Christmas Peace

Alright this is where we begin. GINGERBREAD HOUSES!!!! Or, I should say gram crackers (three packets each) and some hot glue. Mine: Holiday Square is nothing short with Christmas, Halloween, Valentines and Easter! Cassidy made something... like a spanish house or something. Joshua: A Scottish Castle. Leslies (not pictured) as embarrassing as it is to admit on my OWN blog, won, yes her creative North Pole Fire House was a better idea than ours. It took forever to get them finished and I have decided for everyone that next year will be one basic cottage and the competition will be on the decorating! Yes, everything must be a competition if any of us plan to participate!

Christmas morning was a SUCCESS!! Josh and I surprised papa with not only one, but TWO framed photos of his mountain property. Thanks to ALL the fireman who helped us with this project: Robert Hooper Photographer, Clint somebody Frames, and Kelly Larsen Glass.

Papa and I with our brand new chaps! Yay for us!! We are both pretty excited, cant wait to try them out and save my legs!
I accidentally talked Leslie into getting her boys (Jeremy, Treyden, Colten, Lincoln) a NEW PUPPY!!!! I mean it really was a good idea. Jer was surprised and the boys love her! I had so much fun helping Leslie get prepared for this little bundle now named Dixie. She is a heeler/aussie mix and so soo cute. Right Leslie?! Duke hopefully doesn't feel left out, he is getting more attention with her coming over to play or growl at him whichever. :)

We were all smiles all the while. Glad Josh got to come home and visit us for 9 days. Glad we had family here in town that came over for our annual christmas day brunch. Thankful for the gifts we received and were able to give! We have SO MANY christmas traditions (most including food) but my favorite is becoming Christmas Eve or Day GAMES at the FIRE STATION!!! Its not only because I have won the games played (see competition competition) but because it requires and effort, not only on us loading up in our new matching pajamas with games in hand, but on papa to put up with us and our craziness in front of his co-workers ( who usually join in anyways).

As we make our way into the new year lets just remember one thing..... only 361 days till christmas!!!!

National Finals Rodeo

Yes, those are cute American and French Cowboys! No better way to start off a post than with that photo :)
Jer,Les, Me and Laura at the rodeo at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. (dont forget that this venue is FULL of cowboys old and mostly young. Is there a better place to be?)
Laura and I eating some yummy yummy potato somethings or another.
The cutest, most unpractical spur straps I have ever seen! Oh, and probably the most expensive too $85 dollars for these beauties, unfortunately all I got of them was this picture :)

Where oh where to begin. Jeremy Leslie Laura and I went down to the NFR on monday the 6th. We went down early enough to spend the day shopping at two of the three cowboy christmas venues they have during the rodeo. Let me just say 7 hours was not enough time! We'll plan more time off work next year for sure. We drove down and ate lunch in north las vegas Robertos or some mexican place with yummy burritos. Dont worry it was safe, or at least the guy behind the bullet proof glass was safe. We literally shopped till we dropped, dropped into our seats at the rodeo that night that is! We had so much fun checking out cowboys, looking at the endless jewelry racks, and tryin on clothes. Lusting after things we couldn't afford was most of our time passer. Then we cheered on all the cowboys participating in the rodeo, but mostly the UTAH contestants. We decided to check out early so during the "last" bull rider we sneeked down the stairs, turns out there was a few more than "one" more. Which turned out to be a good thing, because standing right next to Jeremy was Tuf Cooper. I didnt believe it was him and I offered Laura five bucks to ask him she got star struck so I pocketed my five dollars and went and asked myself. Turns out it was him and I just made my best effort to flirt with this famous 20 year old calf roper. Got a fun picture and laughs to get us home! Laura was the best date a girl could ask for too! So thankful for good friendships and my fun brother and sister! And of course thankful for all them good lookin cowboys coming to vegas!

Thanks and Giving

This year was the "on" year for us Holt descendants. This means that all the kids, grandkids and great grandkids of Howard and Verna Holt get together and feast! This years count was 136(ish)!!! Yes thats right, 136 of my closest relatives come from near and far to share talents make crafts and eat yummy food! We always have a good time visiting with cousins and spending the day, I believe this was the first year I have not participated in a volley ball match against cousins because I helped man the craft tables. It is a big event that we all obviously enjoy! See you in two cousins!

Colten making his edible christmas tree in the 5 and under craft room.
Lincoln Treyden Colten Singing their favorite songs during the talent show.
Trey and I waiting for our turn to get some food. Cant tell we are related huh?
Hear they all are.... all 136 of us! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Cattle Drive

October 15th 2010

Lets start out with Jeremys famous line "I wonder whats going to happen THIS year...?" The only way to find out is to continue to read my post, but first lets go back to years past so you can fully understand the previous statement :) Way up the mtn: Julies mustang breaks the tree its tied to and bolts with the whole thing.... Last year: Sammi gets a log to the face, and a ride to insta care in cedar city for stitches. Year before: The semi truck FULL of cattle halfway tips over on the off ramp of the free way. Thanks to Dad and Jeremys PROFESSIONAL trailer backing we save all but one calf. Some year: Horse Lucky gets drug behind the horse trailer. One year before that: We loose horse Lucky for three days on the mtn. One time or Two: Sammi gets kicked in the shin/thigh goes home with some nasty looking bruises. Once or Twice: I am sure we all have been bucked off trampled or something of the sort.... Well I could continue on about stories of the past, but lets get to the one of the most recent......

We started our day out as normal up at five thirty to be ready by six, to be waiting on the sunlight. I drive dad and the crew over to the horses to get saddled as the sun is just thinking about coming up over the ridge. I drive back to the cabin with my instructions which are to get on the wheeler and hold the cows at the gate. Check. I can do that, or so I think... I get up to the gate and am "holding" the cows there and there is no one in sight for what seams like forever. Then chandler comes up on another wheeler and tells me the story, or what we know of the story by then...."Dad (Mr. Harr) got off his horse to tighten the cinch when he bolted, saddle slid under his belly and he was GONE they are all looking for the horse now. (dont forget we are on 700 acres of land here, and the horse has never been there before). So everything stops for about and hour or more while everyone is looking for this runaway horse and saddle besides me, who is still trying to "hold" fifty head of cows at the gate.... Jeremy find the horse with his amazing/crazy animal whisper ways but no saddle. We have an extra saddle so they saddle up the horse again and meanwhile Liesels horse acts up with her and goes up and over backwards! She the clever/smart girl she is bails but is up before her horse has a chance to get out from under her. So.... finally almost two hours later we are now all settled we have found the original saddle with a few minor broken straps and are ready to proceed with the cattle drive. Although, while this commotion was going on over there over where I was at, the cows were escaping my "hold." I was FREAKING out on our handy dandy walky-talkies, but NOONE seemed to hear. So they spend another 20 minutes gathering up the cows that I had lost or that had ran away from my grasps :) Moral of the story is everything worked out just fine! We lost a couple hours day light, but still managed to get the cows to the bottom and in the trailers before pitch dark. Now thats what I call cowboys!

