house of god

If you're in Utah, I would hiiiiighly recommend going to the Payson Temple Open House. It was absolutely gorgeous in every sense of the word. The outside is a very unique color but looks like a castle. The inside matches suit. With dark wood, unique paintings, a giant, grand staircase, huge, sparkly chandeliers, and the most unique furniture in the celestial room, it is fit for a king. 

I love the promise that our families can be together forever and that in the temples we can not only do work for our own salvation, but also for the salvation of countless others that didn't have the opportunity when they were here on earth. 

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to get married in the Salt Lake Temple. Today, I was seriously reconsidering. I fell in love with it! I have a friend getting married there in August and I texted her immediately after we finished and told her all about how much I loved it. She still hadn't seen it yet! 

"For the temple is a house of God, a place of love and beauty. 

I'll prepare myself while I am young, this is my sacred duty" 

Temples truly are a little piece of heaven here on earth.

f r i e n d s

I realized I've gotten kind of lazy about writing/posting pictures. My life is really exciting! I promise! Here's a few things that have happened lately.

First of all, jazz voices! For my jazz and conducting classes I had to attend 4 concerts each. It's been super fun for me because I LOVE the arts! Woo-hoo! So this concert was super cheap and I dragged along a few friends with me! I just love accappella groups. I secretly want to be in one!

Sometimes on a Sunday ya just gotta do a puzzle. It was super fun! 

aaaannd we're pretty pro! Go Mario and Luigi!

here's my boys! it's really hard to believe that we met each other 4 years ago! we've all gone through a lot and it's been so fun to strengthen our relationships and learn more about each other! they are my go-to people. they make me laugh, they listen to me ramble, they protect me, they are always up for an adventure, they are just the best. we had dinner on friday night together. probably one of the last times we'll all be together in the same place like this. ben is getting married in 2 days! jared won't be far behind him and the rest of us are still workin on it ;) so grateful for these fun people and the relationships we have!

and now for some random pics:

if you've never been to shirley's, GO NOW!!! it'll change your life.

I'm pretty much obsessed with banners. My mother is an inspiration! 

So here's my new spring one. I love it!

it's not everyday you get to learn about the color code in your marriage & family class. 

so grateful I know the expert! 

You can take the test here!

I just thought this sunset was gorgeous. It had been a really good day and I was just admiring nature on my way home and feeling super blessed.

Hart of Dixie

I was really missing my mission when I discovered this cute little show called Hart of Dixie. It's about a super small town named bluebell. It is the essence of Alabama. I may or may not have finished all 3 seasons on netflix waaaayyy faster than I should have but it was so much fun to reminisce! I think that everyone should go explore the backwoods of BAMA at least once in their lives. Ya never know what you might find down there. And maybe like Zoe Hart, you might just want to stay forever.

sundays are quite divine. this one was spent with two of my favorite people. 

church. food. sunshine. friendship. 

it really can't get any better than that.

Meet Greta.

She is just one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. She is so smart and works so hard, especially in school. She is athletic, has a super pretty smile, and absolutely loves her family. She just came home from serving in Portugal and I'm so happy to have her back! She's been one of my best friends since the seventh grade. That's about nine years. Holy Cow! We've gone through it all together. and I just can't wait for all the many memories yet to come. Look out Provo, we're here to stay this summer! Adventures are on their way!

Meet Philip. 

He has quite the personality. There is never a dull moment with him around! He is one of the most selfless people I know. He is talented beyond belief especially when it comes to art and dancing. He loves to make people laugh and is a great athlete as well. He sacrifices so much for those he cares about and has an amazing testimony of the gospel. He trusts in God like no one I have ever seen before. Although we've only been friends for 3 1/2 years, we have grown super close this year. I am so grateful for his listening ear and for his support. 

our walk to remember

I am really going to miss this job. I'm going to miss these girls. I'm going to miss planning programs like this! We had our last activity together today. We took a walk up to the temple. While there we sang, prayed, had a small thought, shared some testimonies, and then did some journal writing. It was a great way to end the year and reflect on how we've grown individually and what we learned throughout the year. These girls amaze me with their testimonies, their strength, and their desire to build friendships and become better.

