General Conference

I sit here on my couch awaiting easily my favorite event every six months. GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!!
I love the spirit I feel and the comfort I receive in sitting and listening to the prophets give us the word of the Lord. We are so blessed and so lucky to have a living prophet on the earth who teaches us the word of God and keeps us living a good and moral life. We are so blessed, the Lord loves his children. Why would He leave us to fend for ourselves? Why would miracles cease on the earth today? They won't, the Lord is very active in our lives and he always will be because He loves us. All of us.
Thank goodness for General Conference to remind me just how much the Lord loves his children on the Earth today.

The Temple

O my friends. Those whose names and faces I know and those who I have yet to meet. Do everything you can to be worthy of and go to the temple. It is an incredible and beautiful place that fills you with peace and awe and love. I have never had a happier day than the day I went through the temple. That has my wedding day included. I have never been filled with so much love, joy, wonder, and peace. If you are not striving to live worthy of your covenants, fix it. You are never too far gone or lost that you cannot be redeemed and brought back into the loving arms of your Heavenly Father. The Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. Let it into your heart and let it change you into a better person. If you are thinking that you don't need to be changed, you are missing the entire purpose of your life on this earth. There will never be a time in your life where you cannot be changed to become better. Take advantage of that and enjoy it!

Going to the Temple

I am going through the temple. January 19th. This Saturday. I can't even express the incredible joy I feel for this upcoming event. It's like all of my life has come to this pinnacle. I just feel filled with joy and boundless happiness. I get so excited that I randomly shout, "10 Days!!!!!!" or "3 Days!!!!!" at random strangers then giggle delightedly to myself. I can hardly believe I'm going, it's like I'm in a dream. I can't concentrate on anything, and my very first grades are suffering a little. Oops. I know I will be fine after this weekend, but I just can't concentrate right now.

I am going to the temple. I have been waiting for this since I was a little girl, it has been more important to me than pretty much everything. I'm glad I am going just to go through and not to prepare for a mission or before getting married. It means I have time to reveal in the simple beauty and wonder of the temple itself. I am coming home. Home. It's where I belong.

Don't Be an Idiot

What need I say more?
We were asked to write an essay on  this prompt, "You have just learned that you have no more than 30 minutes to live. Everyone you have ever know - family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, even strangers with whom you only had brief contact - are gathered to hear you final thoughts. In 500 words what would you say to them?"
Only 500 words???? I have so much more to say!
As I was writing it I realized that I wouldn't leave it to my death bed. I have already told everyone, except random strangers, everything I would like to say. I would just say it again because, for some reason, being on a deathbed is sacred and the words one speaks hold more weight.
First and foremost I would have to say, "Don't be an idiot... Seriously." Especially to those who have found the secret to true happiness and for some reason or another don't give it the attention and dedication it deserves. Seriously? Why? What possible terrible excuse can you have for wasting your own happiness? Honestly?! Can you look yourself in the mirror and say, without shame, guilt, sarcasm, or longing, "I am perfectly content and at peace with the way I live now. Even if I could, I would change nothing." If you can't say that with utter confidence, FIX IT!!!! You know what to do, you just don't want to do it. YES... YOU DO.
Why? Why do we put off contentment, true happiness and peace???? WHY? Because Satan know what he's doing and he's convinced you you don't deserve. Well guess what? That is the biggest load of bullcrap that every person has swallowed at some point in his life. You do deserve to be happy. So get over yourself and shape up. When you fall down, don't beat yourself up. Get back on that horse and ride it! No, you can't do it alone no matter what you tell yourself. Yes, you have to make the choice, but you can't do it alone. That's why we have the atonement. Use it. Seriously. Don't be an idiot. Forgive yourself and love yourself or you will never, ever, ever find peace. Do it. Don't be an idiot.

A Call to Arms.

