UPDATE

Alright...so I just realized that I haven't told many about the decision I made concerning my job. Lets re-cap shall we!! A photography company here in IF offered me a full-time position and a consultant offered me a part time position. Now some of you may think well obviously you go for the full-time position. Well if I take that job I can't go back to school and if I take the part time I can finish school but lose this amazing opportunity for the photography company. So after much much prayer and thought I decided I will be working for.........BELL PHOTOGRAPHY! I have had only a couple freak outs about this new position but I am really excited about it. I don't start for another week but its going to be an amazing opportunity. But don't you fret friends...I will finish school!!! Who knows when that will be but I will. I didn't suffer through all of that for nothing!!! :-)

So since I don't start the new job for another week and once I start I will have less time to hang out with friends, I am going to party hard this week! I am up for suggestions as to what to do so PLEASE feel free to comment which ideas! For sure we are going to Lagoon on Friday which I am SO excited about because I LOVE roller coasters and being scared out of my wits! Plus I have AMAZING friends to spend it with!

So here is my dear dear friend Melissa and I waiting for the movie Inception to start! Now I must say if you haven't been to see this movie yet you MUST!!! This movie is easily in my top 5 now that is how good it is!!! I was a bit worried because before every time I saw Leonardo DiCaprio I just thought of Titanic and him on the front of the boat...anyways! But honestly I never thought of Titanic once and I thought he did an amazing job!!! Definitely a must see! Oh and to make the movie better there was nothing bad and hardly any vulgar language! AMAZING! Thats all I have to say about that! I am just so grateful for friends that will hang out with me! Ha ha! I haven't laughed this hard for a very long time! I think everyone needs to laugh more! I mean the best feeling in the world is the day after a good laugh when your face hurts. Then you are reminded about all the laughing all day long! Its just great! And anyone would laugh with these people! So funny!!! So I told you in a recent post of a little golfing trip that we did which again much laughing did occur! I thought I would post a picture of us! We had to document this picture so people actually believed that we went! I mean we weren't the best but we weren't terrible either. I think we might start a club.

Now you can notice that there is a golf hole right behind us so there is proof! Kara is just a natural athlete. She did awesome!!! I'm sure she beat all of us except for Aaron! Well maybe she beat Aaron, he didn't really play because he was helping us the entire time! Melissa did great as well!! We were all really good and swinging and never hitting the ball though! Which is always funny to watch especially when it happens over and over again! Anyways...its just so much fun to hang out with fun people and do fun things! I sure do love them!! :-)




So recently I have been reminded of high school and how much fun it was! Honestly I would never go back and want to relive it like some people but I really did enjoy high school. One thing I miss is cheerleading. I was in such great shape and had so much fun cheering with Tiff. When she was going through pictures she found our cheer picture that we took together. She hates it but I love it!! We had so much fun doing that together and having those experiences. So this picture just reminds me of those

times! Even though we were on different squads we still had the opportunity to do competitions together and practices together. I will never forget the time they wanted to put her in a split extension but when they got her up there she could never rotate her hips so she just sat up there in the chinese splits! It was hilarious!! I was also thinking back on gymnastics and our coach making us sit in those splits while he held us down for 5 minutes. The first couple of minutes didn't hurt but after that we were in so much pain! You stood up and the only way I can think to describe how it felt is we walked the same way cowboys do after they get off of there horse from being there for so long! Ha ha! The things we put ourselves through! Anyways...I guess that is all! I hope all is well for those of you who read all of this! Ha ha! Until next time!!!

BIG NEWS

Alright Amanda fans---here is the grand news!!! I had an interview last week at a place in Idaho Falls called Bell Photography. I didn't know what to think after the interview-I thought it went well but I knew that there were TONS of people interviewing for that same position. I didn't know what the chances of me getting it were. So...I kept applying for jobs hoping something would come up and something did. A friend of mine from college told me that her job was opening up because she just had a baby. So I went and met with the owner today. He seemed really excited about meeting with me and things went really well. He said that he needed to interview the others but that he really liked me. As soon as I got home from that interview today I got a phone call from none other than Bell Photography and they offered me the job! So now I have a choice to make!

The past couple of days have actually been amazing!! The past couple of weeks have been a trial for me but I hope I have found the light at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday I hung out with Melissa a ton! I sure do love that girl!! She is a crack up! Well we went shopping and then us being us as we drive by Wingers we knew that we had to eat there for dinner! So we invited a bunch of people but everyone seemed to be busy except for our true friends! After dinner we were going to go to a cheap movie but didn't make the showing so Aaron decided that we should go golfing because that is all he ever seems to do. So we went so he could teach us! Well us girls were hilarious to watch!! I mean if I was an onlooker I would think we were crazy! So after much humiliation we were done and just wanted to chill and watch a movie! I love fun nights like that! Its amazing what laughing can do!!! My cheeks are a little tender today from all the laughing! Its great to have friends like that!

If there are people out there that don't know me as well one thing you must know is I cry during TV shows. Not just a little tear when something sweet happens but full on sobbing. Most of the shows I cry in I'm sure others would too so don't look at me like I am crazy -- like Extreme Home Make-over and shows like that. Well a new show I have found to cry in is Whale Wars! Its such a good show about saving the whales! Anyways if your looking for a good cry just watch that show! Ha ha! Anyways...until next time dear followers!!

:)

Okay-so I don't really have much to say but I am bored out of my mind! So I figured I would post something....I guess we will see where this goes together, as I write it and as you, my friend reads this. So...here we go!!!

