IT'S MY LIFE!!

New favorite scripture...

2010-06-17T22:13:00.004-07:00

Life can get crazy. I know mine is. And when it does, it is easy to let the important things slide. I have not been very good at my scripture study the last few months, but have been trying extra hard to make it a priority every single day this week. It is amazing the immediate impact it has on my life. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God and that it will lead us back to our Heavenly Father. In my study this week I have found a new favorite (I have lots of favorites, but this is my current favorite) passage of scripture. It is found in Alma, chapter 37, verses 35-47.

35 O, remember, my son, and ^alearn ^bwisdom in thy ^cyouth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

36 Yea, and ^acry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy ^bdoings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy ^cthoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

37 ^aCounsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for ^bgood; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the ^cmorning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it ^aLiahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.

39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.

40 And it did work for them according to their ^afaith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by ^asmall means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were ^bslothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did ^anot travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of their transgressions.

43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a ^ashadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.

44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the ^aword of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

45 And now I say, is there not a ^atype in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.

46 O my son, do not let us be ^aslothful because of the ^beasiness of the ^cway; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would ^dlook they might ^elive; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.

47 And now, my son, see that ye take ^acare of these sacred things, yea, see that ye ^blook to God and live. Go unto this people and declare the word, and be sober. My son, farewell.

I just wanted to share what has touched my heart this week and hope that we all can learn to follow the Lord and be lead to the things we each are to do in our lives.

Busy-ness

2010-04-11T22:35:00.002-07:00

The last couple days have been insanely busy! It amazes me sometime how days can fill up with so much stuff. It has all been wonderful stuff though, so I can't complain. I will post about a couple things individually in the next couple days, but the one thing I wanted to share right now is something that happened today.

We had Stake Conference and it was a big deal today. I have a Stake calling, so I knew about a lot of the changes that would be made today, but the way it has impacted me is not something I was expecting. The gist of the changes was that they took my ward and split a portion of it off to make and entirely new ward and took another chunk and put it in a different ward. Even though I knew what was coming, I was so sad today to look around and know that I wouldn't see a lot of these people as much anymore. It is a really good thing (my ward was about 300 people and is now down to 140) and will be much more manageable, but I am going to miss those who aren't there anymore. Even though we all live relatively close to one another it means I have to make more of an effort to see them regularly and that we will have to be friends outside of church. :)

The first counselor in my Stake is President Wilson (he happens to also have been my stake president when I was a kid in California...small world!). His talk in Stake Conference today really struck me and I just want to share a thought from it. He talked about how we should thank the Lord for every experience that we have. Every single one. Good or bad. Hard or happy. There is something to be learned in each and every experience that we are given and we should be kneeling to thank the Lord for them.

It hit me really hard that I don't thank the Lord for all the experiences He gives me. A lot of times I am ornery about changes, but they are given me to teach me and help me become better. This is something I am really going to work on and hope to better understand and appreciate the experiences I am given.

Wonderful Weekend!

2010-04-05T19:15:00.003-07:00

Wasn't this weekend amazing?!? I absolutely love General Conference weekend and when it falls on the same weekend as Easter, it's even better!! It is always so incredible how prayers are answered, testimonies are strengthened and souls are edified as we listen to the words of the Lord through His servants on the earth today. Conference was wonderful!

Besides being General Conference and Easter yesterday, it also happened to be my baby brother's 22nd birthday! He's getting so old! (which of course, just makes me feel older ;) I literally remember the day that he was born and going to visit my mom in the hospital. Also, because I was the only child in school at the time, I got a whole week of just me and baby Kyle while the other kids went to Utah with my grandparents. He was so stinking cute and had tons of dark hair and big blue eyes. He has become such a great man and I am so proud of him. He served an honorable mission and is going to school to become a chef. He is so kind and considerate of those around him and he has a pretty cute girlfriend too. I don't just look up to Ky because he is so much taller than me, but because of the man he has become in the last few years. Thanks for being such a great example to me and to all those you come in contact with Ky! Love you bro!!

Guate! Guate! Guate!

2010-04-03T12:10:00.004-07:00

In between conference sessions today there was a special on humanitarian work in Guatemala. I watched it and got a little teary eyed because I miss those people and that incredibly beautiful country. They showed some people in a mountain village and I couldn't help but think of the amazing people that I love in my Guatemalan mountain village - Patzicia. It has been 7 years since Michelle and I left for Guatemala and it amazes me how much I still miss it. I really need to find a way to get back there soon!

This picture is of 5 sisters who lived down the street from us. They were in our ward and their dad was the handy-man at the school. Their family also owned the tienda (store) in our neighborhood where we would go every day to get eggs, bread and mentas! A couple of years ago, their mom Rosa passed away, leaving Pedro to raise his 5 daughters. I think of this family a lot and how good they were to us. Hopefully soon I will be able to return to Patzi and see how these amazing girls have grown!

I would also love to see what has happened to these kids. They also lived in our neighborhood and would come over to our house all the time wanting to color and play games and get stickers. Their mom was our laundry lady and tried so hard to provide for her family. A funny story...one time the littlest boy (in the very back) was sitting on Michelle's lap and he totally peed on her. Their mom used to always ask us how much it would cost for her to bring her family to the United States. It made me so sad. But they were such sweet kids and I hope that they have been able to get an education and help make a better life for themselves.

Day 2

2010-04-02T21:05:00.003-07:00

Wow, 2 days in a row, must be some kind of record. ;)

Can I just say how done I am with this week. It has been such a crazy couple weeks (more so than usual) and I am so ready for a nice relaxing weekend. I have a huge to do list and hope to be able to accomplish it, as well as get some much needed sleep!

Here is a little taste of my to-do list...

1) Laundry!!!!! It is coming out my ears! Seriously, I don't know if I have ever had so much laundry to do. I probably have 5 loads to do. Now I know this isn't much to you moms, but to a single person, that is a ton!

2) Clean my bedroom in general. Remember the bomb? Yeah, it needs to be cleared out. I thought about posting a picture, but that is just too embarrassing. You'll just have to take my word for it. Or talk to my sister who saw it the other night. Not pretty.

3) Listen to general conference. (I guess this really should be #1...but #3 will be accomplished while doing #1 so it evens out...)

4) Write a research paper. Gratefully most of the research part is done, but the putting together of the information is not. I have to put this high on the list to that I don't procrastinate it too much...

5) Finalize all the music for Stake Conference next weekend, hold a rehearsal for the Stake Choir and another rehearsal for the special musical numbers.

6) Math homework. Lots of math homework. Oh and study for the test that is on Tuesday.

7) Spend time with the fam. Definitely another thing that should be higher on the list...

8) Register for my ward blind date. Yes, this is just one of the many exciting things that come out of being in a singles ward. I'm not so sure how I feel about this blind date activity, it is semi-e-harmony.com-esque and that makes me a little nervous. Basically we all put in the 7 people of the opposite sex that we would like to get to know better and some of our interests and a computer system matches us up. Now do you understand my nervousness???

9) Stay awake during all sessions of conference and enjoy Easter.

10) Clean my bathroom. I'm sure that will help me stay awake.

etc., etc., etc...

You get the point. Let's hope that a blessing of listening to or watching all sessions of conference will be the ability to get all of these things done!

I'm alive...

2010-04-01T22:32:00.002-07:00

So it is 11:55 p.m. but I have decided to make an April goal of blogging every day, just to throw the universe off. :)

This collage is just a little snippet of my crazy life right now. Between working full-time (still at the court), going to school full-time, have a really intense church calling and trying to have a social life I don't have much time for anything really exciting, but hopefully this goal will help me to notice the small things in life and enjoy them more!

Wish me luck!!

Cali Catch Up

2009-06-11T20:58:00.006-07:00

It has been almost two months since my family went to California, but it's never too late for a little catch up, right?!? Here's a little run down of our amazing family vacation...

First Stop: LAS VEGAS!Michelle and I and our cousins Ruthanne and Cammy left a day earlier than the rest of the family and spent a fun day in Vegas with our friends Devin and Andrew. We went to the Bodies Exhibit at the Luxor which was amazing! Andrew works there so he got us in for free, which made it even better! :) After going to Bodies we went to a tepanyaki restaurant and enjoyed some yummy Japanese food. I'm so proud of Cammy and Ruthanne for trying sushi for the first time! Devin works as a masseuse at the Encore hotel (the new sister hotel to the Winn) so he gave us a tour of the Encore and specifically the spa after dinner. It was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. Someday I want to have a spa day in that amazing place. First I need to have lots of money!!The next day (which was Easter) was spent with the rest of the family. Mom, Dad, Landon, Haley and the kids drove down Sunday morning and we had a fun Easter egg hunt at the hotel for Easton and then went to the strip. We saw the lions at MGM (which Easton loved, of course!), went to an all-you-can-eat buffet and spent an hour just watching the fountains at the Bellagio. Fun day.

Up Next: Orange and Huntington Beach, CaliforniaThe next day we finished the drive to California. It wasn't a bad drive at all. We checked into our hotel and then got ready for the beach! It was so fun to take the kids to the beach for the first time. Huntington is my favorite, but unfortunately it was pretty cold that day. The cold sure didn't stop Landon, Easton and Grandpa from playing in the water though. The girls just enjoyed hanging out and playing with Averie. :)

Then: 3 days at Disneyland!I don't really have very many good pictures of Disneyland (I let Mom take most of the pictures) but we had a blast! We went on pretty much every ride and Easton even went on almost all of them. The only ones that he wasn't tall enough for were California Screamin' and Indiana Jones. He was so brave and went on every ride that he could big and small. He loved Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Carribbean. The only ride that he said he didn't like was Space Mountain. He also loved seeing all the characters and being able to be one of the kids chosen for the Jedi Training show. It is so much fun to go with kids! Also: Dad's 50th Birthday!!
I need to get the pictures from Mom of Dad's birthday and all the festivities. On his actual birthday, April 15th, we left the kids with Ruthanne and Cammy and the six of us went to The Price is Right! It ended up being a really long day and wait to get into the show, but we had a blast. Mom made these bright yellow (as in glow-in-the-dark yellow) t-shirts for all of us to wear and everyone knew who we were. We had lots of fans. :) Unfortunately, none of us were called to contestants row, but we had a great time being there together. When we got back to Orange, we went to an amazing restaurant with everyone and really missed Kyle because the food was so incredible and beautiful. I'm assuming they don't get many babies in that restaurant because all of the waiters were totally smitten with Averie. But then again, who isn't?? We went back to our hotel and had cake and ice cream and went swimming to end a great day.

Finally: Going home :(
We spent our last day in California at the beach trying to wear the kids out before we started the long drive back home. The beach was much nicer that day and none of us wanted to leave. The drive home was LOOOONNNGG! We drove all night and were doing ok until we got just north of St. George when one of the tires blew on the van. Not fun. We did eventually all make it home safely and were so ready to be out of the cars.

It was so great to spend a whole uninterrupted week with the family! Of course we missed Kyle, but we will definitely go on a fun family vaca when he gets home!! Thanks Mom & Dad for spoiling us rotten!

guilty pleasure

2009-06-08T20:04:00.003-07:00

i hate to admit this, but this is one of my favorite things about monday nights...

Jillian rocks and there are some awesome guys on this season. but there are also some snakes. *cough*wes*cough* i'm a huge fan of jake, kiptyn, and reid. and yes, i am pathetic. :)

Perk

2009-05-29T21:11:00.006-07:00

CRUISE 2009!!! This is definitely a perk to being a single working woman!

Michelle wanted to go on a cruise for her 25th birthday in August and I get to go along! Her friends Crystal and Heather are joining us and we are all so excited!

In 92 days we will be in the following locations... Grand Cayman IslandsRoatan Island, HondurasBelizeCozumel, Mexico

Basically we will be soaking up the sun, playing in the Carribbean and drinking lots of pina coladas! Can't wait!!

Cupcakes

2009-05-23T15:41:00.005-07:00

Today I was introduced to the greatest little bake shop in Provo - The Sweet Tooth Fairy Bake Shop. Let me just say that it was AMAZING!!! The store is absolutely adorable and the cupcakes and cake bites were heaven! What a fun little shop. Check out their website here.
These little cake bites are incredible!! They are so rich and yummy and were even featured on the Rachel Ray show. They definitely don't go with a healthy eating lifestyle, but you can't be good all the time. ;) So, go get yourself some!

Time Flies

2009-05-17T21:37:00.004-07:00

I can't believe how quickly time flies. More specifically, I can't believe how fast the last four years have flown since this little guy was born!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EASTON!! (yesterday :) Easton is the greatest kid ever! He is so much fun and I am so lucky to be his aunt. Being an aunt is the best!! (and of course having the cutest niece and nephew in the world doesn't hurt either) I just adore Easton and love spending time with him. This picture is from our recent trip to Disneyland at his favorite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean. Isn't he just so stinking cute!?!

Since he turned 4 yesterday, here are 4 things that I love about Easton...

1 - His smile and squinty Castillo eyes

2 - He is the best big brother to Averie. He calls her "Cutie" and it is so adorable. He is so good at making her laugh and she just loves him.

3 - The fact that he is ALL boy! He can turn anything into a sword. And he is very naturally athletic. He has an incredible arm and he can hit a baseball farther than I can, I think.

4 - His sense of humor. He is sooo funny! He says the funniest things which more recently include asking me where my husband is. When I tell him I don't know, he offers to help find him. Thanks East! I need all the help I can get! :)

Happy birthday East! I love you very much!!

NEW YORK CITY!

2009-04-03T19:37:00.023-07:00

***WARNING*** This is the longest post in the history of the blogging world. Be prepared.

Finally, my internet it working again!! I've realized how dependant I am on it, unfortunately. But I'm glad to have it back and now I can post about my amazing trip to New York. This is going to pretty much be my journal entry of the trip, so forgive me for going day-by-day. I hope you enjoy the commentary and pictures. Here it goes...

THURSDAY, MARCH 12
I spent Wednesday night at my parents house so my dad could drop me off at the Salt Lake airport and we left really early Thursday morning. My flight left at about 8:30am and I had a layover in Minneapolis before heading to New York City. The flights weren't bad at all and we even landed a little early at JFK (which is not my favorite airport in the world, so I was happy to be there early). One at JFK, I got my bags and headed to the train. I had a hotel booked for that night in downtown Manhattan and I took the train and subway to get there. I was pretty proud of myself for getting there all by myself with public transportation! I've just taken a taxi into the city before, so it was an adventure, but it was fun. I checked into my hotel, took a nice long shower (I always feel so gross after flying all day) and ordered room service. I really didn't want to go out and do anything because I was so tired so I just veged in my hotel room and enjoyed it.
My hotel room at the Millenium Hilton...it was so nice.And it had a pretty awesome view! My room looked directly over Ground Zero and accross to the World Financial Center and toward the Statue of Liberty.

I'm not sure that I have ever ordered room service before. I felt like such a grown up.Yummy! (and this is just the start of the self-portraits :)

FRIDAY, MARCH 13
I spent Friday exploring and enjoying the city by myself. It was so fun to be abe to do whatever I wanted and see parts of the city that I never have before. The first thing I did was hop on the subway to go to the Manhattan temple. I got there in enough time to go to the Barnes & Noble across the street where I grabbed some breakfast and read a book while overlooking the bustling streets of New York. It felt like such a New York thing to do. I loved it!

The Manhattan temple is absolutely gorgeous! I went with my family a couple years ago, but I didn't just sit and enjoy it then as much as I was able to this time. I did an endowment session and me the sweetest little Filipina lady who helped me know where to go the whole time. She was so adorable and I was so grateful for her. I got to spend a good amount of time in the Celestial room which was amazing. It is beautiful and I really needed to feel the Spirit that was there. I didn't want to leave.

