CHRISTmas is here!

Well another lovely Christmas has come and gone oh so quickly. I feel like they go by faster and faster each year. I doubt you all know this, but I am a HUGE Christmas fan. I LOVE it! I start the waiting every year on the 26th of December, after 360 days I get SUPER excited. After all I'm SO close again. However the slow tedious days that lead up to December 20th go three times as fast from that point on and before I know it Christmas is over once again leaving me to wait all over. I don't know what it is. From a spritual standpoint Christmas is definately a major deal, after all it is the time we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. That fact in itself is a reason to rejoice. Also (being Mormon) it is the month that the first prophet of this restored gospel was born. That's the birth of the man who brought forth the Book of Mormon and the power of the priesthood to us. December is quite an important month am I right? The monetary angle is maybe my least favorite. It's not that I don't enjoy spending money on the people I love. Believe me, I DO. It's just that I don't have a whole lot of it, and I tend to spend more than I can afford to. All my fault of course, but still it is an issue that I have. Another upside to Christmas is the Christmas spirit...or should I maybe say the idea of Christmas spirit. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but I mean look at the facts! People have been waiting in lines all day, the traffic is bad (even worse if it snows where you live), stores have run out of items that you need to get for someone, and the list goes on. Working at a fast food place I know that most people at this time of year are NOT letting their Christmas spirit shine. It's even worse serving food to Christmas shoppers because not only are they already on their last nerve, but they are also HUNGRY! However there is some hope for the human race, last Christmas I was working in the drive-thru and a woman who was currently at the window offered to pay for the food of the customer behind her. I very nearly cried...and believe me I'm not a crier. I was just super touched at that. The same thing also happened this year (although not this month) and each car kept it going "oh he paid for my food?! How nice! I'll pay for whoever is behind me" I will admit I'd have probably said "well how much is the person's order behind me" and if it had been more than my own I might not have paid it. These people didn't even ask, they paid for the next vehicle's food even though more often that not it cost more. We kept that going for nearly ten cars! I was impressed to know that there is hope yet, that the human race isn't completely self-obsessed and driven by money. Aside from the people that are angry until Christmas day there are those who keep their cool and show those crazies that the true meaning of Christmas isn't in fact, lost. Last but not least is the aspect of family at Christmas. Christmas is a time for family. Family travels from far and wide to be together. Fortunately my family isn't old enough to be living apart quite yet and so I got to enjoy a wonderful Christmas with all of them. I almost forgot the importance of family togetherness at Christmas time when I was unwilling to sleep in the same room as my siblings. It has been a family tradition ever since I can remember sleeping in the same room with all of my cousins at grandma's house each year. This year I was reluctant to leave the comfort of my own bedroom to sleep elsewhere and I almost didn't sleep with them all. Mckelle however wouldn't let it go. She was adamant that we all sleep in the same room and finally I saw the light and we all slept in Skyler's bedroom. I may not have been the most comfortable all squashed in his not so large bed, but I was surrounded by my family, my best friends. Christmas morning followed the same pattern it does every year, I snuck downstairs around 4 am as I do every year. I've done the same thing for as long as I can remember. I used to sneak down to see if I could catch Santa filling my stocking, but to my surprise he'd been and gone before I knew it. Even now when I know the truth about Santa (that he can't be caught of course), I still love to sneak down and look at the shadows of all of the presents and the once empty stockings that are now stuffed to the brim with goodness. After my traditional sneak preview I went back to sleep as I do every year and wait for the time when we are actually allowed to wake my parents and start the morning (6 am). For the second time in 2 years we didn't wake up until well after 7. We called my mom
"can we come down now?"
 "No, new time is 10 am go back to bed till then"
"C'mon mom, for real"
"alright, give us 5 minutes"
we wait....it's been 5 minutes.
We go to the stairs and call down "now?"
Dad sees us all sitting at the top of the stairs just itching to come down "hold tight, not yet"
Dad cues up the Christmas music as he does every year and snaps a picture of us chomping at the bit to come down as he does every year. " Calm down you guys, is everyone up?"
"Yes dad!"
"alright you can come down"
we race down the stairs and rush to our stockings to see our spoils.
This year dad decides it would be a great idea to get some work out of us while we are in this anxious vulnerable state. "This year, we are going to fold a load of laundry before we open presents, then we'll each open one and do another load. We'll alternate a round of presents and a round of laundry"
We nervously laugh and I meet my mom's eyes "he's just kidding right"
She rolls her eyes as if to say "you know your father of course he is"
In comes dad carrying a laundry basket.
Oh yes, he's dead serious. He and my mom fold clothes into our different piles and we have to go put them away. At this point Jake starts to get a little angry.
"dad I'm not doing laundry!"
"Jake there's no reason to get upset"
"You're making me upset" now at this point poor little sensitive Jake has had about all he can handle he buries his face in his arms and starts crying.
Brynlee seeing that she isn't the center of attention exclaims
"this is the worst Christmas ever!"
By this point Skyler and I are silently laughing and beginning to wonder why our family is so odd.
At the end of the load of laundry dad begins handing out presents. We all get one and he says "time for another round of laundry" Mom looks at him a little disapprovingly and he laughs "not a good idea?" needless to say we didn't end up doing any more laundry, but we did get a memorable Christmas. I can just see the future family reunions.
"remember that one Christmas when dad tried to make us do chores in between the rounds of opening presents and everyone started crying?" Oh I love my family.

