Tara's Blog

Way Way Behind

2009-12-08T21:27:00.002-07:00

I know that I am way way behind and haven't updated in FOR-E-VER. But my new goal is to get caught up by Christmas! I really haven't taken that many pictures or done very much worth blogging so it shouldn't be too hard to get caught up...so that is my goal! And now that it is in writing...I will have to actually do it! Wish me luck!

What Heaven Will Be Like For Me...

2009-11-03T10:12:00.011-07:00

Today is pretty much the best day ever!!!! My friend Leslie called me and said that she had watched Reba on Regis & Kelly this morning and Reba made a big announcement!!! I went to Reba.com and just copied the announcement to post here!!!

THE KING OF COUNTRY AND CMA’S ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR NOMINEE GEORGE STRAIT ANNOUNCES 2010 TOUR WITH 4X CMA FEMALE VOCALIST & ENTERTAINMENT SUPERSTAR REBA MCENTIRE

Nashville, Tenn. (November 2, 2009) - The “King of Country” is back! 17x CMA Entertainer of the Year nominee George Strait will kick off his arena tour early next year and this time, he’s bringing along one very special lady – Reba McEntire.

The superstar acts performed together for the first time in many years for a sold-out crowd at the Cowboy’s Stadium inaugural event in Dallas. Selling out in less than an hour, fans and critics proclaimed the show one hot ticket! The concert was hailed by the Dallas Morning News as “an extravaganza” that “showcased Strait at the pinnacle of his musical game” and Ft. Worth Star Telegram wrote “Reba McEntire’s performance was a breathtaking master’s class in effortless brilliance.”

With 57 number one hits, 33 multi-platinum albums and countless sold-out shows year after year, Strait who holds the record for the most CMA wins and a record 17 CMA Entertainer of the Year nominations, is known for giving fans exactly what they want and expect. This year will be no exception.

“I can’t wait to get back out there and perform some of my new favorites from Twang along with hits the fans already love,” says Strait. “And with my friend Reba, we will make it a really spectacular night.”

Strait’s recent release TWANG debuted at #1 on The Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart. This is the fourth time in Strait’s career that a new release has debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and the 13th time debuting at #1 on the Top Country Albums chart. It has become a critically acclaimed album and received rave reviews in USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, People, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, The Boston Globe, Billboard and many more.

Strait co-wrote three songs on TWANG including the debut single, “Living for the Night.” The current single and title track of the album sits at #22 on Billboard and Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart.

At last year’s CMA Awards, George became the artist with the most CMA Awards in history with Album of the Year for Troubadour and Single of the Year for “I Saw God Today.” He adds 4 nominations this year with nods for “Entertainer of the Year,” “Male Vocalist of the Year,” “Video of the Year” for “Troubadour” and “Vocal Event of the Year” for “Everything But Quits” with LeeAnn Womack.

His platinum-selling Troubadour was named “Best Country Album” at the 51st Grammy Awards and in April, Strait was the fifth artist ever to receive the Academy of Country Music's Artist of the Decade honor. Strait has won 19 Academy of Country Music Awards including "Entertainer of the Year."

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Strait has the most number one singles of any artist in history including Elvis (57 To Date). He has sold more than 67 million records and with 33 different platinum or multi-platinum albums has the most RIAA platinum certifications in country music and the third in all genres, behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley.

One of the most successful female recording artists in history, Reba has sold over 55 million albums worldwide, earned 33 #1 singles and was recently recognized as the biggest female hit-maker in country music history by “Billboard,” “Mediabase” and “Country Aircheck.” She is the winner of 15 American Music Awards, 12 Academy of Country Music Awards, 9 People’s Choice Awards, 7 Country Music Awards and 2 GRAMMY Awards.

Reba’s new album, Keep On Loving You, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart – her first solo studio album to do so. With 11 #1 albums, Reba holds the record as the female artist with the most #1 albums in the history of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The superstar also recently scored her third consecutive Top 10 single of 2009, as her new song “Consider Me Gone” jumped into the Top 10 this week on both the Billboard Country Singles and the USA Today/ Country Aircheck Chart powered by Mediabase) charts.

In November 2008, McEntire signed with The Valory Music Co. reuniting her with multimedia entertainer and industry leader Scott Borchetta, President & CEO of Big Machine Records and sister label The Valory Music Co.2010

TOUR DATES

22-Jan Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner

23-Jan Greensboro, NC Coliseum

29-Jan Knoxville, TN Thompson Boling

30-Jan Charlottesville, VA JPJ Arena

5-Feb Phoenix, AZ US Airways

6-Feb Las Vegas, NV MGM

18-Feb St Louis, MO Scottrade Center

19-Feb Wichita, KS Intrust Bank Arena

20-Feb Tulsa, OK BOK Arena

25-Feb Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

26-Feb Orlando, FL Amway Arena

4-Mar Memphis, TN FedEx Forum

5-Mar New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena

6-Mar Little Rock, AR Verizon

26-Mar Portland, OR The Rose Garden

27-Mar Tacoma, WA Tacomadome

8-Apr Omaha, NE Qwest Center

9-Apr Kansas City, MO Sprint Center

10-Apr Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena

I am seriously seriously so excited!!!!! I can not think of anything better than Reba & George TOGETHER in concert! It's honestly like a dream come true! Reba & George, Reba & George, Reba & George...maybe if I say it enough it won't seem too good to be true!!

Here is the conversation Becky & I had on text message...

Me: Reba and George Strait are touring together next year!!

Becky: That is what heaven will be like for you

Seriously....truer words were never spoken!

Thanks Leslie for making my day!!!!

P.S. I LOVE REBA!

Vegas - Saturday!

2009-10-03T11:21:00.007-06:00

Saturday Morning Brandon and I got up and decided to do what one does when in Vegas...go walk the strip! So we just started at one end...and started walking! And we just went in places we wanted and stopped whenever we felt like it! It was really fun!!!

I think my favorite casino was the Paris! It was really cool...and not that I've ever been to Paris but it felt very much like I was walking the streets of Paris (plus a lot of slot machines thrown in for fun)

Here we are outside the Eiffel Tower...

We also went in to the Planet Hollywood Mall! That is where Holly Madison has her Peep Show. (I didn't know who she was...but Brandon LOVES her! Like really loves her! And if you know Brandon you know just how funny that is!) We were discussing how much Brandon loves her and he was explaining to me who she is and what happened? She walked out of a store and right by us! Our conversation went something like this....

Brandon: Oh my gosh...that was Holly Madison
Tara: Shut up! Are you sure?
B: Yes, that is her, right there
T: The one with the dog and the hat?
B: Yes
T: Well do you want to go stalk her?
B: YES!!!!
T: Let's go

So we turned around and followed the way she had gone...but by then we had spent so much time being shocked that we had really seen her...that we couldn't find her again to follow her :( But let me just say that we could not stop talking about the fact that we really just saw her...at the same time we were talking about her!

So since we were not quick enough to get a real picture of her and follow her for the day....we just took many pictures of Brandon with her posters instead...

There is this one....

And this one is just funny...

But this one is my VERY FAVORITE...

We had so much fun taking that picture! I could seriously not stop laughing! And Brandon is trying so hard not to laugh for the picture! And now looking at it again I can't stop laughing! So so so so funny! (Notice the people behind him watching us and the guy sitting down giving Brandon a thumbs up!!!)

While in the mall we found a Build-A-Bear! (If you know me at all you know how much I love Build-A-Bear!) I didn't buy anything but Brandon did get a picture of the 'show girl' bear! Hee Hee!

We grabbed lunch at sbarro and got pizza....

We also watched a really lame 'rain storm'. We sat around and waited for it for like 15 minutes and it was LAME!!! A few sprinkles that hit the pool of water in the floor and some lights flashing and thunder sounds...LAME!!!

Also we went in the New York, New York, the Coke Store, the M&M Store, and many other casinos! So much fun! Kelli met up with us in the afternoon and after walking around some more we headed back to Brandon's to get ready for....

THE REBA CONCERT!!!

Stay tuned for the next blog all about it!!!!!!

Consider Me Gone!

2009-10-02T12:08:00.011-06:00

I just need to take a break in the Vegas blog posting to say....

REBA'S NEW VIDEO IS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's for her new song 'Consider Me Gone' and can be found on the Reba website!

http://www.reba.com/

It is fantastic, she is beautiful, and I LOVE it!!!!

Seriously.

Watch it.

Go now.

Vegas - Friday Night!

2009-09-30T22:23:00.005-06:00

I got to Brandon's house around 10:30 I think. It was a long long drive but not as bad as I thought it would be (I tend to get really tired when I drive and this was my first long road trip without anyone in the car with me to keep me company and awake!) Becky let me borrow her thing that lets me listen to my ipod thru the stereo and that was a HUGE help cause I could sing at the top of my lungs! So between that and my friends letting me call them and talk for long stretches of time (I don't know if I've mentioned it before but I have THE BEST FRIENDS EVER!)

Anyways so I got to Brandons and after unloading my car (if you ask Brandon I had a TON of stuff...but I would only say I had alot of stuff! hee hee!) and some very needed catching up...we decided that we wanted to go out! We WERE in Vegas for heaven's sake and it wasn't TOO late!! So we jumped in Brandon's truck and headed to the strip! We decided to head to the Treasure Island Show! It was a little more 'adult' then I remember it being as a kid but we sure had fun!

Here we are waiting for the show to start!

This one's a little blurry but it's the ship coming around to get in place!

This is of the 'guys' ship! Not bad looking guys!

This was when the guys hit the girls ship. The show itself was pretty lame (okay really really lame) but the special effects made it totally worth it!

The girls sunk the guys ship!

Brandon's friend Katy met up with us during the show and hung with us for the night! After the Treasure Island show we decided we wanted some Ben & Jerry's but they were closed :( so we ended up going to Denny's on the strip and getting milkshakes. Who knew that Denny's would be so popular on the strip! :)

We did take a moment to get a picture of us 'gambling'!

I can't remember anything else major that we did that first night. I think just walked around some more and then we headed back to Brandon's place to crash cause we were exhausted (I think it was like 2 in the morning or something which was 3 Utah time!)

Stay tuned for our Saturday adventures!

Vegas - Road Trip To Vegas!

2009-09-30T17:47:00.005-06:00

I left work Friday (Sept 4) around 1:00 and headed down to Vegas! I wanted to get to Vegas as soon as I could...to see Brandon and start our AWESOME weekend of fun!!!

Side note: The day before I left (Thursday) my grandma called me and told me that her cousin had passed away and his funeral was in Cedar City and so that meant that her and my Uncle Boyd and Aunt Norma (Triple love them!) were driving up from Tucson! When we got talking about our plans we realized that we would probably hit Cedar City at about the same time! So we decided that I would take a break in my drive and see them for a bit! (I was so so so excited to see them! I hadn't seen Boyd & Norma since April of 2005 - way way way too long!)

As it turned out I beat them to Cedar by about 15 minutes is all! So I just found their hotel and waited in the lobby til they got there! When they pulled up it was all I could do not to run out like a 5 year old and jump up and down at their car! (Okay - maybe I did a small version of that!) Did I mention I was really excited to see them? :)

After I helped them unload the car - we headed to dinner. We found a little diner in town and had so much fun chatting away and just getting caught up! After dinner I didn't want to leave yet (I wanted to get to Vegas but just wasn't ready to say goodbye) so I went back to their hotel for a while.

Grandma, Me, Aunt Norma, and Uncle Boyd (it took alot of begging to get him to be in the picture!)

I have always wished that I lived closer to Boyd & Norma! We would have had so much fun! 4 years is way to long to go without seeing them! The only thing that I was sad about was that I didn't get to see Nikki & Kristi (their girls), but I had a GREAT time!!!

Grandma, Me, & Aunt Norma!!! Can you just see how happy I am!?!?!?

My grandma was trying to get me to stay the night there with her so I didn't have to drive in the dark - I admit I was slightly tempted...until they were talking about going to bed...AT 8:30!!!! Um...no thank you! So I said my goodbyes and headed the rest of the way to Vegas!!!!

Stay tuned for more Vegas blogs...

Sneak Peak!

2009-09-06T02:56:00.003-06:00

It's 2:00 in the morning here (which means 3:00 Utah time) and I am REALLY tired...but I just had to blog a small thing about the REBA concert!!!

IT.
WAS.
FANTASTIC.

This is only 2 of about 500 pictures I took!!! Stay tuned for more later!!!

I LOVE REBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vacation Time!

2009-09-03T11:21:00.015-06:00

Tomorrow I leave for...

LAS VEGAS!!!!!

I am so excited I can barely wait!!!! Seriously...I want to leave right now...

I am going to stay with...

My friend Brandon!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will also get to see...

My friend Kelli!

The three of us are going to go to a little concert...
Okay...It's not a little concert at all...more like a big huge fantastic awesome concert for me!!!!!

I've never travelled to see Reba before! I have always just seen her when she came to Salt Lake! (Does this make me more obsessed than before? Is that even possible?)

Have I mentioned that I get to see Reba in Concert on Saturday?!?!?! That's in only 2 days!!
Um....I LOVE REBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And no, Kelly Clarkson will not be in concert with her...well atleast not that I know of...these pictures were the ones I took at their concert last fall!!

Oh my gosh....REBA IN 2 DAYS!!!!!!!!! REBA REBA REBA!!!!!!! (I'm a little excited in case you didn't catch on to that yet)

Anyways....

While I am in Vegas I hope we will see alot of...

The Strip during the day!

And The Strip @ Night!

Also...

On my way back I am going to stop and see my best friend Jacqie!

I am totally excited!!! It is going to be a great long weekend!!!!!!!!

Seriously. Awesome. Weekend.

(P.S. I LOVE REBA)

Reba Update!

2009-08-27T08:39:00.005-06:00

Just a little update! I said last night that her new cd was #1 on the charts! I didn't realize that meant she was #1 on the Billboard Music Charts! That means all genres of music! Not just country!!! WAHOOOOO!!!!!!

I also learned on the radio this morning that she now holds the record for the female to have the most #1 albums! She now has 11! She was previously tied with Loretta Lynn at 10!

GO REBA!!!!!

(This is an old picture but one of my VERY favorites of Reba!!)

#1

2009-08-26T23:26:00.004-06:00

Reba's new CD "Keep On Loving You' came out last week and I have been telling anyone who will listen (and those who don't want to listen!) how good the CD is! I mean, it is REALLY good! And not just good because I love all things Reba...but really really good!! And it seems I am not the only one who thinks that because it hit #1 on the charts yesterday!! HOW TOTALLY FABULOUS IS THAT!?!?!? I LOVE REBA!!!!

Her first single was 'Strange'My current favorite on the CD is 'Pink Guitar'

Did I mention that I LOVE the new CD? Seriously...go out and buy it or download it right now...TOTALLY worth it!

And just because I'm excited....I am going to her concert on Saturday the 5th in Primm, Nevada! And Brandon & Kelli are going with me!!! 10 days!!!! SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

Brandon's Farewell Party!

2009-08-24T21:12:00.004-06:00

My bestie Brandon moved to Las Vegas to go to UNLV!! (YAY for him, boooo for having to move) I'm a little behind on updating since he's been there for over a week! But anyways...we had one last Burger Bar and Nerts night before he left! We had so much fun playing almost every friday night after Whoopee! Definitely some of my favorite memories and I made and strengthened some fantastic friendships!

