Paul and Jocelyn Barrus

Paul's Birthday

2011-11-19T21:14:00.000-08:00

Paul had been studying for the LSAT since April so we decided he could take a night off for his birthday on September 27 on a tuesday. Paul and I had gone together when we were engaged to register at target and we got the genius idea to register for camping gear. To paul's dismay we didn't get any of it, but to my pleasure i had the perfect birthday gift for him

I had the presents hidden in my car for a while so that paul wouldn't see them so here he is waiting to open

The tent and 2 sleeping bags

Earlier in the night we went to Tepanyaki to get a really good dinner to celebrate hubby. He had also decided that he wanted to go out to get dessert for his birthday instead of me cooking something. We (mostly me) loved the banana cream pie shakes from sammy's in rexburg and there just happened to be another sammy's no more than 5 blocks from our apartment so we walked even though it was dark

We're newlyweds :)

I just happened to remember right before we ordered that it was 2 for 1 nights on tuesday but only if you tell them when you are ordering so we got 1 for free yay!

Waiting very impatiently for our dessert

I had brought candles and matches so that my hubby could make his first birthday wish of our marriage

We went out side to light the candles and there was a breeze so we used the whole package of matches in order to get a picture and a wish.

Blowing it out

We had an awesome time celebrating his birthday and there are many to come. Happy 26th birthday husband!

Hiking the Y

2011-11-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

Paul and I knew that since we are living in provo for at least a year that there would be a lot of stuff that we had to do and hiking the Y was at the top of the list. We had decided to go spur of the moment when we were on the drive and the rain was just stopping. Although this is a short hike (a little less than a mile) it is a very... VERY steep hike. You need some water and you need to not underestimate how easy it will be because it is only a mile. Paul and i started off quick, a little to quick to be walking at a 60+ degree angle. Before we knew it i was being a brat and wanted to turn back and do it on a day when i wasn't so tired, thirsty, blah blah blah. I was a stinker lets just face that fact now. So Paul being the perfect husband says he will carry me as long as i will go the whole way and not turn around. I said no at first but soon my desire to please my husband to get to the top no matter the means overcame and i let him carry me. He carried me a good 1/4-1/3 of a mile. Perfect wonderful amazing husband. So we finally got to the top thank heavens and we saw this

Beautiful

Me still bratty and not wanting to take a picture

My true feelings

Showing how good i am at faking a smile

A lot happier now and we are at the top :)

Pretty sun set

Provo temple!

Honeymoon

2011-09-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Paul and I had an awesome honeymoon. We had stayed in Rexburg on our wedding night so we wouldn't have to drive. We had hidden our car during our dinner so that Paul's family wouldn't destroy our car but to our horror (mostly mine, my family aren't the types to destroy cars at weddings while paul's family is... so differences were discovered quickly into our marriage) we woke up in the morning to find this.... (i'll spare you by excluding the pictures of the other windows)

Paul had just replaced his wind shield so it couldn't be washed for 72 hours so they at least were nice that way

Well.... we were going on a cruise that left from Long Beach and we decided to road trip all the way there so we stayed in Las Vegas on the way.

Our cruise was so much fun and it was the perfect vacation after a long 3 semesters in school for both of us.

We went to Catalina Island and Ensenada and had fun in each place.

I was terrible at taking pictures but luckily paul reminded me a few times so we do have some.

In Catalina we went snorkeling and man was the water cold but we had a lot of fun still seeing the bright colored fish and the unique seaweed (i can't remember what they called it). After snorkeling we walked around the town to see what we could see. We liked seeing everything and going in some of the shops.

We had to write in the sand :)

Waiting to get our snorkel gear

In our cute suits that would help us float instead of life jackets.

The boats in the harbor

Don't you just love the color of the fence! Eww ignore his nasty Laker's shirt...

I love that white building in the background

Cool tile

view of part of Catalina

Now for Ensanada. We had a longer day in ensanada so we decided to do the blow hole tour and outdoor shopping. It was about a 45 minute bus ride to the famous blow hole and we had a great tour guide who shared fabulous information with us and was very funny.

We got up to the blow hole and they had about 1/2mile of open markets leading up to the blow hole

Here we were waiting for the blow hole

The blow hole going off! Really cool to see

Showing off some of our purchases :) we had a fun time in the market. We ate 2 things of churros because the first ones weren't very warm but it was good to eat more because they were delicious. We bought a hammick and hope to use it some time in the future. I bought some mexican leather sandals and my sunglasses in the picture. The guy in the leather store convinced paul to buy a leather wallet to reduce the price of my sandals. We also got some yummy carne asada tacos. We road the bus back and walked around park of the Ensanada down town and then went and explored and ate food on the ship.

here is one of the towel designs the room cleaners left for us. A cute bunny

Here is one of the other creations, a heart. I wonder how they knew that a heart was very fitting for us....

We absolutely loved our cruise and we had fun in the hot tub and watching shows and eating our weight in food every day. We ate some of the best food ever. It was such a good way to start our marriage and i am so excited to take another vacation someday with my perfect husband!

Update

2011-09-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since I last posted and this is going to be my first of hopefully many as a married woman! Since my last post Paul and I have graduated with our bachelor's degrees, found jobs and apartment, gotten married, gone on a honeymoon and been married just short of 2 months! Life is terrific! It is actually as near as perfect as life can get! We love being married and things are great. I will try to do some blogs of things that have happened to try and fill in time!

School

2011-05-08T19:33:00.001-07:00

dear school,

this is my last semester of you

i am planning a wedding

i normally love to learn

but this semester i could care less

yes i am counting down already

till i am done with you

74 days

i hate your stupid outlines and

your 30 page readings for every class

when you are done i will celebrate

but will probably miss you after 2 months

but for now i am hating you

and dreaming of your demise

love jocelyn

Seriously...

2011-05-06T03:58:00.000-07:00

Now, don't get me wrong... i have been blessed with great roommates over the past 5 semesters while i have lived in rexburg, but i can hardly wait to be rid of 5 girl roommates... I used to love living with roommates and thought it was the absolute best. My first two semesters i was really close friends with all of the different roommates i had but the last 3 semester i have barely learned the girl's first names and where they are from. These last 3 semesters have been just fine though because its not like there was any drama but it isn't like i clicked with any of them. Also i have been dating Paul the past 3 semesters so i didn't really want or care to get close to them. Anyways it will be so nice to only have to deal with one man rather than 5 women. I would rather deal with his odd habits that i might (i know i may not be able to change them) be able to alter than 5 people's odd habits, or at least 1 person's habits is better than 5 people's habits. Everything about having my own apartment with my hubby should be a little bit better that this situation. Well just thought i would express my excitement that i'll be married in 84 days and will be out of this apartment in 77!

ENGAGED!!!

2011-04-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

I want to recount the whole story even for my sake more than anything so here it goes!

April 21st, 2011

We had been at paul's parents house since 4:30 so that he would be able to take his online LSAT class at 6 and make sure that everything was ready and he could get on. We had been having a wonderfully happy day despite the homework and school obligations. He started his class at 6 and went into a bedroom so he could have silence and pay complete attention to his teacher. I had been doing homework and other stuff. His class went over 15 minutes so he finished at 9:15 or so and we decided to be done with school for the day. We took a drive even though it was stormy/snowy/rainy. Little did i know that paul was worrying inside about whether or not he would get to propose with the poor whether. We had been driving awhile and i was surprised that he hadn't turned back for rexburg. We had been talking a lot today about the first time we saw each other and meet each other.

We first met last July 2nd, i was supposed to go up to Idaho to spend some time with my old roommate and an ex-fling over the 4th and go to the fireworks and all that stuff. I had decided that I didn't really want to come up and spend time with the ex-fling so i told him i wasn't going to come up. On that friday afternoon of the 2nd i was just sitting on my butt talking to my old roommate and we were talking about how i wasn't coming up anymore and everything. All of the sudden i just reallly really wanted to go up to idaho so about 15 minutes later i was in the car on my way up to visit a roommate that i hadn't stayed in perfect connection with. I got up there at 5 or 6 i think and she said that lots of her friends from her ward were going out to the sanddunes for a fire. On the way out we stopped at wendy's for some food. When we got through the drive through we passed a car that was waiting for their food that was taking extra long that car started to follow us all the way out to the sanddunes. Paul was in Carly my old roommates new ward and had recognized her car so he and his friend decided to follow it. We got to the sanddunes and Paul pulled up right beside us. I was in the passenger seat so i rolled down my window and paul's and my eyes met and we smiled at each other. He told carly that he had other plans but saw her car and followed her out and that he would come back later if his stuff got lame.

