i'm back lovers.

I rolled into Provo a little before 5 today. Got Rachel checked in and then went to the bookstore. Met up with Garrick and we all got Chinese food. I am now in Rachel's dorm. I'm sure you have all been dying for a good post so I will get back to you soon with that. LOVE YOU ALL!

life is good my friends

I had a great weekend in Vegas seeing some of the family. Audrey is absolutely beautiful and I am so excited to see our family keep growing. I won't be contributing anytime soon, but I am happy to babysit and be an awesome aunt! I will post a few pictures from this weekend, but I guess I should mention that I GOT INTO MY PROGRAM! SEVERE BABY! I didn't know how it would all work out, but I knew somehow it would. Heavenly Father "opened an effectual door" for me to work with these special people and I am so grateful. I swear when I have more time I will write more.

Friends, Concert, Birthday, No Future

Well family, I have received a few requests for an update so to appease the masses (all 5 of my sibling who read this) I did. My friends, Raquel and Vanessa, came up to visit over President's Day weekend. They came on Thursday night and I picked them up and we came back to our apartment and ate pizza. On Friday, we showed them campus and then went to Salt Lake. Saturday we went to Park City and then to the BYU basketball game. After church on Sunday I made potato soup and then we went to Temple Square and then the airport. They were here for 3 days, but they couldn't stay for Monday because Vanessa had school. Her school does get Cesar Chavez Day off though...very odd. It was so good to see them and spend time with them. It was also fun to have them see what we are up to in Utah. They liked it more than they thought would and I was very happy. Not such big fans of the snow...Go here http://byu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28643&l=dc40c&id=612182095 to see all of my pictures.
In other news...I went to my first REAL concert. I love Ingrid Michaelson and Roxanne mentioned she was going to the Joshua Radin concert and Ingrid Michaelson would be there so I jumped at the chance. It was all very exciting, but you should all listen to some Alexa Wilkinson, Ingrid Michaelson, and Joshua Radin songs. You will recognize Ingrid's song "The Way I Am" from Old Navy commercials. I'll fix my music player soon so they are right there. More pictures....http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29477&l=8fd7d&id=612182095

Here are some videos...never mind they take too long!

Tomorrow is my roommate Nicole's birthday. We went to dinner and then came back for cake and ice cream. She has really been wanting some underwear that shall remain nameless, but when she opened them a table near us with a family began laughing and pointing at us. Their little girl was appalled and we tried to run out quickly, but after I got out of there the dad stopped Nicole and asked her if she wanted a picture of her opening her "little present". What a perv! Anyway, we came home and played Nintendo 64 Mario Kart...I can't steer and I always lose. Nicole is the reigning champ! Other than that...life is fine. Zach has a committment for baptism and another investigator is doing really well! FHE was fun tonight...we did yoga. The boys were hilarious. On a more somber note, I got my program letter and I didn't get into the severe program. A few weeks ago the secretary for the program gave us the option to switch emphases, but I said I would consider switching IF I didn't get in so I am still waiting to hear about the mild/moderate program. I am also on the alternate list for severe. It was weird to realize that this was the first time in my life that something big didn't go the way I planned. I have been so blessed and at first my reaction was "Well, I guess it is time that something bad happens to me", but then I realized that it isn't like that at all. I think this is the answer I have been waiting for regarding what emphasis I should be in...it may be mild/moderate and it may be neither. I have always been willing to ask, but less willing to listen because I know what I want and I assume that is the best thing for me. At this point I need to leave this all up to the Lord and have faith, but I realized tonight that faith doesn't mean assuming the Lord will fix everything. It may not actually work out like I want and that is what faith really is...trusting in whatever the Lord has planned for me. I lesson I needed to learn. Trials do serve a great purpose.

I know, I know

I suck at posting. I just don't have the cute kids that you do to post about. And no one cares about my opinions on politics...I don't even care about my opinions on politics. I'll try to be better at it, but I make no promises. Just to update you a little on my life I will make a short list.

• Raquel and Vanessa are coming to visit this weekend! We will be showing them the best of Utah and just hanging out. I am so excited to see them. I miss home so much and it will be good to have a little part of what I love about Bakersfield here.
  
