Dot Dot Dot

Nothing new and/or exciting has happened. Christmas was good. My break from school is going by way too fast. Here are a list or two or three of things to come in the life of Natalie.

Things I am not looking forward to:
1. School starting next Monday
2. Loads and loads of math homework
3. School

Things I am looking forward to:
1. The Utes playing in the Sugar Bowl
2. Turning 22 (I guess, I'm always just excited for my birthday)
3. Starting school (just so I am that one step closer to being done!)

Things I hope for:
1. A date for my birthday, a date with someone new! haha
2. A not so tough school schedule
3. Fun plans for Spring Break!

Finals

Three more days and I will have made it through semester number eight (if I count the summer semester). Soon the end will be in sight, I hope anyways. One semester at a time from here on out!

NKOTB Concert Again!

Yes, this is a great shot of Joey's behind ;) hehe. I am obviously a Joey fan. Olivia is a Danny fan, which I honestly don't get. Though Danny has some great dance skills.

The wait was driving us crazy I guess!

NKOTB Concert

OMG! I don't think words can give that experience justice. All I can say is that I loved every minute and wished it never ended! The whole day was pretty good, and ended great. So great, in fact, that the parking ticket did not put a damper on anything. I was so happy I got to see my good friend Heather and we ate some great food at the Mayan. Thanks, Heather!

Olivia and I started to make our way to the concert at 6:30 so we could be there at 7 when the doors opened. Well that was an adventure in itself. I ended up getting on the freeway on the carpool lane and our exit happened to be immediate once we got on the freeway. Well needless to say there was not way I could get across all five lanes of traffic that quickly, so we missed the exit. I ended up taking the next exit hoping that eventually we would get to Redwood Rd, and sure enough we did! There was even a sign that said E-center this way, so we knew we were going the right way! Well we made it, parked, got our signs ready and made our way to the entrance. Once we got there they took our signs away. How rude... I kinda figured they would but I was secretly hoping they wouldn't because we had so much fun making them! At least we were able to wear the shirts we made!

Anyways, once inside, Olivia and I fought the crowds of women to buy t-shirts! We each bought a t-shirt and I bought a key chain as well. Now all that was left was waiting for the show to begin. There were two opening acts. First was Lady Gaga. There really are no words for what we saw with her. It was definitely not appealing to a female audience. That is all... Natasha Beddingfield followed and she was quite amazing actually.

Finally, the men of the evening took the stage! After months of waiting for this day, they were finally there. Let me just say that the wait was more than worth it! Joey McIntyre is gorgeous! They sang every song we wanted them to so what more could we ask for? I have honestly never screamed so much in my life! My throat still hurts, two days later. Also I made sure I sang every word to every song (with the exception of two songs I didn't know). Olivia and I never sat down once NKOTB took the stage.

Some of the highlights were: Danny Wood break-dancing, some woman throwing a "I 'heart' Mormon Girls" t-shirt to Donny Wahlberg (which helped him introduce singing "Cover Girl"), being able to see their beautiful faces up close, Olivia and I being the only two in our entire section who knew every word to all of the new songs, Joey McIntyre wearing the same jacket he wore in the 90's, Olivia and I reacting the exact same way when they performed "Twisted" (our favorite song and again the only two dancing and singing along in the entire section cause everyone else sat down), and pretty much just Joey all around!

NKOTB, Here I Come!

If there were words to describe how excited I am for my New Kids on the Block concert, I don't think it would do it justice! I bought the tickets in July for my friend's birthday in August. So I had to keep it a secret that I bought the tickets for over a month and needless to say I wasn't very good at that. Well when her birthday finally got here, we started getting so so excited. NKOTB came out with a new album and we were one of the first ones to buy it September 2nd. Not only do I love the old NKOTB, but the new NKOTB is amazing as well! There's nothing better than New Kids' "Twisted"! Except maybe "Step by Step" or "Cover Girl".... Oh what am I saying, there are way too many good ones. The wait is finally coming to a close. The concert is Saturday Nov 15th, only four days away!

Side note: One of my biggest pet peeves lately is when people hear me listening to NKOTB and ask why I'm listening to Backstreet Boys or NSYNC..... How rude. They don't even sound the same at all, and "The Block" is officially the coolest boy band ever. Joey McIntyre is definitely so much cuter than Lance Bass or Justin Timberlake.

FYI

My mom asked me who all the famous people were I put in my lucky 7 tag. Well surely everyone knows who Garth Brooks and Ellen Degeneres are. The other five (Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood, and Donny Wahlberg [brother to actor Mark Wahlberg]), however, most people would know by The New Kids On The Block. I am one of the biggest NKOTB fans and am super super excited to be able to go see them in concert on November 15th. YAY

Random Random Random

I guess this is our idea of fun... Just sitting around talking posing for pictures here and there!
My hand is the claw, and the finger belongs to Shalie!

