oh what do you do in the summertime....

... You join in on the biggest waterballon fight in the history of the world at BYU.

This is mearly the aftermath of the event. Soaked to the bone, with a little bit of gravel remaining on the legs, with a free tee shirt

A few of us got to go to be on television with fox 13. I'll get those pictures later.

... You go swimming at the resevoir with friends!!!

...Go Hiking and working at the Heber Valley with your friends

A Daughter-Daddy date and a tender mercy

Tender Mercy

Yesterday was A-mazing!!! First off I went to have a check-up number on my skin at the doctor. Turns out it is looking really good, almost gone. However she said I still need to keep going with the medication. It is a fabulous medication, but it cost is apx. $500 for a 21 day supply, and $130 dollars when you have a coupon. That was still quite steep for my budget. While discussing options my dermatologist determined it was best to stick with the expensive medication that works. She left and came back with a full size bottle that couldn't be sold, it was an office sample. I could hardly believe it. I offered to pay the $30.oo cost of what would have been the original coupon price before it got expensive. She said she wanted me to have it. I felt like crying I was so excited. I know that blessings come where you least suspect them. When one is faithful in paying tithing the Lord may not always give blessings in the format of a pay raise or money on your front porch. More often the blessings appear in cases such as these, where a tender mercy of a simple but much needed medication is made available. Feeling so grateful right now.

Great Day Part II

Daughter-Daddy date. Dad was so gracious to accompany me today to get my balanced and checked at Walmart. Well, that on a regular day sounds quite boring, but Dad and I made it fun. We picked a couple of needed items, then migrated toward the Root beer and then to McDonald's. I bought us a bottle of root beer and a cup of ice cream and we had lovely root beer floats in the McDonald's restaurant in Walmart. It was quite lovely.

Roomate 2004-2005 Reunion

Merika, Amy, and I all got together in Salt Lake Today. We later went to Park City to window gaze. Later this evening we landed at Breana's and I headed home. Breana is 9 months and a day pregnant. So crazy. According to the order made by the roommates over 5 years ago I am the next in line to get married. NO PRESSURE!!! Guess I have some work to do here in the land of plenty.

The lovely lemonades we had at the California Pizza Kitchen.

The Maine like shop in Park City. Oh, how I love the bright beautiful colors

This fudge looked so delicious, until we found out that it was $16.99 a pound. Then I decided one mint truffle would have to do. Oh how lovely they look.

Peppermint bark, Mmmmmmmm. One of my favorites in Alaska.

I just wanted to digest it all, all at once.

I whistle a happy tune

So, I did something the other day that has been on my buck list for years. I have always wanted to be a part of a musical. So I tried out. I love to sing, but used to be terrified of any audience. Over the last couple of years I have gained a strong confidence and love for performing and speaking in front of audiences, while working in the adventure education environment.
I am not sure what I was thinking, the last time I tried out for a musical my throat seemed to swell up at the moment I walked into audition. My voice came out as some strange frog-like croak. Since then it has been such a scary thing to even think that I could audition for a play. I decided this summer that I would get involved somehow, and muster the courage to sing in a musical.
I came across an old high school friend who introduced me to a group doing several vignetts including the King and I, for a benefit concert for the cancer society. They were already well into the rehearsal schedule so I expected little other than the back up for the back up singers. I went to the first rehearsal I knew about last Saturday. I was quite lost, but just before I left they asked me if I wanted to audition for a solo. I was super nervous and was only given 2 quick run throughs. I didn't even have the words memorized. Right before we began they asked us to act it out. As I went up I almost quit, I was so afraid, they encouraged me to try and so I said to my self....

"Whenever I feel afraid

I hold my head erect

and whistle a happy tune

So no one will suspect

I'm afraid."

(That is the song we sang.) I went with it and was shaking in my boots, I was terrified. However, I was so shocked to find that the frog that used to come out of my throat did not make an appearance that day. I was just grateful to sound decent.

I was super late to the rehearsal tonight because of work. I was not sure if I should just give up on the venture, but I decided to go and at least tell them in person. So as I did they asked me if I wanted to give up my solo with the King and I. I was so excited I screamed inside my head, and later proceeded to scream to Elise on the phone. I also tackled Elise out of excitement later. I told them promptly that I would make time for the rehearsals.

