Capturing Courtney

My Wonderful Family

2011-12-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

I'm so grateful to have been able to spend two weeks with my amazing family!

There is no one on this earth I would have rather had this experience with.

We had an amazing experience meeting the Brazilian people,

relaxing on the beach, laughing a lot, and making new memories.

Thank you Mom and Dad for this amazing trip!

I love you Mom, Dad, Cameron & Jared.

I'm so grateful that families are forever... You're stuck with me!

It's Finally Sunny... We got Burnt!

2011-12-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

Finally the sun is out and its our second to last day here! We took advantage of the beautiful weather by going on the beach and basking in the sun! We read, swam, played soccer and just enjoyed being out on the beach with the fam. Unfortunately we enjoyed the sun too much and we got fried to a crisp (I lucked out and didn't get burned as everyone else!). Cameron was especially burnt because parts of his body haven't seen the sun in over two years being a missionary! He actually got huge blisters on his shoulders because of it!! I think it was totally worth the burn because we finally got a sunny day!

The Man in the Convertible

2011-12-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

I just finished "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. I wish I would have owned the book when I read it because I would have highlighted a lot of things in that book that I loved. I think I'll go buy another copy and read it again and mark it as I please. Its a pretty fast read. One of the chapters I really loved was chapter 13: The Man in the Convertible. Its a pretty short chapter so I'll type it up here. Just a little background, Randy was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He has been a professor at a couple different universities in Computer Science. He gave a his last lecture to students as part of a year long lecture series. He wrote this book mainly for his young children to be able to get a little understanding of who their father was and what he believed and thought. Here is chapter 13:

    One morning, well after I was diagnosed with cancer, I got an email from Robbee Kosak, Carnegie Mellon's vice president for advancement. She told me a story.
    She said she had been driving home from work the night before, and found herself behind a man in a convertible. It was a warm, gorgeous, early-spring evening, ands the man had his top down and all his windows lowered. His arm was hanging over the driver's side door, and his fingers were tapping along to the music on his radio. His head was bobbing along, too, as the wind blew through his hair.
    Robbee changed lanes and pulled a little closer. From the side, she could see that the man had a slight smile on his face, the kind of absentminded smile a person might have when he's all alone, happy in his own thoughts. Robbee found herself thinking: "Wow, this is the epitome of a person appreciating this day and this moment."
    The convertible eventually turned the corner, and that's when Robbee got a look at the man's full face. "Oh my Gosh," she said to herself. "It's Randy Pausch!"
    She was so struck by the sight of me. She knew that my cancer diagnosis was grim. And yet, as she wrote in her email, she was moved by how contented I seemed. In this private moment, I was obviously in high spirits. Robbee wrote in her email: "You can never know how much that glimpse of you made my day, reminding me of what life is all about."
    I read Robbee's email several times. I came to look at it as a feedback loop of sorts.
    It has not always been easy to stay positive through my cancer treatment. When you have a dire medical issue, it's tough to know how you're really faring emotionally. I had wondered whether a part of me was acing when I was with other people. Maybe at times I forced myself to appear strong and upbeat. Many cancer patients feel obliged to put up a brave front. Was I doing that, too?
    But Robbee had come upon me in an unguarded moment. I'd like to think she saw me as I am. She certainly saw me as I was that evening.
    Her email was just a paragraph, but it meant a great deal to me. She had given me a window into myself. I was still fully engaged. I still knew life was good. I was doing OK.

Would people see me as "The Man in the Convertible" when I'm at my lowest? When I was dealing with my cancer did I have a positive attitude for real or did I just force myself to put a brave front for others? Its a great way to think about things and how we need to change our attitude in life to be the happiest we can be. I hope that when people see me when I'm by myself and unaware of everyone around me, that they see a happy person. I'm definitely going to work on that.

Me during radiation before my Bone Marrow Transplant

Pretty Chilly Here... Still!

2011-12-28T23:40:00.000-07:00

Still pretty cool here!! Just our luck! We took a walk on the beach despite the chilliness and got some food at the same little beach shack we ate at on Christmas Eve. We've made friends with the waiters there already (see photo of Cam below!). It started pouring when we were finishing our meal so Jared and my Dad ran back to the beach house and got the car. Despite the weather, its been great to just be here and relax.

How the Bardsley's Celebrate a Birthday!

2011-12-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Today was Jared's birthday and it was still pretty rainy. We went to the beach a little bit but not too much. We played games and went into the center of Florinopolis to do some shopping. We walked around and found some soccer gear that we all wanted. Jared and Cameron also found some "pretty sweet" Jaguar rings that they are EXTREMELY proud of! They say it's there gang rings and they even have a handshake with the rings. Oh wow! After shopping we went to get Pizza for the birthday boy's Birthday dinner and brought it back to the beach house! When we were in the living room we found a big lizard on the wall that wanted to join us for the celebration! We ate yummy pizza and then the fun began. Of course there was shot glasses at the beach house so we decided we needed to do some shots (of Pepsi & Guanana!) for Jared's birthday! Then Cameron (the newly returned missionary!!) decided we needed to do hands free shots. Oh man was that funny. I was laughing too hard to even do it. Here is a video to show what the Bardsley family does in the free time and to celebrate a birthday (watch Cameron as he takes the shot!!):

Oh, I'm so proud! We had a pretty funny night laughing about all that! We had some very yummy Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry Truffle cake to celebrate the big 2-5 and played lots of games the rest of the night! It was a fun day and fun to celebrate my cute brother's birthday!


The most celebrated Jaguar Ring

Taking Birthday Shots!

Happy Birthday Brother!

