Philosophy of Teaching

      Hello, my name is Kaitlin Durfey. I was born and raised in the wonderful town of Milford, Utah. I currently attend Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I am studying the field of Family and Consumer Science Education. I plan on obtaining my bachelor’s degree to be a licensed teacher.
      I have always been engrossed in the intricate studies of the family. I believe this passion came about because I come from a family of eight kids. Family life is a very important subject that our future generation needs to be familiar with. It is a building block that is critical to their upbringing. I hope to be able to enlighten teenagers about this very precious subject, so that they will be able to become outstanding leaders, friends, and people. I owe my family everything, and want to study to become a Family and Consumer Science teacher. I want our future students to know what it is like to have strong family bonds.

Official Aggies

Well folks, it looks like that summer is about to be over, yesterday marked the last day to have student fees and tuition paid off, (or else one would lose their classes.) Luckily we were fortunate enough to get all of this taken care of and we are set for the upcoming school semester. We are official Aggies now because we finally got our student id cards...which are pretty fancy if ya ask me. Campus kind of overwhelms us, but we're getting the hang of it. We also took our first stroll up the Old Main Hill....what a doozie! Hopefully it gets easier to climb with time. 

We also finally made the trip to Bear Lake! I had no idea that it was in RICH county....who knew?? It was a beautiful scenic route and we finally got to our destination, North Shore around 11. The water was chilly, but we got used to it after a minute. It was incredible to see the turquoise colored water! And to add to that, it was HUGE! To tell ya the truth, it looked like an ocean for awhile. We swam around a bit and Dallon had me laughing out loud numerous times. First when he was "walking in place" and then when he walked like a crab. There is NEVER a dull moment with him, ever, even if there's a fire! We are constantly laughing and I absolutely love being married to him.

Anywho, I finally got a job! I am a hostess at Kabuki, a Japanese Steakhouse. It was intense at first, but I'm catching on a little at a time. I love to meet new people every time I work and the people I work with are pretty chill. I also start my other job tomorrow, as a high school volleyball official. I am intrigued to see how things are run up here. I went to one meeting already and have my first match tomorrow at Northridge, a junior varsity tournament. Dallon is still working at West Liberty. It has been quite the experience for him and he's loved meeting new people. 

Well, that just about sums it up for the Durfeys. We're keeping it real in Cache Valley. Chao. 

July is winding down, so is the summer...

So as I sit here at home, planning out our lives for the next few months and it hit me. School starts in one month.....yikes! This summer has flown by it seems like, and yet it feels like years since we were going to school and living in Cedar. We're both very excited to see what this new semester has in store for us at Utah State. I will begin the first of hopefully my last four semesters. I have a whopping 17 credit lineup and am ready to finish up my degree in Family and Consumer Science Education. Dallon will have his plate full as well with 15 credits studying Bio-Chemistry. Logan has been very good to us so far and we are excited to jump into the aggie lifestyle.

This summer has been full of road trips which mainly involve weddings. Dallon has been such a trooper through all of them. Every time we attend a wedding or reception it takes me back to our wedding and it makes me feel so grateful to have Dallon by my side. The most recent one we attended was my beautiful cousin Brittany's and her spouse Mark. She was such a gorgeous bride! I'm glad we got to spend their special day with them. It was fun catching up with the Idaho fam.

Just recently we were able to have my family come for a visit. They came to see our humble abode and we hosted our first birthday party in Logan. Akaydeh turned 10 this year so I made a cake for her party, then the next morning we had a grand breakfast party. It was fun having my family gather under our roof.

We also had the opportunity to take a couple of tours in Salt Lake. We went to the conference center and had a complete tour. It is such an amazing building!! All of the paintings, sculptures, architecture, landscape, fountains, and tour guides really made it quite the experience. We also had a tour of Brigham Young's house, where one of our tour guides was from Brazil so Dallon got to brush up on his Portuguese! I always love hearing him talk in Portuguese, it reminds me of his hard work and dedication he lived by while on the mish.

Other than that we're pretty much boring. However, I find it interesting that every day I go out to get the mail I swear to you that we get a wedding announcement every day, if not every other day. It seems crazy to me, but what can ya do?

Til next time.....

These are the days

First I want to put a disclaimer on this post, it is going to be long, full of pictures, and it might get a little lovey dove, so if you still want to hear about our adventures, continue reading.

With Dallon working long hours, I have a lot of time to myself, and I have not blogged about a lot of the activities we have experienced. My cousin actually got me thinking about posting pictures which were mistakeingly forgotten. I've been busily working on making collages for this post mainly because I love making collages.

