I survived..

My 30th birthday! My face just might display a little of how I was feeling about turning 30. A little uneasy and unsure about the whole thing! Maybe it was the big 3 0 on top of the cake that got me a little panicked! The birthday celebrations were fantastic and being 30 so far has been empowering in a sense. I think hey, I am not a little girl anymore (despite my little kid voices that will live on forever). I am a woman! This is GO TIME. It's actually motivated me to be more on the ball and goal oriented in the different areas in my life that are important to me. I love that movie that came out with Jennifer Gardner as a kid in the 80's (13 going on 30) and she wants to be 30 so bad and she keeps saying "Thirty, flirty and thriving!" That is this year for us 30 year olds!

It was a grand old time when Rob MADE me this heart shaped birthday cake and shared it with our waiters. You KNOW he did!!!

Family dinner at Carvers. Best steak I've ever had!!!
It wasn't big enough though. ha ha. Yea right. Whoa! Look that big slab of meat.
Alana, Beccs and I relaxed all day and got facials and massages and frozen yogurt. All that a girl could ask for in a perfect day! Later we had a friends dinner at Frida Bistro. It is such a cute and yummy restaurant down town.

Two best friends!
Brandon and I actually had our first date at this restaurant. It was here where he told me a bit of his conversion story, about him being from Florida etc. It's funny because this place is like on 8th west and 7th south surrounded by all these dark buildings. When we pulled up Brandon said "Well, just when you are scared you know you are here!"
The waitress said to Lindy "Oh cute. I love it. An 80's punk rocker." She was kinda bugged and said back to me "Uh, I am not an 80's punk rocker!" I just kept my mouth shut after that because that's what I thought she had dressed up as too! Hhhmmm....
Loved the atmosphere and the company.
Best roomies and best friends!
After a few of us went up to Ace's for a cupcake tasting of sorts. Alana ordered these mystery cupcakes which some had lemon frosting, coconut, vanilla, etc. It was all a gamble on what you got and quite fun to taste a little of them all!
Brandon just LOVES that he is 6 months younger than me!

Thank you for all of the wonderful birthday wishes and memories! I really feel so loved and blessed with amazing friends and family. I love you all!

BFF Fall picture

Can this pass for our fall picture together? Don't be fooled ...this was fall of 2002! In a way it looks like not much has changed. Smiles, friendship, laughing, eating at Teneil's work. In another way, SO much has changed! Moves, missions, marriages, kids, and all the ups and downs of life. I love these girls. I am so thankful for your friendship as we continue to see each other through all walks of life!

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

- Albert Camus
French Algerian author and philosopher
Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1957
1913-1960

What does this picture say?

Vegas baby! BEATLES OF LOVE STYLE!

Ragnar Relay...Vegas style! 190 miles. Creative team names. Run. Eat. Rest. Run. Laugh. Eat. Run. Rest. Wish you never came. Loving that you came. Run. Eat. Run. Rest. Finish!!

Oh boy! Some team of boys thinking they are funny. Ok, it was quite funny.

The DREAM team! Members: An army sergeant, a bishop and 3 girl return missionaries. It was great!

Bon Jovi for life!

Is this shirt straight from the 80's? Yes!!

Doin the work!!!

It's time to "Llevar la carta" (pick up the slack). Trace's brother-in-law who had die hard trained for this race woke up that morning at 2:30 am throwing up with the flu. We had to do the honors of splitting up his first leg of the run before we got a fill in. And when I mean split, I mean she ran 3 miles and I ran 2 :)

"I'm a wild Burrow and I will come out to see all the runners. It's Brilliant!" (He is an English Burrow obviously) :)

Brandon came to see me finish the race and instead of resting after the long run...we hit up "the city that never sleeps!"

It was so fun that Brandon's two best friends were in Vegas as well and I got to finally meet the infamous "Jeff Taylor".
It's my girl's birthday! Get her some Tiramisu! We didn't know what was in it before we were almost done. Oops a daisies.
Homer moved from Springfield to Vegas!

DOH!!

Brandon's Baptism

Brandon was baptized 8 years ago today. This was the spot he was baptized in. The mountains in Alpine. He had seen in church movies that people got baptized in rivers or lakes so he chose this spot and told the missionaries "I'm getting baptized tomorrow. You can come if you want!"
His joining the church has not only changed his life but mine as well. I love that we can always related so well on spiritual matters. His excitement and fire for the gospel constantly helps and inspires me. I am so happy you made this decision to be baptized 8 years ago today. I'm so happy your best friend could baptize you and you have that special bond. I am constantly amazed by your missionary work you do daily and spirit that you bring to a room. The church is blessed to have you in it!

Back to the Basics

As I cleaned my room tonight (I know...shocker) I was thinking about President Uchtdorf's General conference talk about focusing on what matters most. To me it means to SIMPLIFY! Sometimes I think the busier I am, the more productive I am. I think this thinking came from in part from my mission. You run around, appointment after appointment, teaching, helping serving. You feel productive! Well, after this little experience...and a few others...I decided it might be time to get back to focusing on the basics.

Brandon opened up my night stand drawer.

Brandon: "Oh, I wonder what is in this Einstein bagel bag?"

He opened it up and pulled out an old, stale, half eaten bagel.

"What's this for? In case you get hungry?" After figuring out that it was as hard as a rock he said "Oh I get it, it's to throw at a robber when they break into your house!"

It's no secret to anyone that I put off cleaning my room and put almost anything ahead of it. I always use the excuse of "I am too busy!" Which i really feel that I am! However as I ate humble pie when Elder Uchtdorf talked and Brandon made the statement of "I didn't know Tornados hit in Utah!" (talking about my room) I was motivated to get back to the basics. So, what are the basics?

RELATIONSHIPS!

With who?

1-GOD 2- FAMILIES 3- FELLOW MEN 4-YOURSELF

I thought the last one was very interesting. Yourself? Do you even like yourself? Spend sometime alone in nature and think about God, you, yourself etc.

Fellowmen? I'll take time to improve my relationship with these 4 any day!

We can always also improve our relationship with God and our families. My mom made an interesting comment to me the other day. She said "You never arrive." In the gospel, your marriage, family relationships. You never are done. This could seem hard or overwhelming but it actually is a gift that we are able to think of new ways and new avenues to serve in these different capacities in our lives in order to improve our relationships in life.

Here's to focusing on the basics!

For a Change

Does your life ever seem like not much changes? I'm sure you look at other people's lives and think..."Oh how exciting! They have so much going on." Don't worry. I heard some secret info :) that a talk at priesthood was about pride and comparing your life to others. We must not compare because EVERYONE'S life seems like a big hamster wheel some days and some days we are able to take on President Monson's challenge daily of having an attitude of gratitude!!

On a less serious note...here are some things that HAVEN'T CHANGED in the last ten years:

Are Alana and I still living together ten years later and people still asking us if we are sisters? Yes!!
Is Mergs still sporting that mountain man beard and can't stop talking about duck hunting in the morning? YES!!
Are Alana and Ace still dating from when they met 9 years ago? Yes!!
Are we still attending Utah State games and cheering on our Aggies? You Bet!!
I'll tell you one big change in the last 17 years.....UTAH STATE FINALLY BEAT BYU!! Way to go Aggies! That was good...for a change :)