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21st Birthday!

2012-01-14T14:06:00.001-07:00

This week has been so much fun! Such a good birthday week!

Tuesday was my first day at Courage Reins. I loved it. And I cannot wait to go back next week! Preschoolers came in and they were the cutest kids ever! I'm so excited to keep going!

Marissa and I hiked the Y on Thursday. It was freezing. And really difficult haha but so worth it!

[Also, I thought I would add that the hike gave me a chance to remember Tim. It has been eleven years but I always love to think about him. I may have been young but he was hilarious and so much fun to play with during recess. For some reason, it hit me harder than it has for a lot of years. I am usually home or purposely distracting myself. It has always been hard to have such a sad memory associated with my birthday. Katie Barnes wrote on my wall a perfect time of day and said exactly what I needed to hear. Be happy about what I have and enjoy every moment. I may miss him but I know that he was needed somewhere else.]

Marissa, Chris and Stacey decided to have me open presents at midnight. I was all for that! I got super cute clothes from them! Also, my parents got me a really cute raincoat. I love it!

Yesterday, we started off with seeing my grandparents. I haven't been able to see them very often so it was so good to be able to talk to them again! Marissa and I met up with Brock for breakfast at Kneaders. So ready to eat a ton of the endless french toast... Only ate 3ish. haha Still delicious! When we got back we found a package on the counter. These were the instructions on the box. We had NO idea what was inside. When we opened it we found chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels! Thank you mom and dad for all the wonderful birthday presents! I loved them all.

I went to class and we went shopping for a bit then headed to Spark to have some drinks (non-alcoholic, don't worry). It was a blast! And we all want to go again! I was able to see some people that I don't get to see very often and I am so happy they went so I had a chance to catch up a bit! Afterward, we came back to our apartment for red velvet cake balls and cupcakes. I found these sprinkles that looked like pearls and I could not pass them up. They were so so so cute! At home there were more people that came that I got to catch up with (including Marci's boyfriend who is hilarious!)

Buffness

2012-01-08T22:23:00.001-07:00

My dad can push planes. What can yours do?

That's Marissa talking by the way. After she talked in the video before telling me to start a new video.

Thank you dad for taking us flying!

P.S. I am 21 this Friday. Just a little info for you all :)

"I love you more!"

2012-01-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

That was a very common phrase heard this break by my adorable nephew, Ryker. When he was younger (well, younger than he is now) he would barely let me hug him. This break he let us tickle him, kiss him, hold him, cuddle him, take him to the store/ice skating/car rides, hug him.... He actually wanted to go anywhere and everywhere that someone was going. It was so so so much fun. And he is talking SO much. It is so fun to hear your nephew who you thought may hate you say he loves you more. Yes, he probably doesn't really know what it means but it makes an aunt feel so good! Also, he would put "too!" on the end of every single sentence. hah When someone was leaving he would say, "I go too!" or when someone got apple cider, "I have apple juice too!" Ahh it was so cute. And I am pretty sure one of his favorite things to do is make milkshakes. I feel like he doesn't care too much about the end product like he does the licking ice cream off the spoon, dipping the spoon in the chocolate then licking it and putting it back in so the chocolate will stick, and pushing the lever to make the milkshake come out the smoothie spigot.

Rock as a three (almost 4 year old) is so much fun!! He says the cutest most random things!
He was dressed up as Santa and sitting on the floor so I sat next to him and swung my legs over him and starting asking him stuff for Christmas. He started pushing me off and said, "I don't have time for this!" and walked away.

I was playing with Rock and this conversation happened.. haha

Me: Rock, I'm gonna miss you when I leave.
Rock: Where are you going?
Me: I have to go back to school.
Rock: Why do you have to go back to school?
Me: Because I have to learn.
Rock: Why do you have to learn?
Me: So I can have a job
Rock: hah You don't need to go to school!
Me: Why??
Rock: I'll teach you all you need to know!

How can you NOT love these two?!

My Nighttime Antics Part Three

2012-01-04T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm not the only one that does weird creepy things in her sleep...

Like a month ago I climbed into bed. Riss had already gone to bed and was fast asleep. Our beds are arranged like this:

(Her head on the right side of her bed and my head is at the "bottom" of mine)

I was just about to close my eyes and be comfortable when all of a sudden......

AH! Someone just grabbed my ankles.... Worst thing ever to experience before going to bed! (Except spiders come very very very close) I freaked out and yelled at Marissa.. She said that she was checking if I was there... I asked why and she wouldn't answer.. I kept yelling at her and she never ever woke up. I had to curl up onto my pillows in order to get my feet far enough away from the edge so there wouldn't be anymore ankle grabbing that night.

She told me in the morning she was dreaming about helping Larry King fill up backpacks??

And you all thought that I was weird.

Dads and Guns

2011-11-20T20:38:00.001-07:00

For some reason this reminded me of my own dad. But multiply "a gun" by about 30.

Ms. Graceful

2011-11-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

I am really clumsy. Always have been and probably always will. I have fallen down many stairs, tripped over flat surfaces, slipped into puddles, and now... fallen off a horse.

Yup. A horse.

One minute I was on it and the next I was on the ground.

Seriously, I don't remember how it happened. I just remember getting up from the ground and being super embarrassed.

Tyler (the guy who taught us how to lasso) took me up to his horse to teach me how to get a horse ready to ride because I have to know in order to volunteer at Courage Reins. So we went up and he taught me how to do the halter, the bridle and the saddle. He then took Gunner out to warm him up and stuff and then let me take him around a few times. I couldn't lope or anything cause I was too short for the stirrups. First embarrassing thing, but I'm used to that. But since Gunner has a hard time with other riders he didn't want to leave Tyler so Tyler got on and we went around a few more times. Then Tyler asked if I wanted to lope. So we switched places so he could steer better. So I was on the back and we start going. I was having SUCH a hard time not bouncing back and forth and could tell it wouldn't last long.

It lasted a lot shorter than I thought. Like 10 seconds.

Dirt was everywhere. Down my pants, down my shirt, in my mouth, in my pockets, in my hair... and I found dirt in my ear 2 hours later.

I am probably the most elegant and graceful woman out there. Watch out guys!

But seriously... you may want to cause you just might be pulled off a horse with me.

My Nighttime Antics Part Two

2011-11-19T09:26:00.002-07:00

Last winter semester I was stressing out a lot about waking up early for my class. I had to wake up early to meet a girl in my class to go to a high school to observe. Since I have a history of not waking up on time, I guess my nighttime self tried to take this issue its own hands.

There was one morning I was having a VERY hard time putting in my contacts and couldn't figure out why it was so difficult for me. I then saw on my phone it was 3 am. What the heck? Then I realized I was showered, my legs were shaved and one contact was in.

I had done all that in my sleep. I don't remember a thing and didn't wake up until I was trying to put my left contact in.

Now I just want to know what else I have done in my sleep that I didn't wake up for.... Crap.

March Can't Come Fast Enough

2011-11-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here are two videos that I love right now. Well, one of them is a trailer for Hunger Games. I want to keep watching it over and over because I am just so excited. This first one just cracks me up and some of the kids remind me of some people. The last two boys are my absolute favorites. haha

Me Indecisive? Never...

2011-11-09T19:33:00.001-07:00

So... A month or so ago I decided to change my minor. I have changed it to Nonprofit Management. I feel like I have already said this... Oh well.

Back at the beginning of the semester hen we were introducing ourselves in relief society, a girl (my visiting teacher) said her major was Therapeutic Recreation. That sounded exactly like what I have always wanted to do. I looked it up that night and saw that I had done a few of the classes already and will take some because I am doing pre nursing. I talked myself out of it and decided that I would just stick with health education. I realized that I wasn't enjoying my teaching classes and that I really didn't want to teach and thought I wasn't cut out to be at teacher. But I still told myself to suck it up and just do it.

Last Monday I got a parking ticket. After I appealed it I was talking to the receptionist. She asked me what my major was... blah blah blah. I asked her what her major was and she said therapeutic recreation. Seriously? She talked to me for about twenty minutes about it and I fell in love with it. She was also doing pre nursing and she said it worked perfectly. But if I wanted to change over I should probably do it ASAP.

So, I went home and made a pretty spreadsheet with all the classes I need to take for generals, pre-nursing, my minor and this new major. And colored coated it. [I just learned how to use Excel and I am pretty much a pro now. ] I saw that I wouldn't graduate until a semester later but that doesn't bother me now.

I met with my minor adviser yesterday. He LOVED my spreadsheets :) He asked me what my major is and I told him how I want to switch over and all. He asked me why. I told him that ever since I have learned about Hippotherapy (Therapeutic Horseback Riding) I have always wanted to learn more about. He said that for one of my first classes for my minor I could spend up at Courage Reins [they do hippotherapy there.) I was so excited.

I meet with my adviser to add Therapeutic Recreation as my major tomorrow morning. Whenever I think about it I get so excited. I can start seeing small things fall into place and a couple reasons why I didn't make up my mind earlier.

One of My Dreams

2011-10-28T11:13:00.000-06:00

I was on Pinterest this morning and came across this picture:

Ever since watching this video:

a few years ago, I have always wanted to pet a lion. That picture reminded me how bad I really want that to happen. This dream hasn't come true. Yet... I'm persistent that it will! Maybe when I run my own nonprofit organization in Africa I can find someone that can help me out with that... Someday.

Dove Knows Best

2011-10-26T16:52:00.000-06:00

When my parents were here Sherry sent Riss and I home with a bag of candy. It had Dove candies, Snickers and some other goodies in it. For church on Sunday I took a handful so I could snack on them because I have a terrible time going 3 hours without food. Before Sunday School I took out a Dove chocolate and started eating it. Riss looks at me with her puppy dog begging face and asks if I have more since she ate all her's already. I was very reluctant to dig through my purse then I read my little message on the wrapper, "Happiness is sharing chocolate with others." WHATTT!?! Seriously Dove?! Needless to say I dug around in my purse so I could be happy.

On another note... I have always had people spell my name wrong. Most end it with -ey and some may put -ie. I have also had some that spell it Witney, Whintney, Whiteny, and Whinty. As I was walking to class I got a text from my friend saying that I need to get to class because they have a funny story for me. 9 am is my Athletic Training lecture and 10 is my lab for it ( I slept in and got some extra sleep because I have the most disgusting plugged nose.) When I got to class he told me this story....

"So, we were in class and Justin (our teacher) put up the groups for our final presentation. I was going through our group and saw my name, Aimee's name, Necole's.... but then I saw the next name and I thought, 'Who is that?' Then I saw the last name was England. Justin spelled your name with an S instead of a W. I would say it, but it isn't appropriate."

haha That's a new one!

Late, but still great!

2011-10-23T19:44:00.002-06:00

My mom and dad were here again! Best of the weekend!

To go back earlier last week... We finished tournament for volleyball (girls.) We had lost the first or second round of the tournament so we played in the losers bracket. We beat... 5 or 6 teams? Including the team we had lost to. Booyah! Thursday night we had about twenty friends come cheer us on for the championship game. And they did awesome! Super loud :) Since it is double elimination we had to beat the team twice in order to be the champs. That is probably the rule I hate the most! We won the first game! Then lost the second... So we weren't champs. It was super fun though. Just incredibly frustrating since we were SO close to getting a t-shirt. Next year maybe... We start coed Tuesday and it should be pretty good! I hope..

Friday night was Stacey's 21st birthday party! It was a mocktail party and we asked everyone to wear their best red, black and white attire. We had non-alcoholic mixed drinks, TONS of food and some good looking people! It was tons of fun to meet some new people and catch up with some friends. We hit up ~~Rancherito's~~ Beto's at 1:30 with some friends. You always see the most interesting people late at night...

We woke up early Saturday morning to go to Katelin's bridal shower (Sherry's son (Nate)'s fiance). Riss and I of course got her some cute stuff and the food was delicious! Mom took Riss, Heather (KC's girl) and I shopping and we helped mom get some cute stuff at Dress Barn. I think I enjoy picking her out clothes more than picking stuff out for me. Mom and dad took us all out to Tucano's. Dad LOVED the pineapple and mom LOVED the teriyaki beef. Glad they like it :) Riss and I walked around Gateway with Heather and KC and picked out some cute stuff to wear.

We joined KC at his sacrament and were reminded how hard it is to stay awake during church when it starts at 9.. We made it through with only a few snores and head nods.

I had a final presentation in my adolescent development class where we had to relate our develop to a object of some sort. I related mine to an apple/apple tree and made mini apple muffins to go along with it! It scared me because I have never made them but they were delicious! All 64 of them!

My Nighttime Antics Part One

2011-10-19T23:41:00.003-06:00

So... Chris has heard many of my weird/random/creepy sleeping habits and he wanted me to share them with all of you. So get ready!

