Dear Life,

Dear Blog,

2010-01-14T22:37:00.003-07:00

You've been great.

But now it's time for a fresh new start.

Introducing the Rasmussen Blog:

ashandjdraz.blogspot.com

Add it.

Dear 5 DAYS!

2009-12-14T01:29:00.002-07:00

5 days until J and I get married!

Can you even believe it?

It has come SO fast...at least the engagement part of it all.

Those two years apart seemed a little long ;)

I don't really talk about it much because I'm just not really that kind of person, but I feel SO lucky to be able to marry someone as great as JD. People ask all the time if I'm nervous... and I can honestly, and easily answer 'no' to that question. I have no doubt that JD is my best friend in the entire world and no matter what comes throughout the rest of our journey, we'll be together and that'll make it just fine with me.

My friends and I like to play this little game (yeah, we're kind of mean... I know) called "who got the better deal?" Unfortunately for me, I know EXACTLY who got the better deal this time.

Just don't fill him in on this ;)

So, I know where I'll be on Saturday...

Newport Beach Temple with my best friend in the world.

Dear Weather Man,

2009-12-09T12:44:00.001-07:00

You better not screw up your predictions this time.

That's all.

With love,

The bride-to-be

Mon
Dec 14

Partly Cloudy

64°
44°

20%

64°F

Tue
Dec 15

Mostly Cloudy

67°
44°

10%

67°F

Wed
Dec 16

Partly Cloudy

68°
44°

10%

68°F

Thu
Dec 17

Mostly Sunny

68°
45°

10%

68°F

Fri
Dec 18

Sunny

68°
44°

68°F

Dear Buns,

2009-12-09T12:24:00.003-07:00

No...not those kinds of buns.

These ones:

Yesterday at the grocery store, Dani was trying to teach me how to spice up my diet (10 more days people, 10 more days...) because I am absolutely losing my mind! My food consists of the following:

-Spinach

-Cucumbers

-Celery

-Pomegranate

-Clementines

-Whole wheat bread

-Apples

-Hearts of Romaine

-Kiwi

-Hummus

-Turkey

At first it was really fun and I was loving my selection. Then, 5 lbs. and 7 days later I realized there was almost no way I could do this for 10 more days.

So this is where the buns come into the picture. Dani and I were grocery shopping and we found this gem... delicious Oroweat Sandwich Thins. They are SO good!

Each bun (top and bottom) is:

-only 100 calories

-100 % Whole wheat

-5 grams of fiber

-19 grams whole grain

-NO Fructose Corn Syrup

-1 gram of fat & only 2 grams sugar

YUMMMMMM

Dear Lovely Thought,

2009-11-27T12:49:00.002-07:00

The Blind Side = Incredible

I am definitely not a movie girl...

but even I adored this movie.

Casting was fantastic.

The message was fantastic.

Must-see this holiday season.

Dear Grammar,

2009-11-27T11:44:00.003-07:00

No one knows jack about you anymore.

If there's one thing that bugs me when it comes to grammar,

it's this...

too

your

you're

their

there

they're

Mostly you see incorrect usage in papers,

rarely in newspapers,

and never on TV.

EXCEPT FOR TODAY.

Call me anal. I don't care.

I could not believe my eyes today while I was watching TLC.

On the right hand corner of the screen it said,

"Your watching 'Say Yes to the Dress'"

UM GROSS.

TLC... really?!

Dear 25,

2009-11-24T13:01:00.003-07:00

25 Days of Christmas... best ABC Family countdown EVER.

25th of December... best holiday EVER (right next to the 4th of July).

Top 25 BCS Standings

25 is a great number for many reasons...

HOWEVER, today it's a great number because it's the amount of

day left until JD and I are married!

Love this boy:

So in honor of this great day, I thought it would be appropriate to introduce the fabulous bridesmaids. I love each one of these people so much and I have been so blessed to have them all throughout my life. Not many people are as lucky as I am :)

First: My beautiful sister Lex

She is hilarious! ...and did I mention smart?! Yes... Lexi is the genius in the family and also probably one of the kindest people you'll ever meet. She can be a little uptight sometimes, but it's only because she cares so much about the details. She is definitely a perfectionist and it works to her advantage FOR SURE. I love her more than anything and love her even more for how supportive she has always been of JD. She loves him and he loves her. It's great :)

Second: Amelia & Jenni

These two have kind of been there the whole way. We've been best friends since we were 13 and I could have never imagined to have been blessed with two better friends to share those crazy years with. They not only made my junior high/high school experience HILARIOUS but they also helped me to understand what it means to be a true friend. I love these two so much and I feel so lucky that I've been able to have them in my life for so long.

And last, but definitely not least: Rach, Sara Rae, Al Pal, and Dani Deej

How can I even start? I might get teared up thinking about how much they have put up with my crazy antics and have loved me the whole way through. They are such incredible examples and friends to me. I love each and every one of them for a million reasons each... it might be creepy if I kept going. But let it suffice to say that I have NO idea what it would've been like these last couple years without them there to share the memories with.

They're all pretty great...

I'm kind of a REALLY lucky person,

and I will definitely be having the most beautiful bridesmaids EVER.

Dear Al Pal,

2009-11-03T11:28:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to YOU!!

Even though I miss this cheetah being in the mansion with me every day,

I know Sammy will take good care of her for her bday!

Love love love you Al!

Looking forward to even more memories with this beautiful lady!

Dear Tyra,

2009-10-21T16:45:00.002-06:00

Tell your "top models" to watch out.

My fiance is about to steal the show.

J and I had engagements a few weeks ago.

The proofs are back...

and I really think I MIGHT be engaged to

a model.

Don't you wish I were nice enough to give you the password to the site ;)

For a preview go here

Dear Wedding,

2009-10-15T10:54:00.001-06:00

9 o'clock tonight JD and I will be on a plane to California to plan the wedding.

See ya Sunday.

Dear cold,

2009-10-08T10:34:00.002-06:00

Please go away.

It's too early for you to be here.

I can barely get out of bed in the morning

because I know the second I take my covers off

I'm going to be shivering for the next 20 minutes.

It's only October.

It's cold.

& I'm almost late to all my morning classes.

Wishing you would leave,

Ashley

Dear Old News,

2009-10-05T12:29:00.004-06:00

I am terrible at blogging.

It's official.

Point in case:

Last week in class I was looking at Dani and started cracking up because she had a little chip of nail polish stuck in between her teeth. You may remember my post about her obsession with painting her nails. If so, you understand why I was laughing.

Upon me telling her this, I also said, "Yes! I now have something to blog about. This is great!"

She stared at me and said, "You just got engaged... and you're going to blog about ME with nail polish in between my teeth?!"

Good point.

So folks... the cats out of the bag.

I've been engaged for a little over 2 weeks.

We're getting married December 19th 2009 in the Newport Beach Temple.

More updates coming soon :)

Being engaged to your best friend is pretty great.

Dear little people,

2009-08-27T14:07:00.002-06:00

So today I made myself some lunch and then decided to turn on the TV for a few minutes.

Little People/Big World show came on so I decided to watch it.

Back in high school one of my friends Jenny was OBSESSED with midgets.

(maybe that's not a politically correct term...but I'm not exactly a politically correct person).

Anyhow, as I'm watching they start talking about how a

good family friend of theirs is visiting for a few days.

This "good family friend" just happens to be my pal I met on my plane on my way home for thanksgiving my sophomore year of college.

He was the guy on Pirates of the Caribbean so OF COURSE we had to take a picture.

I'm not going to lie... I felt very awkward about this picture.

I didn't know if I should stand normal, bend over, or kneel down.

Okay... obviously I knew I shouldn't kneel down (that was simply for a dramatic effect).

He's a short little guy,

but boy was he nice.

And famous.

Hahaha... I burst out laughing when I saw him on TV today

and immediately dug up this picture purely for blogging purposes.

Enjoy:

Dear Food,

2009-08-23T02:25:00.003-06:00

Yep. That's right.

I talk about food.

I think about food.

I eat food (sometimes inhale).

Occasionally I will even admit, I dream about food.

Why not blog about food?

Am I sounding chubby yet?

Maybe.

I am just dying to get to Provo for many reasons.

One of them being that no longer will I be eating mass produced food.

No longer will I be picking at chicken soaked in grease

OR lettuce with shriveled edges that appears to be turning brown.

EFY supplied me with a lot of great things this summer.

Food was not one of them.

Food, comida, nourriture, nahrung, cibo, 食べ物...

(however you want to say it)

I am officially in complete control of you & what enters my body.

Sayonara campus cafeteria food.

It's been real.

Dear Provo,

2009-08-22T16:15:00.003-06:00

I'm ready to be reunited.

These are just a few of the reasons why I'm missing my Provolone:

My friends are kind of AMAZING.

I wouldn't mind having them back after an entire summer of not seeing them.

Love, love, love you guys.

Dear JD,

2009-07-20T21:25:00.005-06:00

Pretty sure that's one of the last "Dear JD's" I'll be writing.

JDizzle returns from 2 years in Japan on Friday at 11:30am!

Welcome home, best friend!

Dear MIA,

2009-06-17T23:33:00.002-06:00

I'm alive. I promise.

This is an apology to all friends and family members

who may rightfully feel I've fallen off the face of the Earth.

I've been in Minnesota:

Loving counselors,

Loving kids,

and Loving the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Life is wonderful and I hope yours is too.

Call you this weekend :)

Sincerely yours,

Your STILL friend/sister/daughter/cousin who loves you

Dear EFY,

2009-06-10T12:58:00.011-06:00

So lots of people ask me why I love EFY SO, SO much.

In honor of the fact that I am flying out to Minnesota tomorrow for some training before the kids come on Monday, I decided I would share the top 14 reasons why EFY makes me happy.

1. Where else do teenage boys get girls their food?

2. Ha! Taking trays up to the conveyer belt is a coveted responsibility.

3. I've never seen so many teenagers go out of their ways to have missionary experiences.

(My kids ALWAYS rock).

