attitude change

I read my last post which was about a month ago and I feel like I was being so lame and depressing. Sure life in Orlando may not be the most amazing thing ever but, life is good and I have notice I haven't found as much to complain about lately. I think what really made me turn my attitude around was General Conference.

President Monson gave a talk about gratitude. He talked about how we tend to focus on the negative things in our life and don't focus enough on the things we have and should be grateful for having. It really made me realize that the hard things that may have been going on in my life at the time are really nothing compared to the things I have been blessed with in my life. One thing he said that I loved was that "to have gratitude in our hearts is to touch heaven". How awesome is that? Who wouldn't want that? Ever since hearing that I have just tried my best to focus more on just trying to find the best out of situations and it has really helped me get through this semester. I don't feel miserable and while I may not go out and have fun every weekend or get to do all the fun stuff I did in UT, I love my life and am so grateful for the people and things I have in my life.

Now it feels like the semester has gone by so fast. I get to go back to Provo in 19 days for Leeshee's wedding(crazy)!!! The week after that I have 3 days of school and then get to go home for thanksgiving. The week after that is the last week of classes, finals the next week and then home for a month for christmas break!!!!! It is going to fly by and I cannot wait! Now it's time for colder weather!

things are gonna get better

So far life in Orlando has been a very interesting experience and lately I have found it much harder to stay focused on the positive aspects of this experience.

I don't want to be this person who dosen't give change a chance. Eight months ago I had this feeling that coming out to Orlando for school was what I needed to do and as hard as I knew it would be I was looking forward to the challenge of meeting new people and coming out of my shell even more than I had to in Utah. I wish I still felt the same. Lately I have found myself only being able to focus on the things I miss about UT and focusing on those things makes it a lot harder for me to enjoy myself here.

I had lots of different ideas of why the Lord would send me out here, but of course I over think eveyrthing and I found that one reason has made it self known that I had never previously thought of. I wouldn't call it a punishment but I think it is more of a humbling thing. I will honestly say that when I was out in UT I didn't always have the best attitude. I focused a lot on how hard it was being out there and not going to BYU, and because of this I didn't really enjoy school. I also focused WAY too much on how far away I was from home and because of this it made it difficult for me to try and make good friends. I felt like I had enough friends back home and I didn't need anymore than my roommates. There are lots of other things that stopped me from enjoying myself completely but I either can't remember them or don't feel like explaining them. Im a complicated person lol, but not really. :)

Anyway, looking back on last year now I can't help but think "wow, life was so much easier". I took so much of what I had out there for granted and now that I don't have them anymore I have found that they are things that are a lot more important to me than I realized.

I miss living with my best friends. I miss being able to walk to church. I miss having the opportunity to go to CES firesides and General Conferences. I miss getting to enjoy sunday dinners with family that we didn't get to see much growing up. I miss the mountains. I miss being able to go to the temple whenever I wanted to. I miss being able to walk to 711, or just anywhere after dark and feeling safe. I miss having home teachers. I miss the random parties people would have at their apartments. I miss ward prayer and nice notes. I miss cafe rio. I miss riding the bus. I miss being able to walk over to friends apartments. I miss hearing people talk about the prophet at walmart. I miss having a calling at church. . .and the list could go on and on.

Most of those things were just how life was. I didn't think of them as anything special, but now that they aren't part of my life I hate that I didn't take more time to enjoy them, instead of just see them as things I should be doing.

I guess I don't really know what I was trying to get out of writing this post? I have had so much on my mind about what the future has in store for me and I think being able to recognize certain things about UT will help me in future decisions I may have to make. All I can say is I never thought I would end up going to school in Florida, and yet here I am. Anything can happen, plans can change, and I hope that whatever happens I will be able to stay strong and let things happen the way they are suppose to.

so different

I live in Orlando. A year ago I never would have thought I would be going to school and living in Orlando.

It has always been my plan to graduate high school and enjoy 4 fun-filled years at BYU. Well, my plan has definitely not gone how I expected.

