That's Just the Way We Roll...

New Blog...

2011-04-22T22:39:00.000-06:00

So I ran out of picture space and with everything going on in my life I started a new blog...

http://jaimeanderic.blogspot.com

Whitney's Wedding

2011-01-15T12:32:00.012-07:00

Here are a few of Whitney and Dion's wedding pictures...

Utah Jazz Game...

2011-01-12T23:07:00.009-07:00

As a family we decided to do one last big thing before Whit got married and headed off for Australia. Ammon and I are the only ones who have been to a Jazz game, and Dion really wanted to go to a professional game while he was here so it was easily decided to attend a game. It was a ton of fun!

Salt Lake City...

2011-01-11T23:43:00.001-07:00

Whitney, Dion and I decided to go and spend the day with his sister and family up in Salt Lake... We met them in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and from there we explored downtown Salt Lake....

At the end we went over to the conference center and got a tour of it. And of course I had to go and find a certain picture for Whit and Dion to get their picture taken by... (Right before Dion left on his mission the two of them had their picture taken together at the same picture... However they were not allowed to stand close by each other)...

Here are a few pictures taken from our big family outing to Nickel City... We really can't get enough of it!

Busy Weekend....

2011-01-10T10:26:00.003-07:00

Dion's sister Honi, her husband and kids flew in from Australia to be here for the wedding. We have been super excited to meet some more members of his family...

On Saturday Whit went through the temple for the first time. I am grateful to have been able to go with her! It was such an amazing experience! One that will never be forgotten. Dion's sister and husband were able to be there for that as well.

On Sunday we had a bench full of people with us at church. Honi and her family came with us. After church we had a big turkey dinner and everyone over.

I am looking forward to getting to know Honi better and for the week to come!

Bachelorette Party!

2011-01-07T22:55:00.001-07:00

After the failed attempt of a bridal shower we decided to only invite a few special people to Whit's bachelorette party. Of course most people wouldn't understand us anyway since my sisters are so off the wall with the ideas that they have... We invited a few of Whit's friends to join us, knowing that they are basically flaky and wouldn't show up (not that any of us cared if they did or not) we were going to have a blast anyway.

The plan was to go something like this: For some reason Whit has always wanted to get chased so she had a brilliant idea to borrow Ron's gorilla outfit. We were going to have Dion put it on and go chase her around... However in the end we decided against that. The other idea that didn't end up going was Walmart bingo. Cori was going to make cards up for us.... Like the other brilliant idea we ended up deciding not to do that either.

Instead we (with we being Cori, Keely, Priscilla, Dion and me) went to Pirate Island and had dinner. Kim was going to meet us there but ended up being sick and not making it down. Even though it was a bachelorette party we decided to let Dion join us so that he wouldn't be left alone for the night.

After Pirate Island we headed over to Nickel City! This place has become our new favorite place to go to! Here is the group having fun:

After using all of our money we decided to put all of our tickets together to see what we had come up with... Our grand total????

Once getting our little treasures we headed home for some ice cream cake! My family has come to LOVE the cakes from Baskin Robbins so I went and got one. I was planning on writing something clever on it... maybe something like Best of Luck Dion... or some other random thing but it was some guy that helped me and he didn't even ask if I wanted something written on it... Oh well :)

Whitney's Bridal Shower...

2010-12-30T23:32:00.007-07:00

My mom and her two best friends from work decided to throw Whitney a bridal shower over the break. However the day they ended up choosing ending not being the best day thanks to a storm. Even though not many people showed up... I still had fun ;)

Christmas Day...

2010-12-25T21:52:00.001-07:00

I was definitely more excited for the kids to come over and see what they got than I was for my own presents. We really out did ourselves with the kids and spoiled them rotten! I really have no idea why my family feels they need to get up super early when the kids aren't around, but I guess it is a family tradition and some of my siblings still want to have it as a tradition... I personally would rather sleep later than 7 am.

In the afternoon Ammon and Mamma Lace went and got the kids and brought them back for the rest of the break! I was so super excited to see their faces when they got here!

Christmas Eve...

2010-12-24T22:29:00.002-07:00

Christmas Eve is always a fun time around our house. I love spending time with family and just having fun. This year we added two new members to our fun. We had Ammon's wife Lacey and Whitney's fiancee Dion with us to share the excitement with. For dinner we have the tradition of eating hoagies and mom's homemade clam chowder. After dinner we read about Christ's birth, when the kids are here we have fun having them act it out, but since we didn't have them this year for Christmas Eve we just read. After we get to open one gift. This is one thing I was excited about because it was something I had been wanting to get....

After getting into our new pj's we of course had to have a family photo shoot!

Last year we started something that we hoped would become a yearly tradition. We started decorating gingerbread houses while watching our Christmas movies...

SNOW!!!!

2010-12-21T22:21:00.003-07:00

With the snow that has been coming we decided to have some fun. Dion hasn't spent much time around snow and so it was something new for him. We decided to build a huge fort, but we didn't realize how much work went into making it. In the end we made a few rows of a fort....

Provo Tabernacle...

2010-12-17T22:14:00.013-07:00

This morning I woke up to some pretty sad news. During the night (around 2 am) the Provo Tabernacle started on fire. Seeing the pictures on the news made me want to cry! This morning I ended up taking Whitney and Dion over to the court house to get their marriage certificate and since the tabernacle is across the street from there we decided to walk over and take some pictures...

Trax with Kim and the Kids...

2010-12-14T22:00:00.016-07:00

Tonight Kim and I took the kids up to temple square to see the lights. We decided to take the Trax, which was quite the adventure... On our way home Lilly decided to look behind us and there was a guy back a little bit, he saw her looking back and yelled at her to turn around. Lilly was devastated about being yelled at. However it was slightly funny...

PS... Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Laser Tag...

2010-12-08T23:33:00.022-07:00

For our work Christmas party we decided to have dinner at Cafe Rio and then go back to the school and play laser tag with the new guns that the department had just gotten. Since there aren't very many girls that work with us this semester, the few of us that showed up decided to have some fun and "dress up"... We thought of all different kinds of things we could do and finally came up with this...

Here are a few more pictures of the rest of the staff...

Festival of Trees...

2010-12-04T23:32:00.016-07:00

I can still remember the very first time that I attended the Festival of Trees. I was 12 years old and went with my beehive's class for our activity. I feel in love with it from the moment I entered it. Years later I still get that same feeling. I was super excited to go this year and see the different trees... By the time we got up there we were starving so we had to stop and get something to eat as soon as we walked in. Of course none of us could finish what we got so our garbage disposal (aka Dion) to finish it off. After eating lunch we walked around and enjoyed the trees...

I am pretty sure Dion got dressed in the dark...

Cori has always loved nutcrackers and loved seeing all of them... Villages are my thing and I LOVED going over to the village pieces...


Mom and her new man...

After getting done at the Festival we took Trax up to Temple Square to see the lights. I love visiting temple square especially at Christmastime...

Run 4 Ry 5k...

2010-11-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

I want to thank everyone who came out to our 5k run! We really appreciate your support!

Dion's Birthday Weekend...

2010-11-15T13:29:00.018-07:00

For Dion's birthday we decided to take a trip down south to show him around. I rented a car and we (Whit, Dion, Ry, Lilly and me) took off early Friday morning. Whitney and I went to get the car and were given the choice between two different ones. One was a smaller car that would crowd us all in. The other was a bit bigger. I am sure you can guess which car we decided on.


Isn't it beautiful?

We loaded up and took off. On the way down we decided to surprise Dion and we took a small (or as it ends up... a pretty big) detour and went over to Manti so that he could see the temple there. We had a lot of fun taking pictures around the temple...

Lilly really had to go to the bathroom...

On the way back to the freeway we ended up getting kind of lost and had an adventure finding our way back. We ended up driving to Wales and meeting a nice dog that thought he should attack our car. Not sure where the logic is in that... but it got us laughing. Dion also had to get a picture of what he thought was a cool place...

Welcome to Wales... Population One weird dog...

