Carpe Tarp

I told my mom that I would blog

the story of our Traveling to Utah...

It was quite comical.

First and foremost, 

My Grandparents are the Best. 

All 4 of them. 

I truly appreciate all of the effort they put into helping out!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Second and still very important-

My Mother is Magnificent.

I mean, 

who else would drive 12 hours one day, 

help unload the truck, 

sleep for a few hours,

get up crazy early and go to walmart,

and drive back 12 hours that day?

Only a Mom. 

I love her.

I made a split second decision to move back to Utah.

I honestly can't tell you why it happened.

But so far things have fallen into place-

Which is a huge blessing!

I am still looking for a job,

I have a few leads....

HOPEFULLY 

I can get one soon.

ANYWAY, 

Back to the story of our travels.

The day came very quickly, 

I was a little sleep deprived

 from packing for 3 nights straight after work...

but I was so proud of myself for getting rid of so much junk.

{I'm an aspiring hoarder.} 

When I woke up,

I got ready and started loading the truck.

I fit everything but the guitar...

which is pretty good considering 

the fact that I still had WAY too much stuff.

Drew and I folded a tarp

and put it over the back of the truck.  

We fastened it with some of those 

ratcheting straps...

Do I know what they are really called? 

Nope.

Drew even showed me how to work them

Just in case we got stopped by the Dam Police {ha.}

Mom & I stopped at sonic {for crack ice} and away we went! 

In the wrong direction... for an hour. Oops.

Want to tell me how we did that even with a GPS?

Yes. It's true. 

I am THE WORST driver in the world.

I'm a great navigator...but if I'm the one driving,

FORGET IT.

During that hour,

the tarp came loose, 

so we had to pull over and shove it 

under some of the things in the back.

We started in the right direction after that.

{Remember how we also lost an hour switching to daylight savings time?}

We jammed to some Broadway classics.

And when my CD ended, 

One of my Grandparents started...

{we borrowed Papa's Truck}

And I was like,

"I've never heard this song before."

I didn't realize that it had switched CD's.

We had a good laugh about that 

because it happened like 4 times.

By the last time I said, 

"Hey, this song sounds familiar..."

{Remember the sleep deprivation?}

We stopped and learned how to get diesel gas.

{You have to go to the pumps with the green hose.}

And we stopped to fix the tarp a few more times.

We also found out that the overpass by the 

Hoover Dam was done. 

So we took that.

And laughed really hard

when mom made a crack about 

no more Dam Construction.

{Gosh I love her!}

The best tarp story was when

we had to stop on the side of the freeway.

And we got out and literally almost got blown away.

There was TONS of dust. 

I've never been where the wind blows that strongly.

By this point we had pulled the ropes so tight 

that we couldn't get them undone without some major effort.

so we started pulling at the tarp to unfold one side 

to tuck it down even farther into the truck.

I think we pulled for 10 minutes. 

I had to climb up on top of the load to pull at the straps,

mom was pulling at the tarp...

All the while the wind was blowing our shirts up around our shoulders. 

hahaha!

We are trying to hold our shirts

AND 

Fix the tarp 

WHILE 

laughing 

Hysterically.

I finally tucked in the front corner of my shirt,

We thought we had the tarp situated,

and we started off again.

Two seconds later we had to stop and fix it again.

Same drill. 

And when we got back in the car,

Our hair was AMAZING.

I wish I had a picture.

So the next stop was a gas station to fill up

and buy some bungee chords to really hold that stupid tarp down!

Guess who walked into the gas station

with the front part of their shirt tucked in?

This goofball.

Between my hair and my shirt,

it. was. fabulous.

We also figured out at that stop

that the cooler had been leaking on

some really nice art that I brought.

Luckily the sheet it was wrapped in

soaked up most of the water and the art was ok.

From that point on, 

the tarp stayed put.

{HOORAY!}

We drove and drove and drove some more.

With an hour left on the drive, 

I started getting antsy.

So Mom drove.