I'm sure you have noticed that my blog more and more often is religious and has aspects of religion. Throughout the last six months, I have realized that everything has to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Every moment of every day I see more and more the Hand of the Lord stretched out in my life and the lives of others. I see the blessings He lays right before our eyes in the hopes that we will see it too and turn to Him.

The truth is, we can no longer be complacent. This is a war! We have been saved for these last days because we are strong and we can make a difference is the war for souls. We no longer can sit still and allow others to perform the task of saving our brothers and sisters who are lost! We must decide now to fight, we must decided now what side we will choose. We have to extend our hands and bring back our sisters and our brothers. Too many have fallen away, and lost sight of the truth. Will we be selfish and not reach out our hands to bring peace and healing to our brothers and sisters! We are the elect! The Lord's chosen! We cannot sit around, we must not be still, we must cry out and bring the beautiful good news to all corners of the world! We must open our eyes to the suffering and sorrows that lay all around us, most importantly in the ones we love. We must support and carry each other, in our stakes, in our wards, in our families. We must reach out to friends and strangers, to loved ones and even to ourselves. The gospel is true. It is worth fighting for, so are you, and so are the souls of our brothers and sisters. We must be, or become the safe harbors for those who lost their way. Get back on the path! Hold firm to the rod! Let go of the dangerous traps and lures of Satan! This is a call to arms! And if you do not hear the call, who will?

Easter

Renewal, rebirth, redemption, rejoicing, reliving, resurrection, remade, remembered, returned, reflection. All these I associate with Easter. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we like to focus more on the Atonement and Christ's Resurrection than on his death, which is why we don't wear crosses or have crosses on our churches. Our message is hope and love and second, third, fourth, and fortieth chances. Christ suffered for us, died, and lived again all that we might return to live with our Heavenly Father and be truly happy once more.

Nothing we can do is terrible that it cannot be washed away with the blood of the Lamb. No matter how far down the path we go, we can always turn back and climb upwards. The Lord has promised us this and He never breaks His promises. Who are we to question Him or deny His word? It is pride and foolishness that tell us we are the exceptions to His rules, that we are too broken for Him to fix us. If you put a limitation on yourself you put a limitation on the Lord's power. He has no limits on His power, there is NOTHING He cannot fix, and NO ONE He cannot save if they will turn to Him. We have to take that first step, but He will not leave us to walk alone, we will never walk alone.

I echo Elder Perry's sentiments that Jesus is the Christ. I know that the scriptures are true and they will lead us to true happiness. Test our words, read the Book of Mormon, pray to the Lord, what harm can it do? None, it can only bring great joy and happiness into your life as it has brought it into mine. The Lord loves you and is waiting for you to come unto Him and be perfected.

Heaven and Hell

I'm convinced that God (please note) allows us to go through Hell so that we can truly appreciate the sweetness of Heaven that comes afterward. Heavenly Father is a god of order and rules that He too must follow or He would cease to be God. He cannot create evil, if He did then He would cease to be completely good as He is. He simply allows to be tossed about by evil, but He never abandons us. He allows us to be tempted and given trials and to take a sip from the gall of bitterness so that we understand how sweet the cup of mercy tastes. Nothing has ever tasted more sweet and brought me more peace than knowing that He is right next to me. In my trial I brought myself to Him and I could feel Him there, I could feel His love for me. And that is something I will never forget. I have been through Hell, and I have been held in my Father's arms in Heaven and Hell was worth it.

Why?

Why is is that Heavenly Father deals you a staggering blow and before you can even barely deal with it he deals you one that keels you over, flat on your back with no breath in your body?
With great knowledge comes great responsibility. Great strength is only won through great trial. Those who lie down under the force of the wind never know it's true strength.
I am not sure I am as strong as He seems to think I am. I am not sure how to deal with this next crushing blow.
But, even as I say that, I know that He wouldn't have let this trial come my way if I couldn't handle it. And I know that He will not desert me as I do. So I will weather these trials the best I can, I only hope I am not too tempest tossed on the other side.

