DAY 4

I guess today is a set back.... I went back to my habit of not eating! I skipped out on church and slept and watched movies all day. I ended up having some visitors come over which was nice to see people. I was awake for part of it but then once we began talking too much, I was getting very sleepy! 

We went over to my grandparents house on the Whatcott side to eat dinner. I couldn't even focus on anything. I got a very little amount of food to eat and then could barely keep myself awake. I don't really remember much of that evening. I was able to take pictures with everyone in the family which was nice and fun to look back on. I was so scared that someone was going to bump me and make me start hurting even worse! 

Today is the day that I was able to take off my bandages. It was actually really exciting to see! There was so much padding that it was scary to not have it on there anymore. I threw the bandage away and was able to clean it up a little bit. Remove some of the dried blood and clean the skin around it. I applied a new bandage on it, a waterproof one, so I could still be protected but also get in the shower which I was stoked about. I felt so super dirty even though I had just been laying there for days. The incision is about 3 inches in length. Crazy to think that a surgery could be performed in that small of an opening. This incision is on the left leg, in the front of my body. Right where the crease of your hip bends. 

DAY 3

Today is Saturday. I woke up feeling much better than the night before. I was feeling so good that I moved my loritab an hour back so they were farther spaced. I ended up eating for the first time since the surgery. My mom had bought me some chips to eat on the way home from the hospital but I could not eat any. I tested myself this morning and I was able to eat the bag. This made my momma so proud! I was able to roam around the house more and do a little bit of stretching with my hip. I had everything I needed right around me and I was golden. I still could not let go of my icepack. It had to be full of ice and glued to my hip. I had some bruising show up which was very interesting. The bruise was spotted along my leg and made me look like a cheetah. Today was a great day!

Later on, I felt like I could eat more food so I did. I had my mom warm up my Cafe Rio left overs, of course, and man was it yummy! I apparently was so hungry because I ate about half of the salad. This was a big step for me, I was slowly getting my appetite back. Since I had eaten so much for lunch, I did not eat anything for dinner which I guess was still okay. 

That night I got to finally get out of the house! It was a wonderful adventure. We went to my little brothers baseball game at Desert Hills High School. My mom made sure I had enough clothing on to keep me warm and she also took my blanket to wrap around me as well. I made sure we had my icepack and my loritab that I was suppose to be taking during the game. After we got there and having to crutch my way over to the bleachers (felt like a marathon distance) I was able to sit and enjoy baseball. People around me kept asking if I was okay and what happened, apparently my response to everyone was, "Im on drugs!" I never got cold once, and I was happy to just walk around. The bleachers were too hard to stay seated on. After standing for most of the game, I went and sat back down by my family and watched the game. There was a kid that got hit by a pitch right in the kidney area, thats gotta hurt! I was informed of this later that I had offered the kid my extra loritab that was in my moms pocket because he was in pain. My sister told me that it is illegal to sell it to him, so my response was.. "thats okay, I wouldn't sell it to him, I would just give it to him!" My whole family thought that was pretty funny! A few minutes later I took the loritab because it was time for me to, and had said, "Nevermind, he can't have it anymore, its in my belly!" The funniest part, I guess I was so high on the drugs that I sounded like I was high. My voice was high and I was just super happy!

DAY 2

Due to all of the many liquids in my body from the surgery, I woke up every hour at night to go to the bathroom. I slept in a large lazy boy rocking chair in the family room in front of the TV. With all of the drugs and the nerve block, I could not get out of the chair on my own to go to the bathroom. I had to call my mom each time I woke up so she would come get me out of the chair. Needless to say, she did not get very much sleep that night. 

Once morning rolled around, I was slowly starting to get feeling back into my leg. The nerve block was almost gone by 11 ish in the morning, which was nice. I could now get up and move around a little better because I had more control over my leg. From the way they had to move my muscles out of the way to perform the surgery, I was so sore! It felt as if the doctor had just ripped out my muscles instead. I wanted to cry each time I moved them! That meant, that each time I got up to move around, I would put much more pressure on my right side to keep me up, which in turn just made my right butt cheek very sore as well. All I wanted to do was sit there and sleep. So I did!

I still was not feeling very good and did not get a chance to eat anything before I felt nauseous. I kept taking my pain medicine along with the anti inflammatory medicine even though I had not been eating food with them. I made sure I drank a ton of water since that was the only thing that I could keep down. This went on all day long, making my mother a little worried about me. She made me eat a piece of bread with jam on it, which I ended up choking part of it down. I began to get very very sick! 

Everyone and everything was so loud. My head was screaming at me. My stomach was churning and heaving. I was hot, then I was cold. My hip was throbbing. I just wanted everyone to stop what they were doing and leave me alone. I finally ended up feeling good enough to fall asleep and stayed asleep for a good amount of time. I didn't wake up near as much that night which helped my mom out. 

DAY 1

Check in at 6 am on Thursday morning came to soon. 

