summer vibes

If there's one thing we're good at, it's having a jam-packed weekend full of  F U N.

thursday:

We went down to Manti visit Grandma T and to see the Manti Pageant. My belief is that it's something you just have to do at least once in your life. It was an absolutely gorgeous night.

We've decided that to get Greta to come someplace with us we just have to make a stop at Sodalicious and she's all in. 

I love any excuse to wear my cowboy boots. And what a more perfect place to wear them at than at a rodeo. It was so fun! It was just all around exciting and sometimes scary.

 my two faves

The very next day we got to go to Orem Fest to watch the fireworks!! I never get sick of watching firework shows. Plus, we have just the greatest friends in the world. 

I am totally loving any bit of summer I can get!

The Golden State

I'm becoming a huge fan of weekend getaways. Mitch and I hopped on a plane and it definitely fed my adventurous soul. If only I had money to do these kinds of things more often.

Off we went to HEMET, CALIFORNIA. Hometown of Mitch. It is in Southern California just about 90 minutes north of San Diego and is in a valley so it is HOT. 

It was a jam-packed weekend full of family and fun. Mitch's brother came home from his mission, serving in the Kentucky Louisville Mission. He returned with a cowboy hat and boots to match. 

I realized as I'm writing this post that I didn't take any pictures the whole weekend. Such a bummer! Now the only thing I have to remember the trip are just my words. 

We went to visit his grandparents who live around the corner. They are the sweetest. Old people are the best. The two greatest features of the house were the tree closet and the candy closet. Not even kidding, they have a closet that is big enough to fit an  e n t i r e  Christmas Tree plus the train tracks. That way they never have to take it down during the year, it just slides right into the closet. So. Cool. 

The candy closet was just a bigger version of my grandma's candy counter. Just full size candy bars and every other candy you can imagine all in boxes. By the door are plastic baggies where all visitors are invited to grab a bag and fill it with whatever candy they want. Let's just say we were set for the trip home. 

We spent the afternoon in the pool, playing water basketball, talking, dunking people, diving, and trying to warm up in the hot tub. 

That evening we got the house/outside ready for the new Stars Wars movie viewing. Just a big screen in the backyard complete with all the movie treats you could imagine. It was the perfect summer night!

Before the movie, Mitch took me up to the roof of the house to watch the sunset. 

I'm kind of a sucker for pretty sunsets, rooftops, and handsome boys. 

I'm also a fan of California. 

There's just something about sunshine and palm trees that gets me. 

Sunday was the homecoming and family dinner. I was very impressed at church by all the people that absolutely raved about Mitch. It was so fun for me to see where he came from and how he was raised and to see how much people appreciate and love him! I mean, we hadn't been dating that long, but it definitely helped convince me that he's a good guy ;)

This is Hudson. He's the cutest 4 year old you'll ever meet. Everything that comes out of his mouth is hilarious.
When he first walked in the house and said hi, he asked me where my lamb was haha! His dad has quite the sense of humor...

                

We spent any spare time touring the city. Going to his dad's office, driving by the high school, their old house, going to the grocery store, the Ramona bowl, playing piano duets with his mom, and talking to lots of extended family that were there to see Andrew. 

On Sunday night, we drove down the street to see the bats. There are thousands of bats that sleep under this bridge during the day and then each night they all fly out from under the bridge. It was SO COOL but also kinda creepy. 

The weekend went by way too fast and it was a blast! Sign me up for the next trip!

human rights/TELL

So I kind of nerded out over my social studies homework last week. We had to watch this video and at the beginning I was kind of skeptical about it (just thought it was going to be one of those boring videos and that you just can't wait to get through) but it totally wasn't! It quickly turned into one of the BEST videos I have ever seen!

I have always like history. But one of the things I liked the most about it is that it related the history of human rights which shared stories of things that I am very familiar with. The most recent was when Cyrus the Great let the Jews return to Jerusalem. It was so cool to see something that I could connect with!

I learned the next day in class that I wasn't the only one that thought this was so great. Some of my classmates had even shared it on Facebook. Human rights is definitely something to think about especially with all of the turmoil of today and I loved considering what truly matters most and what we, as humans, are entitled to. This was huge in the founding of our country and also when we think about being children of God and the rights we have as a result of that as well.

I shared the video with my mom and she called me later to tell me how much she loved it too and all the extra research she had done. She looked up The Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was written in 1948 and found that Article 16 says:

Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

She then compared that to The Family: A Proclamation to the World which indicated the church's stance on the importance of the family which wasn't written until 1995. How cool that a document that was written 50 years previous outlined values and rights that are extremely important to the church and our way of life. Even though the family is currently under attack, it gives me hope that we have such documents to refer to and that serve as a reminder that there are people in society who do feel the same way as us. 

I also have been thinking about how this relates to my Teaching English Language Learners class on Family, School, and Community Partnerships. We have discussed thoroughly the rights of individuals and becoming more aware of our beliefs and how they impact our behavior in interacting with others. It is amazing to me how our experiences directly affect our opinions and biases of other cultures and those around us. Especially as teacher, it's extremely important to see student's potential and to help them be successful regardless of their background or the support they are getting at home or how they act in the classroom. There are just plain basic human rights that everyone is entitled to and we need to treat people as such.

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...

Key Words

Today I spoke in church. Right before sacrament meeting started I got this text

I just didn't even know how to respond ha! Like it was a major decision. Is it worth it? Which ones should I choose? Where should I throw them in? 

Oh, and he wasn't even there yet. But he claimed to have people listening.

I still hadn't decided for sure if I was going to do it as I got up to speak. 

The thing about this talk is that I was already taking a huge risk because I was being very REAL. I was admitting to weakness all in the hopes of touching someone's heart and saying what the spirit prompted me to.

So I didn't really want to ruin the spirit but I found some places in my talk to easily slide it in. I chose Oreos and the Wild Wild West haha! But I didn't dare look at all those people I knew were involved in this practical joke because I most definitely would have lost composure. 

Mitch walked in right as I was getting all emotional and thought there was no way I was going to do it. 

I found out later that I was the first person to ever do it! And the girl that spoke right after me did it as well. 

The biggest compliment was that they all said I hid it so well. Like no one else would've known that it wasn't part of my talk. NAILED IT. 

Here we are with our prizes. He told us to flaunt them 

YSA wards are FUN. Ya never know what you're gonna get. Creative people, I tell ya.