Nicole's Wedding!

Nicole has been one of my closest friends since I was about seven. We have been in school together since second grade and in the same ward as well. Our birthdays are only a few days apart and we have done so many things together through the years. Gymnastics, dancing, softball, acting and singing...she has been a great friend! Well Nicole and Glen were married on November 24 and I am so happy and excited for them! They are absolutely adorable together! Here are a few fun pictures of the events.

Two Year Anniversary!

This post is definitely late, but I wanted to share! On November 17 Scottie and I celebrated our second anniversary. We kicked off our plans in the evening after a day of school for me and work for Scott. I picked him up from work and we went to have dinner at Macaroni Grill. We're not usually into Italian type restaurants, but we looked up the menu online and decided that it was worth a shot. We had a fun time drawing on the table with crayons and the food was great! As the server boxed our food I asked her to take our picture and she asked what the occasion was. When we told her what we were celebrating she congratulated us then left to get the check. When she came back she had a huge piece of chocolate cake for us! It was absolutely delicious, but we were too full to eat all of it.

After dinner we drove around town and window shopped for a while before going to a late night showing of the sixth Harry Potter movie. We had already seen it, but Scottie knew that I really wanted to see it and we both love Harry Potter. After the movie we went back home (to my parent's house of course) and there were pink roses waiting for me in the kitchen. They were beautiful, and we had a great evening out together! Here are some photos of the evening.

Ballroom Winter Concert!

This semester I tried out for the ballroom teams at UVU, and I've been dancing on the Gold Team this semester. I have loved getting back into dancing, and I also like that it gets me up for class in the morning. 6:40 am practice is surprisingly wonderful. Our winter concert ran through the weekend and ended last Monday night. Here are some fun pictures from the concert(s)!


















Team shirts!


















Me, Rachel & Shelley.


















Me, Rachel & Shelley























Yay for lifts! Bradley's face make me laugh.























This one is called the star. It's one of my favorites. :)
















Dancing...
















Dancing...
















Dancing...
















The end! It took a long time for me to get those splits (even though I'm not quite to the floor)!

Thanksgiving Week!

Thanksgiving week was so, so much fun! Monday I had school and work, then Scottie and I went to my friend Nicole's Wedding Dinner at the Skyroom Restaurant at BYU. It was wonderful to be there with everyone the evening before the wedding. Nicole and Glen are perfect for each other!

Tuesday morning I went to dance then Scottie and I made our way to the Provo Temple for Nicole's sealing! It was neat to be there for her sealing, and also to be with so many friends in the temple. After the sealing we took a few photos, then Scott went to work while I went to get our apartment back in order. Later that evening I went to the reception with my parents (also in the Skyroom Restaurant) and it was so fun to see all of my high school friends there! After the reception we made our way up to Draper to party with Scottie's family.

Wednesday morning we all went to the Draper Temple for Scott's cousin Bryan's wedding. He married the cutest girl named Holly and we had a nice time seeing them married and taking pictures. After pictures we went to Madeline's Steakhouse in South Jordan for the luncheon. It was funny to be there two years after our wedding since that is where we had our luncheon as well. The food was great, and when we were finished we went back to the hotel to chill for a while. After a nice dinner we went to the reception where we had the time of our lives dancing the night away!

Thanksgiving Thursday was long and busy, but so much fun! We got up in the morning and Scottie and I drove back to Provo for a nice breakfast at my dad's house. A few of my siblings ended up not being able to make it, but we had a great time with some great food. After breakfast wrapped up a little we went back to Draper for lunch/dinner with the entire Sorensen family (minus the missionaries and newlyweds). We used the cultural hall in the church because we had do many people, and the food was absolutely delicious and the company could not have been better! Soon after we ate, Scott and I made our way back to Utah County to have dinner at my mom's house. The food was delicious and I played with my niece and nephew. So fun! After spending a few hours there, we went back up to Draper for some time at the hotel pool. So great!

Black Friday brought Black Friday Shopping. Julie's husband Landon got us super early to fight the crowds at Kohls while we slept until nine-ish before heading out around ten. The shopping wasn't too busy, and we all found some great Christmas gifts for great prices. Later that evening Scottie went to his cousin's house to watch the BSU game while I relaxed at the hotel. I had a pool party with the Miller girls (and Landon!) and we had so much fun before running to Smith's for some holiday oreos. :)

Saturday was a nice day that we spent with the Miller family! We went to a church building to play volleyball, basketball and soccer. It was so much fun! I've never been super into sports, but it was fun to play carefree not many rules sports. Also, I'm not very competitive so it was nice to be playing for fun. After the sports we went to Grandparent Miller home to eat some really good food for dinner! During our down time all of the cousins watched Emperor's New Groove - great movie! After dinner, a bunch of us made our way to Temple Square to see Savior of The World. It was a great show about Mary & Joseph in their days up until Jesus was born and the time just after he died. It was a great way to kick off the holiday season!

