CAVING!!!

Ok, this was the best! My friends and I have recently met some guys that are so fun! Dave, Craig, and Braeden are just a crack up to be around and we've had so much fun with them in the short time we've been friends. We had talked about going caving a few times because all of the boys are from up north and haven't ever been and Kimber hadn't been either. I knew it would never happen if we didn't set a date and time and just go for it so I text everyone and we set a time and went! Caving is such a thrill! If you've ever been, you'll know what I'm talking about. You hike down into caves at night(we went to the Snow Canyon Caves) and you take like 3 glowsticks per person. Once you get into the opening, you break the glowsticks, tie a string through the hole, and swing them around above your head. The glowing specs fly all over the cave walls and floor and all over your body. Everyone is camoed in and you play hide and go seek! Oh, it is a blast! I couldn't get the look of the caves after we had put the glowsticks everywhere with my camera but it's so great! It was me, Kim, Kels, Madi, Dave, and Craig that went and it was fun to see the reactions of the people who hadn't gone before. I'm a flake and couldn't find the caves forever but we lucked out and I finally found them! It was so fun!

New Car!!!

Ok, I haven't updated my blog for a very long time so the next like 3 or 4 posts are all going to be updates. I bought a new car in March and am so excited about it! It's a 2008 Hyundai Elantra and it's just so fun! I decided to get back into debt so that I could have a 4 door vehicle and a more reliable car. I loved my Civic so much but the 2 doors drove me totally crazy and it was starting to get a lot of wear and tear on it and I just didn't want to pay for all of the repairs. I also love having no subs in my trunk! It's SO nice! I enjoy being able to take 5 people in my car now and having tons and tons of trunk space! My car is a manual transmission which was a must for me on any car that I bought. It was just everything I had been looking for in a new car and it was cheaper to get a brand new Hyundai Elantra as it was to have a used Mazda 3 which was my other option. I just love it! It has XM radio, alloy wheels, sunroof, heated seats, audio controls on the steering wheel, tinted windows, 5 year bumper to bumper warranty, and just tons of little perks that I was freakered about when I was shopping for cars. Anyways, that's my latest exciting purchase!

Camping Next Door!

Maddie, Kim, me, Kels

Maddie, Kim, me, Kels, Dev

Kim and me

Yes, it was very cold. Hot chocolate hit the spot!

Ok, so this was way fun! Kimber and Kelsey always do the cutest get-togethers! It was Maddies birthday and I guess that she's been wanting to go camping so Kelsey's parents agreed to let us sleep in their trailer. We were just parked on the side of Kelsey's house, hence the title "Camping next door." Kelsey has a little fire pit in her backyard so we roasted hotdogs around the fire and then went in the trailer. IT WAS FREEZING! We made hot chocolate and ate 25 Main cupcakes(which are on my top 5 most favorite desserts ever) and sang Happy Birthday! Maddie opened her presents and we just had a great time! We were laughin and just enjoying the camping atmosphere! Surprisingly, it felt very much like we were camping when we were actually in the trailer. What a fun thing to do! Kimber and Kels are darling, they always do cute stuff like that for people. Thanks girls!

Snowboarding!

Skylar, Danny, Tyc, and me

me, Mike, Lance

Me and Tyc after she got hurt--we just went and got Pepsi's

Tyce and I

Mike, Tyc, Danny, Lance, Skylar, and me

Happy New Years! On Thursday me, Tyc, Danny, Lance, Mike, and Skylar all went up to Brianhead for a day of snowboarding! This was only my second time ever going and the rest of the group has been many times. I kinda felt bad making Tyc stay behind with me but she was a gem and stuck with me! We left St. George around 8 am and headed up. We got all of our gear ready and got our lift tickets and just got goin. The 4 boys went off and did their own thing because they're way faster than Tyc and I and they go off all the jumps and stuff. Me and Tyc decided on our hill and got in line for the lift. Haha, trying to get on the lift for the first time was a little awkward for me. I couldn't figure out how to move fast enough with my snowboard attached to one of my feet while pushing with the other foot. That was a little chaotic! Haha, I ended up not getting there fast enough and so the lift just swept me up and I wacked Tyc in the leg with my board. After that incident I figured out how to maneauver my board and didn't have any more troubles getting ON the lift. Once we got to the top, I was a little nervous about how to get off the flipping thing. Tyc has never been able to successfully get off the lift without falling and I didn't understand it too well either so once we tried to get off, we crashed! Haha, that happened the first few times. Anyways, I fell and fell every single time I got up. My first two times down the hill were horrible. I was getting so frustrated and tired. Finally, I picked it up on about the 3rd time down and started enjoying myself much more! We ate lunch up there and just had a good time! At about 3 pm, Tyce and I went up the lift again to have another round down the mountain. We got to the top and by this time I could decently get off the lift. Tyc was getting much better but still struggling a little. We got off the lift and I started cruzin down the little hill but felt like I was a little out of control so I just stopped myself and fell gently. Tyc lost her balance and grabbed onto me right when I was going down so her lef and snowboard went one way and her body turned the other way. Her knee popped and she started to cry. She was in pain and she still had to ride all the way down the mountain. I followed behind her and tried to help out a little but I wasn't super good anyways. We got to the bottom, found Danny, and decided that she couldn't board anymore so we just went and chilled inside. We waited about another hour and a half til the lifts closed at 4:30 and then packed up and went home. Once we got home we went to dinner, went hot tubbing, and watched The Office. The day turned out to be very fun! Too bad Tyc got hurt because I was just getting comfortable with boarding and we had to stop. It'll be fun to go again though because now I understand it a little better! Fun day!

