Living and Loving...

Summer Summer Summer Time...

2011-06-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

As June comes to an end I feel like I should maybe put a little update on here so you all can see how much fun I am having this summer. I keep getting this question from my friends, coworkers, strangers who find out I'm a teacher... they always ask me "so what big things do you have planned this summer?" Typically during the summer I have one big trip planned- a cruise, a vacation of some sorts, but this summer I didn't (still don't) have any big trips planned. I blame the economy- :) the fact that I just don't make enough with my new expenses to justify a big trip, but as this summer began I was excited to have a low key summer- trips to the pool, local concerts, baseball games, nieces and nephew time and time to just hang out with my friends and family. And that is exactly what I have done, and its been great so far! A concert a week, a new niece, and lots of time to read, play, and relax. Here's some pictures to document my adventures so far.. (in no particular order)

The ladies and I hit up the Honor Society concert- it was amazing! We had such a fun night. They totally loved us! We're really good at making friends in the music industry! :)

My picture with the boys of HS...

We went to Strawberry Days Rodeo on Pleasant Grove- had some delicious strawberries and cream and got to watch some rodeo action. You'd think being from Montana I'd have gone to a lot of Rodeos there, but I'm pretty sure I've gone to more since living in Utah.. Yee Haw!

Before going to the Andy Grammer concert we stopped at Iggy's to watch the Draft and see where our boy Jimmer ended up. Lets just say that the Sacramento Kings has some new fans!

And this is the man of the night. Andy Grammer- if you haven't heard of him, look him up! He has an amazing voice and kind of the same groove as Jason Mraz. He was amazing live, and really nice to meet afterwards.

Yeah- he changed his clothes after his set to match me...

So Andy Grammer was a Thursday night, and Friday night we went to see a band called Ocean Grove- now we've met their bassist before so naturally we were friend right away, haha. We totally hung out with them for like 2 hours after their set, and they were really fun guys.

They personalized my Cd cover for me, and it was just an added highlight to the fun week!

On June 6th my little adorable niece Madelyn was born! I was able to spend the week helping Lindsey out with the older kiddos and have big plans to hold this little one anytime my sister needs it! She's precious!

All in all a pretty successful June- Looking forward to July which includes- Stadium of Fire, Kenny Chesney, Tuacahn, Vegas, and whatever other shenanagans we get ourselves into! What can I say- I'm living the dream!

A Bonus in Life....

2011-05-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

So I was given this letter by a student last week, and I realized that this is one of the little bonuses that I get in my job. I work hard all year, and hope that they learn something from me, and in turn apply it to their lives. I'm not just talking about academically, but I hope that I influence them in their decision making, in their ability to become high functioning individuals in our society. I want them to be able to think for themselves, to work hard and realize that they can do anything. Now this little letter from a student was just a letter expressing his appreciation for me, but it's a little glimpse into the influence that I have over my students, and how proud I am of the things that they are doing and learning... Aww.. 4th grade is the best- they still love you, and can think for themselves! :)

JORDAN!!!

2011-05-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

My friend Megan took her brother to the MTC today. Having taken my brother there just a couple weeks ago I could feel her sadness, excitement, and a mixture of emotions. So today at school I was thinking about her when I received a phone call from her, and this picture! What are the chances that he would be the "host" waiting in the stop behind where her family was. She told a really cute story about how she didn't even notice until she got back into her car, and then quickly jumped out and ran over to him calling him "Jordan, Jordan!" She said she explained to him that he probably didn't know who she was, but he told her he did know who she was. She said he looked well, and was super happy and all she wanted to do was give him a hug! They posed for this lovely picture which almost put me back into tears like when we dropped him off. He looks great, and from his letters he seems to be doing well at the MTC! Love you Jor!

Jimmered...

2011-04-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

It's no secret I am a big fan of BYU athletics, even with a not so stellar year of football, I found myself at many games. Basketball was an amazing season and because of it I wasn't able to attend many games in person watching most on TV, but I still bled blue. Yesterday I had a parent teacher conference with a parent who's husband is a professor at BYU. They have 3 daughters and no sons, and his wife as she was walking out of my classroom turns to me and says, "My husband did want me to tell you something, he is sorry he couldn't make it to the conference, but he wanted to thank you for getting our daughter Jimmered." I wasn't sure how to react so I kind of laughed it off and she continued, "We have been trying for years to get her interested in BYU sports because my husband loves them so much and then she comes home from school one day knowing the schedule of the games, how many points Jimmer had scored, and all of the sudden totally interested in BYU basketball. She is in love with Jimmer." I expressed that I love BYU sports and may talk of it too much in my classroom, but she explained that it was a great thing for her husband and her daughter to spend nights watching the games together, and they loved it. She ended by saying, "There were many times my husband would come down the hall and say, 'That Miss Harper, she's awesome.'"

A fun story, but it made me feel good!

How do I leave...

2011-03-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

when my niece and nephew do this to my car so I won't/can't leave? Aw I love them!

Tangled...

2011-03-03T22:41:00.000-08:00

So I saw Tangled for the third time tonight... and each time I see it I love it more and more. I am pretty sure I was supposed to be a Disney Princess. Lately I haven't been that impressed with the animated movies out. The Princess and the Frog was a huge disappointment to me, then there were movies like UP and Toy Story 3 that I loved, but where's the good princess movie? What happened to the Belle's, Ariel's, Cinderella's, and Aurora's? Well, in my opinion, Tangled has brought back the fairytale, princess story and makes me feel like a little girl again! If you haven't seen it, you need too! Now I just need to find myself a Flynn Rider! :)

Bubble Baths..

2011-01-27T21:08:00.000-08:00

When is the last time you took a bubble bath? I can't recall. Perhaps it was when I was a child, and all us siblings would squeeze into our miniature bathtub for an evening soak. Who knows, but I decided today, while at school, that I was going to fill my gigantic (no really I have a huge tub) with steaming hot water and bubbles. Light some candles, put the Ipod on slow song shuffle, and relax. This week has been busy- New teacher mentoring, standard report cards going home, inside recesses, late nights choreographing, late nights doing nothing simply because I can't fall asleep, and late nights where I choose to have a life outside of my job and it catches up to me sometimes! However, the point of this blog post is that I decided to set some time out for myself today. To think, to ponder, to reflect on the week, and on life. My conclusion- I have a great life- I love the gospel, I love my job, I love my family, I love my friends, and although I sometimes feel like the little things are going to kill me, I can see the big picture and its good! So take some time for yourself this upcoming week, and perhaps throw in a bubble bath or two (I suggest bath and body works Warm Vanilla Sugar bubble bath) you won't regret it!

Christmas Party 2010

2010-12-14T22:09:00.001-08:00

So my friends and I are really into hosting extravagant parties. We had an amazing masquerade at Halloween time that set the bar for future parties. The Christmas party was a little less formal, but just as much fun! Jazz Band, mistletoe, followed by a party on the dance floor from our friend Cameron aka DJ CC Brown totally made the night more amazing!

The whole night was pretty amazing including the multiple photo shoots the girls had! I was super thrilled because my best friend Mandy came down for this one, and it is always so fun to have her around! She just makes everything more fun! :) So enjoy some pictures and I'll try to provide some captions!

This is my super excited party face! Scary I know...

Mandy, myself, and Rachelle (yes Rachelle had incredible hair for the evening)

Is that not the same face only ones the blonde version and the other is the brunette take on it!

Ladd and the ladies!

We call this our "Real Housewives of Provo" picture.

My roommate Amanda and her boyfriend Brad- they're some of my favorite people!

Mandy and I before the party began!

All in all I'd say it was a huge success and I can't wait for the next one! Valentines perhaps?

The Music of My Life...

2010-12-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

Ok so my friend Rachelle sent me this funny questionnaire of sorts this week, and I decided some were funny enough to share. The idea is that you answer a question by putting your itunes on shuffle and whatever song comes up is the answer to your question. Here are a few of my highlights:

1. How would you describe your personality?

Don't Stop the Music- Rhianna

2. What's your motto?

Fearless- Colbie Caillat

3. What do your parents think of you?

Find Your Love- Drake

4. What do you want to be when you grow up?

One Less Lonely Girl- Justin Bieber

5. Whats your hobby/interest?

Kiss Kiss- Chris Brown

6. What is your biggest fear?

Want to- Sugarland

7. What do you think of your friends?

Our Time Now- Plain White T's

8. What makes you cry?

Lovebug- Jonas Brothers

9. Will you ever get married?

Vegas- Sara Bareilles

10. Whats your biggest secret?

If It Kills Me- Jason Mraz

There's a few of the highlights, but it was pretty hilarious to do, especially with my friend Rachelle laughing right along with me! Thanks Rashizz!

Tis the season!!

2010-12-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

Happy December to all! I'd first like to point out how good I am doing at keeping my "blogging more often" goal! I hope I find it easier to post short simple blogs more often rather than trying to play catch up all time so here we go. This weekend I was able to grab some of my favorite people and take a trip up to temple square to see the lights. Our plans changed a bit when we arrived at Temple Square around 10pm and found that the lights turn off at 10. :( There were a few trees still lit when we got there so we walked around, and ended getting some hot chocolate and making the trek back down to provo. Despite the disappointment with the lights we still managed to have an incredible time!

