Utah!

So... as of last weekend, I'm OFFICIALLY a Utahn! Okay, I've only lived here a week and I don't have a job or car yet, but I'm officially living in Utah now.

My last couple of weeks in Nevada were bittersweet. It was awesome spending so much time with my friends but it was really hard to say goodbye to them and my family that I left behind.

My friends and I randomly hung out a lot the 2 weeks before I left and Ashley and Anna even helped me pack a couple of days. A week before I left, we checked out this karaoke bar. It was a lot of fun.

The next night, we just hung out at my friend's house and had a little going away sleepover thing with me and some of my favorite people! Unfortunately, I didn't get many good pictures that night. :) For my last night in Henderson, my friends and I went out to Olive Garden and then hung out until the wee hours of the morning. It was so sad leaving! At first I was sort of too sad to cry, like it hadn't even hit me yet and then right before I left I got SO emotional! I was totally bawling. These friends of mine are SO amazing and I'm going to miss them so much!

It will also be sad not living with Mom, Ben, Taryn, and the kids anymore. We've had some great times in the past few years and it will be weird to only see them when they or I visit. Same with Cari and Roger and their kids- It'll be weird not seeing them every Sunday, but hopefully we'll be able to visit a lot and I'll enjoy getting to know my siblings and nieces and nephews here in Utah.

Its been a crazy week and it still feels like I'm on vacation or something but I think I'll start to settle in here soon! I've already had a lot of fun with my family here. Candice has been moving this week, so a couple of days, Tara, Laura and I went over there to help pack and clean. I wasn't much help (I'm a horrible packer and was only proficient at the jobs she gave me when they involved just throwing everything in a bag) but I got to hold Kayleigh and Cameron when they cried so that their moms could get some stuff done. It was the BEST job! I love those two cute babies! Unfortunately, I took pictures of them on my phone and the adaptor to my phone's memory card got left in Vegas... maybe I'll post pictures of them later.

Friday, May 29th was Jana's birthday, so Tara helped me make Jana breakfast that morning and then we went to Mimi's that night and rented some movies to watch. It was fun! Then on Saturday, the whole family got together for Jana's b-day too. It was a fun weekend.

So, I have a little group of girls in Utah to do stuff with! Okay, okay, 2 of my 3 friends are related to me (Jana and Arin, my sister and cousin) but Chandra isn't related! She's not obligated to hang out with me but she does! Miracles do happen! ha ha jk. Maybe I'll get out there and make more new friends but I'm happy with our little group! :) We're a barrel of laughs- maybe I'll take some pictures soon, we didn't take any on Jana's birthday for some reason.

Anyways, it has been an interesting transition for me, leaving the ones I love back in Henderson and getting set up here in Utah, but I think this will be good for me. I'm currently job-searching (wish me luck!) and was able to acquire a vehicle that I need to get inspected and registered (Thanks Steve!) so hopefully my life will level out soon. I hope everyone is enjoying this warm weather!

Uh oh...

The obsession continues...

CON-GRADUATION!

On May 9th, I graduated college!!! Woo! I got my Bachelor's degree in Psychology. It has felt like such a long journey, especially these last couple semesters, and I'm happy that I have finally reached the end of it. Graduation day was a LOT of fun! In the morning, mom, Laura, and Jana gave me some cards and flowers that were really funny and sweet. Jana's card said CONGRADUATION! It was a Really funny one, so was the one Laura gave me that had money in it and said "Ka-ching!" They both were those talking Hallmark Hoops and Yoyo cards-Both were super funny. We went to Olive Garden for lunch, my whole family that lives here as well as Jana, Dad, Laura, and Dalton who came from Utah to see me graduate. Thanks for that mom, it was a lot of fun to have all of us there, celebrating! I really appreciated it. The ceremony was pretty boring but I did get a little emotional when we were walking in, thinking of how I really was finished! I actually dropped my name card when I was walking down and they won't call your name without it, so I picked it up really fast and looked like a dork! Mom caught it all on video! I sat next to my friend Ashley who graduated as well so that was fun. We giggled together a bit when John, our student speaker, had his tassel blown into his mouth several times while he was speaking and also shared a little smiley moment when it was our turn to get our diplomas. It was awesome to walk across that stage and get my fake diploma and shake hands with (or hug) some of my favorite professors. I suppose it was good to see the not-favorite ones as well. :) Anyways, after the ceremony, we took a ton of pictures and headed over to Ashley's house for a combined party. Her parents went all out and made a really nice party. A bunch of our favorite people were there and it was just really great to celebrate with my friends. It ended up being a really well-rounded day, where I got to celebrate with my family, friends, and fellow students. It was awesome! Here are some of the pictures I took that day:

Before Graduation- Me trying to look smart! Lol.

