countdown

one [week]

7-days

168-hours

604,800-seconds

our last picture together

taken on May 20, 2008--the day before he left

somedays it seems like it was yesterday---somedays it seems like it was forever ago

crazy to think I will be seeing him again

lets hope this week doesn't ddrrraaaggggg [because last week sure did]

fast.forward.please.

i miss you

today I miss my Ryan[s]

-one is playing in New Jersey {2,184 miles away}

-the other one is preaching the gospel in California {736 miles away}

Ryan Patrick Powers

- turned 3 today

- I spent 14 months with this little guy--we saw each other every day

- he called me "tay-tay" and I called him "ry-ry"

- we spent many of our days playing with play-dough, watching mickey mouse clubhouse,swimming at the club, playing make believe kitchen, and play-dates with friends.

Ryan Jenkins Neeley

- turned 21 yesterday

- 2 years: seeing each other almost every day--2 years: writing letters, emails, and talking on the phone 3 times

- he would often call me swunie (sweetie + honey = swunie)--cheesy but funny

- we loved to play phase 10 and sequence, go on tandem bike rides, and eat out at our favorite restaurants (fredricos, juniper take out, firehouse)

oh how I wish I could be with them on their birthdays

I.miss.them.

excitement

countdown:

[two] weeks

-I am excited

-excitement over Elder Neeley coming home vs. two kids getting a N64 for christmas----they win

true love

"we have been married 62 years---and I still like him" {grandma olsen}

countdown

40[days]

960 {hours}

57,600 |minutes|

3,456,000 (seconds)

---until I get to see this good lookin' fella

I feel:

*nervous

*anxious

*giddy

*curious

*excited

ahhh...

.I.CAN'T.WAIT.

laugh. it is good for you.

highlights of my weekend:

[friday]
Kalai--concert in TSC ballroom
-great music
-laughed at his mormon jokes

-on my mind=favorite song of the night
downloaded his music on itunes>

[saturday]
*some friends introduced me to the movie Lloyd {funniest movie E.V.E.R.}

*definitely made it on my top 10

*I laughed the entire time

*bUmPy jeep ride up Providence canyon

*bouncing all over the place--but laughing the whole time

[sunday]

+watched Ice Age 3 for the first time

+I love when Sid names his eggs Shelly, Yoko and Eggbert, it took me a second to get it but once I got the joke I could not stop laughing

:my weekend was full of laughter

:A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. -Irish Proverb

:surround yourself with funny people and laugh

:live.love.laugh

I am back

WOW! It has been a long 17 months since my last post and I have decided to make my way back into the blogging world. We will see how long I last this time.

I am back and I am:

-in Utah

-no longer a nanny

-an aggie *but not a “true” one ;)

-the afternoon behavior aide at Nibley elementary

-part of an awesome IWA chapter

-an aunt to the sweetest little girl

-still writing to that special someone in California

-surrounded by amazing new friends

-majoring in elementary education

and the most important thing is…

-I am happy

I've been tagged!

Eight TV shows I like to watch:
(I never get to watch tv, so a lot of these are what I use to watch back home)
1- The Office 
2- The Hills
3- Secret Life of an American Teenager (it is over now though)
4- Oprah
5- John and Kate Plus 8
6- Super Nanny
7- Witches of Waverly Place (disney channel show, the kids like it so I kind of have to like it too)
8- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (haha I love watching this with Ryan, it makes him so happy)

Eight things that happened yesterday:

1- Dropped family off at the airport :(
2- Cleaned during nap time
3- Did five loads of laundry (none of it was mine)
4- Cleaned play room
5- Played outside 
6- Picked up girls from school
7- Took E to art class
8- Went to Water Aerobics

Eight favorite places to eat:

1- Firehouse (oh how I miss that place so much)
2- Olive Garden
3- Baha Fresh 
4- Qdoba Mexican Grill 
5- Fredrico's (mmm I miss you too)
6- Subway
7- Panda Express 
8- Jamba Juice

Eight things I am looking forward to:

1- Seeing the Maceys day parade
2- Going home for Christmas
3- Moving back to good old Cache Valley
4- Going to college 
5- Ryan coming home 
6- Finding a fun job 
7- Becoming a Kindergarten teacher

Eight people I have tagged:
1-8 Whoever wants to do it :)

