all on my own...well, sort of.

i'm living in my parents basement. it's my own little apartment! i have a laundry machine, sink, fridge, dishes... it's wonderful. my mom decorated it in a retro/ antique/ things from grandma's basement/ before we transformed it into my place, so i'm trying to figure out what needs to stay or go. the ugly brown table is craig's card table, and the blue one is the actual table. the tall fridge is the real one, and that small old one is a pantry because it doesn't actually work as a fridge. the sink unit thing came from my grandpa's work shed, and i love it. i love my dishes too! my mom and i bought a lot of stuff at walmart on saturday, and it was so much fun to shop for every thing! i'm so excited! ya me! that is all.

what a rush!

Last night jesse, micah, matt, and i saw "Flags of our Fathers." It was really good and you guys should all go see it! Micah and I rode with jesse to the movie, but matt and jesse bought tickets for "The Departed" right after our movie. 2 movies in one night! So micah and i drove jesse's car home and almost died! It was crazy, but we're still alive so I'll move on.
So the movie was really good, but during the previews i was so sick of the movies that were coming out. All of them are about genocide, hurting people, cheating people, stealing...why can't we just get along?! all of the things that have been in the news and happening around the world makes me so sad. The world has gone mad and last night i was so sick of the evil that is in it. Don't get me wrong, most all of those movies that are coming out will be really good ( really good! and i would like to see some of them), but right now i need a shrek movie. Does that make sense? Happy and funny. I need the next "feel good movie of the year." that is all.

the forgotten adventures of sarah and suzy...

today was a great day...and it's not even over yet! it's only 3:48pm. right now i'm sitting at the counter in suzy's kitchen listening to a great song. today was the first time in a long time that i got to hang with my b-e-a-utiful suzy Q. it was grand, and i miss it. it's hard not going to the same school as suzy and not seeing her everyday. tough..."life's tough, get a helmet!" enough about that... at 5:30 suzy, kelli, katie and i will be going so see the amazing production of THRILLER! i cannot wait! girls night all the way. before we head to the show we will be stopping by the oh so good resturant of wingers! i love that place, and i know exactly what i'm going to order...wings. enjoy your weekend, i know i will! "ME TOO-suzy"
---notice that in everyone of these pictures my mouth is open, and suzy is always on the left and i'm always on the right....we don't know why.

to grandmother's house we go.

so i went to my grandma's house to get it ready for the garage sale this weekend. (the grandma that passed away in august...my dad's mom.) i love my grandma's house! if you really knew what it looked like then you would think i was crazy, but i love it! my grandma was a major, major packrack! i love her house because there are places in her house that i have still never seen...example...i went into my grandpa's shed for the first time today ( it was always locked...until now). there's parts of rooms that i've never seen (corners and closets) because it's always been so clutterd that i've never been able to walk around. it's the greatest adventure! you find the best treasures, and because she was a packrack, i learn so much about what she experienced during that time. all of that to say that it's amazing what you can learn from cleaning someone's house out. i love my grandma. always have, always will...but after today i love her more and appreciate her more than ever. that is all...

thoughts...

i'm not sure what to post about.
i haven't posted for a while.
sometimes life is so confusing.
why is it so hard to be disciplined in prayer and reading?
i get distracted so easily that God fades into the background.
sometimes i wish it came natural.
do i really rely on God like i say i do?
for bible study Terry typed up some questions that have been hard for me to answer...
-what's one thing you could to this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
-what one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
-what's the most important need you feel burdened with this year?
-what is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
that's just a few of them.
this is what it says at the top of the page that hit me hard...
"once, when people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. "consider your ways!" (Haggai 1:5) he declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their spirituality in light of what God had told them. even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. it's so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we're going and where we should be going.
enough said...that is all...

more nanny pictures

these are just a few pictures from our experience with the girls.



we gave the girls drinks from got coffee...studies show that a child hooked on coffee at an early age will either become crazy, or a genius when they grow up...do these picture show crazy or genius? don't answer that.

SuperNanny to the rescue!

last week i had the pleasure of picking Dylan(3rd grade) and Maya (Kindergarden) up from school, and then doing homework and playing with them until Todd (dad) got home. Lori (mom) was on a little vacation and so my dream of being a nanny was complete! it was great. on wednesday we went to Dinosaur Park (for my very first time), and during the rest of the week i drove Dylan to football practice. the best thing about it was that i got to drive my mom's car the whole week because mine wasn't safe for their car seats!!! ya!