We finally made it back to the freeway and down to St. George by around 6pm. After leaving at 10 am it sure made for a long day of driving with an engaged couple and two kids.... We met up with Lacey's dad and were shown where the condo was where we would be spending the weekend. It was super nice! Ammon, Lacey, Cori and mom came down a little later and the fun began! Ammon, Lacey, Whitney, Dion and I (along with my friend Whit, who stopped by to visit) ended up staying up late and watching some good ole Jerry Springer... Boy did that bring back the old days of working at the SCERA while in high school!

On Saturday we got up and couldn't wait any longer for Dion to open up his presents that we brought down. Boy was he in for a big surprise...

After presents we got ready to meet Lacey's family and go 4 wheeling. I had never been and was SUPER excited to go! We ended up spending hours out riding...

After getting nice and dirty we finally went back to the condo to get ready for our night of fun. I am amazed that we talked my mom into heading down to Vegas with us to walk around. It was our last present for Dion...

On Sunday it was unfortunately time to head home... I always hate leaving St. George when I go down there to visit. Before leaving we made sure to stop at the temple and also by the tabernacle. Our trip would not be complete without taking pictures of us...

Rise and Shout...

2010-11-05T23:11:00.005-06:00

Family Pictures...

2010-11-02T22:43:00.000-06:00

Halloween with the Kids...

2010-10-31T13:14:00.010-06:00

Halloween this year was a blast! We had the kids so we took them trick or treating all around the neighborhood. It was really funny... Lilly got tired and started making all kinds of weird comments, which of course had us all laughing. After getting done with trick or treating we put the kids to bed and the adults, minus mom watched Paranormal Activity. I had a blast watching it, especially since Lacey was FREAKED out the entire time... I found the movie funny and ended up laughing. That was until bedtime when I ended up freaking myself out. I had a hard time sleeping last night... Oh well!

Photobooth Fun...

2010-10-30T16:44:00.013-06:00

We had family pictures taken this morning and I was extremely surprised at how well the kids did. They kept smiling and saying "cheese"... It was so cute! After getting done with pictures I took the two kids back to Grandma's and we did our own photo shoot with photobooth. Ry had a blast taking pictures on the computer. Lilly joined us for a little bit then started throwing fits so I took her upstairs to lay down for a nap. Ry and I continued our photos until he was tired of taking pictures... Here are the end results:

Run for Ry 5k...

2010-10-28T15:57:00.000-06:00

If anyone is interested.... We are having a 5k run on November 20th to help my nephew out... Here is a copy of the flier Ammon made that has all the information. We would love to see you there!

Haunted Forest...

2010-10-26T15:04:00.004-06:00

Last night Cori, Whitney, Dion, Ron and I went to the Haunted Forest. Ron works there and it was his night off so he wanted to go through it with us. Ammon and Lacey were going to join us as well but ended up not being able to make it... Whitney and I had gone last year with Ammon and Whitney was freaked out the whole time. She did much better this time but still screamed every so often. She did really squeeze Dion's hand though when the chainsaw guys came around. It was so much fun! We will have to make going a yearly Halloween tradition....

Longest Day Ever...

2010-10-21T21:27:00.006-06:00

So today was the longest day ever! However I will start my story with yesterday.... I had so much to get done yesterday to prepare for today and it seemed to drag on and on... I was supposed to get done with work at 2 and then run some errands with Whitney... However things happened at work and I got home around 3... Just in time to pick my mom up at work. After dropping her off at home Whitney and I ran up to the mall to get our eyebrows threaded, which I think feels decently good... I then had to hurry home so my mom could take the car to go shopping. I got ready for my bishop's appointment and hurried over to it. It was scheduled at 5:30 but there was some miscommunication and I finally got in at 6:20... which was when I was supposed to be heading to PG to get the car seats from Ammon. We got a late start for that and then headed up to Riverton to get the kids. We finally got up there and had to hurry back home to go over to Brianna's house to get our hair colored. We were supposed to be there by 8:15 but didn't get there until later.... Once getting our hair done we went home and to bed.

Today came bright and early. Dion's flight was scheduled to land in Salt Lake at 10:30 so we had plans to get the kids ready and head up to wait for him... Thankfully Ry ended up sleeping with Whitney... He woke up at 6ish and started throwing up all over her bed. I ended up getting up and getting him into the shower to freshen up... he smelled really bad! We got all ready and left for the airport. We made it up there by 10. As we were getting out of the car Whitney noticed she had a missed call and a voicemail. Dion had called her and told her that his flight had had some problems and he was still in LA. We went and looked at the arrival board and his flight had been rescheduled to arrive at 1:10. After sitting at the airport for a little while we decided to take the kids downtown and visit the temple. We drove and found a parking spot and the kids saw the "train" and wanted to ride it. We told them that we would ride it later on. We got to Temple Square and Ry told me that he had to go potty. We hurried to find a bathroom and by the time we got there he had had a blowout in his pants. Of course we had left his spare clothes in the car so I cleaned him up and tied his jacket around his waist... We looked at the time and decided to head back to the airport. We rode Trax back to the parking lot and went back to the airport. After getting back Ry told me he had to go to the bathroom again. I got him there and he was fine. I took him back to Whitney and then Lilly had to use the bathroom. By the time I got Lilly back over to Whitney Ry had had another blowout.... Dion finally arrived and we were ready to go home. We took the kids to daycare and finally made it home around 4:00... What a day!

Concert Time!!!

2010-10-13T14:10:00.001-06:00

Last night my sisters, brother, Lacey, her sister Torey and I went to the BOB/Jason Derulo concert at UVU... For the most part it isn't the music I prefer to listen to but I enjoyed it for the most part anyway. The first guy who came out to perform was Trey something or another. I really thought he lacked class.... He was swearing it up on the stage and drinking in front of us. I was really glad when he got done singing the couple songs he sang. After he was done Auburn got up and sang her songs. I really enjoyed her performance. Next Iyaz got up... I think I am going to say that he was my favorite performer at the concert. BOB went next and I loved the way he really got into his dancing while singing... Jason Derulo finished it up. I really liked him too... I was kinda disappointed that our pictures didn't turn out all that well... Oh well!

Family Fun Time....

2010-10-10T21:27:00.004-06:00

Ammon and Lacey went and picked the kids up for the holiday that was Ammon's... Who really knew that Columbus Day counted as a day when the kids come down... After getting the kids they invited us over for ice cream and to see the kids. They were so excited to show us their new house. Ammon had won these balloon toys at work and Ry kept wanting to play with it... After the adults got tired of the new toy the kids decided to wrestle against their dad... It brought back a lot of memories of growing up with a dad who loved to wrestle with us...

BYU Football with the Girls....

2010-10-09T23:26:00.001-06:00

My sisters and I went to the BYU football game today and had a blast! We got into the atmosphere and cheered loudly! "That's another Cougar first down!" Way to go BYU!!!

Family BBQ...

2010-10-04T09:01:00.004-06:00

After the Sunday afternoon session of Conference we were invited over to Ammon and Lacey's new place for a family BBQ and to see their new home... I LOVE older homes and LOVE their new place! They fixed some amazing food and we had a ton of fun... It got even better when the weird neighbors across the street came over and wanted to play with Ammon and Jaxon... Poor Lacey will probably have to put up with the little neighbor boys wanting to play with my brother because he acts like one of them...

My Generation...

2010-09-27T22:29:00.003-06:00

So I have been seeing commercials for the past little while for a new show that would be coming out this fall called My Generation... I thought it looked kinda interesting and couldn't wait to see if it was as interesting as the commercials made it out to be. On the day it premiered I ended up having my activity and was a little sad to have to miss it. I was finally able to watch it tonight and it really got me thinking.

My Generation is a show about a group of kids who graduated in 2000. A documentary film crew had interviewed them during their senior year and now ten years later they are going back and seeing how life has gone for them in the last ten years.

It kinda took me back to senior year of high school. I was just like these kids.... I "knew" what I wanted to do with my life and I had all these grand ideas of how my life would be... Obviously I was wrong back then. Nothing has turned out how I thought, however I wouldn't ever take back the experiences I have had!

