Yayun

Not seen a new post in a while?

2010-05-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

Thats because you're in the wrong place. Well...actually its because I just got married 10 weeks ago and my husband is out of town so I have extra time. But...our new blog is here.

Waiting

2010-02-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

I have a very distinct memory (which may have been adjusted over the years for dramatic effect so bear with me) of waiting for Christmas morning to come in 3rd grade. At that time, my cousin Josh and his family lived with us. Think of a kid you know who loves Christmas. Now times that by 5 - that is how excited Josh gets for Christmas. (Side note: he was still the first one up in his family this year...he is 21 years old). Anyway, Josh and I had been waiting and waiting for Christmas to come. We made a special fort to sleep in the night before and were told that we couldn't wake our parents up until 6:00 am. He woke me up at 5:50 am and we stared at the clock for 10 minutes. I've said before that it seemed like the longest time in my life.

Now, as I wait for Saturday morning to come, when I'll be sealed to my best friend...there is a new definition to waiting. I know that its so close - just like it was that Christmas Eve when we only had to wait 10 minutes. I know that a day and a half will fly by but...sigh. It seems so long. Oh well, I guess I'll just be grateful for having the shortest engagement in history and be excited for Saturday!

Engagment Photos

2010-02-12T08:09:00.001-08:00

Thank you so much to Dave for taking them, Beth for posing us, Anna for photo shopping them and Jon for standing in them with me. :) Well...and for loving me and wanting to marry me. I guess that part is more important.

I am ashamed

2010-02-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

This post goes out to Jimmy Tyler. I was looking at how long it's been since I posted and I thought of that classic line, "I am ashamed" that Jimmy says so often. For those who don't know, its from Finding Nemo. I really should be ashamed because this is all I have to say - that I should have more to say but I don't.

Boston Massacre Site

2009-11-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

The site of the Boston Massacre is right by Quincy Square - the town's trading center since the 1700's. Now it is full of modern stores and shopping centers.

War with Tripoli

2009-11-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

We took a ferry across the river so that we could go see the USS Constitution. This is a historic boat nick named "Old Ironsides." She was made of wood and then iron panels were bolted onto her sides making canon balls bounce off when they hit her.

Here are pictures of the bunks that sailors would sleep in. They did not have enough hammocks for each man so they would take turns sleeping in shifts.

You can see our shadows as we walked across the dock to get to the boat.

Here is how big an anchor was. Its HUGE.

The war with Tripoli centered around trading issues. After the American Revolution, France went to war with Britain. Many of the French Diplomats expected America to help them in their war against Britain since they helped us. When we refused, it meant that France and Britain felt hostility towards America.

States from North Africa, called the "Barbary States" attacked American ships who were on their way to trade in the Mediterranean. They would take over the ship, sell the Americans into slavery and use the cargo. (Below are some examples of the things that the ships traded).

Considering that America had no international popularity, they became an easy target for the Barbary states and their ability to trade as an independent nation was threatened. Old Ironsides led the small U.S. Naval Fleet to battle to free the enslaved Americans and reclaim America's rights to trade without fear of piracy. Through 1801-1803 a blockade was set up in Tripoli and America could again trade unmolested.

During the war, opposing sides would try to get close enough to board each others ships and then fight using hand-to-hand combat. (Kind of like of Pirates of the Carribean...but without the theme music and happy ending).

Here are some examples of what the sailors would eat: moldy cheese, beans, pork, hard tack, and rice.

The cannon balls were huge and it took a long time to load just one shot. "Powder Monkeys" were boys ages 8-14 who would run the gun powder from below deck to the cannons.

Compasses like the one above were used to tell where the sailors were in the ocean. At noon, the navigator would measure the angle the ship was from the sun. He could then use that information to find out where they were on his maps. Geometry at work!

This was a doctors kit on board the USS Constitution. During battles, many were wounded and the doctor would have to make very quick life and death decisions.

Here is what the inside of the ship looked like. it had many levels.

The Blues Brothers

2009-11-27T18:28:00.000-08:00

The festivities of today were going to a little pizza place that had AMAZING food. Then we watched "The Blues Brothers." It brought back a lot of great memories from my childhood. This post goes out to you Dad, "This is glue...strong stuff."

