Carpe Tarp

I told my mom that I would blog

the story of our Traveling to Utah...

It was quite comical.

First and foremost, 

My Grandparents are the Best. 

All 4 of them. 

I truly appreciate all of the effort they put into helping out!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Second and still very important-

My Mother is Magnificent.

I mean, 

who else would drive 12 hours one day, 

help unload the truck, 

sleep for a few hours,

get up crazy early and go to walmart,

and drive back 12 hours that day?

Only a Mom. 

I love her.

I made a split second decision to move back to Utah.

I honestly can't tell you why it happened.

But so far things have fallen into place-

Which is a huge blessing!

I am still looking for a job,

I have a few leads....

HOPEFULLY 

I can get one soon.

ANYWAY, 

Back to the story of our travels.

The day came very quickly, 

I was a little sleep deprived

 from packing for 3 nights straight after work...

but I was so proud of myself for getting rid of so much junk.

{I'm an aspiring hoarder.} 

When I woke up,

I got ready and started loading the truck.

I fit everything but the guitar...

which is pretty good considering 

the fact that I still had WAY too much stuff.

Drew and I folded a tarp

and put it over the back of the truck.  

We fastened it with some of those 

ratcheting straps...

Do I know what they are really called? 

Nope.

Drew even showed me how to work them

Just in case we got stopped by the Dam Police {ha.}

Mom & I stopped at sonic {for crack ice} and away we went! 

In the wrong direction... for an hour. Oops.

Want to tell me how we did that even with a GPS?

Yes. It's true. 

I am THE WORST driver in the world.

I'm a great navigator...but if I'm the one driving,

FORGET IT.

During that hour,

the tarp came loose, 

so we had to pull over and shove it 

under some of the things in the back.

We started in the right direction after that.

{Remember how we also lost an hour switching to daylight savings time?}

We jammed to some Broadway classics.

And when my CD ended, 

One of my Grandparents started...

{we borrowed Papa's Truck}

And I was like,

"I've never heard this song before."

I didn't realize that it had switched CD's.

We had a good laugh about that 

because it happened like 4 times.

By the last time I said, 

"Hey, this song sounds familiar..."

{Remember the sleep deprivation?}

We stopped and learned how to get diesel gas.

{You have to go to the pumps with the green hose.}

And we stopped to fix the tarp a few more times.

We also found out that the overpass by the 

Hoover Dam was done. 

So we took that.

And laughed really hard

when mom made a crack about 

no more Dam Construction.

{Gosh I love her!}

The best tarp story was when

we had to stop on the side of the freeway.

And we got out and literally almost got blown away.

There was TONS of dust. 

I've never been where the wind blows that strongly.

By this point we had pulled the ropes so tight 

that we couldn't get them undone without some major effort.

so we started pulling at the tarp to unfold one side 

to tuck it down even farther into the truck.

I think we pulled for 10 minutes. 

I had to climb up on top of the load to pull at the straps,

mom was pulling at the tarp...

All the while the wind was blowing our shirts up around our shoulders. 

hahaha!

We are trying to hold our shirts

AND 

Fix the tarp 

WHILE 

laughing 

Hysterically.

I finally tucked in the front corner of my shirt,

We thought we had the tarp situated,

and we started off again.

Two seconds later we had to stop and fix it again.

Same drill. 

And when we got back in the car,

Our hair was AMAZING.

I wish I had a picture.

So the next stop was a gas station to fill up

and buy some bungee chords to really hold that stupid tarp down!

Guess who walked into the gas station

with the front part of their shirt tucked in?

This goofball.

Between my hair and my shirt,

it. was. fabulous.

We also figured out at that stop

that the cooler had been leaking on

some really nice art that I brought.

Luckily the sheet it was wrapped in

soaked up most of the water and the art was ok.

From that point on, 

the tarp stayed put.

{HOORAY!}

We drove and drove and drove some more.

With an hour left on the drive, 

I started getting antsy.

So Mom drove.

