Lauren's Happenings

Wednesday

I left for work at my usual 6:05 and a not so welcome light popped up- the engine light. Being my paranoid self, I was ready to drive straight to the Toyota shop to get it fixed. But I crossed my fingers it would be fine until after work.
Spoiler alert- gas cap was loose. So glad it wasn't a 1,000 dollar fix.

I now had the afternoon off, so I captialized on it and went shopping with Elise for a bridal shower. We were quite the team and found the perfect gifts.

After shopping, I met up with Taylor for a temple session.
We then ended the night with In-N-Out and stopping at Kohls to buy him a new (nicely) fitted white shirt.



Thursday

It was a busy day at the office. They were sending out Christmas cards and I wanted to finish addressing, sealing... everything that day. I somehow finished them all just when the lights turned off in the office.

Later that evening, Taylor and I went hot tubbing with Chloe and Chase at their new apartment. This was my first time hot tubbing in the actual cold. Taylor and I tried to jump in the pool but it was only 3 feet deep, so we mostly just put our legs in and then ran back to the hot tub. Haha.


Friday

I got to the office and turns out they wanted to add one more thing to the letters. So I had to unseal ALL of them, insert the postcard, seal, and put a stamp on. I was on somewhat of a time crunch because I had to finish in time to watch Baby Max with Taylor. I realized I was the one mailing them, so I could just finish them at my house. All in all it worked out.

Baby Max is such a good baby. He literally never cries. And the best part is that his favorite way to be held is on your chest which just so happens to be my favorite way to hold babies. While we were watching Taylor's nephew, his other sister came over. So the time went really fast talking with her and watching the baby.

Taylor knows Costa Vida and food are my love language, so we went there after for dinner. :)
We planned to do just dance after but we were both too full, so instead we just chilled at my parents house.



Saturday

Chloe had her bridal shower, but she wanted us all to wear fancy hats. So I figured it was also fitting to wear a dress, and red lipstick. It's so fun dressing up and feeling fancy. They had 2 games we played- one was guessing who said what between the bride and groom. I ended up getting third place, which is good considering half the people there were family! The other game we played bingo based on what gifts we thought she would get. I did in fact win this one.

I had a 2 hour grace period before Alie's winter formal so I went into the office to get some stuff done. It was a party time there. People that worked there were giving tours to their families, someone was working on the front lounge AND there were left over cookies from Friday.

I was maybe going to have to do Al's hair but someone in the ward ended up doing it, so I was off the hook. Alie is a freakin babe though. She looked so good.


My stake was so lucky and we had President Nelson come speak to us. In addition, he had dinner with all the bishops and their wives (taylor's parents got to go). Taylor was quite strategic and sat exactly where Pres Nelson would pass when he walked in and out. So Taylor got to shake his hand, and I got to look into his eyes for a good 3 seconds. He carries with him such a strong spirit. I hope to obtain that purity and santificiation some day. Also he was so personable and funny. He knew how to work the crowd.

After the fireside, we went to my parents, ate, and I think we started a movie?



Sunday

I didn't realize til writing this, but we went to my parents house 3 nights in a row! Wowsers.

We went over for dinner after church along with the usual gang of my grandparents and aunt.
Taylor and I had to leave early to catch a little concert for his dad. When we got there, his dad realized he needed to get the speaker to another practice. So Taylor and I stayed for a half hour and then ran back to the Tenney house to pick up the speaker.

Now Taylor had to stay for the practice, but it was okay because I got to hear him sing. :)



Monday

My student had her IEP meeting. I was super nervous because I had strong opinions, but couldn't necessarily share all of them based on my role. I was worried they would just kind of come out, or I would feel like I was lying. Fortunately she has a rockstar teacher and she brought to light all of my concerns. Also a little interpreter education: since i was there to speak about my role with my student, another interpreter has to come so the deaf student knows what is going on. The interpreter that came is quite capable and very cute, but I was very possessive of my student. In my head- I was critquing on signs that are more compatible with my student. I didn't realize how much I have claimed my student-which is exactly why we don't work with a student for more than one year.


I had about an hour and a half to spare, so I capitalized on it, to buy tights for dance and a few Christmas gifts. My mom is an angel and she made cilantro rice for my ward christma party. She is the literal best. I may or may not have left my ward christmas party early and went to taylors and ate even more food.


Tuesday

The only thing I remember is my dance class.. I thought for sure we'd go over but we ended up just running each dance 3 times and then went home. So only a 30 minute pratice.




