Day 210.

Once upon a time it’s almost time to move out….
[Aka] It’s time to start going through everything.

Play Dough?
Check.
Criminal profiling kit?
Check.
Crayons and colored pencils?
Check.
Jump rope?
Check?
College?
Bring it on.

Day 209.

Today was just like any other day.
Wake up.
Lay on my parents bed for a good 45 minutes and decided that there is no point in showering and throwing on a hat.
Thought.
Showers are for squares.
Drove down to Provo when our supervisor came out and told us that we were supposed to come in today.
Umm….
No one told us.
They let us stay and we worked the full shift.
[Another] thought.
It’s not nice to tell someone they’ll only be working for half the shift when they really make us work the whole time.
Don’t fret.
It was worth it when the man with the ponytail and overly long mustache told me that I packed the truck better than any of the guys there.
Winner.
We ended up getting out a half hour early and I was out of there as quick as could be.
The first thing that caught my eye when I got home was the fact that Travis’s fish house was quite dirty……
By dirty…
Well…
I’m pretty sure he was growing some mold.
I felt bad for the poor guy and got him something new to live in until I get to Idaho to get him a real home.
Hopefully he enjoys this for the time being….

It wasn’t long before we headed to Salem for a baseball game.
Imagine that.

Mason played good but just as any other human….

A potty break was necessary….

Behind the fans of the other team….

….Gotta love 9 year old boys.

Day 208.

Did you know that its 262 miles from my house in Pleasant Grove to Boyfriends house in Iona?
[Did you know that Iona is a real place?]
That’s like 3 and a half hours on the freeway.
Wow.
I must really like him a lot.
Friday was a great day.
I didn’t have to work, so me and my mother delighted ourselves to Café Rio after a visit to the cellular phone store.
[Just in case you’re wondering…. I don’t purposely hang up on people. It just happens.]
I haven’t been to Café Rio since I moved home and I sure felt deprived.
After making a batch of cookies and getting my book on tape I was ready for the journey.

Once I got there it was time for dinner and other adventures.
We got the tubes out and were ready to float the ditch.
Don’t fret.
There are pictures…..
Boyfriend is just holding them hostage.
No worries.
I’ll give you a mental image.
Me. Boyfriend. Shannon. Shane.
4 people.
Ditch in the middle of fields.
Cows were looking at us like we were freaks.
[Yes. Cows think like that.]
Possibly 3-5 feet deep.
The water was freezing and the occasional bridge slash fence made us jump out and go over or push our way under.
I thought I was going to manage not getting wet…..
That was a fail.
It was great until we had gotten to Grandma and Grandpa Smith’s and the cement bridge came.
I lost both my tube and Shane’s shoes.
Oops.
Then I had to swim under a fence.
Super wet.
It was a blast.
We finished up and headed back home, rinsed off, and then had a fire waiting for us in the backyard.
S’mores?
Yes.
We sat and talked and all that good stuff for a while and then we decided that it was time to do something…..
Like crash a 16 year olds birthday party.
We headed down to visit Nicole and wish her a happy birthday.
Being the college students that Boyfriend and Shane are….
They had to cause some sort of chaos.
Let’s just say that 2 grown college men shouldn’t hang out with teenagers.
They break things […..and people.]
The rest of the night was spent watching Follow Me Boys and waiting for Shannon to get home from her midnight movie.
It was around 3 am by the time we headed to bed.
The next morning started around 9:30….
When I dragged myself from under the covers and headed upstairs to find waffles.
Yes.
I love waffles [especially with peanut butter and syrup.]
It wasn’t too long before me, Boyfriend, and Shannon headed to the temple.
The Idaho Falls Temple was great but I think I still prefer the Timpanogos Temple.
Although I always love the temple workers even when they have to humor me when I mess everything up.
No worries.
It all worked out in the end.

We headed home, changed, and got out the guns.
Literally.
We headed up into the hills, placed our targets, and pulled the trigger.

I decided to be really cool and shoot the pop can with the pistol.

Bam.
Actually….
It was more like a BOOM.

