Ok.... GO!

Here is an update of my fall semester all in one pretty little post. Normally I'm off-track (not in school) for fall semester but I started going year-round (3 semesters a year) in order to graduate in April 2010. It's been nice knowing that I'm almost finished but I genuinely miss working and having a little bit of a break from school. Regardless, this has easily been the greatest semester I have had so far. I have great roommates, challenging classes, church at noon... life is just good.

Started the semester with my first ever, last minute trip to Salt Lake for sunday morning session General Conference. My dad, sister and I all met up for it. None of us had ever been and it was a really great experience. I have to admit that it's the exact same spirit that you can get at home though too. It's not something I will likely to again and again but it was worth it. The picture above is the three of us at dinner the night before. The following picture is of President Monson as he exited the Conference Center. I ended up with AMAZING seats. I was on the very bottom level, not very many rows back. I was lucky, to say the least.

Since then I have:

Eaten at Craigo's with an old roommate. sooo good. I'll miss that place when I graduate.

Made multiple trips to the "haunted swings." Basically it's just a really little swing set outside of Rexburg. It's really creepy but I don't think they're actually haunted.

Gone to Mesa Falls in the middle of the night for no reason.

Played on the most giant stacks of hay bales I have ever seen. Followed by a visit with a drunk man on the side of a dirt road that didn't want us to call the cops. We did anyway. Followed by star gazing during a meteor shower.

ROAD TRIP! to Colorado for Thanksgiving Break. My roommate lives in Centennial. I was so lucky to have someone to drive with - makes the 10 hour trip seem that much shorter!

Followed by Thanksgiving in Alamosa. We had dinner this year at my aunt and uncles new house. I've been trying for almsot 21 years to convince my parents that we need a trampoline. I haven't gotten anywhere but this picture proves my point. Sidenote: my little sister is SO big now. She barely has any "baby" qualities left. She's talking, growing, hitting. She's grown into such a little girl.

Visited with my great grandma Ruth. She turned 103 this past summer. I guess now I know what I'll look like in 82 years... wait, what? No. I haven't actually been down to visit my mom's side of the family in over 3 years because of school and work. It was nice to be able to get to go down and remember exactly why it is that I haven't been down in so long :)

All in all it's been a great semester. Three weeks left before it's over. Christmas is right around the corner, preceded by my 21st birthday on Monday!

End of Summer Update in Winter

So I stopped posting because I got lazy. I'm gonna try to stay more on top of it now. Heres a few pictures from the summer. Nothing too exciting went on. I had a few weeks off between semesters so I just hung out at home. It was a nice little break.

One day I got to go down to Colorado Springs to see Serenity. We walked around Garden of the Gods and had a little picnic with food from her families' store. It was so fun to see her and catch up. We got some unsuspecting tourists to take our photo for us.

After school started, I babysat for my mom to make a little bit of money. I hate being stuck at home so we tried to make adventures of it. We had a lot of art sessions and nap time followed by 4 pm phone calls to my mom telling her to hurry up and get home. I might be a fun sister, but I'm definitely not very patient. Here are a few pictures of us at the Children's Museum in Denver one day. She loved it.

Kaylee and me.

This boat rocked back and forth and made water noises. I think the sheep drowned in the water or something. She loved that thing. It was hard getting her to go from station to station. She would get so focused on one thing and not want to leave it.

Art time! She LOVED this. It was probably her favorite part. I showed her how to paint with her hands, she loved it more than she loves eating ketchup.

Afterwards we stopped at my mom's work. I had Kaylee's art with me to show my mom at which point Kaylee went into this big, incoherent, explanation and demonstration of how she painted it. I don't think she breathed for a full 2 minutes. The only words either of us got out if it were "hand hand". I love doing things with her that create memories for her and this one definitely did. A few weeks ago Kaylee went back to my mom's work and saw the art hanging up. She proceeded, again, to demonstrate for my mom how she painted with her hands. I'm sooo glad she remembers!

It was a pretty uneventful but fun summer that was entirely too short.

Confession #2

I almost always fall asleep laying on my right side. Its compulsive.

But I love sleeping on my stomach most.

Confession #1

I use my laptop while laying in bed.

All the time.

my parent's pantry is a war-zone.

My mom complains about how picky I am. When I first got home I wouldn't really eat anything that she made because she was making gross things. I don't even remember what they were except that one of the dishes had mushrooms. Obvious Pass. But it kind of got bad because they don't buy anything I like to eat and I started being hungry all the time and grouchy and losing weight (not that thats a bad thing. hunger just isn't my favorite feeling). If they do have things that I like then my brother and dad, who eat like they don't know when their next meal is going to be, eat it before I ever get a chance! so rude. Butttttt, by combining old habits with the need for survival (haha jkkk its not that bad) I've found a solution to my issue!

Habit: I bite things. I'm not sure exactly when it started but it definitely started as a joke. Anytime someone (usually family members only) has a sandwich, toast, burrito, cookie, whatever, I sneak a bite of it. Even if I dont really like what they are eating I still do it. I think it's hysterical for them to turn back around and be missing part of their meal. It's kind of evolved to the point where I do it even if I'm not going to see their reaction, such as when my mom took my dad breakfast at work the other day. I'm sure he loved the little missing piece of his toast! But this whole thing has kind of evolved and it's really benefitting me.

Issue: I'm a mood eater. If I like a particular something but am not in the mood for it at that moment, I don't eat it. My moods for food strongly affect what I'm going to be eating. Other people eat what I like before my mood changes, leaving me hungry and foodless.

Solution: I take a bite out of whatever I want, put it back, no one touches it. Want to make sure you get one blueberry pop tart out of the entire box but not right at that moment? Take a bite, Replace, It's yours. Want the most perfect looking slice of pizza? Take a bite (ruins perfection but not taste), Replace, It's yours. Want the entire package of Oreos?... Well I don't really know what to suggest there. I can imagine some pretty angry people if someone went around biting EVERYTHING... but you get the point.