SUCH a tease!

I have been talking all week about how I am so excited to be able to sleep in on Sunday.... our old ward was 9am(which still kind of feels like sleeping in) BUT our new ward was at 12:30.  uh PERFECT time! :) & I just texted a friend to find out what time exactly to be sure where it is, etc....it's definitely at 9am tomorrow bc they're changing the married ward boundaries, so I guess tomorrow it is just an exception to be starting at 9am...DANG!  Oh well, NEXT Sunday I am going to sleep in!

xoxoafternoonnap,anyone?

 So at graduation your row lines up and you walk through a little photo booth stand before you go to the stage to receive your diploma holder w/ the sample diploma inside. 

I made a face when I got my diploma.

Dad didn't believe me.

He was videoing it all on his camera, so he missed my lovely pose.

So, when I got the e-mail this morning w/ my proof info, I couldn't resist sending it to him...

As for this one, I'm not really sure what to think.

I think I should have been the designer...

I mean, it was really bad planning, because Jimmer graduated with me, too.

I can only imagine his looked something like this:

[does he remind anyone else of the friend in Diary of a Wimpy Kid?]
 If I had designed the green screen backgrounds I would have chosen maybe a cougar creeping over my shoulder.  Or maybe one in a tree, ready to pounce, something cool like that.

& just so I don't embarrass my mom too terribly, I thought I'd throw this picture in with the lot.

I hope everyone in Utah is having a snowy blustery day, & everyone everywhere else is having a fabulous sunny or tornado-y day. 

But seriously, please remember the southerners torn apart from this tornado.  I have a constant cortisol release everytime tornado season rolls around.  However, I did benefit from it, because my mom got 'stuck' in Utah with me because of the tornado troubling weather!

Love from Provo,

xoxostilldointhemovinthing!

I'm coming up for air

Holy insanely busy-ness!

I know that it seems like that is all my blog is about recently.

I'm sorry I'm not more exciting than crazy busy!

BUT, it's been really fun!

The family left, which is always sad, but I've hardly had time to sit around & notice!

My computer died & so Momma took it back to TN w/ her for Dad to fix sometime this summer...when he has a second to breathe too!

We have been moving this week, I've been working at the redcross full-time & am now a certified CPR-Adult & infant/First Aid/AED instructor!  That's right!  & tomorrow I'm going in to work with Wendy in the Health & Safety Dept, to get my feet wet!  I'm so excited!  I've been on a DAT (disaster action team) for a while & recieved a few texts that my team is on call, but no floods to run to yet! I'm kind of anxious to see how that turns out!

When I haven't been working at the Red Cross we've been moving our apartment!  Yes, we're slowly but surely working our way into our Branbury Apartment!  I LOVE it.  You never realize the luxury of a dishwasher until you haven't had one for a year, I didn't realize the darkness I was jumpin into last April as I moved out of my glamorous Bel-Court apartment! 

We've also been working at the Branbury & I'm working on Saturdays at the Health Center, I have time to breathe every now and then ;)

I seriously go to bed exhausted & wake up & hit the ground running exhausted the next morning! 

Dad switched Momma's plane so she could leave Tuesday after the funeral, but due to awful tornado-y storms in TN she got stuck in Utah, darn.  She got the 'move' ball rolling & helped us move almost the entirety of our apartment on Tuesday...it was the most incredible thing EVER, Chad hooked us up w/ a trailer so we could move our bed, Kristin & Joel came that night & helped us put it together, all in all it was an amazing day & it's always so much fun to work w/ Momma, she's so positive!  Thanks Mom!!!

BUT LG, baby!

& please come see our new apartment...it has cupboards, drawers & closets.  It is incredible!

It actually feels like home, even with the boxes everywhere!

We found an amazing entertainment center like the one above, but it's a little different!

$50 at DI....yeah...amazing!  I am obsessed, pretty much. I'll put up a picture of my own soon, not one courtesy of Google Images!

Monday night Momma, Deej, Wes & I went & watched Justin Bieber, the real deal, in his movie...omg I am in love.  Seriously, don't see that movie unless you want to leave heartbroken, Wes is playing JB right now, but it still tugs on my heart-strings a little...

& Guess what?! 

In a couple months I'm taking a class to get trained to drive this bad-boy!

OH, & who is a computer geek? I am proud to say, ME!

That's right, I set this sucker up by myself & gave us a Network name & everything...that's right...Spencie would be so proud.

Okay, so something I wanted to talk about also.  

Monday was Grandpa Brink's funeral, it was the most incredible service!

