my number is twenty-three

a couple of years ago,

i fell for a friend's post online

and had to write 23 things about myself.

some things haven't changed, yet other's have.

1. i still love country music. the only reason i ever listen to pop radio

is because the country stations are playing commercials.

2. i still love western swing dancing.

it's been a little rough getting back into the saddle post mission, but it's still a thing.

3. i have been to a concert. i saw scotty mccreery live for $5 as part of his "see you tonight" tour.

waiting outside the doors wasn't too bad when you have good company.
rhett, me, andrew

third row my friends. for $5.
thank you utah state.

4. i have shot a gun. lots of times. and most times i have a pretty good shot too,

wyoming mountains make the best backdrop for pictures

5. i am still better at fixing other people's problems.

my dad calls it perspective; i call it free therapy.

6. i must have skipped this one.

so, i'll make one up.

i know spanish.

y si, puedo entenderte cuando hablas de mi.

7. i work at a grocery store again. 

and some days are better than others.

like wednesdays. i like wednesdays.

fridays and mondays not so much.

8. i still automatically respond to people's comments.

thank you customer service jobs.

9. the number is a lot bigger than three now.

10. i am getting better at recognizing faces.

it's still hard, but i can thank the mission for that.

if you can remember a unique quality about them,

it helps a lot.

11. to  16. 

nothing has changed.

but allow me to digest something:

i am an accounting major.

and yes, i like it.

there are a lot of numbers,

but even more principles and concepts to remember.

#appreciate_your_accountant

17. i found out that i won't have to take a calculus class

or any more math-intensive classes to graduate

and i cried a little tear of gratitude.

18. i now live with only three other girls.

and we are each other's sounding boards.

no hard feelings here!

19. my love life is still interesting like string theory,

but at least it's engaging now.

(no, that was not an announcement)

20. more than words can recount.

21. i have fixed myself of this habit.

(thank you mission)

but sometimes, it would be nice

to knock some sense into people.

22. that one has changed.

to quote keith urban,

"to, to kiss and tell, it's just not my style."

23. beards are still one of the most attractive things ever.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

these kinds of posts are kind of fun to write,

because i get to see my personal growth.

somethings haven't changed,

and i guess that just makes me, me.

progress is made

and i am thankful for the memories

that mark those changes.

thank you.

this week.

is off to a rough start. like seriously.

monday was a long day. we didn't have a show that day, so the boss-men took the majority of the crew and went and played lumberjack on the mountain. 100 trees, cut for posts and rails, and 12 soaked and sore crew members later, they were really ready to come home. celeste, baby tiff, pat, and i were asked to stay down here and cover the office and prepare for the week. i helped pat in the office until lunch, and then celeste and baby tiff gave me a baptism by fire into the life of a cook. i helped make ranch, bagged brownies, sorted raw chicken, and pretty much just tried to keep up with these lovely ladies. we stopped a little early and had dinner ready for the crew when they got back. and we cleaned the house. but guess how long a clean house lasted. if you guessed less than 12 hours, you were right.

tuesday. can we just take a moment of silence that this day is over? like really. let me preface: two weeks ago, we got a phone call asking if a group of 200 people could come to the show. we can only take 170 people on ten wagons. 200 people would require bringing over two wagons that are used on the mountain and praying that they didn't bring any more people. we let the lady know we could work it out and the stressing began. the coordinator for the group decided that it would be too much of a distraction to have alcohol at the event (which is usually not allowed, but with private events, we give them the option, but they have to work it out and we just lay it out.) she sent us payment for the tickets, as well as the gratuity for the evening, a couple of days in advance, but then we got an email a couple of days ago, asking how many ABOVE 200 people they could go. we cried a little inside and said, we could do about 205 before we had to started strapping people to the top of the wagons. (sarcasm, of course.) we had a lot of people booked on the other show, so we had a double last night. which is UNHEARD of this late in the season [our last day is friday]. david, our foreman, pulled all sorts of strings and brought oodles of help in to drive teams and help the cooks feed 200 people before midnight. i don't know if i should be grateful or cry because i missed the opportunity to see a 12-wagon show, but the group didn't bring 30 people (something they can't even explain), but it relieved a huge burden for the cooks. feeding 200 people is a lot of chicken, beef, beans, corn, the works. and we don't have hours to get them from the chow-line. plus, it's a tad bit stressful to keep 200 people warm while it's 40 degrees outside and you only have enough lap blankets for about 170 of them. needless to say, david and chris were stressed. which in turn had pat stressed. who in turn had me stressed. it was a relief to have that crazy day OVER with.

