If you ever think life is hard........

Read this book!
And you will realize that life is full of struggles, but there is always a choice of how to react and what to do with that sliver of strength you have left to once again make life worth living.




My mom gave me this book for Christmas and like many books I have read, it really made me think and appreciate all I have been blessed with in life. If you want to learn more about the book or the movement go to http://www.halftheskymovement.org/ Even recognizing and talking about world issues can bring change. It is a lack of knowledge that thwarts change.

My loves are leaving....

My sister and her husband decided since he graduated from Chiropractic school to settle down and start his own practice....of all places they could do this, they chose BOISE, IDAHO. So far away, so cold, and so small town. That's why they love it. But sadly, that means that I won't get to spend much time with my 3 loves anymore, so I made one last trip to California to spend some extra time with my favorite nephews and niece. I love them forever!!!!

Can't help but smile when I see this face!

Love my sister forever!!!

This smile gets me every time!

These brown eyes.....precious!

Elsie and Ryan having fun playing!

Some great moments!

The last few months have been wonderful. Spent 3 weekends in a row in California. It was a lot of driving but I had lots of fun. Thanksgiving was great spending time with all the family. My friend Jon from Wales is visiting so he had Thanksgiving with us. Our relationship is a unique one, everyone thinks we are dating, but we are really more like brother and sister. You can tell by the picture below!!!

Wouldn't be a trip home if I didn't get to see my favorite kids!

We all went to the tree farm to pick out a Christmas Tree. The kids liked the sticks and dirt much more than looking for a tree.

See...Jacob had lots of fun playing in the dirt.

But the best of all was going to my best friends wedding. Here I am with my hair all done up! It was beautiful!!!

Joel and Jenessa Christie!!!!

One of the happiest days for me was being able to spend this special day with my best friend of 25 years!!!! It was really hard as well because she married an Australian.....and now she lives there. Guess that means I will get to do more traveling!!!

It was freezing out side the L.A. Temple but we faked it for all the pictures.

And I got pretty lucky and enjoyed spending some time with one of the groom's men from Australia. Now I have twice as many reasons to go visit Australia!!!

Finally back in business! Catch up time!

So I have been pretty out out of the loop because my computer at home totally died and my computer at work doesn't allow me to look at facebook or anything like that so I haven't been able to catch up on everyone's life or my own virtual life for awhile. Thanks to an awesome friend out here in Vegas, he was able to revive my computer and I am back in business!!! So I wanted to share a few pics of what I have been doing in the last month.

I took a weekend and went back home to visit and of course that meant spending time with my adorable niece and nephews. They are the love of my life and from the pictures it is obvious why!

Elsie likes to make a mad face but she is soooooooo cute when she does I can't help but smile!

Joshua has more energy than the energizer bunny and just keeps growing and growing!

I got to see Jacob for the first time since his surgery on his lip! His new smile is just as cute as the old one. Sadly, he was afraid of me when I first saw him and would cry when I got near him. Thankfully, he warmed up to me after about an hour and followed me around the rest of the weekend wanting me to hold him!!!

My mom did something surprising that I would have loved to have done!!! While my brother in law was sleeping on the recliner she painted his toe nails purple!!! He used to always get mad at me for painting Joshua's nails. It was great I had to capture it on my camera!

Back in Vegas I continue to find out the cool spots. I went with a group on a night hike to some hot springs. It was really awesome!

The water was so warm, one of the pools felt hotter than a hot tub I could only stay in it for a few minutes. It was amazing it all happens naturally!

I am enjoying my job and will be taking my big exam on November 5th that allows me to officially practice social work in Nevada.....and it will get me a big pay increase too!!! I am not looking forward to the test since so much is weighing on my passing, but I am going to keep studying hard and ask for all your prayers so I can pass!!!!
Love and miss you all!!!!

Hiking in Vegas!

I never even knew there was a national park near Las Vegas where there is lots of hiking. We went to Red Rock and went on a pretty moderate 2.5 miles hike. It was lots of fun but I want to try some others out that have hidden green grass valley's and waterfalls. You would never know it looking at all the dry desert rocks!

My roommate Lindsey and I made it to the top.

Getting ready to go hiking with my roommate Lindsey, she is sooooooo sweet!!!!

Almost 2 weeks now....

So it has been almost 2 weeks since I moved and here is what I learned so far.....

1. Dry heat is really not so bad. I don't mind at all when it is still 80 degrees at 10pm at night.
2. Las Vegas drivers like to drive below the speed limit and it is really annoying.
3. Construction in Vegas doesn't make sense, their road signs and temporary lanes confuse me.
4. I love that I can text and talk on my phone again! Sorry Californians!!!
5. My job is amazing and I am having more of a Latino cultural immersion than ever before in my life...I just might end up bilingual!
6. It is actually really beautiful here with mountains surrounding the valley, sunsets are really pretty.
7. Lots of people from Southern California live here...very interesting.... probably because it is way cheaper!
8. Bunny rabbits are all over the place and if you don't look out, you just might run over one, already had that experience! Don't worry, I was over it in like 5 seconds, but my roommate sure freaked out, and I was the one driving!
9. People drive drunk alllllllll the time, really have to be alert 24/7 while driving here...maybe that is why so many drive so slow.
10. It's great and I love it!!

Moving to Vegas

It's official!!! Saturday, September 12th I will be moving and starting my new life in Las Vegas. I am excited and sad all at the same time. I can't wait to begin work yet will miss my SoCal lifestyle very much!!! Especially all the wonderful people I have come to know and love here. Thank goodness, California is only 3 1/2 hours away. I am sure I will make lots of trips home.
Here are some pictures of the house I will be moving into. 2 wonderful LDS girls live there and I am excited to get to know them! Here is my new address: 11695 Giles St., Las Vegas, NV 89183