It's the Holiday Season

SO, I have some updating to do... one step at a time right?? Now that finals are over and I can breathe, my blog might just explode with pictures. Get. Ready. :)

I LOVE the holidays! Thanksgiving break came and went before I could blink, but I loved every second of it.

We had a good crowd this year! Grandma and Grandpa Welch came, Grandma Turner, Lori (Lanna was with her Dad this year- we missed her), Lise, Jamie and Shehan, Sarah, Garrett, and Eilly, Trevor, Mom and Dad.

Trevor and I had WAY too much fun making the table decorations- who knew he was crafty?? I even caught him helping out in the kitchen. What. A. STUD.

 

And what would Thanksgiving be without pie??

 It was so fun to spend that day with the family, I love them so much!

Jamie scouted out our Black Friday shopping locations from all the ads.

After this year's Black Friday experience, I don't know how many of us will be convinced to go again next year.

Christmas next! And man oh man am I excited. Family from Nebraska, Alaska, and Virginia are all going to be crammed together for the next few weeks- skiing, skating, eating, playing... AH! SO excited!

Oh, and did I mention that I get to see these kids in a week??

BPOSITV

Today I was late for work.

I hate being late for things and being late for work is absolutely the worst. But, it was unavoidable! I had to go skating this morning because I had to work yesterday too and Joleen (my coach) didn't have any other time to reschedule except for 6:30 this morning.

*Side note- "6:30 this morning" meaning:

• I have to wake up at 5:15 in order to get my stuff together and be on the ice at 6:00 am sharp
• I get off the ice at 7:00 am - precisely one half hour before I have to be to work (gah!) not to mention the 10 minutes it takes to get dressed, clean my skates, and get out the door (if I'm super fast)
• I have to make the 30 minute drive to work only take 15 minutes... in rush hour

Do you see my dilemma?

ANYways, so there I was, speeding down South Temple when I come across a woman going 30 MILES AND HOUR!! In a 35 MILE AN HOUR ZONE! At this point I'm usually going 40 so to be slowed down to 10 miles an hour slower was killing me. Just as I was getting ready to pull my hair out I looked down at her license plate. It said this:

BPOSITV

So I slowed down, backed off her tail, and started to rationalize things for a minute. I wasn't going to be that late to work. And even if I was, they'd totally understand. Is this really worth driving crazy for?

Lucky, lucky woman. 

Yes, this inspired me enough to blog about... so I wrote BPOSITV on my hand and took a picure. Summer updates to come! Have a good weekend everyone!





Make Believe

As I was getting packed an ready to go for a road trip to Moab this weekend, this caught my eye:

 

Lanna came to play yesterday and I remember watching her strategically place each of my mom's little animals on our fireplace mantle as she muttered something about a zombie firefighter. I watched her giggle as she created different voices for each of the characters in her made-up story and I watched her eyes light up when a new idea came to her.

It wasn't until now that I matched the placement of these little toys, to what must be going on in that child's mind. And then something clicked and pretty soon I was understanding the little story that she created.

The evil zombie firefighter was about to strike again! But this time, on a defenseless baby panda bear. Something had to be done, so the bigger stronger animals (Black Bear, Polar Bear, White Tiger, and Mountain Lion) began to circle the zombie firefighter, creating a temporary shield to buy time for the animals to come together and figure out what to do.

Tiger, the king of all beasts, took control and rallied the troops to save baby panda and get rid of the zombie firefighter once and for all!

*Animals gathering according to size - Giraffe leads the way and the others bravely follow.*

And just like that, I was using my imagination again like I used to so often when I was little. It made me smile- I still have it in me, I can still make believe!

Awkward Moments

Everyone has them... moments where your face turns bright red and you honestly don't know what to do with yourself because the unfamiliar feeling of embarrassment is so overwhelming. And really, there's not much you can do about it except wait it out and let time wipe the moment from your memory.

