Vegas Baby!

So for those of you who are wondering if I am still alive...I am! I have been really busy lately and haven't had time to do any posts. But the blogging drought is over and I am back!

Last weekend I took a trip to Las Vegas with a bunch of friends. We had a great time. The weather was beautiful and we were able to do tons of fun stuff! Of course we ate lots of good food, we saw a Cirque du Soleil show called Ka, we met Donny and Marie Osmond, we did some shopping, and of course saw some interesting and unexplainable things.

I think that Las Vegas has to be the best place on earth for people watching. You could literally have a seat for an hour or so and see more interesting people in that one hour than you could in an entire year in any other city. I saw Elvis and Michael Jackson...apparently they are both alive and living in Vegas. There was some big boxing match at MGM so we saw tons of celebrities including some NBA stars and a couple of rap musicians. I saw a girl who looked like she had forgotten to put on her pants...but it turned out that it was actually a dress she was wearing and it had ridden up in the back! Yikes!

All in all, we had a great time and were happy to come home...apparently a weekend in Vegas is enough for me!

Fun Lady....what?

So, now that I am another year older and another year wiser, I have decided that it might be time to start lying about my age.

I was speaking with a girl from work today. She just graduated from college and is the ripe old age of 24. She is trying to decide if she wants to go to grad school because she still hasn't decided what she wants to be "when she grows up". I told her not to worry about it because I am still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up too. She started laughing and told me that I am such a "fun lady".

Without her knowing it, she just called me the most offensive name I can think of. I am not a "lady"...I am still a "girl", aren't I??? Well, maybe not a "girl", but a "young woman" or a "young adult" at the least, right??? It is the same feeling I get when I go to a restaurant or a store and the clerk or waitress calls me "ma'am". I am not a "ma'am"! I am a "miss"! When did I get old??? I am not sure, but it is really kind of depressing.

Aaahhh...my birthday

So...today is my birthday. Every year it gets harder and harder to celebrate the fact that I am actually getting older. To make it a little more interesting, I decided to see what significant events have happened on August 25th in history...strangely enough, they are all connected to me in some way or another...go figure!

1768 Captain James Cook began his first voyage (He is the one who "discovered" Hawaii)

1916 The US National Park Service is created (I love hiking!)

1944 Paris is liberated by the Allies in World War II (I speak French...well...kinda)

1814 Washington DC is burned and the White House is destroyed by the British in the Battle of

1812 (I am going to DC for the first time in October)

1927 Althea Gibson is born. She was the first African American woman to play on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. (I heart tennis so much!)

1930 Sean Connery is born. (I know that I am destined to marry James Bond)

1949 Gene Simmons of Kiss is born. (I got all of my make up tips from him)

1961 Billy Ray Cyrus is born. (Wow! I have an achy breaky heart too!)

1968 Rachel Ray is born. (Thank goodness! Now I can cook a meal in 30 minutes of less)

1970 Claudia Schiffer is born. (I also do a little modeling on the side...such a small world!)

So, as you can see, August 25th is a very important day in history...and now you know something that I'll bet you didn't know yesterday! Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! I am excited for the coming year and all of the experiences and adventures that await me!

The Best Worst Movie

Last weekend, a friend of mine Jason Steadman, invited us to the Salt Lake Film Festival to see a documentary called the Best Worst Movie. This documentary is about another movie that he was in that was filmed in Morgan, Utah back in 1990, the move is called Troll 2.

Troll 2 has got to be one of the strangest movies I have ever seen. Not only does it have absolutely NOTHING to do with Troll 1, but there aren't even any trolls in the movie at all. There are goblins however. The premise of the movie is that a family goes on a vacation to a town called Nilbog (goblin spelled backwards) where basically the entire population of the town are human-eating goblins.