Christmas!

Our Christmas tree at 5 in the morning!

Sherisa, Bri, Bo, Bella, and Vanessa-Christmas morning

Cousins Rikki and Steven

Mom, Brenton, me, Sherisa at G & G Bushnell's

Ness, me, Ree, Bri, and Bro

Yes, Christmas morning, 5 am-dead tired!

Bro, me, and mom opening presents

HOORAY! Christmas morning was just a blast! My little brother insists that we wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning still, which is actually really fun for me because if it weren't for him, I would probably sleep in. Christmas eve we spent the evening up in Cedar at my Grandpa and Grandpa Roper's house. We do the same thing every year; big dinner, grandpa reads us the story of the birth of the Savior from the scriptures, Christmas program (all of the grandkids prepare a talent to perform-my bro, sis, and me all play a song on the piano), and we open presents. We always come back home for the sleeping part because we all insist on being in our own home for Christmas. Once we get home, my parents give us all pajamas and we go to bed. That is our Christmas eve every year. On Christmas morning we wake up at 5 am (it used to be 4:30, thank heavens Brenton decided to let us sleep a half an hour longer) and wake up our parents. We ALL have to walk down together and we all go strait to the family room. We walk in with everything dark and my parents flip the light on and we all start opening presents. Around 7:30 we eat a big breakfast and then my sister and bro in-law and their kids come over around 9. After we're done opening the rest of the gifts, we all get ready and head up to Cedar again. We spend the large part of the day with the Bushnell's where we have soup and sandwiches and munchies. On our way out we stop by the Roper's of a couple hours and then head home! Christmas is so fun! I am so grateful for all of the traditions that my parents and grandparents have started for us and have continued to carry out. What a blessing it is to get together and remember the birth of our Savior and to spend some quality time with our families! The memories are just great! I am so thankful for a big family and the fun times that we have!

Snow in Dixie!

St. George Temple/Visitors center

St. George Temple

The Dixie Rock covered in snow!

Sherisa and I

Christmas tree on Main Street

Cute little Judd's store!

Looking out over St. George

My old high school...Dixie High

AMAZING!!! It snowed in St. George a couple of nights ago and Sherisa and I just couldn't help but get out and take some pictures. It was gorgeous! My little brother actually got a snow day at school. The only snow day I ever got in school was when I was in like 4th grade; I have never had a snow day since. I had to wake up and take a final at the college that morning and the roads were so slick. It is so different to drive in but actually pretty fun! Us St. George people don't really know how to react to the snow. I was hanging out with my friends Andy and Ben out in Ivins and there was about 6 or 7 inches out there. We got about 3 or 4 inches in town. As I was driving home around midnight or so, it was just chucking snow. I just couldn't help but ponder on my life and the many blessings I receive every day. I was so happy I just wanted to cry. The snow was so beautiful as it packed itself softly on the ground. I have never seen St. George look so beautiful. I was one happy girl! Almost every house had a snowman out front since this would probably be the only chance we have in a long time. I'm so grateful for my blessings and that I was able to be a part of such a beautiful experience! It just brightened up my week!

Warm Springs!!!

Ok, so I haven't posted in such a long time. This should've been posted back in November. Anyways, it's worth posting so better late than never! My family and I went to Warm Springs in November which is located in Moapa. The water is naturally about 75-80 degrees so we were able to go swimming in November! I was so amazed that we could actually swim outdoors that late in the year. We had such a blast! There was about 21 of us and it was so crazy because we got every single person (grandpa included) in the pool except for grandma. In my whole 20 years of life, I have never seen my grandpa swimming in an actual swimming pool. We had a little picnic there and so many laughs! We played basketball, marco-polo, the shark game, and just swam! It was awesome! The pool is amazing because it is so warm and the pool is just huge! My family and I were the only ones in the whole place which is unusual because normally it's packed there! Oh my gosh, it is just amazing! The water runs all around the area in a little river and the place is just beautiful. I actually got sunburned in November; now that is unusual! Anyways, you all should take a trip there sometime; it is TOTALLY worth it! Just go to google and type in warm springs-nevada/reservations and it will walk you through steps to make a reservation. It's only like 2 bucks a person!