Do You See Who I See?

For Christmas each year, our family normally gets a puzzle or two. It's always a good time to sit around the table together and do a puzzle. I actually am the worst about this, but this year we got a BYU Football Stadium puzzle. Since I now go to school there, I thought I'd help out. Livi is the best puzzler in our family and so I also helped in honor of her. She has to work so we cry. But so goes life. Anyways, as we were puzzling, we were noticing some people that were attending the game in the picture. Once the puzzle was complete, we analyzed it to find as many people as we could. So, if you have this puzzle, try and see if you can see who we see!

• The Three Nephites
• President Monson
• President Hinckley
• President Lorenzo Snow
• President and First Lady Obama
• The Osmonds
• Ty Detmer and his Heisman Trophy
• Tiger Woods
• Miss America: Charlene Wells Hawks
• UVU Guy
• Mariachi Guy
• Baseball Guy... (we don't know specifically which one, maybe Dale Murphy)
• Just Married Couple
• Kissing Couple
• and 1 Nephi 3:16 (instead of John 3:16)

It is a pretty great puzzle! I like this tradition! And we also probably beat a record or something of speed! We were awesome! :) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! 

The Tradition That Went SOUR

Tyson's = GREAT!!!

Violet's = FABULOUS!!!

Sullivan's...

Merry Christmas Folks!

Laundry... A Different Perspective

Since coming to school I have only done my own laundry a few times. This is because I live close-ish to home and so when I go, I take my laundry and my mom does it for me! Love you mom! But this week I ran out of some essentials, like jeans and underwear and socks. So I had to do my own laundry on Friday. It was a great time for me to stop and think. I mostly thought about laundry. I was folding my clothes with a great sense of pride that my clothes were all the same color and size as they were when I put them in the hamper a few days ago! Good job! Hi-Five to myself! But as I was folding it, the stacks were getting higher and higher and I looked down and saw that I was fully clothed and I looked to the left and saw a closet full of clothes and when I went to put my clothes in the drawers I noticed that my shirts didn't all fit and I barely had room to put my pants away. Well, when my older siblings hear that and see this...

(My stacks of Clean Clothes)

They think, "What a spoiled little girl!" But, I just want to clear some things up about my laundry situation. I am so thankful for all of the clothes and laundry that I have! It has 2 points of significance for me. 

1. These clothes are an investment. I have warn the same clothes since 7th grade as well as a bunch of new clothes that I have collected over the years. I call clothes an investment because since coming to school I have spent $25 on clothes. That's not very much in 4 months! I have so clothes all through high school that keep me covered. So I am saving money because of all the clothes that I have!

2. My clothes are an incentive to eat right and exercise regularly. If I were to start eating a lot of junk food all the time and never work out, I would out grow my clothes. I know how much money I have spent on clothes through the years and to all of a sudden have to go and buy a whole new wardrobe to stay appropriate, I would be spending a lot of money! I don't have that kind of money. So, instead of spending a ton of money on a larger wardrobe, I just try and eat well and exercise. It works! 

So yeah, I'm thankful for the clothes that I have and that I have a LOT of clothes! It is kind of sad sometimes though when I think of the clothes I have and still have a complex about "what should I wear?" Anyways. I'm not spoiled, I just have made wise investments. 

Honestly this is a weird post. But, be thankful for your clothes and what you have, whether it's a lot of clothes or a little bit of clothes, they keep you warm and appropriate and I'm thankful for them!

Embarrassing Moments... Part of Life

The other night I was talking to my roommates and they told me they were impressed with the way that I treat embarrassing moments as just a way of life. For me, they are. I have learned to laugh at myself and it's very helpful. There are few things that can make me really embarrassed. I just try to roll with the punches. So I am writing this blog to show you all that contrary to popular belief, I'm not perfect. I'm normal like everybody else. Embarrassing things happen to me quite often. I hope I can help you all feel less embarrassed and learn to just accept those moments as part of life.

