The Little Things

25 weeks

2012-02-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm 26 weeks pregnant now, but these pictures were taken at 25 weeks :)

Which one of us has the bigger belly? Rob tends to get these "food baby's" after he eats too much, but I am glad to say that at 25 weeks my belly is bigger than his. Things are going great, and the pregnancy is still going smoothly! Only three more months to go til we meet the little one and we are so excited!

Minnesota Makings

2012-02-07T15:54:00.001-08:00

I am one of the luckiest girls in the world. You're expecting me to say it's b/c of my husband, right? Well, even though that's true, that's not it. I'm one of the luckiest girls in the world b/c I have the best sisters in the world!

This past week I was, by a miracle, able to go visit my sister, Erin, and her family in Minnesota. They've lived there for way too long, and we aren't able to get together near enough! It was so much fun to be able to escape life and join someone else's. She has the cutest kids that keep her busy, but they are so fun! Even amidst the busyness of her kids we were able to do some fun things! Erin is very crafty, and has made some extremely cute things for her little girl, and that's what I wanted to do while I was there. I was completely happy with staying home and making fun things for Brynlee who will be a part of our family in May!

These are homemade baby leggings! We did three different finishings on the bottom- ruffle, cuff, and whip stitch. They are super easy too! And made out of women's knee high socks. My favorite is the ruffle finish.

I'm so excited to put flowers, headbands, and bows in Brynlee's hair! These are the flowers we made.
This was the most time consuming project, but my favorite! A baby tutu, and a flower for her headband. I'm going to borrow Erin's idea, and Brynlee is going to take a few of her newborn pictures in her cute new tutu :) Britta's, Erin's little girl, pictures turned out sooo cute, that I wanted to make one too!
So as you can see, we were busy. Not only did she send me home with these fun things, she sent me home with a whole duffle bag of baby clothes and other baby necessities! I sure got spoiled while I was there.

We also whipped up some yummy food! Pizza puffs, strawberry and chocolate nachos on cinnamon and sugar tortilla chips, and homemade salsa. Mmm Mmm :)

I wish I had pictures of MN, but I forgot my camera. Even more than that, I wish I took pictures of her kids! They grow up a lot in between visits. Thanks so much Erin for such a WONDERFUL visit!

Catching up and Wrapping up 2011

2012-01-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

A new year comes to a close once again, and what a year it has been! We have reached 2 great milestones in our lives this past year.

We got married in the Draper Temple on February 17, 2011 :) What a great day it was!

How does that song go? "First comes love, then comes marriage..." Oh yes! "...Then comes a baby in the baby carriage!" Yes, we also got pregnant in 2011. We are expecting a girl on May 17, 2012. And according to her ultrasound pictures, we are expecting her to arrive with a cute button nose :)

We were a little worried at first that she was going to be a fiesty one, and perhaps a rebel due to the fact that we can only see "the finger" in this picture. But as we looked closer, she is holding up two of her fingers, but the angle darkens out the other. Phew!

We are so excited to meet her! And also excited to be parents even though we have moments of panic. I think that's normal...

Well, our holiday season has been a busy one! I finished my internship at a retirement and assisted living home the beginning of December, and now I am officially a BYU graduate! Woo Woo! It feels so good to be done and look back on all the hard work it took to get here. I LOVED BYU, and I'm glad to be moving on to be a Mom. Rob just finished his first year at the Y and is loving it. He's currently studying exercise science, but is getting ready to change to the athletic training program to prepare him for med school, PA school, or possibly teaching seminary. He works so hard for us through school, work, and helping around the house that words can't say how grateful I am for him! Our first year of marriage has been one full of love, genuine happiness, learning new things, stressful moments, communication, and new adventures!

Here are some holiday pictures from our first Christmas as a family :)

I am proud to say I made these stockings for our first Christmas this year! I was going to make a third for our baby for next year, but wasn't 100% sure what name to put on it. We have found a few names we really like, but I keep coming back to the name I have loved since we got married... I'm feeling more and more sure she's going to be Brynlee because I try to like other names just as much but can't, but I don't want to commit to one name quite yet! Anyway, she'll have a matching stocking to go with ours next year.

Christmas morning in our quiet, little apartment. I'm glad we slept at home and had our own morning. Afterwards we got ready and headed up to be with family for the rest of the weekend.

We've decided to try the pj tradition. So these are our Christmas Eve pj's. We'll see if this becomes a tradition over the years or not. We enjoyed it this year!

The St. George Temple Christmas lights. They don't compare to SL, but they were very very impressive, and colorful! We had fun visiting "warmer" St. George in December.

A close up view of our tree. Lent to us by my Aunt Mary (who's basement we live in).

This year has been a great year full of new experiences and lessons learned! We've gained a lot of new family and started one of our own. We're looking forward to this next year's events including:

1. Baby Girl Draper due May 17

2. Our one year anniversary on Feb. 17

3. A trip out to MN to visit Erin and Jared (sister)

4. Sister Lindsey Draper coming home from the Oklahoma City mission in September

5. Turning one year older and wiser too

6. Experiencing our firsts of everything with a new baby, and learning how to be parents!

Hope you had a great holiday, and have a great New Year!

Halloween

2011-11-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

We are still getting use to this whole "Building Family Traditions" thing since we've been married. Halloween is really the first big holiday, other than Easter, that we've had as a married couple. With being pregnant, our activities are very unpredictable, and thus played a role in the things we did for Halloween. But we still had fun!

Sorry we don't have any pictures to share... we are horrible at documenting events by photo. But we did the following things:

1. 2 Halloween parties with old people at my internship- which is always full of surprises and fun!

2. Costume party with some EFY friends that included Halloween Bingo, games, and yummy caramel apples!

3. Decorating sugar cookies

4. Annual Halloween party with old roommates and their husbands

5. Rob dressed as a nerd and I dressed in a pregnant Halloween shirt. Next year we're going to do a family theme. Can't wait to be able to have a little baby to dress up!

All in all, we had a great holiday!

The Autumn Mood Swings

2011-10-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

Being pregnant is a whole new life to me. Though I haven't been too sick, thank goodness, I have been having so many conflicting emotions and they change so rapidly! Fall is my absolute most favorite season of them all :) I love the changing colors of the leaves, being able to look at the colorful mountains every day, the occasional rainy days, wearing sweats after work, snuggling up in a blanket and reading a good book, the Autumn smells, cooking soups, making pumpkin chocolate chip anything... you get my point.

Unfortunately I feel like I can't fully enjoy my favorite time of year due to these emotional swings I've been having. On days it's rainy I wish it was sunny. On days it's sunny and warm I want it to rain! I never want to cook anything like those yummy soups and pumpkin treats, but when I do get the energy and desire to do it, I realize I'm missing one or two ingredients! I borrow a new book to read, but then I just feel like sitting in front of the T.V. The leaves start turning colors and it snows in the mountains covering half of them up. Complaint after complaint. This is no way to live! I'm going to ruin the best season of all :(

So on the upside, these are a few things that I have been able to enjoy so far regardless of mood swings, and other circumstances:

1. We got to go up the canyon and play games on Sunday and be surrounded by all the beautiful Fall colors

2. I have finished two books in under two weeks regardless of times of laziness and fatigue

3. Anytime I'm not feeling good, or I'm feeling like being a bum on the couch, I get to snuggle in that warm, fuzzy blanket I enjoy so much

4. I was given some cute decorations from Mom, and made some myself. We have a Halloween and Autumn decorated apartment to help keep me in the mood for Fall.

5. I have a wonderful husband who will make me a treat I want if I'm not in the mood to make it myself.

6. Halloween is coming up quickly, and I am getting a pregnant halloween shirt to wear :)

So it hasn't turned out horrible yet. I just wish I could push the pregnancy hormones aside and enjoy every single minute of Fall and Halloween that I usually do! On the other hand... I love being pregnant. I haven't felt movement inside me, or gotten fatter yet, but I am beginning to understand the love a Mother has for her child, even when they are giving her a headache and stomach ache ;) I love my little embryo! And I love Autumn time :)

I'm Gonna Be a Mommy!

2011-10-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

I know there aren't very many people who read my blog, but I guess I do it as kind of another type of journal for myself and Rob... and our new family of 3! Yes, that's right... I'm gonna be a Mommy :) Am I ready? No. Did I expect it to happen soon, or even plan on it happening soon? No. Am I nervous beyond all reason? Yes. Am I thrilled and excited? Yes!!!

We went to our first official Doctor visit this week and I'm 8 1/2 weeks along. Just one more month and the morning sickness will be gone... or so I hope. We're due May 18, 2012. It seems like so far away, but I can't wait. I've had days of sickness, fear, excitement and when it all comes down to it I can't wait for that day to come.

So we're excited and getting use to the idea of it all :)

The Luckiest Girl Alive... and Do You Know Why?...

2011-09-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

I'm the luckiest girl alive! Do you know why? I have the best Mom and sisters in the entire world- hands down. If you have sisters then I hope you know the kind of bond I'm talking about. It's indescribable, but it's the best bond a girl could ask for. If you don't have sisters, I hope you have great sister in-laws, or best friends who are like sisters. Well, I'm the youngest of 7. I have 4 incredible sisters, and a sister in law who is just another sister in my eyes. I am constantly amazed at their abilities and talents. They are all Moms and the definition of a super mom! Including my own Mom. As I prepare to be a Mom someday I hope to emulate even a little bit of what my Mom and sisters do. I hope to be just a small part of what they are!

And here are a few things that I look up to each of them for...

Mom: I can't say enough. I am fortunate enough to have grown up in a home where Mom was always around. She was always waiting for me when I got home from school. Being a homemaker and Mother is the greatest gift my Mom could have ever given me b/c she gave me her time and love. She is patient, compassionate, understanding, a great listener, gives great advice, selfless, creative, organized, spiritual, actively involved in her kids lives, sacrifices her time and talents, and has the Mother's touch. She was the one who could fix any hurt I was feeling and comfort me through any trial. I love her more than I can ever express!

