An Eye Opener

This week was kinda an eye opener for me.

I worked Monday morning and got time and a half for the holiday! YEAH!!! I love extra money :) I got home and showered and then spent the night with the fam. We had dinner, relaxed, and did sparklers to celebrate the 24th! It was grand :)

Tuesday morning I worked and then came home to get ready to hang out with Carlee. When I called my mom to tell her I was headed to Carlee's, she told me that my Grandpa Blackburn was rushed to the hospital and that we might be going down to SLC later if we hadn't heard anything. We didn't know how critical his condition was. I headed to Carlee's and was there for about an hour before my mom called and said the family was on their way to pick me up and we were driving to SLC because we hadn't heard anything and if we were needed, we'd be that much closer. At that moment, I wasn't sure that I would see him alive ever again. That caused me to contemplate. I was so grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel. In that moment, I just knew that if I didn't see him alive again, that I would in the next life! It was a great comfort to me. On our way to SLC, we got a call that he was okay and his sugar had bottomed out. We were pretty close to being to SLC, so we went and visited with him for a few hours before heading back home. It was good to see family again and know he was okay. Time really does fly by in this life, and you have to live life to the fullest or you're just wasting time.

Tuesday also made me realize how grateful I am to have a father that is a worthy priesthood holder. As soon as my uncle found out that my dad was coming down, he was happy that he didn't have to hunt for a worthy priesthood holder to help him give Grandpa a blessing! I was so grateful that my dad has been living his life worthy to hold the power of God and be able to touch my life and my family's lives with that blessing. I realized how important that is to me to have in my future husband. I have to have a worthy priesthood holder, no questions asked. :) I'm so grateful for this Gospel, this good news!

After we got home, I watched the Bachelorette with my sisters. I definitely want Ashley to marry Ben. :) he's a sweetie. Ha ha. I love that show!

Wednesday I took Marissa to voice lessons and then we went swimming at Grassli's! It was great :) After we went swimming, I went boating with my home ward! It was a blast! My sister and cousin went with me and I just loved it! I love being out in the water :)

I slept in Thursday morning and then went to work. The night went by pretty fast cuz I didn't have to close and I worked with Marcy! She's one of my coworkers that I just get along with so well! :) I look up to her a lot!

Friday I went out with Debbi and she taught me how to drive Rhonda, my stick shift car!!! :) I'd been out a few times, but it just hadn't clicked yet. We went everywhere around town. Up and down hills, up and down Washington Blvd., on the freeway..... we went to my parking garage by my work and made sure I could park and also get out of the parking lot okay, we covered just about everything. It was great fun :) She took me out and we decked out Rhonda too! We got new seat covers, a steering wheel cover, CD holder and a smelly good hanging decoration :) It was a lot of fun! When I got home, I had a letter from Joseph Ditton! I was so excited to hear from him! I drove my car to work that night and we closed fast! It was a great day :)

Saturday, we drove up to Paris, Idaho to the Budge Family Reunion! That was a fun day :) They had a thing set up where the kids could make rockets and launch them and the kids made swords out of noodles and PVC pipe :) It was a fun day! We came home and my sisters and I went on a drive in Rhonda :) it was a good day!

 Bear Lake! :)

 Family Reunion!

 Rocket Launcher!

Brigham City Temple on the way home :)

I went to church with my family today and I work later in the day. :)

I only have a few weeks before I move back to Logan! It's crazy how fast this summer has gone by! It's been a good summer. I miss my friends and Latter Day Voices! I can't believe I'll be back in Logan so fast! I'm hoping to find a job this year, so if anyone hears of anything up there that's part time, let me know! :)

I realized this week that unexpected things can happen super fast. Your best friend, a family member, a boyfriend, can be taken from you in a flash. You need to appreciate the people in your life and treat them like you would if you knew that today was their last day, or your last day. I'm grateful for the knowledge that I have of the Gospel and I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true church on earth. I know that Joseph Smith was the prophet of the Restoration. I know that we have a living prophet today that leads and guides us in the right direction. I'm grateful for the missionaries who are serving the Lord and bringing our brothers and sisters back to the Gospel. I leave you with my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Future Always Has Potential :)

This week, I had a really bad day and I was complaining that night to my dear friend, Carlee. She told me, "Tomorrow has potential." and that made me think. In reality, we aren't always going to have good days and we aren't always going to be happy, but what is ahead of us has potential. :) That was a lesson I learned this week.

Another thing I realized this week is how much time changes things. A month isn't really that much time, but in reality.... so much can change in a month. So much can change in a day! It's CRAZY how that works. How even the littlest things can change you for a lifetime. Looking at experiences I've had in the past and the people that have been in my life, my religion, my standards..... That's really what has made me who I am today. I can only keep pressing forward and try my hardest to not fall backwards! :) I'll stumble and fall sometimes, that's a fact of life. But what really matters is how I handle it and what I learn from those bumps in the road. Life really is a test. But you need to have fun and be positive :)

My weekly recap:

Monday wasn't a great day overall. It wasn't all bad... but I felt like one thing after another came up. I got some stuff done and worked though. Right after work, I called Skylar and talked to him for the last time before his mission! Pretty crazy! Another good friend gone! He is exactly where he needs to be though! :) I'm so happy for him! He's up for quite the adventure!

