Bad Blogger.

I haven't been a very good blogger lately at all. Life has been busy. Great, but busy. Here are some of the most recent happenings...

Schooling it...as always. This semester hasn't been ideal, because Tyler and I basically go to school on opposite days. Thankfully I haven't been working full time, so I still am lucky and get to see a little more of him. It does keep our lives pretty busy though! Tyler changed his major and he is officially a communications major. It's exciting to have a little glimpse of what we're working so hard for.

I went to State Drill Team with my sister-in-law Sara and my little sis. It's always fun to see whats new each year and who is the best. This year did certainly not disappoint. There were definitely some awesome dances and amazing teams!

It has been a month of Baby Showers galour! The last two Saturday's I've had attended baby shower's for my sister-in-law, Misty, who is due in March. I promised myself last Saturday that I would take a few pictures so I could at least have something to put on the blog but I forgot my camera and left my phone in my car. This Saturday I have 2 more baby showers for 2 other baby makers, so needless to say my Saturday's have been fun but busy.

My best friend, Jaynee flew in on Friday from Texas, so I spent Saturday night with her, Rachel, and Hope! Our lives are all so different now so it is seriously the best when we are all able to get together! We went to dinner at Los Hermanos and then spent the rest of the evening just talking.

Tyler has been luckily staying safe. They had an incident recently at work (see KSL story here), but thankfully him and all his crew were fine. There were a few injured but all of them are going to be okay. It really scared me and could have been a lot worse.

I tried ZUMBA for the first time and really liked it. I have been meaning to try it for it a while now and just never have. At first I wasn't so sure about it but it definitely got better as it went along and it was a great work out so looks like its going to be part of my weekly routine. It really made me miss dance though...you forget how much you love it when you aren't doing it. I'm thinking of starting Ballet Blast, because I hear it is awesome...feedback anyone???

It is VALENTINES tomorrow! I'm really excited...although I'm fairly certain Tyler is not. I think it stresses him out, but it shouldn't! I don't think Valentines needs to be extravagent. It is just a simple day, but such a great one to celebrate! We have a fun little date planned and I can't wait. I loook forward to this day all year! It is the best.

Happy Heart Day Everyone!

Happiness Is...

Finals being over! (I did a "freedom dance" after I turned in my last project)

A New Car!

A New Washing Machine! (for free of course, the benefit of renting!)

Overnight party in Salt Lake to Celebrate Nattie's bday!

Sherlock Holmes with Chelsea and Jake!

Seeing Jaynee for the first time in 4 months! Yay for coming home for the holidays!

Looking forward to more family parties, Christmas shopping, and Christmas!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

Happy Birthday Jaynee!!!

Over the years I couldn't have asked for a better friend than Jaynee.

We've gone thru lots together and experienced a lot of different things!

Dance Co, Drill Team, Boyfriends (and all the drama that came with them!), Dances, College, Sending off missionaries, Road Trips, Roomies, Writing off missionaries, More boyfriends of course, Watching each other get MARRIED...and the list goes on! All I know, is I am sure glad she was there with me thru it all. Who else would have been as willing an excited to do the "Dr. Pepper Dance" with me?!

Happy Birthday Jayners!

Hope Texas treats you well on your special day!!!

Love you lots!

So long, farewell.

These cute kids moved yesterday.

Jaynee and I have been friends for years. She has seriously been a better friend to me than I could have ever asked for. Her and Cameron got married a year and a half ago...and part of the deal marrying him would be that she would eventually have to move far away from good old Lehi. I am going to miss her lots but am excited for all the adventures they have ahead of them!

They moved to Texas of all places--its the place to go when you not only marry a Texan, but you marry one who majors in Petrology of all things.

Good Luck Jaynee and Cam!

Can't wait to visit ya soon!

Happy Birthday "Joyce!"

It's my bestest friend Jaynee's birthday today! She is seriously one of the funniest, genuine, caring people I know. Since its her birthday I'm going to brag about her, so here are some of the greatest things about Jaynee.

