Aunt Nici & Uncle Ryan

Well, we did it again...we became new aunt & uncles! My sister, Brittanie, had her baby today...about 20 minutes ago! :) CONGRATULATIONS!

His name is: Kadin Alfred Emerson Jackson Samuel Joey Daryl Matthew Simon Olson!

Really that can not be it but I think the real name is in there somewhere. He has been so many names in the past 9 months! :) But, if you read on to the previous post you will see that this little guy was born into the covenant! Yeah! :)

Possibly the Longest Post In America!

This might just be...but suck it up and read on! :)
Yes, I know I have been back from camp a few weeks now but man, this month has been busy!!! So, let me begin....

First off, thank you for all your book suggestions...I will read them all! :) And second, Yes, Jess I do want to hang out and a sewing party sounds like fun! Call me!

This was my first year at girls camp and it was a blast. We had every kind of weather you could think of from sun to snow and everything in between. But, the weather was great when it needed to be. The two months prior to camp our stake YW, the leaders, and their parents fasted for good weather and like I said we had it all but during the important times it was great! I got to know so many of the young girls in the ward...it took me back to my EFY counselor days, oh, and acting 16 again! :) I also found out that many of the girls think my husband is a FOX! I think so but a little awkward to think that the teenage girls say that about him. oh, well he is! :) Ryan got to come up for a couple of days as the Priesthood and it was great to have him there. We had a lot of fun! We learned to flick whipped cream from our wrists to our mouths!

And as the Camp Director I was crowned "Queen Jones" I was equipped with my own crown, cape, and sword...I also got to "Knight" the Priesthood members when they came up,

then Ryan brought me up these most beautiful flowers!

I was really lucky! Wehad to kiss 100 times because everyone was trying to take a picture and then 1/2 would yell, "I didn't get it!" and we would have to do it again! They are some funny girls! I had a blast! Oh, and they thought I was 26 years old...gotta feel good about yourself when that happens. :) One little Beehive said 22...she got extra peach cobbler that night! :)

The day I got home from camp Ry was riding in a "Cure for Diabetes" ride. I thought I was going to miss the whole thing because it was up in Brigham City but I got home fast, unpacked fast, and showered fast, I was able to make it up there and surprise him at the finish line with my family. He was awesome!

This is what he did:

That means: 105.23 MILES in 5 hours and 54 minutes! AMAZING! This was his longest ride and I think he did a great job! I am really proud of him. This is what awaited him at the finish line! Nieces & nephews who attacked! :) He really loves cycling!

Then the following week out of the blue we find out that my little sister and her husband were going through the temple and being sealed after about 7 years of marriage. It was amazing! I was so grateful to have witnessed it! They worked really hard to get here. And as you can see she is days away from have another little baby, but this time it is a boy! Monday I will be an aunt again! :)

ok, so you can't see her belly just trust me she is ready to POP!

The girls looked so beautiful in their white dresses! Although, I think the Temple needs to make their Youth Center less fun! I was talking to Aulbanie (the older one, she is 6) when they were taking pictures and I asked her if she knew what she did in "that room up there" (speaking of the sealing) her reply was, "yeah, I watched a movie, colored a picture, oh, and I got my very own locker!" (she was very excited about that last one!) I said, "No, the other room" her reply, (sounding bored), "oh, I just sat there." I had to laugh! One day she will know the significance of what happened in the "other room" and be so happy!
Then to top off the already busy Month of July we are in the middle of Youth Conference. We hiked the Y tonight and tomorrow we have a whole new fun filled day of Young Women and Men! Yeah for us! So, those pictures are to come! :)

I tell you what though, we truly love our callings in the young women's and young men's! We love being able to serve near each other and just hanging out with them. I feel we have both grown so much in the past year and have found so much JOY in serving the Lord!

Well, if you have made it this far...consider yourself a

TRUE FRIEND!!!

I guess you could say this is my "I'm Back!" post.

I am still here...

I promise I am still alive...I just can't promise for how much longer! My brain is fried, I am gaining weight, and I feel like crying every time someone asks me a question! Girls camp is next week and that means for the past couple of weeks I have had TWO full-time jobs!

