Embracing Technology

I love this picture for so many reasons, one of them being, it depicts the 21st century means of communication perfectly. I am so grateful for technology and how much it has advanced in the last couple years. We have the ability to see someone now when we talk to them on the phone. We can say a word into a phone and pull up any kind of data on the subject in a matter of seconds. We can carry our entire lives in a sleek, tiny gaget wherever we go. Soon we won't need to carry wallets, as our forms of ID, credit cards, memberships and pictures will all be accessible at our fingertips in our mobile devices. I am excited to see what the future has in store, and I'm grateful for the intelligent people that make these things possible. Don't fear the future, embrace it!

Summer School Lovin'

Why am I writing about the worst subject in the world? Because believe it or not, my online summer school course has brought Blake and I closer together than ever. There is nothing I look forward to more than our 3-hour long cuddle sessions in front of my laptop reading about things that interest us both.

The coolest part is the fact that he is into it too. We are studying the exact same major so it's fun to be able to share an interest in the human body and how it functions. Call us nerds if you want, but he's the only thing that keeps me interested in school.

He benefits from these study sessions, too. I constantly quiz him about his muscular and skeletal anatomy and when I need to revisit some of the muscles, I use his back or legs, because he has a plethora of muscular features :) so he gets a mini massage in the process. It's also nice to be able to practice my athletic training on a real human rather than a plastic skeleton or my ASU football players who only have a five minute break in between practice and meetings.

Don't ask Blake, because he'll probably say it bothers the heck out of him, but I know deep down he loves it. And either way, it's a fun excuse to spend more time together. Just last night, we learned about DNA and cell reproduction and as dorky as it is, we both really enjoyed being together regardless of what we were reading. I guess I'm simply looking forward to the fact that we can have fun together whether we're at Disneyland or confined to my computer doing summer school readings. I just love spending time with that kid!

Disneyland Resort Trivia

In honor of our trip to Disneyland this month, I've decided to create a quiz of a couple of my favorite parts of the happiest place on earth. Don't google, this is just for fun!

1. In what Tomorrowland attraction would you find a dimensional duplicator?

Adventure through Inner Space
Star Tours
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
Space Mountain


2. What are the vehicles called on the Haunted Mansion?

Crypt-mobiles
Doom Buggies
Death Carriage
Spooky Speeders


3. How many attractions between both Disneyland and California Adventure go upside down?

0
2
3
1


4. What is the name of the river in the center of Disneyland?

Lake Walt
Rivers of America
Seven Seas Lagoon
Mark Twain Bay


5. What land would you find the Pirates of the Caribbean?

New Orleans Square
Adventureland
Fantasyland
Frontierland


6. Which attraction was first to use audio-animatronics?

It's a Small World
Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
The Enchanted Tiki Room


7. The Blue Bayou restaurant overlooks which attraction?

Pirates of the Caribbean
Jungle Cruise
Splash Mountain
Haunted Mansion


8. Walt Disney sometimes stayed at Disneyland - where was his apartment located?

Club 33
Above the fire house
Sleeping Beauty's Castle
Above Pirates


9. What does the Evil Emperor Zurg try to steal throughout Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster?

Your vehicle
Buzz Lightyear
Green aliens
Batteries


10. Which of the following attractions is NOT located in Adventureland?

Enchanted Tiki Room
Jungle Cruise
Splash Mountain
Indiana Jones Adventure

Each correct question is worth one point. Hope you enjoyed. Probably more to come!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

I don't intend to become a movie critique and I've never actually blogged about a movie I've seen in the past. This should tell you something about the caliber of this movie. It was probably one of the best movies I've seen in my entire life! I need a transforming car now. My life will not be complete until I have one.

I joke of course, but in all seriousness, if you haven't seen this movie, you are missing out on one of the greatest cinematic adventures ever! I thoroughly enjoyed the first one, which introduced us to Bumble Bee, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Ratchet and the whole autobots gang. And of course it included the bad guy Megatron and his decepticon warriors. After falling in love with them, the second Transformers was sort of a let down. Apparently Megan Fox is allergic to clothes, there were references to the robots having reproductive parts, a couple of the actors I could have done without and the whole storyline was just a little too off for me in the sense that it didn't make any sense. I was a little hesitant to see the third one because I was concerned about the level of inappropriateness it might contain, and I don't need my boy oogling over Victoria's Secret model, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and her perfect assets.

It was the exact opposite of what I anticipated though. Besides the fact that the movie drug on for a looonnnggg 3 hours, I was incredibly entertained the entire time! If you are not a transformers fan, you'll still love it. It was just an impressively made movie. If you didn't enjoy the previous two transformers, you'll love this one. You can't help but fall in love with O.P. and the autobots and their drive to save the human race. There were parts where I laughed and parts where I wanted to cry, there was action, appropriate levels of romance, hot guys (not Shia LeBeouf) and of course the coolest robots anyone could ever think of. I was very impressed with the storyline as well.

