SNOW and The Oak

IT SNOWED TODAY! YAY! HAPPY WINTER! Also, I got to chat a little bit with my favorite LDS artist, Jenny Oaks Baker. Her nephew is a co-worker of mine. She had a concert with Kurt Bestor and needed some help selling CDs, so my co-worker dropped my name. It turned out that Kurt's "people" were taking care of the CD selling, so instead she gave me some tickets to the concert and showed me around. It was fun to hang out a tiny bit back stage. I got to meet Kurt Bestor and band, see the McKay Events Center from the performer's view, hang out in the dressing room...you know, all that kinda stuff. Yay. (The concert was AMAZING by the way! Kurt and Jenny are both so so very talented!.) Happy Monday!

Princess

It's the middle of the night and all should be asleep, but I just can't seem to close my eyes. I am so fortunate. My family is so wonderful. Did you know Sarah means princess? Princess Sarah, what a joy she is! Everyday she's smiley and happy, always full of energy. I'm ever so grateful for her, and for my entire family. I don't know what I'll ever do without them. It comforts my heart to know that families are eternal. I am grateful to my parents for being sealed in the temple and for making family their number one priority. I am so grateful for the gospel and for the atonement. Sweet dreams.

Yummy! Healthy!

Eat and orange. It's good for you. Seriously. Go eat an orange (or a tangerine, or a mandarin.) Yummy! Yum! Happy Thursday Night!

Insitute Dance

A couple weeks ago I went to an institute dance with my best friend Jonathan. So fun! Here are a few pictures my Dad took before we left. Isn't Jonathan a good looking guy? Don't tell him I said that, it would make him blush. : ) He's a good dancer too ; ) but shhh... Okay, so my mom talked us into doing the "Cinderella" pose. Yeah, it took some arm twisting, but we gave in.

Meet Us!

Halloween costumes this year were a blast! Lisa, Daniel, and I, along with my two best friends, Patrick and Jonathan dressed up as... Meet the Robinson! Such a great movie! Such a fun Halloween! (Jonathan, me, Daniel, Lisa, and Patrick)

Summer Family Vacation

Okay, so here's a couple pictures from my family's vacation this summer. We went to Zion (of course) Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon (both for the first time.) It was so much fun! I love my family, and we all love camping. What could be better? Hannah and I while hiking The Narrows at Zion's. Seriously, it amazing! At times, your surrounded by 2000 foot high cliffs walking in a 20 foot wide river. Highly recommended (but try to go during a less "touristy" time of year, it can get pretty crowded.) My family at the Grand Canyon. This is toward the end of our vacation. So, story: There was a lot of driving this vacation, but we didn't mind too much because we just love getting out and spending time together. We took two cars, and they were both packed. Fortunately, Grandma let us barrow her mini-van, we definitely needed the space. On the way home from the Grand Canyon (about, 3? hours from home) my Dad's car broke down. Ohhh that was fun! It wasn't really fixable, so we crammed all ten of us, along with a weeks worth of camping gear into Grandma's van. Were talking two to a seat with stuff cover your feet and lap (and head for some. :))But you know, it was actually really enjoyable. There's something so comforting about driving in the middle of the night with your whole family so close. This is a picture of me at the Colorado in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We got to the Grand Canyon the last night of our vacation. My Dad and I really wanted to hike to the river. We didn't start hiking until pretty late in the evening and on the way out, I'm sure we were the only ones hiking the trail. It was so cool to have the Grand Canyon to ourselves. The hike was harder then I expected. When you hike a mountain, you have a pretty good idea of how far you're going (you can see the summit.) In the Grand Canyon, it felt never ending. It was dark and I was out of water (my Dad didn't know, so shh.) If we turned around right then, we'd get back to camp at 3:30 in the morning and it felt like we still had years of hiking ahead of us. Dad suggested it was time to turn around. I agreed, but my feet wouldn't turn. There's something about setting your mind to something, looking forward to it through a week of hiking, that makes it just so hard to quit on your dreams. I've never quit on a hike before. All this rushed through my head and in my hesitation Dad said, "You want to keep going, don't you." I told him I always want to keep going (Keep moving forward, right?) We agreed to hike ten more minutes...guess what was around the next corner? The Colorado! Just five minutes from where we were sooo close to turning around. I'm SO glad we didn't quit! Dad at the Colorado River.

