A little bit of lately

A happy song to you.

2012-02-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

Giorgio, my new favorite stranger, his voice singing happiness to so many. Enjoy.

Keep it Beautiful

2012-01-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

When I was talking to Denise the other night she mentioned a "Beach Cleanup" she'd participated in with friends the other day. As I listened to her talk about that event, I came to find that "Beach Cleanups" were a common occurrence. I then came across this beautiful image. It gives us "Inlanders" a new perspective - ignorant boats, mother nature's tantrums and lazy litter bugs, the reality of open water.

A change of times.

2012-01-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

Hello 2012. We begin a new year, with the hope and goal to find more inspiration and updates on "A little bit of Lately".

We begin the year in the Laycock Center. As students from all creative emphases in the college, we creatively find solutions for the problems we see. Excellence is expected, our number one goal. Through our creative lens we reach out. Each of us study in a world-class sequence. We have a variety of projects to complete within our track, but the Laycock Center offers a light, a new way of thinking, as we use our creativity together. We are fueled by impacting. We want to do things that matter.

The beautiful thing, it's a way of life for us. Brandon, a fellow student, depicts this perfectly through this movie he just made. Cheers!

A Glimpse from Brandon Osmond on Vimeo.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!
Here in Provo we had some fun creating,
designing and sharing our pumpkin love.
Enjoy!

Dance the Summer away...

2011-09-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

Tradition meets style as we entered Bear Lake territory.

Good friend Mateo just got baptized so we took a quick trip back to PC... so worth it.

Fall is coming. The rain and cool breeze rolled into Provo this week. It's a harsh reality for me. Oh how I love the sunshine and warmth of the rays.

I enjoyed my last weekend of summer in Bear Lake - so much fun. Not only was I with some of my favorite friends but Denise and Leanne joined the fun too. We danced. We sang. We laughed. The memories are forever.. sister time, wakeskate sessions and even fortunes told by momma Jo. We truly ended the summer in style.

One of the greatest moments of the weekend was actually back in Park City. We zipped back to go and support our good friend, Mateo. Mateo decided to get baptized after learning more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints He was introduced by an influential friend, saw the great family she had, began asking questions, and began talking to the missionaries. The service was beautiful. He glowed. His mom drove up from New Mexico, uncle and cousin from Texas and friends from PC were in number... so cool. The feelings of the peace and happiness were tangible. That 5 hour adventure driving to PC, then back up to Bear Lake was delightful.

God is so good.

A little bit of lately.

www.mormon.org

www.lds.org

Provo at it's Best

2011-07-11T12:37:00.001-07:00

Summer term is in full force and it's moving fast.

Fourth of July was quite memorable, especially with floor seats to Brad Paisley at the Stadium of Fire --- so cool. I ran my first 10k race to kickoff the Freedom parade. It's a Young tradition, and I happily joined in on the fun. The run was inspiring - there were hundreds: parents, teenagers, kids, and strollers, all of which were decked out in red, white, and blue. Provo knows how to celebrate freedom. It was lovely. In the words of Lee Greenwood I was definitely, "Proud to be an American!"

This summer has been one of many adventures - visiting Leanne on the coast and discovering more of Utah's treasures. Bear Lake is one of my newest favs. Joining the Patterson family at their cabin, the cold lake welcomed new experiences with a wakeskate and wakesurf. Not to forget the early morning waters were a must in order to find perfect conditions for skiing and boarding (Yes, I was out on the boat by 6:30 am... definitely not a Lake Roosevelt or Lake Chelan tradition).

The BYU Adlab is my new home. I really do believe that I'm in that space more than my apartment, and I'm quite satisfied with that fact. One of the clients we're working with right now is a gluten free bakery, New Grains. This bakery has a sweet story about a mother seeing a need to create tasty gluten free products for her children. Gluten intolerance and Celiac's disease is becoming more of an issue and the products offered aren't the tastiest. With her dedication, her creations are now reaching beyond her home and helping others. More to come with New Grains soon. (note: I've tried the products and they really are yummy.)

Life really is beautiful. The summer is a blessed time. Remember to take moments to appreciate the beauty of it all.

TEAM BEAR LAKE

DEAR CREEK SURF ADVENTURE

Works of fire done right...

Trev with the potato gun/firework launcher - stole the show away with his performance.

THE MOTORBOAT BEFORE

THE MOTORBOAT AFTER...

