What a busy month!

Normally I would say its been a long time since I last updated and I don’t have much to say…well, that wouldn’t be true this time. The month of December has come and gone and after having my first Christmas away from home I realized that I can’t recreate it just like it was back home. Jason and I did have a couple of firsts this year though. First time making pomanders and they were delicious; Brittany likes them to be about golf ball size so we didn’t get a whole lot out of it. We also made homemade caramels which was fun but very time consuming. We had to wait probably 30 minutes for the temperature to get just right stirring constantly. Once it set up it turned out really good and then we had to individually wrap them all which took forever too. Jason also took me out to temple square, which I’ve never been to during the holidays. It was gorgeous but freezing cold, we stopped to get hot chocolate which I ended up spilling on my jacket…good times, good times. We set up our Christmas tree we bought from Wal-Mart and ended up getting electrocuted when one of the bulbs was broken, that was another good time. We looked all over the place to try and find some cheap ornaments which is practically impossible. Wal-Mart has boxes of 4 ball ornaments for $6 or a box of 24 for $10 which is still expensive for our pay grade. So we just borrowed ornaments from Jason’s brother Daniel since he was going home for Christmas (Thanks Daniel). On Christmas Eve we both received a phone call around noon from our Bishop, we thought we’d be safe for a couple of weeks at least but no, we were asked to speak on Sunday and unfortunately it was on a topic I hadn’t talked on before so I had to write a whole new talk on the Second Coming. We were invited to go over to Brittany and Clay’s for dinner on Christmas Eve for Ham and Elegant Potato Casserole, Rolls, Salad, and dessert…mmm. That felt like home but there was no Sees Candies so that was a little disheartening…not like I need it though, I think I’ve had enough sweets this year. We played Guitar Hero and I finally got play drums which is a lot harder than it looks, I’m not coordinated enough to use the foot pedal and then pound on the drums…I would have liked to try singing the songs but I didn’t get the chance so maybe next time. We did get to watch National Lampoons Christmas Vacation that night so it felt like home. We tried getting out of there before the snow storm hit but we weren’t so lucky it had been snowing for a while before we left and on the drive home it was hard to see the lines in the road. I don’t trust myself in snow anymore after this past January’s snow storm in Oregon so I have Jason drive who is more experienced in snow. Christmas morning was great, Jason got me an attachment to my Kitchen-Aid…it was the ice cream maker attachment I’ve been looking at for over a year. He also bought me a movie called Daniel Deronda (I read the book this summer and had wanted to buy the movie ever since) and some micro fleece pajama pants, he bought me an XS which was very sweet but I needed another size up. So we tried exchanging them on Friday and no one sold those same pants anymore so we just returned them and will have to go out and get something else later. Jason received a new wallet, replacement shaver head, and Transformers on Blu-Ray. It was a great Christmas…plus we received a gift from Kevin and Nicole with the softest blanket ever (we used it last night, Thanks guys!) and a blockbuster gift card and popcorn for our movie night. Ooh, we can do that on New Years Eve!

We had Brittany and Clay over for dinner on Christmas night and I was pretty impressed with our meal, we felt just like we were at Sizzler or something. Jason cooked up bacon wrapped filet mignon, we did twice baked potatoes (which didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked) and I made a cheese toast bread...Usually the day after Christmas in the Smith family is a big deal we go out for dinner and to see a movie so after Jason got off work we made plans with Brittany and Clay to meet up at a Chili’s for dinner and then head on over to the movie theater to see “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. The roads were so slicked over from the snow storm the day before and Friday that we were sliding all over the place. I had cleaned the entire apartment that morning and actually hung pictures up so it was nice to finally be able to come home to a clean house that looked like we lived there. Saturday we were working on our talks in the morning until Jason had to go to work at 3pm and I had the pleasure of driving once again to Jason’s old house to do laundry and to use their internet to try and write my talk but alas, the internet was down so I had to occupy myself some other way I played games on my computer for 2 hours and read through articles of the Ensign while I waited for our clothes to dry…After I made it back home around 8pm I figured I had some time to write my talk but I ended up falling asleep on the couch until Jason called an hour later. So yes, I am a procrastinator, I didn’t get to write my talk until Sunday morning but I think it turned out well. I was perfectly fine at church until the passing of the Sacrament, and then I started to get really nervous and felt dizzy. I have a tendency to talk really fast when I’m nervous but Jason said I didn’t rush through it so that’s good. I was more relaxed after I was done and just happy to have it over with. Jason did a great job even though he said he felt nervous you couldn’t really tell.

Now it’s back to work for a few days but I get Thursday and Friday off again so that will be nice and hopefully I can get a lot done. On Wednesday we have plans of getting together with Brittany and Clay again and watching movies and pigging out on junk food unless Brittany has her baby then it will probably just be Jason and I hanging out on the couch eating junk food…either way I’m eating Chex Mix (I made some last night), cream puffs, peanut butter M&M’s, Butter mints, Chips, Salsa and bean dip. Anyway, I guess that’s all I have for now, I will let you know how everything goes.

We got hitched!

To be perfectly honest the past month was a such a blur everything went too fast but it was amazing. We took off for Medford on November 17 and it was a very long drive, we took off at 5AM and arrived at home around 4:30pm so we definitely made good time. When we got there Jordan, Christina, Hayley & Tia were there so that was exciting. We got our marriage license on Wednesday and hung out with family, and on Thursday night Kevin, Nicole, and Noah made it out to Medford so hung out with them too. Friday was spent getting food items for the wedding reception and flowers for corsages Costco had a bit of a lacking in the cream roses area so we were lucky that found a lot of cream colored roses at Safeway. That afternoon I was kidnapped by Eden & Hanah and taken out for lunch at a really nice cafe and then we made our way over to the Brookhurst building where the reception was being held so that we could help set up. That night we went to the temple and took out our endowments. It truly is an amazing experience to go through for yourself and I don't think I will remember a whole lot about it but that is why you go back. On Saturday I woke up early to get ready and Dad made pancakes and bacon so it was just like old times (Thanks Dad). When Jordan, Hayley and Tia came over Hayley kept saying I looked different I looked beautiful...I had a new face...however, I don't remember getting plastic surgery or anything so I guess make up really does work. I got all ready and we were a little late getting to the temple. It seemed like we were waiting in the lobby forever but finally it was our turn and we went through with it. I know that you were all worried but I can now say that I married my best friend...After taking pictures we went back to my parents house and changed and went over to Aunt Jeanne's for the luncheon where Jason's parents made a delicious meal of taquitos and chicken tortilla soup and we watched the BYU vs. Utah game (I was hoping that being married that day would have created some good luck for them but to no avail they lost). The reception was really nice everything was beautiful and the food was terrific, and of course it was great to see everyone again.

On Sunday Jason and I took off for San Francisco and found our hotel pretty easily and right next door was a Sizzler so that's where we ate...I still love their cheese bread. On Monday we had tickets to Alcatraz, we just had to find a way to get their so we went looking for a gas station to drive to downtown San Francisco and the closest gas station happened to be next to the BART Station. So we got to ride BART to the Embarcadero area and then walked the rest of the way from Pier 1 all the way to Pier 33 where our ferry was waiting to take us to Alcatraz. I've been fascinated with Alcatraz since I went there on choir tour in high school several years ago and it was different then. We had our our own personal guided tour and stayed with the group. This time we were given an audio guide and got to walk around and follow our own time table and got to go anywhere. The audioguide was interesting because it had interviews with 4 previous prisoners and 4 previous guards. They had background noises like whistles blowing, people chatting, yelling, doors closing and it all seemed like it was happening around you it was kind of creepy but I loved it. After taking the ferry back we walked to Pier 39 and watched a magician light his hands on fire while juggling, we also tried finding somewhere to go for dinner but everything seemed so expensive. We walked a few blocks further to an Italian restaurant we heard about but there were no customers inside and the cheapest thing on the menu was $15 so we went back to Pier 39 and looked at something else and finally decided on Hard Rock Cafe not knowing what was on the menu...sure enough it was $15 a plate too. Oh well. On our way back to the hotel we saw a Krispy Kreme donuts and IHOP while we were on BART so on Tuesday we tried to drive to where we thought they were. We ended up driving around for about 2 hours trying to find IHOP and finally found it. We drove to San Francisco and wanted to go to the Golden Gate Bridge and got lost driving around again but quickly found our way. We walked across the bridge and then tried to make our way back to the hotel so that we could go to San Jose for the Winchester Mystery Home but no, San Francisco was more of a mystery and we got lost again. While we were lost we did find Ghiradelli Square so it wasn't a total loss...and we did make the mistake of going down Lombard street (the crookedest street) and it really is crooked...I don't think I want to do that one ever again. Eventually we got out of San Francisco but unfortunately the Winchester Mystery House closed at 5pm, next time we'll make it there...Wednesday we took off early to make our way back home in Medford and when we got their we had a game night with the family. Thursday, thanksgiving and we all know that was amazing. And Friday we took off for Utah again, it was a fast trip but I enjoyed every minute of it, it was sad to leave but I hope that everyone in the family can come together soon and this time with Brittany, Clay and Maeli joining in. We love everyone and appreciate the love and support that has been shown to us during this important time in our lives. I tried to keep the posting short but sometimes I just ramble, sorry about that.

