The Lone Traveler

Updates

2011-06-08T17:01:00.002-06:00

Well everytime I think I am about to get rid of the blog I decide to update it. So here goes a fresh start again! 2010 was full of adventures and 2011 hasn't let me down.
I am still working for the art gallery. I LOVE it! This has been the best experience. I love having the hands on experience of running a business. Some day I will have my own. After 6 majors and a few semesters off I only have 2 classes left until I graduate. I can't believe it! I have already been to Las Vegas and to Seattle this year. I am planning a couple week trip to New York and DC in October and stoked about that. In february 4 days after my birthday I got in a car accident. I got to experience my first ambulance ride and had to wear a hideous neck brace for a week! That was fun let me tell you. After all of my car experiences last year I hoped this year would be smooth sailing but I am still dealing with the insurance mess four months later. At least it wasn't my fault so I don't have to worry about that. I guess the question most ask is NO I am not dating anyone. Haven't really met anyone worth while for quite some time so I am holding out for 30! HA! The youngest bro just graduated which makes me feel so old. The middle bro is going to graduate next year the same time as me because the University of Utah only holds graduation every spring. Weber State where Ben is has their ceremony a week before so technically he will be done before me as far as actually walking. He hasn't let me forget about it either! Well I think that is about all.

Thoughts

2010-11-04T10:59:00.004-06:00

Two posts in one week! It is a miracle. As I looked back over my blog it was fun to remember the things I have done the past little while, so I am definitely going to try to do more, so I can reflect back. I know that nobody probably even reads this anymore.

This week with the midterm elections, I have thought alot about my beliefs and gratitude. We have the amazing privilege to live in a country where we have choice. Many times our vote won't affect the decision of the population, but we have a voice! In talking to Marko this week, we have many differences about politics, yet we both are able to talk and learn so much from each other. This is what makes this country so great and so blessed. That we can all have different perspectives, values, opinions, but if we all can open our minds to other opinions we can learn and have respect for one another. I am grateful for friends, freedom and the right to choose!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T11:43:00.006-06:00

Well in the last few years I haven't done much as far as Halloween goes. There is always a party to attend, but very little effort put into the costume. Well this year, a few weeks before Halloween I had a dream and my costume came to me!

state fair

2010-09-22T12:10:00.005-06:00

The State Fair was a blast. I worked the state fair as my part of my new job, we had a booth set up. This meant I got free tickets and we decided to take advantage of this! The corn slide is my favorite thing about the fair, but being able to walk around and see all of the interesting/crazy things is a riot!

Jordanelle State Park Camping

2010-09-22T11:55:00.006-06:00

Well I didn't get any chances this summer to go camping so we went the week after labor day! Let me tell you, bad idea.... It was so freezing cold! We woke up and everything was frosted over. My allergies were a mess too. We camped up at Jordanelle State Park and it was great!

Uintahs

2010-08-15T23:41:00.002-06:00

Rather than trying to catch up I am going to start with a post from today. My brother Ben turned 20 today and for his birthday he wanted to fish. My family camped last night at Soap Stone, and because of work I went and joined up with them this morning. We sat by the lake and fished and chatted and had a very relaxing Sunday afternoon. Don't mind Ben's nasty hair do, apparently he finally cut it all off tonight. Thank goodness.

I

Update

2010-08-08T23:35:00.002-06:00

Well we finally have internet in our new apartment so I can update the blog a bit. Pictures and more exciting things to come. I am currently living in the Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake, which I love because it is in a very diverse area with lots of great shopping and restaurants. I live with Jane and we live in the basement of a house, and the lady who owns the house lives upstairs. I just got a new job working as a gallery manager at a local art studio. I am very excited for this new change and looking forward to this new adventure. School starts up again in 2 weeks! I am actually excited because the end is near.

January

2010-03-03T18:33:00.004-07:00

So I am awful at blogging but I have been up to a lot of fun, and also a lot of school. Seeking to find the healthy balance between the two. January was a month of lots of fun! Rang in the new year at the Hyatt downtown. We stayed up late hot tubbing, playing games, watching movies and eating! Seriously the best way to spend new years eve!

Started out the year sledding with some Layton friends. What a blast! Enjoy the ridiculous videos!

Couple of weeks later two fun filled activities in the same weekend! Tara, Misha, and myself went up to park city to be a part of the sundance scene.

