No Scoop for You!

My friend Tiffany took this quiz about what flavor of ice cream a person is and I thought I would give it a try. The funny thing about my results is that mint chocolate chip is my favorite flavor of ice cream. It's kind of a fun little quiz if you want to try it out yourself. Go ahead...it's not scary, don't worry. Ü

We Thank Thee, Oh God, for a Prophet

Every month we have a family home evening with our entire Murri family - cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents - and last night we held it at our home. Dustin was able to join for the first time and meet the rest of the clan. Our lesson was on attending the temple and striving for eternal marriage, a topic covered many times by President Gordon B. Hinckley. Dad gave a great lesson on the topic, referring to many of President Hinckley's inspirational quotes. During this time was when my cousin's girlfriend received a text message from her mother telling the news of President Hinckley's passing. It came as quite a shock to us as we were sitting together talking about this great man. Though the news was sad and shocking to hear, the first thought that came to my mind was how happy he must be to be with his dear wife. And imagine the reunion with amazing people such as Joseph Smith and Brigham Young! I can only begin to imagine the joy in his eyes and the happiness on his face as he was greeted with open arms by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is comforting to know that he is in a place that we are all striving to be one day. And it is such a comfort knowing that the great work of the gospel will continue to go forth no matter who is at the head. I have no doubt in my mind that President Thomas S. Monson was called of God to be next in line as the president of this church, and I'm ready to follow him wherever he leads me and my family.

I Was Tagged by Holly...

So here we go!

Four jobs I have had in my life: 1. making sandwiches at Geraldine's Bake Shoppe & Deli 2. building cabinets for my dad at O'Connor Fine Cabinetry 3. conducting surveys at Western Watts - I hated that job, it lasted about a week! 4. bar tender, server, hostess, corporate trainer and assistant manager at Carino's Italian Grill

Four places I have lived: 1. Idaho Falls 2. Rexburg 3. Salt Lake City (I've only lived three places)

Five places I have been: 1. New York City 2. Washington, D.C. 3. Boston 4. Nauvoo 5. Palmyra -

Four Favorite Foods: 1. spicy shrimp and chicken at Carino's 2. caesar salad at Texas Roadhouse 3. fries with ranch dressing 4. roast beef sandwich with mustard

Four people I'd like to get to know better: 1. Myself 2. friends at work 3. cousins on my dad's side of the family 4. Dustin's family

Four Reasons why I love being me: 1. I am good at my job 2. I have great nails. Its true. 3. I have amazing friends & family 4. Dustin

Four Classes I wish were offered to me and that I could participate in right now: 1. massage therapy 2. creative writing 3. photography 4. a computer class of some kind

Four friends or relatives I am tagging: Katie, Courtnee, Angie, Sha

My Favorite Things

A friend of mine recently posted her ten favorite things on her blog and I thought it was a good idea. I'm not the type of person that changes favorites very often so this right here is kind of a big deal. Here they are, in no particular order:

#10: Facebook

Facebook.com is one of those Web sites I just can't live without nowadays. It has been my means of communication with a lof of friends that I haven't seen in a very long time. This has been the best way to keep in touch with many friends from many years back.

#9: "Grey's Anatomy"
I love this show. I can't even explain how much I love this show. I haven't been the best about watching the new episodes on Thursday nights so I often find myself watching each new episode online. I own all of the seasons so I've recently started watching them from the beginning. This will make it the third time. I'm almost finished with season three.

#8: Verizon and my Chocolate phone

I'm done with T-Mobile and on to Verizon. Almost my entire family has Verizon and so does Dustin, so now that my contract is up I'm a Verizon girl. And I love my new phone, its amazing. I'm really going to love not going over my minutes every month.

#7: Mexican Train Dominoes
My family loves this game. We've been playing it a lot since Thanksgiving and we have so much fun. It is kind of like Chicken Foot with a twist. We have a game night every now and then and this is the featured game. I love game night and spending time with the family.

