Rain, Rain, Go AWAY

Chicago has been experiencing some CRAZY summer storms lately, but I must say they are pretty exciting! (When you're not alone, that is) The thunder is SO unbelievably loud and the lightening seems like it shoots across the entire sky. The other night it rained hard for hours. The next day I had to be at Pat's for work at around 11 am and as I'm heading there I look around and EVERYTHING is flooded. Most of the roads were closed and I couldn't even get on the freeway because of all the water. I pulled up to a police officer that was directing traffic and he said there was no way I was going to make it to Oak Park for atleast a couple of hours. Cars were stuck in the water so everyone had to just wait for it to dry up. SO I didn't make it to work that day. Later I found out that my uncle's family business had been flooded with two to three feet of water. Check it out...

This was outside the warehouse and that blue thing is a mailbox. This is one reason I would not want to live here. Oh Cali, how I miss you.

Darma, Drama, Drama...

Can I just say that I am SO excited for..

THE BACHELOR PAD!!!

I know these shows are so drama-filled and pretty much fake, but I get sucked in EVERY time!! Without fail I end up watching every season. I'm thinking this show will be the best so far. And I just love Tenley and am so glad she is back...Anyone else as excited as I am? Please say I'm not the only one...

Advice from Elder Busche

Just thought I would share this video. It's one of my favorites and it always makes me put things into perspective. Make sure you watch the whole thing, too!

C.a.l.i.f.o.r.n.i.a.

I had a very eventful few days in California this past weekend. I flew into San Diego on Friday night (tried flying stand-by on Thursday, and that just wasn't happening) for my friend Melissa's wedding on Saturday. We hung out at the Hyatt hotel that night in La Jolla where the wedding reception was taking place the next day. Mel's parents got this huge suite that was so nice and SO big. We hung out by the pool and eat some Pat and Oscar's for dinner. They also had the most delicious lemon cake bits...i seriously gobbled like 15 of those bad boys. I need to get the recipe and post it.

Shelly. Kasey. Melissa. Mandy.

"do a serious face"...haha.

It looks like we cropped ourselves into this picture. Aparently Melissa can walk on water...haha

Saturday morning we all got ready for the wedding. Mandy, Sierra, and I were her bridesmaids. I was so lucky to witness Melissa and Kasey get sealed in the San Diego Temple. It was so amazing and she looked beautiful. The reception was that night at the hotel and it was so much fun. We danced our little hearts out all night long. I just LOVE weddings.

The bride getting her hair done.

Mandalyn.

Mandy. Erin. Heather. Shelly.

The happily married couple :)

Her dress was gorgeous!

YELLOWWWWW

Aw.

They had TWELVE cakes. I think I tried every one.



Sierra Lynn

Not the greatest picture but the only one I got with the bride. She looked so pretty!

The bridesmaids!

The next day, I picked Branson up from the Ontario airport. He was flying in for a summer leadership program at Ernst and Young in Irvine. We got lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, BJ's, and then saw Knight and Day. Even though it was only two days, it was weird being away from B, and I missed him. It was fun to hang out and not worry about work or anything. So then we went and visited with my family and had dinner and just relaxed. Since Branson was going to be in Irvine all day, I decided that the girls and I would go to Huntington beach while he was at his internship. We went out to breakfast at the Sugar Shack, layed on the beach for a couple hours, eat Sushi, and then went shopping. I absolutely love it down there. Branson does too...i'm hoping he takes a job with Ernst and Young :)


