Birthdays Galore!

Well last week seemed to be the week of birthdays and I am so happy to say mine was so great! I was surrounded by so many friends and family members that made it so special! It's amazing how much has changed between the ages of 21-22 and I must say I like 22 much better already! Last year was a rough year to say the least but I have learned so much and grown in ways I couldn't even imagine and I am so grateful for everything I went through so I could be where I am today.

Season, Cache and I at Herm's.

First of all I just have to say I LOVE birthdays and more than that I love my birthday... any and all of my friends and family could all tell you that I am obsessed with birthdays I love throwing my friends parties and making their day special because it is there one day of the year you get to be completely selfish for one day cuz it is YOUR day. You were born on that day and so YOU get the crown for a day and that is why I love birthdays.

That morning I went with my mom, dad, sister and her kids to Herm's Inn for breakfast. Afterward my Dad and I were headed to meet my mom and sister at my favorite clothing store when my Dad went speeding down 6th East at a whopping 35 mph! When lo and behold a police officer was waiting for him as he didn't know the speed was only 25. So you see what this means?? I am not the only one that is always getting pulled over in Logan!

Haddie, Me, Nat

The conversation went a little something like this:
Lady officer: "Hi, sir I pulled you over cuz I caught you going a little fast."
My Dad: "I know I didn't realize the speed was only 25 my daughter told me just as we saw you."
Me: "I'm so sorry, it's my birthday today and my parents just came from Idaho to visit me."
Officer: "License and registration please, I'll be right back"
Me: "If she takes longer than 5 minutes you got a ticket."
Dad: (Nods head in agreement)
Me: "Dad... It's been 5 minutes"
Dad: (Shaking head) "yeah.... I know."
Officer finally comes back....
Officer: "Well I'm just going to give you a verbal warning today, wouldn't want to ruin the birthday or anything. Have a good day!"
Me: "Thank you so much!"
Officer leaves...
Dad: "I knew we wouldn't get a ticket..."
Me: "Sure you did Dad, you're welcome for it being my birthday."

What does this scenario prove?? It just proves that birthdays are the best is what!

Dani and I at my birthday.

The rest of the day was great as well, I went shopping with my sis and mom, we then went to Coldstone and got me a cake, my parents left to go back for Idaho, and I went and did more shopping, got my nails done, went to a movie with my friends Haddie and Natalie (love these girls!), had a birthday dinner with tons of friends and then my friends Dani and Mary threw me a little party with cake and ice cream at their place after. I just love them! I have the best friends!

Season and I

Two days before my birthday my niece Season celebrated her 3rd birthday. I am so grateful to be so close to family that I can see all the time and take part in these special celebrations with. She is just the cutest and had a "Frozen" themed swim party. My sis did an amazing job of making an Olaf pinata that took her all week, it was a little bitter sweet when the pinata was destroyed, although she made it so well it was virtually indestructable.

Birthday Dinner

Natalie and I at her Birthday

Three days after my birthday was my friend Natalie's birthday on the 20th. We celebrated her day with dinner and cake and ice cream at her place with tons of friends! It was so fun and I am so incredibly grateful to this girl, her birth and her friendship these past 6 months have been such a blast with this girl! We became friends through hard times and we have grown so close because of it with everything we have helped each other through.

I really don't understand it when people say, "I'm not big into birthdays, or yeah I don't really care about my birthday." How can you say that?! It gives you such a great opportunity to be grateful for the people in your life that appreciate you and you can appreciate them too and that's what I think birthdays are all about, love and gratitude to be alive and to have people that love you.

The girls at Nat's B-day

New Beginnings... It's Terrifying.

Well we are already a month into the new year and I am seriously so bad at this whole blogging thing! I have some crazy/ weird/ exciting changes coming up in my life and I thought I would jot down a few thoughts I have been having about them lately. Wellll for starters I am graduating in 3 months! AND OH MY GOSH I AM SCARED!!!! I have been looking forward to this time in my life for so long that now that it's actually here it's terrifying. SO here are few thoughts I have been having lately as my last semester of college has gotten crazy busy and I have started to try to figure out what the heck I am going to be doing after I leave the safety net of Logan, Utah and school.

