The Day Before Thanksgiving

Elder Will Barker 2012-2014

So yesterday was an awesome day! First thing in the morning we went up to Salt Lake to pick up my brilliantly handsome cousin Will! He served his mission in Brazil and we are so happy to see him home! He is so awesome and yesterday was really fun. After we greeted him home we all went to the Braza Grill (very much like Tucanos). It was awesome! I love that food haha anyways he was just really fun to talk to, now I just can't wait for tomorrow when we get to go up to Wyoming and hang out!! After we were finished with lunch we came home to Orem and kinda hung out for a little bit. We started doing some yard work, picking up leaves, etc. and these two kids had way too much fun with the leaves! After I started taking pictures of Luke, Emma got a little jealous... haha she started saying "Okay! My turn!" She's cute too I guess... ;) haha later in the day I went over to Josh and Kristen's home to help them decorate for a party they had. It's like classy Christmas over there! I love those two, I can't wait for Christmas just to hang out with them! When I was done over at Josh and Kristen's I came home and Emma and I had a slumber party! It was so fun! Emma really likes me I think haha! We made some Thanksgiving treats and popcorn and some other things and we made a giant bed in the living room with tons of blankets and pillows and watched a Tinkerbell movie (don't judge, they're pretty good ;)) and then we fell asleep! Anyways, that was kind of our day in a nut shell! Now we're all just getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Happy Holidays everyone! "So Paige, you're a Christmas before Thanksgiving type of person?" More like a Christmas before Halloween type of person! K I won't actually start until after Halloween! I know most people hate that, but I just love Christmas so much! I am an absolute sucker for those super cheesy Hallmark Channel Christmas movies, and I love Christmas music especially Michael Buble's "Cold December Night!" I believe that starting Christmas early extends the season! Plus Thanksgiving and Christmas are basically the same. I mean it's all about gratitude, family and food right? I just love the holidays and can't wait for this Thursday! Real exciting news, my cousin Will is getting home from Brazil on Wednesday! Right before Thanksgiving! It's a real exciting time around here. So we'll go to the airport on Wednesday, have Thanksgiving in Orem on Thursday, have another Thanksgiving dinner Friday in Lyman, have another wedding open house in Evanston on Saturday and end the week with a homecoming talk from Will on Sunday. *oh yeah side-note, forgot to write about how Kenzee (partner in crime since day one, aka Gizmo, aka cousin) got married in October! It's crazy because we're basically the same age and now she's married! Brad (her new partner in crime) is awesome and we love them together! He loves her so much and I'm so glad that they have each other! Anyways I seriously can't wait for the rest of this week, all I have to do is write a quick two and a half page paper. Easy. Exciting news for after Thanksgiving also! So Will has decided to come to BYU for winter semester and we're all really excited. Him and two other friends are planning on living together, but it's really hard to find a contract for just winter semester. Because of this Will and his friends are moving in with Josh and Kristen in the "Mella Mansion!" How fun will that be? Also speaking of the Mella home, we are having Christmas there this year! Since I was a kid, we've done the Trifecta Christmas. The Barkers, Walkers and Hamblins join together all under one roof and have Christmas together! It's the best time. So us Hamblins unfortunately don't have the best means of hosting because of our lack of property... But! Good news, Josh and Kris are living in the Mella's house all alone and there is plenty of room for us all there! So we're having Trifecta Christmas at the Mellas and I'm so excited. I literally can't think of anything else. Now to just get through finals right...? "Better watch out, better not cry!"

Brigham Young University

Alright everyone I finally made it! I'm here at BYU and have made it through my first week of classes... I don't know how I feel about this whole thing though haha!  It's just so overwhelming and so much information hitting me in the brain. Ah! Okay, I can do this! Anyway, I've obviously met all my roommates now and they are awesome girls! Our apartment is so diverse and talented it makes me so happy! So there is Carla and I, and I've told you a lot about Carla haven't I? Well she's super nice, lots of fun and always super busy! Between classes and soccer I don't see her very often. Then there is Maron and Sarah! They are both beautiful singers and super sweet girls! Lastly there is Robbin and Maddy! Robbin is an acting major, and is so cool! I seriously love her. And Maddy is so funny! She is a player at comedy sports and is so stinkin' witty! I'm so excited to get to know all these girls better and to spend time with them! I can tell it'll be a great year!! All of the fun put aside though, BYU is hard. I'm trying to get good study habits early so that when we get in the full thick of it all I will be less stressed. Ah this is crazy! Wish me luck everyone...

Real Life Realization

Hey y'all, what's up?! Everything is same old up here in Garden City. Wake up, go to work, play, go to sleep. It's a hard life ;) I've been workin' over here at the Adventure Center lately, just to switch things up. It's weird because it is never nearly as busy as Ideal and that can be nice and really boring at the same time.