The movie was intended to be a horror film, but it is in fact so ridiculous that it has unfortunately (or fortunately) become more of a comedy. It is so bad, in fact, that for a time, the film was rated the "worst film of all time" on the popular movie site IMBD.com. Needless to say that when it was first released all of the actors were a little emberrassed about it, however, over the past 20 years it has gained an astonishing cult following and is now quite popular. So popular in fact, that Jason travels the world and attends different movie premiers signing autographs to sold out crowds. They also go to movie trade shows where they sell Troll 2 T-shirts and other memorabilia.

The documentary, called "The Best Worst Movie", is being shown throughout the country at different film festivals and is quite honestly one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. If you ever get the chance to see "The Best Worst Movie" I would HIGHLY recommend it. And if you really want to live on the wild side or ever need a good laugh, go to your local video store and see if you can rent Troll 2. It just might change your life...or at the very least...you would know what to do if you were ever attacked by trolls...I mean goblins.

Summertime!

I feel like summertime has finally arrived!

Summer started off so wet this year, my softball games and rounds of golf kept getting rained out, so I was really beginning to feel the summer time blues. However, the sun has been shining the past couple of weeks and I have been taking full advantage of it.

This year has been the summer of hikes and enjoying the outdoors. Last Monday I went with some friends and climbed up to Ensign Peak in honor of Pioneer Day. It was my first time going and we planned to be there in time for the sunset. Needless to say that the breathtaking vistas overlooking Salt Lake City and the Great Salt Lake did not disappoint.

I feel so lucky to have such beautiful mountins literally 15 minutes from my house. I bought a hiking book and am trying to systematically go through it and see all of the wonderful things that are practically in my back yard. On Saturday, we decided to go to Hidden Falls which is just a few miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We kind of prepared for a day of rugged hiking., but were pleasantly surprised to find Hidden Falls about 3 minutes from the parking area. For some reason we thought it was really funny and couldn't stop laughing about it. It was a good thing we packed our water bottles! We stayed there for a bit, and took some fun pictures, then we

got out our trusty hiking book and picked another hike.

And then finally, today I was able to go ATVing with the Hunts at Three Peaks just outside of Cedar City. We had a great time climbing on the rocks and riding the motorcycle and four wheelers. It has been such a fun summer so far and I can't wait to see what other adventures I have this year!

No Ka Oi

Today I had the priviledge of getting together with some Sisters from my mission. It was so much fun to laugh and reminisce about the time we spent together in Hawai'i. We talked about funny memories and spiritual memories. We talked about what we learned while we were there and what we have learned and experienced since we have been home. We talked about people who have joined the church and people who have left the church. We talked about babies that have been born and loved ones who have passed on.

What an incredible experience I was able to have on my mission. Not only did I get to go to one of the most beautiful places on earth, but I also got to meet and associate with some of the most beautiful people on earth. The women in this picture changed my life for the better and I am so glad that I get to call them friends for the rest of it.

There is a phrase in Hawaiian that means "the best", it is "No Ka Oi", in fact that was our mission theme, and I can truly say that these Sisters are No Ka Oi!

Independence Day

I love the 4th of July.


I admit that part of it is because it is summer and I believe that pretty much every celebration is better when it is warm and sunny than cold and wet. It was especially great this year since it was on a weekend.


This year I was able to spend the weekend with my family and good friends. It started Friday night with going with my brothers and their wives and nephews going to the Real Salt Lake soccer game and fireworks. Saturday I spent the day with my sister and her family playing an intense round of ping pong. Then Saturday night I went to the Oakley Rodeo with some friends, and finally on Sunday I enjoyed a barbeque with good friends in the beautiful mountains. Basically I was able to be a true American with fireworks, ping pong, cowboys and BBQ. It just doesn't get any better than that!

On a deeper note, I am so grateful for Independence Day and what it represents. Not only for the freedoms that I enjoy being an American, but also what it symbolizes in my life. Freedom to be the person that I want to be, to practice the religion of my choosing, to have a career that I enjoy and to change my mind whenever I want.