The Cup Half Full

NEW BLOG!!

2010-07-17T13:02:00.001-07:00

Hello!! So I have been terrible about blogging since the wedding, but I have tons of pictures to upload and lots of things in my life to update!! Meanwhile, my account keeps getting spam comments, so I am permanently moving to our new blog!! Here is the web address: www dot brentandmaryrose dot blogspot dot com
(I am hoping writing it that way will help it from being hacked into!

Lots of posts coming soon on the new blog!!

Teacher Appreciation Week

2010-05-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

This week has been teacher appreciation week, and I just have to say that I have the sweetest kids ever. They have been so good to me. I have gotten cupcakes, candy, coke (even though they get mad at me every time I drink it because I said I was giving it up for new years haha), a plant, a mini donut maker, a head massager, an itunes gift card, and a bunch of other fun treats. My favorite part though, is the sweet messages they have written me. I am so lucky to have gotten the greatest 2nd grade class. This school year has been long at times, and pretty rough at others, but one thing I know - is how much I love my kids. They have even started calling me 'mom' sometimes because they think it is funny that I refer to them as 'my kids.' Here are just a few of the notes I have gotten:

"Ms Adams thank you for being a grate teacher. youur my Favorit techer I hop that you have fun when you. Get maryd. Love Adela"

"Thank you for being a sensational teacher and role model. All of your effort this year is appreciated. You do our job well! You are amazing! Love, Sydney" (written by a mom haha)

"Dear Ms. Adams, this big and I mean big jar of candy is for you! It's got so much candy for you because you are the best teacher in the whole wide world! From, Jessica"

"Dear Ms. Adams you are the best teacher! Love, Megan"

Now obviously we all know I am not the best teacher, but I do love those kids. I have been counting down the days until summer because I have been so excited to move on to this new chapter in my life, but I am really going to miss them. 15 days and counting! Honestly it has turned from anticipation to despair. How can I just move away from my 23 kids?

Cakewich

2010-04-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

So when my neighbor's Food Network Magazine accidentally came to my house, I MAY have read through it... :) and I about peed my pants when I saw this. Is this not the greatest thing you have ever seen?! Well naturally I immediately had to go online and purchase it. Well... with the week I had last week, I am surprised I haven't been baking up a storm. So right now I am gleefully awaiting this to come out of the oven...

Don't worry... I will publish pictures of the final product soon. Along with pictures of my BYU GRADUATION! Woot Woot!

A few pictures..

2010-04-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted pictures in forever! These aren't the best pictures, but they do show a little of what we have been up to! :) Sorry about the ones where you have to turn your head haha I couldn't rotate them.

This is the night we got engaged. I didn't feel cute at all and we were in our comfy Sunday clothes, but I am glad I got a picture of that memory!

Here is a side view of the ring! Brent designed it and it is absolutely beautiful!

We went and saw Mystere at the Treasure Island in Vegas and it was amazing!!

Here is my handsome fiance :)

I think this was outside the Venitian in Vegas... the weather was so beautiful!

WOOT WOOT!!

2010-04-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

Found out today that I passed my teacher work sample!! WOOT WOOT! Now it is time to move the stress onto finding a teaching job next year!

Oh, and I found my dress for the wedding :) That also lowers the stress levels quite a bit!

Dirty Laundry

2010-03-29T17:46:00.001-07:00

This thought was pasted on the school's weekly newsletter and I really appreciated it. It really made me think. It is crazy how true this really is...

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. "That laundry is not very clean," she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap." Her husband looked on, but remained silent,. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments. About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this." The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

Many times in life it is easy to blame or to complain that we have it hard. During these times step back and look at what is asked of us in a different light or from a different perspective and the burden often becomes lighter, and we realize it was not what we thought.

Happy News

2010-03-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

As of tonight, Brent and I are engaged!
Save the date: June 15, 2010

Never Again... :)

2010-03-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

Well folks, my Teacher Work Sample has officially been finished! This was probably one of the most stressful things I have ever done. Granted I have been a procrastinator since the day I was born (I was born one day early and that was the only time I was on time my family would probably say haha), and I actually started working on this months ago.... Well... even though I know my kids so well and was able to easily assess what they know and everything, it took me FOREVER! Before all my attachments and samples, it was 30 pages 1/2 double spaced and 1/2 single spaced. Let me just tell you... that takes A LOT of hours to do well. BUT I am finished! Woo Hoo! Last week was probably the longest week of my life, and while after a couple breakdowns and some mood swings later I am trying to get back to enjoying only have 2 jobs and a boyfriend that lives 2 hours away ;) Believe it or not, it makes my life seem so boring with so little to do!

Here are a few updates on my life (just incase anyone was wondering :)

I become an auntie again this week when baby Harrison decides to grace the world with his presence (hopefully before Saturday, so pray for Steph)
I get to walk and have the fan fair of actually graduating from BYU (April 22-23)
Clay got home from his mission in Switzerland and is now my roommate :) It is so much more fun having a roommate than living alone (at least Lole and I have a few less conversations haha)
Trey got his mission call to serve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo mission! He leaves June 16th! I can't believe it! We are going to miss him so much!
My parents came to visit last week which was amazing! I tell you what - I wish I could go back and be more appreciative of living at home. Thank you Mom and Dad for all you do for us (and have done). You are amazing!
Things with Brent are going amazingly. He is so good to me and makes me so happy. Not to mention he spoils me a little bit :) He got me a Polar Watch for my birthday which makes it SO fun to exercise and keep track of it!
Sunday dinners have officially gone to having 6 of us (Katchie, Jeff, Me, Brent, Clay, and Trey)! It is so nice to have so many of us together here in Utah. We miss our family so much and I am so glad we have that tradition. My brothers and sisters are some of my best friends and I am so glad we have the relationships we do.
I have 58 more days of school this year! I can't believe it is already ending! With all of the layoffs and budget cuts in Utah this year, pray for me to get blessed with a teaching job!

I will post some pictures soon, I promise :)

I'm on a roll :)

2010-02-11T11:20:00.001-08:00

I have a lot to be grateful for. I have so many opportunities and reasons to be happy. Here are just a few things that make me smile...

1. Getting a voicemail from a family member. I don't know why I love it so much, but I get so excited when I get a voicemail! ESPECIALLY when that voicemail is full of sweet little singing voices :)

2. Lole. She is so cute. she is back to her old self after all the puppies are gone, and she has such the sweetest personality! She makes me laugh every day! Every morning when I wake up, all she wants to do is run around and play with me. And when I am down, she will lay down and whine with me :) (misery loves company haha)

3. When my students are trying to spell something and they accidentally do a naughty word without meaning to :) For example, one of my students wanted to write that she was funky looking and wrote a 'c' instead of a 'n'... I love how innocent they are.

4. Weekends. Having worked weekends all through college, I never really had too much to be excited about when Friday rolled around. But now that I am dating this amazing guy that lives in LOGAN, I have learned to appreciate and look forward to the weekends, where I can just wind down and enjoy the company.

5. Email. Similar to voicemail, I love it when my momma sends me an email to let me know she is thinking about me. It always brightens up my day.

6. Not having a headache. I have finally found a prescription to take away my chronic headaches, and it is crazy how much more enjoyable life can be when you don't have a headache :)

7. Brent. We can seriously be doing nothing (i.e. wandering around the gateway and realizing that neither of us knows where we are going) and have so much fun. He is willing to be spontaneous, he is romantic, he is fun, and he always knows how to make me smile. It was truly a tender mercy to have him come into my life when he did, and I am so blessed to have the experiences I have had... because I think without them, I wouldn't truly appreciate what we have and the kind of man he is.

8. Picture books. I absolutely love reading to my kids. And in 2nd grade we read a lot of picture books, and I didn't realize how much we miss out on when we grow up. There are some great books out there! I love to watch how intently my kids watch and listen while I am reading a story.