This first collage depicts the first week of our new life in Logan. We tried to hit as many fishing spots as possible, and we just like to be out and about in the sunshine because we love summer! Dallon is a professional fisher and I love to just catch me some rays. We also saw this car on our way to one of the lakes and I just had to laugh.

Next are some candids of our trip to Wayne County. We had tons of fun and got to meet our new niece. She and her sister are absolutely gorgeous! Clayton and Shanda should have a hundred kids, because they are just so  cute! I wanted to do something special for Maddi and Luxi so I decided to make them hand tied blankets. I loved how cuddly Luxi was, it melted my heart. I also got to sneak away for a bit and help Nish coach in Piute. I am going to miss making random trips to see my sisters. I absolutely love coaching and can't wait to be able to do it again someday.

These next collages tell the story of one of the best days of my life, so far. It was the day that I was sealed for time and all eternity to my family. It was such a glorious day and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family, that I now get to be with forever. We had a  lot of laughs, tears, hugs, and pictures. I am so grateful for my family and even more grateful that I get to keep them for time and all eternity.

Oh this next collage goes down in the books as depicting an epic night at Applebees with Nish, Jeep, and Kiana. We just happened to be lucky enough to hit bingo night! Lady luck definitely was present at our table because Dallon won regular bingo and then I won blackout, despite what Jeep thought! We won some cools prizes and I went home with a stomach ache as well as soar smiling muscles because I couldn't stop smiling or laughing.

Zoo collage! The park here in Cache Valley is definitely legitimate. We saw some pretty sweet animals. I have to admit I was a bit scared of the peacock, it just kept following us around and making this gosh awful noise! But other than that we loved it. Oh and we also found a pretty sweet bowling alley. Kudos to Logan Lanes, open til midnight!

Oh and how could I forget about Warped Tour?? We had so much fun at the State Fair Grounds watching some amazingly talented musicians. Dalaki did a pull up contest, Daezia met her most favorite band, we got to witness the wall of death, TWICE, and we hung out with Dallon's friends from high school. Oh and we got totally fried, but it was so worth it. We had a great time.

Next came the Relay for Life. I was able to make a quick trip home to show my support for this great cause. It always will mean so much to me after what our family has been through with our dear Tayleah. (Which by the way, she had her checkup today, TUMOR FREE) We got to stay up all night talking, walking, running, laughing, and just being awesome. My dad is a machine and goes nonstop, it is truly inspiring. Heidi also made quite a showing by going over 30 miles herself. Kam also was quite entertaining, he downed a whole bag of cheetos, it was awesome! Daezia was in rare form and I laughed out loud at her crazy doings all night. She is a hoot!

The next is a random collage that just shows some of the fun stuff that happens in our apartment. Dallon found 'the lost case' and I had to document it. I took a whole day and organized my bin of yarn, yes I am eighty, so sue me. We also got to have Kayda come stay with us, and I did her hair in a pretty sweet hairstyle I saw on pinterest.

Here we have a few random candids of our last weekend. My mom, Kiana, and Akaydeh came through on their way to Idaho for our cousin Brandi's wedding. We went to eat at Kneaders and were in heaven. The food is sooooo goooood! I've been watching Cake Boss and they always talk about cannolis. Once I saw them in the display case I wanted one so bad. So my mom, being the awesome mom she is bought us all a treat and I got a cannoli! It was delicious! I wonder how it compares to Buddy's?? When we got to Pocatello we went to eat at Red Lobster, a fist time for me. (We went after helping decorate the park for the reception.) It was entertaining to watch Kiana try to crack open the crab legs. 

Next is the Fourth of July!! I absolutely love celebrating this holiday and this time it came around it reminded me just how much I love traditions. Because of a crazy work schedule we decided to stay in Logan and celebrate. I thought of all the traditions that take place on this wonderful holiday and it made me look to the future and I got excited about implementing traditions when we have our own family.   We hit up the park in Hyrum and got us some cotton candy, yes we did stand in line with kids that were way younger than us but we didn't care. What is the fourth of July without cotton candy?? (I also want to buy our own cotton candy maker so we can take it to places and sell it, one could make a killing on the sales) Dallon was pretty tuckered out from being in the sun for so long so he took a nap while I began a new tradition, making funnel cakes! I found a recipe on pinterest and loved how simple it was to make. They were DELICIOUS! We also had an awesome barbecue. Dallon cooked us up some sensational steaks and squash while I made some mashed potatoes. In the middle of our bbq, a family van broke down right outside our apt, so Dallon and two other strangers helped push the van off to the side of the road so they could call a tow truck. People are so nice to just hop out of their cars, or out of their parking lot to help someone in need. We then went to Hyrum for the firework show.  ( fyi this would make firework show the second, because here in Logan they do Freedom Fire and have fireworks on the 3rd too! I got a front row seat to the show.) We sure love us some fireworks! It was so much fun sitting there with my husband, absolutely loving life. I thought about the last fourth of July and how I watched the fireworks alone (not alone alone, I was with my awesome family)  and I looked over and just smiled at Dallon. So much has changed in the last year but I couldn't have asked for anything better. I am married to the love of my life, I live in a beautiful town, and free country. I get to lie in bed at night hopeful for a new day, rather than living in fear for my safety. I get to walk down the street and feel safe.

