California Dreamin'

I had the chance to go to California with my good friend/former McKinley co-worker, Jackie, before I moved to Colorado. We found cheaper plane tickets, got a cheaper rental car from my insurance, and stayed with her brother in LA and my friend Brandon in San Diego. We got to see the Hollywood sign, the walk of stars, the Chinese Theatre, Malibu Beach, where we drove right by Matthew McCaughnahay jogging (No Joke, quite hilarious story!), felt the little earthquake on the way to Disneyland that caused Disneyland to close their rides, so we went to Downtown Disney and came out with a huge dent in our bumper that someone hit and run!; went back to Disneyland the next day and went straight for 12 hours, went to Universal Studios, and then drove down to San Diego to stay with Brandon, eat at a yummy restaurant, drive past the port and drive back to make it for our flight. I know this is a quick summary. But it was a lot of fun, besides the car getting hit. Here are a few pics. from the trip.
Update in Colorado: I had a job interview Thursday with a law firm in downtown Denver as a receptionist. They called back yesterday and I have a second interview on Monday with 2 of the lawyers. I'm a little scared but hope all will go well.

I loved the Buzz Lightyear ride! My score sucked compared to Jackie, though!
Posing with Chip and Dale. One of them, I believe it to be Dale, rubbed my back during this photo. Can we say awkward?!
Jackie and I at the Water World show at Universal Studios.
Chinese Theatre is where a bunch of celebrities have put their hands or feet prints and signed their names. My favorite one was Shirley Temples. It says" Love to You All". I love Shirley Temple. I also loved the Harry Potter one!
Posing with my friend Brandon at the yummy restaurant in San Diego. Isn't he so cute?! I love him!

The Perkins' Clan

So this is WAY overdue, but wanted to post some pics. of my fun family trip to Fish Lake, Utah, from last month. My sister Lisa, her husband Mack, and their two kids, Malcom and Quinn were able to fly out and spend time with all of us. She lives in Virginia so we don't get to see her often. We were all there except for Tabbi, who also lives in Virginia, and Cody and BreAnne because they had to work. We stayed in a huge cabin. There was lots of yummy food, good stories and laughs shared, and a lot of time spent on the boat, fishing. I had so much fun with all of my family, and especially loved that all my nieces and nephews were there (Except for Kanyon).

The Quins! (Quintana, and Quinn :) )

Putting our legs in Fish Lake-Libby, Ammon, me, Quinn, Jonah

Katrina and I on the boat-she was the driver, I just had fun watching the nieces and nephews fish..I did for like 5 minutes and gave up!

Finally! A picture with all my nieces and nephews! (Except Kanyon)
Aspen-6; Ammon-8; Abbie-9 months; Malcom-13 (He's taller than me!!! not hard to do though); Quinn-8; Libby-4; Micah-4; Jonah-4. Not Pictured: Kanyon-18 months.

I love being an aunt. It's one of my most very favorite roles ever. They make me so happy!

Colorado or Bust!

I'm an official resident of Colorado now! I'm not going to lie, the first night here was really difficult for me. Brady helped me move in, Kristy made me dinner, and walking "home" after (they live in the building across from me, crazy huh?!), I realized that I was walking to the place where I was living, and I was there alone, and I had a little breakdown. For a few moments I had some thoughts of, "Tawna, you're stupid, why did you leave a job that you love to come to a place where you don't have a job, that you don't know anyone?" So the first night was rough...and the next day as well. But the past few haven't been too bad. I've just been doing a ton of searching for jobs, finding my church building, Wal-mart, the grocery store, and I even went to a movie today! I had to get out of my apartment, I had cooped myself in for too long. So that's my Colorado update. My apartment is so bare, it's sad!!! It looks like I am so poor. Oh wait, I am, I don't have a job! Ha! Here are some pics. of my place. Jessica, my friend from Logan, will be moving here Tuesday so that will be nice to have her here! I will write again soon and tell all about my trip to California. If you get bored, feel free to call me! I would love to hear from you!

My sad, sad bedroom-I've had the twin mattress that Brady and Kristy lent me in the living room. That's where the TV is, and I like that it's more open in there. I don't feel as alone in the living room as I do in the bedroom. Weird, I know!





My bathroom-love the new shower curtain I purchased but I bought the cheap shower rings and they don't like to stay up when I slide the curtain, so it's annoying to have to fix them. When I get a job and have more money, I'll buy better ones..unless you would like to donate a few bucks to the Tawna Perkins Needs New Shower Rings Fund! ;)



My kitchen. Love the pantry, and having tons of counter space, and the built-in microwave. I was bummed about the fridge, I thought I was going to get a side-by-side fridge. Oh well!


Living Room-fun to have a fireplace! You can't see it, but there's also a bookshelf in a corner that holds my DVD's perfectly! The whole apartment also has brand new carpet so that's nice. I did buy a little table to put my old TV on, and I finally got the cheap basic cable and internet!


My favorite, the walk-in closet. There is two, so Jessica and I both get our own. This is the biggest closet I've ever had. I enjoy having a lot of space to hold all my clothes and shoes.


There is also a dining room, but it's empty so I decided not to take a picture of it. If you want to come visit me, I would sure love it! Let me know!

