a very special family

this is the beautiful and oh so entertaining Truax family.

two of the darlings in this picture are orphans from ukraine that also have a little brother.

and guess what?

these amazing truax's are going to adopt them and bring them home to a loving family.

awsome right? right.

shelly was the young women's president when i was a laurel and her girls were all in young women's with me.
i know without a doubt that they will be the best thing that has ever happened to those three beautiful orphans. the truax's have hearts the size of elephants full of love to share..so...lets help them!

as you can imagine...adopting three children from a foreign country is more than pricey.

please, please, please go and check out their blog here: Truax Adoption Adventure.

while there go ahead and donate. you know you want to!

or...if you can't donate be sure to click their fundraising links in the sidebars of the blog. 

even just a couple dollars can help them on this journey of bringing these kids to a happy loving family!

if you are visiting from a blog, or if you have a facebook page, please share this link!
it will only take a few seconds for you to share.
and it will make you feel good too!
the more people that know about this the quicker albina, alina and maks can come home to be loved on!

in my brain today.

1. i really want to go back to bed.

2. should i ditch my stats class?

3. i can't wait to go home on friday.

4. facetime is the best invention ever.

5. i wish that it only took one hour to get to st. george

6. how in the heck did i do so bad on my test last night?

7. imagine dragons is fantastic.

8. man i am excited for their concert in two weeks!

have you heard this song? you will probably love it. 

a bit better than fantastic.

there is a mess of thoughts in my head today. this may bore you but don't say i didn't warn you!

i have been feeling overly grateful for the life that i have.

regardless of the hard decisions that i have to make and the bills to be paid ...life is great!

the beautiful alicia wilcox has coined a little phrase for life.

it is perfect for all situations and will help you to find a smile even when the bad is about to eat you up!

it goes a little something like this,

this life is so (insert descriptive word of current situation here) BUT we are so blessed.

for example:

this life is hard and sometimes sad BUT i am so blessed!

seriously though....adopt this phrase into your daily routine. you will find yourself noticing the good.

i pinky promise.

most mornings in the office i get a visit from a certain professor who is one of my favorites.

he is a very chipper english man that has only live in the states for two years.

i would like to think that santa claus is as jolly as he is. 

when he walks in i ask him how he is doing and he always answers the same way,

a bit better than fantastic!

today was different, since it is friday he answered that he is a bit better than a bit better than fantastic.

think about that in a jolly english accent and then try to tell me it doesn't make you cheery.

this daily exchange from him is something that i look forward to.

this girl is a firm believer that we are all as happy as we make ourselves out to be. 

....and there you have it. 

nothing very profound but that is what has been hanging out up in the old brain area!

i hope your weekend is a bit better than fantastic!

it's what fun is.

next on the agenda for the week before school starts was a trip to lagoon!!

my family used to go all the time when we were little so it holds a dear place in my heart.

this lagoon day was spent with these boys from back home.

they sure are great pals!...and they keep us always entertained. 

the ongoing mountain dew battle.

i tell them it hurts their heart...

they tell me it is the nectar of gods...

i never give up...

they never give up...

because i made kyle drive they got to drink it in the golden carpet.

they know it was a once in a lifetime event.

i don't believe that i have formally introduced brittany.

brittany griffiths is the fourth rookie to alicia, laura and courtney.

i absolutely adore her. 

not only is she a sweetie and saved my 'burned by curling iron finger' once upon a time...

we get along great and i feel perfectly comfortable and confident in calling her a true and wonderful friend!

don't be deceived by my face...

tilt a whirl with five college aged kids=one painful ride.

perhaps jordan's face (on the far left) is a better representation of how the ride made our hips feel.

ever since i was a youngster i have wanted to ride the sky coaster.

it never felt right to ask my parents to pay an additional fifteen bones on top of the general ticket.

well...on account of it being 2for1 week at lagoon it was finally time.

it was worth every dollar! 

if you are an adrenalin junky you must do it. must i say!

kyle said i shrieked like a child the entire time but i thoroughly enjoyed free falling this hundreds of feet

this pic is blurry but the story behind it had to be shared for the records.

britt asked these random people to take a picture for us

the lady asked her if she was serious and they gave britt the weirdest look.

they then explained that they had never touched an iPhone nor did they know how to use it.

at this point i am half feeling bad that they were so confused and half laughing because britt was seriously second guessing handing over the phone.

watching them take the picture was just as hilarious as their initial shock. 

besides the little blurry i feel like the clicked that button pretty well for first timers!

great day...with great friends!

even when things don't go as planned...

the week before school started courtney and i decided we would hit seven peaks to catch some rays.

we rode every slide in the park. it was a great day there!

it.was.CLOSED.

i mean come on...who closes it the week before cougie school starts?!

it broke our fragile little hearts.

we were looking forward to it so much that we skipped to the car from the apartment. 

we were not about to go back home without getting any sun.

so we set up shop right behind that trusty electrical box.

it hid us perfectly from the road so most people passing wouldn't see us and wonder if we needed help.

after all..who in the right mind lays out in the middle of a grass field in their actual swimmers?

sorry folks, looks like court and i are not in our right mind?

 can you really blame us though?

'twas a beautiful day and mr. golden sun was calling our names. 

next time you are bored go and lay out somewhere weird...add a little different spice to your life ;)