van buddies

It's off - white in color (only because of the dirt that has accumulated on its surface) and often has a light out. The rubber outlining the windshield has come loose and often likes to flap and pound mercilessly while I'm driving on the free way. There's a big stain on the carpet in between the two front seats and old stickers cling for dear life on the walls throughout the car. The DVD player has been kicked off (courtesy of the younger siblings) and has left behind some pretty looking red and green wires for decoration.

The heater usually won't kick on until I'm already parking my car and there's a penny stuck inside the CD player that makes listening to my coveted BYU Vocal Point CD impossible. The windshield cleaner in the back sprays inside, rather than actually doing what it's supposed to do and the passenger window will roll down, but not always up.

The "check engine" light pops on every few days for a visit and the temperature gauge will often get too close to the red, "hot" line. Every once and a while the speedometer will decide it's going to give me a heart attack by saying I'm going 20 mph over the speed limit - and sometimes it'll even trick me into thinking I'm going 110 mph on a 70 mph free way.

I guess you could call this car... unique.

I believe that this vehicle that causes quite the road rage and headaches is punishment for my driving sins. The mercy from the parentals had finally run out and I was destined to drive around in this dirty, rubber flapping van (after having the chance to drive two nicer vehicles - which is another story that most likely will not be shared at a later time).

It's great for showing off to all them cute college boys, ya know? (not)

In order to park in the parking lot at Carriage Cove you have to buy a parking pass. And in order to get that parking pass you have to share what kind of vehicle you have.

I briefly contemplated saying that I had a super nice red sports car with racing stripes... but then she asked for my registration. Reluctantly I handed her the old piece of paper and she wrote down all of the information on my Chevy Venture white van and handed me the little yellow parking sticker.

It didn't take long for me to notice that literally nobody else in the Carriage Cove parking lot owned a van (I've even circled around to the boys side to double check). Nobody.

What single college student owns a van??

I'm always on the lookout for other people roaming around outside to make sure they won't see me getting inside of my van. Upon being spotted, I usually walk in the opposite direction or even past my car so as not to give away the owner of the ONLY van in the parking lot. After parking the van at the end of the day I see just how fast I can get inside so nobody catches me shamefully getting out and locking the door.

After a few months the shameful walks and embarrassed feelings were beginning to subside. It took a while to convince myself that "it's just a car... it gets you from A to B, be grateful it works!" or "you're just getting a head start on the whole van mom, thing."

Eventually the August contracts had ended and the old people moved out and the new ones moved in. That meant new cars in the Carriage Cove parking lot.

And one day... I spotted it. The dark grey van. Parked. In the Carriage Cove parking lot.

After the first sighting my hopes were peaked - was there really another van in the parking lot?! I quickly told myself that it was probably just a one time thing... somebody's mom was helping them move all of their stuff into their apartment or something.

But I saw it the next day. And the next day. And the next! Needless to say I was beyond excited to see a second van in the parking lot. It didn't take long to notice that the quality and state of this van was much, MUCH better than the one in my current possession...

But oh well! I'm just excited to have a van buddy to keep me company!!!

1,836

Disclaimer: I'm about to embarrass myself and I kind of can't believe I'm actually putting this in a post.

After deciding that I no longer wanted to further my education at BYU-Idaho, I took a break. And it was nice. I just had to work and do marching band and I didn't have any homework or weird professors to worry about. I didn't have to hike up a hill to get to my math class nor did I have to stress about making that midnight deadline before the science homework timed out and I got an F.

Being away from the college scene was nice. So nice that I even toyed with the idea of not getting a college degree. I have a nice job - I get paid very well and work with some great people (my mother included). I could make it through life forever working at OneExchange and be just fine.

However, after 7 or 8 months, I actually began to miss school - kind of. Once I decided that Music Education was NOT a good fit for me I didn't know what to do. So I put school off another semester, vowing to re-apply to UVU for the Fall semester.

