Busy-ness

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!

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!

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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!!