The best part is we never told each other what we were going to do in these pictures, they just kinda happened.

hehe

Oh dear. That is all.

Halloween Gingerbread house?

My mom stopped by the day before Aly's birthday and dropped off this kit to put together some gingerbread and icing. It included all the candy we used. Aly and I had quite a bit of fun putting this thing together! The best part was the weird ideas we came up with to use all of the candy and most of the icing!

We ended up putting a whole bunch of icing in the center of the house, covering the whole base! Then we put all the candy on there anywhere we could, including bats and skulls on the inside of the walls!

So the icing was ridiculously messy. We tried at first to not make a mess, but that ended pretty quickly! Also the black icing stained our hands for a few hours. It was so great. Eventually we had black icing coming out of both ends of the plastic bag it was in.

Tagged

Lucky #7

7 Things I can do...
7. I can blink
6. I can facebook
5. I can multi-task
4. I can bake
3. I can cook
2. I can drink gallons of water daily
1. I can go through two or three tubes of chapstick each month.

7 Things I can't do...
7. I can't watch movie after movie after movie
6. I can't say no to texting
5. I can't resist a new pair of shoes
4. I can't focus on homework for longer than one hour
3. I can't stand sitting in lecture classes.
2. I can't wait till I no longer have roommates
1. I can't wait to have a kitchen all to myself

7 Things I LOVE about CEDAR CITY...
7. The weather (when it's not windy)
6. The size
5. The people
4. The red mountain in the east
3. The location
2. The fun
1. The weather (yes again, I love the snow here)

7 Things I say the most often are...
7. No I'm not bored, I have plenty of work
6. Lame
5. I miss you
4. I'm hungry
3. I'm cold
2. I can't wait to see you
1. He's so sweet :)

7 Celebrity Admirations...
7. Garth Brooks
6. Ellen Degeneres
5. Donny Walhberg
4. Danny Wood
3. Joey McIntyre
2. Jordan Knight
1. Jonathan Knight

7 Favorite Foods...
7. Cheesecake
6. Brownies
5. Cole Slaw
4. Cosa Vida
3. Tacos
2. Enchiladas
1. Fajitas

7 People to tag...
7. Amy
6. Liz
5. Aly
4. Heather
3. Kara
2. Olivia
1. anyone else :)

SUU Meal Plan

It seems as though it is feast or famine on the dating scene. Lately for me it has been feast. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact a friend recently told me it's like being on the SUU meal plan since I don't have to pay for all my meals. I can't think of a better way to describe it! I guess I have also been called the dating machine! Last Saturday, for instance, I was treated to a late lunch and then later taken bowling (two different guys).

Who I am

I am avoiding going to sleep and don't know why, so here I am blogging.

Who am I?

I am: laying in bed.
I want: my back fixed.
I have: the bestest family and friends.
I wish: for good days.
I hate: filing paperwork.
I fear: falling on my face while walking down the sidewalk and breaking my nose. Ya, my nose of all things to fear breaking.
I hear: myself almost yelling at me while taking a test. My self talk gets really really loud in rooms that quiet.
I search: for a Mr. Right
I wonder: if I will ever finish school.
I always: put off homework when I shouldn't.
I usually: sink my five foot putts.
I dance: when i feel like it.
I sing: only when others can't hear me.
I never: find the right words to express myself. Words and Natalie just don't go well together, I would much rather speak with symbols.
I rarely: think before I speak. Bad habit for sure.
I cry: when I have death by orientation and intense math tests all in the same week.
I am not always: the first to admit I was wrong.
I need: shoes, shoes, shoes, and more shoes.
I should: sleep and most definitely should prepare for a night of studying.
I dream: of tall men.

Um What's the Word? Nerd?

You know you are a minority in an area of study at a university when you get an email such as the following:

Dear Math Majors,

We are holding a dinner in your honor this Wednesday, October 1. It is our Fall Semester Math Department Social; you'll pardon, I'm sure, the oxymoron that your associates in the lesser majors would easily identify in this title....

For all the tuition money you, your parents and your bankrupt (fiscally and morally) government are spending on SUU; for the countless hours you devote to homework instead of going to parties to which your major ensured you weren't invited anyway; for the fact that you burn more midnight oil than your roommates drink beer; for all your dedication to this beautiful subject of math and for your patience with us, your sometimes more, sometimes less-beloved teachers; I say, for all of this, we would like to feed you some meat.

But further, the Math Department faculty would like to have you come so we can get to know you on the social plane, that proverbially higher level in communal three-space that we are unable to reach in the ordinary classroom setting.