And I did! I re-submitted my application and was accepted. Then I had to jump through a TON of hoops; go to an orientation, submit my transcripts, meet with a counselor, etc. It was annoying. So annoying I contemplated not doing school for another semester.

But I pushed through the annoying holds and slowly but surely I got rid of them all and was able to sign up for classes. I only signed up for two: math and health.

The first day of math class came too quickly. I wasn't prepared to be in math again. Especially at 8:00. On a Saturday morning.

My professor looked up from his computer and pushed up his glasses as he smiled tiredly. "Good morning." Each of us grumbled out our own "good mornings" which actually meant, "I want my bed."

He walked around to the front of his podium and folded his arms. "What in the world are you all doing here on a Saturday morning?"

I'm wondering the same thing.

"And in a class that's almost four hours?"

Don't remind me.

"You're all crazy."

I know.

After going through the syllabus and Chapter 1, I determined that, with work, I could pass this class.

Now, before you continue to read, you must understand two things: 1) I've always struggled with math. Whether or not that's because I actually worked hard in order to try and understand it or not is irrelevant. 2) I took a math class in Idaho but gave up trying relatively quickly. So, if we don't include the BYU-Idaho math class, I haven't been in a math class since 2012 - that's a LONG time.

The second class was much harder than the first. 8:00 seemed to come far too early and already I didn't care what others thought about my appearance; so up went the hair and on came the band T-shirt, which allowed me to sleep another thirty minutes before I had to leave at the absolute last possible second.

I walked into class and slumped into my chair, still trying to wake up my tired eyes.

"Quiz time!"

Oh yeah. I forgot we do that.

I pulled out my paper and began answering the questions he had prepared. The quiz was only four questions. It was easy peasy.

I got to number 3. The question was: 6^3.

Cool. This is easy.

So I wrote out my work: 6*6*6.

Okay. So 6*6 equals 36.

I wrote it down on the paper. Then I stared. I had to do 36*6 but didn't know if off the top of my head and unfortunately I couldn't use a calculator.

Oh! I'll just do the cool multiply thingy!

So I wrote down 36*6. I knew I had to do 6*6 again, which was 36. So I wrote down 36 (without carrying the 3 up to the top). Then I multiplied 6*3 and got 18.

Sweet! 1,836!

I boxed my answer and moved on to number four. Which was seemingly just as easy as the previous three questions. I confidently turned my paper into the professor and waited for him to tell us the answers.

Everything was going perfectly until he said the answer to number three: 216.

What?!

My eyes widened. It took everything I had not to raise my hand and blurt: "Um. Excuse me? But you're wrong." I looked around at the other students and noticed nobody else was squirming in their seats.

I pulled out my calculator and did the math. The number 216 stared back at me.

How?! I even double - checked my work!!

I re - typed it into the calculator and clicked enter. Nothing changed. I scratched my forehead, trying to figure out what I had done wrong.

Oh. You're supposed to carry the 3....

I don't want to know what my professor thought when he looked at my work to number three.

At first, I was frustrated with my stupidity. How can you forget how to do multiplication after doing it so many times for so many years?! They ingrain it into your soul!! Needless to say I've kicked myself a few times for that mistake. But on the bright side, I'll never forget that 216 is the answer to 6^3.

After the 'incident', I vowed that I wouldn't tell a single soul about my lack of remembering how to do simple multiplication. However, once my dad asked how math was going I couldn't stifle the laugh. I trifled with the thought of telling him, knowing that he'd get a good laugh out of it.

I stood up, went to the office and grabbed a pen and a paper and then walked back into the kitchen and began to explain to him what I had done on my quiz the previous day.

He laughed.

I laughed.

We laughed.

Then I realized that this was actually really funny. So I told everybody. They all laughed. And I laughed with them.

One of my absolute favorite quotes comes from Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley: "The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."

Now, obviously I didn't cry at my lack of intelligence in the math department, but I could have chosen to be more discouraged and frustrated about it. After all, that one little answer (or big if you refer to 1,836 rather than 216) ended up giving me a 75% on my quiz.