Not much commotion when on during the day other than Duke being charged by the cows, hence why he rode the wheeler with me parts of the way. The kiddos couldnt get enough of ridding Jers horse which in return couldnt make him any happier. Colten got sick and slept most of the way off, I jumped a lot of fences (like a pro) to run down misbehavin cows. Also, the weather was PERFECT! We could not have asked for a better sunnier day. Years past I remember being a popsicle all day, wearing layer after layer. But this year, ultimate bliss....

We may have came home with some dirt on our faces, a little mud on our boots, or a tear in our jeans but the best part of it all was the memories we will smile about for years to come :)

Captain Sir!

I cant believe I never posted anything about my papa in the last month. September my daddio Sam took the Captain test here for St George Fire Captain. He has spent numerous hours studying and working towards this goal. He had Jeremy and Leslie help him write a resume and practice his interview questions. (Jeremy and Leslie just went through this whole interview process with Jer for the Life Flight that is coming to STG) I remember him coming home all annoyed after the test because he felt he did poorly. Apparently on the written exam there was a lot of grammar questions he didn't really prepare for and they had to write aletter response to a mock complaining citizen which he did not have enough time to finish completely. So, needless to say he was a little bugged that he spent all the time prepping to feel he fell short. A few weeks later however Jan and Sam went to go pick up his "declining" letter for captain as dad said. He left Jan in the truck while he was just running in to pick it up, he wanted to pout in private :) Little did papa know while he was in there Chief Stoker saw mom and hinted to her that Dad GOT CAPTAIN!!!! So Jan goes inside and makes him open it. I remember getting the call at IFA from Dad saying I got it, I am Captain! I could hear the smile in his voice! Even to top it all off that he made it he was the highest scorer on the written section! Way to go PAPA!!

I wanted to get something for him to say congrats, and of course the thing that came to mind was a pumpkin pie. Little did I know that they are hard to come by middle of september. I ran into wal-mart and they had NONE. So I drive back into town to albertsons, to find one that is like 5 inches big and disgusting looking. Soooo, I then drive to harmons and they have ONE left, but kicker is its like an 8 inch and it was priced liked a block of gold. But of course my daddy is worth it! Later I then learned that Costco is the place to go. For 6 bucks the have like a 10 inch pie and they always look perfect. So, you learned two things outta this post Costco is where you buy pies, and my awesome dad is CAPTAIN!!!!!

Shingles!!!

Overview

Shingles (herpes zoster) is a painful, blistering skin rash due to the varicella-zoster virus, the virus that causes chickenpox.

Symptoms

The first symptom is usually one-sided pain, tingling, or burning. The pain and burning may be severe and is usually present before any rash appears.

Red patches on the skin, followed by small blisters, form in most people.

• The blisters break, forming small ulcers that begin to dry and form crusts. The crusts fall off in 2 to 3 weeks. Scarring is rare.
• The rash usually involves a narrow area from the spine around to the front of the belly area or chest.

Causes

After you get chickenpox, the virus remains inactive (becomes dormant) in certain nerves in the body. Shingles occurs after the virus becomes active again in these nerves years later.

The reason the virus suddenly become active again is not clear. Often only one attack occurs.

Shingles may develop in any age group, but you are more likely to develop the condition if:

• You are older than 60
• You had chickenpox before age 1
• Your immune system is weakened by medications or disease

If an adult or child has direct contact with the shingles rash on someone and has not had chickenpox as a child or a chickenpox vaccine, they can develop chickenpox, rather than shingles.

Yikes!!!! Its not just an assumption now, its a fact that I am indeed an old lady. First we just thought sitting at home alone, watching sappy love movies was proof enough. Little did we know more proof was on its way. Last week I started having pains in my right chest/shoulder area. Thinking that I must have had pulled a muscle or something didnt think much of it until, it started aching in my back/shoulder area as well. A few days later I was mentioning it to my sister in law and she caught that it sounded a lot like what her sister recently had, shingles. Indeed, the next morning I broke out with the rash. I made a doctors appointment and when the nurse asked me why they were seeing me today, I said because I believe I have shingles. He looked at me like I was the dumbest person alive. He asked me why I believe that and I said because I have been having the pain and this morning I broke out with this, as I showed him my underarm. He looked at me again, saying yeah looks like you do. The doctor also agreed and gave me some super good pain meds and a antiviral. Every day it seams to get a bit worse, more rashes and bigger blisters. I hate waring my bra or a shirt that touches my underarm. I was told I would be lucky if this would all be over in a weeks time... so I am sayin my prayers it will be over super fast. The photos on google are so disgusting so I did not post one, mine is not THAT bad at least yet. Well next on my old lady check list is to get some cats!

Two Post in one day?!?

IN THE MOMENT:

I cant decided to be annoyed right now or happy. Really?! I know, I have been asking myself that same question like a million times in the past FOREVER (or so it seams). Another question I am asking myself is.. is it real this time? But then I just shake my head and think "what the hell am I thinking?" You should all know the song by Brad Paisley "waiting on a woman"... well reverse it, and bingo, you guess it STORY OF MY LIFE. I made in a list (in my head) of all the men I have waited on, one time or another in my life. Trust me I have had more than my share (or so I think). Apparently you can guess I am thinking that waiting on men has defiantly NOT been worth it (so far anyways, I do have some kind of hope). I am putting it all on black, that one day it will ALL be worth it. All of this 'misery' (one day I will laugh I am sure, but today is not that day) I have been going through will be worth it. Worth it when I finally (I know my mere 22 years) FINALLY have 'that' someone. That someone that you can tease knowing your going to get teased right back. That someone you can flirt or argue with. That someone you can laugh with, or sit in complete silence with. That someone that will lift you up when down, comfort you when you feel alone. That someone that lets you cry on their shoulder with out getting mad you leave a wet spot from tears. That someone who completely understands you with out saying a single word. That someone who looks forward to the end of a work day so that they can see YOU. That someone you can complain about when everything is not going 'just right'. That someone that you can argue with about all those simple 'nothing' about life. That someone you can cuddle with any time you want. That someone that will tickle you till you cry or pee your pants :). That someone you can surprise with tickets to that special advent you can share together. That someone who will just drive across town to see your pretty face. That someone who knows what your about to say before you even speak it. That someone who looks at you and says "I will love you forever and always". That someone that looks past your faults and still chooses you to spend eternity with. That someone who can handle family dinners, parties and holidays, and makes you feel just as apart of his family. That someone who most importantly you chose to go to the celestial kingdom with and have your happily ever after.

