Playing "Mom"

This last week Gabe and I have been babysitting my little brothers. I would like to say that I'm definitely not ready for kids... But I think that would just jinx myself. ;) It's been a very eventful week to say the least! We spent Saturday in the wind out at the desert riding dirtbikes and four wheelers. My brothers are pretty talented! I wish I could have captured the awesome moments but this is about as good as the photography got:

Still pretty cool I think! We had a good ole' time and my brothers showed Gabe the ropes so he got some good practice in!

I like to think I'm a creative person, and I wanted to make this week fun for my brothers. I'm sure I saw this on Pinterest once... But I decided to make an "I'm Bored" Bucket! 

Here I thought I was being so creative and fun... Turns out, I'm really not that fun to 12 and 10 year old little boys! Haha the bucket idea was a flop but I was still pretty proud of it so I thought I would at least share it on here. Here are some cheap/fun ideas of what you can put in YOUR bored bucket for kids!

-Game of kickball

-Side walk chalk

-Hide and seek

-Bake cookies for someone

-Do a kind deed for a family member

-Write a letter to a missionary 

-Play a board or card game

-Read stories from your family history

-Learn to bake or cook something new

-Pick or but flowers for someone

-Visit Grandma and Grandpa just to "chat"

-Look through old scrapbooks or pictures

-Go to the park

-Walk the Greenbelt

-Ride a bike

-Go on a picnic 

-Wash someone's car (hoping my brother's would pick up the hint ;)

-Throw a football or softball 

-Scavenger hunt 

-Read a new book

-Write a "thank you" or "thinking of you" note to someone

-Go to the library 

-Nerf gun war!

-Build a fort out of pillows and blankets (personal favorite!)

Anyways, the list could go on, but that's the gist of it. I would love to hear of any other random activities you enjoy with your kids! This won't be the last time I babysit in my lifetime, so I would love some ideas! =)

General Conference April 2014

Oh, I just LOVE General Conference! How lucky are we to hear from our dear Prophet and Apostles every 6 months for counsel and direction?! It's hard to choose just one good talk, so I'll just say the entire Sunday morning session was simply amazing. Elder Bednar and President Monson's talks were probably my very favorite. 

This thought really got me thinking. Am I spiritually prepared to take on the challenges and trials the Lord has in store for me? What can I do everyday to better prepare myself for these unknown challenges ahead? This was a really great time for me to do a spiritual checkup and reflect on the things I can be doing better at. 

As silly and simple as this quote may seem, it was a really good reminder for me! Everyday is a gift from our Heavenly Father, and I should be doing everything I can to fill it with meaningful things. This life is an opportunity to grow and help one another. We're all here on this earth for a specific reason, and although each of us are different and face different things in life, we all have the same goal. Let us help each other along the way so we can all reach that goal! I hope you all enjoyed General Conference as much as I did. Can't wait for October to roll around! 

Once upon a time... I forgot I even had a blog!

I'm the worst blogger in the world, I know. And I know that isn't the first time I've said that ;) Sometimes I make myself forget I have a blog because I get so frustrated when I can't figure this dang thing out! I've tried changing my background a thousand times... And nothing is changing! Maybe it's dormant because it's been inactive for a year... Whatever. Anyways, I read someone's random blog today and it reminded me of my long lost blog that I'm now currently trying to salvage. I'm not going to pull a typical Shanley and review the past 12 months of my life in full detail... I'll just hit the highlights, because even the highlights are long gone now.

June 5, 2013- My favorite missionary is finally home! 

June 11, 2013- That same favorite missionary proposed! =)

August 15, 2013- I graduated from the Utah College of Dental Hygiene with a Bachelors Degree in Health Science. 

September 7, 2013- I married my high school sweetheart and best friend! 

November 2013- Received my dental hygiene license and started working as a Registered Dental Hygienist for a good family friend.

And there are my high lights! I just wanted to post a little something to motivate me, and now I'm going to go drive myself crazy trying to figure out how to use blogger. Happy bloggin'!

How many times do I have to do this???

