Yost Family Adventures

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-07T11:23:00.005-07:00

Wow... I can't believe it's already December! With Benson keeping us on our toes, time sure passes quickly. Yesterday I took a few pictures of Benson. Not the best quality pictures, but this one was too cute to not post! :)

Merry Christmas!!! We hope your Christmas season is full of family and much joy!

Benson buddy...

2011-11-18T11:28:00.004-07:00

you just keep growing!

I can't believe Benson is already 6 months old! He now has 6 teeth and loves his food. Benson is too smart! When we play silly repetitive games you can tell he knows what's coming, cause he prepares himself for the falling pony or the tickling baker's man. It's too cute to watch! He smiles so easy and loves to sit and play with his toys or watch the dogs. Benson loves to be with lots of people and enjoys the attention of pretty much anyone! He's quite the social guy!

Last night we took Benson to campus to get a picture with Santa. Santa got Benson to smile pretty big until something he did made Benson cry. It all happened so fast we didn't really get good pictures, here's the free one they took for us. :)

We're so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Happy Holidays everyone!!!

Time sure flies!!!

2011-11-04T09:55:00.006-06:00

The past month and a half has gone by sooo fast! Here are a few pictures of our 4-5 1/2 month old Benson and the things he's been up to:

Lots of hanging out,

playing with cousins,

diaper changes,

wanting to eat food,

getting to eat food,

dressing up,

being bored,

looking cute,

and plenty of being silly with his parents!

4 Months!!!

2011-09-22T12:01:00.005-06:00

Benson likes to hold his own bottle/toys/feet/teething things... sometimes he likes to act like a 2-year-old and throw a fit if you don't let him do things himself! Benson has been teething for a couple months and those darn teeth don't want to pop out of his gums. Poor guy! Besides teething and his occasional I-do-it tantrums, Benson is so sweet! He loves to play with his toys and his feet. Benson has started arching his back and rolling on his side in order to see what else there is to look at. Last night he actually fell asleep in that position... not sure how! I wanted to take a picture, but I was afraid the flash would wake him. :)

At his 4 month appointment Benson measured in the 70th percentile for weight (15.9 lbs), 74th percentile for head circumference (17 in), and a whopping 99th percentile for height (27.5 in)! He's growing way too fast!

2011-09-07T10:45:00.005-06:00

Benson is slowly learning to sit with less and less support. I can't believe how big he is!

2011-08-24T10:21:00.000-06:00

We were visiting family and my cousin Sara took this picture of Benson. Benson is learning to really love his little stuffed animals... this one is his favorite right now. :)

2011-08-11T16:01:00.004-06:00

Three months old tomorrow!!!
These pictures were taken right before I went in for my gall bladder surgery. This was the last time I really saw Benson for a whole week! He grew WAY too fast!

Since we don't have any family pictures... we tried to get some.

Chewie can't see us sitting on the couch without trying to work his way onto our laps. He's not the smallest lap dog ever...

We figured we might as well get a picture with our other two (more hight maintenance than Benson) kids.

However, the best two of the rest of us are with Lillie yawning...

At the very end of her yawn... doesn't she remind you of Sid on Ice Age!? :)

2011-08-08T19:48:00.003-06:00

2 Months... not the best picture, but the only one I have at 2 months.

Not quite 3 months... can you tell the difference!? He's lots bigger and has more hair! :)

2011-07-06T21:36:00.000-06:00

Not quite 2 months old yet...

Going back in time... well, only about 4 weeks.

2011-06-28T22:46:00.006-06:00

Trav's sister Tiffany came to visit for about a month and a half. It was sure fun to have her here! While she was here she took pictures of Benson. Tif did an awesome job considering Benson's cooperation skills that day, or the lack thereof! :)

These were taken when Benson was 2 weeks and 6 days old. I can't believe how much he has grown since!!!

1 Month old... and a little bit. :)

2011-06-17T19:41:00.006-06:00

Well, Benson was officially a month old on Sunday and yesterday he hit the 5 week mark. CRAZY how fast time is moving! Here's some pictures of Benson's growth... he's growing FAST!

Quick Growth Info...
Birth: 9 lbs; 20.5 inches
5 days: 8 lbs 13 oz; 21.5 inches
14 days: 9 lbs 8 oz; 22 inches

Our puppy Chewie LOVES to be by Benson... sometimes we catch him trying to climb into Benson's swing even. Here's a picture of Chewie laying on the lazy boy while Benson is going to sleep.

Benson's first bath...

Playing with the cousins! Zachary is two now and we were laughing really hard as he kept trying to smash Benson's bink in. :)

Benson and Zachary chillin' on the couch.

After weeks of trying we've finally been able to take pictures of Benson's smile! :) He smiles much more now, which makes it easier to snap a few shots.

We are so happy that this little guy joined our family! We LOVE you, Benson!

Benson Parke Yost...

2011-05-23T14:47:00.014-06:00

The night before:

Around 7am the morning of May 11th, induction day (didn't sleep that well... how do you sleep before something like this!?):

We got to the hospital around 7:30am and were settled in the delivery room by 8:30am.

Trav killing time by taking pictures:

After 15 long (some lots longer than others) hours in the delivery room it was finally time to push. We thought he might get here just before midnight, but he came May 12, 2011 at 12:21am. He measured 20.5 inches and weighed 9 pounds. Right after he was born they had to run some tests to check his lungs. I told trav to snap a shot of them working on him in the room.

Not long after that they had to take him to the nursery to make sure his lungs and insides were cleaned out. He was doing very well, cause it sure didn't take them long. We were finally able to hold him and show him to family. We had a lot of visitors come to the hospital, but I'm horrible at remembering to take out the camera. So, most all the hospital pics were taken when my mom was there. Thanks mom!

Trav took these pics when we got home from the hospital Friday night.

Over the next few days:

5 days old (the crab outfit pic was taken just before his dr. visit. At 5 days he was only 3oz lighter and a whole inch taller than at birth.):

Our Baby Room/exercise room/guest room/room dogs aren't allowed in... :)

2011-03-23T11:51:00.010-06:00

When you walk down the hall it's the first door on the left...

BEFORE:

White walls are ready to paint!

Thanks mom and dad for coming to help us on yet another project! Sure is nice to have great help so close!

Last wall to paint (the dark one)! :)

I was too excited to finally be able to put the crib and changing table up... even though the room was still a mess. :)

Shelves we bought at DI... not sure if we'll actually use all/any of them, but they were only a couple dollars all together, so either way, we're good. :)

Starting to paint the shelves.

The shelves are finally painted! The wood-looking shadow box is a light fixture from the other room that we broke. So, now it's a shadow box to hang on the wall and we'll have to figure out something grand to put in it.

Here's the somewhat-finished view from the door. Minus the baby swing, glass shelf, and the wall hangings (above) that have yet to be put up.

These are pictures of how it looks currently. We are still not sure where to put those shelves I painted and a little unclear as to what else we will end up putting on our walls. :) I figured I might as well post, cause I'm not sure the walls will be done by the time the baby comes. :)

32 Weeks...

2011-03-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

Here's our 32 week picture...

FINALLY!!! Pics from our house...

2011-03-07T09:48:00.013-07:00

We'll have to start with the kitchen and move our way back as we go (which may take time, considering we haven't started on our bathroom or baby room). :)

Welcome to our home!

