Pumpkin Crumble bar

I have been pretty swamped with mid-terms lately so my blogging has stopped. I don't like it! So I have decided that if I cannot think of something to blog about I will blog about some new recipe or food that I made. Not quite as exciting as a fancy date, but it's something. (oh and I haven't really been on a date.)



Pumpkin Crumble Bars

Crust:
yellow cake mix-less 1 cup for topping
1 egg
1 stick of butter, melted

Filling:
1 can pumpkin pie filling
3 eggs
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1½ tsp. cinnamon

Topping:
3 T butter
1 cup cake mix
½ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Blend crust ingredients and pat onto bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Beat filling ingredients and pour over crust. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over filling. Bake 50-55 minutes.

I was asked to make a treat for a church activity tonight. I more than happy to make a treat, but sadly I have a class at the time of the activity so I will not be able to try it. (I did ask if my friend could save me a piece, but I am not sure if she will be able to.) I found this recipe online on tastebook.com. So that means that I have never tried it out so you will have to tell me what you think. I actually made it on a cookie sheet rather than a 9 X 13 pan. It seemed a little gooey in the middle when I left, but I think that as it settles it should harden a little. Or maybe it is supposed to be gooey.

Truely Blueish

So this picture does not do the color justice, but it does show that my hair turned some color.



You may be wondering why I am dyed blue. One word... Homecoming!



There was a slip-n-slide that had blue foam instead of water. It is part of the homecoming tradition here at BYU. I don't question I just go have fun.
Don't worry it came right out of my hair. Now only the whites of my legs are blue.

Famous People

This weekend I had the chance to meet a few celebrities. Such as, Stephanie Nielson, Jericho Road a church group, and Alex Boye.



I got to go see Stephanie Nielson live!! It was so worth standing in line for two hours to get a good seat. I was third in line and got a second row seat near the middle. She started crying before she even started because so many people had come. (there were more than 2,000 women and girls; many of which were standing or sitting on the floor because there were only 1,700 chairs set out.) She had not expected the turn out to be so big. She told her story of her plane wreck. She cried as she remembered the painful experiences and how hard it was during the recovery process. Then she went on to talk about how it was hard for her to feel beautiful. How her sisters took care of her children. She talked about how she had never felt so close to her Heavenly Father. She counted her blessings such as having 10 fingers and 10 toes. She had her green eyes that she treasured so much. She had her life, husband, and children. Her blessings overpowered her hardships. She suggested letting the love within us navigate us. She said that it is your spirit that makes you beautiful. "If you are struggling with feeling beautiful, ask the Lord." Was her advise as she found it really helps to rely on God through prayer. I learned so much listening to her. We were told that the recording is going to be on the internet soon so that will be nice for those who didn't get to attend. She also posted some pictures from the event on her blog, nieniedialogues.blogspot.com. See if you can find me :)



I didn't get a picture with Stephanie because she needed to get home to her children, but I did get a picture with her two daughters. It was so funny how I just so happened to see them walking by with their grandma. I think they were a little weirded out by me asking to take a picture with them, but I couldn't help asking.



I was also lucky enough to get a ticket to go up to Salt Lake City for General Conference. It was such a good learning experience. I just love to go and feel the Spirit that is there. The talks were amazing. And even though I was watching it on the big screen, it was still really cool to actually be there for the first time.



After the second session on Saturday, we saw Jericho Road singing on a corner in front of Deseret Book. Chelsea and I gladly sat in the front row and cheered and sang along to their songs like we were their biggest fans.



After Jericho Road preformed, Alex Boye, another excellent singer preformed. He was so animated and talented.





PS if my hair looks shorter to you, thats because it is. Kamber cut off 5 or 6 inches.

Mail Time!!!

I love getting mail! Especially now because it is my connection to home. Emails, phone calls, and to some extent social networking websites are nice ways to keep in touch, but real mail is physical evidence that I am still loved. It is so nice to walk to the mailbox and actually have something inside. It's even better when it comes the day after a rough "homesick spell" (which typically happen every weekend). Like these lovely letters and pictures that Klarie sent me.






It is so sad thinking that she and all my other siblings are growing up without me.
I couldn't help but respond with:


I also received a typewriter style letter from my brother Colten. He is so kind and considerate to ask questions about how school is going for me and if I had "made a boyfriend yet". I could not help tearing up, especially when I read, "I miss you very much!I hope you don't get homesick. I already miss your dinner arguments at the table. JK. But I do miss you... PS Miss you a bunch"

Bus Stop

I have learned the ropes of riding the Utah bus system...for the most part.I thought this sign was kind of funny. It is the back view so no one really looks at it, but while I was waiting for the bus on Saturday morning I realized that one set of numbers was upside down.