We had a blast. It was freezing cold so we hovered around a firepit to get warm. Little did we know this was the best place for us to go as we got to meet alot of fellas who wanted to get warm as well! We met two groups of guys. The one group were all egyptians and they were from LA. The one guy was even born in Saudi Arabia, kind of crazy. The other group we hung out the rest of the night with. They were so fun and so chill! We even went out last week.

Next day, we went snowshoeing up little cottonwood canyon to donut falls. Seriously so fun! I want to buy snowshoes and go every weekend!

Exciting News!

2009-12-28T21:42:00.002-07:00

Well I am officially an aunt. His name is Roman Atticus Padilla and he is beautiful! He was born December 14. I wish I could hold him all the time. He is so sweet.

Ice Skating

2009-12-25T20:34:00.005-07:00

Well in my efforts to stay on top of posting I am actually posting something that happened this week. Marko is in town from DC right now, and we met up downtown Salt Lake for a night filled with christmas festivities. We went to the Olive Garden then went over to the Galivan Plaza for some fantastic ice skating. It was a lot of fun, but very tiring. Afterwards we walked around downtown and then went over to Temple Square to walk around the lights!

Fall 09

2009-12-21T23:06:00.003-07:00

Well I am behind, but this is the only catch up post I promise. October was full of exciting events. My DC trip was in the midst of all the halloween festivites which made October crazy but we managed to squeeze in some fun!

Life

2009-12-18T10:38:00.001-07:00

So life is busy. Everyone knows this. I let my life rule me sometimes and things like blogging get left behind. I don't feel like anyone even cares what I write on my blog, and I don't feel like I have anything cool to post about anyways....but for the sake of those few who may read, I am vowing to post once a week...we shall see how this experiment goes...

DC/Baltimore

2009-11-11T19:44:00.011-07:00

Okay so I am really behind in blogging but I want to blog about my trip last month during fall break to Washington DC and Baltimore Maryland. Funny story, right after Marko picked me up from the airport, we went to a chinese restaurant with some of his friends and the girl next to us at her table was drinking and she started talking about Utah and the crazy mormons out there. She talked about Brigham Young, seminary and pioneer day and how we are all crazy. It was funny to listen to her crazy rantings.
Saturday October 10- Me and Marko went in the morning to the new museum called the Newseum. It is all about how the media has changed and how their documentation of current events have been documented. There was a section on the Berlin wall and how news documented the tearing down of the wall. They had a large chunk of the wall and it was interesting to see how one side was graffitied and the other side was blank. Also there was a very poignant display on the september 11 attacks. They had the walls covered with a cover page from every state of how they portrayed the attacks. They also had a clip about different media professionals and the things they saw, heard and took pictures of. One photographer died that day trying to get pictures of the events.

There was also a large portion of the antenna that sat atop the tower. That was unbelievable and hard to see. Later that night we went to Georgetown and walked by the White House. At the white house, we caught a glimpse of Bo Obama being walked.

That was fun. Georgetown is great. It is a great outdoor mall, with great stores in old houses and buildings. We went to the georgetown campus and ate at a campus favorite.
Sunday October 11- We started the morning by going to the Eastern Market.
Eastern Market is a large flea and farmers market. They have great things for sale and lots of great food. After eastern market, we walked over towards the US Capitol.
That day happened to be the equality march on the capitol. This brought a very interesting crowd out. Lots of rainbow flags, men in heels, and LGBT members.
There were thousands and thousands of people there. It was packed and a scene I had never been a part of before. I left Marko and his friends and went over to my friend Robbie's house. The ride on the metro was interesting as I was smashed up between these thousands of people. Robbie and I went to Roosevelt Island that night.

Teddy Roosevelt used to hunt on this island that sat in the middle of the Potomac River directly between DC and Virginia. There is a large statue in the middle of Teddy Roosevelt. I went back and hung out with Marko and his roommates after this.
Monday October 12 -I met up with Marko for lunch, but went to Ford's Theater, and some Smithsonians.

While I was waiting for Marko and Basim to come get me I had my first encounter with Greenpeace. We walked all over the city and then went to DuPont and ate at a Greek restaurant.
Tuesday October 13- I went to some Smithsonians in the morning and then Robbie and I drove out to Menassas, Virginia which is the site where the Battle of Bull Run took place.

