My Country Tis of Thee

The 4th of July is by far my favorite holiday. I think it's because I'm kind of a pyromaniac. I love to watch stuff explode! What's better than parades, BBQs, and good company? Nothing! This year we (when I say we, I mean my roommates and I) went to the parade, and then later in the day played softball with some friends from our old ward. We happened to be the only girls there. It was pretty funny because most of the guys were hardcore competitors. It was a lot of fun though. Matt and Andrea had us over for a BBQ later that evening. We played some football with the kids and then lit some sparklers and ground flowers. Jonas had a fun time throwing pop-its at me. We left around 10 and got home just in time to watch the end of the Stadium of Fire.

Here are some pictures from the day's activities.

We went to Smith's to get some Creamies and decided to take some pictures while we were at it. I'm on the lookout for a Smith's employee who could kick us out for taking pictures in their store. Michelle is just trying to be sneaky and not get caught :)

Dear Comic Sans,
I hate you. And I hate the fact that people use you on their store fronts. You give designers nightmares. Please do us a favor and give up the ghost.

Sincerely,
Ashlee

We decided that Zoie needed to learn how to throw a Frisbee. With a last name like ours, it's a must.

Jonas is blowing me a kiss in this one, and Zoie is just being plain cute.

Jonas wanted to show off his sweet three wheeler.

Matt talked Jonas into throwing Pop-its at me.

My roommates decided it looked like fun, so they had a go at it too. Thanks girls ;)

Zoie loved the Pop-its. Almost as much as Michelle.

Zoie with a sparkler.

Ok. This picture wasn't taken on the 4th, but it was taken the day after if that counts :) We went up to Bridal Veil Falls with some friends, and Hailee told me to do a model pose. Here you go. Tyra isn't going to know what hit her next season.

Snake Anyone?

Here are some pictures I've taken over the past month or so. Sorry this post isn't that exciting, but at least you get some pictures out of it :)

Here are some pictures I took today while up at the Menan Buttes. Someone killed this Diamond back and put it on a fence. How sweet of them.

I had to sprint down the butte because this little beauty was approaching. It ended up causing tons of flash-flooding south of Rexburg.

You don't want to sit on one of these.

Hole in the rock.

This was a pretty cool rainbow outside my apartment a few days ago. It was actually a double rainbow, but it was gone by the time I grabbed my camera.

Here are some pictures from my trip to California a few weeks ago.

I think Grizz was embarrassed that we were all laughing at him for digging holes in the beach.

A.J. wasn't happy that I wouldn't hold Hilary's purse while she went to the restroom. I thought he looked cute holding it.

On the boat to Alcatraz.

This little guy caught a ride next to our boat on the way to Alcatraz. I didn't see him flap his wings once. It was pretty cool.

Coming Up Short

Do you ever have those times that you know you need to update your blog, but you just don't know what to say? Well, that's me. That has always been me with this stupid blog. I get annoyed when my friends and family don't update their blogs. You guys must be super annoyed with me. I talk to people who say that during the day they have moments when they think "This would be perfect for my blog," or "I've got to blog about this!" Well my dear friends, those thoughts just don't cross my mind. I wish they did. Oh, how I wish they did. It would make things more interesting for all of us. I think back to those days when I was on the yearbook staff and I could write for hours on end... Literally. Jared knows what I'm talking about. Deadline nights. You're there until 10p.m. and all you do is write, crop pictures, and then write some more. Where did my creativity go? I've come up with an explanation. I need inspiration... But, I don't know where to find that. Any ideas?

I envy those people who update their blog regularly, and it's always fun and creative. I'm an "artist." At least that's what they tell me I am. Shouldn't I be creative too? Sometimes I wonder if I can really call myself an artist at all. Most of the time I just feel like a poser. I often wonder if my teachers think I'm in the wrong field. I would if I were them ;) Or maybe I'm just being my overcritical self. Do you want to know what drives me crazy? When someone asks me in a cheeky tone, "Photography, what in the world can you do with that? You're not going to make any money!" That's when I get fired up. That's when things get ugly. That's when I want to play punch face. Can't someone do something just because they like it? If I wanted to be a millionaire I'd be going into medicine, but I don't like blood. I could be a lawyer, but then people think you're a liar. I could be an accountant, but I'd probably want to gouge my eyes out with a pencil every second of every minute of every hour of every day of my life.