Overall it was a great Christmas as it is every year. We got a ping pong table (which Sky and I expertly put together) and a trampoline which will be put up as soon as Kevin learns not to eat everything in our backyard. I hope your Christmas was a merry one and I also hope you have a FANTASTIC New Year!

God bless us every one!

Addendum: I forgot to mention this earlier, but another thing that happened at Christmas was after we'd all unwrapped all of our presents my dad announced "OK and there are two more family presents out in the garage. There is also one more present for Bree and for mom" Of course we all go out to the garage. I already knew that the two family gifts were the ping pong table and the trampoline since I'd been present when my dad purchased them, but I was genuinely curious as to what my mother and I got. (you see every year I usually pick out all of my Christmas presents and so I'm rarely surprised on Christmas morning) Out in the garage my siblings are all celebrating the family gifts and my mom walks out and exclaims "Bill, you got me a new bike?!" My dad turned and stared at her for a second as if to find out she was just joking. After a short pause he said (slightly confused or perhaps a tad bit worried about my mother's sanity) "uh...yea...I got you...a new bike..." still probably waiting for her to say "just kidding!" She honestly thought that the bike she'd gotten probably about 3-4 years ago was her Christmas present. We all almost died of laughter. Granted my mom probably never rides her bike, and she claims that she thought the reflector was a tag that you'd find on a new bike. Even typing this up I still laugh at the memory. Poor mom was a little embarrassed and she only gets to relive that embarrassment every time I tell the story to various friends and family. I will definitely never forget that and for sure won't let her : )

Walmart Adventures

Recently I've been spending a lot of time at Wal-Mart. I've decided it's a terrible place to go when I'm bored, but at the same time I really love it there. I don't mean to put Wal-Mart down, it really is a wonderful place. I mean without it would we be able to enjoy things like this?I think not. The problem is though I tend to spend money at Wal-Mart. All those dang rollback prices get me every time!  

So today on my latest Wal-Mart adventure I saw a magnificent sight...between the apples and the pears was...you guessed it...an APPLE-PEAR! You think they'd come up with another name for it like the "peaple" or the "appear" but no it's an "apple-pear" Behold!

I knew at once that I had to try this odd looking fruit just because it was so strange. It slightly resembled a potato but you could tell that it's parents must've been a pear and an apple. They were each individually wrapped in a small Styrofoam casing (that's when I knew they were really special) At $1.47 each I bought myself an apple-pear and eagerly took it home so I could partake in it's bizarre goodness. Well I'll tell you what. That fruit, my friends, is a hybrid FAIL! Apples and I are pretty much best friends (especially fugi ones, I could eat those all day) and pears and I, well we get along, I wouldn't invite a pear to dinner, but we're civil and all. However I will no longer store my pears and apples in the same drawer in the fridge for fear of them creating some Frankenstein-like monstrosity such as the apple-pear. The texture was a pretty perfect in-between of a soft pear and a crisp apple. The middle of it look as follows:

There are no seeds, but it still has that hard skin-like center similar to the one in an apple. I only ate until what you see because I couldn't bear to eat anymore. There is a hint of apple flavor and a slightly larger hint of pear flavor but over all I was reminded of the flavor one tastes when biting into a raw potato. Not my cup of hot cocoa at all! However the trip to Wal-Mart was not wasted, I was able to also try the new flavor of Mountain Dew (White Out) It's pretty good. It's taste resembles a mixture of squirt and fresca. Overall a lovely new flavor of that good ol mountain dew. I look forward to tomorrow when I am able to return to Wal-Mart and buy Despicable Me which comes out tomorrow (or I guess right now technically) and is (in my opinion) probably the best animated movie of all time. Oh Wal-Mart, how you make my life better and worse at the same time.

KEVIN!

Before I really get into this post I want to give you a little background on my love for dogs. Well to be frank....I LOVE THEM! I've wanted one my whole life and unfortunately my parents would never let me have one for the entire 18 years I've been alive. Well that was never good enough for me. I prayed for a dog for years, Every birthday wish? "Please let me get a dog!" Every shooting star? "Please let me get a dog!" It's 11:11? (twice a day) "I wish my parents would let me get a dog" all to no avail. 18 years went by and every Christmas and Birthday I was disappointed. I never gave up hope. I came up with ingenious schemes to somehow keep a dog in my room without anyone knowing but unfortunately they all fell through. I wouldn't give up. So late August comes around and I see a glorious Facebook status that once again lit the fire of hope in my heart. "Does anyone want a free puppy?" I didn't even ask my parents because I knew that if I ever wanted a dog that I had to take matters into my own hands. Plan Kevin was put in motion.

