Eventful Weekend.....

This past weekend was a good one. Not only did I get some homework done, clean the house, and now only have one week left of classes before the semester ends, but I also had some fun.

Friday night was the annual Pharmacy Christmas party. It was nice to see some of the people from my class that I haven't seen much. We mostly talked and caught up, and some of our faculty even attended. It was only a couple hours but it was fun to catch up and see everyone. After the party was over, Dani, Steph, and I went to eat dinner and then spent the rest of the night hanging out at the house. It felt good to get out of the house and do something with my friends.

Saturday night the basketball team played CU. We knew it was going to be pretty packed because CU is nationally ranked #19. We got there an hour early and still had to sit at the back of the student section. I've never seen so many people at a basketball game (it was  reported that we had over 8,000 in attendance). Our team definitely didn't disappoint. They played great and the atmosphere was awesome! We won the game 76-69!! It was a great day to be a Pokes fan.

This semester is coming to an end quickly, and pretty soon it's going to get super busy & stressful. It was nice to have a weekend where I was able to go out and have a good time before hitting the books to finish out my semester!

Christmas Decorations.....

I went to Kmart today to get some storage containers for my room and couldn't help going to the Christmas section to see what they had for decorations. They had the cutest Santa's and Snowmen. I was very impressed with the cute decorations they have. I forget about Kmart, even though it's only a couple blocks away from our house, we usually go out to Walmart.

I love Christmas time and all the cute decorations to put around the house. We usually only put our Christmas tree up, but we wanted to do something more this year. It totally adds a lot to our little tree. We might put some lights around the windows, but that's if we're feeling ambitious and ever decide to get them out! For now this is good enough.

Very Blessed.....

I've never taken the time to write down all those things that I'm thankful for in my life. With it being November, even though Thanksgiving is already over, I still wanted to document it. I'm grateful for this time of year that provides me the opportunity to think of all the blessings I have in my life. Kara wrote something on Facebook that really made me realize that I need to be better about expressing what I'm grateful for in my life. She said something like what if we were to wake up tomorrow with only what we were thankful for yesterday. Needless to say, I wouldn't wake up with very much because I take a lot for granted in my life.

• First and foremost, I'm thankful for my family. I couldn't ask for a more loving, supportive family that's always there for me. They are the best examples to me and would do anything for me. It's nice to know that I've always got people there for me, no matter what. I have the best parents in the world, who provide for me, love me, protect me, and are always there for me. I couldn't ask for better sisters, they are my best friends and are always there for me. My nieces & nephews love me, and I love them, couldn't imagine life without them. I have amazing brother-in-laws that are so much fun and add so much to our family. :) I have the best family ever!
• I'm grateful to have the gospel in my life. It's because I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that I am the person that I am. The longer I live, the more I realize how important it is in my life. I'm so thankful for my testimony of the gospel that gives me peace in my life.
• Along with the gospel, I'm thankful for the scriptures & words of the prophets today. No matter what stage of life I'm in, what questions I have, or whatever it is that I'm struggling with, I'm always able to find answers when I search and read the words and teachings of the prophets.
• Prayer and the Atonement are two very powerful tools that I have in my life. I love that I have the opportunity to talk with someone that always knows what I'm going through, how I think, and what I'm feeling. I've made my fair share of mistakes and bad decisions in my life, and luckily through the use of the Atonement, I can take care of those things and strive to be a better person. 
• I'm lucky to have amazing friends that are always there for me. As I've been down in school, I've met tons of new people that I will be friends with for the rest of my life. I'm also blessed to have some of the best friends ever from high school. I know that I can depend on them for anything. 
• The opportunity to get a higher education, is huge to me. I'm able to go to school and get a degree in a field that I absolutely love, and will end up with a job that I've wanted since I was a little girl. It's always been my dream to be a pharmacist, and in just a couple more years that dream will come true. 
• I'm fortunate enough to have a beautiful home, that's safe, and provides me with so many conveniences, both at home & at school. I don't have anything to worry about when it comes to my home. It's so nice to not have to move in & out of the house at the end of the semesters.
• We live in a safe area and the best country in the world, where I have the opportunity to have many freedoms that I take for granted. 
• I have so many blessings, I can't even begin to name them all. I've been blessed with good health, no complications with my body, a good car, computer, music, many talents, I've never had to go without anything, and so many other things that I can't even think of. 

I know there's so many things that I didn't name above that I'm fortunate to have. I'm so blessed to have all these people, things, and opportunities in my life. I take way too much for granted and don't express my gratitude nearly enough to deserve everything that I have in my life. 