Its pretty obvious how I am feeling "in this moment". But just so all you bloggers out there know, I am finally finding some comfort in this "tragedy" by turning to the Lord. Who actually knew if you pray you get some kind of answer. Not the preferred answer I really wanted, but an answer nonetheless. A real answer that has and will help me get over this "hump" in my life. I told my sister in law the other day (in a frustration with boys) that "its not like I feel old and need to be married, in fact it only bothers me because everything, I mean EVERYTHING we do is in couples or pairs. Hell, I cant even go to lagoon with out needing someone with me to ride the rides." As I tried to hold back my tears of overwhelming despair I actually thought about it (miracle, I know). I thought about taking just anyone to lagoon with me, but then it wouldnt necessary be better than going alone you see, because you have to have that "right" somebody with you to make the rides fun. (relating to life:) Being with someone just to have someone is not better than the (LONG, DREADFUL) wait for the "right" someone. (point:) Even though I feel desperate at the "moment", I have to wait for these men (waiting on a man) to figure their shiz out. I have to wait because I know that the joy of having that RIGHT somebody will utterly be worth it all. I can honestly say I know the "wait" will be worth it (I hope haha) because I have FAITH. And that is all you need.

wishin..and hopin..and thinking..and prayin

I am wishing for:

A happy ending to my book

good dreams that make me never wanna wake up

warm weather to stick around a bit longer (I am still tryin to get a tan!)

summer rain showers to play in fully clothed

laundry to miraculously be cleaned and back in my closet

Boys to stop playin games with my head

someone else to wash my dog so he doesn't smell bad anymore!

my hair to grow back long over night!

I am hoping for:

good food in the pantry

a few certain "someones" to call me

a wonderful productive day/night of crafts

this smile on my face to never leave

courage to face all that is and will be thrown my way

FAITH

some miraculous miracle in my life

a plan

I am thinking:

I could sure loose a few pounds..

man, that boy is hott!

I need more hours in the day

that my "to do" list never seams to get any shorter even though I check things off constantly!

I need to get my act together

Christmas!!!!

Thanksgiving!!!!

I could sure loose a few more pounds ha

I am ready for that "change" in my life

I should really document my life more diligently

I need to be a better friend to others

I could do more service

and Praying for:

Safety for all of our loved ones

Blessings to make me understand how truly blessed I already am

Strength, courage and determination to do the things I know I need to do

help to stand strong in times of trial

the ability to be the bigger person at times

Faith in myself and others

A better outlook on all things

And I am praying for YOU! Yes you, even if we have been friends for only a little while, or only close while we were in school, or if your in my family by choice or birth. You, even if I dont "know" you, I am praying for you. For your health, safety and families, for your kindness you do to me and/or others. I cannot believe the impact we have on each others lives for the good or bad. Whether you have impacted me directly or indirectly it has indeed made and impact. Keep faith in all things and remember there is no deed too big or too small. Just turn that frown upside down and turn it into a SMILE!

Photos of Scotland

I am not going to even write anything about these photos, and surprisingly enough thats not even all the good ones! Pictures are worth 1,000 words.

Saturday

So here we are on our “final” day. We woke up and had breakfast at 8:00, were driving out of our parking lot at 8:30 turning back and waving at our hostess and her dog. We have about 6 more hours of driving to Glasgow to catch our flight to London, were we will spend the night and fly back to the states in the morning. We made a few stops at some more craft shows, none as good as the one we hit the other day, but still interesting. We made it to Fort Williams, this is a bigger city, with SHOPPING! I was worried the whole trip that I would not find any souvenirs or a bag to bring them all home in. But thankfully for Fort Williams. We spent a few hours here walking down the rows of shops, lots of shops! I think we have done well on our purchases. We all sort of went our own ways, taking our own time the stores we wanted. It was so nice not felling rushed by my brothers when I wanted to shop. Who knew I would love a shopping experience this much, not I that’s for sure. Then back in the car we went, we stopped and ate lunch right out of Fort Williams at a Bar & Restaurant. I should know by now with my travels not to order lasagna but I did anyways. It was not that great, it was however better then the one I had in Rome though. Lol well, windy wet roads and a few hours later we make it to our destination. The Paisley Glasgow Airport (Paisley can you believe it, I wanted to get out and take a picture, but I didn’t). We found where to return our rental car very easily thanks to Cassidy’s step by step directions on his I-phone. Then all three of us sitting in the parking lot, trying to get all of our newly purchased souvenirs into our bags. One good thing about these airports they have trolleys for FREE. So we snatched one up and pushed all our luggage into check in. We had to sit for a while because there was no one at the baggage counter. We could check in automatically then sat and waited to send our bags off. Once we came through to the gates, it was like a whole mall there. There was all kind of stores to wander and look, too bad I am out of money there was some cute things. I never did find my postcards that I wanted though, I saw them once in Edinburgh then never again. I am so sad, they were handsome young men wearing only kilts, some even the wind had came and blew part of the them up! They were the best, that will teach me to not buy something when I see it right! We eventually made it to our gate to wait a few hours ( who knew we had gotten here so early!). Our flight was about 1 hour to London, then catch a bus to our hotel, were we camped out for our final night abroad. (I am not as sad as I should be, I am ready to come home, but as soon as I get back to work and life, I will be ready for another adventure soon enough) I am out of money, clothes, socks, patients, and strength to carry my luggage any further! I am stick of food I don’t like, and am ready for a really good meal when I get home. Like a nice twice baked potato, a pepperoni and pineapple pizza from Pizza Factory, or even a bowl of Fruit Loops would do the trick! I am also sick of these crazy windy roads, and Cassidys driving, I don’t prefer the one lane roads, or the cold weather. However, I will miss all the Scottish accents, and eating all our meals in a bar. I will miss asking for tap water with ice and drinking loads of hot chocolate! I will miss all the green scenery and all the waterfalls flowing off the cliffs. I will also miss the plaid, its everywhere. (I think I need to find plaid paper to wrap my Christmas gifts in this year) Also, cant forget about all the fields and fields of sheep and cows, but mostly I will miss the hairy highland cows. I only got to see a few, but one day, I will take one home with me! The bus dropped us off right in front of our hotel! Makes it easier on us with all of our heavy luggage. They have free wi-fi on the main floor but you need a password to use it on your own computer for free for one hour. I asked twice how to log on but it was useless. So, I just logged onto theirs so there for no blog update until I get internet next. Wish us luck sleeping in the same room one last night, did I mention there is a huge bed in this room and is super comfy!!

