Oh, the cleverness of me.

BEST DAY EVER!!!!

2011-09-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

9.29.1989
best day ever.
why you ask?? because it's when these two lovelies where born!!!

not many months later, our lives crossed paths and nothing has ever been the same since!! they are my bestest best friends in the whole wide world and i can not even imagine my life with out them. Even though Linds is gone right now (serving her mission in Seattle and i couldn't be prouder!!!) we are still going to have a big celebration in honor of my two best friends day of birth! AHH!!! Love! can't even sleep because i'm so excited.
love love love you doll faces!! :)

tell me how you really feel...

2011-09-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

Lost, hopeless, stressed, tired, bored, alone, frustrated, restless, confused, distracted, unmotivated, overwhelmed, exhausted, sore, lazy.......... and totally sane!
i... love... mid-terms. :)
i feel much better now.

as if......

2011-08-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

if i had any time to spare, i would honestly have taken a vacation by now. but i don't. and now, as if i had any more extra time- i just realized that my teaching schedule and my school schedule (as in taking classes still) are going to overlap. and now, i'm screwed. i have to take this one freaking class to get my teaching certificate..... and it goes into my teaching time. oh, my, gosh, i am going to have a panic attack and cry. literally. i don't have time to spare right now, and i can't be double scheduling things like this! this is NOT what i do!! i am organized and OCD to the point that i reorganize my organization! but not on this. what happened to me?? i'm off my game.... oooooooooooh brother, this is going be a rough year.

just in case you're wondering.....

2011-08-17T16:29:00.001-07:00

no, i'm dead. i am just busier than a freaking bumble bee!! i'm now taking a very short break between classes, setting up my teaching classroom (the kiddies come back to school TUESDAY!! AHHHH!!!!) cheering my little heart out (or... yelling at my cheer girls to do so anyway.) and sleeping- which you don't do much of when you're still in school, trying to have a social life, and teaching. whoo!!
and just in case you wanted to know, i'm still looking for someone to eat my blueberry flavored fruity snacks while eat the raspberry and strawberry flavored ones from my mixed berry bag. :)

fishy face friend

2011-08-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

i miss her. like crazy. and i'd really like to call her on the phone right now and cry like a baby to her and tell her that. buuuuuttt..... i can't.

who am i supposed to take fishy faced pictures with now?!!! AHHH!!!!

Good thing she has a twin!! :)

This is me

2011-06-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

I am a who I am. And THIS- is who I am!

I am.... a world traveler. I have traveled to Italy, Greece, Mexico, and England. I travel a lot with in the United States, and especially in Utah- at least every month I'd say. I love to travel, and I love to explore. It's a constant learning experience and always promises some sort of a good time. Even if it is getting lost in Italy... It's part of who I am, why I am the way I am, and who I will become. Italy so far is my favorite place, and I love the new culture that it has exposed me to, and I love the changes it made to my life.

I am... a believer in the family. Family is important. My family has always been important, and they always will be. Because of how i have been raised, I will always, always, always, love family. And yes, friends can count as family too... Love the people who you are blessed with!
Cherish them for who they are and what they do, support them in their endeavors, help them in any way you can, forgive them for their mistakes (they are learning too!, appreciate them for them, and love love love them- forever and always.

I am.... an active, busy body. Always on the go, always wanting to do something, try something, repeat something, invent something. Being an active person is how I was raised. It is important for health, both mental and physical. It is important in development, and in making connections. Even if the connection is- don't play soccer with braces on your teeth. Being active helps to bring people people together in my life, and helps us to celebrate how different we are, but how much we love each other.

I love you a million ba-zillion!!

2011-06-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

She's officially gone, and all i can do is cry. Linds, Naya, and myself have been bestest best friends forever! and now, Linds is gone on her mission. I have cried multiple times over the past few weeks just thinking about her leaving me, and now, she's REALLY gone.
Saturday was a rough day, and they took me out. Once they left, I cried. A lot. I knew it would be the last time i actually saw her in person for 18 months, and needless to say, i couldn't do anything BUT cry. Then, i cried Tuesday night after she got set apart, and it all became real. And then, Wednesday i cried after she gave me the official last call. And then, i cried at 12:45 when i knew she was being dropped off, and now, i'm crying again.
She's been living away in St. George so i'm used to being without her in person, but we see each other at least every other month, and talk as much as possible. This is a whole new ball game now folks. I'd like to fall asleep for a few months, fast forward to September or so, and then wake up. By then, she'll be used to being away and not communicating, and i'll be busy with school, teaching, and cheer.
But, i do love love love her, a million, BA-ZILLION times, over and over, to infinity, and beyond!

i'm in love

2011-04-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

oh how i love this little boy!!! he's not even mine, but i'll claim him and take him any day. he's a miracle and i love him to pieces!!

Just look at that cute little face.He's been through so much already- in his little over on month on this earth. and he'll go through more. but every single time i see his cute little face, i just melt.

I can be having such a bad day, and just seeing my little gage man fighting through all these hard things in his little hospital bed just makes me feel better. He's such a little fighter- and i love it! I LOVE HIM!!

Oh!! and HAPPY EASTER everyone! I hope you all had someone this cute to make your day. LOVES!! :)

2011-04-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

it's officially my 22nd birthday. go me!! hahaha big accomplishment there i tell ya. i can't believe i am actually awake right now, since i usually go to bed at like, 10 these day. having to be a grown up and responsible makes me tired, i need lots of sleep.
but, the first person to tell me happy birthday TODAY (4.19.2011) was dani smith! she's such a cute girl and it made my day. night. whatever...
and now, i will try to go to sleep, and update this sucker when i have more to say.

CHEER-eee-oohhhssss.....

2011-03-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, Cheerios. if you're a glee fan, you know what that means.
yes.... i am a cheer coach, as of, oh MONDAY. hahaha but it's all good. we just had cheer tryouts the last 3 nights, and i'm spent! picking and choosing, and judging, and fixing, and assuming, and reading..... AHH!!! good thing it only happens once a year. well, we hope anyway!!
so tomorrow at 6 PM the rest of the world will know who the new Lehi Cheerleaders will be.
until then..... my lips are sealed! ;)

oh... my....

2011-03-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

You know I'm tired and sleep deprived when I spell "their" as "there". Sooo, in my last post, pleas ignore and forgive any spelling mishaps. And I promise, Gage- is "theirs" mmmmk?
I need sleep.... Which I don't seem to be getting lately. No fun. :(
Although today, for my not so snow day which Lehi High had off, I did get lots of homework and some sleep done while down here at Tanner's. But I still need more.
I guess this is what happens when you have to be a responsible adult. You get tired and want to sleep a lot. I must be getting old. Especially since I was so super excited to go out on an actual date in the city with Tanner on saturday.
Oh my life.... Love it! :)

Out of the nutshell

2011-03-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

Alright, so here's the story on my little man, Gage.
Soooo, as you may (or may not) have read in my previous posts, Hope and Brett Ovard are two of my dearest friends. Well, more Hope than Brett. But only because she's a girl, and ya know, it just kinda falls that way. So anyway-- Gage is there beautiful new baby boy who came into this world on March 8, 2011 at 6:48 Pm (something like that i think...) He was a very healthy, pink baby weighing in at 7 lbs, 4 oz, and measuring 19.5 inches long. Nothing went wrong during his birth, no cords wrapped around his neck, or dropping of the little man on his head, etc.... But shortly after he was expelled from the womb, the doctors noticed there was a problem of some sort in his breathing. He was still very pink, he was just having a difficult time.
Now this could be associated with many different things. Such as a sickness (flu, cold, etc) which he did not have. This is where it becomes a worry to the doctors. So have some tests, and x-rays, it was found out that he had what is called a diaphragmatic hernia. This is where there is a hole in his diaphragm. As a result of this not so awesome hole, his intestines, stomach, and spleen were up in his left chest cavity squishing his little left lung. His right one was the only on working. So late Tuesday night it was decided that Gage would be taken up to Primary Childrens Hospital. Seeing as how Hope had just given birth, she could not be discharged. Lucky me, I didn't have to work the next day (thank goodness for block schedules!!) and so i offered to stay the night with Hope so that Brett could be with Gage up in SLC.
So i spent the night in the hospital with Hope and Brett spent the night in the hospital with Gage. The worst part about this whole situation is that Gage has not been allowed to be held yet. Hope got to hold him for a few minutes, but only for enough time to allow for a blessing.
Friday afternoon they finally did surgery on him and now his is in recovery, with an open wound so that his small body can adjust to the fixing that has had to go on. He seems to doing well and so are mom and dad. It's been really hard but it's amazing to see how powerful the priesthood has been. It makes me wonder how anyone can deny the power of Christ. Sure, bad things happen all the time, but when i look at Gage, i wonder how something and someone so small who has very little control over his tiny body can go through so much and come out okay. It just amazes me.
So here are my sad pictures, but pictures that i love soooo much to look at. He really is such a pretty baby with beautiful (already pretty long) blonde hair, and lovely brighter blue eyes. He did grab my finger for a short bit and it was the most awesome thing. He is definitely his daddy's little boy.

This is Gage, right before his transport up to Primary Childrens. Look at how pink and perfectly round his cute little face is!!

And here is Gage right after he got up there, all hooked up to everything. He is looks soooo long!! but he sure is cute!!

And we super love him to death! and can't wait to hold him and love him and kiss his little round face :)

in a nut shell

2011-03-09T21:54:00.000-08:00

Alright, so I am super tired, emotional, and worn down. Here's why, the quick version. I'll post later the more full story. But right now, I need a favor from all of you. If you hate me, love me, like me, have no real opinion of me- if you're reading this just please pray for gage alan ovard.
My best friend Hope and her husband Brett just had their first baby. A beautiful baby boy named Gage Alan Ovard. He's this perfect little pink baby that's was cute with blonde hair and blue eyes. But baby gage has been taken to primary children's hospital just a few hours after coming into this world. He's having problems in his left chest cavity with lung function and his breathing.
I've been up for about 32 hours now with Hope so that Brett could be with little gage as he was taken up there so I am too tired to write it all tonight. But I'll share his story. In the mean time...
That's it in a nutshell, and please pray for Gage! And hope and brett too. They are pretty important as well.
And that's my life in a nutshell right now.
Remember to pray- I love you all!!

Have you heard?

2011-02-23T17:03:00.000-08:00

As of lately, i have been sicker than sick. I had a common cold, which decided to hang around for the 8 days, instead of 3. Then, it turned into an sinus infection (not officially diagnosed, but Lisa is just as good, right?) PLUS- i still have that wonderful anti-biotic resistant infection that has been treated by oral antibiotics 4 times now (and those strong pills, totally make you even sicker while *trying* to help)
uhhhgggggggggg............ what the heck happened? i used to be just fine. but not anymore.
and now, whenever i run, it hurts to breathe!! which i can attribute to very cold, crappy air quality, and being forever sick. totally a ruining factor to my life. well, not really, but ya know. and while doing yoga- hahahaha well that's just gotta be funny to watch. runny nose and all. ha i think i end up laughing more than breathing.

so hopefully this treatment plan will work. stay tuned.

Happy LOVE day

2011-02-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

Yay for having found some love, and loving it! and Yay for having someone (anyone) to spend the fabulous day with.

Yesterday was such a good day, and it was really just a regular day for the most part. But it was so good.
Tanner surprised me with two of my favorite flowers (pictured below) and it had a cute little card to accompany it. It just made me feel like a little girl in elementary school with a crush. It was so cute.

