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Sunday, July 26, 2009

ode to jonathan


oh my amazingness! while in the middle of posting my blog for last sunday I realized i needed to get some pictures off of facebook----long story short my brother had just replied to my random inquisitive message and while reading it I pretty much wanted to first a) print it off and frame it b) run out to tell the world how incredible my brother is and c) burst into tears of prideful joy that I am related to such a guy so in honor of his birthday this week and his mission farewell I wanted to post some things about this little guy!

1) good gracious that child never stops moving! he is constantly seeking ways to get out and be put to good use--and trust me many people depend on his energy and skill to accomplish many 'honey-dos' He is one of the few people that know who truly puts his needs last---he is always ready and waiting for a sign that he can help out

2) he is so good! words can't even describe it---most guys who are adorable like him have the EGO to match and the attitude that makes you want to smack them....but not jonathan seriously knows what it is like to be on both ends of the social spectrum---and is now therefore a rooter for the underdog! but he does it with subtle grace few could match.

3) daredevil du jour! serioulsy this kid knows how to live it up--and never backs down. He has been injured on numerous occasions for doing some of the most ridiculous things but he faces his challenges head on and with confidence sans FEAR! which for a worry-wort extrodinary, such as myself, is a very admirable envied attribute that I one day hope to have just a little bit of.

5) vacations would not be the same without him! it goes hand in hand with my dad! here is how our family works---
President: Dad
Vice President: Jonathan (yeah really the youngest)
Secretary (or as I like to call it Executive Officer of Management): Me
Historian [and resident smile maker]: Valerie [we wouldn't have photographs without her]
Public Relations: Mom (we also call her the groupie ha ha!)
see so our family would not function very well without the VP there to assist the president.
I don't know what we are going to do for two whole years without a VP or Historian---essentially we will probably go places, have no pictures, no laughing, and no daredevilness man my life is going to be boring for a while.

fascinating really...

Okay so I got a little behind in the blogging so lets see if I can at least catch the highlights!
July 5th
this is how I spent my birthday---secretely with no one knowing enjoying some wonderful Taco Soup! it is such a good recipe---I'll have to post it on BrainsBonBons

just for you mom :) in this picture Esther (who is in the same ward) Abbie and then me
July 18th
so last week must have been absolute amazing cause I didn't post a blog about and right now I'm really trying to think of what i was going to write----yeah i got nothing. Its not like I haven't done anything oh wait I do remember one thing
we went to a roller derby! let me just say it was so random! at first we were sitting so far back and my lack of roller derby expertise left me just watching skaters name 'Ann Thrash" "dee tox" "Hilary Skank" and "Jenna Talia" (yeah really) go around in circles. BUT later we went down to the floor-peoples in this picture that I know....the cute little blonde far left is Stephanie Cook, then Erin (teal shirt pink bag [she is like seriously amazing!], then Jeremy is in blue, then Sarah in pink v-neck, then Collin, then me, then Abby in pink...
--and some people were talking to them. Come to find out they are like computer engineers, teachers, and stay at home moms. After that and being up close to the action-watching all the fights-it was a really fun night!


July 12th

so I had known about this "popcorn party" for days now----never knowing that it was for me they all sang happy birthday!
it was so sweet of them to go to that effort for me! so many people were coming up to me and saying happy birthday! Thanks girls! you are the bestest! In order of appearance Katie and Holly (my roommates), me then Abbie......Abbie was even it on the whole planning! and then this shot was taken during the awesomely speedy cleanup!

then on July 20th
left to right: Jeanna, me, Abbie, Natalie, and Shelly
it became "official" we got our white coats. So the exact significance behind the event i still don't feel like I fully understand but it still---I got to see Aunt Janette--she came all the way to watch AND even took me out to dinner! oh bless her heart!


these are my girls! don't we look impressive!
its gonna be some interesting months ahead-
--but i think i'm gonna like it

I know I missed a few days in between but really I was probably just studying! :)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

midterms--what?! already?