The fall colors were awesome and it was very beautiful there. That night I went out to a Mexican restaurant with Marko and his friends for the last time. We just hung out and had a great time catching up.

Wednesday October 14- I had the opportunity of going to the Library of Congress, the US Supreme Court where people were standing on the steps protesting, and I got to go see the new Capitol visitor center. I went to lunch with Marko, and said goodbye.

That night I went and stayed with Robbie and we had the awesome opportunity of going to the World Cup Qualifier with the USA vs. Costa Rica. It was a downpour and I was soaked but it was great fun. The metro was packed solid afterwards. I couldn't believe how many people were packed in like sardines in there.

Thursday October 15- I went to the Natural History Museum. It was great. There was also a live butterfly walkthrough that was neat. The butterflies were rare and exotic species and they were beautiful. That afternoon Robbie and I drove down to Baltimore to see Zach. We went to a great seafood restaurant and then went to Inner Harbor. Inner Harbor is a neat place, but this time it was so cold and rainy I am glad I had the opportunity to see it in June. We had fun walking around and loved the Barnes & Noble there.

Friday October 16- Robbie left, Zach worked so I had the great opportunity of spending the day with Pat's brother Mike and his family.

They were great, we hung out, played games and they took me to a great Argentinian restaurant. Zach drove out and had dinner with us that night then we went back to Baltimore. They have this great indoor volleyball court, where anyone can show up and you play pick up games. It was so fun. I really wish Utah had this. I love volley and so does Zach so it was a great activity.

Saturday October 17- We had all sorts of outdoor activities we wanted to do, but it was rainy and miserable so we decided to spend the day shopping. Which made us both very happy. We went to some great malls that I wish Utah had. We also went to some great used bookstores. We went to Potbelly's for dinner ( my 3rd time that week, I love that place and wish Utah had one) and then went back to the Inner Harbor area. There is this great area that had a lot of great shops, bars and live music. It was fun to walk around there even though we were soaked. We also went to a record store and enjoyed looking around at all the music. We went back to Zach's and watched Hocus Pocus. It was a low key day, but gave us a lot of great time to enjoy seeing each other.

Sunday we went to church and just relaxed. I went to the airport and waited in crazy long lines. Then my roommate Amanda picked me up at the airport. I had an amazing trip. I missed my friends and was so glad I got to spend so much time with them. I can't wait to go back soon. I miss them already. The holidays wont come soon enough so I can see them.

School

2009-08-30T18:25:00.002-06:00

School is crazy and time consuming so if I do blog posts they will probably be brief and photo lacking, but I will try to keep them consistent. I am all moved into my new place. The roommates are awesome, even though I have only known them one day, things are going great thus far. School is going to be very daunting but I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what I need to do and how to go about doing this.

I am Back!!!!

2009-08-20T20:03:00.002-06:00

Hey fellow blogger friends. I know you have all been anxiously sitting around waiting for me to post about my fabulous and exciting life, and I am terribly sorry to have left you all waiting for so long. Life has been full of crazy and exciting adventures. This summer I drove across the country to Baltimore, spent a week on a house boat in Lake Powell wakeboarding, tubing, and relaxing. I have been to a demolition derby, a rodeo, and concerts: Kenny Chesney, George Strait, and the Fray. It has been crazy and fun. I also have switched back to the U and start on monday. I am excited to be almost done, and get life heading in a direction that makes me really excited. I also just last week found an apartment in Salt Lake right south of Trolley Square. I am so excited to move next Saturday, and I promise to try to keep my blog somewhat updated.

Chelsea's Baby Shower

2009-03-08T15:42:00.005-06:00

This is old news, but we got together to celebrate Chelsea and her baby. She has since had this baby, and boy is she beautiful. It was a fun night to get together and catch up.

2009-03-08T15:38:00.002-06:00

On February 17th, we had to opportunity to go to the Draper Utah Temple Open House. It was a beautiful temple, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to see everything there...Just a few photos from the day. It was so dark that I didn't get a very good pic of the temple, but it was beautiful!

Sean Left for China

2009-03-05T19:44:00.003-07:00

Sean left us for a few months to go teach in China. We had a farewell party for him at his house. Here are a few photos of the friends...

