Fan Club

I didn't really get homesick when I moved away to college, but that's not because I don't love the people here in Louisiana. I was especially excited to go to church today because I always feel like that's where my biggest fans are. The people that are always on my side cheering me on. I love it. As soon as I walked in I was greeted with lots of hugs and smiles :) It's good to be loved. Kalli (Greta & Megan, FYI: this is the little girl whose picture was on my picture board) came to sit with me during sacrament meeting and it was absolutely wonderful to be back in a ward with a TON of kiddos. After sacrament meeting there was a line of people at my pew to say hi to me. I was attacked with hugs - I'm not a touchy-feely person, but I liked it.

It's good to be back in a place where it seems like I know just about everyone, but I miss Provo...a lot. I miss all my friends. And I am not really looking forward to starting my new summer routine tomorrow. Helloooooooo 40 hours of work per week. I love my job, I really do. But I have also come to love my routine of reading and sitting by the pool. Time to be a big kid again.

Thank you, Blog

Old habits die hard. I'm so used to blogging every night that it just seems natural. Maybe I won't let the habit die. Blogging is good for me. It's journaling PLUS I get to tell all my stories. It's hard to believe that this whole blog started with a bonus opportunity in writing150 - a bonus opportunity that really paid off. Remember how I forgot those take-home tests in my writing class? I was so stressed that it would ruin my grade, so I worked very hard in hopes of getting an A- in the class (or at the very least a B+). I worked and worked, slaving over my papers. Each night I diligently blogged. Hard work pays off. I got an A in the class! Not even an A-, an actual A! That's right, thanks to this very blog I got a 4.0 this semester!

Today I realized how much I'm going to enjoy this summer. I went into work for a couple hours and was reminded how much I love my job and my co-workers. Then I hopped in my car and jumped on the interstate. I had forgotten how free it feels to crank up the country station and sing at the top of my lungs. I went into Baton Rouge for a little shopping and got some ridiculously good deals. Yes, I had definitely missed the rush of the receipt saying I saved more than I spent. When I got home I had a yummy plate of jambalya. After dinner, I went down to the pool with Mom and Liv. Then this evening Mercy came over to catch up. Today was a good day. The South is a great place. This is going to be a good summer. I can feel it.

Field Trip

I woke up oober early this morning to go on a field trip with Liv. It ended up being a lot more fun than I imagined. I laughed my butt off watching Livia and her classmates in hamster balls in a pool of water - hilarious! I even got to join in playing laser tag. Free laster tag? WIN. There was this one little girl who kept following me around saying "haha, killed you" over and over and over again. Liv tried to stick up for me, but to avoid a fight I told her to just get away while she still could. The next game I made sure to "kill" the annoying little girl several times, haha I guess I'm still a fourth grader at heart.

This afternoon I got to go to Joe and Kori's house and see Pierson. He has gotten SO big! And their house is BEAUTIFUL!

BEST PART OF THE DAY (warning: this is a brag moment) - I got a full tuition scholarship for next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! I am SO excited. This is such a blessing.

Life is good.

Sky Friends

I have the gift of gab. I talk. A lot. There's no denying that. But I thought today's plane rides would be quiet and thoughtful. I thought that I might finally break down and be sad about leaving Utah. But oh no, of course not. Instead I made friends.

1. Salt Lake to Albuquerque - On the way to Albuquerque I sat next to Doug and Cheryl. We got to know each other quite well over the course of our flight. Even when I finally put my headphones on to listen to music, Doug tapped me so I ended up turning off the music and talking a bit more. I know where they live, where they golf, and all sorts of fun facts - like the fact that their hairspray was confinscated because it was too large to be a carry on, but you can bring plastic knives onto the plane (Dave finds this very humorous).  And they know a lot about me. They asked a lotttt of questions. But they were nice, so I didn't mind. Doug and Cheryl were on their way to a concert. Doug told me "You're never too old to rock."
2. Albuquerque to Dallas - I didn't get off the plane in Albuquerque, it was just a stop. But when the plane landed this little old woman I had talked to when we were boarding in Salt Lake moved to come sit next to me. She was very old, and very kind. She also asked a lot of questions. But mostly I think she just wanted to tell me about her grandson who was on a mission. Before the plane took off, we made another friend. She was sitting across the aisle and when she heard I go to school at BYU she wanted to tell me all about her son who just got off his mission and is going there.
3. Dallas to New Orleans - This was the most quiet ride. When we were boarding the plane This big black man saw a dent near the back of the plane. He told the flight attendant and made sure everything got all checked out. He ended up sitting behind me, so I talked to him for awhile. Then I talked to the woman sitting next to me. She works at a law firm that hires a lot of BYU graduates. After chatting for a bit, I put in my headphones and the lady picked up her book. As I stared out the window, I was thankful that Heavenly Father placed friendly people on my pathway home so that I didn't follow my pity party plan.

Fact: I saw more alcohol being served on the flight from Dallas to New Orleans than on the other two flights combined. Home sweet home.

Spoiled

Leaving Provo was hard. Sitting in my empty room with my not goodbye note from Megan (she decided we're saving goodbye for never) and all my stuff packed up with Caroline gone to catch her plane was really, really, REALLY sad. It's like an entire chapter of my life was closing and I was staring at the next page. An empty page. And I didn't know what would fill that page. It was kind of scary. Well, it is kind of scary. But before I could slump into too much of a pity party, Jessica saved the day.

I went out to eat with Jess and her family after her sister and brother-in-law's graduation. Then they helped me move out of the dorms. It's weird to think that that little cinderblock room was my home for an entire school year, and in a strange way I'm going to miss it. Jessica's sister was so kind to let me store some of my stuff at her house over the summer. Such a blessing. After everything was moved, I headed home with Jessica.

Jessica's house is basically fairytale land. Every time I come to visit I get spoiled like crazy. I get to sleep in a big comfy bed and eat the most delicious food ever. Miss Stacy is an amazing cook. Saturday night they had a huge barbecue. I should have taken a picture of the food. It was that good. Good enough for pictures. Mmmm...so delicious. Especially after living off of Cannon food. It was fun to be around a family again. Jessica's family is great, and being around them made me even more excited to see my own family.

We didn't tell Mariah that I was coming to town. Her face when I just showed up at her church was absolutely priceless. After church we had a nice, relaxing day. I needed that. I didn't realize how tired I was until I got away from BYU. I don't think I slept enough this past semester. Thankfully, Jessica let me sleep in and be a lazy bum. It was PERFECT. I'm telling you, Jessica's house = fairytale land. Miss Stacy even made homemade Chinese food for dinner. So yummy!