My mother and I had to drive up Wednesday night in order to be able to check in on Thursday morning. We stopped in Provo to spend the night at my Aunt and Uncle Edgington's house. Because we weren't able to find out the time of my surgery until Wednesday around 2 pm, it made it difficult for us to fly up and find a hotel that was cheaper than $249 so we drove. I remember being very uncomfortable on the drive up cause I was so nervous with every passing mile. The surgery was going to cost more than we had first initiated, the time was hard for us to get make and finding a place to stay was ridiculous. We ended up just winging it and everything worked out. I arrived and checked into the kiosk at 6 am at the Pioneer Valley Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. We talked to a lady quickly about some of my information and then she walked us down to the surgical wing. I was then taken into the bathroom to get a urine sample. It is very difficult to go to the bathroom when you are so nervous! I then changed into a very large purple gown that was way to big for me and sat in a large chair. I felt like a queen (NOT AT ALL ACTUALLY)!

 From there a lovely lady named Valerie got my IV all set up. Problem was that she got the valve on my left hand so the needle wouldn't go in all the way so she had to switch hands to make it stay. The right hand was a success! :) I had to fill out some paperwork and wait until my room was all prepped and I had met all the guys helping out with my surgery! Dr. Dan Richards performed the surgery, Dr. Chen was my anesthesiologist, and Craig who was the PA. I was wheeled into the surgical room while I was still conscious, and man, it was full of equipment, it was almost intimidating! Soon enough, I started feeling that the room was spinning and I couldn't remember what Dr. Chen had asked me.. Then I was out!

....3.5 HOURS LATER....

I finally woke up! Well I attempted to wake up. I had been under so much anesthesia that it took me a very long time to wake up and gain consciousness! I kept asking the recovery nurse if she was okay and if she wanted to share some of the blanket with me. She asked me if I wanted some juice or water and I told her that my mom wanted some juice even though I hadn't seen my mom since before I left for the surgical room. Needless to say, I was definitely still on the drugs. After that, I became very dizzy and sick to my stomach. They tried to get me to sit up but I couldn't do it. The whole room was spinning and wouldn't stop. This feeling lasted for a very long time. I finally got to get dressed in my own clothes (which the mean red headed nurse made me do all by myself) and take a trip to the bathroom. I ended up throwing up instead. My leg also gave out on me, thank goodness I had a nurse right there with me to catch me. I made it back to my bed and laid there for many more hours. Smells would make me nauseous, too much talking would make me dizzy, and I was just wore out after taking a sip of water. I felt like I was on my death bed.
6 pm rolled around and I attempted to go to the bathroom once again. It took some encouraging but I managed to accomplish the task. I was now able to leave the hospital and head home. Once I got all situated in the car, we headed south back home to St. George. Without fail, we had to make a pit stop every hour to get up and move and take a bathroom break, I had wayy too much liquid in my body! (They pumped me full of 2 large bags of liquid and one small bag of liquid, plus I had drank about 24 oz. of water) Once we hit Cedar City, I was completely miserable. My  mom would not allow me to take any pain medicine because I had not eaten anything, but due to my pain level in Cedar, she made an exception and let me take a loritab with a nausea pill. I ended up going to the bathroom 3 different times in Cedar, which was quite the chore but it wore me out enough that I could sleep in the car for the last hour we had. I was never so excited to see my house! I got home and all settled in and was asleep before anyone could say goodnight!

Surgery!!

**ENJOY! I am on lortab and toradol for the pain and it makes me a little loopy. Sorry if it doesn't make much sense. I will revise later when I can think more clearly**

For those of you who don't know, I was in need of surgery on both of my hips because of my congenital condition and how they were shaped. The head of my femur sat a little too deep in the socket due to extra bone hanging out from the edge and it was rubbing on an area of my femur between the head and the neck that had a little extra bump on it. So with all this extra bone, they were rubbing together and making my labrum (medicine.net quotes "the labrum is a ring of fibrocartilage (fibrous cartilage) around the edge of the articular (joint) surface of a bone.") causing it to inflame and degenerate. Not very fun at all if you ask me! Having this has changed how I do a lot of things. The pain onset the summer of my senior year and being a competitive swimmer, it made things very difficult to overcome. I was in pain constantly and ended up doing 5 months of physical therapy, had multiple x-rays, did acupuncture (actually was pretty neat), took all sorts of calming medications (such as cortisone pills), all during swim season. I finally got an MRI in November of 2011 and none of the doctors here could see anything majorly wrong. My uncle recommended us to a doctor so we called and met with Dr. Dan Richards of Granger Medical in SLC in June of 2012. He is a DO and specializes in hips, so he was perfect for me. We met with him and they looked very hard at my MRI and told me that I needed to get shots in both hips of numbing medication to see how they felt. If the pain went away then that meant I needed surgery, which was the undesired route of healing. I ended up getting the shot in October 2012 and was able to ride a bike for the first time in 3 years, due to the pain before, and I felt so good on there. No PAIN! I went running, which lately I could only run .5 miles (pathetic I know) and there was no pain. We waited a few more months and went to go see Dr. Richards again in December. We discussed many things and it all boiled down to me needing surgery. :/ We decided to schedule the surgery on March 8th 2013. It was a friday and the beginning of spring break so I could relax for a week before returning back to school and work. I ended up getting a call from Dr. Richards office and talked to his nurse assistant saying that my surgery date needed to change because Dr. Richards had a meeting he could not pass up, so I rescheduled my surgery for Thursday, March 7th 2013. And soon the day arrived...

