Twilight Movie Review

Okay, since I had posted earlier about reading the books and going to see the movie, I thought I'd give my quick (but wordy) review.

First off, the most interesting thing about the experience was by far the 'waiting in line' part. A friend of mine gave me a ride over to the movie theatre so I could wait in line to get a decent seat (did not want the front row! No matter what movie it is, sitting in the front row is miserable.) Rand had to work until 30 minutes before start time and we knew that would equal the front row. Thank you Janae for the ride!

When I arrived they let me straight through to go get in line. I sat down next to a big group of women (9 to be exact) who were SO giddy. They were taking pictures, sharing what they found to be 'cute' in store catalogues, and having some conversations that I wouldn't be caught dead having with anyone but my husband (let alone with a friend in a HUGE public line). I had a book with me to read, but it was just too fun (and almost impossible to not hear) the conversations by me. Oh, and these women were trying to save TEN additional seats for some friends. Out of control. I think my favorite thing of the night though was this:

Seriously?

As I read my book I slowly and inconspicuously took this picture (hence no flash) with the sole purpose of posting it here! And yes, I saw one person getting them after their showing.
But hey, to each their own.

As the group before us left, I saw SO many twilight t-shirts. But I have to say, this one that I came across while checking out a friends blog was by far the best, made me laugh (she made it).

Clarification for all who need it...Edward Cullen is a fictional character! :o)

With all that said, over-all, I liked the movie. I think I need to see it again (from Redbox) so I can enjoy it more without all the criticism I gave it while watching the first time. I knew that they couldn't possibly put the entire book into the movie, and it was sad to see that what was cut was the relationship build-up of Edward and Bella. I was visibly annoyed for the whole first half of the movie. Some stuff was INCREDIBLY cheesy, but you get past it. But what really bothered me more than anything was the first kiss scene. Totally turned 'hollywood lust' and I'm a little disappointed that Stephanie Meyers didn't put her foot down on that one and have Bella in some actual sweatpants. Also, when Edward tells Bella what everyone in the restaurant is thinking...that's not in the book and another stupid 'hollywood' add-in that was so unnecessary and not appropriate. Those things bugged me more than anything. I just don't understand why the author of the book and story itself didn't take a stand on it to keep it cleaner when that's what she herself believes in. Considering how the third and fourth book gets more into that realm of things (as they get closer to marriage), I'd hate to see what gets changed in those movies (assuming they get made). So sad! What is this world coming to?

As far as the acting, I think they did a pretty good job with casting. I think Edward and Bella were good and people need to get over who they cast as Edward. I think Robert Pattinson did a great job with a hard character. I was most impressed with the spot-on casting of Alice and Emmett (as well as the casting they made for Laurent). But I have to say, I think the best acting was done between Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Billy Burke (Charlie). They totally captured what the book portrayed about them and their relationship.

And what was the most entertaining about the movie itself...the audience. The 'oohs' and 'ahhs' were halarious. Especially the first time you see: Jacob, each of the vampires walk in at lunch, especially Edward, and Carlisle. Rand and I just looked at each other with a look of 'seriously?' on our faces. And I swear that at the end of the movie, the girl sitting next to me was on the verge of tears! haha!

What I wouldn't give to watch this movie with a few of my old co-workers (Ryan or Corwin). I can hear Corwin now, just laughing his head off at the reactions of all the crazed women. And I can see Ryan rolling his eyes and mentally mocking the ridiculousness of it all (until he'd get into the office the next day...then he'd go to town vocally on the craziness.)

Okay, this is far too long. It's just that the whole experience was hilarious. It definitely made the movie watching experience a little more entertaining though. And it's always kind of fun to see a book you know come to life (though I have yet to see a movie that does the book justice.)

I can understand why women everywhere love the books. Edward, Carlisle (and even Jacob) are the classic chivalry filled guys. They are modern versions of Mr. Darcy, Mr. Knightly, Edward Ferrars, etc. Chivalry will never go out of style and this movie/books are a classic example of that.