Weston gave the tribute to Grandpa Richard N. Brinkerhoff.  It was amazing.

He is such a wonderful speaker, he was so nervous he was going to not do justice to Grandpa, but he spoke so beautifully & eloquently.

Dave spoke also, & at the end of his post, because he is still in the Navy, he stood to the side of the podium he was speaking at & saluted Grandpa Brinkerhoff's urn.  It was the most emotional moment.  It was so beautiful & special.

There was a 21 gun salute from 4 eighty-year old men.  They were standing across the grave from us, ...& seriously the guns were as big as a few of them, one of them started waving it around, because it was a little too heavy...hahahah I almost hit the deck, but I stood there w/ blind faith.  Only to find out later I would have been okay regardless, they were blanks. Each of the family members put one of the shells from the 21 gun salute in the top box of Grandpa's urn.  It was incredible.  The national guard did the flag ceremony and gave the flag to Dave.  It was all just so incredible.

Grandpa Brinkerhoff was the most incredible man who left a legacy among everyone he came in contact with.  If you met him, I'm sure you have a hilarious story about him.  Everything that came out of his mouth, until the day he passed was hilarious & witty.  He had great humor & spoke his mind...maybe a little too much.  He was stubborn & humble as they come.  He doesn't smile for pictures, even though we snuck a few.  He always wore his trucker hat, or for nice occasions, a top hat.  He was a quaint man with a huge heart.  He loved the history & military channels.  He was in 4 aircraft wrecks in the Army.  He lived in more countries than I even know the names to.  He has lived in more countries than I could count.  He gave anyone who asked the shirt off his back.  He always gave when someone was in need.  He told me that if he ever had anything I needed that it was mine.  Because that's just how he works.  He never said a word he didn't mean.  He was as sincere & honest as they come.  He was a hard worker & he LOVED cars.  He had a whole car-yard in the back.

The husband took this picture at graduation & sent it out to the family today with the caption:

First fresh fruit since freshman year! 

bhaha unfortunately that is TOO close to true!

but thank you BYU for providing snacks after that REALLY long ceremony.  I was starving & didn't eat my stale bagel for breakfast!

Well I am exhausted & am going to watch MegaMind while making label stickers for our DVDs & rub lotion into my cracking dry hands [the dust from the other apartment has DESTROYED my hand as I have wiped tons & tons of dust off everything!]!

Love you all!

leave comments w/ thoughts, opinions, threats, love-notes, advice! 

I love hearing from my reader(s)!

xoxobackpains...lotsofbackpains

p.s. anyone know of any great deal on car parts?  We need a new radiator!

Family Fun Fabulousness

The Fam is back in town!

It's been a week full of the following:

Laughing, fun, outtings, food, bruises (my brothers[& husband] are now enormous & slightly clumsy), love, cards, work, school, driving, squishing in the car, pictures, gifts, laughing, laughing, laughing!

It's been so amazing! Seriously! 

A trip to Borders!

Uncle Ron tried, to no avail, to brainwash me with his Democrat ways, while

Spence & Wes read nerdy books about politics & Mandarin Chinese

 Mom & Chase learned a little more about his photoshop program he got for Christmas

Discovery:  Paranoid people should not write books.  It produces treasures like these:

 [yes that is a diagram of all the ways that duck could kill]

 we played lots of golf!

xoxogamers

Gradumication!

Yesterday I became a BYU Alumna!

This week has been a non-stop party!

Except too darn bad life keeps truckin even when your family is town!

Both of my jobs were very flexible...wow I work with the greatest folks!

The health center let me take Thursday & Friday off, our coworkers at Branbury took our cleaning checks all day yesterday & split them amongst themselves & today we are covering all of their cleaning checks for transfers!

It is amazing I have had SO much fun having my family in town! I love when they visit!  My brothers came in Wednesday afternoon & my dad Wednesday night! The brohas left this a.m. back for TN & the madre & Grandmother leave tomorrow morning! We also had Aunt Julie & Scrawny Ronny in town!  It has been so so SO fun! & so busy :)

I was curious as to how the whole graduation ceremony would go.  We woke up at 6, Kristin & I left the hotel where our family's are staying at 6:45, then we met Dani at the Smith Fieldhouse for the ceremony!  We laughed because Kristin & I switched college graduations to be in the same ceremony as dani & so our name cards were as follows:

Danielle Marie Stolworthy

Rachel Stolworthy Brinkerhoff

Danielle's sister graduating with a Bachelor Degree in Public Health.

