Rain Rain Go Away!!!

Oh the rain! I can't lie......I have enjoyed the crashing thunder and the striking lightning but......not the weeks of water falling from the sky.

Summer has started at work which means I don't have to work evenings....HOORAY!!!!! It has been nice to be home more and to have a lot of time to play outside.....oh wait, the rain.....ok so next week I can play outside.

The First Quarter

Well it's almost April which means the year is 1/4th of the way over already!!!!! It's been a busy 3 months.........

Most recently, my team took 1st place at the 2009 State Meet this past weekend in St. George. Our biggest competition was Olympus School of Gymnastics and we have been taking turns beating each other the entire season. Going into the second session we were down 2 points and and to hit big in order to get ahead. Our final event was floor and we were still down 8 tenths. The kids did their best but it came down to our last gymnast. I told her this was one of those Olympic moments where the commentator was telling us that this gymnast had to hit or it was all over for the US team. I told her to put all her heart into it and that was all she could do. We did not know it at the time, but She needed to score a 9.525 to tie us up. The judges were not giving anything away on floor and we knew we needed something big. She performed a beautiful routine and we anxiously awaited her score. Someone decided to answer our prayers because she scored a 9.6 which put us at a 111.875. That was enough to edge us over Olympus. We won by less than a tenth. It was one of the most proud moments of my career. Not so much that we won, but that we came back and fought so hard for it. It was an amazing day.

As usual Yoda Came to support the team. He has always been our good luck charm!

The most fun thing of the winter was getting reconnected with some of my best friends from Jr. high. Yes folks, Facebook is responsible for it. I can't really remember how it all happened, but i went to dinner with 5 girls who I have known for over 20 years and not seen for a very long time, and it's like we never stopped hanging out. It was so much fun! Now we get together every month for a girl's night and just spend the whole night laughing. I had not seen my friend Tiffany since 9th grade. She was one of my very best friends then and I feel the same way about her now. We go to lunch and I teach her daughter in gymnastics now and it's just so much fun. The strangest thing is that they are all married and have at least 3 kids each. We are old!!! However, I am so behind haha. I still think of all of us as kids running around causing trouble and I think that's how I will always see us. Anyway, it's been a blessing to have these wonderful girls come back into my life.

Well, Other than traveling to Las Vegas, California, Logan, Provo, Park City, and St. George over the past 3 months, all the laughing with the girls, all the shoveling, it's been a pretty chill winter haha. I am looking forward to a WARM WARM summer and lots of fun!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well Christmas has now come and gone. The "Festivas for the rest of us" has come to an end. It's hard to believe that it will be the year 2009! It seems like yesterday we were waiting to see what would happen when 2000 hit. All the hype and anticipation and now it's 9 years later.

I am not one to usually set New Year's resolutions, probably because I can never seem to keep them, but this year I am trying something new. There are many areas of my life that need some serious work!!! I find myself just floating along not thinking much about the future. So, with that said, I am going to start looking at these important things from a spiritually futuristic point of view.

WORK: Well, it's time to really think about how I am going to take care of myself as I get older. Now I know I am not old yet, but I am also not getting any younger. Is my Career giving me what I need financially? Am I being provided with the things I need such as benefits and growth? Most importantly am I doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do? Am I listening to Him? I would like to think that I will someday find that "special someone" to make sure all these things are taken care of which leads me into the next part of my life I need to work on......

DATING: AHHHHHHHH!!!! Is what I have to say about that!!! It's killing me to think of things I need to do to get this part of my life going. Oh the agony of all the first dates yet to come. I just might have to suck it up and go to the 31 - 45 singles ward........I know I know you all have your opinion on this issue. Unless you can arrange for mister right to fall into my lap here pretty soon, I have no other choice!!!

SCHOOL: Not to get going on the whole economy thing, but my line of work has no guarantees of being around if things get bad. Extracurricular activities will not be a priority. So, with that in mind I have decided to go back to school and figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I graduated college with a degree that I really don't want to go in to. Just my luck. I have not decided exactly what I will be doing yet so I have postponed my original start date from this Spring to this Fall. Lots of my credits will transfer, but I will also lose a lot cause it's been awhile since I have been in school. Just the thought of taking tests makes me gag, but I really feel like it's what I need to do.

HOME: Even in my quaint little area that I live in there should be some order. I must get organized!!!!! So wish me luck. We are told to have a house of order so that's what I am going to have......someday......maybe in 10 years haha

NEW STUFF vs OLD STUFF: I need to do more things that stimulate my brain. I just might start piano lessons or start playing the violin again. Or I might do something brand new that I have not the slightest clue of how to do it. I am up for any suggestions.

