My Gal Pals

The history of my gal pals: a 13 year journey of friendship

1997
I was 8 or 9 years old (about third grade) and my family had started attending Washington Heights. Stacy Simpson enters the scene! I don't remember anything other than we started playing. a lot. She would come over to my house and visa versa. Our specialties were barbies, dress up, tea parties, and trying to get our older sisters to play with us. No success. When we did finally have success Amy and Emily tricked us into playing a game where they were the queens and we were the servants....yep. Sadly, we went along with it.

Stacy and I were best friends instantly. One day I got my hair cut and apparently Stacy liked it, because the next time I saw her, her hair was cut too. When possible (at the time, I lived in bountiful and she was in ogden), we did everything together. It was also nice for our parents since Stacy had 2 older siblings (Emily and Tommy) the same age as my two siblings. So when we got together the whole gang did too. It was fantastic.

1998
Stacy and I were in 4th grade and a new girl from Oregon was introduced to our Wednesday night church class. Once again, instant best friends, and Stacy and I added Christina Merrigan to our gang. At the time (2nd to 6th grade) I was home schooled, and so was Tina. Our parents set up a home school group with a couple other families from church about once a week for "extracurricular activities." It was basically a giant play date. We did, however, learn to play the recorder and held a recital for everyone. We also learned the Olympic art of curling...I probably could've gone pro...jk

So during the week Tina and I would do home school stuff, her and Stacy started taking tumbling classes together, Wednesday nights we all did stuff at church, and then Sunday after church we always tried to play. Tina also had 3 older brothers, and John became friends with Craig. Once again, it was fantastic.

1999
Stacy, Tina, and I were in 5th grade and on Wednesday nights at church they started mixing the 4th and 5th graders together during craft time. This is when we first met Suzy Madigan, but the first time I did anything with Suzy is because my friend Rebekah invited her to a sleep over.

Even though Suzy was a year younger than the rest of us, she still became part of the gang. Probably because she's awesome...I remember thinking that Suzy was the most interesting girl I had ever met. She always had a different way of doing things, even as a 4th grader, and I love that about her. Suzy's older brother, Matt, became great friends with Tommy, John, and Craig, and my parents instantly clicked with hers.

So we became the four amigos.



During high school we started an accountability group. At first, a woman from church named Marlee was our leader for about 6 or so months. She had to stop after that :( but then we all met Sabrina Moulding! Sabrina lead our group through a couple of relationship books, helped us tackle our high school drama, and showed us how to put God first in everything by being an amazing role model. Eventually, Sabrina turned into more than just our leader that met with us once a week. She was our friend, mentor, confidant, and everything else in between.

Over this past weekend I had the honor of being part of Suzy's wedding. David and Suzy chose to have the person in their lives who most influenced them be part of the ceremony as well. It hit me, watching Suzy and Sabrina hug, what being a disciple of God is about, and that I want to influence and lead people like Sabrina has lead me. She's poured out her heart to us girls and was dedicated to our group. She is obedient to God's call in her life and I pray the Spirit will lead me to do the same.

2010
Obviously life has changed a lot since 1997.
Stacy married Jeremy and they have an adorable little boy, Roman. Stacy is just as passionate and full of love as she was when I first met her, and her and Jeremy together are an amazingly Godly couple. I honestly believe God is going to use them to bring His love to Ogden.

I have enjoyed watching Tina and Dave grow together over the years and through their marriage, and seeing them follow God by being true servants. Tina is one of the hardest working girls I know. She's full of determination, drive, and persistence, but she's also the sweetest person you'll ever meet.

and most recently, Suzy and David got married over the weekend! Congrats you two! Suzy is an amazingly strong and genuine woman. Even though I'm sad they're moving to Florida, I know God has a huge plan to use the way they pour their hearts into the lives of the people around them.

I've already told you about the fabulous person Sabrina is but let me add on that her and Travis are an incredible couple. They're always striving to know more about God and live for him. Ok, that should do it :)


So that's that :)
I know this post was extremely long but I write about what I love, and I do love my gal pals.

"Because they are united in love, I pray that their hearts may be encouraged by all the riches that come from a complete understanding of the full knowledge of the Christ, who is the mystery of God." Colossians 2:2

My Wild Weekend

This past weekend my mom, dad, and I went up to my grandparent's cabin, by Park City, to work on some stuff and to just have a relaxing weekend in one of my favorite places of all time.


There were a few things this weekend that threw me off guard and I thought, "did that really just happen!?" OK, here we go.

1) I have seen about 5 moose (moosen? jk) in my lifetime that I can actually remember. When you visit the cabin you always see deer. Always. But I have deer living in the field behind my house. They're everywhere. They're like squirrels. So this cabin trip I was determined to see something awesome. Like a porcupine. jk. Like a MOOSE! I wrote Allyse a text telling her I wanted to see a moose, hit send, looked up, and freakin' saw a MOOSE!!! Now, I understand that a moose is not as awesome as I am making it sound, but you cannot deny how crazy that timing was! I mean come on, did that really just happen!?

