Rascal Flatts Concert!

For those of you who don't know, my parents have recently become obsessed with the whole Country Music movement. Working in Nashville, TN will do that to you, I guess. So this summer they bought season tickets to the USANA Ampitheatre Country music concert series. However, they aren't that big fans of good old Rascal Flatts and so guess who got to go to that concert!! ME!!!

I decided to take my good friend Rachael Pearce because she loves Rascal Flatts too and I just knew that Ryan would be rolling his eyes at me as I sang at the top of my lungs all their wonderful songs. It was a great night for a girl's night! (Don't feel too bad for Ryan. He got to golf all day, so he was good!!!)

It really was such a fun night! My parents had great seats but for some reason, the security guard must have thought we needed better seats because he practically forced us to sneak into the 6th row, center!! It was a blast and I'm so glad I got to sing my heart out without eyes rolling!! :D Thanks Ry for letting me have such a fun girl's night!!

Ya, we were that close!

Our awesome seats so close to the stage!

Cowgirls!!

We took these funny pictures before the show. We are total dorks but it was fun to be silly again!

Labor Day Hike

We had such a fun Labor Day weekend this year! It was absolutely perfect weather for a hike so we headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon to hike to Lake Mary. We hiked up and had lunch at the lake. It was a great day off work!

Ryan sitting at the beautiful Lake

Us at the Lake

Beautiful water with flowers

Me at the smaller lake

Mud Volleyball

Just one of the many fun things I get to partake in with the YW! Needless to say, it was a mess!! Some of the girls attacked me and down I went in the gross mud!! But it was all pretty fun!

Building Faith in Our Lives to Help Overcome Fear and Temptation

In the New Testament, we learn a powerful lesson on overcoming our fears with faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. In Matthew 14 the Apostle are in a ship and they see Jesus off a ways in the water, walking on the water. They become afraid but Christ eases their fears by saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” (Matt 14:27). With his faith strengthened by hearing his Master’s voice, Peter desires to walk on the water with Christ. He had great faith as he stepped out into the water to walk toward Jesus. Yet, once again as he saw the boisterous winds and powerful waves that had the power to destroy him, he became afraid. As his faith was decreasing and as he was sinking he cried out to Jesus saying “Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt.” (Matt 14:30-31).

We learn from this account that when we have faith in our Savior, we will surely succeed. However, when we start to doubt in his power and in his plan, we will surely fail.

But how do we overcome our fears? Elder Nelson says we combat our fears by strengthening our faith. Faith is the opposite of fear and they cannot exist together. One will eventually overcome the other.

In the Bible Dictionary under “faith” it reads: “To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone. The Lord has revealed himself and His perfect character, possessing in their fullness all the attributes of love, knowledge, justice, mercy, unchangeableness, power, and every other needful thing, so as to enable the mind of man to place confidence in him without reservation…. Strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness….”

I love how the Bible Dictionary describes faith as having confidence in our Heavenly Father. The scriptures are full of account after account of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ being kind, loving, merciful, forgiving, and most importantly all-knowing. They understand us better than we understand ourselves and know what is best for us. I know that as we come to know our Heavenly Father’s character better, our confidence in Him will increase and we will learn to trust His plan for us.

I would like to relate this principle to that of the sunrise. Every night when I go to bed, I have faith that the sun will rise the next day. I’m sure most of us do. We trust that even though it is completely dark at night and we cannot see the sun, it will rise the following day. Why? Why do we have such strong faith that the sun will return the next day? Because of experience. Day after day we wake up to light. After such consistency of the sun rising every single day, we begin to believe that the next day it will again rise. As we continue to believe it will rise and it continues to do so, our faith is strengthened. So it is with our Heavenly Father. As we learn of our Heavenly Father’s character and His consistency to do what is best for us, our faith will strengthen in Him. Day after day, if we have faith in his plan and put it to the test through consistent scripture study, meaningful prayer, and being obedient to His commandments, we will get the assurance that the gospel is true and our faith and confidence in our Heavenly Father will increase.

Hebrews 10:23 reads, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” God is truly faithful and will give us the blessings he has promised if we are faithful to Him.