I used the weekend to visit some cousins, but sadly did not take any pictures. I did, however, have a lot of fun. We rode the Trax (the train) to Downtown Salt Lake City for the Dew Tour (it is an extreme sports competition that I am pretty sure is world wide). The train was a first experience for all 10 kids, me included. My cousins and their friends all enjoyed watching the scenery fly by. Zach was so sure that we were going 100 miles an hour, but I am not sure we went that fast. We didn't actually watch any of the competitions due to some wrong information, but we did get to see a few amazing bike stunts and a whole bunch of crazy, sometimes a little scary, skate enthusiasts. We also had a very entertaining dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant. I am so glad our waiter Andy was patient and put up with the wild kids. It was really good food and we barely had time to let it sit before we had to dash of the the train station to catch a crowded train home. But well worth the experience.

I cannot believe that I already have some mid-terms coming up. There is no way I have been here long enough. And yet there are still times, like today, that I find myself feeling so homesick. Wishing that I could go back in time. Back to when all the kids were home.



Back to when my dad would try to set up the camera and accidentally take a picture without getting in the frame, when my mom was trying to teach me helpful skills, when Kamber had long hair and braces, when I wore clothes that didn't match the rest of the family, when Calvin actually looked at the camera and smiled, when Colten was in his bow tie phase, when Katelyn liked to pose for the camera, when Kelcey looked cute pouting, and when Klarie was a happy little baby who could have passed for a boy in a dress. I miss those days and wish I hadn't simply tried to get through them.

I wish I could hear their voices without the use of a telephone. I wish I could see their faces without having to look at past pictures. I wish I could hug them and hold them close.

Mas notas y no fotos

I took more notes and less pictures this week. Guess that is school.



We have picked up a new hobby, and Brooks hobby is kissing paper. Not exactly. We wrote fake love notes to some friends. It is so funny to hear how they have been looking for these imaginary girls.


This week I am going to be going to a World of Dance Festival. And I am also looking forward to attending a talk given by Stephanie Nielson about Finding your inner beauty. That isn't until the 30th, but I am totally excited and cannot wait.

College 101

So after school started I somehow got busy and wasn't able to blog. I have had a lot of fun regardless. My classes all seem like they will be good.
My schedule is as follows:

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays- Writing and Rhetoric at 9, Book of Mormon at 10 (not on Fridays), Atmosphere and weather at 11, and intro to Geology at 12. (So I am done by 12:50!)
Tuesday- Intro to Humanities 7:30 to 8:45 at night! (So I have all day to do homework, laundry, cleaning, write letters, and whatever else I need to do, then one class at night. I think it will be pretty nice, but I guess we will have to wait and see.)
Thursday- Intro to the English major at 4 in the afternoon and then Intro to Humanities again at 7:30 PM.
I think that I have a pretty nice schedule, but it would be nice to have something in between English and Humanities on Thursday so that I don't have to go home then come back.

I am so glad that all of my roommates and I have gotten along so well. It is like we have known each other for years and are all best friends. I have been able to learn a lot about my roommates through their study habits.



Megan is very studious! She spends hours in her room sitting at her desk, reading, studying, if it is for school she is doing it. I could barely get her to look up for a picture. She is wanting to be a nurse.



Brooke inspired me to start taking pictures because she was getting so frustrated with her chemistry reading. I don't blame her that book is huge! She was wanting to be a chemical engineer, but thinks that she is going to do something different now.



Chelsea has a totally different method of studying... she uses her phone. Not all the time.. but a lot. She says that it keeps her motivated to get done. I am not quite sure how that works out.
I guess I cannot say much because I wasn't doing much studying as I was the one taking pictures and blogging.



We have had quite a few interruptions including a visit from Taylor Lottner. OK so it wasn't him, but some guys were going around with a life size cut out of the Werewolf off of Twilight. I didn't get a picture of they cutout and the guys, but I did get a snapshot of them putting Taylor in the window some girls apartment. This must be college.



Isn't this a beautiful picture? It is the Provo temple.



If you are worried about us being stuck in our apartment studying all the time, don't. We have had plenty of opportunities to get out and spend time together. In fact, on Saturday morning we all took the time to go to the Provo temple to do a session. It was so pretty outside with all the flowers and the mountains in the background. Inside it was so peaceful and calm. We all really enjoyed it and are hoping to make it there once a week.





I also made it to the Salt Lake City temple, but not with my roommates. I rode the bus all the way up there by myself (it was like a 2 hour bus ride and about an hour or so drive by car, for all of you that don't know the area that well.) I was able to meet up with Kamber there and then spend the afternoon with her. It too was very nice!



And of course we went to the football game. Well kind of. I didn't actually get to go because somehow there was a misunderstanding when I purchased my all sports pass this past week. But we got a picture. If you are wondering why I only have one sock on don't worry there was a reason...
So on Friday night after I went to the womens soccer game, there was a carnival at my apartment complex. Bounce house things, a dunk tank, rock band, and a dance. I participated in a few of these events, but after the soccer game I felt way pumped with adrenaline that I just had to play soccer. So I went and found a soccer ball and started up a game of keep away. The only problem was I had no shoes on. Somehow I rolled my pinky toe and might have broken it... Silly me. I contemplated putting a picture on, but figured that it would be a little too weird. It is a pretty sweet bruise though! So that is about it for last week. Lots of fun, some pain, some school, a little more school, and a lot more fun!