A Tale of Two Toilets

Well, where do I start? It's so hard to find an adequate starting point with such an amazing picture. So, I guess I'll just tell you how I stumbled across this great scene. The p-rents and I were on an excursion to the Sugar City Cemetery when I looked across the road and spied these two beauties. Of course I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so as soon as we got home, I grabbed it and drove back up so I could capture this priceless shot. For some reason, finding crazy things like these on the side of the road brings me great joy. It's a good thing I snapped this pic when I did, because I drove by a couple days later, and they were gone. Who just leaves two toilets on the side of the road?!?! Idaho rednecks, that's who.

Here are the little chillens with the booty they scored on the Easter egg hunt we had for them. They were all pretty dang excited, and they all were/are pretty dang cute. Unfortunately, moments later was when Jonas had his infamous accident which is explained in detail on Andrea's blog here, here, here, here, and here.

And finally, this is what happens when you and your friends are snowed in in the middle of April. That's right folks! Eight inches of snow decided to fall on Provo while I was visiting my friends. I wanted to cry, so Hailee and Michelle bought me my very own two liter of Raspberry cream soda. Mmmmm.

Short Hair, New Cars, and More White Crap

The rumors on the street are true. I chopped off my hair. It's pretty much amazing because it takes me about 15 minutes to dry it and then make it all "Fun looking."
Ok, here's a more acceptable pose. Oh yeah, I bought skinny jeans. I never thought I would give into the pressure, but I caved. I am now a big fan. If you're female and haven't tried them, you should. You'll feel pretty sexy. Not lying.

Check out the new ride. My dad decided to sell the truck so he bought my grandma's Lincoln. I don't really love to drive it because it has blind spots galore, and the hood is so long I feel like I can't judge how far away I am from other cars. Especially while parking. But oh well, it has AC! A huge upgrade from the Mach 2 (or Lil' Red as I like to call it, but the boys think "Mach 2" sounds better).

This is what it looks like outside my front door at this very second. It broke my heart when I woke up to snow this morning. It had almost all melted and then it decided to make a comeback. As I drove to class I didn't see a single road that had been plowed. Thank you City of Rexburg. Just one more reason why I will NEVER leave this town(because I'll be snowed in for the rest of my life). I just love it so much... FALSE!

I'm sick of everything looking like THIS. It's depressing, really. California keeps calling my name. I want to run away!

Hmmm, So Remember When I Started this Blogging Thing?

Alright, I officially stink at blogging. There should be an award for me or something. Or maybe a Guinness record for worst blogging skills. That sounds pretty good to me. But I feel like I have a good excuse. My life just isn't that interesting. Plain and simple my friends.

Ok, let's see... What's going on in my life? Well, not much I'm afraid. I still haven't heard the final word from Apple yet, so that's frustrating. My website is up and going though if you want to check it out. www.newsoulphoto.com Thanks to Jared and his sweet web skills.

School is kicking my behind. Biology is not my thing apparently. I feel like I study like crazy and still don't do very well. The same goes for art history. I think it's because I've had so many classes that I just had to do projects and not worry about studying. But now that I have classes that actually require tests, it throws me off. Not cool I tell you, not cool!!!

Hails, Linds, Jeff, and their new baby Brett(so dang cute!) came up to visit this weekend. It was so good to see them and spend time with them. When all your friends are miles away, you sure appreciate it more when you do get to see them.

Well that's it my peeps. That is my life. See? I told you it wasn't interesting. Ok, I'm really going to try to be better about this blogging thing. I promise! And I'm sorry if all my posts are as boring as this one. But that's my life right now... Boring. Sorry!

Wanna See What I've Been Working On?

Ok, so today one of my professors sent me a text message saying that Apple was interested in hiring me on as an intern for the summer. They need to see a digital portfolio, and since my website isn't exactly up and running, I decided to just put my work on a blogger account for now. Not as cool as my own website, but definitely better than nothing. Here's the address if you want to check it out. newsoulphoto.blogspot.com
Only a small portion of my work is up at the moment but I will add more.

P.S. Wanna hear a great song? Check out "Dream" by Priscilla Ahn. It's pretty much my new favorite song.

