Amy P B

2012-02-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

Day 6 is my favorite book character.
It says it can't be a movie character,
but that isn't very possible for me
because I only read books that get turned
into movies... so I'm just going to ignore that rule.
My favorite character is probably Edward.
"Seriously Amy? That's stupid"-what most of you are thinking..
but I love him.

Mr. Darcy is also perfection.

2012-02-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

Day Five! I'm doing so well at this daily thing.
Day 5 is My Best Friend.
Well I have been ultra blessed to have theese special girls come into my life. I met LeeAnna Fall of 2008. Our first semester we wern't close but then we became room/roommates the following semester. She's my best friend and I would do anything for her. Cami and Merrie became my roommates in Fall 2010. I loved them to pieces! Our friendship has only gotten stronger with time (and sadly distance). Just goes to show that no matter where you are, if you're true friends, space can't come between you. My friends have the best testimonies and teach me SOOOO much.
So to each one of you: I love you!

2012-02-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

DAY... My Favorite Place: Nauvoo. Turning the corner to see the temple and its grandness is pretty much my favorite feeling in the world. There is a spirit in Nauvoo that isn't felt anywhere else.

2012-02-09T09:38:00.000-08:00

DAY #......Favorite Food

I love food. All types.. Well mostly. Anything with hamberger in it. I love ice cream. Potatoes I could live off for the rest of my l ife. Chicken. Pasta... LOVE IT! Cheesey Pasta, even better. Chocolate. I can't go a couple of days without it. And BBQ... If you haven't had Texas BBQ then you've never had BBQ.

Day 2

2012-02-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

Day ~2~ Favorite Animal

It's probably a Giraffe. But I can't take one home. And the size of them kinda scares me. But they are so graceful and cute.

But in normal every day life it would have to be a cat. Actually my cat, Gracie. Full name. Gracie-Lou Freebush Burton. haha get it? I've had her since Sophomore year of high school. In the winter her coat gets very thick. So thick that she wadles due to all the fur. Grace is a wimp. She'll let anyone eat her food, but if I come out to scare away the stray cats she'll chase after them like she's big and bad. I like to give her dialogue when she's letting everyone eat her food, "Hey guys, stop that... That's mine... ok fine, but just you wait till my mom comes out here."

Day Uno

2012-02-08T12:06:00.000-08:00

I'm going to go a 30 day blog challange :S I hope I have do this. I've tried to be better about my blog. But I have some reservations about starting this. You see the first day is "All about you". Well the ones reading this most likely know more about me than I do, SO I'll try to think of things that some might not know. Here I go...

Day 1 "All About Me"
I haven't started this earlier because of this day. I don't know what to day about myself. For the last few weeks I evaluate how I react in certain situations and here is what I've come up with. I relate everything anyone says back to an experience I've had. That either makes me selfish or sympathetic. You choose.

I feel the spirit through my tear ducts.

When I go swimming I pretend like I'm a mermaid. But I don't like fish. So I might be a vegetarian mermaid. Yes. That's sounds about right.

I hate red roses. They are so predictable. A guy knows that those are the flowers you get any girl to make her happy and swoon. And yes it was a nice thought but if I guy really wants to impress me get my tulips. And while I'm going on about things I like (and don't like)... My least favorite color is Yellow. So yellow tulips arn't acceptable. Sorry.

I hope that those things are a few new insights into me :)

Merry Christmas to ME!!!

2012-01-19T15:51:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness. This Christmas holiday was the best one in a very long time. Even though I didn't have much Christmas Spirit, I was one happy girl. In Texas I don't have many people my age... like maybe 2. So to finally be reunited with my best friends from school was a dream come true. LeeAnna got married on December 20, 2011. She looked beautiful and put together a wonderful wedding day.

From the left... Cami, Me, LeeAnna, and Merrie (Pronounced like Mary). Couldn't have been happier in this picture.Me at the Lee's luncheonLeeAnna and Me on her wedding day!After the Reception that night I went to meet up with Cami and a few of my old FHE Brothers at Temple Square to see the beautiful Christmas lights.

My First Niece!

2012-01-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

I got her that super cute shirt on sale and Ashley crocheted her pants!!! How cool is that?!I also got miss Penny that sweater for $2.. oh yeah! She's so excited to show everyone at church how sweet she looks in it.

Penny, Christopher, and Ashley on Penny's Blessing day.

Before and After shots!

2012-01-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

Many of you have asked me to post what my shop looked like and what it looks like now. I hope the pictures do it justice. It's a cute little shop that has a lot of character and personality.

This is my Prep Station. We took out the glass display box, added my freezer and a table parallel to the freezer. Of course you can see we painted and we put down a new floor.

What the people see when they first walk in. The before picture has the glass box, vines on the ceiling, and a 7Up fridge in my prep station. We took out the glass box, took down the vines, and moved the fridge around to the other side of the wall. We put in a sink (under the painting), hung up a curtain, and put in my prep table. My Dad built the masive horse-shoe shaped counter, and I love it! If you look really close you can see my 14 different smoothies on my menu.

This is what I look at every day, all day. We removed the games and painted. The wall I look at is orange. To my left is purple. To my right is green. And to my back is yellow. The pictures on the new walls are the ones on the facebook pages of my little fruit models. This is the door that goes out to the deck whick leads to the mini golf corse. We took out all the chairs to the deck and the people use them out there for parties. The tables we cleaned really well and are still used in the shop today.

I know it doesn't show in the picture but from the corner of my counter to the corner where that table is is about a 6-8 inch slope. The floor is very unlevel, but it just adds character :) I sell T-shirts in 3 different colors (Purple, Orange, and Green) for $10 and I love to see people around town wearing them.

Squeeze Juice Bar

2011-10-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. I know it’s been forever, but I’ve really missed blogging. So to catch you up I’ve opened my own business. I took over the mini golf shop in my home town. It needed a lot of work done to it.

So here’s the before…

and here's the after...
I'll post some pictures of the inside to show the improvments.

I'm Going Home

2011-03-30T00:11:00.000-07:00

I'm here in Las Vegas for 2 more days. It's been a mix full of emotions. On Friday I'm driving up to Utah (6 hour drive) and I get to see my Best friend, my Mom, my Dad, my Brother and Sister in law and many more family members. That night is going to be filled with fun, games, and luaghter.. lots of that I'm betting. Saturday.. busy busy day. Early that morning will be breakfast. Followed by General Conference. And during all of this I will be decorating a wicked awesome birthday cake. In between sessions we will have Hot Potatoes and the birthday party for everyone. The second session of conference will be on and then the ladies will have a bridal shower for my dear cousin Crystal while the men are at the Preisthood session. Sunday morning we'll have sausage egg caserole (tradition) and watch the first part of conference. Lunch, second session, take my Dad to the airport and then Mom and I will be on our way to Texas. We should get home on April 4 and I start back my theatre job on April 5th. I'm really excited. I should also be hearing back from EFY soon to see if I got the councelor job. Well that is my next week :) I'm really excited about it!!!

Sleep Study... not fun.

2011-03-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

So I had to get a sleep study done to see if I have sleep apnia. With doctor apointments I like to have a day to prepare myself for what might be coming, however I wasn't able to prepare for my sleep apnia test. I called on March 23 and they set me up for that night.

I got there and was conected to 7 wires on my face and 6 in my hair all stuck on with thick white goop and gauze. 2 on each leg, one on each shoulder, and one that resembled a finger splint.

At 11:00 pm John, my wire guy, turned off the light and told me goodnight. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! With all these wires I was no where close to going to sleep any time soon. The man in the next room either rolled onto his stomach, had to go to the bathroom, needed a drink of water, or kept pulling off the wires because seriously every hour John (the wire guy) would come over the intercom and tell Rex to stay still till he came in to check on him. Oh and there was a lovely lady down the hall that was either throwing up all night, or caughing with much gusto.

I think I only slept an hour.. maybe. So at 5:15 I come home, take a shower with 3 rounds of shampooing, eat breakfast, watch some of the Today show and then crash. I slept for 4 hours and had cat naps throughout the rest of the day.

Sleep study has been the worst experience yet.

I Dreamed a Dream...

2011-03-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

If you've been keeping up with my life you know how much of me is hoping that I get the EFY counseling job. I had a dream the other night that I got the counseling job. I was so extatic! A letter came in the mail and said sister amy burton, you have been chosen to lead guide and direct the youth of today as an efy counselor. You will serve the last week in June and the first 2 in July. Thank you for serving your church and the youth.

My excitement was short lived. The following day I also received a letter with a wax seal. Dear Ms. Burton we are plase to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all the necessary books and equipment. Term begins [June 27]. We await your owl by no later than [April 1]. yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagal, Deputy Headmistress The dream was pretty unreal, well duh, but I was shocked at my imagination. The rest of the night was spent trying to decide between EFY and Hogwards. I woke up before I had to make a decission. I still don't know what I would do if it were real life :)

Interview Chaos

2011-03-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

Dearest Readers,

I have been on the job search since I've been here in Las Vegas. I've put in applications pretty much everywhere that could even hold my interest for 8 minutes. I did get one interview for Michael's Craft Store. Yeah, the poor lady who interviewed my had about 4 teeth left and stunk up the whole room of her smoker odor. They wanted me to work part time as their bead specialist. Yes, I can see it now. "Hi, Welcome to Michael's. My name is Amy and if you need any help picking out what beads you like I'm your girl." Please! And the store is about 24 minutes away from my current living location and totally not worth the pay they were willing. I declined.

My dream job has been to work for Nothing Bunt Cakes. As you can tell from the pictures their work is super cute! And what you can't tell from the picture... They are so super tasty!!!

I have been calling them about every 3 days to check if they are hiring and if my application has been looked at. After 2 weeks of calling they said they were hiring and they would be calling within the week to come in for an interview. Alas no phone had rang, so I put on my big girl pants and called demanding to talk to a manager. I spoke to Heather who said I could come in for an interview if I could get there within the hour. I drive the 28 minutes over to the cutest little shop ever with so much excitment everyone could see me glowing from my car. I walked in with my best professional walk and asked for Heather. A girl named Asia comes out and tells me all the jobs had been filled but I was at the top of the applicatioin list. Oh man. Upset Amy drove home.