(I found this talk and thought it worth a perusal, especially if you are having a hard time. The Power of Scripture)

It Doesn't Matter, Hurry Home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-1_2LEVAZQ

I think this song is one that Heavenly Father sings to all of his children.

"It doesn't matter what you've done, I still love you. It doesn't matter where you've been, you can still come home. Honey, if it's you, we've got a lot of making up to do. I can't hug you on the phone, so hurry home."

He will never give up on us. We always have the chance to hurry home to Him.

Keepers of the Wild, for reelzzzz

So this Wednesday I actually got to go to Keepers of the Wild and play with the weeds, tease Kyle, name some animals, plant two trees, sweat like a pig, and get checked out by a monkey. Unfortunately I didn't bring a camera so I didn't get to take any pictures of the actual animals, so I will insert pictures from the internet of animals that look a lot like them.

Brett, Bryan, 10 missionaries and myself piled into an 11 passenger van, I got to ride shotgun. We arrived at Keepers in Valentine, Arizona and could hear the animals waking up and roaring out at the day. The lion, Sultan, had managed to poke his eye on a stick and had to have surgery on his eye, he looked quite melancholy (mel-on-call-y) and slept a lot.

He is quite the big beautiful animal and roared once when a car rumbled past. And when one of the elders got a little too close taking pictures (too bad he wasn't a little closer, he might have peed his pants). The rest of us got a laugh as the elder sprang back as fast as he could. Sultan has quite the roar. Many of the missionaries worked at putting another fence in between the lion's cage and the tiger's cage. The tigers gave us a couple shows, one suddenly rushing at and springing on another. Ruckus and Apollo were their names and Apollo left a lovely gift of spray on Brett's shoe, and boy did it smell strong. :D Remember Brett, it's a privilege.

Kyle was the first animal I saw and the first one I named (someone said his name was Marvin but I think Kyle fits him better). Bryan named the other ostrich Eddie. Kyle and I got into a hissing match and more than one eye contest that I won. :) Coward. It was fun to hear him hiss though. Lucky for you I actually found a picture of Kyle! Here he is in all his glory!

Bryan and I cleared a whole area of weeds and then planted two trees, one of which took forever because the ground was so ridiculously hard ground. The other Bryan did mostly by himself. I enjoyed watching him, and lifting the tree into the hole in the ground. We made friends with a llama I named Tina, and whose real name was Snickers. Apparently Snickers almost got into a boxing match with one of the elders the last time they came. He rose up on his hind feet and came at the elder quite determinedly. The Elder Lindsey took a page from Karate Kid and waxed off Snickers right onto his back. This time Snickers picked on Elder Lindsey's companion, Elder Kioa. Everytime the elder walked by Tina started following him and trying to spit on him. It was very entertaining.

The monkey village proved the most entertaining. One monkey had a very long reach and kept trying to steal peoples cameras and glasses. He also took an interest in me and we had a staring match. As I was staring into the intriguing monkey's face Bryan tried to cover my eyes and told me not to look and the zoo keeper apologized. Then he addressed the monkey, "You're pretty proud of yourself aren't you? Yeah, he always has to show off for the ladies." Then I noticed the monkey was showing off his man parts. Oddly enough the men were more uneasy than I was and I hadn't even noticed until they pointed it out. But, I figure, whatever, he's a male. It's nature, they can't help it. ;) What makes that experience even more priceless is that I was the only girl with 11 other guys.

There was quite an array of animals at the Keepers and I would have loved nothing more than to go an cuddle with one of the big cats. They truly are beautiful creatures and I don't mind helping out.

At Long Last

BEST WEEKEND EVER!!!!!

I know I say that all the time but seriously, the best weekend! Bryan was baptized On Saturday May 21, 2011 at 9:00AM in the Rutherford Church, Kingman, AZ by Michael Gibelyou. Such a happy day and one that will hold a special place in my heart for the rest of time. I always knew it was going to happen but it is so wonderful that it finally arrived.