A buzillion pictures

2009-11-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

Well...no one reads the captions anyway. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to. You figure out the rest.

Way to go Delys on your first Thanksgiving beign in charge of everything! Delys made the delicious apple pie and I made the chocolate one.

Family: Its good to feel at home

2009-11-24T21:22:00.000-08:00

Above is John and Delys' apartment. Its so nice and cute.

The three of us got through the famous cake from Mike's Pastry really quickly. I've loved being in John and Delys' home. They are such a wonderful couple and I love that they're my older siblings. Thanks for having me over!

Ok, I'm sorry to my family in Utah because I know this isn't really fair, but you'll all get to play with Katie in less than a month and that is SO MUCH FUN. I have the cutest niece and nephew in the world and I love, love, love being an aunt. Its been so incredible to get to know Katie and feel like I really am her aunt by spending time with her.

Look at that...it just doesn't get cuter.

Museum of Science

2009-11-24T21:05:00.000-08:00

Boston has a lot of great Museums...that all cost a lot of money so it was had to choose. I wanted to go the Science Museum most and it turned out that Suzy had been on a date earlier this week where they randomly got two tickets for an entire 6 months. So...we got to go for free! However, we had to get the ticket from her friend who is a doctor, so he hid is in the lobby for us to find.

We found the hospital and the ticket and then took "the T" (not called the sub-way) to the Science Center.

There were so many great exhibits and we could've spent all day in there. We may have had so much fun that we felt like we were little kids...and acted like little kids.

For any of you who may doubt (and those are probably few) here is proof:

Berklee School of Music

2009-11-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

Suzy has been in Boston attending the Berklee School of Music (a huge to even get in). This is her right outside the school and another one of us together.

I got to go with her to one of her classes today and it was AMAZING. It is tausght by Livingston Taylor (James Taylor's brother). It was a stage performance class. The way the class works that the students get up and perform an original composition and then Livingston critiques them and they try to improve. It was an amazing experience - not only to see the amazing talent of all of the students but to see the way that Livingston led the class. He was teaching about presenting the songs you write to your audience without any apology. I loved seeing that because that is who he is. You can see him here with Suzy - wearing a pastel bow tie and, yes, a knitted sweater with a dinosaur on it. Some of his great lines, which I had to write down were: "Remember, first I want you to be happy. But if you can't be happy, I want you to be rich - I'd hate for you to be miserable and poor."

I also got to see Suzy perform and I am her biggest fan!

Boston!!!

2009-11-24T20:39:00.001-08:00

I had a certain picture of what I thought Boston would be. Kind of like the opening scene of Monsters Inc...the cute/busy city. Boston totally delivered! Today Suzy and I just walked around and saw the city. It was so fun to see it with Suzy since she's been living here for three months now.

This is Suzy's apartment.

This is the Quincy Market. We started out our day with the tradition of a Bacon Egg and Cheese Bagel. When we were in NY together, we got these every morning.

Later we had to get double chocolate chip frappacinos because that is also tradition.

There were some pretty sweet shops. That shirt says, "Chillin with my Gnomies" and Anna...I took that picture by the gnomes while thinking of you.

These pictures are from a famous pastry place called "Mike's Pastry." They have no line and you just rush the counter and be assertive. Luckily, Suzy and I went when they weren't so busy. John, Delys and I really liked the cake I got from here and they put it in a cool box tied with string.

Crying

2009-11-22T18:26:00.000-08:00

I know you all want to see cool pictures of Boston or at least of Katie Mae but we've just been sitting here looking at Awkward Family Photos and The Fail Blog and crying from laughing so hard. This clip goes out to all you engineering students who like the find the most efficient ways to solve problems. Watch it here.

Homicide

2009-11-22T17:45:00.000-08:00

Hello from Boston! John really wants to have Lobster on Thanksgiving instead of Turkey. This present a problem because instead of going through the semi-sickening process of taking out the giblet and shoving your hand up an animals neck to stuff it - you have to kill and then eat your food. The question is, will the lobsters scream? Well, they don't have vocal chords or a brain so, probably not. John and I have been watching movies to see if we really think we can pull it off. I said, "I wonder why they turn all red?" He answered, "I think you'd turn bright red if you were boiled alive."

