The Many Adventures of Nanny Aubrey

Pretty much no one gets that joke. Just so y'all know, if you say "Nanny Aubrey" just like how you'd say "Nanny McPhee," they sound similar... I realize it's a stretch, but when I first started this job I felt like her. The boys have had many nannies in the past who each had their own style of child care and I had to combat those styles and two little boys, ages 5 and 7, who are trying to figure me out. It was hell. I was so tired at the end of the day from all the tantrums and scratches and manipulation attempts and hating words! I was questioning what I got myself into within a week of beginning the job. There was even with defiance with potty training! Therefore I compare myself to Miss McPhee.

Over the past few months I've been picking my battles and building relationships with these two boys. A lot of little things slid by in the beginning. The important things had to be battled on. It helped to have their parents' support. Their rule: When Aubrey is here, what she says goes. The end. Over time I've been able to get them to say "okay" when I ask them to do something. They say "please" when they ask for something. When I use the "voice" to say no, they stop short. They know the consequences of their actions. We've talked about it on their level, face to face.

I talk to them like adults because they have their own thoughts and they are smart. I'm teaching them to think for themselves.

We do the funnest things!!! Their new favorite place is "the sand park" where they learned to pump and jump off the swing. We've been going their a lot lately and it's been really fun. We also have been many other places around Salt Lake. I'm so grateful for these boys and their family. The little one told me one day to call them my grandsons... Yeah, I had to explain to him that I'm not old enough to be a grandmother... He agreed that nephew was a better term. :)

I love watching them grow, learn, and become who they're meant to be. I love helping them pronounce their /th/, /r/, and /l/ sounds and listening to the youngest practice counting and saying THirteen and Fourteen instead of fiwteen and fouwteen. He's so proud of himself and I'm so proud of him.

The best part has to be the random hugs and kisses or the words of affirmation. "Aubwey, youw fa best." It just makes any day better. It even makes the screaming of "Youw da wowse babysittew evew!" as I carry them out of the grocery store more bearable.

Everyday is an adventure and I'm glad I get to experience it. I even created a hash tag on Instagram to document all the races, lava monsters, tickle monsters, swinging, tag, Foosball, Dino nuggets, and silly faces. To follow me just look up #themantadventuresofnannyaubrey.

Like the little red head once said, I am grateful for smiling faces.

I'm in Love, I'm in Love, and I Don't Care Who Knows It!!!

I'm the luckiest girl in the entire world.
I'm in love with my best friend!

Anthony and I began "officially" dating on July 9th, but our journey to becoming the most adorable couple you know started back in October of 2011. Now I must warn you that this is a long and complicated story of which I will try to sum up in a detailed manner... without boring you half to death.

In August my friend Grif started introducing me to some of his high school friends who are actually my age. Yep, he tried to set me up with guys. It kinda worked...? I dunno. Depends on your definition. ANYWHO! I then went to a pool night and met more of the guys and they began to convince me to come to their Sunday night game nights! At the time, I was having a game/movie night at my house on Sunday nights and was unwilling to cancel it... Then I did. (Yep. I just shortened the story!) So at the end of August I went to game night every week and started meeting lots of guys! Many of which were showing interest in me (I was in heaven) and my dating life was finally interesting. I won't go into detail about the different guys... yet. Then, Anthony entered the scene. I thought he was SOOO attractive with his longer black hair, swooped off to the side, his angular face and brows, and he was tall! BONUS! However, I being my shy self, did not approach him. (You don't have to believe that I am shy, but I am when it's a one-on-one situation I clam up..) He didn't approach me either. That was October 9th.

About two weeks later I went to a Pumpkin Pancake night at my friend's house and Anthony was waiting inside. Looking dashing I might add! Well we got to talking and hit it off. He got my jokes and I got his. We proceeded in this wit war all night. Other guys tried to grab my attention, but it was all on Anthony. At the end of the night I did something that I regret... I smacked him in the back of the head. Yes I was flirting, but he did not know it. It made him go back into his shell and he didn't pursue. GHAAA! He eventually got my number by slyly asking for it on facebook when I asked him why he didn't come to game night when it was at my house. He got lost and couldn't call me... See? Very sly.

As time went on... he didn't ask me out... he didn't ask to hang out... and I moved on, but I would often talk to him on facebook chat. We shared personal stories and ideas for hours and hours. I would often get on to just see if he was on! On one occasion, he actually told me that he likes me, but I wasn't his top choice... Just as he wasn't mine. Well I was feeling hopeful! Maybe he'd ask me out soon! The next day, Anthony's relationship status changed to "in a relationship." I kinda died inside, but I was happy for him! Well, kinda. Our conversations went down in frequency from then on. Then I started spending time with Bryant and Anthony approved the relationship... so I started officially dating him at the end of November.

Time went by.

About 2 months actually. Bryant broke up with me on January 9th. Michelle broke up with Anthony a few weeks later. We relied on each other through the hard times that followed while occasionally talking at game night and on facebook.

Then came April! I was having a hard time being single and I had a wake up call about how blessed I was... then Anthony came to my mind. He was such an awesome guy, but no one would invite him to hang out! I once promised myself I'd never let other people be forgotten like I once was. Therefore, I began texting him and hanging out with him late every night. We would talk for hours and hours and I loved learning more about him, although I must admit that I did most of the talking. :)

Over time, old feelings started coming back for both of us. Anthony began expressing desire to date me. And... I hesitated. I disappeared for two weeks. He noticed. I sorta came back, but crap had hit the fan.

Mutual friends' opinions of me had greatly decreased. It was really hard for me to deal with! These were close friends of whom I relied greatly on in past hardships. But it came apparent that I couldn't express my dating stress to them. I was going on upwards 7 dates a week with different guys on top of seeing Anthony almost everyday, full time school, and two jobs. It was hard and confusing. I found myself praying for guidance almost every night. I just had the feeling to keep going. So I did.