THE KITCHEN:

Nice dishwasher hookup huh!? :)

While Trav was at work I decided to work on the floor for a bit (about 30 weeks pregnant... a little sore the next day). This is a picture of my plug-up-the-hole job. Figured it would help. The people that put in our dryer did an amazing job running the wrong stuff all the way through the floor and out into the garage. So, we had to create a new hole.

Here's where you can see the new hole we had to make for the dryer vent. Eventually when we have the money to rip out our whole kitchen we'll have the dryer vent run out back instead of into the garage. :)

Trav was getting excited for it to be done. I had to take a picture, cause I think it's cute! :)

Crazy workers!

The big mess for me to clean up the next day. We had a bit of a leaking problem under the sink, which is why everything is on the counter...

Finished!!! :)

After putting up curtains, getting a couple new appliances (since our others were not working like they should), and putting in a new floor... this kitchen is definitely looking good! :)

DINING ROOM:

Taking down the shade things...

Our new curtains (of course I had to throw in a couple pictures with Lillie... shows you how long ago we actually put up the curtains):

Finished!!! :)

After putting up curtains, taking out one of the screens, and getting a new table/chair set... our dining room is complete!

The New Addition! :)

2011-02-10T18:38:00.008-07:00

No, don't worry... the baby's not here yet. :)

A few weeks ago Lillie was acting depressed, so we figured we better hurry and get her a little friend before the baby comes and she's super depressed!

Here's Lillie introducing her new friend:

Meet our new addition, CHEWIE:

Chewie was able to get used to Lillie pretty quickly and is now able to defend himself... for the most part. They are sure enjoying each other's company though!

Here's a picture of nap time:

Here's Lillie and Chewie playing tug-a-war (Lillie could easily rip it from him, but enjoys letting him play for a time):

Today's photo shoot:

It wasn't until after Chewie's hair cut (just the part in front of his eyes) that we noticed he has a bit of a googly eye. With his funny eye and massive underbite you might think he's stupid, but we love him just the same (even more if the truth be told)! :)

24 weeks!!!

2011-01-12T21:30:00.004-07:00

An article I was reading mentioned that a baby born after 24 weeks can usually survive in the NICU. It's amazing how technology is now! We are not ready for this little guy to join us quite yet (we're also not ready for that kind of a doctor bill), but it's just nice to know that we've hit an important milestone in the safety of our little one! :)

Here's our 24 weeks picture:

Lillie really needed an update all to herself...

2010-12-28T10:11:00.004-07:00

I was looking at my blog and realized that Lillie's pictures are when we got her almost 5 months ago! She's now 6 1/2 months old and has grown a lot!!! Here's her update:

A few months ago Lillie was acting depressed, which worried me a bit, but I just let it go for a bit until I noticed she wasn't eating or drinking. I got nervous and called everyone to ask them what they thought. I heard different scary things, but then Lillie threw up green liquid and it was then that I realized that she had been eating my house plants and poisoned herself! We gave her hydrogen peroxide to empty her stomach and had to baby her for a couple days until she was back to normal. Scary!

One day at my parent's home, Lillie found this stuffed animal, so mom gave it to her. She LOVES this bear! It's lots bigger than her, but she would carry it around everywhere. Now it's sitting on our dryer waiting for a few stitches so Lillie will no longer spread it's fluffy guts around the house. :)

Pictures for Fall...

Merry Christmas Pictures...

Another story... growing up I HATED getting loose teeth. I hated that whole process! Well... I don't think Lillie liked it much either. Here's a view of Lillie and her experience with a loose tooth (also scary the first time I saw this and thought she was choking on something I couldn't see nor feel with my fingers, poor girl):

An Active Little Guy...

2010-12-28T10:00:00.003-07:00

I've been asked a lot lately if I've been able to feel the baby. Well, a couple days before Christmas I thought I might have felt something, but I wasn't completely sure. Then on Christmas I was pretty sure I was feeling him move. Well, the day after Christmas he was moving so much in one spot that Trav was able to feel him and the next morning he was all over the place.

Man, that happened quick! This little boy is so active in the mornings it's crazy I haven't felt it before!

Side note:
House updates should be coming soon-ish. Some of my new year's resolutions are to get things finished. I have one big project to finish each month, so we'll see! If anyone wants to come help, you're more than welcome to! :)

IT'S.....

2010-12-07T15:00:00.001-07:00

Trav took a picture of me right before we got in the car to head to the doctor's office...

Since the baby wouldn't ever show us it's face these are the pictures you get. The lady doing the ultra-sound kept shaking my belly, but that just seemed to frustrate the baby and make it hide it's face even more. :) Already shows us some attitude!

A BOY!!! We're so excited!!!

New Beginnings...

2010-09-20T10:10:00.002-06:00

Well, I know I've promised many pictures of the house and such, but progress has been going slow lately and we still have lots to do before pictures will show what I want them to. ;)

Anyhow, I've been thinking a lot lately about the way I'm spending my time. Yesterday I went home teaching with Trav because his companion wasn't able to make it to their assignments. Well, it was good for me. During one of our visits a man reminded us that reading the Book of Mormon is a commandment and like any other commandment we receive blessings. So, simply by opening it and reading even a few verses we receive great blessings! :)

Well, to make a long story short. I am taking my own challenge to read scriptures and/or conference talks every day. If you haven't read the talks from last conference you can read two-three a day and make it before the next conference. That is my goal. Then the next 6 months I want to read and ponder them one at a time. I might create another blog for this very thing... to help me keep it going. Anyhow, if anyone else needs that extra boost, you can join me. I'll let you know the blog later.

We are very blessed we are for the most simple actions we do and I am so grateful for that. I'm grateful for the atonement and the opportunity we have to change and become better. I love the gospel!

New addition to the family...

2010-08-09T11:39:00.005-06:00

TIGER LILLIE!!!

Yep, Trav and I got a puppy! She is half Westie half Yorkie. They said the Westie genes are more dominate... we hope so, cause we both like Westies and aren't too excited about the Yorkies. But, we'll be attached no matter what she grows up to look like. :)

Pictures of West Highland White Terrier (Westie) Dogs

Pictures of Yorkshire Terrier (Yorkie) Dogs

Trav wanted her to have a strong name, dad mentioned Bertha. Trav liked it... Gee thanks, dad! ;) We thought of Helga and a million other names. Trav said Lillie, and it stuck. Trav was talking to the puppy and said, "Hang on little tiger" or something to that effect. Mom said Tiger Lillie... Trav and I both liked it... strong, yet girly. PLUS, she acts like a cat... she needs her claws trimmed, cause she can climb about anything. The people we bought her from said one of their dogs would climb trees to chace squirls. They also had a chain-link fence, but they had to change it to a plastic fence because the dogs would climb it. Their white fence they had to keep adding to because their dogs would jump it. They said their dog could clear their, somewhere close to, 5 foot fence without even touching it... CRAZY!

Anyhow, we're excited to have her! Saturday night (her first night here) she slept until 4 am... then we put her on our bed so we could sleep another hour or two. Well, I guess that was a BIG mistake! Last night she was pooped by 9. So, we went to bed at ten. She cried all night. I either took her outside or told her no and put her back in her bed around 11:45, 1:30, 3:00, and 5:30. Yeah, she's breaking us in to the family life, I guess. We might have to put her in the storage room behind the garage until she's potty trained and the house is baby/doggy proof. :) Good times!

