Mmmm...California

(Picture Faye from That Thing You Do saying that.)

Life is great right now. For those of you who don't know, I'm living in California with my aunt and uncle. I'm doing an internship at KKAJ, an accounting firm. For those of you who do know, same thing. Here are just a few of my favorite parts:

• I've loved living with my Aunt Patti, Uncle Dennis, and Cousin Nathan. It has been awesome getting to know them better!
• One weekend I went to Irvine to watch Jessie in a dance competition. It was fun to meet up with her and see how much she's improved!
• Nate (my cousin) is really good at everything I'm bad at. DDR, guitar, bowling, cooking, etc. But he's a really great teacher. He helped me figure out a song on guitar, pass a really hard song on DDR, and get a 132 in bowling (that's good for me.) Now I just need to learn how to make his scrumptious omelets...
• Movie Nights. I love having my aunt, uncle, and cousins show me movies that they love. They have great taste and I love watching movies so it's been great! I finally watched the Bourne series, The Happiest Millionaire, Somewhere in Time, The Importance of Being Earnest, and many more.
• My cousin Alison works at Universal Studios so I went to a pre-screening of The Adjustment Bureau with her. It was fun to be on the lot with her and the movie was pretty interesting.
• U Dennis, A Patti, Alison and I went to a really awesome show in Los Angeles called Traces. It was SO AMAZING! I wish everyone had the chance to see it.
• I've gone to the single's ward a few times with my friend Joanne and it's fun to be with her and get to know new people.
• I went to the Los Angeles Temple for single adult night with Joanne. It was amazing to be in an overflowing baptistery (especially in LA.) Afterwards we walked around the grounds and Joanne told me her conversion story. She was baptized less than a year a go and is such an example to me!
• Work is great and I love it, but I always look forward to my lunch breaks. Why? Everyday I take my lunch breaks outside in the beautiful sun. I've never been warm in February or March and I'm loving it. I may even come back a little tan!
• This last weekend I drove to Las Vegas with Cheralyn (my cousin) and her family, met up with Jessie, David, and Heather there, then went to St George to spend time with the rest of my family that weekend. It was so good to be together! The ride back in our 'girls car' was a blast!
• I really like my job. The people are so great, and I like what I do. I really do look forward to going to work and not many people can say that. Here's my desk. See the two monitors? I'm spoiled.
• My favorite part of my desk are my Valentines from all my nieces and nephews. I know February is over, but they're staying there for a while. They make me feel right at home and they just light up my little workspace.
• There is a bit of a commute to work (30-45 min) but I love it. My uncle and I will talk about life or if we're really tired we'll listen to the news and grunt in disgust at some of the things going on.
• I've driven to Malibu, Santa Barbara, and Irvine. These drives have shown me how beautiful California is! I'm definitely falling in love with it.
• I have loved being part of the King's get-togethers. They have welcomed me into their family and I'm just loving it. I even get to go to part of their reunion starting tomorrow at Newport Beach.

How lucky am I? Am I living the life or what?

I Love Magic

This one's for all those Harry Potter fans!

In the 4th Harry Potter movie Harry walks into what he thinks is an ordinary tent to see this magnificent tent on the inside. Then he says (in a really weird tone I might add), "I love magic." I have to tell you the whole time I was at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter I had that quote in my head.

The Hogwart's Express is the first thing you see when you walk in.

If you're lucky you get to meet the conductor!

Hogsmeade Village.

We went on a Tuesday and there was still a huge crowd so we didn't go into most of the stores.

Isn't it beautiful? Love it.

Hogwarts!!! Also, check out the crowds.

Amazing Castle. You could see it from the freeway and Emma and I were freaking it. It's huge and it looked so cool at night. Unfortunately, none of those pictures turned out well.

This is Kate and me when we were waiting in line for over two hours to get in the castle and on the awesome simulator ride.

More waiting in line.

They didn't have the main characters walking around which I thought was fair, otherwise I would've criticized how little they looked like the actual character. However, they had the conductor by the train and then these characters from the 4th book in front of the dragon challenge roller coaster.

Lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Delicious.

Inside the Three Broomsticks.

