Ode To My Sister Alyssa

I haven't seen my sister for many, many months-- not since July. It was so great to see her these past two weekends and I am excited to see her in a little more than a week. My sister Alyssa lives in Forth Worth, Texas. Alyssa and I are four years apart which was a lot when growing up. Even though we were not that close growing up, I am so glad that we are now. I have four brothers and only one sister so it is good to get in some sister time. Alyssa, I love you so much. You are such a great example to me. You are a great older sister and are AMAZING! Love ya!

A little trip down memory lane:

2006

2007

Mexico 2009

Alyssa's wedding 2009

2010

Easter 2012

I will be the crazy cat lady/crocheting grandma someday

Growing up, we have always had cats-- more cats than I can't remember all of their names. So me becoming a crazy cat lady is a given.  

Since Christmas I have started up crocheting. I have gotten carried away and showered gifts to my niece consisting of shoes, hats, and headbands. I can picture me in 50 years from now sitting in my rocking chair with my plethora of cats and some yarn.

I will be something like this... just older

The newest addition to my niece Hannah's collection (she does have a pair)

Waiting on the World to Change

I have been taking American Sign Language (ASL) for many years now. My third grade teacher used to be an interpreter for the deaf so as part of her class, she taught us some of the signs. After that, I mostly just remembered the alphabet with the exception of a few signs. 

During my sophomore year of high school, I had the opportunity to take ASL as a language credit. Throughout high school I almost made it through the third level, I stopped after the first semester. I'll have to be honest with you though, my thoughts toward ASL were not always pleasant. I could not wait until I was done with the classes so I would never have to take another again.  

However, as luck would have it, that hope was not in store for me. When my mom was helping me sign up for classes for Fall semester of college, she told me that if I took a couple classes of ASL, I could get out of taking math. I was in a dilemma. I did not want to take any more ASL, but math was definitely my least favorite subject. I grudgingly chose ASL. I would rather endure a couple more classes of ASL then suffer through a math class. 

Now in college, I have received credit for the first two classes of ASL and I am currently in the third class. Actually, I have been enjoying the class. Even though it is not my favorite and I don't particularly like going Monday-Thursday, it can be a lot of fun!   

Contrary to what some people may think, ASL is really difficult. It is as challenging as any other language. Its structure is different than English. It is not English sign language, meaning it is not word for word. Words are left our and it is all turned around. ASL has so many different signs and several of the signs are similar. Facial expressions are so important! If you are shy or don't like using any expression, then ASL is not for you. One time I was watching something on TV with my family that was being interpreted into ASL. My family was laughing at their facial expressions. Granted, the interpreters did look pretty silly, but I was so used to it that I didn't really think anything of it. That is just a part of ASL.

As a part of some of my classes, there is a section devoted to the learning of the deaf culture and deaf history. The deaf community have endured a great deal of struggles through the years. They do not think of themselves as disabled or broken, but as a community and a culture. I am not going to state my opinion, but I would like you to watch this video to see what you think. Are the deaf their own culture or are they disabled? This video is a summary of the trials, accomplishments, and the wish of the deaf community. Enjoy!      

Groundhog Day

Imagine that you are a rodent, a groundhog to be precise. You aren't just any groundhog, you are THE groundhog. Your name is Punxsutawaney Phil. You have a huge responsibility, an enormous burden on your shoulders. You must predict the weather in the upcoming months correctly, It is a hard job, ask the meteorologists!

Today is your day. The day where your skill of weather predicting comes into action. It's Groundhog Day! You dread this day the whole year. You have a secret and everyone knows it... you actually can't use your skill very well. You have only been right predicting whether there is six more weeks of winter or spring is just around the corner 39% of the time. However, no one seems to care, people just go on celebrating this holiday.

As you peak your head up from your hole you've been hiding in, you look all around. As usual there is a crowd of people. Your nerves began to set in, yet seem calm and collected. A man comes and picks you up and holds you in his arms. He puts his his ear to your mouth... Now's your moment, what do you say?.............................Six more weeks of winter! You either made the snow junkies happy or the summer fanatics very upset.