On Monday, I got to experience the miracle of life. We were driving through the mountains when Mr. Mitch noticed a cow about to give birth. We pulled over on the side of the road and watched the mommy cow push out her little (well, actually it was rather large) baby. It was such a neat experience! We stayed until the little calf was up and walking around. Funny story: when the calf first tried to stand up, he kept face planting in the mud. It was so cute and so hilarious!

Haha, silly Jessica gave me my 18th birthday present and my Christmas present while I was at her house. She is too cute. Stretching out the holidays is the best. Plus my presents were super fantastic. Goodness I love my pal Jessica. She's the greatest.

Spending time in fairytale land with Jessica and her family was so so much fun, but now it's time to go home to MY family :) I can't wait to see them. This summer is definitely going to be one to remember.

Later = Never

Goodbyes are in full swing. Everytime someone says "see ya later!" I know they secretly mean "see ya never." It's sad, but I've stopped being sad at the goodbyes. If I was sad everytime I told someone goodbye I would not be emotionally stable right now. So I've picked a select few people to be upset about. So far, my plan is working.

I guess I should tell you a little about yesterday since I didn't blog (it was after 2 a.m. and I was just too tired). I went to breakfast with Megan and Greta. Then we went to the temple with Easton. Then I went to the bookstore with Megan and Greta. Then lunch in the Cougareat. Then...I forget. Maybe that's when I did laundry? Packed? I forget. Uhhh...that night we went to dinner. And later Megan and I walked to the library with some boy. He knew me, but I don't remember meeting him at all. Then we got ice cream. Then we ditched the boy and went on another Megan and Lisa walk.

Megan and Lisa walks are my new favorite tradition. For three nights in a row, Megan and I went on 2 hour walks. At rape hill. But I'm pretty sure that name is just a joke. It's a really pretty area, so it's not scary or anything. I wish Megan was in Provo so we could go on another walk :( I'm going to miss are nightly talks.

When we got back from our walk, we sat in the lobby until 2 a.m. talking to some of our girls friends. I am going to miss my freshman year friends.

Today was full of cleaning and packing. Lots of cleaning and packing. It was an all day project. But I'm done. Technically, I'm checked out. So I'm kind of homeless (in Provo, I have a home in Louisiana).  I got some space bags, and they made packing a little more fun and exciting. Those things are serious space savers. I am so tired. Cleaning takes it out of you. Goodnight.

Summer!

Well folks, it is officially summer vacation. For me at least. I took my last finals today. I guess that technically means I can stop blogging, but since I've had over 2,000 views I think I might keep the blog going. Maybe not daily. Maybe not long posts. We'll just see how it goes.

I packed up a lot of my stuff today. Seeing boxes and empty shelves/drawers makes freshman year ending seem even more real. This year really flew by.

One time Thomas told me goodbyes were only good the first time. He was prepping me for the goodbye. He told me he would say goodbye and that would be it. I was supposed to be happy with my goodbye and just accept it. Well, remember how I said goodbye to him yesterday at breakfast? That was supposed to be the goodbye so of course I thought I wouldn't see him for two years. Megan and I were sitting by the fireplace waiting for Carine when Thomas, Mark, and Jesse walked by. Megan and I were both really caught off guard. We weren't supposed to see Thomas again. So much for the one goodbye rule. We said goodbye again. Then a little later, Thomas texted me asking if he could give Megan and I a textbook to give to Dunia. Secretly we know he could have given the book to anyone to give to her, so we know he just wanted a third goodbye. Or that's what we're choosing to believe. The third time was the charm. He's really gone now. As we were leaving his family arrived to pick him up. Thomas has since been set apart and is officially Elder Barlow :) He reports to the MTC tomorrow!

Since we're on summer break, Megan and I decided to go on another long walk this evening. I think we're both anticipating 4 months of being apart so we're trying to get all the time in we can. We have the best talks ever on our walks.

I can't believe this year is over. It has been life changing. I have never been more sure that Heavenly Father knows and loves me. I have seen His hand in my life this year. I am blessed.

Long Walks and Good Talks

Today was a suprisingly good day. I didn't expect it to be good, so it was a pleasant suprise. Or maybe I just had low expectations for the day so I appreciated the little things more than I usually would.
My day started bright and early. I wouldn't let Thomas say goodbye last night. I forced him into having breakfast with me this morning instead. When my alarm clock went off, I started to regret that decision just a tiny bit. Haha, but it was good. Once I was able to get out of bed and wake up I was glad I woke up for breakfast. It was a good goodbye. We didn't talk about goodbyes at all at breakfast. We just pretended it was a normal breakfast, not the last time we'll see each other for two years. Then I said "See you in two years!" and walked away. Rather briskly. I decided a quick goodbye without thinking about it being the last time I'll see him for two years was the best option.

I tried to study for Book of Mormon after breakfast, but I don't remember getting much accomplished...oh wait! I remember. I worked on my writing project instead. That's what I did. Yeap. Then I had work. My last day of work for the semester! It was pretty normal. Except I did have to partially train a new guy. That was...fun. Except not really, haha. But that's okay.

After work I headed to campus to work on our group project for writing. We present tomorrow, and I think it has the potential to be really good. I'm not a big fan of presentations, but I've gone over my part several times and I think I'm ready. I'll go over it again in the morning and then rock it. Or at least that's the plan.

When I got back from working on the project, I went to dinner with my pals. Then it was back to the books. And working on the presentation. But that didn't last long. I was studying for my Book of Mormon final when my door opened and Megan walked in. She couldn't focus on studying and wanted to go on a walk. Naturally I put away the books and grabbed a jacket. We ended up walking for two hours. We just walked and talked. I love having a best friend I can talk to about anything. Talks with Megan are the best. She is such a good example to me and I am SOOOOOO lucky to have her as a friend. It's going to be incredibly lame not to have her around all summer. Who else is going to go on two hour night walks with me and run away from scary ducks?

I think sometimes we don't realize that not being able to focus on homework might really be a prompting. I didn't know I needed that walk with Megan, but I think Heavenly Father did. I am thankful for friends who show up out of the blue when you need them most - even when you think you're completely fine.

Goodbyes.

This morning Megan, Mark, Easton, Jesse and I went to Salt Lake to hear Thomas's farewell talk in his home ward. It was fun to be in a family ward again - so many kids! I miss seeing all the kiddos at church and can't wait to be back in my home ward. Thomas's talk was absolutely wonderful. He bore powerful testimony of the atonement. He is going to be an amazing  missionary.