“It is often in the trial of adversity that we learn those most critical 

lessons that form our character and shape our destiny” 

– Dieter F. Uchtdorf

-“I promise you that one day you will stand aside and look at 

your difficult times,  you will realize that he was always there beside you” 

–President Thomas S. Monson

-What does it mean for you to come unto Christ?

-What does it feel like in those character-building times and how do you get through them?

la conferencia general

What a wonderfully splendid weekend. Semiannually in October and April I get to look forward to my birthday and half-birthday! ha! Just kidding. Those are only added bonuses to C O N F E R E N C E weekend. I get seriously excited weeks before because it's pretty much the best weekend ever having the opportunity to listen to prophets and apostles of the living God.

I had quite the list of questions this time and some were answered right then and there and others I can't wait to go back and study the talks even deeper to find answers!

I was able to go up to Salt Lake both days and it was fabulous! We had tickets Saturday morning and there is just something I love about being in the conference center with thousands of other people that have the same beliefs you do and being in the presence of the prophet. ahhh so great!

The rest of the sessions we spent in the theater in the visitor's center which was also fabulous! And you get to beat the rush of all the people at the conference center. In between the sessions on Saturday we took a walk up to the Capitol building. Jordan worked as an intern up there this semester so he gave us the tour. I was fascinated by it all! It brought back memories of my AP Government days when I learned about all that stuff and I was reminded about how much I loved it! There is just this energy there and it's so classy! I was just eating it all up! And Jordan was able to answer all my questions. What an incredible experience he had!

can you spot mary??

going down the stairs like a princess :)

Being with two boys, food is definitely a priority. So bright and early Saturday morning after we had left at 7:30am so by the time we got to Salt Lake and parked we had to make sure to go get breakfast before being in the conference center at 9:30 which gave us about 20 minutes. Kneaders was a fantastic choice and they whipped those french toast out STAT. and then right after the second session we sprinted out of there to get dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Talk about fine dining! Sunday was a whole different story. We lived off of graham crackers literally all day. From the time we woke up, until about 10 that night. It was a rough day haha! But the spiritual nourishment kind of made up for it.

We ended that night by going to the Genesis concert. It was quite the different experience to have in an LDS chapel but I think it's really cool that others are given the opportunity to share their faith and culture. Philip was singing with the ROC (Remember Our Culture) choir. They are absolutely amazing! I love their music and their passion. They testify so strongly about our Savior.

I am energized, renewed, and inspired to continue on and keep enduring joyfully through this wonderful life! I am grateful that God still speaks to us today and that He has given us a plan to return to live with him. I'm excited to see what the next 6 months have in store!

have courage and be kind

My world was changed last week. I went on a girl's date with Alli to see Cinderella. oh.my.goodness. What a completely magical experience! Cinderella has been my favorite Disney princess for as long as I can remember and this movie only made me fall in love with the story even more. It teaches about kindness and goodness and believing in your dreams and earning your happily ever after and the importance of family and just everything beautiful and lovely in this world.

Ever since I saw it I have had the soundtrack on repeat. It provides a peaceful background when I'm at home and a sense of empowerment when I'm walking on campus. Call me crazy, but I might be a little obsessed. Most importantly though, it just makes me really happy. And we should fill our lives with the things that make us happy right?

I am convinced that fairy tales do exist and that Prince Charming is out there! I just have to find him. I saw a quote once that said "She believed in fairy tales alright, but she also believed in doing something about them. When prince charming didn't come, she went to the castle and got him." Now. I firmly believe in men pursuing, but I also believe that it's important for a girl to know what she wants and to go after it!