A New Start

The new year is right around the corner and resolutions are going to be set. I am so excited about mine that I think I am going to start right away and make it a way of life. I have been full of positivity lately and I just want to serve other people. I want to write down every day in my planner of something I did for someone else, whether they know me or not. For at least one day a week and maybe later it turns into a few days a week, but I want to write either thank you notes or uplifting cards for strangers. I hope this works! I pray with all my heart that I can touch at least one life a month and hopefully much more. I know this will not be easy, especially with school and work but I know I can do it! It is giving my life a new start and hopefully it is giving someone else the strength they need to make a new start as well. 

-I got my idea from the movie, "The Letter Writer".

The Cleanse!

So me and my dear mother decided to be crazy for a week and do a cleanse. It is called the GM Diet if anyone is interested after hearing about all of this. It goes for 7 days and you have to follow a very strict diet and drink A LOT of water (10 glasses) everyday. The process goes as follows:

Day 1: Only allowed to eat fruits! (No bananas though).

It was a good day at first since you can eat as many fruits as you would like, especially melons. By the end of the day I was starting to get sick of all the sweetness that came from the fruits. I was craving something crunchy and salty, like a cracker! On top of all of that, you have to force yourself to drink much more water then normal so the bathroom became my best friend every half hour.

Day 2: Only raw or cooked Vegetables! (You are allowed a potato for breakfast)

Lets just say I was glad to see this day come, and the potato for breakfast was so delicious! Today wasn't too bad since it wasn't all sweets and the vegetables could be cooked or raw. I got through the day just fine and came up with creative ways to cook up food. I decided to stop drinking water past 8 PM so I could actually get some sleep and not always be running to the bathroom.

Day 3: Fruits and Vegetables :) (No potatoes or bananas)

Today was not very bad since I could mix and match between fruits and vegetables, sweet and salty. I was pretty hungry today tho and went to bed early due to hunger. It was very hard to drink the required amount of water because it was starting to taste very blah, so I have lessened my amount of water intake then what is required.

Day 4: Bananas and Milk. Plus a special soup!

Today was okay, but I lost a sense of cravings today so I was doing okay. I woke up and blended the bananas and milk together with some ice and it was yummy! The soup was actually really good but that could also be the hunger speaking. The soup has no limit but you are only allowed 8 bananas and 3 glasses of milk. I did not reach 8 bananas but I got to my 3 glasses of milk. The soup was interesting to make since it was a bunch of random ingredients thrown together but heyy it was good.

Soup recipe: 28 oz, Water, 6 Large Onions, 2 Green Peppers, Whole Tomatoes (fresh or canned), 1 Head Cabbage, 1 Bunch Celery, 4 Envelopes Lipton Onion Soup Mix, Herbs and Flavouring as desired.

Pour it all in and cook it! Unlimited eating and makes a lot of soup.

Day 5: Consume lean meat and tomatoes.

(2 10 oz. portions of meat and increase water up to 4 quarts)

This was the hardest day since meat and tomatoes aren't the yummiest by themselves. Hamburger is okay but lets just say I barely ate anything all day long and went to bed so very hungry.

Day 6: Beef and vegetables. (unlimited amounts of both)

This day was a lot better then the day before. I actually ate some food and got full. I was okay with that. I could definitely tell that I did not fit into any of my clothes anymore. I had lost weight and I liked it.

Day 7: Brown Rice, Fruit Juice, and Vegetables

This was by far my favorite day and I was so happy to be on the last day. :) The brown rice was very good especially with a little bit of salsa (which is veggies) mixed into it. I have never loved fruit juice as much as I did on this day . Good day for sure.

Over all I only lost 5 pounds but I could tell that it was for sure off and not just water weight which was the goal. I could tell my body felt better and I had more energy. I had gotten rid of all of the toxins in my body, or most of them, and I felt great. It was a hard process to go through but I really did enjoy it and after it was all over, I did not want any sweets at all. That was a great feeling! I got offered to go get ice cream and I felt like eating an apple instead. It was definitely good for me to go through and it taught me to eat a lot healthier. I would do this again for sure!

Life's Little Pleasures

Once all the bad times and the negative feelings get the chance to leave, everything seems so amazing! There is positive things all around you, we all just need to open our eyes and look for them. Happiness to me, is the key of life! Nothing will work out or be accomplished to the best of your ability if you have a negative attitude. I decided to change the way I look at things and it truly feels amazing. I have an amazing family, have the gospel in my life, have the opportunity to go to college and choose my own major, be surrounded by the people that I enjoy and love, have unlimited opportunities to do anything I choose, I'm even being more positive about my body and appearance. (as you know, for women, its a little bit more of a difficult thing to be okay with) But I am trying and doing the best I can to look for the positive influences in my life. I can say I wake up every morning and am happy, even if I only got a few hours of sleep, and I CHOOSE to have a great day! I CHOOSE to L.O.V.E this life I have!

