survey says???

this is an important question. don't you dare fight it. aubry and i...your single friends...had this converstation the other night. it's important.

question: would you rather make out to a song sung by a chick or a dude?

we can do this.

no one really posts on here, but i am going to...maybe someone will read it months after the fact.

but, i think it's necessary to post this...in regards to corrina's post seen below.

a number of us have hit some road blocks...hard spots...tough times lately. i'm reading blogs thinking, "man, everyone's kind of going through some crazy stuff right now." some more than others.

i was having a discussion at lunch with some coworkers today...usually we talk about the housewives of atlanta, or other cotton candy-type topics. today was pretty serious. we talked about hard things that happen in our lives and how sometimes we find ourselves asking, "why me?" my friend shared something she had heard on a tv show...something on tlc. a family had a couple children with a crazy life-threatening-fluke-only on tlc-kind of illness. the parents were asked if they've every wondered, "why us?" their response was, "we realized that maybe we are experiencing this because we have enough supports to handle it."

my friend who was sharing this story is going through some crazy stuff and she started crying to us (whoa)...sharing how she is grateful for the supports around her so she can handle what is being thrown at her. stuff that maybe others couldn't handle.

so...i'm thinking of all of you. and myself. whether it's health/kids/finances/loneliness/work/family/testimony...we are dealing with a lot. we have our families...we have each other.

we can do this.

thanks, everyone.

xo

Love one another

Just because we're all done college doesn't mean we are all grown up.

wish you were here...

aubry left, lara right.
the rest of you should be somewhere in between...

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bro.

I realized I never answered my own question: who was your favorite fhe bro?

Mine would have to be Jaron Gunnell.

(if my computer was all the way up, I'd put a picture of the balloon animal fhe here. take a moment to imagine.)

He was goofy. Fun to be around. The perfect gentleman: he walked me home so I wouldn't have to walk alone in the dark, even if he had to go change out of shorts so he could cut across campus. He took me on a date when I needed it and didn't even realize I needed it.

Here's a shout out, Jaron. Hope you're living your happily ever after.

it's for real.

not planned...

we honestly made those faces.

we also honestly wore tie-dyed larry bigelow socks and purple zebra capes.

will someone else please blog?

deja vu.

thanks, corrina for all the pictures of disneyland

and the associated jealousy that bled through my bones.

you're a super nice wife.

BUT... more importantly.

tell me.

what's it with you and the really long sticks of food?

churro.

disneyland

june 2010

hot dog

denmark/viking land

spring 2007?

a note from rexburg

hello girls,

i'm in rexburg right now and i've been doing my fair share of eating millhollow. enough for all of you ladies... definitely. i've had two mediums and one small of "tart raspberry with strawberries" blender. (one of those i ate while sitting at a table with the very awesome lisa-marie.)

i've driven past the shanty and thought about how cool we were during our glory days...

and holy cow! have any of you guys seen the new m.c.? i mean, i totally don't even recognize it anymore! it's completely different. i have no idea where i am in there anymore. they have the raddest food court area thingy that i am very jealous about. those young 'uns just sit there with their freshly chopped salads and slices of cheesecake, clicking away on their fancy laptops using wifi. they don't even know how rough we had it. wifi? can you imagine? no way. we used to only be able to look at our school email on campus. it's craziness i tell you.

i kept asking josh, "do we look old or do we look like we fit in?" josh just looked at me like he didn't want to tell me the truth that we definitely don't fit in anymore. maybe the four kids thing gave us away.

anyway, i just wanted to let you ladies know that i'm here in rexburg and thinking of you...

wish you were here.

i want every last one of you to hop in the car, fly here if needs be, maybe a train ride...

i'll pick you up from airport, bus station, whatever it takes.

but get here by 10 am tomorrow morning when shop my brains out at the bijou market.

jewelry

paper crafts

headbands

fabric wonders

aprons

sweets and treats

purses

wallets

yada

yada

yada

i want all of you by my side for this shopping EXPERIENCE

my first post...

Hello my wonderful lovelies! I miss you all, ya know that?

Well, a few of you have asked for details on our move. Trust me, it isn't as cool as Bobin's move but it is a move none the less.

There is a misconception that we are currently living in Raleigh, NC. We don't live there but my parents do. We are actually in Lenexa, Kansas (which is part of the Kansas City Metro) and are moving about 45 minutes away to a little town called Platte City, Missouri. We found a darling 67 year old home that we will rent (maybe even buy if we like it enough) that we are really excited about...I kinda have a crush on old homes. We move tomorrow so you can bet that we are basically NOT lovin' life right now. It seems like the more I get done the more there is left to do.

