Conference Weekend!

I absolutely LOVE General Conference! There's nothing better than being able to hear the words of living prophets and apostles. And it ALWAYS seems to come at the right time.

This conference was extra special. I was able to go down to Utah and meet my family there! They have never been to conference, so we got tickets for the Sunday morning session. 

I had no idea how much I missed my family until I saw them. And I was reunited with a bunch of the families that I had grown up with -The Parry's, The Greenwoods, and The Halls. We had some people missing due to missions, school, and work, but here's the gang!

My parents brought Les his dragster tires and he brought the smallest car he had to bring them back. We didn't think he'd be able to fit them, but somehow he managed!

Saturday morning we went to breakfast before conference. The boys participated in the pancake challenge. Unfortunately, none of them were able to complete it.

When watching conference at home, things can get a bit crazy. Either everyone is paying attention, sleeping, or being obnoxious. Well, my dad is the perfect example. This is what he does during conference...

He sleeps. He shoots darts at people. He pretends to lead the music. He's fun. I love him.

Sunday was conference day!! 

Let me tell you, I loved being able to go with my family! And of course, it was a gorgeous day! So that helped out a lot. AND IT WAS EASTER! What better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ than being able to go to General Conference and spend time with family!

We had EXCELLENT seats. I'm not sure how we scored them. We were about 10 rows (if that) from the front. We sat next to Sister Elaine S. Dalton. I saw President Bennett from the Europe East Area Presidency, and many of the general authorities wives and families were in close proximity. It was incredible. There is just such a unique spirit that can be felt when in the presence of so many of the Lord's servants. I feel so grateful that I was able to attend this year. It was the perfect break from life and the push I needed to be able to make it through finals this week!

HAPPY EASTER!

R Mountain

One thing I REALLLLLLLY wanted to do this semester was hike R Mountain to watch the sunset. I have hiked it before, but never to watch the sunset. We have beautiful sunsets in Idaho and I just thought it would be so cool. One night we planned to go, we didn't have the best weather, so we opted out. That was unfortunate because it was seriously the prettiest sunset! But Matt and I were able to go with Ivie and Lance when he came to town. The sunset wasn't as great as it could have been, but it was still such a great evening. A little windy, but perfect.

Can life really get any better than this? I don't think so.

This Boy

I like him.

You can say we have fun together.

We do homework.

We watch movies.

We cook dinner together.

We play games.

We drink hot chocolate.

We go to the arcade.

We take pictures.

We go to devotional.

 We laugh a lot.

We are just living it up.

He won't be here spring semester. He has his internship in California. So we are making the best of our time together while we can. Life is fun with him.

Date Night!

Dating is weird. People just don't ask you on dates anymore these days. At least they never ask me. And when opportunities do present themselves, I never want to go because I'm just not interested. Maybe that's rude, but it's life. I thought dating before the mission was awkward, but now it's worse because any boy you go out with or even talk to all of a sudden becomes a topic of conversation for those all around you. Suddenly everyone and their dogs start asking if you're getting married. Well here's the thing, going on a date does not mean you're getting married! But people just jump to conclusions. 

Anyways, yes I did get asked out on a date. His name is Matt. He's my roommate Nicole's friend who drove us to the hot springs. I guess I got his attention because he took me out a week after that. Let me tell you, I was pumped out of my mind! Like seriously, leading up to the date I couldn't even contain my excitement. I was genuinely interested in this boy and he had the same feelings!

So, phase 1: We went and played racquetball with Nicole and Kevin for an hour. My experience with racquetball before was that I suck. Well, that still holds true. But hey, I had a good time. And that's what really matters, right?

Matt took me home so we could get ready for phase 2.

We went and got dinner at Costa Vida. That's my favorite place in Rexburg, so he was quickly winning me over.

After dinner I had the choice between mini golf, lazer tag, and rock climbing. Well, I had never been rock climbing before so that's the choice I made. And let me tell you, it was the right choice.

I seriously had SO MUCH FUN! And not to brag or anything, but I was a natural. Even ask Matt.

Then on to Phase 3: Ice cream and a movie. I know what you're thinking "HOLY LONG FIRST DATE!" Well, yeah it was long. But I was seriously having the time of my life, so I didn't care. We got ice cream at Dairy Queen and then went home to watch a movie and cuddle :) It was perfect. And I don't know why, but I seriously love this picture!

So was our first date 8 hours? Yes. Do I wish it was longer? Yes. If there was ever a perfect first date, it was this one. We got along great. We had so much in common. We had fun. We talked a lot. We really just clicked. I'm glad this one didn't fall into that "awkward dating stories" category. So, there you have it-best first date ever.

Gold Bug Hot Springs

Some friends invited us to go to some hot springs one weekend. I looked them up online and they looked so cool! Of course I wanted to go. Only catch-they were two hours away. But you're only a single carefree college student once in your life, right? Right. So my roommate Nicole and I decided to go. And she invited her friend Matt. So the three of us drove together while the others went in another car. We didn't know exactly where we were going, but after a few wrong turns and a few hours, we made it!

Then we had a hike to go on. I thought it was going to be fairly easy. I mean I've grown up hiking, I go running multiple times a week so I'm in good shape, and it wasn't a super long hike. Well, I was wrong. I thought I was going to die. I don't know if I'm just not used to this altitude of what, but I was completely out of breath.

We definitley had fun with it though! Plus the end result was worth it. This picture doesn't even do it justice...

And the pools were the perfect temperature and perfect reward. So we all just sat there for a while and got to know each other better and just enjoyed our day in nature.

I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive to go. I mean I knew it would take up my whole day and I only kind of knew one of the people who was going. But it was so worth it! And I'm so glad I did. Yes, it's far. However, I would recommend it to anyone and everyone in this area. I love being able to call Idaho my home. I seriously love it so much!

Idaho Falls Temple

Idaho Falls is only 30 minutes away from Rexburg. It's the "big" city so we go there often. Sometimes it's just nice to have a change of scenery. This semester I have had a goal to go to the temple once a week. Having a temple in Rexburg makes it a lot easier to do so. But, the Idaho Falls temple would be closing for a year and a half and I had never been to it! I wanted to go while I still had the chance. I love being able to go into different temples.

So one Friday night I went with a few of my roommates down to IF. We went to the temple. It was PACKED. But I think that's awesome because it means people are going to the temple! It was an older temple than I'm used to (it's 75 years old and has never been renovated, hence the closing). But of course it was still absolutely beautiful. I'm so glad we found time to go before it closed for some time.

After the temple we headed over to Cafe Rio for dinner. YUM! 

We were then able to visit a senior couple from my mission who live right in IF! It was so good to see them again and to catch up. I served around them for four transfers, so they became close friends. They fed us all kinds of desserts. I just love them! 

'Twas a perfect Friday night.