This one's for the mamas!

Well, it is almost Mother's Day.

Tomorrow to be exact.

So, I wanted to throw some love my mamas way.

I love you Mom.

Happy (almost) Mother's Day!

Here's the thing, my mom is pretty darn awesome. Yup, no one can argue that. What makes her so awesome?!! Let me tell you a few reasons....

-her love for her children, her husband, the Savior, and the gospel.

-those mad cooking skills

-her selflessness

-her sense of humor

-she is the craziest Aztec fan I know (and she is always sober)

-her patience

-the fact that she has always loved me, no matter what

-the way she can take care of so many people at once (seriously blows my mind)

-what a great grandma she is to Easton

and all the wonderful things she has ever taught me.

I know I was/am not the easiest child you've had, but thank you for all you do for me. I really do appreciate it. I love you more than I could ever express in words.

yup, I definitely got it from my mama!

New Leaves?

I decided its time I post again.

I wrote one last week but since the internet is so moody around here it didn't save. At that point I was too lazy to rewrite it. So, I apologize.

I am back up in Rexburg with all new classes and occasional nice weather. Ok, the weather still sucks. I was a little disappointed when we got here actually. Last spring it was so warm and sunny the first week back with only a few days of gloom and rain/snow. This year it is the complete opposite. Kind of disappointing if you ask me. But I am not here to tell you about the weather. Thats what weatherchannel.com is for.

My classes. Man, where do I start.....

I am taking a statistics class this semester and two science classes. Now, for those of you who have known me throughout elementary/middle/high school you know these are NOT my areas of expertise. Not even a little bit.

What was I thinking???

Yeah, I don't even know.

I am happy to report that so far everything is going great. I am actually enjoying my math class (yes, I just said enjoying and math in the same sentence) and science isn't too bad. I know, I am just as surprised as the rest of you. I guess I am not completely math/science retarded after all. Anyway, I am also taking a psychology class and religion class. Psychology is really interesting and it is helping me decide exactly what I want to do with my major. I'm thinking clinical or school psychology right now. The only thing I am a little hesitant about with clinical psychology is the fact that I have to do 4 more years of school (to get a ph.d) after my first 4. That is a little daunting. We will see how this semester goes.

So school is good, the weather is ok, and apartment life is still treating me right. Annie is my roommate this semester and it's like a sleepover every night. We discovered that we cannot do homework in the same room if we want to accomplish anything- I am just glad we discovered that sooner than later. Keith is doing well. He is working and going to school so his free time is usually spent studying. He is going to start looking at grad schools pretty soon and I know he is really excited/nervous about that. But for now, we are busy fighting the boys off of Annie...it's a full time job! Well, I think that is enough rambling for one post...

Here are some photos from the hike we went on during our first weekend here:

Love and miss you all!

Brain Mush.

I am suffering from the its-finals-week-I-don't-want-to-be-here-anymore disease.

Not really working out for me. I was able to keep my grades up (no lower than a B) all semester which is making my brain think it is ok to slack off little now.

Never has my brain been so wrong.

I won't bore you with finals talk though. Instead I will bore you with a list of things I can't wait to do when I get home! As the semester is winding down, I have put some serious thought into what I want to do during that week. Some serious thought. Maybe a little too much.

Here it is:

hold my nephew

hug mom, dad, harper, blair, and reid (if he will let me)

eat sushi

pet kobe

VGs

sleep in my leopard clad bed

go to the beach

eat more sushi

hold my nephew some more

go to the beach, again

wear shorts

SD Zoo

eat a burrito from ricos

go to VGs

go to souplantation

disneyland??!

visit the nursery/sunbeam kids on sunday :)

buy some more gap jeans

let my brain rest

did I already say hold my nephew, eat sushi and doughnuts, and go to the beach?!

Looks like I have a lot to do. I can't wait.

This place is calling my name

Life Changes.

I think I am finally getting better at this blogging thing. Only 3 more weeks left up here in Rexburg (well, until I get a week off). Man, this semester has really come and gone so quickly. So many great and wonderful changes happening in my life. I feel like I have really grown up this semester. If that's not too bold to say about myself.....Life is pretty exciting when you know what you wanna do with it and things start happening.