Jordan Grimmer gave the talk on baptism and did a splendid job. My phone went off (to a really annoying ring tone), much to my embarrassment... Opps. It was my calendar telling me Bryan was getting baptized. Like I didn't know or would ever forget. My father baptized him, gently. And Brett Hale gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. Brett, Grimmer, myself, Jesse and Maddi Peterson, and Katherine Welch sang the Armies of Helamen/Sisters in Zion medley and it was beautiful. Then Bishop Miller welcomed him to the ward and the meeting ended. There was a wide variety of ages and people attending. There were children from his classes with their parents, some people from his ward, his friends from Young Single Adults, his friends from Utah (Grimmer, Katherine and me), his friends outside the church, and my family. Bryan has support from so many different people because he touches the lives of so many people and always for the better.

Bryan with the missionaries.

Elder Berryhill, Elder Lindsey, Dad, Bryan, Me, Brett

It has been a while coming and Bryan was a dry member anyway. It was so surreal to me because it didn't feel like it was necessary. But I can truly say I've seen a change for the better in Bryan since the beginning of his trip down this road. He is changed and has become an even better man than I have ever known. I feel so lucky to have him in my life. One fish in the sea.

Sunday He was confirmed in a scorching meeting room where I almost passed out, I swear! And then during priesthood meeting that same day he was ordained a priest. If that isn't testimony enough to the character of this man I don't know what is.

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

Thanks for the adventure Babe, You are my favorite.

Do You Ever Feel?

Do you ever feel like you've let people down? Like you should have been there for them, but for some reason or another you weren't? I've been feeling like I just woke from a very long dream and I noticed how withdrawn and selfish I have been. Even though the world says that this is the time to focus on yourself and figure out what you want to do, we shouldn't believe it.

My professor told us that we should view our time the same way we view our money. A tithe should be paid to the Lord. That's 1.2 months/5.2 weeks/36 days a year, .4 weeks/3 days a month, and .1 day a week. In all honesty, that isn't a whole lot of time. Now, all I need to do is realign my focus where it should be and spend more time seeking and saving the lost. Just like the RS lesson today. It's all about the active.

What a Blessing

To listen to the words of the Lord every six months. To be filled with the wisdom and knowledge from above. To have eternal truth shared with us and taught to us. To know that our Lord loves us because He chooses to share this with us. To be surrounded by friends and family and share the spirit that undeniably exists when those prophetic men and women speak. To tangibly feel their love and concern for us. To know they do pray about us and want the best for us. To be touched when the subject they speak on hits upon the exact circumstances in your and my life. To know that your prayers have been answered and the Lord is very, very mindful of you..

What a blessing.

This General Conference I had the opportunity to actually be in the Conference center for the first time in my life. It was an experience that I reveled in and greatly enjoyed. The best part was, I was only eleven rows away from the prophet, and some odd feet because I was off to the far left. They were so close and so real. It was a beautiful blessing to be so near the prophet of the Lord and to feel of his presence.

Onto the funny stories. Heh heh heh. Katherine and I found parking and proceeded to walk toward the Conference Center when we were approached by a man and asked "Do you have any extra tickets?" This in itself is not funny. I just so happened to noticed his hair... He was balding and had the monk ring around his head with a balding top AND a tuft of hair right smack in the center of his forehead. When he turned and jogged toward the person in front of us, almost running into the trees on the side of the road, I burst into laughter because even better than his hairstyle was that the tuft of hair stood straight up when he ran. I dub thee Quail Man. Yes, I know I'm a terrible person, I simply could not contain my laughter.

Then I got felt up by a missionary. Not really. His hand just so happened to swing right into the path of my thigh as we were weaving through people trying to find the right doors. Me, being my dramatic self gasped aloud. Katherine just started cracking up.

Katherine and I are slightly bizarre under any circumstance and down right ridiculous under and circumstance when we are together. I apologized to the man in front of us.