While I was still fuming from getting my hopes stomped on I looked at being an EFY (especially for youth) Counselor. EFY is a week long, giant Youth Conference for teens all over the U.S. I put in my online application Sunday night and about 20 minutes later I checked my e-mail and I had gotten accepted to an interview! I looked at the interviewing schedule and the only ones left were in Rexburg Idaho or in Texas.

I drove up to Idaho later in the week and surprised my old roommates. My interview went really well and I hope I get called! I would be a counselor in San Antonio Texas for 3 weeks. EFY really was like my glowing light in my summer. The counselors always were such great examples and awesome people. I want to be that person to these teens. A part of the interview was to teach a mini lesson. We had to pull out a random, like really random, object out of a bag. We had about 10 seconds to prepare and then we had to talk for a minute and a half.

*Please play along if you would like. Plan a little lesson for each object I mension*

The first girl pulled out a Christmas Angel Ornament.... She gave the lesson of guardian angels. People are put in our paths to effect and change our lives even if it's just for one day. I thought that was great, because we might be the angels for these teens for the week.

I pulled out scotch tape... I thought of a quote that Pres. Monson said at the R.S. General Broadcast. "Stick to a task till it sticks to you." I talked about goal setting and related it to school, the youth, and when we stick to a goal then it becomes part of us.

The next girl pulled out sanitation wipes. She talked about the atonement and how it can cleanse us.

Last was pulled a nail file. She thought of how we all have rough edges in out lives but we can become polished with hard work and effort.

Thank you for playing!

Doctor Appointments

2011-02-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

Dearest Friends and Family who read this...
To catch everyone up on what's going on in my life I will use lovely diagrams and elementary doctoral language.

I went to a new doctor's office. He is (as from the picture you can tell) pretty awesome. His hair has grown out about 3-4 more inches and his beard his become lots bushier. When I first visited Dr. Dunsmoor I saw him in the hallway and really hoped that he wasn't mine, but I have come to discover that I needed to be humbled. He is a wonderful doctor. So funny,thorough, and very caring.

For a little while around Christmas time I went through a period of time where I would get sick without any warning. Dr. D sent me to get an Upper GI test. I had a lot of Acid Reflux going on. If the picture isn't clear to you, it means that I have acid from my stomach that is coming up and eating away at my esophagus... not good.

Also, I have been so tired lately. I have to take a 2 hour nap almost daily. I wake up even more tired then when I went to sleep. It makes me so boring and short temperd. So I asked Dr. Dunsmoor about it and he asked me if I have trouble breathing while I sleep. I told him that I've never noticed... But then I remember my roommate telling me that I would wake her up frequently with the sound of me hyperventalating in my bed in the middle of the night. Dr. D. got a little worried about that and wants to me to go get tested for sleep apnia (not breathing while I sleep.)
I haven't gotten tested yet, but if I do test positive I get to wear one of the super sexy oxygen masks!

And Finally!!! I got my blood tested and he said that I have outragrous cholesterol! My bad (sticky) cholesterol is about 70 points too high. I learned my mom also has high cholesterol so it does (literally) run in my blood. So I'm planning my heart attach for Thanksgiving-Christmas time. I hope those of you reading this can attend the funeral. I know it will be around the holidays, but please save a few holiday work days for me. Thank you.

So how to I resolve all of this you ask? I am backing off white bread, pasta, red meat, and sweets. Yeah pretty much the hardest thing I've ever done. I have stepped up on my exercise, but have been slacking a little lately. I just need to stop being lazy and get to work.

~COLORS~

2011-02-03T18:28:00.000-08:00

So there is this little fact about me. I love colors! My favorite color would be green, but all of them together beat any color... by far.

Rainbows are cool and all, but they are so faded that one can't fully get the intesity of briliance.

Not the biggest fan of glitter either, but done this way, one can't help but love it.

If I could have my life be in such techno color like all these picture everyone would be jealous of my awesomeness.

And finally, I know I don't dress in such colors and vibrant (in your face) boldness, but I will try to better in the future! It's time to be noticed!

Life in Las Vegas!

2011-02-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

The family and I took a trip to the strip and visited M&M World. It was way fun to see all the M&M merchandise. Everything was pretty expensive but the experience was worth the trip.

2011-01-02T14:30:00.001-08:00

Dear those of you who follow my blog.
I have been inspired by my dear friend and previous roommate Cami. She has a blog that is ingenious, clever, witty, and hilarious! Please visit it and follow it if you have the time. It will be a great addition to your life…. http://camilouise.blogspot.com/ Oh and P.S. she doesn’t have a middle name, but she thinks that the perfect middle name for her is Louise. That’s just the kind of awesome person she is. So in honor of her and her awesome blogging I will try to do better.

Thanksgiving was spent in Las Vegas with my Brother (Shane), Sister in law (Becca) and the boys Gaige and Raigan.

The picture is not our Thanksgiving.. but you get it...

Becca and I went to see Harry Potter- part 1… pretty cool!

I spent the rest of the 3 weeks up at school and worked so hard. Going to bed at 2 and getting up at 6 was exhausting. Every class had 4 projects due all the same week and it took its toll.

The beginning of Christmas break was spent in Salt Lake in an empty house. My parents joined me a few days before Christmas. The next few days were spent with my Brother (Christopher) and my Sister in law (Ashley). Mom and Dad got me a GPS so I won’t get lost! All the family got Christopher and Ashley a brand new flat screen tv. Tears were shed upon opening that one.

The second half of Christmas was spent in Las Vegas with Shane, Becca, and the boys.
They postponed their Christmas to have it with us (very thoughtful). Oh man, these holidays were filled with delicious food! Oh so much food! I need to take care of what that has done to me.

For those of you who don’t know, I am living in Las Vegas now. I’m deferring school for the winter semester to work and gain experience. It is a new and exciting time in my life and I hope I will learn and grown so much.

My newest piece of writing

2010-12-30T15:11:00.000-08:00

The line between her lips is defined, no smile playing around the edges. Her lips are pale. Did she want them that way? So serious, business-like, all work, no play kind of mouth.
She’s a writer. A thoughtful writer that is continuously contemplating her next move. She rarely pays attention to those around her, and doesn’t seek it either.
The part in her blond hair is as distinct as Moses’ parting of the Red Sea. Nothing can penetrate that part. Always there. Always constant. She never changes. “Change causes distraction, darling, no need for it,” She often says.
Ms. Connie was my neighbor growing up. Her house was beautiful. Two story, dark brick, and stained glass windows, all except her writing room. We spent a lot of time there. I thought it would be a complete disaster. She was a writer after all. I expected papers to be thrown this way and that. Piles of crumpled masterpieces she thought were junk, overflowing out of a wire waste basket. But no, this was a simple room. A nook in the corner for her morning cup of tea, a filing cabinet, and a desk. The desk had a spiral binder (nothing special, I had ten of those things for school) and a computer screen. You know, those big screens from back in the day. Her desk chair wasn’t one with rollers. She made sure to point this out to me. “No need for rollers. When I work I don’t need to go anywhere.” She was firmly planted in that chair until 4:45 every day. I got home from school at 3:15 and I would look up at her writing window and wave. Sometimes she saw me, other times she didn’t. But I understood she was working. I don’t know what time she started writing. I never asked. But I’m pretty sure it was the same time every day.
The writer never married. “Why do I need a husband to make me happy? I don’t think I could be happier than I am right now. Husbands,” she scoffed, “they just get in the way.” She never married because no guy could ever compete. She had to win and she had to be the best. Unless a guy was totally submissive and had enough self-esteem to live like that for the rest of his life, she would remain single.
I asked Ms. Connie one day what she wrote about. “Well, you can bet I don’t write sappy love stories. But I do write about family. Family is what matters, even if it’s not your own. Family is what makes a person feel loved and wanted.” Her hug sealed the deal that we were family in her mind. I went over to Ms. Connie’s once a week for the next nine years.
Those years were spent growing our friendship. Sometimes I would bring over dinner and just chat. Other times she would give me prompts and have me write a short story. She tried getting a cat once, but that only lasted a week. Ms. Connie taught me how to tell a story, and even better, show a story. “Be careful with your words darling, it’s what people listen to the most.”
I was a senior in high school and my days were filled with student council meetings, band practice, play rehearsal, and my boyfriend. She frowned upon my dating Steven, of course. I introduced them once. That was a day I try to forget. She didn’t hold back her feelings on men and their lack of purpose in her life. Steven made me promise to never take him back there again.
I brought my graduation announcement over to her house personally. She looked at it with a questioning look. She lifted her eyes and said “Where are you going to college?”
“I’ve been accepted to Florida State. I’m going to study writing.”
With a tender smile, she rose from her un-rolly chair, hugged me and whispered, “I’m so proud.”
My graduation passed. I cried while taking pictures and saying good-bye to friends, family, and Ms. Connie. My freshman year was a shock, but I made it through. I still called my dear neighbor every week to check up on her and catch her up on the happenings of my college life. Sophomore year also passed, but I wasn’t new at this anymore and got into the swing of things. I finished all my basics and prepared to start my writing education. The possibilities seemed endless.
I went home to work in the summer. The drama teacher had asked me to help with a summer play. Every day I got home at 1:00 for lunch and my friend was still in her writing window. I waved, and this time every day she waved back.
July 10, 2007, the day of the big production. I got to the dress rehearsal extra early just in case. The kids were amazing in their practice. Poor Meagan forgot one of her lines and cried about it for the next 15 minutes. I consoled her and emphasized that this was only a practice and that she would do her part perfectly in the show tonight.
At 1:00 I came home for lunch and started to wave to her writing window, but she wasn’t there. I ran inside in a panic, “Mom! Mom! Where’s Ms. Connie?”
“I’m sorry, dear. We didn’t want to worry you on your opening day.”
“Who cares about opening day?”
“She’s fine.” My mother tried to calm me, but that wasn’t helping. “She tripped while going up her stairs this morning. We think she hurt her knee, but she’s at the hospital.”
Nothing else was said as I left the house in a flurry. The hospital was only five minutes away. After the maze of hallways and artwork I found Ms. Connie’s room. She was lying down with her leg in a sling. The line between her lips even more pronounced with frustration than normal. In her hand she held a hospital remote to the television. Her eyes met mine as I walked into the room. “Amelia! What are you doing here? Your big show is tonight. Oh I’m sorry dear, I won’t be able to make it.” She laughed at her state and her little joke.
“Oh, no worries. I don’t think I’m going to make it there either. I’m not that important anyway.” Ms. Connie and I had known each other for so long it was no use in arguing with me on this.
“Can you help me with this remote?”
“You hate television.”
“This is true, but I don’t have anything else to do.”
We came to The Golden Girls. Ms. Connie would have fit perfectly into their group. She was so strong and independent. After two episodes of bickering between the ladies, she fell asleep. I excused myself quietly, making sure not to wake her. My car, then the road, and finally my house. This was all a blur to me. I didn’t want her to realize I had left her alone. I gathered my necessities and a few other things and again, my car, the road, parking, hallways, art work, and finally her room. She was still sleeping.
Hours later she awoke; however, I had fallen asleep in the chair beside her. “What do you think you’re doing?” she snapped like I had committed a horrible crime.
I jumped, “What are you talking about?”
“I’m the one in the hospital bed and you’re taking a leisurely nap in the corner?” From her facial expression I could tell that she was feeling better and felt like she could tease me a little.
“What am I supposed to do? You were asleep and I was tired. Anyway I haven’t been sleeping this whole time.” I reached into my backpack and pulled out my lap top. “For you Madame.”
Her face lit up. “You brought me a computer!”
I reached into my backpack again. “And a spiral notebook. Which color pen would you like?”
“Do you have purple?” she asked with an inquisitive look.
“Are you serious?” Ms Connie wants a purple pen? Never would have thought that.
“No I’m not, but I wanted to see how prepared you were.”

