Almost A Hermit

...grown up kolby?? i can't decide anymore...

2009-07-09T23:56:00.008-05:00

Dear Sabs,

This post is intended for you. The more that i stare at these picture the less they look like each other however the first time i saw the guy i thought he looked like Kolby. Here's why they both have brown eyes, both have similar noses, both have dimples and Anthony (see below) said that he used to be a blondie when he was little.

Enjoy,
Sachiyo

...it's been two months...

2009-07-09T23:03:00.002-05:00

Today as I was sitting here I realized that it has been a very long time since I've blogged. I can't even recall all of the things that I have done in the past couple months...but here is a small recap. The snow stopped and it eventually started to become warmer so the outside adventures began. Climbing started, school ended, bought new climbing gear, and went on a ton of climbing/hiking adventures with the buddies. Below is a picture of an almost cave that i climbed up to...i'm pretty sure i stuck my hand in guano by accident...it's a good thing i had hand sanitizer with me.I also went fishing with my friend Mattie and his little brother Ezra up at Silver Lake. I haven't been fishing in a very long time. Awkward story, so i was just bumming it on the side of the lake, it was a little rainy, so i'm enjoying it and singing songs while eating red vines by myself and all of a sudden all these ATVs and 4-wheelers come to the little spot that we are at. Fishing to me is quiet and relaxing and this party of eight was being awfully noisy, so fortunately, Matt comes over we grab our stuff and head to the car (which his little brother is just chillin in 'cause he was cold). As we are packing up the gear to go i look over and there is a guy down on his knee PROPOSING...on a group date...where some of the people don't know the newly engaged couple. You may be wondering how i know this--our buddy Wilson (who we work/climb with) was on a blind date during this whole charade...awkward. And there were i believe two or three other people who didn't know them. Awesome. Maybe i'm the only one who thinks this is awkward. i don't know. Ollie also started tee ball during June. They are so cute to watch run around and have no idea what they are doing! I love it. Here is Ollie at bat :)The Massive Moab Trip also occurred just a few weeks ago. This picture was taken across from Wallstreet (a place to climb). It was so hot outside that our shoes and feet were burning as we were climbing. Fortunately, after a couple climbs we went and stuck our feet in the river. This time while in Moab I just climbed, ate, slept, climbed, bouldered, ate, went to the city market (like 3 to 4 times a day i swear), climbed, ate some more, went to Ken's Lake when it was too hot to boulder, random point and drive adventures, more bouldering and eating and sleeping. Good times!! We didn't see the massive moab group the entire time we were there...ha ha... I also gave blood (rosie don't be mad, I felt fine-ish) for the first time. Such an awesome experience :) There are a lot more things that I need to update. I finally got a picture of the guy that looks likes grown up Kolby for Sabrina, i have pictures from the Fourth of July and some other random things that have occurred. But for now, things here are great. Just working a ton and playing when I can. Sorry for struggling with the blogging things. I'll do my best to be better and actually document the things that I do. Enjoy :)

...april snow...

2009-04-15T15:10:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that it is snowing in april; not that I don't mind too much but it's crazy! Welcome to Utah :) I'm trying to figure out how to upload pictures from the blackberry on to blogger
...does anyone know?

...22 of 22...

2009-04-11T00:22:00.008-05:00

So finally it is here. The moment you have all been waiting for…an actual blog with PICTURES!! Wooooo!! I’m sure you are just as elated as I am. I know it! So, as I promised a long time ago, here are my 22 fondest memories from the age 21 to age 22. They are in no particular order or ranking. Hopefully I didn’t miss anything. Enjoy…

1. Playing Rock Band with the Familia. Especially when Kuni, Isa, additional friends and I stayed up til the wee hours of the morning playing until we could no longer function. I came home and it was already light outside...and then i went to sleep.
2. The Quarter Machine. Who doesn't love the quarter machine? I like the spend multiple dollar at the quarter machine. It makes me happy. Nani and I happen to drop around 5 dollars this particular day at Smiths. Deina Ige and I have also done so at Albertson's.

3. Massive Moab Trip last June. Pretty sure those were possibly the happiest three days of my live and I didn't want to come home. Hiking, swimming, barbeque, outside 24/7. Life doesn't get much better than that :)

4. The Fire Truck. Above is Sarah McCormick (my friend) and I sitting in a fire truck at the safe kids fair. A real fire truck! I got to sit in the seat, put on the headphones and pretend to drive. I didn't think that i would be that excited about the situation but oh boy i was. Plus that day we got to teach fire safety and color and hangout with kids!

5. Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. I don't know if i ever blogged about this...i think that was around the time my laptop began to struggle. But on the way back to the good ol' state of Texas, the Lawton crew and I went to the caverns. I was really excited, moreso than all the kids and Mark and Rosie combined. You're probably curious as to what the girls are doing in this picture. If you look closely (between Aidyn's and Mia's head) there is a little face. Two little beedy eyes, a small nose and a gaping mouth. Mia's representation of the face behind is by far the best. They are such crack ups. Love them.

6. Rooming with Karlie Wathen (now Walker) this summer at King Henry. We were basically out of control. My favorite thing was to come home and have late night bunk bed talks together. We'd talk about everything and sometimes we would fall asleep on each other because we were so exhausted. Nonetheless i love this girl and she's go great! Another found memory...going to work out and then eating Carls Jr. afterwards. Don't judge us.

7. Walking to class and seeing the sunset or walking to the car from class and overseeing the beautiful city lights of Salt Lake. A lot of people give me a hard time for going to the University of Utah, but oh my is it beautiful up there. I couldn't ask for a more beautiful sight from school! This picture does not do it justice.

8. Cinco de Mayo better known as the Cinco de Mango party. Fiesta, food, sombreros, and fresh fruit. Who wouldn't want to participate? I do remember the fruit being exceptional that night. Mmmmm...

9. Seeing old friends from Texas. I know this is only a picture of Merecedes and I, but everyone is included. The extended Lawtons, the people from church and all their adorable little kiddies, the sam's club crew and so forth. Side note: there is a guy that i work with that reminds me of Kolby Lawton. Sabs, I'll have to take a picture of him (awkward) and post it for you becuase I think tha you also will see some similarities between the two of them. He's from Georgia...maybe it's a southern thing or as Rosie said, a long lost Lawton boy of Kathy and Estes.

10. Fall Hikes up Rock Canyon. Something that I am also thoroughly looking forward to this year as it begins to get warmer. The canyon side was soooo beautiful and serene though. Yay.

11. Sub for Santa with Apx. What a blessing to work for a company that loves to give back to the community and provides us with opprotunies to serve. That night made me cry to see how grateful the families were to be getting all this stuff for Christmas. Apx raised around $113,000 for sub for santa. Ridiculous!

12.Pumpkin carving with the Friends. They are definitely talented to say the lead.

13. Charity Concert and Luau with Pati, Junior Maile, and Fiji twins or whatever they are called. So sweet! Oh and nani told me that Junior Maile was married (so basically our hopes of him singing to us with his smooth voice as a husband is a no go).

14. Duck Pond with the Kiddies. I love to see them get up close to the ducks and then run for their dear, sweet lives, and then turn back around and run after them. Oh the duck pond. Below is a picutre of Ollie chasing after a duck at the BYU duck pond. The other pond is much better though. Ollie is so sweet too. He says the cutest things and makes me so happy. I'm so glad he's back :)

15. General Conference. I was able to go to several conference sessions this year with friends. Still amazes me each time i get to go. Also while i was conference my friend D. Scott informed me of the three D's. Distance, Dark, and Dress. Basically, if you're questioning whether or not you are interested in someone, you need to cut the distance, not see them in the dark, and not like them because of the way they dress. ha ha wise words. 16. Christmas Eve party with the Utah Family. It seems as everyone gets older we don't get together as much as we used to when we were little which makes me a bit sad but when we all do get together it is a party beyond all means. At this past year's Christmas Eve party we played some games, one being decorate a christmas tree (Uncle Wayne and Uncle Stanton). So funny! 17. ABDC Par-tay. The last season of America's Best Dance Crew was amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Did I tell you it was amazing? Because it was sick. For the season finale, my friends and i got together, dressed up like people from the show and watch to see who won. It was Quest crew in case any of you are wondering. They are ridiculous. And i will admit openly right now that i had a crush on one of they boys on the show. Who doesn't like a boy who can dance?

18. Frousin Night: Tats and Toes. The evening started with a run to cafe rio (yum) and then deina aka high roller, paid for us to go and see "What Happens in Vegas" at the dollar theatre. Before the movie began we headed to I think it's Shopko that's by the dollar theatre in Provo...hmm...can't remember...and purchased some nail polish to do our nails later. Movie was hilarious and putting on little kid fake tattoos was even better.

19. Rock Climbing. I guess this picture would be classified under fall hikes, but also rock climbing with my buddies. I started climbing again and although it kicks my butt at times, it's so much fun!! I love it. And my arms are getting bigger. Ask Rosie, she'll vouch for me :)

20. Carmel Apples and Long Walks with the Boys. The specialty carmel apples from the rocky mountain chocolate factory are so tasty. Nothing better than a beautiful summer night, carmel apples, good friends, and a nice stroll. There was also a little jazz band playing across the way that was pretty good. It was a stellar day to say the least. Plus these boys are hilarious.
21. Hot Air Balloons. I love hot air balloons. I actually would one day like to go to Albuquerque, NM and go to the hot air balloon festival there. I believe there are about 100,000 hot air balloons or so that head out and I just think it's a beautiful site to see. But this is just a little one from the fourth of july and there are not that many hot air balloons by any means but it still makes me happy.

22. Chopping it Off. Finally having the courage to cut and color my hair. It was a big change and i loved it! And now i like to get my hair done :)

Hopefully this is the beginning of more blogging to come! Sorry if it's kind of long...also apologies that the pictures are kind of everywhere...

...blogging from the blackberry...

2009-04-10T00:12:00.000-05:00

I am able to post from my blackberry! How cool is that? Maybe now you'll see more posts from me :) I should go to bed...ha ha I'm just really excited. But while I'm posting any ideas on a fun place to go? Preferably on the east coast? Please let me know your thoughts :)

..22...

2009-03-24T23:21:00.002-05:00

just thought that i'd let you all know to be excited! another year has come and gone which means a nice long post is soon to be arriving about 22 stellar experiences i have had in the past 22 years (but mostly from the 21st to 22nd year of life). Oh 22 :)

...broken...

2009-02-15T23:34:00.004-06:00

well friends, it seems as if i have yet to fix my laptop so there are no pictures and i'm really bummed about that because i want so badly to show y'all some great things!

deina ige entered the mtc this past wednesday. it's really weird to know that's she's there and getting ready to serve faithfully in japan. i'm really excited for her but of course the four of us (deina, ashley, nani-buns and i) are not the four of us without our deina. as always, we gathered the monday before she left and had FHE with the utah family. needless to say it was hilarious and very heartfelt. we split up into teams and made the "armor of god" for her. ollie and ikena were running around and "attacking" deina during the lesson--so, auntie lisa made little signs that said 'sin' and 'tempation' and put them on the two little boys. ha ha...it definitely fit into the lesson though, sin and temptation are always factors that are constantly in life and if we're not fully protected and have our guard up we can be hurt or fall for those things, hence why always having the armor of god on is so important, especially in a missionary's life.

this past weekend was just another weekend even though valentine's day did occur :) ha ha. on friday at work, my friend nikki and i decided that we wanted to have a blast from the past and bring in valentines and treats and make little mailboxes. the mailboxes did not occur but we did run to target real quick and purchased this heart-shape glitter bags (they were pretty ugly) but definitely fit the vibe. we exchanged valentines with our co-workers; others brought some in as well. there were bratz, scooby doo, hannah montana, mad libs, and i bought little hearts that had pixi stix arrows through them. ha ha it was so much fun! one even brought in a chocolate bar and caramel filled kisses with a pink tulip. it was sweet! we had a little shin-dig with treats and dip. a definite success :) that night i went to spark (this little place in provo that has non-alcholic specialty drinks) and played wingwoman and hungout with friends.

valentine's day i slept in and it was fabulous! that night i went and visited some friends who were watching the dunk contest and then went and watched "Taken" which is such a good movie. so intense! we were going to go and watch "he's just not that into you" but it was sold out and i'm so glad. it was definitely an enjoyable day! hope you all had a fabulouso valentine's day!!

p.s. i'm very distrought that there are no pictures...what's a blog without pictures??? i'll find a way...

...can you say "slacker?"...

2009-01-15T21:35:00.003-06:00

so it's been more than a while since i have posted. and unfortunately my laptop is having issues so i am unable to download my pictures from my camera. so i have had a limited motivation to post. for now i'll just give a quick update. i just got home from texas, classes at the University of Utah have begun, i'm back at Apx working full-time, and i've been really tired lately. but i am alive and very well!

hopefully this weekend I can get my camera fixed so i can start posting lively things :) hope everyone is doing well in this new year!

...leinan...

2008-11-16T19:25:00.004-06:00

birthday shout-outs have not been my forte this past year. so i figure i should attempt to do so again starting with my bccffe Lei-nan.

she's 20!! watch out boys and girls!
buns and i used to write poetry via email at work when she worked at apx. in honor of the good old days...here is my attempt to wish her some birthday wishes through some verse.

dear bestest friend leinan,

you're twenty and and your hair is still long.

thanks for laying in the grass,

while leaving prints of your bum.

cruisin' at the park,

and singing luther in the car.

for the late night runs to good old del

where our eyes like to spout and we like to tell

all of our stories of woes and of boys

of school and desires or a lame-sauce choice.

life has been so great with you,

nah seriously, koo-koo-ka-choo!

all of the days when i needed a friend,

you were always there, there til the end.

i could not have been more blessed to have you,

so happy birthday baby girl! i love you!