Life is about choices. We can't often choose exactly what will happen to us but we can choose how we will react.. "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of his human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." -Viktor E. Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning)

In the end this little quiz won't have much of an impact on my life... or my final math grade for that matter. However, I'm always going to get a good laugh out of this embarrassing moment if I choose to. And just like Sister Hinckley said, laughing about it is much better than crying.

Life is full of choices. We can choose to be miserable or happy. What you choose is up to you.

two decades is a long time

Apparently you have to live for a while to learn a lot of things... and then you still have to learn a whole lot more - even if you don't really want to.

Yesterday was my twentieth birthday - it feels really weird saying and writing it... but I couldn't be more excited for this next year and all that will come my way. I've truly been blessed with many amazing friends and family - all that have helped make my life simply wonderful.

The past two decades have been rough and frustrating, but they've also been really great. I decided to blog about twenty things I've learned in the past twenty years....

1. You have time. AKA: Patience. Just because I've learned that this is important... doesn't mean I'm any good at it. This will probably be a life - long struggle for me. Seriously, though. Ask anybody that knows me - I'm probably the most impatient person you'll ever meet. However, I've come to find that there are things in life I'm just going to have to wait for - and if I decide to have a negative/bad attitude while doing so... I'm going to hate life. Also - if you pray for patience... the Lord is going to give you trials that require you to exercise patience. This could be bad of me to say - but because of that, I don't pray for patience....

2. Ask for and accept help. I'm stubborn. I want to do what I want to do and when I want to do it. I've never been good at accepting or even asking for help. But I've realized that I can't do everything on my own - the Lord has given me parents, friends and leaders to help me through some of life's toughest moments. Besides... life is so much easier when you accept help - your parents let you eat from their fridge when you're sick of ramen and scrambled eggs and you never have to pay for toilet paper (I'm not sure if they know I steal that....)

3. The Lord's plan is not your plan. ---This is the theme of my LIFE! "If you want to make the Lord laugh, tell Him what your plans are." I'm sure the Lord has gotten a few good laughs from me. I've learned that I'm not my happiest when I'm doing what I think I want to or should do - but when I follow a good prompting and do what I know the Lord wants me to do... I'm my happiest.

4. Eat what you want! I was on a date with a boy a few months ago and was looking at the menu, trying to decide what to order. I thought, "I could order a salad and look all healthy," but then my eyes wandered over to the steak and I thought, "or I could buy this freaking delicious steak and enjoy it!!" While I was eating my small piece of heaven on earth (yes, I got the steak. DUH!), the boy looked at me and said, "Life is too short, eat what you waaaant!" I smiled, nodded and continued eating. Now. I would like to say... that eating healthy and exercising is important... and I should DEFINITELY be better in that area. But life is too short. If you have a piece of Zupa's seven layer chocolate cake in front of you... eat the dang cake and run an extra lap at the gym tomorrow.

5. Give your little brother lots of hugs & kisses. I have one brother. And I love his guts. I've always been jealous of the girls that have older brothers. They're teased mercilessly, but they've also got a best friend that will stick up for them and beat the boys up when they're being stupid (which is a lot of the time;)). Clearly, I don't have an older brother here to tease me... so I've graciously accepted the role as 'teaser'. While I will admit the teasing has caused a lot of unhappy faces from my brother, it's brought a lot of laughs and good memories to our brother/sister relationship. Someday he'll know I do it because I love him - and maybe one day he'll even give me hugs and kisses on the cheek without squealing!

6. Don't give away your kisses like candy. I remember making a HUUUUGE deal out of my first kiss. I wanted it to be special and magical! I imagined meeting a cute boy and falling deeply in love with him before he pulled me in close for a good, foot poppin' smooch (just like Princess Diaries)! It did NOT happen like that.... at all. And once it was over I realized that all the fuss about a first kiss was really nothing to fuss about at all. After that I gave my kisses away too freely and easily. Growing up I had told myself that holding a boys hand and kissing was something special because it meant that I really liked him. Society today tells us otherwise. We cuddle because it's fun. We hold hands because we can. We kiss because, heck, why not?! My advice? Save em'. Save those kisses!! Make the boys earn them... make them wait. Make them mean more. Make them special.

