Zoo lights!

It has been a very busy month! My calendar can't hold too much more. I have done lots of fun things this month so I have a few posts to do. My friend really wanted to go to the zoo for her birthday. I was really wondering about her since its in December! She told me about the zoo lights so I was curious to see what it was like. So we went and it was really pretty! There were so many lights everywhere that I could have put 50 pictures on here easy! They had a fun train ride but it was really cold and my feet were getting numb. They didn't have any of the animals out so that was kind of sad. We did see a few monkey's and other things that were in an indoor setting.They had these different character's walking around that you could take your picture with. They always had a bunch of people with them so I was happy to catch Rudolph just coming out and nobody was around! It was really fun but next year I am going to dress warmer!

101 things I know...

A year ago today my cousin Shawna passed from this life free of pain. At her funeral her sister read a list of 101 things she knew. It inspired me to do the same and I wanted to share the list with you. Its very random but I wrote it as soon as I thought it. I encourage you all to make a list too its fun to go back and read. I sure miss her and think of her everyday.

1-god lives
2-god will help us we just have to ask
3-Jesus died for us
4-Jesus bled in Gethsemane for our sins
5-Joseph Smith was a true prophet of god
6-the pioneers had remarkable faith and endured much
7-Death is not the end
8-I hate goodbyes
9-I grow way to close to people
10-My grandparents have taught me by example
11-My grandparents are some of the most amazing people I have known
12-My mother doesn't give herself enough credit
13-My dad is full of ideas and common sense
14-My siblings are all very unique and have many talents
15-I love to sing with my family
16-I make friends for life
17-Money doesn't buy happiness
18-Do what your told to do when your told to do it
19-I love to watch fireworks
20-I am proud to be an American
21-I love the flag and what it stands for
22-I am so honored to know my grandpa's fought for my freedom
23-People die trying to defend our freedom everyday
24-I love being an aunt
25-Marching band was one of the best things of my life
26-My nieces and nephew have brilliant imaginations
27-I love camping
28-Family vacations brought us close as family
29-board games are fun with people that enjoy playing
30-my favorite color has always been red
31-people can damage your soul
32-hymns are powerful messages
33-I love country music
34-Boys will break your heart
35-We go through trials to make us stronger people
36-There is beauty all around when there's love at home
37-I have been deeply hurt by people I love
38-General Conference gives me a spiritual high
39-I love the cemetery and the history you can read about there
40-I love walking with my mom
41-I have disappointed people
42-My love for others is really overwhelming
43-Michael Jackson was an amazing singer and dancer
44-life can be hard
45-cooking calms my soul
46-I am a genuine person
47-crying helps heal people
48-grudges make us weak
49-we are here to be tested
50-pictures are worth a 1000 words
51-debt causes sadness and defeat
52-death is sad if you dont have the gospel
53-coloring is peaceful
54-camping is the best therapy
55-losing weight is overwhelming
56-I hate being fat
57-I hate being judged by others
58-We can only help others so much then they have to help themselves
59-The mountains are breathtaking
60-I hate to hike
61-I love Utah State Aggie Basketball
62-family traditions are the best
63-cooking makes me happy
64-life isn't fair
65-people can be really mean
66-I judge people way to quickly
67-I would do anything to bring someone happiness
68-Satan is real
69-I hate to run
70-I love to watch the ocean waves
71-I might not marry in this life
72-Disneyland is a magical place
73-I love how happy I get when I go to Disneyland
74-I love animals I just can't be around them
75-I hate having allergies
76-Ingrown toenails are the worst
77-I love having smores and stories around the campfire
78-I love to swim but hate deep water
79-Temptations are of the devil
80-I love hot chocolate
81-I love to fall asleep to the sound of rain
82-I love the spirit you feel from music
83-The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing like Angels
84-I love the peace I feel at the temple
85-we have a living prophet of God who loves us
86-I love my cousins
87-I love to go on walks
88-I love to take drives up the canyon
89-I love Nauvoo and the history there
90-Chicago pizza and hot dogs are the best
91-My aunts and uncles are some of the most amazing people
92-There are always 2 sides to every story
93-I love the smell of a new baby
94-I hate hospitals and needles
95-I have a very tender heart
96-Crying is a good way to cleanse the soul
97-I loved listening to my grandma play the Uke and sing
98-I love elderly people
99-Cancer has taken way to many people in my life
100-you don't know what you have got till its gone
101-You can do anything you put your mind to

