My Roo

I know that anyone who is crazy enough to read this blog is getting sick of me saying it, but I believe myself to be the most blessed one! One of the most incredible people I have ever met comes home from full time service in a week and I am caught reminiscing how amazing she is! For those of you who are fortunate enough to know this elite person you know exactly what I am talking about. I have had the privilege of knowing and learning from Roo for the past 12 years and I am so grateful for what she has taught me

She has an incredible zeal for life that is contagious! Even when she is having a hard time she never looses her positive outlook and still inspires those around her to find the beauty and joy that is constantly around them. She honestly brightens up every environment or situation she is placed in. Along with this, she has a gift to make everyone she is around feel accepted and loved. I have sat back and observed her many times change someone who is apparently shy and self confidence into someone who is bursting with the knowledge that they are accepted and appreciated within minutes. I have had the pleasure of benefiting from this gift many many times in my life and believe that i am in part the person i am today because I had people like Roo supporting and encouraging me.

Roo also is the definition of "pliable in His hands" I have been amazed by the way she has allowed The Lord to mold and direct her. As sad as I was when she told me she was going on a mission I knew that she had received the revelation necessary and that she had people to influence and things to learn in Missouri. This great faith has been something that Roo has lived the entire time I have known her (and I believe her entire life.) I have learned so much from her stalwart example of faith and diligence.

She lives and loves the way The Savior intended and I hope to continue to learn and grow from the fantastic example that this angel has set in my life. I love my Roo. I believe that The Lord has blessed me to be in the presence of some of his most elite spirits. Many I have known for years, like Roo, and they have inspired me and influeced me to become who I am today. Others are recent additions to my world and have also taught me so much that I could not have discovered on my own. I am so grateful for the strength I gain from them and the love I feel for them. Thank You all!

Fall Break and Halloween!

Do you ever feel like even though there is nothing really going on, you are super busy? welp, that has been life lately. I am convinced that the school districts invented fall break so teachers don't go crazy! Our fall break we pretty planned out, and a blast! Thursday we went to Midway with Brandon's family. I ted at football (ha ha), we visited the crater and ate the best hot dog I have ever had in my life! It was a lot of fun just to play with Brandon's family.

Holidays are so much more fun with family. This year we played with my family the week before Halloween and spent the day with Brandon's family. My family puts on a annual party complete with all the traditional games. I think the best part was watching Brandon's competitive side come out and almost take down my uncle or get clobbered by a powdered doughnut. With Brandon's family we carved pumpkins and played some really fun games. Again, Brandon's competitive side is a blast to observe. He ted at musical pumpkins, creamed everyone at the toilet paper mummy game and randomly wrestled with this brother (pretty intense.) I love just hanging out and laughing with Brandon's family and my own. We are super blessed.
P.S. I haven't figured out how to cutely post pictures with captions and all that. In the pictures to the right grandma is showing off her "stroke pumpkin" and Brandon is just starting his masterpiece with sarah (Who calls herself the runner-up friend) in the background. To the left Grandpa is adding an extra challenge to Brandon's doughnut capture and we are showing off our Siamese twins, attached at the hip, tumor costume. oh, and the very top picture is of us in the crater.
Another amazing part about this holiday weekend was getting together with some of my favorite people. Thanks to Kaylee all the s got together for breakfast on Halloween. It was a fun to get together and quickly catch up. I love those s!

"Spending time alone with The Lord"

So conference was AMAZING! One of the apostles who spoke suggested we "spend some time alone with The Lord" because of this I decided to take a trip up to "my enchanted place" (please read the book Stargirl. It is by favorite!) My waterfall has become my own personal sacred place. My waterfall (yes, I call it mine even though I know it is just as special to many other people.) holds a lot of memories with some of my favorite people. It has been amazing to build friendships, laugh, cry, heal and vent on top of the falls . I am so grateful for the amazing people I have been blessed to encounter in my life and whenever I hike to my waterfall I reminisce about the amazing experiences that I have had with these people there. Though, most importantly are the incredible moments I have had with My Savior while meditating on top of the falls. I have been so amazingly blessed to have a place I can go to just be with him. This last time I went I was blessed with a special treat, a light rain... beautiful!










Of course another place that triumphs over my waterfall is the temple which I was also able to visit this week. I love the temple! This time I was inspired by the cutest temple worker. Another temple worker told me he was 80 yrs old and had been working in the font for the last two hours. Though it was apparent that he was starting to get sore he was still incredibly sparkly and loving every minute of his work. To me this was a small example of enduring to the end and finding joy in every minute. He will never know how he touched me, but he did. A-mazing!

In other less important news April finally fulfilled a goal she had planned to accomplish when she turned 18. I won something on the radio! Now those of you who know me know that I am not really a grown-up i just pretend sometimes, so this goal totally fits me! When I turned 18 I told myself that now i fit the "must be 18 years or older" description so I just had to utilize my new found power! I tried really hard to win something that year and have tried on and off ever since. Today my dreams came true! I called and....WON! I am now the proud winner of Lady Antebellum tickets! Who knows if we will go seeing how it is on a weekday and will require who knows how much walking, but Brandon is insisting that we will. He won a thermos last week which he decided that we will be taking to the concert to show off our wins! We must be the luckiest couple alive!