Boyfriend [basically] exploded a dressing container with the shot gun….
And the pop can with the SKS…

It was around 3:30 or so when I [finally] heard the shower calling my name.
I had to get ready because that night we were heading to the bff’s Idaho open house and going on a date.
Shane came and picked us up around 5:30, we got our stuff and headed to pick up his date.
[Shane and Chelsea were on a blind date…. P.S.]
We made our way to the open house, visited for a bit, ate some food, and then headed out.
We had super adventures to embark on.
Dinner was provided by Sam’s club.
We ordered a pizza and drinks.
For some odd reason my drink decided to jump out of my cup and land on my shirt.
We walked around for a bit while the pizza was cooking and made ourselves at home when we found the living room display.
Big screen tv and leather couches?
Home.
As me and Boyfriend picked up the pizza he asked Cara [the human who made it] if we could eat the pizza anywhere in the store that we would like.
She replied, “Yes.”
We took it back to the house display area and decided to sit at the dining room display.
We did have a worker human kinda sorta tell us we weren’t supposed to eat there…
But we assured her we would be careful.
We were.
We even had napkins and offered her a piece.
Once we were done we headed to Reed’s dairy where we got ice cream and visited the petting zoo.
I was deprived of petting zoos as a small child so I may or may not have found this to be thee greatest thing.
A calf sucked on my fingers and petted baby goats and mini horses.
We weren’t there long before we headed to the green belt.
We rode tandem bikes and long boards along the Snake River.
At night.
It was great.
Except for when boyfriend went fast.
I wasn’t exactly a fan.
Oh well.
We made it to the other side and sat and chatted and then headed home.
The date was a blast.
Even though I don’t kiss in public…..
[bahahaha….. but really.]
Thanks [again] boyfriend.
Sunday came super early [especially] when the singles ward starts at 9.
It was fine though because his mom made us French toast.
Did you know that I love French toast almost as much as I love doughnuts?
True story.
The day was good.
It was good to see his grandparents and we even got to see the bff one more time.
On the way home picking up bffs wedding stuff he stopped and we picked a flower.
[its currently still alive in my room.]

This weekend was a blast.

The drive home wasn’t super exciting….

I’m not a fan of driving in stormy weather but I survived.

Hopefully next weekend will be equally as great.

Day 207.

I FINALLY did it.

I wrote back my missionaries…..

It’s only been 2 months.

I may or may not have been a little bit distracted.

It’s fine.

Day 206.

Wednesday.
Halfway done.
This morning was quite uneventful.
I woke up.
Ate food.
Showered.
Put my hat on.
Brushed my teeth.
Grabbed my other half and headed to work.
I was so pleased that Colty was going to be joining me in the [not so awesome] world of Nuskin distribution.
I started out being best friend with the white flags then after break joined the men of shipping.
Me and Colty had a marvelous time packing the truck….
Even when he decided to make me drop my boxes.
Oh well…..
It may or may not have the longest 4 hours of my life.
Finally we were done and it was time to head home.
I’m pretty sure that the drive home was just as long as the shift.
Once I got home I fought the usual battle with myself:
To nap or not to nap.
Not napping won.
I don’t exactly remember what I did….
But it [obviously] wasn’t too exciting.
We sat down to dinner around 5:30 and had quite the dinner conversation.
We [naturally] asked Kade and Mason if they’d met any cute girls yet.
Keep in mind that Kade just started 7^th grade and Mason is still in elementary school.
Kade said he liked this girl who went to a different elementary school [he only knew that due to the fact that her friends were talking about it] and he didn’t go and talk to her. He wouldn’t go talk to a

friend that he had grown up with because this girl he likes might think that he likes her….

Good think he thought about this one.

Mason still is in love with Kylee Carter.
He said that when they get married he’s not gonna call her “like mom” but instead he’ll call her “hot stuff.”
Winner.
The rest of the night was full of talking to my young friends and explaining to a high school girl that you can’t change slash save a boy.
Don’t even try.
You really can’t.
Trip to Idaho plans were finalized and I even attempted to text to boyfriend in Spanish.
Thought.
Don’t trust older brothers with Spanish translations for boyfriends.
They usually think of something dirty.
Thank heavens I already knew that and didn’t repeat anything he said.
I still was trying to figure something out when my mom came out and gave me and idea of something to say.
Pause.
This is the moment that I turned and looked at the expression on Jace’s face.
Priceless.
Apparently what my mother had said was even more dirtier than the things the brother had said.
It was hilarious.
As much as we love you mom….
I don’t think we’ll ask you to do any more Spanish translations J
I talked to boyfriend and we discussed the adventures for weekend.
It’s so unfortunate that I hate the drive up.
But it’s gonna be so great to see the [newly married] bff and her spouse on Saturday night.