and the week is about to get crazier. we will have 11 wagons on our last night and the next couple of nights are over 100 people. those are good sized shows for the end of the season. i'm excited for the next couple of days because anything will be easier than the last couple of days. let's just pray that no one else calls and asks to bring 200 people tomorrow.

where does the time go?

seriously, i feel like the summer still has months left in it. instead, there are just three short weeks between me and the beginning of a semester that i won't be participating in. maybe that's why i'm so lost. summer blends straight into fall for me, so there is no clear deadline for fun in the near future. my summer break extends clear into the fall break for my siblings.

so, where has the time gone? we made a weekend out of a stay in Grace, Idaho {aka the perfect small farming community.} i personally had a blast! we drove down friday night after show a few weeks ago and slept all over Momma Brady's house and lawn. we woke up the next morning to Momma Brady's delicious breakfast burritos and the discussion about some mexican salsa/pico de gallo. most of us spent the day wandering around Logan. i had some errands to run, so i went and saw Grandma Allen while i was there {but mostly to go shopping at Casa de la Grandma.}

once most of us were back from Logan, we helped Momma Brady with some outside chores as payback. because 20 hands make much lighter work than the two she was working with. ;) after the ground was good enough that she could lay seed, we went and did the only fun things to do in Grace: flooming and jumping at 60. what is that, you may ask? flooming is dangerously riding down the canal water down a floom {picture a slide suspended 200 feet above the river, and you have enough of an idea to get it} and then skipping across rotting boards laid along the top of the floom. jumping from 60 is about what it sounds like: jumping from a rock that extends over a spot in the river that is 60 feet deep. it was high enough, i probably could have attempted to tuck and roll, but i didn't get up the nerve to. a perfect summer bar-b-que and a sketchy game of kick the can later, we played a Bourne movie outside. one of those picturesque summer days full of dumb things you will probably never forget.

update on the love life: still sucks. Great Cuddler's missionary came home and i've been trying with futility to try and play it off cool. one of the girl's that i work with and Great Cuddler had a little stint, but they both agreed that it wasn't going to work and he apologized for dating someone after promising me that he wasn't going to date anyone because of the aforementioned missionary. a few weeks later, i get another cowboy to cuddle with. let's call him Cuddle Slut. he admits to it, so i don't feel bad about calling him one. Cuddle Slut is fantastic at the cuddle game. so good that i fell asleep in his arms for a solid week straight. no judgement needed. it was fantastic and i loved it. but then he stopped and we haven't cuddle since. so, please no judgement.

i got to ride a horse! and best thing about it: i got to do it for free! the resident Buckskin and i went on our day off and it was great. besides the saddle soreness that i had for the next three days. the views were amazing and the horse i had was pretty good. he seemed to really like the vegetation, but what horse doesn't?! let me just say, A-OK Corrals is the place to call up for a horseback-ride in Jackson. #shamelessplug

o yeah, and then this thing called a birthday happened. it's crazy, you wait all summer for one day to come, and then when that day comes, you can hardly believe it. and then the rest of the summer feels like it's running through an hourglass. nineteen was officially the dumbest birthday ever. except for maybe the gifts: birthday breakfast at Bubba's with Great Cuddler's cousin and Track Star {she's pretty much the best runner at ISU and is fantastic}, two new western shirts, a Jackson Hole t-shirt, a random collection of awesomeness from my friends, the most amazing orange Tennessee pants ever!, a "Home" t-shirt that my Momma made me and then a new belt for my new buckle! Momma Heather {the house cook} made me the most delicious Angel Food Cake with a strawberry glaze on it. i literally thought i was going to die of the perfection of it.