Becky, Ashley, Kelland, Annie, Rachel, Brandon, & Me

Annie had a weird eye thing going on. We were worried it was pink eye or something else contagious so Becky kindly made her this awesome pirate patch!! (FYI turns out she just has blisters on her eye so no worries of catching it)

Awesome huh!?!?

Demolition Derby

2009-08-13T23:03:00.003-06:00

Last night I went to my first ever Demolition Derby and it was AWESOME!!! I figured I would enjoy the derby but I honestly had no idea that it would be as much fun as it was. A bunch of beat up old cars running into each other. So so so much fun! We saw alot of cool things, in the very first heat one car went right up and landed on top of another car. And in another heat one car pushed another car so it ended up on its side. It was so cool! And the best part is that no one was hurt (I admit...it caused me much anxiety as the cars were running into each other but since it all ended well...I was ok!) And I got to cowboy suit up! I wore my cowboy boots, my cowboy hat, and my cowboy shirt! And the company was fantastic!!! It was a pretty great night! LOVE LOVE LOVED IT!!!!

Thanks again Chris & Emily for inviting us!

Reasons I LOVED Today!

2009-08-11T23:10:00.006-06:00

Here are just a few reasons why I LOVED today! In no particular order...

1. Reba's new CD comes out next week...making it less than 7 days!!!

2.Brooks & Dunn are breaking up!!! I hate Brooks & Dunn and so that just makes me happy!

3. George Strait's new CD came out today! (It is so good...and he is GORGEOUS!)

4. I gave blood today! (I triple love to give blood!) When they poked me - it didn't work on the first stick - they had to poke around until they got it. It was the first time ever - I have ALWAYS bled on the first poke before. So that part was NOT one of the reasons I loved today.

5. BDeanna stopped at Barnes & Noble on her way home from work today just because she loves me! She stopped to pick up the People Country magazine that Reba is on the cover of because I couldn't find it anywhere! I LOVE BDeanna!

6. Beauty & The Beast rehearsal. They are seriously sounding sooooooooooo good!!!!

7. I got to hold Baby Celia thru the whole rehearsal...she is such a good baby and so dang cute! I even got to feed her!

8. Talking to Leslie & Shelby after rehearsal

9. Talking to Leslie forever in the parking lot after rehearsal

10. Texting my best friend for the last couple days!

11. Did I mention less than a week til Reba's new CD comes out?

12. Did I mention I got to hold the baby thru all of rehearsal?

13. Now I am going to fall asleep watching Pushing Daisies...the perfect way to end a great day!

Good night!

Kati was in town!!

2009-08-10T22:52:00.003-06:00

You know how you have some friends that you can talk to everyday and also go weeks without talking to but it makes no difference? The moment you see each other it is as if absolutely no time as passed? That is the way it is with my friend Brandi! We just 'get' each other ya know!?!?

Anyways, so back in high school and the few years after that, we spent ALOT of time up at her dad's house in Logan and in turn I became really good friends with her family! So not only do I have a best friend Brandi but I also got an extra family! Her sister Kati was in town for the week from California, we were all supposed to spend the day at Lagoon but it got canceled cuz of the 'rain'. That made Becky & I very happy but Kati, not so much! She was NOT HAPPY about the canceling of Lagoon! Anyways, we ended up having a BBQ and just hanging out at Brittni's (so much better than Lagoon!).

Me with Cami & Kati (this was Cami's 'sexy face') :)

All the sisters! Brandi, Cami, Brittni, Kati, Becky, & Me! We seriously had so much fun!

In the picture on Brittni's camera - they are actually touching tongues. EWWWW!!!! The reason my eyes are closed is cause I was laughing so hard!

Here are all the girls!
Me, Brandi, Cindy, Brittni w/Jazlyn
Becky, Cami w/Tyra, Kati

Years ago, Cami came and stayed at my house for a few days (I think this time it was for the Shania Twain concert but I could be wrong) and during that time, Becky & Cami played ALOT of Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo, well I have downloaded Donkey Kong Country onto my Wii and as soon as Cami found that out she wanted to go to my house to play! Unfortunately our leaving cause Tyra to be VERY unhappy! The only thing that calmed her down was me promising to bring my Mr. Potatoe Head toys back with us. We actually had alot of fun playing...and as you can see...Cami & Tyra had the most fun!

I just had to spend the whole time making sure Cindy didn't try to steal my toys...she was a little jealous!!!!

We had such a good time! It was fun just to get together and get caught up and see each other again!!! I LOVE them!!!

I HATE Spiders!

2009-08-06T23:28:00.003-06:00

So I'm sitting in the basement organizing my DVD's (putting away the DVD's that people have borrowed and now brought back) and I'm talking to Becky on the phone when I see out of the corner of my eye what I think is a spider run across the floor. Our carpet down here is kinda a color that spiders blend into so I wasn't sure...and of course it kinda ran under the rug...so definitely not sure. So I'm talking to Becky and say "I think I just saw a spider so if I start screaming I am not getting raped!" So we keep talking and I am just standing there staring at the place on the floor I last saw the spider (because I can't move...for fear of it crawling on me or disappearing on me) and we are talking through what I am going to do if it crawls back out (normally we just stand and scream HELP until someone comes to our rescue...but I was home alone so I had to take care of the situation myself!) and then I see it (it was definitely a spider...not HUGE...but definitely big...way way bigger than I wanted to deal with on my own) so of course I start screaming!!! Then luckily it crawled along the bottom of the TV and so I used a Wii game case (rented so I didn't even get spider guts on my own) to smash it. EW EW EW EW EW...not only am I afraid of spiders (terribly terribly afraid) but I also HATE the sound that smashing them makes! I did set the phone down as I smashed it to save Becky's ears but I screamed alot and EW EW EW-ed ALOT!!!!

I HATE SPIDERS!!!!!!

P.S. Growning up I used to pay my brother a dime for each spider he killed for me! I could even wake him up in the middle of the night and he would kill the spiders for me!!!! Those are the days I miss!!!

DID I MENTION I HATE SPIDERS!!!!

My Family

2009-08-05T22:48:00.002-06:00

For Christmas my brother game me The Office Board Game! So of course we had to try it out! (Yes, this is Christmas Eve! I just wanted to post it now!)

Dad, Nick, Mom, Becky, & Me
Aren't we a good looking bunch!!!!!!

My Weekend!

2009-08-03T22:56:00.009-06:00

I had a fun and very busy weekend!!!!

1. It started with closing night of Whoopee!
Whoopee has been such a fun show to get to work on! Not only was it an excellent (and hilarious) show but I made some of the best friendships and had so much fun hanging out after the show. I am definitely gonna miss this cast and all the fun we had. I was sad to see it close but am excited to start rehearsals for Beauty & the Beast!

Jacci, Me, Ashley, & Kristi

I hung out in the dressing room with these awesome girls before almost every show!

Me, Lisa, & Lindsay! I love when Lisa & I get to work the shows together! And Lindsay worked backstage and did a FANTASTIC job!!! Thanks Linds!

After the show we had a birthday party for Kim & Annie! This is them fake blowing out their candles!

Brandon & I enjoying the party!

Kelland & Ashley (it was cold in there)

Then we went back to my house and played Nerts! We had so much fun and laughed ALOT!

And while we played, Kelland & Shelby took a little nap!

2. Then Saturday morning was the Roy Days parade (sorry no pictures) I didn't get to stay very long but there were lots of fun people (like always) that came and sat by us! I love ROY DAYS!

3. The reason I had to leave the parade early is because we had our first rehearsal for Beauty & the Beast! I am so excited! It looks like we have an amazing cast, I can't wait to see what they can do! And I ALWAYS love working with Leslie! It's going to be a great show!

4. Then Leslie had a baby shower for Baby Celia at her house! She's our little miracle baby and we are all so excited to have her in our playhouse family that we needed a party to celebrate!

Morgan & I blowing up balloons!

Baby Celia!!!! Isn't she so cute! That is one loved baby!

5. Then we had a Whoopee! cast party @ the Egginton's! Man, they know how to throw a party! (once again no pictures...sorry) They had swimming, delicious food, karaoke, and the best part...good company! It was an excellent party!

6. Brandon & I also made a quick stop at a friend's family members wedding reception.

7. Then back to the cast party!

8. Then to more Roy Days fun! Me, Amy, & Jenn joined my family up at the park for the best fireworks! Only complaint...they did not play 'God Bless The USA'. Sad :( It was definitely a night of oddly selected music!

9. Then for my very very favorite part of Roy Days...The Famous Russ Milkshakes! This year I think we had 30+ people at our house! And they were as delicious as I remembered!!! Then my friends stuck around for quite some time and we just talked!

It was a pretty great day!!!! I have some of the very best friends and a pretty dang good life!

Tired...

2009-08-01T03:45:00.003-06:00

I'm really tired so I am ready to go to bed! It is almost 4 in the morning so I guess maybe it is time!! Do you ever have those moments when you realize you are freaking lucky and are pretty positive you have the best friends anyone could ever ask for?!?! That was my day today! It was just a great great day! I really do have a pretty fantastic life and definitely the best friends ever!

I LOVE PEOPLE!!!!!

Goodnight!

Playing Pool...

2009-07-31T00:17:00.002-06:00

So as it turns out...I am REALLY bad at playing pool! I love it and have a really good time playing it but I am not very good! Tonight we played for about an hour and a half...which was easily 10+ games...I won 3. That's it...3! Which actually when I say it doesn't sound so bad until I mention that the only reason I won those 3 is because he hit the black ball in! But I'll take what I can get! Very fun night...not good at pool!

Crystal Gayle

2009-07-29T23:33:00.004-06:00

Tonight me and my mom went to the Layton Amphitheatre to see Crystal Gayle! Crystal Gayle!! It was a great great concert!! For those of you under the age of 50 who don't know who she is...she is a very famous country singer from the 70's! She has some awesome songs like "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" and "Talking In Your Sleep" and "Why Have You Left The One You Left Me For" and many more!!

Before the concert I asked my mom "What do you think the average age of people at this concert is going to be?" to which she replied "My age" and I said "Aren't you guessing a little young?" and I was right...the average age was probably about 60! It is very possible that I was the youngest person there! It was awesome!

Also for those of you who don't know...she has really really really really really long hair! She keeps it about 3 inches above the floor! I kinda have an odd obsession with long hair and I could not stop watching it all night! I took about a ga-zillion pictures of it but for your sake...I am only posting a couple! But make sure you check out how LONG it is!!!

Her sister Peggy Sue was there as a back-up singer. Also for those of you who don't know...Crystal Gayle is Loretta Lynn's baby sister. And for those of you wondering who Loretta Lynn is all I will say is "The Coal Miner's Daughter" and if you don't know what that means...google it!

So between the fact that it was a FANTASTIC concert...I also saw some of my favorite people and my good friend Ashley sang the National Anthem and sounded freakin fabulous!!! It was an excellent excellent night!

Catch Up Blog!

2009-07-27T21:58:00.030-06:00

Hello Everyone!!

So....it has been quite a while since I updated...as it is completely obvious from looking at the date of my last entry and also from all the wonderful comments I have received along the lines of "you really should update your blog" or "I'm really sick of looking at that Wicked picture everytime I check your blog" etc. So here I am! I'm back!!! And I have been very busy the last little while so although this is going to be a long blog...it is going to be a very condensed version of what I have been up to!!! I will hopefully be able to go into more detail on most of these things...but just in case...here is a little of what I have been doing lately...

(in really no particular order)

1. I had an awesome birthday party!

(Standing: Amy, Jenn, Megan, & Jeff. Sitting on couch: Keilani, Leah, Cory, Emily, Chris. Sitting on floor: Craig, Lana, Me)

2. We have had many a roasting party! I really really really do love to roast things!

(Amy, Me, Ashley, Kenzie, Jenn, Taylor)

3. On April 22, Emily & Chris got engaged!!!

4. We went and saw The Drowsy Chaperone in Logan! And ate at The Blue Bird before! We had so so so much fun!

(Barbara, Dennis, Me, Brandon, Teresa, Emily, & Chris)

5. I went to DisneyWorld!

(Becky, Me, Amy, & Shelese on Splash Mountain)

6. Saw a shuttle launch while standing on Cocoa Beach! That's right, an actually shuttle launch!

(In case you aren't sure where you are looking, it's that white dot above and between the two buildings - click on the picture to enlarge it if you need!)

7. Our good friend Casey Myers got married! (No he is not in the picture but this was just a fun picture we took while there!)

(Nick, Ricky, & Me)

8. Brandon & I got engaged! (Okay not really! Here is the story...I looked good since I just came from a wedding and Brandon looks FABULOUSLY SKINNY so we wanted to take skinny pictures...and what better place to do that then at the set of Whoopee!? So after the show...as we were taking pictures...everyone kept saying they looked like engagement pictures...and so that is what they became!)

(We make a pretty cute couple, don't we!)

9. Leslie wanted to go see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and none of her family wanted to join her so of course when she asked me I said YES!

(This was painted on the wall by the dressing rooms at the Capitol Theatre)

10. Emily & I were the stage hands for The Miss Utah Pageant at the Capitol Theatre!! Thanks Brandon for a wonderful and scary new experience!

(My very favorite part was that I got to shoot off the confetti cannon every night! - also notice my awesome headset and that awesome clam in the background)

(Me & Emily standing outside our dressing room! Yup, we got a dressing room at the Capitol Theatre!!)

(Emily & I spent the majority of our time in this little nook! We kinda had our own little world stored here - treats, drinks, blankets, pillows, etc! Brandon took this picture during one of our 'breaks'! So so so much fun!)

11. Michael Jackson passed away :( Now I know that any of you who know anything about pop culture already know that...but I am kinda a HUGE MJ fan and so it was definitely a big part of my life.

12. It may have been 2 1/2 years late but I finally made Amy's quilt! And didn't it turn out fantastically?!?!

13. I made Emily a quilt for her wedding gift! I love love love it!! So bright and colorful!

14. There was a big deaf symposium in Salt Lake and I went down for the Sunday Meetings and met up with some of my VERY favorite people from my mission!!!

(Daniel Shoemaker, Emmalee Sparrow Christensen, Me, Lila Shoemaker)

15. I got to help with another show at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse! Dennis Ferrin directed Whoopee! and I got to be his assistant again! Working on this show and with this cast has been an experience I will always treasure! I have made some amazing new friends!

16. My best friend Emily got married to the love of her life, Chris! July 16, 2009 in the Bountiful LDS Temple! And I got to be the Maid of Honor! Isn't she gorgeous! Every part of the day was completely amazing and perfect!!!

(In my new totally cute outfit with the beautiful bride)

(The wedding party! Jannicke, Cydney, Me, Emily, Chris, Toby, & Aria. Look at those beautiful dressed Emily got for us! I've never felt so beautiful in my life! Thanks Em!)

17. Me & Mom went to the George Strait concert!!!

(He has only gotten better with age...FANTASTIC concert!)

(The best shot of the night!)

18. My good friend Brittni's daughter Jazlyn turned 1! Could she be any cuter?!?!?!

19. On my way to the Stott's cabin in Island Park I took a little detour to Jackson Hole to see 'Jackson Hole To The Max' aka 'The Reba Movie'!!! It's kinda a documentary on Jackson Hole and Reba is in it and narrates through the whole thing! It was FANTASTIC!!!!