We rolled into Provo at about 10:30{Really 11:30}

and started unloading

{Kelley, Tara, Me & Mom} 

And two boys, that none of us knew,

asked if we needed some help. 

What a blessing they were! 

They helped carry in the REALLY heavy boxes.

They probably saved us an hour of unloading.

And then just as quickly as they had showed up,

they were gone!

{We all hoped that they were rewarded for their awesomeness.}

After that, Mom went to bed.

Kelley, Tara & I stayed up late talking and catching up.

Mom & I got up early the next day 

and went shopping and 

then she took off. 

The last hour of the drive was hard for her too.

But she made it back home.

{so glad!}

I am really glad to be back!

I'll have to blog about more adventures soon!

{♥.}

General Conference & Other Wanderings

As promised, "The Utah" post.

Warning. 

It's a novel.

THURSDAY

Kaylee & I took off in Ruby on Thursday.

We drove alllllllll daaaaayyyyy and sang show tunes for the first half of the trip

and 'glee' songs {no repeats!} for the rest of the trip.

You had better believe that there were some mad dance skills

& sustained high notes goin' on.

We also played 'Hey Cow'. If you have never played, 

well....make sure you have some throat lozenges handy.

Haha.

FRIDAY {You're Welcome :) }

The next day we went to Kneaders.

We went around 11, so Kaylee & Jessica got some french toast,

& I decided that I wanted a Panini.

Well, she got her french toast....and Jessica got some french toast....

and I waited patiently for my Panini.

After about 15 minutes, I went and talked to the manager,

"Oh, it should be right out!" 

"Okey doke!"

Fifteen minutes later I went and talked to them again.

"Uhm, I'm not mad, I just want my food..."

"We are SO sorry! Here's a free cookie!"

{Let me just say, the Panini was cold and the cookie was not better.

I am told I need to stick to the french toast.} 

But we laughed it off and then did some shopping.

After we shopped a little bit, 

we went to the 

Sacovitches, Sackovitches, Sacowitches Sakovitch's 

{Spell check anyone?}

where we stayed Friday & Saturday night- to 

drop off our luggage.

And then we picked up 

Lars & Chelsey so we could go to dinner 

and then to Kaylee & Larz's Mission Reunion.

We went to dinner and I was last to order.

Chelsey, Larz, and Kaylee all got their food....

and I waited. And Waited. And waited.

20 minutes went by and I went and talked to them.

Oh! Sorry it will be right out.

At this point I almost started crying.

Let's just say that the day was an

emotionally stressful one for me....

And when I don't eat, I get even more emotional.

10 minutes later, my food arrived 

with a coupon for a free meal.

We laughed again. 

Late food twice in one day! 

From then on, I was not allowed to be the last one to order my food.

At the mission reunion Chelsey & I went & talked 

in the lobby. We didn't know anyone and they were all talking in 

Espanol. We had fun!

After that we went home and got ready for bed.

Saturday

I woke up at 4am and could NOT go back to sleep.

So I listened to music and tried not to move on the creaky bed.

Oh man. I laugh just thinking about it!

Around 7:30 I got up and got ready-

And at 8:30 Andy picked me up and we headed 

to his house for breakfast. 

{Which was YUMMY french toast!}

So we ate and then played the piano, 

and then watched the first session of General Conference.

Then we took the Trax down to City Creek Mall,

which is GORGEOUS.

It has a creek running through it. And a retractable glass roof

"so when it's raining you can still eat your ice cream outside"

as Andy said. 

{Sounds like my kind of day!}

It also has some fountains that the designers of The Bellagio fountains designed.

We didn't get to see them in action, but that is on my list 

for this summer.

This is a view from the Sky Bridge 

It was awesome!

{and perfect for people watching}

We toured a few stores-

 They have some fabulously trendy ones, 

like H&M, Nordstrom, Tiffany & Co.

and Brooks Brothers where we met John Barraclough

who is one of the nicest gentlemen I have ever met, 

and Andy tried on some fancy suit jackets.