9. Honesty. For example, one of my students asks to use the restroom at a very inconvenient time, to which I reply "Can you wait, or is it an emergency?" and he looks behind him and says "it is kinda leaking..." haha

10. The scriptures. I have been off and on since high school about being diligent with reading my scriptures, and the past couple years I have been terrible. I have been reading the scriptures nightly (well most nights haha) right before I go to bed, and I love the way it makes me feel. I love reading about my Redeemer and the things he has done for me.

11. Family and Friends. Through everything in the past 2 years, good and bad, I have realized how amazing the people around me are. I am so blessed to have all of you in my life. I know that whenever I need anything, that there are so many people I can count on. I am truly blessed.

2 Years Later...

2010-02-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't been very good about posting the past couple of months, life has been crazy busy lately! But today I can't not post. Today Elder Bubba comes home. I can't believe that he has already been gone two years! It is crazy to think about everything our family has gone through in the past two years and now here we are! Sickness, surgeries, death young and old, new life, divorce, moving,... a lot has happened. I am so proud of my little brother. I like to call him my 'little' brother because age wise is really the only way I can get away with that. He is such a spiritual giant and has been such a great example to me. He has spent the past two years serving others and bringing them the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is such a testimony builder to me to hear about all of the amazing experiences he has been able to have, and the lives he has obviously changed for the better. I wish I was going to be there when he flies in, but unfortunately I will be in Utah and he is flying into Iowa. I know the rest of us will be there in spirit! I am so excited to just give him a big hug and hear in person about what he has experienced! Love you Bubba!

Life in the fast lane...

2009-11-17T22:15:00.000-08:00

So it is so hard to believe but those tiny puppies from my last post are now 3 1/2 weeks old! They are the cutest things you have ever seen and I am afraid if I don't get them put on craigslist soon that I will end up being the crazy dog lady with 10 dogs! :) They all have the cutest little personalities and are starting to get to that fun stage where they want you to pet them and hold them, and pee when you talk to them in a high voice (haha it makes me laugh every time)! I am trying not to get too bothered with the fact that my downstairs smells like 10 puppies who poop all day ( I am getting neurotic and changing their papers every day)! I am just enjoying the journey ;)

School is 1/3 finished! I can't believe I have made it this far! Honestly it is really hard. Being a first year teacher with demands from parents, students, fellow teachers, supervisors, principal, BYU supervisors, etc... gets a little overwhelming at times. It is hard to please everyone and still have a moment for myself at the end of the day, but I feel like I am doing a descent job and I am learning a ton about myself, 2nd graders, and about teaching. Here is one of the life lessons I learned last week for instance:

If a 8 year old who normally follows every single rule asks you if she can go to the restroom eeven when she knows it is during the ONE HOUR a day (between recesses) that they aren't supposed to use the restroom... let her go... it is probably an emergency. Well I wasn't thinking and gave her the same response I give my other 23 students - "You know the rule during math time." and she walked away. Well she came back and told me it was an emergency and so I told her to go (obviously). Well.. OBVIOUSLY she didn't inform me in time because at that point she had already pooped her pants. She went to the restroom and tried to clean it up... unsuccessfully... and managed to get human feces all over the front and back of her jeans. WELL... on the way to the other 2nd grade class for rotations she informed me that what was on her pants was mud (she just come in from recess) and so I believed her and sent her on her way. 10 minutes later I was informed that in fact it was not mud, but poop all over her pants. Well folks, the story ends with her going home and changing and and very upset mother calling and yelling at me because I am forcing 2nd graders to 'hold it' when they need to use the restroom and blaming me for the fact that her 8 year old got poop all over her body. Now I take responsibility for not knowing that it was an emergency - but seriously... how does one manage to have an accident and then rub it all over the outside of their pants. I don't even want to know what the bathroom looked like.

Haha needless to say, things have been a little less chaotic since that happened last week, but I am much more willing to let any of my students use the restroom at any time of the day! I really am enjoying my kids a lot and even though it is a hard job, I am really grateful for the opportunity I have to be a teacher and influence their lives (hopefully)!

Well... the excitement for this week is counting down the days til the Thanksgiving break in Iowa with the family! I am so so so excited! I wish we could all get together more often!

Seriously!?!?!

2009-10-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

So... remember how last time Lole got knocked up she only had 1 puppy?

Well she went into labor this morning at 4am... and...

SHE HAD 10 PUPPIES!!!!!

10 PUPPIES!!!

Crazy right?!

Here are a few cell phone pictures, hopefully I can get some better pics... but these puppies are the cutest things you have ever seen! There are 7 girls and 3 boys!

A little of this... A little of that...

2009-10-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

The bad news is...

I got the swine flu.

The god news is...

I got a new car!!!

(White 2007 Honda Civic (pictures to come))

Despite the H1N1 virus, I am happy :)

When it rains...

2009-09-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

When it rains the past gets washed away. I smile 'cause I know in the end the world gets beautiful again.

So I have avoided this post for a while now... but pictures are surfacing and rather than having people wonder what is going on I would rather just be open. Adam and I are getting divorced. It has been a long couple of months and I just want to say thank you to all of you who have been there for me lately. Including those in Adam's family. I am surrounded by amazing family and friends and I know I couldn't have accomplished and gotten through what I have without all of your support. So THANK YOU. Right now we are filed and just waiting on the judge to finalize everything from our papers. Details aside, I just hope everyone can know that I think we are both good people and will both go on to accomplish great things in life. Those things just will no longer be together.

I feel like I am doing really well right now considering the circumstances and am keeping really busy. My 25 seven year olds really keep me challenged and I really love each and every one of them despite the behavior problems some of them give me every day haha! I am learning a lot about myself and about what it takes to be a teacher. I can't believe we are almost through September already! Lole is pregnant again (I hope haha) and if all goes well (and she starts eating again) she will have a brood of pups right around Halloween! :) That should really keep me busy for the next little while!

Once again... thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have saved me lately. I wish I had the time to make all of you cupcakes and thank-yous that could truly express my gratitude :) One of these days I'll find the time haha (amidst teaching full time and working 3 shifts a week at Happy Sumo)!

Love you all!

Love You Grandpa

2009-08-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

I found this post I wrote on our family blog a couple of years ago (December 22, 2007) when we were told Grandpa Henderson woulnd't make it through that night... he is the definition of a survivor and had a long journey. He passed away on Friday evening and he will be forever missed and loved. I am so grateful for my knowledge of eternal life and I know that the reunion he is having with those he loves who have passed on before is a sweet one. One of my favorite moments with Grandpa Henderson was when I was almost 16 and we were having Christmas vacation at our house in Pleasant View (we lived in MN but still had our house there). We wanted to take a family picture in front of the Christmas tree and we were all there smiling and all of a sudden Grandpa started yelling "Somebody moved the button! Where is the button?!" I just remember laughing so hard. He was such a cute man. His funeral is going to be this weekend and I am definitely not looking forward to saying goodbye...

I love this memory also... Here is the post from a couple of years ago:

All of our hearts and prayers are with Grandpa and the family tonight, I'm sure. He started to sing us his favorite song tonight, but couldn't get through but a few words... I thought I would share the lyrics with you. This was the song him and Grandma danced to at their wedding and it touched the hearts of all of us in the room when he actually began to sing tonight through all of his pain.

My Prayer

The Platters

When the twilight is gone and no songbirds are singing

When the twilight is gone you come into my heart

And here in my heart you will stay while I pray

My prayer is to linger with you

At the end of the day in a dream that's divine

My prayer is a rapture in blue

With the world far away and your lips close to mine

Tonight while our hearts are aglow

Oh tell me the words that I'm longing to know

My prayer and the answer you give

May they still be the same for as long as we live

That you'll always be there at the end of my prayer

Sleep well tonight Grandpa... Our prayers are with you.

Look What's Cookin In Ms. Adam's Class!

