Natalie, my new neice!!

I got to see my cute little neice for the first time today! She is beautiful and Brian and Sarah are sure lucky to have this little girl :) ain't she perty?

P.S. I think she looks hilarious in the second picture ;)

So Bored That I Made A Video

As a result of being bored yesterday, I decided to fix up a video that I had taken in April of the missionaries burning their clothes. It probably wasn't the wisest idea to make a fire pit on our concrete slab...we got in trouble for this later from our land lord.

BORED.

Why is it that I've been wishing for this moment for so long (to be done school and have time to relax) and now suddenly I'm bored. I need something to do! Preferably something Christmasy!

I watched "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" yesterday, one of those old stop-motion movies they made back in the day that I still love...I even started crocheting an afghan that I'm thinking I probably won't finish. I don't really feel like I'm accomplishing anything...at least I made chocolate chip cookies yesterday.

Does anyone have any IDEAS?

Christmas Vacation Project

Since today was my last day of classes (HOORAY!), I've decided to start up a few projects.





First of all, I want to read books, not textbooks or journal articles, but REAL books. I borrowed a stack from my mom went I went to visit my parents this weekend and I hope to get
a large chunk of them read. Hopefully this will include the 7th Harry Potter since I barely remembered anything from it when I went to see the movie.



Second, I want to make something winter chic...like a hat or a scarf or something. I can either knit or crochet it, the trick is just finding a pattern that I can understand. I usually like to do something while I'm watching movies or tv so I could multi-task and watch all my Christmas movies in the process! Yay!

By the way, if anyone has some patterns that I could use, it would be greatly appreciated. ;)


Third, I want to do nothing. This sounds opposite to everything I just wrote but while I'm not studying or doing homework, I just want to chill and collect my inner Zen. Ahhhhhhh. Can't wait.

Happy Holidays!

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

Our state fair is a great state fair, don't miss it, don't even be late! It's dollars to donuts at our state fair is the best state fair in our state...

Do you ever find a movie that just makes you smile?

I found this movie at HMV on the weekend and I've forgotten how much I love it! My parents have it and I can't remember the last time I watched it so I decided it was probably due time to watch it again. I know it's pretty old and most people won't be familiar with it but if you ever get a chance, it's a must see.

It's a happy day today, folks! :)

What movie makes you happy?

An Ode to Erin

Despite my mountains of homework, I really didn't feel like doing much tonight. Maybe it was because Jared wasn't feeling well and we were watching more Seinfeld or the fact that it's winter and everyone just gets tired this time of year (at least I do). Anyways, to procrastinate and take up some time, I decided to go on blogger and read some blogs that I haven't read in a while, in particular, my sister, Erin's.

I have always looked up to Erin as I've grown up and I still do. She is always so creative and we always had so much fun when Brian and I were little. She would make me and Brian dress up and we'd film our own movies. One film, called "The Fatty Azzes," I starred as the evil villain stating "heaven help me, I'm a cheese puff." Brian's character "Slim" started losing weight so the "fat club" or whatever it was started getting after him. In the ending scene, Brian was found laying on the ground dead surrounded by potato chips and a knife. Finally, "Who was the killer?" It was Rocky, our dog, of course.

Anyways, getting back to Erin. Erin has always been so clever. Anyone who knows her can vouch for me when I say that she comes up with witty comments and songs on the fly. She was recently my maid of honour for my wedding three months ago and I couldn't have asked for a better one. She helped me do my hair and make-up for the big day and it looked beautiful. She is also always thinking of new little projects or crafts to do whenever she has free time. I love it whenever Erin comes to visit which is rare because she lives all the way in Utah (thanks Darrin, haha just kidding). I love it whenever she, Darrin and Isaiah come to visit and I'm always sad when they leave. Now that she has a son, I'm sure she will pass all her witt and charm on to Isaiah and that he will be just as great.

Thank you for being such a great example to me as I've grown up. I hope you don't think this is too cheesy but I love you and I hope I can be just as great as you are someday.

Love ya, sis!!

