Perspective.

I gotta give props to my friend Scott for organizing the Gaza-Israel tragedy into a cohesive argument.  Here is the link to his words.  Sorry, you gotta be a facebook member to read them.

Christmas in Winter Wonderland

For the first time in my life, I was not in California for Christmas. Instead of sunshine and ocean, I had snow and ice and FAMILY. I got to hang out with my sister and her cute, cute kids and we had a great time hanging out at home, running last-minute Christmas errands, and my favorite, sledding which for some reason really made me want to spend a week in Park City snowboarding. Maybe next time. For now, let me introduce Parker and Natalie.

Natalie and Nana

We found a black bear in MaryClaire's front yard. Oh wait, it's Dave and Jill's new puppy, Sawyer.

Mom with her grandpuppies

Super Mom

"Thugs??"

As of right now, 280 Palestinian lives have been taken over the weekend by Israel using more than 100 tons of bombs. In retaliation, Gaza mustered some rockets into Israel, killing one. Below is a quote from an AP article on the story summing up the world's reaction and call to end these events:

"Britain, the EU, the Vatican, the U.N. secretary-general and special Mideast envoy Tony Blair all called for an immediate restoration of calm. The Arab League scheduled an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss the situation.

But the U.S., Israel's closest ally, blamed Hamas. "These people are nothing but thugs, so Israel is going to defend its people against terrorists like Hamas that indiscriminately kill their own people," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said."

It shocks me that the White House is ignorant enough to regard Hamas as "nothing but thugs." Hamas' position on the State of Israel is far from ideal, but the democratically-elected Hamas has established social programs such as hospitals, education systems and libraries for its citizens, granting Palestinians a semblance of normal life under very difficult living conditions. I am shocked by Johndroe's ignorance and insensitivity. Thugs?? Are we in high school?

For the full article click here.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Today I woke up to some rain, but tomorrow I'm waking up to this: I'm off to Utah for the most wonderful time of the year and I'm definitely bringing my snow pants and jacket so I can play with these little guys!Merry Christmas to all!

I believe in Santa Claus.

One year ago...

One year ago this weekend, I experienced the best moment in my sports career. After a very emotional season (as they all are), the BYU Cougars upset the University of Washington Huskies at their house to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA volleyball tournament. UW was ranked #6 and had won the National Championship two years prior. BYU was ranked #20-something and had not advanced past the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament in 8 years. We were not expected to win. Like all the years before, we were expected to lose in the first weekend. But we weren't ready to be done. Four of us in particular were not ready to be done with our BYU careers. We had sacrificed too many tears, too many injuries, too much time to let our season end so quickly.

So we battled. And came out on top. I'll be forever grateful to everyone who helped me leave BYU on top.

The best place to play volleyball:

What I'm Thankful For

This guy...


This weekend Brad took me to San Francisco. As the Best Man in his old roommate's wedding, he took me along as his date. :) We had such a great time eating clam chowder, walking through Pier 39, hanging out with friends, playing with my little cousins, watching the waves at Half Moon Bay, reading books at Costco and helping each other stay awake during the night-time drives there and back. I have always had so much to be grateful for and this year I have a little something extra that hasn't always been there before.