Tag...

So this is for Haley and I will have Ciara do it on email... And i will post more about my trip I have been so terrible about it sorry guys...

10 years ago i ...
1. I was 12...
2. Had a first fake boyfriend
3. went to my first school dance
4. Had the only true fight with my mom
5. I weighed like 75 lbs... wow

Things on my To-Do list...
1. Make it home for Christmas
2. Finish my shopping
3. Figure out my second half of the season
4. Slide well tomorrow
5. And sand my runners for my race :) way fun

5 snack i enjoy... I'm in Europe so this is what i eat now...
1. Snickers Cruncher
2. Prinzen Cookies
3. Milka Bars
4. Pringles
5. oranges

5 jobs i've had...
1. Photographer
2. UOP Tower
3. UOP Sport Services
4. Front desk at a gym
5. i had a paper route

5 places I've lived...
1. Umm thats it just Utah. Orem, Highland, and Salt Lake.

So there you go did it! Oh and mom you have to do this with Ciara!!

Updates...

So it has been a while since i last wrote anything and updated the things that are going on in my life... Team trials have been over for a while now and they were a little rougher than i had hoped for. The track was a little faster than all of us had imagined it would be and we were all smashing ourselves all over the place. I ended up losing my sled the 4th day of sliding in Shady. Boy did that one hurt! I was out for a couple of days and was still having some trouble with my arm, so i had to get an x-ray and nothing really showed up on it but something else was just not quite right... i ended up having a subluxed radial head (kinda dislocated part of my elbow) the trainers popped it back into place and the swelling finally started going down after that. Trials came and went and i was utterly frustrated with my sliding and could not figure out what in the world was going on so....my sled ended up being bent and there was NO helping it. So my dad and Randy being the best in the world pulled an all nighter in order for me to get my new sled for a race in Canada. It took some time but really enjoying my new sled very much so. The race in Calgary was interesting also. The first day of racing i pushed out of the groove and there was no coming back from that. I took 16th place the first day and also got the luckiness of my name being drawn for a drug test. Way fun!! The second day went a bit better i didn't pop the groove and got some good testing on my sled.

Onto family... There has been much excitement on that front. Matthew moved and a few weeks ago and will be getting married on the 3rd of January. He will be getting married in Midway, UT with an open house on the 17th. I get home on the 22nd so i will be home for the wedding but will be back over in Europe for the open house. Ciara is turning 14 tomorrow! I can not even begin to believe how old she and Bryce are getting. Time is really flying with everyone and i'm not sure that i'm ok with it. MaLese is due any day now with her first little girl :) I'm still not sure of how i feel about the either...but i'm excited to be an aunt in a sort of way! Micah i over a year old and getting smarter by the second. My goal before i left was to have him say my name... he is getting very close so everyone you need to practice with him so when I get home he can do it!

There will be more updates if not this week next week for sure!

Love you all! Mom, Haley, C-Babe... have a good week and keep me posted on thing!!

6 Insignificant things About Myself...

Haley tagged me in her blog to write 6 insignificant things about myself. I don't usually do these cuz i can never think of things but i'm going to really really try! So here goes...

1. Before i go on any trip i have to lay out everything that i want to take and then take at least one thing out of every pile. (that way i don't over pack because i know i won't wear everything i take)

2. Last Friday was the first time that I have ever actually hurt my arm and hand doing Skeleton. I always felt bad for people that have hit their hands sliding but now i really know how is feels and it is not so good!!

3. Every time i crash doing Skeleton i buy myself something to help make me feel better. I still have to buy something from my crash on Friday...but i'm still taking ideas... My first crash about 4 years ago i bought a bag. When i crashed in Altenberg i went to Dresden and bought a whole outfit! So my idea it that i don't really want to buy things for this particular reason so hopefully i don't crash very often...

4. I organize my closet by the length of things. (shirt sleeve length, skirts, pants, and jackets)

5. I get bored with my hair. So i change it quite often! I have not dyed my hair since March and that has been the longest time i have gone without doing anything in about 3 years.

6. When my watch battery dies for some reason i like to just buy a new one instead... therefore i have a lot of watches because i always like to change things.

Ok so that is that. I would 'tag' people to do this but the only people who read my blog are Haley, Steph, and my Mom and they have already done this...

Tis the Season

The season officially started yesterday, and wow it is bitter-sweet to be back.... I got to Lake Placid on Saturday after a long day of traveling and 3 planes. Sunday was a nice day off to just get ready and prepare for Monday. Kimber and i had breakfast with Kim in the morning, which was so nice to see her and catch up again! It is nice to have some home when i am here training. She is such a great friend that i miss so much everytime i leave here!!!

