Lauren's Happenings

Friday

I got 3 hours of sleep the night before, but once I could finally take a nap, I opted to hangout with Conrad instead. He is a little bit of a stinker and hates everyone except his parents.


I have been kinda forcing him to be around me, but he still hasn't really budged. Well Morgan had to take a shower, so he was forced to be with Alie and I.
We got the brilliant idea of going outside- his fav, which then became a photo shoot. Haha.










I think Friday night was much harder emotionally than the actual funeral. Seeing her like that and knowing she wouldn't be around anymore.

Here's a somewhat funny story though... I have a cousin that has a cognitive disability. Anyway, he doesn't understand that my grandma has passed away (this is not the funny part, obviously). We have tried to explain it to him, but then when we say, where is grandma? he says, "in germany (she served a mission there 8 years ago), or the hospital. Here's the funny part. During the viewing, all of my grandma's kids stood in the line surrounding the casket. Well my cousin decided to join them. He stood right next to the casket and would tell people, "hi, im jaden. this is my grandma" (and would practice when he had a break). So he knew she was in the casket, but then when we would ask, where's grandma he would say, "in germany". He also asked Alison why she was crying. Haha.
He is just too innocent I guess. It was sweet and funny.

My aunt was so generous and brought dinner for us all. So we all snuck into the kitchen at some point of the night.

After the viewing was mostly finished, we went into the chapel to practice our musical number for the funeral. All the grandkids sang "As I Have Loved You" and then later in the program the granddaughters sang "Abide With Me".

When it was time to sing the granddaughter song, Alie and I took turns crying but by the end we were both a mess.

Later that evening, I went to Taylors and cried some more, then ended the night with Canes.




Saturday


I woke up somewhat early to help everyone else get ready.
It was a somewhat hectic morning. Taylor ended up having to do something for work before the funeral, but of course we had to be early, so he was scrambling and I was stressed. We did indeed make it right on time though!

When it was time for the family prayer, my uncle wasn't there yet. We were so concerned because it was out of character to just not be there. So Taylor took my car and the key to my uncle's house and drove go get him. We hoped he was just asleep at home, but there was also an accident on the freeway so we were concerned it was maybe him.
He was supposed to give the first talk- so they were trying to rework the program too.
The stress took away from the sadness a little bit.
He ended up arriving right after the prayer.

My dad gave a beautiful prayer and I honestly have no idea how he got through it.


The funeral talks about my grandma portrayed her so well. Her kids (my aunts and uncles) did such a good job relaying the kind of person she is. The place was PACKED. The seats went all the way to the stage, plus they streamed it in the Relief Society room.

Oh and my cousin Kate (currently serving in Ecuador) got permission to view the whole funeral on skype. She then stayed on skype for the burial, so I got to talk to her for a second on the phone. :)

Singing as the musical number and then later the closing number, it was a sweet sight to see all the people that came for my grandma. It brought tears to eyes.


Being a part of the family, we got to sit in the very front. Well Taylor went to get my uncle so now he was late. I still made him walk all the way up to the front and sit by me. He's a good boyfriend.





Taylor and I somehow beat the hearse to the grave site. So we weren't really sure where to go. We did find like 3 other little gatherings/parties though. Eventually everyone made it over.
This was also not my favorite part, nor pulling a flower from the casket. I kinda thought if I wouldn't pull one, it wasn't really happening..
All of this made me miss DJ too. I wished he was with us right now. Thank goodness he gets home in 5 months.



After the luncheon, everyone went home. Nate, Al and I got soda shop, picked up stuff for linger longer and then picked up KFC for dinner (grandma's fav).

Later that evening Al, Taylor and I went to my grandpa's to watch the UofA game with him. I convinced my mom to make salsa, and Morgan volunteered to make cookies.. comfort food right?
Unfortunately they lost and played pretty crummy, but BYU had an amazing game right after.





Sunday


Interpreted, per usual. I don't always leave feeling super great about my "work". Which is actually good because then I can gauge what I need to improve on, etc. This week, I left feeling really proud of my work! It felt good to leave on such a high note!

After I ran home, ate something real fast, and then went to my parent's ward to hear alie speak in church. This was her second time speaking on Family History (haha) but it's because she has such a good understanding and testimony of it. She rocks it at family history. She of course did a fabulous job on her talk- a good mix of doctrine and experiences.

I didn't pay much attention to the other two talks because Conrad was next to me, and there was another little 1 year old in front of us. Conrad is a little flirt and loved the girl. But he was kinda scared of her doll and it was hilarious.
I ended up going with mom to take them to the airport, but before they left, guess what! Conrad reached for me!!!! He wanted me to hold him!!!!!!! ABOUT FREAKIN TIME.