Sunday came, and we drove back to Orem for church. We slept in our own bed for the first time in a month, and life is good.

The Apartment Flood. Again.

You may remember that just before Thanksgiving last year our apartment flooded. We were able to stay with my Grandma in Spanish Fork for the month until we found our new apartment in Orem. Well, while we were in Nauvoo over Halloween weekend our apartment flooded. Something went wrong with the kitchen sink upstairs (just like last time) and it ended up flooding our kitchen, living room and hallway. Luckily the bedrooms were ok. When we came home our landlords had moved all of our furniture on the kitchen floor and torn out the carpet in the living room, hallway and into the bedrooms. The damage was only the carpet and lower cabinets in the kitchen, so it was nice that nothing of ours was damaged.

We stayed with my parents while our place was being fixed up, which was nice. All of the repairs were finished by the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but Tuesday night we went to Salt Lake to party with Scott's family so we didn't sleep in our own bed until the 29th of November. Exactly one month! So now it's nice to be back in our own place with our own bed. Mmm. Also, this will be our first Christmas in our own place! Our first Christmas we were living in my parents basement, and last Christmas we spent in Boise. Yay for our own Christmas morning!

Nauvoo Photos!

The photos are all out of order, but I have included short descriptions below each photo. Enjoy!

















Liberty Jail in Liberty, MO

















Liberty Jail in Liberty, MO

















Adam-Ondi-Ahman

















Adam-Ondi-Ahman

















Adam-Ondi-Ahman

















Nauvoo Temple Quarry Overlook

















Nauvoo Temple Sunstone (Replica)

















Nauvoo Temple Sunstone (Replica)

















In the Womens Garden outside the LDS Visitor's Center in Historic Nauvoo.

















Nauvoo Temple Sunstone (Original)

















Driving to find an open restaurant for food. Scott was really hungry...

















Driving through Historic Nauvoo!

















A view of the Nauvoo Temple from Historic Nauvoo

















The grave sites of Joseph, Hyrum & Emma Smith.






















Sunset shot over the Mississippi River






















Monument of Joseph & Hyrum Smith at Carthage Jail in Carthage, IL

















Just after a temple session and tasty lunch.






















The Nauvoo Temple view from our favorite cafe

















The Nauvoo Temple!






















Monument of Joseph & Hyrum Smith outside the Nauvoo Temple. The Prophet's Last Ride.

















The Prophet's Last Ride

















The Nauvoo Temple!

















The countryside driving through Missouri.

Fall Trip: Nauvoo!

The drive from Kirksville to Nauvoo was so exciting! We drove through Missouri, into Iowa for a bit, then crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. Now I can check three states off of my list. :) It was fun for me to see the surroundings with all the hills (people out there call them mountains, but they are nothing compared to Utah) and the corn fields. I took TONS of pictures!

Driving into Nauvoo was beautiful. The road we took follows the Mississippi River and it was just before sunset. We drove past Historic Nauvoo, then as we rounded a corner to drive up the hill to modern Nauvoo, we caught sight of the temple (how can you miss it?). It was absolutely stunning to see, and I couldn't put my camera down.

We made our way to the hotel and decided to relax for a bit before heading to the hotel restaurant for dinner. When we headed downstairs around 8:15, we found the restaurant closed. Seriously? The info in our hotel room said they were open until 9:00 through October, but I guess it was a misprint. We drove through town to find something - anything - that was open and we spotted a little diner. We walked inside to find that they take cash or check only! All of the ATMs were located in places that were already closed, and they wouldn't take our out of state check. :( Finally we stopped by the other main hotel to find that their dining room really was open until 9:00 so we sat down to a tasty buffet.

Rule One: Carry Cash
Rule Two: Know when places close
Rule Three: Keep a stash of snacks

We definitely didn't follow these rules during our trip, so we found ourselves driving to nearby towns for food. We grabbed a pizza in Keokuk (Iowa) and ate lunch another day in Fort Madison (also in Iowa). We also crossed a toll bridge once without knowing, and didn't have cash so the lady let us by with fifty cents we pulled together.

Aside from our issues with finding food at mealtimes, everything was great! The Temple was so beautiful, inside and out. It was nice to take the time for a session, and very neat to be where the early saints were, even though it's not the original building. My other favorite was Carthage Jail. It was incredible to sit in the room where Joseph and Hyrum were killed, and to see the bullet holes in the door of the room. We got some really great photos of the statues outside and the jail itself. Outside of the jail there were also two stones from the original Nauvoo Temple. So neat!

