

1) Michael Buble- I love his voice!

2) College Student Coupons!

3) Country swing dancing at The Beach- a local dance club

Random Facts:

1) I actually enjoy public speaking

2) Although I am only 5'4 1/2" ish I wear a size 10 shoe

3) I brought over 30 necklaces with me to college, not to mention other jewelry items

I Tag:

1) Mom 2) Kara 3) Kathi

4) Alan and Sara 5) Cindy

The Final Hoo-rah Before Classes Begin!!!

2008-08-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

After getting into our sororities, we had the opportunity to go camping!!! And of course by camping I mean cabins with beds, showers, and flushing toilets- we are sorority girls now... ha ha! I'm totally kidding, we are not that stuck up- but we did have nice cabins. :) However, the best part was the lake!!! We got to go swimming, and play on the slide, and BLOBBING!!! It was really fun and we got to know the other girls in the house- like all 80 of them- so it was a lot of fun! Plus it was over the final weekend before school started... So we soaked up some sun, and relaxed with no pressure to learn and were lazy!! Woohoo!!!

~SoRoRiTy GiRl~

2008-08-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

So, as most people know, I am now a Vandal at the University of Idaho!!! I left home on the 14th of this month and moved up to Moscow. I chose to go through rush, and live the sorority life!!! So for the week I lived in the dorms. My favorite part of the dorms, besides when we finally left them, was this nifty little window...

Yup, that is the girl living next door... from my room, and then from her room. Quite the window if it connects our rooms like so! We had fun with it... she would steal my pillow from me through this widow, it was pretty funny!

Throughout the week we were able to do many activities with our rush group. We played outside a lot!

This is my rush group on the final day, we were all in pretty dresses!!!

And the best of rush, BY FAR, was actually getting into a house! I would now like to say that I am in the Kappa Alpha Theta Chapter!!!!! Yes, I am a Theta!!! And I'm loving it! This is my new house!
This is our entry way and formal sitting room, I really love it!And this is the door to my room!!! There are three other girls in it with me!

So now that I have a place to live, it's time to find my classes.... OYE!

~NLCSO~ & ~JSL~

2008-08-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

The past week I was able to attend NLCSO and JSL... to many those simple abbreviation may mean just letters. But to FFA State Officers, it means two weeks of SOOO MUCH FUN!!! National Leadership Conference for State Officers is, as the name states, a conference for FFA State Officers across this lovely nation! This conference is held in regions, ours being the Western Region and Idaho was this years host. So I was in Boise all week to attend this. While there my FFA State Officer team developed as a team, bonded, and planned great stuff for Idaho!

JSL stands for Joint Student Leadership. All of the Idaho Professional Technical Education Clubs' state officers were in attendance. This is inclusive of FFA, Skills USA, BPA, DECA, FCCLA, TSA, and HOSA. We were able to learn about other student organizations and work with our team some more. It was a lot of fun!!

Why I Love My Car!!!

2008-07-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

First of all I have to say that buying a car was the best investment I have ever made thus far in my life- I love it and the freedom it allows me!

So last weekend was the Clark Family Reunion. Saturday morning everyone packed up and hurried home for a nice shower and a good nap. I had the same mindset- however my friend Jessica called when I got home and asked if I would like to come see her that night. This summer, Jessica has moved to Jackson Hole to work for the Bar J Wranglers and Chuckwagon. She has been living in a small camp trailer with an older lady, and really didn't know many people her age. Also I hadn't seen Jessica for a while, and thought that may be the last opportunity I get until Thanksgiving, so I agreed to go stay the night with her. So after my shower, I packed up again and drove over the pass into Jackson.That night we went to a Rodeo! It was pretty fun! Then we went and walked around the touristy part of Jackson Hole. It was fun just to look at stuff and watch people. We had a really fun time!