I enjoyed it. But I'd first take a love story from books and movies such as Pride & Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma any day! Where do you think Stephanie Meyers got the idea for the name of Edward in the first place! :o)

I gave in...

It's true, I gave in and did something I was refusing to do! It had been such a big craze and I saw so many people (mainly girls. Excuse me, I mean GROWN WOMEN) acting ridiculous over it. I thought it was out of control, so I wouldn't let myself go near it. I knew people who loved them and were totally normal about it too, but I couldn't get past the out of control ones. There are SO many things relating to them that are TAKING OVER people's blogs (and lives)! My mother-in-law bought me the first one, and I put it off for over a year before caving.

After deciding to discontinue with the MBA program, I had more time. I didn't want to waste my life away in TV (I can easily do this)...so I decided to get back to reading all the books I have sitting on my shelf (no matter the book, it ALWAYS sounds better when someone asks what you did that day and you say, "I read" as opposed to, "I watched TV"). I seem to have books I like to read over and over again (like To Kill a Mockingbird or The Screwtape Letters), but I also have my series books that I really liked (Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia), and then I have a lot of books I want to read, but just can't seem to get started on. So I thought I'd grab one of those and give it a try. With that, I thought I'd better read the one my mother-in-law gave me so I could say I read it and not offend her! haha. (Sorry Susan) Well, the joke was on me...I loved it and it totally drew me in and had me wanting to read more (to get to the end and see how it all played out, I can't stand not knowing how something ends). And read more, I did. I bought the rest of the set and had them all read in less than two weeks (remember I work 8 hours a day).

What were the books? It was none other than:

I still refuse to be the giddy, crazy person who is nuts about the books and movie. I enjoyed them, they were entertaining (not life changing, by any means).

Too many people out there seem to be CRAZY over them, one might say 'obsessed'. I'm pretty sure I could see one of the actors/actresses on the street and not say a word to them and my life would continue on just fine. I'm well aware these characters are fictional (I seriously wonder if some people know this!)

But if want an entertaining and easy read, these are good. If you can get over the constant infatuation talk and drudgery of it (especially in the 4th book, which definitely was the slowest one for me), pick them up.

I was entertained. Enough that Rand and I have our tickets (what a great husband he is to go with me) to go see it. We'll see how the movie matches up. I'm always facinated to see how they put some 500+ pages of writing into a two hour movie.

A few thoughts...

So these elections have been interesting to me. I'm not a fan of politics. I get sick of the mud-slinging, the hours on end of debates, and alot of promises that I really don't know or really trust that the candidate will actually follow through on. That being said, I do still try to make an informed decision when I vote.

When it comes to our blog, I try to keep it pretty 'scrapbooky'...pictures with descriptions (though wordy they may be). But I'm going to break that little 'outline' for a minute because it's something I feel pretty strongly about.

I have been absolutely FLOORED by these elections, mostly because of one issue: Proposition 8. But really it goes deeper than Proposition 8. In reality, Prop 8 just brought to light things that were happening in the world that weren't really getting the recognition, and the battle, that they deserved. I've been floored to look around and see the state that our world is in. To see where it has come since I was young and worry about where it will be when Rand and I are raising our children. What will be acceptable? What will be taught as 'right'? How will we create a safe-haven in our home to combat the ways of the world (as they say, live in the world but not of the world).

And I've realized that standing up for what we believe and know to be right is important, no matter the consequences. And it's been sad to see people who proclaim to believe what I do, and see them not stand up for it...or even stand up against it. Now I know that we all have a right to choose what we do and to make our own decisions. And I definitely am thankful for the country I live in that allows this, as well as a loving Heavenly Father who made it (agency) part of His plan. But what I've seen these last few months, and the weeks following the elections, is scary to me. And it has nothing to do with protests and spray paint and those who are not of the LDS faith. I've been scared by how many people that I've seen not heed the counsel of our prophet and church leaders. We have no greater protection than that in our world today.

