Sunday, February 14, 2010

January 4, 2010

I was reminded today that I never posted anything about my actual birthday. After a few parties at home with family and neighbors I came back to Provo and started school on my birthday. It was a great day! After classes and work I went out to dinner with some of my best friends. These girls all went to Jerusalem with me and I love them all so much. We went to Zupas and had a wonderful time talking. Monica even drove down from Salt Lake. Thanks girls! (Raven, Katie, Me, Monica, Elise)Later that night we had a birthday party! Kristen and Emily decorated the apartment and made a birthday cake and we had the Boise State v. TCU game on TV. Despite what everyone seemed to think, I do have a lot of friends and so many of them came to the party! I started to look around the room to figure out how I knew so many people. I had friends from my new ward, my past ward, Jeusalem, American Falls, family and roommates. It adds up pretty quick and I found out that there is a limit to the amount of people that can fit in one apartment. We filled it to the max and had a great time. Austin Hayden, Me, Tyler Batt


This is my dear friend Allie. I serve with her in the RS presidency and just love her! She was so kind to make me a cake too :)


These are some more of my fravorite Jerusalem friends. I am telling you I have some really good friends! (Mandy, Jane, Me, Lisa, Brigette, Rachelle
Ryan, David, Brent, me, Brad, and Ben...And these are "my boys" These guys were all of my best friends when I lived in the dorms freshman year. It is so fun to have them back from their missions. They even sang me a song for my birthday which I have included below for your enjoyment! The clip is pretty long so if you skip to the second half you can hear the part that they wrote just for me :)

Ryan, David, Ben, and Brent (Brent is Kristen's Fiance)

Saturday, February 13, 2010

O' Falafel, Etc.

A return to the Holy Land...

I can't believe that it has been 6 months since I was in Israel! However, in memory of the good times Brian and I went and got Falafel in Salt Lake last week. This is one of those foods that is unique to the Mediterranean and was something that I learned to love while I was in the Holy Land last summer. It was quite the treat! The only things missing with our Salt Lake Falafel were the french fries, the unsanitary conditions, and the sweat dripping down my face :) Eating Falafel last July!
SKI JORING in downtown Ogden

Today we went to Odgen for what you might call a winter rodeo. They trucked in snow to fill the streets and then they had snowmobile races, people skiing and snowboarding behind horses, and fair food and country music. It was awesome!
This skier got sweet air when he was going off this jump. And, the cool thing is that he LANDED IT! My friend Jon Cox tried to get a high five (but failed in his attempt). Hoyt Brothers--these are my 4 favorite non-family boys in the world! ('specially the one on the right.) They are from the beautiful state of Washington, and they lived on a dairy for a few years, so we hit it off INSANTLY! John Bradley is on the left. He's a doctor (well, almost--he's in his first year of medical school in Vermont). He flew in for the weekend, mostly to attend the Ogden Winterfest (and see friends and family too). Eric is next to John. He is the youngest and smartest of the 4 (he's a TA!). He served his mission in Denver South. He graciously shares his meal plan with us on occasion. Pete is next in line. He is the funniest and most creative. Brian is the last in line (and the shortest!) But he's nice which makes up for it. :) Brian is also extremely smart and will be graduating in April and heading to medical school. My dear friend Emily tried to capture an action shot during the snowmobile race, but the snowmobiles were so fast that we could barely catch them on film. I found this cool Polaris Ranger that I am really excited to buy one day when I have a job and become rich! :) Or I will just wait until I can find a way to win one like Holly and Garrick!