Carrie: What an amazing woman! She always has a smile on her face and a positive attitude. She is always looking for fun things to do with her kids and loves spending time with them. She is the first person to care if one of her kids is sad or hurt. I've never met a more caring and sincere woman. I hope to have the same compassion for my kids that she shows for her own. And I hope to always have a smile on my face like she does :)

Kristen: She has always been a great example to me! She comes up with the most creative things to do with her kids even if it's just as simple as a reward system for doing things around the house. She knows how to take time out of her busy day and play with her children and enjoy them. She seems to always have things under control and it's so much fun to go visit her and see how she does it, even though I still don't know how she does! Her children come first and I have seen first hand the amount of time and effort she invests in her family. I hope to be able to remember that it's the small moments and spending quality time with your family that is important. She's always got family dinner ready and family mealtime is important. I hope to always be able to do the same with my family!

Laurel: Laurel is the perfect example of someone who sacrifices anything she can for her family. She is a busy person, but is always wanting the best for her kids. She makes an effort to take her kids fun places and make sure they're enjoying life. She laughs with them and enjoys the fun things they say and do. I can tell how much she loves her family by the way and how much she talks about them. I hope to be a fun Mom like Laurel and take my kids fun places. I hope to think of my kids first and foremost before my own needs like she does!

Erin: Erin is one of the funnest people I know, and that didn't change when she had kids. Two kids within less than a year apart? Most people would be so stressed, but she is a great example of someone who lives life to the fullest and has fun with her kids! We live far away from each other, but from stories, phone calls, visits, and pictures, I see how much she enjoys her kids! She dances with them, sings with them, takes time to sit down and play with them, and documents everything they do! I admire how she documents their growth and development. I hope to always be a fun mom and remember to be a little crazy at times!

Andria: Though she doesn't have kids yet, I know what kind of Mom she will be b/c of the kind of person she was. She was always the one I would go to when I was sad, lonely, wanted to play, or simply wanted to spend time with someone. She never got upset with me or turned me away. She invited me into everything and took me fun places. She loved everyone and did anything she could to make someone else a little happier. She was a positive and happy person who knew what it meant to be filled with charity. I can't wait to her cute family and her kids someday!

As you can see, my family is amazing! I can't wait to be a Mom, and I hope to be even just a little bit of what my Mom and sisters are. I love them with all my heart and look up to them in everything they do :)

Change

2011-08-28T16:07:00.001-07:00

I've never been one to enjoy change. Change is hard for me. I enjoy the regularity of the same routine every day, the same job, the same people in my life, and the same old things. Most of the times I've been stressed throughout my life have been due to change. I had mono the first few months of my freshman year at BYU. Come to find out I had caught it b/c of the stress I was feeling from many different changes I had experienced in such a short amount of time.

Well, I'm going through a lot of change lately. A lot. I'm feeling nervous and excited all of the time. Some of the changes I'm making are:

1. Quit a WONDERFUL job to do an internship for graduation

2. Not having a job, and therefore, living off of only Rob's income

3. Grandpa Shaw died last week, and we're missing him

4. Saying goodbye to people I've grown to love b/c life goes on, and people go different ways

5. Getting ready to meet a lot of new people (mostly senior citizens) and hoping they like me

6. Rob has a lot of night classes, so we will have less time together each day

7. Still getting use to our nursery calling. Loving it, but each week brings new surprises

8. Looking forward to graduation and feeling lost on where I'll end up when it's all over

Though change is hard for me, I'm grateful for the things I learn through it all. Yes, sometimes I have to say goodbye to some people, but other people quickly come into my life, and I'm grateful for them. It's amazing how much change can refine and strengthen us. We learn more about who we are and what we are capable of. Though I dislike change, everything always turns out right.

Elder Marvin J. Ashton said,

"Yes, there is pain in change , but there is also great satisfaction in recognizing that progress is being achieved. Life is a series of hills and valleys and often the best growth comes in the valleys."

So here's to change, new experiences, and growth!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Erin!

2011-08-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

I have the best sisters in the world! I'm just claiming that right now, and getting it out in the open. What's better than sisters? There is no one else like them, and no one else that can share the bond that sisters have. Well, my sisters are some of my very best friends, and today it's Erin's birthday! Because I love her so much, I thought I'd dedicate a post to her and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I love you! Some of the reasons I LOVE Erin are:

1. She is always there when I need to talk
2. We laugh about all of the same things
3. She has the very best plastic bag dance ever!
4. We play the meanest piano duets together
5. She always offers me the greatest advice
6. We can talk for hours on the phone as if we were standing together in person
7. She is an amazing example of what I want to be as a Mom
8. We have the best "I don't like your girlfriend" dance duet
9. I've always looked up to her in everything she does b/c she's "my big sister"
10. Even though she lives across the country, our relationship never changes!

I love you! And I hope you have a great birthday :)

Crafty Me!

2011-07-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

I have officially finished one of my long time coming crafts/projects! And I am soooo stinkin' proud of my final creation. So proud in fact, that I can't resist sharing it with you. And you want to know how much the whole thing cost me? Only 2.00. Yes, that's right. Two bucks. I try to be resourceful and considerate with our very tight budget. But enough rambling. Here's what I did! And like the wonderful craft bloggers I follow, I'm going to follow in their footsteps and include pictures for you :)

Here is all of the supplies you'll need if you decide to make this ridiculously cute decoration: a square wood frame, unfinished. I got mine from Michael's for only a dollar! You'll also need some mod podge, cute scrapbook paper, paint to match your paper, ribbon, and a paint brush.
Oh... and did I mention that you'll need something to go in the frame? Well, my Mom just happened to have two patterns that I've been wanting to embroider. So I did two frames, and these are the finished embroidery pieces to go into the frames. The pattern for the embroidery is actually what inspired the rest of the project. You can't just embroider something and not have a cute frame of some sort to put it in for display!

So here is my favorite quote of all time:And another great one to go along side it:
Step 1: paint the edges of your wood frame(s) with your paint. Sorry about the picture... my flash was not cooperating.
Step 2: trace your wood frame onto the scrapbook paper, and cut it out.
Step 3: Using your mod podge, glue the cut out paper to the top side of your frame. I personally like to use mod podge over all other glues. I apply one coat of glue to the frame itself, press paper firmly onto the frame and smooth out any bubbles, then apply one more coat of mod podge to the top of the paper. This gives it a nice finishing look, and keeps the paper from some wear and tear. After the glue is dry, make sure you don't have any air bubbles.
Step 4: Place your picture, embroidery, or whatever is going inside your frame in it.

Step 5: Wrap ribbon around the frame, and tie a cute bow. (Once I buy a glue gun, I'm going to put a few drops of glue on the back side of the frame to hold the ribbon in place.
Step 6: Find somewhere to hang and adore your new creation! (I have yet to complete this step.)

I also still have to buy orange ribbon for the "Find Joy in the Journey" quote and frame. Then all will be complete! I'm overly joyed with the finished project, and proud of myself for creating my own craft. Typically I just follow someone else's steps and ideas, but this is created by yours truly! And other than the embroidery, the frame and assembly part of the project only took me a whole 30 min. :)

Stewart Falls

2011-07-19T12:18:00.001-07:00

This weekend Rob and I finally fulfilled one of our summer bucket list items! We hiked Stewart Falls, which has been talked about by everyone we know living in the Provo/Orem area. I've been wanting to do it for two summers now, and we finally did it.

(This is the moment we spotted the falls for the first time.)

It was a beautiful hike, completely shaded 100% of the way, and not too difficult (if you're in shape at all, which I am not after having surgery). I got a fabulous work out because I haven't been hiking in a good year or two. To the average person it is a very doable and enjoyable hike. And once I got my second win, and had Rob pushing me from behind during the moment I thought I would just sit until someone came to carry me out, the hike continued to be wonderful. I was amazed at the falls themselves. It was gorgeous! And after a summer afternoon hike, the falls provided the best AC you could find. The mist from the falls hitting rocks was the perfect cool down.

All in all, we loved our hike and would recommend it to anyone. We saw multiple families with young children who seemed to be enjoying themselves. I will say that from the look of it though, I am NOT looking forward to carrying children on hikes. Rob will be fulfilling that parental duty :)If you haven't visited Stewart Falls, we highly recommend you do so!

4th of July

2011-07-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend! And yes, since it's the 12th of July, this post is a little late. Three day weekends are what I live for these days. I went from being a full-time BYU student to married, and working full-time. What's wrong with this picture? Less free time, and time away from the hubby. Three day weekends are the little getaways that Rob and I long for! We have no plans, no work, no school, and we can do whatever in the world we want. Well, this three day weekend was perfect.

On Friday we went to the temple right after work. Going to the temple is one of my absolute favorite things to do! Especially when we can go together. After the temple Rob's little brother, Chris, slept over. We had already been planning to have a Nacho Libre themed night, so Chris joined in on the fun. We watched Nacho Libre and made some supreme nachos to eat during the movie! It was wonderful.

Saturday we slept in. The perfect start to a great day! After forcing ourselves out of bed, we made some waffles with fresh strawberries, syrup, and powdered sugar. MMMM :) Then the three of us made chocolate covered strawberries. But they were no ordinary strawberries, they were festive strawberries! I've seen lots of people do them this month, but I wanted to try them after seeing them on a blog I found. Here is our finished project!
Don't they look great! I think so, and they tasted great too. I was suppose to use blue sanding sugar for the blue end, but when I asked at the store, they had no idea what I was talking about. Therefore, we activated plan B- food color white chocolate to be blue. Then while Rob and Chris watched movies all morning I deep cleaned our apartment. And I loved it! I am my mother's daughter, which means I like a clean, organized, tidy house. And that is how we live. Luckily, Rob is a clean person :) After sweating up a storm from cleaning and the lack of AC, we spent the afternoon at the park, then headed over to Happy Hour at Sonic for some limeades!

