Happy Birthday Ju-Ju...

Happy Birthday Julie.  I hope it was great... it was your golden one after all!

Thanks for being you!!!

Hip Hop Roller Skating

Seriously... I can pretty much guarantee that no one reading my blog has seen anything like this.  Last Thursday my parent partner (if you don't know what that is ask me later) Alice (refer to earlier blog to see her debut) talked some of my friends from work, or co-workers if you will, into going skating with her.  So here I am thinking of my 8th birthday party at the roller rink.  Back in the day when would play red light green light, do the chicken dance (which they still do at ice rinks), and of course there was always the enjoyable couples skate. So here I am imagining Alice my 58 year old friend going to the skating rink every thursday night and joining the children for some red light green light. Boy did I get a surprise when we walked it. 

   

I knew something was different as soon as we walked through the metal detectors and was asked for ID. I felt real good about the situation when I began to hear hip hip music ringing through the speakers.  Then I beheld the sight... This was not what we (and I am just going to be totally un-PC) white people think of as roller skating. People were not skating... they were dancing... on wheels.  It was AMAZING.  I couldn't believe the things that I was seeing.  I can't even explain to you how great it was.  

I also can't tell you how badly I stuck out like a sore thumb.  Let me just paint a quick picture... I was one of about 4 other Caucasians in the room (the other 4 being the friends that came with me)and I was THE ONLY ONE wearing Rollerblades.  I seriously felt like such a dork.  Apparently roller blades are not the cool thing at the Skate Depot.  Next time I will be sporting the skates instead.  

It was a great night.  Thanks Alice for showing us a good time and teaching us how to back that "you know what" up!

Eat, Love, Pray

Yes,  not only are those three of my favorite things to do (especially the eat part) but they are also the title of the first book that our little book group read.  

My roommate Laura and I decided that it would be fun to get a group of girls together to have a little book group.  We had are first meeting a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun.  The girls all had such great insight on the book and just on life in general. And of course my cute roommate prepared fabulous food for us that went right along with the Italian theme of the section of the book that we had read.  

(sorry Charity... I don't know why you are sideways.  I tried to fix it but I am a little technologically slow today I guess)

We are excited about part two of the book and hearing what everyone else thought of the book too.  

Dear Fellow Bloggers...

So... I am kind of new to this whole blogging thing. So I have a quick question for you bloggers out there.  Does anyone else have difficulty getting pictures up on their blog.  Sometimes it takes FOREVER to get the picture to upload.  And tonight it was virtually impossible.  It just didn't happen.  Am I the only one to have this problem???  Is there some kind of short cut or secret that I don't know.  Please... help a sister out.  

Sincerely, 

Frustrated with pictures 

International Eating...

So about every two to three weeks a few of my co-workers and I try to go to lunch some place fun and some place international.... We are all excited to try new kinds of foods.  Okay... well maybe the food is only new to me since I am known to be one of the worlds pickiest eaters and am kind of scared of trying new things (but just because I am scared doesn't mean that I don't and that I won't... I have tried some scary things in my day).  So unfortunately I missed out on the first excursion which I think was to Thai food... I have tried Thai a few times already so I am not too disappointed that I missed that one... (plus it was a hit so I think that we will be revisiting that place).... 

So to get to my point the last excursion that we went on we got real international... 

That's right we went straight to the International House of Pancakes. Why? You might ask.  Well because it was free pancake day at IHOP.  Every year they have a day that they give out a short stack of pancakes asking only that you donate some money to Miracle of Children (or something like that)  So I thought to myself... I like pancakes... I like children... I like charity... and I like free.  So I gathered my international group together and we headed to the nearest IHOP.

So what if we were all in carb coma's for the rest of the day.  It was so worth it.  Gotta love the short stack!

M.I. C. See ya later... K.E.Y. why? Because we love you!

Yes.. Mickey... We do love you.  Or better yet we just love disneyland and the fun times that it provides.  I am not going to lie... For awhile I was not so sure about Disneyland.  I thought D-land was just a little cliche and just for little kids... Boy do I stand corrected!  There aren't kidding around when they say that Disneyland is the happiest place on earth.  Its so fun! 

So I just bought a Disneyland annual pass and have put it to use twice already.  Here is a little peak into the fun times that are to be had with Mickey and friends!

What could be better than riding around on a roller coaster in pitch darkness.  Genius. 

Here we sat three deep on thunder mountain railroad.... Three deep its the only way to go!

This is a real shot taken during the ride... These aren't fake expressions you see... 

I am sad to report that I was not the one to be able to pull the sword out of the stone. 

So these might not be as legit as the first scared faces but aren't these girls beautiful.  

Oh yes... The Matterhorn... Riding with Lezlie... Maybe on of my happiest experiences at the happiest place on earth.  You had to be there to understand.  

What more can I say... For Sun  and Sun in the Golden State!

Yes it was freezing outside... and yes... We went on the water ride... Twice... Poor Peter is the only one that got really wet.  