4. I get to go to LOTS of wonderful places.

Case in point:

5. Service activities WEEKLY.

6. Eating pizza is a required activity.

7. Hilarious things happen... like the whole entire floor floods from an overflowing toilet.

8. I get to hang out with the GREATEST youth in the church.

Just take a look:

(p.s. Kelsey was one of my girls TWO years in a row...

this was us feeling ugly before the banquet)

9. I have the coolest coworkers you could ever ask for.

11. Being above the age of 20 and still immature is completely acceptable.

13. Wristbands. Who doesn't want neon colored wristbands?

14. No sleep = Very tired counselors.

And nothing could be better than getting an invitation in the mail for TWO of your girls weddings. YES, two of my girls have been married in the TEMPLE.

My job is so rewarding.

EFY 2009... bring on the memories.

Dear Story Time,

2009-06-09T21:24:00.005-06:00

As you may be very well aware, I have been employed by GAP for a while now.

I love my job.

I love the people I work with.

I love dressing mannequins and hanging decals.

I love cleaning the fitting rooms in the morning shifts (no, seriously though...it's my favorite)

I even love work meetings.

SO... since I've been home I decided I would see if I could pick up some shifts at our local GAP. My managers were fabulous and took care of everything for me. I was excited, they were excited... life was good.

WELL, yesterday was my first day working there. It was only a 5 hour shift... not bad.

I arrive to the store 10 minutes early so I can get accustomed with everything. Something you should know about me is that I LOVE sales rallies...opening, closing... I love them all.

You can imagine my disappointment when I asked, "Soo..where do you guys meet for the sales rally?" And the girl looked at me and said, "The what??" In that split second, I think my heart skipped a beat. I gave a nervous laugh and said, "Um you know...where they tell you the goals for the day, special promotions, you know..." She just looked at me and said, "Oh yeah... just go read it off the sheet and then go out to the floor and find a manager."

This was the moment where I had my first "WHAT?!"

My second "WHAT?!" moment came when I walked out on to the floor

and she sent me to GAP Baby. Ugh.

The third occurred as I walked over there and found no one in the store. I started walking around looking for clothes to refold, size, etc. That's when I quickly realized that there were LITERALLY, NO LIE, NO EXAGGERATION, NO clothes to fix. Everything was perfectly placed, folded, sized... it was insane. So, I got on the walky and asked if there were any reticketing jobs that needed to be done or go-backs. Reticketing was done that morning (reticketing is a never ending process at our store... it is never "done") and apparently go-backs are non-existent in their store.

To add to my dismay, Baby's register wasn't open...so anyone who was even going to buy anything from me would go to Kids to check out. This left with me with virtually nothing to do. SO, I Swiffered...yes, Swiffered the store... in the middle of the day! (I was actually happy to see dust... it made me feel like I was back in our store). In our store we do all the cleaning in the morning because there are too many people to do it during store hours. Don't worry though, because that's not a problem here. I had MAYBE four customers walk in the store during my whole five hour shift.

Long story short, if I worked in this store every day...

my career in retail would last about one month... tops.

The people were great.

The store obviously looked perfect.

However, standing and twidling my thumbs for 4 hours straight

just doesn't really hit the spot for me.

EFY couldn't come any sooner...

Dear Bing,

2009-06-06T23:07:00.002-06:00

Nope.

Not Chandler.

Bing CHERRIES.

I love summer for many reasons. One of which is that with summer, come the bing cherries.

I hate normal cherries. They are gross and weird.

HOWEVER, these suckers are divine.

Muchos gracias verano.

You rock.

Dear Sweet Sunday,

2009-06-04T14:10:00.002-06:00

This was suppose to have been posted a few weeks ago.

BUT, today was a GREAT Sunday for the following reasons:

1. Went to church

2. Went to Elder Allsen's mission farewell.

He was one of my EFY boys last summer.

I always promised that I would go to his mission farewell, so that I did!

3. Elder Busche came and gave our ward an EXCELLENT fireside.

These were some bits of advice he gave:

Give away all fear.

Ask God to fill your soul with love.

The most IMPORTANT thing you can do in life is find love for everyone around you.

I love Sunday's.

Dear Schuyler,

2009-06-03T14:57:00.003-06:00

Provo is really going to miss your comedic comments and hilarious antics.

Schuyler is growing up, going to law school, and leaving all his immature college buddies behind. It's heart breaking.

This is us literally moments after he dropped the bomb:

Such a ladies man. He will have no problems in Tennessee.

Sad... we will miss him.

Schuyler, you are the best.

Cheetah - Panther gatherings will never be the same :(

Dear Cake Club,

2009-06-03T14:53:00.002-06:00

Back in Provo we use to do this thing called "Cake Club." It lasted about two weeks... but this was one of our creations. Thanks to the creativity of Sara and Daniface, we created this monster.

Truthfully, I'm kind of glad Cake Club died out. That way I'm not missing anything.

Fall '09...Cake Club will live on.

Dear Guilty Pleasure,

2009-06-02T13:41:00.002-06:00

...since when do I even like pop?

Ugh. Diet Coke with Lime...you've gotten the best of me.

Dear Lovely Somethings,

2009-06-02T10:37:00.005-06:00

I'm home.

I'm relaxing.

Here are the little somethings in my life that I am loving these days:

running. mixed with a little pilates.

nutrisystem. already down nearly 5 lbs in 4 days.

these summer dresses from gap. 2 colors down and deciding on a new one.

preparing for the best summer job: efy -- 9 days and counting.

THIS shampoo and conditioner... my hair smells delicious.

shopping... I'm a bit partial to my 2nd home.

propel. divine.

reading, reading, reading. summer is the best.

carpe diem, people. carpe diem.

Dear May,

2009-05-28T13:33:00.001-06:00

You were good to me.

I have some pretty great friends.

Thanks Provo.

Dear Swine'ing in style,

2009-05-19T14:12:00.005-06:00

8 days until I leave to go home to Ohio.

This gives me approximately 192 hours to find the perfect mask.

Yes. Cory Eckel is "suggesting" (a.k.a. enforcing) that I wear a "respirator mask" on the airplane on the way home. He thinks I need to take proper precautions while "I'm sitting 18'' away from 2 people on either side of me, 3 people in front of me, and 3 people behind me who could be from who knows where."

At first, I laughed in complete shock that he would even suggest something so absurd and ridiculous.

Moments later after realizing how serious he was about this, my mood went from humorous to embarrassed. In my head I'm thinking..."Okay... people are going to think I'm a freaking paranoia case."

After contemplating this idea over the past couple hours, I have decided that I will in fact wear a mask... but not just any mask. I am going to fight this swine flu with style. I decided to google swine flu masks to take a look at some of my options. I had no idea so many people were thinking along the same lines as myself.

Incredible. I have so many options!

Now I just need to make a decision.

Hmm... which mask would automatically convince

people of how LEGIT I actually am?

I think I'm leaning toward either the skeleton or the mustache.

Suggestions?

I have only one requirement. It can't clash with my plastic footies, rubber gloves, and paper shower cap.

Dear Ms. E,

2009-05-19T12:50:00.004-06:00

Some of you may be aware that I took a class this spring term on teaching physical education to elementary students. I was assigned a first grade class and had to teach them for 3 weeks. One of the lessons had to be on rhythm and dance. SO, last night at about 2am I choreographed this little diddy in Danielle's bedroom.

As you can obviously see from these clips, we took this VERY seriously.

Dani made sure to bring the camera to class today to catch the kids on tape too. HAH!

I love the Elementary Education program. Aren't you jealous you don't get to do this for homework?

Dear Sexy Lexi,

2009-05-19T00:30:00.003-06:00

I use to call Lex, Sexy Lexi when she was a youngster simply because I knew it drove her crazy.

HOWEVER,

this special little nickname seems to apply now, more than ever.

To be bold, my sister is a BABE.

The braces being taken off have done her well.

Congrats Lex. You are one sexy mama!

Dear "Honey, I'm home!"

2009-04-14T19:24:00.003-06:00

Yep. I'm back to school, back to school.

The cruise was GREAT!

Seeing the family was GREAT!

Getting some sun was GREAT!

Overall, last week was not too shabby.

Here are some fun pictures from the trip:

Dinner the first night on the boat:

Getting ready to snorkel with the fam in Grand Cayman:

Holding a sting ray at the sandbar in the middle of the ocean:

Me and mom karaoke night:

Lex and I in Cozumel at the beach:

Kiddos in Cozumel:

We rented scooters to drive to the beach:

Beautiful sunset:

Mom and I in the Bahamas:

Mariano! Our precious little cleaner:

Fun in Cabin C253:

I love my family. I am so lucky!

Dear GOODBYE PROVO,

2009-04-03T08:38:00.003-06:00

Your weather has been ruthless.

April 1st you played an awful joke and snowed... ALL day.

So I've made an executive decision

(Okay, not really. I was leaving no matter what).

Tomorrow morning I leave for here:

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Following that, I will make a stop here:

Cayman Islands

Then we'll swing on over to:

Cozumel Mexico

And not to be forgotten:
The private cays in the Bahamas
Peace out, Provo.

The Eckel fam is cruising for 7 days & we are not looking back.

See you next Saturday.

Dear A.D.D.

2009-03-31T19:02:00.002-06:00

Once a week I am convinced that I have you.

GENERALLY, this thought comes between

5 o'clock to 7:30pm every Tuesday evening.

This 2 and 1/2 hour period happens to be during my

Strengthening Marriage and Family class.

I never check my email every 2 minutes.

I never sign on and off of facebook 12 times within 5 minutes.

I never am SO bored I can barely sit still.

I SWEAR.

A.D.D., I have you... once a week from 5-7:30pm.

I can't wait until 2 weeks from now when you go away FOREVER.

Wishing you were GONE,

Ashley

Dear girl with the blaring music,

2009-03-20T15:18:00.002-06:00

You're just another one of them.

...another crazy coug that keeps me entertained daily.

I have to admit, I love these types of cougs. They keep me alive and well. Really though. There is no sarcasm involved in that statement. It's straight from the heart.

