Hello, Seattle.

Saturday morning... we left for Seattle, Washington!!

 Brother!

Sydney would "hook up' to mom's purse anytime we walked around. She's a mess!

This... is my dad and this picture shows exactly why we call him 'Pops'. His hair is getting grayer, his vision is starting to fail him, and then there's his "turtle tongue". (You'd be better off not asking.) But, no matter how old he gets, and how many gray hairs we give him.. we'll still love him :)

Seattle from my hotel room. 

Ran into one of my friends from BYU! Hannah Hoyt. AKA: The QB.

We spent the first day in Seattle just wandering around. There was a huge parade for some festival they had going on, so most of the downtown area was packed! We saw some pretty sketchy people. Washington is a pretty liberal state, and between paying 5 cents for sacks at stores, 4/20 t-shirts everywhere, and covering Sydney's eyes a few times I realized, again, how much I love Oklahoma. (Even if it is absurdly hot there in the Summer.)

The second day we did some shopping, and walked down to the pier. We also went to the market, which was really cool. Lots of fish, fruit, and flowers. 

 At the pier!

Quickly making friends at a park in Seattle.

So far, so good! And.. the best is yet to come. Getting on the cruise boat in a couple hours, and then next stop... ALASKA!

P.S. Dear Okies: I apologize for leaving you at this dreadful time. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a temperature of 110 on my 7-day forecast for Oklahoma. But.. gotta say, it's wonderful timing on my part. 

My brother is home :)

My brother is home!!!

So happy the family is all together again. It's a feeling like no other. So blessed to be with them for eternity :) 

---Yes, my hair is brown. Kinda crazy, huh? I've highlighted it since 8th grade, so its always been blonde... but my natural color has darkened quite a bit. So, I decided to go brown :) 

Headed to Seattle now, and then cruising to Alaska with the Orr family this next week! It's going to be AWESOME!! (and cold!)

Texas & the Week Ahead...

Went to Texas for the weekend with Sydney, Mom, and my roommate Jessica! My aunt Jenn had her baby! His name is Brody Scott Krueger and he is adorable.

While in Frisco, I saw my other roommate, Madison! We all went shopping at the outlet mall, and scored some awesome deals. Then, of course, I saw my Texas besties - McKall and Mallory. Hoping to squeeze one last trip in before I go home, but... I think it's time they make a trip up to Oklahoma now :)

I'm not sure if you know this or not, but I have an older brother coming home this week!! Brando will be home Thursday.. yes, Thursday. I am so proud of him. He had to come home for 3 months for knee surgery, and still went back out. That's not an easy thing to do, but he did it. He was an amazing missionary; he shared the gospel with more people than I could have ever imagined. Ah..  I've missed my big bro. 

 April 2010

 Easter 2010

 My 17th Birthday

Sending him back out after surgery, Nov. 2010

So much has changed in the last two years! But, I can't wait to have the family all together again :) He gets home, and then we leave Saturday for Seattle, and hop on a cruise Monday to Alaska! We're going with Orr side of the family for Grandpa's 80th. This week will be super busy.... but very fun.

This week..

Hello everyone!

If you've seen the TLC commercial, where a guy says he's "crafting his (ace) off"..well, that's been me this week.  

Here is what I've finished..

This is my favorite.

 I found some wood at the farm, painted it, outlined the state with nails and then wrapped string all around it! And... Voila! :)

I can't take much credit for this one, but I have been helping mom with it. It's all of my high school t-shirts, into one big blanket. I love it!! Mom has done an awesome job, and I can't wait to have it on my bed at school next year.

I've also finished a total of 4 aprons.. I have 2 to finish this week. So I'll post a picture once I finish all 6 of them. These are for myself, and my roommates! Then I'm working on this frame with the home states of all my roommates. It's going to look pretty neat; I just need to take the time to finish it.

Other things of note this week..

• I loaded up on stuff from my great-grandma's house, who passed earlier this year. I'm really grateful that I'm going to be able to use a lot of her stuff for my apartment! Kitchen supplies, a TV, etc. My roommates and I are all very excited to not have to worry about purchasing these things. It's been quite a blessing. 

• I have a new baby cousin! His name is Brody Scott Krueger, I'll hopefully be heading down to Dallas next weekend to see him.

• I was able to listen to Ryan Hawkley's homecoming talk! He served as a missionary in Brazil for 2 years, and it was really cool to see how it's affected his life. He seems a lot more confident in himself, and much stronger in his testimony of Jesus Christ. It's truly amazing what missions can do. 

• Speaking of missions... Brandon will be home in 11 days! :)

A quote I read in the book I'm reading, that I really liked..

"There's a big confusion in this country over what we want versus what we need. You need food, you want a chocolate sundae. You have to be honest with yourself. You don't need the latest sports car, you don't need the biggest house. The truth is, you don't get satisfaction from those things. You know what really give you satisfaction? Offering others what you have to give. Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

-Tuesdays with Morrie

Wait... what?

Did you know I'm already a sophomore at BYU??

Where did the time go?? 

I know you're thinking... "Shelby, you said in the last post you wanted time to speed up so you could get to Utah!" 

Yeah.. well.. I have been journalizing my scrapbooks that mom finished and realized.. time is already going by fast. 

I think it hit me today that.. I'm living my dreams. Riiiight... now! 

I remember when I was 14, I went to EFY for the first time. It's a week-long summer camp my church has. It was the first time I had been around such a large group of Mormon kids my age. It was then that I realized... Mormons aren't too bad :) And... maybe someday... I should go to a school full of them! BYU was my goal from then on. 

Fast-forward to when I'm 17, the night before my brother leaves to serve a 2-year mission for the Lord. It's probably 2am, he's laying on my bed and we are talking about all the things that will happen while he's gone. I would graduate from high school, go to BYU, and finish my freshman year of college before he came home. I remember saying that I hoped I'd make good friends in college. But Brandon was always more worried about the boys. Before he received his call, he told me that he was going to serve in Provo so that he could keep an eye on me. After he was called to Salt Lake City, he said "See, I told you!" :) 

And now.. I'm 19. Brandon comes home in 18 days, and all of those things have happened!

It's crazy how fast the time goes. Before I know it, I'll be turning 30 with kids running around the house and a sweet husband by my side.

I'm excited for what's going to come in the many years ahead, but right now...

I'm going to enjoy where I am now :)

Utah... I miss you.

I've been home for over 2 months... and I'm ready to get back to Provo.

I miss the mountains, the cool weather, and all my friends.

I'm excited to see my roommates again. 

I'm ready to put all the different Pinterest crafts we've made in our apartment.

I'm just...  ready for this next school year... Please come faster!?

Don't get me wrong...I love Oklahoma. But at this point in my life... it's not where I'm supposed to be. 

4 weeks until Brandon gets home & our Alaska Cruise

5 weeks until my last day of work

6 weeks until I head to Utah

7 weeks until I move-in to my apartment

8 weeks until sophomore year begins..

It's going to all go by fast...

P.S. My current crafts: I finished 2 aprons, in the process of working on 2 more, and then still need to find fabric for the last 2. Also working two other crafts. I'll post pictures soon.