this past weekend was the Graves Family Reunion! this year, not at Lake Powell, but at Bear Lake. Grandma and Grandpa are on a mission, so we decided to do the reunion a little closer to them so that they could at least come up for the weekend. originally i was going to ask for the whole reunion off, but i decided to just take friday and saturday. friday i ended up spending as our "teenage outing" and driving around Ogden with Berkeley and Madeline and their EFY friend. it was different, but we had a lot of fun. Olive Garden, crazy selfies as we drove down the highway, and then a little bit of wasting time at Grandma and Grandpa's. i missed the sunny day at the beach, but we had a lot of fun. saturday we went up to Minnetoka Cave and hiked a 888-round trip stair cave route. 40 degrees constantly and up and down through the earth. i was originally nervous about hiking through a cave, but they have rock and metal stairs through the whole thing. we did end up spending a little bit of time on the beach, but unfortunately for me, it was in the evening on an overcast day. we played the cheeto-shaving cream-shower cap game with all the cousins and it ended up in a shaving cream-shoving fight. only a few people ended up with shaving cream in their eyes, but it was worth the little bit of pain. best fun that i have ever started with all the cousins. ;)




  

Summer Job 2k14

The most wonderful place ever. 

I'm working here for the summer and I love it. The atmosphere is fantastic and the people here love their jobs too. And I found a cute guy who seems to have the similar feelings for me. He's a good cuddle buddy and he found that secret ticklish spot and he likes to abuse its powers. But that's okay. I can get him to crumble because I know his ticklish spot. Muh-hahahahaha.

The summer has been great so far. I'm working for one of the beautiful local companies and I love it. The whole crew stays in the same house and it's a party always. If you want to do something, you've got three volunteers to go with you. I'm working at the office, but I still get to spend the time I want to around HORSES! I got to ride one early last week and it was amazing. I haven't ridden in a saddle, by myself in over 12 years. I rode a saddle-broke draft horse bareback a few years back, but that's a little bit different...
The horses that we work with are either 2000 lb behemoth draft horses or cute, "little" 1000 lb paint horses. I love it. My allergies don't, but ehh. A little Alavert and a nice bath afterwards and I'm totally fine!

One day after lunch, the majority of the crew decided that a back massage sounded amazing. I opted out on the account that I tended to make less than appropriate noises when I get a back massage unless I really think hard about not.

It started as a harmless pillow fight. Then, it escalated to a wrestling match wherein she ended up in the dirty, living room rug. Water got involved. And then the joke about "Round 3: Mud" was made and they took it seriously. He ended with a horse patty to the mouth/face and she ended up slam dunked into the dirt. They called it a draw.

I finally found some polish and took a few minutes (more like 30) to make them look beautiful. Yeah, then I got asked to poop scoop the next night and it's been downhill from there.

We had a crew game night at one of the boss's homes on Sunday and a few people ended up playing Twister. Then they moved to Swedish Twister (which doesn't require much, just some major flexibility). Then we played The Bucket Game. So. Much. Fun.
{The fun guy with the mustache is our resident Buckskin.
The one picking his noise is the cousin of Great Cuddler.
The dark-haired beauty is one of the cutest wranglers on staff.
The pretty blonde is my roommate and our wonderful housekeeper. }

There is a large group of crew members who will go out in the mornings before work and exercise.
Mentally insane, all of them.
But, one day this smaller subgroup decided to do some yoga and it was too much of an opportunity to pass up.

This is possibly the most popular view of the house: eyes shut. Even though my bedroom is right off the living room, I find it very difficult to make it to bed some nights. There are just a few couches that are too comfortable to move from. And then, add a good cuddler to the mix. Yeah, bad idea.
{This fellar is one of the main men on campus. He's kind of in charge of horses. Great guy. Not Great Cuddler.}

This cowgirl got a hat. This is one of the better outfits I have worn for show.

shooting guns

i shot a gun. fun story actually.

so we met these guys two weeks ago tomorrow. sometime between then and sunday, it got brought up that rae and i had never been shooting. so these two boys invited us to go shooting with them on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. so we dressed up in our cowboy boots and warm sweatshirts and drove over to a spot right outside Smithfield.

