Jumping on the Band Wagon

My parents bought a Wii last weekend and so now we are like the thousands of other goofy looking Americans who stand in front of their tv sets and swing a white remote around! lol It really is a lot of fun and this weekend I had "The Quatro" over and we had our own little Wii Party-it was a blast! Yay for technology! lol :)

A Wii bit of fun!!!

Some serious concentration!!!

Ice Cream With Lindsay

I met my friend Lindsay Frost and her adorable baby Bekah for ice cream and some good 'ol conversation! We hadn't really talked since I've been home so it was so nice to catch up with her and also enjoy the amazing deliciousness that is Cold Stone Creamery!! :)

The Oh So Cute Bekah Lynn- I want to take her home with me!!!



Me and Linds. She is so awesome and I really enjoy talking with her- she's one of those people that you never have to try to keep the conversation going with, we can talk about anything. So much fun!! For sure we need to get together again soon!!!

HOT but fun!!!

On Saturday I went out with my cousins to ride in the desert. We had a lot of fun but it was mega hot!! We were packed up and headed home by 10:30!! Yay for summer in Arizona- if you don't sweat to death- you'll survive it!

Yay for a trailer full of quads!!

Little Maxy Man!!

We found a cool shady spot with a bunch of trees in the middle of the desert! Yes!!

Not enjoying the heat- not one bit!

This shows just how secure I am with myself if I am willing to put such a flattering pic of my sweaty dirty face on my blog! lol Ya this what I looked like after we were done riding.

Work, Work, Work All Day Long

I work 40 hours a week and it is LONG... but guess what, my job is pretty much awesome!! So much fun! Last week we went to an Arizona Diamondbacks game and let me just say that this is one field trip I will never forget!! lol I took a bunch of pictures, so here are some of the many! :)

GO D-BACKS!! Pretty sure that most of the kids had absolutely no clue there was a Baseball game going on! lol I had several kids every few minutes ask me who was winning, but for the first several innings there weren't any runs, so that was fun to explain... lol, ya suffice it to say the kids were bored to death sitting there the whole time... but I had fun!!!

Besides getting to act like a kid all day and going on cool field trips, by far the best part of my job is my co-workers!! Every summer I work with some seriously awesome people and make great new friends! I think this summer we have the BEST staff I have ever worked with! I have so much fun with all these guys! This pic is Kara, Me and Cynthia having fun at the game.

Miss Stephanie- looking slick in that hat

This is Alexis- I worked with her last summer, but this year she is working at one of our other camps so I never get to see her- except on crazy big field trips like this where ALL of our camps go! It was great talking to her again- she's pretty cool!

Miss Cassie- So excited to be at the game! lol :)

Miss Lindsey, this is my second summer working with her- she is way fun!

Yes, I have a giant Duct Tape "T" on my back, and a Zumiez sticker! Didn't you know that is "the cool thing to do" ha ha! jk The T stands for "Miss T" that's what the kids at work call me. The sticker is for an identifier for my kids- my whole class wore one of these on our backs, plus it looks cool. lol

Each class was given a different color of Duct Tape (my class got camo- so cool!!) to put on each of the kids' shirts so we could easily identify each class. As always I started goofing around and us counselors decided to put big duct tape letters of our names on our shirts! Once I did it several others decided they wanted to be just as cool as me- lol, so they copied! ha ha :)

Mr. Trevor- doesn't he look great in purple? ha ha

Stephanie and Jessica- these two girls are so great! Not only are they good at their job, but they are so fun to be around and are always smiling. They really are such good examples to me!

Miss Kirsten! One word- CRAZY! ha ha :)

Yup that's right gotta do the signature pose!

Miss Krystal

So on the way back to camp after the game we ended up leaving the ball park late and then getting stuck in this INSANE traffic!! We were an hour late getting back to our camp!

Kara and I while spending an hour and a half stuck on a bus with 33 seven and eight year old kids with tons of pent up energy and nothing to do! It was for sure pure craziness on that bus!!