Then came the pressure.

Pressure from EVERYWHERE! Lots of different friends wanting to know why we're not dating. Other friends wondering why Anthony is wasting his time. It created a lot of stress to add to the frustrations of a dating life. I needed a vacation.

So I went on one!

My friend Elisa and I drove to San Francisco to visit my little sister Helene. However, before I left I told Anthony that I'd have an answer for him when I got back. It was a wonderful week! We were there over Independence Day (The fireworks there are FANTASTIC!!!!) and it was a very relaxing week. We met locals and got to see their way of life and share part of ours. :) I think the most influential part was seeing how kind people were to each other and being treated with respect... Even from drunk men on the street. Yeah... I grew tired of Utah boys. I gave up on all the boys back home who were being stupid... Except Anthony. I continued to text him and send him pictures of our adventure.

Coming home was hard. I didn't want to go back to school and work, but I especially didn't want to tell Anthony my decision.

My Decision

I needed time to think. Time to myself. Time away from dating. Therefore... The answer was no. I couldn't handle a relationship. I just needed my best friend, Anthony.

We got home on Sunday morning, but I avoided seeing Anthony that night. I went to a little get together with some friends and met some new guys... They were smart and fun and mature. I had a renewed hope for Utah men again. I felt as though I should "just keep swimming."

The next night I went over to Anthony's after Family Home Evening (FHE). I finally told him that I just needed him as a friend and he told me it is okay and he needs me in his life too. I'm his best friend and he wants me in any way he could get.

And just like that the pressure was gone!

I got to keep him in my life. I got to keep talking to my friend, a friend who understood me more than any other. He had been through hard times just as I had. He had relied on the gospel throughout it all. He knew life was hard. He knew how to make it easy. He knew he should rely on God. He knew how to dance in the rain.

I had a wake up call. I started reconsidering my decision to not date him. I was battling my head, my heart, and my Heavenly Father. I was scared of hurting Anthony. I was scared of ruining what we had.

Finally, God gave me a figurative kick in the butt. There I had my handsome BEST friend sitting next to me who also happened to want to date me... And I was saying no. Dumb. Then I had to decide how to tell him I had changed my mind. Should we go on a walk? Should I ask him to ask me one more time?

I turn to Anthony, of whom had been talking, but I had no recollection of what it was about... I guess I was really deep in thought... And say,

"Do you want to date?"

His response: "Are you serious?" I assured him I was and he responded "yes."

We talked a little more then it came time for me to leave. I got out of the car to say goodbye. He asked if he could kiss me and then proceeded to give me a kiss that was like kissing a fish and a wall... Then he panicked, gave a few more kisses and RAN away.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

The best decision of my life.

Sister Date Night!!!

I got to go on a date night with my little sister last month! It was her idea and I was so excited that she wanted to spend time with me! We didn't get along for years! Always bickering, complaining about each other, back biting, name calling, and... Fighting. But after a year of being separated by hundreds of miles we had learned how to put our pride aside and show each other our love.

A week before the blessed day, Helene drafted a basic outline of the night.

Meet up at 5 at my apartment
Get ready together
Go to dinner at a nice restaurant

Throughout the week Anthony and I visited my parents house a few times for a variety of reasons, but while we were there Helene was preaching about her favorite tea steamer... and wanted me to try it. It's made with milk so I refused (I'm lactose intolerant), but she was determined that I try it and decided that we would go to the Starbucks in Barnes and Noble after dinner on Friday because they have non-dairy options. It is the only one that has the kind of tea she likes. Well that was fine with me. We also decided to go to Pei Wei for dinner since it was less expensive but still nice.

Friday came and I anxiously awaited work to be over so I could start my exciting evening. As 4 o'clock approached I texted Anthony and asked if I could drop by and see him before heading to get ready with Helene. He was with his guy friends so he couldn't, but we told me I should wear my pencil skirt and then come see him afterward.

Since my previous plans to see Anthony before getting ready were vetoed, I arranged for Helene to meet me at 4:30 instead of 5.

Helene came over and I showered and flat ironed my hair (at Helene's request). Helene recorded videos throughout the process of us dancing and getting ready. We got all dolled up and 2 1/2 hours (around 7) later we headed out.



I convinced Helene to go to Michaelangelo's instead of Pei Wei for dinner because it's yummy Italian!

At dinner we talked about life, dating, engagements, weddings, baby names, you know... Typical girl stuff. :) And... she recorded me eating... apparently she wanted to make a video montage of our night. The food was fantastic! The time spent was so fun! And of course, I texted Anthony the whole night. Helene caught me and I told her that I have seen him everyday since we began dating... But I hadn't seen him that day yet! I was DYING... So we planned what we were going to do the rest of the night. There was a decades dance at the Institute of Religion at the U of U that I wanted to go to.

After dinner (around 9), I called Anthony and ran the ideas by him... He wasn't up for a dance and that was okay by me! I just wanted to see him! I kept talking to him on the phone while we drove to Barnes and Noble. He was at Brady's house and was anxiously awaiting my arrival after we got the non-dairy tea steamers. Helene told me to get off the phone while we parked the car. As we walked inside she mentioned a book we read as kids... something about bears and LOTS of popcorn... she couldn't find it and wanted to look in the children's section of the book store... Well, Helene being Helene, there's no point in arguing with her, I went along with it.

We headed up the escalator and Helene recorded us as we walked to the Children's section to begin our search of a childhood memory. Feeling awkward, I told Helene about the dates that had taken me to read books in this very section! As we approached our destination I realized that this search is futile since there were SO many books and we didn't even know the title! Thinking of the time Helene was taking away from Anthony, I began to object to the search. At that moment, I rounded the corner of the entrance when...

Anthony popped out a bookshelf!

