Love to All of You

I am surrounded with absolutely amazing people! I have been so blessed to be associated with all of you and to have you in my life. My love for you is so great that I wanted to publicly say thanks for being a part of my life! I've been thinking about the good ol' times and thought I'd share either something I admire about you/love about you, or a memory. Hope I get everyone!

Audge- Where to start? Too many! Simply... sister from another mister. Love you chica!
Kaitlin- You are always there to listen. Scaring you multiple times! I always laugh. Clogging. Dancing around in the apartment. Being CRAZY!
Kat- Late night runs to pretty much everywhere! Playing in the rain! You are one of my very best friends. "You have to love me!"
Heather- Good morning boys and girls... welcome to primary! All the good talks. Love you!
Siri- You have the brightest happiest smile and always make me so happy! You give the best hugs :)
Mandy- You are one of a kind! The kindest person I know. Too many great memories... staring at each other through our mirrors. Charly! Oh how I miss you.
Amber- Need I say more? You got your own post :) GIMP forever.
Alex- We will always be the best of friends! "Oh dear..." haha! Glad I can be a part of your most embarrassing moment.
Stevie- So happy! You always have a smile on your face and you give great hugs.
Bryce- You genuinely care about people. And you are always smiling :) Free lasic surgery for you! "Smile!... I can't!" haha. I feel like I've known you much longer, and I can't wait for the good times to keep a rollin'. Thanks for EVERYTHING.
Darin- I never know what to expect from you and I love it! So spontaneous and you make me laugh all the time! Thanks for all the advice and talks. Love all your soccer whiffs haha!
Josh- You are seriously another family member. Trips to Ogden, laughing under our breath about the same thing without having to explain, favorite memory is when we talked outside my apt. after frisbee for about 2 hours about everything. Time flies when you're having fun!
Jordan- You were a great friend before you decided to marry my best friend. Love ya! "What? Who? Where? Why? How? Como?!" Trips to the Health Center. Welcome to my life! And thanks!
Jeff- You probably won't read this, but you have been amazing. Thanks for EVERYTHING. Too many inside jokes and laughs over the years. See you in May!
Spencer- Only one more month! My favorite story is Girls Pref with our bouncy balls "Who sat on my head?!" and the quarter incident. Knocked you to the floor haha... glad you were laughing. See you in December!
Erin- I LOVE YOU! Grocery sack dance. Laughing without end. Piano duets! Especially the last time you came. Laughed forever. Brandon gave us dirty looks... haha.

I have so many more people that I love and adore, but I have run out of room and am getting arthritis in my hands. Not really, but know that I love you! Once again, thank you for being a part of my life. You have made an impact on me in one way or another and you probably haven't even noticed.

Ode to Amber

If I were a classical musician, this is what I would name my piece that I would write about Amber. I feel like I have so much to thank her for and I am indebted to her for ever. This summer was one of the best summers I've ever had even though I was injured for most of the time. A lot of this is because of a sweet, smiley, and happy go lucky girl named Amber. Where have you been all my life? I feel like we are sisters separated at birth, partners in crime, and fellow gimps.

I admire you so much for the person that you are. You are one of the greatest examples to me and I have learned so much from you. You are one of the most positive and uplifting people out there. You make everyone feel like one of a kind and your smile is contagious. Thanks for always laughing with me and lets face it- we're dorks, but we have fun! Some of the greatest memories I have made this summer I owe to you! What would I have done without you? I hope you know how much I love you and I look forward to seeing your bright shining face every chance I get. I feel genuinely happy when I'm with you, and you always know when I need a little uplifting. You're always there and I appreciate you so so much!

I get the blessing of having Amber sleep over this weekend, and I can only imagine the bundles of fun that await us! Can it come soon enough? I don't think so! I sure do love you!

Can I end with a song? ehem ehem... mi mi mi! mi ma mo, mi ma mo... ok, we're ready!

You are my sunshine! My only sunshine,

You make me happy when skies are grey.

You'll never know dear, how much I love you.

Please don't take my sunshine away :)

Homemade Oreos!

For the past couple of months I have had a craving for homemade oreo cookies. With all the time at work that I have I researched some recipes and picked one out to try. However, after I bought the stuff to make them I never got the motivation to actually bake the cookies b/c our kitchen is always so dirty! Last night all of my roommates went out of town except for one, and she was gone for the night so I took the opportunity to clean the kitchen thoroughly and make my cookies!