The dinner will be served in the ELC Conference Room, 4th floor, at 6 p.m. Please come just a few minutes early if you are bringing foodstuffs. We will provide ribs, chicken, potato wedges and drinks with the best in paper wares and plastic utensils. If you would like to bring along a salad or dessert to share, so much the better for all of us.

Weather permitting, those that would like to can take their food out to a lawn and there burn it off with maybe some Frisbee (oops - "novelty flying disc"), tossing of a football or two, or maybe even playing leapfrog and tag if the party should get as wild as we hope. Bring along some your favorite outdoor game if you'd like and wear some appropriate clothing if any of this is of interest to you; frog costumes are fine and even smiled on.

Please feel free to bring along your special other and - as I've hinted - something to share should you have any money left after Fall tuition. (Yes, yes, Top Ramen is fine - but please prepare it so that it can stay bounded on one portion of a plate.) At the risk of pushing redundancy to previously unknown levels, "please RSVP" to Robin (archibald@suu.edu) to let us know if you're coming and what, if you can, you will bring to share. Also, if any of your fellow majors are not reached by this email, we would greatly appreciate you letting them know about the social as well.

Thanks in advance for your company and for letting my team win in Ultimate Frisbee,

Hahahahaha! Most definitely a nerdy department I am in! Only math majors get such emails. Also I received another one similar a couple of weeks ago which included the following sentence: There have been a few changes in the Math Department over the summer (adding & subtracting professors and using the commutative property to change offices). The best part is how he incorporated the commutative propert! Bahaha, pure genius! lol

Now only someone who likes math as I do would find entertainment in such emails, but I came to the sad realization. The realization that perhaps I really am a nerd deep down inside somewhere. Though I don't show it like 5/6 of the department, but still it is there. But please feel free to disagree with me! I am completely okay with being told I really am not nerdy!

Tagged

I'm officially a conformist... haha

8 Random Things!

8 Things I'm Passionate About: 1) Softball, 2) Family, 3) The Gospel, 4) My Girls (Shay, Olivia, Heather) 5) Not eating later than 8 PM, 6) My filing system at work (sometimes my co-workers think I am too protective of it!), 7) Volleyball (I play two or three times a week so I guess it had to make the list), 8) Not eating hot dogs and cake.

8 Words or Phrases I Say Often: 1) What the random, 2) For real?, 3) I win, 4) Um, 5) Why?, 6) IDK 7) Sweet, 8) What.

8 Things I Want to do Before I Die: 1) Go to culinary arts school, 2) Coach a state-champion softball team, 3) Have my own custom designed kitchen, 4) Go hunting, 5) Hike Kolob arch (only 14 miles, anyone want to join me?) 6) Finish college! 7) Leave the country (to go anywhere except where it's 90 degrees or warmer) 8) Have a family.

8 Things I Have Learned From My Past: 1) Weak things become strong, 2) Don't sit back and wait for life to happen to me, 3) Forgive and Forget, 4) Take in the good times, and learn from the bad, 5) Without the trials, I wouldn't be as happy as I am now, 6) School is expensive and not a waste of my time, 7) When things get hard, press forward 8) Dating can be frustrating but fun at the same time!

8 Places I Would Love to go See: 1) Wimbledon, 2) Washington DC, 3) Nashville, 4) Any European country, 5) Jerusalem, 6) The Narrows, 7) Africa, 8) The Moon.

8 Things I Currently Need or Want: 1) A Bachelors degree, 2) a Teaching license, 3) Shoes, 4) a Diamond (in ring, necklace, or earring form), 5) Milk, 6) Yogurt, 7) A new pair of pants, 8) a personal assistant.

I tag: Liz, Amy

The last couple weeks have been so much fun, as I said before! I managed to post this in order of how it happened!
So as crazy as it may seem, a small town girl like me had never been horse back riding. Well this is no longer the case for me. My friend Carrie (in the green pants) knew a cowboy (Andy, the only guy in the pic) who would be able to take us riding. Aly was invited to go, but i think she ended up going home for a long weekend, so my roommate Sondra came with us. I did well for my first experience on a horse and was able to do it without having to touch the horse!

The weekend of Labor Day, our 'summer fling' Jeremy wanted to go camping before he moved back up to Provo for school. We went up to a place called Yankee Meadow at about 9:30 at night. It was a really really cold night, but definitely memorable! Anyways, there was this giant cow in Parowan and Jeremy just had to get a picture of it. The cow fetish kind of has a story of its own.

On Labor Day a bunch of us went down to hike Angel's Landing. It was so much fun, and I can finally cross that one off my to do list!