First, I thought I would start with my WONDERFUL bed(?) manners :)

I have punched two people while sleeping.
- Marci: We were at volleyball state junior year and Marci and I were sharing a bed (like always.) I was having a dream we were playing volleyball and Marci got in front of me when I was getting ready to pass it. In my dream I punched the ball. In real life I punched Marci's head. All she did was yell at me. I was lucky, believe me.
- Marissa: We were house sitting for he Koenigs with some friends. Riss and I were sharing a bed and in my sleep I was playing basketball and I reached for the ball. In real life I punched Marissa in the face. She yelled at me. And was about to hit me back but didn't want to in front my friends. Thanks girls, you really saved me from getting a bloody nose because she was ~~piss~~ really upset.

When Marci and I would share a bed when we were younger we would wake up with bruises and scratches. One time my shirt was off. Ya, that was weird. Maybe that is why we were so feisty in sports, we trained in our sleep.

Also, I breath really loud. Marissa has told me multiple times that she will yell at me because it will scare me and I will stop breathing loud just long enough for her to fall back asleep. I have fallen asleep in class, on couches, church, cars (pretty much everything ending with c's plus some) and every time I SWEAR, someone tells me a very surprised, kinda freaked out, tone of voice that I was breathing really loud. All I can do is apologize because I don't know what to do differently.

JIMMER TIME!

2011-10-09T19:09:00.001-06:00

So, as most of you probably saw on Facebook, yesterday was a pretty good day!

But first! You get to read about my homemaking skills! I have been craving chicken pot pie so I decided to make one :) It was really good! And sooo easy. Perfect for a college student. Here is the recipe if ya wanna try it sometime!

· 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

· 1 carrot, chopped

· 2 sticks celery, chopped
1/2 can corn (you can probably put the whole can)
1/2 big potato

1/4 onion

· 2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and chopped

· 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

· 2/3 cup milk

· 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

[I meant to put some peas in but I grabbed green beans on accident. You can add whatever veggies you want and I think it would turn out great.]

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Steam carrots and broccoli in a covered pot until slightly tender but still firm. [I kept them in for like 7 minutes]

3. In a large bowl, mix together carrots, broccoli, chicken, soup, milk, cheese, and salt. Spoon mixture into pastry-lined 9 inch pie pan and cover with top crust. Seal edges and cut steam vents in top.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown.

In the morning Chris and Aaron had a volleyball game for intramurals. Riss and I were saying how they should be so happy because we usually like to sleep in on Saturdays. haha We had to park in a further away parking lot because the closer one was blocked off for the homecoming parade (I totally forgot this week was homecoming.. until Saturday). So we were walking down the hall to go to the gym. Riss stops to take a drink of water and I look walk a little further then look back. There is a guy walking with his hoodie on and a basketball. I thought, "Holy crap it's Jimmer!" Then he put his head straight down when he made eye contact with me. At that point I was like, "Holy crap I just made eye contact with Jimmer... but he doesn't look very awake or in the mood to take pictures. I'll let him do his thing and not be annoying" Then Marissa is done with her water she sees someone and since we are so short we can see his face under his hoodie and she says, "Hey! Can I have my picture with you?!" Leave it to Marissa to not think twice when seeing someone like Jimmer. I felt bad for bothering him but at the same time, we got our picture with Jimmer!!! Thanks Riss for being annoying. :)

Then we went to the women's soccer game. It was the game where they were raising awareness for breast cancer and we got free pink beanies! And they did a game at half time where athletes from different sports went and played soccer. After the soccer game was finished a lot of the basketball players were just standing there so Riss and I had our picture taken!

Conference Weekend

2011-10-03T21:48:00.002-06:00

Friday was an interesting game. But we won! So that's all I care about :) We also got to go on the field and met Cody Hoffman. Gorgeous man.

He is really good at football, too.

Marissa and I watched the Saturday sessions at home while painting our nails and looking on Pinterest. My new addiction. But I learn so many cool things! And find lots of cute quotes. That night we went up to Preston's (we are now in the same ward) cabin up in Kamas. So much fun! We kinda fell asleep during the Sunday morning session but we did listen to the afternoon one! Outside on the deck. It was awesome. They made us breakfast and dinner and for lunch we had sandwiches, which is where my new love of pepper jack cheese began.

It was a great relaxing weekend!

In my athletic training class we have watched two videos. I thought the first one was cool and I loved the second. Elder Holland is one of my favorites to listen to!

Golden Weekend

2011-09-25T16:37:00.000-06:00

Well, Marissa has finally hit 24. We did a lot this weekend to celebrate!

First, dad came down to surprise her. Everyone was so good at keeping the surprise! I almost slipped quite a few times because I was just so excited to see him! He got here around 4ish on Friday, we talked a bit then headed to the football game where dad got to sit with us in our 3rd row 40 yard line seats. They won, so it was an awesome game.

Nick has the picture of us with dad.

We headed up to Sherry's for the night but didn't get there until like midnight because we got stuck behind the cop doing the slow roller thing on the highway. Thanks again for letting us spend the night Sherry!

Saturday morning Marissa and I headed up to Timpanogos caves to meet up with Chris, Aaron and Stacey. None of us have been up there before and Aaron wanted to surprise Riss with it. It was National Lands Day so we got free parking and free admission! Woo! They were super cool and the trip was tons of fun. We even got to sing to Marissa in the first little cave. Enjoy my awesome singing :)

We then headed back to shower and dad treated us with a trip to good ol' Costco and dinner at Pizza Pie Cafe! We had to get back to our apartment to set up for Marissa's party that night. We made tons of cupcakes. Here are the kinds we made! Red velvet, Better Than Sex, Chocolate Coconut and yellow. All those were made from scratch besides the chocolate part of the BTS ones. Chris made Banana and Kelly brought over some Strawberry Lemon and Chocolate Mint. They were awesome, so people said. It was great to catch up and see tons of friends again! I was able to pack on all the candles. :) Guess what, you get to listen to me sing again!

This morning we went to Jason Coleman's farewell talk. He told the story about how he and Jared were pretty much stuck at the Wenatchee airport and how they had to walk along the street like lost puppies and be taken by a taxi driver to Seattle. He failed to mention how his GIRL cousin had to come back from Entiat to pick them up and wait for them until the driver got there. He said it was a better story without me in it. Thanks Jason! It was awesome to see family again. We got sent home with plenty of food :)

Thank you dad for EVERYTHING! It was awesome to spend some time with you this weekend! And Jason, good luck!

Videos!

2011-09-11T23:28:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple videos that Stacey took last night. Tyler, the guy who taught us how to lasso, is the one on the bike. Matt is the one announcing. Tyler is lassoing a chair while riding a bike that doesn't really have wheels.

They were hilarious!

Two Weeks Down

2011-09-11T17:28:00.001-06:00

[Sorry, this is mostly a school and work post] As I enter my junior year in college I have seen myself being less stressed. My freshman year I was freaking out about, well, pretty much everything. I was trying to do too much that didn't matter and I stressed more than I studied. Now, I study because I don't want to get stressed. I don't freak out that I have a wrong edition for a book or no book at all. I am right on time for classes and not super late (granted it is the first 2 weeks, this one might change) or super early (I was 20 minutes early for a 10am class because I was scared I would be late when I lived 5 minutes away from the building). I skip the small talk in classes, mostly due to the fact that I know a ton more people now and can find a friend in my classes. I have started my second job. Pretty easy and relaxing. Still doing the snow cone shack. I think I have about 4 working days left! Yesterday I pretty much got paid to watch the game by myself. Not too bad if you ask me (even though we lost...)

We have started intramurals! Well, kind of. The other team didn't show up for our first volleyball game and we haven't had one since. We are also doing flag football... so excited for that! Should be fun, but girls can be feisty! We will have to see.

We (Marissa, Stacey and I) are living about 4 steps from Chris and Aaron. So we get to see their wonderful faces every single day :) Well, except for this weekend because they went to Denver. Last night the three of us girls were coming home and there were two guys from our ward in the parking garage. They were lassoing things! So, they taught us! Marissa picked up right away, I needed extra lessons because I couldn't even get it around myself, and Stacey was pretty dang good too. Don't worry, dad, I got it eventually. Your daughter isn't a complete idiot.

Our project for the next 2 weeks is planning Marissa's 24th birthday! I think I am more excited than she is haha any ideas on fun cupcakes let us know!

Anyway, hopefully this video will make this post not so boring.

Summer Is Officially Over...

2011-09-05T01:50:00.000-06:00

[This was typed a while ago] We are back on the West Coast. Just a little sad considering we did so much during this trip but there was still more to do and see! The trip was so fun and I cannot thank my parents enough for letting us tag along. During this trip I entered 8 new states (if you call D.C. a state)(New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington D.C.), tried Lobster (lobster roll) and crab (crab cakes) for the first time. I liked both of them! But after Marissa gagged when she tried the lobster I lost my appetite and couldn't enjoy the clam chowder I had. Thanks Riss. I also finished the Hunger Game series (see below). We were in airports and planes for way too long, obviously. And spent way too many hours in the car together... Marissa and I drove our parents crazy, I'm sure of it. But they miss and love us so it's okay, right? We are happy they tolerated us. :)

We tried to occupy ourselves in the car at least...

Here are some pictures of us at Plymouth!

The Fudge Lady. She gave us tons of fudge so I thought she deserved a picture on this oh so popular blog.

On pretty much every vacation we went on Marissa and I would get these rocks. Please don't ask why, because I wouldn't know an answer.

Through the fence I saw a tail flip. I freaked out thinking it was a horse...

On our last day we went to Boston. I loved it! And we ate at America's Oldest Running Restaurant! Super cool. Mom and I got a sweet tour about the Boston Massacre. Super interesting!

When we got back to Washington we went to Les Miz. I loved it! I didn't read the book or see the movie and there wasn't a synopsis in the book but I still knew what was going on! Second row tickets are amazing! Thank you SO much mom for dragging us along :) When we made it home we spent as much time as possible at the lake and we even made it up to Stehekin for a few hours. Dad let us drive the boat (even though a stupid tiny piece of wood made its way and we were delayed a few hours). It was awesome to get some bakery goodies and drink out of Rainbow Falls. I even got to see Ben Barnes up there! Going with Rock made the trip even more enjoyable.

I miss those boys!

I am now back in Utah... So much fun. I finished American Heritage, forever! But I do have to say I enjoyed reading about the events that happened at the places we visited. But that stress is gone and I am starting a new one, Chemistry 105. Yippee!! I am finishing up at the shack (we close at the end of Sept) and I have a new job as an aide. I am also taking ZUMBA! We will see how that goes, first day wasn't the best.. haha I am definitely not a dancer. It will be an interesting class for Stacey and I.

Hunger Games

2011-08-19T01:19:00.000-06:00

Okay, so... During this trip I got the chance to finally read for fun! And I took full advantage of this and read all three of the Hunger Games books. They were really good, even though I didn't like the ending of the whole thing (I know a lot of people are wanting to read them so I won't give it away... Just saying I went to bed angry.) Anyway, they are making a movie that comes out in March. I am definitely making it to that midnight showing! I decided to look up who is playing what. A lot of the times I don't like who they choose to play certain people (Twilight for a HUGE example.) Anyway, here are my favorites that they chose so far.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss

I can totally see this. She is really pretty but a little tomboyish. I really liked her in X-Men . It is rare that I like the main female role in a movie from a book but I am super excited and I think she will do awesome.

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta

Peeta can't be super sexy but he has to be cute and grow on you as the book/movie goes on. I see Josh doing just that. He is cute, yes, but he isn't supposed to be the hottest thing you have ever seen. I just hope that he plays the part well.

Liam Hemsworth as Gale

Now, Gale is supposed to be hot. And Liam is just that. SOOOO excited!!! :) He is definitely the one I am the most excited to watch. I just wish he would be in the books more often so we could see more of him in the movie!

Donald Sutherland as President Snow

I don't know if anyone else would be able to portray what President Snow looks like in my head better than he can.

Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy

Now, I imagined someone bigger.. Like Hagrid. But I can see him playing a good drunk. And I kind of pictured him a little creepy, and I know he can do that.

All the others I didn't really picture or their actors just weren't that interesting. I am so excited for this movie to come out! If you haven't read the books, get them. I read them on Kindle Cloud reader. My mom has a Kindle and I can read her books online for free. Wait no, it's offline... which is even better. Read them to prepare yourself for the movie :)

Working our way up the East Coast!

2011-08-14T21:51:00.001-06:00

Well, we have made it to our final destination! Cape Cod! I have realized how much I miss the ocean. When we were growing up a lot of our vacations were to the coast. I have been to a few sunny beaches in the past few years but there is something about the cooler temperatures and the ocean that I just love. We drove around today after church to look around at all the different beaches and houses (and many Dunkin' Donuts, Bank of Americas and Post Offices).

Since my last post Marissa and mom caught you up on most of it. Also, if you got my dad's email, they all three cover what has happened pretty well. So check them out.

