Things to Look Forward to:

I never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait for school to start up again. I miss so many things about Utah State and yet, I was so excited to get out of Logan for a while. funny, right?

i miss roommates.

student wards.

FHE, that usually included free food

having a schedule

attending class

studying in the library

hitting up the cafe in the library

spoon me

my old job, not boss

institute

dances

bonfires

cutler dam swimming

parties

bbq's

extended family, grandparents especially

visiting my sis in provo

friends

having something to do all the time

weekend trips to slc

aggie sports games

getting so excited to go home for the weekend

free gym membership

aggie ice cream

& much, much more..

I wasn't sure if I was going back to school or not this semester, but I thought about all the things I was going to miss if I didn't. Despite all the money it costs to attend and to pay for rent and everything else, it's definitely where I'm suppose to be.

SO SHOUT OUT TO:

Emily Kofford

Elicia Sadler

Megan Bell

Mandy Allen

... hope to see you there!

looks like heaven to me.

Good Things to Come

i might have cried.

untitled

i have a months worth of catching up to do..

Traveling: so, we left phoenix--> drove 18ish hours with three kids to make it to idaho falls. (it would have only been 15 hours had we not gotten stuck in two hour backed up traffic from a car wreck and summer construction.. but despite the fact that we were in the car for so long, the kids were actually really good.) --> i got to hang out with my family for two weeks and during the most important time of year, the fourth of july! (idaho falls has the second best firework show in the nation, only next to philidelphia.. hollla!) --> after our two weeks were over, we then took off to oklahoma city (19 hour drive), which is where i'm at right now.

Festivities: we made it to idaho falls just in time to help my family pack up and move.. perfect timing, right?! in all honesty, i was glad i was able to be there to help. without the help of my brother who's on a mission, and my dad who travels so much, i'm sure my mom was glad to have another set of hands to help pack up and move boxes. i'm excited for my family to move though. i wish they would have found that house when i was living with them though! it's up on the hill, so the view of the whole city is incredible. i'm excited to visit! And we're right next door to the Christensen's. Tyler, their son is one of Layne's best friends.. and Layne always tells me how stoked he is to be neighbors when they're off of their missions. He said, quote, "Being neighbors with Tyler is going to be the sickest thing ALMOST ever to happen to me! I can't wait to be standing in our European underwear on our balconies!" haha, that's quite the visual, Layne!
I was able to drive up to Logan for a couple of days and spend time with my grandparents and extended family. My cousin had his mission farewell, and he did an amazing job! So good luck to Elder Schenk who just left for Brazil!
Being home isn't complete without one of our infamous game nights. we pulled out some oldies for this one.. POGS! i totally dominated, by the way. Laynes skeleton slammer definitely didn't disappoint! i also dominated in a little game of Poker. maybe i should take my luck all the way to vegas!
the fourth of july was amazing. the parade was a little long, but all worth the wait when i saw my sisters dancing in their kangoo jumps! HA HA! it was actually really good, and it didn't look stupid at all! you put all the other floats to shame! my dad reserves rooms at the Shilo Inn every year, so we have prime seating arrangements for the firework show. we got to eat at the banquet dinner and listen to Ali and Christina sing the National Anthem. they are amazing. I'm so grateful to know them, and to have been such good friends with Ali. I have never met a sweeter girl than her. they made it to Hollywood on America's Got Talent.. so everyone vote for Ali and Christina- and look them up if you haven't already! Seriously, do it. I hope and pray for the best with them.

Randoms: when i was in phoenix, i went to my sisters ward and saw a familiar face.. Elder David Fager! haha he's serving a mission there. it was weird trying to catch up, cause you couldn't be like well let's go to lunch or something! We just shook his hands and shared spiritual thoughts.. haha
i emailed layne late on a sunday night last week, and i was just looking through my inbox and i see an email from him already. it said, "DUDE don't get off, stay on and talk to me!" it may or may not be allowed, but i stayed on anyway and we emailed back and forth for an hour until his computer time was up. it was like we were texting again, it was awesome! i might have to email him in the late hours of the night more often! ..i might also have to check with the missionary handbook to see if that's even allowed.. But layne is doing so well, he had two baptisms last week and was on cloud nine. check him out at elderlaynerasmussen.blogspot.com, if you haven't already.

