Giddy-Up Cowgirl...or Not

Who would've thought I would be a chicken little when it came to riding a horse? (I am actually realizing that I am a chicken little about more things than I thought I was) Jamon took me up to the Andelin Reunion a couple of weeks ago, and lucky me I got to go horseback riding. I wanted to have the confidence to gallop around like a rodeo princess, but no, I had no confidence. Jamon made sure that I had the best and calmest horse. After we finally got some stirrups that were short enough for my petite stature and I gave Steve, my calm horse a pep talk we headed out on our excursion. They told me Steve would follow all the other horse's and stop when they stopped. They were right. He did a pretty good job and when I pulled the reins in a direction he actually went that direction. We had a moment when one horse kicked another horse and that horse ran into Steve. Poor Steve was frightened and started to run off, and that about did it for me. I was scared out of my mind. Of course the worst thing that could happen started running through my head and I thought for sure I was going to get thrown off. I was able to calm Steve and myself down. My least favorite thing about riding a horse would be going down hill. Steve didn't want to go slow. He wanted to catch up with all his horse buddies. He probably really wasn't going that fast, but I was still a little scared. But here I am writing to tell you about it. I don't think I'll be riding like a rodeo princess anytime soon, but I can at least say I did it. I'm not making any promises to go again either!

Boston: Trip 2...Plus SO much more!!

I have to say that I think I just had one of my top trips ever (sorry to Camille and all my Texas trips). I have always wanted to go back east and see what is was like. I've been to New York and loved it and I've already been to Boston, but to actually travel around was Amazing. It is so green out there. The color of the flowers are so much deeper then they are here in Utah. I spent a lot of time oohing and aahing over every flower I saw. The best ones were at Kristie's house. I've never seen a flower that actually looked so blue. Driving around was different. There are so many trees everywhere that you never knew when you were driving past a town. You only saw the big cities. Trees are everywhere, every hill and valley was covered in trees. You hardly ever see an open space. I think I will be a frequent visitor of New England!

So are you ready for it? Get comfortable...here it goes.

Monday night Jed, Jamon and I started out in the SLC airport where we were approached and asked to upgrade to first class so a family could sit by each other. They offered 3 for 1 upgrade which means all 3 of us upgraded to first class for the price of 1. I was very excited. The seats are much bigger and the sleep so much better!

Kristie (my old roommate who I visited the last time I was in Boston) picked us up and took us to her house. We got ready for the day and set out to walk the "Red Line," better known as the Freedom Trail. I did it in October, but it was still fun to walk it with the boys (I lovingly will refer to Jed and Jamon as "the boys"). We saw the State House, the Shipping Yard, Bunker Hill, the Old North Church, and all the many other attractions around Boston. On our way back to Kristie's it started to rain. We really had no where to go so we ran through the it, and ended up being drenched from head to toe. Good times!

Wednesday we hit the road. Kristie, who I will forever love and who I owe big time, let us take her car for a couple of days. We drove down to Cape Cod where we played in the ocean. While playing in the ocean I noticed some splashing which seemed a little odd to me. It kept getting closer and closer to shore. We just kept watching the splashes in curiosity when all of a sudden a seal peeked its head out of the water. The seal was on the hunt and the splashes were fish trying to get away from it. We saw it a few more times. It was so Awesome!! Highlight of the trip so far. After that we went to the Gayest town in America, Provincetown, MA. Not Happy Gay, but Gay Gay. I guess it's the favorite vacation spot for all of our gay friends. So many guys in speedo's and cowboy hats. I tried to get a picture of the boys together, Jamon didn't think that was very funny, although I thought it was. The boys were nice enough to by me dinner that night. No I didn't have sea food. I had what I like to call Farm food, Ribs! They were delicious. That night we drove to Rhode Island and found a quaint little hotel. Okay so it wasn't quaint. It was dumpy, but the price was right. We slept soundly and then headed to Providence. We saw the state capital and a few of the old colonial houses and then off to Connecticut. (We really had not reason to go to Rhode Island or Connecticut, but to say that we've been there, so we didn't do much.) Connecticut has one of the coolest state capitals. It looks like a castle. We also rode a Carousel that is something like 90 years old. Oh, what good times. Next it was on to some little town with some guy that did something good. I may not know what he did exactly, but his house and yard were beautiful. We just sat and relaxed for a while, and then it was back to home. Home being Boston.

We spent the 4th of July in Boston. We went to a flag raising, followed a parade of different armed forces, some past, some present, tried to listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence (too many people and not a good sound system), watched the USS Constitution fire off a 21 cannon salute, and then had a 2 hour nap. After our nap we headed off to the Boston Pop's/Rascal Flatts Concert and the best fireworks show I've ever seen. We sat in the middle of the bridge and the barge that had the fireworks on it was in front of us. It was Amazing. I saw fireworks I've never seen before, smiley faces, 3-D boxes and shooting stars. Once again, Amazing!