MOVEMENT: For the love!!!!! I need to do something to get my fat butt back in shape! I hate running so that is out out out so there will be no more Triathlons for me! I will come and take pictures of all you freaks as you cross the finish line and I will cheer my brains out but I WILL NOT RUN ANYMORE!!!! So I am just going to stick to biking and swimming and maybe some tennis? Whatever I decide to do, I just need to do it!

ART: Not drawing. Not painting. Not sculpting. Not things that you have to have talent for. Just taking pictures. I LOVE to take pictures. I need to do it more often. Not just of people, but going out and just shooting away. It's my most favorite thing in the whole world to do.

READING: I HATE TO READ!!!! So my goal is to read 1 book every 2 months. I only like history books and autobiographies of people I find interesting. All the letters and words....they just don't like to stay in my head for more than a few seconds. I think I can do it. That's 6 whole books!!!!!

So that's what I am focusing on this year. I am sure I will learn a lot about things I don't really want to know about, but it will make me a better person and lead me in the right direction.

Have a very Happy and relaxing New Year............

When Life Hands You Lemons.......

Ok so maybe that is a little harsh....BUT STILL!!!!! That's what I want to do to the idiot who busted in my car window and stole my bag which had my wallet, I Pod, all my work papers, my sunglasses, 2 of my camera flash cards, and who knows what else. They took my ski jacket, a bag of christmas presents I had bought the day before and to make matters worse......I was the idiot who left my bag in the car!!! I never do that and today for what ever reason, I did. Maybe I should squirt the lemons in my own eyes! So I guess I should remind all of you to not leave anything in your car!

Christmas Puppy Pictures 2008

Yes, I dressed up the dogs and took their pictures. Yes, I know it may appear that I am a little bit crazy. But, the fact is they are pretty dang cute and I love them. MERRY CHRISTMAS

Mollie 2 years old

Leila giving bones 4 1/2 years old

Tis the Season To Be...........

Thankful
For the Gospel and how it influences my life
For the wonderful, loving people in my life
For my good health
For my cute puppies
For my prayers being answered when they are supposed to be answered
For being able to provide for myself
Jolly
Because it's almost Christmas
Because I am almost all done with my shopping
Because work is finally fun again
Because there are lots of fun things coming up that I get to do
Because I can listen to Christmas music....officially
Because Madagascar 2 was so stinkin funny
Stressed
Because I start meet season in TWO WEEKS!!!!!
Because it is going to snow soon and I HATE HATE HATE to drive in the snow
Because I have to have 24 kids ready to compete in TWO WEEKS!!!!!
Because I have to get up extra early because it takes me extra time to get to work because of the snow
Grateful
That I can go to the Temple whenever I want
That I have someone to go to the Temple with every week
That I have been adopted into a family that loves me just the way I am
That I live in a wonderful neighborhood
That Ryan hung the Christmas lights this year
That Trish loves to cook and I assume that she will make yummy holiday treats
That I still have TWO WEEKS until meet season!!!!!
Giving
To people who need it....no matter what it may be
To the people who mean alot to you
The best of yourself

Realizing what we have

This past Tuesday my sweet friend Julie Nawrot had a seizure while driving and hit a tree head on, killing her instantly. She was on her way home from a doctors appointment when it happened. She leaves behind her husband Jeff and her two sweet children Siera and Cooper. I have know Julie for about 11 years and will miss her dearly. She was so full of life and by far the loudest person I know. She was the friend who would do anything for anyone. I got to spend many fun times with Julie over the years and have so many crazy memories. I can still hear her saying MISS WENDY! You always knew when she entered a room.

Having had a lot of loss in my life, I know too well how hard it is to lose someone you love. My heart aches for her family. It seems that over the past few weeks I have had numerous chances to see past my trials and to find blessings. I have realized how much I am loved and how much I love others. I have seen the light of Christ shine through so many people in so many different ways. I have seen the importance of service and how it feels to be served and to serve. How often do we forget what we have? Do we get so caught up in the little things that we forget about what is really important? Do the people we love know how much we love them? What if today was our last day on earth. Would we be ok with how we were leaving things? I am not sure if I would be. I need to be more forgiving of the people who have hurt me. I need to tell the people that I love, that I love them more often than I do. I need to put more effort into my callings and my job. I need to read my scriptures more and I need to pray more. I need to not put off things that need to be done because I might not have a chance because tomorrow I could be gone.

I am comforted in knowing that Julie is in a good place. I know she is up in heaven just making everyone laugh there pants off! My life is better because I knew her.