I'll post more pictures once I get them!

1 week to go...

So the wedding is a little over a week away and I'm just now starting to update my blog. The main reason for this is that I don't have access to the internet at the new apartment...Well, I guess that's not entirely true. I have access by stealing it from someone else in the apartment complex but it's not reliable, it says its connected for about 2 seconds and then it doesn't take me anywhere...I guess that's what I get for trying to cheat and get it for free. The weeks have been going by fast which is good but at the same time I feel like there is still so much left to do. I bought a temple dress last weekend and we're supposed to go in and meet with the stake president on Sunday...yep, he couldn't get us in until then. So we go in on Sunday and then have Monday to go to the Distribution Center to pick up the rest of the items and then we are taking off on Tuesday morning to go home to Medford.

On Wednesday after I got off of work I was in a hurry to get home so that I could make a cd for Brittany and run down there to drop it off. So I did all of that but I wasn't feeling too well. I was freezing cold even and I couldn't seem to get warm no matter what I did. Then yesterday I woke up around 4am, I had a huge headache, my body ached, I was burning up and coughing every 5 seconds. I took off my covers and fell back asleep until about 6 and then decided I might as well get up and eat something so that I could take some advil. I was fine during the day and hen when I got off work again I was freezing cold so I put on my sweatshirt and took a nap when I woke up I wasn't feeling well at all. Even when Jason got off work and came to pick me up he said I felt like I had a fever. We went out bought some Kleenex and some Theraflu. I took the Theraflu last night and it was supposed to be for daytime but it kind of knocked me out anyway. This morning I got up and took some Dayquil and was perfectly fine for the 4 hours that it works. After lunch I started to cough a lot again and when it was finally time to go home I was told by my boss Christine that I looked really pale and I wasn't feeling too well anyway. I was told by someone to eat a lot of garlic and it knock the cold right out and then someone else told me to take some coldeeze so when I met with Jason we went to pick some Coldeeze up so we'll see how that goes. I just don't want to be sick for the wedding or the trip down there....and while I am typing this Jason is starting to cough too...Oh great! We are all getting sick. I'll be going home on Tuesday and can't wait to see friends and family again. I'll update you as we go along, talk you later...

I'm moving...again

I started writing this particular blog a week ago but I didn't get a chance to finish, so I'll try and keep it short but wanted you all to know that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Well the past couple of weeks have been flying by fast but that's a good thing. I think it helps a lot now that I am employed and have something to do during the day. We've just been trying to get stuff put together for the wedding in a couple of weeks. We did the invitations this week and had a bit of trouble along the way but we made it work. First of all, Jason's brother came up with a really great design for the invitations and we sent that off to Costco and picked them up on Tuesday. They cut a little off of the bottom which was kind of upsetting but what are you going to do when you are on a time crunch...That night I brought Eden over to Jason's house to help us stuff envelopes and Jason's roommate and brother chipped in which was nice. We though it would take us forever to burn through all of them but it only took about 30 minutes. I was impressed...it pays to have friends that can help you do such tedious things. We also had an idea to drip wax on to invitations and use a seal that we had found but we thought it would be a very long project to do that to all of them so we only used them on ones that we sent to family...I'm sorry if there are wax smears on the envelope...if it's any consolation, we had a fun time doing it. Jason stuck them in the mail on Friday morning so hopefully everyone receives theirs in the mail soon.

Leading up to Halloween there are a lot of haunted houses, haunted forests, haunted mazes. I had never been through one before and always wanted to. After our experience with Brittany and Clay at the haunted forest we wanted to go through another one pretty quickly and Jason's brother Daniel wanted to go too. So we find out that one of the top ten places in the country is right here in Salt Lake, naturally we wanted to go. It was called Castle of Chaos and Daniel called ahead to find out the price. He found out that if you pay a little extra they take you through additional rooms and then they also give you a poncho to wear...yep, as you walk through the people waiting to scare you will spray you with "blood", "snot", and "vomit". How exciting! Don't worry, there was no way that I was going to go through that one. We decided to go with the cheaper one and while we waited in this huge line there was a lot of cussing, cigarette smoking, and pot smoking...not by us though, just wanted to put that in there. After the guy behind us in line lit up his cigarette we decided it was time to leave and find somewhere else to go. There was another haunted house a few streets down called Nightmare on 13th. We went in and the price was much better than the Castle of Chaos and not as long of a line. Since there were a lot of people you try and distance yourself so that when someone jumps out at you, you don't ruin the surprise for the next person. This was a little difficult at times but it was fun. There were people dressed up in costumes just waiting around every corner to scare you. The first room you entered into there was a stage and things would pop out and show pieces from every scary movie. The part that scared me was they showed the video from "The Ring" and Samara came out of the well and then all of a sudden she was standing in front of the TV and then next thing you know she was flying over our heads, it scared me enough that I grabbed onto both Jason and Daniel. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again next year. Jason and I went to Lagoon last Friday for Frightmares. They have the places decked out for Halloween and have a few haunted places...ok, they aren't haunted but it was still pretty cool. In some of them you had to wear 3-D glasses and things on the wall would jump out at you. It was fun but a little too cold to be standing in lines all night.

The past month Jason and I have been trying to find a place to live when we get married. First we tried Sky Harbor and decided that it was too far away and much too small for our needs. Then we tried to get into Alta Pines which was perfect but they couldn't get us in until December 15. So we went with the first places we saw and really liked. It's called Legacy Court and we really like it, it's 710 square feet and just down the street from where I work. We went in two weeks ago to turn in our applications and they had a place ready to move in as soon as possible and they would knock $50 off the rent because the tenants before had stained the carpet, the vinyl in the kitchen around the sink, and stained the carpet in the bedroom. Seriously, it's not that bad but if they are wanting to take money off our rent I'm fine with that, we pay $625 a month and all utilities paid except for power. We were originally going to move stuff in on November 15 since that would be the weekend before we got married but my roommates already found someone to move into my space by November 1. I'll be honest, I wasn't too happy about that but then once I got talking to family and Jason I figured it would be cheaper this way. I will only have to pay one rent payment for the month of November instead of 2 and right now I really need to save my money. So I'm moving stuff in today, Jason is at work right now but I've got most everything packed up and ready to go when he gets off work. Daniel will help us move tonight after he gets off work and can bring the truck with him. I'll let you know how the move goes but I wanted to post pictures of what the place looks like now so you can get an idea.

This is the front entrance of the apartment. The kitchen has lots of storage and there is a pantry to the left of the fridge.

Another picture of the kitchen, you can see the stain on the floor from the previous tenants rug.

This is a really dark picture for some reason but this shows from the kitchen looking into the living room. The coat closet to the right of the door and to the right of that is our balcony.

A picture of the balcony taken from the storage closet outside, it's not huge but we could probably fit a few chairs on it.

The pantry, it's huge and I don't know how we're going to fill it.

The bathroom, but then again you probably guessed that.

The towel closet in between the bathroom and the bedroom.

The bedroom, it's pretty big but wait until you see.....

The huge walk-in-closet, we're thinking we might put our computer in there or something, it's big enough.

I am a slacker...

