Service Project!

      Saturday a few of the other vivint wives and I went to Joplin, Missouri for a service project. For those of you who don't know, last year on May 22, 2011 a tornado hit Joplin, killing 162 people and destroying over 8,000 structuress including the hospital, high school, middle school, and elementary school. We had the opportunity to visit the city and volunteer with Americorps. Americorps has helped with rebuilding the city since the tornado hit. Although it has already been a year since the tornado, there is still much to be done, and many families are still in need. We were able to walk the neighborhoods that were hit by the tornado and conduct a survey asking people if they needed help with reconstructing their houses, yards, and trees, or if they needed smoke detectors or a weather radio. By doing this we were able to help Americorps figure out who still needs reconstructing. We also got to hear personal stories about those that were in the tornado. It was so heartbreaking to hear all of the stories and see the damage that was done. I literally teared up a few times, not only from listening to their stories about the tornado hitting their homes, but also from seeing the hurt and pain in their eyes. They told us that we will never know what they went through until we actually experience it ourselves. After this, I realized how blessed I am to have never experienced a natural disaster like this; it helps me remember how many people are in need and how important service for one another really is.

This is a lot where a house once stood; It was completely destroyed by the tornado. The houses in the background were rebuilt after the tornado. Many people just made it back to their homes in this neighborhood after living with family and friends for over 6 months.

I took a picture of a picture from a book that was made about the people in the Joplin tornado.

Right after the tornado hit.

We put on our Vivint colors at 6am Saturday morning, put on a smile, and drove 2 hours and 45 minutes to the Joplin Americorps Recovery Center.

Although we had to walk around the neighborhoods while the hot sun was beating on us, It was an amazing day! I will never forget the people I met, the stories I heard, and how good it felt to do some service! :)

Last weeks adventures!

This last week was quite an adventure. Sorry I have crammed so much into one blog. Tuesday, I started out with my typical day of lying out by the pool (Picture of Jake and I; Jake about to leave to a long hard day of work while I am ready to hit up the pool; he never complains) with Lexxy, catching some wonderful rays, and reading our books. On the car ride to Kansas I started reading the “Hunger Games”, and like everyone else who has read it, I was hooked instantly; simply amazing. Since then, while lying by the pool, I have read “The Lucky One” and "Catching Fire" the second book of the hunger games. Today I will start the third book, Mocking jay. I just hope it’s as good as the first and second book!  While we’re on the note of reading, my wonderful mother in-law challenged me to read to Book Of Mormon in 2 months! I will be reading 10 pages a day. I hope I can stick it out strong and complete this challenge. If any of you have read it at a fast pace, let me know how it went; any motivation is greatly appreciated! 

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Friday, all the guys in the Vivint office got together for a volleyball tournament before they started the work day. They grouped up into teams and announced that the winning team will receive gift cards to the cheesecake factory. And guess what? Jakes team won! Yay! I was so proud of him! He has been working so hard all week, he definitely deserved it. We can’t wait to use it!

Saturday, a few of the other Vivint Wives (Lexxy, Makelle, Sage, Brittney, Tiesha,) and I went and ran the KC 5K Temple Run!We didn't pre-register so we weren't able to get time chips... my guesstimate time was 23 minutes and 30 seconds. :) Although the race about killed my shins and lungs, I really loved the view of the temple while I was running.

 

Aaaaannnnndddd Finally Sunday! A group of couples all drove down to see Liberty Jail! It was my second time visiting the Jail ( I was there last summer with Jake's family on vacation) and it was still such an amazing experience to be there again. There is definitely a special feeling about this place.

Well that about sums up my fun, adventurous week! Hope you all enjoyed! :)

Alright. Here it goes. My first blog post! Big thanks go out to Makelle Wood for helping me design my page and showing me the ropes of how to blog! She is so creative. :)
Now that it's summer time I finally have time away from school to get this blog started and I'm pretty excited!
About 3 weeks ago Jake and I packed up all of our belongings in our house and moved them into a storage unit... then drove 18 wonderful, jam packed hours to the beautiful site of Kansas City, KS. I say jam packed because along with us on the ride was Jed(Jake's older brother), Lexxy(Jed's wife), and Bridger(Jake's younger brother), and all of our clothes and necessities for the whole summer packed in one car. Before I forget to mention, the reason we drove out here is for Jake, Jed, and Bridger, who are working as salesmen for Vivint Home Security. Jake sold security last summer while we were engaged, so I missed on that adventure, but now I am out here with him this summer trying to be the best little wifey that I can be. :)
Lex and I are just living the hard life... laying out by the pool, reading, doing puzzles, and watching movies. While our hubbies work 10 hour days, 6 days a week. I feel guilty sometimes knowing how hard Jake works while I relax for the summer. Jake loves the fact that I have been cooking lunch and dinner everyday though. I have been searching for good healthy recipes, if you have any great recipes let me know and I will for sure try it out and serve it to my hubby!

Jake has been working hard and selling well! Saturday some of the other wives and I went out for lunch and pedicures! My first pedicure in years. My soccer feet are all cleaned up, and it feels great!
Well I could go on and on but I don't want to overkill my first blog. English has never been my strong subject, so please forgive my poor writing skills haha (if you ever need help with math, that would be my strong subject).