CHESNEY IN CONCERT
22 June 2005 ...
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Last night was the Kenny Chesney concert.
The Delta Center was extremely hot, but over all it
was a fun night!
First, Pat Green and then Gretchen
Wilson performed. Personally I wasn't a huge fan of
either of them, but I learned that there are a few songs
by Gretchen Wilson that I liked. Especially "Politically
Incorrect" & "California Girls" which
are both new ones that haven't been released yet.
When Kenny was set to start music started
playing and after a while you started to wonder if he
was going to come out, then all of a sudden everyone
started cheering as they realized he was swinging over
the audience. Over the course of the show he did a duet
with Gretchen and then Uncle Kracker came out and they
did "When the Sun Goes Down" along with a few of Uncle
Kracker's other songs. During the song "Lay You Down"
he serenaded a girl in the audience ... she was a tad
bit overwhelmed! It was so funny! Also there was this
little girl a few rows in front of us with this big
yellow poster board that said "I Love Kenny" It was
so cute! Also there were these two ladies that C.J.
and I thought were funny. They were totally dancing
and getting into the music. I tried to take a pic
of them, but unfortunately there was some bars in the
way.
My favorite song that he performed
was "Back Where I Come From" and on the monitor's it
showed videos of Luttrell (where Kenny is from) and
then at the end it had pics of Salt Lake City. It was
cool. The show ended with his songs "There Goes My Life"
and "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." It was a great concert!
And for those of you who were wondering .. no there
wasn't any appearances by Renee ... but according to
the radio djs she was in town.
Here are my pics
... enjoy!
   
 
Thank you mom for the tickets! It was
so fun!
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TICKETS!
21 June 2005 ...
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My mom was so awesome and bought me
tickets to tonight's Kenny Chesney concert. I had been
really wanting to go, but just didn't have the funds
and so I tried winning and such. My mom surprised me
yesterday with two lower bowl seats. I can't wait! He
won Entertainer of the Year this year and I have heard
his concerts are amazing.
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FALLING APART
20 June 2005 ...
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Through out my life I have had one
constant and that is something that I have held on to
very tightly. This weekend that constant proved that
it was no longer constant. The loss of this in my life
has proven to be very damaging and I am not sure how
I am going to go on with the change in my life. I know
that I will go on, I am just going to have to adapt
to it's absence. The sad thing is the person involved
doesn't understand just what this loss is causing me
and just how deep my feelings run.
A big thank you to my friends for the
fabulous surprise party that they threw me for my birthday
on Friday. It meant a lot at a difficult time. That
reminder that there are people that care means more
than they know.
I also attended the Bluffdale town
days on Saturday ... here
are some pictures:
    
plus some pictures from playing dress
up with Elinor:
  

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SOUTH PACIFIC
16 June 2005 ...
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Last night Katie and I headed to Murray
Park to catch the dress rehearsal of South Pacific
which a few of our friends were in. I had never seen
the show before, and it turned out to be a good show.
Katie on the other hand is a South Pacific
veteran. She knew the words to the songs and what was
going to happen when. She even started to sing the instrumental
parts before the orchestra started to play them. This
was also a good opportunity for me to play with my camera
and learn more about the no flash settings. Here are
the pictures that I took. Enjoy!
   
 
Also this morning I went to my new job to do paperwork
and was able to see my new office. That's right an actual
office! With a window no less! No more dark cubicle.
This news made me giddy!
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COUNSILMAN CLASSIC
15 June 2005 ...
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About my trip ... first off there was
the incident of getting stuck in Detroit over night
on Thursday. Because the plane left late the next day
I missed Natalie & Michael's first prelim races.
I was so disappointed. This was the very first time
I was able to see Natalie swim live and I was very excited
about it. But there were many more opportunities over
the next few days.
The way the meet worked was each morning
were the preliminary races where everyone raced and
then the top eight finalists went on to the finals that
were held each night. Michael Phelps competed in six
different events and placed first in all six. He also
made four meet records. Natalie competed in three events
and placed first in all three. She had a meet record
in one event.
I was able to meet Natalie Coughlin
who is just a total sweetheart. She was so nice and
signed something for me and a rookie card that I brought
for my friend. She even took a picture with me. Meeting
her was really great and the highlight of the meet for
me. She is a very kind person.
I met tons of different people. One
was Rhonda who was the mother of one of the swimmers,
Megan Romano. I think Megan has a great future ahead
of her. She did really great. The thing that was fun
about Rhonda was how excited she would get for her daughter.
She is one of those extremely supportive parents and
I was amazed by her. You could tell just how proud she
was of Megan. I also met Suz & Kris two other fans
who were there. They were very kind and hung out with
me all three days, which made the event much more interesting.
There was one little girl that I have
to say was the cutest fan yet. She was four years old
and had bright red hair. She came with her mom to the
prelim session on Saturday morning. Everytime Michael
raced she would yell out his name and say "Go Michael
Phelps" it was awesome! Afterwards she went over by
the cool down pool and waited to try talking to him.
He waved to her and you could tell she was so excited.
We had two tornado warnings on Sunday
night. The first one was right before Natalie's race
for the Women's 100m Freestyle. The finalists were up
on the blocks ready to go when the siren went off. We
ended up having to leave the pool area and go into the
basement hallways. Because I was on the pool deck I
ended up in the hall with all the swimmers. Very cool
to watch them interact. The second one was during the
last half of Michael's final race for the Men's 100m
Freestyle. The guys had to finish the race and then
jump out of the pool. The evening ended very quickly
and since they had already finished the 100m Freestyle
races (the last events for the night) they decided not
to do the awards ceremonies.
Here are some of the images from the meet. To see all
of the images, go here.
   