What do you choose to do?

Life's Many Adventures!

So throughout the ups and downs, twists and turns that we have in life, we begin to realize more about ourself and those around us. With our high moments, its amazing to see how everyone just wants to be with you and is your best friend! They help you enjoy your accomplishments and the time when nothing can bring you down. As soon as life decides to throw one little twist your way, some of those people decide your not worth their time and leave while others stick to your side and keep encouraging you on. We begin to think that those people who stick around are our true friends and the closer you become. Life is not through with you yet and the surprises will come your way. Possibly could have more time being on top of the world or you could go down into the dumps. When you are at your very lowest is the time when those close to you are tested. Those who are the 100% real friends will stay by your side and all others will leave, even those who you thought were your true friends. It is always a harsh reality to see those close to you leave because of the trials that you face, which can make you feel even lower. Just pause, forget about the craziness around you, and just breathe for a minute. You soon begin to realize who means the most to you and how they have never left your side for even a fraction of a second.

I have had my own moment of realization and I see who I want to stay with me and who isn't worth my time. I feel dumb in saying this but the one person that I know that I can turn to and will always be there is my Mother! Deana Hafen Whatcott! She is a true gem! I couldn't ask for anyone better. She is always there to help me and speak words of wisdom. For those times that no words can be thought up to help, then she always gives tender loving care which is sometimes all that is needed to help get through the day. I love her hugs and seeing her smile. I may look like her but I want to strive everyday to be like her. She is a best friend that anyone could ask for and I appreciate all that she does for me. I love her with all my heart! Granted there are other people out there that are there for me that I love but my mother is just someone that I realized once again that she has never left my side!

XOXO L.O.V.E You!

LiFe!

My life is still just as crazy but I love every second of it. It has been such a good thing for me to move out and learn things on my own. I have learned to just relax and things will work out. It is your choice whether or not you want to be happy, sad, stressed, etc. That is YOUR own choice. Since I have learned that, I have tried to wake up every day and say that I am going to be happy and enjoy what I have around me. I have been so blessed in my life that it would be very selfish of me if I didn't appreciate the things around me and be positive with all things I do. I see one of my roommates that is always happy. I am not going to lie, but I am so jealous of her. I envy her positivity that she always has. I am trying to be more like her, she is such a good example to me! I see our neighbor boys that are always so laid back and chill. They can play pranks and be messed with but they know how to laugh it off and just enjoy the time that they have with their friends. They show me that no matter what they are doing, they can find the fun in it! For example, one of the boys and I had to study history for our test the next day. We ended up making a fort and studied in that. Something so simple made the time go by quickly, and I actually remembered a lot for the test. The simple things in life is what makes life go round. Smiling, saying a nice comment, or as my room roommate does, make my bed, or just playing silly pranks is something I look forward to every day and try to improve on those areas as well. I just have to say that I am so lucky to have the friends that I do and the family that I have. I like to just sit back sometimes and watch them go through their busy lives and realize that even tho they are just as busy or busier then me, they still make time to include me and make me feel loved. I hope that I have returned the favor back to them.

So this is a shout out to any of my family or friends, or even anyone that I know since I am sure that you have influenced me in one way or another,

-Thank you for everything. You honestly do not know how much I appreciate the love and kindness you have showed to me at any given point in my life. We may not always be close or never have been but either way, I have taken something from our relationship and hope to just build on that. You will always be in my heart and mind. Don't forget that you are an amazing person and that I L.o.v.e You!

Love always, Jacee :)

August 29-September 3

So this week has been complete torture! I have just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for a while until things just calm down. I honestly don't know how much more I can handle to completely honest. Let me just let you in on what has been going on, but please, no pitty!

• Wednesday I spent a long time at the hospital just waiting. (keep reading for more information) since I was there I had to cancel swim lessons for the following day, had to find someone to work for me, and make it to my student alumni meeting which I was not prepared for at all. I missed out on a lot of opportunities to meet more people and hang out with my neighbors from my complex. I ended up never going to bed that night.
• Thursday I worked at 5 am and since I never ended up going to bed, it happened to be a very long shift. While I was there I could not keep my eyes open and I probably looked like a very drunk person roaming the area with how out of it I was. I could not pay attention to any of the swimmers, which I am grateful that
• no one got hurt or drowned. I went running around the parking lot, splashed water on my face, ate food, jumped around and so on, but nothing worked to keep me awake. I finally got home at 9:30 and crashed on my bed until around 12:30.
• I skipped my first class which was at 12 and just went to the one at 1-2:15. The whole time I was zoning out and going to fall asleep. I had a grumpy look on my face and didn't make one comment the whole time. I went home and had to get ready to go teach swimming lessons. I taught and just wanted to die the whole time. I got done and went home. I finally went to bed around 6:30 pm. I felt so sick, was way tired, and was a grouch. So I went to bed :)
• Around 9 pm my roommates started screaming on the top of their lungs, I woke up and was so confused/angry about what happened. I gave them the worst look ever and told them to be quite. I feel kind of bad but it happened. I slept until 4:30 am and went to work at 5 am again.


