My BFF Elise

Continuing on with sentimental things, my best friend comes home tomorrow after serving 18 months in Arizona. Not even joking.

In late February of 2013 Elise called me and we chatted like we normally did. She lived in Provo at the time and was too far to meet in person at 9:00 at night. All of a sudden she said to me, "Kara, I think we need to think about going on missions." I was sort of shocked for a minute. I certainly wasn't ready for that and my anxiety immediately kicked in. I never felt like serving a mission was right for me so I sort of just blew it off. But, deep down inside I knew she was going to do it. I knew she had been thinking about it and was ready to start the process. I knew soon my best friend would be very far away from me.

She started her papers and her mom took her shopping. It was all coming so quickly and it was crazy! Then some things happened, the paperwork wasn't coming along like it was supposed to, and she was delayed for 4 months. She was absolutely heartbroken and almost gave up completely. For her, the timing was everything. She wanted to leave in August and now she wouldn't even be able to apply until August. But she stuck with it and kept going. That took incredible faith on her part. 

In May Scott came home and we started dating and Elise was confident she was going to serve. Together we prepared for very different things but ultimately it was the temple. We were nervous and excited together for what our futures held. On September 19, 2013 she received her call to Scottsdale, Arizona and the next day Scott asked me to marry him. Again, different but equally exciting. Her report date was December 18th and we knew for sure that I would be getting married without her. That was hard.

Ever since we were little we dreamed of our weddings and of course, both of us being there. Elise loves weddings more than any girl I know. Her #1 goal in life was always to get married and I think she's got her whole wedding all planned out. I know it was hard for her knowing she was going to miss my special day. But, I told her I wouldn't want her anywhere else except for serving a mission. We both cried a bunch and spent as much time together as we could before she left. I helped her pack her suitcases and organize her things. I am so grateful for that, even though it was hard to let her go.

We promised to write every week and we did it. EVERY. WEEK. I heard from her and she heard from me. I know it has helped our friendship grow and I am so grateful we have done what we can to maintain the relationship we have. Her last email to me made me cry a whole bunch and her testimony is incredible. I want to share a little part, the part I love most. This is Elise in her most honest form-

"Kara, I cannot tell you in words how thankful I am for your commitment in writing me these emails every week. It has meant the whole worlds to me and I am so thankful that we will have these memories to look back on for years to come! I know that I missed some very important days of your life, including the most important day, but I know that our friendship has been made stronger since I have been gone. I want you to know that the only reason I knowingly chose to miss those important things is because I love my Savior so much and I had a desire to serve Him."

 If you aren't immediately jealous of me for having THIS PERSON to call my best friend, I am so sorry for you. She's amazing and I can't wait to have her back here with me. 18 months has been much too long. If you wanna see some cute pictures of us click here. It's the goodbye post I couldn't bear to write. So, you get this story now instead of then. I have seriously missed her so much.

DFTBA

Two Years

I've been feeling pretty sentimental the last couple weeks because my Timehop has been full of emotional things. Scott leaving on his mission 4 years ago, coming home 2 years ago, and planning for Alaska 1 year ago. June is a happy month and I'm so glad it's June! As I've been reading statuses from "this day in history" I can't help but just want to cry. I can feel all those same feelings again and it makes my heart pound. I have loved Scott since he was 17. I won't deny that. I was totally obsessed might have dreamed of our future together and still don't believe it's actually happening.

Right before he left we had a band council party celebrating the new council with the old one. I was so excited (and nervous) to be president and I knew Scott would have advice. For some reason he was at the party and ended up driving me home. It wasn't anything super special until we got to my driveway and we just sat there. I talked about my nerves for the coming year and he told me about never really having a "best friend". He said so many things I had never even considered being concerns of his. It really felt like I was talking to him for the very first time. And funny enough, there was a song that described exactly how I was feeling.

"We're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years, we just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time."

