Brigham Young University-Idaho

I love BYU-Idaho. I feel so blessed to have attended and graduated from this wonderful university. The mission of the school is to prepare disciples of Christ. It has become more and more evident to me during my years here. My first couple of years I was all about playing, playing, playing and it was wonderful! I wouldn't take those years back for anything. My last 2 years I was able to get involved in some student led organizations and really come to understand how blessed I was to attend here. We have an administration that is under the direction of the prophet and inspired from heaven. We have prayer in class and pictures of Christ in the testing center. I had a boss and a job where I would never be asked to do anything to compromise my integrity and would never have to work on Sunday. I met and associated with some of the most Christ-like people I've ever met in my entire life. The people I've met here, and the experiences I've had have 100% shaped me. I have gained an education and learned even more about what kind of a person I want to be. I met Michael here along with many other of my best friends. There are some talks from apostles about BYUI that are absolutely amazing. Like, Disciple Preparation Center by Elder Bednar, or A Steady Upward Course by President Eyring. So inspiring! I love BYU-Idaho and will treasure my time here forever and ever.

craziest, busiest, most stressful, BEST week ever

Last week was CRAZY! Pretty much any and everything life changing happened. I want to dedicate one post to every wonderful event, but I decided to put it all into one big happy story, picture fest for you all. First of all, I had to quit my job as the SRC secretary at BYU-Idaho because I cannot work there if I'm not a student. SAD DAY! On the left is my wonderful boss and his beautiful wife, Brother and Sister Tippetts. On my right is my student living advisor and his wonderful wife, Brother and Sister Dougherty. These people have been my best friends and family while I've been at school and leaving them was a lot harder than you may think. I miss them so much already. I could go on forever about how good to me they've been, so I'll stop now.
Next... GRADUATION!!! Yes everyone, I am a college graduate with a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science. It was so great! I loved watching all of the people I've been taking classes with for so long get their degrees. Having my parents, Em, and Easton there was SO SO GREAT! Seriously, I'm so thankful that they came. I cannot thank you guys enough! And just look at how dang adorable Emily is :)

These amazing people made my college experience possible. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. There aren't words for everything they've done for me. It has been the best journey of my life and I wouldn't take back a single second. As a matter of fact, I think that my love for BYUI will get its own post! I love you mom & dad!

Then, we hit the road for Oregon! Road trips with the fam are just the greatest! Lots of good laughs and fun! Nothing like birthdays and easter on the road. I think we were very resourceful and enjoyed it just as much as if we were at home!

HOME AT LAST!!! Wedding week was packed with such fun! Bunco night was a serious highlight!!! These pretty ladies were a ginormous bonus to the week at home. It was so fun!

And of course, we had to throw in one final bridal shower for our beautiful bride :). It was SO FUN to see old friends. It had been far too long since a picture like the one below had been taken.

Then..... Finally.... my Michael came home :) He met me in Oregon for the wedding and braved not only my family, but the Mitchells, along with my roommates and pretty much everyone from my childhood at the wedding. He was SO brave! The second he got off of the plane, it was like he never left. I felt 100% comfortable with him. Now, he's in Rexburg, with me, and we're happy :) :) :). It feels SO good to see him whenever the heck I WANT!

WEDDING DAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! My best friend got married. I cannot express to you all in a blog post how happy for her I am. Her face that day just was perfect. Even I was shocked that all day I didn't feel one ounce of bitterness toward Jarom for stealing her from me! haha. I was just so happy for them. I love her so much and I know that Jarom will take such good care of her. Once again, all of you know that I could go on forever about my bond with and love for Stephanie. But, I'll cry, you'll cry, and let's not be sad.... let's be happy for THE LANCES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The happy couple!!!! I was too busy watching her every second to take pictures. Luckily my trusty roommates were there! She was positively the most beautiful bride ever. Everything was just beautiful.

I've been wanting my roomies to come to Oregon for a long time. And they finally did! We went to all the hot spots, you know- The Saturday Market and Grocery Outlet! haha. Below is Brooke and Lindsey. Unfortunately, Anessa had to leave before we went to the market. Bummer!

PHEWPH! What a wonderful week. I am so blessed. Of course, not the stress comes. I'm a college graduate, and I need a job! But, A lot of wonderful things have happened and I'm sure will continue to happen. So much more happened last week that I just can't fit it all on one blog! I got to see Darren, Jill, and the boys, and Marc also! It was SO GREAT! Brief, but better than nothing!! But to everyone that I got to spend time with, it was FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been waiting for April 2009 for a very long time.

In 2 weeks from right now

:)

Spring is here and it's WONDERFUL!

