Aruba

This is post is LONG over due... but better late than never! :) For my graduation trip myself and two of my favorite people decided to take a trip to the Caribbean. We didn't know where we could get to... but we decided on Aruba (we were very careful considering the reason Aruba has been ALL over the news). I love going on trips with these two because they are always so relaxed and chill. After all, after working your ACE off for 4 years, who wants to go on a stressful vacation, not I. So, we got on the plane to JFK, then to Aruba and arrived there on Saturday afternoon. We spent 3 nights and 2 1/2 full days. It was amazing. We laid on the beach, played at the pool (this is what we did most of the time because of the wind... VERY windy. When we were on the beach you felt as if you were being pelleted all over your body with the little grains of sand, so the pool was our choice for relief from the bloody hotness) and walked around downtown. I feel like I should have all these funny stories to tell, but in reality it was just a nice, relaxing vacation. We had A LOT of fun and saw an amazing beach, I didn't get badly sunburned and it turned out to be one of my favorite vacations, because that is what is was, a vacation. Anyway, I am posting some pictures of how amazing it was. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the experience.

These pictures are COMPLETELY out of order, but no matter. Pringooools were out favorite treat there... and this is Anna and I at the Aruba airport waiting to arrive in Atlanta. We ended up getting stuck in Atlanta for the night, but we made a new friend and they let us stay at their house for the night. It was fun... and I can officially say that I have been to Atlanta... well Fayette ville. Which is where part of Sweet Home ALABAMA was filmed... good thing Alabama and Georgia are so close together...


This is my coveted sunglasses picture of the beach in Aruba... Blue Skies and White beach... amazing. The look on Anna's face in this other picture is the PERFECT look to describe how my fun we had... I mean how can you not laugh at her face.

This was us waiting for a ride to the Casino. I wone 10 dollars on a nickle machine. (this is BIG news... because i NEVER win when I gamble... but we had SOOO much fun). As you can see, I didn't get sunburned, but whitie McWhite Anna did. :)

This is downtown Aruba... It was so cute and RIGHT on the water. I love beach towns, they are so relaxed and calm. No one is in a hurry. And this is one of the THOUSANDS of iguanas that we saw... They were everywhere. They would just walk right up to you and act like you were not scary... but Lynnsi was pretty scared... she ran away from these gentile little guys every time she saw one.

This is the beach that was right across the street from our hotel. We got a KILLER deal on the hotel and the beach was so close and amazing. We had a BLAST. The beach was relatively empty the whole time we were there... especially on Sunday. It seemed that the Island was deserted during the day on Sunday. We decided it was because of Mother's day. I think we have made it a tradition to be AWAY from our mothers on mothers day... oops. Love ya mom.

These two are of Anna and I on our first day. The beach was fun and Anna was still happy... Before the burn. haha

Here is another of the beach and then the view from our suite. It was such a nice hotel and we had a balcony. We played cards on the balcony one night... it was fun. You know you have good friends when you go on a trip together and still want to hang out with each other when you get home. I recommend Aruba to anyone looking for a fun relaxing place to go. But be aware... you may be the only people under the age of 50. :)

GRADUATED!!!!!

I started this blog around the time I started going to the University of Utah. (that was 2 years ago) And now I Finally GRADUATED!!!! I am so happy that so many people and family came out to celebrate this amazing day with me. It was so much fun and I got to graduate with all of the friends that I made at the U. I am so glad I decided to go to this school and get the exact education I wanted. Now, it is time to prepare for my Master's. I am SOOO excited!

Chelsea and I at Stoneground (one of my fave restaurants) and me with the AMAZING mug my wonderful aunt sandy got me.

Part of our party.

My Family

The best and most frustrating gift ever from my cousin Annie (she is so creative) and me before I left to graduate.

With one of my favorite people, Aspen. After we graduated. And then us talking to one of our favorite professors, Professor Hutton.

I have no idea who this is... but I GRADUATED!!!!!

What's New?

Not a lot is new, but there is a little.

Usually at the beginning of every semester I list my classes, this semester I didn't. So here is the list.

Evolutionary Trees, Philosophy and Practical. This class is basically a Philosophy of Science course. It isn't my favorite topic, and I am pretty sure my professor has figured that out by now, but I am there to learn, so I am trying to find bits and pieces that interest me. :)

Native American Religion. This class is fun and my professor is funny. It is on Monday nights which is usually a very very busy day for me. I fight falling asleep in almost every class, but it is interesting still.

Ethnicity and Nationalism. This class is my favorite. It is exactly what I want to keep learning. It is basically the idea that Ethnicity and Nationalism are not the same thing, but we discuss how Ethnic and National identities and groups come to be. What can be the reason behind the formation of such groups and how there is an underlying reliance on an "Us vs Them" mentality. We have looked at everything from Mexican tribal communities to Genocides. There is a lot in this topic and it really fascinates me.

Family and Consumer Sciences. Although this class is just purely for the my bachelors of science requirements, it isn't too bad. It is actually the refresher of all my classes, simple and straight forward.