This is the kinda scary part of the hike. Good thing time and stuff has worn foot holes in the rock!

When we got to the top, Aly said that our Aunt has a good picture of her family on Angel's Landing. Well this is the best we could do since we were the only ones of our family!

This last weekend, a bunch of us escaped to northern Utah for a couple days. We left Saturday morning, well at least my car did which included me, Aly, and Jake. We stopped and said hi to some of Jake's family in Springville and then stopped and said hi to Amy and Jarom at their new house. After that, Jake and I killed some time before dinner with Heather at Jordan Landing. We then met up with everyone else and went to the Colors concert, which was the point of the trip. The concert was pretty good. We stayed at my friend Bubba's parents house and went to church with them Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon they fed us lunch and we finally got on the road around 4:30. On the way back Shalie joined my car (the girl in the picture with me) and we stopped in Aurora to help Daniel with his math and then a friend's parents house in Monroe for dinner. We had so much fun, even if we didn't get home until 10:30 that night.

At the beginning of the concert, Aly and Emily were playing with the camera, taking pictures of themselves. Every time, I either got my head in between them or I got a hand in at the top of all the pictures. So they decided to really include Jake and I, since we were sitting right behind them. We never manage to get everyone doing the same kind of faces, so we get a mixture.

Before the concert started, Bubba was snapping pictures. Shalie and I posed for this one and she said thoughtful face and apparently I was thinking sad! Anyways, this one is probably my favorite picture from the weekend!

Epiphany (at least I think this is the proper use of this word)

About five minutes ago as I am doing the usual making copies and filing paperwork and typing reports at work, I started thinking about how much fun my life is. Though it is really quite busy most, if not all, of the time, I have so much fun. This thought led me to wonder if I will have as much fun when I'm married. And perhaps it will be a different kind of fun. I probably won't be having random shirt making parties with a bunch of people and all the other crazy fun things I do. So as I think of those my age who have so recently tied the knot, I feel so happy that it is not me, especially right now. This great realization came at a great time, as I have been wondering if the marriage thing will ever happen for me. Well right now I don't really care. Dating and being single is way too much fun for me right now! I hope to post some pictures and tell a little about the recent goings on in the life of Natalie soon (as long as homework is finished before) to show just exactly what I mean about how much fun I'm having!

Family Home Evening

I have a new calling in my student ward now. They call this particular calling Family Home Evening "Grandma". Pretty much this calling is in charge of planning family home evenings and getting fhe groups together and things like that. It is going to be pretty fun and I am excited! So that is just an unpdate and a little background on the video!

So this video.... Well last Monday, the fhe activity was volleyball and slip 'n slide. With my latest back issue, I decided not to participate. So while everyone was getting ready for the slip 'n slide, I grabbed my camera. My friend, Jeremy, and I decided to make some videos of everyone going down the slide. Jeremy tied the camera to the camera bag strap and his belt so that the camera was in the middle and we held it across the slide and each stood on one side. This was the second attempt at video making. This first attempt, we tried to run down the hill with everyone, but the camera went all crazy like! So this is just a glimpse of what goes on at Family Home Evening in a singles ward. Well or even just a glimpse of me and my crazy friends!

To My Dad

I might be biased, but I must say that I have the best dad in the world. I'm so greatful for him. Not everyone can say that they were able to spend countless evenings in the backyard with their dad. I remember when I first told my dad I wanted to be a softball pitcher. There was no joking about it at all. Not only did he do all the research he could on the internet, but he also went to some coaching clinics, spent money on the best tools to make me the best I could be and even was my catcher so many times. I can't thank my dad enough for those memories and for all the pitches he may have taken to the shins.
Not only did he help me with my passion, but he has always been there for all of his kids. I think the only time he has ever missed anything we have been in was when he had to go out of town for work. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing dad who loves his girls as much as he does. I guess he loves that boy too, but duh... what parent doesn't absolutely adore the baby of the family, especially if the baby is the only boy?
It's almost his birthday, and I don't think anything I can get him will ever be enough for all he has done for me. I only pray that I find someone to marry that is just like him. Though my mom says that we will be looking forever cause there is only one of him.
I also love his sense of humor. A friend of mine here in Cedar City who has met my dad told me once that my dad is probably one of the funniest guys he has ever met. I totally agree, however, Mom wishes we wouldn't encourage him so much! Anyways, I just wanted to do a little bragging on the best Dad in the world. I love you, Dad!

ME

Thought this was fun so I decided to do it! It was kind of interesting to see what images would come up for each thing!

FIRST NAME:

So I had no idea that if I put my name in google images that such inappropriate pictures would come up. Interesting!

MIDDLE NAME:

Don't have one!

