BACK TO SCHOOL!

I started school today. I only had 2 of my 5 classes, but I can already tell that this semester is going to kick my behind. My history class is requiring me to read "1776" and write a book review about how I felt about it. I can already tell you, I'm going to HATE this book! BOO! And then I also have to write another paper on my perspective of both presidential candidates. That assignment I think I might enjoy. I have been wanting to learn more about Obama and McCain but have never had the time. Now I HAVE to! My math class is supposedly easy, but that subject is so hard for me for some reason. I could write a paper in my sleep, but ask me to figure out the simplest long division and I get so stressed out. My teacher seems nice though so hopefully he will be willing to help me.

My mom and dad are so nice to watch Eliza in the evenings. Tuesday and Thursday I have classes during the day so John's mom has offered to take her on Tuesdays and my awesome friend Lisa will watch her on Thursdays. I have such great friends and family! I am so grateful to everyone that has been willing to help me so that I can get my degree. Thank you SO MUCH!!

I HAVE A CONFESSION

OK! So my confession is this...I think I'm in love with the Jonas Brothers. What is my problem?! I am 25 years old and I love teen idols that my little nieces love. Why is that so wrong to me? I mean, seriously! I don't think any of them are over 18. Joe, the one that I think is the cutest was born in 1989. This is so wrong! GEEZ! First Zac Efron and now the Jonas Brothers? I think I need some help. I do like their songs though. I downloaded them onto my iPod. OK! That doesn't sound any better. I think I'm a lost cause. Oh well! So I like teen idols...what's new?

A FUN DAY AT THE AQUARIUM & THE COSGRAVES

Today we went to the aquarium up in Salt Lake. It was nothing like the Monteray Bay Aquarium in Northern California, but for Utah, it was pretty fun. Eliza loved looking at the fishies. We went with my friend Sara and her cute little boy Miles. We started the day out with lunch at yummy Los Hermanos and then headed to the aquarium. I bought a membership so that we could go back. I'm glad I did because it will be a good place to go every once in awhile for an hour or so. Eliza seemed to really enjoy looking at all the fish. She also really loved pushing the stroller, almost, it seemed, more than looking in the fish tanks. Miles was a trooper. He loves the sharks and the sting rays (I think that's what they were). Eliza wasn't too sure about the sting rays, but she liked splashing in the water. It was cute! We had a lot of fun! I'm glad that we went! I love hanging out with Sara. She's such a fun girl! She's been in the position I am in right now in life, so its kind of nice to bounce thoughts off of her. She's pregnant with twins, as you can see in the pictures, she looks AMAZING!

A little bit later today, Eliza and I stopped by my friend Jessie's house. She was my friend in Florida and just moved back out to Utah. I am really so excited! I went over to see how her house was as she is in the process of moving in. It looks great! She's so creative and has such an amzing eye for home decorating. We played with the kids. After Eliza got over her fear of the unfamiliar environment, she enjoyed hanging out with the Cosgrave kiddos.

ELIZA & JOCELYN HAD A LITTLE KID ARGUMENT ABOUT WHO GOT TO PLAY ON THE SLIDE.

ELIZA THOUGHT THE SLIDE WAS A PRETTY FUN NEW TOY

COOPER, ELIZA & JOCELYN...BY THE END OF THE WAGON RIDE ELIZA WAS SITTING NEXT TO COOPER AND HE HAD HIS ARM AROUND HER. CUTEST THING EVER! THEY REALLY ARE MEANT TO BE ;)

JESSIE HAD TO CHASE THE BABIES AROUND WHILE I TOOK THIS PICTURE. COOPER THOUGHT HE WAS SO FUNNY RUNNING AWAY FROM HIS MOMMY.

WHAT A FUN DAY!! I LOVE MY LITTLE BABY GIRL! AND...I REALLY DO HAVE SUCH GREAT FRIENDS!!

Just Some Very Cute Pictures of My Little Cutie

i mean seriously...

...is she not the cutest thing you have ever seen?

Finishing Out the Summer with One Last Trip to California

Well folks! Once again, we went on a trip to California. We had the BEST time! Eliza did very well on the plane. My friend Alli came with us and was so helpful that the trip down went so smooth. Thanks Alli!! We went down on Saturday morning. Unfortunatly, I had a little bit of the flu so I felt like garbage, but on Sunday I was feeling better but still a tad yucky. All was gone on Monday morning when we left for Sand Diego.

