2011

So 2011 flew by... so many things happened this year, so I wanted to have a 2011 recap post before ushering a new year...

 This year had a lot of firsts baking wise - here we made a killer cheesecake - other firsts included monkey bread, pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, and Red velvet chocolate chip cookies, and red velvet baked donuts - it was a good food year ;)

 For my 24th birthday I went to Texas Roadhouse with my roommates - this is me riding the saddle - it was awesome

 I was able to see lots of missionaries from my mission every couple of months. Here we are eating at the Indian Restaurant on Center in Provo.. Yum!

 It was a pretty good year for Country Swing dancing! J. was my partner in crime when it came to dancing.

 We saw the 'Date Doctor' when he came to USU

 Sean Kingston also came to Logan

 Internship at Rice & Strand Interiors in North Salt Lake

 Of course we went to see Pirates: On Stranger Tides - other awesome movies from this year were: Captain America, Thor, and we got a good laugh from Fast Five

 After many years, we went to the Air Force museum in Layton - this is a picture of our cute Grandpa by the plane with his name on it. He was a navigator in the Air Force. Pretty darn awesome!

 We successfully jump started the Blazer! 'I'm a big girl, I can tie my own sandals and everything'

It was a year for weddings: This pic is at Rob and Ali's wedding reception in Provo

This one is at Erin and Joe's wedding reception in South Jordan

My Step Brother Cpl. Raphael Arruda was killed in action while serving in the Army in Afghanistan... right before he was to come home. This is a picture of the Patriot Riders(holding the flags) and others gathered for the arrival of his body back to Utah. I blogged about it back in July, you can read all about it Here and Here.

My cousin and I went back to Virginia for about 2 weeks before school started. This is a picture of us up in Colonial Williamsburg. It was such a fun trip - we went to Water Country USA a bunch of times, and got up to all sorts of things... also we discovered Disney Apples to Apples - fabulous game!

Back at USU for my last semester! I made it to a few Football games and Basketball games. GO AGGIES!

Another Missionary get together - we even skyped with our mission President and wife. I love this group of people! - This gathering was right before General Conference so I spent that with my cousin in Payson. We got to meet her brother's girlfriend (now fiance!)

Halloween! I love carving pumpkins, this year I went with a Superhero Theme :)

 

We went a little crazy with my hair for Halloween - and had an epic party at our apt.

 Thanksgiving - my brother and I drove to Phoenix, AZ. Thanks to my crazy driving skills, we made it down there in 12 hours. The break was wonderful - we had 70-80 degree weather. Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful (my pie turned out great!).. and of course cooking Thai food with my stepMom is always an adventure! ... The only downside was our tire exploding outside of ST. George on the way back... it was an ordeal but we made it home alright.

 For the first time in years I made it down to Temple Square for the lights. It was a crazy night, but so glad we went down! The lights were so beautiful!

Christmas, my Dad and Stepbrother drove up from AZ. We walked around the Christmas village in Ogden, and even took a stroll down 25th Street - new favorite store is Artists&Antiques!

 Christmas day family picture :) Brother, Dad, Grandma, Stepbrother, and Grandpa ^_^

Christmas Break (can I still call it a break when I am done with school??) was filled with work, family time and weddings! This picture is of Jen and Orie's Reception.


Other things that happened this year that are worth mentioning: I passed the LEED GA Exam, started my own business and Graduated from USU! WOOHOO!! It has been a pretty crazy year... it will be interesting to see what 2012 brings!

Musings of a single girl

So here we are at the end of my last week of school. (for a while- I still would love to get a master's down the road a piece) Of course I've had some great conversations with friends and roommates on a variety of subjects... okay boys mainly. Most of those conversations were started by some things that I found this week:

 We often joke about becoming cat ladies ;) haha yay for being single!

I saw this video on FB:

I know about half the people being interviewed. I don't agree with this video 100% but I thought it was cute

I liked this quote, found it on Pinterest.com

This one made me think a bit when I found it.

And this last one pretty much sums up how I feel, I am willing to put forth effort but I like men to stand up and be men. If you like me, stand up and let me know. Confidence is very attractive. I will usually give guys a chance, and I always try to be straight up so you know where you stand with me.

I don't chase boys. I am pretty shy that way.

