I must be crazy...!

College life...

It is about a half hour after midnight on a Tuesday night (or Wednesday morning by now I guess), and I am just now starting most of my homework. I was planning to start when I got home from Classes at 4:30, but the internet was down for a long time so I couldn't get anything done. A little while after the internet came back up my roommate asked me to join her on a movie date. Apparently they had plans and they had one more guy than girl and I'm incapable of saying no-so I agreed. Silly me. I know have about 3 hours of math to do and a 9:00 class. I'm going to be VERY tired tomorrow! So why am I sitting here blogging? Well... like I said... I must be crazy!!!

Oh Brother...

My brother sent me a HILARIOUS e-mail today about "You live in Colorado if..." and one of them was about how if a Coloradoan steps out on to the front porch and there is a bear standing there we wouldn't be startled. I mentioned that I would be scared but not particularly shocked. And this is the conversation that followed (over about 15 text messages):

(You have to hear it in Lon's voice for it to really be funny!)

"Right but you would also be like that's cool"- and "I wonder what that tastes like" and "I bet I could pet him- he looks REALLY cute!" Cali's would be like..."OMG! We are like totally going to die- and gross is he drooling on the deck"- and then CO would tell them "thats not a bear...its my dog." And then Cali would say- "no way that is NOT a dog! Dogs are little and cute and you can carry them in your purse with you on the airplane and to get your hair done." And then CO would say -"No, that's not a dog, that is a chijuajua literally translated to mean 'Mexican shark Bait.'" And then Cali says..."I can't believe you would say that about Snoots(her chiuaujua) I bet you think ti would be good to just keep driving your SUV until the Polar Bears died from global warming. And then CO said "Look it's one thing to take care of of the enviro. But another to be a prius driving freak!" Then Cali gets pissed and she storms off, out onto the deck and the dog who was really a bear (CO was just making a joke) and the bear eats her and she dies screaming "I hate your dog!" And then CO says "it's not a dog-learn to take a joke- and by the way- God hates Queers!" And laughs and walks away.

I may have peed a little I was laughing so hard! Pretty entertaining!

Crazy College Road Trip

I have been missing home a lot recently and Bryce's 15th birthday was coming up so I had been thinking about making a trip home to see the family. I brought it up to my roommates andthey were very excited about that idea! So, we started making plans for a trip back to Colorado. I told my Dad and CeeCee but I was planning to surprise everyone else. Our plan was to leave Friday around 11 after everyone got out of classes. Well Whitney ended up getting out of class late and we ended up eating lunch in town instead of grabbing something at the drive thru so we could eat with our other roommate that wasn't coming and didn't end up getting on the road until around 12:15. That was still going to hopefully put us in around 9:30 and I was very excited to surprise my mom and Lizz that night. We had absolutely perfect weather until we hit about Rock Springs. At that point it was starting to get snowy, cold, and dark- never a good combination. It was about this point in the ride that we all started praying very hard. Shortly after this point we hit basically white out conditions and had to slow our speed to below 45 mph. We were about 10 miles outside of Laramie when we came to a stop on the highway. It was like being parked in a Semi Truck parking lot. Whitney and Jamie were brave enough to get layered up and go knock on a truck driver's door to find out what was going on. We found out that there were 2 semi trucks that had jack-knifed and were rolling down the hill. We were parked for 45 minutes before traffic FINALLY started moving (very very slowly).

This is us parked on the road pretty board but staying warm and snacking!

When we finally reached Laramie we found out that ALL roads in every direction were closed. We were stranded in Laramie for the night- unfortunately, so was everyone else, so we were really worried about finding a hotel room. I was on

the phone with my Dad and he was on the phone with Days Inn and was fortunately able to find us a room!

We ordered pizza and drinks and watched a movie and just made the best of it! It's not hard to enjoy being stuck in a hotel room w

ith your best friends.

The roads FINALLY opened up around 11 on Saturday and we booked it out out to meet the family for Bryce's surprise lunch. We were meeting at Old Chicago's in Centerra at 12. We didn't get there until about 12:30 so poor CeeCee had to stall. CeeCee told us what table they were at so we walked right in and walked up to the table and said "Hey guys, sorry we're late". It was fun to see everyone's surprised faces. I wish I could relive that moment over and over. Lizz started crying, Bryce hopped up to hug me, and Brynlee walked up and kept saying "Mary, I lost a tooth. Mary, I lost a tooth". It was so fun to hug everyone and introduce everyone to my roommates! Unfortunately, Courtney and her family couldn't make it to lunch but that was fun because we got another round of surprises. After Old C's w

e went back to CeeCee's for cupcakes. Courtney and her family were there when we walked in and Brielle saw me when I walked in and got a really excited look on her face and ran up to hug me. Next I saw Avery and she came running up to hug me. Courtney heard the kids screaming at me and walked around the corner and gave me a hug! It was so exciting!

The trip was way way way too short- but very fun! My roommates loved my family and we had so much fun with them! The drive back was pretty uneventful except for almost hitting a deer. I'm still trying to catch up on the sleep I lost this weekend- but it was well worth it.