Friday

Well this will be and easy update. I got a headache at around lunch time and I was down ever since. I would poke my head up every now and then to see the wonderful scenery but that is about all I could take. We did manage to make a few stops before lunch time and saw the kilt cliffs. They were absolutely beautiful, black cliffs on the coast that look like the pleats in a kilt. Very windy and cold but we managed to look over the edge and take it all in before we hurried back to the shelter of the car. We took a couple little detours through some small towns to find a place for me to go potty (surprise right?), some cute little villages you could call them. We happened to stumble onto a local craft show. You walk into this big room and there are many booths set up with each person selling their own special talent. Wood working, wool spinning, pastries, paintings, hand sewn projects, crochet, and other things. Cassidy bought a few things from the wood working man, they were wonderful pieces. We then headed off to the castle of Eilean Donan. It was really quite amazing. My favorite part and my brothers laugh was in the kitchen. They had fake food on the tables and fake people posed doing different jobs. They had some recipe books that you could flip through and see what type of meals they cooked. They had a pantry that had some chickens hanging along with some jack rabbits and fish laying out on the counter. They had different little postings that told you when things were in season, and that some of the maids in the kitchen would be up at six to prepare food, and would be up till midnight washing all the dishes. We drove to a town called Portee and that’s were we found our restaurant for lunch. I even ordered a hamburger this time, and ate half of it till Josh asked me how my highland cow tasted. I really wanna get one, I am sure Dad would be okay with just one hairy cow right?! Well this is when I feel asleep with no return. I know they stopped and walked up to the light house at Ness point, I peeked at it is all. Then Feire Glenn a pretty area, they got out and took photos again, I just peeked up out of the window then right back down I went. We then started towards our B&B but it seamed like it took forever. Once we got there around 7 ish I went right to sleep. It was the nicest B&B we have been to all trip. The hostess, Jan was super nice and she had a cute little dog that loved to play with all of us. We had out our little suite with own bathroom and two beds, one twin, and one full size. It was the softest bed yet, too bad we didnt get much sleep once Cassidy came to bed. Nice accommodations and very nice people, I was surprised when she said they were going to take their holiday in September. She said they would spend a few weeks down with family, the a few weeks to Crete, then back to a few weeks with their family before coming home. Cant you imagine, I think us Americans need to pick up that tradition. I was always wondering why everyone who asked how long we were gone on holiday were surprised we only said 9 days. That’s not nearly enough they would all say in shock. I was thinking it was plenty long enough :)

Thursday*

(I am on track, no more tryin to remember past days, yippie!)

Thursday:

Again and early morning for me. Six-thirty I was awake and getting ready to leave. I didn’t take any hot breakfast from Antoinette in hopes not to offend her today… We had a long day of driving ahead of us like 7 hours or so. We started our journey and made many stops along the way. We did a lot of turn abouts too, just so we didn’t feel bad for not taking the same route five times. We stopped and walked down to a cave, all we could really see was some waterfall inside but it will still really cool. They had stories of when the Vikings would use this cave back in the day. We pulled into a craft village. It had like 6 stores that were all really cool painting or pottery and the CoCo mountain! Antoinette told us we should stop there that they have the best cup of coco ever. I knew it was going to be to rich for me so I got the kids cup it was more milky and even had marshmallows! It was pretty good, pretty chocolaty, and I don’t know if it was the BEST cup I have ever had, that mix from the cannery is pretty dang good haha. They had treats for sale there too, josh bought all kinds of truffles, and I got some different kinds of fudge to give some friends. We got back into the car to further our adventures. This is when josh and I took a nap, sorry but it’s the only way I could make it seven+ hours with Cassidy’s driving. The scenery was beautiful ocean coast most of the way. Then we got to the highlands. Finally some trees. On Orkney there is no trees its too windy for them to grow, actually not many trees in Scotland period, until we reached the highlands. This is were I saw my first hairy cow (a highland cow). I made Cassidy stop (it was a miracle I saw it with his speed in the first place). I got out and took my photos, I hope I get to see some more. I cannot believe they are so rare, aren’t they like what Scotland is known for?! Anyways, made it to Ullerpool and did a little bit of shopping. Found some cute t-shirts, my Scottish deck of cards and a few little other tidbits. We ate lunch at another trip advisor place and it was okay I guess, I don’t like fish, so garlic bread and some of Joshies fries is how I rolled. They didn’t even have hot chocolate! We continued on our journey through the windy sometimes one-lane roads. Seriously, one lane, not like one lane each way, one-lane total! They have these little passing places that kind of jet out so one car can move over, but scary thing is you cant always see down the road at all. They are so windy and such a small road for one car let alone two! Again, you know I lived through it, as I am writing this now… We pulled over at a little turn off point with some benches and took some photos. Josh hurt my wrist by trying to get me to sit so close to him when I didn’t want to. He wont take no for and answer, until he met me! We then found shop to get some ice cream in, I got a little cup of raspberry original Orkney ice cream, it was pretty good stuff! Our last stop before our destination tonight was the beach! White sandy beach, with cool water, the wind wasn’t blowing, so I almost thought about getting my feet wet. But that’s all just thought about it. We walked along there for about 20 minuets, Cassidy got his feet wet while Josh and I looked for seashells. On my walk I also found, a crab, I think he was dead, or in the process of dying and a baby crabs shell.. like the skin he outgrew. It was pretty nasty and cool at the same time. Tonight we have reached Mellow Charles. We will spend just one night here at this B&B. We are all in the same room, but all three have different beds. We tried to drive down to the beach but had no such luck. But we did get to watch the amazing sunset over the clam clear ocean. Then off the pub for drinks, well only josh drank and Cassidy had dinner. I just sat and watched all the local people drink and be merry, boy did I grow up in a different world then these people. I believe the Scottish beer is a bit stronger here than at home, because just broke out in song “I am tryin to be like Jesus” I said “seriously Josh in the middle of a bar?! “ Anyways, it brought a good laugh, now off to bed, got a few more full days ahead of us!

ps. sorry they have not been as good as they could be. I am getting lazy and not spending the appropriate amount of time, to be honest I dont even go back and re-read what I wrote (if you couldnt tell) Maybe, one day I will get the ambition to go through and edit the post, possibly even add my pictures, just maybe :)

Wednesday

Wednesday:

