Georgia on my Mind

Ever wonder what Paradise looks like? Just come down to Georgia and you'll see! Okay, it's not quite as good as Paradise, but it is gorgeous down here with thick trees, lushious green grass and blue skies everywhere. If it wasn't for the GIGANTIC bugs and the heavy humidity I think I might just stay here forever. And it's true what they say about southern hospitality...people here are so nice and they make y'all feel welcome to visit. The only thing missing from this trip was Mike. He had to stay home and work while I came here on business. I had a great time staying with his parents (Jeff and Debbie) and his brother (Jason) though. During our down time we were able to go shopping, saw the Broadway play "Sweet Charity," ate at Waffle House and Longhorns (two of the best restaurants down here), and did lots of shopping. The business retreats were fun also. It was great to finally meet some of the people that I talk to all the time on the phone and through email. We also went and toured the company headquarters which was amazing. All in all it was a great trip!

GEORGIA AQUARIUM
In between retreats we also made some time to go see the Georgia Aquarium. It's the world's largest aquarium and it was amazing! There were so many different species of fish, whales, sharks, crabs, penguins, sea otters, etc... They had a few tanks where you could stick your hand in the water and touch sting rays and sharks. They also had these adorable Baluga whales that would swim up to the glass and press there noses against it if you made kissing noises at them! We all had a great time at our underwater adventure!

BFF!

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy...

Havin a blast together

Cool Sting Ray that we could touch!

Spider Crabs...YUCK!

Giant Sea Turtle

Jason and I with Scuba Steve

Gotta love this!

WAFFLE HOUSE!!

I had to have a whole blog dedicated to Waffle House cause it's the best breakfast place you'll ever find. Too bad Mike wasn't here to enjoy it with us...he definately missed out! It was just Jeff, Debbie, Jason and I who got to go. Our breakfast was delicious...and here are the pics to prove it!

The best of the South.

Mmmm...the All American breakfast is the best.

Jeff and Debbie

Must have been good!

FRESHMAN REUNION!

Thanks to our party planner Jessi, we all got together for a "Freshman Year Reunion BBQ" a few weeks ago. It was just our really close group of friends from that year...basically just our apartment (Allison, Rose Ellen, Jessi, and Me (Jennie is still on her mission)), and our FHE brother's from that year (Mike, Nate, Cameron, John, and Jordon (Chris is still on his mission)), and Glen. We were all so close that year...we hung out almost EVERY day, and it's been about two years since I've seen the guys. So it was TONS of fun to get together again and catch up! Mike and Tyler were there too, but they didn't get in any of the pictures. A lot has changed since the care free days of Freshman year. No more inter-group dating, late night talks, midnight snowball fights, FHE activities, obsession with IM, and no more "keeping it in the square." We've all moved on with our lives...but every once in awhile it's fun to get together to think and laugh about the good times.

Pretty Girls

The Boys-Cameron, Mike, Jordan, John, Nate, Glenn

Family Photo

Jessi...doing something.

The Girls-Rose Ellen, Jessi, Me and Allison doing the "Head Tilt" in honor of Jennie.

Mike Hansen's big mouth.

Separated at Birth

For those of you who don't know, I was adopted by my parents when I was 3 days old. My birthmom was 19 and unmarried when she had me and gave me up so that I could be raised by a mother and a father. I'd always known that I was adopted and decided while I was young that when I turned 21 (the minimum age set by the state) I would register to find my birthmom. April 2006 is when I turned in all the paperwork and within 2 weeks I received a call from the adoption agency saying that my birthmom had also registered and wanted to meet me. Boy was I nervous! The first time she called I didn't answer the phone cause I wasn't sure what to say. Luckily she called back. :) We talked that day and met about a week later. At first it was a little weird having her and her family (husband and 7 other kids) in my life, but over the past year we have all spent some time together and developed a good relationship. Overall it has been a great, very spiritual experience. Last December Michelle finished writing a book about her experiences as a pregnant teen and giving her baby up for adoption and gave the book to me for Christmas. It is a very inspirational story for any of you who are interested in reading it.

Michelle and I-she says I look more like my birthdad than her.

My half brothers and sisters-Grace, Adam, Natasha, Robin, Joshua (we have the same birthday..isn't that weird?), Me, and Nephi. Daniel is on a mission right now is Scotland so I haven't met him yet.

All together minus Daniel.

Mission Call!

Here's us with Mike's younger brother Shawn as he opened his Mission Call. He was called to serve in the Taiwan, Taichung mission and is learning Mandarin. Doesn't get much harder than that! He was supposed to leave in March 2007, but ended up getting sent out 6 weeks early. We won't see him for two whole years, but I know he'll do a great job out there!

All eyes, phones, tape recorders and cameras on Shawn.

Looking a little confused.

Mike was REALLY excited for Shawn.

Our Baby

Here are some pictures of our baby, Crazy Tom. Takes after Mike don't you think? Haha. I never thought we become THOSE people who treated their dog like a child. But since we don't have actual children yet, Tom is doing a pretty good job filling in. He sure keeps us laughing with all his antics. Oh and in case you are wondering, we named him after a character from Mike's favorite book, "Ender's Game."

This is where the "crazy" part of his name comes in!

Rolling around on the floor with Bella (his girlfriend).

Staring contest with White Kitty.

Just chillin.

Only a few weeks old.

Utah College of Massage Therapy Graduation!

After a very intense year of school (August 2005-August 2006), I graduated from UCMT with training as a massage therapist. It was a LOT of hard work, but definately worth it in the end! I had so many friends and family come to my graduation and they threw me a big party afterwards. Here are some pics of this momentous occassion.

Mike and Nina-what a cute couple! :)

Kissing the camera?

Jared Burr looking kinda scary.

Papa, Mami, Michelle (my birthmom), Mom, and Dad.

Ready for your close up?

Sister Love

Shawn and I

Hugs all around! Me, Julie, and Joshua Burr.

My Diploma-It's a very serious thing.