Brooke's Spot

New blog.

2011-05-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Follow this blog for the next 18 months!

Happy Graduation Matthew!

2011-05-25T06:46:00.000-07:00

Matthew graduated!!! Last kid in our family is finally out of school! It was very exciting!!

Congrats Matthew!!

Sister Brooke Barnum

2011-05-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

Well since it keeps getting closer to when i leave. I want all you blog stalkers out there to follow my mission blog. go here!!!

weekend in pictures!

2011-05-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

all of the nephews and niece.

Brittney's family pic.

Me and Brittney

My Parents

Cort, being the lizard he likes to act like.

The Girls

Family Picture

Chuck and his boys

Me and Liam

Brandon's family pic

Me and all the nephews and neice

Me and Odin

'the brookes'

Sexy ladies!

Randy and Lacey

Me and Randy

My sisters! (except lacey)

The birthday boys!

Their AWESOME birthday decorations!

.....i dont know what to put the TITLE as

2011-05-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

But my farewell is this weekend

That little counter in the corner says i have 10 DAYS LEFT!! HOLY CRAP!

This weekend lots of family in town....LOVE IT!!

my nephews turn 4, so we're going to PARTAY!

I have to add just a little extra to my farewell talk, but its pretty much done!

I totally love the pic i have at the top, which is also my profile picture on facebook, and my background on my computer! BECAUSE I LOVE IT!!

Well i guess i should go eat, and shower and get all cute for family pictures and the birthday party!!

Its gonna be a GREAT WEEKEND!

October 17 2010

2011-05-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

October 17th 2010 is a day i'll never forget. Today it has been 7 months since we lost these two beautiful girls, and felt that loss and heartache of those affected by it. I cant help but a do a little blog post to these girls. Such beautiful young women who could have been amazing in this life. My heart goes to their families, and my heart goes to the staff that was driving who's heart still requires a lot of healing. I will never forget this day, and i know several people who wont.

my list.....

2011-05-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

Holy CRAP!! i cant believe i am leaving so soon!! I cant believe i'm going to be gone for 18 months! I cant believe i still haven't bought everything! I cant believe its my last week at work!!

So i keep making list's of what i need to do, what i need to buy and i SWEAR everytime i mark something off i end up adding more stuff. So this is my list, of which i have 15 days and counting to accomplish

Get my Personal Driving Record

Put my mom on my Bank account

Give my parents Power of Attorney

Contact ITunes and find out how to save everything i've purchased the last few years, and make sure if/when i get a new laptop it can all transfer and my money doesn't go down the drain

Get another memory card for my camera

Save the pictures on my laptop onto CD's or a Flash drive, or somethin.

I still need more missionary jackets

I need some new jeans(mine are all holy and gross looking)

I need some T-Shirts to wear on a P-Day or for PE

PJ's

PE Clothes

Socks

Sewing Kit

1st Aid Kit

Laundry Bag

Hangers

Tank Tops

Some under shirts from Down East

Robe

I have a HUGE FEELING that i'm going to spend my last week at home shopping and packing, i just hope my paycheck i get on friday can get me through!!!

On a side note, dont forget my 'farewell' is on sunday, be there or be square. We will have some food at my house after, feel free to bring a side dish to share with others, and if you want something to drink other than water bring that also!!

Welcome to my world.....as of lately anyways

2011-05-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Holy crap, this is going to be one of those vent post, that probably wont make sense, but all of it just needs to be said. This is what my world has been this week, craziness at work, stressful, but crazy, going to the doctor to get more mission stuff done, waking up and having some kind of stupid head cold, going on a hike with a head cold, barely breathing and sweating like i'm some 500 pound man. Sore legs, arms and throat from various things. Lack of sleep due to stress/sleepwalking/sleeptalking.....all the above! Needing to write a talk on the holy ghost, when i can think of about 2 or 3 times that i've felt the spirit this weeks because satan has not let up! Realizing that i put myself in a bad position spiritually when i choose to lack in my scripture study the last couple weeks. Realizing that i need to do better if i'm going to be a good missionary and teach by the spirit. Waking up saturday, realizing i still need to write a talk that will last 10 minutes, not 2.....needing to do LOTS of shopping in the next 16(?) days, OH that i have NO MONEY to be able to do......but, i am grateful for these challenges, because i know its going to be harder on my mission, and i know i'm going to need to do better, and i KNOW i need to learn these lessons. It just sucks! I just would like everything to be handed to me on a silver plate right now because i'm super emotional, and struggling to be 'effective' with all the things i need to do. Anyways, i guess i should get off my blog, and get to my talk, which is the reason i got on the computer. WISH ME LUCK!! If anyone out there has a silver plate just let me know, i'd love to use it!! ;-)

To the MOTHERS in my life!

2011-05-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well of course i have to start off with my OWN mom!! I love this woman SO MUCH!! She has put up with me through the last 22 almost 23 years of life, and that in itself is QUITE the accomplishment. My mom is such a important person in my life, she's the one i always talk to, the one that i cry to, the one that i (shamefully) yell at when i'm moody. She is the one for it all. And she loves me through all of it. One thing i love about my mom is that she lets me just hug her for like 10 minutes straight. ( I LOVE LONG HUGS ) Whenever she comes home, or if i'm having a bad day, i just hug her, and she stands there and lets me. I have to admit that is going to be one of the HARDEST things over the next 18 months, those hugs from my mom. My mom's humor, another thing i love about her, even through the teenage years when you just wish your mom would disappear, i still loved it (most the time). What i'm trying to get at here, is that my mom is GREAT, and i wouldn't be the person i am without her, i wouldn't feel the love and support i feel without her. I am going to miss her bad for the next 18 months. Lacey, you are a great mom! You love your kids, you are a great sister also. I am so thankful for you in our family and know it was meant to be. I hate having you 4 hours away, but i know you take care of and love your kids so much!
To the others mothers in my life, My sister, and My aunts. You are great mothers, being in a big family i've seen each of you be parents, and even though none of us are perfect, you each are great mothers. My sister, you love your boys so much, its so fun to see you as a parent, and see you raise those boys, and teach them the gospel. To my aunts, you are all like a mother to me, because you are all pretty close to my mom. Its great to see you as parents to know that i could ask you anything i ask my own mom. I love you so much and appreciate your love and support.

To my grandma memmott. You are such a great grandma!! You have been one steady grandparent in my life. You have hardly changed at all, and i love that about you, i love that you are the same person through the years. I hate to see you grow old, but i love you so much, i am glad that you raised such a great family, and how close we all still are. I love going to your house, and you just know its your house, its always been, its so familiar and there is nothing like going to a grandparents house, the smells, the looks, the family inside. Something i always treasure and love.

My Grandma Barnum, even though you lived in Vegas, and we didn't see you as much as my other grandma, i love you lots, you raised a great son, who then raised me. I truly love that you are in stg now and that we can see you more often, give you hugs and kisses. Thanks for always being there.

