A Penny For My Thoughts

So I'm not a Lil Wayne fan at all, but this song is awesome. I won't post the Lil Wayne version, but if you feel so inclined, you can look it up on youtube.

Don't mind the random Spanish in the middle, but it sounds legit.

Today, Dan picked me up from class, we went to Smiths to get hamburger buns, and out of nowhere, I just decided I really really wanted to take Dan up Provo Canyon. There's a really pretty spot up the canyon a few miles called Bridal Veil Falls. I'd gone with my mom and a few of my cousins last summer and it was absolutely gorgeous then, so why wouldn't it be now? Nevermind the fact it's nearly the end of November, snow is imminent, and the wind decided to blow horrifically through the canyon.

It didn't take much to convince Dan to go, because he is king of everything outdoors. It turns out that the park-place where it's at closes November 1st. So we had to walk a little ways in to get to the falls. We passed a creepy house across the creek from which I swear Linkin Park music was emminating. Dan wanted to go check it out. Heck to the freaking no!! It's already creepy enough that the wind's blowing and we're by ourselves.

So we finally made it to the falls, stood there for a few minutes, took this picture:

We're cute right? I think so :]

Dan made dinner tonight. Homemade hamburgers in themselves are absolutely delicious! But Dan put in onion soup mix....holy cahmoly DE-FREAKIN-LICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!! Like I seriously considered eating a second third and fourth hamburger. Yeah.....that good! Good thing I stuck with one, because my tummy is STILL full.

So I'd say today has been entirely successful. Jennifer, Shelyse and I laugh entirely too much when finishing our homework. We probably have a few conversations too many with too many people around to hear. Oh...and I end up snorting because I was laughing so hard. Yeah...embarrassing.

Oh and I'm pretty sure I saw Riley Nelson on campus today...not that I care because everyone I've ever talked to said he's a stuck up rude-head (in maybe not so nice of words). Well if it was him, definite reality. The guy waltzed right in with a swagger like he owned the place. Yeah...you're just a football player FYI.

Long story short: Life is good. Outdoor adventures are the best end to a LONG LONG week. I've got some good friends, that I'm lucky enough to have class with every day. Andddd my husband is the best cook ever. Word.

That's just who I am this week

So Jennifer and I are supposed to be studying chemistry in preparation for our test that's this weekend. Do you think we studied? Absolutely not.

I think our poor little brains are just a little too fried right now to even think about studying chemistry. Word.

On top of it all, I've got a Marriage and Family test that's due by Saturday at 1155 pm, along with all the quizzes for this unit. My grades are less than mediocre, and quite frankly I'm a little peeved about it. I could potentially get an A in two of my classes that I have B's in, so I can't really slack off because let's face it...I'm an overachiever and would really really REALLY like to have an A in everything, but chemistry's just not gonna happen.

Suffice it to say, I've been pretty grumpy lately. But that's just my week. Awesome right?

On a brighter note, I'll probably be up pretty late for the next couple of nights trying to catch up on all my homework and get everything done on time.

On an even brighter note, my family will be here in 6 days!! WOOT WOOT!! I'm just a little excited, no worries. And after this week, I only have 2 days of classes next week. And then after thanksgiving, like 2 weeks left of school and then Christmas break...aka a MONTH off of school!!

Anyway, it's time for my chem review now...tune in for the next study session of Jennifer and Arielle...I'm sure there will be some pretty ridiculous pictures.

STOKED!!!!!!!

Hunger Games....nuff said.

Here's the trailer. It's gonna be fabulous. I might have to be a midnight premier kind of deal.

Straight off the silver screen

Yesterday (I know...I fail for not actually doing it yesterday, but that's beside the point) was our 6 month anniversary!! That absolutely blows my mind!! It feels like just yesterday we were here:

I absolutely love the smiles on our faces. You can just see it all over how happy we are!

I love this picture too. My absolute favorite family of 5 boys. Love love them.

All in all, it's been a great six months. We've grown so much and I'm so grateful each and every day that I get to go through this life and eternity with him by my side.

It's been a great ride so far!! And it's only going to get better!

Here's to the next six....and the rest of our lives. Loveyou.

Thanksgiving

It is by far my favorite holiday of the ENTIRE year! Although, it might come in a close second after our anniversary...but that's not till May. So for now, Thanksgiving is up up up there on my list of favorites. Can I let you in on a secret though? I HATE HATE HATE (don't judge) that the radio stations are already playing Christmas music!!! It's like a crime against humanity. So I found a T Swift CD and was jamming out going to school--yes I was that girl that was belting out TSwift at the top of her lungs on the way to and from school. If you passed me, you're welcome for the entertainment.

