Growing Up the Teenage Years...

*What activities did you participate in? (Sports, dancing, music, arts, etc.) Explain what you did with each activity.
I did every sport available except basketball. In jr. high I played softball, volleyball, and ran track. I also sang in the chior in jr. high. Once I hit high school though I stopped singing, playing the piano and softball. I played volleyball and ran track. Growing up I saw my older sisters play sports and my sister Heidi play volleyball and I was sold after my first volleyball camp. It was awesome! From 7th grade till my first year of marriage I played volleyball. Its was I did except maybe a month or two out of the year. I even played club while running track. I played as a starter all four years all the way around. I was lucky to have a sister who played and helped me learn. By the time I was a senior I was the best in our region in the 3A. I didn't get player of the year though because small town politics are stupid and the Snowflake coach must have really not liked me : ) My friend who got it came to after and said that this was a joke and that I deserved it. I worked really hard at volleyball and I don't regretone bit dedicating so much of my teenage life to it. I hated track. I decided to do track instead of softball because the group of softball players were girls I could live without and their record stank. Plus boys got to run track... My freshman year I was nervous. I was always the fastest in jr. high, but not in high school. I remember my first meet I came in 5th or 6th, I didn't realize you had to run that fast. I caught on by the middle of the season though and I remember some of the senior boys telling me they didn't know I could run that fast. I qualified for state in all my events but I don't remember doing that well once I got there. I would tighten up and get out of  the blocks to slow. My sophomore year was more of the same. So I decided not run my junior year and I loved it. My dad didn't but I did. I decided to run my senior year to keep in shape for volleyball, and I realized how much I loved track. It was hard but it felt so good to run fast. My goal for the year was break 13 seconds, I did it our first meet. I ran faster my senior year than I had when I was younger. I only lost two races that year, I lost at state to a very very fast black girl. I set the record for the 100 and 200 at my school, they are probably broken now, but it was fun to beat my older sister's times. I loved track that year.

*How did you learn how to drive? What kind of car did you have?
The first time I drove was on my 15th birthday. We went up into the mountains to dutch oven and listen to conference. My brother-in-law John let me drive their new truck. I would say though that my Mom and Dad took turns teaching my how to drive. I don't think I did much driving until I got my permit. I remember my Mom made me drive home from the DMV. We had a suburban then and it was huge. I was so scared, but we survived and I drove a lot after that I am ashamed to say that I am the only person in my family that cannot drive stick. I could in an emergency but it wouldn't be pretty. My Dad tried to teach me on our 30 year old jeep. I remember killing it 16 times in a row and seeing the sweat start to gather on my Dad's temple from frustration. I would do okay until we go on the main road, then I would panic just a little bit. I never really had a good car to learn on. Aaron tried teaching me on our Honda before he left for boot camp, I did okay. But that car was stolen and now I have no car to learn on for real.

*Who were your friends?
I had my group of friends that I had had forever same as listed above. I kind of had two groups of friends though. Those who played sports and those who didn't. Sometimes they overlapped. I was friends with most anyone who would be my friend, but I usually only hung out with my group of friends outside of school. I look back on my high school social life and am thankful for the good friends that I had. I had a lot a fun with them and made a lot of good memories. I loved my volleyball teammates. All those girls were so much fun to play with, I was mostly bummed when the season ended because I didn't get to spend as much time with them anymore. High school is stupid though. If I could go back I would have branched out more and been more creative. And by creative I would have thought of more things to do than make cookies and play Disney's Scene it :) I had fun doing those things, but I think we thought we couldn't do anything else because the only other option was to party and none of us did that. We also didn't have very many guy friends. Pinetop guys were not great. So that also limited what we could do, none of us were brave enough to go up into the mountains and have a bonfire without some guys to do it all.
*Did you have a girl/boy friend? Talk about him/her (if your spouse is okay with it!).
I had crushes and kind of dated one boy my senior year. We pretty much had a whole relationship though texting, so pathetic. Like I said above Pinetop guys were lame jerks. There were some fun mormon boys that I started hanging out with when I was a junior and they were all seniors. I don't know if they thought I wouldn't have anything to do with them or what, but I would have dated some of them if they asked. Overall though I am very okay that I didn't have a serious boyfriend in high school. I thought it was a waste of time then and I still think that it is a waste of time to dedicate that much emotion to someone when you are 16.

*What did you like/dislike about school?
I didn't like the social workings of high school. I was so entrapped by it and it wasn't until my junior year that I finally got over most of wanting to be oh so popular. I didn't like walking through freshman hall you could ever breathe axe body spray soaking up the air. I didn't like ages 13-16 and most everything to do with those ages. I liked volleyball, english, driving, my friends, and that fact that all my money got to go to clothes.

*What was your first paid job?
My first job was working as an ice cream scoop in Colorado. That was my favorite summer ever. I am so glad my parents let me go up there with Heidi. I loved every second of it. I loved living in the Rockies, I loved being with my older sister and feeling like I was cool.