Bear World

(These guys are cute, but I really dont want to ever run in to one!)

When I ran in the Run for the Cure, I won a carload pass to Bear World. Mom and Dad have always wanted to take us there, but its always been way expensive, so we were all excited to be able to go for free! I always thought that Bear World was about 40 bucks to get in...when we got up to the window it was $75 to get in!!! That is so expensive! Im glad that I won the pass so we could actually go once because non of us can afford to pay that much money just to drive around and see the Bears! It was fun to see all of the animals and see how fat and lazy the bears were! We couldnt stop laughing because they would sit up on their bums and pretty much beg for food from the people in the big tour truck that drives around. After we went through and saw the bears, we stopped at the petting zoo and the rode on some of the rides for Teri. We were sad that Harry didnt get to come, but he is slaving away in the potatoes...and when hes not hes with his girlfriend :). It was fun to watch Teri and see how excited she got about small things. I wish I was little again! I guess we could all take that lesson from kids...enjoy the little things in life!

As for what we have been up to besides Bear World, Destry is still working hard for Blake. I am so grateful for the hard work that he does and that he has a job right now in times like these. He is such a hard worker and that is one of the things that I admire most about him. He is so good to try and help me out when I am busy with school and I appreciate it.

I'm currently traveling to Idaho Falls twice a week right now to teach 5th grade a Hillview Elementary. I love it there! My supervising teacher is so funny and the class is great. It is amazing how fast you become attached to those kids! I already lay awake at night and worry about some of them and their situations. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to teach right now. It is teaching me so many things, and most importantly, I love it! Im glad that I chose a good major.

P.S. I will have to post the pictures when Im not running so short on time!

Run for the Cure

I had the opportunity to run in the "Race for the Cure" again this year. I think this is probably one of my favorite races to run because it is for such a good cause. Although the race supports Breast Cancer, I decided to run the race for my Uncle Burke this year. Cancer is Cancer right? Uncle Burke passed away this June because of complications with his cancer. I miss him so much and will always love him. Aunt Gin and Morgan decided to come down with me and watch me run. I ended up getting second place in the womens and 5th overall. My parents and little sister Teri ended up coming down at the end of the race as well. I always try to think of someone I love when I run in a race, and this time I could not think of anyone that I would rather run this race for. I love Aunt Gin and I know she is going through so much right now. She has been through so much, and I pray that she can get through this. I can't imagine losing my husband. I dont know what I would do without Destry and Im grateful for the knowledge that no matter what happens, I will be with him forever.

Always a Farm Girl

(Hard working Daddy)

The Farm House

(Waiting for Dad to come pick me up)

On the last day before school started, September 9, I got to go up to the Dry Farm and spend some time in the combine with Dad. I have always loved the farm and riding around in the equipment. My favorite thing to do is ride around with Dad and listen to all of the stories about the farm and have him show me the different things that are up there. Growing up as kids, we would always spend time up at the farm or just come up to bring him lunch. Some of my favorite memories are of building forts in the trees, playing with the toys, riding the putt putt and riding our bikes back and forth on the dirt road. I have learned so much about our family history and am so proud of my Dad for the hard work he always put in to the farm. I know that farming doesnt always bring in a ton of money, and we have had our fair share of disaster crops, but as kids we never had to go hungry or went without. Dad and Mom have always showed me how to work hard and manage money. I'm grateful for the things that they taught me.

One of the ways that Dad always taught us to work hard, was having us come up and help weed the garden with Grandma and roeging Rhye. (sorry i have no idea to spell that). We would wake up around 5 before it got too hot and go up to help out in the garden. I think the thing that I disliked the most was the Rhye! It was hot, sweaty and itchy! I learned an important lesson the first time we went up. I looked around and saw the 1000 acres that dad took care of all by himself, and realized that I needed to be grateful for the hard work that he put in to it.

We all loved playing the game "No Bears Are Out Tonight" while up at the farm, but unfortunately for my parents, we always wanted them to be the bears! I still remember seeing Dad's long legs coming at me as I tried to make it around the house in time, and Mom being so short, she could hide anywhere and we would never see her coming. I was so blessed to have parents who would take the time to be active with us. They were always outside with us playing or doing different things.