We both remembered seeing each other that first moment. And that is where he took me back last night, right to the place we first saw each other and then talked. We got out of the car in the clear weather that had just been a terrible storm and we saw the stars and everything (which was surprised due to the fact that we had only seen clouds for the last few day and even the last few minutes). He got down on his knee and asked me "would you marry me" and i said "of course" we kissed and talked and loved the fact that we are now engaged... lets just say there have been some differences in opinion if we could plan a wedding without being engaged and the like so now there are no issues because we are officially engaged and happy as can be we drove back and almost instantly a horrible snowstorm started. We had our perfect moment in perfect weather. I had no clue that he was going to propose. He had been telling me that i would just have to be patient and wait for our real ring and that it may be a few weeks and i was sad because i didn't want to wait to be able to tell the world that i am marrying the most amazing man and that i could never dream of a more perfect person for me. I am so blessed to have met him and to have him in my life now. I can hardly wait for July 30th in the Rexburg temple when we will be sealed for time and eternity.

Goodnight world!

2011-04-06T23:53:00.001-07:00

So.... today is the first day in 4 months that i could actually go to bed! Many of you know that i have been a busy little bee this semester. When i am busy with school i often just want a little break-whether it be doing a few sudoku puzzles or reading blogs, maybe even watching an episode of my current tv show- but i normally can't do these things because like i said i'm busy. So often these things get pushed until nighttime when i have worked all day and have been trying so hard to be studious. It is like i would rather have these mind-numbing activities than sleeping even though i am only running on 4 hours (MAX) and have been up for 20 hours already... it is weird so i will do these things even though i'm tired. But tonight i am not going to stay up doing one more sudoku or one more game of solitare... tonight i am going to bed because i have 12 days to do those things before my final semester of undergraduate begins! In 3 1/2 months i will be a college graduate with my own bachelors degree and everything!!! So goodnight to all... oh yeah PS i get to sleep in past 4 :) yaya!!!

Life :D

2011-02-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

Life is crazy! i am so stinking busy and working really hard to get good grades. My classes are the hardest i've ever taken and yet i am still doing well thank goodness! Right now i am avoiding homework because it is boring and tedious and tiring etc... anyways in one of my psychology classes this semester i am taking a class where we learn about reinforcement and so we have to train animals to do different things. The first animal we worked with were little baby chicks and we taught them to peck a dot through shaping and positive reinforcement. Now we are on to rats and man... it is a struggle for me to work with these gross animals! They are rodents and i am just disgusted with the fact that every day i have to touch these things, clean up there poop and pee, get peed on, try and figure out what in the heck motivates it.

I haven't taken a picture of my rat but this is basically what it looks like. they are kinda cute especially their faces and their fur is a lot softer than you would expect... really really soft actually, but gosh i just can't handle the tail... it is just purely gross and also the fact that they compress their ribs so they may look fat all compressed down but then they squirm and expand and you just can't hold on to them. My rat is really timid too which just adds to the trouble.... it gets the crap scared out of it... literally... if there is ever a loud noise it starts pooping and peeing and then i have to clean it up and right now i am still smelling the stupid thing on my hands after washing them twice thoroughly and using hand sanitizer... gross! Well only 6 more long weeks of working with this gross thing! I can do it, at least i wasn't like the girl in there earlier who was crying and screeching.... it could be a lot worse

Facebook

2010-12-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

I'm definitely not addicted to facebook. I mean i go home to Utah l and i'm not doing homework or anything and i feel no need to even check my facebook, i barely look at my computuer. But there is something about getting on facebook rather than doing your homework, or paying attention in class that is oddly refreshing, while at the same time be extremely frustrating. I mean i think it is a good way to stay in contact with "friends." Yes i used quote marks because honestly i would not stop and say hi to 75% of my friends on facebook if i passed them on the street, i mean i already don't say hi to quite a few of them if i pass them. I mean maybe this is because i have no relationship in the beginning besides the facebook friendship. I think that in the past people came into a person's life for a reason and then when the lesson was learned or it was time for the relationship ended, it ended but with facebook relationships don't end as naturally as they would in real life. You have to make an effort to delete a person or you just keep them as a friend and sometimes relationships are rekindled when in the past that relationship would have never ignited again because the two people had no way of contacting each other. I think facebook is an even better relationship destroyer than a relationship builder and maintainer. I mean i like facebook as much as many people but often i just wish it never would have been created. Those who read probably wonder "well then why don't you delete it?" i would if i knew it was permanent... but it isn't you just sign back on and you are on the same horrible path you were on before. I mean i should have more self control than that and just not ever get on again for 14+ days but i don't. Anyways i don't know why i just spilled this but it is definitely something i have thought about a lot before. Oh another thing... not only does it destroy relationships but it can increase pride, destroy self confidence, and other affects that would have not happened if facebook was there. You are always able to compare yourself to others which can cause pride or lower self esteem depending on the comparison. Satan's plan has always been to use something good but tweak it a little. Satan was thinking, "Oh they will see this as a way to stay in contact but i can use it as a way to tear down people and destroy healthy relationships." Anyways enough of this i just wanted to avoid homework and this seemed like a healthier option than facebook ;)

I'm dreaming....

2010-12-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

"I'm dreaming of a working cellphone, just like the one that used to work. Where i could call my mother, and talk to her longer, to hear what she had to say." (tune of I'm dreaming of a white christmas)

Well last week fiberoptic cable got cut, thus disabling T-Mobile phone towers from working, thus leaving me cell phone less and crazy!!! i know that for thousands of years cell phones, and phones for that matter didn't even exist. but now in this world we live in, where we don't live close to our family and we are on the run constantly, it is hard to not have a single way to contact someone. You feel so alone when you can't have anyway to talk to people. I feel like i need to stay at my computer all the time in case someone tries to get a hold of me or something. Its not like i even use my phone that much, i mean it is primarily just to talk to my mom and my boyfriend and some family members here and there but really it is hard to feel like you can't talk to people that you talk to everyday. I have set habits of when i call my mom during the day and so during those times i fell like i am gonna go crazy cuz my normal habits have been stopped without me wanting to stop them. I also feel like i need to just stay in my apartment because normally everyday after paul is done with class and work, he will call me and come over but the time that he comes over varies so i just wait it out in my apartment because its not like he can call me to tell me he is coming over anymore... ugh this is no fun but hopefully the service will be working soon!!!

Day 30

2010-12-01T06:51:00.000-08:00

A picture of you last year and how you have changed since then....

Here are the only two i could really find of me from last year.

Here are two from this semester

I have changed in a lot of ways i think. I think that i have a more positive outlook on everything and i think that i cherish the little things more, like being able to go to school, last year i was so negative and would complain about every little thing having to do with school. Now i think i buckle down and learn not, just to get a grade but to actually learn and have that knowledge to use! I think that a lot of little things have changed, but i'm definitely the same person i was a year ago, just new and improved! I think that i am definitely a better person than i was last year and i hope i can say the say next year :)

Day 29

2010-12-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

Your favorite memory...

Hum there are tons of good memories i have and the all include my family. All the fabulous vacations with funny things happening, staying at home over a holiday... i don't know what my favorite is but i'm sure grateful for all the memories i have!!!

Day 28

2010-11-27T20:47:00.000-08:00

What do you predict about your future?

I predict that my future will be similar to what my life is now happy (because i choose to be happy) but it will also be just what it should be because that Heavenly Father has things in store for me and I just need to follow his plan

Day 27

2010-11-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

List your goals....

-Get a Bachelor's

-Get a Master's

-Go to the temple and receive my endowments

-Get sealed in the temple

-Have children

-Be married 50+ years

Day 27

2010-11-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

A habit you wish you didn't have....

Nuff Said

Day 25

2010-11-27T20:38:00.001-08:00

First Love....