7. Friends (and fries) are way better than guys. I dated a boy a while back and spent ALL my free time with him. Literally. All of it. After the one month of dating bliss and happiness ended, I realized I hadn't spent enough time with my girls - the friends that have been there WAY longer than any boy. Luckily for me, I was blessed with some pretty fantastic (and loyal) friends. They put up with me while I was crazy over a boy and then stuck by my side and even offered to help me bury him after we broke up. This.... this is what true friendship looks like ;). Advice? Boys are great. I love boys. I enjoy dating and spending time with them. But please... you have some pretty great best GIRLfriends that would do anything for you. Don't ditch them once you have a boy in your life. Make time for your friends; have a girls night, paint your nails, watch that chick flick that makes you cry while you eat your tub of Boom Chocolatta Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Boys come and go... but your girls have been here for a while. Trust me, you want to keep them around.

8. You do not need a boy to make you happy when you have bdubs (Buffalo Wild Wings). Amen. I told my parents I wanted to go to bdubs for my birthday dinner and my mom said, "You go there enough already! It isn't even special!!" Needless to say, we didn't go... but you'll probably find me there one night this week. I realize this one is similar to #7, but I wanted to dedicate this specifically to the true love of my life - Buffalo Wild Wings. No, this is not a boy, but it gives me Parmesan Garlic wings and seriously... what else could I ever want?! While I was in high school (and even once I graduated) I was always jealous of the girls that dated and had boyfriends. They walk around, laughing and smiling, hand in hand with their "other half". For some strange, absurd reason I thought that I had to have a boyfriend to be "truly happy". Obviously I hadn't met bdubs yet ;). No, but seriously... you do NOT need a boy to make you happy - this is such a lie. Like I said in #7; boys come and go. If you base your happiness solely on a guy... well... best of luck to you. Advice? Find things you love and go do them. Or... go eat there ;). The guy can come later.

Which brings me to number...

9. Make time for what you love. One of my greatest joys and blessings is music. I picked up the flute in seventh grade and fell in love. In ninth grade I joined the American Fork marching band and eventually fell in love with that, too. It has become my life. I now have the opportunity to staff at Westlake high school in Saratoga Springs and work with twelve amazing young women. Ever since ninth grade I've been super busy because all of my time was taken up with band - but I've always been okay with it because I loved it. Now I'm trying to juggle working a full time job, school, AND teaching... and somewhere in there I'm supposed to sleep and be social and date? Ha. My schedule has always brought me a lot of stress and because of that people have often suggested I give something up in order to relieve myself. But what do I give up? I work because I have to. I go to school because I should (and because I have to). And I do music because I LOVE it. The past seven years of my life have been filled with marching band and quite frankly, I can't imagine life without it. If I HAD to go to school and work, I would make time for music. So I've let myself live the stressful life so that I can have time for what I love. Because of music, I've gained friendships I'll have for forever. I've learned lessons that I wouldn't have otherwise. And it's a big part of who I am today. Advice? Make time for what you love. Even if that means sacrificing sleep and some dates with a cute boy.

10. Actually work hard in school. Ha. Ha. Boy do I regret this, big time. I didn't do terrible in high school... but I definitely didn't do amazing, either. Once I got to college I found myself regretting some of the decisions I had made in high school. I wished that I had worked a little harder and done a little better. Now, I'll be honest, I FAILED at my first two semesters of college and I'm greatly looking to redeeming myself this upcoming semester at UVU. How I did in school is probably the one thing that I would go back and change. If I could, I'd work harder and care more about my education.