we got to the final hill (the shooting range was in the mountain), we noticed that it was super icy. tanner (one of the guys) went up first in his ford focus and tried to make it. we got about a quarter mile up the road before tanner's car decided it didn't like the ice. we got out and messed around for a little bit in the ice, before we pushed his car around and rode back down to the road. the four of us then piled into zach's jeep (one of the other four people that went with us) and got a better "running" start up the mountain. there was a boy scout troop at the range, so we improvised and just shot over the fence into another part of the range. tanner, zach, and josh all had brought their shot guns, so we messed around with some clay pigeons for a few hours. casey had brought his 9mm handguns, so he and rae played with those and some of our not-too-badly-destroyed clays.  i tried so hard to be a good shot, but that really didn't work out. i was apparently just below the disc every time, so i guess i just have to aim a little bit higher, or wait a little bit longer to shoot.

the last half hour or so, we decided to have a competition. tanner and i went first. i shot at three clays, while he shot "back-up"{meaning he shot at the clay when i missed them} and he hit two of his own clays. so, we scored a 3.5. {each shot you got was one point, a half point if the back-up got it.}

rae and casey scored a 4.0; zach and his date tied with his brother, josh, and ashley with a 4.5.

so naturally we had to have a tie breaker. they tried the double disc throw, but that didn't break the tie either, so we just called it a day after that.

we piled all the stuff back up and drove back to Logan. all over, a great morning. fun, but not really something that would hit very high on the list of things to do on a day off.

rae and i

tanner, casey, josh and ashley

zach and his date

tanner and casey

pinterest addictions

my life is a pinterest addiction. I have so many things pinned (over a thousand) and I have only really used it a little for actual real life problems/crafts/ideas.

this summer, I have decided to try and do what my friend has committed herself to do: do everything she has pinned on her boards. now, this is a lofty goal and there are some things that I can rule out (like my wedding and home based idea board) but I really want to actually use it. make some of those cute skirts, bags and such. actually read those books that I have pinned. build those cute outfits. check those items on my “to do list” off. I really need a buddy to do it with… any takers?

reminiscent day on the job

so yesterday i went to work at a neighborhood in the community. and i love that job; its so much fun! i get to interact with the kids that i lifeguard and its a lot more personable than my other job (that i don't love so much). but i was looking at the schedule that is in the office and it looked like it was going to be my last day working ever that summer. (but i got that fixed and i am working another shift later on in the month). and i thought to myself: what have i learned from this job and what memories will i take from it? and this is kind of the list that came to my head.

1. britt. one of the lifeguards that i probably spent the most time with working-wise. me and him it seems always worked together (either him or greg). and we had a lot of really fun and interesting conversations and experiences while we were working together. one of them being a really bad storm that quite literally ran right through our clean deck. we had completely closed for the night (in fact i got off the stand five minutes early because i could see the clouds rolling in) and britt had just finished washing the deck. all we had to do was close the shack and lock the front gate and we could leave. then the storm ripped through while we were locking up the shack. britt shut the door at the right time and saved us from the winds and rain that came raging through. the storms knocked down a tree, pushed our lost and found bucket into the pool as well as a few chairs and almost two 2-3 ton benches. later we found out that a deck of cards was put into the lost and found and had made it into the pool. all 52 cards split into 2 and greg got to peel the mushy parts out of the drains and off the bottom of the pool. thankfully the power surge that happened right before the storm clicked the pump off or we could have been in serious trouble. another time was when it had rained the night before and it was a little cloudy and not pleasant out still. me and britt were working together again, so we got into the pool and we had a good 30 minute conversation about what he was going to be studying that year in college and world war II and families, etc. we pretty much talked about a bunch of random things that all interconnected through one little tangent. all in all we had a lot of awesome conversations that i will forever remember. he just has a way of making the conversation hilarious even if we are talking about something as boring as like the weather haha britt always jokes around with me too. he jokes that after the evening shifts on fridays and saturdays that i go and take out my fake and go partying and live that party life of the scandalist teenager. haha its always a ball when hes around because he knows how to joke with you without making it inappropriate or going too far.