2009-08-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

School starts tomorrow! AHH!! I am so so excited! My mom has been in town for the last couple of weeks and I feel like between me, her, and Katchie, we have spent hundreds of hours in that classroom (and out) getting ready for the school year! My mom is amazing and was gracious enough to paint and create all the illustrations for my bulletin boards and they looks AMAZING! And it was so nice to have Katchie there to keep me moving when I started draggin lol! All the teachers in the school are so jealous! The teacher who had my room before me retired and left behind so so so so much stuff in her classroom and it took forever to sort through, decide what to keep and throw away (there was a lot to throw away) and I got it ready just in time for back to school night last night! Here are a few pictures, but I will have to take a couple in the morning of the finished product! I am so proud of us - it looks wonderful! My theme is cooking/baking and so everything ties into that for the room! I have 24 2nd graders and they are so cute! I can't wait for all they are going to teach me this year! Here are a few pictures my mom took while we were finishing up before back to school night! Wish me luck! I will keep y'all posted on my adventures :)

The students desks with their goodie bags with cookie cutters and baking mats :)
What is posted out in the hall so I can display work!
My Chef (spotlight) of the week poster!
My AWESOME pink rocking chair and calendar!
Working hard on finishing touches!

Love Them!

2009-08-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

Do any of you recognize these beautiful people?! Well I didn't at first when I went up to serve them at Happy Sumo either! And then in the middle of taking thier order I realized who it was!!! If you watch Private Practice on ABC, you will recognize Audra McDonald as playing Naomi!!! I love that show and I love her! The gentleman she was with looked so familiar as well and I realized after they left that it was William Swensen who now plays in Hair on Broadway, but was also the main character on Singles Ward!! Crazy huh! Anyway, I was freaking out the whole time I was serving them (they were super nice and polite by the way!) and then after they paid out I went on to make a fool of myself in telling Audra how much I loved her :) I only wish I remembered sooner how I knew her boyfriend haha! And by the way they are even more beautiful in person!

Aloha!

2009-06-24T16:09:00.001-07:00

We had an AMAZING time in Hawaii!! Here are some of the highlights of our trip! I still have a few more to post! There were so many fun pictures! More pictures to come! Aloha!!

Soap Box

2009-05-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

So this economy sucks... I totally understand that. A lot of people are struggling financially. But if you are going to go out to eat - don't take it out on your server. This has been my latest frustration lately. I don't know how many people actually know this, but servers only make $2 an hour. So what that means, is that when our paychecks arrive... they say $0.00 (most of the time). So what does this mean? This means our only income comes from the tables that we serve. This means that if we happen to get those cheap people on our rotation, we don't have the money to pay our bills. You wouldn't go to a mechanic, cosmotolegist, handyman, lawyer, etc... and not pay them for what they do - so what makes it ok to do it to servers??

If I am a terrible server, I can understand a bad tip. I didn't do what was expected of me for my table to pay me. But if someone comes out to dinner and recieves good/great service - that server needs to be paid!

This has been really difficult for me lately. We still get tables coming in at the Happy Sumo, but with this economy we are slower; therefore, we are also making less money. Lately I have experienced a lot more instances where people get great service and leave a bad tip. I hope not to offend anyone with this statement, but... If you don't have the money - don't go out to eat where you have to tip!!! McDonalds and Wendys have a great dollar menu, seriously!

I know this blog sounds totally rude, but I felt the need to vent. I have been working a ton since school let out and this has been something we have seen a lot more of lately!

*** To all you 20% tippers out there... We love you :)***

On a lighter note:

- Trey graduates this weekend!!

- We get to go to MN tomorrow and see our wonderful family!!

- I am getting very excited to teach in the fall!

- Bessie is almost 8 weeks old and hilarious as ever!!

Bessie!

2009-04-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

Seriously, how can you not fall in love with this face?! Our camera is retarded but here are a couple of pictures of baby Bessie with her eyes open! The first picture shows how little she used to be and I don't know if you can tell... but look how huge she looks in my hand!!! She is the fattest little girl ever!! :)

WOO HOO!!!

2009-04-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

So I just officially submitted my last final and I am FINISHED!!! I could not be more thrilled about life! And I think I actually got pretty great grades! :) It felt so great walking down from campus today knowing that was the last time I would have to take a test in the testing center! It has been a great 4 years and I look forward to the future! Unfortunately I won't graduate until next April when my internship is finished (which I think is rediculous) but that doesn't kill my excitement at all!!! I have been through a lot in the past 4 years - so thanks so much to everyone for all your love and support! I couldn't have made it through school without all the amazing people in my life! Love y'all!!

Only a month or so until Adam and I are enjoying the beaches of Maui! Doesn't this picture make you so happy?

Photo Shoot!

2009-04-09T12:31:00.001-07:00

She is getting bigger every day!! She was just over 11 oz when she was born and now she is already over a pound!! Lole is an amazing mom and is enjoying having the company of Biggie T, Momma, and Trey!

My Baby Mama

2009-04-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl went into labor last night!! At one thirthy she gave birth to the cutest little puppy you have ever seen! After that sweet girl we waited, and waited, haha and then realized there must be only one! A little crazy, but she just had the one puppy! Here are some of the pics I took on my cell phone, it is real hard to get a good pic of her cuz she is a little squirmy and if she is with Lole she is being hidden :) More cute pictures to come!! (Sorry about the goriness of this pic) Minutes after she was born!!
"What are you looking at? There is no puppy here!"

What a sweet face!

Her little squished face! It was so hard to try and get her to hold still! She is so tiny!!!

Isn't life beautiful! They both know just what to do! I LOVE the 5 spots on her back!

WOO HOO!!!

2009-03-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

So the interview this morning was very scary and pretty much sucked (especially the part where I had to sit so still without completely bouncing my leg!)! And I just barely got a call from the principal at... Hillcrest Elementary School!!! I will be teaching 2nd grade! I couldn't be more excited! Thanks so much to all of you for your love and support! It means the world!

Ra Ra Ree, Kick him in the knee! Ra Ra Rass, Kick him in the...

2009-03-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

(haha that was for you, Mom :)

So this weekend I have been remenising back to 8th grade and the crazy dealings of cheerleading tryouts. Now if you knew me back then, I don't know if you remember, but it was a big deal! But the hardest part of it all was that most of my friends were also trying out for cheerleader and there were only 10 spots available. 10 spots = not all of our friends making it (tragic, I know). And if you also remember... I didn't make it.

Well... this coming Monday comes another stressful time for me... Intern interviews. I am finishing up my second practicum in a 5th grade classroom on Tuesday and on Monday we have our interviews to intern in Alpine School District next year instead of student teaching. There are about 15 schools in the district that have openings for interns next year so there will be about 15 principals and 15 vice principals interviewing us in groups of about 4 or 5. There are about a million questions we are supposed to study incase they ask us, and we will find out on Tuesday whether or not we got one of the 26 spots available. If not, there is a second round process, and if you still don't get picked you student teach next year instead. I am super super nervous! I really hope to get an internship, but I also have a lot of friends that are applying that are excellent cantidates (as well as other impressive girls that I don't know as well).

SO... I'll keep you posted on Tuesday... hopefully with good news. I have been working for this for 4 years so I really hope it pays off! Keep my in your thoughts and prayers this weekend!

We're pregnant!!!

2009-03-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

Haha ok so not me... but our baby!

So after 5 weeks of speculating... we think Lole is prego! Dogs are pregnant for about 9 weeks so this would mean she is over half-way there! We are super excited/nerveous cuz we have never done anything like this before! But we are pretty positive she will have the world's cutest puppies... Seriously, just look at this cutie when she was a puppy - how could she not have beautiful babies?!

So I was reading about what to do when your dog is prego and one of the sites said in week 6 to feed her to the max that she will eat... (pause for laughter if you have ever met this crazy girl)! So I think I will have to made adaptations for this girl since she could easily eat herself to death! As the belly starts poking out more we will take some pictures so you can see her progress!

What do you think of the final products?!

2009-02-26T13:38:00.001-08:00

Busy Bee!

