Here's a couple videos that show the Wheelchair rugby a little bit better!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU3plw0tddE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y6Ywv-stmA

The first one is an interview that Josh did with a Utah news. The second one is highlighting the Utah Scorpions which is the team that Josh currently plays for.

Wheelchair Rugby....INTENSE!!!

On Halloween this year I was able to go to Reno with my family and see one of my cousins play in a Wheelchair Rugby competition. It was amazing to see all of these guys take the challenge that they were given by being in a wheelchair and making it become one of their greatest strengths. I tell you, the tournament was intense. They aren't very nice out there on the court. In Wheelchair Rugby there are 4 players on a team and they are trying to get the ball across the endzone all the while the opposing team is trying to get the ball from them by crashing their wheelchairs into them and blocking their passes. The first time I saw my cousin get flipped over by another guy I was pretty startled. But those guys love the intensity of it! They get a thrill out of the game and it is very inspiring to watch.

A few years ago my cousin was leaving his sister's house on his motorcycle when he was hit by a vehicle. From this accident he became paralyzed from the waist down and is in a wheelchair. It has been amazing to watch his transformation into who he is today. Going from a hospital bed a couple years ago where he couldn't move at all to being selected for the U.S. National Wheelchair Rugby team today is amazing.

Josh has taken the challenge that he has been given and has made it his strength. He amazes me and I think that we could all learn something from him. We can sit here and complain about everything that is wrong and everything that doesn't go our way and never do anything about it OR we can look at what is going on in our lives and make the best of every situation and every day.That's Josh (Number 10) my cousin.

Also here are some links to a few articles about the tournament and explanations of Wheelchair Rugby itself.

http://www.dailyspar­kstribune.com/pages/f­ull_story/push?articl­e-Rugby+on+wheels%20&­id=4235209-Rugby+on+w­heels&instance=home_n­ews_bullets

http://www.rgj.com/a­rticle/20091102/NEWS/­911020333/Reno-Quad-r­ugby-players-love-the­-intensity

http://www.rgj.com/a­rticle/20091101/NEWS/­91101024/Reno-Quad-Ru­gby-players-love-the-­intensity

I didn't know anything about this until my cousin started playing...it's really interesting and I wish that there was more public knowledge of things like this!

Okay so I'm horrible at this blogging thing and I haven't done it in forever!!! So I finished up my semester in Idaho in July and now I'm back in Cali and loving it! I finally get to spend some time at home with my family and friends here! I've been able to see a lot of my family that I haven't seen in a while and I've also been able to take it easy without worrying about tests, or papers, or finals!!! I tell you it is a relief to be home. I am working for the rec center again...teaching the kids soccer and basketball and I love it as always. The kids keep me on my toes. Life is good...what more can I say....

It's Official Summer!

It is offically summer here in Idaho! I cannot believe it! After two straight weeks of thunderstorms it is about time we have some heat! Last night we all went out to my roommates Stacy's house in Idaho Falls for the evening. She lives right on the river and it is so beautiful...as you can tell from the pictures...which really don't do justice for how amazing it really is out there! We just spent the evening roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and having fun.

Good times!

Me and my old roommate Chris
Jen, Alycia, Stacy, and me...my roommates

Melanie, Jen, me and Stacy...the background totally makes it look like we're in Hawaii

Me and Stacy

Yeah that's Stacy's backyard....AMAZING!!!!

Weekend with Jordan

Last week I got to spend the weekend with Jordan here in Idaho. He got to come up with a family from Elk Grove. It was fun to have him here and do different things. We went over to Jackson, Wyoming on Friday and spent the day walking around the little tourist town of Jackson. On Saturday we went to Ririe Reservoir and took the raft out for a couple of hours...which of course meant when we came back we were BURNT to a crisp. But it was a lot of fun...and it was actually sunny and warm here in Idaho so it was definitely nice! There is nothing like spending the weekend with my favorite person and having a blast!