I also got a pleasant surprise... Bryce is home! He has become one of my best friends and I have missed him a lot. He had surgery on his jaw almost 2 weeks ago and has been at home since. He got back last night and so I invited him to help. He claims to be a great cookie maker. Time to show me your stuff! Though he couldn't talk it was SO much fun. And it's a good thing he helped. I didn't know the difference between confectioner's sugar and sugar, and some of the cooking terms kept me puzzled. He knew the answer to everything. The cookies were a success thanks to his knowledge... I have a lot to learn. But that's why I'm baking so that I can learn before it's too late! Here is the finished product. I took this picture at work. Preview of what I'm going to eat for my snack :) They are soooo yummy! And they were really easy to make. I think I've eaten 5 already today. I really should stop since I can't exercise them off til the end of the summer haha. If you're interested, here is the recipe. I think they would be fun to make with kids too... maybe that'll be my mom specialty haha... maybe.

Homemade Oreos by Smitten Kitchen:

For the chocolate wafers:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [see recipe note]

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

Happy Pioneer Day! AKA 24th of July

The other day while I was at work my supervisor, Lindsey, asked if I knew any fun activities that we could do at our weekly staff meeting for Pioneer day. I didn't have many suggestions but we ended up making gingerbread wagons! haha, has anyone ever heard of such a thing? Surprisingly it was a success, and so much fun! I think I enjoyed it more than Gingerbread houses at Christmas time... all you people with kids should try it! I would have to say that my wagon turned out the best... we were in groups of 2 and this was our final product: We used donuts for the wheels, licorice for the wagon top, covered in a napkin, gummy bears as the pioneers (a little out of proportion to the wagon), and marshmallow and black licorice oxen. Creative eh? The oxen were my contribution...
I was quite pleased with the outcome... so... HAPPY PIONEER DAY!

Burrup Family Reunion

Here we go! I'm almost done updating my blog. I'm really surprised with how well I have been doing at blogging lately. It's fun! So anyway, during the weekend of July 4th our family got together for our annual, soon to be biannual, family reunion. We reserved a campsite at the Heber Valley Camp which is owned by the church and mostly used for Girls' Camps. The camp was so big that we decided to invite the Collier family to share it with us. What a great idea that was. Lots of people, but lots of fun! Of course blogging isn't as fun without pictures, so here is the story of our family reunion told in pictures. Audrey, Emily, and I. We sure do love pictures. I am once again so glad that they were able to come! This is the first summer Audge and I have lived more than a quarter mile away from each other! We sure have been spoiled to be so lucky.

Erin and I had our own photo shoot. No, this isn't the cutest picture we got of the 2 of us, but it IS my favorite picture! I still laugh like I just saw it for the first time. No words can describe this picture. I sure do love Erin a whole lot. She is one of my best friends and I'm so glad we got to spend time together before the reunion. She makes me laugh like no one else does. Multiple times I have been talking to her on the phone and my roommates will come in to the room wondering what is so funny b/c I am laughing so hard and consistently. I just smile and say, "I'm talking to Erin." That's all they need to know haha. Love her!

Me and Audge. We have been best friends for so long that I consider her my sister. Mitchell loved playing baby with Analise. He would beg to be put in the play pen and then roll around and "goo" and "ga" at everyone. It was the funniest, and cutest thing. He is such a pleasant 2 year old, most of the time ;) And Analise was a joy the whole time. She is full of smiles.

I wish I had more pictures over the years with my sisters. Look what they've been hiding all this time! Haha, we had our own photo op and when I suggested we do a silly picture Laurel and Kristen had a surprised look on their face as if they've never heard of such a thing! Erin and I had to coach them through it. Lets just say that out of all the attempts, this is the best one. But the series of pictures leading up is hilarious! I love my sisters so so much. It was so fun to have everyone together again. I wish we all lived closer so we could have sister outing more often!

After our campfire dinner the Colliers prepared a skit for everyone to enjoy. Brandon and I got to participate. This is the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Little Bears. Brandon was Goldie Locks and I got to be his hands. It was quite the production with David as Papa Bear, Dad as Mama Bear, and Mark as Baby Bear. Their wives sat in as their hands. They did things like brush their teeth, eat, drink, and sleep. It was a success, and everyone rolled with laughter. Great idea Colliers!

Brandon and me after the skit. We did a pretty good job of staing clean!

