Dear Oprah,

Over here at the Scanlan Residence, we are hoping for a little Oprah magic, dealing with a possible adventure in Chicago???
Dear Oprah, please make our day. :)
Stay tuned for more info....

Bring it on!

Ready for a KILLER week of finals and projects!
The end is in sight!
Bring it!

Mostly, this is about Laynie...

Laynie

So I have wanted to post these pics of babysitting our fabulous diva friend, Laynie, but I haven't gotten to it. So here it is.

J and I got to be Laynie's FIRST ALL TIME EVER IN THE WORLD babysitters so the awesome parents Aaron and Susan could have a little date. It was SO fun. See, Laynie and J have this connection. She KNOWS him. EVERY Sunday she sees him and is so...intrigued by his rugged looks? Hehe. Well, she loves him, and so we knew babysitting her was going to be fun. (Did I mention he loves her back? She probably comes in at a close 2nd after me if NOT first when she is around)

So we got there, and Laynie didn't even care that her mom and dad were leaving. We had so much playing with her, and J LOVED making faces at her. BUT as soon as it was night time...J did not understand why she didn't want to play.
Me-"Babe, can you go make her bottle?"
J-"I don't know how to make a bottle!"
Me-"You babysat before!"
J-"Hun, I just give kids ice cream!"
It was super fun. We did bath time, and rock-a-bye-baby song. Laynie was a doll! We love playing with babies and getting to go home and sleep all night long! HA. But really, it was so fun! I hope Susan and Aaron had a nice time out. We had a FAB time in. We can't wait til we can babysit again! :)
-Other than that adventure, My good friend Abby and her hubby and friends were able to come spend some time with us while they are in Hawaii for a vacay. It was super fun to spend time with them. Sadly we got NO PICS TOGETHER! Ugh. I was bad. But we loved having friends here!
Also-J and I officially changed our major-ART. Gonna be here til next June. Yup. June. Will be here FOREVER. Can't complain too much-it IS Hawaii. Still crazy in love and excited for summer!
--Oh yes. And I have a few weddings this summer I am excited for! :)

If only.

If only I were already done with school.....then I could just work and support J and save money-not have to stress about my research paper (yes, I should be writing it now) or any stupid general classes.
If only I had a BIT larger home here.....then I would not have to LIVE on my bed-eat, sleep, study, use my computer.
If only I could visit home....I am a mama's girl and no visits home, and NOBODY coming to visit here (crazy that nobody comes with free room and board!) makes things difficult!
If only I were more motivated to work out....I would feel better, look better, fit my clothes better....I want to find a workout that I L-O-V-E.
If only BYU-Provo would accept J....then he could go into what he WANTS to and then find a job much easier without breaking the bank for expensive schools....
Okay. Sorry. Things are good. Life is good. J and I are incredibly blessed and REALLY happy. I would just absolutely BEAM with happiness if J could just start animation school already and we could move into TVA already, and if my family would come visit me and if I weren't sick and my paper magically finished itself.

A girl can wish....(i wish, i wish, i wish)

Oh Friday, How I Missed You!

Happy Friday to you all!
Hope it isn't filled with research papers and studying like mine :)

It's Never Too Late....

So this last week...another change!
J has decided he wants to change his major. Yes...he IS a senior. What would he like to major in, may you ask?? Art. Let me give you a little background info on the hubs.
J is an artist. He draws. He sketches. He creates art on the computer.
IT. IS. WHAT. HE. DOES.
So, I learned to love it. I am not the best artist. Anytime I need a drawing of something, I just get J to draw it out for me, just the way I want it! Pretty sweet, huh?
Well, J's dream is to become an animator. And it may seem impossible, but we are workin' hard to get him to where he wants to be! He has the skill and potential!
Well, BYUH did something quite mean a few months ago....they got rid of our major! IDD (Graphic Design) was dropped and no longer available for a major. So, all those in that major would have to graduate as a Bachelor of University Studies. Doesn't sound as sweet as Bachelor of Science, huh? SO, J decided that Masters Programs won't be as impressed to hear of a "University Studies" Graduate, as they would a "Art" Graduate.
I thought it sounded like a pretty legitimate reason....(sigh)....so I guess we might be here for awhile...
.......I'm thinking maybe I should switch my major over too.....