After just hanging out for a while, he had to go teach some wrestling. He's pretty good at that too- have i ever mentioned that part? haha so we both went up and while he was busy turning little kids into awesome little wrestlers, i went shopping. (and did a few important things of course)After getting back together, we went to a nice, simple, dinner at a little mexican place in payson. It was nice to get to spend the day together, but apart too. I just loved it. :)

ps- here is a picture taken a few months back at a friends wedding reception (Lance and Alli Karl)It makes me laugh mostly, but it's a good reminder of a great night! plus, it's just so fun. Annnnddd- wait for it... we're dancing! YAY!! hahaha

I love being in love, and i love him.

purple

2011-02-02T20:25:00.000-08:00

purple is not my favorite color......
sorry, but it just isn't. i like pink. and red. and black. and white.
but not so much purple.
it just doesn't look good on me, and i don't like grapes, and i don't like purple foods really.... so me and purple- we just don't get along.

Until NOW.

I am the newest teacher at Lehi High School!!! Home of the (purple) Pioneers.
soooo, as much as i don't like the color purple, i'm gonna have to just grin and go with it. because it's now part of my every other- hopefully soon to be every- day life.
and i guess i'm okay with it.

ps- i am teaching foods 2, two sections of it, and loving it!! Hopefully i'll be able to be brought on full time this coming fall for the new school year, and i will be the foods teacher! yay for connections and following your dreams :)

mine, mine.... mine, mine, mine.

2011-01-07T23:39:00.000-08:00

Cool your jets.
Stop smoking that cancer stick.
Sleep fabulous
Loves!
Okay my little kortney
Oh, you are so kind
These are all phrases that are mine. And I claim all rights to them. Ya digg? That's another one too, in case you were wondering.
Feel free to use them with me, but never when not with me. Thanks thanks.
Loves!! (You fabulous people, you)

this is sad

2011-01-06T14:50:00.001-08:00

i am soooo sad to say, that i have to let go of some of my favorite pairs of shoes.
but, it's because i am SHRINKING!!! my poor little feet, as if they weren't small enough already (4.5 in womens) must say goodbye to a few lovely pairs of high heels. It's not fair i tell ya! i already have a hard time (not to mention expensive) finding shoes, and now to part with these beauties!?
UGHHHHHHH..... i want to roll over and die.
but, i guess this means i need to replace a few pairs, so maybe that's okay??

and yes, for those of you who are wondering, i can and DO wear little girls shoes. Minus those light up ones. :) vans, nikes and uggs especially. sooo i guess it all works out in the end.

And in case you were wondering, there are 8 pairs that are now too big for me. and 2 other pairs that i refuse to get rid of.

All I'm Saying....

2010-11-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, how does it feel timpview?
Revenge is sweet.
Thanks for playing, try again next year.
hhhmmmm.... doesn't it feel good to win!?!

Brandon would have loved it. it was the best feeling in the world and he would have been right up in there. And it not over yet, there are still a few more games until we can get those rings- but boy! it sure feels good to win against the people to took it from you last year.

I'm soooo ready for this! :)

Advice from Elder Busche- Amazing

2010-11-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

Everyone- just watch this. Just do as i say and take a few minutes to watch this. And maybe turn off the music on my side bar. You're going to love this.

Hope you enjoyed the show. I sure did

2010-10-29T18:10:00.002-07:00

Hi, I'm Kortney and I want to brag about how cute we are.
and by we, I mean tanner and myself. :)

Here we are at a Halloween Party - Indian and P.W Herman.SO much fun!!

Okay, so we might look a little funny- but whatev... I like them! I was in the Ute Stampede Bathing Beauty Contest. I swear i don't always parade around in a swimsuit...

Okay, that's all- for now anyway. But seriously, how cute are we? :)

You'll never believe this.

2010-09-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

I SHOT A GUN!! hahaha for the first time in my life. Unless you count like those little air soft guns, but those really don't count. or water guns, rubber band guns.... those little play toys. But no, this was a real, could kill someone or something, hand gun. Aren't you so proud of me?! because i am. :)

Hope and Brett invited Tanner and myself up to their little (really, not so little) hunting property up by Fairview this last weekend. I was on top of the mountain. Literally, I was. We were at the top of the peak, no joke. And Tanner thinks it's just sooo freaking funny to swerve the 4 wheeler around. Um... remember how we're on top of the mountain? yeah, we could die! or... hit a tree and flip off the stupid thing and break bones like last year. Not such a good idea. But still fun. As long as i'm safe and driving straight. I don't even mind the dust. Okay, maybe a little bit, but it's not that bad. i guess....

here's brett and tanner just talking all that gun talk. even if i was paying attention, i still couldn't tell you a word that was said i'm sure. all i know is gun, bullet, bang. haha

This is hope and their cute little puppy scout, who might have been terrified of the gun. i don't blame him. By the way, have i mentioned she's pregnant and i am so super excited?! AHH!! YAAAYYY!!!

so i can now check that one off of my "to do" list. :)

guess what

2010-08-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

hey everyone... guess what?!?!
we did it. we broke the world record.
can you believe that brandon is helping so many people STILL?!
AHH!! how awesome is this kid?

http://donatelifeutah.com/

down and out

2010-08-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

sorry for the sad posts, but i just can't say anything else except that i'm down. i'm so down. i'm in my own little world and i'm shutting people out. i don't really want to talk to many people and if i don't answer to you, just leave me alone for a while. i'll be back when i'm ready.
Sam and Tonya warned me this was going to be hard. And the first everything without Brandon will be hard too. First football game, first wrestling match, you get the point. I believe everything they say now. Because there is no denying either, it's hard. it's crazy how much i miss him. every day i miss him. i can't even imagine being Hailey. not very often do i find people (athletes really) that i think about every day, but he was one of them. he was so special. i even let him take my car. i only have a few others that are this way with me.
i should accept it and move on but for some reason i can't. or just don't want to maybe. it's going to take a while for me to be okay again i think. i try to do good most of the time and i catch moments when i am really good, but then i feel like i need to be sad. because i couldn't save him. i failed at the one thing i try to do. fix people, help them, protect them. The retarded part is that i know it's okay that i couldn't save him and that i probably couldn't have saved him anyway. In my brain i know this but in my heart i feel something else. it's this constant battle between good and evil. i am good with it sometimes and not so good with it other times. I know he wouldn't want me to be sad about it either. he wasn't like that. so i do my best, but right now it's just not the best me.

BC #30

2010-07-29T19:49:00.001-07:00

it's been a while since i've written. and right now i just need to get it all out.

brandon was my bud. he was protector, he was my joker, he was my work in progress, he was my friend. i say was because now he is gone. and i don't know what hurts worse, the fact that he actually IS gone, or the fact that i can not fix him this time. we spent so much time together, trying to get him better. we spent so much time laughing and having fun together. we spent so much time protecting each other and make sure the other one was "good." and i can not tell you how much i was looking forward to his senior year with him. we were going to have the best time. i guess i can not be that sad because we never had a bad time, everything was always good. even the time he punch a kid in the face on a cross face and then had blood all over him.
i want to forget the last few days, but at the same time, i don't. i was gone when i found out. i was in the water at lake powell. i drove as quick as i could home, went straight to the hospital and cried. i hadn't showered or changed into better clothes, i didn't even know where i would go when i got there. we all met at the football field, where we cried for some time, before i went up to the waiting room. his parents may never know that i was there, but i was. i left to take a shower and then returned. at 3 am, i finally went home because nothing would be done until the morning. i don't think i slept for more then 2 hours that night. i woke up and did the few things i needed to before returning to the hospital. as we all gathered, the staff asked if we could move to the larger waiting room downstairs. we had too many people there, too much support.
after telling the media we didn't want to talk to them, laughing when we could and keeping as happy as we could, we were informed that brandon would not be with us anymore. we all cried. we came together and held each other up and we cried.
i guess i'm not sure how i'm still awake and still not sleeping because my body is exhausted, but i can't sleep. maybe for an hour here and there, but it never lasts. every time i wake up i feel like i need to head back to the waiting room and sit. but there is no reason for that.
it's funny how people say that they feel so alone in a full room, because that's how i feel. i don't really want to be around that many people right now. but all of my wrestling boys would be great. maybe back to the manti tournament where were all started a headstand contest and singing whatever song we could thing of. laying in our big pile and loving every minute of us. we might have looked like the weird team, but we all know we loved each other and we loved every minute of it. we loved every minute of brandon.

here's something new

2010-05-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

i have nothing to talk about. and really, i mean, nothing. not right now anyway. maybe i'm just not properly functioning?? not really sure. or maybe it's because all i ever do is sleep. but whatever the reason is, i have nothing to tell you. i'll think on it for a few days.. maybe i'll come up with something......???
in the mean time. here's a new(er) picture that i quite enjoy.

maybe. but really, i have nothing to say. now that's something new. and who would've thought?

okay

2010-04-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

so for those of you who don't know.... i'm sick. I've been sick for a while now, and it's finally gotten to the point that i just don't know what to do. and neither do the doctors. they've thrown some things out there and they don't sound good, and it is terrifying. to not know what's going on with your own body is maybe one of the worst feelings ever.
anyway.............
i really think that Sam Brown and the rest of the amazing Brown family might be my saving graces. they have always been there for me. and when i felt like i needed some extra help, they were right there for it too. i didn't even have to say it, and sam just knew. i don't know how she does it, but she she does it. and she just can read my mind sometimes. and that's exactly what she did. and i can't even express how grateful i am so glad that she did. and i will never be able to thank her, or her family for everything they have done for me.
but after spending some time with the brown family, i have the feeling that everything is going to be okay. and that whatever happens, i will be okay with. i can't even say how much a relief it is to just have the comfort of knowing that whatever happens, it's going to be okay. i'm going to be okay.

today

2010-04-12T21:29:00.001-07:00

i talked to clark's mom today. i love bubba. she just makes everything better for some reason. we don't even talk about what the problem really is, but she just makes it all better. i love her. what would i do without her? she really has the biggest heart. and even though she knows that clark and i have been through some pretty crappy stuff, and been really mean, and i mean REALLY mean things.... she has always been there for me. and she is one of those women who i think will always be there for me. even if i'm not a fredrickson anymore...
haha but honestly, i don't know how she does it. maybe it's the sound of her voice. or the way she says oh my little kortney. i just love you. but whatever it is, it works. and it always puts a smile on my face. and i always feel so much better after.
so today, was an okay day. :)

addicted

2010-04-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

i'm addicted to italy. so addicted. and i wanna go back. right now.
this might be the closest thing i've got for now.
Pictures.
And i La-La-LOVE them!!

let's talk about this.

