10 years ago I:
I was in my junior year of high school and had recently moved to my parents current home.
5 things on today's "to do" list:
Call my mothers', Vacuum, Go swimming, Unpack a few more random things and hang pictures, Have FHE
5 snacks I enjoy:
Chocolate Milk, Popcorn, Almonds, Smoothies, Whatever I'm in the mood for
5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
Buy a home, Travel to see family at least once a month - or move them all to us, Travel the world, Create Scholarships, Donate to charities
5 places I have lived:
WA, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Macau, Florida
Five jobs I have had:
Gap Outlet, Auntie Annes Pretzles, Brooks Sports - salesperson and key holder (fancy title for store opener or closer - it means I had a key and counted/delivered the money), Caregiver for babies born to mothers who used drugs (P.I.C.C.), Nurse Assistant/Nurse Technition
I tag: Anyone who wants to share a little about themselves!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
15 States! 13 Days! 3,333 miles (weird)!
WARNING!!! This is long and probably boring for some to read. It is basically our travel log for those who care. Sorry, I'll try not to keep up the habit of these huge blogs, but so much happened. 
We Made It! Here we are finally in Destin Florida! And it is a BEAUTIFUL place...but I'll talk more about that later. Now, I'll update you on our wonderful roadtrip across the country. We had so much fun and now have so many stories and jokes about our trip we couldn't possibly share them all, but we'll try to share some highlights (good and bad) :O) 
We had a lot of fun learning to drive this truck and towing our car behind. I was pretty nervous at first, but after 3,333 miles it becomes second nature.
DAY 1:
We woke up early on the 5th and started our Journey with a tearful goodbye and a scary start to our drive with our truck on Hwy 18 and parts of I-90 with the insane hills, pass, and curves. It wasn't until we reached flat eastern WA that I felt comfortable with the truck! We drove an insane 17 or 18 hours until we reached our first stop at a KOA campground in Hardin, MT. We had a nice set up with our tent, mattress pad and sleeping bags. We slept well.
DAY 2: We woke up and headed on our way. We made a stop at the Battlefield of Little Bighorn and saw Custer's Last Stand Hill. (I thought of you Mackenzie!) It was actually VERY interesting and I would like to learn more.
We were once again on our way and enjoyed the beauty of Montana and Wyoming and saw all the deer and antelope play. 
Our next stop was at Mt. Rushmore! It was an incredible experience. I've always wanted to see it, but never thought I would. While we were there it started to rain. We hung out in the gift shop until it cleared up. The rain fall had made interesting streaks on the Mountainside and it made it look like the carvings were crying. Dan thought that with the issues our country is faced with now - they probably would cry. Then we turned around and saw a double rainbow...hope How about that for symbolism.
This is for you Kenz!
After Mt. Rushmore we had a LOOOOONNNNGGGG drive through the rest of South Dakota and finally got to a hotel in Sioux Falls, SD.
Day 3-4: We woke up the next morning, had a wonderful continental breakfast and made the rest of the way to Lincoln, Nebraska to see Brandi, David, Lincoln, and Henry. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the time and company. My highlights were talking and hanging out with Brandi and David, playing with Lincoln, holding Henry, and visitin the Mormon Trail Center and Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha (It was a wonderful experience and I learned so much about the pioneers and Winter Quarters. Those people KNEW what faith was!).
The Many Faces of Lincoln
The Mormon Trail Center
Winter Quarters Temple
Just some fun video of the nephews! :O) (Lincoln is singing along, and Henry is talking!)
Day 5-6: Our Next Stop was in Oklahoma where we got to spend time with Uncle J, Aunt G, and little M. We had so much fun talking with J&G and seeing the imagination of little M. They were so good to put up with us in their current situation and we loved every moment. We really enjoyed getting to see J's workplace and learn about what goes on behind many of the products we take for granted! We sure enjoyed the hospitality and most of all love and acceptance we felt! We look forward to being together again! No pictures, I kept forgetting I had my camera :O(
Day 7-10: We made our second Stop in Oklahoma and stayed with some more of Dan's family. What a wonderful place. It is so sweet to be surrounded by family that loves you and that you care about. We ended up staying 2 extra days due to the effects of the hurricane passing through where we were planning on driving but no one seemed to mind. :O) We had so much fun with family - talking and getting to know each other better. Some unique experiences for me included bottle feeding baby goats! They were so cute and they cried out "MAAAAA" every time I walked by. Another unique experience, one that I will not elaborate on, was watching a vet do a sperm check on some bulls our Uncle was buying (I guess the seller has to do the testing so that the buyer knows he will get good results...) It was somthing I never thought I'd see...I'll leave it at that. Most of our time was spent talking with family and eating - great food. I really cherish those times. I loved the sweet talks we had with Sissy. I really enjoyed getting to know her better. I love Dan's family and I feel I can call them my own - that is how good they are to me! I forgot to take pictures most of the time, but here are some. Baby goats and an hour old baby calf.