11. Dress up. I love to look nice. Sometimes I sit and stare at my closet and put together outfits in my head that I can wear later on. I've had some people ask me why I take so much time to get ready or why I spend money on clothes (and by spending money I most often mean going to TJ Maxx or Ross). Answer? Because I like how I feel. I love to dress up and look nice - even if I don't have to. Now of course there are days when pajamas, pizza, and Pretty Little Liars is TOTALLY acceptable. But on the days where I'm out and about? I like to look my best. Ever since I heard this I was always afraid to go out in public looking terrible: "Always look your best. You never know if you'll meet the man of your dreams today."

12. Don't be afraid of what people think. Any of you that follow me on Facebook or Instagram know that I like to post a lot of quotes. I haven't really been afraid to share my testimony or my thoughts on the Gospel. If I find something I want to share... I share it! I'm very blunt and honest about my feelings pertaining to the Church and love to share what makes me happy. I'll admit, there have been a few times where I've been afraid to open my mouth and share something (or type something into my Facebook feed). I wonder if I annoy or if I'm too forward. But honestly - I've learned to just not care. The one day I decided not to post anything, I received a private message from a friend that said, "Thank you for posting what you post. I needed that today." So I kicked myself, got on Facebook, and posted something anyway. Advice time? Do what you want. Be who you want to be. And don't be afraid of that. "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Suess

13. It's okay to take a day off. Pizza and Netflix. Need I say more? But really. My life is incredibly busy. I'm constantly on the go and barely have time for my head to hit my pillow at the end of the day before I'm already hitting snooze on my phone the next morning. I joke about taking the day off to order pizza and watch Netflix ALL the time. And one time I actually did it (okay, I didn't order pizza... but I should have!). I took a day just for myself and caught up (probably a little too much) on my Netflix show. Best. Decision. Ever. After that day I was able to do more. I didn't feel like I was constantly on the go or like I was going to die from lack of sleep. Obviously you'll have to suffer the consequences of taking a day off... but sometimes I think it's worth it. Just don't do it too often ;).

14. Just read your scriptures. (That meme made me laugh way too hard) Just do it. I know, it's hard. It takes time. But oh is it important. My scriptures have collected dust while they sat on the dresser way too many times and I've read 1 Nephi more times than I want to even admit (due to starting over and over and over again). But I've seen just how important scripture study can be and is (I wrote a blog post on it - you should check it out by clicking this link!). I've received numerous blessings that have counseled me to seriously study the Book of Mormon. The times when I'm really good at it, I've been able to see how dramatically my life improves. How much happier I become and how much easier it is to stay strong. My life has been enormously blessed because of the Book of Mormon. I promise it's worth it to take the time to read them - your life will change once you begin a serious study.

15. Make time for the temple. This is something I wish I would have taken more advantage of while I was growing up. I remember going into the temple for the first time after turning 12 and thinking how amazing it was! I promised I would go ALL the time. Unfortunately, I'm no longer that good little beehive and I've struggled to go to the temple as often as I should, when I can go. However, I've recently put the temple into my weekly schedule. And even though I'm still not perfect at going that often, I've seen how much more blessed I am because I have a desire to go and try to as often as my life permits. I love the temple and believe that it is SO important (I wrote a post about this, too). Advice? Go as often as you can. And if you can't go right now? Get to a place so that you can. One of my favorite days to attend the temple is Monday, because it's closed - I sit and park my car in the parking lot and just simply enjoy having the temple in front of me. I promise you will be blessed for attending the temple.

16. Live in the moment. Look forward with caution but definitely DON'T live in the past. Because the past is not who you are anymore (here's another post I wrote about this). Much of who I am today is because of what's happened in my past and I wouldn't go back to change a single thing. However, there have been many times where I've looked back regrettingly (I'm aware this isn't a word) - wishing I could go back and change it all. Obviously that is literally impossible. I've come to find that I can be an amazing individual TODAY despite my past mistakes and decisions. I've also made the mistake of looking forward too longingly (refer back to #1). I'm very impatient and want things now. I wish I didn't have to wait... but I do. Looking forward too far has done me no good, though. I've found that I need to have complete and total trust in the Lord - His plan is far better than what I have in mind.

