Thanksgiving, Christmas Around the World, and Studying

I can't believe how long it has been since my last blog post... quite a bit has happened, but I will try to just hit on the big things. Thanksgiving was very relaxing.  I loved being home and with my family.  I got to sleep in my own bed and my mom's amazing cooking.  On that Friday we went shopping then my family, Chad and I went up to see the lights on Temple Square.  I also had my first taste of Chick-fil-a with Chad then attempted to make a secret compartment in a book... neither of us got very far.

This past week was Christmas Around the World rehearsals then performances.  It was a week full of late nights early mornings and dancing in layers of fabric.  I got to dance two different dances, one was Krakowiak a Polish dance (red costume) and the other was Hora Chatuna an Israeli dance (blue costume).  It was an absolute blast though!  We got to perform four times and of course I loved every performance. 
This Tuesday I talked to my surgeon about having my gallbladder removed.  I am going to have it removed on next Thursday, so hopefully all of my finals will be done!  Recovery time should be quick and hopefully I will be completely healed for school when it starts a couple weeks later.
The rest of my week has been filled with studying and preparing for finals... its great!

Drip, drip...down pour...drip, drip

Sean is rocking the ruffled apron :)

My wonderful friend Emily from folk dance described my life lately very well, she said "It seems like life drips, then down pours, then goes back to dripping."  So since the last time I have posted much has happened.  First of all I got to go on a really fun date with my friend Sean Bullock.  We went up to Bountiful to Dave Nielson's house, made delicious pizza, laughed so so so hard, ate cinnamon bread stick things then got to play a hilarious game that made us all try to read each other's minds.
I also got to go see The Elephant Man with my mom!  It was an amazing play, but I just loved going out with my mom.  We never seem to run out of things to talk and laugh about.  I don't know what I would do if I didn't have her in my life.  She is amazing and I love her so much! :)
The next week my stomach was hurting more than normal, so I finally went to the doctor on Tuesday.  While there I had three tests done, that told Dr. Takasaki absolutely nothing, and scheduled a HIDA scan.  A HIDA scan looks at the gallbladder and sees if it is working correctly and if it isn't what is going wrong.

Last Friday I got to go on a date with Chad Horch, who took me rock climbing at The Quarry.  Let's just say that I have a long way to go, before I am anywhere near as good at rock climbing as he is...but I still had a blast and plan on going again. :)  After that we went to Cold Stone for some good old ice cream that I loved, I had to make sure to get all of those calories back that I had just lost while rock climbing!
The rest of the weekend was relatively relaxing with a bridal shower for one of the cute girls from our freshman hall and watching movies with my lovely roommates.

Monday I had my HIDA scan, at Payson hospital, which consisted of me lying as still as possible while radioactive material worked its way to my gallbladder.  The results of that test told me that my gallbladder is not working correctly and that to make my stomach hurt less I should probably get it removed.  I am doing research on living without a gallbladder...it looks like I will have to have a much more balanced diet.

On Tuesday I got to donate eleven inches of my hair to locks of love.  :)  My hair is pretty short now, but my hair grows back and it is a fun change.  I haven't had it this short in a very long time though, so I am still trying to get used to this new look.

That night I went with a big group of my friends to the first home basketball game.  Brock Zylstra my favorite basketball player from last year is starting this year and he did well.  Brandon Davies was the star of the night though, I am very glad that he worked things out with BYU, because our team would be very different without him.  After the game we watched Inception until way past my bed time, but it is an awesome movie, so it was completely worth it. :)

As you can see the past week has been slightly crazy with everything, with school added in it has been interesting, but I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Halloween!

Don't worry it's only a wig...

