Day 290.

Confession.

Once upon a time the night before I graduated from high school I was sure that the world was going to end…..
That was 2 years ago and it still hasn’t.
Fortunately.
This year has been quite the year to say the least…
Exactly 1 year ago I decided to start this blog just for fun…
Just to keep track of my many adventures and to help me to count my many blessings.
At the beginning of this past year I would say I was something like this…..
[aka a small child]

But this past year I’ve learned so many things and grown in so many ways.
In the past year I can say I’ve:
Completed 2 [more] semesters at college.
Survived working at Nuskin [twice].
Eaten at Big Judd’s.
Hiked ‘R’ mountain.
Been bridge jumping.
Survived the ‘End of the World.’
Learned how to drive a 4-wheeler.
Let my YouTube taught roomie cut my hair in the bathtub.
Went to the doughnut shop on college avenue.
Ate one to many jalapenos.
Got questioned by the police due to a coin machine robbery.
Sang [way too] many songs into my webcam with Emma.
Become an employee in the Housing and Student Living Office.
Had a brother come home from a mission and sent another one off.
Watched my best friend get married.
Became a fish mom [again].
Created new friendships.
Became a master of freeway driving [thanks to Idaho].
Went tanning for the first time.
Had my first college birthday.
Ate a cactus.
Learned how to get peanut butter off the top of my mouth.
Shot a gun for the first time.
Fell in love.
Had my heart broken.
Purchased make-up.
Chopped off my hair.
Had hard times with roomies.
Won the wiki check prize.
Passed math.
Considered changing my major.
Been the bride of 2 toilet paper wedding dresses.
Partied in the Kimball building basement.
Participated in black Friday shopping for the first time.
Became addicted to scrabble.
Became part of the ‘breakfast club.’
Fell in love with Josh Groban during his concert.
Became the proud owner of a Wolverine bobble head.
Called Idaho home.
Was a bridesmaid…. Twice.
Rode the elevator in the Hinckley building.
Did the 50 chicken mcnugget challenge with Trisha and Ryan.
Re-found my love for reading….
And DI piles.
And let’s not forget [my bff] Travis.

Don’t fret.
I’ve aged quite nicely…
And me and Trav are ready for the new year.
I’m packing everything up and heading home to Rexie tomorrow.
This past year was nothing that I thought it would be.
I would’ve never imagined everything that happened.
Some things were great…
Some things were not so great…
But what doesn’t kills you makes you stronger…
Right?
What adventures will this year bring?
I’m ready for a fresh start.
I’m ready for new adventures.
I’m ready for a new year.

Day 289.

Problem.

Many may or may not have noticed this….
But me and my mother are addicted to Café Rio.
Addicted doesn’t exactly encompass the problem.
Café Rio anonymous?
We figured today was probably our last opportunity to go to lunch so we needed to take the opportunity.
Win.

Fact.
I bleached my gums today.
Once upon a time I have a desire for white teeth.
As a small child I hit my front tooth on the counter top and from that moment until I lost it….
It was brown and chipped.
Lose.
Fortunately when it grew back in it was not brown.
Anyways…
Today as I put bleach in my retainers…
I didn’t put it all the way in…
Therefore [partially] ending up on my gums.
Punch.
I pulled my retainers out after 2 minutes and suddenly 2 sections of my gums were Crayola crayon white.
Problem?
Generally.
I called the dentist and informed them of my problem….
Yes.
It was obvious that she had an extremely large smile on her face while she was talking to me…
She did quite well with hiding her laughter.
She informed me that within a few days the pinkish color would return…
Thankfully it returned within minutes.
As much as I like white gums….
I don’t.
The adventures continued tonight as I went on a date slash babysitting moment with a 2 year old.
Dinner was Sonic.
The movie was a Pixar classic.
When I asked him if I could take a picture and if he would smile big for me….
He stuck his head up high and puffed out his chest.

The rest of the night consisted of building forts out of laundry baskets and blankets…
Playing in the cardboard house…
and making car sounds.
You know…
Usual boy things.
Great news.
I got him to go to bed even though I’m probably not his favorite person for making him go to bed before Toy Story was over….
Oops.
Don’t fret.
My printer still works….
Now that I checked that….
I’ve gotta pack.

