He is FINALLY Home!!!!

After 2 long years of writing every single week, sending packages for every single holiday, and counting down the days until he got home Brayden is finally home from his mission! It was such a fun day getting to see him for the first time! As I was sitting at his house waiting for him to walk through the doors I dont think I have ever been so nervous in my life or been shaking so bad! When I first saw him there were so many thoughts going through my mind! "Oh my gosh he is so tall now" "His hair is straight" "He seems so grown up"! When we were giving each other our first hug I didnt want to let go! It was so surreal to think that I was actually hugging him and seeing him! All night we just sat and talked with all his friends and family and caught him up on everything! After everyone left I stayed for a bit and we went and sat on the porch swing and just talked and caught up. When he was walking me out to my car I said that I was having deja vu because the last time he walked me out to my car was when we were saying goodbye for 2 years and then Brayd said "ya but now we are only saying goodbye until the morning" and thats when it really hit me that HE WAS HOME! The next day I left school early and went up to his house and just sat and talked and he told me mission stories, showed me pictures from his mission, and we read parts of his journal. We watched a little football and then his brother and sister in law came over with another couple and we watched Braydens first movie since being home...and i think we would all agree it probably wasnt the best movie to watch for the first one! It was a SCARRRRYYY movie called The Orphan, oh and did I mention that it was in spanish so I had to read the english subtitles the whole time! It was so funny though because at a scary part me and Brayd were covering our eyes with the blanket and when it happened we both jumped and went to turn into each other and smacked heads together! It hurt but it gave everyone a good laugh! Then last night Brayden got to come over and see my family and have dinner with us. It was so good to just sit and catch up and talk about old memories. He has only been home for 3 days now but it has been so much fun and cant wait for whats come! Welcome home Brayd :) xoxoxo

The Girls of Acaydia School of Aesthetics

I have made some really good friends through my school. When we first started school it was all laughs and giggles and everyone getting a long and having so much fun together. But after almost three months of being together every single day all day long there has been some...well...drama. And its no fun. We all try and pretend like we dont hear the things that are being said or just push them aside but I feel like this past week everything that has been building up is coming out. I dont know the full story behind everything that is going on but I do know that there have been some hurt feelings. I want to say sorry now for anything that I may have done to cause any of these feelings. I dont like knowing that people I care about are hurting whether it be because of me or someone else. I just want all of you girls to know that I love you dearly and really do cherish every single one of your friendships. I love each of you for a different reason. Tash, you are such an awesome girl. You can lighten the mood and make everyone laugh. Nat, I love how you are so hilarious! You crack me up! All of the random things that you say....and your laugh...it makes my day. Ali, I dont know where to begin. We have had many long deep talks and i feel so close to you. I feel like I could talk to you about anything and know you will listen and not judge. Lea, im grateful for our talks that we have been able to have together and i know i always make fun of the way you say "bag" but its because it is so cute and its what makes you, you. Sydney, the other yellow :) Girl i love you. I am so glad that we have become so close. Thanks for always having my back and standing up for me whether it be to boys or girls ( i think you know who im talking about haha). Thanks for listening to me anytime im upset about something and for your advice. I truely appreciate it. So girls, thats it....I love you and I want us to go back to the good old times when we all enjoyed being in the same room and could give eachother crap and just laugh it off. LOVE YOU ALL NO MATTER WHAT! xoxo!

BYU Cougars Football

Its the football season and I could not be more excited. For the first BYU game I went to a tailgate party with my friend Sarah and then met up with my family to watch the game. It was such a good game and so fun to spend time watching it and catching up with everyone! GO COUGARS!

Taylor Dickerson

This past August my beautiful cousin Taylor got married and it was so fun because as a bridesmaid I got to be there with her through it all. She looked absolutely gorgeous and so happy. My favorite part about weddings is watching the bride and groom walk out from the temple. You can just tell right then how much they love each other and how excited they are. Taylor and Skyler are so perfect for each other. They love each other so much. It has been so fun to watch them from the very first time they met to being there the night when he proposed and being able to watch him get down on one knee while hiding in a tree and taking pictures :) Congrats Tay and Sky! Love you so much and thanks for letting me be a part of your wedding!

