Grown-Up

June 18, 2009 - Mark it down as a significant day in the History book of Ashley Apple, this day will live on for what seems like forever, this day I purchased my very own brand spankin' new car!!! A 2009 dark gray Chevy Malibu is now MINE! I drove it off the lot with a mere 17 miles on it :D I Love it!

Maui, Hawaii

Most of my pictures are still in Hawaii with my parents who got to stay 2 weeks instead of just one, but here are a few of my favs!

The sand is my most favorite thing about Hawaii!


Lindsay and I did it! We Parasailed 800ft!

The sunsets are Amazing! This was taken from our balcony!



This picture is after our Luau...the boy on the left is my favorite!!!

More to come when my parents decide to head back to reality....;)

~Vacation~

Welcome to the one word that brings just about everybody pure joy...Vacation...oh the joy that i'm currently experiencing! I worked a full day on Wednesday and do not work a single day until June 10! The only problem that I found myself facing today is the lack of things to do. Now the only reason I'm having this problem is because I (along with my entire immediate family) are in countdown mode. You see we all fly out this Monday at 1045am for Maui, Hawaii! That day is when Vacation truly begins! But in the mean time I'm stuck in Arizona ''getting ready'' to leave. I have 2 full days left and the only things on the list? Pedicure and packing. The first will take place Saturday afternoon and the second begins Sunday night and ends after getting ready Monday morning. The waiting game is testing my patience! :)

In other news, it seems like I'm dating the entire world already this summer! Really, I'm not but it's a pretty good answer to the all too common question of 'So are you dating anybody?' that finds its way to me quite often. Nobody seems to be sticking around...YET, but I know everything will be fine because I trust the Lord! Oh and I'm already in countdown for next years Easter Pageant!! Hopefully its in my cards once again :)

Utah!!

So here I am on a glorious Wednesday afternoon updating my blog from the comforts of my best friends apartment in Provo, Utah. I'm sitting next to an open window, there's a slight breeze and I am loving life! The temperature is a perfect 74 degrees and I'm lounging in basketball shorts and a t-shirt...could life get better?!

I have had such a great time these last few days! Kristin is only taking a few classes this semester so she has been absolutely amazing! I have now experienced the yummy-ness of Kristin's homemade nachos, Jimmy John's sandwiches, Sammy's pie shakes, J-Dawg's hot dogs with special sauce, Guru's steak tacos, and we even did the first two switchbacks up the 'Y' mountain! Oh and we laid out for a bit this afternoon! I've also met some of the great girls from Noteworthy as we watched Dreamgirls, The Biggest Loser, and I was able to sit in the studio as they did some recording! They are Fabulous and you should check out the link to their website!

Basically being in Utah is like the perfect vaca for me! It's relaxing and fun and super chill and I get to spend it with some of my favorite people that I don't get to see on a regular basis! We're going to the Provo Temple tonight and up to Salt Lake on Friday to do some sight-seeing and shopping and to meet up with some friends ;-) Can't wait! I'll post some pictures when I return to the Valley...until then....<3

Coming Soon

Pageant ended tonight :( so super sad in fact, but that does mean that a major post will be coming shortly! All about pageant! Let me just say that the pageant was one of the Greatest experiences of my life and I wouldn't trade the craziness or busyness for Anything!
I'll leave you with my testimony that I know without a doubt that my Savior even Jesus Christ lived, died for me, and lives Again. He is real. His word is true. I know that to be fact. The Spirit burns within me Every single time I talk or think about Him. The pageant has strengthened me more than I even thought possible and I will forever be grateful for it. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Introduction...