I miss Utah a lot more than I thought I would and I find it interesting that it wasn't until I decided to move back to FL that I realized just how much of a life I had created for myself in Provo. But as much as I would have loved to stay I just felt like for some reason Orlando is where I need to be right now. Defintely still waiting to know what that reason is. Just have to keep reminding myself that the Lord works in mysterious ways. :)

So far my life in Orlando is going well. I love UCF and I love all of my classes! I really feel good about what this semester has to offer, and I think I can be successful in my classes! That is defintely a plus! Living situation is interesting. . . I knew it would be different but I never thought I would be put through something this far from what my values are. I guess you could say I was secretly hoping that by some miracle I would end up with a roommate who was mormon. That is DEFINITELY not the case, but it has given me something to gain from, like patience, finding comfort in what the gospel has to offer, patience, and PATIENCE!

I have a feeling like it will be a long year, but at the same time I also feel like it will go by qucikly if I keep myself busy and focus on the most important things in life like church and school. Thank goodness I have maggie here to be my saving grace from all the madness!

I truely hope that as this year goes by I may come to understand why it is that I felt like I should come here and I also hope that whatever my next move is suppose to be, that it might be made known to me in time and that I might be patient with answers to my prayers!

Wish me luck!

what a week

This week turned out to be probably the most eventful and exhausting week of summer.

Monday: Headed up to girls camp for the YCL day to enjoy time with my friends from the stake that I don't get to see very often, and to help set up and get things ready for camp. It was a lot of fun! I enjoyed feeling like a YCL again, but found it weird how so many of the girls who also seemed so young are now YCLs. CRAZY stuff!

Tuesday: Left camp around 12:00 and drove to Orlando with my dad. We got to Orlando around 5. Checked into the hotel and ate dinner at Dennys. Relaxed in the hotel that night and watched some random war movie? lol My dad chose it, I just sat on the computer and tried to read Eclipse.

Wednesday: Early morning. Got to UCF by 8:00. Orientation was LONG and almost TOO informative. My head and feet hurt by the end of the day. But it was definitely a productive day. It was nice to walk arounf and get the feel of campus, and too just see where I would be living soon. My new school! and from what I got out of that one day, I have a feeling I am really going to like it a lot!

Thursday: Another early morning. Spent literally all day looking for housing! We found some possible future homes from me, but we didn't settle on one. I think it would be hard to do all of that in one day. Luckily other than housing, we got everything else done that we needed to and I'm really looking forward to august! Around 5, the rest of the family got in to Orlando and we went to Medieval times! It was such an awesome and fun experience! I loved getting to eat delicous food, including a huge chicken leg, a spare rib, a slice of roasted potato, garlic bread, tomato soup and an apple pastry with my hands! That's right, no utensils in that time period. It was sweet! We got to cheer on the red knight, which was perfect since red is my favorite color! The Knights would recieve flowers from the princess after every round they would win and then they would come over to their section of the stadium and throw the flowers into the crowd. There are only a few who know this about me and that is just because they are the ones who have seen how excited I get when people throw things into the crowd at football games or pep rallies, exc. but as excited as I get I never catch what is thrown and it makes me sad. Lame, I know, but that's just the way I have always been. When that knight rode over to our side I seriously got SO excited, especially since I wasn't expecting it. I stood up, waving my arms in the air, pleading for him to throw it to me. I am not sure if he meant to throw it to me or not, but it happened like it was slow motion. He tossed the flower, it slowly spun toward me and landed right in my hands! I jumped for joy and couldn't stop smiling! I enjoyed my moment for about 5 seconds, when I looked over at my mom who pointed at my 8 year old sister who looked very sad to have not gotten a flower. As hard as it was I gave in and handed her the flower. She ended up forgetting it on the table when we left, so I was able to get it back, so that was GOOD! :D We enjoyed hanging around after and taking pictures in the awesome castle! It was a fun family night!

Friday: Early morning again. Checked out of the hotel, and headed over to the other side of town to the temple. I haven't been to a temple since leaving utah and haven't been to temple wedding in forver. It was so relaxing getting to just sit inside. When the wedding was over we stayed around for pictures outside and it was SO hot! My legs were glistening with sweat! It looked like I had jumped into a swimming pool, and Im not exagerating! After the wedding we headed home. The long 6 hour drive went by fairly quickly, and when we got home it didn't feel like the wedding was that morning. Strange, long day! and I was SO exhausted when we got home! It felt good to just lay in bed and relax the rest of the night!

recent events

I haven't blogged in a while. I would blame it on being busy, but that would be a lie.

