California

Bruce's House

California was a blast! Joshua and I went with his family. It was really fun, because all of us got to go. The Allreds and Blauers drove down and the Barkers flew down (it was much easier with the kids). There is a place in California where you can rent people's summer homes, so that is where we stayed. They were really nice, right next to the beach. I have always wanted to go-to Universal Studios, so that was the part I was most excited about. I was not disappointed. It was so much fun. The tram ride through Universal was simply amazing. We saw the sets for The Grinch, Wisteria lane, the plane wreckage from the movie War of the Worlds, famous movie sets (this one is the front of Bruce's house from Bruce Almighty, Universal has a whole bunch of different city sets that they just modify for each movie.) The Tram had cool 4-D simulations we drove through, the Tram was just awesome.

Who-ville

 

War of the Worlds

The rides were so different than any other rides I have been on. The 4-D was awesome. Even the line getting to the rides had cool things going on in them. This little gem is from the Minions ride. That does seem like art Gru would have on his wall.

My absolute favorite was The Mummy ride. It was so intense! If you ever go to Universal make sure you go-on this ride. I did not know what to expect, but I wish we would of left enough time to go more then once. There were a few of these guys outside the ride, and you could take pictures of them "attacking" you. They were in stilts so they cut quite a figure.

USA is one of the channels that is run by Universal. USA has some of my favorite shows, Psych being my favorite. They had a little museum on the grounds. There was pretty cool stuff in there, but the psych costumes caught my eye. This one is the Chad outfit. There also was Gus's Michael Jackson outfit (you can see some of it in the picture).

We also were able to go to the beach. The feel of the waves pulling on you is such an awesome experience. The weather was a little cold, but we braved the weather. Ayla and I built a sand castle (more just a huge pile of sand) which I ended up turning into a pretty cool Sea turtle. She and I also found a rock that she was using as a foot slide. She has always been so shy, but man did she come out of her shell. She is one of the cutest, sweet little girls you will ever met. I loved getting to become her friend.

I love going on vacation with family. We grew closer, and had a wonderful time.

Jet Skiing

Oh, the joys of jet skiing. Monday my parents got out their jet skis for the year. Now I am itching to go back to Burley. I love going out with my family, and just enjoy lazing the day away with them. Jet skiing is one of my favorite past-times. My girls really loved going with the family. Since I am not allowed to post pictures of them, here is my niece and I enjoying a ride. Alyse said C and I have the exact same picture. Doing things I use to do with my girls makes me miss them something awful. Not to end on a sad note, little Micah LOVED riding he cried every-time we took him off. Looks like we made an early addict out of him.

Pioneer Day

I am so excited! I planned an awesome pioneer themed singing time for tomorrow. It does put me a week behind on my songs, but my kids are so quick at learning songs I'm not TO worried.  I just finished the preparation, and I cannot wait for tomorrow! I FINALLY got my nursery box together.  I am hoping they will all love it, and not just insist on monkeys jumpin' on the bed. I am a pro at making that song rock, but sometimes you need other songs. I love my primary and nursery kids, they make Sunday the joy of my week.

I miss you

This week has been good and bad. Joshua is gone for annual training and I am here by myself. The good thing is though, when he is gone, I get so much done. Now I have officially torn everything out of closets, and have left huge messes everywhere. I do not want to clean them up!  I better have it all put away before Joshua gets home or I will be in trouble!
Today I am having a harder day than usual though. My mother's retina detached from her eye. She had surgery to fix it, but it was not successful. She went for a follow up today, it was either going to be emergency surgery so that she did not lose her vision, or they would tell her it is all the way detached, and she would be pretty much blind in that eye. Her appointment was at 2 and I have not heard from her, and I cannot stop worrying. Since my best friend is unavailable for communication, I am turning to writing about the subject to keep my mind off of it. My mom does IV's on newborns, and that takes a very skilled eye. I do not know how this will affect her work, and I am just praying everything goes well. This was a good five minute distraction, I hope I hear from her soon.

Wicked

Wicked was the most amazing thing EVER! Linzy and I had so much fun. This was one of the best birthday presents ever. I have been to plays before, but nothing compares to watching a Broadway cast. 

This is how close our seats were

Valentine's Day 2014

My beautiful Valentines Day gift, from my very handsome valentine!

Internship

This was my tag for my internship. They did not let me wear it, because I had to wear an official Rocky badge, but it was still pretty cool to have.

My internship was such a great experience. I meet so many new people that now hold a special place in my heart. The kids were so nice, and they bore with me while I struggled to interpret for them. The interpreters were all so kind, and willing to help whenever I had questions. I loved going back to high school too. I learned so much. If I would have payed more attention the first time through I cannot even imagine how much more knowledge I would have obtained. My internship was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and I will cherish the experience forever.