2010 Year in Review: January

I can't believe 2010 is nearly over. I'm starting a new blog, but until I can make it cute, I'm posting on the old one for now.

2010 started off with promises of a better year. And it certainly was! I started the year as a single gal, spending lots of time with my friends. I had a crush on my friend Nate and, like any single 23-year-old woman, reverted back to the lessons I learned in Junior High. I recruited my friend Tanner to find out if he was interested in me. Mature, I know.

Nate and I started attending institute together. I would pick him up and take him to class. After, we'd stand in my driveway and talk about religion for hours on end. We had a bad habit of staying up until wee hours in the morning talking about life, scriptures, family, church, everything. We talked about his mission and about my teaching. We'd discuss our beliefs, our goals, our fears, our shortcomings. He became my best friend. I'd never met any one I could talk to so easily. I found that even after staying up so late, discussing everything under the sun, I couldn't wait to talk to him again.

Nate finally asked me on a date. I completely misunderstood what he was asking (It was 2 am...I was tired) and I told him "Um, maybe." Ah, yes. True love. I awkwardly patched things up the next day when my brain turned back on and played back our conversation (which I relived in full horror).

On January 31st we went on our "second" date (depending on who you ask). Nate changed my life with the oh-so-romantic proclamation, "Um. So. I think I kind of like you."

Please excuse the awfulness of this picture. Nate's being a goof and I look as though I've just rubbed all the mascara off of my face. Lovely.

Happy New Year! Check back for new posts and the address of the all-new married person blog.

2009: Year in Review (Better late than never, right?)

January

• I started the year off right by taking a quick trip to Disneyland with my mom.


• I started student teaching.

February

• I had laryngitis. So exciting.


• I was nominated by my cooperating teacher to be ASU Poly's Student Teacher of the Year.

March

• My sweet cousin, Elise, left on her mission.


• I finished my student teaching evalutaions.


• I went to Disneyland over Spring Break!

April

• I finished up my student teaching.


• I became a certified teacher.

May

• I graduated college.


• My students threw me a surprise party. :)


• I went on a girls (plus Landon) cruise to celebrate graduation.


• I went to Disney World.

June

• Another Disneyland trip


• A quick day trip to Denver


• I started swimming lessons. I love swimming lessons!

July

• Did some hiking. :)


• I broke my toe. Ouch!


• Went to... (let's all say it together) DISNEYLAND!


• I saw Wicked for the third time. :)

August

• Went to Disneyland. Again. :)


• Was sad about not starting the school year.

September

• Another trip to Disneyland. :) ( I know, it's a bit excessive)

A day trip to San Diego.

October

• I turned 23.


• I lost my flight benefits.


• I went to Disneyland for my birthday, of course.


• I FINALLY got a job.


• My computer crashed and took all my documents with it (which is why this post has been sitting as a draft for 3 weeks. I hate tracking down pictures. :) ).

November

• I worked a lot.


• I was sick a lot. (Due to working with so many little kiddos again. :) )


• Thanksgiving! :)
  

December

• Went to Disneyland and bought a new annual pass. :)


• Had a blast. December was such a busy, crazy month. I love Christmas. :)


• I had a great New Year's Eve with my family and Morgan's family.

All in all, 2009 was fine. Let's see what 2010 brings! :)

Of Weather Vanes and Tambourines: A Disneyland HoliDAY

Another month, another Disney trip. But, hey I didn't go in November, so you can't call me COMPLETELY insane yet. Morgan and I went the first week of December to see the Christmas decorations. Christmas at Disneyland is my absolute favorite. The park is gorgeous.

We left Arizona at about 3am, drove straight to Disneyland, stayed till about 11, went to our hotel, and slept! The next day we went to Company D, which had over a two-hour wait just to get into the building, so we drove back to Disneyland and did some shopping at Downtown Disney before heading back home. It was a short, but oh-so-fun trip.

Since we were only there for one (crowded) day, I thought we'd be rushing to get on every ride, but we both were in the mood to just take it easy. We watched lots of shows, were "chosen" to BE in one show, and walked around, taking lots of pictures. Of course, we also went on just about every ride at least once, but we went at a slower pace than usual. It was great.

Since we don't often go to Fantasyland, we decided to walk around and take pictures. There are so many little details that make Fantasyland what it is. One thing I noticed this trip was all the different weather vanes on the little buildings.

My camera does NOT like bright, sunny Anaheim weather, but if you look extra close, you might find a Hidden Mickey in this window outside of Peter Pan.

Can't see it? Well, let's ask Photoshop for some help.

See it? A red Mickey on a Teddy Bear's foot. :)

As we were walking from Critter Country to Frontierland to watch my personal favorite, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies, I noticed a cast member asking families if they wanted to participate in a show. I knew immediately what he was talking about. In order to promote The Princess and the Frog, Disney created a show called Tiana's Showboat Jubilee. It takes place aboard the Mark Twain riverboat. Since Morgan found out about this show, (MONTHS ago) it has been her dream to be in it. I grabbed Morgan, and we walked over to the cast member. I told Morgan we should just ask him if we can be in it. After standing there awkwardly for a few seconds, the cast member asked us if we had a question. I got embarrassed and sheepishly said "No." Morgan, fortunately, said "Yes. Are you asking people to go on the showboat?" He said yes. Then Morgan said, "Can we?" He coyly responded "...Maybe." Then he pulled out a special ticket for us. It was great. We had a great time being part of the Disney entertainment team for an hour.

Receiving our instructions from the cast members

We got to meet Louis!

Act 1: Wave your scarf up and down during the chorus. Simple enough. :)

I got a little stage fright when I saw how many people were watching. Yikes!

The amazing jazz band

Morgan has all our pictures of Act 2, which involved shaking a huge wooden musical note. Look it up on Facebook. :) Here's Act 3: Put your snazzy costume on and shake that tambourine! Morgan and I got to be on the second level with a handful of other guests and a bunch of the actual performers. Morgan got to stand right next to Louis! :)

After the show was over, we had a private tour of the Rivers of America and got to meet Louis, Tiana, and Naveen.

They gave us these awesome beads for being part of the show!

I'm a slacker when it comes to taking pictures, especially when I'm with Morgan, who takes tons of pictures. So, that's all the pictures in my personal collection, but Morgan posted lots on Facebook. Check them out!