We Want to Know Week #5

{1} If you had an extra hour to do ANYTHING for yourself each day what would you do?
I'd listen to music for an extra hour each day. I particularly enjoy listening to new music and trying to memorize the lyrics to as many songs as possible.

{2} Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Night Owl. I'm usually not very pleasant to be around early in the morning.

{3} How much sleep do you get on an average night?
I generally don't get enough sleep at night. I have a bad habit of staying up too late watching sporting events or movies. Sometimes I think too much about what happened that day or will happen in the upcoming days which makes it more difficult to relax and go to sleep.

{4} When do you find the time to blog/surf the internet?
I don't have a specific time set aside each day to check the internet.

{5} What is the ONE thing you're never too busy for?
I try to never be too busy for my family and closest/best friends unless I'm extremely busy and it's unavoidable.

Skeet Shooting and Halloween Party

Last night I had a church activity at my home. It was a dutch oven dinner and also skeet shooting. I only was able to hit 4 out of 15 skeet but had a lot of fun anyway. I felt that I did quite well considering that I hadn't shot skeet since I was a teenager. I was involved in the same activity last year and hopefully it'll happen again next year because I do look forward to it...






I was invited to a Halloween dance/party last night in Afton as well. An uncle and aunt sent me a Texas Tech football jersey a few years ago. So I decided to dress up as an athlete. I've never been very creative with my Halloween costumes, but it was amusing to see the people who dressed up as Dracula and Elvis at the party especially.

We Want to Know Wednesday Week #4

{1} If you had to spend a day with a person in your blog list who would you choose and why?
If I had to spend a day with a person on my blog list it'd be Kara. She's a truly extraordinary person and has always been such an incredible example to me of the type of person I continually strive to be.

{2} Which blog do you check out the most?
I feel like I’m stalking Camie’s blog too much while stealing these questions lately. It’s been fun to have an excuse to read more about her young family though.

{3} Which blog do you check out the least?
For some reason I have a tendency to overlook my wonderful friend Kristin’s blog. I honestly only follow through on checking in on it about 3 times a year and I definitely need to improve on that, because she’s always been one of my all-time favorite people.

{4} Which friend do you usually go to when you need cheering up?I usually go to Teddy the most anymore when I have a frustrating day where it seems as though I can't do anything correctly. She's always been like an older sister to me and it's very helpful to have someone that I have a tremendous amount of respect for reassure me that I'm not as far off track as I think I am sometimes. I've always felt very fortunate that I have several close friends that have become like family because they've been so unbelievably supportive of me.

{5} How do you relieve stress?

Talk to my friends, listen to music, read, and watch or play basketball. It’s a good escape for me mentally whenever I can mainly focus on just having fun instead of dwelling on my problems.

Random Survey

When's the last time you ran?Possibly in heaven. Not in this life though.

Do some of your clothes have rips, tears, and holes in them?
Definitely.

Do you get the full 8 hours of sleep a night?
Not usually anymore.

Don't you hate it when the radio ruins good songs by playing them over and over?
I only listen to XM Radio and my iPod. So I don’t what that’s like anymore.

How do you eat Oreos?
When I was a kid I’d twist the top off, lick the filling out, and then eat the bottom which I’m probably still in the habit of but haven’t had an Oreo for awhile.

Are you cocky?
I know that I’m a lot more confident in my abilities now than when I was younger and that may come across as more cocky, but I personally don’t think that I am.

Could you live without a computer?
No.

Do you wear your shoes in the house?
No.

Who or what sleeps with you?
Nothing sleeps with me.

At what age did you find out that Santa wasn't real?

I found out when I was about 9 or maybe even 10 which was probably too old to be that naive anyway. My Dad was asked to help with a church Christmas party. One of my favorite childhood memories is going with him to fill sacks with candy at a store for that party. I’m glad he took me along to do that because it was good for me to have that opportunity at a young age. I was very angry with him at the time because I also noticed a Santa suit and I wasn’t too thrilled when he explained the truth about Santa.

How many phones, house phones and cell phones are in your house?
I have several phones so it’s easy for me to get to one quickly if I fall out of my wheelchair and need to call for help.

What do you do when you're sad?

I''ll usually hold it in for a long time and then blow up over something insignificant. "Serenity now, insanity later." Seinfeld

Who would you call first if you won the lottery? Probably Sheila. It’d be interesting to see how many “friends” I’d gain quickly.


What's the first thing you do when you get online?
Facebook. I don’t why I check it every day even when nothing happens. It’s like a reality show that I keep getting sucked into.

Do you watch Grey's Anatomy?
I’ve watched one episode. It was a little too dramatic for me.

How do most people pronounce your name?
Shawn or Shane is most common. My personal favorite mispronunciation is Shun. I’ve learned to respond to almost any name that starts with an S anymore.

