Each Day the Best Day:)

Hmmm... Wow, It's been awhile! Where to start? Well I think I'll start from today and go backwards:)

There is SNOW outside! and lots of it! I love the feeling of snow; everything seems more quiet and maybe even a little bit more magical:) I woke up this morning and rushed out the door to get to class, as I was walking to class, freeeeezzzinggg, I decided; "this is crazy! I am so focused on being cold that I can't even realize that it's a beautiful day! I am headed to a wonderful class, with a wonderful teacher, at a wonderful university...I have a warm coat, scarf, and boots, and sooo much more. What am I doing with a lousy attitude and a frown on my face?! WHY NOT make today the best day of my life? Whose stopping me? ... only myself. Well, Not anymore!:)"

That was the beginning of my day, after that small revelation I proceeded to smile at everyone I saw, compliment strangers, talk to people in the checkout line at Walmart, and be sure to pick up someone's books when they dropped. The change I felt was instantaneous and yet lasted the entire day, and I'm going to let it continue for the rest of forever:) I think the key to making every day the best day of my life will be to make it the best day possible for everyone around me. Whenever I'm feeling down or upset, I simply need to step back, and realize that I have a choice, I get to choose whether I LET myself be upset, or Let myself be happy, and with that, make other's happy along the way! When I put it that way... the option seems so simple!

Alright...now time for a brief cramming session of my life so far this semester. Here are some words that might begin to describe it: Fun. Crazy. Surprising. Spiritual. Happy. Tearful. Inspiring. Marvelous. Scary. New. Loveable! Supportive. Enlightening. Joyous! There are so many more words I could use but this will suffice for now:) Alright, well I still have lots to do, and little time to do it in! Goooodnight:)

An Adventure to Remember

<-- This is Shell and I on the way out:)















<-- This was the view right outside our tent! My pictures don't nearly do it justice:)

Finally, our yearly backpacking adventure!:) This time, Shelly was able to come with Dad and I which made it even more fun! We picked our spot about a week earlier; we decided to drive up to Trinity Lake Monday night and camp, then backpack in to several different lakes Tuesday, camp at Rainbow Lake, and then head out Wednesday...but we weren't counting on the thunderstorms!:) We ended up leaving later than planned Monday and didn't make it to Trinity Lake until well after dark, in the rain... so we tried to set up camp as fast as possible and then sat in our tents listening to the crazily fantastic thunderstorm outside! Shell and I shared one tent and Dad and the dog, Kili, shared the other:)
As soon as Shell and I had our tent set up we pulled out the laffy taffy and yummy marshmallow/pretzel/goldengraham/chocolatechip chex mix I spontaneously put together....DeLiCiOuSneSs!:) and then we played our new favorite game...Monopoly cards! (I can't stand the board game, but the card game is a blast!) Listening the the outrageous thunder and pelting rain was definitely a plus too...cept for how cold it was the next morning:(
We headed out later Tuesday morning and were unpleasantly surprised when the first leg of the trail was annoyingly steep the whole time:/ yuck, but the rest of the hike was fun:) ...until we got a little lost! hahaha, we were all ready to be done hiking and setting up camp when we realized we must have missed a sign and passed the lake we meant to stay at. But they neglected to tell me that so I kept on hiking since I was in front...figures:) Eventually Shell came and yelled for me to come back cuz I was going the wrong way...that seems to be my lot in life, I'm bound to get lost wherever I go!:) hahaha, anyways, we eventually found it, hiked around the lake, and found the best campsite:) There was only one other group there, and they were on the opposite side of the lake so it never even felt like they were there!
After we set up our tents we determined it was definitely nap time...cept I couldn't fall asleep:) Eventually we got a fire started and started making dinner... we were starving! The rest of the evening consisted of Dad fishing, Shell and I playing cards, taking pictures, and finding gorgeous views! along with the best dessert...raspberry crumble, yum! I loved spending time in the mountains, I hadn't realized how much I missed it! and how much I'm going to miss Shelly once she heads off for Utah State and her Masters degree!:( sigh...
That night we once again stayed up late playing the monopoly card game, and attempting to get our silly glow sticks to work! I brought a whole package, and none of them worked!:( oh well, we got an early start the next morning and made it out rather quickly, despite the rainstorm that made it a tad bit chilly for us:) Overall, it was certainly a memory that won't be forgotten...