I hope you know Gentry, that I did this for you! Haha I hope you enjoyed it 

NYC

Wahoo I got to see my mom and dad over the weekend!! I have missed them soo much and I was so excited to see them and spend time with them! I picked up my Mom, Dad, Aunt Krista, and Uncle Sheldon from the airport on Friday around 5 o'clock. After I picked them up I toured them around my town and then we went to my house and had dinner with the family. It was fun for everyone to finally meet each other and after dinner the girls put on a American Girl Doll fashion show for us and then Em did some irish step dancing for us! It was so cute! After dinner we drove to our hotel in Secacus, NJ and got some good nights rest for our upcoming days in the big city! Saturday we woke up early and planned to stay in New Jersey and catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty from the Jersey side. Plans didn't work out how we wanted to..haha...we never saw the exit we needed to take so next thing we knew we were driving through the Lincoln Tunnel! So we ended up just parking the car in the city and we got on the ferry and went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I never really realized how big the Statue of Liberty is, it is amazing! After seeing the Statue of Liberty and walking around a little bit we got back on the ferry and went to Ellis Island for a little bit and walked around in there. After we were done with our ferry ride we walked up by Wall Street to get cheap broadway tickets and we waited in line for a hour to get our tickets to Hairspray, it was so worth it though! Once we got our tickets we walked down Wall Street and then to Ground Zero. After getting the car we drove to Chinatown and walked around there for awhile and we walked down canal street and got some knock-off purses from some pretty crazy places! Haha. They took us to some dark street and then up like 5 flights of stairs and then into some little rooms full of purses! At first I was kind of freaked about and hesitant to go, but we had my uncle and dad so that made me feel much safer! And I was also relieved when I saw girls coming down the stairs with lots of purses. It is crazy what girls will do just to get purses haha. So if anyone wants a knock-off purse just let me know and I can get you some!

Krista, Mom, Dad and I 

Statue of Liberty, from the ferry

New York Stock Exchange 

Ground Zero

On Sunday we walked to the Rockafellar Plaza and saw the ice skating rink and walked around there for a little while before our broadway show. We went to Hairspray at 1:30 and it was SO good! It was all of our first time seeing a show on broadway and I loved it! It is such a fun show and I loved all the dancing and singing. I can't wait until I get the chance to see another show on broadway. After the show we walked through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum, the museum closes early on Sundays so we only got to go to the top to see the view for like twenty minutes. On our way back to our hotel from Central Park we stopped at the American Girl Doll store! I have always wanted to go there since I was a little girl and it was all that I have dreamed of! It was so cool! Haha I felt like I was seven again getting excited about all the doll clothes! I even bought my doll a cute snowboard outfit (of course I couldn't walk out of the store empty handed!) After traveling back to my childhood we went and changed into some warmer and nicer clothes and went out to dinner! After dinner we got right to bed because we had to wake up early the next day for the Today Show!

The skating rink

In front of the theater after Hairspray

Dinner

Monday we woke up bright and early and headed to Rockefellar Plaza for the Today Show. We got there around six and there was already a long line! So we waited in line until they let everyone in and we got pretty good spot. We were standing behind a girl who was there for her sweet sixteen and we even got on tv a couple times! We also got to see Matt and Meridath up close as they came around and took pictures with everyone and shook hands. After the show we went back to the hotel for breakfast and then we got on a double decker bus and toured around New York. When we were finishing up the tour we saw Paula Abdul walking on the street so I hurried and snapped a picture of her! After our bus tour we went to the Top of the Rock to see the awesome view of NYC. It was so cool to see the city from high up, because once you are in the city you don't really realize how many buildings there actually really are and how big the city is and from above it just makes you saw WOW! Monday night we stayed in Newark, NJ, close to the airport and then I dropped the fam off at the airport at six Tuesday morning. We had such a fun time and it went by so fast! I already miss them and can't wait to see them at Christmas!

Paula Abdul

View from the Top of the Rock

Empire State building, from the Top of the Rock

Labor Day weekend

Wow, I have gotten really behind on my blogging and everyone keeps begging me to get it updated so I am finally getting around to it. So i'll start with Labor Day weekend (I know it was forever ago...i'm sorry!)