The next morning, Sunday, we went to her little singles branch. It was really neat to see so many young adults running Relief Society and Sunday School!!! I have never been to a singles branch before, but I have to say it was a good experience!! It was a really pretty trip and a fun drive! I just love the mountains and trees- and like I said, I love the freedom my car gives me!

~Fun with Braden~

2008-07-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it has been a while since I've updated my blog- Sorry about that but I think everyone knows how life can be a whirlwind of non stop action then suddenly you realize that WOW! Summer is almost over! YIKES! But anyways....

So a couple of weeks ago, Grandma Clark had a visitor come and stay for a week. While he was here he got to hang out with me and be my little buddy a lot. Luckily for Braden, I made sure to take a few pictures of our good times! The first night we slept out on the trampoline (sorry no pics of that!)

Then one of the days Braden helped us chase and load some of the cows to take up to the ranch.

Braden really liked to blow the horn on the semi- especially when I was standing in front of it!

When we got the the ranch, he got to ride the four wheeler!

Then one night we even lit off a bunch of fire works with Jayden!

Braden was also able to go with Jayden and his dad camping, hang out with grandma, made some money pulling weeds, and went to get a treat at the co-op! It was lots of fun to spend some time with my younger cousins! Thanks for coming Braden!!!

GuEsS wHo Is FiNaLlY 18!?!

2008-06-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

That's right- I am now officially 18!!! I guess that means that I'm all grown up and mature... Ha! Yah right! But I can at least say I'm an adult now!
That's the 18 year old me! :) Don't I look so mature... hee hee!!!

For a present I got bows... yes big shiny gift bows... placed on gifts that I had received for Christmas/Graduation/Birthday (my laptop) and my other graduation/birthday/throwing me our of the house present (my AMAZING luggage).

And these are my two dates, Rhett and Cody, who so kindly kidnapped me and dressed me up ridiculously with a sign on me that said something like "Honk! I just turned 18 today!" and paraded me around Rexburg blindfolded so I had no clue what I looked like... It was pretty funny I have to admit. Afterwards they took me to play pool and get ice cream! Well worth it! Ha ha! It was a fun day! And now, I am an adult!!! :)

State Career Development Events in Moscow

2008-06-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel as though I am bragging about myself on this blog, and I think I should stop- then I realize that is pretty much what these blogs are for! I brag about me, you tell me congrats, then I look at your blog where you brag about you and I tell you congrats! That realization made me feel so much better about telling everyone this:

LAST WEEK I HAD SUCH AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!!

I have now been an Idaho FFA State Officer for approximately two months. While in that position I have been able to attend BLAST Off (state officer training) and attend a few of the local Chapter Banquets where I was honored by being asked to speak to the crowd on a few moments notice. (It's a good think I actually like stuff like that, and I had prepared for that to happen!) Last week, however, was the State Officer Team's first BIG event- and I loved it!

On Sunday morning I departed here and picked up our our State President, Kelsey Day, then continued onward to Terreton where we meet our State Treasurer Whitney Tuckett. From there we headed out to Salmon and met up with the State Office Coordinator, Jessie Kellogg. The

four of us then headed right on up to Moscow, ID. It was a long drive, but we had fun being the chipper group of gals we are!

On Monday, we got up and prepared ourselves for an exciting day of Business and Industry Tours! My first thought when they told we had to go tour different businesses and listen to people drone on about what they do for a living was "BORING!" Ohhh Boy... I was wrong! We had a lot of fun! Here are the 5 girls on our team of 6 officers (there is only one boy- poor kid!) We are at the Appaloosa Horse Club riding the stick ponies! Hee hee!!!

We also were able to go to Northwest River Supply where we toured their large warehouse and we learned a lot about rafting and river gear! It was pretty awesome! Then our final tour of they day was the University of Idaho. I was pretty excited about that because that is where I'll be attending school this fall, and I just can't wait!!! Here are the 5 female officers again- now with Joe Vandal- the UI Mascot!!!

