Summer Fun!

So it has been a lot of fun NOT having a job, because I can go and do things whenever I want. So, even though I would rather be earning some money, I have enjoyed my unemployment. Something has to come soon though, otherwise I might lose my mind...I need to be productive and I have been trying to be creative with that. I even volunteered to start an Adopt-A-Grandparent program for our stake! Anyway, here are some pics of the fun I have been having with family and friends.

We spent the weekend in San Diego with the family, here is my brother Ryan and his girlfriend Taryn with our nephew Jacob.

While in San Diego we toured the huge USS Midway aircraft carrier ship that is now a museum. It was pretty cool but after about 2 hours, all us girls were ready to go and left the men there.

Our main reason for going down to San Diego was for this awesome DaVinci exhibit that made replicas of over 60 of DaVinci's ideas and inventions. It was really cool to see it all. But of course, my favorite part was the hall of art, I love learning about art and the history of the artists.

On the Midway Ship we got to sit in pilot seats and my niece tried to put the seatbelt on her but didn't succeed very well, don't worry she didn't choke.

There is the USS Midway Ship.

A group of us went out to LA to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, it was quite the cultural experience, I had never been there. The food is so rich, and oooooooh so good! I probably ate about 5,000 calories in just one sitting!

We also went to see the Griffith Observatory, it was lots of fun and we got to see the Space Station pass by at night as well, it just looked like a moving star but it was pretty cool!

My friend from Wales came, (Jon on the right) so we went to an Angels game, he had a great time even though he didn't catch a homerun ball.

And one of the sadder moments of summer came when my friend Ashley (far left) took off for a year to be an Au Pair in Switzerland, she is so adventurous and brave. If I am lucky I might just be able to go visit her!

I can't believe it is seriously already AUGUST!!! Summer is almost over and it feels like it just began! Although I don't have a job, one thing I am grateful for is that I don't have to start school in a few weeks!!! Yeah, done with that for awhile!

Beach fun and my Birthday!

So I celebrated my 26th Birthday with all my girlfriends. We had fun pigging out on Ghirardelli chocolate and chocolate chip pizookie....I love that stuff!!! All these girls are wonderful and I am so grateful to have their friendship!!!

I was able to go to lunch with 2 of my wonderful classmates Melissa and Ashley. We are all so spread out, now that we don't go to school we hardly ever see each other!!! We all decided we need to definitely make time to visit each other often!!!

I went to the beach one day with my sister and her family. And I found out that my niece and nephew really don't like the water. Joshua really likes to jump, I got a great action shot of him, it's pretty cool!

Here they are so far from the water, making sure they don't get close at all, one time it came too close and touched Elsie's toes and she started crying. SO traumatic!

I guess they are normal because they do like to play in the sand!

I love her big grin! Sandy too!

So, although I am unemployed and job hunting is probably worse than torture, I have managed to find some fun ways to spend my time. Keep me in your prayers that a job will come soon!

Having nothing to do is overrated!

Hello everyone, so since I have been back from Costa Rica, I went to visit my friend Jenessa who just moved to Utah. We had some fun, saw the movie The Proposal, so good, funny and cute. I love Sandra Bullock. Then I headed down to Vegas to drive with my friend Lori to Lake Powell to meet some friends. Unfortunately, Lake Powell was not all I hoped it would be. There was so much wind we arrived in a sand storm and could barely open our eyes. We finally got our tent pitched around 11pm at which point a huge gust of wind blew it away. We ended up burying half the tent just to keep it down. Then of course, if it couldn't get any better, it started raining. So we were sandy, wet and tired. Woke up the next morning to a beautiful sky and went out for a 2 hour boat ride. However, we did not want to get stuck in another sand/rain storm and clouds were approaching so we cut our short trip and headed back to Vegas. The next day we layed out by the pool since I was hoping to work on my tan at the lake, and then went to see the second Transformers movie, which I absolutely loved....it was sooooo funny and awesome!!!

So now I have spent the last 10 days avidly looking for a job with little success. It is frustrating now a days because it seems you can apply all you want online (which is all you are allowed to do) but unless you KNOW someone, your resume is pretty much a needle in a haystack. I mean, I am applying for jobs I am way overqualified for and I still hear nothing, it's quite frustrating actually. But I have a lead through a friend and hopefully I will be employed soon and on my way to making money again.

During all this wonderful downtime that so many seem to be jealous of, (don't get me wrong, I enjoy down time, but not this much) I have been reading like crazy. I found a hidden treasure by C.S. Lewis I have never heard of called Till We Have Faces, and I highly recommend it. I couldn't put it down, and of course it has one of those great philosophical themes and really gets you thinking, especially about where you would fall in the story.