A guy who served in my mission posed this on his FaceBook page and I was pretty impressed so I decided to re-post it here:

Girls Need To Realize: WRITTEN BY A GUY

We guys don't care if you talk to other guys. We don't care if you're friends with other guys. But when you're sitting next to us, and some random guy walks into the room and you jump up and tackle him, without even introducing us, yeah, it pisses us off. It doesn't help if you sit there and talk to him for ten minutes without even acknowledging the fact that we're still there. We don't care if a guy calls>OR TEXTS< you, but at 2 in the morning we do get a little concerned. Nothing is that important at 2 a.m. That it can't wait till the morning. Also, when we tell you you're pretty/beautiful/ gorgeous/cute/ stunning, we freaking mean it. Don't tell us we're wrong. We'll stop trying to convince you. The sexiest thing about a girl is confidence. Yeah, you can quote me. Don't be mad when we hold the door open. Take Advantage of the mood im in. Let us pay for you! dont 'feel bad' We enjoy doing it. It's expected. Smile and say 'thank you. Kiss us when no one's watching. If you kiss us when you know somebody's looking, we'll be more impressed. You don't have to get dressed up for us. If we're going out with you in the first place, you don't have to feel the need to wear the shortest skirt you have or put on every kind of makeup you own. We like you for who you are and not what you are. Honestly, i think a girl looks more beautiful when she's just in her pj's. or my tshirt and boxers, not all dolled up. Don't take everything we say seriously. Sarcasm is a beautiful thing. See the beauty in it. Don't get angry easily. Stop using magazines/media as your bible. Don't talk about how hott Chris Brown, Brad Pitt, or Jesse McCartney is in front of us. It's boring, and we don't care. You have girlfriends for that. Whatever happened to the word 'handsome'/'beautiful' i'd be utterly stunned by a girl who greeted me with 'Hey handsome!' instead of 'Hey baby/ stud/cutie/ sexy' or whatever else you can think of. On the other hand im not sayin i woulndnt like it ether ; ) Girls, I cannot stress this enough: if you aren't being treated right by a guy, dont wait for him to change!!!!! Ditch his sorry butt, disgrace to the male population and find someone who will treat you with utter respect Someone who will honor your morals. Someone who will make you smile when you're at your lowest. Someone who will care for you even when you make mistakes. Someone who will love you, no matter how bad you make them feel. Someone who will stop what they're doing just to look you in the eyes....and say 'i love you' ..and actually mean it. Give the nice guys a chance. Guys repost this if you agree. Girls repost this if you think it's cute.. Every Guy who isn't a jerk will agree with this, so we hope that all the girls that read this will repost this.

Life is too short to complain about everything that comes your way so stop and smell the roses in life because you might never have another time to take it, so take your time because they are all different in every way, so take chances in life, if it doesn't work out then fine, there are always more roses to smell.


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So there you have it. Musing on love and life. Just in case you couldn't tell, yes I am still quite single. I don't mind being single, it is kind of nice to be able to do exactly what I want, when I want - but I am not opposed to getting attached. I am just moving right along with my life and waiting for someone to step  up I suppose.

One last picture (click on it to go to my 'Quotes' board on pinterest)

Keep Calm and Just Graduate

Well November definitely escaped me! Geology project was a success, and just finished up my individual project. I designed a Community Venue and Bookstore for Tooele, UT. I thought it turned out really well. It was a fun project!

And here we are...December! I am slowly coming to accept that this is my last week of school. Last week of classes as an undergrad! Then finals. Then... not sure! I think the plan for now is to move back home to Ogden, and work at the hospital more until I find a more permanent job somewhere. Top places would be: Virginia, Arizona, or Salt Lake. However, I haven't sold my contract yet (if you know any girl moving up to Logan soon, and looking for a place let me know!) If I don't sell my contract, I will be tempted to leave my things up in Logan and just stay in Ogden during the week. The next two weeks will be full of of applying and following up with Architectural Firms.

It is kind of sad that things will be changing. I have really loved being up here this semester, great roommates and friends. So many fun times. But then there is the thrill of the possibilities and opportunities to come - one good thing about being single - I can go and do whatever I want! So we will just have to see what the future brings for me.

Blink and You'll Miss it!

I know, I know I have been a total slacker with my blog this semester. I just have been super busy! But a good kind of busy.

Classes are going well, the Geology Project took tons of time, and is finally over when we present to the Geology Department TOMORROW! I am excited, and a little nervous at the same time. Then afterwards we get to start our new project. I helped our Professor with the CAD Drawings yesterday, so I got to see the Floor Plan... not 100% sure what we are doing with it, but I am excited to start on it. I was nominated for the 'CAD Specialist' Team. Our Professor said that if we are going to finish this next project in time, then we needed to work like a Design Firm. We'll see how it goes... although it is no secret that I LOVE CAD!

