Saturday, November 29, 2008

dean winchester

One of my favorite shows on television is Supernatural. It is on the CW on
thursday nights. And it has one of my favorite actors on it. Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester. 
I came across a video of him. It is very funny. I think he is so handsome. Isn't he just so cute. I love watching him every week. Watch this video of him here.

Friday, November 28, 2008

you don't know how long I have waited for you edward cullen

I'm in love with you Edward Cullen. At first I didn't think that I really liked the movie but after a couple days have gone by since I saw it so I have thought about it. I really want to go see it again. Does anyone want to come with me? I cannot stop thinking about the movie actually. I wouldn't mind watching Edward for two hours again. I can see now how cool it is that it was a low budget film and yet it has been very successful and just in the first weekend did awesome in movie sales. It makes me excited for them. Let me clarify though it isn't Robert Pattinson that I am in love with it is the character he plays (to me they have different eyes). Edward Cullen. 

Thursday, November 27, 2008

be grateful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day. Mine was very nice. We started the day off with a good old indoor soccer tournament at my Cousin Sam's house. Which to me indoor soccer is more fun to play then soccer outside. It was a blast! :) We played for over three hours. I felt like I did awesome and played hard. I scored many goals and felt like I was a contributor to my team. ( I also sweated my butt off and got in a really good workout). I am pretty sure though that I might have broken my toe or I did something to it. It is really swollen and has hurt all day even though I took IBprofen. I like to think that by playing indoor soccer all morning that I was preparing for the huge meal that we were going to consume later. Well after that I was already so tired. 


After coming home and showering and getting into some nice clothes we started the preparation for dinner. Dinner was at Chris and Katie's. And lots of family were there from Chris's side. Since Katie I feel like is the only one who looks on my blog- I can actually say to her publically  THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK THESE LAST COUPLE OF days and TODAY!!! And thank you for having me over to share Thanksgiving with you. So after we got ready we started preparing for the meal. Of course Katie had been preparing for the meal all day and the night before and Chris too so we just had a couple things left to do. 

The only thing I really helped to make in this meal were the rolls.  Rolls made from scratch. My Grammy Swenson's "famous Thanksgiving rolls". Well I think just her famous rolls in general but she always makes them on Thanksgiving. She wasn't there today but Katie and I still made them. And that was all I helped with to cook. 

You obviously know what we did next. Oh I was so hungry and I wanted to eat it all and lots of it but I felt like just minutes after I started to eat I was so full! Ha ha I felt stuffed and still do right now. Ha ha :). 

Then we just all sat around chatting. You know how families tend and love to do. One after one they all started to leave. We were left with a small group. And decided to go to a movie. I was already so tired but really wanted to go see this movie. We saw BOLT. A very cute movie and funny too. I just love those Disney Movies. I enjoyed it and am glad I got to see it. I recommend it to you! Of course it is about a dog- the whole time I just wanted to go home and be with my dog Roxy. Ha but she is laying here with me now so it is all good. 

I would say it was a wonderful thanksgiving. And yes there are no pictures. So busy I just didn't take any. That is always a huge regret after your done. 

But I also just wanted to say how truly lucky and blessed I feel in my life. I am really grateful for everyone who is in my life. Everyone! Being with the family is just another reminder how special family is and how important they are in your life. The people who love and care about you and are there for you. So many things I am thankful for. I figured I could make a list of ten so that I wouldn't be here all night. I don't know if you noticed in my previous posts but I kept saying the word "lucky" and that is how I feel. I feel very lucky for everyone and everything in my life. I am very grateful for all that I have in my life and everything that I have been through. I am thankful for my trials and thankful for my extended family who have been there to pick up where my mother left off. Top ten things in no particular order I am thankful for (don't judge me for my answers- it's off the top of my head). 

