Not Too Shabby

I love days like today. This morning, Emily, my mom, and I got up early so we could watch the Spudman athletes. (for any who may not know, the Spudman is Burley's triathlon...pretty much what we are known for) The bikers come right past my neighborhood and the runners go right past my aunt's house, so we watched some of both. They are pretty hardcore. Also, remember yesterday when I said I wanted to run it next year? Yeah, after watching how exhausted those poor people looked; I may have changed my mind. After being great cheerleaders, we went to my best friend Heather's bridal shower. Weird that Heather had a bridal shower? Yes. A very good and exciting thing at the same time? Definitely. I am so happy for that kid. Also I like her, so I stole her from her family (that she had only been with for a few hours since she got home from DC) and made her come play with me all day. I hope the Carlquists don't hate me now. I also hope that they don't mind that I want to spend just as much time with her as they do this week. We came to my house with the intention of going boating for the afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as awesome as it was supposed to be, and my dad got called in to do a surgery that lasted way too long. So we hung around and roasted indoor s'mores and talked about growing up for a while. (it wasn't boating, but it wasn't too terrible) Eventually the weather cleared up and my dad got home. We got a couple hours of boating in before the sun went down. That was pretty great. I am telling you, it never gets old for me. Also, I had a scary realization the other day: What if when I get married and have my own life, we don't live near a body of water? Or what if my husband doesn't like boating? Or what if we can't afford our own boat? Or what if my husband isn't a good boat driver. These things will just not work for me. Boating is happiness to me, and wakeboarding is one of the few things that I consider a slight talent of mine. I can't do cool tricks, but I can get up and be pretty steady on the thing. I feel like that makes it worthy of being called a talent. Also, I don't want to brag or anything, but my dad is THE best boat driver. Besides being good at the actual driving part (which is trickier than one might think) he is so patient and encouraging and helpful when people are trying new things. And he is very selfless with the whole thing. I don't know when the last time was that that guy actually got to waterski. I feel terrible about that a lot, and wish that I was more comfortable driving the boat so that I could pull him. He is very good at acting like it doesn't bother him though. He just makes sure everyone else in the boat is happy, and that seems to make him happy. He's great. Back to the previous problem: What if my husband isn't like that? I grew up boating and it's kind of my favorite thing in the world. I can't just let it go. I could go on and on about my fear of getting married someday and everything that I've ever known changing. I won't though because A) it's not actually a legitimate concern for me right now and B) it's bedtime. Probably I don't need to lose sleep over that just yet.

P.S. I have lots of pictures of our best friend adventures today, but I'm too tired to deal with putting all of them on here right now. Probably they will be on Facebook soon enough.

Good News!

Good news! Today is Friday!

Good news! I had strawberries and cool whip for breakfast!

Good news! I got to ride the good mower at work today!

Good news! Today was my last day of work!!!!!!!!!!

Good news! I went running today, and because it was my last day of work I will be able to get back on track with my running and go every day!

Good news! My aunt went to Boston and brought me back a giant Red Sox hair bow! I don't know what I will wear it with but I sure do love it.

Good news! My mom taught me how to balance a checkbook!

Good news! I had some awesome quality time with my mom and Emily this evening!

Good news! My best friend gets home from her long internship in DC in 2 hours!

Good news! My dad gets home tomorrow and is taking me and my best friend(s) boating!

Good news! I may or may not have decided today that I want to train all year to run in the Spudman next summer!

Good news! My mom washed my sheets and gave me new fluffier pillows! (nothing better than clean sheets)

Good news! I get to go to bed now!

