Rascal's Day

I go to school two days a week, which pretty much exhausts me! (I am SO pathetic! I can barely stand to do school for a measly 12 hours a week!) Grayson is working from home for Troy University still and consequently gets to spend a lot of time chilling at home. No one else is there on Tuesdays and Thursday apart from Grayson and Rascal; I've been wondering what these two do at home when I'm not there. This week, I got to see some of the things they do together during the day when they're at home all alone. I took a ton of pictures because A) Rascal is just too dang cute and B) Grayson is so sweet with him. He spends so much time trying to bond with my dog and I really love him for it!

They read the paper together.

Grayson bought Rascal this awesome toy a few weeks ago. It's a raccoon that we tied on the end of a dowel. Rascal will chase it around forever! I thought this picture was hilarious because it looks like Grayson has caught a fish!

Rascal getting ready to pounce.

Oh this silly dog! Every time he'd catch the raccoon, he would drag it off to the shade by the bush to make it squeak. Rascal doesn't like the squeakers in his toys and will attack them until he can get the squeaker out. This toy has two squeakers (which we are DETERMINED not to let him rip out) and it really freaked Rascal out that both the head and tail were squeaking.

One of Rascal's favorite things to do is snuggle on the couch. Grayson is so sweet to let Rascal nap by him.

How funny is this? Rascal's just kickin' back and is using Grayson as a recliner. I love the look on Rascal's face. HA!

Grayson loves to read and goes through books pretty quickly. Rascal loves it when someone will hold him while they read. So cute! (I should also mention that my door was really squeaky and driving me crazy, so Grayson fixed it for me. Hence, the can of WD-40.)

My cute boyfriend took me on a date to the Gateway on Saturday evening. We bought a delicious caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory that was covered in white chocolate and Oreos. It was super yummy!

We looked at some watches because I've decided I really want one. There was a really cute Fossil watch at Buckle, but I did the right thing and saved myself $115 by not buying it. I would like to *HINT HINT HINT* at Grayson about what I would like for Christmas.

We also went into LensCrafters to check out some of their glasses because Grayson needs new ones. We found a bunch of really cute ones, but the pair in the photo below are HANDS DOWN the winner!

I really love my sweet boyfriend! He is so awesome and I am so lucky to have him. :)

State Fair and Other Happenings

This week was so busy! Monday was Labor Day, which meant that I took it upon myself to do anything other than labor. It was nice. I avoided doing homework until later in the evening, which I was so excited about during the day, but regretted when I was still doing homework at 9:30 and Grayson wanted to watch a movie. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to have Jeffrey R. Holland's son, Matthew Holland, who is the President of UVU, come to speak in my American Lit class. He was really interesting to listen to, plus, I answered one of his questions and he told me I was smart! It sounds stupid now, but at the time, it was really exciting.

I also got a new phone this week, which I am loving! I'm finally a modern girl! That old green phone was seconds away from spontaneously combusting, I swear. I got a new Blackberry Curve, which is both cute and functional. I'll kindly display it in all it's adorable-ness below.

On Thursday, the State Fair opened. My country boy decided it would be a great idea to take me to see real pigs and sheep. Instead, we saw some sea lions. Yeah, random. The one who's sitting up in the picture tried to escape while we were watching them. I was really hoping it would make it off the stage, but the trainer caught it leaving. Sea lions are never allowed to have any fun, apparently.

Grayson is a great lover of the State Fair; I on the other hand, have not been to one since I was about four. It was an interesting experience for me. We saw all kinds of cool stuff and ate a really delicious corn dog. For a special treat, we bought a deep fried Twinkie, which was really yummy! Grayson couldn't resist the gyros that were there. It was like he could hear them calling his name from across the fairgrounds. Here he is, so excited to eat his gyro, minus tomatoes, of course.

My favorite part of the night was when Grayson took me to the Imagine Band show. They are a Beatles tribute group that was pretty fantastic! The guys dressed up like the real Beatles and spoke with British accents. I think I died and went to Heaven. There were quite a few crazy drunk dancers at the show, which added an authentic feel to the event. I chose to pretend they were actually hippies who were high. It felt a little like the 1960s at a real Beatles show. By the end of it, I couldn't resist the magic of the music and I was standing up and singing like a fool. It was great! Grayson wasn't even embarrassed to be with me. (Or at least he didn't act like he was, which was probably the right thing to do. Good call, Grayson!) We had so much fun spending time together. It was a really fun date night, so kudos to Grayson for dragging me out of the house. Although the picture isn't great quality, I still wanted to post it.

