Bucket list

These are things that I have compiled over the years of things I want to do before I die. I am going to try and add one every year so that I have as many as years old I am. I'd say at 21 and already checking off 4 is not to bad! And 2 more may be checked off before the end of the year, but I'm not telling anything yet...

Two Questions- Bucket List

Have you found joy in life?
Has your life brought joy to others?

1. Get married to my best friend- I want to find that someone who I can completely be myself with and love forever. Obviously I haven’t had much luck yet, but when I find him, he is going to be one lucky man!

2. Have children- I want the whole process of being pregnant, birthing, crying screaming baby, terrible twos, pre-teens, teens, adults. The joy of having children is nothing you can compare to…so I have been told.

3. Go to another country- I can’t be stuck in the US forever. I want to see another culture and other places on this beautiful earth. I love being in nature and I can’t imagine seeing some of the natural beauties of this earth.

4. Ride in a rodeo- It is crazy and could be dangerous, but hey it’s not that long right! Check! There was a rodeo at school (yeah that's what we do in Idaho). I was telling my friend how it was something I wanted to do. Her roommate happened to be in charge of the people riding in the upcoming weekends rodeo. I told her I waited to long to sign up...I was bummed. Later that night she called and said a girl had dropped out and if I wanted to I was in! It was so intense and I freaked out a little and then alot as they wanted me to get on this 700 pound steer! I lasted 2.8 seconds before slamming to the ground. I literally thought I walked away with a few broken ribs and concussion, but I sucked it up, got up, and ran for the gate. Best adrenaline rush in my life! Definitely a once in a life time experience.

5. Raft down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon- I love rafting and have done it multiple times down the Youghiogheny River, both the rapids and the scenic tour. I have never been to the Grand Canyon and I think this would be a great way to experience it.

6. Backpack through New Zealand- I love back packing, so going anywhere would be amazing. But I have seen and heard people who have gone there and how beautiful the country is. Ideally I would stay in a hostel and be a bum for about a month as I walk to countryside.

7. Compete in a triathlon- I grew up swimming, I love biking, and I hate running. Perfect! Well not really, but it still seems fun and something that I could push myself towards.Check (2 actually) Although I cant say that I did it alone. It was a team effort with lovely Erika Eichenmiller and Erin Hammond. I did the swimming part and it was a blast. It was pretty much an all day event. Erin started us off by running, then Erika almost died biking (but dont tell her I said that) and then I brought us home with the swimming. I am not sure it is something I will ever do on my own, but this was so much fun with my good friend!

 8. Become an ASL interpreter- I love working with children with special needs. I have never had the opportunity to take ASL classes but after I graduate I want to get my MBA in Deaf Education. I find sign language fascinating, and that even though people are limited on one of the senses they are still able to communicate. I would love to offer that service to people.  

9. Ride on a hot air balloon- I have just recently gotten over my fear of flying, but I think that this would still be a neat experience. $170 for an hour of flying where ever the wind takes you! To me that sounds magical.

10. Run a relay marathon-Like I said, I hate running. But I could push myself and as long as I finish I am happy with myself. Check. Didn't do this by myself either but it was more than a 26 mile marathon. We ran from Rexburg to Idaho Falls (the long way) 38.5 miles. There were supposed to be 8 in our group but 1 guy decided not to show. So we split up his leg and ran extra. We ranked 12th overall out of 72 teams with a time of 5 hours and 5 minutes! I have never been so tired and sore, but we had a blast the entire day!

 11. Go ice fishing- Well I love regular fishing and this is sort of like that but colder. The whole little hut experience would be neat, but not necessary.

12. Visit a rain forest-Why not?! Except my awesome abilities to catch random diseases and sicknesses, besides that…..

13. Win a competition- Really anything like on the radio, or entering some competition. I feel like we are a very unlucky family and never win anything. Funny story: This Christmas break my mom bought a ticket to support some fundraiser in my town and she WON! The lady called her and told her to come to town hall to pick up her prize. No one was home so she left a message. When we listened to it later my family literally all got together and just laughed. It was so exciting that someone in our family finally won something! It ended up being an alphabet pocket chart…super exciting I know. She gave it to me to maybe use in my classroom someday or with my children. Check. Last winter at BYU-I they tried holding the largest dodge ball game to break the record of I think 1600 people. We ended up with about 1200 people which is a huge game of dodge ball. We decided to play and I wouldn't exactly call this winning, but I wad the last one standing on the blue team. And yes I actually played and did not stand in the corner hiding. And no I did not cheat and stay in the game. I am just that good. Towards the end the gray team started shouting go for the guys leave the girl til last. That was my time to get some people out since i knew they weren't aiming for me. But once everyone else was out I saw like 30 people coming at me with balls! In my mind I won for the blue team. Last semester we had a rock paper scissor competition in my ward. With every competitor it was best out of 3. I ended up winning that competition and they gave me a plastic medal that I wore proudly! The guys also lifted me up on their shoulders, it made me feel like a true champ (even if it was just 31st ward)

14. Stand at the four corners Colorado, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico- to me that is fascinating, right now I feel like I live so close maybe I will make the trip.

15. See a sunset/sunrise in Maine- so romantic, inside sources tell me that it is worth it!

16. Work with handicapped children- I am pretty much there. I have worked with a variety of children already from speech problems caused by a cleft pallet/lip, to differing degrees of autism and developmental disorders. That was just from my college experiences, working with families and their children would make me the happiest person.

17. Bike from Pittsburgh to DC on the Appalachian trail- My Pappap brought up the idea a few summers ago to bike from Pittsburgh to D.C. He asked if I would go with him!? Of course! So we started out small and he went to the gym and biked there a few times a week and I would bike a few miles. So we planned a family trip to Ohiopyle where you can rent bikes and go on their trails, which as so beautiful. But a few months before we were going to go, he found out he had cancer and they had to remove it. A lot of other things happened and I was planning on postponing the trip until he got better. That was our goal. He did get well enough and last summer we went and biked about 3 miles at Ohiopyle. It was enough for him and we would never be able to bike the Appalachian Trail together, but it is something that I want to do for me and for him. We have all the research done and there are a variety of choices. I want to just go with a pack and sleep on the side of the road and just bike. They say it will take about 3 days. My body might not like me to much but I have a reason and a purpose for doing this.

 18. Take a spontaneous trip- I have a friend, Martin, who was telling me how one day he would love to just go to the airport and find the cheapest flight and where ever it is, go! Hop on that plane with no plan in mind, but have an amazing trip. I have not forgotten that idea and would love to do it someday.

19. Spend the night in a castle in Ireland or Scotland- It’s my heritage…and way sweet!

20. Get punched in the face- This sounds so weird I know, but I want to know what it’s like spontaneously being slapped in the face.

21. Make a list of 100 movies/100 books and watch and read them all- I love to read! This would be a great goal for me. I know that I have already read over 100 books, I wish I knew how many I have read in my lifetime. When I find a good book I just can’t put it down, literally.