So in my posting this, it's not to criticize...it's really to, I guess, express a fear and saddening in my heart. And also to express a resolve in my own life to always follow what I believe. My belief goes further than just enjoying the moral life and family centered feeling of the church. I believe in more than the wonderful people who make up its membership, who greet me with a warm smile and pleasant conversation on Sundays. When I prayed to know if the church was true, I wanted to know if it ALL was true. When I received confirmation of that, I knew it ALL was true. And part of what I knew was that we have a living Prophet on the earth today, a modern day mouth piece for the Lord. Along with him we have modern-day apostles as well. I have no reason to doubt that, or to doubt who holds that position. Though I LOVED President Hinckley and the wonderful leader that he was...my testimony was not in him, it was in who he served and the sacred position which he held (and I definitely respected the choices he made in his life to prepare him and make him worthy of such a call). I know now that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet, seer and revelator. I know that by heeding his counsel I will be able to keep myself and my family safer than any other method the world may offer me. When I hear them speak, I don't have to question the issue they speak on, or the counsel they have given. Some people call this blind faith...but it can't be. You see, I've prayed to know if this gospel, which INCLUDES modern day revelation through prophets and apostles, is true. IT IS! So why would I have to question everything those prophets and apostles say? I don't have to, that's the answer! So when people comment that I need to have my own opinion or I need to do my homework, the reply is simple: I did do my homework and I do have my own opinion...and my opinion is to follow the prophet and apostles.

But I'm not perfect in that. This election made me realize that following them is SO important. Sometimes we think we are good because we've followed them on the BIG issues, the ones that get discussed more vocally or that we can see the effects of publicly. Then I think...I doubt Proposition 8 would have EVER been on a ballot 2o years ago, it just wasn't a 'big' issue then. Who today, who has stood on the side opposite the prophet and the apostles on this issue, found themselves on the SAME side as them 20 years ago on other issues? Did they ever see themselves on a different side? I doubt it.

So I ask myself...do I really follow ALL the counsel I'm given from these men of God? I know nobody is perfect, and I myself am definitely far from it. But honestly, what counsel have they given that I don't follow? What shows do I watch, what music do I listen to, what clothes do I wear, what things do I give priority to in my life that really don't have too much weight in where I eventually want to be? Are those things THAT important to me that I would push aside that counsel? When will the little 'weaknesses' in my life be brought to the forefront of a political debate, to be voted on? And where will I stand at that time? Perhaps I should start paying better attention to exactly where I'm standing and who I profess to be following. Proposition 8 was a huge debate that was a small victory for many people. But the deeper issue of following the our prophet and apostles, sadly, was a bigger loss for many.

I hope I'm following Christ, and therefore, I hope I'm following His servants. I know that their sole purpose in their callings is to bring people, myself and you, unto Christ and to truly know Him and to become more like Him and to return to Him one day. If that is my goal, and it is also their goal...wouldn't I want to follow their counsel?

It's a contant battle in the world we live in. I constantly need to remind myself of who's opinion matters the most to me...the world's, or my Saviors? I don't think my choices always reflect that. If they did, I'd worry less about my physical appearance and stop beating myself up about a few gained pounds. I'd never look twice at a fashion magazine or worry about what the latest celeb was up to. I'd stop spending so much time on keeping things clean and tidy and use some of that time to learn more by studying my scriptures and reading the words of current prophets and apostles. 'Keeping up with the Jones's' would be easier...'cause it would no longer matter.

I guess this was just an eye-opening experience for me. It made me take a deeper look at where I stand and who's side I'm on. It helped me to realize that I ALWAYS want to be on the Lord's side, along with His prophets and apostles. And it helped me take inventory of areas where maybe I'm a little off course, and if I don't correct it now, I could be alot of course in the future (great talk on this here). And I realize that this course correction will be something I'll always be doing, because I'm not perfect. How grateful I am for the atonement of Jesus Christ that makes those course corrections possible! I can overcome my sins and my weaknesses to stay on the right course and to become more like Him. And through the enabling power of the atonement, He also gives me strength to carry on in the things I am doing well already.