John even has embossed business cards. 

Talk about fancy!

We then went to the Conference Center and

squeezed by a cute old couple to take our seats. 

Conference was great! {duh.}

Afterwards, we met up with Kaylee and she snapped a picture for us.

 {quality is poor because it was on my itouch-

but it's a good picture nonetheless, no?}

We headed back towards the mall and Andy snapped a picture for Kaylee & I

{because, silly us, we hadn't taken any.}

and then Kaylee & I headed to a girls dinner 

and Andy headed back for Priesthood session.

We stopped to take pictures of some beautiful blossoms

and snap another picture in the wind... Haha. 

And then we went to the Blue Lemon for dinner.

{No late food this time!}

We THEN went to Cocoa Bean.

Where my FAVORITE cupcakes are.

'Better than whatever'

Yeah. 

Yum.

It was a SUPER good day!

And on top of it all we decided to get a Hotel 

because we were on vacation and needed to relax.

So we splurged and stayed at the Hilton

Saturday & Sunday Night.

And OH, how GLORIOUSLY we slept.

Each in our own pillow-topped bed,

with a soft & heavy comforter.

Heaven!

Sunday

We woke up and watched conference.

We opened the window to see the mountains

& watched as the fog crept down them. 

Beautiful.

It was a pretty low key day.

Kelley & Tara came over and we caught up!

And then we decided to be roommates again.

Because THAT was so fun!

PS: Did anyone else bawl like a baby through 

that second session?

Especially in Elder Anderson's Talk?

{at about 8:30}

Monday 

We woke up and got packed up.

And then we went to breakfast @ Magelby's

where I ate one plate of french toast and

almost got sick. 

{And truthfully, it didn't compare to the french toast

I had on Saturday. Which was bomb.}

We then stopped back by the Hotel

because I was silly & had left my pillow 

and sweater. Oops.

We then drove off into the sunset blazing-ly bright sun  

and enjoyed the scenery on our way home.

{singing Disney songs most of the way.

Don't be jealous.}

And they all Lived Happily Ever After.

The End.

 {♥.}

A New Year.

Some are probably expecting all of my New Year Resolutions on this post. Well, that's not the case this year. I figure, that it is only an important NYR if I can keep it without being reminded or an attitude of  "I'm-scared-of-the-judgments-of-others-if-I-don't-keep-it". And you know, I think it will hold a higher accomplishment value if I can do all of the things I want to this year for myself; not for others. So while I need the support and encouragement of dear friends and family, I would like you to continue just being there for me. Thank you so much for your love! I have felt it strongly this past year.

And now, as 2010 has closed {with all of it's jobless-ness, moving, finding myself again (which is tough!), and all of the other negative things} I will leave those negative things behind, remember the finer moments of 2010, and hope, work, and pray for an even better 2011.

Finer Moments of 2010:
-Cleaning the Sink @ Angie's with my Roommies.
-Sledding & Watching Movies on the Bigscreen @ the McLaughlin's in Idaho.
-Directing the Ward Choir with LOTS of help and support of others!
-Singing in the BYU Women's Chorus & Being on the Publicity Committee when we 'Sold Out' a Solo Concert.
-Having Friends Come Visit me in Utah (Oh HEY Katie Williams!)
-Mom Coming up for Women's Conference
-Movie Nights/Going on Midnight Runs with Roommies and Nora.
-Blogging
-Road Trip to SLC to see Merica & Jaron get married and getting to see the rest of the Martin/Jansons too!
-Going to see the Gila Valley Temple
-Teaching Swimming Lessons
-Getting a New Job
-My last talk with Nora before she Went on a Mission.
-Going to Parker to Hang out with Kaighty Scott
-Visiting Ally Snow on Her Birthday
-Hanging out with the Brittney Chapman in Mesa
-Going to Josh & Kayla's Wedding Reception
-Shooting some engagements for Ben & Mallory
-Flying to Utah and Spending a week re-united with my BFF's (Honey, WHERE is my SUPER SUIT?!)
-Getting to see the Taylors
-Watching a FABULOUS BYU football game-We won!
-Having Sheri Ward come and visit AZ
-Thanksgiving at our house
-Running a 10k, doing one the next monday, and then going 10 miles the next monday after that.
-Having a Game Night at Grandma Gail's and Papa Tom's with Mary too!
-High School Lunch table Reunion.
-Singing in the Ward Choir and doing the Descant
-CHRISTMAS!
-Fireworks Christmas Night
-Going to Olive Garden with my Family to hang out and laugh our heads off.
-Going to see 'Tangled' with Mom & Stephie right after Olive Garden.
-Having a Girls night at Grandma Janet's
-New Years Eve Party at our house

