NAVUOO PAGEANT HERE WE COME!!!

We will be in the Nauvoo pageant this week as the fourth influx of cast members, otherwise known as the GOLD CAST. We stay only a week +, and we perform only the last number, and we help with the pioneer pastimes. We leave Bright and early tommorow morning. My parents and my sister Sarah will also be in it with us.

We will be fitted for costumes as soon as we get there - and I mean fitted. We each submitted our 32 different measurements - neck wrist, knee to heel, hip to heel, across the chest in back and in from, armpit - ETC ETC. It will be a fun family vacation/ adventure!!

We will post again in about 2 weeks!!!!!! Until Then....

HARRY POTTER EXCURSION

So this was not a completely elaborate excursion like Cami Turpins – see blog role - we had a fabulous time.

We went to Galina, Illinois – right on the Mississippi River. We arrived at this very cute townhouse (the bathroom, complete with whirlpool, was about 6 times as big as the bathroom at our house – I LOVED it) and cute kitchen, one of those pull out of the wall beds, and a bedroom, a patio. It overlooked the rolling bluffs that border the Mississippi. It was so cute.

The girls had to pull me up to speed since I didn’t quite finish the 6^th in time, and since I had only read the 6^th one time previously at the speed of light, my retention was, sadly, lacking. So we all started reading at a maniacal pace at 7 pm. It usually takes me a chapter to adapt my way of thinking. I found pages 300 to 500 were sapping my energy and mental stamina with the desperate atmosphere so I had to take lots of breaks. It wasn’t until a certain Patronus chapter (won’t say which for those who haven’t read it) that it really started picking up for me. Once I hit 500 – I read at a steady feverish pace with no breaks. WE stopped every once in awhile to chat about what was going on – but mostly read and read.

At one point past 600 A killing curse (I won’t say to or from whom) was shouted out and I really thought I was going to have a heart attack until I realized that it missed the intended person. PHEW!!

The other girls sniffled quite a bit at 650 and I came close (but as many of you know, I simply can’t cry –its weird) however, I did tear up, and when we talked about it later I almost lost it.

It was definitely an emotional roller coaster. Sunday night after reading the first 300 pages, I drempt I was trying to duel several people and I could not remember the petrifying spell, so while everyone was stunning me, I kept thinking to myself, “ I KNOW it begins with a P!” It was horrible – too much harry potter on the brain!

At the end I felt like I had just eaten a 7 course meal with a variety of flavors and surprises and textures and layers. Some things were bitter to swallow, some soured me a little, and some were surprisingly sweet. I had to give myself some time to digest it all. At the end I felt “JUST RIGHT” and satisfied.

I will leave with just one thought for those who have read it, “OCCUPATIONS???”

911 calls

So in the wee hours of July 5^th, little Tyler had a very rough incident – at midnight he woke up with shallow breathing with abdominal pulling. This is the 2^nd time in his 21 months of existence that this has happened. I thought – well, we can’t do anything tonite – I will have to bring him in early in the morning. We propped him up in the car seat to sleep so his head could be elevated.

Well, at 4 A.M. I heard some strange crying from him. I went in to check on Tyler and I hear him saying, “Hek, Hek.” Which means, “HELP.” He was looking at me and pulling on him car seat straps. But I knew by the way he was doing it, he was trying to figure out a way to breathe. It was very shallow at this point, he was burning up, and he had no strength to put pressure on his limbs or hold onto me. I told Brian and we decided to take him into Urgent Care. I hoped we could be in and out – and expected to probably give him breathing treatments for the next week.

Well, after Brian took Tyler to the back rooms, they suddenly came back and asked me to be in there too. The Doctor proceeded to say, “I don’t want to freak you guys out, but his not getting better, and its so difficult for him to breathe (WHILE HE WAS BREATHING WITH A NEBULIZER) that we don’t want him just to give out and stop breathing. That’s what we worry about for someone so small. His oxygenation was actually getting dangerously low.