Fall 2010

2010-12-12T01:17:00.000-08:00

LeeAnna and Me at one of Dane's football games.Oh yeah, We're cool. We tried to make a CD cover. I think it turned out pretty good.We went to a frozen yogurt place for my birthday!

We were Dane's "Hawk Girls" Going to the games was so fun! It brought me back to my high school football days. I had wonderful roommates! Melanie, Lee, Cami, Merrie, Me, and Larissa. We got a cat. Her name is Eclipse. Dane and LeeAnna found her on the way back from conference. We only had her for 3 days then we took her to a shelter.

LeeAnna got her mission call to Houston Texas South, Spanish speaking And we all became really great pals.

Summer Cakes

2010-07-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sister Burningham was leaving and I made her a going away cake. It was 'fun fetti' cake with raspberry icing.

My mom asked me to make a Birthday cake for Relay for Life. The theme for this year was "more birthdays" The ribbons are fondant and the icing is orange flavored. Misty, Chris, and Me at the Eclipse showing. I made a cake for the opening night. I made the cake with all the book covers in mind A close up of the cake.

For Mother's Day I made chocolate cupcakes with grass(raspberry flavored icing) and butterflies. The mothers seemed to enjoy them.

Grey's Anatomy!!!

2010-06-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

Alright, so if these arn't the best looking doc's in the world.. Oh Man! So my new favorite show, Grey's Anatomy, yeah, It's the best show ever! If you want to they are starting the whole thing over again from the beginning on lifetime network. There are 3 episodes a day. Record them and watch them later. But holy cow! So I just finished watching the finale of season 6. Talk about crazy! So this is how I want everything to turn out. My favorite Dr. is Hunt. (pictured far left) and he totally needs to marry Christina. They are perfect together, I love them. Dr. Shepherd (middle) is married to Meredith Grey and they are happy and he just got shot in the last episode, but he is ok. So yeah, he just needs to keep living. And Dr. Sloan. He pretty much purposed to Lexi (Meredith Greys little sister) and she needs to say yes becuase they are perfect together as well.
So I know this is really boring to those of you who don't watch the show, but you should. I'm just telling you. :)

Chapter 4

2010-05-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

Chapter IV

The movie ended with the final kiss between Westley and Buttercup, and a final kiss between the two of us.

“We have to be at the dinner in an hour. I should go.” I said.

“You’re right; we have an hour, so why should you go?”

“Well my family is probably wondering where I am, and I have to get ready. Speaking of family… where is your pack of buddies?”

“They left and went to the theater to watch a movie. They all got bored hanging out around here.”

“And how did you get out of that?”

“I said I wasn’t feeling too good. But now I feel just fine.” Beau said as he hugged me tighter. “And how are you feeling? Any cooler?”

“Yeah. I have regained normal temperature. Thank you. But really, I should go back to my room.”

Groaning a little, Beau got up and took me by the hand. He walked me back to my room. “What’s on the agenda for the rest of the weekend?”

“Tonight we have dinner and the ‘who would’ game.”

“Who would game?”

“Yeah, there are random acts or stories written down and we pick who is most likely to do that thing. It’s actually really pointless because none of us talk to each other when we’re not here so we don’t know each other that well.”

“Okay, so what do we do tomorrow?”

“Big breakfast, family pictures, final lunch, and then we all pack up and leave.” The rush came over me as fast as I could tell it came over him. We had less than a day left with each other. My emotions almost got out of control but I pulled them all back in. “Thank you for the movie. I really enjoyed it.” I turned to slide the card for the door.

“Seriously?” Beau didn’t know what was going on.

“What?”

Beau sighed and sounded annoyed. “Come on, Trish. You’re putting on an act. Why can’t you show real emotion? Why are you acting like this, me and you, we mean nothing?”

Why is he making me do this? This is what I do. I push people away. And I hurt their feelings while doing it. Don’t make me do this.

“Tricia!” Beau was yelling and trying to break down my barrier.

Dang it. “Why?!” I was raising my voice now. “Why don’t I show emotion? Why do act this way? Why don’t I let anyone in?” The barrier of emotion burst and the tears were going to flood over soon. “Because I can’t.” I slid my card.

“That is a horrible answer.”

“I’m sorry. That’s all I can give you.” I shut the door behind me.

* * *

I had an hour before dinner started, and I wanted to get cleaned up and calmed down before all of that. A shower was the first thing on my list.

I got out of the shower, dried, dressed, and tied my hair up in the towel. The shower was calming, just like I had planned, and it had given me some alone time to think. The room had been empty when I got back from the movie; I didn’t know where everyone was. But when I walked out of the bathroom Shane was sitting on the bed.

“Hey Bro.”

“We have some talking to do Sis.” Please no.

I went and sat on the other bed and turned to face him. “Yes?”

“Beau came and asked me about you.”

“And what did he ask about”
“Tricia, I’m not going to play this game with you.”

“Shane, I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“You’ll never want to talk about it. That’s the problem. So we’re going to talk about it if you like it or not.” Sting. Shane always knew how to shut me up and be straight with him no matter how hard I tried to shut him out.

“Okay, what did he say?”

“He told me about your afternoon. About the movie, and the kiss, and then you said everyone is leaving tomorrow and then you just cut off all emotion. Then you two had an argument in the hall and you walked away. You know you always do this. It’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to you.”

“Well first I’m embarrassed he told you about the kiss.”

“I don’t care.”

“I know you don’t. Second, what else could I have done? We are leaving tomorrow. We are going back to school in Idaho and he is going back to Arizona. Sure we can talk, but nothing will ever happen. I won’t see him ever again.” Shane and I were just staring at each other. He was thinking he was completely right, and I was thinking I was. “So what did you tell him?”

“First I apologized for your rude behavior. Then I said that you had a history that you can’t seem to get past. I said I would talk to you and that he should wait for you to go to him.”

“I don’t want to talk to him.”

“Yes, you do. This is the first guy that you actually talked to that didn’t run away from attitude.” True. “You need to get over this, and you need to go talk to him.”

Shane was right, even though I wanted to deny it with everything that I had, I couldn’t. I dried my hair, straightened it, and walked with Shane to the dining room. We sat at our assigned table and just so happened to sit right in front of Beau, Scott, and the rest of the bothers. Dinner was served. Lasagna is usually one of my favorites but I couldn’t focus on the meal. Beau made eye contact with me and whispered the words “I think we need to talk.” I nodded and finished my food.

When I cleared my plate I folded my napkin and placed it on the table, slowly rose and leaned over to Shane. “I really hope you’re right,” I said as I left the table. Beau still had some lasagna left over but followed right behind me. I slowly walked to the pool house which was empty because our whole family was in the dining room. I sat on one of the chairs and waited for Beau to join me.

“So you talked to my brother.”

“Yes.” He was going let me do all the talking.

“He told you I have a history.”

“Yep.”

“And you’re sure you want to know this history?”

“That’s kind of why I’m sitting here.” Really? You’re going to play that game with me right now?

“Fine. I’ve been looked over and cast to the side my whole life. In high school no one liked me, no one looked at me. I didn’t have friends and my teachers didn’t even care to learn my name. I was a no body. I met a guy my senior year. He actually noticed me and saw me for who I was. I liked him and grew to love him. He broke my heart and never talked to me again. I would see him around town and he wouldn’t even make eye contact with me when we passed each other. I was even more broken than I was to start with. To be tossed aside like I’m worthless is something I can’t seem to get over.”

I had said this in my mind over and over so many times that it felt like a monologue of a movie instead of my real life. “My reaction to this was poor and I became someone even I hated. I promised myself when I graduated that I would be a different person. Someone who doesn’t let the opinions of others or her own emotions take over her. I hold back what I really feel because that’s the only way I know how to handle it.” I said all this with a blank look. As if I was staring into nothingness. I hated telling people about my past. “The only people that know me for me are my closest family and one friend.”

