Marriage!

my little brother is getting married!!!

oh my heck!

tonight Taylor and Courtnie got engaged!

they have been dating for 2 years so it's not shocking that they're getting married, but it is still! my little brother is getting married! when the heck did he grow up? and when did he become more grown up than me?

while trying to find the answer to this question, i can say that i'm so excited! I love Courtnie and am so excited to be getting a sister! and i'm so happy for Taylor! what an exciting day!

My New Place!

so September 10th, I moved into a new place. It's taken a while to get some pictures, but today I took some. I thought I would share them with you!

The House!

(my room is the first window upstairs)

The Front Room

The Living Room




The Dining Room

The Kitchen

My Bedroom

forgive the mess on my couch!

I would love to put my creative touch on all surfaces of this house, but my budget is restricting all of that! oh if only i could do everything i want to do! come by and see it sometime! i love having visitors!! now if i could throw all of my favorite roommates over the years into this house, it'd be perfect! love you and miss you my college roommates!! not the same without you!

The Pond???

Today i spent the day with my extended family and wrote a literary masterpiece ;). My step grandma LaRee is taking an English class at BSU and she has an assignment to write a paper. She decided that she wanted to write about the pond that my Grandpa owns, now refered to as Weber pond (it was never called that when i was growing up, it was just called the pond). LaRee decided though that it would be so great to get all the kids and grandkids to write their memories of the pond for her to include in her paper, or to comprise her paper. So i was asked to write my memories of the pond....uh....hm....if you know me, you can imagine that as a little girl i wasn't dying to spend all of my time at the pond. Honestly, the only times i went to the pond were when we went on motorcycle rides with my dad and uncles and then we threw rocks in the pond and rode back home. not an exciting story, so i chose a memory that is related to the pond. i'm not sure that's what LaRee had in mind but it's what she got. here's the story i came up with- it's kind of ridiculous but i am proud of it regardless. I don't really know what to call it, so here it is

When I was a little girl, my dreams were painted shades of Disney technicolor as most little girls' dreams are. I loved Cinderella and her glass slippers, Sleeping Beauty and her beautiful dresses and Snow White and her fairy tale ending. I knew that I could also be princess enough to have a fairy godmother, a pumpkin carriage and a prince charming to sweep me off my feet. But when I went to my grandma's house, my dreams took on a different light; dreams now filled with magic umbrellas, spoons full of sugary goodness, words too difficult for normal mouths and chimney sweeps that made me believe that rooftops were the most glamorous ballroom ever. My thoughts soared to flying kites and magical street painting portals to other worlds. I forgot those tiaras and lovely princess gowns because if i owned a carpet bag of undefinable dimensions, I could have all of that finery and more. That magical world, housed in one video cassette tape, held more magic to me than any other world could. When I spent time at Grandma's house, I was consumed by that world, an obsession that required the tv and vcr to be solely mine for hours during my visits. A mixture of obsession, charm and stubbornness guaranteed to me a monopoly on that tv, an occurence which my uncle and brother looked on with great disdain. That tv was also their portal to worlds of miniature Italian super heros on secret missions and dangerous hunts for flocks of fowl in Nintendo land. They did not appreciate my fantasies standing in their way. A plan was hatched and a plot was formed for the overthrow of my world. In order to take control, the demise of my video was paramount. In the minds of those boys, they could not merely rid me of access to that video, it needed to be destroyed, decimated from existence. Their plan involved one thing- the pond! Their plan- drop my video into the endless depths of pond water until it was lost forever. Those two took such painstaking efforts to enact a plan, draft a diagram and plan the day and time of the fateful takeover. Although meant to be secretive, a lapse in judgment ruined the secret. Their one mistake was pride in their plan, which led them to brag of their genius, revealing to me their diabolical plan. Telling a girl you wish to take away her favorite thing, regardless of what it is, is an invitiation to war. But to my benefit, the best weapon in their arsenal- brute force. The best weapon in my arsenal- eye fluttering and lip pouting; a girl's best weapons. If there was something to be done to save my world, in addition to my own power, I would need to enlist an ally. And who would strike fear into the hearts of my barbaric uncle and vicious brother better than my grandma. Once I discharged my weapons, my grandma had no choice but to support my cause. With haste, she attacked those boys with an onslaught of conscience and good sense before they had a chance to get anywhere near that precious treasure of mine. My fantasy world was saved by my champion. I had come off victor over my uncle, my brother and the pond that threatened to steal my video. I would forever be free to take carousel rides across the countryside, fly kites up to the highest heights and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious to my heart's content.