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As for me Mr. Groundhog, *Tisk Tisk* Wrong choice. You better hope you're wrong Phil or else I'll have to endure another month and a half of the cold. Because of you, I saw this sight walking to my apartment today instead of sunshine.

Provo, Utah

 Until next year Phil...

Having A Bad Day?

My niece Hannah is about six weeks old, and I can't wait till I get to see her! Hannah is so tiny; she was born 5 lb 15 oz and is now a couple pounds heavier than that. I can't believe I am an aunt! This is my sister's first baby so Hannah is kind of a big deal. Hannah is so precious, I am so lucky that I am her aunt. I get to see her and my sister in a couple of months so I'm excited. My sister and her husband Corbin live in Fort Worth, Texas right now. Coming up to Provo, Utah will be a big shock for Hannah. My sister tells me that Hannah hates being cold. I'm sorry to tell you Hannah, but I don't think you will enjoy the weather here very much. Bundle Up!

I think Hannah looks just like my sister Alyssa. 

Over Christmas break I got into a crocheting phase. Since Hannah is so small, it was easy to make quite a few things for her... However, I believe I may have got a little carried away.

8 hats, 12 headbands, and 1 pair of booties

 I do think Hannah looks cute in them though:

My sister is amazing, I definitely could not do that whole motherhood thing yet. Keep up the amazing job. I love you sis! 

Anyways, if any one of you are having a bad day, I think I know how to make you feel better and hopefully laugh a little. Whether or not you are having a bad day, I know this will make you smile.... scroll down :)

"You think you've got it hard? Look at me!"

Hahaha I love you Hannah <3

My Brother, My Hero

My older brother Bradley has been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the last 22 months. He is currently serving in the San Jose, Costa Rica mission. My brother absolutely loves it. He loves the members and teaching the people about Jesus Christ. He has a positive attitude and is such a hard worker. Bradley is a great example to me and he makes me want to do better and become a better person. My brother is amazing!


As I reflect back on my childhood and my teenage years that I spent with my brother, I remember all the years we spent together. I remember the good times and all the fun we had. Don't get me wrong, my brother could be a punk to me sometimes but he also was my best friend.

I remember when we were little we would play outside together, play video games, and have late night TV watching time. I would also play card or board games with him but those weren't as fun because he would ALWAYS win, I would just hope to get second place. A funny experience I remember happening was when I was about 6 or 7. My brother told me to come out in the garage with him. He had a handheld rake and shovel. He told me that if we picked at the cement and broke off pieces along the cracks, it would make the edges sparkle. When our mom found us some time later, the garage no longer had straight lines in the cement, but dents taken out all over the ground. Not my brother's best idea.


But boy do I miss him. Bradley is two years older than me and a big part of my life. It was hard for me when he left for college and also when he left to Costa Rica. However, I knew that he was doing the right thing by going on a mission. I am so glad that he gets to send us emails weekly. We get to read about how he is doing and what is going on in the area he is serving. Missionaries also get to call home on Mother's Day and Christmas. It was so great to hear my brother's voice this last Christmas, he definitely has a Spanish accent went he talks.

Now he has two months left in his mission and let me tell you, I can hardly wait! On one hand these past two years seemed like they went on for forever and on the other, they seemed to fly by. It's crazy that two years has gone by. Two years ago I was 17 and a junior in high school. Now I am 19 and a freshman in college! I cannot wait for him to join me at BYU. I don't have any siblings here with me so it will be fun to have him come here. He better not find a girlfriend right off the bat though... I want to spend time with him for a while first! Fingers crossed!

I love you Elder Montierth, I'll see you in two months. March 29th!

Just a couple pictures from his mission....

Rice and Beans... what he eats basically everyday

This picture makes me grateful that I live in America

This one too

The Nerve!

My roommate Katherine is great! I went to BYU by myself and chose a roommate at random. Katherine and I got put together along with my four other amazing roommates. Katherine is from Lindon, Utah. She is friends with basically everyone. I remember at the very beginning of last semester we would be walking somewhere and she saw so many people that she knew I stoped counting. I learned to stop counting. An "everyone and their dog" phase is certainly applicable with her. Everyone just loves Katherine!  She has some great qualities as you can guess, HOWEVER..... Katherine had a problem, and that problem finds itself in many girl's lives. That problem involved guys, boys, men, whatever you want to call them. Katherine's problem was not perceiving him as he truly is.

