My SISTER'S Wedding

My beautiful sister got married on May 18th in the St. George Temple to her best friend.  Here are some fun pictures to tell the story!

Memorial Weekend Fun

Here is a just a couple of pictures from the awesome weekend we had up North in Utah Valley a couple of weekends ago.  We had so much fun.  In no particular order we have a fun and exhausting hike to Granduer Falls, Kylie's 6th birthday party at Curt and Sydna's home, and a wedding in Salt Lake City.  That was a fun filled weekend.  More to come.  Enjoy!

The Letter....

Have you ever wanted something so badly you would do almost anything to get it? I did! I have been waiting and waiting for a letter to come in the mail. I got word it was in the mail. I raced everyday to check the mail. I would try to beat Donna to the mailbox. This was very difficult in the fact that she sits upstairs and reads. She can see everyone that comes to the door including the mailman. Monday the mail does not come. It is Columbus Day! Tuesday the mail does come. I don't try to get it because the way I figure it, my letter should arrive Wednesday or Thursday. My friend calls my late Tuesday afternoon telling me she got her letter. What the heck? How did she get it so early? I find out from her that she tracks the post office down to see if they could hold her letter, they said no. She calls SUU's postal service on campus and finds out the letters are there. She runs down and gets hers, all the while my friends and I have no idea what she has been up to. She was really sneaky. It is totally not fair. The rest of have to wait, wait, and wait some more. Wednesday rolls around and I causally walk to get the mail. Nothing there. No big deal. For sure tomorrow. Thursday morning rolls around. I am helping Nate get the backyard ready for Kylie's kindergarten fieldtrip to our backyard. They are going on a safari looking for animals. While putting the finishing touches on everything, Nate spots the mailman. This is literally minutes before the class should be arriving. I fly from the backyard, running through the house, out to the front porch meeting the mailman with surprise. "You have my letter right?" I say to the mailman. Of course he has no idea what I am talking about and hands me my mail. Nothing in there. I groan. Oh well. Focus on the children coming and have fun. I mentally make a note that it will for sure be tomorrow. Friday is the day! I just know it. I wake up Friday morning. Get the kids off to school. I sit on the couch after dropping them off to school. All I can think about is my letter. I have class at 10 am. Do I go to class or stay here and wait for the mailman. After all, he has been coming around 10:30 - 11 am ever since I have lived here. Okay okay, I go to class. That’s the responsible thing to do. I go. I race home to find the mailbox empty. Dang it. Donna got to the mail first. I track her down and ask her where the mail is. There isn't any mail. The mailman hasn't come yet. Okay okay, he is running a little behind no big deal. I sit in the blue chairs looking out the front window. I sit there talking to Nate and Donna. They are trying to distract me. It isn't working. Donna comes up with the brilliant idea of checking up the street to see if the mailman is on 450 West. Ah HA!! What an idea. I can totally drive up the street and get my letter. I make Nate and Jacey jump in the van with me. We drive to 450 West. No mailman. The next street had no mailman either. We get to Dewey and still no mailman. I look at the time 11:50 am. He must have taken off 10 minutes early to go to lunch. Surely it will come right after 1 pm. Nope 1 pm passes, 2 pm pass, and so does 3 pm. I am getting desperate. I just know that today is the day. I am getting me letter. I get a call from a different friend. "I spotted your mailman" she tells me. Again Nate and Jacey jump into the van with me. I am determined to find the mailman. We find him a couple of streets down on 1000 West. I jump out of my van with my photo id ready. I startled the poor man with me running up to the truck. "Do you deliver to 600 West?" I plead. "No" was his reply. Dang it. Wrong truck. I think to myself, "if this driver is out, mine sure should be out too!" We drive down 800 West to the next mailman. I jump out with id in hand. "Do you deliver to 600 West?""No, but your regular carrier has today off. His route has been spit between 5 different carriers. I am not it." Graf LUCK!!! Of all days to not have my regular carrier, not have my mail delivered in the morning, was of course the day I should get my letter. Graf LUCK!! We drive around and spot one more mail truck. I jump out again only to have my hopes dashed again. This was not the driver with 600 West's mail. So to recap: I have stalked three of the five mailmen that could be carrying my letter, but they weren't. URRRR. I am getting so discouraged. Is my letter ever going to come? I run my only errand of the day. I come back and the mail is there. Tyler runs up to me and tells me I have NO letter. I am in shock. I just knew it would come today. After all my hard work of stalking the mailmen, waiting all day by the window, all for what....NOTHING!!!! And to top it all the mail didn't arrive until around 5:30 pm. GRAF LUCK!! Will my letter ever come? Saturday morning comes. I don't jump out of bed. I sleep as long as possible. I casually eat breakfast and start Saturday chores. I get a call from yet another friend. She calls to let me know she got her letter in the mail. WHAT! This is around 11 am. I am now at the mailbox outside on the porch. No Mail! My kids took crayons, books, and babies outside to watch and wait for the mailman. I have such great kids. I get a call from varies friends during the afternoon. They all have their letters. But of course, I don't. Why does my mail not arrive? This isn't fair. My friend comes over around 4:30 pm. We decide to go get an ice cream treat. We drive up the street and spot the mailman. She pulls the car over and I jump out. My heart is pounding. I ask him if he delivers on 600 West. This mailman finally says YES!!! My heart jumped out of my chest. It feels like an hour before he finds my mail. And all at once the "letter" is in my hands. They start to shake. I jump back in the car and head back to my house. I walk into the house and announce that I have the mail and my "letter"! Everyone jumps up with excitement. I stand there in shock and anticipation. Garry rushes into Donna's room and they rush in to hear the news. Stephanie (my sister-in-law) just happened to call and be on the phone listening. I slowly tear open the letter. I start to read it..."Dear Alisha, Thank you for your excellent application to Southern Utah University Baccalaureate Nursing Program. We are pleased to inform you that you have been ACCEPTED for admission into the Baccalaureate Nursing Program for Spring Semester 2012!!!!" I started to cry. I was so happy and relieved. Yes, my letter came and it held spectacular good news. I start SUU's nursing program this coming January. I am so excited. Nate, the kids, Garry & Donna, and Stephanie were all so excited for me. Nate just kept holding me in his arms and looking into my eyes telling me over and over how proud he was of me and how much he was excited. It meant the world to me. Another chapter of my schooling is going to start....and I am up for the challenge! Oh, P. S. luckily two of my friends got in the program too. Sadly, two of my other friends did not make it in.