Jackson, Wyoming...under the massive arch of antlers.


At Ririe Reservoir after spending a few hours on the lake....SUNBURNED!!!

At the lake again...

So we're not normal all the time...it's okay! We just like to have fun!

Oh So Happy

I think I am the happiest girl in the world! Life has been wonderful and I am loving life! I had the opportunity to go home for Memorial Day weekend and it was a blast. I got to spend time with my family and friends. It was just great to get away from school for a few days and be able to just relax and enjoy my time with my loved ones! It was great to be in California and enjoy the 80 degree weather and actually feel the warmth of the sun. Then I came back here to rainy Rexburg days and so far...that's all we've had...with a few sunny days in the mix. School is going good and I cannot believe that I am finishing up my 3rd year of college! It's amazing how time flies. This semester has been great. I spend my Tuesday and Thursday mornings with 16 3 year olds and I love it! They are so much fun and they make me so happy! Other than that things are going amazing and I am just so happy. Things have been happening in my life that make me realize just how grateful I am for the people in my life and the experiences that I have in my life. I think that at times we all just need to step back and look at our lives and where we are going and see what we are doing to get there. And then find that motivation to make those dreams come true! Because I can tell you that with hard work and faith...anything is possible! I challenge you to just take an inventory and really see what it is you want and go for it. Don't delay! Go for it and watch it happen right before your eyes! Hope everyone is well! I wish you the best!



Jordan and me on Memorial Day at Rancho Seco


Just a farm in Idaho about 10 minutes from my house. This picture doesn't do justice for how pretty it looks when the potatoes are being watered.



Yeah...that's Idaho...BEAUTIFUL!

The spider cookies that my 3 year olds and I made at preschool!

Just some pictures!!!

Jordan and I in Utah. Four-wheeling and campfire with his family! It was a lot of fun.

Jordan and I at the bowling alley...this was as I was totally killing him in the game!

Jess and I at Gram's on Easter Sunday!

Home!!!!

It was so good to be home for a few days this past weekend. I guess I'll complain first before I talk about my fun weekend.

COMPLAINING.....

I only got to go home for literally 3 days. First off my trip home started off horribly!!! I was supposed to leave Saturday evening at 5:55 PM. So I go to print my boarding pass around 3:00 PM and it says that my flight left already at 1:00PM. I was like you've got to be kidding me. Of course, I called my mom crying and she was like are you kidding me? So she called the air line and yep...my flight was gone. There was no way that I was going to be getting to California Saturday night. Luckily, my good friend Chris lives right by the airport in Idaho Falls, so I was able to stay with her and she took me to the airport Sunday morning at the crack of dawn so I could catch my flight around 6:30 AM. So I got to California on Sunday morning...only to realize I didn't pack any make-up and the dress that I brought to wear to church was too short. Ha...talk about one adventure after another! But that's all the complaining I have because the rest was really good.

THE GOOD STUFF....

I got to California and spent some time with my parents and the dogs! It was so good to see them all. Then I got ready for church and went with Jordan. Church was good and it was fun to be with Jordan again! After church I went to my Gram's for Easter dinner and we had dinner with the whole family. It was so good to see my grandparents and uncle. It's funny how you don't really realize how much you miss your family until you have to leave them...or you come back to see them...and realize how much you took for granted before! Once we got home from Gram's I hung out with parents and we watched some TV. Then Jordan and I went and tried to find a star wheel. We didn't have success with the star wheel but we did end up with a boy scouts book with the constellations and we went and tried to find the constellations. Let me tell you...that is a lot harder than it seems! Monday I got to have breakfast with Marissa and Stacy. It was so good to see them again and catch up. It's funny how we get together after not seeing eachother for 4 months and we just pick up right back where we left off. I love those girls. Of course, Marissa and I went shopping with my mom...that's just what Marissa and I always do and it was nice to have my mom with us! Jordan and I went to dinner Monday night at one of my most favorite restuarants... The Old Spaghetti Factory. It's funny because I go home and I have to make sure that I eat at certain restuarants because we have NONE here in little ol' Rexburg. Tuesday was a fun day as well. I hung out with my mom in the morning and then took Jordan bowling at the new bowling alley in Elk Grove. Talk about a NICE bowling alley! Then I was able to go see my 5th grade teacher and visit with her a bit which was very nice. My parents, Jordan and I went to dinner Tuesday night at my ULTIMATE favorite restuarant...Locke Gardens. It was amazing as always! And I totally think that they should branch out to hick town Rexburg so that I can eat amazing Chinese food EVERYDAY! And before I knew it, I was waking up at 4:30 Wednesday morning to leave by 5:00 AM to catch my flight back to Idaho at 6:25AM.