Do you know what today is?
Do you?
It’s Mayghen Decker’s 19^th Birthday.
Yes.
Meg is a fantastic human and one of my best friends forever…
And ever.
We go way back…
To my junior year in music appreciation.
The days back then were full of yearbook talk, leaving class early to go on yearbook adventures, asking the football player in front of us he wanted to color with us and becoming friends with him [odd], and that was basically it.
I was too afraid to text her and ask if she’d dyed her hair Taylor Swift blonde but we spend prom night together having a movie marathon.
Since then we’ve done plenty more great things.
We had drinks with Robin basically every day, she was my wing girl when I decided to like strange men, movies in the cave every weekend, getting together on Tuesday nights at to watch PLL, sleepovers in the Bronco, hot chocolate runs, flower girls and dough boys, twisty cones, cookies, yearbook

camp, spending way too much time together at school, big flowers and headbands, skank shorts, creek time, youth day, justin beiber finger nail polish, josh groban concerts, cheesey free movies….

The list goes on and on.

She listens to my crazy stories and I listen to hers.

[Both happen frequently]

Though we’ve been attending school 8 hours away from each other we’ve remained to be the best of friends.
I cannot wait to room with her and go on even more adventures in the fall.
I love you Meg!
Happy 19^th Birthday.

Day 205.

Thought.
Did you know that ALL movies at the Cinemark in American Fork are $6 on Tuesdays?
$6 Tuesdays!
Who would’ve thought.
Not me.
It worked out great though because me and my mother went on a woman date.
Me and my mother like to go on woman dates.
Last last weekend we went and fell in love with Josh Groban…..
Tonight we went and delighted ourselves with The Help.
We even bought tickets….. [Wink Wink Wink]
Do not even fret.
My mother wasn’t even sure she was going to be able to sit through it….
It may or may not have been the first PG-13 movie that she has seen in years.
She survived.
We couldn’t believe how many old[er] women were there with friends or spouses.
We sat.
We laughed.
We cried [as did the man sitting in front of me].
We enjoyed.
It was fantastic.
It was a successful woman date.
Go see it.

Once I got home I was able to talk to boyfriend for a bit.

He told me about the car drama.

It was great to talk to him [just as it always is].
I can’t wait to get back up to Idaho this weekend!

Day 204.

6:00 am came [way too] early this morning.
Sometimes I forget that humans need sleep to survive.
[Apparently] 4 hours isn’t enough.
Oops.
We were up and ready to go by 7:00 and headed out.
170 West Center Street, North Salt Lake was our destination.
Copart.
Boyfriend rebuilds cars….
And is good at it.
When we started our journey I was driving [and eating toast].
Boyfriend knows my fears of the freeway and so when we were at a stoplight close to the freeway we switched and he became the driver.
Yep.
We’re kind of a big deal.
The drive was great….
Except for the fact that the boyfriend doesn’t like Utah drivers/traffic.
We got there around 8 and picked up the car.
I liked it.
It looked a lot better than I thought it would.

Once he got out of the lot, boyfriend started taking it apart.
Boyfriend started taking the passenger wheel off and realized we needed some parts.
Off to Napa Auto Parts in Bountiful.
Unfortunately they didn’t have it.
Off of the Napa Auto Parts warehouse in Salt Lake City.
Poor Kathy [aka cash register lady] had showed up for the morning shift when she was only supposed to work nights.
Bless her heart.
She didn’t seem too excited about the fact she was going to have a [very] long day.
Soon enough we were back with the car and the fixing continued.

The part we needed fit just right so we headed down to maverick to give it a drink.

It was pleased.

We returned to Napa Auto Parts, returned the part he didn’t use, and went on our way.

Me and the man who helped us had one thing in common.

We both shave our arms.

Yep.

Except he had multiple tattoos on his arm.

