A Walk Down Memory Lane

My little sister Alyssa and her hubby Briggs graduated from BYU-Idaho this last Friday. So I had the opportunity to make a quick trip back to my alma moder and a good excuse for the family to gather.

I loved being reminded of the school that I loved and who I became while attending the school. In loving memory of this school I hope you will enjoy the following list I found online.

You know you lived in Rexburg if...

1. People judge you because of where you live
2. If a guy wants to be a big spender he takes you to Wingers
3. Shopping sprees include Walmart
4. You go on a date with someone and you find out they are engaged with someone else two weeks later
5. You get a text from a member of the opposite sex around 11:30 pm and they don't just wanna chat...
6. If a guy has a big truck/hummer, he is usually compensating for something
7. Rules are more strict in college then back home
8. You have been called a whore and you are still a virgin... obviously
9. You are 18+ and must sneak out of apt to stay out later than midnight
10. You have margarita nights... virgin of course
11. You go to the big city for fun... Idaho Falls
12. You feel super cool if you go to Provo for the weekend
13. 1/2 of BYUI is made up of people from the state of Washington
14. You have never played sports but you always make the team
15. You still have class if its -20 degrees... and you have to walk cuz the car wont start
16. You fall at least twice in winter on the stupid ice
17. You have gone on a date with someone at least two of your roommates have also gone out with
18. You stepped behind the chastity line and felt bad
19. There IS a chastity line...
20. Sunday dinner is a big freakin deal!
21. Parties get shut down by 10:00 pm
22. The best parties are at Shelbourne South Tower
23. The best dances are at Pinnacle or APX
24. You went to Fight Night or DBW and felt cool
25. You got sent home for wearing flip flops to class
26. You are fully aware of the floors and their meanings in the library
-3rd social floor and the cool place to study
-2nd the place to go to actually study
-1st no one really knows... just go there
27. You go to third floor to get a date
28. You have been a victim of a phone number contest
29. You have been involved in a prank war
30. Brian Regan and Dane Cook quotes run rampant
31. Age is definitely not an issue in dating...
32. You have had a roommate that gets mad when you are late for curfew
33. There IS a curfew...
34. You feel like a failure if not married by 21... old single and unimportant HA
35. You are basically going to hell if you live at the Ridge or Tuscany
36. You never meet anyone new at bonfires
37. You know what and where the Crack is
38. You have gotten in a snowball fight that was broken up by the police
39. Ramirez is the place to go after curfew
40. You skipped FHE and got lectured by your Bishop
41. You have had a made up calling (asst sunday school music director)
42. You know at least 5 people who have been either RS pres or EQ pres
43. You know what it means to "watch a movie" on a date
44. You have accidentally made out with someone you just met an hour before... whoops
45. You have done your hair and/or makeup to go work out
46. You have walked out in a towel and it was not just your roommates gawking at you awkwardly...
47. You know at least dos surrounding towns with less than 1000 people.
48. You have swam in an irrigation ditch
49. You know that Rigby lake is more of a pond...
50. You can name at least 3 bridges that you can jump off of
51. You are considered a gangster if you listen to rap
52. You know all the mormon swear words and use them regularly (fetch, snap, flip, shiz)
53. You have been yellow flagged for saying crap in a sports game
54. On Sunday evenings you watch Disney movies
55. You have to choose between the Superbowl and a CES fireside... and the Superbowl usually wins
56. You watch the Disney channel but won't admit it until someone else does it first
57. You have been involved in at least one ward talent show
58. You have secretly kept a pet in your apt
59. You can find out anything about anyone on campus cuz everyone knows everyone else's biznass
60. You get dirty looks as you walk home Tuesday at 2

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The cute graduate!

Proud Parents

Siblings together for the first time in months

A fell0w attendee felt the need to air out her foot during the ceremony

Do you want a laugh today?

So my cute coworker sent me a link to a story in mormontimes.com about a fun spoof on mormon mommy blogs.

According to the article:

"The site was created in June by an individual who prefers to remain anonymous but who via e-mail correspondence claims to be a married 25-year-old Mormon mom living in Utah. "Seriously, so blessed!" was intended to be a good-natured response to those perky mommy-blogs so prevalent in family circles."

And I love it!!!!

Some of my favorite posts include:

Luv @ home

Hooray for Date Night

eternity in a bun

Ok, there are too many.

I don't know what I love more about the posts: The fact that I know 5 million girls are like this or that sometimes I am tempted to write like this...Ewk!

What Could I Possibly Be Doing That Warrants a Post?

As many of you are aware, I am not very good about blogging. In fact, I can say that this is my first solo post since the inception of coleandmaura.blogspot.com. You might be thinking, "if he has not posted before, why now?" Two words for you. Operations management. That's right I am not ashamed to admit that this post comes from the University of Utah right in the middle of class.

If there is one class that you can't wait to get out of, this one takes the cake! But hey, it gives me the opportunity to get the blogging world caught up on my life (Not that my life is too interesting).