One morning Harry, Alison and I decided to get on the banana seat bikes and ride down the huge hill by the house. I want to say that I was about 10 at the time, but I would have to look at a picture to know for sure. We started out going down the what was then a huge hill, laughing and giggling like most little kids would. I was laughing until the bike started going WAY too fast...I remember looking down and seeing my handle bars start to wiggle because I couldnt hold on. Instead of trying to coast to a stop I slammed on my brakes. In doing this, the bike became motionless, but unfortunately I didnt. All I remember is seeing a bunch of dust around me and hearing my little brother laughing (he had an evil giggle that he still has today). The dust settled, I was crying and Harry was STILL laughing! I think Ali was too young at the time to really know what had just happened. He stopped lauging when I looked up and my mouth was full of dirt and blood, my glasses were bent all to heck and I wasnt lauging with him. I must have screamed loud, because we heard the 3 wheeler start up, and moments later, my superhero came to save the day! Dad made sure I was alright, picked me up and hauled me back to the house on the 3 wheeler. I remember all of the dirt that was in my mouth when I washed it out in the sink while Mom tried to fix all of my cuts. I can honestly say that is the only time I ever broke my glasses as a kid.

We always learned a lot about our family history when we went up to the farm. The farm was homesteaded on September 11, 1908 by my Great (). Most of the buildings are still around, and Dad always took the time to show us all of the buildings and tell the story behind each one. One of my favorite people to learn about though, has always been my Grandpa Harry. People have always told me that if I wanted to learn about Grandpa, that all I needed to do was look at my Dad. In knowing that much, I know how great of a man Grandpa must have been. He died in 1985, just 2 years before I came in to the world. When Grandpa passed away, Dad took over the farm and took care of Grandma as well. He still takes good care of her to this day.

I know that I have went off on a lot of different things this time, but it is always so much fun to take the time to remember the different things we did as little kids. The farm means so much to me, and I know that it might seem like something silly, but Im proud of it. I am proud to be a part of the family that I have come from.

Canning on Labor Day

We have a ton of carrots, onions and potatoes in our garden this year, so I borrowed Aunt Kay's pressure canner and made "End of Summer Soup". I was a little nervous about using a pressure canner by myself for the first time, so I went over in the morning and had mom watch and help to make sure I was doing it right. It ended up not being as stressful as I thought it would be! It was actually fun. I am going to invest in one now, so that next year I can do all of our food from the garden. I also have made jam and done green beans in the last week or so as well. I hope that it will save us some money and time in the long run! Thanks for letting me borrow the pressure canner and thanks for all of the help Mom and Aunt Kay!

Weekend fun with David and Heather

This weekend we went with Heather and David to the state fair and then to the Idaho Falls Temple Visitor Center afterwards. It is always fun to go with them and I am grateful for both of their friendships. We went and looked around for awhile and ate some of the good food. The rides were really expensive! Unless you bought an all day pass, it was $5 a ride! We decided to go on the scariest looking one. I honestly thought I was going to throw up! I dont ever get sick on rides, but apparently I havent ever experienced a ride like that!

I think the best part of the date was going to the visitors center and watching the new video about President Monson and his life. I loved watching the movie, and it strengthened my testimony that President Monson is a true prophet! He is such an amazing man and I would highly recommend seeing it!

"Back to School, Back to School!"

Well its official, I only have one week left until I start my last semester of classes! Yay! I never thought I would say this, but Im excited to start. The sooner I start, the sooner I get it all over with! I cant wait until I have that diploma in April! I have loved having time to myself over the 7 weeks and having time to actually have a life, but I think I can handle 14 more weeks of studying. Im getting ready to take my praxis test next week, so thats a little scary. All im waiting for now is to find out where they are going to place me for student teaching!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

I know my Grandma wouldnt want me to tell everyone that it was her birthday, but she doesnt read blogs, so Im going to write about it anyways! :) Yesterday was her birthday. I wont say how old she is, but you'll probably figure it out. We all met out at my parents house. My cousins and Aunt and Uncle came from Utah, so almost everyone got to be there. It was fun to see everyone and spend time with the family.

We all had lunch and went for rides on the Razor, the Put Put and the Steam Roller! Destry has finally become an official part of the family because he got to ride on the Put Put! The Put Put is almost like a golf cart/4wheeler. My Grandpa Worrell made it before my dad was born (I want to say in 1957). He made it so the kids could ride it around. They rode it around and I spent most of my childhood riding it around the house with the cousins and my siblings. My dad bought an old steam roller from the city for about $100 and he "uses it to flatten the driveway". He is such a little boy at heart! People probably think were crazy seeing all of those machines riding around the house, but its just one of those things that makes a family unique I guess.

After lunch and all of the crazy rides, we had Grandma open her presents. Dad came out with his fire suit on and lit her cake with a blow torch! Mom made a fake cake out of styrofoam plates and they put 80 candles on it! It was pretty funny. Grandma had been threatening us that if we put her name and age in the paper she would disown us, so my Uncle Larry found a site and made a fake Post Register. He brought it in the house all rolled up like it had just been delivered. I think Grandma almost did disown us until she saw that it wasnt real!