Raspberries, Baseballs, Creeps, and a Mustang

Well, it's been a little while. Why? Because I don't have much to say. Here is a little summary of the last few days. On Friday night, Sam came home and brought a few of her BYU friends with her. I was a little worried that it would be awkward time having these kids here that I don't know, but I had so much fun! We pretty much boated all day on Saturday and it was wonderful. Then they stayed for church, dinner, and indoor s'mores before heading back to Provo on Sunday. I felt like almost a part of the group rather than the little sister. They were so fun to have here, and pretty much made me laugh the entire weekend. On Monday morning, Lexi left to go camping with a friend and Mitch left for Camp Bradley. That left me and Mom home alone for the week. Good thing I like her so much! We have been having some good quality time. Yesterday, I got done with work really early so Mom and I took a little trip to Twin Falls. Mostly I needed to go so that I could get a bridal shower present. After I got that, we did a little Costco trip (I have always loved going to Costco with my mom...I don't know why). My mom loves me, so she bought me lots of strawberries, nectarines, grapes, and....wait for it...RASPBERRIES!!!! I couldn't be happier. After shopping, we went on a little dinner date to Applebee's and took advantage of the 2 for $20 deal (like we are a couple or something). It was delicious. I also love talking to my mom. She is amazing and I tell her absolutely everything. I feel like my mom and I have become very good at balancing our relationship between being a mother and daughter, and being best friends. We do both; and we do them both quite well I might add. When we got home, I watched The Guardian while washing and cutting all of my fruit, wrapping my present, and making a card (I know, I'm too productive). Then, Mom and I had some vanilla ice cream topped with raspberries and chocolate syrup. Tell me how it gets better than that. You can't can you? Today, work was just work EXCEPT I found a baseball and a blue golf ball while I was mowing today! I felt like because they were in my path, they were now mine. I realize to the average person these might not be very exciting prizes, but when all you ever find while mowing is garbage, sticks, and dead birds; it's easy to be thrilled. Also, when we were mowing a big rec area today, this creeper-looking guy pulled up in a mini van (don't be fooled by the mini van, he was a creep). He got out of his van and then stood there next to it and just watched me go back and forth on my mower for a very long time. I did not love that. He eventually got in his van and left; probably when he realized that if he tried to kidnap me, I would run him over with my lawn mower. Take that creep! Really though, someone please give me another reason why he would do that if he wasn't a creeper. That's what I thought. When I was on my way home from work, I got a text from my mom that said "Wanna test drive a convertible mustang tonight?" I didn't actually know why we were doing it, but I was excited. I showered super fast after work and we went in to Bonanza Motors to take a mustang for a little spin. My mom is thinking (not too terribly seriously) about getting a Mustang. She said she has always wanted one, and thinks it might be nice to have a fun little car to drive around in now that she's old and doesn't have to take all the children everywhere anymore. I told her she has my full support in this idea. I don't think it's really going to happen. It was fun to take it for a ride and look at all of the options online though. After our joy ride, we had some more raspberries and ice cream while watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I love that movie. It's a crack-up. I am going to miss days like yesterday and today when I go back to Virginia. It's nice having my mom around all the time. I guess that's part of growing up though. Nuts. Well, sorry this is such a long and boring post. I didn't mean for it to be that way. Maybe something crazy exciting will happen at work tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Yes?

Does this make your mouth water? Type in raspberries on Google images and tell me if you can even handle it...I couldn't. I will be going to the fridge as soon as I am done here.

The End of a Decade

I FINALLY got to go to Harry Potter tonight! I wish I could tell you that I don't get too excited about Harry Potter, and it's not really a big deal to me; but that would be a lie. When it comes to Harry Potter, I am definitely a nerd. For the most part, if the rest of the world is in an excited frenzy about something, I am not. Usually when things become overly popular, it turns me off to them. Harry Potter is my weakness. I just love it. I read all of the books as they came out, I've been to my fair share of HP midnight showings, and I just finished re-reading the whole series to prep myself for the last movie. That was a very enjoyable experience for me. The books are definitely better than the movies and have a lot more detail, so it was fun to go back and read them again. Probably you have all already seen it so I'm not going to go on and on about it. Mostly I am just on a Harry Potter High right now. I am pretty sad that it's all over now. Harry has been part of my life for a very long time, and now I have to be done with him. No more buying the new book the day it comes out and not being able to put it down. No more midnight shows. No more wondering if freaking Voldemort will ever die. But don't worry, I will continue to read the books and watch the movies for the rest of my life probably. And I will make my children do so as well. And they will love them.

Not Too Much

Well, I have nothing to talk about tonight. I know that I will be reprimanded if I don't blog though, so I will see what I can come up with. I went to work today. It wasn't much of a thrill. Emily found a snake and felt the need to bring me over to look at it. I hate those things soooo much. Luckily he was little and refused to move. That's a little easier to handle. I still kept my distance though. After I got home from work, I did my favorite part of the day: showering! Showers are the best when you are sweaty and covered in dirt and grass. Love them. Then I wrote a missionary letter that was 3 months overdue. Oops. While I was doing that, I listened to this band that Lexi introduced me to. They are called Boyce Avenue. I don't know if they have any original songs, but they have TONS of acoustic covers of popular songs. I really love them I have decided.