Beau leaned in and took my hand. That brought me out of my daze and back to the present. “So why push me away?”

“Because you’re leaving too. Sure it might last a week, or a month, or two if we’re lucky. But then you’ll end up like everyone else in my life. I’ll be forgotten and looked over. It’s easier if I just stop feeling what I’m feeling now and let you live your life and I live what I have of mine.”

He got down on his knees and took my face in his hands. “The way your brother talked about you was the best relationship I’ve ever seen. He wants you to be happy. And I want you to be happy, too. No life is worth living if you can’t be yourself. Tricia, I don’t know what the future holds for you, or for me, but I know that I don’t want to stop this just because of fear. I won’t forget you. I won’t over look you. I hope you can trust me enough to let me in.”

With a deep breath I asked, “So what’s the plan?”

Beau smiled in response and kissed me softly on the top of my head. “Baby steps,” he replied. “We are off to a good start. We are going to become friends first. And if things seem to be going well then we will continue in our relationship.”

“But how are we going to keep this friendship going?”

He rose from his knees to his feet and reached for my hand. “Phone calls, web cam, e-mail. You will probably get sick of me.”

“I doubt that,” I said as I took his awaiting hand.

Beau and I left the pool area and did a couple of laps around the hotel as he reassured me that he would not be bailing out anytime soon. It was nice to hear this coming from him.

During one of the laps I saw Katie and Peck getting some coffee from the lobby. Katie saw me and waved franticly. I waved back and gave a polite smile. Peck watched, no, stared at me from one side of the lobby to the other without any movement of his own. Peck had a styrofoam cup full of coffee in his left hand and a book in his right. He was like a statue. An intense, creepy statue. He had a story too, or acted all mysterious so people would think he did.

Beau and I made our way back to the dining room just in time for dessert. It was cheese cake drizzled in raspberry sauce. Oh my gosh, like the best thing I have ever had!

Shane could tell that we had worked things out and leaned over, “You’re Welcome… and I’m proud of you Sis.”

“Thanks.” It was a small word in comparison to what I wish I could have said. Thank you for pushing me when I didn’t know it was possible. Thank you for understanding me when no one else does. I don’t know where I would be without you. I love you, Brother.

The family played the ‘who would’ game. I was voted the person who would be the first person out of a burning building. I think because they think I’m selfish and only want to save myself, but in reality it’s because I don’t care about material possessions. Shane was voted the guy who would be called if superman couldn’t do the job. And Beau was the person who could be taught to do anything and do it perfectly the first time. Figures. The guy I like is “Mr. Perfection”.

We said our good-byes for the evening in the lobby and Christopher, Shane, and I walked to our rooms. My brothers didn’t treat me like the baby. I was just part of the group. We went to their room and played a few video games. None of us liked the fighting ones, so we only had racing games. We were on 3 player mode. Chris the gold car, Shane the blue, and I was the red. Christopher beat Shane by a half of a second and me by a whole lot more than that.

We finished the round then they kicked me out. It wasn’t even midnight yet. I walked to the pool house to see if anyone was there. Peck was in the same spot I had been in the night before. Opening the door as quietly as possible, I joined him.

Winter 2010

2010-05-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

The girls of Winter Semester Nauvoo 402Me, Dana, Aubrey, Jamie, Caitlin, and LeeAnnaThey are a great group! This is my FHE family. Top row: Ben, Clark, Braden, Tyler, Scott. (Jason is missing) Bottom row: Caitlin, Aubrey, Lee, Me, Dana, JamieLeeAnna and my first roommate got married! Christine looked so beautiful on her wedding day!
Oh a trip back from Utah our ride broke down... Me, Lee, and Sar Bear

This is my final cake for my class. We had to work with the floral people who were putting on a bridal show. They didn't give us any information but the colors we should use. Luckily my room was a baby shower room... It matched pretty well.In my Pasty class I got to make some pretty delicious thingsAnd the big finale... New Moon came out on DVD!!!

Book

2010-04-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

This is the updated book. Tell me if you like it or not... and please tell me to make changes if there is anything I need to fix.

Chapter I

I really disliked family reunions. It was the same hotel in Park City, Utah. Every other year there was a pool party. My family never really fit in with the extended family. The parents would talk/argue (whatever you want to call it) in the corner. Kids would pee in the pool. My brothers and I would be left to suffer through boring conversation after boring conversation with our cousins. Then sometimes we got a break and it got interesting when my Aunt and Uncle would disagree on what Grandpa had left them in his will.

I knew everyone dreaded these reunions as much as I did, but alas, there we sat with no real reason of knowing why we put ourselves through this torture. I was lame and a bit boring and took a book to distract me while the action around me got so mind-numbing I was sure someone was going to slip into a catatonic stage any minute. Others brought movies, games, and some could even convince their friends to come along. They had a special persuasive talent. Those were the lucky few that could actually avoid the family all together.

I usually would hang around the foyer area after the cousin conversations had died down, but today I planned on sitting by the pool. I had let my hair go into its natural curl so humidity wouldn’t be a problem, and most of the younger kids that usually occupied the pool had grown up a little and the water was mostly pee free.

I was reading Pride and Prejudice. My favorite. I wish I could be like Elizabeth, strong and opinionated. Okay, so I am strong and opinionated, but I wish that someone would find that interesting and likable. Or to be like Jane, she has such grace and beauty. I’m lacking in both those areas in my life right now. She has men falling over her all the time and she goes through life knowing there will be the right one and she isn’t going to waste her time on losers with nothing to offer.

I loved this alone time with my romance novels. I got to imagine myself in their place. How I would react. What my emotions would be. I’ve only had one real boyfriend my whole life and that wasn’t the best experience ever. Guys never have looked my way. I’m a college student and it’s my sophomore year. It totally sucks to go into a room and get completely ignored because all my friends are cute. I’ll get a head nod, maybe a wave and then they are gone; none of them even caring to remember my name.

My cousin Scott came into the pool room at that exact moment with such noise and disruption. I was irritated just with his presence. He’s a year older than me and thinks that he’s ‘The Man’. He’s going to school in Arizona and belongs to a fraternity and majoring in… not sure, but it might as well be women. He makes a scene wherever he goes and is just an embarrassment to his parents.

Scott was one of the talented ones that convinced his friends to come, mostly brothers from the fraternity. Oh what a sight to see, it was mid-winter and these guys were tall, blonde, muscular, wore pastel pink and yellow polo’s with the collars poppin’. They were wearing sunglasses, inside, in a dimly lit pool room. Geniuses I’m watching here. It was rather intriguing to watch them try to have a somewhat intelligent conversation and going without the word “Dude” forty-five times. Scott and his four friends wanted nothing to do with me or my book, so the sooner they left the pool area the sooner I could get back to my Mr. Darcy.

A fifth friend walked in trailing behind them. He wasn’t wearing the pastel and sunglass uniform. He was shorter, brown hair, and pale. I mean, he wasn’t albino, but he didn’t fake bake like his brothers did. What linked him to them? Why would he even care to be around them? Walking past me, he put his head down, hands in the pockets of his jeans, and had the sleeves bunched up of his thin long sleeved green shirt. I expected him to be like all the rest of Scott’s friends and give me a head nod and go about his way. Indeed that’s what I got. A head nod. Man, those are the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. His head dropped and he was looking at his shoes again. Wait, was that a blush? Did he trip and I didn’t see? He had a cute grin too. He had captured my attention, the only one that has taken me away from Mr. Darcy before. Oh my goodness, I’m staring! What was wrong with me? Oh my gosh! He was looking again! Would someone consider that a double take? Had I just gotten my first double take? Okay, so people have looked at me twice before but that was because I had an unknown pen mark across my whole cheek. Crap! Did I have a pen mark on me again? Or maybe my fly was undone. Did I have something in my teeth? Whatever. I wouldn’t see him or those other guys after this weekend, and Mr. Darcy wouldn’t judge me like the rest of them.

It was true, Mr. Darcy didn’t judge the rest of that afternoon. I finished reading my chapter and left to catch up with my parents that would be getting ready to have dinner. We were all at separate tables for dinner too. The “adults” or anyone over 25 (even though some of the forty year olds were so immature that they should be sitting with the kids while they throw broccoli at each other) would sit at one table, probably talking about the economy or our current president. Again I would sit with the cousins. That was a fun table. Can you smell the sarcasm? We had already had our conversations that morning and there was nothing left to be said, so the table would be silent.

As I left the pool house and turned the corner, the brother, that looked as if he was adopted into the fraternity, was coming around the corner at the same time. I had to stop abruptly or I would have run right into him. I’m not the daintiest girl, so I would have done some damage. He stopped and his eyes met mine. Holy cow, his eyes…. Surprised he looked happy to (almost) run into me.

“Hey” the boy said.

“Hi” I replied. ‘Hi’, really? That’s all I can come up with?!

“So you read a lot?” he continued.

“Some, only if it’s good.” That was clever right? Why was I even trying to be clever, this guy meant nothing to me?

“I feel the same; books aren’t worth reading unless they have a good story line. I’m Beau by the way.” Wow. Just by his few words he had me flustered. The words just fell out.

“I’m Patricia, but I go by Tricia. Where did all your friends go?” I asked, but didn’t really care to know the whereabouts of Scott and his gang.

“They’re getting ready for dinner.” His tone sounded like he was done with them. So I was right when I’d thought he didn’t really want to be in their group.

“Oh, I need to go get ready for that, too!” I had kind of forgotten what my purpose for leaving the pool house was till then. “It was nice meeting you, Beau” I said as I walked around him. Hoping somehow I would be graceful and not trip or look stupid as I walked away.

“You too” he called as I left.

***

The dinner was more formal than the other gatherings of the reunion. I wore my forest green dress. V-neck, three quarter sleeves, and an A line bottom. The ballroom was dimly lit, cream table cloths, wood floors, and not a single flower in sight. I’m guessing the workers really want to see someone reach that catatonic state sometime during our trip.

