picture update!

before clean checks


during clean checks


after clean checks


never clean again...never never


we were exhausted after cleaning for 11 hours.... ridiculous!


just me and talia being crazy during our sleepover last night


me & andrea after church today

how i feel right now

I am stoked to go home on Friday! I miss my family and my friends. Thinking about seeing them in less than a week it so exciting!

English class is over for the semester. So Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I don't have to wake up until my Child Development class at 3:15. Crazy. School is going to be over before I know it!!

<3 Me

one week left

In one week from now, the semester will be over and I will be driving back to Boise. I am seriously amazed by how quickly this semester has gone by! I don't really even know what to say, other than these past 3 months have been absolutely incredible. I looove Rexburg, BYU-I, my roommates, family home evening group, classes, everything. As much as I loved last week's vacation from school and being back with my friends and family in Utah, I was homesick from all of my friends from Rexburg. Life without them now is incomplete.

So next week I take all of my finals, and on Friday, I will be on my way back home to Boise. I will stay there for a week and a half. That Monday I get my wisdom teeth pulled. (AHH!!) On Wednesday, my parents leave for their anniversary trip and I get to babysit until Sunday, when we will drive up to Utah and meet my parents at Grandma's house. Christmas and New Year's will be spent in Utah, and I move back to Rexburg on January 5, 2009! When I come back, I will have all new classes AND all new roommates. (I told Talia she needs to get me a spare key though, because I wil be over pretty much every day still. haha!) I'm really excited :)

Christmas is only 20 days away!!!!!!! <3

"once again, i'd like to say that i am thankful for koolaide and pasta roni!" aha

Today at 3 I am going back to Utah! The following 9 days will be spent in Orem: playing with long-missed family and relatives and friends, sleeping in, eating to my heart's content, doing FREE laundry, working at FroYo, seeing Samantha get BAPTIZED!, celebrating Thanksgiving, and shopping in the mass day-after-Thanksgiving-shopping! hahaha It's going to be a GREAT week :)

<3 Me

new favorite video/song:
(not much to do with anything other than that I love it!)

time flies when you're having fun!

I am amazed by how quickly this semester is flying! I only have 3 and a half weeks left of classes, and the semester is over! CRAZY!! A week and a half to Thanksgiving break, then 2 more weeks till the end of Fall Semester.

Well, to start off I apologize for not keeping up on this blog every day like I wish I could. I have to keep backing up and explaining everything cool (or at least I thought was cool) from the last few days. My week became progressively better as it went on. Wednesday was still not the best, but Thursday and on were wonderful. The Preferance Dance was on Saturday and it was great! I loved every minute of it. Colin was my date and Andrea went with Zach.





La de da....

Moving on to yesterday, Colin and I made our relationship "official" ;) Our facebook status' were changed and everything. *haha* He is currently getting his "beauty rest" because it is "o'dark thirty outside" :D I love when he sings to me and holds my hand. Kristilyn thinks we're super cute together.



We FINALLY went grocery shopping last night. My roommates and I have been STARVING for a week now; it's like Christmas here. Speaking of Christmas, we love playing our Christmas music loud and proud. We bought a cute little pink Christmas tree at Walmart the other day that always makes us smile. The weather is so crazy outside, at times it really seems like Christmas Eve, and we should be waking up to presents in the morning.....

Anyway, all is good with me. Every day is a great day here.

<3 Me

"You drive me crazy!"

This song is exactly how I feel right now. Crazy!! :)


Lyrics | Britney Spears - You Drive Me Crazy lyrics

"Baby, I'm amazed by you!!"

Today was a beautiful day.

I am on cloud 9.....
<3

"If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?"

For those of you who talked to me last night, you know the exact thoughts that were travelling through my mind. You saw me staring blankly, absolutely shocked, when Obama was announced the next President of the United States. You know that I screamed to my roommates that we lost. You know that I texted my close friends, expressing my frustration in America. I was so upset. I was so mad I could spit and so sad I could cry. Obama winning literally made me feel physically ill. I seriously thought I was going to throw up. These last few days have been absolutely miserable to tell the truth. This election was the cherry on top of these terrible last few days.

My apartment, last night, was so depressing. We were all extremely upset about the election's results. All we were good for last night was bringing each other down farther. It was aweful. Finally, Benjamin came by to cheer me up. He stayed and talked to us for awhile, when I just couldn't handle being in the apartment any longer. I jumped up and told them I was going on a walk. They told me I was crazy. It was snowing outside and absolutely freezing, but I didn't care. I bundled up, and just as I started to open the front door and step out into the chill air, Benjamin hopped off the couch and announced he was coming with me. I really wanted to be by myself, but I decided having him for company wouldn't be bad.

So we set out. All I really wanted to do was get rid of the pit that had been resting in my stomach since Sunday night and had only increased since then. We caught snowflakes with our tongues, swing danced in the snow, told stories, made snow angels, made footprints in the snow, had a snowball fight, and tried to use body heat to warm up after. I wasn't even that cold, but I could literally feel his body shaking and twitching, trying desperately to heat back up. We had a long talk, and by the time I returned home, he had managed to make me feel a thousand times better.

I have really missed Paulo and Garret, just being able to talk to them about anything. Those two have always been there for me, no matter what time of day or night. I feel like Benjamin and I are getting to that friendship and that makes me happier than anything else right now. I desperately need to have that friendship with someone again....

Ben and I talked about Obama a little bit last night before our walk. We talked about how I don't hate him. He seems like a nice enough guy. I just don't like the majority of the issues he stands for. I don't think he's quite good enough to run our country. Benjamin made me laugh when he said that Obama's winning meant the second coming was only that much closer ;)

I hope Blake doesn't mind. I just finished reading his blog before I started writing this one, and I decided I would quote him. I feel almost the same as him, and I like the viewpoint he has on this situation:

"I'm sure most of you have heard that Barack Obama is our next president, as of last night. Now, for those of you who spoke with me about politics knew that I wanted this to happen, even though I couldn't bring myself to vote for him (or anyone for that matter). I'm disgusted with politics, and the apathy of America in general. I didn't like all of either of their "plans" and each had their own list of "why they don't deserve to be President." But, when it all boils down to it, I see inspiration in Obama that McCain could never invoke. Obama makes people want to become different, to become better than themselves and show that America really can be one of the greatest countries in the world. He invokes hope.... I'm just asking you to keep an open mind, and be positive, cheerful and optimistic about the future. It's not going to be that bad." -Blake, http://blakev1.spaces.live.com/default.aspx

I am going to really really try. I can see how Obama is inspiring. I am going to really try and keep this mindset throughout the next 4 years as he guides our beloved country. And Blake's right - It's not going to be that bad.

<3 Me

"i don't want to miss a single autumn evening..."

I thought I would do a little bit of recapping from my weekend, and then go on to explain what the next few days hold in store, as well as what I am thinking right now. I have done a lot of thinking these last few days(as I usually do..) but right now I feel like I should get it all off my chest. Here goes: brace yourself!

On Thursday I left for Utah. I was so excited, I couldn't even stand it!! I raced around my apartment frantically before my last class, packing for the upcoming weekend. I headed off to class with my backpack (completely stuffed) and a mini duffel bag. I felt a little ridiculous as I walked across campus with all my stuff, but it was so worth it! The very thought of being back in Orem was enough to make me scream with excitement. When I arrived in Utah, Jessica, Tyler, Diego, and Rachel came over for Pancake Night!! Grandma thought that the invention of chocolate chip pancakes topped with mint ice cream was incredible, just like when I tried them for the first time. It was so much fun!

