Doctoral auditions to Texas and Kansas...

Ken and I just got home tonight from a week long trip of interviewing and auditioning for doctorate programs for him. We went to the University of North Texas and then to the University of Kansas. I didn't take many pictures on this trip. The ones that I did take are from our time in Texas. Here's a little snippet of our trip...

And we're off! Here's a lovely little peek of the Salt Lake valley out of the airplane window.


The best part about flying Delta are the Biscoff cookies. Yummy yum yum!

Major down day! Travel day = no makeup and minimal hair styling. We look poor. I'm fine with that.

 

Here's a quick picture of us as we're heading out the door of our hotel room. We were on our way to Ken's actual Texas audition. He's looking a little stressed, no? Handsome but stressed.

Look what we found! At the University of North Texas we saw an L.D.S. hymnal laying in the room with the organ. For a minute I felt like we were at B.Y.U. It seemed like a weird find in Texas.

 This is the organ that Ken auditioned on at U.N.T. It's pretty bare bones and incredibly fickle. I think they put the applicants on it to "throw" them. Luckily for Ken, it was a-okay. He's been practicing on organs similar to this one. He wasn't intimidated at all.

This is a picture of Ken playing on a different organ at U.N.T. They took us to a different building to show off some of their other organs.

Isn't this one beautiful?

On our last night in Texas, we decided to eat at the Cracker Barrel. Our G.P.S. unit gave us a few locations to choose from so naturally we chose the one closest to our hotel. As we were driving, we kept saying how residential the area felt. I was thinking that the G.P.S. had to be wrong. Low and behold it took us to our destination...

 The Cracker Barrel Food Store in the middle of a ghetto Texas neighborhood. We reassigned the G.P.S. and made it to the other Cracker Barrel.

Ken was being ever so studious on the plane from Texas to Kansas.

One of the last pictures I have... my beloved Utah mountains as we fly back home.

Ken's Texas audition went well. The professor there told him that his playing style is poetic. What a nice compliment. Of course he said there were things that Ken needs to work on but overall Ken felt good about his experience there.

Kansas was good in some ways. The college was really friendly and they were eager to show us around. Ken auditioned for the professors there and he felt okay about it. They called him in later that day and told him that they felt like he has a lot at stake and they wanted him to know up front that they would not be offering him a spot. Surprisingly, neither he or I were too upset about it. I know that Ken wanted to make the decision on his terms and not be passed by. So, Kansas isn't an option. At least we know.

So for now, everything rides on Texas. If they make an offer than that's our answer. If they don't than I'm not sure what will happen next for Ken. We'll know in a few weeks. We've done all we can.

I learned a few things while we were in Texas, however.

• I learned that people in Texas really like their trucks. A lot.
• According to several bumper stickers,  I learned that "real men love Jesus".
• I had no idea that companies even made Jesus flags.
• People do not have soda loyalty there. I just wanted a Diet Coke on tap. Nope. It's bottles or Pepsi. Utah has much more fizzy beverage selection.
• There is way too much road construction going on there.
• Everyone was really friendly and they really love their "yes ma'am, no ma'am, yes sir, and no sir" down there.
• There are soooo many churches there. There is a different denomination on every corner.
• Texans wear parkas, hats, gloves, scarves and boots when the weather hits 50 degrees. It was like a heat wave for Ken and I.
• People in Texas found it odd that we can navigate our way through Utah by the way the mountains look. I find it odd that people can navigate their way by water towers. 

So there you are! We're home after being away for a week. I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight. Now we'll play the waiting game to hear back from the University of North Texas. Wish us luck!