March In a Blog

Hey! Sorry I haven't been here in a while! I kept meaning to post all of March and kept putting it off and putting it off... oops! March was a VERY eventful month so (like the last blog) instead of telling you about it I'm going to show you. Ready? Begin!

So on the second of March I fractured my toe - Awesome! I was sitting on a chair at the library and was scooting it and got my toe underneath it. It hurt! So for the first few weeks I got to wear this awesome thing and limp around places!

It's always a party at our house! (literally!)

The first weekend in March I headed up to Washington with my awesome Honors peeps to go present at a conference! Here are a few highlights...

This is the plane we flew in. We called it a small plane and got chewed out by the captain who accidentily overheard us. Apparantely - with over an 80 foot wing span this is classified as a large aircraft (despite the fact that it IS small!)

So small that we danced on it!

The Hotel we stayed at was INCREDIBLE! 5 star!!

We had fun going to presentations...

... and presenting. Only 4 non SUU people showed up to our presentation - 1 left halfway through, 1 was Amy Loveless' brother, another was his friend, and the last was some random lady who was really nice to us :-)

Here at Honors Conference people are GREAT spellers! (Check out our college name)

We ran into Amy's brother Jason! It was very random but very awesome!

We had a ton of fun with our bathrobes! (the sign of a true 5 star hotel ;-)

We splurged and bought room service (just as yummy as it looks!)

We're spelling out PAM in case you couldn't tell (PAM are a part of our honors class from last semester (the one with all of the presentation, seminars, and awesomeness :-) )

Over all we were just silly and had a blast!

I love us :-) This is everyone that went from our school.

This is by far the coolest picture that was taken on this trip! A picture of a picture :-)

After Washington I was in Cedar for a week and then it was spring break! Some friends and I decided it would be awesome to go to California and so we did! What follows are (again) some highlights from the trip - so amazing! It was great to have a "real" spring break for once (I usually just go home and do nothing). Man I love my friends!

Here is a video of us waiting for Bryan so we can finally leave... The plan was to leave at 7:30 but it came around and there was no Bryan... we were thrilled...

About 30 seconds after I turned my camera guess who showed up?

Bryan!

We all took turns putting air in the tires :-)

While exploring LA, we happened upon some random Egyptian pathway and decided it was a great opportunity to take pictures! What follows is me teaching Justin archery (using my awesome knowledge acquired for camp) and Kate teaching Bryan how to stab himself... go Egyptian artists!

Upon further exploration of LA we found some more interesting things...

Like the way to OZ and the way to Hollywood (both shown with Bryan leading the way)

The boys outside the Chinese Theater

All of us posing with the Hollywood sign (the tiny, distant thing in the back)

After using the hot tub - ow ow!

DISNEYLAND!!!!

Waiting in the forever long lines

Kate tried to keep me away from the treasure... but of course she failed!

Breaking Free

Danger on the Indiana Jones Ride! Good thing Kate's around to save the day!

Bryan and I doing our best to make sense of the secret codes

Posing at the front gate!

Battle of the Teacups! (Bryan and I totally kicked trash!)

The following is a video taken 13 1/2 hours after our arrival to Disneyland. We are tired, sore and have chosen to go on It's a Small World for our last ride of the night... bad idea...

The beautiful beach we went to the next day!

Where we buried Bryan in the sand...

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end... We got back from Cali about midweek at which time we all went our seperate ways to our homes for the remainder of the week...

While at home, my Dad and I went up to visit a lady from his work whose dog had had puppies. We weren't sure were were going to get one but when Dad picked up the runt and she immediately bit his nose we were sold - Nala was the runt and that is exactly what she used to do. A few weeks later we went up again and spotted a puppy sitting all by herself. My Mom asked if she'd been claimed. After finding out that she wasn't Mom picked her up and the puppy came alive - she was so cute! Thus! We came to the decision to get TWO puppies!! The first one is named Sheila and is the only one we have pictures of (we didn't decide to get the second til after we'd left :-( ). The second one is named Cookie cuz she's a sweet heart. After graduation they'll be ready to be picked up - we're so excited!

