July 4th

Our 4th of July celebrations actually started a little early. We went to the Oakley rodeo the week of the 4th. It was quite a treat-there are no words to describe a real small town rodeo. It was quite a blast though. Bull riding, delicious foods, and of course wonderful fireworks! 

 On the actual 4th of July Mom, Dad, Megan and Allison came over for a little BBQ. Nate and I were excited to have everyone over at our house, and serve up our homemade delicious burgers (seriously, Nate is pretty good at this whole grilling thing!). After a wonderful meal we all walked down to the stadium for Stadium of Fire. We had a blast singing along to Carrie Underwood, and watching the fireworks. It was a great way to celebrate the 4th! I'm so very grateful for this beautiful country, and the freedoms that exist here. 

Ten Things I'm Terribly Thannkful For: 1

1

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

I could write 1,000s of words about why I am thankful for the gospel. I could write about the atonement, the plan of salvation, temples, prophets and covenants.

But I'm not going to. Their is beauty in simplicity.

And simply put I'm thankful for the gospel because without it I wouldn't have the life I do, or be the person I am. The gospel has given me all the great things I've previously mentioned that I am thankful for. It has given me the great life I have. It has made me the woman I am, and it gives me the tools, peace, hope and joy to continue on to be the woman I am suppose to be.

It gives me everything.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Labor Day Weekend

i can get hurt playing the most mild of sports, mom and I got a hole in 2, and... i lost

abbie being very serious, megs gets a whole in 1, and this man shows us how it's really done

Friday: shopping with Mom, dinner with the family, a little bit of an allergic reaction, TCU vs Baylor with Dad, ice cream with Stace, and getting knocked out by Benadryll

Saturday: sleeping in, bagels, Park City, browsing the shops, enjoying the perfect weather, meeting Michelle Money (soo soo kind. can I just take a minute and say how genuine and sweet she is. I'm seriously hoping she wins that little tv show she is currently on), dinner and football

Sunday: sleeping in, church in Provo (I'm loving my ward here), getting a new calling, dinner with the Child's, Sweet Home Alabama, and the following southern speak for the rest of the night

Monday: sleeping in, lunch with the family, running into some friends, mini golf, homework, back to Provo, and some crafty actually-do-something-I-pinned-time.

It was a fun weekend, and just what I needed after last week (was it the longest week ever for anyone else?). Now I'm refreshed (did you notice the "sleeping in" trend?) and ready to get back to work/school/studying/provo life.

Thanks family! It was fun. Well obviously-because we have "such a fun family".

Thanks Be To Abe, George, and yes, even you Obama

I am so grateful for long weekends, and this past one was no exception. 4 days was the perfect amount of time to get my fill of sandy and provo, study a little, and sleep a lot. By Friday I was in great need of some r&r and I decided all I wanted to do this weekend was chill.

I went home to Sandy where I was, as always when I come home, spoiled. This time with delicious food, lots of laughter, games with the cousins (liars dice? who knew that was so fun!), naps, cuddling with the puppy, movies and sweet tooth fairy cake bites. What could be better?

Saturday my mom Abbie and I headed over to the movies and along with a large dc and those above mentioned cake bites enjoyed this film...

and yes we all loved it. It was amazing. I was speechless (no pun intended). I know it's rated R, and I know that some people may not see it because of that... all I can say is I'm so glad I saw it.(the language was a little strong at parts though...just so you know) And I'm willing to bet $$ that it wins best picture on Sunday. (Anyone else love the Oscars?)

I was really impressed by every one's performance in it, but especially Helena's. Who knew? I mean I always thought she was good at that crazy stuff she usually does, but I had no idea how talented she really is. And Collin? amazing... no surprise there though. I left the theater inspired, and so impressed by what I had just seen.....(and yea, missing England)

Now, I ask, how do you finish a day that started off with such a great movie? Oh some cafe rio, shopping, good friends, and another movie. This one had a little more music, but just as much inspiration...

Although it was a 180 from The King's Speech, I also loved Justin Beiber's Never Say Never. Mock if you must, however I'm convinced that anyone that sees this will gain respect for the kid. It far exceeded my expectations. And the whole 3-D aspect just adds so much to those dramatic hair flips. I have to admit that I kind of fell in love a little bit in this movie-with jaden smith. "no pun intended i was raised by the power of will"

love. and his hair. oh man. what a cutie.

And of course my deep love for usher was only increased. With plenty of family ties, joking around, good music, celeb appearances, and drama (oh no, he is sick??!!) the only thing this movie could have done to improve itself is show usher shirtless.

I'm just sayin.

Stace and I left dancing, literally, and we LOVED rockin the stylish glasses. So glad that this is how we decided to spend our Saturday night.