SURPRISE!

yesterday, Micah took me to dinner up in SLC. we walked around the Gateway and had a good time. little did i know that it was all a trick to get me to salt lake...thanks to Matt T. we had tickets to see these guys....Third Day & David Crowder!!!!!
It was AWESOME!

coffee shop tears

amy and i are watching the girls for the weekend. (sadie and avery). we had a great sleepover last night and are getting ready for a fun-filled day ahead of us! we're at got coffee right now and sadie has just fallen off of her chair and started crying. it's quite a fall for her on these big chairs, and then to hit the cement floor...it's ok sadie...you've been hurt so you just cry ok...
hopefully amy and the girls will be headed to the Treehouse today. (one of the greatest places on earth! i had my birthday party there 5 years in a row when i was little. it's truly magical!)

on a different note....Micah and Glendon decided to go camping last night. for all of you living in utah please join me in saying "are you crazy?!" i would just like to add that there are a couple inches of fresh SNOW on the mountains! SNOW!

i hope you guys have a great weekend and bundle up, it's pretty nippy!

sarah-amy-sadie-avery.

Ok, Go Treadmill Dance

This is the band "Ok, Go" performing one of their songs on treadmills.

Chaco, Chaco, Chaco...

here's some pictures from our wonderful hike yesterday at Waterfall Canyon.






as you can see the waterfall was huge! if you can even see it...


















we all got soaked from the water that was spraying off of it...or from dunking our heads in it...

















even though the waterfall was a bit of a disappointment, it was great seeing Cinnamin and meeting Nate and Ashley!

my title is not as cool as micah's...

What a week! I started college and it's great! Actually, my favorite part is walking around campus! I've always wanted to do that since I was little... and I get out no later than 12:30! its grand. I went to a ROTC bbq yesterday for Micah and Matt at Weber. They received awards and all that jazz. keep it up cadets! I also went to a great concert last night with Micah, Nate and Buzz (mewithoutyou). The "Psalters" were so cool! you'll have to ask us about them to trully experience the magic that we saw! Come to a bbq tomorrow at Amy and Petes house! 6pm! come now! do it! see you soon!

first day of school

Well, it's the first day of school...so here's a little jingle for you by our good friend Billy Madison...
" back to school, back to school, to show my dad i'm not a fool. i've got my lunch all packed, my boots tied tight, i hope i don't get in a fight. back to school..."
my lunch is packed...
i probably will get in a fight...
i hope i don't miss the bus.

have a great day everyone! (this picture is not mine. i love the internet).

say hello to my little friend...

This little guy showed up at our house and took a nice nap... so my dad is going to build a "bat house" for him to live in and eat all of our mosquitos! welcome to the neighborhood little guy, you're welcome to stay for as long as you need!

Claire! remember krew?

Claire!
I was walking in the Walmart parking lot today and I passed a subaru with one of those "all my grandchildren" stickers on it. "KREW" was on the list! it was amazingly funny!

He's Home!

I am so happy!

My army man is home.

That is all...

some things change...

You may be wondering why I'm not in a car right now on my way to Missouri... well, it's crazy how things can change so fast. I was at cheer practice yesterday at 7:00am with every thought geared toward my trip that night, when Amy pulled me aside and told me that our grandma (my dads mom) had passed away in her sleep monday night (just like she wanted). The past month my grandma has been in the hospital with pneumonia. She came home last week, but got worse. We had the hospis come in on Monday(14th) and she didn't know how long my grandma would last; maybe a week or two. The funeral is on friday, and Amy, Craig, and I are going to sing "I Will Praise You In This Storm" (casting crowns) so I'm not going to go to Missouri. I'm a bit scared to sing and I don't like funerals or crying at all! I was really looking forward to this trip, but Micah comes back on monday and grandma wont. thanks for your prayers I love you guys!

just some random pictures...

let the count down begin!

In 7 days I will be in a car for 18 hours headed to Missouri!

I am so excited!

You should know why by now...

That is all.

i'm back!