It's myyyyy car, and IIIII like it!

To all you readers out there I am no longer a bus riding invalid! This weekend through the help of my favorite mechanics (Padre and Brandon), my support team (mom and bekah) and my amazing grandma who takes great care of me, I purchased the sweetest grandma car you have ever met! As my grandma keeps telling me "She only drove it to Elwood, Kents and to mass every week." That explains why it is a 15 year old car with only 65000 miles on it (I know, I am pretty excited.) The only thing not stereotypical is the color. My Grandpa put it well when he said "Don't try robbing a bank with that car, they will catch you for sure!" I like the hippy-ish color and Brandon says it fits me so.... IIIII like it! The amazing lady that I bought it from is a long time family friend who totally rocked the intense color, so I plan to do that same! The pictures don't to the intensity justice at all! Also, I was pretty excited that the color of my new car matched my toenails and if you know me you know that I just had to take a picture. Sarah suggested I get a bumper sticker that says "Don't judge, I got a good deal and I like it, so BACK OFF!" Actually, finding this car was a real blessing. WOW! (P.S. If you don't understand the title you must read the book "Stephanie's Ponytail" by Robert Munsch)

The other highlight of this weekend was meeting Brandon's new little nephew. He is the cutest lil guy you have ever seen! I was very grateful that his amazing Mommy and Daddy let me hog him for most of the visit. Though Uncle Brandon did get his turn holding the lil guy. He made sure the seal his spot as favorite uncle by helping the lil' tike use his voice and muscles. Brandon is so funny with babies! It is amazing to feel the sweet tender spirit of a newborn and I didn't want to leave. Thanks for sharing your sweet little one Matt and Kimee!

Road Kill, Family,and Cows

Well kids (oh...roo!) you may have thought I was having one of my blogging looser moments, well i am back! Since you last tuned in not much has happened. We barely got the classroom together in time, though there is still little projects that need to be finished. Dear Mr. Parks is enjoying his little "po-dunckers" as I like to call them. He is rocking the 3rd grade, though he is exhausted more than can be imagined 98% of the time. Living the glamorous life of a 1st year teacher. We try to see eachother as much as possible, but that has turned out to about once a week (not enough to fill my necessary brandon quota.) I have offectionaly deamed saratoga springs "road kill city" due to the un-imaginable amounts of road kill i see on the road driving out to his place. Honestly, CRAZY!

We have also had a couple fun family reunions and get togethers since i last posted. It has been a blast to get to know Brandon's family better and grow closer to my own. Labor day weekend was my family reunion and I gained a better apreciation for how much my family means to me. My cousins and I have never been super close (you know as in, lets hang out on the weekends and get together), but I realized how much they influence me. I am blessed with an amazing family who are amazing examples to me. I honestly love them! I continue to be amazed by the incredible people that The Lord has blessed me with. Tonight we went to Brandon's parents house for his birthday. I haven't seen his family since Brandon got his job and it was crazy to realize how much I missed them. AH! I think i am the most blessed one. sorry, I win!

In other news the "cows" part of the title refers to a letter wrote me where he refered to "being domestic" to "being a cow." Well this past little while I attempted to be a cow. I decided that i would sew a quilt for brandon. P.S. That was a HUGE undertaking. much bigger than i expected. So after 3 hours picking out fabric and many trips returning and buying more fabric i was on my way. It was so far from perfect, but it turned out ok. Thanks for everyone who helped and listened to be vent about the possible burning of the massive thing! P.s. I am not a very good cow!

Melon bust, sidekick and, 15 miles

Alright sports fanz, I am feeling pretty good about being a blogger. This is kinda fun! Ever since the last post things have gotten pretty crazy for the duo in questions. Between shopping sprees as the D.I. and Walmart (where we stressed out multiple cashiers because of our crazy price matching) things are starting to come together for the fresh new batch of soon to be Mr.Park's 3rd graders. Ready or not they are coming in a week. I think that I have been more stressed than our dear sweet Mr. Parks. Because of this fact (and because I am quite fond of the guy) I have made myself the full-time sidekick. For those of you who don't know what a full-time sidekick entails it is basically doing whatever the boss asks you to do and thinking of and completing all the tasks that the boss wouldn't think of until 28 3rd graders walk through the door because he didn't have the brain capacity. Though I don't do much, I am grateful that I have the time to help. It has been absolutely incredible how much support Brandon has had from everyone around us! It means so much to me to have such amazing people willing to help and I know it means even more to Brandon. Thank you! (Honorable mention goes to two adorable little boys who were excellent door holders!)

Being a full-time sidekick has another perk; helping me forget that Brandon is moving to be closer to his school. Sometimes it feels like he is moving to the other side of the planet, not just to the other side of the lake! I know that i am being dramatic but I have become so used to seeing him everyday and now I will one, for sure not see him everyday and two, he will be absolutely worn out at the end of the day and i will be forever away! The adorable that he is left me a voice mail the other day informing me that is is exactly 15miles from my door to his and that it took him about 20mins to get there. GREAT! now we can calibrate the teleporter... I wish! Joke, it was a very sweet message.

