The end

Time is flying, sometimes I wonder where it all goes. I took my last final of my undergrad this week. Now I just have to finish up my internship hours and I will be an official graduate. Its nice but feels weird at the same time. I am already wondering what to do with myself at night. No homework to do or books to read for class. Crazy! But I am glad to be done.
We have about a month till the wedding and I CAN NOT WAIT!!! I just want it to be now. I am sick of not being able to see my man everyday. It is hard, but I know that in the end it will be worth it.
I cant believe that Christmas is this week, its weird, it does not feel that I have really celebrated this year, I am kind of sad. Maybe its because last year me and my roommates were closer and put up a tree and decked out our place. Not this year, I dont even talk to any of them. It makes me sad, but they all seem to busy with their own lives, which is good, but still.......
So lately I have been super emotional and I am not going to lie, I HATE IT! I cry and anything! It is getting old and fast. I feel like I cant turn on the TV or listen to a love song without getting all teary eyed and what not. I guess its good that my hormones are in order and my tear ducts are functioning but at the same time.... Oh well.
Work is going ok, I am transfering to another office come the beginning of the year and I am looking forward to the change. I have gotten really sick of alot of people that I work with. Some of them are on their last string as far as my patience goes with them. Dont worry, I am trying my hardest to get along with them, but sometimes people are just plan stupid and annoying. I am not sure if they really have any friends. But that is not my place to judge..... moving on..
I hope you all have a great holiday and stay safe. IF you want a wedding announcement let me know ASAP. We are hoping to have them out in the next two weeks.

* A cute pic from goggle to put us all in the holiday spirit!

Gratutude

In church today the topic was gratitude, no surprise as it is Thanksgiving week. It got me thinking about what I am thankful for. There are so many things, the typical answers, family, friends, food, money etc etc. Well this weekend I became greatful for a surprising thing. I am grateful for stress. Yes thats right, STRESS! It is a big thing that has been in my life lately. We all go through it. Some more than others and we all handle it differently. I have been stressed because of school, trying to get everything done to be able to graduate next month, lots of tests, papers, and deadlines that need to be met. But I set goals and make sure that I stay on task so I can get them all done on time.
I stress about the wedding, about the many details that come with it. There is still alot of planning to do and tons of things to get done. It is a constant thing on my mind, but I take it one day at a time. I also stress about money and being able to make it through. I stress about not being able to sell my contract so that I can move when i get married. All of these and more cause me stress and grief, sometimes to the point where I break down and cry. But then I get up and move on.
This weekend I was able to have a me weekend. I didnt worry about school, or work, or planning a wedding. I had fun. I was able to spend it with my fiance, doing things together and just having fun. It felt so nice to not have a care in the world, to be able to be silly and have fun. I loved it. I cant wait until I can have more of those days. I think one of the reasons that I loved it so much was because I dont have them very often. My life is stressful and I don't have time to think about me. But because I stressed all week to get everything done, I had time to play. That is why I may be a bit crazy in saying that I am thankful for stress. What are you thankful for?

My wish list....

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama http://www.todaysmama.com/exclusives.php and Provo Craft http://www.cricut.com/holidaywishlist/default.aspx?utm_source=todaysmama&utm_medium=meme&utm_campaign=HolidayWishList_Today%27sMama&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?
A new laptop
Mtn bike so I can start getting back into shape
A new kitchen filled with stuff to make yummy foods
A new couch and love sac
My wedding to be paid in full

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
A sweet letter and pics from my cute little sister

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
A cute apron!

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
A big doll house
5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?
Dont have any kids yet....
6. What is your favorite holiday food?
Lots of sweets and ham!

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
Possbily some picture frames and lots of food to eat

8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
Christmas vacation
9. Favorite holiday song?
The whole Noel CD by Josh Grobin
10. Favorite holiday pastime?
Being with my family and listening to music and just enojoying myself!

If you want details head over and check it out!

Blah

Friday's are supposed to be good happy days. Smiles are all around and people cant wait for the weekend. Sadly I am not one of those. I am sad, I am tired, and I dont want the weekend too come, it is full of homework and no fun. I am ready to be done. Will life just end all ready? No more busy work!

