Heather's Happenings

Mr. Magorium/Don't Be Shy

2009-10-04T20:25:00.001-07:00

This video is definitely an absolute favorite. For those of you getting this update, you will have to go to my blog to watch the video, but not only is this movie, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, a most fantastic movie, but this song from the movie has become a favorite of mine. If you have not seen the movie, it is a wonderful family film, I watch it all the time. Again, the video is super good, so you should go to my blog and watch :)

Hoover Dam

2009-09-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

The Hoover Dam is this enormous thing built seemingly in the middle of nowhere and very amazing. Just outside of the city of Boulder and along the border of Arizona, it truly is amazing. I had a lot of fun just walking on top and looking out on the rocks. I didn't actually go on any tours or go into the visitors center because it cost a lot of money, and we really didn't want to spend our money on it.... Monica had a little too much fun making dam jokes such as, "This dam escalator is small" or "This dam wind is going to blow me over" and such....

If you make these pictures bigger, I am on the Nevada-Arizona state line, two different states at once :)
They are building this massive bridge so that you can cross the border between the two states without having to go over the dam, and this is what it looks like now. You can click on the picture to make it bigger, and believe me, it is huge! I don't remember when it is supposed to be done, but they have been working on it for a while.
And nothing like some glasses from the gift shop to have some fun....

Yogurtland

2009-09-19T19:40:00.001-07:00

The most amazing thing for me in this life has been ice cream...ok not exactly, but it really has been a love :) I have discovered a new love, and that is for frozen yogurt from yogurtland. Here's the deal, you go through, as you can kind of see in the picture, and choose what flavors you want and actually fill your cup yourself. Then there are all of these toppings that you can put on top of the ice cream, including different types of cereal, which you can also see from the picture... Then you take it up and you pay for it by the ounce. So, it's 33 cents an ounce. Whoever thought of this was a genius and obviously needs to open one wherever I may live.... I have definitely gone back there a few times....

Vegas

2009-09-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

I figured that it is about time for a blog update, and what better way to spend my birthday but to listen to some new music I just bought and write some blog entries?
So, after Shawn and Marci's wedding, Monica and I headed out for Vegas. We flew into SLC and took a shuttle down to Angela's house in Provo, where we met up with my car. Our first randomness of the car ride was seeing this on the freeway......

We laughed pretty hard at this one :)
After this little adventure, we got into my car, had to take it through a car wash because it was so nasty, and then headed out on our ride to Vegas! We were in four states in one day. Oregon, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada.

We were quite excited to be in Nevada when it finally rolled around. The drive was pretty boring, especially though Utah. When we hit Arizona, it was fun to be driving through the canyons instead of mountanious green that I usually drive through in Oregon. It was way pretty, a little boring, but still a little different scenery. When we first saw Vegas we were very excited. I must admit that it wasn't as impressive as when me and my roommates were coming back from Utah and saw it at night. Holy cow does Vegas look much bigger at night than during the day, especially from afar. So, anyways, once we found our way to my apartment, with some help from the handy dandy GPS, I was so happy to be in there finally. It was probably at least 110 outside, although I would guess that it was even more than that. I checked in and we unloaded my car while poring sweat in the heat.... My roommates were way nice when I first met them, and I was genuinely excited to get to know them better and to be here in Vegas for a new adventure.
After spending a few days moving in, we decided it was time for a little fun in going to the strip. We went to the M&M factory and the coke store, which is basically just like walking into a store. Oh, and the coolest part is the fact that in the M&M store, they totally spray the smell of chocolate, so it smells like chocolate in there all the time...
At the M&M world, we saw a 3D movie, not as exciting as the ones at Disneyland, but not too bad either...

Here we are showing off our purchases....Monica took some pretty amazing pictures, and we had a lot of fun. We walked up and down pretty much the entire strip, half in one day and the other half in another. Here are some more pictures of what we saw....Lastly, we saw the Bellagio fountain show. So amazing! It comes on every 15 minutes after 8, so we were able to see it three times. It was way amazing.

Visits

2009-08-02T22:46:00.000-07:00

I went to Angela's house for a week after my graduation. I had fun playing with my nephews and holding my new nephew who was just two weeks old. We took them bowling and I playing the Wii with my older nephew, he loves playing the monster truck game. We also went to the temple open house in Jordan, whose name I can not for the life of me remember. At least, I remember it but don't remember how to say it, the Oquir mountain, and yes, I know that is probably not how you spell it :) This is the second temple open house that I have attended, the first was the Rexburg temple open house which I also was able to volunteer at. I love walking through the temple and can't wait until I can one day go through it myself. I know that it truly is the house of the Lord, and I am grateful to be a part of this gospel where I am able to look the the Lord to help me and visit His temples.