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

2009-09-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

On September 20th my parents will celebrate 25 years of marriage. I wrote this song for my Mom for her birthday and then put it to this slide show for my parents anniversary. Thank you so much for changing the world through devoting your lives to us. We surely do "call you blessed." We love you Mom and Dad - Grandma and Grandpa. If the youtube clip isn't working that I embedded just click here.

Welcome to the World Baby Jonas!

2009-08-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

Jonas Benjamin Hansen was born on August 29th around 9:00 pm. He weighs 8 pounds even and is 19 inches long. Anna is doing well and we're so excited that he's finally here! We love you Anna, Russell and Jonas.

Sunrise Hikes

2009-08-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

I did two sunrise hikes this summer and they were so fun. I love going up at midnight and getting a second wind - it makes you feel like you could hike forever. Then you get to watch the sunrise. The first hike we did was Mount Nebo at the southern end of Utah Valley. I loved that one because you drive up pretty far and the hike it steep but not too long. Then, when you get to the top there is nothing but mountain range after mountain range.

Here is the sunrise, its so gorgeous to see more of the sky when the sun comes up.

The picture below is from the top of Timpanogos. The hike up felt a lot shorter than the hike down but it was great. I forgot a sweater but Brandon was kind enough to let me borrow his which meant that he froze - thanks Brandon!

This was my favorite part of the hike. The waterfall is so pretty and the area surrounding it is so green. I think this waterfall is much prettier than Stewart Falls. You just go to the same parking lot that Stewart Falls is in but then you start hiking Timp and you'll hit this one after a while.

I also got to spend some time with my new roommate Kaylee. I love the girls I'm living with.

Bakcpacking

2009-08-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from a long time ago but it was so much fun to go backpacking with my little brother. I love how the progression of the pictures shows how tired we were.

Woo hoo - backpacking, we're so excited.

Then, Steve's face shows how it really was. Woo hoo - backpacking we're so tired.

Last, woo hoo - backpacking, we're finally almost home.

But it was pretty at the very least.

Playdough!

2009-08-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

The other day Mary and I got together to play with playdough. I forgot how much fun it is. My favorite part is squeezing it out of those little machines where you make a plastic doll's hair grow.

I made a little dude named "Dorbie"

Not sure what Mary's was named but it sure was fun. Thanks Mary!

Deer Creek Reservoir

2009-08-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend some friends went down to the reservoir to swim. We thought that the water would be freezing but it turned out to be a great temperature.

Provo Peak!

2009-07-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend I hiked Provo Peak with my friend Kenny. It was so much fun and I didn't realize how beautiful Utah is until I went a little further into the remote parts of the mountains. If you go up to Hope Campground and keep going for 9 miles you hit the trail head.

There are the amazing wildflowers I picked.

Revisit Old Friends

2009-07-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

I spent time with two of my best friends last weekend. First I had a sleepover with Suzy. We were in Super Band together and she's still singing and playing. So - I got to go hear her sing on a corner of Riverwoods, the group she played with made 80 bucks in tips!

I also went to Abby Porter's birthday party. All of her nieces and nephews came over for a family swim. I made her this cross stitch. Its so great to have such awesome friends who are still my friends even after high school.

Enchanted Weekend

2009-07-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about BYU are all the awesome events they put on - especially the ones that Suzanne's team does (she works for Events). I took all of my family to see Enchanted and have J-Dawgs for free - it was so much fun.

Emma dressed up like a princess and doted on "Princess Carolyn."

After the movie we had a slumber party at my house!

4th of July

2009-07-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well - it was another great 4th. Here are some pictures of the festivities.

For some reason Emma was really scared of Smokey the bear.

Wow - my little brothers and sisters aren't so little anymore.

A group of us from BYU hiked up wearing red and blue. We turned the Y into a flag.

Dad and Jim in the parade. Jimmy is getting really good at the bagpipes.

Rock Climbing!

2009-06-24T22:40:00.000-07:00

If you know me well, or have known me for longer than a few days, you've probably heard my ranting about scout camp vs. girls camp. What could be more fun than going up into the canyon and doing all kinds of awesome outdoor activites like hiking, repelling, rock climbing, canoeing, and even archery? And what could be harder than a week of a bunch of dramatic girls in small spaces doing crafts and making food? Well today, thanks to the awesome Relief Society in my home ward, I was able to satisfy a little of the Tom-Boy in me and go rock climbing up the canyon. It was so much fun. All the other sisters went and afterwards Kristen and I stayed late to try it some more. I had such a great time and it was fun to get to spend time with Kristen on the way home.