Home is Where Your Story Begins...

2010-09-23T22:12:00.002-06:00

So I gave my first real lesson at a Relief Society activity tonight... I have been planning this activity for months and finally it came around... I was really hoping to take some pictures of the event but things didn't quite go how I thought they would... The activity was supposed to start at 6:30 but ended up not starting until after 7... I know... standard mormon time... Dinner went really well. We provided ham and rolls and then asked the sisters to bring family favorites, either a side dish or dessert. We ended up with all kinds of good food. The plan was to go something like this... (we were told to make it no more than an hour) Dinner was to begin at 6:30 and then once the sisters were getting done with dinner they were to compare their 4 generation pedigree charts (this came at the insistence of the Relief Society President, even though it had very little to do with the topic)... We would then begin the program by having a guest speaker talk about her experiences with writing her own personal history along with writing family members. She was to talk for about 15 minutes. After she got done we were going to have an activity that was going to be a getting to know you activity as well as answering questions about your life and then to close I was supposed to get up and talk for about 10-15 minutes about writing family histories...

The night ended up looking like this: Dinner finally started sometime after 7... Around 7:25 the counselor came up to me and told me that we needed to hurry and get the program started because for some reason or another we needed up be done by 8... The guest speaker ended up getting started around 7:35 and talked until 7:50ish... I looked at the time and decided to skip the activity and spend a few minutes talking about different ideas. I rushed through my lesson and we ended at like 7:56... Not too bad. I felt really nervous and felt I could have done better but was told I did a great job, so I guess I will have to accept the opinion of others... Since I wasn't able to go through my whole lesson, I figured I would post it here so if you really want to read it you are welcome to...

From the beginning, keeping and using sacred records have been important to the people of God. In Adam's time, God commanded men to keep a “book of remembrance”. The prophets since the time of Adam have kept records as commanded by God.

This history of the dealings of God with his people and the experiences they had constitutes our present scripture. It is nothing more or less than sacred family history.

While most of us are not asked to record the history of God's dealings with the people of our time, we have been encouraged to record our own history. It is especially important that we record God's dealings with us personally. The records we keep in our families can help build the faith and testimony of our descendants.

In a message that President Kimball gave to the youth it states, “ On a number of occasions I have encouraged the Saints to keep personal journals and family records. I renew that admonition. We may think there is little of interest or importance in what we personally say or do- but it is remarkable how many of our families, as we pass on down the line, are interested in all that we do and all that we say.

Any Latter day Saint family that has searched genealogical and historical records has fervently wished its ancestors had kept better and more complete records. On the other hand, some families possess some spiritual treasures because ancestors have recorded the events surrounding their conversion to the gospel and other happenings of interest, including many miraculous blessings and spiritual experiences. People often use the excuse that their lives are uneventful and nobody would be interested in what they have done. But I promise you that if you will keep your journal and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren and others, on through the generations. Each of us is important to those who are near and dear to us- and as our posterity read of our life's experiences, they, too, will come to know and love us. And in that glorious day when our families are together in the eternities, we will already be acquainted.”

Your story should be written now while it is fresh and while the true details are available. Your journal should contain your true self rather than a picture of you when you are “made up” for a public performance. Your journal is your autobiography. You are unique and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in any other life.

What could you do better for your children and your children's children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved? Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity.

I know that this may seem like a lot of work to do. I know that personally I have a really hard time sitting down and actually writing in a journal. However I have found other ways to get my story written down.

A few examples are:

Scrapbooking
Blogging
Life Histories
Oral Histories
Using data bases to create more than just data.

I will start will the data. Since starting my genealogy I have been using PAF to enter all my data in. I have found many different views that you can print your stuff out in. Recently I bought a MAC and PAF isn't compatible with it. I bought a new program and have been playing around with it. Some of the things I can print off are:

marriage lists
lists of persons
Birthdays
Events
Places
Narrative
Kinship Reports
fan charts
Relationship Charts
Ancestor charts
Genograms
family group sheets
person report

Scrapbooking is an excellent way to tell your life story. Pictures do an amazing job at recording events that have happened in your life.

Another way to preserve your family's history is by either writing or finding life histories. I have a couple binders full of histories that I have found that relatives have written. I love being able to go to the binders and read about my ancestor's lives.

Another way to preserve your history is through oral histories. This semester I am taking a family history class on campus. Our main assignment for the class is to conduct an oral history on a family member. I am really excited to do this! I have chosen to do one on my mom so that I can ask her questions about her life and record her answers.

One night for family home evening my siblings decided to interview my dad. My dad was always a big storyteller and we wanted to always remember his stories. This interview was soon forgotten. A few years later my dad unexpectedly passed away... this interview was found and it has meant the world to my family. We are able to watch my dad and listen to his stories when ever we want. I have a list of questions I have gotten from a past family history class I took if anyone is interested.

The final way I want to talk about is blogging. Back in 2007 I found out all about the world of blogging. I instantly fell in love with it and love writing about the events that occur in my life. Recently I found a way to get my blog published into a book. I now have a goal that at the very end of every year to publish each year's entries. This way my future family will have “my journal”.

I am so grateful for all the many ways we have been given to record the events in our lives. I am also extremely grateful for those who have gone before me that have listened to the counsel given by prophets to keep a record of their lives. Through this I am able to get to know my ancestor's on a whole new level.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Letters to Juliet...

2010-09-21T09:19:00.003-06:00

Back in August I went with my sister Cori, her friend Adriane and a friend of mine to Movies 8 and saw Letters to Juliet. I fell in love with the movie and couldn't wait for it to come out on DVD. You better believe that the day it finally came out I went and got it. I had Whit watch it with me as soon as she had some free time and got her to see why I love the movie so much. Toward the end of the movie Claire reads the letter that Sophie sent her regarding love. This really hit me... Her words have really got me thinking...

Dear Claire, What and if are two words as non threatening as words can be, but put them together side by side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life.... What if... What if... What if... I don't know how your story ended but if what you felt then was true love then it's never too late. If it was true then, why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart. I don't know what a love like Juliet's feels like. A love to leave loved ones for a love to cross oceans for, but I'd like to believe if I ever were to feel it that I'd have the courage to seize it. And Claire, if you didn't, I hope one day that you will. All my love, Juliet

This is the kind of love that I am searching for... I want a love that is true and I would do anything for. It may be the romantic in me but I won't stop searching until I find this love. The end of the first paragraph also really hit me... "What if..." I know that the past is the past and we really shouldn't dwell on it... but sometimes I get to wondering... for instance... What if... I would have gone to homecoming junior year with a certain boy, other than the "boyfriend" I had at the time... Would life have turned out different? Some days I would like to imagine they would have. Not that I am complaining because the life I have lived has been full of important lessons for me. Sometimes I just find myself wondering...

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 21

2010-09-19T09:05:00.015-06:00

Today's Topic: Plans/dreams/goals you have...

So over the summer while I was taking my 7 Habits class one of the things I had to do was come up with a bucket list... I started making it really big and cute so that I could hang it on my door... but I never got around to finishing it... Typical me... Anyway, there are so many things that I want to accomplish in my life. I think this is one reason I have a hard time settling down and focusing on just one thing. What one thing do I want to spend my life completely focused on? I am hoping I have finally picked it right... Library Science seems like a great way to go. Most of the time I would rather spend my time with my nose in a book than putting up with the garbage that comes my way in real life. In books I can fall in love with all the amazing men... In real life I wonder where all the amazing men went... Are there even any good single ones left? It is starting to look like they are all taken. I am starting to believe books are the way for me to go! ;)

Over the summer I came up with a bucket list that looks like this:

Fall in love
Get married
Experience childbirth
Kiss passionately in the rain
Read all of James Patterson's books
Visit Boston
Attend a Red Sox game
Meet the Jonas Brothers
Learn to decorate cakes
Learn to sew
Learn to quilt
Learn to play the piano
Become a pro at photography
Create a family tree
Write my personal history
Be happy with my life
Forgive Sean
Step out of my comfort zone
Meet someone famous
Travel the World
Publish a book
Visit Whitney in Australia
Visit every temple in the US
Help Ry with his illness
Keep my blog going
Design my own house
Witness a miracle
Own 2000 or more DVDs
Have my own library
Go rock climbing
Start a business
Ride the Sky Coaster
Go on a cruise
Become a millionaire
Donate my organs
Write love letters
Inspire someone
Start a "good deeds" tradition
Make someone's dreams come true
Be a "groupie" for a summer...

