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

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!

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!

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

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?

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!

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!

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!!!