Roommate Pictures

From the Left: Lauren (parents own the house, a Middle Eastern Studies major, friends with her since freshmen year, super athletic), Me, Kamila (engaged, English major but learning Arabic) and Nacia (Middle Eastern Studies with Lauren, super cultured and knows Arabic very well).

Okay so in our living room there is a giant bookshelf and all of the shelves were empty. The empty space bugged me so I decided to use my love for pictures and picture frames to spice it up. One of my old roommates Lauren, took a bunch of pictures with her roommates and made a frame out of them. I thought it was priceless. So I begged my roommates to take pictures after church one day so I could copy Lauren's idea. At first they mocked me because of how cheesy it was and the fact that in some of the ones that were supposed to be "candid" we were fake laughing the whole time. But after we got the pictures back, which were taken from my friend Kristin that has a really nice camera, I think they were happy we did it. If you read my descriptions of my roommates you can see I'm basically the only one in the house that doesn't know Arabic. Haha who would have thought? Each of them is very open, cultured, and Lauren and Nacia spent the summer in Jordan. So I am learning a lot from them while they learn how to do make up from me. :)

GO COUGARS!

"Rise and Shout the Cougars are out..." Yes that is part of the BYU fight song that is sung after every touchdown. Thanks to my very generous father, Michael Blevins, I have an "All-Sports Pass" and can attend all of the BYU sports games. This includes the exhilerating BYU football games. I roam from group of friends to group of friends cheering and yelling and sweating(because it is at 1:00 in the afternoon)...all watching our football team in their "Quest for Perfection." Can they go undefeated? They killed UCLA 59-0, let's hope they can keep it up.

My Bedroom

Hello my dear family and friends. I just have to say how excited I am that my sister Monica has now jumped on the Blogger bandwagon. It motivates me to post more often! Okay so I am at BYU starting my Junior year. I now live in a house that is 10 minutes walking distance to campus. It is a cute little house- there are three bedrooms, a large living room and kitchen. But here is the best part: I have my own bedroom! After weird roommate after another this is my little piece of escape. Mom spent three days with me decorating it and buying lamps, pictures, and drawers. With her help and the help of Heather putting up my clothes in the closet, my room turned into (in my opinion) one that is better than those in "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Here are a few pictures so you can see for yourself!

San Francisco Fun!

First of all, I realize that I am very far behind in this blog. I am in awe at my sister for her dedication in updating daily and I hope some day I will be as on top of it as she is! So I ended swimming lessons this summer and basically had one week before I went back to school. My cousin, Kristin Koyle, drove down from Vacaville to stay for a few nights. As we sat and pondered how I should spend my three days of summer vacation we came to the realization that we could not remember the last time we had gone to San Francisco. This is pretty pathetic considering people travel far and wide to see the great city and we live a few BART stations away. Thus, we set out on our journey to San Francisco--but not without preparation. My mom must have been a travel guide in another life. She had put dollar bills with sticky notes and paper clips attached explaining what the money would be used for. For example exactly 4 dollar bills were attached with the sticky note on top stating "F LINE." We had a clear map and exact change for every mode of transportation. Fabulous. It got embarrassing at one point when we were in the Rainforest Cafe and had to pull out our money with paper clips on it to pay the waiter. It could have been that or the fact that I pretended to have an anxiety attack when the fake storm goes off in the restaurant. I'm pretty sure Kristin wished she wasn't related to me at that point. We also saw many street performers and homeless people along the way. Overall, it was a wonderful day. The city is wonderful and it was the perfect way to end a tiring summer! So thanks to my mom and dad for helping us kids out.








Funny glasses, me with the famous homeless "BUSH MAN", and some other pictures from our day!

Brigham Young University Hawaii

I've realized that In the past Year I have moved over 3 different times, so my life can be hard to keep track of. As some of you know, I attended Brigham Young University Hawaii this past year. During the Fall Semester of 2007 (from September to December) I lived in the Paradise state. I had attended BYU Provo for my freshmen year of college and decided I wanted to give college soccer a try. I was accepted to BYU-Hawaii and orginally went there to play soccer for the D-2 team. Unfortunately, a week before I left I Sprained my ACL so when I was in Hawaii I was unable to play. However, I still had a wonderful experience and don't regret it at all. After Fall semester I transfered back to BYU Provo where I decided I will stay until I graduate. Here is a slideshow of some of the memories of Hawaii that I carry with me.

First Week of Swim Lessons

So I just finished a very tiring and long week of Swim Lessons. It was my first week of the summer and it was anything but boring. There was one incident that eventually had me rolling on the ground in laughter when I came home to tell my dad. So it was my very first lesson on Monday and I had a 4 year old girl in my class and another 4 year old boy crying in his mother's arms because he did not want to get in the water. I am 15 minutes into the lesson when the lifeguard brings over this little asain boy. "Danielle, this boy says he has swim lessons and he gave me this paper." THe paper basically showed that he had paid and this 5 year old boy stood there saying "I have swim lessons! I came all by myself!" He was wearing a full on life jacket that covered almost his entire body. He looked so confused when I told him he could take it off. I asked him if he had his swimsuit on and he replied he did. I went back to playing with my other two students for a bit and when I turned around this little boy, (who I later learned his name was luigi), was completely NAKED. Parents in the pool and in the area looked completely confused, and I was just as confused as they were. The situation was rediculous. I had a little girl that was jumping in the water ignoring my commands to sit on the step, a 4 year old boy bawling at the side of the pool, and this naked boy who I was supposed to be teaching a lesson. He then puts on these little swim shorts that fall down to his ankles. "I don't think these fit very well, they are my dads." He had his dad's swim trunks! He was trying to tie the string to make them stay on, I tried as well, then I finally had the lifeguard tie it quickly while I continued with my sinking lesson. We managed to make them stay on somewhat well, he got in the pool screaming "I can't swim!." The lesson was over about 10 minutes later. Caitlyn and I realized after the fact that he had actually shown up an hour and 10 minutes early for his class. He wasn't even supposed to be in my class! Some of you may be thinking "That is so sad!" My sister Nicole did when I first told her this story. But don't worry, everything worked out and he is no longer being dropped off. His grandmother is staying at his swim lessons. I hope you can appreciate the funniness of the situation as I did when I got home that night.

The Fair

My Dad, my sister Nicole's two little girls Ainsley and Madison, and I all went to the fair together yesterday. We watched the pigs race, pet some sheep, and rode on numerous rides. I think my favorite moment was when Madison was on the swings with me and turned to say "Oh my goodness. I could do this forever!" I replied, "It's fun isn't it?" and she said, "You're telling me." Haha. It's been so fun having Nicole and her three kids visit these past few days. I've been able to spend time with them before I have to start Swim Lessons next week!