My thoughts raced:
Hey! You surprised us!
I thought you were at Brady's...
Are you joining us for steamers?
You look handsome!
Why are you wearing a blazer?
Wait... Why are you here?

"Aubrey."
He took my hand.
"How are you?"
I replied with a mediocre "good..." as he guided me through the maze of benches and book cases towards the story book stage, his eyes never straying from my gaze.

Everything was going slow motion. It seemed to take hours to step onto the little stage!

My mind continued to race:
What is happening?
It isn't March 27th!
Could this really be happening?

Anthony went down on one knee and my gaze finally broke his as he pulled out a little black box.

This is really happening!!!

"Aubrey, will you marry me?"

His voice didn't falter or tremble, it sounded deep, focused, and blissful.

I was overjoyed. A dream come true.

Now I just needed to answer.

A breathless but determined "yes" escaped my lips and I stared at the love of my life!

I didn't know what to do next so I grabbed the ring box and pulled Anthony into a hug. We kissed and laughed and smiled and kissed!

I finally saw the little audience we had:

Max
Brady
Anthony's little sister Isabelle
Helene

All taking pictures or videos of the happy moment.

There was a random little family there as well. ;)

Anthony turned to me and asked if he should put on the ring. All of the sudden I felt silly for simply grabbing it from him and placed the box back in his hand.

He carefully took the beautiful ring out of the velvet box and slid it onto my shaking finger. It was a miracle he didn't miss!

I looked up at Anthony, my fiancé, my future husband and realized I get to be with him forever.

Turns out that Anthony and Helene were in cahoots since the beginning of November!

I never suspected a thing.

Zion Day

The Holladay YSA Stake (my stake) has instituted Zion Day. Zion Day is every Tuesday and we have been asked to pray for members of our stake. I admit that I haven't been consistent with this responsibility. HOWEVER! I have been a recipient of Zion Day. I had a hard weekend last week. I was stressed about money for tuition and had no idea how to pay it. I was asking friends and family for assistance. None were financially able to help. I applied for a personal loan last Saturday, but was informed that I wouldn't find out if I got it until Tuesday morning (the day tuition was due) because of Labor Day weekend... It freaked me out. I tried not to think about it on Sunday and Monday. I trusted it would all work out.

Tuesday morning came and I called the credit union and waited on hold for what seemed like forever to find out the news. Well, disappointment hit hard. I needed a co signer to get the loan, something I couldn't provide in such short notice. It was the day of reckoning and I had 7 hours to come up with the money. Then my last chance - a deferral plan - wasn't working. The Internet site was crashing. I broke down. Not a little bit, a lot a bit. I threw myself on my knees and prayed/begged for my Heavenly Father's help. With tears flowing down my cheeks, I left for work. I work as a nanny from 10 to 4. Tuition was due at 4:45. I felt as though all was lost, but I couldn't give up. I just couldn't. So I text my boyfriend Anthony for support. He came through with a wonderful text telling me to keep a prayer in my heart and just have faith because it will all work out in the end. Then I text my roommate Alexis, it was random, but inspired. She knows how to handle money. She came to my rescue with loan options and different ideas. I was actually able to get on the Internet while the little boy I nanny, played on his own. The deferral plan website started working again and I was texting Anthony and Alexis for advice. Well I couldn't afford the upfront payment. So I was lead to drop one class. It was hard but turned out okay. An enormous weight was lifted from my shoulders and I knew everything happens for a reason. I felt SOO much better! I finished work happily and left for school. On my way to class I ran into two girls from my old LDS sorority and one good friend I haven't seen in a while. They gave me big hugs and were happy to see me. They asked many questions and gave much encouragement.

I headed to class shortly after talking to them and it was a good class where I got partnered up with a friend who is often in my classes. After class I went to the LDS Institute to wait for Anthony to get back from his man date with his friend. While at the institute, I sat with the same old friend I saw earlier and we talked and did homework. I saw Tyler, a friend whom always calls me Polly. Suddenly, a person appeared in the seat next to me. I quickly realized it was Julie from my ward! We talked for a half hour until I had to leave to take my car to another friend to help me fix the belts. On my way to my car, I saw a couple of girls STANDING on my car! I was about to freak out at them, but then I recognized them as my best friend, Allie, and sister, Helene. They were going to send me a picture of it.

While fixing my car, Nate took off my serpentine belt and inspected it. It was still in good shape, no need to replace it. So he put it back on and tightened the loose bearings that were making the squeaking noise.

I was in dire need of love on that day. I felt so alone as I faced this huge hurdle and the Lord put ten individuals on my path to inspire and uplift me. I know it was because I had all the prayers of the stake on my side.

God loves us individually. He helps us specifically.

There are no coincidences.

Through and Through

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

- Dr. Seuss  

Be You through and through.

I've worked with kindergartners this past year and I noticed something about them, they have their own personality!!! I'm sure some people out there are saying "well duh!" but think about it! For the longest time I thought that we develop our personality over time, which is true. However, I feel that we are WHO we are from birth. Different aspects about ourselves change, but I think that is just the process of trying to "find yourself" when you are young. You lose track of "who you are" in pursuit of "who they want me to be."

Once again, I must ask you to think about it! How did you act when you were little? Is it very similar to how you act now? Probably... unless you are fake now. :) Well, I did think about this! I was the little ray of sunshine. I was spunky, silly, loud, emotional, smart, controlling, and violent (we have footage of me hitting my older brother when he was teasing me... or I was just being silly... when I was 6... he didn't retaliate, which infers that it happened often.). Guess how I act now? The same. I simply have more life experience to help me relate to others around me.

Your kindergartner teachers knew you before you became you. Some of your self-destructing tendencies were evident when you were 5 and your teachers were trained to see them... and possibly warn your future teachers. 

:D 

What happened between now and then? Life. We all get to go through adolescence, it's a right of passage! Hopefully you learned something about who you don't want to be. I know I did. I'd much rather be confident, loud, and loving than insecure, quiet, and fleeting.  