LAST NAME:

This is the Hales Coat of Arms. Found on the Hales Family History Society Page!

AGE:

PLACE I'D LIKE TO VISIT:

FAVORITE PLACE:

COLLEGE DEGREE:

Not yet, but working that way!

GRANDMA'S NAMES:

Anna

This is Anna Kournikova for those not so savy on tennis! It was either this or Anna Nicole Smith... Yuck.

Thelma

A PET I'VE HAD:

This one is staying blank. I am not going to claim any of the family pets over the years. Though I did have a pet rock once!

FIRST JOB:

FAVORITE COLOR:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW:

HA HA HA HA HA! Right, working hard! I just don't feel good, that is my excuse!

BAD HABIT:

Kind of ironic...

The new place

What a weekend! Friday I was able to take off from work about 2:30 or so to get started on moving. I got quite a few things moved over and then the rest packed up until some friends asked if they could come help (Aly was working all day), so I sat back and relaxed a bit and waited for my friends to get there to help me move. It took the four of us about twenty or thirty minutes to get all my stuff moved over. So one of my friends stayed with me and helped me get Aly's things moved over. I don't know if she appreciated it or not, because I had to pack most everything. And I am definitely not the best packer ever. Things were put in random places, but at least it all got moved. Anyways, I didn't even take time that night to unpack anything. We went to a movie and then danced the night away at the institute dance! (not really though).
Saturday was the craziest adventure ever! After a morning of organizing the kitchen and living room, Aly and I took two friends (Bubba and Seth) up to Aurora for the day. We stopped at the annual Hampton family reunion for some lunch and then went back to Aurora to ride Mom and Dad's new toys, 4-wheelers. Seth and I rode in the hills west of Aurora for oh about four hours and got Mom and Dad worried about us cause we got separated from the other two and they got off the mountain an hour before us. Oh it was so fun though! After we cleaned up as much as we could, we headed off to the Demolition Derby in Richfield. It was not the best derby ever, but it was pretty good and Bubba was a first time derby goer.
Anyways, after an exhausting day, we made it to Cedar City about 11:30 that night. Needless to say, we fought to stay awake the next morning at church. After church, I baked some cookies and got dinner ready for a birthday celebration for Seth. Some other friends came over as well and we had dinner and cake and ice cream. After we ate, (this might be totally random, but oh well) we had a coaster fight. My friends and I definitely have some crazy random fun when we get together and that is why I love them so much!
I will hopefully get some pictures of the new place posted soon (we don't have internet yet). Also some pictures of the crazy party our friends hosted last week with a cow. Ya, I know how that sounds and that is why it is so funny!
It sounds like Aly and I will be having a house warming party this weekend (her idea), so those who would be interested in coming, holla! We just need to get the place in order and decorated a bit! It is quite fun, we are definitely going to like this place

July

I want to thank my sisters and mom for a great Saturday! We enjoyed the mountains, the heat (haha), shopping, the temple, and of course the highlight of the trip, Les Miserables! I am so glad we started this girls only tradition and look forward to many more in the years to come. I was also glad that when I suggested a play at Tuachan my sisters were more than willing to come down to my end of the state!

I spent my first Pioneer Day somewhere besides Redmond, UT. I must say that I really was quite disappointed in the events here in Cedar City. The parade was just ok, I'm pretty sure Redmond's parade had more floats than Cedar City's. And the most disappointing part was the lack of a fireworks show. I guess Summer Games take all of Cedar City's firework budget! Though it did turn out to be a great day with friends! Some of my friends doubted my ability to be in charge of and host a potluck dinner, but it turned out really well.

Well July is winding down, which saddens me. I now only have three full weeks of play time before the studying begins on August 25th. For sure, my friends and I will make the most of the summer days we have left with things like volleyball (as often as possible :)), hiking, parties, and whatever other crazy ideas we come up with.

Alyson and I are moving the end of this week. I think I am more excited for this move than any other move ever! After living in a house full of ten girls for an entire year, I can't imagine anything worse. I am actually looking forward to only having four or five roommates (I never thought I would say that). And the best part of this will be having room for my food in the refrigerator. Sad as it is, I have been unable to have food in the fridge without it getting lost or eaten in about a year. I definitely will be posting pictures of the dump I live in now compared to the place I am moving into! I cannot wait.

Pictures....

Oh Adam! He looks happy now, but ten minutes later.... I was definitely on his 'bad list'! It was great though!

