Bear Lake

We spent a weekend in a condo on Bear Lake. It was such a beautiful place. Dustin and I were so busy talking and playing Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader (a GREAT roadtrip game) that we missed the turn to go up Logan Canyon and we ended up in Preston, Idaho. Oops! So we took the 2 hour detour but made it there around 11 PM. The weather was nice so we got some good sun, but the water was FREEZING! Dani, Matt, Lexi and Jax went up with us for a few nights. One afternoon we walked out to the water, took our shoes off and walked around. The water was REALLY clear, and there were seashells covering the beach (kind of random). Lexi was having a lot of fun splashing around!

We also went kayaking one day, and it was fun to go out farther and still be able to see pretty far down. We watched movies, played games, ate hobo dinners and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, went swimming in the pool, played on the merry-go-round and ate yummy raspberry shakes! It was a fun relaxing weekend.

Dustin and Lexi walking around. She sure loves her Uncle Dud-dee (Dusty)


The view from our condo window.

Dustin... The T.V. Star!!!

That's right, Dustin was on the news tonight! Pretty cool! The guy he bought his natural gas van from was being interviewed for a segment about natural gas vehicles and they wanted some of his happy customers to talk about driving one. He looked so HOT and did so great! I can't get the link to work so go to kutv.com, look for the living greener clip about natural gas vehicles then the clip is on the right side of the screen.

Enjoy!

Grandma Little

My sweet Grandma Little was reunited with her parents and siblings recently. Her health hadn't been the best over the past few years but I just always thought she would be around forever. She was an incredible lady from whom I learned a lot. All my life I have lived within an hour of my Grandparents and for many years I lived only 10 minutes away. Grandma and Grandpa were always so involved with my life. They came to many of my performances and special events. Grandma was always interested in what I was up to. Living close I loved just dropping by and visiting with them, they always made me feel so special and loved. Grandma had such a positive attitude about life. Dustin and I went up visit them for Grandpa's birthday about two weeks before she passed away. I am so grateful that we did because we had a wonderful visit.

My very favorite memory with Grandma was just this past October. My mom and I took Grandma to New York City. She had always wanted to go but had never made it. We saw lots of plays and the sights and did so many fun things but the night we went to Carniege Hall was the best. We could not flag a taxi because all the shows in NYC start at 8 o'clock when a little bicycle taxi pulled up and asked us if we wanted a ride. We looked at his little contraption and thought how hard it would be for us to get it and all fit. He said we could fit so we gave it a try. Mom and Grandma climbed in then I sat on their laps. It was raining so we had this clear tarp thing over us. We started giggling before we ever even left because we were squished in a little cart behind a bicycle taxi, all dressed up, going to Carniege Hall! The guy took off riding and he was working for his money this time. He got us there pretty quick and we laughed the whole way. Getting out was an interesting feat but we were all in one piece with tears streaming down our cheeks because we were laughing so hard. After the recital when we were going down the elevator Grandma kept telling everyone "You'll never guess how we got here..." and she would bust up laughing again. It was really fun to see a silly, carefree, laugh till you cry Grandma that night.



It's times like this that really strengthen my testimony and make me so grateful for the plan of salvation. I don't know what I would do if I thought that this was it, how depressing. Life is so much better and trails are more bearable knowing that there is life after this. I am also grateful that Heavenly Father gave us families, people who love and care about us no matter what and that are there for us as we go through these trials. I have learned so much from my family and are so grateful for them.

P.S. Grandpa, I love you so much and I am so lucky to have you as my Grandpa. We need to have root beer floats on your back porch again this summer!

