I not only BELIEVE, I KNOW.

I love General Conference.

Just gonna throw that out there to start.

I love hearing the voices of prophets speak words that I know are undeniably true.

I love when, although many are meant to hear the messages in each talk, I feel the Spirit testifying to me of the truths of the things the Lord would have me hear and know.

I love President Monson and how, even when he makes a joke,

you can feel the Spirit in what he says.

I love my faith, and the joy and purpose it brings my life.

I not only believe, but I KNOW that every word spoken at general conference is true and approved by the Lord before it is spoken.

This General Conference weekend was even better than most.

I went, on Friday night, down to St. George, to Tuacahn, an outdoor ampitheatre to watch their presentation of Disney's Tarzan, the Broadway show.

IT WAS INCREDIBLE.

I loved every second of it.

And the best part is, I got to watch the whole thing with my Grandpaand two of my favorite cousins.

The show was great, I got to spend the night in Snow Canyon Campground with my Grandpa and then the next day with my cousins watching general conference, playing around, trying to find a corn maze that ended up being closed :( etc. Then the next day we watched morning conference, drove back to Cedar, watched afternoon conference, then they went all the way home.

It was so nice to be with family and to hear from the prophets and apostles of the church.

All in all, a WONDERFUL WEEKEND.

My New Man

So today was the Relief Society Broadcast, which I absolutely loved. Then afterwards we were served dinner and while we were eating delicious food Kendra texted Sara and told her there was Bingo on campus so we all went (me, Sara, and Kendra.) When we walked in, there, on the prize table, was a SPIDERMAN LUNCHBOX. Right then, I knew, it was love. (Due to the lack of boys in Cedar City I had to find other options, obviously, and I am quite quite happy with what I found.)

I WANTED THAT LUNCHBOX. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAD.

You have no idea.

I wanted it so so so bad.

I WANTED IT!!!!

So we played.

I have never been more competitive in my life, and about BINGO no less.

We played and we played and we played.

AND I DIDN'T GET A BINGO!!!! :(

Now you're saying, so did she steal the lunchbox to get a picture of it???

NO.

My most amazing, lovely, wonderful, beautiful, smart, happy, did I say amazing? roommate Kendra, got a bingo, and guess what she asked for for her prize?

The SPIDERMAN LUNCHBOX.

and guess who she gave it to????

ME!!!!!!!!

I was the happiest, happiest, happiest girl in the world. I still can't stop smiling. Yup. That happy. :D

Mammoth Cave

So, down here in Cedar City we are less than 2 hours away from, I think, 12 National and State parks. Also, we have access to hundreds of thousands of public recreation areas. One of those is Mammoth Cave in the Dixie National Forest. So, on Thursday for my Outdoor Recreation class we went up to Mammoth Cave for an intro to the National Forest Service. It was seriously the coolest thing I have ever done, and that is thanks majorly in part to to of my new friends Nia and Cody.

Left to right, me, Nia, Ericka (the other girl who came with us in the small cave) and Cody.
Nia and I started talking our 2nd Outdoor Rec class and we're good friends already. Cody, on the other hand I wouldn't have called a friend before we went through the cave and now, he's friend status for sure. Thats how epic our cave experience was. So first we all went through as a class, (about 40 people) and it was super fun. It was dark, and the ground was rocky and slippery and I almost fell like 500 times but it was great.

(This is Nia in the first cave.)

One of the most amazing things about caves is that they are one of the two places where you can experience complete darkness. (The other is the bottom of the ocean.) When we got far enough into the cave we stopped turned off all our lights and just sat there, no talking allowed, for like five minutes. It was one of the most eye opening five minutes of my life. I was able to just let go everything that had been happening and relax and enjoy the pressing darkness. Because there was nothing to see and nothing to hear I was able to just stop thinking. It was beautiful.

At the end of the big cave we had to crawl over and under and through rocks for like 3-5 minutes to get to the exit. That was the best part.

After we got out of the main cave that we went through as a class we had some time to explore by ourselves. Cody jumped right down into a hole and took off. Turns out he lives in this area and has been up to the caves before. He showed us a smaller tunnel that went all the way along the top of the tunnel we had just gone through and exited just like 20 feet farther away. We crawled about 70% on our hands and knees, 25% on our stomachs and 5% we could crouch and walk bent over.

At a couple points we had to crawl through tiny holes (see above) and i honestly was almost afraid of getting stuck at one point but it was awesome. We were all joking and talking and supporting each other, seriously, it was amazing

The exit of the small cave.

