Thankful

I'm just feeling very thankful right now. And I realized that I never got the change to blog about my wonderful trip home for thanksgiving, so I decided now was a great time for an update. Let me tell you why I'm feeling so thankful.

First of all, I had a fabulous time during my week home for thanksgiving. The family, the food, the fun... it was all so great! Unfortunately I didn't take enough pictures. But here are some of what I have. There is just no feeling like being at home. Honestly. I just love it! I do love this picture of Joseph and I though. Ok, those dang ducks were SO SCARY! Why do they think it's ok to get so close? Seriously, it is just so uneccesary. I just wish they'd stay in the water. And of course... I got pooped on. Also, scooter and I missed Steph, but still managed to get the job done and eat ourselves sick... way to go, man!

Next, I am so thankful and happy to say that I passed Chemistry! Well, I guess grades aren't technically out yet, but I am 99% sure. I still won't 100% believe it until I see it, but it looks good. Do you know what this means? I AM DONE WITH THE LIFE RUINING SUBJECT OF CHEIMSTRY FOREVER!!!!! There are no words to describe how that makes me feel. I am SO thankful for my Tutor. I can personally guarentee you that you've never had a better tutor. He was so flexible with my crazy schedule and he would meet with me multiple times a week, all when he wasn't even technically the tutor for my teacher. He was my tutor for 105 too and I give all the credit to him! To be that patient with me, while trying to learn Chemistry was a serious blessing to me! Goooooood Byeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And lastly, at least for now, I'm incredibly thankful for all of the wonderful, PATIENT people in my life right now. I'm so blessed to have so many close friends and family who encourage me, help me, and always make me laugh! I might have had a melt down these past couple weeks without you guys. THANK YOU!

I could go on and on, but it's time to pack. Yep- pack! I'm coming home!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

18 Months

Michael's mission has been so great. He's having the time of his life, working hard, and loves what he does. I'm doing great over here and couldn't be happier for him. He loves Taiwan, the people, and the language. He will be released on April 8th, 2009. :) Way to go, Mikey!

A Very Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween. I really do. It's so fun to dress up, and laugh, and eat yummy treats, and just have fun. This year was really great. I held strong to the wonderful Jolley family tradition of spooky dinner. It was great! There will be quite a few pictures in this post, mostly so my mom can see what we did... but I hope you all like them too. First, right after we were all free from school and work, we starting cooking cooking cooking!

This year we went with Frankenstine Guts (Spanish Chicken), Skeleton Graveyard (Salad), Snake Bread, Black Cat Brains (Green Beans), Bat Turds (Pumpkin Cookies), and the every year favorite... Ghostly Goobers. Obvioulsy you had to call the food by it's proper name in order to eat it! True Jolley style, there were "spooky suprises" in the food haha!! We all dressed up of course and it was just great.

Me,Kevin,Steph,Brooke,Matt,Mark,Jim, and Shaun

After we filled ourselves to the MAXIMUM and were scared out of our minds because of how spooky the whole evening was :), we got our running shoes on and went to run the Halloween Midnight 5k! I was SO pumped! I run most days, but this was my first organized 5k.

It was so fun!! We started with one lap around the track, then out the gates! For those of you who know Rexburg, it was up Wal-Mart street to the temple, down temple street, then back to the Hart building, and around the track again. Yes, yes running up that hill was hard. Actually real hard. I'm not a real fan of uphill running. But, I'm proud to say that we did run the whole way. It felt SO GOOD! Afterward we were all real happy. The boys beat us of course, but we won't worry about that haha :)

The Runners: Molly, Jim, Jenny, Kevin, Brooke, Me, and Mark

It was a very happy Halloween! I love this holiday and had a great time. It helps that I have wonderful friends here. Here's some more pictures. I hope everyone had a great Halloween! :)

Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat

There are no words, really. It was ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! I couldn't have been happier. Just go see it, promise? Seriously- I just cannot explain the magic of it to you. You have to experience it for yourself. Go get your tickets... NOW! The dancing was just so unbelievable and the sets and wardrob was so extravegant and just wonderful. Jill, seriously- I think you'll love the dancing... I thought of you! All of you! It's SOOOOOOO much different than the 1st 2, yet so magnificent. Now, don't you dare mock me for this... but- I cried. Yes, I cried and I'm not ashamed. Let me explain. First of all, you have to see the end and hear the last song to understand it!!! I bet you'll get emotional too! I won't ruin the suprise though. 2nd, It's the end of an era! It's like when I finished the last Harry Potter book. I cried because it's all over. BOOO!!! I want more high school musical!!!!!! The only thing that gives me hope is that there will be something else. There was Harry Potter, then HSM, now Twilight. So, I'm ready to find the next best thing I guess. But nothing can thouch HSM. I'm for real. It is incredibly entertaining. The whole thing. Once Troy's face popped up on the screen and covered that whole movie theater screen... I knew that my $7.50 was already worth it! I'm considering using my grocery money this month to go see it once a week at least. :)

Just go see it. You won't regret it!