See Jack. See Jack Run.

Here is a little animation I made for my Digital photography class. It's 13 pictures put together. We are working on animated GIF files, so here's mine.



Nothing really exciting has been going on in my life right now. Just working on school stuff, but that keeps me pretty busy. I'm taking 12 credits worth of just photography classes so I'm taking tons of pictures. I'm taking a couple of other classes besides those, but nothing as intense. I'll probably post some of my favorite pictures soon. As for a job, well, there isn't one. I've come to the conclusion that it's probably a blessing right now though. I wouldn't have any time to work on my school stuff if I did have a job, so I guess things are how they are supposed to be.

Tagged

Well, I'm pretty sure that Hilary tagged me so there would be something new on my blog. Haha! Good job Hil. It worked. Well, here's the deal. I don't really have very many people who read my blog, so this is gonna have to be modified a little. I'm supposed to tag 6 people, but to be honest, I don't think I have 6 people who read my blog, so I'm tagging all of you. That's right. Every single one. Have fun!

Here are the rules:
Link the Person who Tagged you.
Mention rules on your blog.
Tell about 6 quirks of yours.
Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.
Leave a comment to let them know.

1. I have a really weird fear of phones. I hate calling people I don't know. In fact, I've been putting off my BFA project because I'm so afraid of calling people. I have a hard time ordering a pizza! Great... Now you all think I'm crazy.

2. Most of you probably know this already, but I hate strawberries. I didn't ask to be this way, I just am. The texture makes me want to scream. Especially if they're cold. *Shudder*



3. I can't sleep if I don't have a blanket on me. Even if I'm super hot at night, I have to have something covering me. And it has to be up to my neck with no limbs hanging out.

4. I think Dr. Pepper is disgusting. It makes me sick to my stomach.



5. I love to bust out to Mariah Carey. I can't even hit half of the notes she does, but it's fun trying.

6. I have to plug my nose when I jump into water. If I don't, I get water up my nose every time.

Bored...

Well, I have no life now. Ever since I left Provo, I have been a bump on a log. I never realized how boring my life was until now... I need a man. That might spice things up huh? Classes start on Monday, so that will keep me busy. In the meantime, I am looking for a job. As A.J. would say, "Ih8jobhunting." Here are some pictures from my adventures in Provo. Sorry this update isn't cool, but like I said, I have a boring life, therefore, there is nothing to blog about ;)

Stewart Falls

Me with David and Dave.

I heart Tiki men!

Me and some roomies.

Worth an Update

Ok, I know I'm a slacker. I think we've already established that one. But.... I have some pretty cool news that I had to share with everyone. So I like country music, and my family HATES it. I'm pretty much the black sheep of the family when it comes to that. Well, Martina McBride happens to be my favorite artist of all time, and I had the opportunity to go to her concert in SLC last night. We arrived a little early so the gates hadn't opened up yet. It was scorching hot outside, and I was really getting irritated by all the heat. There were about three or four radio stations lined up blasting music and promoting the concert. It was getting to be pretty annoying when one of the stations stopped playing music and started giving out free t-shirts and the usual radio junk. Well, all of a sudden I hear the DJ tell everyone to take out their cell phones. He said the seventh caller would win a pair of backstage passes to see Martina. So of course I'm going to get my phone out in the vain hope that I'll win a chance to meet Martina. I tried calling over and over but the line was busy every time. Finally it rang. And rang..... and rang. I thought I had dialed the wrong number since no one had picked up. Then the DJ answered the phone, and I was lucky number 7! How cool is that? I think it's pretty doggone awesome. Well, it turned out that they only gave me one backstage pass, which kind of stinks because 1. they had told me it would be a set, and 2. Who goes to a concert by themselves? Oh well, I can't really complain. A backstage pass is a backstage pass.

So I get back in line after scoring my sweet win, and I see a guy with a video camera. Martina sings this song called "For These Times." It's a song about how the world is such a crazy place right now, but you can always find the good if you look hard enough. Well, she does this pretty cool thing where they have the audience write things on a white board that they wish for themselves or just the world in general while they're waiting in line for the gates to open. They film the people writing their wishes down, and then show it on these huge screens in the background while Martina is singing the song. The guy filming pulls me aside and asks me if I want to write something on the board. Of course I said "Heck yes!" I wrote that my wish was to meet Martina, and then the guy did a close up of me holding my backstage pass with a big grin on my face. So I got to be on the big screen at the USANA amphitheater while Martina McBride sang. Pretty cool if you ask me.