Halloween on Friday was amazing. I woke up at 12:00!!!!! Haha that's probably enough to tell you just how great that day was. Jessica and I set up the decorations downstairs for Grandma's Halloween party. The Halloween party she threw was a blast. She had all these fun little games planned. Afterwards, Jessica (my cousin who I love so much!), Talia, Kristilyn, Andrea (all 3 of my roomies!!), Tyler & Tim (boys from my old single's ward), Diego, Sean, Travis, Gabby, Mike & Zach (2 of my fhe brothers + one of Mike's friends), and I all went to the Haunted Forest in American Fork!!! It was amazing! I loved it!

On Saturday Grandma took me shopping for my birthday. She bought me lots of cute clothes and a super cute hat (She bought Tal a hat, too!!). Talia and I went to the Creamery where we met up with one of my best friends from Rio this summer (Stephanie), and some of Kristilyn's friends, and Kristilyn's brother David. (I wish BYU-I had a creamery!!!! We are going to start a petition to get one *wink*) Grandma took me and Stephanie to "Nights in Rodanthe" and then we went to a graveyard with a bunch of friends and watched a movie.

Sunday was perfectly relaxing. We went to church at my old single's ward, then came home and took a nap while watching "Beauty and the Beast". The weekend seriously flew by! I was so sad when it came time to leave for Rexburg.

Today was a sad day. I'm not really sure why. I just woke up and felt so grumpy and depressed; all I wanted to do was crawl back under the covers and sleep some more. I went to my english class and started writing an essay that really depressed me. It brought back all these feelings and that for years I have tried to suppress. I guess I still feel like it was all my fault-I am the one to blame for the event I am writing about. It breaks my heart each and every time it is brought up. I almost started crying in class, but managed to hold it until I reached my apartment where the tears flooded. I came home from child development and felt so tired. I wanted to take a nap so badly, but I knew it wasn't going to happen. I discovered after my roomies came home from cross country that Talia was in a lot of pain. I saw her eyes filling with tears. When I asked her what was wrong, she wouldn't tell me. Finally, she explained how her back and neck had been hurting all day and she didn't want to tell me. Whiplash. (Yesterday, after church, we were driving home from church. We reached a roundabout. Jessica tried to brake, but the car wouldn't stop. It wasn't that bad of a crash. We only jolted their car from rear-ending them, however, Talia isn't doing so good today. She is suffering the effects that come after a wreck and it broke my heart to see her so sad. It then absolutely broke my heart later talking to Jessica on the phone. I don't think it was her fault, not really. The weather conditions caused the accident. Without hydroplaning, there is no way we would have ran into the other car. Anyway, Andrea didn't feel that great tonight either. It seems our whole apartment was just down in the dumps today. Hopefully it will cheer up tomorrow...

On a happier note, tonight I asked Colin to the Preferance Dance on Saturday. My roommates and I made up a song to ask him:

(To the tune of "Jingle Bells")
"Colin Stong, Colin Stong
Colin all the way - Roomies singing

Will you go to Preferance
With me on Saturday? - Me singing

HEY!! :)"

Anyway, he said yes and I am really excited :D

Election Day is tomorrow!!!! I am really nervous/excited to see who the new President of the United States will be......VOTE YES ON PROP 8!!!!!!!!!

I think I will quickly go over my goals from last month and make some new ones....

OCTOBER GOALS:
1. Keep up on homework and reading assignments-
PASS!! Hasn’t even been a problem ;)

2. Morning & Nightly Prayer & Daily Personal Scripture Study-
FAIL. While I say my nightly prayers daily, I always forget morning prayers. I also tend to think of “roomie scriptures/prayer” as a cover for the days I don’t do my own personal study. That needs to change.

3. Get back into a good sleeping schedule-
Fail. I still go to bed around 3 am. This month I am going to aim for a 2:00 am max. We’ll see how it goes…

4. EAT HEALTHY-ER!
Fail. As I started out eating healthier, it is so hard to when Ben keeps making us yummy desserts and we always have ice cream in the freezer. This goal is still on.

5. Go running every Monday, Wednesday, Friday morning-
Complete FAIL. I am so embarrassed to admit that most of these goals were unsuccessful…..

6. Make more friends & remember their names-
SUCCESS!! I am getting much better at meeting people and remembering their names.

7. Make the Fall Formal the hit dance of the semester!!
SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enough said 

8. Keep up with writing missionary letters-
Successful. I have a routine down! I just need to get some more postage stamps…..

NOVEMBER GOALS:

1. Morning Prayer & Daily "Personal" Scripture Study
2. Be in bed lights out no later than 2 am. HAHA how sad...
3. Eat Healthier/Exercise: I think I'm going to get one of those funny exercise tapes.....hehe
4. Keep up on cleaning my bedroom and the kitchen
5. Spend an hour a week taking pictures/Playing with them on photoshop to add to my porfolio
6. Decide on a major: ElEd, 2+2, Child Development....

I will report back on these at the beginning of December.

I love you all. I hope you are well. I hope you are happy. May your lives be filled with laughter, smiles, and singing. Have an amazing day <3

-Me

life is a highway...i want to ride it all night long!

So updating is needed!!

Friday was Fall Formal! My roommates and I went as a group with our fhe family. It was a blast! The girls all wore poodle skirts that Talia's mom made and sent to us. The boys were dressed like they came straight out of Grease. Moral of the story: We were looking hot ;) I spent that night right before the dance getting it all set up, and making sure that everything was going as planned. The whole week had been crazy with advertisements and planning, decorating and shopping for refreshments. I got so many phone calls from people wondering where they could buy tickets at, etc. It was a little stressful, but overall a great experience that I would take on again in a heartbeat. After the dance was in motion, I went back to my apartment to rest for a little bit. The boys were already over, and we sat around taking pictures for a good hour before heading to the dance. The dance was AMAZING! I absolutely loved it! The live jazz band was incredible - the swing dancing made the dance just perfect. I am a terrible dancer too, but it was so much fun to just let myself out of my shell and dance and have fun! Benjamin was an amazing swing dancer. I was so stunned by how well he could dance. Zach was just crazy. He is funny. We would try to do these funny moves and it was a lot of fun. My favorite though was dancing with Colin. He and I kept trying new swing dance techniques, usually resulting in minor injuries. There was this one time he whacked me right in the face - completely on accident - but it was hilarious! We laughed so hard. About every minute we would have to stop dancing and have a good laugh at ourselves. I'm sure we looked totally ridiculous but I don't care. It was a perfect night.



Saturday was pretty busy. Kristilyn's brother came into town Friday just before the dance, so we spent all of the weekend with him. We went to watch my roomies and Colin run in their cross-country meet. It was so much fun! I really wish I would have done XC with them, but next year I will for sure. They all did great in the race. I'm so proud :)





We came back just in time to get all our laundry done and go to the ward talent show. Our ward has some of the funniest, most outgoing people. I LOVE IT! haha.



Sunday we went to church, came home, napped, and had a picnic! We went to the gardens with Talia's laundry basket full of food: pizza, pasta, marshmallow popcorn, koolade, cookies, broccoli... It was delicious! Talia and I did the stadium singing that night with Jason and Zach :)

Today, Mark woke me up at 6:30 to tell me happy birthday! My mom had Josh and Samantha call me before the left for school at 7:45 to tell me happy birthday. The rest of the day I continued to get phone calls, texts, emails, etc. from people telling me happy birthday. The neat thing was that a lot of them I haven't talked to since high school, but they remembered my birthday :)

Andrea would not let me in the kitchen today. She made me my breakfast and lunch. Then, she, Kristilyn, and Talia all chipped in for stuffed crust pizza tonight. YUMM! I wasn't allowed to do any cleaning whatsoever.