And now I'm back in Rexburg and it's the same old stuff. Check-in's, pay for everything, grocery shop, and then finally school starts on Monday. Oh the joys of being a college student. Only 98 more days until the end of the semester....Not that I've already started counting down and I haven't had my first day of classes yet! :) I just can't wait to be back in California! But what can I say...I'm going to enjoy the next 3 months and have a blast while I'm at it! I mean, You've got to make the best of what is going on RIGHT now! Hope all is well! Take Care!

Bri....Me....Jen....

No words can explain what happens when we get together!

Jen and I

This picture describes our apartment.

Bri and Jen just being weird....

Janelle not really knowing what is going on...

and me...

well yeah it's just me!

Wow...it has been a while since I have updated on here. Let's just say that is what happens when you're in college and are taking 18 credits. (I don't recommend ever taking 18 credits in 1 semester!) But I'm happy to say that I survived. I finished up my semester yesterday afternoon and I'm so glad to be done! And now comes another semester. But before I go to the next semester let's rewind a bit and get caught up.

So...all of my classes were pretty amazing. I love actually being in my major and actually enjoyoing my classes. Learning about kids and marriage and families is so interesting to me. It still amazes me how everything is connected together and if one thing in out of whack...everything else tends to be out of whack as well.

Roommates were amazing this semester and I'm sad to see two of them moving out but Jen will still be here and we have two new girls that are awesome moving in. Janelle and Bri were so amazing and they are just two wonderful girls. They are so fun and all four of us were able to just relax and have so much fun together.

I didn't really do much vacationing this semester...just went down to Utah once. Actually just a week ago. I went down to see one of my best friends Jordan. It was the first time that we saw eachother in over 2 years as he got off his mission about a month ago. It was great to see him. We hung out with his family and went four-wheeling and just got caught up over the past 2 years.

And sad....but now it's time for another semester. I cannot believe that I am in my second semester of my junior year of college. I guess it's like the saying...Time flies when you're having fun...but I must seriously be having a blast because it's like I blink and it's gone!

Sorry for not being better at updating. Hope all is well!

What Life's About

Today was not my ideal amazing day. It was colder than cold and the world just seemed to be frustrating me. I was at the point of tears just thinking about school and just wanting to go home when I found out that I wouldn't be able to be home for as long as I thought...it was just one of those cold, annoying, Rexburg kind of days. So I just came home from school and tried to do homework...worked a bit and then came home again to find myself working on more homework...my daily routine it seems.

For one of my classes I am doing an assignment where I have to find 3 research articles about a specific topic that have to do with Child Development. (For those of you that don't know...I'm a Child Development major) The topic that I chose to research is Pediatrics Oncology. I chose this because my dream job is to be a Child Life Specialist. I would work with children that have long-term or terminal illnesses. Such as kids with cancer...which is what I really want to do. Anyway...So I was looking through articles about kids with cancer and I came across this one titled "Quality of Life as Conveyed by Pediatric Patients with Cancer". It was about how researchers are finally going straight to the children in order to find out what they think about their quality of life when they are receiving treatment for terminal illnesses. The researches go and interview these children and ask them 3 questions. The questions were:

1. What makes a good day for you?

2. What makes a bad day for you?

3. Are there some things you like to do that you cannot do now?

One of the children interviewed was a 10-year-old girl. Keep that in mind 10-years old!!! At the conclusion of her interview she said, "You did not ask all of the right questions." She was asked to explain her statement and she said, "You should have asked 'How has being sick been for you?'" So the man interviewing her asked her that question and she responded,

"I would tell you that I wonder why I am the one to get leukemia but that I tell myself it is better that I get it than my little sister. She could not do this."

