Sandy K.

Stereotypes.

2012-01-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in foreverrr but I just really wanted to post this picture that I saw on a friend's facebook. I don't know why but I'm in love with this image. Sometimes we are so quick to judge people based on stereotypes and what not. But we'll never really know someone until we know them so let's skip the judgements and start getting to know people! Pretty soon we'll all have a butt load of new friends!! Yay for new friends!

Fred Wise, my Grandpa.

2011-06-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

I started this post a few months back and never got around to finishing it. It's a moment that I will cherish forever and decided that it is seriously time to write it down somewhere before I lose my memory or something. So here it goes..

On May 5th of last year (2011), my dear grandpa, Fred Wise, passed away. He was one of a kind and an absolutely amazing man and example. He cared so much about all of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Honestly, I could go on forever about how wonderful he was. Forever. Because he really was that wonderful. Before Grandpa passed away, I had the opportunity to stay the night with him and my grandma a couple times a week. Usually Grandpa would help Grandma get ready for bed, but he was becoming too ill to take care of her like he used to. That's why I would stay there; to get Grandma ready for bed and to make sure Grandpa was comfortable. One morning I woke up, got them their breakfast, and then got ready for school. I was getting ready to leave so I kissed Grandma and said goodbye. Then I went to Grandpa, kissed his cheek and said goodbye. But I honestly felt something different in that goodbye. So as I walked away, I turned back to look at Grandpa and he looked at me then blew me a kiss. In my heart I knew that would be the last time I would see him. And it was. He passed away later that day.

I will never ever forget the last time I saw my Grandpa Fred and that sweet kiss he blew me. And I will never ever ever forget how he never failed to make me feel so incredibly loved.

Grandpa had a love for Abraham Lincoln and his famous speech, The Gettysburg Address. For as long as I can remember, he encouraged all of his grandchildren to memorize that speech and even promised to give us $50 if we could recite it from memory for the family on the Fourth of July. Forever I would start to memorize the speech and either give up or lose interest. After my mission I decided that if I could learn a foreign language, I could easily make my grandpa proud by memorizing a short meaningful speech for him. It was the beginning of February when I made the decision to memorize the speech. Because Grandpa Fred's birthday is February 19, I decided that I would recite the Gettysburg Address for him as his birthday present. I went over it again and again everyday until I finally had it down perfectly. During Grandpa's birthday party, I brought him with me into the office, and I recited the speech for him. He looked at me with proud eyes and had the biggest smile on his face. When I finished, he complimented me and said he would get me my "well-deserved $50," but I replied, "No Grandpa, I don't want the money, that was your birthday present!" He gave me the sweetest hug then held the back of my neck (his signature move) and told me that was his favorite birthday present. I'm so grateful that I was able to share that with him for his birthday, because he was gone before the Fourth of July.

Grandpa Fred will forever be one of my greatest examples in life. In my eyes he did everything right. I love him, and I miss him like crazy. But I have memories such as these and many more that I will keep close to my heart for the rest of my life.

What Would Lincoln Do?

2011-06-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

This is a story I read in the book, How to Win Friends & Influence People. I think this is something we should all try to apply in our lives.

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought during the first three days of July 1863. During the night of July 4, Lee began to retreat southward while storm clouds deluged the country with rain. When Lee reached the Potomac with his defeated army, he found a swollen, impassable river in front of him, and a victorious Union Army behind him. Lee was in a trap. He couldn't ecape. Lincoln saw that. Here was a golden, heaven sent opportunity- the opportunity to capture Le's army and end the war immediately. So, with a surge of high hope, Lincoln ordered Meade not to call a council of war but to attack Lee immediately. Lincoln telegraphed his orders and then sent a special messenger to Meade demanding immediate action.

And what did General Meade do? He did the very opposite of what he was told to do. He called a council of war in direct violation of Lincoln's orders. He hesitated. He procrastinated. He telegraphed all manner of excuses. He refused point-black to attack Lee. Finally the waters receded and Lee escaped over the Potomac with his forces.

Lincoln was furious. "What does this mean?" Lincoln cried to his son Robert. "Great God! What does this mean? We had them within our grasp, and had only to stretch forth our hands and they were ours; yet nothing that I could say o do could make the army move. under the circumstances, almost any general could have defeated Lee. If I had gone up there, I could have whipped him myself."

In bitter disappointment, Lincoln sat down and wrote Meade this letter. And remember, at this period of his life Lincoln was extremely conservative and restrained in his phraseology. So this letter coming from Lincoln in 1863 was tantamount to the severest rebuke.

My dear General,

I do not believe you appreciate the magnitude of the misfortune involved in Lee's escape. He was within our easy grasp, and to have closed upon him would, in connection with our other late successes, have ended the war. As it is, he war will be prolonged indefinitely. If you could not safely attack Lee last Monday, how can you possibly do so south of the river, when you can take with you very few-no more hat two-thirds of the force you then had in hand? It would be unreasonable to expect and I do not expect that you can now effect much. your golden opportunity is gone, and I am distressed immeasurably because of it.

What do you suppose Meade did when he read the letter?

Meade never saw that letter. Lincoln never mailed it. It was found among his papers after his death.

My guess is-and this is only a guess-that after writing that letter, Lincoln looked out of the window and said to himself, "Just a minute. Maybe I ought not to be so hasty. It is easy enough for me to sit here in the quiet of the White House and order Meade to attack; but if i had been up at Gettysburg, and if i had seen as much blood as Meade has seen during the last week, and if my ears had been pierced with the screams and shrieks of the wounded and dying, maybe I wouldn't be so anxious to attack either. If I had Meade's timid temperament, perhaps I would have done just what he had done. Anyhow it is water under the bridge now. if i send this letter, it will relieve my feelings, but it will make Meade try to justify himself. It will make him condemn me. It will arouse hard feelings, impair all his further usefulness as a commander, and perhaps forces him to resign from the army."

So, as I have already said, Lincoln put the letter aside, for he had learned by biter experience that sharp criticism and rebukes almost invariably end in futility.

Theodore Roosevelt said that when he, as President, was confronted with a perplexing problem, he used to lean back and look up at a large painting of Lincoln which hung above his desk in the White House and ask himself, "What would Lincoln do if he were in my shoes? How would he solve this problem?"

The next time we are tempted to admonish somebody, let's pull a five-dollar bill out of our pocket, look at Lincoln's picture on the bill, and ask, "How would Lincoln handle this problem if he had it?"

of red balloons.

2011-02-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

This morning I poured myself a bowl of cereal and decided that I would watch a little TV while eating it. I clicked on the guide and scrolled down to see what was on. Not much was looking too appealing until I noticed that "Keeping up with the Kardashians" was on. I remember before my mission, I would watch episode after episode of "Keeping up with the Kardashians." I actually considered it one of my favorite shows. I was hesitant to turn it on this morning, and kept scrolling in hopes of finding a better show to watch. I couldn't find anything, so I turned it on. It didn't last long though. I finished my cereal and turned it off. Then I sat and asked myself, "what did I used to like about that show??" It's still a mystery.

By this time I was over the idea of watching anything on TV, so I decided I would bake oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I searched the cupboards for flour, vanilla, sugar, etc. I found everything I needed except for the chocolate chips. So I put my hair in a side braid, threw on some flip flops, and began my walk to the grocery store to buy the much needed chocolate chips. It was a perfect walk.

On the way, my mind wandered in a million different directions. I saw two trees standing near each other, their branches all intertwined like they were holding hands, and I wondered if they were in love. I saw a man painting a building and wondered what his plans are later tonight when he's all done with work for the day. And I thought a lot about my mission. And how every day that I'm home, I see more and more changes in myself because of my mission. I often find myself comparing my life before the mission and after. I like the Post-Mission Sandy a lot better. I finally made it to the grocery store. I grabbed some chocolate chips and stood in line surrounded by magazines... magazines that I used to read religiously but no longer care about. I made my purchase and started on my walk home. The moment I stepped on the sidewalk, I noticed a large, red, heart-shaped balloon flying up in the sky above me. I smiled as I strained my neck to look up at it. It reminded me of the numerous times in my life that I have let go of a balloon. Every single time that happens, I wonder where it will end up and how long it will take to get there. I thought the same thing as I watched this balloon float along carelessly. I can't even express what happened at the moment, but it just made me really happy. My mind spun around... everything - it was an amazing walk!

I got home and started gathering the ingredients for my cookies. I opened the cupboard and the first thing I saw was a bag of chocolate chips.

i am happy.

2011-02-08T04:05:00.000-08:00

Ganito.

2011-02-02T03:23:00.000-08:00

I'm home. I have finished my time serving as a full-time missionary in the Philippines for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I came home on December 17 to my beautiful, wonderful family and all my fabulous friends. It was a beautiful reunion and I was happy to be home. Being home is fun.

It's exciting to re-do all my firsts. First movie since I've been home. First burrito since I've been home. First time back at Disneyland. First time swimming again. First date. First cheesecake. Etc. It's also fun to tell mission stories and fun facts about the Philippines. I love spending time with my siblings, parents, nieces, nephews, and other family and friends. I really am happy being home. But I miss my mission. I miss the way I felt every single day meeting new friends while tracting through the humidity and sweating profusely. I miss sharing what I know to be true to people I love or even to complete strangers. I miss studying the scriptures for at least 2 hours every single day. Bearing my testimony of the Book of Mormon numerous times a day.

I miss stuffing my face in filipino food because the Nanay keeps scooping more piles of rice on my plate and saying "sige pa!" Watching lives change as people accept and live according to the Gospel principles. Speaking tagalog all day every day. Attending baptisms for our investigators. I miss the strangers that would yell out "hey joe!" to me while walking down the road. The way I feel when someone says "yes" after I ask the question "will you follow the example of our Savior and be baptized...?" I miss hugging and joking around with President Anderson. I miss the food. I miss the heat. I miss the jeepnys. The beautiful clouds and sunsets. I miss the people. And I miss the name tag.