We stayed at a cute B&B called Valley View last night. We woke up early to make sure we would make our ferry over to the Orkney Island. We had a tradition Scottish breakfast, which includes: bacon (ham), sausage, fried egg, cooked tomato, black pudding, mushrooms, and scone bread. Yes, really of that! Josh thinks I offended her by not eating it all. One, it was not really that good, and two, it was A LOT of food! We then drove to our ferry; we had to be there 30 minuets early for line up. It was just perfect time for a nap. We drove our car onto the ferry then walked up on upper deck. It was like a minny cruise ship! Nice bathrooms, a little room of gambling stations, a nice jewelry shop, a café and really nice seats that even reclined into a comfortable position! We stepped out side for like two bits, just long enough to take a photograph. Don’t forget its freezing cold here. The ride was another good opportunity for a nap. We made it to the Orkney Island and began our tour. We made many stops during the day first on the list was Maes howe. It its this tomb above ground. From the outside looking in, it just looks like a big mound of dirt, They call it a burial mound, and there are lots around just not many you can go inside and have a look. We got to go inside and see all the architecture of this 5,000-year-old structure. It was really cool to waddle down this little corridor before it opened up where you could stand up in. There was like four tombs on each wall of the building. Our little guide was so passionate about the heritage they had here. We then traveled over to a smaller older version of stone hedge. Same concept rocks standing straight up for century’s, no one really knowing why they were placed there. Still pretty cool to see, nonetheless. We also went up to a area, I forget what it is called, but there are housed in the ground. We get to walk around and look down into these houses. There was like eight of them, still with their stone box beds, stone shelves and cut outs in the wall for more storage places. Always in all the rooms the fire pit was in the middle of the rooms. We ate lunch at the little café at this same place. Well I just got my traditional cup of hot chocolate. We continued on to another place that was very similar but you could only go during certain hours of the day. When the tide comes in at night, the walkway to the ruins is covered up. It was quite the walk over there, over rocks and wet sand. I made Josh walk out over all the rocks and seaweed with me to touch the Atlantic ocean! We then raced back to the town (wherever that was called) to catch the ferry back over to the main land. We had dinner reservations at a place called the School House. Cassidy read a review on trip advisor that recommended it highly. (Should have known better!) Anyways we made it there and there was only one other couple they’re eating. That’s all that showed up in the 1.5 hours we were there. We walked in and were seated right next to the fire (thankfully). It was expensive three-course meal 27 pounds I believe. (I know I cannot eat that much or like three things on their terribly small menu) I ordered there leek/potato soup which was quite good actually. We ate our meal and waited and waited for our check. The lady of the house came out and chatted with us for a bit then the other couple a LONG time. She was super cute and nice but I mean, I guess we learned our lesson in this country. They do not bring your check until you ask for it. Even when they do not leave and opportunity for you to ask for it. I finally put on my jacket and she noticed and said you must be ready to leave, I notice you put on your jacket… yes! Yippy! It ended up bing like 60 pounds for our three meals. Cassidy decides that a 5 pound tip is good. We asked when we were ing the car how much he left and josh was APPALLED. Cassidy is all what, that’s 10%... I said no, 6 pounds on 60 is ten percent, so we turned around so we could leave an adequate tip. (adequate tip in Europe is 15% when eating food, when just getting drinks at the bar no tip necessary, Josh looked it up when we got back so we would now know for future references) Other then that we just headed back to our B&B for the night. We are siblings for cryin out loud, we had enough time in the car together for the day. I now know why you get along better when your older, its because you are never with them anymore, everyone either had moved out or you have your own busy schedule. Put them in the same car/room for seven days, they will bicker again, we are proof. :)

*TUESDAY*

Tuesday 24^th:

Early morning is right; I vetoed a shower so that I could sleep in, in which I had no such luck. Josh woke up at seven to shower, and then Cassidy proceeded to turn on all the lights and pack his bag up. Which includes airtight plastic bags you have to crinkle and roll all the air out. So I was up it rather I liked it or not. We were ready in great time and again, very conveniently located to the train station. Which is great because if you have seen the size of my two backpacks you wouldn’t wanna tote them all around Scotland either. Talk about getting into good shape whether you like it not, and fast! Just with the few things I have purchased so far, I am ready for a new bag already, it was hard zipping up my bags in America now add four other things, it’s a handful. New goal for today: find a tote bag to carry gifts in. We caught out 8:30 train from Edinburg to Inverness. It is about a four-hour train ride where at that station our rental car picks us up. The train ride was beautiful, I am glad its during sunlight we take this trip. All the country and cute houses we get to see. Makes you not really miss the desert landscape we have back home. I was chatting with my friend I met while skydiving in Las Vegas the other night. He lives in Manchester England and he says “hope you brought your rain coat with you for Scotland’s weather, do you even have a rain coat being from the desert?” We then chatted about the beauty and culture of England and he proceeded to tell me, Nevada/Utah is pretty in their own ways. The mountains and desert landscape is pretty all the same, just in their own way. I agreed with him about all in their own they are wonderful, I guess. We ended up getting to the train station an hour before the car rental place were ready to pick us up. So we enjoyed a cup of coco at the café and just sat and rested to pass the time. After finding the car after walking circles (we are really good at that) signed papers and off we go! I was all tense and I was in the back seat with Cassidy driving. I felt like a mother of a teenage child, wishing I had my own emergency break to step on! I don’t think I have been that nervous in a long time! Anyways, so you know I lived because I am telling the tale. I got car sick immediately with a combo of cassidys driving, windy roads, and speeding up and slowing down very quickly. I proceeded to try to take a nap to try to feel better. We made a few stops on our way to the B&B (bed and breakfast). One of the stops were “the steps”. There was 365 steps down to the ocean (I think there were a few more than that.. but who is counting) it was really an amazing view! Couldn’t get enough of it! Have I mentioned its been like 45ish degrees with winds of 25 miles per hour close to the ocean! I cannot believe I am craving hot chocolate in AUGUST! I am wearing long pants and the two jackets I brought and am still freezing all the time! Talk about different then at home you cant cool off at all in August. Anyways, I am really tired and day behind this one gets cut short. We found a cute resturant to eat dinner in called Y-Not. It was really good the Meatball sandwich I had anyways. We were close to our B&B so there was nothing else in this small town going on, so we called it a night. Josh and I get our own room tonight, a cute blue room with two little twin beds AND a blow dryer! Amazing isn’t it! The things you’re thankful for in a foreign country! OH and I cannot forget to mention my big brother Cassidy's super embarrassing moment. While we were driving along the country side there is lots of fields of sheep and cows about, we pass a pasture of cows all having horns and Cassidy says is all seriousness "Oh look, they all have horns, they must be bulls." I at first thought he was joking, because as most of you know we grew up on a cattle ranch, even with out that fact, he is a college graduate and 31 years old, I would think somewhere along he would have learned that just because cows have horns does not make them bulls. And you all wonder why I think its ridiculous for our parents to leave the ranch to all of us five kids, obviously some of us have to do a bit more research on the family business. Anyways, hopefully I can get all caught up and not miss any more good stories to tell!

Monday!