Pretend this is a Boyce Avenue video. I can't figure out how to get it on here. Look them up on Youtube. My favorite of theirs is Fast Car. I love the original song, but I love what they do with it. Sorry I'm video retarded. :S

For some reason, I am suddenly in a really good mood. I was having a nostalgic moment and looking at some of my old pictures on facebook, and it made me think about how incredible my friends and family are. I am soo lucky! Have you ever felt an almost overwhelming love for someone? Not in a romantic way, just, "Wow I love you more than I can even tell you and I just want to spend every second with you!" Okay, that sounds romantic, but that's not how I'm meaning it. Anyway, I am feeling that way right now about a lot of people. Probably if you are reading this blog, you are one of them. I love being in a good mood!

What are You Waiting For?

I have no idea why I am thinking about this tonight, but sometimes random thoughts come into your head and just feel like sticking around and being mulled over for a while. Tonight is one of those nights, so bear with me. When I graduated last year, I received several copies of the book "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss. There is a part in it that talks about "The Waiting Place." It talks about how people tend to get stuck in this place of just waiting. Waiting for something; or maybe nothing. I feel like the great Dr. Seuss had a really good point. I am definitely guilty of getting stuck in "The Waiting Place." I think we all are. People tell themselves, "After high school, my life will get started." Or they say, "When I finally have the job that I want" or "When I am married" or "When we have kids" or "When our kids grow up" or "When I can finally retire, that's when I will be happy." It really is a silly thing that we do. If we spend our whole life waiting for the great things to come, we will miss the great things that are already happening. Wishing your life away is not a good way to make the most of it. When I was at school, I would find myself counting down the days until the weekend, or counting down the days until I could see my family, or counting down the days until the semester would end. Instead, I should have been enjoying the whole journey. If all you have to look forward to is that week when your family is coming to visit, then what do you have after that week is over and you're alone again? It's like kids and Christmas. For a month or more, all they can think about is Christmas morning. Then it comes, and an hour later the presents are all unwrapped and what do you have? Another 365 day wait for the next one. It's a hard habit to break; always looking toward the end goal. I know I will still be guilty of doing it....a lot. It's good to be conscious of though. Life is a journey and it's probably better to enjoy the whole thing, rather than fill it with impatient waiting for a moment of joy, followed by more waiting.

"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

McCall :)

What a wonderful week I just had! I love McCall so much. Here is a quick summary of what happened:

Tuesday: We went to the Pancake House for breakfast. This place is crazy! The serving sizes there would probably be sufficient for a small army, not just one person. We all ordered what they call "plate-sized" pancakes. These things are HUGE! Think pizza pan size. But they are sooo delicious! I got their new pineapple pancake with coconut syrup. Best pancake ever! The syrup made it super yummy. It was like Hawaii in my mouth. I only ate about half of it though...so filling! Then we spent the rest of the day hanging out on the lake. We love to just lie on the dock and sleep. The lake was freezing so we didn't do a whole lot of swimming.

Wednesday: We rented some jet skis and took them out on the lake for a couple of hours. So much fun! I love jet skiing. It wasn't a super hot day, and the water was still freezing, (obviously) so we got pretty cold. It was a lot of fun though. After jet skis, we went back to our dock for a while, and then out to a new pizza place for dinner.

Thursday: Lexi's friend, Brooklyn, and my sister, Sam, got to McCall late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning. I woke up around 8 and went for a little run. Seriously, if you want to be a runner, McCall is the place to do it. It had rained the night before so everything was wet and smelled wonderful. It's such a gorgeous place. Also, it was fun because there's lots of other people out running around and everyone is super friendly like we've known each other for years. I love that. The rest of the family didn't get up and going until around noon. Lazies! We spent the rest of the day being lazy on the dock mostly. That night we went for a little drive around the lake and up to Sharlie's Point; a little lookout place where you can mostly see the whole lake.

