When you work in a garden day in and day out, you get to listen to a lot of stuff on your iPod. I have listened to conference a couple of times and all my music LOTS of times, and so, I needed a change and turned on my church music... in the middle of the week. And I heard this song that I seriously love. It's called "Good for Me" by Katherine Nelson. I can't find a good video of it on the internet and it costs money if you want to hear the whole thing and can't find it on YouTube. But I can post the lyrics.
Maybe I was young
I didn’t know what I was in for
You say I’m doing life all wrong
Like I’ve never heard that before
Well don’t go asking me to clip my wings
Or say I’ve won a losing fight
Cause my babies kiss me every morning
And I love my husband every night
Here’s to courageous women out there in shiny shoes and business suits
Good for you
But hats off to the women in the kitchen who run the world
Raising boys and girls
All the broken nails
Laundry to my knees
Every bed I make
Dishes in the sink
Oh life is sweet
In my little dream
So Good for me
I’m not asking your permission
No talk-show host will change my mind
Some make their peace with independence
I find my own at dinnertime
When all around the table
I see every face and every hand
And I thank the God above us
Cause all I want is where I am
(Chorus)
When it’s all too much don’t give up
Just close your eyes and soak it up
(Chorus)
I love this song. When I grow up, my goal is to be a good mom. I have a wonderful mom that was always home with me and I really appreciate her and look up to her and want to be just like her. I admire working moms and I admire stay at home moms. I just think that a lot of the times Stay-at-Home-Mom's get looked down on a little. I have felt that at times. A girl in my ward last year at school has big goals to be a nurse and I admire her for that, but when she asked me what I wanted to be and I said a Mom, I saw the look on her face and could tell she thought that was a lame goal. I felt like I had to justify myself to her. I don't think I have to. Being a Mom is a big job and a big responsibility, and it's what I want to do. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not anxious to get married and get started on my family. I want to finish my schooling so that if the times comes that I need to work outside of the home to help make ends meet at home, I can and will, but I've chosen a career path that will hopefully allow me to be home with my kids when they're home and gone when they're at school. I just think it's important for me to be home and raising my family. I want it and I hope that I'll be able to listen to this song and really believe what it says. That I'll have an attitude of Good for me for being here with my kids. Good for those women out there that are working hard, and good for me at home working hard.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Sades
My cousin Sadie is Amazing! She seriously just makes my whole life better. Here's the best way to explain our relationship-- Heavenly Father knew long before we were born that we needed to be together. He also knew that we both would have big personalities and a LOT of fun and so He knew that one family couldn't handle both of us. So, He let us be cousins! :) And some people just don't be close with people that they only see once every 4 years and don't count those times that they do see each other by years, but as times ago. Like when I talk about when I was here last, I don't really remember what year it was, or even the time before that especially. So I just say last time or two times ago when I was here. We have a special bond though and we are so close. We do everything together up here besides work and go to the bathroom. She makes my day and I make her day. We complete each other and it's awesome! It's so fun to have a cousin that is a best friend!Life with us rocks! I love being us!
Sadie is so pretty! And she LOVES cats!
Our trusty vessel, the Tadie America. Sadie and I come up with some awesome ideas and Sadie is the one who can actually figure out how to make them happen!
She plays ball like nobody's business and takes me to school every Tuesday!
We do stuff together like hike the Butte.
Two times ago we tried our hand at modeling...
Then she came to Cokevilel and we became the Dweeb Squad and went and got Dessert at the Flying J.
She catches bigger fish than me!
And she's a ninja!
I'm so blessed to have Sadie as my cousin! She's so awesome and I don't know what I'd do without her! I think when we grow up, somehow we're gonna have to live close to each other because after this summer, I don't know how long we can be apart. I love my Sades!
Sunday, July 20, 2014
The Bucket-list just got Longer
What a weekend! Last time when we came to Alaska, a kid in Olivia's class asked if we had gone fishing. We said that we hadn't and he said, "You went to Alaska and didn't go fishing? That's like standing in front of a toilet and peeing your pants." Well, I got the opportunity this last week to go fishing and I didn't pee my pants. I went fishing and man, it was a weekend!
