Fun Week...

We had the opportunity to do some fun stuff this last week...

On Thursday we took my Mom up to Pasadena to see Kennedy and Sean's new house. It is pretty much the cutest house I have ever seen and I am SUPER jealous of her gourmet kitchen! (sorry, no pics) Then went for a yummy lunch in old town Pasadena.

Thursday evening, I went to a bridal shower for this fun girl. Jill Is marrying my good friend Sean in less than 2 weeks! Woohoo!
At work on Friday I got to dress like a pirate...
And Friday night we got hooked up with some SWEET Dodgers tickets. Now, If you know me at all, then you know that I am NOT a Dodger fan. That being said, I am still the LAST person to turn down good baseball tickets. So I was anything but devastated when the Dodgers got embarassed by the Astros, 8-1.
It was a fun double date with Christy and Larry
And we even saw this guy a few rows away.

On Saturday, Bryce helped with an eagle project and I played an intense soccer game. we were missing some of our All-Stars but still managed to win. I got a sweet souvineer when I was hurled into the wall and took the majority of the impact on my hip bone. I love soccer!!!
Later on we went to the Pioneer Day picnic and saw some of our favorite people.



And heard some beautiful music by Brigham and Mike.

Sunday was a day of rest.....as it sould be. But I have to give a shout out to my girl, Meagan for the reccomendation of these tasty little treats which were a HUGE hit with both Bryce's Sunday School class and my Young Women.

Recipie Here

Finally, Sunday evening we went, where we always go, to the Gardner's for Sean's B-day Dinner!

Love these guys! Can't wait for the wedding.

That's all Folks!
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Wait, that's not it...

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We have some big news....

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Bryce got a job!!! He's now working for Farmers Insurance in Seal Beach! We are both excited and relieved for this opportunity. And his schedule will still allow him to golf occasionally... :)

Credential

I am happy to report that yesterday, I got a letter in the mail saying I HAVE MY CALIFORNIA TEACHING CREDENTIAL! (It only took 5 months compared to Idaho, which took 5 days) I guess technically they still have to check my background before they give me the real thing, but I'm pretty sure they won't find anything incriminating (I think :). I am now credentialed in two states, however the state I am currently in is not hiring teachers! Boo. Oh well, I guess I just need to be gratefull for the job I DO have and hope things get better soon for the education community.

Youth Conference!

This past weekend, Bryce and I had the awesome experience of being chaperones for our stake's Youth Conference. We were organized into families and we were the Ma and Pa. Each family was assigned a prophet and we had Heber J Grant. I cannot even describe how great this weekend was. I think we may have had more fun than the kids :) First of all, we were in beautiful, sunny Santa Barbara, on the UCSB campus. Seriously, right on the water. Then, we had some GREAT speakers. Some were EFY speakers and other were from the stake, but the were all fabulous. We played lots of great games, did a service project (making blankets for a children's hospital), had a dance, and ate some bomb food in the dinning hall.

Throughout the entire weekend, I was constantly impressed by the amazing youth we have in our stake. I remember being in the youth program myself, and our leaders would tell us how great we were. I never really believed that, but now that I'm a leader, I know it's really true! These kids face so many trials and yet they are clinging to the gospel for strength and guidance. It's so wonderul to see.

The funny thing was that some of the older kids at the conference were there when I was in the program :) The kids in our family were rad and we were able to have some great disscussions durring the family devotional time. Bryce and I feel so blessed to be serving in the youth program of the church. We truly enjoy every minute of it.

Making Blankets

Our Family :)

All the youth

Dancing the night away

Katie, busting a move

Crazy obstacle course (looks kinda funny, huh?)

Our Fam won!

Grubbing

I had to give a shout out to this guy. Bishop Parry is one of the gratest guys I know. He has been extremely involved with the youth and was always at every activity when I was a youth and he's still at it! He was my first bishop and he's always helping in any way possible. He has the biggest heart and worked so hard to make our stake's Cambodian branch become a ward. But BEST of all, 10 years ago, He baptized me into the church. Whenever I see him (which is quite often) I am pleasantly reminded of the best decision I ever made and all the blessings I have recieved by being a member :)

Farewell to Ryan

Today, Ryan left for the MTC. He reports tomorrow. The house already feels weird without him. Ryan is such an amazing kid and he is going to make a great missionary. I'm really grateful for the time I have gotten to know him better. It has been an interesting experience from my end because I don't have any brothers and have never had a sibling leave on a mission. Seeing my brother-in-law get his call, prepare to go, give his farewell talk and then, last night, be set apart as missionary has been extraordinary. It is such a testiment to me of the truthfulness of the gospel. Young men and women all over the world put their lives on hold to share the Gospel with those looking for the truth. It's amazing and all I can say is that Santiago Chile is so lucky to be getting Elder Ricks for 2 whole years!!! We Love You, Ryan!!!


Here are some fun pics of Ryan

Our Wedding

Steph's Wedding

In Church

Snowmobiling in Idaho

Ryan's Court of Honor

Comming out of the Temple

The whole Fam Bam

Farewell Open House

6ft burrito...delish

I'll add this last funny story: I said goodbye to Ryan this morning before I went to work. I gave him a hug and told him to have fun. He told me to have a baby. I told him to start using those missionary prayers....hahaha

Too much fun...

On Friday night, these girls

and these boys

went here....

We were OVERJOYED to discover that there is a survivng Super Saver Cinema! Bryce and I both have fond memories of the one that used to be in Seal Beach where Kohls is now. The movie was only $2.75 and yes, the theatre is a little ghetto, but I think that's all part of the fun :) We had a great time seeing this movie....

....and commenting on the oscar worthy performanes :)

After we took that first picture, it reminded me of another picture taken a while ago...


May 2007

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Then, last night this group...

went roller skating!

Mom's B-day, Mother's Day, and Make-up

My mom's Birthday is always in the same week as mother's day. This year she turned the big 65 (I can safely say that because I know she doesn't read this :) so we took advantage of the free admission offer from Disney and took her to Disneyland for a Birthday/Mother's Day extravaganza. We knew that she wasn't going to want to go on a ton of rides, but we still had fun roaming the park and reminising. My sis Kennedy and her BF Sean came too so we had a lot of fun.

The B-day Girl with her B-day button Sean and Ken
Us :)
The castle!

Bryce Trying to get the sword out of the stone...
...Then Kennedy had a turn
The Kids

Mama and the boys

On Sunday we had a mellow Mother's Day with the Ricks fam and made dinner for Christy. Bryce and I are so blessed to have such AWESOME moms. You guys rock! On another note, Christy and Larry have recently discovered FaceBook. Here is a video of their little adventure

Also, last Thursday I went to an awesome Arbonne Party with some of my favorite girls! We had a lot of fun getting all girly and perfecting the "smokey eye." I had to post this pic of Pam, she had a little trouble filling in her eybrows. The best part is that she turned to us with this face and said "Did I do it right?" Love that girl.