Its beginning to look like christmas

 We start December off with a trip to Wichita! The last five years its become a tradition to go help and see Josh's show Celebrate. This year we mixed it up by taking a day to tour a town called Yoder Kansas. Its a Amish community and soo cute! We ate lunch at this restaurant the "Carriage Crossing". The food was wonderful! As was Josh's show. He seems to outdo himself every year!

This is kind of blurry, but it was such a great idea, I had to post about it. Seth and I were in Spanish Fork for his families Christmas party. He surprised me afterwards and took me to this Festival of Lights. Its a drive through light show at one of the city parks up there you turn your radio to a specific station while your drive it. It was my first experience with the drive through lights and it was SO FUN. I loved it!! 

One Sunday afternoon in Logan, Laura and I decided to skip out on life, and build a snowman and build up a supply of snowballs. I am still not sure what came over me, as I made a snow angel in the freezing cold snow. But I will admit, we had lots of fun! 

 Here is Seth and I at Jan

Jan's house after the ginger bread compitition. We should have won, but apparently it was rigged. :) 

Here are the other applicants, you can decide for your selfs. 

I couldnt wait for christmas so Seth and I did our christmas the night before christmas eve :) I know I know, but I was just soo excited! Here is Seths wrapping job it was perfect! Who knew electrical tape would save the day ! :) 

Caroling is a tradition Jan refuses to let die. Just when we think we got out of it, the boys asked to go. Its a neat service and deep down I am glad we do it even if we can never remember the lyrics to the songs and its really cold out side :) 

This was what I gave Seth for christmas! His very own authentic duster. I think he looks pretty handsome, now we just gotta pray for some rain so he can wear it :) 

Seth gave me my very own 380 hand gun! I was super excited and we went out shooting the next day and then the next.  I emptied 2 boxes  of bullets, and still wanna go out some more! He did pretty good, he sure made this girl happy! 

Not the best, but our annual Sammi and nephews photo. They are getting too big, but I sure love them!!! 

Out shooting Christmas Day. I am happy to be next to such a handsome man! 

 Oh! and Duke too, he is a good puppy. cant leave him out :) 

Thankful Post

I am thankful for half off trick or treat treats at wal-mart :)

I am thankful for dollar menus & kids meals

 I am thankful for diesel trucks that blow black smoke :)

 I am thankful for my black curtains so I can sleep in easily

I am thankful for toilet paper my teenage days would not have nearly as exciting

I am thankful for my dishwasher. I am glad I dont have to wash them all by hand.... however, I might eat less to dirty less dishes....

I am thankful for doors that swing both ways. I am always pushing when it's a pull or pulling when it's a push.

 I am thankful for my 54 pairs of shoes/boots and pray my feet never change size :)

 I am thankful for snow that does not stick to the ground :)

 I am thankful for the referees that let that fight happen at the hockey game. Had some Aggie pride for a minuet :)

 I am thankful for chocolate covered cinnamon bears!

I am thankful for the bus system at USU, an that I can get away without buyin a parking pass.

 I am thankful for heaters, blankets, cozy socks, slippers anything that helps keep me warm in this dreadful logan winter

 I am thankful for this big home made cinnamon roll I get to eat for breakfast! Therefore I am thankful for Bro. & Sis. Johnson for making them!

 I am thankful for a calendar (I apparently need to look at more). I am a planner and love to look forward to things happening in my life!

 I am thankful for hostess! I think our world will be way more grumpy without twinkies to go around.

I am thankful for Santa, Easter bunny, the tooth fairy, Cupid, and leprechauns :)

 I am thankful for Jan's "monster bag" even though it was her trick not to pay us allowance :)

 I am thankful to be a blonde because I do have way more fun :)

 I am thankful for Lincoln's surgeon at primary children's and the 5 (today is 6) successful surgeries linc has had!

 I am thankful for my three nephews. They make me excited to have my own kids but I am not sure I could love anyone more than I love them!

 I am thankful for little kids honesty and innocence :) 

I am thankful for leftovers so we can have thanksgiving TWICE!

 I am thankful for my crazy family and the time we get to spend together :) and I thankful that I am the        favorite child

I am thankful for positive people. Some times you just need to hear the bright side of a story.

I am thankful for these four lovely ladies! Each one has taught me something and I am thankful to call them friends.

 I am thankful that I can count the days left of class on two hands. Boy will I be even more thankful when this semester is over!

NOVemBER

November has come and gone, but not without us having some fun! The first big advent was ERIC CHURCH and Moore concert. It is up there as one of the best concerts I have been to! Kip Moore, Justing Moore, and Eric Church all sure know how to put on a great show! 

Here are some of us girls, and Casey, there was 10 couples in our group. We took up an entire row! Reggie and Tanya made our shirts "Sinners like me go to Church" We were the funnest crowd there hands down! Possibly the best looking bunch too :) 

 Thats my date :) Aren't I the luckiest! 