Hum.... first love or first like??? How about i go with first significant someone in my life!!!

Cameron Morby :)

this was the only photo i had with cameron on my computer even though i'm sure there are plenty more of the two of us.... We dated from October 2007-April 2009 he was a significant memory of my teenage years and this relationship taught me tons!!!

Day 24

2010-11-25T08:57:00.000-08:00

A Picture that makes you happy

Day 23

2010-11-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

Favorite YouTube video

I kind of am forgetful so people will show me youtube videos that i love but i forget them quick sorry... but you are still learning something about me... i'm forgetful as heck!!!

Day 22

2010-11-25T08:51:00.000-08:00

Favorite books,

I don't know books are good, i love to read!!!

I could read all the time if i had time oh wait i do read all the time it is just for school not for pleasure!

I don't know what is my favorite i love romance books and suspenseful, i loved the hunger games series, on and on :)

Day 21

2010-11-25T08:48:00.000-08:00

Favorite TV Show

Dang that is hard because everyone that knows me knows that i love tv and lots of different shows.

I like smallville, the big bang theory, the office, one tree hill, burn notice, psych, covert affairs, etc...

Day 20

2010-11-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

yes i am skipping the friends day... i'm kinda lacking on friends currently so i will just go onto 20 :)

Favorite movie... hum... this is difficult!!! I love movies and chick flicks especially. They just make you happy because they always have to overcome some problem (just like life) and then they get what is best for them. It doesn't mean that life will always be grand but if both are willing to continue to grow their love then everything will be okay. Everything is better when the couple is together even if life sucks...

Okay so here it goes

The Proposal

I watched that movie over and over again when i bought it!!! i love it is so funny and great and clever

The Notebook

I always always love this movie i'd say it is my second favorite for sure. Just a great story but i have to stop watching it once you know they have ended up together at the end because it is just so sad to watch them die

Letters to Juliet

I know it is cheesy and it isn't like the best chick flick but i freaking love the scenery the whole time. I love to see all the places in italy they go it is so amazing!!!

Okay there are like a billion more but i will just stop at three :) these are good little choices

Day 18

2010-11-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

Siblings...

sorry its blurry but i feel like this describes our family when we are all together... laughing happy, johnny and emily causing mischief....

Which one doesn't belong? The whities and the orange :)

The other whitey

Divas don't like getting wet!!!

Day 17

2010-11-17T06:40:00.000-08:00

Parents!!!

I have the BEST parents ever. I am amazed at how much they willingly sacrifice for me. They want me to have as many experiences and opportunities that i can have. They have always done anything they could do for me. I've been in a parenting class this semester at BYU-I and each and everyday i realize something else that they did just right. I hear other people in my class tell stories of their parents and how their parents wouldn't let them do something if it was an extra inconvenience to the mother and the father and my parents would ALWAYS let me do things even though it was always inconvenient to both of my parents. My parents are incredible members of this church. Their testimonies are so powerful and i'm so lucky to have them as an example to me of what I need to be. They are both so intelligent and have such great minds. I always learn things from them and am always shocked at the things that they think and know. I'd be lucky to have half of their knowledge when i'm their age. I love them so much and i am grateful all the things they have done and the things that they continue to do for me today!!! I love you Mom and Dad!!!

Day 16

2010-11-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

Something you look forward to:

I look forward to.... hum... i don't know a lot of things, life is full of wonderful things but i'm pretty content to where i am right now and i'm trying to not wish away my life so for now i just look forward to christmas break!!!

Day 15

2010-11-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

A picture of when you were little:

Here is one of the few i have on my computer, this was my preschool picture. Gotta love the bangs where half were curled under and the other half were curled up

Day 14

2010-11-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

Something or someone you miss:

I love when we are all together, there is no happier time but we can't always be together so its good that i have memories of this but i miss my family always!!

This one picture is to represent my trip to europe, i miss the people the experiences the food the new places the joy everything about my europe trip!

Day 13

2010-11-13T18:19:00.000-08:00

Your Dream house:

I don't want to look for a picture of my dream house because my dream house doesn't involve any of building materials or design, it is the Holy Ghost that resides there, the love that is felt each time you walk through the door, the children running around making noise, the smells coming from the kitchen, the husband walking in after a long day at work happy to see his wife and children, the joy that is there even when their is struggles- these things are what would make a dream house for me :)

Also it wouldn't be horrible if it looked like this

Day 12

2010-11-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

A quote or a thought... I have a hard time with quotes and thoughts but it is okay i found some i like!!!

"For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others."
— Audrey Hepburn

"Happiness is health and a short memory."

-Anonymous

Now some religious ones... here is my favorite one on

"Well, my dear sisters, the gospel is the good news that can free us from guilt. We know that Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It's our faith that he experienced everything-- absolutely everything. Sometimes we don't think through the implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means he knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer--how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student body election. He knows that moment when the brakes locked and the car started to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virginia. He experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced Napalm in Vietnam.. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism. Let me go further. There is nothing you have experienced as a woman that he does not also know and recognize. On a profound level, he understands about the hunger to hold your baby that sustains you through pregnancy. He understands both the physical pain of giving birth and the immense joy. He knows about PMS and cramps and menopause. He understands about rape and infertility and abortion. His last recorded words to his disciples were, "And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20) He understands your mother-pain when your five-year-old leaves for kindergarten, when a bully picks on your fifth-grader, when your daughter calls to say that the new baby has Down's syndrome. He knows your mother rage when a trusted babysitter sexually abuses your two year old, when someone gives your thirteen year old drugs, when someone seduces your seventeen year old. He knows the pain you live with when you come home to a quiet apartment where the only children are visitors, when you hear that your former husband and his new wife were sealed in the temple last week, when your fiftieth wedding anniversary rolls around and your husband has been dead for two years. He knows all that. He's been there. He's been lower than all that. He's not waiting for us to be perfect. Perfect people don't need a Savior. He came to save his people in their imperfections. He is the Lord of the living, and the living make mistakes. He's not embarrassed by us, angry at us, or shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our unhappiness, in our guilt and our grief. You know that people who live above a certain latitude and experience very long winter nights can become depressed and even suicidal, because something in our bodies requires whole spectrum light for a certain number of hours a day. Our spiritual requirement for light is just as desperate and as deep as our physical need for light. Jesus is the light of the world. We know that this world is a dark place sometimes, but we need not walk in darkness. The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and the people who walk in darkness can have a bright companion. We need him, and He is ready to come to us, if we'll open the door and let him."

(Chieko N. Okazaki, Lighten Up, Preface, p. 174.)

And one that goes along with it:

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven”

(Orson F. Whitney cited in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, 1972, p. 98).

Day 11

2010-11-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

Nicknames and why i have them...

Jocey: short for Jocelyn i've had it my whole life

Joce: even shorter for Jocelyn

Bossy Jocey: it rhythms :) and maybe i was bossy when i was little... maybe i still am bossy!

sissy: I know emily uses this to her sons

And now my favorite!

The Wise One: i remember being called this by my family when i was little because i was so so so wise!

day 10

2010-11-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

What do you look for in a guy?

-A little bit of a nerd but not like nerdy just someone who is smart, educated and good in school and laughs at things that only smart, educated people would laugh at.

-Hard working: i have the hardest working dad so i expect a guy to be hard working too

-funny to be around

-easy to laugh

-has quirks

-worthy priesthood holder

Day 9

2010-11-10T21:28:00.000-08:00

Put your ipod on shuffle and write 10 songs that pop up

1. Dierks Bentley-What was i thinking

2. Phil Vassar-I'm alright

3. Diamond Rio-Mirror Mirror

4. Blackhawk-Goodbye says it all

5. Toby Keith-Courtesy of the red white and blue

6. Garth Brooks-Ain't going down till the sun comes up

7. Joe Nichols-I'll wait for you

8. Christ LeDoux- Tougher than the rest

9. Gary Allen-Nothing on but the radio

10. Rascal Flatts-I'm moving on

Day 8

2010-11-10T21:26:00.001-08:00

If you could have any pet, regardless of what it is, what would it be?

i would definitely have to pick a fish, it is super low maintenance and it is a decoration in the room :) and it is cool to watch i mean i can't swim like a fish so it is sooo cool!