The Plan:

After speaking with the person who was giving away the puppies it was decided that I could have a free puppy (decided between the two of us, my parents remained oblivious) I would be able to go and pick whichever pup I wanted. I had already decided on a name; Kevin. It was the perfect name for my dog. Have you ever seen The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds? That was when I first heard of that name for a dog and at that moment it seemed so wrong to have Kevin be a human name at all. It was obviously such a perfect name for a dog. I decided then (a year before I would even actually get Kevin) that Kevin was to be his name. So I was able to go and see all of the puppies. As it turned out they were a mix of two of my favorite breeds German Shepard and Black Lab, but only 3 of the puppies had the markings of a German Shepard, I picked the male Shepard looking puppy out and it was all settled. The puppies would be able to go home in mid-September.

Kevin the first time I saw him at 6 wks

It was perfect timing. You see my parents were set to go on a week long cruise September 19th (MID SEPTEMBER!!) I would bring Kevin home while they were gone and let all of my siblings fall in love with him (it couldn't be helped he was just that adorable) and then when my parents came home it would be 5 against 2 and they'd have the choice of breaking our hearts or keeping the dog. I was confident they weren't that heartless. Well I began preparing for a dog, buying things he would need. I got his dog tags and his collar. I was so excited. Then on September 10th I get a message from my wish granter saying that Kevin can go home that very same day! It was 2 weeks earlier than I planned on and I panicked. I was so excited that the wait was over but I couldn't just walk in with a puppy. I called my mom and told her the whole story. I begged to be able to keep him and she wasn't too happy. She said no, but I wasn't going to let all this hard work and planning fall through yet AGAIN! I called my dad. I told him the story and begged him. He said no. I begged some more. My siblings joined in (they all knew already) He told us he'd talk to my mom. Long story short they said Kevin could live with us on probation. If he was a terrible dog we'd have to give him away. Well anyone who's had a puppy knows they're pretty terrible. They chew things, they pee all over and they bite. Kevin didn't fall short of those expectations. He whined all night for three days, he pooped and peed on the floor (even on the carpet a few times) he bit through a 2 leashes and a collar, he found his bark and wouldn't stop utilizing it, he bit everyones hands and ripped people's shirts, he knocked children over. He was pretty terrible there for a while. We were all a bit worried my dad would drag him to the pound. Luckily everyone pretty much loves him though. My dad isn't a huge fan but he'll pet him sometimes. My mom is secretly in love with him, she's always worried about him and fretting about how much he eats or if he's been outside for too long. I love him. He is the most handsome little dog (well not so little anymore I guess) Oh Kevin. Soo cuute.

Have I Mentioned that I LOVE Children?

Well I am in Colorado. First of all let me point out that I LOVE Colorado. It is my favorite state in this country (well to be fair it's my favorite state I've ever been to). It's so pretty here, the weather is enjoyable most of the time, it actually snows here (I sure do miss the snow) and the mountains are GORGEOUS! It also helps that the majority of my mom's family lives here (nothing against my dad's family, they just live in Utah mainly...a little bit less desirable in my opinion. I love them all the same though!) Well I am here for a family reunion that begins on Thursday and let me tell you I am VERY excited about it. This is the first reunion that my mom's family has ever had so you see there is reason to celebrate. Well I'll have to blog about the reunion later (obviously if I blogged about it now it would be all made up) but I was just being bored and I decided to blog about my day at church. I've always kind of hated visiting other people's wards because I am slightly socially awkward around strangers, I'm not good at making new friends, and people tend to ignore me (especially the people my age). Don't get me wrong I love the church and all, and I know it's true wherever I go, but it's just slightly uncomfortable for me. Since I turned 18 last month however, I was actually excited to go. I didn't have to sit through the awkwardness of introducing myself to the YW who probably wouldn't try to get to know me anyway, I didn't have to tell people what my name was 100 times and have to hear them pronounce it Bree-yawn-a rather than Bree-Anne-A like it should be, and I didn't have to be on the recieving end of awkward stares as people tried to assess me. I would be able to go to relief society and maybe introduce myself once and sit down and be done with it. Truth be told I was rather looking forward to it. After some deliberation I decided to go to church with my aunt and her family rather than my grandparents (it was 9am opposed to 1pm, I like going earlier geez) turns out that my aunt is the nursery leader (she watches the little kids under the age of 4) So instead of going to relief society I got an even better gig in the Nursery! I didn't have to introduce myself to anyone! Half the kids wouldn't even talk, and they certainly wouldn't judge me! I love little kids. I have like 10 younger siblings (ok so it's really 4), I sort of want to teach kindergarten when I grow up, I love babies, and I love babysitting. So as you may have guessed I was kind of in Heaven in this little class. I always hear people in my church bashing the job of nursery teacher. I never understood it because in my eyes that would be the best calling ever! you get snack, you can play with a million toys, the kids are all the cutest things you've ever seen and the only drama in there is "he took my toy!" while I still think that calling is the best the church has to offer I suppose I can see why some people detest it. First of all we had at least one child crying at all times (not to mention the one time where they all started crying at the same moment) second of all that drama I was talking about earlier...the "he took my toy" comment, well that happened every second of the 2 hours we were in there and I just want to point out that it was usually "she took my toy" man little girls can be so brutal. Third of all we went on a nature walk to find animals. I would like to point out that the only "animals" to be found in a church parking lot are ants...we also saw a bird fly by but other than that...not alot goin on out there. As for the ants...well...may they rest in peace. My little cousin was in that class and as all of the other kids were gandering at the ant she came by and squashed it. Poor little guy didn't even know what hit em. Then it became a game of ant-slaughter. The kids were pretty hilarious though. Kids really do say the darndest things though. Here are just a few things I heard while tending the little de..angels. ;)

