memorial day weekend.

Even though every weekend is a 4-day weekend for me, it was still nice to celebrate a holiday when everyone else has a break from school and work as well. It was also nice to sleep in!

We had about 50 billion ideas of things we could do, including St. George or California, but we decided on a quiet weekend in Provo.

Friday was pretty chill. I don't even remember what I did during the day, but that night Mitch and I went to the park and played bocce ball. I won! (barely) and then we threw around a football and frisbee while we talked. It was so fun to just be outside enjoying the weather. We then got dinner and watched a movie.

Saturday I attempted to do homework until Greta came over and we just caught up on life. I hadn't seen her in f o r e v e r! The more I talk to my friends I realize how old we're becoming. We're all just moving forward with our lives in school and jobs and internships and future plans. It's kind of scary, but also exciting.

We decided to go up to our friend Tyler's cabin and we also convinced Greta to come with us! I was so excited to be spending the weekend with her. All she requested was a Sodalicious stop on the way up. We quickly packed up an overnight bag and headed up the canyon. That drive never gets old. It's absolutely gorgeous! And the mountains are so green right now which makes them so much more enjoyable to look at.

The cabin is in Fruitland which is legit the middle of nowhere but it was so cool! We passed a cow that was literally in the middle of the street! There was lots of red rock too which normally you think of as being in southern Utah. The road into the cabin off the highway is so dusty and rocky and bumpy. Mitch was like, "Who needs Disneyland when you have your own roller coaster right here!"

When we got up to the cabin they were just finishing a game so we went and hit golf balls off the back porch. Then we started a fire and just talked and laughed and looked at the stars. We finished off the night with a movie which I have no idea what happened because I was sooo ready for bed.

The next morning we got up and got ready for church. We drove back to the highway and then two min down the road was a little white church with A LOT of cars. We were thinking that the 9 of us would be the ones to double the size of the branch. But no. Lots of other people must have been staying up at their cabins for the weekend and they were getting a new branch presidency. When we got there during the opening song, we quickly realized that the church was completely packed. Not only was the chapel full, there were also chairs lined up on both sides in every single hallway. So we found our spot in the kitchen. I mean, there's a first for everything right?? We basically only got the songs and the prayers out of it, but we tried to be reverent the whole time. It was definitely an experience. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching church movies and napping. It was actually quite perfect.

We stopped by this reservoir on the way home which was so pretty. I LOVE being in nature. We really live in such a beautiful world! We spent the next hour and a half jammin to Disney and Wicked.

On Monday, slept in until 10:30. Honestly can't remember the last time I ever did that. It was glorious. We spent our first day of the season at 7 Peaks. A ton of people in our ward have a Pass of All Passes so we plan on spending a lot of time there and doing other fun activities together as well. That pass is seriously such a good deal. The weather could've been a touch hotter but it was sunny and warm so we really couldn't complain. We finished the night by playing some tennis, doing homework and then we went to Mitch's brother's house for dinner and the Warrior's game! It was a solid Memorial Day.

mother's day 2016

I can't remember the last time I was home for Mother's Day but I hope that some year soon I will be able to share this special day with my mom. But even though I wasn't able to spend time with her, I was able to think an awfully lot about her. As with everyone else, I'm pretty convinced that my mom is the best mom in the entire world and I won't let anyone tell me otherwise. 

The truth of the matter is I would love nothing more than to be just like her, but hard as I try, I will never be able to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich like she does, or make a bed like she does, or organize the dish washer like she does. Among more important things, I haven't been able to diligently study the gospel like she does or put others above myself like she does, or even listen to people like she does.

I heard a quote about mothers this week that I felt described my mom perfectly, but I can't find it, so I just found some other ones I liked. 

I've always loved this one because I feel like we live in a world that is disintegrating in values and clearly attacking the family and the role of women.

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. 

The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. 

There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. 

There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. 

We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. 

We have enough greed; we need more goodness. 

We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. 

We have enough popularity; we need more purity" 

-Margaret D. Nadauld

"When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children." 

-Julie B. Beck

My mom knows who she is. She lives a life full of love and service to all those she comes in contact with. She is constantly strengthening her testimony and has established the necessary habits to have a continuous conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. She is an amazing teacher who teaches the things that matter most; not only to her children but to the friends of her children and to the young women that she serves at church. She values education. She never had a formal college education but I am so impressed by how she constantly takes it upon herself to learn all that she can about literally everything through a wide variety of experiences. She does this through reading books, going to museums, traveling, talking with others, and doing research. She is an example to me every single day of how one should live life to the fullest and focus on the truly important things. 

Like all of us, she sometimes has feelings of self-doubt or inadequacy or failure. But she knows who she is. And like Sister Beck said, those women of God have great power and influence over their children. I often find myself reflecting on what my mom would do in a certain situation or thinking about how excited she would be about some beautiful scenery or a handwritten letter. I think about how when I want to call her first thing in the morning, she's probably awake and not only that, she's probably doing the laundry or writing a letter to someone or studying her scriptures. I try to live every day doing the things that I know she would be proud of and hoping that in some way I can repay her for the countless hours she gives to me. Whether that's listening to me, or praying for me, or making a sacrifice financially. Her influence runs deep and she deserves to be told that more often.

I love the talk by Sister Beck titled "Mothers Who Know". Here are a few of the highlights from the talk.

I LOVE YOU MOM!!!

hello may

Everything just seems to be going a little bit too fast. I've been a little MIA on the socials and I started to think about how the things I've been doing in my life just haven't seemed very "post-worthy". I mean, unless you're into the whole messy room, crazy planner, barely surviving the madness/currently laying in bed with strep kinda pics, then I think it's ok to take a pass for a while.

I then started to thinking about all the things I'm grateful for. Just because my life isn't very glamorous at the moment doesn't mean that I'm not doing good things. Just because my profiles aren't full of flawless selfies or trips to Disneyland, or vacations to the beach, doesn't mean that I'm not doing meaningful things. Here's my gratitude for the week:

-the opportunity to be in a classroom 4 days a week and learn from an amazing mentor teacher and cute 3rd graders
-being busy! sometimes it seems like a curse, but I would rather have my schedule full rather than finding things to do
-springtime! I love all the flowers that are popping up and how much more green the valley is getting. It makes my drive to school much more enjoyable
-good books. I've been able to read a lot for leisure lately and I just absolutely love it!

Most importantly, I'm grateful for the gospel. Elder Maynes devotional tonight was amazing. It totally hit on all the things that are important to me. From stories in the Old Testament which reminded me of the knowledge and experiences I gained in Jerusalem, to the history of the United States both politically and religiously which reminded me of my love for school, to the account of Joseph Smith's First Vision and the lessons we learn from that experience which reminded me of my mission and the time I spent testifying of this great event in the history of the world. I'm grateful for the restoration of the gospel. For a Heavenly Father who loves us and who speaks with us today. I'm also grateful for the priesthood and the power it has to give us salvation, help us to repent and change, and heal us from all infirmities.

Amidst the chaos of 10-11 hour days, and then the homework and lesson planning that comes on top of that, I hope I can find the time to write. I may not have beautiful pictures to accompany my thoughts but I do have a beautiful life and even though it's not perfect, there is still much to be shared and much that I hope others can benefit from.

look forward to hearing from me in the near future...