I'm thinkin

we are definitely addicted to oil.



This,


Turns into all of this.


The United States is 5% of the worlds population, but we use 25% of the worlds oil.

Interesting, right?

Just catchin up!

You probably noticed the new changes to the blog. I decided it was time for a makeover. It seemed only appropriate to have mountains and moisture in the background (representing Idaho) and the beach for my new header photo (representing my home) since I currently reside in both places part-time.

IIIIII'MMMMMMM BAAAAAAAAAACK in Idaho. I think I may have missed this place just a little bit :)

It's been a while though, so I should probably start with the weeks (months) before coming up here. Lets recap.

I convinced Keith to audition for American Idol. Didn't make it, but it was a life experience he can check off! I got to see the infamous Lauren Soppe while we were up in LA, which is alllllways nice.

(he is in the blue shirt towards the top. singing for judges!)





Maren had her baby. I am in love with him. Easton Jerald Thacker.

His day of birth!


He is the cutest little nugget, just can't get enough of him. It is a shame I am 3 states away.

Went to a handful of sporting events..

Padres Game


Aztec Football in the rain...look how happy dad is.


Aztec Basketball, uh huh, they are the champsss!


Chargers


I became addicted to Sushi...especially this place called Sushi Deli. There are 3 in SD. Here's a pic from 2 of the 3 :)

Sushi Deli 3


Sushi Deli 2


Convinced Keith to go on a bike ride in Coronado with me


and celebrated the holidays at Balboa Park with lots of yummy food from all over the world.


Now, that is not even all of the stuff that was done while I was home, but I figure you can see the rest of my photos on facebook!

I don't wanna bore anyone so this part will be quick.

I am in Rexburg now. Loving my classes, the weather (for the most part), and having good friends/roommates and boyfriend up here with me. Every day I am more grateful for the place I grew up and the many blessings I have been given.

This was mostly just a little catch up blog...I will be back with more information on the crazy college life up here in Idaho! Don't worry :)


I love you all and hope all is well at home!

Love,
Paige

Just a few life lessons

I have been thinking a lot lately about life. My life, other's lives, etc. It is just such an interesting thing to ponder. Questions like where will I be living in 10 years, what kind of job will I have, will I be married, or will I have any kids, really intrigue me. Then I think about the life lessons I come across on a daily basis and how they help me every day. Here are some of the lessons that have crossed my mind and been pondered to an exhausting extent.

-Fall in love. When it's right, it is the best thing that could ever happen to you.
-Work Hard. Always. It will get you where you want to be.
-Love your family. At any day, they could be taken from you. You are only given one family, so you better learn to love and accept them the way they are :)
-Look past peoples faults. Everyone has them. No one on this planet is perfect. The sooner we can look past others faults, the sooner we can make a new friend.
-Love yourself the way you are. There are some things you just cannot change, so embrace them. They are usually what makes you who you are :)
-Have faith. Without faith in God, you will be lost and confused.
-Be optimistic and happy. It makes your day so much better and brightens the moods around you. Life is short so enjoy it.
-Live every day with gratitude. We were given the opportunity to be here on this beautiful Earth, so be thankful you are still here.
-Serve others every chance you get. It is a double win opportunity. They are thankful for the service and you receive a mood boost.
-Smile and laugh. It's good for your health.



Just a little late night blogging. Thought I would try to get better at this...and I felt like these were good thoughts to share!


enjoy!
xoxo.

This is it.

I officially am the worst blogger...EVER! I have been home from school now for about 3 months. Seems like A LOT longer to me.

Started off my summer with a trip to Cabo San Lucas with the family. It was nice to just be with them for a bit, and soak up all the warm sun I could after such a long time without it. Here are a few pictures from the trip:

The Girls


Cabo Karting!


and here is the whole fam (minus maren, bryan, and reid. haha)




SInce then, we haven't seen much sun here in Cardiff. Its been a bit of a gloomy summer/fall. It's really nice to be home though. Maren is having her baby soon, which I cannot WAIT for. Everyone has been so excited for the newest addition to the family for a long time. It's finally almost time to welcome that little guy into the world!

The holidays are on there way! It's my favorite time of the year and I am so grateful to be home for it :) Things have been a little rough lately though. I unexpectedly quit my job about a week ago and there aren't many opportunities for another one. I'm currently trying to find a seasonal retail job since I am only here for a two and a half more months. It is a hard adjustment from working pretty much every day of the week, to not working any. For right now I am just trying to keep myself busy and not drive my parents too crazy! The weirdest part of not having anything to do all day is that I find myself missing school. Not so much Idaho, but the classroom and the learning part. I will be happy to be back in a classroom, moving forward with my education. I am hoping to transfer after this year. My top two choices right now are LMU or UMass Boston. It is a bit of a pain going through the application process, but I know it will eventually all be worth it. It's all part of growing up. Trying to figure out what I want to do with my life is also one of those things that we all must do at some point. I know I want to be a teacher. That is for sure. But I can't seem to decide between High School and Kindergarten. There are obviously pros and cons to both, but I can't seem to decide right now. I am already a very indecisive person, so a choice regarding my life plans is a very difficult one for me to make. I know that I will figure it all out in time :) Right now I have to constantly tell myself not to stress too much about my future. I am young, and my life is only beginning!