Day 11-12: Next stop was in Memphis, Tennessee. We got there in the evening. Just in time to see the march of the Peabody ducks. There is a famous Hotel and every morning there is a march of ducks from the roof, down the elevator, and into the fountain at the center of the hotel. Then, in the evening the ducks are marched back up. Oh, and it happens on a red carpet. (sorry the video is sideways for most of it and you can hardly see...bad lighting. But you'll get the picture.)
Next, we went to check out Beale Street and saw some of the shops, restauraunts, and music. There weren't too many tourists and we didn't really want to be in Memphis after dark (we've heard by many outside and inside Memphis that it isn't the safest place) so it wasn't as exiting as it sounds. Besides, we don't drink and that seems to be the most popular thing there. BUT, we did have some mighty fine BBQ. On our way out of town we found the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. It is now a Civil Rights Movement Meuseum. There were many other places and meuseums I would have loved to see, but it was getting late, and I was anxious to be on to Destin.
We stayed at a KOA campground again, a ways out of Memphis. The next morning we woke up and saw one more spot in Memphis called Mud Island. It is a miniature replica of the Mississippi River. It really was quite amazing. It was 1/2 a mile and every 30 inches was equal to every real mile of the Mississippi. All along there were historical facts, and cities along its path. It finally ended at the Gulf where you could rent paddle boats and paddle around. Mud Island also boasted a hanging tram ride that would take you to see the sights of downtown Memphis. Being my birthday I convinced Dan to take me. When we got there I was all ready for the trip. We were on it for about 1 minutes and it came to a stop. We asked the conductor if it went on, but we found out thet tram only goes as far as crossing the river, not even near downtown. And to make matters worse, there was a FREE walking bridge above that we took back to the island and it took LESS time. I was a little miffed, so Dan told the lady who sold us the ticket(although it wasn't much) that their advertising was misleading. As a result she gave us one free entrance to the museum. The museum ended up being interesting, so that made me feel better.
Finally, on our way again with a drive-by view of graceland. Don't heckle me for not paying the $60 for us to go in and get the bare minimum tour of only part of the mansion (not even the estate, authentic clothes, or plane or car collections...or whatever it was). I really like Elvis music...but I'm not THAT much of a fan.
We spent the rest of my birthday driving through Mississippi and finally arrived in Mobile Alabama. We were trying to find a hotel for the night, which proved to be difficult and scary! One hotel had no place for our huge rig. The next displayed huge signs that read: "We are not liable or responsible for lost or stolen belongings". That made Dan uncomfortable, as we saw people loitering and drinking while sitting in the back of their trucks in the parking lot. In the NEXT hotel we pulled around the corner and immedialtey were forced to come to a stop as we heard men yelling and two men in front of us getting ready to fight. Suddenly, a woman came running to one of the men and pulled a GUN out of her purse swinging it around. Then the man (the apparent boyfriend of the woman with the gun) starting flinging the gun around and yelling. Dan just kept saying, "Don't look sweetheart - you don't want to see this." And I kept saying, "You have got to be kidding me, this is NOT happening!" Luckily NO incident insued. You can be sure we didn't stay there! We finally settled for a nice hotel, with a well lit parking lot, plenty of room, and big signs with a smiley face that said, "You are being monitored and recorded". The price was about twice what we were intending, but peace of mind was all that mattered that night! The day ended well with delivered pizza and a nice place to sleep.
Day 13: We woke up and enjoyed a continental breakfast and found ourselves on our way. We eventually arrived to Destin that day at about 11 or so. We were so excited, and suddenly felt nervous as we started seeing sand, and water.