She sure is cute though and I know she'll be a good dog once she's trained... it's just the training that will leave us with sleepless nights and many messes to clean up. ;)

Leaving her mother and being in a vehicle for the first time...

After her first bath. She was freezing and super sleepy.

She is now obsessed with leaves... thanks again dad! ;)

Mom decided we needed pictures of our new little "family."

After her crazy night last night... after we were up and ready for our days, Lillie decided she was tired. Thanks Lillie! ;)

Heise!!!

2010-08-08T09:33:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago Tiffany called to see if I would want to go with her and the kids to Heise the next day. Did I ever! :) It was sure a fun trip! We spent our time in the swimming pool (that had a diving board) and down the water slide (separate from the swimming pool).

Here are some of the pictures we took (sure glad I brought my camera... the pictures were a blast to take)! :)

Water Slide Intermission:

I took Zachary down twice... he cried the whole way down both times. Maybe next year!? :)

Brandt and I waiting in line for our turn to go down! :)

There goes Aubrey...

Jase...

and Caitlyn!

Brandt definately liked it WAY better than Zachary did! :)

Back to the pool for more pictures.

I really don't know how everyone stayed under the water AND opened their eyes... I couldn't focus on opening my eyes and focus on trying to stay under at the same time. Next time we'll have to go to the deep end! :)

Man, Tif, how did you do that!?

Time in Maui....

2010-07-22T15:37:00.001-06:00

Trav and I had the opportunity to spend a week in Maui... it was great! Here are a few pics from our trip.

We found this on the ground and wondered what kind of nut tree this is, or if it is even a nut tree at all...

Our first real day in Maui we went to Costco to buy some food for the week... we went a little overboard with the drinks.

We took loads of pictures to try and get a good on of us in front of this awesome church... never quite got a good one. ;)

We decided to go up to the top of the mountain... this is a view from only a bit up the mountain. There were lots of switch backs. We both got sick (I was feeling pretty dizzy and weak)... I'm guessing it was from the crazy roads and the altitude changes.

This is me playing with the camera features... Trav was cleaning out his socks and shoes after we hiked through the brush for a time.

Lots of pretty views!

This looked like some very old graveyard from the movies.

A picture of my mosquito bites... I counted at least 64 on one leg and at least 37 on the other.

An attempt at using more camera functions... it's hard to get a panoramic view when the water changes.

Common phrase of the week: "It itches!!!!"

Maui Blow Hole:

We LOVED the trees... they're amazing!

I'm getting married!?!?

2010-05-18T12:25:00.003-06:00

So, I'm not sure that it has hit me completely yet, but I am getting married in 5 1/2 weeks... not that I'm counting. ;)

It's amazing how everything in my life works far from how I expect it to and yet it still works out... even better than I thought it might. Life isn't easy, in fact sometimes it is down right difficult. But, peace can be had throughout it all... which is something I've been learning a lot about over the past few years. Last weekend I was able to go through the temple. I LOVE the temple! I love my fiance! I am so grateful for the gospel and for the atonement of Jesus Christ! I love serving others! I love all the blessings I have had throughout my life! I am grateful for the people in my life that have helped me to become who I am today! I am VERY blessed!

Random pics to post...

2010-04-20T09:20:00.007-06:00

So, I've been taking a few pictures here and there, but usually manage to forget my camera wherever I go. Just thought I'd post a few of the ones I've taken this year so far. Most of these are from Daniel's birthday, but some are from other occasions as well.

What can I say!? They're good!

2010-02-24T09:46:00.009-07:00

Click on pictures to watch...

Andrew Garcia:

Here's a couple others to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--hMhGgpoYU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Cwoo2R4Xg&feature=related

Katie Stevens:

My other favorites at the moment are:
Crystal Bowersox
John Park
Lilly Scott
and Michael Lynche

The Bigger Picture... once again!

2010-02-05T10:00:00.001-07:00

I know I already posted this, but I wanted it on top again. Progress is slow at times, but I don't think it matters very much how fast we move... I think it just matters in what direction we are moving. :)

"He wanted to make Saints, gods, things like himself... But if you are a poor creature--poisoned by a wretched upbringing in some house full of vulgar jealousies and senseless quarrels... nagged day in and day out by an inferiority complex that makes you snap at your best friends--do not dispair. He knows all about it. You are one of the poor whom he blessed. He knows what a wretched machine you are trying to drive. Keep on. Do what you can. One day (perhaps in another world, but perhaps far sooner than that) he will fling it on the scrap-heap and give you a new one. And then you may asonish us all--not least yourself; for you have learned your driving in a hard school... "Make no mistake," he says, "If you let me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that. You have free will, and if you choose you can push me away. But if you do not push me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life...whatever it costs Me, I will never rest, nor let you rest until you are literally perfect--until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less.
"And yet--this is the other and equally important side of it--this Helper who will, in the long run, be satisfied with nothing less than absolute perfection, will also be delighted with the first feeble, stumbling effort you make tomorrow to do the simplest duty."
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 181-82

Ideas for kids...

2010-01-30T16:41:00.006-07:00

Here are a few awesome things I learned about this month:

Click on pictures to find out more... :)

Christmas Suprise!!!

2009-12-22T13:37:00.005-07:00

Suprised and/or Confused!? :)

The Story:

Who knew!?

2009-12-04T10:49:00.003-07:00

Just a few hours shy of a month since my last post... who would have known how fitting that C.S. Lewis quote would be to the job I just started! Yes, for those of you who don't know, I do have a job now! I am very excited and nervous... and very anxious to understand more about what I am doing, but I know it will come. New jobs are always full of a bit of useful stress (and maybe a little less useful stress).

My title: PSR (Psychosocial Rehabilitation) Specialist
What I do: I work with children/youth that have psychological disorders and try to help them to function well in society. At least that is the digest version. :)

With the economy and hard times people are facing... I am very blessed to even have a job, let alone one a job like this! I am very grateful for this job!

DISCLAIMER: For the protection of my clients I will not be posting more about my job.

The Bigger Picture...

2009-11-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

"He wanted to make Saints, gods, things like himself... But if you are a poor creature--poisoned by a wretched upbringing in some house full of vulgar jealousies and senseless quarrels... nagged day in and day out by an inferiority complex that makes you snap at your best friends--do not dispair. He knows all about it. You are one of the poor whom he blessed. He knows what a wretched machine you are trying to drive. Keep on. Do what you can. One day (perhaps in another world, but perhaps far sooner than that) he will fling it on the scrap-heap and give you a new one. And then you may asonish us all--not least yourself; for you have learned your driving in a hard school... "Make no mistake," he says, "If you let me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that. You have free will, and if you choose you can push me away. But if you do not push me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life...whatever it costs Me, I will never rest, nor let you rest until you are literally perfect--until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less.
"And yet--this is the other and equally important side of it--this Helper who will, in the long run, be satisfied with nothing less than absolute perfection, will also be delighted with the first feeble, stumbling effort you make tomorrow to do the simplest duty."
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 181-82

I received that C.S. Lewis quote from institute last night. We were studying Jacob and Enos, the very scriptures from which I received my first real testimony of God. I also wanted to share a couple videos.