Last weekend was our Fall Break. I had some classes cancelled so I was able to leave Wednesday afternoon. It was great! I worked for a couple of hours Wednesday night, and then all day Thursday. We moved so many binders of documents.. and barely made a dent in the piles. I can't wait to get more stuff out of Bldg 6 so the Interior Designers can finally have their area! The rest of the weekend was spent with my cousin. We stayed at her Grandparents' house, Our Grandparent's house and then came up to Logan. It was so fun! We finally finished watching Doctor Who Season 6! - Craziness!! We watched Fast 5, some Supernatural and a couple other things. We also made some pretty epic desserts if I do say so myself, and even found time for shopping and feeding the ducks at First Dam. It was soo great! I needed a break!

Now back to reality. I took a test today for Business Correspondence so that is nice to have over. My roommate and I went to the Temple today. That was fabulous. I love going to the temple. Tonight has been spent writing the html for a webpage for my MIS class, and of course studying for my Management Midterm next week. Next on the agenda - dancing! Yay for Wednesday nights!

So I am still shocked that October is almost over. I have two little pumpkins that I need to carve. I was thinking the Batman Logo for one and the Fantastic 4 logo for the other. We shall see :)

And the beat goes on...

The past couple weeks have been pretty intense. We have really been immersed in our Geology Dept. Project, well in nine days we will be turning everything in. So that has been pretty awesome and a little frustrating at the same time. The stress levels will come down a little once that is over with. I have managed to make it through a couple more tests. I have another on on Tuesday ... not so fun but a must. So things continue moving forward. Just over two months left.. that feels so unreal still. It probably won't sink in until after I am graduated and working full time.

So school is keeping me very busy, but I have been making a little time for myself too.

Last weekend was General Conference if you didn't get to see it, check it out HERE. It was really good : )
After my group meeting for my Management Class on Friday I drove down to Payson. I left my apt. at 1:30 then made a stop in Perry to get some Peaches.. I didn't make it to Payson until 5:30. It was rough, the traffic was backed up because of the game that night (USU vs BYU at BYU) and of course, road works. But I made it down safely and got to hang out with my cousin for a bit. Then I drove back up to Provo and hung out with a bunch of missionaries that I served with in Singapore and Malaysia. That was soo fun! We just had  a get together over at Ee's, watched the end of the game, chatted, and even Skyped with Pres. and Sis. Clark. It was a great night!

Food! (we also had several kinds of curry, Milo, pisang goreng, and of course I made Apple Cake and Banana Cake)

A bunch of us, more came and went throughout the evening ^_^

So that was super fun! I love getting together and catching up on everything, and hearing stories from areas that I served in.

I spent the rest of the weekend with my cousin. It was so fun! 

My Mr. Darcy...

There comes a time in a girl's life when she will find her 'Mr. Darcy'... and I finally found mine:

Mr. Darcy

Mr. Darcy has joined our apt. family, which includes the four roommates and an Aloe Vera plant named Lewis. I think we are going to be very happy together. I saved him from a dry basket of dying plants over the weekend, transplanted him into his own pot, and brought him up to Logan.

In other news, I was able to go down to Salt Lake and get my security badge for the VA hospital - it says "CONTRACTOR - INTERIOR DESIGN" on it! It's been a long time coming, so I am so excited to finally have my badge. Now just have to work out a schedule to get down there and get working.

Last week I had some crazy dreams - one involved a rather traumatic move to Richmond, VA and another one involved being in Malaysia - most of that dream was in Malay... I love it when I dream in Malay!

I told my cousin about my crazy Richmond dream and then we got talking about moving out there. It would be so fun if we both got jobs out there and we could get a house. One of the main reasons to get a house as opposed to an Apt. would be so that we could get our dogs. She wants a Keeshond and/or a Yorkie-Poo, and I want a German Sheperd and/or a Whippet. I love dogs!

Yorkie-Poo

Keeshond

Whippet

German Sheperd

  So, it will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months, getting a dog sounds fabulous. Until then, I have my plant Mr. Darcy to take care of.... I have seen several versions of Pride and Prejudice, but this picture comes into my mind when I think of Mr. Darcy...(enjoy ;)

it's going to be a good semester...