Tuesday I worked and then got some new jeans for school! YAY! I hung out with Carlee that night too :) We talked and watched Vampire Diaries. I got to gaze at Ian Somerhalder and some other attractive men for a few hours while I caught up on the episodes I missed. I was totally okay with that. HA! I can enter dreamland every once in awhile, right? ;)

Wednesday I worked all day and then went on a drive to learn stick again! :) I did pretty well! I still have a lot to improve on though. But I got on the road and even drove on the highway! Yay me!!! :) I can't wait for the day that it's just natural. I'm grateful to be picking up this skill now.

Thursday was a fun day with the family! My mom and sisters and I helped a lady move in our ward. Afterwards, we went to the neighbor's to swim and I got some sun :) YAY! We all got cleaned up and then went to my grandparent's house and had a family night! My Aunt Kelcie was there and cut our hair. I just got my bangs trimmed, but Brittany got a new style! She looks super cute :) Her hair cut is basically the same as mine. It looks adorable :) It was fun to spend time with the family.

I also got my first letter from Joseph on Thursday! I was so excited! My mom got the mail right before we went to my grandparent's house and handed me the letter. He's doing really well! He says that he's already starting to think in Spanish! I laughed super hard when he told me that everyone but one sister in his district is as loud as him :) Ha ha! He loves the MTC! I'm so glad to hear it. I can't wait for more letters! I've already written him back and wrote Skylar for the first time! :)

Friday I did some job hunting for the fall, cleaned my room, put in USU dates for my mom on the calendar, and got my fishy all set up in his new(ish) home! :)  Don't worry, the rocks now match my hot pink decor! ha ha ha ;) I went to work that night and got ready for our family bbq on Saturday!

Saturday we had a Blackburn Family barbecue and day in the mountains! It was so nice :) We ate, visited and played, laughed, and just relaxed. We got to watch some squirrels play, that was entertaining :) They were cute! It was a good day with the family! Then I came home and went on another drive to learn stick.

 Cami and I :)

 Allyson, Isabelle, and Kaden :) Aww!

 Isabelle and Kaden :) two peas in a pod! 

Grandparents :)

Today, I'm pampering myself before I go to church, aka doing a facial mask and maybe doing my nails, going to church, and then going to work. That's the plan!

I can't believe there's only a little over a month until I move back to Logan. I feel like time has flown by! Last summer seemed to drag on, but this summer moved fast! I've had a pretty awesome summer! I'm hoping that I'll be able to find a job in Logan and start anew again! I realized that even though I know a lot of people up in Logan now, it's still a fresh start. I'll have a whole new apartment, a new ward, a new roommate, new classes, new people in LDV (that is, if I make it in again) new people in general, and new experiences! If I make LDV again, I'll get to go on the retreat at the beginning of the year, which will be so fun! I'm excited to hopefully be in Latter Day Voices again and this time, for the full year. I have such an adventure waiting for me, and I'm excited to jump right into it! :)

Accio Summa Fun! ;)

Like my Harry Potter Reference in the title? Yeah, I know it's cheesy, and I'm proud of it :)

Monday I drove home from Logan and went to work that night. :)

Tuesday, I had work in the morning and then called my best friend, Joseph after work to talk to him for the last time on the phone before his mission. I talked with him for about five or ten minutes before he had to go. I'm looking forward to writing him and keeping in touch :) He's such a great example to me and I'm grateful to have him as a friend! Later that night, I went with my mom to the Relief Society pool party. It was a BLAST. Oh my goodness! I played Colors with grown women. It was amazing! Probably the most fun game of Colors I've ever played! It was great to spend time with these wonderful women that I've associated with in the ward while growing up. :) After the pool party, I went to Linda's house and we sat in her hot tub for awhile and talked :)

Joseph and I :)

Wednesday, I went and laid out next to Debbi Spilker's pool for a few hours with my mommy and sister and then I hung out with Carlee for the rest of the night. We went shopping for new work pants since both of ours were worn out and chilled until we went to the work screening for Harry Potter! It was a nice, relaxing day.

Carlee and I :)

Thursday, I worked until 5 and then my mom, Marissa, her friend, Nicki, and I went and saw Harry Potter at 7:00 in Perry :) They're first time, my second. So great!

Friday, I called my land lady to find out who our roommate was going to be in the fall and "Facebook friended" her. I'm so excited to meet her in person! We're going to have a great year! That night, my sisters and I had a girls night and did facial masks and painted our nails! It was fun!

Brittany, Marissa and I :)

Marissa and I :)

My newly painted toes!