Later the whole Draper Family came over and we played some games, and then headed over to set up camp in Ashlee's (Rob's sister) parking lot for the stadium of fire and BBQ. We were just outside the stadium and could hear the whole concert! It was wonderful. Brad Paisley :) One of my favorites! The firework show at the end was honestly the best one I think I've ever seen! (Aside from Disneyland, which is hard to beat.)

Sunday we spent the day alone together. Need I say more? It was pure bliss. Monday we headed up to Sandy to spend the official holiday with my family. It included family, Super 8, hamburgers, ice cream, games, and a firework show put on by the boys. It was perfect!

I hate three day weekends.... you want to know why? Because when they're over, it's off to another week full of work and responsibility. Yuck.

Stars, S'mores, and the Good Outdoors

2011-06-27T10:09:00.001-07:00

Yes, you guessed it. We went camping this weekend! And boy did we have ourselves some fun! Last week we went up to SL to borrow a bunch of our parents' camping stuff, we went to the grocery store to load up on the essential camping food, and loaded all our stuff in the car ready to take off right after work. Much to our dismay, when we finally reached the campground after traffic delays and getting home later than expected, ALL of the spots were taken! Yes, TAKEN!! We were officially bummed out. As we made our way back down the canyon, we tried to have a conversation about what to do instead- both of us were too sad to actually imagine doing anything fun. So we decided to splurge and make ourselves happy. We each got our own foot long from Subway, rented and watched Little Giants from the library, and lounged around. It ended up being ok.
We decided to leave the car completely packed, and get work off an hour early the next Friday so we would be guaranteed a good camping experience. We did just that, and it was wonderful! We arrived at Diamond Campground up Spanish Fork Canyon and had our choice of whatever spot we wanted! We set up the tent and got out our love seat camping chair which was the best part of the night. Not having to sit far away, but being able to cuddle up by the fire under the stars. We played a few games, tossed a tennis ball around, watched some neighboring scouts, and finally decided to get the fire up to make some hot dogs!

I knew we had forgotten something... mustard and ketchup for the dogs! Such a disappointment. We had to turn the night back into a good one by making some DELICIOUS reese's s'mores!!! If you haven't tried it, you must. Replace the Hershey's bar of chocolate with a reese's peanut butter cup! To die for. We watched the fire die down, got ready for bed, and snuggled under the stars before actually heading to bed.
We woke up early and packed up to head home and actually be productive, but this little get-a-way was exactly what I needed right now. Absolutely perfect!

"One of Those Days" Cure

2011-06-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

I have just realized that I am a blogger. I live and read blogs. I search people's blogs I don't even know, and they inspire me. I look forward to coming to work, finishing my assignments quickly and getting on to reading more blogs! Well, on my journey of blog reading today I found the next project I am going to complete.
I was introduced to a new blog called The Dating Divas. They are great! It's a blog of LDS Mom's who's slogan is, "Strengthening marriages one date at a time." Everything they write about is related to dates, little acts of service to do for your husband, or talking about their husbands. It's wonderful! It has helped me in my journey to become the ultimate wife!
Today their post is titled, "The Husband Survival Kit". I highly recommend reading it! Especially if you're looking for something CHEAP and EASY to do for your husband to show him you love him.

Read it here: http://www.thedatingdivas.com/you-me/show-him-the-love/the-husband-love-kit/

It is exactly what I needed today. Rob just started his very first day of school as a BYU cougar! We were so excited for him to have finally gotten accepted and start his career as an official BYU student. He's only taking two classes, but during Summer semester, the material is covered twice as fast. And he's taking one of the most time consuming classes offered at the school- Human Anatomy. Every student who has taken this class would agree that it is a lot of work and time consuming! Well, he was feeling very overwhelmed yesterday with the workload. So we're working hard to focus on school and put studying first. I took the class two semesters ago, so it's fun for me to help him study and remember all of the terms. Luckily it is something we can do together, but I'm so excited to give him this survival kit! I think he'll like it, and he needs a little motivator and pick-me-up to keep him going strong :) Thanks Dating Divas!

Come What May and Love It

2011-06-21T15:05:00.001-07:00

So I finished a craft for our new apartment quite a while ago- about 4 months. I wanted to make one of those sayings on a board to hang on the wall crafts. You know those? That all the cute people have in their cute houses? Well, I wanted to join the group and be cute.
One of my absolute most favorite quotes is from Elder Wirthlin, "Come What May and Love It". This quote inspired the design of the plaque. With the help of my sister Erin, I was able to make this VERY affordable. She has a vinyl letter printer and was kind enough to print it for me and make sure it was in cute font. I bought the board from Roberts for only $4 by the time I used my weekly %40 off coupon that they graciously give all their customers. It's because of Robert's coupons that I can afford to do crafts :) It was painted and everything-required no work on my part other than swiping the credit card. Rob enjoyed helping me put the lettering on, and now it hangs beautifully in our little apartment that we call home. We are decorating our home one craft at a time.
Total Cost of Craft: $7.00

Mucha Do About Nothing

2011-06-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

I'm at a loss of what to write about... and a loss of words. However, I always give people a hard time when they don't update their blog regularly, and in return was given a little nudge from a good friend. She kindly reminded me that it was time to blog. Get with it!
Well, I have many, many crafts that I am either in the middle of working on, or have accomplished and not blogged about! I shouldn't say such things! That goes against all craft blogging rules! To make something and not blog about it? It's unheard of. SO... for yours and my sake, here is a list of things I'm going to take pictures of TONIGHT so I can blog about them at work tomorrow. Cause heaven knows I don't stay busy at work and always look for things to do.

1. "Come What May & Love It" vinyl letter board
2. Our DECORATED apartment that we've been living in for 4 months
3. Father's Day cards

Something else that has consumed my life lately is my new obsession with recipes and cooking. I love finding a new recipe that looks delicious! I have found a few that look like they are to die for! Are you craving something sweet? Well... does this look appetizing?

Check out the recipe here: http://www.beckybakes.net/2011/01/20/oreo-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Or does this make your mouth water and look delicious?Check out the recipe at:http://annies-eats.net/2009/11/06/chocolate-peanut-butter-cupcakes/

So... this is what I will be cooking next! And the wonderful thing is... I think I have all the ingredients without going shopping! Woo woo for being a wife! And a decent cook :)

Colorado Springs Trip

2011-06-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

We finally got a vacation! We were needing it badly, and Mom and Dad were gracious enough to let us tag along with them on their trip to see Kristen's family in Colorado Springs. We were worried about bad weather, but fortunately for us, the only bad weather we experienced was the crazy wind they had goin' on. Other than that it was nice and warm! We did lots of fun things while we were there including:

Visited Garden of the Gods which greatly resembled Southern Utah National Parks. Gotta love the red rock beauty!
And took family pictures there...
We also...
Stood on top of one of the highest peaks in the world at over 14,000 ft.... PIKES PEAK...
Stood in 17 degree cold weather and wind...

Ate green jolly ranchers which caused green tongue on cute little girls...
Rode a cog to get to the top of the peak and seeing so many gorgeous views along the way...
Saw Minnehaha Falls on the way up (it's just a fun name, that's why we took a picture)
And of course took an official picture of the place and height to give proof we were there! We also...
Took a tour of the Olympic Training Center where we saw some Olympic athletes at work training for the next Olympics...
Hung out in the Olympic rings...
And imitated as many statues on the tour as we could.

We did some other fun things such as sleeping in as much as possible, reading books, watching movies, playing games, playing basketball, making s'mores, driving in the country, eating yummy homemade food, and just doing whatever in the world we wanted to do, when we wanted to do it. It was a great vacations and we officially love Colorado Springs :) Thanks Kristen for always being a great hostess and making sure we have fun when we visit!

3 Months

2011-05-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether I'm in awe of how quickly the past three months has passed, or whether I feel like it's been so much longer? Tomorrow is Rob and my 3 month anniversary. I always thought it was pretty pathetic when people would celebrate every __th month anniversary during their first year of marriage, but now I am a part of the club. Thanks for accepting me!

So yes, the past three months have been amazing, disorganized, challenging, fun, and unlike any other three months of my life. Like every newly wed couple we are learning how to be married and how to combine both of our busy lives and schedules into one. What a challenge! But every day is a wonderful day and we are still as in love as could be.

I stumbled upon this quote from President Monson's Priesthood Session talk in this past General Conference and will never forget it. It is something I will always remind myself of:

"Choose your love, love your choice!"

I am so grateful to have found Rob and to be the girl he chose to marry. I'm grateful for the choice I was given to marry him, and I will forever and always love my choice!

Mmm Mmm Chocolate Cake

2011-05-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

I've had so much fun since we've been married finding fun recipes to cook and bake. Now that I'm cooking for more than just myself I find quite a bit more motivation to actually do it and to do it well. One of the treats we made recently is called Chocolate Creme Cake from the Lion House Classics cookbook that I got for Christmas from my sister, Kristen, a few years ago.

It is to die for! Well, maybe not die, but it is delicious. If you're looking for a yummy treat and a fun baking activity, you should make this...

* WARNING: Hazardous for only two to consume. May gain weight if you don't share...

Because I think it is so good, I will share the recipe with you. There is a recipe for the cake, whipped cream, and chocolate frosting, but all three are extremely easy. Easy enough that Rob make the frosting all by himself while I tackled the whipped cream.

Cake: 1 package Devil's food cake mix

Follow package directions to prepare and bake the cake in two 9-inch round layers. Cool and split layers horizontally. (Only three of the four layers are used in this recipe.)
* Rob and I decided the more cake the better- so we used all four layers.
While the cake is baking, prepare chocolate frosting and stabilized whipping cream.

Chocolate Frosting:
4 tablespoons cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

In mixing bowl, mix cocoa and powdered sugar. Add softened butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Stabilized Whipping Cream:
1 envelope (1 TBLSP) unflavored gelatin
1/4 c. cold water
3 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

In small saucepan, combine gelatin with water; let stand until thick. Stir constantly over low heat until just dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly but do not allow to thicken. In large mixing bowl, whip cream, sugar, and vanilla until slightly thick. On low speed, gradually add gelatin, then beat on high until cream is thick.