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

I am VERY excited for May. Why? The fabulous Sheri Dew, an AWESOME lady, AND Wendy Nelson...*wife of Russell M. Nelson* are coming to LAIE! They are coming to do some workshops and have some discussions. It is going to be fabulous. We are SO lucky here in Laie to have so many wonderful people come and share their wisdom with us. When I went to sign up for the workshops, I received this book for free to read before Sister Sheri Dew comes here. I am looking forward to a FABULOUS Spring already!

KETCHUP.

There is alot that has happened...so much that I haven't been able to spit it all out til NOW. Life in Hawaii, is BUSY. Definitely not enough time at the beach!

-I met Barbara Barrington Jones- AWESOME Lady! One of mom's favorites, so obviously one of MY favorites! I was SO nervous to ask for a picture with her (more than just because I looked bad, HA). She is plain FABULOUS. She has gone through alot to be where she is now. She came to BYU-Hawaii to give classes for the students on how to be successful, and they were SO great! J and I learned some great things!Me and the FABULOUS Barbara B. Jones

-We have played...ALOT! Our good friends Ashleigh and Suliasi were having a huge change in their life. He deployed to Afghanistan yesterday. They are an AWESOME strong couple and they are going to be okay! We have tried hanging out with them alot before he left and have had a lot of fun. We introduced them to Menchies and now they are hooked! We also had a dinner for them with some friends and it was really nice to be out with friends!

Menchies and Cheesecake Factory

-There was the tsunami....or the lack there of. We were notified a few Saturdays ago that there was a tsunami coming. Having our home RIGHT on the water, we were a bit worried. We were notified and evacuated within one hour. I have never packed so fast. It was really an interesting experience and one that I am REALLY glad we had. J and I don't have 72 hour kits ready. We live in a TINY TINY room and we didn't have ANYTHING ready. Now I am putting kits together! I really never thought I would have to leave my home like we were instructed to do. It was frantic and crazy, but now I know that I can handle it! When we left, we had 5 cans of soup (our ONLY nonperishable in our house) and a can opener, 5 bottles of water, and enough "other" stuff to last us a year....or as J says. :) We spent time in TVA and then up to the park behind the temple where there is a hill so we could see the water. When the tsunami was supposed to hit, there was nothing. We were SO lucky. It could have been bad, but prayers were heard and we were safe! Thank you THANK YOU for all of the prayers!

Us up on the hill waiting for the tsunami

-J has been practicing for culture night for months now. Culture night is the HIGHLIGHT of the entire year. And it was FABULOUS! ALL the clubs did fantastic, but Samoan Club did the best! (Sorry, I am biased) "The Scanlan clan"

J and I are trying to figure out the future. So many trials, and changes, planning for the future can sure be exciting! J was thinking of transferring to BYU Provo, but it looks like he might just finish school here with me in December. Afterwards, we aren't really sure. Maybe go teach English for a year? Maybe start up school again? Utah, Alaska, Idaho, Hawaii, Florida, anywhere?!? Who KNOWS! Just the guy upstairs! It is all exciting though!

-We found out we will be moving to TVA next month! SUPER yay for finally having cheapER rent! We found out we have a one bedroom which is also exciting. I can't wait until I can actually decorate a place that doesn't have fake geckos all over!
NOTICE: We LOVE visitors, so anyone who wants to come stay with us, PLEASE do!
-J has been working hard on his animations, hoping to put together a really nice portfolio for after graduation. He REALLY REALLY wants to get in a nice animation program somewhere. So we are crossing our fingers!
If anyone knows of people in the animation business or of a good school, we would love to hear about it!
-We are enjoying married life and more in love than ever! It is SO awesome to have such a man that will do ANYTHING for me and is SUCH an awesome example for me. He makes me happy, and I make him laugh, and life is GOOD! Takin' life one day at a time!