Few Different Things

1.  I am finished with my second semester at the U of U  (not counting the class I took in the summer).  It feels soo great to be done for a few weeks.  I hope next semester rocks.  Each semester here continuously gets better and better.  It's weird to say that I've been in SLC for almost a whole year.  It doesn't seem that long at all.  On a sidenote, I know I got an A in at least one psychology class, but I have to wait longer to see what I got in everything else.

2.  My cousin's wedding was yesterday in Provo.  She looked beautiful and soo happy.  Kyle and her are a great couple, I'm so happy for them.  Allie's friend Marie said the only word that describes Allie is Perfect.  I can't agree more.  She's just basically amazing.  :) It was a lot of fun to spend time with my family and extended family.  Wish we could have family get togethers more often but I've been very blessed to see many relatives the past two holidays!

3.  Christmas is only six days away!  I'm so excited to go home for Christmas and spend so much time in St. George.  There is no greater place that I know of.  But even better than spending Christmas at home, is spending it with my family.  They are the best.  I love the holiday season and reflecting back on the year I've had and how to become a better person.  I love thinking about our Savior, Jesus Christ and His humble birth.  I love how people change at this time of year and how generous people can become.  I love the quote we have out every Christmas season... "Wise Men Still Adore Him".  It is a very true statement.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

U of U Gymnastics...

RISICKULOUS!!

I'm so excited I joined the U of U Gymnastics MUSS.  Gymnastics is soooo much fun to watch and it's my favorite event of all Olympic sports.  I will be going to every home meet possible, I cannot wait.  I'm even taking a gymnastics class the first half of next semester.  It's kinda pathetic I arranged my whole class schedule around that class, but seriously, the U offers gymnastics.  I gotta take full advantage of that while I can! :)

Picture Overload

erin brooke wade hafen's wedding, Utah- TCU blackout game, thanksgiving bowling adventure.

Gratitude

Any word possible can describe this past week for me.  It all started last Tuesday, the 23rd.  I knew I was going home around 5pm so I went to work in the morning before the class I had at noon.  At work, my boss was so nervous for me to fly home.  There was a big blizzard coming in, and flights may be delayed or cancelled.  She was right to be nervous.  I fly non-revenue, so if there's not a seat available for me, I get bumped to the next flight.  Well, the storm came in when I was at the airport.  Many flights were delayed and cancelled.  I was at the SLC Airport for 12 hours.  It was a very long day but I spent it with my friend Caitlin Mason.  She was trying to get to Cedar and her flight was cancelled until the following morning. She spent at least 17 hours at the airport.  I was able to get on a flight to St. George that left around 3am and arrived in STG around 4:30am.  My luggage was lost and I was so tired and I couldn't do anything about it until later in the morning.  I finally got my luggage Wednesday afternoon.  I hate being tired because it's a waste of a day.  BUT I was super happy that I was able to come down in the first place.  The week got so much better.  Especially when my cousins and other family members were there.  We went bowling a couple times [I got 3rd place both times :) ], we went to Krave [frozen yogurt], ate lots of food, watched movies and baseball and football [GO UTES!!!!!!  We won by one, 17-16, by blocking a fieldgoal!!]. On Saturday night after the game, I had to prepare a talk for Sacrament Meeting in my parents ward.  Guess what it was on, Gratitude of course!  I was so suppose to talk for 7 minutes, I prepared my talk for 5 minutes, but talked for 15.  It was kind of ridiculous of me.  I felt way bad because Sunday School was super short because of it.  My mom switched my flight from 5pm to 2:53pm because I had a better chance of making that flight.  Well, I didn't make it.  I would for sure make the flight from Cedar City to Salt Lake, however, so we made arrangements for me to catch a ride up there.  The ride fell through because of awful weather, so I felt stranded again.  Luckily I was still in my own home with other options.  Then I realized, Caitlin was flying from Cedar and she was in LaVerkin when I told her I didn't have a ride up.  I was blessed to catch a ride up there with her family.  It should have taken 45 minutes to get to Cedar, it took about 80 minutes.  Once we made it to the airport, we found out the flight was delayed.  Then we found out it was cancelled altogether.  We ended up watching Moulin Rouge and having a sleepover at her house.  It was fun.  After many phone calls and text exchanges, my mom and I decided it would be best for me to try and make an overbooked flight to Salt Lake Monday morning, if I didn't make it, I would take the shuttle.  Unfortunately the flight and shuttle were to depart Cedar City within five minutes of each other.  I decided to go to the airport anyways and just see, and then take the shuttle.  Monday morning I got a text from my mom at 7am saying the shuttle service was not going to run because of the poor road conditions.  I was so discouraged, but at least I could stay at the airport the whole time to see if I'd make the 9am flight, and if not, I'd get on the 6pm flight.  By no small miracle, there was three extra seats on the plane, and I was the third standby listed.  I was soo relieved that I got on the 9am flight.  I was back in my little house by noon.  Overall, Thanksgiving was a huge success.  I'm definitely not going to try to fly if a big snowstorm is rolling in, I will drive to beat it.  I have so much to be thankful for, I am so blessed.  I often feel I don't deserve everything I have, but I'm grateful for it all anyways! 

Rivalry Week

This week is Rivalry Week between BYU and U of U.  Competitions between the two schools consist of food drives and blood drives and I don't know what else.  I don't know how it's all going to go down, but it does seem pretty intense.  Haters are so ready for this weekend and I just want the U to win the last football game of the season.  Especially after the sad homegame against TCU.  Just like my brother says, "I like BYU, I just like the U better!" This week U fans are suppose to wear NO BLUE.  That is kinda difficult for me, especially since I love the color blue.  I guess it's a GREAT thing that my family pictures this weekend consist of  the color scheme of red, black, gray and white.  Just kidding, but seriously though.  It will be an interesting week to say the least.

