Anna and Travis

Woah...

2011-09-06T10:38:00.001-04:00

Wow- so much has been happening lately. Travis FINALLY came back from Infantry training and we've had so much fun these past three weeks. Before leaving Georgia we spent a day in Atlanta going to the Aquarium, Centennial park, out to dinner, did a lot of sight seeing (Olympic Torch, getting lost in the ghetto, Braves Stadium, Coca-Cola Factory) and had a great time!! We definitely need to go back sometime.
We came home and that night stopped by at of my good friend's wedding, Vicky Alvarez now Mojano, right before they left! She looked beautiful and I'm glad we could rush over there.
After getting back to Harrisonburg we spent a lot of time unpacking and organizing, and getting ready for the semester. We spent 4 days in Williamsburg and went to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. We were at Busch Gardens when the earthquake happened and were praying they wouldn't call in the National Guard and shorten our vacation! Then the hurricane closed the beaches so we weren't able to spend a day at VA Beach as we had wanted. No matter what it was still an awesome time!
Our classes started last Monday and we've been stressed already. The biggest issue is getting up with our (my) alarm!! Every day we (I) seem to rush out the door and forget something. We've enjoyed getting back to our ward and our home. We've rented at least 20 red box movies since we've gotten back, made some fun meals together, finally got to eat at our favorite buffet- Aroma. This weekend we went tubing.
When I was younger my family would go tubing each summer. I found a place online, Shenandoah River Adventures, and made our reservation. It was a blast!! The river was so slow- like snail pace- but it was a fun thing to do together (Travis had never been). Next time we're looking for a place with more rapids! We got slightly sunburned but had a great time.
Now we're back to the grind. Travis is busy with ROTC and National Guard and School and I'm busy with all these pre-Nursing classes. Things are stressful right now but we enjoy every day together.
Overall things are going great. We could use more sleep and less homework but we couldn't be happier.
Here are some pictures of our recent happenings:

Turning Blue Ceremony:

Graduation:

In Atlanta:

(Outside the aquarium)

(Petting sharks and sting rays!!)

(Centennial Park- made when the Olympics were in Atlanta)

Atlanta Temple

Thanks for checking in!!

23 days and counting

2011-07-18T18:03:00.000-04:00

Hi all! Well all three of you who actually read my blog...

Things are going well for Travis and I. 23 more days until we are together again! I can hardly wait!! Lots has happened since I last posted so I'll fill you in!

Last weekend Travis was given a 36 hour pass from training. He was allowed to leave post and do anything except travel more than 50 miles, smoke, drink, or drive. Good thing two of those were not issues anyway.

My wonderful friend from high school, Jewelz, lives in Colombia, South Carolina. South Carolina is on the way to Georgia obviously, where Travis is, so I figured it would be a great opportunity to visit her. It is a 6 hour drive from where I live right now but due to some horrible storms all the way down it took about 8 hours to get there. I got to her apartment Wednesday night and stayed with her until Friday early afternoon. Jewelz moved away from Northern Virginia 5 years ago and I have only seen her 2-3 times since then. She is still the same great person I remember and I enjoyed spending time with her. I had never been to Colombia so it was nice of her to drive me around, see a lot of the sights, talk about the past, and go out to eat. Thanks for a fun few days Jewelz- it was great to see you :)

After I left Jewelz I headed off on the the 5 hour trip to Ft. Benning, Ga. I arrived about 6:30 pm and was literally shaking when I walked into the hotel to check in; I was so excited I would be seeing Travis the next morning! I dropped my luggage all over the parking lot, dropped a pen right out of my hand at the front desk, signed in with my old initials, listed a car I hadn't even driven there and basically made a fool of myself! After I had been settled in for a little while I got a phone call from Travis! The soldiers got their phones back that night in preparation for seeing their loved ones the next morning. It was so great to hear his voice. Usually the conversations are 5 minutes long and feel so rushed. This was a nice change. He stayed up super late texting me too. You don't realize how much those things mean to you until they're gone.
That evening I went out to Applebees with a couple other ladies who were in town for the pass. There was a DJ there trying to get himself known playing the music SO loud we had to scream to hear each other. You'd think we went to a club or something. It is so nice to have the support of other girls who have boyfriends/ fiances/ husbands in the same company as Travis and know exactly what it is like. I am so thankful that I have people like them, and of course my friends and family, to support me and be interested in what is going on daily at Ft. Benning.

I could not sleep for the life of me Friday night- I was way too excited!! I think I finally got about two hours of rest before getting up to meet with Travis. All the ladies who had stayed in my same hotel met in the lobby at 6 am and we caravaned to Sand Hill. I appreciate them- I never would have found it on my own. We had a "briefing" at 7 am which basically took 5 minutes and just reiterated what the soldiers couldn't do on the pass and when they needed to be back on Sunday. Then we had to wait in the REC center for 40 painstaking minutes until our soldiers were released. There is nothing more difficult than knowing that the man you haven't seen for 12 weeks is in the building right across the street and you can't see him for 40 more minutes! The conversation was minimal and people kept staring at their phones watch the minutes pass by. Finally people started jumping up from the couches in the lobby area where we were sitting and rushed towards the door. We walked outside in time to see all of A company marching together. I was to jitttery to even think to take a video or pictures of it!! They turned and faced away from us as their drill sargent talk-yelled at them. Then they were DISMISSED! Travis turned around and started looking around for me. It was so sweet, he was pushing out his chest to make his name badge more noticeable. He thought I wouldn't recognize him since he has lost so much weight since I'd last seen him. I had kept my eye on him- I could pick him out of any crowd- went up to him and without even saying anything hugged him so tight. It felt so good to be back in his arms. For those few seconds everything about the past few weeks disappeared, everyone around us vanished and it was just him and I together again at last.

The 36 hour pass turned out to be one of the best weekends of my life. We made sure to hit up lots of food places; Travis had hardly eaten in 12 weeks! He had a steak for lunch at O'Charleys... and a steak for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We swam in the pool at our hotel and drove around post and Columbus so he could show me the places where he lived, went to school, and played when his family was stationed there. Yes- he was in the 2nd grade when he lived there and he remembered how to get all around town. The man has an incredible memory. We spent a lot of time talking about all the things that have gone on while we have been apart this summer too. We even went to Alabama- just minutes away from Ft. Benning, had our own celebration in honor of his finishing the first 9 weeks of training, ate at IHOP, went to wal-mart... obviously, and mostly just enjoyed being together again. Things were even more perfect than I could have imagined. The weekend ended much too soon. The only positive thing about that is that it gets us closer to graduation and the day when Travis can come home for good.
Here are just a few pictures from the pass. Sorry- I didn't take any the first day.

It was so very sad to see him go again. Travis is my very best friend and the most wonderful husband in the world. He writes me the greatest letters and even though he isn't with me every day he still makes me feel so loved. I am so thankful for the sacrifices he is making for me and is willing to make for this country. We are very much looking forward to the day he can come home to stay and we can really start our lives together!

Sunday night Trav had to be back by 8 pm. Saying goodbye after being together for 36 straight hours was so hard. I thought it would be easier than the first time... but it wasn't. Travis is very nervous for his last few weeks of training. They will be very difficult physically and ask you to keep him in your prayers. I stuck around and watched his company divide up into their platoons for contraband search. After a while, when my brain finally registered that he wouldn't be coming back to the car, I got in and drove away. I wasn't very focused and got lost for 40 minutes on some reservation area of Ft. Benning. At last I made it back to the hotel. Just what I needed- my room smelled horribly of cigarette smoke. We had a non-smoking room but it must have been coming through the vents! The front desk was completely unhelpful so I had to suffer through that all night long.

In the morning I slept in, packed up my things (so sad) and checked out. I dropped a letter with a postman and started the 6 hour drive to Daytona Beach, Florida where my family spent the week at Grandma's house. The first 3 hours of the drive were in the middle of nowhere in Georgia! Seriously- so far away from civilization. Once in Florida it was a lot of fun and a pretty full house. We celebrated my brother's 18th birthday while we were there, went to the beach, ate at a few great restaurants, spent a fun day at Silver Springs, rocked out with my brother and Uncle on their drums and guitar and enjoyed being together. There are WAY too many pictures from that trip to shuffle through. I'll get those on facebook eventually. Here are a few to tide you over:

We had a great time together. Grandma loved having us there and I think I speak for us all when I say I hope we can make it back soon.

Javi and I drove back from Florida to Virginia on Saturday, his actual birthday. We made good time and would have gotten home two hours earlier if we hadn't gotten stopped in traffic. One time, in Virginia, was lame! It was just pointless construction traffic we sat in for about 30 minutes. While we were still in South Carolina, earlier in the day, there was a HUGE accident on I-95. They had to bring in a helicopter, completely stop traffic, and medivac someone out. It seemed to be a family on a trip because there were a ton on their belongings strewn out across the highway and the car was UPSIDE DOWN. It's scary. It could happen to anyone. In an instant that family's life was changed. It was quite an experience for us too. Since we were completely stopped on i-95 people turned off their cars and got out to stretch their legs. Really, people got out for a smoke break and were walking up and down the shoulders to catch a glimpse of what happened. We were scared out of our minds because when we got back in the car it wouldn't start. Both of us were silently praying the car would start since we were sitting in the middle of a lane on the interstate. After a few more tries it started with just moments to spare before traffic was able to get moving around the accident. I'm not a fan of car trips but this one was bearable. We made it home Saturday night. It feels good to be back.

If you read to the end of this post you really are a saint. Soon I'll post more about Travis's daily "activities." For now- he is doing very well. I am so proud of him. He is a few qualifications away from being a US Army Infantryman.
Gotta love my life :)

What we believe

2011-07-03T02:10:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! So, I passed my Summer statistics course by the skin of my teeth. Honestly, I think the professor passed me out of pity, so I'd be out of my misery and not have to endure that again! I think I'll have PTSD symptoms, when I think back to that class!!
Travis is still at training and is doing pretty well. He says it is very tough there (not to mention blazing hot) but he is getting tougher too. Today they had a 4 hour pass in the morning which was very rare and most appreciated. Poor Travis sat online for 2 hours hoping I'd log into facebook so we could chat since every last pay phone on post was in use. He is such a great guy. How did I get so lucky?
This evening there was a festival in Ft. Benning which the OSUT soldiers were allowed to attend. It sounded like it would be a good time. Travis said he remembered going as a kid and enjoyed it. A plus- there is food there!! Sadly, they don't get Independence day off and have to train right through the holiday. I guess "freedom don't come free." This 4th of July I am especially thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country and support our troops 100%.
Travis and I will get to see each other on his 36 hour pass next weekend and we couldn't be more thrilled!! This week I'll head to South Carolina and visit my long-time friend, Jewelz, for a couple days before meeting up with Travis. Then after the weekend I'll drive down to Florida where my family will already have started their vacation in Daytona Beach at Grandma's house. Should be a great two weeks to come- I have a lot to look forward to!
I bet by now you're wondering why the title of this post is "What we believe"... Oh, you weren't wondering? Well... anyway.
I have added a "We Believe" box to the right side of our blog. It links to profiles of members of our church, including a profile I made for myself that includes my personal beliefs. Travis and I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In fact, it is because of our church that we were married, we met when we were 14 and got to know each other through attending church activities and Sunday School. We would love for you to find out more about what we believe through that site or by contacting us. During this tough time while Travis and I are apart we find the most comfort in the Gospel and we feel to thankful for all we have been blessed with. There is nothing more we'd like than for you to share in the happiness that the true Gospel of Jesus Christ brings to us. Please, take a look!!

232 PFC Mueller :)

2011-06-15T00:39:00.001-04:00

I found this recent picture of Travis (232 PFC Mueller) on the Fort Benning photo website. I'm a member of a group on facebook made especially for those waiting for loved ones who are in training in the same company as Trav. It is really fun and helpful to see interactions between other people and see that I'm not the only one with questions. It helps to know that there are other wives out there who don't just feel bad or "know what it's like" from past experiences but who are experiencing this at the same time as me. We all discuss what we're told in letters and try to figure out our plans for the 36-hour pass next month and graduation. It's like I found a new group of friends I can relate to. I guess this is what they call the Army family.
Travis is doing really well. Although they only give them 4 minutes to eat he has gotten better at eating faster (what an accomplishment...) so he's eating more. Still, he's lost over 20 pounds. Makes me want to go on the Army diet almost... almost.
In his own words he's "been kicking butt this week." He got perfect on Advanced Marksmanship last week. Here is a large excerpt from his last letter:
"[Battle March and Shoot is] a competition between the platoons which consists of running an unknown distance carrying boxes of MREs, jugs of water, a stretcher with a drill sargent on it and pushing a truck the whole way. When we get to the end we have to shoot at a bunch of targets while controlling your breathing (or else your aim is way off). It was a 3/4 mile run and it was a competition too so my platoon freakin sprinted the whole time. While we ran, there were DSs who would hide in the woods and toss dud grenades at us (the first one scared the piss outta me). It's supposed to simulate like a situation where we have malfunctioning transportation and we have to run to a battle while dodging the enemy. Our platoon had the fastest time but like 5 guys' guns jammed so we lost and were pissed and exhausted. It was pretty darn intense so I thought it was pretty fun."
"Thursday we had IEDs and mines... they also showed us how vehicles defend themselves from IEDs. Then we were taught how to use a claymore mine. Then we had to march, not walk, march 4 miles back to the barraks."
"Today (the 10th) we had rocket launchers and I did well (blowing stuff up is what I do best). It was the AT-4 if my dad asks. Tomorrow we are gonna shoot the M240 and M249 SAW. They are both BA machine guns so we are all pretty stoked about that."
"We are supposed to do the .50 cal (machine gun) and MK-19 (grenade launching machine gun) sometime soon too."
"Anyway, we had locker inspections today and we passed so we were pumped about that."
"I had CQ (change of quarters) from 8-9 so no fireguard tonite... "
"The DS was cleaning out their truck and gave my buddy and me a soda and granola bar. It was like liquid heaven."
"We have a 3.5 mile run (sprint) for PT tomorrow."