I have started working finally, so that takes up a good amount of my time, but other than working I have been filling my time with doing a variety of things. Those things include watching the entire series of Lost, going to the beach or pool, running, soccer practice and just enjoying time with friends. It really has turned out to be a different summer than I thought it would be, but definitely still AMAZING! Starting saturday it will get even better with my birthday, dad and Jessie both coming home, getting to crash girls camp for a couple days, orientation at UCF, and spending some time in what will soon be my new college town(Orlando), Medieval Times with the family, and a friends wedding, which means I will get to be at the temple! It will deinfitely be a fun week!

Some fun times:

Family Beach Day

Arnold Graduation!

Birthday Dinners!

Be ready for a fun filled blog soon! Lots of things to look forward to!

time flies

So I am a day late only because yesterday was a busy day, but what I wanted to post was how crazy it is that a year ago yesterday it was Arnold High Schools class of 2009 graduation! A year ago I graduated! Crazy how time flies! Sometimes I wish I were back in high school, but graduating was definitely a GREAT memory! I enjoyed looking back through these pictures and re-living the night!

California Trip: Day 1

If you are interested in seeing how fun our trip to California was then watch this. . . It is only video from the first day, but more will be coming soon! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtBfGQfuMfQ

yay!!

I have been waiting for a night like tonight!
Being outside for soccer I could feel it getting hotter and the humidity rising as the clouds began to get thicker.
We got home and I took a nice cold shower and started to watch Lost.
As I layed in bed I started to get a craving for chocolate, but then thinking of choclate made me think of YoGurtys Yummy Yogurt!
We went there the other night after Emilee's soccer game and I got the most amazing combination of chocolate ice cream, brownie chunks, marshmellows and raspberries!
I went downstairs and my mom told me she was craving it as well!
It was 8:30 and it closes at 9.
Mom yelled upstairs to the everyone and told them we were going out.
With no time to waste we jumped in the car with out pajamas and whatever flip flops we saw first on.
As we drove, my brother and mom started talking about how they loved being spontaneous! and it made me realize that I do too! :D
The heat outside that I had felt earlier was causing heat lightning and it lite up the night sky! I forgot how much I love lightning!
We quickly went and got our yogurt and then headed home and it was fun seeing all of the tourists all dressed up having a night out on the town, as we walked around looking ready for bed!
To top off the night it started to storm! Pouring rain, thunder, lightning!
My first storm since I have been home! I love it! Love it! LOVE IT!

oh what a beautiful day

Yesterday I began my day with another run on the beach and my goodness I cannot even begin to describe how perfect it was! Cloudless sky, light wind, small waves, clear turquoise water and just absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I was so hot and the water looked to perfect to pass up, so after about 20 minutes of sitting on the sand and staring out into the open ocean I decided to take a spontaneous swim! Now if you know me then you know that I am a bit paranoid when it comes to swimming at the beach so this was also sort of a way for me to start getting over my fear. The water was so cool and refreshing! It felt so good, especially after running, to just float there in the water under the hot sun. I was in the water for about 10 minutes when I noticed three huge shadows swimming in a little school together. The main reason I don't like swimming in the ocean is because you never know what kind of sea creature will come around, and that is exactly the reason why after seeing those shadows I quickly ran out of the water. Normally it will just be some fish, but this time the culprit was sting rays! They were HUGE and only about 10 feet away from me! Luckily I noticed them before they got any closer or I may have run out crying and looking like a big baby! LOL.

As lovely as taking a swim felt, it probably wasn't that great of an idea. The problem was that my feet were all sandy and there was no way for me to dry them off, so I had to put my socks and shoes back on with sand still on my feet. Needless to say it wasn't that comfortable of a run home with shoes filled of sand, and dripping wet shorts!

The day continued to be GREAT with lunch out with my mom at Tropical Smoothie, then once school got out Kaity and Tori came over and we went swimming! It was SO much fun getting to hang out with both of them, finally!!! We just got to talk, swim, and lay out! Good times for sure! After a few hours of swimming we came back to my house ate some dinner and then headed over to Frank Brown to watch Emilee's soccer game! I love watching those little girls play soccer! They are all SO cute and you can just tell they are having so much fun! This is game was the first of the end of season tournament so all of the parents were pretty intense!!! It was so exciting though! Emilee played goalie and they were only up 1-0 by the end of the first half, so every time the ball even got close to her my heart would start racing! Tori and I definitely did our part in the cheering section, and Tori almost seemed to be getting into it more than me! I LOVE how excited she got everytime emilee would make a save, she is a GREAT friend! :) the whistle finally blew; they won and my heart started to settle down!