I can think of two reasons we may have fear.

One is fear in the future.

Elder Nelson says, “Why do we need such resilient faith? Because difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord “shall suffer persecution.” That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives.”

The world is not becoming any easier to live in. In fact, the values of the world will continue to grow further away from the values we hold to in the Church. And yet, the Apostles and Prophets continue to tell us to “fear not.” I believe it is because they have confidence in our Heavenly Father that His plan is being put in place and all we can do is to have faith in his infinite wisdom. As we adopt this similar attitude, we too can “fear not” and go forth with faith, being “more exemplary and courageous in our daily lives.”

Elder Scott says, “Faith in the future is demonstrated by a couple sealed in the temple. They understand that by obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the plan of happiness of our Father in Heaven, they can have a joyous life together. They recognize that when the challenges intended to be growth opportunities come, they will find ways, as prompted by the Holy Ghost, to overcome them in ways that are productive and character building.”

When we are sealed in the temple as families, we are demonstrating our faith in the Plan of Salvation. It shows to God that we believe there is more to life than this earthly probation. Being sealed in the temple also gives us greater power to fight against the adversary and therefore increases our faith in our ability to succeed in this life.

President Monson said, “I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.”

The second reason we fear is because of our trials.

Elder Hales said, “When the challenges of mortality come, and they come for all of us, it may seem hard to have faith and hard to believe. At these times only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement can bring us peace, hope, and understanding. Only faith that He suffered for our sakes will give us the strength to endure to the end.”

We all have trials in our lives. Whether they are big or small, they are our own personal hardships. They may make us want to give up and say that there is no point to believe anymore and to give up hope in a better future. They may tempt us to become angry with God or ask why it had to happen to us. I believe at this point we have a choice. We have a choice to go through the trial alone or with the help of our Heavenly Father. Why would we ever choose to go through the hardships of this life alone when God is willing to help? Like Peter, if we call out, saying “Lord, save me,” he will immediately stretch forth his hand and catch you. Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ will not leave us to fight our battles alone. Indeed, he says, “I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88).

I bear you my testimony of this principle because I have done it. I have been in trials that seem to crush me and have tempted me to give up hope. Instead of wavering or denying my savior, I knew I needed His help. There was no way I could get through my trial without Him. I called upon His Spirit through prayer and the peace and hope I yearned for was returned to me. Christ immediately caught me and lifted me up.

This does not mean that God will take away the trial or simply let us go smoothly through life without any trials just because we have faith in him.

Elder Richard G. Scott said, “Even if you exercise your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you. He loves you to a depth and completeness you cannot conceive of in your mortal state. Indeed, were you to know His entire plan, you would never ask for that which is contrary to it even though your feelings tempt you to do so. Sincere faith gives understanding and strength to accept the will of our Heavenly Father when it differs from our own. We can accept His will with peace and assurance, confident that His infinite wisdom surpasses our own ability to comprehend fully His plan as it unfolds a piece at a time.”

Keeping an eternal perspective is essential to overcoming fear. The Lord told Joseph Smith in his greatest time of need, “…know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good…. Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.” (D&C 122:7,9).

As we understand the Lord’s plan for us, we will find that fear will melt away. Our faith will increase and it will become easier each time to submit to His will for us, understanding that His way is the best way.

Our fear also can be overcome by knowing that our Heavenly Father will be with us as long as we are worthy to have his presence.

The 3^rd verse in the Hymn “How Firm a Foundation” speaks of our Heavenly Father’s help. “Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed, For I am they God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand.”

Truly when the Lord is on our side, we have no reason to fear.

Richard C. Egdley, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric tells us what faith can accomplish in our lives. He said, “When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast a devil out as they had just witnessed the Savior do, Jesus answered, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove” (Matthew 17:20). I have never witnessed the removal of an actual mountain. But because of faith I have seen a mountain of doubt and despair removed and replaced with hope and optimism. Because of faith I have personally witnessed a mountain of sin replaced with repentance and forgiveness. And because of faith I have personally witnessed a mountain of pain replaced with peace, hope, and gratitude. Yes, I have seen mountains removed.”