#6: My job
I've been working at the restaurant full time since I got out of school for a semester in December and its been a lot of fun and good money. It helps that I have a lot of friends that work there. I've worked there for almost 6 1/2 years now and they still treat me great. Amber, Amy and I all work there.

#5: My ward

Even though I am off track at BYU-Idaho and moved home to Idaho Falls, my stake president up there allowed me to stay in the ward I was attending. In his words he thinks "it would be beneficial to both [me] and the ward" if I stayed. So I did. It is such a fun ward with a great bishopric and awesome members. And Dustin is still in the ward so that makes things even better. He's the assistant ward clerk and I'm the ward choir director. Lately I've also been the chorister in sacrament meeting, which I've never done in my life. I actually enjoy. I love the BYU-I 10th ward!

#4: M&M's and Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi

Therapeutic. Thats all I have to say. I have found that m&m's and wild cherry diet pepsi are two of the greatest forms of stress relief ever invented. I can always count on these two things when I am having a munchy craving or if I have had a bad day and need something sweet and yummy to make me feel better. Plus, they're awesome during a movie or card game. Yum!

#3: iTunes
iTunes has been my favorite way of listening to and buying music. I wouldn't have it any other way, it's so easy! I have found so many good songs and albums through iTunes. And it's not even very expensive. I can buy a song for $.99 or albums for $10. I can make my own mixes and put everything on their own blank CD's without dealing with cases. It's fantastic. Recently I have purchased a lot of music featured on "Grey's Anatomy" because it's pretty much the best. In fact, all of the music on my blog is from "Grey's Anatomy". I love iTunes!

#2: Dustin

Dustin is definitely on my list of top ten favorite things. Top two for sure! If I hadn't made the decision to go back to school last spring I wouldn't have met him. I'm glad I shaped up and went back! He's the greatest.

#1: My family

These guys are definitely number one on my list. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my family. It's nice to know that even when times get rough I always have my family to look to for love and comfort. You can't go wrong with family. I also have to include my friends here, they're the greatest. I love you all so much!!

So there you have it, my top ten favorite things. These are the things that make me smile and allow my days to be happy ones. I have a great life, I can't complain!

I'm Going to Be an Aunt!! (Well, Sort of...)

Most people know that I have had my best friend, Ashlee Ingram-Charles for 21 years. We grew up together and we, along with my twin sister, have continuted to be best friends. She was married in August and shared the news today that she is having a baby!! I'm so excited. I was so excited to hear the news, I was screaming, laughing and crying all at once. I feel like I'm going to have a little niece or nephew in September, even though we're not related. She's always felt like a sister. I'm so excited for her and her husband!

Looking Back on 2007

I decided to dedicate this post to some of the highlights of 2007. This has been an extremely busy year, but it has been amazing.

Amy graduated high school in May, which is still totally crazy to me. I swear I just graduated! (Even though it has already been almost five years for me, believe it or not.) She starts beauty school in a week.

My friend Geo Sanchez left for the National Guard in April. We threw a party for him and another friend, Chelsie, who moved about the same time. This picture is of Geo and I at the party we threw. Geo and I met while working at Carino's. It was really hard for me to see him go. Geo and I had a very close relationship that most people couldn't understand. Mostly because we had so many inside jokes and had so much in common in weird ways. He actually came home in November and is back working at the restaurant.

This picture is of Chelsie MacFarlane(far left), Anna Davis and I at the party we threw for Geo and Chelsie going away. Anna and Chelsie are two of my close friends that I met at Carino's. Chelsie and her husband Jared were moving to Twin Falls, Idaho, for his job. It was so hard saying goodbye to her!! Chelsie started working at Carino's a week after Amber and I started, so we had been through it all together. I've had the opportunity to see Chels a few times since she moved and I talk to her on the phone every now and then. But I really miss that girl. And I'm glad that we were able to become such good friends.
I started back up with school at BYU-Idaho in mid April and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. I had finished my associate degree in the summer of '05 with no intention of ever returning. But I made the decision to go back and finish, and I'm so glad I did. These are my roommates I had during the summer before Amber got married.
These guys were our closest buddies during the summer - Zack Vogel, Dan Hansen, KJ Sargent and Dustin Hess (sound familiar?)They were also involved in what we like to call "The Love Triangle".
This was another apartment of guys in our ward that we were close to - Dick Kay, Brit Stanfill, Leif Erickson, Dave Epps, and Bry Hasler. And yes, they too were involved in "The Love Triangle". Crazy semester, don't ask. But we love them!