Would you wear a boy/girlfriends clothes?
No, I don’t go in for that sort of thing.

Will you keep your last name when you get married?

More than likely.

When was the last time you left your house?
Last weekend.

Do you have a dishwasher?
Yes.

What noise do you hear?
The television.

Would you survive in prison? I would hope so after all the time I spent studying about the criminal’s mind in college.

Who is the youngest in your family?
I think it’s almost Sheila’s turn to be the oldest for the next three decades.

Do you know anyone with the same name as you?
No.

What's the last thing you purchased?
Another iTunes gift card. I’ve become addicted to those things and should start a self help group as soon as possible.

Do your siblings ever pay for things for you?
Yes, Sheila gives me gifts for birthdays/holidays and she’s very generous otherwise as well.

Ever been to Georgia (the state)?
No, I don’t know if anything east of Texas actually exists, but I hear good things.

What irritates you most on the internet?
People who frequently post vague status updates on social networks then never bother to give any further explanations. I realize it’s none of my business but it makes me concerned when someone’s having a “bad day” and it makes me wonder if their house blew up or what happened.

What brand is your digital camera?
Vivitar. My sister picked it out for my birthday. So I assume it must be the best camera ever invented.

Do you watch movies with your parents?
Yes I do.

What song best describes your life right now?

Do you own expensive perfume/cologne?
I own cologne, but it’s not the most expensive kind.

Are you taking college classes right now?
No, I’m finally done with all of that crazy nonsense. I miss talking to new people over the phone the most, but don’t miss trying to get a paper done by a midnight deadline.

Do you get your hair cut every month?
I usually let it go for awhile longer in the winter since it’s more difficult for me to get to a barber with all of the snow here.

Do you go online everyday?
Yes, it gives me something to do I suppose.

Will you pass this survey on to 5 people?
Well it’s on my blog so if people want to fill it out also then it’ll be passed on.

We Want to Know Wednesday: Week 3

{1} Who would you call if you had to get bailed out of jail?

Sheila

{2} What superhero did you want to be as a kid?

Batman

{3} What do you think is one of your best qualities?

I try to be a very loyal friend.

{4} What song would you pick to be your own personal theme song?

{5} What three celebrities do you think are most overrated?

I think the majority of celebrities are overrated. Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Katie Holmes would probably be my top three most overrated celebrities.

Utah Birthday Trip

I recently traveled to Logan, Utah to celebrate Sheila's 29th birthday with her and David. It seems like Sheila was approximately 10 years old just a few days ago and I think she'll always be my "little" sister even when she's 90 years old. It brought back several good memories of visiting Sheila in Logan at Utah State University during her college years. I'm glad that she still lives somewhat close to me so that we can still see each other in person frequently and have fun together. Here are some photos from that trip to Utah...

The south end of Star Valley...


Bear Lake near Montpelier, Idaho...




Preston, Idaho...


Sunset near Grace, Idaho


Logan, Utah...

Wyoming "Winter" Photos

Last week it snowed a few days here in western Wyoming. At the time I was actually excited to get some pictures of this weather change but am glad that the snow has melted and that I can enjoy Fall here for awhile longer...

Happy Birthday Sheila!

Sister Quote

Recent Years

Here are some of my favorite photos of Sheila and I in recent years...

We Want to Know Wednesday: Week 2

Last Wednesday seems like it was about two days ago, but apparently it's been awhile so here we go again...

{1} Did you live in the same town or move around a lot as a child?
I moved from Jackson to Star Valley when I was 1.5 years old and my sister was born, but have always lived in Wyoming aside from spending the winters in New Mexico during recent years.

{2} What were your parents like?
I consider my Dad more of a parent while my moms are similar to a friend. My Dad and I have very different personalities. So it's been more difficult for us to understand and relate to each other than in my relationship with my moms.

{3} Do you have any siblings? What were they like growing up?
I'm slightly biased but Sheila seems to be the best sibling in the universe. Sheila's been a very kind, thoughtful, and caring person for as long as I can remember.

{4} Share an interesting short story from your childhood.
Several years ago Sheila and I were playing in the sandbox behind our home. Somehow I accidentally whacked her in the face with my elbow. I remember Sheila had to keep reassuring me that she was fine because it bothered me to think that I could have seriously injured my little sister without intending to.

{5} What does your sibling(s) look like?

Childhood Photos

Here are a few of my favorite photos of Sheila and I as kids...

Sibling Survey

How many biological siblings to you have? One

How many Step/Adopted Siblings do you have? Zero

Are they older or younger than you? Younger

What number sibling are you? I’m the oldest

Are any of them married? Yes, Sheila is married. I remember it was a great day when she called to tell me she was getting married.