We rolled into Provo at about 10:30{Really 11:30}

and started unloading

{Kelley, Tara, Me & Mom} 

And two boys, that none of us knew,

asked if we needed some help. 

What a blessing they were! 

They helped carry in the REALLY heavy boxes.

They probably saved us an hour of unloading.

And then just as quickly as they had showed up,

they were gone!

{We all hoped that they were rewarded for their awesomeness.}

After that, Mom went to bed.

Kelley, Tara & I stayed up late talking and catching up.

Mom & I got up early the next day 

and went shopping and 

then she took off. 

The last hour of the drive was hard for her too.

But she made it back home.

{so glad!}

I am really glad to be back!

I'll have to blog about more adventures soon!

{♥.}

A Letter

Dear World,

Hello from the long lost land of Berlynn! Haha. Ok- bad joke.

This year has flown by. I can't believe it. Everyone says that it just goes faster and faster. Maybe it's because we adjust to eternal time the more that we are alive? Who knows.

Anyway, This past month has been great! We had four {Count them, FOUR} Graduations this month! First S from EAC, then B & M from Desert Sky, and Today D from Deer Valley! Whoo!!! I'm so proud of my siblings! {Mom may have shed a couple of happy tears.}

And it's been a wedding filled month! Last week was the McCleery Wedding, which was BEAUTIFUL. And Tomorrow- Well Tomorrow is BIG. Tomorrow, I get to take the pictures at one of my very best friend's open house/reception. I. am. SO. excited. And so so so happy for the Bradleys! More to come on that!

On another note, Young Women's has been great! I love those girls so much! It's so fun to see them grow! Haha! They Crack me up! Girls Camp is coming soon, and man, our cheers are DIVINE. ;)

I'm pretty excited for life to settle down a little bit. I feel a little tired after this week! But I'm so happy to have had an opportunity to make so many memories! I hope that you are all doing well. May God be with you!!!

{♥.}

Swingin' Singin'

Friday was the 'Antique Valentine Jazz Lounge' Performance- Can I just say that IT WAS A BLAST?! I had SO much fun! The decor was Fabulous, and the performances were Swingin'. I got to sing 3 songs- 'At Last' by Etta James, 'Tenderly' by Rosemary Clooney, and 'My One and Only Love' by Ella Fitzgerald. I was so glad that my friend Amanda & My mom were there! We took some Really fun pictures and There was even a professional Photographer there. They went All out! It made me realize just how much I love to sing. I've missed it! Anyway, Here's a few pictures.

 {This one was my Favorite! It needs to be twotoned and we need cowboy hats. Ha!}

{♥.}

A New Year.

Some are probably expecting all of my New Year Resolutions on this post. Well, that's not the case this year. I figure, that it is only an important NYR if I can keep it without being reminded or an attitude of  "I'm-scared-of-the-judgments-of-others-if-I-don't-keep-it". And you know, I think it will hold a higher accomplishment value if I can do all of the things I want to this year for myself; not for others. So while I need the support and encouragement of dear friends and family, I would like you to continue just being there for me. Thank you so much for your love! I have felt it strongly this past year.

And now, as 2010 has closed {with all of it's jobless-ness, moving, finding myself again (which is tough!), and all of the other negative things} I will leave those negative things behind, remember the finer moments of 2010, and hope, work, and pray for an even better 2011.