I know that just because my full-time mission has ended, doesn't mean I am no longer a missionary. I can still be an example and share my testimony with others. And I will continue to do that. It's just different when every single day is devoted only to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those around you. My mission was amazing. I loved my mission with all of my heart. I learned a lot. I changed a lot. I grew a lot (in two ways). It was definitely the best decision I could have ever made. And although it was difficult and challenging most of the time, it was by far the best 18 months of my life.

I'm grateful for the opportunity that I was given to share the Gospel in the Philippines San Pablo Mission.

Totoo ang Simbahan!

Goodbye Post.

2009-07-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

The family rented out the beach house again! It was so much fun! I use that beach house as my "happy place" in my snake therapy sessions.

Renee kidnapped me for a day and took me on a bunch of surprise adventures. We went to Rubys, the beach, got mani-pedis, and then Ashley came along for dinner and a fun night at the Hollywood Bowl!! It was so much fun!

This fun group went the the O.C. fair! We ate so much but laughed it off.

Yes, that is a real snake. No, I wasn't kidding about going to snake therapy.

On Friday night I had a party at my house for friends to come over so we could say our goodbyes.

We danced it up!
Now I am officially a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Today was my farewell talk and the day I had to say way too many goodbyes. It was rough, but I know without the Lord's help, it could have been way worse. I'm going to miss my family more than they know. I love being around them. They are my favorite people in the whole world. I can't wait to see them again.
I can't write anything about these 3 monkeys or I'll bawl my brains out. Let's just say I'll miss them a LOT.
On a happy note, one of my favorite people in the WHOLE world, Tanner Andre, came home from his mission today. He invited me to come see him at the airport since he knew I would be leaving early the next day. It was funny when we saw each other we had to shake hands because we're BOTH missionaries! I'm so glad I was able to see him...I love that Tanner.

Well everybody, I'm off to serve the Lord in the Philippines San Pablo mission. I'm so excited! I'll see you all in 18 months. Xoxo.
-Sister Smith

Sister Smith

2009-07-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

The other day I had the opportunity to go out teaching with one of the Sister Missionaries in our ward. It was such an awesome experience and got me even MORE excited for my mission! Plus, it was a great opportunity to try on some of my missionary clothes!!

Catch Me if You Can

2009-06-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

It seems like I've been super busy lately with nothing but fun stuff! I'm all over the place doing all sorts of fun things with all sorts of rad people.

Juice Box recently moved from Irvine to Long Beach, so now we can hang out way more often and I love it! Look how excited we are! Molly is out of school now, so work is SO fun! We play at the beach, go sailing, go to the park...the possibilities are endless! Plus, they moved into a new amazing house right on the beach(you can see it in the reflection on the picture) so we've been loving life together.

I've also had the opportunity to visit the temple often. My bishop told me to try to go a dozen times before I leave, so I'm working on that.For Shane's birthday, Sally planned a surprise party for him. He was way surprised and it was such a fun night!
On May 29, I turned 21! So, of course, I did what everyone does on their 21st birthday....got cupcakes with my sister and her kids!
Then that night I went with these fun girls to the Melting Pot!! Mmm mmm! (Look how everyone is sitting across from their sister. How cute are we?)A couple days after my birthday, we celebrated again with the whole family at Lucilles BBQ!
Oh, Scott got MARRIED! He and Christy are adorable together and I'm happy for them.
We celebrated Katie's 6th birthday with all her fun friends at her Birthday Tea Party! Everyone dressed up in their pretty dresses and partied it up!
And of course, Sarah and I got in on the dress up fun too!

I had a sleepover at my house with my girls Crystal, Tegyn and Kendra. We were baking cookies when all of a sudden the power went out!

Spooky!Finally the power came back, and I taught Kendra the dance to Hoedown Throwdown.And what's a sleepover without going toilet papering?!... ...and..this..?The next day we took advantage of the nice weather and went to the beach!One day Steve, Ashley, and I went to Knott's Berry Farm!

I got to hang out with a bunch of my camp friends: Duck Tape, Juniper, Bumper, Me(sandcrab), and Juice Box!
Can you guess what word we were trying to spell? Adorable mother-to-be's.
Shane was out of town, so Sally invited us girls over for a slumber party! We went to CPK..
...took a walk down the beach and 2nd street, got ice cream, and rented a chick flick.
I love me some LaLa.
Obviously, Juice Box and I were excited to be hanging out again!

Life is good.

oh dad.

2009-06-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

I love my dad.
I love how he has a song for everything.
I love how after I've been trying to beat him up for a while, he'll get out of his chair and chase me.
I love how he laughs so hard at people getting hurt in movies.
I love his stories like how he put a tack on the teachers chair and then hid under her desk.
I love watching sports with him.
I love how he calls me "my dear."
I love how he watches basically six shows at the same time.
I love how every once in a while, I'll be watching a girly movie and he'll come and watch it with me. Who knew he could develop such a love for Mama Mia?
I love how he jumps a mile when you poke him in the side.
I love how he can fall asleep AND start snoring loud in a matter of 1 second.
I love how when people kiss in a movie, he says, "MUSH!"
I love how he made a smudge on his chair from his bald head.
I love when he sings the song, "El Paso."
I love how he will randomly start playing catch with me when I throw a ball to him.
I love how he will throw a ball AT me when I throw a ball at him.
I love how after he's done watching his shows, he'll throw me the remote.
I love how he's not afraid to cry or show emotion.
I love how much he worries and cares about me.
I love how much he loves me.
I love everything about him.
I love my dad.

Happy Father's Day to the coolest, most humble, hard-working, spiritual guy I know!
And tomorrow, Happy Birthday to the best dad in the whole world!
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Look What I've Been Up To

2009-05-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I went to a birthday party that had a full room filled with different costumes. I found this good ole cat unitard that everyone seemed to love.

Then I found this Moses wig and beard. Isn't it amazing?

We celebrated Darren's 21st Birthday with a surprise party at Outback.

I've been helping Kacey pick out paint colors for her new house and decorate it. Don't you love that orange?Theeeeeeen...I went blonder.
I've still been playing with my favorite little Molly and her pups.

I went to an Angels game with Mike!

I watched all 3 of the High School Musical movies for a HSM marathon with these fun kids.

We celebrated my awesome crazy mom's birthday!

I hung out and took macbook pictures with my boyfriends Zac Efron and JuiceBox.

I had a mini GNO at Storybook Tellers Cafe with 2 of my favorite ladies...Sorry.

Then it was time to celebrate Ella's FOURTH birthday at Rainforest Cafe!

Sarah, Carter, Mom, and I had a fun day at Disneyland along with a photoshoot.

The Hull girls plus my mom and I had a sleepover in Laguna. This is just me on the balcony..

THEN we celebrated Bryant's 30th Birthday with a surprise party at Famous Dave's BBQ. These are the fun girls that we are the party!

Meanwhile, I've still been getting lovely letters and pictures from this studly missionary:

Then recently I died my hair brown!

And I took more macbook pictures with JB.

...and this happened...

I had dinner at CPK MANY times. Once with this girl and a few other friends!

And lastly/most recently, I had a relaxing day at the spa!

I've been trying to have a lot of fun with friends and family before I leave on my mission, and I have been having a BLAST!

Rivals

2009-05-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

New friends Corenne and Bobby and old friend Mike.

Last week I went to a Giants/Dodgers game at Dodgers stadium. The Giants and Dodgers are huge rivals. If you show up to Dodgers stadium in Giant's gear or Giants stadium in Dodgers gear, you're bound to have something thrown at you, poured on you, or yelled at you. I am a Giants fan. I wore Giants gear to Dodgers stadium. Luckily nothing was thrown or poured on me, but I was definitely yelled at. Bobby is a Dodgers fan, so he was hassling me the whole time, as well as the guys behind me. Then there were the various people who would yell things at me like, "Go back to San Fran!" But I'm fine.
Even though we lost 8-0, it was such a fun game! We had amazing seats in the first row of the All-You-Can-Eat section! I made some new friends. And it was just great to see my guys playing again.

I Miss this Boy...

2009-05-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today Is Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to my mom! She is an amazing person, but an even more amazing mother. I love her more than I could ever describe. Just the other day, I was thinking about how much I will miss my mom while I'm on my mission. Thinking about being away from my mom for 18 months hurts my heart and brings tears to my eyes. She is my strength when I'm weak and my smile when I'm sad. No one [but my siblings] is as lucky as me to have my mom for a mother.

Happy Mother's Day to my sister! She has given birth to 3 out of 3 of my favorite kids in the universe. I look up to her so much and admire her for her strength and faith. Someday I hope to be as good of a mom as she is.

Happy Mother's Day to Miles' mom, Jennifer! She is so awesome! She goes out of her way to make me feel welcome in her home and family. She raised the most incredible, handsome, respectful, caring, loving, hard-working guy I have ever known. She was able to talk to Miles on the phone today for 45 minutes and she said he sounded so great! :)

There are so many amazing women who have, without even knowing, made a huge impact on my life. Here are a few...
1. Grandma Joyce. There is NO ONE in the world with a heart like Grandma Joyce. Every time I talk to her, she tells me she loves me over and over and it never gets old!
2. Grandma Dode. She may be hilarious and outrageous, but Grandma Dode has given me advice and taught me life lessons that I will never forget.
3. Aunt Natalie. My best friends mom. I basically lived at her house every weekend. I am 100% comfortable with Natalie and feel like I could talk to her about anything.
4. Aunt Shelley. She is just one of those people who can always make you smile. I want a relationship with my future husband like the one she has with her husband.
5. Kathi Hiatt. My mom #2. What would I do without Kathi? I could talk to her forever, she makes me laugh so hard, she's an amazing example, and she raised awesome kids who I just adore!
6. Carla Goodman. My Young Women's President. She might not know it, but she really changed my life. I wasn't the quietest girl in Young Women's, and I'm sure I was a handful, but she loved me unconditionally. Plus, she taught some awesome lessons.