This is proof I went to all of the scary mazes

Don't worry I still haven't eaten it all

Halloween this year was a blast! :)  We decorated our entire apartment with spider webs and cute little decorations.  Halloween weekend was very busy, but very fun.  Taylor and I went to Comedy Sportz and ate an awesome dinner on Friday, then on Saturday we went to Zombie fest.  Taylor was little red riding hood, Mallory was fairy and I was Quorra the girl from Tron.  At the Zombie fest we went to tons of scary mazes and it was actually awesome.  I thought that I would hate them all and be very scared, but I knew that they couldn't touch me so after jumping I loved staring down the scary people.  Then we went to the dance and danced for a while then finally made our way home.  :)
Then of course I bought my own candy, because I wasn't going to be going trick or treating this year...
On Sunday Taylor and I had Ginelle, Curtis, Anna, and Amy over to celebrate Halloween with chilli and delicious treats, then watching Disturbia.  It was so fun to see all of them and it was fun to see Disturbia, because I have never seen it before.  Seeing all of them and having us all together again was really fun, I loved it.
On Halloween night itself we went to our ward FHE.  For this party we all dressed up again.  This time Taylor was a Pac-man ghost, I was Edna Mode from The Incredibles, Emilee was Bellatrix and Mallory was a fairy. 
Over all Halloween weekend was amazing and I loved it! :)

Dancing, Moneyball, and blind date round 2

This weekend was really fun!  Friday Taylor, Sarah Kruitborch, and I went to Moneyball to celebrate Taylor doing well on a history test and just because we wanted to.  It was so good!  Brad Pitt is such a good actor and it helps that he is easy on the eyes... ha ha  The fact that it is based on a real story makes it even better.  After that we came back and saw that a dance party was happening in apartment 34, so we danced our hearts out to awesome music that was mixed by Danny D the DJ.  They had moved the couches out of the apartment onto the ledge so we had more room to dance and we had so much fun. :)
The next day we watched the football game at our apartment.  During the game my friend Richard Wilson #18 hurt both his ACL and MCL and has to have surgery to fix them.  He is out for the season. :(  We did win the game though, so that was happy, but I hope that Richard's recovery is quick and he will be ready for spring training.
That night I went on another blind date with a kid named Brandon and doubled with Emily a girl from my Folk Dance team and Kyle one of Brandon's friends.  We played iron chef and had to get everything for our dinner and then a "secret ingredient" for the other team.  We made fajitas and our secret ingredient they bought for us was a pixie stick (so we just put it in the marinade sauce) it tasted kind of weird, but not awful.  They made pasta and salad and we gave them a pumpkin as their secret ingredient (they used the seeds in their salad) and it was pretty good.  It was so fun!
The next day I got to go to Jesse Galovich's homecoming!  It is so crazy that he is already home... Seeing him and all of my other choir friends was a blast though, so I had an awesome time.  Then we got to celebrate Curtis' birthday with a birthday dinner and Martinellis!  We all love Curis! :)  Happy Birthday Mr. Wonderful!
This week was really fun and interesting, I hope next week will be more of the same! :)
P.S. Sorry about the lack of pictures this week...I just didn't take any...

Homecoming Weekend!

This week was full of tests, papers, and parade preparation.  On Wednesday it rained like crazy, but that didn't stop us folk dancers from dancing in the football stadium parking lot to practice the parade route and turning corners in our formations.  After that we went to watch the tech show for Divine Comedy (a group on campus that does hilarious skits) which wasn't perfect, but that made it that much more funny. :)
Friday came and Mallory and I went on a date.  She went with Lane a guy from our ward, but I didn't know the guy that was taking me.  His name is Kody and he was hilarious and very fun. :)  I don't think that I have ever laughed that much on a date... especially with someone that I have never met before.  We went to Pizza Factory for dinner, then interviewed people in front of the dollar movie theater, while videoing the whole thing.  Then we decided that we would find fun things to video at Walmart, so we drove to Walmart and video the random people and things in that interesting store.  After that we went back to Lane's apartment, ate ice cream, and watched all of the footage that we had just taken, it was just as funny the second time. :)  We then finished off the date watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 days.  Over all it was a very fun date and I am so glad that I got to go!

I am on the far left in the bright pink tennis shoes :)

The next morning was the Homecoming Parade.  I woke up tried (and failed) to curl my hair, walked to the Richards Building, changed into my costume, and made my way to the parade start with other girls from my team.  We were in blue Israeli costumes, that I absolutely love.  The parade was freezing, but Austin (my partner) and I rocked it, even though by the end I couldn't feel my arms or legs because of cold and exhaustion.  Looking back on it now, it was so fun, but at the time I was not a happy camper.