20. At the Stott's cabin I found out that I am not that bad of a shot with a BB Gun!!! It was so much fun!

And I think that kinda sums up my life for the last couple months! Dang, I have a good life! So much fun!!!

And now that I have updated I am going to try to update more often! My goal is to update atleast 5 times in the next 7 days! Hopefully now that I have put it in writing I will feel enough guilt to actually follow through!!!!

P.S. Hi Brandon!

Wicked!

2009-04-26T23:18:00.003-06:00

Months ago before tickets to Wicked went on sale and sold out at warp speed...I tagged onto Tina's season tickets and was able to get me and my parents tickets to see it! I have seen it twice before (once in Denver & then again in New York) and this one was fabulous as well!!! And it was really fun to go see it with my parents since they have never seen it before! I think they really loved it too! It was so much fun!

Another Awesome Text

2009-04-04T14:44:00.003-06:00

This is the text I got today from my friend Amy...

(almost as good as last weeks!!)

Then I got this one...

Amy called this one 'Addie as Tara'. I LOVE the face she is pulling!

So much fun!

Awesome Text

2009-04-02T22:08:00.002-06:00

On Saturday I got this text from Amy...

(this is her niece Addie)

FANTASTIC!!!!!

Happy Birthday Reba!!!

2009-03-29T18:23:00.004-06:00

Yesterday (March 28th) was Reba's Birthday! And me, being me, had a birthday party for her like I do every year!!!!

I have ALOT of Reba stuff...shirts, posters, magazines, books, cardboard cutouts, dvds, cds, etc, etc, etc. This year I didn't pull out very much of it...but here is what I did set up...

I know I've mentioned it before but I have the best friends! Here is a picture of all those who came to my party! (Not because they are really Reba fans but because they love me!!! Well some are Reba fans...)

Standing behind couch: Megan, Jeff, Casey, Me
On Couch: Jenn, Amy, Brandi, Cory, Leah
On Floor: Lana, Craig, Emily, Chris

We sang Happy Birthday, had cupcakes, played Name That Tune with Reba songs, (it was just me against Casey. I won the first round, he won the second!) watched some episodes of The Reba Show, and just had a good time!!

I LOVE REBA!!!!!!

Music Man

2009-03-26T22:37:00.002-06:00

The other reason I haven't been blogging lately...

Before Show Boat, I helped my good friend Leslie with Music Man at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse. There are still 7 more performances...so if you get a chance, Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays til April 10th...

Show Boat!

2009-03-25T23:26:00.009-06:00

For those of you wondering what I have been doing lately and why I haven't been updating...

I have been working on Stage Crew...

For Show Boat (at Layton High)....

Which means I got to work with...

(my best friend Emily)

And also with...

(I LOVE Brandon!!!)

Seriously...what more could a person ask for? I have the best life! Even though I am completely exhausted (the boat is HUGE and hard to move, I'm kinda a wimp!) and still haven't caught up on my sleep (we closed Saturday) there is no where else I would have rather been! So so so much fun! And who can ask for more than that! Thank you Emily for asking me to help! And Thank you Brandon for letting me be your little shadow!

There were many more pictures taken, friendships made, experiences gained, fears overcome...more about Show Boat later...

Walmart Bingo

2009-02-19T15:36:00.005-07:00

I got this email at work the other day....
so we called our friend Diana who works at Walmart in Avondale and she told us that if we'd fax it to her, she'd fill it out at lunch and fax it back! And this is what we got a couple hours later...

I LOVE DIANA!!!

So cute....

2009-02-15T21:50:00.002-07:00

The only thing cuter than this....

Is this...

I LOVE BABY WILL!!!!!

Seriously. Love. Him.

It's amazing what you can find at the playhouse....

2009-02-15T21:39:00.003-07:00

So years and years ago before the playhouse was the playhouse, it was a grocery store. Actually I think it was multiple grocery stores, but at one point in the late 70's and early 80's it was a Smith's. I knew that my dad worked there, I even remember the days when we were a one car family and he had to be to work early early early in the morning and they would carry me out to the car and lay me in the back seat asleep, we would drop him off at work, come home and my mom would carry me back to bed! Good old memory!

But anyways...the place has been remodeled and changed a million times...so imagine my surprise when we found this one the stairs going upstairs...

Gordon Skinner is my mom's youngest brother and worked there starting in 78! How funny is that! When we saw it I called my dad and said "I know you worked here...but did Gordon work here?" to which he of course replied "Yes" so between that and the fact that it is totally his handwriting...this is my uncle!!! Isn't that awesome! And I am not 100% positive...but the 'that's right' written underneath could easily be my dad's handwriting!!

Roasting!

2009-02-08T22:43:00.003-07:00

Okay...so we really like to roast things! Cooking things over a fire is something we love to do! We love to walk down the isle at Walmart and find things that we can roast! Some of our favorites are chicken nuggets (my personal favorite), mini egg rolls, mini corn dogs (I don't actually like that because I don't like corn dogs but my friends say they're really good!), sandwiches (we have special sandwich roasting sticks), and of course the traditional marshmellows! Well its been a LONG time since we had a fire and could roast things!

We have a pretty nice little heater in our basement (because it is always FREEZING down there!) and so Jenn brought over some marshmellows and tried to roast them! First she had to fasten a long roasting device. It is made out of paper clips and lots and lots of duct tape...

Then she put the marshmellow on....

And roasted the marshmellow!

It was a very good attempt and she tried really hard and definitely gets an 'A' for effort...but unfortunately...even though a heater gets really hot...it does not effectively roast a marshmellow...more like crystalizes it or something...I'm not really sure! So anyways...it was very fun to watch but was not very successful!

Mr. Potato Head

2009-02-08T22:30:00.002-07:00

Jenn & Kenzie played with my Mr. Potato Head toys while they were here!! Cute huh!

Kenzie wanted hers to have a camera since I was taking a picture of them!

Superbowl Party!

2009-02-08T21:28:00.004-07:00

Okay...for the most part I could care less about the superbowl but I love that it almost guarantees there will be a party of some kind for me to go to! And I DO love parties! Well Megan & Jeff invited us to their new house to watch it! I watched almost none of the game and actually even very few of the commercials but had a FANTASTIC time! It was so much fun!!!

Here are a few pics of our fun night!

Here we are! Jenn, Amy, Me, & Megan (If you look closely you can see Megan's beanie that I'm working on!)

I'm not sure why Jenn took this picture but it does show that I've got the two beanie patterns in front of me trying to figure out how many to cast on for Kenzie's beanie!

Just Jenn & I

The start of Kenzie's beanie (don't my nails look really good here?)

Megan fell asleep...Jenn just wanted to say hi!

Kenzie's beanie a while later! (Notice how cute my slipper boots are!)

Megan fell asleep again...Jenn decided to have some fun!

Jenn wanted Megan to wake up for a picture!

She's sitting up but not quite awake!

And here we are...I love my friends!

P.S. Jenn wanted the steelers to win, Megan & Jeff wanted the cardinals to win, and I wanted the cardinals to win cuz I LOVE Arizona...so when Amy got there the conversation went like this...

Me: "Who do you want to win"
Amy: "I could really care less"
Me: "Jenn wants the Steelers and the rest of us want the Cardinals"
Amy: "Cardinals it is!"

It was sooooooooo funny!

Look How Cute!

2009-02-08T21:13:00.002-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago my friends Jenn, Megan, & Amy said they wanted me to knit them a beanie...so we went to lunch then walked to the yarn store so they could pick out the yarn they wanted. Well of course Kenzie came with us...mainly because she is convinced she is one of us and we are her friends just as much if not more than Jenn's! So anyways...she picked out some yarn that she wanted for a beanie! And I have to say...I am awesome! I have a pattern for 0-6 months and a pattern for adults but nothing in between so I had to guess and not to brag or anything...but it turned out so cute!!!!

She came over today with Jenn 'to hang out' and to get it from me! Here she is trying it on for the first time! (I've finished the other beanies as well and will try to get them to all bring them the same night so we can get a picture all together!)

She is SOOOOOO cute! And it TOTALLY fits!

I'm Back!

2009-02-08T20:51:00.002-07:00

I know, I know, it's been FOREVER since I updated my blog! There have been many reasons but mainly its because I was so busy with other things that by the time I got home...the last thing I wanted to do was have to actually think enough to write something here that would make sense and be worth it! But I do have quite a bit to blog about so I'm gonna try to get caught up. And seriously...I have been so busy that I haven't even taken very many pictures lately!

But enough with excuses...I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The good news I couldn't post last night!!!

2009-01-13T12:44:00.002-07:00

Kelli is coming back to work!!!!!

Here is the story in short. Kelli (our awesome secretary) quit a couple of months ago and nothing has been the same since. Well I have half joking/half not jokingly asked (okay maybe on the verge of begged) her to come back every time I have seen her and each and every time she has responded with a quick and absolute no. :( Well last night after the movie we were talking and she did not say no. She actually said ok and we talked about the reasons we wanted her back and the reasons she wanted to come back and it just seemed like everything fell right into place (she even had a dream that she worked with us again-if that's not meant to be I don't know what is!!) Well I called Altina (while still sitting in the movie theatre) we talked, she said she'd talk to her other partner in the morning. So today she talked to him, they made a plan, they called Kelli, she accepted, and she starts on Thursday!!! Yes, like in 2 days!!! Seriously, words cannot describe how happy I am right now! We are not getting rid of anyone, we are just shifting around the way a few things are done and she will be back! All the stress and worry I have had about getting everything done has totally dissolved! I mean, don't get me wrong, I still have an overwhelming amount to get done...but now it actually seems do-able! And I am not dreading this tax season as much as I was 24 hours ago!!!

Sometimes I just love life!!! (okay I do almost all the time but right now particularly more than usual!)

So far behind

2009-01-12T23:22:00.004-07:00

Oh man, I have so much to blog about! I still have a ton of cabin pictures/stories that I need to post and I have some show reviews to write about (one good one bad!) And I will get to all that I promise!!!! But as for now I just want to post a little blog because today turned out to be a FANTASTIC day!!! For lunch today Me, Jenn, Amy, & Megan (& Kenzie) went to lunch at Roosters and then walked the two doors down to the yarn store (Needlepoint Joint) and they each picked which yarn they wanted for me to make them a beanie out of!! I am way excited to work on them! Then for movie night Me, Amy, & Kelli went and saw Bride Wars. I loved it! It was the cutest friend show. I won't give anything away but it was just a feel good movie about how important friends are! and it was funny too! Oh and my favorite part is that Steve Howey (Van from the Reba Show) is in it!

After the movie is when the best thing ever happened! (I can't say what it was because nothing is official so sorry to leave anyone who cares in limbo...) But let me just say that it is what I have been hoping and praying for and it relieved more stress than imaginable! I seriously am still smiling! I can't believe how everything just came together and worked out awesomely!! I will share what it is as soon as I can but just know that I am BEYOND happy about it!!!!

Then I got to see my friend Trevor in the parking lot...I freakin LOVE him!

Such a great, wonderful, magnificent, fantastic day!!!!!

And now I am off to go buy Reba Season 5 on dvd! See perfect day!

Jenn likes (?) to burn food!

2009-01-09T00:32:00.006-07:00

Its kinda a funny running joke that Jenn has to burn something while we are at the cabin. And I don't mean the little 'oops I think I cooked that too long', I mean the 'crap why is there smoke filling the whole room'?

Amy made some pop and fresh cinnamon rolls and they were still doughy...well she'd already put the frosting on them so we didn't want to just put them back in the oven and so Jenn thought it would be a good idea to finish cooking it in the microwave. Well that might have been a good idea if she had put them in for a reasonable amount of time or even watched it cook. But nope, she put it for a really high time limit and didn't watch it at all until the kitchen was filling with smoke.

Here are a couple pictures of the poor cinnamon roll (Becky said it looks like poop on a plate - and I can't really argue with her)

Here it is still smoking in the microwave

When she took it out of the microwave she threw it out onto the deck to cool off!

In case you were wondering...the plate did come clean. Megan and I doubted Jenn's abilities but it totally came clean with no sign of burn-age!

Oh and the place smelled like burnt cinnamon roll for a good 10-12 hours!!

Ouch!

2009-01-09T00:25:00.004-07:00

When we got to the cabin and were unloading everything (and yes I did pack ALOT of stuff!) I picked up a grocery bag that had a two liter of pop in it and the bottom of the bag came out and the two liter landed on my foot! It hurt so so bad! I was actually worried for a while that it might be broken but I don't think it is...just really really bruised and tender!
Below are two pictures of the bruise. I couldn't get a very good picture of it, it was much darker and a cool purple color in real life but these'll have to do. It is my baby toe and up into my foot if you need help finding the bruise.

Did I mention that it really hurt?

A Little Cabin Info!

2009-01-07T22:25:00.011-07:00

So when we are at the cabin, we do A WHOLE LOTTA NOTHIN'!!!!! Really we do 4 things. Well 5 if you count sleep!

1.We played the wiiBrad on guitar and Jenn on drums

Kelsey on drums and me on the guitar

Amy is an awesome singer!

Me, Marsha, Megan, & Jeff playing Mario Kart!

Although we didn't get any pictures of it...Jenn & Megan played ALOT of Super Mario 3 and it was so entertaining to watch! They were not very good so we did A TON of laughing! So much fun!

2. We watched movies/How I Met Your Mother (we watched I think 4 movies and almost 2 seasons of How I Met Your Mother!)

3. We went sledding/4-wheeling! And we did it alot! We went a couple times each day...it was either snowing or really cold but that did not stop us from having soooooooooo much fun!!!

We had two 4 wheelers and many sleds...each time we would swap who did what. We would send one 4 wheeler down ahead of the sledders to stop any cars from coming up the road...then the sledders would go down...then the second 4 wheeler would follow behind in case someone got hurt (which luckily no one did this time) You will notice in the pictures that I am not on sleds very often, (I'm kinda a wimp-I did go down quite a few times...mostly doubled up with Amy but I did try the wooden sled by the end) I spent most of my time driving the 4 wheeler (which worked out nicely cuz I love 4 wheelers and everyone else wanted to ride the sleds anyways!)

Jenn & Megan riding double

Jeff tried out snowboarding

Here comes Megan, Jenn, & Jeff

And there goes Megan, Jenn, & Jeff

I think this is Kelsey, Jenn, & Megan

Jenn & Amy with the 4 wheeler

Amy, Kelsey, Me (with my awesome pink bibs!!!) & Jeff

Megan & Jenn

To get back up to the top we would mostly just all climb onto the 4 wheelers and ride up that way

But sometimes we would pull the sleds behind the 4 wheeler

Me driving the 4 wheeler pulling Jeff, Amy is driving the 4 wheeler with Kelsey taking pictures pulling Megan & Jenn

Me driving with Jeff on the sled

Megan & Jenn liked to try to run into each other

Which would usually end like this!

4. We eat! ALOT!! We are all on our own for breakfast and lunch and snacks! And it seriously feels like all I did was eat! I probably gained a ton of weight but I don't even care! Then this year we did something we've never done before...we each were in charge of one dinner. Me & Jenn were made BBQ chicken, rice-a-roni, and red lobster rolls! Amy & Kelsey did hobo dinners! And Megan & Jeff did spaghetti & garlic bread! It worked so well! And we definitely had plenty to eat!

