Time to update...

This past week has been marvelous! Sadly it will soon come to an end soon on Friday when I go back to Provo.

Today I referred to Provo as home and got questioned a bit by a good friend from Home in Chesterfield. I'll tell ya what though... no matter if I refer to home in Provo or Chesterfield or Tim-buck-to, Home is where my family is.
The past week I have been able to spend time in Chesterfield and have loved every moment of it!

Last Wednesday I went with my Dad, Reed, & Clay to Raft River to move cows. When we got over there I was happy to have three shirts, thermals, a vest, Levi's, a heavy work coat, Kroner cap, chaps, and snow boots on! It was a little chilly to say the least~ It wouldn't have been nearly as cold if the wind hadn't been blowing like it was... but like dad always says, "You have to have the bad to appreciate the good!" Although it was literally freezing cold, it was enjoyable to be out on the range with my Dad and brothers. After moving the cows over the frozen tundra, I was very grateful to be out of the wind and in the back seat of the truck. Even though the coldest place on earth (besides Chesterfield Idaho) is the back seat of a Ford, 4-door truck ;) Another one of Dad's sayings~

Thursday night the Chesterfield Ward had their annual Christmas Eve Party. Keith and Tricia arrived just in time for the party! Mom was excited to have out family performing for the entertainment of the night~ Although we might have grumbled a little (or a lot) about sharing our talents, after it was all said and done, we all enjoyed singing and playing our violin, cello, harmonica, or piano. We sang three songs: Bring a Torch Janette Isabella, A Cowboy's Christmas, & Silver Bells. The Cowboy song was definitely a hit!

Christmas was a wonderful day! I told Deseret she was not allowed to wake me up until 7, hoping she might wait until 7:30 or so. Fairly early in the morning I felt a tap on my arm. And true to her words, and also promptly at 7:02, Deseret woke me up asking me what to do because no one was awake yet! I, not half awake yet, told her to go wake up Katelyn and ask her. She soon came back asking me to go wake up Tricia and Keith... We were all up within about 10 minutes! To follow some traditions, we lined up youngest to oldest to enter into the family room so we could open gifts that Santa brought during the night ;) Mom was of course taping us as we sat on the stairs trying to wake up. It was a wonderful morning full of lots of surprises and happy smiles. Dad then made us a delicious breaky of Sausage, & french toast.

Later that afternoon and just in time for lunch, Deanna and Ryan arrived with their two adorable boys Tanner and Taylor! We haven't stopped having fun since.
We all had a wonderful time ice skating on Saturday! We went to Logan to Eccles Ice Center and had lots of fun! It was Tanner and Taylor's first time and they lasted for about 45 minutes until they were tired out~ After wards we went and got ice cream in Richfield at the yummy place they make Fat Boys at... Very yummy Ice Cream!
At Church today, Katelyn and I sung a special musical number with a few friends and for a dear friend, Chelcey Holbrook who just returned from her mission in Cincinnati Ohio. We sang I Will not Be Still. I song I had never heard, but now love. Reed spoke in another ward about his mission as well.

Later today, Keith and Tricia returned home to Salt Lake and Deanna and Ryan are most likely going home tomorrow or the next day~



The week is slowly winding down to an end, and come Saturday I will be at work and then Monday Winter Semester starts.

Well, for those of you who made it through my novel, I applaud you ;) Maybe I will add some pictures later, as for now, I'm going to sleep~ ♥♥♥

K, Deanna~ here are some pictures ;) only a few, but I gotta go to work now
--♥--

Follow Up -->

Here is a follow up in a really short story timeline!
...Since my last post I have...
-Moved home
-Cedar Badge, Crew Wilson
-Gone to work at Lava as a swim teacher and lifeguard
-Gone to all the YSA (young single adult) activities that are so fun
-ridden the range with Dad (not as much as I would have liked, but still went for a few rides)
-Gotten my hair cut (short!)
-Gone to the county fair... only one night to go to the rodeo
-Moved back to Provo to start working at my apartment complex in the office
-Gone home to see Reed since he just got home from his mission in Cambodia!
-Came back to Provo
-Went shopping for a more "professional" looking attire
-Succeeded in looking more professional
-Went on a blind date and had a fun time
-Went to the temple dedication with some wonderful family friends
-Went to work
--going to work in the morning~ yay!

