Thanksgiving. Time to give thanks. :)

Wow... So it has officially been years since I've posted on here. I am a terrible blogger. The past few months/several months have been full of ups and downs and maybe even a few rights and lefts. I wish I would have written it all down, but I'm sure some day I'll take the time to do it. Today, sitting in church, I decided I needed to make a post. I have grown so much lately and learned more about myself than I thought was ever possible. Life turns on a dime and we have to be there to embrace it, accept the change, and move on from it. This post isn't going to be an update, but I feel like in honor of thanksgiving, I need to go through at least my top 5 things I am grateful for. Today in church I decided to write 100 things I'm grateful for, but I guess I atleast want people to read this post, right? :)

1. My wonderful parents

I think it is safe to say that I have the most wonderful parents in the world. It hit me even more like a brick wall today at church. A high councilman spoke and really put it in perspective for me. He said to us: You never know the love your parents have for you or the sacrifice they put forth to make you happy until you are a parent yourself experiencing it. I know without a doubt that this is true. I have two of the most loving parents ever. They have been there for me through every soccer game, every tear, every fear and frustration, every surgery I've had (you may think that's only a couple, but it's not, trust me), every ear infection, every flu bug, every case of strep throat, every mental or emotional break down, every dirty diaper as a baby, every angry moment, and, most of all, every single heartbreak or let down. My pain is their pain and I know they would give anything to take my pains away. They have sacrificed more for my happiness than I will ever know and I will never be able to thank them for. They are two incredible people. I LOVE MY PARENTS.

2. My family

(My oldest brother, Josh, and his wife, Ang, are missing from this picture. I couldn't find one with all of us...)

My parents have done a wonderful job raising everybody in my family. I know I talked about my family last Thanksgiving, but how is there ever enough to say about such wonderful people like all of my brothers and sisters? I have definitely lucked out big time. I am the youngest of 6 and they are all the most incredible people I know. They have all taught me something different in my life and they have all helped me out when the going gets tough. Everyone deserves to know that someone cares about them, and I feel SO incredibly lucky to have the siblings I do to tell me they love me, care about me, and are here for me. I love them all so much, and they are wonderful examples to me in my life. I strive to become them every single day of my life. I want to find a marriage as happy and successful as all of theirs. I want to raise my children in the most loving and uplifting home just like they are all doing. If I patterned my life after ANY of their lives, I know I would be happy and successful.

3. Being a member of the LDS church.

I don't think there is a greater blessing in my life than being a member of this church. It literally plays a part in every single aspect of my life. It gives me perspective, good values, wonderful friends, leaders who care about me, and a wonderful knowledge that there is something bigger than everything else on this planet. I find comfort in my life because of my church. I have a knowledge that I will be able to live with my family forever and through the eternities because of this church. Temple marriage is such a wonderful blessing. I know that I don't have to accept anything less than living with my family FOREVER. I know that this church has been the source of my happiness since the day I was born. I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and His son, Jesus Christ as well. I know that they are two perfect beings who will love me no matter what, and that knowledge is greater than anything I could have ever asked for.

4. My friends

Whether it's high school or college, I have always been so blessed with the greatest friends ever. Friends who are always there for me no matter what. Friends who I can call up when I am hysterical and in tears and they will drop everything they're doing and just talk to me. Friends who care more about me and my happiness than anything else in the world. Everyone needs to have friends like I do. I don't know how people survive without friends like mine, because I know there is no way in the world I could have ever made it through those years in high school, and even my years in college, without them. I have amazing friends who are there for me whenever I need them. They are wonderful examples to me in my life and are always encouraging me to be a better person and be the best I can be. I have really lucked out in finding the friends that I have today. :)

5. Trials

I know, not what you'd expect to be on my list of top five things I'm grateful for, right? I mean, I haven't even talked about food, shelter, clothes, my amazing school (UTAH STATE!), or anything like that. Well... Maybe it shouldn't be on my top five, but this is where my mind has been lately. I am so incredibly lucky for every hard thing I have gone through. They say you can't know the good without the bad, the happy without the sad, the joy without the pain, etc. Oh, how true that is! I have a good life. I don't have a difficult life compared to lots of people in this world. But I have times that are hard for me and hard things I've had to go through. I think of a song by Carrie Underwood that says, "I'm grateful for every break in my heart, I'm grateful for every start, some pages turned, some bridges burned, but there were lessons learned". It is so true! I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for the hard times. I have been able to build my character throughout the hard times and I am a much stronger person because of it. I know that hard times are truly for our benefit, and we can't experience true joy until we have felt true pain.