After the temple I walked around Julliard for a little bit (man I wish I was talented enough to study there!) and then headed down to Times Square. I went to Times Square to get tickets to a Broadway show for that night. I got there before TKTS opened (where you can get amazing, day of, 1/2 off tickets to a ton of Broadway shows...just a little tip for anyone traveling to NYC) so I walked around for a while, took lots of self-portraits, let a hysterical drunk lady take my picture for me, and then went to lunch where I sat at the bar with the drunk (maybe she was more like, tipsy...) lady and her husband. They were awesome and it was fun to talk to them. They were from Indiana and were in NYC for a quick trip. When I finished lunch, I went out and got in line for TKTS. The line was so long, but one the boxoffice opens, it goes pretty fast. I got a ticket to see Mary Poppins that night and then left Times Square, hopped on the subway and made my way to the East Side to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I had never been there and it was incredible! I only got to spend about 3 hours there, but I seriously could have spent a couple days! It is HUGE and I ended up getting lost trying to find my way out. Haha. I definitely need to go there again!!

This is the picture taken by the tipsy lady. Behind me are the Red Stairs and under them is the TKTS boxoffice. It's a fun little area to hang out.Looking north along 5th Ave, on the left is the MET. It was really fun to walk along 5th Avenue and also Park Avenue. So many big name stores! Great for window shopping!!
From the MET, it was back to to Times Square for dinner of a New York street hot dog and seeing Mary Poppins. The hot dog was actually quite delicious and the show was AMAZING! I wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't that. I was absolutely blown away. The music was fantastic, the set was incredible and the cast was so talented! I loved every moment of it!! And I got to enjoy it all from the 3rd row!

Right before the show with hot dog in hand :)3rd row baby!!

At the show I had a really cool experience. Before the show I got talking to a group of ladies who was sitting behind me. They were so sweet and asked me all about myself and wanted to know what I was doing in NYC. They were from Michigan and so fun to talk to. But the really cool thing was that at intermission I talked to the couple sitting next to me the whole time. They were awesome. The wife was from Colombia and they live in Queens. They of course asked where I was from and when I said Utah the husband threw out the inevitable question, "so are you Mormon?" He started telling me that he had been to Salt Lake to go skiing once and had gone to temple square. He said it was beautiful and he really enjoyed his trip there. Then he asked me if our missionaries still have to wear ties. Kind of a funny question! I told him yes and that I had just seen some of our missionaries in the city that morning. He said he didn't think there were any in Queens because he has never seen them there. He asked a lot of questions and was really curious and I loved answering his and his wife's questions. The 20 minute intermission flew by and I kind of wished that it was longer so that we could keep talking. It was a really cool experience and I hope he looks for the missionaries in Queens now!

So after the show I left the theater and caught the subway back downtown to my hotel. When I got to my room Sean called. He had been in Washington DC for business and had just gotten back to NYC. We ended up talking for quite a while and made plans for when/where we would meet up the next morning. It was so late when we hung up and I went to bed. It had been a long busy day and I was exhausted.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

Saturday was such a fantastic day! I left my hotel and headed to Grand Central Station to meet Sean. He took the train into the city from Connecticut and we met in the terminal there. It was so good to see him there. The last time I saw him was when he was in Provo for about an hour the beginning of January and we went to lunch, but other than that, we really haven't spent any quality time together in about a year and a half. From Grand Central we went to the Empire State Building. Neither of us had ever been to the observation deck at the ESB so it was a fun thing to do together. We hit it at the perfect time also because we didn't have to wait at all. The view was incredible and we had fun finding specific buildings and observing all sides of NYC from the top. Sean and I at the top of the Empire State Building! Views of all sides of Manhattan
It took a couple minutes to ride the elevator back down to the street and we were being dumb. Pretty normal Sean and Jen... No offense Sean, but you kind of look high. ;)The lobby of the Empire State Building. A really nice lady took our picture. She was definitely a tourist. We could tell because she was smiling. Sean claims that no one in NYC smiles unless they are a tourist. It's kind of true...

After the ESB we went to Rockefeller Center. Kind of cool to see the NBC studios and the famous ice skating rink. I think my favorite part was all the flags of different countries that surround the rink. There was also a really awesome crystal sculpture hanging in Rockefeller. I should have gotten a picture of that...

We went to lunch at Junior's and then did probably my favorite thing to do in New York. I'm pretty sure it's Sean's favorite thing too...hanging out in Central Park!! We ended up spending a couple hours just walking around the park and talking. We saw some really cool roller skaters and lots of people playing lots of different sports. We really wished that we would have had a football with us to play catch! It was perfect weather and so nice to talk and enjoy each other's company in that amazing park!

From the park, we went downtown to get my stuff from my hotel and then back up to Grand Central to take the train to Connecticut. It was fun to ride the train. It's not something I've done often. Although when the conductor came around to collect tickets I couldn't find mine. I totally freaked out. I did end up finding it in a random pocket of my purse, but it's a good thing that Sean knows how to handle me in a moment like that. In our years of being friends we have dealt with a few stressful situations, so a lost train ticket was nothing. At least nothing compared to paper towels! (sorry to those of you who don't get this, but if you know Sean and I, you know this story and you are cracking up right now!)

Connecticut was so beautiful and picturesque. I loved it! When we got to Sean's house he said he had a surprise and told me to get in the car. He put something in the trunk and we took off. I obviously had no idea where we were going, but I got to see a bit of Norwalk before we pulled into a big park. It was right on the Norwalk Sound and it was absolutely a gorgeous sight as the sun was setting. Well, the surprise was a football! Again, I'm sorry to those of you who don't know Sean, but this is something that we used to do almost every day. We would take a football and homework up Provo Canyon and do our homework and play catch. It is something that we love doing together and it was so much fun to throw the football around again. This is a picture of us just before leaving the park. It was so much fun!!

On the way back to Sean's we stopped at the store and got take out sushi. Also something that we love!! It was such a great night. We watched a movie with his roommates and talked until really late. It was so much fun and the perfect ending to such a fantastic day. It felt just like the old days.

SUNDAY, MARCH 15

Sunday was spent just chilling. I slept in, which was much needed after a crazy day. We hung out at his house all morning and read and talked and got his lesson ready for Priesthood. In the afternoon we went to church. It's always interesting going to another single's ward, but everyone was really nice and it seemed like a good ward. After church we had dinner with the ward and then we had to leave so I could catch a train back to the city and Sean could get to the airport to go back to DC. It was really sad when he dropped me off at the train station. We had such a fun weekend together and I think we both really needed it. Sean is such a great guy and I am very lucky to have him in my life.

I took the train back to NYC and then the subway to the Upper West side to stay with my old roommate Carolyn. I haven't seen her since she moved to NYC last August to go to fashion school (she is amazing and someday you will see her designs on the runway!). She has a darling apartment and it was so fun to just chat and catch up with our lives. She and her roommates were so sweet to let me stay there for a couple nights!

MONDAY, MARCH 16

Another day of exploring NYC. This day I pretty much just wandered around all the different neighborhoods (Tribeca, SoHo, Chelsea) and thought about how much I could live there! My favorite thing was finding little bakeries and cafes and eating so much that day! Good thing that the subway line that I needed was shut down because of a water main break so I had to walk further and burn a few more calories. ;)

This is my favorite find of the day...Billy's Bakery on 9th Avenue between 21st and 22nd Street. The most amazing carrot cake I have ever tasted! And how cute is that little box and bag!! Next time you are in NYC, visit Billy's. You'll be glad you did! :)

Another new favorite place is the New York City Public Library. This place is so amazing! (Maria, I thought of you while I was there and wished that you were there with me!) This picture is of the main reading room and it was gorgeous. I loved hanging out and reading a book for a while. I'm glad I went there and enjoyed the incredible architecture and the chance to relax and read. I also went to Centra Park again for a while this day and did a bit more exploring. If I lived in NYC I think I would spend all of my time in Central Park. That night Carolyn and I had dinner with the sister missionaries and some guys in her ward. Funny enough, one of them was actually Sean's roommate in Provo right before he moved to Connecticut. It was good to catch up with him. Then I went to FHE with Car. So many nice people, which just made me think that I could live there even more! I was really sad that this was my last night in New York and was not looking forward to going home the next day.

TUESDAY, MARCH 17

Time to go home. Sad! Before Carolyn left for work and I headed to the airport, we went and got bagels at a little bagel shop around the corner from her apartment. So New York. Thanks for being such a wonderful hostess Car! I loved spending time with you and seeing your great life in New York! Making my way back to the airport was nice and easy and my flight to Minneapolis was uneventful. But then the adventure started. I ended up spending about 9 hours in the Minneapolis airport (good thing there are a lot of good stores there!) because my flight to Salt Lake was overbooked. No one was volunteering to wait for the next flight, so I did. It was pretty nice...first class to Salt Lake and a $300 flight voucher. I can handle that. I would volunteer everytime I fly to get that! I didn't get back home until about 2am and was/still is sad that my wonderful trip is over. I need to get back there soon. And who knows, maybe next time I'll look for jobs so I don't have to leave. ;)

Sorry this has been the longest blog ever. But I did warn you. If you actually made it through it all in one shot, CONGRATULATIONS!

so...

2009-03-23T06:00:00.002-07:00

My internet at my house is not working right now, so I haven't been able to update anything. I'm at work now and really shouldn't be on here, but figure it's early enough this morning that I can make a quick note to at least let you know what is going on. It's so annoying to not be able to get online! But interesting enough, it's kind of nice at the same time...

Anywho, I will post pictures, etc, about New York as soon as I can. Just know that it was AMAZING!!! I love New York so much!!!! I could totally live there. I got to do so many great things and can't wait to share it all with you.

Be patient. Thanks! :)

Publicity Dilemma

2009-03-11T06:46:00.003-07:00

Many of you I'm sure have heard of the recent controvery between HBO and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'll be honest, when I first heard what was happening I was very upset. I felt so protective of something that is extremely sacred and important to me and furious that someone else would feel it appropriate to publicize it. However, the Church put out a statement (the link at the bottom of this post) which helped to calm my heart and fears. I hope you will all read it. I feel like this is the attitude we should have and we must remember that “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” (Joseph Smith)

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

We definitely live in the last days with so many uncertainties and hardships, but how grateful I am for my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel and of living prophets on the earth today to guide us.

And P.S. 24 hours from now, I will be on a plane to New York City!!!! :)

Workies

2009-03-05T12:20:00.003-07:00

I love the people I work with (for the most part)! But there are a few of us that have become really good friends outside of the courthouse. In fact, of the 4 of us, only 2 of us still work at the court. Yesterday was Jessie's (hereafter known as "J"), birthday so we made a night of it.

We went to Pizzaria 712 for dinner. So yummy! It was a cool little place with a great ambiance and wonderful pizza! Definitely a good date place if you need any ideas...

Then we drove up to SLC and went to the Melting Pot for dessert. It's so worth the drive up there just for desert. It was amazing and so much fun. Also a great atmosphere, but definitely a little pricey. It was so fun though to spend the whole evening with my workies and celebrate J's birthday!

Mateo, Kristin, J, and me
HAPPY BIRTHDAY J!

And just for old times sake...here is a picture of me, J, and K on J's last day of work at the courthouse in her old courtroom. We miss her at the court!

Seriously?!?!?

2009-03-01T22:11:00.002-07:00

How is it already MARCH!!!!!!! Where does the time go? I can't believe how quickly time flies! So this month, I have a goal of enjoying every moment and taking advantage of every moment and opportunity that I have.

The countdown is definitely on until I head out to NYC. I am so excited!! Only 11 days! Wahoo! I am going out there mostly to visit my friend Sean, but I will also get to see my former roommate Carolyn. I am going to do a lot of playing while I am there and I can't wait for the adventure! It was a really quickly planned trip, but that makes it even more exciting. I have a huge list of things I want to do while I'm there and can't wait to tell you all about it when I get back. My mom thinks I am crazy to spend a couple days roaming NYC by myself (Sean works and Carolyn is in school) but I am thrilled about it!!

Anyways, the point of this post is to remind us all to enjoy each and every day! Don't let life pass you by!!!

2 weeks from tomorrow...

2009-02-25T20:54:00.001-07:00

...this is where I'll be!!

I Love This Kid!!

2009-01-19T21:12:00.004-07:00

Tonight I got a wonderful phone call from this adorable kid! He called just to say hi and we chatted for about 10 minutes. He is so funny! Easton absolutely brightens my day! He is such a good boy and he loves to have fun with all of his buddies. And he especially loves to have sleepovers at Aunt Jen's house! (hint hint :) I love Easton so much and am so grateful that he is my nephew! Our family just woudn't be complete without him. I love you East!!
Easton also has a pretty stinking cute sister!! We love having her in our family too. I can't believe that she is 6 months old now! She is so sweet and I love listening to her laugh and talk. This picture is of Shell, Averie and I on Christmas morning. For our family gift, my parents are taking all of us to Disneyland in April. We are going during Michelle's spring break and over my Dad's 50th birthday. I am so excited to take the kids! But I'm excited for the big kid stuff too! Space Mountain here we come!!

Anway this post is about the kids...

Thanks for calling tonight Easton! I love you both and am so grateful that I get to be your aunt!!

FYI

2009-01-13T22:47:00.003-07:00

I LOVE THE BIGGEST LOSER!!

Did any of you watch it tonight? Oh. My. Gosh. It was incredible! I cried. You should all go watch it now. It is so inspiring and I want Jillian to be my trainer. Go blue and black teams!! (they are both from Mesa and I'm pretty sure are both members of the church, not that I'm biased or anything :)

Sister Watt

2009-01-12T20:32:00.002-07:00

This is just a little shout out to my amazing and beautiful cousin Jesica. She received her mission call last thursday and I am so excited for her. She will be serving at the Kirtland Ohio historic sites. So fun!! I know that Jes will be an incredible missionary and she is going to love every minute of it. I'm so proud of you Jes!

Also I was just thinking about my baby brother and the fact that he has been on his mission for 15 months. Crazy! Time really flies. I love hearing from him each week and am so grateful for his example and his testimony. Keep working hard Ky!

I love missionaries!! :)

Castillo Crazies

2009-01-11T21:50:00.003-07:00

Last weekend my family went to Twin Falls, Idaho for my cousin's wedding reception. Steven and Emily were married in Portland on December 20th and then had a reception in TF last weekend. It was a blast! There isn't much to do in Twin so we made our own fun. And believe me, when you get any Castillo's together it is a p-a-r-t-y!!
We went to the mall, lifted weights in our hotel, went to the wedding reception (where all these pictures were taken), went swimming and hot tubbing, and played games until way too late! Seriously, my family rocks. We have so much fun together. It is so fun now that the younger cousins are all teenagers and we can all hang out. They are so cool. It was also really good to get to know my cousin Tono's fiance better. We're so excited for the party that will be their wedding in May!! :)

Shoveling

2009-01-06T19:27:00.005-07:00

Shoveling snow counts as a workout right?!? Well, tonight it does for me. I got home from work to my driveway with 5 inches of snow piled up. I decided to forget the gym tonight and shovel instead. It took me an hour to shovel it all and of course, by the time I was done, there was another 1/2 inch that had fallen. So much fun! NOT!! This is how I looked after my shoveling "workout"...

NOT PRETTY!

Rundown of 2008

2009-01-02T14:50:00.011-07:00

Look!! 2 posts in 2 days! I'm already doing well with my goal. ;)

So I thought since I was such a horrible blogger the last half of 2008 that I would share a few things that happened and I never wrote about. Hope you enjoy the catchup.