2010-03-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

let's talk about how much kidney stones hurt. and let's talk about how retarded my feet are from dance. and let's talk about how my back is all jacked up- also from dance. and how about my knee? yeah let's talk about that one too. let's talk about how i'm pretty much falling apart. and while we're at it, let's talk about how sad i am today.
but it's okay. i'll get over it right? i mean i always do. it just seems like this time, i'm gonna be down for a while. but like tanner keeps saying, the lord will not put me through something i can't handle. and he wont let me forget that.

so today, i had to say goodbye to my bryan. he's the closest thing i've got to a little brother, and he's the best one a person could ask for!! i'm sure that's the worst of my problems right now. and it's really not even a problem. i mean, two years, come on... it's not THAT long. i just feel like it is right now. we were so close. and i am so proud of him for doing what he's doing. even though i miss him like crazy right now. been crying off and on for the past like, week, about it. but i'll be okay. he's great. he's good. he's so ready for this. i'm just not sure i am. the next time i see him, he's not going to be so young anymore. not that he's way young right now... but still! he'll be 21!! TWENTY ONE! ya know... the age i will be in like, 20 days. oh gosh. here i go again. water works just turned on. i need to stop this. get it under control...... okay, maybe in a few days. i just wanna be sad and miss him for right now.
and who is going to watch my dogs when i go away?!!! and who is going to bring me food when i am sick and all drugged and can't drive and am craving something....? AHHH!!!! i miss him like crazy. i don't remember the last time i saw him cry. but today, we both cried. and we cried while we hugged goodbye. and we cried when he drove away. but it was a good cry.
so ya wanna talk about kidney stones now...?? haha, that'll make ya feel better. i knew i had one coming on a few days ago. but i just kept telling it to go away until bryan was gone. then i could just drug myself up and sleep. it worked. but now, i'm started to rethink my want... lol oh goodness. whatever.... i'll get over this one too. i'll drink more then i weigh and no problemo. they'll be gone in no time.
and as for my falling apart body. well.... whatever. i'm so used to it that i can't even imagine a life without something wrong. hahaha that's a horrible thing to say. but i guess when you break your knee and tear your MCL you just have to deal with the pains that come with weather changes and the pressure changes. i'm a walking barometer. no big deal.
but my foot... my foot! well, i guess that's something new. and something that i could have prevented but had WAY too much fun doing it. ;) kinda like my whole knee thing. i will most likely have surgery in the next few months... but this is one thing that i'm not rethinking. yet anyway.... don't think i will. it's gonna hurt and be a pain in the butt for a few weeks, but oh well. i'm over it already.
so-- anything else ya wanna talk about??

thanks for that

2010-03-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

so for the past few months, i've had kidney stones. and if anyone has ever had them- they will probably agree that they might be the most painful things ever. i'd only wish them on maybe two people on this whole entire earth.
but really now, they pain is ridiculous. to the point that the ER and doctors nurses have said "i'd rather go through labor again then have a kidney stone!" yeah, thanks for that. Like really? Come on now... you have to tell me that i am in THAT much pain? Honestly, as if i didn't know already because i've been throwing up for the past few hours because of my pain. Yeah, thanks a lot.
but the most frustrating part of this whole little ordeal is the fact that my *awesome* doctor WILL NOT CALL ME BACK!! like really man? ya put me on this gross medication stuff that's supposed to help me not have kidney stones and stay out of pain but it's just making me sick. and then when i try to ask you a simple question you just ignore me. HOW RUDE! call me back mr. professional! i need some help here.
so instead, i stay at home, in bed all day, suffering and drugged up on whatever will work that day. it's really not that cool either. i don't like the feeling of having no control over my body and simply sleeping all day, every day. some people might love it, but not really having any sort of life for the past 3 months really isn't my idea of a fun time.
and let's talk about how i don't remember hardly anything. i mean really- how am i passing any of my classes at school? needless to say, if we have had any funny things happen, or fights, or any event at all, you might need to remind me a few times of what exactly went on.
in the mean time... i'll continue to follow instructions like i'm told and enjoy my good days as they come. :) at least they are not all bad days.

update

2010-03-10T20:02:00.001-08:00

well, yeah, update. update the hair! hahaha
for a like, a year or two... i have wanted to have some blonde in my hair. so guess what.................
.......................

I DID IT!!!!!!!
I got really brave one night while i was the salon with my mom and we just said, okay, let's do it! AND!!! we did! hahaha so here i am- new and improved. maybe... haha. guess we'll see.
anyway... i really like it! like, REALLY like it. really really really. it's a little weird for me because i haven't like, EVER been a semi-blonde or whatever, i've always had way dark hair. but after some not so fun events, i decided there was no better time then now to try something new. and so far, i likey! ;) hahaha

you mean....

2009-12-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

hahaha, so i don't know why- but all the sudden the other day, i started laughing in the car, for no reason at all.
okay, that's a lie.... there was a reason. but it was a random reason. and this funny little memory just came through my funny little random mind. and i laughed. really hard. haha

so when I was on my study abroad program this summer, i was with pretty much the most awesome group ever. life savers i tell ya. love every single one of them. so anyway- i'm on study abroad in Italy right? Right. So as we were making our *awesome* journey over to Greece, we took the ferry from Brindisi,Italy to Igoumenitsa, Greece. You can read all about that little adventure in my previous writings. It was just... super. So super. haha Anyway, while we were waiting, all of us students started to get a little tired of waiting, and we just wanted to load the boat and go! because we are impatient American's haha. really though- we are. Well we were asking all sorts of questions in a complaining way like "Oh my gosh, how long are we going to be here for?" and "When can we load the ferry?" being all child-like in our complaining-ness. So this one response from Professor H (his last name is Holzapfel- we shortened it. LOVE nicknames ha!) was kinda funny. I could tell he was getting a little annoyed with all of our questions. So he finally says, "Well children, we will load the big boat as soon as all other people who came from Greece get off- okay?" I looked at him and said in the "blondest" voice i could... "You mean, there are actually other PEOPLE on that boat? I thought they were making a special trip just for us!" his face went from a big smile to a straight faced "oh my heck, you have GOT to be kidding me" look. It was hilarious! I of course knew that there were other people who came across the boat- and cars too! hahaha almost instantly i was like "HA! kidding. I just thought they were all peter-pan like people who never wanted to grow up, and could fly off the boat. we are going on a big ferry after all.... " He started laughing pretty hard and his wife just shook her head and said "You got it Kort!" I was pretty proud of myself. I thought it was somewhat clever. And funny.

hahaha oh lisa.

2009-11-29T21:19:00.000-08:00

have i ever said how FUNNY my mother is??? hahaha i mean really. i may not like her at times, but then she goes and does something like this and i just can't not not like her. honestly.... SO FUNNY! and she thinks that when i'm a mother that i will be nice to her because my children will be mean to me- but then i corrected her and said "no, mother, you're wrong. see, when they are mean to me, i'll need someone to be mean to. and you're the lucky one!" hahaha she started to laugh at that too.
but back to why my mother is HILARIOUS!!! hahaha so first of all, she wants to tell me about her crazy dream she had last night. and i mean CRAZY. she was like driving around in an old Cadillac or something with a trailer hooked to it, piled high with boxes. empty boxes. hahahaha like really lisa? what did you take before you went to sleep last night?! so she's driving around Springville- of course- with another teacher in her car. in her old cadillac. hahaha oh my heck, i just laugh at the thought of it. Then, she's like trying to turn around on this one-way street with her big old trailer and empty boxes, and it's not working! and to make things worse... she's being mocked by some little kids on bikes. (like, shouldn't they be in school???? WTF...) haha and then she told them she was going to run them over! hahahaha my dear sweet mother told children that she was going to run them over in her dream.... she's lost it! hahaha
so then, we're at target (no, the dream is over- this is REAL life stuff now...) Well target has those automatic doors- ya know? but only one for each way going in or out, and the other set of doors you have to *push* open. well, she stated walking about the automatic doors, made it through the first set, then i'm not really quite sure what happened next and why she didn't just walk straight.... but... she tried to walk through the not so automatic doors. i just started laughing SOOO hard and waited a few seconds to see what her reaction was. get this- she didn't reach her hand out and push the door open. No, she turns around, walks over to the automatic doors and out. Like really now? too lazy to just push that door open huh? hahaha i was laughing so hard and she looks at me and says "Well why didn't you say something?" hahaha because it was FUNNY LISA! hahahaha so funny. I'm sure the guys who were walking into the store and watched it happen felt bad for me having to be with her... but i was loving every second of laughing at her and her hilarious moment. oh funny moments with my mother. :)

Hard Rock... Part Two

2009-10-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

So even though we only went to TWO countries.... we still wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe in Athens. Just to say we had been. So we did! and it was so yummy and such a nice break for AMERICAN food. hahaha. not that i don't LOVE Greek food- because i really do, but i just was getting so anxious for some familiar food that i didn't have to ask what it was. I really think i can now say i have been to hard rock cafe more in Europe than in the U.S.... and i loved every second of it. :)

oh Athens....

2009-10-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

alrighty, so it's been a few months, but! i finally have my NEW lovely PINK computer- which i love. and will most likely never give up. and that means i have my pictures back!!! YAY!!! so.... i can now write about the wonderful ATHENS! i like to think of it as.... Europe's New York. Because that's what it reminded me of. :) My most favorite thing about in Greece was being there during a full moon. Why you ask?? Because the acropolis was open, and FREE at night! And it was absolutely amazing. Plus.. there isn't as much humidity in Athens which was such a nice change from Italy.

so here's Kels and I at the Acropolis during the day. Day one in Athens actually. We move quick- we know. ;) haha A few days later, we went back up to this lovely temple site at night to see the AMAZING views and lights from above the city. It was so cool to be there for this event because it's not just an every day thing. sure, it happens whenever there is a full moon... but i still claim bragging rights to it!

This is just the Temple of Athena, the main temple and huge attraction of the whole site. below is a picture of the majority of the group. We always ended up together even if it was only by chance. Greats minds think alike i guess! :)

2009-09-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

okay okay okay.
i know. i am a slacker
BUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
i do have a good reason. :)
i, kortney brooke walker,
have been WITHOUT a computer for almost FIVE WHOLE WEEKS.
i know. i didn't know i could go that long with out one, but i have survived.
oddly enough i think it's because i have been back in school. woah- never thought i'd say that one...

2009-08-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

alright... so i'm horrible!
but one of these days, i will update my wonderful blog about my wonderful trip. ESPECIALLY my super duper fabulous trip home. you will LOOOVVVVEEEE it. so super fabulous. just you wait.
in the mean time....
i love seeing old friends, and meeting new ones. especially at spoon me. oh how i have missed spoon me!!! and i finally had one! i LOVE IT !!!
WELCOME HOME :)

somebody loves me!

2009-08-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

so i have no idea who did this.... but.....

How super sweet is that?! :) i'm in love **

and so it ends

2009-08-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

well, my time here in Europe is coming home. And it's oh so very bitter sweet. I'm so excited to come home!!! i miss my American life waaaayyyy more then i thought, but i'm also going to miss my life here. I've become so used to these 45 other people that i'm not sure i'll know how to function in a small group- or even... alone. Alone? WHAT?! That's against the rules now. But in just a few hours, about 36 now... i'll be boarding a plane, and heading back to the awesome U.S of A! AHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! FREE BATHROOMS! hahaha that's seriously the best thing every. Don't get me wrong, i'm SOOO SOO glad i came on this trip, but i am so ready to be home too. i feel really, very much out of the loop. like, seriously. we have a new justice on the supreme court. WHAT?! that's already come up? oh well, i guess life still had to go on without me. but soon, i'll be home.
and it's coming up quick. i have a feeling this might be the longest plane ride. EVER....................

and it kept on going!