Day 7

2010-11-10T21:24:00.000-08:00

Complete the sentence: "I am..."

I am really really tired which is silly because i went to bed at 10 last night and woke up at 6 (that is 8 hours of sleep!!! crazy!!) and then i took a 20 minute nap before my last class and then i took a 1 hour and 45 minute nap after my class... its probably that i have slept waaay to much!

Day 6

2010-11-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

What did you do today?

paul and i went to utah for the weekend so today i woke up and put on some make up. We ate some cereal and went to Provo for the BYU UNLV game. We got to provo and went to his sister's house. we waited around with his sister, her husband, their 5 boys, and his parents before we left for the game. We went to the game where BYU kicked some UNLV trash :) and then went back to his Sister's house. We did who knows what with his family until we came back to Ogden and watched a movie and went to bed.

Day 5

2010-11-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

Something that makes you feel better:

My electric blanket, wearing my banana, a nap, talking to happy people, i don't know lots of stuff.

Day 4

2010-11-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Pet Peeves:

Uh oh i am gonna struggle with this because i can't think of them unless they are happening right then... hum

1. When people just sit and stare at the tv with their mouth open... or basically just when anyone has their mouth open but doesn't need it open

2. The toilet paper not being in the thing the right way (the paper has to come off the top not from underneath if that makes any sense)

3. Leaving time on the microwave

4. Couples depending on my mood... sometimes i want to kill them but other times its nice to just be around their love but mostly i want to kill them :)

5. when the tallest guys go for the super short girls

6. When people have to be right all the time and will argue their point till they are blue in the face, i've gotten used to not letting it bug me as much as it used to cuz i've lived with people who are like this 24/7 but it still bugs me but i've learned to just accept these people

7. When the sheets come untucked from the wall on my twin bed at school

8. how my roommates make the kitchen a mess every second of everyday... i don't even use the kitchen except for when i pour my bowl of cereal in the morning so i am unwilling to clean the pigsty but it drives me nuts how there is a weeks buildup of crap and spilled food and crumbs all over the counter and table. it makes me want to vomit

9. dark hair, the hard part about living with 5 girls and 4 of them having dark brown almost dark hair... i find it everywhere and i clearly know it is not my hair and i even find it in my room which grosses me out

10. getting woken up from a nap and this happens everyday but it is part of life :(

11. oh my goodness i just thought of my biggest pet peeve!!! when people only have a relationship with you for their sake, they only tell their stories and only talk about themselves, they never ask you about what is going on and they only talk to you when they have something they want to tell about... this is soooo annoying and describes like all my "friends"

K this took me like 30 minutes to come up with 10 and they really don't bug me that much!

Day 3

2010-11-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Something you crave a lot:

Candy unless i have gone like 2 weeks without eating it then i'm good and don't think about it.

i do crave pizza 3-5 times a week also and i'm to the point that i don't even care what is on it... as long as it isn't pineapple

Day 2

2010-11-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Name your celebrity crush and 5 things you

would do with them.

I honestly can't think of one that i have 5 things i want to do with but i would love to spend time with Taylor Swift :) I honestly love everything about her: her personality her clothing, her unique face, her curly crazy hair, etc.

5 things i would do with her:

1. Listen to her music

2. Go shopping

3. Take stupid pictures

4. mess around

5. wear red lipstick together

Challenge

2010-11-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Okay so i have this new obsession with blogs for some reason... i don't know facebook bores me so i have been blog stalking people haha :) on one of the newly discovered blogs i read they were doing this 30 day challenge of blogging about a set thing everyday so i thought it would be fun to do it :) so here goes

Day 1

Name 5 things about yourself that nobody really knows...

1. I love getting up and getting moving in the morning but i am the best at spending the day in bed so i have to get up early or i just cuddle down and sleep the day away

2. My favorite thing is a new tube of mascara and i would open one every month if it was practical but it isn't

3. i really don't procrastinate very much when it comes to school except for this one class i'm taking... i struggle doing the work because i get tired of having to lie my way through it so i am currently procrastinating.

4. I have a new obsession with looking at photography but i could never have an eye for it

5. i have bad hair days almost everyday

Reading... People not Books

2010-10-19T22:52:00.000-07:00

For the last few years (or maybe only since i've been up at school... i really don't know how long it has been lol) i've realized how unobservant i am and even if i try to observe people... i don't catch a thing! This makes it difficult when you are dealing with internal, non expressive people like i have dealt with in the last 2 1/2 semesters or so. i have the hardest time reading even the most expressive extroverts. I don't catch what they mean or what they really are feeling which can affect the relationship i have with them. I really need to improve on these things...

Love

2010-10-05T23:49:00.000-07:00

Today i have been thinking about all the things i love...

1. when people read while walking

2. a song that you can listen to over and over again and not understand why you even like it

3. sonic ice

4. (a little less love than #3 but still a love) ice

5. candy- starburst tropicals, sour patch kids, skittles crazy cores, gummy worms (troli squiggles), gummy bears (Harbo)

6. hand sanitizer

7. electric blankets

8. silky blankies

9. my pitt med tee shirt

10. when people blog about their thoughts not just their activities

11. when i learn something about someone that i didn't know before

12. when you know you helped someone out-whether they tell you or not-

13. fields

14. banana cream pie shake from sammy's

15. organizing things (my candy by color, my lists by places to go)

16. naps in the grass with the warm sun, on a couch, in a bed

17. waking up and not wanting to go back to sleep

18. singing at the top of your lungs

19. coke or any other dark soda, it can be diet even

20. nerds :)

21. perfect nails

22. a new nail polish

23. not only when you are early (i'm early for everything) but when you are earlier than you even planned on being

24. sandwiches

25. Conference

26. yellowstone

27. europe

28. babies crying

29. when a guy runs with his shirt off but really should be wearing a shirt

30. the rexburg temple

31. when you can sit comfortably with someone without talking

32. dreaming and remembering it

33. when you dream about someone over and over again even if they are the last person you want in your dreams

34. when someone hates you because of a stupid assumption

35. when people change and they are no where near the person you knew before

36. when people open up-about anything even if it is mundane or a pointless fact

37. when someone really opens up about something they have learned about themself

38. lemon candy, lotion, soap, etc.

39. "another one bites the dust another one bites the dust and another one gone and another one gone another one bites the dust" that song popping in my head every time i hear someone is engaged

40. when you do something stupid

41. bruises

42. curly hair

43. sparkles on anything!

44. color

45. understanding why someone does something

46. good food

47. cereal

48. bread!!!

49. coats

50. pajamas

51. being more comfortable in someone else's house/apartment than you are in your own

52. being wide awake with less than 4 hours of sleep

53. clean clothes

54. gum

I'd keep going but i should sleep :)

Pittsburgh

2010-05-06T16:34:00.001-07:00

So when i finished winter semester, i was able to go directly to Pittsburgh for two weeks :) it was so good after a long semester with lots of drama to have two weeks of play with Paisley, Laurel, and Brady. Now... even though i took my camera almost everywhere we went, i barely took pictures. We went to the zoo and out to dinner and just played at home. it was a really good vacation for me and it was fun to be with them. I slept a lot and played and ate :)

We went to a pirates game and they are lots of fun even though the pirates is a very crappy team... We basically saw the brewers bating practice... i think when we left it was 10 to 0 Brewers.

I got 3 pictures yay!

Here is a picture of Brady, Laurel, Me and Paisley on the very top of the stadium looking down on the field. Paisley was not very interested so Brady went up and entertained her and then Laurel and I went up to be with him.

It was free t-shirt day and we also got free hats!

Picture of Paisley and me!

Paisley was so tired by the end and she just laid on dada's shoulder!

So those were the only pictures of us doing stuff but i got some other cute pictures of us just playing :) she is a doll!

And now my favorite :)

The night before i left, brady was just so upset that i was leaving and he decided to document the sadness...

The first day...