ELIZA LOVES TO READ BOOKS. SHE LOOKED VERY INTO READING HER BOARD BOOK...LIKE SHE WAS READING A NOVEL OR SOMETHING. HAHA!

Alli, Eliza and I left early, early to go down to my friend Megan's house. Megan was so nice to let us stay with her so we didn't have to drive home late Monday night. When we got to Megan's, we got all of stuff together and headed to Sea World. I hadn't been since I was a kid and Alli hadn't been ever, so we were excited! It still smelled the same as I remembered it. Fishy! Eliza LOVED every minute of Sea World. All of the ocean animals were so fascinating to her. She growled and barked depending on the animal. I think the seals were her favorite because they came right next to her behind the glass. We really had the best time! I'm so glad that we decided to go there.

MEGAN, THE KIDDOS & I IN FRONT OF THE FLAMINGOS. THEY REALLY ARE PRETTY BIRDS.

ELIZA LOVED THE SEALS AND THEY REALLY LOVED HER TO. THEY CAME RIGHT UP TO HER. SO SWEET!

ME, ELIZA, MEGAN, RYAN & ALLI IN THE "SHARK ENCOUNTER" EXHIBIT

ALL OF US WAITING FOR THE DOLPHIN SHOW TO START. ELIZA THOUGHT THE DOLPHINS WERE SO FUN. WHEN SHE WASN'T GETTING INTO OUR BAGS, SHE WAS POINTING AND BARKING.

ALLI & I RIGHT BEFORE WE WENT ON THE WATER RIDE. I THINK IT WAS CALLED "JOURNEY TO ATLANTIS."

ALLI & I RIGHT AFTER "JORNEY TO ATLANTIS." UM...WE LITERALLY HAD A BUCKET OF WATER DUMPED ON US BEFORE WE WENT DOWN A HILL OF WATER AND WERE SPLASHED WITH ANOTHER LOAD OF WATER. LOVELY! IT WAS REFRESHING THOUGH. ;)

MOMMY & ELIZA WATCHING SHAMU SWIM AROUND

OH REALLY!! HOW SWEET IS THAT?!

RYAN & ELIZA IN THE POLAR BEAR CAVE

I THINK RYAN WAS MORE INTERESTED IN ELIZA'S HAIR THEN WITH THE POLAR BEAR. ELIZA COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT SHE WAS SEEING.

Later that night, Megan was so nice to watch Eliza and Alli and I went to Old Town San Diego. We went to the Whaley House which is supposedly one of the most haunted places in America. I saw no ghosts. I left somewhat relieved, but a little disappointed at the same time. After the Whaley House we went on a ghost tour around Old Town with a paranormal investigator. Again, no ghosts. We went into a cemetary though and let me tell you! I will NOT do that again. Way to creepy! The next day we went to this very cute little restaurant down by the beach called The Cottage. It was so very yummy. I got french toast with strawberries and whipped cream. DELICIOUS!! Eliza even had homemade oatmeal with brown sugar and pears. She seemed to like it. She is not a very good eater on vacation, so its hard to tell. After breakfast, we went to the beach. How relaxing! I love to just lay on the beach.

ODE TO THE BEACH!! ESPECIALLY SAN DIEGO BEACHES. AHH! THE LIFE!!

SO MUCH FUN!

On Wednesday it was my neice Megan's 13th birthday. I honestly CANNOT believe she is 13. It makes me so old. She, Alli and I went shopping for some clothes for her and then went to lunch. My sister Carrie Beth made some yummy cupcakes and we had a little bit of dinner and then headed back to Mollie's to put Eliza down. She was so tired from our excursion to San Diego. Thursday Mollie, Alli and I went to Universal Studios. I hadn't been there since my senior year in high school. I remember I went there instead of Prom. I still do not regret that decision. We had the best time! We went on all the rides. My sister was nice enough to take Eliza for the day so that the 3 of us would be free to wonder around Universal Studios. Thanks CB and kids! Alli left Thursday night to go home and go back to work. The vacation calmed down then. I was pooped! We rushed and rushed all over the place so I was excited for a relaxing next couple of days. Friday I went to lunch with my friend Tifany and then came back to Carrie Beth's and relaxed.

RED CARPET SISTERS

AFTER THE SIMPSONS' RIDE. NOT REALLY ALL THAT FUN. MADE ME SICK!