17. A day without a phone is a good day. When I turned 18 I got my first smart phone. I felt super cool. Along with the phone, we purchased a plan that would allow us to replace the phone at any time within two years for a small fee. I cherished and loved my phone and promised to be careful with it so that I wouldn't ever have to buy a replacement. Two years later and I'm on my sixth phone. The first one cracked. The second fell in the toilet. Third and fourth had similar stories. The fifth phone I decided to try and replace the screen myself (not recommended). I was phone-less for a few days as I awaited my sixth phone in the mail. Initially, my chest tightened and I thought, "Holy cow. I don't have a phone for like, three days!! What am I gonna do?!" Okay. I'm not that glued to my phone. But I did have a mini five second freak out before I realized that going without my phone was actually going to okay. I would not die. And actually... it was fantastic! I didn't feel the constant need to scroll through my Facebook news feed or check for an incoming text message. It was actually quite refreshing and relaxing. I'm not sure why we always feel the constant need to have our phones glued to the palms of our hands - it's actually quite sad. By spending so much time on our phones we lose precious time that could be spent doing other things of MUCH greater value. We miss out on memories and moments that are experienced when our eyes are not attached to our small screens. My advice? Turn it down. Put it away. Heck - turn it off! #17: LIVE IN THE MOMENT!

18. Write. I love to write. My blog is proof of this. I have a personal and scripture journal that I write in quite frequently. I find that I pay attention and remember things more when I'm writing them down. Putting my thoughts on paper helps me to think more clearly and understand things better. A few years ago, I began an electronic journal for my future children. It's filled with life experiences and advice that I would give to them if they were to ever go through the same things (i.e. how I would act differently, what I wished I would have done, etc.). I find that as I've written things down, I'm able to see my progress individually and make goals to better myself. My advice? Write. Write everything down. Write the good and the bad. The happy and sad. Just write.

19. Everybody's got something. Sometimes I look at people and think, "Man. They have it all. And they've never struggled with a thing in their life. Lucky them." I've been slapped in the face for this quite a few times... because everybody's got something. Whether that "something" is you got a bad grade on your math final or you're struggling with an addiction... everybody's got something. Something that is hard for them. Something that is unfair for them. Just because it may seem like a "piece of cake" to me doesn't mean it is for somebody else. God has created a beautiful life uniquely for each and every single one of us. The struggles and trials we go through individually are for our own personal growth and development. I go through what I go through so I can be who I need to be. And that's the same for everyone around me.

20. "Keep your chin up". When I was in junior high, my parents told me that if I joined the track team they'd buy me an mp3 player. OBVIOUSLY I joined the team! I mean, who doesn't want an mp3 player...??! Anyways. I'm the not the best runner ever - running is definitely not my thing. One day I was feeling discouraged about my performance on the team - I was always the last person and always had the slowest time. After sharing this with my dad, he told me that whenever I was having a difficult time while running, I needed to take a deep breath, put my chin up, and say "I got this". Since then, there have been numerous times when he's told me to "keep your chin up", and every time I have a difficult decision to make or am having a rough day, I remember those four words. We're all going to have a rough day - it's inevitable. We'll all be faced with decisions of what is "good, better and best" and it will be hard to choose which direction to travel in. I find hope and peace in knowing that I have someone by my side that knows what it's all like. I have a Savior that has been through any and everything. Just remember to keep your chin up... we're in God's hands and He won't let us down. With Him, we cannot fail.

And a little something extra....

