Winter Survival

Well friends I suppose it's time for an update seeing as it's the first day of spring (can I get a HALLELUJAH?!). Joe and I have had a really fun winter despite all of the nasty cold, wind, and snow.

First off, I think we can officially rename our apartment the Nibley Bed and Breakfast. We finally put our air mattress and sofa bed to good use because we had lots of guests coming to Ann Arbor! At the beginning of January, our friend Jason came to town to finish his last trumpet recital and oral defense for his DMA. It was so much fun to catch up with him and hear all about life in Mississippi. Plus we ate a lot of ice cream and watched a lot of Hulu...despite all of our efforts to distract him, he gave an incredible recital, finished his orals, and became a doctor! We loved having him over and we are so grateful for his friendship and great example!

A couple weeks later, we hosted a Brazilian trumpet student of Jason's who came up to Ann Arbor to check out UM and have a lesson with Professor Campbell. It was very fun to get to know him and hear all about what it's like coming from Brazil to America. He loved the snow, which is good because we had a LOT of it!

But wait, there's more! At the end of February, my parents came in town for the weekend to hear our USO concert. We were playing Shostakovich 10 and we really wanted them to hear us and get to experience Hill Auditorium. The concert was wonderful - everyone sounded fantastic. I can't think of many other performance experiences that could top it. It was really special to have my husband sitting right behind me, and my parents sitting out in the audience. Can I just say that I have the BEST family?!? How did I get so lucky? The rest of their visit was a blast because the first time they came to A2, we were moving in and had NO idea where anything was. This time we could actually show them around and go to all the good restaurants (Zingerman's, anyone? MMMM). On the day that my dad was supposed to fly out, there was a HUGE snow dump and so his flight got delayed til the next day. Luckily he and my mom were able to fly out the next morning, but it was fun to have him over for an extra night!

Joe and me after the Shostakovich concert. (No that is not a yarmulke on my head...it's a flower headband, people!!!)

Nance and Randinator at Zingerman's.

And finally, Joe's mom Carol flew out the very next weekend to come hear Joe's chamber recital! Joe sounded great and we were so glad to have Carol there. This was her first time in Ann Arbor so it was really fun to give her the "Grand Tour" of the place. We went out to some great restaurants, took her to our ward, and just had a really good time showing her "our world."

We took Carol to Bagel Fragel. Fragel = fried bagel, a Michigan delicacy.

Joe and me after his recital

Phew, that concludes our guest list! We love our family and friends and boy they sure helped to make our winter brighter! If anyone would like to book a stay at the Nibley Bed and Breakfast, you have until May and then we are shutting the place down for the summer!

Right after Carol left, we drove down to Virginia for SPRING BREAK! I'd forgotten how awesome those were...darn that BYU. We got some much-needed R&R and spent some time with our friends Beau and Mackenzie who were staying at La Casa Smith for most of the week. Joe was excited to have a basketball buddy and I was excited to have a talking buddy. Other than that, I got to spend most of my Spring Break with this little guy:

Me: Ok hold still, just one more picture!

Baby D: PLEASE, SOMEONE SAVE ME FROM CRAZY AUNT KATIE!!!!

Poor Baby D...he was a good sport, though, putting up with my amateur diaper-changing skills and watching Say Yes to the Dress with me. I love aunting!