2009-08-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

So after our bus arrived, we started our 2.5 hour trip to Meteora were we visited a few Monasteries that are built into big huge rock cliffs. It was so cool to see them, but inside there wasn’t much to see. They had awesome views though, which was pretty cool. If you have ever seen James Bond, they are in one of the Bond movies. I just can’t remember which one at the moment… haha, maybe one of you big Bond fans could let me know. Okay, thanks! We then loaded the bus again and started our 4 hour bus ride into Delphi for the night. We had a big group dinner and I think that after almost no sleep for over 24 hours, we all were out cold by about 11 pm- pretty early for us college students. Hahaha
Monday morning we went to the Delphi Ruins and the Delphi Museum. This was sooooo cool!! We got to see the Apollo Temple, and where some mini Olympic Games (called the Pythian Games) took place waaaay back in the day. We also learned a few more things about mythology. *** History lesson for the day!!*** So Delphi, Greece is considered to be the “navel” or center of the Earth. Zeus release two eagles, one going east, and the other going west. Their paths crossed in the sky above Delphi, and this established the site as the center of the earth. SO much better than the Roman forums and Pompeii if you ask me. So much better. Plus, it’s not as humid here in Greece. The weather is much like Utah. And I like that. After our like, 3 hours visit there we headed to a little ski-resort town, much like Park City, called Arachova. It was a cute little town with little shops and some really good restaurants. We just ate lunch there, then loaded the bus there and headed off to Athens!

and then we

2009-08-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday we headed to the harbor and waited for our lovely Ferry. Now this is a separate story of its own. Oh my goodness is this one a treat. A real big treat that you will all LOVE. Oh so much. Especially my dad… hahaha. So first of all, these ferries are HUGE. They take big semi’s across the Mediterranean sea and all these cars, then they pack about a million people on this thing- and most of these people have no assigned seats or cabins, but a ticket to go, well, anywhere you can. And guess which lucky study abroad students got these tickets too? That’s right folks, BYU! Hahaha, oh my heck. I seriously thought it was a joke. We had been told that we were going to have aircraft chairs, INSIDE the ferry, which is not the best, but hey, whatever. It works. They are big padded chairs, inside; it’ll be just like a plane ride- right? WRONG! We get there and they give us deck chair tickets. What the heck? So we all find spot on the open deck, put our luggage together in a big pile and gather up about 50 chairs. And this is where we mostly stayed the WHOLE night. We left Brindisi at 6 pm and headed off on our 12 hour ferry ride for Igoumantisa, Greece. It was really cool for a while and we had some fun times. It was really awesome to see the sunset and hang out for a while, but then 12:30 am came around and we started to get tired. And… cold. I’m thinking, GREAT! I’m gonna get sick- again! And I’m not going to enjoy every minute of Greece, which is really the only reason that I am on this trip in the first place. How lame… So after pulling out our sweat shirts and long pants, we all tried to sleep however we could but were not very successful. Well, at about 2am, I was finally starting to fall asleep, when I was woken up! Guess what- we are in Greece! I was so tired I didn’t even care. I was about ready to fall over when dragging my suitcase down the ferry stairs and onto the ground. But on the bright side, it was only an 8 hour ride, and not 12 :) can’t really complain about that one I guess. Oh, and I totally loved the ferry ride while I was wide awake and functioning. And I didn’t even get sea-sick like I thought. Total plus! We then waited for our tour bus to get there, and most slept in the ferry station for about 3 hours. I however, got to chat with my mom and bestest best friend in the whole wide world on the internet and I loved every second of it.

You didn't miss anything... expect for

2009-08-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

Well after a few relaxing days in Rome, I am now in GREECE! I spent the last few days in Italy just packing, doing laundry, some shopping, and relaxing because I knew that the 4 days traveling were going to be a trip- and that they were! Let’s start out with our trip down to the Italian coast, to a little beach town called Brindisi…
Saturday August 1st, we left Rome for Brindisi. All was going well in the early afternoon. We all made it to the train station safely with our luggage (which was a MAJOR concern since we were told that we all over packed… ha, my bad). We waited for about an hour until the train was ready to load, and then we all proceeded to get onto the completely packed train. After finding our seats and packing our luggage away, the three other girls I was sitting with started hearing from mad Italians that we were in their seats. Um- no, our ticket clearly states that we have seats 64, 65, 66, and 68. So therefore, all of you angry yelling Italians are WRONG. We are American’s- you’re wrong. ;) hahaha because that’s the attitude we all have right? So after about 20 minutes of arguing, and mean looks, and Italians yelling at us, we finally establish that… someone… (Not me- I swear on my life, NOT ME! You can even check my credit card report) booked us for the wrong train. Seriously?! You’ve got to be kidding me! Us American girls, we are ALWAYS right, are actually WRONG? This… is a joke. It has to be. But nope, it wasn’t not one bit a joke. It was completely serious. We were booked for the wrong date and in fact sitting in these peoples seats. Oh dear… oh dear. This is a major problem. I did however feel much better about the fact that my whole apartment was going to be kicked off this train, and moved to the next one. So we left our little group, and waited for the next 3 hours in the train station. We parked our cute little loud American butts right in the middle of that train station and had a party! Well, not really… but we did have a pretty good time. We did make it onto the next train safely, with the correct seats, and much more room this time. A few hours later then we hoped for- but that’s okay. We apparently didn’t miss anything but some not so good food. Which was fine by us!

My LOONNNNGGGG DAY!

2009-07-30T10:18:00.001-07:00

Oh boy, do I have an adventure for you…
I, Kortney Brooke Walker, got locked out of my apartment, BY MYSELF! For two hours. Woah, talk about intense. After visiting the Mammertine Prison (where the apostles Peter and Paul are claimed to have been held at in Rome) and the Caticombs, and San Clemente Basilica Church, I reluctantly went shopping with a few girls. I did not have a key however, and didn’t even buy anything!! Seriously? What the heck. Since when do I go shopping and NOT buy anything? So proud of myself… Well, I got separated from the group, and decided it’d probably be a good idea to just go back to the apartment, where there were supposed to be a few girls there. But as you already know, THEY WEREN’T! So… I luckily got into the building, but not into my apartment. After a few phone calls and texts, I came to the conclusion that it was best to just stay inside. Well this very nice Italian man who lives in the building, a floor down from us, recognized me. He was worried that something was wrong with me- other than the fact that I was a little terrified- and sent for his Doctor friend, who also speaks English, Spanish, and Italian. Once Claudio (the doctor) arrived, Mario (my neighbor) told him something was wrong with me because I live with the loud American girls, who never wait. So something must be wrong since I was not with them and inside the building. I finally convinced him I was actually okay, and in fact, NOT Spanish- but American. See, Claudio is convinced that I am from Spain. Where he got this idea, I don’t know? But he spent about 15 minutes trying to convince me that I was from Spain, and did speak Spanish. Crazy guy- I mean, I speak like, three sentences in Spanish, but that’s about it! I haven’t taken a class in almost 4 years! How could i? Oh well, it was kinda really funny and made the time go by a little faster.
The next morning, after everyone came home and we all made it inside the air conditioned apartment and slept- we took a tour of the Vatican gardens. They were cool, but I expected a little more. I will be honest- I much prefer Temple Square to the Vatican gardens… Not that they aren’t pretty here in Rome… but, well, it’s prettier in SLC. Later that night, some of us went the Hard Rock Café in Rome- we all got hamburgers I think. ;) hahaha, maybe a little too much pizza and pasta going on here in Italy for us. We needed a break. And we got one. A little bit of an expensive one too…

last week in rome!

2009-07-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well, as I spend my last few days in Rome, I can’t help but think about everything I have done here. And add a little more too. ;) I feel like I have to been to just about every major site and so much more. I finally went to Campo Di Fiori this last Friday, it was kinda fun. Not too much to do but shop- and I got some great deals. Lol, as I always do. Thanks Parents for teaching me my awesome shopping skills. ;) Later that day I talked to my mom for a little bit, which was so nice to hear her voice. After that, we had some girls that live in another apartment come up for a girls night. We ate dinner and played cards. And of course…. Gos- I mean, CHATED.
The next day I did well, like…. nothing. It was a good day to get stuff done at home. That night though, we had quite the adventure at the Piazza Nuvona. Oh poor Katie Clyde. Hahaha but it was so funny. Don’t worry, it’s nothing too bad. As we were trying to find some other girls that we had gone with, we were approached by a pretty good looking Italian Male, not much older than us I’m sure. Well he told Kelsey to hold her hand, and she didn’t. But for some reason, Katie did? Huh…. Well okay. So Kelsey was like Katie NO! and this guy told Kels to “shut up.” Well naturally, I don’t like the guy already. Then he asks me what my problem- and I told him straight up “you are rude. You just told my friend to shut up!!” so what does he do? KISSES Kelsey on the cheek. Who is now turning bright pink. I’m not even kidding. SO red in the face. Well after this guy finishes his bracelet he’s making on Katie’s wrist, she tells him he doesn’t want it. But he obviously wants money. And we were not going to pay. And, we didn’t. :) hahaha. Poor sucker, he didn’t get anything out of us. Katie didn’t even keep the bracelet. She threw it away. And I don’t feel bad one bit. We saw him a few more times. He did get some of the girls in our group though to pay him, just a few dollars, but he still got it out of them. And when he saw us approaching them- he yelled at us to keep our mouths shut. If I ever see him again, I will most likely slap him in the face. Hopefully with a ring on. Mean, but he already thinks I am, so what’s the difference… right??
I also got to SKYPE with my family that weekend, and I loved every second of it. It was so fun to hear them, and see their faces which I haven’t seen in so long!!

Tours, tours, and more tours!!

2009-07-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

We took a tour of the Vatican Museums the beginning of last week.
This was pretty cool, but very hot. I think if I was catholic, I might appreciate it more. Just maybe… it was still very cool and interesting to hear the history of some of the church, and also to see all the different paintings that are way famous and done by amazing artists of the old days. I was super sick though and not fully in tune with everything being said. The Sistine Chapel was very cool to see though. Very hot, crowed, LOUD- which it shouldn’t have been… but it was cool to see all the great paintings that are talked about. I even snapped a few pictures in there, even though you are told not to take any pictures… ;) my bad. I also said a few words. Which is also a big “no-no.” but I did both anyway. Shhhh…. Don’t tell on me please. Thanks!
Later that night, after I slept about 3 hours, we went to a nice little group dinner at this Pizza place called Zio Ciro, it was very good and really close to the Pantheon. We had all…. 50.. . of us in there, and we made great friends with the waiters. They were so nice though which made the experience even better. Plus the food was pretty good- so we can’t complain too much. The thing I found most enjoyable was that almost every one of us ordered a Coke- and we are on a BYU tour. And on BYU campus… there is so caffine… but yet, most of us, ordered a Coke. Very amusing to look at… Best part about dinner- IT WAS FREE!! Following dinner the majority of us went a little further and got our nightly Gellato. Mmmmm…. So good! We had a great time, and few of us might have gotten more then one… but that’s just a, slight, possibility. ;)

Naples....

2009-07-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

Let me just start off by saying that I never ever, ever ever ever ever want to go back to naples, EVER again! WOW!!! That is all I can say. People said that Italy was a “dirty” country- I think they should rephrase that… NAPLES is a VERY dirt city. And creepy. And unsafe. And there are lots of stray dogs. And lots of pick-pockets. And I never ever, ever, in my life, want to return there. The only pretty thing about it was the ocean. And the city has so much smog, that it’s not even that cool! Instead, I suggest that you travel a little further south to Sorrento. And lay on the beaches there. In a cleaner city. With lots of citrus surrounding you. It is quite fabulous down there. I would return there, maybe on a cruise… but NOT TO NAPLES! Okay wait- one good thing about Naples… The Marriot Renaissance Hotel. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Now I have stayed in lots of very nice hotels (thanks NATA, RMATA… UATA… MOM) and this one might not have been the BEST one ever, but it was still very nice. And I slept good. And they were nice. And they gave us a very yummy breakfast buffet Wednesday morning. And I can appreciate that.
On Tuesday, we also went to Pompeii, which was pretty cool. Very dirty as you can imagine… and it got boring after a while, but it was still cool to see this really old city that people actually lived in. and then died in… not such a happy thought. But it was a little humbling to be walking through these old time streets and knowing that the people who lived here died here. Maybe a little creepy too? Just maybe. Wednesday morning we went up to the National Museum which had more of the “treasures” that were discovered, or not taken from Pompeii. They also had some history about the city, and a special little section on gladiators and theater from the city. That was kinda funny to read about. They apparently loved comedy. I would have been okay with that. I do love a good funny story afterall.
After we checked out of the wonderful Marriot, a group of us traveled down south to Sorrento. We got lost on the way to the hostel- which was up a HUGE hill, with little roads that hardly fit two cars on them… but we found it! And it was fun. Bigger then we thought, and filled with people. Nice people, mostly girls, and it was fun! I chose to go with some girls from my study down into Sorrento- where we walked down Lemon RD, ate dinner at a great little place, then went down to the beach for a little bit. Later that night, we played a few card games and shared quite a few very funny moments that might be a little embarrassing to those involved. So they will stay in my journal- and not on my blog. If you’re lucky—maybe one day I will share a few. MAYBE….
Thursday we decided to go to… THE BEACH!!!! And it was quite possibly the best decision we ever made in our whole entire lives. Now most beaches are private, and you have to pay for them, but that’s okay! We didn’t pay much, and they include a very nice, private piece of beach- with a few beach umbrella’s included. And we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! Or at least… I did. But I guess I did because I didn’t get burnt, AT ALL!! I know, lucky right? But I did get tan. And I love that. The water was warm, the sand was WAAAYYYYY too hot, but it was awesome. After spending about 7 hours there, we made our way back to Rome and our lovely little apartments. Where we slept. ;)

My favorite place!! ... so far....

