Running time.

Monday, June 24th - Wednesday June 26th 

So,  I always mix up when Pioneer day is. Why? Because my old best friend Laura Farr's birthday is June 24th, and Pioneer day is July 24th. Random fact, but there you go! I don't think I will ever forget her birthday! 

Well, today was pretty good. I went to work and Brandon was finally there. He hadn't been in all last week so it was nice to get caught up. Ron took Brandon out to lunch to make sure he was doing allright, which left Angela and I here alone. We decided to take a girls lunch out to Zupas!  Fun huh? I love my Angela! Zupas was yummy, but I stuffed myself so bad I wanted to die. Work was hard to focus on after that because I just wanted to fall asleep. I survived though! When I got home I chatted with Staci, but I ended up falling asleep and taking a nice nap! They woke me up for dinner and that was yummy - enchiladas and salad. We had FHE and this week we were on the 6th article of faith! I still can't seem to say that one without singing the song they taught me in primary. Tyler made us some REALLY good banana bread for our FHE treat. 

I read Harry Potter for awhile, and then Heather and Merrill showed up at my house to visit! Man I love those girls. We were just laughing and chatting for an hour. I am so lucky to have them! Heather just pops down on my bed and gets under the covers with me. I just started laughing ha. Bryan texted me around 10:15pm and told me we could go running, so then I said goodbye to the girls and went over to Bryans. Here is where I regret how much banana bread I ate! OH my hannah. I thought I was going to die. Bryan made me keep going though. I need to improve lots.... He's a good running buddy though!

Tuesday I went to work and got a lot done again. After work I came home and made dinner. This time I made BBQ chicken with Pasta salad! The boys said the chicken was really good, probably just being nice again! That night I went to play ultimate frisbee with everyone (Kyle, Carl, Bryan, Mark, Garrett, Brooke, Parker etc). It was fun, but we played for forever, so by the end I was definitely ready to be done. I did get to go see Heather, Mandy and Merrill while they were finishing up some crafts for Mandy's wedding this saturday. When Merrill and I left we her to her house so that I could borrow Harry Potter #6. I was a bit excited. Bryan called me later that night, which I always love. I feel bad because I was

kind of moody... I was just feeling frustrated with everyone around me getting married. I don't want to get married super fast, and I know I feel good about Bryan, but it's not like I have my answer either. I guess I just wanted some kind of affirmation that he is wanting the same things and is dating me with marriage in mind. I hate when I let my emotions get the better of me. He sent me a really sweet text, but I feel bad because I fell asleep before I even read it.

Wednesday I went to work, and it was a slower day, but I did my best to keep myself busy. I got my hair trimmed before I went home. After dinner I went to Heathers and we did a project that we found on Pinterest. We used wood shutters to make something to hang pictures on! We accidentally didn't buy enough spray paint, so we made a mad dash to Hobby Lobby. We walked in at 7:59pm, pretty dang lucky. On our way back to her house we saw a lady selling dogs... I had to hold one!! They were adorable. I wish they stayed that small! Anyway, we won't home to finish and I think they turned out pretty dang cute!


So I was planning on seeing Bryan after he went to the temple that night, and he didn't end up calling me until 10pm. I was frustrated. I don't need to see him everyday, but I really just needed to talk... Hopefully I didn't drive him to crazy.. we ended up going on a walk and talked and I felt better. It was awkward talking about those feelings I had about everyone getting married except for me because I didn't want to freak him out. He was so good about it and said that it's totally okay for me to feel that way, and he did tell me that he wouldn't be dating me if he wasn't hoping to marry me. So, that was good and what I needed to hear. Dang, sometimes I'm a pain in the butt. He's pretty great for putting up with me.

Stripes Stripes Stripes

Thursday June 20th - Sunday June 23rd

Dear Diary,

Once again, another great weekend!

Thursday night I went to play with Heather :) We took a little trip over to Forever 21 and did some shopping. That place is like heaven to us! I may have bought 3 striped shirts and an adorable white shirt, a belt and a necklace. Whoops. Good news is, I spend less than $50. Heat and I just did the usual girl talk! When we got back we shoed Netty (Lynette, Heathers mom) our new clothes. It's tradition :) Heats Dad even liked what I bought! That night  when I got home, I decided I couldn't take my mess of a room anymore and I finally put all my clothes away!! Happy day. I like being able to see my floor!

Friday night after work I decided to go to the Draper Temple.  It was a really pretty day, and I love how the sunlight comes in the baptismal font windows. It is so gorgeous. Besides the SLC font, Draper is my favorite. When I was finished and ready heather and I decided to go on an adventure. We went to Hobby Lobby to pick up spray paint for a little project we are gonna do. We then decided to go to Ross, where I used my store credit for a pretty cute shirt and cardigan. The shirt may have been striped as well... whoops. So Heat and I called it an early night again. I went home and got some reading in before I went to bed.

Saturday I woke up around 8:30am to clean the house. Staci was picking the boys up from Payson Canyon. She's a sweetheart and won't let me pay for rent anymore. She just wants me to help out, so I figured it would make her happy if I got most of the saturday jobs done before she got home. Man that place smelled like cleaning supplies by the time I was done. Might have been a bit intoxicating! ha. Everything looked fantastic though! Heat and I went to the pool around noon, we got some good sun in and lots of talking and reading. It was a perfect day to be outside! We also cleaned her car!