I do want to tell a little story that happened at our first condo.
So while everyone else is in their rooms Marissa and I are laying out in the living room. Me trying to sleep and Marissa reading. All of a sudden she says, "Ohhhh gosh.... that is huge!!!!" in a freaked out voice. I immediately know that she has seen some kind of bug. It's a spider. And it has made it's way under the bed. Perfect. So we freak out a bit, pick up our bags off the ground. I sit there well awake now and Marissa is telling me to just go to bed. I hate spiders. No way. Mom comes out to read for a bit and we tell her about the spider. A few minutes later she says in a semi calm voice, "Oh, there's your spider." We tell her to kill it and she says she wants to kill it just as much as we do. She tries to get it with the trash can (Marissa won't lend her super heavy nursing books) and the spider takes off. All of us freaking out once more. We tell mom to turn off the light as she makes her way back into the bedroom so we don't have to get out of bed. She stands in the doorway and gives a slight good luck-so long-I'm going to protect myself first wave and shuts her door. Thanks mom. We never did kill that spider, we only saw it once in a while the next couple nights.

When mom first planned this trip she didn't think that Washington D.C. would fit in, but I was happy that it did. Besides New York (which we also got to drive through) this is a place I have always wanted to go that is on the east coast. We got to see the Lincoln Memorial (but the hot security officer wouldn't take his picture with us) and we got to see three of the memorial sites. Going and seeing the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials was very nice. I have always really wanted to see was the National Law Enforcement Memorial one. It's very different knowing a family that has a loved one engraved in the stone. There were a lot less people here so it was easier to have a more private experience. We were able to sketch over names and hear my dad talk about a few that I didn't get a chance to know. Washington D.C. was definitely one of my favorite stops so far.

Like I said before we were able to drive through NY, more specifically... Queens. Where Zachary Scoffield is serving! It was really exciting for Marissa and I, even though we didn't seen him... It was the closest we will be to him for the next year and a half.

While at Philly we were able to have some Philly Cheese Steaks. Cheese Whiz makes them just that much better! We got to walk around with dad at night and go to LOVE park and hold some snakes :) Marissa and I went out a little later to get some food. There is a curfew for teens and some cops came in to the diner and saw me, stared at me, and kinda smiled before taking their seats. Obviously I didn't look old enough to them or something.. haha

We still have a week left and that means many more stories to tell!!

Finally, summer vacation.

2011-08-09T22:26:00.002-06:00

A couple weeks ago was the England family reunion. Marissa and I headed up for the weekend bringing along some cousins. The weekend included food, swimming, food, pictures, helicopter rides, jet ski, food and a whole lot of catching up with family. I am so happy my boss let me go home for the weekend!

While playing with Rock I had the following conversation:

Me: Rock, I missed you.

Rock: I missed you too Whitmi

Me: I missed you more.

Rock: No, I missed you more!

Me: I missed you more times infinity (thinking he wouldn't have a comeback)

Rock: I missed you more infinity and beyond!!

I have missed that boy.

I went back to Utah so take a CPR class, pack and move out of my apartment (that I couldn't be more happy to get away from.) Javi was leaving to go back home on the 6th and we weren't sure when or if we would see him before he left on his mission (which he didn't find out until that night) so we went and had a farewell dinner at Tucanos. As always, it was amazing. And the perfect going away dinner.

He is going to do awesome, and the people of Chile are seriously some of the the luckiest people.

My dad flew down Friday night to drive up with me. I guess even though I am 20 I am still my parent's little baby and can't drive home by myself because I may fall asleep. It is always better to drive with someone, though. And having it be my dad that I don't get to spend very much time with anymore, I was more than happy to have him as a traveling companion. And you now when it has been awhile when he can't believe how fast I eat. On the way home we made a stop at Cabela's. How have I never been there before? I definitely need to head back again when I have enough time. He bought us all very nice shirts to wick away the sweat while out here on the east coast. Just so ya know, the under armour polyester (I think?) v-necks are amazing.

We flew out Monday morning after spending the night at the Demeesters. Besides the fact that I can't listen to directions when the TSA worker tells me to stand still for 8 seconds and right after I move, everything went fine. Until we hit Atlanta. Although I do have to say being surprised by Linds and Travis was pretty dang amazing. Our flight ended up being delayed 3 hours after already having a fourish hour layover. We did have a nice little show of two tatted up girls yelling to the workers and complaining that their seats were taken but they had been in the area for an hour (dad and I saw them walk by not even ten minutes before.) They totally got what they were looking for all along, first class. Even though it was ridiculous, they put on quite the show that dad and I did not want to miss.

We finally made it to our condo to pick up Marissa and go eat at IHOP, where mom and Marissa were surprised at how good the pancakes really were and understood why it was called the International House of Pancakes. I'm proud they finally made that discovery.

Today we hit up Williamsburg, so much fun. I know my mom has lots to say I will let her catch you all up on her blog. Here are a couple pictures for now :)

Pictures with Brock

2011-07-19T20:53:00.000-06:00

Here are some of the pictures from when we saw Brock!

Wanna play catch

2011-07-18T22:59:00.000-06:00

...up?

Alrighty... Here it goes. :)

So my momma came down, did I mention that? If I did, it is worth mentioning twice. It was SO good to see her. She helped me get ready for my CNA program, updated my closet a bit and made sure the AC in my "new" car was fixed. It was so good to see her all that week! I miss her still and cannot wait to see her again in a week!

That being said, I got my schedule for the next 2 weeks. I usually work at least Friday or Saturday but this weekend he didn't have me scheduled from Friday to Monday. That has never happened. Soooo I got really excited that I could go to the England family reunion and see my whole fam damily. Then he emailed another schedule and had me for Saturday night. I quickly asked him if were possible to change. No one can say no to this face about having the chance to see her whole family PLUS her sister that she doesn't know when she will see again. I get to go and I am stoked!

My life for the past two weeks really have not been that eventful. I have spent 80 hours in a single classroom and 16 doing clinicals. Lucky me, right? There were two days that we were to go do clinicals. My group was able to go to Orem Rehab, a pretty nice facility. I was paired up with this big guy that was definitely the one designated to lift the heavy weights. He was a great teacher and I learned a ton from him. After we were done with our hours my instructor pulls us into the break room and tells us that the facility made a mistake and we couldn't come back for our second day due to them overbooking. Guess where we got to go... Murray. When we thought we would be going somewhere close we were wrong. We went to Silverado. It was an Alzheimer and rehab center. I worked in the Alzheimer's section. It was difficult but the CNA I followed was great and knew exactly how to care for them. I am now done with the class! Finally... Now just looking for jobs :)

We went up to Idaho Falls to see Brock one more time... I am seriously going to miss him! (By the way, Javi got his papers in!!!) Brock is going to Guatemala and is going to do fabulous! We took pictures with him but they haven't been added to facebook yet. Here is one on the way up, though.

GOOD LUCK B-ROCK! WE LOVE YOU!

Am I done yet?

2011-07-15T23:52:00.000-06:00

Don't worry. I'm still alive. It has been a very long two weeks but Monday is the last of my CNA program. I'll tell stories then.

In the meantime, I have been in a country craze lately so you can enjoy these videos of songs that I love right now. :)

Missionaries!

2011-06-16T20:18:00.000-06:00

Last summer I thought I was done saying goodbye to my friends while they left on their missions. I was dead wrong. In the last month we have said goodbye to Zach and now to two more. Last night we said goodbye to one of our friends, Stephen. He is leaving for summer semester and we won't see him before he leaves for his mission. He is going to Boise, Idaho and couldn't be more excited to serve. He will do awesome!!

We also said a temporary good bye to Brock. He is going to Guatemala in a few weeks and since he lives in Idaho Falls we decided we couldn't miss the opportunity to go to his farewell. So excited for him. We got him and Stephen both journals with their names engraved. We also got Brock a Spanish hymn book (also with his name on it), a t shirt of the Guatemala flag with a message from each of us and a key chain with the flag on it. Like Javi told him, "Guatemala better be ready for the big white man!"

We had a little bonfire for him last weekend.

Speaking of Javier, he will be the last good bye to missionaries (I hope, because I am sick of having to say goodbye to people. But it is SO good that they are going.) He just started his papers and is so stoked!

I am excited for all these guys and I can't wait to hear all the stories they have. They are/will do amazing. One thing that has been pointed out to me in the last couple months is it isn't where you are serving but what your assignment is. It is such a good mindset when getting callings because certain places aren't as popular as others. When Stephen got his mission call everyone kind of laughed but Javi pointed out to him that he is going on a mission and that alone is one of the greatest opportunities. I have kind of been thinking about that lately. For the past few years I have been wanting to go help somewhere in another country and do some service. I have been kind of stubborn about it and not understanding why it wasn't working for me. Hearing these guys talk about their chance to serve the people in Boise, New York or Guatemala makes me feel guilty for wanting so badly to go out of the Unites States. I have had many chances to serve and they have helped me grow in many ways. I haven't started yet but when my background check clears (which it will, promise) I am going to start volunteering at the Women and Children's shelter. I eventually want to join the Rape Crisis team. Also starting in September I will be volunteering once in awhile at the hospital. I am really excited and will not longer complain about not being able to travel and help somewhere else.

Small Lime Rickey-Sumo Style

2011-06-04T15:01:00.000-06:00

3 things that I have been stressing out about lately:
1. Getting a job
2. Anatomy finals
3. Physiology midterm and final.

I'm happy to say that I am employed and don't have to worry about number one on that list. It's not much, but I am now working at a Shave Ice stand called Sumo's Shave Ice. It is not a high stress job and the owners are super cool. Perfect summer job when I have other things to worry about. I have already worked 2 days and just got my schedule for the next 2 weeks. :)

Truly An Inspiration

2011-06-01T01:34:00.000-06:00

Sheri LaMar was my first grade teacher. She truly understood what it took to be exceptional. I have learned so much from her not just by being her student but by seeing her through her fight with cancer. She always had a positive attitude which is difficult for many people that went through similar trials. I had the chance to talk about her in one of my Consumer Health lectures. We were talking about how our attitude can change outcomes on situations. My professor was very touched by the story and could tell that she was an extraordinary individual. She had a very clear understanding of Heavenly Father's plan and accepted this challenge. I am very lucky to have had her in my life.

"You'll know when I don't have enough air when I stop breathing."

2011-05-30T14:55:00.005-06:00

While we were stressing out about tests, homework, work, school and all our personal lives we decided that a vacation was needed. Stacey, Javier, Pepe, Marissa and I headed down to Moab. None of us have ever gone so it was an adventure for all of us. We headed down Saturday afternoon, checked into our (tiny, gross, spiders in the pool, women's flip flops under the beds) motel room then headed down to the arches!!!

We first went to see Cache Valley. There was a cut in the rocks that kinda looked like a unfinished heart. Marissa decided to finish it.

Stacey got attacked by a bush and decided to fight back by falling on it.

After cleaning her up we went to the Balanced Rock. Which looked like a fish. Just not in any of these pictures.

Then we made our way to the Delicate Arch. This is where we first got a taste of the wind. And yes, we did taste it. Well, all the dirt that was flying around. We also said goodbye to Pepe's hat which was taken by the wind. We just hope some kind of rodents are enjoying it as a new home.

We went out to eat in downtown MOAB. I was being tortured by all the jeeps and Javi was being tortured by all the motorcycles.

We were going to wake up early to get some sunrise pictures. We are college students on vacation, you really think we would? Woke up just in time to get ready and check out before noon and headed back to the arches.

First was the Sand Dune Arch which Javi and I climbed on top of. Don't worry, mom, I was careful. This is where we had tons of sand in our shoes. Not smart enough to take off our shoes.

Further past this arch was the (not very broken) Broken Arch which Javi and Pepe climbed to the top of. A lady there reminded me of mom because she had to look away because she was so worried. They were careful too and survived.

We then headed out to hike the 17ish mile hike around the rest of the arches. It was so much fun. The beginning was a paved walkway that just seemed too touristy. Once we got up higher we got to climb random rocks, get scared we were on the wrong trail if on one at all, were by ourselves for a majority of the time and got to see some sweet sights. We were like little kids jumping around the rocks and getting excited about different places to climb and explore. Marissa peed on me, made me throw up my Crystal Light by making me laugh and jumped up and down clapping her hands when we met people from Washington. She is glad I am her sister because if she peed on anyone else they probably would have cried, no one else laughed at the joke she made when I threw up my Crystal Light and I am the only one who understands why she got so excited when we met someone from Washington.

The trip was so much fun!!

Zachary S. Scoffield

2011-05-17T09:50:00.000-06:00

I absolutely HATE saying goodbye to people. Especially when I have seen them pretty much everyday for the past four months and I have to say goodbye for two years. I have had many friends go on missions but I have never been this close to someone that was outside of family leave. Yesterday was our last day to see Zach before he headed into the MTC (which will be a brutal 2 months because he will be a mile away from us still). We had a nice small bonfire planned for last night with our little group of friends for a last hang out. Zach had errands to run so he wouldn't be down until 7. I was at Junior's at around four when the door opens and in walks Zachary. Junior and I were so excited. He had been in Fresno packing for the last few days. What a great surprise. We met and talked to his parents while he showered. They are so sweet and I could tell they were having a hard time letting him go like we were. We had a great time at the bonfire and took plenty of pictures, but it seems like we will still not have enough to hold us over for two years.