I went with the family to their grandparents second home in Lake Placid, NY, we left on Friday and it is about a 5 hour drive. It was the longest ride of my life! We got there pretty late so we just went to bed that night. On Saturday we went miniature golfing and then we went to the Olympic park because there was an irish festival going on there. We rode the lift to the top of the hill and then took an elevator up to the top of the jump. It was an awesome view from the top.  Sunday I watched the kids while their parents went golfing with their grandparents. So I took the kids to a park in Lake Placid and we played there for a while and had a lot of fun. And after we met everyone for lunch and then went to the lake and we went for a boat ride around the lake. On Monday we just did some shopping and then at night we went out for dinner and ice cream. Tuesday we woke up and headed back home! It was a fun vacation and Lake Placid is so pretty!  

At the top of the olympic ski jump

Peace!

On the dock before our boat ride

Island Beach State Park

Yesterday I went to the beach for an institute beach luau and it was a ton of fun! It is about two hours from my church but it ended up being a three hour drive to the beach because the traffic was SO bad. But once we got there it was so worth the drive! We played volleyball, ultimate frisbee, swam, ate, and played in the big waves! It was perfect weather for a day at the beach, the water was pretty cold but was nice once you got use to it. I didn't really like the color of the water..kind of grossed me out and also there were tons of jellyfish! At first I couldn't stand them always touching me and there was no way to get away from them but eventually I got used to them after picking them up and holding them. (thats what I am holding in the picture) At the end of the day the sunset was so pretty, the picture below was taken as you walked over the little grassy hill and that is what you saw. And even better, as the sun was down you turned around and the full moon was glowing right behind you! It turned out to be a really fun day and I hope to make it back the shore again before the year is over!

My Buddy Ryan

I have had the chance to spend a lot of time with just Ryan.  The girls are usually pretty busy during the day and are involved in a lot of activities so it is usually just me and Ryan at home. I got the chance the other day to snap a couple of cute pictures of him! He is so cute and so fun to be around! He puts a smile on my face everyday! 

When you say "SO BIG" this is what he does

my personal favorite

Finnigan the dog always brings a smile to his face

You know he is happy when his scrunches up his nose and laughs 

What a MESS!

I just thought that I would share with everyone the mess that I had to clean up on Thursday...oh how fun!! ha ha...not really. So how did it get so messy? On Wednesday the family had some friends over for a BBQ and all the kids ended up playing in the play room. Although I don't think they played, I think they just took all the toys out and spread them all over the room ha ha. So on Thursday Ryan and I went to go play in the playroom and I opened the door and this is what I saw! Yikes! Not much of a place for a one year old so we ended up just reading some books :) and playing outside. It took me about a hour to clean the room while Ryan was sleeping. I sure hope I don't have to do that again! 

Bus Trip to Palmyra, NY

So I have to admit that I have been slacking on keeping my blog updated and my mom has finally convinced me that it is time that I update everyone on my life back east.....

Last Saturday (July 19) I went on a bus trip to the Hill Cumorah pageant and church sites in Palmyra. There were about 50 young single adults that went and we all met at the stake center at 7:30 Saturday morning.  We ended up leaving the church around 8:00 and drove straight to Hill Cumorah, I was so excited to finally get there because the bus ride was so hot! We arrived to Hill Cumorah around 1:00 and ate lunch and a few of us stayed at Hill Cumorah for the first two hours while the others went to the other sites. We toured the visitors center, hung out in the visitors center because it was very cold and it felt really nice ha ha, and then we went to the top of the hill and took some pictures.

 Two friends from institute and I at the top of the hill

Me and Ryan's mission president's daughter, in the visitors center (its a small world after all!!)

After Hill Cumorah we got on the bus at 4:00 and went to the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith farm and log house. It was so amazing to walk through the Sacred Grove, it was so beautiful and peaceful. We didn't have time to tour the Smith Log house or the visitors center because the line was so long, but we did get to walk through the Smith Frame home and see where the plates were hidden when the mobs came. 

Palmyra Temple (Picture taken from the Smith Log house area)

Friends from institute and I in the Sacred Grove

The plates were hidden under these bricks

After touring that area we got back on the bus and went to downtown Palmyra and toured the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was published. I can't believe how much work it was to print the Book of Mormon and put it together! It is such a long process and I can't imagine doing it 5,000 times! Yikes, thats a lot! But the Lord knew that it needed to be done and I am so thankful for it. It has truly brought so much happiness to the world. 

