More Pumpkins...

This is my roommate, Andrea's pumpkin. I converted her. :)

Too bad we didn't get any trick or treaters to enjoy our art work. Oh well! :)

Halloween Pumpkins!

Happy Halloween everybody!
Ok..so I went a little crazy with the pumpkins this year! I've always wanted to make fancy carvings and this year I finally did it. I got me a $6 kit and went to town. The spider one was my first and it took forever, but it turned out pretty well! The smiley face was fairly simple, but harder to do because it was on such a small, thick pumpkin. They both turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. ;)

Navajo Reservation

A few of us from UVU got to go down to Chinle, Arizona to the Navajo Reservation over fall break. My roommate is Navajo and we were going to visit her family and learn a little about their culture. I've never been down that way, so I got to see Price, Moab, and Monument Valley on the way down to Chinle.

Ok, so we're total dorks, but we did have fun. They had an open market on Friday and we got a few random things, like air-soft guns. So of course we had to play with them. This is us...doing the Charlie Angel's thing.

Left to Right:
Me, Thor Anderson(the professor who went with us), and my roommate Emily.

This is Spider Rock in the Valley de Chelly.

This is my roommate, Andrea Wagner, showing us how to make fry bread, Navajo style. She's standing in front of her families hogan. Not only did she show us, but we all got to help. So we are all now qualified, Navajo fry bread makers. :)

We made enough to feed the whole Wagner tribe. :)

Reba & Kelly Clarkson Concert

I have been a Reba McEntire fan since I was 15. I love her! She came to Salt Lake with her buddy, and American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, who I also adore. I found out about the concert back in the summer, but knew I was going to be in Africa when the tickets went on sale. My good friend and mission buddy, Corin Coombs is also a Reba fan and bought tickets for the both of us back in July. Before we knew it the show was here!

The show was AMAZING! They both did a phenomenal job! My camera doesn't do them justice! They both are beautiful women with lots of energy! There wasn't a lot of special effects or flash, it was mainly them singing the songs that they loved.

They sang a lot of songs together, but then they would take turns singing their own songs. No one was better than the other. It was just them having fun doing what they do best!

Not only was the show a ton of fun, but I got to go to dinner with Corin before the show. We got to catch up and just talk! It was the perfect night!

Aloha from Hawaii!

Me and 3 of my best friends went to the island of Oahu a few weeks ago and it was AMAZING! I love Hawaii! It was one of those impulse decisions that I made because I knew if I didn't go then...life would get in the way and who knew when I would get another chance.

We stayed in Ka'a'awa just 20 minutes south of Laie. We rented a condo and we ended up being only a few blocks from the beach. We were away from the mobs of tourists and in our own little piece of Hawaii. It was wonderful!

This is the beach just a few blocks from the condo where we stayed at.

I served a mission in North Carolina and this is one of the Elders that I served with, Jay Mataele (spelling?) and his girlfriend, Jackie. Jay is working at the Polynesian Cultural Center and was able to get us in to see the show. It was awesome! Jackie is a sweetheart and is from North Carolina. They are a perfect couple!

Becca, Me, and Jay.


Our impersonations of the Hawaiian Tikis.

While at the Polynesian Cultural Center, we stopped by the Aotearoa (New Zealand) village. We played a traditional stick game and did quite well!

We went ATV'ing in Ka'a'awa Valley (where LOST, Jurassic Park, Mighty Joe Young, 50 First Dates, etc. were filmed). This was part of the view from the ride. (Above and Below)

Behind me is where they are setting up to film LOST.
Ka'a'awa Valley!

This is the jumping rock at Waimea Beach and YES...we did jump off the rock. Several times in fact! :)

They have a Bubba Gump's Shrimp Restaurant in Honolulu. We got our picture taken with our own "Forrest Gump." We even gave us some of his chocolates. :)

We stopped by the Dole Pineapple Plantation. This is (L to R) Becca, Claire, and me enjoying our pineapple ice cream. Good stuff!

Oertel and I went SCUBA diving while we were there. Can I just say...I LOVE diving in WARM water! We went down about 105 feet to a shipwreck and the visibility was crystal clear! It was still warm at 105 feet too! So much fun!

We also went SKYDIVING! This was me and Oertel's 2nd time going. It's not as scary the 2nd time around. We actually were able to enjoy it a lot more! Here we are on our way up to 12,000 feet. (Left to Right, Oertel, Claire, Becca, Me.)

Our view of Hawaii 12,000 feet up. Totally changes your perspective!

Free Falling is my Favorite part!

Proof that we all survived!