valentine fun

Dear Nick,

Thank you for the wonderful Valentine's Day full of lots of surprises and beautiful views. After a long day of work (and a not-so-great birthday), it was nice to get out and explore Park City a bit. I'm sorry about the premature shivering that cut our plans short...but it was all worth it in the end, when we went atop your favorite childhood hill, overlooking the beautiful city of Salt Lake that we both love so much. And I'm SO glad you packed that little, blue tent I got you for Christmas to keep us warm. It was romantic! Oh and those chocolate-covered-Costco strawberries topped the night off perfectly! mmm hmm. I feel so blessed. Thank you for making me feel special and loved. 

--yours truly xoxo

(not great lighting, but you get the picture)

Would you look at that view^^^ 

(okay, it was better in person, but you at least get a good view of Larry Miller's house down below.)

Thank you for reading. Hope you all felt loved and appreciated at some point this past week. If not, you should treat yourself to a Harmons sugar cookie or a yoga class. That's what I like to do, anyway:) 

The Uintas with the Boys.

As a way to break up the monotony of school and work,  Nick invited me to join him and his BFF's to camp up in the Uinta Mountains this weekend. Nick and Britton (his roommate) have a "secret lake" that they enjoy near Ruth Lake.  So, Nick, Britton, Rico, Tim and I hopped into the car and drove up to the good ole outdoors for a refreshing break from technology (most of these boys work heavily with computers) and the luxuries of Provo.

How to explain this adventure? Think, nerd-fest at an engineer's playground (the pictures will explain everything). Nothing short of typical boy-humor full of potty jokes and Dungeons and Dragons references.  

>>>For one who associates camping with girls, braids, testimony meetings, and treats, I was definitely in for a ride. 

We had such a great time chatting, fishing (or a good attempt--without the hooks--Rico made a homemade (relatively great!) hook out of his sunglasses and pliers), reading by the campfire, discussing doctrine, snapping photos, naming landmarks after ourselves, trying to stay warm during the night, building furniture, testing science over the lake, and using homemade slingshots to hit squirrels and trees. (don't worry, no animal was injured.) 

Nick and I at the lake. 

Nick ripped his jeans, so he had to wear his swimsuit the rest of the trip. 

What do you get with two computer programers, one engineer and one gym rat?

Behold, the Living Room! 

(that's really the name they picked out for this masterpiece.)

Living Room-360

We woke up at 5:30am and worked on carving out three wooden seats, followed by the rockcliner (Nick is sitting in^^).

(Ignore my hoodie, it's doing weird things--needless to say, we all looked like orphans)

A temporary tripod for all the pics going on FB^^

Whatever happened to singing "Sip n' Sider" and "The Cutest Boy" while braiding hair and painting buckets to sit on by the fire? 

Boys, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. 

the new project

so....nick woke up with the idea that he had to buy a beater truck for project flyboard. for those of you who know nick, know, that once he get's something in his little mind, nothing will stop him.

so saturday morning we ventured to payson to check out a truck nick saw on ksl.

this is the truck we found:

we took it out for a little spin; nick found love (well not exactly, but it will be sufficient enough to drive him to and from the lake to board:)

sold.

nick is now the proud owner of ____ (the name of this lil guy is yet to be determined)

our saturday:

immediately we drove from payson to the nearest home depot to get screws, paint and sandpaper to doll up (Jeffy-that's my vote for the truck name).

similar to the way sandra bullock was "remade" in miss congeniality, this lil guy had a long way to go...

luckily we did it with happy faces!!!

 we, then, took our trucks for a spin to the car wash.