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

Today was a good day...

Jared and I were invited to go tobogganing on a sweet hill near the Foothills Hospital. It was a fun time besides my numb fingers and toes. Near the end, we had 6 people pile onto a tube and we went zooming down the hill...literally!! We had three people lie across the tube then two more lie across them and then one more on top. What a ride...

After the tobogganing, we went to Tubby Dog to "fight" down some delicious hot dogs. I got the A-bomb which is ketchup, mustard, nacho cheese and crunched up potatoe chips piled high! Jared made his own adventurous hot dog...the "suicide dog". He had jalapeno and banana peppers, Frank's hot sauce, and wasabi. Pretty much the hottest hot dog money can buy and somehow he enjoyed it. Our friend Jeff got one wrapped in bacon, deepfried, with ham, ketchup, mustard and a fried egg on top. BUT the best hot dog that they make, in my opinion, is the Cap'ns Dog. This consists of peanut butter, jelly, and Cap'n Crunch cereal. Delish!

Now I will finish the evening by uploading more of my wedding photos, Huzzah!

P.S. I'm conducting the singing for the primary presentation tomorrow. Wish me and my little chillin's (below) good luck!!

P.P.S. Jared just made a blog. Go visit it at http://www.amonkeyinabarrel.blogspot.com/

HAPPY DAY!!

The wedding photos are finally here!! The ones taken the day before our wedding by Dana Schaffer in Cardston finally came into my possession today!! They look so good! She did fantastic!! They will eventually all get posted on facebook, however, it's taking a long time. I don't think Jared was nearly as excited to see all the photos as I was. I drove all the way to SE Calgary in the crappy snow to pick up the disc of photos from Jonathan and Amanda's. I COULDN'T WAIT, OK? They are grand.

Here's a sneak peak...

Seinfeld on the mind...yada yada yada

Ahhhhh Seinfeld...a show I could watch forever.

Lately Jared and I have been watching Seinfeld whenever it's on TV. I used to watch it all the time when I got home from school in highschool and it never gets old!! Here are some of my favorite quotes....

"A festivus for the rest of us!"--Frank Costanza

"She had man hands..."--Jerry Seinfeld

"These pretzels are making my thirsty!" Kramer

"Yada yada yada.." Elaine Benes

George: "You have no idea of the magnitude of this thing. If she is allowed to infiltrate this world then George Costanza as you know him ceases to exist. You see, right now I have Relationship George. But there is also Independent George. That's the George you know, the George you grew up with... Movie George, Coffee Shop George, Liar George, Bawdy George."
Jerry: "I love that George."
George: "Me too, and he's dying. If Relationship George walks through this door, he will kill Independent George. A George divided against itself cannot stand!"

Anyways, that's enough about my love for Seinfeld...do any of you have favorite quotes??

The argument...

This morning, Jared and I had an interesting argument...

We were talking about Jonathan and Amanda's little boy, Trenton, and how he's such a cute little ginger and about Jared's friend, Jeff, who is also a ginger. Then Jared happened to mention that there is such a thing as "Kick a Ginger Day". I tried my hardest to make him promise that if we had a ginger in the future somehow, that he wouldn't kick him/her. He wouldn't do it...even after I nearly choked him. Oh well...boys will be boys...

Oh, P.S. Jared said that if it was a ginger girl, he wouldn't kick her....a likely story.

GINGERS HAVE SOUL!

How Embarrasing...

This weekend was Thanksgiving so Jared and I went up to Magrath and Cardston to visit with our families. While in Cardston, Jonathan (my bro) and Amanda (my sister-in-law) decided they should mention my blog to Jared. HOW EMBARRASING. At least I didn't post anything TOO ridiculous or out there. Hopefully not at least...

Oh life...

Miss, soon to be Mrs.

In a little over 5 days, I will be a Mrs!!

I can't believe I am going to be a married woman on saturday! It's sooo close I can almost taste it! It hasn't happened yet, but I'm pretty confident it will be one of the best, if not the best day of my life.