-She's very optimistic
-She's was an awesome roommate!
-She is gorgeous.
-When you ride in her car, you can always guarantee and adventure--she's the only person I know who buys several set of tires a year, has been pulled over for wreckless driving and then been asked if she stole the vehicle, and once she flew her car off the freeway and it survived it...no scratches, and no injuries from her many passengers.
-She is always willing to help & support me whenever I need her.
-She can "Joyce it Up" better than anyone I know.
-She has serious talent when it comes to random injuries--both giving and getting them. In high school Jaynee somehow managed to put a straw thru her forehead at a football game & cut her head on the bleachers at the very same game. Luckily, I haven't been the victim of too many of the injuries she's given, but right after she got engaged she managed to cut me w/her wedding ring--I guess it serves me right though, because I told Cameron he was doomed and he better watch out, because if she hit him with that ring it would leave a mark. I didn't know I would be the victim!
-She is very very entertaining
-She, like me, needs very little sleep--which means we've had great times decorating cars at odd hours of the night, pulling all nighters, and making runs to Walmart for ingredients to make Brownies, and even cutting out snowflakes til 4 am! She didn't bother to sleep the night before her wedding, we played to late hours of the night when WE called it quits...she wanted to keep the night going, I later learned from her dad that she went for a 6 am run the morning of!
-She's the greatest friend anyone could possibly ask for!

Happy Birthday Jaynee!

Thank you for being such an awesome friend all these years.
Joyce it up!!!

{Funny Story}

Jaynee's super awesome husband Cameron, threw her a surprise party on Friday night! They live in her grandpa's basement & he's got a fire pit out back so we had a fire--roasting hot dogs, starbursts, and making smores...you know, all that normal stuff would expect at a bon fire.

Well, if any of you know Jaynee, you know, her birthday or any event involving her can't be mellow...or normal. She likes things crazy and exciting...

This party was no exception. Her grandpa has a sunroom that connects to both the front of the house & to the backyard. We heard pounding on the door to the front, because we had left the back door open. And who was there? None of other than the fire dept.--apparently they got a call about a fire from a block away so they had to come out to inspect. There was two of them, who came and looked at our pathetic fire (it was so small it was barely putting off any heat at all.) They chuckled a little--and were like well that fire is DEFINITELY legal. But unfortunately legal or not, since they did complain we have to make you put it out. We hate to ruin the fun.

Talk about a random visit, to make things better they told us that it took a long time for them to find out where it was even at and they had to get a spotlight out just to see the tiny smoke cloud it was putting off-- so how someone saw it from a block away is beyond me!

To make things better we followed them out and turns out there were a bunch of firemen outside all suited up in their full gear--not to mention there was the fire dept. suv out front, a fire truck, and an ambulance!!! Needless to say, the whole neighborhood & Jaynee's family were either showing up or calling the house to find out what was going on.

I've been to lots of bon fires and such, but I'm not sure if any will be more memorable than this one. --Next time, I think we'll just invite the fire dept. to come join us to avoid any future 911 calls, we offered them some food and drinks last night but they declined. haha.

December in a Nut Shell

I'm Baaaack! I left the blog world pretty much all of December, but I'm back & fully ready to catch up! I find it funny that when I actually have something blog worthy I'm too busy to blog about it, because I'm too busy living it, but here I am. Ready to post.

This is what I experienced while away...

1. I experienced a miracle! What miracle you ask? I survived finals...and it gets even better than this, I got all A's this semester. Don't think I even did that in high school.

2. I saw my cute sister dance at the UVU drill competition (December 12). Aren't they cute?

These girls did awesome! Placed well in all of their routines and were so fun to watch.

3. I spent time with family. We had two Clyde Christmas Parties this year!

Party One (December 13): Our "traditional" Christmas Eve had to come early this year and in a new location, I had a great time with our more extended Clyde fam.

Uncle Jeff playin the accordian for us.

My siblings with Grandma Pinkie

Grandma Pinkie entertaining us all!!!

Party Two (December 20): The typical party at Nana's. Full of fun, nativity, and exchanging cousin gifts! Thanks Mckay for my great gift...although I must admit I was slightly disappointed you didn't give me those Star Wars legos, like your Mom said you were going to give me! :(

Nate made a great donkey this year, I think he enjoyed it more than any other part he has played.

The Single One's

4. My Best Friend & Roomie got hitched (December 19)! It was fun to be a part of it and see her so happy. Congrats Jaynee and Cameron.