Frist WEEK in Destin: We got moved in. Four Elders from the Sandestin Branch came and helped us unload our PENSKE truck in about 1 hour. Destin is an amazing place. We had no idea what a "travelers hot spot it was", but having been here now, we can see what that means. Destin has been voted the best "beaches and white beaches in the United States". The "worlds best fishing resort town" and is ranked within the top 5 places in the United States for scuba diving. I know alot of you are probably reading this and saying "the sand can't be as nice as it was in the Carribean, or Mexico, or Hawaii, etc... but I would have you know that it is actually like walking on fine powder- truly amazing. The only way to findout is to come and visit! We are so happy to be here, and we will be sure to keep you updated with all our new adventures!
We Made It! Here we are finally in Destin Florida! And it is a BEAUTIFUL place...but I'll talk more about that later. Now, I'll update you on our wonderful roadtrip across the country. We had so much fun and now have so many stories and jokes about our trip we couldn't possibly share them all, but we'll try to share some highlights (good and bad) :O) 
We had a lot of fun learning to drive this truck and towing our car behind. I was pretty nervous at first, but after 3,333 miles it becomes second nature.
DAY 1:
We woke up early on the 5th and started our Journey with a tearful goodbye and a scary start to our drive with our truck on Hwy 18 and parts of I-90 with the insane hills, pass, and curves. It wasn't until we reached flat eastern WA that I felt comfortable with the truck! We drove an insane 17 or 18 hours until we reached our first stop at a KOA campground in Hardin, MT. We had a nice set up with our tent, mattress pad and sleeping bags. We slept well. DAY 2: We woke up and headed on our way. We made a stop at the Battlefield of Little Bighorn and saw Custer's Last Stand Hill. (I thought of you Mackenzie!) It was actually VERY interesting and I would like to learn more.
We were once again on our way and enjoyed the beauty of Montana and Wyoming and saw all the deer and antelope play. 
Our next stop was at Mt. Rushmore! It was an incredible experience. I've always wanted to see it, but never thought I would. While we were there it started to rain. We hung out in the gift shop until it cleared up. The rain fall had made interesting streaks on the Mountainside and it made it look like the carvings were crying. Dan thought that with the issues our country is faced with now - they probably would cry. Then we turned around and saw a double rainbow...hope How about that for symbolism.
This is for you Kenz!
After Mt. Rushmore we had a LOOOOONNNNGGGG drive through the rest of South Dakota and finally got to a hotel in Sioux Falls, SD.
Day 3-4: We woke up the next morning, had a wonderful continental breakfast and made the rest of the way to Lincoln, Nebraska to see Brandi, David, Lincoln, and Henry. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the time and company. My highlights were talking and hanging out with Brandi and David, playing with Lincoln, holding Henry, and visitin the Mormon Trail Center and Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha (It was a wonderful experience and I learned so much about the pioneers and Winter Quarters. Those people KNEW what faith was!).
The Many Faces of Lincoln
The Mormon Trail Center
Winter Quarters Temple
Just some fun video of the nephews! :O) (Lincoln is singing along, and Henry is talking!)
Day 5-6: Our Next Stop was in Oklahoma where we got to spend time with Uncle J, Aunt G, and little M. We had so much fun talking with J&G and seeing the imagination of little M. They were so good to put up with us in their current situation and we loved every moment. We really enjoyed getting to see J's workplace and learn about what goes on behind many of the products we take for granted! We sure enjoyed the hospitality and most of all love and acceptance we felt! We look forward to being together again! No pictures, I kept forgetting I had my camera :O(
Day 7-10: We made our second Stop in Oklahoma and stayed with some more of Dan's family. What a wonderful place. It is so sweet to be surrounded by family that loves you and that you care about. We ended up staying 2 extra days due to the effects of the hurricane passing through where we were planning on driving but no one seemed to mind. :O) We had so much fun with family - talking and getting to know each other better. Some unique experiences for me included bottle feeding baby goats! They were so cute and they cried out "MAAAAA" every time I walked by. Another unique experience, one that I will not elaborate on, was watching a vet do a sperm check on some bulls our Uncle was buying (I guess the seller has to do the testing so that the buyer knows he will get good results...) It was somthing I never thought I'd see...I'll leave it at that. Most of our time was spent talking with family and eating - great food. I really cherish those times. I loved the sweet talks we had with Sissy. I really enjoyed getting to know her better. I love Dan's family and I feel I can call them my own - that is how good they are to me! I forgot to take pictures most of the time, but here are some. Baby goats and an hour old baby calf.