Story #1

Thanksgiving Break.  One of the nights of Thanksgiving break we thought it would be a great idea to get a big group of people together to play volleyball! It was a blast!! It was a bunch of my cousins, me and Olivia, Tyson, Trevor, some dude I didn't know and some friends. Well, I like to tuck my shirt into my shorts when I play volleyball. For me it is comfortable and then when I jump to the sky with my hands above my head nobody gets a sneak peak of my stellar abs. I just like to keep things under control. However, being the all 5'2" that I am, I have a pretty short torso. About half way through the night one of my cousins said to me, "You're shorts are choking me!" I wasn't sure what she meant. She told me that my pants were pulled up so high that they looked like they were choking me. I thought I looked fine. Then all of a sudden my pants are clear down at my knees! I was laughing so hard and trying to recover from a little shock and trying to get my pants up all in the face of a bunch of family, friends, and a stranger. You'd think that at age 19 it would be no big issue to pull your pants back up. I mean, I've put pants on myself every day of my life for about 16 years now. But, I've never put pants on while wearing a knee brace. As I was laughing and recovering and pulling my shorts up, they got caught on my knee brace! What was probably only about 20 seconds felt like eternity as I tried to return to decency. All of this would normally really embarrass somebody and ruin their night. I, on the other hand, thought it was pretty hilarious. I laughed harder than anyone else I think. Dumb things happen. It's just a part of life.

Story #2

Thanksgiving Dinner.   I sometimes say words that I know the meaning of, but I don't know how to pronounce correctly. At the dinner table my brother-in-law Tony asked me someones address. I responded with a lot of confidence. "It's somethin' somethin' Buchanan Rd." He looked at me and the people around me started laughing. I wasn't sure what they were laughing at. I knew the address, there's nothing funny about it. I asked them. Tony says, "Buchanan? Don't you mean Bu-Cannon?" I was like, "No. I'm pretty sure it's Buchanan." What I didn't know is that Buchanan is actually pronounced Bu-Cannon, Not Butch-a-nan. Who knew right? They said everybody knew that! Well, excuse me! I didn't know! And now as I'm typing this and a little squiggly red line isn't appearing under "Buchanan" I am realizing that it actually must be a pretty common word that most people know. This isn't the first time I'm mispronounced a word. When I was 15 my sister Violet gave me a really great birthday card! It was the classic Teichert card. It talked about how beautiful and smart and talented and wonderful that I am. Then when I opened it up, I read out loud, "It must be hereditary." Everyone around me was laughing and I was like, "I don't get it. I don't know what "Here-Ditty" means." I had pronounced hereditary as Here-Ditty. Embarrassing right? Just a part of life! And yet another time; My sister Taffy was showing me her Christmas decorations at her house and she has this really cute stocking hanger. I told her, "When I have a house, we're gonna hang our stockings on the hearth." She laughed. Again, I didn't know why. She told me that "hearth" is pronounced Harth, not Herth. I'd only read the word before. I'd never actually heard it or said it. You know, whatever! Everyone says dumb stuff once or twice or three times. Or just twice... or once. It's a very real part of life and people need to not be so embarrassed about it!

Story #3

This one is slightly more embarrassing than the last two but I think it's pretty funny. It was also over Thanksgiving break. I know! What a weekend! Anyways, it was at the dinner following my Uncle David's funeral. I had finished all my food like the big girl that I am, and I went over to sit by Brock and Rae and chat for a little bit. Well, right when I was taking a pretty big drink of water they quoted Ammon from the funeral, "My Dad always beat us up... He always woke up before us." It was funny, but not like hysterical. But I wasn't expecting it. So instead of swallowing my water like a normal person, I inhaled and it went all in my lungs and so I started having a little fit. I spit some of it out into my cup and then a lot of it came rushing out my nose like a waterfall, but a lot less pretty. And then I was still choking on water and there was starting to be a little bit of a watery mess at my place on the table. I was coughing pretty hard. Hard enough for my jello to start making a reappearance right there on the dinner table. Brock, being the good cousin that he is, started unwrapping silver-wear so that I could have some napkins to try and catch my throw-up. After not too long I was able to get control and I didn't let any more of my lunch make a come-back. Once I was done choking, I became aware of the mess I had made. I had thrown up in the middle of the dinner table. I'm 19 years old! I laughed so hard! Everyone around me laughed! My brother-in-law Casey said, "Good things all these people already love you and won't judge you." It was too, and I hope all of you will just find humor in this whole situation. Once again, throwing up on the table is just a part of life. So I ripped away the part of the paper table clothe that was messy and threw it away, washed my hands and my mouth, and got another plate of jello because I no longer had mine. 