More than Picture Perfect

Today I watched the sunrise.  It was beautiful, the sky was full of  blue and pinks, then oranges, then yellows.  I should have taken a picture but everyone knows no camera, no matter how great or expensive it is, can do it justice.  There's something peaceful and renewing about watching a sunrise, and I was quite happy and ready for today's plans.  I know my wonderful outlook may have something to do with what's happening this weekend and next week, but still, I was energized and ready to conquer my world.  I love sunrises and sunsets, but for different reasons.  Wake up early to watch a sunrise, you won't regret it.  (Unless of course, it's not a pretty sunrise. But that hardly ever happens.)

Dreaming...

... OF THIS.

Only three more days.  Cannot wait.  It's hard to believe the girl I grew up with is getting married on Saturday.  But I've waited for this day for more than two years, just like her.  I'm so grateful that I get to go home for almost three days this week and five days next week for Thanksgiving.  I wish I didn't have to come back up for a few days but I guess school, work and church callings are important too.  To all my family and friends in St. George, SEE YOU SO SOON! :)

Awesome pictures to come soon.  Some events have taken place that I have neglected to blog about and post pictures of, like ice skating and visits from Chip. And the wedding this weekend, of course. 

In the meantime, I get to go referee some stake volleyball.

odds and ends

I decided I'm not very proactive when it comes to blogging unless I'm trying to avoid something.  In this case, it's putting clothes away and writing a paper for a class.  November may just kill me,  I cannot wait until I'm finished with this semester on December 15th.  The first half just flew by and I didn't have much going on... Everything has been piled into November.  However, I'm extremely grateful that Thanksgiving is this month.  I'm also happy that I'm going home three times this month. :)  St. George is the Best!! 
Halloween was pretty good this year. I decided to be a zombie because my friend Camille and I talked about going to Thriller (which we did, it basically ripped our hearts out because we both miss dancing and performing so much. BUT it was worth it) and I thought it would be fun to make that costume.  Here am I as a ZOMBIE!  I received so many weird looks and it took a little bit for people to recognize me.



This week is the Utah - TCU game.  I'm excited, it's gonna be so intense!  ESPN is even hosting their GameDay at Rice-Eccles, which will be sweet.  Baby bring on the WEEKEND! :)

[Magic Mountain]

So for part of Fall Break last week, seven friends and I went to California to spend some quality time together.  I must say that it was definitely high quality.  We drove ten hours on Thursday and we arrived in Simi Valley around 11pm. 

Friday we dedicated to Magic Mountain (Six Flags) and spent 13 hours there.  It was wonderful because it was sunny but not hot, and the longest line we stood in was probably a 20 minute wait.  My favorite ride was X2, followed by Tatsu.  I love roller coasters so much.  I definitely want to go back soon.  13 hours was definitely a LONG time to spend at an amusement park but it was SOO worth it!

On Saturday we went to a beach called Paradise Cove in Malibu.  It was really fun even though it was cloudy and smozzy (smog + fog + haze = smoz).  We had fun catching crawdads, burying people in the sand, watching surfers and throwing a frisbee around.  We went swimming and we got caught under a huge wave crashing on us and the riptide pulled me back the same time as the huge wave crashed on me and I banged my knee against the sand.  My knee was super swollen and now it's just really colorful -- brown and blue and purple!  I bruise like a peach so it wasn't too unusual for me to come back with a huge bruise. 

We left the beach around 2pm to start our long drive back to Salt Lake City.  On the way back up, we stopped in St. George to eat and get some fuel.  Thank you mom so much for feeding my three friends and myself.  It was so great to see my family, even if it was just for a half hour or so.  Love my family! 

Overall, this Fall Break was the best break I've ever spent.  Can't wait to see what adventures Spring Break brings!

General Conference - October 2010

I love every time April and October come around.  These Conference Sessions were no different.  I love how humbling and encouraging listening to great leaders can be.  This time around, I felt like the main themes of Conference consisted of Faith, Obedience, and Love.  Cannot wait for The Ensign to come out next month. What did you love about Conference this time?

Fall Break.

Next week is the University of Utah's Fall Break.  I'm sooo excited.  It's a whole week long, just like Spring Break.  Cannot wait!  My plans consist of going to St. George for a few days this weekend and next weekend some friends and I are going to Six Flags in California.  Last time I went there, I was barely a centimeter too short to go on any of the rides, so basically I'm very excited.  I love roller coasters.  :)

Blow Dryer.

Hello.  It's been quite a while since I blogged last.  Yes, I am still alive. 

So I was blowdrying my hair this morning and I had a flashback of this spring when I lived in my dungeon-like apartment (sooo glad I don't live in that apartment anymore with all the mess and clutter... but that's besides the point).  It's a funny story so I decided to blog about it.

My sister came up to visit and play with me one weekend.  We always see the strangest things or the weirdest things happens to us when we are together.  Love it!  So anyways, before she came up I had some troubles with my blowdryer.  I had to hold the cord a certain way so it would work.  It was old and worn out though, it had been used too much I guess.  We were both in my bathroom getting ready and I turned on my dryer.  While I used it, I smelled something burning.  I went to look at my blowdryer and out shoots a blue flame from the bottom part where the cord is.  It was like a blow torch. It freaked us out and we both started laughing.  I was surprised my hair didn't catch on fire.  I somehow was able to turn the bowdryer off and unplug it without it exploding or me catching on fire.  It was so hilarious, so typical of something that would happen only when Jacee would be with me to witness.  I'm so happy to have those strange moments in life that make life so entertaining and unpredictable.  :)

Congrats!

Congratulations are in order to some of my favorite people. 