2. greg. he was the other guy i worked with like all the time (seriously i think i worked with someone else like 3 times). greg is this super carefree guy who loves to have a good time and a laugh. he probably weighs like 375 and is like 6 3 maybe. but i tell you, that is the burliest yet cuddliest dude you will ever encounter. he is scary when he wants you to listen but the next sentence will be full of laughs and jokes. he and his brothers are like a machine for inside jokes and funny punch lines from movies you have never even heard of. i had this kid come up to me one time and ask me "why does greg always say 'hey buddy' before he yells at me?" haha i just kind of stared at him and said, "i dont know, that is just gregs way of getting your attention if he doesn't know your name." the kid just looked at me and said, "but its sooo annoying! i hate those words now!" haha i just had to laugh at him and tell him to go ask greg if he was so concerned about it, but it made me realize that greg doesn't like to yell at people, he is more of the kid of person to laugh and have a good time even when he is having a bad day or when you are breaking a rule. he makes it fun and he was definitely the life of the party.

3. mrs. b is possibly the nicest manager anyone could ever have. she is like the best definition of a southern belle sometimes. she has few habits that i don't enjoy but she is one of those people that you just dont know unless you have seen it for yourselves. she is always so full of "hey sweetie"s and "how are you pumpkin"s that you never leave a conversation with her feeling like put down.

4. molly is a lot of fun. she is always so ready to laugh and have a fun time. she is super competitive so watch out! she had a really busy schedule with swim team so she couldnt always work, but she was so enthusiastic about it that you never would have known.

5. the kids! o my goodness!! one of my favorite parts was coming to the pool to work and having all of the kids come up to you and say "hi janelle! you havent worked in a while, are you working today?" they want you to get involved in the games that they play and they are really good about listening (most of the time) and doing what they have been asked to do. they are so sweet and just flock to you when you arent on the stand. i know a lot of the kids by name or can at least place them in families. one of the little kids, ethan, is my favorite though. he is a high functioning autistic boy but he sure loves to play in the pool. there isnt much you can do about telling him that he is breaking a rule because he doesnt listen to you. you kind of have to go up to him and talk to him face to face in a calm voice, or he doesn't understand what you are saying. but he sure in a cute kid. his sister, brother, mom and dad are such angels because they kind of hang over him just to make sure that he follows the rules and doesnt harm himself or other kids. he has gotten so much better over the summer its amazing. i guess its just from hanging out around the pool for the better part of the summer. and its really weird though, you watch the little kids grow up before your eyes. its reminiscent really.

but i love all of my coworkers and the staff party that we had a couple of weeks ago was soo much fun. we played volleyball with us and our siblings and then we played sharks and minos, then star (both games we are allowed to play while we are on duty :( ). i found out that during the volleyball game, that a lot of my coworkers are very competitive and have a lot of fun egging each other on.

i love my work and the people that i work with. its saddening to think that me and one other girl are the only ones that are in high school still, so most of the staff are all going away to college with a matter of a month or so. :(

a new member to the club

so yesterday joined a new club: the no wisdom teeth club. and it is the worst experience to date. as everyone who has gone through surgery knows, they ask that you not eat anything 8 hours before your surgery so they dont accidentally hit anything and cause other unwanted problems (gag reflex, spit glands, etc.)  so i didnt eat anything... but i wasnt about to miss band camp because i was getting my wisdom teeth out. so i woke up like super early (5:45 AM!) to have breakfast by my lonesome, and then went back to bed until i could get up again to go to band camp. (UGH......) then i trailed my sorry little dehydrated butt through 3 hours of basic marching before i was allowed to go home and lay on the couch for two hours until i could leave for my appointment. let me just interrupt and say that that is super hard to do: sit outside for 3 hours with no water and little eat that morning in 98 degree weather, with a 105 heat index i think it hit. not exactly ideal situations.