Zach will be a fantastic missionary and the people of New York better know that they are lucky. I will miss him tons!

Good luck Zachary!!!

Just got burned.

2011-05-09T15:27:00.002-06:00

Is it sad that I have been down in Provo for two years and have never once done the BYU thing of hiking the Y? Well, I finally made my way up there. I headed up there with Marissa, Zach and Stacey on Saturday. It was such a nice day! I thought I put enough sunscreen on. Nope. Not at all. (I looked like I wore sunglasses, but I didn't.) Zach showed us "his spot" that is a little above the Y on a sweet rock. It was tons of fun and we can't wait to do it again.

Zach isn't as mean as he looks in this picture... haa

Javier brought us some brownies after he got off work at the Creamery. Super sweet of him because they tasted sooo good after the hike. He gave Zach a ride home on his bike. So cute.

When we got back I realized that I definitely needed some Aloe Vera. But, we were out. So I headed to Buy Low to pick up some. I couldn't find it so I walked up to this guy that was stocking the shelf.

Me: "Hi, do you guys happen to have some Aloe Vera?"
Employee: Turns around... "WHOA!..... uhhhh ya."

I was super burnt and he could tell.
Thanks jerk.

After I couldn't get real Aloe Vera at Buy Low Javier sneakily went to Walgreens to get me some Menthol Aloe Vera that made my burns not hurt so bad.

Now two midterms this week and home!!!! :)

AY AY AY!!!!

2011-05-06T16:28:00.000-06:00

Well, our party was a success! It was complete with two sweet pinatas, chips, salsa, Jaritos and of course, the classic mexican music. It reminded me of all the parties at home (where I will be in a week!!)

Not So Spring Springtime

2011-05-04T13:48:00.001-06:00

It has been freezing lately. But now, it is starting to warm up! Spring is finally here.

In the time that I have last blogged I have finished Winter semester, signed up for a training to be a domestic violence volunteer, started Spring term, already taken two anatomy lab quizzes, started training to be a volunteer, signed up for a CNA program, had dad visit :), picked up Shannon Toolson from the airport and had a great conversation with her, made Easter baskets for Javier, Pepe, Junior, Zach and Brock, said goodbye to Kyle Richardson for two years and all my other friends who went home for the summer.

Check out Marissa's blog and Nick's blog to read more about some of that. Their pictures: courtesy of me.

It has been super busy. Busier than I expected. Monday through Thursday I have at least four hours (two of lecture and two of lab) about the human body. Thankfully I love my anatomy lab TA's (my lecture TA is Jessica Coleman, love her too!) and my physiology lab group and graders (suuuper relaxed).

We are on a kickball team that should be pretty fun. Marissa and I missed the first game for training to be volunteers. Tomorrow night we have a Cinco de Mayo party!!! Super pumped for that. Saturday we are going hiking and have our second kickball game. I'll let ya know how all that goes and post real pictures of how things are going down here in Provo (our internet doesn't work and I always forget when I have my laptop where there is internet). Soon. I promise.

Happy STD Awareness Month!

2011-04-13T23:16:00.000-06:00

Yup, there actually is an STD Awareness Month. And that month is April!

I had two amazing health classes this semester. I have learned a ton and loved every minute of these classes. To give you a feel about how my infectious disease class was like....

- What's the difference between love and herpes? Herpes is forever.

Last Week of Winter!

2011-04-11T11:49:00.000-06:00

Today=HOURS of Interior Design. Wish me luck.

I only have 7 hours of class left of this semester!!!! And two of those hours are volleyball. Heck yes.

Now, back to last weekend.

We went to the Saturday morning session with Lively (He served in our ward back home) and his roommate Ben. While waiting for Nick to get our tickets, guess who we see! DeAndra's brother who is serving in Salt Lake.

We then headed home so we could catch the afternoon session, that I slept through.

Marissa and I made cinnamon rolls that night for Sunday morning. My first time making them without an aunt, grandma or mom. They turned out pretty well.

We headed up to Salt Lake for the afternoon session (tickets courtesy from KC). Javier, Pepe and Junior got tickets but didn't have a ride so we were going to take them anyway. It was nice to be able to go in. We got to visit with Judy and Gary for a bit but there are so much more security stuff that we didn't get to meet anyone. Here they are afterward, they were looking for someone for a couple minutes but they never found them. Still don't know who they were looking for. ha

Monday I bought roller blades!!!!!! We are so good.

I just have to mention again that I met one of the sexiest men on Tuesday. :)

Friday I had a date with Ben (Lively's roommate). We went to dinner, played mini croquet at the Provo Beach Resort (I was TERRIBLE) and watched a movie after. It was tons of fun. I hadn't even heard of this beach resort place so it was a good first time going.

Kelly Orgill (my first roommate) had her birthday last night. Her sister in law made Cafe Rio food. It was delicious. She also made a completely homemade oreo ice cream cake (okay, so the ice cream wasn't homemade). It was soooo good. It was good to see Kelly again and Taylor Cicotte (also from freshman year).

Now I should start my work, huh? Wish me luck to not procrastinate and actually get everything done fast!

BEST DAY EVER!!!!

2011-04-05T18:11:00.000-06:00

If you don't remember the major crush I have on Nick Martineau on the BYU basketball team go here:I promise I'm not a stalker

Well, I walked into the gym today before my coaching volleyball class and sat down by Chris. Started to complain about how I have so much to do and then looked up and saw Nick. Holy crap I could not stop shaking or talking about him. Chris was a good sport. He said he would take my picture with him but I had to ask him. It was perfect. He was walking out of the gym by himself so I asked him. I don't remember a time when my voice or hands were that shaky. You can probably guess how excited I was. It took me about half an hour to stop shaking. Definitely made my day.

2011-04-03T22:44:00.000-06:00

So, we have this friend named Junior. His real name: 'Eniketi Osolua Fevanga Junior.

He's Tongan, 28 years old, majoring in Recreation Management and Youth Leadership and has cerebral palsy. You have probably seen many pictures of him on here lately. He was in my ward last year but I never really got the chance to really know him and those that take care of him. I have to admit that I didn't understand what cerebral palsy was and I had no idea how I was supposed to communicate with him. We got to meet his family today after General Conference, they are absolutely amazing. He lives in WyView and most of those that help him have moved onto missions, marriage, jobs or just different housing.

Last year I only got a glimpse of what these college students do for him. I saw Aaron and Chris carrying him down 3 flights of stairs, people feeding him, hoisting him into cars, and giving him tons of love (sometimes maybe too much) haha. I knew that Chris, Aaron and Stacey give AT LEAST 2 hours (sometimes more than four) of their week to feed Junior at the Cannon. This can be hard to do with homework, classes and just other stuff that people worry about, which is understandable. They have been helping out with him for over a year now and have done so much for him and I am sure I don't even know the half of what they have done.

Lately you have had the chance to see more and more pictures of Junior. He lives with Pepe and Javier and Zach lives upstairs. I knew Pepe and Javier last year but again, never got the chance to really know them. I have seen from the outside stories like these where non family members help out their friends that are disabled so they can run a triathlon (I'm not dissing on these stories because I cry when I watch them and still think they are awesome). Almost all the people who take care of Junior are not family members and have no obligation to take care of him. They choose to live with him (or in the same stairwell so they can still help), choose to feed him, taught the nurses how to walk and take care of him (and still have to remind them of what they need to do for Junior), and still are able to be his friend even though the frustration can feel incredible high.

Junior can't walk, go to the bathroom himself or feed himself. These guys take Junior to the bathroom, change him and when he wants to go somewhere in the car- get him into the car. Javier, Zach and Pepe all have jobs and are going to school. Even after super long days when they are exhausted they still haul this 200 pound guy to the bathroom. When he needs to go up stairs because there isn't a ramp they carry him on their backs. I feel terrible because I am a girl and can't change or take him to the bathroom and I can't really walk him because I am too short. I try to help out as much as I can but it is nothing compared to what these guys do and how much they sacrifice to help Junior out. The don't look for recognition and don't get any compensation. Everything they do is voluntary. You don't meet people like this every day.

President Uchtdorf talked us that we must do what Christ did and seek for opportunities. He also reminded us that when we answer someone else's prayers, we usually answer our own. If you missed his talk, go read it, it's awesome.

Hot tubbing

2011-03-28T17:18:00.000-06:00

First off, check out this blog: 101 Happy People Project.
We read about his story in the paper a couple days ago and I girl in my ward actually knows him. Pretty cool idea.

We got to listen to Mark Zuckerberg at the Marriott. It was cool to listen to him speak. You can tell he is a normal guy, which I liked.

Friday night we hot tubbing! It felt so good! The pool was super nice too.

We hit up IHOP afterward. Hot chocolate after that was so delicious.

The weekend was a lazier one, but much needed. Now back to American Heritage, Health classes and figuring out what my life will look like in the Spring and Fall.

Catching up before it's too late

2011-03-25T01:26:00.003-06:00

Saturday night we headed back up to the Bottomless Pit. It was a huge group of people but still went well. We had a bon fire going (thank goodness because it started snowing and it was freezing) and had lots of stuff to burn. We even found a free couch that looked way sweet when it burnt.

Marissa and I went to the guys' ward (my freshman ward) to hear Zach talk. When we were moving to sit down by the bishop's wife she says, "Oh Javier! You have some cute girls with you today! It is refreshing to see such pretty faces!" I love her! haha She asked us if we were in the ward and I said I was in it last year. She just freaked out saying she knew she knew me but couldn't remember if I was in the ward now or in the past. She asked who was older out of Marissa and I and couldn't believe Marissa was 3 and a half years older than me. Throughout sacrament she made the funniest comments. Zach's talk was awesome and he made our whole row cry when he "sweated out of his eyes." It was awesome to see the bishopric again.

Monday night we went with them to Brother Quist's (one of the counselors in their ward) house for FHE. I love their family. We played Beatle's RockBand, had a Q&A with Junior (really cool), held their frog (made me miss the ones that are on our sidewalk in the summers), whooped Zach in arcade basketball and had brownies and homemade ice cream (we had it last year and on the way up to his house I was hoping we had it again.)

He wanted to take a shot at carrying Junior.

His wife pretty much had a heart attack thinking he was going to ruin his back.

We had a game last night. First round of tournament and won! They only had four girls on their team and two of the girls were super nice. One of them was on our team last year and she is the sweetest. I don't know when our next game is but I am excited!

I am definitely sad about the game tonight. I will miss Jimmer.

I went to Oedipus the King with Preston (the guy I went on the triple blind date with). It was an interesting play and a fun night.

Just so my momma knows

2011-03-18T17:33:00.001-06:00

So last June I enrolled in an American Heritage class. I planned to have it finished by the end of summer but I underestimated by self discipline when I got two jobs and couldn't get past the suuuper boring introduction. Well, since I have spent plenty of time procrastinating I have decided to start. I skipped the intro and have made it through the next three chapters. The sad thing is I didn't just decided this on my own, although I would pretty proud of myself. I was in Interior Design and we were learning about the styles of this time period and it made me think of our (kinda) family trip the East Coast this summer. I decided I wanted to refresh my memory of history so I could be ready when we visit all the history sites and I won't have to fake knowing everything. Anyway, I plan to be done by the end of the semester. Finally!

Yay for not procrastinating any longer!

My Kind of Find

2011-03-16T00:57:00.000-06:00

I am very particular about what Q-tips I use. They have to be Q-Tip brand. I cannot stand the plastic ones or the ones with barely any fuzz on them. when I went to Smith's they didn't have the big pack that I usually get and I was pretty upset so I bought this small little box of them. I am in LOVE with it now! They are so freaking adorable. They are called Vanity Packs. I always stress about how to pack my q-tips but with this I can take it because they don't fall out. I was super excited. They have all sorts of different designs. I may be a dork but this made my day.

CAMPING!!!

2011-03-14T02:22:00.000-06:00

I LOVE CAMPING!!!! I loved seeing stars and being out in nature. I am a sucker for it. It was a great weekend. And we watched Battle L.A. it was a pretty good movie. Thank you Sherry for letting us borrow some of your camping gear!!!

Long Weekend= Long Post

2011-03-07T01:46:00.001-07:00

Can I just say I LOVE my four day weekends?? They give me plenty of time to get work done but also have tons of fun! Thursday night we had a basketball game. Which we won. It wasn't the best game but we survived. One of the refs reffed the last game that we got totally beat up in. He apologized to Marci after saying that that game was the worse he has ever officiated. We thought that was nice of him and could tell it had been bothering him for the past week. We watched Aaron's water polo game afterward... they lost but Aaron did awesome!

Marci and I sent off a card for Cecil's birthday. He was a regular at the BBQ since day one. He is the sweetest old man and has the best life stories. At his birthday next Sunday at Wapato Point Cellars he is giving a presentation about his life. It will be awesome but I am so sad that I will miss it!