People. Embarrassing things happen! Roll with the punches! Laugh at yourself! You'll be happier and life will be funnier and brighter! It's a part of life! 

Have a nice week! :)

Talent

I knew when I decided to come here that BYU was special, but I didn't realize just how talented so many people are! I have been to quite a few events where I have just been floored by the amazing talent! Also, there is a ton of culture here that I get to see and it's great! I come from a town where there is almost no culture diversity, and I love seeing the different lives! Here are a few of the events that I've been to this year that I have absolutely LOVED!

My roommate Rachel just happens to be one of those very talented people! She sings like an ANGEL! She is in the Women's chorus! I went to the opening concert of the year and went again yesterday to the Christmas concert! The Christmas concert was phenomenal! It was all the choirs and the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra and all of them combined! Wow! 

During Homecoming week there was the BYU Spectacular with Nathan Pacheco. Mom and Dad came down and went with Livi and I to it! It had me laughing and crying! It was amazing! Music can be so powerful! That concert brought on the strongest impression of the Spirit for me since coming to college. I will go every year! Words can't explain!

One Tuesday, instead of Devotional there was the Dance Assembly! Different groups from the dance department performed and it was beautiful! Some dance is weird for me, but I can't deny the talent that all the performers have! 

BYU has a Polynesian club and they put on a Luau every year! Livi got me tickets and we went! It was so much fun! I went home right after it and signed myself up for Polynesian Dance Class for next semester! It was a blast to watch it and I'm excited to learn some! 

Last night I went to a dance show called "Christmas Around the World." Hanna and I somehow managed to score seats in the 6th row in the center! It was incredible! The show was the Folk Dance teams doing different dances from a bunch of different countries! It looked like a really fun thing to do! My favorite dance group was the ones from India! So cool! The finale was from Ukraine and it was awesome! What a great experience!

I love all the talent that is here! It makes me want to get involved with those things! Every time I go to an event like the ones I've mentioned I just get so happy and rejuvenated and I know I can keep going! 

Also, unexpected talent came out of apartment 1219 the other night at the Ward Christmas Party! Take a look at the blog below. (For some reason I couldn't get this one on here. Oh well.) 

Talent is given to us by God and we need to develop them and share them! Have a great week! And if you ever get the opportunity to come to a BYU production, Do it!! 

1219... Oh the Talent!

I took a photo of my food...

Looks delicious right? It was! I'm not doing too bad for myself here... but after I took this photo, I thought of this video. Don't laugh because you'll miss some of the quiet funny things that he says. Enjoy! 

My Uncle David and Aunt Sally

My Uncle David and my Aunt Sally are wonderful people. I love them. They have taught me so much as I have spent many nights sitting around their kitchen table chatting and laughing and learning good life lessons. My Uncle David passed away yesterday. I know he loves my Aunt Sally SO much. He protected her and took care of her and most of all he loved her forever and ever! I could see it in the way that he looked at her. He wasn't going to let anyone or anything hurt her.

And my Aunt Sally was the same for Uncle David. She protected him and took care of him and most of all loved him forever and ever! She has been a solid strong rock through the whole thing and I am so impressed with her and inspired by her. She loves her husband and her family and her nieces and nephews. I have seen her loving all of us. She's amazing.