Other things I am grateful for:

My extended family, my dog, my roommates, food, my apartment (and my home), the leaders of the church, Freedom, temples, missionaries, armed forces, the opportunity I have for higher education, my healthy body (although sometimes it doesn't seem so healthy), my ward, etc. There are lots, but I'll stop there... Ok... One more...

UTAH STATE!!!! I love my school! I know this semester is basically over and I haven't posted about it once, but I love this place so much! I have never been happier than I am when I am here! I love Logan and my school and I love being an Aggie!! :) :)

We are all God's Children! :)

So... Usually I blog about my week or some exciting news, but I had a day today that I decided needed to be written down now for journaling purposes. This weekend, I came home for a friend's wedding. While I was here, my dad invited me to go to Special Needs Sacrament Meeting with him. He has been a part of Special Needs Mutual for over a year now, and he has always tried to get me to go to the Sacrament Meeting that they do once a month, every month. I am still not sure why, but every month I always found a reason not to go. It was either a friend's farewell, something I had to do at my own ward, or just "politely" declining for one reason or another. I am still not sure why I kept saying no. I went to their big talent show a couple of times and I loved it! These kids are amazing and so happy and they just support each other no matter what.

Today, I finally decided to go with my dad to Special Needs Sacrament Meeting. It was the most amazing experience ever. Lately, for some reason, I have started being really hard on myself. Some days I'm too fat, other days I have too many zits, and some days I just can't figure it out, but there is SOMETHING wrong with my face. After going to this thing, I learned so much about inner beauty and not caring what you look like. Those kids are amazing and they love you from the moment they meet you, no questions asked! There was one kid who had the biggest smile in the whole world and he couldn't wipe it off of his face! These are kids with extreme mental and physical disabilities, with every reason in the world to complain, but they are the happiest people I have ever met. They love everyone and they support everyone no matter what!

There were a couple of things that stuck out to me that people said though.

1) "These kids are the closest to heaven and Christ that you will ever get." That was one of the most true statements of the entire day! The love everyone. No matter what you look like... Tall, short, skinny, fat, beautiful, or ugly. They love you! That's all there is to it! It is so amazing!

2) We are all God's children. It doesn't matter what our physical or mental capabilities are, God loves us all the same. There may be times when we feel inadequate or untalented next to other people, but what does it REALLY matter?

I learned a lot about what our perspective should be on life. It's like that Rascal Flatt's song, "Things That Matter". There are SO many things about life that seem to matter SO much, but they really don't! No one is going to remember what your hair looked like or what your makeup looked like, but they're going to remember how you treated them and how you acted around them. Every single Special Needs kid I have met has had a huge impact on my life. They have made me feel so loved and so welcome, and those are the people I will never forget for the rest of my life. THOSE are the people who we should be modeling our lives after and trying to be like. It was just an amazing experience for me and one that I will never forget! Will I ever turn down my dad's offer to go to Special Needs Sacrament Meeting again? No. Defintiely not.

UTAH STATE!!

2010 WAC CHAMPIONS!!! (3rd year in a row!)

Well... The past little while, I have been staying busy and having a blast!! This past week, I have gotten to spend a lot of time with family and it has been so much fun! On Monday, Kelsey decided to come up to Logan after she was done with school. So I made her dinner, we went to a Utah State Basketball game (which was kind of the whole reason she came up), and we had a lot of fun. USU killed Fresno, so the basketball game wasn't as intense and exciting as it could have been, but it was still fun! Then we went and visited Nicole and Jeremy and the kids before coming back to my apartment. Then she spent the night at my apartment and went home for school early the next morning. It was a short visit, but we had a lot of fun, and it was great to just spend some time together that we haven't gotten to spend together! I loved it.

(Kelsey and I at the Fresno State game!)

Then this weekend was another fun one! Dustin and Kaley came up Friday night! So I made them dinner when they got here and then we went and saw Nicole and Jeremy and the kids too! Lots of fun! Then Saturday morning, I got to babysit Makelle and Parker while they all went to the temple, and that is always fun. I love those kids. Then we all went to the last basketball game, and it was so amazing! I got 4 student ID's for them, so that was really cool. Amber and I went to the Spectrum at 3 for the girl's basketball game and stayed until 7 for the boys. People are crazy and they seriously do go that early. Some people camped out over night and a lot of other people were there in the early morning/early afternoon for seats. Gotta love USU basketball!