So that is how we spent all our waking hours! (I have more stories for blogs to come) It was an absolutely fantastic time!!!

I'm Back!

2009-01-06T22:12:00.003-07:00

So I have had many comments about how I need to post! So here I am! I was without internet for about 5 days then since I got home I just haven't had time! And I was waiting to get the pictures off Jenn's camera before I posted...and that happened tonight! So the next few days worth of posts will be all about my FABULOUS time at the cabin!! We didn't take near as many pictures as we usually do but I should be able to come up with quite a bit to blog about!

For now though...I'm going to bed...I am EXHAUSTED! But here is a picture to start with!

Blast From The Past!

2008-12-28T22:29:00.004-07:00

Okay so since my blog has been so boring lately and since today would be another boring day...I decided to pull out a little something from my birthday this last year! Here's the back story...Leslie & Isaac were going to tell me they were pregnant for my birthday gift but the secret was already out so on the drive up here Isaac decided that wasn't enough so he wrote me this song! He seriously wrote it on the way up here! I LOVE IT!!!! IT IS FANTASTIC!!! There are ALOT of inside jokes so if you don't know me too well then it probably won't be as good...but it was PERFECT!!!!

Isn't Isaac awesome! I've never had a song written for me before!

Lazy Day

2008-12-28T01:45:00.001-07:00

Today was spent watching movies and putting songs onto my ipod. Seriously, that is all I did! And now that I just finished a game of scrabble with Emily (she won again...by more than a hundred points) I am totally exhausted and going to bed!

Good night all!

Another Fantastic Day!

2008-12-27T01:05:00.004-07:00

Okay...real quick cause I am tired!!!! Today was another great and fantastic day! And here is why!

1. Sleeping in - somewhat
2. Hot cinnamon rolls for breakfast!
3. Morning nap
4. Waking up to fresh bread baking in my new bread machine!
5. Some more being lazy
6. Shopping with my best friend
7. Playing on itunes and my new ipod
8. Going to see the Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Emily, Jenn, & Amy (Triple Loved It)
9. Having Emily crash here again

All in all - a pretty dang fantastic day! Oh yeah, add in there that it is only friday, I didn't have to work today, and I get to sleep in again tomorrow! Could a person ask for anything else!?!?!?! I don't think so!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T22:50:00.007-07:00

I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas!! I know I did!!! Seriously! It was a fantastic day!! We woke up at the butt crack of dawn (7:00) and began opening presents! It was pretty laid back with just me, Becky, & our parents! I got some pretty awesome stuff! Actually everything I got was fantastic but a few of my favorites were an ipod nano (I've never had an ipod before...I've always been a cd kinda girl), my bread machine (I already made a loaf of onion bread and it was delicious!), The Office Trivia game (so fun!), clothes, dvds, a new watch (cute green m&m), and new blankets for my bed (my old ones have worn through and are leaving purple fuzzies EVERYWHERE!), and a wii fit (haven't had time to play it yet though)

I spent most of my day just being lazy and trying to figure out my new ipod! I did actually have to get up and shower and get ready for the day so that I could go to the detention center! I seriously seriously love my calling! We went in yesterday for an hour and did more of the 'worldly' side of Christmas. We had Santa come and we sang fun Christmas songs and gave each of the kids a fleece blanket. Then today we went in and did more of the 'true meaning' side of Christmas. We read about the birth of the Savior from the bible and sang more of the spiritual Christmas songs. I love to see those kids! I can't imagine being somewhere like that on Christmas. It was hard enough being away from my family and friends while I was on my mission, but atleast I knew I was where I was supposed to be and doing what I was supposed to be doing! So I am just so glad to get to go in there and hopefully be able to show them that no matter where they are...they are still loved! It's an awesome awesome calling I hold!

Every year on Christmas we go over to my aunts house for breakfast and then they come to our house for dinner! She makes a FANTASTIC breakfast for us every year. We always have a ham, hashbrowns, toast, eggs (for people who like them...I would not be one of those), and this year she even added in waffles! For dinner we always have a turkey with all the fixin's! I love stuffing and have been known on multiple occasions to have it alone for dinner, so imagine my excitement when stuffing is actually part of the meal! LOVE IT! I usually just have myself a plateful of turkey and stuffing...nothing else is really needed in my opinion! It was a fantastic food day! And Emily came up for dinner too!

As for the snow...it snowed quite a bit this morning but didn't last very long but then it has kinda snowed off and on all day...until tonight at around 7ish or so....and it just started coming down and has been coming down pretty good since! It dropped alot of snow...enough so that Emily just decided to crash here rather than risk her life driving home in the storm! But the biggest highlight of the snow was when Becky & Michael decided they wanted to try out our new snow ball throwers...well of course Michael didn't plan on playing in the snow and was just wearing a shirt and sweat pants...so as Becky is putting on her new snow pants and Michael was trying to be the tough guy and say he'd be fine without any...I offered him my pink bibs...and he took me up on the offer! So not only were they pink...but he is much taller than me...so they are floods!!!!! Can I just tell you that we were all hysterically laughing! It was one of the funniest things I have seen in my life!

And once you are wearing your cousins pink bibs...you might as well wear your aunts baby blue moon boots...
Seriously check out how high of floods those pants are on him!

Doesn't he look good?!?!?

And here is Becky dressed to play in the snow...in gender appropriate clothing!

I asked Michael if he wanted to wear my big purple snow coat but he said 'No...I need to keep some of my manhood'!

We also played an awesome game of Scattergories! Emily and I were a team and she is fantastic at that game! I think there was only one round we didn't win and we totally killed everyone overall! So glad to have her on my team...I can't think well enough under pressure! And let me just say...lots and lots of laughing at everyone's answers! Then we played a few games on the wii! Fun times!

Now Emily and I really should be going to bed but instead have been playing an online game of scrabble...its hard BTW! Currently...she's leading the game by just under 30 points...I wonder who will win! To be continued...

Update: (about 10 minutes later) Emily is winning by just over 50!

Update: (about 30 minutes later than that) And the winner is....Emily....by 68 points!! Good game!

Only One More Sleep 'Til Christmas

2008-12-24T22:29:00.003-07:00

I had a whole blogged planned out about all the awesome things we did today and all the traditions we celebrate! I took lots of pictures and had so much already written in my head. But now I'm just tired and don't want to spend the time! Is that horrible? It kinda is, isn't it? But me and my family are watching Scrooged and I just wanna turn off the computer and probably fall asleep (I ALWAYS fall asleep during movies!) So I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Eve and just remember...there's only one more sleep til Christmas!!! YAY!!!!

I LOVED Today!

2008-12-24T00:35:00.004-07:00

Today was a great day! You know the kind of day where you wake up in a good mood and know that no matter what happens its going to be a great day? Well it was one of those days! FANTASTIC! Here is why (listed in chronological order)

1. Lots and Lots of Snow!

2. I got my nails done at lunch! I tried to take a picture to post on here but it just looked weird. I got kinda a light wintery green with glitter! I'm going for the winter look! And I love it!

3. Dinner with friends I love! My friend Jeri (aka Tom) is in town from Alaska for the holiday and she called yesterday and wanted to do dinner tonight. I was also able to get ahold of Star so she came too! It was such a fun time! We had to keep it kinda short since I had to be at the playhouse but it was still so fun! We laughed about old memories and got caught up on each others lives! It was fantastic! You know the kind of friends that you don't see or talk to for months but then when you get together it is just like old times. Well that is us!

Me, Star, Tom

4. Fun times running the box office at the playhouse! I really do love running the box office with Lisa! And there are so many people that I love that I get to see while I am there.

5. Having a girls night with Emily! We've both been so busy lately that it seems like its been forever since we got together to just hang out. And I've really missed that. So Emily (& Cydney - her cute niece) was able to come up for a few hours tonight and we watched The Holiday! I really do love that movie! And the company was fantastic! What a great way to end a wonderful day!

I think that was the all major points that made today such a great day! I LOVED Today!

Oops!

2008-12-23T09:29:00.002-07:00

So I woke up this morning and realized that I had not updated yesterday! What is wrong with me? No idea actually!!! So I am gonna tell about my not very exciting day yesterday right now and that will have to count as best as it can for yesterdays blog!

Woke up, went to work, started snowing once I got to work (!!!), snowed ALL DAY!!!, went to dinner with Leah (so fun!), helped Lisa run the box office at the playhouse, actually got to see Leah be Isabelle (excellent job), went home (slowly, the roads were very slick), talked to Emily online for a while (love her!), worked on the Blithe Spirit program, went to bed!

As you can see I had a very non-exciting day but was online for a long time last night and totally could have posted a blog but for whatever reason I didn't even think about it! Oh well!

P.S. It's snowing AGAIN!!!!! Great day!

Just A Few Things...

2008-12-21T22:57:00.002-07:00

Today was Jenn's Speak In Sacrament Meeting Day (formerly known as a Homecoming) and she did a fabulous job!

Baby Addie was so cute today! I got to hold her through sacrament and then quite a bit when we were back at Jenn's, she is so dang fun! Here she is in her cute as can be purple outfit! (I got it for her!!) Check out the socks!!!!

Jenn really likes Baby Addie too!!!!

Here they are checking out the tree together!

And here is a much better picture of Elizabeth with the cross-stitch my dad made them for Christmas! The important thing to note is that my dad HATES to cross-stitch words...and this one has ALOT of words!! He must really like them!

That's about all I've got today! The rest of my day has been spent sleeping and watching TV. So nothing exciting!

It must be in the Genes

2008-12-20T21:41:00.005-07:00

Okay let me start with the most important thing that happened today! Those of you who know anything about me...know that I LOVE REBA!!! I love love love Reba. Some would say obsessed...some say stalker...some just mock me at every possible turn...and some just think, 'oh it's tara'. Well my cousin Brandon loves Star Wars. I kinda always knew that but it wasn't until I was at his house today that I found out his obsession with Star Wars equals and possibly even surpasses my obsession with Reba. I know...you're wondering if that's even possible! It is...I'm so not kidding! In his house, he has a Star Wars room. A freakin' Star Wars room...I have only dreamed about having a Reba room!

Here are a couple pictures I took of his collection!

When I asked him why some were opened and why some where still in the package. He said because the ones he has opened, he also has another one that is unopened. To which I replied very sarcastically "I have no idea waht you mean...I DO NOT have two copies of all of Reba's cd's so that I can open one and leave one in the plastic"! I seriously could not love his room more!

Yes, he even has a Star Wars Christmas Tree!

I also got to hold my cousin Tiffany's cute cute baby again! He is such a good baby! Just lays there and smiles and grins the whole time!

Owen

Look at his cute dimple! This is the only picture I got of him smiling! All the other pictures he had kinda a panic look! He would smile up until the flash went off then he would just stare!

This was the cross-stich my dad made for Kim & Elizabeth

Paul & Vicki! - Paul, you are now on my blog!!!!

Vicki brought a fun game called the Reindeer game! We played boys against girls...I think the boys won, but only because they got done first...both the boys and girls reindeers looked great! They had to put a pair of pantyhose on and the legs become the antlers...see pictures below! So fun! I was in charge of picture taking!

My dad was the boy reindeer

The boys hard at work

Natalie was the girl reindeer

The girls hard at work

The finished reindeers! Don't they look great!

For dessert we had Rootbeer floats! The boys were all sitting eating theirs and enjoying them...then Aidan says "this is just so daleesious...eva" That word is delicious but I tried to type it in his cute little kid accent! It was so cute!

Cody, Tayson, & Aidan

So as you can see we had a pretty good Skinner Family Christmas Party! It was lots of fun!

My Favorite Part About Blogging!

2008-12-19T17:12:00.004-07:00

I have decided that my favorite part about blogging is that I can talk (well write) about things that you couldn't care less about in a normal conversation! But just because I am updating my blog, you guys all read it and hopefully even kinda enjoy it! Plus, I am sure my friends are thanking you so very much because now they don't have to listen to as many of my stories as they used to! I can write about anything and you guys are stuck listening (well reading) to my rambling!!! I LOVE BLOGGING!!!!

We got out of work a few minutes early today and so I headed home! And while it looked like this outside...

I decided to make some fudge! I LOVE LOVE LOVE fudge! The first time I remember eating this kind was as a kid at my friend Dori's house! (Come to think of it...lots of my first food memories are from Dori's) It is the kind that is made with the Marshmellow Creme! And it is fantastic. There is actually a recipe on the back of the jar but it only has the recipe for the making it on the stove and I have always made it in the microwave! So that is the way I do it!

*Lightly grease 8x8 or 9x9 pan.
*Microwave 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) margarine in 4 quart microwave bowl on High 1 minute
*Add 3 cups sugar & 1 can (5 oz) evaporated milk. Mix well

*Microwave on High 5 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes. Mix well. Scrape bowl
*Microwave on High 5 1/2 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes.
*Gradually stir in 1 pkg (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips until melted.

(I have never actually made the fudge myself before, I've always had someone else to pour the ingredients in while I stirred, so this was a new experience for me!)

*Add remaining ingredients. 1 jar (7 oz) marshmellow creme. 1 tsp vanilla. 1 cup chopped nuts. (nuts optional...and I choose to not choose them!!) Mix well.

(I love when you first open the marshmellow creme and it kinda creeps out of the jar!)

*Pour into prepared pan. Cool at room temperature. Cut into squares. Eat

I always leave some in the bowl to eat! I am not a good scraper!

And here is the finished project...

So that is what I did while it has been cold & snowy outside!

Now Jenn & Amy are here and we are going to watch Ironman then we are going to have a How I Met Your Mother marathon once Jeff & Megan get here!! Gonna be a great night!

IT'S SNOWING!!!!

2008-12-19T10:33:00.002-07:00

That's all! I just wanted everyone to know how excited I am that I just looked out my window here at work and saw that the snow has started!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the snow! I hope it snows all day and just keeps on going! We may actually get to have a white Christmas!

And I got new tires on my car yesterday so I don't even have to be worried about driving in it!!

YAY FOR SNOW!!!!

What I've Done Tonight...

2008-12-18T23:27:00.007-07:00

Made 4 scarves and watched a disc and a half of Pushing Daisies Season 1!

First: Pushing Daisies is awesome! I've had so many people tell me that I should watch it and so when I found season 1 for 18.99 I bought it! And I finally had the chance to start watching it (and I've heard that they cancelled it so I am NOT happy about that). There are so many good things to love about it! I really like the way that it is set up, with the narrator and the details (he was 29 years, 3 months, 2 days, & 4 minutes old). I LOVE Kristin Chenoweth and how she randomly breaks into song. I just really like this show! I have been DVR-ing Season 2 so I can start on that as soon as Season 1 is over! Fantastic!

Second: Making the scarves...
First I cut them into 8 inch wide strips and pin two together...

Then pin 6 inches in from the end (for the tassels) and then 7 inches in from that (for the pocket)...

Then sew along the edges...

Don't forget to leave an opening for the pocket...

Then cut the tassels...

The finished tassels...

Here is a finished scarf....

And all 4 are finally done!

I think they turned out pretty good! And I am totally impressed with myself for getting them done tonight from start to finish! Pretty productive night!! :)

Tagged Again!!!

