My Week

The crowd at the concert

Jack Johnson

This has been an incredibly amazing week for me.  On Sunday I left for Utah and spent the night in Logan.  Then on Monday I headed to Salt Lake City for a Jack Johnson concert!  He is such an amazing artist.  I really enjoyed just laying on the lawn and soaking up the sunshine before the concert began. It was a real mellow concert and I enjoyed it a ton.  When I got home on Tuesday I had an acceptance e-mail from BYU-I.  So Wednesday I spent most of my day up in Rexburg trying to figure things out.  I am still working on a lot of things but I did register for some night classes.  I had to petition to move up there early and I haven't heard if it was approved or not.  I am also waiting to hear back about student loans.  It is hard to believe things are happening so fast but I am glad they are.  Anyways I will keep everyone posted!  Wish me luck!

I....

I am...a little crazy!
I think... it snows way to much in Idaho
I know... pretty much everything there is to know.
I want... to always be happy.
I wish... prince charming would hurry up and find me!
I hate... rude people.
I miss... my family in TN
I fear... the unknown
I feel... confused...most of the time anyways.
I hear... only what I want to hear.
I smell... my wallflower air freshener.
I search... the scriptures.
I wonder... way too much.
I regret... nothing.
I love... everyone.
I care... about things I might say I don't care about.
I always... sleep with covers.
I am not... going to fall asleep at work tonight.
I believe... in love.
I dance... like no one is watching...really I am that bad!
I sing... loud and offbeat!
I don't always... eat healthy.
I write... my dreams for the future....dreams can come true!
I win... at everything!
I lose... my patience when I am tired or stressed.
I never... well...I will do anything once so I really can't say never.
I listen... to others.
I'm scared of... the unknown.
I read... all the time!
I am happy about... possibilities that my life holds.

I tag...YOU.

Willy Wonka...Idaho Falls Style

At the candy store we have new machines.  We are very excited about these machines because they will eventually dip all of our candies for us!  The problem is that we haven't completely figured them all out yet.  This morning I had the opportunity to play in one and I enjoyed it a ton.  As I was unclogging it my hand became covered in chocolate.  I joked that most people dreamed of the day that they could be covered in chocolate.  Before you ask, no I didn't lick my hand after I was finished only because it was milk chocolate and not dark chocolate I was playing in!  Anyways I took some pictures because getting to be elbow deep in chocolate is probably a once in a lifetime experience! 

A year of growth...

It is hard for me to believe that I have lived in Idaho for close to a year now. It is even harder for me to personally phantom all the personal growth that I have experienced in this past year. It is funny, I really thought I knew myself well, but it turns out that I am really just now even getting a glimpse at the person I am and the person that I have the potential to become. I am so grateful that we are all able to experience personal growth in our lives. I know that some of the trials we go through really suck but in the end they are all worth it. A year ago I wasn't really sure if moving out west was right for me. I don't think my family really believed that I was going to do it until I loaded up the car and got on the road. Even after I arrived her I don't think many people thought I would make it out here this long. Strangely enough this has truly become home to me. Not that Tennessee is no longer my home, I have just found another home as well. I am applying for school and plan to start back up again in January. I think in Tennessee I was somewhat complacent with where I was in life and was not giving myself room to really progress more. The funny thing is that I didn't even realize this until I moved and got away from things that were holding me back! Life is all together amazing. It is a miracle when you really begin to learn who you are and the potential you have in this life as a child of God. I am glad that I had the chance to get what some might call a "fresh start." I gave up a lot when I moved from Tennessee but I am beginning to think that I am gaining everything in return for the few small personal sacrifices I made to move out to Idaho.

