Some muddy fun!!!

One of my friends here in Vegas invited a bunch of us up to his family's cabin in Duck Creek (Near Cedar City, Ut) for the weekend. It was such a fun trip.

The boys even did most of the cooking! Some of the best food ever!!!

My friend Jenn and I relaxing and enjoying the nature!

A view of the valley at the top of the mountains. It was so green and beautiful there.

The most fun we had was 4 wheeling...it had rained the few days before so there was lots of mud to play in. I got pretty muddy.

We found a big pool of water/mud and went to town...I think we drove through it like 10 times.

We were all covered in mud by the end of our adventure but it was so much fun!!!

Lose one roommate.....gain 2 more!!!

So my roommate got married and while she was stunningly beautiful and it was a wonderful step in her life.....I was a little sad because that meant I had to move out of her house. She was one of the best roommates ever....it was just the 2 of us the last 4 months so it was nice.

Well I couldn't find anything affordable in my ward to rent until September 1st so I moved in with my friend Lori temporarily and we share her huge master bedroom. I just threw my mattress on the floor but she has 2 dogs and they automatically thought it was their bed too!!!

Those of you who know me know that I am not a big animal person, so it has been quite an adjustment since the dogs sleep in the room with us, every once in awhile they try to sleep with me but I always push them off my bed. They try so hard to get me to love them and sometimes I give in and give them a little attention, but I will never give up my bed!

I had a birthday shout Hooray!!!

I turned 27.......yeah I know I am getting old!!! Since I have been horribly sick from stress and physical ailments, I just had some friends over for brownies and ice cream. It is my favorite to smash up the brownies into vanilla ice cream.

I have no idea what happened to my face...lol But we didn't have any candles so I got to blow out a match instead.

I had a great time and was so happy to spend it with wonderful people.

So I got a wonderful surprise at work...my amazing friend Jenn King sent me flowers, I have never received flowers so I was pretty excited. Aren't they beautiful!!!! Totally made my day at work, especially since I was still feeling pretty sick. Thanks Jenn!!!

Can't put it down

I just bought this book and absolutely love it. I have been wanting to really study the atonement and understand as much as I can about it. Brother Callister really makes it all make sense. If you want a good book to read, especially some good Sunday reading this is the book to get.

Idaho!!!!

Went to Idaho to visit my sister and her family. It was great and I loved seeing my niece and nephews!!! How can you not love these adorable faces.....well most of the time they are adorable....haha.

This little guy has a fetish with my sisters foot and loves to put it on his face...should we show his future girlfriends this picture...haha

Jon came with me and he is just like part of the family and loves to play with the kids.

We went for a stroll by the river and it is beautiful there....would never live there but it is nice to visit.

Jon had great form while skipping rocks.

Love my sister.....baby number 4 coming in August!!

Quick Beach Trip

Went home to California for a quick trip to the beach with some friends from Las Vegas. It was a really quick trip but lots of fun.

I took them to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It was delicious!!!

Huntington Beach

Down in Corona Del Mar there was lots of seaweed so we decided to have some fun!

I had to show off my effort with personal training. Pays off!

We stopped at the Newport Beach Temple for some pictures.

My friend SHAY!!!!

When I started Graduate school in 2007 I never knew I would meet one of the most amazing women ever!!! Shay is one of the best people I know. She worked 3 jobs at one point just to make it through grad school. She struggled through childhood growing up in foster care and beat the odds and not only graduated high school, but college and then graduate school. She constantly sought to support everyone in our graduating class. She always had a smile on her face and a great sense of humor. Even though she was facing her own inner struggles, she never quit, never gave up, and never stopped serving the community and advocating for what she believed in.

In 2009 a few months before graduation we took the opportunity to go to the capitol in Sacramento and lobby for some very important social work bills, one specifically for foster care. Here we are displaying our posters to lobby on the capitol steps. Shay is on the left, our good friend Jenn is in the middle, and of course I am on the right.


Just after Lobby Days Shay shared with me her application to be a participant on the biggest loser. Anything she needed help with, I was there. Video camera...check. Computer software....check. I knew this was a journey that Shay really wanted and needed. Although she never complained about her weight, I knew it was something she struggled with daily, and really wanted to see her smile with confidence and love and see herself as we all saw her.....an amazing, beautiful, compassionate, and dedicated woman willing and ready to take on the world!!!!

When she was accepted onto the biggest loser it was the best announcement ever. She would have to miss the last few weeks of grad school and graduation....but that wouldn't stop her. As her classmates, we stood behind her 100%, we all sent letters cheering her on, decorated our grad caps in her honor, and even video taped the graduation with many of us giving messages of motivation and support. I even made a cut out of her and glued a grad cap onto it and had people take pictures with the cut out so she had some graduation pictures, even if she couldn't be there.

When Shay started on the Biggest Loser she weighed 476lbs....she is the largest female contestant ever on the show. She pushed and pushed herself and finally the game strategies caught up with her and she was voted off week 11....after losing 100lbs!!!!!!!! I got to attend her reveal party after she got sent home and it was amazing to see her renewed hope, strength and confidence she found in herself through her journey.....but it wasn't over. At the finale of the show she was offered a special challenge from Subway since she still had a long way to go before she was at a healthy weight. For every pound she lost from that day until the finale of the next season of the Biggest Loser....about 5 months....she would receive $1,000!!!! Well, the finale was just the other night and let me tell you, she looked amazing!!!!!

Are you ready to see the change?

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WOW!!!!!!!!

She lost 52lbs winning $52,000 but the challenge didn't stop there....Subway extended the challenge and offered to double her winnings if she agreed to run a marathon at the end of the year....her answer...YES!!!! She weighs in at 252lbs now losing a total of 224lbs in less than a year!!!!

Like I said, when I started Graduate school I never knew I would meet one of the most amazing women ever!!! Shay has inspired me to eat healthier, work out, and most of all, never give up!!! I am so proud to call this extraordinary woman my friend!!!

To learn more about Shay and her journey visit her website or just google her name...Shay Sorrells and you will find plenty of great articles and blogs about how she has inspired so many!
I love you Shay!!!!