Balancing work, school, and life has been quite the task. My internship has kept me busy working between 50 and 60 hours a week. Don't get me wrong, I would not trade my internship for anything. It has provided me with invaluable experiences and opportunities (and overtime pay isn't bad either). On top of it all I am enrolled in 9 credit hours. Needless to say, when I get home at night I am ready to kick back and relax before starting it all over again the next day.

Last week we were sent to New York to visit the offices in NY & NJ. What a change from SLC. It was so awesome, and the food wasn't anything to complain about either. I will post pictures when I get home, because lets get real, who wants to read a blog post without pictures. That's pretty much my life this summer. There is actually a lot of exciting events that have transpired this summer with Maura and I, of which I'm sure we will post more about at a later time.

This concludes my first ever solo flight in the blogging world. I hope you are still coherent as I leave you with a final thought. A wise man once said "if you don't want to be criticized, say nothing, do nothing, and BE NOTHING."

-C

[Photos added 3 days later by Maura :) ]

Tree Huggers Beware

So as Cole and I were driving home from Bed Bath and Beyond last night we almost gave a very loud honk to the driver in front of us...

Our frustration started when Cole realized the car in front of us was a Acura something, something model something, something year that he really liked and there were about 15 bumper stickers all over the back end. In Cole's eyes, this person had successfully ruined his favorite car.

We read through some of the normal "I hate Bush" ones and even pondered the depth of the "Don't eat meat" one. Our favorite was one of a Native American man and the phrase "The earth is not ours, We are the earth's."

At that point we had to give this person props for believing enough in each cause to post it on his/her bumper. I mean that takes some measure of belief, right?

Right as we came to this realization, a cigarette butt flew out of the car window and landed on the ground.

No words folks, no words.

Can I get a Woop, Woop for UVU

Well, at least the concert celebrating the former UVSC becoming UVU. Because Collin Raye, Joe Nichols and Josh Gracin were in line to perform, Cole and I thought it would be fun to help the now University celebrate.

We went with Ashly, Ryan and their new baby, Zachery. Let me tell you, I am not sure who I enjoyed more- the performers or that baby. What a cute little guy.

Yeah for summer evenings and good friends to share it with!

Handy Work

When Ashley (a.k.a Twinner), one of my dearest girlfriends from the BYU-Idaho dorm days, announced she was having her first baby, both Katie and I agreed we wanted to give her something special. With one quilt under my belt we thought it would be a great gift for the baby to be.

Now if you remember, Ashley was expecting a little girl...right up until the point the doctor said, "You have a beautiful baby boy." Imagine my surprise after weeks (ok, a few months) of working on this.

Either way, I hope this blanket makes its way around one of her beautiful babies, even if it has to wait for a few more years. :)

I ♥ Tim McGraw

Did you know?

1. Tim McGraw was dubbed "country music's first metrosexual" by W magazine;
2. While helping stepfather Horace Smith deliver cottonseed throughout Louisiana, Tim McGraw first developed a passion for country music. The pair spent their long trips in Smith's 18-wheeler listening to country tunes;
3. Of his humble beginnings, Tim McGraw had this to say to the Washington Post in 1999, "I see it like [Roberto Benigni] at the Oscars: 'I want to thank my parents for giving me the best gift of all: poverty.' It gives you something to strive for.";
4. Tim McGraw and wife Faith Hill have a rule that they're never apart for more than three days in a row;
5. Tim McGraw gave up his dream of becoming a lawyer (inspired by watching Al Pacino's ...And Justice for All) when he became a hard-partying college kid. "I got into school, picked up a guitar, joined a fraternity, and started sucking down kegs," he told Esquire in 2006. "Law went out the window when my grades came back."; and
   
6. Tim McGraw performed at the USANA Ampitheater last Friday night.

That's right folks, for a sweet $35, Cole and I (along with our super cool friends, Jarad and Ashley) were able to experience this...

Ivins Ward YW Camp

Last week, me and three of our Young Woman (youth ages 12-18) headed into the Spanish Fork canyon for Girls Camp. And let me tell you..we were camping. None of this "cabins", "cafeteria food", "swimming in the lake with the blob" kind of camping for us. We were roughing it and I have the poison ivy to prove it!

A few highlights for me included:

• Pitching our tents on 60 degree slant to comply with the latest fire code (all tents must be 30 feet from the fire pit);

• Winning the Dutch oven cooking contest with our delicious Chocolate Marshmallow Cake;

• Waking up at 4:30 a.m. for the amazing sunrise hike;

• Nightly scripture study/journaling sessions with the girls;

• A constant scramble for a unique and funny cheer during ward role calls;

• Throwing away all the foil dinners after the coals got too cold to actually cook the food... and then feeding the best of those to one of the visiting stake leaders;
  

• My girl's constant obsession with keeping "secret sisters" a secret, even though there were only three of them;

• Spiritual hike hosted by the stake leaders;
  

• Sneaking home on Friday for a quick shower and the Tim McGraw concert (Updates to follow);

• Driving behind my counselor, Heather, as she tried to make it out of the camp area in her Hyundai.
  

Thanks to my great counselors, I really only had to worry about getting everyone home alive and happy. Thanks so much, you guys. What a blast!

Sunrise Hike