Midwest

A week after Andrew and Carrie's wedding the Linebacks were having a reception for them in Kansas. My mom, dad, and I planned on going to the reception and decided to make a week long trip out of it. Our flight left in the morning and was planned to land at 2pm in Kansas City- which would have been perfect for the 6pm reception. Of course, it didn't end up that way.. Because of the terrible weather, the Kansas City airport closed and our plane had to land in Tulsa, Oklahoma instead. After a long day of traveling with bad weather news followed by more bad news, our flight landed in Kansas City at 9pm and we finally made it to the reception a little after 10, needless to say, slightly late. The reception was beautiful and we enjoyed a great after party with delicious food and great company.

The next day we woke up and headed to the Cabelas head quarters. Cabelas is a huge outdoors store that has everything you could ever imagine. It was fun to walk around and my dad and I even got Cabelas hats :)

My parents after eating at Cabelas

After we left Cabelas we met up with Andrew and Carrie and saw some church history sights. We went to Independence and saw the visitors center there and then went to see Liberty Jail. It was a fun afternoon and it was interesting to see all these sights and learn more about what happened.

Visitors Center in Independence, Missouri

Eating chocolate covered strawberries from the reception- they were soo good!

Liberty Jail

That night we drove to Branson, Missouri where we spent the rest of the week. It reminded me of a little Las Vegas, but much cleaner.

Branson Creek Landing- this was a cute area downtown with lots of little shops and fountains next to the lake. We spent the evening walking around and watching the water show.

We also went on a lot of walks, there was a really pretty path that led up to an observation tower that looked over the Ozark mountains.

my dad and I walking up

Climbing the observation tower

My cute parents, I love the smile on my mom's face.

Picture from the top.
(it was still pretty early in the morning for me haha)

We went to a place called Silver Dollar City which was an amusement park, but everything was oldfashioned. When you walked in everyone was dressed different and you really thought you had gone back in time. The park was really pretty and it was fun just to walk around and

There was a sign about teeth, so naturally we had to take a picture by it :)
&no- my parents did not plan their matching outfits haha

my dad watching one of the shows

My mom on the cave tour

One thing that seems to be a trend on vacations is playing ping pong. We've never had a table growing up but I remember playing with Andrew when I was little and then also with my brother in laws on vacation when I was a little older. My mom, dad, and I kept the tradition and went down to the pool to play some ping pong.

My dad's champion picture

Some action shots :)

classic tickling picture.

Thanks mom and dad for such a great trip and for being so much fun, it was a great vacation.

Sisters Weekend

The weekend after Andrew and Carrie's wedding we had our first (and definitely not last) sisters weekend. Michelle, Melissa, Rachel, and I drove to LA to stay with my oldest sister Sara. We got there late Friday night, but not too late to eat half a chocolate cake of course. There the party began.

Saturady morning we slept in, had a family favorite of bran muffins for breakfast and headed out to hike the hollywood sign.

All the girls on the way up

So someone told us about their daughter actually sneaking down to touch the sign but had to run back up because a helicopter came around with its lights. When we got to the top we sat down and talked for a while until everyone else had left. We then had the great and daring idea of going down to touch the sign.

Going under the fence to get to the sign

Running back up when an alarm- yes, there is a motion sensor alarm- went off

After the hike we went to a farmers market for lunch. They had the best food that was so cheap, especially for LA.

Melissa's food was a little spicy

Getting some produce to take home

After we got back to the apartment building we went and sat by the pool and then the fire pit.
Shelb took this picture and we thought it looked like I was throwing fire
(She's just that good of a photographer :)

We decided we all wanted to go out that night and that it'd be even more fun if we all wore Sara's dresses. So we all showered- with a strict 5 minute limit to ensure hot water and leaving in a decent amount of time- and got ready to go out.

All of us before we went out

The fountains at the Grove

Dinner at Maggiannos- my FAVORITE

Going to see the stars after dinner

Sunday morning we got up got ready for church- all in one mirror..

Then headed to the beach for a relaxing and fun afternoon.

So a little background- all of my sisters were cheerleaders in high school except for me- which would explain the following pictures..