(Amber, me, and Bri at the girls basketball game waiting for the boys game!)

So the game was intense. We were going against New Mexico State who we shared the WAC Title with until they lost to Nevada on Thursday. Before that loss, this game was going to decide the WAC champion, and it was a sold out crowd, definitely one of the biggest I've ever seen in the Spectrum! It was so much fun. It was way close throughout the entire first half, but then in the second half the TRUE aggies came out and dominated and we beat them real good. It was great to be able to do the scoreboard chant, and I was even happier that Dustin, Kaley, Nicole, and Jeremy got to see a great basketball game! It makes it better to be in the middle of the best/loudest/most awesome crowds in the nation. :)


After the game, Amber and I rushed the court with the rest of the student section and celebrated the WAC championship and watched them cut down the nets! If you look closely in the picture above, you can see us in the middle of the court. I picked her up so she could be seen above the crowd. It was great. I had so much fun, and I loved being able to spend some time with my family as well! It is always so good to see them.

(A picture of the whole crew after the game! Me, Dustin, Jeremy, Nicole, Amber, and Kaley!)

More Updates:
- I am mid-way through the semester! So exciting. It's been a lot harder, but I think things should get better when I am not taking so many blasted science classes!
- We found an apartment for next year and I am REALLY excited! The kitchen is huge, each room has its own bathroom right off of it, it has a washer and dryer, it has cable, it has a lot of things and it's cheaper than where I'm living now! YAY!

President's Day Weekend!

(The whole gang ready to go on Saturday morning!)

I love long weekends!! This past weekend I went home for President's Day and it was so much fun! Angie and Keith came out from Denver, Nicole and Jeremy came down from Logan too (and even though I see them all the time, it's still always so much fun!), and Dustin and Kaley stayed at my parent's house too. I love getting together with the family, and we always have a ton of fun together!

Friday night I got in and not even 10 minutes later we were headed for the U of U gymnastics meet. Who were they going against? None other than the Utah State Aggies! That was a lot of fun. Utah obviously won, but I can accept that. I'd like to see a basketball game! :)

Saturday morning we all woke up and went out to breakfast at IHOP. That was a lot of fun. Josh came with Braxton, and it was way good to see them again too! I can't believe how old Braxton is getting, it is pretty insane! But that was a lot of fun. Then we headed to Ogden to go SNOWBOARDING!! It was my first time ever, and I was so nervous! People kept telling me their first time was miserable and not any fun and stuff like that, but I LOVED it. I had so much fun even though I wasn't really any good.

Luckily I had some pretty awesome teachers! Kelsey, Kaley, and I were all going for the first time, and everyone was so patient with us and took the time to help us learn the basics. They were awesome. Jeremy and Keith both went on the lift with me to make sure I got off ok. There were a couple of nightmare times when I decided to go by myself, but I survived! I missed getting on with Keith and Angie one time and that was hilarious, so I went by myself. Some other times I just went by myself, and I think I only stayed standing one time. Kind of depressing, but I'm over it! I hit my head on the lift one time, but it was just funny.

Nicole and Angie both took the time to help us stand up and helping us learn how to get a feel for the snowboard. This picture of Nicole and I was actually taken at a hilarious time. She was trying to teach me how to be on my front edge so I could start carving and we had a couple of special moments. My board got caught on top of hers and we were stuck for quite a while before I figured out how to get off of it. We had a lot of laughs and it was just a lot of fun and I would never describe it as miserable!

Thanks to some awesome and patient teachers, I finally started to learn how to carve! I was MUCH better at going from my front edge to my back edge (yes, I am aware that is the easiest way), but I was pretty proud of that accomplishment! That picture was actually taken when I was celebrating doing it. Usually when I celebrated I would catch my front edge and face plant which was always hilarious. I'm not sure if it happened that time...

So after a long day snowboarding, we headed home and had some dinner and spent the rest of the night with my parents and we all crashed early that night! Sunday was pretty simple and we just went to church, ate dinner, and then chilled at home the rest of the night. I went over and visited the Hansen's at one point too. That was so much fun and it was way good to see all of them again! We always end up just talking for hours! It was great.

Monday was time to wake up and head back to school and home for everyone else. I went to Village Inn and saw my friends for a little bit and that was a lot of fun! Megan made a slideshow of all of the pictures of the 5 of us from middle school until now. It was so fun to watch that and I loved it! We have all grown up together basically and I love those girls! It was just a great weekend and I love my family and friends!