Day 288.

Thought.

Almost 2 years later me and Maggie [and Mark] went to breakfast.
We decided to have breakfast at a real life breakfast time….
8:30 am.
Wanna know the last time I got up that early?
Well.
Last week…
But that’s besides the point.
I picked them up and we headed to our neighborhood Gandi’s. …
But not before we made a quick stop at McDonalds’.
Fun fact.
Maggie doesn’t like McDonalds’…
Isn’t that a little ironic seeing that it may or may not be her last name?
She ordered 2 hash browns and a smoothie.
Win.
I purchased an Upstate.
Super win.
Oddly enough it wasn’t very crowded that early in the morning.
Oh the joys of breakfast dates with Mark and Mags.

This afternoon after a small Dr. Quinn marathon me and Jace ran some errands…

New fish bowl for flam.
Teeth bleach.
Ross.
TJ Maxx.
Burlington Coat Factory.
Do not even fret.
I purchased a mustard turtle neck for $5.99.
Super win of the day.
Oh.
Did I mention going and attempting to pick up Jace’s check in Provo.
Thought.
His bookstore is right next to the Thai Ruby.
Oh the memories there…..
Day 192?
No comment.
Fact.
Me, my mother, my father, and my 9 year old brother decided to start DQ back at season 1.
Win.

Fact.
I’m going to go back up to Rexie and find mountain man.
I may or may not have a slight crush on Sully.
Slight.
Real men pick berries, grow a full beard between episodes, make pine needle beds, fight the indians, save baby oaks….
And have pet wolves.
Me and this mountain man are going to live in the mountains away from any sort of civilization in a log cabin and ride horses everywhere.
Possibly.
I’m not actually sure the whole horse idea is going to work out due to my previous encounters with them…..
BUT….
I still want a washer and a dryer.

Day 287.

The best part about being home is being able to do…

Everything.
I woke up just in time to play scrabble.
Me and my mom played all day long.
I had spaghetti for breakfast…..
At 2:30.
I wasn’t planning on getting into the shower until Jace informed us that a family from his mission was coming to visit.
Showering is for squares.
When they left I felt that I wanted to do something great…..
Something artistic.
Watercolors.
Fact.
When I asked Mason [9 years old] if he wanted to watercolor with me he looked at me with the ‘how old do you think I am’ face.
Let’s be completely honest.
I have the art skills of a first grader.
But I think Travis appreciated the effort…..
Right?

After a Dr. Quinn marathon my mother decided that she wanted to get out…

Orange leaf was calling her name.
Wanna know the last time I went to Orange leaf?
No comment.
We served.
We topped.
We ate.
We watched.
Mason crawled through the chairs.
Nothing too out of the ordinary.

No worries.
I am so pleased to let the world know that Elder Cody Elaine wrote me back.
Finally.
2 months later.
Yes.
His handwriting has improved since he left.
Impressive.

Don’t mind me…
I’m just gonna get back to watching Dr. Quinn.

Day 286.

Problem.
Occasionally me and my mother like to stay up until 3 am.
Occasionally meaning basically every night since I moved home.
Sleep is over rated anyways….
Right?
Generally we solve lives problems, talk about when I was a small child, attempt to figure out what actually occurred in my most recent relationship, and try to figure out what

the coming semester’s adventures will be….
You know…
All the good stuff.
It’s fantastic.
[Except for the part when we can’t wake up the next morning…]
No worries.
We only get to party like this for the next couple of days…
So we might as well.
I can’t wait to get back up to Rexie.
I’m ready for a fresh start.
I’m ready to do something productive with my life….
Something more productive than eating free food, sleeping, and watching Dr. Quinn.
Adventure for the day?
American Fork Marching Band send off moment.
Yes.
Trisha and the American Fork Marching Band are heading to California tomorrow to play in the Rose Parade on Monday.
…Big gulps, huh?
Listening to the AFMB gives me the chills.
Really.
Thought.
It may or may not have had to do with the fact that I was sitting the high school auditorium with 233 band kids in addition to every band family in American Fork
High School boundaries.
……Claustrophobiais a powerful thing.
Good Luck AF Marching Band.