JULY 15, 2008 - AMERICAN IDOL CONCERT

Jessie, Kristin and I had so much fun at the American Idol concert. It was incredible! I was pleasantly suprised by how much I really enjoyed all of the acts. The most amazing part was the screams that came from all the 14 year old girls when David Archuleta came onstage. I have never heard such shrieks! He was awesome though!! And David Cook wasn't too shabby either. :) I'm glad I got to enjoy this night with such great friends.

AUGUST 15, 2008 - TIM'S GRADUATION

Big Tim and Cara were able to receive Tim's diploma from Brigham Young University since he was so close to graduation when he passed away. What a blessing for them! I felt very lucky to be invited to join them for the commencement ceremonies. The School of International Studies had a very nice video of pictures of Tim that they showed before presenting Big Tim and Cara with his diploma. It was a great moment. Tim was so looking forward to graduating so we were excited to be able to celebrate this for him. After Uncle Clint treated us all to breakfast at Magleby's. Such a great day!

BYU FOOTBALL

As most of you know, my family are very big BYU football fans. BYU had a great season (if you don't count the last 2 games) and we loved going to all the home games. I love spending Saturday afternoons in Lavell Edwards Stadium with my family and the Cougars! This year we inagurated another Cougar fan...Easton! We took him to a few games and he absolutely loved them! He loves watching the Cougars and especially loves searching for Cosmo the Cougar with his binoculars. It was so fun to have him at the games and by the end of the season he was proficient in the Cougar fight song. Or at least the "ra-ra-ra" part. And he's really good at yelling "go Cougars"!! Now that the football season is over, we can enjoy basketball season!

OCTOBER 11, 2008 - TRACY'S WEDDINGIn October I went to Las Vegas to attend Tracy Murtishaw's wedding. Tracy is like my little sister and I am so happy that she and Frank have started their family. I haven't seen most of the Murtishaw family for a couple years and it was so good to spend this happy day with them. I also had never met Tracy's son Trey. He is almost 2 and is such a cutie. He kept himself entertained through the ceremony playing with Lightning McQueen. Adorable. It was also so great to spend time with Andrew and his roommates Jessica and Katy. They are such fun girls and I am excited that they are coming up to Sundance in a couple weeks and I'll get to hang out with them again!! Congratulations Tracy & Frank!

OCTOBER 12-14, 2008 - MESA

Since I was going to Las Vegas for the wedding I decided to make it a long weekend and spend a couple days in Mesa, Arizona. The Filichia's have wanted me to come down and visit for a while so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. The hard part was that the day I got there was the exact one year mark of the day that I arrived in Mesa for Tim's funeral. In fact, it was much harder than I ever expected it to be. The first thing I did when I got to Mesa was going to the cemetary. This is a picture of Tim's headstone, it is beautiful. The best part of my trip to Mesa though was spending time with the Filichia family. I got to just hang out with Cara and shoot hoops with Matt and sing with Big Tim. We also had dinner at Heather's house and went to the park and shopping with Liz. I got to play with the kids and just enjoy being with this incredible family. It was so much fun! (I was having so much fun that I forgot to take any pictures. I know Heather and Liz have some, so I'll have to get them.) It was hard to be there without Timmy, but it was actually really good closure for me. I think of him everyday, but the pain isn't as sharp anymore. I loved every minute of my time in Mesa and am so grateful for the Filichia's.

OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 2, 2008 - REXBURG

I got to spend a weekend in Rexburg with Michelle and it was so fun! We hung out with her friends and roommates, went to a Halloween party, walked around campus (this is a picture of us in front of the Taylor building) and the best part was doing a session in the new Rexburg temple. It was wonderful! It was really weird to be there since it was 7 years ago that I left Rexburg, but it was so much fun. Thanks Shell for letting me visit. I'm going to miss you when you have to go back to school next week!!

NOVEMBER 15, 2008 - NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK CONCERT

THE GREATEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE! (quote from Sarah Bohe)

I need to get all of the pictures from Sarah from that night, but here are a few. It was seriously AMAZING!! I was obsessed with NKOTB as a kid and I love them even more now! We had such a blast at the concert and actually had pretty incredible seats. They did so many of their old songs and even their old dance moves. Every woman (which was 99% of the crowd) in the whole audience was singing along and screaming. I about melted when Joey sang "Please Don't Go Girl". That was my favorite song growing up and it was so awesome to hear him perform it again. He is still my favorite. :) And seriously, who knew Donny Wahlberg was so good looking!!

DECEMBER 8, 2008 - MY 27TH BIRTHDAY

Wow, I'm getting old! I did have a wonderful birthday though and spent it with many wonderful friends and then the weekend after spent it with my family. Thank you everyone for making it a great birthday!

So now that I have bored you all to tears I will stop and wait to update about Christmas. Seriously, looking back on 2008 it was an amazing year and so much fun! Can't wait to see what 2009 holds!!!!!!

2009

2009-01-01T19:17:00.003-07:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Can you believe it?!?!?! Seriously, it's 2009 already! Where does time go! Honestly though, I am really looking forward to this year. I think it's going to be a great one in many aspects and I am exteremely thrilled about it!

There are a lot of things that I want to work on this year, but one of the top things on my list is to blog more. Get excited people! (all 2 of you!!!)

The Abundant Life

2008-12-05T16:14:00.004-07:00

In honor of ElderJoseph B. Wirthlin who passed away early this week, I thought I would post a link to my favorite conference talk of all time, which was given by him. For those of you who may not know, Elder Wirthlin was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.This talk was given in the April 2005 General Conference and can be found here.

My favorite phrase in this talk is "create of your life a masterpiece." I love that idea. It is up to us to do with our lives what the Lord would have us do. It is up to us to work hard an see the rewards and blessings that come. It is up to us to have a good attitude and look at life as the beautiful gift it is. I have that phrase posted on the mirror in my room and I read it a lot. I wish I put it more fully into practice.

When I heard that Elder Wirthlin passed away I was so sad, but then thought of the joyful reunion that I know he had with his wife. I'm sure he was thrilled to be with her again. I will miss his talks at General Conference (who didn't cry when he barely made it through his talk in October 2007 as Elder Nelson had to help him stand at the podium) and the humility and kindness that he shared through his sermons. I am grateful that I have been able to learn from Elder Wirthlin and know that he was an Apostle of the Lord.

I encourage all of you to read "The Abundant Life" and hopefully it will bless your life as it has blessed mine.

"The abundant life isn’t something we arrive at. Rather, it is a magnificent journey that began long, long ages ago and will never, never end."

I'm baaaaack...

2008-11-01T10:46:00.002-07:00

I would blame my lack of blogging on my insanely hot boyfriend, but since that isn't even a possibility, I just blame it on being lazy and most importantly, being out of town a lot. (but if anyone wants to set me up with an insanely hot boy so I can actuallly use that excuse, feel free...)

I am currently in Rexburg, Idaho visiting my awesome little sister. It is so weird to be here. I left Rexburg 7 years ago. And it was still Ricks College when I was here. Crazy!!! It is cool though and we are getting ready to go to the Rexburg temple. So yes, this post is short, but it's something. Give me at least that much credit. I'll update my adventures when we get back tonight. :)

9/11

2008-09-11T18:41:00.007-07:00

"Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us." -President Gordon B. Hinckley, October 2001 General Conference
I'm sitting here seriously sobbing. I just watched a few videos on You Tube about 9/11/01 and I was doing ok until I watched one that a little girl is narrating. There are pictures of that day and the song Heaven playing and the little girl is talking about her dad who died that day. I can't get over it. It is heart breaking.

Even after 7 years, the events of that day still impact me greatly. I remember exactly what happened that day, where I was and the sick feeling I think most of us felt as we watched our country come under attack right before our eyes. I think of all those families who lost loved ones and all those kids who miss their moms and dads. I also think about all those who have lost family members in the war that we have been fighting since then.

September 11th will always and forever be a somber day. A day that we will all remember. A day I hope that we never forget.

I have stood on that sacred ground and it is a horrible, but hopeful place. As I sit here crying and remembering and pondering I can't help but also remember and ponder about the plan of happiness that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us. These are hard times, but the Lord has his eye on us; on this country. I pray for those that are serving our country and the families of those who lost their lives that fateful day.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

This is my family at Ground Zero last summer and with a firefighter who was there that day.

I Heart Archie!

2008-09-08T19:44:00.008-07:00

...and I'm not ashamed of it!! Seriously, he is the cutest kid (don't believe me? read this article) and has the most incredible voice!!!!! But I totally love Cook too, and actually loved more of the Idols than I thought I would.

The American Idol concert was July 15 and Jessie, Kristin and I made a night of it. We left work a little early and went to The Pie for dinner. J had never been there before and she loved it, of course.

K and I were smiling and giggling like little schoolgirls as we were waiting for the concert to start! well, excpet for when we thought the concert was going to start, but it was actually a man in a pop tart suit. not cool to get our hopes up like that.

We were all so excited to be going to the concert. It was kind of pathetic. We had heard such awesome things about the concert the night before and couldn't wait to see and hear it ourselves. The format of the concert was basically 10 mini-concerts. Each contestant (starting with Chikeze, since he was the first of the top 10 to be voted off) got to do about 3 songs. They did some that they had done on the show and a lot that they hadn't. It was cool to hear them do more of their own genre and not be forced to sing a style or specific artist. They definitely are all very different. And all very good! My favorites were Michael Johns, Carly Smithson, Brooke White, David Archuleta and David Cook. (Archie got to do 4 songs and Cook did 5) I was pleasantly surprised with Chikeze, Kristy Lee Cook and Jason Castro. The only ones I didn't really like were Ramiel and Syesha. Not that they don't have good voices, I just didn't like them on stage so much.

Anyway, we had so much fun and I ended up losing my voice because I was screaming so loud and K and I sang along with everyone. Such a blast! The crazy thing was when David Archuleta came out...I have never heard anything like it. The screaming was incredible. And he was so cute about it all. You could tell he really loved being in his home town.

I am not ashamed of my love of David Archuleta. In fact, I'm listening to all the songs of his that I downloaded on itunes this very minute.

(I borrowed a couple of your pics Jam...I wish I had that good of seats!)

but first...

2008-09-06T20:23:00.002-07:00

Ok, so I know I said I would start catching up on everything, but I just got back from the saturday night adult session of State/Regional Conference (as I'm sure many of you also went to) and I want to first write a little about what I learned/felt tonight.

I moved into a new ward and stake in the last few weeks, so this is the first occasion I've had to listen to the Stake Presidency. All I have to say is WOW! I am so impressed and very grateful for what they taught this evening. The talks generally revolved around sustaining our leaders; local and general. But what I loved the most were the first two talks given by women in our Stake. They spoke on being examples. Here are some of my thoughts from their talks...

we set examples for those around us whether we realize it or not, whether are examples are good, or not.
we are blessed for doing the right things in the right place at the right time
we cannot fall when we build our foundation on the Savior (Helaman 5:12)
EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY! life will not be perfect, but as we follow the Brethren and the Lord, everything will be okay.
we cannot pick and choose the commandments and counsel that we live
don't delay following counsel!

It was a wonderful meeting and I am looking forward to tomorrow to hear from the general leaders of the church. I am also getting really excited for General Conference. Can you believe it is in just four weeks?!?

Anyway, I hope you don't mind me sharing my thoughts with you all and you'll just have to wait until tomorrow for more posts. Sorry. So I will sign off tonight with one of my favorite quotes from last October's general conference.

"When we choose to follow Christ in faith rather than choosing another path out of fear, we are blessed with a consequence that is consistent with our choice."

so sue me...

2008-09-06T17:28:00.002-07:00

i know, i've been an absolutely horrible blogger the last month. so sue me. just kidding, i know that i haven't been good and i promise that i have meant to do some blogging it just hasn't happened. and right now i really need to go get ready for stake conference, so here is a quick list of the gems that you will get to read about if you haven't completely written me off yet...

*American Idol concert
*family vacations
*the Olympics
*moving & my new apartment
*Grey's and Veronica Mars
*my new bed!
*shoe parties
*BYU FOOTBALL BABY!!!

so get excited and when i get back from stake conference tonight i promise to at least start working on that list.

Baby Tsunami

2008-07-29T18:39:00.003-07:00

So a few months (approximately 9) ago I wrote about how my sister-in-law, my aunt and my friend were all expecting babies in July and I said it would be a baby tsunami. Well, Sarah mentioned that a baby tsunami could be pretty messy, but let me tell ya...it's actually really cute! ;)

All three of those babies were born within one week of each other, all were baby girls, and they are all absolutely precious!!!

First born was my gorgeous new niece...Averie Karren Castillo

July 16, 2008

Next...Calissa Beth Dalton

July 20, 2008

And finally...

Ella Ambrie Watt

July 23, 2008

Pretty adorable, eh?!?!!

Watt Reunion

2008-07-29T17:50:00.003-07:00

At the end of June my family went camping for a Watt family (my mom's side) reunion at Payson Lakes. We used to go there every Memorial day with my dad's family, but I haven't been there in years and it was really fun to go back. We spent a lot of time at the lake playing in the water and laying out.

There are a ton of grandkids on the Watt side and since I am the oldest they are all pretty young. I feel more like their aunt a lot of times, especially since I have a niece and nephew that are the same age as some of my cousins.

The theme of our reunion was the Olympics and each individual family represented a country and made food from that country for the meal that they were in charge of. We learned facts about how many members of the Church live in that country and some general information regarding the country. We also had "olympic events" at the lake with some fun games. My uncle Marvin's favorite event was "flipping the raft when Jen is in it". Fun game for him. Not for me. The water was freezing!!

Filichia Fam

2008-07-29T16:48:00.003-07:00

In my 4th of July post I mentioned that I got to spend that evening with the Filichia family. The best part was that it was actually just once of the many times that I got to hang out with the Filichia's over the 2 weeks leading up to the 4th.

Most of you probably don't know the Filichia's, but they are practically my second family. My friend Tim, who passed away last October, is their son. Tim and I spent a lot of time with his family in Arizona and whenever they would come to Provo. I am very lucky to have them in my life and feel like Tim is still around when I am with them.

About two weeks before the 4th I got a text from Lauren (little sis Filichia) saying that LIGHT (her dad's show choir) was going to be in Utah doing a couple shows. I was so excited and got to go see their incredible show in Spanish Fork. When I walked into the church I saw Big Tim (Papa Filichia) and he was so suprised to see me. I loved the look on his face. Then I went into the gym and found Cara (Mama Filichia). She was also shocked to see me. I sat with her through the show and enjoyed seeing the kids perform. It was a little bit hard to watch parts of the show because it was things that Tim had done and it was weird to see someone else doing his part. But it was a great show and I always love watching LIGHT perform. After the show I got to talk to Lauren for a couple minutes and then Cara and I found an empty room and ended up talking for two hours. We pretty much only talked about Tim, but Cara shared a lot of amazing things that happened before, during, and after the accident. We both cried a ton and I was able to share with her some experiences that I had before and after Tim died. It was so theraputic for both of us!

Lauren also was starting school at BYU the next monday, so she was going to be moving into her apartment and getting settled and Cara was going to stay with her for a couple weeks. But since she didn't have a car up here I got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Cara going to the grocery store and running errands and helping get Lauren settled at BYU. I loved spending so much time with the girls.

Then Big Tim and Matt (little bro Filichia) came up for a few days to spend the holiday and to take Cara back home. Matt is such a little Timmy and he is so much fun to hang out with. I loved being able to hang out with the whole family and be able to talk so openly with them about Tim and about how they are all doing. I love the Filichia family and hope that they will always be a part of my life!!

