2012 So Far...

I started 2012 with a family vacation to Las Vegas! It was great to see some of my aunts and uncles and spend time with my parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews. Unfortunately I didn't hit the jackpot so I had to come back to work.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip.

My lovely sister, Brooke, our dad, me on the right, and Brooke's daughter, Emma in the front
At the Bellagio Gardens

My nephew Jack, doing his favorite thing
Mmmmm, that mini waffle looks scruptious!


I love these kids!
Me, Jack and Emma, at a breakfast buffet


My family!
Dax, Dad, Kathryn, Brooke, Mom
Connor
With a really cool dragon in the background


Grandma and Grandpa with JayDax and Lily

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I love living in Lethbridge because it's not Taber, but it's close enough that I can visit often. And occasionally my parents come to Lethbridge and take me out to eat! Like tonight for example we went to New Dynasty for some delicious Chinese food. And tonight was especially great because Connor was visiting, and after dinner he and I went mini golfing and got frosties. It was nice to be able to quote a movie or show and have someone actually get it.

Mini golfing with my brother Connor

Lethbridge Livin'

This is my Fall 2011 residence

Nice surprise! Someone heart attacked our door!

Not-so-nice surprise.
Thank-you to whoever donated this lovely pumpkin collection to us and a sincere thank-you to my mom who helped me get rid of them. We had to be sneaky and divide them up amongst our neighbors trash bins the night before the garbage truck came.

The latest...

About 10 days ago I went on this really great trip with my parents and my brother Connor. We went to Yellowstone National Park and Cody, Wyoming and saw some of the coolest things ever, such as the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and some real live buffalo/bison and the Yellowstone Grand Canyon, and the most incredible waterfall. So all of these amazing sites and this is the only picture I came home with.

I just thought it was so funny; it was next to our hotel. Don't worry, my dad had a camera, my mom had a camera, and Connor had a camera and I just didn't see the point of having 4 cameras taking pictures of the same stuff, so I let them do all of the work. If you want to see pictures of the trip check out my mom's Facebook.

So this is another gratitude post. At the Buffalo Bill Historical Center there was a wing dedicated to the Plains Indians. So it was really interesting and it got me thinking about the way Native Americans were treated and also the early members of the Church and many other groups of people that have been treated unfairly throughout history. I just thought how I would feel if the government waltzed in and told me 'you can't live like that anymore' and kicked me out of my house and made me learn German or something. I would not be happy about that. But that's exactly what happened to the First Nation people. Also at work I hear about all sorts of people getting sick and dying way too young and it just makes me sad. So I'm just really, really grateful to have been born when and where I was, and I'm grateful to have such a wonderful family and a good job, and a reliable car, and plenty to eat, and a roof over my head and that I don't have to practice my religion in secret etc.

So the latest excitement in my life: I have applied to go on a European Religious History Tour with BYU-Idaho. So cross your fingers that I get accepted because they only take about 43 people. The trip won't be until next Fall but I'm already very excited/nervous about it.

For those that don't know I'm back living in Lethbridge and working as a pharmacy technician again. I like my job, I like my boss, and I like my house. But in the evenings I pretty much hang out by myself because my 4 roommates are studying or working or something, so it's kind of lonely, but things could be worse, right? I'm looking forward to a long weekend of chillaxin', getting the oil changed in my car, and I'm hoping to spend some time with my family. I hope all of the Canadians reading this enjoy their Thanksgiving feasts and the Americans.... HAHA (think of Nelson on the Simpsons) enjoy work and school. Okay just kidding, you'll get your day off in a month of so. Well that is all.

I'm grateful for my Mom

This past week I had the opportunity to go to Montana with my mom, where we spent time with her sister, cousin, and their spouses. We drove over Logan Pass twice, on the way down it was really foggy and rainy and cold. The drive home yesterday was much more pleasant; the weather was lovely. We walked the traditional Trail of the Cedars, and up to Sunrift Gorge, and we saw two mountain goats and a moose. We also did some shopping. So we were in Target paying for our stuff, I was going to purchase "Anastasia" on DVD and my mom said "you can put that with my stuff, one of the benefits of vacationing with your mother". And I said "I love vacationing with my mother". Then the cashier chimed in and said "enjoy it while you can, I lost mine last fall and I miss her so much, I used to call her every Saturday and now Saturdays are so hard for me". And I said "I call my mom every Saturday". So at this point all three of us teared up a bit and it was just one of those moments that made me really appreciate my mom, not just because she buys me stuff and does my laundry and feeds me when I visit, but because she's a really great person and I love her a lot. The rest of my family members, immediate and extended, are also awesome, but there are just too many of them to name.

Glacier Park July 2011

Redecorating

Like my new wallpaper? I don't! My roommate and former roommate did this to me. I was torn between being mad and thinking it was funny. So it's funnier if you know the whole story, which is... for the past month Christin and I have been hiding this bridal magazine on each other because we are sick of being single in this marriage-obsessed environment. Well I thought I would be clever and I picked up 5 more magazines and hid them in all of her drawers and cupboards and she thought she was going nuts. I didn't think she could top that, and I threw the magazines out. Well she dug them out of the trash and I came home to find this. So if anybody has any good prank ideas to get back at her, let me know.

So I've been slacking on the blog, oops... school is going well. I'm hoping to go home for Memorial Day weekend. I've been trying out new things on campus, like yoga and Latin dancing. I've decided that I want to go see the Vatican, my world foundations teacher showed us a bunch of pictures and it looks incredible! Oh and if you want to see a good movie I highly recommend "Water for Elephants", Christin, Chrissie and I saw it last week and LOVED it! Well I had better get ready for bed. I hope that all 2 or 3 of my readers are having a fantabulous week!

Randomness from the last few weeks...

My new outfit

My roommate, Megan, did my make-up for me (for a date)

I cooked! Delicious chicken enchiladas.

My how time flies, it's May tomorrow!! So I've kind of been slacking in the blog department (among other things), so I'll post some random stuff for my favorite sister-in-law. I'm all moved in to my new apartment, and I love it!! Except there seems to be a disagreement over the A/C. Personally I think if it's snowing outside, A/C is not required, open the window for heaven sakes. My roommate Christin and I have been playing this game with a bridal magazine where we hide it in the other person's room, hehe. I had quite an enjoyable Easter. It was my first Sunday in the 48th ward and I got to meet with my Bishop and say the closing prayer in Sacrament Meeting. After church Christin and I went and took pictures in front of the temple because it was such a beautiful day! Then we went to our friend Chrissie's house for a delicious dinner and an Easter egg hunt. We met a bunch of new people and a cute guy even asked for my number! We also went to a fireside, then played some games and watched Tarzan. Today I went to Idaho Falls with Chrissie, her roommates Mary, and Michelle, and Christin. I stocked up on Clinique products, looked around the mall, then we ate at Red Robin, then we went to Target (which is one of my favorite stores) and I got a really cute shirt, which I may post a picture of and some cheap-o turquoise flip-flops. Then we went to Win-Co for cheap groceries. It was a great day, but shopping is exhausting, and I had a bunch of homework and laundry to come home to. I love the feeling and the smell of clean clothes fresh out of the dryer, it's one of the best things in the whole world!! I do not like Shakespeare though. Sure he tells good stories, but I just can't appreciate his plays because I don't understand what the heck is going on. I have to study Hamlet AGAIN for one of my classes, and I no like-y. Boo!