On Sunday we walked through some of the Historic Nauvoo sites, which was very neat. My favorite thing here was the Trail of Hope where the Saints walked to cross the Mississippi River and leave Nauvoo. As you walk toward the river and look back you can see the temple on the bluff. It was a very humbling moment to think about what the Saints were feeling as they were driven out of the state.

Monday morning we started the long drive back to Kansas City to catch our flight home. We took an exciting detour to Adam-Ondi-Ahman and Liberty Jail. Both were wonderful, again to be where the Prophet had been and to catch a glimpse of things he felt. What an amazing trip!

Fall Trip: The Interview

Scott had an interview at A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Missouri last Friday so we decided to make a weekend trip out of it! We were scheduled to fly out of Salt Lake Thursday morning at 11:00 only to find that our flight through Denver was canceled due to all the snow. After lots of time on the phone with Southwest Airlines, we switched to a flight straight to St. Louis that left later that day. Long story short, when we got to the airport to print our boarding passes, the clerk changed our flights back to the original plan. In the end everything worked out great, but it was a long day.

We landed in Kansas city around 10:00 pm and picked up our rental car (first time ever that we've rented a car on our own!) and drove about three hours to Kirksville. Instead of going to the hotel we planned on staying in, we stopped at the first place we saw. I think we got to bed around 2:30 and got back up at 6:30 to get ready.

The interview started at 8:00 am and it was great! First they talked to us about the history of the school, students, faculty and the town then split everyone up for their interviews. Each interviewee had two, hour long, one-on-one interviews with a staff member as well as a third interview with an admissions member. Scott said that this campus had the most difficult interviews he has encountered so far. While he was off answering questions I was able to meet with a student adviser who gave me all the information I might need in order to move there. I was given lists of jobs, banks, schools (for me as well as any children), daycare, transportation, activities, etc. Their philosophy is that the student will be happy if the spouse/family is happy and right they are!

The end of the interview came with a tour of the campus given by second year students. We got to see the dummies that students practice on, which was really neat. You can see their chest rise and fall with each "breath" and you can hear the heartbeat and check the pulse. The dummies can even talk to you to tell you what's wrong. Technology is absolutely stunning. For the last leg of the tour we walked across campus to the cadaver labs. Scott told me not to worry because everything would be covered, but wrong he was. We walked through while a class of first year students was taking place. Once you get past the whole dead bodies thing, it really isn't half bad! So strange, but very neat.

Once the interview ended we drove to Walmart on the other end of town. To give you an idea of the size of Kirksville, the drive took just over ten minutes. We bought some snacks then started our drive to Nauvoo!

Nauvoo!

In a few weeks Scott and I are going to spend a few days in Nauvoo, and I am beyond excited. I have been making a nice list of things to do and places to go while we are there but I am afraid I might leave something out! Let me know if you have any favorites in the Nauvoo area so we can be sure to see it too!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's 50th birthday! Shh, don't mention the getting older part, but don't forget to wish him a happy day!

Interviews & Weekend Trips!

On Friday Scott found out that he has been accepted to Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. This isn't our first choice out of the schools, but it's definitely nice for him to have an acceptance! He also has three more interviews lined up. First is in Bethesda, Maryland at the Uniform Services University which is currently our first choice of schools. It is also his first interview at an M.D. school, so we are very excited! The second interview is at Des Moines University in Iowa, and the last one (I mentioned in my last post) is at A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Missouri.

For the interview in Missouri, I get to go with Scott! We had planned to go to Disneyland this fall, but decided that we could make a weekend out of some church sites instead. We'll fly out in the morning, just after I get out of dance practice and arrive in the early evening. That will give us some time to rent our car, get some dinner, and get to the hotel before getting to bed for an early start. The interview is the next day, and starts around 8 a.m. The group of interviewees is fed breakfast then given a tour of the campus, loan counseling, and time to meet with a current student in order to ask any questions. Then everyone has lunch and heads to their personal interview that is usually about 30 minutes long. As soon as the interview is finished, we're going to drive out to Nauvoo where we will be able to spend a couple of days. After seeing the sights we'll drive on back to the airport and get home late in the evening so I can make it back to dance class the next morning. It's going to be a great weekend, and I'll only miss two days of class so I am very excited!

Catch Up

So I haven't blogged in quite some time. I have actually started a few posts but never finished them. Maybe I'll get around to that sometime and get them posted. Who knows?