And I hope my mom doesn't mind I'm posting this, but I just laugh every time I think of it. My mom, Leisha, and I were cleaning all day and my mom was trying to get the vacuum to work, and apparently nothing was going right for my mom that day. So she said, "do I need to say a little prayer?!" and I said, "Yeah, and maybe you need a joint to ease your troubles too." "Why, so I can poke my eyeballs out with it?" haha Leisha and I thought that was so funny. My mom is so sweet and innocent.
side note: i don't do drugs, nor turn to them when days have gone bad.

pictures to come, maybe videos, depends on what my dad uploads cause he took all the pictures!

Childhood Mem's

*Kudos to Melissa for providing me with this latest blog post. What a gem, seriously. :]

1. Where did you grow up?
I lived in Grace, Idaho for the first two years of my life, then we moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho where I resided for the next 17 years.
2. Do you consider your childhood a happy one?
The happiest. I couldn't have asked for a better childhood. I loved the fact that I had a big family. It was a huge challenge for my parents to raise us all, but I loved every minute of it.
3. Do you have any siblings?
Ha.. I have 5 other sisters (3 older, two younger) and 3 brothers (two older, one younger). And I love 'em all!
4. Who did you think was the smartest person in the world?

Definitely God.
6. What about being a child do you miss the most?
Going outside to play knowing that the whole neighborhood would be outside too.
7. Where did your family go on vacation?
We've been to several different places, but I always just loved making short trips to Grace, Idaho to visit with my grandma. Those were the days..
8. What is something you really wish you hadn't started earlier in life?
I can't really think of anything I wish I hadn't started.. But one thing I wish I had started was the piano. I played for a little bit, but never practiced and hated it. Now, I'm trying to teach myself and it's not as easy as I know it would have been if I were younger.
9. Did you have any serious accidents or illnesses as a child?

Nothing too serious. I cut my wrist open using scissors when I was trying to make a quilt for my Young Women's project. And I have a nasty scar on my knee when I fell hardcore on my way to church. Nothing stitches couldn't fix.

10. Did you have any nicknames?

Boo-Boo.. let's not talk about it.
11. Name 5 school days accomplishments.
-The only one I can think of is becoming a Geography Bee finalist for our school. How sad is that?! I had pretty good grades though. I was in advanced choir for four years.. Nothing too awesome.
12. What stories have been told about yourself as a baby?
My grandma would always tell me what a terrible child I was in church. She said my dad had to take me out every week; and every week as I was yelling, I'd never fail to wave and say goodbye to the bishop behind the pulpit.
13. Did religion/church play a part in your childhood social activities?
Oh yeah. Girls Camp. Primary Activities. Mutual. My parents were very diligent in making sure we went to every activity there was.
14. What objects do you remember from your childhood? to list a few:

Always had one of these on our home from grandma's!

We were way into pogs and slammers. I think we still have some too.

Lisa Frank.. EVERYTHING. Notebook, backpack, folders, pencils, etc. I was obsessed.


Barbie Jeep.. minus the creepy kids.

A short and easy read for when I needed an extra point to meet my A.R. goal. And I will admit that I read every one of these books..

Wouldn't go anywhere without my gellie's!

Seriously, the best computer game ever.

*I could make a whole blog post about memories as a child. I probably will, in fact. the 90's were very good to me.

The Big 22..

Layne may not be able to read this awesome post I'm dedicating to him, but I just thought I'd share with the World Wide Web how much my big brother means to me:

• He takes such good care of me. He helped with college applications and gave me lots of encouragement. That meant the world to me.
• He would always come visit me in Logan. I loved having him there to hang out with me.
• He would always send me thoughtful texts or facebook messages. I saved every one of them.
• He doesn't care what people think of him.
• He's such a goof ball. It's easy to forget all of your problems when you're around him.
• He's makes about 20 new friends every day.
• He's very smart.
• He may not think it, but I think he's a great speaker and I love hearing him bear his testimony.
• He's good at everything he does.
• He's the life of the party.