So I'm sitting in the Wilk with some chummies getting ready to watch March Madness when all of a sudden, Gwen Stefani is singing so loud you'd swear it was a live performance. That's when I was reminded that Gwen would doubtfully be performing in the Wilkinson's Center. So naturally, I look around for the source of the noise and see some precious little freshman who APPARENTLY left her headphones in her dorm room.

I feel for her. I really do. I know how painful it can be when you're really craving a tune & you just can't listen to it. BUT, that's the difference between this chickadee and myself. I control my urge and suck it up... then when I get home I turn on my iHome to the highest setting and sing at the top of my lungs (which I am POSITIVE my roommates LOVE). This girl however, couldn't wait to jam to her "sweet escape."

OBVIOUSLY she was just screaming for someone to sing along with her about refrigerators and sour milk... or so I thought. I accepted her invitation and began to sing...rather loudly --- but only because I had to compete with Gwen. I guess I misread her invite because she immediately turned around and gave me the stink eye.

Oh well. Her music is now turned down

so luckily no one else will make the same mistake I did.

Dear men in my life,

2009-03-16T00:04:00.003-06:00

You are far and few between.

KIDDING. (Men obviously adore me)

Really this post is simply for Aust & Dad

because I couldn't bare to leave them out of the last one.

And besides, they both deserve some recognition this week.

First of all, Austin is SO cute.

Since Lexi and Mom are gone during my Dad's birthday, Austin took it upon himself to make a cake for pops. SO precious. I can't even tell you how great I think that boy is.

Second of all, my dad ROCKS!

Really though, my dad is one of a kind. A lot of people probably wish they had as cool of a dad as I do. No big deal, I'm not judging. I'd be jealous too.

Here's to Padre! Happy 45 years of birth!

...And he even threw a little party for him. SUCH a gem.

OH! And I know Blizzard would be so broken-hearted if he knew I didn't include him as one of the men in my life. Let's be honest... Blizz is right up there with those two.

How could you not love that little face?

Dear Provo,

2009-03-15T23:46:00.002-06:00

You have a tendency to be cool... sometimes.

I'll be the first to say I actually enjoy throwing

out the Provo slams every once in a while,

BUT when it comes down to it, this place isn't so bad

& I really wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

EXCEPT for weeks like these.

Why do I have a picture of New York City?

Eh, only because my sister is there taking a break from school with her show choir group, SHOPPING, eating at fabulous restaurants, seeing Broadway shows, watching crazy people perform in the subways, getting sweet deals on legit knock-offs, & watching the Today Show from outside.

Now you're really confused... What does NYC have to do with Oahu, Hawaii?

...Just the fact that my mom is there at BYU-H teaching some seminars on business because she is that much of a genius. Yes, ladies and gents...my mom is an all-star power woman.

That's beside the point though. Karen is chilling on beaches of Oahu.

Enough said.

So Provo, you're not so bad.

EXCEPT for weeks like this. NYC and Oahu take you by storm.

But hey, life could be worse.

I could go to school in Wyoming and stare at windmills all day.

SICK.

Dear Dani 2,

2009-03-10T13:24:00.002-06:00

21 years ago on this very day, that innocent looking brunette was born:

Pretty soon, she grew up and was not so innocent anymore.

Instead she was wild! She got in a fight at her rival HS football game.

BUT, she also did things with her life.

She was a working woman at BYU's campus from 8am-12pm every day.

She became an Elementary Education Major because she loves kids more than anyone.

She traveled to Peru and helped little chicos for two months.

She also got locked out of the house there...daily.

She did more than that though.

One of the best things she did was make people happy.

She made her friends laugh & smile every single day with her funny dances

and cool brown robe and sweatpants.

We were practically mission companions we were together so much.

And pretty soon, she became one of my very best friends!!

She did lots more totally radical, tubular, sweet stuff in her 21 years of life,

and she's going to do even more!

Look out for her people... she's moving mountains!

So Sister Stolworthy... I love you! I hope you have the best birthday ever!!

Dear Dani,

2009-02-24T22:50:00.002-07:00

You paint your nails like 3 times a day (seriously).

In no way am I exaggerating.

I like to think of myself as someone who takes pretty good care of themselves.

HOWEVER, I HATE painting my nails.

Sure I feel great after I've done it... but it's temporary gratification.

As Dani is evidence of, nail polish lasts all of 24 hours before you have to do it all over again because it's cracking off. I swear. My roommate has bottles of nail polish all over her room. In the course of an hour while sitting in her room, it's possible AND likely that she will paint her nails two different times.

I love being a girl, but there are some things I will never understand.

Dear BYU Cougs,

2009-02-24T14:10:00.005-07:00

HA! You really give me a hoot for a couple of reasons.

1. You love school waaayyy too much.

2. If you ever miss any points on tests,

it's as if the world is crumbling down around you.

3. When you mess up, you have excuses for EVERYTHING!

...and they're usually ridiculous.

Case in point:

After getting our short answer responses back in our Stats lab, some chickadee in front of me asked our TA why she missed the point (17 out of 18 wasn't good enough). He gave her some answer in terms I didn't even recognize, and then she pouted her whole way out the door. As she was walking down the stairs with her amiga, she said these exact words..."Well, that's what I meant... I just didn't say it."

Hahaha...and that's why you crazy cougs make me laugh. That's the WORST excuse I've ever heard. It doesn't even make sense.

Funny stuff, cougs. Funny stuff.

Dear read the fine print,

2009-02-10T17:12:00.002-07:00

Joke's on me, ladies and gents.

I am officially a moron.

Any of my roommates/friends know that I have been slaving for the past 36 hours over my Marriage class papers. 3 5pg. papers?! Is this some kind of joke!?

And to add to the stress, I also have to take my exam early tonight since I'm leaving in the morning for California (hard life, I know). Anyway... I have studied for maybe a total of a 1/2 hour because I spent literally... NO JOKE almost 10 hours on my papers.

I come into class tonight and turn in all 3 papers. As I am passing them up to the next person, I notice how light all these papers feel.

Hmm. That's strange. How could 15 pgs per person feel light?

I look at the girl ahead of me and say, "Um. Weren't we supposed to write all 3 papers?"

"No... you only had to choose one of the three."

Ha. Ha. Hahahah!

That is all I can do. Just laugh.

Laugh at the fact that I am feeling like a complete idiot

for spending hours on end researching for these papers.

Laugh at the fact that instead of studying for my test, I spent my time writing ungraded papers

Laugh at the fact that I missed my genealogy workshop in order to finish my final paper.

Laugh, laugh, laugh.

Un-freaking-believable.

So people... read the fine print. Lesson learned.

Dear 'Can I get a Hallelujah?!"

2009-02-10T11:31:00.006-07:00

Yes, I checked the mail yesterday.

Yes, I could feel my heart beating in my throat

when I saw an envelope from the School of Education.

Yes, I savagely tore open the envelope

(and still am not quite sure where it ended up),

Yes, I literally screamed outside of the mailboxes of my complex.

YES,

Yesterday both Dani and I received our letters of acceptance into the McKay School of Education Elementary Ed. Program!

I am so excited to be a teacher... and now I am one step closer!

I've had a bit of experience with these kiddos in the past:

6th Grade Camp Counselor... and let me just say I will never teach 6th graders.

Volunteered in an Elementary School. My AWESOME 4th graders:

Innocent 1st graders:

Psychotic 2nd graders (this picture does not do justice):

And sweet kindergarten babies:

You can call me Ms. Eckel.

Dear Change Shmange,

2009-01-25T23:16:00.002-07:00

Below you will find pictures of Ash Bash's wedding shower. I think the whole entire time I was having anxiety because I am just so thrown off by all this growing up that's going on around me. I mean really... my friends are old enough to get married now, boys who are actually MY age are coming home from their missions, and I am trying to brainstorm ways to earn money so I am not completely dirt poor one day (key words: one day) when I'm married. Not okay.

Anyway, I went home that night (this past Thursday) and started reading through some journal entries from this summer. I came across one that really made me think. This is what I wrote:

The older I get, the more I realize that you have to stop looking back on the yesterdays. The past is done and gone and the future is bound to come, no matter how hard we try to push it away. And just as one chapter closes, another one opens and because of the lessons we've learned before, we are more prepared to meet the days ahead of us. (8.22.08)

Hm. I guess I learned a little lesson from myself that night. Change really isn't so bad, and even if it is... tough luck. Deal with it. There are plenty of great things to come, and not only that... there are plenty of great things happening now, TODAY!

As Mika so wisely sings, "Everybody's gonna love today, love today, love today. Everybody's gonna love today any way you want to.. any way you've got to." Mmhmm. Thanks Mika.

and p.s. Ash...you are going to be the cutest little bride ever!

Dear Tender Mercies,

2009-01-25T21:48:00.003-07:00

'...the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.' -Nephi 1:20

I am always so surprised when I actually open my eyes and try to observe things around me, at how many wonderful blessings I have in my life. Just this past week I went to Ash's wedding shower. Her soon to be grandmother-in-law was best friends with my Grandma Sally when they were both raising their kids in Colorado. My grandma passed away when I was going into second grade and I really can't remember a whole lot about her. It was such a cool experience to meet someone who was so close to her. She told me all about my grandma and the person she was. She said that it didn't matter where my grandma went, she always fit in because she was so friendly and loving toward everyone. It was definitely a tearful conversation for both of us but I felt so blessed to have been able to meet Anna. Nothing awful is happening in my life, but it was just a testimony to me that the Lord knows who I am, that He's aware of me, and that He loves me. I know my Grandma Sally was watching and smiling as two people she loved were finally able to meet.

This is Anna and I:

The last two weeks of school have been crazy ones to say the least. Last week I got a Christmas package in the mail from JD. He is such a wonderful example to me of someone who truly loves the Gospel and his fellowmen. I love hearing from him and having reminders that he's still alive and well :)

Dear DO NOT GET ME STARTED,

2009-01-20T14:01:00.003-07:00

So I am currently sitting in my Statistics class. The Professor asked for someone to give an opening prayer. In this prayer, some boy decides to thank Heavenly Father for "Barack Obama and the changes he plans to make."