I'm sure that SO many other moments could have been on that list. 2011 is going to be a Grand Year. I can feel it!

I hope that 2011 is a year of happiness for you too!

{♥.}

Summer's End

Wait, who am I kidding? Summer ending in Arizona? PFFFFFFFFTTTTT. Riiiiiiight.

Anyway, here are a few of the things I have been up to this summer.

#1. Twilight Party

Mom, S & I  were invited to a Party/ midnight showing of Eclipse. It was so fun! When we arrived at the party, it was all we could do to not drool over all of the fun decorations and yummy food! We walked up the driveway and I nearly jumped out of my skin...Edward was sitting in the car in the driveway! I thought it was a real person and when I came to my senses I thought that it was really creative to have a life size cutout in the car. Haha! Then, we walked into the back room and Jacob was outside staring in through the window.... Not to mention all of the quotes on the mirrors and the sugar "blood" on the glasses. We all had a grand time discussing our twilight fan-ness and playing creative trivia games. Thank you Amanda for hosting & Kiana for inviting us!

{all of the 'Yummy' things}

#2. Water Ballons & Youth

{My Girls. Love them!}

As you may have heard- I was called to be a leader in the Youth Group at my Church. Our first activity that I attended was a massive water balloon fight. The prep work consisted of filling up 500 balloons (just between my brother and I! There were a ton of balloons.) It was a pretty intense night. But the sky was absolutely gorgeous! It was a blast.

{Love how the Moon is right above those beautiful clouds}

#3. Visiting Kaighty in Parker, AZ

By the time July rolled around I was READY for a Vacation and I hadn't seen my friend Kaighty in over a year, so I decided to go visit! And may I just say, It was FABULOUS. We relaxed, ate good food, chilled (or rather, Baked) at the lake, watched some awesome movies, went shopping, caught up on our lives and enjoyed each other's company. She then came to my house and endured the longest monopoly game ever. :) Thank you Kaight for letting me come visit you!

#4. Started working at New Balance

Oh, How I LOVE my job! 1. I love shoes. 2. I love helping people and 3. I find old people and children HILARIOUS. Needless to say, it's a perfect job for me. And I now know a TON about shoes....If you have questions, please, ask me. I really do love it!

#5. Family Vacation in Sedona

Where to start? We all CRAMMED and I mean CRAMMED into the Van (I literally had a claustrophobia/panic attack in the backseat as we were leaving.) and drove for 2 hours to beautiful Sedona. We went swimming, watched movies, did puzzles, went hiking and had a 'Girls day' at Tlaquepaque....Shopping and jewelery making. Oh! And we went and watched the Meteor shower. It was breathtaking! I can't even tell you how much fun we had. It was our first (hopefully of many) 'Grown Up Family' Vacations.

{The Crammage.}

#6. Visiting Brittney in Gilbert, AZ

I went to see Brittney in Gilbert and she took me to Fountain Hills to see the Tallest fountain EVER. Haha. It was Superb. We then ate a wonderful lunch and headed to my new favorite store, Scrapbook inc. Guess how much I spent there? No wait. DON'T. I actually did VERY well restraining my personal purchases...but I sure "helped" Brittney find more than enough to buy. (Sorry Girl!) We then went and picked up some frosting so that Britt could teach me some basic cake decorating. I loved it! I wish that time permitted us to get together more often, though, I don't know if our bank accounts could take it. ;) haha!