Since Jaynee doesn't believe in sleep we had a crazy night with the girls the night before the big day.  It was full of laughter, memories, jokes, and a 1 am run to In N Out. At 2 am, we finally called it quits even though the bride didn't want to. Little did we know, she would stay up an additional hour and then wake up at 6am to go to the gym to run. Crazy girl!

She might not look it here, but she was happy as ever. Jaynee & Cameron are perfect for each other and so cute together. Love them both.

Jaynee dancing with her Dad.

Isn't she gorgeous?

 

The girls.

Just me & the bride.

5. Natalie turned 16 (December 16)! Woot. Woot. She is still thrilled...and dying to go get her license!

We celebrated Texas Roadhouse Style w/ a Giddy Up and all.

I was too busy w/life to give her a birthday post so this will have to do!

Happy Birthday Sis!

6. Had a very wonderful Christmas! Santa spoiled me and my whole family! He surprised us with a Wii. I never thought I'd use it, because I hate video games, but I'm actually kind of liking it!

 

Nate got a Austin Collie jersey which was his favorite gift! It got a bigger reaction than the Wii.

Natalie is a little accessory queen and loaded up on jewelry, purses, scarves, and a new wallet.

 

Boots, Jeans, School Tuition, Jewelry...Santa definitely loves me. I was spoiled rotten. Ty really spoiled me this year too. He bought me a new camera, a case for it and a new memory card (yes, I lost my last memory card. Some creep at UVU probably found it and now has all my pictures.) He also got me a BYU jersey, a movie, and a clock...which is awesome...I have to make it myself, but it's going to be an activity for us both! He has one himself, too. I'm shocked he's volunteered to do a craft. haha. My grandparents also gave me great gifts that I love! Thank you Pinkie, Nana, Grumpy, and Grandpa Schaefer. I appreciate how generous you all are. Love you! I'm a very lucky girl.

Page & Kevin were the most spoiled of all.  They got a new tv and my parents bought them a blu ray player. Page surprised Kevin with a Wii and he surprised her with a Cricut. Santa brought them Guitar Hero for their new Wii.

We got my mom this super cute shelf! She was pretty happy about it. She'll probably kill me for putting this picture on the internet, since she has no makeup on, hates her picture being taken, and is in her pajama's, oh well. (sorry Mom, everyone else made the blog so you had to as well.)

 

Dad and Grandpa Schaefer

It's become a fun tradition to have him come see us Christmas morning!

We Love You Grandpa!

7. Shianne & CJ got engaged (December 5)! Pretty exciting stuff! He got home of his mission and within only a few weeks there was a ring on her finger.

I'm so excited for them!

...and props to Stephanie Cheney. She did a great job taking these.

8. My awesome brother got an intership at Channel 2 (December 22). Maybe if he's lucky, they'll like him enough to hire him and he won't have to move out of state come spring! If any could pull it off, it would be him. Nobody can talk sports like he does. He also got another gig at BYU. Good Job Kevin!

9. I finally made it to Temple Square to see the lights (December 27). Tyler and I doubled with our friend Jeff, and his date, Kelley Anne. We had a lot of fun. I didn't get the many pictures and didn't even go where I wanted to take them, but we were freezing so we made it a short trip!

I do love this one! Turned out pretty great. I'm loving the new camera!

Love this one as well.

Tyler and I

Kelley Anne and Jeff

10. This is a soon-to-be happening (January 9), but I'm sharing because I'm excited. My cousin, Melissa is getting married so I will soon be heading to Arizona for her wedding. I am so anxious to get out of this bitter cold Utah weather. I'm excited to see all of my family down there, including my cousin Mia who I have yet to meet. She was born in October and is VERY cute!

They're definitely not in order, I realized I did this kind of dumb, but oh well.

Time to Show Some Gratitude

Earlier in the week I started off by sharing how thankful I am for my little sister and I thought it would be nice to finish off the list.

More than anything I'm so grateful for my family. They say you can chose your friends but not your family. I don't really like this saying, because if I were to hand pick my family, I would chose the family I have now all over again. And when I say family, I mean ALL of my family...parents, siblings...including my cute new sister-in-law, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I'm so lucky to be close to the majority of my family. My best friends are truly my family members and I'm so grateful for the relationships I have built with them. Just to get an idea of how close I am with my family I have to share a funny little story from a week or two ago...

