Vacation Time!

So, I am off to Hawaii for a 2 week vacation! It's been a busy week with parent week and the play at work. I got home at 11pm and can finally start focusing on packing and the fact that I am actually going. I am so grateful to be able to take the time off to go! My boss and coworkers are so wonderful for picking up extra work to make it so that I can go! Manda and I have some big plans to do a lot of really fun things! I'm sure there will be many many amazingly beautiful pictures to post as the weeks unfold!

America Got It Right!

I went to the Utah State Fair yesterday. My sister and I went to see a performance. We were a little bit confused when we pulled into a parking area and were asked to pay $10 when it had been advertised as $5. They parking attendant informed us it was $5 earlier but his boss just upped it to $10 and he only had 2 spots left. We were glad we parked there as it was very close and the walk back in the dark wasn't as bad... We entered by the county booths and saw this 270 pound pumpkin.... Now that will make some pumpkin pie!!! We wandered around and looked at all the booths and all the things people were selling. Anyways, we asked some questions and found the grandstand stage where the performance was going to be. We found out that it had been moved to a bigger stage because of the enormous turnout the night before. The kind state fair workers advised us to get there at least an hour and a half ealry in order to get good seats. So we continued to wander and saw the pigs and sheep. We saw a girl clutching a stuffed puppy and crying as she wandered around. We turned a corner and saw a frantic mother running around shouting a girls name. I approached her and asked if her daughter was carrying a stuffed animal ( I realized later that just about every kid there was carring around a stuffed animal of some sort). She said Yes! and I pointed her in the direction of the girl we had just seen. She quickly thanked me and ran in that direction. Now I have no idea if that was really her lost daughter or if she found her but I like to think that it was and that I helped in some way. So anyways, we found a food stand that sold fried desserts. They had fried twinkies, oreos, and snickers. My sister bought a friend snickers and it was actually quite tasty.They put a snickers candy bar on a stick, dip it in batter, and then fry it. I bet the fried oreos and twinkies were good too!

It was now time to head over to the Grandstand to get in line. We made our way over and were surprised at how long the line was already. We stood in line for about 2 minutes and then the line was moving! We were able to go in right away and got great seats! We sat off to one side about 8 rows back on the aisle. We were there an hour and a half before the show. As the time got closer, they began to do sound checks and then there he was.... Terry Fator! If you don't know who that is, he was the ventriliquist on America's Got Talent and ended up winning the million dollars. I will tell you right now that America got it right and voted for the right person. Terry Fator is truly talented! He is very entertaining, a phenomenal ventriliquist, and so fun to watch! For those of you who still do not know who he is-- go look him up! He can impersonate various celebrtities and artists. Now, if you are thinking, not another one of those- then serisously look him up because he is most definately NOT another one of those. He is phenomenal! His voice range is astounding. He can sing like Etta James, Michael Jackson, Maroon 5, Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn, Sonny and Cher, and Elvis! He has various personalitites for each of his puppets and they sing just like the original artist and yet still have their own personalitites. He is just amazing to watch and he can sing too! I took a few pictures and some video clips... At the end he had Paul come out of the audience and help him to do a Sonny and Cher song. It was so funny! He signed autographs at the end of the show but we decided not to stand in line and didn't have anything for him to sign anyways.

60 HouRS iN THe LiFe oF......

FRiDaY

10am wake up

laundry

pack bags

shower

12:30 meeting at work

130 meeting should be over ... still going

2:00 meeting finally over hurry home

2:30 leave town- Headed to Aspen, CO (one hour behind schedule)

ROAD TRIP!

5:00pm talk to Manda who cannot check into our hotel because we are not there... warn her about the bears in the news.

7:00pm Manda was able to check in and is now wandering around downtown Aspen and spots two bears! A baby cub digging in trash and a Mama cub in the tree above the trash can

She promises to send me a picture....

8:30pm arrive in Aspen (2 hours behind schedule)

8:40pm meet Manda at Belly Up (name of venue for concert)

8:45pm Sara Bareilles takes the stage---funny entertaining and great music.

9:50pm photograph taken with Sara! (again Manda promises to send me a copy)

10:00pm Jon McLaughlin takes the stage--- funny, amazing talent, entertaining, and superb music

11:00pm photo of Jon signing Manda's poster (Manda can I have a copy of this one too?)

11:15pm check in at quaint Aspen lodge (we need to fill out the paperwork although Manda already has the key)

11:20pm enjoy the spacious room although we wished it was cold and snowy outside so we could use the fireplace that was right in our room! We had 2 queen sized beds and a twin bed, a small kitchen area, tv, bookshelf with books on it, and old wooden skis on the walls. As we are getting ready for bed we listen to music from the concert and Dede uploads the cds we bought to her iTunes

11:45pm fall asleep on the comfy queen sized bed

SaTuRDaY

1:00am wake up and get ready for bed

8:00am wake up and enjoy laying in bed for an hour

9:00am get up and shower

10:00am Breakfast at an Austrian restaurant called the Weinerstube- quite tasty!

11:30am hit the road again

RoaD TRiP!!

3:00pm ooops going a bit too fast Dede-- very friendly state trooper gives a warning to slow down!