Over the Rainbow

Wow. So i've always enjoyed a good thunderstorm, but until this weekend I never really knew what it was like to REALLy experience one.... it was amazing! I guess I should start from the beginning (and knowing me, that's code for "here come's a really long story"). My friend and I ended up going to a bonfire up at the Civil Defense caves on friday, he was was one of the only guys with a truck, so we had the lucky job of finding the firewood before we headed out. Our other friend knew the perfect spot so we followed him over, but besides a generous portion of firewood, there was also an incredibly annoying amount of mosquitos... yuck!:( Anyways, after getting eaten alive we met up with everyone else at the caves. Let me just say, the weather started out absolutely GorGeOuS! Not a cloud in the sky... Sooooo we start off by going exploring. I'd been down there once before but it was still just as fun the second time around:) One of the girls majorly hit her head on one of the more shallow spots, but thankfully she wasn't too badly injured. After exploring, we started a campfire... by this time we could see the lightning and vaguely hear the thunder.... but it was quite a ways a way and none of us were worried. It made for quite a show though! Picture this: out in the middle of nowhere, you are the tallest thing for miles around, sitting around a warm campfire watching bolts of lightning sporadically streak across the sky while listening to the distant roll of thunder... yeah, i'd say it was probably better than the 4th of July fireworks:) Anyways, we start to hear it get a bit closer, so we pull the truck up next to the fire and sit on the tailgate (cuz the rubber tires would hopefully insulate us from any lightning) Then, a HUGE crash of thunder splits the sky and rain just gushes from the clouds and soaks us in seconds... while the sky is spontaneously white from all the lightning. i'm going to admit... I screamed... it was incredible! but a bit frightening at the same time:) anyways, we were all getting a little (lot) bit nervous so we grabbed a flashlights and ran (literally) down into the cave like scared rabbits! The thunder and lightening felt like a war zone with all the KABOOMS! and flashes of blinding light, I absolutely Loooved it! We waited it out for a bit in the cave and then ventured back up to our dwindling fire to roast marshmallows and starbursts...yummm!:)
Now on a lighter note... I had a voice recital yesterday:) I performed "Over the Rainbow" from the Wizard of Oz... it was so much fun! I was so relieved I got all the words right, I was a little bit worried... Overall it wasn't my best performance, but I was okay with it... They recorded it and videotaped it so I guess i'll have the chance to analyze every note a bit later:/ Then Kailee and I met up with some good friends at Twizzleberry (Ice cream!)and had fun catching up with each other's lives...
Why do I choose to write at such early hours of the morning? I honestly do not know the answer to that... but its a good reason to end this blog so I can get some sleep... :) I promise more pictures next time...

So Far, So Great

In the picture: Carrie, Morgan, Kailee, Kelsee, Me

My family away from home...all but one of us, I'll have to catch Natalie in another picture:) Without these girls I would not have experienced all my amazing adventures so far this semester! I cannot believe it is already more than halfway over, and yet it feels like it was a lifetime ago that the semester began. I never expected my semester to be filled with so many crazy adventures and wonderful new friends, but i'm thankful for the wonderful surprise. I wish I had started recording my experiences earlier so I could share more detail about each event but since I can't, i'll just give a brief summation of my favorite ones:)
Ever since the first day we all got here we have had people randomly coming to visit us and our usual evening consisted of playing apples to apples or guesstures with whatever new friends decided to stop by. Each sunday we have our traditional stadium singing and then game night, it seems like we acquire a few new friends each week, and it often feels like a parade walking from our apartment over to the stadium with all the friends we have that join us! I've had the opportunity to go on several dates and have a blast getting to know new people. I can now say I have been slack-lining (although I'm not very good at it) and had all the ice cream there is to have in rexburg :)haha... When my little sister (megan) came to visit for the weekend we went up to the sandunes and had a bonfire, went bridge-jumping, off-roading, and I got to go for a motorcycle ride:) Since then I have gone on other off-roading adventures, one which included getting stuck in the mud for three hours in the pouring rain, but don't worry, we made it fun and took the opportunity to practice my shooting while waiting for help to come pull us out. I've gotten to see the ice caves, civil defense caves, and Mesa Falls as well! But I must say I pay the price for all my fun, it seems I have an accumulation of new bruises each week:)
It would be a shame for me to list all the fun experiences I have been having without mentioning the Disney Show... Since coming up to BYU-Idaho last semester my confidence in my voice has been sorely lacking. Up here, it seems everyone has some type of phenomenal musical ability. I've never had the confidence to audition for any of the shows up here on campus until this semester. I'm taking voice lessons this semester, and I didn't know beforehand, but that means I am required to do two vocal performances in a semester, and there is only one vocal recital...so I had to find the other performance somewhere else. So I decided spur of the moment to audition for the Disney Show here on campus and made it in! I praticed like crazy and slowly started to get excited for the show. I was singing Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas, and I even had the right costume with my hair in braids to top it off. To my complete surprise, my parents surprised me by showing up at my apartment right before the show! I was ecstatic. The show turned out to be a wonderful success, complete with the fire alarm interrupting our grande finale...hahaha:) Then I got to spend the rest of the night with my amazing parents whom I love and miss so much! It was definitely a night I won't forget, and I now want to look for more opportunities like it.
Despite how long and probably terribly boring this post is, I have really only grazed the surface of my second semester experience, but I will spare you the rest and get some sleep for tomorrow:)

Loving Life

Today was yet another skip breakfast and rush out the door kind of morning... I rushed to get ready, redid two assignments for math this morning, and then enjoyed a lovely chat with mom on my jaunt to my first class on the other side of campus. I love life! I am simply trying to soak in every moment and make the best of what I have been given, which seems like an infinitely long list:) My family, the gospel, my friends, my roommates, my education, music, sunny days, rainy days, mountains, and classic literature... just to name a few. Devotional today was a great reminder of how I can show my gratitude for these blessings; service.
Considering that it is once again the early hours of the morning and I still have yet to go to bed, I think this will suffice for my first official blog post ever.