Friday: Hike day! My mom found this place in a book about hikes to do in McCall, and decided that that was the one we would do. It was supposed to be an easy hike, one mile each way, and lead us to a lake. I don't think any of that was true. The "trail" was a stream half the time and a muddy mess the other half. It was uphill all the way, and I'm fairly certain it was more than a mile. We hiked for a while and eventually the trail disappeared and there was no lake in sight, just more mountain to climb. So, we turned around and went back to the car. While we were hiking, Mitch caught a little baby frog. For some reason I got really excited about it. I don't really do little creepy crawly animals like frogs, snakes, lizards, etc. They creep me out. But, I fell in love with this frog. I even held him in my hands! That was a crazy experience for me. He was super jumpy, and every time he jumped, so did I. Eventually, I decided that I had traumatized him enough and I put him back. We found a few more frogs after that. I loved them too. Then we found a giant, ugly toad. I hated him. He was DISGUSTING! I just like babies. Okay, that story was probably not near as exciting to you as it was to me. Sorry. After our hike we did more of the same, eating and chilling on the dock. Before we went out to dinner, Lexi, Brooklyn, Mitch, and I decided to go check out the haunted house. Up the hill from our cabin is this abandoned hotel that was built in 1914. I had always heard from my family members that it was haunted...or just creepy and old and abandoned...but I had never seen it for myself. Unfortunately, we didn't get very close to it because there were about ten "No Trespassing" signs all over in its front yard. And, there was a little trailer house in the front corner of it with a car parked in it. We are all goody-goodies and decided that it probably wouldn't be our best idea to test if those people really meant business with their signs. So we looked at it from afar. It really is old and creepy looking though. I wish we could have gotten closer. After this little adventure, we went to an ice-skating show. We thought it was a professional show, but it turned out to be a recital-type-thing for the local skating classes with a professional guest couple. It was kind of fun to watch, but after we had been there for an hour, they told us that they were having a 20 minute intermission. We decided it wasn't thrilling enough to wait 20 minutes for it to start again, so we went and got dinner instead.

Saturday: We went to the pancake house again for breakfast. Yum Yum! Then we went kayaking. There is this place at the north end of the lake that rents out kayaks and canoes that you can take down the river. That is another one of our McCall traditions. So, of course, we did that. Oh, cool story! There is this cabin down the road from us, and every time that we drove past it this week we were sure that we saw a bobcat on a leash chilling out in the driveway. We were curious about it so we took a little stroll down the road. Sure enough, there was a bobcat sitting there in the driveway. We asked the guy if we could take a picture and he was just great with that. Then he let us pet him and even picked him up and put him in Lexi's arms! She freaked out a little. He was kind of growling at her...or purring? The guy said that he knows this lady who raises bobcats for pets and that's where he got him. Crazy huh? And he takes him to preschools and lets him sleep in his bed and stuff. He's just a big kitty (that could tear him to pieces if he wanted to). So yes, that was super exciting for us.Then we wandered around downtown for a little bit and ordered some Mexican food for dinner. The Mexican restaurant is called Si Bueno. I love that. Yes Good. Ha! Anyway, after dinner we watched Monsters Inc. on ABC Family while Brooklyn did our nails. This girl is incredible painting nails. So we all took advantage of her talent. My nails look wonderful!!

Sunday: We packed up and left. I hate that part. Now I am home, which is nice but I miss McCall. I would be happier to be back if I didn't have to go back to work in the morning. It's supposed to be 94 degrees! Mowing lawns all day is definitely not what you should do with those kinds of temperatures. It's going to be miserable. Good thing I have my friends. I sure did miss them this week. Wow, that was more than a brief summary. Oh well.

P.S. I have pictures but they will probably be going on facebook only. That simplifies life for me a little bit.

Vacation Time!