I just have to say that these past two weeks have really flown by, I didn't even realize that I had been a slacker and didn't write anything on my blog. I hope that you all can forgive me. Jason and I had engagement photos taken, his brother Daniel did them and did some really amazing things. Here are a few of them, if anyone is interested his website is: http://www.thruthelensphotography-thruthelens.blogspot.com/

Basically, I have just been working and finally making some money instead of spending it. I have to tell you that it feels pretty good to be getting a paycheck again. However, I'm starting to think that maybe I should have asked for more money since I am basically running this place...ok not really, but sometimes it feels that way. I sit behind the front desk and answer telephone calls, greet job applicants, get them started on the application, once they are done I have to enter the application and other information into the computer. Then I have to get them ready for an interview with a staffing consultant. Sometimes the whole process takes about 1.5-2 hours to complete, but in between that I am filing, verifying employment, and verifying that people are legal to work in the US. Yep, it's a busy job and I don't get to take many breaks, when I do get to it's sitting at the front desk answering phone calls and completing my online training.

First off, while I am typing this blog I am becoming increasingly annoyed at my laptop computer because my hand brushes against the mouse while I am typing and it moves the cursor to another area on the screen and starts typing there...it's just really annoying, I probably could have been done now if it weren't for having to go back and delete what I wrote and place it elsewhere. AND yes, I know that I can cut and paste.

Mom and Dad came out last weekend for General Conference and it was really great seeing them again. Friday night Jason and I drove up to Salt Lake City to pick them at the hotel that my Uncle Joe and Aunt Kelly were staying at and drove them down to Orem where they would be staying with my sister Brittany. When we got there Brittany, who is pregnant, had to be taken to the hospital since she had had a fever all day. You can read more about it on her blog if you want but while they were gone Jason, Dad and I watched TV before deciding to buy stuff for our ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE BREAKFAST (Thanks to Kevin and Nicole for starting this tradition!) We waited a l ittle while at Brittany's house just in case they came back and could tell us what happened but at Brittany's apartment complex they put a boot on your car if you don't have a permit to park there overnight and it was getting close to midnight which is usually when they do the booting.

Saturday morning Jason came to pick me up and we headed back down to Orem to watch General Conference and to start making breakfast. After the first session of Conference Mom, Dad, Brittany and I took off for Wal-Mart and the Distribution Center for a few items. It was funny though at the Distribution Center because when we had to sustain people everyone would stop what they were doing and raise their hand and then they would go back to what they were doing before. Even during the prayer everyone would stop where they were and close their eyes and fold their arms. I mean, where else would you see that? After that session Dad took us all to Applebees for dinner and that was great! And then the boys took off for Priesthood session while Mom, Brittany and I stayed home and watched Sleepless in Seattle. Then on Sunday morning we had tickets to the Sunday morning session with my family and ended up walking 4 blocks in the pouring down rain...I didn't even think about bringing an umbrella with me. It was a great session and got to meet up with the Zimmer's and Woodley's again. Then we walked back to Clay and Brittany's car for lunch, they had brought us all sandwiches. We went to the afternoon session in tthe Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the afternoon session and the seats were more comfortable too. After that I said goodbye to Mom & Dad, but only for a month.

On Thursday night Brittany, Clay, Jason and I went to the Haunted Forest in American Fork and it was a lot of fun. Brittany took pictures and I'll post some of them in a minute but I have to say I had never been through a haunted maze before but I'd love to go to another one. When we first walked in there was someone dressed up like Michael Myers from the Halloween movies and he went right up to Brittany and tried to scare her but then he realized he had easier targets in the girls standing across from us. I was lucky to have Jason there because he would walk first in line and look around if there were any people standing around waiting to scare us and I realized that if I kept pace with him and sidled up to his right side and walked by nonchalantly that the people didn't even know I was there. That only worked sometimes though. When we walked through pitch black places Brittany would grab onto my arm and then I'd feel a tightening on my other arm only to notice when we hit light again that it was Clay. It was a lot of fun and lucky to have made it out alive. Jason hit his head a few times on low ceilings but I think he'll be ok. I will admit that I screamed twice and I didn't mean to but I got scared ok... One time we were walking through and "Freddy Krueger" hit a barrel of some sort and it made a loud bang that scared me and I actually stabbed Jason in the hand with my fingernail (don't worry, I didn't cause permanent damage). All in all it was a great night. Last night (Friday) we were going to go to Frightmares at Lagoon but after eating dinner we looked up and there were thick rain clouds heading that direction and it was freezing cold outside so we decided to wait until next week or the week after when we can go through again. Hopefully the weather will be better then and then we won't mind standing in line that long. Well I guess that is all that I have for now, I'll end it with pictures that Brittany took. Love you all,

Heather is officially entering the workforce!!! Again!!!

This summer has been great but it has also been a little trying given the fact that I have been unemployed since the end of March. However, I prefer to save money than to spend money but ever since March that is all I have been doing. The money situation started to weigh on me a few weeks ago and so I decided to do something about it. I had decided that I would go into Express Personnel and see what would happen. I went through them 3 years ago right after I graduated from college and I was with the Medford Medical Clinic ever since so I figured that they might be able to help me with the current situation at hand. I walked in last Friday and did the application and the multiple tests and when I was in for the interview it was mentioned that they were looking for a front desk receptionist at their office if I was interested...which I was, since it was an opportunity to make money. So he said that he would be in touch when the branch manager came from vacation. So this Monday I got the call asking if I could come in later that day for the interview and so I met with Christine for about 45 minutes on Monday and she said that she would like me to come in for a second interview with the owner and she'd call me to let me know when that would be. I waited all day Tuesday for a call but nothing came, so I waited all day on Wednesday and finally at 3:45pm I got the call that they wanted me to come in on Thursday for the second interview so I set the time for 11:30. I was so nervous this morning but I got there on time and waited about 15 minutes for them to take me back for the interview. I ended up meeting with the owner and the branch manager for about 15 minutes and then they told me that they would be in contact later that day or on Friday but they were talking to other candidates and they'll let me what is going with that. So I walked away feeling even more nervous just waiting for them to call me back to let me know the news. I went down to visit with Brittany and Clay so that she could help me with my bridal bouquet (Great Job, Brittany!) and it was during that time that I got the call from Christine. "We have been talking it over the past couple of hours and we have come to a decision and that decision is....that you are the best candidate for the job" I was so excited, they asked me to start on Monday and they will be paying me $11.00 an hour which is great. It is professional attire so I will probably have to go and buy some more works clothes, oh well.

Last week I posted about that Sky Harbor loft that we really like but when we took in our application and paid the fees we found out that they had raised the prices about $70 so we decided not to take that one. Another apartment that we liked was Alta Pines and this one was 860 sq ft for $575 and we really liked the landlord so we started filling out the application and today we found out that the apartment she had told us would be available won't be after all since the current tenent decided to keep her current lease for another year. So we are going back to trying to find a place to live but now with my added paycheck it might make it easier to find a place in a better neighborhood or just a nicer place in general. Anyway, I think that is all that I have for now but I guess I will write more later...

I finally got to see Colors!!!

For the past 5 years I have regretted not going to Provo in 2002 to see the last performance of one of my favorite LDS bands, Colors. I didn't make it down then because my roommate didn't have the money to come with me and I didn't want to go on the bus by myself and I've felt like an idiot ever since. Even though Kevin and Nicole did get me their autograph that night, I've still regretted not being there. As fate would have it, they have gathered together one time a year to put on a concert. Last year I wanted to go but the day of the concert I was more than happy to be in London but this year I finally got to see them play and it was AWESOME! I'll tell you all about it in a minute but first, let me update you on everything else last week.

To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot that happened leading up to Saturday but on Thursday Jason and I went to check out some of the other apartments we didn't get around to the week before. We went to one that was kind of in a scary neighborhood so it was one of those we drive through the lot to check it out and promplty leave. The next one that we saw was our favorite. It's called Sky Harbor Apartments and it's near the airport but it's really nice. We drove through the parking lot and found cars that are a lot newer and more expensive than ours so we felt like our cars would be safe there. So we decided to go inside and check it out. We looked at the one bedroom first but it just seemed really small but right next door was the loft and that's the one that we are looking into. If anyone wants to see the place go here: http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartments/Utah/Salt-Lake-City/Sky-Harbor-Apartments/PropertyOverview.aspx?listingid=13052

This is just the floorplan but it has lots of cabinets in the kitchen and countertops which is what we wanted. Our favorite part is that it is $560 a month which is much less than the other apartment at the top of our list. Also they have one that will be available on November 15 so that will be perfect. We'll be able to move in our stuff on the 15th and then head off to Medford for the wedding so then we don't have to worry about moving the big stuff afterwards. On Friday, I went down to Orem to visit with Brittany, Clay and cousin Rachael, her husband Tyler and their son Jacob. It was nice to see them since I haven't seen them since I left Rexburg in 2005 the rest of the time was spent watching the movie Rocky with Clay and a little Will Ferrel SNL. Also this past week I have become obsessed with a show that my parents introduced me to. It's called Burn Notice on USA Network and it's just really interesting. They brought out copies of the shows for me to watch and I watched a few on my own and then Jason watched one halfway through and now he can't get enough of it either. I finished the DVD's on Friday but now we are having to go back to watch the first season since Jason missed all of those, but I'm ok with watching it again.