Faith is indeed powerful enough to move mountains in our lives.

I would like to close with a scripture. Hebrews 10:35-36 reads, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

Let us hold fast to our confidence in our Heavenly Father so that we may earn the ultimate promise of Eternal Life.

I leave you with this testimony in the name of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Rob's Wedding

The last of Ryan's good friends from college tied the knot this weekend. Rob and Cortney were married in the Las Vegas Temple and it was so beautiful!

Ryan and I drove down to Vegas Friday night after work. (I was totally exhausted so Ryan did the driving while I slept--what a GREAT hubby I have!) We stayed with my Uncle KC and Aunt Debra although we were so busy the whole weekend that we didn't get to see them very much. We pretty much went straight to bed when we got into town because we had to be at the temple at about 9:30 the next morning.

Rob's uncle is Elder Clarke of the First Quorum of the Seventy and so he was there to seal Rob and Cortney. It was a beautiful sealing and it was so personal for them since he knew them so well. In sealings I always think of the day Ryan and I were sealed and how thankful I am for that ordinance that seals families together forever. I can't imagine not having that knowledge. I'm so grafeful for the priesthood.

After the sealing and some fun pictures we headed to the luncheon where we had Macaroni Grill catered lunch. Mmm... It was good. Ryan got to hang out with his friend Rich and Rob's brother Scott so he had a blast with his old buddies. After the luncheon we had like 3 or 4 hours to kill before the reception started. Ryan decided to hang out with his old college friends and I hung out with some of the girls I knew from BYU who were friends of Cortney's.

It was funny because the original plan was to go shopping after we helped Cortney with some small task. However, this turned into us going to Cortney's house and spending about 2 hours helping cut up all the food for the reception. Don't get me wrong, I totally don't mind helping at all but it was just funny because all the people were asking me, "So, how do you know Cortney." To which I would resond, "Well, I don't." haha! I had to explain that my hubby was actually friends with Rob. Anyway, after finishing all the cutting and music-picking, we finally got to do some shopping. We headed to the huge H&M in Vegas and found some cute clothes. I just love shopping!

I met back up with Ryan at the reception, where we had some delicious crepes and fun dancing. Ryan got to catch up with all his friends and I got to laugh at all their funny stories.

Sunday we basically went to church with Uncle KC and then headed home.
We had so much fun on our Vegas vacation and are so happy for Rob and Cortney! We are happy to have another couple to hang out with!

Happy Birthday Olivia

We loved her, yes, no tongue can tell,
How deep, how dearly, and how well.
Christ loved her too, and thought it best
To take her home with Him to rest

I love you sweet girl and I can't wait until I get to hold you again!

Gardner Family Reunion

For the Gardner Family Reunion this year we decided to take part in a Whitaker Tradition of going to Bass Lake and Yosemite! (Yes, it was my idea! haha). We did a lot of hanging out at the cabin and playing games. The one thing you can always count on with the Gardner family is some really great game playing! I love it!

Monday started with a great day in Yosemite! We hike the mist trail which was amazing! It really is one of my very favorite hikes in Yosemite. Not only is it beautiful but it is a really fun hike that has you hike right near the waterfall so you get all wet. It is a fun hike and the view from the top was great. (Even Gavin and Cael made it to the top! haha). We were all pretty tired after the hike so we drove around afterward, looked at the gorgeous views, and of course walked to the bottom of Lower Yosemite Falls. I am sorry to say, however, that we did not climb split rock. I guess that always leaves something for next time!

The next 2 days we spent on Bass Lake. We rented 2 jet skis to play on the lake, which was so much fun. Jumping the waves of the other boats and trying to throw one another off. It was pretty great. We swam in the water, laid out (some in the shade and some in the sun...) We played games on the dock and just hung out. They were some pretty great days, that is for sure! I'm pretty sure I need to live close to a lake one day and go there often. Perhaps we should own jet ski's one day...

Thursday was again another day in Yosemite. This time we didn't do any crazy hikes. We drove up to Washburn Point and Glacier Point to see the amazing views of the valley. Gorgeous! Yosemite really is the best place on Earth! We also did a hike to Taft Point--just a short little jaunt to an amazing view that made us all sick because of the cliffs that you stand on up there. Crazy! We ended our trip in Yosemite with the Giant Sequoias in the Mariposa Grove. These trees were HUGE and so gorgeous.