2) So, just when I thought I was satisfied with my wildlife sightings, mother nature blew my mind again. Mom, dad, and I were driving to a home depot in Park City to grab some stuff. Getting off the exit I hear, "is that a buffalo!?" two seconds later, "Ah! is that a zebra!?" ...what?! That's right folks. In what looks like a beautiful, normal Park City neighborhood is a backyard, home to a BUFFALO, ZEBRA, and a donkey (he's not as cool as the other two so he doesn't get to be upper cased). We tried to come up with reasons why/how a person could have 3 completely different wild animals (ok, a donkey isn't wild but go with it) in their yard, in a neighborhood (not a farm), in Park City. All I could think was, holy crap, did that really just happen!? ...mind...blown...
Behold, the buffalo and the zebra. This is a picture of a picture. My cell phone isn't as cool as yours probably is, so I can't skip the middle man and upload it onto here....I feel no shame...


3) One of the things I love about my mom is her love for hosting parties. If someone could be a professional "hostess of parties," it would be Jan Massie. The cabin was no exception. She packed a whole box of alcohol and we boozed it up every night. KIDDING! We don't do that. But we did make some yummy cocktails. I was telling them that I don't get the point of cocktails that taste like normal fruit juice. I don't really like juice so why am I drinking this cocktail? because it has alcohol in it, so it's different? I don't get it. Anyway! I was telling them all of this and how my drink only tastes like cranberry juice when my mom yells from down the hall, "just put more vodka in it!"
This moves us into a new blog section I like to call, "hilarious things my mom says."
1) "Milkyway Bars...I could take a bath in them."

2) "just put more vodka in it!"

3) and my personal favorite, "oooh! look how pretty that dirt is!" ...I had no idea a mound of fresh dirt could be pretty.

Oh mom, you're so cool, but did that really just happen? :)


So it was a pretty exciting weekend to say the least.
I had a blast with the parents and Kellie (the dog), and I hope your weekend was fun too.

My past 7 days

I wouldn't say a lot has happened this week but I thought I would fill you in anyway.

Sunday May 16
--I played frisbee golf for the first time this "season." I did okay. Not my best but it was my first time.
--Today was also my friend Tina & Dave's first anniversary. Hooray! that's awesome.


Monday May 17
--Every week I'm going to help my grandparent's around the house. This week I mowed the lawn and did some other small things. Next week will probably be about the same.


...pretty exciting week so far, right?

Tuesday May 18
--Allyse (Gerald's sister) and I drove down to draper to visit her family. Her cousin Julia graduated high school this year, so we went to congratulate her and say hi to her aunt Nancy, visiting from N.C.

--Had coffee with a friend from Intervarsity before heading up to Amy's to practice for worship this Sunday. I call our group of girls, "girl band," and man, do I love girl band!

Wednesday May 19
--Intervarsity events during the summer have kept me pretty busy since I have a lot to prepare for our little gatherings on Thursdays.
--After that I headed up to church to help out with the highway cleanup we do every year. I picked up plenty of trash and saw a dead raccoon and a deer skeleton. I am woman. Hear me roar.

Thursday May 20
--For our summer plans in intervarsity we're watching some of the Nooma videos by Rob Bell. I have seen most of them before hand (and preparing for the videos means I watch them at least 2 more times), but from what i've heard no one else in our group has seen them. It's been great to see how everyone reacts the videos, but I do have a little anxiety every week since I lead everyone through the discussion. I just want the videos/discussion to be beneficial to everyone that comes, so I put a lot of pressure on myself. Probably shouldn't do that...
--Today was Gerald's 22nd birthday! Hooray! Happy Birthday! I can't wait until next year because we can celebrate it in Utah when he's home for good! yessssss.


Friday May 21
--Tina and I have been working out 3 times a week at Weber's gym. Most of the time we just walk around the track and stretch, but at least it gets me up and out of the house.
--Headed to Holbrook's house to watch Luke and Anasten, which is what I do every Friday. Anasten is 5 and says the funniest things. Today while we were "fighting monsters," I could hear her whispering "lets get this party started" to the monster she was fighting. Smack talk! love it!

Anasten & Luke

--After that I did some more babysitting with a 5 year old named Will. Will is also a character. I call him "the world war 2 expert," because he is! They own an old black and white WW2 documentary called, Victory at Sea, and Will knows every scene! It's a bit scary...He also knows a lot about Star Wars so we have had some fun conversations about that galaxy far, far, away.

Saturday May 22
--Woke up this morning with a rash on the left side of my face. Awesome. I went to the Dr and nothing happened. Super. Gerald thinks it's an allergic reaction and not a rash, so I took some benadryl and I'm waiting to see what happens. Until then, I look like Quasimodo (minus the hunchback), or at least feel like him. Not cool.