My aunt: "Do you have a dog? or a cat? or a fish?"
little boy: "I have a banana"

upon picking up my little cousin she said "you stink!"
me: "my breath stinks or I stink?"
cousin: "oh, no it's my blanket"
she then proceeded to continue smelling her blanket and making disgusted faces

little girl: "I have a poopie!"
me: "uh do you need to go to the bathroom?"
little girl: "no, my poopie says woof!"
(I didn't stop laughing for a good 5 minutes)

The same kid who said he had a banana "hey hey guys"
(upon reading that I guess it doesn't really sound funny, but he had such a cute little voice and said duys instead of "guys" it was the first thing he said as he walked into the room and I thought it was soo cute)

I can't think of anything else but I was certainly entertained the entire two hours.

We also attempted a game of Duck, Duck, Goose. Apparently 3 is too young to teach kids such a...difficult? game. We sat in a circle and I explained the game in the simplest way I could think of. We started playing and I was it first to demonstrate. I chose my cousin to chase me and she started chasing me, and then another got up and started chasing me, and then another, and then another...finally the whole class was up...and well that was the last time we attempted that.

Overall I enjoyed my experience and I think I would like to be called as a nursery leader one day. It sure does test your patience. I guess I'll get back on here sometime next week (unless nothing bloggable happens at our reunion) Au revoir!

Bored out of my Gourd

First of all...How does someone become bored out of their gourd? I ChaCha'd it. Origin unknown. Figures. It's an odd phrase when you think about it although I suppose when you aren't thinking about it, it's still weird. I bet it isn't meant to be taken literally...I'm sure they just threw gourd in there because it rhymes with bored...then again so does...cord, ford, chord, hoard, board, roared, scored, adored...yeah I guess I'd probably choose gourd too with those choices. Well there really isn't a point for this post. I just want to post some of my favorite videos that I've seen recently. I love youtube hopping. I also love to watch SNL, here is a mixture of both for your enjoyment!


There are two more videos starring Penelope. You can find them on hulu.com


Idk why this makes me laugh so much but it does. There is another one with the same chick and Alex Baldwin plays her dad I like that one alot too, but it's a tad innapropriate for my blog. You can see it on hulu.com if you're feeling dangerous though.


I've decided Kristen Wiig is my new hero. just kidding she's not. just kidding she is. just kidding I am my own hero. Just kidding I actually love batman. just kidding. just kidding. just kidding.


And finally Stuart. AHAHAHA I love these videos. Sorry the quality is bad :/

Alright well I hope you've enjoyed this. I know I have!

I Would Also Like to Point Out...

