New Blog

I've decided to retire this blog and begin the blog that I will use to post about my forever family. Follow our adventures on Olivers Eternity.

Heather & Jose {Our love story}

This year has been the most surprising, incredible year of my life. A guy who was just a friend suddenly became much more than that. On January 30th, I felt something change in our "just friends" relationship, and on February 3rd I listened as Jose told me he wants to start a relationship, but only if it is serious and the end goal is the temple. As crazy as that sounds, I said yes. I wanted a relationship with him, and so we started dating.

We soon spent nearly every day together. It was better that way. When Jose went away for a few days for work, his absence was painful. I missed him. I knew then that living without him was not an option. I prayed for guidance in our relationship, because I knew he wanted marriage and I was afraid that if we dated any longer and we weren't going to go to the temple together, I would have to break his heart. I got my answer, I knew then that we would be married.

In March, me, Jose, and some friends took a trip to San Diego for my 22nd birthday! We had a great time and I was thrilled to be with Jose all day with no work or stress. It was during this trip that Jose and I talked about marriage seriously. We came back from that trip knowing that we were going to get married.

It took a few weeks for Jose to get the perfect ring, but once he did, he had talked to my parents and we were so eager to tell everyone that we were officially engaged. On April 16th Jose got down on one knee, and asked me to be his wife. I said yes. It was a beautiful moment for just us to enjoy. Two days later we announced the engagement.

I could not be happier with the man Heavenly Father led to me. He is kind, chivalrous, patient, and loving. He is a worthy priesthood holder. He is a wonderful uncle and will be an amazing father. He has an incredible testimony. He is my best friend. I am so honored to be able to call him mine, and I am so excited to be sealed to him for time and all eternity. I love Jose.

A look back at 2014

Another year over. 2014 was a tough year for me. I struggled financially, socially, physically and more. I left my job at Vivint, struggled to find another job and even was let go from a job I was at for less than a month. I also struggled with allergies which I found out were to peanut and soy. Going through all those struggles was really crappy. But among those crappy experiences I also had some wonderful things happen.

I got my fur-baby, Korah. 

I celebrated my 21st birthday! 

I welcomed my first nephew! He is pretty much my favorite. 

I watched my brother go through the temple, be set apart and leave for his mission to Vancouver, Canada where he is speaking Mandarin Chinese. 

I went on an amazing trip to Seattle with my parents.  

I shot my first gun with my cousins, Grant and Adam. 

I went to three conventions, FantasyCon (which I volunteered for and as a result met many amazing people!), Anime Banzai, and Salt Lake Comic Con. All with my friends from Chibi No Podcast!

I welcomed my best friend home from her mission to Peru. 

My hedgehog became a youtube star! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvoUoTeLs4c

I attended my first NFL game where I watched my Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 35-6.

I finished off the year with a root canal, which was a welcome relief after a week of excruciating pain.

There were a lot of good times this year, even among all the bad times, I managed to enjoy myself. I am really excited for 2015's new adventures! I start a new job on Monday; I've set some new goals; and I am determined to have a good year! 

Journal Entries from My Trip to Seattle

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Today we drove to Portland. It was a really really really really really long drive. It took 12 hours. Korah slept most of it in the back seat.

We drove down the Columbia River most of Oregon. It was a lot of big, wide river and winding roads all along it. Oregon was surprisingly dry and brown. When we started to approach Portland it became green and lush like all the pictures advertise it as. Huge pine trees lined the highway. We checked into our hotel at about 6 and went to dinner. We went to a restaurant called Beaches. It was right on the riverfront and so pretty. We sat outside and enjoyed our meal. I ate some of moms salmon and some of dad’s oysters. As we left we stopped off across the street for a blackberry ice cream cone. We went back to our hotel and I crashed watching the Sounders vs Timbers soccer game on TV.

Monday, July 14, 2014

We finished the drive into Seattle today. It was gorgeously sunny all day. We started out on the piers. First was the aquarium. We touched starfish, sea cucumbers, tubeworms, and anemone. I got to see some really cute river otters and sea otters. We also watched them feed the sharks. When we finished the aquarium we jumped on an Argosy harbor tour. It was really fun cruising around and enjoying the rare Seattle sunshine.