Sadie and I got invited to go down to Kenai with like the three best looking guys at the Single's Ward. What? So, of course we said yeah. The plan, meet them in Kenai Friday night after dropping my mom off at the airport (sad) and sleep a little and wake up and fish on Saturday and catch HUGE salmon. In my mind I wanted to catch 3 fish that I would bring home to my family and we'd have this beautiful salmon for dinner and I'd beam with pride because I had caught them! It was going to be a dream! Well, life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get (I watched Forest Gump for the first time this week too. Awesome movie!).
We showed up around 12:30 a.m. and went to a fishin' spot to meet up with the boys. The guys had boots for us to wear that went all the way up to our waists so that we could stand in the river and fish.They got us all set up and they were so nice and patient when they were helping us. Good people. Then we headed down to the river. Well, I was pretty darn tired. Friday morning I woke up at 5:30 and ran 10 miles and I was feeling kind of sick and such, but you know, you gotta just live through tiredness. So, I was like yeah, let's do it, but I did let it slip that I was tired. Anyways, they started teaching us how to fish. I snagged the ground so much and so good and deep that they had to keep helping me get it unstuck and I felt like a loser because I was killing their fishing because they had to keep helping me, and I am not good at doing stuff that I've never done before. It makes me feel stupid and I get embarrassed. So, we were snagging a ton and I felt like a party ruiner in front of these super good looking boys. After about 30 minutes, the guys were like, okay. Let's go and get like 2 hours of sleep and come back out between 4 and 5. So, we thought that was a good idea. False. We went forever away to the tent. I was ready to crash, but Dillan and Ethan thought that 2 hours of sleep wasn't really going to help, it was just going to make them feel groggy. So they chatted and then chatted with me and Sadie and then I couldn't sleep and just zero sleeping happened and we went and got donuts at 5:30 and headed out fishing at 6.
We tried a couple of spots, but didn't get anything. Then we heard that there were a lot of fish at Bing's. I stink at my Alaskan geography, but it's somewhere. So, we went out to Bing's. First cast, Dillan had a big ol' fish! So impressive! And he and Kyle caught good fish. Then they let me and Sadie borrow their hip-waders so that we could go in a little deeper and catch some fish. The water was cold and I was very grateful for the water proof gear, but it's not cold proof. Kyle helped me get my casting and my fishing etiquette learned a little and then I was on my own, kind of, to catch a fish. I said a lot of sorry's for crossing someone else's line and I was embarrassed, but I soon got the hang of the cast and pull and was ready to catch a fish. After about an hour of casting and pulling the frustration started tappin' on my brain. Dillan took 1 cast and caught a fish. He is a pro, but still, it'd been an hour and I hadn't even had a hit. And my feet were numb and my arm was starting to get sore. I know I sound like I'm complaining and I guess I kind of am. I wanted to catch a fish. I was determined, so I just kept on casting and pulling and casting and pulling. After a little while longer, Ethan came out and was fishin' by me and tryin' to encourage me and then boom, he caught a fish. Talk about frustration. I just wanted to catch a fish! After 2 hours of not catching a fish, it was 2 and we were all starving, but really we were just hungry, because pioneers were starving. We were just hungry. They said, okay, 15 more casts and then we're going to get lunch. So after counting to 15 casts, and getting increasingly more frustrated and because I hadn't slept in forever, almost to the point of tears, and feeling a little like a failure at fishing, I came out of the river and we went to get lunch. Lunch was delicious, by the way! We were hungry and had Mexican food. :)
Kyle's dad said maybe we should go out to Hope, about 2 hours from Kenai and catch some pinks. They're not good to eat or anything, but at least we could probably get a fish on my line and it would be bigger than the baby fish I caught in Seldovia. I wasn't really pumped about this plan because I wanted to catch a fish that I could bring home and eat and I didn't want to make anyone go two hours our of their way for me to catch a fish. But everyone really wanted me to catch a fish. So, I said, okay. Let's go. Sadie and I had to go back to the tent, forever away, and get her wallet and our sleepin' stuff, and then we'd meet the guys in Hope. We drove out to the tent and I changed my clothes and got our stuff. In the process I left my phone in the tent and didn't realize it until we were 45 minutes away from the tent. So, I won't have my phone til Wednesday when Dillan and Ethan come back and kindly bring it to me.
