Adventures In Provo

Vegas Vacation!

2010-09-20T23:44:00.004-06:00

I went to Las Vegas for Labor Day weekend with my dear friend Amanda. We had such a fun time!!!! I LOVE being with my family and I cry every time I leave them!

Highlight of the trip- seeing Le Reve at the Wynn!! Such an amazing show! Amanda and I sat in our seats for like half an hour after the show ended because we were just amazed!

Waking up to these cute kids every morning- you just can't beat that!!

Bath time! Molly is one of the happiest babies I've ever met in my life!! She smiles at EVERYTHING!!!!

Hanging out at Steve's house after he got called into the bishopric! I love my oldest brother so much!! What an amazing dude!! Steve, you're the best!

Reason he's the best, we both have flies on our key rings. Fly fishing runs in the Fife blood!

2010-09-20T23:42:00.004-06:00

First tye-dye shirt I've ever made in my life... Dude I'm a freakin natural!!

Island Park- the greatest place on the earth!

2010-08-18T09:15:00.007-06:00

I went up to my cabin in Island Park, ID a few weeks ago for a family reunion and it was one of the funnest weeks I've had up there! We did so many fun things- the week was packed with nonstop action!

This was one of my favorite pictures from the week. Papa moose just loved our lawn!

4 wheeling- always awesome!

Survivor, Fife style! This was so much fun- the whole extended Fife family split up into 3 teams: Moose, Fish, and Canoe, and we competed in about 5 different events. It was so much fun and brought everyone together because there was a job for everyone.

This was the event I participated in- it was a relay where a little kid had to catch a fish, put it in a ziploc bag and run about 25 yards. Then they handed the bag off to me, I had to put it in my mouth and grab my tube, run up this little stream for about 15 yards then come back down and slap the next kid's hand and do it all over again. It was so tiring but soooo funny! This is a picture of me coming in 1st! yeah baby! BUT about 4 seconds after this picture was taken, my brother (who was on another team) came and tackled me, trying to get me to lose! Little cheater! haha! But we still won! The last part of this event was that the dads had to drink the fish... who came up with that idea?

These 2 moose hung out right in front of our cabin the whole week! We saw them every day around the same time. It was so awesome! They are so much fun to watch!

We got hooked on playing horseshoe. Greatest game to pass the time.

I always LOVE hanging out with my sissy. She is the BEST!!!

A few days after I opened my mission call we went down to Idaho Falls and I went through the temple! It was so amazing!!! The Idaho Falls Temple was so beautiful! Going through with most of my family there was so special!

Of course we floated the River. You can't go up to the cabin and not do that! Dave and Becky's canoe flipped! They had Suzie, Ben and 10 month old Molly with them! Disaster! But everyone was ok.

And last but certainly not least, we became trappers on this trip. You could kind of smell skunk around our cabin so my dad called this guy to come bring some traps for us to set up so we could get rid of the stinky guy. We never got the skunk but we caught about 9 squirrels...

...and a raccoon!!!

Life's a Garden, DIG IT!!!

2010-07-29T09:33:00.007-06:00

Last summer my friends across the street planted a garden in their backyard. They just had zucchini and tomatoes and they were so good! I've never eaten so much zucchini bread in my life! It seemed like they had so much fun throughout the summer working on their garden and I wanted to be apart of it!

So this summer I've helped out a little bit with the garden and it has been so fun! We have way more variety in the garden this summer too! Zucchini, tomato, cucumber, corn, pumpkin, watermelon, bell pepper, and herbs. AWESOME!!!

Giant Pumpkin plant- Chris is wanting to enter the pumpkins into a competition!

Basil
Baby corn!! 2 days old. Darling!

2 months later- corn ready for picking!

Zucchini ready for some yummy bread

Moral of the story is:

I am #1 (Nelly Reference)

2010-07-09T09:11:00.006-06:00

I just have to brag for a little bit! So I started working at Tucano's about a month ago and it has been such a fun job! I've met so many cool people and it has been just awesome. Yesterday I worked the night shift and guess what, I was the TOP SERVER OF THE NIGHT!!!! I can't believe that I made more in tips than all of the other servers! I had some really great tables and I was having such a fun time and it really showed when I got my tips at the end of the night! Best part of being the top server, my manager gave me a free dessert! Woohoo!!! I brought home the white chocolate, raspberry cheesecake and shared it with my roommates. Sooooooo delicious!!