There are so many more but these are just the few that are very near and dear to my heart. I have such a tremendous love for mothers. I hope that because of the amazing examples that surround me, I too will be a fun, loving, strong mother.
Happy Mother's Day!

My Last Sleepover with "Single Kacey"

2009-05-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

I just saw these pictures on my aunt(Kacey's mom)'s blog. I thought they were so cute and decided to share the story behind them...

The night before Kacey's wedding, I spent the night at her house. We had so much fun hanging out that night and getting ready and pumped for the next day! I washed her hair in the tub, we picked out pictures for the entrance of the reception, and while she finished emptying her room, I kept saying, "you're getting married tomorrow!"
We always sleep in her tiny bed together, so it's hard to get to sleep sometimes because we're crammed and also because we talk and laugh a lot. So you can imagine how hard it was to fall asleep the night before her WEDDING!! But we managed to get to sleep a little before midnight. Then, around 4:00 a.m. I woke up and could not fall back asleep for the life of me. Finally around 4:30, I sat up. Then Kacey looks up at me. She was awake too. We realized that we were not going to fall back asleep. So at 4:45 a.m. we got up and started getting her ready. Basically I was just following her around the house while she got ready. This next picture is of me laying on the bathroom floor while Kacey took her shower so I could talk to her.

At 5:45 a.m. the hair and make-up girls came over and started working their magic on us while the other bridesmaids slowly began to trickle in. The other bridesmaids were Kacey's sisters Kellie and Kristi, her sister-in-law Amy, and her other best friend Stephanie. Amy's sister, Rachel did every ones make-up, while her good friend Megan did our hair. Amy brought a bunch of Starbucks hot chocolate and pastries for everyone to snack on while we were getting beautified. It was definitely a party and it was so much fun!

Sometime around 8ish, after Kacey looked more beautiful than EVER, we made sure she had everything she needed, and then she, JJ, and her parents left for the Temple.

It was such a fun memory that I will cherish forever....my last sleepover with Miss Kacey Thompson. Now I can't wait for my FIRST sleepover with Mrs. Kacey Bullard!!!

I Think He's Excited...

2009-04-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

She's Married!!

2009-04-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

THAT person...

IS MARRIED!!!...

....but it sure doesn't look like too much will change.

It was such a beautiful wedding. There were beautiful flowers and beautiful bridesmaids, it was a beautiful day outside, it was a beautiful ceremony, and there was a BEAUTIFUL bride.

The wedding party. And it truly was a party with all these fun kids.

My fam bam!

The reception was beautiful, emotional, romantic....and SO MUCH FUN!

J.J. was M.I.A., so I just cut the cake with Kacey instead....just kidding. We were just chowing down on some German chocolate amazingness!

After the dinner, the cutting of the cake, the first dance, the slideshow, the father/daughter dance, the fathers' toasts, and all the other wedding stuff, it was time to dance! We danced the night away until it was finally time for them to say their goodbyes! People kept talking to Kacey while she was trying to leave, so finally JJ just swept her up in his arms and ran out the door. It was adorable.

Now please allow me to spill my guts:
Saying goodbye to Kacey made me very emotional. I don't think there are very many people in this world who have a friendship like me and Kacey's friendship. It's more than just a friendship. I feel like we have part of each other's hearts. This is so cliche, but she knows me better than I know myself. I know that we were even best friends before this life. Before we came down to this earth I probably said something to her like, "fine, I'll go when you go." She is my BEST friend. A friend doesn't get any better than Kacey. Her whole wedding day I was with her or near her and we were laughing and crying and what not. But, when JJ carried her away, I felt like it became real. She was leaving me! She's married. She's a wife. She has a husband. Her being married.. is actually changing my life as well. We can't do sleepovers like we used to...both of us in our tiny twin beds. I will no longer be able to set her up with the cute boy at the party. It won't be as easy to get away for a fun weekend in Coronado. So much in changing. And because of that, I must admit, I am kind of scared. However, Kacey and I have been through a lot together. Our life is like a book. So far, it has been a hilarious, exciting, adventurous, emotional, strengthening book. And Kacey being married is not the end of the book, but only a new chapter. I know things will be different, but I have no doubt that things will be just as amazing. She will always...ALWAYS be my very best friend. I am so excited to see what this new chapter has in store for us! I love you Mrs. Kacey Bullard.

I'm Going There Someday...

2009-04-13T23:57:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, April 11, I was able to go through the temple for the first time. It was almost unreal and sometimes I feel like it was only a dream. But it was such an amazing experience that I will always remember. What's even more amazing is that my best friend/cousin Kacey and I were able to go through together. I loved being able to share that with her. And because we were both going through, our entire family came! My parents, each of my siblings, their spouses, grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins spouses, and even Kathi Hiatt was there. Kacey and I's friend Stephanie also went through for the first time with us (she's leaving soon for a mission at Temple Square). Being in the temple with so many people that I love so much was the best feeling. I could not stop smiling.

Preparing to go to the temple helped me learn so much about the importance of temples, but actually being there made everything click. It was such a spiritual experience and it really strengthened the testimony I have of the Gospel.

After our trip to the temple, we hit up CPK for a nice lunch. Thank you family, for sharing this awesome day with me. I love you all!

Allie and Michael Schulze

2009-04-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Allie was such a beautiful bride! When they walked out of the temple, they both looked soo happy! They could hardly keep their eyes off of each other.

These are all the bridesmaids at the reception. They were all fun girls.

The groomsmen were so funny! They are all good friends so the whole day they were cracking everybody up!

The kilt.

Me, giving the maid of honor speech.

And they're off!

Their wedding was so much fun and I was so happy to be able to share the special day with them.

Elder Williams Update

2009-04-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

On Friday I got a letter from my missionary. It was my favorite letter I have received from him thus far because he explains how he found out about my mission call. Here is one part of it:

"The PHILIPPINES! SO COOL! I am so happy for you. You will be bomb over there. I have so many questions to ask you about it bur first let me tell you how I found out. Thursday the mission home called and said I had a package marked 'urgent' so they forwarded it to me. But I knew it was your call cause what else would be urgent? So from Thursday til Friday I was so antsy to see a package in the mailbox. So on Friday we came back for dinner and two other missionaries were in our driveway to drop something off. They all knew about your call coming soon too. So we're talking to the other elders (who both said you were gorgeous), when I looked over and saw a package in the mailbox. I ran over and opened it and everyone was so excited. When I saw Philippines I didn't know what to say! I wanted Temple Square..haha. But I was so happy and had the biggest smile. And Elder Love, Trammel, and Killpack were so stoked and said, "dude you are set if she goes on a mission!" It was awesome. Babe, I am so happy for you. The couple we live with, the Jones were excited also. Sister Jones is from Manilla, Philippines. She got out a map and showed me San Pablo. Sister Jones said mail takes 10-14 days! That sucks. But at least I know you'll be on a mission and not dating any guys. I am so proud of you for serving, it gives me encouragement. I know you will love missionary work. Plus people love you, so you'll be great. I look up to you and think you are amazing. I Love You!"

I love his letters. My sisters best friend Kasey once said to me, "The mail man will become your hero or you will want to cuss him out." I've never heard a more true statement.

I still love Miles as much as I loved him the day we said goodbye, if not, more. He LOVES his mission and I'm so happy for him and proud of him.

The Future Mrs. Schulze!

2009-04-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, Allie is getting married tomorrow! She asked me to be her maid of honor, so I was able to throw her a bridal shower and a bachelorette party. They were both so much fun...not because of my planning...but because ANYTHING with Allie is fun!

Allie's mom, Chadley is such a fun mom! She and Allie are like best friends. When they are together they are such a crack up!

Michael(Allie's fiance)'s mom, Melissa is so funny. Allie got lucky with all these fun moms in her life. Fun moms are the best... I would know from experience.

She got a bunch of awesome gifts...

...but my personal favorite was this Christmas ornament. Michael's mom gave Allie a few ornaments that Michael made in elementary school. I thought that was a cute idea...and I think Allie liked it too?

My 2 bride-to-be redheads!! Kacey gets married next Saturday! I have had the greatest time being part of these girls' wedding parties. I love them both so much and I feel like I can actually show that love by helping with wedding plans and throwing them parties and stuff.

What's a celebration without a Creative Cakery cake?

The shower was fun, but the bachelorette party was way more exciting. There were only a few people there...a few really really fun people. It's all about quality, not quantity. We ate dinner, opened presents, and had cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory in the Bella Terra shopping center in Huntington Beach.
Then, it was time for the game.
Here's how it went: I typed out a bunch of different tasks, cut them out, folded them up, and put them in a sack. Each girl had to pick a task out of the sack and do it. Whoever accomplished the most tasks, won.
Some of the tasks: Get a piggy back ride from a stranger. Use a cheesy pick up line on a stranger. Ask a stranger to marry you. Etc.

Here is Allie getting a piggy back ride from a stranger. Who happened to be LDS. And who also happened to be Kacey's old boyfriend's little brother. Haha.

This picture accomplished my task: "get a picture with a group of middle school boys." But I think they were in high school. And they really didn't want to stop for a picture.

Now, to my favorite part of the night:
So, at one point during the night, Allie picked out a task that said, "serenade a stranger," and Kacey had one that said, "get a stranger's phone number." They were both nervous about these ones because those are just awkward situations to be in. At the same time I had a task that said, "kiss a stranger on the cheek." Those of you who know me know that I was not nervous at all about this task. So everyone was searching for their perfect prey when all of a sudden, this group of boys come up and start talking to us. Turns out they were from Canada and they were drunk. Their visit to California was for a paintball tournament they were in, but earlier that day they lost, so they were looking for something fun to do that night. And they found us! A mormon bachelorette party!! The 5 of them really helped us accomplish our tasks and have a ton of fun donig it. Even they got in on the fun! They started picking tasks and going up to girls with cheesy pick up lines and what not. They were so fun. In the future, whenever Allie thinks back to her bachelorette party, she will always remember the 18 year old Canadians.