2011-12-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

It's Jared's 25th birthday today! It makes me feel old cause he's my younger brother! For those of you that know Jared and I, you know we're very close! He's my best friend. It hasn't always been that way. When we were younger we would fight a lot and we wouldn't want to hang out with each other. Now we have a lot of the same friends and I always love having Jared do stuff with me and be there when things are going on. So for Jared's birthday I want to tell you the Top 10 reasons I love Jared!
10. He's a hard worker! He works hard on everything he does. Especially school. Sometimes our friends will ask where Jared's been and stuff and when I tell them he's been studying they find it hard to believe. But he really studies that much and he does really well in school because of it. I'm really proud of him. I wish I had as much work ethic in school that he does. In his jobs he's a hard worker as well. When I got him a job with a physical therapist he worked with not too long ago, I told the PT that Jared was a very hard worker. Jared didn't make me a liar. He worked even harder than I said he'd work. He really wants to be a Physical Therapist and it is awesome to see him work so hard on these goals!
9. He's an amazing artist. I wish he'd draw and paint more. He's really talented. When I was fighting my cancer Jared was on his mission and drew me a picture of Christ and I love that picture a lot. You should see the work he does!
8. He's athletic. There aren't very many sports that Jared tries that he can't do well. He's great at Rugby, Football, Soccer, Swimming, Surfing, Tennis, Skate boarding, Snowboarding, etc, etc, etc! He tries it and he's naturally good at it! It amazes me!
7. He has no fear! If you tell him to try something or do something that would be scary, he'll do it (unless of course you ask him to go into a Haunted House, then there is no way you'll get him to do that! He's a chicken when it comes to that sort of thing!!). When he was really little my dad told him to go cliff jump off of a 50 ft. cliff in Lake Powell. He totally did it. Lets just say my mom wasn't too happy with my dad for that one! We went bungee jumping in Mexico off of a 400 ft. cliff. I stood at the edge for minutes being scared to death of taking the first step off. Jared gets strapped in, takes a step and does a back flip off the edge! Yes he's crazy! But its always entertaining!!
6. He dresses well. This only started happening about a year after his mission when he started taking my mom and my advice on clothes (Jared will back this up. He told Cameron the other day to listen to him, myself, and our mom when it came to picking out his clothes when he came home from the mission because Jared learned the hard way and picked out awful stuff when he got home from the mission!). Now we don't even have to help him! He's a pro on his own and probably does better without us! He does like to have us there to get our opinion on stuff. I love going shopping with him and we help each other out on picking clothes out. And he's a boy who actually doesn't complain about shopping! Its a lot of fun! (And no he's not Gay! I promise! He just dresses nice! One of his pinboards on Pinterest is called "I'm not Gay I just dress well." Yep that sums it up!).
5. He's friendly. Jared makes friends really easy and people are just drawn to him (probably because of his good looks! ;) ). Whether they are a tiny child or an elderly person that Jared worked on in Physical Therapy at the nursing home, people just love Jared and his personality. He has a ton of different friends and always makes new friends in all his classes. I can tell he was a great missionary because of how friendly he is.
4. He is funny. He always has the best one liners! He is very sarcastic so some people take his joking the wrong way but if you understand sarcastic people, he's one of the funniest!   You should hear him and my mom when they are on one!! Its great! He always can make me laugh and he has a great smile and laugh. There is a picture I have with him and our friend Danica (they play a lot off of each other with their humor) and they are totally laughing because Jared probably just used Danica for his comedic expense but she takes it so well! Its a great picture and it just shows how happy Jared is. He also pulls some great funny faces. Its difficult to get a normal picture out of Jared. He's always trying to pull some goofy face (or photo bombing a picture!)!
3. He is strong in the gospel. He served a full time mission in the Brazil, Sao Paulo South mission and was very successful. We've been in Brazil the past week and a half and its been neat hearing him speak Portuguese like its his native language and he's been home for 4 years! He is a great example to me of staying true and reading your scriptures and fulfilling your callings.   Its nice to also have other priesthood holders that can give me a blessing whenever I need one if my dad isn't available. Its a special feeling to be able to go to the temple and have your whole family with you there.
2. He is a gentleman and very kind. Jared is always getting the car doors and doors to buildings for me and my mom and any other girl around us. He is very considerate that way. He'll always give his seat up on public transportation to a woman if there are no other seats. I love getting random texts from him every once in awhile that just say "I love you sister. I hope you're having a great day!".   They always make me smile and I make sure to save those texts. One night I was just having a bad night and struggling with some stuff. The next morning I went to my car to go to work and there was a plastic sandwich bag with something in it on my windshield (it had been raining so he put it in a bag!). It was a note folded up into a panda, and colored like a panda, with a note saying he wanted to give me a bear hug so I should consider myself hugged. It was so sweet and thoughtful and I have it hanging up at my desk at work so whenever I get down I look at that and consider myself hugged by Jared. He does a lot of sweet and thoughtful things like that. He is a great brother!
1. He's my best friend. I hope he knows how much I love him and how much I value his friendship. It will be hard for me when he moves away someday for PT school and has a wife and family so we won't be able to hang out as much. But I know we'll always be close no matter what. No matter how far away he is or how busy he is he'll always make me laugh and feel good about myself.

I love you brother and I hope had an amazing 25th birthday! Thanks for being my best friend and brother!

Love,
Your Favorite Sister!
Courts

Being Pushed

2011-12-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a high school swim coach and I love it. I don't know if they love me though. I think some of them think I ride them too much and push them too much. After all they are just teenagers. But I'm glad my swim coach didn't look at me as just another swimmer. She pushed me and I accomplished some amazing things in my swim career and I regret not swimming in college like I could have. I'm probably not making sense right now but basically what I'm saying is I'm a tough coach, I know that. I don't know if my swimmers understand why I'm a tough coach though. I don't know if any of my swimmers read this, they probably don't, but I wish somehow they would read this post.

I'm reading a book right now called "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It's a true story of Randy, the author, who is diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer and he gives his last lecture at a year long lecture series at UPenn. He decides that his topic is "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". One of his childhood dreams is to play in the NFL. He never reached this dream but he talks about his football coach that made an impact on his life because he pushed him. He says in his book:

    Coach Graham used to ride me hard. I remember one practice in particular. "You're doing it all wrong, Pausch. Go back! Do it again!" I tried to do what he wanted. It wasn't enough. "You owe me, Pausch! You're doing push-ups after practice."
    When I was finally dismissed, one of the assistant coaches came over to reassure me. "Coach Graham rode you pretty hard, didn't he?" he said.
    I could barely muster a "yeah".
    "That's a good thing," the assistant told me. "When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you."
    That lesson stuck with me my whole life. When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell you anymore, that's a bad place to be. You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.

I have a lot of swimmers that I know get upset with me because I continue to critique and sometimes I can get on their case sometimes because I don't think they're living up to their potential. But that's why I do it, because I care about them and I want them to succeed to their greatest potential and because I can see what they can become even if they can't. I hope they someday realize that's why I do it. I know some won't, but many will and that will make it all worth it. I'm grateful for my swim coach, Shari Skablund, for never giving up on me and for pushing me to the point I was mad at her sometimes! But it made me part of the person I am today because I worked hard and was pushed harder. I hope she considers it worth it still for pushing me and putting up with me being a whiney teenager more times than not! I consider her one of my biggest role models and she's family to me.

So to sum this all up, I hope my swimmers know that I'm hard on them sometimes and push them harder than they think they can go because I care about them and I want them to succeed. The harder they work the greater they'll succeed. They know that but sometimes being a teenager its hard to remember that with all the other things going on in their teenage life. I wish someone would have told me this when I was a teenager. I would have listened to my coaches even more.

Feliz Natal from Brazil!

2011-12-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

We spent Christmas day in Florinopolis, Brazil at a beach house! The only problem is its raining here pretty hard and we're kind of cold!! Not what we were expecting for a Brazilian Summer! Mom and Dad made us a yummy Christmas breakfast and then we went to church for Sacrament meeting. We got to the church and there was only 15 minutes left! The bishop had changed the time so they were nice enough to do sacrament again for the people that didn't know about the time change. We relaxed after church and watched "A Christmas Story" and took a Christmas nap! We went and Skyped our family at home (the Willis' and Grandma and Grandpa) and it was fun for them to talk and see Cameron for the first time! We also talked to some friends in Sao Paulo and our basically family member, Josh Thorn. When we came back we made a Brazilian Churrasco (BBQ) for our Christmas dinner. We had yummy Brazilian rice that we learned to make from one of the ladies in one of Cameron's areas, sausage, steak, salad, and yummy roles. It was delicious!! It was fun BBQing in one of the big BBQs they have in the kitchens. We played games and watched the First Presidency's Christmas message. To finish the day off, we set off fireworks from the roof of our beach house! Jared was as excited as a little kid christmas morning! I wish I had a video of everyone lighting off the fireworks cause it was hilarious. You would hold onto this cardboard tube and shoot huge fireworks out of it! My mom's stance as she was doing it was hilarious and Jared doing it bent over between his legs was hilarious as well. It was a great day! It wasn't full of presents and gifts, just family, good food, and the Savior. It was perfect. I am thankful for the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, and the opportunity we have to celebrate his birth. Too many times we forget the meaning of Christmas with all the shopping and gift giving and receiving. I am grateful that we just spent time with family and relaxed in the beautiful country of Brazil. It was a great Christmas.

Rainy Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

It rained today! A lot! So we spent most of the day inside but we still had fun! We went to a yummy little seafood restaurant right on the beach. The fisherman would pull in their daily catches right there! There was so much shrimp and yummy seafood!! Unfortunately Jared doesn't like seafood so he ate a lot of rice and french fries but he was a great sport about it. The waiter was hilarious and I swear he was drunk but that made him even more fun! Even though it hasn't been the best weather, it was still a great day. It doesn't feel like Christmas Eve though!
12/26/2011
Still Raining
Yep, Its still raining! My aunt used to say that my mom had a curse to bring the bad weather with her to the beach in California, the curse is still upon us!

Sunny Day on the Beach!

