My friends from swing club; Fyffe, Alex, Aaron, Celcey, Mike, and Deb decided to kidnap me from FHE  and take me to see harry potter again. Although I had already seen the movie once, it can’t hurt to see it again. I must admit,  though I loved it the first time, this time was much better. I think watching it when I am awake makes a huge difference. It was a pretty late showing but early enough that I actually was able to remember seeing it. I had so much fun and really enjoyed being with my new friends!

Had a weird experience this week with one of my new friends. Alex Moore asked me to go out to ice cream with him so I could hear about his family reunion and trip to Illinois. We decided Slurpees were a better choice, and headed out to the gazebo at the Draper Historic park to sit and chat. As we moved from small talk into a real conversation I casually asked if he was related in any way to Devin Moore. I thought that there was no way they could be with such a common last name and such a huge distance. I mean Devin is from Texas and I met him in Idaho. How on earth could they be related. How wrong was I? Devin is not only his cousin, but his favorite and closest cousin. I nearly flipped. Here I was on a date with my old serious boyfriend’s cousin. Oh it gets better... I knew he looked familiar when I first met him, but I never said anything because I have a problem with getting myself into embarrassing situations when I think I know someone. Oh no, not this time. I really did know him from before. I had dinner at Grandma Moore’s house right before my mission. He was there too! 4 years ago and it all still is very vivid in my mind. Crazy mormon world! 

Tuesday night was crazy fun! I got to help plan and execute a triple date with Audrey. I guess somehow she managed to get her hands on 6 free tickets to the Ogden Rodeo. We picked up the boys and had a crazy dance party in the car on the way there. We even took the time to dress up and look the part. 

First you have Audrey and Matt, with his crazy stylish glasses. I love how much fun these two can have without worrying about what other people think. 100% pure fun for them!

Maria and Mitch came along as well. They are quite the couple. Insight left and right about absolutely everything. I would get lost just listening to them talk, but enjoyed every minute with them. Personally when it comes down to looking the part I think Mitch wins. His scruff just gives him the tough cowboy look.

And here is Jake and me. Fun fun fun! we laughed and enjoyed taking pictures of all the great things that happened at the Rodeo. I wasn’t too good at catching clear action shots because it got dark so fast, but we still played around with the camera to see what we could get. 

This shot is my personal favorite. I was pretty proud of myself for catching this. Mid air trick! The motor bikes were pretty cool and most definitely got the crowd going better than anything else at the Rodeo.

Too much fun with the crew! It was way too much fun to have on a week night. I hope we can keep this up through the summer. It never hurts to have a little fun and get dressed up every once in a while. Try it! It will change your life! Let go and have a little fun.

I love hanging out with Audrey. I know I keep saying all these great things about her, but honestly I am never exaggerating. She saved me from social suicide this summer and I am so glad! She is my best friend and I look forward to doing this again with her soon!

I had originally asked Bryce Lake to go to the Rodeo with me so we could catch up and make up for the date I have owed him for a good 5 years. Sadly he had other things going on and wasn’t able to come, but when he called me back he had another idea. I guess Keisha, his dad, and himself were headed out to Utah Lake to go boating, so I hopped on that bandwagon and decided to go with them.

I mostly enjoyed the time I had just sitting at the front of the boat, but when the tube came out I was the first to jump on. Steve has no heart when it comes to tubing. He will whip that boat back and forth at crazy speeds. I know it doesn’t seem like we are going all that fast in this picture, but I have bruises and bumps to prove otherwise.

When all the tubing was done we all jumped on for one last picture seeing as only four of us could go on at once. from Laft to right we have Rachel (Keisha’s roommate from BYU), Dan Funk, Me, Bryce and Keisha. It was so much fun.

Keisha and I enjoyed our Zingers on the way home and had the best looking wind blown hair ever! I was surprised at how curly it still was with all that wind blowing it back! Super hot, I know. After a long wait to get into the dock we cleaned the boat, I said my goodbyes, and I headed down town to try something new. Alex and Spencer wanted me to try Blues Dancing. I decided that I was only going to watch the first night. It took a lot to convince them that I wasn’t going to dance, but eventually they got the picture. I sat back and watched and came to the conclusion that Blues Dancing just isn’t my cup of tea. 

