Oops!

In my effort to organize my list of family and friends' blogs, I deleted the entire list. Yep, totally gone and totally by accident. Yep, I was a little annoyed with myself. I've re-created the list to the best of my memory (which isn't the best!), so if you have a blog and I don't have a link to yours on my list, please tell me in the comments section so I can add you back in. Thanks guys!

Recipes Exchange

For those of you who don't know, I started another blog. It's a recipes exchange blog, designed to give us all some easy (and new) ideas for dinner. If anyone is interested in being a part of the blog, email me or leave me a comment at the bottom of this post. The website is: http://greatfriendsgoodfood.blogspot.com/

I just put up the recipe for homemade strawberry jam, so go check it out.

Another tag ...

Thanks Andrea, for the tag! This one was really fun ... lots of nostalgia.

10 Years Ago...

It was 1998. Hmm, I was a sophomore/junior in high school. It was a great year! So many friends and such good times together! Be-bopping to the Backstreet Boys, going to Denny’s at 5:00 AM, attending Viewmont football and soccer games, trying out for the high school musical, hanging out at the local Dairy Queen …

5 Years Ago...

It was 2003. I had just returned from China and I was falling in love with Cory. I was determined to marry him (though I don’t think he realized it yet) and so I spent much of my time wooing him - and in turn, he spent a lot of his money on me (trying, apparently, to woo me). I did one semester at Weber (taking 2 measly math classes as review) and worked as a graphic designer. Saw Phantom of the Opera in San Francisco and sat right under the chandelier when it dropped. I transferred to USU in the fall, lived next door to Cory and decided to major in math and stats. GO AGGIES!

5 Months Ago...

It was January. I was busy wishing I lived somewhere warm … and wondering why we didn’t go to southern California for chiro school. Cory was starting his 6^th trimester and I was trying not to freeze to death. I was also wishing I wasn’t poor so I could have gone to Utah for Andrea’s wedding.

5 Things on my list to do tomorrow...

Clean my house
Buy a chest freezer
Pick strawberries so I can make some jam
Call a tailor and make an appointment to get Cory’s pants to him so they can be hemmed
Run errands (bank, groceries, library, anywhere else I decide I need to go)

5 Things I would do if I was suddenly a billionaire...

Get Lasik surgery
Buy a house – with lots of room for a garden
Get an electric car (or a hybrid, or something so I don’t have to pay these ridiculous gas prices!)
Travel to Egypt, Greece, Guatemala … and lots more
Invest it (I know, I’m a math geek – I can’t help it!)

5 Bad Habits...

Being waaaaay too opinionated
Being a neat freak (I hate clutter; can’t stand it)
My obsession with ice cream and French fries
Sleeping in so I leave no time for exercise in the morning
Always wanting to be right :)

5 Places I've lived...

Farmington, Utah
Rexburg, Idaho
Wuhan, China
Logan, Utah
Seneca Falls, New York

5 Things people don't know about me...

*I love watching college football and basketball – and I scream (loudly) at the TV and cry when my teams lose. I take games way too personally.
*I broke a bone near my thumb and was in a cast for 6 months! (well, 3 different casts but a total of 6 months combined time) I went swimming and everything and when the last cast came off, it was SMELLY!
*I’m deathly afraid of grasshoppers … I don’t know what it is, but they give me some serious heebie-jeebies!!
*I love to play board games, but I can be a very sore loser. Beat me at Clue and you will find out for yourself. I try to keep in under control, but sometimes it doesn’t work and I get really ornery. I hate to lose!
*I once broke my neighbor’s foot with my rollerblades since he refused to stop interrupting our street hockey game. Serves him right!

Tag...

Mable, Jade, Kelley, Shar and anyone else who wants to do it …

No place like home

I’m back from my solo trip to Utah. Cory stayed here in New York since he has a little thing we call midterms. Fun fun when you have 30-something credit hours! My trip was short, but it was everything I wanted. I got to go laser-tagging with my family (way fun!), visit with my extended family, hear Kendall and Joel speak in church, have a family BBQ, and navigate the system when my flight was delayed, causing me to miss my connection in Chicago. I will say that flying is never boring for me – I always seem to have some sort of misadventure.

It was nice to see everyone. Perfect, really. I wish I could have had a bit more time to see some friends, but someone has to work (yes, Cory knows how lucky he is to have a sugar mama :) Kendall and Joel both did awesome jobs on their talks in church. It was very moving to hear both of them bear their testimonies about the truthfulness of the Gospel. I was so grateful that I could be there to hear them both. Plus, no one does food like my family – all we ever do is get together and eat, so we’re really good at it! :) It was very, very nice to have time at home. I was so busy enjoying myself that I didn’t take too many pictures. This one is of Kendall and the feast we prepared to celebrate his homecoming/Fathers’ Day.