96 hours in the Pac Northwest

2011-05-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

1800 miles in four days. A request to fill the empty nest with the baby chicks was granted. Leaving the rainy Provo and finding the rays, we were welcomed back to find the favorites of the valley.

The ranch shines with beauty. The aunties are prepping for this weeks debut play that will be performed by the cousins. The set looks great.

Indian Meadows


I just love how Burke is expressing his true feelings in this photo.


24 hours in a car together and we're still laughing. The little girls - the roomies - the bestys.

Coast to Coast Reunion

2011-03-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Recap on the adventurous life here in the apple capital -- I saw most of my favorite people last weekend. Filing in from both coasts, the Burnett's were complete with the help of Skype to reach Denise from the promise land. Refreshing. The missed moments were reenacted for a quick "catch up"- it was lovely.
Not too much has changed. Perhaps the only great difference is the new allegiance we all have for Thomas the Train and Curious George. The house is now a locomotive station with tracks, tunnels and bridges running through with Thomas and friends. The conductor of course is Tyler, weighing in at 33lbs, reaching 36 inches in height. He's captured us all.

Getting reacquainted with Tyler

You can never have enough toys

All but the caboose

The Burnettos

I'm Back!

2011-03-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

7 days ago I left my home in Argentina to step back into the real world here in Wenatchee. I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the last 18 months; living and helping the Argentine people in the Cuyo area (Mendoza, San Luis, San Juan). As a missionary I worked each day to help others find hope through Christ - that with Him they could find the correct path for their life and find true happiness. It exists. To put it simply it was incredible - the families I met, the friends I found, and the people I served changed my life. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. I love Argentina.

Don't "Burne" go "Wilde" San Luis with the Wildita

Empanadas in San Luis - The Argentine "must eat"

Remember November in San Luis

Maria Eugenia and Daniela - Winter in San Juan

Lujan, Mendoza -- morning runs at 6:30

La Familia Benegas

Hilary in Guaymalee

Feliz Navidad con la flia. Martinez

The Fab Four

Happy 2010!

2010-01-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

MOM... Monday, Jan 4, 2010

I´m staying in Lujan! YAY. Transfers are this week and we´re all staying put here in Lujan...BUENO! I´m so excited, we have so much going on here...so many miracles.

I need healthy recipes - my stomach is dying down here. If I´m still having problems this week then we are cutting down eating with the members, because es no bueno and it´s easier for my body to get dehydrated than most people and that doesn´t help at all.

Anyways...it´s all good and I´m happy and working hard, so Woo hoo. By the way I know that song you´re learning for primary because sister Matsuki (or however you say her name from the General primary presidency) came to the MTC and taught it to us along with talking to us...love it. Primary is so powerful.

Stories stories stories....

New Years is the party, that´s for sure. I really had a fun time. Our whole zone went to an investigator´s house and had an asado and fiesta. Here is a picture of an Asado--- it´s meat cooked over coals and is delightful. Oh, if I had more time I would describe the meat trucks to you...so gross and so funny at the same time.

Favorite miracle. So the woman we taught how to pray and kneeled on the floor with, we haven´t been able to get ahold of her for the last 3 weeks and we´ve stopped by a lot. We said 1 more time and if she´s not there, we'll have to move on. We went and SHE WAS THERE...along with her mother and sister and they all listened to our lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the 5 things we all need to do in order to return to God and it was amazing. They were all very receptive, but then afterwards we all just sat and chatted, which was so good because they trust us and know that we care for them. We invited them to church, but with the holidays and work they were unable to go....it´s okay there´s next week. The cool part was the sister is pretty interested, but fearful to take the step of faith. We´re going to have a FHE (Family Home Evening) with another family and their family this week and I´m so excited because everyone is a convert down here, so it´s extremely powerful when we bear testimony of the Gospel. I love it.

Miracle 2.

Liliana and her family are awesome, but she has some problems with Joseph Smith and the first vision. Anyways, we taught her about the Plan of Salvation and how it´s important that we make choices here on earth that will help us return to live with God. Her son was there for this lesson and the dad committed suicide 3 years ago so Liliana was explaining to her son where he was and everything, it was really cool. At the end we were about to leave and I knew I needed to say something about Joseph Smith, because I want her to ask to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if what she reads in the Book of Mormon is true. I explained to her how the BOM has changed me and that´s because of President Dickerson and my experience in the MTC...THE SPIRIT WAS SO STRONG. Oh mom it was amazing. I love Liliana and her family so much. She´s so strong. It´s her time.