Finer Moments of 2010:
-Cleaning the Sink @ Angie's with my Roommies.
-Sledding & Watching Movies on the Bigscreen @ the McLaughlin's in Idaho.
-Directing the Ward Choir with LOTS of help and support of others!
-Singing in the BYU Women's Chorus & Being on the Publicity Committee when we 'Sold Out' a Solo Concert.
-Having Friends Come Visit me in Utah (Oh HEY Katie Williams!)
-Mom Coming up for Women's Conference
-Movie Nights/Going on Midnight Runs with Roommies and Nora.
-Blogging
-Road Trip to SLC to see Merica & Jaron get married and getting to see the rest of the Martin/Jansons too!
-Going to see the Gila Valley Temple
-Teaching Swimming Lessons
-Getting a New Job
-My last talk with Nora before she Went on a Mission.
-Going to Parker to Hang out with Kaighty Scott
-Visiting Ally Snow on Her Birthday
-Hanging out with the Brittney Chapman in Mesa
-Going to Josh & Kayla's Wedding Reception
-Shooting some engagements for Ben & Mallory
-Flying to Utah and Spending a week re-united with my BFF's (Honey, WHERE is my SUPER SUIT?!)
-Getting to see the Taylors
-Watching a FABULOUS BYU football game-We won!
-Having Sheri Ward come and visit AZ
-Thanksgiving at our house
-Running a 10k, doing one the next monday, and then going 10 miles the next monday after that.
-Having a Game Night at Grandma Gail's and Papa Tom's with Mary too!
-High School Lunch table Reunion.
-Singing in the Ward Choir and doing the Descant
-CHRISTMAS!
-Fireworks Christmas Night
-Going to Olive Garden with my Family to hang out and laugh our heads off.
-Going to see 'Tangled' with Mom & Stephie right after Olive Garden.
-Having a Girls night at Grandma Janet's
-New Years Eve Party at our house

I'm sure that SO many other moments could have been on that list. 2011 is going to be a Grand Year. I can feel it!

I hope that 2011 is a year of happiness for you too!

{♥.}

December 4th, 2010- An Epic Accomplishment Kind of Day

"Why is December 4th, 2010 one of the most epic accomplishment kind of days?", you may ask.

WELL, First of all, It was my twenty-third birthday- Yes, read 'em and weep, parents. 

Second of all, I got over 100 great/awesome/fun/fantastic day wishes, a vase of roses, and 1 crazy story. On Facebook I asked my friends to make up a story about what I was doing for my birthday- They were great, but this one was my Favorite! {Disclaimer: I have NO IDEA who Ethan is.} THIRDLY {Which I don't believe is an actual word} I ran a 10K! Mom, Ben & Drew did it too! It was FABULOUSLY difficult. Haha. But I LOVED it. We then went to Red Robin ad nom-nom-nommed. The rest of the day was pretty chill. I rested ( I was really tired) and my extended family came over later for Brownies and Ice Cream.

23: I can't wait to see what else is in store for this year!

{♥.}

Cupcakes Class

This year I was on the Super Saturday Committee- I taught the glass etching class and mom & I did the cupcake class. It was a lot of fun to make some super cute cupcakes! We spent the better part of the week making them- Take a look!

{Fondant}

 {Preparation for 'Starry Night'}

 {'Starry Night'}

 {Racecar}

 {POPCORN!}

 {awesome bugs}

 {Rolled in Sprinkles}

 {Butterflys}

 {Christmas Ornaments}

 {apples}

{Fun Writing}

Anyway- Thank you to all of those who came to the class!

{♥.}

Princess

The other day, I read an amazing talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf called, "Your Happily Ever After." I had read it before, but for some reason, my mom printed it out and gave me a copy- so I decided to read it again. There were so many phrases that caught my eye, & my heart. The feelings of peace & love & hope that I had after reading it are indescribable. It speaks to everything that I need right now. I hope to read it often. It reminds me of who I am & what I have to do.

"All you have to do is trust your Heavenly Father."

And that is what I plan to do.

{♥.}

Summer's End

Wait, who am I kidding? Summer ending in Arizona? PFFFFFFFFTTTTT. Riiiiiiight.

Anyway, here are a few of the things I have been up to this summer.

#1. Twilight Party

Mom, S & I  were invited to a Party/ midnight showing of Eclipse. It was so fun! When we arrived at the party, it was all we could do to not drool over all of the fun decorations and yummy food! We walked up the driveway and I nearly jumped out of my skin...Edward was sitting in the car in the driveway! I thought it was a real person and when I came to my senses I thought that it was really creative to have a life size cutout in the car. Haha! Then, we walked into the back room and Jacob was outside staring in through the window.... Not to mention all of the quotes on the mirrors and the sugar "blood" on the glasses. We all had a grand time discussing our twilight fan-ness and playing creative trivia games. Thank you Amanda for hosting & Kiana for inviting us!