Friday

I went back to work. I did NOT want to, but I knew i kinda had to. I was still pretty emotionally checked out. I felt pretty heavy all day.

When I got home, Al, mom and I all laid in my bed and cried. To lighten the mood and make ourselves feel a little better- we decided we would go shopping for a new dress for the funeral. So we planned a shopping trip with my aunt for the following day at Chandler mall.


That evening, Taylor and I decided to see Moana. I hadn't seen it, and it was FINALLY at the dollar theater. Al also happened to be home, so we invited her to come along too.
TBH, I didn't LOVE it like everyone else- but that could also be because of my emotional state.
I also realized I don't really like the movie theaters. I feel like I can't really relax and I am just counting down til I get to leave. Maybe because I don't like having to sit still?

After the movie, we bought a tub of popcorn to bring home for mom, and then stopped at soda shop because why not.



Saturday

Our shopping trip.

We started at Dillards, then Macys.
Both stores had kinda the same thing- dresses that were cap sleeve, no sleeve, or not my size. The struggle was real. I was also being kinda picky because I wanted a white dress.
Mom was the only one who found something.

Al and I ended up getting separated and had to wait for them. We ended up online shopping..on our phones.. in the mall..

We went to a few other stores, but of course when you are shopping for a specific thing and not just shopping for fun, it becomes a million times harder.
I'll be honest, I was pretty frustrated.


When we came home, I ended up buying a dress online as did Al.


SHER WAS IN TOWN!!!!!!! Taylor and I only ended up going over to see her for an hour and a half based on how our schedules matched up but I was happy I got to see her and Tom.




Sunday


Taylor got to give a talk. Tbh, I have been wanting to hear him speak in church for awhile but I didn't want to throw him under the bus. So I was pretty excited when he got asked to speak.
He rocked it of course. Plus I got to look at him the whole time ;)

Can i be honest and tell you a funny story? RIGHT when Taylor got up to speak, this kid that was on the end of my row scooted over next to me, because his friend was coming to sit down. I looked over and it happened to be someone I previously dated. How ironic that his friend would save him a seat right next to me. We were of course very adult like, and civil but it was pretty funny. I'm sure he was laughing as much as I was.


I had to leave Taylor's church early to be visit taught.. Then went on to my last ward to interpret. It ended up being his ward conference. Which is always kinda hard because there are a million sustaining of names i don't know, and the person is reading over the list quickly without really making it clear who is called to what. So fingerspelling each name is a challenge. But I always think of it as fingerspelling practice.

My family has received a lot of food from the ward, so my mom decided to have all her brothers and sisters and my grandpa over for dinner. It was pretty sad having everyone there but my grandma.




Monday


HOLIDAY. HOLLER.

I initially planned to get up early, go running, and then go out to breakfast with Taylor after his morning class. Well I had zero motivation, but it worked out because we ended up exercising together instead. We went to discovery park along with everyone else in gilbert. We did our usual mile run, then ran up the hills, and a few other little workouts.

I cursed myself. Sunday night, I went to bed thinking, I am so proud of my body. If someone gets sick, I always get it. This time, I have been around my sick mom, aunt and student but have held out strong. Lo and behold, I woke up with a cold. My workout ended up being modified but I still went nonetheless.

After I ran home, showered, put on makeup and then went out to lunch with my girl Elise. We went to a Thai food place and got the lunch special so that was a bonus. It's always good to catch up with her. Love her.

I spent a few hours just laying in bed, but not able to fall asleep. I eventually got ready, and went back to Taylors. For Fhe they watched an old pioneer movie and then had pizza and DELICIOUS brownies with marshmallows and frosting on top.

Coldeezes. Have you ever heard of them? Taylor's family swears by them. It's supposed to get rid of your cold so fast. I loaded up on them and we will see what happens.




Tuesday


Morgan is in town!!!!! They got here around 7!!! Unfortunately by the time I got home, Conrad was asleep.

Since morgan is in town, I gave up my bed and took the couch. This ended up not being good for anyone...I want to beat this stupid cold, so I tried to go to sleep early. Except I was sleeping in a central area where everyone was loud and didn't care to keep me up. Which meant I was cranky. I probably woke up just about every hour.



Wednesday

Fortunately, there was no a hour, so I got to see conrad before I left (he woke up early enough). Unfortunately he only likes Morgan and cries if any of us even touch him.

For the past like month, there has been little to do at the office. Today that was NOT the case. I was kinda overwhelmed with all the jobs everyone wanted me to do. I eventually realized some would have to wait for the following day.

