Kiddies, Weddings, Adventures oh my!

Hey everyone!

After these past three super busy weeks of my life, I felt that I needed to post about the many awesome things that have gone on in my life. Now to start off, two weeks ago on March 20 my sister Lindsey and her hubby went on a trip to South America, which meant that we got to watch her three cute little boys North, Railay, and Rowan. We got to babysit them for an entire week and since it was my spring break that week and my parents were super busy at the shop, I did a lot of the babysitting. It was so much fun to watch those crazy kids and it definitely helped me prepare myself for when I had kids one day, which won't be for a while but still. I enjoyed have little Rowan snuggle with me when he was tired and playing games with the North and Railay. They were a blast to have. Then on the thursday that week, my sister Tiffiny came up with her two sweet little kids, Weston and Hailey, because they had an appointment at Primary Children's Hospital for poor little Hailey. We had a lot of fun playing with those kids and it was so cute to see all of the cousins playing together. So, that's what happened the first week. Then on the second week, which was the last week of March, we had Chelsey's family bridal shower and that was a lot of fun. She sure got a lot of cute things! And now for these last couple of days.

On April 1 2011, Chelsey Elizabeth Wilkinson married Taylor Dean Ogden in St. George. It was a beautiful wedding and Chelsey looked absolutely stunning. It made me a bit sad to see my sister get married and leave, but I am super happy that they are finally together. I am sure that they are going to have a wild, adventurous marriage. Then after the wedding on Saturday, my family and I went up to this canyon area that had this small slot canyon thing called "The Crack". It was really cool walking through it and boy was it claustrophobic! The walls were squeezing me tight, but I made it through! After that we had a picnic in the park by the temple and then we all made our way back home. I had an amazing time with my family at Chelsey's wedding and Taylor's family seems like a very awesome family. I'm glad that I got to know them.

OH, also this weekend was General Conference. Sadly I wasn't able to see Saturday's sessions, but todays sessions were amazing! There were many powerful talks today and I especially loved Elder Scott, Elder Holland, and Elder Utchdorf's talks today. They were very good.

Anyways, that's all for now. Here are a few pictures from this weekend. I could have put up a lot more, since my mom had over a thousand pictures, but I am too lazy to put a lot up. ^^;

Here I am entering "The Crack"

Tuesdays With Morrie

I've just finished a book that I've read before called Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom and pretty much it is one of my all time favorites. This book is based on a true story that the author experienced and to me it was a life changing experience to read it. It's a really short book, but extremely powerful. So, if you haven't read this book and have time for a quick read, then I highly suggest reading it asap. If you have read it before, then I suggest you read it again to remind yourself of the good lessons it teaches. Anyways, I thought I would post that up here. Also, here a few of the many awesome quotes I love from it.


"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

"Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people to trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too–even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling."

"Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won’t be dissatisfied, you won’t be envious, you won’t be longing for somebody else’s things. On the contrary, you’ll be overwhelmed with what comes back."

"Be compassionate, And take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place."

Eat it, Art History!

A couple of weeks ago I had my first test in my Art History class and it was the craziest test I've ever taken for class. It consisted of eight essay questions and with each essay there were two paintings. Now with those paintings I had to first identify them, which meant I had to know the artist, title, exact date, style, and medium. Then after I identified both paintings, I had to answer four or more compare and contrast questions dealing with the paintings. So, this meant that I needed to know the symbols, meanings, advancements, techniques, reasons why it was a specific style, and pretty much every little detail about every painting. As I prepared for this test I was very nervous and when I actually took it, I spent 3 1/2 hours writing the eight essays.

Finally after waiting for two weeks, my teacher handed back the tests and guess what? I got a 99% on it! I couldn't believe that I had actually done that well on it. The only reason that I missed one point was because I forgot to mention on one of the paintings that its patron was the Medici family. So, pretty much I knew every stinkin' detail.

Anyways, I just wanted to update this little triumphant moment. Hopefully I will be able to do as well on my next art test, which is next week.

26 family members and counting!

At this current moment I have 26 members in my family, but in a couple of months I shall have 27 members! The reason why is because my sister Chelsey got engaged to Taylor! And you know what? It's about time! I am so excited to have Taylor be a part of my family, especially getting to know him after who knows how many years. Chelsey and Taylor will be an awesome, crazy, adventurous couple and I'm glad that they're finally getting married. They are good for each other and I'm happy to be able to call Taylor my brother soon.

Anyways, I thought that I would just share this piece of exciting news. I'm pretty stoked about it. :)

Soldier Hollow

On Monday, February 14, my dad's singles ward went to Soldier Hollow for FHE and I was able to go with them. Also, Garrett and the four oldest Dutson kids (Austin, Harrison, Missy, and Ashton) and the Rusts came with us as well. Pretty much, it was a blast! We went tubing down the hills a lot and they had some delicious doughnuts and hot chocolate for us to eat. It was a lot of fun to see the little kids go tubing as well as us adults. :)

So, here's some pictures from it and a video.

