Turning 20 September 29.2011

This morning I woke up to my mother calling me (its her tradition to call us ON our birthday AT the time we were born) LUCKY for me I was born at 5:21 lol well not that lucky but its NOT too bad, I answered mumbled something to acknowledge her/ not to disturb the roomies and fell back asleep lol :)
I woke up no longer a teenager-I will admit that this is the first birthday that I actually FELT the change.
I FELT the responsibility HIT me-it was really odd lol
I walked a little straighter, realized my actions were now going to be on me-no more blaming the parentals (:/)
BUT its a great feeling-I'm starting to feel like this so called ADULT lol :)

I celebrated my birthday "responsibly" by going to classes and work *ya I worked my long shift on my birthday lol*
Then I got to go out to celebrate with some of my FAVORITE people!
my mom, the Lee's, Jules, & LuAnn :)
I have to start out by saying BEST BIRTHDAY DINNER EVER!

So we headed to the Old Spaghetti Factory
(14th year in a row-definitely a tradition I intend on keeping up!)

Ordered the classic-Spaghetti with meat sauce :)
got our bread....
and then it began-two hours of amazing conversation (I would say that bystanders may have thought we were drunk but the best part is that we DON'T need alcohol to have fun!)
We chatted about life, I got informed about dating which was hilarious..I mean I'll keep it noted for my future ;)
Then we opened gifts-I scored big time this year (thank you SO much!)
From the Lee's I got-20 snickers (they are mini so don't worry lol), a loofa-I was in need of one of those, some mulah $$$ (I REALLY like that lol), popcorn, and STAMPS (I LOVE those-well Nate will appreciate that ;p)
From the Babcock's (my mom brought up their gift) some money & an awesome chocolate covered marshmallow with m&m's on it, DELICIOUS!
From Jules & LuAnn, this AMAZING fruit mix to snack on during school instead of junk food-guess those snickers will have to be eaten by the roommates ;p lol
My friend Luisa from Germany sent me a package that made it on my birthday (thanks Lu!)-it was a heart ornament, a calender (in german!), a karamell treat (caramel) and other goodies :)
From my friend in Parkland Cassie-I got SO much stuff-she loaded a bag with school supplies/essentials & I loved it!
From my mom-my mom stuck with the 20 things theme as well and my bag was filled with 20 of my favorite things :) I loved it!
My dad and Cricket had sent me an external hard drive-i know what you are thinking...odd request for a gift! BUT i really needed it to back up all my photos I take and such so I appreciated it A LOT :)
From my sister, bro in law, nephew and niece I got an amazing quilt-that thing is now on my bed and I use it every night :)
From my bro and sis in law-I got money...I took all my money I got and put it towards a new camera :) I'm so excited for it!!!
From Ember I received a BIG batch (20 cookies) of her famous chocolate chip cookies :D I was one happy camper and they are all GONE :) lol
The Schott's gave me my gift about a month early-I was looking for a car charger for our drive to Utah for the wedding so they bought it for me-its pretty sweet :)
And of course my boy sent me my box that I've blogged about already :)
I got tons of cards and love from everyone on my birthday it was FANTASTIC :)
Thank you ALL SOOOOOOO much for helping make my day amazing, I love my birthday lol and you all definitely make me LOVE it :)

First day of school! September.28.2011

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! (can anyone name that movie??)

I'm a sucker for first days of school-I can't sleep the night before because of excitement and nerves about the upcoming school year & I must say I think college nerves are the worst...you've only got 10 weeks to conquer that course ay ay ay!!!

So I got up and curled my hair :) We listened to music as we got ready trying to kill time and our nerves, well it didn't work lol.

I was ready just a LITTLE early lol (like an hour haha)

but its all good I had things to distract me aka facebook lol

So here I am first day of sophomore year of college:

 Also last day of being a teenager:

 Upclose and personal thanks to the roomie lol

 That's a little better lol

But anyways ya get the gist-I'm a sophomore in college BAM! Where did that time go? I remember starting high school lol! Oh well time is moving on so must I lol, so here is to an awesome year! Cheers!

Gear up for school September 2011

Elder Schott's back to school package "Gear up for school"

So I thought I'd be cute and give him supplies he would need for the "school year" lol

Paper, Pencils, Pens (found TCC ones-the college he went to), band-aids, hand sanitizer, gum, post its (my fav)

 And I made one for his companion as well :)

 His companions is the m&m one and Nate's is the UW one (a little bit of me lol)

 And everyone always needs new clothes for the school year, so nate got a tie (his favorite paisley + purple for UW)

 And of course he needs a new backpack, well he already has one so we decided to give him a cool pack instead- a draw string one-from my mom's old work lol and bright Orange is the best :)

 Oh can't forget the photos ;) always got to have those!