Saturday was a long day. I had a nine hour shift at work! It started at 8:15 and didn't end until 5:00. Harry Potter.... Harry Potter... ;) That night I drove with Marcy and her boyfriend to Logan to visit Shaun and Michael for awhile. It was a blast! Made me realize that by the end of the summer, most of my pre-missionary friends will all be gone. :P I'm looking forward to the letters and the stories I hopefully be getting and a fresh start in the fall!

Shaun and I :)

Sunday I went to my Singles Ward for the first time in a long time :) it was great! That night I went to a fireside where Elder Holland spoke for Pioneer Day and then came home and relaxed. Really great week!

Every Day Is A Gift :)

Forewarning! This post is long, but well.... I'm not going to condense it :)

I've been contemplating the concept of change for the past while. Recently, I've been looking at "old" pictures and seeing how much my appearance has changed just in the last two years. My hair went from an accidental few inches cut off, (I wanted a trim, but the lady didn't seem to get that term...) to me getting bangs, to chemically straigthening my hair, to me chopping my hair off! I'm also starting to look more like an adult, apparently! I was talking to a coworker and she told me that I'm actually look like an adult now. It was funny to hear that from someone other than family or close friends. Not only did I change physically, but I grew in other ways as well. I graduated high school and moved out of the house for the first time. Went to my first year of college. Met a whole new set of friends :) so many changes! I haven't even covered them all! It just gets worse from here too! Friends and family getting married, sisters getting older! Friends and family leaving on missions, some out on missions, and some soon coming back! I never believed the grown-ups when they'd say that time flies by fast when you're older, but I sure do believe it now! Blown away at how fast things happen!

Monday was the 4th of July! Happy birthday, America! I slept in and cleaned the cars. :) Later, my dad took me to the church parking lot to learn stick on my Rhonda the Honda. UGH. It'll take some getting used to, but I'll get it :) We had a very yummy dinner and then I went to Carlee's house and did fireworks with her family. We were going to go to Weber to watch theirs, but instead we watched them from Carlee's house and got to watch Marriott-Slaterville's fireworks as well! We finished the night chillaxing in her room watching Jeopardy and Vampire Diaries. What a wonderful 4th!! :)

Tuesday, I woke up, ate breakfast, and picked weeds for awhile with the family :) It was so nice outside. Perfect temperature and it even sprinkled rain. I showered and then went over to Jessica Jenkins's house :) We had such a fun girls day! We sat and talked and had pizza together and then put in a movie... that we didn't watch. No worries ;) make that two movies we didn't watch. We took pictures, painted nails, Facebook stalked, laughed and giggled and just had so much fun! We had delicious homemade strawberry ice cream too! YAY! Jessica is such a beautiful daughter of God. She always seems to have the perfect advice for me and is always in tune with the Spirit. Super talented and beautiful daughter of God :) I'm so grateful that I have her as a friend!

 Just havin' fun with the camera :)

 Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream :) SO delicious.

 We painted our toes :)

 Painted our fingernails :)

I just love this beautiful daughter of God :) 

Wednesday, I got up and took my sister, Marissa, to voice lessons :) that was fun! A few hours later, I took my sister, Brittany, to Cars 2. It was a cute show! We came home and I chilled for awhile before I ran a few errands for my mommy. Then I just hung out for the rest of the day! 

Thursday was Marissa's birthday! I got up and Brittany and I played Mario Kart with her and then got ready for the day. We picked two of her friends up and saw Monte Carlo! It was the cutest movie! I love it! There were so many great quotes from that movie. Later that night, we had a barbeque dinner and visited with my grandparents for awhile. After they left, we watched Tangled later that night. Ahh... so many college memories flooded back by watching that movie! I was happy I was going to be heading to Logan the next day, because the movie made me Logan-sick. 

Friday, I got up, packed for Logan, and then went to the dentist. NO CAVITIES!!! YAY!!!!!!! :) It was a beautiful drive to Logan! There was a bit of a wait in the canyon though, cuz there was an the accident. I went to Amanda's and we hung out all day. We got dinner at Panda and Matt Robinson came over to chill for awhile. Shortly after he left, Joseph came over :) Amanda, Joseph and I hung out for the last time as the trio before Joseph leaves on his mission. It was a great night! Never gets boring when it's the three of us! I'm gonna miss my brother. Amanda had to work early in the morning, so she "kicked" us out and I went to Kaylie's house! Kaylie's fiance, Alex was over and I visited with them for awhile. They are THE cutest couple ever! Just love them to pieces :) I want a relationship like theirs. They get married on August 11th. Can't wait! After Alex left, Kaylie, Kaylie's roommate Misty, and I stayed up way late just talking. It was a fun day!!!!