Here's little Railay on the tube. He wasn't too sure if he wanted to be on there.

North and Missy waiting in line to go up the hill.

My momma grabbing her tube.

North and I had just gone down the hill for our first time.

Josh, North, and Missy about to go down the hill.

Harrison, Austin, Mom, Dad, and I ready to go down.

Grandmama with her two oldest grandkids.

Here I am kissing little Rowboat (Rowan).

Another picture of me and Rowan. He was a very tired little guy.

Grandpa and the boys.

Harrison, Austin, and Me.

Here's a video of North and me going down the hill. It may not look like we're going very fast, but it's actually pretty fast. We had a lot of fun. :)

I'm moving out!

So, I've been wanting to move out for a while now and I finally signed my contract to the place I will be living at. I am super stoked about living on my own, especially since I will be moving out with the fantastic Riley and Kylie! Unfortunately I don't move out until August for the fall/winter semester, but I'm sure that it will be awesome. I just wish it was August already! Anyways, I think that's it for now. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Here's a gif that represents how excited I am to move out.

Back into blogging

Hey everyone,

I decided to get back into blogging since several people I know are starting it up again and that way I can actually keep a record of my "exciting" life. So, this post will be a recap of everything that has happened in my life since my last post, which was on July 18, 2009. (Note, not all of these things occurred in this exact order).

• Survived the Swine Flue pandemic.
• Went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter 6 and UP.
• Went to the Stadium of Fire on the 4th of July.
• Had a family reunion in Yellowstone Park.
• Went star gazing and watched comets in the canyon with friends.
• Went to IHOP at 4:00 a.m. several times just for kicks and giggles.
• Had an awesome Star Wars marathon twice with my friends. (Yes I watched all six movies in one day.)
• On New Year's Eve, Andie and I stayed up all night long being crazy.
• Fell in love with some new t.v. shows, especially with the men in the shows. ;)
• Saved my love, Roy Mustang, from the homunculus on my birthday.
• Graduated from Mountain View High School.
• FullMetal Alchemist, a manga series I followed loyally and loved dearly, ended after it had been going on for 8 years.
• Went on an adventure trip to Moab with Chelsey, Taylor, and other people. There I went white river-rafting, and repelling. I also caught my hair while repelling, which caused me to be stuck about 200 ft in the air while a storm came along for several minutes.
• I am an aunt of 13 nephews and nieces.
• Attended the Muse concert in SLC.
• Invited Andie, Meghan, and Riley to Lake Powell, where we had many adventures.
• Started my first year of college at UVU.
• Joined a Singles Ward and got called in the Activities committee in R.S.
• Learned how to drive a stick shift and got my very own car, thanks to my dad.
• Dressed up as Hagrid for a Harry Potter Birthday my friends and I did for Riley.
• Went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter 7.
• Went on my first official date.
• Went on a Mexican Riviera Cruise for Christmas.
• Started my second semester at UVU.
• Got called as a Relief Society teacher.

So, I'm pretty sure that a lot more has happened throughout this last year and a half, but that's all of the main things I can remember. Anyways, I hope that I actually keep up with updating this blog and hopefully I will have pictures to put up. That way for those of you who might read this, it will at least be interesting to look at the pictures.

A Mind Filled With Memories Weigh Me Down

So, lately I've just been thinking about a few things in my life that have been bothering me. The main thing that I can't seem to get off my mind is how I haven't been that good of a friend. I know that some of you will say, "Don't say that, you're a good friend." or something else, but I feel that I can do so much better. I want to be able to do all that I can for my friends, whether it be to comfort them, make them feel happy, talk with them, listen to them, help them with problems, and all of that stuff. I mean, I feel that I've been able to do some of these things for my friends, but...there's one person, who I've failed at being a good friend and example to them...To this day I feel so guilty and ashamed of how I abandoned them just because I was afraid of being judged, and I can't believe I did so, because they really were one of my dearest friends. I honestly want to regain my friendship with this person, but I'm afraid...afraid that they won't forgive me for the things I've done, which I'm pretty sure they won't...If I could, I would go back in time and do anything that was possible to stop me from making one of the biggest mistakes in my life...

Anways, sorry about this rant. I've just been needing to get this out of me for a while, so yeah. Just ignore it. Just me rambling.

Just a hopeless dreamer

So on Tuesday, May 12 2009, I went to the Keane concert at Kingsbury Hall with my friends Riley, Andie, and Meghan. It was a fabulous concert and was so much fun! We had such a good time singing out our hearts at the concert. So, here are just a few of the many pictures I took! :D

This was the opening act, Mat Kearney, and I really like him! He has good music and a good voice! <3

And here's the lovely Keane! Oh man, they were so awesome! Especially the pianist on the right. The whole entire concert, he was rocking out while he played the piano. He is definitely one talented man.