***sorry this is such a long and probably boring post for most of you, but this is kind of my journal, so if you don't like it, don't read it. just kidding.

4th of July

2008-07-27T12:42:00.007-07:00

I LOVE the 4th of July. It is definitely my favorite holiday next to Christmas. We have so many traditions and I love spending the time with my whole family and being reminded of the wonderful blessing it is to live in this amazing country!

Each year we go to the Freedom Festival in Provo. The morning is spent getting up really early (4am) to get a good spot for the parade where we stake out enough space for both sides of my family. The parade is always so much fun (hot, but fun...) with all the floats, huge balloons, high school marching bands and color guards (go Lone Peak!!!!!) and the most loved entry in the parade...the Provo Utah Missionaries!!! I love going to the parade with the little kids. They are so cute waving to everyone and make it such a blast.

The whole gang (almost) watching the parade.
My trooper of a sister-in-law sat through the hot parade while 8 1/2 months pregnant!

Lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents....and my dad, the gimp. ;)

Easton used the spray bottle to make sure everyone stayed cool. He was a little too good at that job. The part of the parade that gets the biggest applause. Hmmm....I wonder why?

After the parade we walk around all the booths that are out around Center Street and enjoy blow up rides, snow cones, and funnel cake!

We normally spend the afternoon bbq-ing with both sides of our family, but this year just spent it with the Castillo's since my aunts from Texas and Washington were in town with their families. We spent the afternoon hanging out at grandma's house eating, playing games (Nertz and the Wii especially), chatting and napping. Good times.

That evening Michelle and I went and spent time with the Filichia's. It was so good to have them in town and get to hang out with them. Ward was also down from Salt Lake and we hung out at Lauren's apartment and then went up to the MTC fields to watch the Stadium of Fire firworks. The fireworks were great, but the best part was just chillin' with Big Tim, Cara, Lauren, Matt and Ward! I'm glad Shell got to meet them.

Me and Wardy. I think this is the first normal picture I've ever gotten of him. And of course, I'm being retarded!

Crazy kids! Lauren, Ward, me and Matt

My beautiful sister and I waiting for the fireworks to start.

It was such a wonderful day and I am so grateful for the blessing that we enjoy by living in the United States. I'm grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and the peace and happiness that is ours!

Playing catch up...

2008-07-27T12:40:00.001-07:00

I have been horrible the last couple weeks at posting, but I'm going to catch up today! So much has happened the last few weeks and I'm excited to share it with you all!!! So get ready....here it goes...

Cousins

2008-07-13T21:37:00.004-07:00

On the 3rd of July we had a reunion with the Gordon side of the family (my Grandma Castillo's family) at a park in Orem. I don't see many from the side of the family very often and it was really fun. I was really excited when I got there and saw that my aunt and her daughter that live in Washington were there and even more thrilled when i saw my aunt and her family who live in Texas. It was so good to have them here for a few days.

On the Castillo side of the family I have a ton of cousins and I am at the older end of everyone (4th out of 29) so it is really fun to watch the younger cousins all growing up. It does make me feel kind of old, but it makes it really fun to all hang out together.

This is a hysterical picture of 5 of the cousins (Brittany, Jason, Tyler, Camrie and Eric). They crack me up!! The boys all went shopping together and bought matching pink shirts. They thought they were hot stuff, and the girls really are hot stuff. ;) I love my cousins!

Addiction

2008-07-08T19:41:00.004-07:00

I hate to admit it, but I have a major problem. Some people are addicted to drugs or alcohol (these are mostly the people I work with...well, not work WITH, but that I deal with at work...oh, I've dug myself a hole!). Some people are addicted to exercise (I wish!!!) or to plucking their eyebrows. My addiction definitely isn't quite as bad as drugs or alcohol, but it isn't great for my wallet.

I am addicted to Deseret Book. Seriously. I should just avoid it at all cost, but I can't. I'm even a platinum member because I spend so much money there. It is pretty ridiculous. This is the spoil I got on my last visit to Deseret Book last week. But I got a great deal on it all...these 6 books and CD only cost me $45. Only problem is that I do this once or twice a month.

And just in case you were wondering, no i have not read all the books I have bought. I wish I were a Maria Cutler and could read a 500 page book in 1 hour, but I'm not so I have a ton of unread books on my bookshelf. Someday I will read them all...

Steph's birthday!

2008-07-07T18:47:00.004-07:00

My old roommate Stephanie turned the big 2-1 last week and I got invited to her birthday breakfast. It was so fun to go over to her apartment and wake her up early in the morning and take her to the best breakfast in Provo....Maglebys!!!! I love their french toast, but the best part of their breakfast is the syrup. It is seriously heaven on earth! If you have never had it, drop everything and do it now! ok, maybe not right this very minute, but don't go long without trying it. It will change your life. ;)

Anyway, back to Steph...she is one of the most amazing girls I know and I am so lucky to count her as a friend! She is so great to talk to and always lets me vent to her. She is from Tulsa which is a place close to my family's heart. She is hysterical and she is gorgeous!! Love you Steph! Hope you had a fantastic birthday!!!!This is right after we woke Steph up at 8am by pounding on her bedroom door. She was a little surprised. This is a picture of Steph with her roommates Amanda, Sun Hee, and Carolyn. Steph, Carolyn and I were all roommates last summer.

Me and Stephy at Magleby's. Not pretty so early in the morning!

Park City

2008-07-07T18:33:00.002-07:00

So 2 weekends ago Kristin, Jessie, and I took a little weekend trip to Park City. We left on Saturday and went straight to our hotel. It was really nice and we spent a couple hours at the pool. It was fantastic aned I definitely got some sun!! I love being tan! haha. After time at the pool we went to Main Street and had dinner and walked around the cute shops. We then went back to the hotel and watched Felicity. We always seem to plan our vacations around Felicity. It just makes everything better. The next day we went to breakfast at the restaurant at the hotel (yummy!!!) and then went to the pool for some more sun. Seriously, it was the perfect little getaway. It is so nice to have somwhere as cool as Park City that is only an hour away, but makes you feel like a million miles away. It was exactly what I needed that weekend! Thanks for the fun weekend K & J!Hanging out on main street with J-Llo and K-Dub

Sorry 'bout that...

2008-07-06T23:12:00.003-07:00

I kind of fell off the blogging wagon the last couple weeks. Things have been so busy!!! I went to Park City then came home and had to work like crazy for a couple days so I could go camping with my family. Then it was Steph's birthday, the 4th of July, more family reunions and through it all the Filichia's were in town and I spent a lot of time with them. So those are all the awesome things you have to look forward to reading about! How excited are you?!? Pretty dang...

I'll be back...

2008-06-21T10:56:00.003-07:00

I'm heading to Park City for the rest of the weekend, so be excited to read tales of adventure when I get back! Have a great weekend everyone! Loves!!!!!

PROUD

2008-06-18T22:30:00.002-07:00

If I knew how to post a song, I would, but I don't, so I'm just going to tell you to look it up on iTunes or something. The song Proud by Richard Niles. It is AMAZING! It is actually the theme song to the Biggest Loser, and I love it. It is my motto lately. I have been trying to ask myself the question that is posed in this song and live up to it. It makes me want to be a better person and take the steps that are necessary to become the person I want to be. Here are the lyrics....

PROUD

I look into the window of my mind,
Reflections of the fears I know I've left behind,
I step out of the ordinary,
I can feel my soul ascending,
I am on my way,
Can't stop me now,
And you can do the same.

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people,
If you make that break for freedom,
What have you done today to make you feel proud?

Still so many answers I don't know,
Realize that to question is how we grow,
So I step out of the ordinary,
I can feel my soul ascending,
I am on my way,
Can't stop me now,
And you can do the same.

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It's never too late to try.
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people,
If you make that break for freedom,
What have you done today to make you feel proud?

We need a change,
Do it today,
I can feel my spirit rising,
We need a change,
So do it today,
'Cause I can see a clear horizon.

What have you done today to make you feel proud?
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?
'Cause you could be so many people,
If you make that break for freedom,
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?

What have you done today?
You could be so many people,
Just make that break for freedom,
So what have you done today to make you feel proud?

Aren't those incredible words!?! And what a poignant question. What have I done today to make myself proud? Recently I have reflected on this question as I write in my journal each night. I ask myself what I've done to make myself proud and write what happened that day. It has been a good way to make sure I'm doing the things that are the most important.

I hope we each do things every day to make ourselves proud!! What have you done?

it's been a bad day

2008-06-17T22:06:00.002-07:00

well, i can't say that the whole day has been horrible, but the first half definitely was. and yesterday wasn't all that great either. ugh!

but i did get to go to 7 peaks this afternoon and went to a play with the fam tonight, so it did get better.

i really do have some good stuff to blog about, so hopefully tomorrow is a better day. wish me luck.

the end.

Facelift

2008-06-11T20:11:00.002-07:00

Like my new blog template?

I like polka dots.

NKOTB

2008-06-10T22:01:00.006-07:00

I hope everyone who reads this knows what those initials stand for. If you don't, we definitely did not grow up in the same decade!!

A few months ago there was an announcment that my favorite childhood boyband was reuniting. I was sooo excited, but didn't know of too many other people who would be ask excited as me. Well, no one except Sarah, of course. She and I spent one Sunday afternoon watching their appearance on the Today Show that she had TiVo'd and getting ourselves pumped for their tour which would of course be coming to Salt Lake!!!!

Well, last week was the day we had been waiting for. Tickets for the NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK tour went on sale! And Sarah was online the moment they were available. November can't come soon enough!Yes, I know this may seem a little juvenile, but if any of you would have known me between the ages of 8 and 12 you would know how obsessed I was with the New Kids. My best friend Honor and I would watch their videos every day. We knew every word to their songs and every dance move. She loved Jordan and I loved Joey. We would even kiss them on the TV screen. I had t-shirts, posters, pins, tapes, videos and even the NKOTB dolls. If you don't believe me, just ask my sister, she had to share a room with me!

I wish I had kept all that old memorabilia, it would be worth a lot these days. ;)

Happy Birthday K-Dub!

2008-06-04T19:56:00.004-07:00

This last weekend was my good friend Kristin's birthday and Jessie and I got her the greatest gift ever! (ok, maybe not EVER, but we are all pretty excited about it!) We got tickets for the three of us to go to the American Idols tour when it comes to Salt Lake in July. Can you just hear the screams that accompanied the moment when she realized what was on the back of this paper??!! It was great!

Now the countdown is on until July 15th!! And just wait until I blog about the excitment that is going to happen tomorrow!!!!

Beautiful Sabbath

2008-06-01T21:52:00.003-07:00

It has been an amazing day! The weather was perfect and I was able to enjoy most of the day by being outside. One of my favorite places is in Provo canyon, a few miles past Vivian Park and South Fork. Not too many people know about it so it was wonderful today. I was able to go and take my ipod, scriptures, the Ensign and my journal and enjoy the sun for a few hours.

I want to share a talk that I really studied today. It is The Great Commandment by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin from October 2007 General Conference.

What an incredible talk! I don't know who remembers this, but this is the talk that Elder Wirthlin began to shake really badly and Elder Nelson got up to help him. What a great example of exactly what this talk is about - charity. I love so many parts of this talk, but I just want to share one part that really hit home with me.

Elder Wirthlin said, "Sometimes the greatest love is not found in the dramatic scenes that poets and writers immortalize. Often, the greatest manifestations of love are the simple acts of kindness and caring we extend to those we meet along the path of life. True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us."

What a beautiful thought! I hope you can all read (or re-read) this talk. Or even better, watch it. And while I'm promoting Elder Wirthlin, I would also encourage you all to read my favorite talk EVER! The Abundant Life. Read it. Let me know what you think.

the end

2008-05-30T17:16:00.003-07:00

the end of the day, the end of the week, the end of the month...i'm so glad these ends are all here!

it's been a really long day! i think everyone in the office was watching the clock all day long and it wasn't moving at all!! ugh. i hate when that happens. it was even a short week because monday was a holiday, but sometimes that makes friday go that much slower! so pretty much i'm just done with this day and with this week.

and can you believe it's the end of may?!?! oh my goodness, where does time go? (i know i just said that i was so slow, but you know what i mean...) this year is almost half over. crazy!! it's a good time to kind of reevaluate the goals i've had for myself this year. i'm definitely not where i want to be, but that's ok, i'll adjust and work harder the next few months.

so even though it's the end of today, and this week and this month, it's the beginning of a new day, week and month that will be even better than the last!!

Wordless Wednesday...kind of

2008-05-28T20:18:00.007-07:00

There's a lot on my mind right now, but not a whole lot that I want to write about. So here is a picture for you to enjoy. This is of me, my brother Kyle and my sister Michelle (and dad in the background) last summer while we were in New York. This picture is actually of us watching fireworks at Niagara Falls. I love my siblings!!!

2008-05-23T15:52:00.003-07:00

This week has been pretty crazy for my family...this is an email that my mom sent to our family and friends...

Hello Family and Friends! Just wanted to let you all know that we appreciate your love and support and prayers. For those of you who haven't heard, Rafael is lacking attention at home and has had another bad accident. He went four wheeling with Shane and Marvin on Tuesday and was within 200 yards of the truck after riding about 20 miles when he got bucked off the machine. He still doesn't know how it happened. We took him to the doctor and none of them there had ever seen a break like this. They sent us home with a splint and an appointment with a orthopedic surgeon today and some really good drugs! Today the orthopedics physician assistant looked at it and said, "WOW!" He had the doctor come in and look at it and he said, "WOW"! There are several people in this world that you don't want to hear that word from, and one of them is an orthopedic surgeon. He said it is a very bad break of the "glenoid" portion of his scapula. Basically that means the pocket the humerus arm bone sits in that is part of the shoulder blade is broken off and is in two or three pieces. Tomorrow we will go to have a CAT scan and Tuesday we go back to the orthopedic for him to decide if he can operate, or if he will send Raf to another trauma specialist in Salt Lake. He might have to have a complete shoulder replacement from what they said. FUN TIMES!! In spite of it all, we are still grateful it wasn't worse or life threatening. Your prayers are needed and appreciated and we will keep you all posted. Thanks again. Love, Marinann

So, it's been a crazy one and we would appreciate any prayers in behalf of my dad and also my mom. She's been a little stressed out. We are so grateful that this is all we are having to deal with, it could have been SO much worse. I just want to beg everyone to be careful. Please!!! Today's Oprah was about car accidents (falling asleep at the wheel, drunk driving, running over kids, etc) and I hope we can all be very cautious and vigilent in our driving. Be aware and safe.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!!

The New American Idol...

2008-05-21T21:09:00.006-07:00

DAVID COOK!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited for David Cook and will definitely be supporting his music. It was awesome to see his reaction and the emotion he portrayed. He is an incredible guy and I am really happy for him!

and the runner up...

DAVID ARCHLETA!

What a great kid and what a fantastic ride he has had. I am so proud of him. I don't know him, but I sure feel like I do. He put his soul out there for everyone and I think it absolutely shined through. What a great representative of my home state Utah! I will definitely be supporting him in his career also.

WAY TO GO DAVIDS!!!!!!

You are both incredibly talented and will do amazing things! Thank you for sharing your talents with us! Congratulations to both of you!!

Finally...Los Angeles

2008-05-21T18:11:00.006-07:00

So, finally, here it is..the last post about my trip. Yes, it's been 3 weeks since I got home, but I just never downloaded the pictures of the beginning of our trip when we hung out in LA and went to WICKED!!! But a really cool feature of my new laptop (which is not a Mac, sorry Jam) is that I can just insert the memory card from my camera into the computer and it will download the pics. I'm a fan! So here we go...

