Incubus

I have been in an Incubus mood lately....I love them! Their music is so good and I want to see them live again. I found these pictures from their album Light Grenades. They are really interesting and creative.

"But sometimes it's a good hurt and it feels like I'm alive...without love I won't survive"

"I've been smiling with anchors on my shoulders"

"We'll always have each other when everything else is gone"

A Grand Experience

The Grand America is full of Christmas festivities: lights, trees, gingerbread houses, & teddy bears, it was fun to see!

Trent, Amie & MomThe Grand America

The gingerbread houses were amazing
this one was my favorite

Mom & her girlsThe Presidential suite on the 23rd floor is full of teddy bears...it was really cute and the room was incredible A bath tub full of teddy bears

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had a really nice Thanksgiving! We went to Dan's house and gathered with his family. There was quite a few of us there: Dan, mom, Dan's mom Dorothy, his sister Ruth & her husband Tom, his son Andrew, wife Deborah & grandson Isaiah, Julie, Dustin, Brenden & Isabelle, Amie & Trent, & me.

Brenden & Snickers

Andrew, Deborah & IsabelleMom, Snickers & Dan

Ruth & Tom & Dustin

Me & Isabelle

I am glad we were able to all come together and give thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I can't believe it's that time of year again when we gather around the table with family and friends to give thanks for all that we have been blessed with and to eat yummy turkey! I am turly grateful for my friends and family, without them life would be meaningless. Looking back on the past year I have so much to be grateful for. I am grateful for Dad and Berna letting me live with them and I am grateful for mom letting move back to live wih her. I am grateful that Amie is my sister and for all the fun times we have shared together. I am grateful for Dan and all that he has done for me. I am grateful for all the trips I have been on this past year...Seattle, Arizona, Laughlin, California & Disneyland, Moab, and Ensanada. I am grateful for my job, it has been a good experience and I have met a lot of wonderful people. I am also very grateful for my friends, new and old.
Thank you everyone for your love and support!!
Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

*Excited for Andrea*

Andrea has been my best friend for 18 years
& I am so excited for her!

I just want to share the good news........Andrea is pregnant!!! I am so excited! She is going to make a great mom and will be so cute with a little Izabell or little boy! When she called to tell me the news she said, "you are going to be an aunt!" I love that she is my best friend and I couldn't be more happy for her and Yoho :)

Congratulations!

Old Friends

Thanks to Facebook and old Monte Vista pictures I was able to see old friends from elementary and high school. A few weeks ago I found class pictures from kindergarten to 6th grade--I went to school with the same people for years. I posted them on Facebook to share with my old classmates and we all started talking about the good ol' days. Andrea was going out to California and was planning on meeting up with some of the people so I decided I wanted to go too. We all had a good time and it was great to see old friends!!

This picture is kind of hard to see but it's from the 2nd grade--the first class all 4 of us were together.

Andrew top center, Amir on the left end on the second row, Andrea one over, and me next to her

The 4 of us 16 years later

Amir, Andrea, Andrew & me
no, we did not plan on matching...funny

It was so good to see everyone!

I really miss Brittany!!

After dinner a few of us decided to go out, it was so much fun and we ran into more old friends....

andrew & me

brittany, james, & me

james, paul, me & britt

so random

Amie & Maria found new friends

it was good to see Mark too

and it was nice getting together with family :)

Happy Birthday Papa!!

November 17th

It's my papa's birthday and I am wishing him a very happy birthday! I am very grateful to have him as my papa, I am lucky to be his grand-daughter! He has always been there for us and because of him we have had the opportunity to experience a lot in life.
When we were very little, on Christmas Eve he use to spend the night at your house to be there when we woke up on Christmas morning. He took us out to dinner every Friday night, which became our family's thing. When we lived with him I remember I wanted a bar to flip on and he built one for me, he even let us have a trampoline. He use to take us on many trips in his motor-home, that was always fun! When I was 7 years old he took me to Hawaii to visit Grandma, Cola, and Dana, I will never forget that trip. When I was 15 he taught me how to drive a stick shift as we drove his VW Bug to Arizona (but I have not driven stick since). He has always been our handyman and my protector when we had mice in our garage.
He has always been supportive and involved in our lives--thank you Papa!
He is a wonderful father, papa, brother, and friend, who loves his family. He loves cars and is always fixing at least one up. He loves to fish, travel, watch football, go out to dinner and to the movies. He truly enjoys life and I am so happy he is able to do the things he enjoys.
Happy birthday Papa! Thank you for everything you have ever done for me, you are the best!