I am really sad that Uncle David isn't physically with us, but I know that he is still with us all. His example lives on forever. I remember one day I was out at there house and I don't know where my cousins were, but I remember that Uncle David and I were in the kitchen and he asked me if I had ever baked a cake. I told that I hadn't. He was shocked! He told me that once a girl bakes a cake she becomes more beautiful. He said that's why his girls were all so pretty! So, I baked a cake that afternoon with him coaching me. I don't know if it worked, but it was a fun afternoon with Uncle David. Another time, we were out at Cousin Ice Cream and we were all sitting around the table. He started talking to us about the importance of a name and that having the name of "Teichert" was a big deal. He taught me to always honor and respect my last name and to do it justice. And a funny story from Cousin Ice Cream. It was Coach Nate's birthday and so Uncle David thought it would be a good idea to call him and sing happy birthday! So Aunt Sally dialed up and when the phone was answered we asked for Coach Nate. Well, when he got the phone she said Hi and then went to turn on the speaker phone. Instead she hung up on him. We laughed so hard! Then we were really embarrassed when she called him back and we all had to say our names into the phone. But Uncle David was always good for laughing!

Uncle David loved it at Christmas Eve when Olivia and I made our debut as Christmas singers. It inspired us to do it again and again. He loved it! I have had a lot of great times with my Uncle David. He's a good good man. He was always serving and finding ways to help. He could make anyone smile and laugh. He was a great dad and a great grandpa and a great uncle and I'm gonna miss him like crazy! I love him and my Aunt Sally and their kids. I know that because of our Savior Jesus Christ, we'll all get to see Uncle David again. I know that is true. I will remember David for his testimony and his laugh and his hugs and his smile. I love him.

(I got the pictures from other people. I hope that's okay.)

COUSINS!!

When you have 65 cousins, it's pretty easy to have AWESOME ones! I love my cousins! They are some of my best friends in the whole world! I've had TONS of good memories and the best thing is, because we're cousins, we will see each other at least once a year and the memories can just keep coming! I believe that our cousinship wouldn't be this great without a simple thing that we call "Cousin Ice Cream." My Junior year we started doing Cousin Ice Cream. One Sunday night Tenor and Brock invited us out to their house for some ice cream! It was delicious!

We thought, "Hey, we oughta do this more often!" So we started doing it EVERY Sunday! Each Sunday we would get together and eat ice cream and play games and talk about everything from my non-existent boyfriends and their sometimes existent girlfriends to wrestling and football and sometimes they'd let me talk a little basketball. It was great! We grew so much closer as we sat around one of the cousins' dinner tables. I speak of this today because: one, I love my cousins, and two, it was always our joke that Ice Cream led to success! And I stand by that still today. Last Sunday we met up again for Cousin Ice Cream. It's harder now because Tenor, Brigham, Olivia, and I are all away from Cokeville. Conveniently, Aunt Marlene and Uncle Sam live in Heber! So we met up at their house for Cousin Ice Cream.

(Disclaimer: If you couldn't tell, these weren't last week, but they are at Aunt Marlene's and Uncle Sam's)

It was important to do it last week, because this week was State Football! On Thursday Olivia and I headed out on our way to Laramie for the Championship game! It was really exciting to watch CHS Football again! The boys played Great! I was especially proud of James and Brock! They are not only AWESOME football players, but plain awesome people! They are nice and humble and have incredible testimonies and they care and they work hard and they are strong, physically and mentally and spiritually! I am so lucky to be their cousin! Anyways, CHS WON! It was a great game! The Cousin Ice Cream party that we had last Sunday did its job and the boys got another State Championship to add to their collections!

Through the years I have developed a list of 5 Keys to Success: 

1. Heavenly Father. He gave me my body and my health and He helps me a lot!
2. The BEST Coaches and the BEST teammates. It's impossible to win without them!
3. Hard Work! There is no substitute for flat out working hard!
4. EXCELLENCE! Label your water bottle "EXCELLENCE". Drink it throughout the day. Winner!
5. Ice Cream and Family! Family supports and Ice Cream is magic! 