...kickin it wit ollie...

2008-11-16T19:18:00.003-06:00

one of the things that i love about little oliver is that he is so animated! he came over the other night and we were just taking pictures and laughing. he's so sweet! i just love him.

...hectic, hectic, hectic...

2008-11-12T21:35:00.001-06:00

it's been a while since i have posted and i have picture and all that jazz calling my name, life however has been a little bit crazy between school and the new job at work. just wanted to let y'all know that i'm still alive and kickin, but things have just been a little hectic. hope all is well!

...i heart halloween...

2008-11-09T19:05:00.003-06:00

so...this post is slightly late...but enjoy!

for those of you that don't know, halloween is my favorite holiday! i love it for various reasons, but mostly because when i was little i loved going over to aunty erynn's house, eating chili, going trick or treating with the cousins and just running around good ol' orem, utah. the memories from my childhood halloweens are irreplacable.

this halloween, the first part of the day, i worked and ran errands and actually had to head to school. justin leavitt and i went and ran errands in the slc and even grabbed a bite to eat. we went to dodo's at the gateway mall and it was super yummy. we even ordered pumpkin buttermilk cake with cream cheese frosting. it was so tasty! below is justin with his mexi-stache ready to eat the cake. i love pumpkin stuff. pumpkin cake, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice muffins...mmmmm...
later on in the day hiro, rach, yuds, soapy, kuni, and ollie stopped by to eat some chili and hangout. ollie was optimus prime for the majority of the week but when halloween rolled around he wanted to be something different. I think kuni said that he was "devil may cry" a cartoon character...maybe? ha ha...i'm not sure. Yuri-bug was a snow princess.

sophie was a mouse i think...hiro and rachel...i think hiro was a warrior and rachel was also a mouse...or a cat maybe?

after eating chili and having rootbeer floats with the family, they bounced and i got ready to go out with the cousins. we went to a dance which actually was ridiculously lame but hey it happens. i didn't really have an outfit so i was just throwing stuff on...and this was the result.

scary i know. ha ha. nah i look like an anime character...below is sarah, buns, and i. i stole this picture off of sarah's facebook. i think the caption said something like "two mechanics and an asian...no really!!" ha ha...i really am asian for those of you wondering.

happy halloween!!

...pumpkin carving festivities...

2008-10-30T22:58:00.002-05:00

i should be studying right now but instead i'm blogging. don't worry about it...

anywho...on wednesay i had some friends come over and carve pumpkins. it was so much fun! i love to carve pumpkins!! we all just hungout and ate treats and carved pumpkins. here's are some pictures from the festivities. i didn't get a picture of all the pumpkins because everyone left at a different time and i just didn't think about it. also i love how i usually forget to take pictures of myself. someone had to remind me yesterday to take a picture of myself. so there is one...with my friend nicole stoos. she's the bomb dot com. i gotta get back to studying. enjoy!

...so smooth...

2008-10-27T18:00:00.002-05:00

this past saturday the frousins and some friends went up the american fork ampitheatre across from the Timpanogos temple to a beneifit luau and concert for an organization called vivakids. needless to say it was quite the enjoyable time. the food was good even though i dropped half my haupia cake...sad day...here is me, deina, and nani freezing our butts off...the fire dancer during the luau/dance portion of the show. they were a lot of fun to watch.but my favorite part of the night was the jam session/concert. Pati, the Fiji twins, and Junior Maile got together and played. There's nothing like good local music. And can i just say that Junior Maile's voice is like butter. I'll say it right now...if i ever find a guy that has a voice like him, i'm pretty sure i'll ask him to marry me right there on the spot no questions asked. ha ha...nani too, so we better not find the guy at the same time or that will be ridiculously awkward. the twins just got back from a mission in the Domican Republic and sang some spanish songs. made me miss texas...oh my friend brandon came too (the tall haole one) and was skankin it up. he actually served in samoa with Kai. small world.

...bonneville shoreline trail...

2008-10-27T17:35:00.002-05:00

my friend alex and I went on a hike last wednesday. i've been thoroughly enjoying the autumn time. we were going to go up and hike up dry canyon but some construction was going on and some workers yelled at us to not park there...scary. so we went to the bonneville shoreline trail instead. it's a really steep hike. I was a little surprised. I think it might have been a horsetrail but it was so pretty. of course...here are some pictures... overlooking the valley, but mostly enjoying the colors of the fall...

alex blending in with the trail...

on the way down...the sun coming throught the trees...

yellow in some yellow...

and of course i found this little flower. so cute. it's currently my backgroud and that's why it says "enjoy" in the corner. just a little reminder to enjoy :)

...enjoying the fall...

2008-10-19T22:01:00.003-05:00

this last week i had fall break. didn't really vacation much due to work, but i did take a day off to hangout in the mountains. i definitely needed some sachiyo time 'cause i feel like i can't take one breath without having another body around me (and i'm not a momma) so i went hiking up rock canyon to clear my head and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.
the whole hike i just smiled and took picture of the beautiful fall colors...
the sounds of the leaves on the path crunching beneath my feet...and the water flowing down the mountain side... made everthing was so serene and calm...it made me forget about all the craziness of the world. i couldn't have had a better day. here i am walking along the trail all nice gross but ridiculously content.
oh and there were drinking fountains. the water was deliciouso! i forgot that these were even there 'cause i hadn't been hiking up here for a while. i sat next to the river and just took in everything around me. ate some dried fruit, wrote in my journal, read a book. it was beautiful. my gluts are sore. ha ha...i'm going to go hiking again this week, this time with a friends. i'm excited! i'll remember to post pictures :)

...conference weekend...

2008-10-07T21:59:00.003-05:00

something that i really look forward to twice a year. without fail i walk away with words to continue to press on and soothe my soul for the trials that i face or am currently facing. i'm always happier and more content with what i already have that the Lord has blessed me with. i already think that my life is pretty dang good (amazing family, loyal friends, good health, ability to work and go to school, etc) but after conference i realize that my life is more than pretty dang good...it's practically perfect.

this past conference weekend i was lucky enough to go to two sessions with two difference sets of friends. I went to the saturday morning session as well as the sunday afternoon. oddly enough i sat in the same section at both. one set of tickets was from west virginia, the other from tennessee. what are the odds? pretty cool. this is the only picture i have from conference.

before the sunday afternoon session. it's me, d. scott, chelsea, and aaron (whose head is cut off). I've known d. scott since the summer i lived at the glenwood in provo, he's from tennessee. d. scott and aaron are currently roommates (aaron is a hoot btw) and chelsea is aaron's friend.

saturday morning i went with my friend dustin and some of his friends from back home (west virginia). it was raining saturday morning and i was sooooo happy. it was a start to a perfect conference weekend :) i LOVE the rain. everyone around us was walking with umbrellas and hoods on, and there i was walking back getting wet and enjoying every moment of it. ha ha...maybe one day i'll post why i love the rain so much...

..sweet toy...

2008-10-07T21:47:00.003-05:00

so kuni and ollie came over the other day and they had just gone to the toy store. ollie got some swords and what not (he's such a little boy) and kuni came home with this sweet toy. so basically it blows air (on the bottom you can open and close it to control the instream of the air) and there are these little weapons you put in the balls and they fight each other. it doesn't sound that entertaining but it's a heck of a lot of fun! i think kuni and i had more fun playing than ollie :)

...new do...

2008-09-20T17:52:00.002-05:00

notice anything different? i would hope so 'cause i cut of like 12+ inches and put some browns and caramels in my hair. enjoy. i sure love it :)

...duck pond adventures...

2008-09-20T17:31:00.005-05:00

does anyone know what this new hair-do i see on our lovely feathered friend is? i love it!so while rosie and aidyn were here we went to the duck pond down by the provo river. when leilani (rosie's oldest girl) was a baby, rosie used to take her here after their runs together along the trail. it was only appropriate to take a picture of miss ai and her...btw...it bothers me that there are sunspots on their chins...too bad their not smiling in the other pictures i have of them.the little cousins had a lot of fun feeding the ducks. yuri kept eating the bread. ha ha...such a takahashi. i love this picture of ollie. i think that he looks more and more like kuni. especially when he smiles. they're so fun to have around. after feeding the ducks we went to park that was just a little walk away.
yuri...it was so bright that day! she's so cute and getting so big. i love it.
i also was having a fantastic time (to say the least) at the park. most of the time when i swing now i get really bad motion sickness and feel nauseated but the day we went to feed the ducks i was feeling superb. i was having so much fun, i couldn't stop laughing because i was so happy! ha ha...i think rosie thought that i was on drugs or something.. you should try swinging if you haven't for a while. so much fun...after playing at the park for a while isa came and brought us ernie's for lunch! here everyone has food in their mouth and is not smiling...well they're trying to at least without playing the seafood game.on our way back the kids wanted to say bye to the ducks, so we did. i love this pic too. the three (aidyn, yuriya, and oliver) are all really close in age. i think all within eight months of each other. they're great friends and really love being together. i love being with them too!! i'm sad rosie and ai have left back to houston...

...proud to be an american...

2008-09-20T17:16:00.004-05:00

last wednesday the fam bam drove up to the capitol theatre in salt lake city for mom's citizenship inauguration. it was an awesome event to participate in. i took the day off from work, rosie flew in from houston with aidyn, and we all gathered for the patriotic occassion. it was a bit rainy that day, but i sure loved it. after we stood in line for little while...
we enter the theatre and were seated. we did not become very prepared because we thought we would not be there for very long. little did we know. the kids did really well for sitting down for two hours. they shared treats and car and played games. they really helped each other out. here is sophie sharing her lollipop with Oliver due to a lack of snacks...some of the kiddos and rosie just cruisin. look how cute they all look. Ollie was cracking me up. he wouldn't even say anything to sophie, he would just open his mouth like this...more please? sister rosie and i. i think this is closer to when we first go there rather than later...here is mom with her citizenship certificate! it's so awesome!!

and most of the family. after waiting for two hours isa had to go to class right as the ceremony began. poor kid. he waited all that time and he had to drive back for school. hiro was also at school and papa was going to get the van for the little ones so they didn't have to walk

after we went to happy sumo to grub. it was tasty. everyone was so tired and the kiddos were a bit grumpy by the time we went to eat. ha ha...but it was a beautiful day! we are all so proud of you mom! we love you so much! and are so grateful for the hard work and sacrifice you have put in for us to have the best lives possible. congratulations on your new american citizenship!

...nan and the slc...

2008-09-18T13:20:00.003-05:00

so leinan came to school with me last tuesday. it was funny. apparently we have thing for trees...we all know that i love plants, but i had no idea nan was so one with nature. here she is next to this tree of awkwardness... large tree across from the library downtown...here is one side...

...and here is the other. ha ha...my face is b-e-a-utiful in this picture. i'm really hugging that trunk.
also when we were up at school we bought treats from the bowling alley, sat on the lawn (one of my favorite past times), nan was shocked by the longboarders and bikers cruising down the hills (people could die, but they don't 'cause they are skilld apparently), thought about studying but went to chili's to eat instead, and nan being a creeper...then when we were picking up some hamburgers for rosie and aidyn before we picked them up from the airport this was what was in front of us.

I SEE YOU!! well i see you too...creepy...

...busy week...

2008-09-07T01:31:00.002-05:00

it definitely has been a busy week to say the least. school is starting to pick up (p.s. school started last monday for the university of utah) and it indeed is keeping me busy. i like my classes so far. learning lots, studying lots and enjoying lots. i was not too excited to begin school but am so happy to be there. it's the nerd in me. i have no shame :)

monday i took bailey and ryan's engagement pictures, i'm just taking a minor break from going through them...hence why i am blogging in the middle of the night. i told her that i would have them done by tomorrow, 'cause it's almost been a week and it still has not been completed. working full-time and going to school full time...in salt lake city to say the least...requires a lot of discipline. i'm in a routine. a pretty good one, but it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for other things. even on the weekends i study...I guess i need to be a little more disciplined so i can play. i'm finally going to take vacation this coming week!! i'm so ecstatic to say the least! especially because rosie and aidyn with be here in two days. TWO DAYS!! woot!

I can't even recall much else that happened this week besides school and work...oh wait...my old roommate Karlie and I went to dinner and just caught up at pizza factory. while i was there i saw my friend Lauren Jespersen from jr. high. so random. but it was nice to see karlie karlie again and eat (which is always good) and hang out.

for some sort of enjoyment here is Yuri-bug and Sophie-bubbles making silly faces for me from when i was at ro and rach's house :) little kid funny faces are the best!

...boyz II men...

