Me And My Chacos

Quotes and Scriptures About Love

2011-12-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

Last week I taught Gospel Doctrine andthe lesson was on love. I gathered a lot of quotes and scriptures about love. Iwanted to keep this list, so I guess I'll post it here. :)

God’s Love for Us

Love is what inspired our HeavenlyFather to create our spirits; it is what led our Savior to the Garden ofGethsemane to make Himself a ransom for our sins. Love is the grand motive ofthe plan of salvation; it is the source of happiness, the ever-renewing springof healing, the precious fountain of hope. As we extend our hands and heartstoward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our ownspirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, morepeaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit." –Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "You Are MyHands," Ensign, May 2010, 70, 75

"Greaterlove hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"John 15:13

Butbehold, the Lord hath ^aredeemed my soul from hell; I havebeheld his ^bglory, and I am encircled abouteternally in the ^carms of his ^dlove. 2 Ne 1:15

Greaterlove hath no man than this, John 15:13

Whoshall separate us from the love of Christ, Rom. 8:35

kindlyaffectioned one to another with brotherly love, Rom. 12:10

Eyehath not seen … the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, 1 Cor. 2:9

loveof Christ constraineth us, 2 Cor. 5:14

Godloveth a cheerful giver, 2 Cor. 9:7

Showing Love to God

TheLord has declared in modern revelation, "If your eye be single to myglory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be nodarkness in you" (D&C 88:67). As we look with love to him, as weserve with an eye single to his glory, there will go from us the darkness ofsin, the darkness of selfishness, the darkness of pride. There will come anincreased love for our Eternal Father and for his Beloved Son, our Savior andour Redeemer. There will come a greater sense of service toward ourfellowmen--a little less of thinking of our own selfish pursuits, a little moreof reaching out to others. And in our own individual lives as we seek for loveand marriage, there will be a higher power on whom we can call for help anddirection, a stronger resolution to live more worthy of a choice and wonderfulcompanion with whom we may walk the way of immortality and eternal life. Forthis I humbly pray in behalf of each of you... – Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, Andthe Greatest of These is Love

Lovemakes us instinctively reach out to God and other people. – Jeffrey R. Holland

Loveis the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our dailywalk with life, meaning, and wonder. – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Loveof God

Whenwe truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, theconfusion clears and our priorities align. Our walk as disciples of Christbecomes more joyful. Our lives take on new meaning. Our relationship with ourHeavenly Father becomes more profound. Obedience becomes a joy rather than aburden. – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Goddoes not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!

Forwhat we love determines what we seek.

Whatwe seek determines what we think and do.

Whatwe think and do determines who we are—and who we will become. – PresidentDieter F. Uchtdorf, The Love of God

Bythis we know that we ^alove the ^bchildren of God, when we love God, and keep hiscommandments. 1 John 5:2

yeare my disciples, if ye have love one to another, John 13:35

Ifye love me, keep my commandments, John 14:15

Showing Love to ourFellow Man

“Love is the beginning, themiddle, and the end of the pathway of discipleship. It comforts, counsels,cures, and consoles. It leads us through valleys of darkness and through theveil of death. In the end love leads us to the glory and grandeur of eternallife.” - Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Great Commandment,”Liahona, Nov. 2007, 28

Let us be known as a people wholove God with all our heart, soul, and mind and who love our neighbor asourselves. When we understand and practice these two great commandments in ourfamilies, in our wards and branches, in our nations, and in our daily lives, wewill begin to understand what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus theChrist. - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Love of God,” Ensign,Nov. 2009, 24

"The gospel of Jesus Christis a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth andrefines us into men and women for the eternities. The means of this refinementis our Christlike love. There is no pain it cannot soften, no bitterness itcannot remove, no hatred it cannot alter. The Greek playwright Sophocles wrote:'One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love'(Oedipus at Colonus, in The Oedipus Cycle, trans. Dudley Fitts and RobertFitzgerald [New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1949], 161 62). -Joseph B Wirthlin, "The GreatCommandment," Ensign, Nov. 2007, 30

Iheard a man of prominence say the other day, "I have amended the languageof my prayers. Instead of saying, 'Bless the poor and the sick and the needy,'I now say, 'Father, show me how to help the poor and the sick and the needy,and give me resolution to do so.'" – Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, And theGreatest of These is Love

He drew a circlethat shuts me out--

Heretic, rebel, athing to flout.

But love and I hadthe wit to win:

We drew a circlethat took him in. – Edwin Markham

"It'snot enough to say that we believe and that we love Him; we must be foundpossessed with His kind of love for others at that last day." -Robert J.Whetten

fruitof the Spirit is love, Gal. 5:22

crownof life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him, James 1:12

loveone another with a pure heart, 1 Pet. 1:22

Butwhoso ^akeepeth his word, in him verily isthe love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are ^bin him. 1 Jn. 2:5

Hethat loveth his brother abideth in the light, 1 Jn. 2:10

Beloved,let us ^alove one another: for ^blove is of God; and every one that loveth is ^cborn of God, and knoweth God. 1 Jn. 4:7

Romantic Love

How Do I Love Thee?

By:Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Howdo I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! – and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Onesurely must have known love to write like this, or I add, to understand it. Ithink I understand it. – Elder Boyd K. Packer, Eternal Love

Youngpeople sometimes get the mistaken notion that the religious attitude andspirituality interfere with the experience of love. They assume that therequirements of the Church are interferences and aggravations, which thwart thefull expression of love. Oh, youth if you could know, the requirements of theChurch are the highway TO love, with guardrails securely in place, with guidesigns plainly marked, with help along the way. How foolish is the youth whofeels that the Church is a fence around love to keep him out. How unfortunateto resent counsel and restraints. How fortunate is the young person who followsthe standards of the Church… for he will find a rapture and a joy fulfilled. –Boyd K. Packer, Eternal Love

Romanticlove is not only a part of life, but literally a dominating influence of it. Itis deeply and significantly religious. There is no abundant life without it.Indeed, the highest degree of the celestial kingdom is unobtainable in theabsence of it. – Elder Boyd K. Packer, Eternal Love

"The most cherished andsacred moments of our lives are those filled with the spirit of love. Thegreater the measure of our love, the greater is our joy. In the end, thedevelopment of such love is the true measure of success in life." - JosephB Wirthlin, "The GreatCommandment," Ensign, Nov. 2007, 30

“God the Eternal Father did notgive that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His powerand glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile Hisname. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent ofour acceptance, approval, or admiration. No, God does not need us to loveHim. But oh, how we need to love God!” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Love of God,” Ensign,Nov. 2009, 21-22

Love is the definingcharacteristic of a disciple of Christ." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God,"Ensign, Nov. 2009, 22

Ofcourse such Christlike staying power in romance and marriage requires more thanany of us really have. It requires something more, an endowment from heaven. –Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Youwant capability, safety, and security in dating and romance, in married lifeand eternity? Be a true disciple of Jesus. Be a genuine, committed,word-and-deed Latter-day Saint. Believe that your faith has everything to do with your romance,because it does. You separate dating from discipleship at your peril. Or, tophrase that more positively, Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, is the onlylamp by which you can successfully see the path of love and happiness for you and for your sweetheart. – Elder JeffreyR. Holland

Icould wish nothing better for each of you, my dear young friends, thanlove--the companionship of one dearer than any friend; someone to bedeliriously excited over and to be happy with; someone to stir within you thevery best that is there; someone to grow more appreciative of, more tender toward,more grateful for, more a part of as one year becomes another and life movestoward eternity. May the Lord answer your prayers with love, the kind that willalways express itself in concern not for self but for your beloved companion. –Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, And the Greatest of These is Love

Love,however, is not an investment; it is an adventure. - Pearl Buck

"Atthe end of the day we're just absolutely, madly, wildly, deliriously in lovewith each other!" – Elder Holland, Conversations, Mormon Channel

WhenJoseph went to Bethlehem
I think he took great care
To place his tools and close his shop
And leave no shavings there.
He urged the donkey forward,
Then, with Mary on its back,
And carried bread and goat cheese
In a little linen sack.

I think there at the busy inn
That he was meek and mild
And awed to be the guardian
Of Mary's sacred Child.
Perhaps all through the chilly hours
He smoothed the swaddling bands,
And Jesus felt the quiet strength of
Joseph's gentle hands.

And close beside the manger bed
He dimmed the lantern's light,
And held the little Jesus close upon
That holy night.

Forthe joy of human love. – Hymns, 92

Purelove is an incomparable, potent power for good. Righteous love is thefoundation of a successful marriage. – Richard G. Scott

Allthings are possible to the Lord, and He keeps the promises He inspires Hisprophets to declare. Eternity is a long time. Have faith in those promises andlive to be worthy of them so that in His time the Lord can make them come truein your life. With certainty, you will receive every promised blessing forwhich you are worthy. – Richard G. Scott

Iknow what it is to love a daughter of Father in Heaven who with grace anddevotion lived the full feminine splendor of her righteous womanhood. – RichardG. Scott

OurHeavenly Father’s plan contains the ultimate expressions of true love. All thatwe hold dear—even our families, our friends, our joy, our knowledge, ourtestimonies—would vanish were it not for our Father and His Son, the Lord JesusChrist. … The world has witnessed no greater gift, nor has it known morelasting love. – President Thomas S. Monson (Ensign, May 1993, 62–63).

Love is not blind;that is the last thing that it is. Love is bound; and the more it is bound theless it is blind. -G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Itestify to you with all my heart that the commandments of God are designed forour ultimate happiness, and that being sweethearts in the way the Lord intendedit is worth waiting for… – Bruce C. Hafen

‎"Loveis the emblem of eternity: it confounds all notion of time: effaces all memoryof a beginning, all fear of an end." - Germaine De Stael

Since“God is love,”the closer we approach Him, the more profoundly weexperience love. – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Love of God

Ifno one loved, the sun would go out. – Victor Hugo

Loveis the foolishness of men, and the wisdom of God. – Victor Hugo

Tolove another person is to see the face of God. – Victor Hugo

Ihope that I will never be so aware of "reality" that I amunresponsive to the whisperings of heaven. – Bruce C. Hafen

Sincethe beginning of time, love has been the source of both the highest bliss andthe heaviest burdens. At the heart of misery from the days of Adam until today,you will find the love of wrong things. And at the heart of joy, you will findthe love of good things. – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Love of God

A Few (OK a lot of) Pics

2011-12-01T13:44:00.001-07:00

Last month, me and the folks went and had a good time in Europe.

We walked around Holland. Lovely.

Saw the temple. Perfect.

Flew to Vienna, hung out with Rebec.

Ate strudel. Yum.

Walked through some gorgeous gardens.

Hung out with my cousin Natalie and her cute boy Ezra.

Natalie and Keith were the perfect hosts.

Ezra was definitely a highlight of the trip!

Went to Budapest.

Fell in love with Budapest.

Enjoyed the Christmas lights in Vienna

Rode this giant Ferris wheel.

Ate some delicious Korean food.

Then we came home. :)

Scheduling a Holiday Get-Together with High School Friends

2011-10-06T15:48:00.000-06:00

If there are specific dates when you are going to be in Cache Valley, will you leave a comment below so we can figure out the best time?

Hope to see you soon!

Perfection

2011-10-04T16:57:00.002-06:00

Source: beinglds.blogspot.com via Liana on Pinterest

This is What I've Been Waiting For!

2011-09-23T10:27:00.000-06:00

Sesame Street has made all my dreams come true! A G-rated version of Glee - YESS!!

A Weekend of Spiritual Splendor!

2011-08-25T21:48:00.001-06:00

Elder Bednar was in Logan this last weekend and took time to meet with the young single adults. We all gathered anxiously in the Logan Tabernacle to hear from an Apostle of the Lord.

We first heard beautiful testimonies from Elder and Sister Yamashita from Japan. Sister Yamashita has only been in the United States for two weeks and wasn't very comfortable with the English language, but she didn't need to speak my language in order for me to understand her testimony. She loved the Lord and is eager to share it with all she meets.

As Elder Bednar stood at the pulpit, the Spirit bore strong witness to me that this is a man called of God. And that the work he is doing is pleasing to our Heavenly Father. It was such a privilege to attend a meeting where he was speaking.

