Well, its been a busy week. My birthday was good...I went out with friends Friday and had a lot of fun. I've been keeping busy with work and school. This weather, its killing me. I love thunderstorms and cooler temperatures, but I don't like the muscle pain and fatigue I get when its like this. As a matter of fact its pouring right now and hear thunder rolling, its so peaceful for me, but my back, knees, and hands hurt. In 2 days, it will be 7 years since my Uncle Ed died right off Apple Avenue. Other than that, not much is going on and I'm doing well. Ok, I have to get to class now.

21

So I turned 21 yesterday. It was a nice simple birthday. Mom cooked my favorite dinner, Rion came over (he gave me 2 of my favorite things: mountain dew voltage and nerd ropes) and he bought my cake, we hung out at the house, and watched one of my favorite shows (Las Vegas). It was nice. Towards the end of the evening though, as Amanda got more and more tired, she became more and more upset. Teddy's death has hit her the hardest. Out of everyone in our family, Teddy loved Amanda the most. He would sleep with her at night, he would sit with her on the couch (and she didn't even need to have food), and he would give her hugs. Now that he's gone, Amanda doesn't feel like any of the other cats love her and that he was the only one. She wants him back, alive, and loving her. Its too bad that she feels this way, we only have 10 other cats, but that doesn't change almost 13 years of love from 1 cat. Hopefully she'll find comfort in another cat soon.

Iowa-Nauvoo Trip

So the rest of our Iowa-Nauvoo Family trip went well. Friday, Aunt Karen took Mom & I to get massages and Amanda to get a manicure. It was really nice of her to do for us and I definitely enjoyed my massage. After that we headed to Grandma & Grandpa's to pick up Kristina and visit for a few minutes. Aunt Karen, Uncle Kevin, and my family went out to dinner and then headed back to the house. It was nice spending the rest of the evening relaxing, watching movies, and playing a quick game (maybe not...it took forever)of Phase 10. Saturday most of us slept in before being treated to a wonderful breakfast by Uncle Kevin. We had a nice little visit with Jordan and Cindy, before heading back to Nauvoo to check out some stuff we missed. We started by visiting the graves of Joseph, Hyrum, and Emma. There was such a peaceful feeling there, one that is hard for me to describe. We went to Joseph's Red Brick Store, as well as the Brick Yard, the Scovil Bakery, and the Family Living Center. One of my favorite homes we visited was Browning's Gunsmith Shop and Home. I loved all the cool guns...my favorite was the 1844 Colt Revolver (even though the tour guide thought all of us women would like the Derringers). We stopped at the temple so I could take pictures of it, along with the Memorial Statue for Joseph & Hyrum. After that we headed down so I could take pictures at the Women's Garden by the Visiting Center. It was really nice to enjoy a few quiet moments with just Uncle Kevin and Aunt Karen. There weren't any other moments I got to share with them like that one. Finally we headed back to home for the day to watch a movie and play another game. Then Sunday, my family headed back to Michigan. As much as I enjoyed the trip to Iowa and Nauvoo, I'm glad to be home again.

Vacation so far...

Yesterday my parents, sisters, & I came down to Iowa to visit and drop Kristina off at Grandma & Grandpa's house, as well as to visit my Mom's sisters Karen & Delmarae. So yesterday after arriving, we spent a nice evening, dinner, bonfire, and spending the night at Aunt Karen's. Then today we headed to Carthage Jail and Nauvoo. We enjoyed the spirit and feeling of Carthage Jail and Dairy Queen for lunch (I had to have a butterfinger blizzard). After that we headed to Nauvoo to attend some shows and dinner at Aunt Delmarae's. "High Hopes & Riverboats" was fun, dinner was great, and "Sunset by the Mississippi" was entertaining. I must say though, that the Nauvoo Pageant was absolutely wonderful. The spirit I felt while watching it was great. I recommend all three, but I definitely recommend the Nauvoo Pageant. Now I'm sitting back at Aunt Karen's house about to head to bed, ready to rest up for tomorrow's adventure. Beautiful pictures will be coming soon, but here's a preview...

Teddy Bear

Our cat Tiger died just over a month ago. A few days later his biological brother Teddy, realized what had happened, and gave up on life. He stopped eating and drinking, he would just lie around the house, sad and lonely. It went on that way for a week or so, and he started getting a little happier, he was talking and begging for food again, but it was short lived. Last Thursday morning, Teddy finally stopped fighting and passed on. I am happy that he is with his brother again. Tiger was the only cat Teddy loved, and it showed the day Teddy gave up on life. Both of them will be missed. Love you boys.

I know I haven't been keeping up but here's what has happened in the last couple weeks...

I started my Summer Semester at MCC taking Police Administration at the end of June, I had my wisdom teeth out last Wednesday, and we're heading to Iowa this Wednesday to visit my Aunts and Grandparents, Kristina will be staying down there for a few weeks.

Hopefully more exiting stuff will come soon.