2010-06-09T23:07:00.002-06:00

This was my day:
woke up, read my scriptures, ate breakfast, studied some stuff for work, went to work at 10:15am, got home from work at 10:30pm....... awesome

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2010-06-06T20:30:00.001-06:00

My brother, Dave, sent our family this email yesterday and I think it's the funniest story ever:

I just put Ben down for the night and he had something really important to tell me. He was real intense and said ... "Dad, Dad ... hot dog fixes Jesus". I said "Ben ... what did you say?" He said it 2 or 3 more times ... "Hot dog fixes Jesus." We barbecued hot dogs earlier in the day, so I thought he was talking about our lunch. I kept asking him about hot dogs and he was getting a little frustrated. I asked Jackson to help me understand and we both listened again ... "hot dog fixes Jesus". He started to say it real slow, but he was pointing to his forehead. I called Becky and in and she listened a few times and couldn't figure it out. Finally after a few minutes and having him say it over and over, Jackson figured out he was pointing to where he had stitches ... he was saying ... "Uncle Doug fix the stitches". We listened again and it sounded exactly like "hot dog fixes Jesus". We were all cracking up and Ben thought he was so funny. Becky recorded it on her iPhone ... was asked him to say "Uncle Doug fix the stitches" and "Hot dog fixes Jesus" and it sounded EXACTLY the same. Funny kid.

Vegas Vacation!

2010-05-17T17:28:00.003-06:00

I went down to Las Vegas last week and had such an awesome time! I had to get away from Provo for a while so I asked my brothers if I could come down there for a while and work for them. It was so great seeing how my brothers run their offices! Dave had me take boxes of Einstein Bagels around to a bunch of different offices and Doug (more like Heather) had me help with his office open house.

I had so much fun with my nieces and nephews while I was there! These kids never cease to amaze me! They are all so stinkin' cute and so talented!

Now it's back to the grind of looking for a job in Provo. Please pray that something with come my way, preferably a dental hygiene job!

Sorry there are no pictures- I lost my camera! But I think I might buy one with some graduation money!

2010-05-17T17:23:00.002-06:00

Breaking up is never fun!! Your life changes so much because one minute you have a best friend, spending every possible moment with them, and the next minute you are best friend-less. It totally stinks!!! Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways and we definitely have to follow Him with faith. Especially when we don't understand why.

Last week of school!

2010-04-26T18:26:00.009-06:00

The last week has been crazy busy but still super fun! It's amazing how much I packed into one week while I was studying for Boards and finals and trying to finish all my graduation requirements!

Callister Cousin Party!!
Sadly we had to say goodbye to Mike and Kelsie- they are moving to Fresno for school. They will be missed a lot here in Provo!! The Callister Clan is dwindling!

Our Dental Hygiene graduation party was so much fun! We had an awesome dinner catered by Costa Vida, gave out the best awards to each other and to our staff, and watched the cutest slideshow made by Katie. I'm going to miss these girls so much! It has been the best 2 years ever!

Now our name tags say "RDH" for regestered dental hygienist! We're legit!

The invitation said "Bring your immediate family"... for those of us who aren't married, we were able to bring an extra special person in our lives! Thanks Nic for all your support!
This is a stack of all my dental hygiene books and notes for the last 2 years! I really wanted to throw a lot of it away today, but decided I better hold that off until I get my "Pass" letter for all my boards!

My last Board exam is this Thursday! I'm actually excited for this one because clinic is my forte!

Studying Hurts My Head!

2010-04-19T13:46:00.003-06:00

I don't think there has been a time in my life when I've been more exhausted! My last 2 board exams are coming up and I have spent so many hours studying for these tests and I've had it!! At the end of every day my head is so full of information and I go to bed with a throbbing headache. The exam this Wednesday is an 8 hour test!! 8 hours! That's a full day of work... but taking a test! My brain is going to be so fried after that! I can't wait for Wednesday to be over! I just really hope that all this studying pays off and that I pass so I don't have to study ever again!

1 down, 2 to go!!

2010-03-21T22:49:00.003-06:00

This last week I passed my first board exam!!! I'm so happy to have one out of the way so I can start focusing on the hard one coming up.... oh goodie!! It was a very stressful, nerve racking day to say the least. When I gave my shots to Megan, I was shaking so much because I had two judges breathing down my neck! But it was so nice to spend the day with 13 of the coolest classmates ever! And we all passed! Go UVU Dental Hygiene!

This was right after we found out our results of the written portion of the anesthesia exam. If you didn't pass this, you couldn't even go on to the next round- the clinical part! We all passed!

This was right after I got my results from the clinical exam. Megan was totally numb at this point! Sorry Megan!

Bliss!

2010-03-14T16:31:00.004-06:00

February was a fabulous month! I spent PLENTY of time studying and enough time playing to keep me sane. I'm studying for my board exams (which start this week!! yikes) and it's going really well. My poor boyfriend has to put up with me spending more time at the library than with him but at least he's learning how to be patient!

