Paradise...Here we come!

ALOHA! Yep, that's right, I'm off to Maui for an entire week. It was pretty crazy how this trip worked out... it was meant to be i guess! :) About 6 weeks ago, Trace and I got talkin about how we wanted to take a trip somewhere before he quits workin for the airlines. So we thought how great it would be for a bunch of us to go to Maui. It just so happened that my mom has time share over there so we got online to see if anything was available. This hardly ever happens but for some crazy reason there was an entire week open and it happened to be the week that we wanted to take a trip. So Trace got us and six of our friends buddy passes for a steal of a deal! We are all so excited to go, its a once and a lifetime opprotunity that we just couldn't pass up. I probably wont update till after Christmas, but I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Love ya'll!

ah...I made it!

AH...... school is out at last! I cannot tell you how happy I am to be done with this semester. It was a tough, stressful, nerve wrecking, exhausting, time consuming, on and on and on. Let me just tell you a little bit of my adventure this past few weeks.
I have been finishing up the last of my lame general studies. As we all know, one of these classes would be MATH. I cannot tell you how stressed I've been over this stinkin class. I am a terrible test taker and just cant seemed to study enough to where it actually pays off no matter what I do. So for the past 3 weeks I've been eating, breathing, even dreaming math; I've been working extra hard so that I won't have to take this class again. Well ladies and gents.. it paid off. I ended up doing really well on my last two exams and actually pulled off a B grade! I'LL TAKE IT! :) So I am proud to say that I have passed all my classes and I will never have to take another math class again. Woohoo! One semester down, 4 more to go...hopefully! cross your fingers..:) I am extremely anxious and nervous at the same time to be applying for the Cardiac ultrasound program here in the next few weeks. It's not going to be an easy road but it's what I want. I look forward to following in my Dad's footsteps.. those are some big shoes to fill that's for sure but I know I can do it with his help. Thanks Dad, for teaching me the value of working hard and living life to the fullest. You are my inspiration.

Turkey Bowl.

Well this year for thanksgiving I was privileged enough to be invited along for the the Applegate annual turkey bowl. This family is awesome! I never met a family more competitive and entertaining in my entire life. We all met at the Davis Lane's early in the morning to get our bowl on. Of course I brought my "A game".. with a family like this... It's a must! :) Well let's just say I didn't do so hot the first two games. Trace's Dad, Scott, whooped everyone! So of course he was able to dust off his shoulders and call it a game! He was the champ... UNTIL the third game! Well it should of just ended there after the two games than Scott could walk out of there this year's champ. But no, I gave him a run for his money and ended up beating everyone! I scored the highest I've ever scored... a 186 baby! haha! can you believe that?! I couldn't, neither could anyone else! ha! It was awesome! Best game of bowling I've ever had!
I always have a good time with that Applegate clan! They remind me so much of my family. They all have such a close relationship with one another. That's how families should be. Your best friends are your family. I am so thankful that I have been raised in a wonderful loving home with amazing supportive parents! This holiday has been a different one for all of us..its just not the same without my dad. But we know he's watchin over us.

I want to thank the Applegate family for making me feel so welcome in there home. You've made this Thanksgiving one that I won't ever forget. :)

I've been tagged.

I've been tagged by my girl Sara down in sunny St. George. thanks girl.

4 Places that I've lived...
1. Medford, Oregon (first 6 years of my life)
2. Renton, Washington (for two years while my dad finished up school)
3. North Ogden, Utah (this is where I call home)

4(or more) places I've gone on vacation...
1. Okinawa, Japan (visit family I've never met before. Coolest place ever!)
2. Cali- Disneyland, Huntington Beach, San Diego, Newport)
3. Carribean Cruise- Jamaica, Haiti, Grand Caymen, and Cozumel
4. Lake Tahoe
5. Oregon Coast (we've gone camping on the coast ever since I was a wee one)
6. Lake Powell
7. Kauai, Hawaii (hopefully Maui here in a couple weeks too!)

4 Jobs I've had...
1. I worked for Ogden Raptor's baseball a couple summers doing concessions. I think that was the first real job I've ever had.
2. Dance teacher. I worked for my cheer coach for a couple of years teaching lil' girls. I loved it! It was so much fun!
3. Certified bed pusher... haha. I started out as a Transporter for the hospital. I was pretty important in the hospital. :)
4. My current job is I work in telecommunications at Mckay Dee hospital as an Operator. I've been with Mckay for 3 1/2 years... wow time flies!

4 Foods I love...
1. Costa Vida sweet pork salads.. so so good!
2. Chili's chips and salsa.
3. Cold Stone Ice cream, Preferably something really chocolatey or something fruity with gummy bears.
4. Mom's homemade lasagna.
5. Pita pit. -Trace and I eat there at least once a week.