2009-02-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

Ok so life has been crazy busy lately! School is kicking my butt, we moved into our triplex... but still don't have a kitchen, and I am trying to work a couple minutes a week :) As soon as I unpack our camera out of the boxes and everything is done, I promise there will be pictures! Since we had to tear everything down to the cement, put up new walls and cielings, etc... the construction has taken a lot longer than we anticipated and I can't wait for it to be finished! It is so nice to see one room completed at a time and to see how great it looks (after how terrible it looked when we moved in!!) The kitchen should be completed in the next week or so, and I couldn't be more excited to cook and, of course, bake! I am going to be a baking machine! So if you live in Utah... watch out cuz there will be goodies galore!!!

I start in a 5th grade classroom next week so school has been extra awful lately! I have the worst case of senioritis! This week has been especially busy with projects and one of them is 10 hours of service for my social studies class. I decided to make baby hats for the humanitarian aid. It has been so fun to bust out the crochet hook and realive my stress making these super cute little hats! I am about halfway through my 10 hours (which have to be done by Friday by the way) and here is what I have done so far! Don't they look so cute!?

Sorry (Trey) that I haven't posted in a while!

Life is crazy lately with hardly anything to blog about!

22!!

2009-02-13T23:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes today! My day was wonderful! Adam threw me my first suprise birthday party ever! It was a total blast with pictures to follow soon! Love you all!

Survived...

2009-01-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas, 2nd Anniversary, New Years, and back to school again! The break wasn't near long enough but we had such a blast! It was amazing to be able to go home to Marshall and spend the holidays with the family! I can't believe how big Steph's kids have gotten! They are so much fun! The week was filled with "I like to move it, move it" from Madagascar, lots of yummy food, racquetball, games, and wonderful company! We even got to sit on Santa's lap :)

The 5 dogs also made for an interesting week! It was a Christmas miracle when we found poor Troy after an hour of looking for him in the MN winter, and we got the joy of cleaning up throw up from sneaky Lole and her love of Buckeyes (chocolate and peanut butter amazingness)! I don't have any pictures to post from Christmas cuz I forgot to get them off Mom's camera - but as soon as I get some I will post them!

We were blessed with great dogs and once again great weather on the way back to Utah! Adam and I got to celebrate our 2nd anniversary a couple times! The first was in Rapid City, SD on the way home :) When we got home we decided to buy a bed so we went to IKEA and picked out our sweet new bed! We love it!

I worked New Years which was kind of a let down this year... stupid economy... but then we got to celebrate the New Year at the Huka Bar in SLC with Katchie and her friends for Cellen's birthday bash! I worked a bunch last week and now it's back to school again! I can't wait to be done!

Lol it took forever for Adam to take the picture... and I have no idea what Jeff is doing behind us... he is making some funny faces in the other attempts :)

Did everyone come up with great New Year's resolutions for 2009?! I tried this last semester, but wasn't too successful so I have decided to try again... my resolution is to have balance in my life. I am going to get a good balance of school, work, gym, family, church, etc. in my life! Wish me luck! Sorry my life is pretty boring :( I'll try and be more interesting soon!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

Finals are over! Woo Hoo! I made it through one more semester! Just wanted to let y'all know that we made it to Marshall safely! We left at 11 on Thursday night and just barely beat the winter storms! And with 3 dogs in the car it was quite an adventure ;) We even woke up to a white Christmas and a couple hours of shoveling my parent's endless driveway! Can't wait to enjoy the break from life!

6 more days of classes...

2008-12-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

Thats right... 6 more days of classes. The countdown is officially on. This has been such an amazing semester and I have learned so so much, but it has also been so so hard! But I know I can do it! I only have like 20 more assignments left ;) No big deal!

Seriously though, life has been flying by lately! Thanksgiving came and went so fast! We kept going back and forth on what our plans were and we ended up spending Thanksgiving in Park City with Adam's relatives, it was a blast! I got some shopping done with Katch and we got to go to the Jazz game with Eric and Nina!

I am so excited for Christmas! I can't wait to spend time with my family in Marshall for the holidays! I even bought some wool socks to help me adjust to the crazy weather! That is if we ever get our tickets! I was dooped by the media, I can't believe it! I kept hearing that airfare was going to go down for the holidays so I held off buying our tickets and now they are lots of money! :( So I think we will end up flying out of Vegas, which is a lot cheaper! But I can't wait for fondue and trifold and Christmas brunch and the talent show and the nativity and the list could go on and on! I love our family Christmas traditions!

Anyway, I am pretty boring lately with school and all, but I promise to post anything exciting and life changing that happens to me this week!

PS Never knew how much I was obsessed with youtube before... It is so great to be able to listen to whatever Christmas song you want anytime! :) Soak it up people, I love this time of year!

2008-11-15T10:58:00.000-08:00

So great news! I registered for classes for the last time of my college career. Can you believe it?! I am so so so excited! (not that it took very long because my classes are already picked and saved for me) I can't believe how fast/slow the time has gone since I started college. At times (including yesterday), it feels like I have been doing this forever and it will never end, and then I realize that I only have 4 weeks of classes left this semester! Where did the past 3 months go? Anyway, I am THRILLED about it!

Not so great news... I won't be able to walk in April like I had hoped. Depending on what I decide to do next fall, I will probably end up walking in August. My options are student teaching in Houston, interning in Utah, or student teaching in Utah. My hopes for the future are in that order. I got the best education in Houston and I really feel like it would be such an incredible experience to learn from the teachers down there. Also a huge plus is that my dad just moved down there and my mom will hopefully be down there soon aswell. It would be so nice to live near them again, its crazy how much you miss you parents when you move away! Anyway! I think that would be amazing, but I have to apply and see if it is really going to be a fit or not!

So my dog has anxiety. This is not new news to me, I have known all along, but today she was driving me crazy! Her bathroom anxiety has been a fairly new development. I think it may have something to do with the fact that Zeus always comes out and distracts her. She will whine to go out to the potty and after about 5 minutes of me ignoring her - I finally take her out and she goes to her place and walks around and sniffs... And then she walks around and sniffs... And then she starts to squat, looks around, gets nerveous, and walks around and sniffs some more. We go through this process for about 5 minutes and I get super annoyed! So I have been trying to walk inside the door so I am not watching her and either she goes faster, or the time just goes faster becuase I am not standing outside harassing her :) I hope she gets over this before the snow comes!! But then she comes inside and snuggles me (like right now) and it is all worth it cuz she is so darn cute!

Life has been busy busy with the practicum but I only have one week left! It's crazy! I am really going to miss those kids, they are so fun! They are so sweet to each other and I really feel like I have gotten to know their sweet little personalities and I just love them! I can't wait to have my own class so I get them for more that 4 weeks! There are so many funny stories I could tell you, but I will just tell you one - cuz it is so funny:

One day I was walking around while the kids were working on their projects and one of the girls (Madide) burped. I looked at her and laughed and we started talking about burping contests. I told her that I liked to have them with my dad but he tells me that it isn't ladylike. So then I told them that burping isn't always appropriate in public. Well, Nate says, "ya like at school - burping or farting or tooting. Boys fart and girls toot. Boys' are called farts because they are more smelly and louder." At this point, Maddie felt the need to prove him wrong so she says, "thats not true. You should hear mine - they are loud and VERY smelly." I laughed so hard! They are so honest and so funny!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T14:57:00.001-08:00

So I started my practicum this week and I am loving it! Halloween was a blast and all the kids looked so cute in their costumes! Adam got SUPER festive this year and decided to grow a handle bar mustache and cut his hair into a mullet. Lets just say, he promised to have both gone by Nov 1st :) Lole and I were both devils, which was so fun! Of course she didn't keep her costume on for very long! After a fun filled day at the elementary school we went over to Tommy and Aria's house to help pass out candy for a minute and then Adam and I went to Katchie's annual Halloween party, which was a blast! I hope everyone had an amazing holiday! Can you believe it is already November 3rd?! Rumor has it that Walmart is already playing Christmas music?! Where did the time go?!

