Parties Galore

Tis the season for Christmas Parties and parties in general really! There always seems to be a party going on!

On Friday, December 3rd, I went to Buckley AFB’s Christmas party.  It was great fun to visit with friends whom I have not seen for a long while.  There were a lot of new faces, but the handful of people I still know made me realize why I enjoyed working there so much.  So many fun times and great memories working at Buckley!

Saturday, December 4th, I attended my current work (IBA) Christmas Party.  I dusted off the curling iron, found my jewelry, and got all dressed up for the occasion.  We had a nice meal, danced, and had fun socializing outside of work.  We all did the chicken dance and the hokey pokey.  Oh yea! All dressed up and making fools of ourselves.  I’m sure most people didn’t care since they were all liquored up, but I felt rather foolish! I’m sad to say I didn’t win any prize from the drawings they held throughout the evening.  Sigh... but it was still a fun night. 

Last Saturday (Dec 11th) I attended Megan Jones Anderson’s 5th annual White Elephant Gift Exchange Christmas Party.  You can always count on that party to be a good time… treats are fabulous, company is great, and the gifts are quite entertaining! It is a nice reason to get together with friends who are now married or are out of Maplewood Ward, so a lot of people I don’t very often see. 

Last Sunday (Dec 12th) I could have attended the annual cookie decorating party, but since I was not feeling too hot I opted not to go.  Kinda sad about that actually, it would have been nice to see other friends who I rarely have the opportunity to visit with.  Oh well, there is always next year, right?

Wednesday, December 15 we held our Christmas pot luck party at work (NPS).  At the gift exchange I ended up with hot chocolate mugs… I think that is what I always end up with.  I guess there are worse things, but I am accumulating quite the Christmas mug collection.

Last night I hosted a going away shindig for a friend of mine who will be moving to Las Vegas soon.  She got accepted into the nursing program, so I am excited for her,  but sad I will be losing a great Visiting Teacher! We busted out the Sparkling Red Grape Juice and had a toast! Got to love the non-alcoholic beverages!



I do enjoy a good party.  Really, it is just an excuse to get together and visit with friends.  I know a lot of people and enjoy the fun times we share.  Thanks to all my friends who make life enjoyable! I’ll toast to that!

I have one more party to blog about... Jacob's birthday Party.  We celeberated his first birthday at the Crabb's house on Sunday, 19th.  Jacob is so cute and it is fun to watch him take a few steps here and there.  They grow up so fast! Happy Birthday Little Guy!

Cayden was helping Beth put lights on the tree

Too Cute

Last Friday I got to tend Jake and Cayden while Jared and Katie attended a work Christmas party.  We had a good time playing tennis, playing golf, and baking banana bread.  Towards the end of the evening Cayden asked to play the "Jumping Movie".  It is a good thing I knew what he was talking about since I was over there a previous time and saw the game that he enjoys playing with his dad.  Well, if you are familiar with Jared's set up you know that it is not the easiest thing to figure out.  So, 40 minutes later (not exagerating) I finally got the game up and right then Jared and Katie walked in the door- Good Timing! Being a good Dad Jared sat and played with Cayden for a few minutes... I thought it was pretty cute so I took a picture!

Just want to give a Happy Birthday Shout-Out to Ashley! I am so proud of myself for even having the right day this year! Hope you had a great birthday!

Thanksgiving Weekend In Denver

I stayed in Denver this year for Thanksgiving.  Even though I do enjoy traveling it was rather nice not to go anywhere and instead have people come here.  So, thanks Jess, Sean, and kids for making that long drive! Mom had it a little bit easier since she flew in Thanksgiving Day.  Then, of course, Jared, Katie and their kids are already here in Denver so we had a pretty decent representation of the Linton clan.  

It was great fun to have Jess, Sean, the kiddos and Momisita stay with me.  It was quite the full house, but we managed! I loved every second of the time we were able to share together.  Aside from eating a delicious meal (thanks Katie for hosting!) we went to Monkey Business, saw the movie, "Tangled", went Black Friday shopping, and hung with Annie and Steve.  We baked pies, cheesecakes and rolls- yummy! We also played the Nintendo Wii a lot.  It was just fun to be together. 