Happenings

2009-02-01T14:54:00.006-07:00

I have decided to do an internship this summer. My area of focus is Marketing and PR. I am looking specifically in the east coast, with New York being my main focus right now. If anyone has advice on where to look for internships or housing, or anything they think might be useful for me to know, I would greatly appreciate it. The application process is overwhelming, but I am excited for a new adventure. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Well January was pretty uneventful. I have however made a few purchases. On Martin Luther King Day I bought myself my new baby. It is a 2007 Mazda 6. It is silver. I love it!!!! The car has treated me great so far, however, Friday morning on my way to work I had a blowout. I was on the highway so it was a bit scary, gratefully however though I was able to pull over and get out of the way. Matt was able to come help me change the tire. We couldn't get my car jack out of the trunk however, so I called Cindee and she came to our rescue and brought us her car jack. So I was supposed to be at work at 845 and I arrived at 10. I appreciate an understanding manager, who wasn't mad but rather worried. So other than that, things are well with the car, and let me tell you...I Look GOOD in that Car!!!! HAHA.

Last night I went to go purchase a new Mac Laptop. I got everything I wanted picked out, and computer was in hand, when I looked at my wallet and I had left my credit card at home. Big blonde moment of the week right there. Luckily they put it on hold for me, so I will be the new proud owner of a Mac tomorrow evening. Marko was with me and so I am really glad he will never let me live that down. It was rather embarrassing. We also went and saw Taken with Marko and his brother Nik and his roommate. It was a very intense movie, but I really liked it. It is terrible to know and think that that kind of stuff is actually happening, but it is. We went to Trio for dinner. We saw some very STRANGE things while waiting, but it was DELICIOUS!! Definitely worth the wait!

This month I also went to my first Sundance experience. We didnt see any shows, but we had a fun night going to Squatter's pub and walking the streets of Park City. February has a lot of great things planned, so I am looking forward to it. More posts to come....

Minnesota

2009-01-19T09:42:00.004-07:00

From December 28 through January 4th of this year I went to Minnesota. My cousin Shaun got married at the St. Paul Temple so I went with grandma to go celebrate and support him in this exciting milestone of his life. We stayed in Minneapolis and the St. Paul area for a few nights then we went up north to my uncle's place in Ely. The first night we got there it was about -20 degrees. I exaggerate not. We celebrated new years 20s style and had plenty of noise makers to make it really exciting. It was a great holiday. We played games, and just enjoyed the family bonding time we had. We went into Ely for lunch and shopping, everything felt the same as 3 years ago when I worked there. It was a great experience. I got dressed in a Carrhart jumpsuit and we went sledding one night. We went down the driveway and it was pitch black, but after I got over my fear it was really amazing. We rode down on some flexible flyers. We went back down to Minneapolis for our last night there and went to dinner with Melanie and Reuben. We had an early flight the next morning, but it was nice to come home, even though it wasn't much warmer here.

Life

2009-01-07T09:35:00.002-07:00

Many people have told me I need to get back on top of my blog. I left it a bit neglected. I resolve to try to be better with my blog. I just got my computer fixed so I am back in business. More to come....soon.

Halloween

2008-12-07T13:52:00.007-07:00

I am so behind in posting, finals have consumed all of my time. I had a blast these past 2 months and I will play catch up really fast. For halloween I was a hippie. It was really fun, I even drew all over my jeans. My friends went all out and it was a great night. Here are a few of the photos.

Election Day

2008-11-05T09:21:00.005-07:00

Well yesterday was definitely an interesting day, and day that will forever be remembered historically. Everything didn't turn out exactly as I would have wanted it, but I am interested to see what the future holds.

Last night I had the opportunity to go down to the Grand America Hotel and participate in the Republican festivities that went down there. I had the opportunity to shake hands with Senator Orrin Hatch, Governor Huntsman, and Rep. Bishop. It was a neat opportunity and I am glad I went down. I hope that the future is bright for America, and that the economy can withstand these new changes.

Picture Tag

2008-11-03T00:19:00.003-07:00

Thanks Chels, I bet you thought I wasn't going to do it...

This is the picture tag where you go into your picture files on your computer and choose the 4th picture from the 4th folder and tell a little bit about it, then tag 6 people. I am using my parents computer since my laptop died, so this could be interesting.