Oh, Allie. I am so glad you wanted me as your maid of honor (I might take that back tomorrow evening when you make me give a maid of honor speech). It was so much fun to plan things for you and to [hopefully] help make your special day an extra special one. I love you!

bonjour je m'appelle...

2009-04-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

March is the month of mustaches. And march was ending, so a Mustache Party was very necessary. I went with these two fun girls: Alison and Rachel. All 3 of us had a great time socializing, dancing, and changing our felt mustaches every once in a while throughout the night.

This is Todd. Todd is different. But we love him very much.

This is Jill. Jill's boyfriend (now FIANCE) is Sean. Sean's purpose in life is to make me feel extremely awkward. When he and Jill started dating, she adopted Sean's role of making me feel uncomfortable. Sean's got nothin on her. She puts me in situations in which I have never felt more uncomfortable. But I adore her and I'm so happy they are getting MARRIED!!

This is our "cute mustache face."

This is Scotty drawing a mustache on Alison. She lost a bet.

What a fun night filled with mustaches, friends, and a lot of different languages.

My Mission Call!!!

2009-03-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

I CANNOT even start to explain how excited I am. I never would have thought of the Philippines but when I opened my call and read it, I felt like it was perfect! It was like, "oh yeah, the Philippines...THAT'S where I'm supposed to go." I feel really good about it and I'm so excited!

Kacey's Super Extravagant Birthday Present

2009-03-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

Every year for birthday presents, Kacey and I go all out for each other. Last year I took her to the Glen Ivy Day Spa in Corona and she took me over the bridge for a night at the Hotel Del Coronado with room service breakfast and everything! So...this year for Kacey's birthday her present from me was.... a lamp shade. I'm poor. So I bought a lamp shade at target and decorated it with felt flowers. I think it will fit perfectly in her new house. But, it's up to her if she wants to put it there.

Happy Birthday Kace Face. And you're welcome. ;)

Still Keeping Busy

2009-03-18T20:53:00.001-07:00

Molly (my 10 year old that I nanny) and her best friend Taylor are in love with Miles. They are obsessed with him. So on Thursday, when we were hanging out, we all wrote him a letter. They got a little out of control and started writing things like, "Call me," "air kisses," "ur hot!," etc. But we had so much fun writing letters to our missionary.

Long Beach State was in the Big West Tournament on Friday. I went with my friends Tegyn and Darren(above) and we met up with Miles' friends Mike and Jay. It was such an exciting game even though we lost.

After the game... Tegyn, Darren, and I went over to our friend, Crystal's house to hang out. Another friend, Andrew was also there and the five of us decided to head over to the dance. We were going to take my car so Andrew got in, but then we realized it was too small so we closed the doors. However, Andrew was still in the car. Stuck in the back. And we thought that was really funny. So we took a picture. We had such a fun night. My abs are still sore from how hard we laughed that night.

On Saturday I had the opportunity to see one of my very favorite friends who I have not seen for a couple MONTHS! Juice Box (that's his camp nickname and the only name I know him by) and I had a fun day full of spending too much money on clothes, taking really weird pictures, eating chocolate pudding that his Australian roommate made for us, and laughing really hard.

Later on Saturday I took Mike, Miles' good friend, out for his BIRTHDAY! We went to In N Out and then saw Coraline! Mike's such a fun, sweet guy. I hope he had a great birthday!

For F.H.E. on Monday night the El Dorado Ward had it's annual Mr. El Dorado! This year was so funny! The infamous Wade Price won the crown. I'd have to say he deserved it after coming out in a unitard and leg warmers. I had so much fun watching the show with these fun girls.

The other day I cleaned out my closet and on Tuesday I gave a bunch of my old clothes to Molly. It was St. Patrick's Day so she immediately picked out this cute green sweater and put it on. It was adorable on her! I love Molly and I'm going to miss her so much when I leave on my mission. Today (Wednesday), I got another letter from Elder Williams! He included his memory card from his camera in the envelope so I could put it in my camera and upload his pictures to my computer! Here are a couple...This is his best friend in his district, Elder Crawley. Aren't they handsome!? They have fun making faces at each other when the other Elders say weird things. Ever since my sisters blog about the types of embarrassment, when we are embarassed for someone, we say "type 2." So Miles told Elder Crawley about this and now they call their district "Type 2" which is why they're holding up two fingers.

All of the other Elders make bets on how many letters he'll get every day because he gets the most out of everyone. They also make fun of my decorative envelopes. But he loves them and that's all that matters.

I'm so grateful for all my friends who hang out with me, all the people who give me words of encouragement, and the Savior for providing me with a feeling of peace and comfort. I'm still doing great and patiently waiting for my mission call!

One Week Down...

2009-03-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

...only 103 weeks to go! Today it has been one week since Miles entered the MTC. His letters are awesome! He's doing great and gets along just fine with his companion, Elder Ririe. I'm doing fine as well. I'm just keeping busy and staying positive. I write him a lot of letters because it makes me feel like I'm talking to him, which makes me feel a lot better. Then I decorate the envelopes..

This weekend was so much fun! Saturday I put on a bridal shower for my good friend, Allie Landreth (post coming soon). It was so much fun. Afterward, Kacey and I went to Kacey's new house to try some paint colors and what not. Then we went to J.J.'s brother's house to hang out with JJ and his nephew, Greg in the sweet cave-like jacuzzi. Kacey dared me $10.00 to jump from the top of the cave into the cold pool. I did it [after 5 minutes of mentally preparing myself]. I'm $10.00 richer. After we got out, we played this super fun game called "Curses."

When we were done there, we went to Kacey's house and I was too tired to drive home so I just decided to spend the night. I used to practically live there, but I haven't spent the night there in FOREVER. It was so much fun. Kristi's friends were spending the night too and they were all being so loud. So we had a plan. I got out of bed and started walking around the dark house, Kacey went into the girls' room and said, "girls, come look, Sandy's sleep walking." So they all come out to the living room where I was and watch me. Then they follow me into the kitchen and I start touching things and rip off a piece of paper towel. I start tearing the paper towel into pieces and dropping them on the floor. I heard the girls laugh so I started laughing too. But we definitely had them going for a little. It was fun.

The next day I went to El Dorado Ward with Kacey. It was fun to see all my friends there and it was such a great meeting. Later that evening I had a meeting with my stake president and now my papers are officially in! I'll receive my call in 2-3 weeks! So there's my fun weekend!

The "Goodbye"

2009-03-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

Yes, he is gone. But I'm hanging in there. It helps to focus on other things or to remember good times we've had rather than the fact that I won't see his face or hear his voice for two years. So this post is mostly just going to be about the fun stuff we did the week before he left!

Long Beach State Basketball game. Look at all that school spirit I have for his school.

Color Me Mine. Every morning we eat cereal together for breakfast, so we thought it would be a good idea to paint bowls for each other. Some of you may be thinking, what a waste...he won't be able to eat out of it because he's leaving. But that bowl will still be here in 2 short years and most likely he will still enjoy a delicious bowl of cereal then also ...alright?

Long Beach State Dirtbags Baseball Game. It was his last dirtbags game before he left and it was certainly a fun one because we met up with his dad and our friends, Mike and Jay. The game lasted 4 1/2 hours (way too long) and we ended up loosing but Mike got a foul ball and gave it to Miles!

Utah. My family drove up on Thursday and Miles and I flew up on Saturday. They picked us up from the airport and we all went to Salt Lake to hang out for the day. We went shopping at the Gateway mall and walked around Temple Square.

The Roof. Best buffet ever. It's on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Building in Temple Square. It was delicious and so much fun.

Church. We all went to church at his mom's ward where Miles was able to bear his testimony. It was such a sweet testimony and he had us all in tears (all=his mom, my mom, me). His mom and step-dad also got up to bear their testimony. It was such a nice fast and testimony meeting.

Now, comes the sad part.
The Goodbye. The night before we had to say goodbye, we stayed up late and talked about every single emotion we were feeling. What we're excited for, what we're sad about, what we're going to do when we see each other again...etc. We both shed a good amount of tears, but it felt so good to let it out because we've both been trying to be so strong.
The next morning after I was packed and we finished breakfast, he held me on the couch where we said "I love you" to each other about 500 times. Then we heard the inevitable car-door-slam outside and the only thing I could say was, "yuck." My family came in and said their goodbyes to Miles and his family. All of a sudden after my family was back in the car and his family was in the house, we were left alone on the porch and we knew it was time. It would be impossible to put into words what I felt during this time. So so so many emotions were happening to me. But I only let one tear out as we hugged, kissed one last time, and said "I love you, bye."

As I walked away from him, the love of my life, I felt such a feeling of peace come over me. It was almost as if he was still there, holding me. I know that at that moment, the Lord was answering my prayers and the prayers given by others for me.

The MTC. I wanted to be gone before he was set apart so I didn't have to shake his hand goodbye, so I didn't go to the MTC to drop him off. But, his family dropped him off there today and his mom sent me some pictures. How cute does he look in his suit with the name tag and all?

Home. I am actually doing surprisingly well. As long as I keep myself occupied or surrounded by people, I feel so much better. Every once in a while it hurts really bad and I have to grab my heart to keep it from breaking into pieces. But when that happens, I have to remember how amazing it is that my boyfriend is giving two whole years of his life to serve the Lord and how much he will grow in that time. Then when I think about that, I start thinking about MY mission and I get so excited! My papers are done and after my appointment with the Stake President, he will send them to the Brethren! Hopefully I'll leave in June which means I'll get back only three months before Miles! How exciting is that?! That is one of the things that helps me feel better.