When I came home, Mom was ordering Gecko Grill so that was exciting! We LOVE that place.
While waiting for the food to be ready, we all sat around the couch and tried to play with Conrad. I convinced him to let me hold him by giving him my phone (he gets zero technology at home so you can imagine how effective this was).

After eating, I ran over to my aunt's to try to curl her hair to see if she wanted it curled for the funeral. I also tried to teach her how to do it herself, but she is scarred now from burning herself twice. I thought it turned out super cute!

Once again, tried to go to sleep early, everyone was up talking, took Nyquil  and still stayed up an extra hour.




Thursday


My student didn't end up showing up..Which really is karma because the day before she said, "haha you're sick" and the next day she was home with a fever.

So I got sent to the high school. I got there when 2nd hour already started, so I had a prep and then was given a schedule for the rest of the day. During prep, I talked with the other interpreters that were also on prep. It ended up being quite the hour...One was crying because of ex-husband issues. Then shortly after, a pregnant interpreter started having contractions and feeling vertigo. She left for the hospital and I took over her schedule for the day.
I always enjoy being at the high school and around all the other interpreters and the fun teenagers.

The office kept me busy once again. When I left, I realized I was now going to be on a time crunch.
I ate super fast, shaved, got reready, got my stuff ready for the evening and then drove to institute. I was 5 minutes late, but I made it. Taylor and I can never make it to our class, but I finally decided to just go on my own. I was so glad I did.
I also saw 3 people I knew and made a new friend, so I'd call it a success.

I left 5 minutes early (5 minutes late, and left 5 minutes early...smooth), and headed over to Taylors.
We signed up to clean the gilbert temple from 9:15-11:45.

To be honest, it has kinda been a dream of mine to clean the temple. In 7th grade, one of my friend's parents cleaned the mesa temple, and I thought that was the coolest thing. Like what an honor. When my stake was asked to do it, Taylor and I jumped on the opportunity.

We got to the temple around 9:05, and there was quite the line. We had to sign in and then get scrubs (we brought our temple suit, dress not knowing we didn't need it). By the time everyone was situated and had a "job" it was 10:15.
Taylor and I were lucky ducks!! We got to clean the chandelier in the middle of the brides' room. We cleaned every single individual crystal. That also meant we were on a huge ladder! It was such a neat experience.

We didn't leave our areas til 11:45, then got dressed, waited in the waiting room with everyone, and then had to all walk out at the same time since the gates were locked. So we didn't really leave til 12:20 ish so I got home around 1.

I'm going to be real with you though. I had the WORST cramps the whole time, and so I couldn't completely enjoy it completely. I kinda wanted to just curl up in a ball. Nonetheless, it was still really neat.

Monday--Day 1 of Valentines Week

TAYLOR PASSED HIS REAL ESTATE TEST!!!!!!
He texted me during my "prep" so I was lucky enough to be able to call him! We were both beaming with excitment!! We decided to celebrate with Carrabbas (also a pre Valentines dinner).
He has worked so hard to get to this point!! With his license, he can now help expand his dad's business! It is all around, a wonderful thing!

After dinner, we headed over to the suns game.

Also shoutout to loverboy for filling up my gas and cleaning the windshield! So nice of him. :)

Monday

FHE was with another ward and it was supposed to be "breaking the ice" due to Valentines Day approaching. Taylor and I opted not to go since we aren't really looking to break the ice. Haha.
Instead we went for a run around discovery park (probably my favorite place to run), and then ran up and down the hills. There were a million people there for flag football practice and I embarrassed Taylor by dancing to every song that came on my phone ;)

We ended the night by treating ourselves to some Wendys.



Tuesday

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I have been thinking about taking a HUGE interpreting test soon. Passing would mean freedom to interpret free-lance AND significantly higher pay. It would also be a big accomplishment and one of those "i made it" moments. The problem is, it has a passing rate of "10%". So I have a lot of work to do.
The thought of the test just makes me feel hopeless. I typically don't really think about it. But i know I gotta do it soon. I FINALLY buckled down and signed up for a mentor. She will send me 4 videos in a month and I will video myself interpreting it. Then she will pick a part my work and give me insane feedback. I'm pumped. My goal is to take the test in May, right before summer.



By the time I'm done with interpreting, it's a struggle to get me to the office. I just want to take a nap or go for a run. Today, I was super motivated and ready to work! Ironically, after being there for an hour, I realized Nate's cross country match was happening today!
I hurried home, and then went over to the match with mom. I never get to truly see her, so it was nice having one-on-one time. Which was still not enough time to talk, and so it carried over to dinner as well.

That evening, Taylor and I did a double date with Chloe and Chase (our newly-wed friends). We went to backyard taco and then played games at their house.


