A Year To Remember

There are so many things that happened in 2008 I can hardly believe it. I think I have grown more in this last year than I have in my entire life so far. The year was full of upsets, letdowns, joy, pain, love and heartache. As I look through the past 12 months there are a few things that stood out to me as being the most significant in 2008.

1. Kipp and Christian P.C.

When I was hired on March 11, 2008 at K&C I had no idea what I was in for. I had never had a full-time position or so much responsibility in my life! At first I thought it would be easy but at 19 I was thrown into a "law world" that I knew nothing about. They took a risk by hiring me so young, having no experience but so far it has been a wonderful fit. I love the people I work with and they have become more like a family to me. The hardest part of the job was getting used to waking up at the butt-crack of dawn and getting to work for 9 hours everyday. It has changed the way I view a lot of things and has taught me many valuable lessons about life. Overall they have been great to me and very patient with my learning. It is by far the most significant thing that happened in 2008.

2.Dating

My dating life has never been boring... but this year takes the cake. I finally made things official with Johnny in January 2008 after wanting to be with him for 3 years. We moved quickly, (probably too quick at first) we fell in love and we moved in together after only 4 months of dating. Living together didn't last long and I left him. We spent a summer apart and went about our own lives but kept in contact. With all the up's and down's, a year later we are back where we started. We have started dating again and we will see how it unfolds. I think we both learned a lot when we were separated so hopefully this time around will be a positive experience.

3.The Election

I have NEVER been into politics but this last year changed the way I see America and I actually found out I enjoy learning about politics. I have to say, ninety percent of the reason why I was so involved in this election was due to Barack Obama and his family. I didn't like them at first, but the more I learned and watched the debates I am so proud to have him has our next president. I really felt the message of hope from his speeches and I believe he is the only man that could turn our country around after George W. Bush and his 8 years in office. Also, I was very proud to vote for the first time and felt a great sense of pride in my country for allowing my voice to be heard. It truely is the greatest country on earth.

4.Proposition 8 Confusion

In california, law makers decided to put a vote on gay marriage. I never thought it would be an issue in Utah that I would need to worry about. Boy was I wrong. I don't think there has ever been a time in my life were I felt so confused! After the LDS church asked it's members to support prop 8, all hell broke loose. Other church organizations supported it as well but the LDS church took most the heat from the gays and lesbians. I was constantly being pulling from one direction to the next and questioning my own beliefs over and over. With my dad on one side and my mom the complete opposite, it made for interesting conversations and lots of thought. In the end, prop 8 passed and it is now illegal for gays to marry in California. I am still not sure if I agree or disagree but my good friend Stevie Fiore pretty much summed up how I feel in one statement, "There is no right or wrong, there is only human"

5.Buying my first car

Ever since the Scion tC came out I wanted one. I was 15 when I first saw the car and this year I finally got it! Johnny worked at Low Book Sales (a car dealer) and found me an awesome deal on my Scion after I got in a car accident and my old car was totalled. I don't love the payment every month, but I'm fortunate to be able to afford it and I love my car.

6.A year of illness

I have had my fair share of illnesses this year. In fact, I can't remember a year when I was more sick. In the course of 12 months I had strep, kidney stones, 4 colds in 3 months, food poisoning, AND I went off anti-depressants cold turkey in Febuary. Going off anti-depressants made me sick for a long time but it was overall one of the best decisions I've made. If I were to do it again I WOULDN'T go off of them cold turkey because it caused me so much suffering. I was ready to get off of the meds and I've been happier since.

7.American Idol

Ok ok I was a psycho about American Idol this year. I watched every episode and devoted part of myself to making David Cook my husband. It was pathetic but still a lot of fun. Hillary and I tried out for American Idol in July and we both practiced super hard every day. I sang "Bring me to life" by Evanesence in front of producers for the show and an audience of 4,000 people. The day of try-outs was crazy and lasted 18 hours! I probably won't do it again but it was a blast.

8.Utah Jazz Playoffs

Watching my Jazz go to the playoffs and almost beat the Lakers was so fun! I am sad they lost but they got SO CLOSE and had a great year. I watched almost every game in2008 and kept the stats on all my favorite players. It was the closest we've come to winning a championship since I was 6 years old. I am proud of them but I'm thinking that 2009 isn't gonna be as great :(. I guess time will tell.

9.Mother's Day

One of my most memorable moments in 2008 was going to see my grandma Joy for Mother's day. Words cannot express how much I love this women. She is my greatest inspiration and visiting her is always a treat for me. While I was in Hanksville we talked, played LOTS of cards, watched a Jazz game, laughed and cried. She always has her fridge stocked with cream soda's (because it's my favorite drink)and her homemade raspberry jam. We had some very special talks while I was there and I'll never forget them. I love her.

10.Las Vegas Weekend

Hillary and I randomly decided to travel to Las Vegas one weekend and meet a couple of friends down there. The trip was not long, but it was SO MUCH FUN! We danced in the streets of the strip, layed by the pool, and reunited as best friends. I think it's a trip we will both remember forever. Love you Bruffle.