{all of the 'Yummy' things}

#2. Water Ballons & Youth

{My Girls. Love them!}

As you may have heard- I was called to be a leader in the Youth Group at my Church. Our first activity that I attended was a massive water balloon fight. The prep work consisted of filling up 500 balloons (just between my brother and I! There were a ton of balloons.) It was a pretty intense night. But the sky was absolutely gorgeous! It was a blast.

{Love how the Moon is right above those beautiful clouds}

#3. Visiting Kaighty in Parker, AZ

By the time July rolled around I was READY for a Vacation and I hadn't seen my friend Kaighty in over a year, so I decided to go visit! And may I just say, It was FABULOUS. We relaxed, ate good food, chilled (or rather, Baked) at the lake, watched some awesome movies, went shopping, caught up on our lives and enjoyed each other's company. She then came to my house and endured the longest monopoly game ever. :) Thank you Kaight for letting me come visit you!

#4. Started working at New Balance

Oh, How I LOVE my job! 1. I love shoes. 2. I love helping people and 3. I find old people and children HILARIOUS. Needless to say, it's a perfect job for me. And I now know a TON about shoes....If you have questions, please, ask me. I really do love it!

#5. Family Vacation in Sedona

Where to start? We all CRAMMED and I mean CRAMMED into the Van (I literally had a claustrophobia/panic attack in the backseat as we were leaving.) and drove for 2 hours to beautiful Sedona. We went swimming, watched movies, did puzzles, went hiking and had a 'Girls day' at Tlaquepaque....Shopping and jewelery making. Oh! And we went and watched the Meteor shower. It was breathtaking! I can't even tell you how much fun we had. It was our first (hopefully of many) 'Grown Up Family' Vacations.

{The Crammage.}

#6. Visiting Brittney in Gilbert, AZ

I went to see Brittney in Gilbert and she took me to Fountain Hills to see the Tallest fountain EVER. Haha. It was Superb. We then ate a wonderful lunch and headed to my new favorite store, Scrapbook inc. Guess how much I spent there? No wait. DON'T. I actually did VERY well restraining my personal purchases...but I sure "helped" Brittney find more than enough to buy. (Sorry Girl!) We then went and picked up some frosting so that Britt could teach me some basic cake decorating. I loved it! I wish that time permitted us to get together more often, though, I don't know if our bank accounts could take it. ;) haha!

Well, there you have it. I'm sure there will be many more adventures soon!

{ ♥.}

Utah Re-visited {+.}

{Only the beginning of the Insanity that was packing.}

Life is funny. Well, I think it is anyway.

Remember how I was scared to go to Utah? Silly me. It was fun! I had a good chat with Mom on the way up. We enjoyed the scenery, pointing with oohs and aahs here and there. There was even an awesome lightning storm on the way up.

Packing & cleaning everything was a little overwhelming, but eventually it all came together. And Surprisingly, we got everything into the van. Well, all except the fridge. {Which serves as my excuse to go back and visit soon.}

Visiting with friends was fabulous. We went and bugged the Taylors for about an hour. Sooz & Devin gave us the Grand Tour of their new house and told us of all of the fantastic ideas they have to improve their new living space. Mom & I LOVED it! We admired their ambition & ingenuity. Oh and a little tidbit of information that I thought was superfanamazwonglorfect? Mr. Nielson (the very one from The NieNie Dialogues) is the Taylor's home teacher. That means NieNie is in their ward!!! {A side note: I LOVE NieNie. And her Blog. And I think her Children are Adorable.} I even met one of NieNie's nieces. Haha! I'm a nut. But I think she is wonderful and brave and that's that!