Hagrid's hut was next to the ride that was "on" Buckbeak. (The hippogriff)

Castle. So COOL!

Butterbeer = Delicious. Pumpking Juice = Nasty.

The best part of the whole park is the ride inside the castle. It is the most amazing similuation ride I have ever been in. I won't spoil it for everyone and say what's on the inside, but I will say they did such a great job fitting 7 books into 1 ride. If the wait wasn't over 2 hours I would've gone on that ride all day long! Seriously Harry Potter Land was awesome. (A huge thanks to Nelsons who took me!) I highly recommend it to ALL fans!

Meet My Second Family

When I was 13 I started babysitting the Nelson family. At the time it was just little Emma. I quickly came to love her and she was my favorite to babysit. We'd walk to the very little park and swing forever, or we'd play golf with this little set. One time when I was at their house I saw a lot of papers for new houses. I realized that Nelsons were moving and I wouldn't be able to babysit Emma anymore. I was heartbroken. Eventually they moved, but we didn't lose contact like I thought we would. One of the first times I went to their new house it was to meet their second child, Kate. She was a gorgeous little redhead and Emma was such a sweet big sister. Nelsons were so patient and sweet to drive 1/2 an hour one way to come pick me up so I could babysit their kids.

They went on to do this until I got my license and could make the drive. Every once in a while I'd get lucky and I got to babysit the kids overnight and basically play mom for a few days. My favorite part of this was waking up to them crawling into bed with me. Now they have Noah and he is just so much fun and the perfect addition to their family.

Ever since I started babysitting 7-8 years a go, I have been blessed by their friendship. They've taken me on trips to Park City, Mexico, and Florida. They always give such sweet, generous gifts. (Tiffany's necklace, iPod, camera, Coach purse, Kindle, etc.) Most importantly they trust me with their kids and those kids have played a large part in my life. I have loved that and I miss it when I leave.

A few months a go they invited me to go to Florida with them this January. Am I the luckiest girl ever? Yes. So January 8 - 16 I went on the perfect vacation with my second family to Florida and it was amazing! We went to all of the theme parks out there and it was just a ton of fun. I have no idea how to sum it up in one blog post, so I'm going to talk about my favorite memories with each of them.

One day when we were walking along the pier we were talking about funnel cakes and I mentioned I had never had one. The last night we were there Brother Nelson left for a while and came back with a funnel cake because '[I] had to try one before we left.' Also one time while we were waiting in line he jumped out to scare Emma and scared me instead. That was great.

One night we came back exhausted. Okay that was all nights. However, on this night Sister Nelson and I were just wanting to relax and watch TV. Well there was nothing on so we watched Minute to Win it, possibly the worst reality show ever. Also when we were at Harry Potter World we went on this scary roller coaster and it was night so it was like Space Mountain. We were freaking out in line and the little boy behind us was laughing at us. Also we'd always get lost when Brother Nelson wasn't there. (Even in the hotel!)

Emma is a crazy Harry Potter fan like me so we were in Paradise there! We kept talking about the movies saying, "Remember when...." or "This is just like...." Also one morning Emma, Kate, and I read Tangled on Kate's leapfrog thing and it was so much fun. Also at the end of the day we'd pretend like we weren't exhausted and skip and hop over the lines on the sidewalk the whole way home.

Kate always woke up wanting to play games so to start off our perfect days we'd play Princess Go Fish, Phase 10, or do a puzzle. Also, on the flight over once Kate discovered I hadn't seen Toy Story she pulled it up and we watched it on her ipod. Don't worry though I didn't see the sweet ending then. I didn't start crying on the airplane. Nope that would be in the hotel.

Noah kind of loves me you could say. He especially likes me because I took him on the Nemo ride. A lot. So much that I could sing you the song that's on the ride. (In the big, blue world...) So much that I'd sing it in the morning and get in everyone's head. Sorry. Also we'd sometimes hang out while everyone else went on rides. He'd get out of his stroller and we'd just wander around aimlessly.

Are you jealous yet? Because you should be. :) The Nelsons are awesome and I've been so lucky to know them. Thanks Nelsons for taking me to Florida and for being my second family!

20.10.