• Friday I worked at 5 am and it wasn't bad at all. I stayed awake and was in good spirits. I got home and got all ready to go to the gym and work out. I got there and was about to start running when I got a text telling me I'm late for a meeting. Wow! Bad timing. My brain is just not functioning. I then was all hurried and stressed out.
• I had to go work AGAIN on Friday night from 3-10 pm at the city pool. Everything was going good until the last rotation which was at 9:40 pm. I had just got down to the bottom of the slide when a guy who is 39 goes down the slide. When he came out he was yelling that he dislocated his knee. Everyone, including me, started laughing cuz people get hurt all the time on the slide, but he was serious. I go over and look at it and sure enough it was badly dislocated. We turned off the slide, sat him on a backboard and carried him out to the front so he could be taken to the hospital by his wife in the truck. I start filling out the accident report form and next thing I know, the guys son is standing in front of me and starts yelling. He got so mad at me since I started laughing and didn't believe the guy at first. Then I couldn't help him fix his knee. I was just getting thrown around by his comments and nothing I said would help him calm down. When he was done and the whole pool stopped watching, I went and finished the accident report form. I don't do well when people yell at me so I started to tear up, :( and my head guard said, "Jacee, are you okay?" I tried to brush it off and say yes but I think he saw a tear in my eye. I walked out and got my shoes just so I could calm down. When I came back, a lady came up to me and was saying how bad she felt that I got yelled at and that I didn't deserve it. I just felt so bad that I didn't know what to do and just wanted to cry, but I kept my cool.
• On my way home I almost get in a car wreck cuz some idiot decides to pull out in front of me and almost T Bones me. It gets me very angry and I just want to get home.
• Saturday I find out that someone hits the front of my mom's car with a hitch. Which I'm sure it was the Utah Barricade Truck but not for sure. I have to deal with that while I'm dealing with telling my head guard that I am not coming into work that day since I honestly could not find one person that would take my shift. I tried everyone and no one was available. So I didn't show and am getting written up for that.
• Later after the game I met up with city police to figure out the damages to my mothers car. Not much can happen since I left the scene and there is no facts showing who did hit me for reals. I got to ride in the back of a police car to my parents house to see the damage to the car. After that is all done, I can finally go home and relax. A friend of mine was going to come over and watch a movie with me and my roommate but he ended up bailing. And not to mention, I have had a headache pretty much the whole week. Its been great!

Some good things do happen in the midst of all the crazy drama that happens. I have been trying to focus on the positives to help me through but as you can see, there hasn't been much of that anywhere.

• On Wednesday, Whitney, my sister in law, was admitted into the hospital because she was going to have her baby. After 14 hours of waiting, Mckay Robert Whatcott entered this world at 2:12 AM. He weighed 7 lbs 14 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long. He is the cutest baby ever. His dark hair, tiny fingers and toes, precious face, and angel like presence is just the best thing that could have happened to me this week. I keep looking at his pictures, I was able to hold him, and just knowing he is here is a miracle. I am grateful for him and I know that my brother is going to be such an amazing father.

• Thursday, I was begin such a grouch and my roommates where being so kind. They were giving my compliments and taking care of me.
• Bree, my room roommate, made my bed. Obviously it's not how I would have done it, but I don't even care. She is so sweet and wanted to just do something to help be less stressful.

I have seen many miracles in my life and those are just a few that mean a lot to me that happened this week. I know I am pretty lucky!

FLORIDA!!!!

Days come where things happen and we lose privileges, but as an outcome some very fun memorable times come about and are enjoyable. My wonderful sir is having her birthday soon and is turning 23, but since she is getting one year older and wiser too, she is no longer allowed to use the flying benefits from my mom's work, Sky West. Due to this loss, a trip was planned as she wanted and her, my mom, and myself went to Florida. It was a very long red eye flight but it was also funny. The way to the airport I was being so funny and just spouting out randomness.

• Me: "You are no limo, you are a short bus...." (said towards Dani)
• "Heyy look over at the trash can, hahaha it's white trash!" (white man sleeping in the airport in front of the trash cans)

Once we got on the plane my mom took half an ambien, and I took one dramamine. We got loopy real quick and things were just funny. I hate planes so being mostly gone on dramamine helped me cope and I didn't really realize what was going on. The flight was only 3 1/2 hours long and we arrived in Florida at 6 AM. We were so tired and headed on our way. I ended up sleeping almost every time we drove somewhere since I had the back to myself with my blanket. We went to the temple and took pictures. Saw lizards mating, they should get a room! We hit up the clothing stores since I guess that is what girls do. We all got some really cute clothes for pretty cheap prices. We even got to watch my cousin play baseball, which he did so good! Made us all proud :) ha On Saturday we went to the funnest thing ever. It was in the Mossi Science and Industry building, but we went and did a rope course. It was 3 stories and each level seemed to get harder not to mention higher. Once we got to the top, I was ready to be done even tho I had a blast. Me and Dani laughed together and sweat together. We got to the beach about an hour later after we finished. We went to Siesta Key Beach. It is the most desired beach to go to. It was BEAUTIFUL. The sand was white, the water was warm, and we only had one towel with subway! ha It was a site for sure. We stayed in the water the whole time until the weather made us leave. That night we just mainly stayed in our hotel but went and got dinner at NY Pizza Grill. Not the best choice to go but it ended up being an adventure. We ordered pizza, and a salad. But as an extra we got 4 breadsticks. These breadsticks were about 4 inches tall and half an inch wide, funniest part.... they were BURNT! ha no wonder why they were free ha. On Sunday we flew home, we got to the airport at 6 AM and had to return the car, the plane didn't leave until after 10 so we sat around and played cards and laughed the whole time. We ended up being in an airport for 5 hours, being on a plane for 7 hours, changed planes 3 times, and had to drive an hour and half home. (Dani had to take another flight to get to salt lake) It was a torture. Sometimes being able to fly free has its negative side but heyy, who can beat randomly getting first class and being treated like a princess? Not me! The trip ended up being worth it and I loved being with my mom and sister!