Good news! Today starts what can probably be considered the best week of the summer. It's McCall vacation week! In just a couple of hours my family and I will be headed to our family cabin in the beautiful town of McCall, Idaho. My mom's grandparents bought this cute little cabin in McCall so that they and their children could have a nice little getaway in the summer. My grandpa spent a lot of time at the cabin when he was young, and when he had his own children, he took them to the cabin every summer. My mom says that she can't remember a summer that she didn't go to the cabin in McCall with her family. Now, three generations later, my siblings and I have never had a summer without the family trip to McCall. It is probably the biggest tradition in my family. There are also lots of little traditions within the tradition of going to McCall. Every time we go to McCall we lay on the dock, build sandcastles, attempt to catch minnows, go hiking, go for drives around the lake, eat breakfast at The Pancake House (best place ever!!), go kayaking/canoeing, eat dinner at Toll Station or Lardo's, drive to Sharley's Point to watch the sunset, take pictures of the view from Sharley's Point, and spend the evenings watching movies and eating ice cream. Going to the cabin isn't what I would call a luxurious getaway. As I said, it's been around for a while. Lots of people in McCall have cabins and they are constantly renovating and making them nicer and more high class. Not the Smith cabin. It's little and old. The hot water doesn't last long and you can't drink the tap water. We have a TV but it's pretty fuzzy and doesn't have too many channels. It smells the same as it probably did when my great-grandparents bought it, and there is no wi-fi to speak of. I think that all of these things make me love the cabin even more. It's like taking a step back to a simpler time where all that really mattered is the people that you were with. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that we abandon our cell phones, lap tops, digital cameras, DVDs, and ipods. We don't. I do feel like they become less important when we are there though. No one has places to go or things that they need to do. We are just there. Together. And for a week, that's all that matters. Just being with the people that we love. My great-grandparents and my grandpa have now passed away, but being at the cabin that they spent so much time at helps me feel like they are a part of the family vacation every year. The cabin is full of pictures, books, certificates, newspapers, paintings, toys, and even clothes that used to be theirs. I never got the chance to really get to know those relatives while they were living, but going to the cabin helps me to feel like I know them on a very personal level. I have come to really appreciate all of the old things in the cabin, and I can't get enough of that old, musty, woodsy smell. The Smith family cabin in McCall is really heaven on earth for me. (I also love it because I can sleep in and I don't have to mow a single lawn) I am so excited for this week!

P.S. Remember how there's no wi-fi? I will get back to you in a week. :)

View from Sharley's Point

Mom and Sam in Great Grandma and Grandpa's hats

Finally Sunday

I love Sundays. I've never not liked them, but within the last year I have decided that I really love them. It is pretty wonderful that after a long, stressful week, there is a day to look forward to that we are commanded to rest on. This sounds silly, but I feel like that is an expression of how much our Heavenly Father knows and loves us. He knew life would get hard and crazy and hectic, so He gave us a day to take a breath. Not only do we get a day off to rest and rejuvenate but, if we want it, we also have the opportunity to be refreshed and rejuvenated spiritually. Weeks of work or school tend to wear me down, but going to church on Sunday helps me to gain some perspective. It helps me to remember what the purpose behind the hard and hectic days is. If I do my Sundays right, I feel ready to start fresh and conquer the world in the coming week: both physically and spiritually. Another thing that I love about Sundays is the people. I have really come to appreciate friendly people since living on the east coast. People in Virginia/DC are a lot different than people in Idaho. I always thought it was normal to smile at people when you walk past, or for a cashier to say things like "Thanks, have a nice day." Apparently this is not a universal thing. I don't take that friendliness for granted anymore. I really appreciate it. The church is definitely a good place for finding those kind of people. It is incredible how much love I feel when I go to church. I feel like I could ask anyone in that building for help with anything, and they wouldn't hesitate to give it. The first few weeks I was home for the summer, I can't tell you how many hugs I got, or how many times I answered the same questions about school in Virginia and what my plans were. For some people, that might be annoying. For me, it was wonderful because I felt like every one of those people really cared about me and how I was doing. There is no better feeling than knowing that there's people who love and care about you. . Of course, people aren't perfect. I have heard countless stories of people who have bad feelings toward the church because of the people in it. There are plenty of members of the church who are hypocritical or rude or condescending, but tell me a place where you can't find people like that. Sometimes you have to be able to look past the few weeds so that you can enjoy the rest of the flower garden. Hmm good metaphor Cas ;) And it's true for so many aspects of our lives. If you are always picking out the bad, you will never be able to see that the good almost always outweighs it. It's always been a goal of mine to see the positive. I fail miserably at it a lot of the time, but I feel like it's a good goal anyway. And, when all else fails, I will keep holding out for my Sundays where there are sure to be flowers.