Elder Hardwick

This is Elder Hardwick with a little attitude because he loves pictures. He was called to the Eugene Oregon mission. Last year he was transferred down to Albany and into our ward. He was a great guy and had lots of energy toward missionary work. There were lots of inactive people he got to come back to church. There was just something about him that made people draw to him. This last Wednesday night he was killed in a horrible plane accident. Here is the article its so sad...

All 6 Confirmed Dead in Arizona Plane Crash
APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. - Three children and three adults are confirmed dead following a small plane crash and explosion in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix.
Authorities have released their names:
Russell Hardy, 31, Thatcher, AZ, co-pilot and partial owner of the aircraft - married with a 3-year-old son
Joseph Hardwick, 22, Safford, AZ, airplane mechanic - youngest of seven children and engaged to be married next month
Shawn Perry, 39, Safford, AZ, co-pilot - divorced father of three
Morgan Perry, 9, Gold Canyon, AZ
Logan Perry, 8, Gold Canyon, AZ
Luke Perry, 6, Gold Canyon, AZ

According to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, the plane originated in Safford and landed at Mesa's Falcon Field about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to pick up Perry's children, who lived in Gold Canyon with their mother Karen. The goal was to take them back to Safford to celebrate Thanksgiving.
"We express our deep sympathy to the families. The remains of all of these loved ones are being handled with great care and compassion, and working with the medical examiners to identify the bodies at this point," said Sheriff Babeu.
"These people were all very close, there were all family, even though they were not related."
Babeu added that he met with the families personally and that they are distraught.
"For me personally, in talking with family members, it is not easy. We have to maintain our professionalism and courtesy, I just wanted to tell them personally we were doing everything possible to maintain the dignity of their loved one and to safeguard their memories... we're heartbroken with them."
The plane refueled and departed Falcon Field about 6:15 p.m. While ascending, the plane was unable to clear the height of the Superstition Mountains -- and crashed into the Flat Iron peak, elevation 4,500 feet.The plane split in two and burst into flames.
"No one could survive that crash... we didn't want to give false hope, even though our efforts are to rescue and to save life, that was not possible," said Babeu.
A recovery operation began and by the end of the night, one child's body had been recovered. At midnight, search efforts were suspended until daybreak. The crash occurred in a part of the mountain range that is very rugged, and because of the explosion, debris was strewn over a large area.By Thursday, the remaining victims were confirmed dead.

This really struck home with me just how important life is. We need to make sure to tell people we love how much all the time. I had an uncle that was killed in a similar accident when he was 21 and I never got to meet him. He was the only boy and I know my grandpa was devastated to go identify his remains in a green garbage bag. He was married and had a 1 year old little boy. Unfortunatley they chose not to be apart of our family. I always wondered what my cousin looked like what his interests were. I finally got to see him this year at my grandma's viewing. I often wonder how happy my grandparent's were to see their son after so many years. I really feel for these families that have been put through this tragedy. At least we have the gospel to make us feel peace. I know that the family that lost the dad and 3 kids were not members of our church. Can you imagine how devastating that would be to attend those funerals? I am so glad for the gospel!

