Life has been great lately, and I love checking in on all your blogs! My semester is going well. Since I'm well into my 2nd semester of my Ph.D., I'm really beginning to feel more at home on UNLV's campus and more accustomed to the drive. It's such a great opportunity that I have and I'm really trying to make the best of it.
Here's a picture of me with my primary reading for this semester. I'm having so much fun! Most of this stuff is so fun to read!
For the past year I've been working on my Ph.D. and I've been loving it! However, I've been waiting to formally apply to the program formally because some of my entry exams were not as high as they needed to be. This is fairly common at UNLV because several of the GRE (Graduate Record Exams) are pretty difficult to pass. UNLV allows students to take 12 credits before official admittance, which is what I've been doing.
UNLV has 2 test requirements: that their applicants score in the 75th percentile of higher in the GRE General Test and in the 50th percentile or higher for the GRE Literature subject test. I passed the GRE Literature test finally in March (Wahoo!); however, I barely missed the General test by scoring in the 74th percentile, basically 1 question too low.
I was bummed about this, but when I began applying a few months ago, UNLV told me that my General score was great. They said that the test company reported that I scored in the 95th percentile, not the 74th percentile I thought I had scored. I was super relieved at first, but then I got to thinking there must be something wrong with what UNLV was telling me.
So I had UNLV send me the scores, and low and behold, they were Amanda Scott from Loveland, Ohio's scores. Oh no! So then I was faced with a decision of whether or not to raise this to the UNLV's attention. I knew they would never be the wiser if I kept my mouth shut, but of course, I couldn't live with being dishonest about this score. So I told them this high score on the test (in the 95th percentile) was a different Amanda Scott's scores and they told me to hurry and retake the test.
The past two weeks I've been studying to retake this test. It is something that I would usually take a few months to study for, but because the deadline for my application is November 1, I had to act fast! I studied really hard and learned about 1200 new words. And I prayed that Heavenly Father would bless me for being honest. And boy did he ever, I took the test today and scored in the 97th percentile! Not only is this high enough to reach UNLV's requirement, but it is even higher than that other Amanda Scott's scores. I'm so relieved that my hard work has paid off and feel so blessed for Heavenly Father's help. Now I have my fingers crossed that I'm officially admitted in the next few months. Wish me luck! :).jpg)
In mid-July we did a crazy, spontaneous thing. I was in the Utah Valley area visiting some of Shaye's family and we decided, totally spur of the moment, that we wanted a second dog! I called a breeder in Spanish Fork and we got little Max!
Isn't he adorable? He's been so fun because he's quite a bit sweeter than Mimi--though we really love Mimi, believe me. But Max is more silly and sweet, while Mimi is smarter and sassier. :) We love our sweet little guy! Now Mimi has a buddy to play with!.jpg)
Congratulations to Skyler and Jamie on a beautiful new addition!! Little Landon Michael was born yesterday at 5:54 pm, weighing 7 lbs 11 ounces. Jamie and Landon are doing great!
Skyler called us just a few minutes after the baby was born and so we got to come and see the new arrival get his first bath and everything. I got to hold him about an hour after he was born. So special! I've never been in the delivery room so soon after a baby is born and was amazed at the peaceful feeling there. I'm so proud of Jamie. She is such a strong woman! I hope I can be as good as a mom as she is someday. In the meantime, it's so fun to be an aunt to all the little Scott cuties!
Shaye turned 26!
I went to girl's camp (just for one evening) with the darling Young Women in our ward. They're all so darling!Maui Revealed from Shaye Scott on Vimeo.
We went to Maui for a week earlier in May and had the time of our LIVES!!! It was just Shaye and me on this beautiful, exotic island! If you haven't been to Maui before, I can't recommend it enough. I've been to Oahu, which I also loved, but Maui is my new favorite.
This is the lanai (or patio) attached to our hotel room. We had a spectacular oceanfront view and could always here the waves. There were sea turtles playing right on the beach. It was magical!
We went on this gorgeous 4 mile hike through the jungle, swatting mosquitoes the whole way. (I had 17 bug bites after this hike--I counted.) We hiked through this bamboo forest. It was crazy beautiful. Then at the end of the hike we ended up at the ginormous waterfall, (pictured below). It was an adventure!
I'm the tiny speck at the bottom. :)
At the Seven Sacred Pools in Haleakala National Park.
Sunset on the Road to Hana. Doesn't Shaye have mad skills with the camera?
This part of the island, Upcountry, was so mountainous and gorgeous, but didn't really look like Hawaii--maybe New Zealand or somewhere.
This is us on top of the Haleakala Crater. This is only 4 linear miles from the beach, but 10,034 above sea level! It was so peaceful and quiet up here and we could see Hawaii and Oahu from up here!
This is at a fun little restaurant we found on the beach in Lahaina. It was so yummy! I'm hooked on Poly food now!
Oh my goodness! Have you ever had Hawaiian shave ice? We heard about this place in Lahaina that had a PERFECT review history and decided to try it our first night--we went back every single night to try new flavors. This is not a snow cone, people! It has a texture similar to ice cream and all of the flavors taste EXACTLY like the real flavors. Amazing! Ululiani's Shave Ice is a MUST TRY if you're in Maui!
Sunset in Old Lahaina Town.