The Best Is Yet To Come

The end of an era...

2010-06-02T13:19:00.000-06:00

This blog and I have been through so many things. It's been a good couple of years. But I've moved on to a new part of my life and so I've moved on to a new blog. You can now see all my new adventures with my wonderful sweetheart at our blog. Please visit us there! I love you all!!!

I'm trying....

2010-01-24T20:32:00.002-07:00

So we're not even a month into the new year and I've already missed a week of writing. Sorry friends. But since I have to get up super early tomorrow morning, this is going to be kinda short..............

Here's all I have to say........... I AM A FIRST TIME CAR OWNER!!!! Yes, that's right. I bought my first car last monday. I can't believe I've had her for almost a week. Our love seems to grow stronger every day. I can't find my camera cord or I would put a picture up of us.... but just know that she is beautiful and she is all mine! YAY for not having to take the bus or my parents' cars anymore. I know my dad is also excited to have his car back for good now.

Okay.... that's all for now! GOOD NIGHT WORLD!!!

Busy....

2010-01-04T22:58:00.007-07:00

Can I just say that I was planning last month to have a very busy semester this go round.... And that definately hasn't changed. It's just going to be busy for different reasons. I got a new job, purely by luck, but I'm so excited for it. My good friend, Anna, who is in my major with me was talking to me yesterday morning and telling me how she is going to be the EP for the Wednesday and Friday shows at BYU. I told her how I was looking for a little something in the newsroom to keep me busy.

Well, she called me like an hour later and told me to get my butt back to the COMMS building. I went and she told me that they didn't have an EP for Monday or Tuesday shows. I told Brother Curtis I was interested and he gave me the job right there. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

Now most of you are probably wondering what an EP is. The broadcast students at BYU put on a real, live newscast every day at noon on KBYU. I've done that in semesters past and reported or partailly produced on it. But the EP is the person just under the teacher who is in charge of the newscast: The timing, the order, the presentation, the look. For the first couple of weeks I will be putting together the newscast on my own. After that I will be teaching a new student each week how to do it. I'm kinda nervous because it's a lot of pressure, but I like pressure... I can handle it.

I'll still be working at Brick Oven because the hours of this job are from 7am to 1pm and it's only twice a week so it wouldn't bring in the kind of money I need. For those of you who know me, know I'm not a morning person.... I hope I don't die this semester with the early mornings!

P.S. I start a new diet/exercise program that is kicking my butt.... literally. My hind end is SO SORE! But I have to go to another workout now.... UGH!!!

New Year's Newness

2010-01-03T01:28:00.003-07:00

For the past 4 1/2 years I've been really in love with one person. I don't mean my parents or family. But he certainly was as close to me as family as anyone can get. In fact, he was about to become my eternal family. I have recently had to let go of him. I need to let him grow, learn and become his own person. I hope he's able to do that ... soon. Then there still might be a chance for us.

But while he is growing and finding his pather, I'm going to be changing mine. I can't tell you if our paths will cross again. I know I sure hope they do, but for know I can't think about that.

So as I start this new year, I have so many options and so much time. I'll be honest... I'm afriad of what lies ahead. I don't like not knowing what my future holds. At the same time I can't wait to conquer whatever Heavenly Father has in store for me. And oh.... you better believe me.... I WILL conquer it!!!

As for what happens along the way, there is one promise I'm going to make. It is so theraputic for me to blog. I'm able to get all my feelings out and feel like, if nothing else, I know where I stand. I know who I am. I know what I believe.... and to me that's what's most important. So from here on out, I promise to blog every week. It'll be good for me to get everything out. And hopefully it will be entertaining for you all along the way!!!

Here are just a few pictures from the past couple months..... in memory of a great 2009!!!!

This one's for Janelle....

2009-11-16T10:28:00.003-07:00

Janelle is a friend from work and has kindly asked me several times to update my blog.... She's the reason why there is a new post below this one.... So to tribute her and help I give you the latest funny from Emmy.....

May I present the "Hokie Pokie"

Man it's been a while!!!!

2009-09-16T15:21:00.015-06:00

(Emmy look like she's shaking her fist at me.... which is why I chose this picture.... i've been a BAD blogger)

Sorry.... I could come up with all sorts of excues for being such a slacker, but I know you won't accept anything so for now, all I can say is ... Sorry!

Now that that's over let's look at what I've been doing while I've procrastinated updating my blog. ( And let me tell you, as more and more things have happened it's been harder and harder to update. This is going to be a very LONG POST!!!)