I posted that on my Facebook later that day and it came up on my Timehop a few days ago. It struck me and I felt everything all over again. I've always known that Scott was special. I really didn't understand why, but he was just different to me. I cared about him so much. I still do, obviously, but I'm glad I can look back at those times and realize that the friendship we had was so, so special. I wish we could go back to those days sometimes. I wish we could be young and free again without tuition and rent and a car payment. But, this stage is fun too and I'm grateful for it.

Today marks two years since the first time I saw my boy as a returned missionary. I could not believe he was actually back again. I missed him terribly and it felt so good to hug him again. But, things were different. He was so much more serious and ready to finally love me ;) We walked around Jordan Landing at 10:00 at night because that's when I got off work. He held my hand and talked and talked and talked. It was nice to finally feel like "his girl". There weren't 300 other babes I had to fight off anymore. It was just me and him and that was it. It was definitely worth the wait.

I am so glad to have had the last two years with Scott. We've had so many fun times together and I am looking forward to more. He's the best and I love him so much. I don't know where I would be without my little muffin :)

Our first picture together on our second date :)

DFTBA

MAY!

So many things have happened in the last month. I've been meaning to write them down but I'm just the worst. Anyway, here's a few pictures and even more words :)

-Spring semester is over! I ended up with a stupid 3.9 and I don't really wanna talk about it. A couple of my classes were pretty hard and I was grateful to see them go. Also, Scott and I evaluated our lives and decided to go to summer school. He'll have his associates in August and I'll have my bachelors in May 2016. I could not be happier.

-We went on a quick trip to St. George to see one of our good friends from high school get married! That morning at 8 Scott's cousin got married in the Salt Lake temple so after the sealing we drove home, changed, bought some more snacks, and picked up our two friends. We made it to Provo before we needed a lunch break. Upon eating Lorna realized she didn't pack a shirt, tie, or belt for Braden so we headed to Ross and shopped with 800,000 other people.

Wedding #1 :)

After a million hours of driving we made it to St. George and had about an hour to get ready. I wasted a bunch of time trying to put my hair in a bun and gave up 20 minutes before we had to leave. I jumped in the shower (washed my hair!) and got completely ready in time. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done.

After days and days of searching my closet for the perfect outfit for the wedding Scott let me get a new dress.

He even took me to 5 different stores to look.

He's the real MVP.

Geremy's wedding was at the most beautiful place. It was so good to see him and he was really happy! We chatted, ate, and danced and enjoyed the night. After we got back to our hotel we really wanted to go to the hot tub but it was closed. The nice lady at the front desk told us if we were quiet we could go. We were so pumped only to find out that it was more of a luke-warm tub than a hot tub. Basically it was too cold outside to deal so we just went to bed. Everything else about our hotel was fab though!

I'm very sorry about the terrible quality but LOOK HOW HAPPY GER IS :')

The next day we drove around town and went to see the temple. I was super bummed we hadn't planned to actually go in the temple because when we got there that's all I wanted to do. But, we enjoyed the visitors center and walking through the grounds. It was a beautiful day and we had lunch at the most delicious Pizza Factory. We wanted to go to Dixie Rock but it was closed off due to the Iron Man race going on... so we settled for the museum featuring 150 years of wedding dresses. It was actually really cool! After that we decided it was time to head home. We hadn't been on the road very long when Scott got pulled over for speeding. Thankfully they let him off with a warning. I was grateful we didn't get a ticket but having to drive the speed limit the rest of the way made for a VERY long trip. Don't speed, kids.

One of my favorites!

I love the old temples.

-On May 5th we had updated pictures of us done by Ashley Ziegler Photography! That deserves a whole post all on it's own but I just had to mention it real quick. I had such a good time and I absolutely love our pictures! Ashley gets 10 high fives from me!