Saturday was the Colors concert so after Jason got off work we waited for Brittany and Clay to head up to Midvale so that we could go to dinner. We went to Chilis and then headed for the Sandy Ampitheater for the concert. It was outdoors and a little chilly but at least it wasn't raining or anything. They played a lot of my favorite songs and then a few more that I hadn't heard before. It was a lot of fun although where we were sitting we had the bars from the stairs in our way at times and people ended up parking in front of us but they left and went more towards the middle so it made it easier to see.

Sunday was our Regional Stake Conference and because I'm here in Salt Lake it was held at the Conference Center and broadcasted to several other places. We were on the plaza level and to the left of the podium but it was just really nice to be in there. We heard from Elder Richard G. Hinckley, Cheryl C. Lant, M. Russell Ballard and of course, President Thomas S. Monson. They were all really great talks and I got a lot out of it. The bad thing is coming out of there and having to deal with the traffic just walking back to the car but we were lucky enough to park somewhere where the traffic wouldn't be so bad to get back on the freeway. I don't think that I have anything else really to report but as always, I'll keep you updated on what's going on. Talk to you all later...

Busy days ahead...

Hey everyone!
I know that it has been awhile since I've updated (thanks Brittany for pointing that out). On Aug. 30 Jason and I went up to Preston, Idaho for his cousins wedding. It was nice to meet with more of his family and he apparently had kept the engagement a secret to his extended family until he could introduce me in person. I like to think that they liked me, but then again who wouldn't? (That was rhetorical, so I better not get any comments on that). We were only there for a few hours before heading back down to Provo for the BYU football game. We were making good time until we hit Pleasant Grove and then the traffic started which was not fun to get through. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the stadium from there...plus we had to walk about 2 miles to get to the stadium...parking was atrocious. We missed kickoff but that's ok, it was pretty warm out there and after walking 2 miles it wasn't feeling too good. Oh well! It was a great game and it was Jason's first college football game and he enjoyed it a lot. One thing we did find out that day was that our wedding...is the same day as the biggest rivalry game BYU vs UTAH...so hopefully people will still come to the wedding. Dad even thought maybe we could have a tailgate party or something and watch the game at the reception, Jason liked the idea but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. He's still trying to sell me on it we could have the colors be blue and red and have a football cake and cook hamburgers and hotdogs and nachos and candy...Yeah, it sounds good and all but that will cost a lot of money and frankly I'm not willing to spend that much. We'll see how it goes but I'm kind of hoping that I get my way on this...if not, I'll compromise and we can set up a room at the church for the game or something.

This past week hasn't been too eventful, we did go apartment shopping on Wednesday and we had 19 places on our list that we wanted to check out. Four of them we scratched off just by driving through the neighborhood (gang members, scary people...you know the usual). I think the first one we saw was our favorite, it had a nice layout and were really nice looking apartments. It ranges from 600-675 a month with most utilities paid but we would be responsible for heat and electricity. We looked it up on apartmentreview.com and there were a lot of complaints about the managment and one about the neighborhood but you can never tell if the people that write on these things are just bitter or not. There were a few that the management seemed nice but they didn't have any apartments for us to look at. So we will have to go back to see if we like those ones or not. I'll keep you updated as we go along. Other than that I don't have anything else to add to this blog. I'll talk to you later...

I'm Engaged!

Wow this is a first...two posts in two days. I just wanted to update you all on what happened last night...Jason proposed to me last night. So here is how he did it: He told me on Monday night that he worked from 7-3 yesterday and that he would be over right after work which is usual. It normally takes him about twenty minutes to get to my house from where he works so when he didn't show up after an hour I started to get a little worried but I was thinking it was possible that he might be setting something up so there was that. Then I called him after an hour and a half to find out what was going on and he told me that he was on his way and that his brother was making dinner and rented some movies and then I had to tell him that Mom, Dad, Clay, and Brittany wanted to have a BBQ and I already bought salads for it and they wanted to do some Jason trials. So he naturally agreed with me and we went down to Orem for dinner and to play the candy bar game...I told him that we could leave around 9pm so then we could be back at his place to watch the movie. So at 9 we headed back to his place and he was getting all giddy and dancing when there was no music which I thought was kind of unusual. Then we went inside and there was a telescope sitting in their living room that needed to be put together but Daniel (his brother) told me that their roommate Brent borrowed it from someone now that he is a star buff. Brent is a little lazy sometimes and they said that if they didn't put it together then it was going to stay out in living room for the next two weeks and just sit there. So we tried putting it together but there were no instructions so while Jason messed around with it I got on his computer and tried to find a manual of some sort. Luckily, Jason actually figured it out himself after a lot of trial and error and then he and his brother took it outside to test it. We couldn't see a thing at first and couldn't figure out how to work it so I went inside and was reading the manual for the how to and Jason and Daniel were outside playing with it..or so I thought. Daniel told us that we might not be seeing the stars because it was too bright with the city lights and everything so we should go to Wheeler Farm and try it there since it is on the edge of the city. Right then his roommate Brent came home and Jason asked him if he could take it and check it out which he agreed with. So we went to Wheeleer Farm and pulled over on the side of the road there and set up the telescope and tried finding the north star in the cross hairs of the eyepiece but because it was too bright that way because of city lights we decided to turn it around and look towards the East where there weren't as many lights. There are little cables on the sides that if you twist it you can move the telescope a little left or right on one side and if you twist the other one you can move it up and down so he told me to look through the lens and see if I could get a star cluster in there and he would twist the cables to my directions. I found a cluster but couldn't really see anything through the telescope part so we tried another cluster. The second cluster I was telling left, left, down, down, a little up and saw a few stars in the telescope part but they weren't very clear so he asked me if I saw anything sparkly and I said I saw something but its not very bright and I kept telling him down, down, right and then I actually got them all in there and they were clear and then he asked me "Do you see anything sparkly now?" At that moment he touched my leg or tugged on the jacket I had on and he was holding the ring in his hand. "Heather Renee, will you marry me?" So I told him Yes! Little did I know that he borrowed the telescope from a friend and he was late coming over because he was trying to set it up before. We are planning the wedding for November 22 so hopefully that works for everyone and we'll be able to have all of our family there. Just wanted to let you know.

A little delayed...

The past couple of weeks have been slow moving but I figured I'd still try and update on what has happened. Jason's Birthday was on August 9 and his brother had made plans to go 4-wheeling and I'll be honest, I was extremely nervous. However, the Thursday before he injured his shoulder playing Softball and couldn't even really turn it or anything so I guess you could say I got lucky. Basically the day consisted of watching TV and eating a pizza from The Pie...he just wanted to take it easy. On my Birthday, August 11, Jason and I had met up with Brittany and Clay who took us The Mayan for lunch. We had a good time eating and watching the divers jump into the water and since it was my birthday we were kind of hoping for a free dessert of some sort but they said they only did that for 12 years old and younger...I do not agree with this policy. The waitress said that she could have the divers come over and talk to me though and Clay was all for it but I didn't really like the idea of being up close and personal with the people in speedos. Luckily they came out long enough to say hi in gibberish and were making cave man signs and grunts when Clay told them it was my birthday...very interesting. Then Jason had to take off for work and Brittany and Clay left to go back home but I was to meet up with them later for dinner. I waited for Eden to get home from work and then we took off for Orem to eat Chicken Curry...one of my favorite meals and it tasted so good. And I got to talk to my parents and siblings on the phone, I even got serenaded with some music from Celtic Thunder my nieces (they are so cute). Brittany even made me my favorite cake, Angel Food Cake...mmmm.