Then we set off for Hope. Sometimes, when you're young, you make dumb decisions. We should have slept probably, but we didn't. There's no rush like the rush that comes when you feel yourself drifting a little on the road and your eyes pop open and you realize you had just been sleepin' a little. That happened one time and then I was so scared of it happening again that I was able to stay awake. Also, Heavenly Father was watching out for the five of us because we all took turns dozing behind the wheel. Don't drive drowsy people. It's not a good thing. Just take a nap! I drove for about an hour and a half and then couldn't do it anymore. I pulled over and Sadie took over for the next hour. So, she got an hour nap and I got an hour nap. Life, it's just awesome sometimes! We made it into Hope and realized that we were pretty much out of gas. Hope is a podunk little town and on the internet map, there wasn't a gas station and no gas station for like 30ish miles away. We were desperate, because when we called the boys to tell them we were in Hope and almost out of gas, they said they were too. We were gonna be trapped, so Sadie and I kept driving a little past Hope, down a dead-end road. It doesn't sound like it would result in a gas station, but sleep deprived brain doesn't know that, so we drove on. Again, Heavenly Father blessed us with a little one pump, tiny little gas station. We got 5 gallons and were saved! The guys met us out there at the gas station and they were saved too. Then we went back into the town to go and check out the fishing. What a disappointment. Hope is like nothing I've ever seen before. It was possibly the most hill-billy town I've ever seen. There were a lot of people there and I could tell that the guys were like, this is dumb. We don't wanna be caught dead here, and I was kind of feeling the same way. But I felt totally responsible for this little trip and that made me feel like the biggest idiot of all. Nobody wanted to be in Hope and Dillan and Ethan had driven 2 hours out there and were going two hours back to Kenai. Luckily for Sadie and Kyle and me, it was 2 hours towards home. I felt so bad that we were all so tired and had come all this way out here and we weren't gonna get a fish that I could put in my belly and we just decided it wasn't even worth it and we didn't even stick a line in the water. We just split ways and went home.
Hind sight is 20-20. Here's what we should have done, fished all through the night, instead of leaving to take a 2 hour nap. We may have caught something in the night. Then we should have napped in the afternoon during the time that we used to drive out to Hope. Then we should have fished more in Kenai. That would have given us more time in the river with the good fish, would have made everyone happier, and would have made me feel like less of a dumb girl and a fishing party killer. I just really wanted to catch a fish that I could get a good picture with and take home to my family and have them be so impressed and I wanted those hotty-mattoty boys we were fishing with to be impressed and it just didn't turn out like the fishing trip I had designed in my head. But it was a blast! And I so don't regret going. It was so much fun to fish and the company was the BEST and I would do it again, even without catching the fish, though that would just put the top on life!
This weekend totally makes the top list of great weekends in life. And sorry no pictures, I didn't take my camera with me to the river because I just didn't and so the trip went without documentation. I was going to get a good picture with my huge fish and also with my good lookin' fishin' group. So, really I'm sorry for the lack of pictures and the length of this post. But really, just trust me that it was such a fun weekend!
So, my bucket list got longer. I WILL catch a salmon on the Kenai and I will take it home and when we eat it, I'll be so proud of my fish and my family will be so impressed with me! Someday I am going to go back to Kenai and get my fish!
Sadie and I got invited to go down to Kenai with like the three best looking guys at the Single's Ward. What? So, of course we said yeah. The plan, meet them in Kenai Friday night after dropping my mom off at the airport (sad) and sleep a little and wake up and fish on Saturday and catch HUGE salmon. In my mind I wanted to catch 3 fish that I would bring home to my family and we'd have this beautiful salmon for dinner and I'd beam with pride because I had caught them! It was going to be a dream! Well, life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get (I watched Forest Gump for the first time this week too. Awesome movie!).