Nic and I have done so many fun things together lately! Our Valentine's date was probably one of the funniest dates I've ever been on- anything that could go wrong, went wrong! There were a lot of "firsts" on this date- the best one being it was the first time I've ever had my lip split open from being punched! Yeah, that's right, punched! Nic and I were wrestling in my apartment and he turned to walk away and ACCIDENTALLY hit me in my face and gave me a fat lip! haha! One of my favorite things about this Valentine's Day was my little present to him- I made teeth molds out of chocolate!! It was so cool and Nic really liked it. I thought the rose added a nice little touch!

The third weekend in February, my friend's ward was having a formal ball and I thought, "I've got to be a part of this!!" She invited my apartment and all of our guy friends to come and we had such a fun time! We raided Whitney's house for prom dresses and got all dolled up. It was so much fun dressing up again- first time since prom 4 years ago. We had a great time dancing the night away and then we went to IHOP for a midnight breakfast.

We look so cute together!!!

Last week I went to visit my good friend Ceci at the hospital. She had her baby Monday, March 9th and I went that night to see the new little guy. I was their first visitor! Little Jacob Hermann is such a cute little baby! I loved holding him and didn't want to leave. Congrats Ceci and Steven!

Painting in the Sun

2010-02-02T22:20:00.004-07:00

Back in July my friend, Steven, called me and asked if I wouldn't mind sitting for his so he could paint a portrait of me for his big summer project. I thought, heck why not! I was #5 of 47 portraits he painted for this project. Steven started painting me at around 4 in the afternoon and it was blazing hot! I love how he captured the heat on my face- i was so hot and totally sweaty while he was painting me! Last summer Steven did this project where he would paint people in one hour which I thought was so cool- it really shows how much talent he has! Here's his artist's statement on the project:

"The art scene in Provo is growing and fluctuating. "Hour Provo" is an effort to contribute to that growth and to allow the diverse people that make up our community to become the art themselves. These folks are just some of the elements and ingredients that represent Provo. Each individual’s portrait was captured in oil paints and painted directly from the live model in one hour.Our community has a wealth of diversity. Some have been here for multiple generations while others have been here only months. Some ask for money for food and some ask for political votes. There are musicians, businessmen, children, artists, mothers, students, old and young, poor and rich. There are many beliefs and many ethnic backgrounds. All are equal. Whether prominent or subtle, each individual is given the same attention as a part of "Hour Provo". Each is painted in one hour and each is equally represented."

Here's my portrait! Steven, you did a wonderful job and I know you will go far becuase you are so talented!

Christmas Celebrations!

2010-01-16T14:41:00.005-07:00

This last Christmas was so much fun! The first of many parties was a sugar cookie making party. I made Grandma Callister's famous sugar cookie dough and then I had a bunch of people over and we baked and then frosted and decorated the cookies. They were so good!! I think it's so fun doing stuff like this with friends.We had an awesome Christmas Party with all the Dental Hygiene Students and Staff. We had such a fun time wearing our ugly Christmas sweaters and eating good food and playing fun games. I love all the girls I go to school with- they are so awesome and I'm going to really miss them when we graduate in April.

My parents got home from their mission a few days before Christmas and it was great having them home. Debbie and Dan came for the holidays- just the singles this year! Since Christmas Day doesn't have as much excitement when little kids aren't there, we decided to open presents for like 10 minutes then hit up good old Dodge Ridge for the rest of the day. It was awesome snowboarding on Christmas Day- no one else was there and we were together as a fam!

A few days after Christmas, we went to Las Vegas to see the rest of the family. It was great seeing my dear Grandma Fife. She was so excited to see my parents after their mission. I loved seeing how proud she was of my mom and dad for serving a mission.

Family love!

Best part of the vacation- hearing Dan tell the story of how he got attacked by a dog during a blind date! I think I heard the story 18 times and it never got old!

School, football, and cinnamon rolls

2009-09-26T09:25:00.005-06:00

Well it has definitely been a while since I've updated! School has started and life is pretty crazy. But I quit my job last week and life has been wonderful since then! I am loving school so much! I have so much fun with the other 13 girls in my program and we're all doing so well in clinic and everything. We're learning so much and getting better every day.

One thing that has helped me destress this semester has been cooking. I've tried all sorts of new things and it's so much fun! The most recent: cinnamon rolls (yes, I've never made cinnamon rolls in my life!). I made them with Amanda last Sunday and they turned out pretty good. The first one we used so much butter when we rolled them up and it was so soupy! So the second one we cut back on the butter and they looked way better.... but you can guess which one tasted better :)

Another exciting thing about Fall Semester starting is BYU football!!!!! For the first game, against Oklahoma, we had a huge BBQ and watched the game at a friend's house and we went crazy! Go Cougs! PLEASE don't choke any more!!!

Here's a 7 layer dip we made for the game! Count the # of "players" It's legit!

Here's a video of our victory celebration!!

Continuing the Summer Fun!