On Tuesday morning I had to go down to Provo to wait in line to buy tickets to the first BYU football game of the season for when my parents come out. Jason and I got there around 8:30 and ended up being the 8th person in line and I heard people in line talking about the games they were going to. The BYU vs UCLA game only had the very top row of the endzone left and they were individual seats. We were lucky enough to be going to the cheapest game and the one with the most seats available. So come this Saturday we will be watching the BYU vs Northern Iowa game in person with my parents, Brittany and Clay, and my Aunt Jackie and Uncle Gary it will be so much fun! However, Jason has a cousin that is getting married that morning so we will be heading up to Preston, Idaho for the wedding that morning and will have to book it back down to Provo to make it in time for kick off..it should be a fun day!

This past week after looking at my bank account decided to start the job search again. I sent in one resume to a place in Murray on Wednesday because I figured that I would just start off slow and see where it goes. I finally got a call from them on Friday and they asked me to come in for an interview that afternoon. It was at Intermountain Stroke Center and right around the corner from where Jason lives so if I do get the job I have a place to go for lunch that is close by. Anyway, I was waiting for about 30 minutes before they took me back for the interview but I like to think that it went well and that they liked me. She said that she will give me a call at the end of the week to let me know what they decide. So here is hoping!

Mom and Dad came out on Saturday and they brought a lot of my stuff that I had to leave at home, it was just like Christmas! I finally have more books to read and my nightstand which will make it easier with the alarm clock and everything. They were tired and only stayed for about an hour before making their way down to Brittany and Clay's where they will be staying this week. On Sunday, they finally got to meet Jason and I think the meeting went well. Jason was really nervous before we got there but as soon as we got to the door I think he relaxed a bit. We ate dinner and watched the closing ceremony to the Olympics and played a game or two. All around it was a good day. I'll update more as the week progresses. Talk to you all later....

It's official, I'm a nerd

Let's start where we left off last time...Sunday I went down to Brittany and Clay's for dinner and Jason was going to meet me down there after he got off work. Brittny had made chicken and mashed potatoes and corn and it was delicious! They had purchased a Guitar Hero game for their newly acquired playstation 2 so most of the time had been spent playing that...let's just say I'm not that good at it but I guess that practice makes perfect. I was glad to find out that you don't need to know how to play the guitar in order to play it because that would just be lame. Mom and Dad, you are going to have fun playing that I'm sure when you come out.

Ok, I know that I'm not exactly a nerd but after this past week I guess that you could call me one. Everyday that I was with Jason we were over at his house(simply because he has air conditiong and I don't) watching episodes of Dragon Ball Z. I don't exactly know how to explain it but it's Japanese Anime that started in the early nineties and it has a compelling story but I used to secretly make fun of people that watched that kind of stuff but now I had to eat my words because it does get addicting. He just has the first season and a little bit of the second so we had to stop after that but this Friday he bought the third season so maybe I'll get to find out what happens...man, I am a nerd.

On Wednesday Jason and I had made plans to make a BBQ Roast Sandwich and I can just say that it was delicious. We just used my crock pot and bought a roast and addes the BBQ Sauce and a few other seasonings and it was so tender and delicious. It kind of tasted like the Gary R West Beef Jerky that I've grown up my whole life but not that dry...it was moist of course. Later that evening his brother wanted to go to the Great Salt Lake to take some pictures. He's a photographer and just likes practicing different things. He did a lot of silhouette photos since the sun was going down so you can just see these dark shapes doing weird things...we were posing of course but it was a lot of fun. I have to say that the thing that you notice the most of the lake is the overwhelming stench, WOW! It smelt so bad and then there were a lot of flies and other flying creatures all over the place but the water was so warm. We were able to walk out into the water quite a ways without it going above the knee...However, the sand was so soft in some spots that you would kind of just sink in a little lower than I was expecting so my pants did get a little wet but not much. After the sun went down that's when we were attacked by the mosquitos so Jason and I got out of there really quick while his brother took a few more pictures but we didn't escape unharmed. I got one mosquito bit on my ankle while Jason had 4 all down his left leg and a few on his arms.

On Thursday night I went to cheer Jason on at his Softball game. All of the elder's quorums in the stake play against each other every Thursday night and it's kind of fun to watch. They did a lot better this week than they did the week before. Last week they were beat by about 20 runs or so...this week they actually won. On Friday, Jason had the day off so we went to the Gateway Mall since there was a Famous Footwear there and he got a discount and one of his coworkers was just transferred to that store so he got to see her and buy some new shoes. He bought me a pair of shoes too so that was nice. I like to count it as an early birthday present but I think he was paying me back for something I had bought him earlier that day...we were at the gas station to get some gas and he was almost on empty and he didn't realize that his card had expired the day before, so I bought him some gas so that we could get back to his house to pick up his new card.

Saturday the new Breaking Dawn came out so I went to Barnes and Noble to pick it up around 12:00pm and I didn't stop reading until around 6 when Jason came over after work. So again, this is another part of the nerd in me. That book is so addicting, it's definately different then I was expecting but I am enjoying it. It's nice that both Brittany and Eden are at exactly the same place that I am so that makes it easier so I at least have some people to talk to about it. It's nice to just throw just theories out there to see if people feel the same way that I do.

I don't have a whole lot else to say for now so I guess I'll get off of here and go back to the book that has been taking me away from common sense for awhile.

A Quick Update...

On Thursday night I went with Jason and his brother to the Rocky Mountain Revue. It's a basketball game by the rookies of the Utah Jazz playing other rookies of professional basketball teams. I haven't seen a professional basketball game in person before but it was awesome. It was an intense game versus the Atlanta Hawks and I'm amazed that the Utah Jazz actually won.

Yesterday afternoon Jason and I went to the theater down the street to reserve our seats for The Dark Night and we actually were able to see it on the IMAX screen which is amazing though it's a little hard to figure out which part you should focus on. At this particular theater they let you reserve your seats so after reserving our seats we headed over to Smith's to pick up breakfast...donuts. I have yet to find a good donut bakery out here other than Krispy Kreme but that's all the way down in Provo. It was a really good movie and pretty violent, Heath Ledger was pretty scary and very convincing as The Joker.

Do any of you remember playing laser tag as a child? You know the game where everyone gets a laser gun and you have to go around and try and shoot them with it...Well, I had the opportunity to do that last night at an actual laser tag course. It was a lot of fun even though I got shot at quite a bit and the guns actually record who you shot and who shot you and where and then they give you a printout afterwards telling you all of that information including your rank...I was ranked number 15 out of 22 which I guess isn't too horrible but I would have liked to have been ranked higher. I tried hiding in one area when it first started but no one came around that area so I started moving and that's when I got tagged...so I went up on the tower and tried shooting at the people down below or across from us and I think I did pretty well up there until I got hit in the back or the shoulders. Oh well, it was a lot of fun, it cost $7.50 for just 15 minutes of play time. After that we went to Coldstone Creamery for dessert and I really enjoy their Peant Butter Cup Perfection. It's basically Chocolate ice cream, peanut butter, fudge, and peanut butter cups and it's wonderful. I don't have anything else to add at the moment, I'm just trying to pass the time while I water the lawn. Anyway, I'll talk to you all later.

I am not a fan of the DMV Driver's License renewal process!

I'm not sure why I do it but I always want to start my blog with the word "Well" so I decided to start it off with this sentence instead. Last Friday (6/11) Jason and I went back to Lagoon and this time I remembered to layer on the sunscreen. I didn't get burnt at all...I know you are all so proud of me. The most disappointing thing of the day though was that one of our favorite rides was closed due to a malfunction of some sort and they were waiting for a part to arrive. I did however ride Blastoff Reentry or something along those lines, it's supposed to be like Drop Zone at Great America but I don't think it's quite as high...I'll admit, I thought I was going to pee my pants but I'm sure you didn't really need to know that. It takes you up 215 feet and lets you sit there for a little bit before dropping you...We also went on a few water rides that we didn't get to the last time we went one of which was called Rattlesnake Rapids. We were waiting in line in the hot sun for a bit and watching people as they came off thinking oh they aren't too wet...A lot of them were pretty dry and there were only a few that looked completely soaked. I was really hoping that I wouldn't get too wet but alas, that didn't happen. It was just the two of us and these two other guys in the circular raft and I got the brunt of it, even though I was the lightest person in that boat. They even take you under a waterfall which is crazy since you are already soaked, I hid behind Jason during that part because of course it was coming straight for me. Luckily after that we went home so I didn't have to walk around completely soaked and feeling uncomfortable. Later that night we had a Stake Luau and we were pretty pumped for that they were going to have a catered dinner and hula dancers. We walked in and the catered dinner was basically pulled pork (I think) and a ball of rice and a fruit medley of sorts, I was a little disappointed but it was still pretty good. After that we sat around waiting for the show to start, and once it did it was a lot of fun. They showed us dances from New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and other places that I don't really remember now, they even had the fire dancers which is basically why I went and I wasn't disappointed. It was awesome!

