Happy 4th

I know it's late, but happy Independence day! I had a wonderful weekend with my family and friends. Saturday I went to Stadium of Fire with Melissa (super awesome), and Monday I spent the day with the fam camping outside, hiking Ensign Peak (the long way), Orange Leaf frozen yogurt, playing games, and watching movies and fireworks. It was great way to spend the holiday.

I also happened to watch this I'm a Mormon video on the 4th. It gave me the chills. I'm so grateful for all the military men of the past, present, and future who sacrifice so much to ensure that we, as Americans, are free.

And speaking of I'm a Mormon videos, my super amazing friend Lisa is in one! You can see it and read her profile here. What a great way to build the Kingdom. I love how she's in New York City on billboards, being a missionary without actually being there! It makes me so happy. She's incredible.

What a Week

This week was pretty fantastic. Here's why...

I won tickets to Stadium of Fire with Brad Paisley and David Archuleta! Okay, I didn't win, but I reacted for the winner! Here's the scoop. We had a Keys to Success Assembly at school and they were giving away prizes. They told us to text a certain number and if you received a call, you won! I really wanted the tix because I love Brad Paisley. And David Archuleta for that matter. I was sitting next to Melissa and she told me, "If my phone rings, you can answer it." I guess she figured I'd have a better reaction or something. I said okay, not thinking anything would actually happen. But not 2 seconds later, she handed over her ringing phone. I couldn't believe it. I answered and sat there, watching the guy who called me mouth the same things I was hearing in the phone. All I could say was, "no way." Then he told me to stand up. Duh, Jess. They're not gonna know who you are if you don't stand up! So that's when I started freaking out. I didn't realize just how excited I was until I saw these pictures. Get ready...

Wow. You may now refer to me as, "Spaz of the Century."

Images via Annie

Needless to say, Melissa and I will be going together, and we're SO excited! We're a good team. Apparently she texted in at a Bee's game and won some cash, and I've won tickets to several concerts, so combine us together and we've got it made!  

Next up, the Royal Wedding. I figured that since it's referred to as "the wedding of the century" and only 1/3 of the world's population watched it live, you probably haven't heard about it. So I'll just fill ya in. Prince William and Kate Middleton got married on Friday. I didn't get up to watch it at 4 in the morning like most of my friends did, but I watched plenty of coverage throughout the day. It really was a fairytale wedding. Kate is such a gorgeous duchess, and I absolutely LOVED her dress. It was simple yet elegant. Classy but modern. I think it fit her perfectly in every possible way.

And whaddya say to those hats? I got a kick out of 'em, that's for sure. They kind of reminded me of the stepsisters from Cinderella.

  

Images via Google and here

And today is my sister's birthday! She is nine. Crazy! I love my little Roo.

Brad Paisley

On Septmeber 19, my incredibly nice friend, Morgan, took my friend Rachael and me to the Brad Paisley concert!! Apparently Morgan's family had given their dad tickets to the concert for his birthday, but the concert happened to be the same night as the first home game for BYU. He wanted to go to the game, therefore opening up an extra ticket. Morgan's sister also couldn't go, opening up another ticket. Morgan knows how much Rachael and I love country music and she was kind enough to ask if we wanted to go. OF COURSE we said yes! The bonus thing that still makes my mind run wild is that the tickets were second row from the stage!! I was pumped up for the concert and went wild with my friends. We were crazy enough to stand with a bunch of people to touch Dierks Bentley's (opening performer for Brad Paisley) hand. We each touched his hand TWICE! It was so exciting. The performance was amazing by both Dierks and Brad. Although it rained a little bit, it sure did not dampen our spirits. Thank you Morgan for being so kind and inviting me! You're the best!!

{Morgan, Rachael, and Me, with Dierks standing behind us}

{Dierks Bentley}

{Brad Paisley}
He had about 7, crazily amazing guitars; and one was sparkly blue :)

This is how close we were to the stage and Brad Paisley:

This is the video of when we touched Dierks Bentley's hand. We freaked out probably a little too much because we got some strange looks from people. The video is sideways because I was holding my camera sideways. Sorry about that.