I'm so proud of Miles. He is going to be an AMAZING missionary. He is so obedient and hard-working. I know that the Lord has already blessed him in so many ways for choosing to serve a mission. I can't wait to serve also and get home, wait 3 months, and finally be with my boo again!

Welcome Cal!

2009-02-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

Since Miles is leaving soon, each month we celebrate an anniversary by doing something really fun. This month we celebrated our 15 monthiversary by spending the day at Disneyland. It was our last time there for about 2 years since Miles' pass expired and he's leaving on his mission NEXT WEEK.

My favorite parts of our Disneyland day were:

1. sporting our matching sweaters (made by Miles' uncle)
2. seeing Miles in a poncho(since it was raining on and off the whole day)
3. getting whipped in the face by rain on California Screamin'

4. and once again... beating Miles on Toy Story Mania.

After we were done at Disneyland, we decided to Build-A-Bear in Downtown Disney!

This is our pre-stuffed teddy bear.

...And this is our bear after he's been stuffed, loved, fluffed, dressed, and named.

Say hello to Cal.

All You Need is Love

2009-02-18T21:01:00.000-08:00

Many people believe that Valentine's Day is a useless commercial holiday made by the flower industry to sucker men into buying $30.00 bouquets for their loved ones. Now, this may be true...but I believe that the people who feel negatively toward Valentine's Day are unromantics who either have no one to love, or are stuck in a crappy relationship. I love Valentine's Day. I think it's brilliant that we are given a whole day to celebrate love with the person we love. This Valentine's Day could not have been more perfect. Here's how it went...

I woke Miles up to a light breakfast of fruit salad and blueberry muffins surrounded by cute love decorations. Then I gave him his present: a mini scrapbook of our love story.

After breakfast we headed over to Balboa Island to walk around and hang out. On the drive over there, I opened my first present...the new Britney Spears CD. So, lucky him, we listened to it the entire drive there. It was such a gorgeous day. After walking around for a while, he gave me my second present. It was a beautiful silver necklace with a bunch of little hearts put together to make a little flower. I just love it!

After our walk around Balboa, we headed over to the LB Town Center for an early "beat-the-crowds" dinner at Lucelle's BBQ and a movie (Shopaholic).
[f.y.i.: I got the bread pudding for dessert...sooo good. So good.]
Finally we made it home and ended the day with a relaxing dip in the jacuzzi.

It was such a fun, romantic day! I hope that anyone who doesn't like Valentine's Day can find someone to love who will make them excited for a day of romance..even if it is just a commercial holiday.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2009-02-18T09:58:00.000-08:00

On our drive back to So Cal from Santa Cruz, Miles and I decided to stop at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Of course we got in free with guest passes because Miles gets connections with everyone for anything....but that's besides the point. Anyway, It was my first time at this aquarium and I had heard great things about it so I was stoked to be there, but once we got in and started exploring, I was a little disappointed because there wasn't very much cool stuff at all...

..there were only boring, unoriginal things there.
Like a school of thousands, maybe millions of fish...

or your typical, everyday Hammerhead Shark.

Honestly, I think these fish have been way overrated since Finding Nemo came out.

Really, does a day ever go by when you DON'T see a diver in a huge tank feeding squid to fish and sharks?

And let me tell you... this wasn't the first time that I've had an eye-to-eye, paw-to-hand against the separating glass moment with a cute, furry sea otter.

I could probably capture a picture of Miles appearing to eat a merrily swimming fish anytime I wanted to.

And I'm pretty sure this telescope was broken because basically you could only see every blemish or freckle on the faces of kayakers along the ocean, the people walking around on the complete opposite side of the bay, and every whisker on the seals or sea otters laying around on the rocks nearby.

All-in-all, it wasn't very cool.
I mean, I basically have the most beautiful fish I have ever seen, octopus, every type of jellyfish, and penguins at home as pets.

...not!

I Left my Heart in San Francisco

2009-02-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

I flew up to Santa Cruz to visit Miles when he got home from Hawaii. He picked me up from the airport and we started our drive back to his house...or so I thought.

I knew we were going a different way than usual, but I thought nothing of it.
I saw various signs, none that said anything about being near Santa Cruz, but I still made no assumptions.
We were driving for much longer than it usually took to get to his house from the airport.
Finally I asked him, "Where are we going?" and he simply replied, "home."
And I believed him.
When things started looking very "city" and familiar, I caught on.
We were not going back to his home in Santa Cruz...no, we were not.
He was taking me to my favorite place in all of California....
San Francisco.He told me we were going to be spending the entire day in San Francisco and that I could pick everything we were to do throughout the day.
So first, we went to Golden Gate Park.
After walking around the gigantic, beautiful park for a couple hours, we decided to go back to the car and do the next activity on my "Day in San Francisco Agenda."
I turned around to walk toward the car, but Miles insisted that it was the opposite way.
After walking for a really long time, I started doubting if Miles really knew where the car was.
When I would question him, he would reply with something like,
"oh yeah, I know exactly where the car is."
Yeah, right.

Next thing I knew, we were at the beach.
Any one who has ever been to Golden Gate Park or knows anything about it, knows that when I say we walked all the way across the park to the beach, we walked a looooong way.
But it was a beautiful day with my favorite person in a beautiful park and a beautiful beach.

Our feet were blistered and sore, so we caught the bus back to our car. However, my feet were not too sore for the next thing on the agenda: shopping!
Let's just say... 3 story Forever 21, 2 story H&M, 3 story Urban Outfitters,
and an infinity story mall.

After shopping a lot, we walked around Fisherman's Wharf and up to Ghirardelli Square for a free sample.

After so much walking and more walking, we decided it was time for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory on the top of an 8 story Macys. It was an amazing view and a delicious dinner.
After dinner we were worn out and stuffed, and although I didn't want to admit it, I knew it was time to go home.

That was my last time in San Francisco for a couple years and I couldn't think of a better way to spend my last day there. Thank you Miles!

Sunset

2009-01-24T23:39:00.001-08:00

The other day, Miles and I decided to go watch the sunset from the Seal Beach Pier because it was a gorgeous day. We had so much fun just watching the sun slowly set. You know you really like a guy when you can just sit on a bench with him and never ever want to leave.

This type of bird is hard to find in the state of California. This rare bird, ladies and gentlemen, is known as... the Seagull.

This is my boyfriend and I think he is cute.

The guy who took this picture thought he was a professional photographer. He kept asking if he could take more and none of them even turned out very good.

We <3 our Sperry's.

After the sun did it's thing, we got dinner at the Cheesecake Factory all the way in Huntington Beach. While already on the pier, some might just walk a few steps further to eat at Ruby's. But no, not us. We will walk BACK down the pier and drive fifteen plus minutes just to eat at the Cheesecake Factory.
Thanks for a fun date Babe!

Spokane, Here He Comes!

2009-01-22T01:12:00.000-08:00

My handsome, wonderful, perfect boyfriend, Miles recently received his mission call for our church. He was called to the Spokane, Washington Mission! He will report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on March 4. He and I, both, are so happy about his call. I feel like it is the perfect mission for him. I'm relieved that it's not too far away or in some dangerous and scary place or in a place that will make him smell bad permanently. I'm so proud of him for his decision to go on a mission. It was a hard decision for him to make because some of his very close family members are not members of the Church and don't understand or agree with the whole concept of leaving school for a mission. But with much prayer and thought, he realized that going was the right thing to do. I know he and his family will be blessed tremendously for his decision. I know he will be an AMAZING missionary because he's kind-hearted, hard-working, humble, and spiritual. I know he will be an even more amazing husband than he would be to a very lucky girl (hopefully me) someday as a result of serving a mission. I know the Gospel is true and I'm so grateful for it and the continuous blessings I have received and am receiving because of it.

Congratulations Miles. I love you. I will miss you. I am so proud of you.

2009.

2009-01-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

To celebrate New Years, Kacey, J.J., Miles, and I were planning an overnighter at my uncle's house in San Diego so we could go to go to the huge YSA dance that goes on down there. So, New Years Eve morning, Kacey and J.J. met Miles and I at my house. Since that was the first time I had seen Kacey since before I left for Utah, we decided to do our gift exchange then, and for the THIRD time in our lives, we got each other the SAME CHRISTMAS PRESENT. We both got each other the new book, Influence by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. We ADORE the Olsen twins. Kacey's favorite Olsen is Mary-Kate so I got her the cover with MK on it, and she got me the one with Ashley on it, my favorite Olsen.

So after the fun gift exchange, we headed down to San Diego. When we got there, the boys allowed us to go shopping at Fashion Valley which was amazing. Kacey and I bought a bunch of cute clothes to wear to the party that night and I bought some amazing heels. After shopping, we went to my uncles house to unpack our stuff and get ready to go out to dinner. My Uncle Fred recommended this cute little Italian food place. The food was good and the dessert was amazing, but the company was the BEST. I was with my favorite people and they were making me laugh so hard the entire time. Even though the bill was a little more than we would've cared for, I don't regret anything about that dinner because it was so fun. But I also didn't have to pay for it, so I'm sure J.J. and Miles wouldn't agree with me there. Thanks guys!

After dinner, we went back to my uncles house to change and get ready for the big dance party. Obviously, Kacey and I were ready RIGHT at the time the boys told us to be ready by and Miles wasn't annoyed of us at all. Yeah right. But we finally made it to the party, which was huge and so crowded. We ran into old friends, walked around, told a couple of Kacey's ex-boyfriends that she's engaged, danced a little, and when it was midnight, we kissed.

The next morning, we woke up, got ready, packed up our stuff, and headed over the bridge to Coronado. We went to a breakfast/lunch at my FAVORITE Mexican food place, Miguels. Then we walked around the island for a while because it was such a beautiful day!

I had such an amazing start to the new year thanks to these kids.

how I spent my Christmas...

