Well it's been forever...

It has been almost a year since my last post. So much has happened in the past year and it's been crazy! My nephew was just born, last time I posted, and now he is turning one tomorrow!! It's so crazy how time flies! So here is a quick update on my life:

1. My current music obsession: Katy Perry's "E.T." - usually I'm not a Katy Perry fan but this song is different from her usual stuff.
2. Fun trips this past year: I went to Florida back in October with my parents, and two youngest bothers and that was fun. We went to the Disney parks and Universal parks, including the Harry Potter World. We also went to Clear Water beach, which was beautiful.
Then for my birthday I went to Blackhawk with the girls, just to get away and that was fun and then that weekend I went to California with my sisters, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. We went to Disneyland and even though it wasn't quite the same as Disney World, we still had a lot of fun. We also went to Laguna Beach, where Lauren Conrad is from. I walked the streets she grew up on. haha
3. Back to school: I decided recently that what I really wanted to do is learn all about hair. So I started school last week at Xenon International Academy. I love it so far. I've already learned how to give a manicure and this week I learn color and cutting. I think it's really interesting and it's something I've always wanted to learn how to do.

So life has been pretty crazy but pretty exciting at the same time. I'm excited to see what this next year brings me!!

Aunt Again!

I am sooo excited because on March 29th at 7:03pm my sister delivered her cute little baby boy!! He is quite the little chunk and I just love him already. He was 9lbs 5.5ozs and 20 3/4in long and they named him Eli Joseph. I got to go see him on Tuesday and he is just the sweetest. His sister, Chelsea, had stayed at my house while they were in the hospital and I took her to see him.

She had been there the night before but it was still fun for me to see how she reacted to him. She walked in gave him a hug and kiss but then kind of ignored him. Then she decided she wanted to hold him but quickly was over it and wanted nothing to do with him again. She is so funny and I'm sure in time she will appreciate him as much as the rest of us do. I love my niece and nephew soooo much.

Little Chelsea Stayed the Weekend

My niece Chelsea is THE cutest little girl EVER (I may have been cuter, but I will pretend I wasn't for the sake of this post). She will be two in December and she has grown into being quite the cutie. This past weekend Chelsea and her parents went up to Vail to stay for a few days. My dad, brothers and I joined them for a day and we rode the gondola, went on a walk, took some cool pictures and ate lunch. When we were getting ready to leave Chelsea's dad suggested that we take her home with us, and I agreed. So, after convincing her mom it would be ok, we packed up her things and she came home with us for the next two days. She was such a sweetheart while she was here and I loved having her. She fell right to sleep at night and slept through (most of) the night. She found a new movie that she likes, aside from Nemo, and that is Over the Hedge. She loves all the animals in the movie, particularly the turtle. Anyway, the point of this post is to talk up my niece so that you all get jealous of how perfect she is and to post pictures from the past weekend with her. I love Chelsea and can't wait to have another sleepover soon! (hint hint Nat and Joe)

Pictures of the Sweet Little Babe

Going to Atlanta Where the Playas Play

Well this past week has been crazy! Last week, on Sunday I flew out to Atlanta, Georgia to see my friend Ashley and help her move back out to Colorado. It was neat going to the south for the first time and seeing lots of places that I have never seen before.

On Monday, while I was there, we went to the Coca-Cola Factory, which was really cool. We also saw the Olympic Park from the '96 Olympics that were there and went to the Underground Mall. That was an interesting experience. haha It was cool to see Atlanta. The following Wednesday we left for Colorado! We drove 16 hours and one day, which was CRaZy but went by so fast.

We drove through Tennessee, where I saw Nashville for the first time! Then we drove through Kentucky and then Illinois, where I saw Metropolis, home of Superman! After Illinois was Missouri, where I saw the St Louis Arch. It was much larger than I expected and you get to drive right next to it on the freeway. After Missouri we were in Kansas, the most boring of all the states. We stayed the night in Kansas before finishing our trip to CO. The second day went by SO SLOW and we were only in the car for about 6 hours. But we finally made it home and were able to take a rest before heading to Mt Rushmore with some friends for the weekend.