I sat at the long rectangular table; my one brother, Shane, 23, on the right side of me, was texting under the table. Like I said before, we all have our own little ways of getting through this weekend of misery. Our oldest brother, Christopher, 26, was sitting with the “adults”. His head was down and he didn’t interact with any of the people around him. Strange. Christopher was usually very personable.

The dinner was served, chicken drenched with a sauce that half the kids wouldn’t even dream of trying, and the vegetable was broccoli. Oh this should be fun. The kids at the table already had a glow in their eyes like it was predestined to be this way. I finished my meal with such haste that I hardly tasted any of it. I didn’t want to be in the aim of fire when the kids decided it was time to start the broccoli war.

The hotel was set up in a circular fashion. The ballroom, kitchen, pool, and other rooms are in the center. The actual bedrooms were on the outside rim and there’s a narrow hallway that divides the inner and outer circles. This hallway track was another one of my top listed past times while the reunion was still going.

I heard the dining room noise grow and diminish as I made my laps around the hotel a few times.

“Hey.” I heard a voice call out from a dark archway.

“Umm, Hello?” I hesitantly answered; walking apprehensively toward the voice.

“You made a quick exit from dinner.”

It was Beau. He had only changed his jeans to nice khaki slacks for the evening’s events. “Yeah, I did. I don’t really like big groups.” This is true, when around more than five people I start to get antsy.

“Really? That’s a shock. I pictured you as such a people person with the way you act around your family.” I knew he was kidding, but if he really knew me he might think differently. Was this weekend, with this part of the family, the first impression that he would always have of me?

“Well, if you really knew me, and if I was in a small group, you might see me differently.” Why not tell him what I’m thinking? I’m like Elizabeth Bennett, opinionated.

“I would like to get to know you, Patricia.”

I was irritated with the way he was categorizing and evaluating me from just my actions with my family. “It’s Tricia, and there isn’t really a point of getting to know me.” Why am I so mean? This is exactly what happens when I like… oh gosh. I pull away. I put up a wall before anything can even think of trying to get across.

His eyes pulled away from mine as his head dropped. “Did I say something wrong?” He was worried. Poor guy, he didn’t know he was dealing with a challenged relationship wreck.

“No, I’m sorry.” You stupid girl! “Honestly, I’m just caught off guard. I don’t know how to take you.”

His face lit up a little and a smile teased the corners of his mouth. “Well, Tricia, maybe we should get to know each other a little better.”

“You’re not like Scott and the rest of his posse.” I stated bluntly.

“Yeah, it really wasn’t my idea to join the fraternity. It’s a family thing. All my brothers joined and it was like an unspoken rule.”

“I understand when things have unspoken rules.” I was going to a school that I hadn’t really chosen. It was chosen for me. “But why did you decide to come this weekend?” Why would anyone waste their time to come to a lame family reunion that isn’t their family?

“Scott said he was coming to this really awesome reunion.” He laughed at the gullibility of him and his brothers. “There would be tons of partying, games, girls. I didn’t really come for any of that, I just came cause the others did.”

Beau and I had come out of the darkened archway. We continued in the circular laps of the hotel. I had done quite a bit of walking before he joined me so I took off my shoes and had them swinging from one hand while the other moved with the stories I told.

“What are you studying up at school?” He was asking the basic questions any person would ask to try to get to know someone.

“Photography. People say a picture is worth a thousand words. I like to read to use my imagination and imagine what the setting would be like. One picture holds so much information. I want to go and find those places I read about.” I had a tendency to get really passionate when I talked about my pictures and the meanings. I had to refrain from going on and on for hours. “What are you studying?”

“Music. I like to tell a story too, but only with notes and rhythms. If you think about it, everything in life has a theme song.”

“What do you play?”

“Piano.” Beau’s response was as if he didn’t want to boast or talk about it. Beau had a humbleness about him that was kind and captivating.

“How many years have you played?”

“Twelve,” he said, again without any cockiness in his tone.

“So will you play for me sometime?”

“Yes.” I could tell he was taught never to say no to a performance request. He knew he had a talent that he would share if it was asked of him, but he was not one to rub it in the face of others.

The conversation continued without awkward pauses. When we were quiet it wasn’t weird. We both appreciated each other’s company. In the setting we were in we were both thankful for a person to talk to.

“What is on the agenda for the rest of the weekend?” He asked. I knew he was suffering and it was only Thursday.

I started going through the check list verbally. “Well we already had our family conversations, the family argument, and the formal dinner, so for tonight we have the ‘opportunity’ to play games.” I added air quotes to emphasize the word. I usually enjoyed playing games with my immediate family, but when the extended members came in the picture I had a different attitude about it.

“I feel a little weird playing games with complete strangers.” I didn’t blame him at all for not wanting to participate.

He walked me to my hotel room. We’d both decided he would hang out with Scott and his crew, and I would read in the pool house. “If I get bored I might have to interrupt your reading.” He said as I was closing the door. I didn’t think that would bother me so much.

Chapter II

“Where did you go after dinner?” Shane asked when I got to the room to change and gather my book and other things. He knew I didn’t like to hang around after eating so his question was verified by asking where I went.

“I went walking through the hotel halls, nothing too exciting.”

“Yeah, right. I saw you walk past the doorway with Scott’s friend.”

“Then why did you ask where I went in the first place?”

“Just seeing what your response would be.” Shane admitted.

“Well it’s not a big deal, hence the ‘Nothing too exciting’” Shane and I argued like this all the time. It was a waste of both of our time, but we couldn’t resist. Both of us had to be right and most of the time it ended up that neither of us were.

I changed into wind pants and a hoodie from high school. I tried my hair up into a little bun and headed to the pool. That was the thing about me, I never dressed to impress. If I was told to be formal I would, but other than that, I was pure comfort.

To my surprise Beau, Scott, and the other boys were swimming in the pool. The questions just started flowing. Should I stay and read? I wouldn’t get much reading done. It would be so loud in there. Would he want me to be in there? Again, why did I care? I had made up my mind. He would not affect my decisions for the rest of the reunion.

I walked into the pool house and took my original seat to continue my reading of Pride and Prejudice. I was right. It was really loud in there. I got distracted easily and caught myself watching Beau some of the time. After a few minutes I noticed he wasn’t paying any attention to me at all. I might as well been invisible. I waited for thirty minutes and I realized I had failed at my promise. He had affected me and my choice. I gathered my things and headed out to the foyer.

I couldn’t believe I was acting this way. I was so upset with myself. Why did I let myself think he would actually care about me? I forced myself to open my book and get lost in the words. It was amazing how I could identify with Jane and her heartbreak when Bingly left. Every word seemed to hit the ache right on target. Jane and Bingly didn’t know each other for too long but her emotion, even though hidden, was strong and longing for him to somehow come back for her. The parallel between Jane and I was over baring.

I got up and started the hallway track again. Aggravation was growing more and more by the minute. Wait, Darcy ignored Elizabeth. Could Beau be my Darcy? I laughed at the thought. Doubt it. No one could possibly be Mr. Darcy. I passed the pool house again and Shane was now in the pool. Christopher put his stuff on the chair and joined them all. Another lap went by and I was looking forward to when I be passing the pool again. I would slow down so I could get the full scene of what was happening.

By the fourth or fifth lap I could tell both of my brothers had been introduced to all of Scott’s friends and they were all playing a “mature” game of intense Marco Polo. Christopher was the one searching for everyone and almost had one guy before he cheated and hopped out of the pool. ‘Loser’ I thought. Cheating at a stupid game like Marco Polo. Beau looked up at that moment and saw me pass the window that was separating the room and the hallway.

I picked up speed and made my way back to the lobby. My book was still in the proper place. I gathered my things and went to my room. The room was empty. Thank goodness. I wanted to be alone for a while. Mom and Dad were playing games, bless their hearts, even though they couldn’t stand to be around half of the family they still participated. Christopher and Shane were still playing in the pool, so I had a sanctuary. The sun had set, but it was still too early to try and go to bed. I started going through the channels but nothing was on. Typical. There was one get away. The hotel had wireless and I, thankfully, had brought my laptop. It had always amazed me how people could spend hours on the computer, but yet accomplish nothing. I finally understood how that whole thing worked. I tried to work on some homework, but that didn’t last long. I took a shower which took up a half an hour, but it still wasn’t an acceptable hour to sleep.

A few hours past and it was now adequate to attempt sleeping. The key word being attempt. I must have waited in my bed for hours. Beau couldn’t escape my train of thought. I found myself thinking of scenarios and conversations that could happen. There was the possibility of being really bold and walking up to him and telling him exactly what I thought. Don’t know exactly what I think about him yet, but still I would do it. There is also the option of ignoring him completely. I only had 2 more days of the family reunion and I could easily avoid him for that long.

All the family had returned and thought I was asleep. It must have been 1 or 2 in the morning. Dad hit the pillow and started snoring right away. Mom washed her face, climbed into bed and didn’t move. She always fell asleep right away. Christopher and Shane had convinced Mom and Dad to let them have their own room. I could hear them talking about the day’s events through the wall. I heard Shane inform Christopher that he almost had that one kid till he jumped out of the pool. I heard the disbelief and annoyance in the following phrases. I just laughed to myself. I decided it was of no use to sit in my bed for who knows how many more hours. Throwing on my robe I left the room, hoping there would be some hot chocolate packets in the lobby.

The lobby was dry and when I asked the front desk person if there was any hot coco it was as if I had asked for her first born. The pool wasn’t locked and was completely empty. I rolled up my PJ pants and dangled my feet in the water. It was the perfect temperature. Leaning back, letting my forearms hold me up, I let my mind go. Wishing I wasn’t trapped in this frost hole at this reunion. I wanted to go back to school. Yes, it is cold there too, but the circumstances and surroundings are different.

I heard a disturbance coming from the water. I leaned up and opened my eyes to find out that someone had joined me. Shockingly it was Shane.

“Chris doesn’t want to be around me right now.”

“What did you do?”

“He found out that everyone was cheating in the Marco-Polo game.”