Do any of them have children? No, Sheila doesn’t have children yet.

Where does everyone live? Kearns, Utah

Do you get along with your siblings? Yes, Sheila’s always been very easy to get along with.

How many brothers do you have? Zero

How many sisters do you have? 1

Do you ever wish you were an only child? I never did. It’s always been fun to have Sheila in my life.

Who has the nicest vehicle? What is it? Unbiasedly I’m going to have to say that my Chevy Impala is the nicest but her car is very nice as well.

Do your siblings love you? I know Sheila loves me or she wouldn’t be as willing to do so many thoughtful and kind things to help me.

Can you call them when you need something? Yes, Sheila’s always been there to help me during the few times I’ve needed a friend the most. I’d probably go crazy in a hurry if I couldn’t talk to her about what’s bothering me.

Do they remember your birthday? Yes, it seems like Sheila always tries to find gifts that will mean quite a bit to me for a long time.

Did you play together when you were little? We did play quite a bit together. She had a bad habit of beating me at my favorite Nintendo games.

What was your favorite childhood game? I mainly remember playing with her Care Bears
and having long games of Monopoly with her when we were a little older.

Did you have to share a bedroom? No, we had separate bedrooms.

Did you share clothes? No, I’ve never worn women’s clothes before and don’t plan to anytime soon.

Do you look up to any of your siblings? Even though Sheila is younger than me I do have so much respect for her and have looked up to her in several ways because she’s an extraordinary person.

Do you look like your siblings? I never have noticed how closely we resemble each other but hopefully we look somewhat similar.

Do you have a favorite sibling? I can honestly say that Sheila’s by far my favorite sibling.

Do you remember their birthdays? I’m getting older but I still can remember her birthdays so they must be memorable occasions in our family.

Do you hang out with them still? I see Sheila in person about every 2 or 3 months. I don’t know what I’d do if she moved somewhere far away from me.

Did you go to school together? Yes, Sheila and I did go to school together.

Did you fight each other? We’d mainly argue about which cartoons to watch and dumb things like that. No very serious, prolonged arguments that I can remember. I’d always feel horrible about it after we’d argue.

Are you happy you have siblings? I’m very happy that I have a sibling and am glad that Sheila continues to be a very special aspect of my life.

Sheila's Birthday Week:Sunday

My family tries to make at least the week of my birthday, usually the entire month, very special for me. So in celebration of my sister's upcoming birthday, on Saturday, I thought I'd share some reasons that having a sister has been a unique and enjoyable experience for me and the positive impact she'd had on my life this week. Hopefully I'll make this a particularly memorable birthday for her in the process of this since that's my intention...

List one thing you appreciate about your friend:
Sheila’s put a lot of effort into finding ways to increase my enjoyment of life and tries to be the best sister she possibly can to me.

One quality you most admire about your friend that stands out above the rest:
Selflessness. I’ve rarely had to ask Sheila for help because she’s been so aware of
my needs and how to help me in any situation.

When you see your friend, what is the first thing you notice:
I remember watching how kind Sheila was to her friends in school and being impressed by that. If she wasn’t my sister I’d still want her to be one of my closest friends because she’s a very nice person.

Name one thing you really enjoy doing with your friend:
Growing up I enjoyed watching NBA games with her the most. It made basketball more fun for me to tell her about the teams and explain the plays to her. More importantly basketball provided me with an excuse to spend a few quality hours with Sheila and get to know her better and those memories are priceless to me.

Describe one of your friend's good habits: I think what makes me most proud of Sheila is that she’s always been very intelligent but she never would intentionally hurt someone’s feelings or manipulate people just to make herself look better or to become more “popular.”

Name one of their unique talents or gifts:
Talent: Sheila has several talents. I always have enjoyed hearing her sing, going to her piano recitals when we were younger and I’m glad that I also was able to attend her dance recitals even though back then it seemed very uncomfortable for me to watch girls dance.
Gift: Whatever the one indefinable quality she has that makes her unique makes her a very special person as well.

How well does your friend interact with you socially? Sheila and I have rarely argued. She’s easy to get along with and one of the few people I could talk nonstop to about anything and not get tired of it.

How has your friend helped you in your life? I think the way she's helped the most is that it was very helpful for me to understand from a young age that my female friends were possibly someone’s sister and it’s always been very important for me to make sure I’m treating them as well as I’d want Sheila to be treated.

One wish for your friend:
I hope that Sheila will be able to have as good of a week as I did on my last birthday. It was a humbling experience for me to think of all the people that have helped make sure I had a realistic opportunity to be successful in my life and wouldn’t allow me to give up the few times I’ve wanted to.

If you had one thing to say to them, what would it be?
Hopefully Sheila already realizes that I care her very much and that I’ve always had a lot of respect for the genuinely good person that she is.