The entire evening was devoted to answering our questions. The questions asked were excellent but the answers were astounding. Following is a brief summary of the answers he shared with the young single adults.

The first question was regarding relationships. The sister asked Elder and Sister Bednar what they did to increase their communication and understanding with each other.

Elder Bednar said, "Stop trying to understand each other. It's impossible." He went on to share that he understands Sister Bednar have been married for over 35 years and he understands her less now than he ever did before and that's what makes marriage an adventure. He followed this statement by saying that not understanding each other is part of the way we were designed. We're male and female for specific reasons and we shouldn't try to make our partner more like ourselves. Boy Spirits and Girl Spirits are compliments not parallels.

Sister Bednar then said that as women, we should look to the past to learn about our gender roles. It's important for us to be feminine and to take on the responsibilities that our mothers and grandmothers took on. Making dinner, ironing clothes, doing laundry. These are our responsibilities and we should feel that they should be equally divided between husband and wife.

Another question that was asked during the evening was in regards to our agency. This was a highlight for me. Elder Bednar allowed us to text in our questions and then he'd pick and choose which to answer. One that he chose asked, "If we have our agency, why does the church have so many rules?"

Elder Bednar then said, "Are you ready to hear an answer that you won't want to hear?" He proceeded to discuss Moses 7: 32-33

32. The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own ^ahands, and I gave unto them their ^bknowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his ^cagency;

33. And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should ^alove one another, and that they should choose me, their Father...

He proceeded to discuss this idea that once we are baptized, we surrender our agency to the will of the Lord. We are no longer agents for ourselves, we are agents for Him and can only work within the boundaries He has set. We don't have the power to disobey.

He shared a couple of examples. When students sign the honor code for BYU or BYU-I, they no longer have the choice of whether or not they abide by the honor code. They used their agency already.

Along the same lines, Sister Bednar shared the example of marriage. When a person decides to marry, s/he used his/her agency to be married and now that choice is taken away. They are bound in a married covenant.

Elder Bednar says the only choice from here on out is to honor our covenants or to break them. He also invited us to study about what happens to covenant breakers. He said to only do this if you have a night where you don't want to sleep.

Another question that was asked was in regards to how to build unity in our wards. Once again, I found Elder Bednar's answer quite stunning. He said that unity isn't the product, it is the process to get to something else.

To illustrate his example, he had us turn to 1 Nephi 7. In this chapter is the story of when Nephi's brothers bound him while they were on the boat. He then focused on these verses:

21 And it came to pass that I did frankly ^aforgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord their God for ^bforgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And after they had done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father.

22 And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our father. And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give ^athanks unto the Lord their God; and they did offer ^bsacrifice and burnt offerings unto him.

He pointed out that in verse 22, everyone is giving thanks unto the Lord by offering sacrifices - this is unity. He then said, chapter 8 in 1 Nephi is the vision of the tree of life. The reason we want unity in our wards and auxiliaries is so that we can receive revelation.

Such beautiful doctrine.

Another person asked Elder Bednar what we could do to strengthen our relationship with the Lord. Elder Bednar responded by sharing that the Lord is interested in "the ones." When we are serving individuals, we are being more like our Savior. He then taught us that the Savior always turned outwardly in His most difficult circumstances. When we are going through difficult times, we need to resist the temptation to turn inwardly and focus on those around us.

He proceeded to discuss that there is an enabling power of the Atonement that allows us to be better than we are. I have always thought about that enabling power and what I can do to better apply it into my life. My cousin pointed me to another talk given by Elder Bednar entitled "In the Strength of the Lord." In this talk he discusses when we refer to grace, we are talking of the enabling power of the Atonement.

After he had spent the whole evening answering perfectly the questions on our minds, he then concluded by saying that we do not need Apostles in order to have our questions answered. Each of us who have scriptures have the answers with us. We need to pray and ponder and read and we will receive answers to our questions.

Everything that Elder Bednar said that evening is still resonating with me. All who were in attendance felt inspired, uplifted, and walked away with a greater resolve to live better. What a blessing it is to live in a time when we have living Prophets on the earth.

Thank You Alma

2011-06-01T22:51:00.001-06:00

Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good

because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must know that the seed is good

It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good

But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.

Alma 32: 32-43

In Need of More Charming Books

2011-05-13T10:37:00.002-06:00

I am on a quest to find all the charming books there are in the world. So far my list includes:
1. 84 Charing Cross Road
2. Cheaper by the Dozen
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

And I need more! Any suggestions????

On a Lighter Note

2011-05-02T11:43:00.000-06:00

My last two blog posts have been quite serious in nature. So... on a much lighter note, I would like to introduce you to my new favorite TV show!

By the end of this week I will have watched all five seasons. Maybe the Instant Netflix isn't a good thing for me to have! Oh well...

I am going to miss things like this:

Aren't they just the cutest couple!?!

For those who have never watch an episode of the Dick Van Dyke show, here's a really great summary of what you're missing:

Sigh - good times, good times.

Topical Scripture Study

2011-04-27T10:17:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, I sent an email to several friends asking suggestions about how to study the scriptures topically. I have always struggled with this. Typically when I had resolved to study my scriptures topically, I would open my topical guide and read through the passages referenced. It is wonderful to have the topical guide as a resource, but I felt like I was approaching each subject very passively.

I am lucky to be friends with some very wise people and following are some of the suggestions they gave for topical scripture study:

1. Most importantly, you should continually be asking yourself questions. Questions such as,

"I wonder what that means?"
"That's really interesting what else do the scriptures say about _______________?"
"What was the war in heaven like? Who were the key players? What was likely my role in the war in heaven?"
"What are favorite topics for Book of Mormon (and modern day) Prophets? Why do I think this is?"

2. As opposed to always going to the topical guide, type in a word at LDS.org. A topic like: Atonement. From here, review talks given by Prophets and Apostles, in these talks several scripture references will be given. Study those references and then read the entire chapter to gain context.

3. Use the institute student manuals to help gain depth with scriptures. These books have great quotes and references that help with clarification.

4. Ask a few other people to study a topic with you. This way to can refer questions to each other and discuss ideas. Likely during discussions, other questions will come up and lead to further investigation of the topic.

5. Keep a filing system. You'll end up loving your filing system! To put together a filing system, get some file folders and label them with different topics. From here, put your note pages from your scripture study in the folder, as well as any things you find/read out of books and movies. It's amazing how, when you read out of the best books, they will compliment scripture ideas. Note that this can also be done completely electronically.

Thank you to my dear friends for helping me with my topical scripture study. I will let you know that my study has been enhanced since these suggestions. Please share other ideas you have along with these listed!!

A Very LDS Perspective of the Jehovah's Witnesses

2011-04-21T16:05:00.004-06:00

I have always wanted to attend a Jehovah's Witness meeting. For some reason, their religion has always been so mysterious to me. Last week we had a pamphlet in our door inviting us to The Lord's Evening Meal. This event takes place the Sunday before Easter commemorating Christ's introduction of the emblems. My roommate Amy and I got extremely excited at the idea of attending their services.

When we walked into the meeting house, Amy and I were greeted so warmly by a girl named Megan. Megan found us some seats as well as a Bible. The next hour was spent singing hymns, praying, and listening to a talk from a member of the congregation.

After the meeting was over, Megan found us and asked if we had any questions. Mandy, another member of the congregation, came over and talked with us as well. We informed them that we had a lot of questions and would love to get them answered. Sadly, we had to leave quickly after the meeting, but we scheduled a time to get together again.

Mandy and Megan came over later in the week and answered all of our questions beautifully. I informed them as they walked in that I had often asked questions about their religion but never directed those questions to a Witness.

For the next two hours, Amy, Skye, and I asked question after question. Following is a summary of the information we learned about Jehovah's Witnesses.

In the late 1800's in Pennsylvania a group of Bible study students were trying to figure out how so many religions could have the same text but different interpretations. So this group of students started a more thorough review of the Bible and several different translations and that's how the Jehovah's Witnesses began.

One major distinction of Jehovah's Witnesses is that when they use the name Jehovah, they are referring to God. They are God's witnesses. This was something I didn't realize before.

Often times we hear about the 144,000 in relation to the Jehovah's Witnesses. I had the idea that only 144,000 will be saved, but apparently I was wrong. The 144,000 refers only to those who will be the governing body. As a Latter Day Saint, we are so familiar with the idea that the most righteous will dwell with God. And for a lot of us, that is our greatest desire. I assumed it was the same with this 144,000. These women explained that the plan is for the righteous to inherit the earth and that those 144,000 will dwell God as a governing body. Just as we have representatives in Washington DC, the 144,000 will act as representatives for us with God. I asked if there was any 'holy envy' towards those who were called as the 144,000 and they mentioned that there wasn't any at all.

Jehovah's Witnesses do abstain from voting as well as joining the military. They also don't accept blood transfusions. They have strict laws on how we should treat our bodies, very similar to those moral codes a Latter Day Saint lives by.

This religion does have a governing body of people who publish their "Watch Tower" magazines and other publications. The church is completely run by donations. Members are asked to donate a lot of their time. Megan, for example, donates 20 hours per week to knocking doors. And even little children will go out with their families to spread the good news. Members will also donate their time and talents to building their meeting houses. That is one reason they don't generally have windows on their meeting houses, to save on costs and lower the likelihood of vandalism.

Another thing we found interesting was their idea of the after life. Unlike Latter Day Saints, they don't believe we existed before this earth. However, they do believe in an afterlife. After we die, we sleep until the resurrection when God will call us from the grave. There will be time for people to accept or reject the teachings of the church. If accepted, they will be numbered among those who will dwell forever on earth. And if one does not accept it, they will continue to sleep. From my understanding, they don't believe that our spirits will exist without our bodies.

There were several other topics discussed, but this is about as brief as I could make this fascinating conversation. I was excited to discuss these ideas directly with a Jehovah's Witness and am grateful to Megan and Mandy for taking the time to teach us!

Book Lists

2011-03-15T16:43:00.003-06:00

I love book lists. This is one from the BBC. I just want to see how many I have read.
** Denotes that I've read them.
The underlined titles, I would recommend.
Italics means I'm planning on reading it.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen **
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien **
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte ** Bronte is too depressing for me.
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling **
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee ** Love, love, love
6 The Bible **
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell ** I think about this book at least once a week!
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens I know the story, but haven't been able to make it through the book
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott **
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy I'll just watch the movie :)
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare - ** read some, but not others...
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien **
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ** Blech...
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell ** Halfway through
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald ** Random book. I hear they're making another movie?
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens Watched the movie - probably as close as I'll get. I loved the movie!
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy I'll watch the Audrey Hepburn movie - haha
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams ** Funny
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck I should probably read this, although I don't really want to
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll I don't really LOVE the movies, but maybe I'll read it someday
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy ** Halfway through - Too sad
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis **
34 Emma - Jane Austen ** I can't decide if I'd recommend it or not. Emma is a frustrating character.
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen **
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe ** Not really sure how this is different than Narnia, but oh well :)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini **
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell ** Halfway through - probably won't finish
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown **
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery **
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy.
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding I should probably read this too.....
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan Is this any good?
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel ** I really loved this book - I still can't figure out why
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen ** Favorite Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth.
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens ** Favorite!!
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold I heard the movie was weird? Thoughts?
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas ** Halfway through - Still don't know how I feel about it
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker **An interesting read
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett ** Just delightful
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens ** I'd recommend having Tim Curry read it to you :)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White **
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl **
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo ** Basically cried the whole way through

Other books that I'd say are must reads are:
1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
2. 84 Charing Cross Road
3. The Nazi Officer's Wife
4. The Giver
5. Mere Christianity

What books would you add to this list? Which ones should I read that I haven't read?

Saying Goodbye

2011-03-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

I'm about to close another chapter of my life. I always feel

a little nostalgic when things come to an end, and this is no different.

I have one episode left and then I say goodbye.

Thank you instant Netflix for providing with me for entertainment for

hours and hours and hours and hours and hours....

Celebrating Small Things

2011-03-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have been putting off this post for awhile because it's slightly embarrassing, yet, it has been one of the most exciting moments of my life thus far (and no, I'm not joking - haha).