Assembling Cake:
Place one layer of cake on serving plate. Spread evenly with half the whip cream, to within half an inch of edge of cake. Place another cake layer on top of cream; then another layer of cream. Alternate cake and cream for a total of five layers, ending with cake layer. Gently press down on top layer to set layers together. Frost entire cake with frosting. Garnish with chopped walnuts if you desire.
Doesn't it look so YUMMY!!! Well, if it doesn't look yummy, you're wrong, it was. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! But take my warning seriously... share the cake if you don't want an extra pound or two :)

Easter

2011-05-02T12:53:00.001-07:00

One of the fun things about being married and starting a life together is developing our own traditions. Easter is the first major holiday that we have shared as a married couple, and it was a good one to start with!

Rob and I talked about traditions that our families had growing up. We also talked about things we liked about them that we wanted to keep in our family, and also things we wanted to add or change. During my childhood my parents never pretended to be the Easter Bunny, or give us Easter baskets. Instead we would go to Grandma and Grandpa's for the annual Easter egg hunt, and that was the extent of the Easter Bunny festivities. Instead, we would get a new Easter Sunday outfit. At first I was disappointed to see all of my friends get fun gifts and have to hunt for their basket, but as I got older I became grateful to my parents for putting more of the emphasis on Sunday and the Savior. Rob's family played the Easter Bunny role and they had to hunt for their baskets on Sunday morning.

As we talked we decided that it would be fun to do Easter baskets, but to do them on Saturday. Unfortunately, we didn't have time Saturday because of running around to family parties, so it happened Sunday- but in the future, Saturday it is. This will allow us to still have fun with the Eater Bunny, but allow Sunday to focus on the Savior and his resurrection.

It was fun to get stuff for each other! We set a limit of how much we could spend each, and then for FHE we went to target and wandered around giving each other some good ideas of things we'd enjoy.

I ended up getting a yoga mat and weights (The Jillian Michaels workout kit), and lots of yummy candy! I later went and bought the Jillian Michaels DVD that goes along with my kit, and I'm starting the workout tonight! It's called 30 Day Shred. Lets just say after two years of recovering from surgery that I hope I shred some of that weight in the next 30 days! I am an avid Biggest Loser watcher, and even though Jillian would make me cry if I were to work out with her in person, I've come to love her! Plus, I think I'll be able to keep composure if she stays in the T.V. Rob got the movie "Rudy", and a new frisbee, along with lots of candy!

Until we have our own family we will enjoy spending lots of time with our families in SL and joining in on their celebrations. It was a great first holiday for the both of us!

I'm a BYU Graduate

2011-04-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

I'm graduated! Well, not technically, but I am officially done with all classes, test, and papers in college! It feels amazing. I still have to complete a 3 month internship to graduate, but that'll be the fun part I've been waiting for for 4 years :) I will of course have to visit the campus occasionally to take part in many wonderful BYU things such as the creamery, people watching, mint brownies, and other great things.

When we got home from all of the graduation festivities I received an extremely pleasant surprise... Rob had gotten me a BYU alumni license plate cover and a Y sticker to stick in my car window. One of the most fun parts about the surprise was all of the Y balloons scattered around the room. He's so sweet! I think he may have been more excited that I'm graduating than I am...

Another personal shot by the BYU sign.
Of course we had to take a picture by the notorious BYU sign. I'm leaving this wonderful place and Rob is entering. He's a lucky duck.
Many of the girls from my program- Recreation Therapy. I took all my classes with them and love them oh so very much. We have the best department in the university!
Kaitlin is a year ahead of me in school, but it was fun to be able to graduate with her and see her at graduation! Her and Jordan are off on an adventure of their own to Texas for the summer. We're going to miss them!
The people who paid for much of my education :) I have the best parents in the world!

Goodbye BYU, hello world. Am I ready to grow up? I'm fighting it for as long as I possibly can. It's beginning to be inevitable.

Summer Bucket List

2011-04-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

Every single one of us has a list of things we can't wait to do during our summer break! Me, I'm like everyone else, and have a list of things I can't wait to do! These things include recreation activities, crafts, and more. Here's a little preview:
1. Ride tandom bikes with my hubby

2. Go to Seven Peaks as much as possible with our Pass of all Passes! Tan, here we come :) No more pasty white newlyweds.

3. Make this cute, cute, cute "Family Rules" craft- inspired by my sister, Erin.

(This picture isn't Erin's... Erin's is much cuter)

4. Check off quite a few of the Utah temples in our journey of doing temple work in all of the Utah temples by the end of December 2011. Some of the ones we'll visit this summer are St. George, Manti, Logan, Jordan River, and Oquirrh Mountain.

5. A trip to Moab to go on some amazing hikes!

6. Another fun craft that I don't know how to explain. Pretty much it's two small embroideries framed in homemade modge podge frames. The embroidery quotes are "Come What May and Love It", and "Joy in the Journey". Lets just say I'll post pictures, and they're going to be adorable!

7. Run a 5K. I've been unable to run for almost two years now due to injury, and I can't wait to get running again!

8. Make homemade bread and homemade jam! MMMMMMM...... need I say more?

9. Float the Provo River. 4 years at school in Provo and I STILL haven't done it!

10. Go to a farmer's market

I can't wait to make some amazing memories with my Hubby during our very first summer together :) What's on your bucket list for the summer?

What Do These Things Have in Common?

2011-04-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

A visit to the Timpanogos Temple...

Ate some DELICIOUS strawberry frozen yogurt...

Watching "Tangled" with some friends...

Filling up an empty kitchen with yummy food by going grocery shopping for the month...

Cleaning an entire apartment from floor to ceiling which was WAY overdue...

And watching "The Amazing Race" on Sunday night...

What do all of these things have in common? These are all of the things we did this weekend! It is the very FIRST weekend since we've been married (2 months) that we have had no commitments with family and we could stay in Orem in our own little apartment and do whatever we wanted to do whenever we wanted to do it! It was spectacular!

Friday: We went to the Timp. Temple to do a session with Matt and Audrey and then went to Golden Spoon afterward for the best frozen yogurt! We're afraid we're going to keep them in business this summer by our purchases alone... yikes it's good!

Saturday: Slept in 'til 9, cleaned, cleaned, cleaned, visited with Mom & Dad for a little bit, went grocery shopping and filled our kitchen for the month, got some decorations and storage containers at BB&B, and topped it off with "Tangled" with Kaitlin & Jordan!

Sunday: Went to church, took a nap, made some dinner, enjoyed some brownies given to us by Aunt Mary and Uncle Kevin, watched "The Amazing Race", and layed around for the rest of the night!

It was the best weekend ever, and I needed it!

Rob's Birthday

2011-03-29T13:09:00.001-07:00

On March 14, Rob had another birthday! The big 2-3. Wow he's getting old. We had fun celebrating it together- our first birthday to celebrate as a new family.

This boy got 4 birthday dinners, and 3 cakes! Holy Moly. I think he enjoyed all the attention. The weekend before his birthday we spent all of our time driving around going to dinner with family. Friday we went out with his parents to the Purple Turtle, a childhood favorite of his. If you haven't tried it, we highly recommend it! On Saturday we went to the Draper home and had Hawaiian haystacks with his family, ate cake, and opened presents. The next day, Sunday, we went to the Burrup residence for a joint bday dinner for Laurel and Rob. Funny enough, we had Hawaiian haystacks and cake! It was comical.

Finally on Monday it was time for our very own celebration. Rob stayed home all day while I went to school and work. I made him leave for a half hour when I got home for work so I could collect myself and get ready for the celebration. I bought Cafe Rio, Rob's favorite, and put it on plates to look like a homemade meal with candles to make a romantic candlelight Cafe Rio dinner. I also made a giant cupcake shaped cake! It turned out pretty good for a first try. He loved the meal, and was almost convince I made it! JK. For his present I got him a light up frisbee, tennis balls, and racquet ball balls. We're excited for the weather to be warm so we can play!

After dinner we went to Trafalga and mini-golfed. I won by 1! I should have let him win.. oh well. Then we splurged and rented Megamind! One of our new favorite movies! If you haven't seen it, you can borrow it from us :) We bought it with some of our wedding money! All in all we had fun celebrating his birthday together, and I love my 23 year old man!

The Little Things

2011-03-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

The blog is almost finished! I decided to keep the title of the blog as "The Little Things," and I'm going to tell you why.
For our honeymoon we went to California. Our main purpose for going there was to visit Disneyland. Both of our families helped us out immensely in making our trip possible. Thanks to Kristen and Derek who payed for our hotel & Disneyland/California Adventure Tickets, Rob's parents for giving us money to spend on food and fun things, and Mom and Dad for lending us their car and paying for our gas. We are full of gratitude for the sacrifices that were made in order for us to enjoy the best honeymoon!
Rob's Dad gave us money on one condition: we find a souvenir while on our trip that we can display in our home, which will always remind us of our honeymoon and getting married. We succeeded. We found a figurine of the old Mickey and Minnie titled "Real Sweetheart".
Why did I want this to represent our honeymoon? And why is this specific souvenir the item to represent the title of our blog? When I saw this in the store, and read the title, I wanted it to represent our marriage and relationship together.It's the little things that make life the most meaningful and happy. It's also the little things that really matter in having a successful relationship, and more importantly, showing our love for each other. This is a reminder for us to do little things for each other, and together. These include:

1. Holding hands during our nightly prayers together
2. Reading conference talks and studying scriptures together
3. Holding hands in the store
4. Making the bed
5. Doing a household chore without being asked
6. Continuing to go on dates
7. Writing notes to each other
8. Laying in bed at night talking
9. Genuinely Listening to each other
10. Saying "I Love You"

I could go on and on with a list of things that we do for each other, but the point being: this figurine is a reminder to us to continue to show our love and care for each other every single day through the little things :)

Hidden Identity

2011-03-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about your hidden identity? What does your name mean? Is it significant? Have you checked your horoscope lately? I've never really been interested in horoscopes, or thought that they were significant in any way, but the times that I have taken the time to check them, I've found a few parallels to my life, but I don't necessarily believe them. In my boredom at work today I decided to look up my name and horoscope. Here's what I found:

Tiffany= the appearance or manifestation of God.