2009-07-19T15:20:00.004-06:00

One of my friend's who is in the BYU sailing club took a few of us out on one of the BYU sail boats! It was so much fun! I had never been out on Provo Lake and I didn't know it was only like 10 feet deep! Sailing was so much fun and I can't wait to go out again!

Salt Lake Real soccer game vs. Toronto. It was an amazing game and such a fun atmosphere! I just love soccer! I've been to a few BYU soccer games too and they are pretty intense! So much fun! This is a legit picture- not taken from online or anything! So pretty! Rio Tinto stadium is awesome!

My friends and I went to the Manti Temple Pageant and we had a really fun time. The pageant was pretty funny- the sound track was easily 40 years old and totally cheesy! After the show we went to a friend's cabin and we kept quoting our favorite parts of the show. It was so funny! The Manti Temple is so pretty! It looks just like a castle on top of a hill.

4th of July weekend was probably one of the most fun weekends I've ever had! On the 3rd, a group of us went to a rodeo! I just love rodeos! And I especially love the small town ones because they are just so much fun chillin' with all the locals! We had a good time there! My roommate, Laura, and I got a picture with the rodeo clown! He was, of course, so funny!

We got home from the rodeo around midnight and we were driving down University Ave and there were thousands of people out on the side of the street camping out for the parade that started at 9AM the next morning! I couldn't believe how many people (including families with little kids) were out there partying at midnight! We drove home and Laura and I rode our bikes down there and joined in the festivities until 2:30AM. There were dance parties and food places and little shops were still open and it was just so fun! The next morning, Laura and I, once again, rode our bikes down to University Ave for the parade which was so much fun!
At work on the 3rd, I won tickets to see the Stadium of Fire!!!! One more time, thank you APX!! They weren't the best seats but it was seriously such a fun show! There were dancers out on the field and they were cool and the Jonas Bros performed! I couldn't believe how many teenage girls were there screaming their heads off! It was crazy! The firework show was the best! It was so cool!

Now I've got about 1 more month to party before school starts again! I can't wait to see what happens next!

June fun!! What haven't I done?!

2009-06-22T19:27:00.008-06:00

Ok I feel like I need to do some serious catching up! This last month has been one of the funnest months ever! (And it's not even the end of the month yet!) So I'll just list some of the fun things I've done during June:
I went with a couple people in my ward and hiked to the Mt. Timpanogos Caves and took a tour of the caves. It was so cool!! It was a pretty hard hike up there but I would still recommend it to anyone!

Two awesome FHE activities: fingerpainting murals in the parking lot and a sweet wiffleball game at a park!
We had an "American Idol" competition at work to win two tickets to a Kelly Clarkson concert. There were about 6 of us and we had to pick one of her songs to perform for the rest of our department. It was totally embarrassing but really fun! Blake one the tickets and he knew I really wanted to go so he took me! He didn't bring a sweatshirt so he had to wear one of mine... it didn't really fit him very well! haha. My friend Ceci was there too and it was fun partying with her!! Kelly Clarkson was sooooo amazing! She is so good live! Thank you APX for the free tickets and thanks Blake for being an awesome performer and winning the tickets!My sister Debbie came into town to run the Wasatch Back Ragnar Race. She was on a team with our brother and his wife and a bunch of other family. They did awesome! They got 84th out of 700 teams!! That's so awesome! Since Debbie was in town, we decided to make it into a long weekend and go up to the cabin with Dave and his family. I love having Debbie here! It's so much fun hanging out with her and laughing and doing crazy stuff. When I picked her up from the airport, the first thing we did was go to Cafe Rio! She was craving it so bad because there aren't any out in the east. I love how excited she looks in the picture! The cabin has been so much fun! Debbie and I were up here alone for a day and it was so fun relaxing and hanging out together. Dave and Becky and their kids got here and it has been non-stop partying ever since! It's pretty cold up here right now but that didn't stop us from 4-wheeling!!

Blast from the past!

2009-05-31T18:44:00.005-06:00

This is a poem I wrote in Kindergarten at good old Alicia Reyes Elementary School.

"I Used to Be"

I used to be scared of the dark
But now I'm not.
I used to be wacko
But now I'm not.
I used to play dogs
But now I don't.
I used to be a prom queen for Halloween
But now I'm a waitress on roller blades.
I used to be annoying
But now I'm not.
I used to be stupid
But now I'm not.

Are you kidding me?! I can't stop laughing every time I read this! What was I thinking?!! Haha!

Ok here's a little note I wrote to my brother, Jon, when I embarrassed him or something. I don't remember what happened, but here's the note I had to write to him. Take note of the spelling:

Dear Jon I am sary that I inbarist you wan yor frands were here. I'm sary that I didient go to bed. I'm sary that I was bing bade.
Love,
Julie

Ok last one. This is a note that I wrote to my parents. I'm not sure why I wrote it but here it is. Note the spelling once again:

Dear MoM & DaD you have bene gude parince & you hlpe Debbie & me to solve prabloms
Love
Julie

I can't get enought of the cabin!!