Layne and I weren't close at all growing up. We just didn't have much in common, and it was hard for us to get along. After we got over the fact that we were complete opposites, we became best friends. It was hard seeing him leave for 2 years because we were so close. I would miss our late night talks,and his spur of the moment visits to Logan. But I know that his descision to serve a mission will be the best descision he has made thus far. Since he's been on his mission, I have felt closer to him than before. He is such an amazing example, and I love hearing from him every week. I wake up every monday morning at 2 am just to read his emails. That's the perfect way to start off my week, is hearing from him. I can't wait for him to return with HONOR in 1 year and 8 months.

Layne in a nutshell.


Still his goofy self, even on the mish.

By the way.. If any single ladies are reading this- My brother will be available in a little over a year and a half. Although, I will have to approve. ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAYNER!
I might just have to print this off and send this to him..

Dear Social Life,

See you in two months!

Since my social life went down the crapper, you'll have to endure posts all about my nieces and nephews. Which should be totally fine, because they are so fetchin' cute! Not to mention hilarious! But as for the whole social/dating scene.. probably won't see a lot of that for a while. Anyway, enjoy some cute pics of my niece and nephew!

1

Sweet little boy.

Classic Avery

-I don't have any pics with Jace, I wonder if he'll let me do a photoshoot with him?

-and I was bored with my hair and decided to cut some bangs. Looks a little rough, but it's okay because I'll see my sister soon and she'll fix em up for me! Right, Chelle?!

Young Love

(I thought I published this one, but I guess I never did.. This was when I was nannying over the summer.)

I love being around little kids, they are so funny and don't even mean to be. I've probably laughed more in these three weeks that I've been nannying than this whole year.. They're great. My neice, Avery, is so cute. She's in the whole "Boyfriend, kissing, fairytales, Prince Charming stage." Last week we drove out to Texas to meet with my sister's husband so we could all celebrate her little one's birthday. Anyway, her husband (JD) lives with 3 other guys, so we all crashed with JD and the three other guys for a week. Well, there was this guy living there that was actually pretty attractive. Avery had a little crush on him.

I was sitting on the couch with her and she comes and whispers in my ear:
"Laurel, I've got a secret.."
"What?!"
"There's three guys sitting at that table." (haha, really Avery?!)
"Do you have a crush on them?"
Avery blushes and goes into shy mode, which is rare.
"Yes.."
"Is it TRAVIS!?"
"Shhh! I don't want him to hear."
"Do you want me to ask Travis if he likes you?"
"Yes! But not yet, let me hide."
Avery hides behind the couch and gives me the 'thumbs up' cue.
"He's talking to the other guys right now, I don't want to inturrupt them."
"Just say, "Excuse me! I need to talk to you!"



I never found out if Travis liked Avery or not. Maybe in a couple of years though, Ave.

The Nanny

A thousand apologies for the lack of posts.
Being a nanny is a tough stuff; when I have free time, I usually don't spend it blogging. I'd rather re-watch recordings of American Idol, listening to Lee sing his version of Hallelujah. [Avery and I kept rewinding his performance, and watched it at least 30 times.. and still love it.] Or I sleep.
I need a hobby.

One Advantage

I saw this chick on campus who had super short pants on, and I thought to myself.. "Man I'm sure glad I'll never have to worry about my pants being too short." And then I thought of Steve Urkel.

There are advantages to having short legs!

My Mom Would Be Proud.

I've been sick all weekend and it's terrible! I haven't been eating and obviously haven't been very productive. But tonight.. tonight was different. Not quite sure where I got the motivation or the will, but I deep cleaned our whole apartment! It was pretty gross. I wish I would have taken 'before' and 'after' pictures because this whole process took about 4 hours. It didn't help that we have a wuss of a vacuum either.

Whoever thought that putting carpet in the bathroom area, (where girls comb their hair) was a good idea- should be slapped. Do you realize how much hair the carpet accumulates? Gross.

Our black couch covers ripped.. bummer.

I'll have you know I was on my hands and knees scrubbing that floor!! The counters don't look that clean, but really they are! There was also two sinks full of dishes that I cleaned.. minus some pots and pans because I didn't feel like scrubbing the crap out of them when I wasn't the one to dirty them :)

And a final picture of my new hair. I got it colored a little bit ago. It sucks that my natural color is blondish; because when my roots come in, it appears as if I'm going gray or my hair line is receding. And it looks GREAT! ...

Now I can sleep in peace knowing that I'll wake up to a clean apartment. :)