this and that

Its been awhile since I wrote on my blog. I really haven't had that much to blog about lately. I have been working a lot lately which is one of the main reasons I got sick. Dont worry though I started feeling yucky on my first day off. I spent Thanksgiving in bed watching a marathon of Muppet movies they had on tv. Nothing can make me feel better then that:) Today I am feeling a little bit better so I am happy about that. I felt bad that I wasn't with family for the holiday's. That is one of the hard parts of living away from home. I had planned to go to my sister's but my car just wasn't up for it. Its getting old and not wanting to run like I want it to. I still can't believe the holiday's are here! I have some shopping done but not as much as I need to have done at this point. I am doing a lot of homemade stuff this year which I am happy about. I love Christmas time the music, the joy of remember the savior's birth, the decorations and lights. People reaching out to help other people. Today when I was out I saw firemen out with boots collecting money for kids with muscular dystrophy. It seriously brought tears to my eyes when people were rolling down their windows handing over money left and right. That's what the holiday's are all about not all the greediness you feel when you go shopping on black Friday. Sorry for all the rambling maybe its the medicine:) I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

hard decisions

This last weekend was a very difficult one for my mom's side of the family. With the passing of my grandma in May they knew they would have to sell the house. As much as we wanted to keep it in the family and turn things around we just couldn't do it. This was a very difficult thing for my mom and her sister's. They would have loved to keep it so we could have family things there. They did find an amazing buyer for the house that promised to keep the place as much the same as possible. He is going to be doing a lot of remodeling and upkeep. I know it wont be the same driving past and not being able to go there.
It has been really hard for me to hear about all the decisions. I know its for the best but I have had so many memories there. I know you can always take them with you but its hard to not have that place to go to. I am writing a poem about my grandma's house and when I get it done I will post it. Then maybe it will be easier to understand the way I feel...

Happy Anniversary Reunion

Today would have been my grandparent's 63rd wedding anniversary. Now that they have both passed on I am sure it was a wonderful reunion. They were the perfect couple so good for each other. They got married later in life but I know it was fate that put them together. When my grandpa passed away I thought my grandma would die from a broken heart. They were 2 peas in a pod and were just too cute. They were always found holding hands watching TV. They loved doing crossword puzzles and eating popcorn and dont forget the Pepsi! I am so happy they are together today even though I am missing them so much. I think its always the hardest the first year of holidays when they are not around. I am not looking forward to the holiday's with grandma gone now. She was born in December and Christmas was her favorite holiday. I spent so many hours at her house helping her decorate for the holidays. We listened to music and watched the Lawrence Welk Christmas. She made the holiday's so happy for me. I have a pit in my stomach just thinking about her not being here this year. I just have to think how happy she is now and it makes it a bit happier.

ABC

There have been a few people that keep sending me this so I decided I would do it. You feel free to put it on your blog too!


Age:36 yikes!
Bed Size: too small a single
Chore you hate: cleaning the bathroom yuck!
Dogs: allergies
Essential start of your day: waking up on time and good breakfast
Favorite Color: red, red, red ok you get it
Gold or silver: Silver
Height: 5'9 1/2 I am shrinking I use to be 5'10!
Instruments I play (or have played): piano, flute, recorder
Job Title: Cook at an assisted living place
Kids: nope not yet but other peoples kids are adorable
Live: Oregon:)
Mom's Name: Brenda, aka-mumsy
Nickname: Ang, G, Angelina, Pete ya that's an inside joke
Overnight hospital stays: Nope thank goodness!
Pet Peeve: people that don't pullover for emergency vehicles, people that cut me off when I am talking
Quote from a movie: No matter how you figure it I still don't get as much as everybody else!
Right: wrong
Siblings: two beautiful sisters and two very smart brothers
Time you wake up: depends on the day ideally after 8!
Underwear: yes please
Vegetables you dislike: asparagus, sprouts, spinach, mushrooms
What makes you run late: procrastination, no gas in my car!
X-rays you've had done: how much time do you have?
Yummy food you make: well I have been told I make lots of good stuff, I do love to cook so that helps:)
Zoo animal: Elephants


YOUR TURN!

Canning

Salsa!

Pears

Raspberry Jam

Applesauce

Apple Pie in a Jar!

This month has been so exhausting! I have been doing canning every Monday with a few ladies from the ward. It has been really fun and rewarding but A LOT of work! As you can see we have been busy making things. The biggest day we have had is making applesauce. We made 130 quarts which isn't bad considering we were making it for 5 families! Its so good and it brings back lots of memories from my grandma's house. We set up outside because it was so messy. Our Relief Society president is quite something she had this whole area outside set up. There were 5 camp chef stoves and 4 large tables and a camp canopy because of course it was raining the day we did it. It all worked out so great but we were exhausted! The newest thing I have tried this year is apple pie in a jar! Its the cutest thing you have ever seen! I had to steal the picture off the website we got it from because I didn't take a picture. You basically make a small apple pie in a jar throw a lid and ring on it and put it in the freezer. When your craving pie you get one out let it warm up a bit so it doesn't shatter in the oven cook it 40 minutes and walah pie! When I go home for Christmas I told my mom its on our to do list. My dad is always craving pie so this will be perfect for the 2 of them. Other things I have canned this year and didn't get pictures of: spiced apple and pear jam, pear marmalade, apple butter,and strawberry freezer jam. I am so grateful that I was able to help my grandma and mom growing up so I know how to do these things. Its been such a fun thing to do and gives me such a sense of accomplishment.

Sandcastle Contest

August 13th




I love going to the Sandcastle contests they have at the coast. We missed the big one that I love at Seaside but we did get to this one at Lincoln City. It was a lot smaller then the other one but still amazing to see what people make out of sand! I only had a few pictures so I thought I would share those. We met the Tolman's and another family the Meekins and did some kite flying and playing in the sand. Then we went to Mo's for dinner. Since I hate fish and seafood this is not the place for me but Trish was in 7th heaven! They did have some good chicken though. It was a fun weekend.

Camping

Aug,10-13




We went camping with the Tolman's out to River Bend in Sweet Home again this year. We had lots of fun playing games, doing crafts, playing in the river and roasting marshmallows. We love spending time with their family they are great!

Happy Birthday Satina

August 5th








I know I have talked about this awesome family before. The Tolman's have welcomed Trish and I into their home and hearts. We adopted each other since our families live far away. They are so awesome we love hanging out at their house! The mom Satina loves the smurfs! I mean REALLY loves them so I got this idea to smurf her house for her birthday! Trish did all the hard work of cutting the smurfs out and laminating them. We snuck over at 5 in the morning and got it done before I had to go to work. I thought it was lots of fun and she was so surprised. Her kids had fun going around and looking at all the different smurfs. I sent her on a treasure hunt and her prize was a smurfette lunch box with snicker bars. I hope she had a fun time cause I sure did planning it!

Summertime

July 2011

I got the chance to go home in July and I was pretty nervous. This was the first time going home since my grandma passed away. I have never not got to see her when I go home and I was beginning to get the pit in my stomach. It was a fun trip and it was great to see the family. I was able to spend time with my nieces and nephew too. We had a little picnic down at the box elder campground and that was fun. Then we went over to my aunt's house in Mantua for little valley days. They basically celebrate their town for a weekend and end it on Saturday night with fireworks. That was also hard for me because we were at my cousin Shawna's house and she had passed away in December. So I saw the pictures on the wall of her and it brought tears to my eyes. I know its good to move on and remember the memories but sometimes I just want to talk to the person! I was able to see my good friend Julie and spend Sunday with her. She taught Sunday School and did a great job. I went up to the cemetery to visit my grandma. It was a great trip and I always look forward to coming home. (photos are thanks to my sister in law Olya) My camera doesn't like me at the moment.


Elijah loved the light sticks they were handing out before the fireworks

Anya fell asleep waiting for the fireworks. She really hates loud noises so I had to cover her ears.