2010 was a great year. I don't think I'm ready for it be over. Maybe that's because 2011 sounds ugly. I can't decide which is worse 20.11. or two thousand and eleven? Or maybe I'm not ready for 2010 to be over because it was really was a great year.

20 Highlights (or random things I remembered while writing this):

1. Playing in a recital dedicated to my mom. All of the kids participated and she was so surprised and loved it!
2. Going to ND and Ogden to visit my sisters. It's always fun to go to their homes and be with them and their kids.
3. Doing an internship in human resources and discovering it really is what I want to do with my life!
4. Three of my best friends got married. Even though I wasn't able to be there for all of them, it is so fun to see them now so happy with their husbands. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by examples.
5. Two of my Jerusalem friends, Bridget and Daniel, came and visited me in Rexburg. We had so much fun together.
6. Getting surgery in my nose. (See how I bolded in? That's important.) Maybe I'll be able to breathe in 2011.
7. Going through all of the Psych episodes with my little brother Benjy and my cousin Barbara. We had so much fun doing that.
8. Running a company last semester for one of my classes. We were the Green Screen and we were awesome!
9. Going camping with my company at Badger Creek. There was a ropes course there and it was so awesome, except the stupid pole you had to jump off.
10. Falling in love with the guitar and practicing horrible, ugly songs for my class.
11. Living with Tia and Danielle, they're practically my sisters now and they made my apartment home.
12. I bowled a 99. I'm still bugged it couldn't have been 100, but just round up.
13. I read the Book of Mormon with my family in 4 months. We even had weekly quizzes (Thanks David), and summaries. We read the last chapter on Christmas Eve all together. It was awesome.
14. At the beginning of the year I passed my 1/2 way mark through college. This kind of scares me.
15. I had a random old lady stop me on my way to school, tell me I was walking wrong, and teach me how to walk the correct way. Definitely a highlight! :)
16. I finally watched a scary movie. And by watched I mean I hid under a blanket for 15 minutes before I walked out. Good stuff.
17. Weekly sleepovers with Barb (when I was home). Maybe I mention these a lot. Probably because they're all EPIC!
18. Finally getting a calling in my ward. (I've never had a calling up at school and it's been 3 years!) I was on the activities committee for 2 1/2 months and I loved it.
19. Having the whole family (17 and two halves!) together for the Christmas season.
20. Living in Jerusalem!

Obviously the biggest highlight of my year, and maybe my life so far, was the last one. So here are 10 dedicated just to that.

10 Things I thought I'd Never do, but I did in 2010:

1. I lived in Jerusalem for a semester!
2. I hiked Mt. Sinai and watched the sunrise.
3. I rode a camel along the Nile River.
4. I rafted down the Jordan River.
5. I saw the pyramids.
6. I went to Petra (and rode a horse there.)
7. I welcomed in Shabbat at the Western Wall.
8. I had the chance to play the part of Mary in the shepherd's fields overlooking Bethlehem.
9. I took New Testament classes on the shores of Galilee.
10. I went to Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb every week for 4 months.

Yep 2010 was perfect. So it's going to be pretty hard to beat it, but let's go 2011...bring it on!

I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

I decided to end this year off with the ugliest picture taken of me all year. Okay who am I kidding, Sister Jackson took worse pictures in Jerusalem, but this one is still pretty bad. I mean look at the size of my hands!

Why am I donning a paper mustache? Well I decided with the new year maybe I'd try a new nose. Just kidding. But not really. My nose has never really worked. I've always struggled breathing through it which is why I sit in class with my mouth wide open or why I refuse to sleep in public unless my mouth is closed or why I'm always carrying around a big wad of tissues. Looking back my stinking stuffed nose has caused quite a bit of embarrassment. So Wednesday I went in to the hospital dressed in my first hospital gown, got my first IV, and received my first surgery. (I've been so lucky to be healthy and never have a broken or sprained anything, or stitches so this was quite the step.) The procedure took twice as long because when the doctor (My awesome sister in law's dad) was done he realized the cartilage inside my nose was still so crooked and it would still give me problems so he went in and fixed that as well!