And lastly, to the AMAZING GREAT GRANDMA IN MY LIFE!! This woman is the MOST amazing woman ever, and i wish i could be like her. although its a little late. My great grandma is an amazing woman, she is so sweet, so caring, and always there for her family. She loves my dad with ALL OF HER HEART and you can just feel that love whenever we're around her. She loves all of her family. I dont even know how to describe how amazing she is, you just know she is, when you are in her presence. I know that she is a VERY special spirit to our heavenly father, because she was placed in the perfect family that just needed her, and loves her so much! I hate to admit the fear that she will most likely pass while i am on my mission. Even though that would me make me extremely sad, i will be so happy for her, to finally re-join her husband, and our heavenly father.

So to all those woman in my life, that are mothers. I love you all!! I hope i can be as great of a mother as you are one day. Thanks for all your love and support through the years!

clock keeps ticking

2011-05-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Well i haven't really blogged much, usually when i'm like freaking out. Which i basically always am these days. I cant believe i have less than a month until i leave, it feels unreal. I've never made such a big decision in my LIFE, so thats a little scurrryy. I plan on going to vegas with my sister and her family this saturday to spend some time with them and be there to support them at chuck's send off party before he gets deployed. I got my mission shoes this week, thankfully at least one of them fit, not i gotta send the others back and get a new size, and or style or shoe. I still have a pretty huge list of things to buy, i hope that i can pull it off and get it all bought in time. Anyways, things are going pretty decent, they could be better, they could be worse. And lets not forget the side not that i only have about 7 working days left at my job, and i'm sorry to my co-workers who might read this, BUT I CANT WAIT!!! i'll miss the girls and some of the co-workers like crazy......and then there are some that i WONT!! :) Anyways, that my little update for now!

.....a hot mess....

2011-04-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well.....i haven't done much blogging about the mish stuff. I still cant believe i'm leaving. I have sooooo much stuff to get done, the stress each day gets worse and worse. And even though this weekend was amazingly awesome, it just sucked also. So many things hit reality. Listening to Mason give his farewell made me all emotional, listening to him, and really realizing that i'm in his shoes.....i'm going to be leaving.....that will be me up there soon enough! Then saying goodbye to my brother, still makes me cry, the thought that i'll only see him and his family one more times makes me want to have a FULL MELTDOWN!! All day at work i've just been in this sucky funk.....cause i just dont think i'm ready for the goodbyes. And i know i'm stronger than this, and i know what i'm going to be doing is awesome, and i know my heavenly father is taking care of me and is going to continue to, but IT JUST SUCKS!!!! I hate having questions about, are you excited? are you ready? ARE YOU EXCITED?? ITS GETTING SO CLOSE.....like i just want a break from it, and i'd really like to go back to living in my own little world where me leaving is NOT reality. I am excited to go, i am excited to find out who's lifes im meant to touch, and what lessons i'm meant to learn in these 18months, what changes i need to make, how close i become to my heavenly father. YEP thats all exciting, but the TRUTH IS.....that is all completely covered up by the FEAR.....the fear that what everyone keeps saying 'you'll be a great missionary' is ONE BIG LIE, the fear that i'll be a LOSER companion that's so homesick that all my companion wants to do is smack me. That i'll just SUCK.......I dont know what i'm doing, i'm going out there blind.....and i know my heavenly father has my back, but its just scary....ya know?!!?

okay, so yea.....i guess thats enough freak out for now.....good thing this is all on the computer and you guys dont have to see me bawling my eyes out, and trying to act all cool cause i'm sitting at work typing this!!!

Zion, Easter, Baby Blessing, Birthday!

2011-04-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

Well by this HUGE blog post i'm sure you can tell we had an eventful two days!! Friday night my brother and his family showed up to spend the weekend with us. Saturday we decided to go to zion as a family and take advantage of the free day. My aunt hope and her family, my g-ma and g-pa, my sister and her family, my brother and his family, us, and Amy and her family were all there! It was a huge crowd, which made it LOTS of tun!!!
We took lots of fun pictures!! It was great to spend quality time with the family. We were all exhausted by the end of the hike, but it was fun!

This picture of Cort melts my heart!

Brooklyn and Cambelle we're BFF's the entire day!

We played in the yard A LOT, had the kids race, tacked papa, played with toys. I love these pictures of cort, shows how he's always going!!

We had a fun Easter egg hunt in the front yard after playing in Zion.

We had to get lots of pictures of the cousins together!! and Brittney's family all together after the baby blessing

Liam in his blessing outfit, i thought he looked GREAT!

Then it was time for Cort's birthday party!!! he turns 2 tomorrow!!! I love this boy with all of my heart, he just melts my heart every time i am around him.

It was super hard to say goodbye to my brother and his family, knowing next time they come will be for my Farewell and it will be the last time i see them for 18 months. I love them with all of my heart, and think they are just a great family!

Sisterly Love

2011-04-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

Well, i couldn't help but dedicate a whole blog post to my sista. Because i just want everyone and her to know how much i love her, and how amazing she is!! Unfortunately my sister is having to mentally prepare to go a whole year without her hubby, he will be getting deployed in the same month that i leave for my mission, possibly the same week. My sister is so amazing, she has been single way more than married in her married life. She is the mom of 3 crazy boys, and stuck in a tiny house with them. She gets to see her husband once a month, and is lucky if its more than once a month. He works out of town to provide for their family, and train for leaving the country. I honestly dont know how she does it, and what she does to stay sane. But i know that i am sooo proud of her, and so thankful that she is my sister. She is such a strong person and strives through the trials in her life. I for so long looked forward to helping her while chuck was gone at war, spending nights and helping with the boys.....but now i'm leaving too. Its so hard to realize i wont be there to help her through the next year without her hubby. But i know she'll be blessed and our heavenly father will take care of her! Anyways, i just love her so much, and love her adorable little family. I am going to miss her like crazy for 18 months.

I LOVE YOU SISTER!!!

FUNNY!!!

2011-04-17T17:40:00.003-07:00

Saw this on a friends blog, and it is FUNNY!!!

FUNNY!!!

2011-04-17T17:40:00.001-07:00

------->

2011-04-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

---------> DO YOU SEE THAT?!!?? Yeppp, 50 days and counting!!!!!! HOLY CRAP!!

This is how we roll at my house

2011-04-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Do you see this cat??.....well i have a story for you about this 'creepy cat'. Weeks and weeks ago my mom had this 'creepy cat' on top of our TV....i harassed her about how creepy it was, cause it was like it was watching us in the living room. Well, this cat has just turned into a battle between me and my mother.

First Attack: I kept telling my nephews to tell nana she has a creepy cat! (which they did!)

Second Attack: I go in my bedroom and my mom has it sitting on my shelf over looking my BED! CREEPY!

Third Attack: I put it in my moms bed

Fourth Attack: My mom put it in front of my bedroom door

Fifth Attack: I put it in my moms car driver seat, so it was in her way when she went to church

Sixth Attack: My mom puts it on top of my car

Seventh Attack: I put it in the middle of the drive way, so they have to get out of the car and move it in order to park

I believe we left the cat alone for a little while, but a co-worker gave me an idea.....and thats the video below.....check it out!

