My New Little Buddy, 6400 miles, one scratched eyeball, and President Uchtdorf

Here goes.....literally....that's what has been happening over the past 3 months, go go go. I seem to be picking up the pace when it comes to travel over the past little while. About 2 weeks ago I got back to Texas from a 5 week trip covering Missouri, Utah, and Oregon...by car...with just me. A week after I flew back from Norway, after all the trips there, I was off again on several more trips. I first went to Missouri to see my Mom and attend the infamous 10 year high school reunion, which was, for lack of a better word, kinda weird. I came to the conclusion that the $30 entrance fee for the reunion was basically for the alcohol that everyone ELSE was consuming....so I accidentally paid for everyone to drink liquids I am against. Ooops. The reunion itself was low-key and overall wasn't worth going to, but I caught up with about 3 people that I was friends with growing up. I haven't yet decided if it was worth going to, but it's all said and done now. At least I got to go to Missouri and have my Mom take care of me and feed me for a week. :)

Next up. Portland, OR, by way of Utah. I got to stop in Utah for a few days before I headed up to Portland to see my sister. By the time I got to Salt Lake, my left eye was swollen and drippy from the scratch on my cornea that I did to myself a few days prior when there was a piece of something on my contact when I put it in my eye. Word to the wise....do NOT give yourself a scratch on your eyeball....they don't feel nice. Incredible light sensitivity occurs and if you drive all day in the bright sunshine, you can bet you've got what looks to be a shiner by the time you get to your destination. Maybe I exaggerate just a tad, but seriously, I couldn't sleep all night because of my swollen watery eye. So, aside from my shiner, I saw my very pregnant sister-in-law, two brothers, and some more family. I also got to go to my favorite burrito place....ooooh, and Gandolfos....oooh, and Noodles. Oh man, Utah's got the goods.

Macaroni and cheese made to perfection. Oh man. MMMMMM.


After a few days of wearing my stupid glasses (that's what I call them because I hate wearing glasses), I went "one-eyed" and only wore one of my contacts. That's an adventure in and of itself. A word to the wiser than me...don't do that either. Although faced with the alternative, I would do it again.

Anyways, off to Oregon to see my sister and my cute little nephew....who is already 4!! I got to be there for his 4th birthday party and set up his pinata and eat really good cake. Who wouldn't want to go to a 4 year old birthday party???? They are so fun! After the party, I basically just hung out around the house and was a bum for the week. Good times. My sister Jessica always has things for me to do, so I really don't get bored. She will forever be my older sister, the boss, and the best sister you could ask for. It was sad to leave, but I had to go back to Utah to wait for a new little nephew to be born.

Rocky Charles Taylor!!!

My new buddy and me.

While in Utah I made my very first "purbag." I hate the term "purse" (it's too girly) and so my new "bag" was termed the purbag. It's awesome. I bummed around with my sister-in-law and had fun for about 10 days and then my new nephew came. Rocky Charles Taylor was born on September 2nd late in the night and he's my new little buddy. I am a proud aunt once again! He was named Rocky because my family is cool, Charles because it's my dad's middle name and his initials are the same as my Dad's. He's a "stone cold pimp" as my brother likes to refer to him as. I wish I could have stayed longer and held him a bit more, but I had to be back in Texas for the BYU football game. I ended the trip putting 6400 miles on my car. Oh another word to the wiser than me....don't drive all day and all night by yourself from Utah to Texas. You will feel a bit groggy in the morning.


The Purbag. I am crafty now, and somewhat domestic.

BYU won against OU and the game was great! I watched it in Denton at the LDS institute building there with the singles ward. My friend Shannon and I were determined to stand up and shout the cougar fight song when they scored...so we did....all alone. We had overestimated the amount of BYU alumni in the room and thought some people would join in with us, but we stood up and sang alone. A little embarrasing?? Yes....but we did it again after they won. :)

Next on the docket....the regional Young Single Adult conference held at my ward over this past weekend. We hit the mormon jackpot and had President Uchtdorf come and give a fireside for us on Sunday. The whole weekend was full of good people, fun, food, and a healthy dose of the Spirit. There were 1700 of us in the building....which exceeded fire code and we had to get a fireman to be on duty while it lasted....and President Uchtdorf and his wife were fabulous! We basically got a mini general conference shrunk into a little over an hour geared toward the young single adults. The day was nothing short of phenomenal. I even got to shake his hand. First apostle/prophet whose hand I've gotten to shake. :D What a great time to be on earth when we can be led by prophets!!!

So, that's been my last little while. It's been full of great things all around. In two weeks I head back to Norway for my next set of adventures. I don't think they'll be quite as fast paced as my last little while. It's time to actually do some school work now. Bummer.