We showed up around 12:30 a.m. and went to a fishin' spot to meet up with the boys. The guys had boots for us to wear that went all the way up to our waists so that we could stand in the river and fish.They got us all set up and they were so nice and patient when they were helping us. Good people. Then we headed down to the river. Well, I was pretty darn tired. Friday morning I woke up at 5:30 and ran 10 miles and I was feeling kind of sick and such, but you know, you gotta just live through tiredness. So, I was like yeah, let's do it, but I did let it slip that I was tired. Anyways, they started teaching us how to fish. I snagged the ground so much and so good and deep that they had to keep helping me get it unstuck and I felt like a loser because I was killing their fishing because they had to keep helping me, and I am not good at doing stuff that I've never done before. It makes me feel stupid and I get embarrassed. So, we were snagging a ton and I felt like a party ruiner in front of these super good looking boys. After about 30 minutes, the guys were like, okay. Let's go and get like 2 hours of sleep and come back out between 4 and 5. So, we thought that was a good idea. False. We went forever away to the tent. I was ready to crash, but Dillan and Ethan thought that 2 hours of sleep wasn't really going to help, it was just going to make them feel groggy. So they chatted and then chatted with me and Sadie and then I couldn't sleep and just zero sleeping happened and we went and got donuts at 5:30 and headed out fishing at 6.
We tried a couple of spots, but didn't get anything. Then we heard that there were a lot of fish at Bing's. I stink at my Alaskan geography, but it's somewhere. So, we went out to Bing's. First cast, Dillan had a big ol' fish! So impressive! And he and Kyle caught good fish. Then they let me and Sadie borrow their hip-waders so that we could go in a little deeper and catch some fish. The water was cold and I was very grateful for the water proof gear, but it's not cold proof. Kyle helped me get my casting and my fishing etiquette learned a little and then I was on my own, kind of, to catch a fish. I said a lot of sorry's for crossing someone else's line and I was embarrassed, but I soon got the hang of the cast and pull and was ready to catch a fish. After about an hour of casting and pulling the frustration started tappin' on my brain. Dillan took 1 cast and caught a fish. He is a pro, but still, it'd been an hour and I hadn't even had a hit. And my feet were numb and my arm was starting to get sore. I know I sound like I'm complaining and I guess I kind of am. I wanted to catch a fish. I was determined, so I just kept on casting and pulling and casting and pulling. After a little while longer, Ethan came out and was fishin' by me and tryin' to encourage me and then boom, he caught a fish. Talk about frustration. I just wanted to catch a fish! After 2 hours of not catching a fish, it was 2 and we were all starving, but really we were just hungry, because pioneers were starving. We were just hungry. They said, okay, 15 more casts and then we're going to get lunch. So after counting to 15 casts, and getting increasingly more frustrated and because I hadn't slept in forever, almost to the point of tears, and feeling a little like a failure at fishing, I came out of the river and we went to get lunch. Lunch was delicious, by the way! We were hungry and had Mexican food. :)
Kyle's dad said maybe we should go out to Hope, about 2 hours from Kenai and catch some pinks. They're not good to eat or anything, but at least we could probably get a fish on my line and it would be bigger than the baby fish I caught in Seldovia. I wasn't really pumped about this plan because I wanted to catch a fish that I could bring home and eat and I didn't want to make anyone go two hours our of their way for me to catch a fish. But everyone really wanted me to catch a fish. So, I said, okay. Let's go. Sadie and I had to go back to the tent, forever away, and get her wallet and our sleepin' stuff, and then we'd meet the guys in Hope. We drove out to the tent and I changed my clothes and got our stuff. In the process I left my phone in the tent and didn't realize it until we were 45 minutes away from the tent. So, I won't have my phone til Wednesday when Dillan and Ethan come back and kindly bring it to me.