5:15pm Get home and unpack the car

5:30pm start laundry and make a shopping list

7:00pm head to WalMart-begin to fill the cart and then able to maneuver through walmart with a cart full of oversized tupperware containersbarely missing several small children and almost knocking items off the shelves. Thank goodness for the large mirror in the side of my cart to help see some of these things!

9:00pm- checkout--(thank goodness for that extra big paycheck yesterday!)

9:00pm unload the car- (had to put groceries inside the tupperwares for it all to fit in the car)Decide to just carry in the large tupperware full of groceries...too heavy to do alone. Colleen grabs a side-- we stumble through the forest called our front yard (Landlord seems to think a lawn only needs to be mowed twice all year) almost fall down the stairs in the entryway after barely making it through the doorway. Make it down the stairs and drop the tupperware with a loud bang.

9:30pm start deep cleaning, organizing, throwing away, and rearranging my messy room

SuNDaY

12:45am check cell phone- 5 new text messages waiting. 3 of which are from work wanting me to go in....

1:00am Begin to wonder if a national disaster should be declared and if rescue crews would respond to save me!....decide not to go to work.... keep cleaning

3:00 am getting tired but "in the zone" and determined to not stop until the entire room is clean

4:00am take the last load of clean laundry out of the dryer and put it away

4:10am Fall into bed gratefully....

7:58am wake up to text message asking me to go in to work. Decide to go for a few hours before church

8:00am shower and get dressed

8:45am show up at work

11:30am come back home to get ready for church

11:33am difficulties getting printer to print the sacrament program. Small surgery applied to printer and wireless router (thanks Dede) and we have success!

12:30pm head to church to copy and fold programs for sacrament meeting - copier in the library is SLOWER than a slug (slugs btw are so slow that algae is able to grow on their bellies and not come off because they move so slow)

1:00pm Church meetings begin

2:10m in charge of new member meeting- welcome new members - introduce everyone - get inofrmation sheets filled out to request records - take photos for the ward directory - pass out candy - make copies of new member info sheets and distribute... (We constantly have students moving in and out of the ward so this is a weekly process)

2:55pm join sunday school for the last 5 minutes

3:10pm Relief Society- announces Birthdays! Happy Birthday to me this last week. They do a spotlight and it's on ME! (Bishop questions whether I really waterskiied for the first time at age 3)

3:30pm get text message no longer needed at work after church--YES!! a nap may be possible after all

4:10pm decide to stay for choir practice and sing my little heart out

5:15pm get home, make dinner, eat dinner, clean up dinner, make brownies

5:50pm take short nap

6:10pm pull brownies out of the oven

NaP

7:00pm eat brownies and peppermint ice cream (delicious btw)

7:30pm check emails

8:30pm ward prayer

8:45pm call parents

10:00pm enjoy clean room and begin to respond to emails....

(This blogging thing takes a while- it's now 11:30pm....)

This is in no way typical of my everyday life. Oh wait, kind of it is. Busy Adventurous and Fun!

Next Stop-- Hawaii!! 20 days and counting!!

A New Year

I wanted my first "post" to be on my birthday, but I am a couple days too late for that. I celebrated my birthday with family and friends and was so appreciative of those that remembered me on that special day. I had several gifts, phone calls, emails, text messages, and personal happy birthday wishes.
As I start a new year of my life, I am glad to be able to count the numerous blessings i enjoy daily!
I love the plan of happiness and salvation!
I love my family. I had the opportunity to spend time with the majority of them over labor day weekend. It was such a nice break and so fun!! We had a BBQ, went boating and waterskiing at the lake, celebrated my birthday, and played with adorable nieces and nephews.
I love my job-I work as a recreation therapist at a residential treatment center. I have worked there for about 6 and 1/2 years. I truly love my job! For those that do not know, Recreation Therapy is a form of therapy that uses recreation to teach various social skills, leisure skills, and life skills. So, basically I get paid to play! Sounds fun right? Well, it is! However, there are some challenges that come with it as well. Getting paid to go snowboarding, camping, boating, and swimming sounds like a blast (which it is) but, also keep in mind that I am responsible for the safety, planning, feeding, paying, and constant supervision of the youth that I work with. Imagine trying to keep a group of 21 people together at an amusement park, not losing track of anyone, making sure the kids are not trying to get free food from cute teenagers working the food booths, keeping everyone happy and agreeable on which rides to ride when, what and when to eat, giving medications, and ensuring that the kids are drinking enough water, and putting on sunscreen! Or imagine being responsible for a youth that falls 30 feet off a cliff and needs emergency medical attention while camping.(he is okay by the way) Or imagine spending hours in the middle of the night looking for kid that has decided to run away. It's not all fun and games but, it is very rewarding when you are the one to teach someone how to make and eat a smore for the first time. When you can help someone overcome one of thier fears. When you see someone become confident in themselves and their abilties. When you teach kids how to have good clean fun (without using substances, illegal activities, or violence). When you can help someone learn a new coping skill, manage their anger, or improve their ability to express their feelings. These are the times that make the other things all worth it!
Enough about all of that! I think you get the picture!
I love to spend time with family, in the outdoors, and playing as much as possible.
I have recently been introduced to the world of music and concerts and have attended more concerts in the last six months than in the rest of my life thus far!
So, I am looking forward to another phenomenal year!