Taylor, who is on another folk dance team, and I were so dead after the parade we decided to treat ourselves to some good Mexican food and decided that Joe Bandido's in Springville would be the best for that day.  After our Mexican food we got Limitless from Redbox, watched it, and almost fell asleep.  Then we got to go to Josie Sampson Gamett's wedding reception.  She is a girl from our Freshman ward that looked amazing and so happy! :)  We then quickly drove home, changed into our winter gear, and went to the homecoming football game.  BYU won 29-16!  Ginelle, Taylor and I got front row seats, because of my great hook ups!  It wasn't really that much of a game, but we won so it was great!!! :)

Cody and Mark are almost taller than me!

Today (Sunday), I got to attend my ward!  I haven't been in a while, because of Taylor and I's trip to Colorado and General Conference, so it was nice to go back to our normal routine.  Then I got to go to Smiley Family Home Evening with all of my extended family on my dad's side! :)  It was so wonderful to see everyone and catch up with everyone's life.
Over all this week was busier than normal, but completely worth it! :)

Conference Weekend! :)

This past weekend was absolutely fabulous!  It was conference weekend which means that I got to be spiritually edified from the comfort of my own couch.  I loved every second of it.  One of my favorite talks was President Uchtdorf's talk.  He talked about how much our Heavenly Father loves all of his children.  That along with everything else said in that talk and many others was exactly what I needed to hear.
Folk Dance has been a blast!  Last Wednesday we had a rec night, which is when all of the people in the folk dance club get together to learn different folk dances, then dance them to crazy fun authentic music.  By the end of the night we are really tired and sweaty, but we always have so much fun! This Wednesday we "got to" practice for the Homecoming parade in the stadium parking lot... in the pouring rain.  We were all soaked so, it made it pretty interesting and we made the most of it. :)
My knee is slowly getting better, I only have to wear my brace when I dance now!  Woo hoo!

One more thing...

By the way, I had my MRI today for my knee and found out that my Medial Collateral is not in fact torn, but that my knee cap was dislocated.  So, the little ligaments that keep my knee cap in place were torn, but not the main one.  Which is awesome news, because it will most likely be quicker healing time and I don't have to have surgery!  Yippee! :)

Castle of the Rock

It was another week of school full of folk dance practice, trying to write like a journalist, and two mid-terms all leading up to Friday at noon when Taylor and I hitched a ride from my wonderful mother to the airport to start a weekend of fun in Castle Rock, Colorado!  Castle Rock is where Taylor and her family lived when Taylor was in high school, it is a small town with lots of fun unique things to do.  The main reason for this trip was to see Carson (Taylor's brother) play in his senior Homecoming football game.  They dominated the other team 45-7, it was very fun to watch the Huskies play so well, especially for their Homecoming game! 

The next day we got to eat at crave one of the most creative restaurants I have ever been to.  They have a burger that has donuts instead of buns, that I have heard is delicious!  I had the 3 little pigs which is a pulled pork sandwich with a burger in it as well, man it was divine!  After that we dropped Shae off to get ready for the Homecoming dance that night and we all headed to Cade's (Taylor's other brother) little league football game.  That was a hard one to watch, Cade lost, but he learned a lot and we got to sit out in the sun instead of being stuck inside doing homework.  :)

Their gorgeous staircase...

We then went home and colored a strip of my hair red and did Taylor's nails really cool.  The next day was Sunday so we went to church and I got to meet the infamous Perkins family!  We then went home made dinner, ate dinner, then watched Blind Side and got to taste the delicious peanut butter bars that Taylor's dad made for us while playing latter golf with the whole crew.  Over all it was an amazing and relaxing weekend full of fun!  :)

Quick Update!

Today I went and saw Dr. Takasaki about my knee.  He checked it and said that I ripped my Medial Collateral.  English:  I ripped the inside ligament on my left knee.  Some time soon I will be getting an MRI to make sure that there isn't anything serious enough for surgery.  But I can walk on it just fine, and Dr. Takasaki didn't say that I couldn't keep dancing so I don't have to stop folk dancing! :)

While I was there I also asked about my stomach and took a blood test to see if I actually don't have I.B.S. and instead have some other stomach disease.  I will keep the blog updated on both of my medical conditions and hopefully have a form of good news for both! 