This picture is from 2 years ago. It was Catch a Cougar night for my sorority. It was the week of the BYU Utah football game, and the week before thanksgiving. The whole sorority drove down from SLC to Provo. The deal was we had to go find random Y boys on the street. I cheated and called my friend Phil and told him we would be there to pick him up and told him to bring two roommates for my friends. Funny story, we made out a week later, the night before thanksgiving, and the whole family found out at Thanksgiving dinner. Gotta Love IT!!!!!

I tag...Jamie, Heather, Ashley, Mollie, Jackie, Amber

Snow in October!!!!

2008-10-18T11:49:00.004-06:00

It snowed last weekend!!! I love the snow! I was happy to have it come. I also am satisfied it has warmed up a bit more so that we can play a couple more weeks of sand volleyball. It was fun to wake up to the snow and bring out my sweaters....there better be more to come!!!!

Haunted Houses!

2008-10-14T14:40:00.005-06:00

I love haunted houses!!!! I of course get scared very easily. However, I love the adrenaline feeling. I love it. It is so ironic, to pay someone to scare you, but that is the joy of Halloween and Haunted Houses. Of course, all of my friends love to see me get scared. They kept telling the "creatures" throughout the experience my name, which caused me even more terror. I don't like them knowing my name. I screamed a lot, and might of hyperventilated a little too. It was definitely fun though! Oh and after we walked out there was some creepy man dressed up we had to get our picture by.

Go UTES!!!

2008-10-11T17:41:00.004-06:00

It has been a great season for the University of Utah. My family has 4 season tickets, so I get to go to the games often. I went to their first home game of the season against UNLV. They won. I went with the parentals and my sister Whitney. I also got the opportunity to go and watch the U beat Oregon State in a nail biter. We were able to score 10 points in the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter, to win! It was incredible. The fans were jumping out of the stands. We even watched some of the security guards get trampled by security. After the game was over, we were enjoying the victory, and a Ute player came to the stands to greet fans. Taylor and I had to get our picture taken of course. We also went with dad and Sam...It was a blast!

Grandma's Birthday!

2008-09-25T18:38:00.004-06:00

Well yesterday was my grandma's 76th birthday. She is such an amazing woman. Anyone she meets becomes an instant friend. I love her to death. We go out to lunch every wednesday, and I look forward to this every week. I can't even begin to describe all that she has done for me and for the rest of the family. Truly a remarkable woman. I want to put a few pics up...Enjoy!!!

I've been tagged! 8 Things

2008-09-23T08:06:00.002-06:00

Well Jamie tagged me on her blog and I am procrastinating homework, so I am going to try this out.

8 TV Shows I love To Watch (If I ever have time)
1 Lost
2 Grey's Anatomy
3 The Hills
4 Criminal Minds
5 ER
6 The New Beverly Hills 90210
7 Wizards of Waverly Place
8 Private Practice

8 Favorite Restaurants
1 Romano's Macaroni Grill
2 Cheesecake Factory
3 Pizza Factory
4 Olive Garden
5 Pei Wei/PF Changs
6 Chili's
7 Mimi's Cafe
8 Applebees

8 Things That Happened Yesterday
1 Woke Up at 8
2 Did Some Homework/Studying
3 Went To Work at 1
4 After work I went to my Night Class, and a very attractive gent sat next to me!
5 Went to singles ward FHE...we played volleyball which is one of my most favorite things in the whole world...
6 Had a very interesting conversation with Matt, Zach, Spencer forever at the church
7 Showered so I didn't smell bad...
8 Watched Made of Honor as I fell asleep

8 Things I am Looking Forward To
1 My laptop getting fixed and rid of the virus
2 My car selling...ASAP!
3 Successfully finishing the 20 credits I am taking this semester
4 Getting A Great Internship for the Summer
5 Using my New Scrapbook Stuff
6 Fall Break (I want to go somewhere fun!)
7 Volleyball Thursday Night, and My Soccer Game tonight
8 Grandma's Birthday Party Tomorrow Night

8 Things on my Wish List
1 An IPhone
2 A new car!!! (Hopefully before Christmas)
3 The Sweatshirt/Coat at Buckle that I haven't broken down and bought yet
4 New shoes...fake animal print especially
5 New Cricut Cartridges
6 Graduating!!!
7 Getting My Homework Caught Up...This has to happen which means I should get off of my blog and start doing it...
8 My Knight in Shining Armor (not anytime soon though) haha!