Anyway, I am so excited beyond excited for Thanksgiving this year for several reasons.
1. It's mine and Dan's first Thanksgiving together--always exciting to have "firsts"
2. My family is going to be here! Woot woot!! I am seriously so stoked that I can't even handle it!!
3. My momma is bringing my "wedding present" for me! aka fresh TURKEY!!! (as in the turkey died 2 days earlier). If any of you know me, for the last couple of years, we've been killing our turkey at a family friend's home. Up to our elbows in blood and guts...and it's the best memories! So I was pretty depressed about having to get a frozen turkey from the store that's been there for who knows how long. So you can understand my excitment when my mom called me and told me that I had one last wedding present, and it was weighing in at about 20 ish (give or take 5) lbs. Yeah...day MADE!

Also, since Thanksgiving is close, that means my #6 (heck yeah 6!!!) month anniversary is coming up! I'll save that for another post, but I'm soo sooo excited about that too.

On the down side, I've got at least 2 (possibly 3) tests to get through before the blessed Thanksgiving break can come. Another downside: I'll probably spend all of break studying for finals--most likely American Heritage...ugh I despise that class.

Today, though, I'm so very very thankful for so many things.
1. Everyone who is/was in the Armed Forces--You guys are champs and I am so grateful for all that they do for us, to protect those freedoms that some use to slam the military. We truly live in the land of the free BECAUSE of the brave.
2. My cute little apartment--I'm pretty convinced that by the time we move again, Dan and I will come out of this place leaving some of our best memories behind. I can't even begin to count how many times we've laughed hysterically on the kitchen floor, or how excited we get during Grey's Anatomy or Fringe (or in Dan's case, how upset he was about how Grey's ended last night), and all the late night chats about whatever's on our minds.
3. My Seester--I have absolutely loved having my sister here at BYU with me. I don't feel nearly as alone on campus because I know she's close. I love hearing her crazy stories about things she and her roommates and FHE brothers do. It reminds me of all the crazy things I did with my roommates and honestly wonder how we ever came out of half the things we did without a scratch.
4. Family--I miss them so much, and I hate feeling like I'm missing out on their lives. I guess everyone's got to grow up and move on at some point, but it's still stinky! I am so grateful for my family and the strength and support they are to me and Dan. I know they're always praying for us and it's so nice to know that there's someone rooting for us (even if they're kinda far away). I'm grateful for the home I grew up in with so much love between my siblings and I and knowing that whatever happens, we've always got each other's backs. I'm grateful for my dad who taught me what to expect out of my future husband, and that he always honors his priesthood. You never know how much you take the priesthood in your home for granted until it's not there anymore. I'm grateful for my mom, who is hands down, the best mom I could have ever asked for.
5. My In-Laws--I absolutely love them! I'm so grateful I married into a wonderful family that loves and cares about us so much! It's so nice to call and talk to them. I can't wait till we get to see them again! I know Dan misses them.
6. Dan--I wouldn't be anywhere without him. He is everything to me, and I'm so grateful each and every day that my Heavenly Father and I agreed on him. He goes to work every day, sometimes at 6 am, and takes care of us. I love that he lets me just focus on school for now. I'm sure he's planning on reciprocating that after I graduate and am making dolla dolla bills as a nurse, so he can finish up in school. He's my best friend, hands down, and I'm so grateful I get to spend the rest of my life, and eternity with him.

I'm sure once Thanksgiving itself actually rolls around, I'll have a grand list to share! But for now, that's all.

"I feel my Savior's love, the love He freely gives me."

Little Miss Hide Your Scars

If you take a look around you, how many people do you see that have suffered or are currently suffering through a magnanomous (sp?) trial? Could you pick them out of the crowd? Even a circle of acquaintances that you briefly chat about nothing with on a pretty regular basis? My guess...probably not.

I've been wanted to blog about this title ever since it slapped me upside the head while listening to Sugarland one day (leave it to Jennifer Nettles to slap you silly with her bomb lyrics). So I've been thinking and noticing just around me immediately who has "scars." Bear with me on this one, it's a little far fetched, but just go with it.