Justin and I doing the High School Musical Jump.. took us about 12 jumps to get this picture... my hair was causing some problems by always covering my face. Maybe I'll post some of those pictures later.

Rachelle, myself, Justin and April

I hope I get another chance this season to go and see the lights, but my nights seem to be pretty busy this week so we'll see. Either way it was a great Friday night!

I really need to be better at blogging...

2010-12-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

So its official I am the worst blogger! I'd blame it on my busy schedule or complete lack of free time, but the truth is I just haven't made it a priority. So here we are again for a mass update on the recent and not so recent events in my life. I'll keep it brief and perhaps even just post a post of pictures since they are much more telling and much more fun to look at. Lets see- I have traveled to a few places including Arizona, Vegas, and Mexico. See my JoBros, my Justin, and the sun :) Dressed up with my kiddos for Halloween and went home for Thanksgiving (where I didn't take any pictures, but I'll be better at Christmas!) So enjoy a photo montage of my life so far, and I will make a better effort to update more often!!

A 4 year old Mathematician...

2010-09-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

So this Saturday I got to spend the day with my favorites, Carter and Alexis. While Lexi was napping Carter and I did all kinds of things including watching the kitten play with her toys. Carter called it the "cat show"- kind of like the "shamu show" but we were watching the cat. We also practiced his favorite thing- Math. I decided that the teacher in me was going to teach him the written form of what he was doing, and he ate it right up. I pulled out my flip vid and documented some of his brilliance. It might not seem like much but for a child his age its pretty remarkable! Such a smarty pants!

My own version of Glee...

2010-06-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

One night "Boys Club" (as we call them) came over and we were singing karaoke when one of them came up with this grand idea of putting the girls against the guys in a sing-off.. We had 5 minutes to choose a song and get our "performance" ready before we started. We flipped a coin to see who went first and despite our battle to do 2 out of 3, and then 4 out of 5, we were forced to go first. We brought us back in time to our youth and did Spice Girls "Tell Me What you Want" and needless to say.. we killed it. April and Rachelle covered the rap and the boys were in awe at our skills. We brought over our friend Laura to be our "impartial" judge. The boys were up next and they did a pretty good job covering Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", but in the end... Girls came out on top!! No surprise there!!! :)

Boys Club

Girls Club

The boys during our planning time... looks intense!

Week of Carter!

2010-06-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

This past week was filled with my little nephew Carter, and even some time with his baby sister Alexis at the end of the week. It started with a sleep over filled with ordering pizza, taking a trip with uncle Lance to the Bean Museum on BYU campus, making cookies, and going to bed a little later than the normal bed time- sorry Linds- and going to Kneaders for their yummy french toast in the morning. That was just monday night! Wednesday I went and picked up Carter and took him to the pool with me for a few hours to give Mom a break. Friday, Lindsey had worked the night before so I went and took both kiddos to run a few errands with me before I went out with my friends- we even went to the play place at McDonalds- so funny that they love that so much! It was a fun week, and I love that I have time to play with those kids so much during the summer! I, of course, have a few pics to document the fun!

Carter touching the snake skin, and the pictures below are of him touching each of the reptiles during the reptile show! The guy giving the show was Lance's roommate Brandon and he was nice enough to stop and let us take a picture of Carter with each of the animals!

Yes that is sugar, every time I handed him something to add he'd take a taste of it!

He ended with a smile and listening to music as he fell asleep!

Who wouldn't want to hang with these adorables all day!!! Thanks for coming to play Carter and I can't wait for you to be old enough Lexi!!

Who knew so much could happen in 36 hours...

2010-06-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not afraid of a road trip, and not afraid of spending 36 hours in a city I love to visit! LA baby! :) So when my friends and I heard about a free concert from our favorite boys- JB (no laughing please) we decided that my friend Chelsea and her friend Kylie would meet Rachelle and I in LA for the craziness that we never experienced when we were 16 for our boy band love N'sync. And who knew the power that 20 somethings would have at a concert where security and everyone else is expecting teenagers.. it made for a pretty exciting weekend! :) Pictures tell it best!

Here is Chelsea, Rachelle and myself at the Grove, but the party started in the late night drive to LA after work on friday- Rachelle and I do drives right.. Blast the music and have a great time! But the party continued at The Grove in LA the following day. We got there around noon (the concert was at 3pm) and people had camped out, and the line was wrapped all the way around the buildings and it was insane!!! This is where our age came in handy.. we bypassed the line and walked right into the grove like we didn't know what was going on and we were just there on a normal day shopping! :) We went over to meet Chelsea and crew and decided to do some walking around and BAM! We went over to a side of the stage and they had set up a gate- we were curious and found that the JB band was hanging in close proximity. We being as old as they are were able to stand and hang. They all came out and took pictures with us and hung out. The bassists name is Greg Garbowsky (sp?) and everyone calls him Garbo- he came and talked with us for like 20 mins and took a pic and even invited us to go to another concert that night for a different band- Don't worry we went and were able to hang with him for a little while- We're legit! :) haha... anyway- the day ended at the concert with Greg, but before heading over to him we were able to meet the brothers themselves, and got a picture with them! We considered the 36 hour trip to be very successful! :) There are so many details and things that made if even more incredible, but for the sake of this being a long long post I will spare you the details and just say that it was so fun and I loved being able to share it with the people I was with!!! Rachelle and Chelsea are the best!!!

I don't know if people recognize him but his name is Quduus- I think! He was a VJ on MTV's TRL and I guess is not working for Jonas on their cambio.com project... check it out!

The boys hanging out in the cambio studios and giving the crowd a little shout out.

Jack Lawless- he's the drummer for the band- he was very nice!

Greg Garbo- basically our favorite person at the show! :)

John Taylor- Musical director and Guitarist

And I forgot to mention the boys from Honor Society were there too- they're always nice and posed for pictures as well!

Michael Bruno

Jason Roser

Alexander Noyes

Andrew Lee

Needless to say we were a happy group of girls! :)

And our day was complete when we were able to meet these guys! They look a little rough seeing as how they were stuck in an elevator for 45 mins before meeting us.. so nice to still stop and pose for us! Again I say... it was a successful 36 hours! :)

Trip Home for Summer

2010-06-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Right after school got out I jumped in my little black car and made my way up to the "Big Sky" country to go to my little (bigger) brothers graduation and spend some time with my family!

The whole family was up for Jordan's graduation, and then they all quickly left and I stayed for another week and a half up there with the young ones and the folks. Funny thing about my family is that once the grandkids leave life goes back to normal and I found myself re-watching season 1 of glee and having a really low key week, but I enjoyed the break!

My mothers birthday was over the time that I was there and while I will not reveal her age I will say that we had a princess party to celebrate her youth! :) We celebrated the day before the actual birthday and then on the actual day took a trip up to Glacier National Park with my Grandpa Telford and his wife Tina. We did some small hikes, saw a TON of wildlife, and even stayed in a hotel that I swear they filmed "The Shinning" in. It was an adventure!

Here's are some photos of the trip!

The family at Jordan's Graduation! Jordan was so nice to come back and take pictures after he'd already left for his all night party...

2 and 4....

Mom's birthday cake- Dairy Queen Cakes if you haven't had one.. get one- they're delicious!

This is how Jordan walked in to Mom's "party"

Glacier- this was the waterfall at the end of one of our hikes..

Cameron Lake- yes that is snow and yes that is ice on the lake and yes we went there in June- still cold up in Canada!

Some deer just hanging out... no big deal.

One of the 9 bears that we saw that trip- a new record! Yes I have a picture of each bear, but I don't think I need to post them all.. this little guy was the cutest of them all anyway!

Just a shot of the Big Sky of Montana

A shot of my parents lovely log home... I've never been able to get a picture of the whole thing, so I took advantage of being at the end of the road and got a shot... its a great vacation home for me! :)

Update...

2010-03-30T18:53:00.001-07:00

So yes I have decided that I am a horrible blogger, and while things in my life are going full speed, I can't seem to find a time to write about it, or I can't imagine people who read this care about the everydays. However, because there are a few readers out there- I'll update at least a little bit! :)

So since state football way back in November a lot has happened. I went home for Thanksgiving and Christmas putting a ton of mile on my new car, but thats ok! Cars are meant to be driven. Traveled to Denver, LA and Berkeley following a Jonas, and had an amazing time with the girls in the process!!! I also, took a trip back up to Montana for Jordan's state basketball tournament, and so he won state basketball again, and I have some really awesome pictures from that!

I am in the process of planning a couple trips for Spring Break- Denver and Vegas- are on the agenda.. Have a planning meeting with the troops tonight actually to work out some details- so in 5 months I'll blog about that! :)

Still love spending time with the kiddos (Carter and Alexis) they are the most adorable kids ever! I could spend all day with them! My students are quickly turning from adorable young 4th graders into troubled 5th graders, but I love them none the less-just trying to keep them young!!

This weekend my family is coming down for Easter and for their Spring Break- my students are hoping Jor makes an appearance. He's like a celebrity to them! It'll be a fun weekend- and next week is spring break, so it'll be even more fun because I don't have to work on monday!!

Ok here's some pics!

Baby girl Alexis giving me that cheesy grin!

Rachelle and I on one of our many adventures!!

I've become very familiar with airports and airplanes lately, and I love it!

Denver!

The family over Christmas at Avatar 3D!

Here comes some basketball tourney pictures!