Final Pimped Pics

Life has been pretty fun lately. It's interesting to analyze the psychology of getting behind the wheel of any given car. My first ride was a black minivan coincidentally...couldn't wait for that phase to be over with. I think I became much better looking when I was given the keys to a turquoise Pointiac Sunbird (most people wouldn't be caught dead driving this car). It did have a nice system in it though, which made me even better looking - if you can imagine. ; ) After two blissful years of cruisin' in the sunbird, I had the luxury of spending the next two years of life riding around in a pair of black Tommy Hillfiger church shoes and occasionally a three-wheeled motorcycle called a mototaxi. I thought I'd never care the least bit about what car I drove after that...as long as I wasn't walking all day every day. Fortunately, my dad had a green ford station wagon waiting for me to take to BYU when I got off the mish. Everybody in Peru drove station wagons, so I jumped in without thinking twice and took off. About the time I realized that I was going to be dating in Provo (probably week two in Utah), I started asking myself how in the world I ended up with a station wagon at THE most critical point in my life (a true test of humility and I failed miserably). Man was I ugly in the driver's seat of that green station wagon. Soon enough, the opportunity presented itself to drive to Texas and switch out the wagon for my sister, Rachel's, black Nissan pickup truck al estilo mexicano. I still had latin fever, so this truck was sure to help out my game. Now that I think about it, had I not been driving my mom's blue Dodge Stealth when I picked up Caren on our first date, I could still be out there on the singles' scene. Wow! Anyway, the black truck was good enough to get me through until I traded it in for a 1998 Ford E250 natural gas cargo van...the ugliest vehicle I've probably ever traveled in. I drove it home to our new neighborhood hoping that nobody would complain to the city about parking it in front of my house. If it wasn't already bad enough, there is a loud siren in sync with the reverse gear, which can be heard from blocks away. Luckily, we live on a hill, so I can put in neutral to back out and not worry about getting the whole neighborhood's attention. It was ugly, but Xzibit inspired me to understand the true, underlying beauty of all cars in his Pimp My Ride series (very funny guy by the way). A little paint, some new tires, a few decals, and driving is a whole new experience. Not only is the van green, it's green...as in clean emmissions from a natural gas engine, which is ridiculously cheap to drive (63 cents per gallon). To get phone calls while driving around is a good feeling. The successor of babes in life for us men has got to be money. No longer advertising myself - but my business. It's kinda fun.

Tag!

10 Years Ago
I was 14 just about to finish my 8th grade year at Kasville Jr. I was going to lots of regional dances and being silly with a bunch of girlfriends and having 'crushes' on the boys at KJH!

5 Years Ago
I was 19 just about to finish my first year of college at BYU-Idaho. I was flirting and dating TONS and staying up way to late with my crazy roommates. I think this was about the time that we went off-roading and got stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere Idaho. Good times!

5 Months Ago
I was relaxing with family for Christmas break, enjoying not having to get up and teach first graders all day! I was cuddling lots with my hubby because it was really cold outside and that's my favorite place to be... in his arms. Oh... and while we were cuddling we watched another full season of 24! Jack didn't die again!

5 Things on My To-Do-List Tomorrow
1. Go to work
2. Cook Dinner (I've been wanting Chicken Quesadillas for like 2 weeks now)
3. Watch American Idol (Yeah for the David's)
4. Cricut with Dani while the boys play Halo
5. Sleep

5 Snacks I Enjoy
1. Apples and peanut butter or caramel
2. Chips and Salsa
3. Granola Bars (I used to hate them now I love them!)
4. Pretty much any candy
5. Mints

5 Things I would do if I was suddenly a Billionaire
1. Quit teaching
2. Take Dustin to Tahiti (He's always wanted to go) and stop at other places all around the world on our way there and back!
3. Buy a convertible (I've always wanted one) and buy Dustin a really nice car
4. Help families who really need it (Like on Oprah's big give, that's my dream to just have enough money that when we're bored one night and can't think of what to do we just take 10 grand and go change someones life forever! How cool would that be!)
5. Invest...So we could party all the time :)

5 Bad Habits
1. Staying up too late
2. Eating out too much
3. Procrastinating
4. Watching too much TV
5. Forgetting to respond to e-mails, sorry

5 Places I've Lived
1. Orem, Utah (ages 3-13)
2. Kaysville, Utah (0-3, 13-18)
3. Rexburg, Idaho (18-20)
4. Provo, Utah (20-23, 23-24)
5. Payson, Utah (23)

5 Things People Don't Know About Me
1. I've never dyed my hair
2. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 22 when Dustin took me as part of my Christmas present. I almost backed out that time too, but he had bought me so many cute earrings and he was there holding my hand!
3. I had my first piano lesson when I was three
4. I got to shake President Hinckley's hand when I was 8
5. I only have 4 things that people don't know about me and that I want people to know about me. = )

5 People I Tag...
If you're reading this... consider yourself tagged!

The End of a Fun Relaxing Spring Break!

Well, it's finally here... the last day of my spring break. :( It does feel like it's been forever since I was back with my 28 little 7 year olds but still not long enough! It has been such a fun 9 days of playing - I just don't want it to end.

WARNING-This is a really long post so I can remember what we did, but feel free to take a peek!