2008-08-31T22:02:00.004-05:00

this past thursday boyz II men came to the scera shell in good ol' orem, utah. of all places, my home town :) and to see them for only ten dollars was one of the best things that could have ever taken place. needless to say it was AMAZING and i couldn't have been happier. music seriously is my safehaven, not only that but to be there with the cousins/family was so much fun! here are some photos of this memorable event...the akanas, buns, and myself waiting in line...we got there a little after six. natalie and josie were one of the first standing in line, we were somewhere in the middle. after we had waited in line and got our spots we went and got food at cafe rio. mmmmm...here are the akana girls, i can't believe how grown up chels and brand are getting! before the concert had started...Dust, Dane, Leo, Leinani, and myself...i was awkwardly sitting on Nani's lap (if you couldn't already tell by the picture)
My friends Charlene and Milly were also there. I know these girlies from work. They are hilarious! Both from the East coast and definitely half the east coast swagger.
This is Miss Maybelline. She's from one of my favorite states...TEXAS! This girl is crazy! ha ha...i love it. I also know her from work. That rose that she's holding was handed to her by boyz II men...incredible! ha ha...
there were so many people there. i saw people that i hadn't seen in a really long time. i also think that boyz II men was really overwhelmed by the support they had from orem, utah. who would of thought?

...wedding season...

2008-08-26T21:03:00.006-05:00

i can't keep up with all the weddings that have happened in the past few weeks. the neighbor boys always make fun of me because instead of hanging out with them, i go to weddings. last time i went over there to drop off left over wedding cake, one of them asked me..."true or false? you've been to nine weddings in the past two weeks." ha ha...it hasn't been that many, but probably nine in the past month. regardless i love them and most importantly i love the people in them. it makes me cry when i see the daddy daughter dance. ask mom. she usually cries with me. here is a picture of mom and papasan...at the most recent wedding...

although i will admit that there is one thing that i don't like about weddings. and i don't know if it just because i don't really feel the need to be married, but i'm not the fondest of the bouquet toss although most of the time i get called out...it's so junk...

...rosie's girls...

2008-08-26T20:57:00.002-05:00

are getting so big. also that shirt that aidyn (left) is wearing someone gave to me...ha ha...like that would really fit me...really? leilani (middle) is so tall and so smart, watch out world! and miss mia (right) isn't such a little kid anymore, i'm not sure what is going on with her eye...bug bite maybe?

sidenote: rosie and ai are coming september 9th :)

...i can't believe i forgot to post this...

2008-08-26T20:39:00.002-05:00

so some of the frousins and i got together and had frousin night! ash ditched us for a work party, so she is absent from the pictures. but it was some good times composed of cafe rio pork barbacoa burritos (mmmmm...), tattoos, toe nails, and the movie "what happens in vegas" at the dollar theatre (thanks deina for paying for all of us...high rolla!)
deina's house also had all these horse flies (i believe that is what they are called) flying in her house. deina caught a bunch...sick...they were HUGE!
life doesn't get much better than this :)

...breif updates...

2008-08-06T22:39:00.006-05:00

it's been a few weeks since i've blogged but here are some quick updates...

marshall and karlie are married...but this is a picture of just karlie and i at the wedding reception. they both looked so happy! it was fantastic :) but i am sad that i no longer have a bunk bed buddy...

kim n kamai are also married...also can't believe it, but am so excited for them! yay!!

isa and aiko are still dating...
i hadn't been to my apartment for weeks...but last time i was there we locked out our roommate carly...kristen sat on the door...
aubry pretended to not know what was going on...(p.s. our apartment is pretty cute...)and i just laid on the couch laughing...Kuni and Oliver left for Houston on monday afternoon to go and visit Rosie and Elle took a train at three in the morning to head out to New York. They've moved, and once again i'm sad. I cried myself to work that morning even though i'm super stoked for them and their new adventures, it's definitely bittersweet to not have them around. Here is the most recent as well as the most photogenic picture of the Cleverly-Takahashi fam bam. "Glistening" Kuni, Grumpy Ollie, and Grinning Eleanor...
At Ols was happy to take a picture with me shortly thereafter... We sure miss y'all!! Hopefully i'll see you soon...in nyc that is :)

...number 19...

2008-07-17T18:29:00.004-05:00

remember how a while ago there was post of things to do prior to reaching the age of 21? well during that post i posed a question whether or not there are fireflies in utah, the conclusion: there is one. but just one. here is the proof. isn't it amazing?! for the first time in my life i saw a real firefly light up in my backyard! why it was there? i have no idea. why there was only one? i have no idea. did it make my ridiculous happy? yes. and then i caught the firefly...

I look like a little girl in this picture. ha ha...but it was so exciting! once again, props to Sabs for being the bomb dot com and reminding me to stay young even though i'm starting to get old :)

...bridal shower happiness...

2008-07-07T19:33:00.005-05:00

meet karlie wathen... she is my roomie. my favorite of them all. she is getting married in 18 days and i can't even fathom it but i am SOOO excited!! her bridal shower was this past saturday and it was nice and quaint. here is a picture of Elisha, Me, Aubs, Karlie, and Kristen at the shower after we had "dressed" her in her gown. i have got to admit that this is by far the best bridal shower dress that i have ever seen. just look at that toilet paper train flowing in the wind. i mean really--it doesn't get any better than that!
karlie being a creeper. ha ha...i've decided that it's one of our favorite traits. all i had to say was "karlie be a creeper" and this is the result. i'm just really glad that she has fluff coming out of her ears as she hides behind her flowers. that's my girl karlie karlie. happy bridal shower!!

oh also...i'm going to have to say that because the bridal showers with the Aunties are pretty...what's the word...scandalous...i was expecting this one to be as well. ha ha...not even close...this was probably the most questionable of all the gifts...so funny...

it's a thong! at least that's what the note said...

...at the crack of dawn...

2008-07-07T19:04:00.005-05:00

i woke up and went to watch the hot air balloon lift off in the morning. i was slightly late due to being informed of the incorrect time...but on my way there i saw the hot air balloons rising in the sky. this picture was taken while driving and not looking; it turned out pretty well.they were getting pretty high and then supposedly they were supposed to start circling around...i'm curious how one "drives" a hot air balloon...as they came back around and were landing in the stadium/field...they got really close...these are the more patriotic balloons. but the one with the pig and the strawberry looking one were my favorites! after that i went back to my apartment for a little bit to eat breakfast...again...and then headed over to the parade! it's been a while since i've been to the parade. i don't think that i have been there and actually watched the whole parade since i was a little girl. i really enjoyed the marching bands...ha ha...i'm such a band geek. After the parade some friends and I went to Cracker Barrell for some good ol' American cookin. Last time i had been there was when i was with Rosie and her family whey they lived in San Antonio...I was in high school at the time so it was a while ago. I went home and took a nap then headed to my parentals to find this...

isa on the couch, sad (I forced him smile in this picture) because his girlfriend was at the grand canyon and he didn't want to watch the fireworks without her...tender...but slightly pathetic. i don't think he wanted to leave the house all weekend that she was gone because he "wanted to stay home." lame excuse. he wouldn't go out with me, so i came home and made sure he was all right.
after checking up on isa, i went and visited my bccffe (which stands for best cross-cultural friend for eternity) Buns. we caught up for a while 'cause i haven't seen her in a while 'cause her real family was in town then she forced me to leave to go and watch fireworks with a friend. ha ha...i went and watched the fireworks above the provo temple, kicked it with some friends, then went and laid on the grass (<--doesn't sound exciting but it's heaven). it was a good fourth to say the least.

...random events...

2008-07-01T20:47:00.004-05:00

so here are some random pictures from the random things that have happened in the past week or so...i've been spending a lot of time over at the neighbors' house because Justin is taking the MCAT soon as well as applying for medical school so I've been over there helping out with that, editing personal statements and looking over everything; during the times that we have taken breaks or are just going insane from overload i have grown a beard...taped mike up because he kept attacking me and i was too tired to handle itjustin serenading us with some spanish melodies...all i can remember him saying is something along the lines of "me gusta miguel"...strum strum strum...and i got stuffed in a duffle bag, zipped up, although i had to come up a few times before they could close the bag 'cause i was getting claustraphobic, then carried to another room. it was one of the most interesting/weird things that i have ever done. almost exhilarating. i've never been so confused as to where i was and where i was going in my life. note to self: i have no sense of direction in a duffle bag.
evan and I went to warped tour and saw some incredible bands as well as discovered some new amazing music. here are our before pictures....

and our after...we look good...ha ha...UVSC is now UVU (going from college to university) and my roommates and some friends went to watch the fireworks. I couldn't find my camera during the fireworks, mainly because aubry had stolen it and put it in her bag...ha ha...so there are just pre-firework pictures.
me, seth, and aubs being absolutely photogenic and working the camera.

then somehow airplane came up and this is the result of that... kristen and jesse (seth in the background). as always it was a good time.

...looks gross...

2008-07-01T20:43:00.003-05:00

but absolutely tastes fantastic. this is a strawberry cheesecake carmel apple from the rocky mountain chocolate factory...slightly mangled...but nonetheless is delightful to say the least. we went there for benz's birthday then went for a little stroll down in the riverwoods shopping center. it was a perfect day.

...belated birthday shout-outs...

2008-07-01T20:20:00.002-05:00

last week i slacked with the happy birthday wishing so i'm going to catch up real quick...from first to last...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Miss Ai who is so sweet and makes me laugh/smile everyday i see her and even when i don't just the thought of her makes me warm. she's crazy and out of control and that's how i like her best.

Benz the world traveler and quite hilarious kid i know from jr. high who think it's awkward when there are only ethnic people around when we hangout. ha ha...

Sister Rosie

(sorry only your picture is black and white but it's the most recent i had of you) who i miss everyday and wish i was still in texas with. she's amazing.

Neighbor Michael who thinks that he is my favorite out of the neighbor boys...little does he know...ha ha he's getting there. i hope you get your castle one day gov; that would be sick.

Y'all are absolutely wonderful and i hope your birthdays were the best days yet :)

...massive moab trip...

2008-06-23T21:50:00.008-05:00

This past weekend a huge group of us (there were probably around 140ish of us) went down to Moab, Utah for a few days. Let's just say that basically it was AMAZING!! and i didn't want to come home. We got down there on Thursday night...really late...couldn't find the campground because no one had actually got there yet to set up camp. So we ended up finding a large line of cars, picking a random place, and setting up camp. Seeing that there were so many of us, the two cars that we had caravaned down with decided to find a spot a little further away so we could catch some shut eye. It was a perfect little spot on a hill, pretty flat for the most part, we pulled out the tarps and air mattresses and just slept under the stars. I was so excited that i couldn't fall asleep for a while, i just gazed at the sky looking for satellites. It was incredible. Two hours laters, the sun came up, i too got up, and we packed up camp and headed out for the day. A big chunk of people went rafting while the other groups went hiking, biking, atv-ing, etc. I went and hiked up Negro Bill Canyon. It was beautiful! I was so happy, everyone was making fun of me 'cause even though it was blazing outside I was the happiest camper ever. Oh the great outdoors. Here are a collage of pictures from the trip...tried to put a bunch on but there were too many.Thursday night we hiked up to Delicate Arch at Canyonlands...I haven't been here since i was child, so I was pretty excited to be there. I probably looked like an asian tourist stopping and hiking off on my own to take pictures of everything. It was the best. Here is part of the group that we drove down with, better known as the neighbor boys we're missing a few of them...Rick-man, Dain, and John John. They are my favorite...but from left to right...Justin LeBaron, Me, Michael Persson, and my roomie Aubry. We're just cruising at the top of Delicate Arch watching the sunset. After we hiked down it was pretty dark and we went back into town, picked up our friend Jeff from the movies 'cause he wore the back of his feet raw (as you can see below) on the first day we were there so he wasn't up to hiking around, plus he hates being outdoors...anywho who...then we headed up to our next campsite. I'm just going to say that a lot of people were grumpy and went to bed. I however just enjoyed being outside and read some before i went to sleep. That night I didn't sleep so well. We were pretty squished and due to the sun coming up and no shade, everyone seemed to squished down behind the shade of the cars...i unfortunately, got smashed between aubs and justin and was unable to move. ha ha...oh well...

That day we went to a place called left hand that only the locals know about. How do we know of this place you may ask? One of the neighbors is actually from Moab, so we got to go some places that not everyone knew about. :) It was hot!! I definitely got some sun which is a definite plus because now i'm not so pasty. A girl broke her tibia and fibula from jumping off the cliff into the water. Sad day.After Left Hand, we went back into town to grab Jeff again from the movies, then headed to the park for the BBQ. Here's Aubs cruisin at the bbq.The food was delightful. We had steak, chicken, vegetable kabobs, with mint and lime mojitos as a beverage. We also had ice cream and bananas in this syrup. It was tasty. Mmmmm...after i tried to take a quick nap before we drove home, but that didn't really work. So we packed up and headed home. About three hours laters, one gas station, and two houses, we finally got home. It was really late, but of course when Aubs and I got back to the apartment we kicked it with our other roomies. Bad choice. Oh btw, i have new roommate. Her name is Carly Walker. I'll post a picture once I have one. Anyway...I miss Moab.

...my papasan...

2008-06-17T20:03:00.005-05:00

So here is a belated posting of Father's Day...