2010-04-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day at home after living on my own since september. Crazy!!!! Life is going to be different.... I can already see myself falling back into old habits that seemed long gone while i was away at school... but what else am i supposed to do... its not like there are thousands of young single adults within a 1/2 mile radius from where i'm at. I am so grateful to be home and i know it is where i'm supposed to be... but i'm kinda anxious to see how it is going to end up. Is it going to look like my last spring/summer because if it is, i need to run away from it as fast as i can. I know that that is always a possibility but i'm hoping that it isn't my reality. I'm praying and hoping for somewhere in between my life in rexburg and my life last spring/summer.

Winter Semester 2010

2010-03-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, my semester is coming to an end. THANK GOODNESS!!!!! I will be done in two weeks from today and boy am i thrilled. Life is a constant roller coaster, or maybe a haunted house would be a better analogy for my life. Things keep popping up and then they disappear from sight. Some things worry me when i look at them for too long and others disturb me. there is a moment of peace and calm just to be interrupted by the most shocking thing imaginable.

Okay so this analogy is a little more dramatic than my life really is but in essence, on the smallest level my life is like a haunted house :)

i'm going home for the summer

i'm getting out of rexburg

everyday i get more and more happy with this decision i have made and i realize that it is good for me.... maybe i will change my mind in a month when i'm home and bored... or maybe i will bask in the calm serenity of north ogden utah

lots has gone on this semester... lots of people in and out of my life.

I found out things i need to know that will hopefully bless my life in the future. I've dealt with situations that i haven't ever dealt with before. i don't know if it has been fun... haha i'm kinda just sick of everything but i am definitely blessed. that is for sure. i know i am one of the most blessed people and i know that things have happened this semester so that i'm ready for the future and Heavenly Father is helping me so that i don't make so ruin my life later on. oh how grateful i am for my loving Heavenly Father and the blessings he constantly poors out upon me.

i don't know what i'm doing in the fall

i recently found out that i am almost done with school!!! i have three more semesters to go and that is so exciting i am quite grateful to know that i am almost done!!!!

i don't know whats quite going on or what will happen but i'm okay with that.

New semester, New apartment

2010-01-17T16:05:00.000-08:00

so this is a new semester for me at BYU-I... this is definitely the worst semester i've had... and it is going to be hard to make it through the next 12 weeks of school... this is what everyday consists of. I go to school at 7:30 and am there until at least 5 oclock at night.... its such a joy... I usually eat lunch at school so that i can get my butt out of the library. from about 6 on when i get home from school i just sit on my butt cuz i'm so mentally exhausted i can't move! i go to bed anywhere from 10:30-12:30... even on weekends. My existence is quite boring and i don't even have enough energy to have fun to cheer myself up at night. oh well... i moved into a new apartment this semester. It is in the same complex but i live with 2 girls from last semester and another girl that we met at the end of the semester. They are all awesome girls and i love them all! I definitely don't know if i'll like my ward as much as last semester. the girls seem better but i don't know about the guys... we'll just have to wait and see.... I don't like any of my classes, i'm taking Book of Mormon twice a week so i have 2 papers due every week and at least 10 chapters to read. Doctrine and Covenants is 3 times a week so i have 3 papers due and at least 15 sections to read every week. I am taking early childhood development with my roommate jenna. It is quite a boring class... I'm taking interpersonal communication and i have to read at least 10 pages of my book every week day. I'm taking preparation for marriage for marriage with the worst teacher ever. He is disorganized and doesn't know what he is doing. My roommate has him for a marriage class and hates him more than i do... it so much fun!!!!! oh the joys of school.... 12 weeks 12 weeks....

MASQUERADE!!!

2009-12-01T13:30:00.001-08:00

The week before halloween there was a masquerade ball at the school. All my roommates wanted to get some of our friends to go! WE had looked for masks that we could decorate but weren't having much luck so someone came up with the idea to make a make up mask. Carly is so amazing at make up so she became our make up artist.

A practice run!

Carly and Katie's friend from home who is going to school at UVU came up for the weekend

Katie and Joe (apt 7 from our ward)

Chris Lybbert (apt 7- he didn't get the memo that it didn't mean dressing up... he was a nerd...)

Us roommates... and Joe...

My friend from class Alex

Judd (apt 7) and Xio who is carly and katie's friend's roommate!

Paul (Lauryn my roommate's brother) and his girl friend Jen from UVU

Judd just got home from his mish... we like to play make Judd feel uncomfortable

Alex, Joe, Me, Judd, Chris, katie

this was a cute couple who made their costumes

idk

Chris, Naya, Carly

Carly, Katie Joe

Alex and Me

Joe and me

Me, Chris, Carly

the roomies

Me and judd

Xio, Me and Naya

roomies

again

we are cute

We had a fun time for sure!

Halloween

2009-11-18T11:37:00.000-08:00

For halloween this year, we had plans to be wind up dolls... but that never happened due to us being super busy and we didn't have time to go get costumes. On friday we ran to Joanne's in IF (Idaho Falls) to get stuff to make tutus out of toule. On halloween day (saturday) we didn't quite know what we were going to do there were lots of parties and stuff going on that we didn't know what to do so we tried to do quite a bit. We went to this girl's party from our ward and we played this game called "who, what, where" and it is like pictionary kinda where you have to incorporate the who what and where in a picture and then you pass your papers around the table and everyone writes down what they think they are and you get points for how many you get right and for if people get yours right. We would have left earlier but there was a really hot guy that we wanted to be around so yeah! After the party we went to the south tower party which is a huge party at shelboure apartment south tower which has 4 apts that are usually party boys.

The sign that greated us

This is inside some boys from our ward's apt. The boys of 21 ryan in back ground. This is our tutus!

Here is the party!

Thanks chris lybbert for taking these pictures of carly jo, me and deidra

another!

another view of party

Me, Chris Lybbert and Carly Jo (he is from our ward in apt. 7)

Our neighbor julieanne who used to hate our guts but is warming up to us. This is Joe Llavina who also lives in apt 7

The group of us! yes i basically glow in every picture...

We saw this boy in a kissing booth costume so Carly just couldn't resist... ha ha this was our first sighting and she just kissed his cheek, the second meeting involved more lip to lip contact... haha gotta love the life of single girls

I wasn't quite as brave on our first meeting cuz i saw how he tried to get carly's lips on the first try... haha so this was our first picture... on the second meeting i looked like carly!

Another picture of our costumes.

Yes we were bored... and we love to take pictures

us girls... poor katie was comforting her married friend so she kinda missed out on our halloween night

another

haha

crazy

yeah crazy

oh my

hot

we are cool

yes we just keep taking them

another

deidra doesn't like her personal space compromised

deidra was freaked out

i accidentally touched her cheek two seconds before this picture was taken.. ha ha

This is Dustin Krall he lives in apt 21 we mainly go to his apt for him and his roommate taylor... ha ha they are our closer friends than the other 4 boys

This is a guy in our ward, his name is Ryan R....(he has a hard last name) he lives in apt. 21

This is Alex Healy... he is one of a friends we met through our friend dustin, we went to denny's with him and have hung out with him a few other times

That was basically our halloween pretty fun!

My poor knees!

2009-09-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

AS i said in the last blog... i went to the ice caves well here are some picture of my bruised knees that kill... they look way worse in person and kill. i can't walk up and down the stairs without almost crying it kills!

one view

one more

the last one

Also today i just want to let you know how productive i've been today. I baked funfetti cookies, boiled 14 potatoes, washed all my dishes and all cooking utensils in the dish washer, did a load of towels in the washer and dryer, cleaned the bathroom up stairs, wiped down all the counters, blogged and now i'm doing homework and helping to finish cooking dinner... and sunday is supposed to be the day of rest!