Tori had to go home, since it was a school night, so I said bye to her and then me and the family went to this new frozen yogurt place! I got chocolate yogurt with brownie pieces, mashmellows and raspberries on it! OH MY GOODNESS it was the best thing I have ever tasted! GOOD way to end an amazing day! Have I mentioned I LOVE being home?!?! :D because I really do!

a night full of music

Last night was quite a night! First we went to kyle's spring band concert. He looked so sharp in his all black suit with touquoise cumberbum and bowtie! :D He is in the advanced band, which meant he played last. So after sitting through the beginner, intermediate and jazz bands it was finally his turn. He is in the percussion section so he plays everything from the cymbals to the snare drum. I remember watching his Spring concert last year when he was in intermediate band and it just seemed so strange how in one year he seems to have grown up so much. I couldn't stop smiling as I watched him in the back and being able to hear so clearly which part he was playing! You could tell how much he loves having one of those parts where if he were to mess up it would be all him and everyone would notice, but he did an amazing job and it made me so happy!

After his concert we came home and watched Glee! Glee makes tuesdays the best day of the week for me! I just don't know what it is about that show but everything about it just makes me so happy! Every character is SO talented and listening to them sing is just an amazing feeling! What made the episode last night so great is that Idina Menzel finally sang, and the fact that her and Lea Michele sang together made it even better! They sang "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables! They both have amazing voices and hearing them sing such a powerful song like that just made me want to cry! It was SO good!

To watch the scene of them singing together click on the title of this blog! :D I have watched it about 10 times already! :D

a red flag morning

Woke up a bit late for a run on the beach. Usually around 8 it is already pretty hot out, but not today. It was however, VERY humid and VERY windy. I got to the beach and saw the red flag up already. I ran on the beach monday and the water was so calm, it was like a lake! Complete opposite today. The sky was dark, the ocean was rough and I could see the rain far off in the distance. I took dad's advice and ran with my shoes off. I loved feeling the sand between my toes as I ran right on the edge of the water, and loved when the waves crashed under my feet. The water was so warm and refreshing! And as strange as it sounds, the salty, humid, ocean air was also very refreshing as I ran! As I finished I sat down and just stared out into the never ending ocean, and down both sides of the beach and thought to myself, how amazing it is, for even when its not a beautiful sunny day, it still feels like paradise! This is my home, and I LOVE it!

Observations

Since being home I have noticed a lot of random but interesting things!

1. I forgot what it is like to sleep in the hottest room in the house with the air conditioning turned off at night! One fan is NOT enough! So thank you mom for the two extra! :D


2. Kyle (My brother who is 5 1/2 years younger than me)has turned into this man, who has a deep man voice and is more than an inch taller than me! When did that happen?!?! He hasn't like this 5 months ago during christmas break!


3. I knew Emilee was excited to meet Cappy, but I didn't think she would be SO obbsessed with him! He even gets his own bed in her room!


4. I noticed today how different sacrament meeting is in a famly ward compared to a singles ward where there are no crying children.

5. I realized how much I miss playing soccer after watching Emilee play with all her litte friends.

6. I forgot how excited I get when I hear Chelsea learning to play a new song!


That is all that I can think of at the moment, but I am sure I will think of more! It is definately good to be home! Some things to look forward to will include our Biggest Loser Challenge we are starting tomorrow! We bought an awesome scale and we are going to see who can lose the most weight this summer in our family! Im super excited! I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a good day too, I have a plan that involves lots of exercise, and starting to eat healthy again! Another thing to look forward to is teaching the Sunbeams! I taught their class today (sort of a last minute thing) but it was fun! I am going to take a picture next week with them, because they are seriously 4 of the cutest girls EVER! It will definately be a challenge considering they don't listen and enjoy running around the tiny little classroom, but it is a challenge I am ready for! And I do get some entertainment out of their randomness! Some of my favorite quotes from them today were. . .

