babies, walmart, and the temple, oh my!

Today was such a good day....

I didn't even take a nap today, that's how much stuff I got done!

The best part by far was getting to hold my cousins new baby. She was born yesterday and is the sweetest thing ever. I always forget how small babies are when they first come into this world. They grow so fast. But, when they are this age it's hard not to feel their sweet spirits. It really is a humbling experience to hold a new born.

The quote of the day is: "I love where we live, we are 3 minutes from walmart in one direction and 3 minutes from the temple in the other direction, that's all a college students needs!" -That came from me after our sugar run to walmart. Melissa and I have no lives, we are proud though. We have our walmart and we have the temple. Life will always be great.

I need finals to be over and I need this semester to be over I'm just about done with the classes i'm in right now and I am ready for a change. Having a month off of school will be nice too. I'm sure I will get a lot done and I hope that I can become better prepared for next semester.

Well, today I am thankful for the chance I had to meet a brand new baby and feel her sweet spirit!

did you know....

...That if you make all of your periods a font size bigger while writing an English paper, it will make your paper almost half a page longer!

Oh, the things you learn in college.... It did just save my butt though! Thank goodness for fellow freshmen who know all of the tricks!

Well, I am ready to go home again! Thanksgiving break was wonderful! I spent a lot of time with family, had some good times with great friends, and I stuffed myself full of my favorite foods. I'm not sure it gets much better than that.

I am currently trying to do homework while listening to Christmas music for my first real time this season. I am almost excited for all the snow. The weather has been good so far this week and I hope it stays this way at least until finals week. I'm sure it won't, but a girl can dream! I love the Christmas season. The whole spirit of Christmas is so magical. There is just nothing like it!

Well, this point was a little bit pointless.....

Today I am thankful for the good weather we are having here in winter-wonder-land.

If you had a bad day....

Then you need to go see this movie!!!

Today I am so thankful that I can go to a clean movie like this and leave happy and uplifted!

T-Day

Thanksgiving never gets the credit it deserves.....


But, I guess why would the country who needs a day to be thankful for things even care? I guess that is a little harsh. But, I am not a fan of the fact that Christmas is always on people's minds right after Halloween. Thanksgiving is just a great as Christmas in my eyes!

Today was wonderful. There isn't another word to describe it. I spent the whole day cooking with my Grandma and siblings and then a few of our cousins came over and we just had a simple Thanksgiving meal! The whole family wasn't here this year and I guess that has it pros and cons. It was sad to not see them, but, at the same time It was nice to have a simple no pressure meal where we weren't out to impress anyone with a nice dinner and polite conversation.

Tonight I am sleeping at my Grandparents house again with all the girl cousins....

Look at how much fun we are having:

Oh, and I might as well post a picture of our food. It was amazing. I wish I had room right now to fit more in!

Today I am thankful that there is a day for us to be thankful! (even though every day we should be thankful!)

Pie Day

You guys all wish you had a Grandma like mine....

Honestly, she has to be the most amazing person on earth. I have never met anyone with a bigger heart or a smarter head. (yeah, I know how dumb that sounds, It's late and I'm tired.) It is a true fact. Tonight we had our annual pie baking night.The night before Thanksgiving, all the cousins who can come sleep over at Grandma's and Grandpa's and we bake all of the Thanksgiving pies. We haven't done it for a few years due to people being out of town and Thanksgiving being hosted other places. BUT, it has to be one of my favorite things ever! I can still remember making pies when I was like 6 years old with all of my cousins and staying up past our bedtimes telling stories and laughing about nothing.

This year it was just me and my siblings who came. But, we made eight pies! I am not a huge fan of pie.... that's why every year I make my pudding pie that I'm famous for (I am a fan of pudding, it's one of the best things ever!)! Who knows though, maybe I will try them again just to make sure I'm not a huge fan.

Here are a few of the pictures from tonight:

 (did you notice the "master chef?" I find it a little funny.....)

Tonight I am very thankful for the little things like pie that help bring me closer to my family!

Zumba

Well, the every day post died......

I'm not too upset though! It's been a great couple of days! I have really missed being at home! I love everything about being home. The free food, free laundry, free gas (I'm driving my dads car because I drove down with a friend), free everything! That is one of the major downsides of living on my own... everything requires money! I guess that's part of trying to be a big girl though...

Tonight my sister and I took a Zumba class. I honestly suck at it. It was a party though! I had so much fun! I would rather be in a spinning class, but, it was fun to shake up my workout! I have the best sisters in the world. I wish you guys could have sisters like mine. Sometimes I wish I had an older sibling, honestly though, I love being the big sister! I learn so much from my sisters and brother and I wouldn't trade them for the world!

