After Thought

After I had already posted "The Ode to Mandy and Sarah" Sarah put more pictures on facebook of the event. Thought you would enjoy these too!!

Ode to Mandy and Sarah

Last semester I was blessed with D'laney who was an amazing roommate!! But sadly she had to move out because of her decision to go to cosmetology school (we are only allowed to live in BYU-I approved housing if we are enrolled in school). So I was really stressed out because I was going to be getting all new roommates and I didn't know if any of them would be as awesome as D'laney was!

But Heavenly Father blessed me with two AMAZING roommates!!! Mandy and Sarah are so fun to be around and there is never a dull moment! Sarah is the funniest girl you will ever meet! She always has a funny joke or a way of making you laugh, even when you aren't in the mood to laugh! She never seems to feel stressed or allow things to get her going. I absolutely love hanging out with her and laughing at her jokes.

Mandy is such a sweetheart and is so easy to talk to. We have had many good conversations and sex talks. She always has a smile on her face and loves to laugh. Mandy and I go on walks everyday (part of our new diet plan) and the walks are always full of laughter and new adventures.

One of the things that Mandy and Sarah do that I am so appreciative of is they dress up for my softball games! And they go all out! Face paint, homemade spray painted shirts, pom-poms, and a megaphone. They are constantly making up new cheers for our team and are loud even when we are losing!

Here is Mandy and Sarah all decked out for my game. Aren't they so cute!!!!??? Mandy is on the left and Sarah is on the right.

One of the adventures we have had is going to Applebees with Mandy's cardboard cutout boyfriend. Ben is her boyfriend that is on a mission so she decided to by a John Kerry cardboard cutout of him and paste a blown up picture of Ben's face on his. So we decided that Ben needed to get out of the house so we took him with us to dinner. When we got there we told the waitress how many were in our party, counting Ben of course, and she looked absolutely confused! haha!! And then while we were sitting we had numerous visitors asking us what we were doing with that cardboard boy in our booth with us. We had such a good time and laughed so much!! It was so much fun!! I love them so much and I am so grateful for them in my life!!

Sarah, Mandy, D'laney, Ben, and I all at Applebee's.

Just My Luck

Hey everyone!! I made it back to school in good 'ol Rexburg! And I thought I would share a story about what happened to me when I arrived at my apartment.

In the apartment I live in there are six bedrooms. Four of the bedrooms are corner rooms which are fairly large and then there are two smaller hall rooms. So, of course I was hoping to have a corner room, more specifically the room I had when I was here last fall. When I got to my apartment I noticed that the window of the room I was hoping to get had tons of lines on it. At first I thought it was just cracked but when I got closer I noticed that it wasn't in fact cracked but smashed!!!

I was horrified! Especially when I met up with one of my roommates and she told me that that was the only room left in the apartment. I went and talked to the manager and she told me that when they had been tearing out trees they had accidently smashed the window but that she had already called the maintenance and it would be taken care of before the week was over.

Well, it's been over a week now and my window still isn't fixed. Luckily they have placed a nice board over where the window used to be and it isn't too drafty. :D The manager isn't sure when it will be fixed because apparently the window had to be ordered and maintenance is really busy. To say the least this is not the kinda stress I wanted to deal with my first week back at school.

Here's a nice picture of my awesome, one of a kind window!

Hawaiian Highlights

Sorry it has taken me so long to blog about Hawaii! I had forgotten my camera cord in Rexburg and I didn't want to blog without including some pictures.

Hawaii was so awesome!! Our family had such an amazing time, especially since this is our first vacation with just our family. The plane trip was a little long for us, but well worth it! When we landed the wind was blowing really hard but that didn't keep us from smiling and commenting on how amazing it was there. All of our faces had smiles and we couldn't help but giggle.

Instead of blabbing about every event I will just highlight some of my favorite moments. One of those favorite moments would have to be snorkeling. It was so amazing how many fish you could see so close to shore. My sisters, dad and I all went out together and it was so fun pointing out new fish we hadn't seen before and seeing the looks of surprise and wonder. Sadly, mom wasn't able to join us since it was too cold for her liking. Hopefully next time!!

My other highlight would have to be surfing. It is so much fun!! All of us managed to stand up the first time and Alexis and Scram won the "Ultimate Surfer" award since they were definitely the best between us. My dad and I fell a couple times after the first but it was still so much fun! Our instructor was an awesome guy who used to be a professional surfer. He was very good at what he did and helped remind us that we were on "Hawaiian Time" when we started rushing the process.

My last highlight would have to be just chilling on the beach. When we were planning the trip we all decided that we didn't want a pressing schedule, and thought it would be better to just decide what we wanted to do the day of. So we were able to spend a lot of time as a family on the beach. It was fun playing in the water together or laying next to each other on the beach trying to get our tans (which, for the record, none of us achieved). The beauty and quiet relaxation was just what our family needed.

The Need to Escape Mayberry

Nothing new has really happened in my life but I figured that I could still give an update.  I'm still working at my dad's law firm and its going pretty well. The attorneys have been giving me different projects which are really helping add a little variety to my workday. Now I'm not stuck doing the same things day in and day out.  