This year dad was actually in Houston with Rosie and her family for the entire week before father's day as well as the morning of. Luckily he flew home in the evening so we got to celebrate father's day! Mom and I went to the airport to pick him up, and it made me so happy to see him, but it made me even happier to see how excited my mom and dad were to see each other. It really made me realize how dependent they are on one another and the love that is prevelant between them. I can only hope and pray that someday i'll be able to find someone who I can be as happy with as my parents are with each other...but back to father's day!!
I've decided that i'm too big to sit on my dad's lap. Ha ha...we were taking pictures together and i thought that I was going to crush his little leg. I think that sometimes they forget that i'm not as little as i used to be, even though in their minds I will always be my daddy's little girl. My dad really is the best, just as i am sure that is what you think of all of your fathers. Fortunately, my dad has always been there since day one. I remember all the times he dropped me off at school and came and picked me up, willing carrying me on his shoulders home. He came to all of my soccer games, track meets, field days, history fairs and anything else that was important and always with his camera :) He would sing songs and whistle and make me laugh and smile everyday. I remember when i was a lot younger we would listen to 8-tracks (I think that's what they are called) together in the black van. But i think the most incredible thing about my dad is that he is so willing to help all the time without question or hesitation. I hope that one day i'm half the person that he is and am so grateful for all the years he has put up with me. Thanks for being an amazing father! I love you Papasan!! and Happy belated Father's Day!

...bus stop adventures...

2008-06-17T19:44:00.004-05:00

so unfortunately since the last time that i blogged we have not had our dance off. i know, i know...you were all looking forward to it. but hopefully once one of our roommates decides to be home for the special event, it will commence. ha ha...but in the meanwhile...here is what we have been up to.

karlie and i went on a walk around the neighborhood the other night because it was really nice outside. on our way back there was a creepy guy waiting at the bus stop across the street so Karlie and i decided that we would wait until he got on the bus before we continued back to the apartment. in the meantime, there was a bus stop across the street, so we had a small photo session while we were there. here are the results of some of the events.

this is probably my favorite out the pictures. I don't know what's going on, but apparently i only have one eye...

i climbed the bus pole per karlie's request. 832 baby. i've decided that lately i've been making a lot of creepy faces. I give props out to nani for encouraging such "beautiful" faces. earlier in the week we all went to the hot tub. one by one we trickled out. we all showed up together, and none of us left together. but kristen wanted a picture of us running across the field, so i did my best to be entertaining.
Aubs is a creeper sometimes. I think it's a requirement to be able to bust signs and creepy faces in order to live in our apartment.she also started to adjust/adapt to the asian culture. I think deep down aubry wishes that she was asian like me.
we don't do anything too interesting, i won't lie. but for some reason to us it's fun and it makes us laugh. epic moments indeed.

...hello n goodbye...

2008-06-12T20:27:00.004-05:00

so i promised that as soon as i had some pictures of my new roommates that i would go ahead and post some picture of them. so here they are!

this first picture is of my roommate Karlie Wathen (she's the girl) and the boy is her fiance Marshall Walker. They are getting married on July 25th! They are so dang cute together...if you haven't already notice. :) Karlie and I share a room and basically we just sleep in the room together, other than that we're rarely home. So far some of my fondest memories with Karlie are just kickin it on our bunk beds cruisin and talking, taking weird-o pictures and my most recent would have to be going to the gym, coming home eating del taco, the relaxing in the hot tub and attempting to get in the pool in 50 degree weather but not being able to handle it then getting back in the hot tub. We're just dorks and have an excellent time being together!
The next picture is of Kristen Warwick (left) and Aubry Ellison (right). I specifically took this picture for the blog. I know all three of these girls from apx alarm aka work. I think i already wrote about that but that is okay. Ha ha....oh well...As an apartment we are going to have a dance competition Karlie and I vs Kristen and Aubs. Basically it is a compilation of 3 songs, one from the 80s, 90s, and present; 30 seconds each making a total of 1 minute and 30 seconds to dance. Costumes are encouraged but no manditory. Be excited for these pictures and hopefully videos. Here is a picture of me not meaing to look like the panda but ending up looking like it. When i go to the movies with Mellow and Karlie I don't have to pay because we go to the Spanish Fork theatre for free. It's quite the deal. This night we went and watched IronMan. Excellent movie btw. This is what the goodbye part of the title is for. Yuri and Sophie (as well as their parents Hiro and Rachel) moved out this past week into their very own condo! Yay for them!! It's sad that they moved out but at least they are a lot closer. They are getting so big too, it's kind of weird to think that before I know it, they'll be in school and all grown up. Weird...this picture was taken the night they moved out...sad day...but very exciting at the same time!!

...playing catch-up...

2008-05-27T20:41:00.008-05:00

it's been a long time since i've been involved in the blogging world...so i thought that i would rise from the dead and begin blogging again. so here goes...

CINCO DE MAYO!

WHICH TO THE COUSINS AND MYSELF IS KNOWN AS CINCO DE MANGO.

Nani and I had a fiesta on the fifth of May! It was so tasty with all of our mexican food, margaritas, fruit, and E.L.Fudge cookies (known as el fudge to make it more spanish for the day). We just had some friends come over for an excellent time. We thought about making a game as to tribute our neighboring country of Mexico, but we didn't have time seeing that we went shopping for the party that started at I think six, and were still at the store when 5:50 rolled around. Hmm...must be a family thing to start on time :) Actually does anyone actually know anything about cinco de mayo? Is it an actual Mexican holiday, because I heard that it was not. Also HAPPY BOYS DAY!!

Here is Brett Brett in his sombrero.Our friend Benz who is giving us a little bit of spanish flavor with his dance moves.
And the rest of the fiesta attenders...from left to right...Deina, Ashley, Bailey, Chali, Sachiyo, Leinani, and Sarah. Kamai and Kim came later, but I forgot to take a picture.
I haven't exactly taken pictures since this time, but here are some more updates for the month of May. I finished my first year at the U!! Did pretty well and loved it up there! I'm looking foward to the fall to come but am very excited that summer time is finally here. I'm ready to play. Which leads me to say that I moved back to Orem and shortly thereafter to Provo to the King Henry Apartments. This is why...

A POOL!! and hot tub for the days that it is cold or just a relaxing night of warmth. Y'all are always welcome to come swimming! Just give me a holler. I've been living here for a little over a week. It's a lot of fun. I have three roommates, Karlie Wathen (soon to be Walker 'cause she's getting married in July. YAY!!) we share room together, Aubry Ellison, and Kristin Warwick. I have no pictures them, but when I do I'll be sure to post. We also work at Apx Alarm...or at least used too. Kristin's last day was this past Friday, and Aubry just put her two weeks in today. Oh well, it'll always be a party at King Henry. Ha ha...

I can't really think of anything else that has happened this past month...Dorie's Wedding Reception, but she's been married for a month. Here is a picture of all of our beautiful cousins

This is the end for now until I get in the habit of taking pictures....hopefully there will be plenty of things to document.

...post birthday happiness...

2008-04-10T10:38:00.003-05:00

the saturday after my birthday we (a handful of random friends) went to tucanos! mmmmm...it was so tasty!justin and nani became very good friends. best friends actually. but at least nani is still my bffe! choo choo! Dustin (from apx) was ready to eat. can you tell? go go go!
Evan, pumpkin, gunns, aivan, whichever name you prefer, attempted to avoid the camera, but i tricked him, and i even got one smiling! this is the beautiful picture that the server took of us. at least you can see the lady outside right? right :)
thanks everyone for coming! i've got some of the best friends anyone could ask for! i'm super grateful for all of them and all that the do :) it was lots of fun!

...quarter machine...

2008-04-10T10:32:00.003-05:00

so nani and i really like the quarter machine. here is nani buns very excited to spend her quarters :)and here is the proof of how much we enjoy them my friends...

i know you're jealous.

...the list...

2008-03-30T20:38:00.005-05:00

so last year for my 20th birthday sabrina lawton gave me a book of 20 things that i needed to do before i turned 21. last weekend some friends and I began to document the things in the list, we didn't finish the whole thing, but we had a heck of a time doing them. so much fun! here are all of the tasks, but the ones with the pictures are the ones we finished :)

1. Play Truth or Dare

2. Have a sleepover...the frousins and i have had multiple sleepovers... this is me and my old roommate christina, we look absolutely lovely. me and bailey...we basically spent everyday more than half of the day together because we worked at the apx last summer. :) good imes.

3. Build a Fort...nani actually has these pictures on her camera...dang it.

4. Throw a Dance Party...in the canyon all the time. I think Ashley A. has these pictures.

5. Play Dress-up...oh i did on multiple occasions...

80s Day Ninja Turtles...i'm taking this picture but I have a donetello mask on :) the mechanic and spanish princess

6. Splurge on a Quarter Machine...this is Deina's boyfriend Jake on the Dumbo ride. I rode a pony. It's actually Jake's birthday today! Happy Birthday Jake! Nani and I also went and got a bunch of rings and glow in the dark necklaces last night. ha ha...so fun. we're going to make a weekly thing out of it!

7. Go to Chucky Cheese...

8. Ride a Merry-Go-Round

9. Fly a Kite...we bought a kite...just waiting for a windy day!

10. Climb a Tree...

11. Have a Water Fight...

12. Cook a treat in an easy bake oven...

13. Watch a "Teen" movie (has to have the word teen in the title)

14. Discover how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie-pop...answer...320 licks!

15. Blow bubbles in your chocolate milk

Even my father participated! He's so cute!

16. Order a kids meal...i got a happy meal! the guy at the window looked at me funny when i came to pick it up.

17. Go Puddle Jumping...

18. Play Hopscotch...this is Deina being a hopscotch champion! Our friend Mack which is Deina's boyfriend's little brother, went into the street and made a huge hopscotch thing down the road. A little too intense for me.

19. Catch a Firefly...are there even fireflies in Utah? I'll find some...don't worry.

20. Chase a Rainbow...
This was not one of the tasks but it was fun. We found a bunch of hoolahoops and this is me laughing super hard (if you couldn't tell by my face) I'm already doing two of them and Deina is about to throw another one on. It was unsuccessful. So fun though!

...it's been a while...

2008-03-24T00:23:00.003-05:00

hello hello! so i'm sitting here and I was thinking that i should probably blog...so it's probably going to be a long one...or just multilple blogs. be excited!

21 baby! What the? I'm getting so old. This is me on my birthday at my birthday party. I was in the process of opening my present. It was fish bait. Yay!

...no speak engrish...

2008-02-26T09:34:00.003-06:00

so this morning in my business class we were having a class discussion, as always, and i find it rather amusing that my teacher picks on everyone else but me. i think that this is because he doesn't think that i speak english. there have been times that he goes through everyone in the row, skips me, then continues with everyone in the row and the next row and then the next row. one of these days i'm going to be super long-winded and surprise him with my impeccable english skills. even then he may just think that i had "practiced" before coming to class. oh the joys of being japanese!

...an unsatisfied stomach...

2008-02-21T11:27:00.002-06:00

so lately i've been eating and eating and eating and eating (as always) and nothing has really satisfied my hunger. does anyone have any suggestions as to what to eat? any ideas?

...c is for...

2008-02-14T11:20:00.005-06:00

this doesn't have any relavance really, however, i thought i'd post it anyhow.

so in general most cookies are about the size of your fist give or take some. As you can see below, Chali (on the left) is sporting the regular size cookie while Kaipo (on the right) is sporting what they like to call the "Brett Tano" cookie, which is slightly larger than a regular sized cookie.
As you can see here the cookie happens to be larger than Brett's face/head.
so how many people does it take to eat a "Brett Tano" cookie? no idea 'cause no one ever ate it. this picture is just a marketing tool.

also do you think it's awkward for two boys to eat a cookie so intimately together? i do. ha ha...

...learning to snowboard...

2008-02-14T11:09:00.004-06:00

so my friend Marshall (who i call mellow) and I went snowboarding a couple weeks ago for the first time. first of all, niether of us had ever been snowboarding before, second of all, we went by ourselves so no one was there to teach us, and lastly, it was night boarding so not only was it cold, but slightly icy and dark. quite the excellent combination if i do say so myself.

this is mellow trying to avoid the camera.

it was actually tons and tons of fun! we fell a lot...i mostly fell on my knees because i had no idea how to carve toe side. so i ate it forward alot. people tell me that your bottom and your wrists hurt excessively the first time you go snowboarding, but just my knees hurt. here is proof of the damage i did while attempting to shred a mountain. it's not a very good picture but the bruise does take up about half my knee, i had one for each knee. someone at church asked me if i was abused and Nani buns told me my knees were ugly. ha ha...they looked good!

...ollie-bollie...

2008-02-11T00:35:00.002-06:00

so i've been pretty bad about this whole blogging thing with the birthdays...working on that.

it was Oliver's birthday this last thursday! he's now 3 years old! i cannot believe it. he's such a little boy which is fun to see, mostly because this family is dominated with estrogen. :) gotta love it. here is one of two recent pictures that i have ollie (they both have apples in their mouth, hence the awkward eye squint smile).

some of my favorite things about Ollie...

break dances like a champion
loves to play basketball and run around throwing balls and kicking stuff
likes to "rock out" when playing guitar hero
he's harry potter and does spells like expecto petronum! while running around with a chopstick
he's super smart
likes to ride in the jeep at gramma and grandpa takahashi's house
he still gives me big loves (hugs) while he rejects isa (so sorry brotha)
likes to play with the gundam swords and robots
screams like a little girl, but has a fake man laugh
he's so good to cousin yuri. they're inseparable when together.
basically he's a little stud :)

Happy Birthday Ollie!

...ainokea...

2008-01-28T14:24:00.000-06:00

here is a picture of the cousins' indoor soccer team after our last game on saturday. we won 7-5 and also ended the season i believe in second place...maybe? i'll have to double check that with Leo.

...old enough to drink...

2008-01-24T11:47:00.000-06:00

Happy belated Birthday Ashley!

