Thursday, December 27, 2007

He remembers!!!


Ok, I am going to try and put the cutest pictures of my son Kasekende on here. When we got to the school on the first day I was so excited to see him. We got out of the van and I said hello to Sister Rose (the head nun) and then looked around for him. She came up to me and said "he is at the church". She than turned to a near by student and told him to run to the chapel and get Kasekende. I waited around for him to come and this is what I saw running down the hill. It was so cute. He was so excited to see me.

I was worried at first because I thought that he might not remember me. I mean, lets be honest he is only 3 and I don't know if he remembered July. I mean, I am sure that he remembered me being there, but I didn't know if I made that much of an impact on his life. As you can tell from most of my blogs, he sure has made an impact on my life. So it really made my day to see him booking it down the hill to see me.

I was talking to Master Peter later that day, and he mentioned that Kasekende really was lonely when we left in July. He didn't eat for two days as he waited for me to come back. That about broke my heart. I don't want to imagine how he will be after this trip. It was fun to see how much he had grown up since I had last seen him. He was a lot more talkative and his personality has really begun to develop. Master Peter also told me that Kasekende kept asking him for his cell phone so he could call me. Peter told him to go and ask Sister Rose for the phone number and when Kasekende returned he had a number. Of course it was just a number that Sister Rose had made up, and when Peter told Kasekende that the phone wouldn't connect, he was really put out.

Just like last trip, Kasekende stayed by me the whole time. He was my little shadow and biggest helper. Not only did I get to know him better, but I got to know his sister Namayanja too. She is a doll and I will miss her a lot. My heart breaks when I think that I might never have the chance to see them again. They are so cute.

Ok, so the picture didn't work. I will add it as soon as I get home.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Africa here I come!


Well everyone, the time has finally arrived. I leave for Africa on Saturday. I know you all are just dying to know how the trip is going. I would love to keep you all updated, but that is kinda hard to do. Good thing I have a blog, huh? Well I wish I could say that I am going to update my blog daily, but I don't think it is going to be that easy. I have another blog that I have to keep updated for the trip. The national chapter likes each team to provide a blog to keep people posted and since I am the only one with experience, that responsibility falls on me :)

So I hope to have time to update both blogs, but if not my job comes first. Please bookmark my African blog and see what is going on. I will be there from Dec. 8- Jan. 2. My goal is to update the blog at least every other day. So hope you enjoy learned about what we are doing. The url is uganda-usu.blogspot.com so go there and enjoy some great reading. I'll catch up with y'all when I come back.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

I love crayons

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors.
You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius.
Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way.
While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme.

Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

Monday, November 26, 2007

and I KNOW you do this too

What is it about cameras that make people go crazy? I don't know what it is...but whenever there is a camera laying around people just have to snap a photo. And it usually isn't just one casual snap shot...it typically consists of multiple photos with a wide variety of faces.

Now you are probably thinking to yourself...I don't do that. But of course we all know that this type of thinking is a lie. We all do it. There is no denying it. I'll use a little personal example to illustrate my point. Just the other day I was in Rexburg visiting my younger sister. We decided to head down to IF (see the last post) for some supper. The whole drive down to IF my sister and her roommate sat in the back of the car and participated in these crazy photos. They even went as far as to give each picture a theme.

I thought, "surely this is something that only young sophomores participate in". Being the "old" mature one, I would never do such a thing. While we were eating, Nate grabbed my camera and proceeded to take his individual candid photos. So I thought to myself again, "well Nate is used to being in front of the camera (he's a news anchor man), but I wouldn't never do such a thing".

But of course you know that I am about to be proven wrong. The next day Melissa and I went to Nate's house to play around. And before I new it...Nate's camera was in my hand and Melissa and I were going crazy. I don't know what it is. All my thoughts from yesterday didn't make sense. I wasn't the young sophomore and I wasn't used to being in front of the camera...so why was I drawn to it? What is it about the camera that makes us act young and careless?