Today was our 2nd day of training and so far everything is going alright. I only have a few bumps and bruises so far (but it's still early) which is nice. My neck today got a little sore and tomorrow i'm sure is going to be worse! The game we play for team trials is so interesting every year. It's fun to have the whole team together every October, remember fun stories from years past, and just have fun at the track no matter the weather cuz that changes at a moments notice! This year has been good just spending time training in Chula and then having a few weeks home before coming out here. I didn't want to get too stressed before i even got here and successfully think i did that! Even now i'm just having fun and not over thinking things so far (hopefully i can continue that trend). We only have a total of 8 sliding days and then we race so it is good and bad. Good in that i don't have too much time to over think things, and bad in the same way that i don't have as much time to test things... Time is just flying here, and now i'm off the the gym to pump some iron HAHA

Summer flew by way to fast!!

Summer has faded so fast that i can not even believe it! It has been quite the adventure this summer... spending the first half at home and then coming down to Chula Vista to train for the second half. I was looking forward to coming down to get stronger and get closer to my goals for this upcoming season. Training has been better than i ever thought and the other experiences have been just as good. I have learned so much about myself and what i want. The people that i have met have made me stronger mentally and physically! I have been challenged in being out of my comfort zone many times. Everything, even the cold tub, were great! Our 'Sunday Beach Fun Day's, concerts, staying up way to late to watch the Olympics, getting stitches for the first time, and hanging out with Austin was so much fun.

I am sad to be leaving, but excited for whatever is to come next. Team trials are just around the corner and i can't wait to put everything that i have worked so hard for. I am so looking forward to going home and getting slightly back to a real life, at least for a few weeks. Here are a few pictures, highlights from the summer down in Cali...

More Training...

As the summer is coming quickly to a close training is still going strong!! We have a team camp up in Calgary, Canada this week. Today was day 2 of our team camp of pushing in the ice house. So far all we have are some pretty sore muscles. Which is not too bad at all. This summer has been such a different one for me than i have ever had before. It was nice to be able to work and be at home for the first part of the summer and then have the opportunity to go down and train in Chula Vista. It has been nice to be able to just focus on training and not have too many outside influences. So much has happened this summer and has had so good times and some not so good times.

Our family has had to really come together in the past few weeks and really be able to rely on one another to get through it all! It has been exceptionally hard for me because i was not at home for most of the events that have taken place. It was hard to be away, but nice that i knew things would be ok even though i was not there.

As this summer has come to an end much quicker than i was hoping!! It is now time to start the focus on the season... I hope that all of my training that i have done this summer will pay off and i will be able to achieve what i would like this year!!!

OUCHY!!!

So this morning i was having a great workout, but struggling a little on some of the technique of doing some of the lifts. So today i was really trying to get the movements of doing cleans and i have been having a hard time getting all of the movements together. I tend to totally over think things and once i start to think i get into my own head and thats is what happened. I was working on just getting the power up through my legs and shrug of my shoulders. Well i got some sort of an idea of how it was supposed to feel like. I had a little too much power in my legs and the bar came up and i hit myself in the chin with it. I had to go to sports med to just have it looked at because i started to bleed. I thought i was just going to need a little band-aid, but i ended up getting 2 stitches... This was my first time getting stitches :( After getting the stitches in i went back to the gym to finish my workout. I didn't do everything as my chin started to throb...
Here are some pictures to prove that it happened!!! Along with my sweet Sponge Bob band-aid

Another week at the OTC

i am finally getting comfortable with everything here down in Chula Vista training for the summer. We had quite the adventures last week a couple beach days, surf camp with Molly Jager, a water balloon fight (that we got in trouble for), training, and making hand prints to hang on the walls here to leave for those who will come after us. The people that are here are just amazing everyday with their determination and kindness. Training is going very well so far. I was feeling that i was not going to be able to feel comfortable with the program as i started it about 2 months later than everyone else. As time continues to go on i fell that i am getting stronger and gaining some of the weight that i was hoping for. This week was a pretty good week so far with training i have maxed on all of my lifts. It is nice to just be able to focus on training and hope that it pays off at our team camp in Calgary and then for team trials in October.

I am very grateful for my family and my support system that i have at home that has always been there for me, and will continue to help me through everything. I love you all so very much and cannot thank you enough for your love and support!

First full week in Chula Vista

So far so good... training has been pretty good this week. i have been sore but nothing too bad. I'm working really hard and it's just going to get harder, but i think that i'm ready. i miss my family and just being home and able to just go talk to Haley or drive to see my mom if I'm having a rough day, but my temporary family that i have made here is great. Last night was my first night "out on the town". We went to a club called Red Circle and it was GREAT! We knew one of the doorman and he had reserved us a table and we just walked to the front of the line and then to our table (just like in the movies). It was a great group of people that went out and everyone besides my teammates asked how i liked it. I think they all thought that there were no places to go out to in Utah. It was really funny!! We got back really late and were supposed to have a workout at 10am needless to say we didn't quite make it on time.

