Life

20 years ago I was:
In Santa Maria, CA
Drooling and sleeping
Watching my dad surf in the Pacific
Learning to eat "real food"
Being raised by four moms (I have 3 older sisters)

10 years ago I was:
Living in Mina Al-Zour, Kuwait
Climbing trees to get away from boys
Racing my blue golf cart around camp and swimming in the Arabian Gulf
Spending the month in CA playing with cousins
Excited for my first day of 5th grade

5 years ago I was:
Thinking my 16th birthday would never come
Taking road trips and eating M&M's in my mom's red mini van
Training for my first season of Cross Country in a Bakersfield summer
Walking barefoot and eating chips and dip with my bff Natalie
Making up synchronized swimming routines in our pool

3 years ago I was:
Recovering from a tiring week in the stake Girls Camp youth leader presidency
Already fighting off Senioritis
Wrestling with my nephews every Sunday afternoon
Visiting BYU Hawaii and debating between living in the lush tropical paradise OR in Provo, Utah
Choosing between a Medical Assistant program or my last year of varsity Swim
Dreading AP Calculus

So Far this past year I:
Fell madly in love and was married to my best friend in the LA temple
Realized that coming to Utah was the right choice :)
Talked to my mom in Atyrau,Kazakhstan for hours on the phone
Ran a half-marathon and a triathlon
Discovered my new love=ice cream

Yesterday I:
Watched the SLC Pioneer Day Parade!
Took pictures of my cute husband
Drank way too much pineapple juice
Saw the new Batman movie
Daydreamed about our upcoming cruise to Mexico

Tomorrow I will:
Lay in bed with a swollen face (bye-bye wisdom teeth)
Be thankful for my friend Emma and snack-pack puddings
Read hundreds of pages and hopefully finish my book
Finish an oil painting I started this week
Pick apricots off the trees outside

In the next year I will:
Celebrate with Jonny as we graduate from BYU in the spring
Move across the country (to who knows where) for grad school?
Spend my first Christmas in Washington
Snowboard as much as possible-relishing our last Utah winter
Have new adventures with my husband!

I TAG Caitlin Tyree!

Memories

Reminiscing about good times is one of my favorite things to do! I thought this would be fun...please play!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! (about me or jonny or both of us!)

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how people remember you! It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Camping 101

Our first adventure camping:

Shelters are a must!


Campfires are great fun!


Perfecting the s'more (notice melted chocolate and gooey marshmallow)



Enjoy nature.


Nothing is as refreshing as a cool mountain lake on a hot summer day.


Bug spray is required.


Never pass up an opportunity to teter-toter!


Good company makes everything better!

Barbeques and Basketball

I love summertime! Since moving to our new apartment, we have started a fun tradition with our friends who live close by. Every Monday evening around 6, Jenn and Stephen walk the short few minutes over to our "front yard", where there is a little standing grill and an old picnic table sitting on the grassy area under some large fruit trees. We love our new little place, and its location at the very end of the complex makes it ideal for peace and quiet, and fun little gatherings. We take turns providing the charcoal, each couple brings out their food for the night, and we fire up the grill!
So far we have made hot dogs, spicy kabobs, deluxe cheeseburgers, pork chops, marinaded chicken (in various flavors), and what I call "hobo packs" (meat, potatoes, and veggies all wrapped in tin foil). These 'meat nights' are a fun time to catch up with our friends, and have an excuse to eat good food and hang out outside.
Sometimes its an eat-and-run situation, when other duties are pressing...but on nights where we have a little extra time, our activities/competitions have ranged from hitting golf balls to throwing watermelon rinds to shooting hoops. (I have to admit, I am much better at downing a hotdog than sinking a shot. )
For our next encounter with the flames, I am craving steak! I was in the process of looking up grilling recipes, and pulled this quote from Grilling 101 by Kelly Brant:
"The most primitive style of cooking--meat roasted over an open flame--can't be beat. You can pan-sear and broil all you want, but nothing compares to a grilled steak. The combination of a smoky, caramelized crust and a tender, juicy interior is what grilling beef is all about."
This mouthwatering description has my tastebuds very excited!

Cinderella Was Wrong.

