Updates coming soon....

Don't worry, I'm still alive! :) I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Mine was excellent! More details to come at a later date... until then.... enjoying the break in Etna!!! HOORAY for being home!

Cousin Christmas Party

I love Christmas! :) And this is definitely a part of the reason why! :) LOVE the family!

Rosemary is the coolest person EVER! Here are just a few reasons why.... She always invites us to her home! She throws the best parties and feeds us delicious food! Let's be honest it's probably one of the few times any of us ever get a REAL home-cooked meal! :) This Christmas get together did NOT disappoint! She always gets us a cute little Christmas gift! Cafe Rio gift cards this year... LOVE IT! We always play fun games! I could go on and on and on! The point is... she is AWESOME! We played our annual Christmas Bingo with dollar store prizes! I failed miserably in BINGO! BUT... I take consolation in knowing it's a total game of luck! :)

We had a great time! Our cousin get togethers are the BEST!




Oh... and just one more reason that I ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY DESPISE THE SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My New Favorite Show....

It's totally my new favorite! :) I can't believe I haven't watched it sooner!

Don't Give Up! Don't Ever Give Up!

It's Jimmy V week on ESPN! First weeks in December are the best for this reason! There's always a college basketball game on! Love it! Anyways.... at half time they usually play this video (well clips of it) and then talk about Jimmy V throughout the broadcast. The one time I actually enjoy listening to the commentators! :) Example from tonight's broadcast: Jay Bilas (Duke basketball player... shout out to Duke basketball!!!! Oh how I love it!) was playing against Coach Valvano. Jay Bilas blocked an NC State player's shot(don't remember who), and Jimmy V was all over the refs about not calling the foul. Next time Jay Bilas ran down the court next to him he said, "Nice block!" :) They always have nice things to say about him. He just seems like he was a great guy and a great example!

If you have time watch the whole video! It's only like 11 minutes long! It makes me cry every time I watch it!



Key points if you don't have time...

"There are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."

"It's so important to know where you are. I know where I am right now. How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. You have to be willing to work for it."

"I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get you're emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day and as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm," to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have. The ability to be able to work hard for your dreams to come true, to become a reality."

Thanksgiving... just a little late! :)

Instead of my yearly Thanksgiving trip to warm and sunny southern California, I ventured out to freezing cold Wyoming for Thanksgiving this year. It was a quick trip. But very fun! My dad’s brother and his family all live out there and it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to see them. Me, Mitch, Tracy, Aunt Janene, her two daughters, Katy and Hayley, and our cousin Jonathan squished into a mini-van and headed out!

It was a LONG drive, especially because I was squished with Katy and Hayley in the back! And we had to carry 5 dozen rolls that were so preciously taken care of! :) But thankfully, we had great weather, and we made it out there safe and sound! We got there and chatted with everything and watched Stephanie’s 2 kids (Chevelle and Cove) go crazy because people were there! They were so cute!




Thanksgiving Day, woke up and got ready for the big feast! Instant mashed potatoes are a sin on Thanksgiving Day, and in order for us to have REAL mashed potatoes Chevelle and I had to be in charge of peeling ALL of the potatoes! We ate lots of good food!



And of course… everyone fell asleep shortly after! And we played intense games of Yahtzee! :) And we searched the ads for good deals for Black Friday!






Woke up at 3:30 AM!!!! To go shopping! We had to drive an hour to get to the closest stores, that was partly the reason! We all found some good stuff- clothes, electronics, DVDs, etc. And then came home and took another nap! We were all exhausted from shopping!

Saturday we went on a little drive around Lovell and saw some beautiful scenery! It was like a miniature Grand Canyon!







Went up to the mountains to find some fresh spring water and you could see the entire town and surrounding towns! It was really pretty!





We got home and headed to Cody and met up with Ashley Sly at Granny’s Diner. The place was questionable… ;) but it was great to see her!





We capped off the trip by going to see “The Blind Side.” If you have not seen that movie, GO!!!! Like RIGHT NOW! Probably the best movie I have ever seen! It was so good!

We left early Sunday morning and headed back to Utah. Thankfully the weather was REALLY good! Foggy at parts, but overall NO SNOW so that was great!



We had a great time, and it was fun to see family I hadn’t seen in awhile! I love the holidays!

Stress

Stress!!! I HATE it! Last week was stressful to say the least! Too much to do, and not enough time to do it! Sometimes trying to do it all is not the best solution to getting everything done! Things just start to pile up and you reach a breaking point! I was pretty much to the breaking point and on my way to school Thursday, I stopped by the grocery store to get cash, and when I came back out my car would not start!

