My Roommates Are Better Than Yours

That's all.

President's Day Weekend

WARNING: super long post

When you have a three day weekend, what do you do? Go on vacation. And let me just tell you, it was the best weekend of my entire life. I can't even tell you how happy I am right now. So where did I go? Provo. Why? Because the greatest people I have ever met live there-my mission friends! I haven't seen them all in so long and I needed them back in my life.

So Friday after class we left. We hit some bad traffic on the way down so we arrived later than planned. But luckily the party doesn't get started until 9 anyways, so we were just in time. 

Right off the bat I was reunited with my MTC companion Lauren and the ever so wonderful Adrienne. I'm not kidding you when I say I almost cried because I was so happy!! We talked a lot. Catie, Mitch, and Bronson came over. I absolutely loved seeing everyone!

We went to in n out which I have missed!

Then we just stayed up late. Talking and laughing and catching up. 

Saturday was a big day. Valentine's Day. And considering we all have boyfriends... Ohhh wait. We had a girls date! It started with lunch at Guru's (so delicious!) Adrienne, Lauren, Ashling, and I. Who needs boys when you've got these ladies in your life?

We talked about the mission (surprise!) but it was honestly so therapeutic. These girls just understand exactly how I feel! 

After lunch we ran a few errands and then got our nails did! We really just know how to treat ourselves! I was introduced to both Swig and Sodalicious. I had so much sugar. It made me sick. Oh well, it was worth it!

Saturday night, Amanda from the MTC came over and hung out with Lauren and me. I'll tell you what, I haven't laughed that hard in SO long. We reminisced about the good ole days. Kickball tournaments, watching "The Legacy" for our Sunday night movie, all of the elders and the funny things they did and said, and of course Lake Powell 2010! As hard as it was sometimes to be in the MTC for so long, I made the greatest friends there. And not everyone has that opportunity. So for that, I'm grateful. 

How can you not just love these girls?! We stayed up way too late once again, but it was so worth it. 

Sunday. We had church. We just went to sacrament meeting. Lauren accidentally wore her uggs... Luckily we caught it before we went in so she was able to go home and change into real boots. At least we got a good laugh out of it!

After church we had the most amazing meal-gretchka! It's Russian. I ate it almost everyday. And yet I found myself missing it! 

Then the moment I've been waiting for-I was reunited with both of my trainers! Megan and Rachel. 

Once again, there was more talking. Talking and talking and talking. What more could you want?! Of course we laughed so hard too! When Megan's around, there's never a dull moment! That's one of the things I just love about her. She's hilarious!

At this point, I've decided that I never want to leave Provo. I would be fine if I never had to go back to Rexburg!

Sunday night was spent driving around with no destination. I got a nice little tour of P-town! 

When midnight hit, it was time for a snack. So in n out it was! I wasn't going to complain at all. I just love in n out. And I love all of the time I get to spend with my ladies!!

So Monday morning. I know I'm about to leave. And I'll go out kicking and screaming. Luckily, we had one last shabang. I got to see my favorite ladies! And Jake also came down to Provo, so I was able to see him as well! Best thing ever. 

Then it was goodbye. I love all of these people so much. And I'm so grateful I was able to spend a weekend with them. I'm also grateful that I met them all through serving a mission. This was seriously the greatest weekend of my life. It was exactly what I needed. And I'm already dying to go back. 

Well Provo, until next time...

Welcome to Rupert!

Sometimes you just need a break from school and everything associated with it. That calls for a roadtrip. Ivie and I were both in need. So we headed to her house. It's only two hours away and is much smaller than Rexburg. But it was still a break.

So what did we do? RELAXED! We hung out with her family. We watched movies. We slept in. We didn't do any homework. We made tie dye shirts. We played games. We had a dance party. We drove around. We ate at Burgers. We talked. We forgot about real life. 

It was only for one night, but what more do you need? A change of scenery is always appreciated. And I will never turn down a roadtrip. Never ever.

Plus I'm just in love with Idaho. So of course I want to explore it more. I mean look at it. How can you not love it?