Our last day on Friday we spent again at the lake. Ok, the girl's did. The boys did what the boys do best. Golf. They enjoyed it and we enjoyed our lake day--the last day to soak up the rays!!

We had so much fun on our trip and can't wait to go back to Yosemite and Bass Lake!

View from Glacier Point of Half Dome

Eating out on the deck at the cabin

Jet Skiing!!

Cousins!

Cute Cael and Gavin

The boys walking around on the rocks at the bottom of the Lower Yosemite Falls. This is the funny sequence I caught of Ben trying to jump from one rock to the next. Funny!!

View of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls

Tunnel View with the whole group!

Ryan and me at Tunnel View

Youth Conference

This year I had the amazing opportunity to go to Youth Conference with our YM/YW group. It was really awesome to be on the leader side, making everything special for the youth so they had an uplifting, fun, and spiritual experience.

Youth Conference was at Reed Ranch this year which is a camp near Strawberry Reservoir. The camp we stayed at had fun activities that we could do any time we wanted. They had archery, swimming pool, lake with canoes and paddle boats, horseback riding, volleyball, basketball, soccer fields, frisby golf, etc. There was not a lack of things to do and if anyone was ever bored, it was their own fault.

The first day was pretty relaxed. We mostly just hung out and played a lot at camp. That night we had a fun skit-in-a-bag night where we made up ridiculous skits to perform in front of each other. It was a blast, really! Those kids are so funny! We had a small devotional within our small groups that night and then sat around the campfire playing games that night. It was a blast.

The girl leaders, Nicki, Chantal, and I, got to stay in Chantal's camper which was amazing. I never knew that camping could be so luxurious. We all slept on a king sized matress and stayed up till who knows how late talking like girls do. I swear we get less sleep than the youth at things like this! Haha!

The next morning we had breakfast, some free time, and then we played the funnest game of "Minute to Win It" that I've ever played. We split up into our groups and each group had to have one person accomplish each task. It was so funny watching the adults do such silly things in the attempt to win!! Our group didn't win, unfortunately, but it was pretty fun anyway!!
That afternoon was probably my favorite part of Youth Conference. We had the funnest game of "Arizona Snowball Fight" ever!! For those of you who don't know what that is, let me explain.... Basically, you take women's pantyhose and cut them into 3 inch pieces. You tie one end and then fill it up with flour. Tie the other end so it is basically a ball of flour. Then you just throw them at each other like you would a snowball. When they hit you they just poof flour all over you! There was flour all over the place and we were a total mess but man, it was so much fun!!

Friday night was the spiritual night where we had our Iron Rod activity. For anyone who has ever been a youth in the church you know exactly what this is. There is a rope that is snaked through the forest and the only advice the youth get is to never let go no matter what! I thought for sure no one would let go but man, I think there were only a handfull of youth that didn't let go of the rope at some point. After the youth finished the journey, they were led to a quiet place in the woods where spiritual music was playing and they were given a letter from their parents about how proud they were of them for making it through the journey. Obviously, this represents the iron rod in the Book of Mormon and our journey through life. I think the youth had a great experience and it helped build their testimony of the gospel. A short devotional and testimony meeting followed and the spirit was very strong. I'm so grateful to be able to serve with such amazing youth and to be able to share these special experiences with them! It is the best calling I could ask for and I love those girls so much! They impress me all the time with their testimony of the gospel and their courage to do what is right.

In the morning we basically packed up and headed home. We stopped at Dairy Keen on the way home, a favorite milkshake spot. Then headed home for a much needed shower.

We had so much fun at Youth Conference and it was a great experience for everyone that went!

Draper Days

This year Ryan and I decided to be a part of the community and go to Draper Days! It was this weekend and it had a bunch of booths with fun vendors and food--the smoothies were pretty delicious--and fun games. We walked around and then ended up watching the Broadway Dolls perform some fun Broadway music and 1960's songs. It was a really good time and I think we will go back next year for sure!