Wednesday

I try to go to the temple every week, but I've bene slacking. It was fine to finally go again. :)

In the evening, I headed over to Taylors with In n Out (shoutout to Al for the giftcard). After a bit, he had to leave to give someone a blessing. He asked me to help look up the equation for something while he was gone. I got carried away and solved the whole problem. Ooops.
While I was waiting for him, his mom came home with pie and cookies. :) Holler.




Thursday

Grandma Update: They were ready to move her to a care center but then they found something else in a cat scan. So she had to have surgery and now she is just trying to recover.

My student had a field trip, called SIM. It's basically about space and science and them becoming little engineers. The students loved it, but I was bored out of my mind, plus tried of standing the whole time.
The people in charge are super strict. If anyone goes to the bathroom, the whole class gets minus 1,000 points. There was a boy that really had to go, but by the time his opportunity came, he decided to wait. Well he ended up having a straight up accident on the floor. All of the sudden I hear the instructor talk to the teacher and say- follow the trail out the door. Yikes. Poor kid was on the verge of tears the rest of the day.
On the way back, my student decided to mess around on the bus, and so the driver pulled over. The teacher then yelled at her, and she lost it. No work for my student the rest of the day because she was just too much of a mess. Crazy day.

Mom has been spending a lot of time at the hospital with grandma. I volunteered to pick up dinner. Dad and I got Rumbi but al and nate stuck to In-n-Out.

Taylor came over and studied for a bit, then we attended our friend's reception. When I was walking in, I saw Brittney (the bride) not in the line and in a black floral dress. I was so confused why she wasn't in her dress, then quickly realized she HAS A TWIN. Lolz. So funny.

After the reception, Taylor wanted to watch a show called Treasure Hunters with his dad, but I wasn't too interested. He played with my hair while I laid my head on his lap-so I was content. :)


Friday


Dad is the bishop of his ward, and decided he wanted to take all the single sisters out to dinner. He wanted it to be fancy so they could "get out". I jokingly said, well i'm single, can i come? He then said, well actually we need drivers, so yeah can you come? Haha. So I got to go.
It was the kind of place that has like 4 or 5 courses. If you can imagine I didn't even eat my main course.
The dinner ended up being 6 HOURS. Mostly because everyone stayed after and talked but HOLY COW. I was so ready to leave but since I drove everyone, I couldn't just dip.



Saturday

DAD'S BIRTHDAY





I tried to plan ahead of time, but he just had so many church things going on that none of it worked out. Instead we ended up just celebrating in the evening. We went to dinner at Olive Garden (one near tempe so my grandpa would be closer to the hospital for my gma), and then back to my grandpa's house for cake (also close to the hospital).
For some reason, I was the topic of all the teasing..lolz. like my "high maintenance to-go dr pepper".

We all went around the table and said our favorite things about him. It's always so nice to hear everyone's and to remember just how lucky I am to have him as my dad.



The rest of the evening, Taylor studied (i semi helped) with occasional (frequent) breaks.





Sunday

I interpreted for Amber, but this week was their ward conference. So they were combined for 3rd hour. Those always seem to be a little harder because they are very official but it was actually pretty easy. The speakers were perfect.

After I hurried over to my parents ward...surprise! I had to sing in church. My dad told me on Tuesday that they were asked "as a family" to sing in church. He said, "you're coming".
**TBH, I am not a very confident singer. I don't really sing loud even in church (something I am now improving on). So as you can imagine, I didn't want to sing with them.
I told him, I am not even in your ward AND my ward is at the same time. He then retaliated with, well if you aren't part of the FAMILY, next FAMILY trip, you will be paying your own way. **He was so serious**.
Lo and behold, I sang.

I did indeed still make it to my ward, just missed the first hour.

Taylor and I then headed over to my parent's house for dinner. When we pulled into the circle, we saw a police car parked on the other side of the circle. We quickly found out that their house got broken in to. THIS IS THE SECOND NEIGHBOR IN ONE WEEK.
These robbers know what they are doing too- they did it very strategically.
I am super paranoid now (okay MORE paranoid now).

That evening was more studying, dessert on dessert and eventually driving home a very exhausted boyfriend.

Just in case anyone was wondering...my blog redesign was a total accident.. I wanted a new template, but it changed the whole format of the blog. So I had to change things around, but I am still happy with it.

I'm gonna tell you right off the bat, basically every night consisted of Taylor studying for his real estate test. His packets to study are out of this world. They are each around 500 questions, and he has at least 4 packets (that's just what i've seen). THAT IS A TON OF MATERIAL TO MEMORIZE. So every evening was mostly centered around studying. I was mostly his "break" and would quiz him after he'd review.



