The Family Visits

My family came to visit this weekend! They were here Thursday night through Sunday morning. It was great seeing and spending time with them! It was so sad when they left.... I didn't want them to leave! Having them here was a great break from my normal, somewhat stressful, I-just-want-to-know-where-I'm-going-to-be-and-work-in-two-months life.

While I was at work on Valentine's Day on Thursday flowers were delivered to me from my family! They were tulips in a box with a vase I put together once I got back to my apartment. Most of the bulbs were closed, but within a few hours of putting them in water they opened up!

I also came home on Valentine's Day to find a letter waiting for me from Geoff! I don't think he plans for his letters to get to me on certain days, but for some reason they always arrive on the days that matter most! Both my birthdays I got letters from him, too. His letter made my day (like always)! 

Because I'm weird, here are some photos of the tulips from when I first got them to how they look now. Geoff's letter is also included in the first photo:

The box the flowers came it and how the flowers looked.

A few hours after being put in water.

A day after being put in water.

3 days after being put in water!

How they look today :)

I was able to see my Aunt Barbie and cousin Derek while my family was visiting, as well as my cousin Brianne and her family. Friday we hung around the malls and went to Scheels, a huge outdoor sports store. They have everything in there you could need when it comes to being outdoors and sports! Then on Saturday we went to Clark's Planetarium and did some exploring in there.

I ate way too much while my family was here... I definitely am going to start back on my diet and eating healthy again! We went to a place called "Pat's Barbeque" that was featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." It was pretty good and it's only a few blocks away from my apartment. I think the best barbeque I have had though is in Orem called "Five Start Barbeque." That place was amazing! Guy Fieri needs to go there!

I got to meet my Aunt Barbie's new puppy, a miniature schnauzer named "Big Mack Daddy" haha. He is the cutest little thing! I should have taken a picture. I carried him around while I was hangout with my Aunt and her family at an RV show yesterday. He fell asleep in my arms! It makes me want a puppy even more than I already do! In a few years when I have a yard big enough for a dog to roam in, I will get the cutest puppy there is :)

On the ferris wheel at Scheels!

Kristen kissing the moose at Scheels.

Guy's words and pic at Pat's BBQ.

The cutest owl necklace ever created.

There's a lot more from this weekend I could talk about, but a short summary is good enough! Happy President's Day!

Tin Foil and Gift Giving

Last Monday was like any other Monday night. After FHE I watched some Hulu, read a chapter out of my book then turned off the lights and crawled into bed. Little did I know that the sun's cousin would be blaring into my window and make my room as bright as day!

My room has been brighter than I use to at night with the street lights coming in. But the apartment's next door to me that are being built still are now finished, and now the outside light above the stairs is turned on.... Right. Outside. My. Window.

Meet the sun's cousin. Mi window is the 2nd one up closest to the camera, right above the gray bricks.

 My solution to the problem: tin foil. I went to WalMart and asked if they had special window darkeners for home windows like you can get for cars. But the guy I asked said they only had them for cars. So until I find something better to darken my windows, this tin foil will have to do.

 It looks weird from the outside. Hopefully no one judges my strange ways. I have been sleeping so much better in a pitch dark room, and that's all that matters to me!

My aunt came to Utah because my cousin Brianne's husband surprised Brianne with a trip to Cabo for Christmas. How sweet is that? He told her on Saturday and they left the very next day. He flew my aunt in so she could watch their kids while they went to Cabo. I was able to go to Temple Square and also meet my Grandpa Chlarson's sister, Joyce, who only lives a few miles away from me!

Shadow Beards!

Jayni and Mason in Lion House

The Christmas season is upon us. As I have gotten older, I now love giving more than receiving by far. My ward has a giving tree, and I picked an ornament and was able to buy a present for a little boy. I was glad I was able to serve someone in need!

The best thing I did this week was put together a little Christmas package for Elder Whetstone. I wasn't going to send him anything special because sending a package isn't cheap, but I found I could send a larger envelope for only $16.95! I was so excited and went right to work so I could send him his package and hope that he would get it by Christmas. I send a stripped tie I found in both our favorite blue and green colors, some snowflakes since he loves snow but won't see any until next year, eggnog taffies since eggnog is one of his favorite drinks, a couple of candy canes to be festive, some CTR rings that he could give out to the Brazilian children (he always talks about how much he loves the kids) and a photo album I put together with photos of me holding up messages I wrote on my whiteboard. That was pretty fun to do! I'm so so so excited for him to get his surprise Christmas package!

A girl I intern with named Sarah and I decided we needed to decorate our little cubicle since it's Christmastime. I had extra snowflakes from Geoff's package that were red, since I only sent him the white ones. So I brought them for us to use as decorations as well as extra candy canes I had from Geoff's package as well. I had no idea how to use the candy canes, but Sarah came up with a clever idea to hang them with paper clips... she's so smart and resourceful! Now our cubicle is all ready for the holidays!

This upcoming week is busy but should be fun!

A Friend-Filled Weekend

This weekend was much needed! I was able to spend time with some friends. It was pretty much awesome.

My friend and first BYU-Idaho roommate ever, Candice, came and stayed at my place this weekend. Her friend Rika also came. We spend Friday evening in Temple Square while it was raining... ok sprinkling but it started to come down harder as we were about to leave. It was great seeing all the Christmas lights and Nativity scenes! We also ate at Kneaders and did a little shopping at City Creek.

 On Saturday, I met up with my friend Holly, her husband and her cute 18-month-old for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. I don't know if I've ever been there, and if I have it has been a long time. Candice and Rika joined us once Candice finished a homework assignment she had to do at the Church History Library that morning. I ate these fried Mac n Cheese Balls that my mom once said were to die for. They were soooo good! I recommend them to anyone going to The Cheesecake Factory.

After even more shopping at Fashion Place Mall, we went back to my place and got ready for one of my former roommate's wedding reception. It was about a 45-minute drive one-way in a small little town called Morgan. Karlee was gorgeous in her lace wedding dress! I loved how all the decorations revolved around her vintage style and her favorite color, teal. It was so great seeing Karlee and another one of my past roommates, Elisabeth! I haven't seen Elisabeth in about two years and I haven't seen Karlee in a year. There were other friends and roommates of Karlee that I knew and it was great to catch up on life with them as well.

Later on Saturday we went to a guy from my ward's apartment. He lives in the same apartments as me so it was convenient just walking across the street! A lot of people from my ward were there watching a Christmas movie. I'm starting to get to know more people in my single's ward which is awesome!

I am so grateful for the times I get to spend with friends, since I don't get to as much as I use to when I was a BYU-Idaho student. It's hard being far away from some of my closest friends, but I'm glad we are able to stay in touch!

The 4-day Holiday Weekend

I had such a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving. I wish I had four days off in a row like I did this past weekend more often!

On Thanksgiving, I drove to my cousin Brianne's house and was able to spend the day with her family and friends. And also our cousin, Derek! There was so much food that I don't think we ate a third of it! Lots of yummy potato-type dishes, ham, turkey, rolls, and who knows what else! And there were plenty of pies and cheesecakes to choose from for dessert. I was definitely tired for the rest of the evening after we ate! We also played some Apples to Apples which is always a good game.

I think Jayni and Mason missed me, even if they say they didn't when I ask them! Little nerds!

 Brianne was kind enough to let me stay the night at her place so I didn't have to drive home that evening. And it was perfect because the following morning we went to the new Twilight movie together. Pretty crazy how that one ended. I enjoyed this ending much more than the books. that's for sure!

On Saturday, I got to hang out with my friend Laura for a little bit! We went to Kneaders for breakfast and indulged in one of the best breakfasts known to mankind: Cinnamon French Toast. Seriously I have not had a breakfast that amazing in so long! The butter/frosting and sugary syrup was to die for! I recommend everyone that comes to Utah to have some for yourself so you understand what I am talking about.

Mouth-watering goodness.

After breakfast we came to my apartment and caught up on life. We also watched the movie Brave. I have seen that movie three times now and have cried at a certain part near the end every single time! I don't know what it is about that certain part... it's just brings out my emotions!

I'm so glad I got to see Laura for a little bit! She is from Sandy which is right near me, but she recently moved to Tennessee to be closer to her fiance. I'm sad I don't get to see her as often as I do but am grateful for the special times we are able to get together :)

 Plane tickets have officially been bought, and I will be flying home to Washington for the holidays on December 22nd! I'll be there for a whole 11 days so I'm pretty excited! Then who knows when I will be home again... probably not for a good few months. We will have to see.

Tonight for FHE we are going to a member of our bishopric's house and having dinner. I'm pretty excited for that! I'm starting to get to know members in my ward more which is great.
That's all folks!

Living in Salt Lake: Week 4 Update

I can't believe it's been a month since I moved here to Salt Lake! Pretty crazy how time flies. I have learned so much in the last month and am so grateful.

On Tuesday, I went to the concert I received free tickets for from interviewing a local band called Chasing Chance. My friend Candice came along with me and we had a really fun time! I loved loved LOVED that Parachute performed! I knew every one of their songs, except one. But once they were done we got to go out and meet them! Since there were a ton of people wanting to meet them as well, we only met the main singer, Will. It's sweet that I met the guy whose songs I think are so wonderful!

Will!

  The only downside to the concert was that when All-American Rejects performed, the lead singer would drop the f bomb every time he spoke in between songs... he said that word with other words in every sentence! We felt a little uncomfortable about that. We only stayed to listen to three songs from "Boys Like Girls" because it was 10:15ish and I needed to drive an hour back home still! I didn't get home until around 11:30 once I dropped Candice off. I was definitely tired the next day at work, but you know what? It was all worth it. Sometimes, losing sleep... no matter how much you love it... is necessary to live a little. Or a lot!

We were given so many free treats this week at work... Kneader's amazing pumpkin bread, bagels from a place called "Einstein Bagels," (which are seriously the best bagels I have ever had in my entire life, and I know a good bagel when I eat one!) and also these delicious tarts from Kneader's as well. The tarts were amazing! I had a key lime one, and it just melted in my mouth like a little slice of heaven. Free treats are awesome! And I especially enjoy not having to go and pay for lunch somewhere!

Scrumptious key lime tart.

 The first snow came down on Thursday. It had been raining Monday through Wednesday, but on Thursday the snow just came down! It was cool being in the Deseret News building and seeing all the snow come down on Salt Lake. Luckily, by the time I got home the sun had come out and it was all melted at my apartment. An hour later, however, this is what the sky looked like near my apartment:

Can you say freaky! My roommate and I were driving and half the sky was blue and half was pitch black with these low clouds just coming quickly. Within a few minutes the whole sky was dark and it started hailing. Yuck! But I have never seen the sky turn dark so quickly right in front of me. My roommate and I swear we even say a funnel forming in the sky, and we thought a tornado was going to hit down! I'm glad there wasn't a tornado and I am still alive today to write my ridiculous adventures on this blog to you. And I hope you are too :)

My boss asked me to go to a performance on Friday night called "Luz de las Naciones: Sus Promesas" which translates to "Light of the Nations: His Promise." I am going to be writing an article about my experience there. I went with my friend Kelcie and was happy to have her since she knows Spanish from her mission. The performance was in Spanish, so I had Kelcie and also translation headphones so I could hear it in English. But that performance was AMAZING! It talks about how Christ came to the Americas and different cultures told their versions of when He came. There was Hawaiian, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Native Americans, and some others. The different cultures danced and sang their traditional dances and songs. Then near the end it talked about how all these stories came together to help write the Book of Mormon. It was just awesome. The kids were adorable when they sang and danced! But all the performers were so talented. It was a very touching and moving performance. I highly recommend it to all. And don't be intimidated when you are surrounded by Latinos and look like a weirdo being one of the only ones with headphones!

Performers at the beginning.

Peru.

Chile.

Chile. I loved this part with the kids twirling the ribbon on the pole!

Mexico.

My favorite... Hawaii hula dancers!

All the performers at the end.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson sat right in front of me about 10 rows! I thought that was pretty neat. Too bad I wasn't able to meet him! He's in the picture above in the top right-hand corner :)

Those are the main highlights of my week! This upcoming week will be an exciting one... My sister is getting married and I fly home on Thursday! I can't wait!
  

Living in Salt Lake: Week 3 Update

I have survived my third week living in Salt Lake. This week has been the most eventful week so far, and probably will be the most eventful week I have in a while! There is a lot talked about in this blog post... just a fair warning :)

On Monday, we had a stake FHE dance at Wheeler Historic Barn. I loved it there! We were out in the country and the smells reminded me of home. It was a pretty cool place. If I had kids, I would totally take them there. There's cows, horses, goats, rabbits, and who knows what else. for kids to pet. They have a mini straw maze and a pumpkin patch for kiddos as well. There's a few other fun activities for families to do as well.

We were in this gorgeous barn for the dance. And since it was a stake, there were a lot of people there. My roommate and one of our friends danced every so often. The best part for me was seeing my bishop and his wife dance during a Lady Gaga song. It made me laugh so hard! My bishop, Dwight Day (doesn't that sound like a weatherman name?) and his wife are probably in their late 60's or early 70's, so seeing a cute older couple dancing to the younger generation's music was quite the site to see!

Before the dance started, I made a new friend. Isn't she just beautiful? That's what I thought, until she bit my finger on accident when I wasn't paying attention. I was already licked by her nasty cow tongue a few times!

We got a new dining room table for our apartment! It is pretty exciting. I was suppose to be picking one up on Wednesday and meeting my cousin, Derek, halfway there since he has a truck he could haul it in. But we got to the lady's house and she had sold it without informing me! So lame. I set up a time and everything to pick up the table. I felt really bad for making Derek drive there for nothing. We both drove a half hour there and back for nothing!

But the next day on Thursday, I found another table I really liked. The one I was suppose to get was wood with two wooden chairs, but this one was also wood but with 4 leather chairs! And it was only $20 bucks more than the other table. The lady was able to deliver it to us since she only lived 10 minutes away and I didn't have a truck or van to pick it up. I am in love with the table! It eventually needs a little TLC with some sanding and staining, but the little metal ball details around the edge are so cute! The leather chairs are all in good condition as well. It makes our apartment look so much better. Now we just need to fill the awkward space by our entry way with something and also get some bar stools for our kitchen counter and we're in business!

 I also bought this mini dresser to put my bedroom TV on! I plan on painting it black or white to match the rest of my bedroom furniture.

After waiting an extra week, I finally received Geoff's letter on Thursday! I normally get his letters in around 15 days counting the weekends, but this letter took 23 days! I'm just glad it got here safe and sound because I was starting to think it may have gotten lost somewhere along the way. I just need to accept that getting mail from Brazil is unpredictable. His letter was definitely worth the wait. I love the little details he puts into his letters that lets me know he is thinking of me. It makes me feel very special :)

I don't usually share personal stuff dealing with Geoff, but I have to brag a little bit! Ever since we first started dating, we would say "I love you to the moon and back" to each other. It fit with us because Geoff loves the planets and stars and would totally work for NASA if he could. Plus we both love to stargaze! But anyways he sent me this colored drawing and it just melted my heart! I thought the "love rocket" covered in hearts was a nice touch!

The best drawing ever.

Geoff and his companion are doing so great. I am so glad he is having some great experiences he can look back on someday. He truly loves being a missionary and serving the Lord. He really cares about the people he teaches and baptizes and works hard to make sure they stay active in the church. He is one busy missionary! I update his website whenever I get a letter, and you can check out the most recent updates here so you can see for yourself how busy he is!

I went to a bonfire on Friday with my roommate's friend, Megan and others from Megan's ward. We drove up to the mountains, and even though it was dark when we got there, I knew I would have to drive back up and see all fall-colored trees. I could tell it was gorgeous! The bonfire was way awesome. We made banana boats which are so good. If you've never made them, you have to during your next bonfire! It's hard to resist a chocolate and marshmallow-filled banana. Others brought a ton of food as well.

On Saturday, I went with my friends Candice and Whitney to "Fight Cancer With Color," a fundraising event held in my cousin Brianne's neighborhood. Jack Rapp is a father of four who has leukemia. I had never been to a color chalk fight before but it was a lot of fun!

Me, Candice and Whitney

Jayni and Mason! Stop growing please!

When I got back from the Fight Cancer With Color event, I saw that one of my Deseret news stories had been published online! I wrote this story last week so I have been waiting for it to be posted. I got to interview Brandon Mull, author of the popular Fablehaven series. He has two new books coming out that I read before I interviewed him. When I went to see on online, I noticed it was a top story meaning that it is one of the top 10 that is being read the most by our readers! I was pretty excited. You can read the story here.

Another story I wrote was posted online at the same time, and I found out a couple hours later that both my stories were published in the Sunday paper! That makes a total of 4 stories put in the paper and 6 online. I hope a couple of other stories I have written get put online this week.

"Top Story" on the home page!

Main story in "Family Life/ Arts & Entertainment" section.
The story on the bottom left is another one I wrote!

This past week I also interviewed an up-and-coming band called Chasing Chance. They are from Orem and will be performing with The All-American Rejects, Boys Like Girls and Parachute next Tuesday. I had so much fun interviewing them. They said they were going to send me some free tickets to their concert, which I was super excited because I am obsessed with the band Parachute! When I went to check my mailbox on Saturday, there were the tickets! I love the perks of working for Deseret News!

Concert tickets for October 23rd!

And that is a brief overview (sorry it doesn't seem brief but it really is!) my crazy busy week. I had so much fun. I wish every week would be like this one!