This kept looking more and more tempting every minute- but luckily we made it back in time before the counselors and I jumped ship! Lol

It was a great and crazy day and I am really grateful for my totally sweet job and the wonderful people I get to work with everyday- I can only think of one job I'd rather have right now.... any guesses as to what that might be? lol ;)

"MTC Sick"

So when I was in the MTC I never got homesick. Surprisingly I just didn't really get too worked up over being away from my family. I missed them but it never really affected me. Well now that I am home- I am totally MTC sick!! I miss my MTC family A LOT!! Every day, every hour I think of at least one of them. There is like an aching feeling in the pit of my stomach- I miss them that bad! It's hard to describe it but I just got SO close to them all, some I got really really close too and couldn't imagine no longer having them as part of my life! When it is time for me to go back on my mission I have been told that I might be sent back to the MTC or I might be sent straight to the field. I honestly hope they send me back to the MTC, but I know it will be really hard on me if they do. It will be so weird to have a new district but be in the same place. I don't think I could ever feel so close with a group of 9 people as I did with these guys!! I am excited for the future and SO SO SO anxious to go back, but I have a lot of improving and growing to do while I am here so I am going to focus on that for now. I get e-mails and letters from my "family" and that helps but it is so hard to be so far away from them and not be able to talk to them everyday. I am so fortunate that two of my MTC family members became such good friends that they are letting me come to Utah to hang out with them for a week!! I am so excited to hang out with my teachers Hermano Wing and Hermana Mortensen ("Adam" and "Morty" - that's who they are now, lol no more official teacher titles, I like it better that way) in August! It seems so far away from now- but it doesn't matter, I get to see them again and actually spend time with them and it is going to be AMAZING!! I miss them the most out of everyone- they have been there for me through thick and thin and they mean the world to me!! I am so blessed to have them as my friends. I don't know if this ache in my heart will ever go away, I know I won't forget any of those 9 amazing people anytime- EVER!! Having them as a part of my life has been "Such a Treat!" and I MISS THEM!!!!!



I stole these pics off of Adam's blog- I don't have a pic of Morty besides the one from the night I left- and that one is already posted on here somewhere. lol :)

Not gonna quit my day job!

So for Father's Day every year my dad says he doesn't want anything- so I never get him a present. But this year I decided I would at least make him something. So I found this cute idea for a tie cake online and decided it would be easy enough to do. I always have loved baking but usually something goes wrong.

This is what the cake was supposed to look like....



This is what it turned out like. I couldn't even get to the part where I would cut it into a tie shape!! It was destroyed sooner than I thought even possible! lol

Ya see that would be part of the problem.



So I decided to that it would be best if I NOT quit my day job and cross off baker on my list of potential job choices! lol So anyway my tie shaped cake turned into a cake with a tie on it! My dad says I get an "A" for effort and that's all that matters right? They do always say it's the thought that counts!! lol :)

I WILL be going back!

The other day a woman from the MTC called me because it is her job to call all of the missionaries who come home early from the MTC. She called and asked me a bunch of questions and wanted to see how I was doing. When she got to the last question she was completely shocked at my answer! She asked me, "So do you still plan on coming back to the MTC?" I said "YES!!!" she said, really? I said there is absolutely NOTHING that could stop me from coming back save the Lord having something else in mind for me. She said that was not an answer she has heard very often, she said the percentage of missionaries that come back to the mission after coming home early is really low. She wished me the best of luck and to keep up the good work and said they would be keeping my bed warm for me- I said thanks and I would be there soon!! I don't have a definite date yet as to when I am going back but right now it is looking like September/October ish. I can not wait!!! So anyway I just wanted everyone to know that I am GOING TO GO BACK!!! It is the most important thing to me and I want it so bad!