2008-10-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

So I am about to start this new perscription to help with my chroic headaches, and in order for this to work I have to be off of excedrin, ibuprofin, tylenol, and... caffiene :( I am really struggling. It's not that I am SUPER addicted, I just like it. A lot. So I know this will be good for me, but I am having to take it one day at a time! So I decided I just might have to buy myself this shirt for motivation. What do you think?

$15
Size
SMLXL
Cute dark heather tee with wise, wise words. Have 1 last one from the fountain before you quit for good! Women's S, M, L, XL. These run true to size.

I pretty much love this shirt and think that I need it. :)

So I start my practicum on Tuesday and I am so excited! I will be working with 2nd grade! My only problem is that I am going to be there on Halloween and I need a cool costume to wear and I am having a real hard time! I am trying to find a pattern to make a pink chefs hat and matching apron and being a baker... but I dunno... Any suggestions?!

Still Alive...

2008-10-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

So for my Multicultural Education class, we were given the assignment to go to a cultural experience. My teacher gave us a lot of great ideas and told us about his friend who is a Pastor in Salt Lake. He told us about how this pastor is an icon and marched with Martin Luther King and how great his sermons were.

So a few of us drove to SLC today, not really knowing what to expect. To be honest, we didn't even know what religion of church we were going to be attending! So we got there and were greeted warmly, asked our names, etc...

Church started and it was quite the experience. First of all, it is so impressive to me to see how much respect these people have for church and they come looking in their absolute Sunday best. I know we all should, but I am definitely guilty of too often getting ready as quickly as possible on Sunday morning so I don't miss my sleep. So anyway, the church service was full of prayers, praising Jesus Christ through song, and a powerful sermon. My favorite was when they had a boy and girl (probably only about 5 years old) sing a song about having Heavenly Father teaching them how to pray and live. they sang alone with the accompanyment and it was beautiful and powerful! Pastor France A. Davis gave an amazing sermon about how to make our homes a good place for children. It is amazing to me how blessed I was for being raised in a home where (as he would put it) our house was dedicated to God.

It is always such a neat experience to see the unity that the knowledge of Jesus Christ can bring to people, no matter what religion, race, or color. They really made me feel welcome and seeing their devotion made me so happy! I do have a testimony of the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints with all my heart, but I honestly feel like it is good for us to go out and know what others believe in and bridge that gap that religion can place between people.

Seriously?

2008-09-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

So let me just preface this by saying that we have a really good dog. Lole has been well trained from day one and it is so nice to have a dog that we trust to sit on the front steps of our apartment without chasing people or running away or causing trouble. Our neighbors, on the contrary, have this stupid basset hound who would run away in a heartbeat if he wasn't on a chain.

If you want to have an outside dog, wait until you have your own house or move into an apartment with a fenced in area. Don't chain your dog up outside your apartment so people can't walk on the sidewalk unless they want to be jumped on or barked at. Now our neighbors have been informed a couple times that if they are going to have their dog outside on the chain, he needs to be supervised. Well, aparently they don't feel like that is a need. If you really don't like your dog well enough to have him inside, then get rid of your dog. Seriously.

So our neighbors were informed again yesterday about thier dog and he flipped out. Mind you he is pretty much an alcoholic and I'm not sure how many drinks he had before he was confronted at 6 oclock in the afternoon. Well, quite a few profanities later, he called the police and felt the need to inform them that Lole is not on a leach when she is outside. And since Springville is a leash city, we can get a big fat fine for having our dog outside our apartment without a leash. Which includes her going to the bathroom.

I am so frustrated! My dog goes to the bathroom in the same place every time and she is perfectly capable without me standing there holding a leash! WELL now he has threatened that any time she is not on a leash, he is going to call the police on us. SO I had to go buy Lole a leash last night (lol thats right, we didn't even know where ours was because she never needs one when we go anywhere). And now I have to stand outside and hold my dog on a leash every time she goes to the potty.

Well. There you go. Thanks for letting me vent!

I love spinning!

2008-09-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

So when school started, I started losing my habits of going to the gym. But I have really been trying to get those habits back recently! SO... my really cute friend from Happy Sumo recently became a spin instructor at Golds, so I been going to her spin classes! I LOVE IT! It is such a good workout! The first time Adam and I went, I threw up half-way through the class, but since then it has all been uphill :) I don't know what it is about the dark room and loud music, that totally gets me in the zone!

Other than that, Adam and I have been keeping really busy since school started! I am taking 16 credits and I think Adam is taking either 15 or 16 credits also! His business is keeping him really busy every other moment of the week! I am working about 2-3 shifts a week at Happy Sumo and am really needing all the extra time that frees up for me with all the homework my professors assign!

All in all, I am really enjoying my classes. I am learning some really interesting things about education and how I can be the best teacher possible! I can't wait to just get out into the classrooms!

With everything that has happened in the past few weeks, I am just reminded of how lucky I am to be blessed with such an amazing family (old and new)! The support system we have and the strength I have seen in my family, especially Trey, amazes me every day! It's crazy to think that if I had to deal with so many situations that I would just shut down, but I see members of my family go though these things and they are so strong and have so much faith! I am grateful to them for their great example to me.

And with that I just have to add how lucky I am to have Adam for a husband! He really is so good to me! He always knows just what to say to make me smile and he really makes sure I know, every day, how much he loves me! I am so grateful that we can be an eternal family!

PS! I just have to add my shout out to the dear Madelyn Wayment! She helped me (and when I say help I mean pretty much did everything while I watched lol) create my wonderful new blog, which I absolutely love! Thanks so much Madelyn!

Avid Reader

2008-09-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

So in my Children's Literature class today, my teacher was talking to us about the one question you can ask a person to see if they are the sort of person who loves reading and reads regularly or not. I thought this was super interesting (after trying to guess the question several times he finally gave us the answer he was looking for lol)! The question is, "What are you planning on reading next?" This is because someone who is constantly reading, will probably be thinking about/planning for their next good read!

I know a lot of you are big readers, so my question to you is, what do you plan on reading next, or do you have any great suggestions for what I read next? I am STILL working on the 9th Work and the Glory book (I took a break to read the Twilight series) and am trying to decide what I want to read next! I was thinking about reading East of Eden again, since I read it in highschool and absolutely loved it! So... what do you think?!

Are you educated?

2008-09-05T23:29:00.000-07:00

So the first week of classes has come and gone and I have learned some fascinating things from some of my professors. One question which has been asked by a few of my professors is does recieving a diploma mean you have been educated? I thought this was an interesting question to ponder.

One professor said that too often we get less than we pay for with a college education. That really made me think. Am I becoming educated throughout my years at this university or am I simply doing what needs to be done to get by? I'm not really sure how to decipher my previous college years, but I do know that I can make a difference now; this semester. I am going to get the most out of my education so that I can truly feel like I have been educated.

So this leads me to something I want to ask my friends and family who read this blog. What do you think it means to be educated?

Still Alive...

2008-09-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Good news! I have survived the first two days back at school! I have some classes that are going to be really interesting and quite an assortment of teachers! I have one professor with a doctorate from Harvard and another that is a math education graduate student! So far I have only gotten one migraine ;)

It looks like this is going to be a busy semester for both of us taking 16 credits, but we are ready to plow on through our education! We'll be sure to keep you posted!

Be of Good Cheer!

2008-09-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day!

Can you believe it is already September!? This year has really flown by! Well today the plans were to go to the lake and show off my end of summer clearance swimsuit before the summer ended, but then it was going to be too cold. So then we decided to go skydiving, but then it started raining this morning! SO, we decided to go bowling with Tommy and Aria! It was a fun way to spend my 'last day of summer!' We still plan on going skydiving before the weather officially changes, but we'll see if it ever happens ;)

My my visiting teaching companion and I visit teach a mom and her two daughters in our ward, and they are such a hoot! Yesterday, we went to visit teach after church (for the month of September already! Mom, aren't you proud of me!) and ended up sitting and talking for almost 2 hours! We got talking about school, work, primary, and just the stresses of daily life and had a good time laughing about it all! I really enjoyed the overall message for this month and we were excited for find the motto we are going to follow this week:

BE OF GOOD CHEER.