I went down the hall after waking up this morning and found that Kristilyn had left me all these signs wishing me a happy birthday. I picked up my package from my family, and when I came home, I saw that Talia had made a banner over my bed.

My family sent me lots of clothes, scarves, gloves, chocolate, cute cards, etc. They are amazing <3

Zach brought me a cupcake tonight. haha cute :)

For fhe, my family surprised me with a party. We were supposed to go make 72 hour kits tonight, but all along they had been planning on throwing me a party. I was so happy :) We had our cake, rolled down a BIG grassy hill (YAY!), and played the traditional Keele birthday games (candy bar game & squirt gun game). All in all, today was great!

Only 2 more days until I get to go back to Orem and see my grandma and Jessica!!!!! I am SO excited! I love you all! Have a fantastic day!

the answer to my prayers...

For the last few weeks, I have been pleading, begging to God for help. There is an area in my life that I feel is missing. I prayed every night for the last few weeks for guidance and instruction. I'm not really sure what I was looking for, maybe a light up arrow sign that fell from the sky and implied a way I should go. Maybe even a "DO NOT ENTER" or "YIELD" would be very appreciated. Well, of course none of that happened. The Father speaks through a still, small voice. I was reminded this week that rather than praying and quickly slipping into a deep sleep, I should kneel a little longer to ponder and listen for the Holy Ghost's promptings. Well, this is just now kicking in. In addition, my roommates and I read Proverbs 3 tonight for our nightly roomie scripture study/prayer. Two verses REALLY stuck out to me:

5- Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6- In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I know that I need to trust in the Lord. I have always felt like I do trust Him, but it hit me tonight. All of a sudden, I realized that I need to put all of my faith in Him. 100%. Not 80%. Not even 99.9999%. 100% needs to be dedicated to Christ. Why this took me so long to realize, I have no idea. But then I realized, that maybe my prayer had already been answered and I missed it, or, my Heavenly Father has something different planned for me than I have planned for myself. Maybe I need to ponder longer after I pray to be more apt to hearing the Spirit. OR MAYBE He hasn't answered yet! Why did I think that this answer would come so quickly?

Anyway, moral of the story is that I need to have absolute faith in my Savior. He is the way, the truth, the life, and the light! He is my Shepard.

Goals:
-Ponder for a few minutes after praying. Listen for an answer.
-Read my patriarchal blessing every week.

Have a fantastic day everyone! I love you! Have faith in Christ <3

gonna rock around the clock tonight...

Tonight is my big Fall Formal Dance: Dancing Through the Decades!! I am seriously freaking out right now..... Tickets need to keep selling and my costume still needs to get here!! I will be so happy tonight when everyone is there - dancing at the event I planned :)

Tomorrow is going to be my relax, lay-around-the-house, stress-free day!

Gravity

I'm not really sure why, but Gravity is another song that has a connotation for me. I don't even remember the story or anything behind it. It always makes me think of late nights driving in Orem. Maybe it was after just a long exhausting day of work or just "issues" with the boys in my life. I can remember always crying to this song though. It's like every time I sing it, I sing it with every bit of strength left in my whole body. By the end of the last verse, I am worn out with red eyes, blotchy cheeks, and tears running down my face.

I had a really good day today too. Why I feel like listening to that song on repeat right now, I don't even know. A good cry just feels nice....

Song lyrics Gravity lyrics

Today I reconnected with a friend I haven’t seen or talked to in almost a year and a half. I learned some new things (not good) about a boy I dated my junior year of high school. I had one of those “relationship talks”. I also conquered my fear of talking to a boy in one of my classes who I think is so cute, but have always been way too scared to talk to. I went to the Disney College Program presentation today and have an interview set up for tomorrow. Today was a good day :]

I am currently sitting on my couch, hiccupping uncontrollably and reflecting back on the day. What made today so great? You know, I’m not sure. I just know that I feel like I found missing pieces to a puzzle today. I am slowly trying to make sense of my past and how it is affecting my future.

I have been thinking a lot today about memories. How is it that when you listen to a certain song, memories will flood back into your mind? Here are some that come to mind immediately:
1. “Science of Selling Yourself Short”
o This song ALWAYS reminds me of a boy named Zane Dees. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I am doing when I hear this song, I ALWAYS think of him. I think of all those nights we would stay up for hours talking on the phone. I would sneak into the basement and talk to him, so my parents wouldn’t know I was still awake. He was one of the sweetest boys I’ve ever known. This song makes me remember Halloween that year. He told Carissa he thought I was really cute. The whole night I kept trying to get Derek’s attention, and he kept trying to get mine….
2. “Hey Santa!”
o My mom and I LOVE singing Christmas songs. “Hey Santa!” was our favorite by far; we sang it all day long every day. Each time I hear it, I think of putting up our Christmas tree with the family – the boys were always asking us to turn it off and mom and I would just sing right over the top of them. It makes me think of doing the dishes with her in the kitchen, watching the snow fall…
3. “Bubbly”
o PAULO!! I will never forget the day that Paulo and I were driving in his car singing this song. It was before he and Jamie started dating. He was frustrated with her because he loved her sooo much, and he couldn’t make her see it. He told me that if she ever sang this song to him, he would be the happiest man in the world. Sure enough, only a few months later when they finally became a couple, this became their song. CUTE!
4. “Sugar, We’re Going Down”
o Garret was trying to impress me by singing to me. This was the first song he turned on, and we sang it again and again on our way to the movies. It was like our theme song…
5. “Big Girls Don’t Cry”
o I always sang this song after Carter and I broke up. I would often burst into tears midway. Haha. Ironic.
6. “Hold My Hand”
o Homecoming with Gunnar! He played me this song, and I’m not sure why, but its just always stuck. I hear this song, I think of him.
7. Jack’s Mannequin/Skillet/The Starting Line
o These ALL make me think immediately of Blake. He introduced me to so many of my favorite artists. I would often sing these songs on the days we didn’t talk, when I felt like I really needed to talk to him. Blake and I used to be so close – we would talk just about every day. I miss that…
8. “Time of Your Life”
o Jessica tried to teach me this song on the guitar because it is one of my favorites. She played it for me a lot over the last 2 summers. She has such a pretty voice and is so good at playing the chords, I actually think her version is way better.
9. “Milk & Cereal”
o Devyn is just kind of a crazy cool kid that I love being with. This is our song J
10. Nickelback & Hinder
o These all belong to Lance. It is impossible to listen to either group without thinking of Lance…
11. Disney Duets
o Mark and I would always sing these together at home. I miss that…
12. “Curse of Curves”
o Summer 2007 in Utah with Jamie, Jessica, Jordan, David, Trevor, Paulo, Garrett. Life in “the sac”.

Profile Essay

For my English class, we had to write profile essays this last week. Here is the finished product:

Country music has never been a favorite of mine. In fact, I usually can’t handle it at all. There are a few artists whose songs are upbeat and make me happy, but the majority of them are like a slippery slope leading straight into an ice cold water of depression. This music style just seems so discouraging; they all seem to involve the cat being run over, the house catching fire, a significant other cheating, or a loved one dying. Honestly, is there nothing better to talk about than all of the slumps in life? What good can be found in so much complaining? The music I enjoy is happy, upbeat, and inspiring. Recently, I met someone whose life is very much like that of a country song. She has experienced so much heartbreak, it is ridiculous. However, despite all of these misfortunes she has undergone, her life reflects the kind of music anyone will see on my iPod: happy, upbeat, and inspiring. I would like to share with you the story of an 18 year old girl who has considerably changed my perspective on life by explaining the trials she has endured, how she dealt with them, and how her perspective has modified the way I perceive existence.