Marissa and I had TONS of energy the rest of the night. We cleaned our room and stayed up until like 3 or 4? We had so much energy that we went to WalMart. And still had energy after... When we finally went to bed we got plenty of sleep for the next day and woke up at 11:30. We ran a few errands and played catch!! We got a little sun burnt and you can start to see my freckles coming back!!! One of my favorite parts about springtime. After that we helped Javier with his bike. He needed to take it to the shop so he can order a part. The shop was sweet! It had mini (Marissa and my size) four wheelers and bikes. And they had dogs. Which I have missed.

We then went home to get ready for a triple blind date. Stacey and Fuzzy set up a date with Marissa, Stacey's hometeachers (Preston and Erik), Preston's brother and Mallory Hart that was in my ward last year. We went to the gymnastic meet. BYU lost. and got cupcakes at Sweet Tooth Fairy. They were awesome. (and recognized by Rachel Ray). They then took us home and we went and hung out with Javier, got a movie and watched it with Nick. We watched Devil. It was pretty good. Not the scariest and it had an alright story line.

We got up on Saturday at 9 to help Nate coach Mike's basketball team since Mike had to go home for the weekend. Those parents were terrible! They kept talking about how much the refs sucked, how we didn't really know what we were doing and one parent came down to the huddle and told the kids to tell the refs to call 3 seconds. They were just annoying, and we lost the game. Sorry Mike!

After we got back we took showers to get ready for the last BYU home basketball game. They played awesome. Such a good way to end.

Jimmered.

The man with the best arms.

The seniors.

After the game we went and hung out again. Zach made some chocolate sheet cake that I of course had waaaay too much of. But it was delicious and I hadn't eaten like anything all day so I think that it was okay. Pepe on the other hand thought it was disgusting, me eating that much.

We helped with Junior's laundry and while there I sat in a rolling laundry basket. Junior would ram me with his chair and launch we across the room. It was fun but always super freaky because I couldn't steer and there was no way to tell where I would go. After doing that a couple times and having him stuff me under a table, i decided I should get out before I broke myself.

Saturday night we went to the Classic Skates for Disco Night (Javier was invited by another friend for her birthday and so he invited us!) We looked awesome. Javier, Junior, Marissa and I dressed up and Stacey and Fuzzy showed up later.

Junior has the BIGGEST mouth out of anyone I have ever met.

We got it once. And we were sooo proud of ourselves. :)

Stake Conference was today and it went really well. Plus, it was at 1 so we got plenty of time to sleep in. I didn't wake up at all during the night and didn't set an alarm. I was lucky I woke up at 11:45 or else I have no idea when I would have. We took short naps which I didn't need but wanted and headed up to Beckie's for dinner! It was delicious. Of course, Beckie is an amazing cook. She made pizzas and wacky care. SO good! Thanks again Beckie!

Now off the studying for a test I have to take tomorrow. Woo hoo!

Four day weekends start...now!

2011-02-28T00:52:00.004-07:00

First of all, I am TOTALLY finished with Exploration of Teaching!! I was up until 3:30 Thursday night/Friday morning finishing my packet that I of course procrastinated on doing. But, it's done. Thank goodness!

We lost out of the Dodgeball Tournament. Boo... We played the number one seed our second round. SO messed up. Here is the team:

MaryBeth, Liz, MVP, Marissa, Stacey, Marci

(Chris, the photographer, didn't get the best part. Our hot pink socks.)

We went to the men's volleyball games this week again. After the game Friday night we went up the canyon to have a mini bonfire. Or like Stacey likes to call it, a campfire. Here is half the group:

Everett, Zach, Pepe, Crazy Lady, Javier

We also went with Stacey, Fuzzy, Junior, Brock, David and Maddy. It was super chill so it was a good night.

We slept in until 12 and missed the beginning of the basketball game. But we got to see Davies' dunk and Jimmer's pissed off face followed by his super loud yell of excitement. It was good. I went shopping with Stacey and Pepe for a bit... 3 hours. I got two skirts, a belt, vans and some earrings (that were $1.50 each!!).

I am in LOVE with these.

We then met up with Javier, Junior, Nick, Marissa, Zach and a girl named Brittney. We ate way too much, of course. We then came back to our apartment and played Settlers (which was my best game so far and still lost), ate brownies (I had pretty much half the pan, and it showed in my hyperness/crazy annoyingness/stomach ache) and hang out with Aaron, Chris, Stacey and Javier. By the way, they were not nice and recorded my heavy breathing after I fell asleep on the couch.

Stacey went to church with us and afterward we went to Fuzzy and Nate's for waffles and eggs. Nate eats his eggs with ketchup, too! Everyone thinks I am weird for doing that. But, he eats it with French Toast too which I don't know if I would be able to do that.

We went over to Javier and Junior's to play some card games, learned magic tricks from Brock and Zach and watched the hypnotist video of Javier. SO great.

I don't have class tomorrow... Everyone else does. I need a job or else I am going to become REALLY lazy.

What Happens in Vegas

2011-02-22T10:21:00.002-07:00

We finally got our posters up!

Now our apartment doesn't look so bare. :)

Now onto the good stuff.

Vegas was awesome. Of course... We decided to drive the strip since we got there at like 11 pm Friday.

It was great.

We walked around a lot of the time checking out different hotels and casinos. Their architecture was amazing!

We tried some hot sauce at a kiosk. It wasn't too bad until the very last one... which was bad. haha Our friend Junior had sweat all over his face and had tears streaming down.. Just like me. :D

We went to a Comedy Hypnotist show. Our friend Javier was chosen for it. He did a great job. haha We got VIP seating because our friend is in a wheelchair. We also got to take pictures with people on the sidewalks without having to tip them because we were with Junior. Oh, and a bigger hotel room.

We were able to see a couple different Bellagio fountain shows. They were so sweet!

Who everyone is: L-R Me, Nick, Javier (in back), Junior, Marissa, Stacey

In our VIP seats.

Us with the hypnotist.

Our virgin drinks. Sorry about the inappropriateness in the back.

And for pointing it out if you didn't see it before.

Bellagio. We missed the fountain show the first night.

Caesar's Palace

Waiting for the fountain show at the Bellagio.

Here's a video of part of the second show we saw. Sorry about the burp at the end... Promise it wasn't me.

Besides the fact that my eyes were red the entire weekend from the smoke and our feet hurting, the weekend was a definite success. I loved dressing up and I know for a fact that I will wear skirts/dresses the entire time I am in Vegas next. We want to see when Wicked plays so we can see that next. Maybe for my 21st? ;)

Next trip: Zion National Park for camping.

P.S. Happy 1st Birthday Ryker!!!

The Bride

2011-02-18T00:21:00.003-07:00

Can I just say that my sister made an absolute gorgeous bride?

(I tried to get one of just her but the new facebook picture viewer wouldn't let me copy it. So you are stuck with me in it.) :)

P.S. These are the roses dad got me.

WIN!

2011-02-16T22:32:00.001-07:00

First off, I gotta say that I have pretty much the best dad in the world.... Thank you for the roses on Valentine's Day!!!

For those of you who have asked... my lesson for FHE was on gratitude. Nothing special really. I just shared a quote from President Monson and showed this video. We had a youtube party with two other groups (3/4 of the ward) and it was pretty much just the single ones who didn't have dates for the night. Our FHE dad had two of his nephews for the night. One of them is 2 and the other is like 6 months. SO cute. His 2 year old one was watching Cars with a Cars cup. Remind you of anyone? He had amazing hair, too.

We won our dodgeball game tonight!! It was first round of tournament. We play the first team we played next. It is single elimination so I am hoping we can beat them this time around!

I only have two more days of observing!!! As much as I have learned, I am sooo ready to be done.

Oh, one more thing, plan for the weekend..... VEGAS! Can't wait :D

Jimmered

2011-02-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

First thing- for those of you who don't know what WinCo is: Go here.

Second of all- BYU beat the Utes. That's always a great thing. The beginning was kind of scary but it worked out in the end. Abuou was awesome though. (Just like his arms.)

We went to a bonfire last night with Mike, Fuzzy and Stacey and a bunch of other people that knew Fuzzy. It was up in Heber and really fun. We have hung out with some of the people before when we played games and dodgeball. The people who owned the house fed us Taco Soup and these delicious pretzel frosting things. SO good. We played ping pong, Jenga and watching The Buttercream Gang. It was a bunch of fun.

After church today I was asked to give the lesson at FHE tomorrow night. And guess what else? It is combined with another group. Yay for me... Anyone have ideas for a topic?

We got banana muffins in Relief Society, Orange bread and cinnamon rolls in Mission Prep, yummy sugar cookies from the bishopric and little teddy bears with suckers from the men in the ward. I have never really cared for Valentine's Day but when I get goodies, I don't mind it so much.

Oh! So, on the way up to Heber last night Mike was saying how he read about a blog about Jimmer and a girl acting like Michelle. I checked it out and she is a girl that was in my ward last year. It's a hilarious story so go read it here.

A Great Discovery

2011-02-10T23:29:00.000-07:00

I finally made my way to Winco. It is amazing. My favorite, of course, was the section where they have all kinds of stuff you can bag yourself. My favorite- chocolate covered almonds. This picture helps explain the love I have for them:

Can you imagine my excitement when I realized I could take all I wanted and didn't have to settle for a Costco container? Too bad I didn't get very much though... I didn't realize how cheap it was!

I can't wait to go back!

BYU Sports

2011-02-07T09:44:00.002-07:00

We had a pretty eventful homeworkless weekend. We went to the men's volleyball games Friday and Saturday. I love watching them play! It's awesome. Selene's birthday is actually today but she had her birthday party Saturday night. Marci, Marissa and I got her some cute room decorations on Friday. We stopped by her party after the basketball game and before the volleyball game.

(These are pictures taken with my new camera. :) The zoom is amazing!!)

We watched the Super Bowl at Sherry's. There was tons of delicious food and a guessing game every quarter. It was tons of fun. Sherry's parties are always great! Our fridge is stuffed full of food now. :) Thanks again Sherry!!

You know you are in the right major when...

2011-02-04T00:50:00.000-07:00

your teacher shows an hour plus video about Ebola and by the end you are the only one awake and not on your phone, including the teacher.

I am loving my major and minor!

And Shannon, you will be proud, I discovered a love for multigrain cheerios. :)

We have Selene's birthday party, a basketball game, volleyball games and the Super Bowl this weekend!!

I am SO ready for it. :)

P.S. Mom and dad, I got my new camera and I LOVE it. I will take more pictures with it and post soon!

THANK YOU!

Film Festivities

2011-02-01T10:47:00.001-07:00

Film festival was so fun! We didn't see anyone famous or see any movies, but it was still great. We did get called fat though, so I guess that could count as something. We went with a few guys from our ward (Nate, Mike and Fuzzy), Stacey, Marissa's old roommate (Crystal), and people that work with Crystal and Fuzzy. Here are some pictures of the night:

Good News

2011-01-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

When I got my knee brace my PT told me I should use it for at least a year. Well, it's been a year. I have stopped using it for volleyball. It has felt totally fine so far. I still haven't taken it off to play basketball, and I think it will be awhile until that happens. But I LOVE not having my brace on. Hopefully things will keep improving!

Also, today was my last day observing Springville Junior High. I am exhausted. It was fun and I realized things that I would love to do in my own classroom and things that I wouldn't. We are going to Timpanogos High School in a week, so I get a week off! So, no school for me Monday or next Friday. I am so excited. Hopefully I can get lots of sleep to get rid of this cough!

As for the rest of my classes, they are going really well. I absolutely love my interior design class, although it is taking over my life. I find myself evaluating elements and principles in buildings all the time. Still an awesome class.. My health classes are coming along great too. My teachers are really funny so it makes the 2+ hours of class not so bad. For my marriage and family class we have to grow a plant. He gave us seeds in class and mine broke within an hour of having it. Now I have to wait for him to order new ones because he has had more people ask for new ones this semester than ever before. So, we will have to see if I can grow this plant when I get a new seed. Anyway, that's all the boring school stuff.

We have an apartment for next year!! Marissa and I are moving to a place called Chatsworth. They are raising the rent $45 at the place we live now so there is no way we are going to stay here. The place we are moving to is so cute. It has three stories, two bedrooms shared, 2 1/2 baths and the outside looks like little townhouses. We are so excited!

Tonight we are going to the Film Festival so that should be fun!

Is it really over?

2011-01-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

This was probably the most eventful weekend I have had in a long time...
The beginning of last week I was super stressed trying to get all my work done so I didn't have to do any homework when my parents got into town. Lindsea and Travis got into town Wednesday but I only got to see them for a couple hours. We went to grandma and grandpa's for some of grandma's amazing chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles. It was awesome

I had class alllll day Thursday, my birthday. Didn't get to see my family (which included my aunts kelli and jenni!) at Red Robin for my birthday dinner. I would like to know what that Red Robin has against singing happy birthday. That's like my favorite part... Oh well. After dinner we headed back to our apartment for some cupcakes and hanging out. My parents finally got to meet some of my friends and put names to faces. Marissa made about 100 cupcakes. They were soo cute and tasted great. I got pearl earrings from my siblings, an iTunes gift card from Sherry, rice cooker!, a new camera (that I still need to order), headbands, a chocolate never faileth cookbook (my old roommate KyLeigh knows we too well), lots of candy, soaps/ lotions, piggy bank and a framed picture of Ryan Reynolds from my Shannon. It was a great birthday.