1. Why the heck did I ever think graduating would be a good idea?!

2. Once I do graduate if I don't have a job right after graduation does that make me a failure?

3. If I do get a job am I making the right decision wherever I choose to go?

4. If I choose the wrong job am I going to ruin the rest of my life?? (An irrational thought, yes but nonetheless one that has crossed my mind)

5. If I stay in Utah does that make me a failure?

6. What is the "Real world" like anyway and why is it called that? Is there really such thing as a "fake world"?

7. Have I done enough to prepare myself for what's to come? .... probably not.

8. Am I ready for a new beginning and fresh start? YES.

These were just a few of the questions that have been constantly running through my mind as I enter this next chapter of life. The hardest part for me to accept out of all this is what I want to do vs. what I should do. I would hope they were one in the same and yet sometimes I think God has a little bit better idea of what I need than I do. As much as I would love to be in a big city and go to New York,  LA or Chicago, maybe now is not the right time and that's ok, because I know if I truly want it to happen I can and will make it happen and I will love whatever I will be doing.

Sometimes you just have to simply follow the wise words of one my very favorite songs from one of my favorite movies and "LET IT GO!" So for right now I am trying to take things one day at a time by not getting overwhelmed and caught up in all of the talk of future plans. The most frustrating thing lately has been the constant question of, "Oh you're graduating soon! What are your plans?" Well you know I don't know what my official plan is yet... but I  have an idea and I am doing the best I can to prepare for the future by living in the present.

Here were a few of my favorite quotes I have found to help me get through this "Terrifying time".

I Just love Audrey.

An Anniversary

Seven years ago today I lost someone very special and close to me. Today I remember the person he was, a happy, fun, smart, and kind person. He was my cousin that passed away at the same age as me, 14. I grew up playing cops and robbers with him. We played in the dirt, chased animals around the backyard and caused all kinds of mischief shooting fake guns and terrorizing our siblings.

He was an amazing person that left this world too soon and I love and miss him. Although he's gone he is not forgotten and I am so grateful to know our loving Heavenly Father has a greater plan for him. He is free of worldly cares but has a new journey to complete in Heaven and I know he is fulfilling it well.

“In the end it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln                     

My brother Brian, DJ and Me.  May 1992.  

We Love you DJ 

KIMBERLY — D.J. Stephenson, 14, of Kimberly, died at his home on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2006.

D.J. was born March 16, 1992, in Twin Falls, Idaho, the son of Douglass and Kathy Ruppert Stephenson. He attended schools in Twin Falls and, for the past three years, in Kimberly, where he was a freshman in high school. D.J. spent every summer since he was a young boy visiting his grandparents at the Circle K Ranch in Colorado and, for the past two years, had worked there doing whatever was needed. He was a young man who gave freely of his time and talents. He participated in wrestling, had recently become involved in FFA and had joined the choir, which he enjoyed immensely. He was active in Boy Scout Troop 88 and was looking forward to becoming an Eagle Scout. He loved fishing, tying flies, his new dog, riding his dirt bike, Dutch oven cooking and had an intense interest in cars. He was a member of the Kimberly 2nd Ward LDS Church.

He is survived by his father, Douglass Stephenson of Kimberly; his mother, Kathy (Eric) Guettler of Twin Falls; his brother, Eli Stephenson of Twin Falls; his two stepsisters, his grandparents, Bob (Dorene) Stephenson of Kimberly and Paul (Margaret) Ruppert of Twin Falls; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

The funeral for D.J. Stephenson will be conducted 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, at the Kimberly 2nd Ward LDS Chapel, 222 Birch St. S. Interment will follow in Sunset Memorial Park. Services are under the direction of White Mortuary, ‛Chapel by the Park,“ in Twin Falls.

4th of July, Bees Games, Skydiving and Meeting Brooks!

Well it’s been a crazy past couple of months in this whirlwind summer... that has gone by all too fast! But the last month has been a complete blast! I have met some awesome people and done some pretty amazing things... including skydiving. Yup you heard me I went skydiving.