2009-07-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

So we only spent a day in Venice, just walking around and shopping. Getting lost and having the best time of our lives! I finally ate a hamburger! Hahaha I figured I might want to take advantage of the American food since it is scarce here. Although I did find peanut butter at the store just the other day. Made me so happy!! But anyway…. So I never thought I would actually like the Venician glass- turns out, I LOVE IT! It’s so pretty and all of it is so different. Watch out Nordstrom, I might have a new favorite shopping place- lol The shopping is like a dream. Or a movie… They hand make just about everything. We found some awesome little shops. One was homemade body products, which kicked butt! One of the samples that I tried was this body oil stuff. It was in a bar form, and the lady rubbed it on my arm, did I mention it was FULL of glitter??? Hahaha, I looked like a Vampire (for all you twilight fans…) but it smelled awesome. We walked along the Grand canal and put our feet in the ocean water, which was so nice on a hot day. This is me and Torrie, just chillin by the water. So gerat! Later on it decided to rain, and our whole bodies got drenched. Or at least, a few ours did. Mine included. But it was SOO fun! We danced in the rain, which turned to hail, and that’s where we stopped. Once it became painful, we called it quits. Smart choice huh? Here we are... dancing. Don't mind my clothes pretty much falling off me..... After we changed, we took a night train home- which was so creepy and I never ever want to do that ever again in my life! I didn’t sleep very much for fear that someone might take everything. Even though we were in our own little compartment thing… After we got home, I slept. LOTS. Out side on our deck, in the sun. and It was so awesome.
Next trip…. NAPLES!

My Mother's FAVORITE place

2009-07-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

I have so much to write about Florence!!! But I will only write a few things… I hope. Ha! We took the typical European train there, which I missed my orginal train and had to catch the next one- don’t worry… we had plenty of time and girls from our trip on this one too! Saw a few museums (the Uffisi Art Gallery and the Accademia) which was pretty awesome. We got to see the painting “The Birth of Venus” along with many other amazing paintings at the Uffisi Gallery. It was HUGE. Then we went over the other museum and saw “The David” ya know… the one… that’s huge… and has even bigger hands so that it looks normal for all of us non-giants in the world… lol no it was pretty awesome. Can’t complain much about that trip. We also decided to stay a few nights there, which might have been one of the best decisions of our whole entire trip. Firenze (Florence…) was absolutely stunning. It’s what you would expect Italy to be. We had an awesome time just walking around the cute little streets and shopping, maybe a little too much fun shopping….??? Mom, Dad, when you see my credit card bill, don’t worry! It’s going to be okay!! I got almost all of my shopping done there. Which may or may not be a good thing………………………………………….. we’ll see what happens there. For those of you that are planning to ever travel to Italy—GO TO FLORENCE!!! The ice cream is so super amazing! Oh and the pastries. Maybe the food in general. Best ever, and “cheap” And then watching the most gorgeous sunset you will ever see in your life from the bridge… OH MY HECK! What a dream it was. One of the girls on the trip got kissed by some 60 year old random Italian man though… hahaha, that was so funny! It was like he was trying to replay a love scene from a movie with her. Oh my goodness…. She was so good about it though. I would have freaked out and ran for my life! She on the other hand was calm and cool. Maybe she wanted that to happen…….. We met a few guys that staying in the same hostel as us, they were very nice. We had a great time just talking. They asked a lot of questions about the church which was an awesome opportunity to spread the good word. The next day we went to Venice. Here are a few of us, enjoying the sunset on the bridge. A must when in Florence :)

Adventures....

2009-07-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

So our little adventures continue in Italia. We get lost sometimes and are having a BLAST doing so. Hahaha, we’ve got some great people on this trip. I feel like I’ve been to just about every place possible in Rome now. And I still have two weeks left here! Guess what that means… SHOPPING!! Hahaha, and you thought I’d say something else. Suckers… So we went to this opera, Tosac. I had no idea what was being said… I mean, sang… but it was so cool!! The theater was out doors, which was amazing in itself, but to make it better… This is Matt, Myself, and Kelsey at the Opera. It was one of the many places that in Ancient Rome was used as a Bath house (aka… SPA! Which I would so love right now. My feet need a little TLC from all the walking we do.) I think we hardly slept that night, we all we so excited for the next day. And why were we all excited you ask? Well, because we were going to FLORENCE!! Oh my goodness. It was so exciting.

Oh this is kinda funny...

2009-07-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

So this was a mistake, but it turned out kinda funny... hahahaha i kinda like it.

Favorite part about Rome...

2009-07-13T13:18:00.001-07:00

hahahaha, so here are some friends on the Trip, just talking about their favorite parts of Rome. kinda funny.. ENJOY!

Hello from ROMA!

2009-07-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

HELLO everyone!! So after only about a week here in Rome, Italy, I feel as though I know this city pretty well! We’ve seen just about everything there is to see, which has been crazy, but fun. It’s made time fly by so fast, and I find is hard to believe that we start traveling THIS WEEK!!! Oh my goodness… we are going to Florence and Venice this weekend, which will be SO FUN!! I am mostly excited about Venice.  Oh how I LOVE the movie “The Italian Job”—FAVORITE! Or, among the like, 20 favorites I have. Lol So I have had my first Italian ice cream, pretty good! But I still like frozen yogurt from spoon me better. Hahaha, totally American in that area and I’m okay with it. But really, when I look back on my time, I can hardly believe that I have fit almost all of the city of Rome into just a few days! It’s crazy! I have been to the Spanish Steps almost every day, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon like 4 times already. And I still have like 2 and half weeks here! Not to mention the Vatican, which is basically around the corner from me- SO PRETTY!! Especially at night. Favorite site I do believe. We’ll see how long that lasts for though… hahaha, us girls, we change our minds about every 5 minutes. Oops! ;) We took a night walk through Rome the other night, that was absolutely gorgeous and it wasn’t even a “hilly” walk, just the simple streets throughout Rome. But we did however do another evening walk where we went to the top of one of the most beautiful hills I have ever been on in my life! We did that Sunday night after we attened an Italian speaking ward, in which the missionaries were so nice and translated for us. It might have been a little annoying, but I know I sure appreciated it a ton!
I feel like I have been through just about every Catholic Church here in Rome now, although I know I haven’t! We went through like, 10 in one day… ONE DAY! 10!! By the end, they all looked about the same to me…. Lol it was cool though to see the difference in generations as they were built. I might not have known what was going on, and was almost terrified in a few… hahaha, no but really, some are just creepy! But it was a good day. Lots of nice air conditioned churches. Ha! Can’t complain about sitting for free in an air conditioned building in the Roman Summer! That’s another thing…………. you have to pay for just about everything here. To sit down, to use a restroom- yeah that’s right! You have to PAY to use the bathroom! How CRAZY is that?! Thus, I typically just wait until we get home, or if we are by another apartment from our group. And even then sometimes I wait. We got SOOO lucky with our apartment. Two bathrooms, a nice sized kitchen, washing machine, balcony, air conditioning… and only 8 girls!!! It’s so nice! We really did luck out. Spoiled- lol typical me. 
Well, I’m off for more site seeing! Or maybe more Gelato… Either way, When in Rome… LIVE LIKE AMERICANS!! Hahahaha kidding.
This is me and one of my rommies, Annique. Aren't we just super cute.. haha Oh and the first picture is Kelsey and I at the Pantheon. :) LOVE IT!

Welcome to Italy!!

2009-07-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Alright, for those of you who don't know... I'M IN ITALY!!! hahahaha yes!!! I am with BYU study abroad for the next few weeks. YAY FOR ME!!! :)
so far, i've been to see the pope- his little dude even gave us a little shout out while we were there for the... weekly blessing? not really sure what it was. We spent lots of time at the vatican the first day. Also have seen the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Forums, the Capitol Museum, the... just about everything i think!! and i've still got like, 2 more weeks here!! hahaha so here are a few pictures while i've got time. :)
Here we are at the Vatican... the FIRST night we got there! :)

This is my best friend growing up, kelsey ringer, and i at the vatican the first morning we were there.
Here are a few of us, just at the colosseum. Day Three... we move fast!
I can't believe we've already done so much! i'll post as much as i can, but i don't know how often it will be!! Peace out everyone :)

ouch charlie.....

2009-05-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

Oh my freaking heck!! this gets me every time.
and then tanner and larry started doing their impressions of this- i was crying. just watch. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH

2009-04-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

oh brother... haha have i ever said how much i LOVE my mom? because really, i do. she and i may fight hardcore some times, but she's the best. especially when we travel. we have the best times, all the time! so this last week was her annual RMATA conference. this year it was in SLC, so i spent some time there, and some time here. well friday Kiley and I went up just to hang out, go to the pool, shop, dinner... blah blah blah... ya know, do what we do best! we had fun. well, at least, i did! Well, Kiley had to leave friday so that she could get home to the dog, which i would have done if sean was gone... but i stayed up there for a little bit after and watched a movie with my mom and one of the other athletic trainers-- kristen. she's kinda one of our travel buddies, so she's in on all our funny moments. well way earlier in the day, kiley left a towel on the bed. so like, 4 hours later, we're watching a movie, me, mom and kristen.... and mom says-- hey kort, what's this? (picking up the towel..)
after a few moments and a funny stare i say...... "well mom, it's a towel."
HAHAHAH!!!! kristen was dying. i was crying, and it was hilarious. I just COULDN'T resist when she said it!! ahahahahahaha, she thought it was pretty funny too. oh my goodness. she was like-- you know what i mean. gosh... and then started laughing at herself until she cried. oh but it was so funny.

oh- another kinda funny thing.... thursday after jake's funeral, kiley and i had planned a little date with brady and tanner. i needed something to make me happy and cheer me up. other then shopping (which i had been doing for hours before...). we decided to make dinner (and by we... i mean... me) and watch some movies. her family was gone too, and they've got this big projector thing, and i love cooking in her kitchen because it's.... HUGE!! well brady ended up being late, but that's okay! when he got there i was still trying to finish up a few things, so it's all good. well, tanner was already there, and like i said, kiley and i were busy in the kitchen still. so when brady got there, after a few awkward moments i'm sure... brady looks at tanner and says "Tanner?" tanner asks back... "Brady?" hahaha, and they met! My bad :)

life after death, and taxes.