The doctor ordered an immediate IV to get air to him that way. They pricked him with a needle to get the IV in – TYLER DID NOT REACT TO THE NEEDLE!

Tyler was so lethargic and unresponsive that PAIN did not register in his little body. As the nurse announced that she had never seen a child NOT react to the injection and there was something very wrong with this - horrible chills went through my body. The doctors were freaking out – and the head doctor said, “MAKE THE CALL!.” They called 911 and in 2 minutes we were in the ambulance. I held him on the stretcher as they rushed us to the closest hospital.

Before we took Tyler in I had been wondering if I was jumping the gun by taking him into Urgent care. But instead of confirming that I was right in taking him to Urgent Care, they said, “Next time, don’t even bother with Urgent Care – THIS is a 911 call.”

For 3 hours they pumped Tyler full of intravenous steroids to open up his tight, constricted lungs. They rushed a pediatric team from Christ Medical because they weren’t equipped to treat young children there at that hospital.

So for the 2^nd time that morning, I found myself in another Ambulance, with Tyler in the back with the paramedics. At the Hope of Christ Pediatric Unit, they placed Tyler in his literal CELL – a crib of steel bars and a plastic tent covering the upper openings. He started breathing on his own again, and he was advanced to breathing treatments every 3 hours, along with IVs now and then, and other meds. We prepared to be there awhile.

They did tests for pneumonia, whopping cough, influenza – all negative. My personal guy feeling on the whole situation was that He had a little cold – runny nose for a couple of days, and then we went blueberry picking right after rain – a VERY muggy, humid, day. With sends red flags for one thing – MOLD! I think that combined with pollen there was just an overload on his little body and immune system (since we knew because of his eczema he would be prone to allergies).

He ended up being diagnosed as BASICALLY Asthma without deeming it to be Asthma. Its called Reactive Airway Disease. And he COULD grow out of it, which would be ideal. But they also said he was have to be medicated with breathing treatments of steroids indefinitely, as well as allergy meds everyday. Well, that’s fine for now – but how about lets try and figure out what the triggers are! I asked every nurse and doctor about allergy testing – all were evasive and – “ get in touch with your regular doctor.” I can medicate him everyday – but if I never find out what caused the issue, what good am I doing for him. I could be exposing him everyday. So I am definitely going to have to take the initiative and get some testing done. At this point I don’t think enough research has been done to know how these meds can effect a child developmentally or behaviorally. And, if it does, it could be in minute ways that add up.

At the hospital, Tyler was extremely obedient and compliant with the nurses and doctors. When they told him it was time for a breathing treatment, instead if the normal fighting they would get, Tyler would put his head forward so they could put the mask on. When they had to give him an extremely foul tasting med they said all the kids hated and coughed and spit out, Tyler sucked it down with a slightly puckered look on his face. The nurse said it was the best she has ever seen anyone take it. During the breathing treatments, one of the black nurses said, “He take it like a MAN, don’t he?” We were proud of him that he was handling things well.

So we left the hospital after 2 days – to our relief, purchased a nebulizer, and started him on his indefinite breathing treatments. Glad that our little scary and expensive adventure is over.

JULY 4th

For July 4^th, we had fun picking blueberries and picnic ing and going to the outlet stores. Brian and I picked a paltry 18 lbs combined. (Sarah and my Mom EACH picked 18 lbs!) We then had a BBQ at Brian’s parents house. Delicious! We also lit off some very lame smoke bombs. We can’t even find those snakes that we used to do as kids. But hey- those smoke bombs WERE pretty darn cool!

(Right, and I can't forget about the sparklers - the kids thought they were both intriguing and intimidating!)

Here is the crew if you can see them - Tami, Kevin, Abby, Mom and Sarah.
It was great!

Little did we know what would happen that night….

Before and After: THE PATIO

Before and After of the Patio

Well, I have put many many manhours into this baby and here she is – our patio. To fully appreciate this transformation – please note that it used to be an old dog run with Astroturf and woodchips on one side and an unsightly compost pit (rotting vegetation) on the other side. And look NOW – AHHHH – much better!