Happily Ever After Girl's Camp 2011

(Sorry this is so long but this is my journal and it's the only way I can remember everything that happened!)

This week I got to go to Girl's Camp with my ward and see how they do things here in the Draper Stake. It was both a BLAST and a totally great experience for our girls and for me. I love our group of YW because they all get along and there are no "clicks". Everyone just hangs out with everyone else. Even the new little beehives hung out with the older girls. This made for an absolutely drama-free time, which is what I'm all about, so it was great! It was also fun to get to know the girls in a new environment and spend time talking to each of them. We had some serious fun! The first day we arrived to camp and began setting up our tents (yes, they use tents in Utah, not the great cabins he had in our Stake growing up). The girls were very good at setting up their own tents and clearing the weeds so they weren't sleeping on big lumps. I was very impressed. We then headed down to the stake meeting to sing some good ol' camp songs. Only one problem though--I had no idea what they were singing. Utah camp songs are so different from California camp songs. I mean, they didn't even know Granny in the Cellar!! Can you believe it?! I couldn't. There was no Malo, Malo, Malo either. It was a shame. But I did learn some of their funny songs, so it was still okay I guess. We then had a special speaker, Caralyn Buehner, talk to the girls about being happy even when live doesn't feel like you are a princess and you can still have your "Happily Ever After" even if you aren't a princess. She is the author of Fanny's Dream and other children's stories. She talked about how she came up with the story of Fanny's Dream and how it has impacted her life. It was a wonderful talk and inspired me to work harder and to "be useful" as she puts it. Back at the camp we played some pretty fun Minute-to-Win-it games. Let's just say those are way harder than I thought they'd be. Some of them were pretty easy but some I couldn't do no matter how long you gave me! haha. For dinner, we had Lasagna cooked in the Dutch oven and even won the Dutch Oven cookoff and our ward won a brand new dutch oven!! I was impressed with the prize!! It was pretty awesome. That night we had a stake meeting where the theme was introduced with fun games and obstacles. It started raining that night though so we left early and ran to our campsites to be in our tents or under the canopy to keep dry. It rained hard that night, which was a bummer, but at least it kept the girls in then tents so we new where they were! Haha! The leaders all stayed in their own tent and we were up talking later than all the girls. There is just something about getting a bunch of girls together that makes for a fun, late night, no matter what your age is!!

Wednesday we had to get up early to eat breakfast before we headed to the stake meeting where our Stake YW Counselor talked to us about overcoming trials and choosing to be happy. It was pretty cool because she actually knew Elizabeth Smart's mother and so she had Elizabeth Smart write a letter to the girls. I think that was very memorable for the girls and so it was awesome. The other thing she said that impressed me was, "A day is just a day. It is what you put in it that counts." We can always choose to be happy no matter what is going on in our lives! After this we split up and did some certification. I'm amazed at how much has stayed the same over the years. They still have the same camp book and go over the same poisonous plants and identify the same clouds. After 6 years of going, however, I still cannot do any of these things! haha. Oh well, that is why I married and Eagle Scout, right? After a review of all the plants we can eat and those we can't even touch, we headed over to welcome the 4th years back from their 4th year hike! Every year the 4th years go on a overnight backpacking hike and then hike into the camp, welcomed and congratulated by the rest of the camp. (I know what you are thinking: there is no way we could ever get the girls from Cypress Stake to go on this kind of hike. It was painful enough to hear all their whining and crying from walking the 0.2 miles to the lake every year!) But our girls are tough!!! We welcomed them with some delicous sandwiches for lunch and some fun crafts! There is nothing that says "girl's camp" more than some good girly crafts! We made adorable block letters of our initials that we painted and put cute scrapbook paper on it. They turned out really cute! After this it was Lake Time!! There are rumors that there are leeches all over the lake so I was pretty leary to go swimming. I opted for a nice canoe ride on the water and it was a miracle that we didn't get tipped over by all the little girls swimming in the lake. But I just couldn't resist when I saw how much fun the zip line over the water looked. I forgot about the leeches for a while and went sailing over the water with some of the young women. It was really fun and really cold but it was nice to get all the dirty and stink off me. I actually felt clean by the end. As we were leaving, however, I spotted some leeches just hanging out on the dock and I was totally grossed out! Like 10 of them just sitting on the dock! I thought it was all just rumors but apparently it was true! I was glad that I hadn't seen them before I got in the lake because it really was pretty fun! All the girls and I went back to camp and washed our hair in the freezing cold pump water that made our heads go numb. It was worth it though because of how clean I felt after. (In case you couldn't tell, we felt really gross without showering the whole time we were there.) After dinner we went to our skit night with the stake where our girls put on a cute little skit about choice and accountability and they made me crack up with their funny New Jersey accents and funny hair! After skits we headed back to camp to have delicious scones as our dessert. It reminded me of New Years Day at Gma Donna's and since I haven't been there for a couple of years now, it was very needed! The girls planned their skipe hunt for the new beehives. (If you don't know what skipe hunting is, I strongly urge you to go to girl's camp and find out! It's a blast! You should have seen the beehives faces! I wish I got a picture of them in pure shock It was comical!) That night we had some pretty funny times in the leader's tent. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants! I just love the young women leaders I serve with. They are great people spiritually, but man are they absolutely hilarious too! Love them! As we were laying in bed laughing and ready to go to sleep, one of our girls gets out of the tent and totally throws up. Apparently she had one too many scones that night (can you blame her though, they are so good!) That one girl being sick quickly turned into three girls being sick so we just made everyone go to sleep and by the morning, they were all fine! Sleep really can cure anything!