So here I am at 4am. hehe that rhymed. ANYWAY I would like to point out that I have changed my blog! If this is your first time on here then you are unaware of any difference, however if you have been on here before go ahead. Take a minute to look at and appreciate the changes. WELL I would like to thank Lauren Hagee for her help and guidance that made these changes possible. I would like to thank Adobe for having a 30 day trial of photoshop and I would also like to thank my parents for this wonderful laptop which I am able to stay on at all hours of the night without their knowledge. I would like to point out that I am not finished editing this blog, I still need to work out a few kinks. I would also like to point out that I have been working on these changes since 11 am this morning...or was it yesterday???! o_O I would also like to point out that I have to get up for work in 2 hours. I would also like to point out that I am exhausted. I would also like to point out that today after work my friend Tiffany and I flew my kites in the parking lot of Chick-Fil-A and my favorite Batman kite flew out of my hands and onto the roof of the Starbucks next door (more proof that coffee ruins lives) I will probably never see that kite again (luckily I have another kite of the exact nature in the trunk of my car in case the other one ever flew away although I didn't count on having to use it so soon I am still glad I have a back-up) I would also like to point out that I made a new friend tonight. I don't know his name, but he is the night guard of the 1890 ranch shopping center. He rides around on his golf cart all night long. I don't know how old he is, but I do know his life story. He proceeded to tell me his life story when Tiffany and I were sitting in my car (after the unfortunate kite mishap) I don't know why...I didn't ask him to nor did I even attempt to initiate a conversation. However I must have encouraged him in some way because he is now convinced that I want to apply to be a night security guard just like him (he even said that if I put his name under my references he will receive $300 which he will happily split with me) I would also like to point out that this encounter with Paul (I dub him Paul because he vaguely reminds me of Paul Blart: Mall Cop) happened at about 11:30pm last night, our conversation lasted until midnight. I would also like to point out that Paul's only weapons are a flashlight and a ball point pen. I would also like to point out that I named this post after the word "pen" this goes to show that I actually repeated the phrase "I would also like to point out" roughly 8 times without realizing my total lack of creativity and mindless ramblings. If this post doesn't make sense...read it at 4 am, it might help.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Well yesterday was my birthday! yay! I am finally 18. Which is wonderful because now I can buy cigarettes, go to jail as an adult, and buy lotto tickets (none of which I plan to do!) I can however vote, order things from the television, and officially drive to the bank to deposit Chick-Fil-A's money (I say official because once I went when I was 17 and it wasn't technically...legal) ANYWAY. It was also the day of Leander High's prom. I didn't go (in case you were dying to know) I just don't think that spending my birthday at a dance is ideal. First of all I can't dance (especially not the way everyone else does...gross) second of all, I'm not a fan of mainstream music (only type of music played at school dances) third, I didn't have a date, and even if someone had asked me he wouldn't have been the person I'd wanted to be there with (since he already had a date). So you see why I instead chose to go on a 14 mile kayaking trip with my dad. Oh you don't see why anyone in their right mind would choose to do that on their birthday? I suppose you have a point. Kayaking isn't exactly my idea of a fun time either, but my dad really wanted to go and I tend to go out of my comfort zone if it means quality time with my papa. I'm not a particularly strong kayak-er. I am not very fast and I have a hard time avoiding trees (actually I didn't know that until yesterday.) I'd honestly rather be in a motor boat, or a gondola (seeing as how a usually attractive Italian man rows for you).  I wouldn't have gone, but my dad was apparently planning on going whether I was there or not (On my birthday? How dare he!) He actually invited my brother to go after I'd declined the first time, but then after hearing him ask my brother I reconsidered. After all what could be so bad about 14 miles down the San Marcos river? HA! So the day started off icky looking and it looked as though the clouds would release their treasures at any minute. It didn't look like a promising birthday. So my dad and I started off on our adventure. He had high hopes for the day and I was secretly praying it wouldn't take that long to paddle 14 miles. So we're paddling along, paddling along...paddling along for what seems like hours...neither of us are really talkative...I'm quietly whispering "I think I can" under my breath and I have the urge to ask how much longer (I hadn't yet because I didn't want to sound eager to finish or give the impression that I was complaining) I finally did ask and to my dismay we hadn't even met the 5 mile mark yet. The current was almost nonexistent and I was slowly dying of boredom. Finally my dad and I find something to talk about and the conversation keeps us busy until we hit a fork in the river. My dad swears he said "go to the left" but I swear he said "right." So of course I paddled to the right side. Well turns out there's this hugenormous tree blocking the whole right side of the river and the only way to get through it is to lay flat on my kayak and float underneath. Well this may have sounded and even looked simple enough. To anyone else it may have even been simple enough...however I am not just anyone. Before I go on I'd like to mention that I am TERRIFIED of spiders. Bring on snakes and sharks but if I see a spider of any size I scream like a 4 year old little girl. Prior to coming to this fork in the river I'd had a harrowing experience with a pregnant spider who decided to jump on my kayak after I'd had a nasty run in with a tree that must have previously been its home. I screamed like a small girl and with one clean swipe of my paddle I sent the spider flying to who knows where. It still freaked me out and after that I became a little paranoid. MEANWHILE back at the fork in the river I am trying to lay as flat as I can on my kayak so that I can float under this unnecessarily large tree. I get about half way under it when I realize the ENTIRE underside is carpeted with spiders the size of a silver dollar. Well I can't go backwards so I continue to the other side with a speed that I'd never before reached. I sit up and there are at least 10 spiders on my kayak. I went crazy, I was freaking out. I've never been so afraid in my life...well there was that one time. Anyway I'm wildly swinging my paddle around trying to smash these spiders who were obviously going to devour me whole. After nearly falling off my kayak, hitting myself in the back of the head with my paddle, screaming like a banshee, and almost passing out after finding a spider on my hand I was able to get rid of all of the spiders on my kayak (or so I thought, I later found at least three more stowaways) The rest of the kayaking trip consisted of me running into every single tree on the bank of the San Marcos River (it was like they were magnetic and I was made of steel), being knocked out of my kayak by several of those trees (I believe there were 5 of these instances, one of which I was carried away by the current while my kayak remained stuck in the tree my foot then caught on a stray piece of fishing line which I thought might cut off my foot but luckily it broke. This also happened to be the one moment I'd taken off my life jacket to work on my tan and I am a terrible swimmer...I am a more qualified drowner) and an embarrassing run in with a tree in which I ended up in an awkward half upside down position with my feet being the only barrier between me and a spider web covered tree and my paddle swinging pointlessly at a branch of spiders too far out of my reach (I only say this is embarrassing because there was this random woman who was sitting on the side of the river. I don't know whether to be creeped out by the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere and she was randomly staring at me while I fought off a tree, or amused at the thoughts that might have been running through her mind.) The 14 mile trip took about 6 hours. I got myself through it by checking out the cool things in nature that didn't have 8 legs such as this funny lookin caterpillar.