REALLY?! REALLY?!

You can bet I opened my eyes, my jaw dropped, and I looked at Dani and said, "Oh my gosh."

Then following the prayer, some girls behind me say..."Did you know Obama smokes?" Then I said "Did you know Obama wants to kill babies? Reminds me of a man named Herod..."

Yeah. Yeah. I'm mad. These dumb liberals here at BYU feel like since they're in such a minority (wah wah wah... welcome to life -- I'm a minority in practically everything I believe) they need to profess their political views in everything... even their PRAYERS.

For goodness sake.

Dear Life,

2009-01-13T19:37:00.007-07:00

Today I use my blog title as the heading for this entry.

After my class this evening, my distaste (for lack of a better word or rather for some sense of professionalism), for Barack Obama has only escalated. I have strayed as much as possible to keep this blog from becoming political, although I'm sure it's no surprise where I stand. I think I have had few moments in my life where I have been as disgusted, distrubed, and shooken up as I currently feel.

As we discussed abortion tonight and the ways that laws and regulations have been altered over the years, I was read a quote from Obama himself, announcing that his first task once in office, will be to remove ALL abortion restrictions that currently exist. One of these restrictions was passed in 2003 which declared that Partial Birth Abortion would be outlawed.

Once Obama signs for this to go to Congress (which thanks to the overflow of Democrats will pass) ALL RESTRICTIONS INCLUDING PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION will be removed.

For those of you who do not know what a partial birth abortion actually entails, I will spare you the details. Wikipedia it or send me an email if you feel so inclined. However, I will not be broadcasting such an awful procedure on my blog.

I am disturbed. I don't know a better way to put it. I don't agree with basically anything Obama has to say... but I had been so focused on his views of socialism and "change" I didn't seem to realize how much change I really could believe in. Oh he's changing this country, alright.

So yes, this blog is written to life. Written for all the precious lives that will be lost because of a so called choice that our soon to be President will not only allow, but feels so strongly about it that it's the first change he plans to make. This 'choice' is not whether you want the child or not. Rather the choice takes place long before the moment of conception even occurs. The choice is whether you will engage in sexual intercourse or not.

I feel so sick inside for the way this world is becoming.

Dear Airport Bathrooms,

2009-01-05T23:01:00.002-07:00

HA HA HA.

Of course. Why should I be able to maneuver my body (and think to myself... have my love handles really become this wide?), back pack, carry-on, and winter coat into one stall? That would just be plain silly.

You're right. It's not even really that necessary for the thin layer of plastic wrap on the seat to actually switch with each individual use. And it's definitely not a big deal that I get splashed by your infested water as your automated toilet tends to flush on a 12 second basis.

My favorite however, certainly has to be how the automated sink squirts out a thin stream of water for a good 1.2 seconds so I can wave my hands like a darn fool in front of the sensor in attempt to wash off the rest of pin sized drop of soap your dispenser so generously gave.

What happened to the days when I use to be able to control when I wanted the toilet to flush, the temperature of the water and length of time it would run, or even the amount of soap I could wash my hands with? Psh. Technology...

HA HA HA.

Airport bathrooms... you really give me a chuckle.

(But hey, I didn't even have the option of flushing a toilet in Peru after 10pm... so I guess I won't complain that all I need to do is remove my rear and you'll do the rest).

Dear University of Utah,

2009-01-02T23:25:00.003-07:00

You were the first college to accept my application. You were the first University to give me hope that I would actually attend college, in fact.

And tonight, you gave me hope yet again.

Only this time, it was a different kind of hope. It was a hope that the underdogs do in fact stand a chance against the big guys. In turn, reinforcing my hopes for a big win on Monday evening as The Ohio State University Buckeyes take on the Texas Longhorns.

Sure I have PLENTY of -- borderline obsessive -- Buckeye pride, but I can't help but be nervous considering our history with these last few years of bowl games. To add to my jitters, it's been reported that both Boeckman and Pryor will be rotating in and out. Make me lose sleep a little more Tressel. Come on.

Regardless of the outcome, I know Tuesday morning I will wake up still proud to be a Buckeye. My pal in AZ says the Buckeye fans are already packing the state with stickers and signs covering their vehicles... we are awesome.

But hey, the Utes really gave me some hope tonight. Let's just hope my Bucks feel the same way. So Longhorns... move over because Tressel and his boys just came into town.

Dear Dick Clark,

2009-01-01T00:44:00.006-07:00

The best part about ringing in the new year for 2009 is knowing that this year I'll get to say JD gets home "THIS July" instead of "next July" ...or worse, "not this upcoming July, but the one after it."

Is that pathetic or what? Regardless, I don't care. My best friend is not only coming home, but gets to meet all my girl best friends! I get to talk about life, the gospel, and what I've been up to not just to a recorder, but face to face! WOW. 2009 is finally here. Unbelievable.

So, even though I'm not New Years Eve's biggest fan, this one was fabulous because not only did I sit at home with my parents watching Prison Break (episodes I have already seen, mind you), scratch little Blizzard's furry back and remind him he's "such a good dog" nearly 73 times, drive all over town looking for somewhere to eat at 10:30 at night and finally settling for Arby's, watch Matthew (something or other) in Las Vegas perform a life threatening jump on his motor bike (although that was certainly a sight to behold), and sprint down to the basement with my parents just in time to count down for a good 10 seconds until the ball dropped, BUT I also get the satisfaction of knowing my best friend will be home in 7 months more or less.

So, Dick Clark... thanks for making this year special. A night with the rents all to myself and some sweet highschooler's taking over my basement is just what I hoped for.

Happy New Years 2009, all.

...now on to creating my resolutions. I'll post shortly.

Dear Daniela,

2008-12-31T00:58:00.004-07:00

These are my best friends. You may know them as "the cheetahs."

But today, I want to talk about one of them in particular:

Dani Marie Stolworthy... she is a babe, as you can tell.

I mean, you could say we're like... pretty good friends.

We've traveled the world together.

We freaking roughed it in a third-world country.

If that's not true friendship, I don't know what is.

But the point of this post, is not to tell you all how much I love Dani (although I am quite fond of her). Rather, it is to publicly announce that I am OK with her having a boyfriend. Let me redeem myself, I would LOVE for Dani Deej to have a love interest. It's just... okay, fine... I'll just get out with it: I don't want her to get married!

Yeah, fine. I said it.

But really people. Life has thrown a lot of curve balls at me lately and so that would just be the last straw. So, yes. Maybe I am a little hesitant to set her up on dates, but I will let love run its course. Dani, your top five will be coming to you quite soon -- but please promise me you will wait longer than 3 months before engagement.

Dear Grades,

2008-12-30T23:48:00.005-07:00

Minus you, Physical Science 110A.... I really liked you guys this semester. In fact, I was so pleased by the news you brought... I jumped up and down, ran to the family room, and announced my improved GPA to the whole entire fam. So thanks. You really know how to win this girls' heart over.

Professors... you're not too bad yourselves (once again... minus you Prof. Clark. Thanks for nothing).

Yours truly,

A Satisfied College Student

Dear Professors,

2008-12-27T13:44:00.002-07:00

Could you please post grades NOW before my dreams continue to be haunted?!

No really, though.

For the past THREE nights I have tossed and turned with awful dreams about bad grades. Without fail, each morning (or practically afternoon...because let's be real, I do NOT wake up early during break) I spring to the computer to see if grades have been posted yet. Last year they posted them like 5 days early. Yes I can see my New Testament grade, but I already knew that one... I already discovered a long time ago that I should've just MAJORED in religion for heavens sake. Now really. If you could just post my REAL classes grades, I would be forever grateful so that these dreams of being kicked out of my AP English class in HIGH SCHOOL (why am I having dreams about high school?!?!), flunking out of college, and applying 7 times to the El Ed. program would just STOP.

Yours truly,

A seriously PARANOID college student

Dear Day after Christmas Deals,

2008-12-26T19:34:00.006-07:00

Yes, Yes, & Yes!!! FINALLY!

For those of you who know me all too well, I have been dying to get a new camera. I got a camera last Christmas and I won't go into details, so let's just say I absolutely hate it. Well, after some deal browsing on the internet, I found her:

She is beautiful and I am obsessed. Especially since I got her for $70 off.

This is Aust and I at Best Buy. Since some jerk stole Austin's camera out of his bag last week at the airport, we were on a mission to get the two of us new cameras. We came, we saw, I conquered. Austin was not impressed.

After dinner with the fam, and me taking pictures of everything in my sight... Austin started to realize my divine picking ability in cameras and realized he too wanted to partake of the goodness. So we made stop #2 to Best Buy to purchase him the same camera.

When we got home, Austin went to open his camera up... only to find Samantha had given us the wrong camera! Shucks. So, Aust and I got back into the car for stop #3 to exchange the wrong for the right.

3 Stops to Best Buy = 2 Canon Cameras

Dear Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,

2008-12-25T19:44:00.007-07:00

Really though.

Hope your Christmas is full of love, laughter, family, mistletoe, hot cocoa, and Christmas carols.

Sending a little Christmas Spirit your way.

Love,

The Cheetah Mansion (HP 10)

Dear Reason for the Season,

2008-12-24T23:38:00.005-07:00

"We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He is the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the World.

'I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father (D&C 110:3-4).'

We testify that He will someday return to earth. 'And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together (Isaiah 40:5).' He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.

We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles - that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son."

-The Living Christ

Merry Christmas to all.

"We know not what lies ahead of us. We know not what the coming days will bring. We live in a world of uncertainty. For some, there will be great accomplishment. For others, disappointment. For some, much of rejoicing and gladness, good health, and gracious living. For others, perhaps sickness and a measure of sorrow. We do not know. But one thing we do know. Like the polar star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith."

