Seattle and Salvation Army

After graduation my parents took me and Jordan on an incredible church history road trip. Since my camera is gone, I am waiting for my dad to send me some of his pictures of the trip (did I mention I miss my lost camera??) so I am going to wait until I get his photos before I blog about the trip in detail. Stay tuned....

After our vacation with my parents, Jordan and I flew to Seattle to visit more of the fam. We built legos, played Star Wars, built forts, swam in 3 ft of water, limboed, played London Bridges, set up a Snow White puzzle multiple times....oh, and we played with my nieces and nephew too. :P I love being an aunt! Jordan is the cutest uncle too. He loves loves loves our little kiddos; it's so adorable. He's gonna make a great baby daddy someday.

One really cool thing that we did in Seattle was help out with a charity put on by Salvation Army. They organized "One Million Meals for Haiti" and asked for volunteers to help assemble food packages to be sent to the Haitians. My parents, Molly and Brad, Jordan and I all went to help out.


My, what a sexy bunch! They were supposed to give me an apron, but I think I got a dress instead.

Here's a shot of the Convention Center in Seattle full of people assembling food.

Officially the most UNflattering picture of us!

The whole center was packed with energy. You could tell everyone was having a great time. It's easy to forget how fulfilling service can be.

Attention anyone smarter than me....

Ok, so I really want to blog again, but I am having beef with blogger. For the last 2 months or so, whenever I try to add a picture onto my post it comes out in computer lingo. Before, it would just show the picture and I could place in my post. Now it does NOT show my pictures and instead throws up a bunch of jargon such as kgjfkgfhgkjfhgjkfhfancycomputertalk....and so on. I thought it was because my computer was stupid,but it also happens on my school computers and our fancy new laptop...so it's my blogger's problem (or something?). Is this fixable? If so, hoooooow?

Sincerely,
Me, the incompetent computer gal.

Too cool for school

May 7th was my last day of school EVER! Woohoo!! My mom flew in that weekend and then I graduated from OU on the following Tuesday, May 11th (whoever thought it was a great idea to have a graduation on a Tuesday should be given an atomic wedgie. The graduation seemed a little long, but it was nothing compared to my BYU graduation, so I didn't mind. I'm glad I went. Unfortunately, my camera evaporated while I was Seattle last week so I don't have any of the pictures to share in this event. :(

At my graduation, I was able to reflect on the past graduations that I have had. It all stated in June of 2004 when I graduated from high school....


I was super excited, but mainly it was because the three of us plus one more friend were going to Disneyland in a mere 72 hours from then. I also remember my dad making a point to let people know he was NOT proud of me for graduating high school because "graduating high school is just something you DO! EVERYONE should do it!"

So in order to win daddy's pride- er, I mean get more smarter, I furthered my education. Being totally unsure of what I wanted to study and terrified to leave home, I went to Bellevue Community College for my next "degree". I had one goal at BCC- to get OUT! So many people in my single's ward were at the same community college for 4+ years. I did not want to fall into that trap, so I went full time for two years and graduated with my Associates degree in general studies. My school did have an official graduation but I had better things to do than celebrate graduating from my community college (like say, watching a rerun of Full House) so I didn't have a graduate picture for that school. But I think it would look a little something like this:

During my cherished BCC time I applied to BYU for further smartering. I was in the wonderful world of Provo for three years and in April 2009 I graduated with my BSW (and a handsome fiance!)
This was probably my least favorite graduation. Don't get me wrong- I happy TO be graduating but it was the LOOOONGEST ceremony AND it was the same day as my grandma's funeral. Rather than soaking in the long boring moment, I was constantly checking my watch* to see if I was running late and praying that I could go next. After I got my fake diploma and walk on stage (which I will admit was pretty cool), I had to shuffle through a bunch of people and find my parents.

This past year I obtained my Masters of Social Work!! Even though the ceremony was not the most exciting, it was such a great feeling to know that I was about to graduate for the last time EVER! I also got to sit next to my friend Bianca, who I sat next to in almost every single one of our classes.

I am so grateful for how obtainable education has been for me. There are so many cultures in the world (and even in the country that makes school difficult or almost impossible for some. I am thankful for a sweet husband who happily put his own education on hold so I could finish mine. I am so SO thankful that Jordan worked so hard this past year so that I could be blissfully unemployed during graduate school- it made a world of difference.

We took tons of pictures that I hope will emerge when/if my camera ever comes back to me. The best pictures were of my cap and gown. Apparently in Academia, the smarter you get the stupider you look. I these long wizard sleeves and and an even longer hood! I looked like someone took ever character from Harry Potter and smooshed them together.

So now I am done and out of wizard attire. As for Jordan, he has a brand new white coat and began PA school four days ago! So we have one more graduation to sit through in two years and then we can wave goodbye to student life!


* by watch I mean cell phone. Honestly, who wears watches anymore?

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mom's birthday was May 6th. Between finals, papers, and a nasty computer virus I was unable to write her one on time. And then between graduation, parents flying in, and an awesome vacation I am only now starting it. Sorry mom!

Here is my mom:

(she's the one on the left...not wearing a tuxedo).

Basically, my mom is the best. She is quirky beyond belief, she loves to spoil her grandchildren (and children), and she is very creative. As a kid I went on so many adventures with my family thanks to my mom. She loves to hike, boat, explore places, etc. She was always very supportive of us kids trying to find our identities. She never said no to any hair dye or style that we wanted to try. In fact, I remember the first time I wanted to dye my hair, I told my mom I wanted a new color and she emphatically said, "OOH! Like PURPLE?" uh...no. It's always been fun when mom's around.