This girl and this boy are engaged to be married on November 20th.  I'm so excited for my best friend, Erin Brooke Wade and Broc Hafen. :)

Another Congrats is in order to my cousin Allie Edgington and Kyle Spinder.  They are getting married on December 18th.  I'm also very excited for these two as well! :)



Aren't they both very cute couples?! So happy for all four of these people.  

Go UTES!!!

My friend Caitlin and me at the Utah-UNLV game.

Utah dominated the game.  Ending score was 38-10.

I love football season.  Going to the game was so much fun! Can't wait for next home game.



Shout Out...

Happy Birthday

Mother!

I love my mom so much.  She is such a great person.  And today is her birthday.  Some wonderful things about my mother is:

• She has a heart of gold. 
• She is quite honest, blunt even.
• She is a wonderful dancer. 
• She got married at age 18 and has been married for 29 years.
• When we listen to the radio, there is usually at least one song she did a dance to.
• She has beautiful light blue eyes.
• She works at SkyWest Airlines.
• She has four children, two boys and two girls and plus a daughter-in-law.
• Her favorite color is blue.
• She has a large fantastic group of friends that she is still friends with from high school.
• She was a cheerleader at Dixie High School. 
• She is a great cook.
• She lets me decorate our house for the holidays.
• Our birthdays are only one day apart.
• She is involved with the Young Women program in the ward.
• She seeks simplicity and humility in her life.
• She loves to work out.
• She loves the water and the sun.
• She is quite flexible.
• She is the best mother, wife, friend, daughter, etc.

I love you, mom!! Thank you for being the person you are and for raising me the way you and dad have.  I would be so lost without you in my life. 

New Semester... New Life

Maybe a new life is an exaggeration.  I still have the same life, but there are some welcomed changes!  But anyways, today I received a new calling in my singles' ward.  I am the Mingles Co-Chair.  Once a month the ward has a mingle after Church.  The point is to eat delicious food and socialize with members in the ward and the Bishopric can talk to those that they need to.  I'm excited but I don't know what to expect.  My co-chair knows how the mingles work inside and out so it will be a good thing for planning my mingle next week.  We decided to do taco salads, like Cafe Rio style. 

Another change is that a new semester at the University of Utah starts tomorrow.  I don't know what to think, I'm ready to be busy again and I am kind of excited.  I also am dreading the whole studying and exam idea.  I know once I'm back in school, it will be fine but it doesn't make it any easier right now knowing my alarm clock will go off around 6:30am tomorrow morning! Wish me luck!

Super Activity

This past weekend was really fun. It was my ward's super activity so we went to Logan Temple and did baptisms, stayed at Beaver Mountain Lodge/ski resort and then on Saturday went to Bear Lake. Friday night we had a bon fire and played card games and talked all night. It was so beautiful up there and also so much fun. On Saturday at Bear Lake, I got a tiny bit sunburned on weird places like my calves and my triceps and my face got a little sunburned of course. I'm impressed that I didnt burn that bad at all especially since I haven't seen the sun lately. We were suppose to do a service project too at a boy scout camp but it fell through. We played alot of sand volleyball and ultimate on the beach. I was kinda sore afterwards.  We had two boats out there and I went to tubing and somehow jammed my pinky finger. It was instantly swollen but didn't really hurt too much. Now it hurts since I'm thinking about it...  We had two banana boats out and it was fun trying not to flip over and also jumping from one to the other.  It was challenging but so fun.  I'm happy that I could have such a wonderful time last weekend, especially since school starts so soon and summer is ending!

... And I'm a Mormon.

Last Sunday night I went to a fireside at the U Institute.  Alex Boye was the speaker and he is such an amazing guy.  He's from England and he's also a great singer.  He's made many CDs and also sings with Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  His conversion story is simply amazing and so touching.  He has so much conviction behind what he says and he shared his story how life really was for him.  He has quite a sense of humor but he was so spiritual, a great speaker.  He sang a couple songs for us, leading many of us girls to tears because it was so heartfelt, true, and spiritual.  I'm grateful that he shared his testimony with us and how much it strengthened me.  I felt so blessed to have gone, and after hearing some trials he went through, even more grateful for the wonderful life I have.  I came across this video about him and thought it was a great link to add to this post.  Enjoy!!
http://mormon.org/alex

Shout Out...

Happy Birthday CHIPPER!!

My little brother isn't so little anymore.  Well he's been bigger than everyone else in the family for a while now.  He is fifteen, it's so hard to believe. 

1. He makes up the most random stories.
2. His favorite band is The Cab. (No, not Death Cab for Cutie)
3. He can make me laugh so easily.
4. His favorite sports are baseball and football.
5. The first roller coaster he has ever been on was at Lagoon.
6. He thinks he's smexy. (Sexy Mexican)
7. And goes by the name of Cheppe.
8. He is a pretty good chef.
9. He loves the Cubs and the Colts.
10. And he went to a Cubs game this year in Chicago.
11. He is smooth with the ladies.
12. He likes Cafe Rio burritos, but not enchilada style.
13. He is pretty good at drawing.
14. He is going to be in 9th grade at Desert Hills when school starts.
15. He has two sisters and one brother, and is the baby of the family.

Love you chip! I hope your birthday is fantastic!

Shout Out...