--♥--

Another day in Provo~

I am excited! Well, right now I'm a little tired... But yes, I am excited that next Wednesday I will be done with school until August! I am excited to go home next Thursday night. I am excited to go to work in two weeks. And I am excited I get to come back in the middle of August to work here.
Well, Even though it is a Friday night I think I'm going to go study... I had plans to go hike the Y but I'm not sure if it will happen tonight or not. ah well, I am tired and need to go to bed early again. That felt good last night to get in that early~ well it was 12, but no later ;)
I'm headed now... Later
♥ Love you all!

Home is Home no matter where... As long as your family is there

WaLa! Look at us go! This was last night~ I was home for an overnighter for Cedar Badge and when me, Mom, Dad, & Clay got home that afternoon and after I got back from taking by CPR & AED test at Lava, we had a fire and roasted marshmellows and hotdogs! What a party!



Clay made the chocolate part of his cake and Mom made the delicious topping. Wow, it was good!



What a fun time to be home with the family! I am almost done with school... well, not really. I am only 1/4 the way through the term. But it is going very fast.!. that's a good thing~



Yay! I finally posted something! haha! good!

Easter Weekend ♥ Just posting late ♥

As you can tell, I have quite the Easter each year! This year was no exception! In the collage with the yellow background, this just shows some of our Easter traditions. Multi-colored cupcakes with 'green' grass and eggs, colored eggs (and this year we used our own brown eggs~ they turned out beautiful! we even made one for Elder Crandall), sloppy joes for our picnic lunch, pistachio salad (one of my favorites! especially with the colored marshmellos!), dumping color dyes into the sink all at once, and of course... sharing the memories with family! I have such a wonderful family to share them with too!

This year was great! All of us went to the new ranch near Burley Idaho and had a blast~ despite the wind ;) We even had a small bon fire and practiced our target shooting skills (I'm still not that great...lol)

One of the fun parts of Spring is seeing all the new baby calves. It makes me appreciate new life and the change of seasons. It is so bright and sunny, just makes me happy and feel good inside.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and that you could spend it with family and friends. I also hope you have a wonderful Spring and Summer! I know I will be. My plans are very continuous and never ending... kinda the same thing I guess. At least I will be kept busy.

This spring I am attending Spring Term and also picking up a morning custodial job to bring in a little money... Just need to get to bed early now so I can get up to work in the early morning. But I can do it! That is my goal!

This summer I am working non-stop except for sleep, church, and hopefully a little bit of fun after work too ;) Also, I don't work Saturdays... so maybe I can get in some nature time on the ranch. I love being outdoors, especially with my Dad and brothers, not to mention Mom and sisters... I love being with them all! Being away at college has helped me appreciate them more. If I am not home talking to them, I am usually on the phone with one of the many blessing in my life. I love them all so much. Someday I hope to be as wonderful as my mom, so patient and loving in all things. I have a long ways to go, and am thankful to have such wonderful parents that have taught me what I know. I have so much because of their sacrifices and lessons they have taught me.

Well, this is the end of my little tangent. Not really a specific topic except for my gratitude to my heritage and my wonderful family. ♥♥♥ I love them all ♥♥♥

A million or two pictures + or - a few ;)

So Here are a ton of pictures!~ I will explain each as I go through them ;) They are from my most recent visit to home <3

Here is Carmel. Everyone's favorite horse! Except my dad, he prefers Leroy ;)

Here are all the horses. Taken from the loft of the barn~

Speaking of the loft... here it is~ quite the loft. Clay and his friends have had loads of fun in it building a fort. I think Dad had him clean it up a bit ;)

And here is Leroy. Dad's Favorite! He is pretty good~!~

So I have no idea where this white sheep came from... Usually there is a black sheep in a 100 white ones so the shepherd can quickly count his livestock. Maybe that's why?

This is my Dad's favorite fench that he can't wait to get rid of. It's huge and is blocking the view of the beautiful mountain range~ Someday it will all be gone...