My mom is very selfless. I called her at unruly hours of the night and/or morning when I was having a crisis at school and she never once complained. She has given approximately 10,000,000 back scratches and foot rubs. She's like a personal spa!

She is very hard working at all she does. She went back to school in her 40's to become a nurse. She has gone to various classes to learn new skills. She's the best.

Happy very late birthday, Mom! Thanks for having me! :)

Heeeeere we go!

Ok, I have so much to blog about, it's not even funny. I'm a little overwhelmed by all the posts that I need to write, so bear with me. I'm just going to start from the beginning and work my way forward. Stay tuned!

Identity Crisis

Tomorrow is my last day of school. ever. I'm talking about for the rest of my life. And that is weirder than weird.

My entire life I have never EVER liked school. I was the kid (and college student)who always stared at the clock in every period, waiting to go home. I never had a summer break where I was excited to go back to school. Usually the beginning of each school year was met with sheer dread. School has never been good.

And here I am, practically hours away from being done with school for the rest of my life...and I'm sad.

Am I going to miss lectures, homework, paying ridiculous amounts of money on books that I read twice in the semester? Uh...no. Not. One. Bit. What I am going to miss is being a student. Since Fall of 1991 I have never NOT been a student. I never took a semester off to work, didn't go on a mission, didn't take time off to find myself. Aside from summer breaks I have always been in school. It's all I know. Career? Isn't that what old people get? I always thought I was YEARS away from that.

Suddenly I feel old and boring. Whenever I hear about people in college, that will simply be something I did once long ago. Even though I certainly WON'T miss school, I WILL miss being a student.

attack on our bladders

Ok, so I hate hate HATE when people throw around the word "right". "We have a right to this and that and whatever we want! Blah blah blah." It drives me nuts because most of the time, these so called rights are NOT rights but simply things that people really want.

But I am totally gonna throw out the R word tonight.... I have the right to use the bathroom when I need to.

I just barely finished watching the news and Spirit Airline is going to start charging $1.50 for every time you use the bathroom while you are in the air. ....WHAT? Is that really allowed?? I mean, I would understand if you had the OPTION of using some fancy bathroom with a toilet that sang to you, but how can someone charge you to pee? What really really bothers me about this is whether or not you have to use the restroom is rarely a choice. I get the STUPID fee of paying to check your bag or paying $4 for peanuts because hey, that's your choice to use/eat those services. But it is not my choice to have to relieve myself on a five hour flight. If it is going to save me money to go right in my seat...I just might.

Hopefully no other airlines are going to take part in this insanity. Seriously, we gotta fight for our right to urinate, people!

oh, and did I mention that Spirit airlines will soon charge $40 per CARRY ON starting in August? Sheesh.

Goodbye 23....

In a few short hours I will be 23 no longer. AUGH! It has become ritual for me to get anxious on March 31 of every year. Even though I enjoy my birthday, I don't like the finality of it all. I can never be 23 again. It's weird but every year I sort of mourn my age. Am I the only one that does this? Probably.

For example, I remember literally crying on our livingroom couch while my mom stroked through my hair on March 31, 2003. I was turning 17, and I was NOT ready. I remember feeling as though I had not fulfilled all that 16 year old Sonja was expecting me to do. I had only gone on two very mediocre dates (and one was the ultimate pity date....his mom made him ask me)and I had yet to obtain my driver's license. I felt very similar on March 31, 2006 when I was about to turn 20. Me? In my TWENTIES? I'm not mature enough for that! I needed more time to let teenage Sonja live!

One thing that is different this year is that I feel as though I have fulfilled 23. This age has been one of the most important of my life so far. Between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010 I...

* graduated from BYU
* received my endowment
* got MARRIED!
* went on my first (of many, hopefully) cruises and went to two different countries
* moved to Oklahoma
* moved into my first non-student housing...with a BOY!
* began grad school
* went to Graceland!
* did a family counseling internship (do you know how weird it is to overhear someone in a waiting room say, "Hello, I'm here for my appointment with Sonja." Whaaat? That's meee!)
* most importantly, I have NOT had a job for the majority of this age...and I love that!

It really has been an incredible year. I don't say this to brag, but to give 23 year old Sonja props before she disappears into the past. And for the first March 31 in a very very long time, I am a little excited to meet the newer, older me.

Crazy weather

Living in Tulsa has convinced me that Mother Nature likes to play MASH....you know, the game where your future is predicted at random and often makes no sense (i.e. the husband who lives in a mansion that he pays for with the wages of a professional pooper-scooper).

Take this weekend, for example:

Friday: In the 70's, bright and sunny, everyone is happily walking outside in t-shirts.
Friday @ 10 PM: Pouring rain
Saturday: Prediction of 4-6 inches of snow.

uh....whaaaat? Better take off my flip flops and put on my snow boots.

Happy Birthday, Jeff!

Today is Jordan's older brother Jeff's 29th birthday! We just got back celebrating with him at a Sushi bar.(I'm trying really hard not to think of all the seaweed resting in my stomach right now.) And since he is our family, he qualifies for a birthday spotlight!


Jeff is one smart cookie. He knows so much about politics and world events. In fact, he wrote an article to Tulsa World a few months ago and got it published! (My computer is being dumb and not letting me link it, but if you google Jeff's name and tulsa world you should find it.)

Jeff is one of the most genuinely nice guys that I know! He is always willing to help us out in any way. For example, he and his dad drove all our crap from Seattle to Tulsa after our wedding...that's a 30+ hour drive, mi amegos!

Jeff also has some interesting fashion sense. When he isn't wearing an OSU shirt, you may see him in a kilt, which is what he wore to Junior prom! (I have evidence of this, but blogger won't let me upload it. Technology is such a bully.

Happy Birthday, Jeff!