This is what I had for my class... I have a few more things I want to add...

Graduate from grad school with straight A's
Travel to San Jose and attend graduation
Read all books written by Nicholas Sparks
Read all books written by Anita Stansfield
Read all books written by Rachel Ann Nunes

I will keep adding to this list as more things come up that I want to do... As of right now, these are my goals and dreams for life...

Date Night...

2010-09-19T09:05:00.014-06:00

I know I am being bias when I say this but I have the cutest little kids in the world... Okay so they really aren't mine but most days I would gladly claim them as my own children. I am so in love with them! We are always having all kinds of adventures when we are together. So a few nights ago I sent my brother a text and asked his permission to take his son out on a date. I informed him of what the main part of the date consisted of and I got him to agree! I was so super excited to go on a date with Ry... Friday came and Ammon and Lacey dropped the kids off at the house for us to watch them while they were at work. When Whitney found out about me taking Ry out she insisted that she joined in and I let her... however she quickly decided that Ry was her date. Lilly was given permission to come with us for a little bit but she had been feeling sick and Ammon didn't want her outside. Our first stop was Red Lobster... Ry loves that place. He gets super excited to walk in and see the lobsters... He is always telling us that lobsters say **pinch, pinch**... It is adorable when he says it. Whit and I decided to invite my mom to join us since we all love shrimp and the shrimp fest was going on. We ordered our all you can eat shrimp and it was SUPER yummy! While we were waiting for our food to come, the waitress came by to fill my water up.... Lilly looked at her and said, "I want my dinner!" I couldn't help myself... I started really laughing. The waitress thought she was super cute. Once the food got there Ry looked at Whit's shrimp and asked her if she was eating cow legs... Oh the things you hear come out of little kids mouths! Ry ended up eating a lot of Whit's shrimp... What can I say... he has really good taste! After dinner we took the kids to Nickel City. They had so much fun playing the games... After we got done with our nickels we took grandma and Lilly home and took Ry to the Provo High football game. We decided not to pay to go in but to stay outside the fence and watch because I figured we probably wouldn't be there long... Ry chowed down on the candy he won from Nickel City and had fun watching football for a while. Eventually he couldn't handle anymore and started acting like a big baby... What do you expect from a 4 year old? We took him back to his dad (probably all sugared up) and our date ended. I am going to say that this has been the best date I have been on in ages... maybe ever! I can't wait for my next date with my Ry boy!

The Traveler's Gift

2010-09-16T09:05:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago I was having a really bad day. I had been at work trying to get my things done, got done with that and went to class. While sitting in class I got a message from a really good friend who informed me that one of the employees was undermining my authority in front of others at work. It really didn't bother me that he thought the things he did but what really bothered me is that he said the things to others in the office. I got really frustrated and ended up going home and breaking down and crying and crying. After getting this out I felt a little better. The next night I was having a conversation with my friend Brady and told him the story and he told me that I shouldn't let things like this make me cry. I tried convincing him that once I got done crying I felt so much better. He then told me that I really needed to read a book called "The Traveler's Gift" by Andy Andrews. I thought, oh man, not another book to add to my list... but decided to give it a try. I checked it out at the library the next day and then on Sunday I read the book. I was amazed at how inspiring the book was. I had to get paper and write down all the quotes that really hit me.

The book is about a man who has given his life to work. He ends up being laid off from his job and ends up finding a job that is so much below his qualifications. While working at this new job he gets a phone call from his wife informing him that his daughter is really sick and is going to need to have surgery. His new boss gets upset at him for being on the phone and fires him. He is devastated! He ends up going for a drive and then is in a serious car accident. He goes into a coma and while he is out he meets 7 different famous people who each have a message for him...

The people he meets are:

1. Harry Truman

2. King Solomon

3. Joshua Chamberlain

4. Columbus

5. Anne Frank

6. Abraham Lincoln

7. Gabriel

Here are the quotes from the book that really hit me:

- For centuries, dreams have been used to communicate instruction and direction to people of purpose- great men and women. (pg. 22)

- He believes in you. (pg. 22)

- The ultimate outcome of anyone's life is a matter of personal choice. (pg. 25)

- You are where you are because of your thinking. Your thinking dictates your decisions. Decisions are choices. (pg. 27)

- Until a person takes responsibility for where he is, there is no basis for moving on. The bad news is that the past was in your hands, but the good news is that the future, my friend, is also in your hands. (pg. 28)

- The first decision for success: THE BUCK STOPS HERE. (pg. 32)

- From this moment forward, I will accept responsibility for my past. I understand that the beginning of wisdom is to accept the responsibility for my own problems and that by accepting responsibility for my past, I free myself to move into a bigger, brighter future of my own choosing. (pg. 32)

- I will look forward. I will not let my history control my destiny. I am responsible for my success. (pg. 32)

- Today I will begin the process of changing where I am by changing the way I think. (pgs. 32-33)

- My thoughts will be constructive, never destructive. My mind will live in the solutions of the future. It will not swell in the problems of the past. I will seek the association of those who are working and striving to bring about positive changes in the world. (pg. 33)

- When faced with the opportunity to make a decision, I will make one. I understand that God did not put in me the ability to always make right decisions. He did, however, put in me the ability to make a decision and then make it right. When I make a decision, I will stand behind it. My energy will go into making the decision. I will waste none on second thoughts. My life will not be an apology. It will be a statement. (pg. 33)

-Challenges are gifts, opportunities to learn. Problems are the common thread running through the lives of great men and women. In times of adversity, I will not have a problem to deal with; I will have a choice to make. My thoughts will be clear. I will make the right choice. Adversity is preparation for greatness. I will accept this preparation. Why me? Why not me? I will be prepared for something great! (pgs. 33-34)

- Jehovah moves mountains to create the opportunity of His choosing. It is up to you to be ready to move yourself. (pg. 42)

- Though wisdom is available to many, she is found by few. (pg. 43)

- The past will never change, but you can change the future by changing your actions today. It is really a very simple process. We, as humans, are always in a process of change. Therefore, we might as well guide the direction in which we change. (pg. 44)

-We are always and forever influenced by those with whom we associate... Many of our sorrows can be traced to relationships with the wrong people. (pg. 45)

- Guard your associations carefully. Anytime you tolerate mediocrity in your choice of companions, you become more comfortable with mediocrity in your own life. (pg. 45)

- Find a wise man, a person who has accomplished what you wish for in your own life, and listen closely to his words. There is safety in counsel. (pg. 46)

- A leader much encourage others to struggle and assure them that the struggles are worthwhile. Do battle with the challenges of your present and you will unlock the prizes of your future. (pg. 48)

- The second decision for success: I WILL SEEK WISDOM (pg. 48)

- My past can never be changed, but I can change the future by changing my actions today. (pg. 48)

- No longer will I bombard my mind with materials that feed my doubts and fears. I will read and listen only to what increases my belief in myself and my future. (pg. 49)

- I am an eagle. It is my destiny to fly. (pg. 49)

- He who serves the most, grows the fastest. (pg. 50)

- When I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something, I will always choose to act. I am a person of action. (pg. 67)

- The third decision for success: I AM A PERSON OF ACTION. (pg. 69)

- Beginning today, I will create a new future by creating a new me. No longer will I dwell in a pit of despair, moaning over squandered time and lost opportunity. I can do nothing about the past. My future is immediate. I will grasp it in both hands and carry it with running feet... I seize this moment. I choose now. (pg. 69)

- I will walk with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. (pg. 69)

- Leading is doing. To lead, I must move forward. Many people move out of the way for a person on the run. (pg. 69)

- When faced with a decision, many people say they are waiting for God. But I understand, in most cases, God is waiting for me! (pg. 70)