So my mom thought that was pretty funny! And then again we left the cat alone for a little while. UNTIL TODAY!!

My mom was in the shower this morning so i snuck into the bathroom and sat the cat RIGHT OUTSIDE HER SHOWER.....i mean honestly can you imagine getting out of the shower and this CREEPY CAT being RIGHT THERE!! I thought i was pretty funny.

My moms returned revenge from that are pictured below. I go to pick up my car from getting fixed, get in and see this CAT IN MY PASSENGER SEAT....BUCKLED IN OF COURSE! Needless to say i laughed for a WHILE after that one! I had to run to a couple stores after picking up my car, and i didn't think anything about it, until i had cars next to me and couldn't stop laughing just imagining what they think as they look in my car and see this cat, buckled in of course!!

now i gotta think of a good revenge!!

Need something to laugh at.....?

2011-04-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

Well before we get to the 'something to laugh at' i was going through pictures a couple weeks ago and was LAUGHING my butt off. So if you need something to laugh at, look at your senior pictures, SO FUNNY!

This is a collage of pictures of me through the years, elementary, senior picture, picture from 2010 Before i get to the LAUGHABLE senior pictures here are a few cute ones, to prove there WERE cute ones in there!

Now the UGLY

The ever famous, stare into space, with a serious face.....holding a bouquet of FAKE flowers!

Please note:The matching pin stripe hat, and PANTS!

Maybe this would be a good portfolio picture if i went into a CERTAIN industry! (IF YA GET MY HINT!! HAHA)

Okay, this one isn't THAT bad.....but the hat....i mean i LOVE hats, but what was i thinking?

Oh yea....THE TILT!

HAHA!!! I hope you laughed at these like i did!!! I have been graduated 5 years.....its so weird....but just take some time and look at your senior pictures, i'm SURE you'll laugh at yours too!!

Celebrate

2011-04-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well, there are two things to celebrate!! 1: Tomorrow's pay check is the first paycheck in a while that i'm not giving 90% of it to my credit card! can we say WOOOHOOOO!!!! Which means extra money to FINALLY get my car fixed(another woohoo!) and extra money to FINALLY buy mission clothing with! (oh and get my eye brows waxed cause i'm pretty sure they are going to give my eye brows the title of a Forest pretty soon! JUST SAYING) 2: Tomorrow is my last dental appointment!!! (other than the cleaning) But tomorrow is my last PAINFUL dental appointment!! So excited!! On another side note, when i was looking for the celebrate picture above on google, i ran across this, it made me giggle.....so everyone remember to CELEBRATE JESUS!!!

Day 30

2011-04-02T12:28:00.001-07:00

Day 30--A picture of someone you miss

Day 29

2011-04-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Day 29--A picture(s) that can always make you smile

Day 28

2011-04-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

Day 28--A picture of something your afraid of.

I'm afraid of a family member dying....especially my grandparents because they're the only grandparents i've had be a part of my life. I'm afraid of having to re-live the heartache and required therapy and pain that i felt after the accident at sunrise.

I'm afraid of hitting someone with my car, and being responsible for killing them.

Day 27

2011-04-01T17:14:00.001-07:00

Day 27--A picture of yourself and a family member Liam

Blake

Leland

Brooklyn

Cort

Odin

Day 26

2011-04-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

Day 26-- A picture of something that means a lot to you

Day 25

2011-04-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

Day 25--A picture of you favorite day I couldn't find a picture, but the day i got my mission call!

Day 24

2011-03-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Day 24--A picture of something you wish you could change.

I wish my sister's husband didn't have to work out of town, and i WISH he didn't have to get deployed the same month i leave for my mission. I dont think its fair for my sister to lose her hubby and baby sis in the same month for a year/18 months. I also wish my brother and his family knew how special an eternal family is and would work towards that goal of being eternal, i cant imagine having eternity without them.

Day 23

2011-03-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Day 23--A picture of your favorite book

I DO NOT read books very often

Day 22

2011-03-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Day 22---A picture of something you wish you were better at

I wish i was better at doing my hair, and doing fun hairstyles.

Day 21

2011-03-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Day 21--A picture of something you wish you could forget

I wish i could forget dislocating my knee....mostly the one that happened a year ago, but if i could forget ALL of them, i WOULD!

I love blessings!!

2011-03-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

My testimony grew a little bit more today, and i'm sooo happy!!

I just barely made my last payment on my credit card....this is so significant for many reasons. Since day one of deciding i wanted to go on a mission....almost 2 years ago, the one thing that held me back most significantly was that i had a credit card debt. A couple months ago i presented to my bishop, bishop Johnson that i should have my credit card paid off in march and asked him if i could start my mission papers in march, well to my SURPRISE he said, lets start them NOW!! Then we all know what happened, i filled out papers, went to the doctor, the PAINFUL denist, and its been a long process since to get me ready to go to INDEPENDENCE MISSOURI! Anyways, for about the last two month's i've been SO SURE i wouldn't be able to pay off my credit card by march, which was the goal. But look at it, i just paid it off!! I truly TRULY believe this is because Heavenly Father knows i'm working toward this goal, and for the first time in my life i've been a STEADY and full tithing payer!! I KNOW heavenly father will take care of us, he will help us accomplish that goal even if at times we dont think its possible, if we just keep going and trusting it will happen, he'll make it happen!! I am just so excited to be DEBT FREE!! (minus the car, of which i'll sale and pay off, along with the little i have left on a student loan that will be paid off with the car)

I also finished the book of mormon on saturday for the first time in my life! WAHOO!!! I'm trying to read it complete one more time before i leave on the mission.

LIFE IS AWESOME!!

Day 20

2011-03-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Day 20---A picture of where you'd love to travel

Greece, i dont know if i'd like the food or not.....but the place is BEAUTIFUL....i'd love to just take a million pictures!

Day 19

2011-03-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

Day 19--A picture of yourself when you were little

Little story about this picture....well when i was a little girl and on this school picture day my mom curled my hair like this....and the ENTIRE TIME i was crying and yelling at my mom about how i didn't like it curly, and cried and cried and threw a fit....the best part is now its my favorite picture!! hahaha. my mom bless her for putting up with my diva attitude.....only for it be my favorite picture!

Day 18

2011-03-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

Day 18--A picture of your biggest insecurity.

My weight....and being overweight is my biggest insecurity.

Day 17

2011-03-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Day 17--A picture of something that made a huge impact on you life lately....i think this one is PRETTY obvious!

Day 16

2011-03-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Day 16-- A picture of someone who inspires you.....well this might be wayyy cheesy....but aside from all my family and friends who inspire me....this is what i come up with

I know, i know....i'm totally going to be a missionary, but i find myself more than i ever have in my life trying to be like Jesus.....and look at others as he would....let me tell ya, IT IS NOT EASY....but i'm tryin.