When we got off the harbor tour we enjoyed an AMAZING lunch at Elliot’s. I had the crab cakes in a lime chili sauce.

It was the best! Mom had the cod and chips which was good too. Then we went over to the space needle. Mom was terrified of the elevator because it was all glass so you could see out as we went up the 605’ building. At the top, we took pictures and walked all the way around. It was still sunny and warm. We found a cute t-shirt for my nephew at the gift shop.

Then we went over to the EMP museum. It was very different than most museums because it was a music, sci-fi/fantasy and pop culture museum. I really enjoyed the sci-fi section. Captain Kirks chair was a feature. As was Darth Vader’s lightsaber and Neo’s coat. There were costumes and props from Chronicles of Narnia and the Dark Crystal. It was really cool. Once we finished there we got in the car and went to our hotel in Lynnwood.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

In the morning we drove into Seattle and stopped at my favorite place; CenturyLink Field. Home of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, Golden Tate; the incredible team that took home the Lombardi Trophy in the Super Bowl this year after destroying the Denver Broncos.

It was quite the experience wearing a #12 jersey and walking out onto the field. I was so elated when mom said I could get the $58 #12 Fan Jersey they had in the gift shop. And even more elated when later that day she got me a hat as well.

We left the stadium and went over to Pike’s Place Fish Market. Mom really wanted to see that. We saw fish being thrown and smelled so many beautiful flowers. Mom got some fruit, chocolate and visited a little cheese factory.

I ended up starving at the market and we walked over to Ivar’s to get some lunch/dinner. I had delicious fish tacos. They were so good. As we walked back to the market we stopped at a souvenir shop and got me the hat, Grant a t-shirt and mom a t-shirt. Mom and I also got a smashed penny. After another quick stop at the market we were all so tired we went back to our hotel and crashed.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

This morning we got up and took off for Vancouver, Canada. We crossed the border no problem. After getting lost a bit in the city, I managed to navigate us to Chinatown. We hopped out and walked around a bit.

We went over to Stanley Park and drove around. That was really pretty but we were so done being in the city. We crossed the Lionsgate Bridge and then crossed back over.

At that point we just wanted to go over to the Canada Vancouver Mission office and then to our hotel. We stopped in the mission office and said hello to all the senior couples. We gave them flowers that we had gotten at the Pike’s Place market.

Then we went to our hotel and rested for a bit. We went to dinner a little later at Olive Garden and I noticed that the menu was very different than the one in American Fork. In Langley, Canada the menu was full of seafood options. I had the crab topped chicken. It was delicious! I enjoyed every bite of it. On our way back to the hotel we drove past the Vancouver Temple. It was tiny, but peaceful.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

We spent the day driving from Canada down to our hotel in Silverdale. We took the scenic route through the islands, crossing bridges and at one point we took a short ferry ride. I was so exhausted I basically slept through the entire drive. We finally stopped at a place called Poulsbo. It was the cutest little town with one street that they called “Little Norway”. It was a street full of shops and bakeries.

This was the most dog friendly place I’ve ever been. Dogs are welcome in almost every shop and there are water dishes lining the sidewalk. We even ate at a restaurant there and they were totally okay with me having Korah sit at the table with me. She was so cute begging for food. After dinner we went to our hotel in Silverdale and went to bed.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Today we took a ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. Dad has a weird thing for the ferry. He said to me “It’s like a cruise!” And I just laughed because I’ve been on a cruise and on a ferry before this and it is NOTHING like a cruise. It is a ferry. That is all. Then we did a day on the waterfront and at Pike’s Market again. It was a nice relaxing day at the market. No pressure to be anywhere else, just enjoyed shopping for fruit and stuff. Then we went over to the Pacific Science Center which turned out to be for little kids, but the butterfly house in it was really cool. They also had naked mole rats which are the ugliest darn creatures I’ve ever seen. That ended our days in Seattle and we headed to Chehalis where Uncle Stewart lives. We celebrated his birthday and visited with Cheryl and Amber for a bit before we went back to the hotel room and crashed.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Today we got up and went to Poulsbo again. I love that town so much. After Paulsbo we went back to Chehalis to meet Rick’s wife Natasha. We spent a good 8 hours there visiting and playing with the cousins. Cheryl’s daughter Ruth was attached to me the entire time and I loved having her hang out with me. I also got Amber’s daughter Zella to play with me and Korah for a bit. I loved spending the day with family. After the party ended we began the drive home by going to Portland, Oregon and crashing in a hotel. The next day we completed the 12 hour drive home.