Puzzles and Angry Birds

Well, yesterday was a much better day. Don't you love when the sun really does come out tomorrow? We had a shorter day at work, which was super nice after the week we had. We got 42 hours this week and we didn't even work on Monday. Ridiculous? I think yes. Also, we brought the other lawn mowing guy with us, so Emily, Cheri, and I ended up having to ride in the big truck together. It was a little cramped, and they made me crazy pretty much the whole drive to American Falls and back, but it was so much fun. Laughter is the best medicine and I did a TON of that yesterday. Those girls kill me. Because it was a short day, I decided to go running after work. My running shoes missed me so much this last week. It felt good to put them back on. I didn't do a super hardcore run, and it was definitely harder than two weeks ago when I was on top of my game. I pushed myself through it and ended up doing pretty well though. That felt really good. I love endorphins. I promise you they are real, and it's amazing what they can do for the mood. Maybe that's why I have started to almost enjoy running; I just always feel so good when I'm done. After running, I showered and actually did my hair and make-up. Once again, I know this sounds silly, but doing that made me so happy. I haven't been remotely cute all week and it felt good to feel like I didn't look disgusting. The reason I got ready after work yesterday is because my best friend, Andrew, told me that we were partying at my house at 8. (Andrew and I have this system worked out that if he plans the "party", we can do it at my house. The planning part isn't so hard anymore since there's not actually anyone around to invite. Now all he has to do is give me a day and a time.) It ended up just being me, Emily, Cheri, and Andrew....my only friends in Burley right now. Lexi was also having a party, so there were a bunch of 16-year-olds at my house. It was kind of interesting to compare our parties to each other. I realized last night that when you get older, and have known each other for as long as we have, and are as close as we are, you really don't have to have any kind of formal plan when you get together. We are pretty content to just sit and talk to each other, or sing Aaron Carter while some play Angry Birds, or play the piano, or tune a guitar, or build a ridiculous puzzle, or read the newspaper. If I had been planning a party, I wouldn't have thought that any of those things sounded like a fun idea, and yet we had a great time. (well, I did...I don't know about the rest of them) It's just fun to be in the company of people you love and can completely be yourself around. We don't feel like we have to impress each other, and we definitely don't filter anything that we say to one another. We are all just as real as it gets, which is my favorite way to be. We started watching Harry Potter at about 12:30, (the joys of being college kids without curfews) and not one of us made it through more than thirty minutes of it. Don't worry, Andrew left when we realized that this little party was going to turn into a spend-the-night. I woke up this morning still in my jeans, and with a sore neck from sleeping on the couch, but happy to see my friends. I can't imagine what life would be like without friends. Whether they are the ones that I have to put up with all day at work, or the ones that I wish I could see more often; they make life worth living.

I LOVE MY FRIENDS!

Who Knows?

You know those days when you have so many emotions that it feels like there is no way to deal with them but to cry? Okay, if you're not a girl you probably don't have those days. Okay, maybe no one has those days. But I do. And today is one of them. I don't make any sense to myself right now. This probably means that this blog post will make no sense to anyone else. Probably you don't need to bother reading it. I just have nothing else to say, so I am going let out all of my silly emotions on this computer. So, here it is.

Today I am feeling:

Exhausted from work

Frustrated with work

Tired from lack of sleep due to work

Excited about the money that I am making from working

Stressed because I promised myself that I would work on learning Spanish all summer so that I could handle Spanish 3 in the fall; but the only Spanish I have spoken all summer is when I say "un poco" instead of "a little."

Frustrated that I haven't accomplished a single thing that I wanted to this summer

Thrilled about our family vacation to McCall next week

Resentful to people who get to play and have fun all day while I am at work for 10-12 hours in the blazing sun

Tired of feeling like the only person who is not in love these days

Frustrated that other people being in love brings me so many mixed emotions

Stressed and frustrated about the fact that I haven't gone running for over a week now, and afraid that I am going to lose all of the progress that I had made

Annoyed that I have zero social life and that my friends are spread out all over the country/world...except for the couple that are here...whom I love having here

Afraid of losing people that I love

Sick of feeling like I have a zillion things to do but never having the motivation to do any of them

And tonight, just plain grumpy for no apparent reason.

Well, there you go. I told you not to read it. There are plenty more but sometimes it's too hard to even figure out what it is exactly that's making me feel the way I do. I realize that these are all silly little things. I really have zero problems compared to so many other people. However, sometimes you just need to whine a teeny bit. Tonight is one of those nights. Hopefully my week of the best vacation ever will help me chill and clear my head a little bit. Sorry to disappoint with this rambly and whiny post. I will do better next time.

I Love Holidays???