So, things are really rough but he is surviving. We both can't wait for this to be over but while it is lasting he is making the most of every day. I am very proud of how well he is doing. If you would like to send him a card or letter (no packages please. The drill sargents use every excuse to get the soldiers in trouble) here is his address:

232 PFC Mueller

Alpha Company, 2-19 Infantry

198^th Infantry Brigade

9050 Kinsman Drive

Fort Benning, GA 31905

Thanks for your support (and for reading all of this!).

Trucking along

2011-06-04T22:15:00.000-04:00

Days keep passing and I'm finding ways to keep myself busy. I'm taking a Statistics class at the community college. I'm not a math person AT ALL so it is really rough. It's half done- I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Last month my mom and I spent a long weekend in Florida with my Grandma. She has no internet or TV because she doesn't stay at her house full time so he had a hack of a time entertaining ourselves. We went to walmart more times than I ever have in a weekend. We hit up restaurants, Rita's, rented movies, and drive up and down the beach. My grandma (and mom) like to throw bread to the birds as we drive along in hopes that they will fly behind us. It wasn't too successful this time.

Cute little grandma in the back of the convertible- we prop her up with her hat and glasses and she doesn't complain.

There was a FROG in my grandma's shower that my Uncle Robert carried outside to set free. EEK!

Look closely. The epitome of Florida: about a hundred pink flamingos in the front yard!

My younger brother, Javi got his Eagle Scout so he had a court of honor with two of his friends who had also recently gotten their Eagle. It was a lot of work for him (and mom!) to complete and everyone is proud of him for achieving this rank! It was a nice evening. My older brother, Jae, spoke. People are still talking about how great of a talk he gave. Of course there was a shattered picture frame, crazy kids, and cake dropped on someone's foot but would it really be a church event without that??!! We are all happy for Javi!! (And thankful to Jae for taking us to Artie's afterword!)

Some exciting news: I'm officially a Mueller! My name is changed on all my legal documents to Susanna Mueller. It's different and taking some getting used to. I have the best husband I could have ever asked for. He may be away for a time but he still makes me so happy. I am very blessed (and lucky) to have gotten to marry Travis and I am thankful for him, every day.

He is hanging in there at OSUT at Benning. He finished Red Phase of training and is in the next phase already. He is learning a lot but they don't ever take it easy on the guys. He has lost about 20 pounds already and is getting in such good physical shape. A lot of his buddies have gotten sent home for various reasons. Trav passed his shooting assessment, made it through the gas chamber, learned how to use grenades and lots of other manly things. I'm very proud of him and know he won't be anything but successful.

My home away from home... away from home

2011-05-22T20:57:00.000-04:00

Lately I don't know what to call home. My parents's house, Travis's and my apartment, or Buena Vista, the place where I grew and really became "me."
On the way back from Abby's I stopped in "BV" for the night with my girl, Alyssa. (I don't give her enough credit for being the funniest person I know so here's the credit.)
It's weird to think that things will never be like they were when she, Abby, Becky and I lived together at SVU. We have thousands of memories and jokes that I hope never to forget. Living with them made life so great! The past 3 years have been awesome but I am looking forward to the great things each of us will do with our lives.
Alyssa and I rented a movie and hung out for the night. Of course we had to get some super unhealthy snacks to go along with our girl night! One thing I know for sure: Alyssa is the type of person who if we didn't talk for months or years (heaven forbid!) we would get together and still have the same type of great, funny relationship. Nothing bugs her and she rarely gets offended. I really could take a lesson from her!

The picture doesn't do the spider justice. I could have sworn this was a mini-tarantula. It was about as big as my thumb!!!

Kentucky and Abby!

2011-05-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

The other week I spent Thursday to Tuesday with the Baxter family in Kentucky. My very good friend, Abby, is leaving next month to serve a year and a half mission in Germany for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know she will be a great missionary; I've always thought so. I had such a fun time with Abby and her family.
Abby and I went kayaking- Well, we paddled for a minute and then sat there for a while. That was so fun to be out on the lake!! Another day we went to a Shaker Village where they have reenactments of what the Shaker people were like and did. It is similar to Williamsburg and was a pretty cool place. We got to see a sheep get shorn- now that doesn't happen every day in Northern Virginia! The founder of the Shakers, Ann Lee is mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants even! Saturday I was able to go to the Louiville Temple with Abby and her family- that was a great experience! We watched a few movies together, had Pad Thai, went to Brusters Ice Cream, at at Stake and Shake, watched her two younger sisters' soccer game, walked around Keeneland (a horse race place) and mostly enjoyed each others' company.
Abby is a great person and I miss living with her. Since she came into my life she truly has influenced it for the better.
Here are some pictures of our few days together:

Busy with nothing to do

2011-05-19T01:50:00.000-04:00

The past couple weeks I have been all over the place! I drove to my good friend Abby's house in Kentucky for about 5 days, stayed a night with Alyssa at SVU, then came home with just enough time to pack and make it to the airport with my mom to visit my grandma in Florida for 5 days. We got home this past Monday afternoon and I had to rush to class about an hour later. NOVA has been hassling me about this and that and prerequisites for a bio class and yadda yadda. Needless to say, I've been running around. So, I'm not really sure how it is that I'm not getting anything accomplished.
Expect more updates on these trips and such later.

Mail Call!

2011-05-07T19:57:00.001-04:00

Travis is now all settled in at training and has an address. I got a phone call from him yesterday, 4 minutes total, and he had just been worked so hard he couldn't even talk. It was really hard to hear but this will all be worth it in the end, at least that is what I keep telling myself. It doesn't seem like it is going to get any easier on him in the next few days but it should be better as the weeks progress on. We are coming up on finishing 2 weeks this Monday... 12 more to go. His graduation is August 12th!

Travis would really appreciate getting some mail if you want to send him some words of encouragement. Don't expect too much of a response but it is lonely and tough there and the best thing he gets is mail.

232 PFC Mueller

Alpha Company, 2-19 Infantry

198^th Infantry Brigade

9050 Kinsman Drive

Fort Benning, GA 31905

Osama Bin Gotten

2011-05-07T19:51:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I got a text around 11 pm as I was on my way up to bed from my friend, Kayla, to turn on the news. This was very out of the ordinary, so I did! That is when Javi and I heard the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed!! This is HUGE news for all Americans but especially those of us who live right outside the nation's capital- the hub of all exciting political happenings.
Long story short, Javi convinced me to go into DC with him and join whatever festivities might be going on there. I was not all that into the idea but thought I may as well go along. We threw on some clothes (notice my patriotic red shirt) and grabbed some flags. We got into DC after midnight and drive up and down the streets with our flag out of the sun roof. It was AWESOME! Tons of people were heading towards the White House and as they saw us with our flag would yell and cheer.
Javi parked and we too went to the White House with a thousand+ other young adults. It was pretty cool to have so many people there cheering for the same reason. Surprisingly people were really friendly- not something you would usually experience in a large crowd in DC. After an hour or so we decided to head home (that was when the drunks started coming out and we realized we were tired of standing in a hot crowd yelling and cheering and singing).
I'm glad we got to go- it was a really cool experience and if it weren't for Javi I would have missed out on something really great! Now we are all praying for no retaliation.

Eventful weekend

2011-05-01T18:05:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I graduated from college- can you believe it??!! I still am in shock that I'm done with SVU. That place has changed my life for the better. I've become a better person through the activities, friends, education, and atmosphere found there. I'll be attending JMU this fall doing some prereqs hoping to get into the nursing program. I'll miss SVU and all it has to offer. Luckily we will only live an hour away so we can visit our friends :)
It was nice that I had so many people at my graduation. My mother-in-law, Lori came and brought Sarah. Lindsay and Kris brought Josh, Sophie, and Nate and my parents and Javi came. We all went out to eat afterword- it was a nice day. Couldn't have asked for better weather.
Travis is doing well.. alright at least. He texted me this picture of himself in his his uniform- isn't he so handsome!! He looked up where the LDS church was this morning and tried to go. There was some miscommunication and he ended up going to a Protestant church. Trav was really disappointed because he'd wanted to make it to sacrament meeting. We are hoping next week is better.
He's been doing a lot of paperwork and getting shots (in the butt!) this past week. This week is when it really gets tough. I know he is worried so keep him in your thoughts- he's always in mine.

Not much of an update

2011-04-28T16:07:00.000-04:00

Poor Travis. If you look at my previous post you can see a picture of what he looked like when I dropped him off at the armory on Monday. He doesn't get to use phone very often because "they" take it but the DS let them use them briefly before they took off for Ft. Benning.

This is the current Trav:

Isn't that so sad!! I've spent years getting him to wear his hair a little bit longer than his liking and then they go and do THIS, are you KIDDING me. Well, they didn't ask me and that's the army for you.
Of course I'll love him no matter what his hair looks like. Counting the days- 3 down, infinity to go.

For me- SVU graduation is on Saturday so... I'll be doing that. I'll be done with this place, which I love, and have a degree under my belt. Oh happy day. Most of my time is spent making plans for the summer and sending all my love and prayers to Benning.

Sad goodbyes...

2011-04-26T01:21:00.000-04:00

Monday at 7 AM I dropped Travis off at the armory to start his journey to Army basic training. We had to get up at 5:00 to make sure everything was ready to go so we could leave the apartment by 6.
It was the saddest morning, drive and departure I've ever experienced. I mean, what is there really to talk about when someone is about to leave for 14 weeks? We both cried a lot last night and this morning. It felt worse to see him sad than it was for me to cry.
As soon as he walked through those doors at the armory I felt the instant need for one more hug but it doesn't look like that will happen soon. Travis goes to Ft Benning, GA on Wednesday. I really don't know anything other than that. I'll find out dates I can/ if I even can visit him and what his graduation date will be as time passes.
He is doing this because he loves this country and he loves me. I know that he is sacrificing a lot to be able to provide for us. We've only been married for one short month (which passed entirely too quickly and has been filled with so much love and happiness) but I am thankful every day for the time we've had together. Travis is the best man in the entire world and I will miss him so much.
If I find out anything or have any contact with him I'll let you know. Otherwise, keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
We are all so proud of you Trav.

Whoops

2011-04-19T21:02:00.000-04:00

So, our ward had an activity this past Saturday. It was a chance for everyone to get together. We were asked to bring a dessert or appetizer to share. My mom had sent me this recipe a while back and I'd kept it. It's a brownie cake with sour cream. The topping is a a sour cream and whipped cream topping with vanilla and powdered sugar. The recipe suggested strawberries and kiwi but we liked blueberries better. We got to put the cake on a really cool crystal cake platter we got for the wedding, carefully walked it to the car, drove to church and... arrived at an empty parking lot. Long story short- the event was Friday, not Saturday... we missed it. I was pretty bummed but Travis was good about helping me laugh it off. We ended up having a good night and watched The Social Network- worst movie ever.

Saturday, before the ward activity fiasco, we decided to try a restaurant called Aroma for our date night. I thought it was going to be an Italian joint from how the sign looked outside. We walked in and to our surprise it was an oriental buffet with ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI!! It was all delicious! Usually I'm wary of buffets like that but it was really nice inside. The service was great and the food was awesome. They have a great salad/fruit bar, soft serve ice cream and all the desserts you could want. Travis enjoyed some steak and I enjoyed some noodles and Burbon chicken- among other things. Best part- it was only 9.99!! We will definitely be going back.

Our church has a scripture study program called Institute. They provide optional classes on the various books of the Bible, as well as teachings of the living prophets and The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. It is an opportunity to learn and grow spiritually in a great environment. Institute is one of the major reasons I love SVU. The instructors are great and I have grown a tremendous amount since I have been at SVU as a result of institute. The classes are similar to college courses in that you pick a class and time to go to- most people take one class which meets twice a week for an hour. Certain courses will transfer over to the university for credit which is great!
This Sunday we drove down to SVU for my institute graduation. Each course is 2 credits and 14 credits are required to graduate. You can continue attending institute if you'd like to get higher certificates of achievement. The service was really nice. It was a great night and feel proud in my decision to have attended institute.

Our brothers Javi and Todd and their friend Vihn came down for the weekend. Monday they went to JMU's open house and loved it!! We hope they come back to visit- we enjoyed having them around. We all packed in the car for the hour drive to Buena Vista and Institute graduation. It was nice that they were all able to support me. Thanks guys!

All's well

2011-04-13T11:36:00.000-04:00

We have been doing really well. Having fun and being happy :) We are eating well too. I'm getting the chance to test out my domestic skills since I've never really had any reason to cook much before. Above is what we had last Saturday. NAVAJO TACOS!!
The bread is made from:
3 cups of flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Mix it up in a bowl. Pour canola oil into a sauce pan and heat it over medium heat.
Dust the counter (or cutting board) and your hands with flour to make balls of the dough. Flatten them out into thin rounded patties.
Using tongs or a slotted spatula lower the dough into the hot oil. (If you use a big pot you can do more than one at once.) Wait until the bread has risen some and turned golden brown. Remove it from the oil and place it on a plate with a paper towel (to soak up extra oil).

You can put anything you like on there for toppings.
This is what we used:
Ground Beef (you can used shredded chicken if you prefer)
Sour Cream
Salsa
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Black Beans (or refried or chili or whatever)
Lettuce
Tomatoes (any taco-type veggie would work- avocado, onion...)

They turned out delicious!! And the great part is that you can use the extra bread for dessert. I saved the extra dough and we had the bread with powdered sugar, butter and honey for dessert later in the week.
It was awesome!!- Thanks for helping me find the recipe Lindsay :)

We want to start a tradition of having a more fancy Sunday dinner, as opposed to the Little Caesars Pizza we had earlier in the week. I got a nice crock pot for the wedding and couldn't wait to try it out. We bought a pot roast, put a package of lipton powdered soup mix, onions, and carrots in there turned it on and left. When we came back after watching General Conference on Sunday our apartment smelled great. It turned out really nice. We enjoy our meals together <3 Thanks for the help mom!!

