Bucket List

So...I have a Utah Bucket List; A list of things that I should or want to do before leaving Utah. I've always had this list, but really haven't completed any of them haha. Anyway...Friday night I had a date with a wonderful gentleman that I've known for a few years and unbeknown to me at the time he asked me out, he ended up fulfilled one of my bucket list items...yay! I know I've been in Utah for almost 3 years now, but I have never been to a single BYU sporting event, not one. Friday, that changed. We went to a BYU soccer game...lots of fun! I felt really dumb not knowing that BYU had a fight song lol, but it was overall a good time. Plus...we won, woo hoo! (I know you probably can't see it very well in the picture, but we won 4 to 0, the other team didn't even get any shots in) After the game we walked around, got an ice cream and went to see my favorite comedy group Humor U. Overall, it was a pretty-darn-stinking-good-evening. :)

Saturday was a lot of fun too. I woke up early and went to the temple to do a session with one of my guy friends; temple work is always a good time! Right after the temple, I met up with another friend and we went to a children's introduction to The Magic Flute, the opera...it was so cute...loved it! Then we both went out to lunch and talked and talked for hours. Then I went with my for-mentioned guy friend to watch How to Train Your Dragon at another friends apartment...cute movie. Then met up with one of my roommates. It was a busy day...I didn't get any homework done, but I had a really good time! :)

The Call

So this last week went really well. I aced two midterms. I had two dates. Saw a play. I got over a cold within 48 hours. Received two new dates for this coming week. Had a perfect Sunday...I really shouldn't have anything to complain about. With all the good going on in my life right now, I notice how hard Satan is working on me to screw up! He is the master counterfeiter...so with all these appearances of "good" I have to filter out the "best" things...and it's hard sometimes, but so far so good (no problems, don't worry). With this filtering process at the forefront of my mind, I exhaust myself with possibilities and ultimately get down on myself for not having all the answers right away.

As I was in the middle of this process this afternoon, I received a call. The call was from my dear Mom-Cathy. I had actually been wanting to talk to her for several days, but with other family circumstances, didn't always feel like I could, so I was really happy to hear her voice. She told me that she'd been thinking of me the last few days and needed to tell me how much she loved me; how proud of me she is; and a just overall satisfaction with the woman I've become. I broke into tears immediately...her call and her message to me was just what I needed to hear at that exact moment. Mom-Cathy is a great example to me and always has been; I love her dearly and miss her sweet spirit that she brings to our home, even when chaos is abound. Thank you, Mom for bringing me back to what I know my Heavenly Father wants me to realize and be. I love you and I miss you.

Conference

So, this last weekend was conference weekend. I've been in Utah now for 3 years and I had still not been to conference...horrible right?! So, it just so happens that our ward was given some tickets and the bishop gave them to the Relief Society presidency (perk of the presidency!) So it ended up that two of the four presidency members couldn't attend, so the two of us left got to bring a date. I asked a new guy in the ward that I met at FHE, he turned out to be really nice and he'd never been to conference as well, so it all worked out for the best. Then I hooked the other presidency member up with a guy friend of mine, so we all had a swell time! I don't think I've ever seen or experienced anything like it. The amount of people, which I understand is large, was even larger than I had imagined. It was amazing! And being in conference during the sustaining left me in awe...to see and feel all those people and millions more that were watching elsewhere sustain our prophets, seers, revelators, and church leaders was breathtaking. It was just a great time! After all of conference concluded, we had some more friends over to my apartment for a potluck. We ate, played games and just had a good time. Great weekend!

Pictures

So I finally got some pictures of the camping expedition...enjoy!

Camping, Friends, and Birthday's Oh My!

So this week was super busy! School is getting rough and the social fun just keeps on flowing. A friend of mine was having his 26th birthday and every year there is a big camping adventure. We went to a super remote location in Northern Utah that you can only access by 4x4 vehicles. Just the drive up was a blast...like Indiana Jones! :)

Anyway, the camping was a ton of fun...I was FREEZING though. Luckily I have some of the greatest friends ever who loaned me their coats, an extra sleeping bag, and two additional blankets to keep me warm. We just played around the fire, cooked dinner, jumped over the fire, stuffed cake in Zach's face, set up our tents and stuff, and just had a good time. I expected the sun to be up really early, but it didn't, so I woke up at about 7am. Luckily, since I was freezing, Doug woke up about 10 minutes before me and had started a fire. After everyone woke up, we made breakfast, laughed and joked around, then packed up. Since we were in such a remote location, we got lost coming out of the canyon, but it was beautiful; I'm glad we got to see it in the light this time.

After we made it back into Provo, my roommate and Doug and I went and did a temple session...something I've been needing to do all week and never got around to it, so it was great to be able to go. After all that, I reached exhaustion...too much good stuff going on. I used my last few conscious moments to watch the Relief Society General Broadcast. I was so glad that I was able to stay up...it was just what I needed. I then got everything prepared for Sunday...So I went to bed early...well 10, but that's early lately.