11.Movin' Out

I have moved a total of 5 times this year. Most of them have been back and forth between my dad's house (which is where I always seem to end up) and other apartments/houses. I think I'm going to stay put for awhile at my dads.

Well, that's my list of significant things that happened in 2008. I am hoping that 2009 is exciting and positive. Only time can tell.

Merry Kissmas!

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This Ones For The Kids

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Kipp & Christian Christmas Party

Ok so I've been talking for months about how stressed I am about the Christmas party I was planning for my office. Guess what, IT'S FINALLY OVER! I am so happy it's over and done with, but I'm even more happy that it went exactly as planned and everything was perfect. It really seemed like everyone had a great time and really appreciated the hard work I put into the event. We had the party at The Grand America Hotel in one of their ballrooms. The whole ballroom was decorated beautifully and the food was absolutely incredible. One of the paralegals I work with sent me some pictures from the event today so now I'm going to share them with you!

Me and Johnny
Paralegal Susan Seder with her sister
Attorney Nan Bassett (Brown Hair) with her sister and Secretary Laura Evans on the right
Paralegal Jan Tabish in the middle with her husband on the right
Attorney Steve Kelson with his wife
Office manager Gus Bernardo with his wife, and Natalee Bernardo is one of our runners (left)

Attorney's Shawn McGarry, Mike Skolnick, and Kirk Gibbs.
Attorney Scott Powers with his wife.
Attorney Patrick Burt with his wife
Shawn McGarry with paralegal Korinne Smith
Nurse/Paralegal Anne Gray with her husband

Steve Kelson won the grand prize in our ornament contest.
We are like a family in the office.
No one in the office was allowed to make a BYU themed ornament for our contest but one of our runners did it anyways. He won this shirt as his prize.
Attorney Heinz Mahler's wife made this ornament (it's him in a santa hat with his shirt off) and he won a prize for 'most disturbing ornament'.

Kirk and Shawn looking at a calendar that some of the staff made.
Overall the party was perfect. I'm glad it's over.

A birthday!

When I was living in Salt Lake and going to Skyline highschool I met a lot of fun people. One of my best friends during my sophmore year was Alisha Unitoa. She was in 'The Music Man' with me and we became friends instantly...I adore this girl. Anyways, we have still kept in contact and we are work out buddies at the gym almost everyday. I make her go to all the classes and she makes me lift weights, together we make a pretty good duo. I know that if anything were to ever happen, Alisha would be one of the first people to have my back.

I took these pictures on Alisha's birthday at her party. We went to school with Cordell, (who I also work with and is in the pictures) I was glad he could make it to the party. We had such a blast!

Thanksgiving Photos For All

Oh Thank Goodness for Thanksgiving! I had an amazing time with my family in Hanksville this year. I slept as much as possible but still managed to have a very eventful weekend. I don't know what it is about seeing family but I always come home feeling refreshed and grateful that I have the best family in the world. Here are some of the pictures I took during my trip...

David loved driving uncle Randy's fourwheeler/golfcart thing.


Mom and I got in a pretty serious whipped cream food fight. I was pissed because she got me pretty good


Before we had our big feast, we all talked about what we are thankful for. I had to take a picture of grandma during this because she was crying and being so sincere. She is the most incredible women, and has been through more than anyone I've ever met, yet she still finds a million things to be grateful for in her life. She is a living inspiration.


I'm not the only one that voted for Obama. Me and grandma Joy both were advocates for him and dang proud of it!




Here is my cousin Justin and his girlfriend talking to Dave and Amy. We all tried on Justin's GIANT cowboy hat but it really only looks good on him.


Mom and Grandma cookin' our feast


Turns out I'm a decent shot..






Hanksville has a certain beauty to it.


At the family Christmas party Dave and Nate played a couple songs for everyone. They have both improved so much with their voices, IT'S AMAZING! They wrote a song called 'Fall' and if you haven't heard it, you should.


Mom's team came in first place during the annual 'Amazing Race' but I thought that my team should have won for most entertaining. We got disqualified for cheating or else we would have won overall haha.


I had to add this one, just because Davids face in the background. Hahaha

Lately

So the last couple weeks I've been feeling very lonely. My dad has been in New York City for the last few days and I'm never home long enough to really spend any time with my roommates. I've been going to the gym A LOT to keep my mind busy and my friend Alisha (from my skyline years) is usually there to keep me motivated. Another place that I've found comfort in has been Barnes & Noble in Sugarhouse. I love all book stores, especially ones that smell of old, worn books that have been read a thousand times and coffee or hot chocolate. Luckly, B&N is right by the gym which makes it nice to walk over after I work out.

On another note, I wrote earlier about going to Cali to see my family in September and I forgot to post pictures I took of the kids. I don't know what I was thinking...



Jenny needed to run a quick errand in a store so me and Annabelle sat in the car and played.



I thought this one was so funny. It shows off her kissable cheeks!





Here are a couple of Charlie when we were at a fun pizza restraunt. I had to leave right after dinner to catch my flight home so we were all a little sad.



Dillon is turning into such a cool dude. I love them all so much!