My Birthday

Pictures are also coming! My birthday was the 16Th of October and sadly, I had the flu. They were giving the flu shot for free at my work so, I thought why not!? Big mistake! I have never had the flu shot so I did not react well to it. The flu started to hit me later that night when I crashed at about 8:30 and had problems getting out of bed the next morning at 7. Anyway, Austin and I decided to celebrate it Friday instead. I was at work when I received a beautiful display of my favorite pink flowers! Gerber daisy's, roses and star gazer lilies! When I returned home, Austin was there with a picnic basket in hand, ready to head up the canyon on a motorcycle ride. We put on our helmets and headed up the canyon, that we are so fortunate to live 5 minutes away from. The fall colors were absolutely breath taking. We picked a picnic table surrounded by gorgeous trees and a darling bridge. Austin and I took lots of pictures. He made sure that I took several of him doing his "angry stance" his "I am thinking" pose and some other silly ones that I am excited to put up as soon as possible. Sometimes, I feel like I already have children. ha ha, he is fun! Austin had packed sandwiches, crackers and my favorite peanut butter M&Ms. It started to get really cold so we did not stay long but it was the time and effort that he put into it, that I appreciated. We headed back to the house, put on warmer clothes and went down to American Fork, where we went the Haunted Forest. Austin and I have been the last two years but it was nothing compared to this year! There were two different ones that we went in to. There was a Psycho exhibit and then the outdoor forest as well. Both were spectacular and if it were not so expensive, I would definitely go again! We ended the night with "You've got Mail," which, sadly is not as cute as I had remembered. It was still a wonderful night though.

Pictures to come

I have the pictures of my finished product that I need to upload. I was just browsing on Martha Stewart's website and came across this. It gives detailed instructions on how to do it and not so much difficult, as it is time consuming. Austin and I spent about 4 hours working on this together. It was such a fun activity! My work was having a pumpkin carving contest at work the next day so I brought it in and won 1st place! I was so excited and a bit relieved that my hard work was not all for nothing. I received 4 soccer game tickets but sold them to a kid for $40 and 2 tickets to a haunted house, I think that I did pretty darn good. I have never been much of a soccer fan!

Happy Birthday CP!

I am so embarrassed at how late this is, so I am not even going to say when her birthday was, but I didn't want her to think that I forgot her completely.
There are not words that I can use to explain the impact that CP has had on my life. It all started when I moved to Seattle, from Reno NV, when I was 12 years old. I was the new girl and made a startling appearance with my frizzy red hair and big bangs. It was quite an impression, I'm sure. Courtney Pettit was the only other red head in the school and was well known for it. She was very cute and for some reason when I first saw her, I did not like her. She immediately had the same reaction, so we remained in different groups of friends and tried very hard to not associate with one another. The only precicament I seemed to face was that she was in my ward and was kind of the "queen bee." So, that pretty much sucked for me.
A few months later, I had a birthday party. My parents forced me to invite Courtney. Coincidentally, her parents forced her to go as well, so we then HAD to spend the evening together. That was the turning point for us. From then on, we were joined at the hip everywhere we went. Her Dad use to refer to us as "double trouble," and we were. We went through every stupid decision together. She was my partner in crime! Junior High was rough and after what seemed like an eternity, we finally made to high school! I was a cheerleader, while Court was a manager for the football team, so we spent many after school days watching practice and laughing at the silly boys we were dating.
CP and I have been through so much but have also learned so much about each other. Some of my favorite things about her are;
Courtney is incredibly ambitious. She is a "go getter." Laziness is the last word that I would use to describe Court. She is an incredibly talented writer and is hopefully, going into the field of journalism. She is currently the manager of a very classy tanning salon and has always been one to be promoted quickly. Court is full of awesome ideas and always has a plan for how to get there. She budgets money like no one I have ever seen and is always aware of her boundaries.
Courtney is selfless. When financial situations were tough, she figured out a way to make it down to Utah for my wedding, because she knew how much it meant to me. More importantly than physically going to places with me, she has always been there to calm me down when I have been crying on the other end of the phone. She sent flowers to my family when my grandfather passed away which, is something that I will never forget.
Court and I have always had this tradition that when one of us was having a really rough time, we would bring the other one a chocolate sundae! There were countless times, when I would be having a rough week and Court would show up at my door with a big smile across her face and a huge sundae in hand.
She's always done everything that she possibly can to be the BEST friend that she possibly could to me. When I was planning my wedding, she called so many times to offer any help or to just listen to me vent about everything that was stressing me out.
Courtney is Hilarious! We have an inside joke about the nickname "Miko." We were in a nail salon when we were 16 and we were getting ready to leave, when the candy bowl caught Court's eye. She looked both ways, as if she were crossing the street, and then snatched one faster than anything I have ever seen! It reminded me of the raccoon on Pocahontas, so the nickname stayed for a while. She has a way of just making me roll with laughter when I am least expecting it.
Courtney has a special gift as well. It is incredibly difficult to stay mad at her. She is such a genuine person and has a way of giving beautiful apologies, that make you forget why you were ever upset with her. It rarely happened, that I would ever be mad at her, but when it did it did not last long.
I am so grateful that Court has been in my life for so many years and that we have had the opportunity to experience so many things together. From being; Partners in crime, to walking arm in arm across the graduating stage and then to having her as a bridesmaid in my wedding. I hope that we have many more wonderful memories to come. I hope CP knows how much I love and appreciate her. She has been my best friend and I hope she always will be! I love you CP, happy late Birthday!