In other news lat Sunday when the dramatic girl who lives inside me and doesn;t know how to control her emotions was leaking out in full force the affectionate Brandon decided to start a watermelon fight. Well I guess it all started when my so cute mother decided to have a true blue watermelon bust for her 45th birthday. This included us spreading a plastic table cloth on the cement, mom climbing to the top of a ladder and throwing a watermelon onto the plastic shouting "45 and still alive!" yes, I love her to pieces. Brandon and I were handed a huge chunk on watermelon and that is when it all started. It was so fun, and just what I needed. I am constantly amazed at how thoughtful he is (sorry sap haters!)

Honestly, I (and we) have been so incredible blessed. It is amazing to me how things seem to fall into place in a way that, though unexpected and a little sca
ry, are just what would be most meaningful and beneficial. It has been amazing to feel the hands of The Lord comforting me and gently guiding me to the paths that He would have me take. I know that we are both where we need to be at this time and I know that He will continue to guide us in the future, whatever that may be. WOW! I am so blessed.

p.s. sorry this is so long and disjointed. Firefox is partially to blame because it crashed after the first time I finished this post! I am getting chrome!

Mr. Parks, 3rd grade teacher!

AHH!!!! Brandon got a job! He will be teaching 3rd grade at a brand new school in Eagle Mountain! We are so excited! It will be a crazy rest of the summer (and probably rest of the year) but we know it is where he is supposed to be. We have been very blessed! It is incredible how well The Lord takes care of us and rewards our diligence. I am so excited for a fresh new batch of 3rd graders who will have an incredible teacher.

Camping with the most incredible Parks family!

This weekend was such a blast! Brandon's family invited us to go on a little camping trip. When we got up there Brandons brothers were excited to play so all the guys went to the parking lot while us girls sat around and painted our nails (typical right.) Brandon's little sister is can paint toe nails better than anyone I have ever seen. Who needs a pedicure when she is around! I also showed off my fantastic skills by painting my nails florescent pink. The color which Brandon refered to as "It kinda looks like you have power bait on your finger nails." Hey maybe that's how we will finally catch some fish!

We spent the evening playing some fun family games and eating yummy treats. Brandon was sweet enough to cook me a tasty dough boy (if you are completely confused right now you don't know what you are missing!)

The next morning us girls...and spencer, played phase ten, when everyone else went biking down the canyon. I surprised myself by, one sitting through the entire game, and two WINNING! My strategy of never keeping track of when it was by turn worked. Ha ha and everyone just thought I was being spacey! When the bikers got back we hiked up the river a little bit. It was very treacherous due to the amount of spiders and mostly their webs. I am happy to report there were no casualties.

We fisnished off the trip with a good ol' game of wiffel ball. It was a blast! believe it or not I didn't stink as much as I usually do. Probably due to the fact that I have been watching more cardnial's baseball as of late. I actually hit every time i was up and got a couple outs. This brought me great joy due to the fact that as patient as the parks family is, they are much more competitive then i am.

What a great trip! It was so fun to just be away for a while and soak in the incredible blessing of nature that The Lord has given us.

Watch out Sir Topum Hat!

A couple weeks ago due to the generosity of my amazing father we were able to take a trip on the Heber Creeper. SO MUCH FUN!

We chose to go on the sunset bbq train ride, which was exactly as romantic as it sounds. (p.s. if you have a light stomach for sickly sap please turn back now.) We took some fun pictures and boarded the 1940's locomotive for our trip. The train took us around the back side of Deer Creek Reservoir, then stopped at a little platform where a fun country band and delicious dutch oven dinner were waiting for us. AMAZING! The only down side to this part of the trip was that as much as we loved the reservoir the mosquito love it more. There were defiantly there for the party. Though multiple people freely offered bug repellent, being the stupid stubborn that i am refused to let my dear sweet Brandon get me any. Though he begged and pleaded. Don't you fret, I got what I deserved, 19 bites on one foot alone. Yup, my ankles disappeared for a few days. Stupid, stupid !

The ride back to the station was probably my favorite part. Brandon and I found a little nook between the cars were we could stand and watch the beautiful scenery pass. It was incredible to view the gorgeous creations The Lord has blessed me with while in the arms of another one of the largest blessings that has ever entered my life. WOW, I am so amazingly blessed!

Round Two

Alright, so you may or may not be correct if you are thinking that April gets these random impluses to be a blogger when she is trying to avoid doing what she should be doing. Tonight that could be true, and it could also be true that I am not used to be being by myself all day after work (Brandon is being responsible...what a bum!) I fully realize that most people could care less about my adventures, but I also realize that I LOVE the blogs of my people. So though my life is not as exciting as theirs, and that I am not married (which seems to often be a blogger qualification) I will continue with my random blogging episodes. Thanks for letting me rant. Yours truely,
The impulsive wannabe blogger