2009-05-26T18:57:00.002-06:00

When I went to visit my parents a few weeks ago, my mom said, "Julie, you should take friends up to the cabin for Memorial Day Weekend!" You should, not you can! I'll always take up that offer! So I took a bunch of friends up to the cabin and it was such an awesome weekend!! There were 11 of us and it was a great group. We went 4wheeling a lot and it was so fun becuase it was really muddy up there so we got really dirty! Of course all the boys loved that! We saw the Mt. Everest IMAX movie on Saturday night which was really fun. After church on Sunday, we went into Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful and all the other classic stops. It was such a fun trip!! I love taking people up there! Thanks Mom and Dad!!!!
Of course I took everyone to Big Springs to feed the fish. There was one fish there bigger than any fish I've ever seen up there at Big Springs. We named it "Big Mama." We canoed down the river from Big Springs and we had a fun time. It started sprinkling and I thought it might start pouring down on us so we made it home really fast. Luckily the didn't dump on us! I rode in a canoe with Paul and Brian who are my hometeachers! Love those guys!

Haha! I convinced some of the guys to jump off the bridge and it was in no way warm outside! Suckers! No it was fine- they liked it still.

And of course- there was a lot of sleeping happening the whole weekend. The boys got tuckered out from 4wheeling.

On our way home, I got pulled over and I was so scared becuase I've never gotten pulled over on the freeway before. The cop said I was following the car in front of me too close (sorry Mom!!!) Luckily I only got a warning. I can't remember a time when my heart was beating that hard or fast! The funniest part- the other two cars in our group were driving behind me so they totally saw me pulled over- they both called me a few minutes later to get the story! So funny! I tell you- Idaho cops have it out for California drivers!

What a Party! I'm so glad I work for APX!

2009-05-09T17:32:00.004-06:00

Today was the big APX opening party and boy was it BIG!! APX sure knows how to throw an awesome party!! The DJ was awesome, the food was awesome, and there were so many fun activities to do. They had a basketball and dodge ball tournament and I played in the volleyball tournament- made it to the semifinals! Go Processing department! They also had tons of bounce houses and blow up toys! When we first got to the party, we got a shirt and a raffle ticket. They were giving out tons of hats and backpacks. I won a skateboard! It's pretty cool looking! I was standing in line to get the raffle tickets with Blake Savage (I sit next to him at work) and we told each other that if either of us won the helicopter ride we would take the other person (if you win you could take 2 other friends). Well Blake won and so he took me and his sister-in-law up for the ride. It was so much fun being in the helicopter! What a fun new way to see Provo and up Provo Canyon! Thanks Blake and THANK YOU APX for making this a day to remember! APX does it right!!

The 8th Wonder of the World! Or just of Seattle!

2009-05-06T19:19:00.008-06:00

After my finals were over, I was so happy to get away from Provo for a week! I went up to Seattle to visit my parents who are there serving a mission for our church. I haven't seen them since I put them into the MTC the beginning of January. We did so much fun stuff together! We went to Snoqualmie Falls and to Pike's market (I think that's what it's called!). We saw the movie "Earth" which was awesome! We went to a restaurant and had awesome stake dinners! My favorite thing we did was go to the tulip festival! It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen! The tulips were so gorgeous! I've never seen so many different colors of flowers! Enjoy it for yourself! Though pictures won't do it justice!

In the middle of the week, I met up with Angelita and we drove down to Portland to Ryan and Angie's wedding! We had such a fun time down there- beautiful weather, beautiful temple, beautiful reception, beautiful bride and groom! This picture is of Angelita and I at the Portlant Temple waiting for Ryan and Angie to come out. Note to self: Get married in May!!

I stayed at Angelita's house one night and in the morning we went on a hike to the beach. This is what we saw! Happy "First Day of Boat Season!" Poor guys!

Dental Hygiene Goodness!

2009-04-27T16:34:00.008-06:00

One of my favirite classes this semester was my Community Dental Health class. Every Monday, we would go out into the community and do some kind of service related to dental hygiene. As a class, we went to a bunch of elementary schools and taught the kids about brushing and flossing their teeth and eating foods that will make their teeth "happy"!!! We also went to a couple nursing homes and cleaned the patients' teeth/dentures- that's an experience if there ever was one! haha! My favorite place we went to was a school for handicapped kids. They were the cutest, happiest, and most grateful kids ever! They laughed at all our jokes, loved our puppet show and loved when we taught them how to brush their teeth. I especially loved the kid in the pictures. He was so happy and loved having us there. He kept telling me "Good job!!" and clapping for us. He was so cute! I am so happy I have picked a profession where I can serve and make a difference in my community!

