30 Days of Music: Day 19

A Song That Reminds You of Your Best Friend

From 1997-1999 I attended Ricks college (now BYU-Idaho) and met some of the best friends I've had in my entire life.  They introduced me to country music, helped me learn how to be happy being me, and they taught me how to laugh.  To this day some of the happiest times of my life were when I was with these people.

One song comes to mind when I think about the people in these pictures.  "A Friend To Me" by Garth Brooks.  It came to be a special song between a few of us, and it makes me a little teary eyed when I listen to it now.

The following video is a little on the cheesy side, but the wonderful lyrics are underneath.



Well you and I
We're buddies
And we've been since we first met
Me and you
Well we've sure been through
Our share of laughter and regret

Lord knows we've had our bad days
And more than once we've disagreed
But you've always been a friend to me

You can be so stubborn
There's times I think you just like to fight
And I hope and pray
I live to see a day
When you say I might be right

And there's times I'd rather kill you
Than listen to your honesty
But you've always been a friend to me

You've always been
Time and again
The one to take my hand
And show to me it's okay to be
Just the way I am
With no apology

Oh you've always been
And you will 'til God knows when
Yes you've always been a friend to me

...And I Know Him!

While I was at BYU-Idaho, one of my greatest friends was a guy named Levi.  I've spoken of him before during a Musicals Monday entry.  Click here to read it.  The picture above reminds me of Levi; you'll know why in a minute.

Anyway, what you don't know about Levi is that he is an AMAZING photographer!  Working a normal, everyday job, always wanting to live his dream, he quit his job in December and became a full time photographer.  Living in Logan, Utah with his wife, he has created a booming business taking phenomenal pictures, and teaching others how to do the same. 

Levi just took third place at the Summerfest Photo Contest in Logan, UT for his picture that you can see here.  I have NO IDEA what all the photography lingo means, but it's an awesome picture!

Levi takes pictures of everything:  from newborn babies, to older adults, landscapes to motorcycle races, flowers to families.

Check out Levi's website

(If you visited the website you now understand why the picture at the beginning of my post reminds me of Levi......THE HAT!)

I wish that I could post some of Levi's work, but since he's copyrighted, I'm going to direct you to some of my favorite pictures in his massive collection.

Engagement Pictures
The blue color in this background gives me the chills!

The Band That Plays Funk
Looking at these pictures, I couldn't believe how great they were....and then I saw the picture of the female singer and thought I was looking at a magazine advertisement!  Such a beautiful picture.

Flower Friday
How does he DO this?

Night Time
What gets me about these pictures are that I KNOW the person who took them!  These are incredible!

Anyway, now that I've gone on and on about how awesome Levi is, I'll ask the question:

Are you looking for an amazing, talented photographer who is not only completely professional but SO MUCH FUN to be around?  If so, contact him to set up an appointment.  You won't regret it.  Be sure to tell him that I referred you! 

Yep, that's Levi!

YouTube Friday

While I attending BYU-ID I had the honor of being in the Women's Choir.  The first year I was there, we inagurated a new school president, David A. Bednar, now a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  With President Hinckley present, we sang Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, a song that gives me chills every time I hear it.

The following is a version by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that was sang during President Hinckley's 95th birthday celebration.

Signature Poses

After my last Musicals Monday post, Ben made a comment that has inspired this post.  He stated that the picture I used of he and Levi in their fedoras was one of the only pictures taken of Levi while he was at BYU-Idaho without his thumbs up.  That got me thinking....was Ben right?

So, off to my photo albums I went to test the theory.  I couldn't believe it:  BEN WAS RIGHT!!  I have A LOT of pictures, and Levi has his thumbs up in almost all of them!

Don't believe me?  Let my wonderful scanner prove the theory: 

(my scanner has the potential to cause a lot of trouble!!)

Ben and Levi inside their dorm...notice the thumb is pointing up 

Ben is on the left with the hat on, and Levi is in the glasses and white shirt down in front.  Again, the thumb is up, but so are the thumbs of most of the guys in this pic!

Can you find Levi in this pic?  Yep, the guy with his thumbs up!

 

At the Salt Lake City Temple.  Once again, the thumb is up

The girl in the picture is my other college roommate Beth, over at Free Stylin'

After seeing all the pictures of Levi with his thumbs up, I started to notice another trend.  Ben also has a signature pose.  Not wanting to leave him out of the fun, since he is the person who brought this fact to my attention, here are pictures of Ben. 

Outside my dorm room

Inside at my roommates birthday party

At my mom's old apartment in California

Ben liked to pose with his arms on his hips.  The majority of the pictures I have are of him in that position!!

Ben and  Levi are two of the goofiest, funniest guys I've ever met.  The last few pictures are three of my favorites.

Levi as a gargoyle

Ben and Levi, who just had to climb the tree!!

At my roommates birthday party

Do you have a "signature pose"?  If so, what is it?

Oh, I can't end this post without telling you about Levi's blog.  He is an AMAZING photographer!  Check out his beautiful pictures at SDesigns Photography

Day Ten: A Photo From 10 Years Ago

I graduated from BYU-Idaho in May of 1999.  Yes, that might be 11 years ago, but I think it's close enough.  This picture was taken by my roommate the day of graduation, right outside our dorm room.  It was also one of the last times I had long hair.  The weekend I moved back to California, I cut it very short!

And just for fun, here's a picture from a lot more than ten years ago:  1986, when I was in 2nd grade!  Thanks for the cute hair, mom!!

Day Nine: A Photo That I Took

I attended BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho from 1997-1999 when it was still called Ricks College.  I still consider those two of the best years of my life.

Sunset was always my favorite time of day.  As you'll see from the pictures, the colors in the sky were incredible.  I took these pictures from my dorm room.

This has always been my favorite of the sunset pictures.

Have you ever seen so much pink in a sunset before?!?

Or purple, for that matter?!?