This quote was sent to me by my director at work. I love it. It is SO powerful. It was given by an apostle of the Lord. He spoke these words in 1978, 30 years ago. How prophetic and telling for our day, for a week ago, for today!

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions.

President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.' "This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . .

Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions. "Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened. . . .

Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel.

There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself.

Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

-- Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy, "A More Determined Discipleship," Ensign, Feb 1979, 69–73 (An address delivered at Brigham Young University, 10 October 1978).

The picture at the top is one of my favorites of Christ and is seen in many places. Did you know it actually comes from another picture? This is the picture of Christ and the Rich Young Ruler by Heinrich Hoffman. This story is so pertinent to all of us, and to what I have posted about. The rich man is, to himself, seeminly willing to give up anything to have eternal life and follow the Savior. He thinks he is doing all, or will do all, that he is asked. Then the Savior asks him to do one thing that he finds he is not willing to do. He wouldn't give it up.

As Elder Maxwell stated, the heat is on.

Where do we, where do you...where do I, stand?

it's November 4th!

GO VOTE!

I'll admit...I'm nervous for these elections, especially in California.
I wish I could still vote in Cali...and since I can't, I hope everyone who can IS!

Halloween 2008

Okay, to preface my costume choice: if there is anyone out there that I am told I look similar to the most, it would be Tina Fey. When I have my glasses on and my hair is straight, I would always be told that I looked like Tina Fey from Weekend Update on SNL. Well, once Sarah Palin was announced as the VP canidate for the Republican party, I heard from a few people right away that I looked like her some too. I didn't really see the resemblance as much. Then of course, the whole Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin on SNL started happening and I gave in. I'd been wanting to cut my bangs for a while, so I waited until the day before our Ward Halloween party (which was last Saturday, the 25th). Even though Rand looks nothing like McCain, we did our best and hoped it would make sense (we forgot to stuff a pillow in his shirt, that would have helped a little. Just think of him as McCain in his earlier years...thinner, but still graying.)

For the ward party, I went with the half-up hairdo and a pant suit. It wasn't spot-on, but did the job. When we walked in, everyone just started laughing...so we did a good enough job, I guess.

I got a picture with one of my favorite little boys in the ward, Carter. He's so adorable and Cindy (his mom) always does such a great job on his costumes (he was Winnie the Pooh last year).


Above is the Erb's. I had to get a pic because they did such a great job coordinating the costumes. They were, of course, Cinderella and Prince Charming. To match their little boy to the theme, he was a mouse. If you asked him who he was, he replied in the cutest little voice, "Gus Gus". haha...SO CUTE! (He refused to stand still for a picture though!)



There were tons of other great costumes, I just wasn't great on taking pictures that night.



The following week I had to hide the new bangs by pinning them to the side everyday. I didn't want to give away the costume idea since so many people at work joked I looked like Sarah Palin. In fact, two days before Halloween I met a new employee for the EFY office. After introducing ourselves she said, "Has anyone ever told you that you look kind of like Sarah Palin."

For the office, I decided to wear and skirt and do my hair all up. It is really hard to get your hair to be as high as hers!!! Lots of hairspray, mouse, etc...and I still couldn't do it justice! I also wished I had a red suit jacket...but I wasn't forking out the money for one day! I did however, find some campaign badges and look-a-like glasses.

It got a great reaction! Too much so! Soon I was being taken all over the building for people to see. I was even MADE (I tried to fight it) to go into a Women's Conference planning meeting (attended by one of BYU's VP's) and 'encourage' them all to vote on Tuesday.

Also at work, the above people all had dressed up from our department and they had us go deliver halloween candy to the Korean group that is here. I can't imagine the number of pictures of me there are now...SO many pictures being taken of us all. Even a few of the Korean guys were saying, "oh, it's Palin." haha!

