Mom and Me Day

So even though I live with my parents still, the quality time that we get to spend together is usually cut short by, well, life. So my mom and I decided that on Monday we would spend the day together just the two of us. We didn't know what we were going to do, we just knew it was together. So our day started by waking up at 5 in the morning to go to a workout class at 5:45. Then we came home and showered. She took a nap while I worked on my student loans and then we were off again. We started driving up to the mountain. We stopped at a camping site and parked in a lot and walked by a river, it was so peaceful and serene, we probably could have stayed there all day. The landscape on the way up is absolutely incredible, she kept pointing to the trees telling me to watch and I kept pointing to the road telling her to watch. As we drove up we started to pass Alpine slides, we both sort of looked at each other and said why not? So we bought two rides on the slides. We were both a little nervous, not having been on the slides for quite some time so we resorted to the slow lane. After that though we were geared up for the fast lane. The second time down we both got super fast sleds (its all about the sleds, if you get an old one your pretty much screwed.) So on our way down we started a 5 man pile up behind a sweet little blond girl that was inching along. When we got to the bottom of the hill, mom was very upset. She was so disappointed "Ah that little girl! I had such a good sled, I just wanted to really ride that thing! Man!" But to the fault of the line worker we were able to go up one more time. This time we waited for all the kids to go past us. I went in front of mom this time too. Man I flew! I get to the bottom and look back, no mom, i get out and start dragging my sled to the end, no mom, I continue to wait there until finally she starts scooting into the finish. What can I say, its a skill to fly, a skill that not all of us have.

The rest of the ride up the mountain she talked about how fast I went and how she just couldn't get it going, very frustrated. Our next stop was up at Timberline. We got out and there were hoards of snowboarders just finishing their runs. My mom turned and said "Probably not the place that you want your mom with you." I leaned in and grabbed her arm and said with a smile, "I dont mind." We had lunch up at the lodge. It was beautiful, our soup tasted like crap, that was not beautiful but the scenery was. We were going to ride the lift to the top but it stopped running at 1:30, so we couldn't go up. After walking around for a bit we decided to go downtown and go shopping, something we hadn't done since probably Christmas. I slept the whole way down, 5:45 workout classes can do that to ya. Shopping was awesome. My mom is the most gracious shopper. She gets so happy when she shops with any of us girls. I am very blessed to have a mom that gets delighted when I am happy. At the end of our shopping we got a bite at Chipotle...Amazing! What a fun day, I love spending time with my mom, I am a very blessed young woman to have such an amazing mother and friend, I am going to miss her very much next year!

Im going to say its been over seven years

In my guestimations I would have to say that it has been seven years since I have been to the Oregon Zoo. (I gather this guess from the last time that I remember the zoo, I must have been about ten or eleven and I was holding my adorable cousin Shane, we were walking past the monkey exibit when I think he caught a bit of jungle fever and decided to take a bite out of me. He bit through my sweatshirt and actually broke skin. Oh sweet memories, only at the zoo!) Lets just say I have totally been missing out on what this place has to offer! It was fantastic! I went with my older sister Tiffany and my nephew Curtis. While Curtis was busy checking out all the girl zoo workers, I was watching the tigers, bears and zebras. It was amazing, I felt like a child again, with wonder and glee in my eyes. These creatures are amazing! I could have just sat and contemplated what God was thinking with each individual stripe of the zebras' hairs. I am so thankful for a wonderful older sister that includes me in such festivities.Tiffany having to force Curt to watch the penguins, he was more interested in the fine lookin ladies It was a bit past Curts nap and he was starting to get a little cranky