Let me introduce you to Tristyn :)

Some how and for some reason that I am sure I'm still unaware of I was instantly attached to this little angel the day she was born. Tristyn is the second child and first girl to my first cousin Brook. She was delivered via C-section on the morning of December 4, 2008. I was at the hospital that day multiple times and because of that I got to hold her lots! Ever since then my attachment to her has only grown stronger. Now that my cousin needs to work once a week to help with the finances she asked me to watch Tristyn while she works. Every Thursday I get to play Mommy :) I look forward to seeing her, I love when she smiles at me, I get great satisfaction when she drinks a whole bottle and burps a couple times during and she's started this thing that she holds my ring finger or my pinky while she eats...so cute! She is such a good baby and I can't even explain how grateful I am that she came to my family and that my cousin shares her with me and that my Heavenly Father has parted with her for us! I can't wait to see her grow more and have all those 'firsts' and I am so excited to be around for that.

<3

Moved out, No doubt

Its almost been 3 months since I've updated! So sorry about that! I come visit my blog page and catch up on all of your lives without updating you on mine...i've actually been feeling kinda bad about not updating, but I can't seem to ever make myself sit down and spill my guts. There's just Way too much going on upstairs to keep it all in anymore!

First things first, we must back track just a bit because the beginning of this year brought a new chapter to my life...I moved out of my parents house!!! HUGE step for me! I've had the desire festering for quite some time now and things just worked out that two girls in my ward Michelle and Marrie were in need of a roommate and things just fell into place so easily I couldn't refuse! It's been amazing to me how well and how quickly I've adjusted to being so independent and on my own. It's surprising to even me! lol Don't get me wrong though I still do a lot of eating at my parents house! :D And they love to see me so things work out great! I will be honest though moving out has made me 10 fold more grateful for my parents and my family and the time I have with them. It is now up to me how much time I spend with them and that makes the time with them that much more awesome! I LOVE my family <3

The hardest thing this year has definitely been trying to figure out what the Lord wants me to do with my life both short term and long term. Life hasn't worked out the way I always thought it would when I was in high school and I already feel older than I am. I'm constantly having to remind myself that I'm Only 21 and even though life isn't the way I thought it would be doesn't mean I should sit around doing nothing. The hard part for me right now is making a plan that I feel like the Lord agrees with. The two biggest things I know the Lord approves of are helping and supporting my friends who are getting married and being a part of the Easter Pageant! My roommate is getting married in 3 weeks and sometimes life at my apartment can be crazy and I know it's just going to get crazier, but my job is to help her with whatever she needs so that her day is just as perfect as I want my day to be! And waiting for the Easter Pageant is a big test of my patience because I can't even wait to start the experience!!! Marathon Dance Day is in 2 weeks! The Easter Pageant is also helping me (somewhat) with the lack of the male species in my life. Knowing that I'll be crazy busy with work and the pageant make me slightly grateful not to have something else adding stress and lack of sleep ;) Dating and all that goes with it are another much bigger test of my patience! And for all of that frustration I have my roommate Michelle to thank! She is the best and I couldnt imagine my life without her! In just a few weeks we'll be sharing a room...so excited :D

Sorry I'm probably rambling by now...so my days are spent working mostly, but my most favorite time is when I'm spending it with my cousins 10 week old Tristyn :) For some reason I am way more attached to her than I've ever been to any other baby! Sometimes she looks up at me and seems to just be analyzing me with this look on her face like "I know you look familiar, but where have I seen you before." It just makes me feel like maybe we were really close in Heaven, but its just been a long time since we were together. To some that may sound crazy, but I just can't explain how much I love that little girl! My cousin has asked me to watch her a couple Thursdays a month so she can work and this last Thursday was the first time I had her that we actually went and ran errands together. Oh man I can't tell you how much fun I had playing Mommy all day! And how nice and friendly people are when you've got a diaper bag on one shoulder and an infant car seat on the other arm! Tristyn was the Perfect baby too! Slept the whole day except for when I had to actually wake her up for her 1pm feeding :) Hopefully I can upload the cutest pic of her from my phone!

Semi-quick update! Hopefully I can get a little deeper in my next post. I've definitely had some rough times that need to be removed from my brain so that I can focus on other things. Stay tuned :)