This would be Olivia, Zane and I chilling at Cedar Breaks. We had this plan to do something fun and crazy that night. Well Aly suggested we go up to Cedar Breaks to watch the sunset. Jeremy was captain, so he decided we would do this. Hmmmm, quite the sunset it was all covered with clouds... Anyways, we had fun anyways even if it wasn't the crazy adventure we had hoped for! Olivia and I dumped some water on Adam, but yet he only retaliated on me :(

This was supposed to go up with a post a while ago. Anyways, this is Tanner and I playing catch at Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's house! Good times :)

Weekends!

The weekend is finally here! Wahoo! Actually, I am beginning to think that the weekends come too fast, which makes the summer go by way too fast! I'm not ready for school, yet is is just over a month away. Anyways, Friday at the office.... Again I am left alone to hold down the fort (office). Opening up a house in St. George required Stacy to go do orientation with new staff (I'm so jealous since one of the new staff is the best eye candy ever!) and Tyler had to go make sure everything is taken care of. So with stacks of paperwork, and it being payday, I had to stay behind. Sad times! Though good times since it is Friday!

I have signed up to be a high school volleyball official. I think I would like the extra money, but not so sure I would like coaches being all up in my face. I guess they probably aren't too bad, but surely worse than those softball coaches. Especially since the floor official is so close to the benches. It only worries me a little. I am pretty sure I will be able to hold my own. After all, as long as I know every rule there is and pretend to know the ones I don't and go about it with confidence, no one will dare question me!
Since the summer days are going by too fast, I rarely go a day without finding an adventure, or a car to wash! Though as school approaches, so does that day I put on a cap and gown and receive a diploma. So happy day!

Procrastination

I was looking at my blog and noticed it has been a while since I posted new pictures! Well that is for good reason. We haven't really done anything too exciting and haven't taken very many pictures. I mean I'm not saying my five days in Aurora weren't exciting, well maybe I am a little! The Fourth of July rodeo in Salina wasn't the best rodeo ever! I guess the clown was pretty good, but the cowboys.........not so good! The stock definitely won that night! The firework show afterwards, however, I think was the best they have had.
I guess I did wash my car last night. I should have taken pictures of that for proof, but yet... I did take a picture of Bubba washing his car. That was the first he had washed his car in quite a while. Since before our trip to Kolob Reservoir where we got stuck in the mud! I honestly thought his car was tan, but it turns out it really is silver.


Here I sit at work, all alone. Stacy is sick, and the boss went down to St. George today. The monotonous duty of going through old paperwork and sorting through it is wearing on me. It is a good thing I get a break here and there to do something different. For example, yesterday I did new employee orientation (which I am an expert at since I have done it so many times!), and today I sat in my first interview from the employer side of things! Pretty soon they are going to have me doing my own interviews! Haha, just kidding (hopefully). Anyways, I am doing a pretty good job at avoiding the things I have to do today. I guess I would much rather blog than file and file and file and file and file. Hmmm, procrastination is a funny thing! I guess I can finally get to my point of this post! haha. Actually, I am not really sure the point, so never mind! haha. Look forward to some pictures soon though, hopefully!

To Be Young Again

The family reunion went ok, I guess. There will always be a lack of participation from some people and that is ok. But thanks to everyone in my family who was there. We get points for the most participation I think. After everyone had left and we got the park cleaned up, we found ourselves at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was a nice day, so I stayed outside in the front yard. My mom started playing catch with my cousin's boy, Tanner. Well of course my mom got sick of it and so she volunteered my time to play with Tanner. Tanner wouldn't let me play catch with him without a glove. That was one day my stash of softballs and gloves in my car came in handy! That three year old little boy has quite the arm! We played catch for a good hour and a half to two hours. When we finally got to put our gloves away, Tanner decided to be the hero of the day and hunt bad guys. By this time Tanner and I were the only ones left outside so I decided to be Tanner's sidekick. I had let my imagination take over and Tanner and I defeated all the bad guys we found! Well Tanner defeated them, there was only one he couldn't get to since this bad guy was in the tree. After three or four times around the house and once back to the shed and twice inside the house, we were finally done and free of bad guys and monsters. Thank you to Tanner for a great afternoon of baseball and bad guy hunting!

Family Reunions

This Saturday (tomorrow) is the annual Heaps family reunion. Grandma had a great idea. She asked for one representative from each of her daughters' families to help with activities and such. My mother had an even better idea; she picked me to be her representative. Now the thing is, family reunions are not always the most fun, especially with all those people you don't even know. Well that changes tomorrow! For those of you going to the Heaps reunion, be prepared for some amazing fun! Oh, but in order to have such fun, you MUST PARTICIPATE! The activities I've planned are designed to get everyone involved, which means they aren't all physical but of course highly entertaining for everyone. I guess you could say I'm actually looking forward to a family reunion for a change! So I will now always say, "go with the best attitude and be open to whatever may be thrown at you among family!"