My New Mortal Enemy = Stairs

I never realized how many stairs were in my life until I had to walk up and down them countless times a day.  For whatever reason my knee still isn't healed (it could be that I walk almost every where and I am in two dance classes...) so I am going to the doctor on Tuesday to pay a visit to my favorite doctor, Dr. Takasaki.  Don't worry I have been getting by with pain meds and frozen corn as my ice pack.  :)

This week has been full of classes.  In folk dance we are learning our parade dances, which are so fun!  My partner Austin and I are still trying to master the polka, but we will have it down pat by October 8th for the Homecoming parade.  :)  Contemporary dance is so much more fun than I thought it would be... we get move our bodies in ways that I never even thought of until I was in that class, it is a huge stress release!

The weekend was full of fun and a little bit of stress.  On Friday we went to the biggest dodge ball game ever (over 2,500), crazy right? Then some of us went to Transformers 3 at 10:30 and didn't get home until around 1:30... I forgot how long that movie really is.  I still really like the battle scenes, but I did doze off one time during a lull between battles (it's ok I've seen it before).  The next morning I woke up cleaned for cleaning checks, went to a Family History lab, then made cookies over at apartment 25, which includes Sean B., Dave N., and Dallin B.  They were 'nice enough' to let us use their oven and make them cookies.  We then watched the sad show down between Utah and BYU... we lost by a lot, enough said.

This morning we woke up and made french toast to eat with the boys from 25.  We were all so tired that we couldn't stop giggling about absolutely nothing.  It was one of my favorite breakfasts while I have been living in Canyon Terrace.  Then of course driving to church that is a block away and listening to great speakers, then eating salad in a huge bowl with Taylor.  :)
Over all this week end was wonderful, heart breaking, and very fun.


P.S. I have the cutest roommates EVER!  Here is proof :)

Busy week...

This week was crazy amounts of busy... Labor day started off this week with all of its festivities.  Wednesday was busy with classes including a new contemporary dance class that I love!  Along with my two and a half hour History of Creativity class.  Then Taylor wanted me to go with her and Natalie (our awesome friend from BYU-I) to a rec night for folk dance.  We do dances from several different countries, meet new people, and laugh so much that our sides always hurt.  It was so much fun, but also entirely tiring!  We came home and all fell asleep in about ten minutes. :)
Taylor and I tried out for folk dance and Taylor made it onto a team and I was an alternate.  The day after rec night I woke up to an email that asked me if I wanted to join a folk dance team, I said yes and I started that class the next day.  We will be performing in both the BYU homecoming parade and Christmas Around the World at the Marriott Center.  :)
Then of course we got to go to the Relief Society Retreat. :)  We got to hear Jenny Phillips speak to us up at Koholowo, then we got to do karaoke and got glitter toes!  All of the girls that went up from our ward danced and sang the entire time.  But of course while I was dancing with Hailey, a really cute girl from our ward, I twisted my knee.  It hurt really bad, but it has happened before, so I knew what to do, and it is already feeling a little bit better. :)  It is swollen and looks really gross, but I have a brace that makes it much easier to walk.
We went swimming this morning, then went to a BBQ put on by our wonderful apartment complex, with hot dogs hamburgers and soda!  Taylor and I then got ready and went to buy the brace for my knee at big 5.  As an apartment we watched TV then made cookie dough and got a surprise visit from Dave a boy from our ward.  He invited us to a party where they were showing the BYU vs Texas game, so we went over there and watched happily until the second half.  If you don't know already we lost, but it was still fun to hang out with my roomies and Dave.  We then came home and watched both Princess Diaries and Princess Diaries 2 on ABC, we love our cable! :)

Tomorrow we will be doing apartment pictures!  I am really excited about them.  :)  Then we will be having brunch with the boys of 25, going to church, then skyping with my wonderful and beautiful mother, who is in Michigan for the week.  :)
Hopefully next week will be a little less busy, but just as fun! :)

Labor Day Weekend!