Mt Rushmore was fun. We went camping at Horsetheif Lake, which was so beautiful! We had delicious camping food and got to do all the fun stuff like sitting by the fire, walking around the lake and sleeping in a tent. haha Just your usual camping. We saw Mt Rushmore A LOT but it was fun. I was expecting it to be MUCH MUCH MUCH larger. It was still neat once we actually walked up to it. But from the freeway, it looked pretty small. There is also this view of George Washington's profile that is really cool. My friends got some pretty sweet pictures of me with George, so once I get them I will put them up on here. For now you will just have to deal with the pics that I have already put up.

Atlanta, Georgia



Coca-Cola Factory



Mt Rushmore

We're going to the chapel....

Well, what a weekend I had last weekend!! It was so crazy but pretty much just fun! I love weddings and loved being so involved in one, once again for the most part! Lots happened throughout the whole planning of the wedding, there were a few fights, a lot of parties and lots of time spent together. But overall the wedding turned out very nice! Janae looked amazing but more importantly,Brianne and I were able to fit in our dresses. It was a fun weekend full of excitement and her is the run down on everything.

Thursday:
Us girls went to the spa and got our toes done, all matching with vibrant colors and yellow flowers! While we were doing that, the boys went wakeboarding, which I was totally jealous of them. After those activities we went to Red Robin for dinner followed by Dave and Busters. We had a lot of fun playing games and billiards and it was really nice after a long day of working on the set up, that we still weren't done with.


Friday:
Woke up early and got to Janae's to set up more more more. This was our busy day for set up and it was a lot of work. We did decorations and centerpieces and much more. After setting up and getting all the big things done, we had the rehearsal followed by the rehearsal dinner. It was a fun night and we got done early enough to have a mellow night before the big day!

Saturday:
It was finally here. After months and even years of all Janae's plannings the big day had finally come! I got up and showered and heading over to her house for some last minute set up. Then I started on Brianne's hair, which I did up for the wedding. Doing her hair always makes me so nervous since she is so good at doing those things as well. But I think it turned out very cute. I wish I had some pictures of it but I don't...yet. Anyway, we helped Janae and Brian as they got their pictures done before we finished getting ready. Then it was time to put the dresses on and get out to the ceremony. It was a short and sweet ceremony (as I said) and very cute! After was the dinner with DELICIOUS lasagna and salad! After that was the reception and it turned into quite the party for me and Brianne. I think we got a sugar high from all the sweets and became a little slap-happy. It was overall a fun night and it was good to see the newlyweds off, as that meant that I was allowed to go home and pass out after such a long and fun weekend!!!

Staying in the Great Salt Lake!

This last weekend my family and I traveled to Utah! We left Wednesday morning at 9:15am (an hour later than what we were told we were going to, thanks mom) and got back Monday around 7:00pm (just in time for volleyball). We had a pretty chill trip and didn't do too much but were able to see a lot of family that we NEVER see. Here is a play by play of our trip.

Wednesday:

• Drove the eight hour drive. During this time Sean and I spent most our ride watching movies such as Jurassic Park III, The Lizze McGuire Movie and The Sound of Music. Derek and Michael slept or just listened to music most of the time.
• We stopped at Taco Bell in Rowlins for lunch, as usually and then were back on our way.
• We later arrived at our Hotel, Hyatt Place right by Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City. This being around 5:00pm.
• We walked down Gateway Mall and ate at this place called The Counter. It is this hamburger place that is actually pretty good but my hamburger was SO HUGE that I ended up eating it with a fork and knife.
• Michael, Sean and I went swimming.
  
• We then spent the rest of the night in our hotel room playing games and resting.

Thursday:

• We woke up in time to go downstairs and eat our continental breakfast.
• Michael, Sean and I went swimming and it was perfect weather for it. Derek would have come, if he didn't forget his swimming suit.
• I perfected my handstand at the pool and even did it without plugging my nose.
  