Then we set off for Hope. Sometimes, when you're young, you make dumb decisions. We should have slept probably, but we didn't. There's no rush like the rush that comes when you feel yourself drifting a little on the road and your eyes pop open and you realize you had just been sleepin' a little. That happened one time and then I was so scared of it happening again that I was able to stay awake. Also, Heavenly Father was watching out for the five of us because we all took turns dozing behind the wheel. Don't drive drowsy people. It's not a good thing. Just take a nap! I drove for about an hour and a half and then couldn't do it anymore. I pulled over and Sadie took over for the next hour. So, she got an hour nap and I got an hour nap. Life, it's just awesome sometimes! We made it into Hope and realized that we were pretty much out of gas. Hope is a podunk little town and on the internet map, there wasn't a gas station and no gas station for like 30ish miles away. We were desperate, because when we called the boys to tell them we were in Hope and almost out of gas, they said they were too. We were gonna be trapped, so Sadie and I kept driving a little past Hope, down a dead-end road. It doesn't sound like it would result in a gas station, but sleep deprived brain doesn't know that, so we drove on. Again, Heavenly Father blessed us with a little one pump, tiny little gas station. We got 5 gallons and were saved! The guys met us out there at the gas station and they were saved too. Then we went back into the town to go and check out the fishing. What a disappointment. Hope is like nothing I've ever seen before. It was possibly the most hill-billy town I've ever seen. There were a lot of people there and I could tell that the guys were like, this is dumb. We don't wanna be caught dead here, and I was kind of feeling the same way. But I felt totally responsible for this little trip and that made me feel like the biggest idiot of all. Nobody wanted to be in Hope and Dillan and Ethan had driven 2 hours out there and were going two hours back to Kenai. Luckily for Sadie and Kyle and me, it was 2 hours towards home. I felt so bad that we were all so tired and had come all this way out here and we weren't gonna get a fish that I could put in my belly and we just decided it wasn't even worth it and we didn't even stick a line in the water. We just split ways and went home.
Hind sight is 20-20. Here's what we should have done, fished all through the night, instead of leaving to take a 2 hour nap. We may have caught something in the night. Then we should have napped in the afternoon during the time that we used to drive out to Hope. Then we should have fished more in Kenai. That would have given us more time in the river with the good fish, would have made everyone happier, and would have made me feel like less of a dumb girl and a fishing party killer. I just really wanted to catch a fish that I could get a good picture with and take home to my family and have them be so impressed and I wanted those hotty-mattoty boys we were fishing with to be impressed and it just didn't turn out like the fishing trip I had designed in my head. But it was a blast! And I so don't regret going. It was so much fun to fish and the company was the BEST and I would do it again, even without catching the fish, though that would just put the top on life!
This weekend totally makes the top list of great weekends in life. And sorry no pictures, I didn't take my camera with me to the river because I just didn't and so the trip went without documentation. I was going to get a good picture with my huge fish and also with my good lookin' fishin' group. So, really I'm sorry for the lack of pictures and the length of this post. But really, just trust me that it was such a fun weekend!
So, my bucket list got longer. I WILL catch a salmon on the Kenai and I will take it home and when we eat it, I'll be so proud of my fish and my family will be so impressed with me! Someday I am going to go back to Kenai and get my fish!
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
My Favorites
I have lots of favorite stuff, but this is just a few of my favorite things (I think that last part is a song from some musical or something--whatever).
My favorite color is blue.
My favorite Christmas CD is Celine Dione Christmas followed by NSYNC Christmas.
My favorite sport is basketball.
My favorite schools are CHS and BYU.
My favorite people are my family.
My favorite TV program to watch is the Today show with Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie.
My favorite Pandora station is Ed Sheeran.
My favorite summer job of ever is probably mowing lawns.
My favorite class in high school is a toss up between band and anatomy.
My favorite song at the moment is Defying Gravity from WICKED!
But my longlasting favorite song is Annie by Safetysuit.
And my favorite love song currently is Angels by Jack Johnson.
My favorite things to run in are my running capris and my pink t-shirt.
My favorite dessert is ice cream without a doubt, no question about it.
My favorite food... Surprisingly, I always ask for meat loaf! I love it!
My favorite hymn is I know that My Redeemer Lives.
My favorite hymn to sing in my head when I go to sleep is We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet.
My favorite nail polish I have ever done on myself was hot pink with sparkles! They looked like beautiful Barbie nails! :)
My favorite thing outside is Sunshine!
My favorite summer activity is bon-fires.
My favorite scripture is Matthew 25:21. I hope someday my Heavenly Father will welcome me home and call me His good and faithful servant. And then give me a BIG hug!
My favorite calling ever that I've had is the piano player at church.
