I'll be Needing Stitches

I apologize in advance for the gross pictures.

This semester I decided to play flag football and soccer, because why not? Our apartment is known for getting hurt and I did have the thought of "if anything happens to me, I won't be able to finish my internship and graduate". But I've also been playing sports my whole life and never had anything happen to me. So I risked it.

Our second game was a rough one for me. First I got hit really hard in the eye with the ball. It wasn't bad, but I was afraid I lost my contact. When I opened my eye and still had it, I was good to keep playing. My eye started to burn and I was really concerned I would have a black eye. But that's kinda cool, right?

We have half time.

When we started back up, I somehow ended up on the ground. That's the only part of this accident I don't remember. Were we going for the ball? Was it my fault? The other dudes? Who knows... Here's what I do know:

I got hit in the mouth with another guys forehead. His name is Sergio. He was my home teacher last semester but didn't remember me. I went flying and ended up face down on the ground. I had an immediate headache and was sure I had a concussion. I remember shouting "I shouldn't keep playing". The lady in charge of the game then told me I couldn't keep playing because there was blood. So I lifter up my head and saw the puddle of blood. Great. I got up to get off the field. I just wanted to be tough and not need help, but as soon as I stood I was so dizzy and almost fell over. I sat down, had a report filled out, and got checked out for a concussion. I could remember everything and my pupils were fine, so it didn't appear I had a concussion.

The big question was whether or not to go to the hospital. People were telling me to go "just in case". Well let me tell you, I don't go to the doctor unless I'm dying or my mom says I need to go. I don't ever go "just in case" especially when a large bill is involved. So I texted my mom to ask what she thought.

Me; "What would happen if I had to go to the ER up here?'

Mom" "Why?"

Me: "Oh I'm just curious."

Mom: "Are you hurt? Call me."

So I sent her this nice selfie that I took then called her.

She told me to go to the ER. That's all I needed to hear. Maddy was there and she said she would take me. There was no way I could drive. But I was still concerned about my car. If I couldn't drive, who would take my car home? It's so funny the things that worry us during times like this. My friend Brett was there and he took my car home, so don't worry about a thing.

I had a pretty dumb nurse who was making me mad. But I also had a pretty great doctor who made up for it.

Oh and they wanted me to pay $250 right then just for me checking in. No thank you. You can bill the insurance.

So here I am, just waiting for the doctor. Maddy was really good at making sure I had this experience documented. Bless her soul.

So the doctor checked me out and said I definitely needed stitches. Good thing my mom told me to go in. The good thing is, none of my teeth were harmed which is surprising considering I got hit so hard. The doc asked if I wanted numbing cream or a shot. The creme would take about 45 minutes to kick in and the shot would be immediate. I'm not afraid of needles, so I chose the shot. I still think that was a big mistake. Doc told me I would feel a prick and then a burning sensation. He failed to tell me that he would be poking me 10 times. The shot is what made me cringe and cry. The shot is what caused the most pain during this whole experience.

He stitched me up. EIGHT stitches later and here's me and my fat lip. Bigger lips than Beyonce and I didn't even need Botox. My doc was nice enough to have Maddy take a picture for my mom. I wish I could've actually seen him stitching me up because that would've been cool, but oh well.

Here are some pictures from the next day. Yes I look high, but I promise I'm not. You can see my left eye (same side as the stitches) has a little discoloring. It would've been cool if I got more of a black eye, but oh well. I had a pretty sick looking lip. Luckily I only needed the stitches for a week. And it was only difficult and painful to eat for the first two days.

I had my roommate Katie take my stitches out. She's a nursing major so I figured that was better than having to go back to the ER and pay another $250. Plus it's good experience for her, right? My mom was worried, but I wasn't. She did a great job. And now I'm stitch free and afraid to play soccer anymore.

General Conference Weekend

What a weekend. Besides the stress of changing my plans to accommodate someone and having him change back at the last minute, this was the perfect weekend.

Friday

I drove down to SLC with my sister in law, Jolynda. We got to their apartment where we met my brother and my parents. Yes, my parents came! We went out to dinner where I experienced my first ever Philly cheesesteak sandwich. I'm not sure why it has taken me 23 years to try one, but I was not disappointed at all.

From there, Anya picked me up and we drove up to the mission reunion at the Christensen's home. This was my first ever real mission reunion. I was so excited to go and was so happy to see so many people that I hadn't seen in over a year. The  majority of people in this picture here were last seen all the way back in Russia. Anya and I laughed so hard that we couldn't ever catch our breath, while everyone just stared. I would say it was a successful night.

Aren't we just the greatest bunch of people? Seriously, obsessed with my mission friends.