What a wonderful experience I had this week when I got to go to the Draper temple and see one of my sect childhood friends go through the temple and finally get sealed to her husband and children. Dana Brooks has been a great friend since I was 11 and her husband Andy Hyer has been a friend from way back when. In fact I am almost certain that David and I can take full credit for their hook up. About 5 years ago they got married in Dana’s back yard with my dad performing the ceremony. At the time Andy wasn’t a member of the church. He had a lot of friends who were and even a grandpa who was still an active member, but never really felt the desire to join. After a few years and a lot of effort from Dana’s family and mine Andy joined the church. I was so happy that Dana stuck with it and was determined to get Andy to understand what she believed. Well This week was the icing on the cake. Wednesday morning I went to the endowment session for both Andy and Dana. I couldn’t hold the tears back. It was so cool to see tow of my best friends make the right choice to go through the temple. I thought that would be all I could see, but as I left the temple I knew that I needed to be there for the sealing as well. I said a quick prayer and called my boss to see if I could come in a few hours late. He said if I could find someone to cover than he was fine with it. Felicia was such a sweetheart and covered me. I raced back into the temple to meet my family before we walked into the sealing room. Dana and Andy came in and the waterworks started all over again. Seeing them get sealed for all time and eternity was priceless. Soon after the ceremony was started the two kids, Bryce and Brooklyn, were brought into the room in their white clothes. Such a sweet moment to remember. I couldn’t stop myself from crying. I swear I cried more than anyone else in that room. Why do we cry when we are happy anyway? seems pretty backwards to me. ;) It was beautiful and I am so happy and honored that I could be a part of it. 

After work I of course headed to the U as usual for a night of fun and friends. Swing dancing there has almost become a addiction. I love getting exercise and having fun at the same time. why would you ever do it any other way? We danced the night away and headed to Dee’s for a milkshake or two. Only problem is that they didn’t have a table big enough for us so as you can see we all piled into one booth. It made eating a little difficult, but fun. Good times with good friends can’t be beat!

Happy Pioneer Day!!! A new added tradition to throw into the mix is a family brunch and swimming. I ate the best pancakes ever, enjoyed a little time with the family, and then headed out the door to my next adventure. 

Mike, Cherry and I decided to take on Utah Lake once again in our canoe. We packed it up in Cherry’s grandpa’s truck and headed out to the lake. In we hopped with Mike as the captain, Cherry as the navigator and me just chilling in the middle enjoying the water and small breeze. We jumped out and swam a bit. We didn’t last long in the water with the smell and fish, but it was too hot to stay in the boat the whole time.  

Part way through our adventure we decided to take on the weedy area of the lake. Mike paddled straight into the brush with confidence like any good captain.  

With no paddle and no opinion I sat as we got stuck in the middle of the brush. I was ready to jump out and push, but then I remembered how many creatures would be lurking in that nasty water. So as any good passenger would do I sat and waited till we reached a safe place. 

With my luck I ended up working on Pioneer Day. Mike and I worked hard to get out as early as we could so we could meet up with Alex to watch fireworks. We headed out to Cottonwood found a place on the high school grounds and watched the great fireworks. The finale was pretty impressive for such a small town. After the fireworks we went to a park and had a picnic with pizza... until the sprinklers went off. Guess it was time to go home.

Saturday I got to spend time with a few of my new found friends. Felicia from work, Fyffe, Alex and I decided to enjoy the weather and take a hike. We hiked to Cecret Lake and had a picnic at the lake. A short simple hike that was very enjoyable. It was beautiful! I wish I could spend all day every day outside.  

After spending half the day outside we continued our activities down town at the gateway fountains. we splashed and played for a good hour. A swing song came on, so naturally we started to dance in the water. 

I felt a little weird breaking it down in the middle of public, but it was fun. I'm so glad Mom let me take her water proof camera so I could catch a few of these super fun moments. 

By the end of the hour we were drenched from head to foot. Not a dry spot on our bodies. But what is the point of going down town in the summer if your not going to play in the fountains? ;)

Dad finally got released form being bishop this week! I hope we will get to see a little more of him now. It was a great sacrament meeting listening to all the great men that have run our ward for the past 5 years. Mom gave a great talk about Dad and his “super suit.” I always knew he was Mr. Incredible! 