I don’t know how many people know this but I still go to Logan every week to work for the dentists’ office I work for up there, between friends in Logan and Salt Lake it has made for some awesome memories. A little over a month ago I went and floated the Oneida Narrows up by Preston, ID and discovered that I actually do have friends that live in Salt Lake which was a great discovery as it turns out because they have turned into some of the greatest friends I could ever ask for.

SLC Bees game on the 4th with Riley and Lauren



So following the oh so fun weekend in Logan of which was sometime around the end of June, the 4th of July was my next exciting event. My roommate, Kylie, me and some friends went and floated the frigid Provo river (no joke coldest water I’ve ever experienced #NotAFan) I then went to the Bees game with some friends which was sooo fun. If anyone wants to know of a good 4th of July tradition a Bees game and fireworks is definitely the way to go. I met up with some friends at the game where I didn’t really watch a whole lot of it except for the end when the Bees were tied at the bottom of the 9th and they ended up winning the game with a grand slam ending (Bases full, batter hits a homerun, 4 points, the most you can get in one play) And yes I looked up what that meant after it happened. After the exciting ending to the game we watched fireworks on the baseball field that were right by the stadium and maybe even a little too close since I got ash in my eye from it, regardless they were awesome! A great way to celebrate our country and the 4th of July!

 

Top: Cache Season and my Mom at the Car Show.
Bottom: Anna and I at Pat Benetar

The next few days I spent in Logan with my family. It was the Cache Valley Cruise-In, a yearly tradition in Cache Valley where someone famous usually comes to sing (Pat Benetar this year) and old cars, new cars, and really nice cars participate in a car show, then on Saturday, cruise up and down main street. My mom and dad came down from Idaho and I my sis and her kids and the rents’ went to the car show while waiting for the Pat Benetar concert to start. My Dad, sis her husband and I all attended the concert in a downpour, we were just lucky to get covered seats, but as soon as the concert started it had stopped raining for the most part. I don't know how many people even know who Pat Benetar is, but she is great and we were all super impressed by how well she still sings considering how old she is. She kind of has a raspy rocker-smokers voice while speaking, but you’d never tell while she’s singing cuz she sounded just like she did in the 80’s. #Fact.

So the concert was a blast and then Saturday we helped my sister clean for people coming to look at her house and then went to the cruise-in. The cruise-in didn’t seem quite as big this year for some reason; however it was just as fun especially with a nephew that loves cars so he loved every minute of it!

So now onto how I ended up going Skydiving. Well it all started with a trip to the lake on Wednesday. I had cancelled some appointments to go and good thing I did or else I may not have ever had the fun weekend that awaited. I went boating with my friends Kyle and Riley and their friend Chandler (he’s a pro-wakeboarder kind of a big deal, oh yeah and he’s like really good, of course) Well Kyle, Riley and Chandler had all talked about how they were going to head to Moab this weekend for work but they were also going to be going skydiving. I was like wow cool good for you guys... didn’t think much of it, until we were at dinner and they invited me to go. I kind of dismissed the idea right away because I knew I would have to work the next day; however I also knew I had a really cool boss that would probably be ok with me leaving early. So long story short... I did end up asking he was all for me going and lo and behold a couple hours later I was in a truck with 3 guys on my way to Moab!

So when we got to Moab we went and saw the arches, fairly quickly walked around did the whole cool pics at the arches thing, and then we went on a hummer tour! So hummer tours are a lot like going jeeping but in a hummer so it’s safer, but still really fun. We had the most hilarious tour guide. He was actually a former football player for USU had a little bit of the “dumb jock” air about him but for the most part, he was just downright hilarious. He was cracking jokes, and scaring the shiz out of me as we went up and down summer super super steep inclines and declines. It. Was.So.Fun. Pics below:

This is a picture Kyle took of me
laughing/screaming/crying on the tour. 