Here is Kristen making it look easy.

Antelope Island

2009-06-22T22:25:00.001-07:00

Well this picture sums up the awesome Antelope Island Experience. Cowboy boots, hat, and belt buckle. My Grandpa Haskell grew up on Antelope Island as a rancher and we had a big family reunion.

Actually, you also need this picture - the bugs splattered against the windshield and the clouds of bugs that you would be able to see if you'd been looking out my window. Fun fun fun!

Here is me and my darling cousin Naoma who will be moving out of Utah in the beginning of July :(

Lots of Buffalo

We love you Erika!

2009-06-22T22:13:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to Erika! Here are some pictures of the fun we had for her birthday. We made breakfast (as is usual for roommate birthday) and then played with our waffles like they were jets (which was out of the normal birthday routine but still fun). We also went ice skating. Erika is quite talented and even has her own ice skates. She is now in Arizona for the summer :( but its ok because she'll be coming back for the fall! :) We love you Erika!

Katelyn Mae Tyler

2009-05-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

I'm an aunt! I'm so excited and today we finally got pictures. She is so cute and I can't wait to hold her in the middle of June when John Delys, and Katie come to visit. Yeah for families

Gardening

2009-05-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

My roommates and I planted a garden! It took a lot of work to get the grass dug out in front of the house but it was worth it. I just can't wait for the bulbs to come up along with the onions, squash and oregano. Yum.

Wicked Awesome Sledding

2009-03-14T20:28:00.001-07:00

This is one of the funnest things I have done in a long, long time. The boys made a jump and we were going off of it on some awesome sleds. The sleds are ones that are blown up with air and have slick plastic tracks on the bottom.

In this picture, Justin decided to stand right under the jump and have people sled over the top of him. Later, they got more daring and Justin would stand up to his full height with people flying over him (and thats saying something since he's 6' 4")

This one is Jason with Justin standing underneath him.

Here's Justin

We all got some really good air.

And here is a view from the bottom of the hill.

My cousins are home

2009-03-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

My cousins are home!! I hadn't seen them in seven years and they got off the plane last month. Its been so awesome to catch up with Josh and eveyone.

I can't believe how grown up everyone is, its so good to be with family again - I love you all!

Snowmobiling!!

2009-03-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend a bunch of people were going up to a cabin in the Uintas. Justin invited me to go a couple hours before they left so I decided to just pack up and go. Its a really nice cabin and its so nice to have a break. I'm writing this blog from their basement with internet, cable, hot water, and sweet snow mobiles.

Justin was doing the driving and half the time I was screaming stuff like, "Justin, Justin JUSTIN No...that bump is too big!" But we made it just fine and it was a blast too.

This is my Nascar picture - with my hick hair and my helmet.

And here is a picture of Justin being cool just before he ran me over.

Disco Skating

2009-03-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

Our ward went Disco skating the other night. I wasn't going to go because I had so much stuff to do, but I'm always glad when I change my mind and go anyway. Notice Crystlee's way cool silky yellow shirt and Suzanne's green skirt - both great 70's attire.

I love my roommates

2009-03-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

So, life at BYU is pretty great and part of the reason its so good is because I love all my roommates so much. I'm really lucky, I was worried after hearing some of the horror stories from Anna. :)

Mountain Biking

2009-03-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well, most of you who read my blog heard about my mountain biking adventure in January. My bruises and scrapes are healed and my camera is still working despite a cracked screen. I just wanted to put some pictures up of it.

Above is the cliff we repelled off of and below is the run that I tried to go down on my bike but instead I flipped over and my bike landed on my thigh.

Bright Eyes

2009-02-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

I love this music - Its really different and I will admit that the singer's voice is an acquired taste. But seriously - who is cool enough to make a music video of themselves getting booed offstage.

