CHRISTIAN

What can I say about you? I can't remember our family without you. I remember going to see you for the first time 8 years ago. You are my best little buddy and I miss you everyday that I am at school. So I just thought I would share with everyone a few special traits and experiences from your 8 years on Earth.

Christian is:

• hilarious...earlier this year I asked him why he didn't ask me to sponsor him in the jog-a-thon this year. He told his mom it was because I am homeless.



• the best big brother I have ever seen...he couldn't bear to spend the night over Thanksgiving because he was so worried about Grant sleeping in his room without him.




• a joker...my favorite joke of his..."If the world were a jacket, where would the gangsters be?"....In the hood!



• stylish...he never forgets his pomade (even on camping trips) and his hair is always in the newest do.



• thoughtful...he made Elyse a collection of songs, poems, and pictures for her birthday last year.





• quite the daredevil these days...he was the first one to jump in the pool over Thanksgiving...COLD...and he did it twice! He went cliffjumping at Lake Mead this summer. He went tubing with me also. He loves the roller coaster and the Tower of Terror at California Adventure.



• artistic...he steals my camera every chance he gets and takes pictures of the most random things.



• a great soccer player...he is already on a club team! Only time will tell where this talent will take him...the next David Beckham?


• very smart...when he was only 6, I spelled a word while on the phone in front of him and he told everyone what I said. Not so funny at the time, but in retrospect...still not too funny, but I am still impressed by his intelligence. He can also remember anything you have ever said...and always manages to bring it up at the most "appropriate" moments.



• an amazing dancer...he has been breakdancing since he was about 4 years old. He still loves to have dance parties which happen to be my favorite thing to do with him.



• a music buff now...he has quite the taste in music...Dave Matthews Band to Lil Mama (Lipgloss). "Whatcha know bout me? Whatcha, whatcha know bout me?" or as Christian says..."What you know about me? What you, What you know about me?" He has recently taken up the flutophone...who knows what will come next.



• knows he is cute...he loves to have his picture taken. Need I say more?
  He is even cute without teeth!
  

I love you Christian. I am so proud to be your aunt. Kiss...even it out on the other side...kiss!

Now don't make fun of our song...we tried. Happy Birthday buddy!

Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. It seems the tests never end. I have 4 this week so Thanksgiving should be a nice break. I'm not sure when I am leaving yet because I do want to stop by Vegas and see Heidi and Nikki and I also want to see Steph before they go to Utah. Anyway...I will know sometime this week.
One of my tests is for ASL. I have to compare a custom from the US to a custom from another country. I can't think of anything to do so if any of you know any customs that are different from ours I would appreciate a comment. PLEASE!

Halloween

Here I am with my buddy Chetty. I wasn't that into dressing up and I didn't have much time so i just found a skirt at DI and was a BYU cheerleader. I did have some pom-poms though. Chetty and her boyfriend were football players. She was pretty funny. She said she like every kind of music, but when she got in my car she changed every song on my CD. She was in the hospital all summer with acute pancreatis and just got out a few weeks ago so walking is still hard for her, but she was a trooper and slow danced to every song with Bruce (the boyfriend). He is also in Best Buddies, but he lives in his own apartment which is awesome because that means he is mostly independent. I also took my roommate's buddy because she had to be at the ward party. She was nice and also had a boyfriend. I wanted to know if she could get married or if anyone in Best Buddies did. She said their parents had to let them and her mom would, but her boyfriend's mom said he would have to wait until the next life. So she said she would wait and marry him in the next life. I have always felt bad for what I thought people with disabilities were missing out on or didn't understand, but I realized that her understanding of eternity and the plan of salvation is so much greater than mine. It was amazing. This is at the ward party. Nicole was a boxer. Amy, Ashley, and Emily were street basketball players. They looked good. I was only there for about 45 minutes, but it was okay.
I ate dinner at Aunt Tiana's house yesterday. Bruce, Teresa, Michelle, and Nate were there so I got to see them as well. I also met Bryan's fiance. She is nice and thought Uncle Brent was funny so that was good. They had a stake youth fireside so I watched Lizzie and we played Pooh matching games and watched the Mormon and Moroni video and Madeline. Very eventful. Hope you all are well. I still can't believe that Peter actually wore what he did for his costume. I'm sure that is illegal in some country.

It what?

That's right...it snowed! I mean it actually stayed on the ground through the night. I am not a very happy camper right now. The weather is still in the 40's for the most part, but it is just downright chilly.