On my way back to Chicago I was flying stand-by. Branson's dad works for SkyWest so we get to fly for cheap, and it usually works out really well. However, there are times when your really not sure if your going to make it home that night. My first leg of the flight back was really good and I got on with no problems. I had a connector flight into Denver where I was supposed to catch another plan to Chicago. I didn't make it on the flight I was supposed to because it was full, but there was a flight going out an hour later that looked really good, so I wasn't too worried. I got a snack and waited for my name to show up on the stand-by list. I thought I would for sure make it on, but then a rush of people come over and are in line for my flight. I guess another flight that was headed to Chicago got delayed two hours, and since the flight I was supposed to get on had plenty of seats open, they sent everyone over to catch that flight...ugh. At first my name was 22nd on the list with about 30 available seats. Gradually my name kept getting pushed back and I was about 75th on the list with a wopping 5 seats open. Can you say frustrating? I didn't think I would be making it out that night. I waited around and missed two other flights that were oversold. I EVENTUALLY made it on the flight that was delayed, and I was so relieved. They called me up to get a seat and I was stoked I had a ticked. Finally. Then I hear my name called and the lady at the first desk hands me a new ticket and say,"I think you'll really like this one." I look down and it says United Business at the top. I was pretty happy about that, but had no idea how incredibly nice it would be. I walk on the plane and its a new 767, which is pretty dang huge. I go to find my seat and can't even believe it. I have my own huge TV in front of me that plays a ton of new movies, any music you can think of, and it even has playstation! The seat reclined all the way like it was a bed, and they gave me a blanket and pillow. I got a free, delicious meal and a delectable chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven. I was in heaven. I watched The Last Song (it was the only one Branson didn't want to see) and loved it. I honestly didn't want the plane to land. I was so comfortable. So even though I was waiting around all day in the Denver airport, it payed off. And I have some words of advice. If your flying anywhere far, I would recommend paying the big bucks for one of these seats. I would say it's well worth the money!
This is pretty similar to what it looked like, but the picture doesn't do it justice.

Little Miss Taiya

Last Sunday, B and I made dinner for our friends Sadi and Travis. They brought along their sweet little girl, Taiya. She is the most adorable little thing. Me and Branson just adore her. I got my camera out and went a little crazy with the pictures and I had to post them. Hope you like them Sadi :)

Sadi and Taiya

Love her cute little tan lines.

Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Summer job

Coming out to Chicago I didn't think I would be able to get a job, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do all day. We will only be here until August, and we will be going home now and then throughout the summer. But my uncle informed me that his mom needs some extra care and that they would pay me if I was available. She lives in Oak Park, which is about 25 miles from where we live. So it was perfect for me! It's not too far, and I'm so happy that I can help out the family. I go down there about four hours every day and help her run errands and we usually eat dinner together. She is just the sweetest lady.Her name is Pat and she will be turning 83 soon and just went through radiation for lung cancer. It's tough seeing her struggle, but she is getting better each day and I have loved being able to help her out. It made me realize that I might want to do something in the nursing field, like my mama. So my days are much more productive now and it's really been a great experience for me :)

Pat and my cousin Kelli

The amazing view of the city from the top of Pat's apartment.

The Taste of Chicago

Last night, Branson, Derek, Bryson, and I went into the city for the...

It was a fun, yet interesting night. We took the L-train into the city and did a little site seeing before the taste. We stopped at the big bean and took some pictures. Let me also just say that Chicago is filled with some prime time people...the people watching in this city is my all time favorite. It will seriously keep you busy for hours. But the taste was so fun, and the food was great. We tried fried catfish, some deep dish chicago pizza, and tons more. (The catfish was surprisingly REALLY good!)

Humungo Turkey Leg!

MMmmm...DELICIOUS!

B wanted me to be done taking pictures, so he kinda ruined this one. BUT it still made the blog.

So after the fun filled night was over, we took the L-train back to where our cars were parked in Oak Park. We are definitely new at this public transportation thing, and we got on the "Brown Line" instead of the "Green Line." Oops! That meant we were going the complete opposite direction, so to get back it took A LONG time. But as we were heading back to Oak Park, Branson and I made friends with these two little black boys. Their mom was sitting just a few seats down from us not really paying any attention to them, so we thought we would befriend them. They seemed to be so cute and innocent, but I was WRONG! The youngest one, who was probably about four years old, started joking around telling us to kiss. We thought it was cute at first, but then they started to say the most foul things I think I have EVER heard! And the worst part was that their mom wasn't doing ANYTHING! We couldn't believe it. So we just started to ignore them. Then when it was their stop, their mom yelled to them to get off and as the youngest 4 year old walks past me, he FLIPS ME OFF! I was so taken back!!! And I'm still not over it. Those kids are probably gonna turn out to be little molesters and it's so sad that they don't have good examples as parents. This just showed me what a little bubble I have lived in and what kind of people are in this world. It's crazy.

Other than that little mishap, it was a great night with the people I love! :)