Korah and I LOVED Seattle! 

My baby girl

I have a new baby! This is Korah! She is an Alaskan Klee Kai, which is like a miniature husky.

She already loves me! She follows me everywhere and whines when I am gone. We cuddle during movies and play with her squirrel toy a lot. She is a total sweetheart! I haven’t heard her bark yet, because she is a good little girl who knows better than to bark at other dogs.

I absolutely love this baby girl of mine! She is definitely my little Valentine! 

Catching up on all the awesome

I have fallen behind in this blog writing thing. I feel only a little bad, because I have been doing a lot of good stuff with my life since I last posted. Lots of things have changed too. Since I last posted the fish has died though, and that's okay because it was like four years old or something ridiculous like that. So let's go through the highlights of the last several months:

October

I dyed my hair rainbow for Anime Banzai. I cosplayed as Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of me in the cosplay but I have lots of pictures of my beautiful hair. I adored the rainbow. It was so fun to walk around and have people comment on it. Sometimes it would get confusing though. I would think, "how did I do my hair today?" And then I would realize... it's the rainbow. 

On Halloween, Mom, Dad, Grant and I boycotted Halloween, per tradition. Instead, we went to a Foreigner concert. It was the best concert I have ever been to! It was a seated concert.. in the beginning. And then the lead singer was like "GET UP HERE!!" So we did. We were standing at the edge of the stage for the last half of the concert and it was awesome!

November

I think the highlight of this month was Dennis's birthday party. Dancing...Dinner...Good friends. 

December

I got a PROMOTION!!! I am now a Team Lead at Vivint. A TL is kind of like an assistant to the supervisor. I absolutely LOVE this job. I LOVE my Supervisor, Tina. She and I are the perfect team. 

I also took a road trip to Arizona with one of my best friends. We visited my grandma for a few hours and then we spent the rest of the weekend with his family. We went to the driving range, a car show, and visited the Mesa temple lights. I had so much fun with them! 

I was so excited to skype with my best missionary friend Hermana Heather this year! It was so good to talk to her! 

For Christmas I got Garrett and myself tickets to the Jazz/Lakers game. We had a BLAST at the game. Hot dogs, chips, nachos, drinks, and best of all, a Jazz WIN! 

January

This month we found out that my Dad got a promotion! He is now a Director at his work and so we went to Red Lobster to celebrate.

Ben is a senior now and found out this month that he got in to both Utah State University and University of Utah! Now he will defer both enrollments and make his decision later on when he is on his mission. 

Currently I am enjoying working, and waiting for a surprise that is arriving on February 11th. I am so excited to share it with everyone, but for now I am keeping it on the DL. Tell you soon!

The Latest and Greatest in my Life

Bought a NEW CAR

2007 Mazda3, 4 cylinder, 2.3L. Manual. 

Any suggestions for a name for him?

Have an AWESOME JOB

Yeah I totally joined that bandwagon of returned missionaries working for vivint... But in all seriousness I love this job. I love the people I work with and I have the best shift. I work graveyards. It's awesome. 

Adopted SHREDDER

I adopted Shredder from a friend who called him "Fishy".

Have AMAZING FRIENDS

Andre, Joe, Dennis and I took this picture for my best friend who is on a mission in Peru! 

(Not pictured are Brandon and RJ.)  

I am EXTREMELY HAPPY