So I wanted to share with you guys my "Real Life Realization." Coming up here to work was kind of a culture shock. I am fully aware that not everywhere I go is going to be filled with great LDS kids for me to hang out with and watch Disney movies with on a Friday night, but it was way different then I was expecting. When I came up here hardly anyone knew me and so I wasn't being treated any different than anyone else, which was weird. There was no filter with anything, so I got everything all at once.

I am not naïve enough to think that everyone who smokes, swears, drinks, etc. are bad people, I just don't want to get sucked into it all. It's crazy how much it actually does affects me. I mean I really do love a lot of people up here that are all different types of people and it just goes to show that what a person does, or does not do does not define who they are. I believe that there is good in everyone, sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper to find it.

Seriously the worst thing you can do is to prejudge people... I mean use your judgment on how involved you feel like you should be with them because you never want to get yourself into a rough situation, but get to know everyone before you make any type of judgment. You never know what's going on in someone's life and even if/when you do you don't know how they handle it. Love everyone and it'll make you and them so much happier!

"Don't judge me because I sin differently than you."

A Night On The Lake

Yesterday was a way fun day! Work was not super busy and I got home and had dinner and took a nap (always)! Haha so after everyone was done with work we went out on the MB. That's the nicest/biggest boat we have. It has a v-drive so it gets a good wake. And good news! I got up on the wake board! It was such a rush! I loved it so much and the lake was seriously as glassy as a lake can be! It was perfect! Everyone was so cool and was helping me and I got up on the first try! Seriously right after I got out the lake turned way choppy and the wind started picking up. It was rough for everyone else... :) it got way cold and I was ticked but the sunset was beautiful and it was fun being out with my coworkers on that awesome boat!

First wake board!

Lake Life

So I must apologize for the delay in posts, there have been some major changes happening and the internet just didn't have a place for it yet! I am now officially moved into my house in Garden City Utah. Just check out the view I get!

The Beautiful Bear Lake

Yeah I get to wake up to that every morning! I seriously have loved it here. It's a huge adjustment and change is always kind of scary but this place is starting to feel like home!

So this is the deal. I work on Ideal Beach, this view that you're seeing above is at our RV Park. I live at the RV Park in a little house that doubles as the office. It's actually pretty nice. I mean as nice as you can get for a house with no heating or cooling system and where the electricity goes out on a frequent basis, but when you get past that it's a pretty solid place to live. For the last week I haven't had any roommates, so Rose (my manager/ big sis' childhood bestie) and her husband were staying with me, but I have great news! My coworker Kalie Gilmour finally moved in just yesterday! She and I are getting to be great friends. All my other coworkers are way cool too! To be honest I think my favorites are the ones that are like 5 years older than me... typical Paige. Anyways there is Sherida, John, Denton, Heidi, Spencer, Kalie, Sierra, Gabe, Alec, M'kay (yes that is how he spells McKay;)), Nic, Carson, Jamen, Rose, and Nate and Mark are the head honchos! I may be forgetting some people, but I think that's most of them!

Sherida is 24 and she is so awesome! We've really bonded in like a solid 2 days! She's like a big sister except she likes me! We went out on a boat the other day and these 24 year olds were just treating me like a normal friend, it was really nice!

John is so awesome! He is also 24 I think and he and I jam together sometimes! He has a voice like an angel and I could seriously listen to him all day! He's from around here so it's cool cuz he knows all the cool spots and has promised to help me have the best summer ever!

Denton is one of the managers! He's probably late 20's and is a very complex individual, to say the least! Haha when I met Denton, I was sure I hated him... But he really just acts all tough so he doesn't show his soft, sweet side. He's like a cowboy/ rap star... Haha he wears boots everyday to work, and listens to country and rap. I really do love that guy, swearing and all. He treats me like a little sister and I feel like he'd protect me like one too.

I haven't gotten to know Heidi that well actually. She is Denton's sister and that's about all I know about her. She is super tiny though! She looks like she could fit into a little hamster ball!

Spencer, oh what to say about Spence. He is this big bear! He's really nice, but awkwardly laughs too hard at things I say... Oh well! He is a really good worker and it's really easy to get stuff done with him. I still need to get to know him better as well.

Kalie is my new roommate! Kalie is 18 and just graduated. We work together on ideal beach and I really like her! She's from Iowa and is very cute. For any of you that know Kara Kocherhans Wadsworth they are like twins! She is really fun and I can tell we're gonna be good friends. I am nervous about her flirtatiousness though.

Cierra just got her a couple days ago and we are already starting to hit it off! She's 18 and just graduated like me. She seriously is so funny! We have like the same mind! She looks at me and I like already know what she's thinking! She is so fun and I really hope she moves in soon!