That night Bryan picked me up at 6:15pm or so to go to his family party. Two of his cousins were in town that he hadn't seen in awhile. Bryan made it sounds like the party was going to be awful and incredibly embarrassing  It honestly wasn't that bad!  Maybe because I secretly like those jokes... ha. I thought it was great to finally meet all of these people I've heard so much about. Uncle Gary is SO funny. Bryan has some awesome cousins and just a great family in general. I wish we could have stayed longer! We already had a date planned with Mark, Heather and Trent. We drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon to go hiking, but the hike we wanted to go on wasn't open yet. I was frustrated though because they didn't wait for us to follow them when we were driving up, and they didn't wait for us to start the hike. We ended up finally finding them and then we sat down to eat. We went to my house after. Carl and Brooke met up with us! So that was fun. We had a bon fire, s'mores and sparklers :) Heat and I mostly played with the sparklers... ha. We are children.


After the date, Bryan and I were talking. I showed him my cute $50 couches! We even tried them out for a minute:) Dang I love us.

Sunday I was running late because I couldn't get the awful campfire smoke smell out of my hair. I ended up telling Bryan to come inside while I finished my hair. It was kind of funny letting him watch me finish getting ready. He looked pretty entertained by how I curl my hair. I asked him to help me find the pieces I had missed. Anyway, pointless random tangent there. He did tell me I was beautiful, and we know that makes me smile like crazy!

Colton's homecoming was nuts! LA Norton gave his homecoming talk right before Colton, but he fainted!!! I guess he had been sick or something. He was able to give his talk by sitting and speaking into a microphone. He is a champ! But yes. Colton did awesome. He made me cry like 3 times. I don't know why missionary stories just get to me like that!

Carl's homecoming was after that, and he did well also. Funny thing happened, some guy comes up to me and says "I know you don't know me from adam, but these girls want to know where your dress is from." It was so random.

I went to Bryans house after that for dinner with his family. Dinner was super good! Man, they feed me a lot. We went to World Wide Missionary training broadcast with Jake, Janet and Rick. The broadcast was really good. I mean, lots of the same information about being member missionaries. But if they keep telling us to do it, then it's definitely not happening the way it should! I enjoyed all the talks a lot. But I have to say it was just a good day because Bryan was holding my hand and being so sweet through both homecomings and the broadcast.

After that we went to Colton's' house to eat and chat with friends. it was SO fun to be with everyone again. Dang I missed Colton! We also watched 17 Miracles. So, thats it! Just a fantastic weekend filled with seeing good friends, the spirit and fun! I have a pretty great life.

Happily for Eternity

Friday, June 21st

So I was just sitting here at work, got a little bored and noticed a video that had been reposted on facebook from mormon messages. One of my other friends had posted it the other day but I didn't have time to watch it. Today after seeing it posted again I decided to see what it was. The video was showing the love this adorable old couple has for each other. They are both frail and each have medical difficulties, one more than the other. The husband loves and cares for his wife by doing things and showing his love. Words don't even have to be spoken to see how much he loves her. I seriously could not get through half of the video without crying.

I started looking through the videos and found another called "Love Her Mother". It was based off of the talk that Elaine S. Dalton's talk from general conference a little while back. I just love this talk, and the points she makes. I hope to find a husband who will love me, and show his love for me. I hope that I can do the same for him, and show our children what an Eternal marriage should be like.  Obviously we won't be perfect because we are human, but I hope that we can still be examples of what Sister Dalton describes. I guess both of these videos just got to me because of everything going on with my family right now. The way my dad acted towards my mother always kind of made me sad, and it makes me even more sad to find out that my mom can hardly believe it when a husband does something kind for a wife. She mentioned being amazed when she would see my grandfather bring something home for his wife, or make dinner for her. I feel sad that my mom hasn't known any better. 

This also brings me to thinking about how incredibly grateful I am for my patriarchal blessing. In my blessing it is very specific about my husband and warns me of what qualities I need to stay away from, and it also gives me guidance on how my husband should treat me in respect to me being his equal partner and him having respect towards womanhood. Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE my father. However, I'm so grateful that my Heavenly Father warned me in my blessing to stay away from men like my father. I picked the wrong guys throughout high school, and I know it was because I didn't understand what an eternal marriage and equal marriage should look like. I'm so grateful for that warning and guidance. 

Right before Bryan got home from his mission, he mentioned a mormon message that I should watch called "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father."  He told me how he just could not wait to be a father after he watched this. No matter if Bryan is the guy for me, I'm so glad he grew up with these family and gospel values. Bryan isn't perfect, neither am I. But I know he would do his best to love me the way Sister Dalton talks about, and I know he would love his children the way this other video portrays. I have no idea what is going to happen with my family, I don't know what decisions my parents will make, or what effects they will have on us - but I know we will be okay. I know if I continue to live the gospel and communicate with my Heavenly father, I will be able to have my own Eternal marriage and family. I am going to do everything I can to be worthy of those promises and blessings. 

"Of all the  titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given to Deity, He has asked us to address Him as Father."