Thursday morning we got to sleep in a little bit later (much needed) and started breakfast at around 830. We had french toast, bacon, and some buttermilk syrup that could kick magelby's butt! (and I don't take that lightly!) We then headed to our morning devotional with the stake where we heard from a lady who is a paraplegic. She talked about being happy through all your trials. One thing she said that I really loved was this: Even though we can't hug or kiss our Heavenly Father like we can our earthly father, we can still blow him a KISS every day (Keep the commandments, Indivuality: love yourself for who you are, Sing daily, Smile). These things will show our Heavenly Father that we love him until one day we actually can give him a hug and kiss when we make it back to him. She was an inspiration and I think the girls learned a lot from her. After the devotional we had the rest of the day pretty much to ourselves as a ward. We went back to camp and had another craft day where we made cute plaques that said, "Princess, Daughter of a Heavenly King." They turned out way cute! After lunch and some more Minute-to-Win-it games, we had our lake time again. This time it was pretty overcast so none of the girls got in the water but we went canoeing again and just relaxed. It really was beautiful there. We got back to camp in time to finish making dinner and for the Bishopric to arrive for the evening festivities! We had pot roast, carrots, and cheese potatoes made in the crock pot for dinner. Our camp director is the bomb at making camping food, let me tell you!!! We headed to our last nightly devotional with the stake where they talked about going through life making the right choices so we can have our own Happily Ever After. We then went back to our camp and made a campfire, sang camp fires, and made s'mores (complete with a reese's peanut butter cup in the middle!) After we were nice and full, we began our testimony meeting. It was a great meeting and the spirit was there. I'm so grateful for the girls in our ward. They have such strong testimonies and are such good girls! I'm so grateful to serve in the YW with these wonderful girls and leaders!

Caroline, Angela, Me at camp. (Angela is going to marry Jeff, just fyi. haha)

Me, Makaylee, and Nicki hanging out at camp

Me "camping" (if you call getting a backrub camping!!) and getting my hair done by Makenna so I can look like a "hippy," as Ryan calls it!

Here is the leech-filled lake. (We are on the orange canoe.)

Jenga!

We had a fun night with Brian & Rachael (the newlyweds!) of games and wonderful ice cream cake! We started off playing Banana-grams where I actually kicked all three of their butts (first time ever that I actually won in my life!) We played the longest game of Jenga I have ever played in my life! Seriously, I thought it was going to fall over and then 10 rounds later we were still going! Unfortunately, I lost and made the whole thing come tumbling down but that just moved us on to the next round of fun: ice cream cake so really, I won!