I have no idea what I will be doing the next few years, or even the next few weeks. But, I DO know that I am not in charge and I'm truly trying my best to do the will of someone who DOES know the future for me! That is my testimony right now and I'm sticking to it with all that I have! :)

2009-10-13T09:20:00.004-06:00

My family has grown quite a bit over the years!!!
We're up to 15 adults and 20 grandkids!

Had to share...

2009-09-24T15:10:00.006-06:00

So, I turned on the tv to the last 5 minutes of the Bonnie Hunt show. Random, I know. Anyhow, these two boys were talking to here. They are Yale student friends that grew up together and have become famous on youtube... well, at least they're famous enough to get on tv for it. :)

He is a pretty good singer, but mostly it is just cool that he can do it all! I guess his friend is the one making the films or something!? Take a look:

JUST CLICK ON THE PICTURES BELOW TO SEE THE VIDEOS:

Days 1-2:

2009-09-07T19:40:00.000-06:00

After doing last minute shopping and repacking my bags, we headed for Rigby! My brother Jason was planning to take us to the airport so he could keep my car until our return. Tiffany and the kids were all ready to come see us off too! :)

Little did I know they were taking us to the worst flight of my life. It was nothing when you compare it with those Travis has been on, but I don't ride rollercoasters for a reason. Butterflies in my stomach... that's the reason!

If all the flights were going to be like that I was done with the trip already! Dad assured me the other flights would have much bigger planes... they did!

We took a flight from Salt Lake to LA (this flight had individual screens behind each chair so that we could listen to music or watch tv, it made the time go pretty quick! It also had GPS so you could watch the plane fly across the states). We had a long layover in LA, so Travis, Lindsey and Max came to see us! We had a late dinner (the restaurant's kitchen was closing when we sat down) and said goodbye before the day was completely over. :)

Our next flight was out of LA at 2am on day 2. That flight had movies playing above. It was pretty nice, but I was tired! The good thing was that I packed my pillow in my backpack and could bring it out during flight, the bad thing was that I can't sleep on planes. We made it to Panama City around 10am.

I was super tired, so we went straight to the hotel and took naps. After that we walked around the city for a bit and then got some dinner. It was a chinese place we ended up walking into. We both ordered small rice plates and shared a chow mein plate. If this was a small... I don't even want to think about how big the large one was! We couldn't even eat a third of it! I just wanted a little something because I was not feeling well at all. I don't think my mountain of rice shrunk at all.

After dinner we walked around for a bit longer, but I started to feel pretty bad, so we went to bed pretty early.

Day 3 (part 1):

2009-09-07T19:39:00.001-06:00

This was our big day in Panama!

We got up and walked to the river. They have awesome walking paths and bridges! It was really fun to have such a nice big area to walk along right across the street from skyscrapers.

We walked towards this shoreline for a while...

Dad was trying to read the sign below this statue:

I took many pictures of interesting buildings for Travis.

When I first saw this one I thought it was

only partially built.

Then I found out it was just a crazy pointed building

This was just another cool looking building

...and then turned back to walk towards a church dad had seen across the horizon the night before. We saw some fun things on our walk along the shore!

In the US we have basketball courts.

In Panama (and Brazil for that matter) they have basketball/soccer courts.

I never once saw anyone playing basketball.

In the evenings all the courts were filled with soccer players!

This was an awesome playground!

Check that out!

Is this a crazy building, or an amazingly tall parking garage!?

Every floor is slanted the opposite direction.

We continued on the path towards the church...

... but after a while we reached the end of the walking path.

This is what we saw at the end of the path

One of these things is not like the other... :)

Apparently it was a vulture's playground

We walked around the fish smells above and soon found ourselves in the old areas of town. There were MANY old churches around!

This is the only one that we actually walked into.

The church had very large doors. There were at least 5 of these!

Here is another church I took pictures of.
Dad wanted to climb the stairs in the tower.

There was an interesting statue across the street from the church.

We thought it was cool the church had this above the door.

Day 3 (part 2):

2009-09-07T19:38:00.000-06:00

While we were walking past a large building I could see an orchestra inside, but didn't know if we should be going in, since there were other people sitting outside right by the door. But, when we got a little further away I heard the StarWars theme song playing... we had to go back and see. :)

We went upstairs to view the orchestra from above.

Here's dad looking up at all the balconies.

It was a beautiful building!

This is a view from across the way.

This is the view from ground level and pretty close to the front doors.

We kept walkig and came across an old building. This must have been a very nice place back in the day. I don't remember what it was, but probably someone high up lived here once. :)

This is the view from the other back side of the building.

I loved this view of the skyscapers, because the shoreline would curve in and out. You can see skyscrapers on two different shorelines. Panama is a pretty tall city!

We kept walking along the shoreline, further and further from our hotel area. This is where we stopped and headed more inland to catch a bus.

I love this picture because you can see loads of birds,

the church in the background,

and many homes/buildings all stuck together.

More ruins on our way to catch a bus.

This is a good picture of a typical bus.

Dad said they are retired U.S. school busses.

Here is a view from one of our busses, which was NOT the one above.

You have to be waiting for the busses and jump on.

They don't stop for long and occasionally only slow down.

Jump carefully!

Story time: While on the bus we met a couple of tourists headed to the Panama Canal as well. He was from Spain (I think) and she was from Germany. It was fun to talk to them! They had been traveling for a bit and were about done while we were just starting. They said Panama was their favorite because it was more authentic than the other places they went to (which were many of the Central America countries, I believe). She said some of the others sold their souls to America (which is what everyone calls the US, even though they live in or are visiting South America, I just find that funny).

We walked with them from the bus to the Canal before parting ways.

Here is a picture I took while we were walking.

We made it to the Canal! There is a big building and everyone heads to the 4th floor to watch. I took MANY pictures of the canal, so I picked out the main ones.

Here is a vew of the small building between the two sides of the canal.

You can see the front of the very large cargo ship.

Here is a picture of where the ship is headed. The water in the second one was emptying.

Here's a view of the people watching.

This is looking in the direction the ship came from. It is a very pretty place!

This is looking down at a closer lock so you can see what they are like.

It's entering the second lock!

Close up of the third lock.

The third lock is across the lake from where we were.

There's dad in the middle of everyone trying to watch.
You can get a better picture of how big the ship is.

A tug boat is behing the ship. Look at it compared to ground level.

A sub on the back of the cargo ship.

Now you can compare the cargo ship to ground level.

Here's dad and I watching the ship.

Water level is getting lots higher!

Now look at the tug boat in relation to ground level.

I think it has about hit its peak.

The locks are opening.

Close up of locks opening.

Starting to head out.

There it goes!

Playing around with the camera.

Headed to the lake.

Walking back to the bus stop. I love the train tunnel!

Panama Temple...

After the Canal we got on a bus for a little bit and then had another long walk to the temple and back.

I liked the few pictures I took of the temple, so I am posting them all.

This is my second favorite.

This is my favorite.

This cemetary was right by the temple. Can you see the US flag?

After walking and bus riding, we did some more walking...

After the third one of these... I decided to take a picture. :)

This is where we had some ice cream. It wasn't what I expected, but good.