                                                      -Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Blessings

Monday June 17th - Wednesday June 19th

Monday was great, I woke up and got to go golfing with work! Brandon said he was sick so it was only Angela, Ron and I. We went at 9am, and I have to say it was a gorgeous day! Not to hot, but still warm and sunny. All three of us weren't playing well, but we still get a laugh out of everything. Ron was of course making his usual sarcastic comments, Angela was swinging at the ball like she was swinging a baseball bat, and I was laughing at everything. Gotta love my job! We left early because Ron's daughter needed a blessing, but we got a good 15 holes in, so I was satisfied. 

I went back to work and worked until 5pm. When I was finished I drove up to AF to meet Linsey at the library again. We got two more chapters done, and some good studying. I'm glad Linsey is focused because it keeps me focused. I went home and had FHE with the Stouts after that, which was on the 5th Article of Faith this time. We are still using the cute videos on the website I mentioned earlier on in the blog. We also played duck duck goose :)

Around 10pm I went over to Bryans and we went on a run. Thankfully I wasn't on my period this time and was able to actually run and not die. Bryan made me run for forever! Ah. I do have to say its nice that he pushes me and I like to try and impress him so I keep going even when I don't want to. WIth Jade I would just say I needed to walk as often as I wanted. At the end I wanted to walk the rest of the way home to cool down but Bryan wouldn't let me! I did feel really good after the run, and I really actually find it fun to go with him. I have a new goal to run three times a week. I'm not gonna make a goal of everyday because I know its not really realistic. I'm lazy :) 

Tuesday was strange. We had NO idea where brandon was or what was going on. He hadn't answered any emails, calls or texts from us since 6pm the nigt before which is really strange for him. We were sending Ron to go check on him around 11am, but Brandon finally decided to email us and tell us he's alive. I spent most of the day in the office with Angela and Ron. I think I got a lot done! 

When I got home I made dinner. My new job is to make dinner every Tuesday night, which will be good practice for me! I made lemon chicken, pasta salad and cut up watermelon. The boys said I did a  good job, so I'll take that! I found out Byran's young mens activity was cancelled, so I went over to his house to watch part of game 6 of the NBA Finals (Heat vs. Spurs). Carl Prince, Garrett, Brian Larsen, and Daryl Warner randomly showed up! Carl and Garrett had gotten home last week! It's crazy! We are like only missing Colton and Mardi now. I'm so excited.

I left around 9pm to go to m grandpas for a blessing. When I got there Grandpa and I talked for a good 45 minutes or so. He's seriously a wise and loving man. I am so grateful for him, and sad for the times that my dad kept us away from his side of the family. My grandpa is like my best buddy. During the blessing he said some things that really surprised me. The words aren't exact and I just wrote down what I remembered and was impressed by when I got home. 

• My relationship with my family and my family struggles will not hinder or harm my relationship with Bryan and his family. It will not change how they view me.
• I'm responsible as the oldest child to be an example, not only to my siblings but my parents as well. I was placed into my family for a reason. My influence can make an impact. My example and sweetness to my brothers at their young ages is important. Especially now before they grow up and don't want my advice.
• I will be blessed with good health during this trial.
• I will be blessed with peace and comfort
• I will be blessed to put the bad feelings and emotions away and replace them with ones from my Heavenly Father. When I go to him, I will receive answers and feelings of peace and love.

I'm so grateful that I have a Grandfather who is so worthy and wise and willing to give me blessings and be a guide when I am in need. He is a strength for me and my family.

OH also. I found out that the Heat won in OT by 3 points!!! I couldn't believe I missed that!!! AH. I watched the highlights at work the next day though. Man it was an intense game. I'm nervous for game 7.

Wednesday was a good day! Brandon didn't come into the office again, but I did get a lot of work done and even got to go work with Angela for awhile. After work I came home, kind of cleaned my room and took a nap. Around 8pm I went to Bryans and we finished his cleaning jobs, took Sam to a friends house and cleaned his room. I know that doesn't sound fun but for some reason it was! At one point Bryan was hugging me and he just goes "ah!" And I was like "what?" he finally says "I'm just so in love with you!" Yeah, that made me smile. I wasn't expecting him to be this sweet to me! I love that in our relationship we say exactly what we are thinking. Nothing is hidden or secret. I can be me and he can me him. This time we actually got his room pretty dang clean! We could see the floor! I was amazed. Now we can actually move onto other more exciting things on our list :) 

Overall, just a good night. Any night at the Frandsens is a good one. 

Fathers Day

Sunday, June 16th

Well today was fantastic. Bryan picked me up this morning, we met Melissa at the South Towne mall and the three of us drove up to Layton for Elder Austin Bowlingbrokes homecoming. Austin talked about missionary work and member missionary work. I got to see Sam Wright, and oh it just made me so happy to see her! I know how amazing it feels to be at the homecoming of the boy you've waited for. I also, loved not being in her seat anymore ha. It was so great to sit there with Bryan holding my hand, and being able to just be me with him. It's crazy. Bryan has been home 3 months on this coming wednesday. I have no idea where time has gone, and everything is better than I could ever imagine. I finally got to meet and hug Austin, which was great. It's so fun to meet these people because now we can actually be friends. 

We went to Austins house to eat and hangout. Elder Gage Taylor was there too. Sam and Austin are pretty adorable! I'm most definitely a fan.

Here is their classic Russian pose. Gage just looks like a redneck, probably because he is one. 