Katie and I met at Café Rio. I had been working at the to-go counter answering phones and running the cash register; Katie had been living in Arizona for the beginning of the summer, but returned to Utah and picked up at Café Rio where she left off in May. She was the to-go trainer: she was an expert at making the call-in orders run smoothly. On top of that, she was excellent at customer service. When I first started at Rio, I had countless customers ask me why Katie hadn’t been working lately. Upon her homecoming, customers flocked to her! Whistles rang through the restaurant as all our happy Hispanic coworkers cheered when she arrived. I am surprised Katie didn’t suffocate, there were so many people running to give her hugs, and squeezing her tight as if they’d never let go. Obviously, my first impression of Katie was she was extremely friendly, loveable, and hard-working.

As Katie and I worked together 40 hours a week, we became great friends. I was surprised by how quickly she opened up to me. She shared with me so many of the traumas her life had encountered. How could someone who had experienced so much hurt come out on top as being one of the happiest people I’ve ever met? While she told me stories from her haunting past, she exampled her view on life and the lessons she took from each of these experiences.

If I were to write a country song of Katie’s life, the first verse would talk about her childhood. At a very young age, Katie was abandoned by her mother. I can’t even imagine! For all these years, Katie has grown up without the love or support of a mom. This makes me reflect back on my life. I remember all of the days I came home from school, only to be wrapped in the arms of my loving mom. A life without a mother, especially a mother who abandoned you, would be extremely challenging.

The second verse of the song would explain how Katie not only lost her mom, but how her dad was taken also. Katie woke up one morning last year to find her dad collapsed and unconscious on the kitchen floor. She immediately called for an ambulance, but her heart sank because she knew it was already too late. Her cherished father had passed through this life and into the next without even a goodbye. Katie and her brother parted their ways: Katie went to live with her grandma, and her brother left to live with an uncle.

Verse 3: When Katie’s dad died, she was left with paying all the bills. Her grandma had already retired, so Katie was not only responsible for covering the costs of herself and her younger brother, but also her grandma. She took on a full time job at Café Rio. Even during the school year, Katie worked 40 or more hours each week. As Katie progressed in her job at Rio, she became very close to all of her coworkers. So close, in fact, that they formed a “family”. Café Rio became Katie’s safe haven, the place Katie called home.

In the fourth verse, I would sing of Katie’s latest struggles. In February, Katie was diagnosed with cancer. She had been working at Café Rio for a year by this point. She called the assistant manager, Ismael, Papa. She adopted him as her dad. She called another assistant manager, Mom. She basically lived with another worker, whom she knew as her sister. The Café Rio “family” grew close at this time in Katie’s battle. When she was informed of her cancer, she ran as fast as she could to her home, Rio. Papa and her “mom” cradled her and held her tightly in the office, as she quietly sobbed in their arms. Her life felt broken. The only place she felt she belonged was her “family” in the little Mexican restaurant. Customers coming in that day had no idea that a sweet 18 year old girl was weeping behind the office door.

The fifth verse would describe Katie’s relationships with boys. The most important one to understand was a boyfriend who treated her as though she was no more than dirt. Scars on Katie’s back aren’t enough to even begin to describe the ache her boyfriend caused her. I will never forget the day she came to work with a black eye. She described to me how he was angry with her for something she didn’t even do, and he pounded her. He had been drinking, so the beating was even more brutal than customary. He would mentally abuse her by day, calling her demeaning names. Then, he abused her by night with blows to her head. She thought there was no way out, until finally she hid from him. She stopped answering phone calls and even had her phone company block her number from him. The doors to her house were always kept locked tight. She spent the majority of her time at Rio, so she was always surrounded by huge crowds and coworkers who loved her.

Between each verse, a chorus would ring out. Katie is one of my heroes. I have never met anyone my age that has experienced so much pain, fear, and hurt. She has had to live through and continue pressing forward with little to no strength left at times. Despite all her hardships, Katie remains one of the happiest, positive, outgoing people I know. She is dedicated, and hardworking, and she loves people with all her heart. I often get text messages from her, saying something like, “Hey Love, what’s up?” She never fails to express love to those she cares about. She usually answers the phone with a similar phrase, “Hi Love! How are you?” I love being around her and learning from her experiences. They have taught her that life is short; don’t waste it. Express love constantly to those you truly do love; you never know when they will be taken from you. She has been taught discipline through the fifty hours or so she spends working each week after her college courses in the morning. A part time student, full time worker, and an overtime lover: we can all learn from her story. It is to be cherished and held dear to our hearts.

Before meeting Katie, I knew that family relationships were important. I love my family more than anything. I realized though, that I was not expressing that love nearly as often as I should. Now I call my family every day, never failing to say “I love you” at the end of a conversation. Katie showed me that working hard is an excellent stress reliever. Often times people show their anger and frustration at the world by violent, cruel acts. Not Katie. If she had not told me about her life, I would have never even known. She is so good at keeping her past a mystery. She doesn’t use makeup either: Katie uses a smile to brighten and clear up her face.

Katie’s country song would be one of many emotions. The listener would feel the pain and agony that came with every crisis. However, they would also feel happiness and excitement for the future, just as Katie showed. No one would have blamed Katie if she chose to be sad and gloomy because of the problems she has faced, but they didn’t need to. She never let her problems show. She always smiled, laughed, played. She was one of the happiest people I have ever met. Her song would express this delight in life. I think I would listen to Katie’s country song incessantly.

fhe pumpkin carving pictures :)

a missed alarm, heated discussion, and a creepy pumpkin...

Today was pretty entertaining. I woke up to Talia's frantic cry, "JENNY!!! We woke up late! Oh my gosh...class is in 10 minutes!!" Of course, I jumped right up out of bed, surprised I didn't bump my head on the ceiling or fall of the bunk bed on my way out. The mornings when we sleep through the alarm are always the funniest. We start running through the apartment, not knowing what is most important. Somehow, the basics seem to get lost as our brains are trying to wake up. In order, this is what I did as I got ready at "lightning speed": Turned on the straightener, put a pop tart in the toaster, got dressed, brushed my teeth, straightened my bangs (why just my bangs, i don't even know. I was half asleep haha), and ran out the door with the poptarts in hand. Here is what I should have done: Throw my hair into a pony tail, damped my bangs and quickly blew them dry, ate 1 poptart, brush my teeth, get dressed, run out the door. My flaws:

1. I brushed my teeth before I even ate. I should have ate first instead of brushing my teeth, because I went off to school with unbrushed teeth. SICK!

2. I brushed my teeth after I had already gotten dressed. BIG NO NO! In my attempt to spit the toothpaste and water mixture in the sink, a small amount managed to slide down my shirt. NUTS!

3. I straightened my bangs...WHAT?! I don't have time for that on these mornings! Why didn't I just stick it into a quick pony tail is beside me...

4. I did not take a water bottle with me. While I did remember to get breakfast, I forgot to get the water that makes my body so happy. All through the hour and a half of psychology, my throat was craving a little water. OOPS!