but then i was sitting in the chair waiting for the doctor, and the nurse gives you the low down, (no eating for an hour, take your meds, soft stuff, etc.) and then she took my blood pressure and gave me the laughing gas. so well i guess i should say that i had heard one too many stories about laughing gas, and so i was extremely nervous to be on it for the first time in my life. not exactly top ten things to do before i die, kind of nervous. so i just sat there in the chair trying to relax, and it made me sick! like the room would start to spin (and i DONT do roller coasters) and so i would jolt back up, and the stinkin' blood pressure thingy would start beeping and it was just irritating (oh, we also found out that laughing gas makes me cranky and highly irritable. :) ). so then the doctor walks in and gives me the iv, and gives the the novocaine or whatever it is to numb you and then to knock you out. one of those itches like crazy in the worst spot imaginable.... i will just let you imagine that one...... and then i dont remember anything.

i woke up like 45-60 minutes later three teeth-less and got to ride in my first wheelchair to the car. mom took me through the drive through at walgreens to get the meds to the pharmacy, and then i got to spend the rest of my friday and saturday on the couch... my friend brought me moose track ice cream (THANK YOU SOO MUCH! SOOO AMAZING!) and i couldnt speak because my lips and tongue were still numb and when i did try to eat something, it was difficult because i couldnt feel those muscles, so my dad had to help show me where the stinkin drool was lol ya great times. i got sick friday night but my mom thinks it was the steriod that the doctor gave me for pain (you can split it in half if it makes you sick, and i guess it makes me sick to have a whole one! :)) but i was able to eat a pancake saturday so that is promising. and no swelling yet! yipeeee!!

i walked into band this morning, and everyone had forgotten that i had gotten my teeth out, because honestly i didnt look that bad. hallelujah!


and guys, the iv was the first shot i had had in 11 years.... yaaa you do the math on that one and tell me what i need to get......

preparing for trek

so I was trying to get ready for trek when I realized I really didn’t want to take the case to my scriptures to trek and ruin it. and then I remember that in the movie Legacy, Eliza wrapped her scriptures in a piece of quilted cloth. so I just used a bandana. 


this is what it looks like.



these are rachels scriptures. tilt the scriptures so that its diagonally

and these are mine. i dont like the case.

tuck the first corner up over the front.



then take the top over the middle


















take the left over the middle



take the last remaining corner over the middle.
it should all stay without help.



take the ribbon over the top



do the blanket switch in the back.
then knot it over like you want to.
doesnt matter



this is what the back looks like



if you want to take it in your case, just fold the handles over

haha wow that looks like it would take forever. but it really doesnt

do I stay or do I go?

so we had our mock meet today for swim team. and it was a lot of fun, minus having to swim my two least favorite strokes in a “race”. it was awful but whatever. I got a pretty satisfying freestyle time (like 38) and then had to swim the other three strokes (YUK!).  but I failed to set aside some water for myself. so after my backstroke I was starting to feel shaky because my sugars were starting to drop. (lovely) I definitely needed that water. then I remembered that I had a couple of dollars in my wallet and there was a drink machine right over there. hahaha problem solved lol

but once I got home I had a massive headache and my stomach hurt. so I thought maybe its just hunger. so I took some ibuprofen and then popped some popcorn. after I laid on the floor for a while, I went upstairs where I made it to the toilet before I got totally sick. I took a bath and a huge nap and I feel much better.

but the problem now is I am supposed to report to work at 3:30.

 

do I stay or do I go?

rookie mistakes

so yesterday I worked my first evening shift at work. and we did everything we were supposed to do, except for one thing.

so we are supposed to take all the umbrellas down, take all the trash out, clean the deck and check the bathrooms. well one of the “unlisted” job duties is taking the lock out of the shack and putting the right keys behind the right locks and then locking the gate when you get done. well I kind of forgot to take out the key to the bathrooms and the lock that goes on the gate before I locked the shack. so we had to call mrs. b to ask her to come and unlock the bathrooms so we could get to the key to the shack so we could get the key to the gate, etc. out of the shack. (yeah we have a pretty high security pool, its legit). but ya after that I find of felt stupid hahaha because I am usually so good about not locking myself out or locking something behind a lock that I don’t know the code to, but it had been a LONG day lol

I guess now I know what NOT to forget

and then the other day I got a paycheck (MY FIRST ONE EVER!) yipeeee!!!! I am a rich woman. and now I have a savings and a checking account at a local bank hahahahahaha I am soooo pumped!! hahaha I would post a picture but I don’t have the check anymore in physical form (I already deposited it. hehehe, that makes me feel old to say). and then my debit card is coming in the mail too!!! now I feel super old and sophisticated hahaha

home remedies

did you know that rubbing alcohol takes away the sting of a sunburn? dad thinks the scientific reason is that it cools it, but I just am glad that it takes away the burn enough for me to be able to move my shoulders more than six inches.

