More than a Memory

Sometimes, when I'm in certain areas of town, I like to drive by old houses that I grew up in. Today, I drove by the first house my parents bought right after I was born. I lived here until I was 8. I loved this house! I have so many funny, happy memories from the Miragrande house.

The house is a different color and has a wall in front now. I was surprised at how small the house and the cul-de-sac look. They seemed so much larger back then. I still remember the names of all the kids on our street and which houses they lived in.

Those were good days.

Haiti

Who wants to come volunteer at an orphanage in Haiti for a week with me this summer? I'm in the process of filling out the application with Foundation for Children in Need. I had a friend volunteer with this group last year so I know it's a good program. I fell in love with this idea when I looked through her trip pictures. I need a trip like this.

Here are some pictures from her trip:

I'm not much for dancing, but for you I did.

Growing up in Las Vegas, it was always me, April, Jessica, Jamie, and Megan. We are cousins but also best friends. We did everything together when we were little and still continued to be best friends through high school and college. We have had many fun adventures together and laughed so much, but have also gone through quite a few hard times together.

We have never all lived far away from each other until now. I'm the only one still in Vegas. Everyone else is in different states like Utah, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Virginia. Even though I don't get to see them as much anymore, they are still my best friends. We do a pretty good job at keeping in touch with phone calls, emails, and texts even though our lives are busy and very different now.

I get sad thinking we will never all live in the same place again but I am so grateful for the 25 years worth of memories we have had together. I love these girls!

The Way We Get By

I'm moving! Not in real life just in my dreams.

I've never been to Chicago but I think Las Vegas is the windiest city. I really hate the wind. It's my worst! I can handle hot, cold, rain, a little snow, but not the wind. I feel like it's windy every day, especially this time of year. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a nice breeze but not 30+ mile per hour wind like it's been for the last couple weeks.

These are the Top 5 least windy cities and options I will consider next time I move.

1. Talkeetna, Alaska
2. Medford, Oregon
3. McGrath, Alaska
4. Walla Walla, Washington
5. Bristol, Tennessee

If you fall asleep down by the water...

Remember how my sister, Melissa, sent me this picture because she thought it looked exactly like me when I was younger? When I first glanced at it, I thought it was me for longer then I'd like to admit.

Who knew Nicole Richie and I were practically identical twins when we were younger? How odd and really funny. Look at her now. We no longer look anything alike.

One Hundred

Many, many years ago when I was in high school, I used to be able to do 50 pushups. I haven't really done a pushup since then. On Saturday my friend and I were trying to see how many we could do. I could only do 15. This made me want to have a plan to do more. I found the website hundredpushups.com which has detailed plans to be able to do 100 pushups in 6 weeks. So that's my new goal and is something to look forward to for the next month and a half.

African Cats

A new tradition I have enjoyed the last 3 years is going to see the Disney Nature movies that are released on Earth Day. In 2009, it was "Earth", in 2010 it was "Oceans", and this year it's "African Cats". Earth Day is April 22. I am really looking forward to seeing this one.

The World at Large

Is it just me or do Ziploc bags ruin the taste of food? I've thought this for a long time and when I mention it to people they say they don't notice. Everything I put into a Ziploc ends up tasting like plastic. I rarely ever use them anymore because I'm tired of my chips, sandwiches, crackers, and garlic bread tasting like a plastic bag. If you don't know what I'm talking about then try to notice it next time. Maybe if I wash the bags out before? I don't even know.

Cold Lamb Sandwich

I've always loved the advice that the dad, Bill, gives his daughter, Susan on "Meet Joe Black". Maybe this isn't realistic because it's just a movie, but sometimes I just want to love someone like this. Plus it's Brad Pitt that they're talking about. Who wouldn't feel this way about him? :)

"Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. If you don't start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived."

A perfect Sunday afternoon....

....being forced to pose like this in the hammock

....Climbing trees

....And doing back flips off the wall

Rollin' in the Deep

I saw this picture next to my little brother's bed at Christmas and it made me cry, so I asked him if I could have it. Of course he said yes because I'm his favorite. I love this picture for many reasons. I love the close, fun relationship that my dad and Derek have. My dad coaches his football, basketball, and baseball teams. I love how they both look tough because they are the kindest guys. I love how my dad has always had the most muscular calves. I love how tan Derek still is in the middle of November. I love these two.

A couple months ago, my dad was called into the bishopric. It has been entertaining to hear every one's sarcastic, funny, shocked comments when they hear the news. I was not at all surprised about his new calling. I've seen in coming for awhile. I knew when I walked in on him watching the Hallmark channel that something was wrong. My mom says that's all he watches now. This was so funny to me!

The thing that I admire most about my dad is how friendly he is. This man is friends with EVERYONE and everyone loves him! This is a quality of his that used to drive me crazy because we would be stuck at church or ball games or even the grocery store for hours waiting for him to finish talking to people. We quickly made him start drive a separate car so we wouldn't have to wait forever. Now, I love watching him stop and talk to every person he passes. He makes people feel comfortable, he makes people laugh, and he makes people feel loved. I hope this is a quality I can develop in myself.