I think that this is the only "normal" picture that i have of Ashley. Ha ha...i thought about making a whole slideshow of the pictures that i have of her, but she might not appreciate that, so i didn't. Maybe next year.

Anyhow, Ashley turned 21 this past Monday! She's really legal now. I cannot believe how much everyone is growing up. It's weird to think about it. But at least Ash will be married and have babies soon :) yay!!

Reasons I like Ashley Akana...

she came up with the term "frousin" aka a friend cousin
she does pilates which means her core is incredibly strong and is an expert at rapid breathing
loves to dance, i'm pretty sure she taught aunty how to booty shake
has an excellent voice mail...or so she thinks...
she's twins with dustin (that's like ten reasons right there)
likes to sport the 'v' bang
is soooo studious, to the point where she won't hangout with us on the weekends (I don't know if that should go under reason i like or reasons i don't like)
and the reason that i like her themost is because she's going to get married and have a baby soon! go ash! (i don't know if she knows this yet, but she'll know soon enough, however, Jordan did say he wanted to go to at least three weddings this summer)

Well baby girl! Happy belated birthday! We'll take you out for margaritas later! Love you!

...bowling...wii style...

2008-01-22T15:35:00.000-06:00

so these pictures are from a while ago, but i enjoyed how the boys were so intense. the family came over a couple of sundays ago and we set up the projector and played the wii. It was so much fun. I was getting a kick out of all of the boys bowling. look at their form.
Papa...he was probably the most fun to watch. they would all get so focused.

Kunimichi...i cannot remember, but i'm pretty sure he took the cake.
Hiro...looks like he's spearing something...
Isa...had the most power behind the ball.
Oh and of course little sophie was playing too. I'm pretty sure she kicked all the other boys' butts. We also played sonic olympics (i think that's what it was called) and isa and kamai were sweating so much. good times. I also beat isa is boxing. rosie would be so proud.

the attempt

2008-01-17T11:44:00.000-06:00

hello!

so it's been foreva eva since i have blogged, so since i'm done studying and it's freezing outside so i have no desire to wander around campus finding new things...i'll blog!

school has started up once again; almost for two weeks now. i cannot believe how cold it is getting though! i'm pretty sure when i got out of my car this morning it said 12 degrees. so junk.

i finally moved! i'm living in riverton now with three other girls, possibly four (that sounds like i'm not sure if one of them is a girl, but one more girl might be moving in was what i was trying to say). but i like our place. i live in a house. my roommate is Chali as I have mentioned previously and we have so much fun. sometimes we talk too much. My other roommates are named Valerie and Ashley. I'll post a picture when i get a chance, or decide to use my camera. :) We had a potluck at our house on sunday, so tasty. the only downside is that i still work at apx alarm until saturday so i only half way moved in. I sleep there on mondays and wednesday for now 'cause class is at 7:30 in the morning the next day. What was i thinking? ha ha...oh well. i still love school.

other than school and work, just the same old. oh except for indoor soccer! our team is pretty amazing. we've only lost one game. we won our game on Saturday 8-1. good times! hopefully this will be he beginning of some consistent blogging. hope everyone is doing well!

...i can breathe...

2007-12-16T22:56:00.000-06:00

finals are over! yay!

i finished last week and i haven't figured out what to do with myself since. i like to just sit and read books that i don't have to actually learn. it's rather nice. :)

i can't remember the last thing that i blogged about i'm not feeling ambitious enough to look so here goes. friday was the best day ever. i went to work and it was so funny! this is the one place that i enjoy to go to work. the people that i work with are so hilarious. they make me happy. after work i came home and talked to rosie for a little bit and slept...forever. Woke up ate, sat in the bath, watch a movie, read a book, then back to bed. It was wonderful.

On Saturday was the Asian Ward Christmas Party. Nani and I decided to go seeing that we are soon going to join the Asian Ward. It was fun but rather long if you asked me. It was nice to see the cousins.

Jared making a face
After the social, Buns and I drove around looking at Chistmas lights like when we were little kids. We're quite the old people and I absolutely loved it. We found this house that was completely decked out and we were so excited to have found this magical house of lights. We even found a massive pine tree that was completely lit. It was beautiful.

Buns and I cheesing it. Not a very good cheese though.

...pure joy...

2007-12-14T04:01:00.003-06:00

i'm done with finals! i can't believe it! that's all for now.

smells like christmas...

2007-12-07T14:52:00.000-06:00

last saturday i went and brought a christmas tree! it smells absolutely delightful! my friend evan came with me. we had kettle corn and hot and chocolate and apple cider while we decorated the tree. it still doesn't feel like christmas, but it's starting to get there.

Here's Evan tangled in the lights...some people struggle...ha ha... Enjoying the tree and making a face...as always...The final product!

Oh also, technically i stole a stand holder. Ha ha...not intentionally but two of them were frozen together and i brought then both home without realizing it. I'm going to take the other one back. Don't worry. :)

schools done in two weeks and one day

2007-11-25T23:30:00.000-06:00

Before the week gets incredibly busy, i thought that i would blog a little bit. This past weekend has been pretty eventful. On Friday I went and watched August Rush which i thought was an amazing movie. I really enjoyed it! I went on two dates on Saturday. One during the day, one during the night. The first date we went and grabbed some breakfast then went to the Utah vs. BYU game! It was definitely enjoyable! I haven't been to a football game in a long time and i forgot how exciting it can be, even when you're the only ute fan sitting amongst a crowd of cougar fans. Ha ha...sadly the Utes lost but it was such a good game.

Later that night on date number two, i went to Ernie's Deli (which i haven't been in a really long time) and every weekend i continue to realize that people are so incredibly rude. It's as if "customer service" or at least decent customer service doesn't exist anymore. But we ate and it was all right. Not as good as i remember it being. Hmm...after we went miniature golfing! Oh actually Kamai's car died when we were at Ernie's. Ha ha...i laughed 'cause he just got it worked on. Note too self: don't plug in as much stuff as possible, it drains your battery. It was pretty intense. I didn't do as well as I usually do, but i still had a good time. I just realized that a lot of heads in the collage above are cut off. Ha ha...after golfing we played in the arcade for a little bit. Arcades are the best. I thought about going to Vegas just to go to Circus Circus and play like we did when i was a child. Sometimes running around and doing things that embarrass everyone around you is rather entertaining. Good times. Our group was hilarious, it was Jared Aida and date Whitney, Chali Chang and date Matt (Kamai's roommate who is hilarious), Brother Isa and date Cheryl Yip, and myself with Kamai Chang (Chali's brother).

Here is a picture of Chali and I taking a ride in the little kid cars. We have so much fun! Chali and I are actually going to move out after the semester is over so I'm a bit closer to SLC. Rent is amazing! Plus Chali is the bomb kine. I'm excited but a little bit sad at the same time 'cause I enjoy living at home and being with the fam bam. It's bittersweet, but i won't be that far away so it's okay.
After that we went and watched Rattatouille. I think that it was a good movie, however i was pretty sleepy, so i can't really remember. But we had Hot Chocolate, mint kine, and just kicked it. It was relaxing. Chali spent the night at my house 'cause it was pretty late. Plus she ran a red light on the way home, so I didn't really think that it was the best thing to head all the way back up to Sandy...

Turkey Day...

2007-11-23T14:02:00.001-06:00

Happy...wow that's a big olive...

I can't believe that Thanksgiving has already come. That means in less than a month...i'll be in Texas! Woot! Woot!

Turkey Day was a blast. It's definitely one of my favorite holidays. ;) I'm pretty sure that I ate ten different times yesterday...Mmmm...The family had so much fun and food. At noon, we just got together and ate with our immediate family and the Horiuchis and then later that night we got together with the cousins for some more grubbing and gingerbread house making! The Kamoe Ohana were quite the intense gingerbread house makers. This may or may not have been the final product...you'll have to ask Ashley.

Isa and I also played FIFA soccer for a little while. It was a lot of fun! We were pretty stinky at he beginning, but we got better. One day we'll have to show you our skillz.

Hiro and Rachel

Mama and Sophie
Kuni, Ollie, and Elle

This one is just for Rosie...it's Junior's little boy...Kinzo the III! He's so cute!

Hope y'all had a fabu Thanksgiving!

sometimes i feel like since i don't have kids i have nothing to blog about

2007-11-15T17:06:00.000-06:00

Right now I am sitting in the corner of the Union building. I've finsihed all my homework...and have a little bit before class starts 'cause it's a late day...hmm...what to do? what to do? blog? Okay.

This past week has been interesting and busy as always. I'm really really starting to enjoy my classes a lot. I've always enjoyed them, however lately they have been really making me think, which I am super grateful for.

I've decided that i really like work. The people i work with are hilarious. And I also decided that the scheduling department is actually a Dating Service. "Thanks for calling apx alarm dating service, my name is Sachiyo, from what I understand we need to schedule an appointment for (insert name here) to take you on a date, is that correct?" Ha ha...I think in the past month there have been a few new couples starting to date. Everyone tells me I'm next...no thanks...I think that I will pass. If I for some strange reason, happen to accept, i'll let y'all know. Ha ha...

I can't even think of anything eventful that has happened in the past week or so. I've just been a little bit exhausted...actually incredibly exhausted. Oh but on Saturday Nani and I went to our first Asian ward activity! Ha ha...when we initially got there, Isa wasn't there and we felt really awkward, 'cause we're not actually in the asian ward. Luckily Amber pulled up and we walked up with her. It was a lot of fun! The weather was absolutely gorgeous! Jo, Amanda and baby Malakai were there! I believe that was actually Malakai's first asian ward activity as well. We definitely bonded. I'm pretty sure he was the life of the party. He definitely caught all of the girls' attention...and some of the boys...ha ha. He's so stinkin cute! Good work Jo and Amanda for adding another attractive baby to the family. I'll have to post pictures when I get some. I actually think he turns one month today...or maybe tomorrow...

Finally a Wedding!

2007-11-04T23:09:00.001-06:00

Jared Kwong is officially married! Hoo-rah! It was fun to finally have another wedding and get to spend time with all of the family and friends. I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was distracted. But here are the pictures that I do have!

Jared and His Best Men...from left to right...Jeremy, Zach (who sings "one of these things is not like the other" from Sesame Street when his with all the cousins and family...ha ha), the Groom Jared, and brother Marcus.

Here is brother Isa vacuuming like a champion...by the way...usually when you're getting ready for special occassions, isn't it the girl that is usually waited on? I'm pretty sure it is, but not at the Takahashi house...I was waiting for Isa...we were a half hour late. But hey, at least he looked good.

Then of course, here is a video of Deina kine and Ashely...Even though I didn't get many pictures, I think the video makes up for it 'cause...well...I guess you'll have to see for yourself. Out of control...

yuds par-tay!

2007-11-04T22:45:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Yuri-Bug!

Yuri turned 3 years old on Friday and we had a little get together. It was lots of fun! There was food, presents, a ballet shoe pinata...the works. I do believe it was a princess theme! Here are some pictures from the party!

Aunt Denise and Yuds

Birthday Girl and Crazy Driver Brayden

Opening Presents...look at all the pink...

The Brothers and Sophs (btw Sophie adores Uncle Isa...it's so cute!)

Ollie taking a swing at the pinata...he took the blind fold off...'cause he couldn't see...ha ha...

Oh also for y'alls enjoyment...I'm posting a video of Brayden driving Yuds around...

All Hallows Eve

2007-11-01T23:54:00.000-05:00

Aaahhhhh!

Happy post Halloween! Yesterday was a pretty chill day. Unfortunately our friend Samson moved to California (the Mission Viejo area) this morning. I'm not going to lie I'm gonna miss the kid. So funny...ha ha...but Samson, we wish you well in all that you do! Good luck in Cali and Hawai'i!

After we went and visited Sam, Nani and I had an urge to dress up and go out n about...just for a little while though. Here is a picture of the mechanic buns and a spanish/latin princess maybe? I'm not quite sure what I was. I figured since people thought I was a latina, I'd be one. Ha ha...oh and I look really tall in this picture ya? I guess not everything is bigger in Texas. ;)

So went we to a dance for like 30 minutes, then came home! Surprisingly it was super fun! Ha ha...I've been so tired lately...all I want to do is sit, sleep, and eat. This weekend...that is part of my itinerary. Oh and btw...it's cute how Nani and I match...ha ha...we're cool like that.

Can't wait to see what the rest of y'all were for Halloween.

Oh and for the record...Jordan, Nani and I didn't steal the bowl with all the candy in it.

last minute costumes

2007-10-28T23:40:00.000-05:00

Here's a little preview of pre-Halloween celebrations. Ha ha...I can't wait until Halloween! (I still haven't decided what I am going to be...) Yay!

always a party

2007-10-28T23:03:00.001-05:00

The Frousins. No matter where we are or what we are doing, it's so much fun! This past Thursday we went to Asuka to grub. I ate so much sushi (it was an all you can eat night) and was so happy! Mmmmm...The four of us haven't been all together for a while, so it was refreshing just to kick it and talk. Here are some pictures from our night!

pumpking carving

2007-10-28T22:51:00.000-05:00

Well Ollie and I went to the store and bought some pumpkins to carve! It was a lot of fun even though Ollie didn't want to get his hands dirty. He was so excited! Here are some pictures from the joyous occasion!

Ollie holding the dirty pumpkin at the store...it was squishing him...

