Skeet Shooting and Halloween Party

Last night I had a church activity at my home. It was a dutch oven dinner and also skeet shooting. I only was able to hit 4 out of 15 skeet but had a lot of fun anyway. I felt that I did quite well considering that I hadn't shot skeet since I was a teenager. I was involved in the same activity last year and hopefully it'll happen again next year because I do look forward to it...






I was invited to a Halloween dance/party last night in Afton as well. An uncle and aunt sent me a Texas Tech football jersey a few years ago. So I decided to dress up as an athlete. I've never been very creative with my Halloween costumes, but it was amusing to see the people who dressed up as Dracula and Elvis at the party especially.

Surprise Birthday Party

This past weekend David & Sheila came back to Wyoming to attend a surprise 30th birthday party for me. The previous weekend I accidentally overheard a phone conversation between my Dad & his friend about it so I wasn't as surprised as some people probably hoped, but tried to pretend that I was not to spoil it. It was held at Tekk Golf in Thayne. So I enjoyed being able to spend time with my friends Korry and Tara Wheeler who have both been very nice to me for as long as I've known them. I'm glad that their business was available to use as a venue for it because it was convenient to have the party just a few miles from my home. I've been very overwhelmed by all of the kindness from the people who continue to mean the most to me on that night and this month.

I also appreciated that Sheila was willing to discretely contact some of my closest friends from high school to make sure that they were invited to attend the party. I knew there was a reason that I believe that she's the best sister ever. It does bother me that I'm still not aware of exactly who all of Sheila's closest friends are yet to be able to return the favor on her 30th birthday.

Even though none of the friends she invited were able to attend the party Sheila sent me some of the responses from those friends yesterday and it really touched me how thoughtful my friends were in taking the time to wish me well while also indicating that they hoped it was a very memorable night for me & that my friendship meant quite a bit to them. I appreciate each of my closest friends who I still consider as family. I'm so thankful that several of them have basically bent over backwards to make sure that my life is very enjoyable.

My Uncle Dahl gave me a country CD and also a soft rock CD that he put together from some CDs he has. It's been especially fun to listen to some of those "old" 90s country songs again I memorized back when I originally heard that Teddy liked music just a little and to remember that I was wishing like crazy she'd somehow want to become my friend in high school by my birthday that year. To her credit she's been a much better best friend than I could have ever originally imagined Teddy would be. It still seems surreal that she's been willing to be so supportive of me for as long as she has...





Here are some of the highlights from the best birthday of my life so far...

Several Happy Birthday signs just in case an old person like me started to become confused about why the party was happening...




My 30th birthday cake. When I first saw it I was amused that it had the Utah Jazz and Denver Broncos logo on it...


A very tasty dinner featuring the largest turkey ham and/or roast beef hoagie sandwiches I've ever seen...


Golfing on the golf simulator...






My birthday gifts including a very nice quilt intended as a UW graduation gift from my Schwab relatives...
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Sheila & David picked up the movie Robin Hood that I wanted to see for a long time and I also received two more $15 iTunes gift cards for my iPod...





I felt very spoiled and blessed on this birthday to say the least. I especially am grateful to still be in touch with my best friends because my life wasn't very fun without them when I was in my early 20s and I'm so glad that I can continue my friendship with them now. I've also certainly appreciated several kind comments on this blog that I've referred back to quite often whenever I'm in the middle of a frustrating day.

Christmas & New Year's

Sheila & David came to Wyoming for Christmas. I enjoyed spending time watching movies, playing some new card games & visiting with them...













I also attended a New Year's Party & Dance, in Afton, this year. I had fun meeting some new people, dancing, and also playing games, such as Spoons or Rummy, that I'd never played before. I met identical twin sisters who treated me as if I was their best friend & so I especially enjoyed spending time with them even though it was difficult to remember which of them I was talking to sometimes. I appreciated the reminder that it's important for me to make more of an effort to be kind to everyone.





I'm grateful that I still have family & extraordinary best friends in my life who continue to be supportive of me. I feel very blessed & am already looking forward to several more memorable moments in 2011...

Day #1: A picture of yourself

Pictures Tag

Day 01 - A picture of yourself
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04 - A picture of your night
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd like to trade places with for a day
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most crazy things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you like
Day 13 - A picture of people who inspire you
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture and a letter
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 28 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thursday:





Friday & Saturday:
Star Valley High School Alumni Basketball Tournament

UNLV at BYU Football

50 Things I'm Thankful For

1. Religious Beliefs
2. True Friends
3. My Family
4. Memorable moments
5. Health
6. Kindness
7. Compliments
8. Cousins
9. Uncle & Aunts
10. Grandparents
11. Knowledge/Education
12. Sports
13. Music
14. Freedom
15. My Disability
16. A home to live in
17. The various seasons of the year
18. Bad days that make me appreciate the good days even more
19. New experiences
20. Vacations
21. Things to look forward to
22. Blogging
23. Skills & abilities that I have so far in life
24. New friends in recent years
25. Laughter
26. Technology
27. A unique personality
28. Beautiful scenery or a scenic drive
29. Accomplishing goals
30. Traveling
31. Memories from growing up
32. Learning from past mistakes
33. Being an American
34. Sunshine
35. Living in New Mexico for a change of scenery
36. Movies
37. Books
38. Entertainment/The talents of other people
39. Humor
40. Being able to improve a little every day & trying to be better than I might have been yesterday.
41. Sunrises
42. Sunsets
43. Accomplishing Goals
44. History
45. Food
46. Medicine
47. Scouting
48. Wisdom
49. Contentment
50. The simple things that make life worth living

A "BYUtiful" Weekend

Yesterday I attended the Wyoming & BYU football game in Provo. I arrived about an hour before kickoff and still enjoyed the pregame activities despite the rainy weather...





Watching the game with my Dad. (BYU won 25 to 20)...









Halftime...




Talking with my extraordinary best friend Kara...




During the game I decided that I'd still try to complete a Criminal Justice degree from U of Wyoming even though my tuition fees apparently haven't been helping UW's athletic programs very much and I'll always be a BYU fan... :)



After the game I ate at the Chinese restaurant Canton City with David, Sheila, my Dad and Jim Wheeler...





It turned out to be one of the more memorable days of my life and I'm looking forward to going to another game sometime...