What a day Saturday was. We went whale watching, and as one of my favorite preschool songs says, saw a "humongous whale spouting in the water" (yes I sang it, the whole song and all the other fish songs I know!). It was a little chilly, but it was worth it to see 5 Humpback Whales. They are so big. There were a few kids on the boat with us and I felt just like one of them running from side to side and pushing our way through to get the best view of the whales. It was all very exciting! After our excursion to the ocean we went to Legal Sea Foods. Its a very popular seafood restaurant and very expensive. This was the one time I did eat seafood, but it was only clam chowder, not what you were expecting, were you. It was yummy, a little to fishy for my taste, but still good. Next it was on the the Temple. This is the first Temple I have been to outside of Utah. And for those of you who have never been to a Temple outside of Utah, its the same. They don't change anything. We enjoyed our little session of about 20 people and walking around the grounds. They had amazing flowers.

Sunday we went to Church with Kristie and then we did my favorite part, the highlight of the whole trip, Maine. Ogunquit, Maine. I loved it there. We went on walk called the Marginal Way. Not sure why it's called this, but it doesn't matter, It was awesome. There was beach, waves crashing on rocks, the mist of the ocean, and of course my attire. I looked fantastic in my typical New England Clothing. I was very excited to wear it and had way to much fun posing for the camera. I don't know how else to describe it, but that it was so peaceful and relaxing. I could stay there forever. I didn't want to leave and I wish we would've spent more time there. I LOVED IT!

Monday it was off to Vermont where we went to the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory. I am now a fan of Ben and Jerry's! Next we went to the Sugar Bush Farms where they make maple syrup. We learned all about how they do it and I even bought some to share. You want some? Make the pancakes and I'll bring the syrup! After this we went to the Birthplace of Joseph Smith in Sharon, Vermont. This was a very peaceful area. One of the Senior Missionaries gave us a tour and told us all the troubles and miracles they had getting the memorial up. After he invited us to come to FHE. All the other missionary couples were there and a few of the local couples. It was a very funny night. We played games and ate treats with them. Of course being from Utah we all played the "do you know so and so game." I didn't really know anyone, but we tried. That night we camped and Camp Joseph, which is close to the monument. It was amazing. We had little cabins and we were able to start a fire. The best part though was that I saw for the first time fireflies. I know I keep saying this but it was so awesome!

Tuesday we were off to New Hampshire. We saw the state capital and then we headed of to the American Stonehenge. We saw it in a book and thought it would be cool, but it wasn't, or maybe it was, but it wasn't worth checking out for $10, so we didn't see it. It all seemed a little fishy to us, so we took a picture and headed off to the beach. We swam for a while and then headed back to Boston to catch the Red Sox game. What a great game. We were all a little worried that the Sox were going to lose. They came back in the 8th inning and made it a fantastic game to watch! The only downer about the game is that they didn't sell a foot-long hot dog for me to eat!

So that's it. Wednesday we spent forever in airports or on a plane and came home. Now I'm back in Provo, and I've worked a total of 10 hours in 3 days and I still feel surprisingly busy. Sleeping in is fantastic! I hope to go on one more trip before school starts, but we'll see what my finances are after I move and get my truck fixed.

I'm FREE

So it's over...Preschool graduation was yesterday, and it turned out better then ever. And the slideshow, well it, of course, was fantastic!! The best one I've done! It was worth the 15+ hour work days to have everything so perfect. My kids sang, actually is was more imitating the actions then singing, better then they ever have. It was hard to get through some of the songs as I thought about how much progress they have made this year. I think sometimes I forget about how much progress they have made, and instead think about all I wanted to help them with. They are amazing kids. I have to say that as much fun as I had with them, there are only a few I will truly miss. Lets face it, this was a hard year, and i'm glad it over. There are also a few parents I will really miss. They are great examples and always reminded me how to love their kids.

Now what are my plans. Well I plan to play tons and work a little. I'm off to Boston on Monday where I will spend 8 days around the New England states. I am very excited to be anywhere, but work and perhaps even Provo. After that who cares what I do. I'll do whatever I want! Why? Because I can!!

Keep Checking for my Summer Updates

My Class this year. The one and only class picture with all the kids. Notice Riley caught in the act of pinching...I'm definitely not going to miss that!

A Tribute to Haylee

My Dearest Haylee,

You ARE one of my favorite people. I don't know what happened to your picture. So here is a post dedicated to you, and hopefully this makes up for my forgetfullness.

A few of my favorite things about Haylee.

• you have the cutest voice..for those of you that don't know Haylee, she has a deep, raspy voice and it's so cute
• the way you stare me down everytime I come to visit
• your eyes when you smile
• my most favorite thing...when you sing in that deep, raspy voice

Lots of Love to Haylee!!

Camille told me that I am no longer in the lead for favorite aunt in Haylee's eyes, since her picture never ended up on my list of favorite people. If you know me, you need to know that I have a quest to be the favorite aunt to all 13, and one on the way, nieces and nephews. So yes, this is my attempt to get back on top!

Sorry it's blurry...I tried!