I can’t believe it’s mid-June already. I knew the summer was going to fly by! In the last 6 weeks, we have been to D.C., Gettysburg, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Philadelphia and Utah! I am looking forward to having a weekend home to get caught up on stuff and to allow Cory some much needed study time! I think we are going to stay put in New York, at least for a few weeks. We're out of homemade strawberry jam - so that's this weekend's project!

Philly - City of Brotherly Love

Our trip to Philly was fabulous. We spent all the time together as a family and saw Kendall finish out his mission. I could not have asked for a better weekend (except for maybe better weather – it was broiling!!)

We got up early and drove to New York City on Friday. We took the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. Even though I have now seen her 3 times, she's still amazing to see!

This is Mom, Tyler, me & Joel on the platform at the base of her feet. It was pretty windy, as you can see from my hair (we thought I should do a commercial or something … )

We saw Ground Zero, which is an amazing place. Yep, it's a big hole in the ground but it has a feeling there of reverence. We went through the memorial museum that's next to where the buildings stood, and of course, we cried the whole way though. There's also a firestation next to the museum, and Dad (being his usual self) was chumming it up with guys working there. Consequently, they invited him into the station and he took this picture - a memorial at the back of the station house. Something not many people to get to see! (except Dad, who will talk to anyone!)
This is a picture of St. Paul's Church. It was established in 1766. Many of the survivors of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 were brought to this very church, since it's next to where the towers stood.

Tyler dearly wanted to see a Yankees game, since they are tearing down the stadium and building a new one. Go Yankees!! (even though they lost - still fun!)





On Saturday we went into Philadelphia and saw as much history as we could pack into an afternoon.

Us at the Liberty Bell; a cemetery connected to Christ's Church. It was the same one that Nicolas Cage ran through in "National Treasure." They call this row of graves "the alley" and each individual grave is dug down 40 feet; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the Revolutionary War and a tribute to him and George Washington; and us kneeling in front of Ben Franklin's grave.

We stopped for dinner on some corner store and there we all ate our Philly steak sandwiches. They were tasty!

After dinner we drove around and looked at some the apartments Kendall has lived in. We didn’t see all of the addresses, because some were either too far away or they were in “the hood.” We did drive through some parts of downtown Philly where I would not want to go alone. I think we all came away with a better appreciation for all that we have been blessed with!

On Sunday we went to the church building where Kendall was serving. I think he was a little freaked out when he saw us for the first time - after all, it's been 2 years! He commented on how tall Joel was … which is fair, since Joel was 13 when he left and is now 15. I had the same reaction when we went home last June for a wedding – it had only been a year since I saw Joel and yet he had grown this incredible amount and no longer looked like a little brother. Kendall had much the same reaction. We stayed for all 3 hours of church – and left Kendall alone so he could continue being a missionary.

After church we drove out to New Jersey where my cousin Allison lives with her husband and their 3 adorable girls. It was nice to see them!

Monday we saw more of Philly - on the steps on Independence Hall with George Washington's monument in the foreground; Independence Hall from the courtyard; and the room where the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were signed.

We also went down to the river and just as we arrived, my dad says “is that smoke?” Would you know it? There was a fire in a nearby building. Dad whips out his cell phone and calls 911 – which was funny seeing as how we were tourists and couldn’t give an exact address for where we were. But between Dad and the dispatcher, they figured it out. The firemen got there in record time (probably since there was a fire-station around the corner). It was all really ironic. For those of you who don’t know, my Dad was a fireman for YEARS … hence the irony of him, as a tourist, being the one to call in the fire. Of course then he ran down there and got some good pictures. They got the fire out and no one was hurt – though the roof didn’t look very good.

After all this adventure, we went down to the river – our original destination. We were looking at this cool old sailing ship (with a big “no trespassing” sign on it) when the ship’s engineer comes out on deck. Of course, Dad starts talking to him and he invites us onto the ship for a private tour. Man it was sooo hot outside (and not really cooler inside) but it was sooo neat to see the workings of the ship. We went into all the nooks and crannies and had a great time!