I got my one really bad sunburn yesterday working. smart me forgot to reapply sunscreen. lol but I got what I deserve and I covered up for sure. but another one of the lifeguards where I work, got sun posioning. YIKES! (if you don’t know what sun poisioning is, its when you have an allergic reaction to the suns rays. apparently aspirin or something like clariten, will help…)

 

WHO KNEW!!!

summer jobs

so this summer is going to be it. I am finally going to get a job. and a neighborhood in my community said YES! we want you!! I am soo excited. my first job ever and its one of the easy, entry level jobs: lifeguard. of course I got told by another neighborhood that I could be an alternate, but that makes no promises. I have to turn in my papers for my neighborhood soon, but I got the job in the neighborhood that I actually know a couple of people in. I am sooo excited!!!!

easter

so easter wasnt too special, at least it wasnt too out of the ordinary. i sang in the choir and sang a couple of really beautiful hymns, and then i got to see all the super adorable Easter dresses of my friends (mom and dad decided a couple of years ago that we would do away with the Easter presents because they distract from the true meaning of the season: Christ's glorious resurrection.) we went to a friends in the neighborhood for a lunch and Easter egg hunt. it was a lot of fun to hold my neighbor's beautiful little Joe. hes like 6 months old and he is soooo cute. hehehehe me and little kids are soo meant to be. but Happy Belated Easter!

tennessee storms

so as most of you know most of the south got hit pretty hard by the storm that ripped through this past week. our cars and house suffered damage. my dad had the AhA! moment about two storm systems too late, so we now have two golfball like cars, with the '73 f-250 pretty much stratchless (one piece of trim is hanging by a screw, but thats it). the suburban has a broken passenger side mirror cracked and a dented hood. the focus has a broken passenger side mirror busted too with a left side tail light out as well. the house needs some patch work on the southwest side and the front of the house is going to need new screens in the windows. all of our exalia bushes look like they were sawed at (all the beautiful flowers are pureed across the front lawn :'(  very sad day) thankfully we dont need any windshields replaced or such. the biggest hail we got during the storm was about the size of an Easter egg. the trampoline was totally full of the hailstones and the street looked super eerie between hail storms. the stones were melting on the street making steam that rose really creepily. hahaha but we all survived. thankfully, even though my brother almost had a panic attack he was soo scared. but we all hid in the closet (parents made me.. not my personal choice) and got each other to calm down after a few verses of "How Firm a Foundation" and "I Am a Child of God". (THANK YOU!!!!)

legally licensed 2

so now I can say that I am legally licensed to save your life.

 

quite literally.

 

 

for the past four days, I have been taking this American Red Cross class to become a legally licensed lifeguard. tough work. and its pretty exhausting too. three and a half hours Thursday, four hours Friday, six and a half hours Saturday and then four hours Sunday. total that’s 18 hours. the course was supposed to be 31, but we only had 5 people in our class, so everything went by soo much quicker. thank goodness. but it was still brutal. :-\

needless to say i did little at my house besides sleep the past couple of days, but I learned how to do cpr, use an aed, and remove people from the water safely. regardless of whether or not they have a spinal injury or not. it was quite an interesting experience and I am thankful that I wont have to go through that for a little while, three years to be exact.

my class was soo much fun. we had a senior (she was just recertifying), a friend from church, a freshman (who didn’t want t0 the course in the first place), and then ONE boy. the freshman was the source of entertainment definitely. the boy was actually really cute and he is going to make a VERY good lifeguard. hahahaha *blush*

trek

youth conference is summer is a TREK!! for those of you that may not know what a trek is, it is a three to four day journey pulling a handcart about 4-5 miles everyday. by hand. in the middle of June. dressed as pioneers (aka those in the c. 1850’s).  near Pickett State Park.