Sean flew back on Friday so he could go to the BYU game the next day.  So, Mom rode back with Jess and the kids on Saturday.  A huge storm was expected on Sunday, so they left early in order to beat the weather.  It was so quiet and lonely at my apartment after they left.  So sad! We sure did have a great weekend.  I enjoy Thanksgiving and the nice reminder it is to me to recognize the many blessings I have been given.  Among the top is definitely my family.  I wish all of us could have been together, but it was nice that half of us were together! I love you all! Thanks for coming to my world as Sean so nicely put it. 

Here are some pictures from the weekend in no particular order.  Fun! Fun!

Jackson decided he just wanted to chill with his Aunt! 

Jess and Sean racing through the obstacle course at Monkey Business

I made a Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake- delicious!

Monkey Business is a child's playground dream come true

My cherry and Apple Pie



Cayden and Rylee were performing for us!

Tayler and Rylee Racing



Thanks for making it such a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Football and Fireworks

Before I post about my fabulous Thanksgiving week I have to catch you up on my 4th of July in November Party and my black eye.  November 18th marked my one year anniversary of being home from Kuwait.  What a joyous day one year ago! So, I decided to throw a 4th of July Party on Friday, November 19th in celebration of being home- I love the USA!

Visiting with my friend Tina

It was the best 4th of July party I've ever had in November.  We had hot dogs, watermelon, chips, angel food cake, cookies, and I made an apple pie.  We even had fireworks! After all it just wouldn't be right to have a 4th of July Party with no fireworks! There was a mini program even.  Pretty fancy!  

My friend Diana is probably one of the most patriotic people I know and we had a discussion the previous Sunday whether one had to leave the country in order to have a greater appreciation of what we have here.  She does not think that is necessary and even wrote a little essay about it. So, the mini program started with her reading her essay and then we had the fireworks show.  I'm sad I did not get any pictures of the fireworks, so you will have to use your imagination.  I brought up a U-Tube video of fireworks, had Lee Greenwood going in the background and asked for audience participation to add the fireworks sound as we threw poppers into cake pans and cookie sheets.  It was great! We were rockin' to "Proud To Be An American" and occasionally threw in an "oooohhhh" and an "aaahhhhhh".  It was pretty fun! 

I am so happy to live in this great country.  I am so blessed to have wonderful friends and family around to help me celebrate! Thanks all for supporting my crazy ideas like having a 4th of July party in November!

Diane and I

So another crazy idea of mine (it wasn't my idea exactly, but I did help it come about) was to get an all girl game of flag football going.  Saturday, November 20th was supposed to be a beautiful day here in Colorado, so we played.  There was a group of 8 of us and we had a good time.  I did get a battle wound in the process of playing... a nice black eye! The tip of the ball hit me in the corner of the eye and the bruise crept down under my entire eye- oh so pretty! I'm sure the little push I received from Audra didn't help, but really the blame lies on me since I can't seem to catch the ball! After a fun game of football I went running, then played some tennis, then finished my 4.5 hours of working out with doing some lunges, push-ups and sit-ups.  Needless to say I was hurtin' the next day! So worth it though since it was such a fun day!

Answers

Answers have been posted below with my comments.  How did you do? It was fun to think of things I've done/accomplished in my life.  I have truly been blessed! I bet you would be surprised too if you started thinking of things... try it!

What's True?

So, a while back I went to a party where we played 2 Truths and a Lie.  It can be a fun game where you get to learn interesting facts about people.  I thought it would be kind of fun to post a few about me to see how well you know me.  Try to pick out the one lie that is stated in every block.  I'll post the answers in a few days. 