All in all, BEST CLASS EVER.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshakes

Note. Do NOT ever eat half of a large chocolate peanut butter milkshake when you already feel sick. it will make you even more sick. Then you will just want to die.

I learned from experience.

BUT

If you by chance do find yourself in that situation, make sure you have great roommates that bring you salt water to wash out your mouth after you get sick.

It makes you feel so much better.

Moving In!!!!!

This is my apartment!!!!!!!! I love my apartment. I love my roommates. I love my school. Basically, I LOVE

.

This was my first day of church, feelin' cute in my new pink cardigan. :)

My apartment is fun, our room is polka dotted, its just a blast. I love school.

My Amazing Roommates

I know I'm skipping ahead alot but I promise I'll go back, I just need to blog about my amazing roommates first. My roommates are absolutely the best there are. I am so blessed to have been placed with these girls.

First is Sara.

Sara is my ROOMmate. Sara is such a bright shining star. Each day she does something to make my life better. Sara is from Pleasant Grove and she is a swimmer. She is cute and always happy and so willing to make things work in our apartment.

She puts up with my side of the room being messy, with my non-stop talking, and most of all, with my early morning alarm that I hit snooze on at least once every morning.

Next is McKenzie.

Kenzie is from Centerville, she is a dance major, and her nickname is Bob. Like SpongeBob, except there's a much longer story about where it came from.

Kenzie is the spunkiest girl I have ever met. She is funny and happy and always ready to get a little silly to have some fun.

Kali is third.

Kali is from Provo. She dances and cheers and is the cutest girl you'll ever see.

She cooks delicious smelling food and does a lot of the work to keep the apartment clean. She is sweet and perky and can always make me smile.

Kendra and Chantel are in the last (but not least) room.

I am only clumping them together because thats how they have always been in my head because they knew each other before we all moved in together.

Kendra always has a big smile on her face and is always willing to share a laugh.

Chantel is hilarious. She tells us stories and makes us scream and we all have an absolute blast together.

Basically, my roommies are great to start with, but today they really proved how much they mean to me.

First, tonight we had a dance party in our room, and in the hall, and in the dark. It was a blast. We brought out Kali's speakers and bass and had some rocking music playing. We had so much fun.

Then I got a phone call with some bad news.

This week I was supposed to have the opportunity to be a part of a relay team running the Red Rock Relay from Bryan Head to Zion and then at the last minute the team decided they didn't want me to run with them. I was extremely bummed and at first a little emotional. I cried it out for a little bit on the phone with my mom and my sister and when I came back into my apartment my roommates were there ready to do anything to make me feel better about an unfortunate situation. They even offered to take me out running at 3:00 in the morning just like I would have done in the relay. They joked with me and gave me hugs and I was feeling better in minutes. I am truly grateful that they took the time to help me feel better. I love their compassion and strength and I am so blessed to have them as my roommates.

Lake Powell!!!

So, I'm just gonna start off by saying sorry this isn't as great as it should be, it was just taking WAY too long and I was sick of not having it up, so here it is. The pictures at the beginning are ones that i wanted to include but was too lazy to place. :)

I finally got to go back to Lake Powell this summer!!! My family goes about every other year with my grandpa but I haven't been able to go for quite awhile because of school. We were counting down the days for months before we left, I think I was more excited for Lake Powell than I was for Graduation. :) AND.... the best part is that my very best friend Keshia got to come with us!!! I have wanted to take a friend to the lake with us ever since I was little and I finally got the chance and it was even more special because it was Keshia that got to come.

(For anyone who doesn't know, Keshia and I have been BFFssince 7th grade but she moved to Twin Falls in the middle of our Sophomore year and we haven't been able to see each other nearly enough since then.) Sounds too good to be true right? I finally get to go back, my whole family is going (dad has missed out a bunch cause of work), my best friend gets to come, Nicole (my favorite cousin) gets to come, so perfect right? WRONG. I found out in May that I had to come to college 3 days earlier than we had been planning on, and those 3 days just so happened to overlap our Lake Powell time. :( So I had to leave the lake early and drive 5 hours over to Cedar City for a RIDICULOUSLY STUPID Freshman Orientation. Don't get me wrong, I loved hanging with my roommies during that time but the orientation part was a joke. Seriously. So I packed my car full of all my college stuff and left straight from home to Lake Powell to college.

But, baking up for a minute, Lake Powell was SO SO SO much fun. I always love it there and this time was no exception. We were able to get on the house

boat a day early so I had more time before I left which was super exciting and I had tons of fun while I was there. Friday night we stayed at the Green River campground so we didn't have to go so far all in one day. Saturday morning we all woke up, changed and had breakfast.