Something big happened last week.. At least I consider it a big thing. I mean, it's going to affect the rest of my life. Doesn't that qualify it as something big?

No, I am not engaged.

But I changed my major and declared a minor. And I am SO EXCITED for this career. Ok, I know you are all dying to know what I chose. I was an Elementary Education major. Until yesterday.

I am now officially a Psychology major with a minor in Child Development.

I know, exciting huh?

Well, I am pretty excited. haha.

Anyway, on to the next order of business...last night (Sunday) I made dinner and dessert. I feel like I spend my nights in the kitchen, "experimenting" with food. I guess it is more like learning how to cook. Tonight I cooked some Turkey meat and mixed it in with spaghetti sauce (store bought, I'm not that good yet) and Keith and I enjoyed a delicious dish. I had to learn to multi task. Cooking noodles, sauce, and meat all at the same time on the stove is NOT as easy as my mother makes it look.

Sometimes I get a little frustrated.

Here is a picture (sorry its from my phone) of my dish and Keith enjoying his so much he can't hold still.

I think I am getting better at this cooking thing. So, I decided to make cookies. My original plan was to make chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate chips as a substitute. I soon ran into a small problem. I had no eggs. How do you make cookies without eggs?!

Don't worry. Google knows everything.

I found an extremely simple recipe for eggless cookies. I knew they had to exist since there are people who are allergic to eggs. Those people don't go their whole life not eating homemade cookies. Sorry, not even a possibility. I decided to just try the recipe. Why not? I have an abundance of all the ingredients needed for it. I decided to start with a batch of regular chocolate chip, since I had multiple bags of those and only one of white chocolate. Didn't want the cookies to be a disaster and waste those precious white chocolate morsels.

They turned out spectacular.

I was actually really impressed. I was sure they were going to be a disaster. Keith told me they were the best cookies I had ever made and I can't/won't deny that. Who would have guessed?? I couldn't resist making another batch. That's how good they are. Don't worry, I got a picture of them before they disappear.

Here you go:

Well, that's it for now. I need to go to bed since it is past 2 am here. I don't have class until 2 pm, but still. A girl needs her beauty sleep.

Love you all. I will be home in 20 days.

xoxo.

P.

20 years.

I am officially writing this blog as a 20 year old now.

Crazy, I know.

Try not to be too shocked.

My birthday was a lot of fun. It was on a Sunday, so the Saturday before Keith took me out to lunch and dinner and just outside of Rexburg for most of the day. It was a little day getaway. We went to a little hole in the wall Chinese place for lunch, which was delicious. Then we went to the mall, wandered around and came home. We then watched some basketball, went to dinner, watched more basketball, then went home for the night. The next day was stake conference so I got to sleep in on my birthday (which is a blessing for a sunday since my ward starts at 9:30 am). The rest of the afternoon was spent cooking dinner and just hanging out.

Did I mention the awesome DQ ice cream cake Keith had bought on Saturday for me?!

Well, it was beyond awesome.

So we ended my bday celebrations with DQ cake and some basketball on TV. I fell asleep on Keith during the game (nothing new) and accidently drooled all over his jacket. Sorry Keith. Good thing it was my birthday!

This past week has been pretty sweet. Not very much homework which is probably one of the best things ever. Only about 4 more weeks til I am home too! This semester has gone by so fast, it's insane. I am excited for the Spring semester to come. Annie will be living with me and the weather will be wonderful. I can't wait.

So Keith and I have been going to the gym all week.

Yeah, we are pretty buff now.

Tonight was by far the best night in that wonderful BYU-I fitness center. We only do twenty minutes of hard cardio because we walk a lot during the day. After we finish that we go do our own weights and then meet up to do abs together. This is where it got interesting tonight. Since we are both pretty sore from doing abs every day so far, going up by 15 each night, we struggled getting started. The balls that we were using to do sit ups on were making this really odd noise every time we did a sit up and for some reason that just really set me over the edge. I couldn't stop laughing and every time I laughed Keith laughed which only made it worse. Except it wasn't just some chuckling, no, it was full blown hysterical laughter.

I think it was one of those things you had to be there in order for it to be funny.

