Thankful November

     I am behind with posting things I am thankful for on Facebook or Instagram.. So I decided I would post it on here. I will reread this someday anyways, and that is the main reason I created this blog. My sister requested that I update my blog a few weeks ago. She is one of the very few people that reads this blog. Pretty sure she just wants something to do while she feeds her kid :) Love you sis.
     I have thought a lot about my blessings the past few weeks. I love this time of year when the weather is cooler and the leaves change colors. It is so wonderful that even the weather outside changes every once in awhile. I am glad that it's not always 100+ degrees outside or always below 50 degrees. :) Change is wonderful.
     Here are a few things I am thankful for:

• My wonderful family. I love my family and spending time with them just gets better as we get older. We have become closer as we have gotten older and lived our own lives. Our little family is growing and I love it. My little nephew is such a blessing in my family. I love him so much, and of course I am his favorite Aunt ;)
• I have been blessed with wonderful friends the past year. I have always had great friends, but the past year I have met some wonderful people that have really blessed my life. It is amazing how the Lord doesn't ever close a door without opening another. He is mindful of my needs and most of my prayers are answered through other people. I have had many wonderful conversations with my friends that have really inspired me to be a better person. 
• Of course I am grateful for Chase. I think that's a given. :) He has been serving a mission for the LDS church for a little over a year and I couldn't be happier for him. He loves it and is working hard. It has been a wonderful year for him and for me, despite the constant reminder that I miss my best friend. I am very grateful that he chose to serve a mission. He has learned a lot on his mission and has shared some wonderful things with me that have definitely made an impact in my life.
• I am so grateful that I live in this country. I hope and pray that we will always enjoy the same freedoms that the founding fathers fought for.
• I am grateful that I have the opportunity to learn in school. I can study a subject that I enjoy and hopefully someday have a career that I enjoy. That is a wonderful blessing, even if I take it for granted at times.

School has begun!

Well summer is over and school has started! A lot of good has come because of the new school year. I will be very busy with school even though it only adds up to 11 credits. I am taking child development, geography and practicum at the preschool. Practicum will require a lot of my time this semester. I have to have a total of 145 hours by the end of the semester. That will include about 9 hours a week in the preschool plus a few more hours a week to plan lessons and do homework. I also just started working as a nanny and will be watching 4 children all under the age of 4. I will be busy, but will be good to have my associate's degree out of the way after this semester. :)

California Trip

My family and I took a trip to Fresno California to visit my dad's brother and his family. The boys were going to go on a 3 day backpacking trip while the girls were going to go shopping and swimming and hanging out at home. It was fun to see them and be at their house again. I have always liked going to their house because they have a pool in their backyard and most of our visits we have spent the majority of the time in the pool. When I was younger I remember catching frogs by their pool. There weren't any frogs this year by the pool, but it was fun to spend time with my aunt, my mom, my cousin and her two adorable kids. :) Unfortunately, I failed to take pictures on that adventure.

Trip to SLC

My mom and I took a quick trip up to Salt Lake to visit my Aunt and Uncle and cousins. It was good to spend time with them. We used to go up every summer and they would come down a lot when we were younger but as we have gotten older it has been difficult to coordinate everyone's schedule. We left Saturday and spent time with them that evening. On Sunday we went to church and later that evening we went to a reunion for my Great Great Granpa's side of the family. I didn't know anyone there, but it was fun to meet new people I am related to. On Monday we went shopping at City Creek and went to the Nauvoo Cafe for lunch. That place has yummy food. After shopping, we went to see The Sound of Music at the Hale Theater. It was a fun show. I am really glad we were able to spend time with the Fenstermakers this summer, even if it was a short trip. :)

4th of July

     The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. My brother works for the city so he was apart of the festivities at the park. We started out our day at the parade where he rode his motorcycle and dressed up as Uncle Sam. Then, we watched him dance on stage and after that we watched him eat 12 hot dogs in a hot dog eating contest. He didn't win because right after the 12 minutes was over, he lost it. After that, my mom and Blaire and I walked around the park. Later that evening we had a BBQ with my cousins. It was fun to get together with everyone. After dinner, Blaire and I went to the black hill to watch the fireworks. It was a lovely day. :) 