Cant get enough of these boys!!

2011-03-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

I LOVE THIS PICTURE, i took it yesterday when the boys were at our house playing. It is a crown and mask i made a work for mardi gras......but look at how GROWN UP he is getting?! I was telling my sister this week how he hasn't grown in size very much, if at all......but he is GROWING UP!!! I cant believe this boy is going to be 3 1/2 almost 4 by the time i get back....soooo sad!!

A couple things about video one: first off, cort only knows how to say 'no' even when he means yes, he says 'no' which is very funny. and then how cute is he giving his baby a kiss, and also, the infamous fake out, goes in for a kiss and runs away!

Video two: this one still makes me literally LAUGH OUT LOUD, because i recorded the video to show odin SO focused on his wii game, but when i was re-watching it, i noticed my sisters PRETTY singing in the background....LOVE IT!!!

Video three: just the boys playing the wii, odin is actually REALLY good at it, which is funny to me. I love how cute they are when the say 'wii' and i LOVE how cort says 'no' to EVERYTHING.

Day 15

2011-03-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Day 15-- A picture of something you want to do before you die....i had a hard time coming up with stuff to be honest, because what i want to do is ALWAYS changing. But running a half marathon would be AWESOME, going on a legit vacation, like out of the country would be AWESOME, and one day i want to have my own family.

Day 14

2011-03-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

Day 14-- a picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

Day 13

2011-03-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

Day 13-- a picture of you favorite band or artist

Day 12

2011-03-09T09:40:00.000-08:00

Day 12-- A picture of your favorite memory

I honestly cant pick a FAVORITE memory.....but mainly any time i spend with my family is my favorite.

Day 11

2011-03-09T09:37:00.002-08:00

Day 11-- A picture of something you hate

Day 10

2011-03-09T09:37:00.001-08:00

Day 10-- a picture of your most treasured items

I love my american girl dolls. I own 5 of the 6 dolls that i'd love to have as collectors, and i LOVE them!!!

And then my blanket....i'm a total blankie girl, and i made this blanket....so i LOVE IT!!!

and then i also treasure all of my picutes, and scrapbooks!

Day 9

2011-03-09T09:35:00.001-08:00

Day 9-- a picture of the person who's gotten you through the most

Day 8

2011-03-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

Day 8-A picture of you knight

Day 7

2011-03-09T09:32:00.001-08:00

Day 7-- a picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.....

and i couldn't think of anyone....so we'll put day seven as a VOID.

Temple Day!!!

2011-03-06T09:42:00.001-08:00

The temple was awesome!!! i am so thankful for how many people showed up to support me!! The session was HUGE, they had to split it into two, and it was so awesome that i was able to have all the people i invited there with me! It still doesn't feel real that i went through the temple, and there is so much i need to learn. but it was an awesome day!!!

Day 6

2011-03-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

Day 6....a picture(s) that make you laugh!

Day 5

2011-03-01T13:52:00.001-08:00

Day 5.....a picture of something you love.

Day 4

2011-03-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

Day 4....a picture of something you'd like to do again.

~~Go on another Cruise

~~go to another Manti Pageant

~~Go to Disney Land again

~~Ideally i'd LOVE to see my sister give birth to all her children

~~Run another 5K....and more, like 10K....someday a half marathon.

Day 3

2011-03-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

Day 3.....A picture of the cast from your favorite TV show.....and i admittly watch WAY tooo much TV.

Day 2

2011-03-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

Day 2....a picture of who you've been closest with the longest

My family!!

30 Day Challenge....Day 1

2011-03-01T13:11:00.001-08:00

I decided to do like my friend Kristen and lots of others who have done this on facebook and blogs and do the 30 day challenge.....because its fun.

Day One.....and picture of yourself with 15 facts.

1: My full name is Brooke Ida Barnum

2: My entire life, until a year ago i was FOR SURE that i would never be a missionary

3: I am a CRAZY sleep walker and talker

4: I LOVE salsa....but HATE salsa chunks!

5: My favorite color is Purple

6: I have 5 nephews and 1 neice

7: I love the name gertrude, and gertie for short....i know....

8: I have broken both my arms

9: I have had 3 surgery's for broken bones

10: Never been in a car accident (yet....and KNOCK ON WOOD)

11: I loooveee cuddling, but HATE PDA

12: I could hug my mom for like 10 minutes.....and i'm going to miss that like crazy on the mish.

13: I've lived in Arizona and Washington

14: I could spend HOURS looking at photography, and artwork

15: My family makes fun of me, because i read half way through a book, then stop....lol!!

2011-02-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

I bought all my stuff, and had my last temple prep class and now i get to ANXIOUSLY await the six days until i go to the temple!! I JUST CANT WAIT!!!! its all sooo pretty! i cant wait to be such a grown up in my temple stuff, and officially wearing garments!!

Gotta love count downs!!

2011-02-24T11:32:00.000-08:00

I love the cute new tickers i put on my blog, couting down is awesome!!! i cant wait, i'm very excited to go shopping for temple stuff this weekend, and to go next weekend!! YAYY!!

Liam Coulter Taylor

2011-02-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the world Liam Coulter Taylor.....your family loves you TONS!!!

....and isn't that picture awesome?!!?.....i took it!

Missouri Independence Mission!!

2011-02-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well its official.....i'm going to serve the Lord in Independence Missouri. I will be leaving June 1st!!! CRAZY!!

Awesome-ness....As soon as i read it i just knew, i knew thats where i needed to be, it feels so good to feel so comforted and just KNOW its right.....I also get to be here for my brothers graduation, which is AWESOME! I leave one week after he graduates....but i get to be here!....i have until june, which gives me a little wiggle room in my very TIGHT budget to make sure my credit card is paid off before i leave....and part of my mission is KANSAS....which is where some REALLY AWESOME cousins live....i could total serve in their ward...area...whatever...HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!!?

I cant wait for june, and starting this adventure!!

EXCITMENT!!!

2011-02-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

My mail man totally just called....and my mission call is here!!!!! Cant wait till 530 tonight!!

....WAIT!

2011-02-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

alright......now that my mission call will be here this week i'm thinking, uhhh.....can we wait a bit longer, i'm not sure i'm ready for this!

Blessings & Challenges

2011-02-03T16:25:00.001-08:00

***pre-CONGRATS to those who read.....cause i dont like to read long blogs***

well, i figure its worth blogging on all the things going on around this whole mission experience.