Day 11-12: Next stop was in Memphis, Tennessee. We got there in the evening. Just in time to see the march of the Peabody ducks. There is a famous Hotel and every morning there is a march of ducks from the roof, down the elevator, and into the fountain at the center of the hotel. Then, in the evening the ducks are marched back up. Oh, and it happens on a red carpet. (sorry the video is sideways for most of it and you can hardly see...bad lighting. But you'll get the picture.)
Next, we went to check out Beale Street and saw some of the shops, restauraunts, and music. There weren't too many tourists and we didn't really want to be in Memphis after dark (we've heard by many outside and inside Memphis that it isn't the safest place) so it wasn't as exiting as it sounds. Besides, we don't drink and that seems to be the most popular thing there. BUT, we did have some mighty fine BBQ. On our way out of town we found the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. It is now a Civil Rights Movement Meuseum. There were many other places and meuseums I would have loved to see, but it was getting late, and I was anxious to be on to Destin.
We stayed at a KOA campground again, a ways out of Memphis. The next morning we woke up and saw one more spot in Memphis called Mud Island. It is a miniature replica of the Mississippi River. It really was quite amazing. It was 1/2 a mile and every 30 inches was equal to every real mile of the Mississippi. All along there were historical facts, and cities along its path. It finally ended at the Gulf where you could rent paddle boats and paddle around. Mud Island also boasted a hanging tram ride that would take you to see the sights of downtown Memphis. Being my birthday I convinced Dan to take me. When we got there I was all ready for the trip. We were on it for about 1 minutes and it came to a stop. We asked the conductor if it went on, but we found out thet tram only goes as far as crossing the river, not even near downtown. And to make matters worse, there was a FREE walking bridge above that we took back to the island and it took LESS time. I was a little miffed, so Dan told the lady who sold us the ticket(although it wasn't much) that their advertising was misleading. As a result she gave us one free entrance to the museum. The museum ended up being interesting, so that made me feel better.
Finally, on our way again with a drive-by view of graceland. Don't heckle me for not paying the $60 for us to go in and get the bare minimum tour of only part of the mansion (not even the estate, authentic clothes, or plane or car collections...or whatever it was). I really like Elvis music...but I'm not THAT much of a fan.
We spent the rest of my birthday driving through Mississippi and finally arrived in Mobile Alabama. We were trying to find a hotel for the night, which proved to be difficult and scary! One hotel had no place for our huge rig. The next displayed huge signs that read: "We are not liable or responsible for lost or stolen belongings". That made Dan uncomfortable, as we saw people loitering and drinking while sitting in the back of their trucks in the parking lot. In the NEXT hotel we pulled around the corner and immedialtey were forced to come to a stop as we heard men yelling and two men in front of us getting ready to fight. Suddenly, a woman came running to one of the men and pulled a GUN out of her purse swinging it around. Then the man (the apparent boyfriend of the woman with the gun) starting flinging the gun around and yelling. Dan just kept saying, "Don't look sweetheart - you don't want to see this." And I kept saying, "You have got to be kidding me, this is NOT happening!" Luckily NO incident insued. You can be sure we didn't stay there! We finally settled for a nice hotel, with a well lit parking lot, plenty of room, and big signs with a smiley face that said, "You are being monitored and recorded". The price was about twice what we were intending, but peace of mind was all that mattered that night! The day ended well with delivered pizza and a nice place to sleep.
Day 13: We woke up and enjoyed a continental breakfast and found ourselves on our way. We eventually arrived to Destin that day at about 11 or so. We were so excited, and suddenly felt nervous as we started seeing sand, and water.
