Uncle Lee

Last night my Uncle Lee passed away with his wife and 3 daughters beside him.  He had been suffering from a brain tumor he had named Percival (always had a great sense of humor).  I got a phone call this morning from my mom letting me know he had passed away.  Also, my grandfather (Pop) called me to tell me he was picking me up from the airport but first we had a good cry about this amazing man.  The thing that these two phone calls had in common were that we should have peace because he is in a better place and no longer in pain and that we know we will see him again.  I love Uncle Lee so much it breaks my heart that I did not get to see him for one last time but I know he is no longer suffering.  If he was still here this is what I would tell him...

Dear Uncle Lee,

I cannot tell you how much I love you and Mary Lou.  I have great memories of you at the beach, Tootsie and Pop's house, Portland, etc.  You are an amazing man and I am impressed by your optimism during this whole process.  I strive to have the same outlook on life as you did.

Speaking of memories... Here is a list of the some of my favorite things I remember about you (not in any specific order):
1. salmon- I have never had better salmon than yours. You make the best sauce to put on the salmon and then grill it (my favorite way to cook).
2. wood work- I wish I had pictures of your AMAZING craftsmanship because I would never be able to do what you could make out of a block of wood.  I remember one time in Portland when you let us carve stuff out of scraps of wood. Mine looked awful but you still told me I did a great job. Thanks Uncle Lee
3. gum- You always had gum with you at all times because you said you always get dry mouth but that just means I could always ask you for some :)
4. smoking- I am not supporting that you smoked but I was always fascinated that you could blow smoke rings and I didn't see how that was possible. 
5. earring- I loved that you got your ear pierced just for the heck of it and at a older stage in life at that. Makes me realize that you were always yourself.

There are many more things I remember about you and not enough time to write.  I will always remember you and love you very much.  Hope you are happy where you are and I don't doubt you will watch over Mary Lou from that place.  You are a great man Uncle Lee and know you are missed by friends and family alike.

Love Always,
Amanda

Getting There...

So, I can finally see the light at the tunnel but it is very faint.  I have had so much to do in the past couple of weeks, including tests and projects, that it just seems to be never ending.  But the other day I bought my cap and gown and It made me realize that I am actually going to be done soon...weird... Anyways just can't believe I am finishing up my last semester here at BYU in a little over a month. Hopefully all goes well and I pass my classes and then finally get that piece of paper saying "YOU DID IT!"

Gregy Grows Up

So my best friend Greg left this sunday for LA for his new job with Merck as a pharmaceutical sales rep.  I am very proud of him because getting a job now-a-days is nearly impossible, especially one that pays well.  I have seen him work extremely hard on brag books and resumes and travel far to go to interviews and it has paid off! Good Job Gregy!


Even though he is moving on in his life to bigger and better things I miss him a lot.  We spent a lot of time together over the past couple years and it is hard to think we will probably be living on opposite coasts :( but I will always have the memories :)


Here are some pictures of the good times we had...

East Coast BBQ

Howh Skiing

Fajitas!

Ward Socials 

BYU Games

Sacramento

Feeding the Ducks

Torn Ligaments

Date Night

Halloween

Sacramento Temple

Turkey

SLC Temple

Greg-  I love you tons and you will always be my best friend and I miss you but know you are loving the warm weather in CA :)

Quote-Attitude

So I was cleaning out my room and I found a quote...


We cannot change our past ... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.  And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our attitudes.


My mom gave this to me but I don't know who it is by.

First Flight with Pilot Dad

So on the last day of 2010 I took my first flight with my dad who has his pilot license (I can't remember when exactly).  This is a big deal for me because I am not very fond of flying, turbulence scares me just a little...haha.  But surprisingly this was not bad at all!  It was a calm day and we did not go nearly as high as commercial jets go.  This was nice because we were able to sight see a little, I even saw my mom's house!  Well we flew right next to the Bay Bridge and landed at the airport on the other side and met up with an old friend of my dad's who he hasn't seen in a long time.  He seemed to have a great time catching up, I learned some funny things he did... Like throwing pine cones at cars...oh dad... After we had lunch we flew back to Virginia.  It was really a great experience because it is very different then flying in a big airplane.  I think it would be something cool to learn how to do... maybe someday down the road haha.

Lunch Group

Bay Bridge

Mom's House! (Its there I promise)

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How The Grinch Stole Christmas on ICE

My family and I went to the National Harbor in Maryland where the Gaylord National was putting on an event where people sculpted the store of How the Grinch Stole Christmas out of solid ice.  It was really amazing how they made all the sculptures in the exhibit!  The place it was kept in looked like a tennis bubble and it was a whole 9 degrees in there!  Felt like early morning in Utah in January and February haha. We were given big blue parkas and we were bundled up under that as well.

Nativity

The tree was made out of Peeps!

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I Love to See The Temple... Lights!

Friday night Greg and I grabbed some dinner and then drove to SLC to see one of my favorite things.  Lights on the Temple grounds.  Unfortunately I wasn't going to my favorite lights, The Washington DC Temple lights.  These worked for now until I go home :)  We met up with Diana and Katie as well and walked around until my toes felt like they were going to fall off from the cold! Here are some pictures of the lights :)

Me, Diana, and Katie

Sign Language for Ma-g and Me - Joy

Spanish for Greg - Amor

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