2008-12-17T22:24:00.002-07:00

Lesley tagged me for my favorite movies! I tag anyone who wants to play but specifically Lana, Kelli, Diana, Audrey, Mandy Sue, & Stephanie Love (and if you guys don't want to then just pretend you didn't see your name here!)

For those of you who know anything about me at all...you know I LOVE movies! And I am frequently saying 'oh that's my favorite movie!' so this is super fun for me!!!! Warning: some may have more than one movie listed...sometimes it's just too hard to pick! (turns out almost all of them have more than one) And just for the record...I've had a hard time resisting the urge to type up my favorite lines from each movie as I've been posting them!

Here it goes...

A-American President
B-Back To The Future (all 3), Benny & Joon, Big, Bourne movies, Billy Madison (best Adam Sandler Movie Ever!)
C-Clue, Can't Buy Me Love, Chipmunks Adventure
D-Dear God, Dirty Dancing, Dumb & Dumber
E-E.T.
F-Ferris Bueller's Day Off, First Wives Club, Forever Love, Fried Green Tomatoes
G-Ghostbusters (both but first is better), Goonies
H-Hairspray, Happy Gilmore, Heavyweights
I-In & Out, I Am Legend
J-Juno
K-Kindergarten Cop
L-League Of Their Own, Liar Liar, Lilo & Stitch
M-Mary Poppins, Mean Girls, Music & Lyrics
N-Napoleon Dynamite, Notting Hill, Now & Then
O-One & Only Genuine Original Family Band, Orange County, Overboard
P-Pete's Dragon, Practical Magic, Private Eyes
Q- (can't think of any...sorry)
R-Return To Me, Rocketman,
S-Steel Magnolias (Seriously my number one favorite movie of all time!!!!), Savannah Smiles & Somewhere in Time (they are tied for my number 2 spot...its just coincidence that they all start with the same letter), Simon Birch, Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants, Son-in-Law, Superstar, Sweet Dreams
T-Three Amigos, Teen Witch, Tommy Boy, Tremors
U-Uncle Buck
V-View From The Top
W-What About Bob?, What Happens In Vegas, Where The Heart Is, Wizard Of Oz
X- (again...can't think of any...sorry)
Y-Young Frankenstein, You've Got Mail
Z-Zoolander

That was fun! I LOVE movies!!

Laughing!

2008-12-16T23:56:00.005-07:00

I LOVE to just sit around with friends and talk and laugh! Nothing else going on but just sitting around and enjoying each others company!! Jenn's mom threw her a kinda welcome home party tonight. And after most of the people left we just sat on the couch and had a good time. We mostly talked about funny old stories and quoted 'How I Met Your Mother' (Seriously funny show...we think Jenn needs to fall in love with it like we are! Even Lisa & Jared want to see it now that we quoted it and hysterically laughed all night!!!!) At some points we were laughing so hard we were crying! It was a fabulous night!

Below are some random pictures taken throughout the night, most of them taken by Kenzie (she's 5)! She actually took a ton but I just picked some of the best ones to represent the night!

Me & Jenn

Me & Baby Addie - she was actually awake and smiling long enough for me to hold her! Well when Jenn wasn't being a baby hog!

Kenzie wanted a picture of her lying on the floor!

Me & My Friend Brenda! I seriously LOVE her!

I guess Kelsey didn't want to sit close to us!

Kelsey being Hiro Nakamura! I seriously can't stop laughing at this picture!

Addie - Look how cute her little lip is!!! So cute!

Kenzie has amazing balancing skills! And Justin was willing to entertain her for hours!

Megan, Jenn, Amy, Me, Kenzie, Lana, Craig, & Taylor

Jenn, Megan, Me, & Amy

It was such a fantastic night! I LOVE my friends!

Jenn is home!!!

2008-12-15T23:45:00.004-07:00

YAY!!! YAY!!!! YAY!!! Jenn is home! She is home from her mission! She called me this morning and we talked for just a couple minutes. Then we all went to lunch (Amy, Megan, & I already had it planned) and let me just tell you how great it was to see her!! Dang, I've missed that girl!!

We had so much fun at lunch just talking and having a great time!

Kenzie (Jenn's sister), Jenn, Megan, Baby Addie (Amy's niece)

Me & Amy

Baby Addie just snuggled right up and fell asleep! Isn't she cute!

Then after work Amy & I went bowling with the Young Single Adults. It was up on base, and after getting just slightly lost, we asked a guy walking down the street where the bowling alley was and once we found it, we actually had a great time! We both even bowled pretty decent! Amy's goal was to get over 50 and my goal was to get over 100. And we both reached our goal! Way to go us!!

Me & Amy

Action shot! And yes, for the record I even hit those pins...I missed alot of pins but conveniently those ones I actually knocked down

Me, Rebecca, & Janelle

Amy & I only stayed long enough to play one game because then we had to run and stop by Kelsie's choir concert! We got there in time to watch her sing her couple songs then we snuck outta there and headed to my house for weekly movie night!

We had a pretty good turn out...me, Amy, Megan, Jenn, Ty, & eventually Jeff. We actually opted to not watch a movie and instead introduce Jenn to the joy that is the wii! We played alot of random games and just kinda gave her an overall view of the fun possibilities!

This next picture was when Megan lost her phone in my couch (you would be surprised at how often that happens...we're not sure how...but many of my friends have lost their phones in my couch many times)

Jenn holding the chair back and Megan crawling under to find the phone

Alright....these next pictures needs a little explaining...we LOVE frooties! (fruit flavored tootsie rolls) The only problem is that they come in packages of all one flavor so we have always bought multiple flavors then dumped them out, mixed them up, and put them back in the packages. And we always take pictures with them. The packages have gotten stingier...they used to be 440 per package and now they are only 360 per package...rip off! So this years pile is not near as large as previous years! (there also are only 4 flavors this time and we've had as many as 7 before)

Amy, Jenn, Megan, & I

And we always take a shot with Megan pouring them down on us!

So that was our fun night! I also made Skookies! (Awesome awesome chocolate chip cookies baked in a cast iron pan then you let it cool off just barely, put a couple scoops of icecream on top, a little hershey's syrup, and eat it warm right out of the pan!!! DELICIOUS! Jenn needed to be introduced and lets be honest - that is the only reason Jeff comes to movie night!)

So all in all it was a pretty great day! And did I mention that I am so excited to have Jenn home!!!

Another Quick Post

2008-12-15T00:26:00.002-07:00

I haven't gone to bed yet so I'm counting this as Sunday's post!!! And its going to be another quick one! We had our Payne Family Christmas Party! I took some pictures and will post them later but really there were no great stories and no fights at all (which is very very rare for us to not have someone leave crying) so it was a pretty good night!

Also, I'm still working on my knitting!

And that's it, goodnight!

Saturday!!

2008-12-13T23:28:00.006-07:00

Today was a pretty busy but great day!

For starters when I woke up this morning....IT WAS SNOWING!!!!!!!!! I triple love the snow! Perfect way to start the day!

The first thing I did this morning was get my haircut. (Normally it is a whole big day 'Haircut Day' and it includes a whole dinner tradition but since that didn't happen this time I'll wait until it actually does before I blog about it!) My hair needed to be cut soooooo bad! I called Rachael last week practically begging for any time she could fit me in, and today was the lucky day! I love haircut day! (and the best hair day is always the day after)

Then I met Lisa, Leslie, & Morgan at the playhouse and we headed to see our friend Jessica in Little Women. I had never seen the show (and am kinda embarrassed to admit that I've never even read the book) and I really enjoyed it. The music is really beautiful and I thought Jessica did a fantastic job! I don't really care for that theatre itself and it seemed like a really long show and the lighting was kinda annoying but other than that I enjoyed it! And the company was great!

After that I picked up some dinner and headed to Layton to visit my best friend Emily who was lucky (??) enough to get to work for 15 hours today. So to try to make it possible for her to make it through the last couple hours...I took her some food and a Dr. Pepper! So I got to hang out in the tech booth with her for about an hour! It was really fun!

Then I just headed home for a night of a whole lot of nothing-ness! But then Lana came over and I showed her the next step in knitting her socks! It has been so much fun showing her how to knit and I seriously can't believe how good she is! I also worked a little bit on my wallaby...I got over my fear off putting on the pouch and just did it...and I actually think that I might be doing it correctly! I took some pictures and added them below for Diana!! (and probably Audrey!)

Here is Lana working on her sock and me working on my wallaby!

It's kinda blurry but that's how far I am on my wallaby! I am so proud of myself! I've been reading the pattern and everything all by myself!

And that was the story of my fun day!

Voice Male!

2008-12-12T23:26:00.004-07:00

Every year the Payne side of my family (us, the Stotts, & Berchtolds et al) try to do something Christmas-y together! I think we've done something for the last 3 or so years. Last year we went to the zoo lights (BOOOOOOOOO) and this year we decided to go see the Voice Male Christmas concert!! And what an excellent idea it was! It was a fantastic concert! There was great music and they were very entertaining and funny!

First we all met for dinner at Wingers (and if you know me at all you know how much I love Wingers!) Then we headed to the Browning Center for the concert!

Me & Amanda waiting for them to open the house!

Me & Traeden & Casey

Half of the group! Brenna, Shelby, Traeden, Andy, Abbey, Mike, Casey, Mom, & Dad

The other half of us! Phil, Tina, Becky, Michael, Amanda, & I

Becky & Michael

Amanda, Me, Brenna, & Shelby

Casey likes to cheese it up for pictures!

Casey took the rest of these pictures! I love when people take my camera and snap away! I just picked the best of the bunch!

Mom & Dad

Abbey & Mike

Shelby, Traeden, & Andy

I think Shelby had enough of Casey's picture taking!

We had such a good time! I love when we get together with the family! We laughed alot! Great night!

Another Project!

2008-12-11T22:54:00.013-07:00

Okay...I like to have projects and make things! I was talking to my friend Annie the other day and telling her about putting picos on a quilt to bind it and she didn't know what picos were. I tried to explain it to her but was not very successful...so I told her I'd post pictures on my blog so she could see them!!!

Also I figured that this would be a great time to show off one of my greatest accomplishments! The turtle quilt!

My sister LOVES turtles! There are 91 squares...each one is a piece of muslin with a different turtle on it. I found them all over...from clip art on the computer to coloring books to Becky's underwear! Then I blew them up to the right size, traced them with pencil onto pieces of muslin, colored them with crayola crayons, ironed the crayons to set the crayon, then outlined them with black sharpie! (I did not do any of this by myself - I had lots of friends help)

Here are the squares layed out ready to be sewn together
(Notice the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles in the middle and also can you find Philbert from Rocko's Modern Life?)

Then they are pieced together with different turtle material in between(which was VERY hard to find FYI!) Then after the front is pieced together we quilted all the squares and each turtle.

Me & Grandma quilting

Altina, Diana, & Brenna quilting

Then its time for the picos! The extra material is cut into 3 inch squares then ironed to make them into triangles. Then pinned onto the front, sewn (by machine) onto the front, then the back is pinned on and it is hand stitched to finish off!

It only took me about 2 years to make (yes I took a few very long breaks!) but dang it is cute!

Below are some pictures I took after it was finished!

The front
(Annie see the triangles around the edges - those are picos!)

The back - isn't that the cutest material!!!

A couple close ups to see the finished product!!

So there is just one of the many quilts I have made but definitely the most difficult and most work! Most of the time I just take two sheets and tie them together then finish off with picos! Much easier!

Reba Loves Music Man??? & Other Stuff

2008-12-10T22:40:00.006-07:00

So I've kinda mentioned some Music Man stuff in previous posts...here's the story. My good friend Leslie is directing it and she has asked me to be her assistant! (Not assistant director, she wants me to be assistant TO THE director) This will be the third show I get to help her with, we did Seussical two years ago and My Fair Lady last year. I love getting to help her...I am pretty much just her go-fer (or anal assistant as we lovingly refer to it!) It has so far been a really great experience for me...I LOVE people and I LOVE getting to be up there helping and meeting new people! So this last week she's been having auditions/call backs for Music Man! I am so glad I am not the director and don't really have anything to do with casting because there have been lots and lots of good people show up! Anyways....the point of this blog....up until a couple of days ago she did not have anyone to choreograph the show for her. Last week we had joked about me doing it for her and this is the start of the texting conversation we had on Monday night (you'll see why I love Leslie so much!!!)

Leslie: Reba came to me in a dream and told me that you were suppose to chorograph music man

Me: Well if Reba said so I am in

Leslie: If i'd have known it would be that easy, i'd have done that weeks ago!

(Now for those of you who know me...please take a moment to picture that in your head...me...choreographing a show...HILLARIOUS! The mental picture alone makes me giggle!)

So imagine my horror of showing up to call backs on Tuesday and finding out that Ryan was actually going to be the one to choreograph it! I asked Leslie why she got my hopes up just to shoot them down :) And after Reba told her it was suppose to be me choreographing it!

So tonight they had call backs for the chorus and smaller roles (I had to miss because it was my annual work party...more about that later) So after it was all over Leslie called me to tell me a funny story. When her husband showed up to pick up their son because his part was done...her husband came in and said "I'm here to audition" to which she was like "what?" (if you know him, you'll know the chances of him being in a show are about as high as the chances of me being in a show!) and he said "Yup, Reba told me to audition" HILLARIOUS!!! So after Leslie & I had a good laugh I told her "Well obviously Reba cares alot about Music Man and wants it to be a good show!" And its true...why else would Reba think I should choreograph and John should audition...she must truly know how to make a memorable show!

And now our new thing is going to be "Reba told me too..."

So on a completely different note...tonight was my annual work party. It actually wasn't bad...Cory was my date (for the 3rd year in a row we realized tonight). It was at the country club and so the food wasn't bad and the entertainment was really good! They sang great arrangements of some great Christmas songs! I love good Christmas music.

And I realized tonight that my two favorite Christmas songs are "O Holy Night" & "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" if they are done correctly! My favorite versions are

O Holy Night by
-Reba (I know I know...that shouldn't come as a surprise but more than the fact that I love everything Reba does...it is a REALLY good version!)
-Josh Groban
-David Phelps (I just recently fell in love with this one...youtube it...I promise you will not be sorry!)
-My friend Isaac (He blows me away every time I've gotten to hear him sing it)
-and many more! (I have seriously considered making a mix cd of only O Holy Night by all different people)

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by
-Michael Webb (my all time favorite version...it was on a tape left in one of the cars on my mission and I fell in love with it and searched for about 4 years after my mission to find a copy of it on cd but have finally found it)
-Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLaughlin

I also love Angels We Have Heard On High - especially the version by Billy Gilman

Okay I will stop now or I could give you lists and lists of my favorite Christmas songs but I think those are my top favorites!! (atleast for today...subject to change by tomorrow)

Boring!

2008-12-09T23:42:00.002-07:00

I feel like I'm pretty boring lately, I guess the truth is really starting to come out! So far on this blog you all thought I was pretty exciting and did lots of fun stuff...well now you all know the truth...I'm a pretty boring person! And I am so exhausted that all I want to do is go to bed! So I'm just gonna summarize my day...work this morning...then I went to go visit my friends Annie & Shelby & Family (I had some tickets for them I needed to drop off) I seriously love them! Then I went to Music Man callbacks...I didn't do much but get to sit and enjoy so it made for a pretty good time! And that was pretty much my day...good times huh? :)

Movie Night!!