OK.... at the very beginning of summer vacation I mostly just worked. And then right before Hudson got home, my parents sent me out to my brother's house in Virginia. My mom and I were babysititng for my brother and his wife when they went on their 10-year anniversary trip. It was a lot of fun and I just love being out there. It was a great way to use up the time before Hudson's return.

P.S. If you look at Becky and J.J. they are the same ages that Jon and I were when Joe and Jen were married. Crazy how time just flies.Grammy had such a good time with her little grandbabies. These two were so cute together and Dallin really latched on to my mom while his parents were away. He's just so stinkin' cute!!!

Like Father, like son, eh??? I think this is a really cute picture.... besides the fact that Joe has already taught Dallin how to put his hands down his pants. :)

It was Emily's Birthday while we were out there. It was quite a party and Emily had a pretty princess cake (which Jen made, by the way.... my sister-in-law is basically amazing)

This is my cousin Jessie. She just got married over the summer and now lives in Canada with her husband. Everyone says we look alike, but I don't know.

As you can tell from this video, Dallin sure did enjoy his part of the cake!!!! (Sorry it's sideways)

Here are some pictures of just me and the girls goofing off. They were so much fun to be around!

One night while the parents were away, we made a MASSIVE fort in thier biggest room. We took all the blankets in the house and stacked the chairs the best we could. It actually turned out really well. We watched a movie down there and a couple of us ended up spending the night in our fort! SO FUN!!!Much to Joe's dismay, Dallin got his fingernail painted. It was only one, and I promise you he was just BEGGING me to paint it! :) Plus, we painted it "BYU-Blue" so that makes it much more manly, right? And since we were painting his nails, we decided to dress him up as well.... Look.......

*Disclaimer: I was not in any way involved in the creation of what you are about to see*

Right before the my brother and sister-in-law got back from their anniversary trip we took the kids to a near-by swimming pool. It was indoor and really nice. Now like I mentioned before, Dallin does not like the water. He was like this for the first part of the experience... He was pretty afraid.

Then he warmed up a little....

.....then he went CRAZY!!!!!

Emily always just cracks me up. I think she may have a career in modeling... what do ya think?

Well, the swimming activity ended fun times of babysitting. As you can tell the kids were VERY HAPPY to see their parents.

And the end of the anniversary trip came the arrival of Grandpa and Uncle Jon. These kids are so cuddly and fun to be around.

We went into the city the next day and played around there a bit and then it was back to the house for fun and games.

We finished off the vacation with a Fourth of July celebration with FAMILY, FOOD, and ...... FIREWORKS!!!!!

Well I know this only encorporates the happenings from before Hudson got home... but I think this is a good point to turn the page. From here on out, my post's will include my new and improved, recently returned Hudson!

Real Quick

2009-07-01T20:44:00.002-06:00

Ok FOLKS.... For the few of you that actually read this, I thought that I'd just let you know of a couple of things. Yes I'm a slacker at updating. My whole life has been work lately. I work til I drop because then I don't have to fret over how many days are left.... oh and if you were wondering, there are only 8 days!!! Hudson is doing really well. He's trying to focus on the mission but it's really hard right now. He's got a comp that is a little weird but it's been good to push Hudson for these last couple weeks.

Me? Well, I'm currently in Virginia again. It's our family vacation/my-parents-wanting-to-keep-me-busy-til-Hudson-returns trip. I'll post more pictures of my adorable neices and nephew when I get home. I've got lots of good video of funny Emily and Dallin.

Well .... I guess you'll hear from me soon, but ta ta for now!

I'm not cut out for this...

2009-05-03T21:40:00.014-06:00

I've spent this last week in Virginia. I had a wonderful time, but it was not for vacation or sport. My sister-in-law flew to Utah for a women's conference and so my brother needed someone to tend. My mom decided to come out (which I'm very grateful for because a child would have died if I'd have been by myself.) and we just had so much fun. Here are some pictures along with the day-by-day ups and downs of being a mother of 4:

Dad dropped us off at the airport around 8. We were trying to fly cheap and so we went on

Southwest. I've only flown Southwest one other time and, well, it wasn't the best experience. So we called ahead and made sure that they knew we couldn't have any peanuts and when we went to check in at the desk.... They were SO nice. They made sure no peanuts would be served and gave me a paper to give to the flight attendents. They also let be preboard because I have a "handicap." Maybe I should check and see if I can get a parking sticker for that too. When we arrived the girlies were so cute. They all ran up to see mom and I. Dallin was a different story though.... he wasn't quite sure what to think of us. He's now 16 months and when we saw him last he was only like 9 months old.This little one just cracked mom and I up ALL week. She is such a ham and you'll soon see many of the funny things she does.

