Happy birthday, Ali!

3 Joys in My Life

1. Spending time with my family and friends
2. Reading
3. My blog

3 of My Fears

1. Losing Corey
2. Spiders
3. Australia–they don’t have to be rational fears

3 of My Goals

1. Finish school
2. Read The Book of Mormon by the end of the year
3. Read fifty books by the end of the year

3 of My Currents Obsessions

1. Anything related to Stephenie Meyer
2. Reading
3. Ewan McGregor

3 Random Facts About Me

1. I’m a lefty
2. I love the cold
3. I don’t like gravy, so I put ketchup on my mashed potatoes

3 People I Tag

1. Megan
2. Amber
3. Meagan

Happy belated birthday, Becky and Angie!

Yesterday was the last day I had to spend with my LeAnn and the others because I had to go back to work today. Fortunately, they’re not leaving until Sunday morning, so after work on Friday, I’m going to go back up to my parents’ and spend Saturday with them too.

We had so much fun yesterday! We decided to go to Park City. We went to Park City by way of Weber Canyon, so we could show John, Mary Ann, and Matt Devil’s Slide.

Once we got to Park City, we rode the Alpine Slide, Alpine Coaster, and the ZipRider. The Alpine Coaster was the best! We all wanted to ride it again, but at $18 a person, there was no way that was going to happen.

As we were leaving, Matt, Christopher, and Brandon jumped about 5 feet from a high sidewalk ledge to a tiny roof. They were about to jump about 8 feet to another ledge, but their moms told them not to. So, they climbed up there instead of jumping.

On our way home from Park City, we stopped off at Burger King for dinner. Brandon dared me to order my food in “deaf” talk. (It’s a talent I’ve had since I was about 9 years old. In fact, I embarrassed Caryn once because I talked “deaf” to a guy she liked and he thought I was really deaf. ) I accepted the dare and the lady behind the register didn’t know any different. It was awesome!

Because I had to be home for work today, my family decided to drive home by way of Provo, so they could drop me off and so LeAnn could see Orem High. We decided to stop off at Bridal Veil Falls for a bit. The kids had a blast in the water. Matt, Christopher, and Brandon hiked up to the upper ledge of the waterfall. The younger kids (Dustin, Scottie, Wyatt, and Noah) hiked up a ways too, but they didn’t make it up as high as Matt.

Yesterday was a lot of fun as too. Since yesterday was my nephew Christopher’s birthday, he wanted to have a movie night and invited Matt, Dustin, and Wyatt over to his house. With the kids gone, I helped LeAnn learn how to use her new MacBook a little better, and LeAnn, John, Mary Ann, Mom, Dad, and I played games for most of the day. We played Chicken Foot, of which LeAnn and I tied for winner, and Mille Bournes, which we didn’t end up finishing so we could go get Matt. (Dustin and Wyatt wanted to sleep over, whereas Matt didn’t since he’s not used to being around so many kids at a time. )

LeAnn, John, and I picked up Matt. Christopher and Brandon (my other nephew) decided to come too, so they could sleep over at my parents’. Since I’m more familiar with Utah roads, I drove my dad’s car. Everything went great on the way. On the way back, however, it was a different story. One of the things I’ve always been proud of is that in the 14 years I’ve been driving, I hadn’t received a ticket of any kind. Notice how that last sentence said “hadn’t” instead of “haven’t”?  Yeah, I can no longer say that.

I was given a ticket for driving 80 mph in a 55 mph zone and in a construction zone, which means the fine is doubled! Ouch! I hadn’t had a chance to slow down before the cop pulled me over, but I know that’s just a cop out (no pun intended).

I hadn’t seen Christopher and Brandon for almost two years, so it was a lot of fun to spend some time with them and see how much they’ve grown up! We took silly pictures on my computer, played Guitar Hero, and just hung out. I also helped LeAnn install and configure some programs on her computer as well.

While we were taking pictures, Cloe came up to love me. So, I even got a picture of me with her. I’m so glad she still loves me and remembers that I’m still her mom.