“He wouldn’t freak out just because of that.” Christopher was better than that.

“I didn’t think he would care either, but he just went to bed and didn’t say a word” Shane had high tolerance for people and their behavior. The whole world could hate his guts and he would just wait it out and not care.

“So that Beau kid asked about you.” Shane’s face was calm, but knew he was killing me with the lack of information he’d given me. It didn’t matter. I could play that game too.

“That’s nice. He seems like a cool guy. Did you guys have fun tonight?”

“Oh, come on Trish! You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What?” Ha ha.

“Never mind then.” Dang it. “Yeah, we had fun, nothing too exciting.”

“Fine! What did Beau ask?”

“Ha, knew you couldn’t take the suspense. Well he asked how we were related. Which I thought was kind of stupid. We’re at a family reunion, either you’re my sister or my cousin, and you don’t talk to anyone else.”

“True.”

“Then he asked where I went to school. Said I already graduated. Then he asked if you were going to the same college I went to. I said yes. It was a really boring conversation actually. Sorry to get you all excited about it.”

“That was it?” You’ve got to be kidding me?!

Shane grinned. “Well he did mention something about him being single. He was talking with Scott and his buddies and said how he never hung out with the ladies like the rest of them. Somehow it got back to you and he asked if you were seeing anyone.” Are you kidding me?!

“What did you say?”

“What do you think I said? Oh, she’s been married for 3 years and has a little boy.” I wanted to smack the sarcasm right out of him. “I told him you were single. Duh.”

“Anything else?”

“Said you don’t date much.” Which is true. Crap, does he think something is wrong with me? Ugh, calm down. “And don’t get mad at me cause it’s true.”

“I’m not going to deny it. I know I don’t date. There isn’t anyone worth dating where I am.”

“Lies!” Shane yelled as he pointed a finger at me.

“I’m not lying. I just always find something wrong with the guys around me.”

“Trisha, no one is perfect.” Thank you oh wise one. “But you aren’t even looking.”

“Cause I’m busy. Sorry, I go to school to learn, not to get my MRS. degree. Why would I want to go out looking for a guy who isn’t going to be the right guy, and I just waste my time on him and then get hurt at the end?”

“It’s a risk everyone takes.

“Shane, I’m not willing to take that risk!”

“Well then, I’ll come visit you when you’re an old cat lady.”

“Thanks, I’ll appreciate that when I’m old, happy, and filthy rich because I actually worked in college.”

“Your priorities are a little off there, Sis.”

Shane and I didn’t say much more. We sat pool side a few more minutes and we both went back to our rooms. Shane had given me much to think about, but somehow put me at ease. My head hit my pillow and I was out like the rest of them.

Chapter III

“I don’t understand what the big deal is?” I could hear Shane yelling in the hallway when the door opened. Dad was going out to see what the problem was. I could tell Christopher was still in his room, and heard the door slam. Christopher and Shane never fought. They both had such cool tempers that it had never been an issue growing up.

“Shane, get in here.” Our Dad is stern, but always willing to listen. I could tell by his voice that it was time for Shane to do the listening and for Dad to do the talking. Mom was missing. She was probably doing laps in the pool, she’s very health conscience. Dad and Shane sat on the couch. “Give Chris a break. He just found out he didn’t get the job offer he’s been working towards.” Shane and I were both shocked. We thought Chris was automatically in. He’s such a great worker, great grades, and terrific people skills.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Shane didn’t know what else to say.

“He didn’t want to tell anyone. He found out yesterday and tried to hide his disappointment, but being around the family tested his patients.”

Shane left and went back to the room. Dad turned to me. “Trish, I know you’re awake.”

“Yep.” I snore, so I couldn’t deny it. “What’s’ Christopher going to do now?”

“He doesn’t know yet. He was really counting on that job. He didn’t really have a backup plan.” There was nothing else to be said. Dad left to go eat breakfast while I got ready for the day. I threw on a pair of worn out jeans, an old red T-shirt, straightened my hair.

So much had happened yesterday. I couldn’t imagine was today would bring. On a wintery Friday morning, surrounded with extended family I don’t enjoy, while my close family was suffering silently. This was the last place we all wanted to be.

As I left the room to meet my Dad for breakfast I saw my Mom doing laps in the pool. I was so right. Dad was just finishing his blueberry muffin. They had the waffle maker that makes the giant waffles. They’re my favorite. Shane walked around the corner and started to toast a bagel.

“So did you say anything to him?” I asked

“Yeah, I apologized. I didn’t know happened. I would have been considerate, but he didn’t tell anyone.”

“I know. But that’s how Chris is, always suffering alone.”

We both joined Dad and ate our breakfasts. The rest of the morning was reserved for service projects. It was a tradition. “We need to help those that are less fortunate. We are blessed!” My Aunt would always say to get the family involved. We put together glass jars of all the ingredients to make soup to give to those around us who might be struggling. Scott, her son, wasn’t encouraged or convinced by his mom’s speech and never joined the festivities. However, Christopher joined us and it was like we were all like a ‘feel good’ commercial. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and helping out in the kitchen. Later we tied baby quilts for the orphanage. During the activities it does make me reflect and realize how blessed I am.

The families broke for lunch. My clan decided it needed to get out of the hotel for a bit. We found a little pizza shack ran by a little old man. He said he was really from Italy, but I’m not sure if I believe him. However, the pizza was delicious, and it was the best idea in the world to get out of that hotel. We love our Pineapple pizza.

“When are you two heading back to school?” Mom asked Shane and me as she bit off another bite.

“Haven’t decided yet,” Shane said. We both went to school in Idaho. Neither of us really wanted to go back to school. Shane is very social but hates studying. I’m unsocial and also hate studying so I lose either way.

We all reluctantly drove back to the hotel. Mom and Dad were trying to put on a pleasant act, but they didn’t fool us. They were as miserable as we were. We were all raised to work hard, and work for what you earn. We are workaholics, and it just drove us crazy to waste time like this.

The afternoon was open to do whatever until dinner. I would have preferred to go out to a movie, but the parental insisted on going back to the hotel and try to be social. The pool was the goal of Christopher, Shane and I. But only if it was semi empty, I don’t enjoy over crowded pools.

Sadly the pool was overloaded. I was all dressed for it and everything. The hot tub only had 2 strangers in it though. I thought it was a couple a first but soon realized it was a brother and sister. The girl looked at if she would be short; I couldn’t really tell because she was sitting. She had blond hair that was tied up into a bun at the very top of her head. I’m guessing she didn’t want it to get wet. The brother had almost black hair that had curl to it. He was muscular in the shoulder area. He could have been a jock if he wanted to, but I wasn’t getting that vibe from him. Great, cute guy and here I am in my swimsuit. Not a good first impression. The hot tub was hotter than I was expecting. It took a while to get used to. The brother and sister were bickering about something in the back ground, but I wasn’t paying attention.

“Hey…hey, what’s your name?” the girl asked.

“Umm, I’m Patricia.” I was just minding my own business; I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to people.

“Hi, I’m Katie. This is my brother Peck.”

I don’t really care. “Nice to meet you.” Why are you talking to me?

“What are you here for?” Katie was the super friendly kind of person. I could tell it didn’t matter if she knew you your whole life or just s few seconds everyone, in her opinion, was her friend.

“We’re having a family reunion.”

“I knew it,” Katie said to her brother. “I told you they all look the same.” Peck nodded, but it clearly read on his face that he didn’t care. “We’re here for the weekend. Family get-a-way. We live in Salt Lake City, so we like to get away every now and then.”

“I spend a lot of my time there. It’s where most of my family lives.” I was shocked that we had that in common. But it’s Utah, everyone lives, or knows someone who lives in Salt Lake.

“Oh, are you from here originally?

“No I grew up in Vegas.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-one. You?”

“I’m nineteen and Peck is twenty-two.” Peck never said anything. I guess he was used to his sister dominating the conversation that he didn’t even try.

“So, Patricia, how long are you here for?” Katie kept coming with the questions.

“Till Monday.”

“We leave Sunday.”

Katie was nice, overly nice. Peck was entertaining to watch. It looked like he had ten other things on his mind and none of them related to any of his sister’s conversation. Time pasted and Katie, thankfully, ran out of questions for me.

“I’m sorry I have to leave. I have to get ready for dinner. It was nice meeting you both.” I said as I left the hot tub. It had been almost an hour and I was so over heated. I didn’t understand how they could be in there so long.

“Nice meeting you, too!” Katie yelled after me.

I had a few hours before dinner and this time I didn’t have to dress up. Cooling down was harder than it should have been, and I hated taking cold showers. It’s not right. Mom must have bumped up the heat in our room because I was still sweating after 15 minutes of laying on the bed. I was not the person to mess with someone else’s thermostat. I changed back into my jeans and t-shirt from before.

The ice machine was all the way at the end of the hall and around the corner. But there is always something about hotel ice machines that are so fun.

The ice bucket was almost full when everything went black. Warm hands covered my eyes and the ice began to overflow from the bucket. “Crap!” But there wasn’t anything I could do but pull the bucket away. “Who is this?”
“Guess.” It was a man’s voice. Not my brothers. I carefully steadied the bucket of ice on the shelf of the machine and felt his hands. No ring. Not an Uncle. None of the cousins wouldn’t think of messing with me like this.

“Beau?” Turning his hands to grab mine he lowered our hands, and I regained sight.

“How did you know?”

“I’m a genius.”

“That’s up for debate.” He paused and looked at our hands. “You’re really warm.”

“Hence the ice,” I said as I let go of one of his hands reaching for the bucket with the other. We started towards his room. “So what have you been doing all day?”

“The guys and I stayed up late so we didn’t get up till noon. We had lunch with the family, which you didn’t attend, and we’ve just been messin’ around ever since.”

“We left to get a pizza. We all needed a little break.”

“Oh I agree. You’re my only get-a-way here,” he said as he jokingly nudged me with his side.

OMG!!!

Beau walked us to his room and opened the door. The place had been recently reorganized by the maid. “Nice place ya got here.”