Love the mission.

Lots of things are happening. I´m doing well. You are so wonderful.

Oh yeah, if I could add anything to that list of things to send me...

KIDS STUFF. I have been teaching kids a lot lately and it´s amazing. The puzzle is awesome, if you can send another that´d be great and send me ideas to teach little kids through dearelder. (recipes too)

I love you mom. You´re amazing.

my example!
always,
ness

Vanessa's address

2010-01-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

Vanessa's USPS address:
requires an international stamp (98 cents)
Hermana Vanessa Burnett
Mision Argentina Mendoza
Casilla de Correo 631
Mendoza 5500
Argentina

OR, try the POUCH service approach. We use the dearelder.com service. It's free and easy. They deliver every Thursday afternoon to SLC (there's a 12 noon MST deadline). Usually Vanessa receives letters at the end of the next week. Here's instructions to the easy procedure:

Go to the website: dearelder.com
choose to register, or not
scroll through the mission index to find her mission: Argentina Mendoza Mission
click: Write a Letter
Provide your name and address, as well as Vanessa's Name
--write away! press send!

My Best Week So Far!

2010-01-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hey Family and Friends, Monday, December 28, 2009

This week was by far my favorite week. It started off with an incredible Tuesday night. We have been visiting this family for the last two weeks and missing them for crazy reasons, but finally we were able to see them. When we sat down at Liliana’s table (the mom) along with her friend and daughter the doorbell rang and in walked another friend. About 2 minutes later the same thing happened, this continued until we had 6 faces looking at us ready to hear our message. We began teaching about Jesus Christ and how we’re all children of God and he blesses us daily, especially our families and one of the friends of Liliana stopped us and said, “What are you doing?” We looked at him a little puzzled and then he rephrased the question and said, “Why are you doing this? Why are you here in Argentina , knocking on people’s doors, spreading this message?” My companion answered and then he turned to me and my first thought was...seriously? You want me to explain to you in broken castillano why I am in here, in this room talking to you about God? He asked the questions again, waiting for my reply and then I started with everything I could do to explain to him that I am in Lujan to tell people about Jesus Christ and invite them to follow his example because I want everyone to have the chance to live with their families and God again someday, that the Gospel gives people hope in a world that isn’t so hopeful and that with this faith we can endure to the end. I don’t know how I said it, but I did. Truly I had the gift of tongues and afterwards he said okay, continue. But, as always the story gets better, because we started talking about the Book of Mormon, and the mom, Liliana was really skeptical, especially about Joseph Smith and all, but this friend of hers said I’ll read it, because in order for you 2 girls to step away from your lives to come all the way down here, it must be something pretty cool. At that moment I asked Liliana’s daughter Luciana to read a verse in the BOM 2nephi 33.10-11 and it says that if you don’t want to believe in these words, then believe in Christ and if you believe in Christ, you will find out that these words are true because they are his words and he will show you that they are his. It was SO POWERFUL. The spirit was so strong in that room. There was no way that you couldn’t feel it. Afterwards, we left and it was a beautiful thing...I definitely was screaming for joy in English out in the road, but I couldn’t keep it in because the words in the Book of Mormon are true and you can feel it when you read it, but not only that, I could speak in Spanish that they could understand and share why I was here and why I’ve stayed here for the past 5 weeks. BONITA!

Later in the week we had fiesta after fiesta, which was so much fun. Christmas deals with lots of fireworks and keeping the little kids up until midnight to open presents. It’s a lot different, but wonderful! Sorry this isn’t much, but I’ve got to run.

Love you all,

Hermana V

2009-10-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Vanessa's MTC address:

Hermana Vanessa Kathleen Burnett
MTC Mailbox 257
ARG-MEN 1123
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

The best way to send letters to Vanessa is through the DearElder.com website. It's a free service, but you do need to register. Her departure date is 11/23/09.

2009-10-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

Wowza! One more week has gone by ...I can't believe it. Wasn't conference wonderful last week? It was so powerful being in a gym with 2100 missionaries watching prophets of God speak.