It was a great night of welcoming Brian and Rach into the married club!! :D

Happy 24th Birthday to ME!!

Oh my, I cannot believe I am 24 already! Where is the time going?! This is just crazy.

Anyway, this year I had an amazing birthday. You see, I was supposed to work on my birthday but my friend at work was kind enough to take my shift so I wouldn't have to! Oh, it was wonderful because that meant NOT getting up at 5 in the morning on my birthday.

However, it WAS fast Sunday and I had to teach the lesson in Young Women's! (I know, total bust of a birthday kind of, but what do you do.) Because it was fast Sunday, that meant no breakfast in bed (totally stinks!) but it's okay because I got blessings, right? Haha. I pretty much spent the morning planning my lesson and waiting for my hubby to get up until I realized it was 11 and he was still asleep!! *gasp. So I had to go wake him up to remind him that it was my birthday and he was sleeping through it! Anyway, I then got ready, went to church, and taught my lesson. Then the partying began.

Ryan planned an amazing BBQ for me and it was really fun. Nate, Brooke, Gav, Lynne, Dave, Owen, Laura (Ry's aunt), and my friend Laura from nursing school and her hubby and little girl all came over for the event. We had hamburgers, bratwursts, watermelon, and most importantly a home-made ice cream cake!! Lynne really outdid herself on this one. It was so amazing!! Gotta love an ice cream cake!! After the party we played some games and I finally got Gavin to like me! (Best present ever!! haha) I had a great day! Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with me!!

Yes, that really is 24 candles on that cake!!!

Dibs on top of the cake!!! So delicious!!

Rachael's Wedding

Rachael finally did it! She tied the knot! She is now Rachael Pearce! Her wedding day was perfect and she really looked gorgeous! I couldn't be happier for her! Congrats Rach!! Welcome to the Married people club!

I love when the groom can't stop looking at the bride as they walk out of the temple together. I think Ryan and I have this same picture of when we walked out of the temple! The one on the right is just a close up of her dress so you can see how gorgeous it was!

Rachael's hair was so beautiful. It was so her and so perfect with her dress and everything. Hot stuff, Rach!

The reception: First dance and Brian going for the garter. He is too shy to really go get it as you can tell by his face! What a funny boy!

Rach and I before she left! I always feel ugly standing next to gorgeous brides. She looks so pretty!

Leaving the reception with a walkway of sparklers! Congrats Rach!

California

What do you get when Andrea has 3 days off in a row? CALIFORNIA!!!

This week I had three days off in the middle of the week so my mom and I decided this would be an excellent time for me to come home and visit. It is during the week so Ryan will be at work all day and he would hardly even miss me! Especially with all the golf he had to distract him!