Cord and I

First of all, I apologize that I haven't updated my blog for a bit. I've been doing quite a bit of traveling the past few weeks, so I will be posting many blogs to come on those!
This blog is dedicated to my car, Cord. He is a 2001 Honda Accord that I bought the day I graduated from Utah State , over 4 years ago. He and I have embarked on a lot of wonderful adventures together, and we hit a major milestone together two weeks ago: The 100,000 mile mark!! As I was approaching that mile, driving back to Utah from Colorado, in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming, I reflected on what Cord and I have done together the past 4 years of our relationship. Here are a few of the many, many highlights:

• Driving to San Diego and back with a bunch of co-workers from YMCA Camp
• Replacing the bumper, driver's side door and like 10 tires after some minor incidents that would take hours to tell. :) But they are great stories if you want to ask me about them sometime!
• Carpooling from Logan to Tremonton for work with Jackie, Kelsy, Lyndsie, Melissa, and Katie. These were great girls, and I had a lot of fun with them! Sure will miss doing that, and passing the construction workers. There was one I called Smiley. Everyday we drove past, he was holding that stop sign with a huge smile on his face. It always made me happy!
• Driving to YMCA Camp for two summers. It was a two hour drive from camp to Tremonton, so whenever I went home for the weekend, it was a 4 hour round trip. But it was a beautiful drive through the mountains!
• Mini road trips to Boise, Salmon, Provo, etc.
• Doing Relief Society visits and all of us going in my car. We had some great chats, and a lot of fun trying to find random addresses of girls in the ward. I miss doing those...
• I've had a lot of different people in my car, and a lot of great conversations where we would just sit for hours in Cord and chat. Those are some of my most favorite memories.
• Cord and I alone time: Driving together, playing the radio loud, and singing at the top of my lungs. Whenever I needed time for myself to reflect or think, I would get in my car and drive, sometimes for hours, and just talk to myself, and think. It's one way that I relieve stress, but it's also a way for me to have time with God, to pray, to reflect, to ponder. I've had some cool experiences from doing that.

Cord got its name, obviously from bein an Ac"Cord" but it also has another meaning for me. I student taught in a first grade classroom, and one of the students was Courd. Courd and I had a trying but amazing relationship. He was a difficult student, pushing me to the extreme most days. But Courd and I gained a relationship where we understood each other. He taught me so much, not just about teaching and classroom management, but about life. Over time, I came to know him better. I began to underestand where he came from, and deep down, what he needed was to know that someone loved and cared about him. So everyday I gave him that love and care, I gave it with all that was in me. I came home tired and mentally exhausted, but also renewed and happy. I think of Courd a lot, and hope that he is doing well. So whenever I think of my car, or encourage my car when there is some tough hills to climb, I say, "Come on Cord, you can do it, we can do it together!" I think of my other Courd, and how he taught me that I can do it, that I can do all that I need to accomplish. Cheesy I know, but it's true. That kid changed the way I taught, and the way I dealt with children. I have a deep love for them, I will miss teaching this next year, but I look forward to returning to it. It is my passion and love to work with children.

Here are the pics. from the milestone! Enjoy! Love you Cord!

Memories...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

My Girls

Something I love more than anything else in the world is to spend time with my nieces and nephews. I'm sad that I don't get to do it as much as I would like, or as long as I like, but I love whenever I get to see them. Aspen(AKA: Spen) and Liberty (AKA: Libby) I was able to see the most of since I lived in the same city, so it's been so fun for me watching them grow up. I've been able to see them blessed, watched them take swimming lessons, attended all their birthday parties, had several sleepovers with them, and basically been able to play with them whenever I have wanted or needed to. Probably the hardest part of leaving Utah for me will be not being able to see them as much. I love these girls so much. I love the way they can make me laugh, the way they hug me when they haven't seen me for a while, or the way they won't let me go when I'm leaving. I love how different but unique they both are. Aspen is the cuddler. She will hug and love you to the extreme. She is great to cuddle with during a movie. Libby is hilarious. The comments she says, the way she sings or talks to herself when she's playing Barbies, always makes me laugh. I can always guarantee that I will leave them feeling happier, and better about life. I was able to spend a little bit of time with them yesterday, so here are some pics. from that. Libby didn't really want to pose, as you can tell! I love you Aspen and Libby!

Then and Now Tag..

20 years ago:
1. Finished Kindergarten at Uintah Elementary in Ogden, Utah.
2. Moved to Tremonton, Utah with the fam.
3. Playing barbies with my sisters and Amanda, and dancing to some awesome 80's tunes in myu room!

10 years ago:
1. I was 16, so I had my driver's license!
2. I finally got contacts! I hated my stupid glasses...
3. Baby-sitting for everyone in my ward. I was the fave!

5 years ago:
1. I was officially 21!
2. I moved back in with my parents...
3. I was student teaching at North Park Elementary.

3 years ago:
1. I had survived my first year of teaching, 4th grade!
2. I was working for my 2nd summer as a camp counselor in the Uintah Mountains...LOVED that job so much!
3. I went to Washington, D.C. with Meggan.

1 year ago:
1. I was Relief Society President in my student/singles ward in Logan, a calling that changed a lot in me!
2. I was working towards my Masters in Elementary Education, taking a few summer classes at USU.
3. I saw Wicked for the first time in LA!

So far this year:
1. I completed my fourth year of teaching!!
2. Traveled to Washington, D.C., New York City, Denver, and Austin, Texas to see family and friends!
3. Had butt surgery :)

Yesterday I:
1. Looked for jobs and apartments in the Denver area.
2. Watched a few episodes of Alias. I really like that show! Who knew?!
3. Had dinner and watched the fireworks in Logan with Meggan and Laci, my former roomies!

Today I:
1. Mowed my parent's lawn.
2. Watched Jurassic Park ( a classic!)
3. Balanced my checkbook.

Tomorrow I:
1. Will continue my job hunt...
2. will work on my resume. SICK
3. will go jogging.

In the next year I:
1. Will be living in Colorado, having fun, new adventures there!
2. Will have a great job that will pay all my bills!
3. Hopefully will be visiting Jenna in Tennessee! ;)

TAG:
Jen, Kala, BreAnne, Kelsy!