Worthless

There are some days when I wonder if it is all worth it. I work hard to the point of killing myself to get it all done and turned in to please other people and no one seems to care. Why is that? I get so incredibly frustrated that I could scream. I have seriously contemplating changing my ways. Doing the minimal work and not worrying about the rest. Since no one notices there is no point in running myself into the ground right? Especially if it worth mere pennies on a paycheck. But that is a whole other story. Venting done, time to get back to homework.
P.S. Does anyone actually read my blog? If you do help a girl boost her self esteem and comment once in a while. Thanks!

Engagments

So we got our engagments taken about 3 weeks ago and got them back last night. I am not going to lie, most of the time I dont really like what I look like in pics. There are so many things that I would change about myself. One day maybe that will happen. But for now, I will deal with what I got. The pics look pretty good, it helps that the guy in them looks great! Once I find the ones I like I will post them. Here is one that I like.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

I know, two posts in one day! Crazy! But I had to post this. I am an avid food blog junkie, I cant get enough of them. I am always reading and getting new ideas, maybe one day I will have one of my own, but I need to find time to cook first. But for now I read and dream of things to make when I find the time. I found this recipe on a blog called Abby Sweets. My heaven, tons of sugar and good things! This is my first recipe that I have tried of her's and I will be going back for more soon! I made this cake last weekend for me and my man and he LOVED it! So I made it again for a party we went to on Halloween and they all LOVED it! I made it again last night for my family, and.... they LOVED it! So I thought I would share it. Maybe some of you will LOVE it too!! It is super simple to make and from start to finish takes less than an hour. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Yellow Cake Mix
4 eggs
¾ cup oil
1 cup sour cream

Mix by hand and pour in 13 x 9 greased baking pan.

1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
Mix and pour over cake batter. Swirl into batter with knife.

Bake @ 325 for 40 minutes. Let cake cool 10 – 15 minutes before icing.

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp milk

Pour over warm cake

On the 2nd and 3rd cake I didnt have sour cream and really didnt want to go to the store so I put in uped the oil, putting in 1 cup and then sprinkled chocolate chips on top. Divine! With sour cream it is a moist cake, with no sour cream and a bit more oil, a denser brownie like heaven. Either way they are to die for! Let me know what you think!

Really?!?! Leaving the stove on?

There are days when I cant wait to get married, so many things will change and I cant wait for them. One of them is living with roommates. Now dont get me wrong, I love my roommates, past and present, well at least most of them.... but there are days when I would give anything to not have to live with them. I think those days are happening alot more often as of late. I dont know if its because I have been stressed a lot with everything going on, or that in the back of my mind I know that I soon wont have to deal with them anymore, I dont know. I try to do my best and tolerate but there are some days when I have just had enough!

A few examples to the reasons behind my madness..... I came home last night to a house that smelled like something had been burnt, not unusual.... but still, it was gross. Went into the kitchen, covered in dirty dishes and food left out, floor was sticky, someone had spilled something and not cleaned it up. The best, someone have left the stove ON! I mean really?? Are you trying to kill us with the fumes? Who knows how long it had been left on, no one was home. That right there my friends is completely irresponsible! Who does that!?!?! Sadly it is not the first time it has happened. There have been multiple times the past year or so that we have all gone to bed and the stove has been left on. Needless to say that roommate stopped using the stove late at night bc she was so spacey. I am sick of dirty dishes piled high in the sink, people running the dishwasher and then being too lazy to take five mins to unload the clean dishes. I dont know if its bc they feel like it is not their job, or they dont know where half of the dishes go. Who knows, but it is annoying. It is really getting old to walk in the kitchen and find food left out, or bags of crap sitting on the counter for days on end. Who knows if it is garabage or not, people are just too lazy to take care of it. The sticky floor is a common occurance but really, no one seems to care, I think they have all become oblivious. Whatever. Cant change them. I have given up.