Wednesday


Taylor and I made a goal to go to the temple together once a week and so far we are 3/3. Also Wednesday nights are the prime time to go because it is not busy at all and we get through pretty fast.

After the temple, we went for a run. Then decided we wanted to do the hills at Discovery Park. We were gone an additional half hour. When we got back, his sister ran to his car and had a terrified look on her face.


She then relayed how someone went in their backyard (which she thought was Taylor), but heard the dog going crazy, so she peeked out the window. She saw a white truck parked by their trailer. When she got outside, he was driving away with one of their ladders.


She was mortified. Taylor kinda blew it off but decided to go buy a lock for the gate, and for the trailer hitch. I stayed with Jodi and tried to calm her, but it led into her telling me every incident that had ever happened on their street. So at this point, I'm mildly scared, but keeping my cool for her sake.

Turns out, it was a family friend borrowing the ladder. Lolz.

Quite the night.




Thursday


6 years ago, Taylor's dad started a stake christmas concert. It has grown into a 3 night performance with the most ellaborate nativity set up. Each room has a theme based on one of Christs titles (prince of peace, fisher of men, etc) and it is so intricate that they even have the entire walls covered with some kind of mural. Thursday was the first night of the concerts, so Taylor and I went to check out the nativities, and the first night of the concerts. Mckenna Brienholt was the main performer (a member of Cinematic Pop- Rob Gardners group) and we went just to hear her sing.

We left early to see the new Star Wars. We strategically picked a theater that had reclining seats and reserved seating. Unfortunately, I was tired and comfortable and I fell asleep for just about the whole movie. So I will be seeing it again. Haha.



Friday

I should label this as the day of standing.

There was a spelling bee that lasted 2 hours, so I stood for 2 hours straight with not the best shoes. It was fun to interpret but my feet were done. Unfortunately we had another assembly at the end of the day, which meant another half hour of standing.

I needed an energy boost, so I stopped at soda shop on my way home and now have all the punches for a free soda. Holler!!

Around 5, Taylor and Elise met up with me at my parents and then we drove out to Phoenix to help at the Salvation Army Warehouse. You know how at malls they have the trees and you pick a kids name off and buy a gift. Well our job was to put the gifts on the correct shelf that correlates with each family. Then we got to "go shopping". We would be given a trash bag with an age and gender (3-5 boy, teen girl, etc) and we would put three gifts in the bag. It was fun looking scavengaring for the best gift.

I did this with my family last year but it was at 5 am the day the families were picking stuff up. So it was chaotic but so fun. I loved it because everyone has a job and there is structure. No one is just standing around. Unfortunatlely my family did not sign up, so when I saw another ward was going I jumped on it!



Saturday


You know that group that I dance with on Tuesdays, well they had a Christmas show and we got to be in it! Saturday morning was dedicated to our dress rehearsal.

Taylor happened to be singing in a concert that night as well, which just so happened to be literally right across the street. Anyway, he had his practice in the morning too. As soon as we were both finished, we went Christmas shopping. Target is literally the best place to go Christmas shopping especially if you have multiple people to buy for. We crossed 8 people off our list.

When we were done, we went to his sisters so he could help fix their car. I in the meantime held baby max and got him to fall asleep too.

Then we had to go our separate ways to get ready for our shows.

His show was 5-6:30 and then 7:30-9. My show was 6-idk when it would get over.
It was right in the middle. I worked it out where I could see the whole show between the two concerts. He tried to come to mine during his half hour break, but he walked in right when my first dance was over. Then he didn't have enough time for the second. But it was sure sweet of him to come. Also shoutout to my family who I can always count on supporting me.


Our dress rehearsal was awful. But thankfully the show turned out great. You can watch one of the dances on facebook-I posted it.
It did my heart good performing again.




Sunday

I haven't gone to Taylor's ward since we started dating again, but I've been trying to find an excuse to. He was singing in his ward's christmas program so I decided it was the perfect excuse. Also his dad sang in his trio, and his parents both gave talks. So it was a good week to attend.

They had linger longer after church but his sisters were coming over for dinner. So I settled for 2 oreo truffles and a little bit of broccoli.


Taylor had to sing at another fireside, but lucky us, he was 2nd! So we still got to leave early.
When we got back to his house, we played a game with all the adults and I pretty much failed at all of them. But the most frustrating game was code names. I have to play again.

Dang I was on a roll of posting every week. Instead of boring you with details I can't really remember I'll just give highlights.