All the puppies...

Isn't she just so cute!

Anyways! That about wraps up the month of March! Now I know that we're near the end of April and trust me - I'll be updating about that month shortly.

Catching Up

So I realized the other day that it has been forever since I've been on here... I guess it's time to change that!

I won't say too much but I will blog through pictures to do a very quick summary... ready? Begin!


Trefoil Ranch in the Winter:

Look how deep the snow is!!



Icicles behind the lodge

St. George Parade of homes with my Parents and Sister:

They have Trees in their bathroom :-)

I LOVE this picture :-)

Random Things I've discovered/learned/observed:

My parents love me - The first time I went home after Nala's death this is what was waiting for me at the top of the stairs. I nearly wanted to cry but I think it actually made me feel better :-)

This is what the Outdoor Equipment room at Trefoil is SUPOSED to look like (I spent a long time cleaning it...)

This is what happens to Trefoil shirts after girls tire of them - they end up at Savers

This is how trees are planted :-)

My professor is amazing - she brings food to class and feeds us!

Nature is Beautiful!

These are the weirdos you find when you go to Walmart (seriously I walk in to return something and there are Kate and Bryan sitting by Ronald... reading a book. Random!

Finally (my time is limited right now but I promise more will be added later) - I fractured my toe last night. Awesome huh? Want to hear the story? Perhaps the lamest story ever? So I was sitting in the library and moved my chair closer to the computer and somehow my toe got underneath the chair and I sat on it. My toe was hurting like nothing else but I figured it was just sore - well when it kept throbbing and had a bruise I knew something was up. I went to Instacare with Kate and discovered that my toe was fractured... yeah awesome? Especially great since I'm leaving this Thursday to go to present at a conference up in Washington and in 1 1/2 weeks I'm going to Disneyland... Ouch!

A Blog about a Dog

Today has been one of the hardest days I've had in a very long time. I got a phone call around 6pm from my parents telling me that my dog Nala was at the vet and having a hard time breathing. Through some x-rays the vet discovered that my dog had congestive heart failure and only had a few weeks left to live. After taking her home my mom noticed that she was only getting worse and was suffering really bad. Before they had a chance to take her back to the vet she was gone. I can honestly say that this little dog was a part of our family. We've raised her since she was a puppy and have all become really attached to her.

Her life began on a cool April night in 1995. We had wondered for a while if our dog Lady was pregnant - we took her to the vet and although the vet had told us that she wasn't, we kids still hoped. Our parents had just gotten home from a Jazz game when the scratching started. Our second dog Cuddles was going crazy at the backdoor. We let her in and she turned in circles, ran outside, turned in circles and then ran back to us. I felt like I was watching an episode of Lassie :-). We went outside and found Lady on the back porch underneath an old basinet with 4 little puppies by her. It felt like Christmas - we couldn't believe it! We heard some whimpering from a little ways off and followed the noise. It was there we discovered this cute little off white puppy. Somehow she had been seperated from the bunch. This little dog was soon after Nala (I had an obsession with the Lion King at the time). My parents promised that we could keep one of the puppies and while we did argue a bit it was me who convinced everybody that we should keep the fiesty little runt of the group, and so we did.

Some of my fondest memories of childhood include this little dog. I remember trying to get her to climb up the stairs when she was a puppy, encouraging her to not sit and whimper when she got frustrated. I remember the walks I used to take with her around my neighborhood. I remember the warmth of her little body as she would curl up next to me at night. And later in life, especially in college, when I would spend weeks away from home. Everytime I would come through that door she was always there at the top of the stairs so excited to see me; her tail wagging so quickly and excitedly that her whole body would literally shake.