This American Life

2009-01-21T19:20:00.001-08:00

This is one of the nerdy things that Jeff Hollan and Wyatt Felt have passed onto me. "This American Life" is a public radio station that is sometimes golden and other times liberal. So - take your chances. I can tell you right now, the episode about Obama and the inauguration is very liberal, but usually you get some great stories and cool music to accompany them. I reccommend the episode from Jan 5th which I listened to for a class. Enjoy

The Gallery Stroll

2008-12-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

If you've never heard of the Gallery Stroll you're missing out, and I'm going to tell you about it. It is a community event. On the first Friday of every month lots of the little shops on University Avenue display local artists work. The city provides refreshments and its such a fun thing to do and its free. You can learn more about it here.

This is Abby Porter and me, we go every month together. Just let me know if you any of you want to come next time. I am not sure if they're doing it on the 5th of January since its just after the Holidays but I bet they'll do it in February.

My roommate Trista came with us this month. It was so much fun and they even had smores you could make in the fire pit behind us.

Things that make me weird

2008-11-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

So, Anna tagged me a long time ago to do a post about things that make me a little strange - after a much anticipated wait, here you go.

1. The way I like my toast. Anyone who has been my roommate or been really close to me eventually will see me make toast. This little ritual consists of first burning the toast, then cooling it down in the freezer, then scraping off the burnt part and then buttering it so that no butter melts. Many people know that, but not many know my rationale. I like my toast to be really crunchy but not melt the butter. I could do this by cooking it on a very low setting for a very long time, but who has time to do that. I simulate that perfect toast by burning and scraping.

2. I don't read the back of books and movies as a rule. I hate it when people read them to me or give away the first half of the book. I'd rather just get good recommendations from people I trust and have the author tell me about the plot.

3. I love Lord of the Rings - I hate to admit it but I'm quite the nerd. So much so that when my roommates were discussing things like whether or not elves are immortal I had to just walk away and not get involved because I knew they'd insist that they are when they're not. Ok, wow - that is too much to admit on the internet but lets face it, this reaches a small audience anyway and all of you guys already love me as my nerdy self.

4. This is my favorite Youtube clip.

5. I miss high school dances - I know, that's a bad one too but I loved date dances and just dancing with a group of people.

6. I mutter to myself at work.

Yep - that's just the beginning but there you go.

My Birthday!

2008-09-18T20:15:00.002-07:00

My birthday was on Monday. It was such a great day because so many people are nice and remembered. I got texts and calls all day. We had my birthday dinner Sunday night of savory pocket roast and potatoes that were so good.

I got a Winnie the Pooh book and the John Adams DVD by HBO. Its based on the book by David McCullough and it is excellent. Its 8 hours long but it was so good (yes I already finished it) I also got other cool things like Alfred Hitchcock DVDs and new shoes from Anna and Russell, lotion, a pen Jimmy made in woods, a cute frame from Ben and Kristen, brownie and pancake mix...it was a great birthday.

My siblings were so cute too, they wrapped up their little gifts in a bunch of toilet paper and Matthew made a cool decoration to go around a box of pudding he gave me. I loved all of it.I also got balloons at work! Everyone is so nice.

This movie is pretty sweet - it shows how cool my Dad is to let us tape him sucking helium and then post it on the internet. Of course, I didn't really ask his permission... :)

Meet the Roommates!

2008-09-18T20:15:00.001-07:00

Meet my roommates! I love them all and we all get along so well. I'm really glad.

This is Crystalee, also know as "lee lee." She is graduating at the end of this year and looking at going to grad school. She is so nice and good if you need someone to talk to or if you want a hug.

Here is Erika! She has just successfully flipped a spanish tortilla - thats not what its really called but its some spanish name that I can't say. She just did a study abroad in spanish. She is majoring in Business Management, always is singing or listning to music, and she is Crystalee's sister. So far we haven't had any family feuds so thats good.

Trista! I love Trista. She graduated this April in Marriage, Family, Human Development. She now has two jobs, one as a dental assistant and the other at the Family Care Center. She visits families and babysits their kids. Trista is always doing other people's dishes, serving, reading her scriptures and just being a happy person. I love being around Trista.

Lastly, here is Suzanne. I didn't have a pictures of just her but she is on the far right. Suzanne and I have known each other since sophomore year in high school. We were instant friends and we grew closer when both of us were in "youth discussions" for the church where we went to SLC and they taped us discussing gospel principles with other people our age. Even though we always felt like instant friends, for some reason we never ended up in the same group of friends. So...its GREAT to finally be around each other a lot. I love sharing a room with her and she is one of my best friends. She listens to anything that I'm worried about.