Then my brother Brian, his wife Emily and their kids stopped by my office so I could see them. Brian and Emily were dressed as a convict and parole officer. Brian didn't help by wearing his Nor-Cal shirt under his jump-suit and his Kings wristband (Rand always tells me what thugs the Sac Kings are). They offered to let us borrow their costumes next year...but I'm more than 100% postive that I would NEVER fit into Em's costume.

Em decided to make use of the mickey ears they got for the kids this summer at Disneyland. She made the costumes herself (I wish I could sew like her!) They turned out adorable! They didn't realize that Ellie's sparkly red shoes didn't fit anymore, so they went with her tennis shoes last minute. And Trevor, when asked what Mickey says, would reply with a little laugh and then, "Oh Boy!" Again...TOO CUTE!

And this last pic is of my old supervisor Troy! I worked with him for 3 years and miss joking around with him everyday. My friend Amy and I stopped by to visit (he heard about my costume and wanted to see.) This is what we found! haha! I don't think he'll ever grow tired of his gross teeth! He may kill me that I posted this...but he has no choice!

A few days before Halloween we had an enrichment activity of decorating halloween cookies. It turned out great and was so chill. Because we didn't get the turn out we quite expected, we all decorated about 8 cookies each! Lauren, Heather and Jessica had a FIELD DAY with their cookies, it cracked me up so I had to get a picture of them all!

Thanks to everyone who came...it was a blast!

MTC and more of Kim's wedding

So one of my FAVORITE people in the whole world, who belongs to one of my FAVORITE families in the whole world, entered the MTC on Wednesday: my cousin Trent.
He is headed to Houston, Texas...Mandarin Chinese speaking.

Rand and I were able to meet up with him and his fam (minus Ash and Dev) for breakfast at Kneaders the morning he went in. I love seeing them! I'm excited to see all my family on our next trip home! ALL my cousins, aunts and uncles (both McFadyen and Triano side) live in the Sacramento area (minus my brother and his family, and my Aunt Sue and her hubby who lives out here, and soon my cousin Chad who will be out at BYU for school). So going home ends up being a lot of visits to all the fam, but I love it!

Rand, Trent and I.

The whole gang
(we chose such a great spot for the pic so that the sun would be right in our eyes!)


Ryan and Sarah both has braces as well, so we had to get a picture!
Don't mind that I am about 20 years older than them! haha!


I got some pictures from my friend Kensley from Kim's wedding (much better than the pics I took), so I thought I'd post a couple:

Kim and Dan



Here is Kensley and I. I hadn't seen her forever and was so excited I got to!

I kept catching her trying to be all 'photographer-ish' and snap candid shots...

so I thought I'd help her out!

Sports vs. Dance

Okay, time for a couple random, but related, funny stories.

#1. As many of you may know, my work is helping to run the dance camps at BYU. For any of you who know me well, you know that dance is not exactly high on my 'to-do' or 'learn' list. I enjoy watching it and can appreciate the talent and skill that the dancers put into it (though I still don't 'get' a few styles of dances, and I don't know that I ever will). But if I had my choice, I would ALWAYS choose participating in or watching a sport over dancing. I guess it's a great thing that I LOVE event planning or else I would question my current field of work.

Anyway...basically what I am saying is that my knowledge of actual dance is pretty limited (and I can accept this and my life continues on just fine). Well, a few weeks ago I was trying to collect some pictures of different styles of dance to start the work on our new brochures for the camps. I asked one of the directors for some pictures of tap dancers. I let her know that I had already requested some pictures from our campus photo department of a closing number from a performance that I had attended the year before. The email response I received said this (there was no opening address to me, such as 'Dear Chelsy', etc...just straight into the email), "That wasn't tap in Christmas Around the World...that was clogging...totally different." THE END.

I had to laugh. Watching from my seat WAY UP in the Marriott Center at that performance, the sound of metal from the bottom of shoes on a hard floor, to my 'uneducated dance' ears, sounded like tap. I stand corrected.