Today that movie is a symbol of my childhood, the moments in my life when anything I dreamed came true. That video connects me to a woman that shaped my life. That pond today reminds me of the war I won over my brother and uncle and the joy I feel that my fairy tale dreams are warm and safe and dry, instead of at the bottom of Weber pond.

that's it! kind of crazy and kooky, probably slightly dramatic and hardly anything to do with the pond, but i had a blast writing it! those are my memories of the pond! and good ones at that!

UTAH!

I have had many adventures in Utah this month!! The easiest way to retell all of the SUPER FUN things i did while in Utah is to list it! it's going to be a long list!

WEEK 1

Sunday- arrived in Logan Utah!!

Monday- Slip n' slide with Sam in the rain!

swimming in the stormclouds

saw Becca and met Nicholas

FHE...kind of lame

stirfry dinner, Aggie Ice Cream and movies!

Tuesday- said goodbye to Sam and Logan

drove to Kaysville

met up with Will Smith, my long lost best friend

lunch at Zupas

saw Salt, the movie

remet Gloria, Will's mom

hit Salt Lake traffic during rush hour and construction

arrived in Provo

stayed with Heather and Camron

soccer, New Moon and popcorn

Wednesday- grocery store with Heather

shopping in Provo

went to the MOODYS- puzzle, shopping with Katie and Julia,

pizza and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, puzzle and Toy Story

Thursday- cold shower, breakfast and puzzle

Oquirrh Mountain Temple!

Heather Martin's wedding

old roommates- McKenzie, Kariann and Kelsey!

adventures in the park- trails, forests and bums with white bikes sleeping under trees

Kelsey's and Bride Wars

In N' Out

Reception at Thanksgiving Pointe

arrived in American Fork

stayed with Shan'tel and Andrew

talked late into the night

Friday- slept in!

slowly got ready

went to Shade liquidation sale...lame

picked Shan'tel up from work

Dear Lizzies!

Pizza biscuit dinner

IKEA!

Saturday- headed home!

got super lost

made it home!

THAT WAS A LONG WEEK!

WEEK 2

Friday- drove an awesome New red Jeep to Utah!

met up with Shantal!

went curling (like in the Olympics) at the Olympic Oval

in Kearns with the Moodys and Anthony- good curling!
puzzling

Saturday- Library Booksale

Antelope Island

floating in the Great Salt Lake!

dinner, the Wii and Youtube

Sunday- Church with married people

peanut butter noodles

games, walk, feeding Smart Duck, Grandpa Duck and Teenage Duck

Eclairs!

Facebook stalking with Shantal- good times!

Monday- IKEA

pizza, Boccee ball (kicked butt at Boccee Ball with Aaron)

Enchanted in the park

Tuesday- Park City

Relief Society Enrichment

Pesto!

Wednesday- Anniversary Breakfast...with loud smoke detector like alarm clock

Temple Square

Airport

HOME!

whew! what fun trips!! there are so many more things i could say about all of these adventures...and this post needs some pictures, so here's some of those!

Slip n sliding!!

The Twins!
Meeting Becca and Nicholas!
Heather Aulick Smith!
The Moodys!

Old Roommates!

Mr. and Mrs. Snow Shan'tel and I! Me curling!! SOOO COOL!

Master sweepers!

Antelope Island!

THE GREAT SALT LAKE!

What fun!! i had a reallly awesome time in Utah! thank you to all of my friends that put me up for the night and made my trip so worth it! i love you all, thanks for making my vacation so EPIC!

p.s. as a side note, in the past month I got to see all of my 308 roommates! how lucky am i that i got to see Megs, Kay, Becca and Shanny all in one month!! :) ladies, can we have a roommate reunion before the nursing home please? miss you all, love you all!