I should be working on my take home physics test, but I have so much to share... it's been a while since I've updated you all on my life! First of all, I had a great birthday! Thank you to all of you who called and sent cards & presents. It honestly made me SO HAPPY to hear from you all! Seriously! I feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. And thank you to my wonderful roomies who did so much for me on my bday! We had fun! As always, there are lots of pictures in this post... that's just how I roll. We'll start with my 22nd birthday. 22? Holy crap. The things on our foreheads say Happy Birthday :)

My great, great friends Jim, Kevin, and Mark were in town from Utah. It was GREAT timing!

Thanks, Dad! It was delicious and we had a great time!

As some of you know, I LOVE DODGEBALL!!! I've played on many teams during my time here at BYUI and this semester I participated in my last one. SAD! But, we had a great time! We were eliminated from the tournament last night, here are the super tough, really awesome girls of the team.

St. Patricks day was this last week, and really- we'll take any excuse for a celebration! My roomie, Anessa is super into it. So, she made is the traditional St. Pattys day meal. I was a little leary, but turns out it was great! She was so festive and I just LOVED IT!

And I just have a couple of randoms. The first one is my last night with stephy... we partied down at Craigos before the tearful goodbye. Don't worry, I'll be home soon, mall! And then the last one is of my whole apartment!Lindsey, Brittany, Anessa, Me, and Brooke. Yay for Camden #4!

Thanks for sticking with me through all the pictures. But ya know, mom's and sisters and bffs like to see them!2 days until David Archuleta, 20 days until my family comes, 22 days until graduation, and 25... yes 25 days until I see Michael Woodmansee.

Musical Genius

If you haven't fallen in love with this guy yet... it's time to convert. His music has the amazing ability to put anybody in a fantastic, motivating, change the world mood! Bryce Avery of the Rocket Summer is a beautiful man who makes beautiful music!

Please... do yourself a favor... go to the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaAWuWH46E8

I just had to share the love, one more time because he is truly unbelievably talented. He records every instrument himself on his albums and his lyrics give me chills every time. Love him. Yes, that was a command!
I'll post pictures soon! From my birthday and such, I just wanted to share this :)

Bridal Shower for our Favorite Bride

Lots of pitures!

The invites!

This is my family this semester... we will miss Stephanie SO BADLY! We're jealous of her blingy bling bling!

Getting together with Danielle seriously always just makes my semester!

My Best friend in cake form and real life form :)

The whole gang, with panties on us and all

I promise she knows Jarom, but here were a lot of questions! Hot, huh?!

Kristin couldn't do a funny face, she's just pretty all the time

The most helpful, selfless roommates ever!

I made a Stephanie Bride cake :)

The bridal shower was a huge success. We had a great time! I was so thankful that Court and Kristin could come and did so much to help and make it all happen! And all of Steph's beauty school friends came, and my roommates, and Danielle, it was just fabulous! I love seeing Steph so happy. I've always been kind of protective of Stephanie, so seeing her so happy is more than desirable! We had it in a really nice, pretty room, and we had pretty decorations with pink tulle, candels, lights, and pictures. Also, we made polka dot cupcakes and wrapped them in tulle for everyone to take home. Lindsey and Anessa and I made them and I absolutely COULD NOT have done it without them. Seriously- talk about good friends coming together to help a sister out. They were so helpful and we had tons of fun doing it, too! Steph got SWEET presents! Her girls were good to her that's for sure, and she looks good in them too ;). It was just a lot of fun! I was so happy that we had a bridal shower here in Rexburg.

I am so thankful that I have had Steph here with me for the past year and a half. In 2 days, she leaves me. The next time I see her will be her wedding. That makes me choke up a little, so we'll stop talking about it and I'll just tell you that the bridal shower was great, and Steph is a fantastic bride!

President's Day was the greatest day

Well, it's possible that the last couple of weeks has been some of the worst ever. One thing after another. I could blog for pages about everything that has gone wrong. But, let's focus on the positive, shall we? I had a WONDERFUL weekend last weekend! We had a 3 day weekend, so my roommates and I went to Island Park and stayed in a cabin with Lindsey's family. We had a blast!! We went sledding and snowmobiling! I have never done that before and I LOVED IT! I've got to try so many new things this semester. It's fantastic. Linds's family was so good to us! We played, and ate, and napped, and watched movies, and laughed, and just had a blast! It was so fun to be with a family for a while. I love love love and adore these girls so much and was so incredibly grateful for that weekend to relax and not worry about a single thing but having fun :).

Brooke and I flying down the hill! At one point, all 4 of us went down on that tube! It ROCKED! We made it down once successfully, and were dumb to try it again, because the 2nd time we fell and I ended up on the bottom. Talk about head ache and sore neck!Brooke and I had the most rockin' snow boots!!

These girls are my sanity amidst allllllllll the stress. Just don't ever assume you're healthy, or assume you're going to graduate, or assume your computer is invicible. And if something goes wrong, call one of these girls up because they always do the trick for me :)