This past Saturday SVU had a softbally game against Eastern Mennonite University which is literally 5 minutes down the road. I'm glad Abby texted me about it! It was freezing but we were glad we got to get out and support her. SVU didn't do their best but it was entertaining. Especially since Travis and I were the only SVU fans and one of us is more willing to cheer in public than others ;) Thanks for the invite Abby!!

There is a beautiful arboretum right off JMU campus at the east end. My friend, Emily, told me about it the other day and I'd been wanting to go. This past Sunday was just such a nice day we couldn't stay inside all afternoon. After church we packed a picnic, which we were not prepared for as is evidenced by the Japanese noodles, bananas and cheese-its we ate, while there. It was SO relaxing. The sun was shining. It was nice to see some little kids playing, all the flowers, and the pond with ducks there. We will have to go back sometime and take advantage of the trails.

I've been working my butt off on my senior paper. As of today it is "finished." I still have to add the abstract and edit the heck out of it. It made doing research much more enjoyable since we were at the park.

Overall things have been great. Life is hectic with me driving back and forth from Harrisonburg to school in Buena Vista every day. We both have a lot of projects and papers to do as the semester winds to a close but mostly we are concerned about April 25- the day Travis leaves for Basic Training. It will be hard for both of us but we know that it will be good for us. We haven't spent the summer apart in 7 years so it will be different. Wish us luck.

I can cook!!

2011-04-08T09:57:00.000-04:00

Getting married suddenly throws you into the role of housemaker. I don't mind cleaning or organizing. I was a little worried about my cooking skills. When I'm done the kitchen is a trainwreck and our sink is overflowing with dishes but our meals have turned out pretty good.

This is a meat and pasta dish. I got the ingredients from my friend Abby.

Start with Italian sausage, or regular sausage (It is less flavorful).
Toss in some canned diced tomatoes, diced onion, pesto, zucchini (optional)
Add basil and oregano to taste.
Slap it on some pasta and add a side.
It's pretty easy and fairly quick. We like it.

Thanks Abby!

We're married!!!!

2011-04-08T09:52:00.000-04:00

SO much has happened since we last blogged- most of all we got married!! Now that the wedding is over we are settling back into life and are constantly busy (and exhausted). I'll be better at updating the blog on a regular basis since things are slightly slowing down.

A good number of our wedding pictures, taken by Leah Sidwell, are on facebook. Even if you don't have a facebook account you can go to this link and see our photos.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=636738&id=558050467&l=b91a372e1e

It was such a great day and we couldn't be happier together. We feel so blessed that we were married in the temple for time and all eternity- we wouldn't want to spend any less amount of time together. We are so excited for the life that awaits us.

There were so many people who worked their tails off to make sure the day ran perfectly. It was (nearly) flawless. My mom and Lori spent countless hours preparing everything that could possibly make the day better. It was wonderful.

THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM!!!

Travis's aunt Doree and my aunt Cathy came in town from Hawaii and Florida to be there for our special day. We were so glad they could come as well as all of our friends and family from as far as Idaho, South Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. My maid of honor, Kiley, flew in from Idaho taking time away from school and her husband. Jewelz Janis drove up from South Carolina and Travis's best man, Serge, drove 7 hours from Pennsylvania. We have great friends and great family. Thank you to everyone who made the effort to come!!!

House Hunting

2010-11-18T23:34:00.000-05:00

Oh boy oh boy. Is this a headache or what?! We are doing the best we can looking for an apartment of some sort to live in after we get married. Travis will move in before JMU starts in January and I'll join him after our wedding. Originally we'd wanted to find a place in Staunton but we are finding Harrisonburg a little more successful. Staunton is between Harrisonburg and BV so the commute will be shorter for me to school for a month (than living in Harrisonburg) starting in March but will be a pain for Travis. It really doesn't make sense to live in Staunton and have both of us be "commuters" so it is looking like that will be my job... It won't be easy but it will be fun. This past weekend we looked around in Harrisonburg and we had a good time. Found a place we know we don't like, drove past a couple complexes that could work, and toured our dream house. The picture above is of a place that is three levels. Each level is set up to be a separate apartment. There is nothing wrong per se but... it was pretty dingy. That was interesting.

I got to see the hospital that I will most likely become very well acquainted with if I get into the JMU program (cross your fingers and pray for me!!)

Its brand new and beautiful inside. I could TOTALLY see myself working there- its gorgeous. We ate the lunch that I'd packed and made our way over to the mall. Travis picked out the wedding band he wants (it about 3 seconds, its so easy to please this guy)- it was nice to see him so excited. After that we got to go to this really nice house in Staunton. We could rent the basement at a fixed price but if we decided to rent the two upstairs levels we could be the ones to rent out the basement... yadda yadda. It sounds well and good but we decided no matter how much we like the granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, and massive master bedroom we just don't want that much responsibility right now. We don't want to be in charge if the downstairs tenants are dummies and don't pay rent. So, although we are IN LOVE with the place we've decided its better to start small. We are looking on craigslist now for options but if anyone has ideas we are open to those.

We had a really fun time together. It is getting closer and closer to the start of our eternity and we couldn't be happier. Thanks to those of you who support and love us.
-Anna

Weekend with J&S

2010-11-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Lindsay and Kris went to New York for the weekend and they left the kiddos with me!! We had a great time going to Chuck E Cheese, McDonalds, Woodson's last football game of the season (just me and Josh), helping in the garden, making pancakes, going to church, dancing, and mostly hanging out. The kids were very well behaved the whole time. It was sad to have them go.

Sophie's Birthday Party

2010-11-12T11:49:00.000-05:00

I can hardly believe it- little Soph turned two last month. She had a family birthday party and was so well behaved during the whole thing. She got more presents than most entire families give on Christmas but she was very thankful for such a little kid. Soph now has more dresses than she will ever be able to wear, baby dolls and accessories, books, dress up clothes.... if you think of it I bet she got it.

Readin the cards with Dad

This is not a drill- she put on as much as she could when she opened presents

Sophie and Grandpa

In one of her new dresses kissing her baby- who got a matching dress

Singing Happy Birthday

Sophie seemed to have a good time and so did we. I'm glad I was able to come up from school to be there, that Travis didn't have to work, and that the rest of the family could make time. Lindsay made a lot of great food and put a good amount of work into the day- thanks Spivey family.

We've set a date!!

2010-10-26T13:43:00.002-04:00

Travis and I are getting married on March 19th at noon!!! It was made official today!

Luau

2010-10-19T13:42:00.000-04:00

This weekend I headed home for my mom's Luau. She is the Ward Activities Chair Person up there and had put a TON of work into this party. For months all she has been talking about every time we go out is finding things to do at and to decorate for the luau. All her hard work paid off. It was a great time, the ward loved it. She brought in hula dancers, had games for the kids, taught people how to tie a lava lava, played sticks (never heard of it before) ATE FOOD, and much more. She even brought in a bunch of bamboo and had a little hut made. It was outside and was a windy day but she pulled it off. Travis did an abbreviated version of the ha'a; a type of Hawaiian war chant/dance that the University of Hawaii Warriors do before their games. His voice is still recovering from yelling so loud. It was a great time!!! (I stole some of these pictures from my sister's blog- if they look familiar.)

Homecoming/Parents weekend

2010-10-10T23:14:00.001-04:00

Saturday morning my parents and Travis came down for the Homecoming game and parents' weekend. It was very nice to see them all and spend the day with them. We went to Mountain days- an annual activity on the Main street of BV with little vendors, cloggers, food and lots of southern baked goods for sale. It was neat to walk around and my mom loved seeing everyone's dogs. Afterword we went to the SVU football game vs Gillford and SVU WON!! GREAT JOB KNIGHTS!! We had dinner at Solernos- a little Italian joint that my friend Becky works at. She served us and we had lots of food. Right before my parents were about to leave and take Travis back with them we decided he should stay and go to the Homecoming dance with me. Wasn't that nice!! I hadn't been to one at SVU and since I am graduating in May this would be my last chance. We scurried around buying pants and shoes and borrowing a shirt for him to wear. It was fun for my friends and I to get ready together- just like high school times. At about 1 AM we went to an all night diner for french toast and hot chocolate. The dance was great and the company was even better. It meant so much that Travis stayed.
Sunday we had the opportunity to go to Stake Conference where our friend from home, Alex, came as well. She lives around the mountain but came to this regional meeting. It was nice to see her. Travis and I had lunch before it was time for us to drive up to Harrisonburg and meet up with his family.
I am so glad that my parents came down and that Travis could too!!

I love to see the temple... and go to panera.

2010-10-10T22:57:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday SVU gave us the day off to go up to the Temple. The closest one for us is the Temple in Kensington, MD for us members of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. Travis drove up and spent about 20 minutes with me before he had to head off for work. He spent about 5 times that in the car getting to and from the temple but it was great to see him for even for just a little while.
Lindsay was kind enough to meet me there and take me out to lunch at Panera. We had a good time together and as always the kids were great. Sophie surprises me every time I see her with how much she is growing and how much she is able to say. Josh is such a sweet boy and has nothing but kindness in his heart. Lindsay is pretty cool too :)
It was a long drive up and back, on a hot and stuffy bus, but it was nice to spend some time at the visitor center and with my family. A day well spent.

Anna's Medical Mission trip

2010-10-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!

For a long time, as long as I can remember, I've been planning on going into the medical field. I think I have narrowed my pursuits into being a neonatal nurse. I love kids, especially tiny ones, and this job would be more like fun than work for me. (In theory anyway) When I graduate in May from SVU I will go on to get a second bachelors in nursing at a VA school. As preparation for my career I enjoy attending and volunteering at RAM (Remote Area Medical) trips through my school. They are HUGE events made possible by hundreds of volunteer doctors and medical personnel providing free care to thousands of people who otherwise would not be able to afford it. It is humbling to see the lack these people have and think of all that I have been blessed with. The most recent trip was in Grundy, VA. I helped in the phlebotomy lab (blood). I was nervous at first, I didn't want to hurt anyone, but after some training and a few diet cokes I was ready to get to work. Drawing blood is nerve wracking but I was thankful for the opportunity. As I was warming up to the idea of drawing blood for testing I worked on the other side of the room with urine analysis. It was gross but it all was medicine to me. Testing we did was able to help people determine if they had some sort of illness that they might not have realized they had before. The entire weekend was full of service and gratitude. I have never seen so many doctors who would give of their time and money to help those in need. If you have any background in medicine the RAM organization would love for you to volunteer at any upcoming events!!

Photo update

2010-10-10T22:33:00.001-04:00

In case you are not part of the facebook craze, at this point I'm not sure how you could stand not to be, you can click on the title of this blog post (Photo Update) and it will link to the album with the rest of our engagement pictures. You don't have to be a member of facebook to look at our album through this link. We are so happy with how they turned out- I couldn't have asked for better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN9CqsBDWrY

This is a link to a short sideshow that our photographer, Leah Sidwell, put together for us. She is so awesome!

-Anna

Engagement Photos

2010-09-28T00:03:00.004-04:00

Anna and I finally got our engagement photos. They were a great success. We had fun doing them and we were very excited when we saw the four samples that Leah Sidwell (the photographer) put up. We will be sure to post a lot more of them when they become available. We had them taken by the Ben Salem wayside and at some train tracks in Buena Vista. It was very exciting to finally have pictures that will last a lifetime and that we can show to our children and grandchildren someday.

My version of our engagement :)

2010-09-10T02:29:00.001-04:00

Travis asked me a day or two prior if I wanted to go to Texas de Brazil for dinner- it’s a really ritzy steak house where the gauchos walk around with different cuts of meat and offer you whatever you want until you stuff yourself silly. During the day of our dinner date Travis had to work. He was going to go in earlier in the day so that he could get off in time to take me to dinner before I had to go back down to SVU the next day.

So, He picked me up for dinner and soon after reached the restaurant’s parking lot. After we had walked a few meters from the car He had to go back for his phone. In my head at the time I thought, sure, your phone; I was for sure it would be the ring. But to my surprise it really was his phone. Once in Texas de Brazil we had to wait a few minutes to be seated. I noticed a girl from my high school was a hostess there. We were led to the back of the restaurant to a smaller and less crowded room. I wondered to myself if this was planned and if there was a reason we were back in this room. We had a wonderful dinner and both stuffed ourselves silly. The meat was wonderful. If it wasn’t so darn expensive I would go there at least once a week- and I’m not even that much of a meat lover. It is marvelous. We chatted during dinner, had the waiter take our picture- which turned out blurry- and tried to “out-steak” each other. Mostly we just enjoyed each other’s company. As we wrapped up Travis got the bill and we got ready to head out. We took a picture together outside and headed to the car.

In the car He asked if I had a bedtime and suggested since it was our last night together before I headed back to school that we would extend it a little and go into DC. We’d done this last summer and taken pictures by the Washington Monument. All of the monuments are really pretty at night, all light up.

When we got there we parked by the Washington Monument. I got out first and walked a few steps away from the car facing the monument waiting for Him. He got out and went into the back door of his dad’s truck because he said his cell phone fell down the back of the chair and he had to get it. I had the feeling that this wasn’t quite true but I really couldn’t be sure after the similar situation at the restaurant. Hand in hand we started walking toward the monument when I realized I needed to go to the bathroom.

First, a cute couple had us take their picture in front of the monument and we had them do the same for us. Then we headed off in the direction of the bathroom. I had my thumb hooked in his back pocket, like couples often do, but he was freaking out about how I was “touching his butt” and acting really odd. I insisted that I wasn’t trying to touch his butt but decided it was easier just to move my hand. It turns out the ring was in that back pocket and Travis was for sure that I was on to him, I wasn't. At that point He started walking really fast and breathing pretty hard. I tried to tell him that I just need to go, that it wasn’t an emergency. He helped me jump down off the rock ledge to the bathroom and waited for me outside while I waited for everyone to use one stall since all the rest were out of toilet paper. Forget handing paper to the people in line, everyone just used the one stall and took their sweet time. When that was all done we headed back the direction we’d come, up toward the monument. We didn’t walk too far before He stopped walking and at that point I knew what was coming.

