Boston/Styx

Saturday night we went to the Boston/Styx concert. It was so much fun!!!! I think this was my first rock concert. All the other concerts I have been to were country artists. Brady and I went with my dad, his friend Russ and his date, my dad's friend/my mom's cousins Ron and Terry, Michael and his girlfriend, Cortney and her boyfriend, Michelle and her boyfriend, and Zac. We were a pretty big group. We sat in my favorite seats for UNLV basketball games. It was even the same section! We were on the balcony in section 216. We were right in front of the stage just up and back and it was perfect. Plus the tickets were only $25. Thanks Dad for sponsoring this outting. :) I did not know Styx very well, but they were awesome performers. I even liked their segment better than Boston, which is saying a lot because I LOVE Boston! It was funny at the beginning of just about all their songs I would turn to my sister Cortney and say, "Oh, I think I know this one." A few minutes into the song sadly I realized to myself that no I didn't know "this one." This happened until they sang the words, "Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me..." I then turned to Cortney and shouted, "Ah, I know this one for real!" I was excited that I new and could sing along to at least one of their songs. The Boston portion was pretty good. It was amazing when they would sing one of their big hits, but for like an hour they played instrumentals and songs that I had never heard of. Lots of people left, but we stuck it out. This was good because their encore was awesome! The guy who plays the key board as well as the guitar is spectacular! He is soooo good! We had a blast!

Grandma T's

This weekend was pretty full and fun for us. We started it off by going to visit Grandma T since she is going back up to Idaho to be with my aunt tomorrow morning. She will be gone the rest of the summer so we wanted to go hang out with her. We had an added treat because my cousins Sydney and Isabel were there. We had fun playing the Wii and Grandma's new game Wii Fit, which is really fun and pretty difficult. It would be a good, fun workout if we weren't messing around so much (some of it was still pretty hard). The balance games are the best! We also had a traditional weenie roast. They have gotten a bit more sophisticated since I was young. We have a formal fire pit and nice metal roasting sticks. Back in the day we would build a fire where ever and then sharpen actual sticks from a bush/tree to use as roasters. During these hot dog roasts is where I learned how to make a fire. I remember I was so impressed that my grandpa could lite a match by running it down his pant leg. I still think it is pretty cool! I learned a lot from him. :) Grandma also took us to see the new Disney movie Walle out at the little Overton theatre. I love that theatre, but the movie was pretty boring so be warned. The first half of the movie there is no speaking just robot noises that you may or may not be able to decipher. My cousins didn't even like it that much.We still had fun though and of course we took a trip to the ice cream store, yummy! Overton now has a shaved ice stand too. I am surprised that it took this long for someone to start one up. They have some pretty good flavors and who doesn't like shaved ice? I am sure they will do well. They were at least busy while we were there. We always gets lots of treats when we go to Grandma's. We are going to miss her this summer!

Hair Stylings by Yours Turely

Brady wanted a hair cut and reluctantly asked me to do it because he didn't have anybody else who was able to. So here is the story of my first full attempt to cut his hair.

Before picture with all that thick beautiful hair. I was so sad to see it go. I love his hair longer. It looks better and I like to play with it. (nice face! I think he was trying to look annoyed, mission accomplished.)
Here I am at work. Look at the assurance and faith on his face. What a husband!
In the middle he got restless and faithless and had to have a go at it himself and cut the side way short. I had to go in and clean up. I guess he wanted it shorter than I was cutting, but I wasn't done. He just didn't have any faith in me. :) (I don't really blame him since I have never cut someone's hair all by myself before)
This is the final product. I was able to even everything out and I think it turned out pretty well. I am a natural! I still like the long hair better. I think he kind of looks like he just got home from boot camp with this hair cute. At least one good thing did come out of this experiment, he now has come to my way of thinking, he likes his hair better longer too. Ah, sweet victory! :)

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad's birthday was this past Saturday and we had a little party for him. He turned 48! I got him an exercise armband ipod holder. He has been riding his bike to work lately to save on gas and get some exercise in so I thought that would be useful. We had a fun time visiting, eating, and of course watching EURO 2008 quarter final between Russia and Czech Republic. It was a great game! I love my dad! He is such a great example to me and I just wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday on my blog. :) (even though I am sure he will never see it)
I think I look a lot like my dad in this pic and yes that is Zac with the super long hair. :) Thanks mom the photographer!

Looking Back ...