Don't forget the things you used to love. 

Don't forget the things you used to want to do.

Don't forget the things you used to want to be.

Chances are they probably aren't "used to" still.

I used to love dancing at random happy moments.

I used to want to go to the Museum of Natural History.

I used to want to be a teacher.

I still do the walking man whenever something awesome happens.

I went to the Museum of Natural History 14 years after missing the field trip.

I'm two years away from getting my teaching license.

I used to love watching Disney movies.

I used to want to go to the Westminster Park.

I used to want to be a model.

I get more excited about a new Disney movies than anything else.

I drove by the park today and stopped to swing on the swings.

I get to model a winning outlook every day of my life.

In the words of Peter Pan

"If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"

Ctrl - Y

It's interesting how life tends to work itself out. So many factors influence our EVERYDAY life that it is quite improbable for one moment to determine the rest of our existence! However, moments can greatly influence our future and often do! We cannot press undo and shouldn't want to.

On December 31, 2011, my little sister, Helene, sent me a text that read "it's 12:00 am on January 1, 2011. You get a redo, do you take it?" My answer? NOOOO. First off, of COURSE you don't redo it. A year is a long time and why put yourself through all the hard times again. Sure you can avoid some, but there will be others! I'd much rather have a year of past experiences than have to relive what I've already been through. Once was enough.

However....

There are differently those nights that I wish I could redo or relive, just to see what had happened. Once again, these are impossible stupid things to dwell on. "What if"s are stupid! Even in present situations. For example, I once was dating a totally awesome and handsome guy. Now, we weren't exclusive and I was also interested in this other guy who seemed interested as well. Guy #1 wanted me to be his girlfriend, but I had reservations because what if guy #2 liked me too. One night I realized, HOW STUPID AM I?! I was putting off a sure thing for a what if. I went with the sure thing.... Well now you're wondering what happened to that guy. It didn't work out, but I did make the right decision. How do I know? Guy #2 started dating another girl around the same time and it did work out, thus they are getting married. Talk about God's plan right? Whatever is meant to happen will happen.

Thus I've chosen to push Ctrl-y on my life. It's worked out up to this point. Yes I'm single, but I've got the best friends in the world, two jobs that I LOVE, an adorable bachelorette pad, a spunky car, a hilarious family, and a date every weekend. I am living the dream. I'm creating memories that I will tell my kids one day.

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday....

Oh, The Places You'll Go

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own.  And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

...

You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

Fears

I'm a little bit of a daredevil. :) I'll do the highest, flippiest, and most dangerous lifts when dancing like a Candle Stick, Around the World, Falling Angel, The Chair, and my favorite: Texas Star. I'll go off any number of jumps at the sand dunes, including those built off of a slip-in-slide with a "trench" of water at the bottom (without an ATV) multiple times giggling the whole time. EVEN if I fall, I'll get up and do it again.

However, I have discovered something that scares the living daylights out of me!

Trampolines.

Irrational? I don't know, I just don't like them! I suppose the reason is that they tend to be small and the ground tends to be hard around them. If I miss, it hurts! There's also the chance I'll land on my head on the hard ground. This fear can possible be traced back to the large number of times I'll fallen when jumping on trampolines. Ohs well. :) Needless to say, I really don't like the game "Rocket."

I discovered this fear at a gymnastics gym last night. Well it was just a trick gym actually. There were no balance beams (I was kinda sad cuz I like spinning off them into the foam pits). I could jump on the super bouncy tramps and do all sorts of kicks where I stayed upright, but I couldn't bring myself to do a flip, which I KNOW I can do! Well I did one once, just once. It was lame. :S

I'd much rather:

• Climb the rock wall and jump off into the foam pit
• Get charged at with a pad and fly into the foam pit behind me
• Charge into a mountain man and just end up on the ground
• Try it again and bounce back 3 feet
• Swing off the trapease.. I think that's how you spell it.. and do flips off it.
• Cartwheels
• Run into a wall... multiple times.
• Or anything where I'm just in the air and not jumping into it!

I'm not kidding that I'm really afraid of it! My heart was pounding just at the thought of them. Don't downplay my fear. Pretty sure it's a result of me not trusting myself, but I'm more than willing to trust other people.

Especially when doing the Texas Star. :)

Therapy

First off:

          No, I did not go to a shrink.

Why pay for what your friends can give you for free?! :)

I have an assortment of fantastic friends! I've been able to see many of them this week... and then again, not a lot of them (Does that make sense?). Don't worry, I will not begin to draw out what I did each and every moment of everyday this week... I think I'd fall asleep from boredom by simply writing it!

However, this was an interesting week because it was, in fact, fall break for the University of Utah (A wonderful thing. Whomever came up with that one gets a gold star on their forehead.). I worked, I played, but that's just the half of it. I got to go Nightmare on 13th on Tuesday with my wonderful friend Elisa. It was and 11/2 hour wait in the line (Bounce-back night. Avoid whenever possible) thus Elisa and I got to talk. A Lot. Elisa is the type of person who tells it like it is. One of my few truly blunt friends and I love her for it! So that was therapy session numero uno.

Numero dose occurred throughout the day on Wednesday when my friends Taylor and Sam drove with me to Cedar City to see Noises Off at the Shakespearean Festival. This was not a get-everything-off-your-chest therapy session... I'd have to say it was a leave-your-troubles-behind-in-Salt-Lake-and-just-enjoy-a-day-away type of therapy session! Sam and Taylor were just a JOY to drive with and I loved meeting up with my old favorite roommate - Annie! Just a good day that ended with a soccer game... nothing like getting out the wiggles from a 3 hour car drive like a good game of soccer. Well, Taylor thought so anyway. ;)

I worked all day on Thursday so when I got off around 9, I was very excited to hang out with a bunch of my dear friends! Before plans were made, however, I got an emergency text from a dear friend (who will remain nameless) who really needed a hug. Well I really could use a hug too so I headed out her way. I ended up being thoroughly entertained by scolding someone whom could not hear me because they were on the other end of a phone line. :) My friend sure seemed to enjoy my acting and commentary! I lease I hope she did. I ended up sleeping over and we had a grand time. I got therapy by NOT thinking about myself for once, try it -you'll like it!