The first shoes are TAP, the second are CLOGGING. Yep...'totally different'.
So I don't offend all my tap and clogging friends, I will acknowledge the actual difference (after having asked another director). Clogging has a 'double toe', so it is not as 'clean' a sound as the tap shoes. I'm sure there's more too it, but that's all I got! But I do get the difference better now.

#2: I had a meeting with some of the ballet directors. As we discussed the possible designs for the ballet camp shirt for next summer one of the directors mentioned that a long time ago they had a saying on the shirts that she would love to put on again. It was something to the effect of, "Dancers are Better". They laughed and thought it was so funny. 'Sarcastic Chelsy' wanted to say something really bad, but all I said was, "well, I'm a sports person, so I can't really say I agree with that." Needless to say, the conversation of that phrase ended. haha.

#3. So I have been trying (very poorly) to get myself on a better schedule of getting to bed at a more decent time. Last night I was working on making a card while Rand was doing homework. I tend to like having something to watch while I do crafty projects, so I turned the TV on. As I flipped the channels looking for something good, I came across ESPN Baseball Tonight. It just happened that this night was the coveted Web Gem Awards night. Needless to say, my card making productivity went down, and Rand took a break from his homework. We watched beautiful play after beautiful play. If you are not a fan of watching baseball because there isn't enough action, then this may be the thing you want to see! It's sweet play action one right after the other, non-stop, for a good hour!

We also found that during this same program, on Fox Sports they were playing the Best Dang (edited for all) Sports Show...Period, Top 50 Catches Ever. It was heaven. Amazing plays and catches all over the place. It's moments like this that I love that Rand and I both love sports (and more specifically baseball. I've dated some guys that are 'bored' by baseball. It was never going to work, haha.) On my first date with Rand, we ended the evening watching Sports Center's Top Ten. This is still one of my favorite things to do with him, just chill, sit and

watch some amazing plays!

So what's the moral of this story? Well, as I sat and watched the plays last night I thought, "I may not know the difference between a tap shoe and a clogging shoe...but I know what it means to 'turn two' or 'hit for the cycle' or 'run the option', 'going for it on 4th and long', 'having a triple double', what a 'hat trick' is, etc, etc. I'm sure if I gave a quiz to some of these directors, they'd be just as clueless as I was about those shoes. In fact, in response to that email, 'prideful Chelsy' wanted to take some different cleats over and say, "which is a soccer cleat, football cleat and baseball cleat?" Or take different gloves and say, "which is catchers mitt, a middle infielders glove, a first basemens mitt, etc." But I'm sure her thought would be close to the same of what mine was when I got her email, "I really don't care to know the difference. If I was into dance, I might care. But I'm not into dance...so I'll leave that up to the dancers to know."

So in the end, I'm glad that we can all have our interests. I'm glad that I grew up in a home where my parents exposed us to different things. I love the theater, and I love even more watching my own family members up on the stage (I always have to watch Saturday's Warrior and Scrooge every year. Not the 'released on tape' versions...but the stage versions that my dad and brothers are in....MUCH BETTER! You'll never catch me on stage though.) I'm excited for the day when I have a piano in my home so I can sit down and play when I'm feeling like it (it totally cuts down on TV watching time too!), and I need to play the flute more. I love to see the things that my brother Shaun creates through his drawings, wood working, etc. His wife Lacey is just as artistically talented, and my sister-in-law Emily is the dancing daughter my dad never had in me! Kevin and I love to go outdoors and do stuff like rock climbing, mountain biking and kayaking. And my mom is the one who will sit down and watch any sporting event with her kids...and she TOTALLY knows what's going on! We have a well-rounded family and I love it and I wouldn't change it. It helps me to appreciate what other are into and realize that what I like is not 'the best' or the only thing that matters in life.

So I guess what I'm saying is, no matter what you do (dancing, sports, music, etc) just realize that that's not the only thing out there. How boring would the world be if we didn't have different things to do and be interested in. Expose yourself to other things and broaden your horizens a little bit. If you have to, bite your tongue, swallow your pride and try to learn a little about something else. You never know what you may just end up enjoying on the side! And if you don't like it (I still just don't enjoy watching some styles of dance, bores me to death!)...at least you can really know that you don't like it! haha! But understand that other people do like it and leave it be.

