Wonderful Escape

Every year my family takes the fifty minute or so drive up into Little Cottonwood Canyon to Snowbird. Every year we go up on a Saturday afternoon and spend part of the week there. Every year we go with the same people, stay in the same rooms, eat mostly the same foods, and do most of the same things.....and yet, every year I absolutely love it!

For you see, it doesn't matter that we do the same things, or eat basically the same foods, or stay in the same rooms at all... in fact, it is doing those things that make it so much fun. It is one of those trips where you know that you can just go and relax. One where you know what to expect and you know what you are going to do. You know that you will probably go hiking, lay by the pool, read a book or two, go look through the shops (even though they never change), go on the nature walk almost every day, visit the playground, watch thunder storms from the balcony, and play cards or watch movies in the evening and into the night. You also know that it will be filled with much laughter and fun along the way. And that, my friends, is why I love it. I love just being there with my family and hanging out. It truly is a wonderful escape from the world.

The 4th of July

As a child the 4th of July was all about BBQ's with the cousins and going to see the fireworks at night. I remember looking forward to it every year. I would just love to get to spend the day with a bunch of my cousins and play in the until we were exhausted. Then after it got dark we would all lay on our backs an watch the fireworks explode in the sky above us. I remember that we used to make our own noises to go along with each of them, then laugh at ourselves for making the noises.

Some years we even went out to Round Mountain, Nevada, where my grandma and grandpa lived. We would spend the weekend with them going to the pool and playing card games. At Round Mountain they would have a 4th of July parade. All of the kids in the neighborhoods where invited to be in it. The first year that we were there we were so excited to be in the parade. My cousin where there as well and we spent the whole night before talking about how much fun it was going to be. Ont he morning of the parade we all got up and got ready. We each put on our best 4th of July outfit and decorated ourselves and our bikes/rollerblades to match. We had on face paint and streamers hanging everywhere we could tie them. All of us were so excited to get tot he start of the parade. Our parents dropped us off and told us that they would pick us up at the end. Some other adults there told us where to go line up. They also told us that the firetruck was going to be leading the way. Once it started to move we could go along and follow it through the parade route.

So there we were, Me, my sister Wendi and brother Chris, along with my two cousins Jeremy and Brett, all standing in line behind the firetruck waiting for it to start. And just when we think that we can wait no longer, the firetruck starts to move forward. All the kids start to cheer and follow along. We all start moving forward on rollerblades and bikes ready to be in the parade. The next thing we know though, is that the firetruck is getting farther and farther ahead. The firetruck is now going faster then any of the kids can keep up. But, there we are anyway, trying are hardest to do so, pedaling and blading with all our might. Then i hear a cry from behind. It turns out that Chris is falling behind and is starting to cry. Brett is also falling behind and crying now as well, along with about ten other kids. Jeremy then turns around and grabs Brett's hand and drags her along with him chasing after the truck. Me and Wendi also want to join , but we know that we can't just leave Chris behind. So we race back and try to get him. At this point though he is now crying so hard that he can't even pedal his trike. So there we all are. Jeremy is dragging Brett, who is crying, down the road with all his might trying to catch the truck and me, Wendi, and Chris are now standing in the middle of the road bawling with about ten other kids who's parade just turned into a disaster.

All I really remember after that is that our mom came and picked us up and went searching the route to try and catch the end of the parade. When we realized that we had missed the whole thing we just went back to Grandma's house with all of us crying because we didn't get to be in it. We were all so upset that they had us make our own parade just around the front of the house and then we ate ice cream on the porch. Needless to say the next year the parade was lead by the boy scouts, and they walked.

Too me that is all the 4th of July really was. It was just a fun day of parades, BBQ's and fireworks. I never really thought about it being anything more. As i grew up though I began to realize all that it meant. At one time I started to think about the Nation that we live in and how much it really means to us who live here. As I continued to get older I also started to think about how this nation got it's freedom and what it cost it's people to obtain. And then I got to a point where I also started to think about those who still fight to keep it free today. I started to realize that the 4th of July meant so much more then I had ever thought it did.


The 4th of July is a day named Independence Day. Independence Day because that is the day that we signed a form saying that our country and those who live in it are a free people. Free from England and rulers, free to have speech, religion, schooling, and so forth. Free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. But that fight for freedom did not end with the revolutionary war or the declaration of independence. That fight for freedom, and the protection of it, has continued to be fought by millions of people throughout all of the years. People have fought for it in the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Iraq, and so many other battles on this countries soil just o keep the other people on it free and protected.