Saturday

We woke up and ate breakfast. Of course I didn't sleep well because I had the option of sleeping on a tiny couch or the tile floor. I spent half the night on each. We got ready and went out the door. My parents were only in town for 24 hours, so we had to cram in as much as possible. We went and walked around the University of Utah campus instead of watching conference. Oops. We bought matching sweatshirts. 

Then, we headed on over to City Creek Mall and ate at The Cheesecake Factory. Obviously that is never disappointing. We stuffed our faces with food and cheesecake. We called it Zack's birthday lunch.

After lunch, we went on over to the Conference Center. I had a ticket that wasn't with my parents. They were all together in the very upper section and I was supposed to sit down in the lower section. But we asked if I could just sit up high with my family and they said yes. A man came and sat next to us. He said he was from Canada and had traveled to Utah with 6 of the priests from his ward to come see conference live for the very first time. He was sitting by himself and the priests were all scattered. I was able to give him my ticket to sit in the lower section. I thought that was just so cool.

It was awesome to be in the Conference Center as we sustained three new members of the quorum of the twelve apostles. I will never forget that. Plus just being in the conference center is so special every time.

"None of us marry perfection, we marry potential" and none of us marry at all. #foreverfifthwheeling

After the session, we were walking back to the car and passed by a news camera interviewing some people. Immediately on of my companions texted me telling me she just saw my dad and I on TV. So of course we had to get our hands on that footage. It took us a day, but we finally found it and were able to watch our claim to fame.

When my parents left, they told us to go do something fun that night. We went bowling and then got drinks and mozzarella sticks at Sonic. That night I got food poisoning and blacked out.

Sunday

We woke up, watched conference, watched baseball, and watched conference. We didn't leave the house until it was time to drive back home to Idaho. So we drove back. The end.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity we have to listen to the voice of the prophets. I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to see them in the flesh and feel the spirit so strong. It never gets old. Oh and I love my family.

SEPTEMBER

I took even less pictures this month. COOL.

I came back up to Idaho a week early so I could work at the Eastern Idaho Fair scooping Ice cream. The days were long and hot. But oh so much fun! I worked with friends and made more friends. Plus I was able to eat all the ice cream I wanted and always got free fair food for dinner. So what's there to complain about?

I started my last first day of school! And my first day of my internship. This semester I decided I could do it all. So I'm taking 4 classes, doing my internship, playing on two sports teams, and I'm president of the Publis Health Society. I thought it was a good idea at the time, but now I'm not so sure. I don't have time to breathe. Or apply for jobs. But I'm making it work.

I'm doing my internship through the Eastern Idaho Public Health District. It is a program called Fit and Fall Proof. I go around to four different sites and teach exercise classes to the elderly. These classes are intended to keep them more mobile and flexible and prevent them from falling and getting hurt. I love these people so much and I am having way more fun then I ever could have imagined.

Caisa Blau! My last companion came up to Rexburg to visit. It was so good to see her and catch up. It had been a whole year since we last saw each other.

This is my MTC district. In the MTC, our teacher always sat like this. I don't know why, he just did. So for Brat Hale's birthday we decided to make a collage with all 10 of us doing his signature pose. We were so proud of it. And all we got from him was a comment saying he hates us all and he only did this once. So disappointing. But he, I still love it.

ALSO, as of September 30th, I have been home from my mission for a WHOLE YEAR! How is that even possible? I swear life just flies by and I actually really hate that it does. Slow down, please?

AUGUST

I don't know what it was about August, but I hardly took any pictures. Probably because I was home for the summer and didn't do much besides stay in bed all day, watch Netflix and talk to my friends on the phone wishing I still had friends at home.

Angels game with pops because mom and Riley were at a YW retreat and it was Mike Trout's birthday. Our seats were at a really bad angle and the people next to us kept leaning forward so we couldn't see home plate. After the third inning, we went and sat in these other seats right by us since no one had sat there yet. As soon as we sat down, the people with those tickets came and kicked us out. So we just ended up standing the whole game. I love getting to go on dates with daddy.

BEACH CAMPING. Because this is our summer tradition.

I went Paddle Boarding for the first time. SO MUCH FUN. I want to go all  the time now. But I don't actually live near the ocean anymore. And I can't afford it.

B-52's concert at the OC fair. I haven't been to the fair in FOREVER. I got my deep fried Oreos and Riley and I laughed at all the weird old people dancing, including our parents.

I turned 23! Still not sure how I feel about it. It just seems so old.

Went to another Angels game where we got free snapbacks and no tattoos.

Forever Single

My roommate Katie Fossum vacationed in LA so I had to meet her and hang out with her. One thing I haven't missed is the traffic. I swear, it's gotten waaaaay worse. That's the reason I never want to live in California ever again.