I was not sure if Provo would hold any kind of grand adventure for me. Turns out that Provo is holding up to it's end of the bargain.

The Best 3rd of July Ever

"Give me Liberty or give me Death"

This was one of my favorite 3rd of July's ever. It was fun to be able to celebrate the Independence of our nation for three days straight. The way the 4th was so conveniently placed on a Sunday allowed for a significant amount of celebration the day before and the day after. All the below pictures were taken on day one of celebration.

This year I live right across the street from one of my favorite portions of the festivities, Colonial Days. The reason I love it so much, even more than the booths of vendors and the carnival rides, is because I feel that it is important for all people in our country to get a taste of the Revolution. I would love for every child in the west to get the chance to see, feel, and experience significant pieces that have contributed to our nation's Liberty. At this celebration they have many ways to see and experience colonial life. There are original significant documents. There are people dressed up in colonial clothing. ETC. There aren't any original significant colonial age buildings here to remind people of their heritage. I was so excited that I ran up Abraham Lincoln and asked how I could get involved. So come next year I will be all dressed up

Mr. Lincoln and I!

I even got to shake his hand. I will never wash that hand again.




Having declared my desire not to wash my hands they decided to

lock me into the stocks for 2 days

A ceremony to honor those who served and died for our nations wars

from the Spanish American War on.

(I would really like to wear one of their dresses)

Oh, don't they look right handsome with their colonial Attire

I had the good fortune of meeting President Obama this day at my house in Provo.

The first First Lady meets the Current President.

We had a large potluck dinner together. Even the table decorations were amazing.

Friends enjoying each others company.

Aren't they all so jovial, the way one should be on the 3rd of July, celebrating the 4th.

This is the happy lead hostess. She and I decided together that because I had a large blue colonial dress, I would be the party mascot, Martha Washington. We even got Elise's hula hoop and rigged it up to my belt so it would hold on. (I have great sympathy for those poor women who wore such ridiculous things as pedicoats, corsets, etc.)

Martha Washington Meets the famous singer Taylor G.

It really is to bad that Martha and Taylor were born centuries apart.

This is the whole gang, just before I got back into my normal clothes to go out into public.

We all walked up to campus after the dinner and found a lovely place on the hill by the Hinkley Alumni building. While we waited for dark to settle and the fireworks to arrive, we relaxed and chatted, I got a head massage from Levi, we watched this incredible sunset from the bridge, we played with the glow in the dark Frisbee, and a grass in the face wrestling match. I enjoyed the anticipation of fireworks as much as the actual event.

I don't have many pictures of the actual fireworks, mostly because it is just one of those events that can't quite be captured on film. It really is an aesthetic experience of the moment. however this picture says it all. Evan perfectly illustrates the fun of the moment. While walking home we did fireworks all the way. As one of them was lit, it only went up 1-2 feet, when it should have gone up 10-20. It shot to the ground and shot right between Emily's legs and next to a car. That sure gave us all a little thrill and a jump start to our hearts.

Dude, there's somethin' on top or yur car.

Have you ever had someone give you that funny second glance while your driving down the street? This then turns into that awkward moment where you look back and they either pretend they weren't looking at you or your car or they frantically wave their arms to let you know that you left your sack of groceries on the top of your car.

Well, today I did not leave the bag of grocieries, that was the case two weeks ago the day before fathers day. However the first part was a good part of today's glances.

You see, my dad and I had an adventure this afternoon, figuring out a system to rig my newly acquired kayak to the top of my car. Between my ropes course skills and his scout master skills we totally mastered the kayak rack, without a rack, system. These pictures are the precursor to the actual system, but they were the right idea.

"Tada!!!" "We did it! We did it! We did it, Hooray!" As I drove through the quiet streets of Provo tonight, there was no shortage of funny surprised looks from people. There was a great Asian man who say it and kept staring, then as I watched he poked is wife to let her know what was on the car in the next lane. I thought it was hilarious. At first I forgot the Kayak was on the car, but as soon as I realized it was there I gave the funny couple a quick smile.

What an epic afternoon!!!

My New Life