Well, I've certainly felt that before, and "embarrassment" is becoming a little bit more familiar a feeling. Yes peeps, over the past few months my life has been spotted with these events... and for a while, I would let myself get so wrapped up in how truly silly I felt, that I would get anxious and nervous about it. BUT, no longer! Sure I'm still embarrassed. but instead of letting it get to me so much, I choose to laugh. Because honestly, if it wasn't happening to me, I'd be laughing at the person who it DID happen to. So there you have it :)

And so, for the sake of those who are constantly consumed by embarrassment, I will share with you a few recent embarrassing moments in my life:

#1. A few weeks ago I got SUPER sick, but decided to show up for work anyway. I could hardly breathe, and I was coughing all over everything (yeah probably not a good thing to carry into a workplace- especially a hospital)... So, they sent me home so I could get better and be okay to work the rest of the week. That night, I remembered I had planned to hang out with a friend, but I decided I should cancel because I was NOT feeling good, so I texted him and said "Hey _____! Are you still planning on hanging out tonight?" to see if he was still planning on it. Without thinking, I sent it and realized just seconds later that I had actually sent it to my boss!!! AH! I hurried and pressed cancel and my phone told me it hadn't sent so I was super relived... BUT. A minute later, my boss texted me to tell me that she wasn't _____ and that I had sent that message to her. My. Bad. I then realized she probably thought I was a slacker because I was hanging out with someone even though I went home sick from work. Hahahah... man I was embarrassed. Thank heaven I have an awesome boss!

#2. On Monday I was sitting in pottery watching my professor do a demo. on the wheel when I noticed a little fruit fly hovering over his pot. I forgot about it for a little while, but then I noticed a little black dot on his wet clay going around and around as the pot spun. I squinted and scooted a little closer on the edge of my stool as I said "I think there's a fly.... " WHAM! I fell off my stool and toppled on a couple people sitting by me, almost knocking my teacher's nearly-finished pot off the wheel! Man oh man, I'm never going to live that one down! And people didn't stop laughing until it was time to go home for the night. Bah, it was funny though, I have to admit :)

 #3. Two words: Junior High.

I won't even begin to say the funny things that have happened to me while skating. I'll just let you use your imaginations. (Hint: A really bad cold and runny nose while practicing spins)

It's true, I was an awkward child as well... Pants that reach my belly button, an Indian belt that isn't doing much to hold up those too-big pants... Ahahahahaha I love it.

You don't know what you have until it's gone.

Over the past few days, that statement hasn't rung more true for me.

I began thinking that way as I watched my hairdresser chop and dye my long brown locks resulting in my now short caramel hair (man oh man I trust that woman with my life). The second I had to tame and style it on my own, I ached for my long and easy ponytail hair. Surprisingly enough I didn't anticipate how much I'd miss my long hair-- so I chopped it and it's not coming back for a good year or two.

The second thing I feel missing is my pop- my dad who is now formally known as Bishop Welch. On Sunday my home ward decided to snatch him up from me, leaving no second for me to savor our last few days together without some sort of church activity to keep him away. I feel bad how much I took for granted all the little times he offered to take me on a bike ride and I turned him down, or all the few moments he didn't have things to do, that he would suggest we play a game and I ran off with my friends. Yep, give it five more years and things might just be normal again.

But...

...while the phrase, "you don't know what you have until it's gone" might have applied to my initial feelings during the beginning of the week, why did it feel so good to watch the primary children beam at the "new bishop" on Sunday as he shook their little hands and smiled as he listened to them stumble over the Articles of Faith? And why is it so dang faster to do my hair in the mornings??

It's because I realized something: I did know what I had, I knew exactly what I had, and I didn't, in fact, lose it. The little things that I took for granted were always there, I always knew they were, but life went by because that's just how life works. So I chopped my hair. It was fun! And I'll probably do it again someday! So my Dad is the bishop. Sure he's gone a lot more now, but now I actually notice how much I love having him around. It took him being around a little less for me to notice how much I truly love the moments we have to spend together. And it's really strengthened my testimony about the love of families.

I've certainly learned my lesson.

May Flowers and Showers

I. Love. Rain.

There is nothing better than waking up to the smell of trees, grass, and flowers that have been soaking all night in pouring rain. It's such a spring feeling- fresh and clean.

As I was walking around campus today, I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous Salt Lake looks during the rain. The colors pop and all the green makes it seem like we live in a place like Oregon or someplace else completely opposite from our Utah desert.

Dad's log he found the other day. Look at how orange it is- no editing necessary! I think it kinda looks like a sweet potato

Charlie and I took a trip outside and found our little deer friends snacking on the tree's new buds. Hopefully our flowers will be able to bloom before those get eaten too...

