The Final SMRHAYS Blowout

My grandfather purchased a motorhome for the Summerhays family many, many years ago. 

It has traveled far and wide... okay well mostly to Utah and back in its early years, and then to the family property and back in its later years. But still, this puppy has covered a lot of miles. Even more remarkable than the miles are the memories that are cram packed into every corner of that motorhome. We've had our good times, along with our fair share of disaster with this money pit. I'll never forget the family trip to California when we had three, yes I said THREE, of the tires all blow out at different times along the highway. Yeah... that was fun to sit on the side of the freeway for hours on end waiting to be rescued. Or how about when the microwave and fridge both repeatedly took their turns ceasing to work. Or every time you turned a corner and all the dishes came flying out of the cupboards. What a joy! But i'll be honest, there are a LOT of fantastic memories that outweigh the bad. Laying on the beds in the back and flying three feet in the air every time we went over a speed bump. Countless trips to Leisure Time for family trips and birthdays. Nights at the property. Counting down the minutes until we got on the freeway so we could pop a VHS into that tiny little TV. That time my 8 year old best friend almost choked on a shock tart and didn't calm down until it slid down piece of watermelon. And who could forget the fit of giggles everyone got when under the "If you smell gas..." warning label someone scribbled in pencil, "it was probably Rob." With the thousands of hours I have spent within its walls, I could go on and on about the SMRHAYS beast.

Last week, that same motorhome had its last hurrah.

For the Summerhays family, this is the ending of an era.

After a quick trip to the property, mom and I followed in the car behind the motorhome and watched a tire blow. Again. It was the second one in two days! Plus it took out the septic tank (gross) and a storage compartment. And that, friends and family, was the last straw. It has got to go. Its time for SMRHAYS to go to motorhome heaven.

Hypothetical building plans for the property have been in place for many years, and we're thinking its time for those plans to become a reality! It'll be exciting to build upon the legacy of this place and make some fun, permanent changes. Motorhome or not, this will always be our special place where we love to spend lots of family time!

These two wonderful people deserve more than a fair share of credit for care of the motorhome and property. They have poured so much time and money and love into this all of this, and we are very grateful for them. Love you guys! 

What do you do when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception? Lay in the middle of the road and take pictures, of course. Obviously the safest and most responsible course of action, despite the concerned cries from adults on the side of the road.

Totally worth it.

R.I.P. SMRHAYS

Mice Mice Baby

Growing up I never really cared for the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. I mean come on, who in their right mind would waste a perfectly good cookie on a mouse?! Welp... I am now guilty of doing exactly that.

Allow me to tell you the story.

When I moved out of The Colony right after graduation, I was fortunate enough to move in with my friend Kristin who lives less than a block away. With her hubby gone to California doing sales for several months, she wanted a roomie to share her little basement home with for the summer. Its been great living together again and seeing a lot more of each other, even though our busy schedules don't quite line up all the time :) Being a basement apartment, this place is prone to inviting a few undesirables... like spiders and beetles and now... mice!! We discovered our little visitor a couple of weeks ago when we started finding holes in our bags of food and the tiniest little terds sprinkled around the kitchen. The landlady lent us a mousetrap (one that doesn't kill, just imprisons) and after just one night of being left out on the kitchen floor with cheerios as bait (we knew from Kristin's holey cereal bag that it'd work), we caught the little fella. And then, being the sane and humane girls that we are, we let him free in the big backyard, sure that he wouldn't find his way back into our humble abode, especially with the cats that roam the property. 

WE. WERE. WRONG. 

Okay so this is where the cookie comes in. Last Sunday I wanted a chocolate chip cookie so bad I thought I was going to die. I needed it. Just one warm ooey gooey delicious cookie and i'd be satisfied. Buuuut we didn't have the ingredients or the time to bake them, so the craving lived on. Oh well. I left home to pick up Kristin from the airport and upon our return, I discovered a single chocolate chip cookie on the kitchen table with a note from my sweet boy who had snagged the treat for me from someone else's apartment. The craving was to be satisfied! ... Except all was not right with this cookie. It wasn't on the paper towel that he'd left, and a chocolate chip was missing off the top... and then we spotted more of those terrible tiny little terds. Mr. Mouse was back?!

All week the trap lay out, ready to capture him once again. Unfortunately he'd outsmarted us, and there was no sign of his return... until late Thursday night. Kristin and I were talking as we were winding down for the night, and while she was cleaning up in the kitchen she heard the little bugger scratching around in our pantry. We knew what had to be done. The madness had to end, and that could only happen by catching the mouse and taking the necessary steps to ensure it never returned again. The chaos that ensued was... well, lets just say it was a good thing the cute little old lady who lives upstairs had already removed her hearing aids for the night or else she might have been tempted to call the cops after the blood curdling screams that came from the basement. Which actually might have been nice because then they could have taken over our inevitable task of catching our mouse  friend  enemy. Kristin and Jannette: regular, unassuming girls by day, pro mouse trappers by night. 

Its a serious business y'all. 

We see you. And you're going down.

As if I could ever allow an opportunity like this pass by without documentation. 

For your viewing pleasure, here is (most) of the midnight mouse adventures of Kristin and Jannette.