8 People I tag
Heather, Chelsea, Jackie, Ashley, Ryan, Nicole, Andrea, and Mollie

Yah for me!!!!

2008-09-22T10:34:00.002-06:00

I think I figured out my problem thanks to googling blogging for dummies I got my layout back!!!!!

Catching Up

2008-09-22T10:28:00.002-06:00

I am not even going to try to get everything I have done in the past little bit on here. Life has been crazy busy, but so good! I have been going to my little bro Ben's games every Friday night. He is playing so well and so far they haven't lost any of their season games. School is crazy busy. I am taking 20 credits this semester and it is hard to find time for it all with work also, but things are going very well so far. We are playing indoor soccer right now. We have a blast but have yet to win...we will get better...I have faith in us. This last weekend was amazing. I went to the scrapbook expo. It was amazing. I went with Stephanie and Heather. We found some amazing deals!!!! What a blast!!!

Help!

2008-09-09T00:46:00.001-06:00

I am an idiot, I almost deleted my blog tonight, and I am trying to change the layout and I can't figure out what I am doing, this is ridiculous. Who knows how to help me?

Las Vegas

2008-09-08T22:59:00.000-06:00

To end the summer off, I went down to Las Vegas with Vanessa. We left August 20th and came back the 23rd.

The first night when we got there we just swam and chilled at the hotel because we were both exhausted and Vanessa wasn't feeling very well. Thursday we went to the strip and went to Bellagio's gardens which are BEAUTIFUL! A definite must see.

Then for all of those of you who know this about me, I am obsessed with M&M's. I often make the comment that if my future husband provides me with M&M's and a crushed ice maker, I will be happy and content with life. HAHA! We then went and bought these half off coupons to Planet Hollywood and had an amazing lunch. The food was delicious. We went back to the hotel for some swimming and chillaxing! That night we were feeling adventurous and went to Stratosphere and rode the ride at the top of the building. It was so crazy. When you get off the elevator at the 108th floor I felt as though the building was swaying, and that I was going to fall over the edge. CRAZY! The ride was very fun, but I screamed my little heart out on it. It was a blast, I have never done it before and was so glad to finally have the opportunity.

Friday morning me and V decided to go where neither of us have gone in all the many times we have both been to Vegas. We drove about a half hour and went to see the Hoover Dam. It was so cool. So much history is there, and to be a part of it was amazing! I also got to stradle the Nevada-Arizone state line, so I can say I have been in two places at once. Walk to remember style.

On our way back to the hotel we went to Cheesecake Factory, which is so amazing! We went back to the hotel to swim and enjoy our time.

V wasn't feeling up to doing anything, but I got bored so I went to the strip by myself. It was crazy, fun, and scary all wrapped in to one. I went and gambled at New York New York for a minute, I think I lost 5 bucks. Big spender I know. Next, I ventured down to the Mirage and Treasure Island hotels. As I was driving on the strip, my car overheated. Frustrations. The car has been continually overheating all summer. They keep fixing it for me free of charge because it isn't my fault. I got back to the hotel around 830. I knew the dealer service center would be closed but I tried to call them anyways. I called the VW dealer 3 miles away from our hotel, and the service guy told me that the service department was open until midnight and that if I took my car over there he would look at it for me. Well they looked at it and said the fan wasn't working but in 110 degree weather that tends to happen. He said we could make it back to Utah if we didn't use AC the whole way home. So we left saturday morning in HOT weather without the AC for the whole 6 hour ride home. The next week when I took the car in to get fixed they said they couldn't find anything wrong, and it has been working great ever since....who knows anymore!

My Bad

2008-09-07T21:15:00.000-06:00

Well my laptop has obtained a virus called XP antivirus 2008. Trust me if you get this virus run...it has taken over my computer and after hours of working at getting rid of it, it is still there. My summer was amazing. School has started and things are very crazy. An update of the last month. I went to 2 rodeos.

The Ogden rodeo was a blast, and the davis county rodeo was so windy we didn't last long but it was fun. I started playing indoor soccer which is so fun, I just suck.

Stephanie Williams came home from her mission and that makes me so happy!!!!

I also got to go to my very first demolition derby.

I went to Jack Johnson and to Martina McBride in concert.