THE 3 OF US WITH ZORRO. I THOUGHT ZORRO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HOT! NOT SO MUCH THIS ONE. I WAS A LITTLE BIT DISAPPOINTED. ;)

RIDING THE STAR WAY DOWN TO THE LOWER PART OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Saturday was my neice Megan's "friend party." Later in the afternoon Mollie, Tifany and I went to my friend Daniel's wedding reception in Lancaster while Eliza's dad took her to the San Diego Zoo. Daniel and his new wife Heather are the cutest couple! I've known Daniel since we were kids in Rancho Cucamonga. We actually went to Homecoming together, just as friends, but he was always just a very sweet guy. Heather is so sweet as well. I've only met her a couple of times but she is just an amazing girl. She has a "princess voice." She could totally be Cinderella at Disneyland.

IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHO TOOK THEIR PICTURES...IT WAS MY CUTE, TALENTED SISTER, MOLLIE! WWW.MOLLIEJANEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

I really had the best time in California but I am so glad to be home. I start school on Wednesday so I have so much to do to get everything in order. I'm taking Eliza to the aquarium tomorrow with my friend Sara and her little boy Miles to have one last really FUN day before I get busy with school. I will post pictures of that tomorrow if I have time. Hope everyone got their last "Summer Hoorahs" in! I would love to hear about them!

TAKE CARE!!

MySpace & Facebook

I have decided today that I dispise MySpace! So, I deleted my account. I know, this might be uninteresting to some people, but I think MySpace is from the Devil HIMSELF!! I've had some very crappy experiences on there which give me really bad memories, so...I've decided to get out of the YUCK! I like Facebook a lot better. I can keep in touch with people and not have to deal with the filth that is MySpace. Hooray! I'm so glad I made this decision. I feel so much better already. HAHA! Alright! Go back to your busy lives and forget my silly random comment.

CAMPING, well...not really

A few of us went up American Fork canyon last Friday to have a little bonfire. Everyone except Alli and I stayed to camp, but since we had to catch a plane the next morning, we got to go home that night to get a good night's rest so that we would be all ready for our vacation to California the next day. I dodged camping once again. Everyone thinks I need to learn how to camp though, so we have an actual camping trip planned in 2 weeks. YAY!

We rode 4 wheelers, ate s'mores, hot dogs, bratwursts, dutch oven raspberry cobbler (YUMMIEST THING EVER!!) and I had a couple bites of a chicken tin foil dinner. It was super fun to just hang out with new people. I am in California right now. I will be home Sunday and I will post lots and lots of fun pictures! TAKE CARE!!

PHATTY & ALLI RIDING THE 4-WHEELER

PHATTY & ME

THE SMOKE FROM THE FIRE FOLLOWED ME EVERYWHERE I WENT. UGH! I SMELLED DISGUSTING BY THE TIME THE NIGHT WAS OVER. CAN YOU SEE THE GROSE SMOKE?

A PHENOMENAL WOMAN

This week has been a week of contemplation for me. I am so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; to have the knowledge that I have of this amazing, fully restored Gospel. I love that I know that no matter what happens here on Earth, if I live faithfully and obediently to the Lord's commandments, I can have an eternal family. I am comforted to know that life is just a moment and that there is so much more after death. What a blessing!

On Sunday night my sister Mollie called me and told me that our friend Amber had passed away. I was immediatly devastated. I couldn't breathe. Amber was an amazing person; only 25 yrs old. She was genuinley kind and considerate. I loved her the second I met her over 7 yrs ago at the BYU/U of U baseball game. She made you feel like you were the only person that mattered when she would be around you. She was an AMAZING mother; a FABULOUS wife! Not only that, but her faith in the Savior was apparent in everything she did. She radiated light and optimism. I look up to her more than anyone. Her husband Trevor is equally as special. Talk about a power couple! Their love story is timeless! They were so happy and in love, even after 2 kids, under 3 yrs old and 7 yrs of marriage. What an inspiration! Her death is a huge loss to so many people. At her funeral this afternoon I found that everyone felt the way I do about Amber (and Trevor). She is so loved and adored by many! I feel very blessed to have had her touch my life. She will be a part of my heart forever. She will be missed tremendously, but never forgotten.

"GORGEOUS!!"