1.
I have sat in the back seat of a police car
I have skied in Dubai
I have never had a cavity




2.
I got a 4.0 in High School
I have met Elder Holland and Elder Perry
I have been skydiving




3.
I have held 5 jobs in a one year time period
I have never permanently colored my hair
I am 100% debt free




4.
I have never lived anywhere that I have not had family close by
I have had a rattlesnake rear up at me
I have run a marathon




5.
Up to the point of receiving my undergraduate degree, I've always
      had another family member in the same grade as me
I love doing dishes
I have been in a hot air balloon




6.
I have won money playing the slot machines in Las Vegas
I graduated with honors when I received my Graduate degree
I have been lost in Kuwait




7.
I held a lead role in a High School play
I have only been pulled over once in my life as the driver
I am published




8.
I placed 1st at a State Competition and 4th in a National
     Competition
I have served on a Jury
I have never been able to donate blood




9.
I got contacts before I got glasses
I have held the Olympic Torch
I have never been to Disneyworld




10.
I have been parasailing
I received the Academic All-State award for Soccer
I have never been toilet papering




11.
I can flip my tongue in both directions
I can touch my nose with my tongue
I can bring my thumb all the way back to touch my forearm




12.
I picked a blade of grass through the fence at Wimbledon
I have worked out with Billy Blanks
I have never been to the hospital for my own injury




13.
I have been to a concert at Red Rocks
I hate running
I have never run out of gas




14.
I have attended a Wimbledon tennis match
I have never been to New York
I have been ice-skating since I was approximately five years old




15.
I have gotten a red card in a soccer game
I have seen My Fair Lady, Les Miserable, and Phantom of the Opera
    in London
I have eaten lunch with a General




16.
I have had a guy kneel on one knee and ask me a question
I have won tickets from a radio station
My theme song is from Wicked




17.
I graduated cum laude when I received my undergraduate degree
I played tennis in High School
I love plants




18.
I have been in the Nauvoo Temple
The Star Spangled Banner makes me cry
I have been to the filming of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune




19.
I have never had stitches or broken any bones
I am worth a lot more dead then alive
I served as Mayor of Youth City Council




20.
I have been kicked out of a bar
I have driven a motorcycle
I have hiked a volcano


Answers:


1. I have sat in the back seat of a police car True - my license plate got stolen and it was really cold that day, so the policeman let me sit in the back of his car while he completed his paperwork.

I have skied in Dubai True- it was awesome!


I have never had a cavity I wish this was true!

2. I got a 4.0 in High School Lie- I got a 3.9 GPA since I got an A- in Physics


I have met Elder Holland and Elder Perry True- Met Elder Holland in Kuwait and visited with Elder Perry in the elevator the night I received my endowment in the SLC Temple.


I have been skydiving True- indoor skydiving that is


3. I have held 5 jobs in a one year time period Lie- this would have been true had I gotten the Federal Position I applied for.


I have never permanently colored my hair True


I am 100% debt free True



4. I have never lived anywhere that I have not had family close by True- even in Kuwait I had a second cousin who worked at the Embassy


I have had a rattlesnake rear up at me True- in the New Harmony house, it was just Mom and I there and it was scary!


I have run a marathon Lie- hopefully someday this will be true, but so far I’ve only completed a half marathon.



5. Up to the point of receiving my undergraduate degree, I have always had another family
member in the same grade as me True- being a twin kind of helps with this one. When Jared left for his mission Ryan was just returning and we ended up graduating together.


I love doing dishes True- washing dishes makes me warm and it keeps the house clean!


I have been in a hot air balloon Lie- nor do I really have any desire to ride in one



6. I have won money playing the slot machine in Las Vegas True- I was trying to get rid of loose change and ended up with a handful more!


I graduated with honors when I received my Graduate degree Lie- I graduated with a 3.94 when you needed a 3.95 to graduate with honors. You could only get 2 A-‘s and I got 3!


I have been lost in Kuwait True- a couple times actually because of stupid construction and a messed up road system!



7. I held a lead role in a High School play Lie- I was in a play with a speaking part, but not a lead


I have only been pulled over once in my life as the driver True- I got a ticket for speeding!


I am published True- thanks to Jenny for getting my blog books published!



8. I placed 1st at a State Competition and 6th in a National Competition True- I placed in Human Resource Management when I competed for PBL (the college version of FBLA)


I have served on a Jury Lie- I have been summoned to Jury Duty twice, but have never served on a Jury.