His name will remain anonymous for his safety from being sought out in the night; I will call him Player Peter.

No one saw Player Peter's audacity coming. The two seemed perfect for each other. My other roommates and I kept saying a couple more months and there would be a rock on her finger. They would talk on the phone almost every night and spend a considerable amount of time together, despite him living some distance away.

Player Peter is extremely good at what he does. He took her on dates, made her feel special, was a gentleman in every way, and sealed his whole show with a kiss. This is not Katherine's fault, unfortunately girls can fall to guys' secret weapon.... their charm.  It can seriously be frustrating if you know what I mean!  

So what did Player Peter do? Led. Her. On. He pulled out all the stops and then said the "I like you a lot but I'm not sure if I like you enough to have a serious relationship with you.... blah blah blah!" PLAYER! You have committed a serious offense, stealing a girl's heart and crushing it in the palm of your hand. Player Peter you have some nerve! You don't do what you did to Katherine and think you can get away with it. You mess with Katherine you have to go through me. Just because I am small doesn't mean I can't totally dominate you. Looks can be deceiving.

Girls, I am putting out a warning. Do not date Player Peter! He is about yea tall and has a charming personality. If you see him, please contact me ASAP.

Katherine, don't worry. There are other fish in the sea. He is definitely a bottom feeder.....
I love you Katherine! <3 

 

Getting Started

Well, this is big news. I have started a blog. I never thought I would make one, but here I am starting my first blog post!

Going to BYU for college in Utah has been a great experience for me. I have meet so many new people and learned so much about growing up. While in my second semester of college, I have learned that growing up and college is not all fun. Housing payments, cooking food/buying groceries, and being responsible for grades while not having parents there to be the iron fist with the result of exceeding procrastination are all a part of my everyday life.

However, college does have its exciting and enjoyable moments. I have gone out on dates, hung out with my roommates, gone to midnight premieres (Sherlock Holmes, LOVE!), and just living up the college experience. I do have two very unforgettable instances which I will share with you.

Last Saturday, my roommates were cooking breakfast for one of our FHE brothers (this is a dorm of guys that is paired up with our dorm) because of an instance that involved sticky notes, a truck, and the rain the night before. While one of my roommates Danielle was cooking the bacon, some of the grease accidentally became too familiar with the flame, and WAH-LA! a grease fire was born. The whole burner was shooting out flames. All six of us girls were screaming with the uncertainty of what to do. A couple seconds later, when the initial shock was gone, Savannah tried to cover the flames with a pan, but to no avail, the flames were still present. That is when Nicole got the amazing idea to get the fire extinguisher. With Danielle pulling the pin, me holding the hose, and Nicole spraying, the fire was finally extinguished. The whole experience lasting about a minute (or a seemingly eternity). Immediately after, all of us starting laughing hysterically while evacuating the kitchen. Our screaming had attracted some of the neighbors and our epic tale got told again and again and again!

Our Kitchen from just one squirt of the fire extinguisher.
A lot of food was ruined and the dust went everywhere!

Nicole and Danielle

Later that day, after all the excitement had worn off and the kitchen was back to normal,  I decided to do the dishes. When it was time to pour the detergent into the dishwasher, I noticed that the detergent had been used and only the box was left. I began searching to see if we owned any other detergent. I saw a bottle of liquid detergent. I had used some at my home before so I thought that this stuff was the same.

After pouring it in, I went on the couch to watch TV. A while later, I glanced over at the dishwasher and did a double take. There were bubbles spilling out of the dishwasher and onto the floor! All I could do at the moment was laugh. Of course this would happen to me today. This was the day of epic disaster. I quickly wiped up all of the bubbles and opened the dishwasher. There were bubbles everywhere! I proceeded to scoop them up with my hands. After the mess was cleaned up on the outside and some on the inside, I went to tell Savannah and our neighbor Julayne what had happen. After inspecting which bottle of detergent I had used, I was informed that I had used the wrong kind and too much of the soap. Man I felt sheepish. The things I learn at college.  

Julayne and Savannah having fun with the bubbles