Bryan drove me home, he decided to go to the last part of his ward. When I got home, Staci and I were talking I thought it would be good to hand out with my mom until I went to Bryans house for dinner. Staci suggested I make cupcakes for Bryans family, so I decided to do that with my mommy! The Stouts went hiking, so we had the house to ourselves while we were baking. I made chocolate cupcakes with a good simple peanut butter frosting recipe. It was nice to spend the afternoon with my mom. I have to say I am really surprised how well she is handling everything with my dad. Obviously she's not perfect in the situation, but she is doing well. I can't imagine what I would do if I was in her situation. I love her so much. I just hope that she is able to get on her feet with a job and a place to live fairly soon. She will be going back to Denver to be with the kids on Wednesday. She said she's done everything she needs to out here for now. I think it will be good for her and the kids. 

I went to Bryans for dinner after she left. When I got there Bryan gave me my Ukranian present! It wasn't finished when he was leaving Ukraine, so he had Elder Bowlingbroke bring it back from him. The present is SO beautiful. It is a little jewelry box with the Salt Lake Temple painted on the front. AH. It is sooo beautiful! Man, this weekend has just been full of presents, I kind of like it!

Dinner was really good! We had meatloaf, salad and potatoes.  I need to learn to cook... Grandma and Grandpa Frandsen were there. They actually arrived at the same time as me. I made sure to go give Grandpa Frandsen a big ol' hug. He is so stinkin cute! It kills me. We looked at pictures from their vacation after dinner. Bryan was hysterical and fell asleep. Thanks to cute little Erika for capturing the moment. Isn't he precious?! 

We played Disney Uno after the cute grandparents left. I was happy because I won twice. I NEVER win games with that family! I have to say I was very proud of myself. Prayer and scriptures were good. Bryan and I were talking in the living room afterwards and he kept asking me if I wanted to talk to his parents about my family situation. There was this part of me that really wanted to because I just felt like it would be really nice to have normal parents to talk to, and Bryan has the best parents. I just had no idea what I would say you know? I didn't have any questions to ask. I just wanted to vent, think and talk through what is going on. The other part of me didn't want to talk to them because I didn't want them to see the vulnerable and not strong side of me. I guess I don't want them to think I wouldn't be a good person to marry, or that I'm unstable emotionally. And yes, I definitely over analyze everything. I know this. I really did appreciate that Bryan was concerned about me, and that he knew that it really was what I wanted.

Bryan's parents came in the kitchen and were telling us all about how they met each other and about their first couple of dates. I seriously was laughing so hard. They are the funniest! And I swear Rick and Bryan are SO similar. Bryan was a dork and kept whispering to me, and asking if I wanted to talk to them. Of course they noticed and kept telling us they knew we were whispering. Finally brat child just said "Chelsea wants to talk to you." Seriously?! ha. And then he walks out of the room to go to the bathroom, so here I am all alone with his parents. Ah. Well, I just started talking and somehow it got easier. They asked lots of questions that helped me think more, and get out what I was feeling and what was going on exactly. Rick suggested that I get a blessing from my Grandpa, which I actually hadn't thought of. I guess I usually try to ask for blessings when I'm sick, and I tend to forget that I can ask for them when I just need comfort or guidance. He also gave good advice for what my mom should do when she is able to get settled into a ward. He said as a bishop, he would want her to come to him and tell him the whole situation. If he doesn't know what is going on, he can't help. He also said it would be good for the kids to see counselors, and if they are tight on money - bishops can have fast offerings be used to take care of that expense. I would never have thought about that. Seeing a counselor my senior year helped me so much! I was able to work through a lot of my bad feelings towards my dad, I was able to be more emotionally stable, and realize that what my dad said was my fault growing up actually wasn't my fault. She was awesome and gave me so much clarity and strength. Rick and Janet both said it would be good to continue to work on my relationship and keep my relationship with my dad as best I can. If there is any hope of him changing and coming back, it will because we have shown him love. They also said that it will be easy to pick a side, but that I should be an example to my siblings and show love and respect for both parents. 

I also was grateful that they validated how I was feeling so well. They didn't make me feel silly, or dumb. They told me they thought I was handling it well, and that I was doing a good job. They said I've had to grow up really fast, and that it must be hard trying to be my moms confidant and support. They said it was a lot of pressure that I shouldn't have to deal with at this age. I guess it was nice for me to hear that they thought I was handling things well. I shouldn't have worried about what they thought, but it was really nice to find out what they were thinking. 

Janet gave some of the most comfort to me. She started talking to me about the atonement and how she hadn't honestly realized that Christ really did feel every pain that we ever felt. She talked about how Enoch and Moses saw and discerned each person who has ever been and ever will be born. They saw me, and they knew who I was. She was saying how in God's realm of no time, he can show these things. She went on to talk about how while christ in the garden of Gethsemane, he not only atoned for our sins, but he felt my pains, my trials, my emotions and heartache. It's like he walked by my side through my whole entire life. Something about that just made me feel so much peace and love. By the end of that, both Janet and I were bawling. She is such a sweetheart, and I'm starting to see that her and I have lots of similarities. She's pretty great. They are both great. I seriously love them so much. We ended with a prayer, and of course Rick got some jokes in at the end to lighten the mood. Janet gave me a big long hug, and I didn't realize how much I needed that it until then. 