Jana and I before Graduation

Ashley and I in the sea of graduates. They look pretty bored, but we were EXCITED! :)

Right after I got my fake diploma! YAY!


Ashley and I- Finally done! Woo! :)

Anna, Ashley, Myself, and Jana after Graduation

Sisters and Mom after Graduation


The whole Graduation clan- Thanks for coming, everyone! It meant a lot to me!


The BEAUTIFUL flowers I got- Laura arranged them from bouquets I got from Jana and Mom! SO pretty!

Me and my flowers

I LOVED my flowers! Can you tell?! :)


Ma and Pa and I after Graduation!


Ashley and I at the After-party!


All of my favorite ladies at the After-party! L to R: Jana, Anna, Myself, Ashley, Ashlee, and Trina- Love you girls!

So, now my life as a student has come to an end. I have one more class to finish in the summer to make it official and then I'll get my not-fake diploma :) Freshman year seems like SO long ago, and yet it was really just a blink of time from there until now! Jana asked me on Graduation day if it felt weird that I had spent as much time in college as I did in high school and it does feel weird! I have learned so much from my experiences in school and I owe SO much to my parents and family for helping me through it all. If it were up to me, they would all get honorary diplomas for how much they've done to help me finish. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND APPRECIATE ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME!

GRADUATION OUTTAKES:

So... I couldn't decide whether to put these two pictures in my post, but I just can't help myself- they're too funny! For your viewing pleasure, the outtakes:

HA HA. Ashley's tassel in her mouth. This picture is priceless.


ha ha. Maybe you had to be there to REALLY know how funny this was, but I think the picture does it justice pretty well... Jana told mom and dad to kiss me on the cheek for a picture- Dad was making me laugh and mom was saying "My nose touches her glasses" and it was just REALLY funny. You can see in the picture how funny I thought it was.

Catching Up

So, since I've been so very distracted with school this semester and it is now completed, I thought I should probably update my blog! I haven't had TOO much going on, but there has been some fun stuff in the past six months to document. I really haven't updated about my life since New Years, so here goes... Around New Years, my sisters had babies so I now have a new niece and nephew! They are SO CUTE! Below are some pictures right after they were born. I was lucky enough to spend some of January in Utah before school started so I got to hold them a lot :D It was great.

In February, mom and I stayed in Utah for a week to catch both of the baby blessings. It was a lot of fun and they looked adorable in their blessing outfits! They're so cute! It was a fun week.

Some of us also got a chance to karaoke while we were there that week! Below is a picture of me, Jana, Holly, Arin, and Holly's friend Elizabeth. It's always a good time when we go there- you Utah people should check it out! Click here for more info!

In March, I threw my friend Anna a birthday party. She had a lot of her friends there, Trina and Ashlee pictured below, and we did karaoke, had some tasty food, and had a good time. Taryn and I had a little bit of fun decorating for it, stringing streamers across the room and on the windows and doors. I should probably say that Taryn executed it and I merely handed her tape, just so I'm not getting undue credit. I did hang the Happy Birthday sign on the window all by myself though! :)

Also in March, Jana came here for a week for my Spring Break and birthday! It was SO much fun to have her here again and we did some fun stuff for my birthday. It's was really hard to part when she left that time! I think both of us are ready to live in the same state again! I didn't take any pictures while she was here! I was kind of a slacker! Owell... there will be plenty of time to take pictures when we live together!

Easter weekend, we had the WHOLE family here! It was so much fun! We even got the chance to see Erica, Don, Brooklyn, and Ava Stepro. It was a lot of fun to have everyone here and have a big Easter egg hunt in the three main rooms of the house. The babies were of course SO CUTE (Are you seeing a theme to this post?! ha ha ha)! These pictures are of them in their Easter-y outfits. They're adorable!

So, Those are some of the big events from the last six months! Sorry there aren't many details- that's the downside to blogging months after something happens. I've mostly been working on my last semester of school and hanging out with friends. I graduated on May 9th! I'll post some pictures of that in a later post! Now I'm just packing and spending time with my friends for the last week I have left in Henderson! In less than a week, I'm moving to Utah and will be starting my job search. I'm excited to get there and get established. Anyways, I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and all is well with you.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mothers Day everyone! I'm sorry to everyone out there who thinks that THEY have the best mom out there- 7 of you could be right- but sorry, my mom is the best! She's the most unselfish, thoughtful person and she would do ANYTHING for her family and for anyone else who needs it. She has spent her life taking care of her kids and working for her family. I love her TONS and am SO GRATEFUL to have such a fantastic mother! Happy Mother's Day!