2009-01-17T21:32:00.000-08:00

...in Utah! With Miles and his family. We had SUCH an amazing time. We did so much fun stuff, saw so many good movies, ate so much delicious food, and hung out with so many fun people. It was such a great Christmas.

Miles' mom, Jennifer and step-dad, Lee.

This is the rad snowman we built together.

Merry Christmas!

Girls Day with Ash-Lay and Nay!

2008-12-14T16:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I got a call from my faux sister/neighbor Renee asking if Ashley and I wanted to go with her to get a mani/pedi combo for only $20.00! Ashley and I walked across the street to Renee's house and we were off!

We got to the nail salon to find no one in there except for the three workers. Perfect! It took us what felt like 20 minutes to pick out our colors. Renee is a lawyer so for some reason she thought she couldn't have sparkles on her fingernails...but she wanted sparkles on her toes... but wanted her fingers and toes to be the same color. I didn't want a really dark color that would make my already ghostly feet look even more pale, but none of the light colors were working for me... Anyway, we finally picked our colors. We sat at our pedicure station/massage chairs and the ladies starting working on our feet. Each of us had a magazine on our chair for us to read. Ashely and I both had beauty/fashion magazines on our chairs, but Renee's magazine was called "Watch Connections." A magazine all about watches! So you can imagine how hard it was to keep her attention since she was SO into her magazine! Another thing that distracted Renee was the television that was so conveniently playing RANDOM cartoons! Since cartoons are her FAVORITE, she got pretty into that too. Right Renee? She was finally broken from her zone when the ladies asked if we wanted callus remover for 5 dolla. Renee and I both said we wanted it, but Ashley said no because she thought it would tickle. Her lady kept assuring her that it did not tickle and that she really needed it so finally Ashley agreed. I'm glad she did because it was so funny to watch her struggling and listen to her scream. I shouldn't talk though because my face was buried in my magazine the whole time to drown out my laughter. So much for "it no tickle." Once the calluses were removed and they started on our fingernails, we continued conversing and laughing. Renee told a story about how she and her friend went to get their eyebrows waxed and when they were done, the lady who worked on them said to Renee's friend: "you come in here, look like monkey, now you pretty lady." We were all laughing, but the lady doing my nails was DYING she was laughing so hard! For at least five minutes she would repeat, "look like monkey!" and laugh hysterically. I don't know what was up with the lady doing my nails, but she was laughing at everything we said. She put a pillow on my lap for me to put my hand on, and all I said was , "Oooh, a pillow!" and she started cracking up. She would be throwing her head back in laughter with watery eyes and she was still painting my nails. There was nail polish all over my toes and fingers. So finally, after saying 100 "no thank you"s after being asked if we wanted 'flowa 2 dolla, eyebrow wax 8 dolla', etc.; Renee, Ashley and I left happy and with pretty nails, and the nail ladies were left with nice tips. Except for Ashley's lady. Cause Ashley forgot to give her a tip. But that's okay because her lady lied to her about the callus remover not tickling.

It was actually pretty good quality for what we paid. If you want a good laugh and a decent paint job, it's great. But I wouldn't recommend that place if you want stunning nails.

Renee had just gotten her hair died and trimmed that morning and wanted to straighten it, so I offered to straighten it for her since she's not usually in to that kind of stuff.

Here she is, happily half way done with the straightening process.

Straightening: In action.

I don't know why she is doing this face cause she actually really did love it.

Oh, see, now she's happy.

We had so much fun on our girls day! I hope Renee the Lawyer won't be too busy with grown-up stuff to do this again every once in a while. And next time we'll plan it sooner so that my other favorite girl, my sister Sarah can come! Thanks to Renee, Ashley, and the ladies at Ana Nails for a fun filled day!

Decorating for Christmas!

2008-12-14T15:44:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is the decorating. I love putting lights and ornaments on the tree and putting lights up on the roof. I think that the reason I love doing this so much is because I get to do it with my family which makes everything 100 times more fun.

Most of us had good judgment when it came to which ornaments to leave OFF the tree. However, my brother-in-law, Bryant thought it would be appropriate to put the creepiest, most awful ornaments on our already very ghetto tree. Then, when any of us would take the creepy ones off, "somehow" they would end up BACK on the tree. Hmm.

Putting up Christmas lights on the house started out fun and exciting. Steve and I worked on the roof to decorate the second story while Scott and Dad did the first story. Maybe Steve and I were way faster than them and started getting a little cocky and talking smack while on the roof. And maybe it turned into a verbal war. And maybe we probably won that too.

Meanwhile, Ashley was inside wrapping gifts. Whenever she was done with a gift, she would run outside and shout to Steve, "LOOK STEVE!" and show off her awesome wrapping skills. I wish I could explain the excitement and pride in her eyes every time she would run outside with a new gift in her hands. It was priceless.

My brothers hated each other by the time we were done decorating the house, but we're all friends again now and our house looks rad!

Who's Engaged????

2008-11-29T10:32:00.001-08:00

....not me.

My best friend in the world/cousin/other half/classmate/soul sister/lover/mentor/dance partner/the only person in the world that I can tell everything to/partner in crime/back up singer/the person who makes me laugh harder than anyone/vacation buddy/the person that means the world to me....
THAT person...
IS GETTING MARRIED!!
Kacey got engaged on Thursday, November 27th to the love of her life, JJ Bullard.
They are perfect together and I couldn't be happier for them.
Congratulations Kacey, I love you more than you even know!

It's Christmas Time at Disneyland!

2008-11-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas is for sure, by far, without a doubt, 100% my very favorite holiday ever. I love the music, the smells, the lights, the hot chocolate, the cozy clothes, the colors, the cuddling, the shopping, the movies....I could probably go on for a very long time. This could possibly be why last night at Disneyland, I pretty much had the most amazing time of my life. Yesterday was the first day of Christmas lights at Disneyland! It was beautiful.

Miles and I started out the day by going to Chik-fil-A and to see the new movie"Twilight" (which I thought was so cute). Then, we headed over to the Gardenwalk in Anaheim and ate at P.F. Changs. After dinner, we headed over to Disneyland. We watched the fireworks, went on a couple rides, then got ice cream and sat on Main st. to eat it and people watch. There was some great people-watching that night. Basically, the whole day was amazing and I had the time of my life.

No More Third Wheel!!

2008-11-14T00:13:00.000-08:00

Miles and I had the honor of snatching the Cutest New Couple in town for a double date to The Cheesecake Factory. Kacey and J.J. started dating a couple of weeks ago and they are just killing me with their already off-the-charts love for one another. They have worked together at Southern California Valve for almost two years now and have been great friends since then. They hung out all the time and tried dating a couple of times but they just weren't feeling it at the time. RANDOMLY, Kacey fell in love with him so they started to date and now they are so happy and so in love! Anyone who knows J.J. was so excited when they found out that Kacey was dating him because he is an amazing guy (you could almost say that "amazing" is an understatement). And Miles and I were also excited because now we have a fun couple to double date with! A lot of times just Kacey, Miles, and I would hang out and someone would always be feeling a little third wheelish (usually Miles...sorry babe!), but now, thankfully there no longer has to be a third wheel!

We had so much fun with them that night and are hoping for another fun double date soon!
Now, here are some pictures of what Kacey and I like to do with the Cheesecake Factory's To Go bags...

Miles and Sandy: 1st Anniversary

2008-11-10T22:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Miles and my One Year Anniversary! Some of you might know that this is a record for me. In high school, all the basketball and football players called me the heart breaker because I wouldn't date a guy for longer than two months. I wish I could deny it, but I really can't. So, having a one year anniversary is definitely a step in the right direction. Because our special day (November 9th) was on a Sunday, we decided to celebrate the day before. We went to my favorite sandwich place, Submarina, and picked up our sandwiches. Then we drove to Corona Del Mar and had a picnic at Little Corona. It was such a gorgeous day...perfect for a picnic. After we ate our sandwiches, we laid down and talked for a little bit. Then, we exchanged presents. We had just happened to get each other a ring! I got him a rad CTR ring, and he got me beautiful diamond promise ring. Almost the same price. Not at all.

I was SO excited! I still can't stop staring at it. I'll probably go blind because it's so sparkley and I keep staring.

Then we took a walk along the beach and climbed some rocks and took some pictures.
We're all iced out.
We are loving our new rings.

On our actual anniversary, I gave Miles a list of 365 things I love about him. It was so fun to write. If you are ever doubting a relationship you're in, or are falling out of love, you should try writing a list of things you love about that person. Not saying I was doubting or falling out of love, but it made me fall 200 times more in love.
I love you Miles! You're the perfect guy for me and the most amazing boyfriend in the world. Thank you for the best year ever! "dis is what I neeeeed!"

MADONNA!

2008-11-10T10:08:00.001-08:00

Miles: what are you doing tomorrow night?
Sandy: nothing, aren't you hanging out with Damone?
Miles: well, we were going to go to the Madonna concert...
Sandy: [cuts him off] BOOOORING!
Miles: yeah..uhm...well...Damone can't go anymore...sooooo..
Sandy: oh. you were inviting me.

So...I went with him to the Madonna concert! It was at Padres Stadium in San Diego, so the entire drive there, we were listening to Madonna because the only songs I knew were "Like a Virgin," and "4 Minutes." I honestly have never like Madonna and was only going to her show to be with my boyfriend. So, every song we listened to on the way there, I would find some way to make fun of it. The whole time I was thinking to myself, "why in the world am I going to a Madonna show?" However, we finally arrived right on time and waited patiently in our seats.

We were actually pretty close to the stage. You can imagine how excited I was to be so close to Madonna!

While waiting for the show to start, we did some people watching. You can imagine how good people watching is at a Madonna show. There were so many hardcore Madonna fans dressed up like her...or dressed up like this:

He was a delight to watch, but he wasn't all. There were some crazy outfits but my camera wasn't quick enough to capture them.

Here's Miles throwing up an "M" for Madonna..

