Festival of Trees!

Well, I have officially participated in my first Christmas activity! My mom and I went to the Festival of Trees on Wednesday. I have to say, I wasn't as impressed this year as I have been in the past. But of course it was still fun! It breaks my heart every year to see all of the people the trees are dedicated to, and I felt extra bad this year, because there were quite a few that didn't sale! This horrible economy is even putting a downer on the Festival! :( But here were a few of my favorites! The one made of blown glass was awesome! They started the bidding at $25,000 and it sold for so much that they wouldn't tell us! My goal one day is going to be donating one of these trees! I just think it would be so fun! Let the Christmas festivities begin!

Happy Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving was a little different this year!  We decided to go to Little America with the Hennigars, Grandma, and Uncle Brad. It was so fun! I feel a tradition in the making! Everything was so festive, the food was delicious, and best of all? No maintenance! Rather than spending hours cleaning up, we went straight to the movie! We saw 4 Christmases which, needless to say, was a little awkward! Not a good movie. I wouldn't recommend it. After the movie, we went to visit Chad, Jill, and baby Kenzy, and guess what?! She can finally be held by people other than her parents! I can't believe how big she's getting! Although, I guess if you think about it she is now the size of most babies when they're first born! It was really fun being with everyone! Happy Holidays!

Flying South for the Winter!

Last weekend, my dad and I took a trip to Jacksonville to visit our Florida friends...as well as officially meet a few new ones! ;) We stayed at the Wainrights' Lake House which was so gorgeous! I can't believe people actually get to live in such beautiful places! I know I should've taken more pictures of the things that happened, but I was a little preoccupied. So let me at least give you all the play-by-play:

Day 1: Dad & I went to drop off a package at Riley's apartment. Of course I had to make a ginormous poster for he & his companion! We waited until we knew they would be gone, and drove over to drop the stuff off. As we pulled up, low and behold who comes flying around the corner?! Riley and his comp on their bikes! We got so scared we threw the car in reverse & drove off! So, we obeyed the rules & didn't stop to talk to him...but at least we caught a glimpse! :)
Later that night, we got settled in & Kendall took us for a drive around Live Oak...very exciting! ;) Then we met up with Wes & his business partner, Brad, for our first Southern dinner! Needless to say...most of it was fried. :)

Day 2: After much build up and anxiety, I met Adam at the Suwanee Airport (which is more of a parking lot with a little house/building in the middle) in the morning to go flying in his little plane! I know many of you were concerned for my safety, but not to worry! He is an excellent pilot & brought us back to earth safely!
That night, Adam & I went to Gainesville where he proudly introduced me to his blessed UF stadium. It's been an ongoing battle between Adam & I as to who's team has the best stadium...and while I bleed blue, I have to admit the Gators' house is pretty awesome! I only wish it had been lighter so I could've taken a picture you could actually see! Then, we walked across the street to watch the UF girl's basketball team, and what an event! I think we were 2 of maybe 100 people in the entire place, including the teams and coaches. Aren't we just awesome?! To conclude the evening, we met up with Adam's parents for dinner (who are AWESOME by the way!), and then made the hour journey back to Live Oak to hang out with my dad & the Wainrights. Fun, Fun, FUN!!!

Day 3: Saturday pretty much everyone was either hunting or at the Orlando temple for Jared & Briana's wedding ceremony. So dad & I took a journey to St. Augustine to visit the Golf Hall of Fame. It was actually pretty cool, and they had an 18 hole putting course that...well...was a little embarrassing for me...but fun nonetheless!
That night was the big wedding reception in Lake City! Since the groom was Adam's cousin, I met a lot of his extended family...what great people! It is very true what they say about Southern hospitality! They all act like they're your best friends! It's the best!

Day 4: Sunday was a day of MUCH worship. We went to sacrament meeting in the family ward in Lake City, and then went to all 3 meetings of the singles ward. Why you ask? Lake City was my brother's first area, so we were able to meet a lot of people that he knew & taught. And in the singles ward, we got to listen to Kendall give her first talk! (For those of you who don't remember who Kendall is, she was Riley's first baptism.)
After church, my dad wanted to go visit some people with the missionaries, so Wes let me tag along with he and some of his friends for dinner. We went to eat at Wes's dad's house...which I was very nervous about! You see...Wes's dad is a very affluent judge in Lake City, so I figured he's be kind of scary & intimidating! But he was the nicest guy ever! I'm telling you...the Southern hospitality thing never failed to disappoint!

Day 5 was just a sad day of leaving our Florida bliss to come back to the frozen tundra in which we reside. The trip was so fun though!!! I've never met so many enjoyable people! We really appreciate the Wainrights' for letting us stay with them, and we hope to see all of our Southern friends again very soon!!!