Tuesday consisted of our Welcome Back BBQ and Opening Ceremonies and our Orientation Meeting! The BBQ is put on by the University of Idaho, and the rest is conducted by the State Officers. I had a lot of fun doing my part of the opening ceremonies. "The Reporter is stationed by the Flag..." It's a pretty cool script in my opinion- most any FFA member would agree!

Wednesday Morning we took a lot of pictures! Here are the crazy group of Rigby kids (that's my chapter!) and myself- thanks for the bunny ears Ryan... ha ha!!! After they took a group picture of the majority of the 740 people in attendance, I headed off to help oversee the Livestock Evaluation Event. There I was able to socialize with many people and watch a lot of cows, pigs, and sheep as kids examined them to place in different classes. It really was fun to watch!

Also, throughout the week we played a few activities! We played pool, twister, cards, trivia games, basketball, a few other random things, and my favorite- beach volleyball (in the sand)!
The Melba Chapter had a lot of fun with the sand and even made a lovely sandcastle for us all to enjoy! I just love the crazily creative people you can find in the FFA!

Thursday consisted of a lot of the same tasks- help oversee events, take lots of pictures, meet awesome new people, play volleyball and other games, and so on. But- I was also able to compete in one of my favorite events! Now if you are not familiar with some of the things that the FFA does, then you may want to brace yourself for this! My favorite event that I was able to participate in was the Meats CDE. Yes, I judge meat. In this event we have to ID 30 cuts of meat- beef, pork, and lamb. (I know about 116 cuts of meat very well, FYI) then we get to look at 3 classes of carcasses and rank them. Also we do two classes of retail cuts, and we yield and quality grade some beef carcasses also! And one of the highlights of it all- we get to wear these nifty outfits! ha ha!
After the Meats Evaluation Event, the Troy FFA Chapter hosts a dance. Although the state officers were all late, and had to leave early- you know, with all the official stuff we have to do (hee hee!) we had plenty of fun and danced up a storm!!! After leaving the dance we headed over to the Ag Education Office where we put together packets, went over all of the results, and practiced for our awards ceremony and closing ceremonies the next morning. We got finished there, went back to our dorms and packed, then got ready for bed. I hit the sheets at around 2:00 a.m. just to wake up at 5:00 a.m. so I could get ready, finish packing, and out the door by 6:30a.m. Our awards meeting started at 8:00 a.m. Here you can see me announcing some of the winners! Too bad it's a bit blurry...
We made it through our presentations in under two hours! (That's like record time!) After finishing up there, we jumped on a bus with our chapters and headed home. Nine hours later- I was home! Boy, I sure did miss my bed! :) But really it was a great week! I am just absolutely amazed at all the great things I have been able to do in the FFA- and am so grateful that I have had these opportunities! Another great thing to kick off the end of my senior year... :)

(The Moscow Sunset... where I'll be in about two months every night!!!! How exciting!!!!)

I'm Growing Up!!!

2008-05-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

So this last week I graduated! I am now officially done with high school- I'm kind of growing up I guess!!! Woohoo for me!!! Well, as I thought back on my senior year, I had a really really good time! I have great friends, we have had great times, and made amazing memories. I've also been blessed with an amazing family! They have always supported me, and given a lot of encouragement. I am really one lucky girl, because I have been surrounded by really great people. I guess I just really want to say Thank You!!! to all of my family, friends, and people who have influenced me. And now, here is a little slide show of some of things I have done this past year... at least the weird things I have pictures of... Hee hee!!!

Commencement!

2008-05-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

So last Saturday was our big formal Commencement Dance. I had been in Oklahoma the whole week before, and just didn't even plan on going cause I figured I would not be asked. So I was just cleaning my room, and planning to go brand cows that afternoon. However, at approximately 11:30 a.m. my cell phone rang, it was my friend Rhett, and the conversation went something like this:

Rhett: Laura Clark! How are you?

