It's Not About You

When it comes to service, you've got to remember that.
It's not about you.
When I got called to serve on Seminary Council I was ECSTATIC.
I looked up to the SemCo so much!
I wanted so badly to be in their position and be able to serve in such a neat calling.
When the Lord decided that he needed me to serve, I happily accepted.
But, after I was set apart I was reminded of something.
It's not about you. Period.
I was called to serve the students of Copper Hills Seminary, not to put on a flashy show of awesomeness.

At our first meeting Brother Waite gave us a talk by Spencer W. Kimball called Jesus: The Perfect Leader. (look it up, it's really good!) He told us to go home, study the talk, and come back with ideas on how we could be better leaders. Talk about the most humbling experience of a lifetime. That calling did so much for me. I have never done so much underground service in my life.
Many people don't understand just how much work goes into a calling like that. I had to wake up at 5:30 every Friday in order to make it to meetings on time. I stayed after school many times cutting papers, praying for students, helping teachers, making videos, cleaning... everything you could ever think of. And know one knew I was doing it. It was kind of awesome! I loved being able to help people out without anyone knowing. It definitely changed my views on service. It does not always have to be out in the open. In fact, it's better if it isn't!
The kids I served with were absolutely incredible. I know that the 12 of us were called to work together because everyone's strengths were matched with someone else's weakness and when we all put our heads together, we were unstoppable. When we had big decisions to make we would go to the temple together and pray about it until we were all unanimous. We always made sure to think about what was best for the students, even if that meant a lot of work for us.
I never heard one word of complaint from anyone. Everyone was always so willing to help out and I loved that. I loved being in such a great environment where I could just be lifted up by their great examples. I didn't have to worry about being made fun of or judged. They were the sweetest, most caring kids ever. We all built good friendships as we went through a lot of hard times together.
One of the hardest things that we had to do (well, for me at least) was helping out with Jaxen Henderson's funeral. Her mother requested that we help set up chairs at the church and Brother Waite told us that it would be nice if we went to the viewing together. Now, I don't do well with stuff like that. It just scares me and makes me so distressed. Thankfully Jacob, Megan, and Ashley were there to help me get through that night at the viewing. And when we finally met Jaxen's mother, she cried and hugged us all and told us how thankful she was for our help and support. As hard as it was for me to go to that viewing, I'm glad I did it. Because again I remembered that it wasn't about me. It was about helping other people who needed it. There were so many people we made cards for and visited when hard times hit. I loved being a rescue committee. I loved being the shoulder for someone to cry on. It made me feel so good. It gave me the purest feeling of joy. Something that a lot of people don't get to experience.

Now, I'm not trying to brag or anything. I mean, this is my personal blog. I just don't ever want to forget about this experience I had. I never want to forget the feelings I had because of this calling. I never want to forget why service is so important. I want to be able to look back on this and be so thankful for it. Because I am. I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father trusted me with something like that. I am forever changed because of it.

I absolutely love them.

Dinosaur Seals

Kaylee usually makes me a pb&j sandwich before I go to work so that I don't die of starvation.
They are delish.
The other day she convinced my mom to buy a sandwich cutter that turns the sandwich into two dinosaurs. (But sometimes they look like seals. It's whatever.)
Needless to say, my sandwiches are even more delish these days.

It's the little stuff in life that makes me so happy.

Happy Dance

It's October! :)
I used to really love October because it was right in the heat of marching band competition season. Plus, fall is pretty and I love orange. Halloween is fun and I adore the unlimited supply of candy in grocery stores and stuff. October is just great! :)
But that's not the only reason I'm happy. Lots of good things happened last weekend and are about to happen in the next two weeks. Let me tell you about it....

First off- my best friend came home for the weekend like usual. I was at work and was secretly hoping she would come in and see me. Well, she did. And she brought her work clothes. :) I really miss working with her and I think it's super awesome that she comes and works for free just so that she can be back at JJJL with me ;) haha I guess the UVU store just isn't a family like we are. Sad. :( anyway the shift was fun and after we closed we went on one of our famous drives around the world. We just talked and laughed and got home quite late :P
The next day I woke up and got ready for family pictures! We went to Big Cottonwood and it was pretty fun. I love my family! Especially my little sister. We had fun doing our "couple pictures". Sometimes it sucks not being married like Chantel and Kyle, but I'm glad I have Kaylee to do stuff with :) after pictures we went to dinner and then home.

Getting ready!

My cute sisters and I waiting for stuff to happen...

