Summertime Fun!

Summertime! It is what I live for. Winter is endured, fall is enjoyed, spring is anticipation and summer is fantabulous!!! This is my first summer having a "career" or in other words "a real job". Guess what? You don't get to take the summer off as a nurse! But I have found a way to enjoy myself still and get some fun squeezed in. Actually working 3 twelve hour shifts a week works out rather nice as it leaves most of 4 other days in which to work, play, or weed the garden! Yes my garden still grows. The tomato plant was an utter failure, and my onions died a few weeks ago, but other than that all is thriving. I did actually pull some golf ball sized onions today and I will enjoy those I am sure. Lesson: plant onions deeper and water them more often! :) My roommate planted two tomato plants and then left them to my care to water and weed. They have been remarkably successful and so I believe I will partake of those as freely as if they were my own. Especially because she got married and moved out!



Other summer fun: Early summer kayaking trip with Grandpa's kayaks. Very fun although it was freezing and rained on us!

Random beautiful sunset from my house. It was a Sunday evening and I laid on the grass and enjoyed it all by myself!
Eric came to visit me in Ogden and stayed at my house overnight. I wasn't actually there because I was working but i am sure he had a lovely time with my roommates! Awkward! Sorry Eric! We did go to the pioneer day parade in Ogden and saw this beautiful horse drawn hearse!!!

Eric in front of the Ogden temple. Side note- our stake did a fun service project at the temple, painting the fence, pulling weeds, and deflowering plants. It was fun and it felt good to help beautify the temple grounds!

Eric and me in front of the temple. (I had worked all night, slept 10 minutes and then left to go to the parade so that hopefully explains the exhaustion in my face!)

Eric the cowboy! We rode horses on one of my trips home. It was a lot of fun.

Cameron the cowboy! Poor horse got confused with so many amateur riders!

Preston the cowboy! He looks pretty good up there!

Andrea the cowgirl! I love horses!!! This reminded me of how much fun they are!


This is our Armenian friend Arthur and his daughter Stella. He met my grandparents on their mission to Armenia and they became dear friends. He and his adorable family came for a visit and we had fun riding horses, kayaking, jet skiing, water skiing, and eating delicious Armenian food with them!

Stella was my little friend! Such a sweet girl.

Robert, Stella, and me. Armenians produce beautiful children!

WATER SKIING!!! Love this sport beyond almost any other in the summer. I have been fortunate enough to go several time this summer both at the family reunion, with a friend, and with my family on this trip home! I hope my form is improving!

More water skiing.

We watched Robert and Stella while their parents went to the temple and we did something I haven't done in YEARS! We put the sprinkler under the tramp and jumped! Combine that with silly string and you have a PARTY!

Something else that I really enjoyed on my trip home was running with all three of my brothers in the early morning! I had forgotten how nice early morning runs are in Idaho. It isn't hot like it is in Utah! My brothers are all so handsome and strong runners, so it was a lot of fun!

Last weekend my ward had a super activity at Snowbird Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon. I was scheduled to work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights and this was to be all day Saturday. I was lucky enough to be able to get Saturday night off. So I worked Friday night, slept 3 hours, drove 1.5 hours and it was totally worth it! We went on a hike, swam, ate, chilled in the condo, danced at a free concert, and ate and swam some more! I drove back home at 10, got home and realized I had been up for over thirty hours with only 3 hours of sleep! I love working nights! This is my cute friend Melody. She is a nurse that graduated from BYUI as well, and she just moved into the ward and got home from her mission to Paraguay! It is fun to have someone with so many similar interests! The lake behind us is Cecret Lake which was our beautiful hike. ( "Cecret" because it was named by a miner who didn't know how to spell! ;)



Another view of the lake.

Pretty wildflowers! Notice I am sporting my BYU sweatshirt. I will be attending hopefully all of the home games this year!!! Go cougar football!!!

We also saw a moose on our hike! I took a picture but it got deleted on here and I am not going to reload it! There were so many people and it was just chillin. That was lucky because moose make me slightly uncomfortable-they are so big and mean!

These are some of the sisters in my ward at the concert that night. Notice the beautiful scenery! Love it!

Totally out of order, but this was the cute flower arrangement I made for the 4th of July!!! We went camping/kayaking in the Tetons for the 4th. Very fun!

