Burke the Train Engineer

On a Mission...

For those who may not know...

If there is anyone who checks this blog, but didn't know my parents set up a mission blog, I have added their blog link to the list below on the right. They have seen some amazing things and met some amazing people so far. They've written about it and posted some great pictures. We miss them but of course are so happy that they are able to serve the Lord in Africa!

Amy

Beniefit Concert Dance

I had the opportunity to dance at a Benefit Concert for the Nielson Family that was burned in the plane crash. It was an amazing experience. I got to meet wonderful people and share my talent. This was my first ever solo, which i put together 6 days before the concert. Enjoy!!

P.S. This is my first attempt at uploading video. Hope it works!!! You may have to right click and select "watch on youtube" so it will get bigger...

Ok...Really? Honestly? For Real? Seriously?

I've decided to officially rename this Blog "Amber's Life Adventures" or "Amber:a series of fortunate events" or ....(this is where i need your feedback. I have very witty family members that i know won't let me down) Sadly, i don't have access to change the name, so i might just have to start my own. You see, you now all have your own and it makes no sense for you to utilize this blog. 

What i initially set out to write about is how much i love you all. As mother told me, i've been given a very different set of challenges and they're hard to face sometimes. But, i also have been blessed with an amazing family that i know loves me to infinity and beyond. Thank you all for being my rod to hold onto. 

To all the wonderful wives and mothers in the fam: You all are incredible. You show me what a gift it is to be a woman! I've learned so many valuable lessons from each of you, for you all have your unique talents in mothering. You make me EXCITED to be a wife and mom!!! Plus, i know that i'll always have someone to turn to when one kid is screaming, one is painting the walls with a sharpie, one has gum stuck in their hair,the laundry isn't done, the dishes are overflowing in the sink, & i can't come up with an idea for dinner...all while i'm trying to help the kids with their homework and prepare a relief society lesson. Thank you for all you do and the love you show me.

To all the studly men in the fam: I often think about how lucky i was to grow up with the best brothers a girls could have. Not to mention the wonderful additions(Jody and Don!) What great examples you are to me as i search for my eternal love :) Each of you have shown me what a blessing it is to have the priesthood in my life. You show me how a man should treat a lady, for you all are great husbands and fathers. (this may or may not be a good thing seeing as i am now extremely picky and demand a lot!!!-kidding) Thank you for your prayers and support. 

I love to watch people and being in this marvelous family, i've learned important life lessons. All of my fondest memories that i hold closest to me are of my family.  Last but not least, To all my adorable (yes adorable, that includes you older boys that probably don't want to be associated with such a word) nieces and nephews. What joy you bring me!!!! I can't imagine life without you. You all are so precious to me and i'm the luckiest aunt in the whole wide universe. I treasure your hugs and kisses. Thank you for bringing me such true everlasting happiness!!!

I hope to see you all soon and i LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

P.S. the title of this post is in reference to this darn cold i've been sporting for three days. I awoke monday morning feeling awful. Then i took medicine that kept me up until 4 a.m. this morning. thats right i went over 40 hours with no sleep. I had an interview this morning and woke up ten minutes before i had to be there. Let me tell you, going in there with a scratchy man voice, eyes red and puffy, nose running, and no clue what i was applying for... was not the best way to impress. I'm 100% sure i'll get the job-NOT. 

Snippets of my life...Enjoy!!

I recently went to Rexburg to throw my BFF Chelsea a spectacular Bridal Shower. We had fruit and chocolate fondu, dove shaped sugar cookies, and lip-smacking Pina Colada Punch. We also went to this mexican restaurant that had been converted from a bus. It was stationed in the middle of this field and they only spoke spanish. "Do i really have to say pollo instead of chicken?" I feel so foolish because i know they're just laughing at my pronunciation. 

When Jody and Anglea came to Utah, I babysat the little ones while they went to the Alpine Slides. This adorable little girl is who i GOT to spend the day with. She is the sweetest, cutest fire cracker ever!! We sat for an hour while she read me the same book over and over again. She kept laughing, starting out fake, then once i started giggling, we just laughed so hard! I love her. 

Birthday Party!!! Boo ya kasha!

katy  and i threw a welcome to provo/birthday party for me last night. we raked and spruced up her sister kendra's back yard on tuesday-it turned out looking majestic with the twinkle lights we added. then yesterday, we made delicious dips and cookies for more appeal. i was amazed at how many people actually came. cousin jonathan surprised me, for i did not know that he was in utah, and had sparklers(that i convinced him to give me) it made the night more festive. katy came out with 4 candles for me to blow out that were stuck in salt water taffies. i soon found out they were trick candles(this brought me back to my eighth or ninth b-day when i also had trick candles and i was traumatized because i didn't think that my wish would come true) we ended the evening with going to "the hospital"(no this is not the name of a joint, we went to the actual hospital) for MILKSHAKES. they're open 24/7 and have the most delectable delicacies. all in all, it was wonderful!