Me and my little stud muffin, Mitchell. He loved the s'mores we made after dinner. Quite the sticky mess, but that's what camping's all about. The next day we had the opportunity to go down to the Camp Lake and use canoes and paddle boats for an hour. Jenna had the great opportunity of coming with Audge and me. It was so fun to have her with us. Much like Erin and Jared's experience with Cannon, we feared that our canoe was going to tip over. Jenna wanted to help out and paddle, but everytime she moved from side to side Audge and I got a little scare and had to keep from tipping. Poor girl, she just wanted to help. We kindly reminded her that tipping was not an option and she had to sit in the middle. It ended up being fun, and she was so cute and had a great attitude. Happy disposition! Here we are in our canoe! What a great looking crew :) It was a gorgeous day, and the water was great. After we played in the canoes for a little bit we decided to take a turn in one of the paddle boats. This picture shows that I sat in the middle, but it didn't start that way... the missionaries put me and Erin as the paddlers, Audge in the middle, and Jenna and Cannon in the back. After my knee injury I was a little nervous that I wasn't going to be much help in paddling. My analysis was correct. I think I peddled twice before I couldn't do it anymore. Poor Erin thought she was going to die. We decided maybe it would be nice for Audge and I to switch spots. Once we did this it was a smooth sailing trip. Cannon was a little annoyed we wouldn't let him paddle, but we wanted to be able to reach it back to shore in a timely manner. It ended up being very relaxing, for me at least, and we had a lot of fun.

The family reunion ended up being a great success! We also did a ropes course but I unfortunately didn't get any pictures of that. My favorite was Kristen on the high ropes event. It was quite the show, but I'm so glad she did it! And with her eyes closed... she's a pro. I sure do love my family and I can't wait for our reunion next year which Trent and Kristen's families are planning. The rumor is that we are going to try and do a beach house in California! Partay!

ARCHES

It has been a long time coming. I have been planning a trip to Arches for me and some friends in the ward. This has been a work in progress for a little over a month, and it finally came together! The preparation was fun, stressful, and busy all in all. I have to personally say thanks to Bryce for helping me with everything, even though he won't read my blog anywho, I still am so grateful for his willingness to help! There is no way I could have done all of this by myself and still enjoyed it. This trip was planned for about 10-15 people but ended up being a 24 person vacation. Whoa! A lot of people, but I'm glad they all came. So here are pictures and commentary about my trip. If you want to see more pictures you can look on my facebook profile in the photo album titled "Skadoosh". Amber, one of the cutest girls I've met here at BYU, and my fellow gimp, outside Arches National Park wearing our matching gimp shirts :) I am so glad she was able to come. She recently had ACL reconstruction surgery and is a trooper for coming on the trip. May I add that she was amazing!? Stuck with the group almost the whole time and never once complained. I sure do love this girl. She makes me laugh so much! Day 1 in Arches we didn't do any hikes we just drove around and parked at the different viewpoints. This is Balanced Rock. There is a small pathway that allows you to walk around the rock formation so this was the "toughest" hike of the day. From left to right we have Sini, Amber, me, Audge, Nalene, and Enni. We were having fun with pictures and in this one are imitating the rock and balancing on one leg. Not too hard! Day 2! We all were awake at 5:30am and had camp packed up by 6:30. We wanted to get a head start on all of the hikes we wanted to do b/c it was hotsy totsy in Moab! This is me at Delicate Arch. The arch that is pictured on Utah license plates. This was the only thing that I was determined to do while at Arches. It is actually the thing that inspired me to pick this park to visit for our vacation. It was absolutely gorgeous, and so much bigger than I expected. The hike was beautiful, and not too long! We made it up and back in about 2.5 hours (includes playing time) and we beat the heat on this hike. I am so glad that Audge was able to come on the trip with us. I sure do love her! It was so fun having her there and doing all of this fun stuff together. Here we are next to the arch. I am in red shorts (right) and she is in orange shorts (left). Look how big that arch is compared to us! Enormous.
Here is the entire group minus Amber under the arch! There is no way I can tell you who everyone is, but isn't this an incredible picture? I absolutely loved this trip and all the people who came with. It was neat to get everyone under the arch together. 24 people under 1 arch= one big arch!Later in the day we hiked Landscape Arch which was gorgeous as well. About 2 years ago while some hikers were on the trail they heard a loud sound which they thought was thunder and come to find out part of landscape arch had fallen off. The arch at its thinnest point is only 6 feet thick! Who knows how long this arch will be there? It sure was gorgeous. There were some other arches past Landscape that had a tougher terrain. Half of the group stayed behind and wanted to take a rest while the rest of us hiked on. I was a little nervous about physically being ok and able to do it b/c the majority was bouldering. With the help of some very cute boys I made it all the way, but I do have to give myself credit and say that I did most of it myself. But it sure was nice to have the assistance if needed. Here we are under one of the arches which I forget the name. Audge, Nick, Darin, Bryce, me, and Trevor. What a great crew!