Breaking the Rules

So as many of you already know , my Stake President and I decided that while I am home for these few months I should still live some of the mission rules. For instance , arise at 6:30 retire at 10:30, listen to only church music, and so on and so forth. Well last night I for sure broke some rules!! Mom got 5 tickets to the "Paisley Party 2008" for free from her boss. So she gave them to me and I gathered up four of my friends and we headed out to Cricket Pavilion to see BRAD PAISLEY!! It was such a great concert and we found a really great spot on the lawn in the "family friendly" section, which meant there weren't any drunken cowboys or anything which was nice. I had fun on my little night out on the town, lol but I am glad to go back to my missionary life style.

Brad Paisley- He sure puts on a good concert!! It was really fun!

Our awesome lawn spot!

Kilie, Cristina and I chilling in the surprisingly nice AZ heat! It was not bad for June!!

Jen and Stephanie

Posing! lol

What else do you do in between sets if not take funny pictures?

Happy concert- goers!

Ya um, Steph ate a few too many air heads!! lol :)


Brad Paisley singing "Online" I had this song on my iPod before I left for the mission so I for sure sang aloud to this one he hee cause I have such a great voice! lol

Flash Forward

On Sunday I was a mom for the day and it felt a bit like a flash forward to my future! lol My friend Amy and her husband went up to Girl's Camp for the day and I watched their four little girls. I have watched them for days at a time before- no big deal. But for some reason this time was different. Usually I plan fun activities and we run around and do cool stuff, but this was a Sunday and I am just so busy and have a totally different mind set now a days. So we went to church and hung out afterwards. By the time I put the girls to bed I was exhausted and told myself that I am for sure going to remember to enjoy these times now when I am single and can just worry about myself. Only taking care of me is quite a treat that I think I take for granted!! lol So anyway it was a bit of an eye opening experience reminding me to enjoy life in the here and now, cause there will be plenty of time in the future to worry about all this other stuff.

Me in the Mormon Assault Vehichle lol aka Amy's Suburban. Can't wait till the day that I have to drive one of these all the time! ha ha. But hey by the time I'm a mom we might just be strapping our kids to the roof of a smart car if things continue the way they are! lol

Tagged!

Alright I was tagged by Cristina so I took all the pics Saturday when I got the tag, now I have time to post them. So here it is- the random picture tag.

The rules are you have to take ten pictures of the following things. And you have to do it right away. No straightening, cleaning or wiping the snot from your child's nose. Then you tag five others. So here it goes:

1. Kitchen sink:
-Someone must have just done the dishes- sure wasn't me! I hate the dishes and only do them when I am told to. Ya I know I am such a grown up right? lol

2. Toilet:
-I no longer have to share a bathroom, so it is always clean as well! Yay!

3. Laundry Room:
-We for sure don't have a laundry "room" it is a closet! Kind of a pain! And not until I uploaded the pic did I realize there is a giant America West magnet stuck on the front of our washer! lol I am real observant! Not!

4. Fridge:
-My fav thing in there is definitely the milk! I would eat milk and cereal for every meal- seriously!!

5. What are your kids doing right now?
- Well these are the closest things to "kids" at my house. Pepper was waiting for dad to come back in the house and Sandy was chilling on the floor.

6. Favorite Pair of Shoes:
-Without a shadow of a doubt my Phoenix Suns Nikes!! These shoes are awesome and you can tell I am a Suns fan from a mile away! lol I wore these for gym every day at the MTC and I got the nickname Phoenix!

7. Favorite Room:
-For sure my bedroom!! It is my sanctuary. And it is ALWAYS clean! I am kinda spastic when it comes to my room- it has to be spotless!

8. Closet: Nothing special. Most of my stuff is still packed up in boxes. I only unpacked the essentials.

9. Dream vacation: It seriously changes depending on the month but right now it is for sure Provo Utah!! I really miss my Utah friends and I am DYING to see them again SOON!!


10. Self-Portrait
-Lucky for you I got tagged on a Saturday, so my hair was done and I had make up on!!

Now I get to tag five others! Camille, Lindsay Frost, Adam, Kilie and Amy your turn! You better do it!!! :)