21. The Church is cool. I'll admit, when I was younger I sort of wished I didn't know about the Church so that I could do whatever the heck I wanted. I'd often think, "If I weren't a Mormon I could [insert something not so great]". I sometimes wished I could go get a hamburger on Sunday or watch a movie I probably shouldn't. I'm happy to say I never did anything ridiculously stupid! But it did take a really long time for me to actually want to follow the standards of the Church. It took me a long time to want to read my scriptures and to want to go to Church. It took me a long time to want to pay my tithing or to want to pray. I did everything I was supposed to do because... well, I was supposed to. I believed that the Church was true based off of my parents and other's testimonies. I had a basic knowledge of the Church and could get up and bear a regurgitated testimony. Eventually I decided I needed to figure this Church thing out for myself - so I started doing everything I knew to do. I began reading my scriptures more. I met with my bishop. I began listening to conference talks and praying. I attended Church meetings and functions. Slowly but surely, I noticed a desire was beginning to grow inside of me (I wrote about this in a post, too). I found that I was smiling a whole lot more. Eventually I came to find my own testimony - not the testimony of those around me... but my own, personal testimony. And it meant so much more. Rather than doing things because other people expected them of me, I was doing them because I actually wanted to. I had found a desire to choose the right and serve God. The Church is cool. It really is. It keeps us safe, healthy, and happy. It wasn't designed to constrict us or make us "weirdos" (although, we are pretty weird). There is a reason why it's called "the great plan of happiness". I know that we will be truly happy if we're following the Lord's standards... especially because we want to.

The past twenty years have been good ones. I've learned and grown and couldn't be more thankful for the experiences I've had. I'm thankful for all of the amazing friends and family that the Lord has blessed me with. Thank you for your love and support.

Related posts:
to the recent graduate, 

A Year in Review

2014 has been a good one! I'll admit that I'm glad that it has come to an end and that 2015 is just around the corner. One thing I love about the new year is not only setting new goals for myself, but also looking back at all I've accomplished and done throughout the year.....

2014.....

*I went to college! I moved to Rexburg, Idaho and attended school at BYU-Idaho for two semesters as a music education major on flute.
*I gained three lovely new friends (aka roommates). Angie, Rachel and Isabel.
*I learned college was A LOT harder than high school.
*I learned that living on your own was HARD.
*I learned a lot about myself and the type of woman I want to become.
*I learned that winter in Rexburg is miserable.

*I learned that flute players are crazy competitive and that "everything is a competition".

*I learned that I still had a TON to know about playing the flute.

*I learned that band tours in college aren't as fun as high school band tours.

*I learned what kind of people I want in my life.
*I learned that I didn't want to be in Idaho anymore.
*I learned that you should listen to the spirit the first time around.

*I lost almost 100 pounds and realized that life is great when you're being healthier.
*I started running and was able to run two miles straight (this is a lot......)
*I realized how much I truly loved every single member of my crazy family.

*I learned that I love Utah and I shouldn't try to get away from it.
*I started my second season of staffing at Westlake High School. Our show was entitled 'The Witch and the Saint.'

*I realized that I LOVE Hawaii. Oh. And the men there.

Overall, 2014 was a pretty tough years. I struggled throughout the entire year with things I haven't struggled with, but also gained a new confidence and love for life that I've never even seen before. 2015 couldn't come sooner and I'm already waiting for what awaits me.


2015....

Hopefully making my goals public helps me to accomplish them better. I always start out doing well on my goals but end up really slacking after just a few short weeks.

Goal number one.... accomplish every goal I have set for 2015.
2. Read my scriptures for at least ten minutes a day.
3. Finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.
4. Exercise six days a week for at least 30 minutes.
5. Go to the temple at least twice a month.
6. Pay a completely full tithe.
7. Run a 5k.
8. Reach my goal weight.
9. Eat less sugar.
10. Be more social.
11. Save money like crazy.
12. Practice patience.
13. Continue with my health blog.
14. De-clutter and live a more organized life.

As you can see they're pretty broad goals... but they're goals and habits that I want to develop sooner rather than later. It might be difficult to accomplish, but boy will it make a great year for me. I'm also looking forward to moving out in just a few short weeks as well as starting school at UVU in the fall.

Here's to a great new start......