Saturday was my roommate Holly's birthday party and so that night I sat around and ate cake and talked to people that I didn't know. At around 10pm we went outside and set up a little movie area with a projector and everything it was a nice setup but the grass was a little wet and we couldn't figure out why. Afterwards we found out that Adrienne had watered the lawn not thinking about the movie moment, she just thought that it looked a little dry there and was trying to save the lawn. Luckily, it wasn't soaking wet or anything so it's all good.

Sunday I went to church and after Jason got off work he came to pick me up to make me dinner. He made bacon fried rice and barbecued some terriyaki chicken and it was really good, we didn't get to eat until like 9 though because he had bought a wok the night before and we didn't get around to seasoning it until then...that is quite a long drawn out process. I remember Mom seasoning the dutch oven that they never use that's been sitting out in the garage for who knows how long. Let's just say that's a process that I don't want to have to repeat, why can't all pans come already seasoned?

Monday, Jason cooked me dinner that night as well and he made Tacos and they were really good. I hadn't had homemade Tacos since leaving home back in April and I can say that I really miss my parents cooking (you guys are amazing in the kitchen! I look forward to you coming out next month and maybe making me something tasty...you know, if you want to). Tuesday night I went with Jason and his brother and roommate to Del Taco and it was really an interesting experience. I have to tell you that this was at like 10pm and I don't think I will go to a fast food place around that time ever again. This might sound kind of mean saying it but there were a lot of weird people that came in at that time. There was a security guard guy that came in before us and he actually parked his car in the drive thru lane and came inside and ordered 6 tacos and ate those and then ordered 3 more he left at the same time we did so I hope that no one was trying to come through the drive thru at that time. Then there was a girl that came in and she was asking the guy at the counter if she could buy stamps there and she was carrying a lot of shopping bags and I don't think she ordered anything. She just stood at the counter for probably 10 minutes before moving over towards our table and she ended up taking to Jason's roommate Brent for a bit and she was really coherent from what it sounded like. It was definately an interesting night.

I had received a call from Brittany earlier in the week telling me that she had received a package from Jordan and Christina for Sisters Day and they sent me a present. I didn't get down there until Wednesday night to pick it up and they had sent me some really sturdy magnets (Thank You Guys...we actually needed those). Hayley and Tia wanted to have a Sisters Day since there is a Mother's Day and a Father's Day so Brittany and I were to celebrate Sisters Day on Thursday July 17. I called Brittany to wish her a happy Sisters Day but she didn't get my message until Friday so that's how we celebrated. It's ok Brittany, we can just say that we celebrated it a little early since we saw each other on Wednesday night. Thursday night I went with Eden to a ward party at someone's house and we just watched people play volleyball and tried to avoid hornets who were really interested in my Taco. Yes, it's true I had Tacos a few times last week...what can I say, I like them.

On Friday, Jason and I both need to renew our driver's licenses which expire next month so we went to the DMV around 3:30 hoping to get in and out before they closed at 5:30...the line was huge and we weren't willng to wait that long so we just left and decided to come back on Monday morning at 7am when they open...hoping to beat the rush. This morning Jason came to pick me up at 6:30am and we went to the DMV and there was a line going halfway through the parking lot, so much for being first in line. We ended up waiting about an hour and a half before getting called up to do the testing. I had kind of psyched myself out thinking that it was going to be hard and that I might fail it but luckily it was open book. I got to take my test on the computer system which was nice because then I could find out my score right away instead of taking the written version and having to wait. I'm proud to say that I passed so I can still drive but...I'm very disappointed in my drivers license picture...I look like I'm disgusted at something in the background and I just don't look happy. I tried not to smile too bif because in some of the pictures in Europe I smiled really big and my eyes bugged out and I didn't want that to happen so I just smiled a little bit and I think I'm more disppointed in that...if only they would have let me take it again. Jordan, do you remember my School ID pictures? It's like one of those. Oh well, hopefully I don't really have to show it to anyone...I still have my Oregon license but they poked holes in the bottom so that you can't really use it anymore...I'm disappointed in that too, that picture on my Oregon license was perfect, why can't they just cut that picture out and paste it on the Utah license, wouldn't that be easier? Ok probably not but at least I would be happy with the picture. I just need to let it go and not worry about that too much. Well I don't have anything else to really report but I'll update again soon. Talk to you all later...

What do Wiffle Ball, a Fly Massacre and family have in common? Probably not what you would think...And no the massacre was not caused by a wiffle ball

Well it's been a little over a week since I last wrote on my blog and I kept telling myself that not much happened but thinking back that's not entirely accurate. I've been able to hang out with Kevin, Nicole and Noah the past week and it's been a lot of fun. Last Monday Jason and I travelled down to Provo at 7:30 am to help keep the Stephenson grandbabies occupied while they take their family portraits. That was a lot of fun actually, and it didn't take that long. It was nice that Kevin and Nicole got to meet Jason and I think they like him so that's a plus. We felt pretty good about our work there so Jason and I decided to treat ourselves to IHOP.

On Tuesday I made my way down to Provo again to invite myself to lunch with Brittany, Clay, Kevin, Nicole and Noah at Maria Bonita's. It's Brittany's favorite Mexican Food restaurants down there in Provo. They give you tons of food with your meal, like chips and salsa, and this soup that was really good that had chicken and rice and some kind of broth. I got the taquitos and those were really good.

Then on Wednesday night we went out again with Brittany, Clay, Kevin, Nicole, Noah, Jason and Eden...we went to Red Robin this time and it was nice to be there with friends and family...even though we were still missing a few members of the Smith clan children (THAT MEANS YOU JORDAN AND CHRISTINA AND GIRLS). We were thinking of going to play wiffle ball after that but everyone was too full to move and run around so we decided to skip that and go another day.
On Thursday I went to lunch with the Stephenson family to Applebees and then we went to the South Towne Mall in Sandy for a little bit and I ended up buying myself a shirt at Maurices (you didn't need to know that but I thought that I would add it in anyway) and it was fun going into a store with Nicole and looking around (you can be my shopping buddy anytime).

Then on the 4th of July I didn't really have any plans until later in the evening with Jason so basically I was just trying to pass the time shopping at Barnes & Noble and checking out some other stores. It was during that time that I got bored and called Brittany up who was going to the Stephenson Family Barbeque at 3:00...so basically I invited myself to that too but then I felt bad and said that I wouldn't go and then I got a call from Kevin who told me that Kara Lee would be offended if I didn't come. So I went to the BBQ and it felt like old times actually, I think I've spent the past two July 4th's with the Stephensons in Medford so it was nice to keep up tradition (Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys!). Then I made my way back up to Salt Lake so that I could be there when Jason came to pick me up for the fireworks. He got off work and we took off to Sugarhouse Park and had to go some odd routes to get there due to street closures and everything. We found one place in the park next to a duck pond so we sat there for a few minutes before we realized all of the smokers in the vacinity. So we made our way to another part of the park where there were a lot of people but we still weren't exactly sure where they were going to be launching the fireworks from so we kind of just decided to try that area anyway since that was where everyone seemed to be congregating. We had to wait around for about an hour and a half but the fireworks that followed was excellent, they were so pretty to watch.