"Friday, friday, friday is my favorite day"... I will continue singing that song in my head while I write the next paragraph. I got a break in between jobs and I got to get a dose of nature's therapy! Disc golf with Taylor! I'm really not that good at it, but it was a beautiful day and I could actually see some improvements in my throwing! LOVE IT!

Saturday. I needed A LOT of therapy. Well I began with momma-daughter time. Always a joy. However, work that morning was a little sour and I just didn't do as well as a should have. LUCKILY, Ephraim came to visit me and have some lunch and he was available to talk after I got off work. Well, we went shopping (Because that is what I do when I'm upset, I shop... or actually try on cloths. I buy the cloths because I love them and that usually doesn't happen because I'm picky.) in different places. Him, online for Halloween costume stuff. Me, at Down East for some new wardrobe items. Well, I ended up buying stuff, but not after slicing my finger on a metal plate in the dressing room. Don't worry though, the staff took care of me and I hopefully won't need stitches (Truth be told, I'm afraid to look and see just how deep this cut is... it might start bleeding again... and I'd rather not faint.) Once I felt well enough to pay and then drive I got to go home and get all prettied up for Olympus High's production of Annie Jr. It was fantastic and I was blessed to go with my dear high school friends and catch up with them afterward at Ice Burg.

I finished up fall break with family dinner where I made my routine comment on how old my baby brother is looking these days, a movie with my amazing momma (August Rush - T.V. edit, don't watch it. They butcher it.) and the weekly game night at Russel's home! It was a blast and I got to play my second favorite game, Make it Awkward. I got to see some more of my wonderful friends, some of which I have not seen in a very long time, and then go home and watch more episodes of Psych on Netflix (Sooo glad I signed up for that!).

Thank you my dear friends for a wonderful week of various therapies! It was just what the doctor ordered and now I'm ready for school to start up again... well sorta.

Here We Go Again!

Another year has begun!!! I'm starting my second year at the University of Utah and I love it!!!! :D

(I know I didn't write all summer... I was busy having

too much fun and I didn't have internet at 

my 'plex so I couldn't update when I wanted to.)

Another busy semester is facing me! I really am working full time this semester. I have two jobs to do it! I am a Para Educator (AKA Assistant Teacher) in a Special Ed Kindergarten Class at Upland Terrace Elementary. I am also a waitress at The Cowboy Grub. I love both of my jobs, but they sure do keep me busy. Next on my plate is the full time school schedule I'm holding. I'm taking Math, Linguistics, a Reading Methods class (which also requires me to be a reading tutor on Tuesday and Thursday mornings), and a Zumba class (I needed one more credit hour for my scholarship to be valid). 

In the mean time, I'm also enjoying the new friends I made this Summer! My best friend, Grif Mansell, introduced me to a bunch of his high school friends whom I love to death!!! We play games like Wasser-Krieg (V-ah-s-er - Kreeg) which means "water war" in German. It's like water polo and rugby combined... with LESS rules. I got elbowed in the eye and woke up the next day with a slight black eye. It was awesome! We also play Frisbee golf... I'm really bad at it, but I still think it's so much fun! Then every Sunday night we have fantastic game nights! Oh my goodness, these people are so much fun!!! 

• Russell is a huge goof who likes to push people's buttons... and them into pools. He seems to especially like pushing my buttons. He's going to get hurt one of these days...
• Sam is the sweetest guy you could meet. He always greets me SO warmly! I look forward to hanging out with Sam, he's just a pleasure to be around all the time.
• Ashley. Oh this girl is beautiful inside and out! I love joking around with her. Also she makes me look good at Scum... the worst game ever. 
• Taylor is hilarious!!! He does it all! Music, dance, act, play sports, and looks cute while doing it. haha. Taylor is the type of person who is up for anything, anytime. 
• There are definitely more people whom I love but it would take way too long to write about them! 

On Another Note

Sometimes I find myself asking "why." Why did he break up with me? Why am I killing myself off for college? Why didn't he like me? Why am I working two jobs? Why am I not getting answers to my questions? 

The answer seems to keep coming back, "BE PATIENT." Not an easy thing for me to do ;)  However, I think I'm finally seeing the fruits of my labors! God really does answer prayers and sometimes you don't get the answer you were expecting.. you get something so much better! I know that's cliche, but it's SO true! About 3 weeks ago I got the rude realization that I wasn't going to get what I wanted. I was super sad for about 2 days. It was really hard and I didn't know what to do with myself! I just kept my chin up and pretended like nothing was wrong. Well after those two days something even better came my way! I feel like I'm living in a dream.

"If you want your life to be a fairytale, you have to be your own fairy godmother."

 Sometimes the "why" questions don't need to be answered. I think little clues for the reasons can be seen and those tend to give me hope, but I also know that those aren't always the real reason things happen. Sometimes you date people and it doesn't work out. Maybe it was because something was going to happen that wasn't supposed to, maybe you already learned the lesson in the short period of time, or maybe it was really that you were supposed to introduce your two friends. I used to want to play match maker, but now I realize that it doesn't work like that. I've introduced a ton my friends to people and nothing comes from it and then sometimes it does. I think I'd much rather be a tool in the Lord's hand and be pleasantly surprised with the results then give Him all the glory.

"'Why' questions are such a waste of time. Ask 'How can I turn this around?' and 'What can I learn from this?' Life is too short to be living in the past."