I gave him a few kisses to calm his apparent nerves. He said something like, “I don’t think we should be boyfriend/girlfriend anymore.” This caught me off guard but I could tell there was more than just that. He said other words but at the time I was too excited and shocked that it was actually happening to really take it all in. I know he had put thought into what he was going to say and was so sweet doing it but I was too anxious to focus. Travis got down on his knee, almost losing his balance, and very calmly asked me to marry him. I said “of course!” and he put the ring on my finger. There was no doubt in my mind and there still isn't.

All my life I had been worried that I would be embarrassed on the day I was proposed do because I have big hands and I was afraid I would be given a ring that didn’t fit. That didn’t happen- the ring fit (he had smartly figured out my size in advance) and we hugged and kissed for a good minute there, standing in the grass, in front of tons of people. (None of whom said a word to us.) He was still shaking and obviously nervous so I had us go sit down on the marble benches beneath the monument. He looked at the ring on my finger and we talked about how awesome this was to finally be engaged, after 6 years together. We took a couple pictures but for once in my life I didn’t want the hassle of pictures to take away from such a special moment- one that I know will never happen again in my life and that I could never re-live. It was a really special time for us sitting up there on the monument. It was like nobody else mattered, people could be watching, or staring but from then on it was me and him- just us two, together forever.

~Anna

Our Engagement Story

2010-08-31T23:05:00.004-04:00

Hello Blogger World, I am Travis, Anna's fiance. We were engaged on July 31, 2010 and this is my story about that day.----- We had been dating for about 6 years to that point and we talked about the possibility of getting married many times. But we both knew that time was starting to wind down on deciding whether we would spend the rest of our lives together. I had put so much prayer into this and sometimes my answers would even confuse myself. I had a plan for what I wanted to do with my life for the next couple years and Anna had a better one. But the spirit I felt always gave me the same answer, getting married to Anna was definitely what I had to do, no matter what I had to sacrifice. Things weren't exactly figured out in my life to that point, but Anna's life was. She is going to go on to be a successful neonatal nurse, and she is very dedicated and good in her work. We talked about it and we agreed that eternal marriage should not hang on worldly things as that. However, I would still have doubts. But I knew the Lord was testing my trust in Him. And through more prayer, discussions with my bishop, and much thought, I felt more spiritual confirmation in this than anything before.----- I knew that I had to propose to her that night as she was leaving for school the next day. The day began with more prayer, that the Lord would be with me through everything that day. I went ring shopping and I had some input/suggestions from my mom and sisters. I ended up getting one from Zales that I thought would look good for Anna and one she would like forever. I thought of her when I saw that ring at the shop and I knew that was the one to get. I had to go to work that day but I argued with the head cashier to let me go early. He reluctantly let me off at 4 pm so I knew the stage was set. I rushed home, got ready for the night, and went to pick up Anna. She looked very pretty, as always, and I tried to dress up, well..it was a polo shirt and jeans, which is formal for me. I took Anna to Texas de Brazil, an upscale Brazilian BBQ restaurant at Fair Oaks Mall, for dinner. After stuffing our (my) face with all-you-can-eat steak, I was about to propose to her over dessert, but then I decided against it, as we were too full for dessert, and I didn't want to propose on a sore stomach. So we got in my truck and drove to Washington, DC by the Washington Monument. We walked around for a little bit admiring the beautiful views of the DC buildings (and Anna) illuminated at night. It was already great to be spending time with her, just walking around. It was very romantic and intimate being together in such a special place like that. But I knew my time was dwindling, and I had to step up to plate soon. I said one more small prayer in my heart. We finally reached an isolated spot on the field, away from all the tourists, right under the Washington Monument. I knew the time was right.----- My heart began pounding uncontrollably. I asked Anna if she really wanted to be married to me. She said, "of course." I said that I loved her and I was ready to move on in our life. I pulled the ring out of my pocket and got down on one knee. She covered her mouth in disbelief and said "no way!" Barely keeping myself from falling over, I popped the question. "Anna Karlee Brionez, will you marry me?" She immediately said "yes, of course I'll marry you!"----- Then I fainted..............nah just kidding.----- After all the action. We walked around some more, and sat on a bench under the Washington Monument. We sat there and I held her, we took some pictures, and we soaked in the moment. We were engaged to be married for eternity.----- After our special moment, we anticipated some explaining to do to people who have doubts about us. People who think we are too young, or people who think we should graduate college first. Things changed and I don't have a plan 100% mapped out (though I still plan on working in the IC). But I'm glad I have a partner to do that with now. I'm excited to go through tough times in our lives now that we have someone to overcome them with. I'm excited to enjoy our good times together. I'm glad I have an eternal companion and I intend to treat her as such. I've witnessed how much Anna's parents care about her and her well-being and I've felt their care for me as well. I know that this decision will not fail and I know that we will have a strong marriage and we will have our own little happy family. I've felt the Lord's confirmation and I know that He is happy with this decision as well. Though there may be opposition in this world, not only toward us, but to marriage in general, I know that if we keep following the Lord's will, we will continue to be as happy as we were at 10:31 pm on that memorable Saturday in July.

Weekend of Food

2010-08-14T14:32:00.001-04:00

We didn't have straws....

Friday Travis drove all the way down to visit me- he arrived around 3:30 pm. It clearly hadn't been too long since we'd seen each other but we were both excited to hang out! We spent some time talking and laughing and before long we realized we were starving!! This was only the beginning. We went to Food Lion to pick up all of the materials for the dinner we would make. My mom had kindly stocked my cabinets with most things we needed but I lacked a few. We ended up making potatoes and sausage- a staple for dinner in my childhood- with sour cream or ketchup, corn and salad with cheese, tomatoes and ranch. It was so filling ad if I say so myself I'm becoming quite a little domestic engineer.
We had already planned on making cake cookies- cookies out of cake mix but you use less water and eggs so it doesn't rise, after dinner. Abby and I thought they turned out more like biscuits with icing and sprinkles but Trav thought they ended up ok. After a few we got accustomed to the dense taste. Our smoothie dessert had to wait until morning since we were stuffed. For breakfast we make strawberry/banana smoothies which turned out pretty good. Trav won't let me pour sugar in it since apparently that takes away the point of being healthy.... psshh. Oh no, thats not all, we went to Waffle House too. I thought I would be fine with one waffle and hash-browns but no, stuffed AGAIN. Travis and I have concluded that we'll eat when we're together and cut back a whole lot during the week otherwise we'll soon have trouble fitting through the doorway!! We had a great time this weekend, looked at tuxedos and wedding invitations online and spent too much time laughing. As usual, it's never fun to say goodbye but never fear, we'll see each other again soon!

Re-Sizing

2010-08-10T22:36:00.000-04:00

Travis did a great job picking out my ring- it was just about a half size too big. Monday we made the trek to Zales in Harrisonburg to remedy the situation. It is an hour from SVU so I drove up and Travis drove the hour and 45 minutes from home to meet me. Yes, if you didn't know we are spending our engagement in separate regions of VA. Anyway, the jeweler said it would take up to 18 days to re-size. INSANE!! I very well couldn't go 18 days without a ring so we stopped into Claires to buy a cheap lookalike. People can't even tell it is fake unless I tell them or they have it in their hand. Makes me wonder why people spend so much money on rings anyway. We had a good time and made a whole afternoon of our time together. We went into Barnes and Noble and spent the last of a gift-card I have to there on muffins and cookies from the Starbucks in there. We saw the move 'The Other Guys,' I wouldn't waste your time or money on it if you ask me, we had "lunch" at Sushi Jack and dinner at Panera. we even stopped into a bridal shop just to take a gander. Travis could not tell the difference between the dresses- thought they all looked the same. I guess I will be taking someone else with me dress shopping. We even went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and inquired about setting up a bridal registry. It was so much fun and we did lots of things. We always love spending time together.

-Anna

We're Engaged!!

2010-08-04T10:39:00.002-04:00

As of right now this blog is no longer just mine, it is now both mine and Travis's. We plan do update it on things we do together, plans for the wedding, and things like that. Frankly, it was mostly about the two of us already anyway. We hope you visit often. Anna

This is what I've been doing

2010-06-30T12:11:00.005-04:00

Earlier this month I got a bunion removed on my right foot, nasty I know. The doctor, Dr. Wilson, also fixed a few toes for me. Jacked up feet apparently run in the family since both my parents have them. I got my left bunion removed about 6 years ago but because of sports have not had the time to do the other one. Limping around, icing, and elevating my foot has not been fun but in a few weeks when the swelling has gone down it will hopefully have been worth it. I was really sick for about a week right after surgery. Nobody knew why since they gave me anti-nausea medicine, but that didn't work. It was horrible, not only did my foot kill but I was sick. My mom took care of me, Javi helped out a bit, and Travis came over every day after work to make sure I was alive. The healing process will be slow but hey, soon enough I'll look cute in heels again! This week I am at the Spivey's house chilling with Josh and Sophie every day. Of course, pics of that to come.

Sunday with the Spiveys

2010-06-12T13:55:00.005-04:00

Abby reading to Josh and Sophie

Josh and his new baseball bat- we resorted to golf...

Javi and Sophie deep in conversation

On Sunday we spent the afternoon up at the Spivey's house. We had so much fun! We played outside, made chocolate candies, and had a lot of food! Josh especially enjoyed the making chocolate candies. He had made us brownies too the day before- what a nice guy. Outside we tried playing whiffle ball baseball with Josh and Sophie. We had to teach the kid how to hold the bat the correct way. We took a little family walk and Sophie had me spin her around and around. She seemed to like getting dizzy. It was a really fun day. Lindsay had made some pretty tasty stuff. It was nice to have time with the Spiveys, Travis and Abby.

Javi's State Meet

2010-06-12T13:45:00.000-04:00

My brother, Javi, qualified for the state Track & Field meet that was held in Richmond this year. He finished 21st in the shot put which was a better place than when he went in. We're pretty proud of him since he is only a junior. The day was scorching hot and he did his best. I used to throw- I was better at discus than shot- but it is great to see that my brother is enjoying something that I used to love so much. I'm sure he will be back next year and will place even higher than this year. GOOD JOB JAVI!

Academy Awards

2010-06-12T13:31:00.000-04:00

My brother is a part of a movie making academy class. As part of his day of school he leaves the regular high school and meets up with other students from all over at a central school for a movie making class. He is really good at directing and editing movies so this class is great for him. His friend, Todd, is in the class too. There was a final night called the Academy Awards where the kids from his academy class plus a bunch of others- like music, design, etc, brought together their final works in a show for the parents. Todd and Javi dressed up like body guards and escorted people in and out of the auditorium for their movie-making section. They looked pretty cool and they seemed to have a good time.

DRESSES FOR SALE

2010-06-11T17:17:00.001-04:00

If you, or anyone you know, is interested in purchasing dresses I am trying to sell a few that I have. They have each been worn a max of two times. The sizes are about 9-12 and they are very well taken care of. If you are interested, leave a comment. Thanks!!

Memorial Day

2010-06-11T17:09:00.001-04:00

On Memorial day my sister and her family came down to spend some time with us. We all got to go to out pool, Parliament pool, where all of us kids have done our time on swim team. It was fun to have Josh and Sophie, my mom, Lindsay and Kris, Jae, and Travis all there. The guys played basketball for a while and us girls hung out with the kids. Cool quote from Josh: Here's some background info. It was way hot outside. Lindsay or someone had taken Josh's shoes off and put him, standing, on the cement waiting for everyone else to be ready to get in the pool. he goes.... "Hot, Hot, Hot... It's freaking hot!" Everyone laughed and couldn't decide if he was actually allowed to say that or not. Then Lindsay just said... "Well... it is." Maybe it was one of those you had to be there moments. Regardless, we had a good time. Sophie especially, since she is geting older, had a good time. They both looked cute in their little suits. I on the other hand...

Start of the Summer

2010-06-11T16:56:00.000-04:00

Every memorial day there is a concert commemorating those who served our country. It takes place on the grounds of the capital. It's pretty cool. Our family takes blankets and, of course, food. It it a good time and it is a great way to remember those who fought for the freedoms we enjoy. Even Brad Paisley was there and JJ from criminal minds whose real name is AJ. Its a huge event and we like it. This year the whole family went and brought along Travis and Todd.

Trip to Espana

2010-06-11T16:47:00.000-04:00

I am home for the summer. In fact, I am laying in my bed recovering from surgery I had about... 3 hours ago. I'm still a little groggy from the meds but I figured it was as good of a time as any to update the blog. I've done so much stuff! Below are my facebook albums of pictures I took in spain. There are still a lot more I didn't feel like uploading but these should give you a really good idea of how awesome it was. I hope you enjoy them. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=420549&id=558050467&l=8630ec5422 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=423757&id=558050467&l=9485c18ea3 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=427972&id=558050467&l=6a543b10f1

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=428013&id=558050467&l=77458c8d80

I went with my school, SVU, on a travel study. I took classes- Spanish culture and conversation from native spanish speaking teachers and went on a lot of school trips too. We saw a lot of museums as a group and of course I shopped too!! It was a great experience and I am really glad I was able to go. If you are interested in reading the daily blog we had to keep feel free to visit svuinspain.blogspot.com there were three different levels of students- beginners, intermediate, and advanced. All levels participated in contributing to the blog.

Too busy

2010-04-19T22:32:00.000-04:00

I am approaching the final 2 weeks of this semester. This week I am bogged down with projects, papers, and presentations. Next week is my finals week, then I am off to SPAIN for all of May!! What I am trying to say is- I don't have time to blog. If you want to know something, call me :)

Monkey see Monkey do

2010-04-06T19:30:00.000-04:00

So we went out to dinner with the Spiveys in February. We met at this nice little French place one evening. I let Josh take some pictures with my camera. He was so happy and took this strange picture of my dad. Now, I know that it was not the photographer who is responsible for this. THEN a few weeks later at my birthday dinner Josh started making this face for every picture. Gee, thanks dad.

