currently...

enduring a four day long headache

still getting used to being a full time student once again

pretending that I love my humanities book

AND.....

having too much fun on photo booth with Belle on my new MacBook!!!!

so maybe I am focusing too much on the last one but hey...we all make mistakes right?!

yum yum in the tum tum...

we love Krave, yes we do. we love Krave, how bout you?!

despite the fact that they didn't have Hailey's prime flavors Krave did us well last night. oh and we are now going to be famous and appearing on their picture television! yeah...we are that cool.

a little food for thought...

At work everyday I have the privilege of interacting with cute little grannies and grampies. Some days there are grumpy ones, very forgetful ones, those who can barely walk or stand up straight...the list goes on and on. There are a few of them with stories that break my heart and then there are those who are still so in love with life or their spouse that they are practically dancing down the aisles and up to the counter with their walkers and canes. Yesterday I encountered a Grampy like this and he left me thinking about a lot of things. He had me worried that he was going to topple over from the second he walked into the store so I kept a close eye on him and noticed that he didn't quit smiling once...NOT ONCE!! There I was complaining because I couldn't get the dang receipt totals to add up right and there he was barely able to walk and he was grinning from ear to ear. I lost track of him for a while and then i saw him start his long slow walk to the front counter where I was standing. Our conversation went like this...

me: How are you doing today?

grampy: I am doing absolutely wonderful! How are you?

me: I am doing great! It is always a good day at work when people smile like you do!

grampy: You know what honey, my legs are killing me and I can't stand up straight but why in the world should I let that ruin my day? I could complain about how much my legs hurt when I stand and when I sit too but every time I think about something like that I am reminded that there are thousands of people out there who don't even have legs at all!

me: Wow. That is so true! Thank you for sharing that with me. It sure is a reality check to think about someone less fortunate.

grampy: It sure is dear, I am pretty darn grateful for these aching legs of mine!

After saying this he just gave me a little wink and out the door he went. I don't think this little grampy will ever know how much what he said impacted me. It may not even have an impact on you as you read it but it sure hit me hard. The rest of work I stood there thinking about what he had said and how it has sparked a little something in me to pay more attention to how grateful I am for something as normal as two legs that get me around. I know this is a lot of words without any pictures but I a sure happy that I got to talk to that little grampy! Maybe what he told me will get you thinking about things just as I did!

dance camp

I seriously can't believe that it has already been a whole year since I went to my first college dance camp. Time is FLYING!! I am so excited for the year ahead with the dance team. We have so many extremely talented girls that are so cute and so much fun to be with! We headed to Cali at six thirty in the morning last Friday. Here we are about half way into our long drive on the short bus. The drive was much more enjoyable this year because our driver Petey was a thousand times nicer than our grumpy old man driver that we had last year.

our camp didn't actually start until Saturday but of course we had to have a day of just playing in Cali!! First stop...Newport! Once we finally found the place we wanted to be (bless Petey's heart...he was dealing with more than one backseat driver) we had a quick change in the bus and we were off to the beach!
Tessie-me-Shaylee-Hailey-Miranda

after walking the pier we played a game of sand volleyball..if you can even call it that. Just imagine thirteen dancers attempting to play something that good hand eye coordination is needed for. I'm sure we gave the people on the beach some good entertainment!

of course Cheesecake factory is a must when the option is available! Shay and I had the most delicious dinner. If you haven't tried their Vietnamese taco's you don't even know what you are missing, SO YUMMY! Naturally we shopped a little bit after dinner and then called it a night.

These are the wonderful coaches Kori and Kristi!!

here is our "this our first day of camp so we are energized and our bodies don't hurt yet" picture
After a long day of dance we rushed back to the hotel and in record time were back on the bus and headed to Huntington for the night!

our boyfriend Duke was there waiting for us just like he was last year! It's like he never moves or something ;)

first stop at Huntington...BJ's!!

yes, that is a wall of alcohol behind us. In order to avoid the massive wait we just sat in the bar area! I think our waitress was happy to not be dealing with another table of drunk men to be quite honest! she perked up when we told her none of us were actually sitting in the bar area because we wanted anything from the bar! Dinner produced lots of hilarious conversations and even more laughing. Let's just say we were in one of those moods.

This is Belle, or Hails Bells or Hailey...whichever you choose! We had two years of Jetettes together and got to be pretty dang good friends! I seriously don't know what I would do without this girl. She also has a pretty cool older brother named Jordan that I'm quite fond of.....I may have mentioned him before?! Hailey has wanted to be a Rebelette since she was a kiddo and I am so happy that her dream has come true and that I will get to share it with her!

Here we are on our second day of camp. If you can't tell we are all less energized and looking a bit tired. Pretty sure we all waddled to camp and then plopped on the floor and proceeded to rub Icy Hot and Myomed cream all over our aching legs and backs while reminding ourselves that we love to dance and that being this sore was worth it! After this long day of camp we all crowded into one room and talked for hours and then watched the Bachelorette's men tell all.

these girls are straight from Japan and absolutely amazing dancers! They remembered our team from last year and came running over to us with their camera's on the last say. I don't think I have ever been thanked so many times for taking a picture with someone...they act like we are movie stars!

If you didn't notice..they love throwing up the peace sign in EVERY picture they take. And no I am not exaggerating when i say every.

Our team got so close in the three days at camp! We would all squish on one table at lunch so that we didn't have to split up to eat.

FINISHED!! Camp is always so much fun but by the end you are completely exhausted mentally and physically. I have never been so excited to get on a bus before. I couldn't wait to get home! We had such a great week in Cali! Hopefully it continues into a fantastic year! I sure do love these girls.

a bit of catching up...

so basically I am always "catching up" on here but I guess it's better late than never right?! I have done a bit better this month at keeping up but I still missed a few things that I wanted to get on here.

the first weekend in July this girl got married!! Lauren and I are cousins but we are such great friends too. We live on complete opposite sides of the state from each other but always have a great time together at family gatherings and parties. I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of me and her in her wedding dress because it was GORGEOUS but aunt Bonnie snapped this one of us! Not such a good pic of yours truly but the day was about Lauren so oh well!

here are me and the greatest mom in the world waiting outside the temple for the happy couple! I don't think I have ever put on here how AMAZING my mom is so it's about time. She is such an example to me and such a strong woman...I hope I can be as a good of a mom as she is someday!

Moving on from the wedding there was a not so happy day. This year Provo has stolen multiple people that are pretty darn important to me...me and Provo are still on BAD terms and probably will be for quite some time. Courtney Brynn moved on up to the P town a few weeks into July. No I didn't cry when she left......OK fine maybe I did! But after five years of seeing this girl almost every day can you blame me????

the night before she left we had lots of fun doing what we do best! We ended the night up on the Dixie rock making wishes and laughing our heads off while yelling strange things into the darkness.

I sure do miss this girl but we talk lots and she is having the time of her life so I am very happy for her!! She is on the UVU dance team so keep your eyes peeled. You won't have to look very hard...she is obviously the best on the team so she is an easy one to spot!

Aren't my friends the greatest?! I think YES!!