1. The opportunity to have a body and to come to this earth.
2. The Higbee Family: Chris, Katie and the kids. 
3. To be an American. 
4. To be able to walk, to speak, to listen, to see, and to eat. (Eat anything I want especially Milk. I don't know how I could live without it.)
5. Marge and Merrill Swenson: My Grandparents. For being such an influence in my life. For being such amazing people. For all the love they gave me. To be the ones supporting me behind the scenes. As I have gotten older I have found out that they were the ones who would pay for me to do things. For going beyond and above the title of a grandparent. 
6. Eternal Life. I will see loved ones again one day even after they have passed.
7. Movies. To make you laugh or make you happy or make you cry. 
8. I am grateful for a place I can call home. 
9. I am grateful to be born in 1989 in this generation where we have electricity and heat and the technology that we do. And the fact that they keep making it better. 
10. I am grateful to be a woman and the fact that it is not strange for us to wear heels! :) 
 

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Photo Booth Fun



I babysat for my Cousin this past weekend. And well lets just say the photo booth was great. It helped keep them occupied and entertained. We took hundreds of pictures. I would have put captions but there were too many pictures. Most of them explain themselves. :) enjoy. 

Grandpa's Funeral Service in Utah



It was a beautiful service and a beautiful day. It was very sunny for a day that there should have been rain. We were very lucky to be able to bury Grandpa in his hometown of Spanish Fork, Utah. Where he was born and raised. And he was able to be buried next to his parents. 

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Grandpa's funeral in California



We had two funeral services for my Grandpa. The first one was in Costa Mesa in the ward he had been in for forty- plus years. Lots of his friends and family were. It was very nice. Most of the family was there- which was awesome. A great family get together. And then we were spoiled to have a funeral service in Spanish Fork, Utah where he was born and raised. Where we buried him in the local cemetery. 

i'm going there someday

I love to see the temple. After church we went to see the Newport Beach Temple. The one I hope to get married in one day. A pretty new temple. It was only built a couple years ago. It was finished the summer we moved to Utah. We were lucky to be apart of it. To participate in the Temple Celebration and I got to work there for the open house. A very beautiful temple in it's own unique architecture. It is a very small temple. 

The temple 
Haylie and Ross

Sisters... 

a day only one could dream of

During my first trip to California. My sister, her boyfriend Ross, and I decided to get away one Saturday. So we loaded up the mini van with some bikes and drove over to the California coast. We spent the day bicycling along the Newport Beach Coast. It was a beautiful sunny day (well is there anything else in California). What a beautiful and refreshing site it was to see. The ocean and all the activity around it. We cycled down streets where we use to live and got to stop at the Balboa pier and walk to the end of it. We saw a seal- thanks to Haylie's good eyes. Which I had never seen before on the pier- a seal. It was right below us. So clear- It was awesome. And on this little bike ride we got to stop by Haagen Dazs and have one of my favorite shakes. A Bailey Shake. It was so much fun, more fun then I have had in a long time. And didn't cost any money- can you beat that. Nope, I don't think so. 


It really was a day only one could dream of. 
Oh... (sigh) I love California. 
The three of us on Balboa pier. Right in front of us is Ruby's diner. 
(you can kind of see the reflection of it in my shades)
My sister Haylie and I.
Haylie and Ross. 

And on the way home I saw this and asked Haylie to 
pull over and stop. I had to stop:  It was my name! 
You would have done the same thing! :)