- Fear no longer has a place in my life. For too long, fear has outweighed my desire to make things better. Never again! I do not fear failure, for in my life, failure is a myth. Failure exists only for the person who quits. I do not quit. (pgs. 70-71)

-If you worry about what other people think of you, then you will have more confidence in their opinion than you have in your own. Poor is the man whose future depends on the opinions and permissions of others. Remember this, if you are afraid of criticism, you will die doing nothing! (pg. 81)

-Passion is the product of the heart. Passion is what helps you when you have a great dream. Passions breeds conviction and turns mediocrity into excellence! Your passion will motivate others to join you in pursuit of your dream. With passion, you will overcome insurmountable obstacles. You will become unstoppable! (pg. 81)

- The fourth decision for success: I HAVE A DECIDED HEART. (pg. 87)

- A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Knowing this to be true, I am taking my first step today. (pg. 87)

- The power to control direction belongs to me. Today I will begin to exercise that power. My course has been charted. My destiny is assured. (pg. 88)

- I will lay my head on my pillow at night happily exhausted, knowing that I have done everything within my power to move the mountains in my path. Yes, I have a dream. It is a great dream, and I will never apologize for it. Neither will I ever let it go, for if I did, my life would be finished. My hopes, my passions, my vision for the future are my very existence. A person without a dream never had a dream come true. (pg. 88)

- What I put off until tomorrow, I will put off until the next day as well. I do not procrastinate. All my problems become smaller when I confront them. (pg. 89)

- First we make choices. Then our choices make us. (pg. 101)

- Today I will choose to be happy! (pg. 102)

- Remember that life itself is a privilege, but to live life to its fullest-- well, that is a choice! (pg. 107)

- The fifth decision for success: TODAY I WILL CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY. (pg. 108)

- I will greet each day with laughter. (pg. 108)

- People are drawn to me because I have laughter in my heart. (pg. 108)

- I will smile at every person I meet. My smile has become my calling card. It is, after all, the most potent weapon I possess. My smile has the strength to forge bonds, break ice and calm storms. I will use my smily constantly. (pg. 109)

- As children, we are afraid of the dark. Now as adults, we are afraid of the light. We are afraid to step out. We are afraid to become more. (pg. 121)

- If you are determined to win, you will have to surround yourself with winners. (pg. 130)

- It is a secret that is hidden in plain sight. It costs nothing and is worth millions. It is available to everyone and used by few. If you harness the power of forgiveness, you will be revered, sought after and wealthy. (pg. 131)

- The unmistakable truth about forgiveness is that it is not a reward that must be earned; forgiveness is a gift to be given. When I give forgiveness, I free my own spirit to release the anger and hatred harbored in my heart. By granting forgiveness, I free my spirit to pursue my future happily and unencumbered by the anchors of my past. And forgiveness, when granted to others, becomes a gift to myself. (pg. 132)

- The sixth decision for success: I WILL GREET THIS DAY WITH A FORGIVING SPIRIT (pg. 138)

- By the simple act of granting forgiveness, I release the demons of the past about which I can do nothing, and I create in myself a new heart, a new beginning. (pg. 138)

- Those who are critical of my goals and dreams simply do not understand the higher purpose to which I have been called. (pg. 139)

- For many years, my greatest enemy has been myself. Every mistake, every miscalculation, every stumble I made has been replayed again and again in my mind. Every broken promise, every day wasted, every goal not reached has compounded the disgust I feel for the lack of achievement if my life... I realize today that it is impossible to fight an enemy living in my head. By forgiving myself, I erase the doubts, fears and frustration that have kept my past in the present. From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny. I have forgiven myself. My life has just begun. (pg. 140)

- Reason can only be stretched so far, but faith has no limits. The only limit to your realization of tomorrow is the doubt to which you hold fast today. (pg. 150)

- In the game of life, nothing is less important than the score at halftime. The tragedy of life is not that man loses, but that he almost wins. (pg. 158)

- The seventh decision for success: I WILL PERSIST WITHOUT EXCEPTION. (pg. 165)

- I know the outcome I desire. I hold fast to my dreams. I stay the course. I do not quit. (pg. 165)

- I am stronger than most people. Average people accept exhaustion as a matter of course. I do not. Average people compare themselves with other people. That is why they are average. I compare myself to my potential. I am not average. (pg. 165)

- My light, my harbor, my future is within sight! (pg. 166)

- One decision that you make, can literally change the world. (pg. 181).

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 20

2010-09-12T18:51:00.000-06:00

Today's Topic: Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future

Well... I have been kinda avoiding this question (as you can probably tell)... I really don't want to say a name here because that may end up being a little awkward for the two of us. Instead I think I will re-post a past blog where I put a list of what I wanted in a future spouse...

JAIME’S IDEAL MAN

PHYSICAL:

Taller than me
Attractive
Gorgeous inside and out
Athletic
Good dresser (or at least willing to take fashion advice)

PERSONALITY:

Easy to get along with
Good listener
Loyal to me in all things
Strong and mighty
Not afraid to do what is right and be different for it
Humble
Playful
Full of empathy and compassion
Patient
Knows what he wants in life
Good sense of humor

SPIRITUAL:

Religious
Firm in the faith
Righteous priesthood holder
Wants to attend the temple and does on a regular basis
Attends all church meetings
Strong testimony
Fulfills all church callings
Integrity
Wants to serve a mission with me
Has morals and values
Helps to enforce scripture study, prayer and FHE in the home

MISC:

Must love to watch and/or participate in sports
Accepts me for who I am
Thinks I am amazing all the time, not perfect because that is not true, but amazing.
Wants to be with me
Trust
Respect
Loves my family and my family loves him
Thinks I am a princess and treats me like one
Hard worker
Challenges Me
Someone I can be myself with

Sophomore Football...

2010-09-09T22:32:00.001-06:00

I had quite the day today. I woke up this morning with one of the worst migraines I have had in a long time. I took medicine, slept, and everything else I could think of to get rid of it, yet nothing worked. I stayed home from work in the morning but ended up having to go in to get a few things done. While I was in work I was texting Brady and we talked about my head killing me. He told me he would be right over to give me some stuff that would totally work. He is big into the essential oils stuff and I figured I would give it a try. I felt a difference almost right away. Brady is my knight in shining armor (okay.... so he really wasn't wearing shining armor but I can pretend that he was). I finally started feeling better and made it in for my 4 pm class. After class I hurried home so that I could catch a ride to Brady's teams game. The game was at Westlake, which is in Saratoga Springs. My mom's good friend Jaye Lynn has a son on the team and offered me a ride with her and her family. I really wanted to go and support Brady so I accepted pretty quick. The sophomores played a great game and killed the other team! The only complaint I can think of was that it was extremely windy and cold there!

I Got a Feeling...

2010-09-07T20:46:00.008-06:00

On Labor Day we had our annual SCERA Shell concert to go to. This year it was KC and the Sunshine band. I didn't know much about them but I think I can remember my dad listening to them. I love going to concerts at the Shell... This time we were told before the concert started that we were not supposed to take pictures during the concert so I was a bit sad but we had some fun taking our girl pictures before hand. I thought the stage looked kinda cool so I got a picture of it right as we were sitting down. I loved how the concert started... The song "I Got a Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas came on and we got going singing away and really getting into the music. Right after that the concert started. I was a bit shocked by the dancers. It basically looked like the dancers were strippers. They had on very little clothing and their dancing was pretty provocative... Very much against the standards of the SCERA, which is a family friendly place. I guess the guy who booked them had no idea what their concerts were like... I swear around the time the concert started it dropped to about freezing (okay so it probably wasn't THAT cold but it was freezing!) We were all cuddled up in our blankets and did not want to move very much. I did feel pretty bad for the dancers who had very little on. Maybe their dancing helped them to stay warm... KC went on for a while about how he was like the Justin Timberlake of our parent's day. That is kinda weird! I hope Justin doesn't end up like this guy! However Whit and I decided that if he ever ended up at the Shell many years down the road we would both come back to see the concert no matter where we lived. Bring on Justin Timberlake! ;)

BYU Season Opener

2010-09-05T19:46:00.007-06:00

Its now officially my favorite time of year! I LOVE football season! I have been going to the Provo High football games while patiently waiting for BYU to start its season... I waited for a while to get my season tickets but I got them. So yesterday the big day arrived! Cori and Whitney headed down to the game pretty early while I waited for Brady to get down here from Salt Lake. We ended up getting to the game late but we still had a blast! We have a pretty good view from our seats so I can't complain... The game was extremely close throughout the entire time but thankfully BYU pulled off the victory. I enjoyed the halftime when they brought Coach Lavell Edwards out and some of his all star QB's. While I obviously don't remember or wasn't really around for some of them I LOVED seeing Ty Detmer again. He was one of my all time favorites! I thought it was really cool that they all came together to collect money to help with scholarships. They said that they ended up raising over a million dollars! Way to go boys!