Spring Break Trip: DC and NYC

2009-04-13T21:25:00.004-06:00

I went to DC a few weeks ago for my spring break to visit my wonderful sister, Debbie!! When I was there, we packed in every day to the fullest! In DC, we visited the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Capitol Building, Smithsonian museums, Jefferson Monument, Washington Monument, and some great places to eat!! Wel also went shopping at H&M which is my favorite store so I was in heaven!! We took a 1 1/2 day trip to New York and that was such an adventure and so much fun!! We rode the Chinatown bus up there and that was a fun experience! Ben, Debbie's significant other, suggested a bunch of different places to go eat and we just loved that!! When we first got to NY, we went to a hummos restaurant and I was in heaven! It reminded me of Jerusalem and made me miss it!! Then we went to a bakery and got a $4 cookie... we thought that was so expensive until we took a bite of the huge cookie and it was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted!! In NY we also went to the MET(for 5 hours!!), the LDS Temple, and saw the Broadway play, Marry Poppins! It was such a fun trip and I was so happy to spend time with my sissy!!

I finally have some free time- how about some reading?

2009-04-11T10:24:00.008-06:00

The semester is finally starting to wind down and I'm getting many of my projects done! Yesterday, Emily and I went to a nursing home to do a presentation for the CNAs and it went awesome! I was really nervous- I'm not the best public speaker! But I think I pulled through and did quite well. I can't say enough how happy I am to have that over! Now we have to write a paper and we'll be done with that!
My sister, Debbie, did the best thing and got all of the Fife girls to start their own book club! This was so good for me because since I'm in school, all I read is textbooks and I'm getting sick of it!! It's nice to read something just for enjoyment! Debbie picked the first book, "For One More Day" by Mitch Albom. It was a great book about a son's relationship with his mother. It's a book that really makes you think about your own relationship with your mother. Great book!

For the last few weeks I've been reading a book that was actually written in good old Merced, California- "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman. It is such a fabulous book! I have learned so much about the Hmong culture and has really helped me to appreciate how diverse our country is. The book is about a very young Hmong girl who has Epilepsy and the clash between traditional Hmong healing and Western medicine. It also gives a wonderful history of the Hmong people in Asia. It's a fabulous book and I would recommend it to everyone! My pick for the Fife girl's book club for April: "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. Hope it's a good one!

Finally an Update!

2009-02-04T18:39:00.005-07:00

So I know it has been such a long time since I've written on my blog, and I still somewhat agree that blogs are mostly for married people, but I thought I'd give it a try again so people can see what I'm up to in my oh so interesting life.

I started dental hygiene school and I am totally in LOVE with it!! I love going to school and I'm always so excited at the end of the day! I've cleaned about 10 people's teeth so far and it has been quite the fun experience.

Here's an update on what I've been up to the last 5 months since I got back from Jerusalem (gosh I miss that place sooooo much!!):

* Started my dental hygiene at a new school

* Multiple blind dates...

* Fell while running, gashed open my knee and got 4 staples...

* Took a bunch of my friends up to my family's cabin in Idaho and had a blast

* Went to BYU football games GO COUGARS!

* Played on the Callister cousin's volleyball team!

* Got a boyfriend! woohoo

* Always looking forward to my monthly trips to Las Vegas

* Twisted my ankle for the first time in my life- don't recommend it!

* Temple Square Christmas lights

* Ugly Christmas Sweater party!

* Went home for Christmas and had so much fun! Saw tons of old friends

* Started second semester of Dental Hygiene school

* Lost the boyfriend :(

* Learning to love hockey! watching... not playing!

* Put my parents into the MTC on Jan. 5th!! So exciting!

* Sledding, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and other "snow" activities

Pretty much my life is awesome right now and I'm having so much fun!

2008-08-07T10:12:00.000-06:00

Wow we just got back from Galilee and I am still amazed of how beautiful it was and how much fun we had! It was so amazing going to all of the sites and seeing places that Christ had been. We went to church at a small chapel and that was really fun to meet some of the local members there. We had a lot of free time and spent most of it playing on the beach and in the sea. Our first night there, there was the most beautiful sunset and that got everyone so excited to stay there for 10 days! We had a massaging party and hung out on the beach every night and that was so nice just chillin' and hanging out with a bunch of really fun people! The Kibbutz we stayed at made a bonfire for us 3 different nights! That was so much fun!
One night we went to a fish restaurant and I got the St. Peter's fish.... everything included! It took a lot of courage to bite into that thing at first, but it was one of the tastiest things I've ever eaten!
Every time we got near a body of water, you were 100% sure to find us in it. It was really hot and humid there in Galilee so stepping into water was so refreshing! Thank you to our teacher who didn't get to impatient with us for wasting a lot of time playing in the water! haha. Now I can say I've been in the Mediterranean Sea!
One of the best days was when we went to Capernaum for an afternoon. Jesus spent most of his time there and performed most of his miracles there in Capernaum so it was so cool to walk around the excavations they have done and think about what it would've been like 2,000 years ago. They think they have found Peter's house (which is where Jesus stayed when he was in Capernaum). There was also a synagogue excavated and it is very likely that Christ taught in that synagogue!! So cool!!!