Thankfully made it home safely with a 15 year old behind the wheel….
There was no way that I was that young and driving.
The night was filled with qwirkle, basketball games, scrabble and late night naps.
Oh.
Trisha loves to build things…
Desks…
Duck houses…
Frozen hot chocolate…
He delighted me to some although somehow I think he was making fun of my blogger face when I asked him to pose for a picture.
Punch.

Fact.
Mason is still a small child at heart.
He loves his ‘diapies’ and pulled them back out today.
Love the frozen hot chocolate mustache?
……that may be his only chance at facial hair.

Fact.
I may or may not be moving back to Rexie in 5 days.
Super Win.

Day 285.

They say pictures are worth 1000 words…

Well.
This shirt only has 4….
But they say it all.

Have I mentioned that my mother humors me?
Today as the ‘Future Mrs. Josh Groban’……
I woke up at noon…
Washed and folded laundry...
Ate Christmas leftovers…
And am currently watching Dr. Quinn season 6.
What more do I need in my life?

Day 284.

Sometimes you stay up late at night slash stay up until really early hours of the morning sitting in front of the fire with your mom, dad, grandma, and brother playing words with friends and scrabble.
There is nothing wrong with staying up until 2 am on Christmas Eve…
But there is a problem when I realized that we may or may not have forgot to leave out cookies and milk for Santa.

Super punch.
In the end it didn’t really matter because I was at one point beating Jace at his own game….
Ultimately I only lost by 2….
Which is something to be proud of when playing the King of scrabble.

Do you know how I know that my parents love me?
Well…
There are several reasons…
But.
Most importantly…
They humor me.
For Christmas 2 years ago I asked for a snuggie.
They got me a leopard one.
Last Christmas I asked for a Zhu Zhu pet.
They got me one.
This Christmas I asked for a pillow pet.
They got me a lady bug pillow pet.
…and a mustard yellow pea coat.
Super win.

The most looked forward to part of the day was skyping with Elder Whatcott.
There is nothing like knowing that your brother is still a real human and is loving his mission time in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
We got to talk to him for a little over 2 hours and heard all his crazy missionary stories.
Growing up I always thought missionaries were robots…
And then I had a brother go on a mission.
That’s when I realized that boys will always be boys.
It’s the best thing to have a brother on a mission…
To know that they made the choice to go and serve the Lord and that they are getting opportunities to help others and gain new experiences that they never would’ve had the chance to do.
The eye rolling, the nose scratching, the ‘likes,’ the forehead slapping haven’t changed…
But there is so much that has changed about him.
I cannot wait to see the person that he turns out to be in 21 months.

Merry Christmas.

Day 283.

T’was the night before Christmas….
And all through the house…
The small children were making their beds down stairs and Jace was speaking loudly slash harassing Trisha.
[nothing too out of the ordinary]
….and there is a scrabble game going on.
We were so pleased when we unexpectedly received a Christmas card from our favorite missionary and his companion.
Super win.

Who would’ve thought….
A Christmas card from OUR missionary.
It never ceases to amaze me that he is on a mission.
That he’s a big kid and he is functioning without me [his twin mother] and his [real] mother…

And that he is loving it!

This is the kid who is going fishing, throwing acorns at lions, and has too many Christmas day appointments that he had to move our skype date time.

I can’t wait to skype him.

Party.

It’s been way to long aka like 3 months.

No worries…..

We’ve got the twin telepathy thing down.

Super win.

Day 282.

Fact.

It’s past my bedtime….

2 hours past my bedtime.
But when I got home from my other home and saw a game of scrabble going on…
I just simply couldn’t resist.
It’s an addiction.
I may or may not have pondered signing myself up for Scrabblers Anonymous.
Thought.
History making moment:
When I beat Jace and my mother today during our usual [daily] scrabble tournaments.
Win.
Super Win.

The best part about being home over break is being able to go to lunch….
And yes…
Occasionally shopping is enjoyable..
But I love hanging out with my mother.
Party at Café Rio?
The night was spent perfecting my driving skills on the freeway during a joy ride to [almost] Provo.
No worries…
I only needed to go down the street and around the corner to see the bff, her spouse, and the rest of her family….
But instead I went the long way.
Oops.
Oh the joys of being home for Christmas.

Day 281.

You know you’re an old person when an ideal night is playing scrabble and drinking hot chocolate…
And chatting about your brother and his best friend and all their adventures like they’re your own children.
After a long day of unsuccessful Christmas shopping I had a date with a couple of friends to be old people.
3 young women in the ward and then the brother’s best friend’s girlfriend came over to be old.
Yes.
The [real] old people….
Aka me and Kelsie were the champions of scrabble.
Loser was supposed to buy hot chocolate….
But I figured that I needed to humble myself as a winner…

Oh the joys of 15 year old girls at the hot chocolate bar at the local harts.
Win.
It was nice to be able to chat with some of the girls after we had dropped a few of the girls off.
Oh the joys of being home for Christmas break.

Day 280.

Fact.
Sometimes my father reminds me that I seem to blog with my eyes closed.
I guess it all goes back to the idea that I’m not perfect.
I don’t do my laundry…
Remember?
There is nothing like getting up at 6 am to take Rachel to the airport so that she can make her 9:15 flight…
And then heading home to sleep until noon.
Thought.
I may be a pro at driving on the freeway…
But I am not a pro at finding the airport.
Thank heavens that my father knows the way to the airport quite well.
My favorite part of the Christmas season is Sub-for-Santa.
This year we had a family with 2 little kids, ages 5 and 18 months.
It is always amazing to go into different homes to see how different families live.
It’s always humbling and reminds me to count my many blessings.
This year was even more fun due to the fact that Jace was with us and so we were better able to communicate with the family.
After we were done visiting the family we headed to a family favorite.
JCW’s.

Win.
4 days until our family skype date with Elder Whatcott.
I cannot wait.

Day 279.

Fact.

I love Rexie a thousand times more than I love Logan.

It may be 2 hours closer…

It may be a whole lot warmer…

It may be a whole lot bigger…

But it’s not Rexie.
Me and Rachel headed out around 8 this morning due to the fact that we knew we would have to pick up the flowers and get them to the temple by 11:30.
Bridesmaid task.
Don’t fret.
We drove drove drove up to Logan and were so pleased that we made it in an hour and a half.
I may or may not have been over 80 the ride up.
Shhhh…
Don’t tell my mom.
There is something about going over the speed limit in a minivan…
It screams tough.
Once we got here we headed to the local Wal-Mart to purchase finger nail polish remover and purchase a slate colored paint.
I figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to find the flower place seeing that I had a GSP and an address.
No worries.
The GPS stopped working….
Punch.
Thank heavens for the grid system…
Right?
Fact.
I have way to much pride to stop and ask for directions.
I was going to find my inner boy scout and find 50 North Hwy 165 in Providence, Utah.
Providence is the size of the palm of my hand.
Easy.
Obviously.
We drove around for approximately 20 minutes in between 100 North and 100 South.
Fail.
Finally when I decided to swallow my pride and ask, Macey’s was my option.
I figured it was a friendly neighborhood grocer and they could help me out.
Thought.
The address to Macey’s is 50 North Hwy 165.
Punch.
The guy looked at me like I was [obviously] from out of town.
I proceeded to then ask him where the flowers could be picked up….
He then proceeded to point right behind me.
Super punch.
The fact that they had already been delivered to Riter mansion made things a hundred times better.

We scrambled to find Riter mansion but were pleased to see our flowers sitting in the kitchen.
Win.
Bridesmaids task?
Complete.

We were so pleased that we were able to get them to the temple with [lots of extra] time to spare.

Someone in the previous wedding party got sick….

Pushing everything back.
Oops.
It is one of thee most fantastic things to see your friends come out of the temple.
Kiah and Ramon looked fantastic.

Thought.

We had approximately 5 hours before the reception started.
Fact.
It’s not smart to put 2 small town college girls in a big[ish] college town.
No bueno.
We drove around forever trying to find somewhere to eat…
And were more than pleased when we saw something familiar.
Café Rio.
We still had quite some time to kill before we had to get back so we did the usual..
Went and saw all the odd people at Wal-Mart for a bit…
And the odd dogs.
No comment.

We wanted to drive around campus just to get a feel for something not BYU-Idaho-ish.
I was appalled to see men with facial hair…
And wearing shorts.
I was waiting for the Honor Code police to run up and take them away…
Then I remembered that facial hair and shorts is socially acceptable in most places.
Me and Rachel found a lovely parking lot where we watched a family sled down a hill for a few minutes…
And then fell asleep in the car for the next couple of hours.
Win.
Thought.
Sleeping in a car…
In a skirt…
Is not one of the top 10 most comfortable things that I’ve ever done in my life.
We headed to the reception in anticipation for what was to come.
It was stunning.
We chatted with her family, the groomsmen, and of course the couple of honor.
Thought.
Like the picture of Kiah as a small child?
I do.
Peppermint. Coconut. Chocolate. German Chocolate.
Fruit. Red Velvet. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip. Carrot.
[and I know that there is more I am forgetting….]
The reception was full of cakes.
Win.
Love.
The bridal party each got many pieces and shared around the table.
The joys of not being afraid of germs.
No wedding is complete without decorating the car.
Obviously.
Congrats Kiah and Ramon!

Day 278.

Do not even fret.
I am so pleased to inform myself that Colten received his package….
And is [finally] wearing the shirt I purchased for him.
Win.

Welcome to the first official day of Christmas break.
The day was full of many adventures.
Fact.
I don’t like it when random texts and one-ring phone calls wake me up in the morning.
Me and Rachel knew we needed to do something exciting today.
Our first item of business was to get ready.
Obviously.
Second item of business.
Target and Wal-mart.
Today was history making.
Literally.
Never have I ever….
In my [so far] short lived life owned my own make-up.
Thought.
I do now.
In fact.
I own $51.48 worth of make-up.

Story.
Once upon a time me and Rachel and my mother were up talking until 2:30ish.
Aka late.
In that time me and Rachel came up with many things that needed to be put on a shirt.
So…
We purchased shirts, ate mango salsa, and started writing…..
Win.
WWQD?
[What would Quinci do?]
Obviously a question that everyone should be asking themselves…
Team Jonathan?
No comment…..
Chortle?
Yep.
It’s a real word that can be found in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass.
What’s a picture without the blogger face?
Rachel had never been up to temple square during Christmas time…
Obviously it’s necessary.
We figured that it was a good idea to take a picture in every possible place on temple square…
In the old Tabernacle…

By the red Christmas lights….
And by the lighty Christmas tree….
Thought.
Santa was at temple square.
Do you know how you get a 9 year old to take a picture of Santa for you?
Tell him it’s a secret spy mission and give him a camera….
We were all impressed with Mason’s stalker skills….
Obviously he inherits those from me and my mother…
No comment.
It was a great night to see the lights.

Temple square is fantastic during the holiday season.

Adventure for tomorrow?
Wedding time in Logan.

Day 277.

Fact.

[I’m full of facts.]

I love being home and being able to go to my home ward.

There is nothing like my home ward.

Truly.
I was so pleased to find out that a gingerbread house had been built for me in my absence.
Unfortunately someone [cough cough jace] began eating it without me.

Oddly enough…
I don’t have too much to say.
But....
I was so pleased that my kids came over to play.

Merry [almost] Christmas.

Day 276.

Confession.
I have a slight obsession with keeping my legs warm.
You may or may not know this about me…
But on any given day I will be wearing leggings and long socks.
And due to the most recent frigid weather in Rexburg….
I wear 2 pairs of socks.
It may or may not have something to do with the fact that I am slightly insane…
Or that I just don’t like the way that fabric feels on my legs.
It’s fine…
It really is.
It’s also fine that the guy in Shoe Carnival kept looking at me like I was a strange human.
Psh.
I am not a weird human.

It was nice to be able to get out of Rexie at an early hour…
Fortunately the roads were really good.
The journey was full of nothing to out of the ordinary…
Car sickness and taking a subway break at the truck stop was just about exciting as things got.
We pulled in around 4:30 and then headed to Café Rio.
Win.
It’s nice to be home…
Sleeping in my own bed, eating my own food, and being able to do whatever, whenever.

Day 275.

Last day in Rexie for fall semester 2011.
Fact.
This has quite possibly been thee longest and hardest semester of my life…
And one day I’ll figure out why.
Don’t fret.
I survived.
Barely.
I hope that means that winter semester is going to be a breeze….
Probably not.
Don’t fret.
Travis also survived.
I said goodbye to my girls this morning before I left for work…
I won’t see most of the until spring time.
I have a feeling that they’re going to enjoy not being here in the freezing winter time.
The morning went by crazy fast….
Between work and my science test and lunch with a friend.
Fact.
I am a messy eater.
No one seems to believe me….
But give me a hamburger and I’ll need lots of extra napkins.

[Another] fact…
My [stand-in] twin didn’t believe that I could eat the entire Outlaw burger.
But I did.
I have the stomach of a man.
To our disappointment….
None of the 2 major deadlines were met at work.
No worries.
It was due to the fact that people were coming to talk to the full time employees every 5 minutes so getting approval with each addendum was impossible.
Pray for the sanity of the Christmas break work crew.
The rest of my night was filled with tearing apart Morgy’s room.
I told her that if could keep some of my stuff sitting her apartment over the break then I would organize her room…
Who would’ve thought it would’ve been such a task.
Don’t worry.
I found rubber snakes and other weird random dollar store toys, way too many bikini bottoms, food/candy that expired in 2008, Halloween costume cat tails, marriage books, sticker books, price tags, and many other things that I should’ve taken pictures of.
Thought.
I never found the any of the bikini tops.
Odd.
I also loved the fact that there was a vast amount of stuffed animals that are now sleeping on her bed.
When all was said and done you could actually see her floor and the shape of her bed.
I don’t think I’ve ever known someone to have that much stuff.
I finished around 11 when Brett came over and we partied.
Literally.
We did the Waka Waka, shook our hips and tried to get moves like Michael….
On the dance floor in the kitchen.
Unfortunately I [still] can’t dance.
Unfortuanty.
Don’t fret.
In the next life I will be able to dance.
The party ended at approximately….
Way past my bed time.

Day 274.

Welcome to the end of finals.
It’s full of 6 hour work days...
Tests…
Finding out that you only got a 75% on your English final…
Subway runs…
Spending an hour doing absolutely nothing on your computer…
Contemplate the new roomies…
Staying up way to late…
Packing…
Emptying out my shelves…

At this point the only things that are left to be seen….
Travis.
Scriptures.
Wolverine bobble head.
Graduation picture.
Good luck fish.
Heart shaped ring.
Almost home.
Almost.

Day 273.

After staying up until way to late last night and waking up to realize what I had done in my sleep last night made me realize that maybe I shouldn’t sleep on the couch.
Sometime during my subconscious hours I had gotten up and turned up the heat to 80 degrees in the living room…
Let’s think about this…
The living room isn’t a very big room at all and it was ridiculously hot.
I didn’t realize that had done such things until Sarah came and found me boiling to death this morning.
Also.
Sometime during the night when I was trying to keep myself cool I got up to get a drink.
Problem.
Once upon a time lent my water bottle to a friend a few weeks ago and am forced to drink out of a regular person cup.
Punch.
Instead of looking for my cup I grabbed the pitcher full of Crystal Light.
Problem.
It was quite the rush at 5 a.m.
I couldn’t get back to real sleep and then when I got in the shower my body told me that I had done something it didn’t like.
I was just waiting to pass out.
It was like a sudden rush of Crystal Light to the brain.
Fact.
I turned off the shower and lay on the shower floor for 5 minutes.
Disgusting…
But it was all for a good cause.
Yes.
I was having a hangover on Crystal Light…
Good thing I don’t drink.
The rest of the day was great.
Nothing to exciting.
By the time I had spent an hour in the testing center line I was ready to be done.
I came home and was taking a nap by 7.
Win.
I woke up when a friend came over for a visit at 10…
It wasn’t too long after that when I was talked into beading my head..
Yes.
Beading my head….

You know those beading kits that we all saw on TV when we were approximately 10 years old?
Well…
Morgan saw it…
And Santa brought it to her.
Thanks Santa.

Fortunately we’ve found a use for the beads in the 2 semesters that I’ve lived with Morgy.

Don’t fret.
Apparently there were words on the beads….
Don’t think about it to hard.

Who really needs to sleep during finals week? 

It’s not like the tests are important or that the addenda deadline is Friday.

No stress.

No stress.

What's stress?