The Best of Both Worlds

Tonight was our ward FHE Halloween party. We origionally wanted to be Gabriella and Sharpay, but we couldn't find costumes... so Steph had the GENIUS idea of being Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana!! PERFECT! So here we are! We had a great time, and can't wait for the actual Halloween night when we can perfect our custumes. We carried around my iPod in my purse set up to some little speakers playing "the best of both worlds" so that everyone would know who we were. Only the really cool kinds knew... that's right. If my siblings are reading this... please show your children! I feel that they would be so proud of their Aunt Jenni!! I'm just representing for them. 4 MORE DAYS UNTIL HSM 3 GUYS!!!!!!!! Anyway, here are some pictures of our wonderful friends and their radical costumes!

With the Bishop!

Mylie, Hannah, Penny (from Hairspray), Refs, Old lady, and Johnny Cash

Have we mentioned that we had fun?

I just cannot explain how wonderful it was to have my mom and sister come and visit me. I am so lucky! Seriously! I feel so happy about the whole thing that I don't even know where to start. I love Rexburg and I love college life and so I love when I get the chance to share it with people and show them how I live in this radical little town. It was especially fun because mom and Em have seen Rexburg change through the years. As Emily would say, I love in "deluxe" Rexburg. I gotta say, it is pretty high class and Emily did live here during the stone age apparantly. I mean, back then, Jolyn's didn't even have Smoothies... what a shame. I was so glad to open her eyes to the wonderful world of the new ever changing Rexburg.

We stayed in a hotel because my apartment is pretty dinky and it was so fun. Just hanging out with 2 people who I love so much and laughing and playing was totally what I needed. I'm a stupid school nazi freak, and they help me to realize that it's ok, and in fact, GOOD- to have fun! I just loved every second of it. I never wanted them to leave! They made me just feel so happy all weekend, there was always something to look forward to. AND- guys, I only missed 1 point... 1POINT on that test I took while you were here... I think you're my good luck charms, COME BACK!!!

They totally spoiled me rotten too :) Between all the delicious food, bookstore trips, and new broom (YES!), I was treated like royalty. Once again, I'M SO LUCKY! Basically, I could go on and on but I had a BLAST!!! Everything from laughing at the exercising baby, listening to mom snore, and surviving the snow... it was all fun in my book because of who I was with. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! You both have no idea what life savers you were to me. I know it was supposed to be your vacation, but thanks for taking care of me the whole time!

P.S- the snow left with you guys... It must have just been a special treat for my weather spoiled sister!

My Fall semester 2008 Angels :)

Adventures in Utah

Conference weekend was great! It's taken me forever to blog about it because last week was busy busy busy, but now my wonderful mom and sister are here, so I have some down time to catch up! I went down to conference with Brooke and Steph. We were so lucky and got tickets to the Saturday morning session. We stayed with my wonderful aunt and uncle Dan and Janeen the first night! It was SO FUN! It was so great to see them. I mean really, they are hilarious and when I'm with my Aunt Janeen, I can see myself. Like I know where so many of my traits came from... I am a Jolley!They were SO kind to let us stay and feed us. Ok so... conference morning... let me paint a picture for you haha!! We had to leave the house at 7:30 because my aunt and uncle live about 25 minutes from SLC with traffic. Well, we got up at 7:05. YIKES! so we didn't shower and left in a hurry hurry hurry and it was POORING down rain! SO, when we got there, we looked like bums who just rolled out of bed and then by the time we got to our seats, we were wet rats. AWESOME!! We just stuck with the theory that the pioneers never showered to listen to the prophet speak, so we were just trying to get in the real feel of things! Below is our beautiful appearance. Good thing we didn't run into the prophet!