FINALLY, about two hours after the show was supposed to start, it started. And we were so excited! I kept screaming, "I love Madonna!" But, really I was only excited for it to start so it could end and we could go home.

But then, somehow, my feet started to step-touch, my head started to nod, and my shoulders were kind of shaking. I was getting into it. I was loving the Madonna concert. I couldn't help myself. She was such a good performer. Then the song, Beat Goes On, that Kanye West sings with her comes on and they show Kanye singing his part on the big screen...

If you didn't know, Kanye West is my favorite ever, so this part is what had me sold. From this point on, I was so into the show. You couldn't stop me from dancing and trying to sing along.

Then Britney Spears was on the screen for the song, "Human Nature." Then she sang the song, "Vogue," and Miles taught me how to do the Vogue dance move...

Every song she performed just kept getting better and I loved Madonna even more. I was actually sad when the show finally ended. Since the show, I have listened to Madonna everyday and I'm totally planning on going to another Madonna show sometime in the future. I love Madonna.

Halloween Fun!

2008-11-09T23:46:00.000-08:00

It seems like every year, Halloween gets more and more fun! This year, on Halloween morning, Miles and I went to Massage Envy to get a one hour massage for just $39.99. That was amazing and I decided that will be my new Halloween tradition. Once we got home from our massages, we carved our pumpkins in the backyard.

This is us trying to make the same face as our jack-o-lanterns. Doesn't Miles look exactly like his pumpkin?? This picture cracks me up!

Then, we headed over to the mall to do a little shopping, but had to hurry home for....

...ANNUAL DINNER IN A PUMPKIN!!
We wouldn't want to miss out on that. Always a surprise, always a treat!

Once our bellies were full of goodness, everyone got ready to go out and do some hardcore trick or treating. Mom, Sarah, Bryant, Carter, Steve, Ashley, Scott, Christy, Katie, Ella, Miles and I all went trick or treating together. It got a little crowded at each front porch, but it was fun and so worth it.
p.s. How cute is my boyfriend? Even with Carter's drool all up on his shirt...

Thank you, Mom, for the Dinner in a Pumpkin and for putting up with us making fun of it even though we all love it. Thank you, Sarah, for having the cutest kids in the world, making it so fun to watch them having fun. And thank you, Miles, for spending the whole day with me and making every second fun. I love all of you.

Happy Halloween!

Taco Tuesday!

2008-11-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

While working at the day camp over the summer, every Tuesday after work, my co workers and I would go to a place in Newport called "Great Mex" for $1.00 tacos. They were SO GOOD. Now that the summer is over and we all had to start our real jobs again, we haven't been able to get together for fun things as often. We FINALLY found a time to get together and re-live the glorious days of Taco Tuesdays. Last Tuesday we met up at El Torito in the Block of Orange for a good time with friends and some rad tacos. I really love these guys. We have such a tight bond. It was such a fun night.

Juice Box and Sandcrab. I met Juice Box through the day camp and now, he is one of my best friends. We try to hang out every other friday.

Duck Tape, Juice Box, Sandcrab, and D.J.

These guys are the most fun camp counselors ever. I would haveLOVED to be in their group if I was a kid at camp.

D.J. (Stephanie) is one of the two directors of the camp (she's the boss). She and the other director, Splice (Ashley) worked at Scrapbook Depot with me so they always begged me to come work with them at that camp. They finally convinced me and I'm so glad I did it!

Sharkbait, Splice, Juniper, and T-Rex.

There was great company and awesome tacos. We missed you Bumper, Big Tuna, and Cat!

F.F. (fun fact)

2008-10-31T10:24:00.001-07:00

Wearing goggles while cutting onions prevents you from crying.
...you're welcome.

Nanny 911

2008-10-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

This is my new best friend, Molly. About a month ago, I was hired to be her nanny.
She is 10 years old but acts like she's 13. She is so fun but very spoiled. She, her 14 year old sister, and her dad live in a mansion in Laguna Beach.
Basically my duties are to pick her up from school, entertain her for a while, drop her off at swim or tennis, pick her up from swim or tennis, go grocery shopping, make a 100% vegan dinner, pick up her sister from school, and do whatever else her dad needs me to do.
It's an awesome job because she is such a fun girl and I get paid really well....what? PLUS... last week she gave me a Juicy Couture clutch and said these words: "Good babysitters get rewards, and so far...you're a good babysitter."
Don't worry, I already asked her what her definition of a "good babysitter" is...I'm on it.

80's Prom!

2008-10-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

My Family in our 80's prom attire.

My prom date.

...and my other date...
of course.

The whole gang!

Fun girls.

Fam Bam

2008-10-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

Look at all these studs! Yes, this is my family!

a lot of inches shorter...

2008-09-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

Before..

After...

A BIG FAT thanks to Megan Hess (Dublin Hair Company on Main st. in Seal Beach (562)596-1420) for the RAD haircut! I love Love LOVE it. I couldn't imagine a more perfect haircut. Thanks Megan.

San Fransisco with My Two Lovers

2008-09-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

My Girlfriends!

2008-08-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

These are some of my good friends who I haven't seen in a while.

4th of July

2008-08-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July was such a blast! Miles came down from nor cal to be with me and my whole family was together.

First we went to the parade around my neighborhood to watch Katie and Ella be pulled by Bryant in a red, white and blue decorated wagon.

Then we had our some-what annual 4th of July water balloon fight. That got pretty intense.

And we all got soaked.Then, that night we went to the Cardons house for a BBQ and to watch the fireworks.

Girlfriends.

Hiatt Girls.

Rocker Day

2008-08-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

n3rd d@y

2008-08-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Pirate Day

2008-08-18T11:44:00.000-07:00

Cowboy vs. Indian Day

2008-08-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Superhero Day

2008-08-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

All my co-workers on superhero day at work.

Girl Scout Day Camp

2008-08-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

This summer I worked as camp counselor for a Girl Scout day camp. It was the best job in the whole world. Before I started working there I wasn't sure how I felt about little kids. Now, I LOVE them! They are so much fun! Way more fun than grown ups!!

These were some of my favorite girls.

Santa Cruz

2008-08-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend, Miles is from Santa Cruz but is going to school down here at Long Beach State. He is in my singles ward which is how I met him. So, during Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Summer breaks he goes back home. And then I miss him. So, this summer, I went up to Santa Cruz to visit him!

This is us at the Kanye West concert. Amazing. Amazing.

Just some Sea Lions we ran into.

This is the puppy he was babysitting! So cute.

Glen Ivy Day Spa

2008-04-14T21:50:00.001-07:00

For Kacey's birthday present, I took her to the Glen Ivy Day Spa in Corona. We went in a mud bath, an awesome lounge pool, and a mineral bath. It was so relaxing and fun just to hang out and talk about nothing with my very best friend at this beautiful getaway.

Kacey got a free pass for next time since she came on her birthday! YAY!

Mr. El Dorado

2008-04-08T01:45:00.000-07:00

Every year, any man in the El Dorado ward has the opportunity to participate in the competition known as Mr. El Dorado. For fhe, everyone comes to watch the competition. The men competing need a sports outfit, a talent, and ghetto fabulous formal wear (whatever that even means). This year was my favorite so far. Everyone was very creative, clever, and handsome! It was hard to vote, however, the guy I did vote for was the winner!

John Sellers was crowned Mr. El Dorado 2008.

And he deserved it!
Sport Outfit: He wore a nerd outfit and held a chess board.
Talent: He yelled the tune of "Carol of the Bells" while listening to it on his iPod. It's hard to explain it, but it was hilarious.
Ghetto Fabulous Formal Wear: Well, in a nutshell, he did have grillz.

Who will be the next Mr. El Dorado?

Karen's Black and White Birthday Party!

2008-04-08T01:34:00.001-07:00

My friend from the singles ward, Karen turned 21! Her party was black and white themed so you had to wear black and/or white. The house was decorated so cute and the party looked really cool with everyone in their black and white attire.

This is me with the birthday girl, Karen!

A bunch of girlfriends from the singles ward.

Miles and me!

Jeff and Tamara! Cuties!

Miles and I... again.

This was parked right outside the house so I thought I'd take a picture on it.

We all carpooled: Miles, Kacey, John Sellers, and me! The party only had dessert, so afterward we went to Tommy Burgers for dinner and walked around Ralphs for a little. It was such a fun night. I'm blessed to be a member of such a great ward with fun people in it.

We Love the 80's

2008-04-08T01:26:00.001-07:00

Last week Kacey, Miles, Miles' friend Waldo, and I went to an 80's party. We forgot to take pictures during the actual party, but you can see the hair and make-up from the above pictures. I was wearing a pink unitard with a cut-off white shirt and tennis shoes. Kacey rolled up her jeans and wore a cut-off shirt also. Miles and Waldo found some hardcore 80's shirts at Buffalo Exchange and rocked those all night. It was funny to see what everyone came dressed up in. It was really a fun night.

Mom's Birthday Party!!

2008-04-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday mom! My mom is the coolest, most beautiful, funniest, most amazing woman in the entire world. Seriously, I have never been embarrassed of her, I have never even thought of wishing for a different mom, and I can always go to her with my problems. I love her so much.

Here are some of my favorite inside jokes with my mom:
1. You choking? or not choking? I got to know.
2. When she flailed her tampax.

3. Have you ever been to New York?

Here are some pictures from her Birthday Party.

We played pictionary! It was so much fun!

Kaceys Birthday Dinner

2008-03-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kacey! For Kacey's Birthday Dinner, Kacey, her family, and I drove more than an hour to the Gormet Pizza Shoppe in Redlands. But ooooooh, it's soooo worth the drive.Kacey won the good eater award. I was jealous.

After dinner, we walked around State st. for a little.

Then we did this. And I don't really know what this is.

...pictures from what we did during the day on her birthday are coming soon.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

Scott and I dyed easter eggs. I couldn't just not dye eggs. I don't care how old I am, I love dying easter eggs.

