9 and 10 out of 30

9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how. 

(....ok more like 14....not including the 8372 family members in Mexico)

1. Husband R.

The love of my life...every day he influences me for the better. He keeps my heart full of joy.

2. My parents. D & L.

Their unwavering example of unconditional love.

3. My in-laws. D & P. 

They are so faithful and loving. I'm pretty sure Pam has never done or said anything bad in her whole life.

They are just so sweet.

4. My family in Mexico.

Every time I visit they make me feel like a princess.

Hispanic culture is especially loving and giving and I'm grateful to have had that example in my life. 

5. Grandma & Grandpa H.

 They are still so in love and it is adorable.

They emulate "choose your love, love your choice".

6. M & J.

They've both endured a lot but they both keep smiling and enjoying life.

7. L & Kathia.

Their confidence. They are completely themselves all of the time.

If Lis wants to do something, it's almost a guarantee she will accomplish it.

Kathia will skip to a bus stop singing a song (loudly) without a care in the world.

8. Brother B.

It was at institute that my love of the gospel truly grew and advanced.

9. The Swll Family.

All of their examples of always being SO willing to serve others. Also,

E is the definition of knowing you are a daughter of God and what that entails. She is so cool.

Plus, she took care of me when I was Peggy Pegleg.

Hot D is so FUN and such a strong woman.She just makes you want to be like her when you grow up.

10. Kuh-rye-nuh.

She was like a mom, sister, excited scream/dance partner, therapist, etc...all wrapped up in a roommate.

Plus, she has the most contagious smile in the world.

At first I couldn't think of enough people..and then I couldn't stop thinking of people who have influenced me!

Every one of my friends has had an impact on some aspect of my life

...this would be far too long of an entry if I listed you all.

And it would be more of a "why I love __insert name here__" entry.

There are also the people who influence me by

being perfect opportunities to work on attributes such as being teachable, kind, patient, and compassionate.

I think everybody I meet has something I can learn from them.

10. Describe your most embarrassing moment. 

This ought to lighten the mood a bit...I went to my first yoga class at the university gym.

After some relaxation breathing and stretching we were in some legs up position....

....I farted....

...then I laughed...

...nobody else did...

I haven't been to a yoga class since. 

[the list]

Junio de estudio

Lot's of exciting things in June, such as PUPPIES! (we can't get one but they've still been fun to visit)

 ....oh and R'S BIRTHDAY! ;)

(I had to leave it out of things we were looking forward to in previous post 

to play it off like it didn't cross my mind all the time and I hadn't been planning anything!)

Unfortunately he had to study all day

(that's pretty much what the whole month consisted of...he is done with step 2 now, yay!)

and I had to work,

but I surprised him with a birthday scavenger hunt after dinner.

I think he liked it :)

We've explored some more of this city - 

went to the dueling pianos...the french fries = scrumptious, divine, perfect (...you get it); 

the historic building = neato but very creepy if you go to the upstairs bathroom; 

the smell = so disgusting that we will not be going back 

...unless we are going to eat french fries...in the outdoor area.

We also explored the historic district downtown. 

R told me he had a surprise for me

(it was Untold Stories of the ER, my favorite.)

...then when we headed out to run an errand he said he had another surprise.

He was taking me to the gelato shop!

It was our 3rd or 4th attempt at going there, unsuccessfully.

Their hours are inconsistent but he checked online for that day.

It was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. but a little pricey $$.

After eating that, walking around seemed like a good idea.

There was a girls camp fundraising activity at church and

someone in our ward is very talented and was auctioning off

temple sketches -- we were lucky to have him personalize one for us as an example.

We also went to the beach with some of the ward...

on the way there R said, "wouldn't it be great if someone had kayaks there?!"

Well, someone did!

Since before R and I were officially dating we've had a bet -

I thought I could smoke him in a kayak

(because my girls camp high adventure was kayaking upstream for days..we got pretty good)

and he thought NO WAY.

So finally, over two years later, we had an opportunity to settle it.

(I always said in the two years that passed he's been too scared to ever take me kayaking)

The kayaks were different....the paddles were different...he won.