One thing about growing up and becoming an adult is that I now have to make life changing decisions. Such decisions are where to live, what to do (work or school or both), what to study, who to date (which I don't mind that much :) ). Since I graduated from high school, I never really questioned what I was doing with my life. Now, after completing my third year of college, I am questioning whether it is for me. I'm not so sure that these doubts or thoughts are strong enough to make me quit, but enough to not want to go back to school come August. I think I have this idea that I should like school if I'm going to put myself through it. After talking with my sisters a little this past weekend, I've decided to approach school with a different attitude. I've gotten this far, so there is no turning back now, and definitely no changing course of study, no matter how demanding and intense mathematics can be. Thus far in my education, I've only taken required classes and have yet to allow myself a relaxing, fun class in my schedule. That is going to change or I will never get out of my slump. A fun class is something that I'm going to require in my schedule so that those rigorous math classes don't rule my life. So for those of you who are wondering about me and school, here is your answer.... School, here I come! (It better be worth it! But don't expect that masters degree from me until maybe ten years go by or so!)

Excitement

I asked my friend Heather what I should blog about, and she told me I should blog about my excitement for this weekend. So here it is! I think the last time I saw my Heather was October. Way too long ago :(. That is about to change. Tomorrow morning, I am making my way up to Salt Lake City. I have been trying to get up there to see Heather for months now, and finally I just decided nothing would stop me this time! My girl is getting married the end of July so we only have so much time before she is moved away by the military. I cannot wait and words cannot describe my excitement. Today I think is going to be one of those days that just seem to drag on and on forever!

Heather is practically my twin sister. Knowing me implies that you know Heather. We like alot of the same things (except the color purple) and think the same way. All my random thoughts that nobody else understands and makes people think I'm just crazy are the kind of thoughts Heather appreciates the most. So I'd say Heather and I are meant to be besties for ever! I love ya, Heather!

This is just everyone waiting for Carrie at the top of the waterfall. Well everyone that made it that far. We left three at the bottom of the first waterfall and three at the bottom of this waterfall. I think I would have been more excited than Bubba is in this picture, had I made it to the top of that thing.

This is Carrie climbing up the waterfall I wouldn't climb up! She was amazing. I think if the ladder had been more stable, I would have. I guess I have a fear of rope ladders.

Crazy Life!

One of the things I love about being young and single is being able to just go do anything, anywhere, anytime! Having a very flexible job helps in that as well. If I need to take off early on a Friday, I just work a little longer each day the rest of the week. And having every weekend off is oh so nice! Last weekend, some friends and I decided to go camping for a night. We went up Friday night and came back Saturday morning. The overnight trip was so much fun and full of adventures. We slept in the car hoping to get away from the bitter cold of the night. It didn't quite work out how we had hoped, but it was still fun! Saturday afternoon, after a two and a half hour nap, about 10 of my friends and I hiked Kannaraville Falls. It was so pretty! There was a trail for the most part, however, we chose to walk through the water instead for most of the hike. There were two waterfalls on the hike. I climbed up the first one on a ladder/log. I think going down that thing was a lot worse than going up it! The second waterfall, however, was a different story. There was no way to get up it without getting completely wet, and I most definitely would have died! Ok so maybe I would have just fallen or something, but I wasn't about to risk it. I think I did pretty well on the hike, only falling once (acquiring a very nice bruise and two lumps on my shin!) and getting one cut (from the ladder). It was another great weekend in the life of Natalie! (I will post more pictures when I get home from work!)

Kalai Concert

My second concert experience ever was definitely memorable! It was Kalai, with some other bands that aren't as cool. The concert was held at a farm in St George. It was literally a farm. We sat in alfalfa fields to listen to some amazing music! I guess you could say the itchy feeling still hasn't left yet. Having allergies like I do, I'm surprised it didn't hit me til today. And it all came at once. Itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, itchy throat, etc... Oh and the fact that there were grasshoppers and ants galore in those fields. So the feeling that something is crawling on me all the time from last night hasn't left yet. Anyways, it was my first time ever even hearing about Kalai, and all I can say is wow. Amazing! Not only can he play the guitar, his voice is good as well. The bands before him were not the best ever and took up way too much time. I say if you start a concert at eight, don't have three or four opening acts before the main attraction. Especially outdoors in Utah because you never know when the weather will turn for the worst. Pretty much we got blown out. The wind got to be too much so Kalai ended it early. We stopped at In and Out before heading home, and I must say that it is just food. I don't understand what all the hype is about over that place.

Jonny and Bubba, from above, and yes Bubba is flexing!

Aly posed for a cute picture!

Jonny was laying down on the same rock, but his face was in the sun so I left him out!