Flexibility has NEVER been my thing. In middle school when the PE teacher was doing those "fitness tests" and I had to sit with my legs straight out and my feet against that silly box and lean forward to see how flexible I was, I couldn't even touch the ruler. That's how bad it was.

If I leaned forward to touch my toes, I could make it to my mid-calf before my ham-strings would start BURNING.

Well, I'm here to say, that after working on it for a year, I can now touch my toes!!!!! YEP. You read that right. "Increasing my flexibility" has now been checked off my to-do list. I feel like now I am a little more normal. :)

What a GLORIOUS Day!!!

2011-02-22T12:13:00.003-07:00

I think Grandpa is now heading up the Cache Valley snow committee, this winter has been FANTASTIC!

The snow was so wonderful yesterday that I am pretty sure I heard squeals of joy while we were skiing the powder.

Favorite Ski Buddies

2011-02-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

Even though I'm not as good as they are, they are nice to let me tag along.

Becca - you should move home... we miss you most when we're at the Beav.

Chacos and Snow Boots

2011-02-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about Utah is that you can wear Chacos and snow boots in the same day.

The Incredibles

2011-01-11T13:20:00.001-07:00

Yep - I love this movie. After watching it the other day, I have been thinking constantly about it and have come to the conclusion that it is a modern day parable.

Each character represents perfectly the family. We have a father that once was a super-hero in the eyes of so many but he became slave to a 9 to 5 job where he is under appreciated. We have a mom who is stretched in every direction trying to keeping things together. The teenage daughter who just wants to be invisible and the youngest son who has ADD.

The super-powers that each family member has would be considered hurdles to a successful family today but to this family, they become strengths. The cleverly named nemesis "Syndrome" tried to stop this family. He says to Mr. Incredible: "Oh, I'm real. Real enough to defeat you! And I did it without your precious gifts, your oh-so-special powers. I'll give them heroics. I'll give them the most spectacular heroics the world has ever seen! And when I'm old and I've had my fun, I'll sell my inventions so that *everyone* can have powers. *Everyone* can be super! And when everyone's super... [chuckles evilly] no one will be."

Near the end of the movie, the characters find themselves trapped by Syndrome.

Bob Parr then expresses sorrow and shame for wishing that time hadn't moved forward and that he would still have the adventures of being a super-hero. He then says something so powerful, "I'm sorry. I've been a lousy father, blind to what I have. So obsessed with being undervalued that I undervalued all of you. So... caught up in the past that I... You are my greatest adventure, and I almost missed it."

It makes me think of a quote by President Hinckley (quoting columnist Sydney Harris), "Love, however, is not an investment; it is an adventure. And when the marriage turns out to be as dull and comfortable as a sound investment, the disgruntled party soon turns elsewhere for adventure."

What a great movie. It makes me just want to run and hug my family as well as making me even more excited to have my own family.

Remember how it ended? With another nemesis... The Underminer. Hmmm... Prop 8??

Just wait until I talk about Finding Nemo and Tangled!! :)

Jesus Once of Humble Birth

2010-12-07T16:31:00.003-07:00

Last week, as you know, we went to Savior of the World. Sigh. It was the perfect start to this wonderful Christmas season. I have seen the play a few times before, but different things stood out to me this year. More specifically the character of Mary and Joseph. Both seemed to be (to quote Elder Maxwell) "willing to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe, rather than pacing up and down within the cell of [their] circumstance."

When Mary was visited by the angel she confidently accepted the challenge placed before her. Just as Nephi, she knew that "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he hath commandeth them."

Imagine what her scripture study would be like after knowing she was going to raise the Son of God! Imagine how she felt as she was reading in the scriptures of a Savior who would come and break the bonds of death. She needed to raise a son who would fulfill the words of ancient prophets. And to this responsibility she said, "Be it unto me according to thy word." She trusted the Lord more than her circumstance.

Robert Mathews once said, "There is no impropriety in believing that Mary and Joseph were selected in those ancient councils by the Father to be the earthly guardians of Jesus. Mary was given the unique privilege and responsibility of bringing the great Jehovah into the world, in which he would obtain a body of flesh and bones, experience mortality, and continue his mission for the redemption of mankind."

They were obviously prepared for their missions.

Joseph stood out to me because of his goodness. I think he is best represented in the words of the charming Primary song:

When Joseph went to Bethlehem
I think he took great care
To place his tools and close his shop
And leave no shavings there.
He urged the donkey forward,
Then, with Mary on its back,
And carried bread and goat cheese
In a little linen sack.

I think there at the busy inn
That he was meek and mild
And awed to be the guardian
Of Mary's sacred Child.
Perhaps all through the chilly hours
He smoothed the swaddling bands,
And Jesus felt the quiet strength of
Joseph's gentle hands.

And close beside the manger bed
He dimmed the lantern's light,
And held the little Jesus close upon
That holy night.

At the conclusion of the play I was filled with such gratitude for Heavenly Father and His perfect plan for His children. Not only is His hand obviously in the lives of Mary and Joseph, but in my own as well. I love going to movies that I know are based on a true story, but I love even more that the story of the Savior's birth is perfectly true.

Jesus once of humble birth,
Now in glory comes to earth;
Once he suffered grief and pain—
Now he comes on earth to reign.

Once a meek and lowly lamb—
Now the Lord, the great I AM;
Once with thieves was crucified—
Now on yonder cloud he rides.

Once he groaned in blood and tears—
Now in glory he appears;
Once rejected by his own—
Now their king he shall become.

Once forsaken, left alone—
Now exalted to a throne;
Once all things he meekly bore—
But he now will bear no more.

Can it PLEASE Be Tomorrow!?

2010-11-29T09:28:00.001-07:00

This will be the events of my evening tomorrow - don't be too jealous. I just wish tomorrow would come more quickly!!!

How Do I Be More Like Sister Beck?

2010-11-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Not long ago I was able to go to Salt Lake City and attend a leadership training hosted by the General Relief Society Presidency. It was an incredible meeting and I learned so much. Upon entering the tabernacle on Temple Square I saw Sister Beck and immediately the Spirit bore witness to me that she was called of God.

One of my favorite things about Sister Beck is how bold she is. She says it like it is. Here's a quote that she gave last year to seminary and institute teachers. The whole talk was wonderful and all about the doctrine of the family. This line stood out to me:

Anti-Christ is antifamily. Any doctrine or principle our youth hear from the world that is antifamily is also anti-Christ. It’s that clear. They need to know that if it’s antifamily, it’s anti-Christ. An anti-Christ is antifamily.

How blessed we are to have a Gospel that provides such clarity for us in such a confusing world. I am so grateful for leaders who are called of God and do not shirk the responsibility of proclaiming the true Gospel.

I Love to See (And Be In) The Temple!

2010-10-21T10:11:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was in the Temple. Sigh. The place I love to be the most. And my dearest friend gave me the following quote and I love it in context of what I learned yesterday while attending the House of the Lord.

"We have discovered that to be fluent in the language of the Spirit one must be fluent in the language of symbolism… Further, no claim is made to be the final word. Symbols are the language of feeling, and as such it is not expected that everyone will perceive them in the same way. Like a beautifully cut diamond, they catch the light and then reflect its splendor in a variety of ways."
-Joseph P McConkie

Text of the Week

2010-10-14T13:35:00.000-06:00

Here is my favorite texting conversation of the week. It gave me a brief insight into a man's brain.

Man Friend: Is 8 pm too late to start tonight?
Me: Hmmm. I don't think so, but what are your thoughts?
Man Friend: My thoughts? .......bacon.....

YAHTZEE!!!!

2010-10-07T16:06:00.005-06:00

My family loves the game Yahtzee. Like many families this game has brought us closer together. I should probably explain, however, that we don't play the traditional game of Yahtzee, we play a hand held electronic version.

You see, when we were little, our parents were concerned that we weren't spending enough time in the restroom to take care of business. So to entice us to stay there, they added a little hand held game that we could play and then return it to the drawer after we were done.

This actually became quite a tradition in the family and it was not unfamiliar to be reading a book on the couch or watching TV and hearing, "YAHTZEE!!!!!" echoing through the house.

If "DOUBLE YAHTZEEEEEEE!!!!" was ever yelled, everyone knew the bar had been raised.

I'll tell you that the biggest disappointment in life is to get a double Yahtzee when no one is home...

Yummmm... Pie

2010-09-24T13:24:00.001-06:00

Peach Pie from scratch. SOOO delish!!

Becca

2010-08-30T15:03:00.001-06:00

This post is entitled Becca because, well, it's going to be all about my little sister Becca.

Last week she moved down to Provo to go to BYU. Sniff sniff. We miss her lots and lots. But mostly mom misses her, but that's another story. I asked Becca how her first day of school was and here is her response:

The good news is

I can study family history.

The bad new is

lots of people had to die for me to do so.

Beautiful Quote on Humility

2010-08-26T10:46:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was reading through my Google Reader and found that Jess McKenna had written something so beautiful, that I can't help but share the thought with you.

She said:

Humility is the quality which gives us confidence in the Lord. Humility is the way that we don't get in the way; it is the way the Lord is able to work through us to complete His will; humility is the greatest attribute of a disciple and the attribute which best allows the Lord to influence and guide our lives to aid in His work and His glory.

Stunning.

Some Thoughts for Such a Time as This

2010-08-08T22:19:00.001-06:00

I just wanted to share a few thoughts that I had been thinking about lately. A few years ago Grandpa Smith asked me to help teach a teacher training in the River Heights ward. The section of scripture that he assigned me to teach was The Book of Enos. It was a touching experience to hear him share his testimony with me of this chapter and it since has become one of my favorites because it reminds me so much of him. The night before he died, I was studying it and saw these verses and found them so touching.

25 And it came to pass that I began to be old, and an hundred and seventy and nine years had passed away from the time that our father Lehi left Jerusalem.

26 And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world.

27 And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen.''

I remember Grandpa bearing his testimony to me that if we cry in mighty prayer to Heavenly Father, we can receive a remission of our sins. Enos says that he learned these things from his father and the words caused him to wrestle before God. I know that he had a testimony of these specific verses as well, that he shall soon "see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansion of my Father."

I was especially touched when Randy mentioned in the blessing that the reason we'll be at peace with Grandpa's passing was because of the testimony he had and the truthfulness of the gospel that he taught us. We are truly blessed to be in the only gospel that teaches eternal families. I am grateful for the covenants that Grandpa and Grandma have made and kept so that our family can be an eternal family.

I know that the plan of salvation truly is the plan of happiness and through the Atonement, we can be with each other again

Jerusalem!? Yes Please!

2010-07-28T11:03:00.003-06:00

The other night my parents sat me and my siblings down and told us that it was time that we each decided to get married. They now have four children within marriageable age and I think it's driving them crazy that we each don't seem that concerned about it.

Until now! Now we're VERY concerned! I'll fill you in.

After getting this speech from my parents about how we need to start getting "anxiously engaged," we said to them, "Put your money where your mouth is." My parents never cease to amaze me, they came up with a carrot that is actually VERY motivating!!

Mom said, "For the first person who gets married in the next year I will pay for a trip for two to Jerusalem."

I want that prize. I want it bad. I've had a VERY strong desire to go to Jerusalem for SO LONG but no one could ever go with me. So I am officially on my quest to find my "Eternal Traveling Companion" and win that trip to Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, I'm certain that this cannot happen unless I draw on the powers of Heaven. So here I am, soliciting your help in any way you might be able to offer it! Fasting, prayers, dating advice... I'll take it all... I have three other competitors that I'm up against, one of which needs to get married to get the job he wants! (Garrett is doing his seminary student teaching this next school year and they told him if he doesn't get married, he's out! hahaha)

Basically the lesson I have learned is to never underestimate the power of people who want grandchildren.

Elder and Sister Holland are My New Heroes!

2010-07-02T12:14:00.000-06:00

I have been listening to a lot of talks lately by Elder and Sister Holland. Last week I downloaded these talks to my iPod and walked to the church and felt my testimony grow as well as my gratitude for the leaders of the church. All of these are favorites, they are not in any particular order. I hope you get a chance to review at least a few of them. :)

1. Cast Not Away Your Confidence by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

2. Some Things We've Learned Together by Elder and Sister Holland

3. Filling the Measure of Your Creation by Sister Patricia Holland

4. A Soul's Center by Sister Patricia Holland

5. Becoming Meek and Lowly in Heart by Sister Patricia Holland

6. How do I Love Thee by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

7. Wrong Roads and Revelation by Matthew Holland

8. The Inconvenient Messiah by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

My Monday Gift to You!