What is summer without kittens?! Unfortunately the mama cat has since died as well as one of the orange cats, casualties to the road!

I went to an Asian festival with my friend Wendy! It was fun. The best part was there was a Chinese choir. They sounded really funny. Wendy informed me that because the Chinese language is so tonal it is very difficult to sing. That explained a lot!

These are some of my BYU roommates at a bridal shower for Ashley the girl in the gray with the glasses. It has been a summer of weddings: Ashley, my cousins Brent and Kirk, and my roommate Morgan.

I also got to go to a baby shower for my dear friend Jennifer for her adorable baby boy Tyce. He is such a cutie and it was so nice to be able to see them while they were briefly in Idaho.

Upcoming plans include a trip to Florida in 1 WEEK!!! I am so excited. After that it will probably just be working, try and squeeze in a bike ride/hike or two, hopefully another camping trip, and BYU football games with my brothers! Ahhh...summer you are so good to me!

Dad

I have the greatest father in the whole world! I didn't get to be home on Father's Day because I was working, but I sure did think of him all day. My dad is so much FUN! We are always having a good time together. He has been fabulous in teaching me to work hard when it's time to work and to play hard when it is time to play. He is such a good provider and spiritual leader for our family and we all trust him completly. Now that I have started working and supporting myself almost entirely I have realized that the responsibility to provide for others must be super stressful and I am grateful that he takes this job so seriously. I love going for runs or bike rides with my dad. I love talking to him on the phone and talking about all sorts of interesting subjects with him. My dad has always been so encouraging in my pursuit of an education and a career. I don't think I could have made it through school without his support and encouragement. I like how my dad enjoys the outdoors so much, I like how he makes up silly words or phrases and then uses them constantly for the next several months, I like how he pulls out the "dude rag" and wears it around the house, I like his laugh when something is really funny, I like how he always asks if he should wait for next Christmas to open any present, I like his leftover meals.

One of the best things about my dad is his spiritual leadership in our family. I have some very tender memories of father's blessings, prayers, family home evenings, and special events in our family. He has lead by example, showing us the best way to lead our lives. For example, I have never once heard my dad swear. He never has had to tell us that we shouldn't swear because he shows us that it is unacceptable. I want to marry someone who is like my dad. If I can find someone even close to as good of a husband and father as he is to us I will be the luckiest girl in the world. Thanks Dad for everything you do and for everything you are!
I like this picture of Eric and Dad. He is so proud of Eric and all of us kids when we do what is right. I love the love that I see coming from my dad to Eric and I feel that everyday from him.

The most important men in my life: Grandpa Waddoups, Grandpa Christensen, Cameron, Eric, Dad, and Preston. I love you guys and Happy Father's Day!

Eric's Home!!!

So my BIG little brother got home from his mission last Wednesday. He served faithfully and honorably for two years in the Florida Jacksonville Mission. It was so fun to see him come home and it is fun to have him home. Here are some pictures from the airport. I realized I didn't have a single picture on my camera with Eric-hopefully someone else does!

This picture is funny. This was Pres and Cam waiting for him to come. We were all straining to see him through the glass!

Here he is walking in the doors! Doesn't he look good!
Classic mother/son picture! I love it!

Classic father/son picture! They look so much alike!

Here are three generations! Both grandpas, dad, and the boys! The priesthood of the church!

Eric said that Cameron had changed the most. He said everyone looked older except Mom and me. He also said we both looked prettier than before! (What a wise boy!) It's been fun to have him home. I only got to be around for a few days bet we had a good time. He really has some amazing stories and miracles from his mission. He was truly blessed and watched over. The miracles he witnessed and the changes I see in him are a testimony that he was a good and faithful missionary! I love you Eric!

Mom

I have the best Mom EVER!!!! She is is kind, beautiful, smart, loving, supporting, and fantabulous. She is my very best friend. I have always had a really good relationship with my Mom and I am so grateful for that. We have never had to go through those rocky years when I was a teenager because we have always got along great. I can tell her anything and she listens patiently and lovingly. She is an amazing cook and loves to feed us! I think one of the best things about my mom is that she genuinely cares about people and what they think or feel. She will pay attention to people that others shun because they are disadvantaged. My mom has so many people who view her as a close friend and that is because she cares about them. Even in her insurance job my mom is sympathetic and loving of the people she serves. If the insurance she wants to sell them will not be good for them she tells them that and helps them find something that will help. She is a wonderful example and I hope to be half the mother she is someday. Her love for her husband and her children is such a wonderful example. I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day.