Back to school for me means a change of address for nate's letters (that poor boy has like 10 addresses for me lol)
I'm set for school and now so is he lol! Last school year apart Elder Schott-we got this babe!!!!

The dorm September.26.2011

So Monday morning I headed back up to school and since school wasn't going to start till Wednesday I had some time to kill lol. So I got all my stuff unpacked and organized :)

So here is my closet this year-although you guys won't be able to tell I switched things up from last year, fresh start ya know :)

 We rearranged how our desks, closets, and fridges are so thats a big change from last year, now we have a "kitchen" area which is nice, then my closet is next to my desk and on the other side is Clara's desk and closet and Carole's desk (Carole's closet is actually like a closet in the wall to the right of the kitchen :) I really like our design this year :D

 For the most part my bedroom is the same, got my UW rug (thanks to Nate), my laundry basket-its a must have lol and oh ya my thing of shoes :) lol

 Oh a new addition to my bed this year is my awesome blanket my sister made me for my birthday, our dorm is kept at like 80 right now so I'm waiting till winter hits for the dorms to cool off!

 the bathroom-similar to last year with the bathroom stand, but I got new soaps lol! I also got a new towel because last year Carole and I ended up getting the same ones lol *out of all the colors in the world we both picked red!* So I went for brown with a green design lol Clara's is white so phew! no one matches lol!
and our newest addition is the lovely black rug-so much better than that nasty blue one we had last year, I loved throwing that thing away and welcoming this black one into our dorm, its so fluffy :)

Well there is my dorm, its my "home" for the next nine months of my life, I spend a lot of time at my desk and less time than I wish at my bed lol but that's a college student's life for ya! So here's to the 2nd year :)

Family Photos..our style. September.25.2011

So a tradition in our family whenever we get together is to take photos-well a couch one for my mom where we  all pose with our legs crossed and hand on knees (thanks to my bro Johnny who came up with that one year lol) But ya we are silly but a picture captures the moments in life you want to remember so I take lots of them :D
My bro and sis left back for Utah this morning :( it was hard to say goodbye after such a great weekend but they had to get back to school and work..plus I was leaving in the morning for school and mom had to work so if they would have stayed it would have been really boring lol

So I'm not sure explanations are needed here but I'll do it anyways!
The male in all the photos is my brother ;) (the one of him on the left side second row was taken while he was dancing to glee lol)
The girl in the bright pink shirt is my sis Korrine, she and my bro got married this past August. I just love her, it was nice to have a weekend of "Korrine" time to get to know her a little more :)
The lady in the blue shirt/white jacket is my mommie. She will probably kill me for posting these since she wasn't wearing makeup but hey I've lived a good solid 20 years ;p
And the last female in the photos is ME :) I'm the one with that big cheesy smile on my face-its a curse I tell ya..I really can't help but smile in photos, oh well they do "say cheese" afterall lol

We may not be your "ordinary" family, but we are a family and that's enough for me :D

BBQ Reception September.24.2011

Well seeing as Brandon and Korrine were in town and there were some people who couldn't make it out to Utah from Washington for the wedding we decided to throw a small get together at our house while they were here! We invited all the guests a few weeks before the happy couple came in to town, we "attempted" to keep it a surprise, but certain people in our family *cough MOM cough* can't keep her excitement inside lol but it was still a fun time :)

 It was such a nice weekend while they were here-it was like 80 out on Saturday which let us have our bbq outside instead of inside the house...outside is just SO much better :) Alrighty so pictured above with my brother is my nana and our family friend John below is the Lee's (awesome family friends also the people who were kind enough to let me borrow their truck!)

 I caught my mom and friends Lori and Roy off guard when I took this lol...candid shots are always the best...well as long as I'm not in them lol ;p

 Brandon and Korrine chatting with Nana, I'm glad they got the chance to come up to Washington to introduce Korrine to some of the important people in our lives :) I love having her as in addition to the family!

 And you can't forget the Marini's I only caught little miss Kenzie with the camera but she has an awesome face that makes up for missing the others lol...she found the orange pop and it found her mouth, and lips, and clothes ;p Overall everyone had a great time-thank you again to everyone who came and helped out :)

Puyallup Fair September.23.2011

Every year my mom takes me to the Puyallup fair for a concert for my birthday :) This year we got to go and see Trace Adkins with Gloriana :) It was an awesome concert!