Fast forward a week or two...we have another chance to go kayaking --

this time with identical equipment.

R won...that is all...but it was really CLOSE and he was nervous for a minute. 

R visited W & M and the fam while he was away for part one of Step 2.

While there he moved a piano, watched T dribble honey everywhere, and cleaned up vomit.

I'd say that's an exciting visit.

We've made friends with the military couples in the ward, they're all awesome.

We play spades with the Es which R is super excited about

because he loooves him some spades (unless he loses).

I guess it's getting to be not so bad here after all.

Plus, we're getting really good at baking chocolate chip cookies these days. Holla.

Life lesson of June: Do not over cream the cookie batter.

& as if we didn't already know, THE CHURCH IS TRUE. There is no denying it.

Things we're NOT looking forward to in July: not being together for the 4th of July... for the third year in a row. 

5, 6, 7, 8/30: ????

5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?

1. My loving, supportive, loyal, hunk of a husband. I am so blessed to have him in my life.

He puts up with me...[I can be a handful or two]...and still looks at me with googly eyes.

I don't know how it's possible, because I already love him so much I could cry,

but I fall more in love with that man e.v.e.r.y. s.i.n.g.l.e. d.a.y.

I can't imagine a more perfect man, for me, to spend eternity with.

& family (forever more, "family" includes my in-law family)

...I'm really really blessed with an incredible family.

2. My testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and The Book of Mormon.

I know it, I (try hard to) live it, I love it. 

3. Food. It's true. I get really excited about good food. 

4. Working out. I'm so glad R and I joined a gym.

As hard as it is getting up so early every morning

(if it weren't for him, I would probably sleep through the alarms!),

I feel SO much better after a morning workout.

I'm glad we're making a habit of it now. 

5. Blogging.

It's my current favorite creative outlet.

Even though I'm not very good or consistent at it. Yet.

Decorating baked goods is too expensive. Blogging is free.

6. What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?

When both of my parents had cancer. That is all. 

7. What is your dream job, and why?

Wellllllllll, my professional ambitions/interests have ranged 

from whale rider/trainer at Sea World to attorney to doctor to event planner.....

you get the picture...

I'm all over the place because I enjoy many things and think I could find happiness 

in several different career paths. 

However, the job I look most forward to is MOM. 

As scary as the thought is sometimes, I just can't wait for R and I to raise little bitties...get to teach them/ watch them learn, and make their birthday cakes, and celebrate them, and be their mom. So neat.

8. What are 5 passions you have?

1. Documenting life. 

I love to take pictures of us doing anything/everything. 

R hates pictures. 

Luckily, he has eternity to learn to love them as much as I do.

2. Honesty/kindness. I can't explain how passionately upset it makes me to know 

someone is being dishonest and it makes me even more upset to know someone is being mistreated.

3. The gospel of Jesus Christ - it's true. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true folks.

Learn about it at www.mormon.org.

4. Learning/trying new things. I really love to learn.

New words, new things, new cultures, new skills....love love love it.

5. Music. It makes me really happy. 

[the list]

MayFlowers...better late than never.

We started out May with the end of this season's Survivor.

You would think this is insignificant to mention in our blog buuuuut...

one of the last episodes had the part where they get to see a family member and the way they started

crying and running towards their loved one made me cry and say "it's like Heaven!" 

because I started thinking about forever families and being reunited. Emotional.  

There was one survivor who said her strategy for the whole game was to 

be humble. 

I think being humble is a strategy we can all apply to life.

"We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves." 

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Fill our hearts with sweet forgiving; Teach us tolerance and love." 

-In Humility, Our Savior (we sang this hymn at church last Sunday & those words stuck out) 

On a lighter note...

We had our monthly dinner with Kerri & Rob. It was a blast, as always. 

R's classmates had a Cinco de Mayo party. We took a flan. It was popular. 

We've been really into smoothies lately. 

I like to name the sky. R likes to name our smoothies. 

As in he calls them all a sunshine smoothie.

(a couple of the ways R hints at wanting a smoothie: 

"a sunshine smoothie sure would brighten my evening"...