We left after Sacrament meeting so that we could be back for the last 2 hours of our ward. It was a little super sad because it was our last Sunday as a ward. Sigh...I hate goodbyes. This blog will probably be pretty whiny for the next week. For some reason it is harder to say goodbye to these people I have only known for a few months than it was to move across the country. Okay, actually I know the exact reason. "These people" are my best friends. They have changed my life. This year I have discovered me, and these are the people who have helped me in that process.

Tonight started the goodbyes. I'm not good at this whole "goodbye" thing. It's hard. I still don't think I fully realize how hard it's going to be. People will slowly start to leave for home this week. But I'll still have some people around, so I'll be fine. Then I'll go to Jessica's so I'll be happy to see her. And then I'll go home and be happy to see my family. Then about a month from now, it'll hit. I'm really not looking forward to that. In fact, it's stressing me out quite a bit. More than finals.

BUT, it's worth it. Making the kind of friends I made this year means hard goodbyes but wonderful memories. I wouldn't trade my friends for the world. Heavenly Father has blessed me so much this year. I consider my friends some of my greatest blessings. They are an answer to my prayers.

P.S., if you don't want to read a lot about goodbyes and whining about not seeing my BYU friends all summer (and 2 years for the guys!) then I would avoid my blog for the next week or so.

3 down. 2 to go.

Today does not feel like Saturday. At all. I woke up super early because I had to be at work at 6 this morning! It was good though, because the Cannon is really quiet in the morning so I had a lot of good study time. Plus waking up that early gave me several extra hours of being awake, which (in this case) equaled productivity.

Funny work story of the day: I met this boy named Dexter. Oh how I wish I had a lab with Dexter so that I could be in Dexter's Lab. Dexter's last name is Nye. Like Bill Nye the Science Guy. Of course I pointed this out to him (I'm sure he gets tired of that) and he informed me that his dad's name is Bill! His dad is also a science teacher. But when kid's call him Bill Nye the Science Guy he gives them detention - yikes! Dexter's name just kept getting better. His middle name is Gingery. Dexter has red hair. Dear Dexter, you are my favorite.

After work I went directly to the JSB to take my biology test. Win. Hello A in bio100. I forgot how good it feels to be done with a final, but that feeling motivated me to study for my child development final so that I could knock another one out. I went to the library (two times in one week - this is serious business) and studied. I studied so much for that dang final. I had to take a break to eat lunch before I died of starvation, so I headed over to the Cougareat. Just as I was finishing, Thomas and his brother joined me. It was super funny (in my head, I didn't tell them) because I was thinking this would be my first time to go through an entire meal in the Cougareat without someone sitting with me. I was just about to leave Thomas and his brother to finish studying and take my test when Tim came and sat down, so of course I stayed for a few more minutes. Eventually my urge to be productive won out over socializing and I went back to the library. I read over my notes one last time and went to take my test. I got an A! Which means *drum roll please* hello A in SFL210.

I would have liked to continue to be productive, but my brain just couldn't handle it. I was burnt out. So I came back to my room and started reading A Child Called It. Why do I read books that I know will upset me? I always do that. Ridiculous. Anyway, I read until dinner. Then after dinner I went to my last final of the day - art.

Art for elementary teachers. Sure, I'm not going to be a teacher anymore, but it was still a great class to fill the arts GE! The final was presenting our lesson plan and personal art project. Jethro loved my bubble video so much. He was just overjoyed. It was actually pretty funny how excited he was about it.

He liked my lesson plan a lot too. He even wrote me a nice note on the back :) Too bad I'm not going to be a teacher anymore. But if anyone ever needs to teach a unit about the human body, hit me up. I've got great ideas evidently.

Hello A in VAEDU326.

Three finals down, two to go. I can handle this whole college thing after all.

Study day. For real this time.

To compensate for my lack of studying yesterday, I studied (mostly) all day today. Yuck. I woke up at 7 and finally got out of bed at 7:30. I knew I was going to have to study if I got up, so I tried really hard to fall back asleep...it didn't work.

I had a very productive day. I worked on my part of the presentation for writing, read over bio stuff a little bit, and studied for child development and BOM. So much studying! While I was studying I finished putting all my CDs onto my computer. I forgot about some great songs and took a few study breaks to listen to old songs and think about the memories associated with them. It seems like I have a memory for every song. I love it.

I thought about going to a child development study group today, but then I talked myself out of it. It was student led so there's no guarantee you'd even learn the right stuff. I feel like I was probably more productive studying on my own.

My last Friday night in Provo, and nothing is happening. Everyone is studying. Lame. We all went to dinner, and that was fun. But then everyone just wanted to be studious. I had been studious all day, so I refused to go to the library with them. I wasn't going to study. I wasn't. But then I came back to my room...and guess what I ended up doing? Studying.

It's probably good that I stayed home though. I'm working the early shift tomorrow, which means I have to be at work for 6 a.m. Yikes! Oh well, it should be quite that early so I'll be able to study some. Then it'll be a day of studying and finals. I'm knocking out at least 2 out of 5 tomorrow. Maybe 3. It's possible. Still undecided.

Big day tomorrow. Gotta be a winner.

Study day? Haha, yeah right

You would think I could use these reading days to get a lot of studying accomplished, and maybe tomorrow I will, but today I did almost no studying. Whoops :)

WAIT! I need to start with last night. The library. What an adventure. I did very little studying there too...I did make a milestones chart for child development, but that's about it. Megan, Greta, Carine and I stayed in the "no shhh" zone so that we could talk. We actually had a lot of fun. We made a snack run and saw Tim on the way. Then Megan and I went exploring. That was mostly fun. Minus seeing a couple making out in a study room. Yuck. We decided not to explore much after that. On our way back to the "no shhh" zone we ran into John. John is from Ghana. Megan met him one day in the library. He was super nice and told us how great we are. I decided he's pretty great himself. After that, we pretty much just sat and talked and watched Glozell videos.

Finally the announcement came on: the library was closing. Then, at 1:45 a.m. the music came on. There, right in the middle of the library, we had a dance party. We sang at the top of our lungs and danced our little hearts out. Everyone passing us to leave the library smiled and/or laughed at us. We were the nightly entertainment. At one point it hit me how I wouldn't have done that a year ago. I don't think I would have been confident/bold enough to just sing and dance in the library with all those people walking by. But surrounded by my best friends, I was completely comfortable with being the crazy girl. College has been good for me.