Arches National Park

 

Sorority squat pose :) 

Well after our fun hummer tour we went to a hotel and didn’t sleep a wink as we anxiously awaited skydiving at 7 the next morning. So the next morning we got to the airport filled out the paper work (literally signed our lives away) and then they told me I was going to be the first to jump cuz I was the most scared, by far. So off we went up on that plane ride in which I was being recorded and photographed the whole time (who knew If I would ever do this again, I had to document it) but I can’t decide if that was a good or bad thing, cuz umm lets just say I was so scared my language became all kinds of colors.

So after about a 20 minute ride, I was strapped to my instructor and it was time to jump 10,000 feet from a plane. I thought I was going to die. The moment that airplane door opened a string of expletives hit my mouth that I am quite embarrassed of now, but at the time it seemed “highly” (hehe get it??) appropriate for the situation. So then we, my instructor Jimmy and I jumped. My eyes were closed at first... I was far too scared to look haha and we then began our free fall for 45 seconds going 120 mph. WHAT A RUSH. The chute opened after that and it was a smooth glide for landing, I even steered the parachute for a while as we glided back to the landing strip where I simply landed on my feet. Literally we came in and I stood up and all was good. :)

Seriously one of the Craziest feelings of my life, everyone needs the chance to go skydiving at least once. It’s one of the coolest experiences you’ll ever have and you won’t regret it. SO FREAKING FUN! Even though I was scared out of my mind... :) I can now say I did it! Here's a few of my favorite pics...

So after skydiving we went home. The Moab adventures were over but it was more fun jammed into a couple of days than I have had in years. And now that I think about it that night we went and saw Grown Ups 2 Which was absolutely hilarious. Like pee your pants think you’re going to die from laughing, hilarious. Seriously haven’t laughed that hard in a movie in my whole life. I highly recommend it if you have a sense of humor.

Which then leads to this latest weekend.... Ok everyone I MET BROOKS FROM THE BACHELORETTE. So how this all transpired was such: My friend Riley and my roommate Kylie and I decided to go to the Bees game on Friday. Well the Bees game was especially cool this time because the cast from the Sandlot was there. That’s right the original cast. This included... Squints, Ham, Yeah-Yeah, Tommy, and Timmy. They were signing autographs and after the game was over, they were on the field answering people’s questions. After the game they were planning on showing The Sandlot on the field to celebrate its 20th anniversary of the film, and as the crowd was asking the cast questions, I decided to go over there and get their picture. As I was standing in the back however trying to sneak a pic I look to my left, and there he was... in all his Bachelorette glory. BROOKS. 

So I turned to him and said, “Hey are you Brooks” and he said, “Yes I am” so then my heart immediately started pounding and I knew I had to get a picture with him... but I was kinda the first person to recognize him so I didn’t want to make it this big thing... but then! A girl came up and asked for his picture and so that was when I knew it was ok for me to do the same... shaky and nervous as I was...#Starstruck so I let this girl take a picture of us and as she was taking the picture she asked Brooks “So did you win??” and then I chimed in and said oh so smooth and sarcastically... “Like he’s going to tell you that... he can’t say anything!” Then Brooks said, “Ha yeah, I can’t say anything hahahaha” (there was much laughter in this convo) So then I left and ran to Kylie panting and telling her that I just met Brooks and we ran back so she got a picture with him too. After taking a pic with Kylie and him he then said “cool nail ring” and that’s when I knew... if Des and him don’t work out I found my future spouse. He loves my ring he must love me right??? :) haha jk

The one and only, Brooks Forester and me :) 

Riley, Kylie and I

Squints from Sandlot.

This last Saturday I did a bonfire with some friends which was fun cuz we did a Sobe bomb. Those things are freaking cool. You put gasoline in a sobe bottle, put it in the fire and it makes a really big explosion. Wish I had gotten video, I know some of my friends did but I was too worried about not catching on fire so I didn’t bother...

And that has pretty much been my last couple of months! So much to catch up on but it has been a blast. I did just get a little bit of sad news however. My end date at UDOT has been changed from August 8th to the July 31st. So alas I will be saying goodbye to Salt Lake next week and moving back to Logan. A little bittersweet but I have been so grateful for the memories and my time here which has been so fun.