Did  you know, Thanksgiving is in 2 days!!!!! I can't wait!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!

Today I am thankful for my sisters.

Blast to the Past

I made it home!

Thank goodness....

When we left Logan it was snowing like none other. It was a little bit of a joke. I figured coming back to Orem I would have some weather that would be a little bit better.... Just my luck, it looks the same outside here in Orem as it did when we left Logan this morning! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..... I guess that's all I have to say!

Today I ran by my old high school to ask a couple of old teachers to fill out a letter of recommendation ( I hope I spelled that right... it looks wrong) that I need to apply for this thing I am thinking about doing next year (yes, secrets!) It was crazy to be back there though! I spent SO much time in that building. I had a couple of 17 hour days there over the years. I really feel like I did a lot of growing up and self discovery there.

It was a little strange to be there without all of my friends and the people I saw daily.....

I guess it's the next generations turn to go through those great high school years. I'm not saying I would like to go back. Though, some days I do miss the great times I had there and I almost want to go back for a week or two.

I was so lucky to have such a great high school experience. I can honestly say that I loved my high school and I loved the people I was blessed to meet there and call friends. High school went really fast for  me! I hope life slows down a little for college and I can enjoy it a little longer!

Well, I'm going outside to enjoy the snow now, sooo goodnight!

Today I am thankful for Timpanogos High School and all of the opportunities I was rewarded while there....

San Juan!

I should not have said what I did about being thankful for technology last night....

I got on right at midnight to sign up for classes.... So did the billions of other freshmen who live on campus..... Right at midnight the whole campus Internet crashed. Not only that, the USU web page crashed too so I couldn't use another network to get on! We all waited around until 1:30 when then Internet started to work again... yay? no. The school web page was still down. So we waited..... and waited..... and WAITED.... Until at 3:50 in the morning when they decided to make it work again!

Ask me, did I sleep last night? That's a big H no. I wasn't in the best of moods because of that. But, oh well! What can you do!?

On the bright side today as a building we had a pot luck Thanksgiving meal! It was SO good! It really put me in the spirit of Thanksgiving! I honestly think that Thanksgiving food is my favorite meal!

I am going home to O-town tomorrow. Thanks goodness too. I'm tired of my classes and so ready to see my family! Lets just hope we don't get stuck in the snow storm....

Today I am thankful that I live in such a good building. The people here in San Juan are so nice and so supportive, they are my family away from home! I am so thankful for all of them!

Want to see a funny picture?

Today feels like it's been 3 days smashed into one.....

I have never been a huge fan of Wednesday. But, this week for sure I wasn't a big fan of it. Today was really busy. On top of that I have a paper that I still need to write! I can't complain though. I got to go to the temple today! That always makes for a good day!

There was a guy at the temple today when we showed up who had a bunch of family names that were females. Lecy and I didn't have an appointment (at the Logan Temple they ask you to make one) so they just had us do the names for him. It was a fast trip, I don't think I have ever been in and out of there so fast!

Tonight at midnight we freshmen get to sign up for what's left of the classes for next semester..... Lets just hope all goes well. Otherwise I may not be a happy camper tomorrow. I just have a remember a positive attitude, right?

Want to see something funny? This is Lecy when we went to get Aggie Ice Cream tonight....

Told you it was funny. Lecy, if you are reading this I want you to know that you are not funny looking. You are just good at making funny looking faces. :)

Today I am thankful for modern technology and how helpful it in in everyday life!



I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready!

I am SO ready to go home....

 Today I have been so homesick. There honestly is no reason for me to feel like this. I just really miss all of my family, my house, and all my friends back home! I miss having a home cooked meal, free laundry and everything else I took for granted while living there. It's crazy how much growing up has taken place within me while living away from home.

There is good news though! I am coming home on Friday! I just have to get through one huge paper, a test, and lots of reading!

I guess I just have to hang in there....

Today I am thankful for the fact that I love far enough from home that I can have my college experience, but close enough that I can go home when I need to!

Short and Sweet

When I was typing the title instead of "sweet" I wrote sleep....

That's all I want to do right now. So I'm sorry you don't get a whole story about my day. I'll save that for tomorrow. But, I promised myself I would list something off every single day and I didn't want to miss a day!

Sooooo.....

Today I am thankful for the most comfortable bed in the world.... Goodnight!