1. Every year, my parent's neighborhood has a Christmas Party consisting of Mexican food and a white elephant gift exchange. I didn't care to be a part of the gift portion (then I'd have to bring something), but I dragged Taylor along for the food portion. Kelley's parents also live in the neighborhood, and it's a tradition, so I also convinced her and Eric to come along! After eating, and socializing, Taylor and I went to his FHE, which mostly consisted of sitting on the stage and talking while others played volleyball.

2. My deaf student is in Orchestra, and they had their concert. It was nice during the school day because we got to ditch class the whole morning-holler! I also got recruited to interpret in the evening. I didn't realize til later, but 2 of my cousins were also in the concert, so that meant my grandma, grandpa, and aunt/uncle were all there. Now they all saw a portion of my work life ;) Taylor was super on top of things and planned a double date, but didn't realize I had to interpret the concert. Luckily, we were still able to do both. Our friends, Chase and Chloe are getting married soon, so they have a cute little apartment. Chloe being so domesticated made soup, bread, hot chocolate and cookies for us all. Taylor having crafty girls in his family, trained him right, and he got all the crafts to make ornaments. It was all around a fun night.


3. Taylor has a family friend that started a seasonal event. Basically you get in an army truck, and shoot zombies with paint balls. It was so fun!! And we were super hooked up and they gave us an endless supply of paintballs (even though we payed for 2 rounds). Genius idea.


4. Saturday is going to be it's own thing...
One of my good ward friends, went through the temple, so I got to attend a session with her. I love when people go through on their own, just simply because they feel like it's right. I highly recommend it, if they feel ready. It's so great to get a better understanding before being sealed. But of course they are perks to going through when you are getting married too.
As soon as I was finished, I had to drive to Scottsdale for my girl, Elise's birthday gig at the aquarium. Her sisters surprised her and came down for the weekend, so it was a party time. It was quite the struggle of getting to the aquarium though. I lost my freakin debit card. On top of it, I desperately needed gas. Luckily I had 30 dollars, 10 for gas, 20 for the aquarium. I was running late on top of all that which always makes me so agitated. When I finally made it there, I realized it costed 30 dollars. Yikes. Thankfully, we could pay online.
I'm not really a fan of animals of anything to do with them, but I actually enjoyed the aquarium. I probably wouldn't go again, but it was pretty cool. Also it was Elise's birthday, so it was worth it.

When I was done with that, I had to hurry and drive back to Gilbert for Taylor's Brother in Laws birthday party. Taylor was the hit of the party with his rocket that he set off. Which unfortunately ended up getting stuck on someone's roof and he had to leave for priesthood session of stake conference.

As soon as that was done, I was #blessed and remembered I had a credit card I needed to activate. So now I have a back up! Plus my dad came in clutch and gave me some cash.

It was just the day of birthdays. It was also my cousin's birthday so we drove out to Tempe to celebrate. Unfortunately, it was an hour wait and I didn't have enough time to wait before stake conference, so my dad drove me back. I treated myself to Costa Vida, finally got a hold of Taylor, continued my "running late to everything streak" and was late to stake conference picking up bf food.

Stake conference was good. After we got some Ben and Jerrys and then semi watched The Host. It's kind of a weird movie.


5. Stake conference is actually kind of a nice treat because we have church at 11, as opposed to 2, and I get to go to church with Taylor. After stake conference, I spent most the evening at the Tenney household. He decided to chose a different emphasis within his major, so he had to resign up for his spring classes. Thankfully, all the classes he needed were still open. He was also able to get all his classes to just two days a week, which is essential for work. So it definitely worked out!
His siblings eventually came over, and then it was partyville. There are A TON of little kids running around, but it is so fun. Taylor's dad is doing a community christmas performance which mostly consists of older people in the stake, but Taylor is so talented he gets to be in it ;) They had a practice at 8, and since they needed help setting up speakers, Jodi (his sister) and I opted to stay the whole time and watch.