What a compliment :) Mom & Dad knew what they were doing the day they named me...

I am a VIRGO, and today, this is what horoscope told me:

Some of the people around you today are difficult to understand. This does not necessarily mean a different language. It could be that people are visiting around your work area and causing distractions. (Boy do I wish this were true... I've been bored all day!) You may feel the need to become involved with their conversation but it would be best to tend to your own work now. (I have been putting off all my work today. Now I'm feeling guilty.) You have a strong need for nurturing others just now and this energy could be best spent in a volunteer organization. Many organizations would be happy to have you working with them--think about this. (I do! I work for LDS Philanthropies and we are bombarded with calls to donate to Japan. I guess it's not called volunteer if you get paid, huh? Dang. I am going to clean the church today! There we go! Volunteering complete.) Your family may want to join you in this endeavor so it may be time to sit down and talk about helping others and responsibility. (Rob is cleaning with me. Done and done.) This is an outgoing and very expressive cycle of experience for you. You enjoy creating new things. (Yes I do! I'm trying to create our blog as we speak!)

Thanks horoscope! You saved me from 15 minutes of boredom at work, and you made connections to my life today, which gave me a better sense of who I am. Ha ha. I'm sure you could connect any horoscope to your life today. Need a little entertainment? Go find your hidden identity!

Blog Under Construction

2011-03-16T20:09:00.001-07:00

Please forgive me for the clashing colors and designs. I'm in the middle of recreating and designing my blog to be mine AND Rob's blog. I guess that's what happens when you get married. You have to share everything? Well, not everything, but this I am willing to share. As if he'll ever post anything anyway ha ha. Gotta love him!

So in the meantime... ignore the red polka dot title and header and the purple and orange plaid background. In due time I'll have our blog put together along with the rest of my life :) Thanks for your patience!

Just Got Rid of My Training Wheels

2011-03-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

I am destined for greatness- or at least this is how I feel lately. I have been tied down, stripped of my powers, and been using training wheels for almost 2 whole years! No, not real training wheels. For my entire life I have been physical fit and active. I enjoy running! You heard me... I ENJOY RUNNING! It is exhilarating, stress-reducing, and energy boosting.
Unfortunately I have had 2 ACL surgeries in the past 12 months. You heard it! TWO. Well, I went to an operation follow-up appointment yesterday, and I am officially 3 months out of surgery, and one month away from being able to engage in full activity. BUT... I can run! I have been cleared to run, and I can't wait to muster up the courage to get out and do it. I have been feeling like a lazy, fat, couch potato and I can't wait to get back to my slim, healthy self again!
New Goal: lose the unneeded surgery weight!
I'm just so anxious to get active again. Everyone needs exercise in their life! Have you been slacking? Get out there and do it! You'll feel so much better :)

Trunkie!

2011-02-14T15:14:00.000-08:00

Usually this term in the LDS church refers to a missionary's longing to come home. I have given it a new meaning...

Trunkie: The act of collecting junk over a span of time.
Can you believe how much junk you can accumulate over the years? I had no idea! I've been working through my room this past week trying to get everything organized, thrown out, or saved before I move to our new apartment. What a headache! I found 30 pair of shoes! No one needs that many shoes. NO ONE... yes, even you who is thinking "What's wrong with that?" I use to be that person.

A leisurely activity of cleaning my room with Rob became a night filled project with 3 helpers, a huge garbage bag, little space to work with, and categorized piles everywhere. I realized how ridiculous my reasoning has been to keep certain things. You don't need 4 pair of camping shoes- especially when you go camping once a year on average. You don't need to keep pens that don't even work, or pictures of classmates you don't remember the names of. As much as it pains me to toss out my college text books that could not be sold back, they take up too much space, and lets face it- if I didn't read the book while taking the class, why would I think to read it later?
I had to face my past and decide what was worth keeping.

So here is my challenge to you:
Don't be a trunkie! Throw out that old ______ that you've been keeping for years and haven't even noticed was there b/c you don't use it! You will feel so much better.

Bitter- Sweet Week!

2011-02-14T14:58:00.000-08:00

I hesitate to start this post for fear that I might ramble, or start to panic. You know when you think things couldn't get any more hectic or crazy? They always do. This is the story of my life right now. Just 2 more days!!! What am I referring to? My wedding of course! The one, most single, important day of my life that I've dreamed of every since I was a little girl. I have the perfect dress, perfect fiance, nicest apartment with the greatest rent deal, the most beautiful temple (I only say that b/c it's now going to be our temple AND it's named after us!), the colors for the reception I've always dreamed of, and everything is as perfect as can be.

Does all of this make getting married easier? Yes, and no. What's better than marrying your best friend? Nothing. This trumps all the negatives. However, I never knew moving would be so difficult! How does one person accumulate so much junk over the years?! No, Rob has very little compared to me. It is my junk I'm talking about. What a time-consuming project!

You would think that everyone would have the respect to cancel all school and work while I'm gone, right? But no, work and school continue on, and I just have to work around it. What a pain!

Family comes into town, but this is a positive point! No matter how wonderful it is, the house becomes so crazy that occasionally you think you may lose a few hairs.

I'm going to be a part of someone else's family? And someone else's traditions? I have to share Christmas and Thanksgiving?

These thoughts have been running through my mind the past few days, and I'm about to go crazy. But no matter how chaotic and crazy this week has been and will continue to be, I wouldn't trade it for the world! To be sealed in the temple, in a beautiful white dress, across from the man of my dreams is more than I could ever have hoped for. It is worth it all! It's worth the shared holidays, new family, sharing everything with someone else, and adjusting to everything marriage brings. Bring on the challenge! I'm ready for it!

You're My Better Half

2011-01-02T19:48:00.000-08:00

Oh boy! What have I gotten myself into? You ask what in the world I'm talking about? Well, I'll tell you. I have fallen completely, madly, deeply, head over heels in love with a boy. That boy asked me to marry him, and I said yes!

Since the beginning of our relationship I had no idea how I could like him any more than I already did. I continually learned just how much more until like turned to love, and love turned to wanting to spend eternity with him, and him only. I couldn't have found anyone more perfect for me. He is my better half!

These are just a few of our engagement pictures that the talented Randy Collier took for us. Aren't we a good lookin' couple? ;) Randy kept telling me, "Ok, lets try a softer smile, not so big," just for a different effect, but I couldn't do it! That's how it is every single day. I can't help but smile when I think that I have finally found the boy of my dreams.
I always have told my friends, "Every girl deserves to be swept off of her feet, not settle for something." Rob has completely swept me off my feet from the moment we met at EFY! Literally. From the minute I saw him I was nervous to even think about saying hi to him let alone carrying on a conversation with him! Come to find out he had a very similar experience, but here we are, getting hitched. We fully endorse EFY ha ha :)
I have found the best friend I have always dreamed of and I couldn't imagine asking for anyone better for me, because I can't even imagine that they would exist. I can't wait to start our life together, but I am no expert! I know there will be speed bumps and construction sites along the road, but I know that we will get through them and build a greater relationship. What's better than marrying your best friend? I can't think of anything, but if you figure it out, please... let me know! Just 6 weeks and 3 days! February 17th... here we come!

He Liked It and Put a Ring On It!

2010-12-03T08:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like :) I'M ENGAGED! Not only am I engaged, but I am engaged

to my best friend. What could be better? Being married to my best friend will be better, but I don't think anything beats that. I'll let you know if I find anything better.

It was a busy busy Friday as we ran around looking for rings. Rob's sisters were coming up that night and we were going to go do something with the family. We went to Rob's Dad's office where they have a movie theater room with a projector and screen to watch a movie. The movie we watched: UP! So good. We got some food to eat and got the movie rollin'. Rob was eating his taco and the wrapper was shaking so bad b/c his hands were shaking. Then everything in his taco fell out! Ha ha. He struggled to get it all back in, but wouldn't let me help. Poor guy. He was so nervous! But that's my favorite detail of the story. So funny.

During the part where they get married and he carries her home, Rob switched to movie screen to a slide on his computer that looked like this:

At the bottom of the picture he added the words, "Tiffany, I love you. Will you marry me?" Of course he got down on his knee and pulled out the HUGE, GORGEOUS, MOST BEAUTIFUL Walmart ring that you've ever seen! Ha ha. Surprise! My ring is being made and we are anxiously awaiting its arrival.

His family was the quietest I've ever seen. It was quite funny. They thought we were playing a joke on them, but the longer it went on and we didn't say, "JUST KIDDING!" They slowly started to believe it. Now they're excited knowing that it wasn't a joke and we aren't just kidding.

We're getting married February 17, 2011 at 11:00am in the Draper Temple. I can't wait to marry my best friend! I am the luckiest girl alive! It's only two and a half months away, but it feels like an eternity. But I am being patient b/c I know that we get to be together for eternity and that is worth everything to me :)

The Way

2010-10-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Everyone gets overwhelmed with the stress of life and the business that sometimes seems unbearable. I have experienced this quite a bit this semester. I'm taking a large load of classes, which includes Human Anatomy. For those who have taken this class- you know what I mean. I am struggling to enjoy my job. I have just found out that I tore my ACL again, that I just got fixed in December. Along with this I have to decide if and when I am going to have surgery. And on top of all of this, I am living 45 minutes from my sweet, supportive, and comforting best friend, Rob.

Each Friday I come down to SL with Rob and do homework while he is in class. As a part of my routine I get my computer out, check my email, and of course facebook. Today was not like all of the other Fridays. What I found was so much more. This week has been a challenging one for more than just myself, but for some that I love as well. On facebook a sweet friend posted a video/mormon message that she has found comfort in when she is struggling. I watched it and was overcome with peace and assurance. It's called "Good Things to Come" by Elder Holland, and you can find it at this address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nczw6xHJ0I.