Final Score- they dominated the entire tournament!

When Jordan spotted us from the court! I wish I would've taken this picture 2 seconds later when his hand was in the air waving to us!

Me and Jor!

This is a reenactment of a football state picture- thanks jordan for humoring me!

Fast Trips Home

2009-11-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

So this past friday I took a trip up North the great state of Montana for Jordan's state tournament football game. They played Helena Capital, a team they had previously lost to by 2 points during the season. Helena is reigning state champs, and hadn't lost a game in 33 games. Their streak ended and CMR WON! It was a pretty fun game to watch too! Jordan played wide receiver as well as his usual tight end position, and it made for a fun game of finding which position he was at. Grandpa Harper and Jim were able to come and watch with us. The only people missing was Lindsey and her family. We missed them, but I am grateful I didn't have a baby to watch and got to focus on the game. Maybe when Zach has a state tournament the kiddo's can come! :) Here are some pictures I took during and after the game!

Jordan and his teammates must have been strategizing when I took this picture. I was just happy he took his helmet off for a minute during the game.

I'm not sure if this is just the seniors or what, but here are some of his teammates!

Jor at wide receiver.

The National Anthem...

I thought this was a pretty cool picture of Jordan.

After the game Jordan had all kinds of papers and news stations getting him to answer some of their questions.

BUT- We were able to get a family picture taken. Almost all my younger brothers are bigger than me now.

This picture is pretty funny because Lance has won his state football, jordan won his, and zach is holding up a 0 because he hasn't won any. It took me like 3 times before I got it! :)

Me and my little bro!

It was a pretty fun and fast trip, and I head back up again tomorrow for Thanksgiving! It should be quite the Thanksgiving with everyone home- I'll try to take some pictures while I'm there!

I Should've Been a Musician...

2009-11-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

So, as I sit back and reflect on upcoming events and the events that have passed in my life there is a common theme.... Music. Now not being a stellar musician myself I realize I probably wouldn't make it in the music industry, however that does not stop me from enjoying those who can. I don't know whether to be proud at the amount of concerts I have gone to and still have planned to finish out the year, or embarrassed at how much money I put into the entertainment business. Either way- It make me happy, and I am blessed with friends who share the same love as I do. So as I begin this post just remember- I was meant to be a rockstar or at least meant to dream of it! :)

Just recently my besties Chelsea, Rachelle, and myself went to an Honor Society concert in SLC. Now no one has ever heard of them unless you went to a JB concert out of the state. Honor Society (HS) opened for the boys on their summer tour and now are doing a tour of their own. Needless to say, having never been to Utah there weren't many fans. So we were 3 fans in a less than 100 people crowd, and it was awesome!!! Here are highlights in the best form- PICTURES!!!

Here is Chels and I waiting at Wendy's. We got some food to take to stand in line at the theater...

And here is the boys bus.. and yes they were on the bus, yes they were waving to us, and yes we were their favorites! But I mean- who's favorites are we not?! :)

This is Alex. He's the drummer and probably our favorite, but the others are pretty cool too. They were going to sound check here- wish we had tickets, but we weren't so lucky!

Here's the girls- waiting in line! love it!

And then it started to rain, but Rachelle- such a smarty- brought an umbrella!!

We finally got into the show- and it was such a small venue! We were probably in the back row or closest too, and we were in the 4th row! It was the best- right in the line of vision for the guys, and we definitely got some shout outs by them! Michael loved me!

Here are the boys of Honor Society- From the left with ages- Alex (23), Jason (32),

Michael (30, and Andrew(29).

Michael is the lead singer, and he has an amazing voice!

Alex rocked it! He's an incredible drummer!

So we got meet and greet wristbands, and had to document it!

This is after the concert- we really had a good time, and we were so sweaty! hence the shiny faces!

This is Pete- he was really nice and he setup the stage, and told us all kinds of secrets about the boys! He was actually really nice!

He even gave us the set list!

Ok so here is my meet and greet picture... What you don't know about celebrities while they are on stage, or TV is that they are not always at "big" as they seem. The two guys I'm standing in between are not even kidding like 5'4". Now you may be asking yourselves why I look the same height as them, and the answer is that I am bending my knees.. ALOT! I actually felt bad, but I didn't want to be towering over them! They were actually a really good meet and greet! They gave us great hugs, and were so nice and personable, and yeah not celebrity like at all!

This is Esmee their opening act- she was founded by JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE- that lucky girl! She was good, but wasn't a standout to me. But apparently we're best friends- or so it appears in this picture! :)

This is all the stuff we got from the show! Rachelle caught the drumstick when Alex threw it out, and we have a bunch of pics the boys threw out into the audience, and their signatures, and meet and greets! It was a really fun concert.

so after the meet and greet we went and moved my car into a nearby parking lot and then went back by their bus hoping they'd come out soon. Oh and they did! We of course didn't think they were going to sign anything so we didn't bring anything but our cameras- so luckily Chels and Rachelle had their ticket stubs, but I of course didn't- so what did I do- well they signed my shirt... it was actually really funny. And with the bigger space to write I can tell who's signatures they are and Mike even signed it with a heart! He loves us! :)

So afterwards we were starving- so we hit up the local Artic Circle, and took some pictures to document our happiness after a super fun saturday! Needless to say by this time in the night we weren't our most beautiful selves- so we turned it black and white! Hiding some imperfections, but not our happiness!

This is a video of the guys, and you should know that Rachelle is taping, Chels is the girl rocking out in front of the camera, and I am to her left- Yes he points to me!!! I'm telling ya we were their favorites!

Mass Update!

2009-10-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

Ok... So I was going to do individual blogs for all the things that have been going on, but I think one mass update is just going to have to do! Pictures are the best way to show whats been going on in my life! :)

Gossip Girl started, and so we had a lovely gathering, as we will every monday night to enjoy the drama of the upper east side. Tom even brought champagne glasses and sparkling cider to celebrate the premiere! So much fun!

I had this birthday... My family and friends are amazing. Those flowers in the background are from Carter! And he came over to have a party at my house, and apparently he has asked Lindsey on the way over where we were going for my party, and she said just to my house, and he responded saying "Well thats not a very fun party." If only I could be 3 again and hit up the local chuck e. cheese! Can't wait for his birthday!

My brand new car hit 1,000 miles. Now, having never had a new car, I was told I had to document the first 1,000. Thank you mom for putting 800 of them on before I got it! :)

Jon got married, and so Rachelle and I went to the lovely dinner. I actually met Rachelle through jon.. well kind of. He never introduced us, so Rachelle came up to me and was like "I see you all the time, and jon has never introduced us" and the rest is history! We're like BFF's now! Thank you Jon Jon!

I'm going to have to say probably the most fun thing at Jon's wedding was seeing all these old friends! It was so fun to see the boys I have so many memories with!

I even got a picture with the groom... Well a few pictures.. he was kind enough to do a few picture re-takes. Its most likely the last time I'll see him so I need a good documentation! :)
Mandy, like the best friend she is, got tickets to Brad Paisley for us for my birthday!! It was so much fun! She's the best!

And we are the perfect best friends because in pictures I look better when my left side is showing (you can't see my little squinty right eye as much :) and she is better on the right! We are pretty much the two most perfect people to take a picture together! :)

She and Mark of course sported the rockin belt buckles- someday I'll join in!

The man of the night!! He's just seems like such a good guy!

And documentation we were all having a good ol' time! :)

Alexis, Alexis, A Very Important Alexis

2009-10-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

So on Sept 16 I was able to go to my beautiful niece Alexis' birthday party. Baby girl turned 1 and she was pretty good, but it was her party and she cried when she wanted too. She has such a funny little personality, the girl definitely knows what she likes and has no hesitation telling you no! Thankfully I am one that she loves! :) She's so adorable, I wish I has more time to go over and play more! Love you Lexi-Lou!

Here's the little princess... so cute!

I should also mention that Alexis was born on the same day as Nick Jonas that lucky girl.. so a birthday shout out to him as well! :)

Update on Life!

2009-09-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I realize I am not very good at this whole keeping a blog thing, and really ever since I've been back from my summer adventures life has gotten pretty routine, and dare I say boring. However there have been some highlights, and some up coming things that I am really looking forward too- So shouldn't throw boring out there because my life is awesome! :) Here's some updates!

New Wheels-

So when I was in Vegas this summer at the JB tour, my father called me and asked me a question I don't usually hear from him- or at least didn't expect to hear from him. He asked " If I wanted a new car..." Now he had just found out that I was in Vegas, and headed to AZ the following week, and the statement before the new car question was that I "live the life" in which I have to agree. Its pretty fun! Anyway I said yes- needing some more details. He explained that since the government was offering this cash for clunkers money he'd use his old tahoe to get a good deal on a new car for me! I was excited. I had always thought of getting a new car especially as my friends around me were all growing up with their wheels and upgrading to something a little nicer. So in the end- I get a lovely black 2009 Nissan altima and a car payment and insurance payment, so I'm forced to grow up a little bit! But I get a really nice, and in the words of boys in my ward "hot" car!!

I must say, that best part about this car is the push button start and the lock/unlock buttons on the outside of the car. I never need to have my keys in my hand. I can keep them in my purse and get in my car, start my car, turn off my car, and lock the doors. Its definitely an upgrade from little red!

Summer Post #5- In the heat of Arizona... Three brothers caused quite some chaos...