If you have those 5 things it's pretty hard to not be successful. I am thankful that I grew up knowing that I could count on my Heavenly Father to hear my prayers and bless me. I am thankful for coaches and teammates who pushed me and shaped my life. I know that hard work is sometimes hard... that's why it's called HARD work. Hard work is helpful in all parts of life, not just sports. And I am thankful for the support my family always gives me, and for the Ice Cream that means so much more to me now than just a tasty treat! 

That was a ramble of a lot of things. Sorry. What I really wanted to say was that it's important to build relationships with your family and your cousins because they're going to be your friends forever!

Also, Good Job Panthers! Go CHS!  

Have a Good Week!! 

One Healthy Habit for Another

Today I'm just going to tell you a story. One day our family went somewhere, not sure where, but we got home sorta late. As soon as we got home I found our ancient Gameboy and started playing our only game, Tetris! I was about through Level 1 when Mom asked if anyone wanted Raspberry shakes. Well, who doesn't want raspberry shakes, right? So, being the extremely talented multi-tasker that I am, I answered in the affirmative while still playing my game of Tetris. A couple minutes later, mom brought a shake out to me. I was totally engaged in my game, seeing that I was now on Level 7. She set it beside me on the lamp stand and I think I mumbled "thank you" or probably "thanks" because that's shorter, and I continued to play the Gameboy. Now that I had the shake in my peripheral vision, it was a little bit harder to concentrate on my game. I kept thinking, "You're milk shake is melting." And then the other side of my brain would say, "But I'm playing Tetris!" My brain would answer back, "But there's ice cream. You love it!" And the other side of my brain says, "Yeah, but I love Tetris too!" Finally the ice cream side of my brain won out and I said out loud, in my subconscious, "Tessa. Put down the Gameboy and eat your stinkin' ice cream." I hadn't realized I'd spoken out loud until Olivia, from across the room laughed and said, "Wow. That's one healthy habit for another!" 
That's all I've got today. I hope you enjoyed it. I thought it was pretty funny. I'm really not a Gameboy addict, but sometimes I am. And I do love Ice Cream! Especially fresh raspberry shakes made by my mom! 

Have a Good Day! :)

6 Months!!

Hello friends! It's been 6 months, today, since I had ACL surgery. It's crazy how something like that makes you thankful for a LOT!!! I am so thankful for good health, smart doctors, cool therapists, and little victories! If you know me, you know that I didn't like running that much. I loved doing the hurdles (the things that ended up putting me out of commission) but running without fences wasn't really my cup of tea. However, through the last 6 months I have found myself yearning to run! Well, since I've come to college, I have re-learned how to run! I am so excited! I run a lot slower than I used to and I get that throw-up feeling a lot faster, but it feels SO GOOD!! Yay for little victories! 

Here's a picture play-by-play of the whole ordeal. 

 Notice how you can't tell my thigh from my knee from my calf. Weird right?

 Isn't it a beaut? And do you see that bruise on the shin? Keep that in mind.

 The joy of crutches!

 The knee brace made me a lot less coordinated... That's what I blamed my bowling game on. Now I don't have anything to justify my 70's.

 My knee at 6 months! Beautiful scar, no swelling, and a bruise on my shin... still. Also, my right leg is still a whole inch smaller than my left leg, and a lot softer. I'm still workin', but I'm a lot stronger now! 

And my cool new running shoes to start me off right! 

So folks, remember to keep your body healthy, thank your awesome doctors, and thank your Heavenly Father for blessing you with your body!

My Roommates!

My roommates are the BEST! We laugh a lot! I got REALLY lucky when I picked my roommates, blind. Well, I wasn't blind, but I didn't know these girls, so it's like I was blind about them. I prayed a lot for good roommates and it is a testimony to me that Heavenly Father listened to and answered my prayers by giving me Ciara, Brodie, Rachael, Rachel, and Hanna! 