I'm having too much fun

2010-04-06T19:17:00.000-04:00

I have been doing LOTS of fun things lately. This past week Abby's mom and 3 of her sisters came to BV. They rented a super cute cabin right by a lake way back in the boonies. I thought it was an April Fool's joke when we were driving there but- it was a beautiful view. Her mom had dinner ready for us and an Easter Egg hunt too. It was lots of fun. Since is has been nice outside, occasionally we take ourselves up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and plop down on a blanket. We had Stake Conference a few weeks ago and took the opportunity to go up there right after church. It was a nice day and we had ourselves a little picnic. It was a great experience for us- a really nice man, Carl, approached us (no mom- not in a creepy way) and we ended up talking about our church. He seemed very interested and we were able to debunk a lot of myths he believed. Mary luckily had some church literature with her, a True to the Faith book, on her which we were able to give to him. He was actually very thankful. We might never know what becomes of our friend Carl but it was a great experience for Mary, Becky, Alyssa and myself and hopefully we have planted a seed that someone else might get to harvest. On opening weekend of Busch Gardens SVU planned a trip for anyone (who had the money) to go on. I decided to go and I am very glad I did. It was pretty chilly all day long which was weird for me since I had only been to an amusement park in the heat of the Summer before. I got to spend time with a group of friends that I don't usually hang with and it was great!! We rode all the rides together, spent way too much money on overpriced food, and overall had a great time. We have a few stories about sickness on rides or getting stuck on the top of a roller coaster- but I'll save those for another time.

My Birthday Week

2010-04-06T19:04:00.000-04:00

I had a very nice birthday which also landed over my Spring Break. I got so spend the 1oth with my favorite people. The next 3 days I got to hang out with Josh and Sophie. We did fun things like go to the park and Chuck E Cheese, read Green Eggs and Ham and then make orange eggs and red noodles (Josh's idea- he loved it. I was near vomiting). I took the kids to visit my mom at her work at GMU (shout out!!!). She got to show off the kids to everyone who of course thought they were the cutest ever- which they are. People really have to stop thinking they are my kids though. Its a problem. Overall it was very fun. What's the secret to living till 20?.... I don't know. I'll tell ya if I think of one.

Spring Break

2010-04-06T18:53:00.000-04:00

I spent Spring Break in Florida with my mom and Grandma. It was nice. I wasn't having the same Daytona Beach experience as my fellow peers but I had a good time. We shopped, ate, and hung out a lot. And, we had a pretty sweet ride to boot. Not to mention it was bike week. We were all but thrilled to see some of the... exposed... biker chicks. (My mom will appreciate this.) It was nice to get away for a while.

Remember that MOUSE in our house?

2010-02-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

THIS is what it did to my sweater. I was getting ready this morning planning on wearing this outfit when much to my dismay it was missing a massive section from the ARM. So mad about it. Theres really nothing I can do but.... still.

A little cheer

2010-01-22T13:31:00.000-05:00

So school is back in full swing. I don;t even want to think about all of the things I have due because it is way too stressful. This video makes me smile and hopefully you will like it too.

Christmas in review

2010-01-08T13:49:00.000-05:00

Christmas at my house was very nice. I eventually got all presents purchased and wrapped. After FINALLY getting out of the BV snowstorm- my parents had to come and dig me out on Sunday, it was good to be home. I loved sleeping in my own big bed mostly. There were lots of gifts. The "big" gift for me this year was a brand new Nikon camera. It is great, I take it everywhere and takes really high quality pictures. So- THANK YOU MOM AND DAD- I LOVE IT!! I got lots of other things too like clothes, scarves, a purse, a LL Bean bag (from my sister) and the ever-so-loved stocking stuffers: gum and socks. It was a nice Christmas. My mom made a great dinner of ham and a crown roast plus all the usual delicious sides. The whole family came down during the day and we spent time together playing Rock Band. Josh and Sophie always make every family get-together more enjoyable. We had a good time. Lindsay and Kris stayed the night and we spent the evening watching movies and eating. Over all- a very nice day with the fam, isn't that what Christmas is all about?

And.... exhale...

2009-12-18T13:09:00.000-05:00

Wow. Finals week is done. I did not think I would make it through. Travis helped me not stress too much but its been rough. Test after test after presentation after paper after grade..... it's never ending. It is enough to drive a person insane- case in point -> me. This school gives you a great education. You are not just a number, your knowledge is not reduced to merely the bubbles you scribble in on a scantron- the teachers truly care. They expect you to come out of their class fully versed in whatever subject it may have been they were teaching. Wonderful, great in the long run, overwhelming for testing purposes. Each professor expects multiple essays for their final. Needless to say, after this last exam this morning my hand could fall off. Through all of this I still have had to go to work, which I do enjoy but is a daily toll on my nerves. I love kids but sometimes- well lets just say I'm going to discipline the heck out of my own kids. No need for parenting class I already know what NOT to do. A couple of these kids could use a good swift kick in the behind- butI will not be the one to issue it to them for obvious reasons. Too, on top of everything are my duties as an RA. Everyone seems to think that it is my personality to be nitpicky- which it might be and very well could be a reason why I got the job- but alas, it is my responsiblilty to maintain the safety and clenliness of this house and ensure all rules are followed. Lets just say, I love my housemates (my friends), but they do not seem to take me seriously. I'll crack down next semester- I have no choice. Nyman beware. Christmas shopping has been going pretty well. Of course there is still more I need to buy and am constantly thinking of people to give gifts to. Usually I'm pretty cheap but this year I've gotten into the spirit of giving. I have a trickle of an income so I think its ok. Devestating news- Travis does not think he will be coming back to SVU in the Spring- actually its pretty much for sure. This place is not the same with out him. He is my very best friend- has been for a long time. We have made SVU our home. It is our little fun place and we have grown to love it. It won't mean anywhere close to as much if he isn't here. Therefore, I am dreading coming back in January- even considering running away to Aruba to avoid the deadness of this place without my best friend. Dad already paid tuition so we'll see how that goes. It looks like there is supposed to be a snowstorm tonight through tomorrow evening. Oh and when do I plan on leaving?- Tomorrow afternoon. This should be fun.

Early Christmas

2009-12-04T11:10:00.000-05:00

Last night was the annual Buena Vista Christmas parade. There were lots of floats in it and tons of people from the town lined the streets to watch and cheer. It's not something that you'd see every day in Fairfax, thats for sure. I was in the parade with the YMCA float. The kids had a great time shouting "Merry Christmas" and waving from the float they were seated on. I handed out candy-canes to kids who were watching. I was pretty much famous :) SInce our float was near the front we got to get off and watch the rest of the parade. Churches, businesses, antique cars, organizations, and mostly fire and rescue squads from all over sent their vehicles. It really was lots of fun. I got made fun of by my co-workers because I was standing there watching intensly. Tomorrow we have another one- in Lexington. That one should be just as fun, if not more. In the morning I will be volunteering at a Christmas Party by Project Horizon for children. Santa will be there and we'll paint faces, decorate cookies, things like that. I guess thats it, Chiristmas season is offically here! PS- Totally got a 21 out of 20 on my oral Spanish presentation today. I'm pretty darn proud of myself next time. PSS- Sorry no pictures, still no camera. PSSS- THERE IS A MOUSE IN OUR HOUSE!! I saw it in the kitchen a few nights ago. Alyssa spotted in in my room last night and later heard it scratching inside the walls. We have mouse killer set out but it has obviously not been successful. Possible story on this to follow. Have a good one.

Weekend!

2009-11-21T13:31:00.000-05:00

So last night our excitement consisted of going to Wal-Mart, a charity concert put on by SVU's acapella group- The Fading Point, and watching Hunch Back of Notre Dame. I fell asleep about 10 minutes into it. Fading Point is so good- seriously. Their main beat boxer guy won 1st at some compitition they went to and the whole group got 6th. I think they are amazing- Javi would be awesome with them. If you have a facebook you can check them out at their page http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/thefadingpoint?ref=ts they only have one or two videos up but they're great. Tonight we're going to Roanoke to see New Moon. We're excited. Most importantly: Thanksgiving is just around the corner. SO EXCITED!! Totally woke up this morning thinking I was in my room at home and could walk downstairs to pancakes and the puppies, a brisk day- windows and doors of the house open, and the parents working in the yard- raking leaves. Oh memories. Lastly, next Saturday just might be the biggest football game in my fan-dom. Lake Braddock vs. Woodson for the regional title and extreme bragging rights in the Brionez vs. Mueller war. Its gonna be huge. Anyone who is anyone better be there!

Yes, Yes, Yes, I'm still alive

2009-11-17T11:41:00.001-05:00

So- as you can see I got glasses. Let me back up. I am a member of the Buena Vista chapter of the Lion's Club. It is a global medical and humanitarian service organization. I joined to partially pad my resume honestly, partially because by friend Abby convinced me, and mostly because I wanted the experience. This weekend the group (there were just under 20 of us) traveled in 2 vans to Tennessee. If you think BV is bad this place is a huge culture shock. Doctors including dentists, optomotrists and general health care people came from all over the country from places like Ohio and New York. Lots of dental students too came to offer their help. I worked with one named Jeremy. (no mom I didn't get his number). I spent hours pretending I know what dentistry is all about and being totally clueless- especially concerning the different tools. I saw some pretty nasty mouths. Honestly I wanted to brush my teeth for like 6 hours after seeing these peoples' decayed, disgusting mouths. Saturday I worked in the optical area. I fitted people with sunglasses and even got my own eyes checked. I have 2 stigmatisims and apparently am more blind than I thought so I got a free pair of glasses for myself. I got to pick them out and everything. I like them- I look smart :) Oh ya- and I am totally going to be a nurse now!

Halloween- legit costumes!!

2009-11-01T18:46:00.000-05:00

Halloween this year was ridiculous!! We had the greatest time dressing up- that was the best part of the night. After the football game (final score SVU 40 - Radford 20) we hopped into the car and went to Goodwill. Shhh... I'm not a huge fan of admitting that. Anyway it was fun trying on crazy things and deciding what we would be for the dance. Here's the lowdown on what we went as : Me and Travis ---> Rihanna and Chris Brown post- fight. If you're not up on that whole teen pop drama you better get in it. Alyssa ---> Facebook (very original!!) Becky---> a crack whore ('m sure her mother is proud) Brandon and Kenson ---> Drug dealers (mostly Becky's...) Colby---> a rooter Abby ---> Mormon mom (yep, old lady shoes, pregnant belly and all) Jeremy ---> Obama Becky got a sample of some really dark foundation in the mail which is what I used to try to make my face look Rihanna color. Not so successful but you get the gist. Travis and I decked ourselves out in lip-stick made "scratches" and I had a massive black eye. Yep, I had to dye my hair black and tease it insane to get it like that. It too a half an hour of painful combing and 3 shampooings to get it back to normal. I was so proud of Travis for playing along. Too bad the music at the dance was lame. Solution- we headed over to Lee Highs's (a random truck stop down the road) for a little midnight snack. It was one of the most fun Halloweens I've had!

Halloween with the kids

2009-11-01T18:32:00.000-05:00

Uh yeah..... so if you follow my life at all you know I work for the YMCA at an elementary school in Lexington. We had a Halloween party for the kids on Friday and they were all coming dressed up- so I did too. Abby lent me the pants, mathathon shirt, and glasses that she had bought for geek party she went to. Getting ready was a lot of fun and I felt completely ridiculous but it was worth it. I could hardly see with those huge glasses on and the kids couldn't tell what I was. They thought I was a teacher or something. Geez- so much for that. I got a kick out of myself and so did my housemates. I had to make a treat to bring to our party. Remind me never to spend 15 bucks on fixings for those worms in dirt treats- you know, chocolate pudding, crushed oreos, and a gummy worm in a cup- that the little kids won't even eat all of. I prepared amounts large enough for people my size. Whoops- I guess I'm not used to making food for K-4th graders. So much went in the trash I wanted to cry. Its ok, lesson learned. This outfit was totally crazy. I went to pick up Abby from the soccer game and got some pretty questioning looks as I galavanted towered her. I miss Halloween!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY SOPHIE!!!

2009-10-22T19:39:00.000-04:00

Thats right. Little Soph-a-dillie turned one on October 18th. We had her party at my family's house the day before- half way between her dad's parents and her own family's house. Our fam is a fam of intense amounts of food and as always this party had food. We had a good time together and Soph did great. She got lots of gifts, and had her own cake, just like her big brother Josh. Sophie was really sweet and even put up with wearing her Korean outfit (I'm not even gonna try and spell honbak in case im embarass myself) and playing the game where she chooses from among a bunch of items in front of her. In whatever order she picked them it meant she would have those qualities or talents- like she picked a spatula meaning she will be a good cook.

Soph LOVES watermelon. It is her favorite food apparently.

Haha she looks a little skeptical.

The girl sure likes to eat.

Before

After

She was whooped by the end of the party.