Family Trip to Wyoming

This past weekend I went to Jackson Hole Wyoming with my cute family. It had been almost 7 weeks since I had seen them, so seeing them was very exciting for me. They came and picked me up at BYU-Idaho on Wednesday and we drove to our little condo in Wyoming where we'd be staying until Sunday morning. Thursday, we went four-wheeling for four hours! I absolutely LOVE four-wheeling and had a blast driving on the windy paths with my family.

Ashlyn and I rode together a majority of the time. She got to drive for a little bit and it scared me SO bad! But I'm a little reckless myself so I'm sure she was every bit as nervous with my driving as I was with her.

All of us lookin' like some pretty legit bandits

Sydnee and I. Love this girl to pieces!! Even if we do have our moments.... ;)

All the girls. I didn't realize how much I missed spending time with these crazies until we were messing around and goofing off.

Friday we went water rafting. It was SO much fun! I was a little nervous to begin with but once we got going I was wanting bigger and bigger waves.

                                      

The whole fam all geared up.

In our mighty attractive wet suits.....

They had a photographer that took pictures of each raft on the biggest part of the river.

Saturday was my homework day..... lot's and LOT'S of math assignments to do. But once all that was done and out of the way, we went swimming at Jackson's rec center and then went to a shoot out and rodeo. 

Ashlyn and I

Sydnee and I

Ash and I

Mom, Hollie & I

Mom and I

Sydnee, me, and Hollie

Sydnee and I. I love this picture :D

I'm so thankful to have been blessed with such an amazing family! I have some pretty great siblings and parents that love each of us so much. I had such a fun weekend and already miss my family like crazy!!! Still loving my time here in Idaho though! Can't believe we're more than half way done with the semester already. 

More College

I feel SO incredibly blessed to be friends with these beautiful girls!! Each of them are amazing and I love them dearly! A few weeks ago we had a girls night shopping at Maurice's. We had the whole store to ourselves for an entire hour. So fun!

{Angela, Emily, Rachel, Tisa, Isabel, Becca, me, and Sarah}

{Alan & I}

{Alan, me, and Emily}

Last week we had our stake conference meetings. During the Saturday meeting, we decided it was appropriate to take pictures of us enjoying ourselves........

After FHE, we all went out and played human knot and made these pyramids.

As I've said before, I feel incredibly blessed to be here! I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends to be with. Already the semester is going by way too quickly and I'm not looking forward to the day I'll have to say goodbye.

BYUI Spring Semester

This second semester up here at BYUI has been nothing but great! I've loved every single second of it. I was a little nervous to move... because it meant a new ward, new calling, new people to meet, etc. But I haven't regretted it for one second. My new ward is completely fantastic and I've had such a great time getting to know all of the people in it.

The first weekend back at school, someone from our ward made the decision to be baptized. Even though I didn't know him very well at the time, it was so fun to be there and a part of his baptism.

Logan, Isabel, Angela, Emily, me, and Rachel at Logan's baptism. 

All of the girls surrounding Logan after his baptism.

Alan, Grant, me, Tisa, and Emily

Last week, some of our FHE groups did a combined FHE activity. We went to Beaver Dick park where we had a fire and roasted marshmallows. After most of the people left, some of us stayed behind and jumped into the freezing river. 

A few days later we went back.

Me, Emily, & Rachel

My How Time Flies!

My how time flies! This Thursday, when the tale lights of the car I'm in leave this town of Rexburg, I will have officially completed my first semester of college. WHOOT! My first finals week and jury performance will be over! Only seven more!..... yay.

Weekend Retreat w/the Roomies

A few weekends ago I brought two of my roommates to visit home. We spent Saturday at Temple Square, saw Divergent and Life of Walter Mitty (both very good!!), and spent time with my family. On Sunday we took pictures with my mom.

So grateful for these girls! They've made my first semester here at BYU-Idaho SO much fun! Sad to be leaving Angie and Rachel, but on to new fun adventures in room 213!!