My goal is to be more like Cinderella. She has such grace and she is so hardworking and kind. She had an incredible sense of who she was and didn't let anyone change her or make her bitter regardless of the circumstances she was in. She waited patiently while continuing to do the right things and she was blessed for it. She got everything she could hope for and more and I can't think of anyone who is more deserving of such privilege and love. The prince saw what was on the inside and that shone through and made her absolutely beautiful in every way.

if the shoe fits...

Go see the movie! It will add some magic to your day and remind how good the world truly is.

Do You Hear the People Sing?

I have such a love for theater. Well mostly just musicals. But they are such a great form of entertainment. I was absolutely delighted when Elijah asked if I wanted to go to Les Mis with him. Of course I said yes!

It is an absolutely incredible story of redemption and love and fighting for what you believe in. The songs are so powerful. You get to see so deeply into each character and how they react to the situations they're in.

The hale center theater is so small and intimate, all the action is happening right in front of you! And I don't think there's a bad seat in the house. It was so fun!

It was a beautiful spring night and I had a blast with such a good friend!

my march madness

I did it! Holy cow. Never have I exercised so much in my life. I am so grateful for the experience though! Although it was only 31 days, I learned so much!

Like how much I still hate running. Or how I really valued the time that I was able to unplug while biking and get some leisure reading in. Or how much I missed being in the pool. 

It was so fulfilling to make a goal and then stick to it. It was a pretty big time commitment because I'm such a beginner but it was so cool to see all the improvement I made too! And let's be honest, my legs were sore 90% of the month, but they got so much stronger. I got faster too! It was kind of weird scheduling when I was going to work out and plan my day around it, but I felt so good about it! 

It also helped me to understand the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. My next goal is to work on some toning! Also, I discovered the distance for some walking routes and love spending time outside. Maybe if I'm feeling super adventurous I'll start working on my running ha!

temple days

We have been having the most beautiful spring here in provo. 

Which automatically calls for using up as much sunlight as possible in the great outdoors. 

When not in class you can easily find me sitting up at the temple. 

I am so grateful for the temple that is literally right up the street. 

"Every temple lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power of god and Godliness, moves the heavens in mighty power in our behalf, invokes and calls down upon us the blessings of the Eternal God" 

George Q. Cannon

It has been my safe haven for the past couple weeks. It is amazing how peaceful it is up there! Just another testimony that it truly is holy ground. Even if there's lots of people around, you can't even hear them. It's like the wind carries their words away and the peaceful silence is maintained. 

I.LOVE.IT.

Sitting on my blanket with a gentle breeze, reading, pondering, or writing has become something I look forward to. In fact, I crave it. If I could, I would spend all day in my own little world. 

"In addition to the closeness we feel to the Lord when we are in the temple, we can continue to receive blessings even after we have returned to our everyday lives. Attending the temple gives us a clearer perspective and a sense of purpose and peace."

so much learning

Holy cow. Where did the semester go???

I can't believe there's only a week and a half left of class! I have absolutely loved this semester! It has been soooo chill.

By far though my favorite classes has been my violin and voice lessons. Do those even count as classes? Ha! Both of my teachers are amazing!

I can't believe how much I didn't know about violin. Each week I learn something completely new. I've worked a lot on my vibrato this semester and also just the overall tone of my sound. It's fascinating to learn more about how your instrument works and how you can effectively use it.

That also goes for voice. Who knew that singing could be such an ab workout!  I think we've spent the most amount of time working on breathing. My teacher is hilarious and definitely effective! This last week we were doing planking and sit ups while singing. Crazy! My range has increased a lot and I absolutely love increasing my repertoire!

One thing I feel like I've struggled a lot with this year in my music is performing. For some reason I have this mental block. Really what it comes down to is me just caring too much about what people think. But this past week has been really monumental and we've been making some breakthroughs as I've had some self discovery moments. It's been great!

Each and every day I am so grateful for the talents Heavenly Father has given me and for the opportunity to use them and improve upon them. It has been such a blessing to study music here at buy and I can't wait for the opportunities that I'll have in the future!