The Apple Tree

This summer, I have spent a lot of time watering the garden and the rest of the plants in our backyard-- yet it wasn't until a few days ago that I took a real good look at our apple tree.  I have passed this tree many many times throughout the summer when watering the yard, so it was fun to take time to appreciate this beautiful tree.   My little sister and I took pictures with it and spent some time lying on the grass in the shade this tree provides.  So beautiful!  It has made me feel as though I should make an apple pie-- and I don't even like pie!  

Oh yes, and it's my little sisters birthday today, so here's a shout out to her!  She is such a doll, and I love her so much.  She'll be leaving next month to serve a mission for the LDS church, and I know that she is going to do an awesome job!  Happy Birthday Goober :)

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!  I basically failed at blogging all summer, but hey, better late than never.  

Go make someone smile :)

Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba Sithi uhm ingonyama

A week ago today, I went to see The Lion King at the Capitol Theater in SLC with my mom and little sister. It was a wonderful experience!!!! Before going to the play, we went out to dinner and then spent some time on temple square.
During the first song of the play (The Circle of Life), all of these dancers/actors/singers came out with these AMAZING costumes. I cried, it was so beautiful! No, I was not bawling, but my eyes started watering, and I was just so happy. :) It was then that I realized that when I do finally make it to Africa, I am going to cry as soon as I can see the land from my plane window. It will be a blessed experience--one I've been waiting for most of my life. Oh how I loved the play! All of the characters were portrayed so well, and the music was oustanding. Who knew a play based off a cartoon of wild animals could be so amazing?
Thank you Mom for giving me that outstanding experience! It's right up there with Wicked for me :)

Like it's Dynamite

Yes, I had my birthday last week! Woot Woot! My BFF had me set aside Saturday so that we could spend the day together in celebration of me achieving yet another year in life. We did many things: went to breakfast at One Man Band (first time there for both of us!), visited a couple antique shops, went for a walk, got cupcakes and frappes from the The Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe, watched a movie, and played a game at the dollar tree where you find the coolest thing there and buy it ;) It was a super awesome day!
Thank you to everyone that sent me birthday wishes on my birthday! They were very much appreciated, and made me feel so happy :) (Who knew so many people used facebook to wish others a happy birthday?!?)

The Longest 4th of July of My Life!

I like the 4th of July :) It's such a festive, patriotic time. Currently, I am doing an online American Heritage class, and although it can be really complex most of the time, I have come to appreciate the history of America so much more. I could make a nice, lengthy list of all of the wonderful things I have learned, but I'll spare you the monologue ;)
Anyway, this really has been a unique 4th of July holiday for me. It started the moment I woke up Saturday morning, and it still won't end until I fall asleep tonight! I like it :) Unfortunately, my family didn't do any fireworks in the street this year (which is a first), but hey, life goes on! There's more than one way to spend the holiday :) Yesterday, we had a BBQ, and my mom made a special Angel Food Cake (partly in honor of her Mother whose birthday was July 1st, but also to celebrate this holiday). Here are some pictures from my day yesterday :)
Hooray for America, and the wonderful things that unfolded following the signing of the Declaration of Independence!

the Utah Valley Childrens Choir

In my previous post, I talked about my little sister being in the Utah Valley Childrens Choir. Here are some pictures of her performing with them a couple months ago :) The pictures are a little fuzzy because I was clear in the back of the tabernacle, but they work.

To My Best Friend

Here's to my Best Friend:

One who has dreams and looks to the future with me.

One who is always happy and ready to have fun!

One who will play dress-ups with me... ;)

One who has taken big steps with me (i.e. graduation)

One who is musically talented :)

One who can be just as awkward as me!

One who (again) will play dress-ups with me... at the mall!!!

One who joins me anywhere-- especially on awkward dates...

One who is always willing to go on an adventure!

One who is just as shocked at our awesomeness as I am ;)

One who likes to eat out at festive restaurants with me.

One who teaches me how to bake.

One who is funny, and always fun to be around :D

One who keeps me close so I don't lose my way.

One who understands my biggest fears (one of those being fish)

One who brings out the best in me.

One who is always full of surprises!!!

One who is a true blessing in my life :)

Thanks for being the best friend I could have ever asked for! When I struggle through trials, you are always there for me with a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, inspiring words of advice, and a spoon full of sugar to help the medicine go down :) Thanks for all you do!

Love,

Me :)

My Niece :)

Lately, I have been copying pictures from our old family computer to my laptop, and I'll tell you what-- I took tons of pictures in my day!!! And my "day" isn't over, ha, so the will still be buckets more to come :)
Some of the pictures that I was happiest to recover were of my niece. We call her Lucy. Oh my, what a sweetie she is! My parents, siblings and I didn't get to meet her until she was about 2 years old, so for a long time we got to know her through phone calls and pictures. But when she and her mom (my half-sister) and dad moved to Utah, I just got to love her even more! What a cutie she is :)
I Love Lucy

(Watering our plants, haha)

Jackets, Hoodies, and Sweaters

I know that the weather is getting warmer, but something inside of me feels as though I didn't put my jackets, hoodies, and sweaters to the best use this winter. So, in order to feel better about that, I took pictures of me wearing all of them :) There might be a couple I missed that are hiding deep in my closet, but that's alright seeing as how it already took me over a half hour to get through all the others! Here they are :)
(Some of them you can't see very well, but let me know which one is your favorite! I'm just curious...)
Have a happy Thursday!!!!