My Mom

I have been home from my mission for over five years now, but every now and again I still hear about how hard it was for my mom when I left. It was a difficult time for everyone here. I felt homesick of course, some days more than others, but I was trying new things and meeting new people. It was different for me.
Well, a few weeks ago my mom and dad went to Europe for a week and a half. I know a week and a half is nothing compared to a year and a half, but I started to understand more. They didn't have cellphones so most communication was done through email. We had a few times of face time with the ipads, but very rarely was it a time I could be there. They were going to be as I was going to my nanny job. Plus, I was off track so I had the house to myself, which sounded great and was nice, but still strange. It was a tough week for me. I had a hard time not being able to talk with my mom. It sounds strange as a twenty seven year old that I had a hard time going for a week without my mother, but she is one of my best friends. She plays such an important part of my life and I wanted her to know how much she means to me.
I am so grateful for the parents I was given. My life is so good because of the support system I have been blessed with in my family. I love my mom and I love my dad and I very happy they are home.

Comic Con and New York

Wow, I'm super bad at this. Comic Con was three months ago and New York two months ago. I've been meaning to post about them every since then. Great job yeah? So anyway, here goes.

For those of you that don't know what Comic Con is (which is so many more pople than a I thought considering how huge it is and how long I've wanted to go), its a huge geek fest. Its one of the biggest conventions in the world. Its the place where you hear about all the geeks dress up and go. It was amazing. Christy got me tickets for my brithday and Christmas and went with me. She is so great. I wish I could go back every single year.

COMIC CON!!!

Standing in line the first day

Psych Panel. They were so funny! I love this show. Plus we got some swak out of it:)

Unfortunately this is the best picture I got of Zachary Levi. Love him!

We got really good seats for the Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog Sing-a-long. Felicia Day is so awkward and funny. Plus 2000+ people singing Dr. Horrible, some while being dressed as characters was great. We got in trouble with the fire department because we had so much fun.

Way over there in the park was were we were four hours earlier waiting and waiting and waiting. it sounds horrible but I even loved the five hour line. We made friends and saw crazy costumes and then we got in just in time for the Eureka panel with is the one I most hoped to see and it was so worth it. I would do it all over again in a heart beat!!!

The EUREKA panel!! One of my favorite shows. They were all so funny. Christy and I were laughing the entire time. Plus it was Colin Fergusons birthday so everyone sang happy birthday to him. Loved it!!

Warehouse Thirteen panel. I like the show okay. The panel was boring. Only Eddie, the guy in the hat, was funny. At least he was funny enough to make it worth it.

It's Perry the Playabus!!

My favorite thing from the floor was Dr. Who's Tardis. How
I wish I could have seen how much bigger it was on the inside!

That's a sample of it all. It was seriously so great and I know how to do it now so I am going to go back one day and do it again.

Now New York. We went again and had so much fun. I finally got to do Broadway. So worth it. I can't believe it took me three trips to go there. At least i made up for it with a couple plays.

Phatom of the Opera at the Majestic

Catch Me if You Can at the Neil Simon Theater

The top of the Empire State Building. In the picture it looks like day from the fog and lights, but in reality its like one in the morning. It was still so crazy busy at one. Fun.

We went to Serendipity and got their frozen hot chocolate. It was really good.

We only had time for a quick visit but I really wanted to see the Manhattan Temple. It was fun to see it there among the skyscrapers.

Cenrtal Park in the summer. it was so green and gorgeous. We ended up taking a small nap on the grass. It was nice.

I was so lucky this summer to go on such great trips.

My Second Folio Story...

So the spring edition of Folio has come out and I again wrote something for it. This time, however, I am part of the web exclusive content. To read it click here. Once there click on literature and find my name. Click and done. Now I want to add a disclaimer to this. It is not my best work. I struggle with short stories as it is, but this edition they cut it from three thousand words to two thousand words so it ends a little abrupt. I did what I could with it and I think it still has some good points. I hope people like it.

DISNEYLAND

So Hilary and I love to go to Disneyland. Well, our whole family loves to go to Disneyland but not everyone can the way we do. Hilary and I have annual passes and try to go every few months. We for sure always do a trip in January or February, some of the best months to go. This last trip we got to be there for Valentine's Day and it was a lot of fun. First, for the last few months they have been have family fun weekends. We were there for the Lunar New Year. We saw dragons dancing and Mulan and Mushu. It was a lot a fun. Then on Valentine's Day we visited with the Princess and they all had their Princes with them. It was so cool. We also got to meet the newest Princess and her leading man, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. It was a great and relaxing trip. The weather was nice, I even came home with a sun burn. I really love Disneyland.