This is what we did for Trista's birthday. Hers was last thursday and we woke up and made her breakfast. We also arranged some beautiful flowers for her.

Its pretty scary to post pictures of all of us at 6 am but...yeah it was really fun.

Then, on Monday Trista and Suzanne made me some awesome crepes for my birthday breakfast. My roommates bought me some cocoanut soap from Bath and Body Works and it was so nice.

Tour of my House

2008-09-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

Introducing...my little house! This is the first time a lot of you have seen it - maybe all of you. You are welcome anytime.

You can't really tell but there is a sweet hammock in our front yard. You can get it swinging pretty high.

Ser-i-ous-ly

2008-08-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

This is Leila Kauwe who I work with at Novell. We were bowling here because our team did such a good job at quarter end. Leila is like my big sister...I see her at work and we talk about school and she lets me tell her everything about my life and we watch clips on Youtube at quarter end that make us both giggle and blush. She also answers all my questions and helps me fix my mistakes - I love ya Leila

Oh, and by the way - out of all operations that went bowling, probably about 60 people, I got the lowest score of 47. They gave me fifteen bucks for being so bad! I wish that the corporate world always paid me for my weaknesses.

Youtube clips referred to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgDhxOC5g48 our favorite part is at 1:46 and we know we're pathetic but hey...we're not married yet so cut us some slack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyYiwD1Q1aY this is better if you see the whole movie obviously.

Cascade Springs

2008-08-28T22:24:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday Russell, Anna, Suzy and I all took the day off of work so we could just hang out. It was so much fun, we drove up the Alpine Loop and then turned off to Cascade Springs. We brought up some scrumptious Subway. It was really pretty and nice to not worry about what time it was, to just let the day go by.

This is one of my favorite people in the world and one of my best friends Suzy Lind. I was so glad that she came up with us.

Here's Anna and Russell - they're such cool people, they're even cooler when they're together though. For instance, Russell has got the Peter Pan stance down...but if you look down, you can see the expression on Anna's face while Russell was risking his life for this sweet picture. The picture is cool with Russell just by himself, but its awesome when you add Anna in there.

If you can't tell...she's a little worried for Russell's safety. :)

After this we went and watched an old Alfred Hitchcock that was really good called "The Vanishing Lady" Thanks for the fun summer vacation Anna and Russell!

Bye Austin

2008-08-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Austin and I go way back...we were friends all through high school and he leaves next wednesday for the Baltimore, Maryland Spanish Speaking Mission! Woohoo, so we all got together and had a little party. Oh, and JR isn't drinking aything alcoholic even though it looks like it, its just a Sangria (great soda, introduced to me by Jessica and Elliot)

This is the amazing pizza we made - it was delicious...if you can't tell

Smart Cookie

2008-06-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, here is a place with great desserts! They sell excellent cookies for only 50 cents each. If you think that sounds like a lot - you need to go try them. You know the double chocolate cookies from Subway...nothing compared to this. Also, the place is cute - Anna and I always talk about how appearance is everything and this store has cool orange walls so I like it.

The best part are the $2.00 ice cream sandwiches where you choose your own cookies and get a ton of ice cream in the middle. Its great and you have to try it. Its just south of campus on
840 N 700 E. Its delicious.

Boring

2008-06-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

I am trying to think of anything else that I could post and I will admit - I'm stumped. Um...I finish finals this week. That's pretty boring. I uh...stayed up till 6 am last saturday reading the 7th Harry Potter book...yup. There you go Anna. This is for you.

Bongo Benny

2008-06-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Most of the people who would ever look at my blog have already seen this, but we have a request for a new post and honestly...a month without one post is a little pathetic. So...introducing BONGO BENNY. This is someone Jeff met in Australia who not only agreed to let the missionaries come teach him, he offers free lessons every Sunday in the park in the middle of Sydney.

Kittens

2008-05-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

My family went over to my Grandma's house for Mother's Day. There were kittens there that were so cute. Three were three weeks old and then there was another batch that were only a week old.

They were a big hit. Even Anna and Russell held one for a while and it fell asleep.