1 down, 3 to go! Being an older sister is HARD! Last Wednesday we dropped the first Elder Searle off at the MTC. I'm such a baby. I was bawling before my family even made it to Utah to pick me up. When my family came to get me, I gave Jade a big bear hug and said, "HOLY COW! YOU'RE A MISSIONARY!" He didn't make much of a response... everyone was pretty somber... I'm glad I didn't have to endure a 3 1/2 hour car ride like that. Lets take him and get this over with! We had some time before his drop-off time so we went to Zupa's to grab some food and we sat and ate in silence. Haha everyone was so sad! It was ridiculous.  After that we went to the lower praking lot of the temple to take some pictures... And again, we stood in silence. I kept tearing up as we stood there and I asked countless times, "Can we PLEASE just drop him off?! I'm just going to keep crying!" Did they listen to me? No. haha so we kind of just stood there for 20 minutes staring at eachother and trying to refrain from bawling. We started towards the suburban and dad gave Jade a big ole hug and they both started to cry. My father and my "grown-up" little brother were CRYING. Seeing that got me started again and I couldn't stop. Jade got in back and sat between Jake and Jason, one arm around each of them. We made a silent drive across the street to the MTC and I looked back to see Jason sitting there with his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face. My heart BROKE in that moment. Jason is Jade's little mini-me. He is so attached to him and I knew this would be hard especially for him, but watching that made me bawl. (I'm crying right now just writing about it!) We got to the MTC and when they say "curb side" they mean CURB SIDE! An escort greeted Jade and helped him get his luggage. Jade greeted him back by saying, "I'm Elder Searle, nice to meet you." Whoa! That really put it in perspective for me. They got everything together and his escort asked him to hurry and make his last goodbyes. He hugged mom, Jake, Jason, dad, Justin and started walking away... HOLD IT! I grabbed his arm and said, "Whoa! You better say goodbye to me mister!" I gave him a great big hug and just couldn't let him go. He started to cry and I just kept bawling. I finally let him go and watched him being rushed into the MTC. That was it. We all got back into the suburban and sat there crying. This was ridiculously hard. I looked over at Justin and I saw him wiping at his eyes. Even tough 16 year old Justin was crying. I sat there thinking, oh my. I have to go through this 3 more times!!! When I say "have" to, I really mean GET to. It was a great experience being able to drop Jade off at the MTC. But it was very hard as well. It's a comfort to know that he said goodbye to his family for 2 years so he can help others be with theirs for eternity! He is going to be such a wonderful missionary. He is a strong, hard working farm boy with a fire burning testimony. He will work wonders! Go get em' Elder Searle! See you in two!

First Post of 2013...

Wooooow, right? I may or may not have forgotten I even had a blog. I seriously debated deleting the whole thing, but then I went back and read my whole 5 posts from the past 3 years haha! It was kind of fun... Sooooo, I suppose I'll stick around for awhile ;) Sheesh, where to even begin! Life is going by crazy fast, but I'm enjoying it. I am currently in Orem now, in my 4th semester of dental hygiene school! I can't even believe it! Only a semester and a half to go before graduation and my national boards exam. Everytime I hear the word "boards" I kind of freak out. I can't believe my educational career is coming to an end in just a few months... HALLELUJAH! I was talking to one of the old dentists today and he said when I'm finished with school I'll be thinking to myself, "Wow, I sure do miss being busy and going to school!" FALSE my dear old man. That will NEVER happen! I'm so glad the end is in sight! So much has happened in the last several months. I've been so blessed! My brother Jade has been called to the Brazil Sao Paulo South mission and reports to the Provo MTC TOMORROW! Holy moley! He's the first to go in our family and it's been so exciting. I'm going to bawl like a baby but I'm so happy for him! He's going to be an absolutely amazing missionary. I'm so proud of him! Speaking of missionaries... Elder Nii will be home in THREE MONTHS! Yaaaa, my last blog post was saying how he still had a year left! haha time is flying and I am so glad! He's been a wonderful missionary and I couldn't be happier with the past two years... But I am REALLY looking forward to what this year will bring. =) That's all I have for now... I always say I'll be a better blogger... Buuuuut we all know how that has been working out! ;) I'll be back again soon!

It's All Downhill From Here! =)

June 8th! Oh happy day! Elder Nii hit his year mark today. Now I can finally start counting DOWN instead of up! =) What a crazy year it has been. I can't exactly say it's gone by fast... I know it has for everyone else... Which I'm so happy it has for you all haha but then again I can't say it's gone by slow either. Depends on the day I guess. I'm grateful to be in school, it keeps me busy and occupies ALL of my time.... so the last 5 months have gone by pretty fast! I just thought in honor of the occasion I'd give a little update on Elder Nii and how he is doing. He is in his 3rd area with his 5th companion. He has been in Greenville, NC since April and absolutely loves it. The work is booming and he claims they hardly ever have time to eat dinner. That has been quite tragic for him haha but atleast he is keeping busy. He went from an area with 1-3 solid investigators to an area with 10+ serious investigators. It's a big change for him but he loves it more than anything! I never had any doubts he would be any less than a wonderful, diligent, hard-working missionary. He's 10x that! I'm grateful for his positive attitude and his great love of sharing the gospel. Keep up the great work Elder Nii! See ya in a year! ;)

Getting ready to enter the MTC June 8, 2011

April 2012

Happy Few Month Update!

Well, I'm getting in trouble for not updating my blog... SO, here is an update of the past few weeks for all my dear fans out there ;) haha just kiddin!
April- May: After passing my first semester of school, I got to go home for a little break! Ahh best few weeks I've had in a long long time. It was so nice to be home with my family and just being able to relax. I forgot what it was like to just relax and not have a worry in the world. I was able to spend lots of quality time with my momma. She's my best friend! It was great being able to spend time with her and work on some projects with her. It was fun being home with my boys! They always bring entertainment and joy to my life. I love them and despite their childish-boyness, I miss them every single day. While I was home, I got to have a reunion with my 2 besties from high school. (Yes Kate and Taya, I just said "besties" ;) haha!) We held up our tradition and went to Cafe Rio to have a counseling-catch up session. We realized that we started this tradition fall of 2009!!! Holy cow that's a long time. It was so nice getting to catch up with them and hearing how their lives are going. We all may be down different paths and at different stages in our lives now, but we're still the greatest of friends. It was great to see them and catch up like old times. I've also come to the conclusion that despite it's coldness, Idaho is the most beautiful place in the world. Especially in the spring time. Being on the farm relaxes me and makes me happy. It was so nice to be home.