"Look at me, I can walk like a Penguin"
"My mom says not to play with knives or I could die"
"Why does Lily get to lay under the table?"
"Im princess our class because Im the prettiest"

Our lesson was on having a body. lol. I cannot wait to hear what else they can come up with! Lets see. . . . . . ??? This weekend was Prom! I got keep Ashley company while she was getting ready and Maggie and I took pictures with her; pictures that I hope I will one day be able to get, but Maggie only likes putting the ones up that she likes of herself. Since everyone was at prom I spent another night with Chelsea which was fun. We went mothers day shopping and walked around pier park, nothing to exciting, but fun nonetheless. I found out today that Morganne won Prom Queen, and that is awesome! I can't think of anyone else in that class that deserves it more! Anyway, if I want to get up early to run before it gets deathly hot outside I am going to need to get to sleep now! Hopefully this week has a lot of excitement! Tomorrow is the beginning of a summer full of exercise and time to go job hunting again! oh joy! wish me luck!

good to be home

Stepped off the plane into the warm humid Florida air. The smell of the air brought back so many memories, it was an amazingly feeling! I may not know exactly what this summer has in store, but I do know it will be filled with great memories!

The Last Hurrah

So a little over a month ago we decided that before I move back to Florida we should have one more fun adventure as cousins. Since our grandma lives about an hour from Los Angeles we decided it would be fun and do-able to hit up some of the tourist sites Cali has to offer.

Day 1: April 29

My last day in Utah. Stopped by some apartments and said my goodbyes. Not fun at all. After I spent a few hours doing last minute packing and running errands, and was set and ready to go for about 3 hours before we finally left. The drive to Vegas was strange weather wise. From Provo to Vegas we drove through, sun, wind, rain, snow and HEAVY snow! SO weird, but it kept it interesting. We also stayed entertained jamming out to some Glee and my "Back in the day" playlist which consisted of a mix of N'SYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, LFO, Simple Plan and much more! :D Cappy also did a good job at keeping me company in the back with all of my luggage that tried its best to take over! We got to Alicia's house in Vegas around 8 and spent the rest of the night wathing TV and just relaxing. Great way to just chill after driving!

Day 2: April 30

Another day of driving, only this time we were headed to our first tourist area. The beautiful Santa Barbara beach/pier! We started off the day with a heart pancake breakfast and then took off. We got to Santa Monica around 11:30 and it was SO nice to see the beach, although it was much different beach than back home. The water was darker and the sand was brown, but it was still nice to feel the sand between my toes. It was pretty windy but we decided we could handle riding bikes around, so we rented bikes for an hour. It was nice and relaxing riding down the bike trail and just enjoying the wonderful view. After riding for about 30 minutes we figured we should start back to where we came from, but we didn't realize is that we had been riding with the wind and the wind had picked up A LOT!!!! What began as a relaxing bike ride turned into a major work out! We probably looked pretty rediculous as we stuggled to get back to the pier in time, but it was definately as much fun as it was miserable! The wind continued to get worse and we sat shivering eating pizza, then we checked out a cool little aquarium! We also had lots of fun playing on one of the playgrounds on the beach! We left the beach and spent 2 hours in the famous LA traffic! We finally got to our grandparents house and ate lots of mexican food, including tamales, enchiladas and rice. A great meal to end the day!

Day 3: May 1

Six Flags Magic Mountain!! It has been so long since we have been there! At least 10 years!!! and what a fun day it was! It was also a beautiful day! Super sunny and warm! Highlights of the day: watching 12 year olds make out (ewwww!), about to get on the batman rollercoaster and them announcing they are having technical difficulties, got spit on while waiting in line for Goliath. Even though all of these unfortunate events occurred I love that they really just made it more memorbale of a day! We have to learn to laugh at moments like those, I mean if we start focusing on the negative we always will!We just walked around, drank frozen lemonade, ate normal amusement park food, soaked up the sun and I even got a little bit of a tan! YAY! I love rollercoasters and amusement parks, and thankfully we managed to fit in the best two rollercoasters for last! The second to last one we rode was Goliath! It dosen't go upside down, but it goes 85mph and has a SUPER steep drop! It went so fast that it made my eyes water and I was so in awww that I couldn't even scream, I just sat there with my mouth wide open the entire time! It blew my mind!!! But by far the best ride there we rode last was X2!!! It is so hard to describe, but basically it is a rollercoaster that does go upside down and at the same time your seat spins off the side of the track! It was such a thrill and while the coaster slowly took us backwards up the high high slope I really did get scared for my life. I have never been that nervous on a rollercaoster!!! Unlike Goliath, I could NOT stop screaming at the top of my lungs!!! What a thrill! Definately a moment and a feeling I won't forget! When we got home grandma made us toquitos (more mexican food)! And we went to bed pretty early! Being out in the sun can really exhaust you!