Happy Birthday

Logan

Logan is such a great person! And today is his 25th birthday.  I'm grateful that I could come to St. George this weekend to see him and my family.  Here are some interesting things about him:

1. He graduated from Pine View High School.

2. He was quite accident prone when he was little.

3. He likes sports, mostly football and baseball.

4. He is married to a beautiful, wonderful person named Whitney.

5. He can quote a whole movie after only watching it once.
6. He and I would stay up way late and talk for hours while in high school.
7. He tore his ACL and other tendons/ligaments in a football game his senior year.
8. He was involved with the Student Alumni Association at Dixie State.
9. He loves any water activity or outdoorsy stuff.
10. He had a mullet when he was little.
11. He is a great dancer besides athlete.
12. He is pretty chill and easygoing.
13. He served an LDS mission in Detroit, Michigan.
14. He seems to know everyone, and everyone knows who he is.
15. He sold security systems for Pinnacle Security.
16. He is usually making a funny face in pictures.
17. He's had plenty of surgeries throughout his life.
18. He is the oldest of four children.
19. He would often convince me to make desserts for him.
20. He easily surpasses people's expectations of him.
21. He has a great driving record, and hasn't been in a car wreck in years.
22. He loves his family and friends.
23. He doesn't put up with people's BS.
24. He loves the Lord and Jesus Christ.
25. He is such a great older brother, cousin, friend, son and so on!

I think I'm Gonna Like it Here...

So I moved this weekend! Now I'm located only TWO blocks away from the U Football Stadium.  I can walk to school, which will be nice.  I met my new roommate this morning, and she is really cool.  I'm excited to get to know her better and my other roommate as well.  Each room in this house is a different color, which is WAY better than all the white walls in my old apartment.  My room is blue and brown, and the brown wall is that cool chalk paint, SO FUN!!

I still have stuff to unpack and I need to decorate.  I'm excited to decorate because I have magnet boards across some of my walls so it will be fun to have lots of pictures.  I will need to bring up some of my picture frames next time I go to St. George to go in my new room.  Maybe I will post pictures here on the blog after everything is put where I want it.  Another awesome feature is that I can go on the roof whenever I want to.  My friends already dubbed my house the new hang out.  Which is fine by me.  I feel like I still have so much to do, so maybe I will go back to work.

I Know I'm Gonna Like It HERE! :)

i LOVE holidays...

[Sorry this post is a lil late!]
On Thursday night I came home to spend the long holiday weekend with family and friends.  I wish I could spend all of summer in St. George.  I love St. George so much!  My mom and sister picked me up at the St. George Airport and then we went grocery shopping.  Later that night, I just hung out with my little brother and I always laugh so much when I spend time with him! Friday was a fun day, it was very chill and low-key, which was great.  Friday night friends and I went to get snow cones and nothing beats snow cones in St. George.  :)  On Saturday I had family from Arizona come up, and they do every year.  We have such great traditions for the Independence Day holiday.  We always watch the fireworks the city puts on at the Sunbowl at my grandparents house, which isn't even a block away.  Then we celebrate it at home by doing our own fireworks and eating lemon homemade ice cream.  This year we kept the traditions alive but split our party into two days worth. On Sunday, we went to church meetings, ate amazing pork tacos, went up to Pine Valley and watched fireworks.  In Pine Valley, we played 'Annie I Over', took a tour of Pine Valley Chapel, and played Scum.  I've never been the King or President, but at least I've never been Scum either! Once we were back in St. George, and it was dark, we ate strawberry ice cream and lemon ice cream while we lit our own fireworks.  It was so much fun. On Monday a few friends and I went to Zion National Park to hike.  Zions is always so pretty.  Later on Monday I flew back to Salt Lake.  Too bad the weekend wasn't long enough and that St. George is 300 miles away.

I am so grateful for the freedom I have and to live in this great country.  Fourth of July always is a great reminder to count my many blessings I have that come with living in the United States of America. 

This past week I had a few adventures with my family.  It was great and so much fun, Thank You for the memories!

Adventure #1:
16.June.2010
My roommate gave me coupons for Lagoon Theme Park and so I called my mom and let her know I had them.  However, she neglected to tell my dad about them and my sister had to work that day, so just my little brother flew up to go to Lagoon with me.  I picked him up from the airport and we went to breakfast at Village Inn, and it tasted amazing.  Lagoon opened at 11am and we were one of the first in line to get in.  It was such a nice day, it wasn't too hot or too cold and the lines for the roller coasters were very short.  I couldn't have asked for it to be better. By three pm, we did all the rides we wanted to do, and then the storm clouds came in and the wind picked up so we rode the Samurai and the Rocket one more time each and we left.  The Samurai is definitely my favorite ride, I've never laughed so hard on a ride before in my life.  We went to Jimmy John's for lunch/dinner and then went to the city library to go on the roof, only to find it was already closed.  We were disappointed and still had time to kill before I had to take Chip back to the airport so we went to Gateway Mall. Thank you for coming up and going to Lagoon with me Cheppe, I had a lot of fun and it was great spending the day with you.

Adventure #2:
19.June.2010
Last week my cousin, Allie, participated in Miss Utah Pageant and my aunt invited us to go on Saturday, the final day of the pageant.  Allie represented Miss Castle Valley.  My mom and grandmother flew up on Saturday afternoon and we went to Temple Square and the Gateway Mall before the pageant started.  We met up with my aunt, uncle, and cousins and ate dinner at Rumbi's.  Allie was so beautiful and did an amazing job.  When she did her talent, she performed an amazing dance routine that was so graceful and elegant.  I may be biased but she was the best girl on that stage.  The theme this year was Mission: Possible, which was very fun and didn't seem like a typical theme for a pageant.  Congratulations to Allie for making it in the top 10.  I'm so happy I could come watch you and also for being inspired to do great things.