Hike over? No! Mike Degener, a member of the Gimp club, whose number on his shirt is infinity b/c he has been injured so many times wanted more adventure. We lost the trail and climbed up the rock to the highest point we could find, and It was the highest point around. I did it! It was absolutely gorgeous! Here are some of us on top of Arches National Park pretty much. We are so far up that if you look down to the bottom left corner of the picture above you can see landscape arch and we are well above it. It was the best hike of the day and a priceless experience. I wish I could explain the beauty of the scenery around. It was breathtaking.

Here I am looking out over the view from on top of the Park. It was gorgeous, once again. I had to get a picture of me on top of it with my gimp shirt b/c I needed proof that I climbed to the top with a handicap! I like to joke that this picture is of me contemplating how in the world I'm going to get down- that was the real challenge. I told mom when I initially got hurt that nothing would keep me from going on the trip, and even though I had a reinjury I still accomplished my goal and nothing held me back from enjoying the experience. Gimp or no gimp it was a great trip!

This is the last picture I got of the trip. The last arches we visited were the 2 windows. They were gorgeous and we were tired. We opted to walk half way up the trail and take a picture from a distance. Still got to see them! This picture is a rememberance of all the water we drank. Nice, warm, pool water. What a great treat ;) haha, lets just say we were excited to get to some clean bathrooms and cold drinking fountains- heck, they could even be cool drinking fountains. That would be refreshing. After we visited these we headed out of Arches to go eat lunch in Moab and then head home. What a great trip it was, and I am SOOO proud of myself for pulling through and really doing it! No more sitting around wishing we could do these things, we actually did it! And it was an experience to remember. I will also add that it was only a $20.00 trip for everything! Affordable, fun, and filled with friends. What more could you want?

My next blog entry will be about the family reunion. I have to upload those pictures. Hope you're looking forward to it!

Catching UP

Well, it's been quite the July! Lots has been going on, and I hope I can remember all of the details seeing as how July is almost over. Where does the time go? I'm going to break my posts up so that they are bearable to read. But all in all they will include the BYU college summer life, Burrup family reunion, and camping in Arches!

This past month has been incredible. My roommate, Kaitlin, sent her bf away to China for 6 weeks for an internship. Tears were shed, hugs were given, and some were rejoicing... jk Kait. But really, I was looking forward to doing lots of fun stuff with her while I had the chance. Some would say these were going to be the hardest 6 weeks, but I decided to be optimistic and look at it as a time to grow closer haha. She reluctantly accepted the fact that she was going to enjoy the time with me as well.

One of the fun things we have done together is going to see "UP" in 3D. It was such a great movie! I think I felt every kind of emotion throughout the movie. Happiness, excitment, anticipation, fear, sadness, and relief. I have really come to love Pixar movies, and I think UP is my new favorite. I loved the little boy and think he is the cutest, cubbiest character ever invented haha. Weird how we think chubby is cute sometimes... Kait and I especially loved our 3D glasses that came with the movie! They told us to return them so they could be recycled after the movie, but the rebells in us refused. We paid $2.00 for these glasses, and we were determined to keep them!

The night before Jordan, Kaitlin's "friend", left we wanted to play tennis. Jordan had been asking for quite some time if the 4 of us (Kait, Bryce, and I) could play together. After I got off work we headed over to the tennis courts but they were all occuppied. We decided to wait around for one to open up. In the meantime I had my soccer ball in the trunk! We got it out and passed it around. What was I thinking? It all happened so fast haha, I went to get the ball, pivoted, and my knee popped and twisted again. It wasn't long before I was on the ground rolled over in pain. I knew this couldn't be good. I did everything in my power to stay calm about the situation. This included clenching onto the grass to relieve pressure, and saying "Oh crap" over and over again. Great remedy right? I was really saying "Oh crap" b/c I could only imagine what Trent was going to say. I knew I was in for a few lectures from different members of my family, but mostly Trent. I composed myself after a few minutes and we decided maybe tennis wasn't a great idea. We headed home and changed so that we could move on to the next activity.

