Life is....

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it."
-Mother Teresa

Life is unpredictable and beautiful.

And I love it.

Salt Lake City, UT

New York City

Central Park

Salt Lake City, UT

Colorado Springs, CO

One Step at a Time...

Life has been nothing short of crazy this week. Between work, school, eating, HOMEWORK, dates, and trying to find some time to sleep, my life has been pretty out of control. I have found that I don't sleep enough. Surprise, surprise. I've been sick off and on for the last four weeks or so, and my body decided this week that the little hints it's been sending me just weren't enough. I ended up going to the doctor Monday night because I felt so awful. And the result? Well, it came out fairly complicated, but the end result was, "We're glad you came in when you did because this could turn into serious pneumonia." YIKES. I'm on some serious antibiotics and this killer cough syrup. Tuesday night I decided to go to bed early so I could wake up feeling refreshed the next morning. I went to bed around 9p.m. and woke up at 5a.m. with a terrible headache. I took some Advil and decided I'd sleep in until 6 and then hurry to be ready by 6:30 for work. 6a.m. rolled around and I felt worse than ever. I called in sick to work and went back to bed...next thing I know it's 1p.m.!!!!!! I could not believe I slept for that long. But I feel 10 times better today. 16 hours of sleep is the best medicine! Even after all the craziness and some nights wondering how I survived the day, I am still so grateful for the life I live. I am thankful to have a job, have the opportunity to go to school, live in a free country, be young and able to do tons of fun things, be supported by a great family, make mistakes and learn from them, have great friends...basically I am grateful I get to live my life. The sunny days wouldn't be so great if we didn't have the rainy days. One thing I am trying to get better at is just letting go and just having fun. There's no time to waste and there's nothing to lose. There's no risk if you don't take one.

I am so incredibly blessed.

There's No Place Like Home

I went to Colorado this last weekend to visit my family. I had to miss Amanda's baby shower the weekend before because I had to work. I was SO bummed, but it was nice to be able to go home one last time before my niece finally arrives! Here's a quick update on Amanda: she only has 7 weeks left in her pregnancy!! Woohoo! She's still so tiny! Amanda is such a beautiful pregnant woman; she's going to be a great mother. This wonderful new chapter in her life is so fun to watch :)

Here are a few pictures from my weekend in Colorado; it's a beautiful time of year.

Girls Night Out!!!

We went dancing at Copperhead on Saturday night. It was so fun to spend the night with Crystal and Amanda. We saw Mr. Chambers and his wife out that night. It was fun to see old friends and make some new ones :) There is nothing better than a burrito from Taco Express at 2:30a.m. All in all, we had a great night.

Crystal and I went shopping in Denver, and then headed to the Denver Temple just for a bit. Colorado is so beautiful this time of year.

I love these kids more than I can express.

I took this picture of the sunrise from the plane on my way to Colorado.

Life in the Fast Lane

Manhattan skyline. This is probably one of my favorite pictures taken while we were in NY.

22nd birthday in

New York City

We got to go to the Yankees/Red Sox game while we were in NY. We had amazing seats and great food! Sushi at a baseball game? It was actually really good!
An afternoon stroll through Central Park wouldn't be complete without some gelato :)

I'm pretty sure I have the cutest parents in the entire world.

The Statue of Liberty and Times Square

At the top of the Empire State Building. I am blessed to have the best family.

Thank you for being so good to me, New York.

Since I've lived here in Provo, I've been able to do a ton of fun things, and meet some great people!! I've converted Jessica to being a Suns fan! We have had so much fun watching the games together and talking trash to all the Laker fans here in Provo :)

We also went to the Provo Temple last night. It was so fun to have a friend to go with and we plan on attending often :)

The Journey Begins

I'm not very good at keeping up on this, but I'll get better! :)

I am finally in Utah. I moved to Provo a couple weeks ago, and I love it so far. I miss my family, but I am having a lot of fun!! I am in the process of starting a couple of jobs. I am going to be a server at a new restaurant called the Lemon Grove Bistro. It's a nice place and I'm hoping it goes well! Today I have my second interview at the Hampton Inn and Suites. I'm hoping I can work both of these jobs all summer and make big money! Since I've been here, I have had the opportunity to do a ton of fun things. I know this summer will be fabulous.

After putting in, what felt like a million, applications and handing out my resume, I decided to take a day off and spend it with my cousin, Maren. She lives in Salt Lake City, so we had lunch together and visited Temple Square. It was a beautiful day and I feel so blessed to live so close. We had a great time walking around and catching up. I am excited to live so close to her :)

Being true Mortensen's, and taking after our parents, Maren and I headed to Utah Lake with Uncle Wayne for our first ski of the summer. It sure was cold!! We both skiied our first slalom course and did great! We're going to practice this summer and try to do a competition maybe towards the end of the summer! I plan on spending my days off at the lake! :)

These are two of my favorite boys, Chase and Riley. Chase LOVES little Riley and it was quite difficult to take this picture because he wanted to show Riley how much he loves him...so he was trying to jump over me to get to the baby. He's a good big brother :)

Jessica and I had the opportunity to go to Music and the Spoken Word at Temple Square on Sunday. It was so fun and we got to see some friends from Colorado, Jim and Sandy Gremillion!! It was nice to catch up and see familiar faces!

Our friend, Jared, has been in town visiting his family. They invited us to dinner on Monday night. It was great to eat some Argentinian food and talk with his family. These little girls were so sweet and loved us!! The girl on the left is Augustana and the girl on the right is Cele. Augustana is Jared's little sister, and Cele is his niece. They are both 4 and adorable!! We plan on visiting their family again...even if Jared is back in Colorado :)

She's FINALLY here!! :)

Haleigh Jade DuBios was born Monday, March 8, 2010! We are SO happy she's finally here!! After being over a week late, she decided to show up :) Congrats to Amanda and Mike! What lucky parents they are!!

OBVIOUSLY this is my first post. I thought I'd start 'blogging' and try something new. I am always on Facebook, so why not blog too? :) I hope you enjoy! :)