2009-08-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

Alright I guess the best way to describe my trip is to just get these pictures up!! So here is goes...

First up... Jonas Brothers Kickball!

The story behind this is that we decided while in Utah to attend the free kickball game put on by the local arizona radio station. Now my friend Chelsea and I knew that this would be a crazy tween activity, but we had no idea what we were in for. It was 109 degree that day in Arizona, and the game started at 1:30. So we arrived at the stadium at 8:00 with frozen water bottles, umbrellas to block the sun, and our hair in ponytails ready sweat it out. We got there and there was already 500 people in line. 500 people and the game didn't start for another 5 1/2 hours! So we parked it for a while, listened to all the little girls, saw some pretty good shirts, and sweated for what felt like a very long time! I'm pretty sure I've never sweated so much in my life, but at about 12:30, they let us in to the stadium and it was then a mad rush to get seats. Fighting off 12 and 13 year old girls- just kidding. We actually to worried about seats because we were in the top 1,000 people of the 7,000 person line that had accumulated during the 5 hours of waiting. So this is our seat, behind home plate, a perfect view of the field, we were pleased.

Pardon our looks, we'd been sweating for 5 hours, but we were excited and dehydrated! haha

Joe Jonas and his mama Denise hanging out on the sidelines, we envied that water for multiple reasons, mainly we were thirsty and hot!

Mr. President, and he appeared to be the coach, with a clipboard and everything, here he looks like he's getting in head in the game! Ready for the competition.

This is when they first came out and talked to the crowd about the game, and got us all pumped up cheering on the "kickballers"

N. jonas getting ready to kick the ball... Go #2!

All three brothers during the National Anthem, it was pretty adorable. A six year old girl sang the national anthem and when it was over they all ran out and gave her hugs- it was really cute!

Jordin Sparks who opens for the boys was playing on the Arizona team because it is her hometown. Unfortunately for them the JoBros killed them in a 9-0 victory! Go Team Jonas!

And then it was over at about 2:30, not a long game, but they gave a little love as they left! Pretty sure I had heat exhaustion the rest of the day, I never recovered, and never cooled down. But Go big or go home! :)

Next.... The Tour bus....

So after the game we went and got some nourishment and beverages in the form of 64 oz diet cokes and water bottles, I have never been so thirsty in my life, so it was needed! After we had hydrated ourselves we decided to head over near the venue of the concert because we weren't planning on going home because the show was in a different city. We had packed a change of clothes, some makeup, some hair stuff, and had planned to hit up near by hotel and get re-ready for the concert. However, when we arrived at the hotel nearest the venue we were pleasantly surprised to see that the Jonas Bus (not the one they ride in, but the fan bus) was parked outside. The fan bus is one that they let the fans write all over leaving the boys messages. So we thought we'd check it out. While at the bus, we discovered that all the people that were there had soundcheck passes... we talked to all kinds of people and in the end were so close to getting sound check passes, but just our luck, it didn't end up happening, but we met some cool people who work for the JoBros.

So here's a side of the bus. Its a bit crazy looking.

No, I did not write that, but I agree with it! Just love these boys.

And Chelsea agreed with this one...

The funny thing about this picture is right when we took it a guy who works for the brothers walked pass, and he says to me "You own that bus," so naturally we start up a conversation and he is the guy who almost hooked us up with tickets. Unfortunately on concert day most passes are already handed out. We were sad about it, but life went on..

We then went over to the hotel and went to their bathrooms and re-glammed ourselves as much as possible, which wasn't much, because I was sweating all day, and ya just don't recover from that! :) But the change of clothes was definitely needed! So, before I continue, you should know that while preparing for the concerts this summer we found a blog of a girl who has been to like 50 Jonas Brothers concerts or will have been to 50 JB concerts by the end of the summer, and she blogs about all the concerts and meet and greets, and all the crazy things she is doing- check it out http://www.hannahhylen.blogspot.com/ I am insanely jealous of her! Now when we are leaving the hotel after a bit of primping. We see a girl and her mother sitting on the lobby's couch- IT WAS HANNAH! So we of course start a conversation tell her we've read her blog, and literally talked to her and her mother for about 30-45 mins (we were late to catering because we were talking with her) but she was very nice and her mom even wanted a picture of her with us, so maybe we'll make the blog! It was just crazy!

This is our best try at getting a photo in the hotel bathroom! It was funny!

Next up.... THE CONCERT and VIP WRISTBANDS!

So we didn't have sound check or meet and greet, but we did have cool red wristbands that got us in the Toyota club at the venue and catering. We didn't really know this entailed until we got there and it was pretty sweet. We were sent to a certain section and then by showing our wristbands we were lead down these really fancy stairs into this pretty cool club. The drinks were free (soda and water) and then since we had catering we were able to go into another portion of the club that had food. Now there were only about 10 people in there, so it was pretty exclusive, we felt cool. Then there is a door that is covered by a curtain and when you walk out of it, you're on the floor next to the stage. The club was open the whole concert so if we needed anything we could go in there. It has nice bathrooms and stuff, so we liked it alot. Felt very VIP :)

Alright here is one view of the exclusive club!

And here is another.. with the Jonas Brothers featured (a picture of them, not the real them!)

And our sweet red wristbands... We had a good time!

Ok, so the concert. We had amazing seats! Floor seats are awesome because you get like within 3 feet of the performer, but have a down side because you can't see the entire stage, however, since we had good seats in Vegas and saw the entire stage we weren't sad at all to have floor seats in AZ. In fact I've never had floor seats at a concert and I'd do it again I enjoyed it so much! Here are some highlights because I have a ton of pictures and videos!

And they came out and started once again with Paranoid!

Not gonna lie, Nick wasn't quite the rocker he was in Vegas, but maybe the heat made him tired, or his diabetes was acting up who knows. We still loved him!

The brothers rocking out!

Joseph singing his biceps out! :)

This picture looks like a model picture! I was an amazing photographer!

They had some cool lazers going on during the show!

Yes he was really that close to me!

Nick J on guitar. We were happy he wore a different shirt than in Vegas!

On the piano, once again..

Documented-- The V-neck...

Rocking the drums!!!

I can't get over how awesome some of these pictures are.. I should sell them to the tabloids!

Nicholas while they were singing "I gotta find you" and the stage went above our heads..

Joe on the same song!

Nick checking out the crowd while he's giving his oh so famous "A Little Bit Longer" speech!

They left that as quickly as they came, or at least it felt that way! We had so much fun!! Would do it all again in a heartbeat!

Summer Blog #5 Arizona heat... quick preview!

2009-08-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOSH! I am here in AZ and last night was the concert and the kickball game was in the AZ heat yesterday! Probably never been more hot or sweaty in my entire life, BUT I had so so much fun, and would do it again in a heart beat! I haven't uploaded my pictures, but let me tell you, floor seats if you want to see your favorite people up close, sweat, hair, jeans... they are the way to go! I had way to much fun for a 24 year old! :) I'll blog lots more soon with pictures and some awesome stories about some awesome people we met!! Summer's the best!

Summer Blog #4 Part 2- What happens in Vegas comes home with you!

2009-08-06T13:14:00.001-07:00

Alright, So I said I'd post some more pictures from the Vegas experience, and possibly even some videos. I know you're excited about it! haha.. Humor me, and give it a look! Happy Summer! Loves!

Nick Jonas on Piano

Joey Joe... Model walking

These boys like their tight jeans... just saying.

Kevin playing his guitar, he doesn't sing so he has to rock out on the guitar.

Joe pulled this little girl out of the audience during a song, it was adorable! It was on the other side of the stage, so I had to document it from the Jumbotron, but its was precious.

A little brotherly love from N and J

Kevin Jonas on Piano during their song Turn Right.

Joe in his element

Nick getting ready to rock the drums... whats that now guitar, drums, piano, singing- the boys got some talent.

Classic singing moment

So they foam the audience, yes I got foamed but they came within like 10 feet of us, so I grabbed this shot (with no zoom!)

Jordin Sparks opened for them, and she came back out to do her song "Battlefield" with them, and Nick rocked the drums.

Nick J on the Drums during Jordin Sparks' song "Battlefield"

This is their goodbye.. they came over and showed us some love!

Had to document the V-neck...

Bye Boys... See ya in AZ!

Here's us after the concert! We were super happy and excited!

This video is of Nick and Joe doing their tricks! Ånd a little love from Nicolas! Cannot believe he's only 16!

Summer Blog #4- To Vegas and Beyond...