Frist WEEK in Destin: We got moved in. Four Elders from the Sandestin Branch came and helped us unload our PENSKE truck in about 1 hour. Destin is an amazing place. We had no idea what a "travelers hot spot it was", but having been here now, we can see what that means. Destin has been voted the best "beaches and white beaches in the United States". The "worlds best fishing resort town" and is ranked within the top 5 places in the United States for scuba diving. I know alot of you are probably reading this and saying "the sand can't be as nice as it was in the Carribean, or Mexico, or Hawaii, etc... but I would have you know that it is actually like walking on fine powder- truly amazing. The only way to findout is to come and visit! We are so happy to be here, and we will be sure to keep you updated with all our new adventures!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
TAG - ROAD TRIP
So, our plans have recently changed (for those of you who knew what they were), or haven't (if you didn't know). Dan and I our moving together down to Destin, Florida. We will be making a TRUE cross-country road trip in less than 2 weeks from Auburn, WA to Destin, FL. We have 12 days to pack our moving truck, unpack at our destination, and drive across our great nation with stops that will include Mr. Rushmore, Nebraska - to see the Johnson Family :O), Oklahoma - to see family, and Memphis Tennessee - to see...(I'm not sure yet. For some odd reason I've always wanted to go there. Anyone been there before? I know that is where Elvis lived, and supposedly they have great music?) We are very excited! So, in preparation for our road trip...
Here is the TAG!
To: Anyone and everyone who reads this blog,
Post about your most memorable Road Trip experience. Now you can take "memorable" to mean whatever you want, but I am curious to see what sort of trips stand out in everyone's memories. I look forward to reading them!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Breaking Dawn Madness...
So, I've never been one on top of new releases of anything! I didn't get into Harry Potter really until they were all out. I've never done the midnight matinées of ANY movie, and I've never waited in line longer than a normal ticket line or grocery for ANYTHING! In fact I will wait until movies get to the $2 theater before even if I really want to see them. Well, I guess there is always a first for everything.
I have been encouraged by many people to read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Series. I had to wait until school and state boards were done, but once I started I really enjoyed them. Now, I don't think I would say enough to get myself to Borders books or Barnes and Nobles at midnight for the last of the series release. But due to my Mom, sister, and a few women in the ward I somehow ended up making shirts with my Mom and sister and going to a Twilight Party that ended with cramming into a suburban with 8 other women and young women to be at Barnes and Nobles to pick up our copies of Breaking Dawn. And it was actually a lot of fun. We had a trivia game of all the books at the party, there were party favors and pictures one woman and her daughters had put together from their trip to Forks, WA (where the book takes place) and the bookstore was having costume contests, trivia, and more. It was fun to hear debates of the the books and hear people share their favorites and so on. All in all, it was a fun night, and it was fun to be a part of the group to celebrate something little, but fun!
(For those of you who know sister Sodenkamp - she was there and she was hilarious. We were walking from our parking spot to the book store and she screamed and started running for the doors saying, "I just can't wait! Why are we walking!!!" It was fun!)
Book Tag
1. Pick up the nearest book to you (one of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
Well, I had my choice of the 4 books of Stephanie Meyers Twilight series all stacked next to me when I read about this tag. Since I haven't gotten to page 123 on the newest book I just grabbed and opened the second book. It sounds weird if you haven't read it and you may be wondering what kind of book this is, but here it goes.
"I wasn't paying attention to where I was driving - just wandering through empty, wet side roads as I avoided the ways that would take me home - because I didn't have anywhere to go. I wished I could feel numb again, but I couldn't remember how I'd managed it before. The nightmare was nagging at my mind and making me think about things that would cause me pain."
TAG: Brandi, Mookie, Tori, Amy, and Chris
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
Well, I had my choice of the 4 books of Stephanie Meyers Twilight series all stacked next to me when I read about this tag. Since I haven't gotten to page 123 on the newest book I just grabbed and opened the second book. It sounds weird if you haven't read it and you may be wondering what kind of book this is, but here it goes.
"I wasn't paying attention to where I was driving - just wandering through empty, wet side roads as I avoided the ways that would take me home - because I didn't have anywhere to go. I wished I could feel numb again, but I couldn't remember how I'd managed it before. The nightmare was nagging at my mind and making me think about things that would cause me pain."
TAG: Brandi, Mookie, Tori, Amy, and Chris
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Girls Camp
Well, we have a lot to catch up on what with our trip to Yellowstone and all, but while I wait for pictures from that trip I'll bore/entertain (your choice) you with my Girls Camp experience this last week. I was a 1st year level assistant leader. It was a lot of work and required immense amounts of patience at times, but I learned so much and had a blast! This was Tori's first year at Girls camp so it was fun to not only be at camp with her but be over her level. Unlucky for her she had 1/2 of her family joining her at Girls Camp. My mom was a last minute replacement for one of the YCL leaders and my Dad was one of the priesthood brothers for the week. It was actually a lot of fun. The first time my Dad went to Girls camp was my first year of girls camp so he thought it was neat to share that experience with both daughters. Well, I could blab on and on about my week, but I'll just highlight some moments through pictures and words.