Starting to scoop out the guts. Yummy! And a little pumpking girl. Dad wanted the pumpkin ot have "cute eyes." I did my best to have his approval.

snow!

2007-10-21T19:31:00.000-05:00

hello everyone! so i can't believe that the week has gone by and I almost died. ha ha :) but it truly has been an intense week to say the least. For those of you not living in Utah...it SNOWED yesterday. I had to scrape my windows with my student id card. i love it but at the same time...what happened to the fall?

as for the quick recap of the week...

i started my new job this week. i work in the scheduling department of apx alarm, which is way chill. the people that I work with are hilarious! a group of us had dinner and went to Nightmare on the 13th street on friday. so fun and so scary!

school has been nuts. i read like a champion. i take quizzes like a champion. i study for tests like a champion. ha ha...i study so much that i even go to the byu library with isa just to mix it up a bit...luckily no one knows i'm a ute or they'd probably key my car.

there have been numerous birthday this past week! so happy birthday to...

Dan'n'Sabs

my favorite brother-in-law Marclavious

and brother Kuni!

You all are getting old! Ha ha...jk...

But i love y'all lots and hope that all is going well!

from one home to the other

2007-10-06T23:35:00.000-05:00

So i guess it's been a little bit since the last time I blogged and I keep changing the template, but I think that I actually have it on one that I like that fits the Halloween spirit, because i'm pretty sure Halloween has to be one of my favorite holidays. I blame Auntie Erynn. :)

But currently i'm just kickin it in Texas! with Rosie and the girls and Mark of course who has partially swollen cheeks 'cause he just got his wisdom teeth out. I'll have to take a picture and post it for y'all.

The other night, the girl cousins (and Ty boy) went to Happy Sumo! It was so much fun and da food was delicious! However the Mt. Fuji dessert was a little disappointing. Amy called it a Mound Fuji. I would totally have to agree with her. Here is a picture of all us girls (Thanks Ty for being the official photographer). I can't believe that everyone is growing up...

My flight down here was rather long, mostly I was just really antsy to get here. But I am so so so glad that I'm here and that I can just cruise with the fam for the next little bit. It's so funny, 'cause I feel like I still live here. So basically I went from home to home. Life's good that way. Oh and I also brought my University of Utah shirt to wear to sleep to spite Mark. Ha ha...I think the first thing he said to me was, "Sach, what are you wearing?" I just laughed. Go Utes!

bathroom run-ins

2007-09-21T13:37:00.000-05:00

just a quick little story...

The other day at work I needed to use the restroom. i accidentally walked in a lady while she was using the restroom. when i opened the door she yelled, "EXCUSE ME?!?!" and i was extremely startled as well as uncomfortable, and thought, who in the world doesn' lock the bathroom door, excuse me? i'm pretty sure it's excuse you. Then i walked away and started laughing. Come on people let's use a little common sense when using the restroom. Remember to lock the door! or someone may just walk in on you. ;)

isa to the rescue!

2007-09-19T15:07:00.000-05:00

just thought I'd let y'all know that our goldfish escaped the other day. luckily isa found him on the floor, gills still moving, and place him back into the tank. Needless to say, the goldfish is still alive thanks to Isa, how it hopped out of the tank and moved five feet away from the tank I am still baffled about...

almost butt-kicking school

2007-09-15T10:37:00.000-05:00

So due to the ridiculous amounts of reading I've been having to do for school. The blogging inbetween classes at school hasn't really been working out. So I'm taking a study break to blog for y'all (on a saturday morning..ha ha...) Okay i promised some pictures from a lot of things, so here are some of the nieces and nephews and rosie while she was here.

This is cute little sophie buns. I'm pretty sure she's the happiest baby i've ever come in contact with. she rarely cries is so happy! I love it!
Here is Rosie and Ollie. Or Whoa-zee, as Ollie likes to call her. Look how long Rosie's hair is getting! What an accomplishment. I'm so happy for her!

Then of course there was sushi night with the frousins! Ha ha (For those of you who don't know what a frousin is, it's friend that's a cousin or vice versa, props to Ashley A. for being a word genius).

Mmmmm...
Ashley and I ( I don't know why it just went underlined, but I'm not even going to fix it) Nani Buns!

This is our friend doug jumpig me over post sushi with the girls. He didn't even touch me and he's totally clearing me! He's got skills, what can I say? That night Nani and Doug also had an "awkward moves" dance off. I think I have a video from it. I'll post it if I can. Ha ha...it's splendid.

The next week we went to Pudding on the Rice. It was good for the first few bites and then I couldn't really handle it anymore. This is our attempt to take a picture of all of the cousins (hence the white on the bottom of the picture 'cause it's sittin on a wall).

Deina and Buns showing off them moves! Deina was cracking us up. She making up songs and what not. So hilarious! I might just have a movie on that one as well. I'll see what I can do for y'all.

I love love l-o-v-e spending time with the cousins. People seriously are unable to handle us when the four of us are together. We were at my friend's apartment last week and his roommate came home and we were just being loud and out of control as usual and it was "A" game night (ha ha pretty much it's a our fake put on your "a" game to get the boys scheme, but it's the really awkward way to think you're hot, also so funny), so for every boy we see Ash and Deina are up in the window trying to get guys' attention and my friend's roommate continued to look at us like we were psycho (which we were being at the time) and I thought he was going to have an acute heart attack due to discomfort. And we all know that we love AWKWARD! It's probably one of the best human emotions ever. Ha ha....However luckily Nani was sitting next to him and workin her "a" game on him. Every time she touched him, he smiled. Good work Buns!

side note: i've been hanging out with isa and his friends lately and one of the cousins is usually with me. Isa's friend Jay thinks that Nani isn't LDS and Ashley A. is 17 years of age. I don't know why I just told you that...oh well...

Things here are fanatastic! Just busy! I hope y'all are doing well! If you have requests of any picture please let me know. LOVE YOU!

four hours and seven minutes

2007-09-06T15:01:00.000-05:00

what are the chances that i get out of my photo lab early and my next class starts an hour later? not very likely. So today i have four hours and seven minutes to do stuff. which although is nice, i don't have that much homework to do right now. so sad...

Anyhow, Rosie came this past week to come and visit! It was so much fun! We went shopping and ate and just hungout. She was only here for about three days, so not too long, but it was super nice to have the family over at the house with the grand babies. We stayed up late and got up early way too much. I crashed on the couch on Sunday with my arm above my head. My arm was numb. I had to move my right arm back down with my left arm so the blood would circulate back into it. Ha ha...it was a weird feeling for sure. But we played this game called ticket to ride. I hear it's like Settler or Catan but much more fun! It was a ridiculous amount of fun! (This is where much of the late nights came about). The game was played both on Saturday and Sunday for multiple rounds. Isa dominated everyone, even though we all thought he was going to lose. Ha ha

As for other tidbits. School and work are going well. They have been sending me on projects everyday (which has been the ultimate life saver 'cause my friends no longer work there) and I met a bunch of Canadians yesterday. I should probably go and take a nap because my brain isn't really functioning anymore. It's been like that for the past couple of days where I almost hit a wall and the brain cells refuse to work.

I'll write more later...with pictures for those of you who like to look but not read. :)

First Week of School

2007-08-23T15:50:00.000-05:00

I'm just gonna say it. I LOVE the U. (If you read that incorrectly it looks like i love you...ha...). School started on Monday and it has been fantastic! My teachers so far have been pretty intense but awesome! I'm excited for most of my classes for sure, plus campus is beautiful. I like just being able to hangout outside 'cause the weather is beautiful. I forget how nice the weather is in Utah 'cause I'm always at work during the daytime. I was really nervous for school to start (new place, new people, new area) but I'm really glad that i'm here. :)

I can't remember what I blogged about last time, but things here are great. I found my camera hookup so now I'll have picture! Yay! You all should be very very excited. Pictures of college students...

The cousins (Buns, Ashley A., Dana) and I had a sleepover the other night. We had a dance party, ate del taco (where some cholos tried to pick up on us, one actually made a kissy face and i thought a brawl was about to go down. Ha ha...i love the cousins) and Nani and I watched Take the Lead until like five or six in the morning while Ash and Dana slept. Great movie btw. It was an eventful night. When I get pictures from it I'll definitely have to post them. But I'm going to read some before I head to my last class. Be excited, b-e- excited!

...tick-tock...tick-tock...

2007-08-07T01:23:00.000-05:00

So I am sitting here, uber frustrated that I just realized that I have no idea where my camera hook-up is to download my pictures. So I thought I should blog it out. Ha ha...plus I have to wait until 12:45 so I can go and pick up brother Hiro from work.

So Nani Buns and I had a fantastic day/night/monday morning. But to start off, I have a funny story to tell...not about me...about Buns. ;)

Since the two of us have started attending the Orem College 6th ward the past couple of weeks, we have had some interesting "boy encounters" if you will. So Buns and I are sitting in sacrament meeting on a pew all by ourselves, which is the norm 'cause we haven't really made friends with the ward. As always we are enjoying ourselves when a certain male (we'll call him the Dog Walker) comes and finds a seat next to Nani. Personally I don't think much of it. Buns is a babe, it's normal for guys to be drawn to her (she's probably gonna cut me for saying that). So we sit there, listening to testimonies, the meeting ends and as always we get ready to sing the closing hymn. I reach for a hymn book 'cause Nani doesn't like to share with me, and Nani has hers. Dog Walker's face is right infront of, not one, but two hymn books. Yet he does nothing. Personally I think, well he must not be a singer. But then Nani looks at him and says something to extent of do you need a book/would you like to share and Dog Walker is immediately suctioned to the Nani's hip. At this point I'm attempting not to laugh, while trying to be reverent and sing the hymn, and not look at them 'cause I'm pretty sure Nani had a "what the?" face and shifty eyes going on. In the end I realized that Dog Walker is awkward. And I appreciated the situation.

One moment...i need to go pick up brother hiro...I will be back...

Anyway, so later that night we went to ward prayer at Westmore Park and we made a friend! How exciting! Ha ha...his name's Billy. He' pretty hilarious. I'm not gonna lie. He kinda reminds Nani of Dustin, and he reminds me of someone but I can't exactly put my finger on it. (Maybe Dustin? ha) We went to game night at Meich's house (a funny girl in our ward) and then lit glow worms on the side of the road! I love them. My favorite firework ever. It brings great joy to my soul. Ha ha after post midnight rolled around, Buns and I ate at...DEL TACO! Mmmmm...in addition to that we listened to some jams. Life doesn't get much better than this.

To commemorate our joyful day...I thought I would post some picture of why Nani and I attract the boys. Ha ha...enjoy!

The Blogging World

2007-08-02T17:27:00.000-05:00

Well it has been quite some time since I have been part of the "blogging world" mostly the only reason I really blogged was to keep the family in Utah all updated and to let my mother know that I was still alive and kickin. Ha ha...But now that I live in Utah I thought...why blog?

But I guess I could squeeze in a blog every once in while for the few who still check it. ;)

New things...

I live in Utah now.
I work at Apx Alarm
I'll start the University of Utah in the fall! I'm way excited but also incredibly nervous for some reason...
I have no idea where I am going to live still...if anyone has any suggestions or anything please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated
I never see Isa
ROSIE IS COMING TO VISIT!
Umm...that's all I can really think of currently
Oh actually I'm writing this blog while sitting in the City Library in SLC.

Things here are have been kinda crazy. I still work tons and tons (go figures) and I went on the longest blind date the other night. I'll have to write about that one later. But I need to go and make sure that the parker meeting hasn't expired...sorry this is a stinky blog, but I'll post more later, with pictures even! Be excited, be very excited. Hope everyone is doing well!

so sleepy but unable to sleep

2007-05-21T04:49:00.000-05:00

Well, it's currently 4:49 in the morning and I've been laying in my bed for the past three hours attempting to fall asleep because I am uber tired, however, it has been unsuccessful. So I thought that I would do something semi-productive to pass the time and hopefully assist in falling back asleep.

Hmm...what to write to about. I just walked downstairs a little bit ago and Rosie was up and about as well. We're quite the pair. Ha ha...you would think that at the wee hours of the morning that we would both be sleeping? Rosie was downstairs cleaning (I thought it was Mark and was wondering why he was up early and making noise), curious to see if everything was okay, I trotted downstairs and decided to eat something. I had a piece of cold pizza and a go-gurt. Interesting combination, but it seemed to satisfy my hunger.

This past week has been another week of illness. I still have a nasty cough and some congestion. People look at me like I am going to die, but I'm okay. Mark was also sick this past week. I believe he contracted the illness from me, but I'm not quite sure. Rosie also has been sick. She's been having throat pain, but has been coughing and is also congested. If anyone has any suggestions for what medicine to take so that my cough goes away, please let me know. I've had mine for about two or three weeks now and it just seems to progressively be getting worse.

On a happy note. Leilani's last day of school is this Thursday! I'm so excited for all the kids to be home during the day. Mia graduated from preschool this past Thursday and is so excited to be five and entering Kindergarten! Everyone is becoming so grown up! I can't believe it!In commemoration of wanting to sleep, here is a picture that Rosie took of Aidyn and I napping. Ha ha...I seriously sleep in the weirdest positions, but then again so does Miss Ai. We also happened to be matching. We both have green shirts and braids in this picture. Those were the days when I could fall asleep...I hope you're all doing well! I'm going to go back and lay down, hopefully i'll catch some z's.