2009-08-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Well the story of my summer continues with the preparation for Vegas- preparation is probably an understatement. Since I have been to so many concerts in my 24 years I know that to make a concert fun, you have to be prepared! You have to know the songs, and not just know them, but be able to sing along with them! So since the JB has just come out with a new album and I had approximately 3 weeks before the concert to learn all the songs I set to work. Here's the funniest thing. My little red car (I've had since high school and will only have for a little bit longer) does not have a CD player, and because I had a little computer problem earlier in the summer I've been out of a computer all summer, so I busted out the disc man and jammed to the Jonas in my car! I'm that awesome! Well, during this 3 week preparation period, my dear friend Chelsea called me one day, and informed me that in her home town (Mesa, AZ) the local radio station would be hosting a kickball game vs. the Brothers Jonas on August 11, and it was FREE!! So who'd she call.. ME! So we talked it out, and since she was heading home to AZ August 7th for her dental hygiene school break she wanted me to come with her and then one way fly back in time to start my grown up life of teaching school! So.. I thought for like three seconds about it, and then agreed. However, there is this phrase- Go big or go home- and I like to live by it, so I told her.. If I am going all the way to AZ for a 137 degree outdoor kickball game, you better believe I'm dropping the cash to go the concert that night. So, following my bad influence she agrees, and we start our hunt for JB tickets in AZ. We jump on craigslist looking for anything, cheap, nosebleeds, whatever. We have pretty good seats for Vegas, and thought we could just take what we get for AZ. Low and behold we find some pretty good deals, send a few emails, make a few phone calls, and ta-dah we have floors seats to the concert in AZ, with VIP wristbands, parking passes, our own VIP entrance, and a VIP catered dinner before the show. Can I say VIP one more time!? :) YEAH! This is really happening! I understand that its the Jonas Brothers, but this is amazing! In all my concert experiences this has never happened so smoothly.

BUT- we still at this point haven't been to vegas yet, and I'm still in my 3 week prep stage! So we hit up You Tube search those boys, learn those boys songs, and prepare for the Vegas.

Vegas weekend comes--- We had no idea what we were in for... our seats were amazing! We were just off the floor, could see everything- it was perfect! We sang, we danced, we got foamed, we yelled, we lost our voices, and we're doing it again on Tuesday August 11. And I couldn't be more excited about it. Here are some awesome pictures I was able to snap during the show, and who knows what adventures are sure to come in Arizona.. Knowing my life and history, its going to be an awesome ride! Happy Summer Ya'll (I picked that up in South Carolina)! Look forward to an Arizona Summer Blog #5!!

My amazing friend Chelsea and I waiting for the big show!

Obviously, we are super excited for the boys to come out!

Couldn't help it... We had too!

Both of us had too! :)

Here's the boys! Introducing the Brothers Jonas....

Here's all three of them.. doing what they do best!

Kevin Jonas, the oldest of the three, a ancient 21... :)

Joseph Jonas... The middle one... 20 years old!

And the youngest, but the talent of the group.. Nicholas... 16 years old. (And my favorite)

I'm gonna leave this blog at just this. Yes my pictures are awesome, and my zoom was not used to its full capacity! There are more, many more Vegas pictures to come! Stay Tuned...

Summer Blog #3- July 4th- The day my summer plans changed...

2009-08-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July, a day of gratitude for the country we live in, a time to wear our reds, whites and blues, and fireworks. This 4th of July I was attending the Utah tradition of The Stadium of Fire, one of the biggest 4th of July celebrations in the country. So what made today different than any other 4th of July, well at first nothing. I had found out about stadium of fire in the spring, purchased tickets, and was looking forward to seeing the celebration. The one catch- the musical act this year- The Jonas Brothers. Ok, I have not been secretive about the fact that I like these brothers. I saw them with Justin Timberlake last October. Enjoyed their short set, and saw their movie, enjoyed their music and was thrilled at the opportunity to see them again. So I got my friend Megan, I sold some extra tickets I bought to my family (mom, jor, lance, and zach) and some more tickets to my friend Chelsea and some of her friends. It was a good day, I got patriotic nails, ate sushi with the family (Lances choice) I got chicken teriyaki :) I went to the stadium excited for the show. And was it a great show yes. Did I have to best seats no... Did it spark the inner 16 year old in me. Absolutely. Here are some pictures from the night...

This sign was just too perfect to pass up the picture. Especially because I couldn't see the boys.. there is no way they could see it, but you have to give her the props for trying I guess! :)

Jonas.. now keep in mind. I am zooming in on the jumbo screen. So while I didn't have to worst seats they were less than desirable. But I had fun nonetheless!

Now, I say this is the day that changed my summer plans because I had no idea what the Jonas Brothers would do to my summer. I consider myself a concert enthusiast to the say the least. I have been to so many concerts I can't even count, but maybe I should try...

1. New Kids on the Block- my 6th birthday my mom rocks!!

2. Kenny Chesney- 3 times

3. Justin Timberlake - 3 times

4. Carrie Underwood

5. Rascal Flatts

6. Dierks Bentley

7. James Taylor

8. Jack Johnson

9. Billy Joel

10. American Idols Live- 2 different tours

11. SYTYCD Season 4?

12. Nelly

13. N'SYNC

....

I'm sure theres more, but honestly I love going to live music!!! So after stadium of fire, my curiosity got the best of me. So I went to the Jonas Brothers website and check their tour dates. I understand that the Stadium of Fire is not about the music, its about America, so the boys' set was like 6 songs, and that was that. So I found they would be in Las Vegas (my favorite concert get away) on Aug. 1st. Now my problem was finding someone to go with me. I am aware of the appeal of the JoBros to younger audiences and therefore finding some 20 something year old people to go with me was going to be a task. Thankfully I have a soul sister named Chelsea who was just as excited as I was. We went online, got tickets and were set. Next blog- Vegas and once again, a twist in my summer plans!

Summer Blog #2- Southern Hospitality

2009-08-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

My big trip of the summer was down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I have never been down south before (unless you count one day in Miami before last summers cruise, and Disneyworld in Orlando in high school). I was excited for the beach, and relaxation. It was so fun to go to the beach everyday, go to a show at night, eat at some awesome restaurants and just have a truly relaxing vacation! The humidity was great on the skin, bad on the hair, and I got to worst sunburn I've ever had. I'll probably have skin cancer because of it! Here are some pictures, my dear friend Mandy took most of the pictures so I don't have very many, in fact I might have like three of them, but I'll try to explain some things we did.

Mandy and I myself hit up the local wal-mart to get a pedicure, it really was hilarious for so many reasons- #1 Wal-mart, but not just wal-mart, but a wal-mart in south carolina!! #2- Who knew they had nail places in wal-marts- I do now! :) We had a blast in Wally World!

Ok- Here's a good story. So being tourist we weren't exactly sure what was fun to do in Myrtle Beach, and being us we really didn't have anything planned. So we ventured to the clubhouse at the condo we were staying at and asked the receptionist something that was fun to do. She suggested we go and see the legends show. The Legends Show is where people impersonate "Legends" in the music industry. So we went. It was so fun!!! We were probably the only people under that age of 50 in the entire place, but that didn't stop us from doing what we do best! HAVING FUN! The legends were Elvis, Elton John, Donna Summer, The Blues Brothers, and Tim McGraw. Majority of the people didn't know Tim's song, but we sure did. Lets just say we were his favorite! So afterwards we went to see him and he was taking pictures with all the people and there was a line, and we were waiting taking all these pictures of just Mandy and myself, and he finished with one person, and then he goes " I have to go see these ladies" talking about us, so he came over to us to take a picture- we for sure weren't next in line! Needless to say- we loved him!! It was quite the experience. ! :)

I don't have many pictures like I said, but some other things we did, was go deep sea fishing- I loaded up on Dramamine because I have a sea sick problem, and was totally fine- I caught two fish (the most of anyone we were with) and was pretty happy to get off the boat at the end of that day! It was pretty fun, but I couldn't imagine spending anything more than a half a day on that boat in the ocean.

We were in a condo and so some nights we made dinner and stayed in and watched movies, we even went to a movie, and in a reality it was simply a vacation where we rested and had a good time!

Summer Blog #1- My Boyfriend

2009-08-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

I am aware that I am a slacker at blogging, but its been an adventure of a summer, and one that goes down in the record books as possibly one of the most fun! Whoever said summer was a break has never lived a summer with me. Time has flown by, and I look back and I can't believe how much I have done! I guess a picture is worth a thousand words, so heres a summer recap thus far! :)we

My boyfriend of the summer:

My adorable nephew Carter and I have spent many days together this summer! We even took our very own aunt and nephew trip to Montana to visit the grandparents. He is 3 years old, and the funniest kid out there. We flew to Montana, and let me just say, that playing mom for a few days was hard work! Bless all you mothers out there! When told that mom would be lonely while we were gone on our three day adventure, Carter in all his wisdom responded with "Why would she be lonely, she has Alexis"- so there ya have it! Here are a few highlights of our "dates" this summer!

While in Montana- Grandpa, and the Uncles, Carter, and myself too a trip to feed the ducks! One of the highlights of Carters trip to Montana. This goose wouldn't leave him alone, and it would come right up to him and steal the bread right out of his hand. A day with the boys is always fun!!

That is pure feeding the ducks excitement! :)

Aw the pool! We took many trips to one of our favorite summer hot spots the local pool. This trip was just Carter and I. He got a ring pop from the concession and called it his binky. I had to document it.

The sun was shining that day and Mom had forgotten to pack his sunglasses, so for a while he wore mine, and I am so mad I deleted that picture on accident because it is a good one! But my sunglasses, naturally, were too big for his face and kept sliding off, so we came up with this little shady place. I draped my shirt over his head, and ta-dah- instant shade. He seemed content, but it was so silly I had to take a picture.

Lastly, we had our many trips to the bowling alley. He was so cute while bowling. The employees at the bowling alley knew us! And would let him bowl for free, so I was happy about that! They would give him the lightest ball, but he always ended up wanting to bowl with the one I was using. He used the metal thing that helps little ones bowl for a little while, but in the end, just like to grown up he is, he was trying to roll my heavy ball down the alley. At the end of the day I asked him what his favorite part of bowling was, and he said the new shoes, and then quickly changed his mind and informed me that "the new shoes were his second favorite, and his first favorite was when he knocked all the pins down." Spoken like a bowling champion!