What up Utah???

I'm now officially a resident of Provo, Utah!!! Its been a blast so far (besides the searching for a job part...) Mother dearest drove up with me and did her magic with getting me settled in. She's the bomb-diggity. Katy is so fun to live with and my friend Michelle might move in soon as well. Last Saturday, Katy, Lauren(who is her friend from boston and the sweetest girl you'll ever meet), and I went on a hike/walk up Rock Canyon. It rained and stormed all last week so the creek was flowing like mad. The day we went hiking was absolutely gorgeous. Rainy, overcast, humid, sunny....perfect!!! I'm so excited for all the fun things i'm going to discover here. For those of you that are coming up in the next few weeks, don't forget to come see my awesome new pad and visit. I love you all. Enjoy the pictures :)

Time to catch up!!

Can i just express how much i love and miss these girls!!! It amazes me how grown up and mature they are now. They make me feel so loved and young. These are all from different occasions within the past year. We all went to Disneyland to see Audrey perform, and Melissa shocked me by wanting to ride front row on California Screamin' with me. Then, there was the time i took them all out to lunch and then introduced them to the glories of Goodwill. The picture of all of us in my room was my last night before i came to Utah. There was no else i'd rather spend my time with than my darling nieces. 

Christmas Eve

Just a couple of my favorite pictures from our Christmas Eve afternoon with the family. Mom and Aaron during the sibling gift exchange.

Grandma Petersen and Grandma Nichols after the program.

Meagan - the child that will NOT leave a bow in her hair, but loves sheep ears.

Halloween Ambers style

As you can see, Meags and I had a dashing time coming up with our costumes. At first we were just going to be tropical plants, but hoisting HUGE plants on our backs proved to be dificult(even with moms expertise). So we then resorted to being ivy. But since we did our make-up and hair all fancy, we apparently looked like wood nymphs, which is incredibly more intriguing. Leggings: $5, King size pillowcases: $7, Ivy: Free(because of course, mom just happened to have BAGS of plants stored away for occasions such as this. And i wonder why she keeps things like silk plants that are in scraps???) Basically the cheapest costume that resulted in the most original costume of all!! You may wonder why we are dancing in some of these photos--simple. Wood Nymphs enjoy frolicking, but its kind of tricky catching the magical essense in still frames. Climbing the tree and laying in the grass were mother dearests ideas, which ended up turning out the best shots. I hope you all had a wonderful halloween. Enjoy! I love you all :)

William's Birthday Party

We made the cake the night before and the boys (especially Burke, as you can see) really enjoyed it when I gave them a beater to lick. Burke just had this mischevous grin after he did this to William.

Will's friends Mads (pronounced mess), Olivia (Mads and Olivia are cousins). and Isabella. Isabella is actually the daughter of Don's cousin's wife's brother, so we have a family connection in Copenhagen--who wouldv'e thought? William loves all of his friends, and gets especially hyper with Isabella. Maybe because she also speaks English, I don't know. We think William thinks all the Danes around him are speaking in jibberish. When he runs and plays with his Danish friends and they speak to him in Danish, he'll occasionally yell something back in total nonsense syllables. It's hilarious.

We're calling it a Desi Sandwhich.

ITS A BOY! The little guy finally decided to reveal himself. Tallon is over the moon- "Its NOT a girl baby, the Doctor said so, its a BOY baby...IT IS!!!" I think he thinks we're going to change our minds.

PEACE!!

(PS Sorry to be such a blog hog)

Happy Mother's Day!

To our FANTASTIC Mom, and all of you WONDERFUL sisters who are also fantastic mom's. We love you and are thinking of you today!

Apparently...

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WITHOUT THIS

Beautiful Garden

Everyone calls yards gardens here. So here is our "garden". I guess President Engbjerg, who owns this house, had just finished landscaping this lawn when he was called to be a mission president. And everyone says it is probably a little hard on him to not be here to see it now. From what we hear, he was a perfectionist and would be down on his hands and knees to make sure things were perfectly level, and just so. We are definitely enjoying the fruit of his labors. He's even raised the back lawn up by 18-24 inches so that the ground would be drier. It does make an amazing difference. We were in the back yard of a neighbor and friend in the ward that live two doors down, and their backyard was kind of muddy, where ours is really pretty dry. It makes it nice for our boys to be able to go out and play. We just hope we can keep his gardens in decent shape for the Engbjergs while they are gone.