We had no set schedule this morning so we decided to sleep in. Yes, we sleep as long as we wanted, well as long as Cassidy wanted, which turned out to be nine thirty. We got ready and dressed for the cloudy misty rainy day. First stop tourist information center. Cassidy stood in line to pick up the tickets for a few things while Josh and I waited out side. We were taking some photos of all the old buildings around when I got a fat lip. I know, I know, accident-prone I am. I was stepping onto a bench that happened to have a little shelter/roof thing that when I looked up it got me right on my upper lip! Man did it hurt, I thought I knocked out a front tooth, luckily not, just had a nice fat lip the rest of the day. (Hopefully it is not noticeable in the photographs!) Then off to the train station to pick up our tickets for our early morning train tomorrow for Inverness. Then like all tourist we stood in the middle of the sidewalk to determine where we were going to head. Off to the Edinburg Castle it was. We walked down the “main” tourist drag with lots of cute shops and bars. We found two cute little Christmas shops, I mean little like hardly enough room for the three of us to even been in there. This is when I decided that I could work at a Christmas shop all year long! I would be the happiest person on earth, looking at cute decorations, and listening to Christmas music constantly! New goal: find a Christmas shop in St George. Edinburg Castle was pretty cool other then the rain and I was freezing all day. We skipped out on paying like 4 pounds for an audio guide, which turned out to be okay because we found a guided tour that we hooked up with. I swear that there is like 5 different museums in that one castle. We even got to see the crown jewels of Scotland, which are the 2^nd oldest jewels in Europe. Also there was the stone of destiny, wasn’t as big as I thought it was from the movies I have seen with it in. I also gained a friend at the castle. I was posing for my picture by a wall with cannons by it and a bird flew right over my head and landed like 1 foot away. Freaked me out, all the other tourist started laughing at me and said, looks like you got an admirer. All the oriental people were taking photos. After I got over the shock of a bird almost landing on my head I tried to pet him but he wouldn’t allow it. Just starred at me all creepy stalkeryish. Now, whenever we hear a seagull they say he found you Sam, your friend he is there! (Not so funny but what do you do) After that we took the road back down and walked into a few shops. We (my brothers and I) decided it would be a good idea to have our family pictures this fall with scarfs from Scotland! So hate to ruin the surprise but we got Scottish plaid scarfs for everyone!!! We bought them at this cute little family owned/worked shop. They were the nicest people and we bought a lot from them to support them! One of the daughters said Scots are the nosiest people, we want to know everything about you, and will tell you everything about us. Well in this instant it was true, we visited with them for a long while. Very nice family for sure! Best part is everything we bought was made in Scotland and can be washed in the washing machine! We dinned for lunch at a place called Whisky. It was on this main road a little ways down, not to crowded and our little waitress girl was so nice and friendly. Again, no real food for me, just a little bit of everyone else and of course some hot chocolate to warm me up! We headed back to our hotel in order to change and rest a bit before the big event of the day. TATOO! Tatoo, is a military band performance which was wonderful. We walked with the swarms of people to find our seats. We were up high enough it was great, until we tried to sit down. There was not enough room for me in the seats my knees hit the sit back in front of me and my brothers arms came over the armrest. The couple we sat by said, “not chance of getting cold tonight!” How true, we were crammed in there like sardines, but still nonetheless a wonderful performance. I got the video camera out and was just going to video the parts that were cool, well turns out the WHOLE show was cool, even when there was a black out and the announcer was telling more about the bands or acts. There were military bands from all over the world, even one from North Carolina in the United States! Well then when it was over, out like cattle we were escorted. We found our way back to our hotel, which was very conveniently located, when we went by Joshes directions, not Cassidys. Then off to sleep have an early morning train to catch!

Sunday.

Sunday:

We had to wake up early this morning to catch all our tours, trains, busses that we needed to. I woke up at six-thirty to shower before the boys (did I mention we went to be like mind-night). We are leaving London tonight so we had to check out of our hotel, which meant trying to get all my belongings back into that backpack of mine. (its just as hard every time I do it) We left at seven thirty to catch our train taking us to the Heathrow airport to drop off our bags. We possibly walked the length of terminal four times (not exaggerating) … so if you are ever there; I now know it pretty good. We missed breakfast this morning because we checked out early, so luckily for me there was a KRISPY KREAM at the airport! I think I am doing pretty good about trying the culture food, but I am doing even better about filling up on American Food. Maybe I wont loose any weight on this trip after all. We then took a bus out to a train station that took us to a town called Salisbury. This is where we had a double decker tour bus that took us to all the cool sights in the area. The first on the list was Old Sarum. It was out in the wonderful green country, we had to walk up a dirt path through a sheep-grazing field to the top of the hill where the ruins of the castle laid. They had about 20 people there playing different parts of the olden age. There were army men hiding in the trench of sandbags with guns firing off. There was a hospital tent with a nurse and a shop where you could by bread and food. We had amazing views of all the beautiful country. We jumped back on the bus and headed up to Stone Hedge. While waiting for the bus Cassidy made friends with a cute little Spanish family from Spain, the same area as his mission. Also, I will tell you before Josh gets the chance. I feel asleep on the bus and I snored once. I was like waking up not knowing I was sleeping and with my mouth open nonetheless and I snored. They both will not let me live it down. Oh, and I also got a little admirer. He was staring at me the whole train ride. So Josh thinking he was funny (which he wasn’t) kept telling me ooo theres your boyfriend! He even went as far as to almost push me into him. Really, I know, lets act our age’s right (brothers). ANYWAYS. We made it to Stone Hedge and made it around with our audio guide. I really do enjoy the audio guides not only because they are usually free, but also because you find out so many cool fact, myths, and information about the place your touring. I feel I get so much more out of the trip then just pulling up, taking my picture and being done. We then walked up to the Salisbury Cathedral. It is the tallest Cathedral in England, and the fourth tallest in Europe. It is a gorgeous Cathedral and super peaceful with a huge green lawn on each side of it for picnicking and lounging. On our way back to the station, we stopped and at lunch at a place that was very trendy and cute. Looks like it could be the hot spot for Thursday karaoke nights; well any nights really because it was pretty vacant during the lunchtime and its England, nightlife central. Made it back to the train station for our ride back into the airport a lot of coming and going right…. Right, but it was worth it?) We checked in and went through security where they take a photograph of you so you’re “in their system.” Kind of creepy but all right. We had a 45-minuet plane ride up to Edinburgh, Scotland. It was a fast easy ride in which there was NO sleeping. You think I would have learned by now, but I haven’t. I tried to fall asleep on the tray table and of course the seat in front of me came back, and back and back! FOR REALS they come back like two feet! So, once again I get squashed between the table and the chair coming to me. While loosing my comfortable spot it is helpless to try to sleep again. I feel that I am so irritable I need some sleep with these long days of walking and touring and smiling J We got on a bus that took us about four blocks from our hotel, there is SO many pretty buildings I tried taking photos of them but unfortunately its dark and my flash does not reach that far. Anyways excited to be in Scotland and excited to get some cool photos and souvenirs!

Saturday 21st!