I can't help but notice how many people have lost someone close to them--like as in immediate family close to them. Fortunately for me, I haven't had to go through that, but seeing all the people around me and their tragic stories, I'm scared outta my mind.

It's right in my own family. My husband lost his brother, and likewise my sister in law lost her husband, and my nephew lost his dad. We watch Kason every Wednesday so Jami can go to her institute class (which major props! I'm pretty sure I only go to  my religion classes 1/3 of the time because I actually get a grade). Don't get me wrong, I love love love watching him and getting to play with him every week!! It's probably one of the highlights of our week (mostly because it gives me so much hope and happiness to look forward to Dan being a father to our own kids one day). I love being an aunt! It's so fun and exciting! But I can't help but wonder what life would be like for them today if Kam were still here. Heck, I wonder how different my own life would be. Would we have gotten along? Would Jami and Kason even be in Utah? Probably not.

I had a funny thought the other day--and by funny I don't mean literally funny like haha, but just interesting. Dan and I were talking about his friend Clayton (who also passed away) and different memories that Dan and his friends have with him. I just had this thought, and I looked up at that great big beautiful blue sky and thought to myself, "I can't wait to meet you." I have decided I like talking to Dan about Kam, and I love the way he lights up when he is talking about Kam. It makes me feel like I kind of know my other brother. I hope that when that day comes and I finally do get to meet him, I'll recognize him from all the stories that I've heard.

Anyway, back to scars, they're everywhere, and I feel like as a person, we're always trying to hide them. We don't want people to know that we're broken, or bleeding, or falling apart. We just don't. I don't know if that's the pride and arrogance of us as human beings coming out, or it's just we don't want people to know how badly we're really hurting inside, and that as long as we keep a brave face on a play the part, no one will ever know and we can silently hurt and attempt to put ourselves back together.

I have a good friend, in fact she's probably one of my best friends, that I had the priviledge to live with this last year in college. We'd always been "friends"-ish before, we'd played on the same softball team for a year or two, and she was dating and guy in my ward. So I saw her around. Anyway, she came down to Thatcher last year, and lived with me! It was by far one of the best experiences of my life. She's that friend that's not afraid to call it like it is and tell you to suck it up (and I needed that quite frequently). She's also that friend that has taught me so much about the importance of the gospel in keeping your life together amidst great tragedies.

She lost her brother in a terrible accident. I remember when it happened that I actually got a text from her boyfriend asking everyone to pray for Ben. Fast forward 2 years or so, and I can't tell you how many conversations we've had that lasted way into the small hours of the morning about all these scars on our lives. As we got to be better friends, I learned more about the scars she carries, and I've developed a great love and admiration for her, and anyone that has had a similar situation, the one who does keep going, even if it's just going through the motions for a while, but doesn't let that defeat them.

I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like right now without my brother. He has so much life and love and spirit in him and it's always bringing a smile to my face. I cannot wait to see him in just a few weeks, when my family is here for Thanksgiving.

But not to dwell on that, I really would like to know why we are always striving to hide these scars we carry? Everyone has them, and everyone will get at least one or two more by the time this life is over for each of us. I just hope and pray that when you see someone on the street, don't judge them by their appearance or their attitude or their demeanor. Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. So be kinder than necessary, and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Trust me, one day, you'll need that benefit when your scars hit you.

You gotta love it

...when your upstairs neighbor's baby is up all night crying. I think he finally called it quits at about 500 this morning. Oh and he's 15 months old. So it was loud.

Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep, and that's not helping much with studying for the test I'm supposed to take today. I'm thinking about just taking it Thursday, paying the $5 late fee (lame right? you don't think I pay enough to be here) and having an extra day to study.

At any rate, I don't think I'll be having children in the next 6 months at least (or like 2 years...because then I'll be graduated from nursing school!!! HOLLA!). I enjoy my sleep entirely too much. The end.

An update

So I've got a million and a half pictures on my phone, and rather than blog about each and every single one and the experience associated with it, I'll just post the pictures with a brief description.

Pretty self explanatory...but clearly someone's cutting corners.

First day of school! First day of school!

The atrocious 102 steps that I walk up and down pretty regularly.

I definitely stopped wearing flip flops for awhile after how dirty they make my feet during the day!

Gotta love the mac n cheese (ps...I nearly cried when I realized how tan I was at the start of the school year, and how pathetically white I am now...boo!)

Welcome to Utah County...EVERYTHING is under construction.

Mmm....frosties :]

You can't really tell, but there's a moose! You can see it right through the screen of the trailor.