I had all three at once and we all just took a nap. The one on my shoulder stayed there the whole time and sometimes it would purr. It was so sweet.

This post is dedicated to Jessica, who loves little kitties and has a cute one of her own. :)

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here is the present that my siblings and I made for my Mom. I got the kids to each draw a flower, then I traced it onto the muslin and stitched it. It was so fun to make and my Mom loved it.

The text is from a little song that she used to sing to us growing up.

Jeeves and Wooster

2008-05-10T12:29:00.001-07:00

Jeeves and Wooster is a BBC episode series that is hilarious and I've been watching them lately. It takes a while to get into but the characters are so great. These movies are Tyler family classics...all of the kids love them (except for Matthew).

To see a taste go to http://youtube.com/watch?v=EnCNJD3-e7g

If you want to see an episode go to http://youtube.com/watch?v=nswOLyfClrE

Fabric Shopping

2008-05-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

For my High School Graduation my grandma is going to make me quilt. I know, I know, its been a year but that is my fault. I was supposed to finish picking out fabric and wash it so that it won't shrink later. Last saturday my Mom and I went shopping for it. We started at 8:30 at a little shop in Lehi called Broadbents. They didn't have anything in particular that I liked so we went to Joann's.

After starting at the front and working to the back I found some fabric in the decor section that was on a big roll. It is cream with cream stitching on it. By that time it was noon. My Mom and I both liked it and went to check look one last time at the other fabric that I was thinking about. When we went back...it was gone!! We looked all over the store to see if someone had it in their cart but no one did. It turns out that someone put it in the wrong place. I'm so excited to see the finished product.

Playlist

2008-03-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

INTRODUCING...Music to check out...brought to you by Yayun Tiyah. Just scroll down to start checking it out. Go to playlist.com to add your own.

Show You How: this is off the new Killers album and I know its kind of annoying when an artist starts a song with a answering machine, but when the song kicks in I think its a sweet transition.

Baby's Got Sauce: this is a song that Anna and I discovered a couple summers ago. If you haven't heard it before you're in for a treat, its a chillin song to listen to while you walk across campus.

15 Step: off of Radiohead's new album "Rainbows." All of that music is awesome! If you haven't heard it, or worse yet, if you haven't heard Radiohead you need to get some of their stuff.

This Charming Man: I love Death Cab for Cutie! This song is one of their different ones which is why I posted it. Other greats are "Marching Band of Manhatten" and "I will follow you into the Dark."

Oceans: The Format is another awesome band and they play some of my favorite stuff.

It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got that Swing: Ah, the classic Jazz standard performed by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Its a long song but if you're not going to listen to all of it (which I doubt you are) then click the pop-out feature on the playlist and fast forward to 4:25 for the sweet scat solo by Ella.

Remembering: Avishai Cohen is probably one of my favorite artists ever of any genre. All of his stuff is so creative. He lives in Israel so his music has different sound to it. This is one of his ballads.

A special Thanks to my older sister Anna for introducing me to so much of the music listed above and for helping me to be a well-rounded listener.

Ice Skating

2008-03-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

Friday night Stephen, Abby and I went ice skating. It was so much fun. We spent the entire time trying to take the turns the way experienced people do it. They lift up their feet and cross it over...we started getting the hang of it.

And none of us fell...until we started playing tag. I fell twice and then both of them did too so we stopped playing.

Easter Dresses

2008-03-22T22:34:00.001-07:00

I found this dress at the BYU bookstore. Not only did it fit me great, but it was the last of its kind on the rack, not just the last of this size either, it was the very last dress. So I bought it. Its fun and different from anything else that I have.

It was too short so my Mom helped me add the orange to the bottom in time for easter.

I didn't mean to, but Emma and I ended up matching today when we went to my Grandma Tyler's house to hunt for eggs.

I told Emma to make a silly face and this is what she did...

Haircut Time!

2008-03-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

I gave three of my little brothers hair cuts last week. I was a little nervous at first because it was only my second, then third and fourth times doing it. Anna explained the basics and then I just went at it.

You can't quite tell from these pictures but their hair is ridicuously large and it was hard to cut since its so thick.

Here is Jimmy...curly head.