I can honestly say that I am really looking forward to going back to school! I'm pretty sure my brain has turned to mush and I'm tired of only knowing what day of the week it is by the TV show that's on that day. I can't wait to fill my brain with useful knowledge. Although I'm sure within a month of being back at school my brain will have had enough! :D

I shouldn't complain too much though. It's been really great spending so much time with my family.  It's a whole new experience now that I'm not in high school and the dynamic between my parents and myself has really changed.  They no longer tell me what to do but rather suggest what I should do.  LOL. It's great!! It's also been really cool to hang out with Alexis and Scram. They are awesome people and I absolutely enjoy spending time with them.  It's amazing what time apart can do to your familial relationships. I don't think I have ever been so close to Lex or Scram and it's so fun to learn more about them.  

Snowboarding

This last Saturday my friend Shaun and I went snowboarding.  I was so nervous the night before that I only managed to get 4 hours of sleep. Plus I slept in Shaun's bed (don't worry he was on the couch) and it's always hard to sleep well in someone else's bed. 

Shaun likes to get there early, so we were there only about half an hour after they had opened. The weather was amazing! No wind, no clouds, just sunshine! 

Shaun had warned me that one of the toughest parts of snowboarding is riding the lifts.  LOL. I had to giggle but then once I saw how they worked I understood.  I was petrified that I would fall trying to get on or off of it and they would have to stop it and everyone would stare and roll there eyes at the stupid girl who can't manage this seemingly simple task.  But I am proud to say that I didn't once fall while trying to get on, and when I had to get off I managed to get far enough away from the lift before falling so that they wouldn't have to stop it.  

Once I got myself all hooked up in the board, my hat on straight and gloves on it was time for me to try to stand up.  I tried so hard to stand up, but my ghetto booty kept bringing me back to the ground.  Shaun was cracking up as my face was turning red while I was in the middle of my fight with gravity.  Luckily, or possibly unluckily, this random guy saw me having a very hard time and showed me another way to get up.  You roll yourself over on your belly and then stand up that way.  This way worked, although about halfway through the day it was so hard to roll myself over.  

The first couple hours of the day were spent with Shaun trying to explain how to control the board.  It was really hard for me to control the board since it is way different then a longboard.  You can't just lean the direction you want to go.  You have to point toes and push downward with heels and swivel and lean two ways at once.... oh man! 

By lunch time I was able to go down the side of the mountain with fairly minimal falls.  Ok, I fell tons but at least I made it down 3 times before we ate lunch at noon!! I was so proud of myself, especially since I was ready to give up and quit about an hour in! 

After lunch I was already pretty tired but Shaun told me I had to go up a couple more times.  I did much better after my little rest.  I was a much more effective and managed to make it down with only about 5 falls instead of a dozen.  Shaun was pretty proud of his student as well! The only problem that I had was I couldn't go heel side (my back to the bottom of the mountain). So I spent the whole time pointing my toes which wore me out really quickly.  Shaun tried to explain how to go toe side but at this point I was done!! I honestly almost starting crying every time I had to pick myself up after falling.  I was just exhausted and sore!

I absolutely adored snowboarding!!! I am sad that I didn't try it out earlier in the season but I can't wait to go again (either this season or next). 

Sunday morning I woke up with every muscle in my body screaming!! My family got a kick out of me moaning and groaning with every step.  LOL. Still today I'm hurting but it's sort of a good pain.  The pain of accomplishment!! 

Going Too Fast!

So, I don't know how many of you know this but last fall I purchased a longboard.  I absolutely love it but to be honest with you I am some what of a weak sauce when it comes to going fast. Just like Amber, as soon as I am unable to jump off of the board safely I am going too fast. I usually just stick to flat ground with minimal bumps, rocks, pot holes, or hills.  Which is practically impossible.  :) 

When I came home from school with my board Alexis decided that she also needed one because of how cool they are.  I was very excited  because having a longboard buddy to ride with me would be awesome.  

Once the weather got almost bearable I convinced Alexis to go for a ride with me.  After riding up and down the street in front of our house Alexis decided that we needed to travel a little farther and be a little more adventurous.  For those of you who have never been to Lind, all it is is one big hill.  You have to travel up hills or down hills to get anywhere.  

As we were riding Alexis decides that we should attempt to go down a fairly large hill.  I told her, "No WAY!!!" I was not about to go down such a big hill and we should either just walk down the hill or go home!! She smiled at me, called me a big wuss, and made her way down the hill.  When she was about half-way down the hill I realized she was serious about riding this hill and I had to make a decision.  But of course being the older sister I wasn't going to let her show me up, especially since I  was the one that bought the longboard first! 

I took a deep breath and jumped on my board.  The first half of the hill went really well.  I was gliding back and forth and feeling pretty good.  But after I passed the half way mark I could feel the board start to shake.  It was the kind of shake when you know you are going to wreck. My mind immediately began thinking of some ways to fix this situation.  I knew there was no way that I was going to be able to regain control of the board and if I stayed on it I was only going to gain more speed and the crash would be worse.  I decided the best plan of action would be to jump off and try to run... When I jumped off I was able to keep my footing for a couple steps but I wasn't fast enough.  It's been a long time since I have hit cement at such speeds, but I still managed to do a pretty affective tuck and roll. 

I walked away from the wreck with only a bruise and little scrap on my elbow, a sore shoulder, and a rip in my NEW coat.  To be honest I was more upset about the hole in my coat then the pain in my arm and shoulder.  Lol. Luckily no one saw it, including Lexi.

Maybe I will be tough and get past this wreck and try that hill again.... but I doubt it!