-President Gordon B. Hinckley

Dear Girl with the Moves,

2008-12-22T23:07:00.004-07:00

Oh my lanty! This is hysterical. I would've embedded the code on to my blog but she has disabled that on her youtube account. SO, it's up to you to make the first move. If you enjoy laughter, rockin' dance moves, or maybe just a little inspiration... this is the video for you.

I think I have watched about 80% of her videos. My personal favorites are Disturbia & T-shirt. This girl has talent that cannot be denied. I need to find some way to contact her so she can teach me her ways.

With her help, I will totally have guys knocking on my door begging to take me on dates.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMdWqaN_Tms&feature=related

check it out, check it out.

Dear Memories,

2008-12-21T23:34:00.006-07:00

I'm home. It's 2:30 am. I'm rummaging through old photos on the computer, and I came across these. Absolutely hilarious.

Me in my prime, ladies & gents.

Visit to Utah one summer: Alpine Slide

Kait and I at Camp Michindoh as counselors.

Adam!

We thought it would be really fun to make pizza one night... looks cute, but didn't taste too great.

Cheerleading Sophomore year

Junior year I believe?

Senior year after we won the rival game for football.

After cheer camp... we kind of raided the book store.

Kindergarten to High School Grads. I've known this boy forever.

Classic AP English Picture from our weekend in Stratford.

Rach and me!

HA! What was I thinking wearing those sunglasses? Wow. Really rollin' in style.

Hawaii -- Senior Spring Break

Cute little Gracie!

Dear Lately,

2008-12-21T22:16:00.004-07:00

I have been seriously neglecting my blog.

In fact, the last time I posted I was getting ready to come home for Thanksgiving break.

I am now back in Buckeye Country for Christmas & since I took roughly a four hour nap and can not fall asleep, AND I miss my amazing friends in Provo so much, I decided I would post a couple pictures of life lately.

Me, Nat, Al Pal, Sara Rae, and Dani... my friends are babes.

My very best friends :) (Maego's Farewell... we miss you Sister Olsen!)

At Spark for some tasty mocktails with the girls

Aust and Dad came to Provo for a campus visit... I LOVED having them here!

This is my pretty friend Dani Deej. If anyone can possibly convince her to go back to Peru with me, I will love you forever.

Doug? Hm. It seems as though he has completely shed the awkward RM persona.

Okay, fine. He'll kill me if I don't clarify that there was a good 2 feet between the two of them.

Two of my babe roommates.

Dessert Parties.

Thanksgiving Break with the sibs.

Mel!

I have amazing friends. How in the world did I get so lucky?

Dear Goals,

2008-11-21T13:03:00.002-07:00

You're nice. You give me something to work for. I've taught a few lessons on you here and there.

I make a nice fatty list of you every single day, hour to hour.

This Thanksgiving break, my goals will not consist of anything academic. They won't (although they should) consist of trying to drop my 10 lbs that I still have yet to lose. They won't consist of me studying up on my Spanish. In fact, they won't even consist of much of anything that would be considered productive.

HOWEVER, after contemplating long and hard about what I wanted to achieve this break, I could only come to one real logical conclusion.

so, here it is... (hey it's just a thought unless you write it down, right?)

My goal this Thanksgiving Break is to learn Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' dance from her music video.

Shallow? Maybe. Ridiculous? Okay, fine.

Have I been a slave to school lately? YES.

Thus, I will do whatever I darn well please this break. And if I want to spend some time with Beyonce, I will do just that.

Cheers.

(p.s. I am blogging from the Denver airport. Layovers are just spectacular, aren't they? Thank you free wi-fi).

Dear Elder,

2008-11-20T14:25:00.004-07:00

Eh hem... I mean, Sister! (Elder sounded better...plus there's that amazing website that kept JD happy in the MTC with plenty of letters). Yep! My roommate Maeg left on her mission yesterday. She's going to be such an amazing sister missionary... and I still get to see her on Monday's in the TRC for a couple weeks at least! She will be serving in the Temple Square Mission and she will so great!

Those poor 19 year olds... Maeg is such a hottie!

p.s. check out Maeg's mission blog that Dani will be updating:

maeganatthesquare.blogspot.com

Dear I love leaving Provo,

2008-11-19T14:39:00.008-07:00

...even if it only is for one weekend.

Can you guess where I went???

Rainbows in November?! ...Unheard of.

More details to come...

Dear Fall Ball,

2008-11-10T15:57:00.003-07:00

As promised, the roommate photo shoot pictures are here!

Since Maeg left to go home before the MTC and Natalie moved in, we had to have some pictures with all of us so we had a nice little photo shoot a few Sunday's ago with Landon as our photographer. Let's just say I really love my roommates/best friends.

happy fall, all.

Dear Buckeye State,

2008-11-10T15:32:00.003-07:00

You make me the happiest ever.

Yes, it's true! I went home Halloween weekend to vote! I know, I know... "haven't you ever heard of an absentee ballot?!" Yeah, well... we didn't exactly get that in time so Padre took it into his own hands and since Ohio is such a huge swing state, I jumped on a plane Friday morning and got to stay until Monday night. It was such a good weekend visiting the family and getting to vote in my first Presidential election. I love my family so much and I was so grateful for the time I got to spend. It made me even more excited to go home in two weeks for Thanksgiving break!

Mamacita and myself:

Some of the greatest people I know:

Blizzard dog!

America. I love this country!

Families are forever... and I couldn't be more happy with mine! :)

Dear never felt so sore in my life,

2008-10-30T22:32:00.003-06:00

Okay, fine. I'm being slightly dramatic. But seriously. My right arm hurts like a mother and my inner thighs are so sore, I wouldn't be surprised if I looked down and they were black and blue.

You're curious. "How could she possibly be aching so much? Intense night at the gym?" No...I'll do you one better. Intense Family Home Evening at Thanksgiving Point. Now I know what you're thinking, "What? Pull some muscles in the corn maze?" Guess again. Try the fact that I rode on the mechanical bull for a good 2 minutes. Doesn't sound like much, I realize that. I was even in shock when I woke up the next day feeling practically worse than I used to after a grueling day at cheer camp (yes, I did just mention cheerleading camp on my blog). I was so confused. Many thoughts were racing through my mind, "I'm in shape, right? Why am I SO sore??? Dang it Tanner, why did you tell me to lock my legs??? I KNEW I should've held on with both arms." Luckily, we got at least one picture out of this experience.

It's official. It's practically Friday and I'm still aching. Will the mechanical bull be seeing my game face next fall? No.

Okay, that was me being dramatic again. I'll be there... AND I'll be upping my time. 2 weeks of an aching body? Pocket change.

p.s. Is October really almost over?!

Dear Something New Part 2,

2008-10-30T22:17:00.006-06:00

Well, here are some pictures of the new cut. I know people... it's quite the change, but each day I start to like it more and more. I'm not one to be all upset if other people don't like it as much as I do, but let me tell you one thing that does bother me: when people voice their disliking in what they think is a clever way. For instance, and I think the best yet, is when they say, "Do YOU like it?" Yeah. That one kills me. Something about the phrase really gets beneath my skin. Luckily, I've only heard it once thus far... let's keep it that way!

So... here it is! The latest and greatest Ashley... and p.s. the last picture is from our roommate photo shoot. The pictures are great... post to come!

Dear Something New,

2008-10-25T21:38:00.003-06:00

She BANGS, She BANGS...

Well, it was time for a change. We got a little bored the other day and decided it would be a really great idea to let Maeg cut some bangs for me! After a couple snips of my hair throughout my scarf and 20 minutes later, I had bangs! Maeg is such a little pro at everything though, so I wasn't too worried. Not only does she go to college, but she's going on a mission AND hair school when she gets back. Talk about real life achievements.

Now I have something to remind me of Maeg always when she leaves us for Temple Square next week :(

Dear School,

2008-10-23T23:59:00.002-06:00

I hate your stinkin' guts.

You make me vomit.

You're the scum between my toes.

Love,

Ashley

Dear Blessings,

2008-09-22T18:21:00.005-06:00

I have so many of you lately!

I am so blessed. Really, I am one lucky lady. I was looking at pictures from this summer: Peru, EFY, and my time spent with family and friends and I was once again reminded of how great my life is and really, has always been. Such amazing opportunities seem to fall into my lap quite frequently and I am grateful for the lessons I'm able to learn from each of them.

This is me giddy and gay-faced about how happy life is making me these days:

Life isn't perfect, but it's close enough. Things are just peachy-keen and I have no complaints.

So blessings, you're more than welcome to keep pouring down.

Dear Spanish Tutor,

2008-09-17T22:56:00.004-06:00

I need you badly.

As some of you know, I'm going back to Peru in May! Woo woo! I'll be doing the same thing, with the same kids, same place, yada yada. Last summer I went for 10 weeks, but this time I'll only be going for just the month of May because my brother graduates in June so I need to make it back in time for that, and then EFY will start once again. SO, I will be returning to Cusco, but for a shorter amount of time. I couldn't be more excited though! AND, this time I'm much better prepared. I just found out yesterday that I'll be getting a Spanish tutor. The professor set everything up...and lucky for me, I already know him! He is from Lima, Peru and is a freshman this year at BYU. I met him when we first got to Peru in April. He is such a doll and I am so excited to finally become fluent!

(That's just a picture of me and him in Lima my first day in Peru!)

Dear hermanos de Peru.

2008-09-16T13:29:00.012-06:00

One of our last days there with the boys :( ...we had them put their hand prints all over our shirts!

This boy may have been one of the reasons I was supposed to go to Peru.

They thought the guessing game was so much fun!

Sweet little Armando. I have a great video of him singing a song in Catchuwa that is too cute.

Alberto! He's a wild child and I love it!

Shoes, shoes, shoes. They got a little out of control with the paint that day.

Installing windows in a school... I cut my finger open that day. I've got the battle wound to prove it!

Just thought they would show off my non-washed, root infested, hair!

A city outside of the Amazon.

One of the boys took this picture. Such good photography skills!

Mi hermano de Peru. (My Peruvian brother).

Bernie!

Maxi, Alberto, and I watching movies on my camera

Luis!! I love this boy!

Putting the little kiddos to sleep during movie night.

