American Idol Concert

So, my brother, sister-in-law, sister, and I attended the American Idol concert last night. We've all been pretty into American Idol this year. And it was actually a really good year. Many of the top 10 were actually really good. So we figured, let's go to the concert! It was a lot of fun. Talk about super loud, that's for sure. Thousands of screaming girls - out of control. But it was still a lot of fun. Here are a few pics of our adventures there!

Me, Janell - my sister, and Daniel - my brother waiting in deep anticipation!!!!

Chikezie - was totally one of my favorites the whole season. Too bad he didn't last a little longer.

Michael Johns - He was never one of my favorites during the season, but he totally rocked it out. It was the best I had ever heard him sing. :)

Carly Smithson - this girl's voice rocks. She's really good.

Brooke White - did quite well really. Even if we couldn't get the greatest picture of her. :)

Group Number

Syesha - she was always one of my top favorites during the show. Her songs were mostly good tonight, although I was not at all impressed with her. Sad day. But she does have a great voice.

Utah's own little hero - David Archuleta. He did a really good job. It seemed like he may be losing his voice, but he still did a good job.

And, of course, the American Idol himself - David Cook. This guy really rocked. I was very impressed with his stage performance and everything. Well done!

Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh My!

Except for the fact that the Hogle Zoo no longer has any lions and the tiger didn't want to come out and play. Disappointing. But, the zoo was fun! I went with my brother and sister-in-law, Daniel and Jenny, and their little girl Hayley. My parents also came with us, as well as some of Jenny's family. It's been a long time since I've gone to the zoo, but I believe it was a grand time to be had by all. The Ghost of the Bayou - although it totally looked fake, it's an all-white alligator.

Not albino, just white.

The only lion I got to see - and it tried to eat me!

Me and Hayley by the elephants

A bald eagle in front of the American Flag. We went to the bird show, which was actually really cool. This is how they ended the show, with the bald eagle in front of the flag. It was pretty cool.

This is a red panda. It's like a bear, cat, racoon, mix. But I guess it's actually most closely related to bears. It was so cute. I know the picture doesn't quite show how cute his face is, but he looked so cute and cuddly. (Although he probably wasn't cuddly :). But he was my favorite!

Daniel, Hayley (sleeping), my mom, and me on the Zoofari - the train!

It's 10:30...

and I'm going to bed. I just had to mark this day down in history.

Happy 4th of July!

What a great weekend! I was able to go home with most of my family to spend time together and celebrate our nation's birthday. Maybe I'll eventually get pictures of us on the 4th, but I just wanted to say how grateful I am to live in this country and for the many blessings we enjoy. I know that I definitely take things for granted a lot, and things aren't perfect, but we enjoy so much here.

I am also very grateful for those who have given so much throughout the years in the cause of freedom. Working with war veterans last year gave me a whole other perspective on the sacrifices that so many have made for us to live here and have the rights and freedoms that we do. Thank you to all those who have, who are, and will serve this great country.


"Have mercy, O Lord, upon all the nations of the earth; have mercy upon the rulers of our land; may those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Coonstitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever." D&C 109:54

Happy Birthday America

Update on my life

Well, I guess since I've posted about all the other dilemma's, I guess I should update everyone on the new turn of events. Shortly before leaving for my trip, I had an interview with Wasatch Mental Health. This was for the job that I was kind of hoping for all along. Then I left on my trip and got a phone call right as I was walking on the plane in Phoenix. They offered me the job and I took it. So, I started that today. (It's a little bit rough since I just got home yesterday, but what do you do.) So I guess I have a pathway chosen and am now continuing on with life. I still don't know that I love that it's "career time" in my life. But I guess I have to be a grownup. At least I still get to work with kids! :) So, if you're wondering, I'm working in the YOP - Youth Out Patient - which means I'm a therapist for children and teenagers. I'm pretty much getting thrown right in, so here's to another adventure.

MA cont.

Day 3 - Lexington and Concord

We saw most of the sights in these two towns and the "battle trail" in between. We learned quite a few things about the beginnings of the Revolutionary War that we didn't know before.

This is the Battle Green in Lexington. This cute little old man told us all about that fateful night of the "shot heard 'round the world".
This is the Old North Bridge in Concord.


Concord is also home to Sleep Hollow. Oooooo.... Super fun! :) We did go there. Didn't see any headless horsemen. But we did get to see the graves of Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Day 4 - Cambridge

What a beautiful house! This is the house that belonged to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was amazing! We got to tour through it and learn more about the man and hear a lot of his poetry. It was actually super cool!

The Boston Temple! I have this on day 4 because this is when I got the picture. We were actually able to go to the temple on day 1 of the trip, but didn't have a lot of opportunities for picture taking time. So, when we went past it again, we stopped to try to get some good ones. It's a beautiful temple!