Haven't Had Enough

I work [practically] full time, go to school full time, am in a LDS sorority, have homework, and still find time to be social... Have I had enough?

Nope.

I am on the University of Utah Ballroom Dance Team. Yes, we have one. Is it recognized by the school? Not yet, but we're working on that. Thus I pay to be on it and it isn't cheap... but it's worth it! :) I am making scarves and headbands to make up the difference in income and expenses.

The ballroom dance team consists of three teams, the Black Team, the Red Team, and the White Team. (Yes, they are the school's colors, original eh? ;) haha) I am on the White Team and I absolutely love it. People have come and gone from it and we have done a lot of switching around with partners and such, but I think it has made us an even stronger team. We've hung out after practices, played practical jokes on each other, arranged socials, and I even miss them if I have to go more than a week without seeing them. We have way to much fun together!!!

We've performed twice now. Once at Rock the U and another at a LDS Stake's annual formal dance. It was a blast and a huge learning experience. We perform again on Monday, April 18. I'm so excited! The White Team did a Rumba routine and now we are learning a Waltz routine! The Waltz is my very, very favorite style of dance! I do love Country/Freestyle Swing a ton, but the Waltz is just so elegant and beautiful. Freestyle Swing takes the best of all the dances and puts them together, thus throwing footwork out the window. It must do this because there is no way of combining all the dances and keep the footwork! It's just fun to let go sometimes! hehe.

There are so many wonderful people on this team, including some people whom I've known before. I went to high school with two girls, Audrey and Kirsten. Kirsten and I actually grew up in the same stake as well! Two guys I met through the IOTA frat, Griffin and Thom. Grif joined with my referral... well he actually could've done it himself, he's that good, but he found out about it through me. I'm so glad I decided to take the Ballroom Dance class for my extra two credit hours, it changed my life. I've made a ton of new friends as well, Paul-who almost dropped me, Dianna-lovingly nicknamed Dance Nazi, Brown-headed Marc, Red-headed Marc, Elizabeth-my official eyelash-putter-oner, Jen-whom I've almost collided with multiple times, Molly-our mother hen, Aaron-who likes to switch between teams, Greg-we are awesome at the Titanic, and other wonderful friends whom I will write about later. There will be more adventures to come, trust me.

I'm following my dream. I've always wanted to be on a ballroom dance team and I'm doing it. It's the first time that I've actually done something that doesn't sound completely respectable and safe. Not that being a teacher is lame or anything. I really want to be a teacher, that is one dream I have always had, but it's not far fetched like being a pop star. haha One thing I've learned, when there's a will there's a way, and sometimes we've got to get out of our own way and simply take a leap of faith. Don't be afraid, you can do hard things. ;)

New Adventures

Once again, it has been awhile since I posted on my blog. Life's been hectic with work and school starting again, but I think I've got it together again. I'm taking 12 credit hours again - Math for Elementary Teachers (don't be fooled by its name, it's horrid), Home-School-and Community Relations, Assessment and Data-Based Decision Making, and Elementary Ballroom Dance. It'll be a fun semester! I work during the day and go to school at night, however, I always make time for fun... sometimes too much time.

Oh, but I've had the best weekend ever! First off I got to go to a bonfire with my friends. So much fun! That included an hour and a half drive, off-roading on sand dunes, and singing/dancing to blasting music. I slept on the way home. I also found out that Ugg boots are not good for icy terrain... as Sarah, Collin, and Amy found out at Solider Hollow last week. I had to crawl up the hill. It's super cool just so you know.

Never be afraid of a new adventure.
You never know where it may lead!

End of Summer and Beginning of my Awesome 20's

I am now in my totally awesome 20's!!! What did I do to celebrate? Well my friend Ephraim stole me away from my homework and took me to an amazing Brazilian Steak House and then I had a girl's night later that night; filled with Bob's Brainfreeze and chick-flicks! It was an awesome birthday!!!

After that, it was enough partying. I had to get to work because finals week was the following week! After a couple of break downs and a lot of sugar I was able to pull through, create an awesome presentation, fix a very rough group paper, and skip out on a couple of social activities. (amazing right?). I guess it was all worth it! Today the grades were posted and I got an 'A!' I really only wanted to pass and get my associates, funny huh?

I also went to Summit last weekend but that's another story. Yes, I'm going to leave you hanging :) haha don't forget to dance in the rain!!!

S U M M E R - B A B Y

ATTENTION ATTENTION ONE AND ALL!!! It is summer time!!! Like officially. The first day of summer is this week!!! And.. it's warm, finally!!! I think I'll lay out and read my book later today. Sounds Good.

Anyway... So I'm taking a summer class at SLCC. It is my last class before I graduate with my Associates Degree!!!!!! Then off to the UofU I go! Funny, two years ago I SWORE that I would never go the the U... and now I'm excited, as are my U fan friends.

Summer has been awesome though, rain or no rain (which I hope there will be more no rain and more SuN!). I even went to Lagoon this past Thursday with my bestie Allie, her sister Annie, and my sister Helene. Yeap. Fun FUn FUN.

Oh and I finally got a copy of The Host by Stephenie Meyer. My family owns a copy... but it's missing, we've spring cleaned our house and STILL cannot find it! So I went to the library. Thank you library. I've read this wonderful book before, but I tend to read every book I like twice, thus I don't miss anything! It's even better the second time and I can hardly put it down!!!

P.S. I love having my big bro home. He's amazing and I've realized that I try and compete with him on a regular basis, thus I am on a quest for a new job (I have to get a new one by Fall because Red Hanger Cleaners won't work with my class schedule at the UofU) and a new place to live. I love my family, but it's easier to love them when I have time away from them. :D

- Aubs

M to the O to the A to the B

Well my friends, it is officially summer! And how did I kick it off do you ask? I went to Moab!!! (Yes, be jealous, be VERY jealous!) Treating myself to a trip to Moab, Ut was my reward for finishing the semester with flying colors (Flying colors meaning 4 A's and 1 B)!