Graduation

2009-08-02T22:26:00.000-07:00

It's true, I have graduated, although it isn't complete graduation because I still have my student teaching, but I walked this last semester. So, I am excited to be done and moving on with my life after college. My mom and dad came up for the ceremony, and the took about a million hours of video (OK, not that much, but a lot) and I loved having them there. I also had Amber and Mike come and see my walk and I was excited that they were able to be there for my special time. I loved attending BYU Idaho and I know that it was the place to be. I loved my teachers and the people that I met. I learned so much from others experiences as well as from my own. BYU Idaho is such a wonderful institution where I could feel the spirit of the Lord everyday in my classes. There are wonderful leaders and everything you learn is tied in to the gospel. I know that BYU Idaho was the right place for me and I am excited to take the knowledge that has been entrusted with me into the world. I don't know where I will go from here, but I am very excited to move on with my life and find a career. I love and am thankful for all of those who helped me to get through college, especially my parents who helped me financially and who also encouraged me to keep trying my hardest and to keep going with my dreams.

Life as I know it....

2009-07-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

So, I have had a lot of craziness the past month or so. I finished up school, went to Oregon for the fourth, went to Utah for my nephew's baptism, and have been packing and in the midst of moving.....so much fun....thought I would share with you a few pictures :)

At J.V.'s baptism, my nephew, doesn't he look so handsome??? Lucas, my nephew, and I, this is in Utah of the same weekend. We were trying to keep him out of Amber's family picture with grandma, and I ended up with a picture of him!
My new nephew, Spencer, and I. When we went to my cousins wedding, one of my other cousins was walking around with this tiny baby. I was thinking, well that is a cute little baby! Come to find out it was my new nephew :)

These are my other super cute nephews all together at my cousins wedding, making mischief and playing in the water...

My brother Alan and sister Amber at the wedding, along with Mike and Isabel.Fourth of July FIREWORKS!!!!! OK, so I had so much fun over the fourth of July and Isabel was super cute... I thought that this was cute with Isabel.

Another of our whole group, minus dad, at the fireworks.
We were in the bird atrium at the Zoo, she looks half scared, half interested...hahaha...I like this picture:)

Have YOU Heard of This Movie??

2009-07-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

So, I just have to say that I am way excited about this movie. I really love the book and I am excited to know what they are going to do with the movie. This trailer makes it look as if it will be a very good movie....

Rain, Rain, and Thunderstorm...

2009-07-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

Let's just say that I love thunderstorms...This last month we have been getting an absolute ton of rain storms, although the weather has decided to be sunny now...I love rain. I know that it has something about growing up in Oregon sunshine. I have decided that extreme rain coming down plus thunder and lightening is my new favorite, it's true... I would go out on my porch all the time and watch the extreme rain and feel the thunder and lightening. Yes, thunder and lightening and rain, I love you :)

Complete and Utter Excitement...

2009-07-01T10:56:00.001-07:00

Can I just say that I am so excited for this?? Yes, I do have midnight showing tickets, and I will be seeing it soon!! Two weeks from tonight :)

Catching Up

2009-07-01T10:30:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's true....I am a terrible person the last few months at the updating of the blog:)
I have been busy in my LAST semester of college! Can you believe that I will be graduating in three weeks??? I know that I can't:) I will miss all of the good times here at BYU-I, but I am also excited to move on from my classes.
This semester, my practicum placement was in a developmental kindergarten class. I was really nervous about it, and I was scared that I would have no idea what in the world I was doing. But, it turned out to be an amazing experience. My students were so cute and they were so smart! I don't think I ever realized how much kindergarteners really know about the world...
Anyways, after that was over, I was put into a summer school kindergarten classroom where I was able to work with hispanic students who had very limited English. It was really an eye opener on how to help students who are not at grade level or are not understanding what is taught in the classroom. I really loved both experiences and I think that they both helped me to understand more about my abilities.
Now, I am done with practicum and summer school and am sitting around in all this extra time that I now have, wondering what to do with myself:) I am trying to be productive, let's see how well that has gone...

Oregon Trip!

2009-04-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

During the break between semesters, I went to Oregon along with my sister Amber, my niece Isabel, and my roommate Liz. I had so much fun!!! We have pictures from going to the falls, I decided to take some pictures of the water where it shows the movement as well as the beauty of the waterfalls. We loved seeing all of the green, it is such a change from the brown of Idaho:) The beauty that God has made for us to enjoy is amazing!! I went and showed Liz the temple and all of the wonderful flowers are out. We also did a lot of shopping:) Liz officially named my mom the extreme energizer bunny! There's a couple cute pictures of Isabel in the mix where she was just plain cute, and some with Isabel and grandma and grandpa. Overall, it was a most amazing vacation. It was really hard to leave home to come back here, especially when I was used to staying home in the summer. It is a hard semester, but I am having fun and learning a ton!