"We aren't usually like this." Then I stared at him until he realized I was talking to him.

"Why? You should be like this all the time."

"If we were honest, we'd admit we are like this all the time." Katherine interjected.

"But only in public." I clarified.

"Absolutely! Share it with others!" The large man told us. Yeah, he's cool.

ON the way home I was conversing with Katherine when something moved on her seat. Here was my reaction to that thing I was very certain was a bug with far too many legs.

"Yeah, so they were like, AAAAAAHHH! Oh, just kidding." The bug turned out to be a piece of lint with hairs attached to it. No cause for alarm. But it could have killed me if it hadn't been a piece of lint.

Valentine's

Day of love, laughter, and stealing juice from the neighboring party.

So my ward had an awesome Valentine's partly last night that was filled with frosting cookies, making valentines, decorating bags, and picture booths. The weather was nice so I decided to forgo wearing a jacket and putting on real shoes. Instead I wore my mismatching Pirates of the Carribean socks and two different colored flip-flops. Needless to say I was not the height of fashion, though I did wear my "LOVE" shirt! Yay!

My bag died a little. The first one I made had m&ms glued on it but they melted all over the bag, some sort of chemical reaction from the candy coating and the sparkly glue. So I tossed it and made a cuter one with pretty paper on it.

Here's the cookie I decorated. Isn't it lovely? Yes I know, thank you.

I didn't win the cookie decorating contest but the cookies that did are very cute. Congrats girls! There was a neighboring dance party that was pumping their music and Emily and I couldn't help but dance it up a couple times. The photo booth was fantastic though, Emily and I are pro at taking awesome pictures. Don't believe me? Check it out here. Here are just a few of the really cool people at the party. Can you spot Mark in the background?

There were some very adorable drawing on the board so of course I had to add to them.

At last the party drew to a close and Em and I found ourselves very thirsty and the juices from next door calling out to us. We had a ton of cupcakes left over from our party that she had made so we devised a plan to trade the cupcakes for juice. Not so sneakily we placed the cupcakes on the table and snatched a half drunken bottle of cranberry juice. We made an immediate dash for the door and heard a man call out behind us.

"HEY!" After my heart skipping a few beats and collapsing into a fit of giddy giggles with Em we found out it was only Devin, a boy from our ward. We swiped some cups from the Cougareat each (Emily, Mark, Devin, and I) drank some of the juice, were reminded that cranberry juice is bitter and carried the rest of the bottle home with us. Who puts cranberry juice out at a dance? No wonder it was only half empty while all the other juices were gone.

Upon reaching home Emily and I decided to ditch the bottle. Bridget was home from her date so she came with us. We left the 1/4 full bottle on a doorstep, knocked and scattered. No one answered even though the blinds were open and we could clearly see the boy sitting on the couch through the open blinds. So I ran down and knocked again, pounded really, and dashed back upstairs. The boy came to the door and stared at the bottle of Cranberry juice (which I should add, didn't have a lid because we were in too much of a hurry to search the table for it's lid) for at least a full minute. Then he took it inside with him.

Good times, good times.

10 Hours of Overflowing.

I don't generally go to 10 hours of church, ever.

But, I had to go to my parent's choir practice (10:00 am) because they asked me to accompany a piece for them. I don't mind, really, I like to share my talents. So, because my mom was giving the lesson in Sunday School (12:00 pm) I thought I would just stick around for their sacrament meeting (11:00am) as well.

Of course the testimonies shared were uplifting and deeply spiritual. Three young children got up and shared their testimonies about how the church was real and Heavenly Father loves them. From the mouth of babe.

Of course my mother's lesson was amazing, she's an amazing teacher. End o story.

After her lesson I went to the Young Single Adult's sacrament meeting (1:00pm). The testimonies shared in that ward we just as pure and uplifting as in my parent's ward. The only thing I did not love about the meeting was the heat. Ugh, it was hot.

