I have to use my car to get flowers

Today I went to get my oil changed.  When I got out to my car, I found this on my dash...

along with some mints.

Who does that?

They sure know how to get a girl to come back!

Why I'm not married...

In the past few months, I have had that most-dreaded question that all singles are faced with throughout their lives.  "Why aren't you married?"  It comes in many varieties, and is usually followed by something along the lines of, "You're so cute! You're such a fun girl!  Those boys are stupid!" etc.

I thought I'd take a few moments to list my Top 10 answers to that question for you in writing.  Because when people ask me to my face, I just put on my biggest/sweetest/fakest smile and say something like, "I just don't know."

The following list is not in any particular order of importance

1. I'm kind of weird. But I don't really want a weird guy.  I just want a guy who will make me laugh, and a guy who will laugh at my oddities but won't embarrass me in public.  That's hard to find.
2. My sisters have all married amazing guys! And my brothers are pretty incredible themselves.  That's a lot of pressure on me!
3. Lots of people take pity on me and try to set me up with anyone male that moves (as opposed to anything male that...doesn't move? Name that movie)  I really appreciate your concern, but a lot of the blind dates I've been on are with shy guys.  When I first meet people, I'm kind of quiet.  Do you think it's a good idea to set up two people who don't talk much?  It just leads to an extremely awkward night!
4. I can stay as late as I want at work and get everything done. I don't feel stressed that I have to come home and feed some guy.
5. Once I do get home, I can do whatever I want. Watch two hours of Gilmore Girls re-runs? You bet!
6. My roommates are too much fun.  Why abandon them?
7. The ratio of girls to guys around here is something like 5:1 (no official study was done to achieve this ratio...just visual observations).  Odds are not in my favor. Which leads to...
8. There are way too many other cuter/skinnier girls around.  Which leads to...
9. I'm not very competitive. If a guy I'm interested in starts showing interest or dating someone else, I don't really fight. I just get over it quickly.  Especially when it's a roommate or good friend who the guy is pursuing.  Part of that reason is because...
10. I'm not super flirty. Excessively flirty girls drive me crazy, and I think they look like idiots and seem fake. I do not want to be one of those girl.

So there you have it.  Does that answer your question? There are probably more, but this is what just came to mind.

So now I have a favor to ask of you...will you please be considerate of your local, friendly singles?  Most of us want to get married and are working on it.  We still have goals and successful lives.  Please don't tell us that we aren't trying hard enough. It hurts our feelings.

Why I love summer break...

It's 11:30pm, and I'm in my pajamas.  

You might be thinking that this is normal, 

but the truth is...

I've been in them all day.

I never got out of them.

I also never put on any make-up today.

I love summer break!

Trying New Things

Slacklining

 Only mine was between two trees 

And only about 2 feet off the ground

And I was holding onto two people's hands

(But we can pretend that it was a death-defying act thousands of feet off the ground)

New CTE Teacher of the Year

So I won a teaching award and was presented with it at the Family and Consumer Sciences Summer Conference this week at BYU.  

My mom told me to have someone take pictures of me receiving it.  

I actually did have my camera in my bag, but I was way too embarrassed to have someone take pictures.  

In fact, I'm really embarrassed to even be posting about an award I won, so here's my compromise...a picture of the plaque they gave me.  

Does that work?

Someone asked if I get a school grant or anything for winning.  Nope!  Just a name on a plaque and a few high fives. :)

This is for you, Mom.  I worked hard to receive this so you would have something to write about me in the Christmas letter next year!

Strawberry Days

(I know...it's shocking that I'm posting with pictures)

This week in Pleasant Grove is Strawberry Days!  I've come to the rodeo here in past years, but now that I'm a Pleasant Grove resident, I just had to go all-out!  So to do this, I went to the rodeo...TWICE!

Thursday night with my old roommate, Kristen.

We also sat with a group of people in my ward.

And tonight (Friday) I went with my Chicago-city-girl-turned-country roommate Joleen.

 

This was Joleen's first Rodeo.  I'm pretty sure her life will never be the same.  She loved it!

My friend Rachel (she teaches at Timberline with me) and her little girl also sat with us.  I spaced getting a picture with them! And there was another ward group that sat in front of us.

And there's nothing like a little Cash Cow competition to start off the night!

Babysitting: Day 5

Cherilyn and David made it back from their trek this afternoon.  All kids are alive, unhurt, and accounted for.  Success!  When Cherilyn got home, the first thing she asked was, "So, how many kids do you want to have?"  I said, "6!" :)  If they were all as good as these kids, I would probably consider it!