2008-12-08T23:49:00.002-07:00

So every Monday night @ 8:00 we have movie night at my house! Any & all are invited! Some weeks there are so many people here that we don't all have room to sit and sometimes there are just one or two people here! But it is always fun and we always enjoy ourselves!

Today Amy came over a little early and we watched the office from last week then started heroes from today until Kelli got here! Then we headed downstairs! Trev showed up shortly after Kelli! They were all wonderful enough to help me cut & tie some more blankets for the center! I have done soooooooooo many blankets lately! But we were able to get done all the ones that I had at my house so I'm feeling pretty good about that! We watched Zoolander because Trev had never seen it! We all laughed so hard (well Kelli, Amy, & I did - not sure how Trev felt about it) It was a fun night! Now Kelli & I are enjoying watching Amy make some Mii's on my Wii! We are laughing alot!

Before movie night started Lana stopped by so I could help her with more knitting! She is currently working on making socks! She is doing so good! I helped her start knitting the heel...she is catching on surprisingly well! I have been pleasantly surprised at how good she is doing! The only set back we've had is that I incorrectly taught her how to purl (oops...its been a long time since I knitted okay) so the ribbing on the ankle is incorrect but it looks okay and I figure as long as she incorrectly does the other sock then no one will be the wiser! But I was able to pull up a youtube video to show me how to correctly purl (thanks Diana - it was linked to the how to cast on video you sent me a few weeks ago) and so the heel looks correct and now we both know the correct way to purl!!

Quick Post

2008-12-07T23:55:00.002-07:00

Here is just a quick post cause I'm tired and headed to bed!!! :)

Today was a pretty great day! I love my calling in the detention center and today just re-confirmed that for me! I felt really good about my lesson in Sunday School at the singles branch! Then today was the First Presidency Christmas Devotional! So me, Amy, my mom, my dad, Ed, & Kathy headed to the conference center in Salt Lake! It was really a good time! The devotional was really good! A nice simple devotional! My favorite part was that the tickets I had were in the Terrace in the section where the deaf people sit to see the sign language interpreters so I got to watch it in sign!!! Fantastic! Then Amy & I came back to my house, watched last weeks Heroes, and then I went to family prayer!

Great day!

Good night!

The Forgotten Carols

2008-12-07T00:11:00.003-07:00

Every year Michael McLean's production of the Forgotten Carols comes to town! Brandi & I have gone for YEARS! So long in fact I don't actually remember when we started but it was while we were still in high school I'm pretty sure! And pretty much every year we have a good memory to go with it! There was the year we had to go see it somewhere in like South Salt Lake cuz we missed the other ones. The year the snow was HORRIBLE and we were seeing it in Logan. The year Brandi tried to get us a discount on the tickets because her uncle knows Michael. The year we definitely parked in the wrong place so it took us over 30 minutes to even move in the parking lot. Always so much fun!

We prefer to go see it in Logan so that we can have dinner at The Blue Bird but for one reason or another the last few years we haven't been able to go on those nights so lucky enough, we have an Ogden tradition as well! When we see it in Ogden we go to Roosters for dinner! Excellent alternative to Logan & Blue Bird!

This year was a Roosters & Ogden year! So on Monday, we (Brandi, Larry, & I) met at Blue Bird, had an EXCELLENT dinner! Then headed to the Forgotten Carols! We parked strategically (I wanted to hurry out to get to the playhouse to be able to say goodbye to Brady) and headed in! Our seats were great (Thanks Brandi - you can still be in charge every year) The show itself was as I remember it! (Well each year they change a little something but its basically still the same) I do miss how simple it used to be and Katie Thompson was definitely the best Connie Lou I've ever seen, I miss her too! But other than that it was a great time! Brandi & I always have so much fun together - I forget how much we just 'get' each other!

Brandi is apparently really happy to be here!

We really did have a lot of fun!

Larry looks like he's having a blast, doesn't he!?!?

I love traditions, love the Forgotten Carols, & love Brandi! So it made for a pretty dang good night! (and yes, I did make it in time to say goodbye to Brady and get one last hug!)

A Good Day

2008-12-06T00:42:00.006-07:00

Tonight there was a huge fireside at the Ogden Tabernacle. It was put on by the Ogden Mission and it included all 190 missionaries, Heartbound (the reason Debbie & I went), and T minus 5. I called Debbie yesterday and asked her if she wanted to go with me and she said yes! So we headed over there, got our seats and waited for it to start. And let me just say it was an EXCELLENT fireside! TOTALLY worth going! It was fun to sit and think about my mission and all the good memories I have of it. It's been just under 6 years ago that I got home! Good time!

I (well Debbie was the one actually taking the picture) couldn't get a good picture because it was too dark with out the flash and too far away with the flash. But here is the best one I got!

After the fireside Debbie & I went up to talk to Heartbound. (We have been friends with them for about 10 years now)

Debbie, Debbie, Lori, & Me - Me'Chel was off talking so we had to take the picture without her
(Don't mind the finger in the top corner - my camera batteries died just after this picture was finished so I couldn't check it to see if it turned out or if we needed to retake it, so this is the best we've got!)

After the fireside Debbie & I went back to her daughter Kami's so that I could meet Cooper! Cooper was born on Wednesday and was 7 lbs 14 oz and 21 in long! And is soooooo cute!

Me & Cooper

Isn't he cute!

Kami even let me look at his feet!

Okay, let me explain...I LOVE baby feet! Pretty much my favorite part of a baby (well that and their cute little butts!) So we unwrapped him so I could see how long and skinny and dang freakin cute his feet are! Thanks Kami for letting me come over and CONGRATULATIONS on such a cute perfect baby! (and thanks Debbie for sending me the pictures)

And because i didn't have any batteries I didn't get any pictures of my fun game night after I left Kami's! I got to go play games with Brandon and some of his friends! Let me just say there was a lot of laughing that went on and even more fun! I love meeting new people...especially fun ones!

So all in all...today was a pretty good day...its been a overall crummy week so it's nice to have good things to blog about and keep me positive!

Who knew Christmas Carol could be so much fun?

2008-12-04T23:30:00.006-07:00

Warning: This post will probably end up being pretty long and FULL of pictures! Most of which won't be as funny to those of you who weren't there tonight...but I can't stop laughing as I look at them!

I had so much fun at Christmas Carol tonight! Wait...let me back up just a little bit! I had an excellent lunch today, not because there was anything special about the food, but the company was fantastic! My good friend Brady entered the MTC yesterday and so me and my friend Leslie had lunch with our friend Lisa (Brady's mom). It was so fun and reminded me that I do have some excellent friends and I am pretty dang blessed! We had Applebees to go and ate at the playhouse while working the box office. We talked about anything and everything and especially how much we're gonna miss Brady but that he is going to be a FANTASTIC missionary!!! Okay...now to Christmas Carol. It was my night to help Lisa with box office/concessions. The show was rented out by a ward so that pretty much means we do nothing but sit, direct traffic, and try to keep ourselves from being too bored (can you see where this is going?) Many of the following pictures are a result of Brandon being in charge of the camera! We laughed ALOT tonight and had so much fun! Also - just as a warning - don't let Brandon and Casey spend time together - they are a little mischievous when left alone!

So it started with this...

Brandon came to the show tonight just to see me and since I was in the box office before it started, he went and helped in concessions. When the show was about to start he asked me if I wanted anything. To which I said "yes, a Dr. Pepper and boy M&M's." A few minutes later Casey came over and told me that Brandon had my stuff for me and he needed me to hurry and come talk to him. Well I didn't think much of it. When I first got over there Brandon said...I wanted one of your m&m's so I opened it and had a few...once again...thought nothing of it. So I start eating my m&m's...Brandon gets a phone call and walks away...Casey can't stop giggling. Well I am just eating my m&m's...and all of a sudden...as I am pouring a couple out into my hand...I get a girl m&m...as you can imagine I thought that was awesome! My eyes light up and I turn to Casey and show him and am all excited. How cool is it to get a regular m&m in a peanut m&m package? :) Right?!?! So...Brandon gets back...Casey makes me replay my excited face...they are both laughing...so by now I'm kinda catching on...I keep saying...you put that in there didn't you? They both keep denying it but laughing at the same time. So we are all giggling (its contagious...what can I say) and then someone (I can't remember if it was Brandon or Casey) says...that one is just a young boy...he hasn't hit puberty yet! So by now we are really laughing! So I just keep eating more...and once again...I get some girl ones...by now I am suspicious...especially with all the laughing going on. I keep asking which one of them mixed up the package? To which Casey replies "It's just a eunich convent!" Okay...I seriously about died laughing! Brandon & I could not stop laughing!! Seriously one of the funniest things I've ever heard...and it came from Casey...only added to how funny it was! So to make a long story short (too late) Casey finally admitted that they changed the m&m's! But man we had fun for a while with it!

Here is the last little bit of my package!

Brandon titled this picture 'The finger model"

Jamila said "look...they just fell this way"

Brandon, Casey, & I - laughing the whole time!

Me & Keilani - I think we have a picture like this for just about every show in the last two years!

Jamila, Me, & Milly

Okay - as if this next picture isn't funny enough on its own (I can't stop giggling when I look at it) after I took it and showed them, Brandon said "Can I send that to my mom? She'd be really proud!" I'm laughing out loud right now just thinking about it!

Jamila & Brandon

Brandon was taking lots of pictures of random people/things...and Casey goes "wait - no - can we get one of my eye?" So of course Brandon also thought that was a good idea!

A few minutes later Casey says "I can't see out of my right eye" Gosh...I wonder why? :)

Casey had the camera for this one

Jim drinking his Diet Dr. Pepper

Can you believe he would throw a pie in my face? :)

A few years ago when I first started volunteering at the playhouse...Casey & I worked concessions every night together! We got bored before the show ALOT and we would take pictures to entertain ourselves...one thing we tried again, and again, and again, and again...was to get an action shot blowing the paper off a straw...we were never successful :( But as you can see below...SUCCESS!!!!

Catching Leah by surprise

I SERIOUSLY LOVE MILLY!

Mason!

Lindsay did not want her picture taken so Brandon kept trying to catch her by surprise! After many failed attempts...he got this one!

I'm not sure what's going on here!

Milly, Keilani, & Jamila - LOVE these girls!

I bet you can't tell which are the real people and which are the dolls?

This is what happens when Brandon has the camera! (There were many like this but since this is my blog - I get to pick and choose which ones I like! Not very many taken tonight were flattering!)

DD talking on the phone during intermission!

When there is a chimney sitting around...you must take a chimney picture!

We had so much fun!!

So that was my night and as you can see when we get bored...we make our own fun! And I was able to have some much needed laughter! Thanks Brandon & Casey for a fun night!

Quick Update!

2008-12-04T23:18:00.002-07:00

So I haven't posted for a few days! Sorry! But its been a week. A very emotional roller coaster type of week and I haven't wanted to blog for fear that the blogs would be negative...and who really wants to read negative stuff, right? But I have something fun to blog about today so I am ready to update again! Also I finished the family challenge of blogging everyday in November so it was kinda nice to not have to blog for a few days. And Audrey, in response to the next challenge...I accept! Blogging everyday from December 5 to January 6! I'm not going to officially accept on that website because if things go as I've been planning for the last year and a half (although it isn't looking good) - I will be without internet service over the New Year so I will miss a few days. Here's to blogging!!!!!

Annual Payne Family & Friends Saturday After Thanksgiving Tradition!

2008-11-30T23:38:00.008-07:00

For those of you who know anything about me and my family...you will know that we LOVE traditions! We have so so many traditions! Some big, some little, some just us, and some involving everyone we know! Traditions! We love them, look forward to them, want to share them, and are always starting new ones!

And this is one of our biggest! We can't remember exactly what year it started and the first couple of years we did things a little different but its pretty set now! We even passed out fliers the last two years!!! It's awesome!

It starts with lunch at El Matador.

Left side of table, front to back: Becky, Nick, Tanith, Hannah (hiding), Jeri, Dave

Right side of table, back to front: Kevin (hiding), Dad, Mom, Craig, Lana, Emily, Cory, Leah

View from the other direction!

Left side of table, front to back: Kevin, Dad, Mom, Craig, Lana, Emily, Cory, Leah

Right side of table, back to front: Becky, Nick, Tanith, Hannah, Jeri, Dave, Nephew

Me & Lana

Leah & I

After the parade we like to walk over and kill time by walking thru the Christmas Tree Jubilee. But for some reason this year it closed a day earlier so there were no trees, no crafts, no warm building to walk around in, and no bathrooms to use. So instead we stood outside and just chatted amongst ourselves while we waited for the parade to start.

Becky, Dad, Nephew, Niece, Kevin, Me, Dave, Jeri, Mom, Craig, & Lana

Me, Amy, Kelsey, & Lana!

More just waiting around! (Can you see Lana cheesing it up in the back!)

After the parade we all head back to my house for my dad's famous milkshakes!

Travis, Nick, Ally, & Dustin

Tanith & Travis

Me, Lana, & Craig

Mom, Becky, Brenna, David (I actually don't remember his name so that's what we are calling him)

My dad at his post!

As you can see there are different people at different parts of the night! Everyone is invited to it all and then they just come to the parts they can! There were even more people who showed up later for milkshakes! It was a GREAT day! So much fun filled with so many great friends! That is exactly why I love traditions so much! A chance to see people! I love people!! Thanks everyone who came!

I could not be more proud!

2008-11-30T23:30:00.004-07:00

Lana came over tonight and I helped her finish her beanie!!! Look at what a fantastic job she did knitting it! She even changed colors!

The finished product!

Here she is wearing it! It's actually gonna be a gift for someone but she had to try it on to make sure it works! :) Isn't it so cute!

Seriously. I could not be more proud! Lana - you are awesome!

Wendover!

2008-11-30T22:22:00.004-07:00

Friday was such a great day!!!!!! I got to sleep the whole drive there! Be lazy in the hotel room until the concert! See a fantastic concert! Sleep great! And then sleep the whole drive home! Definitely a well needed, even though it was short, vacation!

Now for my review on the concert! It was excellent! The concert hall in Wendover is fantastic! It is very small...I'm not sure how to describe it but i'd say its smaller than a high school auditorium is. So it makes for a very personal (I don't know if that's the right word or not) concert. And it was a Christmas concert so it was very mellow! No standing up and screaming and singing at the top of my lungs...just a good sit back and enjoy yourself kinda night!

And the people watching was awesome! I don't know how to tell stories of the people next to me without sounding totally judgmental so I'll keep the specifics to myself but just know I enjoyed the people watching alot! The one thing I will say is the group next to us kept talking before the show started and kept saying that they hoped she sang mostly her songs and not too much Christmas. Um the concert was called Wynonna A Classic Christmas! (It was even printed that way on the ticket) Pretty sure there will be mostly Christmas songs! And let me just say...it was mostly Christmas. I think she sang for just a little over an hour and I think my dad said she sang 19 songs. I can't remember right now if that's what he said but it sounds right. And I think maybe 3 or 4 were non-Christmas.