Reppin' them Utes ;)

When I got home Elise and I hung out again. We were just driving around and then Elise had the idea of going to the corn maze. (Isn't that redundant? Ya know, corn and maize? Hahaha) So anyway Elise texted Jason and asked if he wanted to come because he was home from Logan for the weekend. Now, this was quite bold because he hasn't really talked to either of us for about 2 months. But, he texted back and we were both so excited! The three of us used to hang out pretty much every day and we always had a blast. We both miss him a lot and were really hoping we could spend some time with him before he went back up to USU. Well, Elise and I just drove around while we waited to see if Jason was really going to hang out with us. We went to Sonic and got some food. We laughed some more because I'm an idiot and not very good with money and enjoyed our treats. Finally at like midnight Jason was ready to hang out with us so we went to get him and tired to act normal even though we were both going to pee our pants. Haha
He looked so cute and I totally forgot about how mad I should be at him for cutting me off when he left for school. Jason is one of my best friends and we have had so many great times together. I can't stay mad at him no matter how bad I want to. So we got out and hugged him and then drove to our favorite store on state street. Hahahaha I love being a dumb teenager.
After that we drove up to the Capitol and enjoyed the view of the valley. We talked about life and how we were all doing. We laughed about all of our inside jokes and it was like nothing had changed. By the time we got back to West Jordan we needed a potty break so we went to Smith's and Jason performed his signature comedy routine of "Hello". I think now it has more sentimental value than actual humor but still. It was great. And it made my whole entire night. :)
Since it was getting really late we went back to Jason's to take him home but when we got there none of us wanted to leave. We sat there in the driveway for 2 hours enjoying each other's company. I love them. :)
By about 5 am we realized how long we had been together and felt it was time for bed. (Mostly because we were getting loopy and everything was extremely funny). It was a great night and I'm so thankful we got to be together again with just the three of us. :)

I didn't get to take any pictures because Jason is a picture hater...

So I will use one from a long time ago.

If we ever start a band and make a CD this is going to be our album cover.

It cracks me up every time I see it.

We're so cool ;)

Second thing- I TOTALLY ACED MY RESEARCH PAPER! My witting class is hard but I love it. Our first big paper was due last Friday and today I met with my professor to discuss how I did on it and she told me I did a really good job and that she enjoyed reading it. I aced it and I am so happy. I bet she doesn't know I wrote it the night before it was due :P but shhh we don't need to talk about that. I did awesome on it and that's all that matters!

This would be me, sitting in a classroom at Challenger trying to write my paper.

It was hard. And it took forever.

And I was slightly uninterested...

Third thing- I get to hang out with Kristianna on Wednesday! I always love catching up with her! :)

The day of the band banquet. 

The new band president holding the old one.

Presh.

:)

Fourth thing- fall break is next week!!! I can't wait to have some time off school to just relax. Plus, my midterms will be over and the stress will be gone. I can't wait. :)

Fifth thing- I'm gonna take a trip down to Provo to stay at Elise's apartment! I can't wait to sleep over ;)

Sixth thing- Copper Hills Homecoming! I'm so excited to go to the game as alumni! Even though it will be weird to be clarinetless at a football game....

Seventh thing- I have really great people in my life, my parents especially. They are always looking out for me and I appreciate what they do for me. I hope one day I can be a good parent like they are! Except I probably won't lock my kids in the trunk of my Mustang... ;)

Mostly because I probably won't ever HAVE a Mustang to lock my kids in. But my dad sure does!

Also, I love cats. And this is hilarious.

Well, that's all. :)

Bandies

So last weekend I went to Logan with my band (you know, the CHHS Marching Grizzlies. Because they will always be my band) to watch them perform at the Bridgerland Invitational. That has always been my favorite competition (well, besides Red Rocks in St George...) and I had work off so I decided to go! I rode the bus with my friends and it was just like old times. I love all of those kids to death. They crack me up!
I sat with my other best friend, AnnaBomb (see also: Anna, Kristianna) and it was spectacular! We took lots and lots of model pictures in the wind and chatted with the cool kids sitting around us! Everyone knows that the bus ride TO the comp is the best part of the day. (With the ride home being the worst part of the day)

 Anna, Garrett, and I

She's cute... :)

We stopped at the ever famous Walmart in Brigham City and Joseph bought the spirit pumpkin for the season! (don't ask. Band kids have weird traditions...) And I had the honor of naming it! I was so excited. :)