Anyway, back to today. I was pretty tired after staying up so late, but we had a work meeting/party this morning. I ate soooo much food. I was stuffed. I seriously think I have one of the best jobs on campus.

After the work meeting/party I should have come home and studied. But studying is boring. So I started packing. I actually got a lot accomplished with packing. And I started transferring all the CDs onto my computer. So I was being productive, just not in the way I was supposed to be being productive. Eventually I crashed. Naptime. Sometimes naps are neccessary. Especially after staying up past 2 a.m. So I slept until just before dinner.

Megan and I ate dinner alone tonight. I love our social dinners a lot, but it was nice to get to talk to just Megan too. It's amazing how much someone can change your life in such a short amount of time. We have been good friends for less than a year, but she has made a huge impact on my life. Heavenly Father wasn't ignoring all my prayers when I cried for a friend I would be able to look up to; He just knew I would need her now more than I did in high school. His timing is always best.

I went to a biology review with Greta after dinner. See? I did do some studying today. And let's be honest, going to that review is about the only studying I plan on doing for biology.

I thought I would come home from the review and study for child development, but then Caroline and Kjersten were in our room talking and by the time they left I had lost my will to study. So I worked on transferring more music and mostly did a big load of nothing. My brain is too tired to function properly so studying tonight would have been a waste anyway. I tried to change the look of my blog, but I think I liked the first look better...haha, oh well. It was frustrating to change and I didn't have the energy to try to change it back.

Sleep. I want sleep. Studying can wait for tomorrow. Goodnight.

Library..what?!

THIS IS NOT A JOKE: I really am in the library right now. And no, nothing is wrong. I'm not sick or dying or anything. I am here by choice. Shocker, huh? Don't worry, writing this blog post is the closest I've gotten to doing homework since I've gotten here.

Today was my very last day of classes for this semester. Definitely bittersweet. I don't mind being done with classes, but knowing this year is almost over is really sad. I love BYU. I love my friends here. I love my life here. I don't want to put it on pause for 4 months. But I'm also excited to spend the summer at home. As much as I love it here, I do miss my family. It'll be good to spend time with them. Especially since this is quite possibly the last time I will live at home.

I was texting my big brother, Josh, while I was in biology today (why start paying attention on the last day?). He told me that he is now a certified interrogator. I was joking with him about scaring all the boys away once they knew my big brother was so scary, but then Josh sent me a text that absolutely made my day.

Awe :) I love my big brother.

Funny work story of the day: Quinn was at the desk telling me a story and when he left a guy came up to buy stamps or something (I can't remember exactly what he needed) but he asked if Quinn was my boyfriends. I laughed and said no. The boy said "he's cuteeee" in a why-not-you-should-go-for-it kind of way. I laughed even harder and said no. Of course when the boy left I made Quinn come back so I could tell him the story. His response? Why didn't you tell him I was your boyfriend? What...you don't think I'm cute? Sure Quinn, you're cute. Then Quinn decided to announce to the entire Cannon Center that we're dating. False. We are not. But I'm sure there are residents at Helaman who believe we truly are dating since Quinn tends to make that announcement quite often at work.

After work I went to the Creamery Outlet store. I wish I would have discovered it earlier. My meal plan money works there and they have a lot more options than the Creamery in Helaman. Oh well, at least I get a week of its benefits. Yay for baked chips!

I went to dinner with the girls tonight and then finished watching the Emma Smith movie. So good. Then I went to Cooper's intramural soccer game. It was the championship game...but they lost. And now I'm at the library. Watching tv, blogging, pinterest, talking, just about everything but studying.

So why am I at the library you ask? Evidently it's fun to be at the library at close, and since I don't have classes in the morning I'm trying it. I can almost guarantee this is a one time thing. The only bad news is the library currently has extended hours for finals so it looks like I'm going to here until 2 a.m. Funnnnnnnnn. I think it's about time to make a snack run and find a vending machine. 

Beautiful Endings

I think Heavenly Father knew I needed beautiful weather today. Today I had my last Book of Mormon AND human development class. My two most favorite classes. Over. It could have been really depressing, but thanks to the perfect weather being in a bad mood was out of the question.

Brother Johnson finished the year with yet another amazing lesson. And to make it even better, Mark actually came to class! He hasn't been in a couple months, so I was super happy he showed up. It seemed like today was all about being a good parent. And not just in class. But that's where it started. Brother Johnson talked a lot about the innocence of children and how as parents it will be our responsibility to teach them. About everything. But especially repentance. We also talked about gifts of the Spirit. It was good to be reminded of the gifts I have and the gifts I want to develop. The other topic we talked a lot about in Book of Mormon class today was charity. We talked about how to obtain charity: pray with all the energy of your heart. I know from experience that praying to love someone works. I'm going to miss that class, and I look forward to taking New Testament with Brother Johnson next fall.

Human development class was so good today. Goodness I'm going to miss that class a lotttt. Professor Walker is amazing. Hopefully I can take more of her courses in the future. Today we finished up our lecture on parenting and then reviewed for the final. Before we ended class Professor Walker shared several bits of wisdom. She shared the tale of Abu Kassem's slippers. It's all about owning your past. She told us that no matter what our past was like, we have agency to overcome nature and nurture. She gave the example of Limhi in the scriptures being righteous when his father (King Noah) had been oh so wicked. Another bit of wisdom I loved was a quote from a child psychologist. He said kids need someone to have an "irrational emotional attachment" to them. Or in other words someone needs to "be crazy about that kid." I am so excited for the future! I already love my future family so much!!!!

After class, I headed to the temple. Since it was so warm and sunny, I decided to get some ice cream on the way. It really doesn't get much better than that - walking to the temple in perfect weather while eating an ice cream cone. I seriously could not have been happier. I even took the longer way to the temple.

The temple was more crowded than usual, but I was glad for the excuse to stay in the Lord's house for a little longer than usual. I needed that today. I had time to read a lovely article in the Ensign about following the prophet's counsel and some scripture we had talked about in Book of Mormon class that I wanted to know more about. Plus I had time just to think and pray. I guess I've had a lot of things on my mind and it was good to take a time out and focus on those things that are most important.

I decided to take a walk after the temple. It was just too beautiful outside to go straight home. I called Mom and talked to her as I was walking. She reminded me that I get to share a closet (and its contents) with Livia this summer :) Yay for finally having a sister I can share clothes/shoes with! At one point in the conversation Mom really scared me. She did that thing I do, where I start telling a story just expecting people to know what I'm thinking or the other part of the story without saying it. She kept talking about how she and Aunt Tonia were talking about how I didn't "live up to my potential". I didn't know what to say! But then I realized she was talking about how they thought I was going to be tall and I ended up being short. Hahahahaha, maybe I should've drank my milk growing up.