So I need to start off by saying that I love my roommates. I love it when we sit around and discuss our views on guys and dating etc etc. Tonight was a good one. We watched a movie together, it had some really funny parts, but the ending wasn't so great. I came up with a much better one, which involved moving to London. So, afterwards we were talking about dating and such when we heard a couple outside. I peeked out of our closed blinds to see if I could see them... the guy had his back to my roommate's jeep and the girl was leaning into him. Our light was on so they must have known that we were home, we were chatting and laughing so they must have heard us... anyway the best part was my roommate had a clicker lock for her car... so we turned off all of our lights and then she pressed the button and the car lights flashed and it beeped really loud! We laughed so hard.. I even started crying I was laughing so hard! Door step scenes are awkward  enough, but really getting all up ons on someone else's car? Ew. Apparently it wasn't the first time they had been out there taking way to long to say goodnight. So really, they had it coming. Haha that will be a good story for them later...and it provided us with some entertainment!

Truth and Tolerance

http://bcove.me/9blmjiz6

Click on the link and watch the CES Firside from Sept. 11, 2011 Sister Oaks and Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke.

I really enjoyed both talks!

First Day of the Last Semester!

And so it has arrived! I made it through my first day back at USU. It was quite the day... I was able to wake up on time and get ready. I packed me a lunch and made it out the door a little after 8am. I walked up to campus with our new roommate. She is darling. When we were up on campus I was showing her where her next class would be I gracefully stepped into a puddle .... I got mud splattered up above my knee. I had rolled my jeans up like capris so I got mud up my shin. Beautiful. Thankfully we were early so I had time to get to the bathroom and rinse off the mud before my first class. Great way to start the day! I just had to laugh it off.

My first class is Business Correspondence. I know that this will be a good class for me, as I need to improve my grammar! Afterwards I went to Institute,  Managing People and Organizations, and Yoga. First day = going over the syllabus. Looks like I will be pretty busy, but I think it will be a very interesting last semester!

After all my classes were over I stayed on campus and ate lunch, then went to the computer lab to take the online training I needed to finish so I can work at the VA.

This evening we had a ward FHE - we met at the park and had smoked bbq chicken. Yum! I took pictures of almost everyone who was there so we can get going on the Ward Directory. It was fun meeting everyone.

Then I came home and made Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. It is still cooking and smells divine. I hope it turns out. I figured we deserved it since we all started school today :) Hope tomorrow is just as good or even better!

Truthful, Gentle, and Fearless

I love this quote. I think I could be a little more like that. Sometimes I am truthful but not so gentle about it.
*Case and point - A couple of Sundays ago I was in Virginia visiting my family there. We went to church and outside of the chapel was a boy who refused to sit inside for the meeting, just sat in the foyer on the couch. He had a reason, which I wasn't super impressed with.. but what really did not impress me was his manner of dress - Black dress shirt and a red bow tie. I couldn't take him seriously. Perhaps I should cut him some slack, but in my mind when you attend church, you should do so in an attitude of worship and a willingness to participate in the meetings. The leaders of the church set the example of a white shirt and tie. (not bow tie) for the men, and for the ladies I expect them to be modest, I do my best to be.  I never did say anything to that boy, doubtless he had some sort of reason for dressing the way he did.
  Well, fast forward to another Sunday back in Utah. I attended church with my cousin, and after the first church meeting we stepped out into the foyer to move to the Sunday School classroom and there was a boy with a black dress shirt on and a red bow tie. I rolled my eyes and turned to my cousin and said "What is it with boys with black shirts and bow ties?" we chuckled then moved on to her class. It was her week to teach. She gave a wonderful lesson, but there were a few people in the class who were less than courteous. I was a little upset about it, but was trying to keep it to myself. Well, my cousin and I were about the step into the hallway to go and get a drink and I ran into the boy with the bow tie. He tapped me on the shoulder and as I looked up at him he said "do you like my bow tie?".... oh man, wrong time to ask me that question. Now granted I didn't approve of his choice of dress for church, but then you add the rudeness of some people in the class (I am usually nice but if you mess with my family, watch out, that is not okay with me) so I answered "No, I don't!"... I promptly walked away to avoid a further lecture to the boy. ...Later, after I had calmed down a bit, I did feel a little sorry for being so blunt with him, but honestly, I believe that how people present themselves, the way they dress, the way they act is a reflection of them, their attitudes about certain things and a snapshot of who they really are. That applies to myself as well. Anyway, I was not gentle in sharing the truth with that boy. It didn't seem to phase him, although I am sure he was surprised that I was so blunt about it. What did he expect me to say? "Yes I like it, where did you get it?"... I am not going to lie about something that I feel so strongly about. If you don't want to know the answer, don't ask the question! :)

Well this Sunday I was back up in Logan and overall I had a wonderful day. I think I am really going to enjoy this last semester. I know a bunch of the people in our Apartment complex and I think it is going to be a fun semester. That evening I called my cousin to see how things went at her church. She had a much better time, the people in her class were well behaved and participated in a way that added to the lesson. She also mentioned that the boy I had so bluntly told that I did not like his bow tie - he was wearing a white shirt and normal tie.  - Maybe I did make an impact. If I had been there, I would have made an effort to let him know that I liked his tie this time.