And last but not least, Death, Rituals and mummification. This class is interesting, but not my favorite. I was hoping that is would be more about the Death and Rituals part, I quickly found out that it is more about the mummification part. Which, is ok, but a little mundane to me. And I every more quickly found out that this class is HARD! Hopefully it will get better.

So that is my LAST and final semester before my Bachelor's Degree. I have been looking all over the country and out of the country for Graduate school programs and I have found a couple that have sparked my interest. But I will probably spend sometime traveling and working before I head to grad school, I might as well while my current job allows for such cheap and amazing trips.

Besides school, I have just been trying to enjoy life and my friends. Since I went back to college in 2007, I have put my social life on the back burner, but this semester I decided that you are only young once and you might as well enjoy your friends while you have them. So this is what I have been doing. And enjoying them has led to many sleep overs, trips to Mexico and fun times with my sister. The only problem is, is that I feel like I am never home. So today, has been a little of a refresher for me. I am home and enjoying my sanity, a long with a long list of things to do around this place and an even longer list of homework assignments. But it is going well. :) Here are some pics of the fun times I have had since new years!

Happy New Year!

So, this is what I did on New Years! It was a Blast! I had sooo much fun!!! My friends are amazing and they make life enjoyable! The pictures are COMPLETELY out of order... buuuttt that is what happens. So there will be a backwards order of events here... I hope it makes sense. First of all, I spent New Years with Meredith, Chad, Lynnsi and two dogs... Kuma and Marley. I hope you enjoy the fun!

On Saturday Jan 2nd, the Victoria's Secret semi annual sale and my friends Angelic, Meredith and I went! It was a blast!! We just hung out, did girl stuff and talked. We are all tall... 5'10" to 5'11" and 3/4s :). The Second pic is Meredith and I... we were up until 6 am!!! Talking and laughing! it was great (the other two sleep heads were asleep on the couch!)

Myself and Kuma... and Lynnsi and Marley (these two are sleepy heads)

Having a Blast playing with the old school Nintendo!

Lynnsi and I

DUCK HUNT!! MY FAVORITE!

Chad playing the yukoleli (I am unsure about how to spell this crap!)

Chad and Meredith... and me!

This was beginning of the night.. it took 100 tries to get the girls pic and I HAD to highlight Lynnsi's STELLAR hula hooping skills

The end to a GREAT Christmas

This year was not a very eventful Christmas. My sister and I both worked until 4 pm on Christmas day. My mom decided she wanted to come see us for just the night, after we were both off work. So she flew in just in time for me to get off work. I gave her a ride home and we waited for Chels to come over so we could open our goodies. One thing that must be said about myself (and sometimes Chelsea) is that after I get off work I am typically really irritable. So, I took a shower (I worked outside, which makes me even more irritable) and took a little nap. My sister came over after her nap and we opened presents. I hope that my sister and my mom enjoyed the presents that I got them, they really mean the world to me. (my mom and sister, not the presents). Then we went to see Sherlock Holmes with my cousin Mikey. It was AWESOME! I loved it. And I would definitely see it again... so if anyone wants to go...

Saturday was pretty uneventful... I slept most of the day (catching up from a difficult semester, I got my grades by the way... 4 A-'s and a B+. I am pretty happy with them).

Sunday was probably my favorite. I ate lunch with my BEST friends from high school! I love that when we get together after not seeing each other for SO long, we can talk like we have been talking everyday since the 7th grade. I love these girls, and i hope that we can get together more often. (the pic below is of us... Brittany, Ashley, Courtney and Carissa). And later that day I went to lunch with my friend Aspen, we met at the U. She is one of my favorite people to have lunch with because we laugh for HOURS! It seems that we get each other (possibly because we have the same major) and the jokes that we make that no one else understands are hilarious to us! So, it is always a good time. Spending time with some of my favorite friends throughout the years is what made Sunday one of the best days of the year! It was SO much fun. I hope days like that are in abundance in my life. :) After lunch I watched Julie and Julia with my sista... it is a SUPER cute movie. I recommend it to EVERYONE!

Family Shindig #1

This is the Parker Family party that is held every year on the Saturday before Christmas. WE get together eat yummy food and exchange "white elephant" gifts. Not everyone likes to be in pictures, but the few people that smile are showcased in this little photo extravaganza! I will be posting some of the Hansen Family party that is held on Christmas eve later. I hope you enjoy my crazy and WONDERFUL family!

Sisters and cousins (Sheri)

Bridger won the coveted blanket! And Sheri got this soft cuddly blanket from the gift exchange game. (we are a little nuts, but we enjoy each others company)

Sisters and their hubbys (Jami, Mike and Tagen, Eric)

Sisters again... Kyle and his niece Lucy... Also in the pic is Kyle's wife Jessica and his daughter Abby.

Cousins (Chelsea, Jami, Sher and little Bridger). and Sher and I again...

These wonderful people are Jenny, Laura and her cute baby Lucy. And Chelsea and Tagen