BREAKING POINT!

After calling my dad, one of the girl’s on my team and I went and jumped it during lunch. After about 8 different times, and some guy trying to help us telling me it was probably the alternator (but really he just probably thought we were incapable or something) :) we got it to start! So now I have to take it in to see if I need a new battery or an alternator! It started that night on my way home from practice! So here’s to hoping it’s just a new battery! :)

We had games in St. George Friday and Saturday and while it was stressful to get everything ready to go, once we got down there it was relaxing and I came home MUCH LESS STRESSED out and a little rejuvenated! The games went well, and the girls had a good time I think! I didn’t get very much sleep, making sure everyone stayed in their rooms and went to SLEEP! But overall, we won and we had a good time! So here’s to another week! A snowy week! Boo!!! Let’s hope it is WAY less stressful!

The last of the Thankfuls! :)

I went to Wyoming for Thanksgiving, so before the update on that! Here are the last of my “thankful” days! I wrote them down, I just never had time to copy and paste them over to the blog!

Thankful Day 22: Today I’m grateful for laughing/crying. In One Tree Hill fashion I’ll quote E.E. Cummings. He said, “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” I feel like I waste lots of time throughout the days sometimes, but I’m glad to know that I laugh probably every single day! Someone or something is usually funny and makes me laugh! Laughing until you cry is probably one of the best feelings in the whole entire world! Try and laugh every day!

Thankful Day 23: Board Games and Card Games! Simple entertainment. Probably some of my favorite memories of friends and family come from playing board games or card games. Balderdash, Loaded Questions, Wise and Otherwise, Ticket to Ride, Phase 10, Five Crowns, Spades, Canasta, just to name a few!

Thankful Day 24: Seeing people you haven’t seen in a long time. We had our first game of the season last Tuesday, everyone played great, and it was an excellent way to start things off! :) A lot of the girls that have graduated over the past two years since I started coaching were there for the game! It was fun to see them! We went to Wyoming for Thanksgiving and we were able to see Ashley Sly, a friend from Etna that we haven’t seen for a LONG time. The best part about seeing old friends is that even though you haven’t seen each other for awhile, it feels like nothing has changed and no time has passed and you can’t help but remember the good times and things from the past! Love it!

Thankful Day 25: Cars. I learned the hard way to learn to appreciate cars! After I got in an accident last February and totaled my car I was without one for two months while I searched for a new one! I was grateful for those who shared their cars with me so that I could get to work and practice and different things like that! I didn’t realize how much I depended on my car, until I didn’t have one. As we traveled to Wyoming, I couldn’t help but be grateful for cars that run properly, without maintenance issues, and get me where I need to go!

Thankful Day 26: Food, Family, Friends. With the holiday season approaching (starting with Thanksgiving), I couldn’t help but be grateful for family, friends, and food! I’ve said family and friends before, many have helped me become who I am today because of their great examples! For that I am grateful! The holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without being surrounded by those you care about! Along with Thanksgiving always comes delicious food and of course leftovers! I know I take for granted the ease at which I am able to get food whenever I want. Especially in the economy and the way it is. I overheard one of the kids talking at school about how their parents had lost their jobs and how sometimes they weren’t able to eat. I briefly overheard the conversation and I was feeling bad for the kid. One of his friends asked to go to the bathroom, and came back with something from the vending machine and proceeded to share with the kid. I was really touched by this experience. But also, it gave me a greater appreciation for my job and the opportunity it gives me to make money and buy the things I need like FOOD!

Here is a recap of my “thankful” things!

1. Internet
2. Parents
3. Volleyball Team
4. Grandparents/Relatives who live the gospel and are good examples
5. Cameras/Pictures
6. Friends
7. Sight
8. Naps
9. Good weather
10. Jobs
11. Coaches
12. Favorite TV Shows
13. When people appreciate the work that you have put into something.
14. Cell Phone
15. Scriptures
16. Little Brothers
17. Personalized letters/notes
18. Temples
19. Ability to speak
20. Music
21. Sporting Events
22. Laughing/Crying
23. Board/Card Games
24. Seeing people you haven’t seen in a long time
25. Cars
26. Food, Family, Friends

Well FINALLY done! :) It was a great experience, and as I said before, it helped me see some of the things that I take for granted in life and helped me to appreciate them a little bit more!