Just some coaching
my sad attempt of a toe touch

we had fun :)
just about as good as we got

needless to say, I am not very flexible

all the girls

Monday morning we woke up at 4:30 and were out the door before 5 to get in line for tickets to the PRICE IS RIGHT!! We stood in line for an hour for our tickets then were told at 6:30 that we needed to be back at 8:00 for the 1:30 showing. We all ran home, got ready quickly and spent the morning reading magazines, talking, and snacking. Finally at 1 we got to go into the room where it was filmed. The show was great and when it was time for the last contestant to be called down we heard "Jessica Toolson come on down, you're the next contestant on The Price is Right!!!" Words can not describe how ballistic we went. We jumped and screamed and I finally ran down feeling like I had won a million dollars right then and there. I was the last contestant up and the first to bid so I didn't make it any further but it was still unreal.

All of us after the showing
Because it's so loud in there they hold up posters with the names on them so I got to keep my poster. I also won a floor lamp and a phone for being called down.

All of us in our sister #1-5 shirts.
We had people ask if we were really sisters or 'sistas'
I am proud to say they are my four beautiful sisters all from the same parents :)

My best friends.

Thank you to my four amazing, wonderful, incredible sisters for one of the best weekends of my life. I love you all.

The Bride and Groom

Andrew and Carrie were married on May 1, 2009. It was almost unreal that the day actually came and that all the preparations were put into play and the wedding happened. Even though it was a rainy day in California, the wedding was BEAUTIFUL. Carrie looked gorgeous- as always- and Andrew looked handsome. It was great day.

Andrew and Carrie outside the temple

Andrew with the Bridesmaids

Me, Andrew, Meegan, and Aimee

The night of the wedding there was a wedding dinner at McCormick and Kuletos in Ghirradeli Square. The dinner was deicious and the place was beautiful. The room had an amazing view of the bay and it was great.

Dancing after the dinner

Weddings in our family have their own special traditions- including a sentimental (but most of the time random) gift and a song we change the words to apply to the Bride and Groom. So for Andrew and Carrie's gift- I gave them a roll of aluminum foil and a Chipotle gift card with the following explanation.

Andrew and I have always been really close growing up and especially since all of our siblings were married he was kinda my partner when we were all doing things together. I remember meeting Carrie and really liking her (who couldn't like her) but I have always been kinda nervous for when Andrew got married because I thought I would lose my brother. Last October when Andrew and Carrie were dating, Carrie called me and said they were going to Chipotle for Halloween because you get free burritos if you dressed up as a burrito and invited me to come. So being the poor college students we are, we drove up to Sandy, wrapped ourselfs in tin foil, and enjoyed our free burritos and had a great time. It meant so much to me that Carrie called me and invited me and it was really that night that I realized that I wasn't losing my brother but I was getting another friend- and now sister.

We changed the words to 'Lets Hear it For The Boy' to our own version of 'Lets hear it for our boy'. It's been said that Andrew doesn't just have 5 sisters but also 5 other mothers, and this is partly true. We all take pride and credit in the fact that we have all helped raise him and he has always been a great son, brother, friend, and will now be a great husband.

The reception at our house the next day

Andrew and Carrie are just perfect for each other and we are so excited for them. We are all thrilled that Carrie is a part of our family and we couldn't be happier.

Congratulations to the new couple <3

Busy Week

All throughout finals I kept telling myself how excited I was to just come home and relax, but I have to say, things here have been far from relaxing. This past week and a half have been so fun, busy, stressful, and amazing all at the same time.

My mom and I drove out of Provo on Thursday at about 3pm which made it a late arrival in California. As we were leaving I realized that my ipod was in my backpack and thought that I would just get it out at our next stop- but no, it was never needed. I think my mom is one of the few people were I could be in a 10ft x 5ft box (or car in our situation) and not get bored after 11 1/2 hours. We talked the entire way home. It was so much fun just to talk about things and catch up on things that had happened but we had not talked about because of how busy finals week had been.

Friday morning I woke up and came downstairs to an amazing surprise- my sister had come to visit with her two beautiful kids. We made a trip to the store (where I realized how nice it was to live at home since I wasn't buying the usual onions, bread, milk, and tortillas that were on my shopping list from school), went out to Murillos- my FAVORITE mexican restaurant- with my family, got some frozen yogurt, and just enjoyed being with my family.