4 Hobbies...
1. Boating. -nothing better than catchin some rays, listening to some tunes, and doing a lil' wakeboarding. good times.
2. Photography. I love taking pictures, I've always got my camera with me.In my spare time I always get online and look at photography.
3. Watchin sports with Trace. I've always loved sports, but I've learned to love the game even more now. :)
4. Reading. I wish I had more time to read the books that I want to. I'm really looking forward to catch up with this christmas break.

4 Things people might not know about me...
1. I have double jointed elbows and thumbs. -kinda gross I know. :)
2. I love my feet rubbed and pampered more than anything! So relaxing!
3. I've been told I snore sometimes when I sleep... I think we all do at times!
4. My room and car hardly ever stay clean! It's so hard for me to keep them clean! haha! I know it's terrible..I'm workin on it!

4 things I would do if I was a billionaire...
1. Invest.Invest.Invest! why not make two billion if you can! :)
2. Pay off all debt, Buy a house, and of course do a lil' shopping of my own!
3. Go on a service mission to a third world country would be so cool! I'd love to give back, especially where I have been given sooo much!
4. Donate to cancer research and to families who have lost loved ones to cancer.

Well there you have it... That's me in a nut shell! Now it's my turn to tag. My good friend Amber Hansen you are officially tagged by me! :) Can't wait to see what crazy answers you come up with!

Dorothy meets cute fisherman.

Well even tho our costumes totally rock, this Halloween was sorta a bust! As you can see trace and I were all dressed up ready to go out and have a good time when our plans fell through. We had some great homemade costumes, it's too bad we weren't able to show them off! Oh well, there's always next year. We still had a good time chillin' together. :o)
For those of you who don't know, Trace and I met last Halloween! I just couldn't resist the boy in the giant shark costume! haha! What a catch huh!? :o)
Hope ya'll had a spooky Halloween!

my guilty pleasure.

There is nothing tastier than a delicious cookie! I could be any cookie.. because I sure love them all. :)

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Bittersweet...

It's official...Derek is in the MTC! ah! that was so so hard to say goodbye! Of course I bawled my eyes out! He's been there now for a week today. It's really weird that it's just me, my Mom and brother at the house now. And we're hardly ever there all at the same time. It's been an adjustment that we haven't gotten used to just yet. I keep thinking he's gonna be home when I get home from work! :) He'll be in Provo for two more weeks than goes to the Dominican Republic MTC for 6 weeks. After that he'll spend the rest of the time preaching and teaching! :) Derek you are my hero! Love ya bud!



It was really awesome to see my Mom put Derek's missionary tag on him. It was definately a special moment that I won't ever forget!

Isn't he just so dang cute! :)

Take a picture.. it lasts longer!

We had the opprotunity to get our family pictures taken a couple weeks ago. We went up to snow basin and took some in the vibrant fall colors then went down into the canyon on this really great bright red bridge. I loved it! We had so much fun!
I am such a sucker for great photography. I think it is such an incredible talent to be able to capture those special moments in life! Julie Parker is who did our pictures. She is so talented and fun to work with! I would recommend her to anyone! So big shout out to Julie! You are fantastic! Your work is breath taking! One day you might just do my wedding! :) Check out her website and blog.. It's awesome! www.julieparkerphotography.com

Beverly Beach, Oregon

It is our last family vacation the 4 of us will be all together for the next 3 years. With Derek leaving in October and Kyle next year we wanted to get back to the Oregon coast for a family reunion with my Mom's side of the family. It was a lot of fun this year. We had our good family friends The Okelberry's and Smedley's along for the fun. We had a really rough start and almost weren't able to go but we made it in one piece!
Oregon is one of the prettiest places to visit and it is the only way to go camping. It's so green and woodsy, the beach was in walking distance of our campsite and the weather was perfect(low 70's). It's definitely not like utah camping.
I've been camping on the Oregon coast ever since I was a lil' one! Many, many good times! If ya'll get a chance to get up there, do it! It's amazing!




Me and Tara

The boys workin hard shelling the crab they caught that morning.

The tidal pools we found were sweet! we found all sorts of sea creatures! :)

Good times on the beach! It was our last night so we all went down to the beach and built a huge bonfire!

Called to Serve

My lil' brother and best friend in the whole world is goin on a mission! He received his call almost a month ago now. Derek has been called to serve in the Dominican Republic Santiago North Mission. We are all so proud of him for accepting this call to serve the Lord. He is going to make a great missionary! I am so excited for him! I truly admire his strength and courage! Derek you are amazing! Love you bud!

It's Official Ya'll!

Yep! I'm the newest blogger on the block! Thanks to all my wonderful friends who have inspired me to start my very own blog! What a great way to share the good times in our lives! Holla atcha girl! ENJOY! ;)