We don't have a phone number yet but I will post that when we do. Should I be embarrassed that we don't have cell phones? People gasp at me when I admit that. I never thought it a big deal because we have managed to get along fine without them for a long time. However, I am beginning to wonder if we are looked upon as weird anti-advancement type people who sign up to be on obnoxious TV shows like Wife Swap. Aubry, remember when Morgan and I went with you to visit Siri and Lisa and then go tour your awesome home? Remember how I thought that while using a cell phone I had to dial "1" and then the area code to call long distance but Morgan had the smarts to know that wasn't necessary? Oh well. We are getting them soon - just so you all know - it just hasn't been at the top of our "to do" list.

Our address is:
221 Almond Street
Platte City, MO 64079

Oh Cind - I never mailed your wedding gift. It is super cute - at least I think so. Will you send me your address again so I can get that to you? Thanks.

OK...I have more work to do so I had better get off the computer. Love you all.

never forget!

i represented the other day.

i wore my shanty shirt.

old picture (thanks corrina!) but you get the idea...

i'm just not 21 anymore.

on my 45 minute drive home today, i was sleepy. so sleepy.
my bottle of water just wasn't cutting it so i decided to stop at the nearest gas station to get a little snack to keep me awake.
i ended walking out of the gas station with 32 ounces of soda . . . a purchase i haven't made in who knows how long! i even worked the mixology and did the 70% diet dr. pepper/30% diet coke mix i came to love during our college days.

about 12 ounces in, it started to hit. i wondered how we ever downed 44 ounces of soda 2-3 (and sometimes 5)times a week.
my belly couldn't handle that much soda anymore!
this is as far as i got . . .

oh how it made me long for our younger days of 44 ounces, air pop popcorn and a picture window.

our friend ryan.

shanty girls from 2004.

today's the day, 5 years ago, that ryan was in his accident

{tell me there's a more fitting way to say that?}

i blogged about him today.

i need, i want

okay, i like this corrina . . . i want to discuss a few dresses, as well.

so josh's graduation is at the end of this month. i would love a new dress for the occasion. granted, i have not discussed the spending of funds for this purpose, but a girl can dream, right?

i love, love, love this dress from anthropologie. i saw it in real life and it's even better than the picture. it's so me.

or this dress...

or this dress that i've always loved (couldn't get a picture of it) ...

i deserve it.

Bombshell

Check out my wedding dress. I can just see myself prancing down the aisle in this 1930's dress found here. Wait.......I'm only attending the wedding, but still I'm going to be way hotter than Paris in this little off the shoulder number. Purchased and hanging in my armoire. I even sewed a really neat pillbox hat found here.

confession

I tried diet coke (first time!) the other day.

I didn't like it.

Will this demote me from being a Shanty Girl?

i'm here, i'm here . . .

okay ladies, here's the thing...

i've been waiting for some blogging inspiration for the ol' shanty blog, and i NEED MY PICTURES! it's just not the same without pictures! but alas, they are all at my parents' house in sunny california. however, i will be there within two months and then i will have them again... and after that there will be no stopping me! i will be on a roll. i promise.

so until then i will do what i can do. without shanty pictures.

do you girls remember when the old spori burned down? i believe it was halloween night, 2000. am i right? remember how crazy that was? it lit up the whole town and the next day some classes were cancelled because of the smoke.

or the time we woke up to the smiley face up on the back of the stadium bleachers? and we couldn't figure out how anyone got it up there? (i totally have a picture of that and i would insert it here, but . . . dang it.)

or do you ladies remember dave moss? and how he requested a visiting teacher? and angela volunteered to be his v.t. and sometimes some of us would go? he was totally serious about it too. weird, weird guy. yet, strangely, i had a crush on him. i believe he was from iowa.

oh, and does anyone remember how dan weatherspoon was our fhe brother and now he's marci's husband?!!

ready...

for someone to blog again.

c'mon.... do it. do it.

{cough, cough. robin..... cough.}

if not for these girls...

i would have never been a shanty girl.

so, even though this isn't technically a "shanty" memory, it's the reason i lived there.

here you see the pre-mission picture, recreated...

remember when...

robin sent us all that email that was like "chip, chop... get to work. blog! let's do this. here's your assignment. now go. do. blog." and then we haven't see a blog post from her, like ever...

robin. blog.

Thanks to Lara...I can post a picture of one, of the many fabulous memories of the Shanty. 

This was after I moved out and I would come and visit, obviouly I wasn't ready to let go of the Shanty.

You were all too kind and let me come and play with you.

Thank you.

The memory: Christmas at the Shanty! Sleeping under the tree, eating yummy, gooey bread (made by Cindy) in the morning, opening presents, snuggling all day in pj's.