2009-04-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

what a week...
and to be honest, it wasn't even THAT terrible. but it was still not one i wish to remember really. but i still feel like i need to just... spit it out. put it out and leave it out of my mind for a long long time.
start from the beginning, mom is stressed because her RMATA conference is going to start in a few days, and she's in charge. so i'm being as patient as i can with her and dealing with some not so nice moments from her as best i can: but i can only take soooo much. I was also asked to fix a dress for the timpview prom this weekend. no biggie right? well, dad needed me to work for him which meant i didn't have time monday, tuesday, or wednesday. And then i got that one little text that put me in panic mode-- "i need the dress by thursday." great.... but, i did get it done. and it still was done pretty good. i feel kinda bad because she needed one thing semi-fixed, but i just didn't have time. i did the best i could though. and it still looked good. so i'm happy with it. with in all the mix of this, i received an email from on of my very best friends on a mission saying that he was going through a hard time and needed my help. which, i was happy to do- but just wished it could go away.
somewhere in the mix- i did have a few bright and shining moments. Wednesday, i got a text from tanner that he was coming home a few days early, which totally made my week. then the AF drill team dance concert was way fun- i always have a good time with the grimes family. :) Friday, tanner came home and i got to see him (brightest moment of my week!!)
saturday though........ after playing a prank on brett watson, i thought the day was going to be pretty good. think again. mom was in ultra panic mode because of this lovely season we call tax season. She was doing her best to not be all mad but she had a few moments. we'll let it pass though! it happens. i then, went down to nephi with tanner and met the fam! well, some of them. they are seriously such great people. his cousin tina is the sweetest lady ever. and so is his mother! she was great. and to think-- i was all nervous. no reason to be though. they are an awesome family.
and now, it's sunday. and i feel like today will just not end. it started off pretty great to be honest! after having a few days of rainy and somewhat cold weather, i woke up to sunshine. went to a farewell (great job ash!!) and came home to help my mother start the easter dinner. that's when it all went down hill. one simple text changed everything. "R.I.P JAKE! WE WILL MISS YOU!!" i felt like my heart needed to be restarted when i opened it. so like all facebook/myspace addicts do, i got online to see if it really was who and what i thought it was. i was praying that it wasn't true, but my fears were confirmed when i went to his page. He really is gone. This happy, fun, free-loving kid is gone. just like that. gone. i am still in shock as i write about it, but i know that it's true. and i just talked with him a few days ago. told him that i was coming up to salt lake for a few days (change of plans though with finals.) and we were going to try and do something. ya know, lunch, maybe dinner, something to catch up. but instead, i will make my way up to salt lake on thursday for a funeral for a friend. i can't remember the last time i cried this hard. i slept for a few hours which helped a lot- but it can never take away the pain. it's going to be a few days, but i'm going to be okay. and that's what i'll look forward to- being okay. because i will be.
i just have one question for you-- ARE YOU IN THE FLO?! yes jake, i am! love you buddy.

options.

2009-04-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

hahahahaha, oh my gosh. lindsey grimes has yet ANOTHER funny moment of the night, and she wasn't even there. that's pure skill folks! pure skilllllll so tonight was the American Fork Drill Team dance showcase. Bex was in it, and so was the other grimes child- steven. hahahaha, best dancer there i tell ya. It started off a little slow, but it got really funny, really fast. the guys dance was simple awesome though. and becca did pretty good herself. although you have to give me and naya props for making her laugh and smile... GO US! so anyway.... Linnea came home today for that, but linds had to stay home and be all grown up and responsible (seriously linds?? who does that...) but thats okay, we still had a good time. Well after the show, we went to go get some treats- we're super good at that one. so on the way back to the school to get my car, linds called naya and was asking about shoes or something... i took over the phone call so that i could talk to lindsey for a minute or two and when i finally asked her why she called in the first place she says i need to know what happened to my shoes! so i ask linnea, and she's like yeah i have them with me- why? well lindsey wants to wear them... DUH so naya says something like- well tell her to pick something else, she's at home and still has options, i don't. guess who heard linnea say that---- LINDSEY! haha, she blurts back " I'll show YOU options Linnea!!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA i was crying i was laughing so hard. linsey was like, "no really, i will." cat fight over the phone. oh it was hilarious. and she wasn't even in the car. love your guts lindsey. :)

62 and counting.

2009-04-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

shoes. i love shoes. especially high heels. :) oh if only you could see the smile on face right now... hahaha. seriously, i LOVE SHOES!!! i counted tonight, i've got 62 pairs of shoes. in my closet alone. and that does not include my dance or dance shoes. or the extra pair of flip flops i have in my dance bag, and in my car. HA! i also have 3 pairs that i have never worn before. seriously, like? what the heck. 3 brand new pairs of shoes that i've never ever worn. one day, i will wear them. i just have to make a dress to match them, that's all. and i'm totally okay with that. But really, 62 pairs of shoes? i honestly didn't think i had THAT many, but i do! and i have a few more that i've got my eye on and just might be purchasing in the next few weeks. or days i guess. so maybe it's an addiction, but!! i just love them... shoes and purses totally make an outfit, i honestly believe that.

These pictures were taken by my friend Jenny- she's amazing. and she always seems to get good pictures of my shoes... ha, go figure.
62... that number just keeps coming up in my head. hahaha, okay, it's a problem. and i have zero intentions of fixing this problem. OH!! but while i was counting, i was reminded of my all time favorite pair- my prom shoes from my jr. year. Oh my goodness. seriously, most beautiful shoes ever. my mom always says that i spend more on my shoes then i do on my clothes, and after looking at a few price tags- i totally believe her. haha, okay, maybe i need rehab.... i love these shoes!!!

that good

2009-04-04T20:51:00.001-07:00

it's a saturday night. and i'm young. i should be out right? right. guess what... i'm not. instead, i'm sitting at home, watching grey's anatomy (season 3) and eating cookie dough. oh, and icing my finger. seriously? what a loser. HA! no but really, i am sitting at home. After being at work all day, then going to a little family party to celebrate my nephew's golden birthday (04,04 and he's now 4!!) and then dinner with the family... i'm tired. and i don't want to go out. so, i'm not. plus.... tanner is gone. and i just want to sit. and count down the days until he get's home. maybe sleep to make the time pass, but grey's is just so good. and so is this cookie dough! so i'll sit here, and watch my show, eat my cookie dough, and wait for time to pass. just because i can. so, i will. :)

but funny story-- i broke my finger. HAHA it's all puffy and purple and blue. it's great. it throbs, but whatever. it's still funny. great reminder of a hilarious night. sam-- good session. GREAT session. so let's start from the beginning.... so i was feeling a session coming on. After learning that my brother needed the car for the night and i was probably going to be car-less.... i was just not the happiest camper. but then, i worked my magic- and i got the truck! HA! talk about a power trip. so i head out to sam's house and we eat. we're SUPER good at that. then! we got paid $20 to take sister sid and a friend to a wedding in provo- plus! we got the infinity. we were cruisin. and it was fabulous. then... we got crazy. haha we spent all 20 on food at walmart. ice-cream, candies, chips, drinks... cookie dough :) then, we went to a park. and we, had a dance party. that's right. me and sam, dance party. oh man.... we got wild. just the two of us too. hahaha, i'm sure people driving by thought we were psycho, but who cares?! we were having fun. after about peeing our pants and deciding it was a better idea to not go in the park, but go back to her house, we picked up brock. brother brock. best decision of the night. he thought we were crazy and probably found it a little awkward that we were just full on dancing in the middle of the street, and eating junk food just because we can. but once again- do you honestly think we care?! think long and hard..... NO! we don't. we don't care. we do what we want, when we want. deal with it. after dancing and FINALLY getting brock to join in on the fun, we decided to swing. swing on the orange swings in the park. brilliant idea. i was on the swing for about oh, 5 seconds and the dumb thing BROKE! like really, REALLY? i'm not that fat am i?! i thought at first that it was a gun and someone was freaking shooting at me! then i realized was sitting on the ground.... not being shot at, just laughed at. it wasn't till like, an hour later that i actually realized my finger was twice it's normal size and that it really hurt. like, REALLY hurt. mostly in my finger, but like, my whole arm just kinda, ached. for real? what is up with me and broken fingers... goll... i'm gonna die from a broken finger, it's a sign or something. whatever the case, it was still a hilarious night and i guess if i have a broken finger at least it's good reminder of a great night.

a month straight.

2009-03-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

lucky lucky me. i've gotten to spend the last month of weekends with linnea. sorry linds and bec- you only have yourself to blame. okay, bec you don't, but lindsey you do. i still love ya though. and let me tell ya how much FUN we have had. and the best part is, WE FINALLY WENT TO JUMP ON IT! that place is the bomb. no really, it's so fun! a huge accident waiting to happen but so much fun in the process. and- i have branched out my taste buds and tried new places and things. go me. maybe i'll rub off on naya and she'll join my little club. VP of activities? alright, we'll talk on it. so after we went to jump on it, all 4 of us (by the way... i'm starting to feel left out because my last name is NOT grimes.) we went to this place called JCW's or something? whatever it's called- it's in AF and it's pretty okay. we only get fattening foods there, but who cares, right? we just burned like, 600 calories jumping around on a whole bunch of connected trampolines! not to mention i kicked butt in the bum war-- silly beckster, thinking she could beat me. HA! you will never beat me. but keep on tryin. years of experience bec, YEARS. cheese fries and GIANT shakes. and when i say giant, i mean.... GIANT no really though. i just wanted a small one, and i got a huge one! good thing me and linds decided to share- because we didn't even finish that one.
that could have been bad. and the whole time we're eating, ours looked so pretty. hahaha, it what? yeah, it looked pretty. lindsey and i made ours look all nice and pretty, smooth.... yummy looking.... and then there's linnea and becca's. hahaha, choppy.
"our food resembles us." hahahaha what does that mean? honestly... so are me and linds all pretty and clean, and you guys are choppy and ugly?! WHAT?! NO!!! hahaha seriously, funny moment. oh and then there is the water moment. linsey had this class of water, and naya and bec kept drinking ALL of the water, lins had no idea. but she just kept filling it up! i really don't think she ever noticed that she didn't take a drink and she was the one doing all the work. i even started drinking her water and she had no idea! sorry linds, but it was funny to watch you cater to OUR needs. thanks, you're a peach. ;)
oh and this past weekend, we decided to do a spa night- ya know... facials. hahahaha, so funny! we are super good at watching movies and eating candy and chips in their living room and just being lazy, but seriously, let's switch it up. and paint our faces with super thick, white face soap. so... we did! and it was fabulous. hahahahahahahahahahaha pictures ga-lore! and yes, we are TOTALLY going for the "joker" look. even tanner's dad noticed. haha. speaking of him... well he was going to come down this last weekend with me (same weekend that we did our little spa night) but he ended up not coming. he's responsible and has separation anxiety from all his little wrestler kids. :) cute, i know... haha coach tanner. so anyway, we decided that since it was a girls weekend we should do this, and it was fabulous. aside from it like, burning linnea's face, and then getting into lindsey's eyes and making them sting. which, was pretty funny to be honest. so anyway, we take all these pictures, and sent one to tanner (the same one as above...) with a little note that says something like.... good thing you didn't come down this weekend, we'd have to do our beauty masks on you too! well, he's kinda shy... and i didn't think he would like, SAVE it.... and then SHOW IT TO EVERYONE! like, SERIOUSLY?! that picture? oh no no no hun.... not a sharing picture. he showed his mom. and his dad. and his GRANDPA... a few friends... who knows who else he showed. but he sure likes to show it! for real though? it's not even a good picture! you can't see our faces, and we're all being dorks in it. so not cute. so not cool.... i've threatened to delete it, and he pleaded with me to not. and seriously, who can say no to his face. he won. and he's still showing it. Thanks dear, i appreciate it. not. so now i'm beating him at his own game and making it public. HA! i totally win. :) sorry girls, hope ya don't mind. it's just a good reminder of our fabulous weekend.

k squared

2009-03-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

so kiley ann carter is my best friend, i'm sure it's safe to say that she is. she knows WAY too much about me. if i went missing, she should probably be able to read my mind and find me. she's that good. and i'm okay with that. we have our little problems, but they don't ever keep us apart for very long. we start to suffocate because of the lack of each other. it's THAT BAD. she's pretty much my other half, and when we are together, it's like we're both just complete. she's hilarious too. and i couldn't ask for a better friend. she worries about me more then herself sometimes i think. she's way protective over me, and any guy that has or ever will screw me over, oh boy- i feel SUPER bad for you. you've got it coming!! no really, you should probably sleep with one eye open and get a few guys to watch your back because she'll get ya. and her family will come after ya too. but to be fair, i would do the same for her. however, i don't know if any guy will ever really get that close to us because we are way crazy (in a good way of course!). we are the girls who create fun. you're going to laugh with us, if you like it or not! and you might be laughing at us and our stupidity, but we don't care. we're making you laugh, and we're having a good time with it. SO GET OVER IT! because we are who we are. and we do what we do. and WE LOVE IT and if you don't, then go cry to someone who cares. because we don't. never have, never will.

play time

2009-03-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

he's the best player around

how rude....