2011-12-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

It was a sunny day on the beach and we enjoyed it by swimming in the waves, walking on the beach, and finding a ton of HUGE sand dollars. My mom is the queen at spotting them. We even found some live ones in the water that we moved to deeper waters. When my mom and I were looking for Sand Dollars, my dad was swimming and I spotted some fins about 50 feet from him. I wasn't sure if they were sharks or dolphins. So naturally I swam out to see! They were dolphins and there was two of them! It was neat to see them swimming in the wild! We enjoyed the sunny weather all day and Cam made us a yummy brazilian pasta that was delicious. We spent the evening playing cards and just hanging out. Jared, Cameron, and I decided to sleep on the roof of the beach house. It was a beautiful night and the weather was beautiful! It was a great first day in Floripa!

Floripa!!

2011-12-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

We flew to Florinopolis today! It was an early morning and we were tired from only sleeping about 2 hours the night before but it was all good because we were going to the beach!!
Highlights of the day:
    ▪    Getting to Florinopolis
    ▪    Night swim in the ocean with Cameron. It was his first time swimming in two years!
    ▪    Mom finding a HUGE sand dollar!
    ▪    Seeing a lightening bug in the sand.
    ▪    Yummy pizza buffet at Aloha Pizzaria
    ▪    Staying at an awesome beach house over looking the ocean!

Not so Highlights of the day:
    ▪    Sitting at the airport for 3 hours waiting to go to the beach house
    ▪    Actually that was the only not so highlight of the day!

"Priority Seats for Obese People"
-Seats in the Campinas Airport!!!

Sao Paulo East Mission Christmas Conference

2011-12-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

Highlights of the day:
    ▪    Going to Cameron's Mission Christmas Conference
    ▪    My mom getting asked to speak at the Conference 10 Mins beforehand (she did GREAT! Spoke about what its like to have a son on the mission).
    ▪    Meeting more of Cameron's companions and friends that are missionaries.
    ▪    Going shopping with Jared, Nicole, and Wissali
    ▪    Swimming on the roof of our hotel with Nicole and Wissali.
    ▪    Late night sleepover with everyone! We played UNO and just listened to music. 6 people in a hotel room for 2!

Sao Paulo Temple

2011-12-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today we had the opportunity to attend the Sao Paulo Temple. It was really neat to all be there together again. We did initiatories because we had to be at the sealing of a member Cameron knew at 12:30. All the temple workers were really nice and we even met the temple president. We went to the temple sealing and Cameron got to be a witness! It was sad because the couple's family wasn't there but they had some friends there as support. The Sao Paulo temple is very beautiful with dark wood and beautiful stain glass. After the temple we headed out to Lorena, another area Cameron served in. We went to some members house and had the most delicious BBQ I've ever had! It was fun because they let us help prepare some of the food and I learned how to make some delicious Brazilian rice and a yummy Brazilian dessert called Brigedara (sp? I'll have to check on that spelling!). The food was seriously amazing and the family was absolutely wonderful! I really enjoyed spending time with them. The father of the family is a contractor so Sergio, my Dad, and Jared talked forever about construction and it was pretty funny to watch them! It was probably at least an hour they were talking about it all! We then went and met a family that Cameron baptized the mom of the family and a couple of the boys. The father was already a member. She was a spit fire and so excited to see Cameron! She was baptized one week, confirmed the next week and that same day was called to be the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society! I bet that was pretty overwhelming! We visited one teenager that Cam played soccer with while on his mission and it was really cute because he was wearing Cameron's High school jersey that he had given him. We made the long trek back late that night but it was a really fun day and fun to get to know some of the people in Lorena.

Elder Bardsley is Released!

2011-12-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

We went to the mission office this morning to have Cameron released. Cameron and his companions were meeting us there at the office. We were sitting there for a bit and Cam wasn't showing up. The mission secretaries called Cameron to find out where he was and they were on there way. We later found out that when Cam was on his way over he had the worst stomach ache and he thought he was going to poop his pants! He didn't have any incidents while he was on his mission but the last day he thought he was going to have a major accident. He lucked out and found a bathroom just in time. It was pretty funny that it was the last day on the way home to be released and he had that experience. We skyped our stake president at home and he talked to Cameron for a bit before releasing him. President Clare is a neat man and it was neat to hear him talk to Cameron about the mission and share some experiences from his own mission. Afterwards, we met with Cameron's mission president, President Moreira. He talked to him about what he learned from his mission and what he was going to take with him and use in his life after the mission. It was neat to be able to be there and hear him speak about his mission and what he has learned. His mission president is a really neat man and really nice. We took pictures, took Cameron's companions to lunch, then made our way out to one of Cameron's areas so meet some of the people he taught. We met several different families and they were all funny and crazy brazilians! It was a lot of fun. Everywhere we went they wanted to feed us! We went to Wissali and Nicole's house for dinner and met their mom. She is really sweet. We also met a bunch of Cameron's previous companions. One of his previous companions, Elder Torres, is a Brazilian version of Cam's friend Dan Hales. It was crazy how similar they were and they even looked alike!

Baptism

2011-12-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

We went to the ward in Cameron's area today. They asked Cameron to bear his testimony since it was his last sunday on the mission. Even though it was in portuguese, I could tell he really loved his mission and really loved the people. It was neat to be able to be there and watch him interact in the surroundings he's been in for the past two years. After sacrament, Cameron baptized a girl he has been teaching. That was neat to be able to be there for that and watch him baptize one of his last investigators. After church we went to a member's house for dinner. It was a lady that Cameron reactivated and her name is Vanessa. She is my age and really sweet and funny. Her mom and grandma live in the same little area as her so we met them as well and Vanessa's mom was hilarious! She isn't a member and Cameron would always tease her that he was going to baptize her. She was a hoot. Vanessa had this little kitten that was adorable and so sweet. His name was Edward! Elder Rodrigues kept tormenting it though just to bug me so I smacked him around to see how he would like it! He is a little pest but hilarious!!!! He reminds me of some of Cameron's friends from home! We have some pretty funny videos of him from that day that I'll put at the end of this post. Cameron and the other Elder's had to go do some work so Jared, me, and my parents went back to the hotel. Bruno was nice enough to drive our rental car back to our hotel to make sure we made it back ok. He's been so nice to make sure our trip goes well. We relaxed the rest of the evening. Tomorrow Cameron gets released so that will be fun to have him stay with us for now on.

Cameron!! I mean, Elder Bardsley!!!

2011-12-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

We got into Brazil this morning and headed to our hotel to drop off our luggage. We called Cameron and decided on a place to meet up. We headed to the metro and took some trains to meet him. As we were trading trains and walking from one station to the other, I saw three missionaries, then I realized one of the missionaries was my brother!!! He surprised us and met up with us at a closer station! It was crazy to see him and so great! His two companions are brazilian so it was hard to talk to them but they were funny guys! Elder Rodriques is a goof ball and always keeping us laughing. He kept hugging my dad and saying "Poppy!!" It was hilarious. Elder Dullius is a sweetheart and always smiling and laughing. We also met one of Cameron's friends from one of his areas. His name is Bruno and he was the mission leader in one of the wards Cameron's been in. He is very nice and has been so helpful to us. We went to a church in their area where we were meeting up with two girls from one of Cameron's areas. Their names are Wissali and Nicole. I had facebooked with Wissali a bit before we came and knew she could speak a little english and Nicole is pretty fluent at english. So it was fun to meet them and have someone to talk to! They are the cutest girls! Jared went on divisions with Cameron and his companions so the girls came with me and my parents and they had a sleepover with me since they were going to church with us in the morning! We went and had pizza and Acai with sweetened and condensed milk and mango! It was manna from heaven!!! I seriously could eat it everyday! So delicious! We have had fun tonight just hanging out in our room and even lucked out cause Twilight was on TV! What appropriate movie for a girls night! I love these girls like sisters already and I just met them today. They are adorable!

Brazil Bound!