I have never been able to donate blood True- it is because I don’t weigh enough, I’ve been out of the country, and I am iron deficient so my blood is not good enough for anyone




9. I got contacts before I got glasses True


I have held the Olympic Torch True- I even have a picture to prove it!


I have never been to Disneyworld Lie- I have been twice. Once with friends for a PBL competition and once when it was just Mom and I!



10. I have been parasailing Lie- but it does look fun


I received the Academic All-State award for Soccer True


I have never been toilet papering True- and I really don’t feel like I am missing anything!



11. I can flip my tongue in both directions True


I can touch my nose with my tongue True


I can bring my thumb all the way back to touch my forearm Lie- I am definitely not flexible!



12. I picked a blade of grass through the fence at Wimbledon True- closest I got to being inside the gates


I have worked out with Billy Blanks True- he came to Kuwait, I also got a picture with him and his autograph


I have never been to the hospital for my own injury Lie- I had to get stitches when I got nailed in the head with a racquetball racquet.




13. I have been to a concert at Red Rocks True- I went to Snow Patrol


I hate running True- unless I am in the mood to run, it is seriously a mental battle each time I go for a run, but I do love being in shape!


I have never run out of gas Lie- I ran out of gas while driving a mule (a golf cart thing) on Buckley



14. I have attended a Wimbledon tennis match Lie- perhaps someday!


I have never been to New York True- it is on my list of places to go someday


I have been ice-skating since I was approximately five years old True- learned on the golf course ponds right by my house using double bladed skates



15. I have gotten a red card in a soccer game Lie- I’m not even sure I ever got a yellow card!


I have seen My Fair Lady, Les Miserable, and Phantom of the Opera in London True- it was awesome!


I have eaten lunch with a General True -BG Nickels came and handed out the civilian GWOT awards.



16. I have had a guy kneel on one knee and ask me a question True- but not the question you all are thinking. I was begged to be the Squadron Resource Advisor by my Commander.


I have won tickets from a radio station Lie


My theme song is from Wicked True- unfortunately it is still my theme song. Currently it is “I’m Not That Girl”, but someday I hope to have a new theme song!



17. I graduated cum laude when I received my undergraduate degree True – I got a 3.51 and you had to get a 3.5 or higher.


I played tennis in High School Lie- I would have if soccer was not at the same time


I love plants True- have you been to my apartment?




18. I have been in the Nauvoo Temple True- such a beautiful temple


The Star Spangled Banner makes me cry True- I love the USA and feel very blessed to live in this great country


I have been to the filming of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune Lie- Jeopardy was not being filmed at the time, but we were able to go to the filming of Wheel of Fortune.




19. I have never had stitches or broken any bones Lie- I’ve had both. Stitches in the head and I broke two fingers, but didn’t realize they were broken until after they didn’t heal properly. Yes, my fingers are still messed up!


I am worth a lot more dead then alive True


I served as Mayor of Youth City Council True



20. I have been kicked out of a bar True- it was a karaoke bar in the Swan Hotel at Disneyworld. There were kids present, but since I was not 21 yet and I did not have a parent with me they kicked me out!


I have driven a motorcycle Lie- I have been on a motorcycle, but have never driven one.


I have hiked a volcano True- in St. George there are some dormant volcanoes

Night at the Museums

This weekend was not quite as eventful as last weekend, but it was still busy and still enjoyable.  I got to tend my cute nephew on Friday night, so that is always a pleasure. 

Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day in Denver... it was 76 degrees and I loved it! I definitely took advantage of the sunshine and spent a good portion of my day outside.  I started the day at 9am with a friendly tennis match.  Then I went golfing- just a short 9 hole, 3 par, but still fun and nice to be outside.  I learned however, that golfing in the Fall adds another element of difficulty when trying to find your ball amongst all the leaves.  Not my best golf game ever, but it was still fun. 

Saturday evening was Night at the Museums.  Every year there is one evening where a number of museums open their doors for FREE.  So, a group of friends took advantage of that.  We went to 4 of the museums... the Molly Brown House, the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art, the Botanic Gardens, and the Forney Museum of Transportation.  I say we did pretty good for one night!

