Life is Ironic

I had to laugh because one day after posting about how thankful I was for a car that worked I went out to my car to go somewhere and my car wouldn't start!  Turns out my battery needed to be charged it looks like I accidently left a light on!  At least it chould be charged and now is working good!

One Year Older

So I recently celebrated a birthday and do not always like the idea of turning one year older.  I had a wise friend once tell me that I should learn to embrace my age so this is an attempt to embrace my age by listing 32 things that I am thankful for in my life.  So here it goes....

1. My testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ
2. Ability to attend the Temple
3. A family that loves me/and I love them
4. 18 nieces and nephews
5. Wonderful friends too many to name
6. Priesthood Blessings
7. A roof over my head
8. A car to drive that works
9. Opportunity to receive an education
10. Blue bell ice cream!
11. Dark Chocolate
12. Watchnig the Olympics
13  Playing sports especially tennis
14. Places I have traveled
15. Family Vacations
16. Pedicures
17. Watching General Conference
18.  Dutch Apple Pie
19. Rain
20. Murder Mystery Books
21. Body Boarding at the Beach
22. Patriarchal Blessings
23. Christmas and all the comes with it
24. New adventures (moving to UT, going skydiving, surfing)
25. Serving in Church (primary is a whole new experience!)
26. Girl's Night Out w/ good friends
27. Summer
28. Tender Mercies from Heavenly Father
29. Laughing so hard my stomache hurts
30. Cereal
31. Going to the Movies
32.  Homemade Bread

This is not a complete list for there are many more things that I am thankful for, but these are the thins I am most thankful for. 

Not Sure What To Say

Well like many times in the past I have vowed to be better at blogging, but time always slips away from me!  I don't really have much to report since my last post. I have gotten a lot of reading done, stayed up late, tried not to sleep in and of course I have been job hunting. I have had three interviews, but none of them have resulted in a job as of yet.  I knew when I graduated that it would be hard, but I guess I was not prepared for how long it has taken.  It has only been a little over a month since I graduated but it feels like forever! Don't get me wrong I am glad for the interviews that I have had, I think I would be more frustrated if I had not had anything at this point.  I am thankful for my time off and have enjoyed being lazy at times, but I feel I am ready to go back to work! If anyone know of a social work job let me know!

Reflection

 I have been thinking a lot over these past few weeks as I have prepared to finish school and graduate just how fast time goes by.  I felt like I was going to be a student forever, but here I am ready to graduate with my masters degree.  I am excited for what lies ahead for me, but also a little nervous at the same time as I go out into the world of job hunting!  

Halloween Pumpkin

So I have not carved very many pumpkins in my time and I decided this year I was going to do it! It took a lot longer than I thought it would but I thought it turned out pretty cool....

Special Day

After spending the week in Minnesota the Mitchells flew to AZ with us so that Clark could be baptized in AZ. Amy and her family were able to drive over from CA. I was really excited for the baptism since I don't have that opportunity very often because my family is so spread out! It was a very special day where the spirit was felt very strongly. One thing I learned about Clark is that he can really ham it up for the camera. I wish I could post all the pictures of his funny faces but I did not have the time!

More Pictures

We had so much fun together! Here are a couple of pictures of all the grandkids who were able to come! They had a lot of fun playing together.

What fun we had parrt 2

Here are a few pictures from the 4th of July fun. The men bought a bunch of fireworks and we had our own firework show right outside Seth and Melinda's house. It was so nice not to have to deal with any traffic and when we were done we went inside and had dessert.

While we were there we went to the St. Paul Minnesota Temple. It had been a while since I have been to the Temple with any of my siblings.

What a fun time we had

Over the 4th of July my family (well those who could make it) all gathered together in Minnesota at Seth and Melinda's house for a family reunion. We spent the whole week having lots of fun and doing as many things as possible. We were able to spend the 4th at one of the many lakes in Minnesota. We played in the water, buried people in the sand, trying to wakeboard, and my very favorite tubing! Seth really knew how to make waves! More pictures to come....

Should Always Be Prepared

Well you would think after many instances where I had the feeling to grab my phone I would learn to follow those feelings. Today my mom and I went shopping and before we left I saw my keys and thought I should grab them, but I of course did not listen and we went on our merry way. When we pulled into the garage my mom said "please tell me you have keys to the house." I knew that I did not, and it turned out that my mom did not have keys to the house either. We had taken my dad's car and the key ring did not have the house key on it. My first thought was oh great I am really hungry and my second thought was what are we going to do until my dad comes home? I guess we would just have to spend the afternoon in the pool! Lesson learned always have your phone and keys to the house no matter what!