I have to hand it to Grandma, despite all of the teasing, I think she had a good time. She just recently had her hip replaced about a month ago, and its funny to watch her. She has NEVER acted like an old lady! She is always up and moving around either doing something in her garden or around the house. I think that has been what has always kept her so healthy. It has drove her nuts to have to sit around for a few weeks, but I went with her and Dad to her doctors appointment last week, and he gave her the okay to move around more. She is doing so good and Im happy that she isnt in as much pain. It was funny because I drove past her house a few days after the appointment and there she was out in the garden. I love my grandma so much and she has always been such a special person in my life. She is the one that has taught me to play the piano. For that I will always be grateful. Some of my best childhood memories include sitting at the piano bench with her. She has always helped to take care of us kids, and has always made a special effort to be at all of our events. I will always remember going up to one of my soccer games in Ashton. The bus pulled in and I saw a little old lady sitting on the sidelines before everone else. She has always been to all of our sporting events, birthday parties, choir concerts, band concerts and anything else. You name it and she has been there. She has taught me the value of an education and has always been there to help me if Ive needed it. I can honestly say she is one of my best friends as well. I can go to her and talk about anything. I love her so much and dont know how I could ever repay her for everything she has done. I love you grandma!

One great weekend!

This weekend was GREAT! Destry was able to borrow his cousin Derek's Polaris Razor on Saturday. He brought it home and then we loaded up and headed for Island Park. He had to stop and fix something at Brent and Maurine's and then we unloaded the Razor to head for the top of Sawtail. I have never been to the top before, so it was pretty fun! The ride was so pretty and we ended up having so much fun. After riding to the top, we went back to the pickup and drove to big springs. We were going to feed the fish, but they werent hungry, so we just looked around and headed home. When we got there we spent the rest of the time riding around on the Razor. I want one really bad now, but they are way too expensive! I dont know who was the bigger kid, me or him! He has been working so hard on the city building lately, so it was nice to know that he had an opportunity to do something fun and not worry about work for awhile. I appreciate the hard worker he is, and most of all I am grateful that I married my best friend. We are always able to have so much fun together and find plenty to laugh at. Its hard to believe that we are coming up on being married for 2 years! Ah! Where does the time go? Thanks Derek for letting us use the razor!

Goals met and things to be greatful for

This year I made my goal and ran in the Mesa Falls Half Marathon. I had so much fun and have been able to come farther than I ever thought I would with my running. I have so much to be grateful for. A year and a half I wouldnt have been able to do this because of my back and nerves, but because of the help I got from a doctor I am able to run. Destry says Im a health freak and that Im addicted, and maybe some of that is true, but it feels good to be able to work at something and accomplish it. I appreciate him supporting me every step of the way.

I had to be in Ashton at 7:00 on Saturday morning. When I got there, there were lots of unfamiliar faces and I felt a little out of place without my best friend there with me. Destry had to work that day. As we loaded the buses and started riding up, I started to get a little nervous. I met a few new people from different places, but I honestly dont think we ever told each other our names! When we went down the hill that we were supposed to run UP I started to get really nervous. Would I really be able to do this, or was I going to die in the middle of the hills? We reached the starting line, and got out of the buses. There were tons of people there all warming up that didn't ride the bus, so then I got even more scared!

Finally the volunteers had everything ready to start the race (thank goodness for them, they do a great job!). We all lined up, and finally we were off! We ran down the road and got on to the old trail by the railraod tracks. The trail was pretty and I had a lot of fun running on it. At about mile 3, I hear someone start talking to me, I turned my headphones down and was surprised to see one of my really good friends, Whitney Howard, running next to me! We ran together for about a mile, and I ended up passing her after awhile. Running up those hills was really hard, but I kept going, and had a great feeling of accomplishment everytime I hit a small patch of flat ground.

Towards the tail end of the race, I look up and see Brittany's tahoe pull over to the side of the road. She jumps out with the boys and Tamra. I was so excited to see them! I was a little bummed that I was running by myself, but they definately made my day! Thank you guys so much for coming out and cheering me on! It made my day! I am so grateful for you guys and that I married in to a great family. I truly do love you guys and am grateful for all that you do!

The last two miles were probably the hardest, I started to get some killer blisters on my feet. I would post a picture of my feet afterwards, but its really gross! Both of my feet ended up being huge blisters and I looked like I had up a board up my bum when I was trying to walk the next day!

As I got to the finish line, I was already happy that Tamra, Brittany, Kead and Axton came, but when I went across the line I could hear someone else yelling my name. I looked up and saw that my mom was there waiting for me! There is no better feeling than crossing the finish line and seeing your mom there waiting for you! I love my mom and I was so happy that she came! Thanks Mom! I can honestly say that seeing that there were people there who supported me, made this one of the funnest races and I will definately be doing it again next year! (I hope Brit gets to run next year).

