What?! A Free Giveaway?!

I don't know about you, but I love free giveaways.  Although I never win, it's still just as fun to try.  My husband's cousin Leslie is in the Tupperware business and to celebrate her almost 100th post, she's giving away some really cute stuff.  CLICK HERE to check it out and see if you could win!!

Oh and do you like my new layout?  Thanks to my friend Carly C. for showing me this website.  It's amazing and has a ton of cute backgrounds.  Check it out HERE.

Hope one of you wins that prize!!

Most Talented Singers in my Opinion

Being a Music Major I have been around many very talented people.  Here are some of my top favorite "famous" singers that get my vote for being the most talented.  Although there are MANY talented singers that I've met personally that might even be more talented than the ones I have "voted" for, this is just for fun and people that everyone knows. :)  Someday I hope I can be a better singer and be just as talented and amazing as all these people.  I have a long ways to go though but at least it's a good goal right?  Who gets your vote?

#1--Josh Groban

Do I even need to say anything about him?  He sings in languages he doesn't even know and then wants to study and learn them all.  Here's a quote by the talent himself:  "After using four different languages on an album, it's tough to decide which one I'm gonna actually learn to speak. I always study the lyric, make sure I know what I'm singing, and try to get the pronunciation as perfect as possible."  HERE is a video of his song "You Raise Me Up".  

#2--Celine Dion

 I've always been a huge fan of Celine.  Not only is she beautiful but she has such passion and such a full and vibrant voice.  I'd love to take lessons from her. HERE is a video of one of her songs.

#3--Whitney Houston

 Big fan of Whitney.  I know she's probably considered old school now, but I still think she has amazing talent. Whatever happened to her anyway?  HERE is a live video.

#4--Bianca Ryan

This girl is impressive.  I first saw her on a TV Show called "America's Got Talent" when she was 11.  All I had to say then was, WOW.  She sounded so mature singing wise.  If I didn't know she was 11, I seriously would have thought her to be 30!  She wasn't perfect but definitely room for improvement. Now she's 14 years old and has just gotten even better since then!  I own one of her CDs and she just impresses me with every song.  So inspirational and so talented!  Here's a clip of her singing on "American's Got Talent".

#5--Mariah Carey

I've liked some of her songs, but never was a huge fan of hers.  Don't get me wrong though because she has talent!  I put her in the #5 spot because even though I don't necessarily like everything about her, she has a vocal range like no other. She can sing almost 6 octaves (I'm not even kidding.  I looked it up to make sure.) and anyone who can sing that many deserves to be one of the most talented singers out there.  Even though this doesn't show her range, here's a live video of her in 1993.

#6--Charlotte Church

I don't know if many of you know who Charlotte Church is.  My mom actually owned a tape of her I think and she was known for her classical singing at age 11.  Another young artist.  She is from Wales so is mainly a British Artist.  In 2005 she switched from classical to pop and has been a big hit in the Welsh pop industry.  I haven't heard her a lot, but I just remember listening to her a few times when I was younger and I just remember how beautiful and talented her voice was.  She also has sang a duet called "The Prayer" with Josh Groban on his first CD when she was 16.  HERE is a clip of them singing together.

#7--Alicia Keys

She's never been a favorite of mine style wise (mainly because I'm not a huge R&B or rap fan) but she has an amazing voice, was trained and plays piano extremely well AND writes all her own music.  Plus she plays and sings at the same time at her own concerts.  How can that NOT be talent?!  Here's another video.

#8--Melinda Doolittle

All those American Idol Fans out there should know who I'm talking about.  She's had talent from the beginning!  Again, I'm not a huge R&B fan which is what she ended up doing but her voice reminds me of those black girl attitude styles that I absolutely love! Click Here (this isn't her best performance ever but it's showing you why I like her.)

#9--Hyrum Denney

Okay okay, so he's my husband...so what?!  Even when I barley knew him I thought he was a fantastic singer.  The very first time I heard him sing was in our vocal class and I honestly thought he could have been, if not already, one of those people you hear off of an EFY CD.  I loved it!  Hyrum's singing voice fits my style and what I like.  His composing and arranging skills are just as amazing and he puts so much emotion and feeling into it.  He's a close tie to Kenneth Cope but since Hyrum's my husband and he's written songs especially for me and because I love him dearly, he beats Kenneth by far. :)  I unfortunately don't have any of his good music recordings on this computer so here is him and his group singing for an Oreo Contest.  It'll have to do for now I guess.  CLICK HERE

#10--Kenneth Cope

Lets face it, some of these LDS singers and writers should be a lot more famous then they already are.  They have the Spirit in their songs which I guess should have made Kenneth my #1.  He puts such emotion and feeling into each song it's hard not to have him as a favorite. Here's his Never A Better Hero.