The 24th of July Pioneer day AKA celebrate Mormons day will be happening tomorrow and more adventures are sure to ensue... stay tuned.

PS my blog is no longer private.

Governors, Birthdays and Challenges

So first off I am sorry for the hassle of having to make my blog private! I was actually super bummed about it and liked the fact that anyone could read my blog... however I now work for a state agency where I have to be super careful with what I post so better to be safe than sorry... at least for right now. 

It’s been kind of an up and down past few weeks. From work drama, to traveling, personal drama, and just an all around crazy time adjusting to my new life. Work hasn't been super busy the last week I haven’t had a ton going on at work other than doing a few stories for the UDOT blog. My first story done all by myself is up on it now! The link to it is here:http://blog.udot.utah.gov/. 

Yesterday was quite the eventful day however, I went with a girl named Kristen from my work, she is the Policy and Stakeholder Assistant so in simplified terms, she works with complicated bills and the legislature. Anyway we went to the state capitol for a bill that was being signed by the Governor. Democratic Senator Mayne helped pass a bill establishing Workplace Safety Week and another bill dealing with Worker's compensation. I wasn't entirely sure what all was going on but I was in the pictures! Which are here!   

You can see the tip of my head in the back and that's Gov. Herbert signing the bill. 

Well today is my Dad's 56th Birthday! Yup I called you out on it Dad. And I just wanted to let him know how grateful for him I am! He has been so encouraging and helpful whenever I have needed him and I am grateful to have him as a dad! LOVE YOU!!!!

It's been a challenging week for me but I am so grateful I have such a wonderful family that supports me and is there for me, and that's all I have to say about this week for now! :) 

How To: Talk your way out of a ticket

Hey all! It has been forever since I wrote a personal post because of a social media class I have been writing weekly posts for that just kinda burned me out! Well I had an adventure last night I sent the following story to my persuasion professor after I was pulled over last night, (for the 6th time) in Logan.  Enjoy! 

Last night I was driving home from the library after studying for my "Persuasion" classes final. I was coming down the hill on 14th North just above 8th East, I moved to the right lane and crossed the intersection in what was apparently a right turn only... not 5 seconds after that there were lights behind me and I was pulled over. 

After the officer got out of his car he asked, "Is everything ok??" 

I replied, "Yes, I'm so sorry but I'm not even sure what I did?" ( I really wasn't sure what I did) 

He told me I had gone straight in a right turn only and I just said "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I didn't even realize!" very politely and friendly of course.

He then asked if I had been studying for finals and I said I had been all day. 

When he asked what final it was, I replied "Persuasion" and he said  "Oh really? Well how are you going to persuade me to get out of this ticket?" 

I replied chuckling, "Well I really am so sorry I had no idea what I was doing was wrong," and smiled again. He laughed and said he'd be right back with my information. 

He came back a few minutes later and said "Well here's a funny story, have you ever lived in Salt Lake?" I said, "No I haven't but I am planning on moving there this week."

He said, "Well, apparently there is a girl with the name Sarah B. Stephenson who lives in Salt Lake, has the birthday of 2/18 (mine's 2/17) and there is a warrant for her arrest."

I replied, "Oh my gosh I promise that's not me! I wouldn't even know what I would have a warrant for!" 

He laughed and said, "Nope it's not you. There was a different license and social security number for her. Boy are you lucky I checked or you would have missed your final tomorrow if I had to take you to jail." 

I said, "Oh my gosh thank you for making sure it wasn't me!" 

He then said, "Well, you can go to your final tomorrow and tell your persuasion professor that his class helped you get out of a ticket." 

So thank you Prof. Seiter, I think I came to the conclusion that it was a combination of  nonverbal immediacy and maybe even some warmth appeals that did the the trick I suppose I would have to take Advanced Persuasion to find out more haha :)

Thanks again Prof. John Seiter! 

On a side note that was the 6th time I have been pulled over with only 1 ticket ever. (The first time I was pulled over was for speeding in a school zone, there was no getting out of that one) 

Moral of the story: Always be friendly and kind... it pays off :)