My favorite person in the whole wide world is Jesus Christ. He is my Savior and my Redeemer. Through Him, all things are possible. I'm so thankful for the Atonement and I'm so thankful for the chance I have to repent and live with my Heavenly Father.
My favorite life, is the one I'm living right now!
My favorite color is blue.
My favorite Christmas CD is Celine Dione Christmas followed by NSYNC Christmas.
My favorite sport is basketball.
My favorite schools are CHS and BYU.
My favorite people are my family.
My favorite TV program to watch is the Today show with Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie.
My favorite Pandora station is Ed Sheeran.
My favorite summer job of ever is probably mowing lawns.
My favorite class in high school is a toss up between band and anatomy.
My favorite song at the moment is Defying Gravity from WICKED!
But my longlasting favorite song is Annie by Safetysuit.
And my favorite love song currently is Angels by Jack Johnson.
My favorite things to run in are my running capris and my pink t-shirt.
My favorite dessert is ice cream without a doubt, no question about it.
My favorite food... Surprisingly, I always ask for meat loaf! I love it!
My favorite hymn is I know that My Redeemer Lives.
My favorite hymn to sing in my head when I go to sleep is We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet.
My favorite nail polish I have ever done on myself was hot pink with sparkles! They looked like beautiful Barbie nails! :)
My favorite thing outside is Sunshine!
My favorite summer activity is bon-fires.
My favorite scripture is Matthew 25:21. I hope someday my Heavenly Father will welcome me home and call me His good and faithful servant. And then give me a BIG hug!
My favorite calling ever that I've had is the piano player at church.
My favorite person in the whole wide world is Jesus Christ. He is my Savior and my Redeemer. Through Him, all things are possible. I'm so thankful for the Atonement and I'm so thankful for the chance I have to repent and live with my Heavenly Father.
My favorite life, is the one I'm living right now!
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Deposits in my Experience Bank Account
I went on two trips in the last two weeks. One thing about not being with my own family, but surrounded by other family, is that I get to go to everyone's family vacations! First I went to Seldovia with the Willardson's and the Victor's! We had so much fun!
This is in the town of Seldovia. Sweet!
The Tadie America! Vesselin' like champs!
The Beauty of the World (Off the front porch of the cabin, looking out to the Pacific Ocean)
This is a really cool key hole and a really cool family that I love!
Then I came home and went to work for only two days and then took off with the Kenley's for a GREAT time at Lake Louise! It was a full cabin and it was seriously so fun! I wrestled with the boys for like 2 hours straight and it was a blast! I try to make them pretend that they're my nieces and nephews and get hugs from them, and some of them will, but not the older ones like Dane and Andy and Ty. Oh well, I can beat 'em up good and we all have a good time! And on the trip we played at the beach the whole time and went on CRAZY tube rides! It really was just the funnest 4th of July!
Hot Dogs on the beach to celebrate America!
Cute Kader Mader the Frankenhead!
The other Beauty of the Earth! (From the front porch of the cabin looking out on Lake Louise)
Sometimes in life I get a little bit stuck on counting the money as it comes in and worrying about making enough to make ends meet. I've been this way since I was just a little girl selling bread in 7th grade. Then I took off about a whole week of work for these two trips and I was running with Lila, worrying and such, and she reminded me about the other Bank Account that I'm building this summer. That's my bank account of Experience. I am here in Alaska to make money, but I'm in Alaska to live with my aging grandparents before it's too late and I'm in Alaska to get to know my Willardson cousins and my Victor cousins better. And I'm in Alaska to get to know my Kenley cousins and have fun with all of these cousins that before this summer, I didn't really know that well. Someday, the money might all run out, or I might have so much that 3 days of missed work won't matter (I hope the latter--haha), but the memories and the deposits of experience that I am making, will never disappear. I'll have those things for forever and I'll be able to share all these memories with everyone! It's important to make money and make the ends meet, and I'm totally going to be able to do that here, but its' important to not get stuck in that, and realize that other things are important too! Family is the best and while I was on these two trips, every prayer I said was a prayer of thanks for the life that I've been blessed with, the opportunities that I have here this summer, and the family that I've been given for eternity! What a great two weeks and a great lesson for me to learn!
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