Psh...I thought this was cold. I was such a pansy. Now 42 feels good!

My awesome nephew practicing his cart-wheels. For the life of me, I could not get a picture of him mid-cartwheel. I was a little sad about that.

View outside the Provo Temple!

Oh no big deal...Just showing the hydrogen bonding that goes on with nucleotide bases in DNA.

The first big rain storm. I've checked the weather every day since then, because believe it or not, two hours earlier it was clear skies and sunshine.

The awesome dinner my awesome husband made (thanks for the recipe Abbie!)

Ice cream date after priesthood session of conference!

The first cold cold cold cold cold day of the year...yeah it sucked. I was really quite concerned that winter was upon us. Have no fear...it let up for a few weeks, and the sun came back out.

It was very pretty though if I do admit though.

CAKE BALLS!!!

Provo Temple!

Okay, so this is a pretty funny story. Dan was popping my back, well trying to pop it anyway. It's pretty stubborn when it comes to popping it. Anyway, he was standing behind me trying to pop it, and out of no where there's a huge RIP. Yeah...my bra had busted open. Only a part of it though, so it still is wearable. But I was laughing so hard because i just couldn't believe that it had actually ripped.

HOMEMADE lasagna!!! Heck yeah!!!

National Chemistry Week: Magic Show!

My sister in law and my nephew and I hiked the Y a few weeks ago and Kason was a champ!! He hiked the whole thing by himself, without Jami or I having to carry him. It was so awesome!

Homemade famous bowls. Why buy them at KFC when you can make them at home yourself!

My mumu and I on Halloween!

My cousin Britton! He was a scarecrow and was scaring people in the cornmaze!

My seester!! She was a sister-wife with a couple of her other roommates, and she had balloons in her dress so her boobs would be saggy! The funny part was that she had no idea I was grabbing her fake boobies until I'd said something about it...then she started freaking out!

Cute pose :]

Tanner the grim reaper!!

My aunt and uncles house! Halloween is their holiday!! No joke, they go all out for it and have a haunted maze in their backyard.

The first snow was this last Sunday!! It didn't last too long. All of it had melted by 11 that morning.

Isn't he the cutest?!!

That's some of the crazy happenings of our lives these days.

Our first REAL home

So I finally cleaned the whole house when Dan was at work on Saturday and I figured I had better take pictures of it now while it's clean.

So here's a little tour...Enjoy!

The Bedroom.

The Living Room....don't mind the somewhat empty picture frames. I haven't printed any pictures out yet.

Living Room take 2

The bathroom.

The Kitchen!! (I think if it were a tad bigger, Dan and I would never leave it!)

So that's our cute little home that we live in! We love love love it, and our ward! Seriously, we got so lucky and are so incredibly blessed to be here!

Grateful

I got into the nursing program! Woot Woot!! Huge blessing and stress at the same time. Mostly a blessing because I want to be done with school eventually and start having babies! Okay, but really, I do want to have a family, and sometime soon. I don't wanna be an old momma. Anyway, back to the stress part, now I just feel all this pressure to do even better in my classes. I feel like my grades don't reflect the actual student that I am, like I don't study and I don't try to do well, and I do. So I've been kind of down about that as of late, but I can do this. I can do this. As long as I have Dan and the Lord on my side, I can do this.

Dan got two jobs this week! Yes...2!!! We are both beyond ecstatic and he won't have to work on Sunday's either. They are both such a blessing for us. And he's finally getting better!! He really has hated being so sick and not being able to work. Poor guy has been couped up in the house all the time while I'm at school. But now he can get out of the house finally!!

We have been so blessed lately. Honestly, I was feeling pretty sorry for us just because he was having such a hard time finding a job, and then he just got so sick. I seriously felt like we couldn't catch a break. Well, I read a great quote on my sister's blog today: The night is always darkest just before the dawn. It felt so true when I was reading it today. Looking back on this trial we've got through together, we came out on the other side and we're stronger together because of it. We've laughed so much, cried a lot, and still we're happy and we're together. It felt like we were never going to get out from under this one, and so many things have come through for us.

The Lord loves us, and it is so clearly evident in ever aspect of our lives. We're healthy (well almost!), we're happy, we have a fabulous ward, and we love each other. At the end of the day, its our faith in the Lord, and the love that we have for each other that matters. With both of those, we'll make it through anything that life can and probably will throw at us.

Bring it!