Sidenote: The weekend before this one, Jaynee and Megan came up to Logan to see me and we all went to see DEAR JOHN! I was going to go down that weekend so we could all go see it together, but I don't have a car and no one was going home, so I had to stay. So they decided to make a trip up and it was SO great to see them again! I love those girls! I absolutely loved Dear John too and I cried pretty much the whole time! It was awesome. It was way different from the book in pretty much every way, but I accepted that and still ended up loving it. So... Life is good!! :)

(Me, Megs, and Jane before heading out to see Dear John! Love these girls...)

Life at USU!

(Amber and I one of our first nights here!)

So... I have been at my "new home" now for just about 4 weeks now, and I LOVE it here!! Logan is cold and the air is terrible, but if those are the worst of my complaints, I would say that things are pretty dang good. The people here are so friendly and I meet new people everyday. Some of my favorite things are as follows:

(I don't know why Trevor was sad, but this was one delicious dinner!)

1. My ward

I love my ward so much! The first week, I was really nervous about church and how I was going to like my ward because it seemed like everyone already had their friends, but I was so wrong! I started going to ward choir practice after church, Ward prayer every Sunday night, and FHE every monday, and things have been great ever since! Everyone talks to me and I have met so many great people who I will probably become great friends with over the next few months. My FHE family is so much fun and they are crazy which makes them the perfect family for me to be in! I also just got sustained today as a Sunday School Teacher for the Gospel Principles class! I have mixed feelings, but I think it'll be really good for me! Being a Freshman who is not a returned missionary, I am kind of intimidated by the calling, but I think it'll be a really good thing for me!

2. Basketball Games!

If you haven't ever been to a Basketball game at Utah State in the Spectrum... oh boy do you need to experience that once in your life! The students here are so involved in all of the extracurricular activites and supporting each other, and boys basketball games are probably by far the biggest ones! The student section is standing, chanting, and cheering literally the entire game. I would never want to be on the opposing team coming into the Spectrum to play because sometimes the student section is a bit ruthless. :) It is one of the funnest nights of the week though, and I am always really sad if there's not a basketball game in a week. My favorite thing is singing the fight song and the scotsman! Oh.. and the scoreboard cheer at the end of the game WHEN we win. :) And also when a player on the other team fouls out! Way too many things to love about these wonderful basketball games!

(USU vs. Idaho! USU wins... of course! :) )

3. Deathball!

One of my new favorite things is Deathball! The people living in Pineview are definitely night owls, and they are always out in the main lobby playing this wonderful game. It's a hacky sack game, but we play with a ball. Basically you juggle it 3 times as a group, catch it, and then throw it at somebody. That is a lame description, but it is SO much fun. We seriously play for hours on end and we laugh the entire time. This is where I have met a lot of people, and we are all starting to become pretty dang close! I love it!

So those are just 3 of my top favorite things about Utah State. If I felt like saying more, I definitely could! School is going great too, and right now I am just trying to find some kind of internship that will get me some experience in the Journalism/Public Relations field. I also have enjoyed living so close to Jeremy, Nicole, Makelle, and Parker. Seeing them is always so much fun, and laundry is free! :)

Ok, for journaling purposes, I will tell the story of my first day of school... The Sunday before school started, I was signed up for 12 credits, but I wanted to take 15 credits. So I was looking for another class and I found the perfect one! It fulfilled my depth humanities credit and it seemed pretty interesting! The description said it was on the culture and history of Spain. My oldest brother, Josh, served a mission in Spain, so I thought that would be way cool. I tried to sign up for it, but it told me I would need an instructor's signature. So I asked around, and everyone told me it was because I was trying to sign up so late, so I just had to go to the class and then the teacher would sign me in if he had room. So the next morning I woke up and this class was the first one of the day! I was SO nervous to be at the new school, but I was way excited too. So I went to the classroom and sat down right in the middle of the classroom. The instructor came in, took roll, called out the waiting list, and then asked for anyone else who was there and wanting to add the class. So I raised my hand and gave him my name and everything else. Then it was time for class to begin. Well... before I knew it I was transported to Spain and everyone around me was speaking spanish! The instructor, lecturing in spanish. The students around me, asking questions in spanish. The syllabus... you got it! Spanish. Well... I had NO idea what to do. It was my first class of the semester at a new school and I was still terrified! Well, needless to say, I stayed in the class the entire time. I laughed at all of the professors joke, repeated whatever he told us to repeat, and "listened intently" the entire time. I also read the syllabus to see exactly how much spanish I can understand, and I surprised myself! It was the greatest feeling ever. People also probably thought I was crazy because I would just chuckle to myself all throughout class while I was thinking of what everyone would say when I told them about this. I was also terrified he was going to ask me a question, so you can imagine the relief I felt when class ended and I was able to get out of there and speak english again! It was probably by far the funniest thing that has happened to me since I've been up here, and it makes a great story, that's for sure!