Anya got so dirty at the campground when we had our lunch. She is showing her messy hands.

Maya was in heaven with the pony rides!

This is Ivy in all her cuteness! She doesn't usually have to do anything but smile and she melts your heart

Relay for life

June 17th/18th

I am so far behind in blogging but I am going to get caught up! Thanks to the 2 comments I got when I said I was overwhelmed with blogging. I know its important and really its my only journal! So I am starting a new week and thought I would start on a good note! So be patient and enjoy my blogs!

After losing so many people to cancer this year I decided to do something about it. I wasn't going to just sit by and let it take away everything I love so much. My friend Satina sent out an email asking if anyone would like to join her in doing relay for life. She lost her brother to cancer and had the same feelings. I didn't really know what it was so I looked into it. Its an event that is put on every year to help raise money for cancer research. It happens all over the united states and there are tons of people that get involved. You basically have a team captain and a team and you try and raise as much money as you can.Satina was our team captain and asked if I would like to be a co captain with her. It was a ton of work and frustrating at times. I will try and explain what goes on so you know a little bit about it. On the day of the event you are assigned a place to set up your group for the next 24 hours. You can choose to sell things if you want or like this year was a game theme so you can have a game people play. The theme for our event was "Winning at the game of Life". I decided to tackle the food booth and sell tacos and taco salads, lemonade and homemade oreo's. I thought it was a pretty big hit the only problem was missing out on things going on because I was stuck in there. Anyway so its not really a race you walk on a track. We had ours at a high school so we just walked on the track. They start out with just the cancer survivors walking or being pushed in wheelchairs around the track. That was pretty emotional seeing all of those people and thinking about the ones I had just lost. After that you have to have at least 1 member of your team on the track at all times. We had people sign up for 1 hour slots. They made each hour lots of fun with different themes. Then they had a luminara ceremony which was really cool. We had previously sold these bags for 5 dollars and people could decorate them for their loved ones that either passed away from cancer or survived. I had my family members decorate some of them for our loved ones. We put sand in the bottom of them with a candle and then they were lit up.They were lined up around the track. It was really touching to go around the track and read them. It was a pretty emotional time but I felt good. I raised almost 400 dollars my self and our team raised close to 5,000. Our overall event raised 145,000 which was 20,000 past what they thought they would do. I am excited to do it again this year! Anyway that wants to donate towards a good cause I would love it!



Here is a picture of Kim who is in charge of the whole event, Satina, Trish and Rachel

My roommate Trish playing her uke around the track for her turn.

This is our banner our team was called Walking with Angels. We wrote all of those people we were walking for on there.

Here are some of the luminara bags that me and my family made.

Overwhelmed

Do you ever feel so overwhelmed with your blog? I think I am at that point right now. I have a few things I still need to blog but cant seem to get with it to do it. That's what happens when you dont have internet forever! I will try and get organized and get some stuff up so you can see what I have been up to.

This and that and pictures

I know I haven't been around lately. I moved and with that came no internet. I only get to the library every once in awhile. I still need to blog about my experience with Relay for life. I will do that when I get another chance. I wanted to post something kind of fun this time around. Not that relay wasn't fun but very emotional and uplifting. My sister and I drove home to Utah for my grandma's funeral in May. It was a fun road trip but given more time we could have made it even funner! Is that even a word? Anyway we played lots of music ate lots of food. Some of it we brought was fun because we both brought things we use to eat when we went on trips as kids. I still cant believe that we were able to chew hubba bubba gum. After attempting to chew some this time we could barley talk we were laughing so hard. I guess you had to be there but still:) My friend told me this fun game she played when they went on road trips and I wanted to try it. You take pictures of fun signs you see or different things you find interesting. I took a few pictures of nostalgic signs too. It was really quite fun and I might have gotten carried away:)So I warned you now that there are lots of pictures. I hope you enjoy them:)