The beautiful brown eggs that our chickens lay! Very delicious and nutritious! we have I think 12-15 chickens that lay 8 eggs every day! That is a lot of eggs!

One of my favorite pictures!~ haha! This was totally spur of the moment. I was just taking a close up and then when I was looking through the pictures a few minutes later, this was what I got. Pretty funny stuff!

This is what I think is one of the cutest calves ever! So cute and brown with a white star on his forehead. lol... pretty cute. maybe because he is the only brown with 12 black calves around him. Still cute!

This is my beautiful younger sister, quite stunning in her dress ready for Prom! too bad her birthday is not until April and she isn't 16 yet. She is wonderful! <3> CLAY! On Reed's bike, taking after Reed~ Clay popping his wheelie. I think he is excited for summer to start ;) That night me and Clay shot the .22 and well, he has a way better shot than me... I guess that is a good thing lol...

My wonderful father! I wanted to go take pictures of the calves and Clay & Dad walked out to see them with me. I am so lucky to have them both!

So in comparison to my cute brown calve, this is the next one competing for 1st~ He is pretty cute too!

Now, this sight is not near as cute! I was sitting up in the loft of the barn taking pictures of the horses and I look over and see this! Ahhh! I called Dad who told me to go get the gun and shoot it... well I got the gun and followed its tracks but couldn't find it. It was a huge skunk! oh wow! At least I didn't get skunked by the spray though ;)

A quote surrounded by a frame.

Well, thanks to Deanna, I created a pretty cute gift for my roommates birthday this weekend. She is actually going to be gone to a track meet and I will be at home, so I already delivered it to her. It turned out really cute! The quote reads:

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go.

Others stay for a while leaving footprints in our hearts
and we are forever changed."

I found some really cute ribbon (orange is her favorite color, so it had to be in it) and a really cute frame and a craft store and *gasp!* it was $17.oo. It was very tempting to get... so... when I went to check out !Suprise! the frame was 50% off! that made the entire gift under $9.00! That pretty much made my day.

So after changing the color of the picture and finding out that I was out of ink... I went to open my new ink cartridge!

(Another story...) Stupid me for not paying attention.... So I bought two new ink cartridges one black 98 and another color 95. My black runs out and when I open the new black and put it in my printer, turns out I got the correct color number and the wrong black number. Ahhh! So upsetting when you find that out considering how expensive ink is. So I called Deanna and Keith, complained to them (that's what I usually do when I get upset, call Deanna!) and she assures me that I can take it back to Staples opened and they will exchange it. So in this whole process, before I found out that you can take the opened one back, I up and bought a new single black. So finally I take all the cartridged back, get my money back for the single black and exchange the color and other black for the correct package of black/color and walah! I can finally print in color and black now! So exciting~ That would be my tramatic experience last week ;)

...so back to my other story of the gift... I got it done and it turned out great! Thanks Deanna!

Just the Norm

Not much has been going on, just the norm...

Today I got all my laundry done, clothes, sheets, bed quilt, everything! It is so nice to sleep in clean sheets~ That's my favorite!

School is going, it's long, but I am enjoying it. I am excited for Spring term and then emidiately after finals I pack my stuff and go camping for a week.

Following that it's back to work. Only not school, by that time I really will be working... lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons. If you know anyone who wants swim lessons and is close to Lava, let me know, I will soon be signing up people. So that will consist of 40 hrs a week lifeguarding and 10-15 hours of lessons a week.

After that I will be happy to get back to school. Hopefully I can get in a bit of time on the ranch too. It has been pretty windy this week and it makes me want to go put on my cowgirl get up and go for a horse ride. Doesn't that just sound great?

As of right now, I am watching Twister in my kitchen and typing a new post for this blog ;) and tomorrow I am going to the Draper Temple Open House and then it's on to Idaho Falls to spend a weekend with Deanna and her boys! So excited! Then it's a Cedar Badge meeting, home to Chesterfield for a few hours and then back to Provo! Wow, that's a busy schedule! Well, I'm headed to bead, or I guess I will finish the movie first... Night everyone! Love you all <3

I should....