"Momma, momma!"

I love my little brothers.

Maxi and I on one of my last days there.

Taking Floix out for his birthday dinner one night (after I gave him his present).

We just found out Efrain got adopted by a family in Argentina!

These boys had me whipped!

I miss these boys so much and think about them everyday. I can't wait to go back in May and see them again! They really did change me for the better and I am so blessed to have had this opportunity. I thought I was the one going there to serve, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I learned so much about life, people, and myself from those boys and I cannot thank them enough for the lessons they taught me.

...so to my little Peruvian brothers, I miss you and love each one of you crazy guys!

Dear family ties,

2008-09-16T13:05:00.004-06:00

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my family. I sure got lucky. They are absolutely fabulous. My mom and dad came down last week and it was so much fun being with them! After Peru, I will never take them for granted again. I love each one of them and miss them dearly.

Aust and me!

The Siblings.

Dad had to take the picture...so he missed this photo :(

Dad and me at the UCLA vs. BYU game!

Mom and me in Ohio.

Lexi and I reminiscing over Nancy Drew books... ohh, the days.

Thank goodness families are forever.

Dear Forever,

2008-09-14T22:53:00.006-06:00

...because it has been forever. And for those of you who are wondering, although I have been slacking on the blogging, I have kept up with journaling and my thankful journal! Woo! Lots has happened since July (shocking, eh!) but I'll sum up my time here in Provo these last few weeks with some pictures!

Rach and me SEARCHING for my EFY Reunion. Who even knows where Kiwanis Park is, anyway? Oh wait. Apparently EVERYONE but us. So...we made a photo shoot out of it.

We woke up at the crack of dawn to get AMAZING seats at Regional Stake Conference with Uchtdorf and Packer. Woot woot.

Mom took all of us out to dinner at Macaroni Grill while she was here visiting. Yum!

Me and Rachie...again! Cousin LOVE. And lots of it.

The ladies with Brad (a.k.a. Diva)

FINALLY! We have Spoon Me in Provo! Best thing ever.

The Cheetahs and Panthers Forever.

First football game of the season. 3-0 so far! Go cougs!

Love my friends.

...and, life is good.

Dear Tonsils,

2008-07-30T22:43:00.004-06:00

Not mine. Sara's. That's right... my darling Sara is getting her tonsils removed tomorrow. She's definitely partying it up the night before though. I am incredibly jealous of her. She is at the John Mayer concert in AZ! She deserves it though... tomorrow will not be fun :(

So Sara, I love you! You will do just great!

Dear Relaxation,

2008-07-29T22:58:00.003-06:00

I've had a little bit too much of you lately.

My life is starting to get a little TOO relaxed. I really have no plans...and even if I wanted to have them, it wouldn't matter because I don't have a car. Marvelous. I think my summer was a little bit too jam-packed to come to a hault like this. Oh well. In a week and a half I'll be off to Nauvoo getting ready for one more swing at EFY for the summer, which incase I haven't mentioned 65 times before this, I am completely STOKED for... and then a few days after that I will be off to Provo. I am missing my friends there way too much!

The thing is about life right now, is that after 7pm, things are on fire. The family is all home and we at least do something entertaining. For instance, tonight we had the elder's over, stopped by Kinko's and Ann Taylor Loft with my mom, then met up with the boys and visited a lady from our ward who is at Hospice and also managed to find some time to swing by Costco. That, ladies and gentlemen is what I mean when I say "things are on fire."

And as much as I love waking up every morning waiting to see what Tyra is going to teach me about that day, reading a book, catching some rays, doing pilates, and then ending my afternoon with Oprah... the madness has got to stop.

I need to get to bed now though because tomorrow HOWEVER, I DO have plans. I am waking up at 7:30 am to get ready to go to my sister's cheer competition since no one else can attend. I seem like I'm complaining, but I'm not. Truly, I'm excited...because one, I'm getting out of the house. And two, let's be honest... I will love cheerleading competitions until the day I die... and I am not ashamed.

...can you tell I miss EFY?

Dear Summer Reading,

2008-07-25T12:33:00.002-06:00

Books, books, books. I love them! The only problem is, I never have time to read them! Since I have about two weeks left before EFY Nauvoo, I'm going to try and get as much reading in as possible. Yesterday I read "Tuesdays with Morrie." It was so good... I love Mitch Albom and I couldn't believe I had never gotten around to reading that book of his. It was a quick read and I'm not going to lie... got me a little teared up.

We have a whole library of books here, so I've picked out a couple. My next three are church books, and then I'm going to try and squeeze a John Grisham in there also.

1) Believing Christ - Stephen E. Robinson

2) If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard - Sheri Dew

3) Teaching by the Spirit - Gene R. Cook

Any suggestions for non-church books? Let me know! I want to get in all that I can! Oh and while I'm looking for suggestions, I've been doing some work out dvd's (I found a pilates one I LOVE)... does anyone have any recommendations for awesome work outs?

Dear Best Journal Ever Purchased,

2008-07-25T12:15:00.002-06:00

Okay so if you dug up any of my old journals, you would notice that there are gaps - sometimes years long - between my entries. Pathetic, I know. I decided I am the world's worst journal writer. HOWEVER, that is all about to change. My dear friend Sara introduced me to the world's best journal ever. I've been going strong for nearly a month and I don't think it's about to die down anytime soon. It's such a quaint little notebook and I absolutely LOVE it! You can find them at Barnes & Noble. They're called Moleskines and are under $20. They have lots of different options and versions and come in black and red. I bought a black one for my normal journal, and a red one for my "thankful journal." Dani gave me this idea for the "thankful journal." Each day you just write the date and then 5 things that you were grateful for that day. It's such a cute idea and I think it makes me a lot more aware and appreciative.

Anyway, I am so motivated to become a good journal writer, once and for all!

Dear Cusco Scenery,

2008-07-25T11:28:00.006-06:00

This was the house Dani and I lived in with our Peruvian family.

This is a church that was made by the Spaniards called Coricancha. It's beautiful!

This is a sweet little plaza that you can find to the side of the Plaza de Armas.

In Santo Domingo, a village we visited to install windows for their school.

Plaza de Armas, other than the orphanage, our favorite place to go!

One of the buildings on Avenida Sol

Our kitchen at our house.

The other half of Coricancha.

In the mountains of Cusco.

Makes our house look like a palace.

The hills are alive in the sound of music.

Just like any city, it has its gorgeous parts, and its impoverished areas. Overall, I love the city of Cusco and absolutely enjoyed every second of my stay.

Dear Pre Orfanato Adventures,

2008-07-25T10:54:00.008-06:00

In Lima with our host mom, Maritza!

Traveling in our boat down the Amazon River!

He needed a haircut.

Parrots, parrots everywhere.

On our trek through the dirty jungle.

Fishing. I'd say the first hour I had pretty bad luck. BUT, hora numero dos rocked!

Ash and me in Lima, Peru!

As I've mentioned about 57 times in this blog, I went to Peru. Before we actually started our work in the orphanage, we spent a week traveling. We went to Lima for 3 days and then Iquitos (The Amazon) for 4 days. Here a couple pictures from our adventures there!

Dear Home of the Brave,

2008-07-24T22:34:00.004-06:00

Well... after not posting for 3 months, I am BACK! (The above picture is the sign that was hanging when we pulled up into Ash's driveway)

I'll put up pictures asap, but for now... I am alive, home, and bettered by my experience in Peru. It was incredible and I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm hoping to travel back in May for just a month this time and be with my kiddos again. They're some of the best kids I know and I love them dearly.

I'm loving life back at home as well. I just finished up two weeks of EFY and have one more left in Nauvoo. Basically, my summer has been AMAZING. I've had such awesome opportunities and have been so blessed lately.

LIFE IS GOOD!

1st day in PERU!!!

2008-04-28T23:03:00.001-06:00

This is just a copy of the email I sent to my family... enjoy!

Okay, so there has been a change of plans now so I can email you an actual letter this time. Well, let me explain really quickly whats going on (if my typing looks weird its because I cant really use real grammar because the keyboard is a little different here). When we got to the airport, it took FOREVER to get through all the lines and everything. They told us there would be people standing there holding signs with our names. We walked into the room and it was HUGE! People were standing with signs EVERYWHERE and it was so overwhelming to hear all this spanish! Jake said, I 'I was thinking this was going to be all easy and we would see the people with our names right away...I didnt know the whole country was going to be here!' Haha, it was true though...there were so many people! The woman that picked us up from the airport, her name is Martitza. She is beautiful! Shes a businesswoman and is very professional. Anyway, shes not a member but her daughter goes to BYU which is how Alberto knows her (I met her daughter a few months ago at school at a Peru party). She only has one extra room in her house, so we went to her fathers house to sleep for these two days... her dad doesnt speak ANY english!! Haha, Ill tell you a good story about that in a second. Anyway, we stayed there last night and then a driver with the other BYU kids came and picked us up this morning. Before they got there, they called and talked to the grandpa. He tried to explain everything to us, but we could not understand anything he was saying so we all just stood there shaking our heads and smiling. HAH! You shouldve seen it... it was pretty funny! We spent the whole day touring Lima and seeing everything. It was seriously beautiful! I am so obsessed with it here! I got a lot of sun though... my face is pretty burnt! All of the people here are SO nice! Im sure a lot of that has to do with the fact that I have blonde hair and Im an American...but still! They always come up and ask for pictures! Haha, our first encounter with that was this morning. We were waiting for some of the other girls to get there, and these two boys and a girl were watching EVERYTHING we did and were following us around. One of the boys (Nate) asked them if they wanted to take a picture with us and they all got so excited and came running over! Hahaha they were so cute! I fell in love with so many kids today!!! === Dont worry mom, Im not going to bring any home! Anyway, sorry this email is everywhere but I just have SO much to say! We pretty much just ran around the city all day but I just loved it. I cant understand ANYTHING they are saying, but its okay for two reasons... 1. All the boys and a few of the other girls are totally fluent and 2. Ive realized, you can connect with someone without words. These people just love smiles. They are just so friendly, I really cant explain it to you. Im already falling in love with them. Everyone here greets eachother with a kiss on the cheek...its so precious!!!!