2009-03-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

So in my family, jokes and kidding around are how we survive. We are a pretty funny family and we tend to pick on each other. It’s great really. Until it gets done to you. Let me tell you how much I… love… payback. We make jokes about things, make fun of other people (we’re rude… we know ;) deal with it.) find reason to laugh, even at each other’s expenses and life is just fine and dandy. Well the other day, or week… my mother and I need our lovely little chi tea lattes. Bad habit, I know. But it’s an addiction. I’ll enter rehab in a few days- promise. Back to my story though………………………. So we’re enjoying our very bad habit and my brother, who likes them, but doesn’t love them like my mother and I, decided he wanted a drink. I tried to warn him that it was “extra” hot, but he didn’t want to listen. So he took a huge drink! Hahaha, sucker…. He burnt his tongue! I swear on my life, I tried to tell him it was hot! But he just wouldn’t listen. I gave it to him for a while after that. It was quite entertaining to be honest. Well, yesterday, I had this craving for some hot chocolate. Okay first of all, I hardly like hot chocolate, so when I want it, I want it bad! So I made some in our awesome little café latte thingy. Does all the work for ya. Consider investing in one. Well, I didn’t realize how HOT it actually makes your drink. So what did I do? I burnt my tongue!! Took one drink and spit it out all over the floor. It was like scene from a movie I tell ya! and who was standing in the kitchen at the time…. Take a wild guess. SEAN. Mr. Burnt tongue himself. He laughed at me. And mumbled something like, “who’s laughing now, sucker….” Yeah yeah yeah, shut it Sean. I’ll show you. I’ll get back at you. You better sleep with one eye open bud- I’m out for super revenge. And the fact that there is once again pretty white snow outside, makes my life a whole lot better. I will get him, and I will get him good! Just remember Sean, I am a girl, and the youngest. I have learned from your mistakes. I also make the dinners in this household, and I will do something to that if I have to. I can do days without eating in case you have forgotten seanie-poo. I will prevail!

take a picture, it will last longer.

2009-03-01T17:49:00.003-08:00

alright, so FINALLY i decided to get the pictures off my camera, and post them. so here ya go!
first up! my car.... way back when- when i was all hyped up on this blog thing... i talked about my car. so, here it is. my pretty, crunched, gold car. sweet huh? my arm could fit through that space in the trunk there. but now! it's all pretty and looks like brand new. i'm not even kidding. it's awesome and i love it! YAY!!

alright, picture(s) 2 (and 3...) oh those wrestler boys. now keep in mind, this is a tournament, where we just sleep EVERYWHERE. ya know, the watch where you step one. because they are all over the place. so here are some of my "sleeping beauties."

see what i mean?! EVERYWHERE!! and this is just a small corner of the gym we were in. oh boy, i sure love 'em though!

don't let the packaging fool you

2009-02-22T18:00:00.000-08:00

okay so sometimes when my mom and i shop, we get things that look good because that's what the package suggests, right? WRONG! no, sometimes it's really just... nasty. especially Chinese food. just spend the money and go to Panda Express and buy it. it's really just better this way. i swear. i really was SOOO super excited to eat what looked like fabulous food on the box, but then i was kinda really disappointed by the final project. it just wasn't that great. BOO!!
anyway... so i was thinking about my cute little friend sam today, and i started laughing because i thought the VERY same thing!! don't let the package fool you. hahahahahahahahahahahahaha all thanks to what she said to me. and what she just says period. oh that girl is nothin but laughs i tell ya! she's awesome. anyway, she said one time "i don't care ha ha just as long as it's not like RUN far Away from her cause i swear i scare people." you what?! yeah, that's what it says, " i scare people" girl what on earth are you talking about?! but she said it! not me. but don't worry sam, i have been told the exact same thing. guess we're scary girls. all 5'4" of us. i mean really, we can not be that scary. plus, we are laughing like, ALL the time. what is this scary talk... honestly. we aren't scary!!! i promise. if you don't believe me, come hang out with us one time. we'll totally prove you wrong. no but really, don't let the packaging fool you. because we really are funny. gosh...

momma's girl

2009-02-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

okay, okay... i will confess that i am a momma's girl. but i'm also a daddy's girl. i know how to work it- ya dig?! hahaha no but really, i am both. being the youngest, and the "only" girl, it just comes along with the job title. and i'm okay with that. most of the time. especially because she's seriously so pretty and was nice enough to share a little of that with me. thanks mommy :) anyway....... back to the whole reason i'm writing this little post. so my dear mother has been sick. alright, lisa does NOT get sick. she just doesn't. it's like she's a robot and she just can't. but she did! i really can't remember the last time she was just, sick. well, except last year when i gave everyone in my house the flu. good work, right? WRONG. that was the most miserable month ever. oh wait, it was the never ending month. the stupid flu hung around our house for like, 3 months! how many times can 4 people get that stupid sickness? apparently like 20 times each. not fun, do NOT suggest it to anyone. back to lisa being sick THIS time... so she's sick, right? okay, my mom does NOT nap. period. it's not programed into her DNA. but guess who slept for like, 3 hours today? that's right. MOM. woah, something is wrong. and i just want to cry for her. okay, maybe not cry, but i still want her to get better. she NEEDS to get better. no more sickness lisa. Doctors orders.

monkey boy

2009-02-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

Jackson, Jackson Levi Johns. That's his REAL name, but i just call him Jack. Or monkey. bubby, whatever i feel like really. But he's really the cutest little (almost) 4 year old around. He's the sweetest thing ever and so funny. He can brighten my day anytime- even if i don't need it, or when i don't want it. But he does it. And i love him. He's the greatest blessing so far in my life, and he's not even mine. :) so i guess i should thank his parents- thanks brian and cassie, i really appreciate the little boy. he makes my life. but really, how on earth did you get him to behave like he does? the boy is SOOO FUNNY! he makes the tiniest mess and he's like "It's okay! i can clean this up!!"
see??
ahhh... the kid kills me. hahahaha, i just love him. i'm so glad he's my nephew. we picked a good one, that's for sure.

because these things will CHANGE

2009-02-15T20:08:00.000-08:00

alright, so let's face it... i'm pretty much in a DEPRESSION right now. Why you ask? Because wrestling is now officially over, and i seriously just want to cry my eyes out. but on the bright side, state is over, which means we can all sleep and eat again in our house because we actually have time. :) YAY! but still.... wrestling is over! and this is year is even WORSE because it's our last year with "the boys." that even includes the coaches. Which makes things ten times worse because we don't know who on earth will the the coach next year, and being girls, my mother and i worry! AHHH!!! but now, let's talk about the state tournament itself. this way, i can BRAG about AAALLLL of the fabulous, hilarious, cute, funny, amazing springville wrestlers who did seriously so awesome at state (GOOD JOB BOYS!!! ) well, Gerritt made it to the finals! Aw, i love that little guy. I'm gonna super miss him next year at maple mountain, but i will still claim him as mine, because i can. i honestly cried when he lost in the finals. not even joking. i wanted him to win SO bad!! but i'm still super proud of him. GO G!!! :)
next, logan miner- you are my new hero! first year, and you kick butt. seriously, how many boys just decide out of PEER PRESSURE that they will pick up wrestling, and then place their very first year of wrestling, at state? Yeah, like no one. He is my new hero. period.
hayden... hahaha, oh hayden. my little animal cracker boy. i just love ya! who is going to make me laugh next year? one word, and it starts with a c.... confidence. HAHAHAHAHA oh my gosh, you never fail to put a smile on my face. SO SUPER PROUD of you. Two time state champ. Love it!!
Caleb, seriously caleb. oh my goodness. the kid kills me. he is so funny too. hahahahahahaha, i can just hear him singing to "you're stupid cuz you put your cotton shirt in the dryer and it shrunk." hahahahahahahahaha oh my gosh. wanted you to win buddy. another heart breaker. oh and i still want my money from like, forever ago. i'll be waiting, you know where to find me.
no but really, my life was MADE this year with wrestling. i don' think i have been so happy in my life! not just with our cute little killing machines, but with SO many wrestlers all over the state. ha, helping my mother with hydration testing turned out to be the best thing ever to be honest with you. oh man, these wrestlers are honestly a breed of their own. Not to mention the new hottie that i have been texting due to my connections (with Sam, who has connections with like, everything, and hooked me up with the hottie's phone number-- seriously girl, number one wing girl. you're hired!!!) and seriously though, he is a cutie. so pretty. and way nice. and seems to get along great with other people. OH! and he actually REMEMBERS things. like where i go to school. and what i was wearing (okay okay, we were matching, but still! he remembered before i did.) let me tell ya, that is impressive. happy freaking valentines day to me! YEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
so moving on.... last night, valentines i might add. after a horrible parade of champions and getting all cute for, oh, no date- i went to my lovely friend mary's house. where, we had a party of our own! with david and maria. it was so much fun! i was pretty happy i went. even though i was so freaking pissed at my parents for NOT letting me go down to st. george and i was all super excited to get to see the girls (mean the twins...) but my night turned out much better then i thought. we made this really yummy Brazilian food, which i thought would be really yucky, but it was good. and then we sat and talked for like, 2 hours about when we were younger and all the hilarious things that happened to us and others and all the stuff we went through. oh man, it was great. then we watched this called eagles eye (so good!) and had a few laughs at that alone. hahahaha "is your mother going to be okay?" "that's unclear at the moment..." HAHA! oh my gosh, i was dying. but if you haven't seen it, see it. it's good. intense. but like, scary movie intense, i would never watch that stuff- come on now. i'm a chicken we all know that. but it was good. makes ya think a lot.
oh and today, i think i have slept more then i have been awake. yeah, talk about change. i don't sleep all day everyday. i just can't. and today, i totally did. woah, crazy. hopefully it doesn't screw up my life now. because with my luck, it will. the joys of state wrestling.... :)next up-- BASEBALL!!!! :)

two weeks later..............