The Mountains and The Ocean

2009-10-17T00:49:00.000-04:00

My parents and Javi came down on my Dad's birthday on the 4th. He got slightly shafted since everything closes in BV and Lexington on Sundays. There wasn't much going on in the towns-- at all. I took the fam up to see the view from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Dad enjoyed it- Javi and I did not take too much interest in driving up and down curvy roads but it was for Dad. After going into Lexington, walking up and down endless blocks of closed shops we went back to Macadoos- right where we had first parked the car. There wasn't much action that day but it was nice to spend time with the family. My parents own some property in Marina Del Ray, California. Over my Fall break I flew out to meet up with my dad to help fix up the place a bit. He left early Friday morning. I had classes, drove home from school, and then my mom took me to the airport. It was my first time flying alone so my mom and siblings were kinda freaking out for me. Honestly it was not a big deal at all. Note to self- do not pack two bags full of books, shoes, and other heavy things and not expect to be a sore, sweaty, mess when you get to the airplane. Ya- I decided not to check a bag. It complicates things and frankly I did not want to pay the stupid $20 fee for it so I crammed everything into my backpack (every book I own) and a duffel. It was nice to be able to spend time with my dad but he did put me to work too. I sanded the whole garage door and window sill and painted both as well as painted the gate to the fence. This may not seem like a lot but believe me, it is. As I was sanding the garage door the neighbor freaked out and made my dad go buy me a mask- thats right I preformed my duties looking like Darth Vader. We had a good bit of Chipotle and other Mexican food from like- Tito's tacos and stuff. I got to go to J. Paul Getty's house and museum. There was a whole bunch of old art work and statues. My dad had gone there when he was a kid so it was neat for him. It was a beautiful place. I also got to see UCLA- I used to want to go there so bad. It was like my dream school. The campus is HUGE and really nice. My dad also took me into Beverly Hills and Hollywood where I felt like a darn fool walking around in my every-day clothes. My dad took a bunch of extra time getting me close enough to the HOLLYWOOD sign to get a picture before we went to his Uncle's house. We hung out with my dad's aunt and cousin before heading home. Saturday, after doing some work and hanging out with more family, we went to the Santa Monica Peir and walked around the streets. The musicians were my favorite part. There was a violinist named Josh V... something and he was seriously awesome. Least favorite part- all the homeless people. It made me slightly uneasy but it was good I had my dad there. I am glad my dad had me go along. It was a short trip but it was cool to see the house, my family, and some sights. THANKS DAD!!

Holy Cow I'm Slacking!!

2009-10-02T19:06:00.000-04:00

Wow wow wow!! I did not realize how much time had passed since I updated this darn thing. So much has been going on. I will try and give a synopsis of my life the past month: I got a job working for the YMCA as an after-school counselor. I end up working just about 15 hours a week but with the driving and the hard work it seems like more. I really enjoy it and for the most part the kids are pretty good... some days :P I have one day left in my training for Project Horizon. It is a domestic abuse shelter down here by school that requires a 32 hour training course to become a volunteer. I have been learning a lot of saddening things and after tomorrow I will be qualified to answer the 24 hour abuse hotline-- well how prepared can you honestly get to do that? It will be a good experience for me and to volunteer for a place like that is great. I can't stop the horrific things that happen in the world but by doing this I hope to alleviate some of the pain for the innocent survivors. Since the last post I have been home twice. Abby came with me the first weekend to celebrate my mom's birthday. The entire family came over on Saturday, dad and I had picked out a lot, and I mean A LOT of food to have, and we had a good time. There were even enough left-overs to bring back to school and feed me for a week!! Sunday we went into DC and saw some sights before we headed back to SVU. The next weekend was Josh's 3rd birthday. Lindsay was brave enough to invite 12 of Josh's friends to a party at McDonald's. He was a really sweet boy that day and seemed to have a great time. Afterword we had a family party back at the Spivey's. Josh got so many presents that he was gifted out! We had a really good time there and again there was great food. That weekend I got my flu shot and also had to get TB tested for work. It was really inconvient to do and I had Javi came along. I told him it was in case my arm hurt so bad afterword that I needed him to drive home-- it was really just because I was tired of bring alone. I had just spent 3 hours in a car driving to No Va alone!! A long time ago- well, a couple weeks ago- my family came down for the day and to watch a football game and visit. It was so much fun!!- We went to a nearby petting zoo that was totally legit! We rode an elephant, pet llamas, fed giraffes and so much more. It was probably one of the greatest experiencesof my life. Javi was so freaked but me and mom really had a good time. We swung into this thing called Foam Henge afterwork. It is a foam replica of Stone Henge- no joke. Some guy sure had a lot of time on his hands. Since the last post I have had 4 exams- Abnormal Psycholocy (didn't do too hot on that one- shhh don't tell my mom), Early Childhood Education, Spanish, America and the Enlightenent (Of which I got 95, 91, and 99%!!), and Family Process (Which I have not gotten back yet). My friend Cari tore her ACL, meniscus and a couple other things in her knee playing volleyball. She decided not to stay to finish out the semester since it was just a wek or two in and went home so her family could be there for her after surgery. We miss her but before she left we had a really fun night. We went out for ice cream and ended up at a concert on campus- we even got a picture with the band!! They were surprisingly good- the name is Shapiro... and some random girl jumped in our picture. ug. I had a surprise party at my house for my friend Kylie. Ya- I planned it in 1 day!!- talk about stressful. I'd say about 25 people or so hid and jumped out at her. It was very sneaky how we did it. The people who got her over to my house were so worried since she decided to shower about 20 minutes before she was supposed to arrive. I baked all day- honestly for hours- and cleaned too. It was so much fun. We cranked the music and mostly enjoyed hanging out. Today I got a package from my dad :) I know... I know... it's sad- he didn't send cupcakes. It was cookies. Also, my mom's co-worker Laura sent me a completely surprising box of bubble gum and a card. It was really nice and totally unexpected of her. (HEY LAURA!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!) I went to a "date auction" and purpously didn't bring any money. Guys had been nominated and were auctioned off starting at 10 bucks to girls who they would take on a school provided date. Some girls paid up to 70 bucks on these guys. I say if you have to pay for them- pffft not worth it. ... I also got a hair cut recently and the girl thinned out about a third of my hair. NO JOKE! It is much better. I was skeptical at the beginning but whew- it feels so light now. As you can see I am staying very busy- and you don't even know the half of it. I have RA responsibilities, to work out, to eat, to do homework- which is neverending, sleep, shower..... things that take up every moment of every day. Above are a few from the of copious amount of pictures I have taken this past month. See if you can figure out what activity each are from. Thanks for hanging in there and reading all about my life <3

A Surprise Package from Dad

2009-09-05T18:53:00.000-04:00

The only mail I've been getting recently are packages with textbooks I've ordered. Today there was a knock at the door followed by my housemate telling me I had a package. I sauntered to the door positive that it would be the last book I've been waiting for. Much to my surprise it was from my dad. He sent some cookies and cupcakes!! Sadly when they got here the cupcakes were a little... well... messy. After scraping the icing from the lid and putting it back on the top of the mini cupcake they tasted great! It was a nice pick-me-up to our lazy, nothing to do but homework, Saturday. THANKS DAD!!! PS- I just bought a new camera. Too bad I got it on Overstock.com and then found it at Wal-mart in a different color for $15 bucks cheaper. Its ok though- I like it a lot and it has a lot of settings. This is the first picture I've taken with it.

Bad News

2009-08-28T11:45:00.000-04:00

Well sports fans- Everybody who knows me is very aware how much I enjoy sports. I started volleyball in 6th grade because the constant pounding on my knees from running in soccer caused a painful knee condition called Osgood Schlatters and I had to switch activities. I've been playing ever since then for my high school and on neighborhood teams. A massive draw to SVU last year was the fact that I would be able to play volleyball. Unfortunately I have been removed from the team. Apparently the coaches did not see me improving and I have poor hand eye coordination compared to the new freshmen who have "potential". Funny, last year the coaches told me I had great potential but since they never offered me pointers or critique during the season I did not improve as much as they hoped and here I am on the outside looking in. The surprising fact that coaches can be so heartless and cut a loyal returner makes me almost glad to not have to play in that enviornment. Regardless, I am very upset about it but I WILL get over it and I WILL be good at something else.

Home Again, Home Again Jiggidy Jig- to BEEVEE!

2009-08-14T00:31:00.000-04:00

So here I am again back in good 'ole Buena Vista. I've gotten all set up in my house and so far am liking it pretty well. I stay fairly busy with RA training and working out so I'm ready (well fairly ready) for when volleyball practice starts on Monday and the rest of my girls show up in the next week or so. Today I spent all day in CPR, First Aid, and communication training. If you ever pass out, sever a limb, stop breathing, choke, suffer a stroke, seize, fall over.... or a series of other random things I know how to help!! So- it is nice to be back again. Yeah I miss home a bit but it almost feels like I never left this place. The people and things are all the same like time stood still here while I went home. Volleyball season has me a little worried and classes do slightly too but before I know it Christmas will be here again. Try not to miss me :)

the best days of the summer!

2009-08-11T14:06:00.000-04:00

I spent my last week before heading back to school with Josh and Sophie- I have done it the past two summers and love it. Sunday evening through Thursday morning I stayed at the Spivey's house then Thursday through Saturday Josh and Soph came home with me. I had so much fun watching them and miss them SO MUCH already. I took over 400 pictures of those kids in case you have any doubt how cute I think they are. It was tough but I selected a few of the cutest pictures to share. If I could I would put up all 400+ pictures but I will save you and I the drudgery of that. The kds and I had a good time baking, going to the park, playing in the pool, going to Chuch E Cheese, reading, and just playing. Josh is so smart. We had some really cute conversations. We talked about Jesus, why some animals can see in the dark, and an infinite amount of other things. He really never stops talking. My favorite was when he looked up at me one night while we were watching Brother Bear and he had his head on my lap and said out of the blue "I really love you." Sophie had seperation issues when she came over to my house. For 3 days she wouldn't go to anybody other than me without screaming like mad and I could rarely put her down without somesort of theatrics. When I held her though she was great. We played and she even would laugh and smile at other people- until they tried to take her away. It was an awesome week. Josh and Sophie were great!

Mo flo-duh

2009-08-11T13:52:00.000-04:00

at Scotty's Landing for dinner in Miami Miami at night In Key Largo with my dad, grandma and brother I beat him once or twice :) Beautiful beach weather... most of the time. My cousins Sami and Brandon at our grandma's house (bahahaha Brandon in the background is so funny!) These last pictures sum up our time in Florida. Hanging out, go-karting, mini-golfing, eating ritas, seeing cousins, and relaxing at the beach- not to mention driving A LOT back and forth from Ft. Lauderdale and Key Largo. We had a good time. Our trips always seem to fly by and before we know it we are home again.

Hanging with the Washingtons

2009-08-03T10:48:00.000-04:00

My mom gave me two free tickets to Mount Vernon, George Washington's house, that she had won at a neighborhood party so Javi and I went the other week. It is not exactly what one would call a fun Summer activity but is was something to do. We spent most out the time taking pictures of out of place things that obviously weren't there during George's time like a fire hydrant or tractor and getting weird looks from people when we said things like "Why would George Washington need a shop full of pictures of his own house?" or "hey look George Washington's garden hose." It was blazing hot outside so we didn't stay long but it was a sorta cool random thing to do. I dount I will go again in the near future but if you have never been I would reccomend it once in your life- especially the movie in the theatre at the end where actual snow fell from the cieling. I wonder why george would want that... humm.

FLORIDA!

2009-08-02T23:02:00.000-04:00

My Grandma lives in Florida and our family tries to make it down there at least once a year to visit and enjoy the weather. We just got back from a week there. We took two cars since neither of ours are roomy enough for the four of us larger in stature people. It takes about 14 hours to get there, including the stops- which we did often. We spent Sunday at the beach and Javi got fried. It made for a pretty miserable week for him sun wise but that didn't stop us from going out on jet skis for an hour on Monday! That is so fun and when I get rich someday I'm totally buying at least one. Tuesday through Thursday we brought Grandma along to Ft. Lauderdale where my dad's friend had offered her the use of her town house for free. It was a little weird to hang out in someone else's house but it was really nice of her. We went straight to the pool for a while and then to Miami, which is a really beautiful place. Wednesday we drove down to Key Largo and swam and looked around. Thurdsay we went to the resort where my brother Jae and his fiance Pierina (YES THEY ARE ENGAGED!) were staying. Her brother got married on Friday so it was cool that they happened to end up just a couple miles down the road from us. Of course it rained all day and we couldn't spend much time at the pool so we went to the mall, ate at the food court and started the 5 hour drive back to Grandma's house in Daytona Beach. We spent friday riding go-karts and hanging at the beach. It was sad to leave on Saturday but we really enjoyed seeing our cousins again and spending time at the beach. Thanks mom and dad! Don't worry- more pictures to come. Enjoying the beach Sami giving me board waxing lessons At Ponce Inlet My mom's old house on Partick Air Force base. Her Alma Mater- the scorpions

Proud to be an American

2009-07-13T21:43:00.000-04:00

Our 4th of July was very eventful. We started out the day by going to our neighborhood picnic. My mom, dad, grandma and I made our way to the park for music, a parade, and- of course- hot dogs. It was nice and well attended. We got off on the right foot with true summer food including shaved ice. As part of athe parade there were some hispanic dancers who wore really big beautiful costumes. By the time they reached the end they were so exhausted. We ran home for a bit to change and get ready to go to a party at the home pool of a family in our church. It was way hot but we had lots of fun playing outdoor volleyball and eating all the yummy food people brought to share. Too bad the bugs were KILLER! Grandma was a trooper and even after two parties agreed to head to DC for the annual fireworks. Everyone and their grandmother (some pun intended) was there. We have a family tradition of packing a picnic and sitting on the mall waiting for the fireworks to be set off after dark. I remember it being a huge ordeal when we were younger. We have pictures of us all in these white American flag shirts. This time mom packed up small hand held cooler- a huge difference from the massive ones on wheels we brought before but it was nice. We took grandma around to see some of the tents that the Hare Krishna (or whatever they are) had set up. I watched the fireworks while listening to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA." It made the show much more amazing. I am so glad to live in this free country but I am especially grateful for all those who came before me who had a hand in ensuring my freedom and security. I thought I could use a little meditation to ease my high stress life :) Grandma's new friend Mom thought this statue thing looked like Herb. Grandma is holding what is supposed to be a dog. Mom said "LOOK- Herb has found Jesus!!"... I guess that is who she thought the Mona Lisa was at a quick glance. pfffffft haha The girls in front of the Capitol Mom's chosen pose with the Washington Monument in the background. She let me pick her up- this was after she got up out of the wheelchair (which we only brought so we could move quickly and to hold some of our stuff) and mom yelled "SHE"S HEALED"... Dad was a bum and decided not to dress patriotically This is from the neighborhood picnic in the morning Yes- my mom brought our dog, Baby, to the park.