On Sunday I invited Kevin, Nicole, Noah, Brittany, Clay and Jason over for roast and baked potatoes. Of course, I delegated to others different food items to bring. I took care of the roast and Kool-Aid, Brittany and Clay made baked potatoes and Kevin and Nicole brought a Marie Callendars pie so we were fed well. While waiting for Brittany and Clay to come we noticed that we had probably about 20 flies in the upstairs family room alone and they seemed to multiply by the second. We didn't have a fly swatter and we couldn't figure out where they were coming from but luckily I remembered while growing up Kevin and Jordan and Dad even killing fruit flies with rubber bands so I gave Kevin a rubber band and he went to work. He actually took out quite a few, and it was impressive work; however, he still left marks on the glass which I'm sure you all wanted to know but it was impressive nonetheless. After the great fly massacre started by Kevin and Jason we finished making dinner and sat down to eat. Everything was so delicious and clean up was a breeze. We were planning on playing wiffle ball afterwards but Noah was getting grumpy so Kevin and Nicole took off back to Provo to put him to bed so Brittany, Clay, Jason and I took off to Murray Park to play a quick game. I had all of the equipment, even bases and we found a nice place and laid everything out...remember not to play wiffle ball near any streams or anything because it can carry your ball away. I think after dinner Brittany and I were having trouble running the bases but it was still fun. Clay and Jason hit a few homeruns and Clay hit one under a car that was passsing by and amazingly it came out unscathed...but we did lose one ball to that stream...oh well.

On Tuesday evening I went down to Provo again to be with Kevin, Nicole and Noah one last time before they took off to Logan. We went to El Azteca and they have really good Mexican food there, even Noah seemed to enjoy it. We then went to Orem park to play some more wiffle ball. This team it was Kevin and I against Brittany and Clay. Yep, we were winning thanks to Kevin but then the last inning I couldn't catch a thing and Brittany and Clay kept hitting the ball and scoring runs so we ended up losing, oh well, it was a fun game anyway. Noah kept running onto the field and taking some of the balls away, he even got up to bat with daddy's help. He is so cute! After we finished playing our game Nicole wanted to help a few so I sat with Noah on a park bench while she hit. He was standing next to the bench and he would sign please so I lifted him up and put him on the bench with me, he'd walk around on it and then he leaned in to give the bench a kiss...and I'd pull him back and say dirty and he'd start laughing and he'd try it again and I'd pull him back and would tell him dirty and he'd start laughing again. I think this was our time of bonding...he actually let me give him a hug and a kiss before they took off for the hotel this time. After taking Brittany and Clay home I went to Krispy Kreme donut and picked up a few before heading home...they just sounded so good. Well, I don't think I really have anything else to report but I think Jason and I are going to go back to Lagoon tomorrow for a few hours and this time I'm definately coating myself in sunscreen. I'll tell you how it goes!

A quick trip to California...

Well this past weekend was a lot of fun! Jason had 4 days off and we decided to go down to California to go to the beach and to see his family. We left early on Thursday morning..around 4:00am and drove down to Mira Loma, California which is just outside of Riverside. It was a nice ride and actually wasn't as long as I thought that it would be, we arrived there around 1pm and actually needed to fill up once in St. George. He drove me around the town before meeting with his family, and in Norco (which is just outside of Mira Loma) they don't have concrete sidewalks they have sidewalks for horses and stuff...and no street lamps either. His family was very nice and welcoming, I like to think that we got along pretty well and it's obvious they were pretty excited to have him there if only for a few days.

On Friday morning I got ready to go to the beach that morning but first we made our way to Huntington Beach to visit Jason's Grandparents and after visiting with them for awhile we took off to the actual beach. It was overcast outside but I still put on sunscreen everywhere I could remember and let's just say that Huntington Beach is definately a lot warmer than any of the beaches that I have ever been to in Oregon. It cost $10 just to park the car anywhere remotely close to the beach. We walked along the beach for awhile and then walked back to the car to get our stuff and then walked to a restaurant on the Pier called Ruby's (It's kind of like a 50's diner). I got their cookies & cream milkshake and they had pretty good hamburgers but their french fries were delicious. Jason got their Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake and I was surprised at how good that was. He then took me to Fashion Island which is a really nice mall in LA there, there were lots of fountains all over the place which was fun to watch the kids run around in. We then took off back to his house during Friday night 5 o'clock traffic, seriously it took us what seemed like forever to get home but it was a nice adventure. We picked up his brother and went to see "Get Smart" and it was then standing in line that I realized I had completely missed the back of my right leg and the back of my ankle when putting on sunscreen that morning. After the movie we went back to his house and found some Aloe which felt good. We then took off to come back to Utah by about 9:00 am, and again it was a long ride but it didn't seem that long, we arrived at 8 that night. On Sunday I must have been so tired because I didn't wake up until 11, I went to church and when Jason came over afterwards we made dinner together and then we took off down to Provo to have a game night with Brittany and Clay. We started off with Pit and that was fun but of course I lost every single time, it just seems to be the way things go down. After that we played Risk, Clay is really good at it and knows all of the rules and Jason had played it a few times and knew some of the rules but he picked it up a lot quicker than I did. I actually ended up winning the game but I still don't understand the rules. Well, I don't think I have anything else to add to this other than photos from my trip down to California, the pictures of Jason are basically him trying to catch a sand crab and stuff...and I couldn't help but take a few pictures of some Ferrari's along the road as we waited in traffic.

Sunburns...you'd think I'd know better by now

I know that I haven't been that great on keeping everyone up to date on what is going on over here in Utah and that might because I haven't been up to a whole lot. The job search has kind of come to a halt as of late simply because I have been dating this great guy, Jason...and it's not so much that I don't want to find a job, it's just nice to be distracted every now and then and he is a great distraction. We actually met at the FHE activity a few weeks ago, he was one of the ones that we were playing football with and we kind of hit it off and he asked for my number and asked me out the next week. We have a lot in common which is fantastic. He took me to Lagoon last Friday which is the amusement park in Northern Utah and it was a lot of fun. I ended up going on all of the rides and everything regardless of my fear of heights, the only thing is that I did end up getting sunburned...pretty bad. Also, later that evening we sat down to eat on an empty bench and this family comes strolling by and one of their sons came over and stood next to me and I couldn't figure out what he was doing but all of a sudden I hear something pop and I had Mustard all over my left side. Let's just say that wasn't pleasant...mustard isn't that easy to get out of clothes. I looked at this boy and he looked back at me seeing all of the mustard and just said "Sorry" and ran off. His parents were mortified they just kept on handing us stacks and stacks of napkins. That was an interesting experience!
My arms and nose were burnt pretty bad but everything was fine, but on Saturday I went to the Farmer's Market in Salt Lake City with Eden and ended up getting burnt there too on my arms and neck this time...don't worry, I've learned my lesson to buy sunscreen SPF 50. We actully ended up taking TRAX which is kind of like a metro bus that picked us up at the parking lot across the way and then we rode that all the way to Salt Lake, it was just like being in Europe again...but everything was in English this time. At a Farmers market you would expect there to be a lot of produce and stuff but at this one I think we only ran across one booth that had produce everything else was fair food and crafts and jewelery. After walking around Pioneer Park we went to the Gateway Mall and they had sidewalk chalk drawings...or whatever you want to call them. I have to say that the people who can do that are simply amazing. A lot of them looked like they were in high school or something but it was still amazing.
Well, I don't have much else to report for now, I'll update more soon...

Sizzler and A Supposedly Missing Roommate

Wow! It's amazing how time gets away from you when you are unemployed...ok not really, you just find something else to do. The last time I wrote about camping with Brittany and Clay and I realized that was like two weeks ago so I figured I better write something.

I don't have much to report though so I hope I can make this interesting for you. This past Friday Eden and I drove to Orem to go out to eat with Brittany and Clay and we went to Sizzler. I tried finding the least expensive item and it was the bacon wrapped steaks which were all right, I asked for it well done and it came out medium but at least I got to eat the cheese bread (That's my favorite part of the meal anyway). After eating we saw a Big 5 sporting good store and since Clay had wreaked havoc on my Wal-Mart ball and bat a few weeks ago I decided maybe they have an official wiffle bat and ball but alas no such luck. And someone came up with the great idea to go to Toys-R-Us and sure enough there they were. So if anyone wants to play wiffle ball just let me know. We went back to Brittany and Clay's apartment and watched Disturbia and then we made the trek back to Midvale. All of our roommates were camping so it was just Eden and I sleeping at home.