When we got back on the bus after Walmart it was "quiet focus time" so I read for one of my classes while everyone else pretended to go over their show in their heads. Ah whatever, at least it was quiet!
When we finally got to Utah State University I got all excited because there were band kids galore with instruments, uniforms, and awesomeness. I love band kids. Love them.
My band started doing warm up and stuff so I went and chatted with the band moms. I also love band moms. They rock. :) Eventually it was time to go into the stadium to watch the performance. I hadn't officially seen their show yet so I was super excited. They were doing Music for a Darkened Theater, the music of Danny Elfman. It was pretty cool, I have to say. I'm really proud of how hard they have been working. They have a lot of new kids in the band this year and they seem do be doing pretty well. It's still early on in the season and I know they are only going to get better! :)

Man, I love those kids

After that I watched a few more bands and then went back to the bus to greet my friends and go eat food. Yay for food! I felt so awkward for a minute but it eventually went away. Again, I love band moms. Especially Copper Hills band moms because I actually know them :)
When linner (lunch/dinner) was over everyone went back into the stadium to watch the 5A bands. I loveeee the 5A bands! They are so big and cool and awesome and ahhhh. Plus, Bingham competes in 5A and it feels good to know they probably aren't going to win anything because American Fork is boss. It just proves that Bingham doesn't always win EVERYTHING... :) haha just kidding. I love the Bingham band kids. They were usually pretty nice!
When it was time for awards everyone was just standing and waiting for the drum majors to come out so naturally we started doing the wave...in different tempos... hahaha marching band kids FTW.

Garrett and I waiting for awards to start

Locker buddies reunite!

Since CH is CH they didn't win anything and everyone was all sad, as usual. I wish they would think, Hm, this sad feeling sucks. Maybe I should work harder to be better so I don't have to feel so crappy when we don't win anything next competition... But that doesn't usually happen so whatevs.
We got back on the bus, separated according to gender. (stupid Jordan School District and their rules) and Anna and I fell asleep on each other. It was precious.
When we got back to the school I was really sad to be leaving. I love my band and it was so good to see everyone again. No one even said anything bad about me going to the competition with them so that was really nice. I love feeling like people want me there!
I had a really hard time when I graduated and this summer when I realized that I would never be going back to Copper Hills Band. On the 4th of July I felt horrible that I wasn't doing parades or anything. I missed all my friends and playing my clarinet. It has been such a huge part of my life and I hated letting it go. But, now I'm feeling better about it. I'm in college now and I really love it. I miss high school a lot and I wish I could go back every single day, but I can't. And I've got to live with that and just be thankful for all of my really good memories.
So, thank you Copper Hills for letting me be a part of you for a day. It really helped me. You guys totally rock :)

I'd Rather Die Than Live In Provo

Because, I'm a UTE.

But, my best friend lives in Provo because she goes to UVU... So every now and then I have to go to Happy Valley to see her. So worth it. :)

It was a Tuesday and I drove down (ON THE FREEWAY [I've driven on the freeway four times in my whole life] during like rush hour :/ It was awful) to her cute little apartment after school. Thankfully I had been there before so I didn't get lost or anything. She was standing outside waiting for me and I got all happy because I love my best friend. Duh.

So then she took me on a tour of her home :) Her bedroom is adorable and has about 10 pictures of me in various places. Because she loves me. Duh.

We're just so dang attractive. Yep.

Also, I love the little Jason pictures on the side hahahahaha

We sat in her room for a while and chatted about life and school and people and such. Eventually we got all hungry and whatnot so Elise made me dinner :) We had alfredo and noodles and cinnamon raisin bagels :)

 So, I died laughing. Died. 

That face kills me.

 Because I like to document everything....

I'm pretty proud of Elise and her cooking skills!

She's so grown up :')

While we ate dinner we watched Friends because Friends is awesome. We just talked and laughed and had a really good time! I always love hanging out with my best friend even if we just do little things like eat pasta and watch TV. I'm very thankful to have her in my life. And even though she lives far away now I can still talk to her whenever I need to. Plus, she comes home every weekend to hang out with me... :)

She's just great. I love her.

Would You Like to Hear a Poem?

So this one time... actually a lot of times... my family bottled tomatoes. For as long as I can remember we've done tomatoes. Even when my parents first got married they did tomatoes. We LIVE off of them. I don't know how I would cook anything if we didn't have delicious tomatoes year-round.
Now, I know what you are thinking. Ew. Tomatoes are nasty.
And you, my friend, are probably right. Because you've never had a home-grown tomato ;)
*props to Challenger School for that excellent song*
Those things they have at the grocery store that they call tomatoes are indeed not tomatoes. They grow them under a light and pick them when they are still green so that they have time to "ripen" while being shipped. And ultimately have no flavor.