A Broken Toe

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am not the greatest athlete but none the less I am very competitive. Last night for FHE after the lesson we played ultimate frisbee. I am actually beginning to enjoy the game. I am happy to report that my frisbee skills are slowly improving. Last night while running after the frisbee my foot got stepped on. Yes, I was barefoot. It was either play barefoot or break my ankle playing with my flip flops on. So I felt a jar of pain in my foot and noticed that it was red. I thought it was simply because of it getting stepped on and it would go away quickly. I had joked about it being broken but didn't really believe that it was. I tried pulling on it and resetting it with little success. When I woke up this morning it was still discolored and red. I am not sure if it is really broken but I think it is. I am not going to the doctor because I really don't think there is anything they can do about it. That is my story for those curious readers out there. This is my first broken bone ever if anyone was wondering. Only I would break my toe out of all the bones in the body that I could have broken!

Martin's Cove: Sacred Place of Fate

Group Picture

My Family

Being Lazy

The bus trip home

The top of Independence Rock


This past weekend I had the opportunity of visiting Martin's Cove with some of the singles in my area. We left last Thursday night around 11:30 at night on a bus that would take us Independence Rock then onto Martin's Cove. All of us, very sleep deprived from less than great sleeping conditions, arrived at Independence Rock around 7:30 a.m. I realized how out of shape I was when I was climbing it and I could not have imagined pulling a handcart up that rock. Once on top of Independence Rock the view was very breathtaking. What a glorious view it had to be for so many pioneers on the Oregon Trail. After Independence Rock we went to Martin's Cove. We loaded our belongings in a handcart and started our trek. When we literally walked Martin's Cove it was a reverent walk. I couldn't help but to imagine the weak and fragile pioneers camped out there. While I was imagining I couldn't bring myself to think of them as gloomy but only to think of the children playing and the saints singing. We also got to cross the Sweetwater River. That is the river the "Valley Boys" carried so many pioneers across. We also had a chance to do a women's hike which was symbolic of the Mormon Battalion. It was hard but I gained such an appreciation for guys! I saw so many small acts of service while I was on this trip and also felt a unity among us YSA's. I can not express the feelings of gratitude I felt for these pioneers. At times in my life I have felt kind of bad because none of my ancestors, that I am aware of, made this trek. It came to me as I was walking this that although none of my ancestors did make the trek that as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints this is still my inheritance! What a sweet revelation that was! I am so glad that I was able to have this experience and gain such an appreciation for these pioneers. I know that they did marvelous things. I also know that it is our responsibility to be pioneers in our day. One of the comments made by a brother who was a member of the Martin Handcart company was, "The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay." I want to be able to say those same words after I face each trail in my life.

What is Happily Ever After?

One comment on my blog with my eight random facts asked me to define Happily Ever After. Does it consist of prince charming galloping in on his white horse to take you riding off into the sunset then you stay at your castle singing while he goes out and does whatever a prince does? Or maybe it consists of being a career woman who already has enough to do without the worries of true love. I don't know. I think my happily ever after has it all...career, family, friends, lazy days on the beach, traveling the world, and a prince charming somewhere in the mix. Right now I know what I would like for my happily ever after to consist of and I could plan on all these things, but life doesn't always go according to plan. Unfortunately there are always mix ups on the way. So I have concluded that I do not know exactly what my happily ever after will consist of. I only know that I am blessed enough to have my agency. Thus it is my choice on rather or not I live happily ever after. There will always be things completely out of my control like the environment and other people's actions but I can control my reactions to there actions! It is very invigorating to know that I will always have a choice even if that choice is simply rather or not I let something make me incredibly sad or if I let myself find the positive in a bad situation. So maybe I won't have the American dream of finding the love of my life, having 2.5 kids, and living in a house with a white picket fence. I could care less because no matter what life throws at me I have resolved to see God's hand in it and make the best of it. I am not saying I will never feel the feelings of despair but I will not let those feelings interfere with my happiness. There is a quote that states, "The greatest fairy tale of all is life." All together I believe that life is what you make. You literally write your own ending. With that being said I know that mine will end with these six profound words...AND SHE LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.