Helping Ella find some eggs.

Katie is pretty much a detective. Look at those egg-finding skills!

How convenient! A basket already attached to her walker!

They really love Easter.

Miles and Me.

Easter was so much fun this year. Scott and I opened our Easter Baskets which consisted of a Book of Mormon, the Dvd Finding Faith in Christ, and a bunch of plastic eggs with scriptures inside. Then my parents opened their easter baskets I made for them. Then, we ate breakfast and dyed eggs. Miles came with me to my home ward which was so fun because I got to see everybody again! After church, the Hulls came over, my mom made dinner, we had an easter egg hunt, and then we all just sat around. When the festivities came to an end, Miles and I took a walk around the park and watched Rudy that night. It was so relaxing and so much fun!

Celebrity Party

2008-03-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

Look at all those celebrities!

A Quick Day at Disneyland

2008-03-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

One morning, I was waking up, about to get ready for the plans I had made for the day, when my lovely sister, Sarah texts me, asking to go to Disneyland with her. When I responded that I could not go because I had plans already, she called me a punk. I wasn't going to have that, so I canceled my plans and went to Disneyland with Sarah and Ella. I'm glad I did cause it was so fun!

The merry-go-round was shut down at Disneyland so we went to the Mermaid version that they have at California Adventure. Ella was on a Sea Horse and she named it Sea Horse. That's the way to do it, keep it simple.

She's so cute!

I've never taken a picture with Donald so I was stoked! Ella, not so much.

The Hugging Game

2008-03-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

When we were younger, my siblings along with my mom and dad would play this super simple game known as, The Hugging Game. Here are the rules of the game:
1. You all sit (or now...we squish) together on the couch.
2. One person stands on the other side of the room and runs full speed toward the couch and hugs [but basically jumps on] one of the people on the couch.
3. The person who was hugged then has to be the hugger and the game really never ends.

We haven't played this game in AGES so we decided to give it a try. It was so hilarious because we're just a little larger now and we had a few extra people involved who had never played the game (grandma, my brother-in-law Bryant, sister-in-law Ashley, nieces Katie and Ella, and Allie)

That's Uncle Scott helping Katie run toward the person she wanted to hug!Bryant full-on FLEW on my dad. It's quite possible that I've never seen anything as funny.
Grandma was running toward Dad and did some hard-core Karate kick and fell on the floor! She's so tough though she got right back up and finished her hug!

Ella LOVED this game! She kept saying, "me turn!"

I love my family!! Just sitting around and laughing, or playing these stupid, simple games can entertain me for hours on end. It's times like these that I wouldn't trade for the world.

Eliza Magazine

2008-03-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't be offended if you called me a model.

Grandma's Birthday!

2008-03-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Grandma! I love my grandma! She is the sweetest, most kind-hearted lady I know. I am SO blessed to have her in my life. She's such a blessing and an example.

...yes, I love my grandma, but that party was going on for way too long and it was about time to bust out Rock Band!

minigolf.

2008-03-01T09:33:00.001-08:00

I hate miniature golf, but these boys made it far too much fun!

The night started out with a nice dinner at a cute little mexican restaurant. This was the first time I had met three out of six of these awesome guys. Dinner was a BLAST so I was excited to spend the evening with them. After we finished our meal, we headed over to Boomer's for a round of mini golf. After we finished our game, Boomer's was closing so we sat outside of Boomer's and played a game called "what if." Obviously that was a blast. You'd know if you've ever played this game. I was so sad when everyone went home. To me, the night was still young.

We liked all of the fun houses and things to play on.

I didn't take a golf club since I hate golfing. So, one of the guys found a broken one that I started playing pool with...

...that didn't work out very well so I stuck to being the score keeper/purse holder.

I still had a blast!!

Sadie Hawkins Dance

2008-02-29T14:31:00.001-08:00

So, our Beach Cities dance for February was a Sadie Hawkins dance, which means the girls ask the guys. However, because Kacey and I are so shy we couldn't bring ourselves to ask any boys. Therefore, we decided to go with each other. The dance was amazing. We had on these bangin' outfits, all my favorite people were there, and the music was off the hook!

Wade!

Scott and Michael

Charlene, Karen, and Miles

Allie and Big Bulla J

Karen, Denise, and Charlene

Danny...or should I say... Elder Doria?

This was probably the best dance ever. But, I say that at the end of every dance.

New Year's Breakfast!

2008-02-10T23:33:00.001-08:00

On New Year's morning, Scott, Allie, Kacey, and I woke up and made our way over to my sister, Sarah's house for a breakfast burrito bar!

Three tired, hungry, but very happy girls.

Kacey never fails to stuff her burritos/tacos to the extreme.
She makes a mess.
And she can barely finish it.

After we were done eating, we all socialized with the Hiatt's for a while.

A few of us got a little antsy so we went outside to play!

Allie: traced in chalk.

Tracing Kacey in chalk.

Kacey (or a gingerbread man): traced in chalk.

Tracing Scott in chalk. Ella maybe thought Scott was really dead. Could've fooled me.

Scott: traced in chalk.

Scott tracing me in chalk.

Me: traced in chalk.

I love this picture of Scott and Ella.

I accidentally sat in the chalk. (that would be Kacey's face on my behind)

Ella and I.

Allie just loved that slide.

What a way to start off the New Year...?

Happy New Year!

2008-02-10T22:50:00.002-08:00

2008's New Year's Eve Party was held at my house this year! Scott and I invited a bunch of friend's over to celebrate with us. It was one of the most fun parties we've ever had at our house.
There was a bunch of dancing, games, food and socializing.

Here's Scott busting a move using Michael's arms.

Michael, Scott, Wade, and Greg. They're so in love.

Just some of the many crazy dancers.

Kenny and Wade were all about the mancala.

And here are a few pictures of the fun friends that showed up to celebrate!
Here's Michael!

Ricky and Krista.

Sharon and Wade.

Melissa and Nicole.

Ken.

...and even my mom!

Allie and Kacey were so excited about 2008! They couldn't handle it!

Allie's ready to shoot her confetti gun. (kacey and i had to pick up each individual piece of confetti by hand because the broom would just blow them away. So thanks Allie!)

Finally! 2008! My first kiss of the New Year: My very very best friend in the whole world, Kacey Thompson!

So far...

2008's lookin great!

Double Date!

2008-01-09T23:14:00.000-08:00

The Cheesecake Factory, a movie, and a dance around the Bella Terra. It was magical!

Naples Boat Cruise

2008-01-09T21:35:00.001-08:00

For family home evening in the singles ward, we got to take a boat around naples to look at the lights. It was so much fun!

Christmas Lights with the Hiatts and the Hulls

2008-01-09T21:20:00.001-08:00

Creepiest Santa Clause.

Siblings!

MMM...Candy Canes.

Family Home Evening Halloween Party

2008-01-08T23:06:00.000-08:00

I love all these kids!

Leslie's Halloween Party!

2008-01-08T22:58:00.000-08:00

I went as a policeman...

...and ended up as a mummy thanks to this guy.

El Dorado Ward Halloween Dance

2008-01-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

Kacey and I are on the dance committee and we didn't know it was a Halloween dance until we got there so we went to the nearest Walgreens to get decorations. While there, we saw these Police and Fireman children's costumes and we had to have them. That dance was probably the most fun I've ever had at a dance before. I'd go up to people and say, "you're under arrest for stealing my heart" or "you're under arrest for being too hot." and Kacey would say, "you're so hot it's like you're on fire....but I can take care of that." We thought it was funny at least.

Seal Beach Ward Halloween Party

2008-01-08T22:09:00.000-08:00

Just a bunch of pirates!

Pa's Pumpkin Patch

2008-01-08T21:02:00.000-08:00

Picking out a pumpkin!

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

2008-01-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

A fun day at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium with Jason.

Utah Visit

2008-01-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

Kacey, Kellie, Brett and I drove to Utah for the weekend to visit family and friends.

My Best Friend!!

2008-01-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

I Love My BEST FRIEND Kacey!

My Scrapbook Depot Girls @ Disneyland!

2007-09-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my co-workers at the depot and I got together and went to Disneyland! It was so much fun! I am so blessed to work with girls that I love to death and who I can call my friends.

I Think it's Time to Let You Know...

2007-09-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

....I can eat a lot. I have battled in 3 major Eating Competitions throughout my life. All 3 to large men. The first was a Pizza Competition against a 6'5" man named Charlie...I won just by eating 7 slices of pizza. The next was a Buffalo Wing Competition against a man who claims he can never be beat, J.J....and it's true, he cannot be beat. I lost that one by eating approximately 75 buffalo wings...yes...it's true. My 3rd competition was also against him...he won again. In that competition we ate 5 corn on the cobs, 2 cheeseburgers, chicken fried steak, a baked potato, and much more. However, even after the competition, I willingly had a bowl of tapioca pudding and a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

-the pictures you see here are the ones from the 2nd competion...buffalo wings. the last picture is of both of us holding a pan with all of the bones. there were almost 200 buffalo wings eaten that night! pictures of the last competition are coming soon.-

A Day at Disneyland

2007-09-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

The other day, Jason and I went to Disneyland where we met up with Sarah, Bryant, Katie, Ella, and my mom. We had such a good time! We went on rides, watched the parade, and even stayed for the fireworks! Basically, I bawled my eyes out during the parade because all the characters would wave at Katie and she would get soo happy. It just killed me. And every time I hear the quote from Walt Disney, "To all who come to this happy place.....welcome," I can't help but cry. I love Disneyland. It's so inspiring. It brings people together and makes people so happy! I love it!

Elder Corotan...Gone ONE Year!

2007-09-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

Elder Corotan has been gone for a little over a year! He's in the Korea Busan Mission. It's amazing to see the change in him. Just from his letters you can see the change from a goofy, loud, sorta cocky kid to a mature, caring missionary. I can't wait for him to come home!