(A nice family picture. Tori's shirt is doing something funky and if you can notice the antennas on mine and Tori's head we were the Humble Bumble Bees.)
POLAR DIP
The Polar dip is the "opportunity" girls have at 7 am to go dive into the freezing cold lake. This lake is absolutely beautiful and breath-taking...literally. The water is straight from a glacier. No one could ever convince me it is a sane thing to do, especially after the camp missionaries said by jumping in it you may induce hypothermia within 2 minutes. I know I don't have enough meat for that.
I only went out one morning to watch (the first morning) because some of our first years were going to do it. The poor things were the only ones out there (everyone else has learned their lesson over the years)...oh, and my Dad. I can't really decide if it was funny or sad, but when those faces came up out of the water and I saw the pure shock and horror on their faces I wanted to laugh, cry and yank them out all at once.
Girls Camp Goes Green
The new thing at girls camp this year was to try and cut down on the amount of Garbage we produced so instead of paper products we all used mess kits and set up wash stations. The first basin had hot soapy water (after scraping your plate), the second had a bleach mix in and the last had hot water to rinse. The only problem was that if you were among the last to eat then you were the last to wash and hence got dirty water to wash in. But being the totally phobic of this situation I made sure all my girls got clean water to clean in (perhaps to the chagrin of some of the kitchen staff).
Canoing
What turned out to be among my favorite moments of the week was free time. A new rule this year was that every canoe had to have an "adult" leader (meaning no YCLs). Few leaders wanted to put themselves in a canoe with girls that may want to tip you in. As a result there were tons of girls wanting to go canoing and only 2 leaders willing to go out, so I dedicate the free time to being a canoe "adult". To my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like teaching the girls how to canoe and be able to enjoy the beauties and peace of the lake and help the girls recognize it too.
(nice hat huh?)
10 minutes at the SPA
Some of the stake leaders put together a little mini spa for the leaders which included parafin waking of hands and soaking feet while eating chocolate and drinking lemonade from champagne glasses. It was very delightful, but had to put your feet back into dirty socks (CAMP IS SOOOO DUSTY! NOTHING STAYS CLEAN! NOTHING!)
Ranch Dressing Dispensers
Need I say more...
THE AMAZING RACE
The theme at Girls camp this year was on Divine Nature and we centered it around the idea of The Amazing Race TV show. One night we had a giant amazing race where all the girls were mixed up into random groups and sent out from station to station to accomplish team building activities and other tasks as a group. What was truly amazing about this activity is somehow EVERY single girl was involved and smiling! I have never seen that before. Even some of the girls I was most worried about were totally into it and being befriended by other girls. It was so special to witness.
Sister Probst
I made a new friend at camp. Sister Beth Probst was the ward leader for our group and we had a blast together. She is really an amazing woman and I really enjoyed her company and our discussions together. It wasn't until the second to last day that I realized I had gone to EFY and a birthday party with her brother (Megan - you remember Jay Irish?) Well, that was a pretty amazing discovery and just added to our ability to relate.
Much more than I can or should write...
Just know that I had a wonderful, challengeing, exhausting, and FUN week at girls camp. I actually look forward to the next time I have the opportunity! It is such a special opportunity for the young women of the church to come together, feel the spirit, and enjoy God's beautiful earth! I'm thankful I had the opportunity to be apart of it.
(A nice family picture. Tori's shirt is doing something funky and if you can notice the antennas on mine and Tori's head we were the Humble Bumble Bees.)
POLAR DIP
The Polar dip is the "opportunity" girls have at 7 am to go dive into the freezing cold lake. This lake is absolutely beautiful and breath-taking...literally. The water is straight from a glacier. No one could ever convince me it is a sane thing to do, especially after the camp missionaries said by jumping in it you may induce hypothermia within 2 minutes. I know I don't have enough meat for that.
I only went out one morning to watch (the first morning) because some of our first years were going to do it. The poor things were the only ones out there (everyone else has learned their lesson over the years)...oh, and my Dad. I can't really decide if it was funny or sad, but when those faces came up out of the water and I saw the pure shock and horror on their faces I wanted to laugh, cry and yank them out all at once.