Well, if we are being honest, today was less than wonderful. Here is a new fact that I learned about the real world. Getting the day off from work for a holiday doesn't actually mean that you get out of doing any work; it just means that you have to work twice as hard the next day to make up for your "day off." Maybe this isn't news to anyone, but I had never really thought of that before. Kind of that kills the excitement of getting a day off. So, that is what today consisted of. Let me tell you, having to work twice as hard to get two days worth of work done in one day is not enjoyable. It's even less enjoyable when that work is mowing lawns in the 90+ degree weather. I was so ridiculously hot, sweaty, dirty, thirsty, and completely exhausted. Towards the end of the day, I must admit, I may have literally yelled at my mower, the weed-eater, and a couple pine trees. Luckily, Emily and I were able to keep each other going. We can usually make each other smile even if our job is, well, less than wonderful. Once again, the joys of working with friends. Otherwise, I may have yelled at a few more things today, and the yelling might have been a little more profane. Fortunately, today was also paycheck day. It was a pretty good paycheck too. That helps. I can't say I'm excited to get up at 6 tomorrow to do more of the same. And it's supposed to be hotter. Ugh. Sometimes it's not fun living in the real world.

Happy Independence Day!

I LOVE the Fourth of July!! I had so much fun today. I didn't have to work which was pretty much the best thing. This morning I went to the Rupert parade with my mom. It's not a super thrilling parade, but it's tradition and the Fourth wouldn't be the same without it. The rest of the day was spent on the river, boating with the family, the extended family, and some of the best friends. So much fun! Remember how I love boating? Yeah, it was a happy time. Plus today was suuuper hot and the water wasn't quite as cold as last time, so it was a much better experience. I think boating on the Fourth of July is my favorite tradition. Our other Fourth tradition is driving the boat down to where they set the fireworks off and watching them from on the river. It's really the perfect view. Ah I just love it so much! I'm pretty sure that no matter how old I get, and no matter where life takes me, I will always have to come to my Snake River on the Fourth of July to keep up these traditions. I love them.

Besides all of the wonderful traditions, there is another reason that I love this holiday: I love this country! I wish that I could write an eloquent paragraph that would adequately describe how much I love this country and how grateful I am to live here, but I really can't put into words how I feel about America. I have had a lot of experiences in my life that have combined to give me such a huge sense of patriotism. The Fourth of July always makes that flame burn even brighter. I realize that our country is not perfect. Our government isn't perfect. Our economy isn't perfect. Our justice system isn't perfect. Our citizens aren't perfect. Our school system isn't perfect. Our health care system isn't perfect. But, I think that if you compare this country to so many others around the world, you will realize that while we aren't perfect, we are pretty darn close. I wish that, once in a while, people would stop looking for all of the faults and realize that we really have very little to complain about. I realize that there are a lot of people in America who don't have the wonderful life that I do. There are plenty of poor and homeless and hungry, but I would much rather be impoverished in America than in any other country. We have it sooo good here, and there are sooo many people that we owe for that. Our founding fathers astound me. I plan to someday shake each one of their hands and thank them, in the best way that I know how, for giving me this incredible place to live. I wish that I could personally thank every person that has given their life, or sacrificed something to make this country what it is. I am so grateful. I think that this is why I love D.C. so much. It's not because I'm a political person. At all. It's because that is the heart of this great country. That's where it has all happened. It may not have all started there, but it has definitely played a huge role in building this country. I also love it for all the monuments and memorials. They increase my gratitude so much and maybe, in a way, going to those places helps me express how thankful I am. I could go on and on about how much I love this country and the people who were brave enough to make it what it is. Unfortunately, I really have to go to bed. Just know, I LOVE America!

I'm proud to be an American

Where at least I know I'm free

And I won't forget the men who died

Who gave that right to me

And I'll proudly stand up

Next to you and defend her still today

'Cause there ain't no doubt, I love this land

God bless the USA!!

Despite the bad grammar, I feel like this song was written for me....and every other patriotic song.

"I Had the Best Day With You Today"