Kristin Nicole Reichert

Danielle and Rachel's cousin graduating with a Bachelor Degree in the School of Family Living.

it was pretty hilarious. There were lots of husbands & fiances graduating with their significant other in the McKay College of Education. But we were the only train of 3.  I was a little bummed about not being able to walk with all of my friends that I've been in classes with for 2 years, but I got to walk w/ my sister & cousin & other friends such as Ashley Eckel &  Whitney Olsen.  It was pretty fun :)

I may have been a little hyper & the student speeches may have been a little boring....& may have had nothing to do with my studies as I will not be teaching the future generations of this nation, BUT Public Health is the same as teaching in the sense of, you do it it better our communities & you don't get paid for it :)  So, I applied the speeches to what I learned at Brigham Young University!

I gave a presentation at the end of my Career Strategies class.  In that I was telling everyone how I had talked to my mom a few weeks ago & how I told her all I really want to do is stay at the health center (which I am doing) because I love my job there!  I love being a receptionist, I love talking to the people & greeting the sickies & I LOVE my coworkers!  I pretty much have the greatest job!  I told her I'm not quite sure why I went to college, because I could have been a receptionist w/o a bachelors,  & then I actually could have lived the past 4 years on more than paycheck to paycheck!  I then realized as I was telling her this, that I know why I went to college. I went to college because I love learning.  I love learning about health.  I love interacting with others.  I LOVE my education.  It is something that I treasure & will always treasure.  Even if I don't become a public health professional.  I did not like homework or reading, but I loved my lectures & classmates.  I made so many friends & memories through my education.  I was tested & tried & overcame. I realized things about myself that high school had not taught me. I learned independence & a greater love for my family.  My testimony of the savior increased ten fold.  I feel like I have really grown through my BYU experiences.  I wouldn't sell them for gold!

Here are a few pictures from my cellular device (my computer gave up the ghost for its final time on Saturday, so I currently can't upload my camera photos):
Yep, again, extremely grainy! 
Kristin (6 mos. prego!!!), Me & Deej

 Being extremely thankful that either my ears don't stick out &/or that I have enough hair to cover my ears!
That cap did some awesome things to our hair!
& no purposeful seduction tactics here (I was wearing a tan shirt) & my zipper kept falling down 3 inches!

 After we walked, I hope holding my cell phone in the air to take a picture wasn't too disruptive...
I think Dani is a little excited to have completed 5 years of college! & she survived!

I was SO glad I did the ceremonies & traditions for graduation, it was all SO much fun & it was really nice for my family who has been supporting me & rooting me on to be able to come participate & get credit for helping me through school!  My parents, brothers, Grandmother, Weston's parents, grandparents, sisters, Aunt Julie & Uncle Ron  all came to cheer for us after our names were announced!

& not to mention I got spoiled ROTTEN!  I got an AMAZING camera from my parents! It's a canon SLR!  Woohoo!!!  I'll be taking lots of photos from that! I just need to get a mega SD card first!  & my grandmother got me a KINDLE!  WHAT THE HECK!? It's amazing...I'm so so so excited to use that!  Jodi Piccoult & Ann Rule here I come!  My Aunt Julie gave me moolah! Grandparents Stevens & Aunt Cindy, Uncle Reed, & Logan all got me an amazing gift card to Deseret Book!  Seriously!  Weston says it is not good to get married have a Christmas & graduate from college all in the same year, you get too spoiled...& holy hannah is he right!
 xoxocouggrad

Graduation was AMAZING!

But before I touch on that, our awesome wedding photographer has posted our wedding pics on her blog!!

Check it out HERE

& I loved the SO sweet message she wrote at the bottom!

Happy Days!

I'm so happy, my family is in town!!! Hooorrraaaay!!!!!

Mom & Grandmother got in Sunday night & then Auntie Julie & Unkie Ron came Monday!  My dad & brothers come today, I am one happy girl!  I miss my family so much, but get to see them 2x a year & it probably makes me appreciate it so much more!  Lots of games, laughs, too much food & even more fun!

xoxoluckyme!

btw do NOT go see the movie Hanna, biggest waste of time.

Don't worry

 Happy Monday everyone!

Our apartment complex is so creepy at night, but I'm always comforted when I leave for work in the mornings to see the guard snail out & about.  I always feel so safe with him patrolling the sidewalks.

For so many reasons I'm so glad Wes didn't go into the Navy.

The most selfish one being he brings so much joy to my life.

But seriously, I look up from the mirror on the back of the bathroom door to see this yesterday.  How can this not make you smile, & laugh, & maybe cackle.  & possibly run to the bathroom in an emergency state before you have an accident?