Accomplished.....

I've been feeling very accomplished these past couple days. It could be because I actually did something for a change. :) Usually when I get home after driving all day I just sit around, but not this trip! Dani & I left earlier in the day because it started snowing and we didn't want to be traveling in bad weather. Most of the time we get home late around 8 or 9, so there's not much time to do anything, but we got home around 4:30 so there was a lot of time left in the day. I got everything unpacked, the house cleaned, went shopping, did my homework, and my personal favorite was getting my Christmas tree put up while listening to Christmas music!

I love this time of the year and count down until it's time to decorate, listen to the music, and watch the holiday movies. Our tiny tree got a change this year. In the past we decorated it in pink & silver. Dani was never that big of a fan, and I wasn't either but our choices were limited. :) When we went up to Billings before we came home, we found some new things at Target to decorate it. This year it's red & green, sticking with the traditional colors. I love the change!! Our little tree is the best, even if it is a kind of crooked, we're only in Laramie for a few weeks so it does the job.

Then today I've been to class, did my homework, watched another Christmas movie, am currently blogging, and going to do some more homework. It's kind of pathetic I feel accomplished when I've really done so little, but I still feel that way! I'm trying to get my online classes done within the next two weeks, so I can have an easy Finals Week with only one final. If I do this, then I'll be done & home for my month long break before my birthday!

Thanksgiving Break.....

I can't believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone. We got to have an extra long break this year because we don't have classes on Tuesday, so we headed to Lovell Friday morning. We spent the week with Kara and her family, hanging out at home, being with friends, and eating good food. What we didn't plan on was getting sick. The flu went through our family and made things a little miserable for some of us at times.

Emilee had a busy weekend when we first got to town with All-District, a WHSAA meeting, basketball practice, and her activity banquet, we barely saw her until later in the week when she was off of school. She's such a busy, talented girl, and she definitely needed a break!

I spent a lot of time with Kara and her kids this week! I sure do miss her cute kids when I'm down at school. Saturday we went to How the Grinch Stole Christmas for the Holiday Mingle at the Hyart. On Tuesday, Jake had his first grade ABCs of Thanksgiving play. He looked so cute in his little pilgrim outfit. He's getting so big, and is such a smart, handsome boy! I love to support them all in everything they do.

After the play was over, I headed to Basin to see Kristen and her new house. It's hard not having her in Laramie with me anymore, but she's happy and loving married life. It's crazy we're all growing up!

Wednesday I spent at home, went to Minchow's for dinner, and then helped my mom make pies. I've never made pies before, and I was a little nervous. It took a lot more time for my mom because she was teaching me how to do everything, but I'm happy I got to learn because she makes the best pies (and I definitely need to learn how to make them)! I'm glad to report that I didn't screw up the pies, and they tasted good - but of course that's because my mom kept a close eye on me.

Thanksgiving was small this year. It was just our family and Kara, Jason, and the kids joined us. It was nice to spend it with family and the food was delicious. We spent the day eating and being lazy. I made activity books for the kids to do when they got to the house. They had a word search, cross-word puzzle, word scramble, coloring pages, and a page to write what they're thankful for. Needless to say, they were a hit! We ate in the living room, and Katelyn said our house looked like the Olive Garden (which means it looked pretty dang cool)!

I love this holiday and the opportunity it gives me to think of all the blessings I have in my life. I'm such a lucky girl to have been blessed with so many good things in my life.

To finish out my break, I spent it with my family. Emi and I went to Breaking Dawn part 2 up in Powell on Friday night. Then on Saturday, we spent the day in Billings shopping, eating at the Olive Garden, and spending time together :) It was a great ending to a really fun break!

This year is flying by!! I'll be done with another semester of school in 3 weeks, and home for Christmas break for a month. I love the holiday season and am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family to surround me.

Not This Time.....

After losing in the championship last year, the Lady Bulldogs wouldn't let that happen again. Emi and her team won the State Championship this last weekend. They did amazing and played some of the best volleyball I've seen them play all year long. They swept the tournament, winning each game in 3 matches.

Their first game was against Southeast. After getting out the first game jitters, they played great. It was over in a hurry. Emi did great and had a solid game, but what else is new!! Luckily her first game was late enough that Dani and I could make it in time. I had a test that afternoon, so we couldn't leave until 2:00. Her game wasn't until 4:30 so we made it in plenty of time.