The three of us on our "trio" night :)

A picture of the adorable couple :)

Saturday was quite the random day. I woke up, got ready, and went job hunting for a few hours. I grabbed some Jamba Juice for lunch and then went with some of Misty's friends to the Sidewalk Sale on Main Street. After that, I got myself some dinner from Panda (yes.... I realize I ate at Panda two nights in a row.... I love Chinese :) and decided I was going to go look at Walmart for some things and then I saw my LDV friend Sarah Knudson walking outside. I stopped to say hi and we talked for a minute. I ended up chilling at her house for awhile instead and then her and her friend Lauraly came to Joseph's last Hurrah before his mission. It was quite a wonderful evening. I'm going to miss him so much!

Sunday, I woke up in a panic. I thought that I had slept through my alarm to go to Joseph's farewell talk because it was so light outside. I grabbed my phone and realized.... it was 7:30 in the morning and I didn't need to be up for another half hour. Thankfully. I rode with Madison and Amanda to his farewell :) He did such a wonderful job! He's going to be a great missionary! He will be missed by his friends and family, for sure. Skylar's farewell was an hour after Joseph's ended at the same church house, so we just stayed and chilled there. Skylar also did a great job on his talk. :) After Skylar's talk we headed over to Skylar's house for his family's luncheon. It was so good to mingle and chat with all the LDV people that I've been missing! I can't wait for this next year! Brother Salmond told me there's quite a few RM's that are coming back from previous years... I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!

I can't believe Joseph leaves this Wednesday. I feel like it was just yesterday that he was complaining that he had two long months before he was going to leave. Well.... those two months that were definitely not long are now over and he's leaving! He's going to be such a wonderful missionary and I can't wait for all of his mission stories! He's quite the character, that one, and I'm sure that he'll have quite hilarious stories for me to repeat to my friends, HA!

Skylar leaves next Wednesday, and I can't believe that either! I feel like he just barely announced his mission call in LDV yesterday! He's also going to be a wonderful missionary. I'm so glad I got to become closer friends with Skylar towards the end of the semester and during the summer. He's an amazing man! I'm looking forward to his mission stories as well!

This is a random thought of mine that I wanted to share. Have you ever had a moment in life when you look at a picture of yourself or you look in the mirror and just feel pretty? One of those "aha" moments where everything clicks and you realize who you truly are and what your potential is? I had a few of those this week, where I truly felt beautiful. I knew despite my many flaws, that Heavenly Father still loves me and will always love me,  no matter what happens. That He will always be there for me :) That I have friends and family that love me unconditionally, and how lucky I am to have all of it. I realized how incredibly lucky I was to have spectacular support from friends and family, and to be blessed with material things as well, such as my electronics, a car, my bed, etc. Yeah, you have hard times and heartaches and life isn't perfect, but it's perfectly imperfect, as Jess says. :) If you haven't had an experience like this in awhile, I advise you to pray for one. It strengthens your testimony and your self image. Keeps Satan farther away. :)

I had such a fun week. Emotional and a bit random, but so fun :) 

Life Is A Roller Coaster Ride!

Monday was great :) I got up around nine but just chilled in bed for a few hours on the computer getting random things done and just playing. Then I got up and got ready for the day and packed up to go home. I called Amanda and she came and got me! I hadn't seen her in a month and really missed her. We hung out for about an hour or so and then my mommy came and got me and drove me home :) Marissa and I went to see X-Men that night. Not the best movie ever, I must say, but a fun night out with my sister!

Tuesday we drove down and visited the Romney clan before they headed back to North Carolina. We had to leave early though so that I could be back for work at 5:00. :P Work was pretty good though! I worked the midnight shift for Transformers and didn't get home until 1:30 in the morning. It was pretty crazy, but not bad! :)

Wednesday I took Marissa to voice lessons in the morning and visited Leigh for awhile. I came home and talked with my mom and had some fun on the computer before heading to work. Work was fun! I had a blast and it went by fast! I love having good movies out so that the theater isn't dead all day. :)


My cousin, Rachelle Romney, also was dropped off at the MTC on Wednesday. She's serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and is going to Chile. We got her first email already! She seems to be doing well! She's going to be such an amazing missionary! I just love her :)

Thursday I slept in :) it felt SOOO good. I got ready and then went down to get my hair cut. I'd been talking with Brenna about it and asked a few other people their opinion on whether or not I should chop my hair. I didn't know how short to go, or if I should go short, because I know that I have a round face shape and I didn't want to look chubby. All I knew is that I wanted a change. So..... I did it. I chopped it. I think I went about four or five inches shorter. It feels so nice! I've never had my hair this short before. It was so fast to do when I got home! Yipee! So great :) Later that night, James Marriott picked me up and we went to Super 8. He drove me home and we sat and talked in his car for awhile. It was so nice to catch up with him. He's such an awesome boy! I'm really bummed that he's going to BYU instead of USU, but I guess I'll forgive him ;)

The new 'do! :D

Friday I ran some errands and then hung out with Carlee for a few hours before work. That was fun :) It was nice to relax with one of my besties. My day didn't really end well though. I was robbed... my iPod and some cash. Lovely. I was so mad. I really hope they catch who it is.