{getting wet was necessary to deep clean nick's truck--he ended up spraying the entire inside of his car} 

after drying the lil guy, we prepared to paint. we used more than a full roll of duct tape to cover the nooks and crannies of his car that he didn't want painted.

then the fun part -- paint. we spray painted his entire car black, flat black. i felt like we were vandalizing private property; i have never spray painted a car before. it was so fun! 

of course, it took many layers. we would spray one layer, then go out for a drive.

it wasn't until we were driving around that i realized how ridiculous we looked. the truck looked TERRIBLE -- definitely trash. we stopped during the first and second coat to get a burger. there were two boys in the diner. one boy leaned over to his mom and said, "mom, look at that truck." it was then that the (not so discrete) stares and whispers from this family at nick's hideous, soon-to-be beautiful truck made nick and i realize how ridiculous we were. oh well. 

we didn't get very far before it started to rain. the truck is still 2-3 coats away from being finished. but here is the progress of all our hard work.

before:

after:

{the lighting isn't great in this parking garage. this is where we came to avoid the rain}

Brandon Flowers

The Killers-Be Still

I got a phone call early Friday morning. It was Caleb Ward. He called to invite me to The Killers' concert with him and his siblings that night. We are concert buddies. It was just a few months ago where we were singing and dancing with Kelly Clarkson as loud and long as our bodies would permit. 

I am one lucky girl. 

The concert was unreal. Who knew that a rock concert could be a spiritual experience. Among the craziness of the drummer, the uncontrollable fans and the beer in the air, I closed my eyes and took a deep breathe hoping to release as much stress and pain that I tend to foster in my soul. Rather than worry about the countless other people and things demanding my time, I wanted to be there with my body. Listening to Brandon's genuine emotion and heartfelt lyrics, I felt alive. 

Things I know:

I love Brandon Flowers, more than ever! He is truly a powerhouse in every sense of the word.

Dancing cures any sadness.

This song speaks to me soul right now. 

"Don't break character, you've got a lot of heart....BE STILL."

The Reality of War!

Support the troops.

What does that even mean?

Until this year, my perspective of the military and troops originated from watching Pearl Harbor on the days I stayed home from school with the flu. Every sick day somehow resulted in this movie preference. However, this foreign image become real this past year thanks to a friend by the name of Nick Mckean.

For a brief moment in time I got a glimpse of the life of a military family.

What an amazing glimpse it was.

Of course easy is not one of the words I would choose to describe this glimpse.

 I do not envy Nick's mother who not only sent her husband but now her son to the opposite side of the world to fight and defend what we often take for granted.

I do not envy the pain and fear that come with sending a loved one closer to the arms of danger. How could you? It requires selflessness not only for the soldier leaving but for the loved ones sending.

War is real. It becomes even more real when it becomes personal.

I never expected to have this type of experience. More than anything I have learned the essence of true patriotism and selflessness.

Something inside me has changed.

I never want to take for granted the liberties and freedoms I am blessed with.

July 4th means much more to me than candy at the parades and a few fireworks.

 I look at the flag differently.

The liberties we enjoy are not free.

 I am grateful to know our country is supported and defended by individuals like Nick.

Thank you Nick for teaching me what it means to be an American.

Before the military banquet.

His unit is deployed to Afghanistan for one year.

They have been training in Texas and New Mexico the past few weeks.

They leave for Afghanistan in a few short days.

"O Beautiful for Heroes proved,

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved,

And mercy more than life."

-America The Beautiful

Ouelessebougou

This here is my mother and my three adorable sisters. My family and I had the opportunity to volunteer at a nonprofit organization known as Ouelessebougou last Saturday-thanks to Kathy Oviatt.
When most people hear this word, "Ouelessebougou," they give one of two looks, a) a blank stare or b) a sour, more disgusted response. What in the world can this atrociously long word mean? This long almost nonsensical word in English is an African region located in Mali, West Africa. Ouelessebougou, in this reference, is a non profit organization established in order to raise money for this region and other neighboring regions in Africa. The money raised at both the silent and live auctions will go toward creating better educational systems, clean water, disease prevention, and housing supplies.
Money cannot buy happiness but it can provide wonderful opportunities to those who currently are in need. A little donation can go a long way to bless many generations. If not money-time. Time is something we can all give. Coming from a poor college student, time for me is the ultimate expression of sincere love and gratitude.
For more information about this program, please check out this website. It can change your life, I know it has changed mine.http://www.ouelessebougou.org/.