I have yet to figure it out. I don't know what it is about the camera that makes us all act a little crazy...but cameras are a great thing. I know you have all done it. So don't hide your feelings...grab a camera and take some great photos!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Reliving the old times

So I will admit it...I went to BYU-Idaho...I know...shocking! A few good things came from attending that University. One of which was finding The Mongolian Grill. I can't figure it out. I don't know how I found this great little place...not many people who went to BYU-Idaho seem to know about it. But it is GREAT! We started going to The Mongolian Grill my Freshman year. On our first temple trip my roommates went there to eat. I was in a different car and so I didn't make it that first time. But I sure have made up since then. Every time we went to Idaho Falls we stopped at The Mongolian Grill. Whether it was a temple trip or a trip to the mall, we stopped and had a great time.
Now I don't know how many of you have eaten there. But it is great! Let me explain to you how this works. First you choose a bowl (small, medium and large). Now you should know that a small bowl is plenty of food. I can have a small bowl last me for two meals. After you choose your bowl...you choose what food you are going to eat. You can choose between frozen chicken, pork and beef that are in thin strips (I don't make choices very well...so I have all three). They have a ton of vegetables to choose from as well. The thing that is so nice is you can put whatever you like on it...it's made to order. Finally there are about 10-15 sauces to choose from and of course there are noodles.Now, the trick to getting the most out of your money (which is what most college students are after) is to do it in reverse order. Most of the time you would put the noodles on the bottom and then put the vegetables and meat on top. But that isn't the way you should do it. First put your meat on the bottom, followed by your vegetables. Then you put the noodles on top. It is easier to hold noodles that are over flowing then vegetables. Finally you add your sauce. When you are done with your bowl you give it to a worker and they put it on a giant wok and it is cooked right in front of you.

This weekend Melissa and I went up to Rexburg for a business meeting. She went to BYU-Idaho and had never been there...and my sister is currently attending BYU-Idaho and had never been there. So I decided that this was the weekend to relive the past. Melissa and I showed up in Rexburg and picked up my little sister and her roommate. Then we met our friend Nate at the restaurant.

And let me tell you...the good times were rolling. We had so much fun. I think if I lived in IF or Rexburg I would have to eat at The Mongolian Grill every week. So next time you are in IF make sure you take a trip down to The Mongolian Grill. It is off of 17th right by the mall. And remember...at a place like this...there is no such thing as too much meat and too much sauce.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

My true calling in life

So thanks to my co-worker...turned best friend....turned other half...I have found my true calling in life. Here is the low down. While Melissa and I were in Africa last summer, she convinced me that I needed to buy a plane ticket and fly back to California with her. She is from the LA area and was planning on flying to Cali the morning after we got home from Africa. I have found that I am definitely an impulse buyer...so of course I thought "what the heck" and I bought the ticket. We landed in SLC about 9:00 Thursday night and I had to drive up to Logan to get stuff to take to California (i.e...cute clothes and a swimming suit), and then drive back to SLC that night so we could catch our 8:00 am flight the next morning.

Mel promised me the best weekend of my life...and she was right. We basically lived on the beach. Now...a little side note...this was the first time I had been to the beach since I was 5 and my family went to Florida. I forgot how beautiful it was. We surfed every day that we were there (except Sunday) and had a BBQ on the beach as well. It was great. It was then and there that I found my true calling in life...i was ment to be a beach bum forever!

Now don't let me fool you. I wasn't a great surfer at first (I don't even know if I am that good now). Swimming in the ocean with the waves was harder than swimming in a pool. I didn't get up on my first try. I could hardly sit up on the board the first time I went out. But with practice I slowly got the hang of it. We were enjoying ourselves so much that I almost missed my flight home because we stayed at the beach longer than we planned. Basically my flight left LAX at 5:30 and I got to my gate at 5:23...that is what I like to call "cutting it a little close".

Coming back to Utah and being a little land locked (ok a lot land locked) was hard at first. So when Mel asked if I wanted to go back to Cali with her for her friends wedding I jumped on the opportunity. Again thanks to my impulse buying I got online and bought an airline ticket. This time around we didn't spend as much time on the beach...but the time that we did spend was great fun. I guess you could call me a pro surfer now...in fact...I am thinking of quiting my job and turning pro :). I figure if Mel's sister was good enough to go pro and I use her sister's board then I am good enough to go pro.