ALRIGHT! Eliza has officially reached "girly girly" status. She loves to sit and watch me do my make up in the mornings (or afternoons - whenever I have time to get ready). She also like to pretend that she's doing her own make up as well. It's pretty cute! Then on Saturday I was getting ready to go out. Eliza saw my necklace and immediatly wanted it. I tried to distract her with something else, but...what Eliza wants, Eliza gets sometimes (I am in so much trouble!). I finally gave in and put it around her neck. She wanted to see herself in the mirror so I lifted her up. I said to her, "Oh Eliza! You look gorgeous!" in a very dramatic, exaggerated tone while throwing my head back to make this situation an even bigger deal. Eliza started doing the same thing. She also (I don't know where she got this from) flipped her invisible hair with her hands and said, "Mama! Gis-gis!" She continued to repeat this the entire time she had my necklace on. Needless to say, she was less than pleased when it was time for me to leave and I needed my necklace back. I did a quick trade with another necklace and she seemed somewhat appeased. So then yesterday she wanted my necklace and my bracelet again. When I gave it to her she wanted to look in the mirror. When I took her to the mirror she flipped her "hair" and threw her head back and said, "Oh Mama! Gis-gis!" My family and I cracked up! What a funny baby! I remembered that I had a little baby necklace that my friend Jessie gave me for my baby shower before Eliza was born. I got it out and put it on her. She was more than thrilled! Today she has needed it on all day. She walks around the house saying, "Gis-gis!" I put the bracelet that matches the necklace on her and that made her even more excited. It doesn't quite stay on because her wrists are too tiny but she carries it around anyway saying her new favorite word: "Gis-gis!" My dad said, "Oh Eliza! You look so pretty!" when she walked into his room and waited for a compliment but when he said that Eliza quickly corrected him, "NO! Gis-gis!" Oh dear! I'm a little bit worried, but pretty entertained at the same time. HAHA!

FUN NIGHT OUT!

On Friday night I went and hung out with some of my friends in Salt Lake. We went to the Salt Lake County Fair and watched the Demolition Derby. I've never seen one before so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but it was a lot of fun! There were lots of interesting people to watch at the fair. LOVED IT!!

Me, Emily, Fatty, Alli & Fatty's friend (YIKES! I forgot his name)

After the Demolition Derby we went to Johnny Carino's. Mollie met us there after her wedding shoot. It was a lot of fun to sit, eat, chat and laugh! Good times! I was very naughty as far as my diet goes though. I think I was just starving though after not eating for a month that I actually HAD to eat or I was going to shrivel up and die. OK! That's a little bit of an exageration, but I was really hungry. I've only had that happen a couple of times during this very long month, so I think I've done pretty well. YAY ME!

Melissa, Emily, Alli, Me, Mollie & Christa. SO MUCH FUN! YUMMY FOOD!

BOOK REVIEW: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Alright! I am officially in the deepest depression of my life. How can it be that I am finished with the Twilight series? What am I going to do when I'm doing cardio at the gym? What am I going to read before I go to bed at night? It's the saddest day!! That being said, I have to say, this book was truly the best one of the series! Naturally, it being the last one, it should be, but this was more than I expected. All of the other ones took just a little bit of time to get into. This one was a non-stop action, love story with amazing family dynamics throughout the entire book. I was impressed with the way the love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob worked itself out. I was a tad bit surprised (you will understand when you read it), but all together warm and fuzzy. The beginning was a little bit bizarre but entertaining all the same. I just really loved this book. Now, I'm back to reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Its been a little bit hard to get into thats why I didn't finish it before I started Breaking Dawn (I was much too excited!). But, I'm going to stick with it and I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend Breaking Dawn to adults. It's a tad bit to mature -in my opinion- for YOUNG adults or younger, but I'm sure you all can make the call for your own kids. I was going to get the whole series for my neice for her 13th birthday, but it's just a little bit much for her sweet, innocent little mind. BUT! I loved every aspect of it! I can't say it enough!

Eliza's New Sandals

When I was a kid, I always had a pair of Salt Water Sandals. I swore my kids would always have a pair, however my cute little Eliza was never fond enough of shoes in general for me to spend a huge amount of money on them for her. Well, she's walking now and so she actually has to have shoes at this point. Though she has been walking, she's still pretty wobbly. I talked to my sister Carrie Beth and she said that I should invest in Salt Water Sandals now, because her kids learned to walk while wearing them. I honestly think they are the cutest things so I immediatly went online and ordered some. I pretty much choked when I put my credit card information in the computer. Its not very often that I buy something that expensive for my one year old, but I bit the bullet and did it anyway. I LOVE them and she is loving them as well! They may be ugly to some of you, but they are truly a past time for me so it's only natural that I would pass my past time down to my daughter. PLUS! She seems to feel more sturdy in them and so she has been walking around more and more. SO FUN! I love all the little milestones lately. AND! I love her sandals!

Thank you for my Salt Water Sandals Mommy!!

I will show them off to EVERYONE!!