New Mom Service Activity: Diaper Wipes Case 9.18.2012

Hmmm... what are all these lovely MBA Spouses doing you ask? 

They are making baby wipes cases for our new mommies this year!

You just take a little bit of this and that

Then cut and measure to fit around these

and after a bit of time with the glue gun, they are all dolled up and ready to go! 

And to show our thanks for a job well done...

the amazing and Provo renowned Chocolate chocolate chip cookies. 

Thank you to Karin Shumway and Danielle Monson for your hard work and to all the other wonderful helping hands. Your time and donations were put to good use. 

2012 Fall Semesters First Girls Night Out - 9.25.2012

Girls' Night Out

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A 'girls' night out' is a gender-exclusive activity where women meet to engage in social activities.

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And socialize we did! However, it wasn't all we did. Our night out revolved around "Favorite Things" including but not limited to: Nutella, Brazillian Nail Polish, Jamba Juice, purses, Date Nights, Razors and Bath& Body Works Products. 

 We started off the evening playing a get-to-know-you Bingo game.
Squares included "Am an only child" or ""would rather read than sleep"
and "From somewhere other than the USA"

Ashley Allan had a cute story involving "Mr & Mrs. Right" in which
the gifts were passes back and forth. After the story we each took turns
 opening our gifts and getting to know the lovely lady who brought the item.

As you can easily see, we all had a wonderful Girls Night Out, 

made new friends, re-connected with old ones and got to know each other better. 

 Thank you so much to everyone to came, who planned it
 and who especially made these lovely yummy little cake balls from heaven.

***{Be sure to mark your calendars for "Witches Night Out" Oct 23 from 8-9:30pm}***

Its Soccer Time!.

Wednesday evenings Kiwanis Park turns into a soccer paradise!
Nicole Johnson and her committee have organized weekly soccer games for 3 & 4 year olds.
They start off each game with some exercises and warm-ups

Sit ups, Jumping Jacks and push ups get the kiddos ready to go

The first thirty minutes is spent in warming up and drills. 

Then the next thirty minutes is spent in scrimmage. Let the games begin!

As always we stress teams and sportsmanship. 

Each game finishes with a cheer and a snack. 

We all love soccer! 

Hopefully you can come out and join us soon

Bridal Veil Falls Autumn Hike 9.25.2012

The leaves are changing and Autumn is quickly approaching!

Catherine Jeppson from the Sports & Wellness Committee set up a hike for the MBASA members.

We met in the parking lot and after unloading the kids and strollers and bikes, we were on our way

The falls were a very short distance away and the trail was paved the whole way. 

Once we reached the falls we took a break, fed some fish and had some lunch

Then off we went for a little bit longer up the winding path. 

The weather was perfect and the scenery was amazing.

If you have missed the activity, be sure to head up on your own. Its just a 15 minute drive and the hike is very short as well. I think it is safe to say that everyone who was able to go enjoyed themselves, even our Flat Daddy!

Gift of the Heart Exchange 9.15.2012

Our first Gifts of the Heart Exchange of the semester happened this Saturday, September 15th. The whole church building was filled with clothes, toys, home items, and so much more and we hope everyone who attended was able to come away with some great finds.

We all feel that GOTHE is a great, great blessing and a wonderful resource for clothes and other necessary items for our families, especially during a time that is often financially difficult. We are grateful for all the spouses who put in so much time and effort to put on these exchanges every semester.

The next GOTHE will be held on Saturday, November 10th so mark your calendars!

Back to School Night 9.6.2012

Whether you are a first year spouse or a more "experienced" second year spouse, the Back to School Night last week was a great opportunity to learn more about the MBA program and how to best support your spouse in their MBA experience (and your MBASA experience;)).

We were glad so many spouses were able to attend.

We had the great privilege to have Dr. Craig Merrill, the MBA program director, come to speak to us about the MBA program in general and how we can help our spouses through the process. He stressed the fact that each MBA student was hand-selected and is here for a reason and that we, as their spouses, are just as important and vital to their success as they are.