Oh...and a final note. All the above mentioned dance directors are incredibly nice people and good to work with. I think they immediately thought I was a dancer since I work with that area. I just thought the comments were funny!

The Latest...

Last Saturday, October 11th, one of my best friends got married!

Dan and Kim Ence

Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures.

But one of my friends was the photographer and she promised to send me some pics.

Here are a few pics I did get:

Kim's dress was really pretty...very classy, simple and elegant!

(I would expect nothing less from Kim.)

Here are the two little flower girls. I think they are Dan's niece's. The girl on the left had that look on her face through the entire thing, it was SO funny!
Especially when someone tried to take her picture.



It always takes a big event for any of the old gang to get back together!
We were able to see Brad and JD, as well as Jorey and his wife.
They refuse to take serious picture, too!

All I have to say to Linds and Kim: The CURSE is finally BROKEN!

Then this last Saturday we went on a fun double date with our friends, Brit and Kyle. It was a first date for them (Brit and I play sports together and Kyle works at the MTC with Rand). Since we are all a littel competetive, we decided to have a little team competition bowling
(following a scrumptious meal at Rumbi Grill).

I'll let the picture tell you who won!

We have now been challenged to other sports like tennis (which they are both great at and we...well, we've played), table tennis, basketball, etc.
I will concure that Brit is usually the better athlete than me (yep, I actually said it!)
This is why I prefer to play WITH her rather than against her!
Currently, our sights are set on the intramural championship t-shirt for flag football!

Hmmm...what other news?
Not much! Rand and I are doing our normal routine.
On Saturday I spent a number of hours cathing up on the cleaning around the apartment that's been neglected due to busy schedules. Thanks to my handy-dandy Sonic Scrubber, our bathroom and kitchen floors are SPOTLESS!

If you like cleaning (like I do), or just like things to be clean and want an easier way to do it...I highly recommend this little contraption.

OH...and the big news:
I am no longer doing the Executive MBA program (everyone let out a sigh of relief now!)
From the beginning something just wasn't sitting right with me about the program, but I thought it was more to do with the fact that I was insanely busy with work, school and my calling. I thought I just needed to let things calm down.

But, things were still feeling off about it even after things calmed down and were more organized. So, after some contemplating and praying about it, I decided to be done. The decision feels SO right, so I'm really not feeling bad or anything about it. It's a great program and I met some great people. I had a great group that I was working with. But this is the right decision for me right now! Instead, I'm going to try to take a few other classes in some areas that I'm really interested in and will be more geared towards things I plan to do in the future (I have the benefit of taking some classes for free while working for BYU).

And yes...the stress level in my life just went down considerable with that decision!

Conference Weekend

Rand and I had a pretty enjoyable weekend. If started Friday when we attended the opening night of our friend Travis Lovell's photo exhibit at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo. It will be there thru November 1st, so go see if you are around. Travis is an amazing lanscape photographer (and a pretty good photographer all around...he was our wedding photographer!) He had been working on a project for a while of photographs of Utah Lake.

Below are a couple of them:

If you would like to see more of Travis's Utah Lake photos, you can go to: http://www.travislovell.com/

You can also see more of his photos at his photo blog (he has some great and more recent stuff there): http://modernpostphoto.blogspot.com/

The picture below is one of a group of pictures that Travis took of Havasupi (in Arizona). Rand and I dream of camping there! We've had a few friends who have and it is always highly recommended. Looking at these pictures you can see why! These pictures are also on Travis's website (along with a lot of other great ones!)

We also attended a wedding reception for a freind of ours (one of Rand's co-workers) and then went to dinner at Iggy's with some other friends so that we could see the end of the BYU game. There were quite a few people there that I'm pretty sure were UofU fans and therefore didn't want BYU to win. They were pretty loud about it, so we made sure to make a little noise when BYU won (though they played horribly! Hopefully that is out of their system before the UofU game!)