And I have CRAMPS!!!

What did I do to deserve all this? :)

I am excited to go but ready to be done with all the planning!

Anyways, I will resurface in about a week and a half!

Also, If you have not had a chance to support Ryan in the 100 miler he is riding in this next weekend...please do! You don't have to give a lot but show your support! He has worked really hard and this cause is really close to home for him!

Click here to donate: Support Ryan Ride

The Jokes On Us!

So, today started out like most Thursday mornings...the alarm went off at 4:45 am and we slowly got ready with our eyes half shut in our Sunday best and headed out the door by 5:15 am.

It's Temple Day!

We turned the corner by the Mt. Timp. Temple and the parking lot was EMPTY!!!!

Oh yeah, remember when they asked for volunteers last week to help clean the temple? Yeah, we forgot too...

So, 6:00 am we headed to IHOP dressed to impress! We were the only ones there and even had to get the attention of the ONE waitress, who was messing around on her phone, to be seated! We ate breakfast and I was at work at 7:00am, in SLC! That just might be a record! Guess I get to go home at 3 today! :)

Any Suggesitons...

I am just about due for a couple more books. I am currently listening to "Angels and Demons" so that I can go see the movie. But what next? Any suggestions? What are some of your favorite books?

Has anyone ever read any of the books by Gregory Maguire? He wrote "WICKED". I listened to Wicked and although it is really crazy and bad in some parts I have heard it is nothing like the musical. I am wondering because he has a ton of other books like "Son of a Witch" and "A Lion Among Men" which are spin offs of "WICKED". He also has one about Cinderella's step sisters called "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister". Has anyone read any of them? Even though "WICKED" was weird his writing was awesome and I was interested the entire book. So, any comments on that?

Thanks for your help!

Help Me Understand...

I have talked to so many people who have loved "A Thousand Splendid Suns". I just finished it and I need some help. Why? Why do people love this book? I am just wondering. I am not saying I did not like it I am just saying the verdict is still up on this one and I could easily be swayed either way. I just know that who ever has read it, loved it... am I missing something?

If you have read this please pipe up and give me your opinion...

The demolisher rides again!

Nici rode 40+ miles this saturday before her tire busted and she had to stop. She could of made the whole 47 though!!! I'm pretty proud of her and am excited for the return of the demolisher.

Refashion #2 & 3

Well, here are a few other things that I have refashioned. It has been really fun to learn how to sew better! Thanks to everyone for all the ideas and tutorials!

A shirt to a skirt

This one turned out to be my favorite! I just really loved the colors in the fabric. And, although it looks like a smaller original...it went from a large shirt to a so cute little girls dress!

This is the back of the dress. The shirt already had this gathered part and I didn't want to lose the detail so I just made it smaller to fit the size of the dress. Also, these two projects were my first attempts at a "gather"...it is such a simple thing but looks so cute! :)

Our Feeble Attempt…

Last Friday after we got home from watching Zach Efron we were sitting around with nothing to do…Ry suggested we go camping! Okie Dokie! So, we packed up all our stuff and left. We got a late start but we made it to a camp site just as the sun went down. Ry set up the tent while I gather stuff for the fire…sounds like a solid plan, Right? NOT…this is where it all went down hill.

We tried to get the fire started but everything was still too wet from last weeks storm. And we couldn’t find any big logs or anything that would sustain the fire even if we did get it going. So, we decided to give it a rest and make dinner. Well, we have this little camp stove so Ry put it together and started letting the gas out slowly and it was leaking everywhere! The part was busted! So, we were in the dark, no fire, and no dinner! We stood around a while and ate licorice and Fritos until we just looked at each other and said, “This bites!”

You, guessed it…we packed up, hiked down, and went home! Slept in our nice warm bed and even slept in! Oh, well you can't win em all!

Three Words & a Symbol

This is all I have to say about the movie “17 Again”:

IZach Efron

I am not usually one to care for movie stars but HELLO…that kid has it goin’ on! :)Although, (this is not a spoiler) in the beginning he starts dancing and I thought to myself, “if he starts singing I am out of here” I was not prepared for a High School Musical 4!

Anyway…loved the movie!