 Curtis as Uncle Sam in the parade

 Curtis and Meleah

 Dancing to the song from Napoleon Dynamite 

 Eating hot dogs like a crazy

 The beautiful Blaire

My lovely mother and I

 All of us

The yummy treat I made for the BBQ :)

Baby Nephew :)

My sister finally had her baby boy in April. It has been so fun to have a new member of our family. My sister decided it was safe to post pictures of his feet on the world wide web so I will include a picture of his cute feet. I am so happy to finally be an aunt. It has been fun so far, so I think I will be an aunt forever. ;)

Angela's Wedding

One of my roommates, Angela, was married on April 21st. It was a lovely day and I am happy for her and Andrew. The reception was beautiful and I was glad to be apart of their day.

Susanna and I

20th Birthday!

On April 8th I turned 20! It was a great day. It happened to land on Easter Sunday this year. The celebrating began on Thursday when my sister and brother in law gave me spark plugs for my car! Wahoo! He even put them in for me on the spot :) What a great mechanic I have. On Saturday my brother took me to get ice cream and then we watched a movie he gave me. On Sunday I went to church and then ate dinner with my grandmas and family. After that, I had some friends come over and we played games and ate cake and ice cream. On Monday my family and I went to dinner at Outback. It's probably one of my favorite places to eat. Later in the week I went to lunch with Chantel and Ciera (Chase's mom and sister). It was a lovely week long celebration :) 

It's finally April! :)

I am so happy that April has come. I love this time of year. But this April is going to be more exciting and the busiest April I've yet experienced in my life. First off on the list:

1. Conference! I had the opportunity to go to Saturday afternoon session of General Conference in Salt Lake City with Blaire. We had a great time and being in the conference center was the greatest thing ever. I have been before, but this time was extra special. We stayed with the Fenstermakers (my aunt's house). After conference, Blaire flew home to Minnesota and I explored the new mall, City Creek, in Salt Lake with my aunt and cousin. My cousin, Lindsay, got a job at the Disney store and it was fun to see her at work. She loves her job and hopes to work for Disney one day, so she is in heaven. :)  It was so great to not worry about doing homework for one weekend. The next day I drove home and made it for dinner with my family. We had our traditional conference meal, mashed potatoes and gravy. This weekend was much needed and I enjoyed every minute of it, even if it was a short trip. 
2. I'm turning 20! Weird. I'm getting old...
3. I registered for the St. George Marathon today.. I know I'm crazy. But I am excited to do something I've always wanted to!
4. One of my (previous) roommates is getting married this month! Wahoo!
5. School for this semester will be OVER! :) I'm not excited at all.. 
6. And last but not least, at the end of the month my sister will have her baby. :) 

So there ya have it. This month will be pretty exciting. Here are some pictures of our trip to conference. :) 

Sandwiches

     So today I spent the day with my Grandma Woodbury while my Aunt and Uncle and their family spent the day together at the airshow. It was lunch time and I was going to make us some yummy sandwiches. My Aunt always has the best stuff to put on sandwiches. It reminded me of when I was little and my Grandma would make me a yummy sandwich on her cute flowery plates with the green edge (Now my mom has those dishes). She would usually give me some ice cream afterwards to make it a meal. Actually, whenever we went to her house we would end our visit with ice cream. We would ask Grandma for ice cream just as our parents were ready to head home. It was our way to stay longer because we knew Grandma would make sure we got ice cream. :) She is so cute and I enjoy the time I get to spend with her now that I am older. 

Pine Valley

This week is spring break! :) It has been wonderful so far. On Friday I went over to my sister's house and made a skirt. It was fun to spend time with her at her house. That night I went to a dance with Blaire, Curtis and Annie. It was fun :) On Saturday I finished my skirt and started cutting out squares for my T-shirt quilt that I have been wanting to make forever. Then I went to see Fiddler on the Roof at the college. After that I went to a bonfire with Blaire and Curtis. Sunday was a beautiful day. I went to listen to Blaire give a talk and then went to my own ward. It is always nice to have Sundays to relax. Then I went over to Chase's house to spend time with his family. I love them all so very much. :) On Monday, Blaire, Susanna and Curtis and I spent the day in Pine Valley at our family cabin. We built a fire and cooked hot dogs. They were delicious. Then we decided to go to the reservoir. We had a wonderful time, especially walking through the swamp ish area :) Here are some pictures of our lovely adventure!