On a happier note...I got my buddy for the Best Buddy program here at school. She is a 29 year-old woman with a disability, but I don't know what it is. She seemed very excited on the phone. This Friday is a Halloween party and she is going to be a football player so naturally I will be a cheerleader. I'm anxious to meet my new friend.

fall has begun

It was getting way too cold way too quick just like last year, but luckily the weather warmed up so I could have an actual fall. It is really pretty here with the snow on the mountains and the leaves blowing everywhere. We played in some leaves last night and here are the pictures.

I love the gospel!

I grew up thinking I would know the church was true because of some miracle or vision like Alma the Younger. I would pray that I would believe if I could walk on water or I would pray for an angel to come fix my broken bracelet. I obviously grew out of that as my testimony increased and was strengthened, but I still hadn't received the confirmation that I thought I needed to know that I have an unwavering testimony. There was a talk in conference by Douglas L. Callister. He said that as long as you casually pray and study the gospel, you will not know that you know. This struck me so hard. I have been slacking in my personal prayers and scripture study...no excuse, but this is just the talk I needed. I can't expect to be strong in my testimony or have the companionship of the spirit if I don't put forth the effort every second of every day. I know I need to be on my knees every morning and every night and things will be so much better. I know that the church is true and the fullness of the gospel has been restored to the earth. I am so excited about next year's Relief Society manual on the Teachings of Joseph Smith. I have so much appreciation for the strength that he had and his devotion to the Lord.
One more thing...I fasted last fast Sunday...September 30...that I would be able to love others and feel the love that Christ has for others. I have been struggling with getting easily frustrated with my roommates etc. I fasted, but I hadn't really done any personal study to find an answer. Sometimes we just fast and think the Lord will do all the work, but we really need to do our part. Anyway, today in Relief Society as I was reading in the manual and it says "Regardless of your particular circumstances, as you become more and more familiar with the truths of the scruptures, you will be more and more effective in keeping the second great commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself." It is crazy how the Lord answers your questions and prayers. I wasn't expecting this answer at all. I guess I was just expecting an overnight change of heart, but that just shows that our Heavenly Father knows more than we do. Not only did I need help loving others more, but also in reading my scriptures. I am so grateful for the sweet reassurances that I am loved and that I am a child of God with capabilities and opportunities beyond anything I could imagine or hope for.





I attached these pictures from today's dinner at our good neighbor's/friend's apartment as proof that I am not completely anti-social. Everyone always wants to know what I am doing so here it is...
I have been studying for my Civ test ALL week. I took the test on Friday and it went okay...
Saturday I slept in for the first time in forever and then got up and cleaned, did laundry, and went to campus. I was supposed to go to a study group, but I decided I didn't want to study and just needed some downtime so I watched tv on my computer and then came home. Don't judge me...it has been a long week. Once home we (Amy, Nicole, and I) loaded up in the car and drove to Salt Lake where we went to the Gateway and ate Coast Vida then saw "Across the Universe". The music in the movie is great and the storyline is pretty cool...it is based around the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement along with the Civil Rights movement. There are some weird parts where the people are on drugs so you see lots of weird things that they apparently are seeing. Weird, but overall quite good. Anyway, I love you all. I wish you would put up more pictures of your kids. I am beginning to forget their faces.

FHE?

I am the FHE Mom for my group which means I have to come up with an activity and a lesson each week. I'm sure the group will help me as will the "Dad", but none of us are that creative. I need some good ideas for lessons and activities that last about 1 hour. Post your FHE ideas in the comments. I need all the help I can get. Thanks!

School is in Session

So I am back at school. Amy and I drove up together just over 4 weeks ago and we are all settled in and trying not to be too anti-social. Here are some pictures from our road trip...

So far nothing too exciting has happened...let's pretend you didn't already guess this. Actually Nikki, Jordan, and Warren came up to Utah and it was so nice to see them. Nikki treated me to dinner and we just got to talk for a long time which hasn't really happened since we shared a room before her wedding. Warren is as cute as ever and he can even say my name! It took a lot of coaching and coaxing, but he did it and it was so cute. He says his name pretty well too.

This is the cage that Nikki mentioned in her blog.