Ya know, these...

Anyway- since real live tomatoes are AWESOME we bottle them every summer. We have our very own supplier called Mr. Rushton who lets us come pick as many as we need from his massive tomato patch. We've been going there forever and I love it! Even though you get SO dirty it's fun to see how fast you can pick and how big you can find them :)

This year we only had to get 6 bushels (about 270 pounds) so Kaylee, my dad, and I set out to pick. We got done in 45 minutes which I'm pretty sure is a record. Go us.

After you pick, you wait until Saturday morning to can them. Except last year we started on Friday night because we had so many to do. Thankfully this year it wasn't so bad and we got them all done in one day!

Saturday morning you wake up at about 7:30 and put on your Old Navy flag t-shirt from a few years earlier since you pretty much can't wear it in public anymore. Then you find your happy place and set out for the garage. We usually start with whole tomatoes because they take the longest to cook and it's nice to get that out of the way. Plus they are way easier than juice. So we scald, peel, stuff, salt, seal, and cook those bad boys until they are ready to be put into storage. Since my family is pro at tomato canning, we all have our specific jobs that we just do and everything runs nicely. Sometimes we have disasters like exploding steamers or salt-less bottles but for the most part things work out.

Kyle and Natalie came over to help this year so that was fun!

They told us about their honeymoon to Alaska and it was really good to see them :)

When whole tomatoes are finished you begin the juice process. That involves washing, cutting, cooking, juicing, scraping, salting, pouring, sealing, and cooking again. It's hot and messy and hard. This is the part where you get tomato stuff ALL OVER YOU. By then everyone is starving and we eat tuna fish sammiches and discuss what cooker is with what timer and my dad is always worried about how things are going to work out. :P

Thank goodness for the KitchenAid juicer attachment :)

The chit-chat in the garage is always nice. We listen to music, sing, recite Challenger poetry (hence the title of this post. Inside joke from last year), and laugh about how silly we must look. And then we embrace it by taking pictures like this. :)

When the last bottles have been filled and are waiting in line for the cooker, we start clean up. I hate clean up. ( hahaha this year I had to go to work at 4 and we got done around 2 so I accidentally slept through clean up. I went inside for just a minute and ended up waking up 30 minutes before I had to go to work. So I hurried and showered and spent the rest of the day making smoothies for people. It was a long freakin day but it was a lot of fun!) You pretty much just bring everything inside and wash it all before it becomes impossible to remove the tomato remnants. And when that is over, you stand and admire all of the beautiful bottles. 

Some of the juice :)

I love canning tomatoes. It's so much work but so rewarding. I hope that one day I can do this with my own family :)

The One Where I Become Obsessed With Friends

How can you not just love them?

I know I do!

I'm so addicted.

Thanks sis ;)

I've Got the Swagger of a College Kid

So last Monday was my first day of school! It was interesting, to say the least.
I woke up pretty early* to get ready so I could get on the train at 8:23 to be at my 9:40 class on time.
My mom left me a real cute note in my bathroom and it totally made my day :)

She thinks I'm awesome :')

