BRAINS!! (moan.....)

It was the coolest thing ever! I got to dissect a sheep's brain in Medical Anatomy and Physiology class!! Although that may not sound as fun to you as it does to me but I quite enjoyed it hahahaha. Maybe I'll get my lab partner to send me some pictures that we took. Honestly, I thought it was pretty small myself. I worked in a barn with 2 sheep and they have pretty large heads..but I'm not going to complain. 


I really wish I was brave enough to take pictures but I was not willing to risk getting brain all over my phone, so sorry :)

I never posted Thanksgiving!!

Whoops! Thanksgiving this year was one of the best days ever! It was so fun filled you didn't have time to get bored. One of the things that made it so great was having Kelly here. :) We had the family over for lunch at our place and everybody came for that. Taylor and Alex were just giddy to make the biggest leaf pile ever, so we did! It was seriously huge!! Many thanks to Matt. But of course the best part of all was jumping in it!! Even Grandpa joined in on the fun! After we were all covered head to toe in leafs we chilled, talked then went to the park. Dolly joined us for that one(much to her pleasure) We were probably at the park for a good hour at least. But how can you leave when there is hills to roll down, trees to climb, slides to slide etc?? We talked and laughed all the nice stuff until it was time to FEAST!! That was at Gramma's house of course. I must say it was delightful! yummm.....
p.s. I would love to post pictures, but they are all on facebook. Plus I cannot find them on the computer..

CHRISTmas!

Christmas over at the Parry's was pretty much the great typical Christmas everyone knows and loves. we had the famous Christmas Eve party at gramma's house and everyone came. The next day we went to sacrament meeting(It fell on a Sunday how perfect?!) then CHILLED!! It felt so nice! Brian and Tia were over all day long, we watched a movie like we do every year and such. We got to visit Gramma, Karen, Don, and Donny as well. We finished off the day at Gramma Ruth's house again for dinner. That night I slept over with 2 of my best friends :)
This year, I made all of my presents to give out which was equally fun as it was frustrating. LOL Mom's sewing machine and I are not on the best of terms at the moment but we are getting there. I am so grateful to have another Christmas filled with family, friends, and memories. I can't think of a better way to celebrate my savior's birthday better than to do one of the things that he did best, serve others.
Here are some snipits of the new memories:

LOL you can't see it well but Elle was being soo hilarious!

Taylor, Alex, Elle, and Corinne came over and helped us decorate our tree

opening presents!

Taylor-man :)

Tia and her boyfriend Oz ;)

I really love this picture of Dad :)

Alex with the loot!

Hanna(aka Missy) being rather social

Elle in front of the tree

Mom and Dad :) awww

yay for happiness! Brian, Richelle, and Gramma

now what kid doesn't want to be a jedi?!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!

I don't wanna grow up anymore!!

Winter break is slowly fading! 5 more days left then it is back to school :/ well I am trying to think positive and remember that 2nd semester is almost here which means.....(drum roll)........TECH CENTER!!!!! Oh my goodness I have so many mixed emotions about it. I feel ecstatic, terrified, unprepared, hopeful, nervous ...bahh! I have this tendency to get myself worked up and terrified for things pretty easily mostly when it comes to the future. Well, on a side note, Christmas was great I got to spend it with family which was amazing. So far, break has been pretty relaxing. I spend most of my time at home or hanging out at Courtney's. I think I needed some relax time before I jump back into the swing of growing up. You know, I spent so much time wanting to grow up and thinking about everything that I would do when I was there and then I realized, I'm almost here! I am practically on the doorstep. And here I stand yelling, "wait! let me go back for a while!!". I joke with my dad saying how now I have to start a life...haha. I need a car, be responsible, start college, a job, a laptop, a boyfriend (lol just kidding on that last one:))
All this talk reminds me of a song in the movie Anastasia. Haha if you don't remember let me remind you. "Heart don't fail me know, courage don't desert me. Don't turn back now that we're hear! People always say, life is full of choices, no one ever mentions, fear. Or how this world can seem so vast, on this journey, to the past!"
Well, that was your song for the day. hahahaha. The coolest thing happened yesterday! So one of my Christmas presents was a jacket from one of my favourite stores, but it was too small. My sister and I also received gift cards to the same store. We went shopping and during which, I figured the total cost would be the exact amount that I had to spend. When I returned the jacket and went to pay for my things, the clerk returned my jacket for the original full price it was months ago!(right now it costs $3!!) So pretty much that alone paid for my entire purchase and the clerk gave me $3.19!!! So I was paid to walk out of a store with 4 shirts hahaha!

fall..

autumn is here!! And is leaving rather fast...

carmel apples......delightful.

