Home for Thanksgiving!

So last week I got to go home for Thanksgiving, and that was a lot of fun! Instead of talking about my week, I wanted to talk about other things. This may be a long post, so prepare yourselves... :)

With it being Thanksgiving, I realized how many things I have to be grateful for. Seeing "The Blind Side" over Thanksgiving break was also very eye-opening for me. First off, I am SO grateful for my family. I have the most amazing parents in the world who I love and who tell me everyday that they love me too. I have a strong relationship with both my mom and my dad that I wouldn't trade for anything. I know that they only want what is best for me and they just want me to be happy in life. I love them! Also with my siblings, they are AMAZING!! I truly am the luckiest girl in the world to be the youngest of six. I have 5 brothers and sisters ahead of me who are all incredible and have set examples for me. I would be so lucky to turn out like any single one of them. I know this may be copying my sister Angie and her blog, but I'm going to talk about all of my family.

My dad is the hardest worker I know. He has a great sense of humor that everyone can see on a first impression. What most people don't know is how soft-hearted my dad is. He loves every single one of his kids, and although I like to pretend I'm the favorite, I know we are all equal and he treats us the same. I have never ended a phone conversation (or any conversation for that matter) with my dad without it ending with the words "I love you", and I am so grateful for that. He always gave me a hug and a kiss goodnight and watched over me. He always sacrificed for his kids and gave us an opportunity to accomplish anything we set our minds too. I can't think of many soccer games that I've played in that my dad hasn't been sitting on the sidelines cheering me on.

My mom is also hard working like my dad. She is such a sweetheart and she has a very magnetic personality. She has also taught me about sticking up for myself and sticking true to my ethics and values, even when it's hard. My mom is going back to school now, and even though I know that is hard, she is doing an incredible job! Being away at college, I have realized how much my mom loves me and cares about my well-being. She just wants me to be happy and wants me to do what's best for me. She is such an amazing lady and a terrific mom. She has raised 6 kids so well and has given us a great life with lots of opportunites. I look up to her in more ways than she will ever know, and I hope to be just like her when I'm a mom.

Josh is the oldest and is 12 years older than me. Just recently when I became older we developed a stronger relationship. He would work out with me a lot this summer when I was getting ready to come play soccer, and we had so much fun. He always gave me confidence in my abilities and made me strive to be better. He is willing to do a lot for me, and he is a great older brother to have. Even if he does tease me and sit on me and tickle me. That's life, right? :) He also married Ang who I love so much! She is the sweetest! I love her funny stories and her contagious smile and laugh! I know that she's perfect for Josh, and I've never had a problem considering her a part of our family. She's just like us!

Nicole comes next and she is about 10 years older than me. Lots of people say that her and I are exactly alike, and I hope that is true. She is a storyteller, just like me. Longwinded, just like me. She can strike up a conversation with anyone and she makes everyone feel welcome in conversations. I can't wait to go up to Logan to live so close to her and her cute family. She always makes me laugh and is always willing to give me advice and her opinion on anything! She has been a great help to me in my life and has been a great example to me as well. She is beautiful, confident, sweet, and funny. She is a great mother to her sweet kids as well. She has impacted me with the way she is always just happy and carefree and has taught me that life doesn't always have to be stressful and it can be fun too! Nicole married Jeremy several years ago, and he has been wonderful for her as well. He has a great sense of humor and always laughs and can make us all laugh. He has made my sister as happy as can be, and I am so grateful to have him as a part of our family as well.

Angie is next and equally as amazing. As I said earlier, this whole thing was an idea I got from her that I copied. Well... truth is, I copy her in a lot of things because I want to be just like her. She has taught me a lot of things in life. One thing she taught me was basically to be confident and goofy and not care what anyone else thinks. Confidence is a big thing that she taught me because I used to lack it. Angie is a special person and she is a hard worker and dedicated mom, wife, sister, and daughter. She makes sure that she always tells everyone that she loves them and how much she loves them. She is fun to be around and easy to talk to. She has a great perspective on life and has her priorities in order. Angie married Keith in October of 2006, and I have never seen her happier. Keith is a great guy and he has a great sense of humor. He teases me like a brother would, and he has fit in with our family from the beginning. I couldn't imagine Angie without him, and he is a great part of our family. I love them both!