Bryan walked me outside. I was embarrassed about crying so much, and he was so sweet about it. He wasn't awkward, just kind and patient. He let me hug him and he held me for awhile. We were laughing and then he just like looks at me and starts saying how even though my dad kind of sucks, that my Heavenly Father loves me and is always there for me. I was like "Seriously bryan? I'm crying again." I have to admit it was adorable, I just didn't want to start crying again! He also told me that I needed to write in my blog when I got home so that I wouldn't forget about what was said. So basically I have the best boyfriend/best friend. I left just feeling so much better and so grateful for all of them. Oh. No big deal, but he did tell me he was in love with me :) It only took a little bit of me pulling it out of him :)

Bargain Shopper

Saturday, June 15th

So, this morning I woke up and cleaned the basement. The stouts were at some parade where Josh was performing in the Bingham marching band. When Staci got back we went to a yard sale that had SO much stuff. Everything was donated by people and all of the money was going towards two people in their stake that had had heart surgery or something. There was this set of couches that I wanted, but I didn't really have $100 dollars to spend even though it was an amazing price. They were reduced to $75, and then a guy saw how interested I was and finally gave them to me for $50! Crazy right? They are in great condition too! Definitely look like they are from the 90's... but still great condition and cute. Marty, Josh and I went back to get them with the trailer. I fel bad having to keep so much of my crap in their house.. but they are awesome! I'm so grateful for them.

After that I went to the Draper Temple. I definitely was needing some temple time, so I'm glad I went. It was peaceful and was what I needed before Fathers day. I drove to Kelsie Cooks down in Provo when I got done and did her make up for her bridals. She looked gorgeous! I'm so glad that she is so happy. Cute girl deserves it :) I cam home to shower and am and idiot and lost track of time. Bryan texted me at 5:15pm to tell me they had landed and I hadn't even left my house... I still had to go get their car and drive to the airport! I can't even explain the anxiety I was feeling at that moment ha. I hurried over to their house, got into their car and thankfully was only 10ish minutes late since they had to get off of the plane and get all of their baggage. But OH man. I was so excited to see them. I think it's funny I missed all of them. Bryan gave me one of his classic awkward side hugs, and we all got into the care to go back home. He grabbed my hand and kept telling me how much he missed me. I was seriously surprised. I never would have thought that he would miss me that much! :) :) He even kissed the side of my face in the car.

We sat in Bryans room while he unpacked, and he gave me my present from the family and from him. They got me the most adorable Minnie Mouse Shirt! Bryan got me a cute bracelet and a signature from Cinderella. We cleaned his room for a little bit too. That boy has so much stuff in his room that he doesn't need anymore! But oh man, he just kept hugging me and kissing me! I couldn't believe it! He should go away more often I think!

We ended up going to Country Fest in South Jordan to watch the fireworks. We met up with Kyle, Mark, Trent, Missi, and Michael. That was fun of course! Gotta love all the fireworks in the summer. Bryan and I drove to Taco Bell after to get him a Dorrito taco. On the way over he made me laugh so hard that I was crying! I honestly have NO idea what was so funny. He made me look at him since I was crying from laughing, and he was like "awww you ARE a cute crier! You have to cry more!" That boy is SO silly. Ah. I almost forgot! He told me he had a beautiful girlfriend! That was the first time he had called me beautiful. I know that sounds silly that he hasn't called me beautiful before, but for him he doesn't just use that word for anyone. I'm sure I had the most ridiculous smile on my face.

After the fireworks Bryan and I just talked for an hour or two in his car. We even talked with Mark Woodbury on the phone. Man, I just love Bryan. He really is my best friend. I love doing anything with him. Life is just great. I'm so blessed.

TIM MCGRAW BABY.

Friday, June 14th

So this morning was a little stressful. I checked my email and Brandon had lost some deals. I went into work, and we worked until about 1pm. He finally told me I could just go home and finish working from there. After I was done working I went to the pool and got my tan on! I got some quality reading done as well. I have to say I'm so addicted to Harry Potter right now. I'm even dreaming about it. Laying out was great. My face got a little burned though.

I got ready and Heather and Merrill came over. We drove down to our concert, but the trafic was SO bad. We completely missed the first band. It's a good thing I didn't really even know who they were :) We got there, and Brantley Gilbert was playing. He has some really good songs, but also some songs that are a little more rock than country.

 Finally, around 9pm our man Tim Mcgraw came on. Ah. he was AMAZING. His voice sounds so good live, and he just puts on such a fun show. His music is so good. He has so many albums to pick from and each song is my favorite. I'm so glad that Merrill decided to come with us! I have the best friends ever. Tim played for almost 2 hours. We left a little after his second encore song. He played about 4, but we figured it would just be better to get out before the traffic jam happened. The best thing about concert nights is that all the country stations play the bands music after the concert. So, we got in the car and it was Tim Mcgraw Radio jam time. He really put on a great show. I swear I could see him 50 times and not ever get bored or sick of him.

