So Long Sweet Summer

So as you can tell from my title, I am wishing a goodbye to summer and the happiness it brings into my life. Yes, I have been back in school teaching now since July 28, but I was still able to enjoy the wonderful outdoors at night and on the weekends. With the drop of temperature over the past week or so, I have come to the realization that fall is here and winter is not far behind.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Fall time. Football, cooler temperatures, the beautiful mountains, and tons of holidays. But there is just something about summer that makes me happy. Maybe because I was born in the summer I don't know. But even though I love fall, a little part of me gets sad this time every year. So here is a few of my favorite moments from this summer...


My Birthday was a success as always. Brian never fails to surprise me with amazing gifts. He always knows exactly what I want without me even saying a word.

We celebrated our 2 year anniversary up at Silver Lake. Brian took me up there for our first date and we had not been back since. If you know the story, you know why...but it is one of our favorite places to be.
I tried rock climbing and found out that I really like it. Hopefully I can get more into this next year with a little more time and resources (aka money haha)
We spent a lot of our time hanging out with good friends. Here we are with Andrew and Keri at the Bees Game. Oh we attended quite a few of those also. The fireworks were amazing each time.
We spent a fun weekend at my cabin down at Fish Lake. Brian found he has a long lost love for fishing. I on the other hand, spent an entire day on the boat and didn't even get a bite. I was the only one who came out a failure. But it was still fun.

Brian bought a new Four-Runner and we found that we love to go off-roading. We are hoping to visit Moab and some other cool trails this fall. Oh we also spent a couple weekends camping where we went fishing and kayaking.

In the end, I had an AMAZING summer with the the person I love more than anyone else. And I can't wait for all of the fun times ahead. Love you Bri!!! In the meantime, bring on Football!!! GO UTES!!!

Tag...hey at least it is something new

What were you doing...

10 years ago...1998

I was in a super weird stage of my life. I was in between 7th and 8th grade. I hit my growth spurt so gymnastics was starting to get hard. But pretty much I was just trying to stay normal with my friends, Cami and Sara (school) and my gym friends. It did not really work that well because we were pretty weird. Not my favorite time in my life, but I did have fun and have some great inside jokes from it. "Can I have a cheeto?" Cami will understand

5 years ago...2003

I was transitioning from SLCC to the U and I was so excited. I joined Lambda Delt and it was probably the decision that changed my life. I met my best friends, and they are the ones who will be my friends for my entire life. And I finally found that I could come out of my shell and learn to function on my own. It was a crucial time of life that has shaped me into the person I am today.

5 months ago...March

I was working at Escalante Elementary. Since then I have started at a new school as a special ed teacher, been to Hawaii, and turned 24!!!

5 things on my to do list tomorrow...

1) Wish Brian a Happy Birthday!!! 2) Go to school 3) wrap Bri's presents 4) go to dinner for his bday 5) Have fun!


5 things I would do if I was suddenly a billionaire...

1) Buy a house 2) Give some money to my family 3) Pay off debts 4) Travel...once school was over in a year. 5) Donate to MDA

5 bad habits...

1) playing with my hair 2) talking too loud 3) biting my nails 4) eating junk food 5) getting too emotional

5 places I've lived

Pretty boring...i have never lived anywhere but where I live now

I tag anyone who wants to do this!

Memories

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

I got a job!!!

Good news!!! I finally got a teaching job! I am so excited and so absolutely relieved. I have been interviewing for about 3 weeks and I didn't enjoy it at all. But I will be teaching half time at Sprucewood Elementary in Draper. It is a year round school, but since I am special ed, I will be working a traditional schedule with options to pick up more days. I am so excited! I finally feel like I am doing what I am meant to do. It is going to be an awesome opportunity. I can't wait to start working and I am almost even more excited to be going back to school. Since I have been out of it for almost 2 years, I found how much I really missed it. The homework part of it really stinks, but I love learning. It makes it even more exciting when it is something you actually are interested it. But that is just a little update.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Yesterday was my birthday and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who made it great! It is kind of poopy having it on a Sunday, but for what it was worth, it was awesome. I got to have a bbq with my best friends on Saturday. Then Sunday Brian and I went to church, then to my Grandma's for my PERFECT birthday dinner with all of my favorite foods. Then Brian and I had our own time to open presents and just hang out.