Spring Projects!

Now that I am out of school and not working nearly as much as I would like to be. ( I was hired part time. However, starting in June I will be full time!!! NIGHTS!!! Yuck! I don't really like nights, but hey, I am glad to finally be going full time with everything that comes with that-money, benefits, less spare time, etc.) Anyway, I had to pick up some hobbies; I am also trying to cultivate my homemaking skills. So I have been doing some fun projects. Today I planted a garden!! We have a spot but it doesn't get a ton of sun, so I am a little dubious, but I think it will work out. I will keep you posted. Here are the flowers I planted. I planted marigolds, dusty miller, and some strange purple flower. Yay for flowers! I will post pictures as the summer progresses to show the growth.

Now to the vegetable garden. Here are the pepper plants I planted. One green bell and one orange bell.

Tomatoes are a must for me in the summer. Here is my cute little tomato plant. I have great hopes for this little plant! Please grow for me!

Here is the whole thing. It's a nice little garden, don't you think?! I planted tomatoes, peppers, walla walla onions, carrots, cucumbers, and cantelope! The cantelope are in another area, but you are looking at everything else! I really hope this works because I love fresh veggies and I like saving money at the grocery store!

Another fun project I finished today was the rag quilt I have been working on since I moved to Utah. Look at how cute it is!!! It was my second quilt, and my first rag quilt and I had so much fun making it!
Here is a picture of the back of the quilt. I went with green and purple as my main colors and I really love how it turned out.

This is a close up of the fraying. I washed it today and I was worried about how the fraying would turn out, but it worked!

Here is the finished project on my bed! It looks a lot better with my curtains than my other quilt!
The other thing I did this week that I was excited about was I made a menu! I have been planning on doing this for quite awhile, but I finally did it. I find that it does simplify life quite a bit. I don't have to think about what I am going to eat. I used to end up eating something that was fast and easy because I was always starving by the time dinner came around. Now I find that I am cooking better food, and I am able to use leftovers to make other meals. Some fun things i've made this week are: fajhitas, rice pudding, german pancakes, and tonight I had lemon-herb chicken that was FANTASTIC! If anyone would like the receipe let me know! Wow I am liking this domestic stuff! Now I just need a man to cook for!!!;)

Home Sweet Home!!!

So I may have mentioned before, but after having lived with my aunt and uncle for about a month and a half I finally found a place to live on my own. It is in South Ogden, so it is slightly closer to where I work and it is close to Weber State University, so that is nice to be around a college again. After being used to living with six girls in apartments with next to no room, the place I found to live is a TREAT! First of all it is a house, a big house, with only three other girls besides myself living here. The girls are great; I like them a lot. This house is a little old, but it has been remodeled on the inside and it is beautiful! I am so glad I found this place!

This is the front of the house. Notice the nice big windows in both the upstairs and downstairs- I love big windows!Especially when I don't have to wash them!!!This is the entryway. This picture is a little dark, but notice the stained glass window?! Screams 70s in my opinion- I like it!
Here's the kitchen. Also screaming 70s-observe the dishwasher and refrigerator. Love them! Seriously though there is enough room for all of our food and dishes and tons of counterspace which is really nice.

Upstairs family room. Oodles of room. In fact we really can't fill it up. No one has furniture. Notice the fireplace. There are a total of three fireplaces in the house- Love it!
Bathroom I share with ONE other girl. Not two or three girls, but ONE! It is rather short on shelf or counter space, but still. Love it!
Here's my bedroom! I love my bedroom! TWO windows- I love windows! There is tons of space and I like having my own room again. The curtains are nice for when I have to work nights and need to sleep during the day.

Here's my closet. Again, tons of space. Love it!

Best part of all!!! The backyard is fabulous!!! Look at these trees! I love the backyard.

Close up of the trees!

Yes, my friends, we do have a pond. Obviously no water in it right at the moment, but there is a cool waterfall thing that winds around and drains into this pond with a bridge over it. Can you tell why I love it so much!!! I never thought I would find such a great place! So, to anyone out there reading... Please, come and visit! We have tons of room and we can play in my backyard and have a blast! I love my house!