Now I know that everyone says that when you get married living with a guy brings on a whole new set of challanges. And I know that there will be some disagreements and what not, I am ok with it. But at least he tries. He knows that I am a clean person and I get irriated at things described above. And he really does not want to get on my bad side, he has said so himself. So really, I know it will be different but at least I will still love him even if he makes a mess and doesnt clean it up all the way. With roommates I have tried over and over to talk to them about it, but nothing happens. I have just learned to live with pigs on some occasions.
Anywho, there is my venting for the day. What a great way to start a week right? ;) Oh I was watching videos this morning on CMT while getting ready and I came across our song. Its Then by Brad Paisley. I am trying to get the video to load..... but until then, here is the link if you care to watch it. Happy Monday!

A month has past

I swear there are days that fly and days that drag. About half and half these days. I cant believe that I have been engaged for almost a month. Seems like so much longer. But the good thing, I only have to wait 3 more months and I get to marry my best friend. Dear time, Please go faster. Thanks. Love, Brooke
3 months and 2 hours, I will be there!!

Blah

Found this on google. I think it says alot.
I really hate the days when you just feel like doing nothing at all. Your body is tired, your mind is tired and all you want to do is crawl back into bed put in a good movie and sleep off the blahness. Today is one of those days. I have absolutley NO motivation to do anything today. I came into work early to get a bunch of stuff done and I cant seem to get myself to focus. I want to sleep. I think it might have something to do with the weather... it is a bit dark out, makes me want to sleep. Hopefully this day will past fast. I hate this feeling, it seems to around more often than it is welcome! Stupid moods! :(

The stresses

I am super happy to get married, I really am, but I am already feeling the stress of planning a wedding. I like every other girl have dreamed about my wedding since I can remember, what kind of dress I would wear, the flowers, the pictures, the reception all of that. And now I get to make those dreams a reality, but like most dreams, they dont come true.
I want a great wedding, one that I will remember for the rest of my life, but there is one problem standing in my way. That problem is money. It seems to be the source of alot of my problems lately. Going to school kills my paycheck which thus reflects in my bank account. I cant work as much because I have to go to school and study. I have to pay school fees, an arm, leg, and my first born just to be able to go, tuition is a killer. I go through this every semester, not having money while I am in school, and I end up doing ok. But this time is different. I have to plan and pay for a wedding. And I have no where near the funds to do it. I want the best for my wedding, but at the same time I cant because I dont have the means to do it. And it is frustrating. Both for me and my fiance. He knows that I want the best, and that I stress because we dont have the money to get the best. He has offered time and time again to find the money to get whatever I want. But I know that he has bills he has to pay, and already works so hard. I dont want him to have to work 5 different jobs just to make me happy. He says I need to stop thinking about him and focus on me for a min. To let him help me. But anyone that knows me at all knows that I am stubborn and I dont like accepting help and doing things for myself. I am a people pleaser, and no matter how hard I try I just cant stop it.
Many of those around me have offered to help me in planning and doing things for my wedding, and I love the offers, it is great, dont get me wrong. But there are just some things that people cant help with, like being able to produce a great photographer for dirt cheap. I found one that I really like, and am going to book him, but not without a pricey amount. He was very nice and gave me a bridal session for free, but we still have to pay for half of it now, hard to do when we have bills to pay and other things to worry about.
I am trying hard not to worry about things like this, thinking how in the heck me and my family are going to pay for two wedding within 4 months of eachother. It makes me sad. I want to be able to take on some of those costs, but I dont have any money anymore, it has been put to other things and I am feeling the lack of it right now. Everytime I think about it I start to feel sad and start to cry. Its really not good to have multiple breakdowns at work. But I cant help it, I stress too easily. That's my life.
I just keep hoping and praying that by some miracle it will all work out and I can have the things that I want without having to fork out a ton of money. Maybe I should just elope. And yes, that thought has crossed my mind. It would save alot of time and money and worry. Maybe I will. Less stress for everyone involved.
Anyay, if your are still reading this, thanks for listening to my whining and complaining. Just needed to get it out. Now it is time to dry my eyes and get to work, cant look emotional on the job.

Oh and here is a pick of the ring incase any of you wanted to see it.