Well school started for me the end of August and things have only gotten busier since. Scott is still adjusting to being a graduate, but he might miss the free time when he starts med school. It also gives him time to do things like laundry and cleaning, and what wife doesn't want that? :)

Anyway, I am currently taking 17 credits and working up to 32 hours a week and so far things are going well! I am on a ballroom team at UVU which is a big change because I haven't really danced much since high school. I'm also taking a dance technique class to brush up on my skills. :) Aside from that I am mostly taking generals. I have Intro to Humanities, Ethics & Values, Intro to Spanish and Intro to Hospitality Management. I love everything except Humanities which was a little surprising. My teacher is more like a "If-we-have-different-opinions-then-yours-is-wrong" sort of guy so the class has learned to hold their tongues when he asks questions and he gets pretty upset when nobody will speak. The class I was most worried about was Ethics, but it has turned out to be one of the best. Learning all of this philosophy stuff isn't took bad, and my teacher loves to see the thoughts of his students so he can learn more as well. The whole class is very comfortable speaking up. Spanish is one of my favorites because my teacher is so funny. He is a great teacher and really loves what he does. Last but not least, Hospitality. This is an online class and last week the teacher cut our load in half because he realized that most of the students are full time with a full time job and/or kids at home. It's probably the easiest class I have ever had, but it's interesting to read about the industry.

Since I decided to change majors this semester I have four semesters left, so I am trying to plan everything out so I can take online classes once we move next fall. Hopefully all will go as planned. Scott's application process is going well, although he might tell you otherwise because he tends to worry sometimes. Last week he interviewed at a school in Glendale, AZ and we should find out in a week or so if he has been accepted. We have another interview next month in Kirksville, MO and we're going there together for the weekend. We're anxiously awaiting more interviews, hopefully from a MD school or two, but we'll see what happens!

Pennies for Peace

You may remember my post about Greg Mortensen's book "Three Cups of Tea" from a few month's ago. During Greg's first few years in Pakistan, students attending an elementary school in Wisconsin started a program called Pennies for Pakistan and raised 62,340 pennies to help Greg build a school in Pakistan. The program has evolved and is now called Pennies for Peace. To read more about the program and become a part of it, you can visit http://www.penniesforpeace.org/

On another note, Greg Mortensen will be speaking for BYU Devotional on Tuesday, October 27 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. It will be held at the Marriott Center on BYU Campus and it is open to the public. If you're close by, I definitely recommend attending!

Summer Fun!

This summer has been a lot of fun with the nice weather! Aside from work I've been able to read a few more books and do some fun stuff!

For the 4th of July we went to work (big surprise) then up to Riverton to party with my mom's side of the family. The food was great, and I made some fun brownies for the occasion. My cousins built a little zip line in the backyard too and we got everyone to try it out. The video is of my Aunt Terri on the zip line.




































Scott and I went to an Orem Owlz baseball game (thank you to APX for the tickets!) and had a great time. The game was great and the Owlz won!



































My birthday was on the 14th so Scott and I planned to go to a midnight showing of Harry Potter. While we were at work I was given two tickets to the American Idol Tour that night! Thank you again to APX because the concert was great! I didn't really follow American Idol, so I now understand the Adam Lambert craze. The guy is amazing! He has a great voice and a great stage presence. I took lots of pictures and took a video of each performer. We left just before the finale to avoid traffic and we were able to make it back with plenty of time to spare before Harry Potter started. I absolutely loved the movie and can't wait to watch it again.


















For my birthday we had a BBQ at my dad's house and I invited a bunch of friends to come have fun. We had lots of food (including s'mores and popsicles!), we played water balloon volleyball, and watched a movie outside once it got dark. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and just hang out. My dad has all the photos, so I'll post some later. My friend Nicole also turned 21 that week so I went to her house for cake and ice cream.

















Nicole and her soon-to-be fiance (we're still waiting on the proposal).

















Five of us at Nicole's birthday party. We all grew up together so this was a fun photo.
Last but not least out of things that have happened lately, Scott turned 24! Now if you know Scott you know that he really doesn't like celebrating birthdays so we didn't do much out of the ordinary. I did however talk him into eating at Cafe Rio after work. My friend Liz came with us and we got a dessert to share. I made Scottie pose. :)

Wordle

Today I discovered Wordle, and I love it! Click here to try it out!

Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there, mine especially! Here are some photos of some of the fathers in my life. Enjoy!















My padre!














A great photo of my step-dad Alan and my mom!















My father-in-law Dave!















Scottie's Grandpa (and Grandma) Miller!















Scottie's Grandpa Sorensen (and cousin Jeff)!