Jordan

2008-07-26T08:55:00.000-06:00

Jordan was so much fun! Our first stop was at Mt. Nebo which is where Moses was translated- the picture on the left is a representation of the serpent that was put up for the people to look up to and be healed. We went to Petra and it was so much fun! Now I can say I've walked where Harrison Ford walked! They filmed one of the Indiana Jones movies at Petra! It was so awesome. There were so many cool things to see there. I met a Bedouin man there and a few of us went to his house (which is in an old tomb) and he gave us a tour. It was really cool and he had a beautiful garden (picture on the right). I also rode a donkey for the first time and let me just say that it was a big adventure and I have so much more respect for Marry- I rode the donkey for an hour and I was very sore. I can't imagine how Mary must have felt riding it for so long. There was some really cheap jewelry there and us girls were in heaven! That night we took a bus to Amman (the capitol of Jordan) and we had a few hours of free time so we went to a shopping center down the street. Our favorite store was a DVD store where every DVD was $2!!! I couldn't pass up this opportunity so i bought 17 movies! I know that sounds ridiculous but hey, I got 17 movies for the price of 2 or 3 so I used that to justify it. In Amman we went to an old Roman city from the time of Christ- our tour guide said that it was very likely that Christ came to this city during his time in Jordan. That night we went and had a fireside with the branch in Amman. It was really interesting to talk with the people there. It would be so hard to stay excited about the church because they cannot proselyte to any Muslim and Jordan has a high percentage of Muslims. The guy who spoke talked about all the service the church does in the area. He talked about a Leper colony in Egypt that was really poor and the people there eat such bad food because they don't have any way to keep their food good. The church bought fridges and microwaves for every person living there! I thought that was so cool!
Our last day there we went to an Islamic Mosque and it was so awesome! All of us girls had to wear these really attractive black robes because the women have to be completely covered. It was cool to go in there and learn more about the Islamic religion. After that we went to the spot where Christ was baptized! It was a cool experience but it was also really hard to pay attention to our tour guide because it was 118 degrees! I'm not sure if I've ever been in temperature like that. But i guess any time you at 1300 feet below sea level it is going to be that hot!
It was a great trip and I'm glad to be back in Jerusalem. There was a terrorist attack in the city when we were in Jordan so we have been on house arrest since we got back on Wednesday- we couldn't leave the center at all and that was a little sad because we only have like 4 more days that we can spend in the city. But I guess it was kind of a blessing because we had a midterm the day after we got back so it made us all study. We finally got to go out today after church and it was so nice to spend time outside! Things are going great here and I'm still loving it! We leave for Galilee on Tuesday for 10 days and that's going to be so awesome! Love you all!

Back from Egypt

2008-07-16T09:41:00.000-06:00

In Egypt I had the time of my life! I never
expected that we would see so many cool things and do so many fun activities! The whole trip was planned out so perfectly and the trip was a little rough- busses aren’t the most comfortable but it was ok. We had 2 armed guys on our bus to protect us! Kind of crazy hu?

We drove to Cairo and went straight to the Pyramids of Giza and saw a cool light show there. The next day we went back to the pyramids and we had a guide who taught us all about them. We got to go inside one of them- cool experience but it smelled really bad and it had to have been like 130 degrees in there! We all came out of there thankful for the 110 temperature outside! Haha.

That night we flew down to Luxor and the next day we went to the Valley of the Kings which is where tons of the pharaohs build their tombs. We went into 4 different tombs and the best one was King Tut’s tomb because they had his actual mummy on display inside! It was really cool. All of the artwork in the tombs was so cool and really colorful.

That night we rode camels for an hour! My guide practically proposed to me…. Kind of awkward! Haha. The next day we went to the Luxor and the Karnak temples and they were really cool. On our way back to Israel, we stopped and went snorkeling in the Red Sea!! That was so much fun and the water was so blue! The whole trip was more fun than I can explain and I’m making such good friends with all the other students. I was looking at my schedule and I have less than a month left and I almost started crying! I don’t want to leave this place! When we got back to Jerusalem from Egypt, we all felt like we were coming home. I love it here!

The day after we got back from Egypt, we went to McDonalds! It was so nice to ear American food!!

Last Greetings Before Egypt!!