My Life Changed Today....

Today is so interesting.... Chipper is now a 16 yr old sophomore! So weird! He drove to school today, granted I was with him but still. He hasn't gotten his license yet due to the teacher not ever being available but soon he will get it and he will drive the roads crazy! He will be getting the truck so I am officially beginning my goodbyes to my dear friend. My little brother isn't so little anymore. Granted he was never that little but still!

Another thing that is happening today is that I am moving out of the house into an apartment downtown. I will be right next to campus so I can walk. I will have 5 other roommates which one of them is my really good friend Bree Donovan. :) I am excited but also super nervous since I have never done this before and wont be able to just come on home and escape the crazies out there in the world! I love my family and not going to lie, this is hard for me to do. I almost don't like to talk bout it cuz I am afraid I will make them feel bad! I would just like them to know that they will always be in my heart no matter where I am located, whether it be down the street or in another continent! They are mine forever! Love them!

SUMMA TIME!

Summer was fun this year even tho I pretty much worked every single day.. but when I had my days off it was amazing and I had fun. I went cliff jumping out at Gunlock this year. SO much fun! You jump off of waterfalls and there are all different heights.

The highest one I jumped off of started out at 50 ft. Then as the water level

started to drop since we weren't having as much run off then the height changed to around 60 ft. Yes I know, ha I am crazy but it was crazy fun! I went on my birthday with friends and siblings. I couldn't have asked for a better day! By the way, I am 19 now. It is kind of weird to think of ha I still pause and have to remember how old I am when someone asks me. I'm getting old!

Another thing that happened this summer was my family and I went to Lagoon for a day. We flew up, did rides, then flew home, All in one day! It was actually pretty fun. some of the rides, I just wanted to cry on and get off but overall I enjoyed it. The power went out while we were there for about and hour and a half. It was so hot, we were all thirsty and bored. It finally came back on and we enjoyed our last few hours there! My parents made me actually get ready and put on make up, Lame I know! My dad's comment was, "your now 19, you can get hit on, we all know youll end up breaking their hearts." ha which is true but ends up being that right before we left some kid came up to me and asked for my number.... Stupid makeup ha he is younger then me so it is kind of awkward ha. But in the end of the day, I still don't know how to follow rules....

whoo!

So i thought it was finally summer but maybe I am gettin my seasons wrong.... IT IS STILL RAINY AND WINDY! I am going insane. I need my heat and sun. Please mother nature, be kind!

anyway. I have still been running. I do it about every other day. I am at 1.3 Miles. (I sound O so lame saying that) but I can do it! I run about 8 minute miles, not too bad saying I dont care in my speed. I hope I can get my body to keep going and make it farther distances. I need warm weather so I wont be hurting as much as normally!

I work all the time and its taking over my life. ha its nice tho since I know I am getting money out of it all! City pool will be opening soon but the bummer thing is that the hydrotube wont be open pretty much all summer unless we get somewhere around the amount of $5,000$ to fix the problems it has, then it could be open by end of june, hopefully. I am very sad now since the slide was my favorite part of the whole rotation. I will just have to deal now with the diving boards as being number one for awhile. Bring on the cannon ball contests! ha

I am still teaching swimming lessons and I really enjoy it. The kids are learning and its fun to see them improve. If you know of anyone that would like to have swimming lessons, give me a call and we can work something out!

Highschool is almost out for the summer! ahh I cant wait until it is since then I will have more friends to play with and Chipper wont be all boring due to homework! YAYAY! I cant wait to go to the river and skim, or to the lake and cliff jump!

ahh gotta love summer! I LOVE this

GOAL!!!!

So my goal right now is to be able to run long distances and hopefully run a 10k, then get more mileage to half marathon and depending on a lot of things....maybe a marathon! ooo I am excited. Right now I can do 1.3 miles. That doesn't sound like very much, and seems lame but I am proud of it. I am in the process of training my body, lungs, and especially my hips. Things are going upward and I am just chuggin along. I l.o.v.e. it! Running is so good for the body. I am feeling healthier, lost 2 pounds, gives me more energy, and I feel happier. Due to all this goodness, it makes me wanna run more which is very good. Anyone who wants to join me you may! more the marrier for sure. I run about 8 minute miles. Im just happy I can run, its a blessing to have functioning legs! :)

Endings and new Beginnings....