So, that's all there is for now. Again, not too many exciting things going on in my life at the moment. Life is happening faster than I would have ever imagined and it is exciting/a little bit scary. It has definitely thrown me lemons, some being more bitter and sour than others, but I am learning to take and use them to make some amazingly sweet lemonade. I apologize for the lame metaphor haha. Life's hard sometimes. I know that to be true from some of my experiences, but all we can do is pick ourselves up and continue trying. I have learned to not be too afraid of what is ahead, and more excited. So that I am! Excited and ready for the life I have ahead of me :)

I love you all!
Be back soon hopefully,
xoxo (like gossip girl of course. hahahaha)

Me.

It's Almost Over!

Well, here I am again! Sorry it has been a few weeks...(if anyone even reads this). It has been pretty hectic up here in Idaho. We celebrated the 4th of July in Pocatello, Keith's birthday right here in Rexburg, and are now trying to get through finals! Fun? Well the first two things were...

There really isn't much to say so this will probably be a short post. The 4th of July was fun. We went and watched fireworks at this hick-orific fair in Pocatello. Seriously, it was an experience I will probably never have again. hahaha. Just ask Keith how much he loved it! Idaho is definitely a whole new experience. Everything up here is so different than at home. I like it, but it makes me miss San Diego. Keith was worried about spending his birthday here since it would be the first time he has ever spent it in school since, hmm...forever. I decided that we would try to make it as fun as possible. I bought him the Fifa 2010 World Cup game (which I knew he wanted very much), a new pair of Pumas, went to see a movie and out to lunch, then played some of his game in between everything! I say it was a pretty good day. We did all there is to do in Rexburg! haha Oh, and I even bought him a cheesecake! So, we started the week off pretty well...and it has only gotten better! The weather has improved significantly, classes are almost over, I am passing all my classes with a very healthy amount of points, and did I already say that we are almost done??? It is hard to believe that this semester is already over. It went by incredibly fast. I swear the weeks were shorter or something. It has been a fun semester. It is so cool how much one place can change over the course of two weeks. Idaho is very pretty in the Spring, buuuut the Winter is a whole different story.

Well, I am not sure what else to say in this post. This month has been a blur of tests, homework, and deadlines. I am truly ready for this semester to be over. I'm exhausted. Funny how tiring school can be when you actually do it. haha. It definitely wears you down. It feels great to be done and know that I put my hardest into all my work. It is a satisfying feeling, I don't know why I waited so long to experience it! hahaha.

I feel like this post has been a lot of rambling, sorry about that. I am tired so that will be all for now :)

Love you all! 9 days from now and I will home with you!!

The Worst.

This title can pretty much sum up the last few weeks here. I'm the worst at writing on here, the weather has been the worst, and Keith owns a shirt that says "You're the worst". Which he decided to break out of the closet this last week and wear it with pride. hahaha. That boy always keeps me laughing. School is going well here. I am halfway done. 5 1/2 more weeks of school and then I can finally go home to the sunshine and beach. I'm not going to lie, the past 3 weeks have been hard ones. Every other school is getting out for summer and I am still here for awhile...with the worst weather ever. I have been more homesick these past weeks than I have since I came here in January. I miss the sun and my family and just San Diego in general. It snowed at the end of May and has been rainy, windy, and cold since then. Definitely NOT warm. There are good things about this place though. I promise. My classes are all really fun. I love them actually, which is rare. The only one I'm not very fond of is science, but Briana (my roommate) and Keith are both in that class with me soooo I get through it. We all have A's in there and if you know anything about my past science grades that should be a shocker.. It is ridiculously easy though. haha the kind of easy that actually bores you. My teacher looks like Dwight from The Office, so we pass time by making Dwight jokes. We sit in the back of class so we don't interrupt his lectures. I guess I do kind of enjoy that class. But it is still towards the bottom of my fun list. That's all there really is to say about the learning part of being here...

Outside of the classroom I feel like I always have something to do (It is usually homework, but surprisingly not all the time. I have discovered that if I just go do my hw after class or before eleven at night, it actually gets done and leaves more time to hang out! hahaha). Keith and I are both playing lacrosse up here on competitive teams and both our teams are undefeated! He usually plays goal in the second half of his game and ends up saving his team every time. Keith likes to drag me to the field on days that we don't have practice and have me shoot on him. It's probably pretty funny to watch since I end up hitting him more than a few times which I don't think he enjoys...yet he still drags me out there with him. It's all good though, I enjoy the extra practice and fresh air. I actually really like watching him play since I have never had the chance before. He is an amazing goalie! Our games are on the weekends so we don't usually do much other than lacrosse, a movie, and church. haha. I am glad I am playing up here though...and that I forced Keith to play too since he is having fun now. There really isn't much more to do around here. There is a mall in Idaho Falls but I have decided that I don't need to spend anymore money and Keith has decided he is sick of waiting while I try everything on. hahaha I think both my parents can agree with him on that...