Tonight's dinner was full of interesting conversation. Oh dear. Silly Carine made a big deal about finding out old news. Once some people left and it was just me, Megan, Thomas, and Matt we ended up talking about anatomy (since Thomas had his anatomy book with him). It started out with the digestive system, but eventually we started talking about babies. See, I told you today's theme was parenting.

Anyway, Caroline wants me to go listen to a song she wrote. Then I guess I should work on the website. But I'll probably end up watching more of the Emma Smith movie...

Sugar Overload

I love having my desk covered in candy, but I think I'm going into sugar overload. Way too many pixie sticks. Fair warning: I am crashing from a sugar high so this post may jump around a lot.

Writing class today was fun. We did a picture scavenger hunt of sorts with our groups. My group won 2 bonus points - whoop! Work was pretty slow today so I had a lot of time to work on our website. I think it's coming along quite nicely. It looks pretty professional, if I say so myself. I like it.

Since I worked on the website for a long time at work, I decided not to work on it this evening. Instead, I worked on my bubble video for art class. It's finished! It turned out pretty cute. Haha, it makes me laugh a lot that I did a ten hour project on BUBBLES. In college. I love my life. I would post the video, but it's too big I think. I tried and it wouldn't work. You'll just have too trust me, it's good stuff. And with the bubble video done, the website for writing is my last assignment before finals (and technically that's kind of part of my wrtg150 final).

This afternoon I did some online shopping. I bought my swimsuit for the summer! I figured I deserved a new swimsuit for working hard all year. Plus I haven't gotten a new one in a couple years and I'll have a pool this summer and will thus need a new swimsuit. I am super excited. I hope it fits and is super cute in person. If not, I guess I can always send it back. I was going to order my summer reading from Deseret Books today (I have a coupon). But one of the books I want is only on pre-sale now so I would have to pay an extra $3.75 or something. Ridiculous. So I'm just going to order the books in a week or two. Save a few bucks.

Tonight we had our ward closing social. We had lots of yummy pizza and watched a slideshow of pictures from this year. Such fond memories. After the slideshow we watched a couple videos people from the ward submitted, and then we just cleaned up and visited. And took pictures. Lots of pictures. I think everyone is starting to feel the end drawing near and wants a billion pictures to remember this incredible year. I'm not complaining. I don't want to forget a thing.

I've noticed that I've started having to put forth a concentrated effort to not mope when I'm with all my friends. I just want to pout and cling to them. I'm going to miss them. But I know that being pouty and clingy would get annoying reallll quick, so I focus on being happy. It's better that way anyway. I don't want to miss out on any fun by moping around.

After the ward activity Greta and Tara came over to watch the Carine video and my bubble video. I love it when people come visit my room :) It's like a party.

I started watching the Emma Smith: My Story movie on Hulu tonight, but I stopped because I can tell my sugar high is fading quickly and I'm about to crash. It's really good so far though. I'm going to try to finish it sometime this week.

Goodnight little blog.

Happy Easter!

Today was a great day. Everytime we have a holiday and I'm away from home I worry that it'll be kind of a bummer. But today was wonderful.

I woke up to a lovely Easter basket from Caroline :) She made it out of a tissue box! So creative.

I made her Easter basket out of Nutty Bars, and Megan and Greta's out of Reese's! They all loved their baskets.

Candy is fun, but I liked our Easter service at church more than any chocolate I've ever tasted. We had three fabulous musical numbers in Sacrament meeting. People at BYU are so talented. Violin, piano, flute, singing...SO many talents! They really brought the spirit to the meeting and helped me focus on the atonement. All of the talks were super good, but Eve's talk especially stood out to me. She told us about this special needs girl named Ellie who she knew in high school. There is actually an article about her in the Ensign. It's an amazing article and I highly suggest reading it.

Another thing I recommend checking out is the short video He is Risen. It is a great video about the atonement. It shows the Easter story in a moving way. I found it difficult to watch, but it made an impact.

After church Megan, Caroline, Carine, and I had a photo shoot. The pictures turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. We had a blast taking them too. We were being a little silly. At the end we decided to jump in this little pool/fountain thing. I'm pretty sure that's not technically allowed...but it was fun. You can see a ton of pictures from our adventure on facebook, but here's a little sample:

These are three of my favorite girls. I love them soooooo much. They have changed my life. It's going to be hard to say goodbye see ya later in a couple weeks when we part for the summer.

Even though our skirts were a bit wet from sitting in the water, we headed to dinner. We figured it would be a good story if anyone asked. The Cannon was so empty today! I guess a lot of people went home or had family dinners to go to. We sat with people from our ward and had a good time. Plus there was graham canyon ice cream! Win.

The weather today was absolutely perfect, so Megan and I spent the afternoon outside sitting on blankets. We like to do that on Sunday afternoons. Normally we sit/lay next to each other but there is very little talking. We just read or do our own things. But today we didn't even get our scriptures open. We ended up talking. For hours. It was time well spent though. I needed that conversation. We were able to talk about a lot of things that I think we needed to talk about. Megan said some things I needed to hear. She helped me recognize things about myself that I didn't realize. College would not be the same without a best friend like Megan. I am so thankful Heavenly Father put her in my life.

I spent this evening with another one of my best friends, Greta. We dyed Easter eggs. We decided to join the pinterest craze and try cooking the eggs in the oven instead of boiling them. This girl who thought she was an egg expert kept dissing it, but it worked. Our dye was a little...pastel. We used water instead of vinegar and even though we let the eggs soak for an hour they just weren't very bright. Except for the pink. Anyway, we decided we'll perfect the art before we have kids. For now it was just important to keep the tradition alive.

I love Easter, and I love my Savior. I know that it is only because Christ lived a perfect life, suffered in Gethsemane, was crucified and rose again that I too can be resurrected. I am so thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.

HAPPY EASTER! And happy birthday to my big brother, Josh!

Saturday Nights

I love the weekend. I love putting the homework away at night and hanging out with friends. Tonight was my second to last Saturday of freshmen year. And it was kind of like my last since next Saturday night I have a scheduled final until 10 p.m. Sigh...sad.