 Mommie and I in our seats- row 19 baby close enough to see the people singing but far enough away so ya don't get the spit ;p jk I loved our seats even if we had to get up and down a few times for people who leave during the concerts to go get beer...some people I tell ya!

 First Gloriana came out to perform, I only know a few of their songs but they performed a few new ones from their new album...sounded good to me :)

Next came the BIG MAN (in deep voice)...coming in at 6'6 he is one tall dude! He played all of my favorites!!!! even ones that haven't been popular forever lol like Swing, Chrome, and One Hot Mama!

 Here is him on the big screen they have at the concerts :) It was such a fantastic concert...I loved going to it!  Thank you again mommie!

 Then after the concert was over we met up with Brandon and Korrine who had been hanging out with the Marinis riding rides :) We had a few tickets left so we decided to go and ride the white rollercoaster-the oldest wooden one I believe..if not its still pretty old lol! I needed a partner so Ember came along with me :) It was so much fun!!! Probably the best experience I've had on that ride :) Brandon and Korrine sat in the very back and Ember and I right in front of them. We ended up getting some air on one of the turns, which made the ride even more exciting :)

After that since my mom hates roller coasters my brother wanted to take her on her favorite which is the scrambler :) My brother enjoyed being able to squish my mom lol! After that we played a few games, tried to win stuff but you know how it is at fairs...its all rigged ;p Then we headed back to our car and to home..on the car ride back we sang along to Glee which was awesome, even got Brandon to join in for a bit :)

Oh you better believe I got videos for ya'll :) Enjoy! (sorry if the concert videos are a bit scratchy, just turned volume down a bit and it should sound better!) Even caught mom singing along to one of them lol!

UW Round 2 September.23.2011

Summer has come and gone-like that *snaps fingers* I can't believe it is time again to pack up and move in to the dorms. I totally feel like it was yesterday that I was packing up to move out-oh man time is flying! :)

Alrighty so this time around we borrowed the Lee's truck. So early Friday morning (7 ugh!) Brandon and I drove over to the Lee's to pick it up then headed back to the house to get it loaded with my school stuff, I got to drive my bro's mazda 6...my dream car-its so awesome :)

 *excuse the ugliness of me-it was too early and I had stayed up way too late lol* But there is the college sophomore all packed and ready to go!

 Driving up there was hilarious, watching my mom cover her eyes as Brandon drove kept Korrine and I giggling the whole way up! We tried to distract her by playing "what's that actors name in the movie?" but UW is an hour away + we hit traffic so ya it didn't work out too well lol! But we made it SAFELY and got up to my dorm and got everything unloaded. As Brandon and I went to park the truck at the institute Korrine and Mom started to unpack my stuff so by the time Brandon and I got back all I had to do was organize it all a bit :) Thank you guys again for helping me out, it was so nice!!! We hit up Dick's for lunch-its a drive up place, really popular in Seattle, hamburger + milkshake + fries for under $5 (a college kid's best friend lol)
Then after lunch we made our trip back home...Korrine has never been to Seattle so on the drive home she got to see all the pretty skylines ;) So we took some pictures...then I turned the camera around and got this out of her, oh I love her!

 Ah that one is much better :)

With my stuff up in my dorm I officially feel like I'm a sophomore...wow just to say that is nuts! I turn 20 next week, starting my second year of college and I still look like I'm eh 15 haha life is great :)
thank you to my family for helping me move in, you guys helped me out a ton! And to our friends the Lee's who are always so willing to help us out, love you guys :) Alright UW its me and you now....here goes round 2!!!! WOOHOO :)

Surprise box from my sweetie September.23.2011

So a few weeks ago Nate wrote to me and said his suitcase was getting huge from all my letters so I told him to just ship them to me and I'll store them for him! Well my box arrived today, my mom brought it in while I was packing up the truck with my stuff for moving in to UW...figuring it was just letters I told her to put it on my bed and I'd open it when we got back....to my surprise...

It was filled with awesome birthday goodies for me : D (although i opened it a bit early seeing as my birthday isn't till thursday september 29 but in my defense I thought it was just letters)

It was amazing-inside was a birthday sign and a birthday card-him admitting I am WAY better and making packages which made me giggle!