I have also always been a fan of the author Jodi Picoult, her novels bring such controversial issues to light and make them seem so ordinary and obvious. Her novel My Sister's Keeper has recently been made into a movie and since I have yet to read it, I went and bought it, and am happy to say, I am almost done with it. (By the way, I refuse to see a movie before reading the book, and I usually always think the book is better!) What a story, such hard decisions, parental issues, familial issues, I love how her books just make you so passionate about the characters, you can always find yourself defending every character, but at the same time, hating them too. If you haven't read any of her books I highly recommend trying her out.

So, now I continue to flood my room with library books and search daily for new postings for jobs. Despite all of this, I must express how grateful I am for what I do have. Despite my boring circumstances I truly am blessed and know Heavenly Father is looking out for me.

My friend Lori and I at Lake Powell, when there wasn't rain or wind!

What it looked like at Lake Powell when we arrived, sooo windy I could barely see!

I got to see my Best Friend Jenessa in Utah. Love her!

Oh yeah, I got to see my friend Jon from Wales as well, he was in Utah too!

Got to visit my beautiful cousins, wish we all lived closer!

Costa Rica Finale!

SO after 2 weeks in Costa Rica, I decided to come home. It is for the best and I am happy with my decision. I will definitely go back to Costa Rica one day, there was so much to see and I love the people. Here are some of the highlights of my 2 weeks in Costa Rica!

My amazing and wonderful Spanish teacher Loly!

The BEST host family ever!!!!

The Mercado, so many delicious fresh fruits and vegetables!

The bungalow we stayed in when we went to the Caribean Coast to Puerto Viejo.

Sweet little boys at a shelter we visited.

The beautiful Caribbean Coast, Puerto Viejo!

This is what I look like after sitting on a bus for 2 hours and having to go out in the pouring rain and pee in the jungle because we were stuck on the road due to mudslides.

A nice little waterfall we hiked down to.

SO awesome, I got to go to the World Cup game between Costa Rica and the USA....Costa Rica won of course!!! They are sooooo passionate about Futbol!

Learning so fast!

Ok, so I love Costa Rica and finally got a chance to post some pictures!!!! I am learning so much Spanish already, funny how being surrounded by Spanish and not much English can do that. I love it here, just enjoying being in another country and all the food is so delicious. My host my cooks everything as organic as she can and I love it!!! Rice and beans is so delicious, never knew there were so many ways to cook it too!

Yesterday we learned about the culture, government, and all sorts of things in Costa Rica. We then had a speaker from PANI which is like our CPS in the states. I learned so much and was suprised at how advanced and similar the spanish services are to ours in California. They take great care of their children and even foreigners. Healthcare is free to just about everyone here, well sort of, it is complicated, but no one will be denied and most employed people have health insurance that covers the whole family regardless of how many are in the family!

Anyway, I miss everyone and hope you like the pictures. It is just absolutely beautiful here!

This is the driveway to the house I am staying at. The only complaint is it is steep so I have to walk up and down this everyday when I go to school!!! Great exercise though!

HEre is the view from the top of the driveway at my host house. So beautiful!!!

Mary and I attempted to learn how to dance, we didn´t do so well but we had fun!

Here I am on the balcony of our school over looking the streets of Grecia.

Another view from my school.

The other view from my host Home. On clear days you can see all the way to San Jose.

Costa Rica is my new love!

Well everyone, after a long night of flying, I finally arrived at 5:40am today. I was immediately drawn to the lush green environment that surrounds me. It is truly so beautiful here. My friend Mary and I had a somewhat sketchy man approach us at the airport asking us who we were waiting for, thank heavens the director of our school was 10 feet away and we were quickly on our way to settle down and meet our host family.

Wow!!! We are so lucky. Our host family is sooo wonderfuly! The father speaks really good english and the kids are learning english in school so they love practicing with us as well as helping us with our spanish. The mother is a great cook and we started off the day with some of the national breakfast, Gallo Pinto, beans and rice mixed together, some scrambled eggs, and some delicious fresh pineapple (not acidic at all which makes me so happy cause I love pineapple but usually can´t eat much because it upsets my stomach), papaya, and fried plantians. We already love the family and our accomodations are more than expected. The house is on the top of a hill and over looks the valley, it is so beautiful! I have my own room with my own bathroom even!!! The school is less than a mile away so it is perfect for walking. It is going to be a few weeks packed with mornings spanish language classes and afternoons of social work speakers and discussions as well as some field trips and excursions.

I am already falling in love with this country and can´t wait to get to know the people more and explore the culture, language, country, and have a memorable experience!!!

Leaving on a jet plane....

Okay, the time has come. I leave in about 4 1/2 hours to start my long 2 month journey in Costa Rica. I am sad, excited, nervous, thrilled, ready, and grateful!!! I am really going to miss everyone so much. I am looking forward to all the wonderful people I will meet down in Costa Rica and the great adventures I will have. I am all packed and ready to go. And thanks to all of you that donated, I am able to bring 2 huge fully loaded suitcases full of clothes to donate to the people of Costa Rica that are in need. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I am home all alone so I had to take the picture with my camera phone.

Look for updates on here, I will have access to the internet so I will try to post pictures and all the exciting things that happen!