The Temple

This semester I have made a goal to attend the temple once a week. There's a temple right here in Rexburg which makes it so nice! Of course, it still takes some planning to find the time to go with so much school and homework. But so far I have been able to do it and I have seen the difference it is making in my life. I feel as though I am just able to manage my time better. And even though I have so much going on with school, I feel like dedicating a couple of hours a week to go to the temple is actually giving me more time. It's just another testimony to me that putting The Lord first brings great blessings. I am first hand seeing it for myself. I love the peace and comfort I feel in the temple. Just like taking the sacrament every Sunday, weekly temple attendance rejuvenates me. I'm so grateful to be in Rexburg where there is a temple so close. If you have the chance, go to the temple as often as possible. Seriously. 

Weekends

I think every students favorite time of the week are weekends. I mean let's be real, we don't have to go to class, we can sleep in, and we can do whatever the heck we want. Not to mention there's generally a lot of fun things going on. So here's a small recap of some of the things I've enjoyed on the weekends.

-Sunday dinners with Zack and Jolynda. There's just something so nice about a home cooked meal on a Sunday and being able to spend time with family. It just feels right. And I don't have to cook which is a huge plus.

-Shooting! I've learned how to shoot since starting college in Idaho and I just love it. So anytime boys ask if I want to go shooting, the answer is always yes! This time we went with our friend Jacob. Well he invited some of his guy friends as well. Turns out they were all married... But we had so much fun! And I even was able to hit come clay pigeons! I'm turning into an Idaho girl.

-BYU Vocal Point Concert! My MTC teacher, Jordan Hale, is in the acapella group Vocal Point. So of course when I found out they were coming to Rexburg I had to get tickets and go! It was so much better than I imagined! I seriously had SO MUCH FUN. And I loved being able to see Brat Hale afterwards!

-Pond skimming! Thats when students dress up in crazy costumes (like ninja turtles, footie pajamas, banana costumes, etc.) and go down a bug hill on their snowboard or skis. Then at the bottom of the hill there's a pond that they are trying to slide across. There's a ton of crashing and burning. There's also success. I have always wanted to go but never have. So I was happy to be able to go during my last winter here.

-Visits from friends! Emily and her fiance came up for a weekend and so did Ivie's sister Maddy. It's been so much fun to be reunited with everyone and just catch up. I have been blessed to know some pretty great people.

I love the weekend. I just wish they were longer.

First Day of School! First Day of School!

Coming back to school was more of an adjustment than I expected it to be. I thought I was doing pretty well after being home for three months. I considered myself to be "normal" again. I was completely wrong. It doesn't help that I'm living in an apartment of all RM's who are all going through the same struggle of trying to fit in... On our first Sunday, we prayed at the door before leaving the house (that's a missionary thing to do) Heaven help us...

That first Sunday gave me really bad anxiety. All of a sudden I was surrounded by people my age. Which normally should be a good thing, right? Wrong. There were boys. Actually men. Lining the halls. They seemed to be on the prowl... BOYS WERE CHECKING ME OUT! Well at least it seemed like they were... And that was enough to make me feel very uncomfortable. I wanted to hide. But there was nowhere to go. Luckily we were able to run after church and didn't have to try and make friends. We came back to our nice little apartment and escaped the outside world.

After this experience, I was more scared for the first day of school. I was more nervous this time than I was the first day of my very first semester. Why? I wish I knew. Maybe I just had a better idea of what to expect. Maybe I was just terrified of people. For my first day I made a goal not to talk to anyone or write anything down. I succeeded. I know it sounds stupid, but I just wanted to fly under the radar. I was struggling because before the mission I always knew people in all of my classes. I could walk around campus and see people I knew everywhere. Now I just felt like a fish out of water. I didn't know a single soul. Let me tell you, it's rough. And really really depressing. I expected things to be the same when I came back. But I forgot about the part where everyone graduated and got married while I was gone... So things were most definitely nowhere near the same that they were. Except Brooke. She's still here.

My classes this semester:

Program Planning and Implementation

Health Appraisal and Prescription

Medical Terminology

Biostatistics

Capstone

Church History

I'm at 15 credits. In case you're wondering, that's the most I've ever taken in a single semester. Based on the first few days of school, I'm going to be so busy. But I guess that's not a bad thing. I just pray that I survive this semester. And I pray that I can somehow make friends with people... 

I have to say though, I absolutely adore my roommates. Ivie, Liza, Lindsay, Dani, and Nicole. Living with all RM's is seriously a dream. We may be socially awkward, but we understand each other and we influence each other to do good every day. My oh my, I have been so blessed.