We hurried back to our hotel, changed our clothes, stood in front of the air conditioner for a while (that was me) and then went up to the mission home. Each mission has a mission president who is called to preside over the mission – and he lives at the mission home. It was in a really pretty area outside of the city. While there, we got to sit around and visit with Kendall and some of the other missionaries who were also returning home. We heard some hilarious stories, including one about the teenage kids in Philly who ride their bicycles around with music blaring from their bikes. Yep, they somehow rig up speakers, sub-woofers and whatever else to their bicycles so they can ride around with their tunes. Hilarious! And so inner-city! We had a nice dinner at the mission home and then the most amazing testimony meeting. All the missionaries were invited to stand up and bear their testimonies about how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true and living church here on the earth. They all bore a powerful witness of the truth of the gospel, the importance of missionary work, and the love our Savior has for us, his children. It was a beautiful and spiritually moving meeting – with a feeling I am not going to forget. Cory & I had to leave and make the 5 hour drive back to New York, and Kendall went back to the hotel with my parents and brothers. They all safely arrived in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. Cory & I safely arrived back in Seneca Falls at 1:30 AM on Tuesday morning – and found our apartment to be 90 degrees inside!! Stupid heat wave!

Words really can’t describe what it was like to be re-united with all members of my family after 2 years – and to be there at that moment with Cory at my side. He sacrificed a lot by giving up time he should have been studying and time he should have been in class so he could share the experience with me and our family – and I love him all the more for his sacrifice. I just want to say that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church. I can feel its truth inside my heart. I am blessed every day to have this knowledge. I am also blessed to have the standards and integrity the church teaches. I love my family very much and I am grateful that families are eternal – that when we pass on, these bonds don’t die. I can have my family with me forever – and have Cory as my husband forever. I am so lucky to know what I know. I am grateful for Kendall and his awesome example of service and obedience – and I am so proud of him!! I can’t wait to go home this weekend and enjoy more time with my family!

Kendall!

This is just an FYI - since people are asking me. Kendall is speaking in church this Sunday - June 15. Yes I know it’s Father’s Day so many people won’t be able to make it (which is why this is just FYI). Church is from 2:00-5:00 and Sacrament meeting is first. I am flying into Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon and I am leaving again early Monday morning – a very short trip, but I really wanted to be able to hear Kendall’s talk in church and spend some time with him, and see other family members. Kendall and I have a lunch date and I am very excited to be coming home - even if it is briefly.

We have approximately 1 million pictures from our trip down to see him and Philly. I am sorting through them and will be posting them shortly.

This is for you, Jade

Well, there you have it Jade. I'm sorry hon, I love you - I really do - but I couldn't resist posting it on my blog :) Cory was actually the one who put me up to it and he was the one who took the picture. I know you said if I posted a picture of me wearing your favorite shirt that you would hunt me down and kill me - but I think the chances of you flying to New York and hunting me down (when I do in fact live in the middle of nowhere) are pretty slim. You would definitely get way lost before ever being able to find my house. I figure I'm pretty safe. And besides, I think it looks pretty good on me!

For those of you who have no idea what this post is about, which is going to be pretty much everyone but Jade, you can read the background here - if you really care to know.

Oh and I mailed the shirt back to her, before you all go thinking that I am some sort of really mean person :) But it's way fun to tease her, first.

On another note, since people are asking me about it - we are driving down to Philly today. My parents and Tyler & Joel (2 brothers) are flying out today. We will see Kendall (brother) on Sunday in the area he is currently serving in as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He will be released from his 2-year mission on Monday, and we will all be there with him for one last fireside (spiritual meeting). HURRAH! I can't believe that he's been gone for 2 years! And I can't believe his service is up and we will get to see him oh so shortly! And yes, I am quite excited!

My latest idea

I started another blog, this time for people interested in sharing recipes. Go check it out at:
http://greatfriendsgoodfood.blogspot.com/

Wicked

Cory and I participated in a nutritional study run by the school last November. If anyone remembers me whining about the awful "tea diet" you'll know what I am talking about. The good part was that we got paid to be in this study, so we decided to use our money for something we would not normally be able to afford. So we bought tickets to see the musical Wicked, which was touring nationally with a stop in Rochester. We bought tickets months ago, and the time finally arrived! We went Friday night.

First, a stop for dinner. A lady I work with named Beth was kind to us and gave us a gift certificate to a yummy Italian and Steak restaurant up in Rochester. We ordered so much food, as can been seen in the picture. It sure was TASTY!!

Then to the musical. It was soooooo good! I am going to have to say that it makes it into my top 5 favorite musicals (with the others being Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime, Aida and Beauty and the Beast or Les Mis). The music is FANTASTIC and the make-up is great. Plus it's really witty. There were lots of laugh-out-loud moments. Overall it's super and I told Cory that I want to see it again. Someday when it comes to a city near us again, we'll go. But in the meantime, if you ever have the chance to see it, take it. It's well worth seeing!