Quick Update

2009-07-11T09:36:00.000-04:00

Yes, yes I'm still around. I just have not been able to find the time to update the blog with new pictures- but I HAVE been doing lots of things. Frankly, I am doing too much. I watch one of three families of kids for 5-9 hours a day, go to the gym, and work at Jobin Realty on Saturday mornings. Gee did I mention that I have to start teaching Sunday School to 10 year olds?... yay. Thank goodness Western Civ class is over. Recently I had my wisdom teeth taken out, had the flu, did a bunch of things on the 4th of July, visited the Spiveys in Maryland, finally bought my dad a Father's day present and took the kids I watch all over this town. Things I have to look forward to: Taking Javi and his friend Todd to EFY at SVU on monday (I'll go insane. 3 hours in the car with those guys- and 3 hours back alone the same day) family vacation to Florida last week of July, and a trip to the Spiveys for a few days. Needless to say, I'll get the pictures up as soon as I get a spare minute and the internet I "borrow" from some neighbor quits cutting out on me.

Family Reunion

2009-07-01T17:41:00.000-04:00

Friday afternoon my mom and I hopped into the car to head down to the annual Via family reunion. It was right outside Blacksburg, VA this year. Frankly, I don't know too many of those people but it was cool to see (even ones I don't know) my relatives. My Aunt Cathy brought my grandma with her from Florida and picked up her son (my cousin) Joe and his 2 year old boy Chase along the way. It was nice to have them there- especially Chase- he was fun to play with. Our family is big into food. Every time we got together we had a huge meal- hey I'm not complaining- I love food. Saturday some of the family, including my mom and I. went tubing on a river. It was nice and relazing. We went two times since the current was so quick. My mom got a little crispy- for once in my life I didn't get burned. It was a nice visit- the best part was watching little Chase dance his heart out until midnight on the dance floor by the DJ. He was the life of the party. We had a good time with him in the hotel pool too. Least favorite part- the acution and me sitting around realizing that there is nobody else my age there. The auction is people dontating their junk that nobody else would want to raise money for next year's reunion. All in all- it was alright- brought out the honkey tonk in us northern folk.

On the set with REESE WITHERSPOON

2009-06-26T22:22:00.000-04:00

Yes people the beautiful lady you see in the pictures above is the extremely short and amazing REESE WITHERSPOON. I got to be in her upcoming movie which is untitled still. I spent two entire nights (with no sleep) on the set with Reese and Paul Rudd. Owen Wilson is also in the movie but not in the scenes I'm in. Jake Gyllenhaal also came to bring Starbucks to Reese between takes. I'm in the background of a few scenes that took place in Adams Morgan DC. The movie has moved on to Pennsylvania where they will be filming for another 3 months. It really was such an amazing thing. I had so much fun being so close to Reese Witherspoon. She is my most favorite actress ever. I actually memorized her ending court speech from Legally Blonde for my theatre class final exam. Reese walked past me and we made eye contact, once we were so close we basically brushed. She is everything I was hoping for. She looked just like you see her in the movies, she smiled all night, she sounds the same... it was really weird to see that she's just a person. I can't even make ochesive thoughts about my experience. It was so amazing- I still can hardly believe that it really happened. Wow.

Dad's Idea

2009-06-19T15:36:00.000-04:00

Friday night my dad had the bright idea to take us out to some Korean bbq place in Annandale that he had been wanting to try. We humored him and went along with it. It ended up tasting alright but it was a pretty wack joint. We could not converse with our waitress because she could not speak English, they brought out about 15 plates with different unrecognizable "elements" on them that we were supposed to eat with our bbq including squid, brussel sprouts, tofu, a plate of shredded onions (which my mom thought was a personal salad) and a bunch of other stuff that I can't even name. The entrees were super expensive. We each ordered one- chicken, shrimp, beef, spicy pork. Our waitress came out and actually cooked it hibachi style for us- which is the restaurant's speciality. I'm sure they thought we were fat Americans when we asked for a second helping of rice. We poked around at all the sides to make it look like we ate them and actually enjoyed the meats. I was a little disappointed by the shrimp but the others were really good. We all shared our dishes- not really by choice because the lady just dished out the stuff onto our plates- and I even had some of my dad's spicy pork. When they say spicy they mean SPICY! I really liked it though. Before our meal they gave us some "rice soup"- completly tastless muck. Afterword we got rice juice. Also tastless. Dad says we went to learn about the culture. It sure was an experience. I'll stick with Hunan :)

Quick Visit

2009-06-19T15:25:00.000-04:00

Thursday evening the Spiveys stopped by our house on their way down to Richmond where Kris' parents live. It was the first leg of their trip to Florida to visit Grandma Bernice and Aunt Cathy and Uncle Robert. I had a test on Thursday in my Western Civilizations class and wrote the essays as fast as I could. I still got an A so don't worry. I ran to the car and got back to the house to see Josh, Sophie, Lindsay, and Kris.

New Kids on the Block Concert

2009-06-14T17:59:00.000-04:00

After my sister won tickets to see RENT from a local radio station the other week I was determined to win something too. I have started entering a few of the online radio show's contests. One day I checked my inbox and an email's subject line read- "You're a winner of two free tickets!" I was about to throw it away thinking it was junk mail, as usual, but I opened it. I'd actually won a pair of tickets to see The New Kids on the Block at the Patriot Center! I'm not too much of a fan of them. In fact I only knew one song going into it. I brought my brother along with me- and good thing. He absolutely loved the opening performance. I had never heard of the group but it was the JABBAWOKEEZ. Apparently they are a group of masked guys who won a dance competition the other year on MTV. Yeah I'm pretty out of the loop. Anyway, Javi was pretty much going bonkers when they came out. Most people were just cheering and clapping- but he was actually screaming out of control and flailing his arms all over the place. He really liked seeing them. It made me glad I'd brought him because I doubt anybody else would have gotten that excited over the show. It took another 45 mintues for them to come out but NKOTB was fun to watch. They are pretty much an older version of the Backstreet Boys or N'SYNC- but they don't quite dance as well. I saw a couple people I knew from high school at the concert including my friends from the volleyball team, Marian and Stephanie. Their mom had won the tickets at at the fair a couple days before and given them to them. Javi and I moved and sat by my friends since there were two open seats a few rows closer than where we were placed. The concert was lots of fun- it didn't really matter that I didn't know the names of the guys in the group or the words to all but one song. I rocked out just as hard as the gay guys behind us and the mass of 40 something year old women trying to re-live their younger years when the group was first popular. Hey- it was free... and it was fun.

Please Vote for Sophie!!

2009-06-04T22:46:00.000-04:00

Friends, My sister Lindsay entered her baby girl (my niece) Sophie in a cute baby contest. It's through the country radio station in DC (98.7 WMZQ). Help us win by voting for her! 1. Go to http://wmzq.com/main.html 2. Click on the picture for the WMZQ Cutie Contest 3. Search under S (she's wearing the floppy white hat) 4. Click on her picture and VOTE! (make sure to hit the "1" first) [They ask you to give your name and email as verification but it takes just a minute] Your vote may no show up right away but it will shortly. The first round of voting is from today until June 12. You can vote once per email address per day. That means you can vote at least 9 times! Please Vote for Sophie as often as you can! She wants to win a Wii for her birthday!

Catching up with A.Cult

2009-06-03T17:35:00.000-04:00

Saturday after work I got to see Alyssa Cultice for the first time this Summer. I really had missed that girl. I went over to her house in the evening and from there we headed to Starbucks. We chatted over our hot chocolate and frapps until it closed and they pleasantly asked us to leave. We stopped into Target but they too closed on us. Once we got back to her home we spent the next 45 minutes or so taking pictures of ourselves like the one above. I like to "document every event." I guess you'd have to be one of my friends to understand. It is kind of a tradition we have anyway. Alyssa gave me my belated birthday present. I was so surprised and happy. My Birthday had been over Spring Break when my mom and I visited my grandma in Florida so I didn't get to spend it with my friends. I really enjoyed catching up with A.Cult and I look forward to spending a lot of time with her this Summer! Don't worry- we already have plans for Friday <3

SLEEPOVER!

2009-05-31T17:51:00.000-04:00

My sister won free tickets to see RENT from DC 101.1. We both really like that musical and she was way excited she didn't have to buy tickets to the show. (No I was not invited she took her husband. I know right- who does that?) So... while her and Kris were enjoying a lovely evening I was having a MUCH better time with Josh and Sophie. Z & K dropped them off in the afternoon and then headed out to do whatever they did. (You can check her blog if you're really interested) We watched The Incredibles. Soph fell asleep on me during the movie which was so cute. We played until my mom got home... and then we still played. Josh and I made up a new game to dust the floor (Lindsay skip this part cuz you might freak out) We layed on the floor and looked under the couch. If we saw a dust bunny or crumb we'd shreak and say "Ahhhhh a baby monster--- hurry hurry throw it away before it grows big and scary." Then we would grab the dirt and run full speed to the trash can where we would breathe a huge sigh of releif since that little guy would now not become a big scary monster. Josh was really into it and my mom didn't mind that we were doing some dusting. Josh, as usual, was his sweet self but sadly I had to go to class at 6. After I gave Josh a goodbye kiss he came with me to the door. Here was our conversation: Me: Bye Joshie I gotta go to school. Be good. Josh: Ok. I will Me: Have fun! Josh: Have fun at school. Ok maybe it doesn't sound as sweet written down but it was nice of him to say that. (I guess the kid has never been to a college class to realize that there is NOTHING fun about a 4 hour lecture) He waved to me as I walked down the steps and closed the door. I thought it was cute anyway. When I got home a little after 10 the kids were sound asleep on the couch. Sophie woke up a little while later so I did the whole- give her a bottle, walk around with her, hold her until she fell asleep again thing. I doubt I would be cool with that every night but I didn't mind it. She didn't cry or anything... just calmly fell back asleep after staring at me for a while. This rusteling woke up Joshie but he did not move a muscle. I only knew he was up because his eyes were open. I asked him if he was alright- I thought he might have been disoriented and, ya know, not really know where he was or who I was. He said he was ok and I rubbed both of their tummies until they were sound asleep. Then Lindsay and Kris barged in waking everyone up. But its cool... sorta ;)

Memorial Day Concert

2009-05-30T00:05:00.001-04:00

On Sunday we went to the lawn of the Capitol for the Memorial Day Concert. It was nice. We sat on our blankets almost as close to the stage as they would allow. There were some good preformances but I'm too lazy to upload all the singers and stuff. It was a nice event giving tribute to our nation's fallen heroes. God Bless America.

On a whim

2009-05-25T00:37:00.000-04:00

On Saturday my mom and I invited ourselves up to my sister's house in Hampstead, MD. After I got off work we hopped in the car and drove up there. It's always nice to hang out with them. We were able to witness the most horrific event that little Sophie has experienced yet in her young life- getting her ears pierced. She was being all cute and loving-as usual- and had no idea what was coming to her right up until they started putting the marks on her ears so they knew where to put the holes. It was so traumatic for her. She was fine then all of a sudden some punk Claire's girl and an old Claire's hag punctured her ears with metal rods. How terrible does that soun?! Soph obviously freaked the heck out. It took a few moments but she finally calmed down. I'm sure it shocked the crap out of her. Afterword, when the redness went away, she looked really pretty. Josh was so nice and patient through the whole thing. In the movie he has a bunch of little hair brushes that he picked out for his sister. He is such a sweet kid. The second video brace yourself- it is really sad- its of Sophie getting her ears done.

Sorry to bore you

2009-05-18T17:46:00.000-04:00

Nothing exceptionally exciting it happening on my end. I work at Jobin Realty Saturdays and an occasional day or two during the week. I also have three families that I nanny for. Sometimes it is hectic and stressful trying to run from one place to the other. Most evenings I go work out at GMU's fitness center. I meet my mom there and we do our thing for a little while. We come home, eat, check out what is on the tube, go to sleep, and do it all again. If any intermittent activity of coolness happens- I'll be sure to put up pictures. Other than that- I'm just getting used to little kid barf, dirty boys and their love of bugs, and rush hour traffic. Ta ta

Saturday with the kids

2009-05-11T23:19:00.001-04:00

Chocolate cupcake

Jae just loves her so much.

Josh is so kind to Sophie

They're looking at their grandma

On Saturday my mom and I drove up to the Temple to meet Lindsay and Kris. They wanted to spend some time there so we picked up Josh and Sophie and brought them to our house for a couple hours. We had lots of fun with play-dough, playing on the electric piano and just hanging out. Once Lindsay and Kris showed up we had our pre-mother's day festivities. This means food. We ate a lot. It was all really good. Josh is getting older and he is so fun to play with. He talks so much too. Soph was pretty tired during the day. She pretty much just vegged out. We fed Josh Lemon juice- he liked it surprisingly. This is the video of it.

All Good Things Must End

2009-05-03T17:37:00.000-04:00

Thursday I had my last final at SVU. My mom came down to help pack up all my things (that was no easy task) and bring me home. It took both of our cars to haul everything back- not to mention I'd already brought a lot home over the past couple weekends. It was really sad to say goodbye to everyone- especially Abby. I'm way ready for the Summer though. Sort of. I'll be taking classes at NOVA and taking care of two family's kids each day. Being at SVU was nice this year but it is nice to be away from the BV.