Carter is quite possibly the most adorable little boy out there. We have since been on many adventures, and I just love him to pieces. I am going to apologize to all my future nieces and nephews that are sure to come because he is the first and definitely the most spoiled by me. Live it up Carter boy, someday it'll have to end!

We Are The Champions

2009-03-30T18:38:00.001-07:00

Ok this happened a few weeks ago, but I was waiting for pictures (which I still haven't gotten all of them yet) before I blogged about it, but here it goes. Lindsey (my sister), and her kiddies and I went up to my little brother Jordan's state basketball tournament... and... HE WON! Its was 3 days of basketball games, and baby sitting little children, but it was a very fun trip! I think my niece Alexis likes me now! It was a super close game, and my brother sealed the win with his 4 foul shots he made at the end. The best part was probably after he made them and pointed up to where my dad was sitting. Jordan was in the same position the last time they played the exact same team earlier in the season, and he unfortunately didnt make them and sent the game into overtime, so we were very proud that he did it this time, and I'm pretty sure he was pleased with himself! It was very fun to get to hang with the champ and watch them win! Here's some pictures from the trip!

Carter sporting his green!!!

Here's his cute shirt grandma made him!

The family all together with Jordan- minus Lance he didn't come up until the Championship game!

The Champ and the Kids.. I think this picture is so cute!

All the kids!

Jordan and his teammates waiting for their introduction..

This is how carter stayed entertained during the games!

The benefits of a tall grandpa I suppose, carter got his fair share of game time!

Best part about being single...

2009-03-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've been known to complain about my single status, but in all reality there is no way I'd be able to have this kind of fun if I wasn't. So single, graduated, and in a career might be the best way of life for me so far! Just yesterday I decided to go on a cruise this weekend. So I'll be in Vegas tomorrow night, San Diego on Thursday where I'll board my ship, Mexico on Friday, and a relazing day at Sea on Saturday.. ITs going to be amazing, and I'll be back to work on Monday. Thank you to Megan for getting me to go, thank you to my principal for loving cruises as much as I do and letting me miss a few days of school, thank you to my student teacher, whitney, who is teaching while I am gone, and thank you to all the men out there who haven't proposed, so I am able to go play during this time of my life! :) I'll post pictures afterwards, so stay tuned! loves to all!

Its been a while....

2009-02-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

So I'm not very good at this whole keeping up my blog, but I'm trying, so here's the latest...4th grade is great, I am loving my class this year. They are hilarious and tell me so many funny things! It's endless entertainment. I'm very grateful for them.
I love going to visit the nephew and niece. They're adorable, and do so many funny things. I love to read my sisters blog to hear what I sometimes miss out on! Well as you all know I love to play and that includes concerts and weekend trips with my best friends. So most recently over valentines day I went to St. George for the weekend, enjoyed the warm weather, eating out every meal, pedicures, and shopping!

Spoon me was a great treat!!!

We saw these awesome masks at Ross or somewhere and we had to pose with them!

Standard best friends pose. I was really excited apparently.

Lets see.. next.. Rascal Flatts.. Mandy and I, in typical fashion, bought tickets to Rascal Flatts. It was the best seats I have ever had at a concert! We were in section 1 Row 9.. Great work mandy on getting tickets!... It was so much fun! Jessica Simpson opened, and although she isn't my favorite person, she can sing, and did a pretty good job. Rascal was amazing however! I'm pretty sure Joe Don is my favorite, as my pictures will show! :)

And lastly, Im going to say this with no shame, I went to the Jonas Brothers 3D concert special. I know I know what you're thinking, but I really like them! I can't help it. Its just me reverting back to my childhood love of boy bands. Thank you Megan, for loving me and them, and coming with me! :) I have so many wonderful things going on in my life, I couldn't ask for more!

Our awesome 3D glasses!! oh yea!!

Life Since Vegas...

2008-11-30T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well friends life since Vegas has been pretty crazy not gonna lie, but thankfully with craziness time flies by.... so here are a few fun things that have been going on....

1. Mandy and I went to Carrie Underwood a little while ago, and it was amazing. It's so fun to see people who can actually sing because its a guaranteed good show..

2. Carter came to my house for the first time. Usually when I babysit him I'll go to his house, and we'll play there, but Linds had a baby shower in Orem, so she brought him to my house. We had a good time. We watched Cinderella.. played with the big ball (exercise ball) and then we found the mini trampoline. He went crazy and jumped on it for like 25 minutes straight. I know what he's getting from Aunt Ky for Christmas.

3. The great day of thanks with the family. So the most recent things I did was make the trip up to Montana where I got to spend a few days with the brothers. We spent most of our days shopping or at the movies theaters... two things I love so I was happy. We saw twilight, four christmases, and Australia. All were really good and I'd see twilight and Australia again if anyone is interested :) Here's some pictures from the trip.

Here's my brothers cleaning up dinner... Jor looks super duper excited... :)

Here's the gang... minus mom behind the camera.. me and the boys pretty much...

So my family recently moved into a new house, in the middle of nowhere, and its sort of a log cabin looking house, but it was pretty cool. My mom might kill me for putting this up, but this is the kitche.. She was cooking, so its kind of messy, but ya get the gist.

Here's the living room.. and yes thats an elk above the mantle... i love the big windows though.. they're fun...

This is the entry way... where you first walk in... check out the logs.. so montana....

Here's zachy playing on the slowest internet ever... guess thats what you get for living out in the middle of nowhere..

Here's dad chilling in the living room after dinner on Thanksgiving. And yes that a black bear behind him. One that he carried on his back out of the wilderness after killing it. My dad's a mountain man/doctor..

And this picture is especially hilarious.. So here's the story behind it. Jordan came up one night in his "pj's" which look exactly like a pair of my dad's old scrubs... so he came up with his glasses on and was sitting on the couch looking underneath his glasses at the remote just like my dad always does. It was hilarious.. a perfect impression.. so we ventured downstairs and had dad and jor reenact this awesome move, and this is what came from it. Even the white socks are the same.. so funny.. dad's holding back laughter, but jordan's in total character. Good times!!!

Once Upon a Vegas...

2008-11-06T18:04:00.000-08:00

In case you all didn't know I have a small obsession/childhood love for Justin Timberlake. Now, I know I get a lot of grief for it, but I can't help it, I've seen his concert 3 times now, and his talent, moves, and entertainment never ceases to amazing me. Plus Vegas is the ultimate place to meet up with old friends, and have so much ridiculous fun! Here are a few highlights!

Cheesecake factory.. a vegas must...

My fabulously amazing best friends Mandy and Roxy.. They made the trip for me!

Oh yes thats "the strip" behind us.. that was thursday night we were pumped to be there!

Our hotel.. the Monte Carlo... it was pretty sweet, and right across the street from where the concert was! props to rox on that one!

This picture is saying.. watch out Vegas... at the hotel before we left for the night.

This was Friday morning, we went to this fabulous breakfast at Hash Hash A Go Go or something like that. Anyway the biggest pancakes I've ever seen, or even attempted to eat.. I made it about 1/4 of the way, and was in pain. :)

Stunna shades... we're rockin it.

I call this one the... I'd like to thank to academy of country music picture.. because my hair is ridiculous, and I'm pretty sure it rivals the country singer girls.. huge!

So we meet up with some of Roxy's "friends" at cheesecake factory, and played for a while, tried to find karaoke, and ended up back at their place playing Rock Band.. haha so mormon of us! We're in vegas, and go to someone house to play rock band.. love it!

We got a complimentary 20 bucks room service, and we ordered warm cookies and milk at 3 am one night. Who knew three cookies and two pints of milk would be 15 bucks.. but they were delicious!!

The man of the trip...

We were waiting for the show to start and were taking silly pics..I think this was a sad face..

My lovely ladies...

And now the concert...

Rihanna made an appearance and sang a few of her hits.. umbrella.. ella ella eh eh.. was one! :)

Boyz II Men were there as well.. They were surprisingly really entertaining and really good. I mean we came for Justin, but was blown away by his "friends"

Leona Lewis blew us away with Bleeding love, and Better in Time. This girl can sing!

And a shout out to all my 15 year old girls out there. The Jonas Brothers, and not going to lie.. I'm a fan.. little nick is so cute!

And then there was Justin.. just as I remembered him.. but with no back up dancers so it was all him.. which I really enjoyed.

Ok so I didn't take this picture, but I had to have it!

When Justin was singing he had all kinds of guests come out and sing with him. Will.I.Am from the black eyed peas was there.. Adam Levine (no clue on spelling) was there and sang "this love" with him. And then 50 Cent came out and did a few songs, and his last guest was Lionel Richie who came out and sang "easy like summertime" with justin. Each on a piano and each singing along. Truly an awesome concert! I was thrilled we got to go, and this is by far the best Vegas trip yet!!!

Alexis Hawley...