This is me, Jessie and Melissa as we are driving to California. Not a fun drive. But we did go to IHop in Barstow.

LOS ANGELES AND WICKED!

Me in front of the Panteges Theater in Hollywood. Wicked was absolutely incredible!!!!! I loved it the first time I saw it in Denver, but I can't even describe how much I loved it in LA. The cast was phenomenal and I had to pick my chin up off the floor on multiple occasions. If you have never seen it, I would recommend it to everyone! And we have finally found confirmation that the touring compay will be coming to Salt Lake the spring of 2009, so look for tickets. It is totally worth the money!

On Sunday afternoon Jessie and I went back to Hollywood to walk around and see the sights. Jessie had never been there before so it was fun to show her around. This is a picture of us in front of the Kodak theater.

I had never been in the Kodak theater before and it was awesome. There is a huge mall-like area that was lots of fun to walk around and go shopping! :) This is me in the atrium area.

In front of the Chinese theater.

These are the hand and footprints of the stars of Harry Potter. It's right in the middle of the chinese theater entrance. Totally cool.

My feet and Jessie's hand in Matt Damon's. Love him.

My feet in George Clooney's. Also love him!!

The Davids

2008-05-20T20:09:00.002-07:00

I just can't decide!!!!!!!!! This has been my favorite season of American Idol ever and I just can't get enough of both David Cook and David Archuleta! Tonight was the final performance and it was a-ma-zing!!! I don't normally vote for reality shows, but this time I definitely couldn't because there is no way I would be able to decide!Last week, David Cook blew me away. Especially with his rendition of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing". It was his best performance of the season. In my opinion. I love his very distinct and rock'n'roll style. He also seems like such a great guy. He has gotten emotional the last couple weeks as he has continued into the finals. I am just a huge fan! Oh yeah, and did I mention...he is HOT!! :)Then there is the sweet little David Archuleta. I just can't say enough about this adorable kid. His voice is absolutely inredible and melts me every time I hear him sing. Tonight was definitely his night. He sang each of his three songs with such emotion and energy. This may sound kind of wierd, but I really feel like this 17-year old brings the Spirit every time he sings. He is so humble and real and I love it!

I really just have to say that I don't care who wins because they both deserve it and have the talent. I am a bit anxious and nervous though for the results tomorrow night.

I just hope David Archuleta doesn't pass out.

#3

2008-05-18T21:40:00.004-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EASTON!!I can't believe that it has been 3 years since this precious little boy came into our family!! I also can't imagine what it would be like if we didn't have him around to entertain us! ;) Being an aunt is the greatest and I love spoiling this kid.

May 16th was Easton's birthday and Landon and Haley had a birthday party for him, which included a horse cake make by my amazing sister-in-law! We had so much fun eating and watching Easton open his 20+ presents. Seriously.

This was a hysterical shirt that my Grandma Castillo gave to East. If only it were true... ;)Shell and I gave Easton this Cars table with little chairs that are absolutely adorable!! He loved it and I LOVE HIM!! Notice his gladiator gear also. He is obsessed with swords these days. I love this picture and am so glad that I get to be his aunt!

Thank you George W!

2008-05-18T16:50:00.005-07:00

I'm not really sure that I approve of George W's plan to put money back into the economy by putting it into the pockets of the citizens of this great country, but I'm not one to complain when I magically have $600 appear in my checking account. And being the patriotic person I am, I decided to do with that $600 as it was intended...TO BE SPENT!!!Here is a picture of me with my new purchase. Well, techniclly it is taken with the webcam of my new purchase. I bought a new laptop and I am so excited about it!!! I've been wanting to get a new one and this money from China seemed like the perfect opportunity.

So, you might be hearing from me a little bit more now that I have this pretty little thing. Are you ready for that???

Cruise Part 4: Dinner

2008-05-15T09:31:00.006-07:00

Basically, we ate a lot!!!! There is always food around! I think J and I would both say that our favorite part of every day was dinner. I love dinner time on cruises! We ate every night in the "Inspiration Dining Room". It was beautiful and so much fun. For those of you who have never been on a cruise before, for dinner you can eat at one of the buffets or you can go to the dining room and have incredible cuisine. You are assigned to a table and that is where you eat every night. Well, we lucked out. Our table was absolutely the best!! We had the best company and the best waiters in the world. (literally. our waiters were from Indonesia and the Philippines)

The first night on the ship, we went to the dining room and the matre'd took us to our table. Sitting there were two guys. We sat down and began talking to them. Their names were Mark and John and they were brothers who live in Chicago and Seattle and decided to meet in San Diego to go on vacation together. They are probably both in their 40's and hysterical.

Then a few minutes later came two more guys. As they were walking towards our table I thought to myself, "they totally look like they could be mormon". (one of my favorite games to play while on vacation is 'spot the mormon'! ;) Well, they sat down at our table and we learned that their names were Luke and Adam and they live in PROVO! Seriously. How random!

Our dinner family...Adam, Jen, Mark, John, Jessie, and Luke

Every night was a blast and we all ended up hanging out a lot. I have never seen anyone eat as much as Luke and Adam and I have never had 5 consecutive nights of laughing so hard I was crying. J and Luke - I told you we were constantly laughing. I took this picture right as Luke said, "I'm a pimp". Long story, so if you want to hear about it, let me know and I will dedicate a whole post to Luke being a "pimp". J and I with our wonderful waiters!! Dennis and Djedje!

The other fantastic part of dinner was our waiters, Djedje and Dennis. They were the best!!! They knew us by name and would always say hi when we would see them around the ship. They would joke around with us, but still be the most gracious waiters. They would sing and dance for us every night and always made me feel so grateful for what I have been blessed with. I was especially excited to see that Dennis was from the Philippines since that is where my sister served her mission for our church. They made our cruise so incredible!! I miss having dinner with these 6 guys every night! But no worries, Adam, Luke, J and I definitely have it planned to get us some warm chocolate melting cake together soon!! Doing the macarena at dinner. Hysterical!!!!!! And yes, Luke was about to vomit because he had just eaten so much!! I think that night he had eaten 3 appetizers, 3 entrees and 2 desserts.

Cruise Part 3: Ensenada, Mexico

2008-05-15T09:07:00.005-07:00

Ensenada is not my favorite place in the world, in fact, I think it's pretty ugly and boring. The beaches are gross and it's definitely not a tropical paradise like Cabo. But this time, I actually enjoyed myself. We booked a city and shopping tour in Ensenada and it was quite fun. We visited some historic sights in town and learned a lot of history. We toured a winery, an old casino where American celebrities would visit during the 30's and 40's and went shopping on First Street (another fun place to bargain!)The view of Ensenada from the ship. Yes, that is the biggest Mexican flag you will ever see.

This was our adorable little tour guide Mariana. She was so fun and showed us some wonderful things in Ensenada.

But my favorite part about Ensendada was finding the most amazing taqueria!! It was called Mexico Lindo and it was wonderful!!!!!! That was pretty much the one thing that I wanted to do in Ensenada...eat real tacos. And these were probably the best I have ever had! I'm getting hungry just sitting here thinking about them!

Buen provecho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cruise Part 2: Cabo San Lucs, Mexico

2008-05-15T08:55:00.003-07:00

Our first stop on the cruise was Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Love that place! It is just gorgeous and we had a blast!! We booked a snorkeling excursion and were taken on an awesome speed boat out to the arch, Lover's Beach, Santa Maria and another snorkeling spot that I can't remember the name of. It was absolutely beautiful!!

This is one of the most amazing places I have seen. Is is where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. There is a colony of sea lions there and is right next to Lover's Beach. On our boat. It was so much fun. We had to hang on for dear life and we flying through the water. Such a blast!!!This was one of the areas that we went snorkeling. The water was the most perfect temperature and the fish were awesome. Unfortunately, a few people in our group got stung by jelly fish. Well, actually, everyone but me got stung. But don't worry, the driver of our boat just pulled out some Windex to put on the stings. Seriously.

After spending time out in the water we went into town. We had lunch at Cabo Wabo (the most amazing fajitas I have ever had!), went shopping, and I had fun bargening!!

I loved Cabo and definitely want to go back soon! Who wants to go with??!!??

Cruise Part 1: The Ship

2008-05-15T08:23:00.007-07:00

Ok, ok...here is what you have all been waiting for! There are so many pictures that there is no way I could post them all, so I'm just going to show some highlights. I want to post about the cruise itself right now and then i will post about our couple days in LA and seeing Wicked maybe tomorrow. So here is goes. Hope you enjoy...

We drove to San Diego on the morning of Monday, April 28. We got to the port, checked our bags, parked the car and headed to check ourselves onto the ship, the Carnival Elation. This is where are one and only heart attack happened. When we got inside to check in, Jessie realized that she had put her book with all her documents in her luggage that we had just checked. Oh no!!! I had my passport which makes life so much easier, but Jessie had to bring her birth certificate with her since she doesn't have a passport. Lesson #1 - eveyone should have a passport!!! We went and talked to the guys who we checked our bags with and they said they would see if they could find it. Well 25 minutes later they came back and said that we just had to go and try to get on without it. But they didn't say it that nicely... Luckily, because she is an American citizen she could board the boat, as long as she showed it when we returned to San Diego. What a relief!!

Standing on one of the top decks of the Carnival Elation

Leaving San Diego. Debbie & Melissa (sisters...I work with Melissa) and me and J (Jessie)

We had tons of fun on the ship. It was an absolutely beautiful ship. So many fun things to do and an amazing crew. In fact, we can't talk about he Carnival Elation without speaking in an Australian accent because of the cruise director Stu. We had 2 days at sea that we got to just lay out, eat, play at the pool, go on the waterslide, play miniature golf, eat, relax, read, drink pina coladas, play bingo and black jack, go dancing, eat, get tattoos and work on an awesome tan!

The muster drill. Just in case our boat decides to sink or catch on fire or something...

Just hanging out with the captain of the ship at the Drama Bar.

Adam and Luke on the mini golf course.

Laying out. Luke was freezing and I was enjoying the sun!! I have to admit that I got a really nice tan to start the summer off right!

Kind of laying out on the one pretty cold morning at sea. But it was still a beautiful day and I just couldn't stand being inside. Yes, i know, I look rediculous.

J and I in the karaoke lounge. We did this almost every night. So much fun! Especially when people have a little too much to drink!!

sorry

2008-05-12T18:36:00.001-07:00

it is 7:38pm and i am still at work. ugh!!!! i'm sorry, but the post of my vacation is going to have to wait one more day. but i promise, it will be worth the wait!

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALEY!! thanks for being the greatest sister-in-law ever! love you!

Sneak Peek

2008-05-07T11:17:00.004-07:00

I'm back! Honestly, I would much rather still be on the cruise or hanging out on the beach, but I had an amazing trip and so much to tell ya'll about. I don't really have time at the moment, so I'll just give you a little sneak peek. Enjoy and anticipate my return with fun stories and pictures of my adventures!!

I'm out.

2008-04-25T13:29:00.004-07:00

Well, the time has finally come. I am leaving this crazy Utah weather and heading south of the border. We are leaving really, really, reeeaaallllyyy early tomorrow morning to drive to LA. We will get there Saturday afternoon and then see Wicked that night. Sunday we are going to spend the day visiting the LA temple visitors' center and going to church with my friend Ty in Huntington Beach. Monday morning we will drive to San Diego, board our ship and set sail to Mexico for 5 days of fun in the sun!!

I just got completely caught up on everything at work so I don't leave my Judge completely helpless next week. Now I just need to go home and get a couple things finished there and then I'm out of here!

See ya'll in 9 days! Don't let anything too exciting happen while I am gone!! Hasta luego!

Tender Mercies

2008-04-25T07:48:00.005-07:00

I had an incredible experience yesterday that can only be described as a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father. I don't want to go into too many details, but I saw someone that is very dear to me and my family. I've known he has been in some trouble, but I haven't personally seen him in about two months. He has constantly been in my thoughts and prayers. (especially because I work at the courthouse and know the kind of trouble he is in...) I love this kid so much and just want him to be happy and to be doing what he knows he should and to be taking care of himself.

I really believe that I was supposed to see him, not just for him, but for me as well. I needed to be able to give him a hug and tell him that I love him and remind him that I am always here for him. And in the process I feel like the Lord reminded me of the same thing. He is always there for me and loves me unconditionally. He wants me to be happy and be doing what I should and taking care of myself. I love how the Lord teaches us.

And of course the talk The Tender Mercies of the Lord by Elder Bednar came to mind. These are a couple of my favorite quotes from that talk.

"God does not have a list of favorites to which we must hope our names will someday be added. He does not limit “the chosen” to a restricted few. Rather, it is our hearts and our aspirations and our obedience which definitively determine whether we are counted as one of God’s chosen."

"The Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness, obedience, and humility invite tender mercies into our lives, and it is often the Lord’s timing that enables us to recognize and treasure these important blessings."

"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

How grateful I am for the tender mercies that the Lord shows me every day!!

WHAT THE...????

2008-04-24T08:32:00.003-07:00

Who watched American Idol last night? Well I did, and I am appalled!!

First off, I loved the theme this week. I am definitely a Broadway/musical theater girl and Andrew Lloyd Weber is the King of Broadway. So this week was really fun and exciting for me. I wish I could sing Andrew Lloyd Weber songs all day!!

Anywho, I really enjoyed most of the performances on Tuesday night. There was actually only one that I was really not a fan of. Let's review...First up was Syesha. Wow! I think this was her best week yet. She would be absolutely incredible on Broadway!! She was sassy and really got into the song. It was awesome. I was very impressed.

Next was Jason. (i think, i don't remember the exact order...) Definitely not his genre. But the fact that he didn't know ANY Andrew Lloyd Weber songs is appalling!! I think Jason is good when he can be all acoustic, but I don't think he is good enough to be the American Idol. I think the only reason why he is still on is because of the girls that are voting for him. I will say that he has beautiful eyes, but seriously dude, get rid of the dreads!!!!! yuck! I definitely thought he would be in the bottom two.

Then there was Brooke. I love Brooke. Probably a lot because she is Mormon and she is from Mesa! But I also really like her voice. I think it is very distinct and different and gorgeous. I was sad when she had to start her song over, but I think she just followed her gut and we all realize that no one is perfect and we all make mistakes. How horrifying though to all the sudden forget the lyrics on American Idol! I would probably just start crying. Anywho, I think Brooke did a wonderful job, but I was pretty sure that she would be in the bottom two.

Then came all the teenage girls favorite...David Archuletta. I also really like David. He is just so normal and sweet and humble and again he is Mormon and from Salt Lake!! I was surprised at how much he changed the song, but I really enjoyed it. It was a gutsy move, but it worked. Actually, it more than worked. It was awesome! And the cute little girls who all wanted to hug him cracked me up!

Next, Carly. Wow! I don't really like the show Jesus Christ, Superstar, but it does have some fun music. It totally fit her. She blew me away with the song. And my goodness she is beautiful! I was so happy for her when Simon told her that she was amazing. And the t-shirt...hysterical! I definitely thought Carly would be safe and in fact, I really thought she would be in the top three.

Last, but definitely not least was David Cook. Who knew he could sing Broadway like that?!? It was incredible. I loved that he stuck with the song for the most part, but threw in a few little loops here and there. A-MA-ZING!! I think he is my favorite. My prediction is definitely a David/David final two.

Then last night happened. And seriously my only reaction is WHAT THE...?????!!!!!! I couldn't believe it!How did this happen???!!! I was so shocked when she was put in the bottom two. When that happened I was pretty sure that Syesha was going home. (Not that she deserved it this week either, but between those two, I thought it would definitely be Syesha) But why was Jason not in the bottom two? His performance was horrible and he should have been the one to leave.