So, I'm going to answer some quick questions with the 5 W's:
WHO: Meet Rochelle - she was a lady I talked to earlier this week in the RC - she received a bible and had a lot of questions about religion and church and what not. I talked to her for 40 minutes on the phone, trying to answer all of her questions and helping her turn to the Lord to find answers to questions of the soul...it was very cool. I'm going to be teaching her this next week on the phone! Wahoo!
WHAT: What's my favorite Spanish word I've learned? Chiste...it means just kidding and between the 5 Hermanas in my district, we use it a lot.
WHERE: North Dakota is where my companion, Hermana Deem is from. She is wonderful. She went to Utah State before her mission and is studying Biology (Kayleen I thought of you). She's very sweet and when we teach it's really powerful....muy bien!
WHEN: In one week part of my district leaves to the Dominican Republic MTC...They start contacting people in spanish next week...I can't even imagine.
WHY: Why did I go on a mission? Okay so last week I thought about this question during conference, because it was so amazing. Honestly I went on a mission because I knew that's what God wanted me to do and I wanted to be obedient. Unlike my companion, I hadn't had the desire to serve a mission since the time I was 5, but when I prayed to know if I should go, I knew the answer was yes. Throughout the last few weeks at the MTC I have learned so much and love the Gospel even more than I did before...my original answer to this question remains the same...I wanted to be obedient and follow my Heavenly Father's guidance, but now I also want to go and teach people and love them, so they will come unto Christ and be happier than ever. The Gospel is true...anyone can find out for themselves...that's the best part. Ask God and he'll tell you - I'm excited to share that message with people.

Last time for awhile

2009-09-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

Hello all -
Tomorrow I enter the MTC (missionary training center) in Provo, UT, so I will be unable to manage my blog for the next 18 months. My mom has gladly accepted the responsibility to update my blog on occasion with my letters and addresses. If you'd like to e-mail her for further information, she's happy to answer any questions. Her e-mail address is burnettcindy07@yahoo.com.
I love you all. Thank you for the support and encouragement. See you in awhile!
-Vanessa

Pizza N' More

2009-09-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

Makin' homemade pizza with the best of company. Cheese, pepperoni, sausage, fruit pizza - mmm delicious.

Asta Lavista Parks and Rec.

2009-08-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

Day Camp is done. No more Parks and Rec. shirts. No more timeouts. The summer has come to an end and day camp is over. Friday was my last day of work for the City of Wenatchee's Parks and Recreation Day Camp. At day camp we celebrate with two wonderful words, and since this is a time of celebration I will continue the tradition, "WOO! WOO!"

For the last three summers I have worked with children from the ages of 5-11 and it has been an incredible experience. For a two in a half month period I jump into a child's world and here's what I find: imaginary castles, crazy games of four-square, tons of joyful screaming (along with the frequent whining), stories parents wish their kids would never share and more perspective on a child's heart and desires. I've spent many hours building sand castles, creating empires with sticks and rocks, and searching for clams on the river - I've found that children want to learn and always have questions. Most importantly they need to feel loved and want your trust. So, that was my job...I was to love all the kids, convince them that I was trustworthy and wanted what's best for them and then have as much fun as possible. What a wonderful job huh?

Some of my fondest memories involved trips to the water slides, wars against Joey, swimming all over the valley, tie-dying t-shirts, movie-making, lots of singing, listening to the funniest stories etc. etc. It was delightful being apart of a child's world this summer. On the way to our last adventure on Friday one of the little girl's said, "Vanessa I'm going to miss you so much, more than going around the world. No, more than the whole universe." This was a sweet comment, but what this little girl failed to recognize was the fact that I would miss her and all the other campers just as much or more. Each one has influenced me with their love, their kindness and their joy....so in reply to all my day camp kids "I will miss you more than the whole Universe."

my crew

The tie-dye queens

The precious cargo I drive

The 15 passenger van I drive

Summer doesn't get any better...

2009-08-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Lake Roosevelt

I do realize it's been quite sometime since I've posted last, but welcome to the middle of summer. There's always somewhere to go, an adventure to take and new memories to make - ahh the beauty of summer.

Last week I went to Lake Roosevelt with some of my favorite people in the world and took a break from my dear screaming day camp kids. Cell service and internet were unheard of in the area, so the pace of living and interacting with others was perfect. The week consisted of lots of tubing, wakeboarding, incredible food, jet skiing, ping pong matches, a no-talent talent show (yes, a repeat event from my family reunion) and a number of other new memories.