6. My student was out of town for 3 days, which meant I got to team/sub at the other schools. Here are some highlights.
-one of the terps loves to bake, and brings treats basically at least once a week. I got to eat some of her YUMMY cake, and had more than my fair share. Oh and the day before she brought a big cookie. So holler. Wish I was there everyday.
-I got to interpret a government class, and actually found it interesting, and learned stuff. Also it was the first time I've interpreted for a student who fell asleep. It's a funny deal when you're interpreting. Like do you stop? Keep going as they occasionally bob their head up?
-Everyday I teamed with Olivia for at least one class, so we got to major catch up on life!
-The last day I realized my cousin was in one of the classes. Lolz.
-I interpreted in a chair that I didn't realize was a rolling chair and kept sliding around the classroom and almost falling off. That was an adventure.
-I interpreted one class that I dreaded every day. I don't know what the title is, but they were learning about the sun. The teachers style and the content is just super hard for me to interpret for some reason. Finally the last day, I nailed it and felt so good. Left with a bang!

My student drives me kinda crazy sometimes (okay just about everyday) but this little break made me miss her, and appreciate my site a little more.



7. Taylor finished his first semester at ASU. It was a hard one, so we celebrated with his fav, Carrabbas, and ate more than we should have.


Only 8 days left until break. YAY YAY YAY!!!! I'm also getting real pumped to go see Vanita now that it's more official!

Monday

Dad's company and my part time work officially moved locations. We are now in this new fancy, luxurious building in Gilbert. I feel a lot more safe there and I especially like that I never have to lock up the building Also as bonus, after interpreting it takes the same amount of time to drive there. Oh and my cubicle is closer to my dad's office. So that's really nice.


After work, I met up with Taylor. The plan was to workout and get dinner and then let him get back to studying. I was just coming in for a little mind break. We ended up running around his neighborhood (I'm impressed I could semi keep up), and then got Mod Pizza. :) Mmmm. Hit the spot.


Tuesday

I didn't go into the office because I needed to get the Lotts their Christmas presents before they came down. Mom, Nate, and Al all made the trek to Target as well. In true Target fashion, I left with more than I actually needed including decorations for my new cubicle.

Dance night. We did a combination that we learned a few weeks ago, but I was SO HAPPY to do it again so i could really get it down. It was such a fun dance. Maybe I'll upload the video. I convinced my friend Aly to come AND Sarah was in town so she came as well! :)




Wednesday


Perk of working in an elementary school: holiday parties.

The students basically did no work which also meant I didn't have much to interpret. On top of that, they had a school turkey trot. I just walked a lap with the teachers, BUT I got to wear workout clothes, so that was real nice.

The office closed before I was even out of school, so I didn't have to go in. Instead I napped and tried curling my hair. I didn't really like it but it was better than the first two times.

Taylor and I eventually met up at my parent's house. The night consisted of him painting my nails (better than I can paint them), making a domino extravaganza with Nate, and that's all I can remember.

Wednesday was a funky day at school. It was late start at the high school and junior high, then early release at the elementary school. So my student left around 12:30, and then I was going to have "prep" for 2 and a half hours. An interpreter at the junior high ended up getting sick, so I filled in for her, and worked over time. Naturally I decided not to go into the office. Instead i went on a run, and then got ready to watch my cousin, Jayne (she's the one with autism I used to do hab with). She was such a happy girl, it was so fun to work with her. And since it was the evening, she was super mellow and let me play with her hair while watching the world series with her brothers. Good night.


Thursday

The weekend before, the light came on my car to get it serviced. I wanted to get quality time with Derrick and Syd before they drove to the valley, so I ignored it and drove to Tucson anyway (Smart, right). Anyway I FINALLY got it serviced on Thursday. The Toyota store is .9 miles from my dad's office, so I figured it would be perfect to drop it off, walk over and then have mom pick me up when I was done working. It ended up being a rainy day, but luckily no rain while I was on my little trek to the office. Also I'm quite proud that i made it in 13 minutes, as opposed to the 20 minutes it calculated.

Al was a gem and picked me up to get my car. The rest of the night, she was my partner in crime as we looked for bday gifts for Nate.


Friday

Nate's 14th Birthday!!!

I don't really remember anything that happened at school...
Nate wanted a friend party, so that meant we had to go to a pretty early dinner so he could do both. We went to Kona, naturally, and then quickly opened presents when we got back. I don't think any of us even ate cake because people were already showing up for the party.
I think the highlight for Nate was getting an instagram now that he is FINALLY 14!

Tucson Trip


I am always looking for an excuse to go to Tucson to visit my roomies and the few people that are still there from my dayz. There was the big institute halloween dance, so I figured that was a good enough excuse. Sadly, Sydney and Derrick were heading back to the valley that night, but they are champs and still planned to come to the dance for a bit.

When I got into town, I met up with Derrick for dinner at the Tucson Tamale. Neither of us had been there and it's a tucson must!