Anyway, my psychology class was good. I am so glad I didn't sleep through it. We got into a heated discussion about marriage. Even though I am not married and probably won't be for a very long time, I just knew that the things my classmates were saying were completely ludacris. They were so scared of marriage because they said the risks outweighed the benefits. WAIT A MINUTE!! Isn't marriage ordained of God? Hasn't He commanded us that we need to be sealed to someone for time and all eternity? To create a forever family? Whatever happened to mulitiply and replenish the earth? Whatever happened to trusting in our Father in Heaven? He knows EVERYTHING! He will not lead us astray. Sure, yes, some marriages will not last. Statistics tell us that about half of marriages will fall apart. However, I FIRMLY believe that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. A WONDERFUL plan, called the Plan of Happiness. Marriage is supposed to be exciting!!!! It is a beautiful, wonderful, amazing companionship between a man and a wife to be cherished always. My classmates were being so negative. A lot of them come from heartbreaking backgrounds of families who have been torn apart. But, I come from a family of love! My grandma and grandpa Keele have been married for almost 50 years now! That is incredible! Although my grandpa is no longer living in their home (he is in a nursing home), my grandma visits him just about every single day for hours. They are still totally and completely in love. My parents are celebrating their 20th anniversary this December! That is so beautiful! I understand that not every marriage is a fairytale, but I WILL NOT listen to talk of marriage as being an evil, bad, tragic thing. Marriage excites me! I dream of the day I will marry the boy who will be my best friend, the boy I will share all of my dreams, fears, joys, and heartbreaks with. Marriage is a beautiful eternal companionship that should be looked forward to and treasured...

Sorry for that little rant. I have been holding it in my system all day. *whew*

So then I went on to my Book of Mormon class, devotional (which was amazing. Key part of the talk: You never know whose angel you are), and my History & Philosophy of Education class. I came home and slept on the couch next to Talia for a good 2 hours. Woke up, did some homework, and waited impatiently for my roommates to come home from their meetings so we could talk. To my great dismay, when they came home they each headed off to the bedrooms to do homework. My heart sank a little. I sat in the kitchen eating Captain Crunch and watching a movie. Finally, that got old. I went to interrupt Talia's studying. (I know, I am a really nice roommate...) While we were talking, I heard my phone ringing. When I answered, a deep male voice said, "Check your doorstep." It was a REALLY creepy voice - I'm not going to lie. But I did as the voice said. I opened the door, and lo and behold, on the doormat sat a pumpkin and a box of cookies. Here is the pumpkin:



Creepy, huh? There is this knife sticking out the side, blood dripping down, evil face, and a message that says "Jennifer Keele, I know what you did last summer!" SCARY! haha. So I started looking up the phone numbers of all the boys in our fhe group, thinking it was probably one of them. After a good hour, the person called again and the voice told me to look at facebook. So, I got on facebook and discovered that the creepy person was Casey Williams. Yes, yes. Casey. How? Apparently my Dad (traitor-haha just kidding) gave him my address and Casey came all the way from Orem, Utah to leave me a creepy little pumpkin on my doorstep (and a box of cookies to justify the evil act.) hahaha

Benjamin and Trevor came over to "test" the cookies. They had to make sure they weren't poisonous hehe. What kind home teachers :)

So now, here I am. Sitting at my computer. Avoiding the stupid essay that I so naively decided would be fun to redo, along with chapter 10 notes for child development. Note taking in that class is getting a little old...

I hope everyone has a great day! I love you all. I love getting mail :)

I was soooo happy to get letters from both David and Jamie today. YAY!! I love missionary letters. They are the best!

But, I also love any mail you send. So long as it doesn't scare me, like the creepy pumpkin Casey delivered. Notes, letters, flowers, chocolate, surprise visits, those are all amazing :)

<3 Me

soundtrack to my life

My weekend was a blast! It seriously couldn't have gotten any better...

Friday:
Bonfire!! Erica came to visit! I spent Friday night with her and Nichole :) We went to a bonfire with Nichole's ward and it was so fun! The bonfire was at the sand dunes. It was a funny mix between the super cool sand and the blazing fire - finding a good temperature was a challenge, but between eating the mouth watering s'mores, laughing by the fire, and "squatting" adventures, the bonfire was a blast.
Mama Mia! This was like a breakthrough! I feel like I live in this little bubble, and it was really nice to go to a movie theater and watch a movie again! I almost think that the last movie I saw in theaters was Batman...CRAZY! That was such a long time ago! Anyway, Mama Mia was seriously an amazing movie. I LOVED IT!
Sleepover!! I spent the night at Nichole's apartment which was fun. I liked meeting her roomies, but most of all just giggling with Erica and Nichole over the night's escapades.

Saturday:
Backdrop Painting!! Spray painting is definetely my new favorite hobby. AND I am SOOOO excited for Fall Formal on Friday :D
Jamba Juice!! Benjamin took me to Walmart, and then so kindly bought me Jamba Juice. What an amazing fhe brother/home teacher/friend I have :D
Chicken Enchiladas :) Trevor, Benjamin, and 2 of Benjamin's friends came and made us "linner" (lunch/dinner). It was DELICIOUS!! Words can't even begin to desribe how scrumptious they were....
Date with Jason (The EQP of the EOP haha) The plan was to go to the ice caves. He would pick me up at 5 and we'd be back at 10. (Benjamin, Trevor, and Talia all made a point of reminding him of my "curfew" haha) So he picked me up at 5 as planned, and we headed out. No one in our group had been to the ice caves before and they all had been given different directions on how to get there. For 5 HOURS we were off-roading, desperately searching every dirt road for the way to the ice caves. So, for 5 HOURS we talked in the car, which is amazing! 5 hours is long enough for me to drive from Boise to Orem, that's how long that drive was!! We talked about anything and everything that came to mind - needless to say, it was a very random conversation. We never did find the ice caves...but it was a fun date nonetheless.
More food! As soon as Jason and I got back, we sat around and talked to my roomies for a while, and all of a sudden Benjamin threw open the door (dramatic, huh?) and burst out, "Who's hungry?!" aha. Trevor and Benjamin took us out for Wendy's. BEST HAMBURGER in a long time...
Miss Congeniality Slumber Party! We came back and had a sleepover party with the girls from fhe...actually, only Emily was able to stay for the sleepover, but they all came and said hi. It was fun :)

Sunday:
Dinner && Games!! We invited Michael, Colin, Zach, and Nephi over for dinner. We made them Andrea's famous chicken quesadillas and ate chips and salsa (mom's homemade kind!) yummm.... There wasn't enough room at the table, so just for fun we ate on the floor and had an indoor picnic :) Then we played Scum, Mafia, I Have Never, and BS. It was so fun!!

All in all, I woke up today happy and rejuvenated, ready for another amazing week here at BYU-I. Life just keeps getting better and better with every passing day. I continue to love my roommates more and more, and my testimony in the Savior is always increasing. I love being here; I love this campus.

Anyway, I am off to fhe. We are carving pumpkins today!!!!!!!! I am so excited :)

Have a great night everyone! I love you!

<3 Me

another perfect day

Yesterday was a GREAT day. I rolled out of bed at 5 yesterday morning and got all dressed and ready for the temple. FINALLY!! Even though it was really early, and I forgot my temple recommend so I had to run all the way back home to get it, I am sooo glad that I was able to go. It really set the mood for the rest of my day. The temple is so beautiful and peaceful - it is perfect!! My goal is to make this a weekly routine. Every Thursday morning at 6 am, the Rexburg temple workers should expect to see me. I am adding this to my list of goals :D

I know it isn't the best to skip classes, but I really was so tired. I came home from the temple with every intention of going to psychology an hour later, but when the alarm went off I had zero motivation to wake up and go to school. My psychology class is wonderful; I love it. However, when we haven't done anything that will extremely benefit my life and especially when the teacher doesn't take attendance, I did not feel like missing one class would break me. I will be there on Tuesday ready to learn.

After my morning slumber, I went to my Book of Mormon class and I was SO PROUD today - I DIDN'T FALL ASLEEP!!! :) I was so happy. It is a really great class, but the teacher's voice is one that is so soothing it knocks me right out. I was glad that I was able to be involved with the lesson today. We discussed Satan's snares and the way he works. There were a lot of powerful insights from my classmates that I enjoyed listening to.