Well lets start with meeting with the stake president, i had to meet with him twice, which made me so nervous, but he just wanted to get to know me, then pray about things, and meet again. When we met again he told me some things he had felt impressed to tell me. One of the things was the go to the temple as soon as possible. So thats my goal, as soon as i get my call, to set a date to go to the temple. Another thing he told me was basically that i'm a missionary now, so start living like the missionary. (which i haven't been doing good at)

Another blessing that has been involved is a good family friend is paying for my MASSIVE dental bill. My family has always had the worse teeth, and i always avoided the dentist at all costs, which is now biting me in the butt. I've let my teeth get so bad, that basically all of my back teeth are gone. I have several cavities that have ate away at my teeth and now they basically all need crowns on them. As you can imagine, this not a cheap thing!! I have been sooo blessed by this family friend being willing to give that HUGE chunk of change to pay for my teeth to get brought to better standings. Today was day one in the work, and i cry whenever i'm at the dentist anyways, but today....man, lots of tears. Each tooth they planned on working on, as they got working on discovered it was worse than they thought, and OUCH, there goes more money to get it fixed. Leaving me feeling guilty because i know thats just more and more money i'm asking this family friend to spend. My very back top tooth, once they had gotten to all the decay, and saw how extensive the damage was they pointed out how much it would cost to save a tooth that wouldn't last more than 10 years. We decided it would be best to pull the tooth. I dont mind the pulling the tooth, but i couldn't help but cry cause of how embarrassing it feels to have such horrible teeth. (even crying now) Anyways, after four-ish hours at the dentist i had 5 teeth worked on and one pulled. Painful, and exhausting....emotionally. I have a lot of fear for next Thursdays appointment, because if this side of my mouth turned out this bad.....how bad is the other side going to be....SO EMBARRASSING.....i hate having bad teeth. And after today, i have made a promise that my future children will NEVER live through this, i dont care if they have bad teeth and hate the dentist, but they will go EVERY 6 months, and if the TINIEST cavity shows up, IT WILL BE FIXED ASAP.....cause its just ridiculous that i let it get this bad.....now i'm going to change subject, cause its just making me feel angry at myself.

I am so appreciative of the blessing of this friend paying that bill for me, i cant even explain how it makes me feel inside knowing that blessing was provided for me. I mean seriously though, if that didn't happen, i would be putting off my mission for another...year...maybe two....JUST to get my teeth fixed!!!

One more blessing i cant help but bring up is my friend mason. He is also preparing for a mission, leaving in May, This friend has been such a blessing, just knowing he's having to prepare and experience many of the same things as me is so awesome, being able to text him whenever and just talk with him. Its awesome.

Challenges....Wow....i cant even explain the challenges, its been crazy hard!!! I mean, satan works like CRAZY, and i'm not the best at deflecting his little whisperings. My poor parents know when its a bad day, cause i'm so horrible on those days, i'm so glad they can understand where its coming from, but i cant help but just be mad at myself for not doing as good as i could/want to. Anyways satan is working on me, my family.....its just hard. And i just hate to admit i'm not doing the best i could!

Well....i think i've blogged WAYYY too much, so i'm going to go now. Congrats if you read all that, cause as i've said....i'm guilty of being one of those who dont read long blogs like this.

waiting another week.

2011-02-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

Waiting....waiting....thats what my life is. Waiting for mission papers....waiting for my sister to have her baby.....waiting for mission papers....waiting for my sister to have her baby....

Just wanna know....

2011-01-31T16:03:00.000-08:00

I just wanna know where i'm gonna be going on my mission.....like come on, as of right now it could be (basically) ANYWHERE in the world......thats a bit scary......can i just know already so i can prepare for it!!

I did it!!

2011-01-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Well i completed my first 'for real' 5K Saturday!! It was really awesome, i did it in 44 minutes and didn't stop at all. My sister took lots of cute pictures, but i realized NO ONE looks good after running, and therefore i'm not going to put up any other pictures than the one above! Anyways, it was a really awesome experience and i'm way proud of myself for pushing through!! Excited to start preparing for a 10K!

PS....I REALLY REALLY HOPE i get my mission call this week!!

5K

2011-01-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

I am so excited/nervous for the 5K this weekend. I am sooo ready for it to be here and to kick butt!!! I really hope i can do the 3 miles without stopping!

Future Missionary speaking here...

2011-01-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

Thats right, i'm going to be a missionary. I've been working on my papers for a couple weeks now, and last night i had a meeting with the stake president and its official, the papers are in and i'm going to go on a mission!!!! i'm WAYY excited, and WAYY scared, and WAYYY nervous.....but obviously i know with the lords help i can do it!!! I am looking forward to these challenges and blessings, and i'll blog way more about it, but right now i'm just excited!!

Time is flying, and i got a 5K to do!

2011-01-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or does time FLY lately.

I haven't posted in a while, a week from today is my (technically second 5K, but i'm calling it my first because i feel prepared for this one) Anyways, earlier this week was a first for me. I was feeling pretty down and didn't wanna do this coming 5K cause i hadn't been running as faithfully as i should. Well, i sucked it up and went running anyways and was able to run 10 LAPS without stopping!! CRAZAY!! Yea, i was really really proud of myself, i've never in my life been able to do that. I'm so excited for this coming 5K, i'm going to just keep pace go nice and steady and slow and try my hardest not to stop AT ALL the entire time. So stayed tuned to hear how it goes. I'm so excited!

Baby blankets!

2010-12-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of these. Two blankets down, two to go!! Your up next hopie and danielle......The pink one i gave to cierra, and the blue one is for my sister!! They turned out sooo cute!!

Mosiah 23:9

2010-12-27T18:34:00.000-08:00

'But remember the iniquity of king Noah and his priests; and i myself was caught in a snare, and did many things which were abominable in the sight of the lord which caused me sore repentance'

While reading the scriptures yesterday i came across this one. Its Alma speaking, and i just loved it, one thing i love while reading the scriptures is reading about how these great people in the gospel ALSO struggled with sin. I mean they can say they didn't do that great all the time, and then we can continue to read on in their stories and hear what they did, and how they learned and grew!! i love it! Its just always a cool reminder to know even the great mess up.

solo digo......that means 'just sayin'

2010-12-17T15:20:00.000-08:00

I could possibly be starting mission paper-work in THREE months!!

Silverlime

2010-12-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

I'm so in love with THIS website that i even felt the need to blog about it!!

(CLICK THIS)

Seriously have spent a half hour just looking at everything and coming up with ideas!!! There was a mission necklace....I WANT IT SO BAD....well, i want to go on a mission, then get a ADORABLE mission necklace. It had a pendant that says 'mission accomplished' and then a separate pendant that you would put wherever your mission is on it!!! I mean seriously how cool?! they make rings, earring, bracelets, ALL SORTS of necklaces.....i could spend WAY to much money here. Anyways, as you can see this website made me a little excited! I decided if that glorious day comes of me serving a mission i'm going to get one that says something along the lines of called to serve, with my mission place on it....and then when i come home i want the one that says mission accomplished. I really want a ring....or bracelet....or necklace....or all the above, but i want one to say something like 'light' on it....because my patriarchal blessing says A LOT about the 'light' in me.....okay, i'm BLABBING a lot...i know, but i LOVE jewelry, and I LOVE when it can be custom made!!

yay me!!

