10.26.10

On Monday, Breeanna a girl in my Family Home Evening (FHE) group, decorated cookies to celebrate my birthday.



It did say "Happy Birthday Karee," BUT Kevin (the one from Canada) switched it around to say, "Happy Bathday Kreeri." Then when they sang to me they said "bathday" as well so I have to wonder if they were trying to say something... I thought I looked clean.



Another birthday surprise was this sweet little girl, Maggie. She and I have been pen pals for the past few months. She called me Monday to see if she could stop by to drop something off. (she lives 15 minutes away now). She came by with and brought a cute little bamboo plant! I don't have a picture of it yet, but it will be coming soon.



So my teacher was right and I got my birthday wish. . . SNOW!!! When Chelsea told me it was snowing I was so excited I almost wiped out on the kitchen floor in my haste and excitement to see the snow. It wasn't that much snow, but it was enough to satisfy. Later we heard screaming and yelling outside, and when we looked out the window we saw a Autumn winter wonderland. And a snowball fight forming. The snow flakes were huge and stuck to the ground!
I thought this was the best birthday gift I could ever have until 12 that night. I had fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie with Chelsea. Around 12, Chelsea woke me up and said that there was someone at the door. (Let me just say that this is kind of scary to hear after watching When a Stranger Calls So I was a little hesitant to get up and answer it.) But when I looked through the peep-hole I could not believe my eyes! MY MOM!!! She wasn't supposed to come (or so I thought) until Wednesday night and yet there she was standing in my front door. That was by far the BEST!
I got to spend most of today with her and was just so happy! She came to my Book of Mormon class and then after my other two classes we had lunch and then met up with one of her old roommates for ice cream. She took me birthday shopping and then we rushed off to Salt Lake to meet up with Kamber and her finance's family for dinner. We are going to be doing the whole wedding planning thing and trying on dresses. It will be so much fun! Pictures will come!

Ready or not...here it comes

I haven't checked to see if this forecast is right, but this is what my meteorology teacher's prediction:

Saturday- 50's with some rain... great for the football game against Wyoming
Sunday & Monday- Significantly colder with the possibility of some precipitation
Tuesday- FIRST SNOW OF THE YEAR!!!! I always wanted snow on my birthday, guess I am going to get that.
He also said that from then on the high peaks will have snow on them until we get out in the spring! I am not sure I am ready for so long with snow. I guess I will just have to stalk up on some hot chocolate.

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.