The kids are so excited to have their parents back (even though Amie was more interested in her Otter Pop when they got home.)

Right before I started this post, I asked little Amie what my name was.  She said, "MOM!" :)  Oh boy, it's a good thing Cherilyn got back when she did!

Babysitting: Day 4

• Ryan had baseball practice, so I took the kids for a few minutes.  Amie had so much fun playing in the dirt (right after applying sunscreen).  So we got to take another bath last night.  My feet were filthy, so I put my feet in the tub with her and she washed them for me. It was so cute!  Within a few minutes, Steve and Emily were also soaking their feet.  It was quite the party!
• I didn't know what to do...Amie was taking a nap and the rest of the kids were all gone!  So I started to watch Avatar!
• After the kids went to bed, I finished watching Avatar.  This was the first time watching it.  I never understood why everyone said it was so "political".  I'm pretty sure I understand now!  We are all horrible people for ruining our earth.  Is that what they're going for? :)

Babysitting: Day 3

• Amie pooped in the bathtub.  Emily and Steve were in there at the time.  I would have gotten upset, but Emily and Steve's reactions were so hilarious that I found it quite comical.  It didn't help that Amie was giggling as well!
• Mitch was supposed to leave today for a merit badge clinic, but it got moved to tomorrow morning.
• Since Mitch didn't leave today, he got to play in his baseball game.  Ryan is also on the team.  They may have lost, but it was still fun to see them play!  Mitch was supposed to hit a homerun and dedicate it to me, but it didn't happen. :)  He did score, though.  And Ryan took a double-hit to the leg on one pitch.
• The funniest part of the day came during the boys' pre-game practice.  The sprinklers turned on right in the middle of it, and they all went crazy!  Their bags and equipment were right in the middle of the drenching, so they all went crazy to get them.  It reminded me of the days when we would bring couches and a tv up the canyon and watch movies.  You would think that we would remember that South Fork's sprinklers turn on at 11 every night!

Babysitting: Day 2

• At breakfast, Emily said I'm a better cook than her mom.  I don't even believe it. But I'll take it as a compliment.

• Which leads to...Cherilyn, your homemade salsa has changed my life.  It's amazing!  I need the recipe!

• Emily put make-up on Amie. It started out just on the face. Then the forehead. Then the arms. Then the legs. She was beautiful! Pictures to come.

• Three accidents in two hours from Amie landed her in a diaper for a few hours.

• Mitch left for a service project at 7:30 am.  We didn't know how long he'd be gone.  I assumed maybe 3 hours.  He got home at 4:30! 9 hours!  I was starting to worry, especially since I didn't even know who was in charge.  Luckily one of Cherilyn's friends called about something else and told me it would be going longer than planned.

• Emily just reminded me that Steve almost burned down the house. How could I forget? He was reheating a breadstick and put it in for WAY too long!  I smelled burning and ran to the microwave.  When I opened the door, there was a ton of smoke!  I should just wait to post these until later when I have the pictures.
  

Babysitting the Halls family: Day 1

Greetings from Pinetop, Arizona!  I'm here this week to watch my sister Cherilyn's kids while she and David are on a trek with their ward.  I thought it would be fun to document my days here, partly so I can remember what a great experience it will be, but mostly for Cherilyn to know the REAL story of what happened while she decided to leave her five children with me. :)

Here are some points of the day:

Steve (5) had a t-ball game.  Cherilyn is one of the coaches, so since she was gone, the other guy was in charge.  He was intense.  He made the kids take a knee and watch the entire game.  If they lost focus (imagine 5 year olds...they were pulling grass, spinning in circles, playing with siblings, etc.), he would put them in their place.  It was kind of funny.  

Steve was invited to go to a sleep over at his aunt's house (his 2nd favorite aunt, I am sure).

We got Little Caesars on the way home!  Yup, they love me!

Mitch (12) talked me into letting him have a "late night" with some of the boys in the neighborhood.  He said he would bribe me with gummy worms, but I told him he had to do all of the dishes in the morning.  There are a lot of dishes in the sink, so he hesitated.  But in the end, he agreed!  They are off making cheesy videos.  Oh to be 12 again...no thank you! :)

Amie (2.5)...oh Amie, what a cutie!  I put her in bed an hour and a half ago, and she's still awake. She's just chillin...no complaining, not even talking or playing.  She's just hanging out on her bed. We read a few books first.  She's so cute as she talks.  I love it when she asks a question and says, "Okay, Sannon?"  Then she giggles.

Anyway, nothing extraordinary.  These kids are so fun!  If I have kids half this cute and fun, I'd be happy!