I was sad that Destry couldn't come, but I owe him a HUGE thanks as well. He has been working so hard lately, and I feel really guilty that I havent been working as much because its slow at the Pharmacy. He has been putting in a lot of overtime, and he didnt even get home until about 11:30 the night before last. I miss him, but I appreciate the hard worker that he is. I love you hun!

On and ending note, I didn't think I did that good, but I ended up getting 2nd place in my age division! I missed first place by about 10 seconds! They gave me a cool little plaque. My name was in the paper, but no one would recognize it because they posted it as Florence Orr...haha. I hope I can do even better next year and beat my time of 1:57:22! Thanks again to everyone that has supported me in one way or another!

Tie Die fun

Teri

Alison

Amy

My amazing shirt :)


Me and my 14 year old cat Socks. I know Destry hates cats, but my Grandpa gave her too me when I was little and I love her! Whenever I see her, it reminds me of Grandpa and the day that he gave me too her. He was sitting in his kitchen and he hid his hat behind his back. I still remember him asking me to go and find his hat in the bathroom for him, and I knew that he had his hat, so I ran to the bathroom because I knew it would be a suprise. Sure enough, I opened the door and she ran out. I miss Grandpa and loved spending time with him. I cant believe she has lived this long!

So I hope I spelled the title right, for some reason my brain isnt functioning this morning...i blame it on the countless hours of sitting on my butt doing nothing at work. Im bored! We only fill like 30 prescriptions a day at the most, and during school, we usually fill over 100! Anyways, last week my sisters convinced me to tie die a shirt with them. It was fun, and I ended up getting more paint on myself than on the shirt while I was helping Teri. Im grateful for my sisters. I have so much fun with them and it has been a blast this last few weeks. I wish I could see my brother more, but hes currently busy chasing girls and working a lot :)

Catching Up

So last week, one of my best friends from highschool, Kayleen Cardell, came and visited me! She moved to Virginia about a year ago, and hasnt been home since. I have missed her! She can always make me laugh! We went and got ice cream and Big J's and then ran to Walmart and wandered around aimlessly. Regardless of lacking things to do, we always have fun! The next day we met up with Connie Thorkelson and had lunch at Wingers.

Girls Day

This Friday my Mom called and said that she and my sisters were going to go school shopping. I went with them and had a pretty fun time. I always like hanging out with my mom and sisters! We went to the mall, and found some pretty good deals! I honestly have not been shopping in a REALLY long time because I dont have the time with school. The end of the day was pretty crazy and we ate a lot of junk food, but it was fun to spend time with them.

Dead Dog

I came home and thought I had a dead dog the other day, but thats just how she sleeps apparently!

My Crazy Husband!!!

So this last week there has been a lot of thunder and lightning. We were getting ready for bed at about 10:30 on Wednesday night. I was laying in bed and I could hear Destry get in the shower. I was pretty tired that night, so I feel asleep. I woke up at about midnight and Destry was nowhere to be found! I could feel a breeze coming in the house as I got up to go and find out what he was doing. All of the lights are out in the house and Im wondering what in the heck is going on. I get to the back door and look out to find my husband sitting on the deck, in his garments, in the middle of a lighting storm! I told him to get his butt back in the house because he was going to get hit, and of course he told me that I worried too much. I told him if I ended up without a husband in the morning it wasnt my fault as he was laughing. I eventually quit worrying and went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, I get on my camera and this is what I found...what a crazy guy! I love him though!

Rock and Roll Half Marathon-August 8

I finally got the guts to run in a half marathon and I LOVED IT! It was so much fun and I got better than I had hoped for. We started our race in Old Butte Park by the airport (the soccer fields with the big ball) and went up and around some of the farm ground up there. I thought I would be tired, but I made it through pretty good. The only thing that started to hurt were my feet at about the 11th mile. I hoped to finish in 2 hours 10 minutes, but I ended up finishing in 2 hours 18 seconds. It was such a good experience to reach a goal that I had been working for. The best part of the race was having my best friend there to cheer me on. Destry followed me in the car and talked to me during the race. It was a good motivator to know that he would leave me and be parked up the road so I would see him in a few miles. I am so grateful for his support. He hasnt missed any of my races and I appreciate it so much. I always tell him that he doesnt have to go, but he always drags himself out of bed at 5:30 to be there with me. It makes such a big difference to have him there. I am thinking of doing the Mesa Falls Half, but it all depends on if Destry has to take his journeyman test that day.

24th of July Pics

Funny Faces

At the Rodeo

Ax Man

Addi opening her Dora Birthday Present

Family Dinner at the Worrell's

3rd place finish-Pioneer Days Fun Run 5K