Oh-so-silly!

So... I've been enjoying some silly things lately!

Like these silly bands (presents from my students)...

Especially this one... Can you tell who it is?

And these silly rings!  SO TINY!

And these videos...
(Watch them in order... they're so worth it)!







I seriously can't stop quoting them!  It's been a month or so, but we're still going strong!

And, just for good measure, here's something I'm loving even though it's not so silly...

I can fit into real shoes again!  Oh happy day!!

Hallelujah for Homemade

Meet the newest edition to my family.

Adopted from Harold & Sheri (pictured in previous post), this little beauty and I got to know each other yesterday.

I know it's still early, but I'm just gonna put this out there anyways...

Breadmaker, I love you.

Hugs from Haynies!

I was lucky enough to see a few of my favorite people because of my trip up to Provo!

I spent the night with Glen and Connie Haynie... most specifically with Cailey, my cousin!  We fell asleep talking in her bed and got ready together the next morning for old times sake!  I lived with the Haynies for eight months during a very "fun" period of my life!  They are incredible and have blessed me in more ways than they know!

Cailey & I

ANTM, anyone??

I just look mad!

Then on my way home to St. George, I had the brilliant idea to stop in and some other Haynie cousins!  So I went to visit Harold (Glen's twin) and Sheri!  Speaking of incredible... have you met these two??  None of their kids were home, but the three of us had a great visit!

Don't you LOVE Sheri's glasses?!?

Haynies, both pictured and NOT pictured... I love you!  Thanks for making our shared genes so awesome!

Wedding Wonderfulness!

Sarina and Christian are married!!  FINALLY!!!  I went up Friday right after school for the festivities and had SO MUCH FUN!

Here's a sampling of their celebration:

Aren't they just a beautiful couple!?!?!

I love, love, LOVE the back of her dress!

Sarina's niece, Presley, and I.

Presley is quite the dancer... and as you know, I myself love dancing as well!  We were quite the dancing queens for the evening... and she was pretty much glued to my side the whole time!  SO PRECIOUS!

Our Fabulous Foursome!

Have I mentioned that I love this lady??

I personally thinking their expressions are PRICELESS in this one!

Guess who caught the bouquet?  Me!

And the garter?  Mitch!

What are the odds?

Mitch and I are choosing to assume that we're not required to marry each other... only to get married next!

Let's chat for a minute...  I have been to 2 weddings in the last 2 months... and I have caught both bouquets.  I've never caught one before.  Ever.  And now I'm batting 1000.  Perhaps a sign of things to come???

Who needs Cupid when you've got friends with good aim!

Fun in the Sun!

First off, allow me to introduce my new friend, Brooke!  I think an introduction is in order because you'll probably be seeing quite a bit of her around here...

Brooke teaches with me at Fossil Ridge and has become a fast friend!  We have a lot in common and I have a blast every time she's around!  She's amazing!  I've been telling Heavenly Father for a few months now that I need a good GIRL friend here in St. George because Sarina's getting married (ON WEDNESDAY!!)  And boy, did he deliver!!

Brooke and I are both paler than normal and we're sick of it, so we decided this was our weekend to get tan!  In an effort to achieve that goal, Brooke and I made plans involving lots of sun and lots of fun!

Yesterday, we had quite the day!  The morning started bright and early, heading out to the lake with a couple friends, Danny and Aaron!  The water was perfect!

We let the boys wakeboard first, since I'm not allowed to with my ankle, and Brooke wasn't in a hurry to get up.  That was great until, in the middle of Aaron's turn, the propellor started SMOKING!  We stopped the boat, turned it off and discovered (surprise, surprise), that it wouldn't turn back on.

We weren't so happy about that.

But being the positive, resourceful young adults that we are, we called the park ranger and jumped off the boat and swam for a bit while we waited for them.  An HOUR later, they showed up!  Keep in mind that this lake is actually a reservoir and is not very big at all!

After the ranger did a safety inspection, he towed us back to the dock...

He made us all wear life jackets.  Don't you love the one I picked!?!

All in all, we were at the lake for about 3 hours... with only about 30 minutes of actual boating time!  While the morning was not what we expected, Brooke and I still had fun!

And determined to continue our fun, Brooke and I went to lunch back in St. George and then hit up the pool for another 3-ish hours!

Then we showered and got cute for a wedding reception.  One of my favorite ladies (another teacher at my school) had her oldest daughter get married.  We stopped in looking very cute and, totally on accident, coordinating very well with one another!

After the reception, we changed yet again and headed to Brooke's cousin's house for games...  The girls totally whipped the boys in Taboo, and we all had a blast!

Today, we're both darker... although much more red than tan... I guess we'll just hope it doesn't peel!

Have I mentioned I'm grateful that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers?!?  Even the ones we thought were silly to say in the first place?

Big News, Pictionary Style!!!

Update, Pt. 2

So... after laying alone and bored on my couch for 2 1/2 weeks, living off of cookies brought by friends and microwave dinners, I got to go home!

I was horrible about taking pictures while I was there, and didn't get very many, but I did get a few!

Here are some pics of the people I love the most:

Claire is driving!

And that was an experience I was not prepared for!

(for the record, she's actually a really great driver!)

We are all SUCH big kids now!

Awwww!!

Erin's an awesome big sister!

I'm definitely a Daddy's girl!

Love these two more than I can say!

While I was home, I got to eat at many yummy restaurants... I think I had Chic-fil-A 7 times... in 9 days. Not even joking about those stats!!

I also got to see some good friends!  Thanks Katie, Stephen, Jennifer, Ashley, and Hailey!  I loved catching up with you!  And I hope to catch more people over the holidays!

Now, one of the best (and most magical parts) of my trip was visiting Disney World for a couple days with my family!

We went to the Orlando Temple to do baptisms so Claire and our cousin Kendall, could come too!  That was really special!

Us kids went to the parks one day!  Special thanks to Kendall for free tickets and for joining us!  And to my friend, Brooke, for joining us too!  Brooke and Kendall are both doing the Disney College Program this summer!  And finally, thanks to everyone who helped push me in my wheelchair!  You are super troupers!

Once again, I failed to document our fun with pictures, except for a few that we took after Kendall and Brooke left us for the afternoon.  Brooke is a "friend" of Aurora, and was the most beautiful, magical, and perfect "friend" I could have imagined!  We stopped in to see Aurora and the other princesses, and it was one of the most magical experiences of my life... I totally teared up!

Isn't she perfect!?!

Of course, we loved the other princesses too!  But having my friend be such a good "friend" was unequivocally awesome!!!

After our crazy day at the parks... (We were there open to close, 8am-3am and hit 3 parks (Claire & Justin hit all 4)... we were exhausted!

We slept in the next day and then hit up the pool as a family, choreographing a synchronized swimming routine!  (Have I mentioned how awesome my family is lately??)

A couple more days at home, and then I flew back out west.  Now I'm back in St. George, in my second week of my second year of teaching!  And I am LOVING it still!

I'll post some pictures of my newly decorated classroom in a couple days...  I don't want to overload on blogging after such a long hiatus!



P. S.  This update is for you, Brother Purdy!  Thanks for the call to repentance!