After we toured some of the city, we went back to one of the houses that some of the boys are staying at. The moms name is Angela and she is a member. Her son Roman was with us all day. Hes a sweetheart and is going to BYU in the fall. Hes very nervous but I told him not to worry because he will definitely make lots of friends. ANd I told him he can come to my house for Sunday dinners next year whenever he wants! Anyway, they are a VERY nice family. We all hung out from like 4 until 6 in their house...everyone was really tired from the day, except for me! No one understood how I still had energy... I told them its because Im just SO happy to be here and Ill probably ever have an opportunity like this again! Anyway, they have a BEAUTIFUL house! It really is gorgeous! I wish I wouldve taken pictures! They have these two parrots who talk and I was so amused by them. I honestly sat there with them for like 20 minutes laughing so hard. Dont worry... I took videos of it! Haha! After we chilled for a bit, we had FHE with their family. We played a game where we had to search for hidden gems throughout the house (they were made of paper). On the back of each of them there was something written about the temple. We had to read it out loud and then bear our testimony of the temple. It was a really neat experience. After that, she fed us a really delicious dinner! The food here isnt too bad at all! (Although tomorrow Maritza is taking us to this seafood place down by the beach... Im too scared to say I dont like fish so Im going to try and gut through it!) After dinner we all just hung out, and then Jordan gave me my blessing. Jordan, Jake, and me are the only ones who either wanted to go to the temple or had recommends, so were going tomorrow. Maritzas dad lives kind of far from where Jordan and Jake are staying, so I came back to Maritzas house and Im staying here for the night. Ash, Sare, and Dani are all back at her dads house but Im here with her family so I have internet connection which is why I got to send you an actual email. Angela is going to come pick me up in the morning with Jordan and Jake and were all going to do baptisms. After that, shes going to take us 3 to Maritzas dads house and pick the other cheetahs up and then well all go to lunch by the beach. After lunch, were going to an Indian Market and then back to another members house for dinner. Later,were going to the disco to dance!!

I hope all of this made sense, I have so much more to say but I really need to go write everything in my journal before my head explodes from trying to remember it all! I dont want to forget anything! I love you all so much though and I miss you!!

Drinks with the co-workers...?

2008-04-17T03:20:00.002-06:00

Well, Tuesday was my official last day at GAP for the school year since I'm heading to Peru. I'll start back again in either July or August, but I'm not going to lie... I was sad! Saturday night we had the BEST closing down crew ever and some of us decided that since most co-worker go out for drinks after work, we would go out for frozen yogurt! So, Lynsey, Maren, Alex, and me headed over to Yoasis (similar to Spoon Me...except not as good and in Provo). We stayed past close (they probably hated us), and we decided we are REALLY upset we haven't been doing this all year. Lets just say we laughed... A LOT. I am also mad at Lynsey because she is leaving us for byu-i (don't worry, I'll be writing an entire blog on her later) and we won't get to have her anymore. I hate Rexburg.

FINALLY! My dream come true...

2008-04-09T02:59:00.004-06:00

I probably complain about three times a week about the fact that the only color that v-tee's come in are white. I go to Walmart and grab the mens 3 packs of white v's occasionally and I am pretty much addicted to them. Anyway, I just can't understand why they don't at least make them in black or something. SO, today I'm at work dressing mannequins for ohhhh about 4 hours and then my manager asks me if I like the new stuff we got in (basically the WHOLE store). I tell her I love everything (which is a serious issue I have with working in retail) and then she asks me how I feel about the new t's we got in. I look over and see a WHOLE ENTIRE table full of colored V'S!!!! I about died! I was SO excited! We literally have 16 colors! I just bought two today, and I'm sure before I leave for Peru I'll have collected just about the rest of the table. They are the BEST!

Goodbye manly Walmart white V's....

I have jumped on the bandwagon.

2008-03-27T22:35:00.001-06:00

That's right... Katie and Jenna got me addicted. Thanks guys. This is as good as I can do... I'll keep practicing.

82 words

Speed test

Perspective

2008-03-17T23:30:00.002-06:00

I have been so stressed this semester of school, always feeling like I have a never ending of list of things to do and that my life is "so hard," and tonight I came across a quote from Elder Hale that I just LOVED and that really put things into perspective & is perfect for the easter season. I know it's long, but I promise it's worth it. Enjoy.

"I am moved by the extent of the tribulation in the Savior’s experience. Even though He was the Only Begotten of the Father, cunning men sought to take His life from the very beginning. Throughout His ministry, a storm of rumors, lies, and persecutions followed Him wherever He went.

I am especially impressed as I consider the week leading to His death: the chief priests challenged His authority, tried to trap Him, and twice conspired to kill Him. In Gethsemane, while His disciples slept, He suffered the sins of all mankind and bled from every pore. He was betrayed, arrested, questioned, struck, spat upon, and beaten. After interrogation by the ruling council, He was mocked by Herod and finally taken to Pilate, where He was made to stand before an angry mob. Whipped and crowned with thorns, He was forced to carry His cross to Golgotha. Nails were driven into His hands and feet. His body was raised up between common thieves. Soldiers cast lots for His earthly possessions, and vinegar was given to quench His thirst. After six hours, He commended His spirit into the hands of His Father, gave up the ghost, and died.

When we observe the last week of the Savior’s life from our earthly perspective, our first impression may be one of suffering and destruction. We may see only the Savior’s mother and others weeping at the cross, soldiers afraid, the earth in great commotion, rocks broken up, the veil of the temple rent in twain, and three hours of darkness covering the land. A similar scene of storms and destruction unfolded in the New World. In short, we see the terrible tempest raging.

But look again—this time through the eye of faith.

In the last, most agonizing weeks of His life, consider that Jesus taught, testified, lifted, blessed, and strengthened those around Him. He raised Lazarus from the dead, taught about His Father, set the temple in order, gave several parables, witnessed the widow offering her mite, instructed His disciples about the signs of His Second Coming, visited the house of Simon the leper, instituted the sacrament, washed the feet of the Apostles, and taught His disciples to love one another. He testified of His divinity as the Son of God and taught of the Comforter—the Holy Ghost. In His great Intercessory Prayer, He prayed to His Father for His Apostles and all who believe on their words, “that they might have [His] joy fulfilled in themselves.”

In His darkest hour, the light of peace and joy did not fade. It grew brighter! After His death, He appeared to Mary Magdalene. What joy must have been felt that morning as the news spread: “He is risen”! In time He came to the women on the road, to Cleopas and a disciple who were traveling to Emmaus, to the Apostles and disciples in the upper room, to Thomas, who doubted, and to others. Again, there was joy and rejoicing in the Atonement and the Resurrection."

Spoon Me...again?

2008-03-12T00:27:00.002-06:00

So shortly after I created my post about 'Spoon Me,' Sara and I decided we were craving a little frozen yogurt. Lets see... Provo has FroYo, Maverick...hmm --- scratch that. We drove all the way to Salt Lake last Wednesday to fulfill our cravings. Here ladies and gents, is a nice photo of me with my DELICIOUS frozen yogurt!

First Preparations for Peru!

2008-03-05T16:32:00.002-07:00

One vaccination down, about 8 more to go. WOO! We got our Yellow Fever shot a few weeks ago and lets just say I was a little dramatic about it. I'm not a big fan of shots -- but really, who is? I hadn't had one in ages and so I was pretty nervous. Of course we had to document this excitement and so Dani brought the camera along for the journey. The pictures are above. My personal favorite is of us 3 with the other two guys: a kid about to go on his mission to Africa, and a professor going to Ghana.

Spoon Me!

2008-03-05T16:04:00.004-07:00

My latest obsession: frozen yogurt! And not just any frozen yogurt... it's a new cute place in Salt Lake called 'Spoon Me.' It's all natural yogurt that comes in two different flavors: natural and green tea. They have the best toppings ever: mangoes, kiwi, strawberries, mangoes, pomegranate, blueberries, etc. And if fruit isn't your thing, they have any selection of cereals like Fruity Pebbles, Cap'n Crunch or chocolately things like oreos, chocolate chips, etc. And the best part is, it's pretty healthy! The smallest size is only 88 calories (which is fairly large). So ladies and gents, next time you're in Salt Lake, add this to your list of things to do!

...and here's the bad news.

2008-03-05T15:49:00.003-07:00

What I didn't tell you about the trip was that we had a minor car problem. And by minor I mean I ended up needing a whole new engine. Fun, right? At about 1am I started getting real tired so we pulled over and Sara and I switched seats so she could finish the trip. We were pretty much exactly 100 miles (which is good because AAA only tows 100 miles...tender mercies) away from Provo in a town called Scipio. Ever heard of it? My point exactly. So anyway, she literally starts the car and pulls out onto the road and the whole car starts shaking and making noises while smoke came puffing out of the engine. That was a really good sign. So we had to push the car back to the side of the road. After waiting for about an hour, AAA came and towed us back to the dealership, and then my lovely home teacher (bless his heart) came and picked us up at 4:30am from Lindon and took us back to Provo. Good news is, the warrenty on my car was extended and we didn't know it. So, Lexus had to pay for a whole new engine. Not having a car for 11 days shot me back to freshman year, but I sure didn't mind now having to pay for a penny of it.

And almost 4 months goes by!

2008-03-05T15:35:00.002-07:00

Well I wasn't too concerned about updating this too often because I'm pretty sure the only person that even checks it is Grandpa (thanks Gramps!). BUT, a lot has happened so I might as well give an update before 4 months turns into half a year! Well we've had two long weekends since we got back to school this semester. The first weekend we went to Vegas because I had been here at BYU for a year and a half and still had never gone, and the second weekend we went to California. A few friends and I drove out to California and stayed in La Canada at Ash's house and we also got to stop by Villa Park and see JD's family! They were nice enough to let us stay there and hang out and we had a lot of fun with them! Here are a few pictures from the trip!