Monday
My family does a "fun" FHE the 5th Monday of every month. This week consisted of Kona Grill. :)
Taylor and I of course accepted the invitation. It was a good time!

Also it was the first Monday in like 6 months that i've gotten a real email from DJ AND we got to chat back and forth. Even greater news....only 161 days til he gets home :) :) :)



Tuesday

I calculated how many miles I drive a day..

House to school -- 4 miles
School to office -- 12 miles
Office to stahle abode  -- 19 miles
Stahle Abode to Taylor's House -- 7.5 miles
plus then back home -- 7.5 miles

Overall I drive 50 miles everyday


But if I got straight to Taylor's right after the office, it saves me like 14 miles. So whenever I can just go straight to his house after work, I do. Which typically means we eat out for dinner.


Today was one of those days I went straight, and we ate out. But it worked out because then he could study and I could bring him food. We have our 3 places we typically go.. In n Out, Chick Fil A, Mod Pizza. He opted for Chick fil A which I later found out he picked just for me, even though he had been there for lunch. (Heart eye emoji)


Tuesday= dance class. They have a dance performance coming up, but I already had tickets for a suns game, so I opted to sit this one out. Which meant I was in bed by 9 pm and it was glorious.





Wednesday

Remember my problem with the lease?? Well it's not over.
I was so concerned about getting the new lease generated because it was the 1st of the month!!! Which meant we needed to get the new girls on so I wasn't accountable for rent. Plus I just SO wanted it to be over.

Kathryn finally emailed us the new lease. Soon after I had a text from one of my roommates saying they KEPT US ON THE LEASE and she would not sign.
It was quite the ordeal. TBH, I don't feel like going into detail but we were at a conflict and neither side would budge.

It has now been 5 days and nothing new has come about, so i think we are finally finished.


That evening, Taylor introduced me to a new soda place in downtown gilbert- Fiiz Rocket. It's not like the other soda places (that I go to far too often). Instead it has a bunch of authentic bottles and different mixes of sodas. It's pretty vintage and cute!


Thursday

I left all my kitchen stuff at my old house for my roommates to use until I need them. Well I guess someone had a ton of stuff moving in, so I had to go haul it all out. Then take it to my storage unit that was a whole ordeal in itself.


Taylor has been hitting all my favorites this week-- Chick Fil A on Tuesday, Soda on Wednesday...today he treated me to my true favorite food place-- Costa Vida! Mmmmm.


Poor Taylor can never 100% study because everyone always needs him. Tonight was no exception. He drove to pick someone up from work (who ended up being frustrated from work and just rode his bike home anyway).




Friday

Everyday I look through my "Conrad" album on my phone. I was just really missing him and really sad that we don't see him grow. Plus of course, wishing Morgan could also live closer. Alie had mentioned earlier that week that if I bought a ticket for Utah over Spring Break, she'd buy one too. Spontaneously I looked up flights and saw how CHEAP they were. So I texted Morgan, made sure we could come, and then bought them! I was going to surprise Al when it got closer, but I was worried she saw some messages about it on my mom's ipad. So it's not a secret anymore but we are so excited to go up for a few days!!

Taylor is in the Elders Quorum Presidency and the Pres just got married. The groom happened to go to my high school, so I also (sorta) knew him. So we stopped by their reception for a little bit. I still think it's funny Taylor loves receptions and I kinda hate them.

Later that evening, we tried to watch a movie with his family, but I kept nodding off, so I tapped out and drove home.



Saturday
I had every intention to have a super productive day but when it came time to get up, I couldn't. I needed a "me" day. A slow morning. So I did just that. I laid in bed and watched Gilmore Girls until I HAD to get ready.

A new Fiiz opened by Mesa High and they had 1 dollar drinks. Alie and I drove over but the line was crazy long. So I ditched that idea and went to soda shop instead (which I like more anyway).
I also got Taylor something as an excuse to interrupt his studying for a baby bit.

I did eventually stop by the office to do some work.

That evening my parents had ward temple night so I "graciously" got dinner for us and the kids. We got Oreganos and it hit the spot. We also got pizookies, but they don't sell the ice cream as well... So after eating our food, taylor and I took a quick trip to Safeway to get some ice cream.

I think we were all in food comas the rest of the night.



Sunday


So Taylor got a new calling- Elders Quorum President.
I ended up staying all three hours of his church to support him (also got to see Elise teach temple prep) and then went to an hour of mine. I felt bad leaving my ward early since everyone was leaving for super bowl.

The evening consisted of food, trying to help Taylor study, distract the kids, watching the crazy comeback and more studying.