Work and Patriotism!

I took this picture at work the other day. This is what I do. I make "vintage" soldered charms. It's quite easy and allows me to be artistic and creative without spending money! It's just fun and it's a cute product.

These are the charms we're making for the 4th of July. I love the 4th of July! I am all about focusing on the Founding of this great nation. I love learning about that time period and hearing the different tales of what happened. I've read 1776. I'm in the middle of a biography on George Washington. I just love this country and what it stands for! And, we went to a freedom festival tonight at the Marriott Center. So much fun! There were beautiful musical numbers and stories shared.

I'm majoring in political science, and I chose it because of my love of the Founding. Any time I second guess myself, I need to do something like I did tonight. I felt the spirit so strongly right off the bat, with the singing of America the Beautiful. I remember one of the most powerful, overwhelming experiences I ever had with feeling and recognizing the spirit was when I was in Independence Hall in Philadelphia. I knew that those men were called of God and that the Constitution they created was inspired. That's what I want to teach. I want kids to know what is in that document and why it is so important. I want them to know about the men that risked their lives in creating it.

So, two sided post with this picture. It first shows part of what I do at work right now and second, my love of this country!

Hiking

I have started hiking. It is a good way to exercise and I love being alone when I exercise. That is why I have never been great with gym memberships or anything, because that involves everyone being able to watch you while you work out. Yeah, not my cup of tea! I prefer the solitude.

So today I went to Glenn Canyon park and they have some beautiful trails, as illustrated by the pics. I hiked to the tunes of Shiny Toy Guns, the wind in my hair, as I was fighting for air. It's not easy hiking at this altitude, something I've forgotten since the mission!

I go a few times each week, and am trying to decide if I've got the will power to wake up early on work days to hike before work, but I'm not so sure that will happen! Haha!

A Small piece of my vacation

I just recently got back from vacation with the fam in South Carolina. It was so much fun and exactly what I needed!

I didn't take any pictures because that is really my brother's area of expertise. However, I did take a pretty funny video! Instead of flying straight to South Carolina, I flew first to Phoenix. My sister was kinda scared of flying solo with her three crazy kids, so I flew there to help her.

I was in charge of Ky, the oldest, and Elijah, who is three. Elijah has always been a bit crazy, and being pent up on a plane for three hours means he needs to release that energy on our layover. We landed at gate B26 and had to go down to B1. He had his own way of making that journey, which of course involved a lot of stares from all those around us. He is so my sister's son, needing to be the center of attention!

Shopping with Kendra

So, I went shopping with my old roomie Kendra! Whenever we see each other, our voices go high as we squeal each other's names. It's quite fun actually! We were roommates back in DC and loved it so much that we roomed together when we got back to Provo. Then she went and got married while I was on my mish. But, we went to Ikea as part of our shopping, and it was great fun! Kind of reminded me of the movie "500 Days of Summer". But we saw this lamp, which was HUGE! And it was selling for $90 when all it is is paper and one light bulb. So not worth it, but definitely crazy looking!