I'm very sorry to report...although I absolutely LOVE Disneyland, and Disney movies, "a dream is NOT a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep". At least for me. I don't know why, but I have nightmares. All the time. I'd say at least once a week. And it's been like that for as long as I can remember. I'm sure those hideous things are not the wishes of my heart. Have you ever had one of those dreams that just leaves you feeling frazzled and it just stays with you for hours? After waking this morning from one of the most horrible dreams of my life, I decided to finally do a little research. What exactly are dreams? Why do we have the ones we do? What do they mean? Well, after a little poking around on the internet....basically, I found loads of internet sites claiming to be able to interpret my disturbing nighttime visions, very little useful information about what might be causing them, the history of dream theories, the importance of REM cycles, and and a few interesting facts. Such as: 12% of people dream in black and white! (Talk about an Alfred Hitchcock!)
Anyway, after all my musing, I determined that there is no reasoning behind it. And in my case, I'm a very happy and positive person, I didn't have a traumatic childhood (it was ridiculously good, actually), I don't have any huge stresses in my life right now, I don't have nasty images in my mind- (I stopped watching scary movies a while ago...and the darkest books I venture into are probably Harry Potter and Twilight). So I guess there are some hidden subconscious worries I have that are manifesting themselves in the most irrational ways! :( I pray for help every night before I go to sleep, and usually I'm alright, and wake smiling and excited to spend another day on earth...but every once in a while, those nightmares creep into my head and taint the beauty of my mornings. Maybe I should read Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, but it seems a little too unbelievable and bogus to me.
Why can't I just dream of butterflies, rainbows and my handsome prince?
Any suggestions?

Bear Attack!

Check out these claw marks on my leg! Jeffery, Jonathan and I went hiking on Saturday up in Sundance. We had heard there was a bear in the area. Lets just say I was the slowest runner.
Just Kidding! We went mountain biking, and it was the bike that caught me. We had a blast! Luckily, the boys let me tag along, and waited for slow little me to work up some courage and go faster. I still couldn't quite keep up, but I sure tried! We got to ride the ski lifts up the hill and then "cruise" on down the trails. (Well, it was more like rip-roarin', heart-pounding, white-knuckle, ride-the-breaks, feel hardcore, swerve for tree roots, duck for foliage, and jump over rocks biking.) It was great! In the afternoon we took a break and hiked up to beautiful Stewart Falls. We were hot and dirty and decided to take the freezing plunge! The cold water and the amazing view took our breath away. We loved spending time with Jeffery this weekend, he kept us boring old married people exciting. :)

Motown

Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind &Fire, Sam Cooke, The Four Tops, and of course, my idol- Aretha Franklin, queen of soul. These are only a few examples of the artists that have filled my days with chin-bobbing, toe-tapping joy lately.

Thanks to an amazing site called Pandora (www.pandora.com), I created my very own commercial-free radio stations, that I can change depending on my mood, set to match any style or artist, and customizable as it plays. It is run by the Music Genome Project, which categorizes songs by their true elements: harmony, rhythm, lyrics, etc... It is so wonderful what technology can do! I turn it on when I'm at work and it always puts a smile on my face.
It has truly won my heart.

As a result of this delightful invention, I have rediscovered my love for oldies. Though I admit my CD collection and my iTunes list is a random mix including "classical", "rock", "indie", "country", "hip hop", "latin" and "churchy" music, I grew up listening to motown. My wise mother raised me on only the best. Memories of "grooving" to Stevie in the car on road trips, dancing in the aisles at an Earth Wind & Fire concert (I'm sure I was the only fan there under the age of 35), and belting out Aretha Franklin hits while cooking in the kitchen have really stuck with me. Soul music makes me feel good. Its that simple.
So if you are with me...please don't be afraid to speak up when your friends claim that the only music worth listening to is on the current billboard charts. Take one from Aaron Neville, and "Tell it like it is".

Reunited!

I love reunions! Jonny and I drove up to Bear Lake last weekend for the Neeley Reunion 2008. It was so beautiful and a lot of fun. Wildflowers and cousins were everywhere! Thanks to Grandpa Jimmie and Grandma Betty, we got to stay in some cute condos not far from the lake. The 4th of July weekend was packed full of great stuff: family talent show, games, crafts, fireworks, delicious food, famous raspberry shakes at LaBeau's,
boating and beaching, biking, hiking, sight-seeing and the local theater. We loved hanging out with the cousins, reconnecting with aunts and uncles, and playing with little Clayton! It was an amazing time--we are so thankful for families, and freedoms.

6 Months

Today is the day. We have now been married for 6 months! Time sure does fly by when you're having fun. I just want to say how much I love my amazing husband! He is my best friend. I am incredibly blessed to have him. The past 6 months have been the best months of my life, and I look forward to many, many more. :)