Laura: I'm just great Rhett! How are you?

Rhett: I'm pretty good. So what are you doing today?

Laura: Umm... nothing much just working.

Rhett: And what are you doing tonight.

Laura: Probably nothing.

Rhett: Oh, and do you have a formal?

Laura: Why yes, I do...

Rhett: Then do you want to go to the dance tonight!?!

Laura: Sure!!!

And from there on, he told me that he wasn't planning to go to the dance, then all of the sudden he decided he did want to, and we worked out the details. It was pretty funny! What you may also want to know, is that Rhett is the hired help on the farm. I said that I had to work during the day, but so did he. In fact, we were branding cows. So our day date I suppose you could say went something like this:

It was pretty much awesome! So after that, obviously I showered and got the stink off me, then I went into Idaho Falls to help set up decorations for the Rigby High School Commencement. Then I rushed home to have my sisters do my hair, and get ready for Madison High School Commencement. (That's our rival school! hee hee!) I was ready just barely in time for him to pick me up (and we were both running a bit late!) We basically looked awesome.

My dress was pulled out of the back of my closet- something I got about 3 years ago I think... Thanks to my sisters my hair looked fabulous!!! His Tux is a mixture of tuxes of his fathers, brother-in-law's and his choir shirt from a few years ago. (The bow tie and little waist thing is his fathers, probably from a high school dance also! Nice and Pink, huh! ha ha!) And Rhett's sister made the Corsage... AMAZING!!!

So, for dinner Rhett's sister made us a lovely dinner, with candles and all that jazz! It was amazing! Then we went and got pictures, and finally arrived at the dance where we met up with some friends, and danced the night away!!! :) It was one of the most fun dates I think I've been on! Just because it was so random, and we laughed all night. Thanks for the great fun Rhett!!! I can't believe that they threw the whole thing together on such short notice!!!(Thanks mostly to Rhett's awesome sister, Natalie!) And that was my random date to the Commencement Dance my senior year- a great way to finish up high school in my opinion!

9 States & 9 Tanks of Gas Later...

2008-05-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

So this last week I was able to go to the National FFA Land and Soil Evaluation CDE in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma! So early Saturday morning(4:00a.m.), May 3rd we took off in a little Dodge van for our destination! Of course, we made the trip fun, so taking the longer route we stopped to see a few sites. The first day, we drove to Farmington, New Mexio. That day we made two major stops.

Site #1: Arches National Park in Moab, Utah.

That's me climbing up a rock!!! :) It was pretty cool. This other picture is of the four Land Evaluators (hee hee!!) from left to right: Joseph Hale, Sammi Perez, ME!, and Stephen Hale. We hiked around and checked things for an hour or two then we all climbed back into the van and headed off again to our next destination!

After driving for a while we got out to stretch our legs in Monticello, Utah. What better place to stop for a while than the temple!!!

Site #2 Monticello, Utah LDS Temple

Then we once again loaded into the van and continue onward until...

Site #3 Monument Pass somewhere between Utah and Arizona... :)

We stopped randomly at some school parking lot because they had an AMAZING view of all the little rock formations behind Sammi and me in this picture. We also took the time to practice a little bit of sloping for our event. For those of who just got confused by that, for part of our judging we have to estimate the slope of the land. So we got to do a lot of that at that school.

So after that we drove for sometime longer until we crossed into New Mexico... and Arizona... and Utah.... and Colorado!!!

Site #4 Four Corners!

This was cool just because we got to stand next to each other, yet we were still in different states!

From left to right we have Stephen, Joseph, ME!, and Sammi. Fun fun, huh!

I also got to lay down and rest for a bit... IN FOUR STATES AT ONCE!!! ha ha!

That was our last adventure for the first day. We drove to Farmington, New Mexico where we stayed the night, then started off bright and early the next morning as well. We drove across the rest of New Mexico. We made our stop for gas, and at the lovely station Sammi and I made a new friend...