So after downtown Palmyra we were back on the bus again and headed back to Hill Cumorah and waited for the pageant to start at 9:00. The pageant was awesome! And I couldn't believe all the people there! It was crazy, and I saw a couple of kids that I went to high school with there so that was cool! The pageant got over around 10:30 and we left around 11:30 and drove straight back to New Jersey. We didn't get back the church until 5:00 Sunday morning, so I came home and slept for 4 hours and then I was up again and went to church at 10:00. Oh boy was I tired! But I lasted all of church, yay for me! ha ha.  

Holly and I waiting for the pageant to start

Hill Cumorah pageant

Rainy Day at The Park

Last week I took the two youngest kids to the park.  The park is just around the corner from the house so I packed a picnic and put them in the wagon and we walked to the park. When we left the house it was a little cloudy so I grabbed jackets for the kids and an umbrella in case it rained. It has rained for a little bit each day I have been here, some days it rains for only like five minutes and then some days it rains for a hour and stops. But anyways, after we were done with our picnic it started raining so bad! Luckily there are lots of trees in New Jersey and the park was surrounded by trees so we sat under a tree for a little bit hoping that the storm would pass by quickly. Unfortunately the storm wasn't going to pass by quickly and it just kept getting worse so i covered the kids up in a towel that they were sitting on and I used the umbrella and we started walking home in the pouring rain.  But we got very lucky and just minutes after we started walking the mom drove by on her way to the house and she picked us up and took us home! So after all we made it home fairly dry :) 

Nanny Life

I am sorry that I haven't been keeping my blog updated.  But I am in New Jersey now and have been for two weeks, and I am loving it so far! It is very different from Utah but it is good for me to experience something new.  I am a nanny for three kids, ages 13 months (boy), 5 (girl) and 7 (girl). The nanny job keeps me very very busy during the day and by the time the day is over I am ready for bed! I sometimes wish that I could lay down for a nap everyday just like Ryan does (the youngest). My day starts off at 7:45, I help get the kids up for the day and help with breakfast, after breakfast the two girls usually have something scheduled, whether it is some sort of camp, play date, or some other type of activity. The children back east are involved in almost everything you can think of, they stay very busy! Anyways, after driving the girls around to where ever they need to be, Ryan and I come home and play or go for a walk, and then it is nap time for Ryan and usually laundry time for me.  Ryan usually sleeps through lunch time so when he wakes up we have lunch and then we are out the door to go pick up the girls from their activities. After we all arrive back at home we usually play for a little bit and then the parents come home and it is dinner time and I am officially off work :) 5:45.  Well that is pretty much how every day goes, Monday-Friday, and the weekend is all mine! 

  I have met a few other nannies here, two of them are in the same town as I am and I also met two others that are in a town close by. I have been out with them a couple times and it has been really fun.  They are all from Europe so they have awesome accents and say the funniest things! We all went to ice cream one night and then another day we went to the mall and to a movie. It is so fun talking to them about what they think about the states and how the states are so different from their home land. I hope to become good friends with them and do some site seeing together! 

I have also met a lot of great people through my ward that I go to.  I go to a family ward that is about twenty minutes away from where I live. The people in the ward are so nice and welcoming, which helps a lot since I just go by myself to church.  The first week I was here a family in my ward invited Talisha (she used to be the nanny for the family I am with) and I over for Fathers Day dinner. For all you football fans, it was Bart Oates house that we went to, former center for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.  His house was beautiful and the food was very good! And last Sunday a family in my ward invited me over for dinner with them and the missionaries, once again the food was excellent! I am so thankful for all the wonderful families in my ward and for treating me so good. 

Elder Neeley

So the time has finally come for Ryan to leave on his mission.  For those of you who don't know, Ryan was called to serve in the California Roseville mission.  Ryan entered the MTC today and will be there for three weeks.  I am so proud of him and I am glad he has chosen to serve a mission.  He will bless so many lives in Roseville with his strong testimony and the people will grow to love his sense of humor.  I am so thankful for the gospel and all it does for us.  It will be hard with out him here but it will be a good experience and it is what the Lord wants.  And I am looking forward to receiving my first letter from him :)