The baby deer's antlers are starting to come in! 

 ***************

On a side note, Jamie and I got hair feathers!! It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but I got a solid teal, solid pink, black and white striped, and black and yellow striped!

I love them! They're so fun and way easy to maintain. You wash them in your hair, you can blow dry them, curl them straighten them. Pretty much anything you can do with hair, you can do with these.

See Jamie's here.
 

Mother's Day

Some of the beautiful mothers in my family! Grandma Welch (4 children), Grandma Turner (5 children), Mom (4 children), Aunt Lori (3 children), Sarah (1 baby), and Heather (1 baby on the way).

Me and my mom

Thanks to all the mothers who have made a difference in my life, especially my own mom- I love you!

April and Birthdays

This blog calls for a little update.

It's hard to believe that an entire month has passed since my last post. Crazy!! Time has flown, and I'm okay with that. The faster time goes, the faster I can get on with school and work, and closer to bigger and better goals in my life.

So... going back to March- pathetic, I know - we've had three birthdays to report: Lise's 27th on March 22nd, Chloe's 1st on April 2nd, and Dad's 51st on April 5th. It was quite a month for celebration! And I have had enough delicious cake to last me a lifetime.

Left: Lise's, Top Right: Chloe's, Bottom Right: Dad's

Lise's Birthday
For her birthday this year, Lise decided to have a nice dinner with the family. Mom cooked up a storm and it was great to spend time with Johnathan and Jackson!

Jackson surprised us all with his hidden talent for cake decorating:

 

Jason loves playing with kids- we don't have many of them around anymore- so he and Jackson were pals for the day.

Happy Birthday Lise!

Chloe's Birthday
A baby's first birthday is a big day! Chloe has mastered walking (and falling down), she has a lot of her teeth, and her vocabulary is expanding from her first words "Hi-hi-hi!" to "A-gie!" It's incredible how fast she's growing up!

Jenny through a big birthday bash with her in-laws and our side of the family and baked a delicious chocolate velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. And hol-y crap. That cake was heaven.

She got lots of fun presents! Clothes from the grandparents, gift cards for toys, a darling spring dress from Jamie, and a little baby doll with some treats from me.

Even with all her new toys, Chloe was perfectly happy chewing on the ribbon that topped a present from grandma.

Chloe got her own cupcake for her birthday! We sat her in the chair and she stared at the cake for a moment before grabbing it and immediately shoving the juicy raspberry into her mouth.

I'm telling you, that cake was incredible.

Happy Birthday Chloe!

Dad's Birthday

For Dad's birthday, it was kind of a busy day. Everyone had work or school but it was nice to get together at the end of the day to spend some time together. 

 Mmmmm... and more amazing cake: Chocolate chocolate with chocolate mousse frosting and chocolate chunks in the middle. I almost died.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

*Credit to Jenny for baking Chloe and Dad's cakes.

More April updates to come.

Employed

I have a job!!!

I am the newest PRN Pharmacy Technician in the Huntsman Cancer Hospital's outpatient Pharmacy!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who helped me get where I am today and have the opportunity to work with such a fantastic hospital!

Walkin' on Sunshine

*Thank you Katie!!*

It finally came and went: the dreaded wisdom teeth extraction that I have been anticipating for weeks now...

And to tell you the truth, it really wasn't that bad! Dr. DeDecker surprised us all with a surgery-well-done and barely any pain or swelling after the matter. In fact, I only took four of the Hydrocodone tablets that were prescribed for me then switched to plain old Ibuprofen as soon as possible.

It's funny looking back to Friday to see what I can remember. I remember getting to the clinic and having a nurse escort me back to the operating room as she asked if I had taken my Valium. Soon she had me laying down on a table and she and another nurse began work on me immediately! First they put something over my nose (they said it was oxygen but I swear there was something else in there that mad me a little loopy), then they put hear monitors over my stomach and chest. All the while she was explaining what she was doing to me but for some reason I had no intent on paying attention. Next she prepared my arm for an IV and told me I would feel a little sting as she stuck the needle in. Then she began strapping my arms and chest to the table (this really confused me, I didn't know why they had to strap me down, heaven knows I couldn't go anywhere) and the last thing I remember was Dr. DeDecker coming in and telling me good morning as he tapped a needle to stick into the IV.