Unfortunately [or fortunately] I’m not to that point yet.

Next stop?

Somewhere where boyfriend could fix whatever it was that was supposed to hold the tire on straight.

He found a little shop and the man working let him fix it.

It took an hour or so but it got fixed.

Relief.

He could get back to Idaho safely.

We took a quick break and headed to Subway.

I got the usual….

Italian BMT.

He got a man sandwich….

Steak and Cheese.

Just like the college days.

It wasn’t too long before he headed back to Idaho but it was a blast to spend the day with him and his car.

I’d have to say that me and the boyfriend go on some pretty great adventures.

What’s in store for this next weekend?

Day 203.

Guess what.
This weekend was the best.
It truly was.
It all started when I got off of work early.
2:30 to be exact.
I was ready to be done with work.
One day I will love my job.
Anyways….
The boyfriend found a way for me to get up there for free….
I was driving up a Honda Civic that was going to be having some work done.
Yes.
Me and this car are best friends forever now.
It was my first time driving by myself on the freeway.
It was most defiantly a bonding experience.
Driving to Idaho isn’t too bad.
Once you get into Idaho it’s beautiful and the drive becomes a breeze……
Probably because there is no on the road.
Haha…..
True story.
I got there [finally] and everything was great.
I made it just in time to make and launch my paper rocket.
Problem.
I’m no engineer aka mine blew up before it even got into the air.
The rest of the night was great.
Spending time with the Simmons family is always great.
The games began.
Don’t fret.
We played Ticket to Ride and guess who won….
Not me.
We went to bed around 1 and morning time came way super early.
Two words:
Water skiing.
We were up at 6:45 and on the lake by 8ish.
It was freezing.
Sweats were a must.
Jacob, Shayla, and Lane showed off their skills and then it was my turn.
Oh heavens.
Let just say that the last time I did anything this exciting was when I attempted to ride a horse.
I’ve got quite a few impressive bruises.
The rest of the day was filled with a soccer game, Chinese food, cleaning the boat, watching The Man from Snowy River, stake conference, and some more games.
Sunday morning came with preparing for Stake Conference and then listening to different speakers.
It was great.
We came home and everyone helped as we got ready for lunch/dinner.
Roast and potatoes and fruit and salad and scones and cobbler.
Yum.
I was so pleased.
It was delicious.
After lunch/dinner was cleaned up it was game time.
Pinochle.
One of boyfriends favorite games.
I’ve never played.
Problem?
Yep.
Sorry boyfriend…
We lost.
It was around 5 when me and the boyfriend packed up the car and headed down to Utah.
I have never seen boyfriend so excited to drive.
Our ride home was soooo nice.
Infiniti aka luxury vehicle.
Yes.
He stayed under 80 the whole way back.
It was nice when we finally got home and were welcomed by chocolate chip and banana cookies and a few games of pool.
Mason feels the need to play Jacob in pool every time he comes down.
I don’t remember who won….
But I assume it was boyfriend.
It’s fine because he beat me too.
We headed to bed late…..
But we had to get up early…..
We had a 2005 GMC Envoy waiting for us.

Day 202.

I didn’t want to go to work today.
But I did anyways.
I worked upstairs.
Back to the days of hairnets and safety knifes.
Back to fake lights and odd people.
It’s fine.
It ended up being not so boring.
I’m pretty sure team 5 beat the G3 record.
We had a pallet to do….
In less than 45 minutes.
Just call us super or something.
I came home only take a nap in preparation for the relief society dinner.
Yum.
Nothing like Relief Society dinners and the people there….
And the cool straws that I thought I’d taken a picture of….
I still feel a tad bit odd that I don’t have a spouse and children to talk about.
Give me 10 years…..
After that me and my mother went on an adventure to Walgreens…..
Sea Band.
That’s all I have to say.
Thought.
Fill your prescriptions there.
The Pharmacist is attractive.
I came home and packed….
And packed…
And packed…
And talked to boyfriend.
Tomorrow is the day.
I’m heading to Idaho.
I cannot wait to see the boyfriend.
It’s gonna be a great weekend.
See you Sunday!

Day 201.