Gabe is just a doof. Haha he's actually pretty cool when he's not being a stupid teenage boy. That's actually pretty true about all of the my boys. He's also 18 and just graduated. He looks a lot like me actually, Rose thinks we could be brother and sister. We haven't quite gotten to that friend point yet, but I think he likes me well enough!

Alec is so cute! He's 17 and is super tall and skinny haha! But he looks like he could be Clark Kent when he has his glasses on. He is also a doof, but is cool when he's just himself. Alec has a bunch of friends from Blue Water (rival rental place) and they are almost always the biggest jerks, but I like Alec! I hope we can be good friends!

M'Kay is really cool. He's 23 and just finished a mission in South Africa. He is bald but has a full beard haha! He's going to BYU Idaho in the fall and he is very cool! His name has become Mmmm k! :)

I had a real big crush on Nic, but unfortunately he has fallen for my roommate. It's okay though! Always willing to third wheel :). Nic and M'Kay are brothers and he is so cool! There is not disputing that he is the coolest of all of our boys. He's 17 and is from Colorado. He works at Ideal with me putting boats in the water. Nic I know is going to be a real homie this summer.

Carson is a character. I'm tellin ya, if they would all just be normal they would be stunners! They just feel like they have to put on this tough/ douche guy act. Carson is 16 which is very surprising! He's really nice though and I'm excited to hang out with him more.

Jamen and Rose are married and to say it simply, they are my favorite people. That is all I have to say.

Nate is awesome! Almost everyone that works here is related to Nate. Him and his wife Suni just had a baby boy named Crew, and that little guy is so freakin' cute! They have another little girl and her name is Ryann. She's so sweet!

Mark is the scariest of company, but is still very reasonable and great to work with. He lives in Farmington and we don't see him often, but hear from him also every day... not if we can help it though!

So far that's kind of my experience, just getting to know my coworkers/ the work itself! It's going to be a fun summer though and I'm really excited.

Makin so much money too ;)



New Adventures, New Look

So after graduation there was this great all nighter! Everyone won a prize and there were so many sweet prizes available! Anyways I got a fifty dollar gift card to Amara! Amara is a salon, spa and boutique! So I decided I wanted to do something kind of fun for the summer and I am so excited about it too!

I tinted my eyebrows! I seriously love them so much! They're bold and different and so pretty! I think that they really help bring out the color in my eyes! I also got them waxed and I tinted my eyelashes black! It'll all be so nice for the summer because I won't have to worry about putting on mascara when I'm getting in and out of the water! Anyways let me know if you like them! Love you all!



Graduation

It's true everyone! After 13 years of schooling Paige is done! Well of course there is BYU in the fall, but that's not the type of schooling I'm talking about. I can think back to the day that I found out who my kindergarten teacher was. Stacie Christensen was in my ward and I played at her house on a regular basis. We most definitely took advantage of their cool tree house! I also remember that I had the hardest time saying her name. I mean for a five year old "Christensen" was hard to say. It's so weird to think that it all began there and now I'm graduated from high school! I'm way excited, don't get me wrong, but it is kind of emotional. Leaving everything I've ever known and moving out. Ooo it's crazy! Anyways, here are some of the pictures from graduation!

 

Paige & Christa



Hailey, Paige & Rachel

Georgia, Candace & Paige

 

Paige & Kaitlyn

 

 

Georgia, Quinton, James, Candace & Paige

Quinton, Paige & James

Paige & Bubba

Georgia & Paige

Paige, Hailey, Rachel, Kaitlyn, Jeremy, Karsten & Lexie

James, Paige & Bridger

Paige & Kayla

 

 

After graduation we had a barbeque with Josh and Kristen as well as my parents, the babies, and Rachel. It was the best barbeque my father has ever made! Ooo and Paula made garlic mashed potatoes and we had Caesar salad, my favorite! We took some pictures outside the house because we all really liked my dress, had to remember the grad outfit right?!

 

 

 

 

Because one of these days I'm gonna fly away!

Senior Dinner Dance, Seminary Graduation, and Special People

There was this awesome weekend I didn't get to write about a couple weeks ago! We started the weekend off with the senior dinner dance on Friday! I was in charge of decorations and was stressing big time all week! But everything came together and it looked fabulous! Dinner was awesome and the dance was so fun! Right after dinner we did a balloon release which was really fun! It looked way cool with all one hundred balloons floating away! The dinner dance was probably my favorite activity we've had all year! It was like a celebration of our time in high school!

Another way sweet event this weekend was our seminary graduation! It was cool to have all my classmates together celebrating our years of seminary! I loved hearing everyone's testimonies! We have been so blessed to be with each other! There is so much strength in my peers and I feel so lucky to know them!

Families are forever!

Pete and I have been friends since I was 4!