Well there ya have it folks.  Completly random and completely my own opinion.  I was looking for something to do so thought this seemed like a fun idea. Hope you thought it was fun too!  Who gets your vote?!

Random

I don't have any pictures for this post but here's an update on things that have happened in the past few days.

This past Saturday we went 4-wheeling with Hyrum's family.  It was so much fun!  Kyla didn't ride, but had plenty of fun playing outside in the dirt.  Despite the accident that mom had, it was a fairly decent adventure. :)  There were beautiful mountains and trees and a nice river.

Something else that has been going on is Kyla is showing some early signs of potty training!  I don't think it's anything that will happen now but probably pretty soon.  She always lets me know before or after when she has to "do her thing" :)  There's a few other signs that she has that I've read about.  Anyway, I don't know hardly ANYTHING about potty training so any advice??  Am I starting her too early to potty train?  What potty seats are the best ones to get?  Are the portable toilets better or the seats that go onto the adult toilets better for learning how to use them?

The last thing that has been happening is that I've been thinking of taking a continuing education class at BYU-Idaho.  The classes I'm thinking of taking are CPR which would get me CPR certified, Digital Photography which would help with my desire to be a better photographer or Jewelry Making which would be a fun new hobby to pick up.  Which one(s) would you choose?

Yearbook Faces of the 1900s

So Hyrum came across this website the other day and we both sat down and had some fun with it.  Here's a few of each of us that we found to be quite funny.

Hyrum in 1952...big ears, but not bad looking eh? ;)

Hyrum in 1994. This probably looks the most like him but, still not quite the same.

Hyrum in 1998.  Ever wanted to know what he would look like gaining another hundred pounds...well there ya have it! :)

 

Amiee in 1956.  I look like a grandma! 

Amiee in 1966.  HUGE hair!!!  Funny how I see people who have hair like this in Idaho and Utah...I guess the style is coming back?

 

Amiee in 1996.  This probably looks the "most" like me but still...yikes!

 Kyla in 1976....hahaha!  What a baby face. :)

Kyla in 1984...year I was born....interesting.

Kyla in 1996.  I don't know what do you think...does she look like me?!

What are YOUR favorites?

Potty Training Already?!

 

Well not really.  It's not quite what we hoped for anyway.  This is as close as Kyla gets to "sitting on the can". :) hahaha.

 

In other news....Kyla kind of got her first hair cut the other day.  The reason why I say "kind of" is because there were literally only about 10 pieces of hair that I actually cut.  She had a few longer pieces of hair in the front where her bangs are that became pretty long.  So I snipped them off!  Here's a picture for proof.

Return with Honor

I would like to announce that my wonderful brother Brian just returned home from serving a faithful and honorable 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Indianapolis, Indiana yesterday!!  I'm sooo excited for his return!!!  We've been able to talk, chat, and have fun together, even though he's in WA and I'm in ID.  I haven't seen him yet but it definitely has been fun to have him call me, me call him and see him on facebook.  I've even started making a list of girls he could date....haha, I know he just got home and probably is scared to death of girls still but it's been fun anyway. I'm so glad that we're best buds.  

I am so grateful for my brother and the sacrifice he has made to serve a mission for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He has definitely touched many lives around him not only in Indiana, but those in other states that have known him as well.  He has gained much knowledge and testimony from his missionary experiences and I'm so glad that he was willing and able to serve.  I definitely felt strengthened and have felt his Spirit and love through out his mission; he has been a great example to all.  I love you Brian!

Welcome Home!!

Weekend Family Reunion Camping Trip

We had a fun filled and exciting weekend.  Hyrum and I love camping.  We haven't had a chance to do it this summer except for this weekend.  Every year Hyrum's grandma has a family reunion of some sort usually at a different place every year.  This year it was at a place called Lake Walcott (next to Rupert, ID before Twin Falls).  It was so much fun.  Hyrum's uncles have boats and jet skis so we all had a chance to do all the fun water sports.  I water skiied, jet skiied, and went tubing.  If we had a little more time I would have tried wakeboarding!  Kyla loved being on the boat.  We all had so much fun playing in the water!  In fact, we all had so much fun that I hardly took any pictures...bummer!  Here are a couple that I did get though.

 

 Kyla being cute

  

Rise and Shine (after breakfast)

 

Kyla hugging her cousin Kyler

On a side note, Kyla has been counting to 4 for the last month or so.  It's crazy how fast she picks up on things.  She also knows all of her colors and says them constantly.  On another note, my brother Brian comes home from his mission on Thursday!!  We are all so very excited!  He has served a very honorable and faithful mission to Indianapolis, Indiana and I know he has touched many lives.  I won't be able to go home for his return but I can't wait to talk to him on the phone anytime I want! He is one of my greatest friends and it will be so fun to see how much he's changed. :)  Anyway, that's all for us!