Jared and I haven't known eachother for that long, but already, I feel like I know him so well! We have a ton of fun together as can be seen by this awesome 80's photoshoot pic. Nothing but class, folks.

I took him to one of our family reunions a couple weeks ago (I know, people have told me I'm crazy for taking him to a family reunion before we're actually married. It gives him a chance to run away ;) ) and not surprisingly, he fits in pretty well. Welcome to the crazy family, Jared!

Helping the time pass...with countdowns!

These days, I feel like there is nothing to blog about! Therefore, I will tell you about all the many countdowns I have that keep me occupied.

1 day until I visit Drumheller and my friends there.

3 days until I go to Calgary and hang out with Jared for a couple days.

11 days until the Olsen family reunion starts and we go camping.

17 days until I go to the temple!

18 days until the Nan Olsen family reunion starts.

25 days until my Bachelorette party in Calgary.


40 DAYS until I get MARRIED!!!

Moving out, Moving in.

Tomorrow is the day that I move from my little place in Calgary to Cardston for the summer. I am sad that I am leaving my roommates, especially without a roommate to replace me and pay rent, and I am also sad that I will be even further from Jared. Sad :( ...

It's not a bad thing though! I will be closer to my family who I haven't seen a lot of since September. That will also make it a lot easier for planning wedding things and it will make me more available to help out when I'm needed. I will hopefully also find a job in Cardston. I haven't been that ambitious about the whole job-search yet and I know I need to get on top of things...FAST! In the meantime, I hope the summer goes by fast so that 57 days will just fly by!

June 21st Can't Come Soon Enough!

Is June 21st really going to be the first day of SUMMER? I sure hope so! Weather in Calgary has been horrible...except for last weekend when it was incredibly nice out!

Jenna and I soaking up some sun with our cool shades on!

My roomate, Tamara, taking a little nap on the front lawn.


Now, it is still rainy...putting a damper on my mood. But I guess it's not the only damper. Once my spring semester finals are over and the weather gets better, than I truly will be summer lovin'!

I LOVE MY MOM

For those of you who don't know my mom, all I can say is...you should! My mom is the best mom ever! She is the sweetest lady you will ever meet and by looking at this picture, you can certainly see it. Here are some things I love about my mom:

• She always goes out of her way to do something for somebody else.
• She always comes up with fun crafts to do (like making earrings or watches).
• She's open and a good person to talk to.
• She loves her kids and her grandkids like no other!
• She doesn't judge.
• She will always find something to do with you when you're bored.
• She makes buns and other delicious things.
• She knows all the alcohol questions when we play Trivial Pursuit ( just kidding! ;)...but seriously haha)
• She always has books if you're ever in need of a good read. She loves to read!
• She notices the simple things in life.
• She has a great laugh.
• She is making my bridesmaid dresses and all of my invitations for my wedding in August. Could I ask for a better mom?
• SHE IS MY MOM!

Just wanted to let you know, I love you, mom!

Love,

Steph (your baby)

Busy Little Month of May

I've had a busy little month of May! On May 21st, it was my 19th birthday and I celebrated by having a few friends over for a BBQ and bowling afterwards. I owned the BBQ but I failed at the bowling haha. This past friday, I went to Drumheller to go to my friend's graduation ceremony. It was so good to see them all since I hadn't seen them since Christmas time. The picture above is a picture of me and my friend, Alyssa, as we were waiting for the ceremony to start. I came home from Drumheller on Saturday morning and that evening we had ANOTHER birthday party for my roommate, Anne. We just left the decorations up from my birthday party and it worked out just fine. She invited a "few" people over and our house ended up being a little crowded. It was a lot of fun, though! We were trying to go for a camping theme since we had planned to go to Radium this weekend to go camping. However, the snow kind of screwed that plan up. Instead, we decided to make up for it by building a tent in our basement. Our basement was too small for the tent, so it was a little sad looking. We only kept it up for a day and then took it down. I am so tired today because of the party....I went to bed at 4 and woke up at 7:30...buuuuuh. It was well worth it though! Yay May!