The Spirit of Thanksgiving...

Today really got me excited for Thanksgiving!

All of the talks that I heard in church today were based off of the theme "building faith through an attitude of gratitude." I have been thinking a lot about this topic (notice the title of this blog) and I know it's something I need to improve on. There were a lot of great points made about how we can't get further in life without being thankful for what we already have.

This month of thanks and giving is such a great one! Sometimes I feel like it gets over looked with Christmas coming. I think that's a shame though, Thanksgiving is just as meaningful as Christmas is. It's a time to be with family, get really fat, and think about everything we have been given!

Today I am thankful for this time of year where we have an excuse to think about what we have been given and how blessed we really are....

define friend: a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter

I have been so blessed to have amazing people in my life....

Last night I had my very first sleep over at college! Okay, well Melissa and I have a sleep over just about every night. BUT, Shayla came and stayed with me and we had a sleepover just like the old days! It's crazy how you can go a long time without talking to someone and when you do see each other It's like no time has passed.

I have been blessed to have a lot of friendships like that. I think it's the coolest thing in the world.

Last week in Relief Society we had a great lesson. The girl giving the lesson ended it by telling us that she has a testimony of friendship. I had never thought of friendship in a spiritual way..... But, she had a really good point. I have a testimony of friendship too and I am thankful for the power it has had on my life and the influence it has on my life every single day.

College seems to be all about friendships and the friendships turn into a family like support. I love all of the great friends I have made up here and all of the great friends I have back home. It is the best thing to know that you have a support system that is behind you 100%.

Today I am thankful for the power of friendship.....


Barney knows it all, he had great advice on how to be a friend. Just watch it. You will either laugh or be really freaked out. Either way, it will waste one minute and four seconds of your life. Enjoy!

Eat it.

I now am addicted to Aggie Basketball.....

Like full on addicted. Tonight's game was so worth waiting in line for 9 hours. Well, I only waited in line for 4 of those because we did it in shifts. But, still. So worth it. I have never in my life see that much school spirit. My ears are still ringing from all the noise! It was so dang loud! We filled half of the place! That's 3,500 students!  1,700 of those kids slept outside last night for a spot in today's game. A lot of them have been sleeping out since Tuesday night.... crazy crazy people.  It was a lot of crazy crazy fun though!

Needless to say, we beat BYU and I lost my voice.

Today I am thankful for my new love, Aggie Basketball.

Us waiting in line:

I believe that we will win!

Okay, tomorrow I am standing in line ALL day in order to have a chance to get into the BYU game.....

There are 1,700 people sleeping outside in the cold tonight just to get in. I for one am not that stupid. But,  I am excited for the game, not so much for the standing in the cold all day long. It's all part of the college experience though, right?

Today I am thankful to be at a school that has as much school spirit as we do here at USU!

Here is just a taste of what tomorrow will  be like. Go Aggies!

My best buddy!

I love when days are as great as today was!

Class went by fast, I got to babysit the sweetest baby, I finished up projects I have wanted to get done for a long time, I got homework done, and I met my best buddy!

Best buddies is a program where a special needs individual is buddied up with a college student! Because of lack of buddies, I share a buddy with another college student. But, both my buddy and the other college student are amazing. It amazes me how Christ- like these people are. I spent 3 hours with her and I already feel like I know her better then some of the people I have seen daily while being up here. She didn't hold anything back while telling me her life story, her struggles, and the things she values in life. I know that I am going to learn a lot from her this year. I  am so excited to spend more time with her!

So my RA is encouraging me to look into becoming an RA up here next year..... We will see where that goes. I would love it. The job requires a lot of what I already love to do. I'm not positive it's for me though.... We will see I suppose! (sorry about that random comment, It's just really on my mind right now!)

Today I am thankful for the sweet angels I have had as friends in my life, those people with special needs that have blessed my life beyond words. I hope one day to be a close to Christ as they are.

daddy's [big] little girl

I have been really homesick the past few weeks....

It's been a lot better the past week. However, I still have those days where I just want to get in my car and drive home for a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it in Logan. It's just not home.

Today I was riding the bus to campus, tired and a little stressed out. All of a sudden I noticed the song My Wish by Rascal Flatts had came on the radio in the bus. Somehow that made the day a thousand times better.

 That song is the song my dad calls ours (cheesy I know). But every single time I hear it I feel like it's reminding me of all the things my daddy had tried to teach me.