Jay and Bethany got married.

We went to Cheesecake Factory for Zach's birthday!

To end the summer, we had a barbecue to celebrate Marko coming home, and the end of summer!!! Highschool friend style.

July in a Nutshell

2008-08-06T11:07:00.000-06:00

American Idol Concert

Scott, a husband of one of the ladies I work with was able to hook us up with some box seats at the American Idol Concert. It was so fun!!! I rocked the concert with the ladies from work and we had a blast. For those of you who dont know, I am in love with Jason Castro. His voice is so beautiful so I pretty much lost my voice when he came out. The pictures aren't that great but it was such an amazing night... thanks Scott!!

July In A Nutshell

2008-08-06T10:26:00.000-06:00

Drive In

We went to the drive in and saw Hancock and Journey to the Center of the Universe. We had time to kill before the movies started so we took pictures.

Daphney

Jolley had her baby on July 6th. Sweet little Daphney. I went and saw her the next week. She is 5 days old. So precious. Jolley and Joey are so lucky...and great parents!!!

The Fourth of July!

2008-07-20T16:49:00.000-06:00

I am a little behind on things but I am trying to catch up! The fourth was a great day. I went to layton parade with my brothers and dad and our family friends, the Hunsakers. After that parade, I went over to Kaysville's parade to meet up with some friends for the water fight portion of the parade. I hadn't never heard of this before and it was crazy! I saw a whole new side to Mike. He turns evil once you put a water gun in his hand. Also Matt made sure to tell some guy with a pressure hose to get me wet so needless to say I got SOAKED!!!

Then that night we had a family barbecue with my family, the Halleys and the Hunsakers. Afterwards we went to the Layton fireworks. All in all it was just your traditional fourth of july celebrations...but it was super FUN!!!

Low Dough Country Concert

2008-07-13T17:26:00.000-06:00

Well I am trying to catch up on my posting. This is still a very new world to me. On June 30th, I went to Orem to celebrate Utah Valley State College becoming Utah Valley University. They had a concert and the tickets were only like 5 bucks!! Josh Gracin, Jo Nichols, and Collin Raye performed with fireworks after. It was such a fun concert!!! And Vanessa and I got to go up and get REALLY close to Josh Gracin but he didn't want to take away from Jo Nichols singing so he went back to his trailer, but it was still neat!!

Washington DC

2008-07-02T10:41:00.000-06:00

Well I am going to backtrack a bit in my postings. I had the amazing opportunity of going to Washington DC from June 4-June 11 2008. My friend Marko is back in DC doing an internship for the summer so I went back there and stayed with him. I saw so many amazing and wonderful things. The trip was better than I could have ever imagined. During the day Marko had his internship so I traveled the city by myself. At night I met up with him and his roommates to go see the memorials and to go eat. There were some amazing restaurants there! While I was there, the weather was so uncomfortable. When I left Utah, it was raining and cold here, then in DC it was 95+ humidity factor, making it really unbearable. I appreciate Utah's dry weather. Getting to DC was ridiculous. I went through Atlanta, and our plane got delayed for about 2.5 hours there. We boarded the plane in Atlanta, and they kept us on the plane without a/c for the 2.5 hours. Once we finally got to DC they wouldn't let the employees on the ramp so they couldn't unload any of our bags. Marko had been waiting at the airport for about an hour already and then we had to wait about another hour to get our bags. After we got our bags we went and got on the Metro and went to his apartment. We went to dinner at this chinese place right around the corner from his apartment. The next morning with map in hand I went on the Metro to go see what DC had to offer me. I got off at the Smithsonian stop and realized I was very lost. I had no clue what I was doing or going. I went into the first building I came across, which turned out to be the Natural History Museum. That museum was cool. It had a lot of information about animals and dinosaurs and stuff like that. My favorite part was the National Gem Collection. The Hope Diamond was there, and I had no idea this is where it was located so that was a pleasant surprise. The rest was cool but that definitely topped it. I met up with Marko at a place called Pot Belly's for lunch. I loved this place maybe someday they will come to Utah. I also went to the National Air and Space Museum. I loved the display they had on the Wright brothers. I learned so much. That night we went and ate at an Italian restaurant called Vlapiano's (something like that). Afterwards we went to the White House. It was so beautiful at night. I loved it so much. Pictures don't do it justice.