First Date-ish, Ice Caves

2009-09-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

Yes this is my first weekend up here and i have already gone on a date-ish. Mom met him the first day we were up here as he was passing my apartment. He then came by on the second or third day with chris who had helped me with my computer on the first day. We talked and it was like having brady or johnny around(he's a tease). We saw both chris and joel(my date) again either once or twice again before friday night. We went to the block dance party and hung around with them. Joel asked me for my number and i guess he seemed interested in me (according to the roommates). I had texted Joel about him going to do something with us roommates but it never panned out. Joel asked me to go to the ice caves that night and i said yes. That afternoon we went to Rockland apartments to meet guys and find a hammer... and we watch some football. We then went to Chris' apartment and Joel was there so we were talking to everyone there and Joel asked me if he could pick me up an hour earlier than the group was leaving. We went to Craigo's and got a cookie monster (cookie, ice cream, whip cream, caramel, and chocolate) it was so amazing we then went and picked up Carly Jo, Deidra, and Lauryn and went up to the ice caves! It was so much fun although i am super bruised. You go through all this ice and stuff it was lots of fun and wet! i was so soaked! we then went out and built a huge fire! It was so warm and we stood forever in front of the fire trying to dry off even though it was almost impossible. we then drove back... Joel got pulled over for speeding butt my roommates and i were in the car too and luckily he got off or else it would have been a ticket for 25 over... oh dear. We held hands and supposidly he really likes me. He served his mission in Wellington New Zealand... just as Johnny left so that gives you a clue to his age. I had so much fun and i think it was fun and who knows i may have a good guy friend now.

First Friday Night!

2009-09-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

After class yesterday i went to lunch with my lovely sister emily and she hung around my apartment for a while. Then once she left we went to walmart real quick cuz my roommate Carly Jo needed stuff for her dance try out. After that she went to the try out and the rest of us made a list of what we needed at the grocery store for sunday dinner. After we went to the grocery store we went and picked up Deidra from the track where she was working out. WE watched her workout for about 10 more minutes and then Carly JO got done with her try out and we sat there for about 10 more minutes and went home and got ready for the block/dance party with many many apartment complexes.

Left to right, Lauryn, me, Carly JO, Katie, Deidra, Kathleen

This is all of us girls right before we left for the dance!

This dance was definitely not what i expected. You are basically are slammed up close to everyone around you and you cant move at all. It is so hard to move through the crowd and do anything but it was a lot of fun! You jump up and down and dance as much as you can around there and you talk to people. I have 2 guy friends that we have seen a few times and they were at the dance with us for quite a while. Their names are Chris and Joel. They have been by our apartment a few times and we have had some fun with them. My roommates are convinced Joel really likes me but who knows. I'm just happy to be up here and having so much fun already!

Roommates!

2009-09-08T23:29:00.001-07:00

I thought I would tell you a bit about my roommates. So the first one i met was Katie. Her mom and sister were there so we didn't get to know each other well until the second day. Katie went to byu-i last year so she know quite a bit about the school. She is super sweet and fun. Her personality really jumps out after you get to know her. i think i will have a blast with her and her good friend from home Carly Jo.

Carly has the best personality and is darling.... the boys and girls definitely constantly surround her and chase her... so hopefully i can take her rejects. She is easy to get to know and i think i will be close to her and Katie. Carly Jo also went up here last year. Both Carly and Katie are from california and grew up together. Both are 19.

Deidra(18) is a cute freshman from Texas. I think i will get close to her also!!! She is fun and will be in the same boat as me coming up here and not knowing anyone. She shares a bathroom with me and Lauryn.

Lauryn is 19 and this is her second year up here. She was raised in hong kong but more recently lived in singapore and India. Her family lives all over the world... but not in the United states! she is well traveled and has lots of interesting stories. With each word she says she has a completely different accent and when her RM brother is by they both feed on each other's accents and it is quite funny!

My last roommate is Kathleen. She is 24 and is quite quiet. I haven't heard much about her but she seems really nice!

I think that i will have tons of fun with everyone and i can tell already that i'm lucky! I have the most credits and yet i am either the youngest or second youngest. Kinda funny! I am so blessed today to get to know my roommates and get close to them i hope that the people just keep flowing around me and i will be able to get to know guys too!

My college life thus far!

2009-09-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

here is my packed car!

moving in here is all my stuff!

bed with my shoes under it!

my wall with bookshelf and dresser

Italy Part 1

2009-08-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

after dinner on the last night in rome, i went off with rob and kyle. Rob took us to the spanish steps, trevi fountain, coliseum, roman forum, the wedding cake. we wandered around rome for a few hours before they would let me pull out a map and take us to the hotel. I had a close call where i almost fell onto the side walk trying to step over a 4 inch fence... i guess i'm still a clutz even in italy. Rob told me he wasn't going to take me anywhere after that because he didn't want to have to be saving my life if i fell into the road ha ha Also we went to the artist plaza where all the artists display their artwork. I was having a difficult time not buying a painting due to the fact that there were a million gorgeous paintings of ballerinas.

we would walk so much that before you got out of bed in the morning your feet were already aching and there was no stopping the pain! so here is a picture of my swollen feet

after the spanish steps and trevi fountain we went to the "bone temple". There are about 6 rooms and someone took the bones of 4,000 monks and made designs like this it was super creepy and yet oddly neat! after the bone temple i lead raechel and kali and carly home! my favorite part of my trip was when i was able to be in control like that and be the leader so i safely and quickly got us home (the rest of the group took the metro and we beat them to the hotel go me and my directional skills!)

The spanish steps, every famous site in rome is basically within walking distance (20 minutes) We walked from the colessium to the forum. and from the Parthenon to the spanish steps to the trevi fountain and so on and so on. I didn't take a picture but right in front of the spanish steps is a fountain and you can drink out of it and it was cold and yummy!

me with the sun light!

This is the dome with the hole in the top amazing huh! The designer was brilliant and made the floor slope just enough so that the water would head towards the drains whenever it rained, plus that was an easy way to clean ;)

Here is the Greek Parthenon in Rome. It has an incredible dome.

There is a story with this picture which is why i put it. About 2 minutes after i took this, there was a person walking towards us, my friend turned to our leader and ask if that guy was wearing pants and my group leader said i can't tell but it sure looks like he isn't. as the "guy" got close we realized he had boobs, a buzzed head and a bright pink shirt on, meaning it was a woman. She was insane and had no pants nor underwear on and was chuckling wildly. My group leader said well at least she is so fat that we can't see anything! oh my heck it was so gross and we learned that day that italy doesn't lock up their insane which i would learn twice more in italy!

This is where the Pope speaks every Wednesday!

me in front of peter's grave it is so high up in the sky its crazy. You can see those letters just at the top of the black grave covering, those are 6 feet tall each crazy!

Me touching peter's toe, i don't remember the significance but everyone from around the world touches it.

La Pieta, a famous sculpture by Michelangelo.

There are incredible ceilings everywhere! This was on our way to the Sistine Chapel

This is a blind guy in my group. He was able to touch lots of stuff. This is in the Vatican!

The entrance to Vatican City, yes that is where the Pope is!

Ah Pretty! Rome was amazing you would see tons of fountains and suprisingly you could drink out of a lot of them. There is one in front of the spanish steps that you lean over and drink out of. There is also this intersection that has a fountain on each corner that you just drink out of it so much fun. Also in italy all over there are this little things that are about 2 feet tall and they have a little spout pointing down and if you stick your finger in the spout water will spurt up so you can drink out of it it is awesome your never thirsty.

Can you say trevi fountain wish!

The "chains" of peter in rome

This is the famous Moses by Michelangelo In peter in chains cathedral

This is the Roman forum which is the old underground rome, underneath there are two more layers of old rome! It was such a hot day and we were all exhausted!

This is the inside of the coliseum cool huh! I got my hat at a street market earlier that day and

it was so funny because everyone would call me barbina (barbie) they loved to just yell and yell barbina at me!

See the coliseum

I love streets in europe the buildings are just gorgeous!

This is the palace of the first king of united italy, trying saying that 5x fast. (also called the wedding cake)By the way i had to pass this place 5 times in 3 days. I was Rome'd-out

Me and the Coliseum the 1st time of 4

See these lemons they were huge, bigger than softballs but smaller than a bowling ball crazy!

This was outside of Pompeii you can't tell in this picture but dang those lemons were bigger than softballs

Pompeii was a very wicked city, there were over 25 whore houses and tons of bars. Here is a bed from one of the whore houses, looks comfy huh! you can't see it in this picture but at the top of the wall there is a 1 ft high opening before the ceiling, which means lack of privacy

There is a chariot rut in the road!

This is a cast of a person in the ruins. You can see how scared the person is as it is covered in ash and lava! There were tons of casts of people and there was even a dog and a pregnant lady so sad!

This is what we saw of pompeii as we were leaving. Look at those gorgeous ruins!