2011-12-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

We're off to Brazil! My dad didn't get any sleep last night and I only got 2 hours so we should sleep pretty well on the plane! As we were getting in the truck to go to the airport, the truck's battery was dead! Of course it was! There is always something that happens when it comes to a vacation with the Bardsley's. We got to the airport in time and had sometime to browse the shops. Jared found a hat that suited him so well. For some reason I couldn't talk him into buying it! Well we have some long flights ahead of us and we'll be in Brazil in the morning! I'm tired so I hope I sleep the whole flight!

Boston

2011-12-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

My Bud!

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the weekend with my great friends Holly and Gio in Boston on December 9-12! I have never been to Boston before and I was very excited. It was so great to spend time with Holly and Gio and that was definitely the highlight of my trip. I can't wait to go again for a longer stay and maybe when its a little warmer!

LDS Boston Temple

Holly lived near the Boston Temple and it was absolutely beautiful!

Holly's Cute Kitty!

Me & Gio

The Most Amazing French Toast Breakfast! Best Ever!

We had an AMAZING breakfast at this cute little restaurant near Holly's home. We ate French Toast which was the BEST I have ever had and I'm not exaggerating! A great way to start our Saturday adventures! We fit a lot into one day!

Ralph Waldo Emerson's Home

Holly showed me around Boston and the cute little towns surrounding it. We went on a hunt for all these neat homes and places. It was amazing all the history.

Louisa May Alcott's Home of "Little Women"

We ended up at Lousia May Alcott's home and they had a tour that you could go on. Gio was asleep in the back seat and Holly and I decided to go on the tour. They were having a "Christmas Tour" and it was a lot of fun with people dressing up and telling stories from Louisa's life. It really was adorable and I really enjoyed this part of my trip!

Me & Holly


Yummy L.A. Burdick Chocolates

Mysterious Gio!


Delicious Hot Chocolate @ L.A. Burdicks, Harvard Square

We went to Harvard Square and it was the most enchanting area! I can tell why so many people love the Harvard experience. We went to a yummy chocolate shop and got some hot chocolate to warm us up! We stopped at Anthropologie and Gio humored us and let us try on clothes while he patiently waited (and posed for goofy pictures). Holly and I had a fun time shopping! As if chocolate wasn't enough, we stopped at the cupcake shop "Sweet" and got some cupcakes for later!

Lobster Mac & Cheese!

Lobster Mac & Cheese and Filet Mignon Sliders

We went to dinner in downtown Boston at a restaurant called "Max & Dylans". It was some of the best food I have had. We he got Filet Mignon sliders (oh wow!) and Lobster Mac & Cheese (double wow!!). It might have been some of the best food I have ever had! When I got back to Boston, I will definitely be eating there again.

Chilly Night in Boston

Enjoying the Christmas Lights in Boston

We braved the cold for a bit looking at the Christmas lights then it was back to Holly's house for movie and relaxing. The next day we went to church and I got to meet some really amazing people that are pretty well known (Ann Romney & Jane Clayson). They are truly amazing women. It was a great weekend and I was really sad to leave and say goodbye. I sure love Holly and Gio and I am so grateful for their friendship. They'll never know how much they mean to me!

I love you Boston!!

Its True...

2011-11-26T14:11:00.001-07:00


Just thought you'd like to know!

Thanksgiving at the Bardsleys... Never a dull moment!

2011-11-24T23:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know its been awhile since I've written on my blog.
I've been busy and just working some stuff out with me.
Get ready though, I'm determined to get caught up on what is happening with me!
So there will be a lot of additions (all of which will be put in the date they happened, so you may need to go back if you want to read them).
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
My Thanksgiving was nice: Crafts, Family, Delicious Food, Games, and Friends.
Of course it can't be a Holiday at the Bardsley's without SOMETHING negative happening:
This year, Branden (my cousin) breaking both bones in his arm... Yeah that happened!
I also had my first experience with Black Friday! We tried to go get a certain Christmas present for Branden and his siblings for their parents because they were taking care of Branden, but that didn't happen! It was Walmart and it was definitely an experience. Now I know why I never do Black Friday!
Never a dull moment! Sometimes I wish I could get a dull moment!
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope yours' was as fun & exciting as ours!

This is my favorite Thanksgiving song...

Its a great start for the month long Christmas Music!

Happy Birthday Ali Girl!

2011-11-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Ali Huish!

Top 3 Things I Love About You:

3. Your Style

2. Your Sweetness

1. Your Kindess/friendship

We celebrated Ali's birthday by going to dinner at the Pie Pizzaria in Salt Lake then going to a piano bar! We had a blast! The pizza was fabulous and the company was even better!

Janessa, Ali, Ethan, Trevor, Tim, Me, Jared K, Jared B. Danica, Mal

The piano bar was a blast! Besides the waitress hating us because we weren't drinking alcohol and boosting her income (I bought a yummy Non-alcoholic drink to hopefully smooth it over a bit). We had a ton of fun singing to the songs and just being goofy! It was a great night to get away from Provo and do something different!

Mal, Danica, and Me

Mal, Ethan, and Me

Ethan and I singing our hearts out!

Ali & Mal trying to get Jared singing and dancing!

My favorite pic of the night! Jared & Danica laughing as usual

Walking back to our car after a great night!

Some Thoughts by an Honorary Blogger: Danica Blauer

2011-11-01T11:50:00.001-06:00

In prayer, we are encouraged tothank the Lord for the blessings we have received. The Lord has been verygenerous when it comes to me and blessings, I have a good life and there’s notmuch room for complaint. When times gethard it seems like it’s more difficult to see all that you’re blessed with, butas the saying goes, I still ‘count my blessings’ and most of the time I comeout on top as far as the blessings to shortcomings ratio goes. There is oneblessing in particular that I’m especially grateful for, her name is CourtneyAmber Bardsley.

Today is five years that Courtneyhas been in remission, and I hope and pray fervently that she remainsthere. Doctors warn her otherwise butI’m still hopeful and praying for her with all my might. To say Courtney has been through a lot wouldprobably be the biggest understatement of the century, but in true Courtneyfashion, she’s still smiling.

Courtney has a kind of strengththat I could only hope to have one day. Shefaces her problems head-on, and it seems like she does so without fear. But then again, with the family that she’sgot standing behind her and supporting her, bravery only makes sense. On the contrary, when things go terribly awryI find myself wanting to hide away in my room, lock the door and wait for it tobe over. I know this isn’t the best wayto deal with life’s struggles, but all the times that I’ve weakly taken to thatlocked room in the last year, Courtney has come and locked herself away with meand I didn’t feel quite so alone. (Side note: my family is very loving andsupportive too, it’s just my nature to want to hide).

Courtney is smart, funny and caresabout others in a way that a mother cares about her children. It’s the reason why I call her Mama Court,she’s giving, she’s caring, she’s open, she’s protective and the love she hasfor others is unwavering and unconditional. When she says it’s going to be okay, I believe her. I may be the onlyone who feels that way but I’ve got a hunch that Courtney brings this comfortto mostly everyone in her life.

She tells people like it is, I canalways count on Courtney to tell me the truth; if I’m in the wrong, she’s goingto let me know. It’s important to havepeople like that in life, people who care enough to give it to you straight evenif it hurts. And she knows what shewants, sometimes to the point of being stubborn. Some people may find this aspect in someone’spersonality as something that isn’t necessarily positive but as someone whonever knows what they want and is more or less a push-over, it’s a quality Igreatly admire. I would be lying if I said I didn’t like making people laugh, Ido, a lot, and Courtney is one of my favorites to make laugh. Getting a laugh out of Courtney is not adifficult task, it’s so easy I wouldn’t even call it a task, and her laugh isso contagious that whoever is near her usually starts laughing too. I’m usually that person.

