Greg's Baptism

On Friday I drove home to attend Gregory Amundson's baptism. I drove through 2 snow storms and a rain storm, but I still made it in under 6 hours. When I got home I called a friend from high school, Katie Michie, because she was in town until Saturday morning from Hawaii. She is in the army and got back from Iraq about a month and a half ago. She is stationed in Hawaii, but was in town visiting her family with her fiance. Greg and I went over to her parent's apartment and picked her up. While we were sitting in the parking lot waiting for Katie to come back outside I saw none other than my best friend Courtney drive by us! We ran up to her car window and asked where she was headed. Her sister, Lindsey, lives in the apartments right next to Katie's parents so we all decided to go over there and play the Nintendo Wii. It was really good to see everyone! Courtney called me a ho countless times for not telling her that the baptism was for sure on the 8th and for not telling her I was in town, haha.

Saturday I slept in until about noon because I was so comfortable being in my own bed. Once I got ready for the day, Greg came over to the house to help put up the Christmas lights. On the bottom row of the house he didn't even need to use the ladder because he is so tall! At 5:30 I got ready for the baptism and at 6:30 Greg and I drove over to the Green Valley Stake Center. When we arrived we realized Greg had forgotten a few essentials for after he was dunked in the water, so I went back to his house and picked them up for him. It was a beautiful baptism and there were so many people there supporting him and the other girl being baptized, Ashley. I could not stop crying and you could see the streams of tears down my face.

The Elders acting silly

Greg, Jesus, and I before the baptism

Greg and I after the baptism

After the baptism Greg, Courtney, Lindsey, Derek, Dan, and I all went out to eat at TGI Fridays. It was really fun to spend time with all my friends. After we ate we went over to Greg's to play the Wii yet again. p.s. If you have not played the Wii yet, you have to try it if you are coming in town for Christmas!

Greg and I at TGI Fridays

Sunday we had church at 1:30pm for the singles ward. Greg was confirmed a member of the church by his ex uncle Joe Dramise, Bishop Clark, the missionaries, and Pop. It is so wonderful to see someone confirmed a member of the true church on the earth today. I am so grateful for the steps Gregory took to enter the waters of baptism and be confirmed a member of the church. I am especially grateful for the priesthood and the blessings it brings into my life. Congratulations Greg!

I shaved Greg's hair for the police academy!

Spencer's Blessing

Last night Pop, Mom, and Emily came into town for Spencer's blessing. We all met at Grandma and Grandpa's to eat pizza and watch the BYU football game. I'm afraid to say I have become a BYU football fan, mostly because my home teacher Mitch Payne is the kicker on the team. It was nice to be with everyone and hang out.

Today was a pretty busy day for me. I told my home teachers that I would pick them up for church so they could see my new car and since they have taken me the past three weeks I have not had a car. I went to my sacrament meeting at 9:30am with them and left a little early so I could go to Kylie's sacrament meeting to hear her sing. Then, I went back to my ward to attend relief society. I got out of my ward at 12:30 pm and took one of my home teachers home. I then headed to Katie's ward for Spencer's blessing. I really enjoyed going to church today and feeling the spirit so strongly. I am grateful for the power of the priesthood and that I have it in my life. I am also grateful for the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father and the happiness it brings into my life.

The men who blessed Spencer

Mark and Spencer

Everyone who attended the blessing

Everyone from our family at the blessing

Emily, Kylie, and I

Katie, Emily, Kylie, and I

NEW CAR!!!

When Pop came up to Utah to help me look for a car, he told me he would rather I buy it from a guy that works nextdoor to him in Las Vegas. The dealership is called The AutoCenter and the owner goes to the auction and finds you the exact car you want. At first I really wanted a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. After talking to many people at work and friends, though, I found out it is an old man's car. So, I decided that I wanted a 2006 Mazda3 in charcoal gray. The first week that the guy went to the auction he didn't find anything I wanted and there were not many Mazdas. I was really discouraged because I needed a car. I told him I would wait another week because I really wanted the exact car I wanted. He called me the next week and let me know that they had a 2007 Mazda3 in charcoal gray and silver. I was so excited! It was a newer car than what I wanted, but I told him not to go over a certain amount or else we would just keep looking. He bought the car for the exact price I gave him! I got buyer's remorse right after he told me though because it was going to be a bigger payment than what I had before on my Honda.

I have to thank Mark and Katie for all of their help during the time I did not have a car. They were so good to me and Mark let me take his car to work while he took Katie's. I will forever be grateful for them and their family and all they have done for me in the past couple of months. I love you all!

Thanksgiving 2007

This year I did not think I was going to go home for Thanksgiving because I had to work the night before at Kneaders. I was going to go to Grandma and Grandpa's and have dinner with them. I found out Katie and her family were going to drive down to Las Vegas on Thanksgiving morning and asked if I could ride with them. So, I got to go home for the weekend after all. We left around eight thirty in the morning and headed for Las Vegas! When we pulled up to the house I saw my new car in the driveway! We all helped mom get dinner ready since she said we would be eating at two, but Katie and I knew that meant three or four :) It was nice to be home and spend time with all my family.