I then went to History and Philosophy of Education. On the way there, I ran into a girl from my class. She told me about how she volunteered at a children's hospital over the summer and worked with child life specialists. I had never heard of this profession before, so she explained it to me and it really caught my attention. They are these people who prep the children before going into surgery on what will happen. They play with the kids and become friends with them. They are like the child's support system - They stick with the child all the way through their time in the hospital. I looked up more information on it after I got home, and I think I am going to talk to my advisor and see if that might be a better field for me to pursue. It sounds amazing to me!

While my roomies were all out at X-Country, I did some homework. Nothing too exciting...but then someone knocked on the door. I went to open it, expecting it to be Trevor and Ben (an hour early for Pancake Night) but to my surprise, it was someone else. This boy named Jason stood shyly outside my front door. He then asked me if I would mind escorting him to the ice caves on Saturday :)

We had our weekly Thursday Pancake Night!! AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS chocolate chip pancakes with mint ice cream on top is the perfect way to finish off a stupendous day. They were soo good, as always.

Today I have my english class and child development, and later tonight I get to hang out with Erica (she's in town!!) and sleepover at Nichole's place with Nichole and Erica. Tomorrow morning I get to paint another backdrop for Fall Formal, do a bunch of homework, go on the ice caves date, and finish off with a Pirate Sleepover Party with the roomies and other girls from fhe :D

Life is so good right now. Have a super day everyone! I love you.

<3 Me

Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

Upon meeting my roomies, I discovered that Kristilyn was a huge fan of Christmas. Actually, huge doesn’t even begin to describe the intense passion she has for Christmas. We always joke that she starts celebrating in July every year. It doesn’t make any sense to her why Christmas is only one day in the year. Why can’t we celebrate every day?

I have thought the same thing a lot. Christmas should be celebrated every day of our lives! Christmas is the day that we rejoice in our Savior’s birth!! Why is it then that we only celebrate during December?

We have already started regularly singing Christmas songs in our apartment. Our house is so cheery. I believe that this is one of the reasons why the Spirit has been so noticeably present here: We are always honoring our Savior by rejoicing in His birth and having Christmas Spirit reside permanently here.

On Friday we had the first snow of the season. It only lasted a few minutes, but it was so exciting and we decided to have a Christmas sleepover party that night. So last night we did just that. Talia painted all our nails with the holiday red, green, and white and even painted little snowmen, snowballs, Christmas trees, and holly on our nails. As she painted, Kristilyn and I quietly sang every Christmas song we could think of. That hour was the happiest I have felt in a long time.

Everything felt so perfect. We then watched “Elf” and all fell asleep, so tonight we watched it again just to make up for what we missed out on.

Buddy the Elf from the movie reminds me SO much of Kristilyn! He is so merry and happy and sincere, just like my roommate. I can’t help but feel so happy watching that movie :)



I really can’t wait until Christmas! Halloween still hasn’t even come yet, but I am dieing for Christmas! It feels like it should be tomorrow….
Have a wonderful day tomorrow everyone. Keep that Christmas Spirit permanently in your hearts because it only makes you happy. I love it!

<3 Me

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

Yesterday afternoon, Talia and I went outside to water-proof my cute winter boots. While we were spraying them, it started snowing!! We had "the first snow" of the season. It was pretty exciting. Everyone could be heard across campus screaming and laughing because it was snowing in the second week of October! haha crazy. It is supposed to snow about 5 inches tonight, so maybe we will wake up to snow in the morning :)

Last night Ben, Trevor, and Kiel (Ben's friend) came over for pancake night. It was really fun :) Ice cream and chocolate chip pancakes are two of the best inventions of all time! haha. Trevor and I got into a marker war after we ate. I had blue, pink, and green whiteboard marker marks all over my arms. When I went to scrub it off last night, it was funny because I thought it was just whiteboard dry erase markers we had been using. What I didn't know was he had used one actual crayola marker when I wasn't paying attention. I got most of it off, but it was funny because everything except that one line came off so easily. lol.

My english class was cancelled today so I am just looking forward to the rest of the day. At 2:00 I have a Humanitarian Service Committee meeting. At 3:15, I go to my Child Development class. Then tonight, at 4:45 I am volunteering with Benjamin, Andrea, and Michael at an elementary school carnival (I am so excited!!) and after that I am ushering at one of the Mother's Weekend events.

CHRISTMAS SLEEPOVER TONIGHT WITH MY ROOMIES! haha we are watching "Elf" :D

Tomorrow the plan is to do a lot of homework in between all my activities. At 8:30 I have to go and work on one of the backdrops for the photos for Fall Formal. I should have a good 5 hours of homework in between that and all the ushering I am doing again from 5:30-9:00 for more Mother's Weekend events.

Sunday = Church & Home Teachers <3

Monday the week will start all over again with fhe (Tal & I have the lesson.....haha)

Anyway, if I don't get a chance to get back on and report then have a super weekend everyone! Have fun with the snow if you get any (I know we will! lol)

Love you!

<3 Me

"this isn't contention; this is arguing!" - trevor

One of the things I was most excited for when coming to college was the fhe groups. I already feel so lucky to have the roommates I was placed with, but upon meeting our fhe family a couple of weeks ago, I feel REALLY lucky. My fhe brothers (and dad haha) are all so much fun to be with.

Last night for fhe, we went to Walmart, anticipating a sweeeet scavenger hunt. We had already been divided into our pairs and were so excited to start embarrassing ourselves in the store. We each walked in with our printed lists of crazy things to do, but as soon as we stepped inside the store manager came over and informed us that we couldn't have a scavenger hunt in their store. I guess we did look pretty obvious.....haha

So instead of playing, we split up and did our grocery shopping which was kind of fun. We drove back to campus after and played a game in the gardens. When that was over, we were all freezing so we went back to our apartment and made all the boys hot chocolate :) Somehow, a starburst fight broke loose and everyone was shooting the little candies at each other. It was a lot of fun. Looking around my living room right now, I can still see bunches of starburst hidden under the couch and in corners of the room.

The boys all left around 11. Talia and Adam (Andrea's friend) were talking in the living room and I started to fall asleep. Just as I was dozing off, someone came and knocked on the door. Andrea came out of her room to get it. The door opened, but no one was there. Then, starbursts started flying at her so we all ran back outside to continue the war :D

Moral of the story, it was a lot of fun. We love our fhe boys <3

<3 me

"freakin' fun!"

This weekend was probably the best one I've had in awhile. Over these last few weeks, I devised a plan to surprise Jessica by coming to Utah for conference weekend! So on Friday morning, I drove out to Orem with a bunch of strangers from BYU-I...Which was interesting haha. Anyway, my family was all there this weekend too which was amazing. It was so nice to see them again! I surprised Jess that night. Tim took her to the park to play frisbee golf, and Kip and Talia and I came to the park after them to surprise her. It was a little funny how it happened, but she was happy I was there. We spent that night rolling down a grassy hill, eating ice cream, and watching a movie.

Saturday was conference. Jessica went to the morning session in Salt Lake, and Talia and I watched it with Kip and we ate YUMMY chocolate chip pancakes. Watched more conference, MY DADDY CAME :), we went to dinner with the boys after the priesthood session, and OFF-ROADING!!! That was the best! I am so excited to go again :D

I love my family! They are the best! I can't wait to see my Jessica again at Halloween, and see my family at Thanksgiving!! I love them so much!

Have a great day everyone! Love you!