You can see mount Vesuvius in the Background

The first 7-11 They would serve drinks and soup in those little pots. Look at the gorgeous tile work. You would never have thought that that had ash covering it!

This was a painted watch dog

This is the city of pompeii you can't find any ash and everything was quite preserved

We were being Gladiators

I had to show my muscles

This is the Coliseum of Pompeii. The city of Pompeii was a city that was covered in ash when mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.

beautiful morning light. Okay traumatic story. We were going to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to go on a walk because we had less than 24 hours in Sorrento and loved it so much but after setting 4 alarm clocks none, not one went off i was so up set because there was supposidly this underground castle and all this cool stuff so here is a picture i got from one of my friends. I love all the ancient alleys all over europe.

also the sunset

The sun set on the coast ah takes my breath away

Me leaving Sorrento i about cried. This was my favorite place by far on the whole trip, it was were we really were experiencing in the culture and got a real feel for how people lived.

On the weekends, the town just shuts down and everyone goes on a "pasa jiata" Everyone tries to dress well and then they just go walking it is quite cool you see every age from new born to and inch from death. This was the first time i had gelato. I hung out with Raechel and Kali and Rob and we all shared 4 different ones. We had a blackberry cream, a citrus, kiwi, and coconut. To find the best gelato you look for a place where locals are or where you see that they make their own. Every day fruit shipments arrive and the people make the gelato in the back room quite cool!

This was what would be known as the "alcohol" cake. After dinner the men came out with our dessert this cake. We were all excited cuz it said welcome to Sorrento and it was quite cool. I was on the table that got our dessert first. We all took a bite and either it tasted of quite strong lemon or that was the burn of alcohol. We asked our group director to taste it because we were all making a huge deal about it cuz none of us had ever tasted alcohol. He thought it was but wasn't sure. I turned to my drinky friend and asked him if he thought it was, he said oh yeah. That is when the word spread that it was alcohol cake and you just heard the clatter of silverware. All except for one kid who was socially unaware who had all ready snarfed his piece in a minute flat. He hung his head in his hands and said that he would never be able to go on a mission after eating that cake and he had just broken the word of wisdom. a lady replied "one tablespoon of alcohol won't keep you out of heaven" Which became one of our favorite phrases of the trip! You may be wondering how it didn't just cook out of the cake well the white cardboard that it was placed on was doused in lemon cello before placing the cake on it so the cake absorbed the alcohol.

My view from my hotel room in Sorrento. Those vineyards are all citrus and they were lemons and they were huge!

This was the gorgeous view going into Sorrento in Naples valley

Ah Heaven!

This is a little Truly town called Alberobello. It is on the east coast of italy. Truly's are usually alone in fields but this is a town of them. There are row upon rows of them and you just go inside them and they sell local made items.

As you can see even though i am down hill from them, they are not much taller than me

Greece!

2009-08-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

another side!

this was the pretty sunset

after dinner we went up on the top and it was like a wind tunnel so you would put up the jacket over your head and you would jump and would fly back a few feet in the air

those were the gorgeous mountains in Greece

we were friends on the trip. Raechel, Kali, Carly, and me

we went on a night cruise from Greece to Italy. This was just me when we got on the boat

more ancient ruins in corinth!

these were ancient toilets!

Temple in the corinth Ruins

Corinth Acropolis

It was so windy but tons of fun. Right after this picture was taken there were two muggings less than 1 block away and one of them was a guy on a motorcycle who got shoved off and then mugged. I stayed with a guy from that point on in corinth!

Corinth Canal the next day

This was our view from the roof of our hotel

This was looking down on the acropolis

All of the friends, Kali, Carly, Raechel and me!

This is what we could see! Carly, Raechel and Me

For our night walk we went up to the highest hill in Athens. My leader of the group is in his 60's but was in better shape than everyone on the trip. He ran up the 10+ flights of stairs and all the steep roads. It was a long trip up the hill and we were so tired by the time we got to the gondola that takes us all the way up. On top there is a church and a restaurant. When we got there much to our surprise there were 4 missionaries. One was from utah and he spoke 2 languages, another was from sweden and he spoke swedish, english, greek, and german. There was one that was from germany that spoke english greek, german, and dutch, and the last was from denmark and he spoke danish english and greek. Sadly us mormons girls were more interested in the missionaries than the gorgeous view!

the 3rd day we went to this 10+ block alley with tons of stores! Its called la placa and it was amazingly fun and i loved shopping there. There was a hot guy that helped us in this sandal store who was awesome. Its quite surprising but there are a lot of signs in english and most everyone speaks english and well!

As you can see i am super.... super.... SUPER pale. I was walking into the water and this greek guy followed me in and asked me why i was so pale and if i was sick and if i had ever been out in the sun and if i ever go to the beach. he could not understand white!! He was the tannest person i have ever seen in my life and he had to put his arm right up next to mine it was so funny!

Second day in Greece we went to the aegean sea. This beach was pretty and lots of fun.

Raechel, Kali, Me!

when the people do something wrong the soldiers will snap their guns at you. as you can see he snapped his gun and we were running away(my two roommates left to right Raechel and Kali) We later found out that 3 people can't take a picture with them what did they think that 3 girls could beat up a 6 foot tall soldier?

The changing of the guards at that palace in Athens. The guys were over 6 feet tall. They wore a 400 pleat skirt with thick wool tights and their shoes had a huge puff ball on them

me and the view! You would get ice cold water and 10 minutes later the water would be so hot that you thought you would throw it up. The weather was 25 degrees hotter than normal. It was around 115

view from on top

the parthenon, yes scaffolding has to hold up almost every old building in europe!

The amphitheater up on the way to the parthenon

A palace in Athens

Olympic Stadium, my friend ran around the whole thing and was exhausted!

this is the remainder of zeus' temple

All of the buildings were 5-6 stories and they all looked the same.

every apartment was of the same design and those buildings were quite ugly.

Coming into athens white buildings all around. most every tree you saw was an olive tree!

we all thought that athens looked like a mix of utah and southern california

SORRY!!

2009-07-05T23:21:00.000-07:00

All my birthday blogs were scheduled to upload while i was gone but for some reason they didn't so there we go those are all the ones i missed!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY

2009-07-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

My sister emily's birthday is today. She is such a beautiful girl! She is the best mother, wife, sister, friend and member of the church. I am lucky to have her example oh what a good mother does and how to take care of children. she is always so faithful in the church and has been an amazing relief society president these past few years. I am lucky to have such a great sister who loves me. She is so much fun and everyone loves to be around her cuz she can make you laugh! I love my sister and i hope she has a great birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHNNY

2009-06-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

To my favorite brother (you are my only brother) Happy Birthday. I hope the day is going well and that it is better than many of your birthdays have been. I'm sorry for the day the day after i was born and you were stuck in the hospital with another sister who would inevitably look quite like you! Johnny is crazy and fun, a huge sports fanatic, a loving husband and son. Everyday he calls my mom and they are "buddy's" and he cares constantly for her! He is handsome and smart and a blast to be around. One day he will make a wonderful father. He is a wonderful member of the church and i love him so much. I am grateful to have him in my life!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA

2009-06-28T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today is my wonderful grandma's birthday! She is such a beautiful, caring, generous, witty, and so much fun! She is such a good example to me of how to be a terrific mother, grandmother and daughter of God. She is such an amazing temple worker and has shown how much a person should love the temple. I am lucky to have been born on her birthday! She has always been so supportive of what i do and has loved to come to my ballet recitals throughout the years. I have been lucky to have grown up close by her so that i have been able to be with her often! She would always take care of me when my parents were gone and she was always my man hating, crooked finger grammy! I love her so much and i am so grateful for everything she does for me! Happy Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY

2009-05-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some facts about my mom

SHE IS...

A Great Grammy!

The best mom that has ever walked the planet~

The Perfect grandma for every different grandson and granddaughter

So loving to us all

incredibly witty, clever, hilarious!

a cheerleader to everyone constantly

She will go anywhere anytime to be supportive for her whole family, preschool graduation included!

She is so friendly, kind and genuine that she can make friends anywhere she goes... Even on a short flight to Portland!

Gives service constantly!

The Best Grandma!

My Mom is gorgeous!