We just call him Chief! Ha ha!!!

Then we were into Texas. We stopped in Amarillo for lunch... Yes, we thoroughly checked out the Amarillo Skies... they were definitely different than Idaho!!! There was no mountains so the sky went on forever!!! Weird! ha ha! That night we got to Oklahoma where we checked into the hotel. The next two days were filled with lots of practicing, learning, and fun. One day we even went out to lunch at Toby Keith's I Love this Bar & Grill in Bricktown, Oklahoma.

We all look a little rough in this picture, but I still think that its a fun one!!! That seat is supposed to be like a tail gate... once again i have to say- It was cool!!!

So on Wednesday morning we woke up and got ready for the reason we were there- to do well in our CDE (Career Development Event). It was raining- no it was pouring! The event was postponed for an hour or two, and we just waited in the van with our raincoats on. But eventually we got out to the site and did what we do best- judge that dirt and land!!! (Unfortunately I have no pictures of a lot of this because it's all on Mr. Hales camera...) Then that night after we had endured the rain and wind and mud and all that jazz, we went to the awards banquet. We were able to find out that we did amazing!!!

This Event is split into two separate parts. The first is Land site, where we evaluate the land for it's class of farming. The second is Home site, which we determine how good the site of land would be to build a home. There were a total of 96 teams competing- that's about 400 people. In the Land site we took 2nd in the Western Region and 8th in the Nation. :) We were pretty amazed with ourselves, and very satisfied. But in the Home site- we did even better!!! We placed 1st in the Western Region (Ha! Take that New Mexico!!) and 5th in the Nation! I placed 20th high individual. We felt pretty good about ourselves!

Then the next morning we got up early and left for home!!! Sammi and I, however, hit snooze on our alarm clock, and woke up at about 4:53 and we were to be in the van by 5:00. It was fun throwing clothes into suitcases and not wearing make-up or doing our hair!!! Ha ha! So we drove for a long time and went through Kansas. We stopped in Denver, Colorado for lunch at Casa Bonita. Now this place was really cool!!! It was like a little Mexican Village with a waterfall in the middle. Occasionally people would jump off the waterfall. It was pretty nifty!

That night we stayed in Laramie, Wyoming. The next day we made it home around 3:00 p.m. It was a really fun trip and I'm very happy I was able to go! It was a pretty awesome way to top of my senior year in high school!!! It only took 9 tanks of gas, one fill up in each of the 9 states we went through... :) :)

To Make My Momma Happy...

2008-04-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

So this is going to back tracking a bit, but that's okay! So my momma told me that if I have my own blog, I had better put all the stuff that I've doing and everything cool that has been happening to me on here to show off to friends and family. As some of you may know, last month I was the United Dairyman of Idaho Distinguish Student Award recipient. (That's a mouthful!) I didn't make my blog until after I received that Award and never posted the little video clip that Local News 8 did highlighting me. But my momma, being a typical Mother, has been pestering me to put it on here. In order to appease her, I decided that I may as well just do it. But then I realized that I have no clue how to put a video on my blog!!! So this will just have to do for anyone who would like to see it. I think this link will take you straight to the video on the KIFI-TV's website.
http://www.localnews8.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=2352823&h1=Distinguished%20Student%20Award%20-%20Laura%20Clark&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=86066&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D8115694%26nav%3Dmenu554_2_17&rnd=59320356

It's all About the Leadership!!!

2008-04-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I am extremely involved in the FFA. Through this program, I have learned so much. In fact- it has changed me from that shy little girl in corner to ME! If you know me, then you know I love who I am, and have high self-assurance. Well two weekends ago, the FFA held their 27th Annual State Leadership Convention. At this even I participated in two events. The first of which was Parliamentary Procedure. I was the chairman, and I absolutely loved it. In my opinion, our team rocked!! At state, we brought out top level performances in both the preliminary round, and the final round in stage with an audience of 1300 FFA members and guests. It was intense!!! Our team had nailed everything just right- we had done near perfect!!! When it was time for the awards and placings to be announced the final four teams were all lined up on stage awaiting the moment of truth. As they began to read the results I held my breath. This was Rigby's year to win- we were the team to beat. In fourth place... Troy High School!!! In third place....

