Swoosh!

So, life is mostly back to normal these days. I finished my independent study class the day before my grad school application was due, and sent that in. I'm supposed to find out if I am accepted by the 15th of March. If I don't get in...well I'll figure that out if it comes, but right now I have high hopes.

This past week I have felt like I have had so much time on my hands. I can usually keep myself busy, and I'm getting the hang of it now, but for the first few days, I didn't quite know what to do without having a chapter to read or a paper to write or something. The most exciting thing that started this past week though is intramural basketball. I love playing almost any sport, but basketball has always been my favorite.

Good news is, we won our first game. Sadly, I didn't add much to that win. I guess you could say I was a decoy. I forget sometimes that it has been eleven years since I ruled the basketball courts of Carson Jr. High. "Ruled" is a loose term...we did manage to win two of our sixteen games that season. (I was going to insert an awesome picture of me from that season, but I can't find it)

In high school, music won my time and pushed sports to the back burner. Sometimes when I play now I wonder if I shouldn't have put more effort into cultivating my skills. Back in the day I used to watch Dan Majerle play, and I loved the way he shot those three pointers! I wanted to be just like him. While I have always had an ability to beautifully arch the ball into the basketball for a marvelous sounding swoosh, my hold back is accuracy.

After Tuesday's game, I decided that I really needed to work on it, so I meandered down to the neighborhood park this afternoon and shot some hoops. I got a little better, but I'd been there about twenty minutes when a father and his two sons came over. They asked if they could shoot too, I had no problem with that and so we all just shot around for a bit together. They were nice people, the two boys cracked me up though. The older one was probably nine or so, his name was Asher. Gabe was maybe seven. Asher was a fair amount bigger than Gabe and they played a little against each other, sadly Gabe rarely kept up or could keep Asher from taking the ball. I felt bad for the kid.

They'd been there about five minutes when I heard Gabe say, as he bounced the ball, "Hey Asher, What's that one guy's name? He plays for Lakers, and he's really good, and he runs....?" Oh kids.

We played Speed, the four of us. Good times. So hopefully with a little practice I can become like Downtown Dan. Here's to hoping...

Christmas in Mesa...and a few other things

Hopefully this post goes quickly. There are so many things that I should have posted about months ago and haven't even thought about it...Example: Steve and Janae's wedding which was at the end of October. Awesome? Yes it was. My family drove up to Provo from Mesa on a Thursday, then we drove up to Washington on Friday, Jeff went through the temple that evening, then the wedding was on Saturday, and we drove back to Provo Sunday after church. It was an adventure but so much fun! I'm so happy for Steve and Janae and love that two of my favorite people are eternally related now :) The following pictures are from the trip.

Jeff, Will, Jenni, and I just as happy as can be to be riding for ten hours together to go see Steve get hitched.

Emily by her mountain's sign.

Steve so excited for his wedding that was going to take place in less than 24 hours. He could hardly contain the excitement.

The Columbia River temple and surrounding area was absolutely gorgeous.

On the way there we had a little conversation with my parents about the temple since Jeff was going through that night. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. Neat to sit and visit with each other to share our feelings about the temple. I have the best brothers and parents :) Mike tried to make it into the picture back there. Sneaky, sneaky.

So that was back in October, great times. November was a good month, I enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with one of the best families that I know outside of my own. I was grateful for them and letting me join them. December has been a crazy busy month. I decided that I want to go back to school to get a masters so that I can have more opportunities to work with youth like I originally wanted to. Applying to the program requires that I take a prerequisite. Since I signed up for the class on December 9th, I have read the entire textbook, 22 chapters and 415 pages. It has been an intense month. Other fun activities have been multiple parties at work for the holidays, fun parties with my friends, and random bonding with wonderful people.

The best part of this month has been the last week and a half that I have spent at home. It has been quite a growing experience for me and I loved the opportunity to do so. Here's an explanation of everything through pictures.

The gorgeous drive down the I-15, HWY20, HWY89, and I-17. We had pretty good weather overall, but also had a few scary spots with driving through clouds. I loved the opportunity to get to know a gal in the ward that I drove down with better. There are some amazing people in this world that have gone through some amazing experiences. They are such good examples to me. We left early on the 24th and got home about 2:30pm, I dropped her off to a friend and headed home. We spent the afternoon getting ready for Christmas (wrapping last minute presents, etc.) After dinner that night we went and looked at Christmas lights around the valley. I love this tradition. When we got home, it was straight to bed so that Santa could come...

(I love coming home to the smell of a Christmas tree!)

Waiting in the hall Christmas morning at 5. Tradition is that we wait until then to wake up our parents, then we have to sing our Merry Christmas song, then we have to wait for Dad to make sure Santa came and turn on the lights....then we run in!

Mike was probably the most excited out of everybody this year. He could not hold still all night before and was up at 3. You'd think that at 14 he might have grown out of it at least a little bit...

The kids all got ukuleles and we haven't heard much else since.

Will and I both got new cameras!

After an exciting two hours of presents, I took a beautiful nap, got up at 8:30, got ready, and then the fun tradition of eggs on toast and hot chocolate with all the Andersen cousins! One of my favorite Christmas day traditions.

Then there are pictures of what everybody did all day on Christmas:

Mom working away in the kitchen as usual. I think she was just making lunch for us :)

Dad, reading an instruction manual. This really is an all-day event for him every year, trying to figure out how all the new things work.

Will, eating...

Jenni, on the computer, an every day, every hour thing.

Jeff and Mike playing the wii. All day.

Us playing card games. We did this most of the break. It's a favorite family pastime.

Christmas was a wonderful day! Then the work began. Monday-Wednesday involved getting ready for a family reunion we had with Mom's side of the family, the Andersen's. I mowed the lawn, weeded the flower beds, we picked up nuts and leaves (twice), and then I felt like I was eternally reading...

And then the party really began...We had our "Andersen Magic" reunion. It was so much fun to be with my cousins! I love that when I'm around my family, I feel that I can be the best me, meaning I feel their trust in me and that I can be awesome. There are so many parts of reunions that are my favorite, some of them are: the millions of little dudes that think that I'm cool, playing sports with the cousins, visiting with my awesome older cousins and my aunts and uncles, the meals every three hours, and...well I think that's it all:

(Speed with all the cousins was soooo fun. There were probably about 30 of us at the beginning of every game. I had some pretty sweet shots myself, once maybe twice.)

We played Dominos on New Years eve. Afterward, my Aunt Sue and I had the marvelous idea to write our "Happy New Year" with the tiles. Sadly, she would not pose with me for the picture.

Two of my favorites...There were five of us that were the same age and graduated from the same high school the same year. Neil and Becky both have two kids now and live here in Mesa so I don't see them too much. It was so fun to play with them!

So it was a wonderful break, and I'm headed home tomorrow. This has been a good trip but I'm ready to hit the ground running in this new year!! I'm so blessed to have the family and home that I have. What a wonderful life I've been given!!!