On Friday we picked up Lindsea's cloak for her wedding. She looked gorgeous in it. We headed up to Sherry's to help finish the cupcakes for the reception and then all got either pedicures or/and our nails done. Marissa and I already got our nails done Wednesday so we did pedicures and mom enjoyed getting her nails done. That night was the bachelorette party which was tons of fun. :)

Saturday was the big day. Janae did all of our hair and make up. She is awesome. Lindsea looked absolutely beautiful.

The reception and car decorating went great. It's weird to think that she is married now!!!

Everyone left Sunday... Sherry held a party for the Golden Globes. I swear I am horrible at guessing at those kinds of things! it was tons of fun though. Thanks again Sherry! After the party Marissa and I headed up to Midway to meet up with Aaron, Stacey and Chris at Chris' family's condo. We played games, watched movies and ate way too much food. We all came home last night wanting to barf from being so full.

Tonight is our first basketball game, our second dodgeball game and the first day in volleyball coaching we get to play! It is going to be a long night...

The New Semester

2011-01-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

Before I can add my 7am class I have to have an FBI background check, fingerprinted and all that... I haven't done that because I didn't know where to go. When I went to the classroom this morning. The door was locked. So, I decided to go sign up for a time to get a schedule for girl's dodgeball. Hopefully they still have schedules tomorrow morning. I'm just happy I didn't wake up at 6 for nothing.

I LOVE my interior design and religions teachers. they have so much energy and are hilarious.

I know I will love my coaching volleyball. We are only to be in a classroom for one more day then we will be playing volleyball pretty much every other class. SO excited.

Classes shouldn't be too brutal, but it was only the first day.

Oh, by the way, I am officially a Junior. Looks like I am going to be a super senior for sure.

2010 to 2011

2011-01-03T12:32:00.002-07:00

2010 ended with a fun party at our house that was filled with games and food. I hate leaving family when I have to come back to school (especially since I have my 4 hour 7am class tomorrow). We got back just in time to see family at my Grandpa's birthday party. Everyone seemed to have a great Christmas/NY/birthday. As much as I miss home, for some reason it is always nice to get back here. I have a schedule, for the most part. Which I like. I may not like my schedule for this first block but I will have to live with that if I ever want to graduate.

Ending the break with my nephews was awesome. Rock has more energy that I can ever imagine and Ryker's facial expressions are the best. I cannot wait to have those two down here in a week and a half. :)

So, I know if I make resolutions I will forget them so fast, so I'm not going to bother. I just want to make it through this year successfully in (mostly) school. No specific resolutions for me.

2010 was definitely a good year for me. I got to crown Princess Bronte( :D ), coached the sweetest girls ever in basketball, turned 19!!, finally got to play sports again (which included volleyball every chance I got and playing around VERY good looking men), Ryker was born, camped out for a BYU basketball game and woke up at 5 to get tickets to another one, will always be remembered at WyView as the girl that got hit in the head with a softball, changed my major/ minor, said so long to my wisdom teeth and found out my body can't even function correctly on 1000 mg of Ibuprofen, got a second summer job at Slidewaters, got to see Carrie Underwood, BACKSTREET BOYS and Luke Bryan in concert, went to Florida (which meant Harry Potter world WOO!), finally got to ride a mechanical bull, moved into an apartment that had a toilet too tall for me (and eventually Marissa moved in), became obsessed with board games and movies, and got to spend as much time as I wanted (kinda) with my nephews!

I love snow

2010-12-30T00:51:00.003-07:00

The first week of break I swear I slept all day and ate all the candy that was available. I did go and make some apple cider with family on Christmas Eve, though. There is nothing like a cup of homemade cider. Marissa has been trying to get me to go sledding this whole break but we didn't want to go pack the snow down. We ended up going sledding with Megan, Travis and their family up in an orchard on the way up to Echo. It was tons of fun and entertaining to see people flip and run into snow.

Nick and I went snowmobiling up at Echo Valley with Michelli and Mitch. It is so pretty up there. Even though I am incredibly sore from holding on for 3 1/2 hours, it was worth it.

This morning my dad took Rissa, Nick, Katie Barnes and I up to Top Shelf to shoot, one of my favorite things to do when I come home. I have been wanting to shoot a big gun and finally got to. :)

After taking a three hour nap, Nick, Marissa and I went sledding with Brian and Kyle to the same place we went with Megan. We didn't get to go very long because it was getting dark and the boys were wusses and got head aches.

Christmas!

2010-12-25T23:01:00.001-07:00

Rather than rambling about how the last two days went I will be lazy and just name off a few highlights:

1. Getting posters of "hunks" (marissa and I asked for posters of hot men for out apartment at school... mom had a different idea of hunks than we did. Check it out here: Mom's blog

2. Listening to a recording of my Grandpa Myron read "The Night Before Christmas"

3. I love how crowded our house gets when tons of family members are in town for Christmas and we try to make room for 60 people for dinner

4. My mom's face when I mentioned I asked for a rice cooker for Christmas and she had no idea what I was talking about. (She read the wrong email or didn't read the email at all... or something like that)

5. ...it's okay though, I still got my NorthFace jacket that I have been wanting

6. Going sledding with some cousins down a sweet hill and watching everyone else flip over or crash. and not having to walk back up because Miguel was nice enough to drive us up after we sledded down.

7. Having my little cousin yell, "Don't hold me! I'm poopy!!" when I tried hurrying him up because his family was trying leave.

8. Watching that same cousin eat dinner, two ice cream bars, an OtterPop, a waffle bowl with ice cream, and still want more. He is a beast.

and...

9. Watching my mom's face when she opened her new ring from my dad.

Chubby Cuppy Cake

2010-12-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

One of my friends posted this on my Facebook wall. It made my day so i thought i would share it with you. Hope it made your day like it made mine. :)

home. about time.

2010-12-18T03:10:00.000-07:00

After countless hours of anatomy studying, playing volleyball every chance we got, watching movies like crazy (and hoping the "owner" of our projector forgets it when she gets married), having rissa move in, finding a dress for my sister's wedding, finding out that I wasn't getting a calling because my records never made it to my ward (I just thought I was lucking out... but at the same time i kinda was) and peanut butter&honey sandwiches every day to keep me going.... the semester is finally over.

I am back to where I can eat whatever I want in the fridge and cupboards (well... almost.), having tvs!, soft toilet paper and not the cheap brand that scratches, NO TRAFFIC, my mommy playing with my hair, and not having to care what I look like when I leave the house...

It's good to be home.

I still don't have all the classes I need for next semester, so I am hoping I can figure it out by the 4th of jan! but, i am going to get all I can out of this break.

it's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-04T11:21:00.001-07:00

Well, I lasted the rest of the break and this past week. I had four tests and an assignment due (which I forgot about, thankfully the teacher came to class prepared to extend it. She knows college students way too well). Did really well on all of them! This semester is looking soo much better than last year. Anatomy lab is over. Which means no more looking at dead bodies and trying to figure out what organ is which or trying to figure out if the structure is a vein, artery or nerve. the final wasn't too brutal but a couple pins were extremely "I have no flipping idea." but I guess that's the case for most finals. I have a week to prepare for my other finals and then I am done for this semester! I can't wait.

I got my dress for Lindsea's wedding. :) and marissa and I got sweeeet heels to match. I can't wait, even though we may not have toes by the end of the day and my ankles might double in size.

Okay.. onto the good stuff. My apartment wanted a tree. A real one. One that we could smell every time we opened the door. We decided to ask Chris for help since he has a truck. I don't think he understood what he got himself into....

Marissa and I picking out a christmas tree, you can imagine. But he was a good sport.

After going to three stores we finally found some cute ornaments and a tree stand, headed back to the apartment and found a perfect spot for it. It took us a bit but we finally got the tree up... crooked. At that point we didn't care. ha (Marissa did fix it yesterday, though. I'm sure she would want all of you to know). Here is our tree :) :

the break

2010-11-27T11:20:00.001-07:00

soo we got kicked out of the RB on tuesday due to an "intense" blizzard that never hit provo. they also closed it for wednesday which screwed up more plans that we had. oh well. we found other things to do.

this break has probably been the laziest break I have ever had. we did go to the BYU basketball game, found bridesmaid dresses ( :D ), successfully made a thanksgiving dinner for 8 college students, listened to the BYU basketball game and today we are going to watch the BYU football game. That's plenty of "productive" things to make up for our daily 3 hour naps and the 6+ movies we may have watched, right?

OH but I finally made it to the gym. even though it just pointed out how out of shape and weak I am now, it felt so good to go again. I haven't had time this semester because our schedules are so messed up and if I play volleyball we don't go (which is like 5 times a week) so I am trying to do better. If marissa ever wakes up we are planning on going again today. hopefully. :)

here is the whole group (minus Nick because he was sleeping) that joined us for thanksgiving. :)

As much as i love the life of sleeping/eating/sleeping/watching movies all day, I can't wait to start my finals so I can be done to go home!!!

woo party!

2010-11-25T00:30:00.002-07:00

Marissa stole some pictures of mine so HERE is her blog you can check out some pictures and here are some others that weren't good enough for her precious blog. :)

okay, i know there are some doubles but i liked them so I couldn't pass em up. It was such a sweet party.

seeing mom made my weekend. I have missed her so much!!!! she helped us buy stuff for our thanksgiving dinner. oh how i love her.

Marissa and I are getting everything ready for our college thanksgiving. Selene is bringing over some mexican good, YUM! we have two pumpkin pies in the oven and they smell excellent.
I made another attempt at homemade tortillas. ya... selene is going to have to teach me in person instead of over the phone tomorrow. I am horrible at it!! oh well. time for bed so I can wake up to set the rolls out. :)

four things to make this week awesome.

2010-11-16T12:00:00.004-07:00

I got a new volleyball. It made my day/week. It is a Molten L2 black and white. I love it and I cannot wait to use it!!!

I was going to my advisor today to talk to him about minors. I had a feeling I needed to get one. I found out that I had to get an approved teaching minor. Good thing I went in! I called dad after talking to my advisor for 45 minutes looking over minors. Being indecisive it took me a while to narrow it down to three different minors: PE teaching & coaching, Chemistry Ed and Geography teaching. As I was talking to my dad he asked me why I would ever take more chem than I have to, knowing how much I hate science. I ran into Nick while I was on the phone and he wanted to know why I would take geography. I said it's a short minor and I would only decide to have it as my minor because I HAD to have one... Both dad and nick wanted to know why I would choose these two minors over PE & coaching. They both knew I would enjoy it more than the other two. I guess I am just happy that my family members know me better than I know myself and try to help me make my life less stressful, which obviously I am horrible at because I almost chose to go into chem ed over pe and coaching....

Joel is bringing us apples. WOO!! I have been craving Washington apples for way too long. :D

MY MOMMY IS COMING THIS WEEKEND!!! I have kinda been getting homesick and lots of people have had family come into town or got to go home. It has made me want to see my parents sooo bad. I cannot wait to see my mom!

Nate and TJ's Homecoming!

2010-11-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

You're really good at that.

2010-11-15T01:07:00.001-07:00

This weekend we went to St. George. A much needed trip.

We left early Saturday morning. Everyone else left Friday but we didn't want to miss the basketball home opener and we had a game/movie night planned with some friends.

We finally made it to St. George after 3.5 hours, a creepy guy trying to sell us tires, an amazing Subway, a gas station with a pretty impressed deer on the wall, guys with inappropriate signs and lot of good ol country music.

When we got there we decided to play some volleyball (of course) while everyone else went to get some lunch. After a couple hours of outdoor volleyball (which was a bad idea playing with only having a couple hours of sleep the night before) we decided to hit up the pool. We played ultimate football (a mix of ultimate frisbee and football) in the pool. Probably the funnest game I have ever played. Our team rocked and we had only two guys (the other team at four) and they also had two extra people on their team. We won, obviously, even if guys had to guard Marissa and I. We then decided to hit up a Mexican restaurant in town (after having 15+ people take showers). It was around seven when we left to eat (keep in mind that we hadn't eaten since 12 maybe? We got the restaurant and all I wanted was chips and salsa. I was super sad when I saw that extra orders for them were 6 bucks. What the heck? So i tried to make the most of the little baskets we had. But guess what??? We got more. Thank goodness because I probably had about three baskets to myself and the burrito I got wasn't very good. I swear I could live off chips and salsa.

We went back to the condo (which by the way, we didn't know but a guy that served in our ward awhile ago, Elder Burton, was the brother of who "invited" everyone for the weekend. Weird? ya...) and played murder in the dark. I was voted as a killer right away since I was found right by three dead bodies when the lights turned on. I was actually just hiding because I didn't want to walk in the dark because I was too scared and felt someone fall next to me. That round sucked for sure. It was an awesome game though. we watched Vantage Point after which I think everyone fell asleep to.

we woke up for church (where a bishop bribed us with chocolate to transfer into his ward) this morning but of course, we were late so waited until the one pm church then headed, sadly, home.