Then to my great surprise I received an email from my anatomy professor. She expressed her understanding of the stress we are experiencing not only with this class, but with life. She shared another video that brought me comfort. It's called "Christ's True Mercy" also by Elder Holland. You can watch it at this site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5bUKNYgRi8.

One thing particularly that hit me from this video was the quote saying,

"He knows the way, because He IS the way."

We may feel overwhelmed with stress, with demands and expectations others have for us, the business of life, and many other things, but it is important to know that we can always find comfort in our Savior, Jesus Christ. He knows what to do and how to get there because it is through him that it is possible.

Strength

2010-10-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

I have recently been reminded of/discovered a quote by President Hinckley that has given me strength through my trying times. I absolutely love this man and am so grateful for all he did as President of the church, and the example he was to me. He said:

"If Life Gets Too Hard to Stand, Kneel." - President Hinckley

Fall is in the Air

2010-10-15T18:37:00.001-07:00

If you couldn't tell... I sure like posting pictures, and not only posting them, but taking them! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Well, Fall is in the air! Last Sunday Rob and I went to Gardner Village with his family to walk around and take some pictures. There's not much else to say... so enjoy them!

We were missing our pitch forks to make this picture complete...

Peek-a-Boo

Exposing you to our crazy, weird, wild sides. We have too much fun sometimes.

We've been caught! We kind of like each other...

A BYU Miracle!

2010-10-11T19:42:00.001-07:00

A great surprise this weekend! We got to sit on the 4th row in the North end zone at the football game on Saturday, and this isn't the only great surprise! We won!!! It was a football miracle. A good game, good seats, football, BYU, EFY friends, and my wonderful boyfriend made a great Saturday night complete!

I sure do love all of these people!
The fellow right here is a special one... can you tell?

1 Goofy Boy + 1 Goofy Girl= The Perfect Pair!

Celebrating Early!

2010-10-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

I've never been a huge fan of Halloween. I don't like dressing up, I don't like scary movies, I don't like Haunted Houses, I don't like the dark, I don't like monsters.... I guess Halloween and I just weren't meant to be. But there are a few things that I DO like about Halloween! I like carving pumpkins, I like eating candy, and I like doing these things with friends, and a special boy:)

Kaitlin and Jordan were kind enough to invite a bunch of us over for a group date to celebrate Halloween a little early! We made homemade pizza which was incredible, carved pumpkins, dug through pumpkin guts to save the seeds for a delicious treat later, and we even had a donut eating contest which got messy!

Rob and I put our creative minds to work, and we ended up with a pirate!
Enjoying our pumpkin a little more... oh, and we also enjoyed Matt too :)
You just couldn't see the eye patch from far away, so here is a close up for you to admire! Rob sure does carve a mean eye patch!

We had so much fun with Kaitlin, Audge, Emily, and their husbands! We had so much fun that we are thinking of making this a holiday tradition! Getting together to celebrate each holiday with these friends is just heaven on Earth! Sure do love you guys! Thanks for a great weekend.

Duck, Duck, Goose?!

2010-09-17T23:03:00.001-07:00

No geese, just ducks! Sunday was a great day for us! I guess I'm speaking for both Rob and I. But I take full responsibility and think he'd agree that it was a good day filled with some great church meetings, general authorities galore, including President Packer, Elder Holland, Elder Snow of the 70, and Elder Scott, dinner with Audge and Matt, sugar!, and feeding the crazy ducks at the duck pond.

If you haven't ever been to the duck pond, and you are in Provo, ever, then I highly suggest stopping by. They are quite entertaining and it's a cheap activity! Let me rephrase that... it's a FREE activity! So get on over there and have yourself some fun :)
Rob admired the ducks. JK. He fed them, I'm just too slow with the camera. This particular duck was one of a kind. You will see why this is so later in the post.

Feeding the ducks! It was great fun as long as they kept their distance! And they seemed to know what was good for them b/c we didn't have any problems.

Who knew that ducks could do cool tricks? Maybe this duck was mistaken and thought he was a dog. Silly duck. He would just sit at our feet and wait for the bread. He must have thought we liked him or something. I guess he was right cause I just couldn't help but feed him continually b/c he would perform! What a talented duck. Lesson to learn from this blog: go to the duck pond when looking for some good entertainment and find this duck! And sorry, I have this bad habit of filming sideways thinking that it'll film tall and stay that way.

The Man on the Street

2010-09-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

It's sometimes the tiny little things that others do which make the biggest impact on a person. Today it was a little old man walking his dog down my street. He didn't see me or even know that I was there. But as I drove behind him and then parked in the driveway I couldn't help but continue to watch him. Every single time a car drove by in either direction he would smile and wave. I'm sure he didn't know all, if any of these people, but he didn't seem to care.
Sometimes all we need is a little kindness from a stranger to put a smile on our face and change our day from ok to great. Even though I personally did not get a smile and wave from this old man, he brightened my day through the kindness he showed others. It was simple, but influential. Thank you to the man on the street. Show a little kindness today. Smile at a stranger, hold open the door for someone, say hello while passing on the street or in the store. You never know the impact you may have on someone today. Don't let it pass you by.

Tender Mercy

2010-09-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

So I just had to publicly thank my two angels that saved me this week. On Monday evening I had a class that was literally at the complete and utter opposite end of campus from my apartment. It's usually about a 20 walk to get there, if you're going fast, but that day it was at least a 30 min. walk for me b/c of my knee injury.
As I was sitting in class I got a massive stabbing pain in my stomach area. It progressively got worse to the point where I was hunched over in my seat, couldn't sit up straight, and occasionally it felt as though someone were taking a knife and stabbing my. I would literally jolt b/c it was so excruciating. I text a friend who I thought would be able to pick me up, but no luck. I tried to call someone on the walk home to take my mind off of it, but no luck. I only got to the crosswalk outside of my class bldg. when someone honked at me. Kaitlin and Jordan. I waved and forced a smile as I walked on. Jordan then yelled at me and asked if I wanted a ride. I was overjoyed with relief and gratitude. My two little angels had no idea the situation I was in or the tiny prayer I had said that I wouldn't be in pain and walk all the way home. I don't know if they knew of the sacrifice it was or how much it meant to me, but it was a tender mercy in my life. I am so grateful for tender mercies and for those who take the time to listen to promptings or kind thoughts. Thanks Kaitlin and Jordan! I sure love you :)

Summer Catch-Up

2010-09-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

So I have been horrible at updating my blog, but it's all in good reason. I have had quite the busy, but best summer ever! I thought instead of writing a bunch of long blog posts on every event I would just catch you all up on what I have been up to. You can probably see the rest for yourself ;) However, these pics are in no particular order. In fact, they are very much out of chronological order.

Rob and I met at EFY as counselors, and the rest is history :) What you see is all you need to know ha ha. One night we couldn't decide what to do, and then decided to go to a Bees game! It was so fun! And we ran into Brooke & Adam (another EFY couple, and good friends!). It was Rob's first baseball game ever, can you believe that?
We also went boating. What an adventure! We pretty much just rode the tube the whole time, but did a little water skiing and wake boarding. Let me rephrase that... I tubed the whole time and others did skiing and wake boarding. I tried skiing, but just couldn't get up! At least I tried.
Real Salt Lake soccer game! I bought 10 tickets for $50.00 thinking that I'd use them all this summer. I then did EFY and never had time to use my tickets! So here we are enjoying at least one game. Go Real! Also a first for Rob.
The zoo! And not just the zoo... but the new baby elephant, Zuri! She is soooo cute. If you haven't gone to see her, then you must! We sat and watched her for probably 15 minutes just being a baby and playing in the mud. I officially want to play in the mud now.
My last 2 weeks of EFY I had the chance to work as a BC (building counselor). It was a blast! For our service project we were known as the service 5, and here we are in our masks. We were on a mission for service!
Another picture of our great team :) Cute family, eh?
My last week as a counselor and I got the best co in the world... AGAIN! Someone was looking out for me :) What a great week! Sure do like him!
In Taylorsville, Rob and I discovered a secret door to the roof. And the guy working on top let us take a glance!
My best friend's wedding! Audge and Matt finally sealed the deal :) And I got to be a bridesmaid! She was a gorgeous bride, and I loved being able to be a part of it! Love you Audge!

Well, I did much more than just this this summer, but these are some of the highlights. I had the best summer imaginable, and it turned out so much better than I had ever hoped! Thanks to all those who helped this to be possible. Now it's back to school, homework, work, and responsibility. Yuck! I want to be a kid forever!

EFY Taylorsville 1 & 2

2010-08-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Goodbye to Sandy Institute for a few weeks! We were off to SLCC in Taylorsville. I actually was not suppose to be working this week b/c I didn't get offered it. Monday morning at 8 am I got a phone call from Brooke, my coordinator asking if I could work b/c one of the counselors got sick. Miraculously I was able to shift my schedule around and work! This week was a blessing to me b/c of a special someone in the next picture.

This picture has a lot of significance to me. Long story short- Dallin (second from right) complained to the team one night about people not picking up their forks at meals and leaving them on the grounds. I leaned over to Christina (far right) and said that I wanted to fork Dallin's backpack as a joke! A few days later I found at least 15 forks in MY backpack! What?! I thought this was my prank that I so cleverly thought up? Rob (far left) said he knew who did it. I found out later it was Christina. The little punk. And Rob helped! Lucky for him I already liked him or I would've had to reconsider ;) jk.
The pictures are a little out of order, but these are my girls from Taylorsville week 2. Love them!
This is our company from Taylorsville 2! Alex was my co. Unfortunately he had been sick all week and wasn't full strength. Everything worked out anyway.
This is our company from Taylorsville 1! Adam was my co and he rocks my socks. First time I saw him he ran up to me and gave me a huge hug! Then he stepped back and said, "I'm Adam." ha ha, just a funny, funny, character. One whom everyone loves! And a crazy dancer with some mad skills :) We sure loved our company. It's amazing to see each individual's circumstances, backgrounds, where they're at in their life, and where they're going. We had some incredibly strong and courageous youth! I can't believe what they go through, and they are still firm and steadfast in the gospel. Great examples to me!