 I love him.

 xoxopartofthefamilyishereandlifeisgood!

Lines

Who knew there could be such a big line on the first morning of finals.  Which happens to be a Saturday.

Actually, I guess I'm not much smarter than the next guy, bc I'm here in them, too!  

Hooray for getting 1 paper + 3 finals down in one day.

I had 2 scheduled ones last week & only 1 more scheduled one for Monday night. Ah, I love when I don't procrastinate!

Neglect

Sorry you've been so neglected this week, blog.

It's been busy.

You know, with 2 jobs, school, finals & being gross & sick.

That's not including all the emotional distress this past week has caused.

but don't take it personally, you weren't the only aspect of my life neglected.

School...got a couple grades I'm not so proud of.
And the amount of minutes we used on our phones.
Except that is an expensive neglect...I won't be neglecting that one again until the shock of paying more for our phone bill than rent has worn off a little....

BUT a little side-note for a good Friday afternoon, it is now official (not quite facebook official):
I am awkward.

I'm pretty sure that's been proved in this blog all too well the past few days.

But first of all there's some italian dressing smell in the phone room & it's making me nauseous.

That's not the awkward part.

I was confirming an address. the guy spelled it for me.

"Apartment S200"

"Was that an f as in frank or an s as in....soggy...?"

"ha, uh, yeah, that one, s as in soggy."

hahah yes, please.

Note to self:  keep a list of NONawkward words on queue for being put on the spot when verifying addresses.

xoxobewarethenastyhacking

Some weapons can be our best friends.

Or worst enemies.

We just have to know how to use them.

I remembered from when I had braces that the ortho had given me little samples of canker sore meds to put on them when my braces rubbed my lips raw.

I've been really sick the past week (feeling better today, thank goodness!) & I have had a few really awful canker sores which are fun to thrown on top of the terrible monthly cramping & fabulous hacking cough.

I picked up this bad-boy equivelant to a bazooka yesterday at Wally World.

& you want to know where they're growing? Right along my gums where my tooth brush runs.

So you know what, every brush is a reminder of the painful little monsters hiding there waiting to destroy me with strawberries or hygeine.

Weston, my dear husband & amazing nurse waiting on my hand & foot, cut off the tip of the medicine as instructions showed. However, he clipped it a little too enormous.  So, I opened my cheek put the bottle way back in my mouth & squeezed a little, NOTHING.  So...hmmm well maybe I'll just squeeze it a little harder this time, I couldn't see bc my hand was in my entire mouth.  So, I put the meds back in & squeeze a tiny bit but for a while, still couldn't feel anything coming out.  So I pull my fist out of my mouth & HOLY HANNAH, I squoze the entire bottle back into my mouth.  Oh dang.  This stuff is a numbing agent.

Oh golly, it works fast.  I tried to squeeze it back in the bottle, but got impatient so I just spit it all into the sink.  Too late.  My entire mouth was numbed.

hahaha but luckily this included the canker sore!  I just couldn't feel if i was drooling or not.  Good thing it was right before I went to sleep.  My poor husband.

xoxodrooleymcgee

Odd

I do this too much.

Want to know how I know?

Because I've used this same Google Image Search picture before.

So, here I am sitting in the RB computer lab minding my business & studying for a final.

Wes comes to visit me after his workout.

We chat.

I tell him of my new discovery of Jason Deere's band's show here in August.

I told him "It's the same show I went to a couple years ago with Kristin, you were firefighting, & we needed a ride, so Kristin asked this guy that liked her to take us & it ended up being a double, I don't even remember my date's name."
I notice the guy i n front of me in the computer lab turned around to glance at me.
 I kept telling Wes the story about how it was fun, but we really just needed a ride. & telling him how I've seen that guy twice on campus ever in the past 2 years since that date, but that I always feel bad bc I can't remember his name.
& then I was showing Wes the concert info & realized that the guy in front of me was built kind of like the other guy.  No.....
So, Wes leaves to go running & then the guy looks down to his left & I realize....it is SO him.
OMG I wanted to die... I ran out of the lab & chased down Wes & told him that it was TOTALLY the guy that I was just saying I used for a ride! hahahahahhahhaha
I'm not good at writing this story down, but seriously.
But, to say the least, it was a little uncomfortable.
xoxowhataretheodds???

Wowee

What a rollercoaster week. Yesterday early morning sometime Grandpa Brinkerhoff passed away in his sleep.  He is an incredible man & will be missed dearly!

He was truly a Christlike man.

He would give anyone the shirt off his back.

He spoke his mind.