Soooo

I guess the word is out.... I am getting married!!! After almost 10 months of dating he popped the question. Hooray!!!!! He took me to St George for my birthday just to be able to relax and have a weekend to spend together. His original plan didnt work, we were supposed to go camping, but who knew that you had to reserve a camp site weeks in advance! Oh well. He had a back up plan no worries. He had asked me a few months ago for pics of us throughout the months that we had been dating, from all of the places that we had been together. He took those pics and made what I call a Man's scrapbook. He put pics on pages and then wrote about them, he even used stickers!! I love it!! Anywho, so on Friday night we decided to grab some ice cream and head up to airport road, or as my cousin calls it, "Make out road" and just talk and enjoy the view and eachothers company. He made an excuse about needing to bring water so he could bring his backpack. Little did I know that there was something else in there that I would like.
Once we had finished our ice cream he asked me if I wanted my birthday present. I told him of course!!! I had told myself not to expect a ring just so in case it didnt happen I would not be disappointed. So he pulls out a red book with a pic of us on the front and handed it to me. I was taken back but at the same time not disappointed. I went through the pages enjoying the pics and the trip down memory lane. As I neared the end of the book he started talking about all of the temples that we have been to together, which is a lot. As I turned the last page he said something to the extent of, "So what I am trying to say is, Brooke will you love me forever and go with me to the temple and be together for time and all eternity? Cause I know that I do and I will" Then there were the words that I was dying to hear written in the middle of the page.... Will you Marry me??? He then had please put your answer in the corresponding box, Yes, No, Maybe...... I was shocked!!! He said later that my faced showed it. I remember having to catch my breath and then turned to him and said yes and started crying. It was a great moment to remember. After I had calmed down he said that there was only one problem..... When he had went to pick up the ring the day before it was not ready as promised,.... so he didnt have it to give me, but he didnt want to wait either. He apologized but I didnt care, I was engaged to a great wonderful man!!! That was all that I cared about. We spent the next half hour laughing and taking pics and just enjoying the moment.
Throughout the rest of the weekend we relaxed and enjoyed being newly engaged. We took a trip to Vegas to do some shopping and enjoy the sun. I could not have asked for a better birthday present. It was absolutely amazing!!! We had about 6 hrs total in the car to talk about what we wanted our wedding to be like etc etc. We pretty much have a good idea of what we want, we just have to put those thoughts and wants into action. We decided on the date of Jan 22 2010 in the Oquirrah Mtn temple. We are super excited and hope that the next few months fly by!! I have to not only worry about getting through this last semester of school but also start planning a wedding. I think that it is going to be stressful at times but at the same time I am excited for it. So if anyone has any ideas for cheap but fun ideas for wedding decorations, flowers, etc, let me know!!! Hope to see you all there in 4 months!!!

PS, sorry there are no pics, I have not had time to do much the past few days, but I will post them soon, hopefully with a ring in a few of them! ;)

The weekend to remember

It has been a great weekend, and it is still not over...... Many things are about the change, and I cant wait!!! Stay tuned to learn all about it.......... ;) :0

The Madness of life

School has started and my life is officially crazy. This is my last semester of school and I couldnt be more happy. But at the same time I am finding that I am more stressed than ever. With all that has happened that past few months there are many days that I question if I will be able to make it through. Since getting in my car accident back in Feb i have gotten a new car, and by new I mean brand new with only 21 miles on it when I drove it off the lot. It is nice but obviously the payment is a bit higher than I am used to. Since my other car was totalled and I didnt have GAP insurance I had to pay the difference of the car.... it is not a lot but at the same time it adds to my monthly bill payments, something that I am coming to regret. Why do we have to pay bills? I mean really. Oh well, part of growing up I guess.

I find myself stressing daily about things in my life. I think I am getting an ulcer from worrying about them. I think my biggest worry right now is money. I have a steady job but with school starting my hours have taken a plung. Between that and our servers at work being down the past two weeks it has been difficult to get a decent amount of hours in, and my paycheck is showing it. I looked at one of my bank accounts today and just started to cry. I have to pay two siginificant bills from that account in the next week and dont have near enough money in it to cover them..... Yikes. I try to keep telling myself that money is not everything, but at the same time it is the only way to survive in this world. I have shared my feelings and stresses about this with Andrew and he always reassures me that everything will work out and he will help in anyway that he can. He is way too good to me.