My single's ward (Wilford 2nd YSA Ward) was invited by East Millcreek North 19th YSA Ward to attend their Moab trip for the second year in a row. We were also joined by Cottonwood Heights 6th YSA Ward (Yes, I think it is quite amazing how I know the official names of these wards... how many times do you think I can say the words "Moab" and "wards?" Quite a lot). Needless to say, this trip was SOOO MUCH FUN!!!

I drove down on the morning of Thursday, May 13th at 8:30 am with my friends Morgan Aldous and Morgan Kester/Hatch (aka Katch). The ride was filled with music, playing chicken with mutiple semi trucks :), snackage, Mexican Coke, "sugar" water at Ray's Tavern in Green River, DINO TRACKS, and more!
After setting up camp, my friends and I ventured to play in a giant sand box... officially called Sand Dune Arch...
where I got buried in the sand. I was compleatly covered, except my head, thus sand got EVERYWHERE! About a pound of it went down my shirt... entertaining! The day was very fun and I got some sun-bathing and a photo shoot in as well!
The rest of my group of friends showed up later that evening and my energy level SHOT up! Hehe, lots of laughs.

Friday: RIVER RAFTING ON THE COLORADO RIVER! It was cloudy, so it felt colder than than it was, and then the rapids were small... BUT it's ok! Because my raft got educated on the hilarious things that happen to river rafting guides and the secrets of Disney World. I shall never look at a Disney Princess the same. ;) Oh and I learned some sign language. It was grand! I did get a bad/weird/funny sunburn though. I had a little trouble with sun screen... and I have physical proof. I do believe that I will be spending the rest of the summer trying to fix it. :D It is almost as bad as the hand print on my back from Bear Lake last year (that tan line HAS faded, thank goodness!).

My friends and I went on an AWESOME hike to a BEAUTIFUL waterfall.
A couple of us jumped from the cliff to the pond below. Max Chamberlain was the first to jump (not surprised) then all of us were debating on who was going next. I looked around at my friends' faces and decided to go. I turned around and jumped! About half-way down I thought about what I had just done... thus I started SCREAMING... then hit the water. ADRENALINE BABY! Oh it was so cool!
The rest of the group then proceeded to jump into the water. The water was cold but it felt so good in the hot air. Sarah, Max, Dean, and I all climbed up the waterfall to get back onto the cliff.
The rocks were covered with moss except for about 3 spots where the sandstone shone through. These were the spots we stepped on. I wouldn't have made it if Sarah and Max were pulling me up and Dean was making sure I didn't slip from behind. We all dried off while hiking further up the trail to a beautiful canyon and climbed slick rock like Spiderman. Oh the view was beautiful!

It started raining on the drive back to camp and continued to rain throughout the night until about 11:30 pm. Morgan Aldous and I went to see Robin Hood at 9:30. I slept through the fight scenes... how? - well my eyes couldn't focus on one thing because everything was moving, so I got dissy an fell asleep! It was a good movie even without the fight scenes. I won't see it again until it goes to the dollar theater/come out on video because I did not LOVE it. It was kinda unsatisfying, but it's hard to explain why... I guess it didn't feel like a movie, it felt like an in between story. Not a whole lot of climax. If you don't agree, feel free to comment.

Saturday: The girls woke up to Morgan Aldous sticking his head in our tent and telling us how beautiful we looked... thanks Morgan, but it could not be true.
Next thing we know is that Dave and Max are jumping into the tent and doing steam roller on us. Needless to say, we screamed.. waking up our tent neighbors (sorry Doug and Ron!). After packing up our stuff, Max and Dean went biking on Porcupine Trail while the rest of us went shopping... for 4 hours. I got an awesome shirt and sweet sunglasses! After shopping, we ate at Moab Diner (so good!) then went for a walk till Max called us when he was done.
After resting for a bit, we all headed to Delicate Arch (except for Dean, he broke his collar bone while mountain biking) and then to Sand Dune arch where we created an awesome sand canyon!
Morgan Katch and I headed home after that and the rest of the group went back to the waterfall. We got home at about 9:30/10:00 pm and they got home about 12:30 am. Morgan and I had an awesome talk on the way home and I'm glad it was just us even though Aldous was an awesome companion on the ride down :).

Moab 2010 was MUCH different than Moab 2009, but it was still so much fun!!! I still made some awesome new friends (whom you might hear about in detail at a later date) and strengthened the bonds of some old friendships! I cannot wait for the many adventures to come this summer!

Last Day of School/First Day of Summer

Yesterday was my last day of school. So when I finished the last of finals, I proceeded to enjoy my first day of summer!!! :D

Last Day of School:

- Woke up at 7:30am to drive my little brother to school.

- Went to my last Technology in the Classroom class at 9:10 (We watched everyone's final home-made movies)

- Came home and wrote my LAST final paper. Submitted at 1:15 (due @ 1:20)

- Screamed cheered and danced around... in my head

First Day of Summer:

- Went to see what my big bro was doing today cuz I got nothing. (He's been home from his mission in Thailand a WEEK people!)

- Went to BigOTires to get my dad's tires switched to summer tires :D

- Drove my brother (Cameron) to Big 5 to buy running shoes. He actually took my advice about which to buy. I am surprised... but proud :)

- Wendy's Trip! JBC and Crispy Chicken Sandwich (guess which one was mine)

- Highland Park Elementary Trip! Cam met my mom's coworkers (mom works in the resource classroom as an aid) and I checked something my mom had in her purse... hehe

- Tried to go have Thai food for lunch (I was secretly scared) and the cafe thing was closed. :'(

- Went to Checker Auto Parts to buy de-oxidizer for my car's headlights.

- Waited at BigO and read magazines. I'm officially caught up on Spring fashion hehe.