But guess who we did run into?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!! SISTER LONI NOCK!!!!!!!!! I love my Lon Don so much!!! I have 5 friends serving in SLC! 4 on temple square and 1 in SLC. I got to see 3 of them and it was fabulous! She was just the best sister missionary I ever did see and it made my day!

After we spent a great day with Brooke's family, we headed on down to Provo to spend the night with TIFFANY AND COLLIN!!!!!! These are FABULOUS people!!! They are 2 of my best friends from here at school and I just love them so much. I miss them now that they're not in Rexburg anymore. They were so good to us! Seriously- SUCH a cute married couple. We had a blast with them and were SO thankful for their hospitality! Tiffany Hilton - I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Now, even though we were having so much fun, we were still enjoying the amazing talks given by our leaders. I was talking to my boss, Brother Tippetts, about how I used to never care about conference, but now I really do. I can honestly say that I look forward to it, and love to hear what guidance they have. I just felt filled and good after I listened. I'm positive that these men and women are called of God and I felt so lucky to be in the same room as them. It was a great weekend and spiritual upliftment and fun with my favorite friends :).

Music Music Music! The Good Kind. That makes you happy- even when you suck at school!

I feel that the best way to show your appreciation for a good band and excellent music is to spread the love. So here it goes... LISTEN TO THESE BANDS! They're amazing! First and foremost...

WE SHOT THE MOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They are from San Diego. The singer, Jonathan Jones, used to play in a band called waking ashland. I saw them play for the first time in Rexburg a year ago and have now seen them 4 times. They get bigger and bigger every time. They are now on a big tour hitting all the big cities and of course... REXBURG! :)There's actually a really great music scene here believe it or not and we're their favorite town- it's official. For those of you who know Rexburg, they sell out the Westwood... HOLLA! We were in the VERY front tonight... holding hands with jonathan (the ever so handsome singer, seriously- SO HANDSOME),rocking our little brains out, and catchin all the crowd surfers...(mom pretend you didn't read that line), ahhh it's such a rush to be at such a good show like that. And the PERFECT way to release some stress after failing a chem test and feeling horrible about yourself.

This is one of my favorite songs of their's. Look them up on iTunes, you won't regret it... Espcially you Em- I really think you'll like them :)



Everybody Else!

They opened for We Shot the Moon back in April and they were SO GOOD!! Don't you love when the openers are good? They are also very hansome, which is a bonus.



The Summer Set!

Their Drummer is a girl and she ROCKSSSSS!!! She was the cutest thing ever and just drumming her heart out. They opened for We Shot the Moon this time and I was impressed.



I hope you liked them. I've got more where that came from if you're interested in new music :)

Look What Mikey learned!

Michael is learning to play the piano! I just thought this was so amazing! He told me that he's been learning a coupld hymns, but I was so impressed when I saw this! My roommate played this duet once with her cousin and it was beautiful! When I saw Michael playing it I just got a huge smile on my face. Just watch the way he bops his head trying to stay focused haha!! Oh I just love it!He's only been playing for a matter of months, maybe even weeks and he is making real progress. I told him that he's probably better than me already! Anyway, I just wanted to share this... I think it's great!

Senior? WHAT?!

It's been forever since I've blogged! I have this crazy disease where I feel SO SO guilty if I'm not studying during every single free second of my life. I'm really trying to overcome that, because when I don't take time to do things that I want to do, then I get really stressed and no fun to be around. So, this semester- I'm trying to be a good student but also be a good friend, roommate, and just have a life again! So... speaking of being a roommate... I have once again hit the jackpot! I've had some crazies in my day and I'm happy to say that during my last year at BYUI, I will be surrounded by WONDERFUL girls! There is only 4 of us which is SO nice because 6 is far too many girls too live with. We are all junior/seniors so we are all really busy, but when we do get time together it's always so great. I really love them already. They're just fun. fun fun fun. LOVE IT! I cant believe I'm a senior. It's my last year... sad/happy/SO MANY FEELINGS! More to come soon! Here are some pictures from our family photo shoot to go on our wall :)

Melissa is right by me, then my Brookie Bear who I've lived with for quite awhile now, and Molly on the end :)

We had a killer photographer... Thanks mall :)

Mike's Homecoming!

The boys are back from their missions and we all finally got together again!