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 19

2010-09-04T10:49:00.000-06:00

Today's Topic: Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why...

Truthfully I am going to be pretty boring with this one because I actually LOVE the way my life is currently going and wouldn't want to switch places with anyone!

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 18

2010-09-02T10:30:00.003-06:00

Today's Topic: A picture of me and my family...

So we don't have any recent family pictures so this will have to do... We have plans to have family pictures once Dion comes out here in October. I will update the whole family picture thing once we get new ones...

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 17

2010-08-30T11:03:00.000-06:00

Today's topic: What would you find in my bag...

Okay.. so today I am actually carrying 2 bags around.

In my purse you would find: A book, a notebook, my camera, my keys, medicine, scissors, pens, sharpie markers, a bracelet, drink packets, a whistle, girl products, a highlighter, chapstick, my iPod, my iPod touch, and money.

In my backpack you would find: Picture discs, my external hard drive, pens, notebooks for my 2 classes at school, my mac and its cord, my planner and more girl products...

Let FREEDOM Ring...

2010-08-28T23:23:00.004-06:00

It is so hard to believe that I have been officially divorced now for 4 years! Lately every year on my anniversary there has been a concert at the SCERA Shell... This year was no exception. They had John Michael Montgomery there and we had a great time listening to him! It makes celebrating my Independence Day even better... This year I decided to also buy myself a gift for my anniversary. I ended up purchasing 2 season tickets to BYU football! I am so excited to go to all the home games! Also I just HAVE to mention this because I find it pretty funny... I updated my status on facebook to say:

Jaime Malone

is super excited to be celebrating my four year anniversary of freedom!...

Not too long after writing this Sean's uncle, who I guess I am still friends with on facebook liked my status. I am not really sure if he understands the meaning of my status... but even if he doesn't... Thank you to Sean's Uncle Jim!

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 16

2010-08-28T15:06:00.002-06:00

Today's topic: Another picture of you and your friends...

Here is a picture that I LOVE with my two sisters... We are always having so much fun together! You never know what kinds of things will happen when the three of us get together to hang out and take pictures. These two girls are my all time BESTEST FRIENDS!... Thank you to Ammon for unknowingly letting us borrow your hats. We put them to good use ;)

Girls Night...

2010-08-27T22:47:00.001-06:00

My friends Marisa, Maquel and I decided that since we hadn't seen each other since school got out for the summer that we really needed to have a girls night out. We decided to go to the Provo High football game and watch Brady coach and to have dinner. We went to dinner first at Kneaders, which is one of my favorite places to eat. While eating there it started to pour down rain... I was really sad about that cause I really wanted to go to the football game. Luckily it all worked out and we went. My ex sister in law Kim met us at the game and brought the kids along. Ry was super excited to watch football and Lilly kept saying how happy she was to be watching baseball... I am not sure what game she was watching... It got a slight bit awkward when Ammon and Lacey joined us... However I was impressed with how well all three handled being at the game with each other. Marisa and Maquel ended up having to leave at half time to catch the bus home which was sad but overall we had a blast and are hoping to have many more girls nights in the future. I was trying to take some pictures of Brady throughout the game but wasn't really able to do so since people would move in front of him... I ended up with a couple but I guess I will keep trying at the other home games...

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 15

2010-08-27T17:42:00.000-06:00

Today's Topic: Put your iPod on shuffle: first ten songs that play

1. Our Song- Taylor Swift

2. Goin' Out of My Head- The Lettermen

3. Let it Rock-

4. Keep it Real- Jonas Brothers

5. Beautiful Girl- Jacob and Daniel Luttrell

6. Sweet Caroline- Jonas Brothers

7. Letter to Me- Brad Paisley

8. Friends in Low Places- Garth Brooks

9. This is Me- Jonas Brothers

10. Australia- Jonas Brothers

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 14

2010-08-26T17:11:00.000-06:00

Today's Topic: Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad

I don't really listen to a ton of music... When I do listen it is usually to the same songs over and over. I LOVE the Jonas Brother's and listen mainly to their songs and then mix in some country and other genres. Most of the songs I listen to are on the Top 25 on my iPod. They are:

1. I Miss You- Blink 182

2. LA Baby- Jonas Brothers

3. Your Biggest Fan- Jonas Brothers

4. Hey You- Jonas Brothers

5. Baby- Justin Bieber

6. Collide- Howie Day

7. Calling You- Blue October

8. That's Just the Way We Roll- Jonas Brothers

9. Leavin'- Jesse McCartney

10. Fly with Me- Jonas Brothers

11. Don't Stop Believing- Glee Cast

12. Don't Stand So Close to Me- Glee Cast

13. Still in Love with You- Jonas Brothers

14. Kids of the Future- Jonas Brothers

15. Play My Music- Jonas Brothers

16. When You Look Me in the Eyes- Jonas Brothers

17. Year 3000- Jonas Brothers

18. Broken- Lifehouse

19. Say Hey I Love You- Michael Franti

20. Uprising- Muse

21. SOS- Jonas Brothers

22. Invisible- Jonas Brothers

23. Make it Right- Jonas Brothers

24. Much Better- Jonas Brothers

25. Black Keys- Jonas Brothers

So I realized that while country is my favorite genre... I have no country on my top 25... Also I LOVE the song Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars! It will soon be on my top 25...

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 13

2010-08-25T16:58:00.005-06:00

Today's topic: A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.... Ever since I started reading books have opened up my world tremendously. I love opening a book and beginning a new adventure while laying on my bed. I can honestly spend all my free time reading.... which is a great thing for someone who plans on working in a library for a living. This year I have been keeping track of the books I have read and I am currently around 125.

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 12

2010-08-24T16:33:00.003-06:00

Today's topic: Something you are proud of accomplishing...

One thing I am very proud of accomplishing is graduating from college with a Bachelor's degree in Social Work. I know now that I don't want to work in the field of Social Work but I followed through and got my degree.

Another thing I am proud of accomplishing is getting myself out of a bad marriage. For most of my marriage I was scared to leave because I didn't know how he would react so I stayed in the abusive situation. I am thankful to have been able to get out and to finally be to the point where I feel ready to move forward in my life.

The third thing that I am proud of is finally getting to the point where I felt good about applying to grad school and actually getting in. I can't wait to start my classes in January and get my master's to become a librarian!

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 11

2010-08-23T11:09:00.001-06:00

Today's topic: Another picture of me...

These pictures really aren't too recent of me... However I like them. The first picture is my all time favorite picture of me. It was taken in March or April of 2007. I LOVE the color of my hair in it! The second picture was also taken on the same day... The third picture is of Whit and me getting ready to walk down to a BYU football game. I think it was taken in like Aug of 2008. The fourth one is after I cut my hair and during Fall Break of 2008. The last picture was taken in St. George when Whit and I went down there for Spring Break in March 2009.

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 10

2010-08-22T17:30:00.004-06:00

Today's topic: Pictures of places you have been...

When I was younger I went on a couple of trips with my family but not very many... Before my senior year of high school I had been to Vegas and Yellowstone (I am not sure where pictures of these are so we will skip them). Right before I started my senior year my family went to the Women's World Cup in California...