Pumpkin Carving & Halloween!!!

On Thursday we had our annual Hendrickson Family Pumpkin Carving Night! Of course the Hyatt's joined us...it just wouldn't be the same without them! Everyone's pumpkins turned out great, and luckily there was no need this year for the use of toothpicks or repairing broken pokies! ;)

Of course Friday it was really time to celebrate! We had tons of food...but I think my contribution of BYU Creamery mint brownies were the biggest hit! :) Dad of course got his scary music going so as to frighten everyone with our "haunted house", and this year the creepy thing in the punch bowl was ice in the shape of hands! Unfortunately, it melted before most people got to see it, but I still thought it was a nice touch! The best part, of course, was that we got to see lot's of our favorite family & friends. Seriously...is there anything better than dressing up like a crazy & partying all night? I don't think so!

Witch-a-palooza!!!

Last night we went to Witch-a-palooza at Gardner Village! It was a blast! We got there a little early so that we could walk around the shops & take pictures with all the witches & Halloween scenes! Then it was time for the main event! We went to the Gathering Place where they served us dinner & performed a fun show full of singing & dancing! What a party! I think we are definitely going to make it a yearly event! It was the ultimate girls night out & I highly recommend it! Happy Halloween!!!

Baby McKenzie & Conference Fun!

Okay, so I'm the worst blogger ever! But, better late than never, right?! Here are some more pics of baby McKenzie! She finally got to come home 2 weeks ago, and we got to go visit her over conference weekend! She's so so sweet! We also went to the Saturday afternoon session of conference which was awesome! Afterward we went to gateway for dinner & shopping! The ultimate girls night! So, I hope you like all of my late pics! I promise I'll be better! :)

Little Angels

Last week my cousin, Jill, gave birth to her & her husband's sweet little twins, Brayden & McKenzy. They were born almost 2 months premature. We are heart broken to say that little Brayden didn't make it. Something went wrong with his umbilical cord, & he passed away, which is what caused Jill to go into labor so early. We are all so sad that this little member of our family couldn't stay with us, but we are so blessed to have little McKenzy here and doing remarkably well. She is only 3.5 lbs. but she is breathing on her own & growing stronger everyday. We like to think of her as our precious angel baby. We had a graveside service for her brother on Saturday, which, as you can imagine, was extremely hard for everyone, especially mom & dad. But we know Brayden will always be with them, watching out for his beautiful sister, and we are very blessed to know that we will all get to be with him again someday.

A Bit of Randomness...

My mom says I don't blog enough, but that's because there aren't too many hip & happenin' things going on! So I decided to take & post a few random pictures in order to make a contribution to the world of blogging. They aren't too thrilling, but I hope you enjoy! :)

Baby Shower for Kimmi & Baby Hallie!

Last week I had a baby shower for my friend Kim. It was so much fun to see all of our friends that we haven't seen for a long time! It is so crazy that my friends are having babies! It makes me feel so old! But Kim is going to be the best mom ever! I can't wait until Baby Hallie comes and we get to dress her up in a million bows, dresses, and other girlie pretties!!!

Game 1!

Okay...so this has taken me forever to post, but better late than never I guess! 2 Saturdays ago was Game 1 of the season! We were so pumped up! There's nothing better than an intense artistic display of athletic ability on a Saturday afternoon! Our boys played a little sloppy, but they pulled it off in the end! Here's to a winning season! Go Cougars!

Secondhand Serenade...Round 2!

So, last night Madi, Amy, and I went to Secondhand Serenade...again!!! I love them so much! If I haven't said it before...John Vesely is...well...there aren't words! He's beautiful, talented, funny, and the list goes on and on! We had to wait 3 1/2 hours for him to come out! They had 6 lamo bands play before him...but as soon as he walked on stage it was all worth it! Can't wait for round 3!

Cheer Coach!

Hey, all my fellow ex-cheerleaders! A good friend of mine called, and Mountain View High School needs a new cheer coach! There's quite randomly, and since school is starting in a couple of weeks they are in desperate need of one! I wouldn't have the time to do it, but if any of you are interested you better jump on it! You can go apply at Mountain View High School, or you can get in touch with me, and I'll give you the number of someone you can call! This would be a fun opportunity I'm sure for any of you interested in that type of thing! Get back in touch with your inner cheerleader!!! Go, Fight, Win!!!

Weekend in St. George!

I went to St. George with my family this past weekend! Apparently it wasn't hot enough here so we needed to go where it was 114 degrees! We had so much fun though! Our first night there we went to Tuacan and saw Les Miserables...one of our faves! They did an amazing job!