for those of you, again, who don’t know what Pickett State Park is like, it is full of bugs and the humidity levels are atrocious. the dress is going to be exciting, but its also a lot of layering. in humidity. it definitely is going to be a challenge to keep hydrated. I hope we can bring a jug or something… because heat exhaustion really isn't on my list of things to learn about this year at youth conference.

but I am super excited about this trek. its going to be AWESOME!!! sleeping underneath the stars, acting like a Saint for a couple of days, spending time with some awesome people and of course strengthening my testimony. who wouldn’t love an experience like that?

snow!

so it snowed. again. for like the bajillionth time in the last month. we got out of school yesterday because there was four inches of snow on the ground, and today for the fear of icy secondary roads as well as a new layer of powder on top of yesterdays snow. i was soo excited. sleeping in and being able to bundle up warm while drinking some hot chocolate was amazing! i also got the chance to start and complete a sewing project. i am so excited about it!! (pics to come) we still dont have snow things for me to go out and play in, so i sat inside with my mom and sewed. i know i know, what a bum. but i really didnt have a whole lot of choices.

we just found out that we are having school tomorrow and im excited and sad. excited because i can see all my friends and have something to do again. sad because i want to try and find some more fabric to make something else. maybe cross something off the "i need for college" list. i guess that is just going to have to wait until another day becomes clear.

thanksgiving weekend

this thanksgiving the school board decided to be nice and give the kids wednesday through friday off. thank goodness.

wednesday we didnt have any mutual so rachel snapped the opportunity to have a party. a just-for-the-heck-of-it party. we ended up having two dozen people show up to the house at one point and we had a lot of fun. we played catch phrase, capture the flag, mafia (upon popular request *cough*cough* **barrett** *cough*cough*), and then we settled down with The Princess Bride. yes possibly the greatest movie of all time... and ive only seen it three times. i know i know what a shame...

thanksgiving was a blast. the church girls got together to play powder puff football at the high school and it was a lot of fun. we were playing touch until becker showed up with flags which turned out to be soo much better. our team turned out to be significantly better at defense than offence. what a shame. ahaha but we still had fun. we had a family friend the raineys over for dinner and some horse play aka motorcycle riding for the little boys and some chatting for the female. hahaha sadly i must admit that the tom boy came out in me and i spent my time watching the rainey boys race around our yard on a couple of small motorcycles. soo adorable. hahahahahaha then we went for dessert to the giacalones and we were going to play games but that didnt work out hahaha too much chatting going on. plus too many people.


and lets see. whats left for this post? o yes! a list of thankful fors....

so i am thankful for...

this little goober that is a ball of laughter and fun one breath

and a raging tyrannt the next

but that is the fun part. always living on your toes

this little girlie who refuses to be called our little sister

and wants to be seen as my equal and nothing less

i just hope that she continues with her persistance

this little sweetheart who is the sweetest little girl ever.

she reminds me of rachel somedays so much i almost call her that.

shes adorable and the sweetest little mommy's helper ever.

this goofball i get to call my twin sister.

shes a freakball sometimes but my best friend too.

the coolest girl EVER

the oppurtinity to build onto our house.

i was trying to find a picture of the back of the house,

put that didnt work.

these amazing people. they are the greatest parents ever.

and the greaest role models. thanks so much mommy and daddy

the great moments in life like this. father and son bonding time...

even if the son doesnt enjoy it as much

nature.

the beautiful moments that can only be caught with a camera or your eyes

this goofball of a brother.

love the kid to death.

he should be a drama kid hes that funny

this little cutie.

he is a little boy who knows what he wants in the world.

even if hes about ten years too early :)

the gospel. for the standards it has set me with.

for the beautiful reading that it has filled my life with.

for good books that my mom has helped me choose.

as well as my grandmas.

a warm bed to sleep in.

even if i hardly ever make the thing.

make up and a toothbrush.

what would i do without hygiene.

for clothes! what a blessing

technology. if it is too slow for my liking sometimes.

shoes. boy o boy do i take them for granted.

and then friends. but i dont have a picture of that. hahaha there are too many friends to count and put into one picture. love you all

i think that is all. if i havent thought of it assume im thankful for it. unless its something like war... then its questionable. hahaha :)