I really LOVE Music

So, recently, I've been adding and organizing music on my computer (thanks to Jana's MP3 player and network sharing) and I'm reminded how much I LOVE music! Of course I love to sing, karaoke, and blare the radio and such, but going through some of my old and new favorites on my computer makes me remember how much recorded music has affected my life! I used to get new cds and listen to them and take out the booklet and read the lyrics and REALLY experience the music. I loved it! I actually did that recently for the first time in forever. The source of this devotion: Brandi Carlile's The Story album. I LOVE this whole cd. I heard The Story on a GMC commercial during the Olympics and eventually looked it up and bought the cd... and played the cd... and then the obsession began. It's awesome. I love it. You should buy it too. ha ha. jk. But really though... it'd be money well spent!
I used to go through phases when I would just have one cd in my cd player for like a month or two at a time and when I listen to those cds now, they're SO nostolgic! I know them like the back of my hand because I listened to them so much. A few cds I played endlessly were the I am Sam soundtrack, the Def Leppard Vault album, Green Day Nimrod cd, the Beatles white album, the Creed Weathered cd, Monster Ballads, The Weezer blue album, The 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack, a ton of the Now cds, and SEVERAL others. I used to/still love making mix cds too! I have so many random mixes in my cd case right now, it's not even funny. Good times... Lately I've been really into music that's kind of simple with a really talented vocalist and acoustic guitar, maybe some piano, and not a ton more... okay, probably drums too, but you get what I mean- really chill and simple, yet amazing music. I can't get enough of that stuff. Anyways, I'm taking rambling to a whole new level with this post, I just wanted to vocalize my recent re-recognition of my love of music. If anyone has any bands/singers I need to check out, please let me know!

Blog Slacker!

Hey Guys. I'm officially a Blog Slacker!

Blog Slacker [blŏg slak-er] (n.): 1. One who slacks off on their blog; 2. Rachel Brown.

I have to write a blog today before its a whole month since I've blogged. So just an update...I'm still alive... going to school... looking forward to May 9th... and having fun (probably too much in fact!)

I'll hopefully write a more interesting post soon! Loves.

25 Randoms

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.

I did this tag on Facebook and I thought maybe I'd copy it on here. Some of you may not know the extent to which I am a dork, but you’re about to find out! Here you are: 25 randoms, facts, and hobbies:

1. I’m a chapstick addict. I go crazy if for some reason there isn’t chapstick in my pocket or purse at all times. Blistex Deep Renewal is my FAVORITE! I also like the Chapstick mint kind... and it reminds me of Jillian!

2. Sometimes I color in coloring books even when I’m not watching any kids. It’s very relaxing! Just listening to my MP3 player, coloring… it takes me back to my childhood and is really soothing. Try it!

3. I sleep in until noon or later everyday and sometimes don’t go to sleep until my mom is awake and getting ready for work.

4. More than half of my favorite bands had their glory days before my time (Beatles, AC/DC, Def Leppard, and Metallica to name a few)

5. I really love chef/cooking shows, particularly Iron Chef America and Take Home Chef. I always say I’ll take some of their simple gourmet recipes and apply them, but I never have.

6. I can honestly say that I like all vegetables. (Well at least all of the ones that I’ve tried) In fact, spinach and broccoli are a couple of my favorites.

7. I ditched more than your average teen in high school but still pulled off a 3.66 cumulative GPA somehow.

8. I sang a mini solo at my graduation… scariest moment of my life, I think.

9. I’ve never had to get stitches but had 3 “broken” bones before I was 3. They call it a green break or something because the bones aren’t fully developed.

10. I’m pretty crafty and know the basics of a lot of areas (sewing, crocheting, knitting, cross-stitching, etc) but the only area that has caught my interest long enough to finish a project is scrapbooking (aside from the numerous pairs of pants I sewed for girl’s camp one year.)

11. I love camping and my family goes about once a year to our Cabin in Fairview UT.

12. I love learning about the history of my ancestors and one of my favorite memories is spending a week with my grandpa, writing his memories down.

13. The best compliment I’ve ever gotten was when I had just gotten out of the shower, had my hair in a towel and no makeup on and I didn’t know that my late grandma’s sister was visiting, so I sauntered through the living room, extremely embarrassed, only to hear her say as I left “She looks just like DeOn!” (DeOn’s my grandma) I guess makeup and hair product don’t matter so much if I can get that kind of compliment without it.

14. I love board games, Karaoke, and Sims and have an embarrassing collection of all of these hobbies.

15. I just bought a laptop that can sign me into websites using my fingerprint

16. I’m writing a novel

17. I’m really sarcastic and have a weird sense of humor so people who don’t know me very well just think I’m mean.

18. Sometimes I AM mean.

19. I’m definitely the black sheep of my fam, despite what the rest of them say. If they deny it, deep down they know it’s true. Lol.