Saturday, I slept in and took my time getting ready and doing stuff. Then I went to work. Not too eventful today. Ha! Except for my bestie, Carlee was so nice to give me one of her old iPod's so I wasn't music device-less. I'm so happy! She saved me! 

Sunday, I worked all day and came home to a nice shower :) shortly after I got home... my parents brought home... Rhonda the Honda! That's right.... I now have a car. It's the family's car, but I'll be able to take it to school with me! I love it! I get to learn how to drive stick now! WAHOO! :) We watched Harry Potter 7 Part 1 too cuz my dad hadn't seen it yet, surprisingly. It was good to see that again before Part 2 comes out.... in 9 days!

That was my.... interesting week. So many random things happened to me! Tomorrow, well technically, today... is the 4th of July! YEAH! Happy birthday, America!

My Splendiferously Fantastical Week!

Monday, I got to see Skylar! I was so excited! I went and picked him up after he sold his car and spent a lot of the day with him! We went and saw Super 8 and then he took me to Costa Vida afterwards and got me to eat..... NACHOS. Yes, nachos. With cheese and pork and black beans and guacamole. For those of you who know me.... I'm a really picky eater and don't really care for cheese at all. But I do have to admit that it was pretty good! I'm getting better at branching out and trying new things :) It's an adventure and a thrill to me! After we ate, we went on a walk and window shopped. It was fun to catch up and just have a playful afternoon as friends! I can't believe he'll be in the MTC in less than a month!

Tuesday was so amazing. I can't even describe how amazing that day was. I spent the whole day with family :) I woke up early and we drove to the Bountiful Temple for my cousin's wedding. I was wishing that I could go in with everyone, but I know my time will come :) I just love Cami and I'm so excited that's she's in our family now! We're gonna be best friends, I can tell already! There was an unbelievable peace at the temple. Just extraordinary. The reception was fun too! LOVED it. I felt the Spirit all day. Such a wonderful day.

I worked on Wednesday morning and packed for Logan. I called Shaun to tell him I was going to be in Logan and we talked on the phone while I packed. :) "Girl, that shirt to the left of that one.... don't even think about it." HA HA HA HA!!! Oh man... Shaun is hilarious! I was so exhausted that night that I decided to go to bed and wake up early to pack.

I woke up on Thursday morning and finished packing. Around 9:15, Joseph called me to tell me that he and Brad and Brad were on their way to come pick me up to take me to Lagoon!!! We got to Lagoon around 11:00 and our first ride was the Bombora. Totally anticlimatic. So stupid. So then we made our way to Rattlesnake Rapids to get wet! We rode a ton of rides! We had to hit up all the good roller coasters! Joseph had us close our eyes when we rode the white roller coaster for one time and it gave the ride a whole new thrill! Ha ha ha :) We had In-N-Out Burger afterwards and then Joseph drove me to Logan and dropped me off at Brenna's!

Friday, Brenna and I went on a walk around campus. She had to show me the French Fry Statue! It is now GREEN! WHAAA?? Lame, I know. I'm so upset, as you can see by the picture below ;) Instead of the French Fry Statue, Brenna's mom called it the Jenga statue! That'll work for me! :) We took pictures by it and had a blast! After the walk on campus we went to Allee's apartment and hung out with her, Shaun and Mckinsey :) We met up with some more people and went to Pizza Pie Cafe for dinner. That was delicious! Then we split up to get towels and ice blocks and met at Old Main hill to ice block! It was so much fun! I had a blast! I hadn't been in forever. Afterwards, we went to Shaun's apartment and watched Spiderman. Such a wonderful day!

The old French Fry Statue.... the new Jenga Statue!

Ice Blocking :)

Saturday, I went to the Temple with my Singles ward from back home in Ogden! It was very fun :) Later that night, Brenna and I hung out with Shaun, Allee, Mckinsey, Michael, and a bunch of people. We went to Smith's and visited Jessy and then Brenna and I went back to her place to chill with Lauren!

The Girls :)

Shaun and I sittin' in the backseat rockin' the kissy faces ;) ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!

Visiting Jessy at Smith's :)

Today has been fun :) Joseph picked me up and we went to Brad's farewell! He did such a good job! He also sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives and sounded gorgeous! He's going to be a great missionary! Afterwards, we went to Joseph's home ward meetings and then went to Brad's luncheon and visited for a few hours. Joseph drove me back to Brenna's place and we sat and talked for awhile before Joseph left. Brenna and I have been relaxing and talking all day. It's been nice :)

Joseph, Brenna and I :) My besties!