I woke up as they wheeled me into a room where another girl was laying down- I think she got her wisdom teeth out before me. I was out again until the nurse came and wrapped ice packs around my numb face. After laying there awhile I decided I wanted to leave, but with a mouth full of cotton I didn't really know how to call for a nurse so I just sat there dazed as I stared at the ceiling. Soon a nurse came in and said I was ready to go home so she walked me out to the car. The ride home didn't even happen as far as I'm concerned, but when I finally did get home, I remember seeing Jenny and Jason as I stumbled down to my room. I gave them a thumbs up and bawled as I continued downstairs.

This is where the past few days of my life have been spent.

The rest of that day is pretty off and on in my mind. There wasn't much pain thank heaven and the bleeding stopped really quickly. The funniest thing about that day though was the effect that the painkillers had on me; they made me SUPER emotional to the point of bawling at every little thing- no matter what it was (which explains my crying upon seeing Jenny and Jason)! I cried when Katie came to say hi, I cried when my mom came in to check on me, I cried as I watched a million episodes of Cosby Show... hahahahahaha it worried my mom a little at first.

I'd like to say that my awesome family genes account for my smooth recovery. Or that I just have a fantastic immune system... but if those are factors in how my recovery process played out, they are minimal compared to what really helped me heal: my mom who was right by my side watching hours of the Cosby Show, giving me medicine and feeding me peach flavored Jello (the BEST Jello in the world), my dad opening my blinds so I could see the sun through my window, my sweet nephew holding my hand as I was still coming out of that rough hour under anesthesia and talking to me as I sobbed, my niece with her sweet smile and giggle after seeing my chipmunk cheeks,  Jamie bringing me concretes, Shehan's good tips for healing, Jenny's willingness to cook whatever I want/could eat, Lise's kind words of sympathy and encouragement, my best friend Katie bringing me a sunshine balloon and chatting to me as I cried for no reason... I could go on.

I have the best family and friends. Ever.

With all that love (and with the help of a few pain killers and a sunshine balloon), who wouldn't feel like walking on sunshine??

A Ballet

This weekend we got to see Lanna perform in the Creative Arts Academy's production of Romeo and Juliet. 

 

 

It was so much fun! I haven't seen her dance in awhile and she has really improved. 

 

If you count down the line of girls in the top picture from left to right, Lanna is the tenth one.

 Lanna started dance when I began taking ballet and jazz at Creative Arts a couple years ago. I would drive her there with me and we'd finish up at about the same time so it worked out nicely.

I remember her first day of ballet (hahaha I still laugh thinking about it!): I took her up to the studio where her class was and took her to her teacher who then introduced her to the class. I watched for a minute as they began to warm up with plies on the bar. As a looked down the line of tiny legs and skinny bums bobbing up and down to the music, I found Lanna. She was facing the opposite direction from the rest of the class and standing bow-legged as she beamed at her teacher. She was certainly awkward for that first little while but has definitely turned in to a beautiful little ballerina!

Keep it up beautiful girl, you'll go far!

Also, Jenny got to spend the weekend with us while Aaron made the long trip to Omaha so he could start work this week. She needed to grab some stuff at her house in Ogden so she, Jamie and I decided to make a sister trip and grab some lunch while we were out!

My cute sisters at Cafe Rio. Love them!

 

 

Chloe with an attractive bean mustache. 

Jason loves Cafe Rio quesadillas!!

Jen also treated us to some yummmy ice cream at the Farr's Ice Cream Bar. If you're ever in Ogden for some reason, PLEASE go here! You will not regret it! How could you with a nice selection of frozen yogurt, custard, or ice cream with a million different topping selections? Yum!

Jason is an awesome big brother. They were such good kids while we were out.

Hahahaha I just had to add this! Chloe was on a MAJOR sugar high after all her ice cream! She was bouncing up and down and from side to side and making all this funny expressions. The pictures don't quite do it justice :)

Left: Jamie's (Lemon and Vanilla custard with strawberry boba and white chocolate chips), Middle: Mine (Mint chocolate ice cream with coconut flakes, heath bits, cookie dough, and caramel chips!!), Right, Jenny's (Huckleberry frozen yogur [I think?? Anyway it was a berry flavor] with blackberries, coconut flakes and walnuts)

Thanks again Jen for taking us out!