Stars and Stipes

So sad my favorite holiday weekend is coming to an end, but I cannot begin to say how much fun I had! I stayed with Travis and Natalie and we had way too much fun! I had a lot of firsts this weekend to cross off my bucket list. They took me to Zeppe's on Friday night and let me tell ya, their gelata is soooo good! I almost died.

To start our 4th of July we decided to take a trip to the aquarium. The jellyfish and the starfish were probably my favorite. We even got to stick our hands in the water and touch the manta rays and starfish! Nat and I decided that the starfish felt like hard cookies and the manta rays were like touching mud. Haha the rays kinda freaked me out but the starfish were so cute! The shark tank was way cool and the penguins were so cute and chubby. We decided not to buy anything at the gift shop or food court so we didn't have to sell our souls haha! We had a lovely lunch at Cafe Rio, mmmm my favorite.

We headed down to Salt Lake for the Bee's baseball game. There was so many people there it was crazy! We bought Bee's cups even though they were overpriced to remember my first game. We were kinda bummed about our seats at first but they actually weren't that bad. It started raining pretty hard at one point but stopped just in time for the last two innings. The game got really good towards the end and we were so close to winning but unfortunately lost 8-6. The plus side to our seats was that we got to go out on to the field and watch the firework show and I loved it! It was honestly the best firework show I have ever been to, hands down!

I am so incredibly grateful for this beautiful country that I have the privilege of living in. After all of the food and fireworks, we should remember how fortunate we are to live in a country where we have the freedom to worship, speak for ourselves, and become something great. I couldn't help but look around at all the smiling families, and think of those men and women who sacrifice their lives and their time with their family to give us time with ours. This truly is the land of the free and home to the brave. One of my best friends, Mitch, is currently serving for the United States Marines. He is seriously the most patriotic and courageous person I know. He lives and breaths for his country. I'm so thankful for people exactly like him. God Bless America. Happy Independence Day! Gotta Run! XOXO

Livin' the Scrub Life

Well, I am officially done with my CNA course! Hooray! It was a rough two weeks with 9 hours of class everyday and then 5:30am clinicals, but it was so worth it. I really enjoyed the class and I learned a lot. I worked in the Rehab wing my first day and it was awesome. My ankle was pretty swollen at the end of my shift because we literally were running the entire day. Most of the old people were so nice and cute :) The second day I worked in the long-term care wing and it was pretty rough. Plus our CNA's weren't very helpful so we were standing around a lot of the morning. Towards the end of my shift it was pretty good (minus Gloria the mean resident -__-) Feels awesome to be done and in a few weeks I'll take my state exam and be certified!

And really quick I wanna make a post about Father's Day since I didn't last week! My Dad is honestly the best day I could have asked for. He is the most caring, giving, and selfless person I know. He's taught me to never give up even when it gets tough and to always remember who I am and what I stand for. Words can't describe how much I love this man.

Thanks for always being my biggest fan Dad. I love you.

He Put a Ring On It

Well, we are officially one Rawlins short! Kim and Adam's wedding was beautiful and I couldn't be happier for them! And it was perfect weather and thankfully didn't rain. Emilie, her photographer, and her husband were oh so cute and she may have a future client haha... It was so great to have all of our family together and to see how it's growing. Kinda bummed I didn't get to go inside the temple but by the time I'm married everyone will be able to come in so there's a perk of being the youngest! :) The reception in Adam's parent's backyard was so pretty with all of the decorations and bistro lights strung above. And Brooke played her guitar beautifully as always. Jess even stopped by which I was stoked about! I'm so glad Adam is part of our family now and can't wait for the memories to come. Congrats you love birds! <3 Gotta run! XOXO **PLEASE EXCUSE THE PICTURE OVERLOAD**