We also went to the Jefferson memorial on the other side of the Potommac River. It was a neat experience. The memorials are larger than I had expected. On Friday, I went to Arlington National Cemetery. This could possibly be one of the most spiritual experiences I have had in a very long time. The spirit that is there is amazing. To look around and see the white dots all around that represent all those that have given their lives for my personal freedom. It was very overwhelming. I saw the Kennedy's gravestones and the eternal flame which was very neat. The day I was there was the 40th anniversary of Robbert Kennedy's death. The tomb of the unknown soldier and the changing of the guard was an amazing experience. The precision and perfection the guards have is very incredible to watch. I spent about 6 hours at Arlington. Afterwards, I walked a couple miles and went to see the Marine Corp Memorial. My grandfathers served with the Marines during the Korean War, so this held a special place to me. At the memorial there were tour buses full of servicemen and watching their reaction to the memorial was an experience I am so grateful for experiencing. That day was very long and hot, so at night we went to a Jazz festival that surrounds a really neat fountain. That was fun. I love outdoor entertainment during the summer. Especially music. On Saturday, we went to Georgetown. The University is amazing. The buildings are so old and beautiful. It was an exceptionally hot day. A couple of blocks away from the university is an outdoor mall that I loved. Marko knows I love shopping so he took me there of course. It was fun. That night we went out to another Italian restaurant that was delicious. We picked up a friend of Marko's at her hotel. The hotel felt like it was forever away. That day consisted of a LOT of walking. On sunday, I was a bad girl and skipped church. Don't tell. We tried to go to a National's game but it was sold out so me and Marko went to a mall to find his dad a fathers day gift. Afterwards we met up with 2 of his roommates to go to cheesecake factory. Later, we went to see the world war II memorial and the korean war memorial. The korean war memorial was slightly haunting. The faces on the soldiers is very intense. Monday, Marko arranged for me to get a tour of the State Capitol. His friend Stanley was great. He knew his stuff and shared so much information about the Capitol. That might have been one of my favorite parts of the trip. We saw the where the supreme court used to meet. I also went to the Archives to see the constitution and declaration of independence. It was a really long wait, but worth it to see those documents. That night we went to the Vietnam and Korean War Memorial. The wall at the Vietnam memorial was an undescribable feeling. The names on the wall are very overwhelming. People leave flowers in remembrance. It was such a humbling experience. I really wish I could describe it better, but it is too hard to put in words. On tuesday, I went to the holocaust museum. This museum was so hard to read everything. The things that happened during the Holocaust were so awful and gruesome, it was hard to read and learn about all that happened. There was one room where they had shoes all over the ground. This was so hard to see. It is unfathomable all that happened. Seeing the shoes just made everyting you had just learned through the museum, so much more realistic. I would suggest everyone at some point during their lives go there, not because it is fun, but becauses it is necessary to learn about. That night as we were to dinner, a large rainstorm began. We ran from the restaurant to the metro and got soaked. I lost my flip flop in a puddle and had to go back for it. It was an experience! The next morning I went and saw the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery of Art, the Sculpture Garden, Ford's Theater, and the FBI building. I met up with Marko to go to Pot Belly's again, and then I went to pack up and get ready to leave. I somehow managed to take my suitcase on the metro and get to the airport by myself. It was such an amazing experience. I had a layover in Cincinatti, where I bought Kite Runner, which I would suggest to anyone to read. Also, on a funny note I was in the Body Shop store. They had a basket full of scented candle oils and I somehow managed to flip the basket over and the oils went everywhere all over the floor. Some nice lady helped me clean it up. Good Times! I also learned it is a very small world. My high school Calculus teacher was on the flight with me from Cincinatti to SLC, he sat two seats away. He was a creepo teacher it wasn't a happy run in. He wanted to take me home to Layton, luckily I have an amazing dad who was waiting at the airport for me. Sorry this post was so long I just wanted to share my whole trip in one post!!!

What am I doing?

2008-07-01T19:14:00.000-06:00

Well after much prodding, I finally gave in and got myself a blog. I don't know how exciting my life is because I don't have a husband or kids to talk about, but then again my married friends aren't that exciting either. HAHA! Well there will be more posts to come as I figure this whole thing out. Also, any suggestions on what to name my blog would be appreciated!