Bucket List

So I have a bucket list as I'm sure many of you do. It's a fairly long list with a variety of things. Some large some small, some silly some a little more serious, some have been crossed off and many that still haven't. Anyways, here are a few that are on my list and that have been on my mind a lot lately:

Zip line in Costa Rica. This has been my dream vacation spot for as long as I can remember and once I saw pictures of people zip lining through the trees I knew it was something I just HAD to do. I have been having this travel bug lately and zip lining in Costa Rica is what I keep thinking of. One day it will happen, mark my words!

Make a quilt. How cool would that be? I am not a very domestic person (although I am working on the whole cooking thing) and I just think that making a quilt would be a neat accomplishment. I have seen such beautiful quilts that people have made and one day I thought "hey, I wanna do that!"

Graduate. Almost there! Just a semester and a half away and then I can cross this baby off!

Learn to drive stick shift. This scenario keeps coming to mind: There is an emergency and someone needs to drive. I am the only one around with a license and able to drive, but the only car available is manual. OH NOOOOO! So there is no hope and the said emergency ends in a tragedy. Yeah I can't have that on my shoulders.

Attend an NFL game. I have attended NBA games (go Jazz) and a MLB game, but not an NFL game. I don't even care who is playing or where, but one day I want to be able to happily say I watched the pros live.

Who knows when I will actually be able to cross some of these off, it make take a long time. At least by the end of next spring I will for sure have a check mark next to one of them! YAY!

Birthday Boy

Today is this darling boy's birthday.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANNY!!!

Hope it was a great day. I wish I could have been with you to celebrate, but I can't wait to see you in 2 months! Or 60 days... but who's counting? :)

xoxoxo

Sweet Caroline

This is Caroline.

Is she not the most adorable thing ever?! Cause trust me, she is. I met Caroline about a year and a half ago when she was barely two-years-old. She was a little developmentally behind and her parents were worried about her. I was offered a job to work with her and it has been one of the most incredible opportunities and rewarding experiences I have ever had.

I was in desperate need of a job when I moved home last summer and prayers were answered when Niki called me. She asked if I would be willing to be trained with her and her husband in a program to help their daughter and I immediately accepted. We began the training process with a program called ABA, which was way more intense and structured than I could have imagined. There was so much to remember and I was starting to feel overwhelmed and inadequate. However, the family had high hopes for their daughter and I wanted to help in any way that I could.

The family and I worked together for about a month and then I was on my own. It was scary at first and I was full of questions, but the family and our trainer were great and I started to feel more and more comfortable. At times it was hard, but there was nothing better than seeing her progress and developing a sweet bond with this sweet girl. Around her 3rd birthday she had improved greatly and her parents decided to end the program. Luckily they decided to still use me and now I go over about twice a week to just play with her. How great a job is that?

Working with Caroline truly has been life changing. I have learned so much and it is actually what made me decide my major (human development and family studies). I genuinely love this girl and working with her had been a blessing.

just some tuesday thoughts

I had a realization yesterday. I feel like I'm the type of person that takes the term "grin and bear it" to heart. But you know what? Sometimes it is ok to be sad. It's ok to have those stay-in-my-sweats-wear-no-make-up-eat-ice-cream-and-watch-sappy-shows kind of days every once in a while. You can only disregard those feelings for so long and some days you just need to let them out. I feel like a whole new person after doing so!

A substitute brings a whole new vibe to a classroom. It results in zoning out and leaving the class not knowing what exactly was talked about. Oops hope it wasn't important!

Seeing friendly and familiar faces on campus is quite possibly one of my favorite things. With the U being so big and me only really being in the same 3 buildings, it's rare that I see someone I know. So you can imagine my excitement when I cross paths with a friend.

All of sudden I feel like I have so many different... I don't even know what to call them... "things" I am apart of that I have to keep tack of. Facebook, instagram, blogger, and now pinterest... for being someone who is a little slow on the technology track I am feeling like I am now way tuned in. It's very strange, yet addicting.

I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but do you ever have those days where you get ready, but then wish you hadn't? That was me today. I decided I would actually get somewhat ready for school, because I don't very often, and it actually felt pretty good not feeling like I just rolled out of bed then hopped in my car. I walked into my first class and there was this darling girl in a t-shirt and cut-off sweat shorts that made me immediately regret my decision to get ready. She just looked so comfy, but cute at the same time. Darn jeans.

Dance classes at the U are the best. I have met some of the coolest people through them that I don't know if I would have met otherwise. Also dancing around and seeing each other get all gross and sweaty make for some unique bonds and friendships.

Fall is in the air and I couldn't be happier!!! The days are still warm and sunny, but not smoldering hot and the nights have a chill that make me want to bundle up. Gosh I love fall and everything about it. As much as I love ski season, I hope fall lasts this year and that winter doesn't come too soon.

I have developed a new desire to learn how to cook. And I mean really cook, not just put together a sandwich or make a bowl of cereal. Kylee and I have carried on our tradition from last semester of cooking dinner once a week before our night class. Last night we made yummy chicken alfredo and last week was chicken enchiladas. There is just something about a homemade meal that makes it taste a million times better and it ends up being way cheaper. Look out Betty Crocker!