Doesn't that just sum it all up? So with school starting this week, I am really going to try and keep that state of mind! On that note... school starts tomorrow! I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes!

We are geeks, we know! We have a picture just like this from my 20th birthday! :)

Tommy and Aria!Here you can see Adam's great form and me just flicking the ball as usual :)

Bees Game!

2008-08-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we went to the Bees game with Adam's family for Eric's birthday! The Bees lost (12-3) but we had a great time! We had a box, so most of us spent the game sitting inside playing games and hanging out! The fireworks after were also awesome! So here is a video of Adam, on the way to the game, after 3 large glasses of kool aid!

So school starts in less than a week! I went to campus today after work to check on a couple of things and there were freshman and their parents everywhere! It was crazy! I don't know why it was so overwhelming for me, but I guess after being out of the whole school scene for almost 5 months, it is kind of a shock! I'm real excited, my books are going to cost about $500!!! Wish me luck finding good deals on the internet! :) Adam started school today and I think he about had the same reaction lol!

Work is going well (slow) and it is crazy how my feet got so out of shape from not serving for such a short time! The drama has died down a lot (thank goodness) and it is nice to be able to go to work and just do my job!

Life is pretty boring this week, but no worries, if anything exciting happens, I'll make sure to post!

Solitude

2008-08-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

So we had quite an eventful week last week! There was lots of drama at work, so I took the week off and spent some quality time with Adam! I worked with him for a couple of days, which was really fun! We went with our friends Tommy and Aria (and their 6 week old baby, Sydney) to a cabin up in Solitude for a couple of days! It was so nice! We went for a little hike up at Silver Lake, ate lots of junk food, played some games and card tricks and enjoyed the scenery! They kept apologizing about their crying baby, but we hardly even noticed it!

I also was able to go up to Ogden and hang out with Katchie! I got my hair done ( which obviously looks amazing since Katchie did it :) and we took Grandma Henderson to lunch! I was naughty and stopped at Steve and Barrys just incase they had some new items in the Bitten line and I bought 4 sweaters! They are so cute! For any of you who have a Steve and Barrys near you, you have to go! It is fabulous! Right now, everything is 9.98 and under! Sarah Jessica Parker and Amanda Bynes clothing lines are so super cute!

Then on Saturday we went to the Utah County Fair and got to see thier first annual demolition derby! Adam had never been to one before so it was really fun! It lasted like 4 hours! And we even left early!! It was really fun to watch and the powderpuff round was the most exciting! They had the wives go and one of them kept ramming into the other cars and made one roll over and her car was on top! It was CRAZY! They had the emts and firefighters and cranes come out to lift the car off her!

Anyway! This week has been really nice! I also discovered this recipe to make cake pops and I am totally addicted! Aria took some amazing pictures of them for me and they look so good!

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100 Things About Me

2008-08-14T10:08:00.001-07:00

1. My husband's name is Adam Adams
2. My favorite color is pink
3. I love to bake
4. I am going to own a cake shop someday (soon I hope :)
5. I am really loud
6. I don't like to shave my legs
7. I hate doing dishes
8. My goal is to run a marathon someday (if you know me that is a HUGE stretch :)
9. I love kickboxing
10. The back of my Corolla says HANDYMAN in bright orange
11. I have the sweetest dog in the world
12. I started covering my couch 2+ months ago and still haven't finished
13. Procrastinating is my middle name (I get that from you Biggie!)
14. I LOVE peanut butter
15. I also LOVE mango anything
16. When I am depressed, sad, or mad I go shopping
17. I hate drama and when people feel the need to create it
18. I work with about 25 girls (thus #17)
19. I was a lifeguard in high school for 3 years
20. I have become much less social since college
21. I am going to school for elementary education
22. I think I want to teach 2nd or 3rd grade
23. Adam and I are Sunday school teachers for the 8-9 year olds
24. I am not a morning person (I was not happy when Adam woke me up at 9 this morning lol)
25. I love to buy shoes
26. I am terrified of snakes
27. I did cheerleading in high school
28. Football is my favorite sport
29. We don't own a TV.
30. I don't like to watch the news
31. My little brother is an amazing missionary in the Geneva, Switzerland mission
32. I love to get the hiccups
33. My favorite (soda, coke, pop...) is Cherry Coke Zero
34. I have recently become obsessed with kool aid
35. I have this new thing for the colors eggplant and yellow
36. I can't eat hotdogs because they give me a migraine (along with a list of other things)
37. I have a nut allergy, but just in my mouth
38. I have a geographic tongue
39. Out of 7 kids, I look the most like my mom :)
40. I love being in the sun
41. I get cranky when I am hungry
42. I have taken about 40 pregnancy tests since I've been married (paranoid I know)
43. I really want a motorcycle
44. I love to crochet
45. I love reading, but find it so hard to finish the last book of a series (except Breaking Dawn, I already finished that one! :)
46. My theme song is Girls Just Want to Have Fun
47. I love slumber parties! (we still have them with our married friends lol)
48. I love carnivals, fairs, and rodeos
49. I love amusement parks and water parks
50. I broke my left thumb on the growth plate and now it is shorter than my right
51. I was married on Dec. 27, 2006 in the Salt Lake City temple
52. My birthday is my favorite day of the year
53. I am terrible about sending birthday cards and thank yous
54. I know ASL and hope to do something with it someday
55. I lived in 5 different states growing up
56. I went to high school and graduated in Marshall, Minnesota
57. The longest I have lived anywhere is Kingwood, TX (11 years)
58. In our first year of marriage we went from Provo - Las Vegas - Minneapolis - Layton - Springville
59. Sushi is my favorite kind of food (even after working at Happy Sumo)
60. My eyes are so dark they almost look black
61. I get bored easily and like change
62. After I go shopping, I always have to come home and try everything on again ;)
63. I have a really small bladder and pee more than anyone I know (except you Momma :)
64. I have 2 nieces and 1 nephew (who I haven't gotten to meet yet :(
65. I am not flexible at all (I don't know how I was a cheerleader)
66. I am currently trying to grow my hair out (we'll see what happens after my hair appt tomorrow lol)
67. I am a bad test taker
68. I am married to my soul mate
69. Adam and I dated almost 2 months before he kissed me!!
70. It was totally worth the wait ;)
71. I pop my knuckles way too much
72. I don't like wearing makeup and only put it on when I have somewhere to go
73. I love rollar blading, although I haven't done it in ages (I am going to buy some soon)
74. I never thought it would happen, but I love taking the bus to school
75. I get distracted by shiny objects (that was for you Katch lol)
76. I love that I can talk to my parents about anything
77. My favorite actor was Heath Ledger :(
78. I don't own an Ipod
79. I am not patient
80. I love the mole on the end of my nose!
81. I would rather drive a manual than an automatic
82. My dream car is a black FJ Cruiser
83. I have really bad road rage (especially in Utah County ;)
84. I am a sucker for a good deal
85. I started BYU as a special education major before I changed to El Ed
86. I have a scar under my nose from crashing a bike when I was little
87. I am very clumsy
88. I love being from a big family, you always had someone to hang out with
89. I am not very good at opening up to people
90. When I was little orange was my favorite color, and one year I painted all my easter eggs orange and one green :)
91. IKEA is one of my favorite stores. I could spend hours (and lots of money) there
92. I am a pack rat, I keep everything
93. I prefer to be called Mary Rose, rather than Mary, although I don't like to tell a lot of people that
94. I am not very organized
95. When I am upset, I love to drive. It calms me down (probably not a very smart idea lol)
96. I really want to buy an old house and fix it up (I have learned/seen a lot of cool things in having a husband own a handyman business)
97. I love to learn new things!
98. I have become a total computer dummy lately (having a creative blog for instance)
99. I have a testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
100. I live life with no regrets!
101. My little brother Trey is the coolest kid you'll ever meet! I feel bad for those guys on all the other football teams that have to face him this season ;)

Wow! That was so hard! Hopefully I didn't bore you too much (assuming you actually read the whole list lol)! I challenge any of you who read this to try and make a list about yourself so I can get to know you better!