Seeing my Roommate after 9 YEARS!!!

Mary Meyers Marble was my room roommate during my junior year at BYU in 97-98. I was the roommate who observed the budding romance transpire between her and her husband Ben, who us roommates approved of. She was married before the year was over (in March)– and she was a GREAT roommate.

Mary has been in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and I always saw her at General Conference. The Motab FINALLY came to Chicago after like 12 years or something and we got really lucky and got the $95 seats after purchasing the don’t-even-think-about-watching-you-can-only-listen lawn seats for $10. So we ended up sitting just 10 rows back. I recognized and knew quite a few people that I had worked with or been friends with at BYU...but I wasn't sure if I saw Mary. After the concert was over I ran over and I asked the first violinist if she could find Mary for me. Finally I found her and we had a very LOVELY chat! MARY, IT WAS SO FUN TO SEE YOU! She said right after she gets back from tour, they are moving that day to Colorado so Ben can start his Practice. So this was Mary’s last time singing with the choir. MO TAB just won’t be the same without you! I am putting a disclaimer on my picture because 5 hours of humidity and a bumpy school bus ride does absolutely NOTHING for your hair OR apprearance, I found out. But here are some nice 1997 BYU roommate pics and a current 2007 pic of Mary and I. Also, here is Brian and I hanging out afterwards. FUN!

BLOG LAZINESS

I have an acute case of Blog Laziness

My Symptoms: the inability to download copious amounts of pictures from different outings and vacations, the lack of motivation to think of interesting things to post, the overwhelming desire to only be at the computer for 3 minutes and then do something outside, the irresponsible lack of visitations to other blogs, and the lack of commitment to blog consistently.

Px: I am prescribing a bi weekly downloading of digital pictures so there is no excuse not to post pictures on the blog, a handful of time, a kick in the bum daily to reaquaint myself with my friends blogs, a commitment to not continue in my rut of looking up the same three websites I am stuck on right now, and two tablets of motivation to capture those precious moments that come once only.

Recooperation: Expect some minor relapses during times of nice weather, but illness should generally phase out with this blog post that took a lot of mental energy and some inner resistance…since I am on vacation.

Message to Friends and Family: this blog will be fully functional now. Check back frequently for updates and LEAVE COMMENTS! In our carefully documented and well thought out analysis, there seems to be a direct connection between comments received and blog postings. Please express you comments by clicking on "Comments" and typing in your musings while viewing.

How do we survive the winter???

I have to say, I have loved not having ANY TV shows on that I sometimes feel obligated to watch. I am not watching ANYTHING after May Sweeps for the rest of the Summer. And what a treat. I wish I would do this all year round (although I have to say, The Office, Heroes, Lost, among others, does help take away the Winter Blues.)

So what are the plans for the Summer?

This week we are going STRAWBERRY picking in MICHIGAN CITY (.75 cents a lb), and to the Beach There. It is one of my FAVORITE places to go. During the 4^th of July Weekend, my parents will drive up and we will go to the beach with them (off Lake Michigan) and then go BLUEBERRY picking ($1.10 a pound). Brian and I started an annual Anniversary Tradition in July to go to Michigan City and AGAIN pick blueberries, kiss in the blueberry fields now and then in between picking, go to the TONS of outlet stores nearby (including Harry and Davids) , the Beach, and then Red Lobster. Then we top it off with a fun movie. I am REALLY looking forward to it.

Brian and I love to go Frisbee Golfing. There is a GREAT course around here with special Frisbee Golf Disks. The kids love it because they can just hang out in the stroller. For all 18 holes (VERY spaced) it takes us about 2 hours – with a TON of walking. Believe it or not there are “putting” Frisbee, as well as “Medium Range” and “Far Range” Frisbees. There are special bags to hold all of your Frisbees. They guys that a REALLY good that we see are amazing – they can do a 240 ft hole it one – with their Frisbee!