2008-09-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well today, my sister had her second baby and my first niece Alexis. She was 8 pounds 5 ounces which is a little bit more like the Harper genes in comparison to her older brothers arrival at 6 pounds 2 ounces, so she's got the cheeks! She's adorable, full head of hair, bundled up in her blanket, and sleeping the day away. I spent 4 hours at the hospital with her tonight, and absolutely loved it that I was the only one there to hold the bundle. The family comes tomorrow, so I had to get my fill before Grandma takes over. I absolutely love being an aunt and can't wait for my own (someday maybe) :)

Yearbooks through the years...

2008-08-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

So I found this website online where you can put your picture into a bunch of different "yearbook" pictures from years back.. here are a few of my favorites, and I'm pretty sure my sister sported the first one! haha.. and the one with the big bangs... we both had.. Enjoy!

Back to the real world...

2008-08-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

Well its official the 2008-2009 school year has begun and I have a energetic new group of 4th graders. It is looking like it is going to be a pretty tough year, but thankfully they behave themselves the first few days of school so nothing to scary yet! :) I will say that the best part of my job is being able to see my students from last year, and have them come and say to me "I miss you" and "you're the best teacher" and all the other gushing compliments. It makes me feel like I did something right the year before and gives me hope that I can accomplish the same thing this year. It also proves that students do forget everything over the summer, including all the times their teacher yelled at them, or called their parents, or sent them to the schools time out room, because they come only remember the good! I'm grateful! I must not have been that mean to them!

With school starting it makes me miss spending my open summer days with my little nephew. I was able to go and see him today after school, and I just think he's hilarious. Anyway, since my birthday is on thursday he sang me happy birthday and practiced his "Hi my name is chubby" story, and I got it all on tape! so here's to carter the most adorable two and a half year old EVER!

American Idol 2008

2008-07-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

Ok so a few nights ago my friends and I were able to go to the American Idol concert. I know we're in our 20's and most the attendees of the concert are teenagers, but give us some credit, we are the age of most the people singing. Well the funny story is that Ashley and I went early in hopes of going to the meet and greet before the show. Of course, as my luck would have it, we got there at 4:15, and it ended at 4. But thankfully we got free parking because we were there so early! :) We also heard from people that were still there that the singers come out at the end of the show, and to try to catch them than. So we went to the concert. Enjoyed that fabulous singing, my personal favorite is of course David Cook, as you all know. They all really did an amazing job. Something you are guaranteed in this concert is a good show. We know they can all sing live! David Archuleta was awesome as well, and man did the Utah crowd love him! It was insane, he even started to cry on stage.. precious for the little 16 year old! David Cook followed him and was like thats a hard act to follow! But we cheered just as loud for him! Ok Its best shown in pictures what happened after the show so check it out!

Jason singing somewhere over the rainbow... he was really good live.. I really like him.

She sang a Beyonce song, and rocked it!

I love this face of his!

Michael Johns... he was the nicest guy! he even posed for a picture with us, and he was singing while he was signing, and just a really good guy. And that australian accent... very nice!

Syesha was very nice as well.. she posed with us too.. of course she wasn't in such high demand as the man of the hour... (DC)

Ok so he was super busy, and everyone wanted his attention, so the closest I got to a picture with him was this one, but good things happened after this! :)

David Archuleta.. he was probably that man of the hour in Utah.. the little girls were going crazy. After he finished signing, he ran past everyone giving them high fives. So funny!

Hooray it was intermission so we asked some people to document us there!

A close shot of him signing...

And this is the money shot!!! Ok so at this point we had pretty much followed him around the crowd, and I asked him if I could get a picture with him and he said "I'm sorry darling, but I can't, I don't have time." But then he posed for this lovely smiley, eye contact, the best picture of the night!! And I wasn't sad he called me darling! :) It was a very fun night!

Summer fun...

2008-06-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well I realize its been a while since I posted something, and honestly after composing the cruise blog, I need a break! :) But I'm back in Provo for a few weeks, and up to some summer fun! I was able to go home for my brothers Homecoming! It was so fun, I absolutely love my little brothers! But its nice to be back in Provo with my favorite friends! Heres some of my favorite things, and people!

This is Chris Merritt.. He's an amazing musician, and lets just say I go to practically every show! LOVE HIM LIVE!

Chris opened for the Ben Folds Concert, yeah I know one Ben Fold song, but I was there supporting him!! Thats devotion! :)

Me, Jon, and Kasey, its a weird pic, but the only one of the three of us.. we're alway present at Chris Merritt shows.. I love these boys!

Miss Megan.. I love this girl! We have probably a hundred pics of us, but I only chose two.. hello cruise, and hello rodeos! We made shirts just for the rodeo. Hers said I heart cowboys, and mine said Cowboys heart me! We think we're awesome!

My amazing 80's dancing ladies! We had an INCREDIBLE time that night! ME, Whitney, Bre Bre, Chels, Erin, Joanna! People were not ready for us!

Once again... a lovely group of ladies.. this was last summer, but it still counts! Linny, Me, Ash, Chels, Sara, Whit, and Bre.. we had so much fun that summer!

This is one of my favorites.. we rocked the black and white auction.. my ward has the best activities~!

I do believe this was Halloween.. we did each others make up, and dyed our hair pink, and took ridiculously amazing pictures! I love these girls, and miss playing all the time!

Me, Chels, Bre, and Whit.. again.. rocking a ward activity.. I believe it was called something like a "Black and White Christmas".. we enjoy dressing up in our ward.. it was so incredible... I heart these ladies!

Cruising the Caribbean 2008

2008-06-11T23:01:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Ok so I am home from my amazing cruise and decided to walk you all through the play by play of all the awesome things we did.. so I figure its best to just go through pictures considering that between the 7 of us (me, megan, preston, mark, bre, amy, cherilynn) we have over 1500 pictures. I'll simply choose a few and go through it! Enjoy and try not to be too jealous... :)

Trip to Miami:

We flew out on a red eye on friday the 30th of may. I know the date well because it was also the last day of school for me. I was cutting it close, but a great jump start to summer. We had so much energy on the trip there which ended up feeling like 48 hours with no sleep. I was of course busy behind the camera and don't have any pictures of myself at the airport, but this will have to do.

Here I am at 9:00 am saturday morning May 31st. This is florida time, it was more like 7am utah time, and we had already stopped at the Atlanta airport at something like 4am utah time. So we were tired, but we were excited! Sleep deprivation only helped with our silliness. We rented a car and got a hotel and then spent the day in Miami.

We started off the day with a shower of course, and a nap. So the day started at about 4:00 and we went to California Pizza Kitchen in Miami. We had an interesting waiter, who told us his plans to become a model/actor, and took about 7 hours to feed us! We then went and spent a few hours at Miami Beach. I love the beach, and the water was beautiful. I'm used to california beaches where the water isn't quite so blue, but we swam in the ocean, and this began that inside joke about the "sneak attacks". Those sneaky waves that catch ya off guard and either take you under, or give you a mouth full of that delicious salt water. It was such a fun day, and thats the beginning of an amazing trip!

Excursions:
Now this is the really exciting part, we stopped in Cozumel Mexico, The Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios Jamaica, and I loved them all! Here's some of the things we did! :)

First off Cozumel...

And the first stop in Cozumel is snorkeling. Thanks to my awesome friend Megan and her amazing waterproof camera we were able to document every excursion on the trip, and take sweet underwater pictures. So here we are snorkeling. We went to three different reefs and spent about a half hour at each reef. It was really fun, and the first time I'd actually been snorkeling- I love it.

Part 2 of Cozumel was parasailing. Now what we learned from this trip is not to book excursions through the cruise line. As we got off the ship there were people soliciting their excursions to us. We saw parasailing, and thought it would be so much fun. BUT they were saying something like 70 bucks to parasail and we decided to look around. Well we went parasailing and snorkeling to three reefs for 75 bucks... we thought we did a good job finding a good deal. The bargaining that we did in Mexico was amazing and added so much to the experience. Now, about parasailing... we were taken by taxi to this amazing resort where the boat was going to pick us up at. We got on the boat and it started to rain. The men that were on the boat and helping us it didn't seem to phase them, but I was drenched! Head to toe-wet! It again added to the experience, but once we were up in the air-300 feet above the water- the rain stopped and it was incredible. When you are up that high its completely silent. The wind isn't blowing, and you can see what feels like the entire ocean. My favorite part was seeing all the different shades of blue that were in the ocean. Dark blue at the deepest part, and it went almost turquoise at shallow points and sand bars. It was a beautiful view, and so much fun!

And to conclude my trip to Cozumel these are pictures taken while we were out on the town. A little margaritaville, a trip to the local grocery store (which was like a wal-mart style store), the city streets, and of course the amazing fresh churros- they put ours to shame. Overall it was an amazing port. We met amazing people, found some killer deals, and got a glimpse into their culture.

Next up Grand Cayman:
We all stuck together there rather than doing our own thing, and it was so much fun to have everyone there. Also, we met these two guys Alex and Matt while waiting to board the boat, and they ended up getting changed to our dinner time, and get this, our dinner table! So we all became good friends, and they joined the group for our Grand Cayman excursions! They're from Ohio and pretty much loved us from Utah!

Kissing a sting ray is supposed to give you 7 years good luck.. I guess we'll see!