I Love you Papa!

Veterans Day

I liked seeing all the American flags out today. Veterans Day is an important day to recognize and give thanks for all the men and women who serve our country. However, I think it's a day, especially for the younger generations, that does not get the proper recognition. Every Veterans Day my dad says, "it's Veterans Day, got to put my flag out" and when I was younger I would just say, "OK dad" kind of in a sarcastic tone. But as I was driving today I was thinking about all the people I have known who have served in the Military, both my grandfathers, uncles, cousin, and many friends. I am sure everyone can think of at least one person he/she knows who has served. We should really take today, if not more days, to remember the soldiers who have fought for our country. I have a great appreciation for the Veterans, more so than I ever have, as they gave their lives, selflessly, for our freedom.

It's weird when you get a new perspective on life...I guess that comes with getting older.

I am So Grateful

Tonight at work a few things made me really think about my life and how much I have to be grateful for. It made me even realize I have nothing to ever complain about. I am so grateful for my family, they give nothing but unconditional love and support. I am so grateful I am close with my family, I don't know what I would do without them in my life. I am so grateful for EVERYTHING I have experienced in my life and for all of the opportunities I have had to meeting new people, doing new things, and traveling. I am so grateful that I graduated high school and had the opportunity to go to college and get a degree. I am so grateful that I have the choice to choose what I want to do with my life--I have nothing holding me back from accomplishing my dreams. I am so grateful that my heart has been immersed in love and I am so grateful for everything love has brought into my life.
There are so many people who don't have the opportunity to experience even half of what I have experienced in my short life. I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart for everyone and everything in my life.

Happy Birthday Berna!!!

It's Berna's birthday (tomorrow)!! I hope she has a super day full of all her favorite things!
Berna has been apart of our lives for a long time and we are grateful for all that she does for us girls. She has been a great step-mom and we love her very much!
The things I remember most about first meeting her was her long, curly hair, her purple Camaro, and her loud contagious laugh. When we were little she use to love curling our hair and helping us get ready. She let us do crafts, took us swimming, attended our activities, and always cooked us dinner. She introduced us to the wonderful world of seadooing, which we will forever be grateful!! I love that that's our thing!
She is such a fun, loving, giving, and happy woman who enjoys a good laugh. She loves being around her family, being at the water on her seadoo, being around her grand-kids, and going to Laughlin. She also makes the best salsa and crepes!
Berna, I am so grateful to have you in my life and for all that you have done for me! Our lives would not be the same without you. Thank you for taking Amie and me under your wing and for always being there for us. I hope you have a great birthday and I hope to see you soon!
Love you lots!!!

Cowboy Poetry

Mom and I went to Heber last night for Cowboy Poetry. It was actually quite enjoyable--we had a good time! I really like Heber because it's an old small town in the mountains, it's the perfect setting for old cowboy songs and legends. Mom wanted to go last year but did not make it so we made sure to go this year, she wanted to see Michael Martin Murphey perform and he put on a good show with the UVU symphony. It was neat to hear old cowboy stories and how the American West use to be. We were even entertained by an auction, yodeling, and a very talented young lady who had an amazing voice. I really love the country way of living and country music! Last night made me appreciate it that much more :)

Edward & Bella

In preparation for the New Moon movie coming out on November 20th I have decided to re-read New Moon! I am so excited for this movie and I think re-reading the book helps--I have forgotten a lot that takes place in the second Twilight saga. I have not wanted to put the book down and I love watching the movie trailers! The thing I like most about New Moon is the love you feel between Edward and Bella--even though he leaves her, you still feel they are connected. I feel a little lame for writing about how much I love these fictional characters but that's why I love it--it's an escape from reality and for a few moments I can imagine that real-true love exists. I can also relate to the numbness she feels in one way or another.

In Need of a Sewing Teacher

I want to learn how to sew. I have so many fun and crafty ideas I just need someone to show me how to use the sewing machine. The last and only time I've sewed was way back in 2004 when I made my rag quilt for my Senior Project--and I had the help of an amazing quilter. I love going to the fabric store and looking at all the fun and cute fabric! I went tonight and as I was looking at some fabric and imagining what I could do with it and thought popped into my head "a pillow case" I looked up and hanging above my head was a very cute pillow case. Weird!! So anyone out there locally good on a sewing machine??