EFY Sandy 2

2010-08-22T14:32:00.001-07:00

Week two of EFY in Sandy! Don't tell all my other participants but.... this was my all time favorite week of the summer. Everything about it was great! I had the most amazing co's in the world- Rob and Katie :) I had some of the greatest participants, and I think I learned the most about the gospel, and about myself during this week. We are always teaching the youth how they can develop and strengthen their own testimonies, scripture study, prayers, and every day lives, but this week I think they taught me more than I taught them, and I learned more from my scripture study and all of the great firesides and classes. I just can't describe how great it was.

This is the whole group! Aren't they a good looking bunch?
The infamous three! Nobody called us that... I just came up with it. These are my co-counselors, and I love them both oh so very much! Much of the success of our week is attributed to them.

Gretchen and McKenna:) I loved all of my participants, but these two were extra special! It was an instant bond. I was their "Mama Bear", and they were my "children". Since EFY we have even gotten together to catch up! These girls amazed me everyday. What incredible girls!

EFY Sandy 1

2010-08-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

Oh boy! What have I been up to all summer that has made me a slacker in the so-called blogging world? That would have to be EFY! This summer I was able to be an EFY counselor at the stay-at-home sessions. It was a blast! My very first week ever was incredible. I immediately fell in love with the youth, the EFY program, dances, firesides, silly games, and so much more.

This is my first group! My co-counselor was Dallin Lewis- also known as the weather man. He is incredible! I was so lucky to have such a great co in my first week :) Yes, Dallin is going to be a weather man someday! He even brought a little weather device to the dances and tracked the humidity changes from beginning to end... I'll spare you the exact numbers b/c you would wish I didn't tell you!
Me and a few of my participants working on tying some fleece blankets for the service activity.
My first group of girls! They were angels, and they made everything about my first week wonderful and smooth sailing. I owe a lot to them. I sure love these girls! First week of EFY= success!

Upcoming Events

2010-06-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

This summer is not like any other that I have experienced, but it brings on some fun, new adventures!

Things I have already done:

1. Babysit nieces and nephew Memorial Day weekend

2. Start working at CFC

3. Girls' weekend in St. George to see Bryan Regan

4. New calling as R.S. President

5. Best friend coming home from mission

Things to come:

1. 4 fun-filled weeks of EFY!! Starting this next week. Any suggestions on what to do for devos or games?

2. Camping

3. Bridesmaid in best friend's wedding

4. Family reunion at the most gorgeous cabin in Heber City

5. Hike Timp

Oh the fun things that summer brings! I've already done so many fun things, and there are more yet to come :) I hope you are all enjoying your summer as well!

Girls' Weekend

2010-05-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to escape the unpredictable Utah Spring weather to the wonderfully pleasant weather and atmosphere of St. George! It was great to be able to spend the weekend with family, and even better, all girls :)

I am in love with the St. George temple. Mostly because of the temple grounds. Red rock, green grass, palm trees, and as you can see, an assortment of beautiful and colorful flowers!
I would like you to meet our friend, Coyote. He came everywhere with us! And never once did he complain or gripe about anything. He was a complete joy to be around. Here he is at the temple!
All us girls at the St. George temple. Kristen and Carrie were able to go to the temple earlier in the week, but the rest of us got to go on Sunday in place of church. It was great weather, and it was fun to go in the visitor's center. A great spiritual experience. I am continually amazed at all that the pioneers sacrificed and went through.
One of my favorite highlights from the weekend. Can you blame me? Turner was very well behaved and pleasant :) And boy was he spoiled with all the attention.
One of the other highlights of the weekend was hanging out at the pool working on our tans. Pasty Winter white is not a good look for me. It was a little bright for Turner... he went swimming for the first time, and liked it for a little bit!
Oh! Here is coyote again at the Tuacahn theater to watch Brian Regan!
All the girls at Brian Regan. The red rock background and atmosphere was absolutely gorgeous. Especially with the green trees and accents of color in the flowers around. Brian Regan lived up to all my hopes, dreams, and expectations! Lots of laughter and great jokes. All in all it was a great weekend and I loved being with Mom and my sisters! I wish we could get together more often!

Rising to the Call

2010-05-04T21:50:00.001-07:00

I am just barely breathing again, and it feels good! For those of you who have not heard, I am the new Relief Society president in my BYU single's ward. In short, this was an unexpected and overwhelming answer to many of my prayers. It has been very overwhelming, and I have been so incredibly busy, but I have already seen many blessing come into my life resulting from this call. I have never been in any presidency other than Y.W., so I am completely new at all of this. If any of you are ever in the same position that I have been experiencing, I have a few words of advice:

1. Breathe, it's a lot to handle, but it gets easier and you don't have to do it alone.

2. Pick your counselors and secretary prayerfully- they are going to be your greatest support.

3. Use your counselors! You don't have to do everything on your own. They are called to support you. Utilize them.

4. Delegation. I have learned through many callings that delegation can work wonders!

5. Pray for the sisters of you ward. As I have been doing this it is amazing how much closer I feel to them and how much better I have come to know them.

6. Ask the Lord for help frequently. The Lord qualifies whom he calls.

So far things have been absolutely wonderful. It's only been 2 weeks and I know every girl, and I feel like I've known them for quite a while. I have the best counselors and secretary, and I have never felt closer to my Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful for this opportunity! I don't know what it is that the Lord needs from me at this specific time, but I hope and pray that I can serve to my greatest potential.

A Cry for Help

2010-04-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and creative people,

So I am officially frustrated with my style. I want it to look cute, and I want my title and picture to look creative and fun like everyone else has been able to do with theirs. I would love suggestions on how all of you do your creative little things! Font, Pictures, Frames around the pictures, websites you get them from, etc. Please help me change to cute! Thanks.

Love,
Tiff's Blog

Diaper Cake

2010-04-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

I don't usually brag about things that I accomplish, but I do have to say that I am very proud of my finished product! Siri and I threw a baby shower for Heather, my old roommate. I have seen lots of pictures of diaper cakes that people have made for baby showers, and I was SO excited to do it! I googled instructions for the diaper cake, but I ended up making up my own directions. I think it turned out quite cute :) It was fun to get all the girls together and we can't wait to see Heather's baby! Here is the finished product!

Accomplished

2010-04-05T18:07:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to document my excitement for the goal that I recently accomplished! I have made a goal since last April's conference that I wanted to read the Conference Ensign that comes out a month after each conference. I have made a goal to study this and finish reading it all before the next conference starts. A few weeks ago I was talking to my Mom and realized in a panic that I was only half way done with the past edition!

With conference approaching ever so quickly, and with a lot of other stuff under my belt I told myself that giving up was not an option. And you know what? I did it!!!! As of 9:00 am on April 3rd (just one hour before Conference was to start) I finished it! I have officially accomplished my goal two conferences in a row. I have learned so much in doing this, and it has been a great blessing in my life! I have really enjoyed studying the prophets of old through scripture study along side modern day prophets in these Conference Ensigns.

If you are looking for a challenge and a blessing I would encourage you to try it! I promise you will be blessed.

Discombobulation!

2010-03-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

The reason for the title of this post? Not quite sure. I guess it might be because of the hectic life I have been living for the past two months. Did I say it was a bad life? No. It has been wonderful, but just like everyone else, at times I feel like I may just collapse from exhaustion because of all the demands I am facing. I however, don't want to dwell on the busy and unpleasant parts. In the midst of the chaos I have done some fun things and had some pleasant surprises!

First of all, I got a scholarship! Yes, you heard me. I feel that it is almost impossible to get a scholarship at BYU, but I did it! It's an RMYL departmental scholarship for $1,000. Can I get a hoo ha? It was a last minute decision to apply and I literally turned my application in about 2 hours before the deadline, but I'm ever so grateful for my decision to go through with it. I get to go to a banquet on Tuesday, April 6th with my parents and all of the other scholarship applicants. I sure do feel special :)

Secondly, I had the best weekend! It was filled with friends, $3.00 80's bowling night, the Festival of Colors, "Did you Hear About the Morgans?", and family. The highlight of it all- my first time at the Festival of Colors. I went with my roommate, Kat, and her sisiter, Chelsea. It was a blast! Granted, it took us a while to wake up, but when the fun began, it didn't stop! For all of you who are unfamiliar with this, I'll give you a little background. At the Hindu temple in Spanish Fork, UT they celebrate the coming of Spring by burnin the Witch of Winter. This is followed by throwing colorful chalk. I would have to say that most of the crowd there is from BYU, but we are taught to become familiar with other religions, right? Just doing our duty, and having fun in the process! The only unpleasant experience I had was the initial throwing. I think I till have chalk filled in my lungs. No clean air for about a minute to breath... the longest minute of my life. But alas, I am alive. Here are some picutres from it!

Rubbing the elephant for good luck? Sure! Why not?

Can't forget the llamas! Kat was just a "little" scared of them. Don't worry, they just spit!

After watching many dance and yell chants we saw this cool altar! Very intriquite.

Before we were tainted with other people's colors!

The kids behind us got excited and couldn't hold onto their color. I got orange dumped all over me...
The throwing of colored chalk still has NOT begun, but yes, we were the victims of many others.

The end result! Don't we look beautiful?

We were most proud of our faces. What art...

This is how I felt about having chalk up my nose, in my ears, and down my throat. It was supposedly scented, but not a good scent!

A Little of This and That

2010-03-10T13:11:00.000-08:00

There are so many creative people in this world! I wish I had the knack for it all. If you are looking for a fun, cute, light-hearted blog to follow, may I suggest lovelypraiseworthy.blogspot.com! Jenni Collier, a family friend, and her cute friends out in the Seattle area write it together, and they come up with some of the greatest thoughts and crafts. Check it out!