John Schmidt meets Taylor Swift and Viva La Vida

2009-04-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

So, I was just reading one of my old roommates blogs and I discovered the most amazing thing ever!! This video of John Schmidt playing Love Story is amazing. I'm pretty sure I might like it just as much as the original. I love John Schmidt!!!! Thanks Monica:)

Sunshine Makes me Happy

2009-04-07T16:25:00.001-07:00

HOORAY for 50 degree weather! I am sitting on my couch with the windows open and wearing capris rocking out to Jason Mraz:) I love Jason Mraz and sunshine, they make my finals week more exciting!

No Time for Breaks

2009-04-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

I have decided that this semester I am destined to not have my car. I mean, it's not like I am using it the last few days, but the fact that I have a car sitting in the parking lot is somewhat comforting. I'm sure that Amber is getting tired of running me around. Anyways, I was parking up at the Hinckley on Friday when my car got ran into. I was sitting there waiting as someone who was coming out of their parking spot when there was a crash and I looked to my side and there was a car in the side of my car. It just about scared me out of my skin. So, it wasn't too bad, but I have this great dent in the side of my car. I went around to some different shops to get a quote and it is currently in a shop being fixed. I should have it back tomorrow, which I think is funny because I leave for Oregon on Thursday.... Oh well, life is funny is some ways:)

Weather and Such....

2009-03-29T16:23:00.001-07:00

So when you live in Rexburg, there are certain things that go along with the territory. For example, living half an hour from the mall, or not having anything but a Walmart and Kmart, or having to drive four hours to get to an airport.... But, the one thing that I really don't like about Rexburg is the random snow. Throughout the fall and winter it is not that suprising, snow every day plus wind is fine, normal (even though I do not enjoy it) Well, when it hits spring, I really want to see clear sunny days. Not a day of 60 degrees and a day of 20 degrees. Well, it seems that the winter really really doesn't want to leave.... The last two Sunday's have been crazy weather, I guess it's a good thing that it's Sunday and I don't have to go anywhere. I guess I am kind of liking it because it will probably be some of the last times I see snow for a while....Currently, it is 28 degrees and the wind is blowing at 29 mph. On top of it all, it is snowing...Joy! Seriously though, I am not the biggest fan of the weather currently...

Final Photography Project

2009-03-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

For my final photography project, I had to choose a theme and take pictures relating around that theme. I decided to do music, and the three things I love that bring me music: flute, piano, and my iPod. I took four pictures of each and then mounted them into frames and onto a piece of black board. I first show all of the pictures I took, then you can see the three separate final products. I had a lot of fun with these pictures, and it made me realize how much I love music, especially how grateful I am for the talents that I have been given to do music and to play the piano and flute as well as having the technology to be able to listen to my favorite music wherever I am.

Hair Cut

2009-03-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

I decided my hair was too long-the longest I had ever had it in four years!! I went to the beauty school yesterday and told them to chop it off! They took off about three and a half inches and I walked out of there thinking "What in the world did I do?" But, today I am enjoying it. I especially like how it doesn't take as much shampoo or style time:) I am getting used to it, my roommate is still trying to get used to it, she loved it long... but it's nice all the same!