• After we showered Michael, Sean and my dad went to Roy so that they could try this place called The Burger Bar that they had seen on the FoodNetwork. I had enough hamburger on Wednesday night to go try it but they say it was pretty good.
• My mom, Derek and I went to Sbarro Pizza for lunch just down in Gateway, it was delish.
• After lunch, Lisa came to our hotel to just hang out and see us. We waited around for about a half hour playing games.
• We then went to my aunt's house where we saw all my mom's siblings and their spouses and ate more hamburgers for dinner! haha
• We didn't end up leaving my aunt's house until midnight and by the time we got back to our hotel we were pooped.
  

Friday:

• Well, by the time I got out of bed it was time for lunch, so we walked down to the food court in Gateway again and I had me some delicious Panda Express.
• After lunch we went and got some sweatshirts from Old Navy for our family's Annual Chidester Camp Out.
• We went to go pick up salad for dinner and walked around Temple Square for a little while.
  
• We then got ready and went up in the mountains by three where Lisa later met us.
  
• This was the reason for going to Utah. It was so good to see family that we NEVER see.
  
• We ate the most delicious ribs and potatoes and some delicious salad from Olive Garden that we picked up on the way.
• Some of the younger kids went on a Snipe Hunt with me and Lisa and it was pretty funny. One of my cousins kids got too scared so I took him back to his mom. He then discussed with me all these different things but the best was when he (being five years old) was convinced that the stars followed him everywhere he went. He was almost in tears telling about it.
  

Saturday:

• We got up and showered and ten headed out to the cemetery, where all but one of my grandparents are barried. Lisa met us there and it was just a short and sweet little visit.
• Then we went to my aunt's restaurant in Sandy, UT. It is called Simply Thai and it the best Thai restaurant ever. We had some Drunken Noodles, Yellow Curry (not my favorite) and some Pad Thai, all followed by some coconut ice cream.
• Then while my parents and Sean went to my grandpa's house, Lisa, Mike, Derek and I went to Zupas to eat with my good friend Blake. It was so good seeing him.
• Following that we went back to my aunt's house where we just hung out.
  

Sunday:

• My parents along with Michael and Sean went to "Music and the Spoken Word" at the conference center.
  
• We then went to lunch at Arby's and went back to our hotel room to rest and take naps. Lisa came us and met us there.
• Following naps we went to my Uncle Gene's house. We don't see them very often but it was so fun. We ate a delicious dinner followed by some amazing chocolate cake and competitive ping pong. I didn't realize how much I like ping pong and now I need a table. I love it I love it!!!
• We then sat around and talked about missions for like two hours. It was good seeing my aunt and uncle and my cousins, especially my cousin Matthew. He is so funny and I've never really talked to him until this last trip but it was fun gettign to know him.

Monday:

• We finally get to go home.
  
• I drove the second half of the way, and spent the entire time singing, causing me to lose my voice later that night.
• We made it home safe and sound and we were ready for a break from each other.

Well, what a fun trip we had. Like I said, we didn't seem to do much but it was still so fun. haha

My Life Would Suck Without You

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. The summer is winding down which means my summer friends must all leave. :( I have had a lot of fun this summer and I am totally bummed that it has to end. My friends are all going back to school and my brother, Derek, is getting ready to go on a mission soon so I will be ALL alone! Here are some things I will especially miss from this summer!

• Tanning at the pool with KenMac
• Seeing KenMac everyday
• Playing volleyball every Monday, even if the bad players come
• Hanging out at "the boys" apartment (Chad and Tyler) and watching some pretty random movies
• Staying up until 4 in the morning with Kennedy
• Drinking LOTS of Dr Pepper with my bestie
• Making jokes about my sister, Lisa, with Derek haha
• Wakeboarding with the bestie
• Sports night
• And much much much more...

I love everyone who I have hung out with this summer and will miss you all!! My life will probably suck without you!!!


Possibly Upcoming Posts To Look Forward To:

• Summary From My Trip to Utah
• Janae's Wedding
• Georgia Trip
• Derek's Mission Call
• And MORE MORE MORE!!!!