I also visited with my dear friend Nora, who, in October is going to be Sister Nora Hansen, serving the people of the Hungary Budapest Mission. She & I talked about the Hand of God in our lives. And I saw the glow. Sister Nora Hansen has arrived and she is passionate about sharing anything that will improve the lives of others; Most especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And you know what? Her testimony is electrifying. I'm have been so unbelievably blessed by her friendship. {Nora, you are truly Beautiful. I will miss you terribly when you are no longer just a text away.}

After I got all checked/moved out, Mom & I watched the Kiera Knightly version of Pride & Prejudice. I love that movie! It, along with Emma and Sabrina, is definitely a favorite of mine. We stayed up WAY too late, and got up WAY too early the next morning. Driving home was tiring- poor Mom. She stayed awake & drove while D, C, and I slept. It was good to arrive home and unpack pile my entire apartment in the living room. Hopefully I will get to move into my new room soon, for Mom's sake, of course...

Anyway, I'm so glad that everything is coming together and that I've been able to see the hand of the Lord in my life. I've learned so much in the past couple of months, and I hope that this enlightenment period will last for awhile. It's been a long time coming.

{The only way to travel. Gotta have the tunes.}

{ ♥.}

BYU Women's Conference

Women’s Conference Weekend was SUPERFANAMAZWONGLORFECT.  Mom came up on Tuesday night. On Wednesday we went {SHOPPING.} And I mean Shopping. I had a bunch of projects I wanted to do in order to help my poor apartment. Of course, we had to do it on a budget. {I love finding deals though!} Mom spoiled me too. {Thanks Mama!} Currently, I am planning to

|  Hand- stitch a design on curtains from IKEA for my closet
|  Make a valence for my Kitchen Window out of my favorite fabric ever
|  Paint the cinderblocks under my bed Red and stamp black heart/swirl designs {I swear it will be cuter than it sounds}
|  Paint the same black designs on my cork board
|  Hang ribbon/a strand of twinkle lights across the room and hang snapshots from it

And I think that’s it for now. I’m pretty excited! I love craft projects!

Thursday & Friday were WC. The classes I went to were Marvelous! I needed to hear what was said. I ended up making it into every class I wanted to go to and learned SO MUCH. I have already been able to implement some of the lessons learned into my life. One class I went to talked about the Atonement of Christ and how it covers more than just sin. It covers the whole mortal experience. Well, I knew that it covered pain and sickness and things like that, but I was just trying to learn how to “give” my sin to Jesus. I had no Idea how to rely on Christ for sickness and things. It turns out that if you pray, and basically say, “It’s in your hands-please help” it all works out. It’s pretty doggone amazing. Miraculous. You might not be physically healed instantly, but you WILL have the strength you need to get through.

A few more things learned:

|  People came to Christ because they believed HE was Good. Not because they thought they were good. Therefore, do not ask, “Do you have enough faith to be healed?” Ask, “Do you believe Christ has the power and will to heal your heart?”  {Loved this.}
|  Life does not happen as planned. Can you catch the Vision the Lord has for your life?
|  It’s ok to be out of your Comfort Zone.
|  LET the Lord comfort your heart. Don’t refuse to be comforted!
|  The Lord is trying to get us Home. There are many ways to get Home!
|  “The Lord needs Brave Sons and I must learn to be Brave.”
|  “My God is a God of Miracles.”
|  Life paths are NOT the same for Everyone.
|  NO Pity Parties! They are Toxic Time Wasters.

And it continued on & on & on…

If you get the Chance, you should go. Really. {Fun Fact: Women’s conference is designed for Women & MEN over the age of 16.}   

Oh! And the Thursday night entertainment is great!

Driving Back to AZ is slightly LONG. Lots of pretty sights though!!!

   

{ ©.}

Angels +.

Note: This is a very personal post, mostly meant for myself in the future.

Another Note: I usually come across as a very upbeat and positive person- I am NOT always like that.

Life is full of ups and downs. This week I experienced the ultimate low point in my life thus far. I found little joy in life. Nothing was making me happy- I was not even affected by the BEAUTIFUL weather [which is huge for me]. I have been unable to sing for a month, but I was still moved to tears by music, so I knew that was good. But really, that was it. I was so depressed- All the little things were adding up.