2009-01-26T19:54:00.000-08:00

yep, so my mother was right!
she was like "ya know kort, you're gonna love it for a few days, then the shiny cover is gonna wear off." and guess what? it did. not that i don't LOVE this and all, but seriously it was MUCH more exciting in the beginning. BOOO!
Okay, so guess what?! MY CAR IS BACK!!! after being gone for like, 3 weeks, it's back! and looks like new. like nothing ever happened. in fact, it looks even BETTER then when it was hit- because Tadd Peterson and his crew are amazing and fixed a few other little things, like door dents from my brother parking too close to others. and a few minor scratches. at some point in time, i'll post the pictures. but the best part about this-- THE FISH BOWL IS GONE!!!!!!!! YES! Seriously though, that was like, the worst experience ever, driving home from St. George in that stupid, uncomfortable, ugly, fish bowl. i wanted to kill myself. instead, i slept the whole way home. :)
So speaking of st. geezy........ so i had like, the BEST weekend EVER! No joke. i really did. i about cried when it was over. and sure, i'm a girl and whatever-- but i was like, seriously so depressed when i had to part ways with my sweet little grimes girls. and once again, we had like, some of the funniest things happen to us! and some rude things too... but they were hilarious. no but really, we always have the best times. I went down friday afternoon with their dad and becca. and what did we do on friday night? we went for a run. like, 3 mile run. hahaha, we had absolutely nothing better to do then run. so, we ran. it was great. we might be crazy for just randomly running, but it was seriously so great. hahaha- then we pulled the mattresses off the beds, and made this huge crash pad, and SLEPT! great in itself. saturday, we played the BEST joke on Linds at her mothers race. hahahahahahahahahahahahaha oh my gosh, i start crying when i think about it. it was so funny!!! so she was talking with her old roommate about doing this relay with them, and we all had started to go back to the car. Well, we got sick of waiting for her (honestly linds, 10 minutes?! I'm not always in town girl...) So we decided to hide, and watch her FREAK OUT. Which is exactly what we did. :) We hid behind a tree, and when she started going to the car, she started to look for us. So predictable... And then, she started looking around, and RUNNING!! and all the sudden, came to a halt, whipped around, took another look for us, and took off running AGAIN. we started following her, and she looked back, and totally missed us! hahaha, oh my gosh, we were all dying laughing at her, and she had no clue! finally we started calling her name, and she goes "Well THERE you are! Gosh..." hahahahaha oh my gosh, it was seriously the funniest thing ever. i think it beats the time in the dressing room.
which reminds me......... so after our little joke on linds, us girls decided that we wanted to go to Vegas. Which, we did. And let me tell ya, best time in Vegas i've ever had. :) We shopped, which is where the dressing room things comes into play. so there is this GORGEOUS dress at Jessica McClintock. And so while we were shopping at the ever so awesome Fashion Show Mall right there on the strip, i decided that i wanted to try it on. so, one of the TWO ladies working there starts helping me out, and is like yeah, i think you'll need a size 4 in this dress, it runs a little small. i'm like yeah, i usually wear a size 2 dress.... blah blah blah. so i'm headed back into the dressing room, and the OTHER lady who is working there says to the one helping me, um, did she just take the size 4 in there? and the one helping me goes yeah, why? the other lady says um, she's going to need a size 6.... i'm like, WHAT?! she's like, yeah, you're gonna need a size 6. these dresses run small. i'm all, uh yeah, i know. and i wear a 2, this is a 4. she's like okay well i'll have this size 6 here for you when that one doesn't fit. OKAY WHATEVER! so i try on the dress. GUESS WHAT?! it fit. the size 4 freaking fit! In fact, it was even a little big. :) Stupid woman, calling me fat. Just because i'm a size 2, and you're like, a 200 hundred, doesn't mean you can tell me what size i am! WEAR IT! it was funny. the rude lady just sat there staring. Yeah, that's right, i look good! and you don't. take that rude lady at jessica mcclintock.

(Becca, Linnea, Lindsey, and Myself.)

Okay second funny thing that happened. so we go to dinner at the cheesecake factory. okay, our waitress was honestly, SO RUDE! i ordered my food, and she was like, "are you sure you want THAT?" No, i just said i did. DUH! so then linds is asking about a few dishes, and asked about a salad. The stupid, RUDE, not even that cute, waitress goes "well do you like chicken? and ranch dressing? and bbq sauce? and corn? and lettuce? and beans?" linds was like alright moving on......... so later on, becca didn't finish her food, so she got a box- and linnea said "geeze girl, did you even touch the chicken?" and the RUDE waitress butts in and says "well that's because she already filled up on bread earlier." okay honestly woman, you're just freaking mean now. so we called and complained about her. Guess who got like, $60 to cheesecake factory?! That's right~!! The twins dad. HAHA and you thought i was going to say me. :) HAHA! but seeing as how him and my mother have the same birthday, i think they are going to use it together at their dinner. love it!! and you're welcome mom, for complaining and having a bad experience so you can have a free dinner. I'll expect a slice of cheesecake in return. thanks.

so after making fishy faces at the big fish tank inside the shops at the colloseum and riding the New York New York roller coaster, we called it a night. kinda. Okay, so we took a short little road trip back to good ol' st. george, where we then went and sat in the hot tub at our parental's hotel. not too bad. love those marriots.
so sunday was sunday. linds and i made an appearance at church. that was super cool. 9 am, on vacation, and i got my butt outta bed to go! Go ME! then we went to bear paw, family tradition- a very tasty one at that! oh!! and!!! we golfed. :) :) :) i even taught linds how to hit a golf ball, with a golf club. It was fabulous.
so monday, we left. and i felt like crying. and it sucked. i seriously miss it. and them. and our big bed that we all slept on. Aw, super sad! But, it was a pretty great weekend. So guess i can't be THAT sad.

Return of the animal crackers

2009-01-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

So remember how i said i'd go anywhere with the SHS wrestling team? On that ONE condition of NO ANIMAL CRACKERS?!?! Well, they made a return. Only this time, they did not attack me. Thank goodness... Instead, they attacked Coach Judkins. Oh so funny! This week we were up at West Jordan Duels and during the Saturday portion of the tournament, we had LOTS of down time. So like usual, the coaches and wrestlers sleep. Very common. Seriously though, if you ever go to a wrestling tournament, you should probably look where you step. you might just crush one of the sleeping beauties. They are honestly EVERYWHERE!! It's kind cute. hahaha- drool, and movements from dreams and all. :) So anyway... back to the story...... So while coach is sleeping, Hayden is eating his animal crackers. Just chomping away... Looking for my purse, and me, being smart and learning from my FIRST experience, left it in the car. Smart thinking. So he started looking for a new place to stuff animal crackers. And where's the best place he could find?? That's right... Coach's pockets. HA HA! I really think he stuffed like 10 in each pocket. Judkins woke up and started throwing them back at Hayden, who would then promptly eat them. Oh so funny. Oh, and it's not over yet. Caleb comes along! Okay, these two are hilarious alone, and completely out of control together. It makes us laugh until we cry. That funny. So now, Caleb has peanut butter. So what did these two crazy boys do? Made NEW animals! They would bite the animals in half, or just the heads, legs, whatever they wanted at the time, and would use the peanut butter as glue to piece together the animals. They came up with the FUNNIEST animals. We now had Camelphants. That's a camel and elephant if you didn't know. Oh my gosh, where did they come from?! Wherever it was, i love it. we need more of them, that's for sure.

This Thursday.....

2009-01-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

This Thursday was NOT like the rest. :) It was BETTER!
Let's start from the beginning shall we???

So first of all, my 8 am class, was canceled. Love it. Second day of class, and she calls it off! Great for me, gives me a little more time to get used to this early morning stuff again. Can't complain. So what did i do?? Got up at 7:45, and did..... YOGA!!! Oh how I love Yoga. It really just works for me. Totally relaxing, but in the mornings, wakes me up. It's great. Totally suggest it to anyone. Call me crazy for getting up that early to do it, but it was soooo worth it.
So next, i went to ballet. Which is just great because it's dance. And it's ballet. And that is just fabulous in itself.
Then what did i do??? Well.... i went... SKIING!!!! Finally, holy cow. It took me long enough to get back up on the mountain. But, i did it! And with some pretty nice skis i might add. They were awesome, called scratch's. I went with a friend of mine, and we had so much fun. It was a little windy, but it was so worth it. Only windy at the top, so i can't complain much! However, he did tease me quite a bit about my skis because one is black, and one is white. Kinda cool, but also very weird to look at... hahaha, and yes! they DO go together. Promise. Shrink wrapped together and everything. I might have some questionable moments in life, but this is for sure not one of them.
Soooo... After skiing, i met up with a friend, Mary Liz as i call her.... at none other then, Starbucks. That place is great. Get the Carmel Apple Cider, with light carmel- to die for! I would drink one every day if i could. but that's a whole lot of calories! And some money added up over time. But they sure are delicious! :)
Finally, i got to spend the night with the wonderful Springville Wrestling team. Call me crazy, but i really do love it! and if you don't like it, i don't want to hear about it! Got it? GOOD! because those kids are hil-arious!! They honestly make me laugh so hard. I really am sad that the season is not longer. And that next year, i will be without some of them! :( Stupid Maple Mountain. No body wants to go there. Okay kidding, everyone does. Well, not everyone... but lots of people. and that means that i will lose all these funny kids to some new school. So lame..... But for the year, i have taken them on as my personal little team. I really do just love it. Traveling and everything. I would go anywhere with those kids. On one condition i guess.... Hayden, no animal crackers. I'm STILL pulling them out of my purse, thank you very much. At least i will never starve. Thank you.

Oh and this picture, it's Hayden and Tyson. They are team captains. Leaders, right? Right. So after a team meeting, Coach says to his team "Alright, now EVERYONE help clean up. I wanna get out of hear quick tonight. This means everyone help." So what do these two boys do....? Sit. And watch everyone else clean up. Great leaders boys. ;) Go get 'em. Hahahaha, funny moment in my life that i wanted to share.

oooohhhhhh life.....

2009-01-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

mmmmk, let me start off by saying that i feel like my phone didn't stop ringing today after i got out of school. No really though, it didn't. I have probably never talked on the phone so much in one day in my life. Maybe that one year when Sean was on his mission and we talked for like, 5 hours on Christmas, but that totally doesn't count because he was on speaker phone and the whole fam damily talked.
Anyway......................... So I was talking to one of my super life long friends Lindsey (that's really what she is, friends since right after her birth!) and it reminded me of the last few days of this Christmas break we had. And let me tell ya, we have some of the funniest things happen when we are together! More to her then anyone, but still. They are funny. Like while we were shopping, she saw one of her old roommates mothers, and this is a roommate she didn't care for much FYI, and she just so happened to be in the dressing room of the store we were in. So Linds, being nice like she is, is just kinda chattin' away, trying to escape so she doesn't have to see this former roommate of hers, when out walks this RANDOM chick. And what does this girl do...? Hands Lindsey the clothes she has just tried on and says, "Here, these didn't work. Thanks." and walks away. Leaving Lindsey with these clothes. Keep in mind that Linds does NOT have on a name tag, and has a jacket, purse, and scarf on. HAHA!!! Linds was like, "uh...... I don't work here." and just left the clothes on the floor and ran. hahahaha, oh my gosh, it's just so funny to me! The point is, I MISS HER!!! and her twin of course. And I miss all of our funny times together. And I really love that she gets me lost in places where she lives. hahaha, oh my goodness... those girls kill me with laughter. Please twins, come home to me now. I promise, we can all slip down the stairs together AAANNNNDDD maybe my mother will even let us slide down my stairs in our sleeping bags again now that we are older. ;)

Oh and about that snow outside.... so last night, Springville girls basketball played Timpview and like always, we went out there to watch the girls win. haha, go devils! so anywho.... remember how there is SOOOO much snow? Well, my mother and i had to drive home in the "fish bowl" (hahaha, that's what i call the rental car we have right now... hahaha THE FISH BOWL!!! It's really a doge caliber.... so ugly!) Yeah, well we tried to bribe my dad into driving it home, but that totally didn't work. So we got stuck in that stupid thing. And let me tell ya, that car SUCKS in the snow!! Yeah, i actually feared for my life. That bad.... But seriously though, we told my dad there was not a chance that we were going to get home. And who was right? that's right... US!!!! Yes, my mother and I were correct. One point team Walker Women, ZERO for David. That's right, WEAR IT DAD! hahahaha, oh i love it. LOVE my fam :)

Oh, the cleverness of me.

2009-01-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

So I have FINALLY joined the blog world. WOAH! Go me. :)
I can't believe that I'm finally doing this.
although, my mom has always pushed me to keep a journal... this can count, right? RIGHT!
And the best part is, I didn't even have to ask anyone for help. Even better.
Not to mention I picked just about the perfect day to start this, seeing as how there is like, 25 hundred feet of snow outside, and I will not be going anywhere. okay, so there really isn't 25 hundred feet of snow, but it's sure getting close. minus a hundred feet, and few more, and you're there! I'll take some pictures and post them. my house looks like it should be in a snow globe. I feel like I'm stuck in one, that's for sure. But really, can you believe all this crazy white stuff?!? I LOVE IT!!! I feel like a little kid in a candy shop.... just looking out my window, all cuddled up in a blanket, even with my Christmas pjs on. hahaha, dork, i know, but they have snow on them! and they are warm, and cute.... It's a win-win situation if you ask me.