2010-12-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

Well its time for another couch to 5K update! Today was a first for me, soooo exciting! I was FIRST: able to run 5 minutes without stopping....TWICE. SECOND: Ran a total of 5 laps today out of 7 1/2. THIRD: ran for a total of 16 minutes.

What got me through the 5 minute stretches....thinking how just a month or more ago i was barely able to run for a MINUTE straight, and it was so hard. I love making progress, and seeing myself progress. Anyways.....yay me!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-04T17:56:00.000-08:00

Well i decided i should put up a few pictures from thanksgiving. It was great to see my brother and his family for the day they were here!! They are all so cute! I miss having them around. It was fun to be a human play ground for my nephews, and i'm more than willing to be a playground for them anytime, cause its fun!! Anyways here are a few pics of that day, but the best part is the last part.....the video of me getting blake to laugh....he is SO cute!!

Cort yelling his new favorite phrase....'get down!'

Odin was ALWAYS around blake any time he was awake!! he is going to be such a great big brother to brittney's next baby on the way!!

On a roll!

2010-11-21T16:42:00.000-08:00

I've been on such a roll lately. With the running routine, then to add to it.....i completed my first blanket!! This was all done by crochet. My sister taught me how. I worked hard on it for about 3 weeks, then stopped for a month or more, but the last 2 weeks started working on it again and today i finished it!! YAY ME! Next up, crochet a cute baby blanket for Cierra, and Brittney, and Hopie!! YAY FOR PREGGO PEOPLE!!

Turkey Trot 5K

2010-11-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

Today i ran my first 5K, even though i haven't completed the couch to 5K training yet. Me and my awesome friend Jessica did it together. She was so kind to stay slow with me, even though she's more than capable of running the entire thing without stopping. This first picture is us at the beginning!

Us running at the half way there mark!!!

WE FINISHED!!! we ended in 49 minutes!

A few things that had us laughing A LOT while we were there. Well first off, we understood the race started at 9 in the morning, and ended up getting a little eager and getting there at 8:10 in the morning, so then we spent lots of time laughing at ourselves over this. THEN we find out, the race doesn't start till 930!!! yep!! we were there an hour and a half early!! THEN to add to the fact that we were laughing at ourselves....we found a lot of humor out of the costumed people that were working there. There was a guy dressed in a pilgrim outfit....funny, then a lady in a pilgrim outfit.....funny....THEN A CLOWN.....randomly funny.....THEN SANTA CLAUSE.....even more RANDOMLY funny!! it was great.....we laughed a lot, and were annoyed a lot about being so early. Now i'm sitting home very sore....and blogging.....and i wanna eat something good!!

some pictures

2010-11-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

Odin's 'smile'....he's such a dork.

Cort making some seriously cute faces when he's laughing!

The boys dancing with nana.

My dad going to church is this awesome tie i bought him!!

Update

2010-11-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

Update on couch to 5K, well since the accident i got off routine, but i tried to go, and went a couple times, but this week i got back into routine and just started back at day one to re-build up to where i was. i've ran 3 days this week and am pretty sure i'm going to go again tonight. I was so proud of myself last night when i ran, i did so good, i kept a good pace, and the last rotation of run/walk, i ran the entire time. Working out is quickly becoming something i enjoy....which is really weird to admit. I cant wait to do a 5K!

Next subject, well since the accident things have been crazy, and emotional.....Well at work they decided to have someone come in and do a group for the staff of sunrise to receive support. Well....i went.....in a told to go fashion by my boss. Rewind to the last week or more, i've been extremely emotional, literally emotions all over the place, ZERO control, i've felt horrible inside, knowing i'm behaving crazy, and not feeling the control to stop it. Things came to a craziness head on Wednesday when i even more couldn't control myself at work, of course a job full of therapist, they stepped in, and it led up to my boss telling me as i walk out the door to come back and go to group.....lol. So i went. It was hard emotionally, the therapist gave me a few tasks this week....A:to take 15 minutes or however long needed and give myself permission to freak out, cry, yell, whatever emotion i'm feeling, and just feel it. B: and take some time for myself.....even if it makes me feel selfish. So.....after this group i'm feeling pretty relieved, like i can actually finally make some good steps and regain control. So yea.....theres that for ya. :) have a good weekend.

.....

2010-11-03T16:31:00.001-07:00

Sometimes life is really hard, and i dont like it.

YSA conference

2010-11-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

Well the YSA conference that happened on Saturday was pretty freaking amazing!! I've never felt that many spiritual whisperings in one day. I Really enjoyed it and wanted to share some stuff from it. The first person's class i went to was Shondall Hymas, the wife of the last guy i'll talk about. She had a lot of good things to say, but one of the things that impacted me was 'Trust Me, Not you' Referring to what our heavenly father would say, He would tell us to trust him, and not ourselves. I've told myself this several times in the last couple days.

The next two classes i went to were by Hank Smith, he is a very kooky, but funny guy, he had us laughing A LOT! His first class really hit me when he talked about 'do you actually believe? or just say you believe?' He really hit hard on the fact that many people stand up and say they believe, but when heavenly father puts them to the test, the results show otherwise. He really hit us hard saying we need to look at ourselves and figure out which one we are. He also talked about the importance and difference of.....do you believe IN Christ, or BELIEVE CHRIST. Here are a few quotes i wrote down from his talk.

--Whatever our particular furrow, we can in Paul's words, "Plow in Hope", not looking back, and REFUSING to let yesterday hold tomorrow Hostage.

--We can't judge yesterdays mistakes with today's knowledge

--It is not right to go back and open and ancient wound which the son of God himself died trying to heal.

--Dismiss the destructive, and KEEP DISMISSING IT!!

(SORRY I HAVE TONS!! I HOPE YOU READ THEM, THEY ARE GOOD)

--God expects you to have enough faith & determination & enough trust in him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing.....He expects you to EMBRACE & SHAPE the future. To LOVE it & REJOICE in it & DELIGHT in your opportunities.

--God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers & Fulfill your dreams.....but he cant if you dont pray & he cant if you dont dream. In short, he cant if you dont BELIEVE!!

Next Bro. Hank Smith talked on 'the lord knows who i am' He talked about the lord's tender mercies, and how special and important they are in our lives, how they let us know that heavenly father DOES know us personally, and DOES care. This talk, i cried like a baby the whole time. Here are a few things i wrote down.

--Tender mercies are person and individualized

--Tender mercies are available to all of us.....they do NOT occur randomly or merely by coincidence.

I suggest each of you look in your past, and in your present and find tender mercies that the lord has sent you, you feel so special knowing that our heavenly father is thinking about you, and DOES CARE!! Look for tender mercies EACH DAY! they are there!!

Last person, CHAD HYMAS, an AMAZING MAN!! I didn't really take notes, cause his just was one of those listen, and think about it lessons. He was very intense, and i learned a lot that i needed to look at myself about. He got injured broke his neck and is now a quadriplegic(however you spell) He is an amazing speaker and if you ever hear him coming to a school or church near you, GO!!! you wont regret it! The biggest thing i got from his lesson....ITS NOT ABOUT YOU!! I now amongst other things i am looking for ways to help others, and to lighten other's loads.....because its not about me. The video below is him.