Okay, where to begin, we are sitting in our hotel room trying to remember what all we did today. Thankfully we figured it out it was a harder task then you would think! (Its been a long long day!) I was awake way before the alarm (remember snoring brothers) I was dressed and ready to go by seven, we didnt leave the hotel till about nine... We went down for our complimentary full english breakfast. A full English breakfast I learned today was 1/3 of tomato, toast, sausage, ham(bacon), and baked beans! Needless to say I had fruit and some baked beans this morning :) We headed out and had some time to kill before the changing of the guards, we tried to catch the metro but they are doing LOTS of construction so many lines were closed down, we were a little annoyed so we found something close. The War Rooms: They are kind of hidden away and I had no idea it was going to be so cool. It was the underground bomb shelters during the wars. They had a free audio guide and a whole museum on Winston Churchill! I think he had some of the funniest quotes like: "If you are going through hell, keep going" "I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter" We then walked through the royal parks towards the Buckingham Palace to find a place for the changing of the guards. We eased our way into a spot on the railing where we waited, and waited and watched another million people try to squeeze in. I was pretty excited because it got canceled due to weather in 2008 when we were here. It took about 40 minutes to complete the whole thing, pretty impressive all the matching uniforms and small band and even guards on horseback. While in between advents I turn around to see a little boy pulling up his under ware and pants. His Dad the proceeded to pat him on the back and give him a kiss of accomplishment! The little boy peed on the Queens flowers! I mean I understand when you gotta go you got to go, but they could have found a more discrete place then in the middle of thousands of people during the changing of the guards lol. Next on the schedule was the tour of the Palace, it was impressively hard to walk to the entrance which happened to be around the corner. With thousands of people trying to leave the changing of the guard it was a tourist nightmare for about 15 minutes. We made it inside and toured the state rooms at the palace and even part of the royal gardens. Although I did it before, it was just as impressive or more this time. We then thought it to be a good idea to pick up our tickets for the show tonight, Cassidy and I were going to Wicked and Josh, some show I dont even know. We found a cute little reserved restaurant for lunch, I indeed had french fries :) I couldnt bring my self to by 10+ dollars for something I knew I wouldn't like or finish.... We then flagged a taxi to get up to tower of London. We had a little tour and learned all the history there. There was a group of employees acting out a little skit we watched for a second. One of those they try to get the crowd cheering and chanting. We saw the tower of London bridge and it is more impressive then London Bridge. We walked to find the bathrooms and I walked in and turns out it cost 50 pence! Are you kidding me! I surly did not have to go THAT bad to pay to use a public restroom. So I held it while we hailed our second cab to get to Trafalgar Square. This is where they have the four lion statues that are the most photographed statues in the world! We waited our turn then climbed/crawled up to get our pictures on/by the lions. It was a little harder then it looks to jump up that high on slick rock. We then walked the few minutes to Piccadilly Street that has loads of shopping, Regilys believe it or not museum, cinemas, tourist shops, lots of people and the one and only candy shop! Cassidy and I found this store a few years ago when we were here, and bought pounds and pounds of candy. So as tradition holds, we did it again…. The clerk rang me up and gave me my total of like forty dollars and she is like “um… is that okay?” I said yes its not all for me, and we are from out of town. Haha, anyways we had just enough time to catch the tube home to change our clothes and get to our shows. Cassidy and I went to Wicked, which is always amazing no matter the venue. But, (of course there is a but) they had a new Galinda and Elphaba casted. I hate to admit that they were not as good as the last, great singers just not as great. I didn’t get the goose bumps on defying gravity like I usually do but did on the song no good deed goes unpunished. We then tried to beat Josh back to the hotel (which we didn’t) then walked to the corner burger king and got food and ice cream. Josh was appalled that we ate American food, but we did walk into like two pubs that were closing, so we did try. J I couldn’t believe how fast I feel asleep and didn’t even wake up to snoring once; it was a busy, busy day that wore me out for sure!

First Days...

Hello blogger world/family/friends/strangers, I have a goal to keep a better detailed report about my travels. I have tried to recall my past trips to Europe, Spain, Bermuda ect, but cant seem to remember much besides it was sooo cool and I have TONS of pictures. So, here is my first attempt for this London/Scotland trip of August 19-29. Two of my big brothers Cassidy, Joshua and myself (oldest, middle, youngest children of the Larson clan) decided to venture out for ten days and explore the wonderful sights of London and Scotland. Cassidy and myself headed to Las Vegas Thursday morning about ten-thirty Cassidy's good friend Melanie was kind enough to take us to the airport. Unfortunately for me I woke up with a headache and was doing all I could to make sure it didn't turn into a migraine, I took many many pills and sleep the whole drive down to LV. We walked into the airport to find the longest line I have ever seen. Delta passengers were taking up not only all their allotted space but the next four lines next to theirs! ( good thing we planned two hours before our flight) We finally made it through lines after lines after lines and boarded our plane to Atlanta, Georgia where we were to meet up with Josh. The four hour flight from LV to Atlanta was not my finest hours, being sick caused me to feel like I was going to barf every other time the plane made a jolt. I sat in the middle next to Cassidy and some fine Brazilian young man :) We met up with Josh and ate our "last" American meal before we boarded yet, another plane, this time 8 hour flight to London. I indeed got stuck in the middle again, and thought my life was being taken from me when I fell asleep on the tray table the the chair in front of me started coming back, crunching me into what I thought was death. Needless to say, I did not die, just couldnt get comfortable enough to fall asleep after that. The plane had little screens in front of each chair that could either watch movies/tv, play games, watch your travel, or even listen to music. Thankfully I watched some good shows to make it through the flight. (It was a lot harder to fly coach, when you have flown first class before, I know, poor me right, I am just the one in London right now:) ) Anywho, we made it! Made it to London, and that means going through customs.... blah, my least favorite part of the trips, I always feel like I am being interrogated, which I guess in a way I am. Josh and I went in one line and Cassidy in the other, Cassidy went left Josh and I went right.... all I am going to say, is that will teach me to "choose the right" again. haha. We made it to our hotel just long enough to change into our "show" clothes, and be on time for our tour at the House of Parliament. We had a great tour guide that was so animated and loved her job. I think I now know more how their government works then my own... We then found a close by pub for dinner, we are hungry, tired and hot, the weather today is warm and muggy! We had some time to kill before our show Love Never Dies, the second Phantom of the Opera started so we went to where we "thought" the candy stores were, little did we know that was wrong, and then subway lines went down and there were a million people and did I mention we were hot and tired and siblings... I think we were all pretty irritated really fast. But we made it to our show and I believed we all loved it. I loved the Phantom he was absolutely amazing, I liked the show, a tear jerker for sure, but man were they proud of it too. I think the bows at the end went on for 8 minuets. No joke, they just kept on coming back then the curtains would start to close the clapping would start to die off and then they would open them again so the clapping resumed. haha of course it was a great show its LONDON!!! Well my brothers are now passed out, both snoring I would add, and we have a full day ahead of us tomorrow with Buckingham Palace and Wicked and of course gotta find that sweet yummy candy everyone wants brought home! Good night and I will add photos later, hopefully I stay up with this trip, hopefully you get a laugh or two out of our crazy adventures!

4th & 24th

There has just been so much going on during the month of July to even notice that its gone! We have birthays ( Cassidy, Dad, and Treyden) Anniversary (Ma & Pa) Celebrations 4th and 24th .... with all that is also brings cakes, family, treats, parades, races, mtn trips, and games! It always feels like the month is here and next blink its gone. I made a collage of our 4th and 24th day celebrations. Even though there was so much more, kids running through sprinklers, fireworks, BBQ's!

We had so much fun at Gunlock and Enterprise and even a mountain trip for me! I have only been up once all season, I feel SO left out. I even missed out on our cattle drive this year because of work meetings in SLC. Even with my cool free new clothes I would have to say I would have rather been on the back of my horse doing what I do. Turns out it was just as eventful without one of my mishaps this year. Well other than that, July was here and now its gone. Lets get rollin with August, Scottland here I come! and joshie and cassidy!