I thought that I would go about this the realistic way and dive into it...

the outcome :D haha

Old...Old posts

gramma's holding some babies :)

Taylor-Man showing off his skills :)

the best part... PRESENTS!!!

just in case there was any confusion :)

haha well I forgot to post some things including Alex's birthday! I mean it's a big deal! And what kind of auntie would I be if I didn't show it off to the internet, right??

old trek photos!!

So, as you can see, I was put to the job as model for some pics hahaha. oh yes, trek was amazing. I don't have any of the actual treking but here's what I managed to get. These entries are directly from my journal I wrote after the day's adventures:

Day 1(Wednesday June 22, 2011): "Today was the first day on the trail! We are in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and we hiked for about 2-3 hours, tomorrow, we plan to do more. I got dirty immediately but the good thing is because we had nine people helping with the cart, it wasn't hard. In think it was easier handling the cart because it offered stability. We learned from Pa that the high-five possibly goes back to the Zoromites, We all rotated so everyone had a chance in the front and the back. I learned you get sweaty really quickly. these mountains are the same ones that real mormon pioneer crossed so it's interesting to feel thier spirit in these mountains. Today, the things that were hard for me was the hills. What got me through it was Josh's encouragement to everyone. When he started, I started encouraging people too. and it really helped for me. During FHE we sang "Love One Another" that song says to me that if we show love to one another we show that we are his disciples. that was my favourite line. We read the last verses of Ether and it said the Lord will bless that people because they have cried unto him for a long time."

Day 2(Thursday June 23, 2011): So today was a bigger hike there were a lot of hills and it ws really hard. I twisted my knee a little near the end during the hike we had like 3 or 4 breaks next to a river(which felt heavenly :D) I also lost my bag of nuggets(what we use to buy treats near the end of the hike) the good news is that Jay from the Smith family found it and another boy tripled what was in it. But no one will tell me who it was. Today, I got to know everyone's name and I felt like I got to know everyone. We have had to constantly  be w/each other and support eachother. just like a real family. I already have grown to love them all. Overall, it was a tough and challenging day. But I know that it is for our growth. They took the boys away for the mormon medallion. I feel high-jacked haha. I miss the boys. I keep joking that w/ them it's like girls camp...with BOYS!! =) Tomorrow we push 1/2 way w/out them so it should be really challenging.

I did not write an entry for the 3rd day but it was just as amazing and insightful as the first 2 :)

Senioring it up!

at the dance(thanks Ashley for the make-up job)

furniture shopping lol 

umm well as it is quite apparent my brother and I got the the ice cream cake before my camera did. haha this is the response I got after asking Zach to the Halloween dance 

Kaylee Ann's birthday and HALLOWEEN!!

Oh my do I love birthdays and Halloween!!  For Kaylee's 3rd birthday, I wanted to feel all crafty so I made Kaylee a burn flower(thanks to my sister Tia) and put it on a pearl necklace. I was pretty proud of it if I do say so myself.

Grampa and Brylee the flower :)

Kaylee Ann opening her presents

SUPER DOLLY.

exausted after a long day of super-heroing

bahahahaha!! Alex found Grandma's camera and we went crazy!! I just love this little boy <3

And how could I forget about Halloween?? haha I went over to my sister Corinne's house and went trick-or-treating with her fam., and Kelly and her kids, along with my Dad. It was so much fun! I didn't get very many photos at all but Taylor and Alex were ninjas, Kaylee was a ladybug, Brylee was a flower, and I felt the desire to dress up so I came as a bumblebee. It totally rocked! I got to hold Brylee the ENTIRE TIME and get candy here and there teehee... later we had a very wonderful dinner provided by Corinne and my Mom was able to make it too! YAY

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

lol My nieces are something :) These two cousins are so cute together! They just love each other it is pretty adorable watching these two. They both seem to LOVE KISSES and LOVE each other! :)

Inspirational

The line "He will quiet all my fears" comes to mind. For me, this picture really helps when I get overly stressed and I doubt myself. This picture makes me sigh in relief imagining my own hug from the Savior and everything else just melts away, leaving me with a new and improved boost. I also love the fact that she is wearing modern clothes. I love old pictures of Christ but the ones with people that we can relate to on a more personal level. I know it's a really small thing but I can more easily imagine myself in their shoes. All in all, this picture really means a lot to me

homecoming week!