So, there's a very brief recap of the trip. Hope it was enjoyable!

An All-American City....

Well, I just got back from a short little trip to Boston! Okay, more than just Boston really. What a grand adventure. I went with my mom and with my roommate Pam. We flew out last Wednesday and were supposed to fly back on Monday. Sadly, the weather didn't fully cooperate and we spent Monday night stranded in the airport in NYC and got back yesterday. Needless to say, we were a bit exhausted, but we had a fun time nevertheless. So here are a few pictures of the trip!

Day 1 - Plymouth, MA

This is Plimoth Plantation. And yes, that's how they really spell it. Even if they spell everything else Plymouth. This is set up as if it was 1627 and the Pilgrims were starting to get settled in. They had people dressed up as characters who also acted as if they were some of the real people that came across on the Mayflower. It had a beautiful view as well, right on the coast!

Here's my mom and I by the Plymouth Rock sign. Sadly, they were doing construction on the edifice that covers the rock, so we didn't get to see it. We had to get a postcard instead. :)

This is the Mayflower II. It's what they think the Mayflower looked like and is run the same, etc. So we got to go on a little tour of it. Pretty exciting!

Day 2 - Boston!

Okay, it's a little difficult to decide which pictures to put on here. There's so many! We went on the Freedom Trail which takes you to most of the historical sights in Boston. We saw Boston Commons, many different old churches, graves of John Hancock, Sam Adams, Paul Revere, and others, new and old state houses, Paul Revere's house, the site of the Boston Massacre, Bunker Hill, the USS Constitution, and other places as well.

This is the State House - or the capital building. We were there just 2 days after the Celtics won the NBA finals, and the city was still celebrating!

This is Fanueil Hall with a statue of Samuel Adams in front. Go google it if you want to know the importance of it. :)
This is a statue of Paul Revere in front of the Old North Church - the church where lanterns were hung to signal that the British were coming. Then Paul Revere began his famous midnight ride.

Champions

Yesterday I went down to Nephi with my sister and bro-in-law to see my nephews play in their championship baseball game. Of course, they won, and of course my nephews were a big part of it! :) It's really true because a good number of the outs were because of these two. Woohoo!

Here's Jeff and Jared with their trophies!
And with me. :)

And action shot of Jeffrey running from second base after hitting a nice double.

This is Jared out in the outfield. This was the coolest play. He got the ground ball and threw it to Jeffrey at second base for the out. Good teamwork!

Spending my days....

Well, it's been quite awhile since I've posted anything. I don't really feel like much of anything has happened in the last month. (Other than the fabulousness of Disneyland!) I can't believe I've been out of school for a month. For those wondering, still no job yet. I have had a couple of offers, but they just didn't feel like they were the places for me to be at this point in time. So we'll see what happens with a couple of others coming up. In the meantime, I'm just chillin'. It's actually been really nice. I've been able to read (books I enjoy and not textbooks).

(Yup, I read Harry Potter all over again. It's so great!)

I'm reading 1776 right now, in preparation for my trip to Boston! Wahoo!

I've actually done quite a bit of family history stuff. I've visited family and played with friends and just had fun.

Here are a couple of pictures of one of our adventures. There is a flower bed on the south side of our apartment complex. Of course, the grounds keepers don't do anything. So, we decided to plant flowers! We went to Home Depot and went crazy and bought a bunch of different things. Hopefully they'll continue to grow!

Yay for summer!

I'm going to Disneyland!!!! (I mean I went... :)

Well, it was such great fun to answer the question that everyone gave me around graduation time of "What are you doing now?" "I'm going to Disneyland!!!!!" Last week, my family and I headed off for sunny California (although not entirely sunny while we were there) and had ourselves a magical adventure! I haven't been to Disneyland in 11 years. I don't remember it being quite so fun. But it really was. We had lots of kids with us, which made all the little kid rides exciting and fun too. (And I guess the adults were pretty okay themselves. :) It was such a great time and I kind of wish I could just go back. I didn't think about Provo or life decisions or anything for the whole week! So here are a few pictures to see some of the enjoyment. This will only be a very very small taste - I don't think blogs have enough room for all of the pictures. :)

None other than Mickey Mouse himelf. He totally gave me a kiss on the cheek when I left. ;)

Appropriate mouse ears I thought.With mom and dad

With most of my nieces and nephews. Just missing four of them in this picture.

Okay, I have to be honest. Goofy is probably my favorite!

Playing the "goofwin"

The Grizzly River Run at California Adventure Park

Splash Mountain!

So, there's just a little taste of the magic. Hope you enjoyed the ride!