After the game that night, we headed back to the hotel to eat pizza and hang out. Before we settled down for the night, Dani and I took some sugar cookies (which are Emi's favorite) that we made over to Emi's hotel. We ate some pizza for dinner with everyone outside of my parents hotel room. To finish off the night, Dani, Melissa, and I had a late night hair coloring session. It was great to spend time talking and just spending time together.

For the semi-final Emi played Wright. What a sweet game that was to watch, since Wright was the team that beat our girls in the championship last year. It was a bit scary because the first two games, Wright jumped out to a 8 point lead. The girls worked hard, didn't panic, and slowly chipped away at their lead. All the girls stepped up and played together extremely well. You can definitely tell they got into the Wright girls heads and easily beat them in the third game. Needless to say, Emi was a little relieved. She had so much stress on her, and nobody thought that they would make it to the championship after losing such a big senior class last year. I knew they could do it, and the team peaked at exactly the right time. They played their best games at the state tournament, and everything just clicked for them.

Before the championship game, the whole herd of us (we have been referred to as the birthday party as a matter of fact) went to eat at Olive Garden. We checked out of the hotel before the game since my dad had to be home for meetings the next morning. Darius's favorite thing about our hotel was the "bucking moo" in the lobby at the Come On Inn. I loved seeing the little munchkins and getting to play with them all weekend.

For the championship game they had to play Big Horn. The girls were ready and you could see the determination on all their faces. It was awesome to see them play. A lot of people came down from Lovell to support the girls. I love being from small towns, where everyone loves to support the high school athletes. They came out swinging and dominated the game early. Emi played like such a beast. Between the Wright & Big Horn games, Emi had 39 kills!! I wish I had 1/3 of the skill that she has for the game. I was so excited for Emilee when her and her team won, that I doubt it would have been possible to be any happier than if it had been me that had won.

Dani and I were going to head back to Laramie originally, but after Emilee won the championship we couldn't miss out on getting to "honk" them in that night on the firetruck. So instead, we came to Lovell for the rest of the weekend to get to support Emi a little more and also spend time with Liss the last day she was here.

As if winning the championship wasn't enough, Emilee was also named to both All-Conference and All-State team. She was also interviewed for the paper after winning the semi-final game, and interviewed for the Casper news after they won the championship. The next morning, Lovell was on a full page cover of the Casper Tribune celebrating their win!!

Emilee has had an amazing season, and I can't believe how much she improved throughout the year (not that she wasn't a stud to begin with). Her team definitely couldn't have done it without her and her leadership. Even though she's only a sophomore, her team looked to her and she was always very consistent. I'm so proud of my baby sister and all of her accomplishments. Congratulations baby sister, you deserve it!!!

Fan Section.....

One of the best things about being the baby of a big family is that you have a huge fan section. This weekend at Regional Volleyball, Emi had all the nieces, nephews, sisters, parents, one brother-in-law, an aunt, and an uncle. We even heard people that were in awe of how many people were there for one girl.

We had shirts, bracelets, and signs. It's sure fun to cheer for such a talented girl. She played amazing, and keeps improving each game. I am amazed by the talent that Emilee has. It was a great weekend to get to see everyone. Melissa and her kids even get to be here for State this weekend too.

I can't wait to see her play again this weekend and get to spend time with the whole family. I'm so proud of Emilee and her team. They placed 3rd in the tournament, and I know they will do great again this weekend. Good luck this weekend Emi-Chelle!!

Candy Bar Letter.....

This past weekend when I was home for Kristen's wedding, it was also Homecoming Weekend. Last year, we made the whole team treat bags, but instead of doing it for the whole team we made Emi a huge candy bar letter. We sure do love our baby sister and are so proud of her in everything she does. We wanted to do something fun for her, but didn't want to do the same sayings as we did last year, so we came up with new ones!

Hey "M&M"!!

We know you're a "Sweetheart" "Now -but- Later" play "Extra" hard and "Crunch" the competition. Be careful and don't "Twix" your ankle. You're the team's "Lifesaver" when you go on one of your killing "Spree"s! Play like a "Smartie" and "Shock" the "Kats"! Try not to "Snicker" when they "Rolo" over dead. Don't ever "Take 5", but "Skor" lots of points! You're a "Star" and worth "100 Grand"!

Love you to "Pieces"!

Love Your "Airhead" Sisters 

(Beth & Dani)

I wish I would have been able to watch her play. She's been doing amazing this year, and has gotten better & better each game. I sure do love you Emi-Chelle and love cheering for you!