Sometimes I shock people with how blunt I am in certain situations. I have some opinions that I feel very strongly about. I believe in having an attitude of 'what more can I do' instead of 'what is the least amount I can do and still get away with it'. I expect those with responsibilities to live up to them. I believe in Repentance and I am so grateful for that.

I can't always hide my emotions from showing on my face. I need to have more patience. Sometimes I throw walls up around me and seem a little unfriendly. In those cases I usually have an idea in my mind of what the situation is like, from my point of view - if I am wrong, I'd love to be proved wrong. I am, for the most part, content with who I am and where I am in life... and I can be pretty stubborn. I saw this pin on pinterest.com and it made me smile:

I really do feel that way. I am not looking for an immature guy (boy), I am looking for someone who has internal motivation, who wants to make big plans, and live life. I'm not looking for the perfect someone, but someone pretty close. I believe in being independent, so I am just going along with my plans and dreams. I am not sitting around waiting for "the one" to pop into my life. When I do find someone I expect him to keep up and prove that he wants to be in my life, not just be coasting along - that won't impress me.

I am in the last semester of my Undergrad here at USU. I am so excited to see what this semester will bring.... and where I will be next year!

Virginia is for Lovers

My cousin and I bought our tickets for Virginia back in June or July. We picked the dates of travel to fit in with my cousin's schedule, after she finished her classes and took the GRE, and then back in time for her faculty meetings. I went along with whatever she needed, it much more fun to travel with someone else. We took the red eye out to VA so we could get there Tuesday morning. If I could have gone back and changed our dates of travel I couldn't have picked better (unless we could have extended our trip).

This has been quite the summer, even thinking back on it still feels a little surreal. Before I get into the details of my Virginia trip, here's a recap of my summer -
Finals week at USU, then the next Monday I started my Internship at Rice&Strand Interiors in North Salt Lake, the details and my thoughts can be found on my design blog: http://anchaleedesign.blogspot.com/. The First day post is here, one of the highlights was helping with the NW Parade of Homes, the post about that is here. Then I decided that I needed to get out of my Mom's house so I went to stay with my cousin for a bit. In the mean time I also decided to start my own business - so Tari Anchalee Design was born. Everything is all set up now, just waiting on some registrations so I can work with the Design Department at the Veteran's Hospital. I am excited to take on some projects there. In the midst of sorting out the details of my business, going to weddings, volunteering at the MTC, and helping my cousin get ready for teaching a new grade level, and changing classrooms, my StepBrother Raphael was killed in Action while serving with the US Army over in Afghanistan. I have 3 posts dedicated to him. 1 2 3 There's lots of links to news stories, pictures and my thoughts. The viewing was Friday, then the Funeral and Interment on Saturday, then Monday night I went to the airport. I am so glad that it all worked out so I could be there for my family to help behind the scenes and then make it back to Payson to ride up to the airport with my cousin.

We went to the airport Monday night and then our plane took off earlyTuesday morning - we had a layover in Atlanta and then flew in to Patrick Henry. My Aunt and cousin were there to pick us up. We took it easy the first day, we were super tired. I ended up getting a bad head ache that evening so I took a couple hour nap and felt much better. I woke up to their dog pawing at my door - she had decided that I slept long enough. Logan is such a funny dog

She is a gorgeous Siberian Husky (1/4 wolf)

The next morning we woke up early and went up to Williamsburg for Water Country. That is such a fun water park! We ended going four times while we were there. We would go up and spend most of the day. One time we stayed there until 7:30pm. It was fantastic! We took a day and went to the beach. Let me just say how much I love the water. I love the smell of sea air, the sound of the waves crashing on the sand, the feeling of sand between my toes, the sea gulls, and of course the sun. Mm I am so glad that we went to the beach! Once my younger cousin started Band Camp, my Aunt, cousin and I took a day for a girls shopping trip. I got some darling shirts from Macy's, and found a new favorite store: Charming Charlie's I got some awesome jewelry and hat. I know shocking, I am not usually a hat person but I am excited to wear it around campus. Speaking of campuses, we went up to Colonial Williamsburg, which is right next to the William and Mary Campus. It was great to walk around there and just soak it in. We had the best fish and chips ever in one of the restaurants up there.

