Fordham University

Ever since Sierra was 10 years old she had this dream of going to Juilliard to major in music. Back in 2004 I didn't really know how difficult it can be to get an audition in. Now I know, and I am still waiting to hear back from them.

As she has grown through the years, and now that she is a Senior in high school she has decided that BYU is not her only choice of schools.

During spring break last year we took a tour to Fordham University, and she absolutely loved it! This past Sunday was the President's open house for Fordham in New York City where we were welcomed with speeches given by both the President of Fordham, and the Dean of the school. We had a wonderful experience...again, and have been very impressed with this campus. We were greeted by the friendliest staff, got free items, and the buffet was delicious!

There were so many people for the open house, and the food went pretty quick.

Representatives from various academic departments were available to answer our questions, and Sierra was pleased with the professor who teaches music. Since her major will be music composition, she had a lot of questions regarding what this school had to offer.

We are so happy that she has an open mind, and that she is considering other schools. She also has her eye on Princeton University which we went to this past Saturday.

She also enjoyed attending the SOAR program at BYU this past summer, and will still be applying there. I am grateful that she is valiant in exploring other colleges, and to know that there are other options.

This is her choice, and as parents we trust her decision. She is very focused on her academic future, loves meeting new friends, and loves the east coast. We shall wait, and see which university she gets into, and pray that it is the best one for her.

If Julliard doesn't happen for her that's okay too. It'll be exciting as to which universities accept her, and which one she'll choose!

It was another great day in New York! 

Fordham University & Old Sturbridge Village.

When you only have five days of Spring break...you want to try to take advantage of all that you can fit into your schedule. Things that are important to both you and your children. It doesn't help when you don't spend it all in one town either, or in our case...STATE.  Luckily all the states here on the east coast are close together.

One of the most important trips we did during our spring break was taking Sierra on a campus tour to Fordham University in New York. They have two campuses: one in Manhattan near the Lincoln center, and one in Rose Hill near the Bronx. This is one of the universities Sierra is seriously considering. She continues to receive mail from various universities. She has her heart set on Fordham, but that can always change.

                         Rose Hill in the Bronx                               Lincoln Center in Manhattan

walking through the campus.

one of three gymnasiums at Fordham-this one belongs to Varsity only

Sierra had a great time at the tour. I was really impressed with Holly who was our tour guide. She is a sophomore at Fordham, and she did a great job in answering all our questions and explaining to us all the facts that we need to know about entering college. It's times like this where I wish I would have had opportunities of exploring campuses while I was in high school. I'm glad I was able to do this with my daughter and that she wanted to go on her own motive. We are both excited as to where she'll go, and what she'll become.

Sierra and Holly the tour guide. 

*****

Second stop...Sturbridge, Massachusetts

Old Sturbridge Village is a "must see" New England destination. This was our first time visiting Sturbridge and we enjoyed every minute. Everyone is dressed in historian costumes and it actually did make our visit believable. I truly felt as if we were living back in the 1800's. 

We saw a printer, potter, blacksmith and a lot of farmers at work.

We even learned how to make old remedies from sage, dandelions and horehound.

There were a lot of village animals such as sheep, chickens and famous oxen. Noah liked petting the sheep.

We noticed this rooster meandering around, and so I snapped a photo of him...I love his colors.

They had these wooden stilts and so all the girls tried walking in them. They all pretty much succeeded except Chelsea... 

She needed a little help from Dad.

They also have an area where you can do hands-on activities. 

Here is Lexie weaving a bookmark out of yarn.

They have a fabulous gift shop with a lot of beautiful fabric. Lexie is my little homemaker and crafts person in the family and loves to sew. Here she is admiring the fabric. They had a lot of pioneer dresses already made that cost up to $90!!! Luckily they have a grandmother in Utah that is a pro at making those pioneer skirts, aprons, and bonnets for pioneer days!!

 There was a small house where they had an old rocking horse. I wish I could have taken it home with me...Noah loved it. 

and an old town home with this very old piano, silver and china inside

We really enjoyed learning about life in the 1800's. It also really made us appreciate how the pioneers lived then. This is another place on the top of our list to visit while in New England.  I really enjoyed the peaceful environment.  Especially while going on a walk through the woods.