Needless to say. Disney pass one of the best decisions so far of 2008.  

I love to see the temple!

For the last little while I have had such a strong desire to go to the temple.  So for the past few months I have been preparing to go and this past saturday was the big day. 

What an amazing day!  I am so excited that I had to the opportunity to go to the temple. I feel so lucky that I live so close to the temple and that it will be so easy for me to return again and again.  

This was the last picture taken of me pre-temple.  This was on the way to the temple.  I was a little nervous.  But once I got there everyone was so nice and I felt totally comfortable. 

I am also so grateful for the people that were there to share the day with me.  

One of my best friends from college came from Arizona to be here with me.  She is such a great example to me and one of the greatest friends that I know. Thanks for coming Julz!

My Mom and Dad are the best.  I am so blessed to have such great parents!

 

My little buddy on my big day! 

 

My sister and her husband were also there to support me.  My sister Amber is one of my best friends and my brother-in-law Tad is the like the big brother that I always wanted. 

This really was one of the best days of my life!

About Wolves

One evening, an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a "battle" that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.



One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.



The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."



The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "which wolf wins?"



The old Cherokee simly replied, "The one you feed."

'Till we meet...

So I know that I am a little late but I still wanted to pay tribute to this amazing man. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from him...

"When referring to an individual, including yourself, never use the word 'just'."

"I want to bear you my testimony. I know that God our Eternal Father lives. I know that. I know that He watches over us, His children. He is the great God of the universe. He is the Governor of the universe. And yet He listens to each of us, His children, and how thankful we ought to be. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, He who wrought a great Atonement in behalf of each of us. I do not care what you remember from this meeting, but I hope that you will remember this, that you heard Gordon B. Hinckley say that he knows that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world... That is my testimony and it is as real and as true as the sunrise in the morning."

"This is my prayer for all of us:'Lord, increase our faith.' Increase our faith to bridge the chasms of uncertainty and doubt. . . . Grant us faith to look beyond the problems of the moment to the miracles of the future. . . . Give us faith to do what is right and let the consequence follow."

Stormy Weather

Sometimes when it rains...

it pours... 

and just when you don't think you can handle the rain anymore... 

it hails.  

On these days... well... these are the days you have to believe that a rainbow is coming your way.  

Happy Black History Month....

Alice... 

This one's for you!

Say it loud...

I am black and I am proud!

BeUTAHful...

So I just got back from a quick trip to the wonderful land of Zion.  It was such a good time.  A friend of mine always teases me because I say "it was just nice to get away"  but really it was just nice to get away.  

I started the trip off with a quick trip to temple square.  Really... you gotta love the place.  It was freezing outside so I only stayed long enough to take some shots of the Temple... and try to get a few shots of myself and the temple.   

 Don't mind that my eyes are kind of crossing... they just do that sometimes... Its a problem... 

Saturday was an awesome day of snowboarding on the "best snow on earth."  We rode at Park City where my friend Spencer (that is that back of his head) hooked me up with a free ticket.  It was sunny and beautiful and it had just snowed a ton so the snow was really good. 

The rest of the trip was spent spending time with good friends and family.  

Here is half of the Six-headed monster. 

Jessie, April, Emily 

I spent a lot of the weekend with Emily.  She is such an amazing girl and an even better friend.  She seriously loves everyone and you can feel that when you are with her.  Its people like Emily that make you want to be a better person!  

Emily and I went to Jessie's house on Sunday night and joined her gigantic family for a family dinner.  They even let us join in on the dating and marriage discussion that they had after dinner.  I tried to take notes... :) 

It was so fun to see Jessie.  You seriously can't help but to love that girl. She is funny, beautiful, and she knows a little about A LOT of things. The best part is that even after marriage and two kids she is still the same fun loving girl... Luv ya Jessasouris    

Monday there was a big snowstorm so I opted to not take the little Hyundai that I was driving up the canyon to go snowboarding.  So in the morning I met up with my long time best friend Allyson.  Again... another amazing girl.  This girl has the most contagious laugh you have ever heard.  It was so fun to talk and catch up with her.  

My next stop was a past from my BYU-Hawaii past.  I stopped by Corbin Smith's house.  This guy is the greatest.  You can seriously talk to him about everything and anything.  I spent like 3 hours sitting on his couch just talking without even realizing that anytime had gone by. Ladies... he is quite the catch... 

That evening my sister in law Tauna cooked me, Jason, and my cousin Tina an awesome meal in the cute apartment. Can you believe that little Jason is all grown up and is having me over for dinner? They both seem so happy and are perfect for each other. 

 

We also planned on watching Prison Break but were sorely disappointed when the State of the Union  came on instead.  But like the great citizens that we are we kept it on to find out what was in store for the U.S.... 

This trip was just what the Doctor ordered.  It was nothing spectacular but just so good just to hang out with people that I love.  It also made me very grateful to come home to sunny California...

Happy Birthday Saxy Poo-Poo face....

Little Sheboygan turned one years old on January 31st.  I love you sonny boy Saxon!