I also found great comfort in singing "Just Around the River Bend" from Pocahontas at the top of my lungs when I thought my dad was out of earshot (unfortunately I only know the line "I look once more Just beyond the river bend, beyond the shore" and so I had to make up my own lines. (ie I hate the trees, they're all out to get me! I've scabbed my knees just trying to escape. Oh look some more, I know that they are hiding out Just around the riverbeeeeeend for me! Coming for me!)) After the 14 miles was up I could barely move my arms, I was exhausted and sore from my waist up (who knew you used more than your arm muscles) Although it may sound like I had a terrible birthday I didn't. I enjoyed the time with my dad and after the sunburn loses it's sting it will turn into a beautiful tan (which will peel off and I will once again be back to an off white color) I got to eat at my favorite restraunt (Posados) and when I got home I fell into bed and slept soundly through the night.I still can't move and my sunburn hurts something awful but it was pretty much worth it. I had a great birthday :) Thanks Dad for the great day and I love you. Happy Mother's day to all the mothers. (who am I kidding my own mother doesn't read this why would any others?)

I LOVE Batman

 

Alright so I've realized that I don't have a post on here dedicated to Batman. I would like to dedicate this post to him, the greatest superhero who ever lived! If you disagree with me then I command you to stop reading my blog becuase you are no longer worthy. I just kind of want to point out a few reasons why he is the best.

~He's human
~He's a billionaire
~He has a LEGIT costume
~He has an even more LEGIT means of transportation
~He is a superhero because he worked hard to become one, he wasn't just "blessed" with powers.
~He has the best villains
~He has a pretty tight video game (which I've beaten ;P)
~He has a cool name
~He has really cool weapons

If you aren't convinced then maybe I can help you to see things my way with my double edged batarang knife. You've been warned.


P.S. I really only put this post on here so I could post the picture above and I didn't want the picture to feel lonely so I added some words.

A Day in the Life of a Cow

So hello there again! I know, I know, you didn't really expect another post so soon, but I feel the need to write something today and I have to kill an hour and a half so I choose to do it here. So this morning I woke up at 5:55am in order to go to seminary. If you read last night's/this morning's post you already know that I didn't get to bed until about 3ish and so I was definately a little bit exhausted this morning. We barely made it to seminary alive this morning (kept nodding off at the wheel)and seminary was uneventful, we had a cool teacher today and I had little control over my neck apparently seeing as how it was really hard to hold up my giant head. Then I came home and immediately fell asleep on my sister's bed (its the most comfortable in the house) I know what you're thinking "this story is REALLY good, I hope this hilarity continues" Well I would just like to point out that I am a TERRIBLE story teller. I don't even know why I have a blog. It could be that I wish I could achieve the fame that Julie did in Julie & Julia(LOVE THAT MOVIE!)or it could also be the fact that I feel slightly more important in the world when I have my very own blog that has the potential to arouse the curiousity of people all over the world (if my story telling does not improve however we can probably rule out both of those) If you know who Nick Swardson is and have heard his stand up there is this one called "had to be there" and that pretty much sums up the story of my life. I'll try and post it, but i'm not quite sure how so don't get your hopes up or anything. So I went off to work at 10. For those of you who don't know I am the Chick-Fil-A cow! In all seriousness that is my actual job. I don't even work at the counter or anything anymore I am solely the cow. I know what you're thinking "that sucks! It's like a thousand degrees in that suit and in the summer it's even hotter!" well you're only a third correct. It is a thousand degrees in there and in the summer it nears a billion degress however I LOVE BEING THE COW! I love handing out balloons to little children, I love dancing like an idiot and not have anyone know that it's me, I love listening to the kids tell me EVERYTHING about their parent's personal lives and all the dirty secrets that you don't want anyone to know but your kid just can't help but tell the world. I just think it is so fun. I don't have to deal with rude customers and when I get too hot I can go sit in the freezer for a bit. I literally get paid to be a little kid (which happens to be easy for me since I can't seem to grow up) I have to go back to work at 5 tonight and be the cow again for another three hours. The split shifts kind of ruin my day but it's kind of worth it on the weekdays. It's not like I ever do anything anyway. Today I had to stay in the back for about an hour because this one little girl would start screaming her head off if she even caught a glimpse of me. That was great...I got paid to sit down it was pretty dang exciting! Little kids are often freaked out by the cow (I don't really blame them..he is kinda huge) but other kids won't leave me the heck alone. I made a new best friend the other day (sorry Sophie) she is 4 and her name is Avery. I know that because she told me a thousand times. She also climbed on my lap and just sat there (I'm not supposed to pick kids up so I couldn't even like lift her off...so i just had to sit there while she kept poking me in the eye and sticking her fingers up the cow's nose) My PS3 didn't come today. I'm sorely disappointed. Well I gotta go get ready to be the cow again. YAY FUN!