My life is great! I am truly enjoying it right now. But like with all things, it is going to start to change. So much change is coming around but I am excited. Life would get boring if there was no change. Get all stale like an old cracker or something....GROSS!

• First year of college is coming to a close. Can you believe it? I dont feel old enough for this ha but its here! Where has the days gone? I am in the process of taking finals and it is a killer. I have a chemistry final that is terrifying to even think about so I dont want to study. I am so scared I will fail the test like I did last semester in the Chemistry class one level lower. But in positive light, I got a 90% on my last test. WHOO! never done that before in chemistry ha makes me happy. :)


• Student Alumni Association is now ending. We just had our last official get together as a group. We met up with the Ambassadors and just partied it up. I enjoyed it. Yummy food! and yes of course, I made my famous Almond Cake! I will miss this year of SAA. I made so many friendships and had fun doing some 'office hours'. One thing I learned is that it is never an easy road to have fun! Planning dances and such (that were so amazing) is hard work but in the end it is worth it. I also learned to not go into the alumni house alone, at night, with the alarm set.... lets just say it was very creepy! I will miss everyone on alumni, some are staying, and some are leaving. It will never be the same and they made it so fun!

In the process of change, not only do things end but many things start to begin. In those beginnings are new experiences to strengthen us, make us laugh (or cry but hopefully not in a bad way), make us tired and crazy. Its in these beginning moments that you can find so much out about yourself and explore deeper into different regions of life.

• Summer is almost finally here! So sick and tired of the cold. It is no fun! Time to work on the tan, make a difference in showin people up on the diving boards, and just havin fun with friends in the sun! School will be over with and I can not wait. I will be taking one summer class which is CIS (shoot me or wish me luck), hopefully I can get it done quick and out of the way. I will be working at the City Pool again as a lifeguard and still teach swimming lessons! (if anyone wants swimming lessons, I am willing to be your teacher, I am certified!) The plan is to work at the hospital helping out in the NICU or delivering babies, which is something I have dreamed of doing for a bit. Hopefully I can get the job or I will work in a care center, which is fun to.


• Time for vacation! This is going to be the highlight of my summer! Me and my sir (sister: Dani) are going to explore the world! This is her last chance flying for free since soon she will be too old so we are going to go crazy. PARTY! I know we are planning on going to Hawaii, Washington D.C., Arizona, California and any other place our wonderful hearts desire! I know I know, Your Jealous! :) Ill tell you all about our trips and post up some pics of us having fun!


• Since it is now almost summer, friends are leaving to go back home (cough cough bree donovan) It is going to be sad to say goodbye, even tho it is just for a short while and they will be back to visit LOTS and Ill go visit them as well but still. Im losing my fools! I cant wait till they all come back and play with me again. fun times are to come!


• One other beginning is Im going to be moving out in the fall. Bree Donovan is going to be my roommate along with other wonderful cute girls! I am excited for this time in my life. It will be so much different thats for sure. Im grateful for my parents to have taught me how to do so many different things in preparing me for this day. I hope I dont burn to many dishes for dinner.... ha Im so glad I get the opportunity to move out but still be in the same town as my parents. If needs be, I can run to them and ask for help. Hopefully its nothing urgent or scary but still. I know they are there for me and I love them very much!


• Last beginning I will talk about.... I am starting to run. I need to train my body and my hips to be able to withstand a long run. I would love to be able to run a 10K someday in my life. I just hope it is possible. Ha guess we will find out. Today I ran 1.2 miles. haha Im lame!

Wow! all I can say is life is a crazy adventure. If it wasnt for family and friends, then I probably couldnt make this journey. I thank anyone and everyone for the love they show me. I can never repay you! This is one thing that will always remain constant and not change is my appreciation and love for you!

New Start!

So this is a new start for my life:

• I am taking new classes :) (CNA [certified nursing assistant], Chemistry 2, Interpersonal Communications, Psychology, Yoga)
• I am now the VP (Vice President, yeah :) whoo) over Advancements on Student Alumni. (I am sad to say I got this position because the old VP is quitting. I will miss him dearly, he is a great friend and really did well with his job)
• It is the new year! I will work on things for myself, school, family, and just life. I have been making new goals and I'm excited to see where it takes me!

I can't always hold onto the old things, I am getting older and maturing. It is time for me to begin the journey of a new chapter! I am very excited to see where this road takes me and if you want to, come join me for the ride! :)

Christmas break!

So this Christmas break has been pretty fun! It all started with finishing my LAST final of the semester. I am not gonna lie but I honestly didn't even care anymore. I was sick of studying and taking tests. Once the last one started, I just buzzed thru it and didn't care. I ended up doing good in all of my finals and ended up with 2 A's. 2 A-'s. and a B. (I am still mad about the B, It wasn't even my fault, the teacher was never there so I could turn in my work and talk to him) I was just relieved and felt all the stress wash away after I completed my test! I remember telling my dear mother, "I feel so happy now" which was so true. It was a good start to the Christmas break!