WEDDING DAY!
The day that was almost forever in the making was finally here.
I slept at the brides house and we were up early due to the fact that the neighbor decided to bring over a gift at 7:45…..
And ring the doorbell.
Good morning.
As the family got up and got ready I headed home to do the same.
They were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mount Timpanogos Temple.
Me and Whitney [along with the rest of the family] anxiously waited outside.
It was the greatest thing to see her and [new] spouse come out those doors.

Pictures lasted a [long] while buts its fine….
Me and Whitney just basked in the glory of wedding-ness.
Seren met with us and many more pictures were taken….
Many meaning like a million.
Perma-grin, anyone?
I had one job….
And one job only…. 

The bouquet.

Me and this flowery creation became quite close in the time we spent together.

So we headed to the luncheon….
On the top of the hill….
Don’t fret….
We got a ride up on the golf cart.
No biggie.

Before the luncheon we delighted ourselves to drinks and appetizers by the pool…
With Izze sodas and an amazing view….
Pool overlooking the valley?
Winner.
While waiting for the bride and the groom to finish taking pictures we pondered the thought of jumping into the pool for a little swim and got to know a few of the other humans that would be joining us.

It wasn’t too long before we headed down to the cottage to enjoy our meal catered by Magleby’s.
The luncheon was fantastic.
Mike sang to Aly.
Aly sang to Mike.
It was so sweet….
I don’t know that there was a dry eye when they were done.
Those 2 really do love each other.
After we finished eating and chatting it was time to clean up and head on to the next adventure.
The reception.
The Bungalow was crazy awesome.
Everything about it was super Aly.

Me and Addie decided to be best friends at the reception….

Obviously.

We had matching dresses and matching flowers.
It was something we just couldn’t pass up.
It was fun to see everyone as the night went on…
High school friends…
Ward friends….
Siblings of friends…
Other friends….
It was great.
Here’s the slumber party girls…
Amanda, Whitney, Seren, Me, and Lauren.

And my best pals Mark and Maggie!

I even found my EFY Counselor Dru from 2 years ago!

The day was fantastic.
Everything was absolutely beautiful.
Everything went perfect.
It was so great to see everything work out.

Congrats Aly and Mike!

Have fun in San Diego!

I love you both!

Day 200.

Girls and sleepovers?
Do you know what that means?
Late night.
Except we couldn’t have a super late night because a few of us had to work and we have to do everything possible to keep the bride from getting sick.
I left around 9 so I could shower and get ready for work.
Work was….
A blast.
[I hope you sense the sarcasm…..]
The drive home from work is my favorite because that means I’m almost home.
I came home and my mother had me retry on my bridesmaids dress and all 12 of my cardigans to see which we liked best.
Once we figured that out we decided we didn’t like the shoes…..
Famous footwear?
If you know me and know me well you know that I am not a fan of shopping.
It isn’t exactly one of my top 10 favorite activities.
We went and my mother found a pair that would match the dress great….
I wanted another pair of gladiator shoes…..
Mine aren’t exactly nice and new anymore.
I just like wearing them….
Everyday.
So [naturally] I found some more.
Let me tell you…..
These shoes….
They’re basically the Michael Jordan’s of gladiator shoes.
I love them.

Soo….
In approximately a little while I will be heading over to my bff jills house….
Tomorrow is the day….
I think I finally understand how parents feel….
It seems like it was just yesterday that I was dropping her off at college….
And now she’s getting married.
……….It’s crazy how fast they grow up.

Day 199.

Happy Sunday!
I love Sundays.
Especially when I get home late and get to sleep in since church doesn’t start until 1.
Today I accompanied Meg to a farewell today for Elder Klayton Thompson.
Meg and Klayton are like bffs.
I know him a little.
History time.
Lets jump back to elementary school.
I met him on the twisty slide.
Forward to junior high.
I met him at a stake dance.
Even more forward to high school.
We walked to class and talked went on a few dates here and even a dance.
Sadie Hawkins.
Heaven forbid I was married to this human for a night ;)
But really….
He did amazing.
He’s grown up into a real missionary man.
Oregon’s getting a fantastic human in the next couple of weeks.
I came home and the family came over.
I was so pleased to see my best bud Joseph.
I showed him the webcam and they were instantly best friends….
I think I have 8 different recordings of him singing ‘Livin’ on a Prayer.’
Love that kid.