Saturday was my Grandpa's birthday, so we went up to Kaysville on Sunday to celebrate. My mom called me yesterday saying that she couldn't find anyone to cover for my dad (Who was in Hawaii, no fair :)) at the organ in sacrament, so since I was already coming up would I mind playing. It was random, but it was fun. I've decided that I really like playing the organ! Then we went to my grandparents house for lunch. It was a lot of fun seeing my grandma and grandpa. I miss being close enough to just drop in more often. My grandpa is the storyteller of the family. He's always got fun stories (true or not :)) or jokes to keep us all laughing, and my Grandma has such a great attitude about life. I just love them both. They are such good examples to me. My little sister, Rebekah came down to spend a few days celebrating spring break with me.



Monday we slept in and then were really lazy all day. I always use my 'little' sister as an excuse to watch really cheesy chick flicks (the ones I could never talk Dustin into watching like High School Musical and Bring it on Again ha ha). We watched Sydney White with Amanda Bynes and it was pretty cute. It was nice to just chill and spend time with my sister. That night the three of us went out on the town!

On Tuesday we went to get french toast from Kneaders. This is my absolute favorite breakfast food! It's like dessert for breakfast...how much better does it get than that?! Then we made a magnet board for Rebekah's room. It turned out really cute. It was white with purple flowers and green vines. Along the bottom it says Inspire. Mom came to get Bekah that afternoon. That night, along with every Tuesday night the boys had Halo night. Dani brought the kids over so we could chill while our husbands played. I ended up having to go sign our taxes at like 10:30 PM and Dani went with me. What started out being a normal errand ended up being a silly trip. To make a long story short we got back home full of fries and ice cream with lots of laughs! Hooray for marrying into such a fun family!

Wednesday was our lazy day (I was on break and I pretty much took everyone else with me). We slept in. Then, I cleaned and did laundry (the only productive thing I did all day :). Dustin was craving Sushi so we went and got some. When we got home, we caught up on the Bachelor - one of our favorite shows. Then, we took a nap, fixed dinner, and watched TV. It was a lot of fun spending a complete day just hanging out and cuddling with my baby! We get a long so great and I'm so glad we get to spend eternity together!



On Thursday Dani and Matt invited us over for a BBQ...the first of the season! Before we ate, Dani and I finally decided and actually got together to use our cricut machines! It is something that we have talked about doing probably every week since Christmas, but it had only happened twice. We set everything up in her front room and started. We only got about an hour and a half in before we grilled our hamburgers and played our favorite game that we are addicted to... Settlers of Catan (if you've never played you really should because it is SO much fun!)



Friday Dustin and Matt were going golfing because the weather was way nice, so I went and cricuted since all our stuff was still set up. I got a lot of scrapbooking done today and it was a blast. The boys were gone until about 5:30-6ish, and when they got back we left the kids to run get some needed scrapbook supplies so we could keep going. On our way back we bought some mongolian grill (very yummy) then played settlers again. Tonight we started early enough that we got two games in.



Saturday morning we went and got french toast again (I was in heaven). Then, we went to get an hour massage (way to end spring break huh)! On my way home from the massage my cousin Marie called and said they were headed to Provo to run some errands and wondered if we wanted to go to California Pizza Kitchen. We met them there and had some really yummy pizza! It was great to see them again. On our way home from eating I really wanted to scrapbook/cricut some more (I go through these phases where I'm not motivated and then that's all I want to do) so we went over and cricuted for another half day. Then, we got hungry so we grilled some kabobs and played another game of settlers. I'm telling you... we are ADDICTED! This was the craziest game I think we have ever played and will definitley be a story that we will tell our kids one day. Good times!

Sunday was just another great Sunday! (the only bad thing was that it marked the end of my spring break). We went to church and our Relief Society lesson was AMAZING! It was about the incredible gift of the Holy Ghost and how we are blessed to have it with us always. It just opened my eyes to what a great blessing that is if I live worthy to have it with me always. Just a side note... I'm reading this incredible book called Hearing the Voice of the Lord that went along great with the lesson. It's all about how God communicates or at least tries to on a very regular basis and how we can tune in and listen to him on a regular basis. Good read and only 15 bucks at Costco! After church we came home snacked and took a 3 1/2 hour nap (Sunday naps ROCK!) When we woke up we had a delicious roast waiting for us (gotta love crockpots) then everyone came over for game night. It was a good end to a great Spring Break. Only 6 more weeks till schools out for the summer! YaHoo.

Phase One Complete!

May I have your attention please???