Back to Idaho!

With January here, it was FINALLY time to go back to school. I had now been at home for three months and as much as I love my family, it was time to get away. I needed friends again. I needed to have fun. And honestly, I really missed being in school. Judge me. Once again, I would be doing this trip all by myself. But I had done it before so I wasn't too worried. My only fear was that I would hit snow and ice. But I didn't. Another reason I was excited to go is because I was going to stay the night in Utah and see my friend Jake! He was an elder I served with and my best friend from the mission. So I packed up my car, said bye to everyone and took off.

So I drove. And drove. And drove. My heater doesn't work, so I was cold. My radio doesn't work, so I had to listen to random OLD CD's I found in my car. The only thing I ate was half a twix bar and I drank a cherry coke. I just don't eat when I travel. I think it's my anxiety.
So I finally made it to West Jordan after 10 hours of driving. And guess what? Jake wasn't even home... So I sat outside in the freezing cold just waiting...  But when he finally came it was so good to see him! And weird that we could hug...

We just had a super chill night. We talked a lot. Just got caught up on each other's lives. We went and saw The Woman in Black (stupid movie) and talked more. I missed this kid so much and was so happy to be with him in the real world!

Funny story: On the mission, he had this tie. It was a stupid tie and I hated it. I told him I hated it every time I saw him wearing it. I told him if I ever got my hands on it, I would burn it. So at one point he told me he had something for me. All I had to do was close my eyes... Ummm... So I did. And I heard him rummaging through some stuff. Then all of a sudden something goes over my head. I had no idea what was going on. Well he also took pictures during this, I guess so I could remember it forever? Who knows... Needless to say, I punched him. And then tried to steal the tie. But it didn't quite work, so the tie still lives...

On Saturday, I left Jake's to drive the rest of the time up to Rexburg. I was able to stop and see Kimmi and Bryan in Layton for an hour. It was good to catch up with them after a couple of years! And four hours later, I was finally back home in the Burg! I was SO excited to see all of my roomies and get moved in. Here's to a fantastic semester! Even though it's winter so it will be cold and snowy...

Happy Holidays!

The holidays are my favorite time of year, like most people. I love having the time to be able to focus on the many things I have to be thankful for, the opportunity to celebrate my Savior, Jesus Christ, and spend so much time with family. I was happy to be back home this year. Before Thanksgiving I was already begging my parents to get out the Christmas decorations. Between college and and my mission, I haven't decorated the house in years. So I was so stoked. Well, I lost interest quickly. I remember  it being so much more fun than it actually was... I still don't understand why we completely transform our houses for a month. Seems pretty silly. But let's be real, it looks fantastic! Anyways, this holiday season I was working two jobs. I was blessed when I got home to find two jobs where my schedules never conflicted. I was working like crazy. Sometimes I would have 14 hour days with only 15 minutes to switch from one job to another. I'm still not sure how I survived...

One of my Favorite things we did was go to the LA temple to look at the lights. I was fortunate to go twice this year! The first time we went with the Mautz family. I love any chance I have to be with them. While walking around the temple grounds, I saw a familiar face. It kinda took me by surprise because it just seemed like it couldn't be true. But it was. The one and only Karlie Kenyon who just returned home from her mission a few days before AND met Adam while there. It was no coincidence that I ran into her.

Christmas morning was the usual. We wore matching pajamas. Opened presents. Ate breakfast. Normal stuff. But the best part of the day came when we got to skype with Cody!!! Oh my gosh. Seriously I was so happy. I haven't talked to him since last Christmas when he was home and I was out. We just switched places. He was so happy! And so skinny! I'm so proud of him and his desire to serve The Lord and the people of Mexico.

Then, we had New Years! I absolutely LOVE NYE. Of course, I'm not one to make resolutions because then I have no room for failure. It's a win win. Every year we go over to the Mautz residence and play a nice friendly game of sh*t on your neighbor. This year I made it farther than I ever have before. What did that get me? A notebook. I was so tired the whole night. I even asked at 10 o'clock if we could just pretend it was midnight and call it quits. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! The old people weren't even tired. I know, I'm pathetic. Now to address the question that I'm sure is on everyone's minds... Did I get a New Years kiss? No, I didn't. Shocking I know. Maybe next year.
So here's to 2015!!