Iggy

2007-05-17T20:55:00.000-05:00

Many of you are still curious about my new car. I don't have an actual picture of the car, but here is what it looks like. It's a Black 2007 Toyota Corolla S. ha ha Pretty stinkin cute. Of course I named the car. His name is Ignacio (like from Nacho libre, said with a spanish accent) but I call him Iggy. He's pretty cool. I've driven him a ton already. I think I've had the car for about a month and now I already have like 2000 miles on it. It's sad that I drive that much. Oh well...

So Dang Cute...

2007-05-17T20:46:00.000-05:00

It is official, I am an inconsistent blogger, so I'm going to try and make it up to y'all by posting many things. Ha ha...ya think that since I'm done with school and just working that I would have time to blog?

Anyway, sunday was Mia's 5th Birthday! Hooray for Mia! Reasons I like Mia...she's always so dang cute. I love it when her eyes light up and get big because she is excited about something. She's always gives big loves and is so funny! She's got such a curios/mischievious face. Mia rides her bike like a champ. She's good at singing and is an excellent piano player! She's a great big sister and just makes me laugh by doing or saying certain things. I just love her!

i have not died

2007-05-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

i haven't blogged in a while. it's been incredibly busy, and it might be a couple of days before I start the whole blogging thing again 'cause of finals. but i just wanted to let you all know that I haven't died. be excited! ha ha soon enough a new blog will emerge...hopefully...

finally!

2007-04-23T09:09:00.000-05:00

I bought a new car! YEAH!!! I have no pictures of it yet. But it's a 2007 black Toyota Corolla S. I know, a little car, who would have thought? I'll post pictures soon!

why is it the only time I ever blog is while I am at school...hmmm...

2007-04-18T09:54:00.000-05:00

Well folks, I know I'm still not back to blogging like a consistent person, but I'm sure trying to at least blog when I take pictures, so that's a good thing. This past Sunday we drove out to Hempstead and took some pictures in the BLUE BONNETS! Yeah! I was so happy and excited and it was beautiful outside. So here are some fantastic pictures of the the texas flower...and family...

Here's Miss Ai being so adorable. I don't know what it is with this girl, but she's can be incredibly crazy and incredibly cute. Fortunately on film we capture the cute side.
The Lawton Family
Miss Mia
Leilani
and of course cheesy me! Ha ha...

Umm...let's see what else? Things here have been crazy busy as always. I'm working a lot a lot 'cause of a really long story, but that'll have to be for another day and I'm still going to school. Church is great! The kids have been having way too much easter candy, but are still great singers so I don't have too much of a problem. I've been car shopping...seriously I thought that buying a new car would be a fun thing, but it's not...ha ha...I'll have to let y'all know when I buy a new car! Hope you're all doing well! Enjoy the pictures! LOVE YOU!

study break

2007-04-03T03:26:00.000-05:00

well folks, the time is currently 3:26 am (as in the morning time) and I thought that I would take a quick study break and inform all of you that today, well I guess yesterday, I got my acceptance letter from the University of Utah! Hooray! So if everything works out it looks like I'm going to be attending the U in the Fall! Okay that's all, I need to get back to studying before the daylight hits...

intersting creature

2007-04-02T09:55:00.000-05:00

Well the other night I was at my friend Mercedes house because my family had abandoned me to go watch Mark compete in his triathalon. Ha ha...Mark did really well by the way! He finished in about 6:06:00 and he's still alive! HOORAY FOR MARK! We are all so proud of him.

Anyway, I just wanted to post this picture of a craw dad or hermit crab or something that my friend James found on the sidewalk. There are so many weird creature in Texas. I find them in the most random places none the less...ha ha...Anyway, I hope y'all had a great conference weekend! I promise to be better at blogging!

Where Have I Gone?

2007-03-29T15:56:00.000-05:00

Well Hello everybody! It seems as though I have died, but really I've just been incredibly busy. Ha ha...things here have been pretty crazy just within the past week. But I'll just give a quick recap of the past month.

I used to have a really bad cough. I went through a stage of having a man voice. Ha ha...for real...it was pretty bad. The high amounts of phlegm I was producing sometimes made it so I couldn't breathe so one day Rosie bought some mucinex. When I took it I thought that I was going to die. I couldn't see, walk straight, and was nauseated. Shortly after taking the Mucinex I passed out on the couch, which actually happens to be my favorite place to sleep! Rosie and Mark's couch in the best. Who needs a bed when you've got a fantastic couch. Ha ha...

After being sick, or I guess during being sick I worked and went to school as always. Actually today for the first time I saw Holly Kennedy at the Tomball College Library. She does indeed work there. I can't believe I almost went two semesters without seeing her there and vice versa. Umm...work is FANTASTIC! I love working in the photo lab at Sam's Club. I've made so many great friends working there and have had so many great memories. Actually the other day I squished a HUGE mosquito and documented it. Here it is...(that really has nothing to do with anything but the mosquito is rather large)

and yes that is the bottom of my shoe. Isn't it pretty gross how seriously everything in Texas is bigger. No exaggeration there.

Spring break was not too long ago as well. The kids and I spent a lot of time together and I spent a lot of time at work as well. Rosie and Mark went on a cruise so I got to hangout with the kiddos and Kathy (Mark's mom) for an entire week. We went to the zoo together, but most of the festivities occurred during the day when I was at work. How sad eh? But here are some fun pictures from the zoo! Aidyn was actually sick the day that we went so it was just Leilani, Mia, Dan 'n' Sabs, and Kolby.

We had a lot of fun at the zoo. Leilani actually got pooped on. Look at Mia's disgusted face.

We saw lots of animals. My favorites were probably the elephants. We didn't get to see any hippos and those are probably my favorite animals to look at. They are so large and in charge.

I just thought that this picture of Miss Mia was precious, so I am posting it 'cause I haven't been on here for quite some time and I think I owe it to y'all to put up lots of pictures. Mia is getting so tall and her piano skills are just taking off. She's just so dang cute!They also went to the Rodeo and the Children's Museum. The two little ones and I went to the Children's Museum at the beginning of the month. Here are some pictures from then. We spent most of our time in the motion commotion section of the museum. We were having so much fun and Ai and Mia crack me up.

My birthday was also this weekend! I am now 20 years old. No longer a teenager. Ha ha...my friends took me out the night before and we went go carting, extreme bowling and to breakfast. It was so much fun. My friends crack me up. They are such good people. Since most of you have no idea who they are, let me show you! Umm...I just got kinda sick of uploading pictures so here are just some of them...ha ha...below is Kendrick and Michael. They are brothers and so different. They both go to Pravie View University.

This is my favorite friend Mercedes and I! She's the best! We had a class for a whole semester together and didn't have a clue who each other was until the last week before finals. Ha ha...we "studied" one night and realized that we have ultra similar lives but she grew up in New York and I grew up in Utah and somehow we both ended up in Texas living with our older sisters and going to Tomball College. Ha ha...it's crazy how the Lord blesses you with amazing people in your life no matter where you are. B has been such a blessing to me. Below is James and the Giant peach as Rosie likes to call him, but moreso he's James the manorexic. Not really, but he's so little. James is the sweetest person. He's Mercedes boyfriend and is hilarious! You can never get enough of this kid.Next is Ravi Patel. Just like in the Life of Pi. Actually I don't if the name Ravi ever shows up in it but the main character's name is Pi Patel. Ravi and I had an english class together and he had hot hair so I decided to be his friend. Ha ha...actually I just helped him with his papers and what not and we just started hanging out. He's such a punk/racecar driver. You should see him race go carts. Also I got into a car accident on the morning of my birthday. I was hit by a drunk driver who ran a red light. Fortunately I am okay and doing pretty well. :D My birthday was super eventful to say the least! It was a fantastic day despite the accident. I ate steak and shrimp and got to spend time with the people that I love and that's what really is important. Also my friend Chris gave me a pinata because I've never had one before! Ha ha...he figured since he got hone for his 20th birthday (which was exactly a week before mine...Happy Birthday Chris with Curls!) that I should be able to have one too. I was so happy to receive such a fantastic birthday gift!Here is a battle scar. My hip, it's looking tons better than it did before.
And of course I have to post a picture of Eddie. I talked to the adjuster and he said that my car is basically a total loss. How sad because this is my favorite car! I've had some great adventures and fond memories with Eddie. It's so sad to see him totalled.
Umm...this is getting to be so long, so I am going to end it now. But i hope y'all are doing well! Sorry for being a blogging slacker! LOVE YOU!

Happy LOVE Day!

2007-02-15T18:59:00.000-06:00

Well just wanted to post some pictures of the girls from Valentine's Day! I'm such a photo nerd. Somedays I think that I should just be a photographer. :D That would be fun! Ha ha...anyway...the girls had a great day! Leilani had a fantastic class party where they played games and exchanged Valentines! Mia also had a class party yesterday at school (because she only goes to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays) and then on Valentine's Day Mia and Ai had a party at play group with all their friends! They decorated heart cookies and ate some candy. Here they are in their "Valentine" outfits. SO CUTE! I'm so glad that they are so cute. :D

Below are the girls showing their tasty candy treats and being silly...oh so silly...

Rosie and Mark went out for a quick dinner before Mark had to go to the church to teach his gospel something discussion with the missionaries. How romantic I know! As for me, seeing that I have pretty much been avoiding boys since I have been here (although Rosie and Mark encourage me to go out with some of my guy friends), I stayed home. :D And enjoyed it most thoroughly. I watched Ellie until Holly came and picked her up and then just hungout and attempted to study some and hungout some more. So I hope y'all had a great Valentine's Day!

No school or work...weird...

2007-02-09T16:37:00.000-06:00

Well i switched shifts with a girl from work that needs to attend a funeral tomorrow, so I don't have to work today and seeing that I only go to school on Tuesday and Thursday, it's weird to be home...and not have be somewhere at a specific time. I LOVE IT! Ha ha...

Today i went to Mark's office for a birthday lunch for the secretary there. We ate Johnny Carino's and it was so delicious! Mmmmm....I might go camping down in Galveston if the weather permits and I feeling like driving. But we can discuss this later.

The weather this week has been pretty dang beautiful! It's been around 65 degrees. So we've been out playing and what not and it's fantastic! Leilani's been learning to rollerblade. She's so hilarious; such a hoot to watch! Miss Mia is learning to ride her bike. She gets scared but she can ride really well as long as she just keeps peddling. As for Aidyn, she's getting so big and talking like a champ. We sing songs and run around like crazy people and this is why I would rather hangout at home then go out with my friends. Ha ha...oh also! Rachel wrote Rosie an e-mail stating that they were going to come and visit! YEAH!!! I couldn't be more excited to see Ro, Rach, and the little girls!

Oh also Oliver's 2nd birthday was this week and I kept thinking oh I need to blog and put up some pictures of him...but I never had the time to do so. So I'm doing it now...HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLLIE FACE! We sure love you! Hope to see you all soon!

She finally came

2007-02-03T11:11:00.000-06:00

Well seeing that I'm still an on and off blogger, I still haven't written about when mom came to visit last week. I think that this is the first time that she's been to Texas since Aidyn was born. Having mom hear was a total blast and also a major distraction. Ha ha...I think I only studied one day that she was here and it was only because I had an anatomy and physiology II exam. Most of the fun occurred when I was at school or work, but we did go bowling before I had to go to work one day! It was so much fun! We bowled with bumpers because of the kids and quite frankly the adults needed them as well. Most of us bowled around the 100-120 area, not very good, and the kids had so much fun! I don't have very many pics from bowling, mostly mom and Rosie were going out of control with the pics, so I only one of Nani and Ai.

We Also got to go shopping while mom was here and buy her some new clothes! She went home with many cute things. :D Umm...while I wasn't there the fam bam and mom went to Papasitos, music lessons, the dental office, and other places. But I don't really have all the details on that. The day before mom left we went to go and eat Lunch with Nani at school. It was nice to have the girls all together. :D COME BACK SOON MAMA! We Love you!

sorry to keep y'all waiting....

2007-02-03T00:17:00.000-06:00

Okay, so a while ago I promised y'all the bathtub story. So here it goes...

I was in the bathroom helping with the kiddos and little Miss Leilani Lawton (she's seven and so mischevious) wants her Daddy (Mark) to throw me into the bathtub. (What?!?! When did helping out turn into punishment? ) So Leilani is egging Mark on and so, like always, I give Mark a hard time about it. Taunting him supposedly. So I'm sayin things like "There's no way you can throw me in the tub, I work at Sam's Club." Just joking around. Mark took the taunting as a challenge and began to take me out and into the bathtub. At first he tried to contain me in the master bathroom, so I began to run. He stops me not far from there so I'm running around the room like crazy person, not wanting to be thrown into the bathtub. From what I can recall, i tried to use the bed as a barrier, then jumped on the bed, Mark grabbed my foot and i'm hanging onto the bed for dear life, then I think he picked me up but I was squirming too much for him and fell back onto the bed. I got somewhat free and ran a little further to get caught again. I tried getting my wrist free but it wasn't working very well. By this time i'm in the doorway to the master bathroom and I'm grabbing onto walls and door frames to keep from entering. Mark was flustered by this time. So I somewhat get away and he grabs my arm with the watch which gets stuck to his ring and I'm doomed. Next thing i know I'm in the bathtub with the Lawton girls. All four of them. As you can see in the picture below Leilani (on the far right) is incredibly excited by the fact that I am now in the tub with them. Aidyn (left of Leilani) was pretty distraught and scared about the whole situation because well, I'm her favorite auntie and doesn't like it when people are attempting to "hurt" me. As always Mia is just chillin. Ha ha...I love how relaxed she is. So pretty much--Mark is a punk, Leilani is the deceptive sweetheart, and fortunately Aidyn still loves me. All is well is Texas. :D

The Joy of Car Washes

2007-02-02T23:35:00.000-06:00

Hmm...