As I was catching up with this blog I got a brainstorm session going. I have a few things that I have been wanting to do and other treats I've been wanting to make. Summer is just around the corner and what better time to have some fun projects than summer? Free from the likes of school and I will actually have some time to sit around and relax. So here is the list I have compiled. Please feel free to add ideas to my list! But remember, a college student is on a tight buget:)

1. Learn to can different things. Peaches, pears, jam, etc. My mom has been doing this since I can remember, and I want to learn to do it so that my kids someday might be able to enjoy the sweet taste of homemade jam.
2. Find a pattern for a fun everyday bag. Of course, make the bag!

3. Learn/re-learn basic sewing skills. Mom isn't going to be there all my life to fix wardbrobe malfunctions. I want to learn to hem, sew all buttons, and patch up pants.

4. I have always wanted to make a cute skirt! Hopefully it'll end up cute...

5. Learn to play the organ. I have wondered how the organ works compared to the piano. Heaven forbid I'll actually get called to play in church, but it would be fun to learn!

6. Make my own homemade pie with the homemade pie crust. You know, one of those pies that the crust is in a weaved pattern on top? Wish me luck!

7. I have been tempted to take a flower arrangement class at BYU, but due to lack of room in my schedule, and the cost of the class, unfortunately I don't think it'll happen. It would still be fun to make a flower arrangement for the apartment. Spice things up a little!

8. At Robert's Arts and Crafts they have those photographs that spell words out of letters. That was obvious ha ha. You know, where someone takes pictures of objects that look like letters, and then they arrange the pictures to spell a word such as: "FAITH", "HOPE", "LOVE"? I have decided that since the ones to buy are expensive and not as personal as it would be if I did it myself, I am going to buckle down and finally do it! Any word suggestions?

9. As I read praiseworthy's blog I found a recipe for tri-color cupcakes. These would be fun for birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, or just for a fun treat! Quick and Easy! Check it out!http://lovelypraiseworthy.blogspot.com/2010/02/tri-color-cupcakes.html

So here I am about to embark on a new adventure of trying new things! A little of this and that!

Spring Fever

2010-03-01T20:14:00.001-08:00

I don't know about the rest of the world, but the weather in Provo has been gorgeous! March 1st and Mother Nature is saying, "Welcome Spring!" I am constantly reminding myself that March and April are well known to be unpredictable and wet, but it's days like these that make it all worth it. Isn't it amazing how easily the weather can affect our moods? I know it did mine today. I woke up this morning and only needed a light jacket to walk to school in which I got a little toasty! Yes, I think I am catching Spring Fever. Be careful everyone, it may be contagious! I've been thinking about fun things I can't wait to do in the warmth. Here are a few:

1. Run! I am training for a half marathon, cross your fingers, and I ran for the first time since surgery today! 7 whole minutes. Slow, but I did it. It's a start!

2. Ultimate Frisbee. No more cherry picking for me! I will be the one of the lucky to run around

3. Soccer!! I pray that I have had my fare share of injuries, but I love soccer enough to say goodbye to it just yet. It's all worth the pain!

4. Evening walks. Audrey- are you ready for it? Walking buddy. We've gotta keep it up if we're going to be two old ladies still going on walks with our walkers that have tennis balls on the legs.

5. Playing in the WARM rain! Cold rain just doesn't do it.

6. Green! Welcome back beautiful, living, nature. It has been too long.

7. Spring flowers. We need flowers to brighten the world

8. Flip Flops. I use to refuse to wear flip flops as a kid. I was the girl with socks and sandals that created a nice chicken feet tan line. I have graduated from that fashion, and I love me my flip flops!

9. Tans. Thank you to Mom and Dad for sharing the skin pigments. I am grateful for how easily I get color, and oh how I miss my color.

10. Driving with the windows down. Need I say more?

11. Light! I know daylight savings will come again, but I always miss the days filled with light during Winter. Warm, spring days in the sun.

Are you excited for Spring yet? I know I am! Spring fever is a bitter sweet feeling, but oh how I love it!

"The Love of God" By President Uchtdorf

2010-02-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

I came across President Uchtdorf's talk, "The Love of God," and I can't tell you how much I love it. Practically the whole talk is highlighted, underlined, and has notes all over. My wonderful roommate Kat taught Relief Society a few weeks ago and gave her lesson on this talk specifically. She highlighted one of my favorite things in his talk, and I decided to share it with you all.

If you have this edition of the Ensign it's on page 22 in the first column. He says, "...God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are-and who we will become." As I thought about this concept, and with the help of Kat, I was able to put it into a diagram. I wish I could draw it for you, but for lack of knowledge on blogger.com, I will have to use the keys on the keyboar. So...

Love--> Seek--> Think & Do--> Who We Are-->Become

This little picture has put words, powerful words, into perspective for me. In the end, what we love, and what we seek, is ultimately what/who we become. If we love a particular movie star, or musician/singer, we will seek them out, we will begin to think and do as they do, it will determine who we are, and in the long run we will become like that person. This doesn't have to only apply to people. If we love food, we seek food, and ultimately we become sick, and full of.... well, food. However, if we love the Lord and Jesus Christ, we will seek them in all things, we will think and do as they would want us to, it determines who we are in this life, and we will ultimately become Gods one day. I love this concept because it has helped me to analyze my life and the things that I love and seek out. Are they good for me in the long run? Do I want to become that particular thing? Of course there is moderation in all things, but I know I want to become like God one day, and so I am striving to love and seek out those good and precious things that he does.

Am I Crazy?!...

2010-01-30T09:43:00.000-08:00

Just the other day I talked to my physical therapist about running. It's coming so soon I just can't believe it! 11 days and counting :)

I was sitting at work yesterday pondering this wonderful idea... actually, it was more like daydreaming, but you get the picture. A thought came to my mind that, "Hey! The Turkey Trot that I ran with Dad on Thanksgiving Day was so much fun! I wasn't even really tired afterwards. I should train for another 5k!" Then my thoughts turned to, "I've done numerous 5k's. I should try a 10k." You think I stopped there? Nope! I have officially decided to run a half marathon!! Now my question comes into play- Am I crazy? Maybe, but I am motivated, and more excited than ever. I text one of my best friends, Kaitlin, who has been my running buddy for a few years now- even though we don't go as much as we use to, or at all... I asked her if she wanted to run a half marathon with me. I think it was literally 10 seconds later that I got her call. The first words out of her mouth were, "Are you crazy? Um, what are you thinking, and why all of a sudden would you want to do such a thing? You know how long that is right?" (Not her exact words, but pretty much right on track.) We talked for a while and decided it would be something really fun and intrinsically rewarding. How cool would it be to say, "I ran and finished a half marathon!"

Some of the half marathons I have looked at are Park City half marathon on August 21, Provo Canyon half marathon in August, and The Top of Utah half marathon in Logan on September 18. I personally want to do the Park City one b/c the scenery is more appealing to me than Logan. But I've heard that the Logan trail is all downhill and it's a very gradual downhill. Wouldn't that be ideal? So I have some goals leading up to my half marathon:

1. Start speed walking/light jogging on February 10

2. Make a Training plan with Kaitlin on February 13

3. Be running at full strength by March 3

4. Run a 5K

5. Sign up for half marathon

6. Run a 10K

7. Run the Park City half marathon on August 21

I have a lot of work to do, and I have to be smart while training b/c of my special conditions, but I know I can do it, and I can't wait to get started! If anyone knows of good training techniques or tips, please let me know. Wish me luck, and make sure that I'm alive in August, cause Heaven knows I'll be exhausted ha ha.

It's Been Too Long...

2010-01-17T17:02:00.001-08:00

Holy cow! Where has all of the time gone? I am such a slacker in the blogging world. Please forgive me... all of you who actually read my posts and desire to keep up with my "eventful" life. The life of a poor, single, college student. The best years of my life also.

Well, on December 15th I finished 5 finals and dashed off to prepare for my ACL surgery. Wednesday morning, the 16th of December was a very nerve wracking time of day. I never knew I could be so nervous. Cute lil' ol' brother Carlisle from across the street was kind enough to make his way over to our house to help Dad give me a blessing before we headed over to the hospital. Though my nerves did not cease, I slowly felt relief a little at a time. I am so grateful to have a father who lives worthily to hold the priesthood and exercise this authority in our home.

At the hospital there were a lot of procedures to go through, all of you who have had any kind of surgery know that you see about 5-10 different people before you actually go into surgery. You know my opinion? The one thing I would put in their little suggestion box is to inform the patients when they call the day before surgery that they will need to give a urine sample! No one told us, and they probably didn't think it made that much of a difference, but when your surgery is scheduled for 8:45am, most likely you have already gone to the bathroom. I have also been told that I have a "shy bladder" by the urinalysis people who do drug tests. It took a lot longer than I had hoped to get even the slightest sample.

The surgery went really well. I was told after the surgery that they repaired my ACL, and they stitched up a small tear in my meniscus. Because of the meniscus tear I would be required to use crutches for 4 weeks. Christmas break started early for me in the fact that I literally layed around and watched movies for a few weeks.

Compared to my left ACL surgery, this recovery was so much better. I don't know if physically is was better, or if it was simply because I'd been through it before and knew what I needed to do early on to benefit me later, but I am so grateful for the quick recovery I have been having. In my follow-up visit with Dr. Holmstrom ( I recommend him to anyone), he told me that I was ahead of the game in my recovery timeline. WAHOO! That'll bring you happiness.

This past Wednesday was the 4 weeks mark of my surgery, and do you know what that meant? Get rid of those ol' crutches! What a relief. Granted I was a little slower and my muscles are still weak, but it's nice to have the freedom, and less baggage to carry around. Wednesday also marked the first day in 4 weeks that I have worn jeans :) What a great feeling. As of today I hardly walk without a limp and I can almost go down the stairs normally! I have about 3 weeks of physical therapy left, and I feel so blessed with how everything is going. Though I may not see what the blessings have resulted specifically from this injury and experience, I know there are many and I am grateful for all I have learned, and all I will continue to learn.

Love to All of You

2009-10-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

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'

2009-06-17T12:42:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-22T12:56:00.001-07:00

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

2009-01-26T19:28:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-25T19:46:00.001-08:00

"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!

2009-01-25T19:24:00.000-08:00

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!