Okay, so maybe more happened than I thought? I was just happy when August ended so I could get back up to school. Weird, I know.

JULY

I love July! It's warm. We get to celebrate America. School ends. What more could you want?

We went to Rupert, Idaho for the weekend of the Fourth. Ivie's grandma was getting married, it was Fourth of July, and of course the Harman Family Reunion!

We went to the famous Rupert July Fourth parade. Waaaaay better than I was expecting for such a small town. Then we spent the day on the river. I learned how to drive a jet ski. We ate delicious food. I was part of my first family reunion, with a matching shirt and all. I love my Eame's family. And I absolutely love America and am so blessed to live here.

We won the flag football championship! Yes, we're #1. It was the beginners league, but no one needs to know that ;)

Kirsten Oaks came to visit! Love my Russian sister friends.

We had to go to the grocery store to do an assignment and they were handing out free roses. Who needs a boyfriend when you can just get flowers from the grocery store?

All semester this team of mine worked on a research project to evaluate pedestrian safety here in Rexburg, Idaho. Our end goal is to present it to the city council and hopefully get a few more stop lights or at least 4-way stops in this town. We had to first present our findings at the Research and Creative Works Conference. We took third place! Quite the accomplishment I think.

Roger, Carla, and Riley came to visit for Zack's graduation. So naturally we had to take a picture with them via the selfie stick.

Michaeline. She was my rock throughout college. We met in English class and actually stayed friends. We had the same major and were the same semester in school. We took every class together. We studied together. We drank mountain dew together. We looked at cat pictures together. We laughed at the same things. She is definitely one of my best friends. Unfortunately she had to graduate and leave me here by myself for my last semester. So here we are, saying goodbye to each other and trying not to cry hysterically.

the whole fam-damily came up for the graduation. So we made a Yellowstone trip out of it. I will never forget parading around the park, with Uncle Derek driving, singing, and swearing up a storm. Then there was Zack who would push grandma around in her wheelchair. He made fun of her the whole time but she was a good sport. At one point she stood up to take a picture and Zack yelled "It's a miracle! You haven't stood up for years!' Everyone stared and we all just laughed.

BUFFALO! They only thing Uncle D wanted to see.

When I got home, Hillary was down for a few days and we finally got our spa day that we never had over spring break. I loved just being able to relax, get some sun, and hang out with my BFF and our mommas. It doesn't happen very much anymore, so I'll take all the time I can get. And we finally got to celebrate our birthdays for the first time in two years!

JUNE

Summer is finally here! Such a fun month, but it sure makes doing anything productive fun. Who wants to go to school when there;s other stuff to do?

HAPPY NATIONAL DONUT DAY! I'm obviously going to go get a free donut to celebrate.

Back on the farm in Rupert. This was my first time razoring. SO MUCH FUN!

Nice weather means boating! We went to the lake and I attempted wakeboarding for the first time. No, I wasn't successful. But I tried

Funny story here. Katie and Mason one day decided to go bridge jumping. I had gone before but really didn't want to go. They talked me into it but I told them I wasn't actually going to jump. After they both jumped, I couldn't just be the one who didn't jump. So I climbed up there and sat for a while, contemplating my life. I finally jumped. Huge mistake. As soon as I hit the water I had a sharp pain shoot up my spine. I honestly didn't think I was going to come back up and if I did, I was for sure paralyzed. After what seemed like an eternity, I emerged. i could barely move. Once I was out of the water, the pain only got worse. I couldn't sit without cringing. I couldn't lay on my back. I walked like there was a stick up my butt. All from the impact of hitting the water. To this day (yes, in October) I still have issues. Sitting for long periods of time or sitting on a hard surface still hurts. I can't twist my back like I used to. I probably fractured something, but I never went to the doctors, so I'll never know.

Camping with the Fossum's and friends! Of course I chose the one picture where no one is smiling. Oh well. My love for lakes and boating grew so much this summer. Don't tell anyone, but this is almost better than the beach.

Another first; tubing! I wouldn't recommend going right after you prett much break your back like I did.

Another Utah trip! Alain Melchor just happened to come up from AZ the same weekend.

My dear Ashling got married to Tyler. This was my first ever temple sealing that I've been to. It was so sweet and so special and made me so grateful for the opportunity we have to be sealed for time and all eternity. There is nothing I want more than to someday be sealed in the temple.

Love these people! Had so much fun dancing the night away at the reception.

Mini MTC district reunion. Where did we hang out? On the lawn right outside the MTC. Next time hopefully we will have more than just 4 of us!

Hammocks. Enough said.

It worked out perfectly that Anya's homecoming was the same weekend as the wedding so I could attend both. I love these people so much and am grateful to have them all be a part of my life.