Days 4-6:

2009-09-07T19:37:00.001-06:00

Day 4: Flying to Manaus...

Here's me playing around with the camera again.

My first time with green olives... I LOVE their orange juice!!!

This is probably definitely my favorite part about flying...

It's raining!

long islands in the middle of the river.

Building a bridge across the river... probably not easy!

Manaus!

Coming in for a landing.

Taxiing...

Views from another bus...

Day 5: Walking...

How tall do you think this playground is!?

Tiny!

I think I would want this, or the one above, on a wall in my house someday...

Lots of fruit probably coming in from the port.

That is a gas station for the boats.

A large hole in the sidewalk that I almost stepped into when I wasn't paying attention.

Another view of the houses on the shore across from us.

Loading the boat... scary business if you ask me.

Same sidewalk that the cats were in, but further along on our walk.

They saw me taking pictures, so they started to show off. :)

It was time to do laundry... tomorrow would be busy and the next day is Sunday.

Servant floor (between the entrance of hotel and floor 1).

We found it one day when the elevator was being slow.

We decided to take the stairs down three flights...

Turns out to be four! :)

I am eating the popsicle that dad loves!

Day 6:

Manaus didn't have painted school busses.

This was one of the extended busses.

I think they just hook two together.

We met up with a missionary from mom and dad's mission.

He met us at a bus terminal and took us to his father's home.

This is at his father's home. His wife was there to meet us too. :)

After visiting for a while we took him and his wive to lunch.

Then we headed back to the terminal to catch a bus to her mother's home.

It was a good visit. Dad shared his testimony with her mother and it

sounded like he gave her a missionary lesson or two.

On our way back to the hotel I was standing by these two girls on the bus. I got out some small crayons and paper (that Aunt Maxine had given me) and handed them each one. They were excited! A boy was sitting behind them and asked them for a crayon and their paper. He wrote on the paper and had one of them give it to me, but she was nervous to. So, he helped her give it to me. It said (in English), "Thank you! Have a nice day!" :) He probably learned that in school. He got off the bus before I worked up the courage to take a picture.

Day 7:

2009-09-07T19:36:00.001-06:00

Sunday morning we got up, got ready, ate breakfast, and walked to church. When we got there they led us upstairs (the chapel and kitchen are downstairs, classrooms are upstairs) and asked how old I was. Then the led me to the Relief Society room. Dad said, "I guess sacrament is last, good luck!" The sisters were very cute! The one on the left below was the first to welcome me in (I think she is in the Relief Society presidency or something). She found out I do not follow Portuguese and just led me to a seat. Luckily the lesson was on a talk I had remembered from conference. Even though I couldn't understand exactly what they were saying, I could feel the spirit. I also gained an appreciation for visual aids and object lessons... both of which I completely understood! :)

The girl next to me was one of my favorites! Her husband is by dad (he's in the bishopric).

The girl that first welcomed me is married to the man by her (the guys are brothers).

Here's a picture of the brothers with their mother.

There was going to be a baptism at 4pm, so we went back to the hotel to take naps (church started at 8:30am, so it was just around noon when we got to the hotel). Before the baptism we wanted to walk to a dome building dad had seen from a distance before...

You can see the dome building in the very back of the picture.

There were lots of stores closed for the main part of Sunday.

Street markets, like this one, are not usually alive until the evenings.

If you look close you can see how everything is closed tight.

Getting closer to the dome building.

We saw the dome and we saw the pink building from a distance.

Dad didn't think they would be the same building, but they sure were!

Pretty interesting looking.

Here's a building we walked past that I liked.

Black and white version...

The dome building.

I just had to throw this in...

Dad is walking around the pink dome building.

There's an awesome looking church.

Dome is made of colorful tiles or something.

Another cool building next to pink dome building.

Another view from pink dome's gardens.

I'm standing in front of the pink dome building.

Dad is in the direction of the buildings above.

I love how they designed the grounds here!

There are two continents named on the statue,

America and Africa. Can you guess the other two? :)

I'm standing in front of the other side.

We went to a triple baptism! We got there 10 minutes early and it started about an hour or so late. We were there for two and a half hours and had refreshments. They had chocolate cake and juice. The chocolate cake was pretty yummy (not tasting like chocolate entirely) and the juice was interesting. I had one that tasted pretty good and then one of the missionaries told me I had to try the other one because it was the best (he's from Brazil). Well, he watched as I took my first sip (it was similar to a scene in Lord of the Rings that involved a bowl of soup). It had very large stringy things in it and was pretty weird tasting! I simply smiled and tried to take little sips every now-and-then until dad came back from the bathroom and could 'try' the rest of it. By the time he got back I was half done and it was actually growing on me a little. I still wouldn't buy it.

Here are two of the three being baptised.

The wife would be baptised the following weekend.

The other person being baptised was a single man,probably around my age.

I don't have a picture for some reason.

Picture of the boys coloring.

By the time the baptism took place, the boy being baptised had crayon on

the back of his jumper from his little brother.

Story time (concerning crayons): Early that day, during sacrament meeting, I had been sitting by a little girl that was pretty active. I pulled out some crayons and gave them to her. She had no clue what to do with them, so I took out another set and colored a picture, put my name on the back and gave it to her. The bishop's son (in the blue shirt above) saw me coloring and so I reached out and handed him one (he was sitting in the front row on the side and I was on the second row in the middle section). Well, little did I know that the girl sitting next to us took off for the back of the congregation... she was soon at my side with another little girl. She was talking to me. I couldn't understand what she was saying, but I had a pretty good idea. Dad told them to wait until after the meeting (so it wouldn't get to much more crazy). But, a little while later the bishop's son came up to me with one of his friends. :) After sacrament was over I had five or six little kids by my side. I was scared that I wouldn't have enough, but I did... barely!

So, at the baptism they brought out the pictures they had colored the youngest (in the yellow above) wanted to show me his, but was too shy so his mom did. While we were waiting I told dad that the older boy looked pretty German to me, but the rest of the family sure didn't. Well, he must have said something to that fact to the parents, because the mom said his grandfather was German and then the dad simply said he had taken care of him since he was a baby (probably meaning he wasn't the dad). I have seen so many families where children each look a different race. Dad said that's pretty normal for Brazil because of how much they have mixed with other nationalities. They are all so cute though! The two little boys in that family were some of my favorites!

Day 8:

2009-09-07T19:35:00.001-06:00

Monday morning I got ready while dad went out to get some money for our tour. When he got back we headed out! We drove for a bit to get to the place where we would catch a boat. It was a huge fish market, so here are a few pictures of the fish...

Dad is standing next to our English speaking guide.

Heading to our boat (the first of many).

I'm standing next to the captain when we're getting on our boat.

Playing with the camera while crossing the black river.

Our first stop was in the middle of the two rivers...

This is where the yellow and black rivers meet.

They do not mix for quite some time.

We continued on the yellow river.

Here are some pictures of the shoreline.

Coming up to the town where we will continue the trip in a van.

Looking out the back window.

I was trying to figure out what that thing said...

I just realized, while posting, it might say Jesus.

Maybe they just put it on wrong!?

This is the area where we got out of the van and wait for our canoe.

I just thought this looked cool in black, white, and blue.

They packed our canoe with gas.