High school

This is what I woke up to yesterday morning...

Oh the days of high school. Seeing this got me thinking about my high school days as a Ram (Go Rams) and it just made me giggle. Such memories included:

-Toilet pappering/getting toilet papered.

-Bumming rides from all the juniors and seniors when I was a freshman and sophomore

and thinking I was soooooo cooooooool for doing so.

-Cruising 4th south/state street (MOBY RICHARD).

-Wanting to do choir only to be able to go on the choir trip, but too terrified of Slagle to

suffer through the year.

-Senior year schedule's looked something like this:
A Day- home release, TA, seminary, work release
B Day- yearbook, choir, home release, dance company.

-Boys looked for any excuse possible to dance around in spandex.

-Spending 90% of my lunches at del taco.

-Asking/answering to dances and doing so months in advance just to be sure the person

you wanted to ask wouldn't get asked by someone else.

-Being a heckler and living for freak east.

-Pep Club/happy hands/excuse to go to away games for free/junior girls hangout

-Thinking I knew EVERYTHING.

The list goes on and on. I have been out of high school almost as long as I was in it, but it feels like it was just yesterday. Even though it's so funny to look back at the silly issues of high school days and how young I was, I still feel just as immature. My biggest concern then was what I was going to wear to homecoming. Now what I would give to have those types of concerns. I just have to worry about what I am going to do with my life after graduating in the spring... no big deal.

Oh yeah and in other news...

Proud to be a ute!

The Holy War

Can't wait for tomorrow!!!!!!

"Who am I, sir? A Utah man am I A Utah man, sir, and will be till I die; Ki!Yi!
We're up to snuff; we never bluff,
We're game for any fuss,
No other gang of college men
dare meet us in the muss.
So fill your lungs and sing it out and
shout it to the sky,
We'll fight for dear old Crimson,
for a Utah man am I."

GO UTES!

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you will never walk alone.

People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others."

-Audrey Hepburn

Remembering

What a tragic day.

To all the brave men and women that were there and lost their lives on this day 10 years ago for our country:

You are heros and will always be remembered.

God Bless America.

(Another great video remembering this day can be found here.)

Have a Good Day

In one of my classes we were challenged to do something called the "Have a Good Day" exercise. Basically we were told to come up with a list of the essential things that make up a good day for us and then try and do them every day so we have more good days. Makes sense right? So here is the list I came up with of things that make a good day for me:

- Waking up early. Not too early, but just at a decent hour.

- Crossing something off the to-do list. Whether it be homework, an errand, a chore... just something.

- Laughing

- Reading my scriptures and saying my prayers.

- Dancing. Even if it's just jamming in my car to the radio.

- Spending at least a little time outside. Gotta have some of that fresh air.

- Interacting with people that I love.

That's my list! What's yours?

NC Weekend

Oh hey there blog! It's been a while.

Well, Labor Day weekend FINALLY came and I got to go out to North Carolina to see Danny. Here's a little run down of the weekend...

I arrived there about noon on Saturday after a red eye flight to Danny picking me up at the airport. It was soooo good to see him! Skype is great and all, but it just isn't the same. We got some lunch then headed to Pinehurst where his uncle lived. We stayed with his Uncle Matt, Matt's wife Lisa, and their 3-year-old son Oliver. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in their pool with Oliver and playing with the dogs. After the pool we went grocery shopping with Matt and he whipped up one of the most delicious meals I have ever had. Perfect steak, cooked veggies, potatoes, salad, corn... my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I ate until I literally filled every inch of my stomach then went into a food coma and slept like a baby.

Woke up Sunday to another delicious meal: pancakes and fresh peaches. We ate outside then got ready for church. We went to sacrament meeting then headed out to Pinehurst lake. Oliver and his buddies swam and played in the water while we lounged on the beach in the shade. After the lake, Lisa was nice enough to take us to see her horse and she let me ride him. To say I was psyched out of my mind would be an understatement. For those of you who don't know, I am a cowgirl at heart. I have an obsession with horses and the country and this was like a dream come true for me. I got to ride Freedom around the ring who was one of the most beautiful horses I have ever seen. We got back and then Matt took us out to a fancy dinner.

Monday we woke up early to Oliver, ate another yummy breakfast, then said our goodbyes. They were so sweet to us and I had the best time with them. I don't think I have ever eaten better than I did those 2 days we were there. We headed back to Winston-Salem so Danny could do some studying and go to his practice test. Luckily I brought homework to do too so we had a little study party and then went to dinner after he nailed his practical. I told Danny I wanted to make him a birthday cake since I wouldn't get to be with him on his real birthday and it ended up turning into quite the 3-week-early birthday party. A few guys from his hall came over and we sang and ate birthday cake

Tuesday he had class so I took him to school then went out on the town of Winston-Salem. I picked him up then we went straight to the airport. I drove so Danny could study and we hit some intense rain along the way. Pretty sure my hands were sore from gripping the steering wheel. It was terrifying. He hung out at the airport with me for a little then we said our goodbyes and I headed for home.

It was a perfect weekend and I'm so glad I was able to go see him.

Now if only Thanksgiving would get here quickly!