Car Troubles

2009-03-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

I love my car, there is no doubt about it. If I had a choice between a nice new car and my tank, the tank would hands down be my decision. So, I get in to drive it and it starts ok but then starts to putter down the street at a striking 20 mph, not wanting to go any faster. AHH!!! I was freaking out! I couldn't believe that my car was broken, and who knew whether it could be fixed, literally.... So, I took it to the shop, believe me, it barely made it there. I was thinking, Oh, a day and it should be back to me, right?? Wrong!! They replaced the fuel filter, tried to replace the computer(but that wasn't the problem so they took it out) and they took it all apart trying to figure out why it was still not running....After TWO WEEKS!!! without a car, I called Brett, my sisters brother in law, and he gave me the name of a really good mechanic in the area. So, I called him, his name was Paul. I need to get my car away from the shop that couldn't figure out was wrong with it and to another guy whom everyone said if he couldn't figure it out, no one could. So, I went to go pick it up and low and behold it didn't start....lucky me!! I had to call a tow truck, sit there and wait for it to come, then Amber and I went out to Paul's (About five minutes out in the middle of nowhere), gave him all my information in hopes of soon having my car back, but my hopes were already dashed:( Paul seemed confident that he could fix it. He called me a few times and said he knew the problem, only to call me a dew hours later to tell me that wasn't really the problem.... A week later, he called and told me to come pick up my car, it was ready!! I was sooooo excited! He said that after trying to replace a few different things, he ended up replacing three of my fuel injectors. And guess what, it works!! It is amazing. I drove away from there so happy to actually have my car back!! In the last two months, my car has been equipped with a new muffler and tail pipe, alternator, cadalidic converter, fuel filter, and three fuel injectors. Surprisingly, the toll for all of that was not too bad, you gotta love the small town mechanics:) It is hard to be here without a car. I had to rely on Amber to drive me around everywhere, thanks to her new car:) She was so amazing and willing to give me rides to and from the elementary school, grocery store, and laundry matt. Three weeks without a car is completely killer! I can't believe people can get around here without one, and I definitely appreciate my car even more now than I did before. I think my roommates appreciate it a little more now too, since they were without rides for so long! I definitely appreciate my parents for giving me my car so that I could get around, I love it!! And that car has history. Pretty much every one of my older siblings drove it. And, on the upper plus side, it actually fits my stuff in it when going on a road trip, a feat that can rarely be accomplished:) Welcome back Tank!!!

Isabel

2009-02-23T14:57:00.001-08:00

I went and watched Isabel for a few hours the other day, and I took a few cute pictures of her. I really liked this one. She has the biggest smile and makes me laugh with all of her grunting:)

Trip to Utah

2009-02-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I took a trip to Utah for presidents day. I was so excited to be able to go and spend time with my sister Angela and her family. I also had my other sister Amber with me. I loved going down to Utah and having a fun relaxing weekend. We went and visited family, went shopping to the mall, and played with my nephews. We played DDR and my nephews had fun dancing on the pads. I also enjoyed seeing Chelsea, we loved talking and hanging out. I miss her as my roommate, but love to visit:) I loved the weekend, and wish that every weekend was a three day weekend.

Photography Assignments Catch up

2009-02-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

So, I have been pretty busy this past month and haven't been able to update my blog, yes it really does make me pretty sad...So, here is a catch up of my photography class:)

Assignment 2:

Assignment 3:

Assignment 4:

I'm in love.....With Picasa

2009-01-20T15:26:00.001-08:00

So, I have been experimenting with Picasa and I have found out that it is not only an amazingly easy software to use, but so much fun!! I had fun with creating some collages, and here is the one that is currently on my desktop.

Photography Photoshoot 1

2009-01-20T15:09:00.001-08:00

I am taking a beginning photography class right now and I am enjoying it:) These are from my first photo shoot, I had my roommate Liz along, and it was fun. My assignment was to photograph one subject in natural light. I chose to try out two different ones, loved both the photo's that I came up with, and had trouble choosing which one, but I had fun choosing the sunglasses pictures.

It's Christmas Time

2009-01-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a wonderful time where I love to spend time at home with my family, even though not everyone is able to come home for Christmas. I had a most wonderful time here. The biggest surprise was the huge snow storm that stranded us in our house the week before Christmas. It is so much more snow than I have ever seen here in Portland. It was fun to see the snow, but I didn't love it because I see snow constantly in Rexburg, and I like the break from the cold and I love seeing my wonderful rain:) But it only lasted a week and a half, and we had a white Christmas, which I don't remember happening before either. So, we had fun playing in the house together:) I had a wonderful time doing puzzles and playing some games. We really enjoyed spending time together, cooped up in the house.
For Christmas, Santa gave me something that I had been asking for all year, a Wii! So, we had a lot of fun bowing, golfing, and playing tennis as well as Mario Kart and Dance Dance Revolution. I am still deciding whether I am bringing it back to school, my mom wants me to leave it at home, I think it's because she wants to play and use it:)
So, a wonderful season of joy and giving. I took my friends children out shopping for presents. While out, I asked them what their favorite part of Christmas was. Each said that their favorite part was not the presents, food, or worldly things, but celebrating the birth of Christ. I am thankful this Christmas to be reminded of the simple things in life and how I can look towards my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I love the Christmas season, not for the presents, but for the ability to spend time with family and to celebrate what Christmas is all about- the birth of our Savior who came down and suffered for our sins and than died for us so we could live with our Heavenly Father again some day. I love the Christmas stories that share the birth of the Savior and the true meaning of Christmas. May the Christmas season bring joy and peace to everyone throughout the year, not just at Christmas time.