Well, there you have it. I'm sure there will be many more adventures soon!

{ ♥.}

Utah Re-visited {+.}

{Only the beginning of the Insanity that was packing.}

Life is funny. Well, I think it is anyway.

Remember how I was scared to go to Utah? Silly me. It was fun! I had a good chat with Mom on the way up. We enjoyed the scenery, pointing with oohs and aahs here and there. There was even an awesome lightning storm on the way up.

Packing & cleaning everything was a little overwhelming, but eventually it all came together. And Surprisingly, we got everything into the van. Well, all except the fridge. {Which serves as my excuse to go back and visit soon.}

Visiting with friends was fabulous. We went and bugged the Taylors for about an hour. Sooz & Devin gave us the Grand Tour of their new house and told us of all of the fantastic ideas they have to improve their new living space. Mom & I LOVED it! We admired their ambition & ingenuity. Oh and a little tidbit of information that I thought was superfanamazwonglorfect? Mr. Nielson (the very one from The NieNie Dialogues) is the Taylor's home teacher. That means NieNie is in their ward!!! {A side note: I LOVE NieNie. And her Blog. And I think her Children are Adorable.} I even met one of NieNie's nieces. Haha! I'm a nut. But I think she is wonderful and brave and that's that!

I also visited with my dear friend Nora, who, in October is going to be Sister Nora Hansen, serving the people of the Hungary Budapest Mission. She & I talked about the Hand of God in our lives. And I saw the glow. Sister Nora Hansen has arrived and she is passionate about sharing anything that will improve the lives of others; Most especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And you know what? Her testimony is electrifying. I'm have been so unbelievably blessed by her friendship. {Nora, you are truly Beautiful. I will miss you terribly when you are no longer just a text away.}

After I got all checked/moved out, Mom & I watched the Kiera Knightly version of Pride & Prejudice. I love that movie! It, along with Emma and Sabrina, is definitely a favorite of mine. We stayed up WAY too late, and got up WAY too early the next morning. Driving home was tiring- poor Mom. She stayed awake & drove while D, C, and I slept. It was good to arrive home and unpack pile my entire apartment in the living room. Hopefully I will get to move into my new room soon, for Mom's sake, of course...

Anyway, I'm so glad that everything is coming together and that I've been able to see the hand of the Lord in my life. I've learned so much in the past couple of months, and I hope that this enlightenment period will last for awhile. It's been a long time coming.

{The only way to travel. Gotta have the tunes.}

{ ♥.}

Musical Morning

OH How glorious it is to start the morning off with song!

At the moment I am in the car listening to BYU Men’s chorus. Yes. You read that right. I am indeed in the car on a road trip to Thatcher while typing. {We are going to see the Gila Valley Temple. [And S too.] } I have three six whole hours to update my blog! Whew. I have a list AS LONG AS MY ARM reminding me what I need to write about. The only thing that may stop me is Car Sickness. It’s a terrible thing. Blugh. Hopefully, the wondrous little thing called Dramamine will work! Anywho…

I have been stalking reading several blogs that I LOVE lately, and I realized that the reason I love them is the authors are so down to earth and have a talent for writing eloquently and connecting with their readers. They are REAL. I want to be able to write like them. I SO enjoy reading a well written blog post. {Some of my favs? Visit these sites- you will love them too! {Chelsea} {Ashley} {NieNie} {Little Widder} } I hope to transform myself blog into one of these well written and loved blogs. I have big plans world- Look out! I’m a comin’!

{ ©.}

PS: I am attempting to make the posts short, so it doesn’t feel like you are reading a Novel… But there are 112  11 new ones, soooooo good luck, and thanks for checking up on me!

PPS: The Temple was BEAUTIFUL!

PPPS: I believe I have been working on this blog since 7:30am. It is now 12:17am. Sick.