I was super happy because he sang Highway Don't care. I was wondering how he would do it since the song has Taylor Swift singing as well. But the song is so popular right now that there is no way he wouldn't sing it! So, he sang it and they had a video of Taylor Swift singing in the background and Keith Urban playing the guitar. I just love that song. It has way good lyrics. The only thing I was sad about was that he didn't play "Don't Take the Girl," but he did play it the last time I saw him, so it was okay! We were definitely happy girls after that concert. Enjoy the videos with us screaming in the background :)

Sunshine and Reading

Wednesday June 5th - Thursday June 13th

Well! What a fun week. I'm silly and spent so much time working, laying out, with friends or reading that I didn't ever get around to posting on my blog! Well. Lets see....

Wednesday was awesome! After work I went to Byans house for a Mission movie night reunion. They had decided in Ukraine that they would watch the Dark Knight Rises together. Thankfully a few others wanted to bring girls, so I got to come also! We chatted up in the living room until everyone got there. I love these things because I get to see Bryan with the people he was with for the last two years. They are all super fun, and way nice to me. I love how they all know so much about me too. Makes me feel like Bryan thought about me a lot while he was gone. I got to meet Elder Harris, and I got to see Tommy Tautkus again. I'm a fan of these two. Me and Tommy have reached BFF status, which is awesome. We've got a cute little handshake even. The movie was great! We had some cake and Ukrainian drinks that they missionaries were all so excited about! Here is a picture of everyone that was there! :) 

Thursday I went to work, got lots done and then came home. I went to Bryans that night and basically we just hung out around the house. The Pacers vs. Heat game was on, and we watched it with Sam, Jake and Rick. The game was super good, but of course Jake and Sam argued the whole time about which team and players were better. They crack me up. Mostly because my brothers are so different and haven't ever been into arguing about sports. After that they planned which rides they wanted to go to at California Adventure. We had scripture and prayer and then Bryan and I tried cleaning his room again... but I think we kind of fail at that..... He gets a little bit done, but then we just end up talking and laughing. We need to find a more productive way to clean that room! I got to look through some more of his mission things which is always entertaining. I love seeing those things, and I love when he tells more stories. I sent Bree a snap chat, and I thought these pics were pretty funny, so enjoy! 

Friday I worked, but then Brandon told me to start my weekend early. I went home and finished working there, went to the pool and read! Pretty relaxing I have to say. I love my summer. Around 5 I went over to Bryans to go with them to the airport. When they were walking away, I got in the car to drive home, but then Bryan motioned for me to come out. He said "my mom asked if I kissed you goodbye.. and I said I didn't." I thought that was hilarious. I couldn't believe Janet was the one to suggest that. So, he kissed me goodbye and I went home! I hung out with my mom for awhile. She is back in town for a bit trying to get job interviews and get things situated before she brings the family out here. I have to say it was a bit of a rough night for me. After she left I went to Merrills and we laid on her tramp and talked. I texted bryan and asked if it would be weird if I ever wanted to talk to his parents... ha. He said that I could whenever I wanted, which was nice. I felt silly asking, but for some reason I just felt like I may need to at some point, and that it would help a lot. Merrill and I did have a good night just talking and hanging out under the stars. I'm glad I have such good friends. We also take adorable pictures. We also painted our nails :)

Saturday was busy busy busy. I woke up, helped do saturday jobs around the house. Staci had to run and do things for scouts, but her baby niece was over. I ended up babysitting her. She was 9 months and super cute, but oh man she go SO tired and refused to go to sleep. Seriously. I didn't know what to do with her. I've never babysat a child who resisted sleep more than her. Finally she fell asleep with me holding her and feeding her. I then got ready for Amandas bridal shower that Heather was throwing. The party was super cute. Heather decorated her backyard, had fun games and good. We even swam for a bit in her pool. I have to say it was one of my favorite bridal showers, especially because my very
best friends were there.

When the shower was over I went to a movie night at the Deaf Center in Taylorsville. The movie was kind of awful to be honest, but I actually got to catch up with Ben, Matt, Johnny and Mike. I was surprised how nice they were to me. I had a good talk with Ben and Matt. They were finally being understanding about me having a boyfriend, and understand that I love them so much. I wish I could see them more, but me living down in SoJo makes it hard. I can't just go hang out with a group of boys anymore either though. But, in the Fall I will be going back to the Deaf ward, and I know we will stay friends. Matt and Ben expressed being happy for me that things were going so well, they even told me that Bryan sounds like a great guy and are happy that he treats me so well. I'm really glad that I went, even thought I wasted $10 on an awful movie ha.

Baby Jacobsen

Sunday I woke up early to go to Tommy Tautkus's homecoming. He did SUCH a good job. I was crying so much! He talked about the Atonement, and the Love of Christ. He kept saying "And good remembered Rachel, and God Remembers you." It was just an amazing message. He had good at his house, so I went with Mark Smith, and the Baileys daughter. Food was great! I got to talk to Tommy for a bit, but then I left so I could go to a family dinner at my grandparents. Jordan came in for the weekend since my mom was here. We got to spend the afternoon and some of the evening together. It was a tough night because we were all emotional about everything going on. Mom announced at the dinner table that her and daddy would be separating. It made everything so much more real. I didn't expect it to hit me so hard. I'm glad that we got to be together that day. Leaving was hard. Mom hugged me and we just started crying. I know she didn't want us to go, but we had to get Jordan to her ride back to Idaho. Heather and I went for a walk that night, and we played at the park for awhile. I started the fifth Harry Potter that night! So that was good. I needed some time to myself after everything at my grandparents. I'm definitely glad I went, it was just tougher emotionally than I had expected it to be.