Here are just a few of her perfect wonderful qualities, i hope she will have the best day ever. She is the best mom in the world and i am so grateful that i was able to have the best mom. I hope that one day i will be able to be half as great as she is, If i get half her greatness i will be near perfect. Love you mom happy birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADY

2009-05-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today is Brady's birthday. He is a crazy, annoying, teaser, fun, and like my other brother. Since he has lived in the house for many years he has beat up on me and tortured me and still i love him! We have a fun relationship that i don't have with anyone else. He says that i am the sister he has never had and he shows it everyday. I think i will miss brady when he is across the country... maybe not ;)!!!

ThE kLuTz

2009-05-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

Okay i don't know how many of you know that i was a ballerina... well you would assume then that i am very graceful and i can control my own two feet. Well that assumption is dead wrong!!! i am a huge klutz! i know that it seems strange to blog about my problems like this but i just felt like the world needed to know that i am the biggest klutz in the whole world. Multiple times in a day i will cry out in pain and will later find bruises and bumps and battle wounds. My mom is severely worries about me and wonders how i carry on a daily life when i have appendages that can't control themselves.

Here is a bruise/gash that i obtained today while i was in my room! It is on my leg and is

quite painful and colorful also!

I don't have pictures but last week i tripped and gave myself rug burns, yesterday i fell off the bed and scraped my toes down the front of an dresser just to name two!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO MY MOMMY!!!

2009-05-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Today is mothers day and i want to pay tribute to the best mom in the world... Mine of course!!! My mom has a big heart full of love for everyone! She is the sweetest, kindest, most giving, generous woman i know!! She is selfless and never does anything for her self. I may not be anything close to a good daughter and she till loves me no matter what. I am blessed to have the mother i have and i am so grateful for her wonderful spirit and beauty that radiates everywhere! She is a stunning lady and i hope that some day i can have half of all her wonderful qualities and that would be enough! I love her with all my heart and i hope she knows it!

Also i want to wish a happy mother's day to my 2 sisters who are mothers, laurel and emily. By watching their wonderful examples i know what a good mother is i hope that i can be as good as they are when i have children!

Happy Birthday Laurel!

2009-05-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Laurel being a wonderful mom, she doesn't even have to try!!!

Pictures of us sisters!!!

Today is my sister Laurel's birthday. She is 23! I love her so much. She is so sweet to me and takes such good care of me. She is always willing to share her experience and opinions with me to help me with anything i need! This part of her is good and bad depending on the situation, but mostly always good!!! We are tv junkies together and enjoy it so much! we spend quite a bit of time together which is nice and i appreciate it greatly! I love having a sister so close and i will be so sad when she moves away!!! She is beautiful, intelligent, funny, a wonderful mom, has a great post pregnancy body ;), and is very sweet! i am so lucky to learn so much from her and she makes me a better person! Happy birthday Larry i love you!

My Personal Stash!

2009-04-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

So here we go... i am lazy!!! i am incapable of walking down the stairs to get food so once i get food it just stays up here on my couch until it is gone and when i say my couch i mean i am basically the only one who even sits on it so therefore i treat it as mine! well anyways i just wanted to post about something and this is what i decided i was going to blog about!

APARTMENTS

2009-03-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

I had a whole week of spring break from school so laurel, mom, Paisley and i jumped in the car and went up to Idaho to look at apartments for when i go to BYU-I. We went to dinner the night we got up to Idaho Falls and we talked to a guy in there. He goes to BYU-I and we asked if he had any suggestions. I had a long researched list of apartments, their phone numbers, and where they are on the map. So we got up to the windy, chilly Rexburg. We went through the list and walked through the multiple apartments and weren't impressed. We went to lunch and decided that after we would go look at the last two on the list, the two that i would end up having to choose between. The two were really nice and had tons of space. In both i would have my own room. Laurel, Johnny, and Brittney lived at one of them when they went to BYU-I and the other one i didn't know much about. I ended up deciding to live in the one that we didn't know much about. The room is bigger with plenty of space. The closet has dividers unlike the other closet that was just rods to hold hangers. The bedrooms are on a different level than the family room and kitchen. The apartment is kinda like a little town house so it is a little more homey. I'm really really excited to go up to BYU-I and am constantly thinking about it and having the apartment makes me even more elated!!!

BYU-IDAHO

2009-02-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

HALLELUJAH I'M IN I'M IN! On tuesday I woke up and like normal i look at email and facebook on my ipod touch. i saw this very special email waiting for me in my mailbox. It said CES which mean church education system which means i got accepted to BYU-I. You have to fill out a questionnaire and then wait 1-3 weeks to see which track you receive. I checked tonight just after i finished homework i thought oh i don't remember the last time i checked. So i look and woo hoo it had changed saying fall/winter semester! this is what i wanted so bad!!! I have been dying to start at BYU-I since i stared college. It is going to be the most amazing experience and so much fun. I love college and the constant social environment will make it that much better! Its going to be hard to leave my mommy and poor mommy she is going to be an empty nester with every single one of her children out of state, so i kinda feel bad for her but still i'm so excited for this experience and mom i'll come and visit you because i love you with all my heart. I'm so excited i just don't even know what else to say! :)

Paisley Jane, Crew, Cannon, & Colton

2009-02-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

This is my little love Paisley Jane. Although she looks terrified usually she adores me!!! I am lucky enough to get her to cuddle with and love with her on a regular basis!!! She is a beauty and so much fun even as a baby.

This is Crew. He has gotten so big lately and i just love him so much. He is an easy smiler, love sweets and candy. When you play with him and let him lean back he will just be happy and keep throwing back his head to try and lean back!

This is wonderful, spunky Cannon (as you can tell from his picture). He is my wii buddy. We love playing mario cart or mario galaxy! He is so fun. He can be either so loving or really fierce, but either way he is awesome.

Here is Colton. As you can see he is cute. He is 10 years and about a month younger than me so he is the one that makes me feel so old every year he advances in school. We have had a lot of time together and we also have so much fun.

I think i am the luckiest girl in the world because i have the most amazing niece and nephews that are going to turn out to all be heart breakers and wonderful people. I can't wait to watch them grow up and for me to learn from them. I love my chance to live with Paisley and in the future i am excited to be able to go to BYU-I and be closer to my 3 love bugs!

Good Old Weber High!!!

2009-02-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

Oh how weird it was. Today i was running errands and just had to go get something from weber High. Its incredible how much of a difference i feel after going to college. I mean before college i felt more mature than everyone in my grade but now i feel physically and emotionally more mature than those people. It is really weird to think that i'm supposed to be going there but no. Life is just so weird to know that if i was a normal senior in high school i would be stuck at weber high with friends (hopefully). Oh how grateful i am for the early college program.

Now the more pressing issue, BYU IDAHO!!! I am dying to find out whether i am in or not, but no i have to wait for ever just to get my acceptance and plus i just want to know my track cuz that will determine what happens in school for me and what happens in the fall. I know that everything will work out the way it is supposed to but still this waiting thing is not my forte! I'm just ready to start my away from home college life even if i am 17 and a mama's girl. I know how great it is going to be the social thing that i need and have never really had in my life. I have always just had a close group of friends whether it was 4 people or one. But up there i will have a constant flow of people whether close to me or not. My roommates, FHE family, ward, classmates. Compared to now, I have family, boyfriend Cameron :), and um... classmates who are too concentrated on getting to class and home to their parents house just like i am.

Well i am lame and nothing is really going on but oh well i know that i just wasted time writing and it none of you want to actually read this but it was my inner most thoughts occurring right now. :) thanks for reading!

I have now wasted 3 hours doing blog stuff!!!

2009-01-29T13:31:00.001-08:00

Wow bad bad sign... sitting with my computer blogging.. for 3 hours!!!

Yes I could be doing much more important things!!!

2009-01-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

So here i am, babysitting my love, Paisley. I should be doing homework due to the fact that I have 2 papers and a test tomorrow but oh well. Although, i don't think my life is fascinating enough for people to actually read about it, I am still making a blog which I hope will please my mommy. I thought that if I wait till I'm at BYU-Idaho in the fall that I will be way to busy having fun and doing school to actually create one. So anyways here is my new blog. If something worth writing about comes along, I will put it in here for everyone to read.