20. I like to ramble on about basically nothing sometimes, as you know since you're reading my blog right now.

21. I LOVE kids but don’t necessarily know if I want them.

22. I draw very poorly

23. I dislike the color purple more than most girls and even some guys.

24. I only have one semester left of college and even though I thought I’d be sad (I used to LOVE College), I’m totally ready for graduation.

25. I love musicals (what would the world be like if we could just bust into song, wherever we were? Awesome… that’s what it would be!)

As always, I tag you all, though I doubt there are 25 people that read my blog :)

I am the Walrus (koo koo kachoo)

1. Put Your iTunes on Shuffle.

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!

4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.

So there's not a LOT of variety on my mp3 player right now (and my 30 gig is out of commision for the time being) so there are some repeats of cds, but I think it worked well. Ü Also, for some reason Blogger is chunking everything together, despite the fact that I spaced it out a bit when I composed it, so I'm coloring the actual question red, so there isn't any confusion. Ü Anyways, here goes...

If someone says "Is this ok?" you say: The Story of Nothing- Aquabats [Yeah, I guess if its NOT ok, I’d say nothing? See if they figure it out? Ha ha ha.]
How would you describe yourself? One Short Day- Wicked soundtrack [It's true... I am pretty short Ü]

What do you like in a guy/girl? In Love with a Girl- Gavin Degraw [Um… confusion… I don’t like girls. OH… maybe I like guys who are in love with THIS girl. ;)]

How do you feel today? This is such a pity- Weezer [I couldn’t have said it better myself! Ha ha ha.]

What is your life’s purpose? Over-rated- Gavin Degraw [Ha. Having a purpose in life is SO over-rated! Lol.]

What is your motto? I thank you God [Seriously! I’m so blessed!]

What do your friends think of you? Grace Kelly- Mika [I’m a classy gal?]

What do you think of your parents? It Ain’t Me Babe- New Found Glory [Maybe I’m not what they expected… but I sure do love ‘em!]

What do you think about very often? Follow Through- Gavin Degraw [Yeah, the follow through of goals is something I ponder on frequently…. Maybe that’s the problem. Too much thinking, not enough action! Lol.]

What is 2 + 2? Be Yourself- Audioslave […and then math will just make sense Ü]

What do you think of your best friend? Life in Technicolor- Coldplay [Maybe I don’t need to comment on ALL of these Ü]

What do you think of the person you like? Girl You Know- Scarface [Wow. I feel the need to reiterate: I’m not into girls. Really... I'm not. Ha ha. I LIKE GUYS... okay, I'm glad we're clear on that Ü]

What is your life story? Bella’s Lullaby- Twilight soundtrack [I WISH my life story was Bella’s Lullaby! Ha ha ha.]

What do you want to be when you grow up? Long time gone- Dixie chicks [It’s true, I do think about getting away sometimes Ü]

What do you think of when you see the person you like? Wall to Wall- Chris Brown [Yeah, I got nothing on this one... but I AM relieved that the title doesn't have the word 'girl' in it. Ü]

What will you dance to at your wedding? A Message- Coldplay [Not too far off!]

What will they play at your funeral? A Sentimental Man- Wicked soundtrack [Okay, okay... I get it. I think my mp3 player’s just confused about my gender!!! That’s what it is… I probably should’ve gotten a hot pink one or should put some Britney Spears on it or something so there's no confusion.]

What is your hobby/interest? Welcome to the Black Parade [Sure, I like parades as much as the next guy Ü]

What is your biggest fear? Flightless Bird- Twilight soundtrack [This could either be really deep (Fear that I won’t make anything of myself- A flightless bird) or could be in reference to my fear of heights… I don’t know which Ü]

What is your biggest secret? Shiver- Maroon 5 [hmmm…]

What do you think of your friends? Goodbye my Lover- James Blunt [See ya later, friends. It’s been real.]

What will you post this as? I am the Walrus- Beatles [Is that some kind of fat joke? Ha ha ha ha.]

Well... that was fun. Ü Tune in next time for the next installment of useless knowledge about Rachel's life! Over and out.

HAP-PY NEW YEAR!

I've been sort of busy here in Utah so it's taken me a while to post about New Years. This year was a bit different because I'm here in Utah. Jana and I were just planning to relax at home with Tara and Jay on New Years eve but then Tara had a baby so she was in the hospital! It's okay though... it was a fair trade to have Kayleigh here a little sooner than planned. :) We went out to Candice's instead and it was a lot of fun. We played games and chowed down. Usually at midnight we would go out to the desert in Vegas and watch the fireworks and bust open sparkling cider, but it was too cold outside (and Randall made the excellent point that the cider would make yellow snow) so we just brought in the new year in the warmth of Cand and Rand's living room, raising our glasses of cider. It was a lot of fun! So Happy New Year everyone! Best of luck on your resolutions and hope 2009 brings great things for you!