It's dawned on me this weekend that two of my closest friends are going to be leaving on their missions in two and three weeks. Joseph leaves on the 13th and Skylar leaves on the 20th. So crazy! I'm going to miss them both so much! Good thing we can write! Joseph will be going to Los Angeles, CA and is speaking Spanish and Skylar is going to the Chile, Conception mission also speaking Spanish. Spending time with both of them this week has been special to me. I will only see them a few more times before they leave! I know they will be blessed for serving a mission as well as me. I have a lot of friends out on missions right now and it's been fun to see them change. One of those friends is my best friend from high school, Justin Marriott. When he left, I was a little afraid. I didn't feel like I had a lot of guy friends up at Utah State at the time and I was worried that I wouldn't have guy friends for awhile. But then Heavenly Father blessed me with Latter Day Voices and my guy friends multiplied! That has been my biggest blessing since Justin has left on his mission. With these two young men leaving, I will miss them too, but I know that all the people that they know will be blessed as well.

I'm so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. I don't know where I'd be without it. I would definitely not be the same person I am today. I'm grateful that I have a Father in Heaven who loves and cares for me and that knows me better than anyone else on this earth. I'm grateful for a brother who suffered, died, and now lives for us. I'm grateful for the Temple and the blessings it brings to me. I hope to be married and sealed for time and all eternity with my future spouse there. I'm grateful for the friends that my Heavenly Father has placed in my life and for the lessons I'm learning now. I'm extremely grateful for my brave guy friends who have left and will be leaving on missions to willingly serve the Lord. I leave you my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Testimony with a Song :)

I felt I needed to explain this :) The song that I posted on Sunday took on a whole different meaning when my sweet previous young women leader, Michele Robertson, pointed out to me that they are singing about my Heavenly Father. After I received that text and listened to the song again, I began to realize how much my Heavenly Father has picked me up recently and also in the past. It made the song even more special to my heart. I really started to realize how blessed I am and how much I have to be grateful for. No matter what happens to me or around me, I know that Heavenly Father will stand by me and help me through. He sends us exactly what we need, whether it be angels that can be in the form of friends and/or family, scriptures, promptings or answers to prayers, etc. He will truly always be there for you. He'll help you make tough decisions and even easy decisions. He's there for you in the happy times and in the dark times when you feel as though nothing could ever get you out. He's waiting. All you have to do is ask. :) What a blessing. He's the ultimate example of the perfect father, and I'm so grateful to have a knowledge of the gospel. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true and complete church on this earth today. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and restored the Gospel upon the earth today. I know that the Book of Mormon is an amazing book full of beautiful things about the Gospel that can only strengthen your testimony. I know that Jesus lived and died for us and took upon him our sins and our heartaches and sadnesses. He truly knows how we feel and what we're going through. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet on the earth today and guides us and directs us in the paths that we should go. I'm grateful for all these things and more in the name of my Savior, my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Here it is again :)

Expect the Unexpected

I've been thinking a lot lately about how uncertain the future is to me. I just can't get my mind off of it. Nothing is ever set in stone until it happens in our day to day lives, but Heavenly Father knows all. We know we will win in the end, but our memory of heaven is temporarily taken from us. The whole concept of the future is just weird. It boggles my mind that Heavenly Father knew just when to send us to earth, when to put specific people in our lives, when to let us have certain experiences. The Plan is so carefully weaved..... I can only see a small portion of the whole thing, which is frustrating at times and so exciting in others. President Dieter F. Uctdorf says, "We must learn that in the Lord’s plan, our understanding comes 'line upon line, precept upon precept.' In short, knowledge and understanding come at the price of patience."  such an amazing thing to ponder about. I've also been thinking about the potential of human beings. All of us have the potential to become Gods and Goddesses and have the power that Heavenly Father has. How special. I can't even fathom how huge that is. Bigger than my imagination! I'm so blessed to have the Gospel in my life and to have a wonderful eternal family!

I woke up Monday morning, honestly not in the best mood at all. I looked around at my room and knew I needed to finish organizing and cleaning my new room. So I got out of bed, had breakfast, and shut myself in my room all day. I started with one corner of the room and just kept going. I'd stop and take a break, but I actually did productive things during my breaks. I'd been meaning to de-junk one of my email accounts and started doing that in-between as well. Later that night, we decided to go to Rio at the $3 theater for family night and my sister's birthday! It was a really cute movie. After I came home from that, I still had the drive to clean, so I came back up and pretty well finished. There's still a few little things that I need to do, but the big majority of it all is done!! It's such a relief to be so close to finished. That night, I relaxed and redesigned my blog! I'd been wanting to do that for a time now, and I'm happy with how it turned out :)

Tuesday was Brittany's birthday! I can't believe she's ten years old! How time flies! It's nuts! I remember the day she was born. WEIRD. The family got her an iPod Touch and she played with her new gadget all day! She'd always ask Mom or Marissa to play on their iPods (she knew I wouldn't let her, ha! ;) and now she has her own! YAY!!! :) we visited with Grandma and Grandpa too.

I also did something else on Tuesday that I, shamefully, haven't done in awhile. I  ran on the tredmill. I was dreading it but once I got on, it wasn't so bad! For those of you who don't know, I have asthma, so running isn't on my list of fun things to do. But today.... I didn't really have a rough time breathing at all. It felt so nice to just run and sweat! Normally, when I run I have the hardest time breathing, even when I take a full dose of my inhaler. But this time I only took half a dose before I started and it was amazing. I've never felt that good WHILE exercising. It gave me the boost to continue!