After this I had the happy fortune to teach the same lesson (2:00pm) my mother did! Imagine that! The Sunday School lesson was on Ezekiel, shepherds and the temple. Both beautiful topics. Surprisingly enough Mom came to my lesson too!

The final block meeting (required meetings of which there are three) was Relief Society (3:00). My favorite, I love meeting with the Sister's in the ward and sharing of their sweet spirits. I had the privilege to sing for that meeting.

After the block meetings was mission prep (4:15pm - 4:40pm) taught by an amazing spiritual giant.

After mission prep you say? Break the Fast! (5:00pm) Where the food is delicious and I don't feel guilty eating as much as my shrunken stomach can handle.

And as you know there was the First Presidency Broadcast (6:00pm), which was spectacular even though I dozed a tiny bit.

And after the Broadcast I practiced (7:00pm) a song for a meeting in the future. I made it home at 8:30 pm, happy to be home but refreshed and renewed none the less.

I wouldn't recommend 10 hours every week, but at times it is quite pleasant.

Grenade

I have come to love the only two songs of Bruno Mars that I know.

Click here -->"Grenade"

And here -->"Just the Way You Are"

I don't know how but Bruno sees into my soul and speaks to my heart, but he does in a powerful way. Now all I'm waiting for is a song with the title

"I'm Sorry I Couldn't Love You Enough"

There is one thing I love more than any other thing on this earth. The Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Should anyone try to come between me and that gospel, no matter how much I love them, that title to a song that does not exist yet will be what I tell them. I can't change people, only the spirit and themselves can do that. I can't force his eyes to see the perfect beauty and happiness and hope that spill from every ordinance, lesson, and talk to which I am witness. I can't feel for her the power of the love that sweeps over me when I communicate with my Savior and Father. I can't give him the surety I feel when I look toward the future in faith, knowing without a doubt, that I will be taken care of when I trust in my Lord. I can't explain to her the moment I discovered the truth of this gospel.

But I can share my testimony and encourage him to discover the truth for himself. I can never give up in encouragement and love, even if they think I can't love them enough. I do love them, I want to share with them the profound joy that I feel. I just can't let them come between me and the gospel.

Please help me remember this. Because there may be times when I forget.

Be Grateful

I'm grateful, but I need to work on showing how grateful I am more often.

It's true what they say about absence making the heart grow stronger. Being away from college makes me realize how unappreciative I was when I had it. Don't get me wrong, I love my little town and the people that live here, but, I find myself craving the educated minds that surrounded me in college. I am not saying the people here are dumb, not by any stretch of the imagination, but sometimes I like to have arguments about parabolas, and circuits, and proper names and English.

I'm grateful for college.

I'm grateful to have friends who respect me and are willing to protect me (oftentimes from myself). Who don't try to corrupt me.

I'm grateful for my family and the comraderie we have, especially when playing games together.

I'm grateful for my mother who is always trying to make herself and those around her better.

I'm grateful for my father who provides for them, and me, and wants the best for me.

I'm grateful for my adorable younger brothers who remind me every day how lucky I am to have them.

For honey and butter, mustard and ketchup, chicken nuggets and french fries, ice cream and chips, steak and potatoes, tomatoes and lettuce, cucumbers and pickles, cheese and bread, salt and pepper, pasta and sauce, ovens and fridges, mixers and pans, graters and knives, tables and chairs, plates and silverware, cakes and brownies, salsa! and chips.

For scriptures and family prayer. For the early mornings we have to wake up and read in voices that are just barely understandable. For a cat that headbutts me when she feels like I should be up and feeding her, (and who at the present time is telling me to eat less by kneading my stomach with her two front paws.)

For a car to drive to work. For a job. For coworkers who make me laugh and wish I could do more for them. For a fiery little old lady who employs me and walks faster than I can run. For institute where I learn more about the church and the gospel. For church where I feel more connected with my Heavenly Father. For the sacrament where I renew my covenants. For ward members who want to know what I'm doing with my life.