Thankfully, I knew where my first class was and walked right to it with no trouble at all *applause*. I have writing 2010 with about 23 other kids in this super old looking building for fifty minutes. It's kind of awesome :) I love how short class is. It is about as long as my attention span and we mostly just sit and discuss the reading that we had for homework.
After that is my LEAP 1100 class. I'm still not 100% sure what that is but I like it. LEAP is this program that the U does to help kids with the same goals get together and learn. It takes care of your diversity credit for your general education but the content of the class focuses specifically on your major. So since I plan to major in business management one day, I  am in business LEAP! We also have a peer adviser who brings us candy and keeps us updated on things happening around the school. It's almost like a homeroom class where you can actually feel comfortable as a stupid freshman! And we learn about things that are actually interesting :) score!
After my classes ended I went to the no good very bad bookstore (not really. It's actually like the coolest place ever! They have so much great Utah stuff! I want all of it!) to get my textbooks. I was only able to get two of them and I spent $98. Then I went back to the store the next day and spent $93. Also, I bought two books online for $120. Needless to say, my poor little bank account is mad at me for having to spend $311 on textbooks for one semester. Hopefully I'll be smarter next time. Ha. :)
Anyway, day two was less exciting. I have Nutrition at 9:10 and it goes until 10:30. I get kind of bored in there and it's hard to sit and pay attention to a lecture for that long. But, I know I need to listen and learn because I'm definitely not healthy. And it beats biology or chemistry for a science credit any day! :)
After that I walked over to the Institute to sign up for class. I hadn't really met any people yet and I felt so weird sitting alone in my classes and was feeling kind of lonely. But, as soon as I walked into the Institute, I felt so peaceful. I felt like I was back in my Seminary building with all of my friends and a million people who loved me. Everyone was so nice and said Hi to me. It was the BEST! I decided to take New Testament since I haven't had that for a while and I went to class. Brother Paige told us that we would be studying the life of the Savior in chronological order. He told us how important it is to learn about Christ so that we can come to know him and gain testimonies of him. My Tuesday/Thursday schedule was so freaking hard to plan out. I worried and worried about it all summer until I finally fixed it the Monday night right before my first day of T/TH classes. And now I am able to take the exact Institute class that I need in my life right now. I really do believe that our Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us and is always going to help us out, no mater what! :)
After that I get a little break to just chill and do homework. Then it's off to Music 2100, History of Rock and Roll :) I've said it before and I'll say it again. I absolutely adore music. I love it! It's pretty much my entire life. Last year I took Music 1010, which was just music appreciation and history. It was kind of a hard class but I loved learning about the history of music and why things are the way they are. Now I get to move to a more modern time and learn about legends like Elvis and Jimi Hendrix and the influence that they had on society and the entire music world. It's really great :) I think it'll be a fun class!
Riding the train to and from school is quite the event. I spend two hours a day commuting to/from school. In some ways it's nice because I can just read or sleep or write papers. But at the same time it's annoying because uh who likes sitting with a million strangers on a freaking train with no wifi for an hour? Yeah. Exactly. I've met some interesting people though. It's nice to have chats with people much older than me who give me advice about my future. A lot of them have said don't try to do too much and remember to have fun. I really take that stuff to heart. After all, strangers know best! :)
All in all college is pretty cool. It's nice to have freedom and responsibility. But it sucks having no friends and doing everything alone. Oh, and being hungry all the time isn't really that great either. Hopefully I can meet some super hot guy who is about ready to graduate and has a good career in mind so I can marry him and have one major life event that I always worry about out of the way ;) Or maybe we can just be friends or something. Haha :)

Well that's all folks! Have an excellent week!

*So pretty much every night this summer I went to bed at 2:30 am and woke up around 10. So when I say "pretty early" I mean like seven. Because seven IS early to me :P

Also, I miss my friends. A lot. We had so much fun this summer! So many great nights and adventures! So many laughs and pictures and good times. Two of my favorite people ever now live in Logan and are attending USU. I have two other friends who moved out, one is at Snow and the other SUU. And we can't forget my best friend in the whole entire world, Elise! She's now in Orem attending UVU. It's just weird having everyone gone. I miss being able to just round everyone up to watch movies or go to Denny's or whatever. Thankfully they are coming back this weekend to work and hopefully this time I can give them all proper goodbyes. They're all really awesome kids and I appreciate the good times we've had together! Anyway, enough ranting. I know friends don't really matter that much but I still get sad when I see a day dot or a punch card with someones initials who has already left. It kind of breaks my heart a little. Haha Kara you're such a baby :P

Now, for your entertainment pleasure-

Peace out, girl scout!

Gnats

So this one time my family went on a trip to Yellowstone. It was right after my sister got married. Her and Shane came along with the Fab Five and we had a real good time :) Yellowstone is one of my favorite places to go camping. It is HUGE and there are tons of different things to see. But the animals are probably my favorite part! We get up super early and drive and drive and drive until we get to where the bears like to hang out. It's usually still a little dark and you have to search them out but when you find one it's so exciting! We stop off on the side of the road and run out to take pictures. This is definitely not a "safe" activity but it sure is fun! I love being the start of a bear jam ;)
My family and I have been to Yellowstone quite a few times. Every time is a new adventure and we always have so much fun! But this particular time stands out to me. I don't know if it's because my brother-in-law was there but it just seems to be different than all the other trips we've taken there. Maybe it's because of this beaut of a picture...