Our next activity was a movie in the canyon, and Kaitlin and I prepared another surprise for the guys. Homemade ice cream! When we found the perfect place to watch the movie we whipped out the ingredients. We didn't have an icecream maker of course, so we did ice cream in a plastic baggy. I've done it multiple times, and it's really good. As we were compiling everything Kait burst up into laughter. What was so funny? She whispered in my ear, "I forgot to borrow vanilla!" I couldn't help but laugh harder. Vanilla ice cream without the vanilla, it was going to be ok, but interesting. We all concluded that we should proceed. About 2 minutes later Kait burst up laughing again! I could only imagine... We forgot spoons! ha ha. Luckily we brought along oreos to put in the ice cream so we thought we could just substitue the oreos as spoons. All 4 of us were full of laughter. Elder Wirthlin was right when he said that it is better to laugh at mistakes and bad happenings. It sure does make all the difference!

So here is Bryce and I in the process of making our ice cream, or should I say sugared milk, and enjoying "Goonies!" I was the only one who had seen it! Can you believe that? Where did these people grow up and what kind of childhood did they have to have never seen a classic like "Goonies?" I was glad to share such a great movie with them, and they all loved it. So all in all our night was quite eventful and unexpected :) But it turned out to be a great night! Jordan, we will miss you, and Kaitlin, I'm so glad I have had the chance to play with you so much! I sure do love her! She is not only one of my best friends, but I consider her one of my sisters. We have had quite the events and so many laughs. I just love her! I know I'm no Jordan, but I am Tiffany :) Let the good times roll.

Summer Lovin'

So this summer I have been super busy! With work? Yes, but mostly just having fun! We have done some really fun things that I have never done. Here we are at some hot springs in Midway, UT. How do hot springs form? They are so random! Many spots in the springs were scolding hot, but we found the perfect area that was hot tub temperature. It was perfect!

This is a picture of me, Kait (one of my best friends, and roommate), and Amber (my new found and long lost friend who has gimped her way through the summer along side me). Physical activity doesn't scare us away! We have gone to everything and participated quite a bit. It has been such a great opportunity getting to know her! I can't believe it has taken us this long to find each other b/c we get along so great, and this summer would not have been the same without her! Lots of laughs and fun. Here we are at FHE playing with sticks and leaves while everyone else is playing soccer. Who's had more fun? I don't think I need to answer that...

Quite the story lies behind this picture... all I have to say is, "I didn't do it..." Ok, ok, maybe I was mostly responsible...We were going to deliver a few cupcakes to our cute neighbors, and before I knew it I had cake and frosting all over the place, including up my nose! In fact, there was so much up my nose that when I tried to breath I couldn't and it just got sucked up even more! Lets just say that I could smell chocolate for aquite a while...The sad part of the story is that I couldn't run away from the madness with my gimp leg! Good thing I wasn't attacked by a crazy man, it was just a crazy girl!... Gotta love roommates!

A Tribute to My Sisters

Is anyone in the mood for some cheese? I hope so b/c this is going to be one of those blog posts that is really cheesy... but I mean all of it! So I have been thinking a lot lately about life and my situation such as the family I've been put in, being raised in the church, having parents who were married in the temple, attending BYU, etc. etc.

As a part of that I have been thinking a lot about my sisters and I have been overwhelmed with gratitude for all of them! Kristen, Laurel, Andria, Erin, and Carrie. What would I do without my sisters? Brothers are great, but there is a bond between sisters that is so much stronger. We relate to each other more, laugh more, and I just love you all. I wish you all lived as close as Laurel and Carrie b/c I miss spending time with you. You truly are my best friends and I'm so grateful to have you in my life forever.

I look up to you so much and have so many hopes of becoming the wife and mother that all of you portray. I think in many ways we all have carried on traits that Mom posesses, and I'm so grateful for that as well. I love you Mom! You sure did a good job in raising us :) I have many goals to achieve within my own family that originated from things I have observed you do in your own. Thank you for being strong women of the church and living worthily of temple marriage and other blessings. I am so grateful for our family and for the relationships and unity that we share. Yes, this is all so cheesy, but I sure do love you all!