The fact that this little girl...10 years old...said this made me realize again why I'm going to school. Her statement made me look at my life and see what I'm doing to help someone else. To make sure that I'm living my life everyday so that I am not taking for granted what God has blessed me with.

Please...if anything...just keep this scenerio in your head the next time you want to complain about it being too cold, or that life just isn't fair. Let this little girl's response inspire you. Do something that you wouldn't normally do today. Be a little nicer, a little kinder, a little bit more like the person you have always dreamed of being. Do that today, and do that tomorrow, and soon enough you will be that!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Well this past weekend I celebrated my 21st birthday! It was so good to be with friends and roommates and just enjoy my weeekend! Friday night was my night with Chris! She came up and took me to dinner and then surprised me with friends at the Millhollow Yogurt and then spent the night for a fun girl's night! Then Saturday my roommates took me out to Craigo's for what is called a "Cookie Monster". Basically it's heaven on earth! It's a BIG cookie baked only part of the way topped with ice cream, whipped cream, caramel syrup and chocolate syrup. Yes like I said....heaven on earth!!! After dessert we came back to the apartment and well to make a long story short my roommates so kindly locked me in my bathroom for like 10 minutes while they hid my presents. It was quite a hilarious night! And then Sunday...my actual birthday...my roommate Janelle made us delicious White Bean Chilli...it was AMAZING!!! Then we played some intense Uno and just had a great time! I still can't believe that I'm 21. It seems like just yesterday I was running around in the front yard back home being chased by the boys that lived next door to me! Oh the memories! And oh the memories that will come! Thanks to everyone that shared my birthday with me and for all the birthday wishes! Here's to another year in the life of Mandi!

Yep....Chris and I are strange...but we like it! Bri and I at Craigo's

Janelle and Jen...

That's Jen way too excited for the Cookie Monster!

All gone....

Roommates!

I'm glad they can entertain themselves with my camera!

Finally, they let me out of the bathroom!

I came home Sunday to find my room full of PINK balloons...

I have some of the BEST FRIENDS!!!!

Thanks everyone for such a great day!

....snow...

So I'm back in Rexburg and I finally realized what it is about the snow that I dislike so much. I'm not talking about the fact that in Rexburg, snow is colder, wetter, and more irritating than anything else in the world! But what I'm talking about is the fact that whenever I see snow it usually means that I am not with my family. I realized this on Thursday when I was on the shuttle from Salt Lake City to Rexburg. Anytime that I see snow, besides at my sister's house, I am usually leaving my family. Snow really is not all that bad. It's more the emotion that is tied to the snow that drives me absolutely crazy. I see the snow and all I want is to be with my family in our warm house with the wood fire place burning!

But I guess this is just another semester where I will learn to deal with my car being covered with a foot of snow and the completely irritating fact that if I want to go anywhere I have to scrape that foot of snow off my car! NOT my idea of fun. Hence the reason I try to walk as much as possible in the winters. Yes...the underlying of that last sentence is that I'm too lazy to scrape snow off my car so instead I put on 2 pairs of pants, 3 shirts, a beanie, gloves, scarf, and of course my parka in order to go to school. I guess it's good that I'm walking and saving money on gas but truly what has this thing called snow done to me? Pretty much, it's done everything to drive me crazy!

As every past winter semester though, I'm going to try and appreciate the snow a little more everyday. (Yeah we'll see how long that lasts!) Enjoy the sunshine wherever you are and PLEASE...enjoy it some for me!