We didn’t end up going to bed until around 5:00 am. I still had to get up around 8:30 because my family wanted to go do something before it got too hot outside. (It was a noble idea to get out there before it heated up, but it failed miserably.) Around 9:30, Caryn (my older sister) and the rest of the kids showed up! Just like with Christopher and Brandon, I hadn’t seen any of them for about two years and I actually had never met Caryn’s youngest (Joely). So, it was really cool to see everyone again!

I wanted to show Caryn the pictures I had taken of Brandon, Christopher, and me last night. Once the other kids saw what I was doing, they wanted to get into the action because it looked like so much fun.

My dad inherited some guns from his dad when he died. When I was little, he used to take my siblings and me shooting. We used to shoot aluminum cans and stuff like that. We always had a good time, so LeAnn wanted to take her boys shooting. So that’s what we decided to do after going to Promontory Point to see the place where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met when they built the Transcontinental railroad.

Unfortunately, all the shooting ranges we went to were closed, so weren’t able to go shooting. But, we still had fun seeing the trains, getting some grub, and after we got back to my parents’ house, most of the family went to a park to feed some geese. I didn’t go because I fell asleep on my parents’ bed after calling Corey on the phone.

Wyatt didn’t go either because he was tired too. After we both woke up, I took a picture of us using my computer.

Happy birthday, LeAnn and Christopher!

This past week, I had a chance to see my cousin Don that I haven’t seen since I was five years old. He’s my dad’s nephew and he lives in Texas. He decided to come visit and he brought Kayla and Kessie, his daughters, with him.  (I’d never met Kayla or Kessie before.) Corey and I went out to dinner with them and my parents’ on Tuesday evening. It was a lot of fun to see him, even though I don’t really remember him, and meet his daughters as well.

Yesterday, was the last day Don and his girls were in town and the day LeAnn (my older sister), John (LeAnn’s boyfriend), Mary Ann (John’s mom), and LeAnn’s sons (Matt, Dustin, and Wyatt) arrived to visit for the week. My parents threw a party so the family could see them. I haven’t seen LeAnn, John, Dustin, and Wyatt since I visited them in Houston four years ago, and I haven’t seen Matt since he was three years old because he lives with his dad in Missouri.

Cindy (my older sister) and her family came down to visit as well. I haven’t seen Cindy or Cami (my niece) for a little over a year and the rest of them for about a year and a half now. So, it was good to see them as well.

Even though, I haven’t seen LeAnn and the boys for a long time, I decided to sleep over at Aymee and Dave’s (my niece and nephew-in-law) because there were so many people at my parents’. Aymee and I also wanted to have a game night. When she lived in Provo before she got married, she and I would play Settlers of Catan all the time. Since she’s got married, we haven’t really had a chance to do that very much, so we wanted to take the chance while we could. We had a good time! We didn’t finish the game until about 2:00 am, so we’re both a little tired today.

When I woke up this morning, Aubree (my great-niece) was really cute. She kept coming over to the couch and looking at me. She would smile and laugh and then run away. After a little bit of that, she started to mimic everything I did, including raising and shaking her arms in the air and saying, “Yay yah!”

Before I left Aymee and Dave’s to come back to my parents’, I wanted to get a picture of me and Aubree together. I’ve taken a few since she has been born, but because they were always with someone else’s camera, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of them. But, now I have some because I have my own digital camera thanks to a hand-me-down from Corey’s parents.

Happy birthday, Carlee!

I’m a pretty big fan of M. Night Shyamalan because I like the twists and the scariness factor in his movies. I remember being so scared when I saw The Sixth Sense the first time I saw it and how surprised I was when I realized Bruce Willis’s character was dead. I thought it was so cool! Since seeing that first movie, I’ve seen the rest of Shyamalan’s movies. I’ve liked some and I’ve hated some. My favorite is The Village and my least favorite is Signs.

Corey and I saw The Happening today after work. I liked the storyline a lot, but I’m not sure how I feel about the end. It was kind of strange and abrupt. I liked the actors cast in the movie, though, and I thought they all did a great job. I recommend that you should see it at least once if you’re a Shyamalan fan and you don’t mind R-rated movies. (It’s R-rated because of some gore.) If you don’t want to see it because you think it’ll be scary, then don’t worry about that because it’s not scary at all. In fact, it’s his least scary one.

I guess I’m Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. I agree with this for the most part because I do have a ways to go to completely understand how the real world works, even though I’ve come out of my shell quite a bit.

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all your life. Thankfully, you’re a very tranquil person who’s content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Happy belated birthday, Cassie! Happy birthday, Jeremy!

I was sent this e-mail today from my friend Cami and I’ve decided to post it on my blog for all to read.

1. Do you like blue cheese? No, that’s gross!
2. Have you ever smoked? No
3. Do you own a gun? No
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? Well, I don’t add anything to my drink, but I order a grape slush.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Depends on which doctor it is…
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I like corn dogs, but I don’t like hot dogs because they make me sick to my stomach.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? The Nightmare Before Christmas
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Milk
9. Can you do pushups? No
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? Earrings
11. Favorite hobby? I have lots of them, but I guess reading and maintaining my blog are my favorites right now.
12. Do you have ADD? What was I doing? Just kidding, no I don’t. I’m more OCD than ADD.
13. What’s one trait you hate about yourself? Self-destructive tendencies, meaning I blame myself for everything and I always talk down to myself.
14. Middle name: Elyse
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I’m tired, I’m bored, and I wish people would look at and comment on my blog more.
16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? Muffin, haircut, and hair dye
17. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, Gatorade, and milk
18. Current worry? Family drama that may ensue this weekend
19. Current hate right now? Microwave in my work’s break room. I bruised my finger on it.
20. Favorite place to be? With my family and/or friends
21. How did you bring in the New Year? Playing games and watching Michael Jackson music videos at Becky’s awesome New Year’s party!
22. Where would you like to go? Japan
23. Name three people you want to do this on their blog? Amber, Megan, and Meagan
24. Do you own slippers? Yes, but I rarely wear them.
25. What song makes you happy? “The Elephant Love Medley” from Moulin Rouge
26. What year would you go back in time to? 1993 to prevent a certain event from happening to me, or to resolve the issue the way it should’ve been resolved in the beginning.
27. Can you whistle? I try, but it’s sad.
28. Favorite color? Lavender
29. Would you be a pirate? As long as Captain Jack Sparrow were my captain
30. What songs do you sing in the shower? There are three songs that get into my head the most often and that’s what I would sing. The songs are the theme from Disney’s Robin Hood, “Yellow Submarine” by The Beatles, and the Oscar Meyer wiener song sung about my Darth Tater Mr. Potato Head. It goes like this: “My potato has a first name. It’s D A R T H. My potato has a second name. It’s T A T E R. I like to play with him every day and if you ask me why I’ll say: ’cause my Darth Tater has his way with P O T A T O yay!”
31. Favorite girl’s name: Mackenna
32. Favorite boy’s name: Nethaneel
33. What’s in your pocket right now? Lint
34. Last thing that made you laugh? Some screenshots of made up, but plausible, Windows Vista errors
35. Last thing that made you cry? Someone telling me that I hurt some people’s feelings by something I had posted, trying to be funny not mean, on one of the online forums I belong to.
36. Worst injury you’ve ever had? A really, really bad sunburn
37. Do you love where you live? Yes
38. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2
39. Who is your loudest friend? Besides myself, Danylle, Amber, or Lauren; but, I like loud people because they’re usually more fun!
40. How many dogs do you have? None, but I have 3 cats.
41. Does someone have a crush on you? I have no idea.
42. What is your favorite book(s)? (You asked for it)–Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Host, Dune, Dragon Prince, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass, You Are Special, and Fox in Socks
43. What is your favorite candy? Strawberry Twizzlers or Nerds
44. Favorite Sports Team(s)? I despise sports.
45. Your favorite meal? Anything Japanese, especially sushi!
46. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Sleeping in the car while Corey was driving home from Aymee and Dave’s.
47. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Do I have to wake up now?
48. Do you have any odd habits? Yes, but I’m not divulging them to anyone!