What I am the most grateful for is all the people who have always risen to fight. I am grateful for those who have fought for this country every time. Those who have put there own life at risk to better mine. Every time our nation has been attacked there have been people who have stood up to protect it and to fight for it. But they didn't just fight for the land, they fought for it's people as well, and for that I am truly and eternally grateful. So, thank you. Thank you to those who have fought before and to those who are still fighting for it now. Thank you to those overseas, those putting their own life on the lines and those who are here protecting it's people. Thank you to all of you from the armed forces in foreign lands to the policemen and firemen on our local streets. I will forever be grateful for what you do to help protect this country and the people in it. May God bless you, all of you.
Yellowcard - Believe

The Rescue Party

This last weekend I was able to go to Wyoming with my ward, U32. We went along with two other wards..U13 & U52. We went up to Martin's Cove and thereabouts.This trip was entitled The Rescue Party. It was focused on a few things. One being the pioneers who ended up stuck in Martin's Cove because of the snow and the rescuers who came to save them. Two, being that of our own ancestors and how we are connected to them. And three, being that of how can we each be rescuers today in our own lives to those around us.

We went up on Thursday morning. It is a long six hour drive from here to there, but it we all made it safely. Once there we set up camp. With about 200 people there you can imagine what camp looked liked full of tents and what not. Once set up we were recruited into teams to play games. We played water volleyball, which my team won, This board walk game, which my team won, human Foosball, where my team tied, and a relay race where you had to partner up with one of your team members and hold a tennis ball with your foreheads. You then had to run down to a poll and back without letting the ball fall to the ground...this my team also won. After the races we then had to put on skits. Each group received a bag of props, all of which had to be used. My group had a construction vest, a hula lea, and a pair of big red foam lips. This is the song that my group came up with. And yes, we did have actions to the whole thing. "I looked out the tent and what did i see, two hot lips kissing under the tree. Spring has brought me such a nice surprise, a hula dancer and a construction guy. If I could take three wards a make a treat, a rescue party would be so sweet. Is is really so, yes it is to me. a rescue party perfect for you and me." We got second place with this. They said that if we had actually kissed then we would have gotten first. To bad we didn't know that before hand. After all of the games we had dinner and then we went to the Hip-Hop Hoedown. All of us gathered over in a big clearing and the missionaries that stay there taught us different pioneer dances. We did the Virgina Reel and Oh Johnny Oh. It was a lot of fun and very tiring. The dancing continued though back at our camp with hip hop, swing, and line dancing till ten. Then we watched The Blindside and went to bed around 2 in the morning.


On Friday we were up bright and early. I believe that i was out of bed at 5:45 am. I helped cook breakfast and got ready for the day. After breakfast was over we were all instructed to put our tents down so the wind would not blow them over, get your gear together, pack a lunch and be ready to go by 10:15. We first went to Independence Rock. It was really cool to be able to walk around it and see the names that had been carved into it by all different people at all different times in history. It is one of the neatest things to know that you are standing in place where so many great people had stood before you.


From there we went over to Martin's Cove. We all ate lunch first at the visitors center. We then had an orientation about Martin's Cove where we watched videos about what happened there and what to expect for our afternoon. We then grouped ourselves into families of ten and went over to the handcarts. Each family was given a handcart to pull along the trail. Once we were all really we started forward and walked to dirt trail up near the cove. They don't let you take the handcarts up into the actual cove so they have a stopping point where you can park them and then walk the last mile up. The Martin's Cove itself has such a feeling of peace and wonder. There is no way to describe how it felt to be there.





After we all left the cove when then got our handcarts and headed down to the Sweatwater River. There the missionaries told us stories about those pioneers who had to cross the river and those great rescuers who carried the people across the river on that frozen November day. We then had the opportunity to go down to the bank and cross the river ourselves. We each took off our shoes and headed into the chest deep water. It was cold and fast moving and is about 30 feet across. Luckily we also had our own rescuers with us. Eight great men stood in the water and made a line across the river. They helped each of us cross and made sure that we never lost our footing or went under in the water. We all crossed the river in silence. Once I was across I looked back to watch the other continue to cross as well. It was such a great sight to see each person enter the water and walk to the other side. At that moment I was so grateful for the rescuers, the ones of old and the current ones in the water. It struck me that God's angels still exist today. It struck me that they not only live, but that they are us. God's angles are those who are willing to step forward and act. They are those who will go and do what is asked of them no matter the consequences.