Day #2 started early when Madi & I got in line at Barnes & Noble at 7:00am to get our wrist bands for Breaking Dawn! Of course our copies were reserved, but if you didn't have a wrist band, you would have to wait in line forever after midnight just to buy your book! So of course we were one of the first ones there & got the first round of wristbands! Anything for Edward! Later that day, we went bowling at the ghetto bowling ally that where we had to press the reset button everytime, but it was still way fun! After that, it was off to play #2...The Sound of Music! This one was also awesome even though we had to leave a little early...we couldn't miss the entire Breaking Dawn Party! So Madi & I went and joined the rest of the crazies at Barnes & Noble to get the best book of all time! I loved loved LOVED it!!! I just have to wonder though...when is Edward going to show up in my life and turn me into a vampire? Please tell me it's soon!!! :)

Since Madi & I stayed up reading until 4:00am, day #3 started off late! I think we woke up around noon and lounged around by the pool most of the day reading about our true love! Then we hit up a family tradition...Fiesta Fun! All I can say about it is good times...GOOOOD TIMES!!!

All in all the trip was a success. Although I have to say the best part was when my dad was getting ready, and instead of spraying his hair with hairspray...he douced himself with "Big Sexy Hair"! Needless to say, his was looking very pretty! Ha ha! Cute little dad! Thanks parents for a fabulous time as always...and thank you Madsi for once again serving as our entertainment, and sharing the ending of the Saga with me!!!

Memories!

One of my girlfriends had this on her blog and it really gave me the warm fuzzies! :) So I thought it would be fun to do!!!

Here's how it works:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember, good or bad but be nice please! ;)

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. Come on all my blog followers... I want to post something about you, let's see this on your blog!!!

Boston!!!

So I'm finally posting pics from my Boston trip! I divided into 4 slides so that it would make more sense! It was everything I thought it would be! I miss it already! I think I would live there if I got the chance! It is so fun, lively, and different from anywhere else...and there's a little something for everyone! We did all kinds of fun things! The weather was pretty good, but really humid-hence, why our hair is a little flat 98% of the time! It ended way too fast, and it took us 12 hours to get home, because of all kinds of delays, but other than that it was pretty much perfect! Hope you all enjoy the slides! Maybe they will entice you to go there & you'll fall in love with it as much as I did!!!

Day 1!

Our first night in Boston! Our flight was at 6:00am, and we didn't get much sleep the night before, so we look a little rough! But, when we got to our hotel we got all dressed up for our first night on the town! We ate at Legal Sea Foods...a hot comodity in Boston! Our food made us a little nervous, but it was amazing! It was the perfect way to kick off the trip and get the party started!

Day 2!

Our first full day in the wonderful city of Boston! We did a bunch of shopping on the fabulous Newbury street, and in some of the local malls! I think they should just let movie stars shop there, so the rest of us don't have to feel bad about ourselves! We found a Chanel coat we liked and it was only $7,000.00! Can't imagine why we didn't make that purchase! But don't worry! We found plenty of other things to fit our fancy! But the best part of the whole day, and maybe the whole trip was the Red Sox game at Fenway Park! I've never seen something so incredible! EVERYONE is crazy! They love their Sox! There was all kinds of partying going on down Yawkey Way, and of course we had to get some Fenway Franks to get the full effect! After buying all our bling bling paraphenalia at the Fenway store, we sat back to enjoy a nice, relaxing baseball game...or so we thought! Manny Ramirez hit one over the Green Monster, then Coco Crisp charged the mound, getting him suspended for 7 games! I'm sure all you ESPN watchers saw how crazy that was! It was such a great game! I think it's safe to say we are all now true members of Red Sox Nation! After that, the fun continued! We went back to our hotel and watched Game 1 of the Celtics vs. Lakers, and Boston dominated! It was a great night for Bostonians...and Boston Lovers!!!

Day 3!

This was an intense day of shopping sightseeing! We spent most of the day at Finnial Hall and Quincy Market where they have all sorts of shops and restaurants! Then we mosied on through the local market and into the North End where we saw some famous historical sights, ate at one of Rachel Ray's favorite Boston/Italian restaurants, and indulged in some scrumptious pastries! We even met some local Bostonians who have a nephew going to the U of U, and they asked me if I had served my mission yet! Ha ha! I explained to them that it's a little more important for boys, and that my brother was on one. Cool people though! Cool City! My feet were dying by the end of the day, but it was totally worth it!

Day 4!

Our last day in Boston! How sad! Happily, however, it was the warmest day of the week! About 95 degrees! We took a tour of the city on the famous D.U.C.K.S! They are cars that convert to boats! It was great to learn about all of the history in Boston! After the tour, we took a trip to Cambridge to see Harvard. What an amazing campus! We definitely felt like little people though! Of course we finished off the day with last minute shopping, and having one last seafood dinner! We were so sad when it was over, but so happy we got to come!