Spiritually Strengthening

Lately I have had a lot of time on my hands at work to do whatever I want. I have decided that I want to set aside some of that time to study my scriptures, and then read a conference talk from the Conference Ensign that came out in May.
I testify of the divine inspiration that the leaders of The Church receive when preparing their addresses. I know that these are "the scriptures of our times", and we should read, review, and study them often. I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this, and I have truly felt a difference in my life, whether great or small, it has made a difference. I am so grateful for our leaders and for a living prophet. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today, and he will never lead us astray. I know that the words of the prophet and apostles are the words of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. I urge all of you to take the time to read these talks and study them. It truly will make a difference, and it has made a difference in my life and has been spiritually strengthening to me!

Update

Yesterday I went to Trent's office again for some more laser therapy. The swelling was down enough that we were pretty sure he could figure out what is wrong with my knee. After testing and all of that fun stuff he says that my knee is testing as though it's meniscus problem, and no torn ligaments! (That's good news). So my official diagnosis is a sprained MCL, torn meniscus, and much to my surprise I also sprained my ankle! haha. I left the office laughing out loud to myself b/c I had no idea that I sprained my ankle. Here I am walking around on a sprained ankle and I am completely oblivious to it all. I have noticed that my ankle has been massively swollen, but I thought it was a side effect of the knee. Nope!
Today the swelling is down a lot and I can see all of the bruising from my ankle. What baffles me is, how in the world is it physically possible to sprain the knee and ankle at the same time? haha, quite the image. So... NO SURGERY! Thank goodness. I'm walking w/o crutches mostly and my knee looks somewhat the size it should be. I'll be running in no time!

Bonfire!

My injury hasn't kept me from doing some pretty fun things! This weekend a bunch of friends, including the great Audge and Kat, and I went up Provo Canyon to South Fork Park and had ourselves a bonfire. It was tons of fun, and there were lots of fun people there. Much to my pleasure, Amber De Groot came along who is also currently on crutches from another soccer injury. It felt good to have a twinner there along with me! We rocked the crutches and have even scheduled to have a race this next week. May the best woman win. Hopefully that'll end up being me since I have more experience on crutches...

Not only did we rost marshmallows and make the traditional s'mores, we also made s'mores with reeses peanut butter cups instead of the hershey chocolate. It was deluctable!! Another famous tradition that Audrey and I continue to carry on is roasting starbursts. If you're a starburst lover then you have got to try it! They are soft and chewy with a slightly hardened shell. Mmm Mmm Good! Someone also took the liberty of bringing root beer in the old fashioned glass bottles. I couldn't help but feel like we were all getting drunk, yes, a bunch of BYU students getting drunk... especially me! Drunk on fun that is :) So we had to take a picture, but have no fear, it's only root beer! The other crazy, yet fun thing that we did was throw powder sugar on the fire. Who knew it would be so much fun! It was definitely something that Bryce, a friend in the ward, discovered at Scout Camp and wanted all of us to share the fun. So the night was a success! I planned the whole shpeal, then got injured, but had some pretty great people to help me carry the plan through. Another successful night in provo!

Soccer, a Trip to the ER, and Crutches

So I have to say that I have not been taking very good care of my body in the fact that I have been playing way too much and wearing it out. My biggest complaint has been these darn shin splints that have gone away for about a week and then came back even worse. So my intramural soccer team had a game on Wednesday that I had decided I wasn't going to play unless we lacked in the number of girls on our team. When I arrived I was feeling pretty good and decided to play regarless. I hate sitting on the sideline and watching! After halftime I went back in as defense and with about 10 min. left in the game I was running toward a girl to take the ball from her. I don't recall specifically how it happened, but all of a sudden I heard 3 pops in my knee, my knee gave inward, and I collapsed on the field. Pain, pain, and more pain. I noticed a circle of feet around me when I came to, and as you all know, I hate attention. I immediately tried to stand up and walk off the field, but instead I was all of a sudden lifted and carried off by a couple of really cute boys :)
I had no idea what had just happened, but decided that we'd better check it out. I went to the ER, got a few x-rays, and told the doctor that I DO lortab... haha. I was so out of it. I quickly assured him that I'm not a drug addict and what I meant to say was that I've had lortab. He luckily believed me and assured that I don't look like someone who is on drugs. Phew! My innocence pays off! It's been a rough couple days, but with the help of Trent and some Laser Therapy, things look like they'll be ok. Still too early to tell, but it's probably a sprained MCL, or another ACL problem... on the healthy knee might I add. I'm beginning to think that I'm going to die young of knee failure. Seriously.
The thing is, that I hurt emotionally more than I do physically. I was finally feeling like staying in Provo for the summer was the right decision, and I was having a blast. Now I am on crutches and I have to watch from the sideline. Yuck. I am sick of knee problems, and I just want to run freely without any pain. That's what I'm praying for. I am so grateful for a healthy body, and to have a body at all! I know I'll make it through just fine, and I have tons of great people around me to help me and support me. So add this one to the book of Tiffany injuries. No pain no gain right?