Today marked my first week here so after our work out i didn't feel like doing anything i was just ready to nap after my cold tub of course. (I live in the cold tub and the weight room) My roommate came in after her workout and invited me to a movie with some of her teammates, at first i just wanted to lay around and do nothing, but then decided that it would be fun to go out with different people other than my team. i ended up having the best time and meeting new people! We went and saw Mama Mia, which was hilarious! After the movie we came back to the OTC and had dinner and just started chatting away. It was a lot of fun the get to know the girls and be away from everyone that i see all the time.

It is a lot different training here rather than at home. There is not too many outside influences and everyone else is training for their specific sport. It will still be hard some days for me to be away from home and what i know for day to day life back in Utah, but i am SO very glad that i was able to have this opportunity to come down train and meet amazing people!

Promised Pictures...

Mom, Ciara and I at the San Diego Temple.
Walking on the beach in Coranodo

It was hard for us to get here away from the water.  I guess she is like a fish!  Love ya Sis!

Southern Cali

So i am now in Chula Vista for the remainder of the summer to train. I got in late last night picked up my key, and then headed out to find a hotel for mom and Ciara for the night. Who would have know that it would have been so difficult to find a room for one night. Needless to say we finally found one that was about 15 minutes away from the training center.
We had quite the adventure driving down. We finally got on the road about 9:15 am Friday morning and just started driving. We made a few stops along the way... Of course we stopped to ride the Buffalo Bills roller coaster and Barstow for some outlet shopping. The stop that was not in the itinerary was the semi truck that caught on fire and closed the freeway just after the check point (to make sure we didn't have any produce). We decided to get off the freeway and about 1/2 a mile down the freeway we saw the truck, or what was left of it. This morning before mom and Ciara went on their was to Vegas to meet up with dad and Bryce we wanted to do something San Diegoish... so after driving around for a while trying to think of something we got directions to Coranodo Island. i have not been there for about 5 years and found that Resturante Tomaso is still there. (They have really good pizza) We took Ciara to the beach and she decided at that moment that she wants to live at the beach when she gets older.

After i dropped the girls off at the airport to pick of their car i headed back to my new home (only 2 months). i checked in at the OTC and got my credentials and was alone. No one that i knew was around and really no one was even in my building. It was kinda strange. i finally got the courage up to leave my room to find the dining hall. I walked in and there were a lot of people in there. At that point i totally felt like the new kid, which i am, but stuck out like a sore thumb. So, I spent the afternoon just stretching from the really long drive and just lounging for the weekend. I just got back from dinner and this time had people to sit with which was great! Tomorrow I'm going to venture out further and see all the other buildings. Sports Med, weight room, and the AT & T Center. It's kinda cool but maybe slight over kill is the security to get in here. So if anyone comes to visit me please let me know. I have to put you on a list! The address here is (if you want to send anything) HAHA

2800 Olympic Parkway
Chula Vista, CA
91915

I miss everyone! Here are some pictures from the trip down!

Being Sick

So i really don't get sick too often, but when i do i'm just miserable and am out of commision for days. So yesturday i think i caught a 24 hour bug (I blame Micah) that competely caught me off guard. Lucklyi didn't have to work yesterday but was looking forward to a much needed day off and i spent the day on the couch i my parents trying not to be too much in the way. It was a really long day and i was not in the best of spirits! I'm feeling better today and ate something which is always good. i hate not being able to eat!!
Haley and i are starting to look for new places to live we are on a house hunt Tuesday, and i'm totally looking forward to it! I hope we find something pretty soon so my stress level will start to go down at least for a day or so. She is starting Law School in the fall and i will be going down to California for training at the end of June. I'm super excited!! So we have big things going on in our world. Other than that nothing too much is going on. We are still meeting with the missionaries every week and it's great! I still get asked when i'm getting married and go back to my default answer of "you have to date in order to get married", but i have been dating so that helps. But i may say that it is very difficult to date some one consistantly when i am hardly ever in one place for more than 3 months...
Oh we did have an addition to our little Hugo Ave. family, a fish. His name is Goober, and he is so cute, he is a Beta and is aquamarine/dark blue in color. So far I am still doing well on attempting this whole blog thing, so i shall continue it. It's pretty fun!

Continuing with the trend...