“Ha ha, funny.” Beau got out a case of dvds. “You like movies right?”

“Love movies.” Watching movies was one of my favorite past times.

I was reclined with my back on the pillows and my head resting on the head board. Beau put in a movie, grabbed the remote, closed the blinds and joined me on the freshly made bed (mints included).

“Do you like romance movies?”

Shocked, I responded, “I love them, but I don’t want to make you suffer for me.”

“Well luckily for both of us this is the best movie made of all time. It’s romantic, it’s funny, it has it all.”

The movie was Princess Bride. It’s true, one of the best movies of all time. About 20 minutes into the movie Beau put his arm around my shoulder. My temperature started to rise again with nervousness. The ice became my new best friend. I would hold the cubes in my hand for a few seconds before popping it in my mouth. I would rub my arm with the cooler hand and try to be as discrete as possible.

I guess I wasn’t being as discrete as I thought I was. Beau took a cube of ice and slowly ran it up and down my arm. “This better?”

Embarrassing! “Yes, thank you,” I said shyly. “Oh, I’ll go get a towel, it’s melting everywhere.”

I sopped up most of the water as Beau sat up. I looked up and he had a strange grin on his face. “What?” Suddenly his arm had me around the waist and pulled me to the bed. Both his arms were around me now while were both facing the screen where Westley and Buttercup had just shared their first kiss.

“Would it be corny to have our first kiss at the same time they have theirs?” I laughed to myself. “I guess so, sorry.”

Oops. I laughed again. “No, it’s funny cause that’s how I always imagine the perfect first kiss. The characters share their first kiss on screen, then the guy would lean in and…” I didn’t get the chance to finish.

Nauvoo Idol!!!

2010-02-23T21:36:00.001-08:00

LeeAnna and I were asked to be incharge of "Nauvoo Idol" which is just American Idol but with our apartment complex. Lee and I are decorating the lounge for the night. Both of us hate this picture, but it's one of the few we have.

This is Joel, he was the winner of Nauvoo Idol. He wrote his own songs and played the piano. His prize was $50.

This is the cake LeeAnna and I made for the night. It could be so much better, but I wasn't going for perfection here.

Midterm cake

2010-02-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

We had to pick a cake out of our cake book. We were allowed to make changes to our cake. So the model cake was pure white, 3 tiers, and circles. I changed it to hexagon shaped pans, of course tons of color, and I only made 2 tiers but each one had 3 layers in it. Very tall cake.

Thanks to Skyler for giving me a ride home so my cake could make it in one piece.

Winter Semester 2010

2010-02-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

While I meditate...

LeeAnna is setting off fire alarms.

Lee was making chicken and it called for oil in the pan and when she put the chicken in the room filled with smoke. We are in the wheel chair accessible apartment and so when we set off our fire alarm the whole apartment complex goes off. Needless to say the firemen showed up and Lee got a picture with them.

My Cake Final!!!

2009-12-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

My Final cake!!! I'm so proud.

My safari cake.

The top layer is giraffe skin for the base. Then the rock starts the waterfall.

The second layer is zebra stripes and the block fondant pretty much ruined my cake, but I fixed it with all the grass. Don't you love the proportions of the gorilla to the hipo? Ha, cracks me up!
The last layer is tiger stripes, and again the black made me want to cry a little, but I covered most of it up. Sorry the waterfall didn't cover the stripe up as much as it was suposed to.

A top view.

Me and my cake. So proud :)

WEDNESDAYS!!!!

2009-12-13T22:16:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday's LeeAnna and I watch Glee! Oh my goodness, What did y'all think of the season finale?! CRAZY! LOVED IT!

And while watching Glee (but not this time cause it was too exciting) LeeAnna does my nails. She's very talented and I love having fancy nails for a week. This wee I picked black, which she wasn't very excited to do, but they look so classy and stylish. 2 words that don't discribe me at all, but I really liked them.

Black Friday... dun dun dun...

2009-12-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

LeeAnna texted me Thanksgiving night and asked if I would go with her to black Friday shopping. I shocked her and said yes. I thought it would be just a small 3 hour thing maybe. I was mistaken.

So we met up at her house and her sister wanted to go to Toys R Us. we got there and the line was literally surrounding the whole store, which takes up a block. LeeAnna's sister decided it would be best if we came back later and we dropped her back off at the house. LeeAnna and I went to the mall and shopped from 12-3
So we went back to the Wright house and I ate an orange and Lee had a 20 minute nap. The sister joined us again and we went to Wal Mart. Then Toys R Us, shopping from 4-7.

If you know me at all, you know how much I love me sleep, so I went the whole night without sleep and went back to Grandma and Grandpa's. I got to see a beautiful sunrise on the way home. I slept from 8 am-2pm.
I'm not much of a shopper so I got 1 bag. (as pictured) and Lee got most, if not all, of her Christmas shopping done.

Thanksgiving Meal!

2009-12-13T22:01:00.000-08:00

We had a Thanksgiving meal the Sunday after we got back from our break. From left to right: LeeAnna, Jessica, Sarah, Alli, Me.

From the wall to the counter: Yams (made by me) Stuffing (made by LeeAnna) Mashed Potatoes (made by Alli, kinda me, and LeeAnna) Turkey and gravy (LeeAnna and Alli too)

Yeah, it was soooo good. I never thought it would have ever been that good, but it was! We did so well.

Payback. Bitter-Sweet

2009-12-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning, got all ready for church, and then found a little suprise when we tried to leave...a bunch of guys last night decided to prank us! and the snow was packed on our door, so we couldn't get out!!! They got us back really good from when we pranked them. Maybe they got us back too good.

So what we had to do was take off the screen to the window and climb out the window so we wouldn't be late to church!!

We talked to people at church and found out at a few of the guys that did it...one of my FHE brothers. It was a few of them actually, along with a few other guys from different apartments. They said that they took the snow from somewhere else, and it took them three truck fulls of snow to get all of this.
After we left to church, a few guys from our ward shoveled the snow for us. They shoveled all the snow up for us so we could walk in our door! So nice! But it was a pretty dang funny prank!!

To the Ladies of ARDC

2009-12-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

Finally I have put up a picture of me in my coat. I know it's not that special, but thanks for caring anyway. Hope all is well at work and have a fantastic day!

BYU Football Game

2009-12-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

I went to my first BYU Football Game. This was the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Jessica, Me, LeeAnna, and her brother Steven all went. Yep, we won. LeeAnna, Me, and Jess at the game Why do we do the weird face pose. Not cute. I was a little afraid of Cougar Jessica Me, LeeAnna, and Steven All four of us.

Balance Board part 2

2009-11-23T14:13:00.001-08:00

Shane likes the balance board almost as much as me. He might be better than me at it too.

NEW MOON!!!

2009-11-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

LeeAnna likes Jacob. However, I like Edward This is us right before the movie started. LeeAnna, right after seeing the movie.

Me right after the movie. Oh it was so good.

This isn't related to Twilight. But still I love them anyway. Can't wait for their movie to come out on Christmas. I was kinda scared too. They look too much like mascots.

My Roomies

2009-11-23T13:52:00.000-08:00

My roommates and I were about to go to the Thanksgiving party for our ward. We all looked so cute that I couldn't not take some pictures.LeeAnna looks so young in this picture. It looks like I could be her mom.

Balance Board!!!

2009-11-18T18:50:00.001-08:00

So this is my new favorite toy. It's just a board, like a skate board with no wheels. And then a 2 liter bottle filled. Then you balance. It sounds so boring, but it's so addicting!!!

Sorry about the scariness of the picture.. its been a no makeup week.

FHE Cake

2009-11-18T18:39:00.001-08:00

So in cake decor class we didn't do anything, and then I went to baking and we decorated a cake. Ha sounds mixed up. But I went to class and everyone was pretty much still making icing and I was already done with mine. I didn't try hard on this one at all because we don't get graded. The teachers just walks around making corrections instructs us, so I didn't try. And sad thing is... No one ate the cake either. By the end of two days there was one little slice missing. Maybe my roomies are finally sick of cake.

Bird and Butterfly Cake

2009-11-11T17:57:00.000-08:00

Cute cake I made today. 11/11/09 I thought it was uber cute!

LeeAnna's 20th Birthday

2009-11-11T17:21:00.000-08:00

I sent LeeAnna on a scavanger hunt for her birthday. The first clue sent her to Wendy's for fries to meet her friend Beth The second clue took her to Desert Book to meet Seth, our FHE brother, and she got a temple calandar She then went to Jamba Juice and met Alli who got her a Jamba She got to the Snow and found Kevin and Garrett and got a Synphony BarLeeAnna went to the testing center and found John and got a Christmas cup and mints Taylor Chapel was next and Seth gave her smelly good wax stuffUpstairs at the Taylor in our Family Foundations room Callie and Jessica were hiding and gave her socks In our favorite spot at the gardens Sarah gave LeeAnna flowers and Seth surprised us all and showed up a second time. I was hiding at the Ricks with a box my parents had mailed her.

The last clue sent her to the Rexburg temple.

Families can be together forever. This is our FHE group. Minus Matt, Alex, and Callie. In the picture from left to right: Jess, Seth, Sarah, Alli, John, Me, LeeAnna, Kevin, and Garrett.

After the scavanger hunt, just hanging out in our apartment This is "sexy Tyler" ha ha. One of our friends wishing her a Happy Birthday.

The birthday card I made for LeeAnna. It's huge! A whole sheet of card board.

Happy Birthday Jessica!

2009-11-05T19:35:00.000-08:00

The cake I made. The fridge leaked on the back of the cake so some of the colors bled into each other. The Birthday Girl and her cake I made her. The card I made to match the cake and the theme. I loved how it was signed on all over!

The Roomies. Minus Callie.

Alli, Me, and LeeAnna. We are just awesome.

Pre-Concert Pics

2009-10-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

LeeAnna and I went to a Jim Brickman piano concert and we were both looking so good we just had to take pictures. However my batteries were dead to my camera and she has somehow misplaced hers so we have to use the laptop and the pictures turned out a little digital. But I hope you enjoy.