In Feb 2002 while the world was coming to Salt Lake for the Winter Olympics, I decided

to take a trip with my best friend Brenna to Houston to go and visit her cousin Reed, who had just gotten home from his mission. I took lots of pictures while there but have no idea where they currently are... I also went back out there in May of 2002 because Reed and I had deci

ded to start dating. His dad paid for my ticket and of course I couldn't turn down the opportunity to go back out there.

A few months after getting married Sean and I took a trip to Yellowstone. I was of course dying to see all the cute animals!

During our first Christmas holidays together we took a trip to San Francisco, where Sean served his mission... I thought it was a very fun place to visit but would hate to live there.

The following fall we decided to take a trip during Fall Break. We went up to Portland to check the area out. Sean had the bright idea of moving us up there to live once I graduated but once going up there he changed his mind.

A few weeks before my dad died Sean and I took a trip to Denver for his cousin Aaron's wedding. We spent some time exploring the city and having fun at Six Flags. I also can't find pictures from this trip... I will add pictures from this and the other ones once I can find where my pictures disappeared to...

The summer after my dad died I took a girls trip to Nauvoo. We flew into Kansas City and spent a day or two there and then drove to Nauvoo and spent some time. We then drove through St. Louis on our way back to Kansas City. We then spent some time going to church sites around the Kansas City area.

During the Spring of 2008 I had the opportunity to drive down to Mexico with a friend of mine and spend a week in the Mormon colonies. It was a ton of fun however I ended up getting sick the last day there with a worm and the drive back was horrible.

In November of 2008 I went down to Mesa, Arizona for a Flag football tournament with my work. I spent the weekend watching games and just enjoying being away from the stress of the office. Whitney, Ammon and his friend John came along.

The last trip I took was in August of 2009. Cori, Whitney and I went down to Las Vegas to a Jonas Brother's concert. It was such a fun trip. The concert was the best one I have ever seen!

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 9

2010-08-21T17:27:00.000-06:00

Today's topic: How did you find out about blogs and why did you make one...

I found out about blogs back in 2007. I was looking at some of my friend's facebook accounts and saw that they had blogs. I clicked on them and was able to read about what was going on in their lives and I LOVED it! Right then I decided that I wanted to create my own blog and use it both as a journal of sorts and to keep everyone updated with what is going on in my life. I have been blogging ever since then...

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 8

2010-08-20T17:17:00.000-06:00

Today's topic: The meaning behind your blog's name...

When I first started my blog I had trouble coming up with a clever name for it. I started it out with being "Welcome to my Life" I kept it as this for a while until I became OBSESSED with the Jonas Brothers. Once that happened I heard a song of theirs titled "That's Just the Way We Roll". Some of the lyrics really hit me and I then changed my title to it. My sister's and I can be pretty crazy when we are together (which a lot of people really don't see because we are the "shy" Malone girls). The lyrics go something like this: Where would we be, if we couldn't dream. And I know we get a little crazy. And I know we get a little loud. And I know we're never gonna fake it. We are wild, we are free, we're more than you think, so call us freaks cause that's just the way we roll.

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 7

2010-08-19T17:11:00.001-06:00

Today's topic: Favorite Superhero and why...

Truthfully I really can't think of a superhero who is my favorite so I think I will change this up a little and say favorite hero and why....

I am going to say that my father is my biggest hero. He was such an amazing guy and I really feel I took him for granted quite a lot through my teen aged years... But I am sure a lot of teenagers do this. He was always willing to do whatever it took to get his callings done. He was always full of laughter and would always keep us laughing. I loved the stories he used to tell us at bedtime while we were growing up! It is from my dad that I get my love of sports... I could always find him watching and cheering on his favorite teams... Daddy, you are greatly missed!

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Days 5 and 6

2010-08-18T20:22:00.006-06:00

Today's topics: A picture of you and your friends. What do you think about your friends?

So I ended up missing yesterday and doing this but I figure that they both kinda go together anyway so why not combine them. I can't really think of any pictures I have with me and all my friends so I figured I would just find some pictures of my friends and tell about them. For this one I chose to feature 3 of my really good friends and I am pretty sure that down the road there is another one that asks for friends so I will add more to that.

The first friend I chose is my ex-sister in law Kim. Kim and I have been really close for quite some time. I know that I can always count on her to be there for me whenever I need someone to talk to. She is a great mother and has the two most adorable kids (of course I am pretty biased since I love Ry and Lilly a TON)...

The second friend I chose to talk about is my good friend Brady. I really don't know where to begin with him... We met in 7th grade. My first memory of him is when we went on a field trip for science and he came in my group. He was the only boy and he rode up front with my mom. My best friend Gwen and I sat in the back of the van and whispered and giggled the whole time. I spent quite some time being called a silent giggler. After both of us got divorced a few years ago we dated for a few months and he is an amazing guy. Even though we broke up a while ago we are still close and keep in close contact. He is currently coaching football at Provo High...

The third friend I chose is my friend Marisa. We have been working together at the Intramural Office for the past 3 years. We have a ton of fun together! One day if everything finally works out, we plan on being roommates. She is an Anthropology major and just got back from spending the summer in Peru on a dig to help her get into grad school. She is over 6'0" tall, so she really makes me look short!

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 4

2010-08-16T20:12:00.000-06:00

Today's topic: Nicknames that you have and why...

The first nickname I had was Rae of Sunshine. It is what I grew up having my dad call me. He was the only one who ever called me it so I haven't heard it for a while.

Another nickname I have is James, which is what my sister Cori has called me most of my life.

I get called Shorty some... Another one that I went by for a while is Moe. That is what Ry and Lilly called me until they were able to say Jaime. They started calling Whitney... Deedee and Whit thought it would be funny to get them to call me Moe (who is one of the Doodlebops... Deedee being another of them)

Grad School...

2010-08-16T13:08:00.002-06:00

I DID IT!!!!

Application Status

Academic Institution	Term	Academic Career	Program	Application Number	Application Date
San Jose State University	Spring 2011	Graduate	MSXD - Masters Special Sess	00421378	08/05/2010

The status of your application is:
Accepted- Classified Graduate

We Got the Party with Us!

2010-08-15T19:08:00.013-06:00

Happy birthday Joe Jonas! With being such huge Jonas Brother's fans we love to celebrate their birthday's. Today is Joe's 21st birthday and we decided to celebrate it yesterday with the kids. Ry and Lil both absolutely love them as well as all day long were talking about it being Jonas birthday party. Our theme was Pirates and Lilly had a blast dressing up as a pirate. Ry had been sick with a fever and spent most of the day sleeping and just wasn't in the mood to really party. It was really cool this year to have the brother's join us for his party.

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 3

2010-08-15T17:17:00.002-06:00

Today's topic: A habit you wish you didn't have...

There are a few habits I have that I wish I didn't. One of them being the fact that I have been known to let people walk all over me. This really sucks but is something that I am really working on overcoming. I get really tired of being taken advantage of by those around me. I started this habit while I was married and it was just easier to let this happen. Once getting divorced I was so low in self esteem that I just kept letting it happen. I am now ready to make a stand!

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 2

2010-08-14T13:06:00.003-06:00

Today's Topic: A recent picture of me and 15 Interesting facts...