I just spent wednesday-saturday with 15 cheerful, crazy, hiper, annoying, fun cheerleaders. Kelli and I went to cheer camp and had a blast! (amy was moving and couldn't come). it was really awesome to be the coach instead of the cheerleader. we also had crazy girls and their drama, but then sometimes we had nice sweet high schoolers. sometimes they were like junior highers and it was awful at some points, but apparently we pulled through. the girls did really good at camp, brought home some trophies, and all that jazz. Kelli and I had a great time learning a dance and rooming together. thanks for coming up with me kelli! i'm telling you though, these girls would go crazy and it was hard for me to control my thoughts. i'm pretty good at not getting mad and blowing up, but in my mind...that's a different story. it was definitely a reminder that what is in your mind and what comes out your mouth, comes from your heart. think about it. have a great saturday!

the cat's out of the bag!

Well, Micah called me yesterday and asked me if I was coming to his graduation...i didn't know if it was a trick...so I said "I don't know..." "did my mom ask you to come yet?" "yeah but i don't know if I can go..." so he knows I was invited. I didn't want to tell him that I couldn't come and then have him be sad (pathetic I know, but he had the whole trip planned out and he was so excited) so I told him my master plan. but if I would've told him "I can't come" (when I would've been able to) and he would've said "no problem" and be completely fine with it and not sad at all and I told him my secret for no reason...someone is going to die! haha
have a great day everyone! and thanks for keeping it a secret up until now!

The Cry In My Heart

Take my heart, I Lay it down
At the feet of you whose crowned
Take my life, I'm letting go
I lift it up to You who's throwned

And I will worship You, Lord
Only You, Lord
And I will bow down before You
Only You Lord

Take my fret, take my fear
All I have, I'm leaving here
Be all my hopes, be all my dreams
You're my delights, be my everything

And It's just you and me here now
Only you and me here now

You should see the view
When it's only You

"I want Big!"

This is a shout out to my favorite cousin Corie. We (amy, pete, mom, dad) had lunch with them today. Corie & Ben and their adorable kids Ethan & Jadea, my aunt and uncle Keith and Shirley, and Corie's bro Todd and his wife Charis were there too. Also, C&B's friends Lindy & David. We had so much fun and Ethan and Jadea our the cutest kids EVER! I wish I could've gotten some pictures. Ethan was eating a bit of a shake and he would say "i want big!" meaning a bigger scoop then what Jadea got. i guess you had to be there to hear him say it, but it was cute. Corie is the best! she has played almost every "role" you could play as a person. she was my babysitter, councelor, cousin, friend, and is a "Paul" to me. I love ya Corie! i can't wait to see you again!

she's ok!

Well, my mom's surgery went smooth today and now she's home relaxing and all that jazz. She wasn't too picture friendly, so i took a picture of the back of her. In the picture she's saying "no more kidney stone!"

Momma Mia

it has probably been almost 3 weeks since my mom found out she had a kidney stone, and since it hasn't passed yet, she is going in for surgery tomorrow morning. the doctor will go in (some how) and take out that evil kidney stone. she goes in at 9:15 and surgery is at 10:15, hopefully she'll be home by 1:00. pray for her and that it will go well and she'll have a fast recovery.

happy birthday micah!

I tried to post this yesterday, but my computer was going crazy, so here it is. July 5th was Micah's 19th birthday! yeah go Micah. i wish we could've celebrated it with him with a BBQ or something, but we will do that when he gets back. So, with that, pray for Micah and know that he is doing really well. he is finished with "basic" and moving to "AIT." it's more free time, class time, and he gets 3 days off to do whatever! (Meredith, he wants to call you and hang out). Happy Birthday Micah we miss you!

free otter pops anyone?

that was the best 4th of July ever! i drove my car up to Hunstville and we entered it into the parade. the best/only parade i've been in. me, suzy and amy were in the front seat. kimber, mat, kelli were in the back. nate, buzz, brent were in the trunk. total of 9 people. 9!!! my car was so low in the back. it was crazy. we threw otter pops at the crazy screaming kids, but we ran out of things to throw before we were even close to the end. i honked my horn a lot and i heard one guy say "hey the horn actually works!" yeah. my car is full of surprises! the worst part of the day was that thay canceled the fireworks! ah! i love fireworks. so we all went back to my house and did our own. good times. how was your 4th?

Pure Magic!

Tonight, I witnessed the most amazing phenomenon ever! Sabrina, Katherine, Suzy and I were at Suzy's house for accountability and we were all drinking homemade lime rickys. Suzy accidentally spilled hers all over the white carpet downstairs. With confidence Suzy says, "Hey don't worry about it, I'll just go get the Resolve." she sprays this amazing product all over the stains, it foams, and it DISAPPEARS! It was magical! I thought I was on a real info-mercial. My jaw dropped. Magical. That's all.