The Latest

A few weeks ago Jan had emergency surgery on her colon. It was a scary deal that brought us together as a family. We even got Josh to fly in for about a week to spend some time with us and sit with Jan so she wasnt alone. In simple, her colon ruptured so they took 10 inches and reattached and everything as far as surgrey went well. After seven days in the hospital and a week of resting at home, we are starting to get back to normal. Jan is doing better and getting more strength each and every day. This is a picture of the boys visiting grandma before they headed off to the movie Toy Story 3. Their shirts even glow in the dark!

Jer, Jan, Josh and Les- Getting Jan out of her room and walking was a task for the first few days, then it got to two helpers to one helper. We started with to the desk and back, then all the way down the hall to making the loop two or three times! Everyone on the first floor would always laugh when they "heard" us coming, yes heard. We learned a song "every little cell in my body is happy and well" It was a healing song, not only put smiles on ours and everyones face, but it actually helped, mom felt more motivated to get up and do the rounds when we were all singing the song. Whatever works right?

A week or so before the surgery we went up to SLC for our cousins Briannas wedding. It was the most elegant wedding I have ever been too, but who expected less then that from the Esplins! This is the only photo I have of the wedding, my cousin Sharla me and my sissy KJ.

Monday after the wedding we made a family trip to lagoon. My first time sense I was like 12. We had lots of fun, but I will admit I am not as fun as I used to be either. I get all motion sickness now and feel gross but it was still a good time nonetheless.

Notice Orrins sly grin, this is when we were in charge of the boys for like 15 minutes while Jer and Les went on an "adult" ride. We got this bright idea to take the boys on the hunted house. We were convincing them the whole time in line that it was a FUN ride! They did much better then we thought that they would. And even later that day Trey was sayin he wanted to do it again!

SkyDiveLasVegas

June 6, 2010

Dear Blogger World-

I went skydiving in Boulder NV. Yes, it was the craziest thing I have ever done. I would say its more crazy than even my tattoo! It was a fun full weekend. Saturday morning Shae and Nate got down here early enough to do lunch, shopping, movie, dinner and wal-mart! I was constantly telling them not to talk about our sky dive adventure we were to have in the morning because I didnt want to freak myself out. I admit I kept my cool pretty well. Even when I was sitting in the smallest plane I have ever seen thinking we wouldnt even be able to get off the ground with it packed full like sardines in a can. I for some reason was the smallest one in our group, which automatically nominated me to be the first to "jump". I say, "jump" because I did not stand at the open door and jump to possibly my death. I was kneeling at this open door strapped extremely close and personal to man which I didnt even know his name. Then, without so much as a warning or even a nod he leaned out of the door which despite my efforts to lean back into the plane we were free falling at 15,000 feet! Then my nerves left and went where ever my stomach went and we fell for roughly 60 seconds. Can I just add that those 60 well, 58 seconds that I realized what it was I was doing, were the BEST 58 seconds of my life thus far. Its going to take a big advent to top this one thats for sure! He (the nameless) pulled the rip cord and out came our parachute successfully. I got to put my hands up and "steer" the chute. This is when the motion sickness kicked in and I felt hot and dizzy. I had a graceful ride down with a beautiful view of Nevada and Lake Meed but as soon as we hit the hot desert I hate to admit I through up a little. Gross I know. Who would have thought you would get motion sickness sky diving.. not me thats for sure. Anyways, bloggers of the world, despite my greatest efforts to make everyone jealous the ending sure ruins it for everyone but me! I had the time of my life with my friends. I will probably never forget this in all my years, until I get develop Alzheimer's. But, until then be jealous be very jealous.

Shae, Nate, Sam- Before we jumped. Thought it could be our last photo.

Our super cool group. Louisiana and Nottingham were represented as well!

Sam, Shae- Our possible last trip to wally and last chance to have zookies!

PRK/Eye surgery

I could not have said it any better myself, so I copied this from West Texas Eye's website. I had eye surgery called PRK last monday May 24. It was indeed very intense and am glad I am on the other side already. I feel great now, although the first few days I could not even keep my eyes open, little pain for me thankfully. Just got a tad stir crazy, cabin fever, sick of home, sick of layin around! My last appointment on Friday they cleared me to drive, that scares me because I dont feel ready to drive, but that means there are people out there driving that cant see real good. They improve move every day. Thanks for the love and support while I was virtually helpless for the last week!

The Procedure:

PRK is performed using topical anesthetic (eye drops that eliminate pain). Next, a small spring-like device is inserted to help keep the eye open. Using a small hand instrument, the front surface cells of the cornea are gently removed. This allows access to the layers of the cornea that need to be treated by the laser.

The laser procedure is then performed on the cornea. It is this "lasering" that shapes the cornea for improved vision. The laser treatment lasts 30 to 90 seconds. Afterwards, a contact lens is placed over the front surface of the cornea. This contact lens acts as a bandage to help the cornea heal its front surface.

The entire procedure takes about 5 minutes to complete. Patients are typically amazed at the comfort and speed of the procedure. Since the eye is completely anesthetized, patients do not feel the instruments or the laser. However, some pressure may be felt by a small spring device, which is used to help keep the eyelids open.

Postoperative Treatment:

Patients are placed on antibiotic and anti-inflammatory eye drops to promote comfort, prevent infection, and reduce inflammation. These drops are used four times a day initially and tapered over a few days to a week. Follow-up examinations are scheduled daily until the front surface of the eye heals (usually two to four days), then at one week, one month, and three months postoperatively.

Friendless :(

Today could possibly be just about the saddest day of the year so far. My best friend and best co-worker moved back home today! We had a big party at work with pizza and treats and LOTS of pictures to send her out with a bang. It was really sad to know I would not be working with her anymore. We made the most of her last week here and we reminisced on all the good times we have had over the last year and a half. I put together a little scrapbook of our memories for her take home with her sot that there is no way she can forget me! We have already made many plans for the summer, and I am heading up to SLC next weekend!! But, I still cant seam to feel that its going to be very different at work and on weekends. No more random trips to wally or going dinner to get good spinach dip, no more random car drives to no one knows where, no more awesome parties to crash, and no more hiding out to try to scare each other at work. ( I will still get spooked by my other fellow employees but it wont be the same) We did everything we could do with the time we had, partied ate good food, woke up at the butt crack of dawn to eat breakfast, good concerts, good late night chats, good friends.

These are just some of the things we have taken pictures of, wally and shae's vest... random.

driving around.. ended up sight seeing Middleton :)

I will miss my good friend Shae, I will miss her smart ass comments, her straight forwardness, her giggles when she drinks energy drinks, her crazy flirting skills, her great work ethic, her kindness, her willingness to succeed, her no bull attitude, her strength, her ability to put you in your place, her loyalty to her friends, her knowledge, her determinedness, her gullible-ness, her confidence and most of all her blonde moments!

Although we are only 5 hours away and she just left today, I have lost my friend but hope we continue to make the effort to have plans together! I have learned lots from her and cant wait to make more memories! Love you SHAE LEA!!!