I'm feeling pretty great and even though I can't really breathe out of my nose right now because there's a big tissue there I know I will be able to one day and that's exciting. I'm so grateful for modern medicine and technology that have allowed me to get this done. I'm grateful for my awesome mom and all my siblings who are treating me like a queen, to my sweet Aunt Margaret and Uncle Lynn who brought me flowers, to my cousin Barb who brought over a bunch of movies and watched some with me, and great friends who keep texting me to see how I am. I feel so loved, and yes I feel oh so pretty!

12 Memories of Christmas

1. It was finally our turn to have Mutti (my grandma) for Christmas. It was so fun to have her with us for all of our festivities. I wish I could remember all the details, but I have one memory that I love. In our family it's a tradition to all sleep in the same room. Well even though Mutti lived around the corner she insisted on joining us in our tradition. Then she insisted on 'sharing the bed with at least one other person.' So my cute 70 year old grandma slept in a little room with seven crazy kids that Christmas Eve and created a memory I'll never forget.
2. Sledding with the family behind the four wheeler. This is the true way to sled, after all you don't have to walk up any hills and the ride is so much longer! I don't know why more people don't do this. I can just picture my family all bundled up fitting three to a sled sometimes as we rode around.
3. It's always hard to come back to school after Thanksgiving break. Last year I was feeling especially down the whole ride to Rexburg. When I walked in the apartment though I was welcomed by tons of Christmas decorations and my roommates were there to welcome me. Amidst our crazy end-of-semester times we still found time to celebrate Christmas. We had a fabulous Christmas party and even sent out Christmas cards. Aren't we adorable?
   
4. Long, long a go we were caroling in our beautiful blue van. I don't remember exactly how it happened but the sliding door broke off so we went around that night holding the van door up as we drove from house to house. I don't think we ever made it through the caroling song that night without one of us laughing remembering the broken door on the van.
5. One of my favorite traditions is we get to open one present on Christmas Eve. Well one Christmas Eve we got back from caroling and all went to change into our pajamas. When we came upstairs we found Benjy, who was probably 5 at the time already playing with the truck/construction set that he had decided to open from Mutti. For some reason I thought this was the funniest thing.
6. One year I really wanted a motor scooter. Mostly because I'm lazy and it seemed nice not to walk everywhere. Well as Christmas got closer there was this big box under the tree with my name on it. I was so excited, I was going to get my sweet scooter! Christmas day came and I opened it to discover...an air purifier! This was also the Christmas that I got contacts in my stocking! I love to tease my mom about this because even though at the time it seemed weird...these are the two gifts that I've used the most and I've loved them.
7. When Sara was a student at BYUI I remember feeling Christmas didn't quite start until she came home. One year her ride was dropping her off in Draper so we all loaded into the car and listened to Christmas music as we drove to pick her up. The weather was really bad and the older folk were nervous but Marie and I seemed oblivious so we just had a party in the backseat as we waited in this mall parking lot for Sara to come. I remember being SO excited and having a blast with Marie.
   
8. I have many memories of Christmas recitals, especially my mom's recitals. These recitals were sweet because they were sing alongs. Well they were sweet when you knew the song. If you didn't know the song the singers didn't wait for you so you had to hurry and catch up. Fast.
9. When Jessie, Marie, and I all shared a room we had a tradition in the winter time. We always woke up to the heater turning on. So we'd grab a big blanket, crawl under it, and then put it over the heater. Then as soon as it was over we'd crawl back into bed. I don't know why our room was always cold at night...
10. Two years a go our family was all together for Christmas. It snowed a ton and we wanted to get out so my brother Chris suggested we go play soccer. (Of course that's the sensible thing to do with a ton of snow.) We put on a gazillion random layers and went to Westridge to play soccer. We could barely run the snow was so deep and we were so bundled, but it was so much fun. Plus we looked really cool:
11. When I was 17 I had the opportunity to be in Savior of the World. This allowed me the chance to bear my testimony of the Savior's birth through song all through the Christmas season. I found it impossible to forget the true meaning of Christmas this year. It was such an amazing experience, I wish everyone could have it.
12. I have so many memories of opening thoughtful gifts Christmas morning and being so touched. There is NO way I could name them all, so I'll pick one of the earliest I remember. On Christmas Eve I went into the laundry room to find Marie ironing which seemed odd. Well she quickly hid what she was doing and so I ran out. Later that night I found out that Chrissy had made all the girls matching pajamas and Marie had made little outfits for our dolls. I'm still so touched when I think of the hours that Marie (who couldn't have been more than 13) and Chrissy spent on those pajamas. This is just one example of so many. Every year gifts like these remind me of the true meaning of Christmas.