 (Ciara, Rachael, Hanna, Me, Brodie) We went to our Halloween Party as 80's, 70's, 60's, 50's, and 20's!

(Rachael, Brodie, Me, Hanna) Sunday afternoon activity! Leaves!!

Also, I am very thankful for being born into the Church. Coming to college is the HARDEST thing that I've ever done. Sometimes I get really discouraged, but who doesn't? I know that my Savior loves me and I love Him. I know that I can turn to Him when I'm sad or discouraged and He will comfort me. I'm thankful for parents who taught me these things and for Primary and Sunday School and Young Women and Relief Society, and Seminary for giving me opportunities to strengthen my testimony. He loves us all! 

(I really like this painting because I always see pictures of Christ with old people, or sick people, or children. As a teenager, I know I need Him now more than ever, so I'm glad I found this picture.)

My Sister!

I love my sister!

Since we were little, we have been BEST friends!

I am so grateful that we could play, play, play when we were kids!

We're extremely good at serious faced pictures!

And even though we're happy, we both TOTALLY missed our callings in life!

We both love America, and we show it by sporting the Stars and Stripes forever!

Livi and I are AWESOME aunts! Although, we need to learn how to drive a sled!

We've accomplished a lot together, and I can always count on her to give her all!

And this is how I like us the best!! She makes me laugh so hard! I love her so much! College is quite the life, and I've been extremely glad, on numerous occasions, that I am here with her! I love you Livi! May our siblingship (siblings/friendship) live on forever!!! BFF's Forever! 

More About Me

The last post... well it did a pretty good job of explaining me. I am a little bit weird and a little bit short. And honestly, I think it's fun to swing my feet when I'm on the toilet. So much so that I wrote a song about it to the tune of "Mean" by Taylor Swift. I won't share that here... yet. But I do love being short! But more about me...

I love my family! They are really my best friends! They make me laugh and they make me smile! I would not be so great without them shaping my life! I am the baby of the family; people say I'm spoiled. I am. And people say my parents are easier on me. They probably are. But I say, it's easy to be loved when you're an obedient angel. So whatever!

I also love reading books! Losing myself in the characters is like my get away! I don't have time to read books here at school, but it doesn't make me forget how I love to read! Books are awesome! Some of my favorites include: Harry Potter, Secret Journal of Brett Colton, Anne of Green Gables, Hunger Games, Animal Farm... the list goes on. "Read some books." -Nacho Libre.

I believe that music is a power. I had a great music teacher through high school who taught me how to play the trumpet really well and how to sing. But he also taught me to appreciate music. He would tell us about how music is a power; it motivates people. You listen to music when you're warming up for a game to get you pumped! You sing hymns at church to invite the spirit. When you're sad you listen to sad songs to help make yourself feel better... well at least I do. Music says what words can't. And I love it! 

Back to the Harry Potter thing. I have my own wand and it was made by the magical, Mr. Sullivander. It is a 13 inch Willow and I am not going to lie to you guys here, I slept with it right by my bed, and in times of great fear, I would take it to school, to defend myself from the evil Lord Voldemort. I read all the books, but Voldemort wasn't officially dead for me until I had seen Harry Potter 7 Part 2. That was when I stopped carrying it around everywhere, but I still keep it near my bed. I'm a nerd.

But the most important part about me, the thing that shapes my life more than anything else, is that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and I love it! The spirit that I feel when I am at church or praying or reading my scriptures or listening to conference, is unlike anything else in the world. If I feel down, all I have to do is pray. I learned that in Primary as a child. "I can pray anytime, anywhere." And I do. I know my Heavenly Father loves me. I know that He is waiting patiently for me to return to Him. I know that through the Atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ, I can repent and become like them. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God that receives revelation for us today. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he was the tool to restore the church to the earth. I know that The Book of Mormon is true. I know families can be together forever and I'm grateful to be a member of this church! 

Hi! I'm Tessa!

And my feet don't touch when I sit on handicapped toilets!

Have a nice night!