2010-06-07T12:54:00.000-06:00

1. Poll

Update as of Late

2010-05-21T11:57:00.000-06:00

Quick update on my life. Probably the only thing of note is that I deleted my Facebook account. Are you proud!? To be honest, I feel the greatest sense of liberation!

I haven't missed it even once!

I have stopped narrating my life in status updates. I don't care what so-and-so's relationship status might be. I haven't been asked to join Farmville or Mafia wars for over a week! Nor have I "liked" something in that time.

Now, when I want to hear how someone is doing, I am going to call them, not just view their page.

Thanks Facebook for the good times, but I am going to have to say farewell.

The Perfect Gift

2010-01-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

This post is a part two of the previous post I wanted to summarize my feelings of Christmas this last year. I love Christmas time, often people get frustrated that it has become so commercialized that the true meaning of Christmas is lost. I have found that if I keep the true meaning of Christmas in my heart, I see the true meaning all around me and find that it hasn't been lost, it just takes a little more digging to find.

This year I pondered why I love this season so much. I came to the conclusion that the reason this season is so special and wonderful is summarized best in this quote:

“Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish. Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself.” ~Francis C. Farley

It is our true nature to want to celebrate the birth and life of our Savior. We are following our natural impulses and express our true sentiments during the Christmas season. We love Christmas music because it praises the Lord. We love giving gifts because it is our way to typify the gift the Savior has given to all of us.

I just wanted to share with you that I know the Savior is the perfect gift giver. He performed the Atonement, and because of it, we can change, grow, and have the Christmas Spirit in our hearts all year long. I am going to try a little more to "be myself" a little more, and obey my "natural impulse" to want to praise My Savior in 2010.

Merry Christmas. :)

Gift Giving

2009-12-15T15:47:00.002-07:00

I'm gonna say it loud and say it clear, my favorite part of Christmas is thinking of the perfect gift to give someone. I am not perfect at it, but I enjoy it. As I pondered this, and my process of selecting gifts, and I realized I had neglected my fun little blog, I decided to merge the two.

Typically on this blog I have just told funny stories, or asked for advice, but now I am actually going to write about what I think, so here goes...

Steps to Gift Giving

1. One thing you need to know is I have most of my gifts selected at least a month or so in advance. If I don't give the perfect gift, it's because I didn't allow myself enough time. Step number one in this process is to start in October. I start buying in October as well. There might be times when you just happen upon the perfect gift, BUY IT! No matter if it is June and their birthday isn't til November. Buy it, keep it in your closet or something.

2. Pick a friend that you want to purchase for, then think if you want a serious gift or a funny gift.

3. Once you have decided if you want it to be funny or serious, think of something you have in common. It could be something you have done together or something funny that you have laughed about over and over again. For example, I stayed at the home of some girls this last April, while we were there we watched a Lifetime movie with David Hasselhoff in it. Therefore, David Hasselhoff became the theme.

4. Once you have identified one of the many things you have in common, select a gift that reminds you of that specific moment. The nice thing is you can just Google the topic or type it in on ebay. Going back to the David Hasselhoff example, I went to ebay and typed in David Hasselhoff to find a pink wall clock with a picture of David and some puppies. BINGO! I bought it and $20 later, the perfect gift was delivered.

Another time I was having a hard time coming up with a gift for a person, we were both obsessed with the TV show LOST, so I went to the LOST website and looked in their shopping cart. I found a Jack action doll that would be a PERFECT gift, the problem was, it was something like $30. I then found it on ebay for $7! WAHOO!

A few things that are always perfect gifts:
1. Snuggie's, particularly leopard print.
2. Clappers - You know, Clap On... Clap Off...
3. Action Figures of your favorite TV characters.
4. Good movies
5. Beatles Monopoly
6. David Hasselhoff anything...
7. Writing a song

The great thing about finding the perfect gift, it really doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I have a friend that I could get her a dozen Golden Corral rolls and it would be the perfect gift... That's like a total of $3. Awesome.

Is there a down side of getting the perfect gift? Yes. Yes there is. The down side is the fact that you might get so excited about the gift, you have to tell someone and the only person that would appreciate it is the person you got it for! Basically what I am saying is everyone knows what I am getting them before they open their gift. Maybe someone should write a blog post titled "How to not tell someone about the perfect gift you got them." I could really use that! :)

New Favorite Websites

2009-11-25T10:58:00.002-07:00

Yep, I have two new favorite websites. I sure hope you enjoy them like I do. :)

mylifeisaverage.com

artofmanliness.com

Thank you Dee, you have changed my life.

You. Are Great!

2009-11-12T08:39:00.002-07:00

So I have a new favorite video. I've watched it like 100 times, and for some reason just can get enough.

Validation

ENJOY!

The Family is of God

2009-11-10T08:55:00.002-07:00

Did you know there is a new Primary Song!? I had no idea until just recently about it. It is BEAUTIFUL! Next time this happens, could those of you who have kids just let me know!! I can't believe I have gone this long without this knowledge. And for those who haven't heard of this new song, here are the words:

Sing with joy

1. Our Father has a family. It’s me!
It’s you, all others too: we are His children.
He sent each one of us to earth, through birth,
To live and learn here in fam’lies.

2. A father’s place is to preside, provide,
To love and teach the gospel to his children.
A father leads in fam’ly prayer to share
Their love for Father in Heaven.

3. A mother’s purpose is to care, prepare,
To nurture and to strengthen all her children.
She teaches children to obey, to pray,
To love and serve in the fam’ly.

4. I’ll love and serve my family and be
A good example to each fam’ly member.
And when I am a mom or dad, so glad,
I’ll help my fam’ly remember:

[Chorus]
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.

Words and music: Matthew Neeley

A Day to Celebrate

2009-10-16T15:10:00.003-06:00

Today is Boss Day. It is a day that we need to celebrate. In order to gain an appreciation of this day, you will need to read the following blog.

http://deeaura.blogspot.com/

Thank you Dee for your careful time and consideration on all things BOSS!

Something is Missing in My Life...

2009-10-01T19:53:00.003-06:00

I miss Pushing Daisies. I just wanted everyone to know.

Birthday Birthday!

2009-09-22T12:10:00.002-06:00

Dani and Dave make their first contribution to the music world as a married couple!

Great Perspective!

2009-09-14T08:28:00.003-06:00

Mike Rowe is the creator and host of Discovery Channel's show Dirty Jobs (http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/dirtyjobs/bio/bio.html). This is a letter that a dad wrote to ask Mike if he would encourage his son to get his Eagle Scout award, Mike's response is astounding!

Mike,

I'm not sure where I heard that you are an Eagle Scout, which brings me to my question. Could you PLEASE take a moment & post to my 13 year old son Kelby & encourage him to finish scouting (& anything else that'll help with this?) Reason I'm asking is that he only lacks 1 1/2 - 2 years in reaching Eagle, but some of his buddies have got him to thinking scouting isn't cool at his age.

Thanks much,

Gary

Kelby,

Your Dad asked me to drop you a line and say something inspirational that might persuade you to dig down deep and find the determination to make the rank of Eagle Scout. It's a reasonable request, from a father who obviously wants to see his son succeed. But here’s the thing - The Eagle Award is not really meant for people who need to be dragged across the finish line. It’s meant for a select few, and I have no idea if you have the guts to see it through.

Statistically, I suspect you do not. Only one out of a hundred Scouts make Eagle, so if you fail, there will be lots of other people with whom you can share excuses. Quitting now might disappoint your Dad, but I doubt that he or anyone else will be overly surprised. Anytime 99 out of 100 people do the same thing, it’s not exactly a shock.

I’m not trying to be cute with a bunch of reverse psychology. When I was 15, there was nothing that anyone could have said to me that would have inspired me to do something I didn't want to do, especially a stranger with a TV show. So I’m not going to assume you’re any different, or pretend that I have some influence or insight that you haven’t already heard from a dozen other people who actually know and care about you. I’ll just tell you straight up, that doing something extraordinary can be very lonely, and most people simply aren’t cut out for it. Being an Eagle Scout requires you to be different than most everyone around you, and being different is really, really hard. That’s why the award is called “an accomplishment.”

Personally, and for whatever it’s worth, the best decisions I've made in my own life, are those decisions that put me on the outside of being cool. Singing in the Opera, working in home shopping, staring in the school play when the entire football team laughed at me, and especially earning my Eagle, were all choices that required sacrifice, hard work, and delayed gratification. I have no idea if you possess those qualities, or even envy them. But I can tell you for certain, that NOT getting your Eagle, will be one of the easiest things you’ve ever done.

Anyway, I have no idea if you would prefer an easy life of predictability and mediocrity, or if have the passion to follow the road less traveled. Only you get to decide that.

Good Luck,

Mike

PITTSBURGH!!?

2009-09-03T13:03:00.002-06:00

I was coming home from Pittsburgh last night and there was this guy sitting near me that looked so familiar. I kept looking over at him, then pondering, then looking over, then pondering... I finally figured out who it was. It was Jimmy Flinders! I was so excited to have finally figured out who it was. After a few minutes I realized I was humming probably an all too familiar song to him. Sorry Jimmy...

The Most Miserable Amount of Fun....

2009-08-18T20:33:00.003-06:00

Have you ever been so miserable it was almost fun? Well that perfectly describes this last camping trip for me. Sadly I don't have any pictures of the weekend, but I will try to paint a picture with words. (I am happy to report that I was wearing my Chacos on this adventure).

Cut and I were gonna meet up with some friends up at Tony Grove camp ground. We got to a late start so we didn't get there until 10:30 pm. Typically when I have camped at Tony Grove, this is how it goes: we pull up, unload the car, set up the tent, sleep, maybe go for a morning hike, pack up the car, and then leave. Because this had been my experience in the past, I had planned on that being the case for this camping trip.

When we pulled into the parking lot, Cut and I were unsure of where we were to go or what we were to do, so we ended up just driving around and around. In the process of driving around these guys with flashlights started following us. We were kinda creeped out, so we just kept driving, but they were persistent in following us. We finally stopped, but locked the doors and when we were finally able to tell who it was we realized it was a dear friends that we were meeting up with.

The first question that we asked was, "Where do we need to drive?" The reply came that we didn't need to drive anywhere, we were going to hike to our campsite. "HIKE!?!" I replied. "HIKE!? I didn't pack to hike anywhere. Where are we going!?" "Oh, do you see where those mountains come together? That's where we're camping..." "Uhhh, you mean straight up that mountain!?" "Yup!"

So I gathered all my stuff into my arms and started hiking straight up the mountain. It was great that Cut was behind me so that she could pick up my sleeping bag when I dropped it, and my pillow when that fell, when my water bottle started rolling down the trail, I yelled to Cut that she didn't need to dive after it. I stopped her in the nick of time because she really was about to dive.

We got to the campsite, and it was a wonderful spot. We decided to first set up the tent because setting up a tent when you are tired is one of the most challenging experiences of our earthly existence. Cut went to go find the tent and turned around with a somber look on her face. She said, "I forgot the tent in the car." We looked down in the direction of the trail we had just hiked up and immediately decided that it was NOT worth it to go back to the car.

What Cut did have was a huge tarp. Being the out-doorsy girls that we are, we decided to sleep out under the stars. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful night. We sat around the fire for a little while longer, then we decided it was time to hit the sack. Two other people decided to join us on our tarp which was no problem because it was plenty big.

We climbed into our sleeping bags and started discussing the mysteries of the universe. The stars were so bright and beautiful that they inspired several profound insights. After discussing for some time, we decided to pretend that we didn't see the lightning off in the distance. We couldn't hear the thunder, so chances were that it wouldn't reach us at all.

After only a few minutes of ignoring the thunder did it start sprinkling on us. I had prayed that it wouldn't rain that night, but I forgot to pray that it wouldn't sprinkle. So sprinkle it did...