weekly blog update today is going to be pretty boring peoples cause last week was midterms! lets just say I was expecting worse---BYU style weeder class type worse. but even then I am a horrible HORRIBLE test taker so I knew I needed to uber prepare. so my days went something like this...wake up study, scripture study, eat, class, study, study, study, gym, study, sleep, wake study--did i mention I studied and then REPEAT for 4 days. miraculously I got the things I needed done and then friday July 3rd they closed campus so I got to breathe--well sorta. After a FULL day of studying I let myself have a break and I went to see 'The Proposal' with Abbie and Jill. I wish Shelly, natalie and Jeanna could have all made it. We got a $2 student discount (yay!) and granted it wasn't my most favorite movie but it made my cheeks hurt frome laughing and Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock are certainly favorites of mine. and it was DEFINITELY wonderful not to have to study.
Saturday I went rock climbing with Erin, Spendy and Abbie! it was AWESOME especially after a totally awesome kickboxing class and a fabulous lunch with my Aunt Janette, Uncle Glenn, Nathan and Matthew at Unos. I love Unos!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

good grief---blessings can be rough (;

whoa this time things has gotten out of control. valerie is leaving the MTC this tuesday and I've only written her once yeah one time good grief I'm horrible! i'm looking into dear elder.com for future letters but the newsletter thing---its gotta be in color of course i have to make things complicated. I love these two! so they are worth the effort!

so this week let me give you a little run down
sunday----i didn't write this last week cause it happened after i wrote my blog but..
.
my car---well it. . .it just didn’t start. and at the most convenient time to right when i was headed to church. I was almost stranded at home thankfully my roommate Holly hadn’t left just yet (blessing #1). But what to do about my dead car. like i know anything about cars--if i did mine would certainly be treated better. luckily Holly had a friend come over that night for dinner. he just happens to be a race car driver and used to be a mechanic (blessing #2). He diagnosed the battery and offered to take me to the store to buy one right now but I told him not to worry about it and I would go the next day. Thankfully Abbie could pick me up for our 7am class (3) and she was gracious enough to also take me to Autozone to buy a new battery (4). which I was so determined to install myself. Too bad after an hour of research and an hour of trying (stupid corroded battery terminals) in the heat feeling defeated I had to resign my efforts and call for help---thankfully my home teachers had just come over the on sunday (5) and one of them said he could come jump start the car (6). autozone said they could replace it sicne i bought it there (7). back to autozone. the manager Chris recognized me again and teased me about coming back. (which made me smile) but tony helped change the battery. I got a chance to talk to tony while he changed the battery (yeah after watching him there was no way I could have done it on my own) He used to play for the raiders and almost married a mormon girl from Logan Utah he is from a small town in Nevada. He has 7 kids of his own and a bad shoulder-which is why he is no longer a football player. Talking to him was a nice distraction from the list I was complining in the back of my mind of what I needed to be doing.but somehowe I made it to my(8) class
to let off some steam and look goofy for an hour. and ultimately I did get at least something done.
The next day I was headed to the cadaver lab
early to meet up with Abbie and some friends to review----jump in the car---dead. my first thought was like---'yeah, no, this isn't happening--not again!' my next thoughts were a swirling composte heap of panic about how to fix this-I felt stranded, overwhelmed and I had MIDTERMS to study for (okay so they were a week away but still). I was supposed to be at school in like 5 minutes
[(9) afterthought it was a HUGE blessing that I wasn't late to a class]. Abbie was already there. feeling defeated and on the verge of tears I walked back in the house. I asked holly about the jumper cables she said she had. but turns out she doesn’t. she suggested asking the neighbors. So at 9am I bothered the neighbors. they didn’t have any---‘ask the gardner’---so I bothered the gardner. he didn’t have any. neighbor comes back out—‘oh wait I do have some’ but not knowing how to really used them I couldn’t get the car started. after a mini panic (and several pleas to a higher power for help) holly graciously offered to give me a ride to school (10) and again Abbie a ride home (11). thankfully holly had another guy friend (she has a lot of guy friends she likes to cook for) came over for dinner and he jump started my car before my hometeachers even had a chance to come over (12). back to autozone. where I met steve he was quiet but he too almost married a mormon girl. I don't know how the mormon subject kept coming up---okay it was probably the utah license plates.
after about an hour he diagnosed the car-the alternator. he said he’s pretty sure they would have the part (13). I asked if he knew some place I could get it replaced. and that is where chris came it. chris recognized me from my two time visit the day before and he said he could replace it for me (14). what are the odds---I’m really blessed (did you loose count cause i almost did). car better.

so now that the week was half over i buckled down to study. [yeah 5 am-10pm minus a few errands and a zumba class]

Thankfully Abbie got me out of the house on saturday with a couple of other girls and their husbands to have a little bbq get together and play in the pool. we even got to watch fireworks from her balcony--then eat dessert AND watch brian regan. NOW that is a perfect way to celebrate the 4th of July the next day just happened to be my birthday. And I was really excited that no one here knew about it! Holly was having a dinner party that night (which turned out wonderful!) and as soon as Holly posts the pictures i'll add them to my blog! and then I went to Erin's housewarming dessert party. So i got to free healthy wonderful dinner, I got to hang out with friends and I got to talk to my friends and family----IT was a WONDERFUL birthday!