I had a hair fiasco. Most of my family knows about it, but I will share it again anyways. It is funny now that its all over. Well last semester I dyed my hair brown so this semester I decided I wanted to go back blonde. I went to the Paul Mitchell Partner School to get it done. The girl that was doing my hair asked what I wanted done to it so I told her. I wanted to go back blonde and get 2 inches trimmed off. She told me that would be easy enough so I trusted her. hahaha. Shouldn't have done that. It took 5 HOURS to dye my hair and when they finished rinsing it I was shocked. It was yellow/white. NOT what I wanted. Just wait, it gets better. She then started cutting my hair. Mistake again. Instead of the 2 inches I wanted off, my hair is now 4 1/2 inches shorter. I was a little upset at the end of that appointment. haha. I walked out at 11:30 and when I got in Keith's car he did not say a word. That's when I knew how bad it was! He later told me he thought I was wearing a wig when I walked out!! hahaha thanks Keith. We ended up going back the next day and through the tears and many complaints, my hair got fixed. I am happy to say that it is back to normal now :)

I think this is enough for one post. I really really really will try to get better at this. I am so excited to go home and to Utah for the 4th of July to see my family. I miss the beach, the sun, mexican food, being barefoot, laughing with my best friend Lauren Soppe, my family, Pizza Port, my own bed, and basically everything else about Cardiff by the Sea. I have many things to look forward too! All the things listed above as well as one more...Maren is having a babyyyy! She is so excited and so am I! I get to be an aunt to a cute little nephew and be there when it all happens. I can't wait for the new addition!

Well, I will write back soon :) love you all!

<3

Oh, How Time Flies.

Well it has definitely been the longest famine on my blog so far. I had actually forgotten that I even had one! Oops! My first semester up here in Idaho is over and we are now starting the second week of the Spring semester. Man how I love the Spring, so much more than the Winter, up here. haha can't imagine there are many people who don't feel the same way. The end of last semester was quite a whirlwind. Made tons of new friends, only to say goodbye as April 9th approached. Luckily I can still creep on them on Facebook. What would I do without that site?!

This semester has been great so far though. Keith and I drove up together after my week break spent at home. We turned the 11 hour drive from home to Salt Lake City into a 14 hour one...he was not a happy camper when we finally arrived. haha. We had to stop, not kidding, every 50 miles on the way to Vegas so I could use a restroom. I learned not to drink a large cup of orange juice before a long road trip. haha. Then I proceeded to get us lost for an hour in Salt Lake trying to find Hayley's house. That put him over the edge and I now know why I am NEVER in charge of directions. My mom asked if we ran out of things to talk about. HA. Not with me around! One of the best conversations we had in the car had to be when we were lost in Salt Lake...
Driving on the 15 in Salt Lake..
Me-"Here I will look up directions on my phone. I have Hayleys address."
Keith-"Ok, yeah do that, or call her."
Me- "No no I got it on here....(long silence while I study my phone).."
Keith-"Where do we get off?"
Me-"Hmm maybe this exit coming up, wait no no keep going its not that one. Crap maybe it was.."
Keith-"Oh my gosh. What do the directions say?!"
Me-"They don't say anything!"
Keith-"Let me see the directions."
I hand him the phone while saying "It's a map!"
Keith-"Paige..."
As if the freeways in SLC aren't already difficult enough, I was trying to read a Google MAP! He definitely wanted to dump me on the side of the freeway after that one. Poor guy. Once we finally got to the 80, he says "Let me apologize now, for screaming at you later." hahahah what a test of patience I am. My parents can second that I'm sure. I am glad to report that the next morning we made it safely to Rexburg, Idaho! Oh what a wonderful place this is. We arrived to dry, hot weather. I have never been happier to be that hot in a place. It is crazy to see how much a place can change in one week. I left when snow was still on the ground and came back to green grass, flowers, and insects! My roommates and I were actually happy to see bugs, which is unusual for all of us. It was nice to see other living things in Rexburg (that is a very rare sight in the winter) haha. I helped Keith move in, met a few of his roommates, and spent the rest of the day getting his school errands taken care of. Tuesday was the first day of class. I have loved all my classes from the start. My professors are all really good and the classes themselves are really interesting. I have discovered a new love up here at school....the LIBRARY! I am actually writing this in the library now. Keith started out by dragging my butt out of my room, and now I happily accompany him whenever we have homework to do. I never thought I would say this, but the library is a good, fun, productive place to be!

I have high hopes for this semester. I am loving the weather, my friends, having Keith here :), and (surprisingly) my classes! I will honestly try to be better at this blogging thing. I know I'm terrible at it. haha. But thats it for now. Not much going on here..I am making my roommate Briana, and Keith, go horseback riding with me while we are here. As well as going on a wagon ride at some point. They love me for it too :) I am looking forward to a semester of studying and some outdoor fun. Bring it on Idaho!

With love from the library!