My beautiful sister :)

Monday was nothing too special. I went to work, got a lot done. Brandon didn't feel like staying long, so he told me we could go at 3:30pm. Linsey Pickup and I met up in AF at the library to study for the interpreting  written exam. She is definitely going to be a good person to study with. We each read a chapter during the week, bring an outline and a study guide for each other, and then we fill it out together. We should be able to pass that test by the end of the summer. I went home and did FHE with the Stouts. After that I stayed up late reading Harry Potter and eating popcorn. Yes, I am pretty dang cool. 

Tuesday I went in to work, and Brandon wanted to leave early again. I left around 4pm and finished working from home. Heather was busy, so I stayed around the house with the Stouts and ate dinner and then I read for a long time. 

Wednesday after work I picked up Merrill. We went to buy her ticket for Tim Mcgraw :) Then we went to take care of my car. I had the check the check engine light, but it was nothing big. I hadn't screwed the gas cap on tight enough ha. Easy fix :) Then we went to get my tires check and have air put in them. Last, we got my car washed and cleaned! Baby Alice was starting to look pretty gross, so it was time. Merrill and I went on random adventures ater that. We went to the D.I., Asian City and Little Ceasars. Pretty exciting night. 

 Thursday Ron was back, he had been out of town. We had team meeting and we all went to lunch together. We left work early, and I finished working at home again. Merrill, Heat and I decided to go to Country Fest in South Jordan! Fun huh?! It was just a small Carnival. Nothing compared to all of the fun Bryan was having in Disneyland, but we still had a good time! We went on two rides and screamed our little heads off. After that we went to Savers. Man, we have way to much fun in discount or secondhand stores. Heather and I found matching picnic baskets!!! They are so stinkin cute. I can't wait to use them. Before we went home, we went to The Chocolate. We shared a Cazookie that was quite tasty. It has definitely been fun this week to have girls nights with them. I also read more before I fell asleep. I'm on a roll!

Well, it looks like I'm all caught up! :) Surprisingly good week even though Bryan wasn't here. Heather makes me laugh because she just always grabs my phone so that she can read my text messages with Bryan. She apparently loves the way we talk to each other. She finds great enjoyment in it. But yes, Bryan and I talk in a very cheesy way, but it is just very us. I have to say I was surprised that he missed me as much as he did this last week. I thought he would be having to much fun to even miss me. So, basically my life is great. Work is going well, I have good friends there, I have a couple of best friends that are the best, and I have an amazing boyfriend who makes me giggle like I'm a little girl!

Family Tree

Monday was a hard day for me. Why? Because every now and then I let the girl side of me take over and I start bawling my eye out for no reason. Okay, maybe I had a reason. I had talked to my mom that morning about everything going on with her and my dad, and it wasn't good. It was the first time I had heard my mom say she wanted a divorce and was done. See, I've always thought it would happen and I knew it was coming - but my emotions still got the best of me. Thankfully, Brandon left for an hour or so, and while he was gone I got some good crying out. I guess even though I know my parents are better off not together,  it was still really tough to hear about a marriage ending. Especially an eternal marriage. All growing up I was taught that families can be together forever, and I never expected that mine would separate. I do know that Heavenly Father has a plan, and I know that we are still a forever family, even know it doesn't seem like it right now. Reminds me of the song by Cherie Call called "Family Tree".

And in the end I don't know how it will all be sorted out

All I know is that the circle won't be broken

There will be hands to hold, and there will be love unfeigned

And it will bridge the gaps between all the things we can't explain

But in the meantime

God will tend the broken branches of the trees

And as eternity goes on this will be

Because our love is a circle in this human family

And God can mend the broken branches

And He will tend the broken branches

Because He loves all the branches

Of His family tree

I guess those lyrics explain how I know everything will work out, but ah this is still harder than I imagined it would be. I really do love my dad, and I have worked so hard to improve my relationship with him in the last couple of years. I really hope I am able to keep it through all of this. I know this isn't going to be an easy year. I'm grateful that my mom is staying close to the gospel, I know our family is still being blessed and watched over. I guess I'm still human and it's okay to cry. I hope that throughout this year, Isaac will know he's loved and I hope he doesn't come out of this hating my mother. I hope my dad doesn't come out super bitter and will know I do love him. I hope the girls aren't scarred and still enjoy their childhood.  I'm grateful to know of the Plan of Salvation. I'm going to do my best to be obedient, so that I might have those blessings with my future family. 

Sunday Adventures

Sunday June 2nd 

Well, today I went to church with Brittany Russel. I thought I would try out the singles ward that I'm supposed to be in.... and it was awful. I just have no desire to attend a singles ward that I'm only going to be in for a few months. That is just not appealing to me. Church was good though, we had a great lesson in Relief Society. The talk the instructor based her lesson off of was called "Get a Life" by President Elaine L. Jack. First of all, the name of the talk is awesome. Second, it was just a phenomenal lesson about how we can be happy. We did also have a good lesson about temples, and how to lead a life by doing and giving our all. 

After church Bryan invited me over to help make dinner, which I was late for the helping part because Staci and I ended up talking... whoops. Dinner was great though! We went to Jake's seminary graduation. As we walk up to the church, cute little Grandpa Frandsen sees me and says "you know what you're supposed to do", so I walked up to him, gave him a hug and let him give me a kiss on the forehead. Could that man be any sweeter? 