Brian and I going to be in the Nauvoo Pageant this year. This is the Pageant’s third year in exisitence with the cancellation essentially of the City of Joseph Pageant, which I REALLY REALLY REALLY miss! This new one is definitely more organized. They have BYU services do all the food, even though BYU Nauvoo is no longer around down there. Its live singing too, which is exciting. They also provide you with the costumes after you send them an extensive measurement list for each member going. Measuring Tyler – all 32 places, was a challenge!! In the City of Joseph we had to make our own costumes – so it is a relief not to have to worry about that.

We have lots of family coming in – Brian’s Sister Beth – and their family, Brian’s Brother Mike and their family – all in July.

As per Cami Turpin’s blog – our book club is doing a “Harry Potter” excursion immediately when the book comes out. We leave actually that Sunday and stay until Wednesday at a Time Share in Galine. Thanks Cami for the excellent idea. We are excited!

We also plan to do lots of barbeque’s with a new grill we got, and the patio we are trying to put in….one stone at a time….SIGH! (by the way that black drainage pipe will NOT be permanent addition to the patio!)

The kids will be in Swim Lessons and Brooke will also go to “Camp Fantastic.”

I LOVE LOVE LOVE THE SUMMER!!!!!!!!

MISCHIEF

So, aside from having me call her Clifford for the most part of Every Day, and walking and panting and barking like a dog continuously, Brooke has decided to get into markers bigtime.

So when I see her proudly showing off her green arms and rubbing marker on a new dress, and getting marker in the carpet, do I momentarily applaud her and then send her to wash her hands?

Do I take a picture and make her think its all totally acceptable and then TRY to convey that its not something we generally do?

Do I just laugh and let her run around all day and leave beautiful green handprints wherever she roams?

Do I just send her to the bathroom immediately without any comment but that she is in trouble and needs to immediately wash her hands followed by a time out?

AHHHHHHH..... the wonderful decisions of Motherhood. Could my reaction elicit very colorful wood furniture and walls in the future, depending on my reaction?

Well, in the end I just decided to chalk it up to a Kodak Moment and then promptly sent her to the bathroom to wash everything off. Her dress has been soaking 7 hours and counting – but hey, it’s the small moments that count, right?

I am SURE I would have LOVED to color my entire arm and have my mom RAVE over it when I was 4 – so there you go! That’s what is all about - those small moments!

The 17 YEAR INVASION!!!!!!

The 17 YEAR INVASION!!!!!!

Every 17 years – the Cicadas come out in massive numbers after living in the ground for 16 years – this year happens to be the BIG 17!!!!! We have cicadas everywhere – to the delight of both Tyler AND Brooke. The climb out of the ground and onto trees so they can shed their old skin. After that their wings emerge and they drop to the ground and wait for their wings to dry so they can then fly around, make lots of noise, and hope to attract a mate. A Good Strategy in my experience. So – here they are now in the "Tree" Stage

(In all the pictures when you see bits of brown below, around and on the tree – those are the cicadas - you will see thousands of them. Just click on Picture to enlarge and see the 17 year Invasion in all its glory!)

If I were to place my foot in the grass right by the tree, I would literally step on about 50. When we are standing by this tree we get pegged with quite a few cicadas every minute falling with their new wet wings out of the tree when the wind blows slightly. ..and many times without and wind at all.. The trees are literally left with thousands of exoskeletons shed all over the tree. Its gross and fun!!!

Brooke has named them all “Charlie.” Each day, she and Tyler will fill up jars and bottles and large toy trucks FULL of these Cicadas.

I am told if you microwave them for 2 minutes in the microwave, they taste like almonds. I mentioned that to the head of the Recipe club in our ward as a theme suggestion for June. (Please note the facetious tone in my writing)

Earlier today I came outside to prune the flowers while Brian was mowing the lawn and I had just popped some corn chips in my mouth. Brian went to kiss me on the lips – and after a brief kiss – he immediately backed away and said, “That’s GROSS!” I was baffled, “What?” I said, “I thought you were eating a Cicada!” “What?!?!” I said. “Yeah, I went to kiss you after you have been doing something around the ground, and I just hear this crunching and see your mouth full, and I thought your curiousity got the better of you – and that you had a mouth full of cicadas” I assured him for the next full minute that I was NOT eating Cicadas.