We spent some time around the house, watching episodes from Season 4 of Doctor Who, playing Mario Party, and Apples to Apples... and Apples to Apples Disney Edition! The Disney Apples to Apples was my favorite - it has pictures on the cards, they are soo funny! While we were there, we went to go see Captain America, and Zookeeper, out of the two I would have to say that Captain America was awesome, and Zookeeper was funny, but not great.

We had cook outs and made tons of treats - even home made peach ice cream - YUM! I'm glad I have a couple of weeks until school starts to get back into shape... otherwise kick boxing is going to kick my butt!

So in a nutshell, my trip to Virginia was fantastic! It was nice to relax after all the stress of the weeks before that. Now I get to prepare to go back to school! My LAST semester as an undergrad. I am so excited!!

The Gold Star

 

So this week has been very interesting. It went by fast, and there was lots to do and take in. Friday was the viewing. (closed Casket) It was really nice. We had it at the Lindquist Mortuary not to far from our house. It is the same mortuary that took care of my Grandma's funeral back in 2009. (I was still in Kuching, so I was unable to attend) We had all the flowers set up, we brought some pictures of Rapha, and displayed all of his metals and awards. My stepDad made a little dvd presentation with photos and music, so that played (and every 17 minutes I pressed the play button again). The Patriot Guard Riders stood outside with flags like they had done at HAFB. We had two men guarding the casket the whole time. They changed the guard and the flag covering the casket. Everything was great.
  My Aunt and Uncle even drove up from AZ to be there. Right before the viewing was over (it went from 5-8pm, but we were there early) I left to go out to dinner with them.
I spent the night over at my Grandpa's house so I could help my Aunt cook her famous meatballs and sauce before the funeral. We got the sauce started before we left.

I received a Gold Star Lapel Pin for being Rapha's  StepSister

 There was a viewing for an hour before the Funeral services. Lots of our neighbors and members of the ward came. My other Grandparents came too so that was nice to see them. We were also graced with the presence of the several members of the Military, the Governor of Utah, and the wonderful Patriot Riders stood outside holding flags.
  The ceremony was very nice. My Uncles gave the prayers, I lead the music (We sang 'O My Father' and 'God Be With You 'till We Meet Again'. Rapha's parents spoke, along with Serginho and Paolo. General Devine was the first speaker then they presented Rapha's special metals to Sergio, Tercia, and Andrey - Purple Heart, Bronze Star etc. It was very impressive.
  Then we went to the Memorial Park for the Interment. They got a plot next to my Grandma for Rapha to be buried. The National Guard carried the Casket from the Hearse to the graveside. Sergio dedicated the grave, there was a gun salute, and taps was played. Then the presentation of the flags. Sergio received the one from off the casket, then the other flags (from the night before) were again touched to the casket, then presented to Tercia, Andrey, and Serginho.

The Funeral was covered by the Standard Examiner. Here is a link for their pictures: http://www.standard.net/slideshows/2011/07/30/funeral-raphael-rodrigues-arruda
http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/07/30/fallen-utah-soldier-remembered-his-smile#.Tjc-gRNaT1w.facebook

Here are a couple pictures that I took (Click to Enlarge):

My Grandma

These boxes help keep the integrity of the ground.

Honor Guard bearing the casket, flanked by the Patriot Guard Riders

Everything was carried out with great care and precision. I was impressed.

Rapha's Casket.

Here's a YouTube Video of the Day: http://youtu.be/rpUhIryGAZs

Afterwards, I went back over to my Grandpa's to help with the rest of the cooking. Once everyone came over we had dinner (which was amazing!) then watched the video my Uncle took of the Alaska trip that they just got back from. We got to hear all about the bears and things that they ran into. It was so great to be with everyone!

Then I ran home, packed up my things and drove down to Payson. Tonight we are going to the airport! Then we will be in Virginia for about 2 weeks. I am so excited for a vacation!

One thing I will definitely take away from this past week, is a heart full of gratitude for the outpouring of support and love from everyone. I was very impressed with the support from the Military, and the Patriot Guard Riders, Neighbors, Family and Friends.