Total heart eye emoji

-The next day on May 6th Scott had sinus surgery. Oh, how fun that was. I was a nervous wreck but everything turned out fine. He recovered very well and hasn't had any problems so far. After surgery we went and stayed at his grandparents house because it was empty and quiet (they were out of town) and it was so nice to just chill (read: watch 100 episodes of Catfish because CABLE!) and play with the cats for a couple days! His post-op is tomorrow so hopefully they find that everything is healing normal. I am so glad he's feeling better :)

I took 2 hours for them to finally take him back into surgery so we watched Cutthroat Kitchen and discussed finances. Very fun.

Simba being beautiful <3

-On May 11th we bought our very first car! It was a crazy stressful day but we ended up pretty happy with what we got. It's a 2012 Honda Accord and it's sooo nice. We've been working and saving for a long time and it feels good to own something so pretty. It was good practice for next time... cause yeah we have to buy another car in few months. Pray for us.

I would go back to this sketchy car lot in a heartbeat!

-On May 14th Elder Simpson came home from serving two years in Ohio! Scott hadn't seen his brother in FOUR years and it was a sweet reunion. It has been fun having my friend home again!

-May 19th Scott and I both started our summer classes. It has been so crappy. I hate never seeing Scott and when I do see him we both have homework to do. It's so sad and I can't wait for this to be over. ONE MORE YEAR.

-Memorial weekend we went with my parents and sister to decorate graves. We do it every year and Scott had never been before. He had a good time learning a little about our family history and seeing where my parents grew up. That night we got both of our families together and had a fire. S'mores are #1. 

Phew. I think that's most of what happened the last month. It's been crazy busy but very fun! I have a happy life and I'm thankful for all the great people in it.

ALSO.

MY BEST FRIEND, LIKE ACTUAL BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD, IS COMING HOME IN 12 DAYS. TWELVE DAYS. GUYS.

I can't wait to hug her. It's been too long. 

DFTBA

Happy Spring!

We had a pretty mild winter this year but that doesn't make actual spring any less exciting. It's finally April and this semester is just flying by. In 6 weeks my brother in law will be home and then a few weeks after that my best friend will be home! Yay for missionaries but even more yay for returned missionaries! I can't wait to see both of them again so soon!

Anyway, on Tuesday to celebrate the beginning of spring I went to Temple Square with my brother and his wife and their precious little baby. Kyle and I met up after class and rode the train to Courthouse where Natalie picked us up. We headed to the temple and ended up accidentally parking under the conference center where they charge $10 if you are not there to attend the temple. Well, Natalie wasn't having that so she ended up getting herself a parking token from the front desk of the temple. She's such a funny gal :) We walked around and took some pictures! The flowers were so pretty and I was so happy to be there! 

Secret picture of the best little family!!!

 Me and my little nephew Wolife :)

I just love him so much

We wore him right out ;)

Me and my "sort of making fun of fashion bloggers" pose

Then we went to Noodles and Co. for the last day of their BOGO and then to Baskin Robins to enjoy $1.31 ice cream. It was a day full of great deals and lots of fun! Unfortunately I had to go back to school after our little adventure but I was a lot happier sitting through 3 hours of class knowing I just got to hold my favorite little nephew! :)

Get out there and enjoy the springtime!

DFTBA

EMC

547 days until I see this beautiful face again.

Arizona could never receive a better sister missionary.

Don't worry, I only cried for like 3672 hours.

DFTBA

100 Days!

(This post is basically just a journal entry for me. It's probably boring and way too long. But read it if you want.)

Remember when it was 729? Then 500? Then 300? Then 200? Well. Now it's 100. And I'm flippin flipping out!