But, I was the only one on top of my game, I put my swimsuit on that morning so I could be the first one in the water and not have to change once we got there. :D

Well, we drove about 3 hours that morning,

(I was counting down the miles the whole way) and then...WE MADE IT!!!!

I was so so so so so excited and guess who was the first one in the water? You got it!!! ME!!! :D

So that first night we got on the lake and headed down lake (toward Rainbow Bridge) a ways and camped for the night. Sleeping on the lake is always an adventure cause it is so flipping hot and the red rock just radiates heat for hours after the sun goes down. So we sleep on the top of the houseboat, on the upper deck with just pillows and sheets cause its ridiculously hot. The first two nights I barely slept at all. Well Sunday we just chilled and moved to a new campsite. I have a favorite thing to do while we're traveling up and down the lake, we go sit on the very front of the boat and stick our feet in the water while the boat is moving, it is so much fun. The picture's not very good but sometimes the water makes the coolest shapes and stuff as it moves around your feet but it comes and goes so fast its hard to get a picture of.

Monday we took the speed boat down to Rainbow Bridge, and it was a blast. I hadn't ever been there that I could remember, (I went once when my mom was pregnant with me and i think once more when I was really little but....) The only problem was, the boat was seriously spazzing out. There was something wrong with the gas/oxygen mix entering the engine and it felt like dad was just moving the throttle up and down and up and down, just as it got to full power it would go right back down and right back up. But we made it there and back ok, cleaned the fuel filter when we got back to the house boat and it worked just fine after that, it only was being stupid long enough to make me sick haha.

Love the matching shirts?

The rest of the trip we pretty much just chilled, skiied, wakeboarded(well, we tried), kneebaorded, and tubed, played games, swam and did some hiking. The best part though would have to be Tuesday night. There had been a thunderstorm Monday night but nothing close, but Tuesday night around 6-7 pm a huge storm rolled in. Our campsite was, thankfully, almost completely protected from the wind and it just started POURING RAIN. As the rain was pounding down, we started seeing waterfalls pouring over the tops of the cliffs.

It was pretty darn cool.

The rest of the week was fun, I LOVE spending time with my family, hiking, boating, swimming, everything.

I think my greatest accomplishment was learneing how to do a front flip off the diving board without landing flat on my back. :)

All in all it was a great week.

Summer!!!!

Well, Needless to sayI am very very behind on my blogging.... ;) So I'll have some short winded posts to catch you up, then some longer ones about my more recent life.

Summer.

Wow. Where to start? As if there's actually that much to talk about lol. Well, I worked on my family's farm this summer, partied with my sister and my cousin mostly and just had a blast!!!

Working on the farm was so much fun even though I didn't always love it as much as it seems right now ha ha. Nicole and I tag teamed it and we changed water, checked cows, and sprayed weeds. Hundreds and Hundreds of weeds. It was great to work with Nicole, even when we weren't the smartest, (like not putting on sunscreen and then working for 5 hours. That one hurt. Seriously.

My stake went on a handcart reenactment in July that was the most incredible experience for me. I learned compassion and to put others before myself because if I make them happy then I am happy but if I put myself first its not nearly as rewarding. I have wonderful leaders who supported and encouraged us and gave so much so that we could go and they could go with us. I love my leaders and am so grateful for everything they did for me while I was growing up, even here at college I feel their love and it makes me so happy.

Hmmmmm.... I think thats it for now.... :)

Climbing at The Front

Today was my first day climbing with Mark and Brooke, they're teaching me how to really climb, like outdoors, not walls with colorful handholds. I was so excited!!!! We were going to go up into the foothills above Boise but the weather didn't want to cooperate SO we ended up at their climbing gym, The Front.

The gym was so much fun... my arms are so so dead. Mark taught me the basics of the equipment they use and how its similar and different to the equipment I've used before, and then we climbed :D

We started on the harness walls and I did some pretty hard trails, worked on using my legs as much as possible which is really important for me especially because I have virtually no upper body strength (ok i have some but not nearly as much as I need.)

After that we bouldered.

Bouldering is climbing without a harness, it is really good for building strength and it is nice because you aren't held back by a belayer and a rope.

This is part of the bouldering wall at The Front, without grips on it.

This is the bouldering wall with handholds, but it doesn't look nearly as big as it really is.

I learned a lot and had a lot of fun, and I can't wait until the weather warms up and i can go climbing outdoors with them.

