Quick Trip

This past weekend, Josh and I took a super quick trip to southern California. We left Thursday afternoon and stopped in Las Vegas for the night. We stayed at the New York New York. Unfortunately, it was Game 7 of the NBA Playoffs. So for the first THREE HOURS we watched the game....well I fell asleep and Josh watched the game. Sadly, it ended bad for Josh and the rest of the Celtic fans. After the game, we went out to dinner at the new Hard Rock resturant on the Strip. It was such great food and a really neat atmosphere. Then we walked around, but returned to the hotel pretty early. We woke up super early and ate at a cute little cafe in New York New York. Then we drove straight to DISNEYLAND!!!! It was sooooo crowded, but being the smart ones we are, we rode single rider on the big rides. It made it so much more enjoyable instead of waiting for an hour in line. We ate some great food and enjoyed Fantasmic. It is always the best date when I can spend it with Josh at the Happiest Place on Earth!!
Friday night we arrived at my parents house at like midnight. We shortly went to bed. Saturday we enjoyed playing with all the kids and seeing the babies. They are never going to remember us :( That's why we have to go see them all the time!!!! We were able to go to the beach and then spend the day with my Sheppard Grandparent's and Aunt Robyn. We gave my dad his Father's day gift and Mom her birthday gift. William got tired early on, so that's why there are so many pictures of Lillee.









Later that night, Josh and I went to the Irvine Spectrum and got Golden Spoon and walked around. Sunday morning we left around 9:00 am. It was a long drive home. Our "Check Engine" light came on and we lost about an hour in Vegas by looking for a Jiffy Lube. We found one and everything was ok.

It was a nice weekend and we look forward to making the trip next month for Kasey and Preston's wedding. My family is all coming up for 4th of July weekend and we are going to Stadium of Fire. Woohoo!!!

Safety

This past week has been much of an emotional roller coaster. I have committed to volunteer at the Women and Children's Crisis center which is a shelter for domestic violence victims and a rape hot line. Last Tuesday, I started my 20 hours of training and it was sure exhausting. Tuesday night it was from 5-9 pm, Thursday it was from 6-9, and Saturday it was from 8:30-4:30pm. We had workshops and lessons on how to deal with people who have been victims of these traumatic experiences. We had to learn all about rape and domestic violence, how to talk and listen to the victims and their children, how to get out of our comfort zone, different protocols to take, how to run the shelter, how to answer the phones, what to do in emergency cases, etc. At the same time, in my Women's Health class we were learning about the SAME topics. THEN, a UVU female student, living at Branbury Apartments in Provo, was raped while walking on a very popular trail at 3:00 in the afternoon. Her predator beat hear almost to death but somehow she managed to crawl up to the trail where people found her. She is still in critical condition and the doctors do not know if she will end up living. It seriously makes me physically ill to hear about this kind of thing. Utah is the highest state of rape...1 in 3 women will be raped. The national average is 1 in 4. I can't believe it! This subject is the only thing that poor Josh has been hearing about lately. Everyday I come home and tell him everything I learned throughout the day. I am so glad that I have chosen to volunteer though. Going through all the workshops I have learned so much and a lot of my prejudices and stereotypes have been broken. We only think that one kind of person is raped, or a certain social group, or in certain situations...but it can happen to ANYONE at ANYTIME. It just really makes me so sad that our world has become so violent.

One thing that I learned is that there are video games where you get points for raping and beating women and for having sex with a prostitute. WHAT?! Luckily they recalled the game, but it is still out there just with the raping part out. You get points and health for doing these activities on a video game? Young kids and teenagers are doing this everyday on their TV, no wonder it's going on all the time in the real world.

I just want to let everyone know what a big deal this really is and how often times we live in a bubble and are not educated on the matter, or we try and ignore it and think it will never happen to us, or whatever the reason is. Let's stop blaming the victim, they are already blaming them self they don't need others doing it too. Let's be very cautious everywhere we go and be familiar with our surroundings. Let's not go places by ourselves, but with others. Let's not be ignorant and understand that we too can be victims.

These are the types of people who need to be loved the most. I would love to have a career where I was working with these victims. That's why I decided to volunteer and be their friend. I would encourage everyone to reach out to those who are in need. It could be a neighbor or a family member. We don't know everyone's stories, especially cases like these...they are not going to tell people. We have to be so sensitive to others. I have really learned this this past week. My blog is right now acting like my journal. I am not calling people out, but reminding myself and hopefully I never forget the things I have recently learned.

After a Long Time Waiting...

Josh got into the Masters of Accountancy, also know as the MAcc. It has been a long time (it feels like) that we have been waiting, but now we know for sure and we are able to finally plan for the next two years. I am thrilled!! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to graduate...I would have still had one semester left. But Heavenly Father sure has blessed us and Josh is really excited. He can't believe he will be a GRADUATE student!! I am so proud of my adorable husband and I know that he will continue to succeed in throughout his life.

Last night we just had to celebrate. We went to Brick Oven pizza, and it was actually quite disappointing :( But we had fun. Of course our waiter was from Mission Viejo and since he recognized me, we started talking. He is from Mission 1st ward, Eric Ammonson (sp?). Played the name game, blah blah blah.









After dinner, we went over to BYU campus and just walked around. It was such a nice evening, we didn't want to be indoors. We went and sat over in Josh's favorite part of campus, then walked around the Law building.

Towards the end of any date, you're ready for a treat. We went to Starbucks and got their non-coffee frappocino drinks. I love them and got Josh's expectations up too much. He liked them, but not loved them.

I love spending time with my cute hubby. He is so good to me and keeps me laughing all day. I look forward to many more exciting times in our life that we will get to celebrate. Way to go honey!!!!

Current Events

Here is an update on what's been going on...

Last Saturday, we bought a grill at Target (thank you to all the gift cards) and poor Josh had to assemble the whole thing Sunday night. After 3 hours of working hard, he finished.

The next day was Memorial day and we had a little BBQ with some of our friends. It was fun to see some of our newly married friends. Of course I forgot to take pictures :(

Thursday was the Lakers vs. Celtics Game 1. We went over to Tahnee and Tyler's to watch. Of course, Lakers won (sorry Josh). We had pizza, ice cream and other treats. It was a fun little get together. (Some the pictures are a little blurry.)


Josh works full-time for a guy who owns a ton of property in Provo and Orem, including Seven Peaks Waterpark (the largest in Utah) and Trafalga (a family fun center). One of the perks of working for this particular person (well, the whole family bascially runs the business) is there are great perks. The greatest? Season pass to both Seven Peaks AND Trafalga. What does this include you ask? At Seven Peaks: free parking, free tube rental, discounted food, free day passes, and three additional season passes (of course, one for me) which we gave the last two to Tahnee and Tyler. At Trafalga: free go carts, mini golf, batting cages, 25 tokens EACH for the arcade, simulator ride and discounted food! So last night, we went to Trafalga for date night. It also happens to be mine and Josh's first date EVER!

One year ago...

Last night...

I am just waiting for Josh to get home from the gym so we can go to Seven Peaks and get some sun. The weather is GORGEOUS today and I can't wait to get outside. We already did all of our shopping and errands. It's going to be a beautiful week and hopefully the rest of the summer as well.

We also booked our hotel in Las Vegas. We are going home in two weeks so see those darn cute babies I am missing so bad...and the rest of the family of course. We are leaving at noon on June 17 and driving to Vegas and staying in the New York New York.

The next morning, we will get up and drive straight to DISNEYLAND!!! We both can't wait. We miss it so much. Then on Sunday, we will make the long trek back to Provo.