The next time I drive home from Idaho I want it to be with Lon and Steph, that work for you guys?

College Life

Hey guys!


I thought I would give an update on my college life. It's been an absolute blast but it's so busy all the time! I feel like I haven't stopped running since I got here! But, (this one is for you Court) I am making good choices. Fortunately, thats not hard here. Every day is packed full with wholesome activities- too many of them! This weekend for example: on friday when we got out of class the girls (my roomies) took a road trip to Idaho Falls to do some shopping. We got back around 7 and touched up makeup and hair and went over to our FHE brother's apartment to hang out. We hung out there for a while and then went to a ridge dance party- when we decided that party was lame we went down town for another dance party but decided that was way too crowded and went to Ramire's and then back to our apartment to watch a movie. Saturday we got up, got ready, I ran some errands, and then we went shooting with a couple guy friends. After shooting we went to get DQ and then were planning on going home and just chilling. But then we got a call from another group of guys who wanted to the bonfire so we ended up doing that. We weren't planning on doing anything on Sunday but ended up feeding a huge group of guys (like 12) dinner and then are heading over to our FHE boy's apartment for dessert and games. It's a pretty crazy life but I'm loving every second of it! I didn't know I could feel so home sick and miss my family so much and be having so much fun at the same time!

My new best friends!

Graduation!

I thought it was about time I got some of my graduation pictures up.

I graduated from High School May 23rd and it turned out to be a fabulous day! My family is absolutely amazing and decided to all make matching hot pink shirts so that they would be visible in the crazy crowds of graduation. They're the best and everyone looked adorable!Even my amazing Brother-in-laws, nephews, and cousins wore the hot pink shirts, what men!

The whole family in their hot pink shirts. Seriously, how awesome are they?!

My awesome College friends at my graduation party

The Graduation Party set up

And, the best surprise of all. I was taking pictures with my Mom, Dad, and Lizz, and my mom turned around and asked, "who's standing behind us", I turned around and my brother was standing there. I got super excited, jumped up, accidently screamed in his ear, and started crying. I was so excited that he was there! I couldn't believe it! Thanks for coming Bubba! I love you!!!

Typical Graduation picture.

My AWESOME brother!

Sister picture!

Overall it was an absolutely fantastic weekend! Thank you so so much to all of you that were there, especially all of you who traveled to be there. It honestly meant the world to me! To all of those who weren't able to make it, know that you were missed and I love you!

To All The Mother's In My Life...

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! I LOVE YOU ALL!

Cee Cee-

You are such an incredible Mom! Your kids adore you and that's so easy to see. You are so good about talking to them and relation with them. Your kids know that they can always come to you with any problems. You have instilled in them a testimoney in the gospel and that is so important! Happy Mother's Day Sis, I love you!

Courtney-

I don't know how you do all you do Sis! You are super mom! Your life can be a little crazy sometimes but all your kids know how much you love them, you're incredible. You take time to really love each kid and it's so amazing to watch. I know your kids can be a handful sometimes but they love you so much! Yesterday while I was watching them I told them that today would be mothers day and they all got very excited about honoring you and wanted to help me clean the house. They love you tons, and here's the proof! Happy Mother's Day Sis, I love you!

Steph-

You stepped into motherhood seamlessly! You are such an incredible Mother! The way you get down on the floor and play with Eden is so adorable. It's so cute how she just lights up whenever your around her. She loves you so much! She is one precious baby, she is one of the happiest people I know, and that's incredible for an almost 1-year-old. I hope you have a fabulous first mothers day as a mom. Happy Mother's Day sis, I love you!

And of course...

Mommy- I love you so much! I know without a doubt I wouldn't be who I am without you. Thanks for always pushing me to be better , for encouraging me to get up and go to seminary, for all the years of driving me to school, for all the help on the late nights of homework, for 17 years worth of laundrey, cooking, and dishes, and for absolutely everything! You are honestly a super hero. I don't know how you get so much done in a day. I hope when Im a mother I can be half as successful as you. Thanks for always being there Mom! I love you!!! Happy Mother's Day!

And to all the other mothers in my life- thank you for all you do! Happy Mother's Day!

Senior Ditch Day!

A while back we had "Senior Ditch Day" on a monday which usually wouldn't mean much but the fam had had a somewhat rough weekend and Lizzy had the day off, so we decided we'd take off as a family and head up to Estes. Britt, Brett, and Calan even came with us. We ate lunch and walked around the shops. It was awesome day to be up there! We even walked around the Stanley hotel which was pretty cool. We even made a reservation to stay there the night before the 4th of July which is awesome because we always spend th 4th of July in Estes and it will be my last 4th of July with the family for a while. I'm excited about it! Here are a few pics from our day in Estes!

Britt, Calan and I at lunch. Apparently Calan got a little distracted

Daddy and I hanging out in Estes. Like my new sunglasses?

The fam in Estes. I love this picture of us!