It was at that point that we couldn't ignore the lightning in the distance any more. With four of us on the tarp, we had to figure out a plan in case it started sprinkling more. We tried taco-ing the tarp around us, so we were laying on it and it was covering us. This worked until the person on the very inside moved then the tarp totally uncovered Cut and I.

We tried a few other tactics, none of which were successful. So we decided to lay our mats directly on the ground and put the tarp over us. No sooner had we done this that it began to HAIL! I prayed that it wouldn't rain, but I forgot to pray that it wouldn't hail!

We were grateful that we had decided to go under the tarp when we did. The only problem with the tarp was that we could still FEEL the hail hitting us, particularly on our faces, we just couldn't feel the moisture of the hail.

Trying to stay positive in this situation was a little difficult, and when we were about to complain, it just got worse. It started to LIGHTNING and THUNDER. I prayed that it wouldn't RAIN, but I didn't pray that it wouldn't lightning and thunder!

The rest of the night went on in this same fashion. I reflected on the times when I was at home and trying to sleep, if there was any sort of storm outside, I had a hard time sleeping... Now take away the shelter factor... yeah... we didn't sleep that night... at all...

At first light we were so excited that it was finally morning that we hurried and packed up our things and began the adventure of walking down the steep path we came up the night before. Let's just say by the bottom I felt and looked like a MUDDY, WET DOG!

Cut and I got home by 7:30 that morning. On the way down, as we were muddy, wet, tired, and hungry, we were laughing our heads off about the whole situation. It was then that we decided that we actually had a lot of fun!

I found out the next day that our friend who had planned the camping trip had checked the weather and not told us. The forecast? 100% chance of thunderstorms...

I Need A Second, and Third, and Fourth Opinion

2009-07-22T09:58:00.004-06:00

I just found this (rocking!) chair online. I think I would like to purchase two of them (eventually) for my casa and need to know what you think! Does it 'go' enough with the couch to look nice? All thoughts would be greatly appreciated! :)

Here is the link if you would like more information: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Gold-Sage-Upholstered-Rocker/3344689/product.html

I Have Furniture!

2009-07-07T12:22:00.009-06:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the furniture I have so far. I really can't tell you how much fun I have had finding all these little treasures! It is even more fun that I get have them all in one place!

Living Room - Notice the detail on the bottom of the couch.

Master Bedroom

Breakfast Nook

Is it lame that I am so excited about furniture?

Me Casa es Su Casa!

2009-06-23T09:30:00.006-06:00

Here are some pictures for my new casa! I would wait to take pictures until after I have moved in, but it would basically look the same... Maybe within the year I'll have it decorated. :)

Well, whaddaya think!?! Are you gonna come visit? :)

Buckle Up

2009-06-20T11:11:00.005-06:00

There is no way I will be able to write about all that has happened in the last two months, so I will give you a brief rundown of May and June for me. Ready? Buckle up!

Was called as the Stake Relief Society Secretary, just call me secretary of STAKE. :)
Went to Arizona for a quick weekend trip, it was quick and VERY worth it!
Went through the Temple!!! Best thing I have ever done!
Did a a session in the Draper Temple with some amazing friends.
Quilted a quilt.
Made an offer on a townhouse.
Got wisdom tooth out. Yes, you read right, tooth, I had only one.
Accepted counter offer on townhouse.
Went to the bank, asked to borrow a lot of money.
Dyed my own eyebrows... Dying is the way to go!
Had 8 hours worth of church meetings... ugh.
Watched my littlest sister graduate from high school.
Watched one of my best friends of all time be sealed to her eternal man.
Spoke at the luncheon. Cried, but only because I was laughing so hard.
Flew to Amsterdam.
Saw an amazing cathedral in Cologne, Germany.
Rode the train along the Rhine River and saw amazing castles.
Saw the Temple in Switzerland. It was closed... :(
Hiked the Alps... Who knew a person could get so sore from walking DOWN a mountain!
Saw the cows that eat grass on the Alps, they all wear cow bells and it's awesome.
Ate lunch over looking Grindelwald, Switzerland.
Went to the Neushwanstein Castle.
Walked around Salzburg. Saw where scenes from Sound of Music were filmed.
Went to an active salt mine in Hallstatt, Austria.
Ate pizza in Italy.
Met a native in Slovenia.
Bought some cool stuff in St. Johann, Austria.
Went to church in Germany and had to have a translator.
Watched a lady make lace in Brugge, Belgium.
Bought lace from the lace making lady.
Had chocolates and frites in Brugge... yummmm.
Flew home. Read two books on the plane.
Got home, did laundry, packed, locked down an interest rate for my large loan, and left again.
Flew to Independence, MO.
Presented at a conference for my first time ever.
Went to Liberty Jail.
Took pictures at Adam-ondi-Ahman.
Walked around the Far West Temple site.
Presented at a conference for the second time ever.
Came home.
Slept until 10 a.m.
Blogged about all that I did. :)

THE END

When I See Your Face Again...

2009-03-17T19:15:00.021-06:00

You know that part in Legacy where the main character says to her husband, "When I see your face again, it will be Zion to me!" That is one of my favorite movie moments of all time and thus became the theme of this last weekend. I got to spend a whole weekend with three of my favorite people, and when I got to see their faces, it was Zion to me!

I drove down to P-Town Friday night, and spent an entire evening sitting in the living room of my old apartment, chatting, and eating Bossta! It was blissful.

On Saturday morning it was Zion to me because we got to see Matt, he is heading to Iraq soon, but had an iStop this week in Utah. We spent the morning chatting with him and mixing breakfast cereals. He gave us the best gift of all time, he showed us that he was wearing a Utah State shirt!! It was great to see Matt, I appreciate that he is willing to put his country first.

That afternoon, it was Zion to me because Dani, Aubs, Dee, and I drove off into the Dixie sunset. We spent the next 24 hours in the warmPth of St. George. We shopped, bought flip-flops, and stuffed ourselves at Red Lobster.

After Red Lobster we headed back to the hotel, where we going to go sit in the hot tub, but there were all these high school boys. One of the boys yelled, "Hey, I lost my phone, can you call it?" We had a great laugh about it. Good job little high school boy, that was a great pick-up line.

That night we stayed up really late talking about all sorts of random girly stuff. It was great to have a late night chat with my peeps again. Every time I talk to any of those girls, my testimony of the Gospel grows. I am lucky to have such wonderful friends!

After a quick breakfast, we hit up church at the Dixie College Institute. On our way out of the building after church we spotted one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. We called it WOW, Wall Of Weddings. It was a whole wall dedicated to wedding announcements from 1989 to present day. A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

Even though our trip didn't last very long, we pretty much had the best time ever. I sure love these girls and am so grateful for them in my life. When I see their faces, it is Zion to me!

Meet Me in St. Louis!

2009-02-14T10:06:00.008-07:00

Everyone should visit St. Louis! It is a dang cool town. I was lucky enough to be able to go visit Dominoe and her family. It was so much fun hanging out with them. Dave is just a saint and her kids are darling! We had some amazing times and I could talk about it all day long, but I am going to try to keep it simple.

Dom and Dave are living St. Louis, he is attending Washington University for a few more months, then he will have his MBA! Congrats Dave! Dom is raising their two kids that are so fun and full of energy. I loved playing house with her. We watched a few movies together, my favorite being Mary Poppins of course. I also got my share of PBS kids.

McKay and Alyssa were constantly making us laugh. One night we were saying prayers with McKay and he was half way through saying what he was grateful for when he stood up and stopped praying.

Dom said, 'McKay, what are you doing?'
'I need to go potty mom!'
'Let's finish your prayers then you can go.'
'Mom, I need to go NOOOOWW.'
'Hurry back...'

A few minutes later, McKay came back, knelt down and picked up exactly where he left off...

'I'm grateful we could watch Mary Poppins today. Please bless Gavin.'
'McKay, you left so you need to start over.'
'But Mom, I remember where I was!'

I lost it. I had to bury my head into my arms so he didn't see how hard I was laughing.

The next night at dinner, Alyssa said she was done eating. Dominoe told her that she needed to eat two more bites, then she could be done. Alyssa shoved two bites in without chewing and I swear ten minutes later I saw her chewing some of her dinner. I think she just shoved the food into her cheeks where she literally was saving it for later.

Dom took me to the St. Louis Arch, which is amazing! I had absolutely no appreciation for it before, but now I am stunned by it. When we got to the top we could feel it swaying just a little bit. It was a crazy feeling. The arch also provided a beautiful view of the city.

From the arch we could see the Scott Trade Center where we saw Celine Dion!! Wahoo! She was amazing. We had tickets way at the top and when we got there they said they had to move us because there was a spotlight in our seats. We were excited because we knew our seats couldn't be worse than what we already had!

They moved us waaaay down, so we actually had some pretty rockin seats. Celine was all that I ever wanted her to be. She sang a great mix of her old classics and some from her new CD, which was the reason I wanted to go because her new CD is amazing!!!

When we got home Dom made us these AMAZING lava cakes. I will post the recipe soon, they are amazing. And made for some really good times!

Thanks Dave and Dom for opening your house to me. I loved coming to St. Louis, you two are amazing parents and your kids are just so fun to be around!! Love you!

Another Funny Story

2009-02-09T21:57:00.005-07:00

Garrett and another ski instructor walked into the store up at the Beav the other day. Garrett saw someone he so he went over to her and was just chatting and laughing with her. He asked her if he could get a ride home, she said that wasn't a problem and they were leaving around three.

They made small talk for a few more minutes and then Garrett told her he would see her at three. As they were walking away, the other ski instructor whispered to Garrett that she was way cute and that he needed to ask her out. Garrett said that she was way cute and also HIS AUNT!! He went on to tell him that Andrea had six children one of which was older than him.

Here is Andrea with her two daughters Kysha and Micah. Wouldn't she and Garrett make a cute couple. Hahahahahahaha.

Imagine This...

2009-02-03T15:37:00.003-07:00

So there I was... all good stories start off that way, right!? I was skiing with Dad and Garrett, they got down the mountain a little ahead of me, so I was trying to hurry and catch up with them in line. There was a little boy in my way, so I quickly dodged him and started heading up the lane. This was all well and good until I saw that the lane was ROPED OFF!

The rope caught me right at my waist, so I basically folded in half. To top it off, the rope acted like a rubber band and flung me back the other way which made me land flat on my back. I laid on the ground laughing my head off, while Garrett and Dad were trying to gain composure of themselves.

I then scooted under the rope and got on the lift. Don't worry, I haven't heard the end of it since. Garrett and Dad love retelling the story over and over and over...

The Yurt

2009-01-26T09:06:00.007-07:00

Since winter has begun, my Chaco's have been put on the back burner. I have worn them this winter, but just not up skiing. As I have mentioned before, working for my dad sure has its perks. I get to travel to exotic new places. (For instance, I am writing this post in the lobby of a hotel in Boise.) But the best thing has been the fact that my dad is addicted to skiing. Therefore, if the boss is on the mountain, I want to be on the mountain.

I have been skiing since I was eight years old, but I would only twice, maybe three times a year. So let's just say I have spent the last several years doing the snowplow. I concluded that this year is the year I am going to become a skier. So far I have been up at the Beav five times! My goal is to get up there ten more times.

Over the holiday break, Roger and Andrea rented the yurt for us to stay in. It was awesome, my kind of skiing for sure. We would go make a run or two, ski up to the yurt, get warm, eat something, then make another few runs.

My family and I stayed in the yurt the perfect night. It snowed ten inches through the night, which made for no friends the next morning. All the avid skiers woke up an hour and a half early so they could go stand in line to make first tracks. Well, I guess we could call them second tracks, because they did hike out in the middle of the night to go ski the bowl of Stan's.

We had such a great time at the yurt. We bonded, learned things about each other that we didn't know before. Played three on a couch, Settlers, and Rook. And, most importantly, ate a lot of delicious food!

From One Coast to the Other

2008-10-21T21:33:00.012-06:00

I had heard how cool Seattle was, but I didn't really believe it! Then I went... now I'm a believer. Dad and I had a conference in Seattle, we stayed at the Westin In which are the two round towers in the middle of the city. Yeah, don't worry, there are notes in the hotel room that say at times the towers are known to sway a bit, but don't worry, this is normal.