We were hiking around looking at different hot pots or something and were being eaten alive by gnats. They were awful, terrible creatures and were so obnoxious. They fly around your head and buzz in your ears. It's so annoying! Luckily we all had nifty jackets to protect us! So we walked around just like this for quite some time and Shane documented this moment. Aint that just special :)
I love my family and I love our camping trips. I've been so many amazing places over the years. I've seen some pretty incredible stuff!! It just proves to me that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that he wanted to make some parts of this earth extra special. These National Parks are not accidents of nature. They were created to be places of wonder and beauty. I'm so glad my parents have taught me and my siblings how important it is to appreciate them. I'm glad they are protected and preserved by the NPS so that future generations will be able to enjoy these spectacular sights. I mean can you imagine if someone decided to start building houses along the Grand Canyon? It would totally ruin it!
So today I am remembering all the nights I've spent sleeping in our trailer listening to the sounds of the wild right outside. I remember one day I woke up to 9 massive Elk right outside my window. I remember playing in all kinds of rivers and lakes. I remember being up so high in the mountains that I felt  I was on top of the world. I remember having a snowball fight with my brother on the side of a volcano in the middle of July. I remember campfires and smores. I remember being able to see stars. I remember hours and hours in the car with my brother and sisters. I remember classic rock music blaring as we drove. I remember sleeping bags and cold pillows. I remember singing and laughing and gift shops. I remember ranger shows. I remember animals, particularly the time we watched a fox and a grizzly bear chase each other around a meadow. I remember hiking and getting dirty. I remember picnics. (Like in Yosemite when my dad practically cut his finger off and we sat at the only table in the shade for hours while he was getting stitched up. People were so mad at us. We were just four dumb kids sitting around with no parents... hahaha) I remember staying up late and waking up early. Camping is the BEST. It's the time when you can just get away from it all and enjoy the  outdoors. :)
Happy "So this one time..." Sunday everyone!

"So This One Time..." Sunday

I love memories, stories, and pictures. And I've got TONS of them. Problem is, most people don't really want to hear them. So yay for blogging! :D
I have decided that every Sunday (or whatever. You know how good I am at remembering to blog...) I will write about a memory I have of something awesome!
I have also decided that the first one shall be about The Lid Box War of '12. It was quite the event and it always makes me laugh so hard when I think about it. So here goes...

I was scheduled to work one night with Elise, Taylor, and Jason and I was quite excited because Elise and Jason are my favorite people ever! But when I got to work everything was weird. But I kept working like normal and then things got super slow so we decided to sit in the office where this event took place-

Elise was GLARING at Jason. (And I thought it was kind of funny so I documented the moment.) For some reason unknown to me, they were in a fight and both of them were angry. I had no idea what was going on until we were out in the kitchen later...
We have this wonderful thing at pour station called the lid box. When you are getting ready to pour a smoothie, you are supposed to take the tag off the lid, throw it away, place the lid in the lid box, and then continue to pour the smoothie into a cup and hand it out. Seems legit, right? Wrong. Sure it's fast and easy but if you get rushed and then run out of clean lids, you have to stop and dump them in the sink and wait for one minute for them to sanitize and it's inconvenient and kind of sucks. So anyway Jason feels that the lid box is an unnecessary and evil thing for those reasons. His philosophy is basically throw the lid at the sink before you pour so that someone can wash it and then you've always got clean lids ready to use! (which I also kind of hate because I have been hit by so many freakin' lids! Also, if it doesn't hit me it scares the crap out of me when I'm on dishes. So I just put them on the counter and carry them to the sink with the dirty blenders. Stupid lids...)
I was on pour and threw a lid in the lid box just like I always had and looked up to see the most terrible look I've ever been given. Jason was standing there and was like, "DON'T USE THE LID BOX!" and Elise was like, "USE IT!" and then they glared at each other and didn't speak for a while. I kind of just rolled my eyes at them because this fight was completely ridiculous and was disturbing our happy work environment. Taylor and I laughed and we all went in the back and discussed the problem. Elise admitted that he was right about the inconvenience of stock piling dirty lids. But she didn't want to say sorry so she continued to be mad. Jason tried to have group hug with us in hopes for forgiveness but Elise just would not have it. Thankfully Taylor took pictures of the event with my iPod :)

Our faces KILL me

hahahahahaha

Us being mad at Jason...

 I still don't know what was happening right here but it makes for an awesome picture 

:)

 And eventually I gave in but Elise stayed true to her anger and refused to participate in group hug.

And the first thing she did when we got back in the kitchen was throw a lid in the lid box. 

So, naturally, Jason freaked out and threw everything he could find in the lid box.

 And he did it with the straightest face and without saying a single word. By then Elise and I were rolling on the floor laughing. He had clearly won the war. And I have never put a lid in there since.
Long story short, I love my friends. And even though we do ridiculous stuff at work that we should probably get fired for, we have a lot of fun. Our staff is like no other staff. We are a family. Best friends forever. We care about each other and spend a lot of time together, especially outside of work. I couldn't ever ask for cooler people to work with!
And now it is time to say goodbye to six of them. Calvin, Kathy, Elise, Eric, Karley, and Jason (who technically already quit but still). They are my FAVORITE. I love every single one of them so much. They are all so fun to work with and make me smile on the daily. We've all had a lot of fun times together and I look forward to them coming back to work/visit on the weekends and summers. And every single time I pour a smoothie and set the lid on the counter instead of the box, I think of this day and the wrath of Jason. I look back at it and laugh. I'll miss him. I'll miss everyone! They've all been so good to me!