We packed all our stuff in and were on our way!

This was my view from the canoe.

This picture was taken in the opposite direction.

The lady behind dad owns the place we are staying at this week.

She traveled with us the whole way from Manaus.

Beside her is a man we picked up while waiting for the canoe and dropped off along the way.

Going through the trees.

This is where we delivered the gas.

We thought we arrived to our next destination and started to get out. :)

We made it!

Steps leading from the water to our home for the next 4 nights.

This is our cabin... #2.

We were the only tourists there, so we had the place to ourselves!

The view from the main building (where we eat all our meals).

Looking at the front of the cabins.

Looking at the cabins from the other direction.

Our first rain happened not too long after we got settled.

We got all ready in our rain gear; it stopped shortly after that.

After lunch we were headed out again.

Apparently I was really enjoying this black,white and red theme.

We were both pretty excited to catch piranhas!

To catch Piranhas you spash and wiggle your stick on the surface of the water.

I caught two of them!

While I was focused on catching my fish, dad spent a lot of time talking.

He did manage to catch a little one, but Anderson (our main guide) threw it back.

After catching Piranhas we headed back.

I took gobs of pictures during each journey.

This is definately one of my favorites!

I took this picture, because later on in the week we would be climbing that tower on the left (you can just see the top of it coming out of the trees).

Right before dinner we changed into our long sleeves and pants... mosquitos!

After dinner we headed out to catch an alligator!

Their eyes shine in the night like a cat's.

Having a light in their eyes stuns them until you can grab it.

They are pretty strong for such little things!

Day 9:

2009-09-07T19:34:00.000-06:00

After breakfast we took another canoe out to where we would, the following night, sleep outside. From there we went on a little jungle hike.

I am holding some rubber from a rubber tree.

I believe this is the same piece dad brought home.

This is a rubber tree.

Looking back on the trail behind us. I was in the back.

Don't stand under that when it falls from the tree!

Dad is standing in front of an ant hill.

He's showing us how they climb a tree.

A milk tree...

supposed to help with asthma, bronchitis, or other respiratory illnesses.

We tried some and, to me, it tasted like dandelions smell.

Brazil nut shells (each holds quite a few nuts).

It was a very large tree.

Termite nest.

They said indians would rub termites on their bodies when hunting.

I guess the strong scent of termites covers up your own and animals don't know you're coming.

The tree roots were crazy to me... wide and thin.

This butterfly doesn't look like much, but the other side of its wings are a royal blue color!

After the hike we were off again!

We didn't see big animals on our hike.

The guide asked if we would like to pay $6 to see animals somewhere else...

That house behind my head is where all the 'animals' were.

The people of the house were not home, so we didn't have to pay.

We made it back to the cabins.

I wasn't feeling too great, so I took a long nap.

For lunch today we got to eat armadillo.

To me it tasted like a mix between chicken and the smell of dog.

Dad told me to take some pictures of the Brazil nut trees by our cabin,

so that's what the next two are of.

While I was at it...

I decided to take a few pictures inside and outside the main building.

The English speaking guide was pointing at the waterline on the trees.

The water was up to that point just the month before.

I enjoyed canoeing through the trees.

We kept hearing/seeing iguanas jump from the trees into the water.

Cool looking tree that was pretty large.

After the 'canoe through the trees' adventure we headed back.

Good old Red, White, and Blue!

Looking for animals in the trees.

I saw a bunch of herons, so dad told them to turn around so we could watch them fly away.

Random heron in a tree.

A little while later I spotted something in this tree.

We backed up to watch it for a bit.

It's a sloth! :)

Day 10:

2009-09-07T19:33:00.000-06:00

We woke up early the next morning to watch the sun rise from the canoe out on the lake. It was awesome!

This reminds me of the Lion King for some reason... wrong continent, I know!

I could start a postcard company! ;)

After breakfast we had some time to nap.

Then we went to see the 'indians.'

I am pointing to the bananas in this banana tree.

Chicken house.

These are the starts for a very popular plant in Brazil.

It is similar to a potato, but not really.

Garden in a boat.

I had to start using black and white to make it look a little more...

'this is what I saw on the discovery chanel before I left' :)

You can see the water line on the old house.

So, they built this new house.

I'm standing next to the old house.

The line of water is over my head and this is not that close to the river!

I had to throw in these next two so you could see how un'indian' it was.

We were in the canoe heading back.

I was taking lots of pictures, like usual, when someone in this house saw me.

Soon there were a few heads at the window.

I loved these plands and they had very pretty purple flowers.

After lunch we headed out to where we will be spending the night.

It was the place where we started our jungle hike the other day.

This is just a picture of ants walking single file on a log.

They had told dad he was going to build the fire earlier.

For some reason dad thought we would have a competition...

so we came prepared with hair spray and paper.

However, dad started it just fine and it was not a competition.

It is a little bit hard to see, but there is a lizard on this tree trunk.

For dinner our guides seasoned and skewered chunks of chicken.

I was a little nervous, but they were super! We also had rice.

This is where we will be sleeping tonight!

Time to eat!

I Spy... can you find it!?

Maybe this close up will help.

Our contract said that we would be going on a night hike

(since that is when most the animals come out).

Well, our guide said he never goes out at night

(since he is afraid of snakes and mosquitos).

Well, dad and I wanted a night hike, so we ventured off by ourselves

(since our fearless guide went to bed right after dinner).

Side note: I feel a little like Julie Andrews when wearing that hat.

After taking pictures and not really paying attention to where we were going...

I started to get nervous, cause dad was turning in a direction I didn't think we should be going in.

It was a scary few minutes!

We were trying to find water to walk along, but when we got close to water there were loud splashes.

It was probably either alligators, snakes, or iguanas, but none of those sounded good in the night.

I no longer wanted to walk by the water.

Well, we made it back!

I was very uncomfortable when trying to go to bed.

It was super hot, mosquitos were everywhere, and I couldn't get comfortable in the hammock.

What do you do!? I did the only thing I could think of to pass the time...

take silly pictures! :)

I have loads of them, but this was my favorite.

I told dad to look at me and I shined a flashlight in his direction.

I couldn't see any of him except when I looked through the camera.

Can you see him!? :)

Day 11:

2009-09-07T19:32:00.000-06:00

Our guides were gone for a long time last night after our 'night hike.' This morning we found out our English speaking guide left (probably because of the mosquitos). So, we picked him up in the morning before heading back to breakfast.

This is what I saw from my hammock in th morning.

I was SOOO excited when it got light, cause that meant morning!

I sure didn't sleep much that night, but it was an adventure, right!?

After breakfast we took naps and relaxed.

After lunch we packed and then got ready to go on our last adventure here.

We drove over to the tower!

When dad was going up the first steps he wasn't too sure about it.

But, those ones were the worst.

These pictures are all about the tower and the view from various heights.

There was a big rain cloud across the lake...

so that's in a lot of the pictures.

I was pretty nervous to stand by the edge in the next three pictures.

It was swaying quite a bit!

We made it!!

This is our last night here! Tomorrow we will return to Manaus and then travel to feed dolphans!

Day 12-14:

2009-09-07T19:31:00.001-06:00

Day 12: We got up and said our goodbyes to the staff here on the lake, then we were off!

Here is that bridge again.