20 years ago...
1. I moved onto Shagbark Ln
2. My little sister Michelle was born making us a family of 3kids
3. I started preschool with Carolee Anderson
4. I took dance classes in my garage with all my friends from Susan Hadfield, good times :)
5. I played outside everyday and looked like a raggedy orphan

10 years ago...
1. I started high school
2. I entered the interesting, fun world of cheerleading. This was me being different cuz all my friends played volleyball, but I got to make some new friends. I love it!
3. I walked to Becky's house for lunch everyday with Eryn, Sara, Jenn and of course Becky.
4. I stayed up all night with Sara and a few others to hang out with some boys at girls camp. We were REBELS!
5. I wanted to be a physical therapist, but everybody kept telling me I was too small.

5 years ago...
1. I was working at Walgreens as a pharmacy technician
2. I was going to UNLV and had already changed my major
3. I sent a bunch of friends out on missions and Jenn got married so lonely times for me
4. I got involved with LDSSA and made some of the best friends
5. I went on the best summer trip ever with Kara, Brad, and Shilo (well this was 4 years ago). We watched the Olympics and all us girls fell in love with Micheal Phelps. :) We had a blast!

3 years ago...
1. I was engaged :(
2. I was unengaged :)
3. I went walking every night with friends. We had so much fun. There were times we would have a bunch of us, but I think I liked it the best when it was just us girls. :)
4. We would have a game night almost every Sunday when a bunch of us would get together and play different board games etc. It was great!
5. I changed my major to Human Services Counseling, which I decided would be the last major change even if I didn't like it. :)
6. I met Brady! :)
7. I Went on the Spring Break '06 trip. We went to Yosemite and San Francisco. Best spring break trip ever!! I made some lasting relationships there.
8. Becky and I went on a Mexican Riviera cruise. We had so much fun!

1 year ago...
1. I married Brady!
2. I went on spring Break '07. It was a cruise, which was fun, but not quite as good as spring Break '06.
3. I started working at CatalystRx
4. I bought a condo in the southwest. I love it over here!

So far this year...
1. I graduated with my bachelors degree
2. I went on Spring Break '08 trip to Hawaii. Talk about awesome!
3. I started working for the Rape Crisis Center
4. I started blogging
5. My brother came home from his mission

Yesterday...
1. I folded clothes
2. I slept in :)
3. I looked for a job for a few hours
4. I watched 'The Devil Wears Prada'
5. I dried my apricots, which sadly some burned. I guess I left them in a little too long
6. I cleaned my shower, thoroughly
7. I watched for moral support as Brady submitted his application for dental school Fall '09

Today ...
1. I went to a career presentation to become a financial planner/advisor. I'm exploring all my career options
2. I ate lunch
3. I did some blogging
4. I looked for some jobs and wrote some emails

Tomorrow...
1. I will hang out with my brother-in-law Koby and Donny and Brady
2. I will hopefully do something fun
3. I will look for a job, a daily activity for me right now :)
4. I want to go swimming, and get some exercise. My days are pretty open at the moment

In the next year...
1. I will hopefully be moving away from Las Vegas for a little while
2. I will maybe have a baby, only time will tell
3. I will be working
4. I will be loving my life!!!

This was fun! Tag Kara, Melissa, Shilo, Kendal, Linda, whoever wants to :)

To the H.S. Graduates

Congratulations to 3 of my favorite high school seniors. My little sister Cortney and her friends Kris and Amy all graduated this week. They are some of the best friends. They are so close it kind of reminds me of Sex in the City. I have never gotten into that show, but the other night I was up and just flipping through the channels and a re-run was on so I watched it to see what all the hype was about. I wasn't too crazy about the show, but I LOVE the bond that they have. Cortney and her friends have the same type of bond. Cortney says, "We have been through a lot through the years, but it has only brought us closer. We are like sisters and our high school motto has helped us stay that way. 'Boys are Icky!' Juicy, juicy mangos."

Congrats to all those who graduated! Life only gets better after high school! :)

CONGRATS!!!

I wanted to Congratulate all those friends who married 06-07-08. I am so happy for all of you and wish you the very best eternity!

