Baby Boys

I got to watch my nephew earlier this week. He's a doll and wicked smart! Another one of my siblings had a son this week. He is a cutie. My family certainly knows how to make smart and adorable offspring.

Bunny Love

On an emotionally tolling day like today, sometimes all I need is some rabbit love. My boys can make it all better. Despite what Shaun thinks he wants, he was meant to be cuddled with. I think it's why he likes jumping up onto my bed so much, subconsciously he wants to held. Gustier on the other hand is a speed demon. His current pass time of choice is sitting in the window or climbing on all the shelves in the closet.

Family, Fair, Fireworks

My grandma has run into quite a few health issues in the last few days. For the last few months she has been falling asleep in the middle of doing things and ends up falling down and really hurting her self. The last few times I've seen her she has looked like a beaten raccoon. These falls have caused some accumulative damage that are now starting to take a toll. A few weeks ago I would have given her a few years to live and now it's hard to say if she'll be around at Thanksgiving this year. It's quite tragic really, I feel like I'm watching someone dance with death. She can no longer stand on her own, walking and using the bathroom alone are completely out of the question. Her short term memory is gone and she has a hard time remembering to eat and take her pills. Having conversations with her is difficult as well. You ask her a question and her answer has nothing to do with anything. It's hard for me to absorb this whole experience. She is my last living grandparent and it's really depressing to just watch her turn into nothing. I don't even know how to really describe my emotions when it comes to this just because I'm so perplexed by it all.

My Uncle and his family are planning on coming to visit next month due to the fact that we haven't seen them in 5 years. I am kind of excited though, while I may not get a long with most of them very well I do have one cousin that I click with and he's thinking about bringing out his boyfriend and I'd love to meet him. Yep, you read right. His boyfriend. I have a gay cousin and I absolutely adore him and I hope the best for him and the current relationship he is in. I know that the church I believe in might not be an advocate of gay rights but I figure if it makes you happy it's all good. I think my cousin will be a fabulous dad too. I can't wait to see him adopt a baby a few years down the road. That baby will be going into a good house.

In other news my dear friend Hilary and I drew pictures for our friend who is out of state for the summer. Hilary's picture was LMFAO themed and I think it's absolutely splendid. I loved it so much she ended up drawing me my own version. While we drew our pictures for Jim we sang loud and proud to all the Lonely Island songs. Oh man, we had a good time. It turns out I can't draw at all. We also made a Starbucks run with the always adorable Katie and we exchanged all kinds of stories and it was all kinds of good times.


In other friendly news. I had a lunch date with Miss Maren this week and it was great. I love spending time with her. I wish I could see her more but she's pretty busy now a days. I also saw Gabe, Manil and I met another boy from the ward named John. They are good folk. We saw The Artist and exchanged stories and youtube videos.

Despite all of those things, the best part of my week was seeing Zackery on Saturday. He has been on restriction from seeing me because he had lied to the people who work at the halfway house. But this week I got to see him again!! I was ecstatic! However, there were some rules I had to follow when I saw him, like I can only go to the halfway house and then there were places we could and couldn't go and there was a curfew. I was terribly nervous about hanging out a halfway house though. Even the thought of it made my anxiety sky rocket. There's not anything wrong with the place or the people. I was just terrified. I guess it's just not my usually hangout is what I'm getting at.

I am glad to say that it went well though. I met some new people, they were very interesting to say the least. One man I met, Boyd, is a part of the SAC Gang and he told me all about it. I was very fascinated by it actually. I was taught about the basic beliefs and the structure of the gang and how it is a real brotherhood. He was cool. I think we're friends now? He said if anyone tried to mess with me that he'd take care of it. So that was nice. I guess that should be a waning to all of you that I have serious people looking out for me. Don't mess with it.

I met a girl, Sammy, who is super super cute and apparently she is the "whore" of the house but she was very nice. She has 2 kids. She's 24. She seemed pretty chill and she knows everything about everyone in the house. We clicked pretty well to the point that I concluded that if I lived there she'd be my best friend. She also said she had my back. So despite my original fear that I'd be a hated outsider I think I did pretty well for day 1 at the halfway house.

I really am pleased with how it went. Zack and I were able to go to the fair and we went grocery shopping which really is a whole days event for Zack just because he really does take his dear time at the store. ( REALLY THOUGH! We were there for 2 hours! 2 bloody hours!! I love this boy but that is simply too much time at the store.) We cooked some food, played chess, walked around, watched some tv, and to top it all off we watched some fireworks with Sammy. All in all it was a good day.

Mountain Sea

This week has been hectic. There was a lot to do at Walden to get ready for summer school and it starts bright and early tomorrow morning. I feel like my co-workers and I are ready but you can never anticipate the curveballs that Walden can throw. I am very excited to spend the month of June with some amazing kids. There really is no other way I'd be happy with my summer.