So...if you haven't gone to see it, you are missing out! It was especially enjoyable with my robot-loving boyfriend who protected me when the bad guys were extra scary :)

God Bless America!

I'm so grateful to live in a country where we have so many freedoms. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and apparently, freedom to light off illegal fireworks!

I had the best 4th of July with my family. It couldn't have been more perfect. BBQ, swimming and band practice at my dad's, BBQ, swimming and games at Blake's family's house and then to top it off, another BBQ and tons of fireworks at our block party. I've never had so much good food and such a bad sunburn in my life. Totally worth it.

I'm so grateful to the men and women who make it possible for me to enjoy these amazing summer nights with the people I love, in peace and safety. God bless this great nation and may we continue to remember him so he will continue to remember us!

Derek's Home!

My little bro finally got back from his Honolulu, Hawaii mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am so grateful to be a part of this rapidly growing church and for the example that my little brother is to me.

It never ceases to amaze me that 19 year old boys can go out for two years to serve their church and come back as men. Everything about him has changed. His whole demeanor, his work ethic, his attitude about life, they've all enhanced his personality and will be an asset to him in his future endeavors. I am grateful for a church who creates opportunities like this for young boys to gain their own testimony of the gospel and I'm grateful for the boys who serve on their own free will.

I am also grateful to live in a country where we have freedom of religion and the right to worship as we please and I'm grateful for a God who protected my brother while in Hawaii, and my other brother while over seas, and who continues to protect me every day of my life. The church is true. Peace be the journey.

NKOTBSB

The boy band phase is apparently back for a short tour around the globe. I was more of an N*Sync fan myself back in the day, but when I heard these boys were coming to concert, I had to be a part of it. Of course I didn't have money for tickets, so my amazing little sister and mom pitched in and bought me some for my birthday.

Prior to the concert, I had to refresh my backstreet boys lyrics because it had been at least 10 years since I've sang one of their songs. After a couple weeks of non-stop NKOTBSB with an occasional Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera or JT song, I was officially 15 years old and ready for BSB to woo me. :)

My sister and I got to the concert and much to my surprise, there were girls ranging from young teens all the way to 40 year old women who couldn't let the NKOTBSB chapter die just yet. There were also a good amount of dudes at the concert, which I won't even begin to discuss. That's a realm I'm not willing to enter.

After a stellar performance by J. Sparks, the lights went down and the laser show started. There were sparks, a slide show and everything you would expect from a boy band concert. Then the 9 boys (or should I say GROWN MEN) entered the stage to fifty thousand screaming fans in their studded leather and skin-tight pants. Don't get me wrong, I was screaming just as loud as the next girl, but when you looked close, you could definitely tell these men were now well into their 40's. Some had wedding rings, others had bald spots and a certain angles, you can see some definite wrinkles on these washed up dancers. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the concert thoroughly and I will go to the next one when they are in their 50's. In all seriousness, if I could still move like that when I was 46 years old, I'd want to show it off to the world too!

Costume changes included the BSB famous white suits from their Millenium album, the NKOTB military outfits for their song "Step by Step", blinged-out jerseys supporting Orlando and Boston, fedoras, sleeveless shirts, vests, and of course, most of the clothing was taken off and thrown into the audience. I thought at one point A.J. was going to be naked by the end of the song. And Danny was definitely allergic to clothes. But if you have that kind of body at that age, I guess I don't blame him for flaunting it.

All in all, it was everything I would expect from the boys from the 80-90's. It was exactly the concert I remember from my teenage years and some of the dance moves were the same. I wasn't a New Kid's fan because they were before my time, but I am now! It was especially neat because different generations were brought together by one concert, the older generation who enjoyed NKOTB back in their teenage years, my generation who enjoyed BSB in their prime and then the new generation who hopped on the KNOTBSB band wagon for this short tour. It was amazing.

Now if only N*Sync would get back together so I can see JT, JC, Lance and the gang. It was so fun being 15 again!

 5 ROWS BACK!

 WAITING FOR THE BOYS AT THEIR BUS!

Poor Alice

Alice is the name of my car by the way. I financed my first car in February this year and I was in love with it. A white Pontiac G6 GT. It's fast and super cute! I pull off the freeway last night and I'm sitting on the off ramp and BAM! Someone smashes into it. Scared the holy bejeezus out of me! So we pull over to the side of the road and I get out to go talk to the driver and see if s/he is ok, and it happened to be a friend from high school whom I've known forever. Of course when the accident is my fault, I get 25 tickets and almost end up in prison because of the accident, but when someone hits me, it has to be a friend so I can't even be upset.

Now Alice is all banged up and needs some serious body work. She still runs like a doll though, so I can't complain too much. It's just going to be a big pain in the neck to get it fixed. Oh, and speaking of pain in the neck, I woke up this morning with a massive headache and neck pain, which I'm pretty sure means I got whiplash. I hate car accidents!