I had a full, but extremely fun weekend! :)  On Friday I had my Humanities lab (that I actually liked... I know right?) then went home packed up my backpack with clothes for the weekend then headed to St. George with my wonderful family and my fun Uncle Dave.  We got there and decided that we deserved a really fun dinner so we went to this amazing restaurant called Anasazi Steakhouse.  They have a heating element in the middle of the table to keep your fondu warm and then they bring your steak out to you on an extremely hot lava rock, (700 degrees!) then you cook it however much you want it to be cooked and it is divine!

Our first real taste of the freezing cold Virgin River

The next day we woke up early and headed to Zion National Park for some wading in the Virgin River up the Narrows.  It was so much fun, but really cold...  At one point I was up to my belly in freezing cold water, but I can now say that I have waded in the Virgin River!  My little brothers and their friends all went swimming in a deeper part of the river as my mom and I just watched from one of the few parts of the bank that had sunlight, we all had our own version of fun.  :)
When we were home from Zion and in dry clothes we all settled in for the BYU vs Ole Miss.  It wasn't the best game that BYU has played, but we did win thankfully.  The cougars were good at moving the ball, but they could not finish a drive and score to save their lives.  In the end they did pull it out and win by one point... to say that it was a long game for the Smiley household would be an understatement.  Then of course we watched the LSU vs Oregon and Boise State vs Georgia games both of which were a little boring, but still fun to watch, because let's be honest it's college football!
Then to celebrate Labor Day we came home and I got to go shopping with Taylor and Natalie our friend from BYU-Idaho. :)  We all found really cute things and found some really good deals!  (I found an awesome Aviator jacket! :) )  Natalie went to In-In-Out for lunch and Taylor and I went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries, yes we have very different taste in burgers.  ha ha  I loved spending time with both of these lovely girls and hope that we can do it again sometime soon.  :)
This weekend was so great and very full!  I loved all of it and hope to have another rockin' weekend like this one next weekend. :)

Cinder blocks and tubing!

Yesterday I moved into my new apartment and I got to go boating with Braxton Dutson.  Taylor Telford (my fabulous new roommate), my little brothers Cody and Mark and I left our house by 7:45 and were checked into our new apartment at Canyon Terrace by 8:20.  Then came the fun part: carrying all of our belongings up 4 flights of stairs.  Let me just say that I was so grateful for our little helpers and shout out to Ginelle Jack and Anna Stewart for helping us move in also! :)  For us to have storage under our beds we had to get cinder blocks to put under our bed frames.  Keep in mind that these cinder blocks are in the basement storage and we are on the third floor, in short let me just say that I am not nearly as strong as I thought I was and that cinder blocks really like to scratch up BYU girls.  When all of my boxes, suitcases and such were in my room I took my little brothers home and changed into my swim suit and drove back to Provo to start unpacking and wait for Braxton to pick me up. 
He picked me up after a little while and we drove to his house in Payson, where I got to meet the dogs, the cows, the cats and the rat.  Then we got the boat ready and set off for the lake.  We went to Utah Lake which was surprisingly clean, I wasn't complaining.  :)  I stayed in the boat for most of the trip mostly because I just love riding in the boat.  Braxton and the other people that came with us wake boarded which was really cool to watch, especially when Braxton did cool tricks.  The tubes were then pulled out and Braxton (who seems to made for the lake) was the first one out on the tube with two of his friends.  They do extreme tubing which means they try to get each other off their tubes in any way possible.  That was really funny to watch.  Then it came to be my turn to tube.  It was a blast, but very tiring.  (Note to those who will ever go tubing it is ten times more fun to be on your knees than to be on your belly.)  Braxton's dad who was driving did go easier on us, probably because he didn't want me to cry, which I don't think I would have, but hey I was grateful. :)
After we were done tubing we docked the boat and went back to Braxton's, where he took a shower and I ate a sandwich with his two little brothers and his dad.  Let me just say that, that was one of the best sandwiches I have had in a long time.  (It could have to do with the fact that I was famished, but that is beside the point.)  We then went to my house where I took a shower and Braxton fell asleep on my couch while watching my little brother play video games.  After a quick shower and throwing on some clothes I woke Braxton up and we went out for ice cream at Cold Stone, which was amazing as usual.  Then we stopped in at Braedon's (our friend from Sprinkler World) wedding reception said hi, talked for a minute, got the really good desserts that are at every wedding reception then he took me to my apartment.  He gave me a hug and then set off for Salt Lake where he goes to the U I know, but hey he is a good kid.  I then started to unpack my room and two hours later everything was at least out of the boxes and suitcases and put somewhere in Taylor and my room.  Then I took a quick trip to Walmart to pick up milk, bread, and Gatorade (the basics).
Over all it was a very full, tiring, but awesome day. :)

You is kind. You is smart. You is important.

