I've Been Tagged!!

This seems fun! Thanks to my sis-in-law Kris for tagging me. The rules go, I answer the questions below and then those I tag at the end are to answer the same questions and then tag someone else. So, here goes:

Best Meal: Picking one best meal seems hard however, I think I can narrow it down to maybe two meals. First, Orange Chicken at the Mandarin (in Centerville) with rice and wonton or egg drop soup. Second, my mom's lasagne with green salad and homemade breadsticks!!!

Best Car: I never really get too attached to cars...I would say that either one of the three Saturn's we owned (awesome gas mileage and not a bit of mechanical problems!!) or my first ever rusting out Datson in high school. It was christened "Clorence" by a good friend. It was mustard brown with vinyl brown interior seats. The heater didn't always work and overall it was a beater but...I purchased it completely with my OWN money and I sold it for more than I bought it for!!

Favorite Hobbies: Okay, here goes the list--reading, writing (fiction or poetry), tennis, photography, singing, storytelling (or reading aloud), ebaying now and then, blogging, traveling (when we have the money!).

Best Vacation: HHHMMMM, well, I have a couple. The first was a vacation that my parents took the family on when I was about 5. We toured the whole California coast from San Diego to San Francisco. We went to Sea World, Disneyland, Alcatraz, Carmel, Monterey and lots and lots of the ocean. The second was a scaled down version of the same trip when I was twelve. However, this time we stayed in the LA area. We stayed at North Mission Bay and I thought it was the coolest place!! There were college age kids everywhere playing beach volleyball, having beach barbecues at night...it was awesome!! Then, I would have to add that I LOVED the vacaction I went on with Abby and Nathan and my parents to San Antonio to pick up Justin from boot camp. We drove and got to see some beautiful country (Oklahoma and Texas are beautiful). We saw the Oklahoma City bombing memorial which is moving and we also enjoyed San Antonio including Sea World, their amazing zoo and the awesome Riverwalk!! Great place to vacation, especially with kids. And, one more....Taking Abby to Disneyland for the first time when she was almost three. Everything and everyone she met was real to her. She was awestruck at meeting the "Real" princesses and watching her awe and wonder at it all was priceless. Staying in the Paradise Pier hotel right at Disneyland was super fun too!!





(photos from San Antonio)



Best Vacation Without Kids: Well, Justin and I took off on Christmas day one year for a nearly two week excursion through Missouri, Arkansas (our mission where we met), Memphis, and Nauvoo. We have some wonderful memories of that trip but foremost in my mind was Nauvoo during the Christmas season. The city was beautiful with all the snow and we more or less had the entire town to ourselves. We were able to really see the buildings and sites without being rushed or horded. We spent about 45 minutes in the upper room of Carthage jail just talking to the missionary and feeling of the incredible spirit there. We walked out onto the frozen Missippi River (finding out later that is illegal!!) and took a moment to see what it must have felt like to be a saint leaving the beautiful city and warily making your way across the river only pulling oxen and wagon across...faith inspiring!! We loved Nauvoo so much that we blew off the remainder of the trip to Kansas City and just stayed in Nauvoo. We had already paid for a hotel in Kansas City so we decided we would sleep in our rental car in Nauvoo to offset the cost. That was so funny because it was freezing cold and we bought one little blanket at Wal-mart in Keokuk and tried to sleep as best we could in the car. At about 6:00 AM the next morning we went and checked into a motel and took hot showers and slept!! Anyway the whole vacation was amazing and testimony building and one I will never forget.

Best Job: I had so much fun working as a Nielsen's Frozen Custard scoopee!! A fun part time high school job and I worked with super fun people.

Best Thing to Buy if Money Wasn't an Issue: Travel, travel, travel. I would travel all over. I would expose myself and my kids to different people and cultures and places. We would go back east and experience the history of the early days of our country. We would travel to third world countries and visit ancient ruins of early civilizations. I would go to Jerusalem, Egypt, Europe....I would want to see it all!! And, I would also love to involve my children in acts of service, like building schools in third world countries or traveling to Africa and offering medical and humanitarian aid.

Best Age Growing Up: All of them! Being little and spending your days carefree and playing--fun. Being a teenager with the kind of friends you will never make again and a million activities and things going was a blast. Young adult was probably my least favorite age...trying to figure out who I was and where I was going was a pain but probably my biggest period growth of learning and a time I got to experience my mission which was life changing. Being a newlywed and young mother was awesome...I just like it all!!

Best Toy when I was a Kid: Trampoline, doll house, Strawberry Shortcake Dolls, Madame Alexander Baby Dolls.

Best Date I Ever Went On Before I was Married: I've had lots and lots of fun dates and I have a husband who gets insanely jealous of past boyfriends so I refrain from answering this question.

Okay....I will now tag Emily and Stephanie, Rachel and Kasey and anyone else who reads this that wants to participate consider yourself tagged!! (Abby might also tag some of you who read her little blog as well!!)