We then went to my cousin, Allie, wedding in Provo. It was very nice and she looked GORGEOUS! It was freezing up there but I got to see all my cousins. I drove up with my aunt and uncle and their three kids. They are super cute, but a long drive in the car was close to all that I could handle, I don't know how I will have kids.... I stayed at the twins house and slept on the ground. It was actually pretty comfy! The next day was the marriage day. They had a reverse order and did the reception the night before. They were glowing after they came out the Temple. I loved it! I cant wait to go there someday. I hope it's soon! We had the luncheon and then me and chipper headed off to Salt Lake to fly home! or so we thought.... We got to the airport, checked in and was all ready. As we patiently waited, and my mom frantically calling A LOT, we noticed the flight was cancelled. SLC wasn't snowing or raining so what was the deal? We talked to the nice lady and she said it was cancelled because they couldn't land in St. George, it was too foggy and rainy. So, WHEN HAS ST GEORGE EVER BEEN TOO FOGGY OR RAINY?? geez! so now we were stuck in SLC till the next day. Thank goodness Dani lives in SLC! We ended up going to Denny's (which isn't good if you reheat it :/ ha) then sleeping over at her house. See one nice thing for us, is since mom works at skywest, we get to fly for free! But with that advantage, having the parents drive down, we just gave them our bags and we would see them soon.... or not! I didn't have a single thing that i needed. I had, me, my clothes i was wearing, blanket, ipod, and wallet. I went and bought a Dora tooth brush! But everything else was Dani's. (thank you to her). I didn't have a jacket so I probably looked like a fool in a big brown/green fuzzy blanket! Finally the next day was sunday, Dani left us for a meeting she had for church, then came back, and took us to the airport! Our flight was scheduled to leave at 3:20 and we were there around 12:30 so we went and got some food and played on our ipods waiting. Next thing we know it got delayed, and then again.... we did not leave the stinking airport till after 5! It was the worst flight EVER! I hate flying even when it is calm, but no, this plane was torture! The pilots cant drive straight or something but the clouds we went thru were HUGE! I was gripping onto my blanket for dear life almost the whole way. My hands were aching so badly. Chipper my dear brother was laughing at me so hard and, I even caught the flight attendant laughing. Geez! what is this world coming to?

I finally got home and the rest is history!

For the rest of the break, I got to hang out with my sister after she came home, play with my bestest friend Kelci, and just finally relax! ha :) Christmas was way fun, I met new people, I got a new phone, (Fascinate, yeah i know your jealous ha) and relaxed some more! life is great!

new hobby....

So just barely on Friday November the 5Th (can you believe its already stinking November :/ that means its cold now) I got hypnotized! ha second time ever and I love it so very much ha it feels so good and refreshing. I love making people laugh so being hypnotized really does the trick. its awesome! people are all coming up to me and saying how funny i was and i was the most animated and their favorite. I feel like a celebrity at school now! Miss Jacee Whatcott! ha we did so much different stuff that it is gonna be kinda hard to remember it all but a lot of the stuff we did was very similar to the same things i did last time i was hypnotized on the cruise ship.!

• of course you gotta have the dirty smell (which was accompanied by a nasty green color)


• a wonderful amazing smell which i couldn't get enough of (he would say roses and i would smell that smell which didn't smell like roses although it had that color to it) the smell was coming from someone next to me so i was started smelling the guy next to me and o my goodness it was amazing. i couldn't get enough so i tried to eat it and bit his pants. it wasn't enough so i apparently (from what people say) i was straddling him trying to get more of that smell... oops!


• we danced like ballerina's and i could not stop curtsying and fixing my tutu and smiling


• performed 'bye bye bye' by N'Sync (of course, i got the real mic and sang to everyone)


• we went and sat on peoples lap in the crowd we didn't know and then had to be a baby. i was a sleeping baby then he put us back to sleep (that's what the picture is of on the right)


• we had a relaxation color (blue) and a energizer color (green) and i still use them when i need energy or to relax. its weird!


• we had a 4Th grade teacher and when he looked at us we would smile so big and the bigger the smile, the better the grade. o i was smiling so big i had to use my hands ha ha but when he turned around we hated him so badly and would make faces, pretend kick him, and all sorts of stuff


• this guy talking to us had clothes on the front but when he turned around he didn't have anything covering up his behind. it was so funny! (for those of you who have seen "patch Adams" the movie, at the end patch doesn't have clothes on the back at graduation and that's the image i saw. priceless) second part to that was he told all the girls that he was brad Pitt's butt and o my goodness was it just gorgeous! i saw this nice tan muscular body and a perfect butt! o i wanted it so badly or just to touch it! i was in love with that butt


• one point every ones tongue was out of our mouths and we couldn't get it back in. o my goodness i was going to hurt someone. the harder we tried the more it would stick out. even if i closed my mouth with my hands, my tongue would still find its way out. grrr!

there is so many more things that happened that i cant fully remember right now. my memory is slightly hazy still but i remember if people start talkin about it. I loved it. its my new favorite past time! ha whoo! L.O.V.E this