Yesterday I went to CH and Simpson told me he'd be home/released on May 31st. Which means (because of leap year) that his mission was exactly 730 days. :)
I'm so nervous/excited. I can't decide what it is. I'm scared to see him again.... With everything we've been through and all... But I'm also really excited to have him home and have my friend back again :)

I'll NEVER forget the first time he talked to me. I was a tiny little 7th grader and he was like my idol. Haha I just remember our first concert when Mr. Neves was like this is Scott, he's in charge, listen to him. I just drooled over him :P
Three years later my buddy Ryan called and invited me to marching band. I was like lol yeah right! But I went anyway and fell in love with it within five minutes. Mostly because Scott came up and talked to me and I was literally shaking and thinking, "oh my gosh. Scott is taking to me. SCOTT SIMPSON IS TALKING TO ME." Hahaha I was such a dork.
Within a week I had been adopted into the band family and I loved it. All those boys were like my older brothers, always looking out for me. They teased me about Geoff but at the same time gave me advice. They got me out of my classes to take trips to Smith's or McDonalds but also encouraged me to get good grades. They would invite me to hang out ALL THE TIME and made sure that I was included in everything. They were the best friends a girl could ask for, especially Scott. If he EVER sensed that something was bothering me, he'd text or call me or stop me in the hall just to talk. I can't even tell you how many hours we spent sitting in the car talking about everything from Jess to Geoff to church to school to the future to missions to families to... Anything. Eventually I got over my "obsession" and we became actual friends. He was super popular but he still made time for me and I loved that. :)

When he graduated things were different but yet they were the same. I stared to REALLY like him but it was complicate because I was dating his best friend... (Long story. Meh.) We got in some bad fights, went a lot of weeks without talking, and had a hard time adjusting to change. Fortunately, we always made up and became friends again because that's just what friends do. Plus he was getting ready for his mission and I wanted to be part of that.
We weren't taking when he got his call and I was kind of devastated. He texted me where he was going and I just cried. It became real that he was leaving and I knew it was gonna be hard to have him gone. He helped me get through so much crap and always had good advice for me. I started freaking out and the next time he was at Copper Hills I just ran up to him and hugged him and told him I was sorry for everything and that I was sick of fighting. We made up for the five hundredth time and everything was Jim dandy after that :)
Right before he left we got really close again and it was hard because it was kinda like forbidden love. I had a boyfriend, he really liked someone else, and it was just crappy. I was so confused and didn't know what I was feeling. I felt like I was way too young to "wait" for him and he agreed with me on that. I tried breaking up with Kolby but couldn't do it because I really didn't know what I wanted. I spent so much time just bawling and not wanting Scott to leave. But as much as I was fighting it, the day of his farewell came and I spent the whole day at his house. When it was time to say goodbye he just hugged me and didn't let go til I was ready. And even though I was really sad, I felt peaceful like everything would be okay and that I'd see him again. I was like write me ;) and he was like write back ;) and then we laughed and I went home and didn't even cry. I was excited for my first letter :)

When it came, I ran around my house for two hours and read it over and over. Letters were my favorite. Sometimes they were really silly, sometimes really serious. A few of them had a million tiny hearts all over them and that just gave me butterflies. I still asked him for advice (mostly about band and Seminary Council stuff) and he always found a way to make me feel better about things.
Over time it got harder to write. I felt like I was being distracting. Life got busy. You know, the usual. But I never stopped counting the days. I never stopped dropping into Simpson's office to ask about Scott. Because I'm dang excited for him to come home! He's been one of my best friends for so long and I can't wait to see his face again. To laugh about dumb things. To talk about life. Just everything.
100 days. :)

DFTBA!

Thankful Thursday Part 1

(Title credit goes to Ashley :))
On Facebook I've been posting what I'm thankful for every day.
And on here I would like to elaborate on those things a little bit for the next couple Thursdays.
:)

November 1st- TRAX
I ride the train to school every day and it is honestly so nice! I love not having to deal with driving or traffic! There is a stop right by my house and it only takes a few minutes to get there. I know I'm always going to be on time to school and it's nice to have a place to do homework and relax. I usually end up sleeping (if I'm not chatting with the person sitting next to me) and it rocks. It's the best way to kill an hour because I think we can all agree life is tiring and naps are wonderful :) Anyway I am just very thankful for my free UTA pass so that I can get to school every day!