Update

Okay. I need to post more. I love reading other people's blogs and keeping in touch with their lives. Yes, I'm sad/disappointed when other people don't update frequently. Yet, I average what, like one post a month with nothing much to say? I need a camera. But true, that's no excuse. So, here's a little of what I've done the last week or so for bored people who wish they knew a little more about what I'm doing. Thursday night I went to my very best friend's little sister's choir concert. She had a solo and was amazing! Friday was my day off and I spent all of it just running errands and hanging out. Hooray! Saturday night I went to the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra Concert. They played Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Berlioz' Symphony Fantastique. I have a couple of friends in the orchestra and simply love live music, so naturally, it was wonderful! Sunday I got to substitute for the Nursery singing time. I've never enjoyed myself so much in a calling. In the evening I went to another choir concert. It was amazing and so much fun! Wow, I guess it's been a music filled weekend. Yay! Other then that, I've just been busy working etc. School starts in a month and a half. I'm really looking forward to starting up again. I've switched my major to Food Science (research emphasis) and am excited for the opportunities it will provide. If every thing goes as planned, I'll graduate in April of 2011. That feels like forever away after already having three years, but I'm sure the time will fly. If not, I'll just have to, and plan to, enjoy every minute of it. Well, thus ends my update. My dad has a ton of pictures I need to get so I can blog about them...maybe someday. Until then, have a wonderful day! Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Coming!!!

Can I just tell you how very excited I am that it's Fall! Oh, I just love this season! The mountains are starting to turn fire-red and I get a chill of excitement every time I notice. True, Summer is fun, and I love to see it come...but I'm never sad to see it go. I love cold weather. Fall is so beautiful, but you know the best part about it? It brings in WINTER! HOORAY! The most wonderful time of the year. Happy Seasons! I'm so excited, my toes are tingling. Happy! :) :D :)

A Reason to Rejoice

Lucky pennies - High fives - Warm nights spent star gazing - Bracelets - Thunderstorms - Secret service - Grandparents - Going to bed early - Reaching goals - The Atonement - Sneaking a spoonful of ice cream - Music - Smiles, laughs and the like - "Hello" from an old friend - Clean socks that match - Mountains - Hope for the future - Answers to prayer - Rainbows - Testimony - Family - Temples - Autumn Colors - Peace

What's New?

My Cello! I absolutley LOVE it! I really am in love with this instrument. It’s a Cecilio. No, I haven't played before. (Although in sixth grade I played the viola, kind of.) I am, however, dedicated to learning. Currently, I'm in the "forming calluses stage.” It hurts. It's worth it. That’s what's new! Oh yes... also new (sort of): My BIKE! I got it during the beginning of Summer. It's a TREK 2.1 wsd '08 and such a treat to own. Happy Day! Which do I love more? ... my cello. But shhh, that's a secret as my bike cost significantly more.

At the Balloon Festival, July 3rd. I am so grateful for this great nation. We are so blessed with the freedoms we have. God bless America.

Want to see a picture of my backyard in Michigan? It was so charming; 10 acers of rolling hills, a little forest and pond. It took over four hours to mow on our ridding lawn mower and the wildflowers were enchanting! This little path weaved through the wooded area and around the pond. The wild berries (on the left and right) were so very delicious! I wish we had more pictures, but still I am delighted to have these. Have a Happy Day!

Two of the most wonderful parents in the whole world!

Check out those burns! Don't worry, it all tanned the next day, but sleeping wasn't so fun. Oh how I love the lake!

Look what I found: a couple pictures from a Civil War Muster/Ball I went to a few summers ago. The guy I'm dancing with fought on the South side. He was super charming and cute. Haha, good time. I was young and smitten. Lol. :)

So I was just thinking about life. It's funny, you think you have it all figured out, and suddenly it changes. I guess that's all for the better. If I could see the end from the beginning, I'd try to skip the inbetween and jump to the finish line, and there goes the whole point of living. I think what I'm learning is that I really have no clue. My Dad sees his family like once every five years or so; and some of them, never. My life just can't turn out that way. I can't be a stranger to my family. But I guess what I'm learning is that sometimes that's just what happens. Honestly, there are ten of us. There's no way we're all going to live near each other. It's kinda funny, I used to dream of living states away from my family. If it were a reality, I'd be crushed. But I suppose it's the inevitable I never wanted to face. Someday I'll get married and have my own family. My siblings will always be my family, but I suppose there comes a time when we leave our mother and father, right? That's how it all works, I just hadn't ever realized before. Huh, interesting. I probably shouldn't be allowed to think, oh well. Happy Monday!

Hello friends! So, just a fare warning...I'm terrible at updating my blog. I'll try, I really will, but don't count on it. And welcome to my new blog! So guess who's having a concert in two weeks... KALAI!!! Yay! Only you'll never believe it, I can't even go :( . See, the concert's at the very same time as a wedding reception an hour from here. I'd be oh so tempted to skip the reception, but I'm bringing the cake. Which I'm totally stoked for! But it also means I can't go to the Kalai concert. Oh well, at least I get to make my first ever wedding cake (shh, she doesn't know it's my first, so don't tell...) Also, just so you know, I burnt my tongue and it hurts. Ooh, and Daniel had his state woods competition yesterday. It was awesome! He did so super great. Daniel's just down right amazing! Plus he made me a night stand. Dude, this guy's so cool, really. Well, I gotta run. Hope you all have a very particularly wonderful day! Smile, it's spring! : )