Yes, another one of Aly. I had the camera most of the time, and didn't see the need to take pictures of Jonny and Bubba all the time!

Bubba, just chillin on the rock pondering.

This one is probably my favorite with Jonny's head sticking out of the boulders! I'm not sure how he got in there nor how he got out, but he did!

Adventures of the Random Drive

Last Saturday, a bunch of friends and I decided to go on a hike. We met up at about one o'clock and were going to hike Kanarraville Falls. We were all ready for the wet hike we were about to go on. Then one person in our group told us we really needed a truck to drive the road up to the hike. So that plan went out the window. From there we just decided to drive up Cedar Canyon and stop somewhere to explore. Well our drive took us up over the mountain to Kolob Reservoir. It was about sixteen miles on a dirt road and along the way we came across a some cowboys herding their cows. The two drivers were from the city, so they didn't really know how to get through the cows quickly. Well eventually we made it out of the cows and continued on our journey to Kolob. About half a mile before the reservoir, we came across a miniature Pride Rock. Yes, it looked so much like the Lion King! So we had to stop there for pictures! Jonny, Alyson, and I posed for our band's magazine cover! We really only took this picture just in case. After driving around the lake for a while, our adventures led us to a beautiful sight. It was Kolob creek, and the canyon was amazing! Words cannot describe it, and pictures only say so much. To really appreciate the beauty, you need to experience this place for yourself.

Well we explored the area a little bit and then decided we were all hungry. We hadn't planned on such a long adventure so none of us brought food. On our drive back to 'civilization', we stopped at a Zion's National Park view point. That view was amazing as well. And to think that if we had gone back the way we went up we would have missed all the fun! The road back was longer than expected but full of amazing views and natural formations. Eventually we ended up in Virgin so we decided to just head on down to St George for dinner since we were so close. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays. After our eight hour adventure, we made it home! What a great day it was!

Cutest Grandpa Ever!

This is without a doubt the cutest picture of my dear grandpa Hales ever! It was a spur of the moment picture after a very nice dedication of the new veteran's memorial in Redmond. Grandpa had the opportunity to present the memorial the the Auxillary and I got to catch him for a picture after the program. The dedication happened on Monday, Memorial Day. It was definitely an unforgettable day. About fifteen minutes before the program began, the sunshine had disappeared and on came the ten minute hail storm. Ok, so maybe it wasn't ten minutes long, but it sure felt like it. I was not prepared in my shorts and pretend Crocks for shoes. Nor would anybody let me under their umbrella. So I sat by myself just waiting for it to end. Actually, it really wasn't that bad. It was the kind of massage I needed on my back. Though it didn't fell quite as good on my legs. Well the program began on schedule. The speakers fought wind throughout, and in most cases, the wind came out victorious. It was, in my opinion, fairly pleasant.

During this dedication, some thoughts came to mind. The first one came to me when the lady next to me got a phone call on her cell phone. She didn't ignore it, but rather she answered the call and spoke to the person on the other end at quite a loud decible. The call was not short either. It probably lasted 4 or 5 minutes. So my thought was, do people not have any respect anymore? We were there to honor war veterans of the past and present. It is very disrespectful to even have a cell phone on during such special programs. It might help if parents taught their children how to be respectful at these kinds of occasions. Another thought was how grateful I am for the service men and women who protect our rights to have those cell phones and be able to answer them however disrespectful it may be. I am especially grateful for those service men closest to me, past and present. Thank you Grandpa Hales (WWII), Grandpa Johnson, (Korea) Uncle Ed (Vietnam), Uncle Wayne (Iraq), and Jay(Iraq).

Chrysalis

Many people ask me what I do at my job, and my answer usually leads to describing more about the company than my actual job.

I work as a receptionist/secretary at a company called Chrysalis. The company is a state-funded provider for people with disabilities. We currently only have programs in Utah and Nevada. My office is in Cedar City. The people we provide services for are generally adults with mild retardation or acquired brain injury. Monday through Friday, those who do not have jobs come to the Day Program where they are supervised and learn job skills in hopes that these people can learn to live self-determined lives. Evenings and weekends, the people are supervised and learn skills for everyday life. These skills include personal hygiene, social skills, and money management.

As the secretary, I, along with the office manager, make the program run. We hire staff, make sure they are properly trained, file paperwork, data entry, and much more. Without the office staff (which now currently consists of two people), we would not be able to provide adequate support for the people we serve.

The people we serve in Cedar City are all male and make everyday a new experience at the office. Whether it be a conversation I have with them, or a piece of art they love to share with me. Also, rarely does a day pass when one of them doesn't ask me to be his girlfriend. They are awesome people and I enjoy being able to work with them.