So as my good friend and roommate suggested that i update my blog when i really have nothing to do. i am at work as i will be for the next few Saturdays quite early in the morning, so what a better thing to do than write. i have been reflecting recently on numerous things that seem so little at the time, but going back on it has greatly influenced me today. I have made some of the greatest friend that i will ever have and will truly be there for me if i ever needed anything from them. I Love each and everyone of them, and if you read this thank you! i believe that we grow into who we are and that we are ever changing in order to find order in our lives. i look at back at my self 4 years ago a senior in high school, and have some of the same characteristics but am truly a different person on how i react and perceive things. In my travels i have learned so much and am very grateful for everything i have in my life. Now some random stuff that just comes in to my head, and sometimes they are very scary!!

1. Why do we yawn if we are only? Yawning is a social thing so why do we do it when we are alone...huh
2. Thought i had the other day... if the sky is blue from the water in the air and the oceans why is the desert sky so very blue?
3. When planning day to day things why do we say we need to be at 2 places at once, we just need to make a choice and everyone will eventually get over it!
4. When people say "oh i wish i had time for that..." for any activity. Anyone can just find the time :)
5. Why people beat around the bush? I like to tell it like it is people appreciate it in the long run.
6. I love that my sister will always continue sending me chain emails and i will always read them because most of them are hilarious!! Thanks C
7. That Haley and I for some reason always know what the other is thinking and really wants to say but shoulnd't... and I LOVE IT!
8. My dad! He is so odd sometimes, but i'm still his little girl. ( And i will always have a room in the basement waitinf for me just in case...
9. Why there is so much energy spent on this will kill you this week and something new will kill you next week. We start dying from the time we are born, just relax and have some fun!
10. The earth in and of itself just an amazing place with a great story! Kind of over whelming at times!
11. Sports: all so random and yet we are still drawn to them; lets take mine slide down an ice shoot at speed upwards of 80 mph, American football: hitting people to try and steel the ball back, and so many more that are so very odd.
12. Hair: it is dead and yet we obsess about it. I don't even really know what my natural color is anymore HAHAJust some things that i often think about.

Random but i love to think about odd things. Well i'm keeping up with my goal 2 posts in a week already. Wow i'm getting good :)

Update :S

So i know that most of you that read this (ok i'll be for real the 3 of my family) have been waiting for this day for quite some time now. I'M GETTING MARRIED!! ........ ok not really just updating my blog for the first time ever. i am terrible with this. It's like a journal and i'm no good at that either, but am going to try and be better at it.

Well i guess i should start with wraping up the events from the skeleton season. This year i can say with out a doubt has been the best that i have ever had. i raced well all season and even surprised my self many times along with the people around me. It has given me the motivation that i needed to do even more training during this off season than last. i will leave out of the details but to give a sumary i was in Europe for the first part of the season and back in North America for the second half. I went to a new track and survived it which is always nice! I was on the podium for 3 of my 6 races on the America's Cup Tour. ( my first medals with racing on a competative tour). I was even able to keep my goal of having a top 3rd place for the overall points for that tour. Funny story behind that at first i thought that i didn't have enough points and then my mom did them and the officials made a mistake and gave it to the wrong person...so they fixed the problem and i was awarded the trophy. It was very exciting and called home to tell everyone and even cried a little with such an emotional weekend of racing. So now going into next season i am ranked USA 6. i still can;t some days even believe that i was able to accomplish what i did this season.

So for now i am home until July and then head to San Diego to live at the training center for a few months to train with some of the team. i really wanted this last year and it didn't happen. So i didn't get my hopes up to high (like last year) and when Orvie called to tell me at first i didn't believe him. So fo rnow it's going to go by so fast as it is already May. i'm still having the time of my life with my roommate Haley, actually we are sisters we think so much alike that it scares us a lot, but really funny!! We are starting to look for a new place to live as we are not having such good luck with our ceiling (it likes to leak). i love your little family we have! We have our tivo that we come home to almost everynight like an old married couple...haha it has been such a great year as i reflect on it, but very excited for what is to come!!

i hope that you are all proud that i finally updated!!!!

New idea...

Hey everyone so i thought that it would be a great idea to start a blog so that you all can keep up with what is going on with Skeleton and other aspects of my life. It is now March and i am still sliding for the season. It has been a pretty long season and still more to come. i started my season off in Lake Placid, NY for 2007/08 team trials. This year it is only fitting to end my season there too. I have my final America's Cup race April 4th and 5th where i am currently ranked 3rd for the overall America's rank where i may have an opportunity to take the lead. i have competed in many more races than i thought i would be able to. i am living in Salt Lake City with one of the greatest friend that i will have in my life for many years to come. My roommate and now sister Haley Smith and i have been in our house since this summer. We have had so many adventure and many more to come!! It is very exciting for both of us as we are making changes, as i should find out within the next couple of weeks where i will be spending my summer training and Haley where she will be attending law school next year... So many new thing it's CRAZY!!!!