My favorite seat :)

November 2nd- My Parents
Now, there are many reasons I am thankful for my parents but this particular day my dad was getting surgery and so my mom took work off to take him to the hospital/take care of him. I know that's kind of expected of your spouse but I thought it was really sweet how caring my mom was. My whole family was a little nervous that things weren't going to work out and we were all very thankful that he's okay now. I just really love my parents and appreciate how much they do for me. They always make sure I have everything I need :)

Look how cute they are :)

November 3rd- My job and the ability to work
It was a Saturday and I had to go in from 9:30 to 7:30. It was a long day and I knew it was going to be hard. Plus, who wants to spend their entire weekend at work? (I had also worked Friday from 3:30 to 10:45) But then I thought about how many people don't have the opportunity to work or can't get a job for whatever reason. I am thankful that I am able to work and love my job so much. Jamba is the greatest <3

 Slacking baked goods is def my favorite.

I'm the best at it ;)

I love this quote!

My aunt has it hanging by her front door in her house.

Such a good reminder :)

November 4th- Blogging
I posted 3 times that day. I love being able to write down my thoughts, feelings, and memories. It totally rocks! Memories mean the world to me and I am so thankful for my blog. I don't post a lot but I know one day I will be thankful for the things I have written.

November 5th- My writing teacher
Probably seems weird but I love my writing class. It's hard and a lot of work but I honestly do love it. My teacher is incredible. She's a grad student so she GETS us. She's not a stuck-up "Dr. Wetlaufer" she's simply "Ms Wetlaufer". Her motto is, "There is no wrong when you are learning." I love that. She doesn't demand perfection from us because she knows she's there to TEACH us. When we got our narrative papers back I noticed that I got an A on it and I was so happy! I love being good at something, finally! But, not everyone did so well. That particular day she told us that she was canceling our plans for the day and was going to give us a lesson on commas because there were so many people who made simple comma mistakes in their papers. She got kind of mad but it was so nice to have her there to work with us and get us to understand a simple English concept. She just rocks. I love how helpful and realistic she is. It's nice to have a teacher like that for my first semester of school.

I was SO. HAPPY.

November 6th- America and having the right to vote
As you know, I voted early last week but Tuesday was actual election day. I was overcome with gratitude for being an American citizen and having the right to voice my opinion in society. Even though my vote probably didn't matter, I was thankful to even have the chance to do so. America rocks, let's be honest. The values this nation was established on are totally what I believe in. Even though we have kind of strayed from those values over the past 200 years, this is still a great place to live. We have so many opportunities for success here. I have a deep love for America and I am so thankful to be a citizen.

November 7th- A beautiful fall
(p.s. people, you don't capitalize seasons. Stop capitalizing seasons. They are not proper nouns.)
(Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine...)
Anyway, the weather has been so nice this fall! (Yes, I know it's going to snow tomorrow. But still. It has BEEN lovely) The leaves have been gorgeous and the weather has been awesome for the most part. I love walking around campus with huge trees that leave crunchy leaves everywhere. I love being able to wear cute fall outfits without having to cover up with a coat. I love wearing boots and not getting them wet! It's awesome! I'm really going to miss this fall but I'm thankful we had it. :)

Seriously. Look at those leaves!

November 8th- Missionaries
I have SO MANY friends who are serving right now and are about to leave. I am so very proud of them. I don't think I could do it. I couldn't leave my family and go somewhere I've never heard of, eat weird foods, be with people I don't know all day, talk to strangers, live out of a suitcase, be on my best behavior all the time.... the list goes on and on. I admire these kids so much for preparing to serve the Lord for two years (or 18 months for my sistas). It's incredible to have such good examples around me all the time. Right now is such an important time to share the Gospel with people. All the generations before us were told to "be in the world, not of the world" and we are being told to go into the world and pull people out of it. It's so scary and so awesome at the same time. I am thankful to have the Gospel in my life and to have that anchor holding me in place. Life can be hard, we all know that. Times can get tough, we all know that. Temptations are stronger than ever, we definitely all know that. Making decisions is so much easier when you've already got them made. This is the time when you've got to rely on your testimony to pull you through. I just feel so blessed to know the truth. :)

Well, that was fun! I love thinking of something to be thankful for every day. It makes it so much more meaningful. Even if they are just little things, you've got to always be thankful for something. It makes for a happier life for sure!