Steph and I met Bobby and Mike during our first year of EFY when we were 14. And... the rest is history :)They've become some of our greatest friends and we've been great friends ever since, spending time between sessions of EFY and then continuing to after our EFY years were over. We've had some SUPER good, funny times haha! Mike lives in Salem and Bobby in Beaverton so we definately don't get to see each other every day, but when we get together we have a great time! Bobby got home from his mission in Peru earlier this year in February and Mike just got home from his mission in Korea. So, we all got together for Mike's homecoming this last Sunday. It was GREAT! We just laughed and laughed as always!! There's never a dull moment and it was just wonderful to spend time with them again! Welcome home guys!

Oh and just a P.S for my mom and dad... LOOK- we had a fire without anything burning to the ground or anyone dying :) it was lots of fun, thanks! I hope you're having a blast! love you!

I love my family!

Yay for the family reunion! I had SO much fun. Like, I was excited for the reunion and stuff, but I just still can't believe what a blast I had! I just really enjoyed every second of talking, laughing, and playing with my siblings, parents, nieces and nephews and everyone! We hiked, we played cards, we swam, we paddle boated, we ate delicious food, we laughed, we sang, we roasted mallows, we played lots of baseball, and just had a grand time! I know you've all probably already seen great pictures from the reunion from Em and Jill's awesome blogs, but I thought I'd post some too just because they're cute :)

It's so true that the best part was watching the kids play together!! They could entertain me for hours! Oh, and I had so much fun singing and dancing with the 4-13 year olds to Hannah Montana and High School Musical. The best part was, I wasn't even pretending... that stuff is right up my alley and I LOVE IT and we just had a great time!! Right guys? I can't count how many times we sang, "The last time I freaked out, I just kept lookin down..." or "What time is it? SUMMER TIME!". And the babies!! MY GOODNESS!! they were such good campers!!! I mean, I'm not one of the mothers or anything, but it seemed to me that they all did well. and they were SO CUTE! I loved watching them play in the dirt and keep up with the older kids. AH- I love those children... all of them!!!!SO SO SO MUCH!!!!!! Being an aunt is the bomb. Seriously- I never tire of playing with my beautiful nieces and nephews!

Mom and Dad rock. That's basically what it comes down to. I love sitting by the camp fire with mom and dad every night and morning. Those are some of the funniest and best times. They put so much work into the reunion and it paid off. We had a great time! Thanks mom and dad!!!

I can't think of a better way to spend a Jolley family reunion, then camping :)

Plaid Shorts Day! Bella, Beth and I

Mom and Justin at Clearwater falls

WHAT A FEELING!

Well let's get right to it... I WENT TO THE AMERICAN IDOL CONCERT!!! Yes boys and girls... I am a very lucky girl :) The wonderful Shellie Woodmansee was so kind and invited me to go with her. I went to to SLC on Saturday and the concert was Monday. Shellie, her mom Cheri, and sister in law Tamara and I went to the concert and I have no words. It was AMAZING and more than I could've expected... let the pictures do the talking :) There are lots for your viewing pleasure, because I know we all miss seeing these people every week!

Kristie Lee Cook...Did you know she lives in Grants Pass, Oregon?!

Ramiel was SO adorable! And sounded so good... I was really impressed.

Carly is BEAUTIFUL!! And you would not BELIEVE the pipes on this girl!!! so good!

Brooke... who doesn't love this girl?!

Syesha... so so pretty, and I had no idea she could sing like she did. holy cow!

JASON CASTRO... need I say more? He was so friendly- he just mingled with us for a long time.

Right before I called him over to come say "HI" to steph on the phone :)

Right before I called him over to say "HI" to Em on the phone :)

The one, the only... DAVID ARCHULETA!!!!!!!! I can't explain to you how kind and wonderful this boy is. And his voice seriously made me cry. It was amazing. He cried too :) They said we were the loudest croud because it was his home town and he cried after his last song and said, "look what you made me do!" look it up on youtube!

The American Idol... David Cook. He was rad and sounded excellent.

Shellie and I. I just love her! We screamed like 12 year olds the whole time... but you know you would have too!

Her voice seriously blew my mind.

I cried on "God Bless America" don't laugh, it was good!!!

and bonus! my good friend Lauren is serving in Temple Square and I found her!!

Jason was beautiful and talented as always in his sweet red shoes! When Brooke stepped on stage, she said... "UTAH- THIS IS THE PLACE!!!!"

It was a dream come true, it really was. I LOVE AMERICAN IDOL. And David A! And Jason Castro... and all of them!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU SHELLIE!!!!!!!!!! I had SO MUCH FUN!