<3 Me

GOALS!! :D

I just finished reading Blake's blog, and I am happy to say that he reminded me to make some new goals this semester. I feel so inspired! haha. So here goes, these all need to be done this coming month in October:

1. Keep up on homework and reading assignments-
This hasn't been an issue, aside from the 2 late nights doing homework. I have completed all my assignments though, on time! :)

2. Morning & Nightly Prayer & Daily Personal Scripture Study-
My roommates and I are excellent at reading the scriptures together everyday and having a prayer before bed. I am also doing pretty well with scripture study because it is my Book of Mormon homework everyday, but I have a lot of work to do with personal prayers...

3. Get back into a good sleeping schedule-
My sleeping habits are so thrown off, it's disgusting. My goal is to be in my bed every night by 1 am. That hasn't happened in I don't even know how long. I can't remember that far back. Hopefully by being in bed at 1, it will also be easier to wake up around 9 every day instead of the occassional 12:00 days when I don't have classes until 12:45 :S

4. EAT HEALTHY-ER!
On the college budget I REALLY have to maintain, I cannot afford to keep spending lots of money on food, so this one will be a little harder considering all that is affordable is bad for you. My diet consists of pasta, koolaide, and more pasta. Maybe just cutting back and eating a little more fruit will help this.

5. Go running every Monday, Wednesday, Friday morning-
Since my classes are later that day, I have no excuse not to work out those days. This will also help prevent that Freshman 15 I am so terrified of!!

6. Make more friends & remember their names-
I am finding that I make friends pretty easily, aside from last weekend's tragic ending. I really have a problem remembering names though. My roommates and I have little nicknames for people we meet because we just cannot remember their names. This has got to change!!

7. Make the Fall Formal the hit dance of the semester!!
I am the manager over the Fall Formal at BYU-Idaho, and from the direction we are heading it is going to be an absolute success! I am so excited to see everything I have planned fall right into place this month. The dance is October 24, so guys & gals, find yourselves a date, get your tickets, and dance through the decades!!! <3

8. Keep up with writing missionary letters-
I have done pretty well in this area, but I think I should still keep sending letters, even if I don't receive one back right away. Missionaries are really busy and I'm sure they would like to keep getting letters, even if they cannot respond immediately.

I will be reporting next month on how these goals are going...
Have a fantastic day everyone! I love you! I hope you are all happy!! Keep smiling :)

<3 Me

You don't know what you've got till its gone...

So yesterday I went on this retreat with my dance committee group. I was really looking forward to it and thought it would be a great chance for me to go and make a lot of really great new friends. As it turned out, I kept trying to fit in to all these different little cliques, and it didn't work. I haven't felt so alone in a long time... I really missed my roommates. It was the first night being without them in over 3 weeks. I missed them all day. The worst though was when I sat down to read my scriptures before going to sleep. It was 2 in the morning and I was exhausted, but all I kept thinking was that I haven't missed a day since moving to Rexburg; it was my first night without a roomie scripture study and prayer. I just about lost it and broke into tears. I caught myself though. There were only a couple other girls awake at this point, but I still didn't want anyone to see me unhappy. So, I called Jessica. She didn't answer. Well, finally after reading a chapter and saying a prayer, I was able to fall asleep among all these people I didn't know. Jessica did call about an hour later, but I was too slow to get out of my sleeping bag and run across the hall. By the time I answered my phone, she was gone. I was exhausted and for some reason wasn't quite sure if I dreamed her calling me, just because I wanted to talk to her so badly. So I went back to sleep...

I'm not going to say the whole trip was terrible because it wasn't. I did meet a lot of people, we played a lot of fun games, and I learned a lot. I just felt so alone. It was one of the very few times in my life I've ever felt so alone. I couldn't handle it.

I want you all to know that I love you and I miss you. I literally pray for you all every night. I can't wait until I can see you again.

I am feeling better now. Kristilyn and I had a nice talk tonight, one that I really needed to have. I just cried to her about all my frustrations and worries, and she made me feel so much better. I am so glad to have loving, understanding roommates who are always there for me when I need them.

I am so grateful for all of you, family & friends. It is so uplifting to know that I can also count on you at any given time of day. I am so blessed.

Love you all. Have a wonderful night and Sunday tomorrow :)

<3 Me

oh, the joys of homework!

Tonight was the first night I stayed up so late...STUDYING!! In the two weeks of classes, I've never had any trouble with finishing my assignments long before I go to sleep. Tonight was different. All sorts of activities and assignments kept piling onto my schedule today, so rather than talking to Jessica for a few hours before bed, I spent those few hours frantically working on homework. I did get to talk to her for a little bit though :D She woke me back up as I was beginning to doze off... At least I'm not alone though. Talia and Kristilyn are both still working hard at taking notes in their textbooks, highlighting, and writing essays. SO GLAD I am done for the night!! I thought the madness would never end! Haha. I am so excited to go brush my teeth and sleep in that creeky bunkbed tonight!! Sleeping will be like Heaven...until I have to wake up in about four and a half hours. YAY!

Hope you are all well :D
Sweet dreams & don't let those bed bugs bite.
Have a SUPER day tomorrow...although I guess that means today. WHOO!

-Jen

the roommates

I could have only imagined that BYU-Idaho would be this good. I knew that it would be fun when I took the campus tour, but I could have only hoped that I would love Rexburg this much.



I really want to fill you all in on everything I have learned from my classes. Even more than that, I wish I could share the sweet, personal spiritual experiences I have had from being on this campus with you. Unfortunately, I don't feel that the best place to share these experiences is on my blog. However, if any of you want to hear some of them, please don't hesitate to ask me. I would love to tell you about the tender mercies my Heavenly Father has shown to me these past couple of weeks. They are incredible.



What I really want to talk about right now is my roommates. I have thought for days about what to say about them exactly. Not only do I know that they will kill me if I post anything they don't like on here, but I want to get the wording just right because I love these girls so much and I feel so blessed to have been placed with them. I wish you could meet them. They are each so fun, happy, sweet, goofy, and loving. I have learned so much from them at our nightly scripture study. They share insights that I would have never thought of. They continue to impress me everyday with their motivation, joy of life, and compassion for others. They inspire me to be my best.



Talia is my roomie. We are kind of funny together. She is the one who will tell me straight up that I am being the biggest dork. She lets me know when I say something stupid or look like a nerd. We argue constantly about silly things and then just as we are starting to make a truce, we find ourselves starting the cycle all over again. Despite it all, she is the one who seems to be the most understanding of me and forgiving of my most dorky, stupid, nerdy ways. She always leaves the light on for me when she goes to bed, being so thoughtful of the fact that I am a night owl and also very clumsy. She doesn't want me to hurt myself as I try to maneuver around the room while she is unconscious. I always come in and turn off the light for her when I realize that she is ready for bed. She is very sweet. I have really missed Grandma leaving me love notes on the kitchen table, and I was so excited the other night to find a piece of paper with Talia's handwriting on it. She had fallen asleep hours before. It was really late by the time I finally was able to crash. So I quietly opened the door to grab my clothes so I could change into pajamas, and I saw this green piece of paper on my desk. It said, "I Love You Jenny! ♥ your loving roommate, Talia" on it. That was all it said, but it made me so happy. The simple little acts of kindness she does for me brightens my day.



Kristilyn is the one you will hear all day long laughing and chatting on the phone. She is one of the friendliest people I have ever met. She is so easy to talk to and get along with. She gets countless phone calls day in and day out that I have no idea how she ever gets anything done. Everyone loves her and wants to talk to her and spend time with her. I love the stories she tells as she talks about growing up in Iowa. She talks about her family and friends with so much love, and it obviously shows because everyone is so excited when they get to talk to her or when they accidentally bump into her on campus. She knows everyone and loves everyone. What an example to follow!!