So if you don't hear from me for a while it could be because I am quiting life and living on the beach.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

The goodness of chocolate

Two years ago my boss bought a chocolate fountain. At that moment my passion for chocolate fountains were born. The only problem is I don't have a chocolate fountain. Luckily, Geoff is very good to me and lets me use his whenever I want. However, I don't think he would have agreed to it if he would have known how often we would take him up on the offer. For the first chocolate fountain party we didn't have a great turn out but we sure did have a lot fun. The popularity of our parties have only grown. Last Friday we had our most recent party and it was our most successfull party yet.
So why do we do it? Why do we have these parties? Because chocolate solves all problems. We use birthdays, end of finals or really just about anything as an excuse to have a chocolate fountain party. So, you might ask..what do you need in order to have a sucessfull chocolate fountain party? Really it is quiet easy...all you need is chocolate (lots of it), food to dip in it (any type of food) and friends. This is my receipe for success. So to those who are looking for something to do, I would recommend running down to the nearest Sam's Club and purchase your own chocolate fountain. I know I have yet to take the plung and purchase my own, but I will one of these days. Even if you don't like eating the chocolate, it is a great excuse to get people together. So chalk one up for the chocolate fountain...I highly recommend it.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Change of mind

So today we had a meeting with my boss. Well really we have had meetings all week about Africa. We have been debating about whether or not we should go. I have had my heart set on going (as you can tell from my last post), but yet I can see the reason behind not going. I would have been ok with not going, but yet I would have been WAY excited to go. After talking and talking and talking about it, my boss decided that we should go! So come December I will be in Africa. I will miss Christmas (but I am use to that from the mission), but yet what a great way to spend Christmas...helping those in need. I don't know the dates yet, but I will let you know as soon as I find out. So to my little Kasekende....I can't wait to see ya.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Kasekende Cooper...how cute is that?

So many of you know that I went to Africa this summer. It was a great experience. While I was there I fell in love with a little African boy. Here is the back ground information on him. His name is Kasekende and he is about 4 years old (no one knows for sure). One day the director of the school was walking past the dumpsters and he found Kasekende inside. Kasekende was very sick and basically on death's front door, but the director took him in and brought him back to life.

Well Kasekende and I became best friends. He would wait for us to show up in the morning and he became my shadow while we were there. He would hold my hand and walk around the compound with us. He would work when we would work. He was so cute. He just wanted to be around us all the time. We would eat lunch together every day, and when he got tired he would crawl into my lap and fall asleep.

Because he was so little, he didn't speak much English (or so I thought). So I would talk to him while we walked around and never really expected a response. I was surprised one day to find him singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to himself. That became one of our favorite things to do together. He would often start mumbling in his native language and then throw in some English words. Finally, one of the teachers came up and said "do you know what he is saying". "No, I don't have any idea", was my response. "He keeps calling you his mom and when the other children try and get close to you he tells them to leave you alone. Because you are his". It about melted my heart.

I found that Kasekende was really becoming attached. It got to the point that when we would leave at night to return to our hotel room that he would bawl. He finally would calm down and the next morning he would be waiting for us to come back. As soon as he saw the van pull up he would run over to it. The crazy thought popped into my head that I should just adopt him. That way I never had to leave him. But lets be honest...what good would I be to him (hello...single parent).I love that kid so much. And I miss him like crazy. The only thing keeping me sane was the thought of seeing him again in December. I just found out from the boss man that he didn't think we would be able to go in December. Now I am missing him even more. So to my little son, just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

About me

Ok, so this is my first post and I don't know what the heck I am doing. I guess I will say a little bit about me. I graduated from Utah State in May with my degree in Exercise Science. I loved school but all I can say is thank goodness I am done.


I still try and live the college life. I worked at USU during my schooling, and got hired on full time once I graduated. I love my job. I work for the Substitute Teaching Institute (dealing with ...hello...substitutes...). We work with school districts through out the United States and England). I also work with the International Office for Water and Science Education (dealing with water education internationally). Basically work paid for me to go to Africa and I had the time of my life.

Besides working, I'm just trying to enjoy the single life. Hopefully I'll be able to update this a lot. I don't know how exciting it will be, but hopefully y'all like it. And if it isn't too much trouble, I might go back in time and add some Europe, Africa and California pictures. If you haven't noticed, I love to travel.