He had a good sense of humor

He didn't smile for pictures. (generational thing?)

He wore his suspenders when he dressed up for an occasion.

He was just the cutest Grandpa.

He accepted me as his granddaughter before Weston & I even became serious.  I met him my first weekend down in Orangeville visiting Weston when he busted his ankle in September of 2009.  I remember his quickness & his wittiness.  & his loudness.  When he was around everyone knew it :) & that's a good thing!

He was a kind man who loved his little dog, Twitch.

He was an incredible soldier & devoted his life to the army.

He adopted Weston's Dad in Germany as a newborn baby, because Grandpa Brinkerhoff & his wife were not able to have children.  But Grandpa raised his boy to be a strong, hard worker.  Who then turned & taught his son the same.  Weston I know is the incredible man he is, because of his amazing Grandfather Richard Noel Brinkerhoff born on Christmas day in 1930.  Grandpa Brink is leaving behind a legacy.  I know that he has influenced & touched the lives of many people.  His generosity will always be remembered & cherished.

We will miss him!

xoxoblessedtoknowhim

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK. It was a long one.

Wow, what a whirlwind of a week.

I have some sort of a sick bug, probably due to such an exhausting week.

So, I only feel partially AWFUL.

BUT, I swear I haven't fallen off the earth, I've just been preoccupied.

So, last Monday we found out Tasha's Melanoma is back.  Then Thursday we got the awful news of how terrible & serious her disease is.  I spent most of last week down in Wayne County w/ Weston's family & then missed other classes for the appointment on Thursday.   Oh, & I've been working 2 jobs between Branbury & the Health Center.  Something about perspective makes classes seem oh, so unimportant.  Now it's Monday & time to play catchup with life!  Graduation is in a week & a half.  Ecstatic?  Yes!  But I could care less about the ceremonies & the pictures.  I'm just ready to be done with school.  Is it horrible that I'm feeling apathetic like that right now?

Well, some fun picture updates!

This is my baby on Friday that I resuscitated over. & over. & over.

Maybe I got sick from giving CPR to so many dummies... ha i don't think so, we cleaned them off.

 This is my cute little husband at senior night.

No, contrary to Jenna's thoughts, it is not a 55+ senior night, it's the graduating senior kind.

ha ha ha

 

We played Cranium for a little bit & Joel was trying to get Kris to guess "bra shopping."

Funniest thing I have ever seen.

 Kristin, Joel, Me & Wes

 We played some Jeopardy game.

Wes & I went through after Kristin & Joel & when we came out we realized we'd won the same prizes!

Wes & Joel's is a sweet fleece blanket.

 

Don't ask me how we're all smiling, but this is right after Tasha's appointment at Huntsman's on Thursday when we got the news on the road ahead.

In the picture is me, Wes, Shawnee, Melissa, Tasha, Joan, Dave & Vicky

 

 I got to hang out with this little pup more this weekend!

I never blogged about it, but the beloved Kia was hit by a car in March & killed.  So for Tasha's birthday Dave & Joan got another Golden Retriever.  This one is named Sadie & she is SO cute.  Seriously, it's the first dog I haven't been totally annoyed that she's shedding all over me, I love her!

On Sunday we went to the Thurber ward down in Bicknell, they were great church services & everyone was fasting for Tash that day. It was so great.

This is a picture of her & Damion, the off & on boyfriend :) They're so fun to be around!

Grandpa Brink also had a heart attack last Monday.  He is still around & not doing too well, so if ya'll can be praying for him & Tash, that'd be great!

xoxoStinkerhoff

Dear followers, friends & family.

It has been a crazy week in my family.  Please go check out

cantkickthischick.blogspot.com

to find out more. I'll write more tomorrow!

Seriously, thank you everyone who reads my blog! I appreciate knowing that people actually read it!  If you don't follow my blog, but stalk it religiously, please feel free to follow!  I love to meet more people!

& everyone please go follow the blog for Tasha, too.

xoxoprayersareneeded

It's Birthday time with the Brinkerhoffs!

 

 Potty break at our favorite place...Borders!

 Tucanos for birthday dinner!

 So thrilled about the fresh fruit!

 Trying not to explode after dinner.

 Present time!

 Nothing is better than a pack of birthday socks!!

We are so excited about our new hiking mummy bags!

 From Ma & Pa Stolworthy!  It is his new wife.

His parents gave him & me a gym pass to Orem Rec! Our chubs thanks you!  & so do my  hips! & butt...& thighs...

I hope you can appreciate our extremely good looks.

xoxowiser?probably.older?yes.