Last night we had the wonderful opportunity to drive up to the Palisades to meet up with Bart and his family along with Grandma and Grandpa. I had never been up there and it was GORGEOUS!!! I mean we all know that I am not a fan of camping but it was nice to visit and have some yummy dutch oven food! I felt as though I was roughing it as best I could. Ha ha! After we left we went and got ice cream in Swan Valley at some little shop that has square ice cream. It was rather interesting but the ice cream was delicious! But it was good to see Bart and Laura and their family. Those boys sure are a crack up...we talked about everything from girls to scout camp. We don't get to see them very often because we live so far apart but when we do we try and catch up on everything. Tiffany even asked them what they got for Christmas and it was funny cause no one could remember. I guess that goes to show you that it doesn't matter what you get but what you do to make that holiday special. But we sure do love them and love seeing them when we can!!

So here is Grandma, Nic, and Matt at the camp ground waiting for dinner. The boys were getting a little restless for the food to be done but they got a service project in while waiting. The kind fellow next to us was using his chain saw cutting fire wood for a long time so when he left the boys stacked it very nicely for him. It was cute!

Grandma is just so funny! She would switch conversations going back from Bart and Dad to us kids. She would just laugh at herself saying she was listening to both cause she couldn't pick just one. Oh I sure do love that woman!!!

Well there were other pictures but they are taking forever to load! I even went downstairs and helped hang some sheet rock and wood and came back up and it still wasn't done loading. So pretty much I am just giving up on it! Ha ha!! Anyways...I guess that is all for now! Until we meet again!

Hello Hello

Alright...time for you to hear from me again...exciting I know! So Tiff had to do some assignment were she had to get the most embarrassing photos of us and put in a slideshow for a presentation. Okay so that might not have been the assignment but it sure felt like it. She went through all of our pictures and scanned a bunch to the computer. Which is probably a good thing to do so that if something ever happens to them we will still have them. Anyways, this was just one of them. I thought it was hilarious! I mean look at everyone individually. Zac looks like he needs to go to the bathroom or something. Tiffany reminds me of Joey on Friends when he says "How you doin?" HA HA!! Mom is laughing at something. I'm sure Nancy is behind the camera doing a funny face or something. As for Dad he is kind of creepy! Looks angry or something. Now the cutest girl in the picture...me...that is pretty much normal. I'm just awesome! HA HA! If only Nic was in the picture that would be a crack up! Love you all!!

So I go to a singles branch...I know surprising. Most of you are probably thinking "Amanda's not married by now! That is so strange! She is so amazing!" and you are so right. I am pretty awesome! All kidding aside I do attend a singles branch in Idaho Falls. Amazingly enough I have three callings. I will be released from one on Sunday though which is a good thing. I think I would go crazy trying to get things done. At first when the branch presidency asked if I would like to be released from this calling I was sad. I had never just been released from a calling without moving away. But now I understand that it will be a good thing. But I am now the branch photographer which I am way excited about. The branch presidency asked me to go in search for a camera to purchase for the branch so that has been my task this week. I finally found the one that I felt would work best for the branch and went to go purchase it at Best Buy today. Well lucky me....they were sold out. So it looks like the hunt is on again. I am really excited about this new calling and I hope to be able to get people more involved in the branch.

Speaking of photography I got an award/certificate in the mail today for some of the photography that I did at the studio along with a cute pin! HA HA! Its probably nothing but I sure do love getting stuff in the mail thats not depressing! Anyways that is all for now! Until we meet again!

Denver Pictures and more.....

Okay so here is just one picture from the aquarium...if you want to see more just look at my facebook and they are all up there. It was a TON of fun and I would go back any day!!! We are sad that Zac, Chelsea, and Gavin are moved away from Idaho but I am really excited for them. I love cities so I'm excited to go visit them and be in city life!

So most people know that Tiffany moved to Rexburg a couple of months ago. It was kind of funny because I went to church that first Sunday she was gone and people would come up to me and say "Are you going to be okay with Tiffany gone?" They weren't concerned about her and her new adventures they were worried about me and that I was going to be alone. We were together constantly so it was weird for the branch to see me without her. I will also admit that I was very nervous to be alone from her without knowing anyone. We had been in the branch for quite some time but everyone seemed to think we were just visiting. The branch we go to isn't the most social and I just felt out of place. So when Tiffany moved I just figured I would sit alone in sacrament and all the other meetings. The first couple of weeks I did and I was surprised at how much I gained from my church meetings. Thats when I realized how much of a distraction Tiffany was! Just kidding Tiff!!! Well things started to get lonely so I would go and sit next to the new person in the branch hoping that I could make them feel more welcome then I felt when we first moved in. Pretty soon I made some great friends. It's amazing how much of an impact people make to others. I hang out with two girls in particular a lot (I know Grandma Barrus would be upset with me! She is a crack up and mails me articles in the Desert News about dating. Well to comfort those of you who worry about me...I do date! Ha ha! So no need to worry...I just haven't found the right guy yet!) so these two girls, Melissa and Jessica, are wonderful! I think our new favorite place is Sub Zero! I am in love with their soy ice cream! Its just amazing that Heavenly Father knows just what we need and when we need it! I feel like every time I talk to them I tell them all the crazy stories I have. I know I talk a lot and I have stories for pretty much every thing. I hope I don't drive them crazy! I sure do appreciate them though...more than they could ever know!! Its nice to have someone to talk to about the dates we go on and the other things girls talk about! Anyways...we have fun! Melissa and I even went to Oklahoma! the other night!! Ha ha...we were laughing at the parts no one should laugh at and pretty much fell in love with the main guy in the show. It was so much fun!!!

Well thats it for now! Until we meet again!!!