I still can't believe that she's really gone. It really does seem like I'm in some sort of horrible nightmare and keep waiting to wake up from it. 12 hours ago she was her normal sweet self... how quickly things can change. It really makes me take a step back and look at life. Things can change in a matter of hours, minutes and even seconds. Now is the time to make the most of life. Cherish those you hold dear, no matter how human or canine they may be, because you never know when they will be gone. To quote Roger Caras "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

RIP Nala - you will be missed so much more than you know. We love you.

A Dark Christmas and a Bubbly New Year

Christmas Break never lasts long enough. I've talked to so many people who couldn't wait to come back to school because they were so "bored." I used to be one of them but something changed this time. More than anything I think it's because I know this is the last real break I'll ever have - the last three weeks where I don't have a job and nothing too adult is expected of me. It was my last chance to sit around for days enjoying rest and family. There were so many days when I just stayed in my pajamas all day because what use did I have to get all dressed when I wasn't going anywhere but the next room? Ok - so maybe this sounds a little lazy but can you blame me? Before I know I'm going to have to be a real adult - It honestly kind of scares me...

So a bit about my break:

I got home on Wednesday of finals week - so nice! I've never been able to leave that early! The only real final I had was Wednesday morning and it was a take home test that we just had to go and turn in - very difficult ;-) After I got home I went out to eat with a friend and then my good friend Chelsey came over and we left for the airport to pick up our awesome friend from camp - Stacie. Wow... that sentence just sounds weird... let's try that again : After I got home I went out to eat with a friend and then my good friend Boots came over and we left for the airport to pick up our awesome friend from camp - Sunshine. Phew - much better! Anyways! After the happy reunion we went out to eat and drove around the city. Over the next few days I got to spend a lot of time with Sunshine which really made me homesick for camp... luckily! I got a bit of a taste of it because the two us went with our old camp director to Moab to do a mini camp. It was so much fun! I can honestly say that working for the Girl Scouts is the best job I've EVER had!

On that first Sunday I got to go with Kate and my parents to Music and the Spoken word downtown (note to self: When going to a rather large event after a huge snow storm in which you will have to park blocks away from your destination, do NOT wear open toed high heels. I could not feel my feet!). I love going to the broadcasts and especially this time of year because the Choir had just had their Christmas concert and so after the broadcast they gave the audience a mini concert - if you didn't get a chance to watch the December 14th broadcast - do it! It is so amazing! And definitely catch the whole concert when it comes out to dvd next winter.

After the broadcast Kate and I headed up to North Ogden to go to one of our best friends farewells. Getting there was not easy! The snow storm was still hitting up there and the church we were going to was on top of a hill. I honestly didn't think my car would make it! I got stuck a few times and kept slidding - it was really scary! But we made it and just before the opening prayer too! It was really fun meeting because I was surrounded by some of my best friends. There were three rows off to the side that were full of people who had come just for Amy. On my row were my old Juniper friends - i.e. some of my best friends. I had Mckenzie on my right and Dani, Kate and Bryan to my left. In front of me were some of my great camp friends/school friends: Squishy, Sunshine, Firefly (Melanie), and Sam (Skywalker). By them and in front of them were more friends that I knew from school. I honestly can't describe how amazing it was. I loved being surrounded by those people! And then there was my sweet Amy up on the stand. I'm so excited that she's serving a mission but I'm not gonna lie when I say I am going to miss her SO much. Having been through 3 years of college and 2 summers of camp together, we've gotten really close and I'm sad to see her leave but I know the people of Chili need her sweet spirit more than us Utahns do :-) After the farewell we all headed over to Amy's house and ate, played games and chatted (and got surprise visitors - Chicken Little showed up!). When it was time to leave we found that the storm had passed and the roads that had been so menacing before were now just fine.