 
While in Indiana, I able to stay with
the Sweezy
family who I lived with on my mission. There kids
have gotten so big. Over all the trip was great and
I made it home without any crazy happenings. ;o)
   

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HELLO FROM DETROIT
09 June 2005 ...
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| An unexpected change of events ... I am spending the
night here in Detroit, Michigan. First we were delayed
by weather then by engine problems. So the airline has
put us up in a hotel for the night and given us food vouchers.
We are rescheduled for 7:00 am. Hopefully all will go
well. Wish me luck. Off to my big queen sized bed I go.
Good night! |
ILLEGAL RAILROAD PICTURES
08 June 2005 ...
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Ben and I had fun taking pictures down at the train
yards, and then the police showed up. To read more about
it go here.
Also if you want to see the pics we managed to get go
here.
   
 
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THE BIG 28!
07 June 2005 ...
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| A big thank you to everyone who made yesterday special.
I really appreciated it!
Here is a birthday graphic someone made me (how did
she know I liked Michael Phelps?) ;o)

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100 THINGS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT
KNOW ABOUT ME - VOLUME SEVEN
06 June 2005 ...
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- I have been a huge fan of Faith Hill since her album
It Matters to Me.
- I collect the city pins from the Hard Rock Cafes.
- I love spearmint flavored gum, but recently became
addicted to the new flavor by Orbit called Sweet Mint.
(Thanks Brad!)
- I love to be punctual, but when I get talking to
someone I am often late.
- I am attracted to guys who can make me laugh.
- My name was originally supposed to be Stephanie
Allison, but my grandmother hated the name Stephanie.
- I dream of one day living on the Oregon coast.
- I enjoy buying and reading magazines. It is crazy
just how many clutter up my bedroom.
- My favorite flavor of ice cream is vanilla because
you can add all kinds of fun toppings or eat it plain.
- I am a pack rat or a sentimentalist - I keep all
kinds of things from my past from dried flowers to
plastic mustaches.
Plus I have pics from the Riverton
Arts Festival this past weekend:
  
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BELATED
02 June 2005 ...
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Because I am a slacker - I am sending out a belated
birthday wish to Tania:

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CHANGES
27 May 2005 ...
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First things first, tomorrow is Sarah Beth's birthday!
Happy Birthday Sarah!
My life seems like it's been in a constant spiraling
motion lately. Consistantly moving in circles and
I can't seem to keep straight which way is up. As
of this weekend I am temporarily moving out until
I can figure out a more permenant solution. I feel
like I should be more excited about this, but I am
not. I hate the way things are right now. I hate the
stress and the anger and the biting comments. I think
it might have been easier, but I feel so alone. I
hate these feelings and I am not sure how to get them
to leave me alone. I hate it when my insecurities
start showing.
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SPEECHLESS
24 May 2005 ...
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A FOND FAREWELL
23 May 2005 ...
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I am not even sure how to start ... so bare with
me as I try to put my feelings into words. As many
of you know a close friend of mine is leaving on his
mission this week and I want to take a minute and
dedicate this post to him.
I believe that every person who comes into your life
is there for a specific reason and I believe that
Phil is no exception in my life. He has taught me
so much about respecting others and loving them. He
has been able to make me laugh when no one else can
and is a great example to me. As he goes out to serve
our Father in Heaven I know he will be able to touch
so many lives, and I know this because he has touched
mine. Thank you Spud Butt for everything you've done
- for our many talks, nights eating lumberjacks, races
to catch pictures of the storm, sharing music &
movies, and so much more. I am especially grateful
that you have lived your life in away that you could
be the answer to a prayer when I needed one most.
I hope you realize just how much you mean to me.
Pics from the retreat - all of them are here:
   
 
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ME & THE LUMBERJACKS
19 May 2005 ...
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Last night Phil, Ben, & I made lumberjack sandwiches
and headed to Draper Park for a picnic. It was absoluteIy
gorgeous outside plus we got a good laugh out of the
teenagers that were there. They really thought that
Ben was one "wicked" dude. I feel pretty
lucky to have the Barker boys in my life. They help
me not take myself so seriously and help me laugh
a lot (a lot).
Here are the pics I took - to see all go here.
(Warning - some are a bit odd!)
   