Fall

One of the things that I have missed since moving back to Arizona is the fall in Utah. I loved to see the different colors of the trees all around! Well this past weekend I went camping/hiking with a group of people and we got to see some really pretty colors! We camped Friday night and then spend most of Saturday hiking and taking picutres! Here are some of the pictures....

Where does the time go?

So since I have not blogged in probably over six months I thought I would give a little update on what has been happening in my life. Eventhough all those who might read my blog already know but here we go. Well I went on a vacation in May with a good friend to Ireland. We spent 9 days traveling around southern Ireland. It was so much fun, and I loved every minute of it!

When I got back I found out that I had been accepted to graduate school at ASU for their social work program. I was very surprised I did not think that I was going to get in. So in August I moved back to Arizona to start school. It has been a different but good experience being back in school. I am learning a lot and find I still enjoy learning, just not really the homework! I have loved being back in Arizona, but I do miss Utah and all the wonderful people that I know there. I enjoyed many wonderful experiences in Utah.

I decided not to attend a YSA ward and attend a family ward instead. I am in the same ward as my parent's so that is fun. I am the Laurel's advisor which will be a new experience for me since for the past 8 years I have only been in relief society!

Well that has been my life in a nutshell....hopefully I will get back on the band wagon and blog more frequently!

Spring Day

Well it has been a really long time since I have blogged, and this post is coming a bit late, but better late than never! I had spring break a couple of weeks ago and Sandra and I went to baby animal days. It was fun to see all the cute baby animals. We waited in line to be able to hold a baby duck, see little lambs, and baby bear cubs! The second picture is my absolute favorite of the day!

Blessings of Families

Today in Relief Society the lesson was Family: The Sweetest Union for Time and Eternity. I am so thankful for this lesson. I have always loved my family, but this lesson reminded me just how much. I have been blessed with two great parents who taught me so many things. Who not only told me they loved me, but showed me in so many different ways that they loved me.


I have also been blessed with wonderful siblings(and I include my sister, and brothers in law) who I have counted on for so many things. They have throughout my life great examples for me. We have had so much fun over the years and it has only become more fun as grand kids have come into the picture.


I just really wanted my family to know how much I love them, and how I wish we all lived closer, but that makes the times we do get together all the more special and precious to me!

Freedom

It has been a long time since I have blogged, time has just gotten away from me. I was able to be in Washington DC over September 11th. It was a really neat experience to be able to walk and to see all the memorials of those who have fought for our freedom. It reminded me of just how lucky I am to live in United State of America, but how I should never forget all those who have sacrificed and are still sacrificing so I can have those freedoms.
That city is so full of history and I needed more time to be able to see everything. We must have walked for miles and miles but it was worth it. Another thing I can check off my bucket list! I will have to post some pictures as soon as I can get them downloaded onto my computer.

More Fun

Here are a few more pictures from out trip to Oregon. On Tuesday we took family pictures on the beach. Here are my wonderful parents who next month will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary!
The water was freezing, but I had to try and get in. I could only stand it up to my knees! The kids thought it was great and loved to be in the water.

Here are all the kids outside one of the lighthouses that we toured.

The scenery was so pretty. This is picture by another lighthouse. We actually had go on a little hike to get to it.

There are so many chances to see sea lions. This was taken near some sea lion caves. We had so much fun, I would love to go back!

Vacation

I was able to spend this past week with my family in Lincoln City, Oregon. It was really beautiful and the weather was really good. We even had sun for one day with only one day of a little rain. It was so wonderful to be together.

Decisions

I don't know about everyone else, but I have a hard time making decisions. I go over things in my mind so many times and it can get to that point where I just fill this weight on my shoulders because of it. For the past couple of months I have been praying about something and have just felt I wasn't getting an answer.

I had heard a talk in church a couple of weeks ago about being willing to submit your will with the Lord's will, and that is something that I have really tried to focus on, and wouldn't you know it the answer I got wasn't what I wanted! Apparently the Lord has something else in mind for me. I do know that the Lord knows best and that I only need the faith to move forward. The topics in church today reminded me just how thankful I am for revelation that I know Heavenly Father loves me and wants what is best for me even though I wanted something different.

Family Part 2

This past weekend I was able to spend time with Amy and her family while they were visiting in Utah. Here are some pictures from the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House.

Family

I met up with Sarah and David for a few days while they were visiting in UT for the 4th of July.

Here is a cute picture of Reed Cook. This was the first time that I met him. He wasn't too thrilled about me, but I got this cute picture of him playing peek a boo with the door.


Here is Sarah and I at Stadium of Fire for the 4th of the July in Provo, UT. I was so glad that I was able to visit with Sarah and her family for a couple of days.