I just can't get over that Carly is gone. She was so fun to watch and I thought she brought so much to the show. It just goes to show that we are definitely getting to the end and anybody is vulnerable.

Well, anybody except the Davids. ;)

Did I mention...

2008-04-21T15:41:00.002-07:00

...we are going to see WICKED while we are in LA this weekend?!?!?! I absolutely love this show and am so excited to see it in Los Angeles!!! I saw it last June in Denver with my sister and some friends and it was incredible. Even though we didn't have great seats it was amazing. So it's even more exciting to see it in LA (I've heard it is the best cast...) and we have awesome seats!!!! I just can't contain my excitment! Only 4 1/2 days until Wicked and 6 1/2 until the cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (can you tell i'm a little excited to get out of provo? :)

Can you hear me now??

2008-04-17T12:34:00.006-07:00

Unless, you are standing within 12 inches of me, you probably can't. I have been really sick the last couple days and it has completely zapped me of all my energy and my voice. It is completely gone. Apparentely I sound like I'm about to start crying. (three people have told me that in the last two days...) It doesn't hurt very much, I just can't talk. Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed home from work since I had no voice and a really bad sinus headache and couldn't breathe through my nose. Not fun.

I'm back at work today, but keep being made fun of for my quiet, raspy, man-voice.

And there is so much to catch up on. Even though I have been sick the last couple days, quite a few things have occured...

Monday
I went with my parents and my sister to the Jazz game. We rode Trax up to Salt Lake and saw the Jazz stomp the Rockets. Hopefully they continue the same pattern of beating Houston as they begin the first round of the playoffs against them this weekend!! Go Jazz!

Tuesday
Tax day!! I know so many people look forward to this day all year long! But I'm not one of them. I like to get my taxes done as soon as I get my W-2's the end of January. So by now, my tax returns are all spent! Can't wait until next week when I get to head to California and board the cruise that I spent part of that tax return on! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPS!!! Tuesday was my dad's 49th birthday. He pretty much had a 4-day birthday. We celebrated with dinner and a play at Hale on Saturday. Birthday cake and ice cream with the fam on Sunday. The Jazz game on Monday and then he and my mom spent the day together on Tuesday. Yup, he is pretty spoiled. ;) I hope you had a wonderful day dad! I love you!!! (sorry I didn't actually call on Tuesday, but you wouldn't have been able to hear me...)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMMY!!! Tuesday was also Tim's 27th birthday. It was kind of sad to be lying on my couch all day sick, with not much to do and constantly thinking about Tim. We have had some major fun on his birthdays the last few years and being sick definitely didn't help with the waterworks that formed as I lied there watching Oprah. I wanted to call his mom, but again, there is no way she would have even been able to hear me. They are having a birthday celebration for him this weekend in Mesa and I really wish I could be there. They are putting the headstone on his grave. I definitely need to head down there soon. Love you Timmyman! Still miss you!!

The Biggest Loser Finale!!!!!!! Wow! It was amazing!! Go Ali! If anyone didn't watch it, you can see it on NBC.com. I cried. That's all I'm going to say about it for now.

Wednesday
Oh, it was exciting, let me tell you! This is what I did all day...
Sleep, The View, sleep, drink half of a Jamba, What Not To Wear, sleep, Oprah, drink other half of Jamba, Gilmore Girls, sleep, American Idol, read, sleep.
It was a pretty rigorous schedule friends!!

Latter Day Sounds

2008-04-13T20:04:00.002-07:00

I have had the incredible blessing the past 8 months of being a part of a wonderful group of singers called Latter Day Sounds. We rehearsed for a few months and have been doing firesides this semester and I just have to say how much I love each member of our choir! What an amazing group of people that have come together to all share our testimonies through music. We are probably going to be recording a CD soon and I will be sure to share our program with each of you.

This year, our program is "The Life of Christ". All the words and music are devoted to the birth, life, atonement, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is so hard for me to bear my testimony because it is something that is so personal, but it seems to be so much easier through music. I feel that music carries that Spirit so much stronger and penetrates deeper and it is the best way for me to share my feelings. I love music and especially good music that brings the Spirit of the Lord to the room.

Thank you to my Latter Day Sounds family. I love you all and am so grateful for each of you!!

My Vote

2008-04-11T15:35:00.002-07:00

Mark.

This was such a hard decision! I ultimately voted for Mark because I want a girl to win. I don't care if it's Ali or Kelly (I think either of them can do it and are both very deserving of it!), but I want a girl to pull it out. I think Mark has lost pretty much all the weight he can without looking like a Holocaust victim, so he is less of a threat. Mark is a great competitor and I'm sure could pull some magic trick and win it all, but I think with Mark in the game, the girls have a much better shot.

I really, truly like both of the guys and Roger just seems like such a big teddy bear, but he still has weight to lose and is such a threat to the girls. Apparently we are supposed to find out within the first 5 minutes of the finale who is the last member of the Final 3. Should be exciting!!I am really looking forward to Tuesday to see how everyone looks. It's fun to see those who were voted off earlier in the show come back and show off their hard work and great bods! I'll be happy with whatever happens, but I think this has been the best season of the show and it's going to be an amazing finale. (And I am pretty sure you are all sick of me talking about it and ready for me to move onto something else!!)

Ultimately, I'm just really excited to see the first FEMALE Biggest Loser crowned!!!

GO ALI & KELLY!!!!

VOTE NOW!

2008-04-10T09:33:00.004-07:00

I'm not going to tell you at this moment who I voted for the last of 3 finalists on The Biggest Loser because I want you all to make your own intelligent decisions. But the voting does end tonight at 8pm mountain time. So click here and vote now!!!

And if you wouldn't mind posting a comment on who you voted for and why I would appreciate it. I will post my commentary of who I voted for and why tomorrow after the voting has been completed.

I guess I can't...

2008-04-10T09:29:00.002-07:00

I am so depressed. I was doing so well for 8 days and then, yesterday came. And I missed a day. I fell short of my goal. And after only 8 days. Pretty pathetic!!

So I apologize to my readers (all 3 of you...) that I missed a day. I hope no one is too disappointed in me. Cuz I'm pretty disappointed in myself.

Please forgive me blogosphere!!

Civic Duty

2008-04-08T21:12:00.003-07:00

Working in the justice system, I get my fair share of lectures on our civic duties. Including jury duty and especially voting. My Judge enjoys explaining to us that it is our most basic right and duty as citizens of this country. I agree. And especially at this time when politics are being shoved down our throats and we having to decide who our next president is to be, I think a lot about how grateful I am to have the opportunity to vote.

So my question to you all is...who should I vote for...

Mark or Roger????

I know, I know, it's not a debate between Clinton and Obama or Democrat/Repulican. (That would be a much longer post!) I just don't know whether Mark or Roger should be in the finals of the Biggest Loser. And it is up to us America!!! So, I need to know who you are all voting for. Last nights episode was incredible and I am so excited for Ali and Kelly, but what guy should go to the finals? Roger is the bigger threat, but I really like him. Mark is awesome, but I'm afraid that even though he has gotten so little, he could pull it out.

Help me friends, this is an important decision that we have to make! Help me decide who to vote for!!

Countdown

2008-04-07T08:30:00.003-07:00

21 days!!!!!! until this.....
Mexico, here I come! Can I tell you that I'm just a little excited!! I'm dying to get out of here for a little while, and with the blizzard that is going on outside my office window right now, I'm even more anxious to leave.

General Conference

2008-04-06T13:56:00.005-07:00

How grateful I am that every six months the members of my church gather together all over the world to hear the words of the living prophets and apostles. The first weekend of April and October are dedicated to listening to their messages to the church and to the world. Yesterday we had the wonderful opportunity to sustain our new President. President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away the end of January and his successor, President Thomas S. Monson was sustained by the whole of the church yesterday. I love and miss President Hinckley very much, he is the prophet of my youth, but I know that President Monson is the man that the Lord has prepared to be His voice to the world at this time.This picture is of the new First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. President Eyring, President Monson and President Uchtdorf.

I had an incredible experience about 1 1/2 years ago where I was able to be in a Regional Conference with President Monson and had the strongest witness I've ever had that he is a prophet of God. I was sitting only about 30 feet from him and through the whole meeting I couldn't help but just watch him. At one point, I had the most overwhelming warmth come over me. I knew at that moment that the Holy Ghost was whispering to my soul that President Monson is a prophet of God. That moment has carried over into yesterday morning when I was able to stand as a member of the Church and raise my right hand to sustain President Monson as a prophet, seer and revelator and president of the Church. How wonderful it is to have a living oracle on the earth today!

Good Times

2008-04-05T14:54:00.003-07:00

I got to spend last night with one of my favorite people in the world, my good friend Ward. I haven't seen him in about 5 months and we spent a few hours just hanging out. I have so many great memories with Ward and thought I would post my favorite picture of him to commemorate the occasion. :)

This was while we were doing service at temple square about a year and a half ago. It cracks me up! It is Tim, Mike and Ward. And they just love to stop and smell the roses!

Ward really is one of the greatest guys I know and I am so grateful for his friendship. He has been through so much the last 6 months and he is such a great example to me. Last night we talked a lot about Tim (Ward is actually Tim's cousin) and how crazy it is that it has been 6 months since Tim passed away. How wonderful it was to talk to Ward though and have my feelings validated and understood. Ward is always so happy and loves to have a good time. He is friends with everyone he meets and always has a smile on his face. He gives the best hugs and is always making me laugh. Last night (actually this morning...it was about 3am...) he even said a phrase that I haven't heard in 6 months and just absolutely made my day. When he was pulling out of my driveway from dropping me off he yelled out his window, "love ya tons sugarbuns!" Oh, good times!! Love you too Wardy!

the day they were born...

2008-04-04T12:25:00.009-07:00

I apologize in advance for how long this post is going to be. But it's going to be good. Just trust me.

Today is the day of birth of two amazing people in my life.

The one I've known the longest is my baby brother Kyle. Today is his 20th birthday! How did I get so old!! I remember when he was born and I got to be home with him (and my parents) all by myself for a week. No sharing of the new baby with my other siblings. I believe it was in that week that Ky and I forged the bond that we share today. Or something like that. But seriously, he is an incredible little (read: younger, but much bigger) brother. Here are the top 5 reasons why I love Kyle...

#5 - He is a stud! Who doesn't love a tall, dark and handsome, blue-eyed teddy bear! Kyle has the most beautiful blue eyes and soft ears. (his ears are my sister's favorite feature ;)

#4 - He makes me laugh hysterically!! Pretty much when all of us are together, it is one big movie-quoting party. Our favorites are Cool Running ("why don't you draw a line down the middle of your head so it looks like a butt") and Dumb and Dumber ("it's a cardigan, but thanks for noticing!"). His laugh is also hysterical in and of itself!

#3 - He loves sushi! Not all the members of my family enjoy good sushi, but that was one thing that Kyle and I loved to do together. And he knew all the good sushi places in Utah County.

#2 - Kyle gives the best hugs. He was always there to give me a great big hug when I needed one. I miss those... This is one of my favorite pictures...it is Easton giving Uncle Ky a goodbye kiss before we took Kyle to the MTC...so sweet!#1 - He is an incredible friend. He is so loyal and will do anything for his friends. He also is friends with everyone. In fact, many of my friends would always tell me to invite Kyle to come hang out with us. He would make dinner for his friends or help them fix their cars or pick them up from work or just about anything that they needed him to do. He just has a way of making everyone feel like they are his best friend.

#1 (i just keep thinking of things...) - He is an awesome chef! He went part-time to culinary school his senior year in high school and he loves to cook for people. His dream is to one day own his own restaurant and also to make a meal for the Prophet and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. What a stud!

#1 (this is it, i promise...well, not it of his great qualities, but it of me writing!) - Kyle has such a strong testimony of the Gospel and of the Savior. He is such an example to me of using the atonement in my life. He is currently serving the Lord as a full-time missionary in the Louisville Kentucky Mission and he loves it. I know that through his sweet spirit he is touching many lives and helping many people come unto Christ.Ky, I love you!! Thank you for being the greatest little brother anyone could ask for!

The other birthday today is my good friend Sara H. Bohe. She's getting old, but she doesn't let that slow her down! We went to lunch today and there is always guaranteed to be an awesomely awkward moment when I'm with Sarah. Oh, the times we've had together!!! Here are 5 memories of Sarah that are forever burned into my brain...

#5 - October 2005...I believe it was halloween or the day before. I don't remember exactly. I just remember it was Sarah's first day of work at ArrowStar and Todd was training her. I was excited to have her there (I needed another girl in the office!) and she seemed pretty cool. I did know however that she was only hired because she was from Philly. Poor Sarah got stuck though learning the ropes on her own because I became very sick the next day and was out of work for almost a month.

#4 - Magelby's Fresh - this is our usual lunch date. When we meet for lunch, you can be 90% sure that we are going to Magleby's Fresh and getting the usual. Me - turkey avocado wrap and Sarah - buffalo chicken wrap. All with fries. Frysauce for me and just plain old mayonnaise for Sarah.

#3 - Walking around model homes all day long. When Sarah was still pretty new at ArrowStar I took her for a tour of the model homes that we were building in Springville. It probably should only have taken us an hour, but it lasted all day. The best part was when I fell off the curb in from of some guys. Good times.

#2 - The Chad Lewis Awkwardest Moment Ever Award - this was during the Parade of Homes 2006 I believe. Sarah walked straight at Chad Lewis with catatonic arms and proceeded to shake his hand vigorously. Not long after that she ran directly into his chest as we got off the elevator at the office. Hahahahahaha!!!!

#1 - Purple teletubby. Need I say more! Sara H Bohe...you are the best! Thanks for being such a wonderful friend over the last 2 1/2 years! I hope you know how much I appreciate you and all of the fun times we have had. It was hard to write just 5 memories because there are so many (I Want a Hippo For Chrismas, Feliz Navidad, Oscar parties, pranking Joe, the manequin head, Curtis...I could go on forever!) and I look forward to many more awesome times!! Happy Birthday and I hope you had fun on the cruise!! :)

Does this look stupid or fantastic?!?

2008-04-03T12:48:00.003-07:00

I don't know if any of you know that quote, but if you do....5 million points to you!!!

This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite shows. Now, don't hate me, but I am addicted to the show Felicity. Do any of you remember when that show was on TV. I never watched it when it was actually on, but my friend K-Dub introduced me and J to it this last summer and tonight we are getting together to finish watching the 4th and final season. We started watching the first season last summer almost everyday after work and then we stopped for a while. Our lives are just busy and we don't hang out after work as often. I don't think I can describe the excitment running through my veins to finally find out what happens and who Felicity chooses! Is it Noel or Ben??? The suspense is killing me! (ok, so not killing me, because it's been 2 months since we've even watched an episode...but you get my point...) I can never even make up my mind as to who I think she should be with! Some days I'm a Ben girl and other days I'm all about Noel. Oh the drama!Not that any of you really care, but I would like to share my favorite Felicity-watching memory with you all. Last August K-Dub, J and I went to Vegas for a weekend. We just needed to get out of Provo, so on a whim we booked a hotel and headed to the city of sin. The greatest (read: awesome/retarded) thing about the trip was that we went intending on just sitting in our hotel room and by the pool watching Felicity. But who knew that even if you have your own DVD player, the TVs in hotels will not let you hook it up. Well, we just couldn't enjoy the weekend to it's fullest extent without a little Filet, so we made a trek to the nearest Walmart and found cables that we could hook into the TV and then connect the DVD player to. The only problem then was that the TV wouldn't respond. Frusterated, but not willing to give up, we went back to Walmart and bought a universal remote. That did the trick. We programmed it to the TV and there was Felicity in all her glory! It was one of the greatest weekends of my life!! Vegas, Felicity and a pool...who could ask for anything more?!?