For the rain that has blessed this land for the last 3 weeks. For the clouds that mellow the sunlight. For my bathroom (which is the only bathroom in the house not undergoing some sort of renovations).

Charity

For our family home evening this week our father shared a short but beautiful message with us, about Charity.

Whenever you are feeling lonely or hurt or afraid close your eyes and picture yourself in your favorite place. Now, picture the Savior sitting beside you. Can you feel his love for you? The feelings fade away as you picture your eldest brother sitting beside you don't they?

Charity is not a feeling or a thought, it is a state of being. When you have achieved this state, you can see others how the Savior sees them.

Short, simple, and powerful. Just like the rest of the gospel, that's the beauty of our religion.

How Precious!...

Sunday I was sitting in church during sacrament meeting with Kelly (the second counselor's very precocious (yeah I did just use that word) three year old daughter) on my lap and one friend on either side. Trying to pay attention to the speakers amidst Kelly's chatter to us all in turn. She had just settled for a bit and gone quiet when all of us heard a faint whooshing noise. I froze and Katherine and Sam looked at each other and then we all burst into stifled laughter. Kelly was innocently oblivious and simply continued her coloring. I tried my hardest to control it but... I had just been on the receiving end of Kelly's fart, I think I'm allowed to laugh aloud as reverently as possible. Her father looked at us all and we were finally able to calm down. Oh, Kelly, dear, dear Kelly, thank you for your gift.

Ode to a Birthday of 2 Decades

The best part about my birthday was my mom. Hands down. It was nice to start out the day with her and with balloons and a mirror message from Eliza. :)

The day went smoothly and wonderfully, I was able to finish the homework I hadn't done when my mom was here in time for my classes. Classes went quickly and a "tractive man" said hello to me and asked me how I was. Never met him before but I would not mind running into him again. ;)

Immediately after classes were over Katherine and I went to FHE, we rode with JC (driving), Jaxon, Mark, Emily M, Maren, Ali, and Jill. JC is an awesome person to drive 10 people around in a six passenger van because he loves to take turns ridiculously fast and he doesn't look before he goes in a round about. His first driving habit nearly killed some of us twice and the second, all of us would have been toast. It was soooooo much fun!

After ariving safely at FHE and eating the delicious dinner that was there for us I was sung to by everyone who came. I think I turned bright red. Driving home Madison, we switched cars, took the long way and then suddenly had to go to Target after we passed it a ways back. I had no clue what was going on. But in Target Emily R, Katherine and I went to the toy section and saw a lot of freaky dolls and some retro Barbies. Oh Barbie, you and I never were that good of friends. On the way home from Target Ali was telling us how you could train your laugh. She demonstrated the laugh she was going to have. "Hi-yucka, hi-yucka." So naturally all of us joined in. We were at a stop light, Madison's window was down, and a boy was walking by. When he reached the other side Ali barked at him. He probably thinks we are crazy.

Upon arriving back at Park Plaza all five of us in the car held a dance party to "I Gotta Feelin" and guess what? The night was a good night. Katherine said she had to go over to 310 to get some cookie sheets so I went in with her and she shoved me through the door. "I don't like that you just shoved me through the door..." "SURPRISE!!!!" At least thirty people were crammed into the living room of 310, at least! Katherine had made posters and a ton of people signed them. Wow, thanks guys!

Later that night Sean B and I snuck into the BYU preschool playground, went down a couple slides and set off the swinging pots and pans before hightailing it over the wall. Then we traversed into the underground parking lot and up to the Library to roll down the hill. Sean got kicked in the face because he wanted to hold my feet as I went down. Silly Sean, don't you know kicks are for people that hold feet when rolling down a hill? After I was dizzy and disoriented we posed with the Brigham Young statue. Too bad neither of us had a camera.

Thanks to all those who made my birthday epic!