Well, that's that. My first really lame story that means a lot to me. I'm looking forward to every "So This One Time..." Sunday in the future :)

10 Days

That's when classes start. In TEN days.
Ten days left of summer.
Ten days left of freedom.
Ten days left until I won't see some of my best friends for a while.
Ten days left to get ready for this exciting and terrifying journey.
It's here. I can't believe it.

In Loving Memory

I don't even know where to begin this post. I have so much to say.

Earlier this week one of the greatest men I have ever known passed away. I was at work ready to end my shift and leave for the day when my dear friend Elise came in. She was getting ready for her closing shift and we were just chatting as normal when she was like oh by the way... Brother Timothy died this morning. 

I wasn't shocked by the news since he has been battling cancer for quite some time, but I was still sad. I was  glad I was done working for the day and could just go talk to my sister. He meant a lot to me and has really had an impact on my life these past 3 years.

Let me start from the beginning. Like, primary. The boys and girls my age in the Welby 3rd ward aren't exactly...friends. We've never ever gotten along super well and definitely don't hang out. We never sit together at activities and have separate sides of the room in our classes. When the Timothy's were called to be our teachers this all changed. Craig had this lovely idea of giving us a seating chart. He made us get to know others and sit with people we didn't know so that we would actually listen to our lessons. Also, for the first 15 minutes of every class we would go around the room and share one thing from the previous week. This gave us a chance to talk and get to know each other. Sometimes they would have us say one thing we learned about someone that we didn't know before. They unified us and made us feel more comfortable talking to each other. It reminds me a lot of the movie Freedom Writers. (Way to go Mr. Olpin. Something you taught me in my English class actually applies to my life) When people start to have a better understanding of the people around them, incredible things happen.

They helped us understand the scriptures and always gave us quality lessons. We studied the Old Testament,  New Testament, and The Book of Mormon with them. Craig always gave us a challenge to be better in our lives. He made us report back to him and follow up on the things we had been learning. 

We had our own Sunday School Facebook group and had parties from time to time. We had lessons over Skype when Craig went out of town and Janet was still there to teach us. I mean who does that?! Most people just get a sub and forget about their class when they leave but not him. He made sure he could at least call and listen to our news of the week when he was gone. They really did genuinely care about us. Plus they ALWAYS gave us treats which was awesome. Even on Fast Sunday Janet would pass around the bag of assorted gum. I can't even tell you how many cinnamon rolls and choco tacos I ate before Sacrament Meeting. It was the best :)

When we found out he was sick it was hard for all of us. He still continued to come and teach us even when I know he felt like crap. He was the ultimate example of sacrifice and priorities. He always had a good attitude and made sure that we were being taken care of. I really appreciate all the words of wisdom he gave us. The last week he was able to come to our class he thanked us for all we'd done for him. He told us to keep our testimonies strong and to be nice to everyone. All I could think was how on earth could we have possibly done anything for you? You were the one who taught us and stayed with us until the very end. He never asked to be released and give up. I'm so very thankful for him and his wife. His children as well. That family rocks and I'm so glad that I have gotten to know them so well over the past few years.

Brother Timothy will always be someone I look up to. I miss him a lot but I know he's happy in heaven. And I will forever be thankful for the things he has taught me. :)

Mr. and Mrs. Winter

8.4.12

Draper Utah Temple

It was a lovely day full of happiness and smiles.

Congrats you guys! :)

Dear Boys Part 7

It's back to nicknames ;)

Dear Elder,
We're headed downhill! You'll be home in less than a year. I miss you a lot. But I know you are doing awesome things right now. Keep up the good work. :)
Sincerely, Pen Pal

Dear Boy,
Always remember who you are and what you stand for. Don't forget about your friends. They really do love you.
I miss the way you would smile after you kiss me. It's was so adorable. Sometimes I can't help but wish things had ended differently.... I know I can't change the past. But I sure would like to.
I hope you are happy, I know you've got a lot on your plate now... Don't forget that I'm still here. Just because I graduated doesn't mean that I died. You can always call me if you ever need anything. Be good.
Sincerely, Girl