I worked the morning shift today (10:30-3:30) and there was a ton of mail. I stayed really busy, but I liked doing the mail because in the mountains of packages I found one just for me :) My mom always sends me the best packages. This package was particularly great: bright pink shoes, a peeps shirt, quality chocolate, and my magazine. I wore my peeps shirt today since peeps are an Easter treat, thus the peeps shirt is an Easter shirt.

After work I went to the Creamery to get Easter basket supplies. Caroline and I decided to make each other Easter baskets and I made small ones for Megan and Greta as well. They are fantastic. I hope they love them! I took pictures, but I don't want to post them until tomorrow. Just trust me. They are wonderful. Or at least I think so.

This afternoon we had a birthday party for all the girls on my floor. We all pretended it was our birthday and got a big cake and balloons. We had a blast! We played kiss, marry, kill and would you rather. So much fun. I am truly blessed to live with so many amazing girls.

Caroline and I left the party to go to dinner. Carine and Greta joined us. Megan showed up fashionably late. Oh, and Cami and Mary came. And Cooper and Connor. And Thomas. And Jesse and Mitch. And Devin. Wow, we go through a lot of people at dinner. I guess we were in there for a couple hours...

When we left dinner Thomas tried to leave to go do homework, but then he let it slip that the homework wasn't due until Tuesday. It took a little coaxing, but he decided to hang out with us. We were going to dye Easter eggs, but the Creamery was out of eggs. So we walked over to the Creamery Outlet, but it was closed. So we went to the Creamery on 9th and finally got our eggs. After 45 minutes of egg hunting we didn't really have time to dye eggs (boys can only be in the basement until 10). We decided we'll just dye eggs tomorrow. Megan and Thomas made hollow eggs by making a small hole and sucking out the egg and spitting it into the trashcan - gag me! It was DISGUSTING. But the finished product was pretty cool.

Because I have amazing friends, they helped me do homework on a Saturday night. Bubble project! We attempted glow-in-the-dark bubbles.

It looked really glowy in the container, but the bubbles themselves didn't look too glowy. They didn't even show up when I tried to video it, but when I took pictures the flash picked up on the colors. It was actually pretty cool.

Thomas was getting really excited about blowing bubbles and decided he was going to blow bubbles and make them stick on the tree like Christmas ornaments. I was a bit suprised, but it actually worked.

When we got bored with the bubbles we tried to fill a hollow egg with glow stick, but it didn't really work. In case you wondered, glow stick insides smell bad. Just FYI.

The rest of the night was spent just hanging out in the lobby talking. I LOVE MY FRIENDS. Tonight was a good night. Nothing particularly spectacular happened, but I loved tonight. I love that a normal Saturday night feels like the best night ever just because I have the best friends ever. Finals are coming up and they're going to try to ruin my mood, but they won't succeed. Come at me finals. I'll show you what's up.

There is nothing like a Saturday night in Provo. Except maybe a Friday night in Provo.







What the SNOW?!

Today is April 6th. Well, it's 1 a.m. so I guess it's technically April 7th, but let's stick with calling today April 6th. I wore shorts the other day. It was warm outside. I packed away my snow coat (luckily just under my bed). I saw snow in the forecast, but seeing as I didn't even wear a jacket yesterday I didn't really believe it would snow. Silly me. It snowed a lot this morning! It was like walking to class in a blizzard. Okay, that's a little bit of an exaggeration. But not much. By the time my classes were over it was only snowing a little, and by this afternoon almost all the snow had melted.

Home Sweet Home

After classes, I worked on my website for wrtg150 then had lunch with Chase and his friend from back home. It's always so funny to bring boys who aren't used to eating at the Cannon to lunch. They both got about a million plates - so funny! Lunch was cut short because I had to give a room tour and the people showed up half an hour early. The room tour was for a volleyball recruit. She wasn't that tall, but she was with the volleyball coach or a current player or something and that girl was probably double my height. I felt really short. They were super nice though.

I was super tired, so I meant to go home and take a nap but I ended up talking to Caroline for a long time. I remember when I used to think we were going to hate each other. I am SO glad things worked out and we became such great friends. Eventually Caroline left to go workout so I got my nap in. It was a nice lengthy nap. I slept until dinner.

Carine had some bubble wrap from a package her grandparents sent her, so after dinner we went to Megan's room to pop the bubble wrap - bubble wrap counts as bubbles for my 10 hour bubble project right? We ended up talking for a long time before we actually popped the bubbles. It was good though.

After our bubble wrap popping adventure we met up with Greta, Caroline, Sharnell, and Easton to go to the Enda Semesta Palooza. Kind of anti-climatic. We had fun, but we didn't stay very long. We took pictures, danced to a couple songs, and ate some snacks. Then we ditched. Honestly we didn't plan on staying long in the first place. None of us were in the mood to dance. Mostly Megan and I really wanted to watch My Girlfriend's Boyfriend. Such a good movie! I highly recommend it. We squeezed 5 girls onto my bed (Megan, Greta, Caroline, Carine and I) and watched the movie on my laptop.

Caroline REALLY wanted to do ipod idol after the movie. So funny. I just can't keep it to myself. It's too great. My absolute favorite was Carine. She sang a French song, but she didn't know all the words so she was looking at the lyrics. We were all laughing so hard. Caroline really got into her performance. She was dancing up a storm. Anyway, enjoy the videos. Try not to wet your pants.

Okay, videos take entirely too long to upload and it's entirely too late to stay up trying to make it work. I've been waiting for this video to load for forever! It's almost 2 a.m. I have the morning shift at work tomorrow. I quite. Just trust me, the videos are great. Maybe I'll post them tomorrow.

Learning

I feel like so much happened today. I probably could have had a full blog post by lunch. It's been an eventful day. Let's see if I can remember everything...

My day started off with Book of Mormon class. Well, actually it started with Reese's Puffs. Then Book of Mormon. Brother Johnson taught another amazing lesson. He's a wonderful teacher. I signed up to take his New Testament class next fall and I'm super excited about it. He has such a strong testimony and truly teaches with the Spirit. I love that class.

After Book of Mormon I got a quick hair cut, more of a trim really. I knew Jimmy would be angry if he saw my hair this summer and found that I hadn't been keeping it healthy by getting trims. Now he'll never know.

While I was getting my hair cut I got a text from my best friend back home that made me want to be home more than ever before. Normally I don't want to go home. I love home, but now I have a new home. I love visiting my family though. I don't want to make it sound like I don't like home. Anyway, with summer quickly approaching (4 days left of classes, then finals!) I've been focusing a lot on how much I'm going to miss Provo. But today I missed home. I wanted to be there for my friend. I missed her. A lot. Thank goodness for technology that allows us to communicate instantaneously!