Well, I just got back from a wonderful weekend in Provo with my sister, Sam. She has been wanting me to come hang out with her down there for a while, so this weekend I finally did. I got there Friday night, and we stayed up late watching Harry Potter and eating ice cream. I was absolutely exhausted from working all week and could not wait for Saturday when I could finally sleep in. That didn't happen. As part of Provo's "Freedom Festival" this weekend, there were hot air balloons that took off at 6:30 on Saturday morning. I was up at 6 so that we could get in on that action. It was actually really cool. We walked down to this huge grassy field where there were tons of people and tons of hot air balloons getting ready to fly. I had never seen one up close before, and we were completely surrounded by them. They are HUGE! It was cool to watch them being blown up and eventually taking off. After the balloons, Sam took me to Kneader's for THE best french toast I have ever had. Seriously, it was sooo good! After breakfast, we went back to her apartment and got ready for the day, and then went to the Freedom Festival fair-type-thing. There were tons of booths set up with face painting, food, clothes, airbrush tattoos, jewelry, and tons of the cutest purses I have ever seen. I drooled over the jewelry and purses for a while, but didn't end up buying anything. After that, we went back to the apartment for a minute and made some muddy-buddies, and then headed to a barbecue that some of Sam's friends had invited her to. That was a little awkward because there were lots of people there that neither of us knew, but it was still fun. The muddy-buddies were a huge hit. Lots of the people we didn't know came up and talked to us when they found out that we were the talented chefs behind those little guys. After the barbecue, we went back to the apartment (which, by the way, didn't have working air conditioning and, with the 95 degree temperature, it was a sauna!) to just chill for a little bit. At 7:00 we headed to Pizza Club. Yes, you read that right, Pizza Club. Some guys that Sam is friends with decided to start this little group that goes out for pizza once every two weeks. They go to a different pizza place every time, and after they eat, they all take a survey to rate the place. It's kind of silly, but I thought it was genius. There was about 20 people at Pizza Club that night, and we ate at the California Pizza Kitchen. Sam and I shared a margherita pizza and made awkward small-talk with the guy across the table from us. The group of people that was there was pretty entertaining. Everyone was super friendly, and I didn't feel like the outsider-little-sister. They didn't all know each other, so I was just another member of Pizza Club. (except not a member because girls aren't allowed to officially be members but they can come and eat pizza or something silly like that. These boys were just making rules up as they went.) Regardless of whether I can be a member or not, I am definitely planning on continuing to attend Pizza Club. I will drive to Provo every-other Saturday to have pizza. It was pretty fun. After pizza, Sam and I found a little spot and watched the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire. Those were pretty impressive. Then we had some ice cream and watched Brian Regan until neither of us could keep our eyes open anymore. I slept quite well on her surprisingly comfy couch. This morning we got up and went to church and a "break the fast" after church. Then we hung out in her apartment until I eventually came home. I really had so much fun this weekend. I would love to go down there and stay longer, but I have this silly thing called a job. Ugh. Also, I can see why people like BYU so much. It really is a great place. Everyone that I met was so friendly and so genuine. There are so many things going on all the time, there's always something to do. Also, I think it would be fun to live in a city like Provo where you have a zillion options for food and shopping and whatever else, and they are all right there within walking distance. That made me jealous. Plus, they have a Pizza Club. What more could you want? Don't worry, (or get your hopes up as the case may be) I am not planning on transferring schools. There would be a lot of great things about going to BYU, but I made my choice and I am sticking to it. I love SVU and I wouldn't trade the experience that I've had, or am going to have, there. But, I'm sure BYU would have been wonderful too. I plan on spending some more weekends there with my sister....I think she would be okay with that.

P.S.

I thought that as long as I was talking about my friends, I would also mention that I had a nice little chat with my best friend Heather today. She's in DC. I miss her terribly. I like when we have telephone dates. Especially when it feels like it has been forever. She tends to make me smile.

Love you Heath!

See What I Did There?

So, for the last two days, Emily has been in Yellowstone. Mowing has had to continue on without her. It was rough. But not really, we are pretty speedy. Also, Cheri's parents were out of town and since she's just a child who can't stay home alone, we had a couple of spend-the-nights. That was pretty great. I absolutely love when I'm laughing so hard that I can't even talk. We did a little bit of that. We also found a great way to help us not miss Emily while she is gone: making fun of her. Good thing she knows that this is how we show our love in this relationship. Here are some of my favorite Emily catch phrases from work that helped me smile today while she was gone.

"Whoa! Who's driving this thing?!"

"Neeley anyone?"

"Oh I don't like you."

"I lost my hands in the Cold War."

"Mile zero!"

"Did you know that if you are driving 75 mph, it will take you 48 seconds to go one mile?"

"Pocatello anyone?"

"We could have had eachooooooother!"

"Sing it for the deaf, sing it for the blind!"

"See what I did there?"

"I see what you did there."

"Oh dearsies"

"Tan tan tan om om om nom nom nom"

"Twinsies"

"Jinxers"

"Totes truesies"

Ha I just love my friends mostly.