Day 4: May 2

Definately a more relaxed day! We drove to the Hollywood walk of fame and checked out the 17 blocks of stars! There were a bunch of people walking around dressed up as characters, which was pretty random and kind of weird, but definately interesting! We didn't spend a lot of time there, so when we got hungry we decided to head over to Olvera street to eat! Olvera street is this mexican street that has resturants, little shops and a ton of kiosks that has been around LA for 80 years! It is basically where a lot of the mexicans go to celebrate hispanic holidays and just go shop! We use to go all the time when we lived in California so it is always fun to go back! We ate carnitas con arroz y frijol at La Luz del Dia, and custard filled churros at Mr.Churro! SOOOO much good mexican food! Grandma bought me an awesome small backpack, which is awesome because I was in desperate need of a new purse. We headin back pretty early and just spent the rest of the night watching TV with our grandparents and eating delicious strawberry pie!

Day 5: May 3

The day started with a HUGE breakfast, and then the drive back to Vegas! Our last night together was spent at the Stratosphere on the Vegas strip. It is always fun just being in vegas! We went to the top and looked over all of Vegas! Such an amazing view!!! The best part of the night was definately riding the BIG SHOT!! I rode it twice, Jessie and Leesh rode it three times! It is like they make you just sit there in anticipation and then when you least expect it the shoot you up so stinkin fast, you can help but scream in fear! What an awesome feeling! Another huge thrill!!!!

A GREAT TRIP! We kept super busy and with all of the traveling I am now quite exhausting! As fun as it was, I am ready to be home with family! and enjoy what I hope will be an amazing summer!

California Here We Come

Yesterday around 4:00pm we started our little road trip to California. Our original plan had us getting to our grandmas house last night, but with some psycho bipolar weather we decided to stay in Vegas for the night and head out this morning. So that is what we are doing!

As of right now I am sitting in Alicia's house eating chocolate chip pancakes and delicious syrup, about to leave to head to santa monica! I was planning on updating after everyday, but it seems as if I wont have as much time on the computer as I thought I would. So I will be back in a few days to talk all about this trip!

And So It Goes

Boy oh boy has it been a CRAZY week! Why so crazy? Well, let me just tell you; studying for finals, packing, and attempting to have as much of a social life as possible is very difficult, but luckily I was able to do it all! Just call me "Super Wiser"! :D Anyway, being so busy distracted me from the fact that tomorrow I will be leaving Utah for a good while. It came SO soon, and after spending all day packing it finally hit me! While it is going to be much harder to leave this place then I thought it was, I am SOOOO looking forward to being home! It is going to be a great summer I can just feel it!

Things I will miss about Utah!

Going to the temple whenever I want!


Having Fun & Living with my Best Friends!




Hanging with the MOST AMAZING FHE family EVER! Be Jealous! :D



The snowy mountains


my amazing bed that haley is jealous of!


Things Im looking forward to in Florida!

Being with my family


Playing soccer & hanging with my friends!



the beach


and SO much more!!!

nobody said it was easy, it's such a shame for us to part

So sunday was an interesting day. It was the day I realized leaving Provo was definately going to be harder than I thought it would a couple months ago.

The reason this realization came on sunday was because for most people it was there last sunday in the ward. When sacrament meeting ended I just didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay there and just talk with people! But it was nice to walk home in such beautiful weather! After we got home Kara came and chatted for a while and that was fun, of course! Then we went to Rene's to eat dinner! My last sunday dinner over there for a while. :( Not long after we got home it was time for ward prayer. The last one as an entire ward! Another sad moment! There wasn't much to announce and there was no one left to introduce so it went by pretty quickly, but it was nice to have more time to talk to everyone. I just remember standing there, writing nice notes, and seeing everyone together and thinking, "wow! i have met nso many amazing people!" I knew I had made some good friends in the ward, but looking around and seeing them all at once helped me notice how many people I will actually have a hard time saying bye to. I have made so many amazing friends that I love and am so comfortable around, way more than I realized!