Meeting Martina was a whirlwind. They kind of just cart you through really fast so you don't get a lot of time to say much. It was pretty much "How are you," "Thanks for coming" sort of thing, and then you get a picture with her and an autograph. It was really neat getting to meet her even if it was reallllly fast.

The concert itself was completely awesome. That woman has some lungs, and she knows how to use them. We had pretty good seats too. All in all, I would say that that is probably as good as it could get for my first Martina concert. It was so cool that I got to meet her and be in the video. I would have been perfectly happy with just the concert, but the other stuff made it completely awesome!

Getting Over It

So I've had a horrible cold for almost 2 weeks now. I'm going crazy! I'm out of Kleenex's and cold medicine. It's a bad combination. But at least I think I'm finally starting to get over it. It's a very slow recovery. I can't seam to stop coughing but I think it is letting up a little. Pretty much everyone around me is sick, so that's just great. At least I'm not the only one suffering ;)

Provo has been awesome. My crazy roommates are just so fun! One of them (Molly) is on a trip to Europe for 2 months. I'm pretty jealous, but she went by herself so I hope she doesn't get lonely. That part I'm not so jealous about. It has been crazy weather here. It will be 90 degrees one day, and then the next it's in the 50's and raining. My apartment is super close to the mountains, but when it rains you can barely see them. I've been riding my scooter whenever I can. For one thing, the truck doesn't have AC so the wind at least cools me off when I'm on Bella (That's my scooter in case you were wondering). Plus, I get about 85 MPH so you can't argue with that. It's just stinks because it has been raining so much lately. A few guys in my ward go longboarding a lot so I've gone with them a couple times. It's a lot of fun, but they like to go at night which scares me to death since I'm pretty much night blind. I've only gone once at night, but I don't think I'm going to do that again. I was afraid for my life!

It's been fun having Matt and Andrea so close. The other day Matt and I found out that our offices are less than a block away from each other. I can actually see his from my window. It's so funny how things like that never happen when you're hoping they will. Not that I was hoping it wouldn't happen :)

I have to speak in church tomorrow. I'm already nervous, so that's not a good sign. I'm just hoping that I don't break down crying. I hate crying when it's just me, let alone in front of a whole crowd. I haven't had to give a talk in about 4 years so I'm a little bit rusty. Hopefully I'll be able to keep my composure.

Alright, Alright, Alright!!!! I'll update!

Ok, I know, it's been forever, and I'm sorry. But here is the latest going on in my life. I moved down to Provo almost 3 weeks ago, and I really like it. I love having the mountains so close, and the fact that it's much warmer than Idaho.

Hailee and I went to move in all of our stuff into our apartment, but none of our roommates were around. So we decided to snoop around the apartment and see if there was an empty room for us. As we made our way down the hallway, we peaked our heads in the rooms only to find that every single bed had stuff on it. So we're thinking, "Great, what do we do now?" Well, we decided to just sit around and wait for our roommates to show up so we could ask them where we were supposed to sleep. So we sit and sit and sit some more. No one came home. We decided that we might as well get some sleep, so we made the couches our beds for the night. Eventually around 1am a girl finally came in. Of course she was surprised to see two complete strangers sleeping in her living room. We talked to her for quite a while and found out that she had just moved in also. There were another two girls who were living there but one works the night shift so she was never home, and the other girl was engaged, so she was always out with her man. So Hails and I still ended up sleeping on the couches. When our other roommates came home, it was about 7am. They weren't friendly at all, and seemed extremely annoyed that we were there. I thought the whole situation was ridiculous so after Hailee left for work (she mows lawns) I made a little call to management. I explained to them the whole situation and that it just wasn't gonna fly. The girl I talked to was really nice and she let us switch into another apartment.