It was one of the best nights I have ever had at the gym. I am so grateful to have someone in my life who can make even the gym a fun place to be. It was one of those situations where you can't even look over at the other person without busting out laughing. This was us, in the middle of the gym, on two squeaky workout balls, laughing our heads off while attempting to do 130 sit ups. I bet people thought we were insane.

well,

That's about it for now. I'm sitting on my bed listening to the tornado outside. I think it is time for bed. I will for sure have more stories to tell in the next 4 weeks. Oh and I am sorry there aren't any pictures in this post.

I love you all. see you soon :)

P.

I think I can, I think I can...

It's been awhile. I apologize to those who actually enjoy reading this :)

I didn't even blog about Valentines Day. oops. Well, it was marvelous :) Nothing too exciting seeing as it was a school day. Keith and I went out to dinner and a movie that night after our classes were all done. I couldn't have asked for a better valentine!

Last week was boring. Lots of homework and tests since it was midterms. This picture is how I felt all week. Classes are going well though. As of right now I have four A's and two B's. I am trying to get those two B's up in the 90's, so we will see how that goes. I would be thrilled to have straight A's for this semester. I think it would be the first time since.......? hahaha. Anyways, it's going well.

Yesterday was a bit of a weird day. Hayley came to visit (that's not the weird part) and after she left I got really home sick. It's weird how when you are with your family for a few months (or weeks) you cannot wait to get away. Then, once you are away and without them you seem to be doing fine until one of your siblings or parents show up to visit or some smell, sound, saying, reminds you of them. That's when it gets me. I was glad to see Hayley though, she always has crazy stories to tell! (you can ask her about them) It was weird though. Yesterday afternoon and night I was really bummed about not seeing my family for so long.

Yes, (to those family members who are reading this) I really do miss all of you.

So much.

What do I miss the most right now? well, heres a small list:

Mom & Dad

Maren&Bryan, Hayley, Reid, Harper, Blair, and Easton

Kobe (I know, its weird bc I neglected him for so long. but hearing him through

the window the other day on skype made me miss him)

Mom's food

Dad's hugs

Mom's hugs too

The beach

sunshine and warmth

sushi

my bed

H & B's sassy comments on everything

the smells of home

and our blue front door.

The countdown is at 6 weeks until spring break.

I think I can.

Here's to the Presidents!

Just thought I would give you a few random facts, to honor those who have led this great country.

Abraham Lincoln was shot with a Derringer.

In 1849, David Atchison became President of the United States for just one day, and he spent most of the day sleeping.

George Washington grew marijuana in his garden.

Upon the death of F.D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman became the President of America on 12 April 1945. The initial S in the middle of his name doesn't in fact mean anything. Both his grandfathers had names beginning with 'S', and so Truman's mother didn't want to disappoint either of them.

Abraham Lincoln is the only U.S. president who was also a licensed bartender. He was co-owner of Berry and Lincoln, a saloon in Springfield, Illinois.

“Teddy Bears” were so named when Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (1858-1919) refused to shoot a small bear cub one day. The incident was reported in the news, which inspired a toy manufacture to come out with the cute stuffed animals.

Six presidents were named James: Madison, Monroe, Polk, Buchanan, Garfield, and Carter.

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter was the first president to be born in a hospital.

Every member of Teddy Roosevelt’s family owned a pair of stilts, including the first lady.

George Washington made the shortest inauguration speech on record—133 words and less than two minutes long.

John Quincy Adams would often skinny dip in the Potomac River.

James Monroe once chased his Secretary of State from the White House with a pair of fire tongs.

George H.W. Bush played first base on the Yale University team that twice reached the finals of the College World Series.

Andrew Jackson was the only president to ever kill a man in a duel.

President Reagan loved jelly beans and used to keep a bowl of them on his desk. His nickname was Dutch.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's mother forced him to wear dress until he was five years old.

Franklin Pierce was arrested for running over a woman while driving his carriage in Washington, DC. The charges were later dropped.

Warren G. Harding once lost all the White House china gambling, on one hand of cards.

Benjamin Harrison was so afraid of electric lights that he used to have White House staff turn them on and off.

Man, I love our country.


hope you got a good laugh out of some of these like I did.


-Thank you google and stumbleupon for these amazing facts.