So....college....

IS FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC! I kind of really love it. Admittedly I've already changed my major twice since my acceptance...but hey that's ok. I've decided graphic design isn't for me. I'm currently undecided, but to be honest I'll probably fall back to teaching. (yet again)

My roommates are super cool. I love them all. We all get along really well. I was kind of worried about it because I'm such a socially awkward person, but it's really been great. I've found my husband...well at least several candidates haha.
I have really enjoyed living away from home. I'm not saying I don't miss my family every day, I swear I do. I miss Kevin especially, he will be a year old before I can go home to see him. I just really like being independent and not having to answer to anyone. My grades are all good and I really like my classes...well I'm not a huge fan of American Foundations...but only because it's a really boring class to me. I've been able to see friends that I haven't seen in a while...although we don't get to hang out as much as I'd like to. I've made some good friends and it's just been a great experience thus far. I got my roommates hooked on the TV series Bones (oh you haven't seen it? DO IT NOW!) we are currently on season 5...yes we started on one of course! I've really enjoyed cooking my own food up here. It's been pretty delicious stuff. I was able to go down to Utah last weekend. It was a long drive but it was really fun. My cousin Anson and I drove down to see family. I got to see my best friends Sophie Lynn...that was fun. I was really craving some Chick Fil A. You'd think I'd be super tired of it after eating it almost every day for two years, but I definately miss it. The closest one to me is in Logan UT...about 140 miles away and just a little bit too far to go for fast food. So while we were in Utah I really wanted to eat there but I didn't get the chance to and I was really bummed out. I did see True Grit though, that was a pretty good movie. Well I'll try and get on here more often and keep you three up to date. I've got to get to bed though!

Destination: College!

I would first off like to tell everyone who already read my last post (or hasn't read it at all) to go back and read at the bottom, I had to add something I forgot and I think it'll make you smile.

So I don't know if everyone knows this, but I graduated last January (a semester before the rest of my class) I don't bring that up to brag, because I certainly didn't get to graduate early based on smarts. In reality I just happend to only need 3 more credits after my Junior year to graduate and so I took the second semester of the neccesary English credit during the summer and I was able to graduate a semester early. I bring this up because as some of you may not know I start my first semester of College in a couple of days. Why did I wait an entire year to start college you ask? Well let me tell you, I didn't choose to start school so late. In fact I'm probably half stupid by now because it's been an entire year that I've been out of school. I got accepted to BYU-I which I expect to be super fun and I'm really excited for it. In all reality I've been really ecstatic about it since Septemeber when all of my friends left me alone in Leander while they all went off to school and forgot about me. It's basically been torture to be home while all my friends were gone and not being able to talk about my wonderful college experience because for me there wasn't one. You see, BYU-I is on a three track system. The tracks are fall/winter, winter/spring, and fall/spring. I of course being the unlucky person that I am was selected for the winter/spring track. Oh good, not only do I have to wait a semester to go to school, but I also get to go to school during the coldest time of the year in Idaho. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there is a reason I had to wait. Maybe I'll find that my future husband is on the same track, or maybe some other meaningful thing will happen, but in the moment it's hard to think of that greater purpose when everyone but me is off having the time of their life. Looking back on the past few months I guess I have been blessed. I was able to save some money so that I could actually afford to go to school. If I'd had to go in the fall I wouldn't have had enough money for sure. I was able to become better friends with my new best buddy Chris Gross. I was able to meet some of the ladies in Relief society that are super cool. I was also able to get a puppy. Alright...well as I think of those things...I guess I'm actually super happy to be on the track that I am on. I would like to revoke all of the negative things I said about winter/spring track.......On another note...I start school on Jan. 5th and I'm really excited about it!

I liken going off to college to going off to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.

1.You get a letter of acceptance (unfortunately mine came by way of email and not owl).
2.You get a list of books that you need (granted none of mine are by Gilderoy Lockhart nor are any of them titled "BYU-I a history")
3.You get roomates (all of mine look pretty rad although we have an apartment and not our own tower)
4. You get to learn all kinds of new things (Chemistry is really just a fancy name for potions, Humanities?... or Muggle studies?!?)
5. There is a headmaster (alright, alright "Dean")
6. It's the best time of your life! (The party before you have to buckle down and work at the MoM or Dell or whatever you choose!)

So needless to say (a 5th time) I'M SO EXCITED!
I've already found out who my roomates are going to be. I know where I'm living. I got a bunch of college stuff for Christmas. I get to bring my car. I've decided I want to major in Graphic Design and I'm on my way there. I've got friends who will be up there as well. I'm excited to meet new people. I'm JUST READY!

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!