Clayton, CA

I am so very blessed to have been able to go to California to visit Jacquelyn, Jason, and their new little baby boy Isaac, even if it was a quick trip. Isaac is a doll baby! Jacquelyn is an amazing mom and Jason is a natural dad. They care about their little boy so much and they are examples to me of sincere love and sacrifice. Spending the weekend with them was eye-opening for me. I have always thought that mothers are incredible, but after seeing my best friend, at my same age, after having given birth to a baby, learning how everything works with a brand new baby, giving all of her time to that baby's every need, I stand in awe of mothers.

I am at a loss for words to describe in completeness my lack of comprehension for the work that Mothers do, for the service they render, and for the love they give. I have thought many times about what kind of a mother I will be some day, but something touched me so deeply this weekend about the responsibilities I will be required to fulfill as a mother that I felt an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. I reflected on my childhood and the role my own mother plays in my life. I have long felt unable to adequately describe to her the gratitude I feel for her shaping influence in my life; this weekend only deepened my gratitude and love for her. My mother is exactly the kind of mother that God intends for mothers to be and if I can learn to be anywhere near the outstanding woman that she is, I know I will have personally witnessed a miracle. I question my ability to become the mother that God intends for me to be, but I know that God can perform miracles with His children if they will but give their hearts to Him and put their trust in Him. I don't comprehend many of the works of God, but I have seen His works and know that he is capable of anything, even shaping me into who He needs me to be. I will put my trust in Him and have faith that one day He will make me to feel equal to the work that He intends for me to do. God loves His children and He did not send us here to

Stretched a little too far in my pants...

Monday morning I did an early ride-along at work, which means that I rode the bus from 6:15am to 9:30am to pick up clients for work. Well I got a little too comfortable on the bus and fell asleep for a few minutes. Whoops! When I came out of my short nap I stood up to do a little stretching number to wake myself up and stretched a little too far...ripped the crotch right out of my pants! My face fell and I could feel my whole head turn red. Only the clients were witness to my little mishap, and I had to laugh at myself as some of them laughed with me. I still had a full day of work ahead of me, so luckily I ripped them where nobody could see! I must be related to Jacquelyn somehow, I can't tell you how many pairs of pants she ripped just over the period of time I have known her. Too funny! :)

Crazy Weekend...lots of driving!

I took the opportunity to go to Rexburg last weekend to visit my little sis and a few of my cousins. It was so good to spend time with my little sister and cousin's Sabrina and Brianna. I drove to Rexburg on Saturday morning and happened to come on the weekend that my sister had to be out of her apartment for the week because it was the end of the semester... so we stayed at their roommate's basement apartment. It was very sweet of her to let us stay at her apartment while she was in Colorado for the week, but that also meant the place hadn't been lived in yet. It was FREEZING! I turned the heat on so we wouldn't freeze to death during the night. All three of us girls (Sabrina, Lindsey, and me) shared the queen size bed for the night. Both Lindsey and Sabrina didn't sleep much because both of them move around alot when they sleep, but I on the other hand, slept like a rock! These are the kind of experiences that make for great memories :) I love those girls.

Saturday afternoon I attended Celeste's baby shower in Victor. Celeste is so cute pregnant! The shower was a ton of fun! They played a fun game where Taylor, Celeste's husband, had to answer questions about Celeste and the pregnancy and then we had to write down whether or not we thought Taylor answered the questions right. Taylor was video taped while answering the questions and we got to watch the video at the shower... it was pretty cute. My favorite was when Taylor was asked to swaddle a baby doll in a thick blanket that was obviously much larger than the baby. He started out doing very well with the first three wraps, but then didn't know what to do with the excess blanket so he sort of went wrap crazy! It was hilarious.

On my way back to Salt Lake I stopped to see one of my best Friends, Jessica Hale, in Idaho Falls. She is 7 months pregnant and absolutely adorable and I loved seeing her and visiting with her, even if it was a short visit. I love her and it was nice to be around little kids, as they were everywhere at her in-laws house. I loved it!

Quick Trip to Rexburg/Driggs & Victor/Idaho Falls

Saturday morning I drove to Idaho to visit my little sister and to attend my cousin Celeste's baby shower. Ever though it was a very quick trip, it was well worth it! Saturday when I arrived Lindsey and I moved all of her things into a storage room at the new apartment complex she is going to be living at. Then I drove out to Victor to party it up at Celeste's baby shower. She is an adorable pregnant woman! The shower was a blast. We played some fun games, ate delicious food (amazing cup cakes and spinach dip), and had enlightening (to say the least) conversation. It was great! Afterwards Celeste took me to see the home she and Taylor are re-designing. Their home is going to be amazing when it is finished and it was so fun to see the beginning stages of their dream. It's going to be so beautiful and perfect for starting their family.

When I got back to Rexburg that evening Lindsey and Sabrina were starving so we went out to eat at the famous, Craigo's Pizza. It was of course delicious and all you can eat, which we fully support :) That night the three of us stayed at a friend's basement apartment. There was only one bed for the three of us... lets just say the girls get claustrophobic and I slept like a rock :) It was a short but wonderful trip. I love spending time with family. I look forward to our next visit.

I also stopped in to visit my old roommate and one of my best friends, Jessica Hale. She is only 8 weeks away from her due date and she is adorable. She had the pregnant glow and it was so great to be able to visit with her. I love her!

Wal-Mart Black Jacket Excursion

Our roommate, Caroline, was getting rid of some of her clothes last week so Heather and I decided to take advantage of her generosity and found some steals! Heather is modeling a black, double breasted, two-button, fitted suit coat; while I am sporting a black collared sweater and three-button, black, suit jacket with shoulder pads. We dressed up in heels and strutted our new apparel at the local Wal-Mart, basically too hot to trot ;) We got some pretty memorable looks while doing our grocery shopping. It was an experience we will remember for a long time to come! As you can tell from the photos, Heather and I are thinking about quiting our day jobs because we are pretty much natural models...PSYHC!

Easter Dessert

As most of are probably aware I am not the baker in the family. I usually leave the baking to Mom or Lindsey, and until I get some more practice at the whole baking thing that is probably for the benefit of all! I really enjoy baking but I am not always as successful as I would like to be. This year I am trying new things to improve my skills and that includes skills from every area of my life including: increasing my writing skills and reading speed to learning a new form of dance. After this little baking experiment it seems that it is going to be a promising year, because to my surprise and delight the Easter dessert turned out beautifully!

I called my mom and sister (Allie) yesterday in hopes that they would have some great idea for what I could bake for an Easter dinner I was going to be attending with Bret Gadbury, his wife Nikki; Nikki's sister (Stephanie), Stephanie's husband, and little boy (Reed); and Stephanie's in-laws. I was feeling rather ambitious and wanted to make something fun, creative, and festive for Easter dinner. My mom found the perfect recipe in her Family Fun magazine and I ran with it from there. It was the perfect dessert and I had fun making it. Everyone that I shared it with enjoyed it and commented on how cute it was. When I set my mind to something it is almost impossible to stop me. Maybe I'm not as terrible of a cook as I originally thought... I look forward to my next baking adventure!