Once everyone had crossed the river we went back to our handcarts and trekked it back to the visitors center. From there we went back to camp and had dinner and played some games. Afterwords we had a devotional about what we learned and our testimonies of the places we went. It was such a great experience to hear what others had learned that day and what they took from the experiences that we all had had.


Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast, and broke down camp. Then we all headed on our six hour drive for home. My group stayed at camp and helped clean up the area and make sure that everything got to where it needed to be. Then we headed down the Wyoming Trail towards home. All feeling both a great sense of sadness for leaving but joy for having been there to experience it.

I have to say that I have come home being a changed person. I can't even begin to express to you what I learned and how it felt to be there. There is just no way to capture it in either a picture or words. I not only learned so much about the past and the pioneers, but I was also able to learn a lot about myself and who I want to become and who I want to be in my life. I truly enjoyed every moment that I spent on this trip and was sad to see it end. Even though this trip was barely three days, it changed something in me and I will forever remember it and forever be grateful to it.

I Have a JOB!!

The job hunt is officially over...at least for now anyway. As of last week I now work at The Sylvan Learning Center. I am working as their associate director.

This job came about in a random way. As most of you know i graduated in Elementary Education this last May. I have been applying for different teaching jobs throughout Utah as well as some in Texas. To apply to any school you first have to apply to the district that it is in. Then you have to have a screening interview with them. They will then rate you on a scale with other teachers. If the district decides to clear you then you are free to apply to schools. Some of the districts don't even let you apply to the schools, they just give each school a list of applicants and how they rate you. I had been applying online and then sending packets of application materials as well. I would check emails daily and websites daily to see if jobs were posted or if any new information had been posted. I had some emails asking for interviews, some interviews, and some phone calls, but really seemed right and nothing was working out. I had been doing this since April, and was pretty much to the point where I was worried about getting a job.

Then about two weeks ago I decided to check my U-mail account to see if I had been recommended for my actual license. It turns out that I had and that I had received it. I also had another email. This email said opening job. I clicked on it and found that it was a job opening for Sylvan. It just asked you to email in a resume if you were interested. I sent mine in not really thinking anything of it. I just figured that at this point I might as well apply anywhere. I received a phone call that afternoon.

This phone call was from Sylvan asking me to set up an interview. I called and set one up for that Thursday. On Thursday morning I gathered up my application materials and headed off to the interview. I ended up staying there for 2 hours. I interviewed with the the people in charge and felt really good about it. It just seemed like i had the answers and experience that they were looking for. After I talked to them i spent some time tutoring one of the students and observing the office. Before I left the lady in charge came up to me and said, "You know, you are my favorite out of all we have interviewed. The job is yours if you want it." I just stood there for a moment and she told me to think about for a night and give them a call tomorrow to let them know. It was funny though, as I was walking out they had just started interviewing someone else and she called out to me to make sure that i gave them a call.

So, I then went home and thought about it for a night. I talked to my mom about it and got her opinion as well. The thing is, I think I already knew deep down that I would take it. It just felt right. So, that is what I did. I called them on Friday and told them I would take the job.

I have now been to work three days. So far so good. I think that it will be a good place to be for the next little while or so. As the associate Director I am in charge of all of the scheduling for both the students and the teachers, training the teachers in the tutoring programs, updating the students lessons each night and pulling all of the materials that they will need for the next day, testing the students when they first come in to check what level they are at, giving progress monitoring tests to all of the students, and tutoring some of the students as well. It is a lot of new stuff to learn, but I think I will like it.

So, as I said earlier, the job hunt is now over. I am no longer worried about not having a job and not having an income. I am no longer stressed out about interviews and screenings. For now, I am good where I am at, and that is a great feeling. It might change in a year or so, but for now, I am good.

Happy Birthday Brett!

As some of you know, the fabulous Miss Brett Brown celebrated her 23rd birthday on June 16, 2010. Also, as some of you know I have been privileged enough to know Brett my whole life. As cousins we have been able to grow up together and spend many hours at family outings and such. But not only have we grown up being cousins, we have also grown up being friends. Friends who have had some of the most entertaining adventures, many random crazy nights, and lots and lots of laughter throughout the years. Even when we were little kids, we were still the best of friends already. We spent many years playing doctor, staking blocks to make crowns (even if they weren't allowed to be bigger then wendi's), building forts under the pool table, going to the zoo, and just being friends.

Thank you for being my friend my dear. You are an amazing girl and so full of life. Don't ever give up on your dreams. You will be great in whatever you choose to do. Happy Birthday to one of my true and faithful friends!