Fugitive

This weekend I played the roll of a fugitive! For all you who are questioning whether I am a trouble maker and really was running from the cops or not, fugitive is a game that we college students play for entertainment. Pretty much in a nutshell, you pick a destination, and everyone tries to get to that destination without getting caught by the cops. The cops are a few players who are driving around in cars. We played 6 different routes, and I swear I ran at least 4 miles. We ran ALL OVER the place!
About half way through the night it started raining quite hard, and we were drenched! But this was all part of the fun. During one of our last rounds I got separated from the group and was on my own. I was dripping water everywhere, and trying to hold my pants up as I ran. Unfortunately, I had a mishap. As I was running through an apartment complex, at almost full speed, I failed to see a small step up. Yes, that's right, I tripped on it with great force and skidded across the wet cement face first. It looked as if I was trying to play on a slip-n'-slide. I thought I was dead. As I brought myself to stand up I checked for blood and didn't see any. Then I forced myself to continue running. I didn't have my phone, and if I was going to stay there lying helplessly on the ground, no one would have ever found me. I would have washed away with the rain. haha! I luckily walked away with only a scraped up elbow, two bruised knees, and a bruised palm. My face still looks great! But all in all, it was an incredible night, and I miss playing in the rain! It sure felt good to be a kid again :)

My Recent Source of Anxiety

So this past week I was called into the Bishop's office to receive a new calling. I previously have been a Visiting Teaching Supervisor which has been a great calling, and a great way to get to know the girls in the ward. I was released from that calling, and called to be a Relief Society Instructor... what? Now I know what people mean when they say that they feel inadequate. I have constantly had this on my mind the past few days b/c I don't feel prepared and qualified. However, the thought came into my head, "whom the Lord calls, he qualifies." I know all will work out, but I never thought of myself as a very good teacher. Last summer I was a YW advisor in our home ward and taught occassionally. However, I find it easier to teach girls who are younger b/c even though they have much to offer and incredible insight, I feel like I have something to offer them. Now as a teacher in Relief Society I'm praying that people will have lots to comment on and contribute so that the class won't be me preaching to the choir for an hour. If anyone has any great teaching ideas or ways to structure lessons, please feel free to share with me! I will need lots of ideas. However, I know this calling will teach me a lot about myself, and I think I will learn and grow more myself. I'm grateful for the calling even though right now I'm having a hard time grasping the idea. Pray for me! haha.

Modeling Mama

This weekend I went home to watch General Conference with my family! It has surely been the highlight of my week, and a great getaway before finals. Audrey and I decided to take our mom's to dinner during priesthood session. When I told mom about this she said that it sounded like a lot of fun, but she had a conflict... then she proceeded to tell me about her adventure to Christopher & Banks, her favorite store ever. She went into the store to return something, and walked out a model! During priesthood session every 6 months Christopher & Banks has a modeling show as a girls night out thing. They saw how beautiful mom is and had to snatch her up! :) So before we went to dinner we had a little role reversal where I felt like the mom going to support and watch my daughter in her big runway show. Of course I took my camera because it had to be caught on film! The other fun thing about it was that Karma Bateman, one of Mom's best friends, did it with her. They are just too cute, and Mom was the most beautiful one there! "I'm so proud!" Sorry the video is sideways... use your imagination!

Tumbling Gym Madness

This weekend Audge and I went to "The Tumbling Gym" with some friends, and what do you know? They have these huge sumo wrestler outfits! Crazy fun! We may have had a little too much fun.... but, it's nice to smack each other around every once in a while :) Especially when it doesn't hurt!

The Office

Well, this year has been great working at the Wyview Housing Office. I have really grown to love it, and it. Candace, my incredible yet spunky supervisor, is having a baby on April 2, and she isn't coming back after. In honor of her crazy fun personality, and to show our office personality we decided to leave her with one more surprise! We wrapped her desk and put her stapler in a thing of jello- this is in honor of "The Office" to all of those who love and appreciate it. She loved it! Now she is leaving and I have been hired to somewhat take over her responsibilities for the summer. Woo hoo! That means a big, fat, stinkin raise! Show me the money :)

The stapler in the jello trick!