These were taken at the Pep rally on Thursday. The entire week was filled with Homecoming-galore it was pretty exciting. The following day was our game against Jordan-we won. For a while there I thought that we would loose, but luckily our boys came through yet again. This was one of the few games that I didn't really pay attention to. I was too distracted by friends and Alumni but it was still an incredible game! 

homecoming!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!  oh wow I'm okay now! This way of being asked was great It cracked me up! :D The dance was soo much fun and amazing! Our group had a picnic at the park. The boys tricked us into thinking we were having McDonald's-it was pretty hilarious. We hung out for awhile. After getting ready, we went to Red Lobster for dinner. I had never been there before and I actually ate shrimp....and liked it!!! The dance itself was(like I said) amazing! So much fun! I think that I have been converted to dances YAY!!
(hopefully, I will be able to get my hands on a few more pictures of the actual dance)

Moab Pictures

family Moab trip! yay!

Oh boy do I love Moab! This year we managed to do quite a lot. we sort of cheated and went "cabining" instead of camping but hey, I go camping enough I guess haha. Some of us went on a boat tour which was cool. Honestly, I was expecting more, but for a show that my gramma saw too a ways back it is pretty good :).  The next day was all hiking in Arches National Park. We tried for some new ones which ended up being worth while. Some overall favourites are: Landscape Arch, Balance Rock, and Sand Dune Arch-we have gone to these every year. My brother-in-law and I were able to go on a guided hike in "The Fiery Furness"(sounds scary huh? LOL) which was remarkable! We learned a lot, got to see amazing sights and do really cool hiking. The guide described it as "hiking yoga"(oh yes :)) That night we went to dinner for Matt's birthday and the pizza was delightful!(yuummmm)  The following day we went to 2 more sights and had cake and presents for Matt as well. overall, I would give the trip a definite 2 thumbs up!

If only all classes were like this..:) this is actually a fairly common thing to see in medical Anatomy & physiology. My favourite part was when the attendance office called me down and more than one person was concerned

READ IT!!!

May I just say that I LOVE The Work and the Glory series?! I really truly do. I just finished the second book and I love it more than ever. If anyone is interested in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints this is perfect. I am not trying to sell it but simply share my feelings. For me, it has given my the chance to get up close and personal with events that happened. It has also brought a much deeper appriciation of many things. I would recommend this series to anyone. I hope that it will have an impact on someone else that it has had on me. I have had and continue to have a want for not only knowledge but understanding of things. This has really struck me in this issue. A few weeks ago I heard a return missionary say "Don't take my word for it, go and find out for yourself." and I LOVE that! So that is my rant. Go read the books, it could seriously change your life. Once you do read it, call me, and we will TALK!

my thoughts

I feel like I should say something for 9/11. I did not know anyone there or have seen the impact it has really had on people. I envy the half of my classmates that have seen a very powerful and extremely real video of it. at least I have been blessed to see people come together. Even my classmates seem to have a sense of "oneness" in this season as they together watch known but unthought of horrors. This day hopefully will bring new appreciations for not only our heroes like our amazing fire fighters, police officers, and others in uniform, but also for those who took a very giant stride from "everyday hero" but still does not get the public appreciation. 10 years ago, I remember watching cartoons before school. And for some reason the news came on. I remember watching over and over again watching the towers going down. I knew it had to be big but did not understand it at all. I remember telling my parents that something is going on in the news that must be important. The next thing that I recall was sitting in my classroom at school and my teacher was talking to us trying as best as she could to come to wrap our young minds of the impact that has just taken place. We had to write in our journals of our feelings of watch just happened. I doubt that any of us had any idea what to say. All we knew was that something big just happened and we are supposed to be concerned. Even today I cannot say that I can truly see what that one act meant and what it did to my country.
187 years ago a revelation was given to Joseph Smith the prophet on September 11 1831. In the Doctrine and Covenents section 64:9-11
"Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. And ye ought to say in your hearts-let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds."

These are a few of my favourite things!

                       I love my walks and sunsets      

                           the city lights

 this spot just in general and at that time of the day

Or place would be more accurate! A few months ago, my sister and I were driving through our neighbourhood, and she noted, "you know, we have a really nice neighbourhood." I do not intend to brag, but I really LOVE this neighbourhood too! With the exception of construction, it is really beautiful, the people are amazing, the mountains are spectacular, the houses are nothing special but nice, in the evening it makes me even happier...and I really could go on! Every so often, I will look around and notice how much I really love it here. I also find something else to fall in love with quite often :)