My Uneventful Day

Have you ever had one of those days where you come home to relax, maybe plan to sit at your computer and get on stalkbook or write in your blog? Ever turn on your itunes and after about 30 minutes of listening to music realize that you've been listening to the same song because you forgot to take it off of "repeat one" from the other day when you were repeatedly listening to/ singing at the top of your lungs the chef's song from the Little Mermaid? Yea me either. Well see the thing is that I haven't even had an especially trying day. I got up at 11 am to get everyone ready for church. That was pretty uneventful unless you count the last 5 minutes when I realized Brynlee had picked out a lovely pair of black tights with snowmen on them to wear to church... IN APRIL. I would've just let her wear them because I think it is important to let kids express themselves in a way they see fit, but then I figured I'd probably never hear the end of it if I let it slide. After a frantic and fruitless search for socks I decided to just change her shoes (which would've been the easiest solution in the first place) So we were at church a little late (not like that's never happened) we had to sneak in the back and for the first time in a while we had to sit on the uncomfortable metal chairs that I'm convinced are a punishment for being late. Those chairs have got to be the most uncomfortable things to sit on...aside from maybe a flagpole. Church was great as it usually is, good lessons and such. It was fast Sunday and of course that meant testimony meeting. I'm going to be completely honest, I LOVE fast and testimony meetings. I love to hear other people testify of the truthfulness of the gospel. I especially like it when little kids get up to bear their testimonies. Something about little kids proclaiming their love for the gospel and The Savior just makes me really happy. I bore my testimony today. I LOVE to bear my testimony. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I really love to hear myself talk. I bet that sounds really vain, but I don't necessarily love the sound of my voice...I don't know how to explain it really. I just love talking! I don't actually love to bear my testimony in front of the whole congregation because I get really nervous and throw up words that quite possibly don't make any sense when put together. Today however I worked up enough courage to get up and bear my testimony in front of everyone. Lately I've been crying a lot when I bear my testimony. I'd like to think that it's because I really feel the spirit whenever I do, and don't get me wrong I'm sure that's why it happens, but to be honest I really HATE crying in front of people. Coming from such a tom-boyish past I always thought crying was showing weakness. Although I don't actually think that anymore I still get really embarrassed when I cry in front of people. I believe that my recently overactive tear ducts are the consequence of relentlessly making fun of my mother every time she cries. Now I'm not talking about when her crying is rational, funerals and stuff=understandable, but when we're watching TV and a hallmark commercial comes on and her eyes fill up with tears i think I have a fair reason to giggle uncontrollably. Anyway so of course my testimony ended in tears and I returned to my seat to have my brother (who was once my ally in teasing my mother about her over sensitive plumbing) ask in mock concern if I needed a tissue. The rest of church was pleasant although I did get in trouble during Young Women's because I have this weird disease where I have to talk all the time. After church I went to my Sunday School teacher's house with the rest of my SS class for dinner and some games. It was alot of fun, I didn't realize my teacher was that cool (rest assured HE IS!) and now I've been sitting at my computer for the past 4 hours doing who knows what. It's 1:30 in the morning and I'm really tired but for some reason I can't get up off my butt and move the 3...maybe 2 feet to my bed. I think I may have a sleeping disorder. On a more pleasant note my mom comes home tomorrow! She's in Colorado to visit her family and attend her brother's 3 wedding. Hopefully his new wife is not related to Satan like wife #2. Even though it is technically the 3rd now I'd like to give a birthday shout out to my cousin Kelsey Rae Graves. I miss you everyday Kels! I love you and wish you were here all the time. I want to live as good a life as you did. See ya on the other side. Watch over me kay? Well goodnight everyone.