I don't think I slept as well as I would have had I not read that note.

The conference went well, I met a lot of people and was the youngest there by probably about 20 years. But I have always been mature for my age, so there you go.

Let's first talk about Pike's Place Market, yeah, very cool! There were all these people selling random things. I loved it. We also saw where they throw the fish, they caught them each time. Except one, the fish ended up falling on the floor and everyone gasped, then laughed, because we saw that it was a fake fish. Clever...

Just around the corner from the professional fish throwers was a professional donut tosser. He makes all these little donuts, when you order a mixed dozen, he put twelve in a bag then puts either powdered sugar in the bag and shakes it up, or cinnamon, it ends up all mixing together with the chocolate glazed donuts and because of all those mixed flavors, it becomes a really good time eating them.

All in all, Pike's Place is very cool.

We also went and saw the Space Needle, always impressive. Near the Space Needle is Experience Music Project. We spent several hours in there and I know my roommates back in Provo would have LOVED it!! I had a good time, but spent the evening dragging the people I was with from one thing to the next. Remember the 20 year difference... They were nice and seemed like they had a good time.

We got to visit my Aunt and a few of my cousins. It was really great to see them because it had been a long time. They looked like they were doing well, now I am jealous of where they get to live because now I know how beautiful it really is!

A week or two after getting home from Seattle, my dad and I packed our bags and headed to DC. We got to see Gettysburg. I hadn't ever been there before and thus was in awe of everything. There is such a spirit around that battlefield, and I am grateful for those who were willing to risk their lives and fight for a cause that ended up changing our history.

Dad and I also ate at this really good restaurant. We just sat at the bar and ate, as we were talking to the lady bartender, she said that the bar had been there since the early 1800's, it was so cool to think of how many people had sat there and the stories that had been shared. It made me want to wash my hands:)

We had a few training sessions in Leesburg, VA that we were in charge of. So the next couple of days were just work, work, work. I was so exhausted every night, but I did get to meet up with Becca Haynie who just happens to be one of the coolest people I know.

She has been living/working in DC for awhile now, we met in Provo and it was so good to see her again. This summer when Em and I went to Cedar City for the Shakespeare Festival, Becca made us stay at her house.

The Haynie household is amazing. They welcomed us with open arms. We even went to church with the Haynie's the next day and sat on the second row of the Chapel. I guess that has been their family bench for years. Between Em and I and the Haynie's it was a pretty tight fit on that long bench. And that is not a fat joke, their family is... well... with Em and I there, there were 15 people on that bench.

So during dinner when Becca was telling stories about her family, they were all of the sudden 10 times funnier!

We also got to go visit my cousin Ondalynn and her husband Gary and their kids. We got to eat dinner with them and watch some of the BYU game. It was great to see them.

I was really grateful to come home, but did love the amazing fall colors of back east. On this trip I also came to a new appreciation of my dad. He is simply amazing. Most of my life I have taken advantage of the fact that I have great parents. I still take advantage of that fact, but living at home now and going on these trips with my dad are opening my eyes a little more to how wonderful they really are.

A Wisdom Tooth Tale

2008-10-13T12:30:00.009-06:00

Before Garrett left on his mission, he had to get his wisdom teeth out. My parents and sisters were coming home from visiting my Grandma in Colorado; so I was the designated driver. We got to the doctors, he went in, and about 45 minutes later he was all set to go home.

The nurse told me I would need to be sure to stop somewhere and get him a milkshake. The nurse then asked me to pull around back so that I could pick Garrett up to take him home. I did as she asked and proceeded to walk in through the back door. Found the little tiny bed my 5' 11'' brother was laying on in fetal position.

'Alright Garrett, it's time to go.' He jumped up at the sound of my voice, he turned to each of the three nurses that were in the hallway with us and shook their hands, thanking them for all they did during his surgery.

I was silently impressed how well he had recovered from such heavy sedative. As Garrett and I turned toward the door to walk out to the car, the nurse stopped Garrett and told him to get into the wheelchair. He said that he would be fine and I would be right there with him. The nurse didn't buy it, 'Sit down,' she commanded.

He did as he was told. I held the door open for the nurse as she wheeled my 18 year old brother out to my car. The ramp they were going down was not a significant one. It only declined about two inches.

When Garrett realized he was going down a ramp, he threw his hands in the air and squealed, 'Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.'

That was kind of weird... But it's Garrett. He loves to do random, funny stuff.

We opened the car door, Garrett climbed in, and by the time I got into my side of the car, he was passed out in the other seat. I had to wake him up to help him put his seatbelt on. Anytime we went around a corner, Garrett would roll back and forth. It was so weird, it was like having a dead body in the front seat!

I remembered that I had to get him a milkshake and asked him what he wanted. He mumbled back his answer, but I sure didn't understand anything because he had two HUGE cotton balls shoved in the back of each side of his mouth.

We were getting nearer and nearer to Charlie's ice cream, so I asked Garrett again what kind of milkshake he wanted. And as if we had communicated in sign language our whole lives, he started SIGNING to me what kind he wanted!!

Since I was driving, I couldn't exactly take my eyes off the road long enough to figure out what he was trying to spell, so I just asked him one more time. 'What milkshake would you like Garrett?' 'Chocwate Mawshmawwo!!!' He said, in an angry-I-can't-believe-you-woke-me-up voice.

We pulled into the drive through at Charlie's and the girl came to the window to take our order. I rolled down the window and was about to tell her that we would like one chocolate marshmallow milkshake, when Garrett sat straight up and shouted, 'Can I get a woot beew fweeeze!?!?'

The girl looked at me, I looked at Garrett, shocked at the energy that came from the dead body. And I said to her, 'I guess we would like a root beer freeze' and she said that would be no problem.

All of the sudden Garrett leaned over onto my lap and said to the girl who was taking the order, 'Is Chelsea wowking today?' and she said that she wasn't, Garrett was so relieved, he said 'Good, I wouldn't want hew to see me like dis.'

The girl walked away from our car laughing, and I was laughing to tears. Imagine this grown boy with two huge cotton balls in the back of his mouth and two strings coming out. It was quite a sight to behold.

Garrett being the tender heart that he is, saw that I was crying and felt really bad. (He of course didn't realize that I was crying because I was laughing so hard.) He told me he wanted to make me laugh, as he was thinking of how he could do that he started stroking his strings that were coming out of his mouth like they were his beard.

This made me laugh harder. Then announced that he knew what would make me happy again. He pulled out one of his cotton balls that was full of blood. It was completely disgusting, he held it in front of my face and swung it back and forth saying, 'You awre getting veeewy sweeeepy.'

I lost it. My brother was trying to put me in a trance with his cotton ball from his mouth, full of blood! SICK! But hilarious!

The root beer freeze came I gave it to Garrett. I remembered the nurse said that he can only eat from a spoon. But he kept sucking on his spoon like it was a straw, so I don't know if that is better or worse than just getting a straw in the first place.

On the drive home he was insanely happy about his root beer freeze. He kept drooling root beer freeze all down his chin, and I kept having to remind him to wipe his chin. One time he said, 'I know, I know, I need to wipe my chin, and my cheek, and my nose.' Instead of wiping his actual nose, he wiped his knee.

He looked at his knee, looked at me, and said, 'That was my nose a second ago.' Poor boy, he was soooo confused.

Garrett wanted to thank me for getting him his root beer freeze, he kept trying to kiss my cheek. It was really strange to have these huge ice cream covered lips heading for my face. I dodged it the best I could by telling him he needed to wipe his face again.

We made it home finally, as I was helping Garrett into the house, he kept 'leaving his feet behind.' We would get to a stair and I would step up and wait and wait. He would just look at me with huge eyes and say, 'We can't leave those guys behind.' Finally he gained control of his legs again and we made it inside.

He plopped down on the couch just as the doorbell rang. It was Mr. J. Garrett tried to stand up and say hi, but couldn't keep his balance. He just kept falling over into the couch again. So he yelled from the couch, 'Hiiiiyaaa Mrrrrr. Jaaaaaayyyyyy!!'

Mr. J looked at me and said, 'He is on some other planet isn't he!?' I agreed with him 100%. Finally the family made it home. Then noticed the mascara that had run down my cheeks and I tried to fill them in on all the funny things that had happened.

Jamie and Becca thought the funniest was that Garrett misplaced his nose. So they would ask him, 'Garrett, where is your eyes?' He would point to them. 'Garrett, where is your nose?'

'It was on my knee, but now it's on my face again.'

'Garrett, where is your head?'

'Right where it has always been. GOODNIGHT.'

And thus ended the funniest experience of my life.

My First Biking Trip... Ever...

2008-09-30T13:39:00.000-06:00

Working for my dad has its perks. Like the other day when he mentioned that he was going biking in Yellowstone for three days and thought I should come. My dear friend Megan Bingham Rowe was going with her parents and so with the permission of my boss I took a few days off to see Yellowstone like I never had before.

Seeing Yellowstone from a bike is a lot different than from seeing it from a car or bus. I felt like I was part of Yellowstone rather than a visitor. When there weren't cars that were passing, the stillness and quietness was incredible. Well, it was really quiet except for my panting!

The animals we saw were buffalo, moose, coyote, and mountain goats. It was very cool! I had never seen mountain goats before, so they were my favorite.

We are planning to do this trip again next year. So this next year is going to be dedicated to biking up hills. I want to be able to beat Megan up a hill. It's going to be difficult... and its going to take a lot of work, but I think I am excited for the challenge. WATCH OUT MEGAN!!:)

Little Brothers are Little Brothers.... Always

2008-09-23T08:55:00.001-06:00

How is it that little brother's always know how to push exactly the right buttons!? How is it they know EXACTLY what to do to just make you want to punch them? How is it that every little brother has this capability!? It baffles me.

The other day we were at Institute. And afterwards we were talking to the teacher and he was asking me what I was doing in life, etc. I was telling him that I had been teaching high school and living in Provo, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Garrett, eternally my little brother in every sense of the word, came over and said, 'Jess, who are you working for NOW?' I said, 'Uhhh, my dad.'

'Jess, where do you live now?'

'Uhhh, at home...'

'Jess, who dropped you off at institute?'

'My mom.'

Yep, that's my life right now. Thank you Garrett for making sure that the world is aware of how cool I am.

Aubs is my IDOL!

2008-08-07T11:35:00.000-06:00

My cool roommate Aubs decided to audition for American Idol. When she mentioned this, my Chaco's were 100% in for the adventure. I really enjoy AI, its true. I should be embarrassed, but I find it so fun. I could be, what you might call... a little obsessed. I haven't really missed an episode for a long time. Dani and I would go out of our way to make sure each episode is recorded. I am guilty of watching the same episode more than once, I watch performances on youtube, and, well... uuuhhh... I buy the singles on iTunes. I can't believe I just admitted that out loud.

So, needless to say, I was actually looking forward to Aubs auditioning. We woke up early Sunday, July 27th and drove to Salt Lake to stand in line to get wrist bands so we could come back on Tuesday for the actual auditions.

We only stood in line for about an hour. We got our wristbands and a ticket for a place to sit in the Energy Solutions Arena. The perfect thing was we made it back in time for church!!

3 a.m. came really early Tuesday morning. We got on the road by 4 a.m. and made it to the crazy huge line outside the Energy Solutions Arena. It was so fun to be there. We saw a couple people we knew. Our friend Jacob was also auditioning, so we chilled with him and the port a potties that were right next to us, that put off a wonderful smell!

Around 9 a.m. we were finally sitting inside the Energy Solutions arena. One of the producers was there practicing a couple of songs with us. The people that were around us all had awesome voices!! The synergy inside the arena was pretty rockin'.

After a couple of hours of practicing the songs and just chilling, in walks Ryan Seacrest. It was way fun to see him. He was great with the crowd. We filmed a bunch of... 'This... is American Idol' moments. It was again WAAAAY fun to be there.

They finally began the auditioning process. Because Aubs and I went so early to get our wristbands we were in about the third group to go. As they started the auditioning process the thing that surprised me the most was how few they were actually sending through to see the judges.

It made me so nervous! Aubs was fine, but I was dying. It was like the time when she took me to get LASIK and I was totally ok and she was freaking out. The nurse offered me a Valium and I said I was ok, but Aubs might need it.