Dr. Craig Merrill

Next, the MBAA Student President, Scott Stonehocker, spoke about the craziness of MBA life, but also the great blessings and potential to better ourselves--both as students and spouses. 

Scott Stonehocker, MBAA President

We also heard from Preston Peterson, the Head Sherpa, who explained the Sherpa program and the resources available to our spouses for their internship search.

Preston Peterson, Head Sherpa

Liz Malone and Andrea Marley also spoke about using the GoogleGroup and Facebook page and answered questions about how to navigate through the many online groups and resources available for spouses.

If you have any questions about these things, please visit the FAQ page on the MBASA website for an explanation or contact Liz Malone with questions.

Finally, we broke into different rooms based on our spouse's tracks and second year spouses shared their experiences (about the program, workload, internships, etc.) with first years and answered questions. In response to the desire to know more about how they could support their spouse in the internship search, we've added an Internships tab to the website. We will also hold other activities later in the year to discuss preparing for the internship and hopefully answer other questions.

We hope those who came out to our Back to School Night found it to be a useful and informative evening!

MBASA Opening Social 8.29.2012

The MBASA Opening Social is one of our biggest events of the year and this year did not disappoint. We had well over 100 spouses in attendance and several of our NAC Women spouses as well. We hope everyone who attended enjoyed their evening and are inspired to get more involved in MBASA this year--in whatever capacity you want. For those who were not able to join us, we hope that you will come out to one (or more) of our many, many MBASA activities this year. 

Our Opening Social was held at the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center, one of the newest buildings on campus.

The room was pretty packed.

Our evening began with a welcome from our MBASA President, Sarah Craig, and a delicious dinner catered by BYU Dining Services.

Centerpieces at the tables.

As always, dessert was the best part of the meal.

After introducing our presidency and board members, we were privileged to hear a special musical number from second year spouse and Education Committee head, Margot Belnap, and her fellow second year spouses, Brett Miller on the guitar and Emiko Dodson on the piano.

Margot and Brett performing "The Climb." They totally made me cry, so thanks for that ladies. :)

After their performance, we were introduced to the keynote speaker, Marilyn Rizley, who is serving as the NAC Women's president. The National Advisory Council (NAC) is a group of business men and women--and their spouses--who advise the Marriott School on the direction of the MBA program and are a great networking resource for students and spouses alike. Marilyn spoke of finding balance in our lives and letting the spirit guide us. She talked of the importance of expressing gratitude and equated etiquette with kindness. She also recommended that we also find opportunities to volunteer and serve others. 

Marilyn Rizley, President of NAC Women.

Marilyn also talked about some exciting things on the horizon: The NAC Women are putting together a NAC blog where MBASA spouses will be able to connect with NAC women and ask them for advice and information on a wide range of questions. The blog will be unveiled at the Marriott School NAC Women's Luncheon, which will be held on Friday, September 28 from 1:00-2:30 pm in the garden of the Former President's Home on campus during NAC Conference weekend. All MBASA spouses are invited to attend. More information should be forthcoming on that event.


Afterwards, spouses were invited to meet with the committee heads and join one (or more) of our nine committees. If you haven't had a chance yet, you can still sign up on our Virtual Committee Fair. You don't have to join a committee to participate in their activities; it just means that you are part of the planning committees and can offer your input and and ideas.

Committee tables.

Most of all, it was a great evening of meeting new spouses, reconnecting with old friends, and forging new friendships. MBASA is full of so many talented and interesting spouses and we know that it can often be overwhelming and intimidating for new spouses to jump in but we hope you'll find a place within MBASA and many friends as you continue to come to our activities and meet with other spouses. 

We hope all first and second year spouses will join us for our next big event, Back to School Night on Thursday, September 6th at 8pm in W408 Tanner Building on campus. We'll see you all there!