The last time I enjoyed this I was 12 - next time I will be 46 - now THAT is scary!!!

100 things

I got this idea from Terica's website - I thought it was a cute idea. I defintiely learned a lot by doing this on myself!

1. I lived in Nauvoo, IL for 5 years – I used to go to the restored houses as a kid every day in the summertime – mostly then for the air conditioning and free gingerbread cookies.

2. I have lived in 6 different places in the past 6 years – 8 in 7 years if I include the last part of my mission.

3. I served a mission in Antofagasta, Chile. The driest place on earth – Calama, Chile was in my mission. In the morning it is 0^◦ F, and by noon it is 110^◦ F – and then by evening – back down to 0^◦ F. There has never been recorded rainfall there. No missionary liked going to that city much.

4. I love 60 – 72% dark chocolate with a passion – much darker and its overwhelming, less dark and its to watered down.

5. I get super silly giggle attacks – still.

6. I love organization.

7. I love a good closet with lots of hooks, boxes, shelves, and compartments – AHHH!

8. I LOVE health food and anything and everything that is healthy.

9. The only temple I didn’t want to get married in was the Chicago Temple – but when I did I was ok with it.

10. I can play my nose like an instrument.

11. I went to Oprah 4 times in 3 months – it began to feel like a part time job – and it became exahausting. But it was AWESOME!! I got to shake Magic Johnson AND Oprah’s hand.

12. I went to BYU Young Ambassador’s camp as a junior in high school– it was hard for me to “belt” then and it is hard for me to “belt” now. I prefer classical or classical broadway style of singing for my voice.

13. I was in the City of Joseph Pageant for 4 or 5 years –two of them being on the dance team. I broke my foot dancing one year because I lost a contact and had no depth perception.

14. Brian and I were in the “Joseph Smith Movie” that is in all the visitor’s centers right now. I got to play “Lucy Mack Smith’s” body double in Alvin’s funeral the first day on set. After that I was two different background people. There is a not very cute Close-Up of me during a singing scene.

15. I went on 50 dates my first semester at BYU…partly because of a challenge from my dad.

16. I took voice lessons after graduating BYU from an awesome vocal coach who played “Carlotta” in Phantom of the Oprah on Broadway for many years.

17. I always knew I would marry Brian once I met him.

18. I was engaged to someone else while Brian was on a mission. I had lots of “warning dreams” telling me not to marry that “other” guy – boy did THEY do the trick!!

19. I was a runner up for being a performing missionary in Nauvoo – I initially thought that would “count” as a mission that I felt I was supposed to serve. Nope.

20. I had “warning dreams” of what would happen if I drank or smoked or wasn’t good in other ways – they scared the living daylights out of me and those things were not ever a temptation for me when I was a teenager (or ever)

21. I love gourmet food.

22. I love to listen to Rush Limbaugh and Shaun Hannity – they are awesome!

23. I am totally mesmerized and fascinated by Mitt Romney – I totally want him to blow everyone away with the Presidential Debates coming up.

24. I was in the National and International Piano Guild Competitions for 10 years. The tenth year I was doing the international level where you had to memorize 15 songs and play them, and all scales and arpeggios in front of a judge. I was a junior in high school and I totally blanked because of the stress I was under. I never could remember the rest of the songs and I spent 20 minutes crying. My piano teacher wanted me to go back and continue playing for the judge because if I completed it I would be in some piano magazine. I kind of regret not going back in, but not that much.

25. I got to go to an American Medical Association Conference on Nutrition Last year in New Mexico – I learned SOOO much and LOVED it and wonder if I shouldn’t have been a nutritionist.

26. I seriously considered being a dental hygienist for awhile.

27. I have dental assisted almost every year, excluding my mission, since I was 12. That is 15 years.

28. I was told when I was 12 I would have to pay for my own clothes, with the exception of socks and underwear. It held mostly true.