Things That Make Me Smile

I LOVE:
being spontaneous
smiling
long hugs <3

dancing in the rain

cartwheels

music

the little things

helping others

being on the ball

giraffes

friends

walmart @ 2:00 a.m.

the smell of rain

butterflies

sunshine

bubbles

my family :)

bright colors

making cookies

change

adventures

playing with sidewalk chalk

learning new things

making new friends

simple things

fireflies

rock climbing

afternoon naps

giggles

making other people smile

sharing my belief in Christ

being challenged

the outdoors

spell check

tetris

my CTR ring

road trips

singing

polka dots

getting flowers

meeting new people

smoothie nights!!! :D

being random

sleeping in the sun

good hair days

playing my guitar

monkeys

people playing with my hair

an unexpected compliment

going to the dentist

waking up to birds chirping

yellow

late night walks

~

:D

~

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry,

Show life you have a thousand reasons to SMILE.

My Blood Drive Adventure

So I've never blogged before and i didn't really know where to start but i figure this is as good a place as any, its a story my sister already posted on her blog but oh well, its about me so its going on here. :)

MARCH 16, 2010
Today there was a blood drive at my school.
We do them about twice a year because there are so many students that not everyone that wants to has a chance. I didn't get to do it last time and I really wanted to this time, BUT, my friend Karissa and I heard about the blood drive a couple days after everyone else so we didn't get time slots but we were put on the alternate list in case other students were deferred. I did everything I was supposed to just in case I got the chance to participate (I have never donated blood before and I really, really wanted to).
I drank plenty of water yesterday,
I ate a balanced, high protein breakfast,
and I drank plenty of water this morning.
I got called down during third period to donate and I was SO excited!
I read all the information, had my interview done, AND I PASSED.
I didn't have any diseases or cold symptoms,
I hadn't spent too much time outside of the U.S.
ETC.....
So they put me in a reclining chair, gave me a stress ball and put nasty orange and greenish iodine all over my arm. BLEH.
They marked my vein and...
A pinch and a sting later my blood was flowing through a tube.
After I was done they sat me up and I felt just the slightest bit light headed so I sat there for a second and it passed.
I got up, was escorted to the snack table, got some water and some nutter butters and sat down at a little table to fill out the survey.
A volunteer came and asked me how I was feeling, I said just a touch light headed and, that I really needed to use the restroom. She told me that as soon as i didnt feel light headed anymore she would escort me to the bathroom.
I started filling out my survey, and as i was looking down i was like... "Woah. I feel really light headed."
It kept getting worse so I told the nice volunteer lady that I was really, really light headed.
She came over and put her hands on my shoulders and said something to someone I dont remember.

I hear voices in my head.
A man and a woman talking.
They sound kinda like reporters or something on the radio.
My first thought is "I need to change the station..."
I open my eyes and see people knneeling over me.
Their mouths are moving but I don't hear anything except the voices in my head fading away. I finally hear the school nurse asking me if I hit anything when I fell.
I fell???
THEN I realize I'm lying on the floor with people standing all around me.
THEN I realize that I just gave blood and I must have passed out.
THEN I feel something wet on my pants.

JUST AN FYI. Next time you plan on passing out, make sure you pee BEFORE you pass out. NOT while you are unconcious on the floor. {You are welcome to laugh out loud and make all the peope around you stare like they are missing a huge joke. Because they are. I, an 18 year old girl, "had an accident" in the middle of the gym floor.}

Well, life goes on... they had my feet up and a cold towel on my head, they tell me i am doing fine, that I woke up soon enough they didn't have to call 911.
(At this point I am thinking... this might not be what you want to tell every person who passes out. I thought it was kinda cool that if I had been out about ten more seconds they were gonna call an ambulance, but other ppl might not take it quite as well. Actually... I know a few who would have out right panicked.)
The nurse said she was gonna call my mom and have her pick me up and I tried to tell her I would be fine if my mom would just bring me a change of clothes but she didn't agree. (Apparantly my green shirt and shoes weren't the only part of me that was celebrating St. Patrick's Day. My face matched. :o )
Well, they called my mom, sent me home and told me to drink lots of fluids. I was annoyed and thought i would be fine to go back to school in like an hour or so.
I was not.
I was freezing cold for no good reason (I had 2 blankets on top of me). I developed a huge headache, and eight hours after my episode I sat up too quickly and had to sit very still and breathe deeply for quite some time to not fall over.

BUT

This whole episode comes to right near the top of my most exciting days list.
All in all, (even including the stupid headache that wont go away) it was not a bad experience. I enjoyed giving blood and am planning on doing it again.


HOWEVER....

THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS: Use the bathroom BEFORE you give blood. Just in case.