"Ba Ba Ba BAD...Bad to the Bone"

I have always had this secret desire to be a rebel and I really am quite the rebel.

For example, I went to the park after dark! That is right, you heard it! I am BAD to the BONE! But then I got caught by the police. Yep, the police yelled at me. That's how bad I am!

I also speed. I have TP'd a couple houses, one of which the sprinklers went on later that night. I have been accused of murdering a fish.(Wrong place at the Wrong time). I play music way too loud where my dad has threatened to ground me back in high school.

Okay okay, so I really am not that Bad to the Bone. I have never had a sip of alcohol. I never ditched school, not even on senior ditch day. I have never smoked. I have never stolen anything although one time I went to a movie when I was thirteen. I told them I was twelve years old so I could get the cheaper price. The entire movie I felt so guilty that when the movie was over, I gave another dollar bill to the theater.

Anyway, we had a ward Karaoke night and each FHE group had to do a number. With my secret desire to be bad to the bone, I decided that we need to do that song. By performing this song, we got to dress up Bad to the Bone as well! The performance was.... interesting. But it was a good time.






Yep... I am Bad to the Bone!

"The Name of the Game"

So, a couple summers ago I went and lived with my sister and then I went and helped her out a little bit more the next summer after that. During my time there, they introduced me to the game Doodle Dice. Then as a thank you present, they gave me Doodle Dice the game! I was pretty excited! I think that game is a lot of fun!



Well, little did my sister know how much I would play or how many people I would get obsessed with this game. So, over the past couple years, I have played this game with many different people.

One of my good friends Curtis also fell in love with this game and he knew how much I loved this game. So, for my birthday present he gave me my own version of doodle dice. Instead of the faces that they have on the dice, he put my face in place of it! Pretty funny!




I also got my friend Tyler hooked on this game. At the little gathering for my roommates goodbye, Tyler pulled out Doodle dice and the two of us played. Of course, others couldn't stay away from it and soon it became the main event! It got pretty intense, but I am happy to say... I won!


Right when it is getting good, everyone is stealing cards from each other and blocking each other!


Brent is deep in thought about what he will go for


I guess I look scared... it was pretty intense


Okay... so maybe some people were not as into it as others!

"Daddy's Little Girl"

Its Fathers Day! I had to give a shout out to my dad! I love my dad, he is pretty awesome!

First, he is the main part of how I started running. Two New Years ago, I was coming up with what I wanted to make as goals. I was in a major changing life mood, so I was coming up with some extreme ideas. Ones that secretly I knew I would not keep, like running a half marathon. So, I told that to my dad, still thinking that there was no way I would do that. He got so excited by this idea and said he wanted to do it with me. Well, there was no turning around after that! I am glad. It made running better because I knew I was training to do this with my dad. We would talk to each other about how our training was going. I now have done two half marathons with him and maybe there is a chance of doing a full marathon with him!



I don't think I can remember a real moment where my dad got mad. I never heard him yell... well, unless Duke was around. That was the only time though. He was always calm and I thought that was amazing. From his example, I try to remain as calm as possible. I try not to yell or get angry because that is what I saw my Dad do.



My dad is a hard worker. He goes above and beyond at his job. He starts at one position and they immediately promote him to one of the highest positions. Then after working all day, he will come home, help with dinner, help clean the house and help with everything. I have never heard him complain or say that he needs to sit because he has been working all day. He will immediately help my mom with whatever she needs.



My dad has always believed in me and been proud of me for what I am doing. He has never showed disappointment. When I felt that I didn't do well in school he would always tell me that I was doing great. He was proud of me because he knew that I was trying. His belief in me helped me so much growing up and now.



Thanks Dad for being the best Dad for me! I love you lots!

"He's Going the Distance" (or she :))

WE DID IT!!!! I have now successfully ran my second half marathon and it was great! Well, I can say great now that it is over and I am no longer that sore!

Friday right after work, we all went to the Marriott to pick up our bibs and shirts! There were people everywhere, but it was what I needed to get pumped for the race. Before that, I was terrified about it. But being surrounded by lots of people who are all doing the same thing, it is impossible to not get excited!




After we picked up our packets, we went to Mimi's Cafe to either Carb load or as Rachelle was doing, Chocolate load for our race. I think I like the way she thinks about preparing for a race!

Then it was race day! We woke up early, had banana and were on our way. The race started up a little higher than it did last year, but I was happy about that because that meant more time in the canyon and less on the boring University Ave.

I kept up with my dad and Rachelle for the first three miles but after that, I knew if I kept at their speed I would die for before the race. So, I slowed just a little and I was just barely behind them for most of the race.




Mile 8 things started to get a lot harder. But I was still going a little over 9 1/2 minute pace. Which is faster than I usually run. That was about when my mom and Sam showed up to cheer for us! It was great they would drive back and forth and when ever they passes us, they would scream out the window! I loved it, every time they would pass it would get me going again.






At mile 11, I started to tell myself it would be okay if I walked. It turned into this huge internal battle for the rest of the race, I am happy to say the running side won and I didn't walk! Also at mile 11, I had a friend that came and cheered for me! It was exactly what I needed. That was the point where I didn't know if I could keep running but having him there and tell me I was doing great helped so much! And I kept going and I did do great! It's times like these when you really realize that Heavenly Father is looking out for you. I know that Heavenly Father put those little supports along my way because he knew that I would need it. Every time my mom and Sam drove by or I passed by my friend was when I needed the support the most!









I finished the race at 2:08, beating my time from last year by 15 minutes! My dad and Rachelle both finished at 2:02! So, we all did amazing in my mind!