I called my mom Monday-  My Angel Mother soothed as best she could being so far away. I still had a difficult day. But I kept her in my thoughts. And I'm sure she was praying for me.

The week progressed, and I got worse.

I found out on Wednesday that sometimes, what we need is not what we expect. I was having a VERY difficult day {the lowest so far} and my friend JilliAnne could tell. Can I just say, that she was my Angel that day? Very honestly and truly, she was the person that I needed to talk to. She had some very good suggestions for me. She pointed out that I was doing good on the eternal path, and that it didn't matter what I was learning about, just that I was learning (and obviously that they were good things). Heavenly Father gave us agency to make decisions! And she sent me some quotes and a video based on a talk by Elder F. Enzio Busch of the 70. I bawled. Duh. ANYWAY, He states:

"I want to share with you a vehicle, an instrument, that I developed some time ago for myself and for my family. It can assist us to reach our focus as we read the suggested vision of true discipleship as a Latter-day Saint. It helps when, from time to time, we ponder and seek identification with the following thoughts:
* Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks. The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by him, and nothing is impossible for you.
* When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward God.
* In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take.
* First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness. Don't permit anything to detract you from this awareness.
* You cannot communicate with God unless you have first sacrificed your self-oriented natural man and have brought yourself into the lower levels of meekness, to become acceptable for the Light of Christ.
* Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope. Light will flow into your soul.
* Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the awareness of the depth of gratitude for him, you appreciate every opportunity to show your love for him by diligently serving in his Church.
* God knows that you are not perfect. As you suffer about your imperfections, he will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve.
* God knows better than you what you need. He always attempts to speak to you. Listen, and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that he makes to us--everything will fall into its place.
* Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin.
* When you cannot love someone, look into that person's eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of the child of God in him.
* Never judge anyone. When you accept this, you will be freed. In the case of your own children or subordinates, where you have the responsibility to judge, help them to become their own judges.
* If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again.
* Avoid at all cost any pessimistic, negative, or criticizing thoughts. If you cannot cut them out, they will do you harm. On the road toward salvation, let questions arise but never doubts. If something is wrong, God will give you clarity but never doubts.
* Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words. Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet. Be aware of that as you enter places of worship.
* Be not so much concerned about what you do, but do what you do with all your heart, might, and strength. In thoroughness is satisfaction.
* You want to be good and to do good. That is commendable. But the greatest achievement that can be reached in our lives is to be under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost. Then he will teach us what is really good and necessary to do.
* The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it.
* Be grateful for every opportunity to serve. It helps you more than those you serve.
* And finally, when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that, as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better.
Thus, we prepare all the days of our lives, and, as we grow, death loses its sting, hell loses its power, and we look forward to that day with anticipation and joy when he will come in his glory."

This is what I needed. While talking with JilliAnne, I was able to feel Hope again. Something that I thought had escaped me...The day grew better from there.

I was able to talk to my angel sister [who I called on a whim]. She is going through the same thing on a lesser level. We were able to vent together; And come up with some solutions together.

As I was pondering all of these things this morning, I realized that I wanted to be led in every thought and action in my life. It was 'so much easier' when I didn't live with all the "Mormon kids" to be good and happy and stand out. Why couldn't I do it now? And then the thought struck me: "THAT is EXACTLY like the Children of Israel as they were being led in the wilderness. They had EVERYTHING laid out for them. And when they were given simple tasks, they failed them and pushed them aside because they were too easy." I realized that I have been Given AGENCY to make decisions! I didn't need everything laid out for me! I realized that I need to make decisions and then have them approved by God. Epiphany. Truly.

Today [Thursday] was so much better.

I woke up with an ok attitude, and I started listening to some church music. Well, the song "Angels" by Julie De Azevedo came on...and Of course I started thinking of Mom. And I cried. This Beautiful Woman has given me everything since I was born. She cares so much about me and for me. I know she loves me. I have never appreciated her as much as I do at this moment in my life. I love her so much.