I was down in Santaquin at Tyler's parents house and his mom was asking me what I was doing for Thanksgiving, I told her what side of my family I would be with this year and she proceeded to ask me if I switched off each holiday, or year, or what??? I started to say yes, and as I did Tyler muttered under his breath, "it's not really switching off if you have a party with them EVERY month." I couldn't help but laugh, because this is SO true. The Clyde side (my Mom's side) has lots of get-togethers. But for the record Tyler...we don't get together EVERY month...just most of them...haha. and some months WAY more than once! So yes...we do see a lot of each other. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the Schaefer side every bit as much and wished I saw them more than I do!

I'm also very grateful for my health. I've been very lucky to have been given a healthy working body...I've had a few minor injuries, etc. but I am grateful that I haven't had anything that has held me back. I love dancing so much and know that there are many people who would kill to have my health and the abilities to do what I do. In my Jazz class I'm taking at school right now, the very first dance we learned was done as a tribute to a long time dancer and instructor at UVU. She was diagnosed with cancer and died this fall. Her niece just so happens to be my instructor and wanted to do this dance in honor of her. The inspiration behind her choreography and music selection all had to do with the words of her aunt, who last Spring talked about how health is everything and without it we are so confined and she was sad to lose her abilities due to illness. This really made me realize how lucky I am and I don't want to take my body for granted.

I'm grateful for Tyler. He's so much fun to be around and is always there for me when I need him around. This semester has been a tough one for me and some nights I get so tense and stressed and he shows up to help however he can. I think I'm pretty lucky. Sometimes I'm pretty sure I drive him nuts but he never admits it. He's always so thoughtful when I least expect it. Tyler's mom, sister, and sister-in-law all had tickets to the So You Think You Can Dance performance when it came to Utah this last month. His sister-in-law backed out (Thank you Sarah!)  and Tyler surprised me by buying her ticket for me! Such a nice thing to do for me for no reason other than to be nice. I was shocked when I called me...in fact, it was kinda funny. He called me during the day of and a BYU game was on so I knew his call MUST be important. I answered and he was more chatty than he ever is on the phone, he asked me if I had plans. I told him no and he said Good! Don't make any. I was then asked why, and he told me I was going to the performance with them. He didn't even tell me why, just left it at that and hung up. I had to text him to get the story. I probably told him thank you over a dozen times, but don't know if he had a clue how much this meant to me. The performance was amazing and it was fun to spend time with his mom and sis, Love you Ty!

I'm grateful to have a job! A year ago today I was my layed off from my previous job wondering what would come next. I wasn't really worried, because I have wonderful parents who are always willing to help me out when I need it and since I was living at home, money really wasn't an issue, but I obviously wasn't planning to sit at home and mooch off them. Luckily Century 21 wanted me back! I didn't even apply, I just have an AWESOME Aunt, who was willing to work me in. I love my Century 21 family, I work with so many fun, great people...this job might not pay the greatest but there are so many aspects of it, that make it great. Me being layed off was really an opportunity for me. I was having a hard time justifying quitting that job to go to school because I was being paid so well and HELLO...I've never been a fan of school, but once I was no longer needed there it allowed me to start going to school full time. Century 21 works really great around my school schedule and gives me just enough money to get by and in today's economy so many people are out of work that I'm just grateful to have something, because that is more than a lot of people can say right now.

I'm grateful to be in school...I can't believe I'm admitting this, especially with finals right around the corner, but it is true. School is hard, stressful, and a money eater, but it gives me purpose. I like knowing that I'm working towards something greater and love some of the things I am learning and new people I have met at school. It can be my worst nightmare at moments, but other times I feel that it is one of my greatest blessings!

I'm grateful for all of my friends! They're so much fun and supportive of me, I honestly don't see a lot of them very much anymore, because we're all doing our own things in life, but I'm still so glad for the relationships I have with all of them. One of my best friend's is getting married in just a few weeks and then eventually will be moving away from Utah. Jaynee's been such an awesome friend and support to me and I know I'm going to miss her tons!

Love you Jaynee!

I'm grateful for the gospel and the happiness it has brought me in my life, I would be in a whole other world I think without it. I'm grateful that my parents taught me well and the testimonies they have, which in turn strengthened mine. So many don't have what I have and I know I'm truly luckily to be a part of it!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Gobble. Gobble.