Speaking of that dear sweet guy named Andrew, things could not be going better with him. We have so much fun together and it is so hard to say good bye at the end of the day. But he keeps reassuring me that soon we wont ever have to say good bye.... still waiting on that one to come true. But I cant say it enough how much I love the boy and am so grateful that he will do anything for me.

Life is crazy, life is tough, we have to do alot of things that we dont want to do and go through alot of things that are trying and hard, but we can do it. After all there is always something good in the end right??? At least we all keep our fingers crossed that there will be. ;)

The luckiest girl in the World!!!

So my cute boy just sent me this email with a cute scrapbook page that he put together..... I think he is great!!! :)
Check it out! ;)
http://smilebox.com/playEmail/4d5441354d4455354e5456384d6a45334d6a55324d7a6b3d0d0a&sb=1

Ode to Summer time

The summer is winding down and school is about to start and I am ready for a nap!!! I feel like I have been going a hundred miles an hour for most of the summer, but I would not change it at all. I have traveled more in the past six months than I have in the past 6 years I swear!! I have been to NYC, Texas, Arizona, and Vegas twice, and the year is not over yet. I am still planning trips to St George, Moab, Park City, and possibly the hot springs in Idaho. I love traveling. One day I will be able to travel the world!!! Cant wait. My latest adventure took me throught the deserts of Utah down to the Grand Canyon, through lots of Indan lands and finally to Mesa Az to watch my cousin marry the love of her life. It was great! An extra plus, I got to bring along a friend, the love of my life. It couldnt get any better. Her is a pic of the lovely bride and her new hubby.


After the wedding and spending some quality time in the pool and working on our tans we hopped in the car and made the 6 hr trek to Vegas. We went through some crazy towns along the way and alot of no man lands. Boo for that. It made the drive seem so long! But we finally made it and checked into the hotel and set out to do some serious shopping. After eating some good food and making a few purchases we went back to the hotel to freshin up and get ready for a night on the town. After sitting in alot of traffic and getting lost trying to get out of the huge parking structure we headed to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate our 8 months of being together. It was great, my boy is so good to me! We wandered around the town for a bit and watched the fountians at the Bellagio for a bit before turning in for the night. I have never been so excited to go to bed!!! We were beat! Sadly that was the end of our trip, time to make the long trek back to Utah. It has been a great summer, would not change any of it for the world. Hope the rest of your summers were as good as mine! Here are a few pics from my travels. Until next time, smile, be safe, and know that I love you all! :)

Our Freedom

I know I am a bit late with a patriotic post but I was sitting at work and thinking how I miss my brothers today. They are all off serving in different parts of the world fighting for our freedom in this country. I think it is kind of sad that the troops are only thanked once a year, on Independance Day. I mean I can not complain, at least people remember them, but why is it so seldom? We would not be where we are today or have the rights and freedom to be ourselves without them and all they do. I am ashamed to think that I once never thought much about soliders and what not serving in the war etc. I felt sad for those families that lost loved ones or had to do without fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters for years at a time, but then I got over it and moved on with my life. Now that I have 3 brothers in the service it seems to hit a little more close to home. When I hear of a bombing in Iraq I wonder if my brother was close to it. If he knew the soliders that we injured or killed. When I hear of soliders that have dedicted their life to serving this country and die in the process it makes me cry and wonder if one of my brothers might end up being like that. I hope and pray every day for their safety and well being. I ask that we all take a little more time, not every day but at least more than once a year to think of those who have given time out of their lives to fight for us to keep our freedom. Have you thanked a solider today???

Here are a few pics of my brothers.



This is the three of them after church along with another Marine serving from our ward.

Thayne having way too much fun on the ride around the town. He is stationed in Iraq.

Have you thanked a solider today???

Brock hanging out. He is stationed in Japan for the next 2 years.