I am so lucky to live the life I do. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am so grateful to be married to my best friend. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't literally laugh out loud at something he does or says. It boggles my mind constantly just how witty he is, all the time. He is so good to me and I am so grateful for his unconditional love.
I want to finish this post by copying my sister Kiana,  she always makes her post relate to a song that is significant to something going on in her life. When I think of the line 'These are the days' I immediately think of two things, The O Town song that I absolutely love, even if she hates it, and I think of The Calling.

'Cause these are the days worth living

These are the years we're given

And these are the moments

These are the times

Let's make the best out of our lives

This chorus always meant so much to me, even as far back as the first time she made me listen to it. I've always wanted to live up to these lyrics, I've wanted to make the best out of our lives and I feel that I am doing just that. 

A Father's Hug

Everyone has those moments in life that one strives for, the moment where you know what you did was the right thing to do and that it made someone proud. That moment when all of your hard work actually paid off. That moment when you feel success, love, appreciation, all wrapped up into one feeling. For me, this moment comes when I receive a hug from my father. It is these moments in my life that I feel complete happiness. Happiness that I can cherish for the rest of my life.

Throughout my life I have had the opportunity to be brought up by goodly parents. They fed me, clothed me, put a roof over my head, and yet they did so much more for me than any words could express on this blog. They taught me how to work hard to achieve my goals and they taught me how to love unconditionally.

As Father's Day came around this year I thought a lot about my relationship with my father, The Chief. I thought about the love and devotion he has instilled in me. All throughout my childhood I worked my little heart out to receive his approval, which would usually come about through a hug. I always wanted my dad to be proud of me and the things that I accomplished. At times it seemed like I could never measure up, and just when I was about to give up, there he was....ready to embrace me and show his love and approval. Now don't get the wrong idea here, I knew I could always get a hug out of the ole teddy bear....but it was those defining moment hugs that I strived for.

The hug that came when I got baptized.
The hug I got when I finished my last race as a jv runner, undefeated for two years in cross country.
The hug I got when I received my Patriarchal Blessing.
The hug I got when I earned my Personal Progress Medallion.
The hug I got when I won my first varsity cross country race on the Mt. Carmel Golf Course.
The hug I got when we took state in cross country.
The hug I got when I graduated from Milford High School.
The hug I got when I received The Chief Manuelito Scholarship.
The hug I got when I moved into my first college home.
The hug I got when I got accepted to Utah State.
The hug I got after Dallon asked for my hand in marriage.

All of these hugs led up to my most cherished hugs of all time....well so far. The hug I got in the temple, first when I received my endowments, and then when I was married for time and all eternity to my sweetheart. These hugs led up to the hug I received after being sealed for time and all eternity to my family. There's just something about a father's hug that is unexplainable. It is especially wonderful when it takes place in the temple. Something I have dreamt about since I was just a little girl. All of my dreams have come true in a short amount of time and I am so grateful. I am so grateful for each and every hug I received, because without them, I don't know where I would be. So here's to my dad, Donald Jim Livingston, he's THE best. I couldn't have asked for a better father.

Cache Valley

Today is June 15th, and it marks the day before Warped Tour 2012. As I sit here on our couch listening to one of my most favorite sounds, Dallon playing the guitar, I can't help but to think of my life before I even knew what Warped Tour was. It was about three years ago, I was a freshman at SUU, and I was introduced to Dallon Wayne Durfey. Since that day, my life has changed in so many ways. I look down at my wedding ring and am reminded of just how lucky I am to have Dallon in my life. (We got it cleaned today, so it is looking extra fancy.)