Fashion!

since getting my new hairdo, i have had a new burst of fashion sense! i was in a big rut and i didn't even know! but now i'm all about style!! :)
my new favorite site here, has been terrific inspiration! i have always loved fashion, remember when i wanted to be a designer, well i feel like this lady and i have similar style so i love love love visiting her site!
there is a giveaway going on right now for a new item from downeast basics! can i just say how much i love downeast basics!! i do! i am wanting so many things from there right now, it's a little insane! if only i could win a summer breeze skirt , i would be in heaven!
in need of some fashion advice, visit uberchicforcheap.blogspot.com! you'll be happy you did!

Things i want!

skirt from Downeast

sweater from Downeast

necklace from Anthropologie

tank from American Eagle

must exercise some self restraint....

I DID IT AGAIN!

I CHOPPED OFF MY HAIR!

12 inches to be exact!

4 years ago, i cut off 7 inches to donate and i have been growing out my hair ever since with the intent to donate it again! and i did it!

my friend Ashlee is in hair school and she cut it for me! did you know when you donate your hair you get a free hair cut?! :) love it! and love the cut! it's short, and it's going to take some time for me to get used to looking in the mirror but i love it!

so far, reactions from others have been positive- i've heard "cute hair", "best haircut on you ever", and "you look sassy"! there's always the "You cut your hair" comment first! it's a drastic change but

I LOVE IT!

My Families!

this is just for fun!

The Olsen Family!

The Weber Family!

That's a lot of family! :)

Weber Family Reunion

The first weekend in July was the Weber Family Reunion!

The only way to describe what those three words means, are to tell you this- my mom is a Weber. She is the oldest of 9 children- Joann, Lee, Sandra, Gary, Steve, Dan, Karen, Bruce and Linda. Multiply those 9 kids by an average of 5 children and you get a whole lot of people! This reunion was the first time in a long time that we have had EVERYONE (except one) together. There were 61 people at this reunion! and that's just our immediate family!

Here's a recap of the festivities!

FOURTH OF JULY!

Brenen and Dallan at the Middleton fireworks

Garrett and I at the fireworks!

Taylor and Courtnie


SHOSHONE FALLS AND DIERKES LAKE!

This is the Webers- there are many of us and we eat...all the time! that's the essence of Weber!

CLIFF JUMPING!

The older cousins- Tyler, Taylor, Alesha, Brianne & Erika

Me- cliff falling! I jumped twice! the first time i just went for it, the second time i freaked myself out! but it was way fun! but scary! i'm impressed with myself for actually jumping!

ALBION, IDAHO!

we stayed at an old college in middle of nowhere Albion, Idaho! the place is now called Campus Grove. when we drove in, the buildings were boarded up and we were worried, but it turned out to be beautiful! (i recommend it for anyone having a family reunion)! Every family got their own room, there was a huge kitchen and dining area, a game room in the upper loft, a pool, hot tub, horseshoes, volleyball, and tons of grass to keep 61 people very happy!

Webers at the campfire! the building in the back is the one we stayed in!

The Olsen siblings!

The whole gang- minus Lee and Tysen!

SWIMMING!

the kids loved this water slide! the older kids didn't because it hurt when you hit the botttom!

the pool was FREEZING! but we braved the cold anyways!

time out from swimming...

Emma gave me a manicure and pedicure! This little 4 year old is a doll, and my best little friend! she painted my nails, cuticles and surrounding fingertips a beautiful lilac purple! she was so focused on her work, it was so cute! i love Emma lou!

MINUTE TO WIN IT!

my mom and i organized a Weber family Minute to Win It Night! like the TV show! We had so many fun games i can't even name them all! Here Dalan is trying to get a cookie from his forehead to his mouth! So funny!

Brenen, Grandpa, Linda and Bruce are trying to knock down waterbottles with baseballs in the nylons on their heads! Grandpa just started knocking them over with his feet ;)

COUSIN LOVE!

Alesha, Taylor, Brianne, Brad, and Tyler


CITY OF ROCKS!

on our way home, we stopped at City of Rocks and picniced and rock climbed!

My Family!

Brenen, Taylor, Me, Dad, Mom, Dallan and Garrett

that's just a taste of the Reunion of all reunions! We had a great time, great food, great family! it was so wonderful to be with the whole Weber family! it was great to see all the cousins and all the aunts and uncles! i love my family!