"a sunshine smoothie sure would shed some light on the subject" [as he is studying])

We also experimented with oatmeal last month. 

Blended it up to make flour....made banana pancakes with it. 

R cooked them on his "friend", the griddle. 

They were excellent. Highly recommended. I share recipes.

Speaking of recipes, if you have some awesome ones, I'd appreciate them...

I've felt less than innovative in the kitchen lately & it stresses me out to not know what to make for R. ;)

As far as adventures go, we went to our first gallery night (decided once was enough)

& our first local baseball game. 

We got to go visit my parents for Memorial Day weekend. 

It was amazing, of course. 

We went to beaches, got belated Easter prizes, ate a ton (literally) of food, & enjoyed time with Ma, Dad, D, Gma, Gpa, Aunt A, Uncle M, and even got to hang out with Andrew & Sarah.

We hit up M-town on the way home & had dinner with with the family there.

We've done well with our gym commitment. Sometimes people watching there causes me to have serious thoughts during my cardio...like how some people just look lonely. & that I think every human desires to be loved. & how grateful I am for all of the love in my life. 

R FINISHED HIS 3RD YEAR OF MED SCHOOL! Onward to 4th year!

(so proud of him and all of his hard work/dedication!)

May pretty much FLEW by. Hence this entry is late. Woops! 

Life lesson of May: “be a duck,” meaning just let it brush off like water on a duck.

Things we're (I'm) looking forward to in June: The Bachelorette and Pretty Little Liars!!!

3&4/30: Describe your relationship with your parents. & List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.

Describe your relationship with your parents

They are simply the best. I love them. EVERYBODY loves them.

Growing up, people wanted to hang out around my family because my parents were cool. 

Probably because dad is so adventurous 

and the first thing ma does when you walk in is ask if you're hungry. 

& even if you say no, there is about to be a burrito or plate of nachos or something on the table. 

In my eyes, my dad knows anything/everything about anything/everything. 

If I need help with something, I call dad. 

Mom knows exactly what to say in any/every situation. Just calling her if I'm in a bad mood, meltdown, frustrated, hungry, anything mood brings me back to reality because she reminds me everything is ok. 

They've shown me unconditional love and always express how proud they are of me. 

I never had a curfew or got grounded; they've trusted me and I've trusted them.

I have the best parents in the universe & I cry almost every time I have to say bye to them. 

AND now I have the best in-law parents a girl could ever ask for.

 P has such a pure heart and is so thoughtful 

(example: the day we got back from trying on my wedding dress - I hated it and was upset. 

When we pulled up, she was in the driveway 

ready to give me and hug and tell me she had fresh cookies on the counter). 

D just radiates love and gives the best hugs! 

Plus he lets me go work cows with him! 

They raised 4 boys and each one of them turned out great! 

It's an understatement to say I hit the jackpot as far as parents go. 

List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.

1. The people who seem pretty cool right now...ya, they aren't. 

2. You're not as grown as you think you are. 

3. Don't be a snot to your parents, you'll realize how cool & loving they are and wish you could take it back.

4. Start thinking now about what major you want to pick in college...unbeknownst to you they are going to make you pick a major after freshman year...not sophomore. Thanks to your I.B. credits. 

5. You are not invincible. 

6. Don't be so afraid of failure/to speak up that you don't try out for parts in drama, be more creative in photography, or get what you want.

7. Tell people how much they mean to you before it's too late. Your aunt, the one who lived with you and taught you Spanish and who's kids are like siblings to you, and who brought you Mexican school books while you spent the summers in Mexico because you wanted to read while cousins were at school..she gets cancer and you don't get to say thank you. 

8. When you graduate, don't date that boy. If you're going to date someone, stick with the other one. 

But really, just wait until the year 2011...that's when you start dating the one. 

9. Don't wait so long to go back to Mexico. You miss the family more than you realize, you'll finally go back and wish you could stay and your chances to go are rarer and rarer the older you get. 

10. The only person you need to worry about making happy is your Heavenly Father. 

[the list]