(Trevor, Amber, and I cooking dinner Friday night!)

Well... That about wraps it up! I basically love life up here, and I am totally fine with it being my home away from home for the next 4 years. I have really started to love cooking too, so that has been a fun new adventure! I think Logan is a great city and I feel like I have always been meant to be here! I guess we'll see what other exciting things happen in the months to come! :)

UpDaTe!! (It's been long enough!)

Ok, so I have sucked at blogging over the past little while, but I am here now and giving my update!! Blogger has been dumb and hasn't let me put any pictures on here, and I wanted to make it more interesting! The last time I blogged was Thanksgiving, so I will just give the key points to avoid this blog being too long! (College post is coming soon!)

1- Goodbye New Mexico!

What a great experience to get outside of Utah and live in New Mexico for a semester of college! It was so much fun and I made a ton of incredible friends who I will probably be friends with forever. I made many memories and had a bunch of experiences I will never forget. In one semester of college, I grew up so much and learned so many things about myself and I am so glad I went! It was sad to say goodbye (or "see ya later") to my closest friends, and I hope to see them all again soon!

(our "Family Picture" at out movie night in the hallway! Amber, Storie, and I and Derrick, Kennis, and Royce! I miss these boys! )

2- Christmas time!

(Jane and I in front of the Christmas tree! We look better sitting in pictures... haha)

Christmas is the best time of year! This Christmas was a great one! All of the married kids in my family were with the inlaws this year, but it was still a great Christmas! We had separate parties with the Waite's and the Nelson's and both of them were so much fun! I love being with my family! It was pretty laid back, but we had a lot of fun just spending time together laughing and playing with all of Berto's dang guns! (Marshmallow guns, dart guns, etc.) Christmas Eve was just mainly Kelsey and I with the parents, but Dustin and Kaley came over for a bit too. We went and saw a movie that day and thought about going to Temple Square that night, but it was freezing!! So we spent a night at home just enjoying being together as a family. That's really all it takes!

(Kelsey and I taking cheesy Christmas pajama pictures with Jasmine.)

(Kelsey, me, and Kaley at the Nelsom Christmas party. I love my family. :) )

Christmas day, the Hansen family invited me over to talk to Gavin!! YAY! It was SO much fun and he is doing so good! Probably about 90% of our conversation consisted of us either A) just laughing for no reason, or B) Me making fun of his accent. He is doing SO good and he is almost done! Monday the 25th, he hit his 19 MONTH MARK! He is guessing he will be coming home June 18th, so that means he has less than 5 months to go!! AH! It is crazy how fast the time has flown by and how much we have both grown from this experience. He has helped me beome a better person, and I'm way glad we met. (I don't really care that everyone makes fun of us because of the whole 2 week thing. When have I EVER done anything the normal way, right?? :) )

(Gotta throw a cheesy picture out there... It's my favorite!)
5 MONTHS TO GO!

Also, during Christmas Break, I had two really fun adventures with Amber and Storie. First time, we spent the night at Amber's grandparent's cabin in Park City and then the next day went to that tubing hill! It was so much fun! After we went home and showered and then got ready and went to Temple Square! It was so much fun.

(Storie, Amber, and I right before going sledding!)

(The best way of going down the hill! Just for the record! What a blast...)

(The three of us at Temple Square! We're all the same height when I'm not standing on the curb!)

So tubing was a lot of fun! We also went to Amber's cabin over New Year's and went snowmobiling! I had never been before, but that was so much fun! I don't have pictures yet, but once I do, I will be sure to post them because they're great! 2010 is going to be a great year and I'm enjoying it already!

So Christmas Break was a complete success. I have now moved up to Utah State, and I am loving every minute of it! I am so glad I made the choice to come here and I have already made a lot of friends and so many fun people! I will write another post to give the details of Life in Logan soon, but I want some more pictures first. :) Life is good!