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T! FIND OUT WHAT IT
MEANS TO ME!
16 May 2005 ...
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JUST WHEN ....
09 May 2005 ...
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WISE MEN SAY
06 May 2005 ...
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Almost all major events in my life have a song that
is attached to it. When I hear that song it takes
me back to that important moment in my life and for
that moment I relive how I felt.
There is one song that every time I hear even a part
of it, I then have it stuck in my head for a very
long time! I have a friend who finds pleasure in getting
this song stuck in my head. The main problem with
this song is that it also has a memory association
attached to it. And most of them have to do with a
certain individual who used to be a major part of
my life. Every time I hear the song memories of him
and the feelings I had for him come to mind and I
would have regrets and thoughts about why I wasted
my time on that person. Needless to say, I try to
avoid hearing the song.
This morning I was listening to an old mix cd and
that song started to play. As I listened to it I realized
how far I had come because for once I no longer regret
the time I spent with that person and the feelings
I had invested. I learned so much and have grown so
much since then. If I were to ask myself if I would
trade all of that, the answer would have to be, no.
I am so glad that things happen in our lives. I am
glad that we don't know what the future holds because
I think it would hold us back from so many experiences
that are meant to be apart of our lives. I look forward
to the next experience.
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IT'S OFFICIAL!
05 May 2005 ...
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I am so thrilled! I made my flight reservations
this morning for my trip to Indiana! I know I am so
silly to be so excited but I really can't wait! Just
over a month and I will be back in good ol' Indiana!
YES!
P.S. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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SLEEPY GIRL & THOSE ONE GUYS
04 May 2005 ...
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This morning started much earlier than usual and
therefore my body is protesting right now. I had to
take my mom to the airport so that she could fly to
Ohio and pick up my grandfather who is coming to live
with us for a few months. The perk to this is that
I get the entire house to myself for the next few
days. Yipee! Tonight I have big plans to curl up and
watch Alias (still have the last two episodes to watch)
and get to bed early, my body is yelling at me right
now.
Last night I was able to chat with Kaitlin Sandeno,
a gold medal Olympic swimmer who is from Southern
California . She is a fun girl and I enjoy talking
with her. She is addicted to Napoleon Dynamite and
is constantly quoting it. I don't think I know anyone
who loves that movie more (except for maybe Rachael!)
Last night we were talking about guy friends. We both
agreed that they are especially fun if they can make
you laugh. I am pretty lucky that most of my guy friends
are hilarious! I am constantly laughing when I am
with them. They love teasing me. It's like good ol'
George once told me, "If I didn't give you crap,
you wouldn't know I cared about you." So to all
my cute guy friends - thanks for the laughter and
know that I love you!
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TO LOVE AND BE LOVED
03 May 2005 ...
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Last night was filled with friends and a rousing
game of dodge ball at the tute (speaking of dodge
ball – Brenda we need to do glow in the dark
dodge ball sometime soon!). I took way too many
pictures, but I am sure you will all enjoy them.
   

Go here
to see all of them. Now on to other things ...
Lately I have been thinking about the talents and
gifts that I have been given. One of them is photography,
one is computers, but I know that there are so many
more. One of the gifts I have is to love. Sunday I
was able to spend some time with my three favorite
munchkins. Even though I am not biologically related
to these three, I have a great abundance of love for
them. Being with them brings me such joy. They constantly
surprise me with the things they will say or do and
I love it. I love jumping with them on the trampoline,
watching Clark hunt for bugs as Jefferson tags behind,
watching Elinor get into mischief, dancing with Bethany
, etc. Children can be one of our greatest sources
of joy and love. While reflecting over my feelings
for these three beautiful souls reminds me of the
love our Father in Heaven has for each of us. He loves
us unconditionally and knows us perfectly. I try daily
to return that love by the things I do and say. How
grateful I am for Him and His perfect example and
for the Love He gave by sending us His Son to give
us a way to return one day and be by His side.
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REVAMPING!
02 May 2005 ...
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I really didn't like the last layout at all - so
I decided that I just couldn't look at it anymore
and so I revamped the look. I am really liking this
new design. It features pictures of Jennifer Garner
from InStyle magazine and lyrics from the song "This
Is Me" by Faith Hill. Let me know what you think!
This past weekend I had a lot of me time. I did spend
some time with my friends on Friday, but I had tons
of time to think about things and relax. I listened
to music and contimplated life a bit and how I see
things. I am so lucky. I have great friends, mostly
good health, and a lot of passions and talents to
occupy my time.
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