Adventure #3:
20. June. 2010
On Sunday, my mom and grandma wanted to go down to Orem to visit my cousin Cody, who tore his ACL and other tendons and ligaments so the three of us drove down there.  My mom texted Cody on Saturday night to let him know we were coming down, but the rest of his family didn't know.  We got there around 10:30am and went inside through their backdoor.  No one was around inside so we shouted his name and then my aunt came downstairs.  She was very surprised to see us, which was pretty fun.  My cousin Brady then came upstairs to see what was going on and then my uncle came home.  It was great to visit with everyone and spend time with them.  We realized we made them late for church, which we felt bad about, since we didn't go to church at all.  We then went to the Edgingtons because we had time to kill before my mom and grandma had to be dropped off at the airport for their flight back to St. George.  We decided to wait outside in the car because we didn't think they would be home from church yet. Across the street there were some fruit trees and the conversation we had about the trees went like this:

Mom: What is that tree over there with the red things on it?
Grandma: Oh, it's a cherry tree.  Can't you tell by the leaves? (She said that in a 'well hello! Don't you know?' type voice... priceless)
Dani: Bahahahahaha (I was crying because I was laughing so hard; like we know anything about fruit tree leaves.  I mean, really.)
Mom: Hahahaha. Mom you know we don't have any reason to know what cherry tree leaves look like. (she said something like that in between her laughing.  I can't exactly remember word for word what she said and what was said after that because like I said before, I was laughing so hard.)

Our trip to Orem and Provo ended up being a lot of fun, I enjoyed it so much.  It felt weird because we didn't go to church, and we spent all day with family, but it was still very nice.  The only thing missing was my dad, brothers and sisters.  I wanted to go home for father's day but spending time with important women in my life was really great too and I'm grateful that I could.  Love you all.  

Dear Dad,

I love you.  I am so grateful and so blessed to have you in my life.  Happy Fathers Day!I hope you have a wonderful fathers' day today and I wish I could be there to celebrate with you.  I appreciate everything you do for me, and I know it's A LOT!!! Thank you for all the many memories we have shared and I am excited for many more to come. You are amazing and I look up to you soo much.  Thank you for everything.
Love, your daughter

Shout Out...

Happy Birthday Jacee!!

Today is my little sister's birthday.  Yes, I know she isn't little and she is taller and looks older than me... but still, she will always be my little sis or sir... :) Some interesting facts about Jacee:

1. She is the only family member that doesn't have blue eyes.
2. She is always near a swimming pool, either swimming, teaching lessons or guarding.
3. She just graduated from Desert Hills High School.
4. Her favorite movie is Lethal Weapon 4.
5. We always have crazy fun times together,especially driving and shopping.
6. She is very friendly and can be friends with almost anyone.
7. She loves the TV show Psych, but doesn't watch TV often.
8. You can find Jacee wearing sweats, a t-shirt and a swimsuit.
9. She makes awesome bracelets.
10. Jacee wants to be a nurse practitioner.
11. She is on the Student Alumni Association at Dixie State.
12. She loves salads.
13. She can't cook, but her skills are improving.
14. She likes taking pictures.
15. She IS funny, and has a good sense of humor.
16. She likes all types of music.
17. Her best friend is Kelci Simmons.
18. She is officially an adult!

Love you sir, hope your day is fantastic.

Clay.

Isn't it interesting how certain experiences or memories define life, and in effect, seems to define and make you, YOU? My friend Maren posted this on her blog, and it sums up how I feel pretty well.  Thanks Maren!

It has arrived. finally. But, I've decided that summer is not the same without the red rocks, boiling temperatures, frequent frisbee and frasketball games, and late night games of St. George. This summer will be strangely different than last. But it will still be good. :)

If someone told me where I would be living and how I would be living my life this year, I would have made some skeptical or sarcastic comment.  Not being in St. George has seemed to changed my life completely.  I would have to say it is neither a good thing or bad thing, actually it's both.  It's weird to think about how I would have defined myself to someone just six short months ago versus what I would tell you today.  I like the analogy of how we are clay and our experiences, faith, God, feelings, hardships, successes and so on shape us into an amazing end result.  We can't see the changes too much while they are happening, but in the end we can look back and see that certain things had to happen to make us who we are.

[ I do not own this picture, copying or selling this is probably illegal. ]

Memorial Day Weekend...

So some friends and I decided to go to St. George for the long holiday weekend.  It was such a good idea.  I love going home.  I absolutely LOVE St. George, which makes it super hard to leave.  Leaving home is always the hardest part of the whole trip.  But anyways, we went and played at Sand Hollow Reservoir, went swimming, and went to Zion National Park, had a barbeque at my house, made several wal-mart runs, TP'd a friend's house, and made dry ice bombs.  I also got pulled over by a Washington City cop because my brake light was out.  I have never gotten a ticket and i guess I needed to prove to my friends that I don't get tickets.  It was so great.  At Zions, some people did Angel's Landing and since I've already done that hike, I wanted to do something else.  Five of us did Hidden Canyon Hike, it was so sweet.  The views were incredible.  Unfortunately after the hike, we had to drive back up to Salt Lake.  The drive wasn't too bad, my friends Rosana and Freddy and I had some good chats.  I think my favorite part of the whole trip home was swimming and playing at Sand Hollow and Sunday when I spent all day with my family.  My family is the greatest, and people who know my family would have to agree.  I'm so grateful for them in my life.  Family, I love you and Thanks for a great Memorial Day Weekend!!

Let it Rain

It is currently raining here in Salt Lake, and I love it.  I don't know what it is about thunderstorms, or even when it rains, but the sounds have such a calming effect on me. I love the rain, especially when I can stay inside and just watch it come down through the window.  When I was little, I remember sitting outside with my dad and siblings on our balcony at night and just looking over the city and watching the lightning and rain come down.  My mom would have to come out and make us go to bed, or we could have stayed out there and watched it all night.  I love the rain in the summer, especially when it's warm rain and I can play in it.

I LOVE Brian Regan

[Sorry it's not very clear, the camera on my cell phone is terrible]

On Friday night, my family and I went to Brian Regan at Tuacahn in St. George.  We had great seats as well.  We had those tickets to see him since Christmas.  Needless to say, we were all SO EXCITED.  Brian didn't let us down, he is a great comedian.  His encore act was 'Cup of Dirt', I was laughing so hard.  His stuff never gets old.  He had some great new stuff as well, but his old acts are priceless.  Logan, Jacee and I were all quoting him and the people sitting in front of us were laughing at the fact that we all knew the 'Spelling Bee' word for word.  Oh it was great.  Come back soon Brian, we will be there again!

Baseball? Yes, Later though.

So when I was in St. George, I went to my younger brother's baseball games.  My dad is the coach and my brother Logan helps coach too, so baseball is a family affair.  The first game was at 10am and the second game was at 2pm, so we went home during that break.  Well anyway, when my mom, sister, and I pulled up to Dixie High School's baseball field to watch the second game, we saw two teens really close to the fence of St. George City Pool.  Jacee immediately freaked out, "uh-uh, they do not touch my pool".  She is a lifeguard and basically spent all summer there the last two years.  Needless to say, they jumped over the fence and started jumping off the diving boards.  Jacee FREAKED.  She called her manager and had my mom and I call the police department.  She wanted them to get in trouble for trespassing SO BAD.  So the SGPD must have been super bored, because they sent over four cops, three in uniform and one in normal clothes.  Jacee was quite pleased with herself, I felt bad for the two immature 15 year olds that we tattled on them.  The only punishment they got (we all know that's all that's important when cops show up) is they won't be able to swim there this summer if the managers choose to keep them out.  It was a funny experience. 

Sitting in the aeropuerto...

So I'm going home to St. George, UT today... and I couldn't be more excited.  I get excited very very easily, and the idea of going home is too much to handle sometimes! I've been looking forward to this trip for a LONG time.. but anyway, that wasn't what I was going to post about. 
So I am a people watcher and my two favorite places to people watch is in malls and the airport.  It's fantastic because the people here are so divers and I never have the same experience twice.  Most people probably get way bored sitting in airports but not me!! Ok that's a lie, I would get way bored if I did this often.  I haven't seen anything strange yet, but it's only a matter of time. 
I will post about my wonderful weekend experience after the fact, just know that I'm so stoked to see Brian Regan tomorrow night at Tuacahn! More stories and details to come...

Shout Out...

I know this is a day late but Happy Mothers Day to you!  I love you so much and I wish I could have spent the day with you! Thursday is coming soon though, I cannot wait.  I respect you so much and you are absolutely wonderful! Thank you for being my mom,  I couldn't have asked for anyone better to raise me than you and dad!  I am so excited for the years and memories to come and I cherish the ones we have. Thank you again!
Love, Your oldest daughter

One More

I have only one more final and I will have completed my first semester and the University of Utah.  Oh that seems so strange, I've been here since January.  Time has gone by soo fast and that is good and bad.  Dixie State College and U of U are so different, it's like I can't even compare them.  The U is massive, I feel like I have no connections and no one knows me.  That's not bad, it's just not like Dixie or home at all.  Dixie is more welcoming and friendlier than the U.  I know I'm not overly friendly and I know I don't go out of my way purposely to meet people, but still, it could improve.  Dixie seems more like high school, where at the U, people are more focused on grad school and so on.  My main complaint about SLC is the cold (naturally) and how there are more smokers here, which I think is one of the most disgusting smells ever.  Okay so that was two complaints.  So tomorrow is my last and easiest final.  I can't wait.  I just wish it would warm up so it would feel like summer. 

Happy Summer Break!!

From This...

To This:

I'm SO GLAD Spring finally made it to Salt Lake City.  I know this post is a little late, okay almost two weeks late, but I still had to put it up.  I LOVE Spring time,  I love watching everything go from gray and cold to fresh, colorful, fun, exciting, and warm.  There are still plenty of cold days in Spring, like this week for example, but summer is almost in sight.  Spring has always been my favorite season.  It's a precursor to the warmth and sunshine and the wonderful summer to come. 

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'let's party!" - Robin Williams

[And I plan to party as soon as finals are over. Oh wait, I HAVE been partying, I guess I should actually act like a student and study! Only two more days of classes and three finals and I am free~ until summer semester starts. :) ]

My thoughts...

Things I've missed a lot lately:

• Sunday dinners with my family
• frasketball (football, basketball court, ultimate frisbee rules)
• fifth grade
• dance lessons, and dance in general
• my sociology class at dixie state
• making muffins at 1am with jen and watching 'friends'
• puerto rico, settlers of catan, powergrid and ticket to ride at woodsides' house
• playing tag outside with my siblings in the summer
• STG Temple
• Pine Valley
• home cooked meals
• dixie state college 7th ward
• swimming and being tan
• high school football and basketball games
• long chats at work with friends
• convenience of living at home
• my family
• institute council in STG
• childhood sleepovers
• the simplicity of life before technology
• babysitting my cousins
• etc, etc, etc

Today in class, we discussed why change is so important. Without it, we could never stretch ourselves and grow.  Just when everything is going well and we get comfortable in our lives, something changes that makes us become better people.  I just wish I was better at welcoming the changes and keeping all the good memories alive and continuing. I will never get today back, and I will never have another day like this with these exact same thoughts, feelings, or events that take place.  It makes it certainly hard to change whatever is perfect in our lives, but without it, we may never experience something that actually is more perfect than what we think is right now, or was in the past.  I just have been missing St. George and how great my life has been there alot lately.  Salt Lake has been a great experience for me, and I'm grateful for the friends I've made and the experiences I've had.  The only constant thing in life is change, and sometimes I wish that wasn't true.  Oh well, that's a huge part of growing up I guess.

 

Shout Out...

Happy Birthday Dad!!
It's my dad's birthday today! Time to celebrate!
Some awesome things about my dad:

• He is left-handed, and wishes his children are too.
• He loves his family.
• He is a total athlete; baseball, golf, etc.
• He is a CPA, and he successfully survived another tax season.
• He always freezes his candy bars.
• He is a great example to everyone around him.
• He is amazing at teaching Sunday School lessons, giving talks in church, public speaking in general.
• He served on the St. George City Council for twelve years.
• He grew up in Douglas, AZ.
• He doesn't like any meat undercooked.  It must be black or burnt- the crispier, the better.
• He has a very strong testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and has instilled that into all of this children.
• He has been married for 29 years to his wife, my mother, and has four children, and a daughter-in-law.
• He has ran in two STG marathons.
• He LOVES warm weather, and HATES cold weather.
• He loves snickerdoodles and cookie dough in general.
• I've never met anyone who doesn't like him or respect him.
• He can talk with his dad all day and night... and he has.
• He is always teasing and giving people a hard time, all in fun of course.
• He served an LDS mission in Atlanta, Georgia.
• He is very competitive, a true Whatcott trait.
• He is named after his maternal grandfather, Bob Mac.
• He is sincere in compliment giving, and won't say something if he doesn't mean it.
• He is a wonderful father, son, husband, friend, and person in general.

I love you dad!! Glad you are mine!

Dear Jacee,

Thank you for still coming to SLC this weekend and playing with me.  I love you.  I'm sorry we didn't find a prom dress for you.  We did try though! I'm glad you could witness my blow dryer blowing up and swinging on the swing with me.  My abs hurt so bad after that from laughing so hard.  Have fun in St. George, and let me know how this weekend goes.  Love you,
Dani

Love, Love, Love

I absolutely loved General Conference this weekend.  This morning's session was my favorite session.  Words cannot adequately describe how I felt.  I am so grateful that Easter and Conference ended on the same weeked this year.  It was so great to hear so many messages about the Atonement and Jesus Christ.  I was able to go with some friends and then meet up with my cousin and friend for the Sunday Afternoon Session.  It was amazing.  I am so blessed that we could find enough tickets and get in.  I wish my friend Maren and I could get a picture too but oh well.  Maybe next time. 

[Rosana, Peter, Me, Carlos]

[Rosana and Myself]

Also,

Happy Easter!!

Hope your holiday is wonderful!

Shout Out...

 Happy Birthday Whitney!!!

1. Whitney is super smart, was Valedictorian in high school and graduated top of her Dental Hygiene class.
2. She love mini snickers candy bars.
3. She loves country dancing, and is amazing at it.
4. She is married to my brother!
5. She is going to Dixie State to earn her Bachelors in Dental Hygiene.
6. She is instantly liked by everyone who meets her.
7. She is from Alamo, Nevada
8. She has two sisters and three brothers
9. She is now an aunt to little Jason
10. Her favorite colors include black and white
11. She will defend you in any argument, and doesn't like excessive teasing.
12. She loves Hallmark Christmas movies
13. She loves to go shopping, even if she returns what she buys the day after
14. She was married on January 3, 2008
15. She loves crafts and is a scrapbooker.
16. She loves playing outside
17. She has always been involved in extracurricular school activities
18. Her first family vacation with the Whatcott family was to Washington DC where Logan proposed, and we got to watch. :)
19. She works as a Dental Hygienist for two dentists in St. George.
20. She likes movies more than TV, but we like watching American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance together
21. She likes Cafe Rio.
22. She likes snowboarding, and going to the Lake.
23. She has never died her beautiful, brown hair

I love you so much, and I'm so grateful you joined our family.  Happy Birthday to you and hope your day has been fabulous. 

It's April, FOOLS...

DISCLAIMER: I actually don't think any of my followers are fools... it just was fun to put as a title, since there is a double meaning.

So when I woke up this morning, I fully expected to see snow on the ground.  Just not as much as there actually was.  Good things it's trying to melt.  I believe snow is okay and somewhat bearable and tolerable in the winter, but not in Spring, especially not in April.  I feel like I'm going on strike or something with a sign that states "NO MORE SNOW!!" or something.  A professor of mine said the snow is just Mother Nature trying to pull a prank on us.  I sure hope he is right, and it won't snow again any time soon.  I do think it is very pretty when everything is white, but when everything is green and colorful, it is beautiful.  I absolutely love Spring, it is by far my favorite season. 

Thinking about April Fools Day, memories from my childhood came flooding back.  My siblings and I had a tradition of putting salt or whatever into each other's water bottles.  We got the biggest kick out of watching them take a drink and spit it all back out.  Another time we put green food coloring in a gallon of milk and told my dad it was rotten, I don't know if he actually believed us but he was a good sport and let us have fun with it.  My mom would never let us be wasteful, so we couldn't actually ruin food.  (Which is smart of her, we probably would have had to throw alot of stuff away if that wasn't the case).  A friend in high school actually broke her leg, and no one believed her because it was April Fools when she came to school in crutches.  When she came to school the next day in a boot and with crutches, we all believed her.  I don't know if I should play any jokes on people or just let it go this year.  Maybe I will saran wrap someone's car or something.  Who knows...

Missionaries

I just realized something... my cousin comes home from his mission in Ireland in 18 days.  WOW!! I'm totally excited.  I haven't seen him in about 2 1/2 years.  Good thing he will be in Orem soon.  A lot sooner than I realized.

On the contrary, I will soon have another cousin out shortly and then my friend Jen in a couple weeks.   Another cousin is already in the MTC, he is going to California.  I should write him.  I am the worst missionary writer ever though. 

On my Whatcott side of the family, by the end of this year I could have four cousins serving throughout the world. 

Amazing. Love the gospel, and love missionaries. And love that Brady comes home so soon :)

Spring Break Is Over Now...

But I had so much fun while it lasted!
It was wonderful to spend time at home with my family and new friends.

I had fun at the Reel Big Fish concert although it was super long.  Those guys know how to put on a show.

I went to the lake with three other people, I can say that was probably not the smartest idea ever because the water was so cold and we didn't do anything productive, but it was still nice to be outside and play.  I wish the weather was warmer down there, but it was still beautiful.

I played awesome games of Murderer in the Dark, Ultimate, Soccer and Ninja.  It was sweet. 

I can't say my Spring Break was super amazing but it was still so fun and it was great to be in St. George and with my friends and family.  LOVE YOU ALL!

Good News!

I survived this week. It was questionable there for a while if I would survive my papers and tests, but I did, and the result is... IT'S SPRING BREAK!!! Time to play. :)

I am SO looking forward to the fun in St. George this week.  Some things friends and I want to do:

• 
  
  Go to Zion National Park
• Go to Reel Big Fish concert at the Electric Theater
• Have a bonfire
• Welcome Broc home from his mission (my friend's boyfriend)
• Go to Jen's farewell on Sunday, she's going to Albuquerque, New Mexico - Spanish Speaking, I'm so excited for her!
• Play with my family
• Soak up as much UV rays as I possibly can
• Eat good food. Oh the joys of a college student's diet.

I'm so excited and I don't know how I'm going to survive in SLC for a few more days.  Hopefully work will keep me busy enough to not go crazy and I will be driving home before I know it. 

Dear family, I will see you soon. You better be as excited to see me as I am to see you!!

Update from SLC

 

• School is going well, and I like the majority of my classes
• And I love that my ultimate frisbee class starts next Tuesday
• I'm jealous that it's my siblings spring break right now... how I would love to lay by the pool on a cruise to Mexico with my friend (Jacee is one lucky girl)
• I'm excited for my brother and mom to come visit me this week
• I'm excited to go to Arizona next weekend for Connor's farewell, but I will miss him
• My job hunting days are over right now... I got a job as an OFFICE ASSISTANT at ChoicePoint Therapeutic Services (Social Work Agency)
• And I love it thus far
• I've started listening to reggae music, like Westbound Train and the Slackers
• I have more guy friends than girl friends up here, that NEVER happened in St. George
• And since I'm usually the only girl with them, other guys think I'm dating one of them, which isn't the case
• I love the weird things I see on campus at school
• Such as a guy rockin out to The Climb by Miley Cyrus and another guy with a unicycle doing tricks on stairs at the stadium trax station
• Or the guy who rides his skateboard in the middle of the road on a hill that strongly resembles Formaster in St. George (no exaggeration, I'm surprised he hasn't crashed and been ran over)
• I finally got a calling... I'm Visiting Teaching Supervisor.  Now I really have to do my visiting teaching... :)
• I have been introduced to pupusas, an amazing Salvadorian food. I strongly recommend pupusas to everyone
• I still consider myself 'new' to everything in Salt Lake, and I still haven't had to drive in the snow yet
• And I don't plan on it any time soon 
• My roommate Wenjun thinks I'm really funny... we have good times together...
• Like when we had ants invade our bedroom or when we cleaned our living room and found chips under the couch that have been there for at least two years.
• I love the fact that there are two Americans, a Chinese and a Japanese all living in this apartment
• My apartment is still always cold, 69 degrees just isn't warm enough when its below 50 outside
• I have become a huge fan of Ghosting... youtube it
• I cannot wait for Spring time here, it will be so beautiful
• And it will be Utah Baseball season :)

  

There you have it! I still compare Salt Lake to St. George quite a bit, but in all reality,

there's no place like HOME!

But if I am not there, I guess Salt Lake works too. :)

Stereotypes

I had an experience the other day where I realized how much I hate stereotypes.  Yes, I know I'm just as guilty for stereotyping people too.  For example,  in one of my classes, a student seemed to act like he was all that and I was kind of judgemental and thought he was cocky.  Well, I was wrong.  A few days later, I talked to him about the class we are in together and he is so nice! It was good to know I was wrong and what I have to work on to become a nicer person myself.  But anyway, back to why I hate stereotypes is because some people I was talking to were discussing St. George and how it is full of "Elitists".  I was a little bit offended to be honest, and I do not get offended easily.  I got the vibe from that conversation that elitists think they are better than everyone else and and the government and life in general revolves around them, and if it doesn't, it absolutely should.  The person I was talking to said St George is full of elitists because of all the golf courses and how nice the St. George Area is.  Well, anyone can go to St. George and go golfing and you don't have to be a part of the 'elite' group to fit in.  Later in that conversation, I was called an elitist.  It made me so angry how people who have never even been there just assume that everyone who lives there is rich and can go golfing whenever.  Well guess what, the city owns most of the golf courses and people CAN go golfing whenever because the weather is SO nice there.  You don't have to be a member of a private club or be considered 'elite' to go golfing.  And another argument I have to say that St. George is not full of 'elitists' is because the City of St. George is a construction city and that's how many people are employed or can even live there.  Not everyone there are millionaires that live in mansions in gated neighborhoods that drive around in nice cars.  And with this terrible economy right now, many people have become unemployed and homes have been foreclosed there too.  People, get to know an area before you make an assumption about the area.  And don't put me in your sick and twisted stereotype just because I'm from St. George.  There, I will get off my soapbox now. 

Shout Out...

Some people have the art of making me feel really happy even when there is nothing wrong.  For example, my 14 year old brother has this amazing ability.  I think his sense of humor is what gets me wrapped around his finger everytime, and we kind of have the same sense of humor.  The way he phrases things just makes me laugh like when he throws hydrogenated applesauce and fish tacos into mathematical equations for why things happen the way they do.  I know this doesn't make sense to anyone but him and myself but that's totally okay.  We have good memories together,  like him and I chillin in our basement, seeing Dan in Real Life together in theaters, going to Cafe Rio and Nelson's Frozen Custard for his birthday, and I can make the list go on.  Chip I love your face and I'm glad you are my crazy awesome brother.