Dustin is 4 years older than me and he is definitely one of a kind! He is so funny and fun to be around, but also knows when to be serious. There is never a dull moment when he is around, and he has taught me patience and how to love everyone, no matter who they are. He is always so happy and so nice to everyone, and is definitely a people person. He is dedicated, hard working, and will accomplish anything he sets his mind to. He is such a good older brother and always gives me his opinion on any guy that I date. He wants what's best for me, and it's always nice to have an opinion like his. He married Kaley this past May, and I love her just as much as any of my other in laws. She is so easy to talk to and the best part is.. She can deal with Dustin. :) She is so cute and fits in perfectly with us as well!

Last, but certainly not least is my sister Kelsey. She is 18 months older than me, and we are so close. She is the sweetest girl you will ever meet, and probably the most selfless as well. I always appreciated her so much, especially in middle school and high school when we went to school together and she didn't ignore me, although she very well could have. She is such a good older sister, and I love having a sister so close to me in age who is going through the same things as me who I can talk to. She is a strong girl, and she knows what she deserves and she won't settle for anything less. She is good at making friends with anyone and everyone around her and including everyone in what she is doing. I am so excited for her to finally transfer back from Hawaii and live close to home again because I have missed her so much. I dread the day that she gets married because it means I won't have a "date" at all of the family parties. :) She will make some boy VERY happy some day the way my other sisters have. She is such an amazing example to me, and I love spending time with her.

Then there are all of my nieces and nephew who I love so much. They definitely keep me young and make life a lot more interesting. The oldest 2 are Josh's kids, Braxton and Preston. Braxton will turn 7 this month, and Preston will turn 4 in January. They are such little boys full of energy! I love running around playing with them, and my favorite is when Braxton wants me to come out and play soccer with him.

Makelle and Jackson are the next oldest. Makelle is 2 1/2 and Jackson will be 2 this month. Makelle is Nicole's and Jackson is Angie's. For right now, whenever the whole family gets together, they are joined at the hip. (I say for now because eventually Jackson will grow up and start to think that he's too good for girls). They are so cute to watch though and they can put a smile on ANYONE'S face just by looking at them.

Then there is Parker who is the newest nephew and Makelle's little brother. He is about 5 months old, and he already has so much personality! It is always fun to have a little baby around to just have cuddle with you because once they get older, they have too much energy to cuddle. He is so cute and I know he is going to be the cutest little boy ever.

Needless to say, I have the best family in the world. They make me so happy and they truly are the only thing I need in my life to keep me happy. We've been together through the good times and the bad and never once have we fallen apart. I have other things to be grateful for like my health, my home, my incredible friends, and the opportunity I have had of being LDS my entire life, but I don't believe any of those have had quite the impact on my life as my family had. I truly would not be who I am today without them. I LOVE YOU GUYS!! :)

Weekend in Albuquerque!

So this weekend the girls and I decided to pick up and head out to Albuquerque for Friday and Saturday and just have some fun! The BYU football team was coming into town and they were having a fireside for all of the members in the area on Friday, and then they had a game against UNM on Saturday. I am not a BYU fan, but I do take every chance to get out of Las Vegas, even if it's just for a little while. Ashley's mom was nice enough to get us all a hotel room to stay in on Friday night, so we put eight girls into that one room.

Storie and I on our way to the fireside!