I had to go to the medic tent after because I looked down and saw that my shoe had blood on it, so that meant my foot was bleeding pretty bad. It was just a blister that had been bleeding the whole time, but I felt pretty legit!














I had two cousins do the marathon part! So we stuck around so we could cheer for them and chat with them at the end!







Heidi who finished her FULL marathon in 3:27!!! Amazing! That is 7:55 minute miles for 26 miles! She is my hero!






And my cousin Nate, who did the FULL marathon in 3:55! Once again, super fast and another hero!



There was this poster on side that someone had put up that I really liked! It said "Tough times only last for a little while, tough people last forever" Its true, the hard times we go through, they will be over at some point but as a result of those hardships, we become so much stronger. That is what will last forever. I learned that with this half, those last two miles were super hard. I just wanted to give up at some points but I didn't. I knew that in 20 minutes, those miles would be over. Because I kept going, I proved to myself that I could do it. That I was strong enough to finish that race and it made me stronger! That will last forever!

"Ready to Run"

Oh my goodness! I can not believe that Saturday is the Half Marathon already! I have been training for this since January, of course, training not as well as I had wished but still training. I have mixed emotions at the moment. I'm excited yet terrified, pumped yet nervous, ready yet NOT ready!

I did my ten mile run on Saturday and it was hard! I had to do the run in an unfamiliar place because I was in Seattle. So, I didn't know what would be around the bend of the trail. Another item that I wasn't sure about was I didn't know how safe the trail was. Who knows if the murderers and rapists were waiting for me to come run by them. So, I was on my toes, ready just in case I got attacked.

Of course, when I started thinking this way, everyone became prime suspects of attackers. I was running along the trail minding my own business when I spotted someone up ahead of me. I started to scope out the situation. It was an old man with a cane... or so it seemed. I immediately started getting ready for this "old" man to take his cane and trip me. So, I picked up speed sprinting my fastest until I was so far past him I couldn't see him again. Now, that might not have been the smartest idea because I still had about 6 more miles to run and I was exhausted!

I had to do this several times, there were lots of older men walking on the trail that morning and I couldn't trust a single one of them!

Luckily, my half marathon, there are way too many people so I will not have worry about getting attacked! So no random sprinting past each person!

Another problem I encountered was hills. There were these long never ending hills on this run. My muscles were screaming at me the entire time, trying to get me to stop. But I couldn't. Well, to be honest, I conveniently took water breaks about half way up the hill because I couldn't make it. It was a great excuse stop without feeling like I was cheating!

But I ran this race before, I know what to expect with the hills. I have practiced many times up in the canyon, so it won't be anything new.

I can do this!

Also, if you all want to come cheer and support I would love that! Its amazing how a cheer from a friend can help me to keep going!

"On the Road Again"

A couple months ago, my friends and I decided we all wanted to take a road trip down to my parents house in Arizona. Well, as time went by, my friends started to drop out of coming. In the end, it was just my friend Tyler and I going. Sam, my sister-in-law, was coming as well to see Shane. I decided that it would be fun to go down to Arizona for my birthday weekend, which meant driving all day on my birthday... but it was worth it.

Thursday I only worked until 12 and then went home and got ready. We had to wait till 2 to leave so Tyler could take a test. once the test was taken, we were off. Ten hours of singing, rainstorms, dancing, snowstorms(Really? Snow in May...) laughing, joking, and chatting we were finally in dry and warm Arizona. As my mom promised me, a giant birthday cookie was waiting for me when we got home. Of course, it was late and we were too tired to eat it right away.

Friday, we spent most of the morning relaxing around the house. Then we decided to go swimming. The boys were a little wimpy when it came to swimming in the pool, saying the water is too cold. Sam and I didn't think it was that bad at all. We spent a lot of time in the hot tub but in the end everyone warmed up to the pool. We played some water basketball horse, which I dominated! Really, we just enjoyed the warm and sunny weather!

That night my aunt Jeanie and family came over for a barbecue to celebrate my birthday. It was a lot of fun to be with my family. And I got to open presents! :)

The next day we started off with a hike to the wind caves. I love hiking and it was great to be able to hike again. Since it has been super gross in Utah I haven't had too many opportunities to hike. The view on the top was amazing!

We took a little adventure to a ghost town that is about 20 minutes away from where my parents live. We wanted to do a gold mine tour that they have there. While we waited for the tour to start, we took advantage of the many picture perfect moments!

The gold mine tour was hilarious! The tour guide was super entertaining. I had said Tyler's name at the beginning of the tour and the guide had overheard so he decided to have some fun with Tyler. Cracking jokes about him the entire time, good thing he is a good sport!

That night we went to gecko grill, if you are ever in Arizona I highly recommend this place! It is really good!

Sunday came and sadly we had to leave Arizona. 10 hours later we were back in the cold and dreary Arizona. It was a fun trip and I loved every minute of it! Maybe we will do it again and everyone who said they will come will actually come! ha ha.

The goodbye picture that we always have when people come to visit.

"Feliz Cumpleanos"

This is one amazing balloon arch, if I do say so myself! It was my grandma's 90th birthday yesterday and for her birthday we had a surprise birthday party on Saturday. So, my mom was in charge of decorating the tables and everything for this party. My dad, Sam, Shane and I all worked hard getting the balloons blown up and tied. Then we had to to put two balloons together and from there put the couplets on to the fishing line. With the help from my uncles, we were able to make the couplets and get the couplets onto the arch. It was quite the project and in the end, the arch ended up being A LOT bigger than we thought it would be.

Nothing but the biggest and the best for Grandma!

Soon to come: Blog post about trip to Arizona and then a blog post about the family reunion. Then it will be time to post about my trip to Seattle this weekend! Be excited!