I couldn't ask for better memories of college.

memories

I, too, have been thinking...and thinking...and trying to get to the computer...and I just can't settle on a single memory. So here it is: Kirsten's Current Favorite Memory List in no particular order:

• sitting around the front windows in the dark like bandits waiting for Robin to come home from a date and give us a "show" on the front porch when he dropped her off. Marci and I sat on Cindy's bed.
• Lara. Mandee. "Milk" mustaches. And them trying to decide whether or not to primp that night before boys came over to give me a blessing.
• journal parties with Mana.
• and the We Love Mana party.
• gluing quarters to the sidewalk--the ultimate lunch time entertainment.
• thinking of lunch--Andi listening to the same CD every day at lunch.
• screaming fests. a personal fav is when Jenny got engaged and it was the one night ever someone came to check if a boy was over past curfew.
• 10 little Indians for Halloween.
• sharing a birthday with Roo.
• early morning scriptures.
• and temple trips.
• and the early morning "no more white scrubs" party for Ashli--including turning off her alarm clock.
• all the Shantresses sitting in the front row of Gospel Doctrine while I struggled to teach.
• Jumping on the couches with Katrina.
• and her "dancing" birthday party--the polka and swing.
• 1 pan of brownies. lots of forks. plenty of room around the table.
• Hyrum banging on the door and running away (and all screaming "HYRUM!!!")
• the white boards.
• all of us crying while we watched Charley at the cheap theater and looking over to see that Mana was fast asleep.

I agree with Cindy--we need another reunion!

saturday extravaganza.

i had the ultimate mental battle over what my favorite shanty memory was. seeing as how i had two shanty experiences {2000/2001 and 2003/2004}, the sophomore year cloud date put up a valiant fight against my junior year's saturday adventures.

in the end, saturday extravaganza won... mostly because i have previously scanned photos. although, if i may plug the cloud date - that was the original transform-the-living-room date... it hailed in the gossimer and twinkle light concept that changed our world forever. the decorations were perfectly simple... we made the biggest mess in the kitchen... and the ever-eligible pete gallant was my date. so, there.

back to it. my favorite shanty memory: saturday extravaganzas.

the rules:

1. make a list of everything fun to do within a 3 hour radius of home base.

2. cram in as much fun as you can. strategically, of course.

2. it occurred every saturday. duh.

3. leave the house promptly at 10 a.m. if you have a test to take, a study group to attend, or a hair appointment in idaho falls, plan accordingly.

4. bring boys.

5. and a good mix tape.

6. document your every move.

for example:

craters of the moon.

distance from rexburg: 122 miles/2 hrs 25 mins.

boys: jake curtis, tim robbins, and the brown brothers.

museum of idaho and the television and pioneer museum

exhibit: a t rex named sue.

distance from rexburg: 30 minutes.

boys: same. except, they brought girls along. don't know why they thought that was going to be acceptable to us, but 7 years later... whatever.

perhaps the ultimate saturday extravaganza:

yellowstone national park

distance from rexburg: 123 miles/ 2 hrs. 44 mins.

boys: same, same, same, minus jake curtis... and grant wilson.

hey, remember the "caucasian dancing" shirt tim robbins sported? classic.

oh, and then there's a whole other worthwhile post that i could create that should be called "all the times we tried to get aubry to recreate in the snow"

this time:

43987548763524987 mile cross country ski trek through mesa falls

distance from rexburg: 38 miles/ 57 mins.

boys: wes morris, some other guy i remember being realllllly nice, bradley tew, reuben grothaus, tim robbins

i s'pose the moral of the story could be -

we lived in a great place and we did fun things.

all. the. time.

we're cute.

just got all of my pictures from the wedding and thought i would share a few to add to the 'best of shanty reunion 2010'.

so glad travis and i (or eh, LB and PJ) could sponsor such a great event :)

now can we PLEASE have another shanty reunion sometime soon? i didn't get my fill!!!

run forrest, run!

i love to run...didn't always. many of us shantresses run too. robin has a big race coming up this summer. the woman is an animal. just had baby #4 and will be doing the wasatch back in june!

runner's world magazine had a fabulous article in january of this year about running "rules."

it's long...but seriously. it's all true. my friend lori got hit by a car when we were running together one morning. really...it's all true.

if you have some extra time, read the article and GO ROBIN!

article: rulestorunby

To my peeps

I hope everyone has a good Easter weekend with their peeps!

a little taste

ahhh... that was some good diet coke from mcdonalds...

don't mind my extreme shrieking. i thought lara had caught the bouquet and it wasn't until i moved my camera that i noticed she'd given it away. that lara.

Hear ye Hear ye

Does anyone have anything good to say?

Casting Call

Does anyone want to reinvent this blog?