I can not believe that it is almost July. I mean really, where did the summer go? I am not ready to go back to the school life. I really like having nights free to do whatever I want. But one more semester and i will be done! Hooray for that! The past couple of weeks have felt like I have been going and going and have not had time to stop, but that is the way I like it. Always haveing something to do etc. Our first stop was to go see Kelly Clarkson when she came to UVU. Andrew is not a huge fan of her but he came with me because I asked him to and he is willing to please. It rained on and off throughout the concert and we ended up sliding down the hill multiple times during the concert, but it was all worth it. I mean paying $15 to see a concert in the park from a former Idol, we made it fun!

I was able to go with my boy Andrew to see the Mormon Miracle Pagent down in Manti. I have only been a handful of times but I love it each time I go. Andrew had never been so it was fun to take him and see his reaction to it all. We had some good food and fun and enjoyed ourselves. His reaction when it was over was that it was good, a bit long but interesting. He wants to make it a traditon to go back everywhere and see it.

We were also able to take my little brother and sister to see an Owlz game. They had some free tickets from their school for reading a certain amount of pages over the school year. We had fun cheering for the team and trying to catch fly balls. We got caught up in one of the many rain storms that night but we were tough and stayed for the whole game. Too bad we lost, but hey, we still had fun!
Saturday we were invited to go to a demolition derby in Wesdt Jordan with some of Andrew's friends. Now I have been to rodeo's and what not, but never a demolition derby, so I was not sure what to expect. Andrew told me I was in for a real treat and he was sure that I would enjoy it. Boy was he right! I loved watching the cars crash into eachother. It was AMAZING!!! I want to make a car and enter, I think it would be a blast. Andrew didnt think that was the greatest idea..... Apparently I am too delicate to do something like that. Boo for that! :(

Our last stop after a fun filled weekend was to go to the Draper Temple. Andrew has a goal to get a picture of all 13 temples in Utah on his phone. So far we have about half, we are making plans to visit more. I love the Draper temple, it is beautiful set up on the hill. It looks radiant at night, glowing against the mtns. We have been lucky enough to go to both temple open houses that have taken place this summer. I feel so lucky to be able to have so many temples so close and to be able to share those special experiences with those that mean so much to me.

I just have to say that Andrew is amazing. He puts up with way too much, yet he never complains. He still loves me despite my constant mood swings and spouts of irritability. He stands by me no matter what and accepts me for me. I love him! I am a bit nervous..... We are taking a road trip to Texas to see some sites, but mostly so that I can meet his parents. I have already met one of his sisters and I was super nervous for that but it turned out just fine, she told me that I was invited to come back anytime I wanted and would always have a place to stay. Andrew has told me that I have nothing to worry about that his parents are just like him, only 40 years older..... but still, I am a worrier and I will continue to worry until I meet them. I hope and pray that it will all go well and I will be approved. So wish me luck! :) I will keep ya posted.

I posted a slideshow below from some of the past events. Sorry the pics are blurry.

NYC and life

Sorry I have not posted pics of NYC, we took over 600 and that is alot to weed through..... so one day when I get a bit of time maybe I will post a few, not that anyone cares about them. So who knows. Life is good, I miss being on vacation, but I guess we all have to be reponsible. The summer seems to be flying by, I cant believe that it is already the middle of June. Before you know it, it will be time to go back to school, something that I am dreading like no other! :( I dont live sitting at a desk all day, but at the same time I like have my nights free to do whatever I please.
Family life has been a bit crazy lately, all of my brothers have managed to find girls and one of them even thinks he is in love. Boy he may be in for a big shock here soon, silly boys. As much as I hate to admit it, I do miss them, all three of them. I think of them often and get teary eyed whenever I see anything about soliders or war. I cant wait till they are all back home safe and sound. My parents are doing the best they can not to worry about them, but I know that deep down they feel that same way as me. The three kids still at home are giving my parents a run for their money. You think things would have settled down after 4 of us left, not a chance there! ;) My dad is counting down the days till school starts again and he can have some peace and quiet. My family is crazy, but I sure do love em!
I love being able to hang out with my boy, he is the love of my life and is so amazing! He makes me want to be a better person and I love the time that we get to be together. We usually dont do a whole lot of exciting things, but we still manage to have tons of fun. He knows how to make me laugh and knows what to say to make me feel better. We have been together for about 6 and a half months and they have been the best ever. I hope and pray that every girl will be able to find an amazing guy like him that will make them happy and treat them right. We all deserve it.
For all of you that read this, thanks, you are great, I love you all and dont know where I would be today with out you! Please keep in touch, comment or something and let me know how life is going! Until next time.......