What I realized more than ever up at the Lake.

1. Those who love you the most always support you and cheer you on.

2. Relationships and friendships are strengthened with more communication.

3. Tell those you care about how much you love them.

4. Be wise in choosing friends; they'll either bring you down, or help you become a better person

5. Smile

6. Laugh at your own jokes.

7. Appreciate nature -- watch a summer sunset.

8. Take a risk

9. Listen more, talk less

10. Love endlessly and never give up on those you love.

Stefan's first tubing experience.

John, Jamie and Carly during the talent show
Wakeboarding has become my favorite summer hobby.

Older Than Dirt Family Reunion

2009-07-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to the Fromm Family Reunion, which was wonderful. My grandpa reached his 90th birthday earlier this June and all my cousins and aunts and uncles celebrated his life and our family last weekend. The weekend involved swimming at the river, barn dances, auctions, a "No-talent Talent Show" and lots of laughter...it will definitely be a highlight of my summer.

Welcome to the Fromm Barn Dance

Collin meeting Ty for the first time

Jesse James
You can never have too many cousins
Will and me
Lovin' the No-talent Talent Show
Baby Ta

Bring extra batteries...

2009-07-18T22:53:00.001-07:00

Note: Whenever you need to use a flashlight, bring extra batteries.

This week I went to Clara Lake, a beautiful lake not too far from my house. Because my friend and I left after work, we needed a flashlight for the walk back. Within 5 minutes of using our flashlight, the inevitable occurred...our handy flashlight shined no more and of course I hadn't packed batteries. The new adventure to this trip was making it safely down the trail with a cell phone lighting the path... so remember, always pack extra batteries.

Welcome to Clara Lake

I also met my nephew for the first time two days ago - he's my favorite.
Say hello to Tyler James Stoddard

Running at its best...

2009-07-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

Adventures are my favorite and these last few days have been filled with quite a few. Last Friday I went to the Demolition Derby and was in a contest to win tickets, which sounds pretty normal, but this was no ordinary contest. My teammate, Tjos, and I were supposed to catch a pig and wheelbarrow it to a finish line...not an easy task - pigs are smart and don't want to be caught. Although we didn't win, we were voted best looking team -- I guess that counts for something. The 4th was fun up at the Lake, along with a spontaneous drive back to town for front row seats at the firework show. Quite an eventful weekend.

As for tonight -- it was beautiful. I went for a jog and by the time I was done, the night sky spread across town. Taking advantage of this moment I collapsed on the grass and let my thoughts run wild. If you have never let your mind relax and run free, I advise you to try it -- it's refreshing and inspiring.

Here's a piece of how inspiring the thoughts can be:
Little things make the difference. Do you ever wonder how you got where you are? For most people, they are where they're at because of the small choices they've made. These small choices have pointed them in a direction good or bad, but if one wants to change directions a lot of little decisions, along with some major choices must be made. As I thought about it, the little things create quite an eventful journey.
Within the last few weeks my life has taken quite a few turns, all because of a lot of small choices, as well as a few major decisions. For those of you who don't know, I will be serving a mission in Argentina, beginning September 23 - I didn't expect this to be in my journey, but as I look back on the bumps and turns I've overcome and the choices I've made, it makes perfect sense that I'm going. Is it going to be hard? Yes, most likely the hardest thing I will ever do. Am I afraid? No, I have nothing to fear - it will be the greatest and most rewarding adventure ever.

Good night for now.
-VTjos and Vanessa Tag Team

Opening my mission call: Argentina, Mendoza Mission

Let's begin with life as it was...

2009-07-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

Hello world. I am officially a member of the blogging world – Woo Woo!

Before I jump into "life as it is", let me catch you up with “life as it was”. For the last two years I’ve been at BYU studying advertising and taking adventures with the most amazing people! Reminiscing about all my memories would be a drag for you, so I will just catch you up with the last couple months of my life, beginning with my road trip to Cali.

Note: If ever given the opportunity to go on a road trip, seize the opportunity. You'll come back a better person than before the time you left.

Dancing with Richard Simmons and Leanne in Beverly Hills -- priceless and memorable.

A quick visit to Wenatchee for Steph's wedding and Niese's graduation. Both looked lovely.

Family Photo - the best of friends.

Goodbye Provo... see you in a couple years.