I don’t know what I would dowithout Courtney. I went twenty oneyears of my life without her in it, but now that she is, I can’t imagine mylife and Courtney not being there. Onething is for sure, there wouldn’t be nearly as much sunshine (that’s ametaphor). In a perfect world we wouldremain as close of friends as we are now and I there’s nothing would love morethan that. But if we’re being realistic,which is something I hate being, there’s a possibility that at one time oranother we will not share the friendship that we do today. This is not something I want to happen, it’s not something I even wantto think about happening, but I know we can’t live 39 steps (yes, I counted)away from each other forever. There’s a chancethat in the future miles will separate us. Maybe it’ll be for only a short period of time, maybe it’ll be longerthan that. Maybe I’ll have to getcreative to keep the relationship with I have with Courtney the way it is now,my options include but are not limited to the following:

· I could throw myself down a flight of stairsturning myself into a paraplegic and forcing Courtney to be a live-in nurse forthe rest of my life (yes, I would resort enslavement, it’s totally worth it onmy end).

· I could get a pet dolphin and tell Courtney shecan come over and play with it whenever she wants. (There’s no doubt in my mindthat Courtney would buy the house next door, but this would require me to winthe lottery).
· I might be able to trick one of her brothersinto marrying me, making my sisterhood with Courtney official (this enslavementthing seems to be a theme but they know Court, they would understand, maybethey’d even be cool with it).

Oh wait... I forgot I was being realistic, reality can be aterrible thing sometimes. And sadly, allof my options either involve animal cruelty or some form of slavery, but theyare simply a means to an end… Brutus would totally get it. So, choosing from the options above withrealistic likelihood in mind, it looks like paraplegia is in my future. First class parking spots here I come.

But if myfears should come true there is something I am certain of: I can sayconfidently, there’s not a doubt in my mind, that Courtney will always be myfriend and I will always hold her in very high regard. There will never be a time in my life when Iwon’t be there for Courtney if she should ever need me and I know I will alwaysbe able to count on her too.

It’s hard for me to believe allthat Courtney has been through, and though I’m sorry she had to experience it andwish she never had and I hope she never does again, there’s a part of me that’sglad she did, I’d go as far to say that I’m even grateful that she did. I appreciate her struggles because they havehelped shape her into who she is today and the person that Courtney is today issomeone quite lovely.

Whether I’m crying over a sickrelative, or frustrated to the hilt with something completely futile and notmaking any sense, or crashing a golf cart into a brick wall, Courtney has beenright next to me and has never bailed on me, even when I crashed that golf cartinto a brick wall.

I feel special forreceiving the love that Courtney has shown me and the friendship she has givenme. Then I think about it again, and ifI’m being realistic, I’m sure everyone in Courtney’s life thinks that they’respecial for their relationship with Courtney, but that’s just how she is; shemakes everyone feel special and makes everyone feel like her best friend. However, seeing as I don’t like thinking inrealistic terms, I’m going to keep telling myself that I am but I guess thatwouldn’t be a lie. I’m special becauseI’ve been able to call myself a friend of Courtney’s, only me and a couplehundred (facebook claims 923) other lucky people can say that. This exclusivegroup of nine hundred and twenty three plus people are some of the luckiest andmost blessed people on this planet and it’s all because of Courtney.

Harold B.Lee said, “Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you, but onwhat happens inside of you. It ismeasured by the spirit with which you meet the problems of life.” Whether it was a conscious decision or not, Ithink it’s something Courtney lives her life by, and the rest of us shouldfollow her example. (Disclaimer: I stole this quote off her blog, but I thoughtit to be rather fitting).

Happy Halloweeny!

2011-10-31T23:20:00.000-06:00

Halloween was pretty chill this year, but I actually dressed up this year!

We went to a ward Halloween Party on Friday night & danced the night away!

Halloween night was spent with some friends and watching movies! My kind of night!

Hope your Halloween was "Spook"tacular!

Happy Birthday Dan-ee-Ka

2011-10-19T23:50:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Danica!

Top 3 Reasons I love you:

3. Your Uniqueness

2. Your humor

1. Your ability to be the best friend

We had a fun night celebrating Danica's birthday by going out to eat at Gurus, going to the Haunted Forest, then having a little party at her apartment.

The Gang at Gurus

After dinner at Gurus we headed to the Haunted Forest in American Fork. It was Tim's first time to a Haunted House (I guess Germans don't do that sort of thing!) so it was fun to experience it with him. The best part of the whole night was hearing Danica scream and fall to the floor several times! It was hilarious! All the guys were trying to scare her even more it was that entertaining! We had a blast!

Skyler, Danica, Me, & Brandon: Our ridiculously good looking Boyfriends!

Ali, Danica, and I at the "After Party"

We had a little party with some great friends at Danica's Apartment and it was a great night!! Happy birthday Dan! Love you girl!!

A Little Craftiness!

2011-10-16T16:31:00.000-06:00

A little craftiness that my mom and I have been doing lately!

Wish I had more time to sew & craft (and hang out with my awesome mom!)!

Too bad there aren't any grandkids/nieces or nephews in the fam!

Happy Birthday Tan Tan!

2011-10-07T23:43:00.000-06:00

Me, Tanner, & Kim

It was one of my best friends, Tanner Folster's, Birthday today!

Tanner and I go way back from our swimming days and I consider him one of my best friends!

Top 3 Reason's I love him:

3. His Humor: My stomach always hurts after hanging out with him.

2. His Work Ethic: From the Pool to Medical school, he always works hard.

1. For Being an Amazing Friend: When I was going through my cancer and knee replacement surgeries, he was always there (with a funny card) to help me get through it all and I will forever be grateful to him for it. He is truly a great friend! Even when we're far in distance he keeps in touch.

I was able to go to dinner with him & his fiance, Kim, & others to celebrate this big day!

It was a ton of fun to be with Caitlin and Wes and their significant others too!

The Birthday Celebration

I love you Tan Tan! Thanks for being you!

Sometimes BYU lets me down...

2011-10-04T22:26:00.000-06:00

Yes I'm a BYU graduate and Yes I should have realized this before I got my hopes up but when you're in a GRE prep class for 4 straight hours, you can't think of much other than:

"What am I getting myself into?"

"I haven't done this math since 9th grade"

"I have NEVER heard that word EVER & I will probably NEVER use it EVER!"

"My head hurts so bad!"

"I'm going to fail!"

So in this downer state of mind, all I could think of was: "during the break I am going to get a Dr. Pepper and it will make everything so much better!" I'm not a soda drinker but I needed a pick me up and a little help in the energy category. As I'm walking to the vending machine it hits me: BYU doesn't sell caffeinated beverages... Curse you BYU! Let's be honest, President Samuelson is probably enjoying a diet coke as we speak!

Ziggy Marley Concert

2011-10-04T20:17:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, my friend Ashley and I went to the Ziggy Marley concert in Salt Lake! I got Ashley and I tickets for her birthday. Before we went up I couldn't find my ticket so I was panicking a bit!! But I found it and we made it with plenty of time! We both love Bob Marley so we thought we couldn't go wrong with going to his son's concert, and we weren't disappointed! It was a lot of fun! I've never seen so many dreads in one room though! Most of them were pretty nasty (nothing like Kyle Beckerman's who's dreads I love!! haha). The concert was at The Depot at Gateway in Salt Lake City and it was my first time going to a show in that venue and I really like it! Its smaller and more relaxed and I like that. We were really close to the stage and he was really great live!! It was fun to be able to spend the evening with Ashley and enjoy some great Reggae music together! We went upstairs during some of the concert and I saw some of the Real Salt Lake players, Nick Rimando and Robbie Russell, so that was pretty cool! Thanks for spending the evening with me Ash and thanks for being my best friend!! Love ya girl!

Provo Temple-nacle

2011-10-01T22:48:00.000-06:00

A picture of what the new temple will look like!

I was privileged to be able to be at General Conference today when President Monsen announced that the Provo Tabernacle (which was all burnt except for the ext. last year) will be renovated into a 2nd temple in Provo, Utah. I was really excited & I felt an amazing spirit when I heard that announcement. I am so excited to have a temple within walking distance from where I live. I also have many memories in this special building a & hope to have more spiritual & happy moments there to come!