Oh, have I ever mentioned he is the best boyfriend ever!?!?! Well he is! He surprised me first on Friday by taking me to Salty Peaks (which is like a skate/snowboard store) and told me to pick out any long board I want!!! It has been something I have wanted for over a year but I have not had the money to buy myself. He tried to pick one out but figured it would just be best to surprise me and let me pick out my own. Of course I got a kickin RED one that rocks my world. So that was my first present. Then Sunday, he told me he had a couple more presents. Well since I had already got a freaking tight long board, I thought it would be something simple. Well part of it was. He gave me a way cute shirt, a DVD about Gordon B. Hinckley because he knows how much I loved him, and an I-Tunes gift card because I spend way to much of my money on that. I was so happy with all of those! But then came the best part! He bought me a brand new digital camera!!! I was absolutely shocked! And the best part is it is RED!!! He also got me a red case to keep it safe in. I couldn't believe it! He puts so much thought into every present he gets me and I love it. It makes birthday's and Christmas so amazing because I always get something I have always wanted or something completely thoughtful. I love him so much!!! So that was my birthday...and it was fantastic!

MDA Camp 2008

I just got home yesterday from MDA camp. It was seriously the best one I have ever had in 5 years of volunteering. My camper Kelsi and I had our own room pretty much the whole week so it was much more comfortable. We had THE BEST group ever. MAVERICK PRIDE! We dominated almost everything and ended up winning by a landslide compared to the other groups. But most of all, I got to know so many amazing people and hang out with the kids who are my heroes.
If any of you ever get a chance, I would recommend taking a week off next summer and volunteering for this camp. It will change your life. I am humbled every single time I go. I am incredibly grateful for my health. I take advantage of being able to do little things as simple as brushing my own teeth, picking something off the table, and being able to get comfortable in bed every night without someone there to move my body into a certain position. Those are the type of things I help Kelsi do each year along with much much more. I can not imagine not being able to do things on my own, and these kids live every moment of every day relying on other people.

What is especially sad is the fact that there is no cure for this disease. These kids talk all the time about how excited they are for doctor's to find a cure for Muscular Dystrophy, but a lot of them will not live long enough to see it happen. Some of the kids, like Kelsi, are still even a mystery to doctor's on what type of MD they have. It is so complex that they can not figure it out, let alone try to find a cure for it. It breaks my heart each year to have to leave because you never know which kids will be there next year, and which ones will pass on. I can truly say it is the one thing I have done in my life that has made me into the person I am today. I have learned to have so much compassion for everyone, no matter who they are or what they look like. It is something that is incredibly dear to my heart.

Even if you can not make it as a volunteer, please donate during the telethons or the "Fill the Boot" drive the Firefighters do. It will help the kids I love continue to have a fighting chance to survive and hopefully one day find a cure for muscular dystrophy.

Why I love Brian

So yesterday I went to the dentist and had to have a crown done on my back tooth. It was no fun at all. Right as they were going to put the temporary crown on, they found more decay so they had to pretty much drill and all that stuff again! During this time, my mouth and jaw wanted to just fall off. I have a tiny mouth as it is so stretching it to extreme measures is never enjoyable. Anyway, 2 hours later, I was finally done. So I called Brian and told him about it. I told him I can't eat anything chewy for a couple of weeks (meaning gum, caramel, that kinda stuff). Well he took it that I couldn't CHEW for 2 weeks. So I got to his house later and he had a "chew free" dinner ready for me. Soup, soft biscuits, and ice cream. He misunderstood what I meant, but the best part was he was trying so hard to be helpful and thoughtful so I couldn't help but smile (even though my mouth was still numb and sore). He has dinner ready for me every single time I go to his house. He sure does take care of me and I love him so much for it!