• Zach has been out a year!!!!! I am on the countdown now.


• My family won't come visit me...not even in Vegas.
  
• School is fine. I am happy to be here getting an education, but I take school for granted way too often. I am mostly worried about my upcoming Biology test. I got a 92% on my first Interior Design test, but I should have done better. I think I am just getting sick of GEs...cross my fingers I get in to my program so I can stop this nonsense.


• Speaking of my program...I applied 2 weeks ago and I should find out at the end of this month!


• I love going to the special needs institute. The people are so fun and I get so much out of the lessons. I go on Tuesday and Thursday nights and I am in the Teachings of the Living Prophets class and the Old Testament class. Chetty comes with me most of the time. Funny story: this one guy, Donald, falls in love with whoever sits next to him. One day I heard him ask one girl 3 times to marry him. Back to the story though...he wanted to hear the talks from general conference so the teacher told him she could make a CD with their voices and he asked if she could put Michelle's voice on it too (the girl sitting next to him). Anyway, these people just amaze me. Ron is blind yet he can play the piano better than anyone I know and he has a great testimony of death and resurrection. They all have such strong testimonies of the plan of salvation.


• I was sick and ALMOST lost my voice completely (a lifelong dream of mine), but I just sounded like a man for a few days.


• Found 2 new restaurants (Gandolfo's and Guru's) on Center St. My world is expanding!


• I love my best buddy, but I think I see her way too much for my busy schedule. I have already seen her twice this week and it is only Wednesday! I love it, but sometimes it is hard to have the time to pick her up or take her home, but she makes me feel guilty about her riding the bus. This is a picture of us at the Utah Flash game. They play the Bakersfield Jam.




• I went shopping by myself with my gift cards and bought a new dress! I had an assignment for interior design that required me to go to the mall plus I needed to be alone...living with 3 other people can completely destroy any semblance of privacy or personal space. And to think they want me to live with 5 people next year.

Well...I think that pretty much sums up my life as of late. I miss you all.

Dilemma...

Amy and I have been telling our friends they should come visit us for quite some time. We never thought they would come so we didn't think about the fact that there is not much to do in Provo. Dilemma...they love us enough to visit and we don't know what to do. We will drive as far as Park City and Salt Lake, but we need ideas. Sledding, the planetarium at the Gateway mall, Tucano's in Provo...I need more! They will be here for 3 1/2 days. Please help. I love you all. I will soon write about my life, but you'll just have to help me out first. P.S. This kid is cute and grandpa is hilarious. Love, Stacie

EMHN

(Or at least that is what she calls herself nowdays.)

NOTE: I had her full name plus my last name, but I knew I would get some upset emails from Nikki or Steph about putting it on the internet. Just a heads up...wanted you to know what it was originally.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We never thought we could love another kid as much as we loved Christian and then Elyse came along. She is the most feisty 4-year-old I have ever met. I like to tease her and the other day we went shopping and I said something about her hair because I had straightened it. I had just gotten a haircut so her comeback was "Your new bangs are ugly." Wow...she knows how to dish it out and take it. Funny kid.

She is the most beautiful little girl and she knows it. When her hair was straight, we were at the Gap and she kept going to the mirror and looking at herself and playing with her hair. All-girl...oh wait, Christian does that too.
She loves to sleep over at our house and we LOVE to have her. The only downside is she moves a lot and takes up all the room in the bed, but isn't she just so sweet when she is asleep?
She is a little bit of a drama queen so it is funny to see her mad. Here is a prime example. Also, she always runs to Grandma because she knows Grandma is a sucker for her. The other day I told her I was going to race her to my mom and I would win, but she said, "No because I'm grandma's favorite girl." I guess I have been replaced.
She loves to play with her big brother Christian. Here she is applying her special Hello Kitty lipgloss.

She also likes to take care of her little brother Grant. She is the best big/little sister around.

I wish I had a good movie of her dancing because she has MOVES! You'll just have to take my word for it. Her best dancing songs are Bossy and Lipgloss. Maybe Steph can post a video? We had a dance party a few times while I was home on break and she kept asking for more.

I love you Elyse! I wish I could be there more, but until the summer...make sure to call me and leave me funny messages.

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!