- Went home and de-oxidized my headlights. They look AMAZING. I love my beautifly Nissan Sentra all that much more now. (Belle got an eye job hehe)

- Went to Firehouse Carwash and Detail and got Belle (my car) all clean... but the driver-side mirror broke off... the [cute] guy who dried off my car felt horrible. I was happy that I actually got to talk to him! Mom and I glued it back on when I got home. :)

- Last Blast at SkyBox baby! It was so much fun! I think I played a total of 3-4 games while I was there... I talked the rest of the time! Oh and then I got to country swing dance with Griff Mansell outside. He's such a good dancer! So much fun... and then I kicked my shoe at him when he teased me. It didn't end well. SORRY GRIFF!!!!!!!

- I finished off my night by talking to my mom on her bed for an hour... and skipping out on the Iron Man 2 midnight showing. I was to see it when I'm AWAKE! :D

- I got my cell phone back at midnight! hehe YAY

Well that was my Thursday/Last Day of School/First Day of Summer! Long I know... Trust me I left out A LOT of details! :D Allie knows it too.

"Life's always a party if you're easily entertained!"

- Aubrey

Here are just some memories from the last week(s) of school!

I Can See the Light

Well friends! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel called Spring Semester 2010. Today is my last day of actual classes!!! I just turned in my music video for my Technology in the Classroom. I filmed myself singing "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood. Needless to say, I will NOT be posting it online. It's pretty stupid. However, my teacher was impressed with my editing (as was I, I just got lucky) AND I made my classmate cry. I'm pretty proud. If you want to see it... then you have to watch it with me... THAT way I can control who sees it, etc. :) I have my last Pacific Islander class next. I'm turning in my service learning project and then I have till next Thursday to email my teacher my final essay. I have one take home final for Multicultural Education due Monday by noon, the last test (not comprehensive) for Life Span Human Development on Wednesday, and a final portfolio for Into to Writing due tomorrow by noon. It's all coming together and I am slowly able to breath easier!

My birthday is three months from today and I'm excited. I turn 20. I won't be a teenager anymore. I'm not sad at all. I've had fun and now it's time to move on! Don't worry, there WILL be a party. :) So I will be 20 when I start my first semester at the University of Utah. I got my acceptance letter LAST WEEK! I'm estatic!

My older brother, Cameron, comes home tomorrow and I'm using it as my motiviation to make it through this week. Pretty good bribe to myself eh? :) I will be running errands all morning just so I can kill time and not go crazy with anticipation.

Here's one last thought from mylifeisaverage.com to give you a smile:
Today, I was chewing gum while at a stop light. I blew the largest bubble ever and frantically tried to get the attention of the guy in the next car. He looked, just in time to see the bubble burst all over my face. MLIA

Picnik Fun!

I love Picnik! I also know how to use Photoshop, but my family's computer gets REALLY SLOW when I try and use it... so I'll stick with Picnik. So much faster! I have all my Picnik-ed pictures on my Facebook profile under the "Picnik" album, but here are some of my new ones as well as old favorites!

ENJOY!

Formal - Shormal

Homecoming

Temple Day

First Kiss

Compliment

Colors of Beauty

Simplicity

Classic

How I Do

... So Take A Nap

And my all time favorite Picniked picture EVER...

Be Yourself

There are many more where these came from and many more to come! These eleven pictures all have SUCH stories behind them! A picture really IS worth a thousand words... and when their Picniked then they are work a million words!

School Begins... Again

School started again last week... :'( haha but life goes on right? Luckily the sadness of school was softened by RUSH week for Lambda Delta Sigma sorority and Sigma Gamma Chi fraternity at the University of Utah Institute of Religion. SO MUCH FUN!!! ZETA was closed this semester, we are full of wonderful gorgeous girls! So I was able to skip the actual rush (as HORRIBLE as that is... hahahaha) and go to fun Soup Fest on Wednesday, SGC Carnival on Thursday, stomp on Saturday, and RUSH firedside on Sunday. It was SO MUCH FUN. I love my wonderful friends!



For example, at the stomp last Saturday night Morgan, Sarah, Amy, and I did a social experiment... the details will remain secret from public view... but i might just tell you if you ask. :D Needless to say it worked multiple times, however at one point Morgan had to yell at me "THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" hehe! But I got to dance crazily with my amazing friends! I also got to make new friends! Some of which were very good dancers, namely my IOTA friends Dash (well I've known him for a year), Griff (met six months ago), and others. I could go on but I'm going to stop while I'm ahead. Needless to say that they are excellent dancers (I taught Dash to dance when he got home from his mission). It was a very fun night!



On Sunday evening I was able to go to the RUSH fireside then go to a Sigma frat event as a wing man for my dear friend Stacey Marie Hansen (Miss Murray) then we each went to our separate movie nights. I went to IOTA's movie night at the IOTA house. It was my first time there so I got the grand tour which was quite fun. I look forward to future events at that house. You can definitely tell that a bunch of guys live there, but it was surprisingly clean ;) haha. There are other stories from that night but they are boring to everyone except me, I'll spare you.

As I sit in my technology in the classroom class and think that this most fun blog is actually an assignment along with a facebook assignment. BEST CLASS EVER! But Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best ever, Technology in the Classroom and South Pacific American Studies! So much fun. Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays are a little less glamorous... but at least I don't work on Wednesdays. :D Well now I'm just waisting time till my next class (starts at 11).

Remember to dance in the rain!

Discovery Gateway!

Allie and I went to a 1 year-old's birthday party at Discovery Gateway one wonderful afternoon. You see, Allie is her nanny and this little girl's family is my family's friend... I would'nt have gone without Allie, but it was SOOO much fun!!! We got some awesome pictures while playing with little kid toys :D We were news casters, weather-ladies, actors, scientists, and little kids again! It was just so much fun, a place fore the imagination to go WILD!!!