I just got back from Break the Fast and it was good, but there wasn't very much food so I felt like I couldn't eat a lot. I'm sure I will be cooking up some Mac and Cheese pretty soon. Thank you Western Family. If you don't know what I am referring to, it is the generic brand that I survive on these days. I got to hear from Steph and the Disneyland gang last night and they seem to have had a good time. I also got to talk to Mom and Grandpa and I heard we have a new puppy...(What are we thinking?) Good luck with that. By the way...if you wanted my opinion on the name, I would go with Apple Spice and just call her Apple for short. If Gwenyth Paltrow can get away with naming her child that then I'm sure it will fly with an apple-headed chihuahua.

Anyway school is going well. It takes me less than 10 minutes to walk to class or work everyday. Some of my classes are more work than I expected, but I enjoy them all for the most part. I have Mission Prep, New Testament (The Gospels), Physical Science 110B (geology), ASL 201, CPSE 400 (my first Special Ed class--it is amazing), and Civilizations 1 (history from the beginning to 1500 AD). More later...I need to work on my mission prep paper and do some other stuff.

I love you all. I need more visitors so please make a trip to Utah.

Peter...are you having Thanksgiving with us--Mom, Dad, Kyle, and I?

I would love to come home, but you can all trek up here as long as Grandpa and Grandma come.

Peter

I did want to mention that although I did say Peter tries to tell me what to do...I still love him a lot and look up to him. He is a wonderful brother, but he, like all brothers, teases and thinks he knows what is best for me. I appreciate though that he cares enough to tell me what he thinks and give me advice. There are countless times when I have turned to him where no one else could have helped me like he did. I still get way mad when he teases me about dating, Zach, my eyebrows, etc., but I will be a turd when he finally decides to find himself a wife. All jokes aside though...thanks for being you Peter. I love you!

The past

I want to finish back-blogging and get you up to speed on my life right now so I will quickly sum up a few things...

We went to San Diego to see Peter and go to the beach with our Favero cousins in August. Here are a few pictures from the Botanical Gardens etc. Elyse was having a bad day...the "worst day of her life" according to her, but Lucy seemed to be having a blast. Elyse was pretty funny as was Christian of course. and they did very well considering they were away from their parents for so long. P.S. I miss you both. Come visit me!

One of the last weekends I was home I went to Disneyland with Christian, Elyse, Steph, Grant, Peter, Mom, and Dad. Christian was a brave soul and went on Tower of Terror twice in a row and California Screamin'. He was relieved though that he is still too short for the Maliboomer. A new favorite ride is the big orange with swings. Elyse was too small for most rides, but she got her thrills dancing in the streets of Disneyland. Grant was very good and he was pretty independent most of the day. We just let him sit in the teacup while we rode the big rides, but he did come with us for Pirates and as you can see he can't wait to go again. I'm kidding...we didn't leave him alone...Dad was just having fun posing Grant. It was a lot of fun and I hope we can go back again soon.

Mexico!

I met Peter in San Diego the last weekend in July to go to Mexico and help in an orphanage. I drove Candice, Amy, and Sam and then we went with Peter and company on down to Mexico. We stayed in bunks one night and on the beach the next. The kids were very well cared for which was a big relief. I had just felt so bad for them before, but they really are in a much better situation than most. We cleaned up and played with the kids and Candice pretty much ran the painting project. Anyway, it was a lot of fun to be there with Peter and some longtime friends and especially Candice. Peter is a good guy and brother even if he has ridiculous expectations and tries to tell me what to do. Candice is way too much fun and I appreciate that she likes to hang out with me--although we both know she is much too cool for me.
Peter and Alex
Some of the San Diego group
Candice holding the littlest baby at the orphanage. I believe she was 8 months then and she was seriously smaller than Grant at that time.
Sam and I in our Nacho Libre masks.
Jim Halpert look alike to the left. Don't analyze him too closely, but he really does look like him.

Family Reunion

I am back-blogging the last half of the summer because I suck at being on top of it. So first up is the Nichols Family Reunion. It was a fun filled 4 days of family, the beach, delicious food, and Harry Potter (everyone was reading the final book...tear). We had a kind of week long photo scavenger hunt which was fun. I will insert a few pictures of that here...

One thing to do was do what a sign said so here is Christian.
P.S. He wanted to be in every picture and he decided he needed to take his shirt off.

Another thing was holding a baby so here is Aunt Linda holding Uncle Marc--She was laughing so hard that they fell off the rock before this picture.

Just some other cute pictures...scavenger hunt and candid.