After my summer semester at school my family decided it was time to take a real vacation for a change. But we wanted it to be huge that also had some meaning behind it. So we decided to pack our things and head back east for two weeks. We started in Boston. In this photo Amber, Amy and I are standing in front of the U.S.S. Constitution in the Boston Harbor.

After a few days of touring Boston we drove south west through upstate New York to Palmyra. We learned so much about the history of the church and Joseph Smith. It was an incredibly spiritual experience. We were able to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant and tour the city of Palmyra and church history sites. This photo is of our family in the Sacred Grove. It was a very humbling experience.

After Palmyra we drove down to New York City and spent a few days touring the city and completely took advantage of being tourists. All but Aaron and Adam had been to NYC before so we basically went everywhere we didn't go the last time we were there. We did a lot. We saw "Wicked" on broadway, toured Madame Touseaud's Wax Museum, took a boat ride around Manhattan and saw the Statue of Liberty (which we had actually done before) and many other exciting things. We also went to a Mets baseball game in Queens at Shea Stadium where Amber, Amy, Aaron, Adam (in the background) and I are pictured in this photo. It was so much fun!

We ended our trip in Washington, D.C. where we toured most of the U.S. history sites. We went places such as the Holocaust Musuem, the Vietnam Memorial, the Air and Space Museum, the U.S. Capitol and the White House (from a distance). Aaron, Amber, Amy and I are seen in this photo at the Lincoln Memorial. This was my favorite site in Washington, D.C.
Our trip came to a close at the Washington, D.C. Temple. Dad told us before we got there that the sight of this building would literally take our breath away. He wasn't kidding. I think all of us gasped when we saw the amazing structure come into view. It sits off the interstate in a forest area, and its incredible. The design is after the Salt Lake City Temple but a modern version. We sat right at the front door and had a devotional, also discussing our favorite parts of the trip. This vacation was an awesome experience that we will all never forget. It was an absolute blast.

Our family came back home from our vacation to weddings, weddings, and more weddings. My cousin Coya on my mom's side was the first to start the trend for the Murri family and was married to John Reid from Washington state in August. They were married in the Idaho Falls Temple.

My best friend of 21 years, Ashlee Ingram, was married the week after Coya to Dru Charles of Idaho Falls in the Idaho Falls Temple. It was a very emotional day for Amber, Ashlee and I. After talking and dreaming about our weddings together since we were little girls it seemed very surreal for it to actually happen. BFF's!

And of course, my twin sister Amber was married in the Idaho Falls Temple on September 22nd to Che' Miles of Shelley, Idaho. It was a great day for the entire family.
I always knew that Amber and I would split ways and get married. I hated the thought but accepted it anyway. Amber's wedding day was an incredibly emotional day for me, I cried the entire way to the temple and didn't stop till I got to hug her when she came outside with Che'. I even cried at the reception a little bit. But I am so happy for her and this huge step that she made last fall. I love my twin, and I'm so blessed to have had her by my side for all these years.

In the middle of the wedding madness my good friend Kristine came home off her mission. She spent 18 months in Chile.
Reality set back in when I had to go back to school for the fall semester. Amber was married so we had a new roommate moving in. It was Kayla Smuin from Mud Lake, Idaho, and she turned out to be one of my closest friends. I was able to feel very comfortable with her and we became close friends quickly. The five of us had a very fun semester. I am in this photo with Kayla, Katie and Julia.
And we can't forget Syd! Sydney also lived with us for another semester, she's definitely a unique one! I love that girl!
We also can't forget about those crazy boys we all love so much. Sydney and KJ (Vancouver, WA) were dating, Julia and Dan (Draper, UT) were dating and Dustin and I were dating. To recap, Dan, Dustin and KJ lived together in the summer and were in our ward. But Dan moved in the fall to live with some high school friends. KJ and Dustin stayed together. The six of us had some pretty good times. The other girl in the picture is Courtney, Dan's sister. We were giving her a Big Jud's experience when this was taken.