This is my favorite date of the month! We went to dinner and a nickel arcade with two other couples. Some of Seth's friends were in SLC so we drove down to meet up with them. I wont lie, I was a little skeptical of this nickel arcade, but turns out we had SO MUCH FUN we didnt want to leave!!! It kinda reminded me of gambling a little, we just couldn't stop putting our nickels in and going and cashing more dollars in! However, it was cheaper than a movie, we only spent $15 dollars for both of us to have HOURS of fun!! 

Then there was thanksgiving! This is my families "on" year, so I am tried to get Seth on our schedule asap. Jan set up this cute little photo booth, and KJ took photos of all the families that came this year. It was a lot of work and I only got to be part of it for two days. Working retail will get ya, that darn black friday shopping. 

The boys got to play Newsies and did a cute little number and handed out our family newspaper. Cutest kids around! 

I am thankful for this time of year, to be reminded and to acknowledge what I am thankful for and how blessed I truly am. I am thankful for my family and Seth they all do SOOO much for me. I am thankful that I can be in school, and that I have a great job! I am thankful for all the memories I have, and all the ones I get to continue to make! 

Highlights

Well apparently I am no longer a good blogger. I start school and all shit hits the fan. So today my goal should be projects or homework or something actually productive but instead.... I am going to share the highlights of my life for the past few months. :)

Highlight number 1- SUGARLAND concert!!! Woot woot! We can cross that off my bucket list! yes! Not only was it a great concert, it was a fun sister sister night. It totally rained the whole time! We thought the concert was going to get canceled. Kicker is, they wouldn't let anyone take in umbrellas!  So we pretty much just sat in the rain huddled until the concert started. We totally made the most of it and we totally got soaked! BUT, we loved well, I loved every minuet of it. KJ just put up with it to be nice to me. All in all I loved it, I am so glad I got to go. Thanks Sissy for being my date!! 

Highlight number 2: I got my concealed weapons permit!! Another big check off the list! I always try to do something for me around my birthday every year, some times it more note worthy like donating my hair, other years it is going sky diving and this year it was my concealed weapons class! It was soo  awesome and super informative. I think in my future I want to take some self defense classes now too! 

Highlight number 3: JENNIES WEDDING! It was classy every bit as Jennie! She was such a awesome roommate to me in cedar and I cant express how much I love and look up to this girl! Laura, Kamera and I made the trip from Logan! We stopped to pick up Anna in St George and found ourselves at Jennies spectacular reception. Everything about it was perfect! She was drop dead gorgeous but who would expect anything less than that! Love her to pieces, so glad she got her happily ever after! 

added fun at the wedding was this awesome photo booth! we enjoyed it obviously :) 

Highlight number 4: General Conference- we totally lucked out saturday afternoon and got four tickets to sunday afternoons session. A girl at my work had some she offered me I have not been since like my sophomore year in high school (like nine years, yikes!) and Josephine and Laura are both converts so this was both their first time! We enjoyed every minuet of it!!! A wonderful experience that everyone should get the opportunity to go to! 

Highlight number 5: The Cattle Drive! Nothing better than family time on the mountain!!! We had a great time. I believe we were successful and according to Jeremy the lesson we learned this year is "all we need is family" Of course this year did not fail us of stories and a little bit of drama but we have learned another lesson and have moved on. The weather could not have been more perfect!!! And the boys! the boys did great! Trey was the best cowboy this trip, he took more than his turn ridding the pony, pretty much the WHOLE time. We had lots of fun! Wish I was home to spend more time with this family and horses I love soo much! 

Highlight number 6: Seth came to visit! It was a pretty fun weekend, could have been lots more fun, but I am the one who always seems to get sick. Blah.. But of course Seth took great care of me like he always seems to have to. But the bonus to having a great weekend with movies, and a drive up the canyon and of course snuggling is that we look great together! :) Thanks for ALWAYS taking care of me Seth and always willing to have a fun time! 

1 through 8

A little self evaluation can do me some good right about now. I found this list via pinterest on this blog. Thought it was a good list and I don't know some of the answers right off. So while I sit here avoiding terribly intense homework and eating a pizza full of too many calories for one day let alone one meal, I will be evaluating who I am :)  


(I might lie to protect myself)

1. List 20 random facts about yourself.
1. I am Left handed 2. I LOVE chocolate covered cinnamon bears 3. I secretly want a kitten 4. I never paint my fingernails 5. I am embarrassed about a mole on the inside of my leg 6. I cant spell 7. I want everyone to like me 8. I am NOT a morning person 9. I can eat cereal 3 times a day 10. Every pair of socks I own has at lease 1 hole 11. My favorite cake is funfetti  12. I hate being alone 13. I LOVE shoes 14. I like man movies 15. I get annoyed easily 16. I am responsible 17. I am struggling with college 18. I struggled to come up with this list 19. I LOVE snuggling  20. I am a sucker for hand written notes 


2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.
1. Not being able to have kids 2. Dying young and not accomplishing what I think I should 3. Making the wrong decision and having it effect my life forever.