Not So Good At This....

I guess I'm not so good at the posting part of this. I bug friends to hurry and post and then I go so long without posting though I have things to say. Funny.
First, I am now a published author. My short story, "Down" was chosen to to be published in Folio, Salt Lake Community College's magazine. It came out on December 2nd and I'm very excited. I know it's just a community college magazine, but it is a stepping stone on the path to where I want to be and an actual writing experience for my resume when I send my next book to a publisher.



Next, I was lucky to have the opportunity to go to New York for a weekend in December. The airfare was too great to pass up and my uncle Michael let us visit him. My uncle Michael and aunt Tracy were great on the trip. They would take us to and from the Stanton Island Ferry so we could go into the city and they and our cousins Jenna and Tashina would come hang out with us. It was so much fun. We got to see Santa Claus at Macy's and the Rockefeller Tree that is huge. It was so great. Thank you Uncle Michael and aunt Tracy for everything and Hilary for getting the tickets and Ashley's mom for letting us know about them.  It was the best!

Santa Claus at Macy's on 34th Street

Walking through Central Park. We got off on the wrong side of where we wanted to go so we ended up walking from one end to the other. It was a long walk but a great way to experience the park.

Standing in front of Rockefeller Tree.

The ball for the 2011 drop in Times Square.

The Hopes and Dreams confetti wall. We got to write our hopes and dreams for 2011 on some confetti and it fell on Times Square during the ball drop. It was so fun to watch and pretend each time a blue went passed that it could be mine.

Purse shopping on Canal Street. It was an interesting experience. Not at all like Washington DC.

Hanging out on the ferry to Manhattan.

I thought this was a good one to express our trips on the subway but then I realized its missing the most important of the subway evils. Smell no evil. :)

The Hans Christian Anderson statue in Central Park. I got to hang out with The Ugly Duckling.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was great. This is just some of the things that we squeezed into our four day trip. I love New York.

A Sad Ending...

After a season of ups and downs we were exciting going into the BYU - U of U game. A month ago we thought we didn't stand a chance in this game. This morning we were optimistic that we could at least give them a good game. We were right. Both the defenses were out in force. The offense had a had time getting first downs and yards. At the half it was BYU 6 Utah 0. We were feeling pretty good but knew we still had another half to go.
         At the very end of the third quarter Utah made it on the board for the first time. BYU was at 13. Quickly in the four quarter Utah scored a touchdown. We were only up by three. Then a field goal by us. We were stressing. It seems they always are in the rivalery game. About four minutes left in the game and some blown plays and blown calls Utah makes another touchdown and takes the lead for the first time in the game. BYU gets down field and there are four seconds left. Mitch Payne, the great senior kicker, gets ready and .. a Utah defensiveman got through and jumped on the ball. We lost in in the end by one point after having the lead. It was very very sad. We were so close just a few missed plays here and there kept them from victory. Next year they well meet again September, now that they aren't in the same conference. We will be ready then to find the win once again. Be prepared.... :)

Black Friday!...

Black Friday is huge at our house. My sisters both buy newspapers on Thanksgiving so we can all have ads and we start the search. We make list of what we want on each store and compare. That night after dinner is over we make plans with relatives. Find out if someone is going somewhere else and see if they could get your list. Then we make a plan for breakfast. We always meet together for breakfast after the doorbusters are over. Around ten or eleven. The last two years we have gone to Britton's. It is a great small restaurant in Union Square by my house. It's very good and the people are friendly. Last year we also started a tradition of getting pedicures. Perfect after a long morning of walking and waiting. We had been out since almost midnight when Walmart opened and the line at Target for over an hour. We were well ready for some relaxing. The pedicures were amazing! We went to Pella on 94th, my favorite place to go. It was perfect. After that we were ready to go some more. A few more stores and home again. With little sleep and sore feet we went home happy. I got a bunch of new DVD's, a weakness of mine. Band Hero, a soft pillow, and many other small things. So much fun. We love Black Friday!!!!!!