Jumping ahead a week and a half - our Christmas was very interesting. The morning went by as any normal Christmas morning does. We slept in, ate biscuits and gravy for breakfast and opened gifts around 11am. Since my Dad's sister moved away we've never really gone anywhere on Christmas day (my Mom's family gets together before the holiday) - that being said, we all planned to spend the day inside relaxing and enjoying the gifts we had received. Imagine our surprise when at 12:30 our power went out. We weren't too surprised I guess because of the wind that was howling outside but when my Dad called the power company to report our outage - he got the message that our power probably wouldn't come back on until at least 7pm that night. With this knowledge we all buckled down and prepared to spend a cold powerless Christmas day. Instead of watching the new movies we had received we just sat around and talked, caught up in our journals, and read books. When it got dark we pulled out our laterns and candles and lit them. It was a little strange walking around my house with only the light of a candle here and there but at the same time it was kind of fun. It made me feel like we had been transported a hundred years back. When 7pm came we called the power company to check the situation and instead of giving us a time when power would come on they just told us "as soon as possible." We spent the rest of the night huddled in blankets and chatting. The power didn't end up coming until just before midnight. It was very odd going 12 hours without power but we didn't really complain too much. We had food to eat (we had prepared it the day before and it was supposed to be cold :-) ) and things to do. I actually feel kinda blessed that we were able to spend "an old fashioned Christmas" together - it's something that will probably never happen again.

On New Years Eve I decided to be a party pooper and spend it at home with my family. Things went pretty much the same way as they did Christmas except this time with power and therefore a movie playing in the back ground - we all sat around and talked and played games. Maybe not the most exciting thing to do but it was exactly what I wanted.

The rest of my break was very laid back. As I said before, I spent most of my days sitting at home. I read, played video games, watched movies, decorated for Christmas, and just spent time with my family. I still cannot tell you how wonderful it was! I did go out a few times with friends - I spent a fun day in Utah Valley with Chelsey and I hung out quite a few times with Kate and Bryan.

Here are a few random pictures from break:

My house all decorated:



Music and the Spoken word (our view):

Pics from the Living Planet Aquarium! (Went there with Kate and Bryan)

The beautiful temple and statue on Christmas Eve

(it's a family tradition to go and see the lights on

Christmas Eve)

Our Happy tree on Christmas day:

170 of the cookies I made... I spent over 5 1/2 hours baking one day! These sugar cookies are seriously amazing! We (I made half and my mom the other) also made Ginger snaps, Snickerdoodles, Chocolate balls, Russian Tea Cakes, Rice Krispies squares and Muddy Buddies.

In all the break went way too fast - before I knew it I was packing my car and driving South. It's fun to be back at school but part of me stayed up north. I'm so torn in my emotions of late - I'm ready to be done with school and back up north. Salt Lake is home and I feel so at ease and happy when I'm there. Then again - I'm scared to graduate and face the real world and Cedar City has brought so many wonderful changes to my life and I enjoy my time here away from it all and yet in the middle of it. I guess the best thing I can do is enjoy my last semester down here - live life to the fullest. I'm never going to get this time back - as my mom so eliquently puts it, before I know it I'll be married with children and wondering where it all went. And it's those times, she says, when you are up late with a crying baby or sick child that you look back to what you did in your youth and young adult years and smile and be happy that you did what you did. She says to live life to the fullest so that when you look back you won't have regrets.

So here is to my last semester as an SUU college student. I plan to enjoy every minute of it.

Another semester done and another step closer to graduation - crazy! I'm doing my best not to think about the fact that in 5 1/2 months I will be thrust into the adult world and have to start making a living for myself. *shudder*

Instead! I find that filling my mind with things like Christmas, Movies, Sunshine's visit this week, Going home, family, baking cookies, Christmas, the posibility of working at camp again, Amy/Juniper leaving for 18 months, The Magic of Trefoil Ranch Documentory DVD, Christmas, Finishing Christmas presents, Music, Twilight aka mind junk food, wishing it would snow, playing around and being silly with friends and did I mention Christmas? - is so much better! Man I love this time of year!

Also - Check out the trailer for my Honors class presentations! So amazing!