On Saturday night I had the opportunity to watch The Help.  It is an amazing and thought provoking new angle on the Civil Rights movement.  I had tears running down my face practically the entire movie either from laughing or crying.  This new perspective the movie shows of black women during the 1960s gave me another way to realize just how awful one human being can be to another human being.  There are so many issues addressed in this movie, that I hadn't even thought of.  Of course there were also so many hilarious one liners that my parents and I were practically rolling on the ground laughing.  From the awesome southern accents to the intriguing new perspective this is one amazing movie! Don't be surprised to see me at the movie theater watching this movie again! :)

19 and Crazy! :)

It is official.  I am 19 and crazy! :)  On August 4th 1992 I came into this world and in the 19 years that have followed I have learned quite a few things especially in the past year.  Some of those things are: 
Friends can make or break your experience in this life.
I really need to write papers the night before they are due.
Choices are extremely dumb, but essential.
I still need to learn how to cook.
My family is amazing, wonderful, and I couldn't live without them!
To celebrate my birthday this year we had waffles for breakfast then my mama and I spent the day shopping.  She introduced my to the cutest little store in Lehi called Dear Lizzie.  It is extremely girly and so fun!  We also went to the outlet malls in Park City and ran into our good friends Karen and Lexi Lamb and decided to have lunch with them.  :)  Then we started making our way home and made sure we went through Heber City so that we could have the famous Granny's milk shakes.  I really wanted to stop in at Called to Surf a really cute store that has fun and funky clothes so we stopped at the Shops at Riverwoods and hit our favorite stores.  :)
When we made it home my mama and I decided the perfect end to a perfect day would be to watch Pride and Prejudice (the Kiera Knightly version) so we did and I fell asleep half way through, because I was so spent from our day of shopping.  Over all it was a wonderful day, because of my wonderful mother!  Thank you mama! I love you!

Fiesta Days!!!

So this past weekend was the big celebration for Spanish Fork City.  I had an absolute blast! :)  To kick off my Fiesta Days experience I went to the movie in the park and watched How to Train Your Dragon.  I love that movie.  It has so many hilarious one liners!  Some of my favorites are:
"You just gestured to all of me..."
"Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead."
"Okay, but I hit a Night Fury."
"I was thinking, you know, we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough bread-making Vikings, or small home-repair Vikings?"
"Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."
If you haven't seen this hilarious movie you really should go Red Box it and if it is no longer available on Red Box find another way to go see it because it is hilarious! :)

Another thing I did for Fiesta Days was FIREWORKS! So Utah government has changed the law, so now we can have fireworks that go up to 150 feet.  (The law used to be that fireworks had to be under 10 feet.)  Because of this new law there were crazy awesome fireworks in almost every direction.  On Saturday, Sunday and Monday!  On Sunday night we had an unofficial neighborhood activity, of firework lighting.  We all set up our lawn chairs in the parking lot of Canyon Elementary and watched all of the people that have a fascination with fire light of amazing fireworks while the rest of us sit back and enjoy other peoples work. :)  Then on Monday night at 9:30 PM on the dot we had another fireworks show in front of our house provided by the men of the Smiley family and the Archibald family.  We had some crazy awesome fireworks that I am sure went at least 100 feet in the air!  Fireworks were really great this year. :)

The Fiesta Days parade is one of my top favorite things about the whole celebration!  My whole family gets together and we get to wave to all of the people from town that are in the parade.  :)  It is one of those small town things that I will never get tired of.  I love seeing all of my high school friends and all of the neighbor kids that are thrilled to be in the back of a truck for winning the league championship for baseball.  :)  Not to mention all of the popsicles that we can eat!
<-- This is Dave on the Student Council float (he is on the far right)