On Saturday morning Eden and I watched "Somewhere in Time", I had never seen it before but it was...well...different. I was a little disappointed with the ending but what are you going to do. Later that afternoon I thought that my roommate Eden was gone forever! I talked to her on the phone at 4pm or so and she said that she was going to go get something to eat and she'll be home soon. So I figured she's be home pretty soon but she still wasn't home by 6:30 so I called her phone to make sure she was ok and it went straight to voicemail. I was starting to get worried but decided that I was overreacting, she must have gone to her sisters or something. By 9:30 I drove to Rumbi's Grill where she said she was going to eat and didn't see her car there and I drove to the movie theater where she had called me from and still there was no sign of her. I waited until 1am thinking that she would be home soon...she never stays out that late. I woke up at 3 in the morning because I heard some commotion upstairs and realized that it was my other three roommates that had just come home from camping but still no sign of Eden. The next morning when I woke up I noticed that she still hadn't been home so I called my parents to know what to do. I would have called her sister but I didn't have the number so I called Eden's mom who then called her sister Naomi and a few minutes later Eden called me. So she was safe but had forgotten to tell me that she was going over to her sisters to hang out for awhile and she had fallen asleep over there and didn't wake up until the morning. So I'll admit I was a little paranoid and worried but I'm glad that she was safe.

I also had the unfortunate opportunity to catch a cold this past week, don't worry I've been taking 4 Vitamin C every day so hopefully it's on its way out now. We'll see! Anyway, I think that is all I have to report right now but I'll be sure to update more often as things come along.

I love Camping...

I have to say that this has been a good week. On Friday Brittany, Clay, Eden and I went up to Tanner's Flat to go camping. When I got up there around 3pm to reserve the spot there were still plenty of openings, they first gave me campsite number 27 and we went and checked it out and it seemed pretty nice. I went back to pay but when I did that they said that they made a mistake and that particular site wasn't available as a walk in. So they gave us campsite 31 which was awesome. Lots of rocks and boulders and the firepit was right next to some rocks so that it would block the wind...if there was wind. At this particular campground they told us that as of a few days before there was still two feet of snow on the ground, they had to bring in snow blowers to remove most of it. I had left Clay there at the campground and went back home to pick up Brittany and Eden. When we made it back out to the campground Clay already set up our tents and had the fire going. It was fantastic! Brittany and Clay made hotdogs and Eden brought the s'mores, lots of great food. Once it got dark we got into Brittany and Clay's tent and played some Phase 10...which I lost, until the last hand which we said would take it all...and I won that one. Woo-Hoo! It was getting late and we were getting tired so we went back to our tent and tried to sleep. I had on a t-shirt, a sweatshirt and a snow jacket, jeans, pajama bottoms and two pairs of socks and I was still freezing...I think I slept for about a total of 20 minutes that night, I was just trying to stay warm, which eventually happened but the whole night I was singing songs in my head trying to put myself to sleep but obviously that didn't happen. When it was finally light outside we got up and Clay already had the fire up and going and he didn't even use one match...he was pretty impressed with himself...I was impressed as well. We had cinnamon rolls and muffins and orange juice and mandarin oranges for breakfast...maybe a little bit too much starch but it was good. We figured it was much later than it was and decided to take things down and get ready to go and then on the way out we saw what time it was...only 9:30. It was a lot of fun though and we look forward to the next camping trip, I think we are going to try Moab and this time we will reserve a spot and be more prepared, plus there shouldn't be snow on the ground there. The rest of Saturday was spent sleeping and showering and trying to get rid of the campfire smell from our clothes and blankets.

On Sunday I woke up early and made myself some cornmeal pancakes...mmm and they were good but not as good as Dad's. I wonder if it might have been the oil that I used because all I had was vegetable oil so maybe that's what was different...plus cooking those in a pan isn't exactly the easiest thing, I really need to get a griddle. During church I was trying to think of something to make for dinner...I know I shouldn't have thought about it then but I was getting hungry. We have stuff to make chicken roll ups and mashed potatoes and corn and all that good stuff but when we were in Relief Society one of Eden's visiting teachers asked us to come over for dinner so we were happy to oblige. I said that I'd bring cookies and figured that they would be something fast and easy but I didn't want to take the time to actually dish them out so I decided to make chewy bar instead. It started off great and then it came time to add a few of the dry ingredients and then I saw a snag in my plan. It called for baking powder and I had was baking soda. I went online to research what I could substitute and it said that baking powder is essentially baking soda, cream of tartar and cornstarch...and again all I had was baking soda so that's what I used albeit not as much as it called for. I was surprised they actually turned out pretty well and were a big hit at dinner. We then made our way home and decided to watch a Bollywood movie. Eden had one called Dil Chahta Hai, it was pretty entertaining and a little confusing but all around it was pretty good.

And Monday was pretty much spent reading and relaxing. There wasn't a whole lot that could be done outside since it was pouring outside and come to find out that there was a leak in our laundry room, nothing too serious but still it was enough where I noticed it. I put a pan down there to see how much it would collect and it stopped shortly after that. I've been reading a book called "Daniel Deronda" by George Elliot lately and it's pretty good but it's really long and the first one hundred pages or so are hard to get into but it's starting to pick up now. I look forward to seeing the movie though, it's only $10 at Amazon so maybe I'll make a purchase sometime in the near future. Well I think that is all I have for now, this coming Sunday I have to teach the temple prep class so I've got to prepare for that. I hope that everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend and I'll talk to you all later...

What do a leaky hose, IHOP, wiffle ball, picnics and football have in common...just my last week

Well, it's been about a week so I figured that I would update you all on what had happened with the carpet and everything. Monday night I called our landlord, Marty, and told him about the flooding that had happened. He came over and took a look at it, he thinks that when we turned on the water the hose had leaked and made it's way down to the bottom of the foundation and seeped in through some cracks. He went out and bought us two box fans and set them up and told me that I should rotate them throughout the room and he'll come back on Thursday to check on the status of it. Well by Wednesday night the whole room was dry but it still smells kind of funny. On Thursday he came by and said that if I notice anything to let him know and he'll have someone come out and clean the carpet. I've been spraying Fabreeze every night on the floor so hopefully that will help out. I'll let you know.

On Friday night Eden had arranged with her sister to have a sleepover with her nephew Zachary. I was happy to come along when she told me that we were going to IHOP (I love that place), we didn't get there until about 7:30 so I think that might be the best time to go since there wasn't anyone there. I got the usual...french toast with a side of hash browns...I'm sorry Kevin, I almost branched out and got the corn cakes but the french toast sounded so good. And on Saturday morning we went to a park in Murray across the street from the high school to play some Wiffle Ball and soccer so that was fun. And on Saturday night I went with Eden to see Iron Man with a friend of hers that unexpectedly brought his three other roommates along with him so she wanted me to come to even it out. I thought that it was a good movie, I really liked the music in it but the strangest thing about the movie theater we were at was that it was reserved seating only. I have never been to a movie theater that told you to pick your seat before you go in the theater, but it was pretty cool. After leaving the theater Eden and I came back home and watched PS I LOVE YOU, it was alright but I don't remember crying or anything...sorry Brittany.

On Sunday we had invited Brittany and Clay over for a picnic and it turned out rather well. We had bought croissants and made our own chicken salad to put in it with grapes, lemon rotisserie chicken, almond slivers and mayo. And we had chips, pasta salad, and orange soda and Brittany had brought cake mix cookies for dessert. We went to the same park we went to on Saturday and surprisingly there were more people there on Sunday than there were on Saturday. After eating we decided to play a little wiffle ball but the bat that I had bought was too flimsy and when Clay got up to bat he bent it...but he straightened it out again. Then the next time he swung he broke the ball in half...so there was the end of that game. I had bought a set of six just in case this happened but for some reason I didn't have it with me. After we got home we watched Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade...I love that movie and I'm looking forward to seeing the one that comes out this weekend.

Last night we went to FHE which was a Stake BBQ and there were so many people there that it was hard to meet people. We had just eaten and were on our way out when we were stopped by someone in our ward and he introduced us to someone else that was walking by...I don't think he knew him but we all had to wear name tags so it was easy to know peoples names. After talking to them they wanted us to toss the football around with them. They brought out a real size football which I'm not use to throwing, I prefer the nerf balls because I can through them farther. I think my family would be surprised to learn that I actually caught the ball nearly every time...but the throwing was the hard part. We were all probably 15-20 ft away but I should take a picture of my right wrist, there are a bunch of red marks all over, it's interesting looking. And my thumb feels like it's out of place but it will heal.

Well, I don't think I have anything else to report, I've had a huge headache since last night so I worry that my sentences in this blog aren't making any sense. This weekend we were thinking of going camping with Brittany and Clay but now I'm not so sure since there will be so many people on the road...maybe we could just camp out in the backyard or something. I'll let you know, I'll talk to you all later...