3. Describe your relationship with your parents.
My relationship with my parents I think has gotten stronger the past few years now that I don't live with them :) I finally realized how much I need to learn from both of them still.  I am also willing to listen to their advice and apply it without question. 

4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
1. Dont date him, its not worth it  2. Save some of that money from your two jobs 3. Put more gas in your car so you dont run out on Blvd/Bluff 4. Those Jetette outfits are sexy, ROCK IT! 5. Get to know more people around you 6. Take advantage of FFA, it will be big part of your life! 7. Dont take your friends for granted 8. You never know who is watching you, be a good example 9. Live a little wild 10. Enjoy being a teenager and get into trouble! 
 5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
1. Trips home to see my family and Duke :) 2. Sunshine, weather over 70 degrees 3. Being able to make other people happy 4. My nephews and their energy 5. Otterpops 

6. What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?
Letting people down, I think I usually take it way harder than the other person does. I cant handle not coming through or falling short of peoples expectations. I just wanna make everyone happy! 
 7. What is your dream job, and why?
I wanna be a house wife! (so cliche I know...) I yearn for the day I can take care of a house someone provided me, cook dinner for a husband and kids that I love and adore. I wanna make every birthday, first day of school, christmas, halloween, slumber party one that they will remember. I wanna share in their celebration, their heart ache, their achievements!  I just wanna be there for it all. 

8. What are 5 passions you have?
I am very passionate about getting my point across, making people like me, doing things how I think they should be done, taking care of people and trying to not upset others. 



Okay this turned out to be LOTS harder than I expected. Here are the first 8 out of 30 questions I plan to ask myself. Take it for what you want, but  I did this for myself. Hoping this helps me realize the person I am and hopefully its the person I wanna be, because I kinda am already grown up :) 

BUT- there is always time for change.

Happy Birthday to ME!

As much as I wanted to post this post, it devastates me to have to admit I had yet another birthday! It was a wonderful day with wonderful people, but yet the idea of turning 24 really is not the happiest moment in my life. It made me reflect back on the years and realize what have I accomplished.... which in my case is hardly anyhting. The past 24 years I seem to have waisted. It can be considered a good thing, that I have come to terms and am not happy with the things I have not done because hopefully I will try a little harder pay a little more attention and accomplish more in the next years. 

Good group of friends, took me to where else, but Olive Garden! They know me so well! 

Here I am getting my student ID card for Utah State University. I am all registered for my first semester and on track to start school next week. Its all a bit nerve racking, the whole going back to school thing, pray that I get the hang of it and come out alive.

 These are my BEAUTIFUL flowers Seth sent to me! How thoughtful being so far away to still think of me on my birthday. I think he has the right idea us girls LOVE flowers. 

Wilson is the best ever, she knew I couldnt have a good birthday with out a funfetti cake! To top it off she made it into a boot! How thoughtful, clever, talented she is! 

Another one for the books! Us four girls are becoming the best of friends! I love each one of them and the examples and influences they are in my life! Cant wait to have many more memories with them. 

Happy birthday to me! Thanks y'all for making the day SO special for me! 

Home again Home again gigidy gig

Welp, you guessed it this post is about me going home :) Whats new this summer besides Samantha visiting the wonderful warm weathered southern Utah. I figured it would be my last time for a few months (I know, get real I am suppose to go away when I moved to college) so I made a 9 day trip out of it. I rock I know.

This trips purpose centered around the cattle drive! It lived up to our "something" always happens on the cattle drive. First while rounding cows up at the black ridge the axel on the trailer broke. Then, it starts raining, and we are rushing the last load of cows to the pole corral before we cant make it. Turns out it rained all night (love rain just not when we gotta ride in it all day). It was too muddy for Jan to follow in the truck so we started right before sun up Dad, Jeremy, Rick (life flight pilot) and I.  Other help caught up a little bit down the road. It was a good day, cool no dust because of the mud and the cows seemed to go pretty well with the cooler weather. It was a success, we made it no serious injuries and all the cows were fat and sassy! 

Here is Linc and I takin a nap at the cabin after the long day. He is my little buddy this trip down he must miss me! He is teaching me that a boys hand goes on top while holding hands. He sure is a charmer :)

Here is Dixie and Duke after we got home from the three day long of moving cows. Lets just say there were pretty tuckered out. 

Down at the farm dropping off the horses and Linc got hot so we helped him out of his t-shirt. He looks like a hillbilly, but he sure is cute! 

