Thursday, July 29, 2010

Bar Exam Is Over!!

Well everyone - Jon has finished the Bar Exam!!!!! I am probably more excited than he is right now because he is still kind of in his "test-coma" - but it will hit him soon and he will be really excited too!

He says he feels pretty confident about it, but is still nervous about his results. He told me that he could tell that he was getting a little bit of "extra" help. He said that things would just pop into his mind, and that he had plenty of time to spend on each question. He knows that Heavenly Father was watching out for him.

Thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts and wishes throughout this. That and his overwhelming amounts of studying has made all the difference!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Long Time Gone

I have not posted in a very long time! So I have a lot to catch up on.......

I have been in Snowflake for most of July because Jon was studying for the Bar Exam, and I have a hard time being quiet and letting him study, so it was better for me to go stay up there and give him some peace. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera with me because it got packed up with the rest of our stuff! So I have some stories, but no pics! Lame, I know....

So here is the month of July - in a nutshell:

Anyways, I went up to Snowflake for a couple of weeks and while I was there my mom and I worked at the Carriage House doing laundry. I didn't think I would enjoy doing laundry all day (I don't like doing it when it is my laundry!), but it was really great knowing that I was helping elderly people to have nice, clean clothes. Not to mention the fact that it was kind of relaxing because it was kind of mindless work.....which was a nice change from my old job at the school!

Then I came back down to the Valley of the Sun so that we could move out of our apartment and into a house on the East Campus of ASU. Moving is not fun. It is stressful and busy, and it was very hot outside!! We are really grateful to Jon's parents and Lon and Brenden for taking time out to come and help us. They were so great!

We got all of the boxes moved in, and a few things put away, but I needed to leave and Jon needed to get back to studying, so I left most of the boxes just stacked in the house.........poor Jon huh?

I got to go hang out on Lake Roosevelt on Grams' houseboat with my family! It was so fun and so relaxing!! We went out on the jet ski and Laney and I rode in the tube behind it over the wakes and stuff! It was crazy!! We finally got flipped out of the tube and Laney flew over me and into the water! It was so funny! Then it was Dad's turn, and he started getting a little cocky. He started putting his hands behind his head as if he were bored - so we told Mom to make things a little bit more exciting.....and soon after, he got flipped out of the tube!! Hilarious!

We came back down to the Valley for an afternoon where Mom helped me put some things away in my new house. We got some more pictures hung and it started to feel more like our home......still boxes everywhere though....

Then we went back up to Snowflake, only this time we had Tanner with us. He had spend 3 weeks in Washington state visiting my Uncle Justin and Aunt April. He had so much fun, but we were happy to have him back.

The day we got back we (Laney, Tanner and I) went and saw "The Last Airbender" - and it was AWESOME!!!! We really loved the movie and it was so fun to go with my brother and sister!

The rest of the week we hung out, helped Grams clean out my Great Grandma's house, and had a ton of fun!! Then it was time for Pioneer Days in Snowflake - which is always so much fun!! Snowflake knows how to celebrate!

On Friday, we went and helped set up the craft fair at Pioneer Park. Grams is the President of the Chamber of Commerce, so she was in charge of the festivities and we were happy to help her. There were some amazing vendors with some amazing things they had made! I am always so impressed by how talented and clever people are!

That night we all went over to Hebrews - a restaurant in Snowflake - and had dinner and listened to this super fun band! Grams and Gramps got up and danced with each other and it was so incredibly sweet! We had so much fun!

On Saturday we got up and went to the Parade. Mom, Dad and I were judges for the parade and it was so fun! We had a great seat up on top of a trailer so we could see everything! Snowflake always has a very good parade - people work really hard to make their floats creative and entertaining. And, JD Hayworth was in the parade, which I was pretty impressed with - I couldn't believe he showed up to such a small town's celebration.....good for him!

Next was a couple boutiques that were going on, and back to the craft fair where is started raining so hard!! They closed up the fair at 4, and by that time it was pouring! Tanner had promised that he would help some of the booths pack up (because he is a good guy!) and he was soaking wet!!

After we changed our clothes, we headed to Grams' where we had a little hot dog party and we spent time with the whole family. Shakira and her family were back in AZ so they came and it was great to see them - they have been in New Mexico because Luke is in the Air Force.

Now, I am back in the Valley, but I am staying at a hotel with my mom (she is down here for meetings, and the school pays for her hotel room) because Jon is taking the bar today and tomorrow!! I have been so impressed with him, He has been really stressed, but he has been working so hard to stay calm and positive. He has put so much time and energy into studying for this test and I know he is going to do so great - but if you could say a little prayer for him that would be great!!!!

So that brings us to the present - it was a really quick recap of what I have been up to, and now that I have internet in our new house, I will be much better at posting - and as soon as I find the box that holds my camera, I will try to take more pictures of the fun stuff that we do!

Don't worry world - Jon and I are back!!!

Thanks for sticking with us and for all of your support!

Friday, July 2, 2010

Independance Day

Hi Everyone,
I know I have been a total blogging lame-o, but I do have a couple of good excuses: 1) I haven't really had access to the internet, but never fear, that will all change on the 14th of July (then you will be sick of me!) when we move over to ASU's Polytechnic Campus Family Housing and 2)After Jon graduated, he immediately started studying for the bar - so we have been kind of boring since bar studying is all-consuming. Don't worry world, I promise we will come back.....just 28 more days!!!

But I am not going to talk about all of the stuff I have been doing lately (mainly keeping up with "The Bachelorette" - does anyone else think that Kasey had a screw lose?? - and "So You Think You Can Dance") and instead talk about Independence Day and this great country.

I have always considered myself to be pretty patriotic. I have had incredible examples of real patriots who have sacrificed in one way or another to preserve our countries' freedoms and liberties. I have always proudly stood for the National Anthem and put my hand over my heart for the pledge. I have always loved America.

But I think that this past year in particular I have grown a whole new respect and deep love for America and what it stands for. As some of you already know, I am a self-proclaimed politics junkie lately. I love watching the news and listening to political radio. I, of course, have my own firm opinions on things and tend to lean towards certain analysts more than others - but I really just like knowing what is going on in the world and, more particularly, in our country. I feel like this in depth knowledge and extra-curricular study of current events, and the founders of this country, and the history of the great men and women who have given their lives for it, as well as learning more about the constitution and what an inspired document it really is has given me a whole new outlook on what it means to be a true patriot.

I have so much more to learn and study - and I am so excited to dive right in - but I can say that I love my country. I am so proud of what it stands for. I am so proud to say that I am an American. I consider it to be more than just where I live, I consider it to be my nationality, my race. This country is in my heart.

How can I put into words how grateful I am to my family members and your family members who have fought for my freedom to worship how I want, to marry who I want, to have this blog and say what I want on it? There are no words.

Now when I stand for the National Anthem or put my hand over my heart for the Pledge of Allegiance, I stand a little straighter and listen a little closer.

On this Independence Day, let's not get so caught up in the parades and the barbecues and the fireworks that we forget to remember what the day is really about.

God Bless America!