Half and half shots

We went to In and Out last weekends. We love the little half and half containers. We soak them in ice water to make them cold and then drink them. Probably pretty fattening, but also pretty good.

A different world

I love books.  I love to curl up on the couch or in bed with a book. To be more specific, I love stories. I find joy in reading about another life whether real or made-up.

 Sometimes I love to read about adventures, where a hero has to go on a quest to save those he or she cares about and finds love on the way. 

Sometimes I prefer to read about Princesses, and learn about all the troubles of a "royal lifestyle". The Princess usually finds that her kingdom is starving and develops compassion. She then proceeds on the path of leaving her sheltered palace lifestyle to give hope to all her kingdom. 

Sometimes I find that comical, sarcastic, or satirical stories to be entertaining a full of meaning. I love to read historical or futuristic fiction and get into the minds of those that lived in a time before mine and after. 

There is a freedom about reading that lets me go where ever I want without leaving my couch. I go places that I will probably never go in my life. When I open a book, I can let my mind wander through the plot and disappear into a different world for a moment of time.

Speaking of TIME. In 'real' time, I do not always have a moment to read a story that is not conducive or helpful to me passing a test. I finally went to the public library last night while my husband was at a review. I spent time in the bookshelves exploring authors that I once knew and loved and realizing that they had more books that I could not wait to open. I checked out books and read through the evening, escaping into the world I had forgotten about for so long. "Real" time was lost, but not wasted.

books I love: 

Princess Academy - Shannon Hale

                            * I just read the sequel last night

Ender's Game and Ender' Shadow - Orson Scott Card

To Kill a Mockinbird - Harper Lee

Les Miserable - Victor Hugo

Timeline - Michael Crichton

Goose girl - Shannon Hale

                       * and all the sequels

Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

1984 - George Orwell

The Time Traveler's Wife - Aubrey Niffenegger

Angels and Demons, The Lost Symbol, The da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

Among the Hidden - Margaret Peterson Haddix

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

When Things Fall Apart -  Chinua Achebe

Man in a Box - Marylois Dunn

 

My 'SISTER' missionary

 This my sister Leslee! She is just 18 months younger then me. All my life that I can remember she has been apart of it.  A big part of it. We did everything together as youngsters. She leaves on a mission for our church today. We are members of the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She has made the decision to go on an 18 month mission and was called to the Spain, Madrid Mission! I couldn't be more proud. But I will miss her so very much!

 Honestly, for the next 6 weeks she is only a few blocks from my apartment in the MTC (Mission Training Center). I cannot believe that she is going to be speaking a different language. I can't wait to here her stories and updates from her blog. lesleemanner.blogspot.com.
I love you Leslee, Good luck!

Jordan and Kaylee go winter camping..... cuz we can

This semester, Jordan and I took a winter camping class! Most Tuesdays from 4-7 we went out into the snow. We cross country skied and used snow-shoes to trudge through the snow. All of this was in preparation for our overnight trip to the Uintah Mountains in the Uintah National Forest.

The weekend finally came. I was a little nervous to carry a pack, but it was nice to have Jordan there to carry the tent that we shared!

About to start on our journey

 

 The pack I carried on my back

Our Cozy camp. We had to dig out the snow as seen in one of the above pictures.

We had to constantly move and have hand warmers to keep us warm, we had to melt snow to have drinking water, and baked macaroni and cheese over small stoves for dinner. This was one of the most adventuresome adventures Jordan and I have done together. We cannot wait for summer when camping will be much more enjoyable.