Best part of the night?
Skpye date with the boyfriend.
We chatted and chatted and chatted and played games.
No worries….
I beat him [a couple of times].
Hang man remains to be my game…..
He seems to beat me at everything else….
Isn’t there a rule somewhere that says you have to let your girlfriend beat you?
That’s what I thought.
Apparently I was wrong.

Even though me and the boyfriend talk every day it’s nice to remember that he is an actual human.
Don’t fret….
I’ll be in Idaho visiting him this weekend.
Party.
We were on our “date” until about 11:30 when I headed over to bff jills house for a girl’s slumber party.
Bff Jill is getting married on Tuesday.
Let’s not talk about it…..
I don’t think it’s real yet.

Day 198.

Happy Josh Groban Day.

Me and Cymoni and Meg and Robin have been waiting for this day….

And it finally came.

The adventures started at around 4 when we picked up meg and headed to the trax station in Sandy.

“No one ever checks tickets” were the exact words that came out of Megs mouth as she purchased one ticket for her and her mother to share.

Meg sat next to Robin….

I sat next to Cymoni…

Don’t fret.
We had passed approximately 9 stops when the UTA ticket checking man got on the trax….
I’m sure the look on our faces was completely priceless.
He checked mine…
He checked Cymoni’s…
He checked Robins…
And Meg didn’t have one.
Oh Meg.
I was more worried that the tazer sitting on the officers belt was going to jump off and taze me but instead he checked megs credit card and we were on our way.....
I think Meg will always buy a ticket to trax from now on.

$4.50 isn't worth burning in..... 

Not heaven.

Story time.

I wanted a map to see when to get off the trax….

Cymoni thought I was getting off the trax…

She jumped [slash maybe flew] down the stairs and almost died.

Keyword: almost.

…..and that’s how we ended up below Meg and Robin.

Next stop?
California Pizza Kitchen.
Yum.
The wait was 35 minutes…
We used our waiting time wisely.
We went to the makeup store, stood under the misters, and ate all the samples.
Once we were seated we were pleased to see that CPK provided us with white bendy straws.
They’re classy, you know.
Dinner was great.
Finally.
Off to Josh Groban.

Yes.

The time was here.
I was soo pleased.
Could this human be real?

The night went on…..
Josh sang.
His voice is real.
He is also a funny human.
Who knew he had such a personality?
Oh wait….
Me and my mother did.
We often watch him on Regis and Kelly.

Josh continued singing.
I continued crying.
Yes.
Me and Josh are on a first name basis.
He has the voice of an angel.
He sang all my favorites.
The girl behind me and my mother needed to be super punched.
Her name was Ursella.
I didn’t imagine this type of human at a Josh Groban concert…..
I think she got lost on the way to the KISS concert.
It’s fine.
I still loved Josh.

The concert ended after he invited a married couple of 39 years to the stage to sit on blow up couches and he sang to them….
Broken vow.
A romantic song about cheating.
Imagine that.
It would’ve been a really sad song….
But his voice was magical.
I still cried.
I loved it.
His voice is angelic.
I had goose bumps the entire show.
My [none existent] arm hair was standing….
Oh Josh.
The concert ended.
My heart may or may have not been slightly broken when he walked off stage.
We headed out and joined the crowd at the trax and waited for Meg and Robin.
Meg bought a ticket because I didn’t want to risk having to be next to the man with the tazer.

Me and Meg lived through the Josh Groban concert.
We almost didn’t live through the ride home.
Me and Meg stood so that our [not so old] mothers could sit.
We held on for dear life….
Good thing we did because the driver came to an abrupt stop taking everyone in the middle isle down.
Imagine the adult version of dominos.
It was much funnier than my mom flying down the stairs.

Suddenly….
After a small trax station stop the train didn’t start.
Dark neighborhood?
Good criminal minds episode?
That’s exactly what I thought as I reached down into my bag, grabbed my rape whistle, and placed it in my mouth.
I think I was pretty intimidating.
Nothing screams ‘SCARY’ more than a strawberry shortcake key chain with 2 lucky key fobs.
We made it home close to 1….
Way past our bed time.
Its fine though.
It was all for Josh.