Success! Not only did Stephen and Jimmy like their hair cuts...my Mom approved and Anna even said it looked good (though she might just want the mantle of hair cutting to move but I think that it was sincere too)

What a stud..

Oh no, I might be a band geek

2008-03-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to a Super Band concert. It was so much fun to see the band perform that I used to be in. I also got to see one of my best friends Suzy Lind. She sings for the band so I recorded a clip of it. Its kind of bad quality but just listen till the end where you can hear more of what she really sounds like.

Wyatt's Stache

2008-03-07T09:06:00.001-08:00

I ran into Wyatt on campus today and just happened to have my camera.

He said that most of the guys who were doing Moustache March are dropping out...Wyatt is going to make it until he has to meet with the Stake President for his mission papers.

Trying to eat Healthy

2008-03-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

Its not as easy as just heating up a burrito. So when I wanted to buy burritos so bad I just got a bunch of vegetables instead. So I mainly live off of baked potatoes which I heat up with some olive oil on the stove, eggs and toast, sandwiches, and cheerios. So, I am eating pretty well for a college student.

Here is Joe's creative ability with his strawberries and soy icecream, yum.

Irish Step Dancing

2008-03-03T09:11:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night I went to an Irish performance for my dance class at BYU. Mary came with me and it was so much fun. The girls were really talented and some of the girls were younger than Mary but were doing stuff as hard as the advanced class at BYU.

The costumes here are very flashy but still pretty cool. I like the more conservative dresses better that still look like the one on the left.

During the intermission I asked one of the girls where they got their shoes. Their director had some used ghillies (kind of like a black ballet shoe) that she said I could try on. I did and they are pretty tight but she said they'd stretch out. So I go them for 15 dollar instead of 40 if they're new! Yipee, I had a good time with my sister and I got some sweet new dance shoes.

Good Music

2008-02-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

I am just sitting in the cougar eat having lunch, doing homework and listening to music to drown out the noise of the annoying people around me.

I started thinking about how much I love the music these fellas made. Above is Claude Debussy and some of my favorite music by him is "Clair de lune" which Jeff would call the "Oceans 13" music since they play part of the song while Brad Pitt is eating something. You can go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debussy to listen to it since I couldn't figure out how to attach a sound clip.

This cute little kid who grew up into a grumpy old man is Sergei Rachmaninoff. He has some intense music, and it ranges from soft peaceful stuff to really loud fast paced music. I can't think of the right way to describe it exactly. I really like Prelude in C sharp minor and Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachmaninoff

I used to actually be good enough at the piano that I could play part of these duets. I always wanted John and I to play one of them together. Maybe I'll practice up and see if we still can but...I think I might not have the skills anymore. Well, there is the music lesson for the day. I love these composers.

Laundry

2008-02-28T08:25:00.000-08:00

I did laundry for the first time at a laundry mat last saturday. My roommate showed me the ropes.

Its kind of sad that I had to use the biggest heavy-duty washer to do only my darks.

Classic Skating

2008-02-26T21:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight our ward had an activity at classic skating. Classic Skating was totally the cool place to go in 6th grade but despite the fact that its way old it was still really fun.

Yes, there are some stupid boys trying to get in the picture in the background...

Notice the sweet flashing necklace that I won. (It was a game completely based off of chance) but I still won! Yipee

The Reason for the Rain

2008-02-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

If you didn't enjoy the rain today, I'm sorry because here are the culprits. When I wear these shoes, it rains. See how they are made out of canvas, have a thin sole and get wet easily. I get to walk around campus is sopping shoes all day.

I'll let you know next time I plan on wearing them so you can plan for it...

New Cubicle

2008-02-21T20:42:00.001-08:00

Well, all the people who I have ever seen at Novell at work in the same room now. Its a big room with rows of small half-cubicles. People who used to have an office have down-graded to this. Here is my desk...I don't have all the pictures up that I'm going to have but, its a start.

Apparently the idea of this move is that now everyone works close together so more communication and team work can happen. But everyone knows that just schmultz and the real reason is that they want to condense the space that all of us work in and lease out the other building.

I was a little worried about sitting directly across from another person on my team but the opening that is between our desks isn't that big so I don't think it'll be bad.

See that head sticking up on the other side of the cube...that's Chris. Chris sits kitty corner to me and he told me he'd keep an eye on me.