Also while home on this 9 day trip :) we got to watch the boys in the Veyo rodeo! Muttin bustin, barrels, and chicken chase! It was fun running into friends that you dont see very often and some good friends that were ropin. Good time with family and friends! 

Random but I LOVE it. Mom and I went to a new furniture store and I loved everything! (of course) I just wanted to reference this hutch because I WANT it in my house one day. The color the size the opportunities! 

Therefore: it was a WONDERFUL trip home. Had wonderful quality time with friends and family. I love being home (obviously)! 

Stumbling Block or Stepping Stone

A Bag of Tools (R.L. Sharpe)

Isn't it strange how princes and kings,
and clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
and common people, like you and me,
are builders for eternity?

Each is given a list of rules;
a shapeless mass; a bag of tools.
And each must fashion, ere life is flown,
A stumbling block, or a Stepping-Stone.

Summer Lovin'

So, summer has seemed to slip by without me even noticing it. Well... okay I have noticed it but I have been a busy little bee trying to fit in work and some fun. So here is my JULY in a nut shell :) 

#1- Roomies minus  Laura at Hyrum Dam for a ward activity. It was super fun until we got 2 storms! The first one just blew over in like 15 minuets so we waited it out in our cars, then the second one came rolling in and it did not just blow over. We had a sand every where including the food we were wanting it eat. Thats how that day ended, running for the truck before you got blown away!

#2- Family photos: We had a little family reunion up the mountain over the 4th of July. We didnt plan to well it seemed because we were using the four-wheeler as a tripod :) Hey, it worked!  

#3- Here is some of us watching the others shoot clay pigeons. We had just ended a nice four-wheeler ride, with Jeremy as our tour guide! We were lucky enough to even have Seth come join the madness a few days. Great get-a-way and wonderful weather.

 #4- ROOMMATES! This is all of us. I think it might be the only one we ever get with all five of us in it. BEAUTIFUL ladies that I have the privilege to call roommates and friends.  We have been having a lot of fun together and I am so glad that we are all such great friends. Bring on some more good times!

#5- Seth and I at Tuachans Aladdin on the 4th of July, Cassidy was AWESOME and got our whole family tickets! It was fun to be there as a whole family, but if you know us Larson's we tend to get a little critical. We spent hours after the show critiquing every scene. I came to terms that Aladdin is no way my favorite musical  I have ever seen, but I had great company! :)  

#6- Joshie and I wearing our 3D glasses from the Aladdin show. I think they make us look intelligent. :) 

#7- Navajo Rock / Lovers Rock and The 3 favorites :) okay the trio, but I am the favorite. Just some more family bonding time up at the cabin!

#8- Seth and I exploring the mtn side. Jeremy was our tour guide and we went places that I have never been before. It amazes me how beautiful it is up there, and how little I know about it all. Something to add to the "to do" list, explore mountain side more with Jeremy and Papa. 

#9- Bikes! I have been sayin' and sayin' for the past three months or so that  I really would like a bike. Nothin' fancy of course I wont be training for a triathlon or anything, just something to get my butt outside and enjoying this awesome Cache Valley Summer weather. Well this month I did it, I finally purchased a bike and I am very happy. No buyers remorse here! 

#10- A surprise  visit!  Seth came up to LOGAN and surprised us all, none of the roommates had any idea this trip. Was a FUN few days we got to spend with him. Swimming, roping, cooking, and lounging! Couldn't have been happier girls anywhere then us in #103! 

 Just a bonus photo Kam Kam took at Hyrum Dam, we sorta parked in the wrong area and had to take a stroll along the beachside. Amazing how fast those pretty white clouds turned into dark stormy ones.

There is my July in a nut shell, but dont you worry folks, its not over yet! Still have a few more activities up my sleeve for the rest of the month!

Things in my life.......

that make me smile: 

#1- Papa fixin fence. He is the hardest worker I know, and I am thankful to be able to work along side of him when home. I am also thankful that he has taught me what he has so that I can be some help to him, thanks for making me a helpful worker.

 #2- Lincoln Phillip. His sound effects and his puppy dog ways. Cant help but love this little stinker.

 #3- Linc again, this time for his dirty boy face and his creativity in his drawing on everyones cup. This one happens to be Seth's and he drew a bull rider.

#4- Rodeos and good friends. No explanation needed.

#5- Sewing Projects. Thanks KJ for answering my phone calls when Jan was up the mountain. They are complete, now I just need a drill to hang my curtain rod up.

#6- Popsicles. Sunday walk with popsicles and roomies. Nothing  better.

#7- Suntans. I couldn't have asked for a better day off then a day at the pool with my roommates. I feel as though I have not got my summer tan on this summer because there is a lack of sun here in Logan. Thankful for the 90 degree weather on my day off!