Our great office staff.

Draper Temple Dedication

This last Friday I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Draper Temple Dedication. When I was younger I thought temple dedications were so long, but that was nothing compared to the wait we had before actually getting into the temple. We were to be at the stake center by 2:00, and the meeting didn't start until 4:30. It ended up being great anyway.
We finally made it into the temple, and I'm not going to hide the fact that I wanted to be in the Celestial Room or a sealing room to watch the dedication. When we walked into the temple there were people sitting in the entrance ready to watch it, and I was scared that they were going to put us in there. I was so relieved when they pointed us toward the stairs to go upstairs. Subconsciously I turned to Mom and said, "Yes! We don't have to watch it in the entrance!" Then I continued to say, "I hope we get to sit in a sealing room!" Mom just kinda stared at me and shook her head, because she was following rules. I completely forgot that we weren't suppose to talk, especially cheer.... whoops!
We ended up in a sealing room, just as I had wished, and the meeting was incredible. Bishop Edgley, Elder Hales, Elder Woods, (another unknown seventy) talked, and the choir sang many hymns. Then President Monson offered the Dedicatory Prayer. The spirit was so strong, and you couldn't help but know without a doubt that this was a house of the Lord, and the spirit was present. I'm so grateful for temples and for the ordinances that take place within its walls. It was such a great and once in a lifetime opportunity to attend this dedication, and I can't wait to go to the temple someday!

The Stress Dance

I love being a student at BYU, and living with 5 wonderful roommates. I got so lucky! You never know what crazy thing you're going to come up with next. One night I was in my room doing homework at about 10:00pm when I heard Audrey come home from a long day at the library. She was feeling really stressed. Me being the good roommate that I am... wink wink... came up with the stress dance!
It's easy, and anyone can do it. All you have to do is put your hair in a pony top on top of your head. Then you spin your head in circles and all of the stress flies out of the top of your head. You think I'm kidding? Well, all I have to say is that we were laughing in no time, and our stress levels seemed to almost completely disappear. I love roommates, fun, and randomness. Try it for yourself the next time you need a good laugh :)

My Favorite Things

"These are a few of my favorite things..."
1. Star Gazing
2. Sitting on the back porch on Sundays talking w/ my family for hours.
3. Going on walks
4. Laughing
5. Milk Chocolate
6. Listening to music while cleaning and organizing my room.
7. Splashing through puddles on rainy days
8. Hugs
9. BYU sporting events (football, basketball, and soccer)
10. Smart Cookie
11. Playing the piano and singing with Erin
12. Chocolate Milk every night before bed
13. Doing absolutely nothing with my roommates
14. Hot showers on cold wintry days
15. Popping bubble wrap
16. Thunder and Lightning Storms

We Are Family!

Please forgive the cheesiness of what I am about to say, but I have the most incredible family that ever lived, and ever will live! It's not an opinion, it's a fact! I am the youngest of 7 children, and I am just under 7 years younger than the next oldest child. However you wish to interpret my existence in this family is up to you. Some may call me an accident, but I think of myself as the little angel :) wink wink. My siblings, from oldest to youngest, are Trent, Kristen, Laurel, Andria, Erin, and Brandon.
Being so much younger than everyone else has come to be a blessing in my life. I have so many wonderful examples of parent and adults who live righteously every single day, and raise their children in the ways of the Lord. I always had someone to learn from, and I am so grateful for every single one of them. I also have been blessed to be an aunt starting in the 4th grade. Crazy! But I have loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute of it ha ha.
As I moved out of the house and into the Cougar Valley, also known as BYU, in August 2007 I realized just how much my family means to me, and how much I rely on them for advice, and love. I look forward to the times we get together, even though chaos is always present. I am so grateful for the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for me through the atonement, that my family will be together forever. I am grateful for two loving, nurturing, and righteous parents who made the decision long ago to be married in the Temple of the Lord so that this blessing could be possible for us. Ever since Andria's accident, I feel that we have become closer as a family, and my testimony has been strengthened immensely. Eternal families is a reality, and I will be with my family forever. I wouldn't have it any other way! I just love all of them too much. Thank you for all you do, and for being the greatest family I could have ever dreamed of. Love you all!