El Javi & Kyle Show

2011-09-30T01:08:00.000-06:00

Some RSL Gems:

You might not think this it that funny, but I can't get enough of these two!!!

The RioT

2011-09-29T16:08:00.000-06:00

I love this place!

It is MAGICAL to me!

Happy Birthday Brenna!

2011-09-22T18:30:00.000-06:00

A little Birthday shout-out to my adorable roomie!

I'm so happy you're a part of my life now!

Love you girl!!!

Turning Tables

2011-09-22T12:00:00.000-06:00

Beautiful

Fear

2011-09-19T19:48:00.000-06:00

Sometimes a song comes into my existence that will really make me think and really hit me to the core. Recently I bought the OneRepublic CD titled “Waking Up”, I was listening to it the other day and got to one of the tracks called “Fear” and the words actually made me quite emotional. Here are the words:

No sleep

Today
Cant even rest when the suns down
No time
Theres not enough
And nobodys watchin me now

When we were children we'd play
Out in the streets just dipped in fate
When we were children we'd say
That we don't the meaning of
Fear, fear, fear,
Fear, fear, fear
We dont know the meaning of..

When we were children we'd play
Out in the streets just dipped in fate
When we were children we'd say
That we don't the meaning of
Fear, fear, fear,
Fear, fear, fear
We don't know the meaning of..

Wish I
Didn't know the meaning of...

After playing it on repeat a couple more times (and still playing it on repeat every time I get in the car!), I started to think about the concept and meaning of “FEAR” to me. Its amazing how your fear changes when you're young and when you are older. I’ve been thinking about the times I’ve experienced fear and how different the situations/experiences have been when I have felt fear.

The time I have felt the most excruciating fear in my life was when Garrett went missing in the Uintahs. Fear that he was hurt, fear that he was cold, fear that someone had taken him, and the biggest fear of all: that we wouldn’t find him and I would never see him on this earth again. It was so much “fear” that it got our adrenaline pumping and we weren’t going to stop until we found him. Eventually we just had to stop searching and the fear turned into grief. It’s amazing how the Lord and the blessings of the gospel give you peace during that time of fear and grief. Knowing I’ll be able to see Garrett again and that we are an eternal family has been the biggest blessing and relief of the fear and grief I have felt over missing this sweet little brother of mine.

Then there have been other types of “Fear” in my life. Going to Haunted Houses and screaming with my friends, bungee jumping off a 400 ft. cliff in Mexico, starting 6th grade in a middle school with lockers and brand new friends, competing at a national swim meet, and waiting for test results to come back to find out if I had cancer or not.

The amazing thing about fear, I have discovered, sometimes the fear just doesn’t come. You think it should come and you’re waiting for it, but you never feel it. I remember distinctively feeling that way after I was diagnosed with cancer. Before I was diagnosed and I was waiting for my test results, I felt fear that I would have cancer. Once I was actually told that I had cancer, the fear was gone. I felt at peace and that I had to be strong to get through this and I had to be strong for the people around me. I was scared that things would hurt, I was scared how I would feel, but I was never fearful that I wouldn’t make it and never fearful that I couldn’t fight the disease.

Fear is a funny emotion. And I think I felt uncertain and emotional the other day when I listened to this song because I was feeling some new “feelings” that I haven’t felt for a while. I didn’t know really what to think of them and I have been scared of getting let down and things being one sided. Since it has been a few days, I’ve realized it wasn’t fear but more anxiety from the uncertainty! I feel like I’ve been more in check of my emotions lately and being able to step back and really see how I’m feeling and where these emotions are coming from instead of jumping to the first conclusion. I’m really grateful this song has led me on this journey to discover what fear really means to me. Now, I hope you enjoy this song as much as I have!:

This Has Gotta Be The Good Life!

2011-09-17T23:55:00.000-06:00

Tonight I opted out of staying home and being disappointedin watching the BYU vs. UofU football and went to the Real Salt Lake gameinstead (but to be completely honest, I wouldn’t have even thought twice aboutgoing to the RSL game instead of the BYU football game because that’s where myloyalty lies!). My friends, Danica,Lon, Ali, new friend Trevor, and Brandon came with me! We all piled into my Toyota Corolla(yes you read that right 6 people in my corolla) and headed north! We stopped by my favorite fish taco “dive”,Neils off of 123^rd, and enjoyed some yummy fish tacos. Brandon decided to be safe and had aburger, I gave him half of one of my fish tacos and he regretted the “beingsafe” idea. They are seriouslyvery yummy tacos! We piled backinto the car and headed to the game. We pulled up right when my parents were pulling up and made the trek upto the stadium. Unfortunately, Danica& Lon had to sit a couple rows down and over and the same with Ali &Trevor but we were able to hang out during half time and after the game. Brandon and I sat with my parents andmy cousins Heather and Jerry also came. It was a great game with great company! It was Brandon’s first professional soccer game and it wasfun to share some of my geeky RSL knowledge with him. Real won and it was a great win because Sporting KC wasranked 1^st in the East Division! Even though it was a dirty game and therefs weren’t the greatest, we pulled out the win and the sold-out stadium washappy about that! After the game,there was a OneRepublic concert on the field. We ran down onto the field and loved every minute of the music! I was very surprised how good they were live! I didn't want it to stop!

It was a night of great soccer, great food, great music, and great company!
This Has Gotta Be The Good Life!

The RioT (Rio Tinto)

Lon sooo excited to have the RSL flag come over our seats!

Here it comes!

So Happy!

Lovin' the game!

The Gang! So Ready for OneRepublic!

I Will Never Forget...

2011-09-11T22:00:00.000-06:00

I can’t believe ten years ago our country was dramaticallyaffected for the worse. I’ll neverforget watching the 2^nd plane hit the 2^nd tower live onTV and watching the towers fall. Iwas training with a personal trainer at Gold’s Gym in Spanish Fork and was onthe treadmill. I just rememberseeing that plane hit and I automatically hit the “stop” button on thetreadmill. I couldn’t believe thatthings like this would happen in our country. Everyone around me had stopped as well and everyone wasstanding in the aerobic area watching. At school that day the mood was very solemn. I remember all the teachers just watching the newscoverage on TV instead of having our regular classes. I can’t imagine what all the family members of those thatwere lost were thinking at that time as well.

One thing that really impressed me was how our country cametogether and we were united as one. I’ve never seen such patriotism in my lifetime and it was really neat tosee everyone rally together to support one another no matter what theirrelationship to the tragedy was.

This summer I finally went to New York City for the firsttime and visited “Ground Zero”. Itwas a month before the Visitor’s Center opened but it was neat to peek throughthe fence to see the work in progress. I really thought it was quite a spiritual place. I really could tell that it was a placeof peace for many people including family and friends of those people who losttheir lives. I really enjoyedvisiting the church across the street that housed a lot of rescue teams duringthe recovery efforts. They had alot of the banners, mementos, authority badges, pictures, and cards from peopleacross the country. It was neat tosee it all.

This morning I was waiting for church to start and decidedto watch some of the Ten Year Memorial and opening of the visitor’scenter. They had several peopleread off the names of the people that lost their lives that day. After they read off around 10 names,they would say the name of their loved one that died that day (spouse, parent,sibling, relative, etc.) and a message to them usually that they loved them andmissed them. It was a reallytouching tribute and I even got emotional on a couple of them. The people that planned the eventreally did a great job with collecting pictures, names, and bringing all of thefamilies together to the spot that changed their lives ten years ago.

I’m grateful for our country and the freedom that I enjoyhere. I know our country isn’tperfect and sometimes the people that run our country aren’t the best, but westill have the assurance that we are free and we owe that to all the peoplethat have fought for our freedom and continue to fight for our freedom.

God Bless America

Retweet!

2011-09-10T02:16:00.000-06:00

So glad I joined twitter!

Yummy...

2011-09-07T21:50:00.003-06:00

Butter Pecan Ice Cream from Baskin Robbins

Hugh Jackman in Austrailia

YUMMY!!!