2008-07-05T11:09:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone! I've been having such a fun time here in the Holy Land. On Wednesday, we went on another field trip to the hill country called the Shephelah. We went to many different sights that were really cool. We went to the area where Samson was born and met Dalilah and that whole story happened. Then we went to a national park and saw a bunch of tombs and houses from Old Testament times. It was really cool! We also went to the place where David killed Goliath and in good old seminary fashion, we acted it out! The field trip was all day long and we were all really tired when we got home.
When we were on the bus coming home, our teacher got a phone call from the center and they said there was a terrorist attack on the West side of Jerusalem and that was a little scary to hear but they said we can still go out into the city. But we were on the field trip so everyone is ok.
The next day after class, I went out into the Old City for a few hours. First we got money for our trip to Egypt then we went to the Garden Tomb! Our guide was very respectful and after he told of all the reasons why that place was the most probable one for Christ's tomb, he then said that it doesn't matter where the tomb is, it just matters that he isn't here anymore because he is risen.

Then we went to the St. George's Cathedral and it was so gorgeous inside! On all of the seats were these really cool cushions that had different cross stitching on them- I found my favorite one- when I was holding it, I felt like Miss America: "What is the one thing this world needs?" "World Peace!" haha. The organ was really cool too- hence the picture.

Our last stop was the American Colony Hotel. It was used during a couple of the wars as a soup kitchen and has been a real help to the local people of Jerusalem. One of the guys who came with us is a history major so he taught us all about this hotel and then since it was the day before the 4th of July, we sang some patriotic songs :) There was also a really pretty garden that we walked around for a while.

Now we are all ready for Egypt! I'm so excited to go there and see all the tombs, mummies, and pyramids! It is going to be the experience of a lifetime! Hopefully I don't get too sick! They say that 95% of the students get sick on this trip to Egypt so it will probably happen. You'll hear from me in a week! Love you all.

2008-07-01T12:35:00.000-06:00

On one of out first stops, a guy was there trying to sell us a camel ride! It was a pretty sickly looking camel but it was the first camel I've ever seen so I still thought it was cool.

This is right in front of Bethlehem! We are going on another field trip in a few weeks and visit the city. And yes, we have to wear those really attractive fanny packs whenever we go on field trips. Dad, I'm sporting it with pride!

This is the Garden Tomb. It is such an awesome place! You can feel the spirit right when you walk in the garden.

Dome of the Rock on top of Temple Mount!!! A bunch of little kids kept taking pictures with us. They were so cute! They loved seeing the picture on the screen of the camera after we took the pictures. They were teaching us words in Arabic! They were so funny and kept following us around.

2008-07-01T06:34:00.000-06:00

Yay it finally works!! Sorry it has taken so long to get this thing going but it was blocked when we first got here. Wow so much has happened since I got here. We ended up getting here only one day late and things didn't slow down from there. Right when we got to the Jerusalem Center, we had dinner then went straight to class! There are 80 students total and everyone is so nice and so much fun! I love going to the Old City with different people every day to get to know them. It's really fun.

I can't believe all the places I have already visited in the first 6 days of being here! I have seen Bethlehem, the Garden Tomb, Golgotha, the Church of the Holy Seplecure and everything on the Temple Mount- main thing there is the Dome of the rock. Then I did the Rampart's walk- you walk on top of the city wall. It takes about 3-4 hours total so we did split it up and did it in 2 days.

Classes are going great- they are so interesting! I have a Judaism class, Islam class, Near Eastern Studies and Old Testament. All the teachers and staff are really nice. Mom and Dad- you would fit in here perfectly! You should totally do it next year!

We are going on a field trip tomorrow so I'll update again soon and put up some more pictures!

Stranded in Chicago!!

2008-06-25T09:47:00.000-06:00

Doug and Heather- you will be excited to hear this. The plane in Salt Lake was broken and it took 2 hours to fix and so once we got to the Chicago O'Hara Airport, we missed our connecting flight to Vienna. So we were stranded in the airport trying to figure out how to get to our final destination- the Tel Aviv airport. United helped us out a little bit and got us a hotel way out in the boonies. We packed 20 people into a 11 seater van- we are all really close now! We had a good sleep and now we are planning our day in Chicago because our flight to Frankfurt, Germany isn't until 10PM. Doug and Heather- we are going to walk the magnificent mile! I'm so excited to be in Chicago and we are going to have a 10 hour layover in Frankfurt so we will be able to see some other stuff there too! I hope we can get to Jerusalem soon though. At this point, we will get there Friday at 3AM. What an adventure already!!!

2008-06-17T00:22:00.001-06:00

Well I'm off for a new adventure in the Holy Land. I know the trip is going to be so fun and I hope that I don't get sick!! I'm excited to have the experience of a lifetime and to meet new people but what I'm most excited about is to live in Jerusalem and to learn more about Christ and about the New and Old Testament. Wish me luck!! I'll be gone from June 24th - August 14th.