1. I have worked at UVU as the Assistant Director over the Intramural Department for 4 years now and have had 3 bosses in that time frame.
2. I am completely obsessed with the Jonas Brothers! I absolutely LOVE their music because it is clean good wholesome music. I one day plan on meeting them and letting them know how much their music means to me.
3. Reading is my number one passion... which is probably a great thing for someone who wants to get a master's in Library Science..
4. Genealogy is another big passion of mine. I love finding out about my ancestors! I try to focus a lot on their life history so that I really can feel a connection to them.
5. My current dream job would be to be an archivist up at the Family History Library in Salt Lake. That way I would be working in a library but also applying my passion of family history.
6. I am currently working on writing my life history out and making it into a book. I am hoping at this point to have one book that is focused on my life from birth until after getting divorced and then from there I will use my blog to keep track of my history.
7. My favorite TV Shows are: Jonas L.A. and Greek
8. My nephew was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy recently and I plan on being there for him and doing a LOT of fund raising to help him out.
9. I love photography! I want to get better at taking pictures and then keep doing what it takes to constantly improve.
10. I collect shot glasses... I got my first one when I was around 15 from my grandparents, who I think used them to do something with their medication. Since then I collect them whenever I travel somewhere and I also have a lot of friends who bring me one back from wherever they go on vacation.
11. I secretly love it when I am running errands with my niece and she looks at me and says, "Jaime... You're my mom." It makes me really smile! I also love getting compliments from others about what a "cute little girl I have"
12. I would love to start my own craft business. I get this from my mom, who at one time had her own business and used to have booths at craft shows. I grew up watching her do this and LOVED going to these shows and walking around.
13. I really want to learn to quilt. Not so much the intricate details of the stitching but doing all kinds of cool piecing. I found this blog where I found the cutest rag quilts and that will be my first project. I would love to do at least one for each season to drape over my couch in my future home.
14. I secretly (or sometimes not so secretly) really miss playing soccer and long to get back into it, and probably would if I could figure out a way to get my ankle to cooperate with me. It used to be a HUGE part of my life and losing it was really hard on me. It was probably one of the toughest decisions I have had to make.
15. For some reason I really love picture frames and would love to collect them. I found some unfinished wood ones for $1 at the craft store and want to make some really cute frames from them.

30 Days to Get to Know Me: Day 1

2010-08-13T19:47:00.003-06:00

Today's Topic: Who are you?

I am actually super happy to be able to answer this one! I have finally gotten to the point where I can do it and feel for the most part satisfied. This summer semester I took a class at school called "7 Habits for Highly Effective People". One of the assignments we had to do was a mission statement. We did this in a 3 step process. The first thing we did was make a collage about us. We had to look at four areas in our life and where we really wanted to be. The four areas were: Spiritual, Physical, Mental and Emotional. My list looked something like this:

Spiritual: Christ centered, look to the temple, "Elect Lady" and firm in the faith.
Physical: Children, wife, traveler, photographer, genealogist, writer, live in Boston
Mental: Grad school, knowledgeable
Emotional: Love, acceptance, empathy, compassion, happiness, positive attitude, never give up, stand up for belief and live the dream.

Here is a copy of what my collage ended up looking like:

It is kinda hard to see everything so I will explain the meaning behind it all. Starting in the left corner: I have a picture of Emma Smith and under her name the words "Elect Lady" because Emma is my role model and I want to live a life like hers where she was always there for her husband. Next to her is a picture of Scarlett O'Hara who is another one of my role models because one she got something into her head she went for it and never gave up. Next to her I have written the words "Welcome to my Life 2007-08" which is what I named my blog book. Through this book I became a writer. Next to this is written the word "empathy" Next to that is a picture of the temple with a quote that reads "You are never lost when you can see the temple" under it. Under my blog title is the quote "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." I have this because I want to have love. Next to my quote is a copy of a pedigree chart because I want to become a professional genealogist. Going back over to the left under Emma is the word "happiness" Next to that is the word Boston and a copy of a pamphlet for the grad school I wanted to go to there. In the center is a picture of Christ because I want to live a Christ centered life. Next to Christ is a picture of Captain Moroni because he is an example of someone who is firm in the faith. Next to Captain Moroni is a picture of books because I want to have knowledge. Back to the left side at the bottom is a picture of a passport with the words "World Traveler" written under it. Next to it is a picture of the Jonas brothers and their quote of "Living the Dream!" which is the motto they live by and one I want to adopt. Next to that is the words "Positive Attitude" Next to it is a picture of a camera because I love photography. Next to the camera is the word "compassion" Under the camera is the quote "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, its' about learning to dance in the rain" I love this quote because it reminds me to look for the positive. The last thing on my collage is the quote by Nathan Hale that says "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Nathan Hale was an amazing man who stood up for what he believed.

So after the collage we went into making a rough draft. There were 7 different things we had to answer.
1. Mission Summary
2. Roles
3. Role Models
4. Bucket List
5. Talents and Gifts
6. Quotes
7. Principles

This assignment was amazing for me! I was able to really look at myself and what I really want out of life. I won't go into the details because I just realized how much I have been writing.

The final step was our final draft, which we were supposed to make artistic. This is finally where this all ties in to Who I am. My final looks something like this:

I am a:

Daughter
Sister
Aunt
Niece
Cousin
Princess...

30 Days to Get to Know Me...

2010-08-13T19:23:00.002-06:00

I came upon people doing something they call a 30 day challenge where they have different things to write about themselves for 30 days. I loved the concept of this but haven't been able to do it due to lack of time with my summer classes. Now that I have finally finished my finals I have time to get started. I want to kinda be different and so I am going to mix the order up some.

Day 1: Who are you?
Day 2: A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Day 3: A habit you wish you didn't have
Day 4: Nicknames that you have and why
Day 5: A picture of you and your friends
Day 6: What do you think about your friends?
Day 7: Favorite Super hero and why
Day 8: The meaning behind your blog's name
Day 9: How did you find out about blogs and why you made one
Day 10: Pictures of places you have been
Day 11: Another picture of yourself
Day 12: Something you are proud of accomplishing
Day 13: A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 14: Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
Day 15: Put your iPod on shuffle: first ten songs that play
Day 16: Another picture of you and your friends
Day 17: What I would find in your bag
Day 18: A picture of you and your family
Day 19: Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 20: Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21: Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 22: Short term goals for this month and why
Day 23: Something you crave for a lot
Day 24: A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 25: A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then
Day 26: Why are you doing this 30 day challenge?
Day 27: What makes you different from everyone else?
Day 28: A letter to your parents
Day 29: A letter to someone who has hurt you
Day 30: In this past month, what have you learned?

My Blog Book...

2010-08-13T19:12:00.003-06:00

One thing I have written down on my bucket list is to publish a book. When I say that I don't necessarily mean to publish one that will become popular or that people will necessarily read. So I decided to publish a blog book. I took my blogs from the beginning through 2008 and from there I went through each blog and made it look like I wanted it to. It ended up being 102 pages! I then went to lulu.com and published it. I spent around $35 to get it published and sent to me. I am so excited to finally get this and see how amazing this really is!

Duck Pond and Fun Pictures...

2010-08-13T18:28:00.008-06:00

It is always fun to take the kids up to BYU campus and visit the duck pond. They have so much fun feeding the ducks bread and sometimes chasing the poor ducks around. After eating lunch at Chuck E. Cheese and after my mom, Whit and the kids coming home from a wedding reception we headed to BYU to do just that. I swear one of these days one of the kids is going to get too close to the water and fall right in...

After visiting with our dear friends at the duck pond we decided to come home and have a small photo shoot. Whit wasn't too happy about something and decided not to get in any of our pictures... After the outside shoot Lilly decided she wanted her picture taken again and then decided to take one of me as well...

Chuck E. Cheese... Part 2

2010-08-13T17:44:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday (the 7th) we once again had some time with the kids. They kept begging me to take them back to Chuck E. Cheese and my sisters thought it would be fun too. I had a hard time turning the two babies down. Lilly once again didn't really want to ride on any of the rides but had fun holding the tickets that Whit and I won on the games. With the tickets that we got we decided to get all of us a pair of star glasses to have fun with later on...

Grad School...

2010-08-13T17:01:00.002-06:00

So on August 5th I finally applied to grad school... however I had a tough decision to make. Yes my heart is totally into going to Boston to grad school BUT I decided that my priorities were elsewhere. With Ry being sick I decided that I would rather stay close by him and spend as much time with him as I can then move across the country. For a few days I thought that would mean that I was giving up my dream of going to grad school. Luckily my good friend Patty came by my office and reminded me that there are different options. She has been working on her master's degree in education online through the University of Phoenix. I got on the computer and found a library science degree that would also give me an emphasis in archives. It is through San Jose State. Without really thinking it all through I got on and applied for their program. It is looking like I will be starting my online program in January! After applying I kinda started freaking out because I had actually finally applied!