What I'm Thankful For

2007-11-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

With Thanksgiving break coming up, I am getting more and more anxious to go home and be with my family! I miss them so much! I got an email today from Gramps with some pictures from Hilton Head (thanks!!!) and this one was my favorite. I love these two so much and I am so grateful for them! I'm sure after break you'll get to see the other three (yes...blizzard is included) studs that I'm SO happy are in my life! Thanks again Grandpa for the pictures!

CUSCO!

2007-11-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

Today I met with Alberto (the Peruvian Professor) to discuss Peru a little further and I ended up finding out where I'll be staying! He said the first four days we're in Peru, we will tour Lima and then fly to the different parts where each of us will be living. I'm going to be in Cusco! Here are some pictures of the city. Alberto said the elevation is twice as high as Provo and that it's a very mountainous (is that even a word?) region. I'll be leaving just three days after exams are over and be there for all of may, june, and most of July. By then, JD will have been gone for a whole year! Hopefully that will make time pass a little quicker! Anyway, check out the pictures... it is beautiful!!

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-01T02:29:00.000-06:00

Trick or treat!! Here are some pictures from my Halloween'ing... enjoy!

...yes I was an ice cream sundae one night!

Newest Employee at GAP

2007-10-08T00:23:00.000-06:00

Yes ladies and gentleman... you are correct. Not only do I have a job, but it's pretty much the greatest one EVER! I picked up an application on Tuesday, had an interview on Wednesday night, and was offered the job Thursday afternoon! You could say it was a pretty great week. I really am so freaking excited! Let's be honest... I've been raised as GAP child. For heavens sake, my screen name was AKEGAPGIRL and I dreamed of having my license plate say, "GAPGIRL6" all growing up. Yeah. I was lame...don't remind me. Anyway, I have the most amazing discount which I can't decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, and I love all my co-workers. I've been training all weekend and have officially been "gapified." If you don't have a GAPcard yet, let's chat. I can give you a million reasons why you should. In addition, dad...if you're reading this, we're going to go on a little shopping spree in November and I'm going to hook you up with some great jeans because I have become an expert in this field in a matter of hours. So basically, in case you can't tell... I absolutely LOVE my job!

And just so you all know, my dream license plate never happened. Don't worry.

HELLO PERU!

2007-10-03T02:37:00.000-06:00

Ah! I had my interview today and I was accepted into the program that takes students to Peru to volunteer in orphanages! I am so excited! I will be in Peru for a little over two months (May and June). The professor that oversees the program told me all about what I'll be experiencing and he even said that my method of transportation will be a donkey! How crazy is this?! I am very, very happy to have this opportunity and I'm sure you will all love seeing my pictures and hearing about my travels there! I just thought I would share the good news!

Blast from the past

2007-09-20T22:29:00.001-06:00

So two of my roomates and I were driving past Helaman Halls (where we lived last year) and decided it would be fun to take a nice little trip down memory lane. While we were there, we snapped a few pictures.

First: A nice little remake of a picture I have of J
2nd: David John Hall itself!
3rd: This vent thing that JD used to crawl down into a scare people... until they bolted it down!
4th: My freshman 15 in one photo
5th: The doorway that all the nasty couples would do their thang at... Being the anti-PDA'ers that we were, I think JD and I may have been one of the only couples that didn't use that doorway for that purpose.

Provo Pictures!

2007-09-20T22:28:00.001-06:00

Welcome to Provo

2007-09-20T21:39:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been over a month since I've updated this guy... and I thought I probably should get on that since I always give Jenna a hard time :) I've been back in Provo since August 20th and it's...well, Utah. Really though, it's nice to be back and it's weird to find myself calling this place 'home.' It's weird to not have my best pal here with me enjoying the Provo scene, but give it about 22 more months ;) I've met a lot of awesome people since I've been here and been doing my best to live it up.

I discovered a gelato cafe here in Provo! It just opened 2 months ago, and it's probably best that it wasn't around freshman year to contribute to my thighs! It is DELICIOUS...and I've been to my fair share of gelato cafes... this one definitely tops them all. There's actually a picture in the slideshow with my roomates and I leaving the gelato cafe with our take-out pints! Don't worry guys... I've been making frequent visits to the gym!

Things in the apartment are just swell and it is finally starting to get that 'home-ish' feel. I LOVE my room and I will be posting pictures of our place as soon as everything is settled in. Along with moving into my first apartment, I've also experienced a few other "firsts" -- one of which was my first real cooking experience away from home. Honestly... you would've all been completely shocked! It was DELICIOUS! We took plenty of pictures so that I could have some proof for JD! I have a feeling I'm going to be the next Martha ;)

Classes are going well... so far. However, I will say they are starting to become much more difficult but I just keep trying to remind myself that my GE's will be over SOON! Really though, everything is just the same old, same old. The only out of the ordinary thing that's happened lately is that Pres. Hinckley came for devotional on Tuesday (there are also a few pictures of that as well). Not too many exciting things have happened other than that though that I can think of at the moment. For now, enjoy my pictures! :)

Last days in the burg

2007-08-17T23:40:00.000-06:00

Well, I am leaving this Saturday (tomorrow) to start my journey back to Provo, Utah! I've had a great summer, but it's time to leave Ohio. I have been dying to go for a while now, but I was sitting on the couch the other day watching Oprah (my favorite) and I started realizing that this is probably my last time to actually live at home. I have so many plans to travel and do crazy things, and other than my holiday breaks, I really won't be around much. I'm not going to lie.. I kind of got a little sad. I will miss my family A TON once I go back out there, but I know they can't live without their favorite child and sister for too long, so they'll be out to visit! :) Here are some pictures from my last few days here in good old Perrysburg.

NOTE: If you notice some weird stuff going on with my mom's eyes, it's because she got surgery on them last week. It was pretty nasty looking the first few days... if you want to see pictures, I'll post them. I just don't want to scar everyone for life! Please comment!

Feeding the ducks!

2007-08-10T18:56:00.000-06:00

So this new family just moved into our ward this week and they called yesterday to see if I could babysit tonight so they could go out to dinner. Since I have basically no life now, I said I could! No regrets! Let me tell you... I fell in love with these kids. They were seriously adorable and I am SO sad that I'm leaving next weekend for school and I don't get to spend more time with them! Caleb is 1 1/2, Dallin is 4 1/2, and Leah is 6. Leah is starting a new business with her "leaf warmers" (a.k.a. two leaves with the stems tied together). They are only 10 cents and quite fashionable decor -- I highly recommend them ;) I purchased two of my own... take a look at the pictures.. she has a whole box full! We had so much fun riding bikes around, stopping at the pool to "dip our toes in," and feeding the ducks! I swear every duck in the pond surrounded us.. and they were huge fans of Dallin since he still had bread left! Enjoy the pictures from my wonderful Friday night!

Rasmussen Choro Update!

2007-08-06T21:41:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures I stole from his sister Jenn (thank you!!) that she took when they dropped him off in the MTC. Yesterday JD hit his one month mark! It's weird... it went by really fast, but at the same time, it seems like he left forever ago. So much has happened since then! I got a letter from him this weekend and he is still doing great! It seems like his Japanese is really coming along, which is great! The older guys in his zone leave for Japan this week. In his letter last week, he made me laugh when he said seeing them get ready to go to Japan gives him hope that people do actually leave the MTC! J's also been called to serve as the new Zone leader with his companion once the older guys head out. He really is doing so great and I am so proud of him. He's such a good example and such a hard worker with an enormous amount of faith.

For any of you who know me fairly well, JD has pretty much been my life since last October. Because of that, I find myself talking about him and telling stories about things that happened with us A LOT. So many things remind me of him, and to all of you who have had to deal with that... thank you! I know it's probably pretty obnoxious after a while, but it's kind of how I deal :) What's even more fun than telling stories about him though, is hearing them! I love getting his letters and reading about everything that is happening, but it's also fun hearing things from other people! Today I was on the phone with my aunt who has two little fou-year old twin girls. They live pretty close to Provo so JD got to hang out with them every once in a while...they loved to give him a hard time! Anyway, while I was talking to her, she was telling me how there was a tall, blonde boy riding his bike by their house. The girls saw him and asked their mom who it was. She told them his name, and they said they thought he looked like JD! I thought it was cute that they still even remembered what JD looked like since it's been almost five months since they've seen him! Anyway, just a fun little story that I enjoyed hearing! If you ever have any, let me know! I love hearing them! :)

Just kidding!

2007-08-06T21:38:00.001-06:00

Well, turns out my goodbyes to my friends weren't really until this past Sunday morning. Amelia and Jenni talked me into asking my parents if I could go with them to Charleston on Wednesday-- and to my surprise, my parents said yes! So I went to Charleston for about 4 days. It was great to see where the two of them go to school, see their new house, and meet their friends! Here are a few pictures from the trip... the first one is just of me and my two best friends before we went to dinner at a cute little Irish place downtown. The second is of Claire and I at Folly Beach in Charleston. The third is just of Claire, Amelia, and me after dinner one night on King Street. The fourth is of Jenni and I in her NEW bedroom! I wish you could see the whole room...it looks so good! And the last one is of Emma (their friend at school I got to meet!), Amelia, and me at dinner on the last night there. It was a great time and I'm so glad I got to go! I figure I owe it to them since Amelia's been to Utah twice now, and Jenn's been there three times! Maybe I'll even make it out there again sometime during the school year.... if they're lucky! ;)

Goodbyes to my Charleston ladies!

2007-07-31T22:28:00.000-06:00

Well, tonight I had to say goodbye to my best friends (Amelia & Jenni). They go to school at College of Charleston in South Carolina and are heading back tomorrow for school. I was so busy this summer, I feel like I barely got to see them! Tonight we went with all the girls (minus Grace, who had to work) to Zia's on the docks for dinner and hung out together for our last night. Here are a few pictures of us all together, and then one of me, Jenni, and Claire being dorks!

Oh! And p.s. we dyed Amelia's hair last night! It's SO dark now! Don't you love it!? :)