Captain America Adventures

My cousin Sarah is adorable.  She is fun and energetic and I have a feeling she is going to keep me young.  You would not be able to tell there is almost a 9 year age difference between us. 

My cousin Sarah has a bucket list...and we crossed one off this weekend.  She has always wanted to go to a midnight premiere and it just so happened she didn't have to work on Friday.  Perfect timing!  The only show opening at midnight was Captain America. 

We showed up about 20 minutes before it started to no waiting, no line.  We walked in the theater and joined the 9 people that were there.  All men.  No fighting for our seats.  No screaming girls.  No costume wearing people.  It was a pretty low key midnight opening.  (Sorry, Sarah!)  I guess I could have dressed up to make it more interesting, but sweats is what the crowd got from me.

We enjoyed the previews but got very confused when the screen said to put on our 3D glasses.  We didn't buy 3D tickets and never received glasses.  When we looked around and everyone (all 9 of them) put on their glasses,  I ran out and got some glasses so we could actually see the show.  It was an interesting experience wearing 3D glasses on top of my regular glasses.  I must admit, I shut my eyes a few times for a very short period of time. (Maybe at that moment you could have been able to tell the difference in our age.)  The movie was good.  I would recommend watching a preview or reading about the story before you go.  I had not done either so I had no idea what to expect. 

Vanessa mentioned that the main character was good looking.  This was the main character in the beginning.  Not seeing any previews, I was a little confused with my sister's comment.

Then I got it.  Helloooo, Captain!

This may not have been the midnight opening experience Sarah was hoping for, but it was sure an experience!  Bucket list item...complete.

Days of 47 Rodeo

My cousin Kiersten had tickets to a rodeo tonight. I was so excited to go! I haven't been to a rodeo in a long time and missed the excitement and adrenaline...and the cute cowboys. Oh, the cowboys. My heart melts every time I see those Wranglers.   I believe one of the songs we heard tonight went something like, "I have everything I need because my friends have tractors".  Gotta love country lyrics. 

Cousins Sarah, Kiersten and Emily

The bull riding is always such a rush.  Unfortunately, the bull riding was a little bit of a let down tonight.  Only a couple cowboys rode for 8 seconds.  A new event for me was the "milking" event.  (I'm sure it has a different name)  A bunch of cows ran around while about 5 cowboys tried to lasso them.  Once lassoed, the partner on the ground had to milk the cow.  It was a crazy sight to see!  We had no clue what they were doing for the longest time.  Good thing there are easier ways to milk a cow!

Splash Swing

When my family was still in town, Vanessa told Tabitha she couldn't grow up anymore because she was getting too big.  Tabitha was very serious and said she had to grow up so she could ride on Splash Mountain at Disneyland.  When they went in October, Gabrielle was able to go, but Tab had to watch.  I guess she has Tami measure her every so often to see if she is tall enough.

We got creative during the hot days and created the ride, "Splash Swing"! Basically, it is shooting your niece with a water gun while she is swinging. She LOVED it! It was absolutely hilarious watching her get soaking wet from us shooting her with water. Gabrielle joined in for some of the fun as well. We then got creative and tried to shoot the water in the girls mouths. I made it in about 1 out of 5 times. By the end of the "ride" they were soaked and refreshed.   No height requirement on this ride!

Oh Thank Heaven for 7-11

I watched the girls Monday night when Tami and Brandon were gone. We went to 7-11 to help celebrate the store's birthday. We went to the school playground to enjoy our cherry Slurpee's and play before bedtime.

Baby, You're a Firework!

We had a fun 4th in Heber.  It rained off and on but it was still fun to set off a few fireworks and watch the Midway firework show from Brandon and Tami's house. 

Salt Lake or Bust!

Insomnia, Floaters and Hives, Oh My! – The Story of the Big Move

The last month or so has been pretty hectic.  For those of you who don’t know that my life has changed drastically, I made the decision to move to Utah around February.  I turned in my paperwork to take a year leave of absence from my job and was granted the leave in April which is when I went public with the move.  Over the last several years, I have wondered what I was going to do with my life.  Utah has always been in the back of my mind, but I never got the sense that it was my time to move.   So, I switched jobs a couple times and got my Masters.  I got that wondering feeling again this year…what am I going to do with my life?  I started researching apartments in Utah around October (possibly freaking out that I turned 30?)  just for fun.  I made spreadsheets of what I would need to buy to live on my own and how much everything would cost, just for fun.  I set all of that aside after a short while. 

Sometime around December, we found out that my aunt and uncle were going to be mission presidents for our church.  Many of you know that our church sends young men and women on missions…but did you ever think about who oversees all of them?  My aunt and uncle will be in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the next three years overseeing the mission there.  What a huge service they are providing!  They will be in charge of hundreds of young men and women while they are away from their homes and families.  While they are serving in this position, they asked if I would like to move and help take care of their house in Salt Lake….right around where I was looking at apartments prior to hearing about this.  Hmmm….was I being prepared for this?

To make a long story even longer, it took me awhile to make a final decision, but once I decided to move, I never wavered.  I applied for my Utah teaching license and started closing up my life in Washington.  Four months has passed and I am about to embark in a new journey, a new adventure, a new life.  It hasn’t come without a lot of stress and emotions.  I look forward to the day when I can sleep through the night.  To get everything done before the big move, I think I did most of the work during the night since I was still working full time during the day up until last week.  Maybe moving 6 days after school getting out wasn’t a good idea?  As for the floaters…it’s not what you may be thinking…I had an eye appointment this month (along with every other appointment one would need moving away from all their trusted doctors) and complained of having black spots in my left eye affecting my vision.  The actual term I was given was “floaters” which is activated by stress and lack of sleep.  You know what else can occur when you are stressed?  Hives and/or rashes. Yep.  I have been a tired zombie walking around with limited vision and red bumps on my arms.  Can you picture it?  I know the men in Utah can’t wait for me to get there!  How could one pass up a partially blind, itchy, blood shot eyed girl? 

With the stress, there has been overwhelming kindness and support.  I am truly blessed to have the best friends, colleagues, and family.  I’ll tell you what; this whole moving thing has made me see that I have many people who care about me.  It has been overwhelming and at times, incomprehensible.  The love and support has given me the strength to conquer anything put in my way this year.  Much needed and truly grateful.  I had many wonderful luncheons, dinners, and get togethers with old friends that have helped me become the person I am today.  The last week or so has been very touching for me to be with the amazing people in my life.  Luckily, my heart is big enough that they will all be with me during this journey.  I know, I know, enough of the sappiness, but my heart is full and I have to express gratitude for the amazing support I have in my life.  Thank you to everyone who came to a get together, said a kind or encouraging word, carried a heavy box, and supported me in my decision.

Friends that I have worked with at Woodin Elementary.

Friends that I have worked with at Evergreen Academy.

So, it’s been about 8 months since my last post.  With a new adventure ahead of me, I believe it is only appropriate to start this old blog back up.  The Life of Fife is reinventing itself and hope you will follow along to see where my new journey takes me.  Thanks to those who have helped get me on this path and here’s to those I will meet that will help me expand my trail.