Costa Rica

Our wonderful beach near the condos

Black Sand beach

Riley, Andie, Josie, Meghan, and me at the waterfalls

Jumping off an edge into the pool

Me and cheeto, the bird that became our friend

Standing in front of a sign. How exciting

One of the many monkeys we saw at Monkey Beach

Manuel Antonio beach a.k.a Monkey beach

I climbed out onto this log which was like 10 feet above a pool in the waterfalls we visited

My friends and I doing a transmutation circle. (It's from FMA)

Having a contest on who could draw something first before the waves came at the black sand beach

It's true

Here I am trying fish, and I actually liked it! Wowza

Riley, Meghan, Andie, and me sitting on a lovely hammock

Our first breakfast in Costa Rica or at least for Meghan and me.

The view of the beach from our condo.

Some crocodiles we got see from up on a bridge. They were cool :)

This is us after coming home to a snowy Utah. :(

Hey everyone. So, as you all know I went on a trip to Costa Rica with some of my friends. We had such a good time, and I really think it was an amazing experience. I feel so privileged that I was able to go. Anyways, I'm just going to put up some pictures for those people in my family who wanted to see some pictures. And for all of you family members, I have a lot more pictures, so if you want to see more, just tell me and I'll send you more. :)

Just Believe

One thing that I just want to say is that I love the movie, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Tonight, I was trying to find something to do, so I decided to watch it. For being such a simple, cute movie, I noticed so many deep things in it that really touched me. And for some reason, I was crying at all of these different parts. I'm grateful that there are at least some movies in this world that are just filled with uplifting things and make you feel like you should become a better person. I truly love that movie and the wonderful messages I received from it.

Here's just some quotes from that movie that I really like.

"There are a million things one might do with a block of wood. But what do you think might happen if someone, just once, believed it in?"

"Your life is an occasion. Rise to it."

"All stories, even the ones we love, must eventually come to an end and when they do, it's only an opportunity for another story to begin."

"We breathe. We pulse. We regenerate. Our hearts beat. Our minds create. Our souls ingest. 37 seconds, well used, is a lifetime." 

Sorry about that rant. I just needed to vent, so no worries.

Nobody said it was easy

Lately, I've been thinking about life. There's always the good and easy parts where you wish they could last forever, but there's also the bad and hard parts. I think the hardest part in my life is watching the ones that I love so dearly struggle in their lives with their challenges and/or stray away from the righteous path and do things that are obviously stupid, but they do it anyways. It just makes me so sad and pained to see that no matter what I do for this loved one, their mind is set on doing things that'll just ruin their life. I wish that I could just take their hand and lead them back to the light, but that's just not how life works. I know that through our tribulations we'll gain patience and hope, but sometimes it's just hard to get through the moments. I just really wish that this person would just listen and come back.

Look at the stars, look how they shine for you

I really liked how Riley did this, so I thought it would be fun to do. :)

"Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can." - John Wesley

"Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens." - Epictetus

"Person to person, moment to moment, as we love, we change the world." - Samahria Lyte Kaufman

"You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through." - Rosalynn Carter

"Laughter is by definition healthy." - Doris Lessing

THE NEXT AMERICAN IDOL

I couldn't help putting this up. So, Lindsey and I were listening to Disturbia and suddenly North started singing along. He then kept singing it a couple of times later, and this was when he was finished taking a bath. He is such a goof ball!

God Be With You Till We Meet Again

Today,  December 23, 2008 at 9:22 a.m. my dear grammy passed away. For over a month she suffered by not being able to eat anything and barely taking any sips of liquids. But now, she is with her loved ones and with her Heavenly Father. She was an amazing example and a big part of my life. I will always remember the wonderful memories that we made through out my life and I'm so grateful that she was my grandma. I'll miss her down here on earth, but I know that she is a lot happier where she is now. I also know that I will see her one day, because our Savior died for us, so that we may be able to be resurrected. I love her so dearly and she'll always be in my heart.

In Your Love, My Salvation Lies

Hey everyone,

So, I was checking up on people's blogs, and that was when I realized that I haven't updated on my own in a while. Pretty much, life has been good to me. I'm getting through school without going insane, I went to a convention with my friends, and I've had some fun times with my family. Speaking of my friends, I just want to tell them how much I love them. I'm not sure if they know how much I truly appreciate their friendship. Everyday when I wake up in the mornings, I look forward to when I get to see them either at school, church, or at one of their houses. They always make my days so much happier and I honestly don't know what I would do without them. They are what keeps me going throughout my life. I appreciate everything they've done for me and all of the wonderful memories we've made and will make in the future. They are absolutely amazing and I always want to be there for them. I love them so much and I hope that our friendship will always continue to grow. Thank you my friends! :)

Here's a picture of us after we went on our very first Pandaventure!!

And here's some cute pictures we took out in the backyard.

  

We live in a beautiful world

Lately I've been wanting to go up to the mountains and just sit there and enjoy the beauty of this earth. Whenever I go outside, I lay on my grass and listen to the wind blow through my trees. Nature is a wonderful thing and I feel that I need to take more advantage of it.