This is my friend Jason posing with "Molly Brown" before we got our tour.

While we were waiting for our time to tour the Molly Brown House we walked around the corner and looked at the art in the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative art.  It had some neat looking furniture, some abstract paintings, and cool sculptures made of old bike tires, metal pipe, and whatever else you could find in a junk yard!

The Botanic Gardens were interesting... hard to see outside flowers in the dark! We ended up wondering for a while, saw some sculptures that were lit up, and called it good.  It really felt like we went on a midnight hike!

After the Botanic Gardens we headed to the Forney Museum of Tranportation.  This museum was really neat.  It was fun to see how far cars, motorcycles, and bicycles have come. 

We even got to sit in a Model T! 

Hope you all got to enjoy the beautiful weather where you are at.  Snow is in the forecast this week- Yikes! Have a great week everyone!

Accomplishment

It has always been a goal of mine to run a marathon.  I hate running so that goal seemed completely unreachable... even a half marathon seemed extremely daunting.  Well, I am happy to say that I have now conquered the half! In five months time I went from not being able to run 5 minutes without wanting to die, to being able to run a half marathon thanks to the help of friends and the encouragement of my sister!

The plan was to run the half marathon in Seattle in June 2011 with Jessica and Marcela.  Well, the Seattle race was too far out, so Jess found a race to do Halloween weekend in Utah and convinced Sean and I to do it as well.  Jess didn't feel ready, so she opted to wait to run it next year, but Sean and I braved the mountain and I am so glad we did. 

We left the house at 5:15am! This is me heading out the door scared to death because I had no idea what to expect in the coming hours.

We arrived at the Provo mall and got bused up to the start.  It was dark and cold, but they had a tent with heat lamps, so the almost 2 hour wait wasn't too bad.  The 2500 people swarming around also helped to keep it warm and the fun costumes kept the nerves in check.  It was a beautiful brisk Fall morning- perfect for a run! I couldn't have asked for better weather.  The run felt good... all 13.1 miles of it! The course took us down Sundance and Provo Canyon, so it was a gorgeous setting.  It was an extremely steep downhill for the first 5 miles and then a nice gradual downhill the remainder of the way.  I flew down the steep part... yep, my left calf is still reminding me of that!

It was so awesome to hear the cheer of the crowd as you run to the finish.  It was even more awesome that Mom, Jessica, and her cute kids were there to greet me when I finished.  That meant a lot and I'm so glad they came to support Sean and I.  You guys rock!

I crossed the finish line in 1 hour 46 minutes and 44 seconds! My goal was to come in under 2 hours, so I was extremely happy with my time.  Sean also beat his goal and did awesome! He came in at 2 hours 12 minutes! Such a great accomplishment for both of us.  Hmmm.... perhaps a full marathon isn't out of reach after all?

Since it was Halloween I got into the spirit of things and put orange, black, and purple streaks in my hair and put a ghost picture on my back.  Fun! Fun!  Here are some pictures from race day- taken after the race, a very happy Julie after knowing the outcome! 

The kids got to get all dressed up to go to the trunk or treat later that day after the race.  Here are the cute kiddos:

Tayler was a BYU Soccer Goalie- it will be fun when this dream of hers comes true!

Jayson wanted to be a scary ghost... yep he accomplished that!

Rylee is a BYU cheerleader- so cute!

Then, of course, Jackson is a cute little pumpkin!

It was a great weekend.  I'm glad I got to spend some time with Mom, Jess, Sean, and the kids.  I love every second I can get with them.  Great big thanks again to Jess for giving me the motivation to train and the encouragement along the way! Also, a big thanks to Sean for doing it with me- good times!

Last Saturday, October 23rd, was my good friend Megan's wedding.  I'm so glad I got to spend the day with her... the sealing, the luncheon, and the reception! The day was perfect and she looked amazing! Congrats to her!

Last, but not least, I wanted to give a happy birthday shout out to my Guardian Angel, my Dad.  He would have been 66 today.  Wish I could tell him happy birthday in person.  I sure do miss him!