Saturday we watched conference and got some things done around the apartment. It was SO nice not to go anywhere or do anything (besides my grocery store run). Rand headed up to Salt Lake to attend priesthood session with his dad while I cooked meals (see end of post) and chilled at home.

Rand was especially excited to see that his mission president, Elder Lawrence Corbridge, spoke in the Saturday afternoon session. It was a great talk (if you missed it, go listen to it!)

Sunday we woke up and had some crepes for breakfast and watch the morning session of conference. Between the morning and afternoon sessions we decided to take a drive thru Alpine Loop to see all the leaves changing (we missed it last year by a few days and most everything was yellow!) The path was packed with cars and with people getting out and taking pictures. We were some of them! We expected to see lots of changing leaves...but we saw some other beautiful sites as well thanks to some recent storms (snow on the mountain tops, the clouds hanging over, etc). It was awesome. Hopefully these pictues do it justice (we just snapped a few quick ones with our little powershot. Some people were sporting some serious cameras up there! Sigh...someday I'll have one too!)

(I love how the above picture turned out!)

(The sky in the picture below was amazing...more so in person!)

After the drive we decided to stop by my brothers to see them (since it's been over a month). We watched the afternoon session of conference with them. I love my niece and nephew, they are so stinkin' cute. They were playing these cute little games with Rand and it was so fun. During the playing though, Ellie ran to hide in the bathroom and fell and hit her head on the toilet. We didn't even know (she walked out quietly and showed her mom). She will have a nice shiner from it! She becomes more and more like me everyday!

Then we headed outside so Ellie could show us how well she swing a bat and rides a bike. She's crazy! She flies down the street on her bike now that she learned how to ride without training wheels. She also has a nice swing with the bat (makes nice contact too) and that girl has an arm! If she chooses to play softball, I'll be excited to go watch her play!

Ellie is such a little poser!

Then there is Trevor who is shy as can be and won't even look at me!
I can't believe how big they are getting! I gave that BYU sweatshirt to Ellie when it was still too big for her! Now Trevor is wearing it...Inconceivable!

When Rand and I returned home, he helped me to finish up one more meal so that we could completely PACK our freezer. Saturday I made three big meals (chili, chicken and rice casserole, and some crock pot stew), and today some burrito enchiladas. All of these freeze really well and I am able to put them in the freezer and not worry about lunches or some dinners (when we are so busy). We (mainly Rand) can just grab it out of the freezer and he is good to go! This weekend I successfully froze 30 single serve meals! And I have other meals ready to be made to take their spots as they are eaten (pasta, stir fry veggies with rice, etc). My sister-in-law Emily introduced me to the world of pre-made freezer ready meals and it has been a HUGE time saver (not to mention Rand loves these meals and how easily they are at his disposal.) I have girls in my ward who have pre-made meals like this before they deliver their baby. Then they don't have to worry about making meals for a few weeks following! VERY SMART...I WILL be doing this!

I'm shocked we were able to get it all to fit (it took some doing). Don't mind the bottom right corner. I have two bins in there that I keep our frozen veggies, ice 'sports ball' packs and other random things in.

And lastly, we ended the evening watching some of the Planet Earth videos. Some friends from our ward had them and let us borrow them (Rand has been dying to watch them). We figure they are Sunday worthy since we are learning about God's creations (that works, right?)

These videos are AMAZING! If you ever get the chance to see them, DO IT! *You will be in absolute awe of the things they capture on film. BREATH TAKING for sure! I think we will have to invest the money in buying them one day...they are definitely worth watching over and over again throughout the years. (There's my 'plug'...you are welcome Discovery Channel!)

Over-all it was a great weekend and I'm sad I have to go back to work and homework tomorrow. I love conference weekend and hearing all the speakers and the words of encouragement and hope that they give.

Hope you all had a wonderful Conference Weekend as well!