...start counting my blessing and be thankful for what I do have and especially be thankful for the things I don't have that I don't want. I think that would help my attitude in all circumstances~

Roomies!

Hello All!

So I recieved a wonderful idea from a wonderful dear friend, THanks friend, aka Deanna. And that idea was that I write a little bit about all my wonderful roommates to remember just how wonderful they all are!

I really am fortunate to have such wonderful girls to room with! I was worried before that I might end up with a... 'weirdy'! :O oh no! but oh yes, I got lucky and ended up with them!!! So anyways, I am going to tell you a little bit about each of them and let you all know just how great they all are!

<3

Kathryn Hansen

Kathryn is from New Hampshire, not exactly sure on the town. But anywho... She is so fun! She played lacrosse in high school and is very knowledgable about politics. Her major is something to do with Middle Eastern Studies and Politics. She really knows her stuff when it comes to stuff like that! Kathryn is just so loving and knows how to make a persons day brighter!

<3

Kristy Hadley

Kristy is my room roommate! She is from San Diego California. She loves ballet and John Mayer along with many other things. She is unsure of her major, but I think she might have mentioned Elementary Education to me... not sure if she has it declared as a major or not. She is a wonderful roommate for me and we have gotten along great so far. She has a really cute personality that makes it fun to be around her. She is just GrEaT!



<3

Samantha Thayne

Sam is from Pocatello Idaho! I actually knew Sam before coming down to BYU. She is a cousin to one of my good friends from High School. She is amazing! She is a walk on for the BYU Track team and has done amazing from the start! Sam isn't around too much because of practice, school, and BF, but when she is, she is loads of fun! She is a studier! She studies a lot and has the grades to prove it. But those aren't the only good qualities about Sam, she is a wonderful friend that is not judgemental and she always has good advice!

<3

Kelsey Elsholz

Kelsey is from Grantsville Utah! She is wonderful! She loves to read, play tennis, the piano, and sing! And she has a beautiful voice ;) ! I love going on Sunday nights and playing the piano and singing with her, it's always a highlight of my week! Kelsey has a wonderful personality! She is always concerned about others and always keeps a positive look on life, even when things are going against her. She studies hard and is oh so smart!

<3

Chalay Casper

Chalay is from West Jordan Utah. She loves Seinfeld! She is very careing and always tried to know when something is wrong with others. She is pretty considerate and is always doing very spontanious activities with our roommates or guys in our ward. She is always a whole bunch of fun!

<3

Well that pretty much wraps up my roommates in a very very very small nut shell! and here would be all six of us at the beginning of Fall Semester!

As you can tell, we all have a lot of fun together!

Luv you all! <3 <3 <3

<3 } Interview { <3

So Deanna posted an "interview" on her blog and now she is "interviewing" me! Luv her forever!

So here are her questions and my answers!!!

1. What is your most fond memory of growing up (at any age)?
My fondest memory of growing up is playing around the barn yard! Me and my siblings were so spoiled!! We never had any furbies or giga-pets... but we got by without them! We had two ponds: equiped with rope swing, raft, tubes, and zip-line! We had the cattle trailer to play in and climb all around in it! We had the MULE! oh man that mule was awesome! (If you know what I'm talking about then you know it was awesome too!) We had a play house and swing set built by Dad! We had barns to explore! We had huge trees with somewhat of a tree house... (mind that Keith and Wes never let me play in it though) ! We had a sweet drinking fountain outside of the barn. That was SaWeet... I loved turning it all the way up! haha! Yeah! We just had it pretty good! There was always something to do! Those were great days!

2. Whose shoes would you rather wear - your's or someone else's?
I would so rather wear my own! Other people have stinky feet ;) and I also have some pretty comfy and darn cute shoes! I love my own shoes! Now Deanna... if you ever need to borrow a pair, let me know... and Katelyn always borrows mine too ;) ! It's fun having sisters! lol!

3. When are you the most happy?
I am the most happy when I am with my family! It's at those times that I don't have to choose and make decisions about what's right and wrong. And it is also just so much fun to be with my family! They are the best family anyone could ever ask for! Somehow I got really lucky to end up with them. I am also pretty happy when I know that I get to go help out on the ranch. It's hard work, but there isn't anything like it. It's so beautiful and peaceful out there. And I am also usually with my family when that happens. It's great!

4. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
I honestly don't know. I hope to be done with most of my school. At least my major. Then I will probably go on to Radiology school with an emphasis of Cardiology. Other than that I don't know. I guess I could be the M word ;) married... but right now that seems odd since I haven't gone on a date for over a year... but who knows? I guess in 5 years I'll know where I am wont I. lol!

5. How do you keep your cool in difficult situations?
Well, sometimes I don't keep my cool. Sometimes my big mouth gets in the way and then it gets me into trouble. Over the past few months I have just tried to have more patience. I try to think before I speak. Then by the time I come up with some smart remark to retort back, it's too late and I thank my slow thinking later for keeping me out of trouble. Other times I just get up and leave. I don't know. I guess I just try my best to keep the peace and try not to side with anyone unless that is really what I think.

Your Instructions:
Now, I would love to interview you and you and you. So here is what you do. Come on now, don't be shy. I will be nice I promise. It is a great way to get to know you. Besides it's great way to have something to blog about when you're in a rut.
Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

So come on, let the good times roll!!

>HAIR<

I got a new haircut! Well... it is kind of the same, but a little bit shorter and less layers! anywho... here are some pictures!

yeah yeah yeah

So I know it has been forever since I have posted, it's just that alot has been going on in the past 3 weeks. From trying to figure out how to be a better test taker to trying sushi for the first time last night... I can just say, my life is pretty um.... not sure I have the right word for it ;) but it is just all a new experience!~
Last night, a few of my roommates and I went to get sushi... hahaha! They have had it before and it was my first time. I decided that it wasn't terrible, I just prefer a delicious juicy oh so good grassfed steak on my plate rather than crab wrapped in rice and seaweed dipped in soy sauce. Can you blame me?
An exciting event that is coming up though! Cedar Badge is only a few months away! I really need to get down to getting everything organized! I am so excited! My crew is going to go on a high copes course, rafting, hiking, swimming, and just have so much fun! So Way Excited!!!
Other than that... I am just up to a whole lot of school!
Luvs ya all! <3

Thank You Deanna!

Deanna is the wonderful designer of my blog! ISn't she just wonderful! Luv ya much! <3

Lovn It!

Well I am filling you all in on a whole lot... or at least it covered a significant amount of time ;)

Christmas was wonderful! It was so nice to be home with family!

New Years Eve was so much fun! I went bowling with the Young Single Adults and oooh, I'm not all that great at it! But I scored a high of 82 for me! lol! Yay! After bowling I went to a friends house and played guitar hero for a few hours, or rather watched ;) That was fun too!

New Years day was also so so so much fun! Another thing to add onto my list of things I am not good at is Ice Skating! :) Our whole family, well all that are at home, got in the car and went down to Logan! Now that was so fun, but I'll just say I face planted it after Clay went speeding off in front of me and another time I slid about 10 feed on my behind! Along with that, I came away with a few bruises! lol! Ice Skating was so much fun! I even got to take my High School BFF Stephanie Christensen who had never gone ice skating before! it was pretty fun! Deseret even was better than me I think! wowzers!

So I was going to put up some photos of us ice skating, but technology has to have issues every once in a while to keep us humble, and now is one of those times :S

Another thing we did on New Years Day was go and see Bedtime Stories! It was so funny! My dad did not want to go see it... and he laughed the whole way through! HILARIOUS! LOVED IT!

So on with myself ;)

I am now back at BYU! And I am really loving my schedule! I am taking an organ class, Into to Nutrition, Book of Mormon, Physical Science, Intro to Music (I know it sounds easy and useless, but it is all of music history so like the classical era, modern era, boroque era, etc....) and get this! Swimming! I thought I was going to die today in my swimming class! ;) We swam a timed 650 and it only took me somewhere around 11 minutes! but I am so out of swimming shape! Hopefully this class will help a little around the edges! But I am way excited for everything and all my classes! THey are going to be great! (I Hope)

Anyways, I need to go study or at least read and prepare for a few classes for tomorrow!
Luvs ya all! <3

Stephanie <3