June 29 - July 5th

Only a few more days with the family gone. I am getting quite bored and very ready for them to be home again. Seeing as I was over at David and Katie’s I spent some time there with the girls. We had so much fun the night before and the next morning. I love being with my family! 

Even though the family was missing in action for a while we made for it with all the fun we had at our first Collier Family Reunion. With t-shirts and all we stormed Heber Camp with food, fun, and music. As soon as we finished our family pictures we were able to change into our grubbies and have some real fun!

Clearly Dad enjoyed the food the most! Two sausages... really dad?
Bouncing babies! Too cute for words.
I have never seen anyone enjoy watermelon as much as my little Sadie Bug!
I see modeling my future! What do you think?
My sister has the best sister in the world! ;)
Who forgot to zoom out? I believe that would be my mother!
Cheese Gromit! Cheese!!
Chatting it up at the table.
Ahhhhh... High school sweet hearts! clearly it didn't work out! ;)
Nothin' beats a good book out in nature.
Goldilocks and the three bears... this was my family assignment. After convincing a few people to be good sports we told the story with a few fun props. It turned out to be quite funny and entertaining for both the actors and audience.
David, Katie, Lily,  and Kylie
Mike, Des, and Evylee
Jenni, Mark, Payton, and Sadie (missing in action)
With a squeeze and a SMILE!!!
I thought looking up eliminated double chins???
Oh, pretty!
My favorite Nephew! I can say that because he is my only nephew... he he he
Wonderful hot shmoos....
Who picked up these crazies!?!?!
I think they rose a little too much! but still just as delicious as ever!
Oh look, a sight you don't see every day... I"M READING!
No one has a cooler family than me! Who else piles up on a giant pile of sleeping bags!
Trust building obstacle courses... we did alright, but had a rough time all balancing on one little beam.
A few swings later we all landed safely on the wooden plank... but one of these things is not like the other!
How high can you fly... with a little manly assistance? 
The whole crew! I love my family and am so happy we could all have so much fun at this reunion. I hope it keeps happening and that we can always enjoy each other!

Ok since the family has been gone not a whole lot has happened around here. Lot’s of work, with a few slices of fun. There have been a lot of people out of town at work so I got a full schedule this week. Had a few interesting experiences there. He is just to list a few...

Power out - I don’t know what has been going on, but there have been a few unexpected power outages at work that have done some pretty messed up things to the security system and computers. The check reader won’t work, the card reader is on the ritz and the security company keeps calling to make sure everyone is alright. For not working there very long I sure have had a lot of security calls. 

Shipment - I am wondering if there are a few weird things going on at a corporate level. No one has received shipment this week. Not a single Payless in the west region got any shipment. The store is starting to look pretty bare and people are getting a little upset when we don’t have what we advertise. Wish there was something I could do about it. 

Sis Christensen - This kind lady came into work and needed a particular shoe. We didn’t have it so I offered to call another store and have them hold it for her. While in the process of waiting for the phone not to be busy we got to talking. I forget how small the Mormon world really is. Turns out her husband was the CES representative that spoke at my convocation at graduation. Then we got to talking about our interests and what I liked to do in my free time. I finally got the other store to pick up and place her shoes on hold. Then out of no where she asked if I would be willing to go on a date with her son. She got my phone number and walked out. not your everyday circumstance. 

Brent - After hearing and watching the whole thing happen with Sis Christensen, Brent (my boss) got on the phone and called his buddy from college and asked if he would be willing to go out with me on a double. It was just a message, but still, since when was I the hot topic for dates? Something weird is going on. Now this is the one to top it off!

Dave - There was a guy who came into work and wandered around for a good 20 minutes. Then he finally walked up to me and asked if he could talk to my in the corner. I walked over to the secluded corner with him and that is where he asked me out. I told him I was free Saturday night, but nothing was solidified. He left with my number and a few tentative ideas and plans. I went about my week as usual and then Saturday rolled around. I still hadn’t heard from him, however I had a few friends coming in from Idaho that needed a place to stay so I offered my house for the girls and was planning on meeting them downtown (more of that to follow). I didn’t have a way to get a hold of Dave to let him know I wasn’t going to be able to do anything because I needed to go meet my friends downtown, so I left a apologetic note with my number. I soon got a phone call. I was expecting a kind and understanding response, but what I got was a very angry man who used a few choice words and hung up... not the type of guy I would want to go out with anyway right? Ug, boys can be pretty difficult and dense sometimes!