Child development class today was super good. We talked about divorce and parenting. Professor Walker gave us a lot of advice on choosing an eternal companion. "If you wish to marry well, inquire well." - Dallin H. Oaks. We also talked a lot about how we should be the kind of parents that will help our children learn about their heavenly parents through our example. Professor Walker told us that, as a parent, it is hard to punish your kids sometimes. You see them make a poor choice, and it hurts to watch them suffer the consequences. But you have to do it. You have to follow through with your rules and consequences. I like this C.S. Lewis quote: “We want not so much a Father but a grandfather in heaven, a God who said of anything we happened to like doing, 'What does it matter so long as they are contented?” Grandparents are great, but we need fathers. And mothers.

When class was over I came home and did laundry and made a million oatmeal cookies. We were supposed to bring food to art class tonight, so I figured I should make cookies. Mostly for selfish reasons. I've been craving them, haha. Inbetween batches of cookies I worked on my final art project: bubbles. Such a silly project, but I'm having fun with it. Anyway, the cookies were a big hit in class. Confession: I accidentally put too much vanilla in...but no one noticed :)

While I was sitting in art class (paying attention...) I got a few really great texts. First, Mom sent me a longggg text telling me how proud of me she is. It was tender. Almost made me cry. But I was in class, so obviously I didn't. She also reminded me of a time in my life when I wasn't so happy. Specifically, she reminded me of an occassion when she came into my room and found me crying in my bed because I didn't think I had any good friends and I thought my life was just awful. I remember the exact time she was talking about. She told me it wouldn't last forever. Things would get better. And they have. I love life. I have amazing friends who are GREAT examples. My life was never as terrible as I thought it was at the time, but things do get better. Ari shared a quote in art class tonight that said something along the lines of how life is all about learning lessons, and we all still have lessons to learn otherwise we wouldn't be alive. I am thankful for the lessons I've learned and the lessons I'm learning.

The other good text I got in art class was from Wade from back home in Louisiana. He got his mission call today! He's going to Peru :) He's super excited. But that wasn't his only exciting news; he's coming to Utah next week! He's hoping to get to come visit me in Provo and get some In-and-Out. I hope it works out! It would be so fun to see him.

Oh dear, this blog post is getting long. I'll try to some up the rest of the night. I came home, did homework. Talked to Car-Car. Then talked to Thomas in the lobby for a couple hours. He taught me some things. Well, I guess he does that everytime I talk to him. Anyway, probably the most interesting thing he taught me tonight was about the priesthood. I love that BYU conversations turn to spiritual things so often.

I feel like I did a lot of learning today. And I love it.

2 productive days in a row?

Ladies and Gents, I have done it again. I was productive two days in a row. I mean, I'm generally productive, but we're talking ahead of the game productive.

In writing class this morning we met with our groups to work on our websites. I was put in charge with design, which I am super excited about. Oil and foreign dependency isn't exactly my forte, so I'm glad I have to do zero research. I just have to make everything look good. At first I was a little worried about finding pictures that were free to use, but then I remembered I have fantastic older brothers. Joe works with oil rigs and Josh is in the army. They are such wonderful resources. Joe already emailed me some fantastic pictures. Yay for not having to worry about copyright laws! Well, I mean, I'll still give them photo credit, I just don't have to worry about getting sued.

We watched a documentary about Planet Earth in bio. And by "we watched a documentary about Planet Earth" I mean I talked to Greta. Very interesting conversation too. Mostly about boys, haha. It's like we're in junior high all over again. Minus the drama. I'm not sure if I put this in my post for yesterday, but my friends have voted me most likely to be the first married. Hahahahahaha, funny huh? The best part is they all think I'm super comfortable around boys and that I'm an expert flirt. I told my best friends from high school that and they thought it was hilarious. They know I'm a novice.

Work today was busy, busy. But good. Mission calls came early, so I was able to hand several very excited boys their mission calls. Such a sweet moment. I love the look they get in their eyes. We also had about a million walk-in room tours. And another busy mail day. The Easter bunny has evidently gone postal, and every Helaman Halls resident is getting a package. Speaking of Easter, I need to make Caroline's Easter suprise...hehehe

After work, I finished my lesson plan for art class and studied for my Book of Mormon quiz. We had a relatively short dinner - under an hour - and then I took my Book of Mormon quiz. I went directly from the testing center to an extra credit movie night for biology. Then I came home, wrote my summary for bio and emailed it to my TA. Halfway through my summary I took a break to attend a mandatory check out meeting. Now I'm blogging. Then....BED! Whew! I'm a busy lady. But tomorrow will be a different kind of productive. Not so much academically. Tomorrow is hair cut, laundry, and cookie baking day. And maybe some bubbles.

Being productive is tiring, but it feels good. I want to get everything possible out of the way so that I can have a super fantastic weekend! It's gonna be a fun one.

Wundervoll (German for Wonderful) Day

I love Caroline, I really do. But we have some alarm issues. Her dang alarm goes off about 5 million times before she wakes up, but I'll admit it has gotten better since last semester. So this morning when her alarm went off for several minutes without her getting out of bed, I assumed it was just the usual. But it just. kept. going. Eventually I yelled "Caroline! Turn it OFF!" but when she didn't respond I decided to just do it myself. When I looked over in her bed, Caroline wasn't even there! Haha, the silly goober got out of bed the first time her alarm went off and then forgot to turn it off. It's a good thing I love her.
Today was a really productive day. Unfortunately, it's also after midnight and I'm still awake...and I have an 8 a.m. class tomorrow. Gross. I went to class, cleaned part of my room, watched devotional, went to the temple, had a fantasticly long conversation with Megan, spent entirely too long at dinner, finished all my reading for all my classes for the rest of the semester, did the majority of my lesson plan for art class, took a quiz, and scheduled classes for next fall! Woooh, I'm exhausted just looking at that list. I almost forgot to blog, but have no fear obviously I remembered last minute.