Motivation...

2008-04-02T07:46:00.002-07:00

Most of the time I struggle to get myself to the gym. I don't mind it once I am there, but just getting there is difficult most days. I try to go at least 3 times a week (i wish that always happened, but it doesn't) and I love to go with other people. My old roommate Stephanie and I have gone together a few times recently and it is awesome because we can kick each other's butts! But again, I have to have motivation to go. And apparently feeling good and losing weight is not enough. ;)

Tuesday nights are the best! I always have the best workouts on Tuesdays and it is always so easy to go. The reason...

I get to watch my two favorite shows - The Biggest Loser and American Idol.

I know, how ridiculous is that! But those shows are my weakness and I hate missing a week! Watching the Biggest Loser is such great motivation to keep working out and brings out the competitor in me. I love seeing them each week and the progress they make. I just wish my progress was as amazing as theirs! :) And American Idol is just awesome. I think the reason I love it is because I love to sing, but don't have the confidence to ever do something like that. But it would be amazing to be on that stage! I haven't watched it for a few seasons, but I LOVE this season! There are some amazing talents! I love David Archuletta!! He is such an incredible kid! Amazing voice, adorable personality. I think he is just this wonderfully humble kid with an wonderful talent. I love watching him and I loved his performance last night! I also love David Cook and Michael Johns. I think this season just keeps getting better.

I know it is kind of rediculous to be motivated by reality shows, but hey, if it gets me to the gym, then it is a good thing. Right?!?

can i do it?

2008-04-01T07:23:00.004-07:00

so my friend hannah had a goal for march to post daily on her blog to get her doing it reguarly, and she did a great job if you ask me! so i was thinking, it's been a while, and i'm not very good at posting regularly, so why not set the same goal for myself for april. i was actually really excited to do it. but i can't. i realized that in 4 weeks i will be on a big ship in the middle of the pacific ocean and will not be able to post for about a week. so, there goes that goal. but i can post every day up until then. i leave the 25th so my goal is to post every day until then. we'll see how it goes...

april post #1:

i have AMAZING friends! and the fact that my girlfriends from high school have all kept in touch means they are even more amazing!! it's amazing that eight years after high school we can get together and still have a blast and talk for hours. for this moment, we all live in utah county (minus Linz - we miss you!!!) so we needed to plan something before that changed. well, we finally found a time and got to spend a few hours together last friday night. thanks aubs for hosting us and i'm so glad we got to hang out. everyone's lives are soooo different, but we talked about it all. work, husbands, kids, church, families, etc, etc. it was wonderful to be with them all again. (we were also missing lindsey - missed you too!) i really can't wait for it to happen again.

i wanted to post a now and then picture, but then realized that i really don't want you all to see what i looked like in high school...

so here is the now...7 of the 9 girls that were inseperable and for some reason were called "the mafia". :)back row: christa, jen, rachel, aubrey

front row: annika, elisa (lou) and jamie

thanks for such a fun night girlies! let's do it again soon!!!

And wish me luck with this posting every day in april (minus the week i'm gone) thing...

A B C...

2008-02-29T22:06:00.002-07:00

A - Attached or Single: happily single

B - Best Friend: I don't know. I have a lot of really close friends. But best friend...probably my sister.

C - Cake or Pie: Fun-fetty cake with Fun-fetty frosting OR pumpkin pie!!!!!

D - Day of Choice: Friday, I normally leave work early and have the whole weekend to look forward to.

E - Essential Item: my planner. yes, i have a planner and i wouldn't get anything done without it.

F - Favorite Color: pink. i've become a girly-girl the last couple years and love pink!

G - Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms, especially the red and white ones

H - Hometown: Cedar Hills, Utah

I - Indulgence(s): Great Wall of Chocolate, pedicures

J - January or July: July! I don't love how hot it is, but I normally go on some sort of vacation in July and one of my favorite holidays is Independence Day!

K - Kids: i prefer being an aunt!

L - Life is Incomplete Without: My family, friends and the gospel

M - Marriage Date: I wish I knew...

N - Number of Siblings: 3...2 brothers, 1 sister

O - Oranges or Apples: normally oranges, but i love apples with peanut butter

P - Phobias or Fears: earthquakes, car accidents, insects

Q - Quote(s): If you're going to throw your life away, he better have a motorcycle!!

R - Reason to Smile: my family...especially Easton, knowing Heavenly Father is aware of me, memories of Timmy

S - Season: spring

T - Tag Seven: Aubs, Jamie, Maria, Kelley, Lindsey, Rebecca, and Laura

U - Unknown Fact About Me: my teeth don't touch. meaning, i can't bite things. i have to rip food apart like an animal. it's kind of disgusting.

V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: i don't eat a lot of meat, but i love it! especially a good steak!

W - Worst Habit: procrasinating

X - Rays or Ultrasounds: x-rays. i had an ultrasound of my heart one time and they had to shove the scope up under my ribs. not comfortable!

Y - Your Favorite Food: homemade potato logs and fry sauce, pumpkin pie, black beans

Z - Zodiac: Saggitarius

Murder Mystery

2008-02-28T16:06:00.002-07:00

So the picture below is from a murder mystery dinner that we did about a month ago. It was a chinese theme and was called Hoo Hung Woo. It was hysterical. There were 8 of us and we had it at my house. We made chinese food, decorated our house with Asian paraphanelia that we borrowed from our awesome friend Jamie and my amazing old roommate Stephanie. We watched a video on how to apply Geisha makeup and used Amanda's theater makeup to paint our faces. It was a ton of fun and we can't wait to do another one!

And no, I was not the murderer...

Do I look Chinese?

2008-02-27T15:42:00.004-07:00

Year of Impulsiveness

2008-02-27T15:25:00.002-07:00

So this year has been designated The Year Of Impulsiveness. Each of the last 3 years we have had themes for the year. (2006 - Year of Boldness, 2007 - Year of Sassyness) My friends Amanda, Becca, and Joy have all been a part of these years. It was after much thoughtful searching of the dictionary and thesaurus that Clark (Becca's husband) helped us determine that this year is IMPULSIVENESS! I am so excited about it! Amanda and I did a couple impulsive things to start of the year when we went to California for New Year's, but nothing too impulsive has occurred since then. Until yesterday...

What impulsive thing did I do yesterday, you ask. Well, my friend Jessie and I booked a cruise. Yup, we got online, found a great deal and had it all booked within about 30 minutes. It was great!!!! I am so excited and can't wait for April 26th when I can get out of here and head to Mexico! We also got our friend Melissa and her sister to decide that they want to come with us and they booked it for them this afternoon. It is going to be amazing!! I can't wait!

So, here is to the Year Of Impulsiveness!! And maybe something impulsive will happen on the cruise.... ;)

Best Valentine's EVER!

2008-02-15T11:44:00.004-07:00

Normally I don't look forward to Valentine's Day. It's not as much fun when you aren't dating someone seriously, but last night was the greatest Valentine's Day EVER! At least, the greatest Valentine's Day of my 26 year existence. And I had been looking forward to it for over a month! Not normal.

Anywho, my good friend Sara H Bohe texted me about a month ago and told me something wonderful and amazing that we both had somehow overlooked. The soon-to-be greatest movie of all time (maybe a bit exaggerated) was coming out on Valentine's Day. What incredible movie am I talking about? Yup, you guessed it....

STEP UP 2 THE STREETS!!!!!!!!!

How we both had not been aware of this glorious moment is beyond me, but greatfully we found out in enough time to purchase our tickets way in advance and plan an incredible girls night out with almost every other single gal in provo.

And it surely did not disappoint!!!!!! The movie is very different from the first one in the storyline, but just as amazing and had absolutely incredible dancing. And the best part...a little cameo by the one and only Tyler Gage! (real name: Channing Tatum. YUM!) Also, the main guy is this movie is just as yummy!! I didn't even want to leave the theater when it was over, it was that good!

After the movie, all us singles went to Red Robin and enjoyed stuffing ourselves on bottom-less fries and chocolate milkshakes. It was amazing. It's going to be a tough Valentine's Day to beat.

In fact, I DARE any guy to beat it next year! ;)

A Couple Things...

2008-02-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

First of all, I can't believe that it is February!!! Seriously, where does time go?!? January was a good month though and I kept basically all of my new years resolutions. I met the monthly goals I set for myself and I'm excited about that. Now onto another month and more goals!

Second, I want today to be done! I have a love/hate relationship with fridays. I love fridays because it's the end of the work week, but I hate fridays because I just want it to be saturday already!!! But K-Dub, J and I made it a good friday by taking a long lunch break to go to Cracker Barrel. Yummy!

Third, I can't find my wallet!! The only problem when we went to Cracker Barrel was when I grabbed my purse to pay for my lunch and my wallet was no where to be found. What?!? I had it this morning when I went to the gas station, but it is no longer there. I searched all through my purse (it's not that big) and even through my car and J's car, but to no avail. I called the gas station to see if I maybe left it there and they had it, but no. My wallet is lost and I am freaking out! (Just ask my dad, I called him crying. I'm such a baby...) I think what may have happened is that I put my purse down to get my keys out and I think I may have set my wallet down too, instead of putting it in my purse. I've called the gas station and even gone in to make sure it wasn't still sitting there, but they say they don't have my wallet. It actually wouldn't even surprise me if I accidentally left it and someone came and took it. It is kind of a shady gas station. I even asked the owner if they could look on surveillance tapes to see what I did with it, but they say that they don't have cameras showing the area where I had set my purse down. Did I mention that I'm freaking out?!?!?! I've called Cracker Barrel to see if maybe it fell out under the table. Twice. Nothing.

The worst part is that my temple recommend is in my wallet. Now it wouldn't be so bad because I could get a new one on sunday with my bishop, except that my aunt is getting married tomorrow. In the temple, which makes having a recommend pretty important! Again, have I mentioned that I am FREAKING OUT!!!!! I guess I need to call the bank and my credit card company and the drivers license division and the library and all those places that I have cards/memberships at and have them do what they do when this kind of stuff happens. I've never lost my wallet before, I have no idea what the protocol is.

I think the first thing I need to do is call my Bishop to try and get a new recommend tonight! Hopefully he'll give me a new one, even though I've said some not very nice words today...

Wish me luck!!!

Home Improvment

2008-01-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

So we got this email from my sister-in-law the other day and I just wanted to share it with you all. I am so excited about it!!

I know we’ve only been in our home for 6 months, but we couldn’t wait to shake things up around our house. I love home improvement projects. One of my favorite channels to watch (when I’m at someone’s house that has cable) is HGTV. It’s nothing but remodeling and redecorating.
This change is kind of crazy, but we think it will work. It's going to add something totally different to the plan of our home. The estimated completion date is around the end of July. I guess that’s how we’ll celebrate our one year mark in our home. So we have a preview picture to show everyone, to see what you think, although, we are going to go ahead with it regardless cuz we’re so excited, so click away.....

Enjoy!
Haley

Pretty exciting, hu?!?! I am so excited for them to have another little one, although I'm not sure how any child could be cuter than Easton. She is due July 27th, which is the same day as my friend Becca and a week after my aunt Liz. It's going to be a baby tsunami the end of July! I love being an aunt though and can't wait to have 3 more little rascals to spoil.

According to Easton, he is having a baby sister. I bet my mom is relieved. According to her, the reason my sister and I are not married is because of the way we do things in our family. Meaning, everything goes girl, boy, girl, boy... You get the idea. Well, since Easton was the last addition to our family, we can't add another boy (ie: a husband for me or my sister) until we have another girl. Nice theory mom. (I love you mom, I'm not making fun of you!) So, I guess I won't know if I can get married until we find out the gender of the next grandchild.

I'm with Easton and hoping for a girl!! ;)

Happy 27th!!!!!...

2007-12-20T17:35:00.001-07:00

...anniversary. My parent's anniversary to be exact. Today they have been married for 27 years! My parents were married December 20, 1980 in the Salt Lake Temple and have been happily married since. They are such amazing examples to me of what a marriage should be! I love that they are best friends and that they still love to be together. They are empty nesters now, but they love travelling all over the world (they've been to the Philippines, Hong Kong, the Carribbean all this year and are going to Hawaii in a few weeks) and spoiling the grandchild!

Thank you mom and dad for all you do for me and for our whole family! We love you!! Happy 27th anniversary! Here's to 27 more!!!

And I just have to share this picture of my cute dad and nephew! What studs!!! ;)

Judge-isms

2007-12-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

I work for a great Judge. He is awesome. He is also a small-town boy who is normally pretty quiet and reserved, but every once in a while will say something that shocks us all. You also have to know that he was a JAG for the Marines and just retired from the Marines this summer. He still has to go to Germany on assignments that he can't tell me about, so I know he has probably killed somone with his bare hands.

Yesterday we had our office Christmas party and the Judge was sitting at my table along with a couple friends and another Judge. It was actually quite hysterical. We were playing Court Bingo and some of the words on the cards were names of attorneys. And unless you work at the court, you probably won't understand why this was so funny, so sorry! But they called out O - Sheldon. (Sheldon Carter is an attorney here in Utah County) The Judge casually announces, oh look, he's right next to continuance. Ha!! (seriously, I'm sorry, it's such a court joke!) The whole room started laughing and I think most people were thinking, was that the Judge that just said that? (most people have never heard my Judge even speak...)

Now here is the part that everyone can appreciate. Yesterday afternoon I got a call from the front desk saying that there was a couple there that wanted to get married immediately and they were wondering if the Judge was available. I asked if he would be willing to perform a marriage and he agreed. I went downstairs and brought the couple up to our courtroom while the Judge filled out the necessary paperwork. He came into the courtroom and performed the simple ceremony for this couple. The couple was older (and was dressed in jeans and t-shirts, just in case you were wondering) and they had the same last name. As they were signing their marriage certificate the Judge casually says, "I noticed that you have the same last name. Is this a re-marriage?" To which the couple responds, "yes, we finally grew up." And then the kicker, the Judge says, "well, let's hope it sticks this time."

Who says that?!? Sure, we may have all been thinking it, but to actually say it! I had to control the laughter that was trying to escape my mouth! And he said it so non-chalantly, which made it even funnier. I think the couple was a little shocked. At least he did follow it up with a "congratulations."

I love my job!

Aunt Jen

2007-12-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night I got to babysit Easton. I hardly ever get to just hang out me and him, and we had a blast! Landon and Haley were going to the temple and to dinner with her family and my mom was busy with Christmas stuff, so I was the lucky babysitter! Easton is so much fun right now and he is such a cute little boy. I can't believe how big he is getting! He talks constantly and loves to sing. He knows so many songs and right now loves to sing Christmas songs. We sang Frosty the Snowman about 20 times and Rudolph at least 10. So much fun! I'm also going to brag a little that Easton knows the first and second Articles of Faith and he can recite the Pledge of Allegience. He's pretty brilliant, if I do say so myself. I just love being an aunt and especially Easton's aunt!!! I'm pretty sure I'm his favorite! ;) I didn't take any pictures from when I was babysitting on tuesday, but here are some recent pictures of the adorable Easton! Enjoy!!

Easton with Grandpa's work goggles...

Grandma, Easton and Aunt Jen...
just being adorable...
Easton rolling out cookie dough. Look at his little hands! I love this kid!!!
Easton riding his bike at Grandma's. He wanted a helmet, but Grandma didn't have one, so he went and got a bowl...
Easton as an elephant for Halloween...