We did not want to come back to Provo AT ALL but absolutely loooved our mini vacation.

eat cake

2010-11-08T01:37:00.000-07:00

So, I think you all have been wondering how Marissa and I are doing being roommates. Well ya know, we have lived with each other our whole lives and have done pretty good. You would think we would get sick of each other. Marissa is definitely not at that point. We were taking naps and she insisted on putting her head on the other end of her bed just so she could see me. A little creepy maybe? Just maybe...

Men's basketball has started. WOO!! I LOVE basketball.

Marissa and I picked another favorite: Nick Martineau. Too bad he is MARRIED!

He is one gorgeous basketball player though.

Saturday morning was our 8:20 am volleyball game. The ref sucked and we could have won. I was not in the mood to argue, even though I wanted to more than anything. It was a close game though.

I had a basketball game at 10... only an hour for a "nap" that I didn't even fall asleep during. I was not in the mood to play and was hoping that no one would show since it was only my instructor and I with like 5 minutes until the game started. Too bad three others showed. We won. By a lot. It was nice to win one finally. it was the first game of the tournament so we are still in it!

I had to rush home after my basketball to get ready for the football game. Which also went pretty dang awesome, too. I didn't think I would make it through the game standing the whole time since I was exhausted but thank goodness that we were so far ahead this game so I was able to sit down more.

We went home and took naps. Massive naps. Definitely needed.

Marissa and I then went to the women's volleyball game, as you can see:

Sorry, you have to tilt your head. They should have won in three. They won the first two pretty easily then went to 30-32 the third and lost the last two. Super lame.

We then went to a bonfire with a couple friends and saw even more friends there. It was awesome to see people that I haven't seen for a super long time.

Today was KC's birthday so we headed up to Sherry's for his party. We played RockBand, Disney and Simpson Scene It and some card games. Nick taught Ash how to do the match/hair trick.

Sherry made an awesome cake for KC. It was delicious.

He loved his Rosetta Stone Japanese from mom and dad. Marissa, Nick and I got him the movie How to Train Your Dragon, which we thought he would like.

It was a good weekend and break from school, now back to studying for my midterm.

Oh, and I am finally getting a calling. I am rooting for birthday greeter.

Hope you had a good birthday KC!!

Birthdays!

2010-11-04T11:37:00.002-06:00

Tuesday was Aaron's (not my brother, one of our friends) birthday. When we asked him if he wanted to go get ice cream he said no. When we asked if we could make him a cake he said no. We told him that we were going to go over and bring him something anyway... He said we were welcome to stop by but we were not allowed to bring anything. Too bad. We decided to make him this:

Marissa wanted to be in the picture... surprised?

Today is my roommate's birthday. We decided every girl loves getting flowers on her birthday so they were a must. I need to fix the K since she walked into my room when it was drying and I grabbed it... forgetting it was still wet. Whoops.

Next birthday up is KC's on Sunday.

We have a volleyball game Saturday morning at 8:20 am. I then have a basketball game at 10 then we have the football game at 12. Long day? Yes... And I know for a fact I will NOT be getting sleep tomorrow night. I just know I will have a nice long nap waiting for me after the football game.

Haunted Weekend

2010-11-01T11:21:00.000-06:00

Friday started out with some volleyball. What better way to start a weekend? I met up with some friends and we played for a couple hours. We later went to a haunted house that Bronte was in. It was pretty scary. Marci and I made two guys laugh by screaming. Oh, and Bronte was probably the scariest. Especially when she popped up and started waving. Pretty scary if you ask me. :)

I went with Marissa, Marci, Stacey, Phillip and two guys that we met playing volleyball earlier that day. After this haunted house we went to a one dollar one that was in a house and put together by the college students that live there. It was pretty dang scary. Definitely worth a buck.

Saturday morning I lined judged a volleyball game and then Marissa and I were off to Rexburg to visit Kyle and Brian Richardson. One of my friends from last year is serving his mission Arimo so we decided to take a picture of the sign for him.

It was a super small town but we still didn't see two guys on bikes.
We got to Rexburg just in time for Brian's baseball game where we met up with Kyle and one of his friends. After his game we went to the Haunted Mill. It was a pretty good haunted house. We then headed back to Kyle's to watch a movie and then play some Play Station.

Sunday morning we headed back to Utah to make it back in time for TJ's farewell talk. He gave an awesome talk, of course. Sherry had people over after sacrament and everything was delicious. Have fun TJ!

After four haunted houses, October is finally over and now it's time to plan Thanksgiving and turn on the Christmas music.

It's raining, it's pouring.

2010-10-25T00:43:00.000-06:00

Well, I lasted the week. I finished the week off with my anatomy lab midterm which went really well. I had spent over 10 hours last week in open lab so I am happy it was worth it. When I was done we went up to Sandy and met up with TJ, KC and Joel to watch the movie RED. It was really good and funny.
Tuesday night I had a basketball game. I am SO out of shape. They didn't sub me out the entire first half and I was about to die/throw up. Really bad. We lost by 6 but the game went better than I thought it would. We played our first volleyball game Thursday. Our name is Beavis and Bump-Head. Fits our team pretty well huh? We lost. Really bad. I have played volleyball with half the team we played and I knew that they were really good. Hopefully we are better this Wednesday!
This weekend we watched The Return with some friends. Bronte's mom had sent her down Halloween cake mix and frosting. We made and finished it between the six of us. Sooo good. THANK YOU SHANNON!!! After the movie we had to watch a happy movie, of course. So we watched Nacho Libre since Marissa and I had never seen it all the way through. It was hilarious. ha Loved it.
Saturday morning we wen to the football. Nick had picked us up some panchos so we wouldn't get soaked. It was a good game. Besides the fact that we had the MOST annoying Wyoming fans behind us. We can never go anywhere without having annoying people around us. Oh well, I am just happy we won. After the game the team walked around the field giving fans high fives. Nick was not going to miss the chance to touch his boyfriend, Jake Heaps.

We ended the week with church, 3 hour long naps, homemade ice cream (made by Marissa with her new ice cream maker) and studying for my Anatomy lecture quiz.

Bull Ridin'

2010-10-18T22:27:00.001-06:00

Just to catch up a little... I went into basketball class Tuesday and my instructor let me know he added me to his basketball team. I didn't give him my netID. He was kinda desperate for players so looked it up and added me so if I did still wan to play I would be able to, since we had a game that night. Too bad the only players that showed up were him and his wife. So, we had to forfeit. Next game is tomorrow night. We will see what happens.
Marissa, Nick and I are all on a volleyball team. Team name: Volleywood. We should be awesome.
Friday night I had a sleep over at my old roommate's apartment (Kelly). She is an absolutely wonderful cook. We had tons of fun catching up and spending some time together.
Saturday morning Marissa and I went to play volleyball with some friends and afterward went to the BYU women's volleyball game. We went two hours early just to get free pink shirts for breast cancer.
Sunday morning Chris and Aaron made us crepes for breakfast (thanks to Marissa posting her addiction of Nutella on her facebook). They were awesome. They made us try butter, powdered sugar and lemon juice. They said it was the classic crepe. I wasn't too excited about it because I have always have my usual strawberries/strawberry jam, whipped cream and powdered sugar. It was excellent though.
After church my home teachers came over and made us tacos for lunch. Super good! I was still full from the crepes. Marissa usually makes crepes small and we both forgot that people make them big. When we usually have four or five small crepes, we had 4 big ones. Pretty intense. Before ward prayer I went with Shannon to her grandma's house for their Sunday dessert party. She made this lemon cream cheese goodness. I will definitely be joining every Sunday from here on out.
Tonight for FHE we went to Thanksgiving Point to originally do the corn maze. The group I was with finished in about ten minutes. Way before anyone else. So, we decided to make our way to the mechanical bull. I have always wanted to try it. So I pulled out my 20 quarters and made my way up to the bull. The guy was pretty easy on me at first but then decided I could take it. I really wish I would have worn jeans because the pants I was wearing were super slippery. I definitely want to try it again with my cowboy boots, jeans and be able to hold a cowgirl hat in my free hand.
I have three tests this week, a basketball game, volleyball game, line judging a volleyball game, the Haunted Forest and I have no idea what else. Wish me luck.

Times Like These

2010-10-12T21:48:00.002-06:00

Last week in my anatomy lab we learned about the spinal cord and brain. For the past few weeks I was losing my interest in learning anatomy because it was just so much memorization and I could NOT retain anything...
In Friday's lab I was so tired from trying to memorize the lower muscles that I was no excited to try to learn about anything. We learned about the spinal cord first. It was pretty cool. But still, nothing that I didn't expect. When we went over to the other TA to learn about the brain I got so excited. Most of the brains in the lab are TA only, which means only TAs are allowed to hold them because they are recently dissected and new to the lab so all of us didn't expect to be able to touch or hold anything. There was a brain that was still in half a skull. It was freaking awesome! All I wanted to do was be able to hold it. I could barely pay attention while she was teaching about it. She was trying to lift up the cerebellum to teach us about the stuff beneath and more inferior. She couldn't hold the brain and lift the cerebellum at the same time. SO she asked if one of us would hold it for her. I have never been so willing to volunteer in a class more in my life. It was awesome.
I thought that was cool. I didn't know what today would bring in lecture.
My professor brought fetuses that were miscarried. I was really nervous at first because I didn't know what to expect. At first she showed us a brain that she had dissected but kept the eyes attached. It looked creepy was so cool. She then pulled out a fetus that was (she guessed) 11 weeks when the mother miscarried. She had made a cut so we could see the little organs inside. She then pulled out a fetus that was really hard for me to see and hold. It was a fetus that had Spina Bifida and also Anencephaly. We were also able to hold conjoined twins that shared a liver. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Times like this in anatomy make me love the class even more. I know that a lot of other schools don't get the chance to study off cadavers or be lucky enough to have a professor that provides an experience like this for her students. Even though this class consumes most of my study time, is one of the most difficult classes I have taken and seems to be impossible to pass sometimes, it is totally worth it.

Football!

2010-10-12T10:24:00.000-06:00

We had our last game of the tournament on Friday night. We lost... We started out with four players but ended with five. We did pretty good, but just couldn't pull it off in the end. I might be joining my basketball instructor's coed basketball team since one girl is going on her honeymoon and another burnt her hand. So, they only have one girl. I'm talking to him today and seeing if they still need me.

After our game Chris and Aaron came back over to play more board games. Someone finally beat Marissa at Phase 10!! I was proud... It wasn't me, but I didn't care.

Saturday I slept in until... 12:45. I haven't slept passed 12 in years! It was so nice. But, half the day was gone. We went to the football game (it was awesome to finally see Bronte again!! I missed her!!. Also, half the fun of the game was Nick's reactions when good things happened. He was seriously happier than on his birthday.),

hit up Taco Bell, then went back to my apartment to make some pumpkin muffins (Marissa made them and they were delicious) and watch The Dark Knight. I hadn't seen it before and LOVED it! At first it was hard to see the joker as Heath Ledger but by the end it helped to make it not so scary and just think of it as a strategy movie. If that even makes sense. It was a fantastic movie and I want to watch it again because I know there was stuff I missed.

Since we didn't start the movie until about 11:30 (we were talking to my roommate about her wedding, By the way, Marissa will probably buy her contract and move it with me in the winter) I didn't get much sleep and slept through my alarms and woke up at 10. My church starts at 9. Oops. Marissa and I just went to Nick's ward. We then went to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner. The lasagna she made was absolutely delicious. I had to unbutton my pants when I got home because I stuffed myself way too much. Thanks again Grandma!!!

Now I need to get back into study mode and get ready for my Anatomy lab midterm and write two papers. Lucky me!

I love my sleep.

2010-10-05T11:07:00.000-06:00

I am a person who enjoys her sleep. Who loves sleeping in as late as possible and does not like being woken up before her alarm. Last semester I had to take a 9 am class and could barely stay awake through the whole thing. My roommate has a 7 am class this semester while I have 10 am on three days and on Tuesday and Thursday I don't have class until 1 or later. It gives me plenty of time to sleep in, get some studying in and take a nap. My perfect schedule. I think about my roommate and how bad I would be at having a 7 am class. I would probably sleep through my alarm, fall asleep in class or be so tired that I wouldn't be able to focus. Not to mention look like crap because I would not wake up early enough to take a shower and attempt to look cute.
But lucky me. Next semester I have to take Exploration of Teaching. There is only one class offered. At 7 am. For four hours. Monday through Friday. Awesome, huh?

Ticket to Ride

2010-10-04T00:11:00.000-06:00

This weekend was more on the eventful side... Well, sorta. Friday started out with a three hour nap after my Anatomy lab. Perfect way to start the weekend. Chris and Aaron (a couple friends from my last ward) had an intramural volleyball game later that night so Marissa and I went to watch and cheer them on. Later that night we went to Nightmare on 13th. Before even going inside I smacked my head trying to get away from a guy dressed up with a horse skeleton mask or something and standing on stilts. Marissa and I pretty much peed our pants the whole time while the guys were trying not to laugh at how ridiculous we were being. There were some pretty cool rooms and walkways with moving floors and weird walls, though. The guys enjoyed scaring us the rest of the weekend because apparently we are the jumpiest most easily scared girls. Hard to believe right?