The rodeo is another huge part of Fiesta Days, unfortunately I couldn't go this year, but I did get to help with rodeo parking for my little brothers' scout troop!  :)  Quinton and I got to sit and watch the twelve year old scouts take money and make sure that they gave back the correct amount of change.  On Monday it started to rain really hard though, so by the end of helping with parking I was soaked, but Quinton was protected from at least some of the rain by his new cowboy hat from Cal Ranch.  :)  (I am very jealous that he got a new cowboy hat and I didn't... I may need to go and get one.)  From what we heard of the rodeo the nights that I helped with the parking it was a good rodeo, so even though I couldn't go this year I am still kind of got to be apart of the Fiesta Days rodeo. :)

My mom of course put together a BBQ for our family and friends.  My Aunt Kim and Uncle Mike Olsen and their crew, my Uncle Dave and his friend Marta, the Archibalds, my cousin Kate and her husband Cody, along with Quinton all joined us for our celebration of Pioneer day on Monday.  :)  Of course on Monday we also went to visit the food booths down town that were amazing as always.  As well as listening to the talent in the Library Park and doing a little shopping in the craft booths.

Over all this was an amazing Fiesta Days experience!  I am sad that it is over, but I had a blast so I am glad that it happened! :)

Blame It On The Rain

So, tonight I got to indulge in two of my very favorite things: rain and music! :) I am really into this new band called He is We they originated in Washington state and are amazing. My good friend Conner (aka Elder Blake who is on his mission going to Fresno California woot woot!) introduced me to them and I cannot get enough.  One of my favorite songs is called Blame It On The Rain, which was absolutely perfect for watching lightning in the middle of this huge rainstorm that hit Utah County this evening.  I drove to one of my favorite places in Spanish Fork that is tall and perfect for watching lightning.  I listened to He is We and watched this amazing show of rain and lightning and couldn't get enough of it.  I am always blown away by how amazing mother nature really is and all of the beautiful and sometimes very dangerous creations that she generates.

The World of Sprinklers

I work at Sprinkler World and love it most of the time.  I work with great people and know much more than the average human being about sprinklers, which is usually what makes it so fun.  The one downer is the fact that I am a girl.  Being a girl at Sprinkler World just begs for... interesting things to happen. 
Because I am a girl and I know so much about sprinklers all of the old gentleman that come into Sprinkler World try to set me up with their sons.  It usually goes something like this:
Old man: "You really know your sprinklers miss."
Me: "Thank you."
"You know I have a son that is pretty great." (No joke I got this once)
"Oh really?"
"Yes I should really bring him down here."
"I actually have a boyfriend."
"Oh well I will just have to take care of him first." (Again no joke a guy really did say this)
"Don't do that, I like him!"
"Well, I guess I will just have to wait until you realize you are too good for him."
"Ok.  Have a nice day."
This happens at least twice a week... like I said interesting.

The other interesting thing that happens is the same wonderful old gentleman don't think I know what I am talking about when it comes to sprinklers when they first come in.  Which kind of makes sense because I am a girl, but their face is always quite funny when they realize I know more than they do.  This situation goes something like this:
 Me: "Hello! What can I help you with?"
Old man: "I need to talk to a sprinkler expert."
"Ok, what do you need?"
Looks around for a guy, can't find one, sighs "I need a valve."
"A solenoid valve or a ball valve?"
Blank stare "Um... a ball valve."
"Threaded or slip?"
Glancing around nervously "Ok maybe it is a solenoid valve."
"Great what brand?"
"I am not sure."
"Ok, slip or threaded?"
"One second let me call my wife." Calls wife, looks embarrassed  "Actually it's a filter."
This is a daily occurrence for the women at Sprinkler World, but hey I guess it's part of the job. 
I love the people I work with though, so it makes all of the interesting things at Sprinkler World worth it. :)
      

Hola!

What up blogging world?? So my wonderful friend Taylor Telford set up this beautiful blog for me isn't is so cute? Well I like it quite a bit. :)  I will be using this blog periodically to update the known (and maybe unknown) world about my nonsense we call life! :)

I have the greatest friend in the world...

Who helped me start to set this blog up. And she is wonderful, and brilliant, and beautiful, and I think I'll keep her around for a while.

(Shout out to the fam, from Taylor!)

So I will start keeping up on this blog all by myself now, because I am expected to :)