Audrey’s friends passed the test. They called and invited me to do something with them even when Audrey wasn’t around. I guess that goes to show that we are friends too! ;) We went to Denny’s, saw the midnight showing of Transformers (which was extremely disappointing and I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone), and enjoyed the blessing of having a swimming pool now that the weather has cleared up a bit. 

I also got to hang out with Papa a little this week. What a sweet man he is. I continued my bike escapade and rode to the library to drop off a few books then headed to Papa’s. I went to get him ready and we enjoyed along walk talking about Rob and Wendy’s new baby. It is nice to spend some one on one time with him every now and then. He is such a great man and I have no doubt that he loves his family more than anything in the whole world. he can never stop talking about them. 

I offered to babysit Lily and Kylie to give me something to do. Katie and david were out looking at houses. I took the girls swimming and watched Snow White. It was Lily’s first time and she was completely mesmerized. Disney sure has a nack for keeping the attention of the little ones. 

That night I invited a girl from work over to stay the night with me. I was getting lonely and wanted a little company. we made a full dinner and then enjoyed the most recent episode of So You Think You Can Dance. It is getting pretty intense. I can’t wait until it narrows down to the top ten. 

I have such great neighbors! The scott’s across the street felt bad that I have been left alone all week, so they took me out to a nice dinner. we enjoyed some smooth jazz music with some tasty italian dinner. I will go back there any time, the problem is I can’t remember what it is called. All I know is that I loved the food and loved the atmosphere.

After dinner I picked up Mike, Cherry, and Maria and we headed out to the U for a night of dancing. I am starting to feel more comfortable around these kids and so can finally loosen up and enjoy the dancing instead of worrying so much about what my feet are doing. Mike and I had a lot of fun just experimenting with moves we weren’t quite sure how to do. 

We finally found success doing a regular dip. It takes a lot to get in and out of those things smoothly. But we did it. I just hope we can remember how next week. We went to Dee’s again this week and I shared a milkshake with Jake... something just might be in the mix. Probably not, but it is fun to wish! 

Doug was in town and I was so excited to see him. He was a bass in Vocal Union this past semester. we had so much fun on tour and he called to inform me that he was in town so we decided to meet up and do something. We were planning on maybe driving to Provo to do something with his buddy, but it was too late for that so we just stayed near my house and had our own fun. He took me to dinner and then to pass time we played arcade games at the movie theater before our movie started. The time passed far too quickly. We went to see UP which was such a cute movie. Sad, but cute. Not your typical pixar movie, but still very enjoyable. I loved it!

I met Doug and his friend Steve downtown after the whole dating mishap with Dave. We decided we would take our time to go to the Salt Lake Temple. It was just what I needed at the time. I forget how beautiful it is in there and how much I love to think that simple dreams and hands built that building. 40 years in the making and I am hoping they think it is worth it, because to me it means the World. 

After a great session at the temple we decided ice cream for Leatherby’s would be the perfect way to end the evening. I ordered a small scoop of burnt almond fudge ice cream and a few small cookies. It was amazing! I gobbled it up so fast!

We even took a little time to play the arcade games while waiting for Valerie to show up. I played a sweet game of Pinball for old times sake. I guess talent does go away when you don’t practice. Not the pinball wizard I used to be. Val got there and we went home to have the ultimate sleep over.

It was so nice to have Valerie stay for the evening. We caught up, talked, laughed, and just enjoyed being together again. I was very sad when I had to say goodbye on Sunday. Doug came to pick her up and they headed out to Emily Olsen’s farewell and I headed off to Elder Taylor’s homecoming. He did such a fantastic job. I enjoyed every minute of his talk. He took a lot from President Hinckley and his remarks about what you should bring home from a mission. He did a great job of keeping it doctrinally based rather than just spilling a bunch of stories from the mission. Such a good kid. 

I spent most of the evening at David and Katies. It is nice to have family so close. When everyone at home is gone it is a nice lugury to be able to just drive 30 minutes and still feel like I have a family. We had dinner and watched Night at the Museum. It was my first time seeing it, and I loved every minute of it. So clever and fun. I decided since I was already out there so late I would just stay the night. Little couch, here I come!!