Our new roommates are all a ton of fun, and I think it's going to be a great summer. Our ward is great, even though I don't really know a lot of people yet. I'm sure I will though once they get FHE families organized and everything. I am working at American Family Insurance, and I really like it. My boss is super nice, and so are all the people I work with. The one frustrating thing is that 3/4 of the people that come into our office speak primarily Spanish. I know about three words in Spanish, so that part really bothers me. I feel stupid when I don't know what they're saying, and I don't know how to help them.

Matt, Andrea and fam are moving to the Provo area (not IN Provo. I have to mention that or Andrea will get mad because she hates Provo.) and so it will be great having family so close. I bought my season pass to Seven Peaks, which was super cheap. They open next Saturday, so let the fun begin!

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. Life flies by before you even get the chance to put your pants on!

Enough with the wind already!

Ok, if I to have endure the wind one more day, I'm going to lose it! It's getting beyond ridiculous people! The temperature reaches the high sixties everyday, but after the wind chill it still feels freezing. This stinks. Besides the stinky weather, I've been fighting a cold for the last few days. It has been no fun at all. Yesterday I had to call in sick because I felt like my head was going to burst. Today has been a little better, but still very annoying.

So here's some big news for everyone, because I don't think all of you know. I'm moving to Provo for the summer. Hailee and Lindsay already live there so at least I'll know some peeps. Hailee and I are moving into an apartment with 4 other girls, so that should be interesting. I have a couple of job offers, but I don't quite know which one to take. I'll probably be driving down there Sunday evening. We can move into our apartment Monday so hopefully everything goes smoothly. Our rent is only $100 a month and that includes utilities. So, that's a pretty dang good deal if you ask me. And the best part.... 7 Peaks is about a block away from where we are living. Can you say "Season Pass?"

One Word

So I decided to try this thing that was on Andrea's blog. Yes I stole it. Shame on me...

One Word

You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.
Not as easy as you might think!

1. Where is your cell phone? Couch
2. Your significant other? None :(
3. Your hair? Short
4. Your mother? Deb
5. Your father? Craig
6. Your favorite thing? Fun
7. Your dream last night? Unmemorable
8. Your favorite drink? Jones
9. Your dream/goal? Happiness
10. The room you're in? Great
11. Your ex? None
12. Your fear? Loneliness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Settled
14. Where were you last night? Campus
15. What you're not? Taken
16. Muffins? Blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? Family
18. Where you grew up? Rexburg
19. The last thing you did? Ate
20. What are you wearing? Jammies
21. Your TV? Hitachi
22. Your pets? Jaxon
23. Your computer? MacBook
24. Your life? Good
25. Your mood? Relaxed
26. Missing someone? Nope
27. Your car? Old
28. Something you're not wearing? Earrings
29. Favorite Store? Inexpensive
30. Your summer? Busy
31. Like someone? Nope
32. Your favorite color? Aqua
33. When is the last time you laughed? Today
34. Do you cry a lot? Depends

I made it! Bom bom chicka wah wah!!!

As the genie on Aladdin so eloquently puts it, "I'M FREEEEEEEEEE!!!" That's right folks, the semester is over. Can I get a Hallelujah? Finals this time around were H-E-double hockey sticks. I am so glad they are over, I can't even tell you! I think my grades are going to be pretty good this semester, except for in my New Testament class, but that's another story. I took a guitar class this semester and so I had to do a playing test today for the final. We had to memorize a picking style song so I chose "Eleanor Rigby." Of course I put it off until the last second so I memorized it last night. It took me about 4 hours so my fingers are very sore today. I had quite a few projects and tests due for my photography classes and those took so much time! Plus my teacher wanted all our prints mounted and matted. I spent about$20 just on the mats. It's so frustrating to me that they don't include things like that in the lab fee. And each piece of paper that we print on is about $2.50 a page. That really ads up in the end. I'm going to post pictures of my pottery from ceramics in a couple of days and you guys can duke it out. If you like one and want it, just claim it and I'll make sure to save it for you. It will be first come first serve. Here are some pictures from my projects I thought you might enjoy. The ones with mom and dad were part of a series for my history of photography class. My teacher really liked them, I got an A at least! The others were for my studio lighting class so they may not be all that interesting to you. You learn a lot about commercial photography in that class so the pictures aren't all that exciting. My favorite one isn't on this computer so I guess you guys will just have to wait to see that one. I bet you're just dieing to see it! I can sense the anticipation...