Feelin Good!

2008-08-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

So my goal all summer was to be able to get back to the gym... ok well it was actually my new years goal but I didn't really make it happen :) Better late than never right?! Haha So I have been so proud of myself for the past 3 weeks! I love kickboxing! One of the servers at Happy Sumo is a kickboxing instructor and so I have been going to her classes! I feel so great after going to the gym and I really hope I can keep it up! Anyway, so I figured if I actually tell people I am going to the gym then I will be better motivated to keep it up!

School starts in less than a month :( I am NOT thrilled about it. But... it will be good to have something get me out of bed before noon! I will actually be going to school 5 days a week for the first time in my college experience. AND 8 o'clock classes :( But the end is near!

So even though I could come up with a laundry list of how ghetto my apartment is, we have one of the most amazing views from our front porch! It rained today and we got the most amazing rainbow! A full rainbow behind the mountains! You can't ask for a better view than that! :)

Lole's diet is going well... we appreciate all of your love and concern lol! It is really hard to keep disciplined but she has really been a trooper!

This is a picture I just took from our front porch! :)

Poor Girl :(

2008-08-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

So I am still trying really hard not to laugh as I say this, because REALLY it is so sad! My dog is obese. Adam took Lole to the vet this past week to get her shots and the vet was very concerned because of how obese Lole is! So now she is on a diet :( It is the saddest thing ever! She keeps looking at me with those sweet puppy dog eyes (which got her so chubby in the first place) and it makes me feel so bad that I can't give her treats! Lol she is on this special diet dog food for less active dogs! I thought my dog was active! Anyway.. I'll post pictures of the progress as she loses 5-8 pounds :)

Here is Lole last December:

And then her this summer:

Summer Time!

2008-07-11T14:31:00.001-07:00

Me and Katchie soaking up the sun on the fourth of July!

Jeff, Trey, and Adam out in the middle of Pineview dam with Scoot, Troy, and Lole!

Troy and Trey were exhausted from all the swimming!!

Lole was ESPECIALLY exhausted from Adam's 'treadmill.' She swam A LOT!

Happy Fourth of July! Fireworks at Tommy and Aria's!

Adam and I turned on the sprinklers at our complex and did our Olymic jumps :)

This was my sad attempt at remembering how to be a cheerleader lol

Katchie and Jeff at the dam!

So sweet! There was no way Lole was jumping off into the water!

The boys out in the dam! I love this one!

This July we have been having lots of outdoor fun! We went to Lagoon for Katchie's birthday, and I have been out here in Memphis spending some time with Steph as she gets ready for baby Lennon! Today we went to the sprinkler park! We had so much fun that we forgot to take any pictures! :)

A few pictures!

2008-06-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my rice krispy cupcakes!!

My beautiful tile job in our kitchen! The kitchen looks extra beautiful now that I got that awesome light from IKEA!! :)
Me, Adam, Nina, and Eric at the Jazz game!!

Adam working on cleaning the grout in our kitchen!

Our amazing, cute puppy decided that the neighbor's intertube was her new bed for the day. I found her hanging out in it!

The birthday boys and their special birthday creme brulee!

Adam and Lole on Adam's birthday!

Last night serving...

2008-06-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

So last night was a bittersweet night for me... it was my last night as a server (i hope)! This last week I got promoted to be the assistant manager at Happy Sumo! I am super excited! I am sure it will be an unbelievable stressful job but I can't wait! Oh, and I can't forget to mention that I work with about 14 other female servers... most of which have been there A LOT longer than me. So it has been quite a bit of drama this week, and I am sure in the week to come. I just hope I can prove to them that I was a good choice!

Wish me luck!

Is that your real name?

2008-06-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

So I have noticed the wierdest thing since I have been working at Happy Sumo. Practically every day I walk up to a table and someone looks at my name tag and says,

"Mary Rose! Is that your real name?"

Now maybe it is just me, but isn't that the wierdest thing to ask! I have never thought my name sounded made up, but maybe it does? What do you think?

I absolutely love my name!!!

(thanks Mom and Dad!!)

Busy Bee

2008-05-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

Wow it has really been a while since I blogged... School was so crazy last semester, that I pretty much planned on life being so care free after our vacation, but I was way wrong! The rest of our vacation was amazing! We spent a day at Disneyworld (thanks to Katchie's sweet hook ups), and were able to go to Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios! It was so much fun!

We also spent a day at Clearwater Beach (Gulf of Mexico) and got fried, and a day at Cocoa Beach (Atlantic Ocean) and tried surfing! Lol the pictures are of how I felt after surfing and how Adam felt!

We had so much fun and it was amazing to be able to spend that time together!

Now we are back to life! I am working about 7 shifts a week and Adam is taking off with his business, doing lawn maintenance, handyman work, mold cleanup, flooring, carpeting, painting, etc... and loving it! Needless to say, we have both been very busy!

Lole is as sweet as ever and we finally taught her how to roll over! Yay! But I am very puppy hungry... I want another dog so bad, yet I know how crazy that would be! Maybe once we move out of this crazy apartment :)

Lets see... since we have been home, Mom came to visit and take care of Katchie from her surgery, we went to two jazz playoff games with Adam's family, Linnea got married, I went to visit Katchie a few times, and a few other fun things!

Lots of fun to come... Adam's birthday is June 6th, we are going white water rafting on June 7th with Dan (Adam's friend), and we (Adam's extended family) are having the annual girls getaway in Park City that weekend also!

So far... so good!

2008-04-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

Our trip has been amazing so far! We have been trying to experience something new every day! Here is what we have been up to:

Day 1: After a long day of traveling, we got dinner from a vender outside of a strip club! Lol the food was actually good, and we didn't even get sick! :)

Day 2: We went to a flea market and got some pretty sweet things! It was really fun! Then, we went to Clearwater beach and soaked up the sun! At dinner that night we both tried escargot for the first time! Suprisingly, we both loved it!

Day 3: The cold front came through Tampa today, so it was only 80 degrees and windy ;) We went to lunch and tried frog legs! Also, suprisingly yummy! We did some shopping and dressed up nice for dinner! Dinner was beautiful and fabulous, with a gorgeous view of the bay!

Tomorrow we are excited to spend a day on the beach! More updates to come!

We're off!!

2008-04-25T23:17:00.001-07:00

YAY! The time has finally arrived! We leave in the morning for Tampa! It is late and I still have to finish up packing, but I can't wait! We dropped off Lole tonight, and I am already missing her cute face :( Love you all!!!

Don't worry, we'll post LOTS of pictures!!!

Funny

2008-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, while playing at the park, we realized how much Lole loves the swings! Here is a video for your enjoyment! :)

(Sorry it isn't very big, it was taken on a cell phone!)

School's Out For The Summer....

2008-04-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

Well... almost.... Today was my last day of classes! Woo Hoo! You have no idea how exciting that is! I have one math test, one drama lesson plan, and a 3 minute music test left and then I don't have to think about school for months!

What a wonderful ending to such a REDICULOUSLY CRAZY day!

The countdown for the vacation has been on for a few days now, but as soon as I go to sleep there will only be 11 days until we leave for Florida!

Yesterday we went to the park in our swimsuits and today it snowed... only in Utah...

Something fishy going on...

2008-04-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

So I am super upset about the pitbulls :( As it turns out, pitbulls aren't allowed in Springville, so they wouldn't let us adopt them :( I wanted to cry my eyes out! Adam and I went and visited them, and I fell in love with them all over again! They are so sweet and they love me! So... since they wouldn't allow us to adopt them, they said that if we had friends, they would have priority in being able to adopt them. They went on adoption last Thursday morning at 9am (the dogs have to be there for 3 days before adoption is allowed, incase the owners come looking for them).

