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!