And lastly was a farewell that I went to. That crazy kid on the right is Jeremy Pukahi and his sister left on a mission. These kids right here are my best friends! This picture shows just how goofy we can all be together. Our true personalities right there! Oh geez, there is nothing I can say to express my love for these guys right here! I seriously don't know where I would be without them right now. They are the most fun, loving, and kind people I know. We've cried, we've laughed, we've hot tubbed together, and I don't know how I'm going to be able to say goodbye to them. I love them so much and am so grateful for each of them! They are those grade A people and they will do amazing things, each of them! I love you guys!

Abby, Josh, Paige, Karsten, Hailey, and Jeremy

Money, money, money

So I'm just getting great news all over the place!! On Sunday my roommate for the Y emailed me! Her name is Carla and she's playing soccer for BYU! Way cool huh!? Oh I'm so excited to meet her, I hope we get along well! I bet we will!! Anyways on Monday I was sitting in study hall (like what I'm doing right now) and I get a message to go to the counciling center. My first thought was, "Oh no! I'm not graduating!" But no need to worry it was a good thing! Mrs Houle called me into her office and told me that I got awarded the faculty scholarship for 1,000 dollars! I felt so honored that the teachers/faculty would vote me for that!

Moral of the story it "pays" to be a good kid ;) 

Ciao!!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day everyone! Oh man I have so many ladies to be thankful for on this day! I have had the blessing of so many motherly figures in my life! When I was nine years old my family lost our mother to breast cancer, I have been without my mom for more then half my life. I can not think of a greater tragedy for a young girl to have to go through, not having my mother all these years has been so difficult. But I must say that I was so blessed to be able to have so many "adopted mothers" come into my life! There are ladies I haven't talked to since I was a kid that I see as mothers in my life! Aunts, teachers, ward members, and so many friends! Thank you all for the support, love and knowledge you've given me through my life! I'd also like to thank the one lady that came into our home to help fulfill that mother role! Paula, my step mother, joined our family when I was in seventh grade, I think I was about thirteen. She took a chance and married a chubby, bald guy with three teenage children! I couldn't be more grateful for all she does for me, she loves me like I'm her own. I love her very much and do not express it enough! Always love your mother, show her and never let her question it. You never know when she'll be gone.

Love you all!

The girls

I love her beautiful eyes

Region Track!

Well the last couple of days have been pretty great! On Thursday we had our region  track meet and good news! I got third in the discus!! I'm going to state! Ahh I seriously can't wait for next week! It's crazy to think that this is the end of my track/sports career! It's been so great! I'm so grateful for all my coaches, teammates, and family members who encouraged me to do my best and helping me to achieve success! That is seriously what sports and teams are all about! Pushing yourself to do your best, learning how to be a team player, and making memories! I am a strong believer in those types of things because I really am who I am because of the teams I've been apart of! It's always worth it and I wouldn't trade my athletic endeavors for anything, even though I didn't ever amount to anything more than a high school athlete! I wouldn't even give back these two ACL surgeries for the knowledge and  experiences I've gained over the years! I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for my able body and each day try to improve it!

"God created it, Jesus died for it, the spirit lives in it, I better take care of it!"

The seniors

Spring in Utah Valley

Hello lovlies! It's a rainy Wednesday here in Orem , and usually I would be all about cuddling up with a blanket  watching old Doris Day movies on days like this. Today was not one of those days unfortunately. We had our region track meet today and of course is was freezing! Today was my last chance to qualify, but I was just two places short. It's okay though! Tomorrow I have my other event and I plan on doing much better in that one!

Also earlier today I spent an entire period studying for my AP statistics test! It's on Friday, eek!! I'm actually very excited to take it! Mostly to get it over with... But as soon as I take that test my senior year is basically over! I mean I'll have small finals in other classes, but nothing too big. Most of my classes are pretty much wrapping up anyways! Ahh I can't believe this! Everything I've known for basically my entire life is about to change! It's all so exciting! I can't wait for college and stuff, but ending high school is kind of a bummer. It's super bitter/sweet, but I think I'm ready!

Well as they say in France, au revoir!

Brand New Blog

Hey everyone! I'm Paige and I once had a blog, but after many months of negligence things got confusing! So I decided to start a new one! I'm eighteen and getting ready to start real life! I'm going to graduate on the thirtieth of May and am very excited! So for the next month or my posts will be about my life as a high school student! With that being said I'd like to share my Senior Prom experience with ya'll!

I went this year with Richard Harward! We've been friends since we were kids and his older sister Krystal was my best friend growing up! Oh I was so excited when he asked me! Anyways Prom was an absolute blast! For our day date we got these tablets that numbed our bitter tastebuds, so we could eat lemons and they tasted good! I have literally never had a sweeter raspberry in my life!

Anyways the dance was as fun as it could have been! I love seeing people in their dresses and looking all nice! It's my favorite part of formal dances! Anyways I'm kind of obsessed with my dress and my whole attire so I wanted to show you those pictures!