"SHE SAID YES."

-that's probably my FAVORITE part of the movie The RM. It's SO funny. That's the part where Jared had just hung up with the girl he asked on a date and then wanted to call his sister and brother-in-law to tell them the exciting news. As soon as the phone picks up Jared says, "She said yes." in this really funny and confident voice. But! He had accidentally called the girl back and said that to her. So he tries to play it off all cool and it's just hilarious.
Great movie :)

Anyway, there is a point to this I promise :)

So the boy I asked to sweethearts answered me on Friday! We had to do pep band for the basketball game... (who the heck plays a game on a day we don't even have school!? doesn't that kinda defeat the purpose of having a day off?)...so I went to the school at 6 and found an interesting note on my locker. I got all excited while I read it :) haha and the entire band room was full of people. (In fact, I was late to rehearsal so the whole room was full of people standing in an ark playing music. #awkward.) So I opened up my locker and found.......

THIS ^ *

It. Was. Adorable.

His note said something like "all the hearts are numbered and if you put them in order you'll find your answer." Anyway the stuff written on the hearts was so funny. Most of them were just random things :) But 17 of them pertained to the answer and Anna and Katie helped me find them all :) We decided that laying them on the floor was the easiest way to go about it.

These are hearts #1-17 :)

They said: Dearest Locker #89, I would be honored to go to sweethearts with you so yes. Sincerely, Garrett.

All the hearts :) So awesome.

Anyway I'm pretty excited for this dance! I got my dress yesterday :) It's pretty awesome and I can't wait to wear it. I'm DETERMINED to have a good time at this dance. I'm quite confident that my choice of a date is a good one... but we'll see ;) hahaha

Only 129 more days until I graduate. Holy. Hannah.

Time is going by so fast. It's insanity.

But that's okay...cause then Scott will be home sooner :)

...I've been missing him a lot lately.

And it's hard because there are certain things I'd talk about with him.

Things I couldn't talk about with anyone else. Mostly because they just don't understand.

He just gives such great advice.

Sometimes he just listens.

Anyway, I'm having what I like to call "Scott problems".

Ya know, those things I can only talk to him about...

Well, he's not here. And sometimes I just can't get it all out on paper.

Plus, I really don't want to make him worry about me right now.
He's got a lot on his plate, being a missionary and all.

Anyway, I just feel like I'm stuck. With no one to talk to about these things.

Because no one GETS it like he does.

It'll be okay though. He's serving the Lord right now. And I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else.

FIVE HUNDRED more days.

:)

I like the dead animals in this picture. So awesome ;)

Loves. <3

*disclaimer: My locker is in a little bit better condition than it was in marching band season, but it's still quite terrible. At least it didn't look like this >>> (my locker right before Christmas Break :P ) Hahaha. Anyway in most non-band kid situations (I say this because most band kids are all such close great friends [not really] who all basically live at their lockers [it's like the band room is a little town and every one's locker is like their own little house!], and locker decorating is a really big "dance" thing that we just do. I'm not quite sure who exactly set this precedent but whatever. That's just how it works.) the answerer would do something similar to this to one's bedroom. Since it's usually nice to give some warning, your mother would go straighten up your room for you to make sure it was presentable and the person wouldn't ditch the date knowing how messy your bedroom is. Well, in this case, my mother knew nothing... and she could not prepare my sanctuary for inspection of a boy. I guess this just taught me a lesson to keep my crap clean and organized :P