P.S. this was before my hair cut and color so I don't look like this much anymore.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY AND I'LL PARTY IF I WANT TO!!!

2009-10-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

From the left: My mom and dad got me a Zac Efron card that had gift cards from iTunes, Walmart, Jamba Juice, and a free Cold Stone, and a free candy bar.

Then LeeAnna got me the AWESOME Zac Efron bag with the MASSIVE card in it that was signed by all my friends. So thoughtful

Jessica (my roommate) got my the High School Musical clock.

Then Shane and Becca sent me the wicked awesome hoodie. The inside of the hoodie is unbelievably soft and cozy. Then Alli got me pink roses. Sarah and LeeAnna decorated the front room. It was so festive.LeeAnna and Me on my birthdayMe, LeeAnna, Alli, and Jessica went to Texas Road House for my birthday. Sarah and Callie couldn't join us for the evenings events Me and LeeAnna at my birthday dinnerYep, they made me wear the hat for some pictures.Jessica and Me :)

Alli and Me.

Sarah, she's so awesome. She missed the dinner but she still made it a party when she got home. Jess.

This was so awkward Everyone blew up balloons and covered the floor in the front room

The schedule of my birthday:
5:45 got up and went to my sewing lab and got a whole lot accomplished.
Went to the rest of my classes
12:45 went to the temple, and had an awesome experience
2:30 chilled at the house
6:30 my brother Skyler came over
7:30 Went out to dinner
8:40--Drove home belting out to Celine Dion
9:00-- Some FHE bros came over and wished me happy birthday

Thanks so much to those who called, text, and facebook messaged me. It meant so much to me, and made me feel so special.

Muaaahhh ha ha ha (that's supposed to be an evil laugh)

2009-10-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

I stole most of this from LeeAnna’s Blog
---Monday Morning---
12:30am—I’m making icing roses, Lee is in our room, Sarah and Jess are trying to read, Calli is sleeping, and Alli wants tacos
1:00am--Sarah and Jessica go get LeeAnna
1:15am--we all get ready
1:30am--we take LOTS of pictures
2:00am--sneaking out of the apartment after curfew **cue mission impossible theme music**
2:00-2:20am--go to FHE bros house (rolling on ground, hiding behind cars...being VERY careful not to get caught) and saran wrap their whole doorway
2:10am--strange man walks across parking lot. We all drop to the ground.
2:20am--run back to the apartment without getting caught
3:30am-- finally get to bed :)

Sturday Oct 17, 2009

2009-10-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

My roommates and I go to Guitars Unplugged. It's a concert of students that get together and makes a lot of little bands. All kinds of Music and all kinds of different guitars. It was the first time I've ever been. My roommate, Sarah, goes to the concert way early and gets an awesome seat on the floor and saves the rest of us some awesome seats next to her. LeeAnna, Me, Alli, Beth, Jessica, and her date Tyson show up and we sit almost at the front on the left side. GREAT SEATS!

In the picture starting with me going clockwise. Me, LeeAnna, Alli, and Sarah

So we are waiting for it to start and the announcers come out and say that JPL (Jon Peter Lewis) is going to give the opening prayer. I stop, and was like, "Are you kidding me?!" I thought he was a guest star of something, but no! He goes and sits with the rest of the bands!!! (BTW if you don't know who Jon Peter Lewis is... He was on the 3rd season of American Idol and he got 8th in the top 10. I would watch his audition tape over and over when I was 14.) Anyway, I could hardly concentrate with him sitting right there, knowing that he would be getting up soon to preform. I couldn't believe he goes to me school! I was freaking out and my roommate Jessica leans over to me and informed me that she knows him. They have common friends back in Cali and they've hung out a couple of times. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! so he preforms and I'm super excited, he did so well. Then afterward Jessica goes up to him and talks to him and gives him hug! He asks where she's living and she said Nauvoo 402, and he said that he will have to come over some time! AHHH

Baking and Decorating!!!

2009-09-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

My forest Cake.

Birthday cake that I scraped the top off of.

Peanutbutter cookies that I stole the recipe to.

bagels! they were good! 1 plain and 2 cinnimon surgar

French bread. yeah this was dilicious! everyone that ate it LOVED it.

The Gardens up at BYU Idaho

2009-09-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Me, LeeAnna, and Beth

LeeAnna, Me, and Beth

First week of Sophomore year

2009-09-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

LeeAnna and I went down to Utah the first weekend in the school semester and since we took a picture of the Idaho welcome we had to do one of the Utah welcome. It's also when we switch drivers.

I'm taking a baking class this semester and the first day we made pretzels. They were SOOO good. I brought them home still hot and LeeAnna, Me, and Sarah (one of our other roommates) ate them all up. I was stinking proud of myself for my first day!

BYU Idaho!

2009-09-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hello readers, So I've made it back up to Idaho for another semester. So awesome story... I signed up too late in the summer to be in the Nauvoo housing and they sent me to their other housing across campus, which is owned by the same people. LeeAnna and I get to Rexburg and go in to get her signed in and they asked if I was signing in as well. I said I wasn't cause they were full and they had sent me to La Jolla. The awesome managers informed us that there are 2 openings that just opened that morning! We were just waiting to see if LeeAnna's roommate was showing up and if she wanted to go to another room so we could be in the same room. One of the managers called the missing girl and she said she was going to another apartment complex. WOO HOO! so long story short I'm in Nauvoo and Roommates with LeeAnna again.
School starts tomorrow and I think I'm ready for it. I don't have any classes on Fridays and I'm so super excited about that! Also I'm going down to Utah 7 weekends and I'll be here in Rexburg for 7 weekends. Hope we don't get major callings that require us to be here a lot! :S

Camping in Mt. Charleston

2009-08-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

Raigan, Becca, Shane, Gaige, and Me on Mt. Charleston.

Becca, Raigan, and Me on Mt. Charleston

On the hikes Gaige would fall asleep on Shane's back. This would be about the only sleep he would get on the whole trip.

I got to roast marshmallows with Gaige for the first time. I couldn't have been happier here.

Gaige had a good time out in nature. He was free to run and play. Just wish he would have slept better.

So this is me. Trying to be happy. On out last day of camping we went on a hike. Shane had his GPS and so they (and I say THEY meaning not me) wanted to go off the trail. We climbed a mountain up one side and down the other, through trees and over rocks. I was not a happy camper. Then Shane decided to go look to see if he could find a better way, but he took the GPS with him and left the rest of the group. We all went looking for him while our tension and aggravation grew. We found him, and soon after we had given up we found a road. I was SOOO done by this time and was happy to be heading back to the campsite.

2009-08-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

Becca is an awesome Mom. She's been going without sleep for the last 5 weeks. This is the classic 'Mom' picture with both of her sons asleep she still smiles for a picture.

Gaige got this crazy look going on the last couple of days.

Raigan Beau is spending time in his car seat while camping. He's a cutie!

Another shot of Raigan Beau.

About me, catch up

2009-08-06T23:07:00.000-07:00

I graduated from Graham High School in 2008. I was a huge band nerd, I played the French Horn. I miss band so much!

I'm Mormon and at home growing up there were 4 of us girls. Christin, the oldest and the mom of the group, Cathryne, her sister and the total beauty of the group but never knew it, Me, the joker, and Lizzy, the newest to the group and the punk fashion rocker. These girls were my best friends growing up and have effected my life in so many ways.

I'm attending Brigham Young University in Rexburg, Idaho. I started out wanting to be a human biology major. HA! like that could ever happen, talk about the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Then I decided that I want to become a cake decorator, sadly BYU-I doesn't have a cake decorating major. So now I'm hopefully going to get my associates and I don't know what I'm going to do from then. LeeAnna is my best friend up there in Idaho. We were roommates my first semester but in different rooms. Our second semester we were each others roommates and we had to stick together to stay alive it seemed, it was just a really bad experience. But I wouldn't change it cause it made us that much closer and only we can understand what each other went through.

Also I'm a HUGE High School Musical fan. I've been to the real East High 3 times. I love Zac Efron! My brother, Christopher, got me the life size cut out for Christmas!

That about catches us up on most of my life. I hope it was enjoyable to read.

The Starter

2009-08-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

Since I feel like I don't have a permanent home anymore, and people are in and out of my life so frequently I want a place that can be consistent.

So my current home is it Las Vegas. Shane and Becca have graciously opened their home to me and let me crash here till school starts in September. We had a family reunion for my Dad's side and that's why we all came up. In the picture above Gaige, Dad, Me, Mom, Becca, Raigan, and Shane. Christopher and Ashley joined us later in the week. Gaige (2) is crazy and has so much energy all the time. Raigan Beau (3 weeks) has reflux and gets fussy very easily, poor kid. I don't know how Becca does it all the time, she's a great mom.

While at the Bellagio taking all the awesome pictures with the family I went to go pick up Gaige for a picture and threw out a rib in my back. I couldn't sit, stand, breath, it was horrible. Still in pain, we had plans right after Bellagio to go to the aquarium. It was so cool! I'm not a big fan of fish but these things were HUGE! At the beginning they gave you thing phone/radio looking thing and we could dial in this code that went with each fish and it would tell you all about it.

2 days after my injury I went to Dr. Dave and he popped my back all over. It felt good, but I don't think it helped any. so the 5th day was the worst, I had been in so much pain all those days that I wasn't able to sleep much. Dad and Shane had been working on "projects" all week and this morning they were laying a cement slab in the back yard. I was on the floor, in pain, crying sometimes. I got a blessing from my Dad and Brother and went to the family reunion. Dad gave me a pain pill before we left and by the time I got to the reunion I was a zombie. I went to the couch and slept for 2 hours without moving! I was still really stiff and sore, but the pain was tolerable. I went home (Shane and Becca's house) and by the next day I was SOOO much better.

I'll post more about my life in Vegas later with more pictures of the boys and my adventures!