so thankful

After my quick, yet wonderful trip to Utah I went up to Fruitland, Idaho for an extra long Thanksgiving vacation. My family also came for the holiday, we had so much fun! I love Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for my family and friends and the traditions we have. I am so thankful for all of the blessings in my life and I am thankful for Thanksgiving so I can spend time thinking about all of those blessings. I am trying to figure out the best way to blog about my week at Farmers, but there are so many pictures, it might be a couple of more days. It will be worth the wait...promise.

so exciting

The first look at the Philippines Cebu Temple (isn't it beautiful?). So exciting. I can't even believe it. I hope the people I know are still around and ready to go inside. I really hope I will go when it is finished. I really want to.

the rest of my utah trip

I found my dream house...I visited with my good friends the Matthews and fell in love with their new home

We had a little reunion with the winter 2005 Skyview #2 girls, minus Camilla plus Livie's two babies

The girls....dinner with the gang at Mimi's Cafe

Ashley and Meredith

Jake (Meredith's darling husband, now one of us), Lindsay and Dallas

I got to spend a lot of time with Kaitlin on this trip

Classic Jeremiah and me picture...it never gets old

Reunited and it feels so good

Look how many friends I still have left in Provo and there is even a few people missing from the group...see Micah enough for a bus trip

I even had time for relaxing on Micah's new message chair....I had the best trip ever!

I also did some things that I didn't get pictures of...hanging out at Campus Craft and Floral, the gym with Michelle, pumpkin cream cheese, giggle fest 2007 with Lindsay, sleeping on Lindsay's comfy bed, hanging out with the boys, running errands to some of my favorite stores and more. I really had a great time.

meet brando

This is Brandon Michael Walker (with Shauna), I sometimes call him Brando. BMW had a birthday recently I failed to mention it here. Happy Belated Birthday Brandon, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for neglecting you on your special day. P.S. You look really HOT in this picture (I mean, always). Wow.

eric's married

I went to Utah for Cousin Eric's wedding! Hooray! It was so much fun to be with Eric and Nakita Ellis on their special day. I loved being in the Temple with my friends, it was so wonderful to spend the day with the people I love. It was great to be back with everyone again. I love these people...I am so blessed.

batch

I went to Utah early this week. I had a mini-reunion with almost all of my batch (missionaries from the MTC, that was my group going in to the mission) sisters. We were bummed Sister Shearer wasn't able to join us. It would have been the first time all four of us were together for years, hopefully next time. It was so much fun to be together and watch all of the babies play. I love these girls. I love to see the women they have become. It was such a fun night. I can't wait to do it again.

november seattle visitors

Laurie Farmer came to town on the 1st and stayed through the weekend. We scrapbooked and talked and talked. We ate some delicious pizza and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. It was so good to have her in town with me. I love Laurie we have been friends for over 18 years. We are both excited to scrapbook again...Thanks Laurie. Come back.

The next weekend my friend and ex-roommate Ashley Dickson came to Seattle to visit her 3 nieces (two are brand new twins) she was able to get away for an afternoon and we wondered around the city. We went on the Seattle Underground Tour, you want to come here and see it! Instead of going to the Space Needle we went to the old Columbia Tour and saw the view. It was beautiful. We walked down to the Pier and ate fish tacos and saw a ferry. It was pretty much a perfect Seattle day.

see, i said i was shy

I am a Violet What Flower Are You?

"You have a shy personality. You tend to hesitate before trying new things or meeting new people. But once people get to know you, you open up and show the world what you are really all about."

super enrichment

I mentioned a while back that I taught a class at my ward's super enrichment a couple of weeks ago. This is what we did. Cute, huh? So easy. They are just letters from a craft store. These are the paper mache-like ones, but there are also wood ones. I mod podged (it's a noun AND a verd) paper on the top, sanded and antiqued the edges and then added a few embellishments. Viola! Done.

tagged

My friend Emily tagged me a few days ago, I am a little slow.

1. I absolutely love... people. I love to be with my family and friends. I like to email, blog, talk on the phone and anything else that helps me stay in touch with the people I love. I love to meet new people. I have met wonderful people on the airplane. I like to befriend people at the grocery store or on the phone (like that one nice T-Mobile guy). There are a lot of people I don’t like, I mean A LOT, but overall I really absolutely love people.

2. I don't care if... it doesn’t snow this year. Last winter I got enough. I hate driving in the snow and I want a year off. If I want to see the snow I can go visit Jared in Wenatchee, but I think we will be waiting for the white stuff to melt before I head over the mountains again.

3. I like to... go to the movies. I don’t go to the theater very often, maybe once every 4 to 6 months. But when I do I really like it. And I think going to a matinee in the middle of the day, especially a work day, is pretty cool.

4. I play... at the gym. Well not much lately, but that will soon be reactivated. I like the treadmill and weights, I use some machines. I sometimes take a yoga class. I often workout at home, there is a lot one can do outside of the gym, walking in place is one of my favorite exercises. I need to be better; there is always room for improvement. Maybe one day I’ll actually play a sport or something.

5. I have a horrible habit of... staying up too late. I hate it, but at the same time I love it. I am also a bad procrastinator. Maybe those are related somehow.

6. I love to... craft. I love to be crafty, it is fun. I love to scrapbook and I am so happy that I am bringing it back into my life. Get ready soon I will be posting some of my recent crafting endeavors.

I tag my old roommates Olivia and Esther.

eleven years ago

This day in 1996 (affectionately known as the late nineteen hundreds) I entered the MTC. Can it really be? Has 11 years really passed? I loved the MTC. I made great friends and had a fabulous 2 months. It was hard. So hard. I learned the discussions in Cebuano and it was tough. There was one time I remember thinking, "Jacob is a liar this is not fun, he did not tell me this place is THIS hard." In the end the MTC was an awesome experience. It was a terrific start to my 18 month mission. I loved being a missionary and I loved serving in the Philippines. I have been so blessed...Tonight I am going to look for my missionary journal and MTC scrapbook and take a trip down memory lane. Harris, Shearer, and any of the rest of my batch who reads this: Happy Anniversary!

P.S. Happy Birthday Seth Leonard!