And speaking of Big Juds, Dustin's sister Jessica came to town for Thanksgiving with her friend Sarah, and we gave them both a Big Juds experience as well. Jessica ate that entire burger and got her picture taken. It now sits on the wall with other champions at the Big Juds in Archer, Idaho. We had so much fun with Jessica while she was in Idaho. Before we took the girls to the airport we went shopping and went to Temple Square to walk around. It was a lot of fun. Jessica reminds me a lot of my sister Amy. She and Dustin get along really well, and it was fun seeing them hang out and enjoy one another's company. I had a lot of fun with Jessica. She's freaking awesome.
I turned 23 this year. Sick. I still don't believe I'm already 23. Where does the time go?! If you talk to my roommates they will tell you that I struggled a little bit this birthday. Dustin will say the same thing. But I had a great birthday. My friends took me to Craigo's and got me some really fun gifts. We had a fun time.
It was a neat experience to watch the development of the Rexburg Temple right outside my window. It was completed during my fall semester and will be dedicated February 3, 2008. My family and I had the awesome experience of touring the temple at the open house on December 29th. I had never been to a temple open house before so this was an especially neat experience for me. It is a beautiful temple.
My good friend Kelli Hoopes also got married this fall. She married James Eccleston of Salt Lake City, UT, in early November at the Loft in Rigby, Idaho. I love Kelli, I'm so happy for her and her marriage. She's pretty much one of the coolest people I know. "Red power!"

My good friend Kathy Wilde got married right before Kelli did in October to the love of her life, John Carrol. These two are so incredibly amazing. They have one of the neatest families anyone could know. Kathy has always been someone I've looked up to and can count on for guidance in my life. And I was so honored to have been able to attend her wedding and witness her happiness when she married John. I'm grateful for John and how happy he makes Kathy.

Over Thanksgiving Amber and I had the opportunity to get together with friends from high school and it was so much fun seeing everybody. We were missing a portion of the group that we later got to see over Christmas, but it was so much fun seeing Cami and Sha with their little babies. It's amazing how we're all growing up!
And with all of these happy experiences some negative was bound to creep in somewhere. I guess it's not 100% negative but it hasn't been the best thing for me. My good friends the Stommel's moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, right before Thanksgiving for Greg's job and it was really hard to see them go. This is a picture of their family this past Halloween. Erica and Greg have been good friends of mine for a while now (we met working at the restaurant) and I've been incredibly blessed to know them. They've been the best friends anybody could ask for. We've kept in touch while they've been gone, but its still hard not having them around. Their kids are amazing as well. McKayla, McKenzie, Abby, and Logan are four of the coolest kids in the world and I love them like they are my siblings. There's so much more I could say about how great the Stommel's are. But for now I just want everybody to know that I love this family so much. And if you were to know one thing about them it is that they are wonderful people and have influenced me for the better. I love you guys!

That pretty much sums up the big stuff that went on this last year. We had a really busy Christmas holiday that I haven't put pictures up for yet. But we enjoyed the Murri family during the Murri Christmas party and also a high school friends get together last weekend. I have so many things to be grateful for from this last year and so many people that I am truly blessed to have kept close to me through it all - with the addition of the new people that have come into my life. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me and cares about my happiness while I am here making my daily decisions. I am grateful for the power of repentance and the blessings that come from striving to be a better person. I am grateful for an amazing family and friends who love me and support me in everything I do. I'm excited for the upcoming year 2008 and the exciting experiences I am going to have. There are going to be plenty of weddings (including Deidre's in March) and new roommates...new classess...and I'm ready for whatever the year wants to throw at me. 2007 has been a great year. Now it's on to 2008!