Here are the lyrics:


I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big
I know I'm supposed to be a big girl in college now. But there are times where I have never felt more like a child. All I want to do is cuddle with my daddy and fall asleep with him right next to me like I'm five years old.

I have been lucky to have my dad in my life. I know a lot of kids who have gone through some of the same things I have don't have a chance to have a relationship with their dad like I am blessed to have. Heck, even kids who aren't in a place like I am don't have a relationship with their dad like I am blessed to have! Looking back, my dad was at every single event in my life. Big or small, he made sure he was there. Even if it was hard for him to be there, he did it for me.All my friends thought he was the coolest dad alive. I even had a couple friends in high school who wanted to hang out at my house just to hang out with my dad.... I'm not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. My dad is the one I go to when I feel like my life is falling apart and he is the first one I call when something exciting happens to me.

I am honestly not sure why I was so blessed to have a father like him. I don't deserve his love and kindness. I know he isn't perfect. He is perfect to me though. Growing up I have seen my dad help everyone around him and give so much of himself to serve others. I am trying hard to build that quality in myself. He also is always striving to do what is right and make good choices in his life, even if they are hard and scary choices. I look up to his example and hope one day to measure up to him.

If you can't tell, I love my daddy and miss him every single day. I wish I was closer to him..... but I know that I'm where I'm supposed to be and that he is always just a phone call away!

Today I am thankful for my dad and all he has done and still does for me!

My dad and I after I graduated!

ba da da da da i'm lovin' it!

Okay, I don't even like McDonald's.....

But, I am a huge fan of food. I couldn't even start to imagine going to bed hungry without a choice. I know that's reality for a lot of people both here in the States and in other parts of the world. It's crazy how spoiled we are here in America. Even as a "starving" college student, I know I will always have something to eat!

So today I am thankful for food!

P.S. Enjoy the most horrifying youtube video about veggies I have ever seen.

Chips, Salsa, and Turkeys.

Wow today was long.... I think it was the whole daylight savings thing!

It was such a great day though! I know I said this in my last post.... so deal with it. Fast Sunday is the best day of the month! I am really starting to become a huge fan of my singles ward! All of my lessons had something in them that I needed to hear and testimony meeting was beyond words! The people who got up today brought the spirit so strong! I honestly didn't want to leave when the meeting was over! To top it all off, after testimony meeting they fed us chips and homemade salsa. Life doesn't get any better then that!

I feel like so often I forget about how a simple act of showing up to church can feed me so much spiritually. When I have those off weeks where I'm not as close to the spirit as I should be I find myself not wanting to get up and go to church. But every single time that I do, I always hear whatever it is that I need to hear to get my life back in order. Maybe order isn't the right word.... I still don't know the answers to almost everything in my life. But, I am strengthened and able to face the next week! That is what counts, right?

Today in testimony meeting a kid was talking about how he was thankful that he was raised in the church and what a blessing that has been to him in his life. I am been thinking about that a lot lot lot today. I could not imagine for even a second living in this messed up world without knowing what I know about the church and our loving Father In Heaven. In a CES fireside I went to tonight, President Packer talked about the atonement and what a great gift that is. I honestly am so thankful that I have grown up learning about the gift of the atonement and that I have that available to me when I find myself struggling.

What a blessing the Gospel is in my life! I wish I could just share it with the whole world and somehow help them to see the truth. The world would be such a better place!

Alright, enough with my missionary talk! I did do something really fun today after ward prayer.... We made turkey hand prints! Yay!

                                                               This is my Turkey!

This is Cole's turkey. He is grateful for the girls in 202 but for the most part just me. oh, and his hair gel. I guess those are all great things to be grateful for!

Here is the whole thing. Sorry these pictures struggle. I was just trying not to step in the paint on the floor and on top of that they were taken on my phone..... so that should explain it!

I love how I feel like I have lost ten years of maturity since coming to college. I guess this proves that it is a true fact.

Today I am thankful for the fact that I have been blessed with the knowledge of the truth and that I get to share that with those around me!

Lost....

So today was even worse then yesterday....

We spent the whole day watching lost. The whole day.  My roommate is a horrible influence on me. But, she made me cookies and elephant ears (don't ask) so I will forgive her.

On the up side, I now have a new addiction. Lost has to be one of the dumbest shows I have ever sat down and watched. I am only like 6 episodes in and they have already been chased by wild polar bears on a tropical island. How does that even work? I guess within the next 6 seasons I will find out. But, for some reason I am so into this dang show. I now know what everyone was talking about back in the day when they said it was their favorite thing to watch.