Well I don't know why I enjoy car washes so much, but I do. I remember when I lived in Utah I would take my car to Super Sonic Car Wash probably once a week and get Eddie (that's my car) all cleaned up. Ha ha...I love the big brushes and the soap/wax that gets squirted on the car with all the array of colors. Most of all I love the shiny-ness of the vehicle post car wash. :D Since many of you never see pictures of me anymore, just rosie's family, here is me at the carwash. The first one is a "Too bad Nani-Buns isn't here in the car with me to taking funny pictures" and the second is a cheeser...'cause that's what I do best.

A Little Something

2007-01-22T22:09:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to let you all know that today I got thrown in the tub...with ALL my clothes on...I still have more studying to do so i'll tell you the rest later...

First Day Back

2007-01-16T13:30:00.000-06:00

Well so the blogging at school thing has once again begun. Ha ha...right now I am at the Willow Chase center (extension of campus) sitting in this new building not exactly sure where my Anatomy and Physiology II class is and hoping that my teacher isn't a complete id 10 t. I will let you all know how that goes. I also skipped work this morning with a CIP (Call in Personal) to come to school. So Mom and Dad, if I get fired, you can't get mad at me because school is my priority and it was for a good cause. :D My first two classes this morning were pretty good. My sociology teacher seems pretty cool and insightful and is very interesting to listen to so I'm pretty stoked for that class. My new english teacher seems to be pretty challenging, which is something I need 'cause my teacher from last semester made me lose brain cells just by attending his class.

There is also this kid that keeps sitting closer and closer to me that has a remones patch on his shorts and it's starting to make me feel uncomfortable.

Anywho...this past weekend we had some visitors! The Cook Family came and visited from San Antonio because there was a huge fire and they needed to evacuate the people in the area. A little scary if you ask me. Well their kids are really cute. Here are some pictures of the kids playing and what not. So cute!

All of the kids Top: Mia, Brinley, Aidyn, Leilani Bottom: Isaac holding baby Hayden, Jaron.

Cute Isaac

The kids playing Old maid

Jaron and Aidyn showing their bellies. Aidyn's a big girl if y'all couldn't tell. They are the same age by the way.

Aidyn being so sweet with baby Hayden.

Returning to the Crazy Life...

2007-01-15T23:06:00.000-06:00

School starts up again tomorrow. So I guess I might blog lots and I might not blog lots depending on how my work load at school is as well as with work and primary. Just giving you all a heads up. I also wanted to let you all know that it is currently 30 degrees (Fahrenheit) and many of the schools are closing due to inclement weather. Ha ha...Texas is so funny.

The Weird

2007-01-14T20:04:00.000-06:00

The Rules: Each player of this game starts with the six (6) weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog post of their own six (6) weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose six (6) people to be tagged and list their names.

1. I've always wanted to steal a cow-crossing sign (or any abnormal sign for that matter) but know that after I took it I would feel guilty and go put it back.

2. I can "weave" my toes like a champ.

3. Word games are my favorite! (scrabble, boggle, text twist, etc.) and it flusters me when I have to play with incompetent people who don't challenge me.

4. Cutting things with a dull knife when I am cooking drives me crazy.

5. I thoroughly enjoy plastic cups. They're pretty and hard to break. Who wouldn't love them?

6. I like buying cute shoes but I hate wearing them. I'm a flip flop kind of gal.

Umm...seeing that I don't really know that many people that have blogs...I guess Amanda Pane'e, Cousin Justin, Leo Ing, and three other people who have blogs who I will meet one day. Ha ha...blog the weirdness my friends!

Exceptional Experiences of 2006

2007-01-11T22:35:00.000-06:00

Reminiscing about the past year, i figured that I should highlight the many fond memories that I have had within 2006. Some of them are quite random, so please bare with me. It probably won't be all nice and neat and in chronological order but I'll do my best. Better yet...I think I'll do like a top ten or something...so here goes...

Number Ten...

In March I bought myself a guitar for my birthday. Ha ha...yep...I love it! and I went to San Diego with my good friend Jane for our birthdays. Number Nine...

Dressing Up as Pirates with my roomies from the Glenwood! Yes we went to Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (or maybe it's 3, I really don't remember). It was the midnight showing or a late night showing or something and my favorite roommate Christina (on the very right) and I fell asleep during the movie. Ha ha...do you see why I cannot recollect which Pirates it was that we went and saw...hmm...we LOVE naps!

Number Eight...

Sometime during the summer I beat Gunns (better known as Evan Gunnell, one of my best friends) who is on the Pinja Turtles bowling league team at bowling. Ha ha...neither of us bowled very well, but I beat him nonetheless. Yeah! Yeah!

Number Seven...

The hot bag-pipers at the Buddy Walk. Not only do I enjoy watching their faces turn bright red and them sweating like maniacs as they march around, but they had these cute socks and shoes that I wanted. Very Scotland meets private school girl. Ha ha...oh and by hot bag-pipers I mean warm, not good looking. Sorry to disappoint.

Number Six...

Step Up! The enjoyment of the Step Up movie and the dance moves and parties that followed. I think Nani-buns and I saw it two or three times before I moved to Texas. I think we even had a dance party in the canyon. Ha ha! Those are the best! Here is a picture of the Buns and I showin off our "what?" move. You're jealous...I know. Ha ha!

Number Five...

Just hangin with the cousins! This past year with Dustin going on his mission, Kai moving to Hawaii to play soccer, and myself pickin up and moving to Texas, the cousins spent a lot of time playing and having fhe's and what not. I believe this particular night we were up in the Canyon and we saw an SUV drive off the road into a ditch, head on. I think the driver was a high-school aged child, most likely drunk, and driving his friend's car. The fam bam was playing kickball and most of us were laughing when the incident occurred. Family gatherings are NEVER dull! No sir they surely are not. and yes we are gathered around an urinal. mmhmm....

Number Four...

I moved to Texas and I started college. In doing so, I've made some fantastic friends. One in particular who I thoroughly enjoy is named Mercedes Pollanco. As you can see in the picture below she fits in just great! (Ha ha...and when did reindeer become white and sparkly? If any of you can answer this question, that would be fantastic!)

Number Three...

Brother Isa came home from the mish! Woo-hoo! I will admit he was a little awkward when he got home, but he's definitely readjusted and back to "normal" or something. Ha ha...I'm just glad that my big brudda is home and doing well. :D

Number Two and Three Quarters...

Concerts! I definitely went to tons and tons of concerts this past year. Anberlin, The Classic Crime, Allister, Waking Ashland, Allred, The Vans Warped Tour, Relient K, Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, Houston Calls, A Day at the Fair, Amber Pacific, The Rocket Summer, and the most recent was in Las Vegas where I saw Relient K for the second time this year with Hawthorne Heights, Emery, and some other band that kinda stunk.

Number Two...and a half...

The Selena Party. For all of those who attended...thank you for the memories. Ha ha!

Number Two...

Being home for the Holidays!

Number One...

Miracle baby Sophia being born. I just love her.

Well most of these aren't put in very good order of ranking, but you get the drift. I had a fantastic year and I'm just glad I'm so blessed with wonderful family and friends that take such good care of me and for helping make life more fun! I don't know what I would do without y'all. Hope you're new year is going well! Much love!

Sophie-Buns...

2007-01-05T00:34:00.000-06:00

I know it's been forever and since it was Dad's birthday and I blogged, I feel like I need to blog some more. So I am. :) A while back I promised some picture of Sophia as soon as I had some. Well I definitely have some now! and oh boy is she so dang cute! Here is sweet little Sophie...

I definitely think that Miss Sophie loves me the most out of the Aunties (sorry Rosie and Nell) but she definitely smiles the most with me. Ha ha...I think it's because one night when all of the boys were playing risk until four or five in the morning, I slept with Sophs in my arms. It was some serious bonding time. Plus Sophia gives me mega brain power. Eh he he...one day when I was holding her I played this game called Big Brain Academy or something (fanstastic game by the way; very addicting) and my score went from an 1187 to 1334. The point of that story is that Sophs and I love each other and enjoy helping one another out. Ha ha...so cute!

Papasan!!

2007-01-05T00:04:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Papa!

Well today is my father Kuniyuki's birthday! He is now 56 years old! Who would have thought? He still looking pretty young even with his gray hair. He he he...he's the greatest though! Reasons I like the Papasan...he's been pretty "trendy" since I could remember with his big sunglasses and his popped up collar. He used to have a perm and and a mustache. He also used to drop me off and take me to school EVERY DAY! Papa always makes the best sashimi and sushi happiness...mmmmm...he also used to make this special concoctions for dinner that most of the time looked rather scary but usually tasted fairly good. He's always supported us in our athletics and what not and is a fantastic father and grandpa! He's a talented artist and karaoke singer. Papa also is the most servicable person. He's always on the go helping others and making time to help people out. So, Happy Birthday Papa! Thanks for all you do and for being a wonderful dad! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Two Days and counting...

2006-12-21T19:44:00.000-06:00

Well folks, it looks as though the Lawton gang and I will be in Utah in less than two days. We'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon and will hopefully be arriving sometime later in the day on Saturday! Hooray! I'm way stoked to be coming home! Hopefully there is lots of snow to play in. Ha ha...today to prep myself to come home, I went and stood in the meat department to adjust my body temperature. It was quite the chilling experience. Eh he he...okay, maybe to "prepare" myself, but they needed help back there at work to make party trays, so I was in the freezing cold! Ha ha...well we hope that you are all doing well and being safe and that ypu will be home for Christmas! Much Love, Sachiyo.

Leilani's Par-tay

2006-12-16T04:06:00.000-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEILANI!

Well since I said that I would be better at blogging, here is the beginning of hopefully the many blogs that I have in my brain. Leilani turned seven last Saturday! She had a dinosaur party and according to Rosie they had a "roarin' good time!" Ha ha. Here are some pictures from this fantastic event. While at the party they decorated their treat bags, played dinosaur bingo, balloon stomp, and had a tricerotop (how do you spell that?) pinata with lots of treats and opened presents and ate cake...mmmmm...the kids had tons of fun! We wish you all could have been here to celebrate Leiliani's seventh birthday with us!

But on a happier note, reasons I like Leilani: She's the smartest, talented little girl that I know. She reads like a champ. She likes dinosaurs and human anatomy and always asks intellectual questions that I would never anticipate from a seven year old. She's kind and honest and so much fun to be with. Nan's got great "picture" faces and just makes me smile everyday. She's almost a grown up in a little kids body. Ha ha...

Home Free!

2006-12-13T23:52:00.000-06:00

Well folks, it looks like I will start being a better blogger again for the next month or so because well...I'M DONE WITH FINALS! Ha ha...i feel so happy inside. I think that my finals went well so i'm pretty much at ease from here on out until I head up to Utah for Christmas! I'm soooo excited to see the family and my new little niece! But I'll definitely do some blogging this week and update y'all on everything that has been going on here. Hope you're all doing well!

A New Arrival!

2006-12-02T22:59:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to let you all know that Hiro and Rachel had their baby yesterday! Congrats to them! They have a little girl and her name is Sophia Angel Miyuki Takahashi. I'm not sure about the spelling, but that's what my mom told me they named her. Ha ha...she was 6 lbs 10 oz and 20 1/2 inches. The baby and Rachel are doing well and are still at the hospital! As soon as someone sends me pictures or I take some of her myself when I am home, I'll post some up here. I'm so excited for the new baby!!!

Enjoying the Fall Weather

2006-11-29T13:12:00.000-06:00

It seems as though i spend the majority of my blogging time while I'm at school. Ha ha...I don't have any homework to do right now and my next class doesn't start for another hour or so. So I am just chillin in the Rodeo enjoying the beautiful fall weather in Texas and listening to some tunes. A little late for fall? I think not. The fall is definitely one of my favorite seasons. I'll take it any time of the year! Ha ha...well I just ate some sashimi and california rolls with masago and it definitely made my day! I've been wanting to eat sushi for so long. Mmmmm...

Anyhow, it seems as though our friend the skunk is gone. I came home from work yesterday and Mark had searched high and low for it and it seems to have departed from the garage. Which is definitely a good thing so I can park in the garage again and don't have to sneak into the back of the cars (ninja style) to get them out of the garage. Definitely a plus!

Well the house is slowly but surely becoming decorated with holiday happiness! The Lawton girls got their own mini trees to put in their rooms and then there is a tree by the entrance of the home that Rosie has been decorating. I however, have not been home to participate in the decorating festivities, but here are some pictures of the rest of the fam bam doing so.

Above: Miss Mia decorating hers and Ai's Fruit tree; Below: Leilani working on her red and gold star/ball tree. So Focused...Above: This is professional Rock Climber Rosie Lawton being dangerous, but I guess I can't say much 'cause I did the same thing to put the top of the tree up, however I am no professional like my big sista...; Below: Aidyn and Mia with thier fully decorated fruit tree!

Skunked

2006-11-28T19:24:00.000-06:00

So last night there was a skunk in the garage; I've never seen Mark run so fast in my life.