Emma and I had a fun evening just the two of us! We had a treat of Baskin Robbins and we watched the movie "Australia". We decided Cowboys are really hot, but they're even hotter with an Australian accent!

Surf's Up... Wake Surf That Is!

2011-08-29T22:23:00.000-06:00

My Dad, Jared, & I went boating with our friends the Pennocks tonight! We did Wake Surfing the whole time and it was my first time doing it! It was super fun, great company, and a beautiful night (until the end!)! We had KFC chicken on the boat and there is something about eating fried chicken on the lake that totally makes it taste 20X better! We were even throwing the chicken to whomever was wake surfing! At the very end of the evening the wind picked up and then came the swells!!

We sat in the front of the boat, rode the waves, and let the water splash over the sides and soak us! It was seriously so fun! Thanks so much Jerry & Melissa for taking us!

Me and the Cam-ster! I love this kid!

Jerry & Sierra surfing! The cutest thing

Sierra & Jared (she loves Jared!!)

Lindsey & I after the storm!


Haley, Me, & Lindsey (Jared Surfing behind!)

RSP

2011-08-28T21:26:00.000-06:00

A lot of things have happened the past couple of weeks andit seems like I’m just getting busier and busier. Another thing to add to my busy list: Relief SocietyPresident. For those of you that aren’tfamiliar with the LDS church, Relief Society is a women’s group in our churchthat is involved in taking care of our families, taking care of those aroundus, learning more about the gospel, and just trying to be the best women we canbe. Well I was just called to bethe President of our Relief Society of our ward. I’m pretty nervous because I have some really big shoes tofill (my roommate/great friend Emma was d the president) and there is a lot ofresponsibility with this calling. Luckily my mom is the Relief Society in her ward and she is a greatresource for me right now. So I’mpretty intimidated/a little excited for this new adventure. So keep me in your prayers… I’m goingto need them!

Girls Night Out!

2011-08-24T22:00:00.000-06:00

I got to spend the evening with my cute/dear friends from High School!

All of them are married and have/having kids so its fun to catch up!

I love these girls a lot and I'm so grateful they're in my life!

I think they wanted to kick us out of Cheesecake Factory,

We were there for 3 hours!


Natasia, Emerson, & I

Me and my buddy Emerson! He's such a cutie!

Melinda & Jenica

Natasia, Me, Melinda, Jenica, Hailey, & Brittany

Happy Birthday Jerry Wayne!!

2011-08-19T19:32:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Jerry Wayne!

Just wanted to wishmy “Favorite Cousin” a Happy Birthday!

I love you tons JerryWayne and I’m so grateful you’re in my life!

It’s been so fun tohave you guys live near by,

And I love hangingout with you!

Hope you had aFANTASTIC birthday!

Love you!

We'll Miss you Brittanica

2011-08-16T23:15:00.000-06:00

Don't leave us Britt!!!

We had a going away dinner for Britt at Tepanyaki in Provo.

It was bitter sweet....

We'll miss this girl! Wish she was staying here with us!

Salt Water In My Hair

2011-08-14T20:25:00.000-06:00

I just spent the lastweek in Southern California at Camp Pendleton camping on the beach with mycousins and aunt and uncles. Itwas fun and relaxing as usual! Welay on the beach, body surfed, surfed, played games, read, and made up newcreations to roast over the campfire! I loved spending time with my Aunt Brenda & Marianne and mywonderful talks/quality time with my Uncle Kurt. It was fabulous! My Uncle Toby even washed my car before I headed back to Utah! I have awesome Aunts & Uncles! My little cousins aren’t so littleanymore and it has been so fun to hang out with them and spend this week withthem. I can’t believe Collin willbe going to college in a month and Makayla just made her JV volleyballteam. I remember when they were soyoung (and weren’t so fun for me to hang out with!). Now I feel like they’re my best friends and I wanted to beable to spend even more time with them. If only they lived closer! Thanks Torsaks and Tylers for the fun/relaxing week! It was wonderful as usual!

Isn’t she beautiful?! Me & Makayla

Makayla and I had a blast swimming, playing volleyball, watching girly movies,and trying to quiet our laughs as I’m embarrassing myself trying to get in abunk bed! She had volleyball campmost the week so I wasn’t able to spend as much time with her as I would haveliked to but I’m so glad I got to see her for a bit! I love you girlie!

My boy Collin! Always keeps me laughing!

My handsome cousinand I spent a lot of nights chatting in the tent, body surfing during the day,and centipede/black widow hunting in and out of our tent! We also created some KILLER campfiretreats! I can’t believe he’s goingto college this fall! I’ve alwayshad a special bond with Collin and I’ve enjoyed having him to myself these pasttwo years (Cameron & Kurt will be home so I’m sure they’ll be more fun thanI am!!). Thanks for spending timewith me Collin! I sure love you!

Makayla, Paige, & I spent some time on Mac Photo Booth!

Beachy Thug Life!

Cousin Love! He pretends he doesn't love me sometimes!

Paige showing off her surfing skills! She was awesome!

Love this girl!!

Oh Emma!

2011-08-01T22:04:00.004-06:00

Emma is ON one right now!!
AS. WE. SPEAK.!!

Here's the play by play:
-She hates Facebook
-She hates TV
-She hate George Lopez, Everybody Loves Raymond, etc, etc, etc.
-She is getting rid of everything on the computer & wants to stick with one internet thing.
-I don't even know how long we've been on the "Zap 2 It" channel (our version of a channel guide).
-Now she wants biscuits from the store!!

I'm thoroughly entertained right now!!

Oh how I love our goofy times together! It seriously is my favorite time when its just her and I and we just say/do/think goofy things!!

I love you girl!!

(Now she's telling me about the movie "Waterworld!" Oh what a night!!)

Finally did it!

2011-08-01T21:29:00.005-06:00

Remember THIS?!
Well I finally accomplished #2.
I'm so proud of myself & I feel much better now.
Just wanted to update you!
But you probably weren't even wondering!
That's all!

Happy Birthday Sky Guy!

2011-07-29T20:55:00.000-06:00

A Little Shout Out to the Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday Sky Guy!
Thanks for being one of my best friends
and always being there for me!
Love you lots!

Late Night Happenings...

2011-07-26T01:00:00.000-06:00

"I'm making it harder for people to stalk me! I'm a hot commodity!!"

-Danica Blauer
(As she's deleting her recent facebook history)

The things that happen late, late at night!!
Love you girl!

Happy Birthday Garrett!

2011-07-24T23:16:00.001-06:00

Happy 19^th Birthday Garrett

I can’t believe you’d be preparing for your mission right now! I can’t wait to see you again! I miss those “Sprinkles” on your nose and you jumping in bed with me when you get scared (although at 19 you probably wouldn’t be doing that anymore!). I'll never forget when you thought the Pioneer Day Celebrations were for you for your birthday!

Happy Birthday, Baby Brother! I miss you everyday.

Our Legacy

2011-07-24T21:19:00.001-06:00

We were asked this question in church today:

"How do you want to be remembered in 150 years?"

Then I got this text:

“I want to be remembered as the original gangsta!!”

-Jared Bardsley

Oh Brother…. Literally!

I Could Die Happy!

2011-07-23T23:33:00.009-06:00

This could go down as one of the greatest days of my life!! Just because this happened:

KYLE BECKERMAN!!!! Seriously he is one of the nicest people I have ever met! And of course I was totally in heaven! My parents, Jared, and I had a great night meeting some of the players and got a ton of autographs. Will Johnson was another great guy that was so nice and so appreciative of his fans:

I’m so proud to be a Real Salt Lake fan and support such amazing, nice guys that RSL has on their team! They really are amazing! Another fun thing that happened tonight was my dad was honored before the game for the “RSL Hero Among Us!” My dad and I were able to go onto the sidelines and watch the team warm up, we chatted with Leo, and my dad was honored with a jersey with “Bardsley” on the back in the middle of the field! It was a great experience and a great honor! I’m so proud of my pops!