The beginning:

The big scare:

The victory:

I'll spare you all the details, but it is now safe to say that after much brain storming, planning, failed attempts, sweat, screams, and many scares, Mr. Mouse is gone. And he isn't coming back.

Mission accomplished.

If you have a mouse problem, call... anyone but us. I think we've had our fair share of adventures like this one for a while! Meanwhile, I never got my chocolate chip cookie. And apparently its National Doughnut Day, so imma go enjoy that happiness just like this winner of a pup right here.

Happy National Running Day!

In honor of national running day!!

Well actually if i'm being honest, I was feeling pretty weak and pathetic on my four miler this morning... so i'm making myself feel better by posting a few of my favorite running pictures from this year so far. Because yeah, somehow I turned into that kind of person who has a lot of running related pictures. Some of the beautiful places I go and things I see, some with my favorite running buddies, and some that are straight up braggy.

Run happy, my friends!

Matt's family's dog can run crazy fast, its way cool.

☺☻

Sister Spotlight

When I was in 9th grade, I spent time every morning between seminary and school sitting on a big comfy chair with my feet up, a blanket wrapped around me, a mug of hot chocolate in my hand, and a sudoku puzzle on my lap. Because freshmen still went to the junior high back then, there was an unfortunate period of time after seminary and before school that I easily could have been forced to spend sitting alone in the cold campus library. But there was an angel named Kathy Bruner who insisted that I come to her home with her son/my friend Cameron every morning so that she could spoil me and make me. She even went so far as to give me a hot cocoa mug that said "You are special today." This was the time that Kathy and I started to really develop our own friendship. I had always loved her since she was Sister Spotlight and came to teach us fun and special lessons in primary sharing time once a month. She was always close by as a young women's leader or going to get pedicures with my mom or volunteering in the library at school. But that year, as she served and loved me every single day, we became true friends and that friendship has only grown ever since!

Last week, Kathy came to Provo! She came to spend time with her boy Cameron, and I was lucky enough to be able to soak up some of her attention as well. We kicked off the visit by going to the Scared Gifts art exhibit on BYU campus and it was fantastic. Cam had to head to class, but I had a pretty free day so Kathy and I spent the afternoon together walking to my apartment, me playing nurse on her injured finger, chatting, and drinking delicious smoothies. I miss my own mamma big time, and so having one of my pseudo-mammas to talk to and get hugs from was awesome for me. She let me just blabber on and on about my life, and made me feel so great about where i'm at, what i'm doing, and who I am becoming. Plus we laughed like a lot sooo it was pretty great.

A few days later, Kathy treated a bunch of us college kiddos with a trip to the movies and dessert afterward. Her greatness doesn't even stop there. On Saturday night, she made Kathy-Rio! Aka Cafe Rio except made by Kathy... get it? It was DELICIOUS. And it was an astounding amount of food that she slaved over for a bunch of rowdy starving college kids. If you think this was a relaxing vacation trip to Utah for her... think again. She spent the entire time doing things for other people. I think she deserves to go home, curl on up a big comfy chair with her feet up, drink hot chocolate out of the "you are special today" mug, and do a sudoku puzzle.

We love you much Kathy! Thank you for coming and making us all feel so special and loved!

Remembering Tonga

I can't believe its been a year.

365 days ago I landed down on the beautiful island of Tongatapu, Tonga.

The month that followed changed my life in so many ways.

My eyes were opened to a whole new world (cue the Aladdin music).

I was there to learn about nursing in the South Pacific and to gain a global nursing experience, which I did, but there was so much more to it than just that. 

The phrases Malo e lelei, 'Io, bula!, and palangi quickly became a part of my everyday vocabulary. I came to appreciate Diet Coke for its magical way of settling my stomach after I ate any questionable local meals. I recognized that no matter how many different tie-dye shirts I wore, everyone still thought I only brought one change of clothes for the whole trip. I was touched by the dedication, testimonies, and strong spirits (and singing voices) of the Tongan saints. My eyes saw shades of blue that I didn't even know existed. I witnessed the unconditional love of small children who just want to learn and play and grow strong. I gained an appreciation for the scrubs that American nurses get to wear and counted my blessings that I don't have to dawn a hot pink hat/dress combo as I treat my patients. Pigs were everywhere there, and sometimes they are even cute. Also, they don't like raisins. I skinny dipped with 10 other girls on our secret clearwater beach, and have absolutely no regrets about it. I learned the value of flexibility and being okay with not always being in control of situations. I showered with the biggest spider i've ever seen and... okay so what i'm still afraid of spiders. I faced my fears by jumping into dark black cave water, only to be rewarded with a memory that will last a lifetime. 

Really, the entire experience was made up of days and excursions and patients and tiny little moments of incredible memories. I promised myself one year ago that I would soak in and appreciate every second of my time abroad in Fiji and Tonga, and I did. I promised myself that I would remember it all and reflect on it often, and I have. The lessons that I learned and some of the sisters that I gained there are forever. Even as two and three and 10 and 20 years pass, I never want to lose my appreciation and love for my time in Tonga, the people there, and the person that I became while I was there. 

Okay so lets get real, what better way is there to remember Tonga than through a ton of pictures?