california trip number one

Last month in October I grabbed a flight one tuesday night leaving the next morning from Salt Lake City to John Wayne (Orange County, California airport). I had found out that my Grandpa Swenson had 24-48 hours to live. I immediately started looking at every possible flight leaving that night or the next day. Wow, the feeling I got when I heard my Grandpa was sick. It was more of a shock. I had had this idea that he was going to live forever. It had felt like it anyway- him being 85 and so active and young at heart. My Grandpa- he was like my father. I felt like he claimed me as his own child. He was always there for me. Not only did he bless me as a child. He also allowed for me be born in his home. I still don't know why they had it that way but just from that I think there was this special bond between my Grandparents and I. He also baptized me when I was eight. I still remember my mother asking me who I wanted to baptize me. And I responded quickly by saying my Grandpa. How blessed and lucky was I that my parents made a special trip from Oregon down to California ( a 23 hour drive) just so that my Grandpa could baptize me. He was there when I graduated Middle School and high school. My grandparents also made a trip to Utah to be there when I got my patriarchal blessing. I felt like I was very close to my Grandpa though- more then a lot of people. I don't know if it was because when I was a kid I was always with him but our birthdays were just days apart. His birthday was two days after mine. I always remember it because it was so close... Poor Grammy, I always forget which day hers is on. My Grandpa we loved each other so much. We shared some really special memories. My favorite- something I remember the most is as a kid being glued to his lap while he ate (or read the paper, or watched the TV). And him sharing every other bite with me. Our favorite treat I think was peaches sprinkled in sugar in milk.  


Well this trip was very special and I felt very blessed to be there. I was so lucky to be able to go. Used all my birthday money to fly there and back. It was great to say good bye and let him go. I felt wonderful while serving him- changing his sheets or my favorite was to give him a full body lotion massage. After everything he had done for me it felt good to be there and to help out in any way I could. I think we all did. It was an experience that I was lucky to have.. to be there to watch my family come together and to help out in their own special way and to share their unique and special talents. Here are some pictures from this trip.

My Grammy. The rock of our family. She was so strong
through all of this. They had a wonderful life together. They loved each other so much. 
I love you too, Grammy. 
Showing Grandpa Katie's new baby, Coleman. What a sweet little spirit he is. 
It was so nice to have him there. To have that full circle of life. 
One night we spent the evening singing hymns to Grandpa. It was a very special
night. It was very touching. The room was filled with love. 
I love my family very much. How lucky and blessed I am to 
have had my Grandpa Merrill in my life and all my other extended family. 
Thank you all, really thank you for all of you being there for me. 
you know who you are 
I ♥ you guys 

Sunday, November 16, 2008

oh james

I loved this new james bond movie Quantum of Solace. 
I was so glad I got to see it Thursday night at midnight. 
It was just as good as the last one.
Oh Daniel Craig how I love you and your james bond ways.
And did I mention your blue eyes. 

My favorite part in the movie (not really but I remember it so well) is 
you in that beautiful black pee coat. You did 
look very handsome, now didn't you
James Bond! 

why me

i don't know why but I am scared of the dark
did you know that every night I go to sleep with the light on?
I wonder how much electricity that wastes in a year? 



Wednesday, November 12, 2008

new glasses

just bought a pair of these: 
aviators at
down east outfitters in american fork 
$4.99 

live your life

oh my! i love and adore this song right now.
live your life by T.I featuring Rihanna. 
I downloaded this song yesterday from itunes 
(of course the clean version). 
LOVE IT! 
p.s. did I mention I love her hair. It will inspire me the next time
I style my new hair. 

anti-boy

“Boys frustrate me. I hate all their indirect messages, I hate game playing. Do you like me or don't you? Just tell me so I can get over you.” Kirsten Dunst

I know you all are thinking it but I am going to be the one to say it- I hate boys! What started out as a group night at the movies quickly turned into a girls night out! We went and saw House Bunny (chick flick): maybe the reason no boys came. But we saw it at the dollar theater- $.75 cent tuesday! Yahoo! Anyways before the movie started us ladies all discussed current and past boy problems. And let me just say boys are the worst. They are horrible. The things they do and things that they are capable of doing. The way they play games and turn it to have it be like your the one with the problem who needs to change. Why heavenly father invent such an animal. 

“Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable” Plato 

I'm done playing games. Send me a real man. Is there such thing. One of my favorite songs by Carrie Underwood called "The More Boys I Meet". This song is kind of how I feel right now. I posted it to my blog so take a minute to listen. Here are the lyrics: 

"More Boys I Meet"

This boy here wants to move too fast
He sees my future as having a past
Well, I don't think so
I don't think so

That boy there, well he's playing a fool
He thinks he's funny and he thinks he's cool
We'll I don't think so
I don't think so

Cheap date, bad taste, another night gone to waste
Talking about nothing in so many words
It's not like I'm not trying
'Cause I'll give anyone a shot once

And, I , I close my eyes
And, I kiss that frog
Each time finding
The more boys I meet the more I love my dog

Here's this guy, thinks he's bad to the bone
He wants to pick me up and take me home
Well, I don't think so
I don't think so

Cage fights, PlayStation, X-Games, Raider Nation
Oversize pants with an ego to match
It's not like I'm not trying
'Cause I'll give anyone a shot once

And, I , I close my eyes
And, I kiss that frog
Each time finding
The more boys I meet the more I love my dog

Why can't they be like the one's that mean everything to me
The warm and loyal, open and friendly
It's not like I'm not trying
'Cause I'll give anyone a shot once

I close my eyes
And, I kiss that frog
Each time finding
The more boys I meet the more I love my

I close my eyes
And, I kiss that frog
Each time finding
The more boys I meet the more I love my dog

The more I love my dog

I ♥ You Roxy! 

Monday, November 10, 2008

I'm 19!

Oh my I haven't even had time to really think about it.
But I am 19! Yahoo... Let us take a minute
to Celebrate! 

my tunes for the week

Beautiful Life by Jenny Jordan Frogley 
I highly recommend this album. I feel like the songs were made for me. This cd has helped me with some of the ruff things I have been going through these past couple of weeks. I can't pick a favorite song...
I love them all.

let us all remember that our lives are beautiful 

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

grandpa happy birthday wherever you are

Today is my Grandpa's birthday. I felt I should honor him and celebrate his birthday. He would have been 86 today. So let us celebrate his life and the man he was. He was an amazing person. I miss him dearly. I think about him many times a day. He was so many great things: a great son, brother, dad, grandpa, bishop, missionary, son of god. How blessed am I to know him and to be his granddaughter. He touched so many people's lives. Happy Birthday to you Grandpa. I love you and miss you; you were such a sweet, little man.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

election day


Very exciting isn't it. I am embarrassed to say that I did not vote. I did not register in time. Well it was very fun to see all the "I Voted" Stickers and to see all the businesses that were giving away free stuff to voters. Like for example Ben & Jerry's gave away one free scoop of ice cream and Starbucks gave away one free cup of coffee to voters. How cool huh! 
The cutest placement of sticker award goes to a pregnant women who came into my work who put it on her belly where her belly button is. I thought it was the cutest thing! 

05,304,889 people on facebook who have voted as of 10:54 pm

Congrats to Barack Obama, first African-American leader.
elected 44th president of the united states of america. 

"Change has come to America"

Monday, November 3, 2008

happy birthday to me!

Well today was my birthday... I am 19! Wow, ha ha I am still so young. It is exciting to think what is ahead of me. The years to come. I started the birthday day (12:00 am) with a bubble bath and got in bed and snuggled with the covers and watched one of my favorite movies "The Devil Wears Prada". I woke up only to start on piles of laundry that have been sitting for weeks that have needed to be folded (because of all the travels and being so busy I haven't had time.)It was a very uneventful birthday. I was lucky to have a birthday cake though (thanks to Katie) which was a great way to end the birthday day. 


P.S. As you can see I CUT ME HAIR!!!! Ahhhhh I really did it. Ha ha it was fun. I am starting a new year. I am changing some things in my life. And the new hair felt really liberating. Watching them cut eat piece off felt like I was letting go of bad habits. 

coleman's blessing

It was a wonderful day at Coleman's Blessing. The whole family was there. We got to mingle and eat wonderful food (mmmm it was yummy- thanks Katie for all your hard work). Coleman of course is a very special baby, he is so sweet. I am so lucky to be able to be around him so often and to hold him. I cannot wait to get to know him more.