29. I am mildly obsessed with “Lost.”

30. I really loved YW girls camp when I was younger – those are some of the fondest memories I have.

40. My senior year I want crazy with extracurricular activities since I was at a new school. I did Viking Television News Anchor, Choir, Special Senior Recital, Art Club, Student Government, and National Honor Society.

41. Sometimes I eat peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon.

42. My favorite cheese is called “Boursin.”

43. I figured that Brian and I roughly fight about 1 time per year…although I can only remember 2 fights specifically.

44. I can’t imagine Brian and I yelling at each other.

45. When I was 7 or 8, I would pray every day for curly hair. I watched too much of Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. When I got curly hair when I was 12 I was really happy. Since I have been 24 I have straightened it almost every day.

46. My first non Disney movie in a movie theatre was “The Awakenings” when I was 14.

47. I have measured the diastisis of over 150 women so far upon teaching the Mommy Tummy class. I have learned that many women have a very thin rectus abdominus, and the majority have a 2 to 4 fingerwidth diastisis in at least one of the three possible places.

48. I am extremely entrepreneurial minded. I do about 6 business type things right now partly to bring in extra money, but mostly because its fun and I love the challenge. It’s a GREAT outlet for me. Right now I do Nutritional and Weight loss counseling with Herbalife, Surveys, the Mommy Tummy Class, Mini Day Care, sometimes Voice Lessons, Ebay, Amazon, and I in my spare moments I sometimes think about what I could invent – just for fun.

49. I graduated in Vocal Music from BYU.

50. I love to go on walks everyday.

51. I usually need to be doing something if I watch TV – my favorites are folding clothes, exercises, and eating.

52. I love painting and drawing.

53. I love mountain climbing and hiking. I really really wished I lived near mountains – there is nothing quite like being up in the mountains.

54. I had a really lucky year last year – I won a trip to Cancun, Brian won $890 on the radio – both, we won tickets to a movie screening, and to a Christmas Hor-Dervre things with Radio People. Brian says since he won something last, and now its my turn to win something. He would prefer a trip. I am working on it.

55. I really really love shoes – especially tall shoes.

56. I am thankful each day that I married Brian.

57. Brian and I think 4 – 5 kids would be just about right.

58. I love “The Cheesecake Factory” “Grand Lux” and ESPECIALLY “The Melting Pot” Restaurants if I REALLY REALLY have a good excuse to treat myself to an exquisite meal and date night.

59. I am growing “Chocolate Mint” in my garden – it’s the best ever.

60. I love chocolate –which is partially why I put cocoa bean mulch all over my garden. It makes everything smell like chocolate, apart from being great for the plants. It also helps that my brother-in-law works for Blommers Chocolate and they produce that kind of mulch.

61. It would be really hard for me to live without my sister nearby.

62. It would be really hard for me not to live by one of the kids grandparents –they LOVE it and WE love it!

63. I have two reoccurring dreams – 1) that I am in a tornado 2) that I am back on my mission. (Brian’s BYU Climatology teacher said his two reoccurring dreams were EXACTLY the same as mine. I thought it was kind of freaky, but I was also glad to know I’m not alone).

64. My favorite ice cream is REAL guava ice cream.

65. I gained a lot of weight on my mission. I never knew how much because it was in kilos. I never really wanted to compute it.

66. Being in Chile ruined me on eating bread and rice and pasta – I had them all everyday, and they made me gain a ton of weight – and I was always given huge portions and expected to eat all of it so as not to offend. I have revulsions to them – which I am fine with.

67. I LOVE decorating the house. I would love to be a “Nate Berkus” type of person – but I bet it would be exhausting.

68. I hate going to bed with the house a mess…or coming back from a trip with the house a mess..

69. If red peppers are on sale, I buy between 20 and 25 and then figure out what I am going to do with them.

70. I love to eat Quinoa – the most amazing and healthy and easy to make grain there is.

71. I am fascinated by crazy things – human oddities (like Ripley believe it or not), Hollow Earth Theory (as mentioned by a couple BYU profs), Politics (they can get a little crazy) and Omega 3 fatty acids (they are SO important),etc, Large Spiders, Tornadoes and Hurricanes, Highly Classified Mysteries, the 7 Wonders of the World, Macchu Piccu, Mayan Ruins, Greenland, Volcanoes, Magnetic Anomolies on the Earth, Astronomy, Ancient Egypt stuff, etc.