Easton and daddy's deer antlers...

You can't deny that this is the cutest kid in the world!!! :)

Lights and Music

2007-12-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

The day after Thanksgiving, Michelle and I went to Salt Lake to hang out with our friend Heidi and her little girl KayLynn and to see the lights on Temple Square. Heidi was our roommate in Guatemala and we haven't all hung out together in about 2 years. We had a blast together...catching up, laughing and trying to stay warm! We had dinner at Crown Burger since Shell hadn't been there since she's been home from her mission and then saw the lights come on at Temple Square. It was beautiful!

We even walked up and down the rows of luminaries looking for one in Cebuano. We finally found it! We also found one in Caquikel which is the Mayan dialect they speak in the part of Guatemala where we lived.

Later in the evening, Michelle and I went to the Gateway to see John Schmit perform. He is an amazing pianist and I love seeing him play. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Shell and kick of the Christmas season!!

The Dash

2007-11-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

I heard this poem a few weeks ago and it really affected me! It hit home especially since losing Tim recently. But today I thought of it again as I heard about another BYU student that was killed in a car accident this weekend while driving back to Provo from spending Thanksgiving with her family. It breaks my heart to know that there are so many people around me going through something that I have had to endure recently. But this poem reminds me of how Tim lived his life and of how precious life really is.

THE DASH

by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years

For that dash represented all the time

That she spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved her

Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;

The cars, the house, the cash,

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.

Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left,

That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what's true and real

And always try to understand

The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,

And more often wear a smile

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read

With your life's actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

I love them!

2007-11-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

MY FAMILY!!!!

It's a pretty well-known fact that I have an amazing family! I just wanted to share with you all a couple of our recent family pictures. We took these the first weekend of October while we were at my parents condo at Wolf Creek. This was General Conference weekend and the weekend before Kyle went into the MTC. It is always so fun to spend time with the fam and I'm glad we have these new family pictures. I think they turned out pretty well. If I do say so myself...

The Boys

The Girls

Cute Easton - I definitely have the cutest nephew!! :)

It's gone...

2007-11-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

I've been threatening to do it for a long time, but I finally bit the bullet and did it! It's gone! My long hair is gone!!!!

Last weekend I cut off almost 12 inches of hair! I had been growing it out for a while, but needed a change. Life is all about change right? And mine seems to be constantly full of it! One thing that is normally consistant though is my hair. I don't chop it very often, but I felt the need to change that too. (And the fact that I was occupying my time with picking split ends helped the decision too!) Basically, I think of it as a symbolic chop. A new start, if you will.

Here are pictures of the before and after for your viewing pleasure...

Before...

I also just wanted to showcase Sarah's halloween costume for anyone who might not frequent her blog! I literally couldn't stop laughing when I saw it in person. Totally awesome!

And yes, I was really boring this year and didn't dress up at all. But I was in court all day, so that is my excuse. If I could have dressed up, I would have been an inmate of the Utah County Jail. I have connections...

And after...

And why not throw in something a little sassy just for fun...

Good times in AZ

2007-10-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

I needed to go to Arizona this last weekend for Tim's funeral, but definitely didn't want to drive alone so I went with a few friends who also wanted to go to the funeral. It was a sad weekend in ways, but we had a great time hanging out with family and friends that we haven't seen in a long time.

The drive down to Mesa was soooo loooooong, but we put in some good music and jammed our way to Arizona. We got there friday afternoon and spent that night with friends. The Ellsworth's let us use stay at their house and we had a bunch of friends over from the old ward who either went down for the funeral or who live in AZ now. There ended up being about 14 of us who just hung out all night and told stories and laughed just like old times. It was awesome!

We <3 the Ellsworth family!!!!

The funeral was on saturday and it was amazing. The best part was when Tim's dad spoke and he also sang the song that he and Tim had sung at Tim's mission farewell. Incredible!!!! Big Tim and Cara are like my other parents and it was so good to spend some time with them. Big Tim told me that I could have one of their house keys to ensure that I would still come visit!

Saturday night all of us that were staying at the Ellsworth's went to the ASU/UW football game in Tempe. We ended up having a great time and really enjoyed each other's company. I love that even after not having seen Ty for about 5 months we just get right back to giving each other crap and bantering about everything. But with Ty, it's just our way of showing our love for each other! ;)

The group of us at the game...Matt, Mark, Dan, me, Amanda, Chase, Kaisha & Ty. Oh yeah, and me with my favorite person to cuddle with, Dan (no commitment involved, promise! he is just really ridiculously good looking! ;)

I Love Timmyman!

2007-10-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. Everyone has been bugging me about never updating my blog. Well, here it is. I will try to be better about it! Promise!

I hate to get back into blogging with this post, but I feel like I need to post this to pay tribute to one of my dearest friends, Tim Filichia. Tim was killed in a car accident last Sunday, October 7 as he was driving back to Provo after spending conference weekend with his family in Arizona. I'll be honest that the last 9 days have been really hard for me. Tim is the person that I would call when something amazing happened or when I needed a shoulder to cry on and he did the same. I have so many hilarious, spiritual, retarded and amazing memories of Tim. I will always cherish the wonderful times we spent together and the impact that he has made on my life. I am a better person for having known Timmy. I am struggling with him being gone, I keep thinking I'm going to get a text or a phone call from him any minute, but the best way I can think of honoring his life is by becoming the daughter of my Heavenly Father that he always saw me as. I now need to take the things that he taught me through his example and through his words to me and "make of my life a masterpiece".

This picture (even though it is really blurry) is of one of my fondest memories of Tim. I've spent a lot of time in Arizona with Tim and his family and this is a picture of the last time I went down before Tim passed away. It was the beginning of May that Tim and I went down and spent the weekend with his family and went to my old roommate Becca and Clark's wedding reception in Tucson. Now you have to know that Tim has one of the most amazing voices ever and we loved to sing together. We used to spend hours at my house sitting at the piano and singing. This night we drove the 2 hours from Mesa to Tucson and sang the whole way. Our favorite song to sing together was the duet from Wicked called "As Long As You're Mine". It is one of the greatest love songs ever! Tim and I put the CD on repeat and probably sang the song 6 times just on the drive to Tucson. Well, at the reception there was a dance floor. Tim is also an incredible dancer and we began to dance the night away. After a while, our song came on, the one that we had sang 6 times already that night in the car, but the song that we love! So we started singing it and dancing around and we noticed that within about 30 seconds, the dance floor was empty, except for us, and everyone was watching us. Well what did Tim and I decide to do? Of course, make complete fools out of ourselves! We made a huge production out of the song and dancing to it and everyone loved it. It was hilarious! But it was one of the funnest things I have ever done!! Tim was the life of the party that night! After the reception we even went to IHOP with Becca and Clark because they just wanted to spend more time with Timmy. And on the drive back to Mesa what did we do? Obviously, we sang our song a few more times. It was awesome and something that I will remember my whole life.

Timmyman, I love you and miss you terribly, but I know that you are in a better place and that I will see you again! Thank you for always being there for me and loving me for who I am and who you know I can be! Thank you for sharing your family with me and being the greatest example I have of Christlike love. But most especially, thank you for being a part of my life!!

Festival of Colors

2007-03-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

This last weekend a ton of friends and I went to the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork for Holi, the festival of colors. It is an Indian tradition to welcome in Spring. They have tons of food and dancers and you can tour the temple and buy cool things. Then they start a huge bonfire where they burn in effigy a devil woman representing all evil. As soon as the devil woman lights on fire everything goes crazy. Everyone has bags of colorful chalk powder and you just start throwing it and rubbing it all over everyone. It is insane. But so much fun. It is so hard to describe, so the picture will have to do. This is not even half of my friends that went. There were tons of us! This is before the chalk throwing. Notice the colorful bags that everyone is holding. After...totally covered in chalk! My eyes hurt so bad because my friend Craig accidentally shoved a handful of chalk right in my eyes. It took forever to wash all the chalk out of my hair and clothes. And even the next day I was cleaning more chalk out of my ears! It was a blast!

Big Changes!

2007-03-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

Lots of change is happening in my life! The last couple weeks have been full of interesting things and lots of prayers and trying to figure out what I am to be doing right now. Through some wonderful experiences and help of my amazing family and incredible friends I have decided to make some big changes. I am looking forward to what the future holds and know that the Lord is guiding my life. I am so grateful to be led by the Spirit and to be doing what I know is right.

The first big change (but the last that will actually happen) is that I have decided to MOVE. I have lived in my apartment for almost two years and it's time for a change. I need to get out of my comfort zone and change some scenery. It isn't a huge move, only about 2 miles away, but it is a very different area than I have lived in the last few years. This picture is of the complex that I am moving to. It is only a couple years old and the units are gorgeous. I have three really close friends who live there now and one of them just put her mission papers in. So I am going to take her spot when she leaves this summer. I am excited to be in a new place and meet new people. This is definitely a good change!

A change I haven't been a huge fan of is one of my best friends moving. This past week he decided he needed to make a quick change and picked up and left Provo and moved to Salt Lake for the last six weeks of school and then he is going back home to Arizona. I didn't realize how much I rely on him until this last week when he hasn't been around. Thank goodness for cell phones and texting!! I miss you already Tim!

Probably the greatest change (well, it's a change from the last 18 months) is that two weeks ago my sister got home from her mission!! My parents went and picked her up in the Philippines and they traveled for a couple weeks and returned home to Utah on March 5th. It has been so much fun having her home! I'm especially excited that she is going to be living in Provo for the summer!

The last change, and the one I am most excited about, just happened this morning! I am starting a new JOB in two weeks!! My sister-in-law's mom let me know about some job openings that she thought I would enjoy and that I would do well at, so I applied and interviewed the end of last week and I got the wonderful call this morning. I am going to be working for the Fourth District Court here in Provo as a Deputy Court Clerk. Meaning, I will be on a team that works for a specific judge handling their cases. I am excited to learn something new and expand my knowledge. It will be sad to leave the company I have worked for for the last 3 years, but this is a great opportunity and I need to take it. It just feels right. And now I will have insurance! :)

I have never been a fan of change, but right now it needs to happen. I need to learn and progress and stretch myself. It is going to be an eventful ride the next couple months. Wish me luck!

The 80's are back!

2007-03-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last night my ward had an 80's skating party at Classic Skating. The 80's and all their glory (or at least all their spandex and ankle warmers) were back.

Chase, the activity organizer! Love the mullet!!

Chad, Allison, Hillary & Josh...sweatbands and ankle warmers...gotta love 'emAaron & Devin...I think my dad had/has those exact same sunglasses. They look like they should be part of Bon Jovi or something...Jen, Michelle, and Jen...at least Jen #1 wore a side ponytail. I was kind of a party pooper. Oh well.I had to put this picture on here from our 80's night last year. It's my favorite! Wrestler Aaron with his fro, sweat band and teeth guard...so hot!!!

and just for fun...

You Know You Grew Up In The 80's If...

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE".
2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
3. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Belair " ...and can do the "Carlton".
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.

7. "WOAH " comes from Joey on Blossom.
8. Two words: Hammer Pants.
9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock ".
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and "spokey-dokes" or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect.
11. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales ". (Woo ooh!)
12. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
13. When it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
14. You saw the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles " on the big screen... and still know the turtles names.
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
17. You played the game "MASH ". (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
19. L.A. Gear... need I say more.
20. You wanted to change your name to "JEM " in Kindergarten. (She's truly outrageous)
21. You remember reading "Tales of a fourth grade nothing " and all the Ramona books.
22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF".
23. You wanted to be a Goonie.
24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us... head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
27. You took lunch boxes to school... and traded Garbage Pail Kids in the schoolyard.
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
29. You still get the urge to say "NOT " after every sentence.
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hookup.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes. (and like #24, probably in neon colors, too)
35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"
36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples.
43. "Don't worry, be happy"
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do...getting yelled at by "younger hip" members of the family)
46. "Miss MARY MACK MACK MACK, all dressed in BLACK BLACK BLACK "
47. You remember boom boxes. and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
48. You remember watching both "Gremlins" movies.
49. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!"
50. You remember watching "Rainbow Bright" and "My Little Pony Tales "
51. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
52. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
53. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool... and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB".
54. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By the Bell ", the ORIGINAL class.
55. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
56. You just sang those words to yourself.
57.You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
58. Homemade Levi shorts. (the shorter the better)
59. You remember when mullets were cool!
60. You had a mullet!
61. You still sing "We are the World"
62. You tight rolled your jeans.
63. You owned a bannana clip.
64. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
65. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' about Willis?"
66. You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
67. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head,aren't you!

I Heart Hockey

2007-03-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

Recently, a bunch of friends and I have been obsessed with going to hockey games. Specifically, BYU Ice Cat games. They are so much fun! We cheer on the Ice Cats, eat nachos, dance to the Black Eyed Peas, and freeze! It is so cold, but we have such a good time! I especially enjoy watching the fights that randomly break out. What would a hockey game be without a good fight?!? Plus, every time I've gone to a game, they've won. I think I am definitely their good luck charm! ;)

BYU vs. Utah game

The girls plus Stephen

Top L-R: Stephen, Lydia, Tansy, Stephanie, Rachel

Bottom: Diana, Maurie, JenMe and Rachel...she is such a cute girl!

BYU vs. UVSC game

L-R: Brian, Stephen, Stephanie, Diana, Jen, Kristy, Lydia

I didn't know we were taking a picture. I'm hiding behind Tyler...

Babies, babies, and more babies

2007-02-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Recently, an insane amount of my friends have had babies. I don't know what was going on nine months ago but it must have been baby making time. But congratulations to all of them! You girls amaze me! And here are the babies, in order of birth...

ANJA ANTONINA PAXMAN

February 1, 2007

7 lbs. 9 oz. 19 1/2 inches

The proud Paxman crew. Yes, that is baby #5! I love you Ani and Dustin and wish you luck with the brood! L-R: William (3), Hunter (1), Ani, Connor (2), Ahna-Maija (5), Anja, Dustin

next up:

DREW AND JT BANKHEAD

February 8, 2007

AJ and Emily Kate are being thrown into this parenting thing with twins. But they will be amazing parents. Congratulations and good luck EK with all that testosterone!

then:

BABY BOY CASTILLO

February 9, 2007

9 lbs. 12 oz. 20 inches

I don't have any pictures and I don't know what they decided to name him, but this is my cousin Ryan's baby. His wife Erin is a trooper! Way to have an almost 10 pound baby. Erin, you're my hero!

and finally:

KYLIE NICOLE HILL

February 13, 2007

6 lbs. 13 oz. 20 inches

Kylie with her two sisters...Cassidy (2) and Makenzie (4). They love her so much! Congrats Aub and Cam on the new addition.

Mini Golf

2007-02-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

There are two things that I admit to being very bad at...wood carving and miniature golf! Well, this last weekend I went golfing with some friends and you'll never believe it, but I actually won!!! I don't think I have ever won a game of mini golf in my life. So either my losing streak is over, or my friends let me win by playing absolutely pathetic games themselves. Thanks guys! The first hole...little did I know the joy that was awaiting me!

Lydia and Stephanie rejoicing with me over my hole in one! (Steph really isn't asian, she just looks like it for some reason in this picture)

Mike and Lydia oohing and ahhing at my amazing skills

Mike's nose pointing to my amazing score. You can't see it very well, but the lowest score on the right...50...is mine! I killed everyone!

I also just want to say that I'm looking forward to Sarah's Oscar Night party and I'm expecting amazing things. And who knows, with my recent luck I might just guess all the winners correctly. We'll see if my luck holds out...