Saturday morning my mom and I drove out to Danville to see my sister Melissa who was so kind to do my moms and my hair. When I am saying she is so nice, it is a serious understatement. Just ask her- it takes literally HOURS for her to foil my hair and I appreciate it soo much, she is a great hairstylist. We went shopping that afternoon, played with Savs at the park, then met up with my dad and had some dinner. We went to a little place under Luke's office where we played ping pong and had some delicious food. From dinner my dad and I drove to San Jose for the SHARKS game. I LOVE the Sharks (another understatement). The game was so much fun- I even got to see my friend Mark that I know from school- and best of all, the Sharks won it in overtime. It was a great day.

On Sunday Rach and Ryan came out and had dinner with us after church and the wedding prep began (well atleast for me). We trimmed the (hundreds of) flowers and put them back the buckets, folded the boxes for the favors, and moved outdoor furniture.

Monday and Tuesday I worked up at the pool for a few hours and on Tuesday my mom was so nice to take me to get my nails done. This whole week kinda blends in my head with wedding preparations, family, and eating. We went out to Green Valley with the Linebacks (Carrie's family), Chevy's with the family, and just enjoyed being all together.

The wedding was on Friday and it was beautiful. I'll have pictures and details in a later post.

Done..

As of yesterday at 12, I am done with all my finals and BYU in general. Now I'm packing- well I guess taking a little break, and my mom and I will drive home to California on Friday. As excited I am to go home, I think its hit me today how much I really do love it up here. Over all my complaining of the bipolar weather, school work, and stress- I have had SO much fun up here and I will miss everyone and everything while I'm home, especially:

Getting ready in the morning with my roommates. Making gym trips at insane hours of the night. Making cooking a social event. Cannon dinners with Erik. "Family" dinners with our closest friends. Watching What I Like About You. Salt Lake trips. Dates with Mac and George :) Concerts. Wendy's frosties. Cafe Rio (almost weekly). Trips down to Yo Zone. Snowboarding. Walking to class with Blake. Laughing so hard we cry. Quote board. Watching Donovan do his version of the Single Ladies Dance. Karaoke. My FHE group. Dance parties. Cookie dough. Las Vegas Trips. Home made pizza. Halloween at Chipotle. Hearing Torrie yell through the apartment. Having Sam read my mind and know what I'm trying to say when what came out was nothing close. Our craft/hardware drawer, Yup- its the same drawer :) Our Colorado trip. Watching How I met your mother. Phase 10. Blue Line Deli. Looking out my window and seeing the mountains. Sunday movie nights. Dance parties at Carries. Rachel's delicious desserts. Anatomy lab friends. Volleyball. The boys that are leaving on missions.
My AMAZING roommates.

So this leaving is bittersweet but thank you to everyone who has made this year so great for me.
I love you all!

Routines

So I've come to a realization that my life has become a basic repetition of routines. We haven't had classes these past few days because we had reading days and then finals and I am so lost as to what day it is. This is when I came to the realization that depending on what classes I went to that day, I know what day it is. Mondays and Wednesdays was always Religion and Chemistry, Tuesdays was Volleyball and English, Thursdays was Volleyball, English, Anatomy lecture&lab, and Physical Science, and Fridays were English and Chemistry. Besides the fact of knowing what day it is by my weekly routine, I realize that I do a lot of the same things everyday:

-Set my alarm clock 9 minutes earlier than I want to get up so I can hit snooze once
-Roll out of bed, say my prayers, head to the bathroom
-Go to the bathroom, get my toothbrush, and as I'm brushing my teeth I make my bed
(that's my new definition of multi-tasking)
-Then depending on how ambitious I'm feeling I go to the gym
-Come home shower
-Do makeup and hair
-Go put water on the stove to boil
-Get dressed, when I come out I add my oatmeal to the boiling water
-As the oatmeal cooks I make a sandwich and a snack to take to school

So I think we get the point. Getting ready for bed is pretty similar to that, even with folding down my sheets as I'm brushing my teeth. So as uninteresting as this blog post is, it was just another realization about my life.

Really?

No, not Christmas, but APRIL 16th.
gotta love Provo.
1 more week till sunny c.a.l.i.f.o.r.n.i.a.

the view from my apartment: