Adventure #2

During Spring Break- Kimi, Melly, and I went to visit Derek n April Family. We were gone for a week and we had lots of fun. We got to spend time with the family, go to Gettysburg, be tourist in DC, and just have a nice trip. Melly was quite the traveler,her and Ember were quite the pair- Giggle Pills out of Control. Gettysburg was amazing this is a place that I have always wanted to visit and it was so great to be there. We spent a day visiting there and saw lots of interesting things. In DC we saw the monuments, American History Museum, National Gallery of Art, and went shopping. I also got to see my favorite roomie Charlene one of the days.










We got to spend lots of time with Derek, April, Ember, Abigal, Andrew, Gracie, and Violet and it was so much fun to see them all. I can't believe how much they have changed over the last year.





We had a great time! It was hard to come home, but we were very tired. Hope you enjoy the pics!!

Adventure #1

So I have been a slacker and the last few months have been interesting so I should have written before now, but again the slacker. Any way in March I went on two fun adventures. At the beginning of the month I went with the J-Crew to San Diego for 5 days. It was very relaxing, fun, and cold. Yes I said cold- I took flip flops and shorts and it was rainy and cold- well for California what is up with that. However inspite of that we had a nice time. We went to Sea World and the Tokyo Table (Yummy restaurant), the San Diego Temple, Balboa Park, and of course the beach- but just walked on it because it was cold. Here are some pics of our trip.
The first one is the four of us at Sea World- hard to see sorry, then the beach-very windy, Tokyo Table- I am eating sushi and shrimp and loving it, Shamu- at Sea World again, and then the San Diego Temple!





It was a blast and I love going on vacation with the J-Crew. Thanks for a great time!

Ordinary Life

Once again it has been a while since I last wrote on my blog. I think about writing all of the time and I just never do it. So tonight I resolved to write something. The last few months have been pretty good. Christmas was good with all of the family coming and then we had some birthdays and before that was Thanksgiving and more birthdays and family life has been good. It is always fun to get together, chat, eat good food, and watch the munchkins. I am trying to think of exciting things that have been happening and there have been some I just can't write about all of them, because they are exciting things in the family not my life personally so I feel weird blogging about those things. Any way the last month or so I have learned a lot about myself. I have learned a lot about my weaknesses and as much as I hate to admit it I can't do it all on my own. I guess in some aspects this has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father and so this has been good for me, but on the other hand it is still something I am learning about everyday. I have actually started about three posts that I never published because it was the moments of frustration in my life and I don't know if I want those to be read by the world, but at the same time maybe they would help someone too, I don't know. I will have to think about them so more before I decide what to do. I guess a little update on my life I am still working my two jobs and doing all right with this, they both have their moments but what job doesn't. I am going on a couple of mini trips the next month so that will be fun. I will write about those when they come about. I have also started preparing to go back to school, although I don't know if this will actually come about but we shall see. Any way I don't have much to write tonight that is not out of the ordinary but I guess that is fine because it is my blog so I can write what ever I want. I have to say church was amazing today and it was just what I needed. Although it was sad that the USA lost to Canada but it was fun to watch, I learned a lot about hockey thanks Jeff and Wade. Any way chat with you all soon.

I have to admit... it made me cry!!!

Tis the Season!!

Blessings

I have to say that being an Aunt is pretty cool, especially to kids these days. I never know the questions I am going to be asked or the answers I get from my questions. Sometimes these questions remind me of simple truths, other times they remind me not to take myself so seriously, and other times they are filled with love.
So the other day I was taking my niece to violin lessons and she asked me if I believed in magic. Well, being the wise person that I thought I was I said, well do you believe in magic? I listened for her response and then said yes I do believe in Magic and all of the great things that go with it. After her lesson she asked me those questions that you don't always have the response for but you hope you give the right information:Do we have a Heavenly Mother and if so why don't we know anything about her?I was trying to be wise again and said well we all have to have a Mommy and a Daddy so there has to be a Heavenly Mother- note to self often this is what leads to "the talk" and so not always the wisest thing to begin with.
Is Jesus real and will he really come again? Followed by but how do You know, really know?
I answer with a simple testimony that everything around us tells us Jesus is real and then we talked about the scriptures and how they talk about when he comes again. It was a good chat and I hope I had the right answers for her. Which brings me to the best part of being an Aunt. I love the closeness I feel with my nieces and nephews because they feel like they can ask me anything and I will tell them and maybe it means more coming from me, because I am not their parent who probably doesn't know the answer. Side note-all of you parents you do have the answers I know, but it is different coming from an Aunt.
Another great thing about being an Aunt is spoiling them and understanding what they are talking about when they say the store with the moving stairs or you know the one with the thingy in it. I love to hear the words... let's have an Aunt Jenn day. To be honest it is better than peanut M and M's and you all know how much I love those. I also love being corrected by a three year old that has the wit of her Uncle Kevin. I have to say she keeps me on my toes.
It is also great to hear about giggle pills and running through the playground screaming to get rid of all of the energy from having to sit in class all day.
I love to hear about crushes and cute boys and girls. I love to hear about the good news of something they have accomplished or tried to accomplish. I love to dance with the little ones and always have the right moves. I love to play house and be the big sister and little sister. I also love to tell stories and hear, tell me about the crazy girls in Hawaii!!!
I guess in short this last week I have realized my many blessings. At times I will admit it is hard to still be single at my age, but then Heavenly Father sends me a nephew or niece to cheer me up and remind me how blessed I really am. Thank you to all of those nieces and nephews out there you make life wonderful all sixteen of you!!!

Update on Life

Ok, so I am a total slacker when it comes to blogging lately. I know that it has been like five months since my last note and lots has happen since then. So here is a condensed version of my life over the last five months.
In July we had an Englis Family reunion. It was lots of fun and it was great to see a lot of the extended family. We learned about the hidden talent of the next generation and the future Hannah Montanas and Michael Jacksons for the next generation. There was great fun, lots of basketball, waterfights, and yummy food. Thanks for the fun time.
The rest of the summer was pretty good. We had a garage sale and made some extra cash, it was pretty fun. I got rid of some of my books and shoes-sad day I know.
In July was my 10 year class reunion, yes I know you can't believe I am that old and yet look so young. Any way I chickened out and didn't go. I did have a good excuse because my cousin got married that day, but I probably could have gone. I just couldn't bring myself to go I don't know why but I didn't goo. Apparently I missed a great time, but such is life. Maybe I will go to the next one whenever it is.
At the beginning of August I moved in with Janae when she bought a townhouse in Ammon. It has been fabulous being her roomie and having my own place- well you know what I mean. It is weird not to see my parents everyday but I still eat dinner there every Sunday and once and a while during the week.
In September I was asked by my job in Idaho Falls to be full time again and be the supervisor of TLC 2. This was a hard decision for me and in some ways I felt I was going backwards instead of forwards; however I felt right about it and in the middle of the month I became the supervisor again. Overall it has been a good experience. It has its days, but what job doesn't. I am grateful for my time off and I know it was the right decision. It was just the break that I needed. I work four days a week at this job and do my other job on Fridays or in the evenings. It keeps me pretty busy, but I like it. I am still thinking about going back to school soon, but I am not sure when soon will be.
Last month I went on vacation again and was able to visit a new and exciting place. I went to New York City and Connecticut with some friends. It was tons of fun and I got to see lots of things I have only read about like the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Times Square, Wall Street, Broadway, etc. We went to three shows while we were there and had a fabulous time. I will post some pictures at a later date.
Also in October was our Roger Englis Halloween Carnival. It was tons of fun and everyone dressed up, it was great to have almost the entire family here. I took some of my nieces and nephews trick-or-treating this year and it was a blast. It is always great to spend time with my nieces and nephews. They keep me on my toes and make life very interesting.
Now it is November and the holidays are upon us. I am looking forward to seeing everyone over the holidays and spending some good quality family time, as well as shopping the day after Thanksgiving. It is the funniest day of the year. Any way I will post some pictures soon.