Happy 13th Birthday Stephan!!!

Today, my sweet brother, Stephan, is 13 years old! For anyone that does not know Stephan, he is without a doubt, the sweetest boy in the whole world. Unlike myself, I don't think that he will go through the rotten teenager stage, because he is way too sweet and considerate of others! (slam on myself) He was blessed to be the only boy in a family of four sisters! All of which, adore and love him unconditionally. Stephan is extremely athletic and incredibly smart. He is in 7Th grade and is currently in a program that allows him to do 9Th grade material. He is very well aware of the current events that are going on and is very opinionated about the Presidential Election. Stephan is an amazing tumbler. He can do flips like no body's business and is constantly showing off! Stephan is also in Tae Kwon Do and is one belt away from receiving his black belt. He is a perfectionist in every way and is always looking for ways to improve himself.

Although Stephan is a wonderful athlete and a whiz in every subject, the most impressive thing about Stephan is his tender heart. He is such a wonderful big brother to my youngest sister Makayla. He is constantly looking out for her and making sure that she is being taken care of. He is also extremely sweet and when he can tell that any of his sisters or family members are upset, he does whatever he can do make them happy. He is the peacemaker of our family and is such a Christlike person in our home.

I have so many wonderful memories of Stephan while growing up! When he was a baby, we were fascinated with his....reproductive organ..so whenever he would take a bath, we would kind of glance at, curiously. There was always something about that warm water that would set Stephan off. Within two minutes of being in there, he would produce this big yellow fountain! We would all scream and laugh! After twice of doing this, Stephan was forced to bathe alone.

He is extremely funny and playful as well! I feel so blessed to have such a sweet and wonderful brother. He is such a sweetheart and I know that he has potential to be an even more amazing person someday! Happy Birthday Stephan! I love you!

Tagged by Em

7 Fairly Odd things about me.

1.) I have second day of work syndrome. With the exception of my current job, I always feel so overwhelmed from the first day of work. I have always called in sick on the second day. I know that is so weird but I really stress out over the first day of work and without fail, I always miss the second day. Surprisingly, I have not missed one day of my new job! I'm on a roll!

2.) I get really stressed out when I watch the Simpsons because of how clumsy Homer is. There was this one episode in particular, where Homer goes to Italy to pick up Mr. Burns' brand new sports car and a big mound of cheese lands on the hood and totals the car. I know that that is retarded but I can't help but think, "Oh no, that car was so expensive! What are they going to do!?" Crazy...I know.

3.) I am not someone that needs to be around a lot of people all of the time. I am very independent and do quite well, when I am by myself. I am not clingy in the slightest and to Austin's surprise, I am fine with him going out with his friends. He rarely does but still. I really do enjoy time to myself when I can just let my mind run.

4.) I am such a little kid at heart. My idea of a perfect vacation, is going to some kind of Disney theme park! I even like going on the "little kid" rides. I absolutely love Disney movies and have several of them memorized. I love to play at the park! I really hope that I have a little girl first, so that I can make her a doll house and play Barbies or "accessorize."

5.) I have the world's smallest bladder! I always have to go to the bathroom! (haha, way too much information, I know). I especially have to as soon as I am finished eating...I'm sure that there have been many people that have thought that I have an eating disorder, considering the fact that I am always rushing off to the bathroom after eating.

6.) I often wish that I were an assassin, like a better version of an Angelina Jolie. Sometimes, while I'm in my car, I will put on "Kashmir" and start driving super fast, like I'm trying to outrun someone! Haha

7.) There are so many things that I want to accomplish in my life. I honestly do not see myself sticking with one career. I would love to be an Elementary School Teacher. I also would like to obtain at least a Masters in Psychology and possibly go into a family practice working with both marriage counseling and children. I would love to go to Europe someday and stay in cheap bed n' breakfasts. I still have a great passion for dancing and am not quite ready to give it up. Once my job is not so demanding, I would love to coach a high school dance team. I am extremely happy with the company that I am currently employed with but will not permanently settle for being just the receptionist. At some point, I hope to be promoted to the Product Manager because I honestly think I can do a better job than the current one, no offense!