So I have this friend from work, and her and her husband have been looking for a pitbull mix at the shelters for a while, so she was super excited when she found out about the puppies. I gave her all the info and so her and her husband went to the shelter last Thursday at 10am to adopt one of the puppies. The people in the shelter told her they had no idea what she was talking about and that they didn't have any puppies like that. Hmmm... right?!

SO... I just found this out this morning and had Adam call the shelter. When he talked to them, they said that the owners came in looking for the puppies on SATURDAY and that they have 2 more days to come up with the money to get their puppies back... So maybe it's just me, but something doesn't add up right... Thursday they denied have the puppies, but on Saturday the owners came and claimed them.

Something is going on. Why would they lie about that? AND I am super upset that they are giving the owner the puppies, after they 'abused' the dog by leaving the rubber band on his tail so it would fall off. People like that shouldn't be allowed to have the puppies back!! Why wouldn't they let my friend see the puppies?!

So Adam and I think that maybe one of the workers wanted to keep them, so they were hiding them or something... What do you think?

PS Three school days left!! WOO WOO! I can't wait!

APRIL FOOLS!

2008-04-01T21:18:00.001-07:00

Ok so this blog has nothing to do with April Fools :) I tried to trick Adam into thinking I was pregnant today, which lasted about 5 seconds till I gave in... that was my only sad attempt today.

ANYWAY! We have started planning our trip! YAY! So we have decided on Florida! I really need to be on a beach, and soon. We are flying into Tampa and going to be in FL from April 26-May 2! I am super excited! So far, all we have planned are the plane tickets and a rental car... the rest of the trip is all up in the air! We might drive down to Disney World and go to the Epcot center for a day or something, but we haven't decided yet. So any of you FL experts, let us know where we need to go!

The plan so far, is to spend some time in St. Petersburg. It is supposed to be very chill and relaxing with beautiful beaches: Sounds just like what the doctor ordered! :)

So I got in a car accident today... Let me start by telling you, NO I am not April Foolsing you, although you might think so at the end of the story. So... I had some homework to do on campus so I decided to take the 11:30 bus instead of the 12:37 bus. So I get on the bus and everything is just normal as usual (normal for public transportation I guess lol). I was on the phone and all of a sudden I go sliding across the seat of the bus until I run into the pole seperating me from the next section. I was so confused! I guess we had hit something (we were going 50 mph by the way), so the bus pulled over on to the side of the road. I was a little frazzled at this point and decided to find out what happened...

So on the side of the road there is a milk delivery van with a pink posterboard in the windshield that says "Free Chocolate Milk." Appearantally, two of the cars ahead of us saw the sign and decided that they NEEDED free chocolate milk and slammed on thier brakes, without using their blinker of course. The car behind them panicked and slammed on her brakes as well and then I guess a giant bus can't stop on a dime when going 50 mph and we rearended her.

SO, we were stuck on the bus for quite some time while the bus driver waited for her supervisor to come and take care of the situation. Needless to say, instead of being an hour early to school, I arrived right on time for my class, without doing all of the homework I needed to finish.

Can you believe it? LOL the things people will do for something free. And then, believe it or not, while we were sitting there waiting, the chocolate milk guy had the nerve to ask the bus driver to move the bus because we were blocking his free chocolate milk sign.

So this week has been a little nuts this far... By the way! Adam and I helped rescue two puppies walking in the middle of a busy street yesterday! They are beautiful! Legally, we had to take them to animal control for 3 days, but if no one claims them, we may get to adopt them! Cross your fingers! I need them!

Wow, its been a while...

2008-03-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

So I haven't blogged in quite a while... let's face it, my life is boring. School has been crazy busy and with Mom having her hip replaced, I have been driving to Ogden lots to see her. She is such a rock star! I don't know what I would do if I had to choose between restless legs or nausea... yuck!

I can't believe St. Patrick's Day has already come and gone! I didn't even do anything to celebrate! I can remember growing up, we always had the funnest holidays at our house! Mom would always make sure we had lucky charms for breakfast (eaten with green milk of course!), and we would always get decked out in green and there was always a plethora of stickers to choose from to take with us to school (in case anyone forgot to wear green)! This year, I slept in, which was wonderful of course, got ready for the day, played with Lole, took a math test, went to work, and came home and went to bed! How sad! No lucky charms, no green milk, and no fun green outfits. We have to wear all black at work so I did get away with this green bracelet I found in my drawer. So Anyway! It has come and gone, hopefully next year I will be more fun! I can't believe Easter is already in 5 days! Hopefully the weather cooperates!

So I am still trying to plan our vacation for next month. Since we haven't gotten passports still, we have to go somewhere in the US... I want to go skydiving and be on a beach :) So far I am leaning toward somewhere in Florida, maybe... But I don't have tons of money to spend... any suggestions?!?!

Serving!

2008-02-23T22:31:00.001-08:00

Yay! So I officially got moved up from a hostess to a server and tonight was my last night of training (35 hours of training later)!! I am super thrilled! I love serving! It can be so stressful and frusterating at times, but I love the fast pace and meeting so many new people! In fact, tonight I served this super sexy guy who looked like Mike from Desperate Housewives ;) (thats besides the point tho lol)!

Tonight, for my last night of training they had me take the sushi bar by myself and I had a blast! And at the end of the night I actually walked with some of my tips, which was fabulous!

So my friend got a new puppy last week, her name is Obi and she is pitt bull/boxer and she is so so so cute! So she whines when they aren't home so her landlord gave them one week to train her not to whine or she has to get rid of her. So we decided we would try and help them out so we are babysitting and trying to train her! We have already taught her today to go to her kennel and to sit and it is so fun! If they have to get rid of her we might just have to take her off their hands ;)

Anyway, tomorrow is Adam and I's first day teaching primary! I am actually a little nerveous for the little rowdies! So I'm off to plan my lesson!!

Pizza!

2008-02-18T12:55:00.001-08:00

So last night Adam and I decided to have his family come over for dinner. I love inviting people over for dinner because it acutally gives me the motivation I really need to be able to make my apartment presentable and do the things that I keep putting off. Waking up today was wonderful as I walked in to my clean, organized living room! It sounds super lame, but you have to be excited by the little things in life, right?!

So I have decided, that along with all of our other goals for life, that someday Adam and I are going to open our own restaurant! :) He is an amazing cook, and we make a really great team! Last night we decided to make homemade pizza. Adam took it upon himself to make a homemade white sauce for our veggie pizza and some barbeque sauce concoction for the BBQ chicken pizza (remember when we made those kids of pizzas at Stephs!? ), anyway, the pizzas turned out amazing and we even had Beau, who is 17 by the way, tell us that our pizzas were even better that Pizza Hut! And I think that is a big compliment coming from a 17 year old boy!

Anyway, I start training to be a server at Happy Sumo tonight! I am super excited about it! It will be nice to feel like I am acutally contributing to the income again. Because, lets face it, being a hostess isn't really bringin home the bacon! Its such a great feeling to know that I am actually contributing and making a difference and I am excited to feel that way again!

As for Lole... still not sure if she's prego or not! The watch is still on! We'll keep you posted! :)

The beginning

2006-04-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

So this is my first time doing a blog... so I'll try it out for a while and see what I think. I'm sure it won't even be read by anyone but here goes. I guess i could start out by explaining my name:

The Cup Half Full

All my life I have always been looked at, referred to, and known as this optimistic, cheerful, bubbly girl who always looks at the cup half full. My mom actually always uses that phrase when she is talking about me to people. Now I don't know about anybody else, but I personally think that is something that can be pretty hard to live up to as you grow up. Life happens and sometimes it is hard to be optimistic about everything and to find the good in every situation. Its hard when something bad happens because people depend on you to be the one who will hold strong and reassure everyone else.

Story of my life

So this has pretty much been the story of my life. Constantly trying to be that person for everyone else. It is harder at some times than others but I guess somebodys gotta do it right?