Engagement Photos

For those of you who don't know yet...AKA are not friends with me on facebook or haven't been on for a while...I am engaged!

My fiancee, Jared, and I got some engagement photos done yesterday by a good friend of mine, Keely. We had some not so good ones, some good ones, and some great ones! Here are a few of my favorites!

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN!!!

Spiderman, anyone?

COUNTDOWN

Grow Old With You

THE WEDDING SINGER

My roommate, Tamara, has a best friend that is getting married next month so she decided to do a little diddy for her friend at the reception. She wanted to re-write the lyrics of a song and then serenade the happy couple on the guitar. We were talking about it the other day, and we came up with the idea of "Grow Old With You" from "The Wedding Singer." Such a good movie and such a good song! After not very long, I added a couple more verses to the song and fixed up the verse where it says "So, let me do the dishes in the kitchen sink, Put you to bed if you've had too much to drink,"...not exactly appropriate for an LDS wedding...and Tam figured out some of the tabs to the song on her guitar. It's going to be so fun and I can't wait to hear her perform it! She'll do fantastic!

Patience: I'm going to kill you in your sleep.

It's interesting, patience.
We just had a lesson on patience in Relief Society on sunday about how we need to be patient and how it doesn't come all at once, yet we need to continue to develop patience everyday.

WELL RIGHT NOW, I AM NOT VERY PATIENT!

I just wish a certain "something" would happen so that I could go public and announce it and not be all secretive...

Plus the event itself would just be nice.

ANYWAYS, that is all.

1st Year Nursing Complete! BAM!

Aaah...it feels so good to have my last final finished! Now I can relax...kind of. I have spring classes that I'm taking that begin May 4th and I need to find a job ASAP, but I'll take the tiny break that I have. Time to celebrate by taking an un petite nap. Peace out, Mount Royal!

Oh, I love technology!

Oh, I love technology!
But not as much as you, you see...
But I still love technology,
Always and Forever!

Haha I just realized I could blog from my phone. How convenient! Maybe this means I will blog more! Ahh...the joys of technology.

I'm a slacker...

I looked at my posts...the last time I've written on here is in December. It is now April. It's official: I am a slacker!

So needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do...I probably won't catch all of it, but I'll do my best!

JANUARY:
A new semester of school in my nursing program! I basically spent the month just getting back into the swing of things with new courses, one of them being a clinical course where I was placed in the Rockyview Hospital on Mondays...from 6:30am-2:30pm! SO EARLY! It's been a great experience though, and I've had many opportunities to learn new things both in nursing, and in communicating with people in general.

FEBRUARY:
February I remember being pretty fun...it's really all a blur right now! For Valentines Day, my roommates and I and some friends of a friend got together and had a Valentine's breakfast spectacular! We made pink, heart-shaped pancakes with fruit and whipped cream and had pink lemonade! I love themed things! Other than that, I can't really remember a lot of what happened...probably nothing too important.

MARCH:
Jam-packed full of awesomeness!
First of all, there were quite a few YSA activities that were really good this month. There was Battle of the Bands at the beginning where people would get together and create bands and then audition with a set-list of about 5 songs. If they made it, they played at the activity and the judges would decide who won. The winners go to the regional talent show in May. Also, there was One-Act-Plays which were also really good. Everyone worked really hard and there was a good turn out. There were some really funny ones.

One other thing that happened this month: I met the boy I'm going to marry.
We met in Institute (yet another reason to attend such activities) and have been dating for a month now. It may seem pretty fast to some, but it just feels like the right thing to do. I had been dating someone not very long before I started dating Jared (the boy I'm going to marry) and I could never picture myself marrying him but with Jared, it's different. I'm completely happy now!

APRIL: I'm in Utah for Conference and visiting Erin and Darrin! My parents drove up the day before I did so when I drove up with my roommates and some friends (about 10 of us in total) I met them at Erin and Darrin's and off we went to St. George to go hiking at Zion National Park and just have a good time! I'll post pictures later!