PS.....sorry there is so much, i'm guilty of being one who doesn't read long blogs.....for those who did i hope you enjoyed the quotes and got something special from it.

I love.....

2010-10-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a little sentimental......so i'm going to share a few things.

I love.....to hear my brother's voice after i haven't talked to him for a while
I love.....to whisper in my sisters ear just to watch her squirm and have her yell at me
I love.....to talk with a lisp and make my aunt hopie laugh her butt off while i do it
I love.....how creative my little bro can be, even though some of the things he think of you could classify as crazy and/or stupid. lol......he thinks outside the box, i give him props for that.
I love.....seeing the same elderly people at the temple every time i go on Tuesday
I love......that they remember that i come every Tuesday
I love......LOVE LOVE hearing deaf people laugh, its so special, so awesome!!!
I love.....hugging my mom for a loooong time
I love.....watching movies!
I love.....LUCKY CHARMS!
I love.....going to work and spending quality time with the girls there, some days they really
just make me happy
I love....Playing with my nephews, and really wish my nephews & niece in Arizona lived closer so
i could be as close to them as i am to Odin and Cort
I love.....My extended family, they are all awesome and crazy......and its just great to have them
as family
I love.....How my mom decorates the house for each holiday and/or Season
I love.....our ridiculously duct taped furniture.....its comfy, i dont care if it looks ghetto.

Week 1 complete!! :)

2010-10-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

Well i just finished week one of the couch to 5K and i'm happy to say i survived it!! I love this program, i feel like i can actually accomplish it, and its so helpful. I mean really, in past i would just say, oh i need to run, and then would stop after one week because it sucked. At least with this program its set instructions and i really feel like i can do it!! I am looking forward to running my first 5K at the end of this!!

Couch To 5K

2010-10-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well, today i started a new workout dealio. Its called couch to 5K. Its awesome, and it comes in the form of an app on my NEW IPOD.(you can also look it up online and print it out) So its pretty cool. I get to listen to music and it chimes in to direct me what to do. Anyways, its supposed to be a 6 week program, although i might stretch it out a little, like do one days work-out twice. I'm looking forward to getting to the point where i could run a 5K, that would be awesome, and would be a first! Guess we'll see how this new adventure goes!

Pics/Video--ADORABLE nephews/niece

2010-10-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

Leland, he's getting so big!!!
Cort, this kid cracks me up, the things i am learning from him, he is more and more like his mother each day! I love it!!

BABY BLAKE!!! i haven't seen him since it was literally a BABY! I guess he still is, but you get what i'm saying. Either way it was so fun to see him! I got him to laugh the morning before he left, and can i say his squeal is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!

After a long day playing at Nana's house, it was time to take a bath, they were all SO DIRTY!! So this was them watching Nana bathe baby blake before they all got in

Odin and his new half smile that is so goofy looking, he cracks me up!

Brooklyn and leland!

TOP VIDEO:

Odin did this for like a half hour, keeping himself entertained, it was so funny! Sorry he is in his little boy boxers....but he doesn't like cloths.

BOTTOM VIDEO:

This is ALL HE DID saturday morning from about 9 till 12, riding the bike up and down up and down. He was showing off for me by 'faking' crashing on the rocks. After he was done, he sat on the couch for 10 minutes and was out COLD! he was so tired!

These are a few video's of odin that make me laugh, he is so adorble.

It was great to have all the nephews and niece under one roof for a weekend. It was fun to see brooklyn, leland, and blake. I wish their parents could have come too, but it was fun to have them for two days!! They are growing up so big. It was also fun to have odin spend the night at our house. He is growing up so much, and such a big help. He was so helpful with baby blake, and its going to be great to watch him be a big brother for the baby that is growing inside brittney. I know he'll be so glad to help his mommy out!

TARZAN!