On Friday, we went to our Institute class for the first time this semester. I enrolled to get a free parking pass at the University...I mean, I enrolled for the rich spiritual blessings I would receive for being in an Institute class. It was pretty fun and not as terrible as I was thinking it could be. Our teacher is a really sweet old man and I liked him a lot.

Saturday night we couldn't think of anything to do, so we played fetch outside with Rascal the Wonderdog for a while. After Rascal was tired of that, we ran to the grocery store and bought the ingredients for cupcakes. Halloween is coming up after all, and I wanted to practice my Halloween cupcake making techniques before I had to do it for real. They turned out pretty cute. We had a good time baking/decorating them.

It's been a great week for Grayson, Rascal, and me! We're all excited that Fall is upon us and are looking forward to Halloween season!

Blogging & Books

So I've decided, once again, to attempt to blog about what's going on. I have nothing remarkable to say. My life is pretty much as ordinary as it gets, which both placates and depresses me. Hopefully, I will maintain this blog much better than the old one, as I would really like to remember the things that are happening in my life right now: school, dating, hanging out, oh and did I say school?

One day, I want to show a printed copy of this blog to my children when they are complaining about life and this can be my version of the "I had to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow everyday" story. I can just see myself pulling this out and saying, "See kids? Back in the old days, things were so much harder! I had to type on a computer to do my homework, can you imagine? It took hours! You have it so much easier now with that nano-chip in your brain that instantly records your thoughts for you..." Anyway, on to more important things.

The other day I had the rare opportunity to go through all the books I own. My mom bought this great bookshelf for the hallway that Grayson and I put together (go us!) and I wanted to put some of the books from my closet on it to clear out some space for the junk I keep in there. I found a lot of books that I have loved throughout the years, which put me in a nostalgic mood and I was able to find the books I've read that have helped to define me as a person. After I realized what I had just done, I really wanted somewhere to write it all down so I wouldn't forget. These books have become a part of me, and I hope that one day they will become a part of my children, as well.

1. Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber

This short picture book is about a little boy, Ira, who has his first sleepover at his best friend's house. Ira tries to be brave and not bring his teddy bear, Tah Tah along, but realizes in the middle of the night that he just can't do it and goes home for the stuffed animal. It's a really cute little story that my mom used to read to me before I went to bed at night. I had a blanket named Bingo that I couldn't leave the house without, so I really identified with this character and grew to love him as a child.

2. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

Oh, how I love Beverly Cleary's books! This book is very important to me as it's the book my mom used to teach me to read. I still have the exact copy she used and I hope to use it to teach my own daughter to read one day. I have really fond memories of snuggling with my mom on the couch while I learned to read; it feels like it was happening just yesterday.

3. Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

I read this book as a third or fourth grader and have loved it ever since. The story is really touching and is a great "coming of age" novel for young girls. I learned a lot about how to have a good attitude from Hope and have never forgotten the message this book gives.

4. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

This book opened my eyes about how to be brave and always do the right thing, no matter how scary it is. The main character, Annemarie, lived during WWII in Copenhagen, Denmark and helped save her Jewish friend from the Nazis. I learned what it means to be a true friend from this short novel.

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I read this book as a young adult. My eyes were opened to a world of beautiful language and artistry when I read this novel. My passion was sparked and I realized that I really did want to teach English to teenagers, so they could share in the excitement I feel when reading a good book.

6. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

I learned about how to overcome all things by reading this life-changing book. I cried, I smiled, and I was amazed as I read the beautiful words of Viktor Frankl. Our attitude can change everything, even the most horrifying of circumstances. I wish I could thank the author in person for writing this.

Each of these books has really molded me into the person I am today. I feel so grateful to have grown up in a home where I was surrounded by good books. I owe my parents so much for cultivating and encouraging my love of reading. I hope everyone gets a chance to read these books and is as touched as I was by each of them.