Last Friday was the first Rooftop Concert Series worth going to. I had a hard time finding someone to go with by my dear friend Hilary decided to come last minute which I really appreciated. We had a splendid time being serenaded by Desert Noises and The Moth & The Flame. It was terribly crowded but between and the hipsters and the hipster wannabes in the area I should have expected such. I loved the show. There is some splendid local talent in these here parts. I am very proud that I can associate myself with such skill and passion for music. I hope I can continue to support these two bands. They have so much potential.

Other things I've enjoyed lately are The Big Bang Theory and the film 50/50. I would love my own Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Dr. Sheldon Cooper. They would bring significant joy to my life.  But alas, I will have to try to make it by with out them in person and just watch them on my television. I have 4 seasons of Big Bang to go so I am set for Sheldon but as for Joseph I just might need to purchase some more films and replay them all summer long. If that fails I can always count on Dexter Morgan to make my insides warm and fuzzy. I still have 1 season to go before I am all caught up and my father is trying to convert me to Grimm and that definitely posesses significant potential to become a new love based on the pilot.

In other news, my beloved vehicle needs some work done and that comes out to about $1000 (Ouch). So my hopes of taking a road trip might no longer occur unless a money tree appears in my back yard. It breaks my heart (and my wallet), but what can you do? I must find a new job soon but this is proving to be quite difficult as most of the jobs my heart desires has a required age of 21 which is about a year away...

Zackery is doing well. He's angry but this is expected with all the life transitions he is going through. The program he has joined has asked that we have "friendship counseling" which has been a very, very interesting experience thus far. At this juncture the program asks that the counseling session be the only time I see him through out the week. We are allowed to talk on the phone once a day for a few minutes but Zack and I would both like more interaction with each other, but if the program wants things to happen this way then I feel obligated to live by their rules. I am very proud of him. I know things are very difficult on his end but I feel like he is making great strides in a positive direction.

Hollaback Gurl.

It's time for a quick catch up! Winter semester was great! I saw Fun., Imagine Dragons, Battle of the Bands, Joshua James and Isaac Russell concerts. I also managed to see the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games, went to Holi, ate at The Pie, made it to a few ward gatherings, watched Troll 2, made who knows how many midnight Denny's runs, met Jason Alexander, went to an AA meeting (just for kicks), went to the aquarium 3 whole times, saw a plethora a movies, kissed a handful a men and caught up with a few old friends. Oh the joys of college.

And now I'd like to formally welcome you all to summer. I hope it is going well for all of you! Mine has been fairly eventful thus far. I had some family come into town and that was great! I really adore my brother and his family. I am always so grateful whenever I can see them, which is usually just Christmas so this was a real treat. We just had a picnic of sorts and all the family that was around was brought together. It was super chill but made me wish that I had a better relationship with my siblings but it's hard with how busy everyone is especially since most of them are parents now.

Other than that I've paid a boy $300 dollars for a blanket (WORST STORY EVER), then had to dish out another $150 to fix my car and now my laptop is starting to fail me... These are expensive times and my income from my part time job is not up to the challenges it has had to face lately. These days sure are expensive even if I am now back at the parents homestead.

My future plans are sure to drain the wallet as well. Robert, Maren, potentially Hilary and I would like to take a road trip out to Colorado in July to see our old roommate Ashley who we all miss terribly and just got her mission call to England (way to go Ash)!!! I also have plans to go to the Twilight and Rooftop Concert Series but they shouldn't really effect my wallet since they are free unless I decide I must buy all kinds of merchandise. 

I'm teaching summer school at Walden but this will be my last time teaching there as they have asked me to not return in the fall. It's good because it really is about time I move on seeing as Walden has been my life for the last 8 years but I am heartbroken about leaving the kids I work with behind. I have been telling students I won't return in the fall and they are all very upset by this which makes the idea of leaving much harder. They really have made life worth living for the last year or so. I really hope I can keep tabs on quite a few of them. They really have taught me so much despite the fact that some of them are only 5 years old.

My life as of late however has been fairly consumed by one Zackery Terry who drives me insane but I completely adore him. He's a real cutie pants. He has gone through more than anyone I've ever heard of and is now managing to do some damage control for things he has had no control over. I really admire him for this because he is doing a lot of things I am not sure I ever could and he's doing it all by himself which is mind blowing for a 20 year old boy. I also love that he really looks out for me and it really pisses me off at times due to the way he decides to go about things is terribly embarrassing but I have no doubt in my mind that he cares. He has managed to not only shed light on the fact that I have a tendency to hang out with douche bags but he has also managed to make sure that quite a few of them never contact me again despite my efforts to keep them around. Zack really is great. He is one of the most intelligent people I have ever interacted with. And even though he has a tendency to act like Jack Sparrow whenever we're out in public and busts out lighters in movie theaters and tries to make things as awkward as possible, I know better and I am very glad that I do. His friendship has taught me a lot about other people, myself and what actually living the gospel is versus just studying it.

And just in case you haven't had enough man, oh man, THIS SONG makes me want to punch myself in the face but I also want to sing and dance along.... This is quite the conundrum and I hate my self for even considering this slightly enjoyable.