Now the roles were reversed. I was the one freaking out and she was totally calm about everything. The process for auditions was a little different than I thought it was going to be. They set up eleven tables all along the floor of the E.S. Arena. There were two producers at each table.

They would send four people at one time up to a table and the producers would number each person one through four and then each person would get about 15 seconds to sing. Then they would put their clipboards in front of their faces, chat for a second and then tell everyone thanks but no thanks.

It got to Aubs' turn (after hours of waiting) and she got her 15 seconds, then the producers asked her to sing again. I hadn't seen very many people asked to sing a second song, so that was a huge compliment. (She's the one in the blue.)

After the four in her group went, they put up their clipboards and chatted with each other for like THREE MINUTES!!! It was killing me! If any of the producers talked this long, it usually meant they were going to send someone through. They kept chatting and chatting, then they turned and said, 'It was a tough decision, but its a no for all of you.'

There is good news however. Aubs got to audition at the table that was closest to Ryan Seacrest and she got an AWESOME picture of him!

We had a ton of fun being there that day. As they slit our wrist (bands) I turned and looked one last time into the arena with a fondness.

Thanks Aubs for auditioning and letting me go along. It was a blast!

One Year Ago Today

2008-07-31T09:51:00.000-06:00

Mom mentioned to me this morning that one year ago today we were leaving to go to Turkey. This entry is a compilation of emails that I wrote to family to describe our trip. This is going to be such a long entry, so buckle up:)

On Tuesday, July 31, 2007 we flew through the night to the beautiful city of Paris. We arrived at three in the afternoon of Wednesday, August 1. Eileen, Grandma Smith's cousın, met us at the bus stop. She proved to be the best hostess anyone could ask for. Eileen took us to an amazing Moroccan restaurant. We ate CusCus and Lamb and several other dishes that I am still not sure what they were, but tasted wonderful.

We then walked to the Arc de Triumph and watched the lights shimmer from the Eiffel Tower. It was a gorgeous sight. Becca and I were sitting looking at the arch and Becca, being the friendly person she is, was smiling at the people walking by. A man in his late twenties came over and started chatting with us. He asked us where we were from... then he told us he was from Malta. "Malta, Idaho?" Was my immediate response. Becca rolled her eyes Then he asked the fateful questions... "So you are alone?" Becca then realized what she had done. And me being the old maid sister had to get her out of the situation she got herself into.

Thursday morning we woke up excited to see the city. After a yummy breakfast, we rode the bus through Paris to see some of the major highlights. One of our favorite sights was Haagan Daaz. We sat outside facing the street like most Parisians do eating our American ice cream… Which ıs a lot dıfferent than the Turkish ice cream will be mentioned later in this memoir.

Eileen was so generous with her time and energy. She ran us all around the city teaching us the history of each place we saw. Jamie's favorite place of the day was 'The Louge"(she is so witty!)

Becca really enjoyed the Eiffel tower, which we saw twinkling in the midnight air.

Dad loved taking pictures of the Mona Lisa's mischievous grin and plans on moving to Tiajuana to sell them and retire as a Mexican Rockefeller.

Mom enjoyed seeing a Missionary walking around the Eiffel Tower at eleven o'clock at night by himself. "Elder!" Said she, "Elder?" when she realized his surroundings. We found that he had just been released as a missionary and was touring France with his very Mormon, very Utah family. The rest of the night we heard little glimpses of Mom singing, "He'll be home for Christmas…" referring to our brother dressed in the same attire as this 'AWAL' Elder.

I, of course, enjoyed the young salesman of "Bling-Bling Eiffel Tower" that blocked my exit and kept stroking my arm to entice me to purchase one of his genuine rip offs. And, as always, I was getting 'real good deal!'

That night we rested so comfortably in Eileen's home. She was so kind to us, we felt so privileged to get to know her. She opened her home and schedule to us and we felt so blessed. She helped us see Paris through the eyes of a Parisian who understood our Utah roots. She made it so we had simply a wonderful time in Paris.

After a short plane ride where we met some kind Turkish Americans who gave us an insiders track of things to put on our itinerary, we jumped of the plane at the Ataturk airport. I so affectionately called it "atta Turk" you know like the English phrase, "atta boy."

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around Istanbul. I couldn't believe what a beautiful city we had landed in. We were trying to figure out what it reminds us of and we were at a loss. I have never been to a country that had mosques everywhere you look. We pulled up to our hostel and met some really nice people. We again felt really blessed that we chose Turkey as our vacation spot.

Eileen was kind enough to put us in touch with her friend and former renter Onur. We instantly became friends. He was very polite as he showed us around Istanbul. As someone his own age I understand what a sacrifice a Friday night is. He spent the evening with us teaching us about Turkey and the history of its people.

We were impressed with his knowledge base. He was full of information. Onur took us to a café he knew of that was, as we say, off the beaten path. We never would have found it on our own, but loved the mint lemonade we were served there, but not as much as the breath taking view.

Onur then took us to a restaurant and introduced us-born-and-bread-Utahn's to a good Turkish time.

We ate some amazing appetizers and heard some wonderful music that resembled a Turkish Muslim prayer at high speed. It was beautiful, especially when the performers sang to me about how 'this night is my night.' After looking at the menu and debating between eating fish, chicken, or 'lamp', (instead of lamb, as we Americans spell it) which Onur said 'enlightened' the people who ate it. (witty in a foreign language... impressive) We ordered chicken and salmon and ate to our hearts content.

What I have enjoyed most so far about our trip is learning to have a good time while eating. Eating takes hours in Europe which is the antithesis of the American 'fast food' mentality. I am always the first one done with the fast food, so this is an especially healthy habit for me to learn.

On the way back to the hotel we tried some Turkish ice cream. The best part about it was that the people serving it could do some amazing things with the ice cream. As Jamie went to grab her ice cream cone, the server pretended like he dropped it. They were putting the cones in dad's front pocket and a bunch of other fun ticks. We were in awe!

It was difficult to part from Onur after such a fun evening together. He was very helpful in getting us a taxi and showing us a few sights that we needed to see on our return visit to Istanbul. We made it home at about 1:30 in the morning with nothing but the fondest memories of our first evening in this beautiful city.

The following morning, after about five minutes of thinking about it, I realized it was Saturday; we hopped in the car to drive to Izmir. This turned out to be more of a commitment than we had ever thought. But we got to see some of the most beautiful countryside.

We have more fun adventures to tell you of, but we hafta get on our way. We hope things are going well at home. We love you all and will wrıte again soon.

Driving in Turkey... I am not sure how to describe to you the way people drive here… Dad says it is the scariest place that he has ever driven in. I constantly have to close my eyes to help from screaming.

But, amazingly enough, Dad is getting us around this country like he is a native. As our friend Onur said, "There are no rules in this country." So when Dad is on a road and misses his turn, he, like all of the other Turks, puts his car in reverse and then proceeds backwards down the road to where we needed to go. The funniest part of the whole thing is the people around us don't give us dirty looks, or looks of wonder… they don't even think twice about it. In fact they stare at us less when we do things like that.

On this vacation we have seen parts of Turkey that most Turks have ever seen. As I was sitting shotgun, performing my duties as navigator, Dad asked if he should turn left or right. I told him to go left. Based on the map it we would be driving along the coast on a local road. I thought that would be fun to drive through the towns and see what life is like for your run of the mill Turk.

As we were driving we saw some fun beach towns, beautiful coastline, then all of the sudden things changed. We started winding up a dirt road. We saw a man sitting in a booth and asked if we were heading the right direction and sure enough we were. We drove on this dirt road for about 50 kilometers. It was quite an adventure and ended up being our favorite part of the 15-hour drive to Izmir.

In a country full of people who are tan and have dark hair, two girls with red hair and white skin stand out in a crowd. There are several blonde's here so Jamie fits in quite well. Anyway, as we were ferrying across the Aegean Sea and Becca and I stood out like a sore thumb. There was even one point where a guy was following us around. Never a dull moment for a red head!

We didn't arrive at our hostel near Ephesus until three in the morning. So Sunday morning we slept in. It felt great. We then hopped into our car that isn't very big and drove to Izmir. We were driving around looking for the address of the church. We parked the car and decided to walk and see if we could find it. We look up and see a white girl in a dress and a Utah State bag draped over her shoulder. We knew she would help us find the church.

The congregation was made of six people and an investigator. So we ended up doubling the size of the branch. We met at the apartment of the service missionary couple. A couple of the members were working for the NATO headquarters including the girl who showed us the straight and narrow way to church who's name is Kim. There were three native Turks in the congregation; the branch president would translate from English to Turkish and vice versa.

After the two-hour meeting was over we chatted with Kim, Travis (is in the Air Force, but works for NATO), and the Richardson's (service missionary couple from Alaska) a little longer. They gave us ideas of things to do when we got back to Istanbul. Mostly we loved talking with people in English and hearing our native language.

Monday was the highlight of our trip so far. We went to Ephesus and walked around the ruins of the ancient city where Paul once taught. It was incredible! Before we strolled down the marble roads of Ephesus we stopped at a carpet making school. It was so insightful. Each Turkish rug that is made from this school takes months and months to make. They are very intricate and we quickly gained an appreciation for the carpets that we were looking at. Jamie, Becca, and I got to try our hand at carpet making and it is a true skill.

I found a rug that I was absolutely in love with, but don't worry we went back a couple of days later and bought it.

The rugs we saw were beautiful but the ruins we were walking through were stunning. It was truly a unique experience to walk through an ancient city. At first we were a little hesitant to walk around on the ruins because of our past experiences at home, usually we can look but not touch. In Turkey they have a different philosophy. They have no boundaries. We could walk all around and touch anything that we wanted.

That night when we got home I was reading about Paul during his stay in Ephesus and it sure made the New Testament a little more real. We also learned that when John was writing to the Seven Churches in the book of Revelation one of those churches was in Ephesus and another is Smyrna which was where we had church just the day before in modern day Izmir.

It has been said that Turkey has the most sacred sights next to Jerusalem. I wouldn't have believed it, but now I am understanding that statement more and more.

Just FYI there is a story that you will want to hear directly from Mom. Next time you see her be sure to ask about 'Liar Cousin.' I think you will really like it!! Let me just say this, it is amazing what people get away with selling here, there was a girl that picked a little kitten and was stroking her when one of the salesmen on the street (similar to La Bufadora) said that the cat was only $10.

Of course the guy was just joking around, but the girl believed him, then he said that the cat had passport papers if she wanted to take it home. He said that he knew it because he married the cat's mother and had 17 more like it at home. We were laughing so hard, but this poor girl didn't really know what to do, she just wanted a picture with the cat.

Near Ephesus only a few kilometers away tucked up into the mountains is a little Greek village that we enjoyed strolling the streets of. We got some olive oil there that was pressed only a few feet from the spot where it was purchased and a few of the most amazing peaches I have ever had.

We spent all day Tuesday swimming in the Aegean Sea. We were picked up a nine o'clock-ish that morning at our hostel and drove to a boat that was taking us to sea. The destination of the boat was to a Greek island. When we neared the island it looked quite similar to Logan after fire season. Just a month before it had been burned from someone dropping their cigarette or some campers who were cooking. Even though it was a little charred, it was still quite beautiful.

We were swimming, well I don't know if swimming is the best word for it, more like bobbing around because it was so salty, and Becca stepped on a sea urchin and got over 15 cactus like pokey's on the bottom of her foot. We are still trying to remove them from her feet, but she is one tough girl and is getting around even though it hurts quite a lot.

Swimming in the Aegean Sea was a unique experience. Dad said it best when he said that he felt like a boiled egg. We would jump into the water and bob right back to the top. It was quite a cool feeling. While riding on the boat we saw some beautiful sights that we could not have seen in a car; like the European woman who changed her clothes right in front of us, but that's another story.

Wednesday it was back to the car we go (I listened to Mika while watching the countryside pass me by, *sigh*). We drove to the beautiful city of Assos, about halfway to Istabul. On the way to Assos we stopped at Pergamum, we saw an alter built to Zues, Becca was about sacrifice something on it, but we stopped her just in time. Another interesting fact is that Pergamum is also one of the Seven Churches. The things we are experiencing here are incredible! (And in all honesty we probably won't understand it completely for a really long time!)