72. I am amused by my kids at least 30 times a day.

73. I love watching Brooke during Sharing Time – she cracks me up.

74. I love being a mom.

75. I can only play one video game well – Guitar Hero.

76. I can’t drink milk plain – it gives me bad chills.

77. I have a skin disease called gutate psoriasis – which affects 2% of the 2% that have psoriasis–little bumps everywear. My junior year of college it was so bad it covered every inch of my body except for my face, oddly enough. The thing that cures it – UVA rays. Since my mission to the driest desert on earth I have been virtually cured of psoriasis. If they pop up – I am supposed to go tanning to “zap” them. I haven't needed to go in 5 years.

78. I can’t watch people brushing their teeth – it gives me the shivers.

79. I have been to the highest lake in the world – Lago Chungara.

80. I hiked Timp - it was awesome.

81. When I was 4 I fell off monkey bars and got gravel in my forehead – and many stitches. It took 20 years for my scar to fade.

82. My sister is the only person who has ever punched me.

83. I was famous my sophomore year for slapping a football player bully jerk who went off on me for something or other.

84. I LOVE BYU Football games.

85. I often times miss Utah – I really loved it there.

86. I worked as an early morning custodian for BYU - I learned that waking up at 4 am is not my favorite thing to do. My classmates wondered how I ever learned anything as they saw me sleeping in every single class, including Women’s Chorus sometimes.

87. I felt the gift of tongues while on my mission and at the MTC as promised.

88. My ancestors on Both sides were pioneers – Brigham Young is my great great great great Uncle. Trumann Angell is also my great great great great uncle. My great grandfather’s stories – Orlando Barrus – are in my church books – his story on how he INSTANTLY got the gift of tongues is amazing – as are other miracles that happened to him.

89. In the end I really love girly chic-flick movies.

90. I don’t know what I would do without a Chi Straightener – even though it has damaged my hair a little.

91. I love growing a garden – but I don’t know why I plant so many tomatoes

92. I sang for President Hinckly several times while at BYU- including General Conference, Dedication of the HBL Library at BYU, and a couple BYU Devotionals while in BYU Women's Chorus. During the Dedication – he was sitting 4 feet away from me – I was intimidated but sang my heart out.

93. I had the same companion 2 different times during my mission.

94. When I worked at the BYU Creamery I unknowlingly served Russel M. Nelson and Ice cream Sundae and asked him in front of a line of many people “How I knew him” and told him that “he seemed very familiar.” He looked embarrassed and said awkwardly and softly, “I’m Brother Nelson.” I always thought that was such a humble response.

95. I was almost named “Leah.”

96. Brian and I decided against doing all B names for our kids, but oddly, the B names are usually the ones I like the best.

97. I would never be able NOT to find out the gender of a baby – I have to mentally be prepared so I can get the nursery made and decorated.

98. I LOVE thunderstorms during the day, but not at night.

99. It was always important to me to marry a tall man so our kids would have a chance at height.

100. I love not having neighbors wall to wall with us – I love having our own home, painting and decorating how we want, planting what we want, and all that stuff.

101. Brian and I got engaged 4 days after I got home from my mission – TOTALLY unplanned and NEVER mentioned EVER in letters. I felt like no time had ever passed by when we saw each other.

102. Brian and I picked 50 lbs of blueberries last year – which lasted us roughly 8 months.

103. I was in a local commercial for Formal Wear and Prom Dresses and also modeled dresses from the same company in a couple of shows when I was 15.

104. I formed a singing ensemble with two of my really good friends growing up – Rachel Moore and Nancy Schofield – we gave a personal concert to Kenneth Cope when we were 16.