Chelsi, Me, Jen

Tay and Skyler

Mr. and Mrs. Dickerson

Me and my baby cousin Reagan

Spider Bite???

Emergency Room. Those are two words that I would be happy to not have to associate myself with ever again. After I got home from my Grandparents in Boise I got really sick and had a really bad pain in my leg. I noticed what looked like a bite mark on my hip. Since I had been sick my instructors at school were worried that meant that I was bit by a poisonous spider and that it was in my bloodstream and making me sick so they made me leave school and go to a doctor to get it checked out. So anyone that knows my dad knows that he is bit of a worry wort. As soon as he found out what was going on he got on the phone and was calling every doctor, orthodontist(yes people, he called my uncle that is an orthodontist for "medical" help), nurse, etc. Every person he talked to told him to take me to the ER. So that's where we went. And we went there the night after that. And the night after that. And the night after that. In one week I had been to the ER four nights in a row. I'm pretty sure they knew me by name by our last visit. They were going back and forth on whether it was a spider bite or shingles. They gave me a ton of medication that would treat both of those so for a week straight I was not allowed to drive. By the fourth visit to the ER I decided to try and make the best out of the situation and take some pictures with Chelsi. I was on pain medication so apparently I was laughing really loud and really hard and embarrassing my dad. He was telling me to act normal and to stop embarrassing him. He couldnt help but laugh by the end of the night. It only took 1 trip to the doctor, 4 trips to the Emergency Room, and about 7 prescribed medications daily to finally start feeling better but the funny things that people are telling me I did while being on the medicine was all worth the pain!

Me and Chelsi

Me and my Dad. So excited to be "bonding" :)

Girls Road Trip

This summer Chelsi, Jentry, Britt, and I went to Boise, Idaho for Taylors bachelorette party! It was so much fun to just get away with just the girls! Taylors bachelorette party turned out so cute and we all had a lot of fun learning new things ;) and playing games, hot tubbing, and staying the night in our suite! We went swimming with the little ones, and out to dinner with our grandparents which was an experience I think none of us will forget. We ended our trip with a drive to downtown Boise to go to a fair with our grandparents. It was so much fun to just get them to ourselves and spend time with them! Thanks for letting us stay with you and for all the fun memories Grandma and Grandpa Wake! Love you!

I always love it when my best friend Stacey comes to visit. She just makes everything soo much better! It was so fun having her here for so long and over the 24th of July so that we could celebrate together. We had very long much needed talks, one which took place of us sitting on the sidewalk in front of the Provo temple until 3 am. We talked about our futures, talked about all of our old memories, and then of course had our gossip session for just a little bit :) We played some fun games in the park, of which we lost because she is blind as a bat but thats ok i still love you stace! We also found our new favorite drink that we are going to get every time she is in town.....Mountain Dew Baja Blast! So yummy! We got a little obsessed with that drink! We didnt take nearly as many pictures as we should have...Stace next time you are in Utah we need to be better at that!!! Love you and miss you so much Stacey Clark!

Me and Ngoyi

Me and Eric

Stacey, Eric, and Ngoyi lighting the sparklers for the 24th of July

Miss you SOOO much Stace!!!!

Come Back Soon! Utah needs some Stacey!

Hiking The Y

Me and Chelsi

Me and Jen

View from the Top of the Y

All the Girls

This past summer me and my cousins Chelsi and Jentry decided to start a tradition where every Thursday at 10:00 we were going to hike the Y. They had hiked it before but it was going to be a first for me and let me tell you, I had no idea what to expect. I had my shorts, sweatshirt, and sneakers on thinking thats all I needed. We started hiking and after the first turn/hill everyone starts pulling out their water bottles. Nobody informed me of bringing a water bottle! A few turns later they pulled out some snacks. Lets just say, I came unprepared. It was a hard hike the first time but the view at the top was worth all of the leg and side cramps. We only lasted with this tradition for a few weeks, but hey, thats better then nothin right??? :)

xoxo J

Newport Beach, California June 2010

My family took our trip to Newport Beach that we take every single year. We spend the days at the beach, Disneyland, the swap meet, shopping, and Balboa Island. Its something that I look forward to every year. It was so much to be at Disneyland with all the little kids and take them on all the rides. Here are a few pictures of our trip..