Trip to Tech

2009-04-29T10:15:00.000-04:00

On Saturday Travis came down to SVU and met up with Abby and me. We drove to Virginia Tech to watch the spring football game. It was free so the Spiveys invited us to tag along. Lindsay, Kris, Josh, Sophie and Kris' parents all went too. It was an incredibly hot day and sitting in the bleachers was way intense. When we got to VT I got to meet up with my friend Alyssa. I have not seen her in a while. She showed us her (tiny) room and let us hang out for a bit. It was nice to catch up and be able to see her again. From there we found Lindsay and everyone. We walked around for a bit and made our way to the stadium. Josh was really excited at first to see the Hokie bird but started freaking out when he got too close. We all had a really good time. The game was fun! Later we met up with L & K at a cute cottage they were renting. It was a nice place and unlike our dorms- HAD A TV! We had some snacks and relaxed for a bit then had dinner at Macadoos in Radford. My friend Zoie, who goes to Radford, happened to be hanging out right across the street. I told her where I was and she came in to the restaurant to see me! Over all it was a very fun-filled day. It was great to see two of my friends, hang out with the ones I have, and spend time with my family. *Thanks for inviting us guys*

Panther Falls/ Ladies Night

2009-04-28T16:24:00.000-04:00

On Friday there were no classes so we took it upon ourselves to relax a little bit. The weather was gorgeous so Abby invited me to go with some of the softball girls to Panther Falls. It is a little water hole area that people jump into from high rocks. At first it was really scary and cold- but we got used to it. Some girl from school broke her ankle there later this weekend so I guess we were lucky to not have any injuries. She must have not been smart about it- you have to jump out far enough as to not land where there are rocks. It was fun but we didn't stay too long. It was a nice refresher from the heat and exhaustion of classes. Later that evening we went to Food Lion. Something must have come over me and Abby because we wanted to buy anything in sight. We ended up getting NesQuik chocolate and strawberry milks, a roll of chocolate chip cookie dough, and one of those delicious frozen Oreo cream pies all for 10 bucks. We came home and watched The Devil Wears Prada with our neighbors. We all felt sick after having so much junk food but it was a fun night. I doubt the people living aorund us liked how late we were up... We wanted a way to remember our last weekend together in the Lofts-- that's our style I guess-- go out with a bang!

The Spivey Family Visits SVU

2009-04-25T22:29:00.000-04:00

(Lindsay and Sophia, Chelsea and Josh, Candace, Sister Lund, Brother Lund, Me)

Lindsay, Chelsea, Josh (in mid-blink) at Franks

Me, Josh, and Lindsay on a couch in the lobby of Main Hall

the Spiveys at SVU

(Cutest picture of Josh EVER)

On Thursday my sister, Lindsay, and her family Kris, Josh and Sophie came to visit me at SVU. We had lunch at Frank's- this little open air place in BV. Lindsay hadn't seen her friend from high school, Chelsea, in a few years so they enjoyed getting to catch up. Josh liked seeing my "college" as he kept referring to it as. I showed everyone around the campus- it took about five minutes. It was really nice of them to come through. The Spiveys were headed down to Blacksburg for the VT spring football game. (I met them down there on Saturday too- more pictures of that to come.) It was nice of them to finally be able to see the little place that I call home for a good portion of the year. It was nice that it was such a beautiful day. We had fun- thanks for coming guys!

the mother of all surprises

2009-04-23T20:30:00.000-04:00

Easter weekend came around and I wasn't planning on going home. I had a track meet on Saturday so I knew I couldn't make it anyway. My mom was really bummed about this. My friend, Kiley, would be home from BYU- Idaho on her spring break over that weekend and it would be way fun to surprise her along with Travis. I didn't think this would be plausable though. Well, being the tricky person I am- I rushed back to school from the track meet- left as soon as I could. Loaded my stuff and Abby into my car and started the three hour drive home. Nobody knew I was coming. We first stopped at Sports Authority, where Travis works. He was on his break so we were talking on the phone like usual. He had no idea I was standing right outside the break room while on the phone to me. He was complaining how there was nobody in the store and how bored he was. He walked out and I swear he looked like he had seen a ghost. I really got him- that kid was in a serious state of shock. It was slightly awkward because he was, well, working and we were kind of interrupting him on the job. From there I called Kiley and told her that I came home. I'm pretty sure she screamed my ear and was all excited to hear that I'd come up to see her. After all of that I could finally drive the last few miles to my own house. All of a sudden my mom called. She told me how sad she was that I didn't come home. For some reason she thought I'd just show up or something :) She told me that her and my dad were going to Giant to pick up one or two things. What a wonderful opportunity- right when Abby and I showed up at Giant my parents were walking out the other door. We rushed to the other side to wait for them to come out. I seriously scared the pants off my mom. (We have a thing about waiting around corners to freak each other out- this was the mother of all freak outs) Someone passing by must have thought she'd won the lottery or something. My mom really had no idea that we were planning to come home. It worked out perfectly since she'd just called me all sad moments before. Score- Anna 1 Mom 0 (No actually my mom has about 98765 points. She does a whole heck of a lot for me) It was nice to be home for Easter. The whole family came over Sunday morning for breakfast. Lindsay, Kris, Josh, and Sophie came to church. All in all it was a pretty fun weekend.

We Witnessed a Crime!!

2009-04-07T18:40:00.000-04:00

WOW!! Abby and I try to go running on occasion in the evenings. Last night we went out in the freezing cold to jog- we are determined to look good for the Summer months. We make a big loopy circle on our route. On our last few blocks we heard a horrific noise. It was like a loud banging. As we kept jogging we saw a person, dressed in all black, standing in front of a car and swinging something toward it. It appeared to be what we thought was a man bashing a car with a bat. We did not stick around to see what the deal was- we ran as fast as we could to get away from it. Today I drove by the house and sure enough, the car you see in the pictures was completely demolished. You can't really tell how bad it actually looks in real life since I took these on my phone. All of the side and back windows were bashed in, you can see the damage to the windshield, the hood and doors were totally hacked up. The side view mirrors had been smacked off and the lights were all broken out. It was a serious mess. Really- I was completely shock that something like this would happen around here. This is normally a quite, close knit town. So, I called and told my mom about this and she suggested I alert the cops. (Travis had told me this last night too.) I didn't have a non-emergency number so I shakily called 911. Some man answered and I told him I didn't have an emergency but my friend and I witnessed the destruction to the car. I told him where and when it was (as if there had been another car smashing in BV last night) and that I didn't know too much about it. Apparently it was a girl and they caught her. I found out later- from people who live in the same apartment complex- that it was a psycho girl whose ex-boyfriend kicked her out. Isn't that way crazy?! What a loony bin.

So Easily Amused

2009-04-03T11:04:00.000-04:00

These are two of my professors. I am an a colloquium class. It is a combined Western Literature and Reason and the Self lecture. The professors switch off half way through class so we kind of get a background on philosophy and literature in the same time period. It is hard and not fun but at least it gets both classes out of the way. So as a joke one professor dressed like the other one this week- and acted like him all through class. Dr. Dransfield, on the right usually dresses and acts just like you see here- a really quirky guy. Dr. Jones imitated him- got glasses and everything. It was really funny. The class is rather entertaining- especially with Dransfield. He is hilarious. Anyway, nothing much is going on here. I'm keeping up with track and staying on top of the school work. One week from yesterday and I'm headed to MEXICO!! Hasta luego.

Alexys

2009-03-24T17:46:00.000-04:00

So every day (well... 4 days a week) I watch the daughter of our school's athletic trainer, Alexys. It is pretty fun. We walk the park pretty often- meaning I walk to the park and carry her most of the way. This 2 1/2 year old is NOT light let me tell you. Especially when she is tired after playing and is serious dead weight. Good thing I discovered this wonderful invention called a stroller. It is a marvelous thing... holds all the snacks I used to have to jam in my pockets and saves my arm muscles from getting a serious work-out just by carrying this kid. Since I don't have access to a TV going to their house gives me the chance to catch up on some shows... yes Curious George and Arthur. Sigh. It's totally ok because those shows don't have commercials so it makes it nearly impossible to peel the little girl from in front of the screen... this is problematic when considering she is not quite totally potty trained and takes the liberty to stare at me with a horrified look on her face while the dark spot on her legs quickly grows and begins to dampen her socks. That has to be my favorite part. Nah- I really do like hanging out with her. She's a really sweet little girl... sometimes it just gets boring trying to entertain her all the time. So, don't worry I'm not getting any ideas quite yet. Not trying to have to rub cocoa butter all over my massive stomach at 19 years old. shoots.

First Track Meet

2009-03-21T18:52:00.000-04:00

Today SVU had the first track meet of the spring season. It was hosted by Roanoke College, a little less than an hour away from our school. While we were sitting around waiting for our events we nearly died of hypothermia. It was so cold and windy. After a super long time it was finally time for discus. Since this is college it is measured in meters which is extra confusing. I had one decent throw- my second one. It put me at first place for a while until one girl from the next flight beat me by the skin of her teeth. I didn't improve any in finals but our 1st place friend did. She beat me fair and square by a couple feet. It's ok- I've only had one discus practice since High School States in May- and it was Wednesday. Shot-- oh the shot put. I went to weigh mine in, I only had an indoor one since our storage room was locked and nobody had a key, and they were slightly skeptical of me. After reviewing the rule book the officials concluded that it did not specify that i could NOT throw an indoor shot so they said I could. Well it didn't weigh in. Apparently I have been throwing a shot that is 1/2 a pound too lite. So there I was with big expectations for myself- proud of my iimporvement and ready to see if all my hard work had paid off but it was for nothing. I had to borrow another team's shot. It didn't feel THAT much heavier but it didn't go as far as my lighter shot had. I threw 32 feet and some inches (I was hoping for at least 35) and made it into finals. I didn't imporve any there so I walked away slightly discouraged and a little sunburned on my cheeks. It just shows me that I have a lot of room for imporvement. It's alright- first college meet- one 2nd place medal and a mark that qualified for finals... could be worse ;)

Time to Catch up--- SPRING BREAK!!

2009-03-19T19:11:00.000-04:00

Josh and Sophia in the wheelbarrow Happy Soph take 1 take 2 take 3 I have a strange brother. whoot whoot riding in style- FLORIDA My birthday dinner Hot mamasita So my mom and sister (the only people who look at this thing) think that I should update more frequently. Frankly, I don't do all that much besides sleep (too little), eat (too much), work out and work but I dug pretty deep and realized I had some pictures from Spring Break last week. Jae, Pierina, Lindsay, Kris, Josh and Sophie all came over on Saturday. Linz and Kris went out for a while and did their thing and my mom and I got to watch Josh and Soph. We had fun. We played outside and went on a walk in the sweltering heat. Javi had the idea to put the kids in a wheelbarrow and run up and down the road in it. Sophie was not too amused but Josh loved it. It was a fun day. I always like when w can all get together like that. Sunday we had a "day off" so we hopped in the car and started driving. Dad wanted to go to some new harbor in DC but there wasn't much to see there. We deove around a while, stopped at my mom's old house (and talked to the owner) and ended up at some random place. Javi was certain it looked "just like a Jacki Chan movie set!!" so he wanted his picture taken. I could be wrong but I don't think he looks much like Mr. Chan. On monday my mom and I went to Florida to see my Grandma. We got up way late and had to rush out the door with no makeup on and only had time to throw on some clothes. We made it to the airport in record time and fixed up our scraggly looking selves in the bathroom. Mom rented a convertible and I got to drive it a lot. It was really cool! My birthday was on tuesday so grandma took us out to Red Lobster. I got my special- Ultimate Feast. It was a good week and I was sad to see it come to a close. Now I am back at school sitting here under a pile of books and papers. All I gotta say is- "I gotta get outta this place... if its the last thing I ever doooooo" I'll be graduating in record time here people.

The Final Day

2009-03-01T18:26:00.000-05:00

Travis came down on Saturday to spend our very last day together before he leaves. We did a lot of fun things and mostly just enjoyed each other's company. He came really early (early for a college student is 9 am) and surprised me with a bear from Build-A-Bear and Godiva chocolates. He also brought me his iPod that I get to "take care of" until he gets back. We first went to VMI's indoor track so I could show him where I practice shot. From there we decided to head to Roanoke to see if there was anything fun to do there. We at at Carrabba's Italian Grill (and made most of our wedding plans- don't worry people this is totally legit) and then walked through the mall for a bit before deciding to get Dippin' Dots. We decided to come back to BV, we went to Wal-Mart and got the materials to make smoothies. We stopped at Sweet Things and gor ourselves the best ice cream ever. By then we were ice creamed out and didn't even feel like making smoothies anymore. We said our sad goodbyes and he was off. I won't see him again for two years and I already miss him a lot. I am really glad he could come down and see me one more time. He is the best!!!

Missionary Farewell

2009-03-01T18:05:00.001-05:00

My mom hosted the Missionary Farewell for Travis. It was nice. There was a lot of food and a lot of people came to support Trav in going on a mission. It seems weird that the time has really come for him to go. I just cannot wait for him to get back!! I know he will be a great missionary. I have seen him grow spiritually even in the past few weeks. Of course I will miss him but if he has to be gone, a mission is the best place for him. Good luck in Salt Lake Travis!

Snowboarding at Liberty

2009-03-01T12:04:00.000-05:00

My family has started up a tradition, I guess, of going snowboarding/skiing ever since Javi and I got snowboards for Christmas. Travis came with us to Liberty Mountain in Pennsylvania and we had a great time. Mom likes to ski and the rest of us have taken to boarding. It was hilarious to watch Trav the first time or two down the mountain but he caught on pretty quick. On my very last run down the mountain I lost my camera. I was devastated and went back up the lift to the top and began to franticly search for it. I honestly thought I would find it sitting at the top where Javi and I had latched our boards on. It wasn't there. after some tears and filling out a "lost camera" form at the Customer Service desk and left the resort defeated. Luckly, later that night I got a message on my phone that someone had turned in my camera right after we'd left. Travis drove me all the way back up there on Sunday to get it. When we first showed up the lady could not find it in the storage room and began pressing me to see if "someone in my party had already picked it up." No, obviously nobody had and I was not going to leave there without my beloved camera. Eventually she found it and I took it home, safe and sound. I am really grateful to the kind soul who turned it in and that I get to have the pictures to match the memories of that fun day.