--That night I did some more babysitting with two kids, Katie (10) and Beck (7), or as Gerald puts it, "Beck and Beck's sister." crazy Gerald. Before bedtime we read a book about sharks and found out great white sharks can have over 3,000 teeth. Katie said, "Ewww!" and Beck turned to her and said, very matter-of-factly, "Katie it's not Ewww!...It's Wow!" Kids crack me up.

Sunday May 23
--Girl band played the music at church today and it was great. It was Suzy's last sunday playing with us before she gets married and moves away in June :( it's going to suck...I don't want to talk about it.

--After that we had a bridal shower for Suzy. Food, presents, girl talk...ya know, the usual. It was great.

Also throughout the week i've been finishing up 2 Thessalonians. For my new years resolution I made a list of books of the bible that I've never read before and I'm plowing through them. Next up on the list is Acts.

So that's my week. A little more detailed than I bet you had hoped ;)
How was yours?

My Reappearing Friends

It's summer time!
Technically it's not summer until June. However, I am out of school which means it's summer vacation, and the buds on the trees have finally turned to leaves. Therefore--summer time!

Since it's summer it's time for a new background. Right now I'll use this one, but I might change it later on since the summer months always seem longer, and there are so many summer pics to choose from.

Today was such a beautiful day. Here's some pics for you.
The trees are finally green!

"what are you looking at?"



side note: I'm on the hunt to see my first butterfly of the season.

I can't wait to see one!

I love summer!
Mainly because I love foliage (who doesn't?!) and the greener the better! so I was so happy to see all the leaves on the trees today. It's like they finally decided to pop out and say hi.
Welcome back friends!

My Storm

Yesterday was weird.

The entire day I felt like there was a black cloud following me.

It wasn't hovering over me, but man, did it want to!

After we dropped Gerald off at the airport I went back to my house and slept for a bit. I felt like I could stay under those covers all day.

Partly because I didn't sleep the night before so I was tired, but mostly because my boyfriend was on a plane headed back to a dark place.

Once I did get out of bed I didn't want to talk to anyone. All I wanted to do was curl up, relax, drink a coffee and maybe read.
Preferably in a place like this...

Or this...

So I did.
I was feeling gloomy inside and it didn't help much that I was feeding off of the gloomy weather that was outside as well.

but I can't keep my curtains closed forever...

As pathetic as this may sound, I have been singing the song "Chiquitita" by ABBA as one way to help me keep that dark cloud from coming closer. Here's a snippet of it...
"Chiquitita, you and I cry
But the sun is still in the sky and shining above you
Let me hear you sing once more like you did before
Sing a new song, chiquitita."

I may be feeling like this...

...but the night is always coldest before the dawn...

...and the dawn is always coming.

God has kept G safe for 9 months and I pray He will bring him home in 3 more months, and that brightens my day.


As odd as it sounds I feel like I am now one with the storm of deployment yet still protected from it.

God has helped us to not get swept away by the deployment, but to not be ignorant or disregard it either.
He is our rock and strong tower, and is the only thing not only keeping our heads above water, but our bodies completely out of it.

"O Sovereign LORD, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do?" --Deuteronomy 3:24

My Countdown

Today I'll be seeing this man for the first time in 8 months.



230 days have been crossed off my calendar.

Countdown complete.

This is going to be a great day.

My unintentional post about Catalina

Well, it's spring so that means time for a new background! This photo was actually taken by my friend Cody T, so thanks Cody for a great image!


I know I haven't blogged in 2 months and this post isn't going to change that. Most of the time when I want to blog it takes longer than I expect and I have to stop and go back to it later. Currently I have a few unfinished posts that will probably stay unfinished. Sorry folks for the disappointment.

I'm going to say a few things about my trip to Catalina (I guess this is turning into a real post after all).
Catalina was perfect.

I studied the first half of Mark with a group of 12 or so for 8 hours a day. We would have breakfast, have session (that's when we study Mark) for 3 hours, eat lunch, have free time for 3 hours, session again for 2 hours, eat dinner, session for 2-3 hours, go to bed. I learned so much about Jesus and his word that I didn't realize before. I loved every minute of it. and I really love these guys.

Plus, the entire time I was 50 ft away from the ocean. I ate dinner with dolphins jumping in the background, and woke up to hear seals "barking" by the dock. One night I slept on the beach and fell asleep to waves crashing and thousands of stars shining above my head. I felt very small in that moment, but so peaceful and comforted. God is so amazing.

During free time I swam, kayaked, had good conversation,

and played in a beach volleyball tournament where my team won! Take that Chico State! Go Wildcats!

We all look special in this photo but trust me, on the court we were very intimidating.

One day we hiked to the city of Avalon on the other side of the island. The hike was brutal but the view was fantastic once we got to the top, and it was fun to walk around Avalon.

At the top with Allyse and looking down into Avalon.






What else can I say about Catalina...?
I loved it.
I'm going back next spring break.
You should come with me.

Thanks for listening.