Girls Camp Goes Green
The new thing at girls camp this year was to try and cut down on the amount of Garbage we produced so instead of paper products we all used mess kits and set up wash stations. The first basin had hot soapy water (after scraping your plate), the second had a bleach mix in and the last had hot water to rinse. The only problem was that if you were among the last to eat then you were the last to wash and hence got dirty water to wash in. But being the totally phobic of this situation I made sure all my girls got clean water to clean in (perhaps to the chagrin of some of the kitchen staff).
Canoing
What turned out to be among my favorite moments of the week was free time. A new rule this year was that every canoe had to have an "adult" leader (meaning no YCLs). Few leaders wanted to put themselves in a canoe with girls that may want to tip you in. As a result there were tons of girls wanting to go canoing and only 2 leaders willing to go out, so I dedicate the free time to being a canoe "adult". To my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like teaching the girls how to canoe and be able to enjoy the beauties and peace of the lake and help the girls recognize it too.
(nice hat huh?)
10 minutes at the SPA
Some of the stake leaders put together a little mini spa for the leaders which included parafin waking of hands and soaking feet while eating chocolate and drinking lemonade from champagne glasses. It was very delightful, but had to put your feet back into dirty socks (CAMP IS SOOOO DUSTY! NOTHING STAYS CLEAN! NOTHING!)
Ranch Dressing Dispensers
Need I say more...
THE AMAZING RACE
The theme at Girls camp this year was on Divine Nature and we centered it around the idea of The Amazing Race TV show. One night we had a giant amazing race where all the girls were mixed up into random groups and sent out from station to station to accomplish team building activities and other tasks as a group. What was truly amazing about this activity is somehow EVERY single girl was involved and smiling! I have never seen that before. Even some of the girls I was most worried about were totally into it and being befriended by other girls. It was so special to witness.
Sister Probst
I made a new friend at camp. Sister Beth Probst was the ward leader for our group and we had a blast together. She is really an amazing woman and I really enjoyed her company and our discussions together. It wasn't until the second to last day that I realized I had gone to EFY and a birthday party with her brother (Megan - you remember Jay Irish?) Well, that was a pretty amazing discovery and just added to our ability to relate.
Much more than I can or should write...
Just know that I had a wonderful, challengeing, exhausting, and FUN week at girls camp. I actually look forward to the next time I have the opportunity! It is such a special opportunity for the young women of the church to come together, feel the spirit, and enjoy God's beautiful earth! I'm thankful I had the opportunity to be apart of it.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I DID IT!!!
Well, I just wanted to thank you all for your prayers, encouragement, and support! I finally did it! I took my test last Thursday and have been checking online everyday since with no results. I thought the test was horrible and I was sure I failed the moment my test shut off. Yesterday, I had pretty much resigned myself to having failed, but Dan kept feeling that we still didn't know for sure. Tonight I checked again still with no results so Dan convinced me to pay the fee for quick results online - and I PASSED! What a relief. I was pretty much ready to start studying all over again, but I am finally done! Everything I have worked toward over the last few years has finally come! I am now a registered nurse. I can't wait to start working now and really learning how to be a nurse! :O) Thank you all again!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Prayers would be appreciated!
So, my relief after graduation was fairly short lived as I realized just how little time I had to prepare for the NCLEX state boards. I have basically been studying at almost every waking moment for this test and I still don't feel as prepared as I would like. I will be taking my test this Thursday at 8 am and I would really love all of your prayers. I know that may sound like a really lame thing to ask for, but I think of all my wonderful friends and family and all their faith and I could sure use that extra help...ok a lot of that help.
Monday, June 16, 2008
GRADUATION!!!
Caution: The following entry is quite long and may not be of much interest to some - read at your own risk or leisure
Well, it has finally happened. We have finally graduated! I with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing and Dan with his AMAZINGED Double Bachelors of Arts degrees in Spanish and Political Science. That's right, double degrees. Not majors. Not minors. Degrees! He worked so hard (Averaging 18-23 credits a quarter) for them and got both degrees in the same amount of time it took me to do one - he's so smart! :O) It is a great feeling! WOW! I am using too many exclamation marks, but that is just how exciting it is!