Congratulations

Matt & Laura

and

Jessica & Beau

Perspectives

This past weekend I had some friends get married and so I attended two receptions. One of these parties was at the chapel next door to the temple. Some of us stayed to help clean the building a bit so when we headed out to leave there wasn't any cars in the parking lot and there was two very beautiful, very different views. I am one that thinks Las Vegas is a beautiful city. I love looking at all the twinkling lights and buildings. This was one of my views and it made me smile. Vegas is "home" for me and I have come to love it! My other view is actually the first one I saw as I left the building and the more awe-inspiring. The temple was still lighted and glowing with a sacred and reassuring luminescence. "I love to see the temple!" It calms my soul and makes me happy. I think that this contrast is one of the reasons I have loved growing up here. I especially like to be up on Sunrise Mountain where I can see both worlds in their very different splendor. It makes me think! :) It is fun to see life from different perspectives. These are just some thoughts I had Saturday and wanted to write them down. Life is great and I am so blessed!

Gilcrease Orchard

This past Wednesday I was able to take my first trip to the Gilcrease Orchard. I have always wanted to go ever since my little sister went there on a field trip in elementary school (she just graduated high school so you can see how long it has been). This is an orchard in Las Vegas where you can go and pick your own produce and pay much less for them. I went with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and 2 of my nieces. I love hanging with my in-laws! We had such a great time hunting for some good apricots (and zucchini, yuck!) that had not been eaten by birds. We found a section that was loaded and so we loaded up. I have decided that I love picking fruit, and that bringing kids makes it even more fun. They loved to see the plants and select the fruit they wanted to take home. They are getting so big. I had to get up super early though, which I am no longer used to, but it was well worth it. The weather was beautiful. It was overcast so not too hot and the wind had not picked up yet so it was nice. We also got some fresh 100% apple juice. It is really yummy. I also got more apricots than we can eat so I can try my hand at drying them. My grandma would always dry apricots from their tree and it was one of my favorite treats, so I am going to try it. It seems pretty easy so it will be sad if I mess it up. :) I'll let you all know how they turn out. Thanks Ronda for sponsoring my fruit drying attempt! If they are good I'll bring you some. Teja is getting pretty good at photography! She took the pictures of me and of Brandi and Roc all by herself. :) Kids today are way more technologically savvy.

Girls Lunch

Yesterday I had the quarterly birthday-get-together that my high school friends and I do for each person's birthday. This one was for Jenn who turned the big 24 this past Wednesday. We went to Becky's house and just hung out and ate some pizza. This one was the weirdest one for me because all 4 children were there. Yes, out of 5 of us there is now 4 kids. 3 boys and 1 lone girl (she is the belle of the ball). They are all so adorable, but it is crazy to think that my friends are having a bunch of babies. Man we grew up fast! It is fun to watch the kids play and try to figure each other out. The kiddies have not met before because we have some fairly new arrivals. Sara had her sweet little girl in January and Eryn had her cute big son in May. Becky and I are the only one's holding out, but it is fun to see all the cute mommies and play with the kids and hand them back when they get cranky or poopy. :) One day I will join the ranks of motherhood, and I will love it! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

(Sorry, no pictures, I forgot)

Weekend Fun

Last weekend one of Brady's mission companions, Keith came into town with his girlfriend and we got the chance to hang out with them a little while they were here. Brady and Keith crack me up when they are together. We had some good laughs. We went to the buffet @ TI which I have never been to before, and it was really good. I was surprised because I am not a huge buffet fan. We also visited the Bellagio gardens and went to the Stratosphere to ride the Big Shot. Tara had never been before so it was fun to see her experience that. I actually had a huge migraine and had been dizzy for a few days so I didn't ride this time, but I got to hear them screaming and see the picture. It was so awesome! It's funny, we only go to the Strip when people visit. I guess living in Vegas kind of diminishes the appeal of Las Vegas Blvd. We had a great time though. It was great to see them. Brady kept trying to get them to do the truly Vegas thing and get married in one of the chapels on the Strip. :) Luckily they were smart and didn't, but I think for a minute he had them convinced. ;)

To Grandmother's house we go

Last week Brady and I headed out to my grandma's house because we had not seen her for a very long time. She was sick also so we wanted to go visit. We had such a good time with my favorite lady. It was a short visit, but we went to eat a yummy dinner at the Inside Scoop then we went to the little Overton theater to watch Prince Caspian. We really enjoyed that one. Also my grandma bought a Wee. Brady set it up for her and all three of us broke it in. I must say that is actually a pretty fun game system. At this point the Wee is my children's only hope for video games in the house since I am against all the other systems and wont allow them in my home. The next day we headed back to the Inside Scoop to get some ice cream. I love that little shop! So many wonderful memories there! :) I love going to Grandma's house and am sad that that was the end of our trip. Next time we will hopefully be able to spend some more time out there before she heads back up to Idaho. We LOVE Grandma Turner!!!!