Here are a few of my fav pics from the trip, enjoy!

Leaving on a jet plane..........

IN

DAYS
I will be leaving here:

On THIS:

To go here:

With this person for a week!!!


Pretty sure I can not WAIT to leave!!!!!! :D

So many memories

Eight days and counting..... thats how long before I hope on a jet plane with the man of my dreams and head off for a fun filled week in NYC!!! Oh I cant wait! There is so much that we want to see and do, I hope that we will have time for it all. Andrew's sister that lives out there is letting us stay with her and her family and has gotten us tickets to the Mets game and is going to see if she can get tickets to Wicked as well. It should be great. Well the semester ended and I passed all of my classes so that is good. I have decided that I am not going to do EFY this summer. I am a bit sad about it but at the same time I am excited to have a summer where I can work and earn money but able to have time to spend with my friends and family. I already have a few trips and things planned so it should turn out to be a great summer with many memories made. I cant wait! An update on my brothers, Thayne is in Iraq and he seems to be doing ok. He has been doing guard the past week of so, they stand for 8 or so hours at a time doing a whole lot of nothing, sounds thrilling if you ask me. But he seems not to mind it. Brock left yesterday to fly to Missouri and then get his stuff together and get on another plane and fly to Japan. He will be stationed there for about 2 years or so, feels like he is going on another mission. ;) Skyler is living it up in the sun in CA at Camp Pendleton and just hanging out. He has been told that he will be going to Afghanistan in the next year or so, so he is just biding his time till the call comes. Life is good around here, I love being done with school and being able to come home and have the nights to do with whatever I want. Such a great feeling. I have been able to spend a lot of time with Andrew and I love every minute of it. We do things on the spur of the moment and have tons of fun with it. He makes me laugh and knows how to make me feel special. I dont know if I could ask for a better guy. Pretty sure he is a keeper. I cant wait to see what time will bring with this one, it has the potential to be amazing!!! Here are some pics from our last few adventures. He loves taking pics, so I am sure that when we get back from NYC there will be tons, but dont worry, I will weed through them all and pick the best ones. Love you all! Have fun and be safe! :)

NYC here we come!!!

So I am am already counting down the days...... I decided to see what kinds of things I would be seeing so I googled NYC and this is what I got.
I am SUPER excited!!!! May 26-June 2. I am going to this place:






With this person:


It is going to be fabulous!!!

Iraq?!?!?!

So I cant believe that it is already here. In less then 24 hrs, my little brother will board a plane and be on his way to at least 7 months in the remote desert in Iraq! I am so sad!!! He has mixed feelings about the whole things of course, he wants to go and serve his country but he also wants to stay and go to college and on his mission like the rest of his friends. But he is strong, and has learned alot over the last few months and I know that he will be great over there. It will be hard but he can do it, he is strong and willing and will do whatever it takes to defend his country. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I love you Rhina, please be safe and remember who you are!! We will miss you greatly! :D

These were taken when he was in Palms training at a make shift Iraqi village. What a nut case!

Fun in Sin City!

I cant believe that it is Friday already!!! I swear it was Monday yesterday. Where did the week go?!?!?! What Andrew said is true, vacation time goes by wayyyyy tooo fast!!! I dont like it all!!! But oh man, it was so much fun! We did so much stuff in the last four days and walked at least 6 miles, maybe more. Poor Andrew got blisters..... sad day! But no worries, he was tough! I wish I could be on vacation forever and ever and never have to be responsible. Maybe one day. But now it is time to get excited for the next adventure, we are thinking NYC in the summer....... hhhhmmmmmmmmm Could be fun!!
Here are a few pics from the trip, more will come soon!