Yes that's me on the front with my team and Advisor behind me. As you can clearly tell we were shocked with the results. Rigby High School had taken third place in Parliamentary Procedure. It's really not a bad place to get, really we were honored- we had just expected more due to our awesome performance. All I have to say is- first place team you must be AWESOME!!!! You would have had to given a perfect presentation. I hope you do very very well at Nationals!

The second team I participated on was the Agricultural Sales CDE. I was in the customer prospecting pool, and placed 5th high individually. Our team overall placed 3rd. We were very proud of ourselves. (This was the first Ag Sales team Rigby has had in like 15 years!) So we totally did awesome! Thanks to Mrs. Peterson, our student teacher who trained us!

Another highlight of going to the State Leadership Convention was, of course making new friends! There will unfailing be a new friend for you where ever you go- the only challenge is finding that potential friend. At SLC I was able to meet tons of my new friends. This is me and Clay at a restaurant with Sammi and J.P. (basically I posted this picture to bug Clay- Ha ha!!!)

The place where I meet most of my new friends through Officer Candidate Sifting. That's right... this year I ran for a State FFA Officer position. Going through the process I met so many great people, and new friends! Everyone was so enthusiastic, personable, and amazing! When it came to the first cuts, I was sad to see the 7 people go, and was excited to continue the journey with the 9 remaining. It was interview after interview, after tiring interview- but it was soooo fun!!! The nominating committee was just great!!! Finally, the last day came, and the results were to be announced in the Saturday morning session around 10:30 or 11:00 ish. The final interviews went from 8:00 to 10:00 ish. It was sooo nerve racking!!!

I can very vividly remember how my stomach felt sick as a waited so nervously in the back of the auditorium for the time for the Nominating Committee to announce the results of officer sifting. Finally it came that defining time. "The Sentinel for the 2008-2009 year from... Genesse- Kristen Myers!!!" announced the Nom Com Chairman. We all squealed in delight as the old sentinel grabbed Kristen and ran with her to the front of the auditorium. 5 more offices to be announced... 8 remaining candidates all squeezed each others hands. "Your new 2008-2009 State FFA Reporter from the Rigby Chapter... Laura Ann Clark!" My heart leaped as I realized - HEY, THAT'S MY NAME THEY JUST CALLED!!! I jumped forward an the old Reporter grabbed my arm and ran me up to the stage. It was sooo cool!!! I was ecstatic- the sick feeling gone now, and replaced by that bubbling joy!

This next year is one that I am looking forward to with great anticipation. Its my year to shine as the State FFA Reporter. Also I am thrilled to serve my favorite organization with the fine group of officers who will be accompanying me on my leadership journey. Wish me luck!!! Here is the 2008-2009 Idaho State FFA Officer Team!!!

Back Row: Stephen Parrot from Filer, State Vice President; Katie Mosman from Nezperce, State Secretary; Kristin Myers from Genesse, State Sentinal; Whitney Tuckett from West Jefferson, State Treasurer.
Front Row: Kelsey Day from Madison, State President; ME! Laura Ann Clark from Rigby, State Reporter.

Conforming to the Masses

2008-04-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

So everyone is getting these nifty blogs! First my cousins, then my Aunts, then my sister, then my brother, then even my mother!!! I sure hated to feel left out... Plus I'll be off to college by the end of this summer, and I'd hate to not be involved with keeping up with the whole family!!! Maybe I'll even find something interesting to post! But until I find that interesting thing, this small post will have to do...

~*Laura Ann*~