Two cds-one from his 2010 mission conference that has photos from the mission which was cool to see! the other is his favorite christmas cd but he can't listen to it while he is out (such a good missionary I have!) so he sent it to me to enjoy :)

Two tie pocket things-they had come with the ties but he doesn't wear them so he figured I could hold on to them ( i think i'm being used lol)

His mission motto (that white piece of paper on the bottom) he has it memorized (my man is a nerd lol) and so he wanted to share it with me (AHH-i'm a sap i know lol)

a BIG bag of starburts-fiesta flavored which was interesting but they are my fav so it was still yummy!

that orange thing is mexican cookie/crackers..which you add carmel onto (also included just not in photo, my bad) which is supposed to be really good :)

and the best gift of all.....PHOTOS!!!! he sent me every single photo he has taken while out on his mission (sadly that is only about 25 lol but I was still happy!)

oh p.s. Every gift had a sticky note on it-I've so corrupted my man, and I LOVE IT :)

 Under all my gifts were the letters I have sent him since August of 2010...for some odd reason his letters take up less space then mine lol..

 Here is my signs..now hanging in my dorm room, my birthday isn't until thursday the 29th but eh what the heck? ;p

 The sweet treats my boy gave me (ha there is the carmel) I'm excited to try it out! And half of that bag of starbursts is already gone...hehehehe ;)

Thank you Elder Schott for being so sweet and remembering my birthday, I love you so much! I can't wait til next year when I get to spend it with you but since you are gone I get all the treats to myself lol ;p

Marini Time September.22.2011

 The Marinis-Alec (8), Zack (6), Bryce (4), and Kenzie (2)

Ah I love these little kids, so does my brother and since he was in town we went over to say hi :)

The kids were out riding their bikes so we sat outside with their mom Ember and chatted, introduced Brandon's new wife Korrine to everyone....then the fun began

 Brandon helped Kenzie ride the "big boys" bike...give her a few months and she will be riding that in no time, or lower the seat ;p

 The boys crawled up, down, and all over Brandon-now that they are big they are like monkeys lol!

 Then Bryce complained that it was "too hot" (yes you read that right, it was TOO HOT in Washington, in SEPTEMBER!!!) It was about 80 or so outside so Ember decided to cool him off ;) We had a good laugh!

 Then Brandon complained (jokingly) that he was too tired (they had just driven 13 hours from Utah to get here) so I told him to hop on my back and I'd carry him (I got the guns ;p) Funny story about this picture though, I had recently found one just like this but of us from about 8 years ago lol so it was definitely time for a new one :)

My first quilt September 2011

So my sister started on my quilt for me for my birthday, she and I got to talking and we thought I should do one for Nate's Christmas gift. I have never made a actual quilt before (I attempted once in YW's and that failed lol) so I was hesitant to do it but I figured I had my sister who is awesome at it, her machine, and lots of time to make it work (I was going to be in Utah for another week plus it was only September and Christmas was three months away lol)

So I headed out to Material Girls in South Jordan, Utah and picked out my pattern and started getting material that would work with it-since I was doing it for a guy I wanted to make sure it wasn't "cute" lol

Alrighty so here is a progression of my first quilt:

Step 1. Find pattern & pick out material (only took me about 3 days to pick a pattern online & an hour to pick out fabric...good time right? lol)

Step 2. Cut out ALL the fabric and since I was making it for my 6'2 giant I doubled everything so I had to do 2x the cutting lol

Step 3. Sew the blocks together, assembly was sewing the red center blocks to the two sides then sewing the top and bottom to it.

 Again since I doubled it this step took some time, I had some assistance from Britt (my sis) while I was at the gym she did the rest of the squares :) oh and a picture of me to prove I actually did sew the quilt didn't just buy it lol!

 All the blocks sewn together and the white centers cut out

 Step 4 & 5 were to cut the gray squares and white squares (above) and sew them into different strips

Step 6. Lay them out and arrange them into a design I liked (which was possibly the hardest part lol)

 Step 7. Sew each row together then sew them all together

 Its all sewn :)

 Step 8 Lay backing down and see how it aligns with top

 Time escaped from me in Utah and sadly I had to leave BUT a lady in my ward had her daughters in town with their sewing machines (yay!) and they offered to help me finish it up :)

Step 9 Place badding in and pin everywhere!!!!

Step 10 Start sewing lines every 2-4'' apart till you hit the other side :)

Step 11 lay quilt back on table and start pinning the binding

Step 12 sew one side of the binding down

Step 13 flip quilt over and pin the sucker down lol

Step 14 Sew up the other side of the binding

 And WALA!!! Its all done! My very first quilt!!!!

I can't wait to send this quilt to Nate :) I hope he loves it-I sure do lol It was a long and difficult journey but I am really happy I decided to do it. I learned a little more about patience, got some skills with the sewing machine, and had some awesome times with my sister chatting it up as we sewed :) Thank you Britt for being so patient and understanding with me through this and always helping or answering my questions whenever I needed it :) Love you!