I went to my favorite class: Preparation for Marriage. And learned how to deal with Problems in relationships. Then I went to work and chatted to my friend Megan, who writes these wonderfully enchanting tales which she entertains me with while we trudge along 'reading' the call numbers in the library. And then tonight, I went to Zumba at the Gym with Kelley and Nora. I had so much fun being loud and getting into the dances! After the Class we toured the gym for Nora, and about 15 minutes later we walked out. The Instructor [Allison] of the Zumba class  walked out right behind us and said "Thanks girls! I didn't get a chance to talk to you!" We said "Thanks!" Then she said "OH, and COME UP FRONT NEXT TIME!!!"  We told her that we got there late and "We had tons of Fun!" It was so fun to be kind of obnoxious and loud and drag Kelley into it. Allison definitely noticed that we were having fun, and she fed off of our energy, and we in turn fed off of hers. Hence the invitation to come up front next time. :) I loved it.

Anyway, Nothing in my life is Perfect, But I know that I will grow from these experiences that I'm having.Thank you to my angels this week. I appreciate you. 

Life goes on, and from now on, I'm going to love the life I choose to live.

{{PS: If you want to watch the video go HERE.}}

Fear & Faith.

What if i named my son Fear and my daughter Faith? Then Fear and Faith WOULD co-exist. And if Fear was a Bully then there really wouldn't be anything to fear but fear himself. lol. I would never do that...

The past couple of weeks have been interesting. It all started with the Financial aid office (doesn't it always?) and it involved quite a bit of crying to my mom. (Thanks Mom!) Trying to get things straightened out has been frustrating to say the least. When I would talk to Mom, I would tell her, I know it will all be ok. I have faith it will all be ok. I knew that it would all be ok. But I didn't have the peace and comfort that Faith brings. I was still scared out of my mind that it wouldn't be ok. Luckily, I work at the library and I recently came across a book that had Joseph Smith quotes in it. There was one that of course talked about fear and faith, and when i read it i realized my mistake. I immediately felt peace and comfort flow into my heart. It has been fine ever since. I know it will all work out, my life has been turned upside down for a reason (though still unknown to me) and i will probably benefit from this experience in the future. I'm just glad i know that somebody else can see the whole picture and that He is guiding me to be the best that I can be!

♥.

More Christmas Break...

So It was so so fun. Duh. Steph, Mom, and I Got Pedicures....and Then We made Virgin Strawberry Daquiries....MMMMMMM. Stephanie was the Resident Daquirie maker. Lol. Here's Pictures!

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New Semester

Hola! Actually I Should Say, Buon Giorno! This semester seems to be shaping up... hopefully it will continue to be a good one! This week started off kinda rough. I'm not impressed by BYU Financial Aid, but the troubles I have there have been countered by wonderful friends and family! I can't even begin to describe how blessed I am! All I can say is thank you Mom and Dad, and thank you McKelle! :)
I love my roommates, and my classes (at least so far) !!!! I have Book Of Mormon, but my teacher is still on Vacation in Hawaii until next week. Lucky Her. Then I have Teachings of the Living Prophets. Oh I LOVE this class! And my teacher is great. I really like her teaching style, and what better subject than President Monson and his counselors? I also have a Social Dance Class. This is my FAVORITE class HANDS DOWN. Who doesn't love to Fox Trot, Waltz, Swing, and Polka? Yes I just said Polka. lol. I will also have Voice Lessons. And I am now taking an ITALIAN class! (Hence the Buon Giorno!) I LOVE IT! It is HARD because me teacher will only speak in Italian....so we have to pick it up...It's also an Advanced class...so by the end of this semester I will have taken a years worth of Italian. I hope that I can keep up!
Another Fun thing that happened...My Grandma texted (Yes Texted, I am blessed with 4 very cool grandparents and 2 cool parents that ALL TEXT me.) Anyway, she asked me if i knew a Bishope Mulleneaux. I asked her what his first name was, because there are a few down in Thatcher. Her reply was Randy, and that he was a police officer. My Reply Was this: "YES!!!! He was my Favorite Bishop!!! How do you KNOW him?!?!" She then called me and told me about how, When She was working at the Temple she had to call a couple of Counselors...and so she called this woman named Cindy to be one of them. Cindy had never been married, and was known to be the Temple Sweetheart. Everyone loved her. Well one day a very handsome man came in and his Wife had passed away a little while back....Cindy and the handsome man met, and all of the temple workers watched them fall in Love. They were then Married....My Grandma proceded to tell me that Everyone was SO SO SO Happy for them.... She also said that it had been a while since she had seen Cindy, and that when she went to the Temple the other day, she walked out of the Locker, and who did she see? CINDY! They were both Ecstatic and as they were talking, Cindy said that her Husband was a Bishop down at the college (EA) and my Grandma said, "My Granddaughter just graduated from there!" So they said goodbye for the moment, but after they talked later that evening, my Grandma texted Me again and said "Cindy and Bishop M said to Give you Their Love. She Said they Both think you are a Doll!" I'm so so so Glad that I left a Good Impression. Seriously, the Mulleneaux are my favorite! Thanks Grandma for Connecting that Loop and For giving me some background info! :) I love you!

