October Activities

Wesley and I have been able to do a lot of fun activities this October. We started off by going to Cross E Ranch at the beginning of the month. This weekend we went to the BYU homecoming football game. We are going to end the month by going to Bootanical at Red Butte Garden . We are also going to a Halloween party with Wesley's friends this weekend. It has been a fun fall month!

Norregard Grandparents

This week I thought I would write about my Norregard grandparents on my mom's side. It was grandma's birthday on October 4th and I remembered her. She died when I was six years old, but I still have some vivid memories of her. I remember I loved her so much and always wanted to be next to her at all our family events. I remember sitting in her hospice bed with her and playing. I remember going to the mall and that she would come over when we were sick. I know that she and my mom had their differences, but she worked so hard for her family. I would love to read her journals about growing up in the Netherlands and emigrating to the United States when she was 14. She had to quit school after the sixth grade and worked as a nannny to support her family when she was a teenager. I am in awe of her example every day. I have written a lot about my Grandpa Norregard. He died when I was 16, so I got to spend more time with him. He was one of my best friends and I loved spending time with him. He was so supportive of my dreams and everything I wanted to do. I also would love to read more about his career as an FBI agent and all the things he did. I miss them both every day!

Utah State Friends

Today I thought I would write about the lifelong friends I made during my first year at Utah State University. The first friends I made were Jessica and Alex on the first day after moving into our suite in the Living Learning Community. We would hang out in the living room and walk around campus. Kaitlin, Jessica's older sister, came into the friend group later in the semester when she came to spend time with Jessica. Leanna also joined the friend group during the first semester. Eleven years later, we are still friends. We hang out in person a handful of times per year and Kaitlin and Jessica were bridesmaids in my wedding. We lost contact with Alex for several years but she randomly texted us in February and we have been in contact since. Alex is in Arizona and Jessica is in California. Kaitlin is luckily still in Utah. I am so fortunate to have friends like them.

Birthday Las Vegas and Disneyland Vacation

We got back from our birthday trip on Saturday. It was a great but tiring trip! Here is a breakdown of what we did: Tuesday, Sept. 26: We drove to Las Vegas. We stopped at the DMV to get Wesley's license plates on the way out. We took my dad's electric car so we had to make a couple stops to charge along the way. We stayed at the Caesars Palace and had dinner at Hell's Kitchen. We also walked along the Strip and visited the Bellagio. Wednesday, Sept. 27: We stopped at the Flamingo hotel to look at the wildlife habitat in the morning. Then we drove to Anaheim. Along the way, we stopped at the Rainforest Cafe in Ontario for lunch. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to eat there and I loved the animatronic animals. We checked into hour hotel by Disneyland and went to the Anaheim Angels game in the evening. The Angels lost hard but it was so fun to go to an MLB game. Thursday, Sept. 28: This was our Disneyland day. We got to go on most of the rides we wanted to go on and even got to meet Mickey Mouse. We also had dinner ar the Plaza Inn which I have never tried. There was a little trouble at the beginning of the day with Wesley and David getting into a fight. Luckily, it simmered down and we were able to enjoy the rest of the day. They also had the Halloween projection show on the castle. Friday, Sept. 29: This was on our birthday at California Adventure. We got to go on the Guardian Monsters After Dark ride and the Carsland rides. We also had our Halloween birthday brunch at Goofy's Kitchen. It was a super fun but tiring day because we had been at Disneyland from 7:00am-midnight the day before. Saturday, Spet. 30: We drove home. We stopped at the same places to charge my dad's car and made it back to Utah in the evening. It was a great trip and I can't wait for the next one!