Paradise week

ALRIGHT!! I know this post is half a year overdue but I'm finally going to blog about my wonderfully amazing cruise that I went on in November of 2009 (hold your excitement). Well let me tell you I LOVED it. It was a 7 day-7 nights cruise in the carribbean and it was a week of paradise. I've never been so happy in my life! It was so unbelievable! I still dream about it and wake up so sad that it's not a reality. Let me tell you cruises are addicting...I will definately go on another one at the first opportunity. Let me tell you a bit about it and I will definately include pictures at the bottom of this post! Alright so on Sunday we drove down to Galveston and up until we got on the boat we all figured something would go wrong and we'd miss our trip. When we finally stepped foot on the ship it became a reality albeit an unbelievable one. It felt too good to be true! We got to our rooms (which were suprisingly nice for the price we paid) and unpacked. As soon as we set sail we explored the boat. It was the most amazing thing ever! We spent 4 days at sea and 3 days on land, making stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Our first stop was in Jamaica. We went on a zipline tour through the jungle. Jamaica was cooler than I expected it to be. Everyone talked so cool and boy was it beautiful! I'd always thought that "ya mon" was a steroetype...I didn't realize people actually said it after practically every single sentance. It was so cool. The rest of the week we were saying "ya mon" and "no problem!" The Jamaican way of life is just so chill and laid back. Even though the majority of them live in poverty they are still all so happy! Our bus driver was legit. He kept making jokes and talking in his awesome accent, he also taught us alot about Jamaica (their flag colors are yellow (for the sun) Green (for the beautiful lush vegitation) and black (for the people (lol) and also for the poverty that they endure)) Our tour guides on the zipline tour were all hilarious. We got to see a guy climb a huge coconut tree and we also got to try coconut water, and coconut jelly (neither of which i enjoyed much) There were 5 different lines on the tour each one getting progressively higher. The smalles was 250' above the jungle and the tallest was a whopping 1,600'. At first the jump was a little scary but by the end we were hanging upside down over the jungle. After the tour we went to the little gift shops in the area. They were really over priced but I got a rasta hat complete with dreads and well I don't regret it, I wear it often ;P. Our next stop was in Grand Cayman. We went on to sting ray city for our onland excursion. It was so cool! We brought our own snorkeling stuff and we were able to swim with sting rays and even feed them. It was kind of scary to be honest (those things are HUGE) and of course with the recent tragedy of Steve Erwin it made me a little uneasy to be so close to their barbed tails. Skyler ended up getting a hickey when one of the rays mistook his arm for a piece of squid ^_^. The water was really salty, I'd never been in the ocean before and I didn't realize how salty it was, after a few snorkel fulls of ocean water we were all ready to get out, but the water was just so beautiful! We also got to swim by a coral reef and see a ginormous eel. After the stingray city we walked around the shops and stuff, but they were pretty pricey so we didn't buy much. Cozumel was really fun too. We didn't go on any excursions (except my dad who went scuba diving) but we did get to shop all day which by my standard is a pretty great day! Am I right?! It was really fun trying to bargain with the vendors, I got pretty good at it, I was able to get 30 bucks taken off of a hammock chair (which is sitting in my closet as I write...lame) The male vendors kind of cracked me up. I've learned enough spanish from work to get the gist of what they were saying to me "¡Mi amor, Viene aquí! " or "Es tan guapa como una princesa" it made me laugh. If I'd been alone I might've been slightly creeped out but I just laughed it off. We took some really neat pictures and I had alot of fun. It was a beautiful place and even though it was like a thousand degrees I really enjoyed walking the streets. I've decided I really LOVE traveling and I'm so happy I got the chance to visit these places. I hope to return to them someday and travel to more places in time. I had alot of fun and maybe one day I'll be a veteran cruiser (I met this one lady who'd been on 27 cruises) The boat was great, I had alot of fun at sea and they had so many activites at all times of the day. I really loved it and I'm soo thankful I got to go on it. Check out the picture slide show I've put up!

Why I don't work out in public

OK so I've made a new years resolution to be more healthy. I make this resolution every year but I was really serious about it this time. I even made sure I got a gym membership! I really wanted a membership to Gold's Gym since well that's the place to be, BUT my dad got me a membership at the YMCA...not quite as cool but I suppose it serves the right purpose. ANYWAY I went into the YMCA really excited to get back into shape. So i get on one of the free treadmills and go to slide my ipod into my pocket...only I didn't' have pockets so instead I had to stick it on the little shelf on the treadmill. So I'm running pretty fast. I'm on like eight...heck I'm bookin it. I'm runnin I'm runnin and my arms are movin pretty fast. up and down up and down...up and....down on my ipod cord. Ipod flips in the air. I try to catch it. MISS. It hits the treadmill. I bend over to pick it up. Stop running. Treadmill is still going. My feet slid off the edge. My face hits the treadmill. It's still on. Mom screams. YMCA people run over. I get up, huge burn on my face. left cheekbone to the middle of my chin...eyes watering nose feels like its bleeding (luckily it wasn't) I scramble for my ipod and get back on the treadmill and continue running...except my knees and face kind of hurt...Anyway YMCA people surround me and they're all concerned...there's really nothing wrong with me and I am fine. They're all asking if I need ice or anything and I'm just grumbling "no I'm fine..my fault" and I don't really want to turn around so she can see the huge mark across my face. So I pretend its all cool so I don't draw more attention to myself. but people around me arestill staring...it was soooo embarrassing, but looking back it was pretty flippin hilarious...my mom likes to tell everyone she knows...her favorite part is telling people that "everything was fine and then I just see Bree disappear" I don't think that part is too hilarious though.
I never wanted to go back after that...but i did anyway. Obviously I got an arm band, and avoided the treadmills like the plague. SO if you ever want to know why i hate working out...there ya go.

A.D.D

I think that I've got it. I have a really hard time focusing on pretty much everything! I got on my blog today...for the first time since September might I add...to write an entry about my amazing cruise...that I went on in November :O...and well lo and behold I've been on blogspot for 2 hours and I have yet to even start a blog about my trip. I would do it now, but it's late and 5 am seems to come really early. So what have I been doing on blogspot for the past two hours? I would like to blame Lauren. for the hold-up. What can I say? "I am" addicted to her blog. It's probably the funniest thing I've read in...ever. It seems as though funny people attract hilarious friends . I ended up blog jumping to a a few articles that had me crying (with laughter of course) and since i did a pretty strenuous ab workout the other day I don't know if that was the smartest thing. Anyway after several blog articles, a few episodes of the HILARIOUS Lawrence Welk (Whelk?) show from SNL, and a box of tissues I am done with the computer for the night and I am going to bed. Hopefully The "Cruise Blog" gets online sometime soon...before I forget everything :P...as if I could forget a week of paradise :D.