We had our first snow of the season last night. At 1:00 in the morning I walked outside just to take a picture of it so I could remember that there was a first day to the nightmare I'm sure I will be going through when the heart of winter comes. I really am not a fan of snow. I hated the snow while living in Orem. Please do not ask me why I am up in Logan (aka: snow central) going to school. I guess my love of the school will just have to overpower my hate for the snow..... right? Lets just pray that I don't freeze to death in my little apartment. I guess on the bright side I will have lots of time to watch Lost, drink hot cocoa, and snuggle in my blankets!

On another note, I'm excited for fast Sunday tomorrow. They are always the best kind of Sundays. I always feel so close to the spirit while fasting. Testimony meeting in a singles ward is always great too. I swear there is never a moment where at least ten people aren't sitting on the stand waiting for their turn. It always makes for a great meeting full of the spirit and sound advice!

Pretty much,  fasting + testimony meeting + it's daylight savings tomorrow = a good day!

Today I am thankful for my best friend since 5th grade who will still spend the whole day with me doing nothing! I am so lucky to have her in my life and I enjoy every second we spend together! Thanks Melissa!

a whole lot of nothin'

Well, I didn't get a lot done today....

You see, Melissa (my roommate) claims to be sick. She spent the whole morning in bed, didn't go to class, and sounds like she has a cold. Sooooo....In honor of her illness she talked me into watching movies and modern family with her all day. And of course I gave in.

Yes, I know it may have been a bad choice on my part! I do have a thousand other things I should have been doing today. But hey, sometimes it's nice to just take the day off and let go of all the stress from the week! Am I right? I think I'm right.... Anyways, I think because I wasted almost my whole day today that tomorrow I will have to get up early and get things done. We will see how that goes though.

Despite my lazy day, I did get some things done! I went to class and gave a presentation! I think it went well!  I also went to Walmart and got food (it's about time, I have been living off of boxed food and old grapes all week!) On top of that Melissa and I also started on our "wall of hot men" we have on one of the walls in our room. We spent a good hour looking for the best pictures we could find of our favorite men. I'll try to get a picture up one of these days.... It's not going to happen right now though. I really do get a little creeped out when I look up at the wall and see a big picture of Dwight though.... as hot as he is, he is still one major creep! Who doesn't love him though?

Alright, today I am thankful for the chance to have a lazy day! Let's hope I can make up for it tomorrow...

"I'm going there some day"

Today was long... very very long.... and it's not over yet!

But, on the bright side Lecy and I took our temple trip a day early! We have a goal to get there at least once a week, so far we are on a roll! It's crazy how spending a half hour there can take a day from nuts-o crazy to amazingly peaceful!

Alright, back to homework. Sorry this post is short!

Today I am thankful for the fact that I live less then 3 min. away from the temple!

Yes, I did clean my room.

I feel so accomplished today!

When I unpacked all my stuff while moving in at the start of the school year there wasn't much order to any of it. I just had a bunch of random stuff put all over the place! It has been driving me nuts over the past few weeks! However, today I decided to find a place for everything and get it organized! Yay! I spent a good three hours finding a home for everything and getting rid of a lot of junk!

On top of cleaning my side of the room, I am now caught up on all of my homework and I am ready to rock my humnaities test tomorrow! What a great day!

Today I am thankful for a clean room!

Gotta Love the Mormon Messages

Proud to be a Freshman

An attitude of gratitude, that is my goal for the next month....

 I feel like since I have shipped myself off to college a lot has changed about me. Not only have I changed my address, friends, school loyalty, and daily habits. I have also changed my goals, self expectations, self focus, and the way that I face new problems. Everything I was told growing up about college seems to be true. It's a time where us poor freshman are in a strange place in life. We aren't kids anymore and we aren't big adults yet. We are eating mac and cheese for almost every meal and living in dump apartments that no one in their right mind would pay to live in.  For some strange reason though, I am loving it! It's turning out to be a really good time for me to figure out who I am, what I'm doing in this life, the things I need to change about myself, and how I'm going to become who I am supposed to be.

The one thing I do find myself lacking at times is an attitude of gratitude. For me, it's easy to go through out my day and only think of myself. I am not in charge of anyone else up here and my days are all pretty much the same thing. It's easy to be blinded by the mile high pile of homework or the lack of money in my poor college student bank account. But, it's important to me to remember what my Father in Heaven has given to me. I am so lucky to be where I am in life. There are so many people who have never and will never be given the chance I have right now to gain an education.

So today I am thankful for the chance I have to be in school!