Tomorrow marks a special event in our relationship, a time where we get to enjoy the wonderful world of music. This week I have thought a lot about my first experiences of Warped Tour. I got to see Dallon rock out to some of his most favorite bands, meet talented musicians, get a tan, and have a ton of fun rocking out myself to the few songs I knew. Since that time I went back once with Dalaki, and tomorrow I get to experience it once again. This time with Dallon, Daezia, and Dalaki! We are so excited for this years line up, but even more excited to just hang out with each other. I know its going to be a blast.

Other than Warped Tour, Dallon and I have been keeping busy by exploring Cache Valley. Here's a list of our findings.
The Willow Park Zoo is pretty legitimate.
The so called Logan Mini Golf is not open, despite what the open poster says.
Logan Lanes is way chill. We went bowling and Dallon schooled me in pool.
We found out running errands takes longer than just an hour because everything in our lives is an ordeal.
Road construction ruins our lives, especially when it comes to freeway on and off ramps.
Pink power bait DOES not work, nor does trying to copy the bait used by the guy next to us reelin' in the fish.
Yellow jackets kindly greet us every time we walk out of our apartment or out of our car.
The steamer we got at Royal's was THE best idea to starting a healthier life.
We quote Kam ALL the time, when we don't wike things, or denying that we did something, or if something is nummy.
Having our own washer and dryer is THE best thing ever.
Wednesday night at Applebees proves to have its rewards. (DOUBLE BINGO and BLACKOUT=Sudoku book, led flashlight, and bottle caps.)
I love being in the middle of a phone conversation between Kiana, Nish, and Jeep, especially when it gets interrupted by a riding lawn mower being pulled by a motorcycle. ;)
There comes a time when we watch all of the episodes of Lie to me. :(
But it's a good thing we still have How I Met Your Mother episodes.
Our new favorite dish, squash shrimp.
Fred Meyer is conveniently located inside Smith's Marketplace.
And lastly, we love having things within walking distance, especially a temple! :)

SUMMER 2012

This summer has been so great so far! Dallon and I have been enjoying our summer break after great spring performances at our respected universities. Once school was out, Dallon got his tonsils out. He was a trooper throughout the whole ordeal. He went into surgery on Tuesday and gave the nurses quite a show with his coming out of anesthesia kick. With funny sayings like how he was going to blackmail me when I get my tonsils out. Once I told him mine were already out, he didn't skip a beat when he told me he would find something to take out.

While he was recovering, we had to get all packed up for our move to Logan. Luckily we had Koda, Mandi, and Shawn come help. As well as Mike and Sharon. I couldn't have done it without them....packing up and taking care of the recovering Dallon.

We then headed to Milford so I could play in the alumni volleyball tournament that Nisha is in charge of. Our team consisted of Nisha, Kiana, Daezia, Sydney, Shyeanne, and Megan. We had a lot of fun. I look forward to this tournament all year.

After that got over, Dallon and I got addicted to a show called Lie to Me. However, lately I made the rule that we couldn't watch it right before bedtime because I always ended up having crazy dreams about being a detective at a crime scene. Yes, I am a child. Dallon and I are also now professionals at telling when people lie, so don't even try lying to us.

On Memorial Day we made a trip to the Milford Cemetery with our family from Cedar. It made me grateful for those that have gone on before us, but it also  made me miss them like crazy. It's a good thing we have the plan of salvation, or else I don't know if I would've been able to handle any of their passings.

We then packed up and headed north to Logan where we moved into our next apartment as a married couple. The next day my Dad, Nish, MahLee, and Trexton came to bring us the rest of our stuff. It made me feel so blessed to have them in my life and to know that they would do anything to help us in any way possible. Teresa also came to help get moved in, bless her heart!

We spent the next week living it up in Cache Valley. Dallon took me ice skating for my first time ever. It was so much fun! We also spent the whole time on our feet, neither one of us fell once. So many people told me I would fall the first time.......well I didn't. We also found two beautiful reservoirs that we tried our hand at fishing, as well as swimming.

In between these visits Dallon got a job at West Liberty Foods! He doesn't have to start until the 18th, so we decided to take another vacation to Wayne, to be there when Shanda had her baby. On Sunday morning around 2:45 am we became an aunt and uncle again! Luxi Arlee Brown was born at 6 lbs 6 oz and 19.75" long.  She is such a beautiful little girl! So perfect and so lovable. We've spent the week chillin in Wayne County visiting family, friends, going to the movies, fishing, watching Lie to Me, and reading The Mockingjay.

In a couple of hours we are going to travel to Milford to make preparations for the big events taking place on Friday. On June 8, 2012 at the St. George Temple, we are going to make operation Eternal Livingston Family become a reality!