I think my favorite part about the concert was how real she seemed. She just seemed very human and at one point when she was supposed to go offstage for a costume change...she forgot and they cut her mic as she was talking and she went "what? Oh I totally forgot!!" then walked offstage! It was awesome! Then when she came back on she said "I didn't change my outfit cuz I chose to fix my hair! That's a woman's prerogative (don't know how to spell that sorry)" So fun! It just made it seem real to me! I really enjoyed myself!

Here are a couple of pictures I took!

Here we are at dinner! (It's the same place we ate for breakfast the next morning) And that bread that they brought us was fantastic just FYI!

My wonderful parents!

This bed was probably the most comfy hotel bed I've ever slept in! It was fantastic!! The picture does not do it justice!

Quick Post

2008-11-30T00:59:00.003-07:00

So I know that technically I didn't update on saturday but I haven't gone to bed yet so I'm still counting this!!!! I had a great couple days and will blog all about it tomorrow! Good night!

Happy 50th Mom!!!

2008-11-28T13:11:00.004-07:00

Today is the big 5-0 for my mom! Happy Birthday!

Here is the gift I got her! I bought it months ago just for the record!!

Here she is with all her gifts!

Really Quick!

2008-11-28T13:07:00.002-07:00

I don't have much time today! We just spent the morning shopping! (Not the butt crack of dawn morning - we're not that crazy - but we did want the sales!) Got some really good stuff for Christmas - it was a very successful trip! Now we (Me, Mom, & Dad) are hurrying to pack cuz we're headed to Wendover to see Wynonna Judd's Christmas Concert at the Peppermill Concert Hall!!! Gonna be so fun! I'm excited for a good concert and lots of being lazy in a hotel room!!!

Thanksgiving day!!!

2008-11-27T22:10:00.005-07:00

Today was a pretty fantastic day! It started out this morning with Turkey Bowl organized by Leah! (was earlier than I normally would have gotten up but totally worth it!) She did a great job and there were tons of people there! And many of them were Aida cast people and although its only been like 2 weeks since we closed...I've missed them so it was SOOOOOO good to see them again!
Now if you know me at all...you know I'm not really athletic in ANY way shape or form! So I just sat on the sidelines and enjoyed watching everyone else play! They seemed to have a great time and there were no injuries so I'd say it turned out pretty well!

Here is Sami keeping me company before she went in to play!

And here is Meganne when she first got there!

I couldn't really see the screen of my camera cuz it was so bright out so I just took a ton of pictures hoping when I got home and could load them on my computer, that there'd be some good ones worth posting! I think there are a couple worth posting! I'll point out anything I think is worthy!

Okay - I had to post this one to show the awesome short/pant thing Jake has going on! Fantastic!

Leah tackling Candace...not sure why but fun to watch!

Just a little Jamila & Cory

Eddie with the ball!

Eddie getting pushed out of bounds! And notice how much Leah and Cory are into the game...just standing there watching!

Great action shot!

After Turkey Bowl I headed home and then we (my family) headed to Smithfield for Thanksgiving dinner!

Chris, Me, & Becky

The day consisted of alot of this...

and this....

We really like to sit around and talk...so that is what most of the day was! LOVED IT!

After we had eaten and were full...no one wanted to move

Then for the highlight of my day! My cousin Tiffany (the one I was closest to growning up) and her family came over! And she has a cute 3 month old named Owen! This was the first time I'd actually seen him so of course the moment she walked in I went straight to the baby! And she pulled him right out of his carseat for me to hold! (She knows me so well)

Me with Owen

Everytime I would hold the camera up he would lift his head up and look right at it! So great for taking pictures! I didn't get any of him smiling so you could see his cute cute dimple though.

Owen

My cousin Chris and his friends the Dinosaurs!

So that was my Thanksgiving! I have spent the rest of the night being lazy, laying in bed, reading! Makes for a pretty great day! I LOVE people! So my main Thanksgiving thoughts are I have the best family and friends and am thankful everyday for being so blessed!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Best Calling In The Church!

2008-11-26T21:28:00.003-07:00

Okay, I seriously have the best calling in the church! So good in fact that I hate to even write it here for fear that you will read this and want my calling for yourself!

I am in the Young Womens in the Weber Valley Branch. The Weber Valley Branch is a branch that gets to go to the Youth Correctional facility that is located in my stake. Oh my goodness...I LOVE my calling! We get to go in on Sundays for an hour and have a basic gospel lesson and then again on Wednesdays for an hour and have Young Womens/Boy Scouts. Anyways...I love these kids! I can not tell you how much I love to be able to go there and just share with the kids that they are loved, to teach them basic things like faith, repentence, and to help them learn basic life skills and help them know they are worth the fight! Some kids we see only once and they never come back, and some kids are 'regulars'. They'll be in for a few weeks then out for a while then back in, again and again. And even though we hate that they are there (it means they've messed up big time) we love to see them and get the priviledge of loving them unconditionally. And I have to say we even get a couple favorites! One of the best parts is that we are not allowed to ask them what they did to be there so we never have to see the bad side of them! Anyways...I could go on and on about all the little things I love about my calling but I will save that for future posts! So I will get to the reason for this post...

Occasionally on Wednesday we'll have a combined activity. Tonight we tied fleece blankets to donate to Primary Children's Hospital (see previous post about how much I love Emily & Cory for helping me cut blankets all day) and it went FANTASTIC! There were only 14 kids in the center tonight but we were able to get over 50 blankets tied! We showed them a video that had been made a couple of years ago with some people in our stake telling stories of their kids who have been in Primary Children's and having received things that were donated. Then we let them tie blankets...everyone tied atleast two and some tied three or four! It was awesome to be a part of! Then we fed them pie (We called tonight 'Pie & Tie') and just had a good time!

Seriously...best calling in the church!

More Cute Kids!

2008-11-25T21:36:00.005-07:00

So I had no idea what I wanted to blog about today so I started looking through my pictures trying to come up with something fun! And when I got to these pictures I knew this was my blog for the day!!

I have been friends with Star since I think it was my sophomore and her freshman year! We were in marching band together and both played the flute! As time's gone on we've stayed pretty close! We don't see each other much but we get together occasionally and are able to get caught up on our lives! She now has two totally cute and adorable little kids! When Aiden was only about a month or so old she let me come over and dress him up in my build-a-bear clothes! So much fun! Unfortunately that was before I had my digital camera so I don't have any of those pictures to show off. But about 3 months or so ago she let me come over and dress her couple week old little Brynlee in build-a-bear clothes! Oh my gosh! So cute!!! Here are some of the pictures from our dress up party!

This is my favorite one! I LOVE her little grin!

Dressed up as a Christmas present!

Dorothy! Complete with the ruby slippers and a toto dog!

Snow White

A valentine's fairy

So cute! Look how happy she is!

She didn't really like this outfit! But her little sad face is so cute!

Princess Aurora

She really didn't like this hat!

This was the last dress up we did and although she is not happy...she is still dang cute!

After this we wrapped her up in a blanket and I got to hold her until she fell asleep! That is one of the best things in the world! Holding a little baby while they sleep!!

Thanks Star for letting me play Build-A-Bear dress up with Brynlee!

Cute Kids!

2008-11-24T22:06:00.004-07:00

Okay so every week (well pretty much every week) on Sunday night at 10 I go to family prayer at my other families (Brent & Deanna) house! There used to be a ton of us but now I'm pretty much the only one who still goes. And I LOVE it! It's really the only time I see them anymore so I always try to make it a point to go! Anyways...so they have this cute cute cute grandson named Ethan! Clear back in May we decided we wanted to try out the new Frontrunner and go to Build A Bear at the Gateway. So me, my Mom, & Becky invited Deanna (we always go to Build A Bear together) to go with us who of course brought Ethan (what 4 year old boy wouldn't want to go??)

Me, Ethan, & Deanna on the train

Becky & Ethan - how cute is that?

My mom & Deanna on the train home

Me, Ethan, & Becky on the ride home

Becky trying to get Ethan to fall asleep!

Ethan wanted Becky to sit like him (the falling asleep part obviously didn't work)

Becky & Ethan really bonded and had lots of fun (as you can see in the pictures) but Ethan totally remembers me and we have been the best of friends since then!

So anyways...back to the reason I am posting this blog! So sometimes when I get to family prayer Ethan, Hunter, and his parents are still there. About a month ago he was there and I read him and his brother Hunter a book (an I spy Disney Cars book) while we were waiting for the movie that everyone else was watching to get over. So cute story, there was one thing that I found (probably a car or sticker or something) and he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and said 'thank you for finding it for me'! SO CUTE!!!! And keep in mind that was a month ago! Well I get to family prayer last night right after Ethan's parents had told him it was time to go home, so needless to say he was pretty sad about that (what child ever WANTS to leave their grandparents house) but when I got there, he told his grandma that we needed to go on the train again (remember how that was back in May, I can't believe he remembers that it was me he went with) and then when his parents reminded him it was time to clean up to go home he said, 'but wait, she needs to read me a book first' and then he took off up the stairs and immediately came back with the Disney Cars I Spy book!! Can you believe he remembered that? He then handed me the book and sat right next to me and then Hunter crawled up and sat on my lap as we found all the hidden things on all the pages! SO CUTE!!!! I LOVE little kids!

Brady's Farewell

2008-11-23T18:46:00.003-07:00

Today was Brady's farewell! He is going to be such an awesome missionary! He gave a great talk today to a chapel FULL of people who know and love him! Below are some pictures I took at his house afterwards!

Me & Brady

Me & Lisa in our 'Reba' clothes! Yes, Reba has a clothing line! Lisa's skirt is Reba and my shirt & shirt are Reba!

Aria & I

She has wanted to marry Brady for a while now, but apparently she has some other boys that are possibilities because she told Brady "I just don't know who I want to marry". It is just so tough at 4 to decide which cute boy to marry!

Me, Leslie, & Lisa

Good luck Brady! You'll be AWESOME!

Life Has Been Good To Me!

2008-11-22T23:09:00.006-07:00

Seriously! I LOVE life and I have the best friends ever! Today was such a great day! I got so much done and was reminded just how lucky I am!

So last night as I was updating my blog, Jacqie was watching and then decided she actually wanted to update her own blog too! So we did that and I kinda showed her the basics for blogging (not that I really know anything since I'm so new) and then we were looking thru old pictures I've taken of Jade! It was so fun to walk down memory lane for a minute! But as we were doing that...this is what happened to Jade!

I think maybe she was tired?

Seriously, how cute is that?

Needless to say, Jacqie & Jade ended up just staying over!

Then this morning I got up at the butt crack of dawn and met Cory, Emily, & Brady at the temple at 9:00! My good friend Brady is leaving on his mission to Bangalore India on December 3 and we, as friends, all got to go to the temple together! How awesome is that? I got to go to the temple with 3 of my favorite people today! The whole time we were there I was able to sit and just think about how lucky I am to be somewhere that great with people I love so much! What a great way to start a day!

Me, Cory, Brady, & Emily outside the Ogden Temple

Then Emily, Cory, & I headed back to my house to cut fleece blankets. Here's the story: One of my church callings is that I get to be in the Young Women's in the Weber Valley Detention Center Branch (one day I'll do a whole blog on how I have the best calling in the church) and every year we do a big service project where we collect fleece and then cut it and then the kids in the center get to tie them and then we donate them to Primary Children's Hospital. Well I was getting a bit overwhelmed thinking of all the fleece I needed to get cut so I asked for a favor! I asked Cory & Emily to come over and we could watch movies and they could help me cut fleece! They loved the chance (well...that or hated it but came just cause they love me so much...I'm not really sure...love...hate...your call!!!) When they said yes I'm not sure they knew quite what they were getting into but we ended up cutting 36 blankets in about 5 or so hours! I seriously have the best friends ever, I dare someone to argue with me on that one! Words can not express how grateful I am to them for all their help! LOVE YOU EMILY & CORY!

The blankets before we started cutting

A different view of all the material

Pretty big pile isn't it!

Here we are hard at work!

You guys are the best!

About an hour or so before we were done Nick & Tanith came over and Tanith is wonderful and was willing to help us cut too!

Emily, Me, & Tanith

Cory, Emily, & I - we were so close to being done at this point!

The pile of finished blankets!

Look at all that hard work!

That is ALOT of cutting, just FYI

Emily, Cory & I with our finished blankets!

After the blanket cutting, I went to dinner with my parents, Nick, & Tanith for Nick's 25th birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK) at Red Lobster! Delicious! Then I came home and Emily & I watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (LOVED IT!)

So as you can see...today was a Fan-freakin-tastic day! I love people!

Fun Night!!!

2008-11-21T21:40:00.008-07:00

For my blog today I was going to review Twilight since that seems to be the talk around town lately but instead I have something much more fun to blog about so Twilight will just have to wait for another day! (in short - I didn't like it)

My friend Jacqie is in town from St. George with her little girl Jade! We (Me, Jacqie, & our other friend Rachael) went to lunch today and after lunch decided we didn't get enough time together so we decided we should hang out later! So here are a few pictures of my fun night with Jacqie & Jade and Rachael & her two little girls Madalyn & Olivia! (Rachael's husband Chris was also here but didn't get in any of the pictures) ENJOY!!!

Jacqie, Me, & Rachael! (We've now been friends for over 10 years!!!! and have had some GREAT times!)

Olivia & Me

Madalyn & the turkeys

Jade!

Olivia grinning!

US AGAIN!!!

Madalyn, Me, & Jade

Again! Aren't they cute!

Jacqie & Jade

I Love this picture! Me & Jade

Now wasn't that much more fun than me writing all the reasons I thought Twilight wasn't a good movie!

Such a fun night! I love when friends come over to play!

I've Been Tagged!!!

2008-11-20T20:16:00.004-07:00

Today is a big day for me! I've been tagged for the first time!!! Thanks Mandy Sue!

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy this entire post and paste into a new post. Change all the answers so that they apply to you.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift Bags hands down! I wrap the least amount possible!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial! And pre-lit!!!! Then Pine Scented Glade Plug-In for effect!
3. When do you put up the tree? I don't! My family puts it up sometime after Thanksgiving but I'm always conveniently not home!
4. When do you take the tree down? Usually between Christmas & New Years
5. Do you like eggnog? Not at ALL!!!!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don't know if it's really my 'favorite' gift but the year I was 3 I asked for a "hungry hungry hippo and ET doll" and that is my favorite story!
7. Do you have a nativity scene? I have a precious moments tender tails nativity scene!
8. Hardest person to buy for? This year it seems to be everyone!
9. Easiest person to buy for? Normally I spend all year paying attention to little hints by people so by Christmas I have lists of ideas in my head of what to get for people but this year I have nothing!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I have totally slacked the last couple years but everytime I have done Christmas Cards it was by mail!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't really remember any!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? That is such a hard question! There are soooooo many! Elf, Christmas Vacation, Muppet Christmas Carol, The Grinch (both versions), there is no way I can make that decision!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As soon as I start having ideas to buy
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, I don't think so

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I really love the sugar cookies my aunt makes, also we always seem to make fudge around Christmas time!
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree ? Colored
17. Favorite Christmas song? I love Christmas music! I am the kind of person that could listen to it all year round! So as for having a favorite I don't think I could pick just one! I do have favorite versions of each song though!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay at home!
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Mickey Mouse actually
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Open one gift Christmas Eve (and no its not PJ's) and the rest Christmas Morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? I love this time of year!!!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? The majority of my ornaments are Precious Moments but there is really no theme or color!
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Our tradition is usually Turkey and all that stuff!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I don't really know this year, I've asked for a few wii things and an ipod, oh and a bread machine!
26. Who are you going to tag for this Christmas questionaire?? This is the hard part. But I think I'm gonna tag Lesley, Lana, Myndi, Piannie, & Star, and anyone else who would like to be tagged!!!