A Couple of Firsts

Over Memorial Day I went with a few friends up to a Ranch in Idaho. I was told before I left to wear clothes that I didn't mind getting dirty, really dirty. I knew that we would be working with cows, but I didn't know what to expect. It was really one of the worst things. I give props to ranchers who have to do this every year. So here is my first first...Branding Cattle. I could handle the squishing of the cows in the cage and giving them the shots they needed, even the piercing of the ears was fine. It was the cutting of the ears that started the cow really mooing and if that wasn't bad enough, if it was a bull then they would castrate it. By this time they were mooing like crazy, but this is not where is stopped. They then burned their brand into them. Holy Crap, if I thought they were mooing before it was nothing to how they sounded then. You could see the pain on the cows faces...and yes, I may have felt sorry for the stinky little things. Even worse then the look on the cows face was the smell of the hair burning. I don't think I could ever get used to the smell. I could get used to living on a ranch though. (Okay a ranch with cell phone service. This ranch didn't have any service. It was hard, but I made it). The house was amazing with amazing views out of every window. It was so green and had awesome wildflowers. It really was beautiful and very relaxing!

I was a great helper on the ranch. It's hard work holding the gate open!

Jamon and I with an awesome view of the ranch!

My second first is something I never really thought I could do. I don't think I really even wanted to try, because it sounded to tiring. I'll just start with how it all started. 5 years ago I moved to Provo and decided I wanted to start running. So I did. I would run on the trail and eventually was able to run for 30 min, which I think was about 3 miles. Well this only lasted that one summer and since then the most I've run is 2 miles. So last week I went running and thought I'd push myself and run 3 miles. I got on the Provo trail that heads up the canyon. I started at where I thought the 9 1/2 mile marker was and started running. I ran to the 11 mile marker and turned around and decided I'd run to the 9 1/2 mile marker so I would know for sure that I ran 3 miles. Well I ran and the 9 1/2 mile marker wasn't where I thought it was so I kept running to find it. I never found it but ran to the 9 mile marker and back which in all was a 4 mile run. At this point this is the farthest I have ever ran. Two days later I decide to go running again. Now I know that I can run 4 miles so now I feel like I have to run 4 miles. I get to the trail and start running to the 11 1/2 mile marker. I get running and run past the 11 and I'm looking for the next marker. I never found it. I ran and ran and never found the 11 1/2 or the 12 mile marker. I wanted to know how far I ran so I wanted to find a marker somewhere. I looked at my time and I'd been running for 30 min., so I thought I'd better turn around. I ran back to my truck, and if you know anything about math you can guess that in all I ran for 60 min. A whole hour. I still am shocked. I felt like I could have kept running. It was such a good feeling. So I think if it wasn't a 6 mile run then it had to of been pretty close. Two days later I did it again. After that my knees and ankles were hating me pretty bad so they decided to hurt for a couple of days. So know I am a fan of the long runs and haven't run less then 45 min this week. I think I'll try to run a 10K. Some friends of mine want me to run a half marathon with them. Now that sounds tiring! We'll see what happens.

Can Babies Graduate?

Jodee, my baby sister, just graduated. Not from Kindergarten, but from High School. She's supposed to be ten years old running around getting me anything I wanted because I told her I would time her to see how fast she can do it. I'm sad to say that it is hard for me to treat her like a 18 year old. Let's face it, she's more of a woman than I am. She owned high heels before I did. I work with a girl who just turned 19 and I picture her being much older than Jodee. I am working hard at treating her like a 18 year old, and promise only to time her every once in a while.

Here she is doing the "Toyota Jump."

As you all remember that is how it felt

to Graduate from High School!

High Heels and Red Dresses

Only a month and a half since my last entry...I'm getting better!

So I have ventured into an unknown world...the world of high heels. I bought my first pair of high heels in March and it only took me a month to wear them. I had my high heel debut on April 13, in Texas (I thought trying them where people don't know me would be best since I would most likely never see them again, so if I were to fall it wouldn't matter). I have to say that I did pretty good. I only had a few stumbles. Stairs are a different story, I don't know how many times I've lost my balance, but I just know one day I'm not going to make it. Walking on grass in heels, whoa, I feel like I'm sinking. It's pretty weird, but I guess most girls of the world already know this. After trying out the first pair of heels I decided having two pair wouldn't make me to "girly." So I did, I went and bought another pair (black heels don't go with everything, you've got to have brown too).

If having two pair of heels doesn't make me look to "girly" the dress I bought might. Now I've worn dresses most of my life, but in the past 8 or 9 years skirts have been the attire of choice. So now not only am I wearing heels but I am wearing dresses again. This isn't just any dress either...it's RED. I own and wear a red dress. It is very weird. I feel like it is to short...it shows my knees. I know heaven forbid that my knees show, but I am short and all the skirts I have are longer so when I put this dress on I feel like I am revealing myself to the world. I'm getting used to it and the fact that my legs look fantastic in the heels and the "short red dress" doesn't hurt.

So as my mom said "Thank your roommate for me." I know that many of my fantastic roommates have tried to get me into heels but have not succeeded. My stubborn side came out and the more they tried the more stubborn I became. I do things when I want to do them...it's hard for me to be "girly." You know I would rather be lounging in my comfy pants and a t-shirt. So thanks to Stephanie for helping pick out the heels that make my legs look Amazing!