We graduated on June 13th, 2008. It was a long day (considering we had 3 graduation ceremonies to do) but very memorable. The day started with my nursing school convocation. It was a GREAT ceremony with wonderful and funny speakers, awards, and it was VERY well organized. There were some memorable highlights for me:
- The First: My class lined up outside to enter the auditorium in a small court yard. In order to file through we ended up passing every single person in our class and someone started the "high five - good game" deal that kids do after YW volleyball or tee ball games. It was awesome!
- Another memory was that as we filed in all of our professors, administrators, clinical instructors and the rest of the school of nursing staff applauded us! There were so many of us and they looked at us and yet they applauded each of us so genuinely. The way they smiled and applauded me made me feel like I was the only person graduating that day!
- The dean gave an opportunity for the graduating students to stand up and applaud all of our family and friends who had supported us through school - I stood up and turned to see my wonderful husband, Parents (both birth and in-laws), and my grandparents. I even teared up as I realized how much they had helped me through the insanity of nursing school.
I snuck out of my graduation 5 minutes early to make it to Dan's first graduation. The Political Science convocation was definitely lacking in some organization and zeal, compared to the Nursing convocation, but was none-the-less an incredible moment! It was wonderful to hear his name called and to feel so much pride swell up in me. He has truly earned that degree and has grown and learned so much in the process. It has opened so many doors for him!
After that we spent time taking a few pictures...OK...a LOT of pictures. The ones above are only some of them (some of my favorites). Then we went to a restaurant in Bellevue called Maggianos and the food was incredible. We went all out and did the ultimate family style Italian lunch. The food that was brought to the table consisted of truly amazing food and as much of it as we could eat! We had stuffed mushrooms, bruschetta, Caesar salad, Maggiano's salad, Broccoli Fettuchini Alfredo, Mom's Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Marsala, then last but definitely not least - apple crostada and creme brulee...
Let me just say we ate ourselves silly!
Later that evening, after some window shopping with Mookie, we headed back to UW campus to attend Dan's last graduation ceremony for the Spanish department. It was extremely layed back, but very personal and enjoyable. They had the Lieutenant Governor of Washington State, a State Senator (the second most powerful politician in Washington State and the Consul General to Spain in attendance. The Senator spoke and she was very motivating. I spoke with her because she overheard Dan talking about how we are moving and that I just graduated in nursing (she used to be a nurse). Anyway, this graduation ceremony was much better than the Political Science one.
They had a potluck there with all kinds of authentic foods that...I HAD to try! Many of Dan's teachers were there and all of them expressed what a wonderful student he was. Being a VERY liberal department, Dan was seen as controversial in many ways, but through his ability to validly argue many points and not being afraid to stand up for what he believed in really made an impact on his teachers and peers and MANY expressed great respect for him that night. I am so proud of him!
The day ended well, and believe it or not with some milkshakes and fries (Dan told the lady at the drive thru that we had just graduated and she gave us large milkshakes for the price of a kid's size...and she said she was proud of us)!
Just one more thank you to all of our family and friends that supported, encouraged, and helped us through these last few years. We have been extremely blessed by your love! THANK YOU!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
It's About Time...
I know it has been a while since our last post, and we've left some of you hanging. Sorry about that. So here we finally are again! So much has been going on the last few weeks, it being the end of the quarter and all. We are sooooo excited to graduate tomorrow! It's a surreal feeling. So, our plans for after graduation are as follows:
We are going to enjoy an almost stress free summer. I say almost because although we are not working (not really) I still have the state boards I am studying for and have to take and we have to figure out our move at the end of the summer. The plan is to move to San Angelo Texas at the end of the summer where I will start work as a Registered Nurse! YEAH! And there we will stay for a period of time until part of the training for Dan's job is complete and then we'll move on to the white sandy beaches of Fort Walton Beach Florida. I am so looking forward to some sun...especially since it is June and I have seen my breath outside it has been so cold recently!
We are going to enjoy an almost stress free summer. I say almost because although we are not working (not really) I still have the state boards I am studying for and have to take and we have to figure out our move at the end of the summer. The plan is to move to San Angelo Texas at the end of the summer where I will start work as a Registered Nurse! YEAH! And there we will stay for a period of time until part of the training for Dan's job is complete and then we'll move on to the white sandy beaches of Fort Walton Beach Florida. I am so looking forward to some sun...especially since it is June and I have seen my breath outside it has been so cold recently!
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