Andrea is our Texas girl and she never lets us forget it. She doesn't have an accent or anything, BUT the most commonly used word in our apartment is YA'LL, and she doesn't even know it until we point it out to her. We laugh because she says it so much, and when we say it she doesn't notice it at all. She also makes the yummiest quesadillas in the world. I get so excited everytime she announces she is going to make them or I see her preparing them in the kitchen. Andrea probably has the most personality out of all of us and she definetely is the filling that makes us complete.



I believe that these girls will be my friends forever. We are so close that I can hardly believe we've only known each other for 2 weeks. I am so grateful for these roommates. They are amazing!

"sometimes fantasies are better than reality"

So I was in my History & Philosophy of Education class today, and I learned that I am most definetely an idealist. I would much rather spend my time dreaming than living in reality. I saw a quote in Deseret Book one time that really struck me and I loved it right away, but now I realize why I like it so much. "You know you're in love when reality is finally better than your dreams." I think this applies to me more than just 'being in love'. I think that I know I love my life when reality is finally better than my dreams. Until then, I'll just continue fantasizing and living a happy life, just a little incomplete. Just thought I'd share that with whoever reads this because I think it is a big part of who I am.

"and when you dream, Dream Big!!"

Hey everyone! So I realized that its been a week since I last filled you in on the college life here at BYU-I. This week has been amazing. I love all of my classes. They are so different from high school classes. All of the textbook readings and note taking is saved for homework, which is fine with me because at least then I know that the thousands of dollars I am paying is actually going towards quality classroom time. Each of my classes is discussion-based, which is really neat because since everyone is LDS we can incorporate teachings of the gospel into our lessons. Every class begins with an opening prayer and some of them even start with a hymn as well. It is incredible here, the Spirit is so strong and you can see it looking in the eyes of the students. I LOVE IT :)

My schedule is as follows:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: English & Child Development
Tuesday & Thursday: Psychology, Book of Mormon, History & Philosophy of Ed.

On Monday, my roomies and I decorated our living room for FHE as our ward FHE groups haven't been made yet. We wrote a bunch of our inside jokes all over and we joke that by the end of the semester it will be so filled that we will be searching for a blank spot to write on.

Nothing really exciting happened Tuesday, but on Wednesday I found out that I made it into the Social Activities Committee, meaning that I help plan or organize dances. I am actually a manager of the Fall Formal here on October 24 :) I am working to create a Christmas Ball, too, that I will run by council on Wednesday. I want the theme to be "Winter Wonderland". There would be an etiquette dinner, dance, sleigh rides, and ice skating. I think it could be really cute so hopefully it passes and I can get to work on that along with my plans for Fall Formal.

Again, Thursday wasn't very exciting, but Friday was Andrea's birthday. We heart-attacked her while she was at her classes. Then we through her a little party and invited all the girls living in our dorms. It turned out to be really fun and actually a lot of girls came. Some neighbors we hadn't met yet came and visited us that night after the party to sing to Andrea and show off some dance moves. It was pretty funny =]

Saturday, I just stayed in and worked on homeowork. We tried to go do baptisms for the dead that morning, but the temple had an hour and a half wait so we decided we'd go back on a weekday. That was a shame because I was so excited, but hopefully we can go back in the next couple of days. I finished all of my homework Saturday which was nice - I had all of Sunday to just relax and not worry about studying.

Yesterday we went to church. This made me a little bit homesick for my ward back in Orem. I really miss my single's ward there. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly and made you feel wanted. I loved it there. Also, everyone was just a bit older so they were more respectful of Sacrament meeting and the Spirit was so strongly felt. At church here these past couple weeks, it is hard to feel it. We have our Sacrament meeting in a classroom, so it makes it just a little harder to focus. Then, we have almost all freshmen in our ward who just cannot seem to close their mouths. It is really hard to get in the spiritual mood with everyone chatting away about their dates, housing issues, and homework. Anyway, I felt homesick a lot yesterday because I missed my old ward and my friends back in Utah.

Yesterday after church, I came home to find an email from the Service Committee and found out that I have also been accepted into that committee and I am on the Council. I am really excited about it :)

Which brings us to last night: We were invited over to a friend's apartment to play games and eat these pancake-waffles they had made. It was really fun and nice to be invited somewhere for a change. When we got home last night though, I went back into my bedroom to check my email really quick when Andrea came in and told me to go to the living room and it was important. I went to the living room and everyone was sitting around Gustave's fishbowl. Talia looked up at me and said, "We had a death in the family." I looked into the bowl, and yes, there lied my baby Gustave at the bottom of his tank. It was so sad! We only had the little guy for 8 days and we killed him!! He was a part of the family. As I flushed him down the toilet, it brought back memories of Max, my sweet puppy who was put to sleep a couple of months ago. Now I know that it seems weird that Gustave made me think of Max because there was such a drastic difference between them, but I felt like after Max, I needed another pet. Not to replace him; Max could never be replaced. I just felt that longing to have a pet who relied on me and loved me. I know, I know. I am talking about a fish, but here in the dorms thats about as far as we can get to having a pet. It was so sad.

So here I am. It is Monday morning. I think I am going to get a headstart on homework for this week before my english class at 12:45. I love how I have mornings all to myself. All of my roomies go to their classes and the apartment is so quiet. Its easy to concentrate on homework too because Facebook is blocked until 5 on weekdays :P

Well, that is about all that's happened this week. Nothing too super exciting, but I really do like it here. Please keep in touch. I love getting all of your random text messages throughout the day. They make me so happy. I hope all of you are doing well. For my friends living in Orem and AF, I will see you Halloween weekend and Thanksgiving weekend!! And those friends living in Boise, I am coming back for Christmas break for about a week so I will see you then! I miss you all and love you. Take care!

-Me <3

"Gustav, that sounds like a Russian name. . ." aha

Sorry, last post for the day. I've just had a lot of down time today so a lot of time to make up for the nights I couldn't update you. And now, you have lots to read and catch up on ;)

I found out today that we are allowed to have PETS! Okay, well, not just any pet because I would DEFINETELY get a puppy if they were allowed. Anyways, I got SO excited when I found out so Talia, Kristilynn, and I made the long trek out to Walmart. We did actually have to buy things besides a pet, so it was pretty funny. We went to the fishtanks and I picked him out. Just an adorable black and white angelfish. We had already decided on the name Gustav on the walk over, so when I saw this fish I knew he was the one because the name fit so perfect. He actually looks a lot like Gil from "Finding Nemo", or at least I think he does. So after Gustav was in the little baggy, we walked around Walmart and did the rest of our shopping. It felt funny because I actually put him on my grocery list!! haha. "Tennis shoes, plastic forks, spoons, and cups, fish. . " aha. So now he is sitting on our kitchen table in his little fishbowl with a super cute shark figurine and fake sea plants :) He is very cute.

And I found out on our way back from Walmart that we can actually have any pet that stays in the water. Seahorse? Turtle? Frogs? The possibilities are endless. . .

<3 Jenny

Pictures :D

So I thought I'd post a few pictures from my college experience so far! Enjoy =]

This is the BEAUTIFUL Idaho Falls Temple! It is only about 20 minutes from Rexburg, and even closer to me is the AMAZING:

Rexburg Temple! I just walk around the side of my dorms and its RIGHT THERE! It's in the distance a bit, but only about a ten minute walk. It makes me so happy to have a temple within walking distance :)

The move-in day. . . .

Roommate Adventures:
This is when we got lost. HAHA

Andrea, Kristilynn, and Talia. This picture was taken after we realized we should have just turned around instead of cutting through the field, and then continuing to walk to the opposite side of the field. We are REALLY cool! :D Love them! haha

This was when we made YUMMY cookies ;)

Pictures of my dorm will be up soon! Love you all!!

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