Assos looked so stunningly old, supposedly Aristotle lived there for a time and also a place where Paul taught. It is truly a city that is set on a hill. We ate at a restaurant that had the most beautiful panoramic view. We actually had a reservation at a quaint hotel, but when we pulled up we found out there had been a mistake and our room was occupied by someone else.

The owner of this hotel showed us an alternative room that we could have stayed in… they were cabins that were built in her front yard. Garrett, do you remember that time in Green Snow when we stayed in those tiny spider and mice filled cabins… yeah, it was similar to that!! We didn't accept her invitation to stay and drove to Canakkale instead.

Thursday we spent the day in Troy. I actually never had a desire to read The Iliad, but today made me think it might be kinda fun. We learned that there wasn't just one city of Troy, like most ancient cities later cities were just built right on top of the older ones. So when Troy was being un-earthed they found I think four different cities that were built right on top of each other.

On the way back to Canakkale we stopped at a Turkish Farmer's Market. In some of the smaller towns that we go through there is absolutely no way to communicate with the people, other than silly gestures.

My one regret about this trip is that I didn't learn more Turkish before I came. We know a few words and that is about it, you can only say TAMAM, which means okay so many times. In fact, it is getting so that even if we hear Spanish we get really excited because it sounds sort of like English.

As we were strolling the streets of Canakkale last night, all of the sudden there was a parade that was going past. We are not sure what they are celebrating and why, (there are only a few Turkish words that are similar to English) but we were excited to be part of the celebration. After dinner we watched some people folk dance in the town square, we loved it. But again we are still not sure exactly what was going on!

We spent the day driving back to Istanbul and made it back to our hostel that we had stayed at before. Its amazing how in a foreign country anything that is slightly similar is almost like home.

The rest of the time in Istanbul was spent visiting the sights around the city. The Blue Mosque was absolutely breath taking. It is a mosque that is still used today. It was really a unique experience to hear the prayers played five times a day from the speakers on the minerettes.

One of the most surprising things we saw was the Cisterns under the city of Istanbul. It had such a cool feeling as we were walking under the streets of Istanbul. I am still not sure the purpose of cisterns, but if you find out anything cool about them, let me know!

We also attended another Sacrament Meeting in Istanbul. What amazing members! Usually in Sunday School lessons we'll talk about Martin's Cove or This is the Place State Park and everyone has been there. But attending Sunday School in Turkey, that is such a foreign concept. They relate most to the latter part of the New Testament, including the Book of Revelation.

Our favorite part of the whole trip was visiting the Hagia Sofia. What an incredible building. It was first built as a Christian Church, then changed to a Mosque, and when Ata Turk reigned, he changed it to a museum. The marble work inside is breathtaking, and there are some of the most beautiful mosaics I have ever seen.

Our time in Istanbul quickly ran out. We boarded the plane and headed for a quick jaunt to Belgium. Dad served his mission there so we met a few of the families he taught there. They were incredible people and spoke more languages than my family combined!

The last night of our vacation was spent in one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth. Gold's Square in Brussels. It was truly a magical place and I really have never seen buildings look so perfect in my life. Did I mention we got to eat a real Belgian Waffle!?!?

Well it soon came time to board the plane for a long trip home. What flight would be complete without a seven hour layover in New York!? This was the only time I didn't roll my eyes at the thought of a seven hour layover. We spent our time very wisely. We rented a car and drove to Garrett's mission home. We met an amazing missionary couple there who gave us a really confused look when we said we were Elder Smith's sisters.

They quickly responded, 'Which Elder Smith?' and we said the one who served in the office for a couple months. 'Oh Garrett!! You are Garrett's sisters!?!' I haven't served a mission, so my understanding may be a little narrow, but I thought missionaries didn't know each other's first names:)

We sat at the desk where Garrett worked from for three months, took a picture and raced back to the airport. We made it just in time to board the plane and sit on the runway for two more hours.

We made it home, after some good home cooking and a long rest, we couldn't believe all that we had done. Thank you for taking the time to read this really long entry. If you ever get the chance to go to Turkey, be the first to sign up, then call me!!!

We Want to Be AT Sunbeam

2008-07-20T16:28:00.001-06:00

I am going to continue blogging. It's official, I'm a blogger. Thank you to all those who provided me with encouragement.

This entry I am going to be writing about what my Chacos and I did for the Fourth of July. I was so grateful to be invited and had such a blast! My friend Boyd who lives in Arizona invited me to go with him and some other friends from AZ to Idaho. His family has a cabin there and he was passing through Provo and was nice enough to think of me.

We left on Tuesday, July 1st and drove to Stanley, ID. If any of you have been to Stanley you know what a BEAUTIFUL place it is. It feels so untouched. There aren't many people who live there, and during the winter, there are even LESS. Stanley is about an hour north of Sun Valley next to the Sawtooth Mountains.

These are the Sawtooth Mountains and they are amazing and perfectly named. As we drove into town and admired the beauty, we thought about where we were going to sleep that night. We were going to camp next to the Salmon River, but found out it had been raining all day.

We tried to find a deal on a hotel, but no such luck. Boyd then said that he thought we could stay at Sunbeam. As I tried to figure out what he was talking about, he quickly explained that his family would come up every summer and run a place called Sunbeam. There had cabins they would rent out, a rafting company that would run the Salmon River, a store, a cafe (see photo above), and my favorite was hearing about the melodrama's they would perform every Friday and Saturday night.

We got there really late, and it was already quite dark, so I didn't see Sunbeam in all its glory until the next morning. Sunbeam now is very run down and only the White Otter Rafting Co. is renting out the cabins so they have a place for their river guides. But the man who is running White Otter was so excited to see Boyd that he was more than happy to open up a cabin for us.

Cabin Ten became home for the night. We got ready to crash, as it was late and there wasn't any electricity and the lamp was running low. Then we stood outside and looked at the stars. We were only out there for a half hour but saw at least ten shooting stars!

The next morning was going to be a busy day. We had a lot to do, so we awoke early and went fishing, we caught a few small fish, but mostly enjoyed the amazing mountains and early morning air.
As I strapped on my Chaco's that morning, I was so excited to run the river. I hadn't rafted for a long time, but knew we were going to have a blast. We put our splash jackets on (the warmth they provided was VERY welcome) and tightened our life vests, grabbed our oar's and were ready for whatever the river had in store!

Boyd was a GREAT river guide. I was a little nervous because he hadn't run the river since before his mission, but once we got on that water, you would have thought he had done it everyday that summer. He gave us the whole safety talk, told us if we fell out, just put your feet down stream and he would throw us a life line. We practiced the commands, 'All Forward,' 'Let's Row Together,' 'All Back.' We definitely got our money's worth!

Here we are on the Salmon River, we are just going through some rapids called Piece of Cake. It was awesome! After this hour and a half float, I was sold on the idea of rafting every river I could (I did see some pictures of friends rafting the Nile River and that looked a little intense, so maybe not EVERY RIVER). Even though these rapids look small, they got the adrenaline flowing.

When we came to the slower spots of the river, Boyd would tell us these stories of random things on each side of the river. I now know, for future reference, not to believe anything a river guide says, they just love to see what people will believe! Well, he did say that Paul Bunyon dropped a loaf of bread and it broke into three pieces and petrified... that could have happened, but everything else... yeah right!

The rest of the trip was just as fun as the first part. We went for a hike later that day where I saw the most perfect meadow I have ever seen. Then we drove up to Boyd's cabin in Garden Valley. His cabin is amazing, the family has been building it and done such a great job. We all got our own rooms and our own showers and lived like Kings and Queens for a few days.

I shot a shotgun! I haven't really done that before... and I caught a fish and it was a HUGE fish! No one was around to see it so you will just have to believe me. Okay, maybe it was really small and at the time I was taking a picture of myself, so I didn't even get to see it, oh well...

On the Fourth we rafted the Payette, which was just as fun as the Salmon! There was one rapid that came out of nowhere that felt like running into a wall, it was awesome! And on this run we even had someone fall out. It was pretty crazy! Oh, just a word of advice, if you own a car that you get into by pushing a button, don't take the keys on the raft with you. We may or may not have done this and had to pull to the side of the river and stored them in a random dead tree. I wouldn't recommend it, but if it happens, be sure to be with people who are creative and can remember where they put things.

That night we watched some pretty great fireworks in Melba, Idaho. As we were watching, Boyd kept saying how cool it was that we celebrate our freedom with fireworks. He went on to say that it was like listening to gun fire. I hadn't ever thought of that before. But it is a great way to celebrate Independence. If you ever have a friend that was a river guide, likes to hike, has a cabin, LOVES fishing, enjoys kayaking, knows how to shoot a gun, and can cook, I would recommend keeping him around! He could provide a lot of really good times.

Yessica Fuentes They Call Me Down South

2008-02-26T14:30:00.002-07:00

Yup, this is a post about the time I spent south of the border. Beach house+sun+ocean+WICKED= Good Times!

My Chacos and I made it to beautiful Ensenada, Mexico. We stayed at a beach house right on the shore; I loved it! The waves at times were so loud we had to close the sliding door in order to hear each other. What a great way to live!

My Chacos proved to be useful even on the beach. Every summer I work really hard to get what I call, a Chaco tan. It when the top of my feet look the same whether I am wearing shoes or not. I will work on it this summer and take a picture to show you.

My Chacos and I even got a chance to go horse back riding on the beach!?!? Who does that? Well it was such a romantic experience... it made me fall in love with my Chacos even more:)

On the way back home, we stopped and saw WICKED in San Diego. It was awesome! I am such a fan of the musical, it was surreal seeing it live. My favorite song is, by far, DEFYING GRAVITY!

Helpful Website

2008-02-26T08:01:00.001-07:00

This would probably be helpful for those who are still wondering what Chaco's are...

www.chacousa.com

Just so you know, I just changed your life!:)

D.C. Come Rain or Shine

2008-02-19T18:27:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite places to visit is Washington D.C., it is such a beautiful place and has such a wonderful spirit about it. I am a very patriotic person and this idea is enhanced every time I visit this lovely city.

A couple of summers ago I got to see Washington D.C. in a whole new light. I was able to be there over the Fourth of July. I have a goal every year to go somewhere different on the Fourth; being in D.C. was very surreal and the perfect place to be to celebrate our independence.

My Chacos carried me around this city. While I was at the Lincoln Memorial the heat and humidity became so unbelievably unbearable. Since I was in my Chacos my feet were not as hot as they would have been had I been wearing shoes. Then out of nowhere a torrential downpour replaced the heat and humidity.

Since I was wearing my Chacos I didn't need to worry about my shoes getting wet. I was able to walk through the rain and jump in any puddle that came my way. Because of these shoes I could enjoy the moment and not run for shelter like everyone else.

The next day we visited Arlington Cemetery. Because the monuments in D.C. are so large we were thinking that we would save time and just walk from Arlington to the Mall. So we did. What were we thinking!?!?! We were hot, we were tired, but thankfully my feet didn't hurt and I was able to carry on. It took us six hours to walk from Arlington Cemetery to the Capitol Steps where we watched an amazing Independence Day show complete with fireworks and Stevie Wonder.

Chacos - No Ordinary Shoe

2008-02-17T22:21:00.001-07:00

For my first blog I think I need to introduce what Chacos are. They are a brand of shoe that has changed my adventure life. I am not a shoe fan. I am one of those barefoot-all-of-the-time kind of people, usually people like us resort to the normal flip-flop. But I love to rock climb, raft, hike... and flip-flops just don't cut it for those activities. And the idea of putting on socks and hiking boots sounds so time consuming!

I didn't know what to do. That is when Chacos entered my life. I noticed my roommate wore the same pair of shoes everyday. Really no matter if she was wearing a dress, slacks, jeans, or sweats, she always had the same pair of shoes on. I asked her about the shoes and that is when my life changed for the better.

There is one thing unique about Chacos that make them unlike any other shoe: they are the only shoes that I don't want to throw off my feet the moment I walk in from a long work day. I could keep them on and be just as comfortable in them as my bare-feet. Let me restate that... I almost prefer Chacos to my bare feet... that's a big deal.