Nothing Like the Holidays!

"I just love this time of year. All the red. And green. "

Isn't it the best? Well I wanted to write a post because I'm excited about Christmas and I'm procrastinating homework. So win/win. Since I just keep making lists on my blog I decided to make some more! Yay!

Best Christmas Movies: (order is still debatable)

1. How The Grinch Stole Christmas
2. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
3. Meet Me in St. Louis
4. Muppet Christmas Carol
5. White Christmas
6. Elf

Best Christmas Songs:

1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
2. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
3. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - Nsync (yep I just went from Crosby to Nsync)
4. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
5. Christmas Eve - Celine Dion

Best Christmas CDs:

1. Handel - The Messiah
2. Jenny Oak Baker - O Holy Night
3. Kurt Bestor -Kurt Bestor Christmas
4. James Oneil Minor - Christmas Dreaming
5. Josh Groban - Noel

Best Christmas Treats

1. Hot Chocolate
2. Peppermint Ice Cream with Hot Fudge
3. Candy
4. Candy Canes
5. Candy Corns and Syrup

Best Christmas Traditions:

1. Caroling as a family. So many memories from this!
2. All sleeping in the same room on Christmas Eve. I look forward to that this year. Think all 16 of us will fit?
3. Opening presents one by one Christmas day. Similarly, opening a present on Christmas eve.
4. Decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. The first few hours of this are quite fun.
5. Christmas card pictures! They're kind of always a pain to take, but I love them. My favorite Christmas decoration in the house is the big frame with all of our Christmas card pictures in it. There are some pretty bad ones. Like this beauty below. My mom wanted to do a scarf/turtleneck theme. Well Jessie didn't own any turtlenecks so she's wearing Sara's and Sara and Chrissy are wearing my mom's. Benjy's scarf has pink on it, so that's why it's tucked under. I just love this pic so much. David's backstreet boy stance is probably my favorite. I'm still trying to figure out how this one didn't get picked.

These are just a few of the reasons why I'm excited for Christmas. I have 16 others though! My whole family is going to be together for Christmas this year. Here's a picture of our last Christmas together. Add 4 1/2 and you've got my family!

Does she think she's going to end up with the fictional character?

Not think. Know.

Welcome to the post that reveals Becky's celebrity crushes. Okay this post is going to embarrass me completely, but that's okay. You know why? Because everyone has these ridiculous crushes, and don't you even try to deny it! I know you do. So let's bring mine out. Starting with actors....

James Marsden. I think this picture says it all, but in case you need more excuses here it goes...James Marsden is awesome because he is versatile. From Enchanted to Hairspray to 27 Dresses (which I actually hate except for the parts with him) to X-Men to Saved by the Bell (he's in a few episodes) to horror movies that I don't watch he can do it all. Plus he's got a great smile and gorgeous eyes. Oh yeah and he can sing. So he wins.

Gene Kelly. The gentleman. The singing. The dancing. The smile full of dimples. Maybe I've had a crush on Gene Kelly since I was a little girl and watched Singing in the Rain. I just love his voice, it's so simple but still

gorgeous. Then he starts to dance! Just when I thought he couldn't get any better I saw this clip: Gene Kelly. (It gets good 2 min in.) Okay so maybe there's all this gossip that he wasn't nice and maybe he's dead. But come on, can't a girl dream?

So of course I have plenty other little crushes on actors, but I think these two are the biggest and the ones I'm least ashamed of. Now let's move on to my musician crushes. Turns out Lance from NSYNC is gay, but that crush was so 10 years a go and these men are way cooler.

Meet Benton Paul. I first heard him when he opened for David Archuleta. I really like his simple style of music and I love his lyrics. I may or may not have heard him live 5 times. Not because I'm a crazy weirdo fan, but because it's always cheap and convenient. Here's a picture from the other day when he came to Rexburg to do a show. Here's one of my favorite songs: I Only See You.