Me, Kylie and Emily

Brynn and Emma playing dress-ups

Mason with his pumpkin cookie

Friday night, I went over to my friend Lindsey's apartment and watched Ratatouille. We ate pizza and hung out with her roommate and a couple of friends. Saturday, I went to a movie with Mom, Pop, Kylie, Emily, Katie, Mark, Emma, Hannah, Spencer, Easton, and Brynn. We saw the new Disney movie Enchanted. I loved the movie! It was really funny and well worth the money you spend on movies these days. That night I went to the UNLV vs. UNR basketball game. I got to see some friends at the game and UNLV won! Sunday I was went to the singles ward and we had family dinner after. I loved seeing everyone and spending time with them. Monday morning I went to the bank to finalize my loan and get the paperwork signed. Kylie and I were supposed to leave about twelve but didn't end up leaving until two thirty. We went to Mom's work and said good-bye and then down to Pop's work to say good-bye. The reason we left so late, though, was because some boys we know had Kylie's Ipod transmitters and we wanted them for the ride home so we could listen to music. They each said the other had them. We went to the house of one of the boys and got one of the transmitters. Then, we sat next to the car of the other boy in the seminary parking lot for almost an hour before we called his dad to get him to give it to us. After that fun adventure I signed the paperwork at the AutoCenter, where I bought the car from, and we were off to Utah.

Matthew, Ben, and Spencer

Sunday dinner

The nieces at the kids' table

Me, Mom, and Kylie saying good-bye

No more smelling like onions!

As some of you have heard by now, I finally quit my job at Kneaders. After two and a half months working as a sandwich maker, I was ready to leave! My job description included making sandwiches, cleaning the grill, turning off all the grills, filling the sandwich bane, trash, and doing dishes. I absolutely hated doing dishes at night because it would take me at least an hour and a half to get them all done. I smelled and felt gross every time I worked there.

The last night I worked was the night before Thanksgiving. It was insane because everybody and their mom ordered pies. The back table was full of pies and there was no room to walk because we had so many people working. I got yelled at for not knowing there should be flour on Rye bread and that it was not mold, the dish boy left early and there were twice as many dishes than normal, the dish boy that came in for the other one didn't want to do all the dishes because he said it was my job too as closing sandwich maker, I put out too many pastries to thaw because no one told me until afterward, and I cried in the bathroom mid shift because we were so busy and I just could not handle it. I ended up not having to many dishes and left with two free pies for working that night. I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to work at Kneaders, but I am a million times more grateful I dont have to work there anymore!

SURPRISE!

After my accident I really was having a tough time wanting to go to a dealership and look for a car on my own. I told mom on the phone it would be so much easier if I had Pop up here with me to go to dealerships. She asked if I would hold on a second, so I waited patiently while she put me on hold. When she came back the phone she said that Pop was going to surprise Katie, Kylie and I, but he said it was ok if she told me that he was coming up for that weekend! I was so excited because I really wanted the comfort of Mom or Pop after my accident. Pop told Mom that I could not tell Kylie or Katie because he still wanted it to be a surprise for them. He drove up on Saturday morning and he wanted me to get Kylie and Katie to go to lunch so he could surprise them there. I told him that would be a task convincing Katie I just wanted to take her out to lunch, but I would try. He told me to tell her to meet me at the Chuck Wagon...yeah I had no idea what it was. So, I told Katie to meet me there and she asked what it was and that she hoped it was not Chuck-A-Rama. I told her it wasn't and to just meet me where I thought it was at 12:30. I told Kylie I was picking her up for lunch and not to ask questions. Both her and Katie said I was acting weird, but that they would go. Kylie and I got to Chuck-A-Rama and saw pop when we walked in and Ky was ecstatic! When Katie got there I told her to just come in because I had already paid and she laughed when she found out it was Chuck-A-Rama. I told Emma I had a surprise for her and led her in to see Poppy.

After lunch

We came back to Katie's after lunch and I told Pop there was no way he was staying in a hotel. He tried to argue with me, but I went out to the car, got his bags, and put them down in my room. He was not too happy with me and said I need to learn not to be in control all the time, but in the end I won of course. I told him there was no point in paying for a hotel when I could sleep on the couch and all of us wanted him here. Later that night Pop took Kylie, her roommate Stefanie, friend T.C. and I to FroYo for frozen yogurt and just to spend time with us. The next day Pop went to Kylie's ward and then we spend some time together before he headed back home.

Hanging out at Katie's

I am so grateful for loving parents and especially for Pop to drive all the way up here to spend time with us. I love you past the universe and back Pop!

Not good...

I told Katie about two weeks before I paid off my car that I had a feeling something bad would happen once I finally had. Well, today that prophecy came to pass. Right after I left the pool to go to Kneaders, I ran a stop sign and blindsided a car on the passenger side. My air bags went out and my car is totaled according to the assessor. I could not stop crying and I just keep thinking about how stupid I feel and what I am going to do. My back hurts a little bit and I am shaken up, but other than that I am happy to be alive. As Pop said to me, "this too shall pass." Keep me in your prayers everyone, thanks!