Wednesday, I got up and ready and took Marissa to voice lessons! I have missed Leigh and wanted to see her, so I invited myself along. It was great talking to her :) I can't wait until we get together! Her and I can talk all day. It's awesome! After voice lessons, I took Marissa to Smith and Edwards to get her stuff for Trek and then came home, helped Brittany with her new iPod Touch and went to work. Work was really good! I got a nice shift and worked with some awesome people, including my friend, Ashlee! We had some fun talks!

Thursday, I slept in and then decided that I needed to work on my room again and run stuff that will be used at college that I won't use here downstairs to my little pile. I also reached a big personal achievement while working out.... I ran a whole mile without stopping. To me, that's huge. Usually, I have to stop and walk for a bit, but I didn't have to! My next step is to improve on my time :) Working out has been such a big self esteem booster! After dinner, I was sitting on my couch and a guy asked me to work  his midnight shift for Green Lantern. I had a morning shift on Friday, but I knew I'd still be up even if I didn't go to work, so I just took his shift. It was the most pointless midnight shift I've ever worked. SO slow. Hardly any guests. I guess Harry Potter will make up for that! I don't know if I really want to work the midnight for that. I can see them selling out all thirteen theaters for that. Oh snap.

Friday I had work in the morning. When I got home from that, I ate and worked out! It was a pretty nice day.

On Saturday, I had work in the morning again. We visited my dad's parents that night for Father's Day. :)

Sunday, I went to church with the family :) It was fun to visit people from my home ward! Then I got my temple recommend, went home and took and nap, then we headed down to SLC to see my mom's side of the family! We had just about everyone over at my grandparents house! SO FUN!!! I loved it :) My cousin is getting married on Tuesday, so we're all excited about that :)

This song really touched me. I love it and thought I'd share it with you :)

I have a fun week ahead of me! Tomorrow, I'm going to see a movie or two with Skylar. Tuesday is the wedding.... which I'm super excited for! Wednesday I work and Thursday..... I'm going to Lagoon with some friends from Logan! Super stoked! Then riding back with those friends from Logan to spend the weekend up there! AHH!!! I'm so happy to be able to see everyone. I've missed everyone so much!!!!!

My Life!

It's kinda interesting never knowing what's going to happen the next day. It's so weird. I'm still getting used to the concept. I wonder if I ever will get used to the concept. Ever since I graduated from high school, I feel like I never know what the future is going to hold, even if I do plan it out. It seemed like it was all set in stone when I was in high school. Then all of a sudden I graduated and the world changed. HA! It's always fun to see what surprises and random things happen in your life :)

Last Friday was fun! Since it was my parent's anniversary, they went out on a date and I stayed home and watched my sisters. I cooked them dinner. Made them delicious stroganoff, all by myself, without a recipe. I felt pretty awesome. I was in one of my random moods. You have to realize that me wanting to be experimental in the kitchen is a once in a lifetime thing. HA! ;) but really. It doesn't happen a ton. But I admit.... it was fun :)

I worked all day last Saturday. Didn't have the greatest morning.... I had a few ornery guests at the theater and forgot some stuff at home, but the day got better when I received a text message on the way home from work. Joseph told me he was five minutes away from my house and wanted to come visit me in an hour. I freaked out! I miss him so much!!! His visit meant so much to me, to take time away from family to come see me. I miss my best friend! I can't wait to see him and Amanda and everyone else in Logan! That night I fell asleep really early in my street clothes on my bed. I think I got a total of twelve hours of sleep that night. It felt good.

Sunday, I got up and took my time getting ready. It was nice. I now have 1-4 church.... cuz I'm going to my Singles Ward! I didn't think I'd be able to attend the Singles Ward at home because of some of the rules the Stake Presidency had set. But things have changed, and I'm now old enough to go. I went for my first time in this ward on Sunday. The ward is great! I can't wait to meet new people and spend time with old friends!

Monday I worked and hung out with Carlee. We chemically straightened my hair! YAY! And FINALLY watched the Season 1 Finale of Vampire Diaries. Oh man. Did it end in surprise! AHH! I'm excited to see the second season!

Tuesday, I worked for a few hours in the morning and then took Brittany to see Kung Fu Panda. I came home and spent some time outside, helped my mom cook dinner, and visited with the family for awhile. Then I called Angie Holdaway and we went to see Thor that night. I hadn't hung out with her for a really long time. I missed her! Love her to pieces!

Wednesday, I worked. After work, I went and watched Super 8 with Carlee and my co-workers. Crazy intense movie! I screamed. It was so embarrassing. If you like intense movies, you'll like it. If you don't do well with them, don't go see it.