William Joseph. I first heard his music when Chrissy and I were driving to a concert about six years a go. Now I have both of his CDs, and one of his books. I think his music is just so beautiful. I was so excited when I found out he was coming to BYU-Idaho last fall. Best. Concert. Ever. Seriously it was incredible! I hope he comes again. Here's one of my favorite songs of his: A Mother's Heart.

There are my musician crushes. Justin Bieber made a close third. Just kidding. Next section - dancing crushes. So normal people wouldn't have a section for their favorite dancing celebrities, but since when have I been normal? Plus when you watch So You Think You Can Dance faithfully you're bound to get a few crushes. So here are the dancing men crushes:

Twitch. Twitch was probably my favorite dancer ever on So You Think You Can Dance. He always had the coolest solos, he did pretty well in all genres, and he had an awesome personality. Plus since the show he's actually gone places! He was on Hairspray, Step up 3, Stomp the Yard 2, and an episode of Bones. (I can't believe I suffered through that. What a boring show.) I just love watching Twitch dance. Also "I want to bake cookies on his stomach." (Please know what I'm quoting.) Here's a sample of why he is awesome: Twitch Solo.

Neil Haskell. Neil is my second favorite dancer (maybe 1st?) to be on So You Think You Can Dance. You want to talk about awesome personalities? He wins. Seriously he was so funny and oh boy he is an amazing dancer! Since the show he's been on one awesome movie (The American Mall), now he just needs to be in more! I couldn't find one dance that was my favorite of him and showed off his talent completely, but I think this is a fun dance: Neil and Sara disco.

So there you have it. My celebrity crushes. Am I embarrassed? Extremely, but I know you have them too!

We have so much, that we can share!

In light of my favorite holiday coming up I thought I'd write a thankful post. A whole post without sarcasm? Well I'll try. I was going to write a list of the things I'm most thankful for; the gospel, my family, my friends, school, America, etc. However I hope you all know that I'm thankful for those things, so here are some random things that I love (and I'm thankful for them):

1. Getting letters in the mail. Barbara's always have hilarious stories and awesome aliases, Bridget's include games, Christine's are always longer than 10 pages, and missionary letters are just awesome!

2. Sitting by the fire reading Christmas stories. (Bonus = hot chocolate)

3. Waking up Sunday morning to a clean house.

4. Big, baggy sweatshirts. I have this routine where as soon as I'm done with school the sweater comes off and the big hoodie goes on.

5. Tootsie Rolls. Best. Candy. Ever.

6. The electric blanket in my bed. Love it.

7. Puzzles.

8. Sleeping in fresh, clean sheets.

9. Hot cars. Maybe Jessie and I will sometimes just sit in the carport postponing getting out.

10. Hearing the nieces and nephews say my name.

11. Bookstores. I hate shopping, but I could spend hours in there.

12. Skype.

13. Family dinners at Aunt Margaret's. Perfect meat, mashed potatoes, rolls, and plenty of desserts. Oh yeah, good company too.

14. Singing with family. I have so many wonderful memories gathered around the piano learning our new caroling song, or the song we were going to sing in church, or making up our own Sound of Music medley (oh boy that was embarrassing.)

15. The love of traveling that was passed down from my grandma, Mutti, to my mom, to me.

16. Beautiful fall days. Fall is the best season. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

17. "The nice feeling I get in Sunday School."

18. Phone calls with siblings. Recently I was especially touched when my little brother called me because he heard I was having a bad day. What a gem.

19. The end of really productive days. Even though they may seem hectic I love sitting at the end and thinking, hmm....I just accomplished a lot.

20. Babysitting. It's like playing mom. I'm especially thankful the Nelsons always let me watch their kids. I've loved babysitting for them for almost 7 years! I love watching them grow up and I'm glad I get to be a small part of their lives.

21. Beautiful scores. Also, Handel's Messiah.

22. Coloring. I have this recent fetish with coloring. It's a little weird.

23. Random memories of Jerusalem that pop in my head.

24. Watching Disney movies. Preferably animated.

25. It waited until yesterday to snow. I'm very thankful for that.