May 5th: Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! I was fortunate enough to be able to celebrate my 20th birthday at home! 20.... wow, I'm not a teenager anymore. That's kinda sad! I suppose I have to grow up sometime... baha ya right. It was a really great day! My family took me out to breakfast to Smitty's and after that I came home to find a big ole package from a certain missionary jammed into my mailbox. It had an Asian smiley on the box so that was a dead give-away. ;) Elder Nii, being the little sweetheart that he is, sent me a whole box full of chocolate hugs and kisses! 403 of each to be exact. Apparently there are 403 days from my birthday until he is home soooo, and I quote, "Here is a hug and a kiss a day to keep those dumb boys away!" haha silly boy. Well it's working! Along with the chocolate, he recorded a few videos for me on a memory card. He and some other missionaries sang me a lovely happy birthday song and Gabe just talked to me about his mission on the other videos. Holy hannah, he has the cutest, THICKEST southern accent I have ever heard! haha it's stinkin' cute! It was so sweet of him. It was such a nice present! I also had another sudden surprise on my birthday... A little hispanic friend showed up at my door wearing a mustache, sombrero and taco in hand! haha Jessica Dawn Hart is the BEST! She came to wish me a Happy Cinco de Mayo! Absolutely made my day. I couldn't stop laughing. It was so great to visit and catch up with her. She's such a wonderful friend and I love her! Later that night we had the adult session for stake conference. My mom, me and two other ladies from my mom's ward sang a special musical number. It was a beautiful song! Don't quite know how beautiful it sounded... haha but the words were beautiful and so touching. The song was called... well I don't remember. But I'll find out so you all can look it up! It's quite touching. After the adult session, we had a little get together with some family and had brownies and ice cream. My favorite! =) I had a great birthday thanks to my wonderful family and friends. I love you all!

Hugs and kisses! What a sweetheart!

Watching my videos from Elder Nii... Cuuuuuutie =)

Jessica is the cutest little Mexican I have ever seen... she cracks me up!

haha oh Jake... what a hoot! I love my family =)

May 7th: Back to school, back to school I go! Hmmm not going to lie, I wasn't completely thrilled to go back to school. haha but it wasn't too difficult to get back into the swing of things. This semester will definitely be an adventure! A wild and crazy one. We start seeing patients this semester. REAL patients. Kinda scary. But on that note, if anyone needs their teeth cleaned, let me know! =)

May 13th: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY: Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful mother! As I've previously said... my mom is one of my bestest friends in the world. I learn so much from her every single day. I'm grateful for her wonderful example of kindness, hard work and love. I pray I can be just like her someday. I love her. =) Even though I am not a mother... I got a WONDERFUL gift on mother's day. 7 whole minutes on the phone with Elder Nii! WOOHOO! Oh my lanta he's doing so great! He's loving the mission more than anything. He's working so hard and keeping his head up. I'm so proud of him. It was so nice to be able to hear his voice. Knowing he's so happy serving the Lord makes me happy. I know it's exactly where he's suppose to be right now and I will forever be grateful for his faithful and diligent service.

May 30th: HE IS WE CONCERT Yesterday I got to go see my FAVORITE band! I went with my good childhood friends Danielle Hanson and Devrey Hair, my old roommate Kaylee Banner and her two friends. It was so much fun! But, there was one problem... The actual girl in He Is We wasn't even there. She was sick and so she had someone cover for her... Can you even do that?!?! I don't think so! The fill-in girl was very talented and did an excellent job... but it just wasn't the same =( I was kinda disappointed. BUT, we did discover a new hottie hot band called South Jordan. We got to meet the drummer, Jessie... That's right, we know his name =) Look them up! They're a really talented band. It was a late, somewhat slightly disappointing night... but I got to be with great friends, hear my favorite songs and discover some new ones. It was a lot of fun. (Pictures to come!)

May 31st: FIRST DAY OF PATIENT TREATMENT Today I brought in my very first REAL patient for school. I was FREAKING OUT. I was so nervous... But it ended up going really well. I was quite pleased with how it all went. My sweet, patient and kind roommate Jessica came in for me. I was super slow but you can bet your bottom I was pretty dang thorough. I decided speed will come to me eventually, as long as I know I'm being the very best hygienist I can be, then I feel like I'm set to go. The procedure went so wonderful, and although she'll probably have to come back one or two more times so I can finish... I feel like I had a great start. I was really excited! =)

Well, sorry for the long updates I do every few months... I lack motivation to blog sometimes haha but I just want you all to know that life is wonderful. Yes, it has it's ups and downs... but it's always possible to have more ups than downs. (Thank you Jessica Hart for reminding me of that.) Keep on enjoying your journey! I sure am enjoying mine. =)