Oregon Trails

I spent the weekend at the Oregon coast with one of my best friends Tyler and it has quickly become one of my new favorite places. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful and serene place to be...epsecially now that I have finals coming up. I hope to make it back to Oregon sooner than later.

November

A ton has happened this month. Here are some of the highlights.

Stephen came to visit for Halloween! We were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.

It was my friend Allie's birthday so we went and saw the midnight showing
of Twilight opening night...FRONT ROW!!!!

We had Thanksgiving at Shawnee's. There was a small 5k group but we all ran and had a great time. We look forward to having a few more participants next year and new family records.

Cocktail Anyone?

Last weekend we hosted a cocktail party at the house which was a major success. We had drinks, a dj and probably over 100 people in and out throughout the evening. Everyone came dressed to the nines and danced the night away.

Fruits and Veggies

I have started the process of volunteering at the hospital here in Provo and my first volunteer opportunity while I wait for all my paperwork to go through has been with a childhood obesity campaign in Utah's elementary schools. We give assemblies on how to eat healthy and exercise. Then, once a month we come and walk the mile with the kids during recess. Here I am playing a game with the kindergartners and 1st graders on which food is healthier. I cannot wait to actually start working in the hospital, but until then this is pretty fun too.

I am hoping that this will get me into the family calendar. If I can't get in for having accomplished something great, I may as well try to get in by making a fool of myself in a crazy fruit costume. I will go to any length to get into that calendar.

BYU v. ucla

I would hate to be any of the UCLA football players this week.

The Bruins really couldn't catch a break yesterday with a packed stadium of roaring BYU fans. It was an amazing game in which I cannot even describe in words...the score pretty much tells it all. At the half UCLA had -1 rushing yards and the Cougars were winning 42-0.

It was Katherine's first BYU game and I don't think she will forget it any time soon.

BYU

I moved into my new apartment this past week and so far have been very pleased with it. This year I am living with 3 girls I already knew...so no crazies. I have a big room and only have to share a bathroom with 1 other girl (that was a big selling point). It even has underground parking which is great for when it starts to snow every day. Because my apartment is fairly close to campus (about 5 blocks) I have been walking every day. I can see the pounds coming off already!

Last night a few of my friends and I went up the mountain and took pictures at sunset. The valley can be gorgeous at night. I think its because you can't tell how brown everything is.

My 10 Seconds of Fame

Katherine and I were on the Jumbo-Tron a few weeks ago at the Nationals game. I'm not going to lie it was pretty fun seeing myself on a t.v. that big. I seem to catch the eye of people working at baseball stadiums. I was fan of the game at the Frederick Keys game and I got on the big screen at the Nats game for wearing my Nats hat...well Stephens Nats hat, but it didn't matter. We were on the screen for a good 10 seconds! After I was on I got a few texts from friends that had seen me. Obviously this isn't a picture of Katherine and me but it gives you a good picture of how big this screen is. I especially liked seeing myself in HD...I looked pretty good.

8.8.08

There is nothing better than watching the Olympics. Ok being in the Olympics might take the cake but I gave up that hope years ago so I am resigned to watching from afar. This summer is especially exciting because I know...well am acquainted with a few of the athletes that will compete in the coming weeks. Here are a few to watch.

Kate Ziegler:

I cannot say that Kate is my favorite person in the whole entire world, but in the spirit of the Olympics will cheer for the hometown "hero" anyway. Our paths cross less and less these days but I wish her the best in Beijing. She will swim in both the 400m and 800m Free.

Sam Stitt:

Sam is still the goofy kid that I swam with on the Highlands Whomping Turtles for a season or two during his junior and senior year in high school. Sam will be competing the Men's Quadruple Sculls. Along with Sam, Giuseppe Lanzone will compete in the Men's Four. I do not know Giuseppe, but he is from Annandale, Va.




Stewart Glenister shouldn't make a big splash in the Men's 50 Free representing American Samoa, but I'll be on the lookout for him. He is currently serving our country as a cadet at
West Point. Go Army!

Serbian Summer

I have been learning a bit of Serbian this summer from my Serbian pals at the pool. Jelena and Srdjan have taught me many different phrases in Serbian but to my surprise, I don't have a lot of opportunities to show off my skills.

The Ending of an Era and the Turning of a Page

The Highlands Swim Team regular season is now officially over. I have mixed feelings about this because it was my first year back coaching since the summer of 2005...that seems like forever ago. I enjoy spending time with the kids and seeing them improve as the season goes on, but I can't wait for some free time to relax and work on the online class that I have been trying to finish. You can't really finish unless you start. Next week I am going to finish my book, get my nails done and hopefully not smell of chlorine and old towels. The season has been wonderful though. The Turtles swam fast and came out with a 4-1 season. Stephen's medley relay team broke the NVSL record and I now have a fan club comprised of girls ages 5-12. I could not have asked for a better summer and I will greatly miss my Turtles next year.

Another thing I am looking forward to is Katherine coming home from summer semester at BYU. Only 24 more days to go!

America's Favorite Passtime

vs.

I highly recommend going out to one of the local minor league baseball games. My cousins Tiffany, Emily and I saw the Frederick Keys play the Myrtle Beach Pelicans this weekend and it was very enjoyable and entertaining; I even won Fan of the Game!

Coaches Relay

Last week at the Division 3 Relay Carnival, they had all 6 teams field a coaches relay. I was drafted by our head coach (my older brother) as one of the 4 coaches to swim. It was a 100 medley relay so I only had to swim 1 lap of backstroke and I thank my intermediate swimming class at BYU for keeping me in such great shape. I did though have to squeeze myself into a rather small suit for the race. Although we were the only team not to have eligible NVSL swimmers on our relay, our team took first and I now proudly boast that Highlands Swim and Tennis Club has the best swim coaches both in and out of the water.

My New Blog

My cousin Erika has been trying to convince me to start a blog, and with swim team winding down I have decided to give in and start blogging.