2010-10-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to go see this tonight!!!

~~~~

2010-09-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

I love the temple. I love going there. The last 2 weeks i started temple Tuesday again. Just going every Tuesday and doing baptisms. It is so enjoyable. So fun, to go somewhere and feel close to heavenly father.

I've felt weird lately, like I've been in a little funk. Kinda lacking motivation in the gospel. To say prayers, or read scriptures, even go to church. I (think i know) that its really just Satan messing with me, but at the same time if that's what it is I'm not really sure how to stop, or get out of this weird funk. I'm really just thinking out loud as i type. I don't really like this feeling. I'm not sure what to do.

And, i was just thinking, for like the last week and a half, maybe two weeks I've felt a lot of anxiety, like random anxiety, I honestly don't know how to explain it, but its not fun, and its very overwhelming. And every time i get that horrible anxiety filled feeling i try to think whats causing it, and can never figure it out!! Its annoying, and I'm emotional and constantly tired....GOSH...WHAT IS GOING ON?!

Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

2010-09-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

I watched this video on Mormon Messages. Such a touching video. I love being able to pull up random videos, that just add the spirit to your life, especially on a stressful and grumpy, and short tempered Monday that I'm having right now.

Taylor Swift

2010-09-13T18:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfsjTicyONk

Okay, lots of people have opinions on Taylor Swifts performance at the VMA's last night. And i just wanna go on the record and say. I LOVED IT!! I dont care if people think its a get back at Kanye, or whatever people think. I love it. I love that she used a personal experience and made it into a beautiful song. And people are going to hear it, and think about mistakes they've made and how they can still 'be an innocent'

Grandma & Grandpa's House

2010-09-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well with the recent possibility that my grandparents will be moving out of the house that they've lived in....forever....at least since i as born anyways. I decided to do a little photography with the house. I love the idea of taking pictures of the house, of little things that you see when your at the house, little things that make the house. The place where SO MANY memories take place. Then i made a collage of the pictures. So here are the collage's I've made!! I hope you enjoy them......cause i do!

Addicted!!

2010-09-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

I am one of many many people to become addicted to this book series. I finished the first book today, and it was great. I'm excited to start the second but almost don't dare cause i know i wont be able to put it down! Its a great series. If you wanna borrow it from me, since its impossible to get in libraries right now, let me know! Join the addiction. :)

New Calling

2010-09-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

So i got a new calling on Sunday. It was crazy how things worked out. I ended up going to church early, and walking past the bishops office i heard them say my name. So i stuck my head in and asked them what they were saying. Apparently i showed up on time just for my appointment of which the guy forgot to call me and tell me about. Anyways by the end of Sunday, bing bam done. I was set apart as a ward missionary. I am so nervous.....but excited....but nervous.

They set apart like 10 different ward missionaries. Its all part of the first presidency's plan when re-arranging wards, to call several ward missionaries to do the work to help people become active again. 'no more lost sheep'. I will be working in LaVerkin. I am excited, it will be a busy calling, but i'm excited!

Yay me!

2010-09-02T19:51:00.001-07:00

I must say i am doing way good at my goals so far.....granted its been what, 4ish days. I dont care, if you shouldn't be judging only off four days or not. But i'm proud of myself. I've actually added to my goal writing in my journal....and i'm doing good at that too!!

6 Months

2010-08-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well its officially been 6 months since i injured my knee(again).

6 Months!

The golden number.

The doctor told me it would take at least 6 months for the 'tear' to heal.

6 Months, of taking it easy, and not running around, or doing sports of any sort

6 Months of physical therapy

6 Months of an achy knee

6 Months of having to wear actual tennis shoes, not just flip flops

So.....i have been thinking a lot this week about how derailed i got from this knee injury. How derailed i got spiritually the most, and how derailed i've been(for years) health wise. Its weird to put a time frame on things.....like thinking 6 months ago where was i? I was going to the temple EVERY TUESDAY! I was reading my scriptures DAILY, i was praying DAILY! I was ready to serve a mission.(well not completely ready, but working there)

And well......lets just say thats where i was 6 months ago, and i'm on the COMPLETE other side of the rainbow from where i was now-a-days.

So i'm using this feeling of guilt and stupidity and failure to make goals.

So 6 Months from today i will be....

Feburary 28, 2010

~~Reading my scriptures daily

~~Praying Daily

~~Eating healthy

~~Hopefully lose weight due to eating healthy

~~Exercising weekly(Tuesdays & Thursdays)

~~Read my Patriarchal blessing weekly

~~Dont miss church

~~Be physically capable of hiking the subway and hiking it!!

~~Actually have money in my savings account!

~~Having a boyfriend would be pretty bad-A.....but its not the highest of my goals.

~~JUST BE HAPPY!!

So i'm ready to prove to myself that i actually can accomplish something with my life. I'm ready to prove satan wrong, that even if he threw me off the last 6 months, he's not gonna keep doing that. I'm ready to love my life, to be happy....genuinely happy. I'll need support, i'll need help.....but i want to actually do this! I want to succeed!!

Cuties

2010-08-21T11:37:00.001-07:00

I have an issue with letting my most recent blog be a sad one. So i had to put up a cute picture of my nephews. I just love this one.

Missing her

2010-08-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well for work yesterday i went up to Kolob with the girls. Its the closest I've been to girls camp since Krysti passed away. I went back and forth from being emotional to telling myself to get over it. When we got up there i had to take a moment away from the girls to keep myself from bawling like a little baby. But it didn't hit me as emotionally until i got home and told my mom about being up there. My heart aches cause i miss this woman so much. She was so special, so strong, and had an amazing personality. I remember going to church with my family JUST so i could see her. I miss her dearly, and every time i think of Kolob, she's the very next thought.

I miss her!

yep, she's preggers!

2010-08-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

A few things i hear from my sister these days that make me laugh!!

~~My house always stinks, it smells like rotten milk and dirty diapers.

~~The neighbors have a stinky dog, that poops all over, it makes me wanna throw up....(me leaving her house)--I don't smell the dog, or the poop. (Brittney)--Really, its makes me wanna throw up.(making gagging noises)

~~I WANT NACHOS!!

I'm sure i could put a ton more up but these are the most memorable ones right now.

SHE IS SO PREGNANT!!!

Ever Wonder??

2010-08-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

So, have you ever wondered where or whose blog you'll end up on when you hit that button up top that says....'next blog'. Well i clicked that today, just to see where it would take me.

Well can i just say that i think it is really weird, and not normal how many people blog about their DOGS!! yes DOGS!!! I just kept clicking next blog and it would take me to more blogs about dogs. It was more than just one post, aww look at my cute dog. It was entire blogs in the dogs perspective, like as if the dog itself was blogging. SO WEIRD!! Anyways, i found a little entertainment out of that and thought i'd share. If your ever bored, click next blog, see where you end up!

Also, i have a question i would like to get your opinion and answer to. What do you think are characteristics Jesus Christ has?

Baptism

2010-08-09T09:13:00.001-07:00

This weekend was exciting, Matthew got to baptize his good friend Emilio. An experience not many get to have at the age of 18. It was really fun to watch them and to see Matthew have that experience. Here are a few pictures of the big day.

More Proof

2010-08-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

This is more proof of how adorable of nephews i have.

I was mean to him and put socks on his hands just to watch him and it was probably the funniest thing i've seen in a while, and when he dropped his binkie it got even better cause he was determined to pick it up. Very funny pictures!!
These are a few of the things cort does while hanging out at our house, Puts a laundry basket on his head, plays in it for a while, watches TV while standing 2 feet away from it, Plays on my moms painted chair, goofs off on the couch and with the dog, and we put socks on his hands!

These are my sexy glasses i bought the other day, i just think they are funny and love to wear them just to be a nerd, but of course my nephews look pretty cute in them!!

MORE VEGAS BABY!!

2010-07-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a ton more pictures of us in vegas. Enjoy!! (Above) us on top of the eiffel tower
Not a fan of obama, but come on a picture with a wax version of the president, i wasn't passing up on that.

Notice the bunny ears, yep, we are on the bed with hugh hefner.

Perfect photo to represent vegas!

Henna Tattoo's gotta love them!!!

LAS VEGAS BABY!!

2010-07-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

Well here are some pics from our vegas trip. We didn't take many pictures most of them are from the wax museum, which was way fun. But above is a collage of our pictures of us riding up to the top of the eiffel tower in las vegas. It was way fun, but as soon as i got on the elevator i got really nervous, that thing is really tall, i cant imagine ever being in the real one if i got so nervous on a fake las vegas remake.

Pictures with the wax celebrity's. Some of them looked SO REAL that it was creepy, i just was waiting for them to move, and yet some didn't look like them at all.

It was overall a fun vacation, we ended up not going to any night clubs or really doing anything at night. We were so exhausted from the day that when night came we just relaxed and hung out. The heat is so exhausting, at times i was SO over the vacation and wanted to drive home right then. But i'm still glad that it was a fun trip.

Happy Birthday Brittney

2010-07-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

I just wanna say and early Happy Birthday to my sister Brittney. I love you with all my heart and love the fact that we're sisters. I love how over the years you and me have grown up and have gotten closer. Your such a great sister and a great mom, you always keep us entertained and say some of the dumbest things that always have us laughing hysterically, and yet I'm exactly like you and say just as stupid of things! I love how we can go on a 4 hour car trip and basically laugh and goof off the entire time. Thanks for being such an awesome sister, for loving and supporting me.

Swim Lessons & Adorable nephews!

2010-07-22T19:27:00.001-07:00

So as we all know i have some pretty cute nephews!! :) My sister did swimming lessons with them the last two weeks, i was way happy to get to go to one of those lessons on Tuesday with them. They are so cute!! Odin is a little fish, that kid LOVES the water! He even went off the diving board with his instructor! Cort, well he's not as big of a fan as odin, but he doesn't fight it as much as he could. ;) So here is cute little collage's of the pictures i took. Click to enlarge them and see them better!