Today, church was great. Got to all my meetings; conducted Relief Society calling trainings, had a stake Relief Society meeting, went to a ward BBQ, then fed ducks with some Jen and some guys from the ward. After ducks, we went to ward prayer, and that brings me to now...busy! But good!

Pics of camping to come later.

Fun Times

So...my life has been pretty wonderful and I am realizing how lucky and truly blessed I am. It's been more than I could ever hope and wish for. It's just wonderful. I'm in a great place, getting a great education, I'm growing closer to my Savior, I have the best friends anyone could ever ask for, and I'm having the time of my life. I don't want to pretend that it's without it's hardships and trials, those are abound, but the good things are so much sweeter because of them.

So now for the fun... This last weekend was so much fun.

Friday night was our Stake's Opening Social. There was a barbecue and then a dance. It was just a blast! I met a lot of fun new people, saw some old friends, and danced the night away.

Saturday was quite productive...I ran a bunch of errands with my roommates, cleaned my room, did a little homework, went on a date to see World of Dance (totally awesome!), and then went to a game night... A big "Thank You" to my personal Fairy Godmother and roommate extraordinaire for doing my makeup and loaning me the coolest vest and matching shoes in history...made me look awesome! You're the best!

Sunday, I anticipated a lazy Sunday, maybe a nap...What I got was so much better! I woke up bright and early, got ready, went to church, gave my Relief Society lesson, partook of the Sacrament, and then had a Relief Society Presidency party in the copy room! That was great all by itself. Then after church a friend popped by and asked my roommates and I if we'd like to accompany him for an Autumn drive up Alpine Loop in the canyon. We thought it sounded nice...there are so many colors in the trees here its amazing! I always feel like a child pointing them out...I just didn't know trees turned these colors until I moved to Utah.

Anyway...so a few other guys came along too and we made a day of it. We drove around, did a little sight seeing in the mountains, helped a little boy fix up a few nasty gashes he obtained while hiking with his family. We then drove through the rest of the loop and ended up in American Fork where one of the guys parents live. We stopped by, said hello, and played in his backyard for a few hours. It had to of been the best backyard ever! A tree house, a trampoline and a swing set...can you say FUN?! We all just had a blast. Then we headed over to another friends house to watch him open his mission call...that was great!

Anyway...a lot of things happened, but those are the cliff notes of how great my life is right now. I'm going to enjoy every second of it!

A Very Merry Birthday Party

Today was just so much fun!!! One of my friends, Whitney, had a birthday this week, and to celebrate we had a big girls only tea party in the court yard of my apartment building. The weather was perfect and the company was grand. We took pictures with our gloves and paracels. Had little finger sandwiches and lemonaid in our tea cups while a record player played some of my favorite old time tunes...good times!!! No one knew I took any of these pictures, so they are kind of funny. Especially Betsy's picture! Love that girl! P.S, she totally made that hat ornament thing herself! It's amazing!

Back to School

So...school started back up again this week. The majority of my classes are going to be intense, but I'm excited to get some of these really hard courses over with in half the time! I am also taking on my personal challenge to have some fun this summer, which I have been doing thus far. I'm meeting new people and overall having a pretty good time, but not too much of a good time :)

Time...

My time back in Arizona is coming to a close. It's been nice to recover at home and to be home for some important events. I went to Disneyland a ton of times, (which I never object to!). Once with Liz and Jon as a celebratory trip of independence, once with my best girl friends from high school and once with my brother Jon for his 23rd birthday. It's also been really nice being back in my old family ward. I've missed those dear families so much, so it was so wonderful to see them all again. But best of all...I feel SOOOOO much better than I did a few months ago. That means its back to the grind at BYU. However, I'm determined to fit some fun into my life this last semester! Hopefully I'll be able to post about some of that fun, so stay tuned!

Lost Prince...

I came home today and my niece was talking about what she wanted to be when she grew up. She settled on being Cinderella. I then jokingly asked if I became Cinderella first would she be happy for me? She said "NO!" I'm going to be Cinderella!"

She then went on to tell me that I could be Belle, so I thought about it and said "alright, I'll take that". Then as serious as could be she said, "Hunter will be my prince but who will be yours?". I said, "I've been wondering that same thing! Where is he?". She told me she didn't know, then I went on to say how easy it would be to find a "Beast", but turning him is the problem lol. She didn't get it, but all the adults in the room had a good laugh. Ah to be a child and have everything be simple :)

A New Day

Well, it's been over a year since I last wrote in this blog and a lot has happened since then so I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll pick it up from the heart.

It's hard to believe that devastation swept over me a few months ago, but slowly but surely I see the big picture. Elements of life reveal themselves and the pieces of my life make sense again. Almost makes me ashamed for feeling lost even for a second. I guess the important thing is that I'm making the most of what I have and it's going to be exactly what I make it...which is wonderful!