Friday after classes we headed to Albuquerque and both cars met up at the hotel and then we decided to go out and get some ice cream at Coldstone. I hadn't been to Coldstone in over three months, and it tasted SO good. Then we went back and got ready in the hotel for the fireside! The fireside that night was incredible. There were two speakers from the team and the coach and his wife both spoke. They also had two musical numbers- one was by the wide receivers on the team where they sang "Elders of Israel" (I think that's what it's called), and then the entire team stood and sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth". It was such a good fireside! Needless to say, after seeing those guys and how strong they were, it is definitely harder to be a Utah fan and cheer against BYU. :) They really did such a great job and as much as I don't want to admit it, they are all great people. I really enjoyed hearing from them!

After the fireside, we found the Albuquerque Temple and it was really pretty, so we spent the rest of the night taking pictures outside of there.

We all took turns taking pictures in front of the temple.

Then we took a group shot! (L to R- Hutch, Amber, Storie, Kramer, and I)

The next day was the BYU vs. UNM football game, and that was so much fun! The tickets we got were actually in a UNM section, so that was pretty funny. There were a lot of people yelling at us, but we just joked around with them and they turned out to be pretty nice! Well... BYU played really crappy, but after a missed PAT, 2 field goals that hit the post, and a blocked field goal all by UNM, BYU won 24-19. Then after the game, it was time to head back to Las Vegas. It was a fun weekend. I love all of the girls that I had the chance of meeting by coming to New Mexico. They are all a great group of girls and we have so much fun together (even in New Mexico!). I am lucky that I had the opportunity to become so close with all of them. :)

Storie, Amber, and I (aka the Tripods) ready to leave for the game!

All of the girls in the hotel room before we headed out!

My Life...

Well... I have given in and decided to try out the blogging world. Two of my sisters have blogs and I read theirs all the time, but I was never able to comment on their posts without having an account! So then I went to just get an account so I could comment on it and I ended up setting up a whole blog... So here it is!! I'm weird and random, I know. There will be pictures to come as I get the hang of this more and figure things out.

So this is actually a really good time for me to be writing on this blog! Last week, I had the chance of making a surprise visit home to see my family and my best friend Taylor before he left on his mission. When I left for New Mexico, Taylor still didn't have his mission call, so there was no way of knowing when he would leave. Well... The call came and I got news that he would report to the MTC on November 18. The week before my first break from school with Thanksgiving. I was really upset and didn't think I was going to get a chance to see him before he left. Then my good friend here got us a really cheap flight home, and we took full advantage of it! I asked my mom for permission and we decided to surprise my dad with it. Little did she know that I had told her I was coming a day later and I was going to surprise her as well! So pretty much no one knew, and all of the surprises were so much fun!

So I got to spend about 6 days visiting in Utah, and it was awesome. We got in Tuesday afternoon and flew out Sunday night. I never really stopped going and I tried to make the most of it! I saw old friends, families that I missed, got my hair done (I am finally myself again and back blonde!), went to Logan to see my sister and her family and also to visit Utah State's campus (which I LOVED), and then I just spent the rest of my time with my family! I was SO grateful to Suz and her mom for getting me the ticket home. I had so much fun and it was so good to see everyone again!

Visiting Utah really made me realize how much I love it there. Not to mention living in New Mexico has really made me appreciate Utah.. :) I was away from home for 3 months straight, and it was really good for me! I would actually say that everyone who lives in Utah needs to get away from "the bubble" at least once in their lives and test themselves. This experience has been one I will never forget and it has just been really good for me! I love all of my family and friends in Utah (and out of Utah, Angie...) and I have really learned how much they have done for me my entire life. So life is good!

I also thought I'd throw out there how good it was to see Taylor. He was completely surprised and we had a lot of fun together. He will be reporting to the MTC November 18th, and then he will be going to the Antofagasta, Chile mission. I am so excited for him and for the amazing opportunity he is going to have out there! Congrats Elder Jensen! You will be missed. :)

This is Weston, Taylor, and I before I left for NM! They have both been two of my best friends since Middle School. Taylor leaves next week and Weston should be getting his call any day now!