So there is my first tag! It was actually kinda fun! And now I'm gonna get ready to for everyone to come over cuz we're going to Twilight tonight!! I'll let you know what I think tomorrow!

Lend Me A Tenor

2008-11-19T22:33:00.002-07:00

Another show review!! Yes, go to a lot of shows okay! What can I say...I LOVE theatre! I actually prefer musical theatre over straight plays but this one was REALLY GOOD! Some may argue this won't be a completely unbiased review (and I would have to agree with them) because I do know a couple of people in the show and most of the people who helped with it!

But here is my review anyways! (sorry no fun pictures to go with this one...and the review will be much shorter than last nights)

For starters just let me say it was HILARIOUS!!!! So funny! I laughed out loud multiple times! I thought everyone in the show did a really good job ! They all kept me very entertained!

For those of you who aren't familiar with the show...here is the very condensed synopsis that was on the back of the program. "Tito Morelli, the greatest tenor of his generation, is scheduled to make his US debut with the Cleveland Grand Opera Co., but when Morelli passes out the manager is forced to find a replacement in the most unlikely of places. When Morelli wakes up and joins the scene, the wacdky backstage farce gets even wackier." It's just that...a wacky comedy...no deep meaning...to hidden symbolism...just fun! There is alot of people mistaking other peoples identities and all the complications that come with that!

It is a pretty small show...only one set that doesn't change (so no bad reviews on the set changes) and I don't think they had any body mics. (so no bad reviews on not being able to hear anyone) I believe that there are just mics hanging but I'm not actually sure, but whatever it was...I could hear everyone! And the lighting was excellent! No light pointed right in my eye and no spot light that bounced the whole time it was on! There were lights on the parts that were supposed to be lit! It was such a welcome change from last night!

I have heard that the show was pretty dirty and had a lot of risque moments but that was not the case here. I'm sure they cleaned it up because it was a high school production. There were a few things that were implied but nothing that made me uncomfortable or that I thought was inappropriate! But Casey did have ALOT of stage kisses from some VERY beautiful girls!

I especially loved the little hidden things that were just for me (okay some other people probably got them as well but I choose to think it was put in there for me!) There were 3 I noticed...all done by the character of Max (my friend Casey). The first and the one I was anticipating was when his line was the word 'crap'...he said it like Reba says it on her TV show. CRAAAAAP. (for those of you who know Reba you just heard it in your head, didn't you!!!!) The second was when he was asked a question and he had to answer 'No' but you knew that was a lie so it was "Noooooo". (once again if you know Reba you saw Barbara Jean use her 'lying face' and say 'Nooooo' in your head!) and the last but not least was his line 'sorry' spoken in true Ellen form 'soRRy' (when it goes up in the middle like that you know he didn't mean it) So although that wasn't really a part of the review that any of you would care for...it was a part of the show I especially loved!!!

So there you go...my review for Lend Me A Tenor. In short it was really good, REALLY funny, and I would HIGHLY recommend you go if at all possible!!! They have a show this Thursday, Friday, & then it closes Saturday! (I don't think there is a matinee but I'm not actually sure) So if you haven't seen it yet...hurry! Go! Now! (Well not now, its the middle of the night and everyone has gone home but you know what I mean)

Beauty & The Beast

2008-11-18T22:57:00.009-07:00

My original plan for tonight was to sit home, watch a few movies, and cut fleece blankets...good plan right...well then Brandon called and said come to Beauty & The Beast with me! I said okay, got in my car, and headed to the show! So this blog is going to be my review of the show. (I spent the whole show thinking of the things I could blog about...please don't mock) Warning: this review is pretty long so if you are not a 'theatre geek' please feel free to just look at the pictures and not read any of the review!

I had not heard anything good about it so I was planning on hating it and that way if I ended up liking any of it I could just count that as a bonus! All in all I liked it better than I thought I would (up until the last about 4 scenes) and although there were alot of things I didn't like...they were mostly technical things. I have only been 'into' musicals for about 2 1/2 years so I consider myself a theatre novice...but I do notice so many things I never would have noticed 3 years ago. I now notice things like choreography and lights and set changes and that type of thing and as much as I hate to admit it...I think I have become somewhat of a theatre snob. I'm still not saying I have any real knowledge on the subject but I am now able to form an opinion on things I didn't even know existed before!

For starters...I got there 20 minutes before the show started and they hadn't even opened the house yet...so there we were...hundreds of people standing around in no sort of organized line waiting for the doors to open. When they finally did it was a madhouse as you can imagine. Well we got in, got our seats, which weren't too bad if you ask me...they were about 10 rows back on the isle on the side section!

This is Brandon & I before the show! We are still hopeful that we will enjoy the show!

Let me just say that Belle was really good! I was very impressed with how well she fit the part and with her voice! She was definitely the best part of the show! And in all reality...almost all the kids did a very good job! I didn't really care for Maurice - he didn't even pretend to act old and I just didn't buy his character at all! And sometimes it was hard to understand what people were saying. I wish they would have spoken a little clearer but all in all I was impressed with the cast.

Mics - oh my gosh they were AWFUL!! Okay...I don't know much about mics but I do know that when there is static during the ENTIRE opening scene (and the library scene in the second act) that is a problem! Most of the time when people came in for their scenes it took a line or two for their mic to be turned on, they cracked and popped and eeeeeeeee-d in pretty much every scene, and even when they were turned on - half of the time they weren't loud enough so you could barely hear what they were saying.

The set - okay...the sets were amazing! They were beautiful and large! They were detailed and very realistic! And they were HUGE and AWKWARD! Okay...whether they built them or borrowed them, I'm sure their purpose was to impress, which they did...but it made each and every scene change comical! THEY TOOK FOREVER!!!! They bumped into things, and the flys would hit them on their way down! Also - I don't know much about scrims (I don't even know if that's how its spelled) but the one thing I'm pretty sure of is that when a scrim comes down and there is a scene going on in front of the scrim and a set change going on behind the scrim, YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FOCUSED ON THE SET CHANGE! Apparently you are supposed to light the scrim from the front to cover what is going on behind it, that was NOT done here! I could not even pay attention to the scene going on because all you could see was the awkwardly large set being changed behind the scrim. SO DISTRACTING! During the first act it wasn't so bad but it just became TOO MUCH as it got closer to the end. It took so long for the scene to change that there was absolutely no continuity with the show.

Here are some fun pics we took during intermission to break up the review:

Doesn't Brandon make a handsome Gaston?

Me as Belle...

Keri as Belle

Keri, Me, & Brandon

This is our 'Okay...we can make it through another act' face

Back to the review:
The last about 4 scenes were pretty bad, I don't really have anything good to say about them. I felt as if there was no climax and as if I wasn't into the show at all. I blame that mostly on the ENDLESS scene changes...I'm not kidding it took a good 2 minutes to turn the castle piece around...and when you are supposed to be emotionally tied to a chase scene (towns folk going to kill the beast) it doesn't help that every couple of minutes the show 'paused' so that they could change the set. Then I was HIGHLY disappointed in the scene where the towns folk and all the things in the castle are fighting. It was pretty much just a bunch of silverware running across the stage...then some plates...then some towns folk...then some silverware again. There was no real fight of any sort...just running back and forth. Then don't even get me started on the fight between the Beast and Gaston. Horrible. There was no real fight...pretty much Gaston 'stabbed' the Beast a couple of times then in the process of stabbing fell off the back of the castle. (When the audience laughs at this point of the show...things are not going well) Then Belle helped the Beast walk down the steps of the castle and then he 'died' on the stage. (When the fly came down that was supposed to lift the Beast for the transformation...it was so noticeable that the WHOLE audience laughed) Then the fly/transformation was basically a waste of time...he lifted...there was smoke...weird lights...then once he got back on the ground he pulled his wig/robe off. So bad.

(I'm gonna throw in some good here for a second) The Beast was really good! He had a really good voice and I really believed his character of the Beast. I wish that he hadn't kept his head down the whole time, I wish I could have seen his cool makeup (atleast I'm assuming it was cool - I couldn't see it) but I'm guessing that was probably a direction thing. And did I mention Belle did a really good job. And I really did love Mrs. Potts! She did so good! And I liked the wardrobe as well! Lumier and Cogsworth were pretty good - I wish I could have understood what they were saying better but I've seen the movie enough that I was able to follow along. The choreography was good and I LOVED the cottage set piece that was Belle & Maurice's home!

Oh I almost forgot the spot lights...they were soooooooo bad. I'm not kidding you, Brandon was ready to go run them himself. They were always a little ways behind the actor and when they finally caught up they bounced...and bounced...and bounced. It was so distracting.

There were a couple of drops used as the background for scenes (the tavern and the ball room) and they were hung so bad! There were these huge, I don't know how to describe them, waves(?) in them...like they just didn't hang straight.

Oh oh oh...the worst part about the set changing process!! They didn't have a stage crew, so everytime there was a set change...the kids came out (and I was impressed with that because did I mention that they were HUGE sets so they were probably a bugger to move) onto the stage to change the set, they were IN FULL COSTUME! (Did I mention that the set changes were not done in the dark like normal so everything was noticeable) Could the spoon have atleast taken her spoon part off? Everytime the spoon would head onto stage to make a change, we would just cringe!

And last but definitely not least...there was a blue/green light on the stage that was pointed at the audience (Why you ask? I have no idea) and so every time they would turn all the lights up...it pointed right into Brandon & my eyes and totally blinded us! It was sooooo annoying!

Brandon, Me, & Keri - this is how we felt about the show overall

So that was my review of the show. In short, I liked about the first 3/4 of the show. And overall I didn't hate it as much as I had planned. But we did cringe ALOT and laugh at parts that really shouldn't have been funny.

One Week Anniversary!

2008-11-17T23:06:00.005-07:00

Well I made it a week! One full week of blogging! Way to go me! But sorry it's gonna be a pretty boring blog! I'm tired and heading to bed! I had a pretty good day, I worked then came home and did alot of nothing til Nick & Ricky came over. We hung for a while before a pretty small movie night! Amy came over for about an hour then shortly after she left Megan got here! Good times! And now that I've bored you all to sleep...I'm gonna head to bed myself! Good night!

Knitting Lessons

2008-11-16T20:57:00.005-07:00

About a month or so ago, my friend Lana wanted to crochet a blanket for her sister who had just had a baby (see cute baby pictures of Will a couple posts back!) so our friend Deanna showed her a stitch that would be easy and she made a very cute blanket! Then I showed her another stitch so she could make another blanket, this time for her other sister who just had a baby (see cute baby pictures of Christian a couple posts back!). Well she has had so much fun she decided she wanted to re-learn how to knit as well so she could make people beanies (or socks or mittens) as gifts! So I told her I'd remind myself how to do it and she could come over and we'd figure it out! I thought I remembered most of it but I knew I didn't remember how to cast on (kinda an important part since it is how you start!!) so I IM'd my good friend Diana (who just happens to be the knitting queen) and she found me an awesome video on youtube that showed me exactly how to cast on! She is amazing! And the best part is that once I pulled out my knitting and started working on it again...I totally remembered how to knit! (Diana was right, it is like riding a bike) So here are some of our adventures in knitting!

Lana finishing off the blanket she made for Christian, I needed to show her that before she could start knitting!

When Lana got to my house and I was telling Tanith that I was gonna re-teach her how to knit, she said, 'I've always wanted to learn' so I said, 'come sit right by me and I'll teach you right now, I can start teaching you so that you are working by the time Lana is ready for me to teach her' So she sat down and I taught her! This is her working on the first row after casting on! She caught on sooooo quick!

Ricky wanted to be in a picture! He was a great help with the knitting process! At one point I was knitting and he said, 'Here I'll unroll it for you' and I said very quickly, 'No, No, I need it on there' and he very kindly said 'Well would you like me to cut it off for you?' Now isn't he just so nice and helpful!

Look how helpful he is being in this picture!!

This is me showing Lana how to hold the needle and yarn correctly!

Look how good she is doing!

Lana: 'Is this what it's supposed to look like?'

Me: 'Let me see. Looks right to me'

So there is the tale of our knitting lessons! It was so fun! I'm very surprised at how much I remembered...I think it may have been about 2 years since I last picked up my knitting! And Tanith caught on so quick (we only had one minor set back, when she was knitting the first row it was so tight she could hardly get it to slide on the needles so I had her rip it out and start over, she took it amazingly well and started over and seemed to do a much better job at keeping it loose and consistent) and Lana seemed to kinda remember how it went! I only had time to teach her to cast on and she's gonna come back tomorrow so I can show her the next step!

What a fun way to spend a Sunday evening! If anyone else wants to learn...just let me know! Diana suggested I have a knitting/crochetting party once a month to teach/work on projects!!! And you know I love any excuse for a party!!!

I found this old picture! This is all of my completed knitting projects! And notice the date...seems like it's been almost 3 years since I knitted! Shame on me! I did start a wallaby which is still on the needles in my knitting bag and that is what I picked up and started on while I was showing Lana & Tanith! I was able to start off right where I had left it!

Aida Cast Party

2008-11-15T23:18:00.007-07:00

It's almost midnight so I've got to hurry and put this blog up!!! Aida closed last night (sad) but we got to have an awesome cast party tonight! They reserved the conference room at a hotel and we were able to all meet there, have some great food, and sing some karaoke (well I didn't sing but I enjoyed others singing!) So here are a couple of pics from our fun night!

The AWESOME cake that Meganne made!!!

Radames & Aida! (aka Mason & Anthony's hands)

Leah & Taylor singing 'Summer Lovin'

Me & Holly!

Keilani, Me, & Leah

Leah singing 'I Will Survive'

Me, Holly, & Meganne

Keilani, Nicole, Jamila, & I

Jessica, Keilani, Nicole, Jamila, Milly, & Leah singing 'Dancing Queen'

Meganne, Jaydynn, Piannie, Jessica, Nicole, Keilani, Sami (hiding in the back), Milly, Jamila, & Leah singing 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'

Cory, Eddie, Jake, Jordan, Bryan, Taylor, Anthony, & Mason singing 'You Are My Fire'

Me & Leah!

Leah & Cory singing 'From This Moment'

The awesome, awesome gift that Holly made for Dennis (our director). She cut off pieces of everyone's Nubian costumes and made this! Then she had us all sign the back! (I wish now that I had gotten a copy of that!)

And that was some of our awesome cast party!!!

It was actually a pretty great day all together! We had strike for our set this morning and had almost everyone show up so it went really quick! Then I went to a baby shower of an old friend! We were best friends for years starting when we were in 5th (I think) grade! We always called her Big Becky (not because of size, because she was older than my sister who was Little Becky) It was soooooooo good to see her and her mom! So many old memories came back! Then I came home and Emily and I just read our books and crashed for hours! (best way to spend a Saturday in my opinion!) Then we headed to the cast party and after that Cory & Leah came over and we just hung and played a little bit of the wii!!! All in all...a pretty great day! I seriously have the best friends EVER!!!! Love you all!