On the car ride home however Curtis started to crash, which was bad news. By the time we got home his cat nap in the car turned out to be the only nap he wanted to take, so instead of his regular three hour nap, he decided that wide awake and cranky was the way to go. So Kiki and I watched Curt while Tiffany got to catch up on a little shut eye for herself. By watching Curtis I mean that Kiki and I were laying on the ground doing crunches watching "You are what you eat" on BBC while Curtis was smearing goldfish into the carpet. After Tiffs nap the two of us and Curt decided to head over to the Nike Factory Store and hit up some deals. These are some pics of Curtis totally approving of Dad's new job, (My brother in law Tony now works for Nike, a sweet job that he loves! The family does too, as long as the discounts keep rolling in...kidding, but no seriously.) Today was full and wonderful. I love the bonding time I get with my family and finally growing up and getting to that age where I can finally "hang" with my sisters and be there friend and not just the little sister! Some of my friends have been asking where have I been, what have I been doing and I get to say that I have been hangingout with my best friends, my sisters. I love spending time with them and getting to know them better as family but as people as well. I am very blessed.

Stuck at home with Kleenex up my nose

So thursday night I started to feel like I was coming down with something. I had a runny nose and a scratchy throat. At 2am I woke not being able to swallow and in pain when trying to breathe. I walked upstairs to take some airborne, knowing however that it is a preventitive not a fixer. To my surprise though I was able to breathe smoother. I went back to bed and continued to wake up every hour on the hour. At 7 in the morning though it was time to get up and embrace the day. I was set to babysit the Clauds at 8:30 and did not want to be late. During the morning I was probably the most lackadaisical sitter. We threw around the ball with the dogs for a bit in the back. Then after picking rasberries for about 15 minutes we encountered a cute little black and orange snake. Me being totally brave and secure decided it was time for us to hustle out of the garden and sit in front of the television. The remainder of the morning would usually be spent with me planning some dancing lessons or games of tag and run, however on this particular morning I was very creative and decided that multiple episodes of Spongebob was just the trick. After arriving home I decided it would be best if I didn't sleep because I knew I would be up all night. So I decided that I would indulge in about 12 episodes of the O.C., the high class, totally educational show of drama and scandal in the lives of the rich and beautiful. After getting a headache that seemed to travel outside of my body with a pulsing between my eyes I took some musinex and tylenol. Then I sat down with my father and together we watched Rendition, rating it at an ok, but not a must see. This morning I find that the throat feels a ton better and breathing has become bearable again. I guess a perk to this situation though is that I woke up this morning with that ever sexy Peobe from Friends sick voice. Side note: it is Kiki's Birthday today, Happy 24th! I love her and could not be happier that she is at home with her family again. It is also almost Tony's Birthday, Happy 29th, so we are celebrating his as well, I love you and what an amazing addition to our family you have been.So I look forward to celebrating this day with them, with kleenex up my nose.

Life Happens... anxiously

I am anxious about life. So many big decisions are being made and I am afraid to make the wrong one. I know at a certain point you just need to close your eyes and take the leap and trust that God has whats best in mind. I was really anxious about what school to go to and what city...or lack there of, to live in. I have decided that I will be attending Seattle Pacific University in the fall (go falcons!) and I am extremely excited. At the same time though I face huge financial barriers. I wonder if I am making a risky decision when I should make the smart decision and go to a community college, save the money and transfer my junior year. I have decided I am a risk taker and I would love to experience the whole dorm freshmen year life style. I will be rooming with one of my best friends Heather Canby, she is a rock and super supportive of me. I feel like I have been waiting so long to grow up and be on my own, completely independent, except for finances...cars...insurance, well somewhat independent. At least living out of my parents house. I am excited to see what the city of Seattle has in store for me and equally excited as to what I can give to it. I am going into pre-nursing and will be focussing most of my time and efforts into that field, however I will also be apart of the SPU theater program. My passion is theater and acting and I would love to pursue something, however I know how hard it is to make it in that field, which is why I am going into nursing. I am anxious to see how my 18 credits of pre-nursing classes collide with my everyday theater class from 3-5, plus the two plays that I have to try out for during the school year. So here it goes...not knowing whats to come I am ready to take that leap and head anxiously into the unknown.