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Mom's Blog

Yay! Mom has a blog now! We set it up during break and It’s really cute. Check it out!
Martin Mania!
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Christmas!

Christmas this year was so fun! Here's Some of our crazy traditions... My mom Makes these INTENSE Gingerbread Houses! I love it. It takes FOREVER, but they turn out AMAZING>

She Also lets my Brothers decorate some of their own...what a saint!

We hang Christmas Balls From the Ceiling....

And We make Caramels!!!!

For Christmas Eve we always go to my Grandma Gail and Papa Tom’s House to eat dinner and open presents. My Cousin, Jenny, her Husband, Zach, and their daughter, Allie, were there too. Allie is just so doggone cute!!! She kept us all entertained. :) it was really fun to reminisce with Jenny about past Christmas Eves where we would play “Office” (No, not like the TV show.) Lol. We were Awful to our younger siblings when we would play. And we’d always get rolls and ranch to eat in the Office. Lol. Oh memories!

Papa Tom

Grandma Gail

Opening Presents

Allie Waving

She is the Most Adorable little Girl!

Papa And Dad

This year I was employed as an Elf. Santa even let me taste the caramels and cookies that were left for Him. :) It was really great to see what goes on behind the scenes in Santa’s Workshop. There was quite a Haul under the tree this year too….

This was before the Haul...

I love Christmas Morning! It was so fun to see my family members’ faces as they opened their gifts. Lol. Ben’s face was priceless when he opened his Ipod. And Josh and Matt had great ones too as they saw their remote control cars. Drew loved his suit and Stephie liked her gifts. Mom and Dad really liked the Arcade games that I got them, Pac-Man and Digger and stuff like that. Lol.

See- Santa

Look at those Faces! Hooray for Race Cars!

What???

AN IPOD! WHoot!

Drew in his Suit Jacket

She's so happy! :) And she's going to kill me.

What's This?

Why Yes, it IS the best shirt you've ever had!

Yay!

Me and Dad

Mom's FAVORITE GIFT...she walked around with it spreading Calm... :)

Dad...done with pictures :)

Josh had to put his pants up so they wouldn't get wet when he was testing his car....

Isn't he Handsome?

For Christmas Afternoon, we always go to my Grandma Janet and Papa Ted’s House. We ate dinner and then opened presents. My Aunt Lois and Uncle Chuck were there too! We love it when they come visit. My Aunt Lois and Grandma Janet laugh so much! (Kinda like how me and Stephie and mom laugh together. Sisters are the Best!) And Grandma gets Sassy! Lol. We love it! :) After we opened presents, Aunt Lois and Grandma taught us how to play Pirate Dice. It was fun! Lol. Then we had Pie! YUM! It was hard to leave that night!

Grandma and Lois making Dinner and Giggling!

Visiting with Family is the Best! I’m so glad that I got to go home for Christmas!

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