My friends were also able to come to the game and it was fun having them there!

Flow Rider

2011-07-17T23:29:00.000-06:00

The only way we get surfing in Utah when it's too cold to go behind a boat!

(Or if you don't have a boat!!)

Provo Beach Resort!

I Need To Remember This...

2011-07-16T22:43:00.000-06:00

Sometimes when I want something RIGHT NOW,
it isn't the best for me RIGHT NOW.
I need to remember this in my life.
Especially RIGHT NOW.

And So It Ends...

2011-07-16T21:02:00.000-06:00

Of course we went to the HP 7.2 Movie at Midnight!
And of course we had to take a pic by the giant stand-up cardboard thingy!!
That's how we roll!
And yes it was worth the loss of sleep!
Goodbye Harry Potter Phenomenon,
Your legacy will live on!

I Need This!

2011-07-15T22:25:00.000-06:00

I can't wait for my annual Summer trip to So Cal beach.
A week with my relatives and relaxing.
See you guys in a few weeks...
Not soon enough!

Please Vote!!

2011-07-08T17:02:00.008-06:00

Hey everyone! My dad was selected as a Community MVP for Major League Soccer to represent Real Salt Lake for the work he has done with The Garrett Bardsley Foundation. He won a trip to New York to go to the Allstar game at the end of the month and I'm so proud of him. Out of the 18 MVP's selected, one will get $10,000 for the charity of their choice. The charity my Dad would use it for is The Garrett Bardsley Foundation which we would use the funds to help search for missing people in the mountains and to build schools in third world countries. But we need your vote to win this money! Instructions:

1. Please go here: http://www.facebook.com/MLS?sk=app_1377623362905742. "Like" the page!
3. Vote for Kevin Bardsley (RSL)
4. Share to your profile please!!
5. Refresh and Vote again!!
6. Repeat step 5 as many times as possible through July 22nd!
7. Join this event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161380083935185&pending
7. Please invite all of your friends to this Event page!! THat would really help!!

You can vote as many times as you would like and the more the better! If you know my dad and all the amazing things he does for everyone around him, you know he deserves it. If you have any questions please let me know. You need to "like" the MLS page when you go onto it but only once and can vote as many times as you'd like. Please help us out! My dad really deserves this! Thanks for your help!

This is some info from MLS:
Fans can log onto Facebook.com/MLS and go to the MLS W.O.R.K.S. tab to vote. No limitation, vote as often as you like. Voting will begin on Friday July 8 at 3pm ET and will conclude on Friday, July 22 at 5pm ET. The winner will be announced during the Community MVP ceremony during halftime at the 2011 AT&T MLS All-Star game at Red Bull Arena on July 27, 2011.Grand Prize:One (1) grand prize winner will be chosen according to the voting process described above to receive a $10,000 donation to their charity of choice

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T23:30:00.000-06:00

We spent the day at aBBQ at my cousins and then an awesome Real Salt Lake Game! Two of my favorite things!! It was a special game because the HeadCoach, Jason Kreis, was honored after the game and his number was retired atRio Tinto. This is the firstjersey retired in MLS history. Itwas pretty neat!! But let’s behonest, I think anything to do with RSL is pretty neat! Hope you all had a great holiday filledwith family and friends. A specialthanks, to the amazing people who have fought for the freedom of our country.

Danica & I enjoying the game!

Rio Tinto Stadium


Jared & Dave: Rivalry with the hats?!

Coach Kreis #9

Mini-Vegas

2011-07-03T11:30:00.000-06:00

If you haven’texperienced Provo, Utah on the Evening of July 3^rd, put it on yourlist of things to do! It isCRAZY!! I first experienced thisoddity two years ago and I still can’t believe it! Everyone and their dog camps out on the parade route onUniversity Avenue for the parade the next morning. Notice I didn’t say: “everyone sleeps out on the paraderoute” because nobody sleeps! Theage range of the people out there varies so much and there is so many differentthings going on: card games, video games, dance parties, shops open til late,people flooding in and out of 7-11, cops driving up and down the streetregulating, fireworks going off, groups of bikers going up and down the street,etc. It is seriously a crazy thingto experience! A couple of myfriends and I decided to take a walk down the street and just go peoplewatch! It was definitely anexperience. I saw severalteenagers from my homeward and friends of my brothers! So many different people! After our walk we shot off some awesomefireworks (I love the new firework law in Utah!!) and decided we had enough ofthe “Mini-Vegas”. Unfortunately Ilive right on University Avenue so the noise was kind of loud all night, but itsounded like everyone was having fun!

Roaming the Streets with Ethan "Toots" Savory some creepers in the back!

Derek, Danica, Me, Ethan, and Skyler

Who Knew I Would Enjoy Wimbledon!

2011-07-01T18:37:00.004-06:00

So for this first time in my life I watched some of the Wimbledon tennis matches and I learned two things about myself:

1) Watching the matches was actually pretty entertaining and I could get used to watching tennis! I need to watch it more so I understand all the technicalities of the sport.

2) I have a thing for the beautiful male Tennis players from Spain (see Exhibit A & B):

Exhibit A: Feliciano Lopez Exhibit B: Rafael Nadal

I need to go to Spain!!

(What is my thing with male athletes with longer hair? I love it!)

Just a couple more pics for your viewing pleasure!

Check It Out Tonight!

2011-06-30T16:24:00.007-06:00

Watch the BYU Channel tonight at 7:30 p.m.

My Dad is featured on a show called Fresh Takes.

If you can't watch it tonight,

you can watch it on byutv.org tomorrow.

I'll have a direct link up tomorrow.

Go HERE for a sneak peek of the show tonight!

I'm so proud of you pops!

New Item on my Bucket List!

2011-06-23T17:57:00.003-06:00

I MUST do this before I die!

ABSOLUTELY amazing!!
Now, to find money to do it.....

He's the Man!

2011-06-19T20:53:00.005-06:00

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

I couldn't ask for a better dad!
I am the person I am today because of the great parents I have!
You'll always be my hero!
I love you so much!
You Da Man!

Love, Snorter

A little father's day laughs:

Slump Day!

2011-06-16T15:04:00.000-06:00

This kid had his "Slump Day" today!
18 Months on the Mission
6 Months left!
Can't wait to see this boy!
Love you Elder Bardsley!

Can't Wait!

2011-06-09T12:52:00.002-06:00

July 24th-28th, 2011

So Excited About This Vacation!

Love her!

2011-05-30T23:45:00.001-06:00

She cracks me up! This was a fun/funny evening!
Love you Mom!

Graduation Day

2011-05-25T14:21:00.001-06:00

The last member of our immediate family would have graduated High School today. He would have gone to Salem Hills and who knows, maybe he would have been a football or baseball star or probably the student body president because he was so liked by everyone!

I'm proud of Garrett's friends who graduated today and I'm excited to see what adventures come next in their lives!

Congrats T.J. Bird (Spanish Fork) & Trevor Palmer (Salem Hills)
Class of 2011

FINALLY!!!

2011-05-24T14:06:00.003-06:00

Since I always talk about my obsession with RSL, I decided to let you in on another one of my obsessions! Pirates of the Caribbean! I love ALL of the movies, I love the ride, I love Johnny Depp, I love it all (all except Keira Knightley. She drives me nuts! So of course this 4th movie appealed to me even more!). When I was having my cancer treatments, bone marrow transplant, and steroid blow up I would watch the movies over and over again and they never got old. I guess they have a special place in my heart. So I've been waiting for this 4th movie to come out for quite sometime! And I loved it!!! My great friend Sean took me to see it on opening day and it was seriously so good! But then of course I had to see it again so I saw it three days later with my family and it was even better the second time! Johnny Depp is amazing as usual and they whole movie is so entertaining! So if you haven't seen it yet, GO NOW!! You won't be disappointed! I'd pay to go see it again so if you need someone to go see it with you let me know!