This time we were on the opposite side to catch a bus.

The bus would take us over it and towards the yellow river.

This is the canoe we came in.

After the long and scary bus ride we got on a boat to take us back across both rivers.

This is a huge bridge leaving Manaus that is just being built.

We got to Manaus, drove back to the guide office,

then drove to a fairy and waited to get on.

Here is a picture from the top deck of our fairy.

We made it to the shore, drive for an hour or two, and came to our destination!

Originally we were going to take a boat from here out to the islands.

But, there was a dolphan right here, so we just enjoyed this one.

It was pretty late by the time we drove back to the fairy.

Then we had to wait for a long time to catch one... there were loads of people!

It was a great day! We got back to our hotel tired, so after doing a little laundry and using the internet to e-mail friends/family we were ready for bed!

Day 13: We got up, got all ready, and headed to the bus. Today was another day with the missionary that served with mom and dad.

He, his brother, and their dad took us to see a fruit market.

Then we took them out to eat. Yummy!

After dinner we went to his mother-in-law's home again.

Her little brother (at least I think he was her brother) was asking his mom about me. I had given him crayons the weekend before when we had come to visit them and I guess he liked them (they gave them to him after I left). He was too shy to actually look at me, but I wanted a picture with him anyhow. I love this picture!

This is me walking to the bus stop from the home above. It was rather hot there. :)

This is where I bought a few things.

Day 15-16:

2009-09-07T19:30:00.001-06:00

Our last day out of the country... by midnight we will be in Florida!

Eating breakfast

This is what we had at our hotel EVERY morning.

Views from where we were eating (on the 'roof' of the hotel).

the roads are pretty long and straight.

The next six are a panoramic view... :)

On our last day we went to some shops.

I was real excited about these vases.

Manaus airport...

I loved the sun's rays in this one!

Dad has a little less experience taking pictures of himself.

But, he said you'd recognize him by his big belly...

and possibly by the shirt he is wearing! ;)

My first drink from a drinking fountain I can use!

It was a lovely sight! :)

The water didn't taste good, but I just had to use them!

I was a little nervous we would be riding one of those planes you can see outside.

Our plane was a little better, but still small. :(

I was sitting towards the back of the plane and could still see the captain pretty well.

We're still on the ground and he's asleep.

He's still sleeping and I'm nervous... how do you sleep in here!?

We made it home!!!

I had to show of my $1-2 Panama sun glasses.

It's FREEZING here!!!

Great adventures...

2009-08-21T17:09:00.002-06:00

Well, we have been in Manaus for about 28 hours now...

Panama was awesome! I loved the people and the city! We were able to stay in Panama for two days. We saw the famous Panama Canal. It was awesome to see a large boat go through it! We also saw the Panama temple. It was right next to a large military cemetary. Very beautiful area! We saw some ruins in the town, a palace, and many, many churches!!!

Brazil has been pretty good too! We have only been here for a short while, but we have done what we wanted to in the city. Tomorrow we will visit someone my parents knew on their mission in the south. It will be fun for dad to visit with them. I am guessing he does not speak any english, so I will be listening for a while, I am sure. I usually pick up on the jist of what is said. Spanish was much easier to pick up on though... some of that could have to do with the fact that not all the spanish people could understand portugese and talked slowly to make sure dad understood them. :) But, I like to think I was able to understand a great amount... I was impressed with my skills! ;)

I wish so badly I could post pictures right now. None of the computers have a place for SD cards. Manaus seems to be a pretty poor city. It has about 1.5 million in it, but all of the parts we have traveled through or walked in seem pretty poor.

Well, we are paying $1/hour on the computer. It is actually a good connection this time. :) Some of the connections have been very slow!

I have had a great time on the trip so far! We still have about 10 days left. We might be taking a 5 day 4 night tour through the Amazon next week (Monday through Friday). That trip would definately be cause for many great pictures if we end up going. We will see. We are going to ask around to see how much it would cost to travel to the rainforest ourselves. Scary! Jk. Either way it will be a great adventure! I like the city, but I am very ready to get out in the jungle! As much as I love bus surfing (trying to stay standing as they constantly accelorate and brake), I am ready for a different kind of adventure! :)

That is all for today. I will try to post one or two more before leaving.

AWESOME...

2009-08-17T14:16:00.005-06:00

So, guess what I got the day before we leave for our trip!?!?!?!?!?

...

...

...

...

Wait for it...

...

...

...

...

...

You might laugh

...

...

...

...

or cry

...

...

Awesome, that's all I can say.

CAUTION, if you don't like spiders, don't scroll down!

Side note: Today when I got out of the shower there was a big hobo-looking (or actual hobo) spider. I stepped over it to get my clothes and it started to run towards me, so I stepped over it again and it turned and ran for me again... I did this a few times before it decided to go a different way. I definately think these things are preparing me (in a very SMALL way) for things to come...

However, if I see something like this (which I probably will):

I will simply try and take a picture like this (which I probably won't):

And then I'll simply walk away... or run. :)

Greatness!

2009-08-15T22:07:00.005-06:00

Well, I may have packed a little too much... but I don't know what to expect! :)

Here's almost everything that I need to take...

Paige got me that awesome CamelBak! I'm excited to use it!!! THANK YOU PAIGE!
Do you think it will all fit in that blue backpack!? Yes, that is a pillow you see behind the backpack... and yes, I do want to fit my CamelBak in there too. :)

My teacher gave me a $25 gift certificit to Deseret Book... with some of that money I bought these... I'm super excited about my little leather journal!

After trying and trying to pack it all inI had to move to plan B. I mean, I made it SUPER close, but I didn't want to leave all my clothes behind. ;)
Well, I fit everything in including my pillow and CamelBak (can you see my nice bright blue SeaWorld Poncho!?). Now all I need to do is make sure it will fit on the airplane. I also want to make sure I can use my CamelBak as a second carry-on in case I find something(s) in Brazil I can't live without! ;) Wish me luck!

Mom got me this sweater the other day at DI! Awesome!
...don't worry, I didn't pack it! :)

When I get home I'm going to take a picture of everything I take out of my bags... then everyone will come to me for packing tips! :)

Checklists...

2009-08-13T08:17:00.008-06:00

Tickets... Check!
Passports... Check!
Visas... Check!
Hotel... Check! (For the first 5 days anyhow)
Shots... Check! (Yellow Fever, Typhoid, and TwinRix #3)
Pills... Check! (Daily Malaria pills... Mmmmm!)
Packing... ... ... ... ... ...

I want to make sure I take what I need...

But, I don't want this to be dad and I in the middle of the Amazon...

What was I thinking!? I have no clue what I'm doing! I just hope I don't get a disease before my shots kick in since I got them so late. Wish me luck!!!

Maybe we should have a contest guessing the weight of my bag when I pack it. I will be taking a backpack... that's it. Whoever wins gets to carry it for me! ;)

MY CUTE NEPHEW and my SHORT Hair Cut...

2009-07-31T08:42:00.003-06:00

Max Kingstan IS HERE!!!! I'm so excited to see him in person in a couple weeks! He's a little chunk like me when I was born (only I weighed 1lb 3oz more)! :)

Here's a few pictures of my haircut that Elisa took a couple days ago:

Half-way through the shoot I decided I need someone in the pictures with me...