Tuesday morning my plane took off at 6:45 am. It was a Jetblue flight so I watched tv the whole time and the flight went by really quickly so that was nice. My mom picked me up from the airport and we headed home to have some delicious waffles. All those who have had the privilege of staying at the Whitaker Residence have tasted the delicacies that are my mom's waffles. Delicious! Then Kelli brought the kiddos over and so we all hung out at my mom's house all day. We watched Cameron walk and Cadence swing in the backyard, played in the "sandbox" that my mom has out back, and most importantly basked in the California sun! My mom and I then went to get all the equipment we needed to make jam the next day and then headed over to Cypress. We had dinner with the whole fam! Kelli, Bri, Cade, Cam, the Nance, Auntie Di, Tara, Gma Donna, Mom, and I went to my favorite restaurant: CPK. After a delicious dinner my mom and I headed home to watch whatever was on the DVR (turned out to be some chick flick that I can't even remember haha!) and have some good ole Thrifty's Cookies and Cream (one of the best parts of being in California, if you ask me!)
Wednesday was my sleep in day since I had been getting up at 5 the last 4 days and it was really wearing on me! So I slept till 9 and then up we were. We got ready and headed to Gma Donna's to make jam. Mmmm... I love making jam. Really, I love eating it but making it is fun too! We got busy smashing the berries and laughing at Grandma as she figured out her system and burned herself like a hundred times. Half way through making jam Collette brought her kiddos over and Kelli brought hers over and so it was time for a swim break. I left Gma and Mom to finish up the jam making (which they did so well) and hopped in the pool with Cade, Charlotte, and Mason. Mason is crazy, in case you didn't know, haha, and Cade just wanted me to leave her alone in her "boat". Those kids just crack me up. Tara came a little later and rescued me from my duties of pool guardian so I could lay out and again, soak up the California sun! It was a blast!
The kids went down for a nap and so I hurried over to my favorite nail salon to get a pedicure and manicure. The massages they give there are just the best and it is like 10 bucks cheaper in CA than UT. I don't get it, but whatever! After the primping we picked up some food at Portillo's (yum!) and headed home to, guess what? Watch a chick flick and eat Thrifty's ice cream. This time we watched Did You Hear About the Morgans? Which was neither awful nor wonderful. At about 10 I hit the sack so we could get a good early start the next morning shopping our hearts out! :D
Thursday we hit the road early (relatively speaking) and got to the mall basically right when it opened. Oh how I love South Coast Plaza. I miss having every store you could possibly want right there at your fingertips. We had a very successful day at Nordstrom and put a dent in the Nordstrom credit card, but that's okay, it was mother/daughter bonding time! At least that is what I tell my husband! haha. I bought some fun summer clothes and new swim suit so I was one happy girl. We headed home happy and ready to eat my Portillo's leftovers! However, we got home and discovered someone had eaten my leftovers so what did we do? We went to Portillo's again! Haha. We are such dorks. After another delicious meal, I packed and got ready to head back to poopy Utah. Brian and Kelli drove me to the airport on their way to the Temple and the flight back was really the fastest flight ever. When they told us to put our electronics away (I was listening to my IPOD the whole time) I was like, What? Why?, only to realize that we were landing. I'm a dork.
So here I am back in Utah and totally jamless (you can't carry jam on a plane-dumb TSA). It was so much fun being back in California and my only regret is that I didn't have one more day to visit the beach. I miss you beach! I'll catch you next time, which hopefully won't be in too long!
(Sorry I took no pictures while I was home so I had to resort to stealing some from Kelli's facebook page. That is why these aren't the best quality!)

Rachael's Bridal Shower

Rachael is getting married!!! This weekend we had her bridal shower. It was so much fun to throw this party together (in case you didn't know, I LOVE all things wedding!) Her friend Janet lives in the Regency in Provo and they just redid their lounge so we decided to hold it there since it was so cute and we didn't have any other place to do it. Haha. It turned out so cute though. I did all the food and party planning and Janet did the decorating. She did such a good job at decorating the place with real flowers, fun pink pom poms, and pictures of Brian and Rachael on all the walls. It was so cute, I was totally impressed!
We started off with eating all the delicious food. I made Mexican Chicken Salad that is so essential for any type of party, since that is the only time I ever make it. It was a total hit and I realized that whenever I make this I should just bring copies of the recipe because everyone wants it! I also brought watermelon, strawberries, and cantaloupe. Also, mom's homemade Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies for appetizers. Delish!!!
I'm not very in to playing games at bridal showers, but we did end up playing 2 games. One was where we had a jar of chocolate kisses that we had everyone guess how many were in it. Two people tied so they had to split the 54 kisses in the jar. The second one was the infamous "ask the groom questions about himself and quiz the bride" game. There were some funny questions and overall Rachael did really well. Every time she missed a question, she had to chew a piece of BubbleYum. She only had to chew 4 pieces of gum, so I told her I guess she could marry Brian! We talked about some funny Brian and Rachael moments and it was good to get to know how they came to be! haha
After the games we had some "better than sex cake" to top off the evening. It was pretty darn good!!! Then Rachael opened all her presents, which you can see was a BLAST!! She got some pretty good stuff so that was fun! Lastly, everyone got to take home our fun Cake Bites that Lynne, Rachael, and I made the night before! They turned out so darn cute! I was so proud that we actually made these crafty things! Maybe there is some creativity deep down inside of me!
All in all, I think our party was a HUGE success! I am so excited for Rachael and Brian to get married. I just know Rachael is going to love being married because it is really is that best. Congrats Best Wishes to you Rach! Love you so much!!!