Saturday I was a good girl and actually watched conference. Well, the morning session at least. I fell asleep during the afternoon session because I only had about 5 hours of sleep the night before. Marissa and I then made crepes and played some Rummikub (I hate playing Phase 10 with her because she always freaking wins). After eating crepes we headed to FatCats to bowl. Apparently they have a "list" that the manager was surprised we weren't on since we went bowling pretty much every weekend last year. We paid for two hours but after the first hour all of us were all worn out, except Brian and Kyle who enjoyed their own lanes for the last 45 minutes.

Yesterday I woke up right as conference was starting, pulled my lap top on my stomach and watched the morning session in bed. Between sessions Chris and Aaron came over to play Ticket to Ride. None of us had really played before besides Chris. The first game I had no idea what the crap I was doing so kinda screwed up the end for everyone (I tried reading the tips online on how to play but they weren't any help). Oh well, that's what they get. It's a really fun game and if you haven't played it, you definitely need to. Marissa and I are super anxious to play again now that we know how to play. She pointed out that it's one of those games that you keep thinking of strategies and just want to keep playing, kinda like when we were all addicted to Tetris last semester. Hopefully this game doesn't consume my life like Tetris did. After the afternoon session and our Sunday naps, Marissa and I headed over to Selene's to drop off her keyboard stand and.... eat a little bit of Mexican. YUM! Of course, it made me miss home. And, it made me want to make more rice and attempt making tortillas again so I can have an endless supply to myself. I want to learn how to make Arroz con Pollo like they make it at La Brisa or that restaurant by Aaron's. My favorite.

Tomorrow we have our next game in the tournament. We have to win 7 games in a row in order to win the whole thing. Think we can do it? We better, I want that shirt!!!

Tournament Time

2010-09-28T22:59:00.000-06:00

Tonight was the first round for intramural volleyball. During the regular season we never won a game. We play really well but just could never win. Tonight we did awesome during our first game (well, the second game in the match wasn't but that's okay). We won that match and had to play right after against a team that was a lower seed than us and it was going to be their first game. How lame is that??? So, the first game we beat them like 25-12. Awesome, right? The second game we should have won and only lost by I think 2. The ref kept saying the ball hit the antenna when our girl would hit it but it would hit the net and the antenna would shake. We fixed it and guess what? We didn't have any more hits "hit the antenna." We lost that match. It was super frustrating considering how bad we beat them the first game and how we knew we should have beat them. I don't like losing. And I don't like losing to obnoxious teams. It kinda brought back the competitiveness I had back in high school and all the memories with it. Hopefully our next game will be better. Even though we can't win the tournament and get free t shirts anymore. Oh well.

Rissa Rae

2010-09-24T15:10:00.005-06:00

Marissa is the closest sibling in age to me. We were the only two left at home when Nick graduated which meant we pretty much got mom and dad to ourselves. She was a good high school older sister. She would let me hang out with her and her friends, which was a big deal to a freshman. We didn't get to play on the same team together which was a bummer. But she always made sure I was prepared to play varsity sports. I would sometimes get nervous going on car rides with her because somehow she would find something to teach me about life. When she went to college and left me alone I was pretty upset. Mom has a picture that shows that perfectly. Now that we are down at school together she gets all the chances in the world to teach, lecture, make fun of and "help" me in life. She's a pretty good sister if you ask me.

Happy Birthday Riss.

Sophomore Year So Far

2010-09-21T17:15:00.001-06:00

This is my fourth week back at school and things are still going really well. I am taking Anatomy (which I have aced all the quizzes so far), Teachings of the Living Prophets, Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Advanced First Aid, basketball and volleyball. I am only taking 12 credits so so my schedule isn't too bad. I was going to take Spanish but decided that I would be spending most of my time on that rather than the classes I need to get A's in. I can learn it later.

My roommate is Shannon Nelson. It turns out that her step-dad is Doug Frame's brother? I think... ha Definitely small world. She is AWESOME though. I am so happy to have her as a roommate.

I haven't gotten a calling yet.. Which makes me nervous because half the Relief Society is getting married in December. I need a good calling before that. Birthday greeter sounds nice.

Marissa, Marci and I are all on an intramural volleyball team together along with a couple girls from my last ward (Stacey and Missy), a girl from my volleyball class (Shani), one from Stacey's old volleyball class (Megan) and one of Stacey's friends (Daylin). I think we are pretty good... we just haven't won yet. The last game we were supposed to play the other team forfeited so we got a "win". Good thing we aren't ranked by how many games we win but how good we are. I have a friend that refs so hopefully she helps us out a bit. She did tell me that our team is one of few that can actually bump, set, spike. Sad, huh? We have a game tonight so hopefully they show up and we can actually beat them.

When dad came down to visit he brought us some apples. :) Marissa and I took advantage of them (and grandma's kitchen) on Saturday to make some pies and apple crisp. My roommates are way excited to use some Washington apples to make a few of their own things because I still have over a box left!

That's it for now. Hopefully something exciting enough to post happens soon.

2010-09-15T13:46:00.001-06:00

While living at Helaman Halls and WyView last year I had the hardest time sleeping at night. The beds just seemed like the most uncomfortable things ever made.

They weren't. My bed here at Foxwood can't even be classified as a mattress. It's a green mat that is about an inch high. Last summer mom bought be a mattress pad that really helped for my other two beds. But this mat was just too bad and every time I moved I could feel the springs under me.

Yesterday, my dad came to town and bought me a present.

My bed is sooo much better. I LOVE IT!

Thank you, dad. And thank you, mom, for reminding him. :)

Harry Potter and DW

2010-08-07T00:46:00.001-06:00

Since my mom documented each day while in Florida, I will just say my favorite parts to each day.

Day 1:

Seeing Lindsea!!! Downtown Disney was pretty sweet but seeing Lindsea was the main part of the entire trip.

Day 2:

I was sooo excited about butter beers. They were DELICIOUS! I am definitely going to make them sometime.

I want to go back when it isn't so busy so we can check out the other stores. But the Harry Potter ride was the SCARIEST ride I have ever been on. Not because it was fast or had sudden drops. It had WAY too many spiders!!!

Fantasmic made me want to watch all the Disney movies over again.

Day 3:

This might have been my favorite day. Segways and pearls. When Lindsea told me about Japan in Epcot and how you can pick out your own oyster to get a pearl, I have been so anxious to pick my own out. I am in love with pearls and was perfectly happy with my cute little pearl. I can't wait to get a real chain to put my pearl on.

Also, La Nouba was one of the coolest things I have ever watched. Most definitely a must see.

Day 4:

I love the beach! Besides the feet burning sand, the beach was exactly what we needed after the two busy days. On our way home we stopped at Burger King. I ordered Funnel Cake Sticks. SO good and I have been craving them ever since. Having naps after this day felt so good.

Helping mom find her new swimwear for Hawaii was so much fun. We loved picking out stuff for her.

Day 5:

I was kinda sad that we couldn't experience the 7 pm sacrament meeting. But oh well. It was still cool to check out her ward, and the guy that Lindsea wants to hook me up with.

The trip was a success and I loved every minute of it. Thanks Linds, Travis and Sarah for hooking us up with all the discounts and free stuff!

BSB

2010-08-05T10:05:00.001-06:00

To catch up on the last couple weeks, I will start with last night.

Marissa told the story here so you can read that if you would like.

For her, she was in love with Nick Carter and I was in love with his little brother. But when it came to which Backstreet Boy I liked, Brian Littrell was no doubt my favorite.

They were SO good in concert. All of us were so sad it was over and we didn't want to leave. I saw a lot of people I knew (girls and guys). It was definitely worth going to. Here are some more pictures of everything.

The guy in the grey beanie was blocking our view almost the entire time. He would put his hands up and make it so Rissa and I couldn't see a thing. But some worker came and got him and his two friends. Then our view was perfect the rest of the night.

Childhood dream come true number 1.

Summer So Far

2010-07-24T11:51:00.000-06:00

Since I have been home I feel like I don't do anything but work!! I am working at Slidewaters three days on and three off with Sundays off. When I don't work there, I work at the winery. It is all going pretty well and both are pretty enjoyable. I am ready to not work, that's for sure.

I wish I did have more time to go on the lake. I have been able to go jet skiing once and lay by the lake a few times. We were planning to go camping but with all of our weird schedules I don't know if that will happen.

A couple weeks ago, Bronte texted me saying that she wanted to do a Humanitarian aid thing and knew I was interested and wanted to know if I wanted to do it with her... Of course I did. We found this foundation (Cross Cultural Solutions) that does exactly that. You can go from 2-12 weeks and can do volunteer work, interning or insight. We decided we would LOVE to go to Tanzania, Bagamoyo. We are just trying to figure out how the heck we will be able to get the money for it. I was already planning on getting a job during Fall and Winter so we will see. We may have to wait until summer 2012. Bronte is worried one of us will be married, though... That is SUPER weird, but could happen. We are hoping it will somehow work out but right now, we aren't too optimistic.
This week we had my cousins Jason and Jared over. They have come for three summers now. It is always fun and we always get an excuse to go snake hunting because Jared just wants to kill something and be able to take a trophy home. I took them to the Wenatchee airport on Thursday. I had a feeling I should stay in Wenatchee until they got on the plane but I didn't want to wait in the mall because I knew I would be too tempted to buy stuff, since I already bought these beautiful things because my current work out shoes are falling apart. Every time I take them off the fuzz from the inside comes out. So, it was definitely time.
BUT, back to my story. So I was on my way home, almost to the tunnel, when dad calls telling me I need to go back to the airport. He didn't tell me why or anything. So I turned around... He called back telling me that on Horizon Jared needs to be 13, not 12, to ride on a plane with someone under 21. I drove back to the airport, picked them up, took them to get some cash, went to Safeway to get treats and meet up with a taxi that would take them to Seattle. The people at the airport were stupid and threatening to do all this stuff and told Jason he could leave Jared in Wenatchee. It was super dumb. But, they finally got on a flight so they could go back home.

My old roommate, KyLeigh, and her family are on a trip for 2 1/2 weeks around Washington, Canada and Idaho. They spent the night in Wenatchee last night and are on their way to Spokane today. Ky figured if she was this close to me she had to come see me. So my mom, Marissa and I had them over for breakfast. We had eggs, strawberries, bacon, crepes, bananas, hash browns, apple juice and orange juice. VERY delicious breakfast. It was really good to see her and her family, even if it was only for an hour (they had a session at the Spokane Temple.)

Next Tuesday Marissa, my mom and I will head over to Renton to spend the night with Rock and Ryker and Wednesday morning fly to FLORIDA!! I am sooo excited. We are hitting up DW, Harry Potter world, shopping and going to the beach. I really cannot wait.

And then the fourth of August.... BACKSTREET BOYS CONCERT!!!! :D

2010-06-20T23:11:00.000-06:00

Happy Father's Day!!!

I love you!

Rock, Ryker and Carrie

2010-05-31T12:19:00.003-06:00

Here are the things that I loved most about the concert/weekend. If you want to read exactly what we did, check out my mom's blog here.

First off, it was awesome to see Rock and Ryker and get to spend more time with them.

This concert was by far my most favorite concert.

I saw Craig Morgan in Waterville one year with Katie Barnes. I LOVE his music so it was fun to see him in concert one more time.

This was my favorite thing about the whole concert.

I also loved her mics. They matched her outfit every time. And, she had glitter on everything!!

Thanks, mom. I LOVED it.

On Sunday, we went to Aaron and DeA's ward for sacrament. Another part of the trip I loved was having their family decide that they would come back for the rest of the weekend.

When we got back, Marissa and I went to Graham's farewell open house.
Have fun in New Mexico!!!

Then we had an ice cream party with really good homemade ice cream. Vanilla and strawberry.

I am going to head to Slide Waters in about an hour to train. Finally!! :)

I will be working as a fill-in these next two weeks helping out with all the school groups.

We will see how that goes!

Zilch

2010-05-29T17:27:00.000-06:00

Today is the day.

Only two and a half hours.

2010-05-27T23:45:00.000-06:00

In 2 days, we get to see Carrie Underwood.

My mom, Marissa, Bonnie Pepple and I are going to see her at the Comcast Arena in Everett.

We are heading over Saturday morning so we can spend some time with Aaron, DeA, Rock and Ryker.

Woohoo!!!!!

T-3 & a Helicopter

2010-05-26T19:24:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I was sitting at our computer and I heard a loud, I thought, tractor. When I looked out the window I saw a helicopter. Dad had finally gotten his helicopter. He called and told us to go up and meet him so we could fly in it. It was sweet. Congrats dad! :)

Four....

2010-05-25T10:33:00.000-06:00

I work at a winery BBQ.

We play this song a lot.

Does that strike anyone else as a little ironic?