Story time:
When I got to the temple today I was suprised at the number of people in the baptistry. Normally it's pretty slow when I go on Tuesdays, but there were tons of people today. A lot of younger kids. So many boys that couldn't have been more than 14 or 15. TONS OF THEM! They were whispering to each other, and I wasn't quite sure they were even speaking English, but then again I haven't been around many people under 18 lately so I didn't think much of it. But then I found out they were from Germany! They had traveled as a ward young men and young women's  to America for General Conference. They were the sweetest people ever. They made me fall in love with German people. They called me "Sistuh Hamituh" or something like that. Absolutely adorable. And the little boys were so gentlemanly. They insisted on ladies first. Stole my heart. I am so blessed to have gotten to meet the youth from Germany. I'm jealous that my friend, Ryder, gets to serve his mission in Germany! I told him he should find me a nice man while he's over there ;)

On my way home from the temple, I called Mom. Just like every Tuesday. Liv answered and I got to talk to her for awhile. Goodness I love that girl. She was sooooo excited because she ate breakfast at Taylor Swift's favorite restaurant in Nashville. Haha, and she an Elvis impersonator kissed her. Liv almost gave me a heart attack when she paused when I asked if that was her first kiss. Oh dear. Silly little Livi.

I ran into Megan when I got back to the dorms, and we ended up stopping in the stairwell and chatting for over an hour. That spot on the stairs has sort of become "our spot". Everyone passing by just laughs and says "y'all are here again?" Minus the y'all. People here don't really say that. Oooh! Speaking of the way people talk - Mom told me I sound like I'm from Utah. Yikes. Freshmen goal destroyed. Haha, oh well. I tried not to get the accent, but I guess it was inevitable. Anyway, my talk with Megan was really good. I needed that.
Then we went to dinner for wayyyy too long. Which is pretty normal for us. I laughed my head off. My friends are great. I think they should package up my pals and sell them as the best ab workout EVER! They would sell millions.

When I came home from dinner, I decided I needed to make up for not doing homework all day by working really hard. So I did. And I got a lot accomplished. Plus I was able to do my scheduling for next fall. It's looking good. Real good. However, my tiredness level is not looking good for tomorrow. It's 1 a.m. Class starts in 7 hours...

Goodnight.

JDawg - CHECK!

I am getting old. How do I know this? Waking up for my 8 o'clock class after working until 12:15 a.m. was just too much. I did it, but it wasn't easy. Ohhh man. I love sleep. I should sleep more. Unfortunately college life does not agree *heavy sigh*

Classes today were good. In writing we talked about website design and then spent the rest of class working on our lovely group website. I think it's going to turn out really well! Bio was the usual. Prof. Smith talked about parachuting cats? Yeah, I don't know either... so don't ask. Gotta love biology.

Work today was super busy. We had several walk-in tours, and TONS of mail. I think every resident in Helaman is getting an Easter package. It was insane. It's kind of funny because when I was putting the packages on the shelves in the mailroom I could just tell some packages were full of candy. They reaked of sugar. Even on super busy days, I love my job. Which is why I'm superrr excited that I'll get to work their next year as well. Such a blessing.

After work I hit the books. I thought I was almost done with schoolwork, and then I reaized I have about a billion projects to do. And a couple quizzes. And reading. Ahhhhhh!!!! I thought I was done. But oh no, there is much to do. It's a little stressful, but I can do it.

I took a study break to go to FHE. We went to JDawgs to eat dinner for our activity. I have been hearing about these infamous jdawgs all year, so I'm glad I finally got one. I feel like it's one of those things every BYU student is expected to do. Sing the fight song, stand in line at the testing center, hike the Y, eat a jdawg. JDawgs are these yummy hot dogs with a special sauce. The sauce is similar to a sweet barbeque sauce. Kind of. It was good, but nothing I think I'll crave. Raising Cane's sauce is still the boss.

After FHE I went to the Creamery and stocked up on all my boxed foods. Haha, that wasn't really the goal, but I ended up leaving with lots of boxes. Reese's Puffs, Waffle Crisps, Banana Nut Granola cereal, and a box of cheese crisps. So many boxes. Haha, but all delicious foods. Easton tried to make me put back my unhealthy cereals; he failed. Sometimes I just need a bowl of sugary goodness to get me through the day.

When I got back from the store I read for child development and thennnn.....I watched Once Upon a Time!!!! I love that show. I'm a bit obsessed. After I watch a new episode each Monday I go crazy trying to analyze it. A few parts were especially bothering me tonight (such as Catherine's reappearance), but Zack joined me in my analysis and had some good theories. I guess I'll make it another week before I get my questions answered.

Well, back to the homework dungeon. Haha, actually not really. The real homework dungeon is the library and I tend to avoid that place like the plague. I think I'll just do some reading from the comfort of my bed until I fall asleep. I like that better.

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

I loved going to conference in person, but I'm a big fan of pajama conference days. I woke up this morning and watched the part of yesterday morning's session of conference that I missed since I was on my way to SLC. It was lovely. I stayed in my pj's and ate lots of snacks through the entire Sunday morning session. I sat at my desk so I wouldn't be tempted to fall asleep. The talks were all so good.

Between sessions of conference I...well, I don't really remember. Hmm, that's probably not good. I think I read my scriptures. Maybe pinterest? I really don't remember. Sad. Oh yeah! I took a shower. But that doesn't take two hours, so I'm not sure what I did for the rest of the time. Whatever.

I spent my afternoon watching the last session of conference and then doing some FamilySearch indexing. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of indexing this summer since I probably won't have the opportunity to go to the temple every week. Hopefully I'll still be able to attend frequently though.

This whole conference weekend made me miss home. As I sat in my dorm eating chips and salsa and granola bars, I thought of all the yummy food my family must be eating. Conference weekend = food weekend. At home I would have had a whole kitchen to gorge on. Sigh...my conference snacks this year were quite limited. Next year maybe we'll make a conference feast. I made up for my lack of snackage by pigging out at the Cannon. Bethany and Derek joined us for dinner :) I was a bit disappointed in the lack of ice cream choices today. That's always one of the best things about Sundays in the Cannon, but since so many people go home for conference I guess they decided to limit the ice cream supply. Yes, I am spoiled. The Cannon will do that to you. But they had macaroons, so I forgave their lack of ice cream choices.

After dinner I attempted to take a nap, but it didn't really work because I wasn't tired enough. I liked just laying in bed thinking though. Quiet time is good sometimes. Then Car-Car came home :) I was so excited to see her! I missed her soooo much. It was weird sleeping in an empty room. I think I'm a little scared of the dark without Caroline there to protect me. But that crazy girl is home again. Thank goodness. Also, Caroline planned out her next several months of workouts...she's a weirdie. But a healthy weirdie.

Now I am at work. Yuck. I really don't like working on Sundays, but at least I don't actually have to do very much work. I just sit here and unlock/lock doors every now and then. I had a few visitors, which always helps the time pass more quickly. And I got two compliments from two random boys. That's always a plus. Anywayssssss, I have to talk Quinn. It's story time.