The group was Alex, Cherilynn, Bre, Mark, Preston, Megan, Me, and Matt

Our first stop in Grand Cayman was at Sting Ray City. By the sound of the name you think its an aquarium or something where they take you to see the domesticated sting rays with their stingers cut off and you get to play in the water with them. WRONG! We went on a boat out into the middle of the ocean. There is a sand bar where the water is about waist high, and then about 150 sting rays hang out there. We were given squid so they would come up to us, and it was really a cool experience. We hung out there for about 40 minutes before heading off to do some more snorkeling (our new favorite pass time).

So while we were snorkeling our guide dove down and grabbed this conch shell. I happened to be near him when he did it, and he gave it to me. He check to make sure that nothing was living in it, and sure enough it was empty and I got a great, fresh from the ocean souvenir. Its a smelly souvenir however, but nothing a little lysol hasn't fixed! :)

And our final port was Jamaica:
We were warned about Jamaica and it being a scary place, but we were pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it was and how it was truly a tropical island! I would love to go back!

Ok.. this is jamaica! Just off the boat this is the beautiful view that greeted us! We then went to Dune River Falls. This was a hike, where you literally hike the falls. We were climbing on rocks, slipping on rocks, and getting drenched the whole time!

So we hiked up all 7 of us, we decided against having a guide because they took forever, and made everyone hold hands all the way up, and we wanted to go at our own pace and be able to go wherever we wanted to go. It was so beautiful, the water was amazing (mainly because it was fresh water-something we hadn't seen in a few days). And at about the end of the falls, I stepped on a slippery part of a rock, and fell down. Now I felt ok, looked ok, until you saw my hand. These silly nails of mine got in the way, I completely ripped off my nail on my middle finger and my thumb. I was bleeding, and trying to explain to everyone that I was ok, however the pain was ridiculous! Pictures don't do justice for the damage that was done.

But not to worry I was bandaged up, and even made it to the top of the falls! Even with the injury Jamaica was beautiful, and an amazing place to go- can't wait to go back!

We then went shopping in town (probably the most I've ever been hassled to buy things), and even found the church (so of course we had to take a picture of it), I even got my hair braided half way, but only kept it in for a few days. Despite the smile on my face, she pulled my hair so hard it hurt really bad, but I smiled through it!

This next group of pictures will be just of the good times on the cruises. Formal dinners, Karaoke, Ice Cream cones, and so many other amazing times!

Day 1 on the boat.. A great view of Miami, a Map of our trip (resembles a missionary map-I know) and the Rome Lounge where all the shows happen and we spent a lot of time there!

This is club hollywood where we spent many a night, and these are our hot life jackets that we had to do when we were doing our evacuation practice- good thing we never needed them!

Karaoke at its finest, and this amazing sunset we had after one of the formal nights. It rained all through dinner, and then when we came out it had stopped and there was this sunset.

The magic show, Reynold our waiter, And line dance class...we tore it up!

Mark and Preston at dinner My photo shoot at dinner. The ladies at the sunset

More formal night and sunset pictures! Amy, myself, and Megan.

The whole group with the sunset. Hollywood Dance Club! Last formal night w/braids.

The entire group on the last night. It rained again during dinner leaving a rainbow afterwards. Charlies Angels and Preston.It was once again a great night, and trip!

Waiting for a show-the lady who took this picture loved our pose! Ladies on formal night! The greastest dessert ever!!Chocolate Melting Cake- had it every night.

Megan and I one night! Our favorite place! 24 hour soft serve. We loved it late
at night after dancing. Literally drinking the chocolate cake!

Ladies again.. Dinner again.. A show with Alex...

Game show night just before Preston went up! Our one and only charge a strawberry pina colada virgin of course! Me and my crazy wind hair at sunset.

Outside Miami we were so sad to go home! Our room. We didn't spend much time there. Sunset and me!

The waterslides on the boat-although I don't think anyone of us tried them. Our dinner table and Preston and I in Jamaica.

The real dinner group... Our new friends Matt and Alex from Ohio. Amy and I at Karaoke.

Our amazing steward Clynton. He was the greatest! This is a picture of one of the towel animals he left us, and the last picture is Mark and I. We ended up winning parts in the final show on the last day because of our great singing voices (haha) I was Britney Spears and he was Ricky Martin. It was really hilarious.

The popstars with their fans. Dinner at CPK in Miami.

In all honesty I could go on and on talking about what we did, and believe it or not this is only a dent in the pictures that I have. Overall, as you can see, it was an amazing trip, and I made some really great friendships with so many great people! So this is probably the longest blog I'll ever write, but I just didn't want to leave out any of the fun that we had. I can't wait for my next vacation! :)

Yes I'm going to the Caribbean...

2008-05-29T22:13:00.001-07:00

ok so the pictures are from Cali, but what's a blog with no pics?

Well friends... tomorrow is officially that last day of school! And I am so excited and sad at the same time. I have very different feelings from last year. I was crying last year, really sad to send my kids to 5th grade, and even more sad that I wasn't returning to the school. However, things are different this year. I am staying and will see most of my kids still in the hallway and what not as they venture and turn into 5th graders and move down the hall. I am ready for summer, and the vacations and fun I have planned.

To start, tomorrow, yes tomorrow I leave for florida where I will embark on a 9 day vacation that includes a very large cruise ship, Jamaica, Cozumel, the Cayman Islands, and 7 of the coolest people I know. Right now at this very second I am sitting amongst piles of clothes, bathing suits, towels, sunscreen, shoes, and anything else I think I could possibly need on this trip. I am an over-packer, but the nazi's at delta say I can only check one 50lb. bag... now for an over-packer this is going to be a challenge. I am trying to pack the bare minimums, but I can't help but think I am going to get there and have that regret that I didn't pack the one shirt I was on the fence about bringing. I guess I'll do my best, and hope its meets the weigh in.

I should probably get to packing, but I just want to wish you all a happy summer vacation! I'll be back on June 8th, when my little brother will be home and off the mission!! I'll be spending some time this summer helping him come back to reality! I'm very excited for him to be home! Stayed tuned for posts about the amazing time I'll be having in the Caribbean!

The Battle of the Davids

2008-05-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

David Cook vs. David Archuleta

The battle is over and the winner supreme is DAVID COOK, and I am so pleased with the results. I was nervous there for a while, I mean the judges on Tuesday night practically gave the title to lil David Archie, calling it a knock-out. Well I guess it just shows that Simon, Paula, and yo dawg Randy don't know everything! Well we've always known Paula never really knows what she's saying. Now this may be the first time (minus Blake and Jordin) where either contestant has a pretty much guaranteed career. Little David is already being played on the radio in Utah, so if anything he will for sure have a "utah" career. He can be like Carmen Rassmussen, doing random local commercials, he can sing at BYU's stadium of Fire, stake youth conferences, EFY, the options are endless. Of course, I'm kidding. The boy's got some serious talent, and will probably, hopefully, go farther than his own backyard! America's sweetheart.

Now the American idol winner, he's got to talent, creativity, experience, maturity, and isn't afraid to cry. He's a total musical package! And have you seen his reenactment of Risky Business for a commercial for Guitar Hero? Priceless. We are grateful that he cut his hair, and perhaps someday he'll shave his face, he's got a cute smile under there. And he plays the left-handed guitar... and sings broadway. I play his version of the Phantom of the Opera in my classroom all the time. My kids enjoy it! Either way, it was a shocker, not an upset, but I thought for sure David A's innocence would give him the title (as did the judges), but apparently America thought differently. They chos

e the man over the boy, the edge over the innocence, the beast over the beauty, and since I didn't vote once I applaud their choice! I heart David Cook!

Cosmo Revealed...

2008-03-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

So recently I went to a BYU baseball game. Always a good time... the sun was shining, the UVU competition was thrilling, and then there was Cosmo. The mysterious mascot for BYU that can pretty much get away with anything in his mute state. Cosmo at many different times and different sporting events has come up to me and sat on my lap, given me kisses on the cheek, and always gets a hug. Now I think we sometimes forget there is actually a person underneath the suit... so my question is.. who is this mystery person or persons. Is there only one person who gets to put on a suit, and have fair game at any lady he wants? Now Cosmo isn't that tall so do the ladies get to join in on the fun? And what a task to not speak for hours on end.. I would definitely slip, but I talk to much anyway. Either way, Cosmo the Cougar has a pretty sweet set up... a beloved figure of BYU athletics, the ladies love him young and old.. perhaps more boys should look into the job as a college mascot.. just an idea. :)

Karaoke

2008-03-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

To a girl who's childhood dream was to become a famous pop star, karaoke is the answer to my prayers.. well my hopes.. well my wish to be talented enough to actually go somewhere.. even if it is my living room with a mic stand we "borrowed" from the church. Now there is something about singing as loud as you want into a microphone that gives even the most tone deaf person a thrill. It definitely helps that the choices of songs are power ballads, and require you to give it your all. So my question is... Karaoke.. why don't we do it more often? why do people always say they hate it until they actually try it? And why is it so much fun for me, and so much pain for others.. and who wants to come sing with me? Here's to celebrity!!!

My welcome to blogging...

2008-03-05T21:01:00.000-08:00

As if facebook and myspace weren't enough I thought I would add yet another way for the stalkers of the internet to learn more about me! If I dare flatter myself by assuming people will actually read this.. I think of it more as a record for myself. I have no idea what kinds of venting and self reflection may come from this, or perhaps just ridiculous observations that only I would notice. Either way if you read I hope I make you think, make you laugh, and perhaps inspire some kind of thought provoking discussion... I am a teacher ya know!