Healing

Upon coming home, I had mixed feelings about Russia and my mission. I don't know what it was, but it was almost like I had to go through a healing process. I loved and missed the people I had met, but that was about it. I questioned why I served a mission and if it was even worth everything I had missed out on. I missed my three best friends' weddings, my brothers wedding, I was now a year and a half behind in school, and it just felt like I had wasted my time. I just had a lot of doubts. And that was only the missionary work side of things. I learned about people who I cared about that left the church. That made me question things. I quickly reverted back to the person I used to be, not praying, not reading my scriptures, wasting time, etc. And then I never wanted to talk about Russia. All I wanted at that point was America. People would ask me about Russia and I couldn't even talk about it. It almost made me sick. (I want everyone to know that this was just a phase and I don't actually feel that way) Again, I had to heal from it all. I don't know why exactly, but it just felt right. This went on for the first two months or so. Then I decided I wanted to go through and read the emails I sent home. So, I found the emails and I just started reading from week one at the MTC. I was filled with so many emotions. I was laughing so hard one minute and then crying my eyes out the next. I was able to reflect upon so many things that I had forgotten about. I was able to read about miracles that happened and my own testimony being strengthened. It was at that moment that I realized how much I changed. The change that took place in me never would have happened without this experience. That helped to ease the pain I was feeling from missing out on so much. I was able to see all the times The Lord had been present and helped me do the impossible. It was a testimony to me that I hadn't been wasting my time but I had used my time in the best way possible. And it made me see all of the things about Russia that I missed. The cute babushki wishing me to find a husband. The ice cream stands every ten feet. The public transportation (yes, I actually enjoyed riding marshrutkas...) The delicious bakery's. The people. I met some of the greatest people in the world while in Russia. The list just goes on.I finally started to miss Russia and miss my mission. the Sunday before Christmas it really hit me. I didn't want to be home. I wanted to be back out serving people and only focusing on Jesus Christ. I again was overwhelmed with emotion. Never again will I be able to spend a Christmas focusing only on my Savior and serving others. It will forever be a memory that I cherish. And I will forever be grateful that I had the opportunity to serve. I love my mission. I love Russia. And now looking back, I have nothing but happy memories. I wouldn't trade my experiences for the world. It just took me some time to finally figure that out.

Road Trip!

Shortly after coming home, I was in desperate need of some time with my BFF. While I was gone, she got married and moved to Utah. So the only logical thing was for me to take a trip to go see her. I had nothing holding me back. I decided that if I was going that far, why not go another four hours to Rexburg. So what was originally going to be about a five day road trip turned into ten days. But I had the time of my life. I even had the chance to see Ashling and Megan in Provo! Here is a recap:

Jazz game double date!

Park City Zip lining!

City Creek and Temple Square!

Haunted World! (where we got to shoot zombies with paintball guns! Seriously, so fun)

And a nice sunday drive to see the "yellow leaves"!

Thank you Jordy Boy for letting me steal your woman for a few days and for taking so many pictures of us. You're a good sport :)

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from my time in Rexburg. But, I was able to spend some time with my brother and sister in law! Zack took me fishing and I tried for hours to catch something. As soon as I handed my pole over to him, he caught a fish. Figures. I was able to catch up with some of my good friends Brooke, Michaeline, Lacey, and Hanna. I missed everyone so so so much. And coming back to Rexburg for a few days made me more excited to start school. I didn't actually want to go home, but I couldn't continue to live the homeless life. Plus I was broke. I'm so thankful for my best friends. No matter how much time we have apart, life just picks right back up.

Coming Home

In October of 2014, I returned home from my 18 month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was serving in the Russia Ekaterinburg Mission. I came home to sunny California and was able to spend a lot of good quality time with my family. I was entertained for days.

An Angels game (which I fell asleep at...)

Whale watching (which fulfilled my life long dream)

Beach camping (the summer I never had)

Eating out every single day (I had a lot of cravings, okay?)
LA (scared me more than Russia did...)

Shopping, shopping, and more shopping (I REALLY needed a make over)
Movie and TV Marathons (I had a lot of catching up to do)
And temple trips (my favorite thing of all)

I'm so grateful that I was able to spend so much time with my family making new memories and trying to adjust to this new life ahead of me. I had no idea how hard it would be to have free time, but thankfully they kept me pretty busy.