Thursday, I had an interview with Icing at the mall, so my family decided to make it a shopping day and get some errands ran. That night we went to Grandma and Grandpa's and had dinner with them and my aunt and uncle and cousins. My aunt put some more feathers in my hair! I love them :)

Friday, I worked. That's about it. Seriously. Ha! :)

Saturday I had the day off of work, so we finally moved rooms! I'm now back in the room I started in when we moved into this house, ha! :) It's nice though. Forces me to de-junk and stuff. I like my new set-up a lot! I live in a hot pink paradise!

Today, I got to go to two farewells :) Stephen Gordon's and Spencer Buswell's. They are such amazing young men that I look up to so much and are going to be wonderful missionaries! So happy for them!

That's my update.... :) Pretty good week! I can't believe how fast time is flying! My sister turns 10 this week and I realized I only have two and a half months left at home before I go back to school. How weird! I can see what older people mean when they say that time flies when you get older, because it's true! There's no time to hate life. It's so short! "Come what may, and love it." Some of the best advice I've ever heard :) My life is an adventure! Looking back at the past year of my life, it's so weird to see how many people have left on missions, how many people are married. I sit and wonder what's going to happen to me in the next year. I could be married, could still be single.... New people are going to be in my life with the new ward and the change in LDV, new classes..... It weirds me out that the class of 2011 is graduated. So much change in my life right now, but it's so good! It's a lot to wrap my head around! Ha ha! So excited for the journey up ahead :)

Missing Logan.... but living it up!

I'm having a lot of fun and adventure at home.... but man, am I sure missing Logan.

Last week, since I have been living in a town for the past eight months that doesn't have a ton of good radio stations, I just barely discovered Lady Antebellum's "New" Single! Just A Kiss. I've fallen in love with this song! If you haven't heard it, you better listen to this song, RIGHT NOW. Super SUPER cute song!

Sunday.... Wow. Neat day. I went to two Farewells. Matt Lund and Billy Edmunds, both good friends of mine. They both had such strong testimonies and it was great to see them so prepared and so ready to be servants of the Lord! I admire them for their strength and courage to leave everything behind for two years. Amazing, wonderful, spectacular men. :)

Monday I went to work and got paid time and a half because of the holiday! Yipee! :)

Tuesday night was great :) SURPRISE! I went and got feathers in my hair! Never done something like that before, it was fun! I have five feathers in my hair, a black one, a zebra hot pink and black one, a blue one, a salmon one, and a white one. It's been fun to have a change. Later that night, Marissa, Carlee and I went to see Pirates 4! It was so fun! Marissa got to see some of my friends at work and spend some time with the big sis and one of the sister's best friends! I loved having Marissa with me that night! Brittany's turn will be next :) I'm guessing I'll take her to Kung Fu Panda 2 when I can see it for FREE! Rock on! :)

A picture of me with my feathers! I dont' know how well you can see them from the picture though :P

Wednesday was a relaxing, random, interesting day! :) I woke up, got ready and went to Carlee's house! We watched Vampire Diaries for the majority of the day! It was so great. It was good to just take a whole day and chill on a love sac with a blanket and watch a show with a lot of very VERY attractive men and just relax. We went on a drive and talked and just had a chill girls day. It was what I needed!

Thursday.... I worked for the majority of the day. After work, I rushed home and jumped in the shower to get ready for.... BRANDEE'S WEDDING RECEPTION. Holy cow. That girl and I have the same birthday and we've been friends for about two years now... and she's MARRIED. She looked gorgeous. Beautiful! I was so happy for her! Her colors were fun, the reception center was perfect, the pictures were stunning, it was perfect, from what I could see. I wish her a spectacular honeymoon and a wonderful eternity together! :)

Can I just say that the Bachelorette.... made me a little mad?? She kept Bentley. Oh boy. No good. He's a jerk. She should have trusted her source and let him go the first night. No worries, the dummy will be gone next show, finally.

Tomorrow.... Well, I should say, this morning.... Friday will make it less complicated- I don't have to work! So.... because I have a whole day free, I'm switching rooms! It will be good when it's done!

Just realized that Harry Potter comes out in about a month! STOKED. So excited! It's fun to see people come in all excited for the movie they're watching. Even after it being a few weeks since Pirates 4 came out, I still see people come in with Pirates shirts on and stuff. So fun. :)

It's pretty surprising that it's already June! In some ways, it feels like it's gone so fast! In others.... not so much. I miss my friends in Logan terribly. It's been only two weeks since I've seen them, but that two weeks seems like so much longer. I miss being able to call Amanda and/or Joseph up to just chill and have a great time. I miss going to the other room to talk girls stuff with one of my roommates. I miss LDV and the people in it. I'm hoping that meeting some new people this Sunday in the Singles Ward will help me a little with this Logan sickness. :)

On a happy note.... It's been 23 years today, June 3, since my parents got married in the Salt Lake Temple. :) I want to congratulate them and let them know how much I appreciate them. They mean the world to me and I love them dearly. Such great examples to me in my life. I wish them a fun date tonight and an amazing weekend sometime soon! :)