 Blaire and I

 Susanna and I

 Curtis and Blaire

 Us girls :)

 Curtis waiting for Blaire to walk through the pipe thing :) 

 Susanna and Curtis

 Love this girl!

 Love both of these girls!

 K, I know this is kinda gross but it was hilarious in the moment  ... :) 

Skunk

Yesterday I was taking a kid from the ward home from FHE. He lives in Bloomington.  Life was just great until out of nowhere a skunk decided to run across the road. I almost hit him! Basically, it was the scariest thing ever. Even though skunks are smelly, I would have felt terrible if I would have ran it over. And now I am terrified of skunks running out in front of me on the road. Also, I think I scared the kid to death and he will probably never ask for a ride home ever again haha. Poor kid. I think I apologized a million times. 


I am glad I didn't run him(the skunk) over. Now he can go stink up the neighborhoods :) 

It's all about the little things.

So this week has been crazy busy. Today I decided to make a list of all the things I need to get done by next week. That was a very bad idea. Talk about overwhelming amounts of homework. And it keeps coming.. and won't stop. So I decided to just take it one thing at a time and so I started on an assignment while listening to some music. Pandora must love me today because a song came that helped lighten the mood. The lyrics said, "if life has taught me anything, its all about the little things." Well isn't that a true statement. I've heard that concept many many times in many ways but a simple reminder is always great. I will try to work my way through all this homework with a smile on my face because even though it seems incredibly impossible right now, it will seem so small in a few years. So, in the meantime I will continue to try to be happy :)

Happy things this week:

• Building fires
• Guacamole :) 
• Running
• Getting a call from my best friend to tell me she is engaged :) 
• Playing the piano
• Making new friends

Choosing to be happy!

     What a lovely week it has been already, and its only Tuesday! Today is Valentines day. What a lovely day it was. But first I must explain the title of this post. So, yesterday I got a letter from my dearest friend, Chase. I was so happy. Its always good to hear from him. I don't think I told him that I have been overwhelmed with school and sad and missing him but somehow he already knew. He basically told me I need to be happy and I can choose to be happy or choose to be miserable, whether he is here or not. Its hard having my best friend far away from me but I am glad he reminded me of a very important concept that I needed to be reminded of. So today I decided I was going to be happy and I certainly was! I spent the day at work, school, my moms school (I go to her school once a week to get hours in for my education math class), went to see my grandma with my mom, went to more class and then I have been working on homework for about 4 hours straight. Despite all the busyness, I am quite happy. Being happy is a lot more fun than being sad :) Plus, I have gotten a lot more homework done tonight in less time than usual. Lots of happy things this week so far.

     Happy things this week:

• Rain
• Smiling just because I can't contain how happy I am :) 
• Leftover cookies from my mom's Valentine party at school
• Realizing I will be my Nephew's favorite Aunt in 2.5 months! :)
• Rereading children's books from my childhood and realizing how hilarious some of them are
• :) 

2012!

     So far 2012 has been pretty busy. I haven't really had time for anything but school, church, some sleep, and work. I am taking 18 credits this semester full of classes that require lots of work (what's new). I started a new job and I'm not working as much so I figured I'd be able to keep up with 18 credits. It's a pretty full load but I can do it. I'm taking Children's Lit, Interpersonal Communications, Partnering with Parents, Education 2010, Math 2010 and History. I really love my communications class and I'm glad that I have at least one class that I can just enjoy. I have some pretty interesting professors this semester so they keep me awake in class, which is a good thing. :) 

     I have enjoyed this year so far even though I have been overwhelmed with the amount of schoolwork. I have been researching schools to transfer to and starting to make plans for spring 2013. I am looking forward to getting out of St. George and going to a new school. It will be good, but for right now my life is just great. :) 

     One thing I decided I want to do every week this semester is write a few things that made me happy during the week. I want to look out for the positive things in the week so here goes my first list of happy things.

• Getting delicious treats from my wonderful visiting teachers
• Talking with old friends 
• My turkey that sits on my desk :)
• Old letters
• Spending time with my extended family for my Grandma's Birthday
• Going to the store by myself for absolutely no reason just because I can :)