While making new friends will definately make it harder to leave, at the same time it is nice to know that after trying so hard to get into BYU and nothing coming of it, I know now why I needed to come out to UT! It may not have been what I thought it was, but I almost feel like it is even better! I needed to come out here to meet the wonderful people I have and to learn for myself that I am capable of making friends on my own! Especially lately I have felt very much so, that I have had to rely on myself to make an effort to meet people and get to know them, and that is SO good for me! It has helped me grow as a person so much!

I have already had to say goodbye to one person and that wasn't fun at all! And I will continue to be saying bye to people all this week! But I know I will stay in touch! These friends that I have made will definately last a lifetime and I just love knowing that the church will make that possible to happen! :D

Life is good, life is GREAT, and hopefully life will continue to bring me adventures and lots of experiences to learn from!

When You Say You Love Me

I have found what I would love to be my wedding song one day!!

Josh Groban is amazing, and so is his song "When You Say You Love Me"!
If you haven't heard it I reccomend you go and listen!

my arms get cold in february air

so it isn't february, and for once in Utah it isn't that cold outside, but I just had to post something about my awesome monday this week!!

We went to an Owl City concert, and Paper Route and Lights opened for them. The sad thing is that I actually enjoyed Lights more than I did Owl City, but it was still a great concert! I havent been able to stop listening to Lights though! She is so stinking good live and even though her music is so different, it has a really cool sound too it and I just cant get enough!

So despite the fact that I felt like I was fighting for my life the entire time because people were so pushy and we were right in the front, that day was the best day of my life so far! Why??? well because there was a certain someone that was at the concert! The one and only David Archuleta. Of course we all left our cameras in the car, so the one chance that I will probably ever get to see him we couldnt get any evidence, but that image won't ever leave my memory. I was down in the crowd, somewhat miserable, HOT, getting trampled on, but then I would look up and see him smiling and dancing to the music and I just couldn't stop smiling! I still can't stop smiling! It was just a great feeling!

It was just a great night!!!!!!! AMAZING night!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Wow! I really have no idea where to begin? So much seems to have happened since coming back to Utah after christmas break!

Thrown right back into everything! School, searching for a job, school, finding time to talk to friends back home, having a social life, and well school!

I really dont even know what happened between christmas break and now my plans for summer and fall! It seriously just all seemed to happen at once and now plans are set and getting put in action.

My plan, after lots of pros and cons list, praying, fasting, contemplating with myself and others, I have decided that the best thing for me is to go home and work in the summer, and go to school in florida in the fall. I was scared at first. I had so many options, and I just didn't know what to do. I have never been so confused, and have never had to make a decision as hard as this. My decision to come out to Utah seemes so easy and right. I didn't care that I would have to work super hard to try and reach my goal of getting into BYU. I told my self that I would do whatever I could to get in, and after trying so hard it began to feel as if I wasn't getting accepted for a reason. I remember so perfectly the feeling I had when I got the email saying "a decision has been made on your application of enrollment to Brigham Young University". I wasn't nervous, and I wasn't excited, I just had this feeling that I knew what I was going to see when I checked, and sure enough I was right. I saw "Denied" for the 3rd time. It was at that moment I realized I had to change my plan. Going to BYU has always been the one thing I have ever dreamed of doing in my life, but if I have done everything I possibly could then it must not be the place for me. It was hard to accept that, but we need to always follow the promptings of the Lord. We may have a plan for our life, but He knows what we need to do, and where we need to be.

I feel like I have come so close to the Lord through this whole experience! I know that He knows me better than I know myself, and I will always put my trust in him!

If I am needed in Orlando for whatever reason, I will go, and I am looking forward to it SO much! I just know it is going to be an amazing experience and I will be able to learn more about myself and what I am capable of by stepping out of my shell and doing something that really has just fallen in place. Not something that I had to try so hard to make work!

I love life right now and cannot wait to have an amazing summer and what I hope and am sure will be a great an different life.

For Good

I'm limited
Just look at me - I'm limited
And just look at you
You can do all I couldn't do, Glinda
So now it's up to you
For both of us - now it's up to you...

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you

Because I knew you

I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood

Who can say if I've been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better

And because I knew you...

Because I knew you...

Because I knew you...
I have been changed for good...