Graduation was good, but oh my how my stomach was in pain. Have I mentioned how sometimes being a girl SUCKS? Thankfully before we left Bryan snuck me some IB Profen.. It's a little embarrassing how open I am with him, but oh well! Anyway, I think we had a good night! We played Trivial Pursuit, girls vs. boys when we got home. Somehow we won, no thanks to me! Janet is a genius. Of course I only answered on question - about Greys Anatomy. Sure shows what I focus on :)

Lovin him is RED

Saturday June 1st 

So saturday was awesome. Basically I spent the whole afternoon laying out at the pool with Merrill and Heather. We love getting our Vitamin D! Lots of good chatting time, and relaxing. 

I finally took a shower around 4pm so I could get ready to see my dear friend TAYLOR SWIFT. I met Jessica, her sister and two cousins on the FrontRunner, and we got ready to party! We walked around the gateway until we decided to eat at Costa Vida. Dinner was good, and we even ran into Janelle Frost!

To preface this, everyone should understand our love for Miss Taylor Swift.

We got to the concert and were dying of excitement. Jess and I had only been talking about it for the last 7 months. We had that whole CD memorized down to Taylors random remarks in the middle of songs. Ah. As the concert started, Jess and I were jumping up and down like every other little 8 year old girl there. Pretty sure Jess started to cry. So basically it was pretty amazing. We jumped up and down, screaming every word the whole time. Ah. she put on an awesome show. She even came over to where we were sitting. They had a platform in the shape of a circle that spun around, and she came out to sing 4 or 5 songs. we ran down and got pretty close to her. She was surprisingly adorable and sweet. She even made fun of herself for all her failed relationships ha. She had amazing pyrotechnics, and dancing. I do have to say Carrie Underwood still has my heart and threw the best show and vocal performance. But oh man, it was a great night! 

Bryan was making me laugh though, because they had a family party for Jakes graduation, and I missed it because of the show. Apparently everyone was questioning him about me, and when we're getting married, and if he loves me and why I wasn't there. I won't lie, it made me happy that they all wanted to meet me that bad. Oh well! There will be plenty of time to meet them all. No way I could have missed Taylor!

Dear Bryan,

I know you hate Taylor... And just so you know, she does have some pretty adorable songs. They aren't ALL about breaking up :) Here are songs that remind me of us. 

Begin Again

Stay Stay Stay

Two Is Better than One

Superman

I'm only me when I'm with you

and Fearless 

Love Chels

Bingham Friend Love

Friday May 31st

Well, summertime is here and what better way to start off summer than by having a BBQ, games, and a bonfire? I sure do love my friends! Newbold, Merrill, Heather and I thought it would be fun if we set up a night for everyone to get together and just have some fun and catch up. We set up a little facebook event and everything. 

That night I went over to Bryans house. He was in the shower, so I hung out with Erika and the boys. Bryan came up stairs and our shirts were basically matching. Whoops. ha. Before we went to the party we stopped back at my house so that I could change and do a quick little work task. We got to the party and I was really happy to see who was there! Tanner Hansen, Amanda Larsen, Stephanie Horrox, Brittany Russel, Trenton Harris, Charles Sampson, Braden Loveless, Michael Christensen, Emily Christensen, Spencer Brown, Abbey Tuckett, Mark Woodbur, Alex Vickory, Soffe Hepworth, Mark Bullough, Hannah Degn, Michael Glissmeyer, Parker Devey, Nick Smith, Heather Soffe, Nicole Newbold, Nicole Merrill, Bryan and Me. It was so fun! Newbolds dad made us hot dogs, we played a game with a hula hoop, basketball, roasted marshmallows and just talked. I think it all went really well! Bryan was even socializing and wanted to stay later than I did. That never happens haha. I have to say it was so weird when I walked into the party because normally I would have jumped on everyone, but this time I actually had Bryan with me. Man, it's times like those that  I still can't believe he is home. I only talked about him for two years, and now he's standing next to me and I'm not telling everyone how he's doing, or how I can't wait for him to come home, or how I'm nervous to see him again. I'm so glad I don't have to worry anymore! 

So I love Heather, she cracks me up. She is so stinkin cute, and all the boys were in love with her. I am secretly hoping that her and Trent can fall in love. Either way, I hope we find her guy sometime soon. I know she worries about it a lot, and she just deserves the best. 

I took Bryan home after, and we of course had a good time talking in the car. I don't know why, but it really is one of my favorite things to just sit and talk to him. Well, I guess that's all for this post. I'm just really grateful that I have been blessed with such amazing friends. I would be such a different person if we had stayed in Salt Lake instead of moving to South Jordan. The majority of the people I was friends with there have not ended up in the best places since high school. The friends I made at Bingham are so great, such amazing examples and are just so genuine. Some of those people I hadn't seen in awhile, and when we see each other we give each other big hugs and it's like nothing has ever changed in our friendship. I'm most grateful for Heather, Merrill, Newbold and Amanda though - those girls have just been there for me more than I could have ever asked for. They keep me on the right path, they make me happy, they support me and they tell me when I'm being stupid. I'm a pretty blessed girl :)