Blessings and testimonies...

2009-07-22T14:06:00.000-06:00

I felt a little guilty for not getting up during our family's testimony fireside because I had so much I felt I should say. This post is mostly to express what I should have said then.

As I sat there listening to testimonies I began to reflect a bit. Tomorrow I will be graduating from college! If life would have gone as I thought it would when I was little, at age 25 I would be married with 2 1/2 kids and a dog. :)

Even though being 25 is far from what I had planned, I have been able to find great strength in my simple testimony and plenty of joy along the way!

Throughout school (for the past 12 years or so) I have probably had an average of 2-3 migranes a week. I have always been nervous that I would not be able to accomplish much because of this. If life was all about grades and getting the best jobs I would have given up. I am not saying good grades and a great job are not wonderful goals to have, but when I go to the temple I am able to see the bigger picture and I realize they are not the most important goals.

It has been 12 semesters of hard work, but I have finally accomplished something I never thought I would have! I have met some amazing people and have had a wonderful time learning. I am truly grateful to have faith in something bigger than this life of limited abilities and physical struggles. The gospel is amazing and I am grateful to be a part of it!

Happy Birthday!!!, "before pictures,' and ... School Loans

2009-07-06T09:40:00.009-06:00

So, I had a wonderful birthday a week and a half ago... :) I just got these pictures off my sister's and mom's blogs and thought I'd post it. I love having family around! These pictures were taken on my Happy Day. These were all my nieces and nephews that were able to make it to my party. Well, all except one. Baby Zachary was in the other room.

Here are some other pictures that I found on family blogs (I seem to only have my pictures taken with the youngest nieces and nephews... that does not mean I love them more!). These can be some of my 'before' pictures... I'll be cutting my hair in about... two and a half weeks! :)

This was taken at my best friend's wedding. I had to throw it in, because I think it's awesome!

Now for the last bit of info. I was going through my papers and found out that since I have only taken 9 credits this semester it might not count and my 6 month vacation from paying back school loans might be ending in October. So, I will not be buying a camera after all... at least not yet! Thanks for all your advice. I will have more time to look into getting a great deal now!

What to do...

2009-06-30T19:36:00.006-06:00

Well, I have been looking for a camera...
I want to take pictures like these:

So... what do you think about the following!?:

This is a Nikon D60 with a 28-200mm lens, 1GB SD Card, Case, Tripod, Hard Case... It's $499.00

This is a Nikon D60 with 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses. It is $649.00

This one is a Canon Powershot SX10IS and has 10MP, 20x wide angle zoom, and is just a point and click. It is $369.95.

Also, I've been wanting to cut off all my hair for a while now. This picture shows you how it will be done... kind of. My niece Heidi cut her bangs very short, so my sister cut the rest and I like it! I will have a similar haircut, except with bangs. :) Good Idea or bad idea!? Should I just shave it all off instead (something I have also always wanted to try once)!?

Bella's Book...

2009-05-15T15:19:00.008-06:00

Well, for my Child Lit class (the one I'm reading all those books for) we had to make a book.

When there are two pictures on the same page, they are side-to-side. Page 6 is large, cause it is my FAVORITE page!!! :) You'll see why in a second!

Front Cover:

Isabella Grace’s
What I Love Most

“Bella”

Page 1:

Once upon a time there lived a

princess puppy named Isabella Grace.

Her friends called her Bella for short.

Page 2:

One day Bella got a brand new

sweater. So, she went outside to play.

Page 3:

Pretty soon it started to snow.

Bella learned that snow is so much fun!

Page 4:

In the springtime Bella learned to

balance food on her nose, play soccer,

Page 5:

...and jump real high. But, when

Bella gets tired she likes to relax.

Page 6:

There is so much Bella likes to do.

But, what Bella loves to do most in the

whole wide world is to read stories.

Back of Book:

This book was created by
Ashley Benedict

Book Share...

2009-05-02T15:08:00.005-06:00

I don't know if it's my load of classes, if it's because this is my third semester in a row (I've been going strong since September), or if it is because it is summer time and I can't play outside (this is my first time going to school in the summer). All I know is that I am TIRED!

Well, now that I've mentioned all that... if anyone knows of any good kid books, let me know. I have quite a few that I am supposed to read this semester.

So, it's time for the BOOK SHARE!!!

These are some of the ones I will be reading this semester:
The Bronze Bow - Elizabeth Speare
Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli
Eleventh Hour - Graeme Base
The Great Gilly Hopkins - Katherine Paterson
Holes - Luis Sachar
The Story of Ruby Bridges - Robert Coles
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast - Robin McKinley
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World - Jennifer Armstrong
Love That Dog - Sharon Creech
Heckedy Peg - Audrey Wood

I have to read 60 children's books this semester (the ones mentioned above and 2 Informational, 10 Nonfiction, 5 Traditional, 11 picture books and the rest are free choice with limited criteria).

My niece Caitlyn has suggested:
Magic Treehouse series - Mary Pope Osborne
Septimus Heap - Angie Sage

Migranes and New Years Resolutions...

2009-04-20T09:01:00.004-06:00

So, this year I've been trying all sorts of things to get rid of my migranes. I even went over a week without putting on any makeup. Let me tell you, I've tried the sleep things, exercising, medications, drinking more water, washing my hair every day and even some meditation, Well, I'm GOING to figure this thing out!

Yesterday when I was on my way home from church I saw my Aunt Maxine walking up Barney Dairy Rd. towards my house. She had decided to walk to my house from hers (3 miles) and back. So, I think we might do that 6 mile walk three times a week this summer. It has been so beautiful outside this past week... so hopefully it doesn't snow tomorrow.

So, I am going to keep eating healthy, keep exercising, keep drinking water, keep trying to sleep on-my-back-in-a-straight-line for at least 8 hours every night, keep washing my hair every day, and even keep meditating (as often as I can).

My goal: Go two whole weeks without a single migrane! :)
Deadline: Age 28 (Deadline? Can you tell I'm still in school!?)

Breakfast this morning:

American Idol Anyone!?

2009-03-19T13:09:00.009-06:00

Well, I have not had much time to watch American Idol the last few years. However, this season I decided to watch it one week and am now hooked! :) It's mostly because of this girl...

Click on the picture to watch her performance from this week.

I don't know what it is, but she just makes me happy! :) I don't know if I'm happy because her dancing skills are similar to mine, because I love her style of singing, or because she has a fun personality... maybe simply a mixture of them all.

He's pretty good too...

Click on the picture to watch his performance from this week.

Hope you enjoy!

Birthday Idea...

2009-03-03T19:43:00.005-07:00

Can I just tell you... I'm horrible with the whole birthday thing! I'm usually pretty good at remembering until the day of.I have 12 siblings, two parents, four grandparents, and 20 nieces and nephews (two of which are on the way)... that's a lot of birthdays (almost 38, to be perfectly honest).

So, lately I've been thinking a lot about a new method...

There are precisely 12 months in each calendar year. I was thinking that I could simply devote one month to someone (or 2 or 3 someones). It doesn't have to be the month of their birth and it will be a suprise to them! I would simply send them birthday cards and maybe a few fun things throughout the month...

What do you think?
Cop out extraordinaire or Brilliant beyond belief!?