Dear Bingham,
Oh. My. I love being with you. LOVE it. Call me maybe?
Sincerely, CH

Dear KB,
I really don't even have anything to say to you. It's awkward and hard to deal with. I hate seeing you so upset knowing that I'm doing just fine. Maybe one day life will get better for you. But this is the only way I can be happy. Sorry for everything and thanks for always being my best friend.
Sincerely, KJ

Dear Hopeful,
Remember when we went to Vegas with Anna? hahahaha. Sometimes I look back and have the hardest time  figuring out why you put up with me every day. I would have most definitely shot myself in the head if I were you. I love being able to talk to you about anything. Ever. No matter where we were or what we were doing you would listen to me and give me the best advice that you could. I love you to pieces. I miss you a lot and can't wait to see you again!
Sincerely, Also Hopeful

Dear Trainee,
I'm going to do my best to be nice to you. It's just very, very hard.
Sincerely, Dude, His Name Is Not Justin

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the kitties. I love them. Sometimes I think you invented them just for me.
Sincerely, Daughter

Dear Dad,
I really like you a lot. Thanks for being so patient with me. I bet it's frustrating to have kids that come home so late all the time. But hey, you've raised me to know how to make good decisions. So you have no need to worry. :)
Sincerely, Janester

Dear Mountain,
You make me smile :) I like your stories. I'm gonna miss you when you leave. A lot.
Sincerely, Don't Be Awkward ;)

Dear Indy Dog,
I love babysitting you. You are so cute and fun to play with. I sure will miss waking up at 7 every day to go let you outside. Okay, no I won't. But I will miss you sitting on my lap and letting me pet you for 45 minutes. You are just the greatest little dog ever!
Sincerely, The Neighbor

Dear Leo,
I watched The Vow today. You are a hottie. Oh yes.
Sincerely, In Love

Dear JJ,
Thanks for being my LIFE. I love it so much <3
Sincerely, Employee

Dear Sharpie,
Seeing you in my daily life is so flipping awkward. I know it is for you too because YOU won't look at ME either. What would life be like if we still talked? I doubt that I would get this rush of nerves and inability to act like a human every time I see you. It's so strange. I hope life is good though? I hear it's spectacular.
Sincerely, Kizzle

Dear JB,
I JUST NEED SOMEBODY TO LOVEEEEE.
Sincerely, I'm a Belieber <3

Theee Enddd!

Buying Things

Okay first of all- I love this picture. It's great.

Science ftw!

So yesterday I made my first "big" purchase. 

I say this because I've never spent more than 50 dollars at a time, EVER.

But yesterday I got my laptop!

I loveeeeeee it.

Mostly because I don't have to blog from my ipod anymore. Which is awesome.

So here's the story- because I know you are just dying to hear it ;)

Sunday the ads came in the paper and my dad said hey, Best Buy has a deal going where you can get a laptop, mouse, case, flash drive, and antivirus for a year for $400.

And I was like schaaa-wheeeeat. (I love Julie Blake)

So after doing some research I decided this was the best option for me. I went to bed in hopes of getting my computer in the morning.

Well, morning came and I realized I needed to hurry over there because they had "limited quantities" and I was like D:

I got there at 9:57 and they opened at 10. (yessssss) When they finally opened I just walked down to the computer section and told the guy what I wanted. He got it for me and was super nice. He obviously knew that I knew nothing about computers and was very patient with me. Finally it came time to pay for it and my debit card was denied. DENIED people! I knew I had more than enough money in my account and I just felt so dumb. I told him that I was super sorry and I would just go to the bank and get cash to pay for it. I just didn't want him to think I was some low life who steals other people's debit cards and buys laptops and sells them to buy drugs.

Because obviously that's a legitimate fear.

Not really though.

Who does that?

I went to the bank and was helped by another really nice lady. (People at Best Buy and the bank are really nice) She gave me my money and I raced back to the store. He was standing there waiting for me and said he was thankful that I came back. Aw. I told him he is a very nice guy and he needs a raise. Because he does. Everyone needs a raise. Duh.

I left the store with my cute new laptop and a happy smile! Then I went to work to take my last test. (Which I passed with *almost* 100%. I forgot to put the fruit amounts on the MIL Razmatazz. But that was purely accident and Em understands. So she passed me. And I'm officially NOT a trainee anymore! Woooooooo! Which means I get a raise! Maybe the guy at Best Buy should get a job at Jamba Juice....) Wow that was long?

I went home and set up my laptop and everything was super great. I'm so excited! :)

I love it a lot and I can't wait to take it to school with me!

 Loveeee it!

:)