Day 1.....

Motherhood has no "snooze" button. I was up early to take the girls to school, do hair, pack bags, feed them breakfast. And that was only in the first hour.
Here are Emmy and J.J. They get along really well. They both have imaginations that go WILD. Dallin had a bit of a hard time not having his mom or dad there. He calls both of the "ma ma." The only way to please him was if mom sang "Little Bunny Foo Foo." Here is the best picture I have of it...

He eventually warmed up to us. He really is an easy child, once he gets used to you being around. We had some errands to run and Dallin did NOT want to leave the mechanical toys.
Once the girls got home from school, we decided to take advantage of the warm, sunny day and we blew up some pools and swam in the backyard. They all really enjoyed it.....

Except for Dallin that is.... I think he didn't quite understand what was happening and the water was a little cold.

We played outside for a while. Mom eventually went in to make dinner, but it took a lot to drag the older girls out of the pools. We had a good laugh over Emily. We couldn't find any swim diapers for her and so this is what happened.

I love these girls!!!! SO MUCH!!! They are such cuddlers and it just warms my heart to be with them. Cheesey.... i know!This little man started to warm up every day we were there. Of course, it helps when you shove food in his face.... that ALWAYS made him happy :)

Day 2:

Everything went really smoothly. The day was kinda rainy and after a very active day on Tuesday, we were very happy to welcome a relaxing day. We took naps, played games and then EVERYBODY helped make dinner.... everyone except mom. She was the one cracking the whip.

I absolutely adore this. He had the cutest little laugh ... but also screams like a little girl. You can't not smile.

This kid is ALL BOY!! He loves all his bats and balls.... in fact I think his first word was "ball," a fact that his father is rather proud of I think. All we need to teach him now is what things you can dunk.... obviously baby-dunking is not very widely cherished.

Day 3:

Dallin, AKA Tank, loves Becky. His "sissy" is also very good with him. It was fun to see them interact.... I can't believe how fast Becky is growing up. She's going to be 10 this year. That is so weird to me.Emily and I had a lot of fun together. She is so funny. This was right before we took her to dance class.While Emily was at preschool/dance class, Mom and Tank and I went over to Old Town Mannassas. It was such a quiant little town. We walked into this old book store that I just fell in love with. The rows were all like this picture below and it was just amazing. I bought two books. I wish they had more places like this in Utah.

Emily has a hard time saying some words. Right now they are working on the word "magic." She can say "ma" and then say "gic." But then when you ask her to put them together.... well... this is what you get.

Day 4:

We had a big day planned originally. We were going to go into D.C. but Joe got busy at work. Instead we ran some more errands........ we played around the house for a bit...
.... we ate at the best pizza place ever (Sorry B.O. It is REALLY good!!!) ...

... and then we went over to my cousin's and celebrated a birthday!!! By the end of Friday I was completely POOPED!

Day 5; Returning Home

The girls' school had a 5k run/walk Saturday morning. We decided to do it before the plane ride. It ended up only being like a 1/2 mile or so... it was pretty funny... but the girls were all excited and had a fun time.

Right after that we packed up and left. Mom was feeling really sick, but decided to be brave and faced the long ride and layover on the way home.

I love these kids so much. I was saying earlier that it was hard to leave them this time... mostly because I gained a deeper and hopefully a more meaningful relationship with them. They are such great little kids and while I know I'm not going to have kids for a bit, I'm excited to have some of my own. Hopefully they won't turn out too scarred with me as their mother :)

And on an ending note.... here is a little song from our dear Emily....

The Forbidden Nectar....

2009-04-05T19:09:00.006-06:00

Ok..... here is yet again another occassion in which my little brother has given my family a much-needed laugh. This little "performance" was done at a ward talent contest, I think. If any of you have seen Nacho Libre, you'll appreciate this :) And for those that don't know, my little brother is the one in the white shirt doing all of the singing. P.S. Make sure your sound is up....

A LiTtLe UpDaTe....

2009-03-25T23:16:00.008-06:00

Sorry... I've been a little busy. School... Work..... School.... Even more work..... New Calling.... Still more work..... It's like it never ends. But I bet I'm preaching to the choir here... most of you are the same way, so I'll stop complaining about my busy life and get right down to the good stuff.

1: I started a "new" job. Well... kinda. I'm back at Brick Oven. It's actually better than I thought. Even though I'm coming off of a REALLY bad day at work yesterday (and when I say day, I mean ALL-DAY.... Eleven thirty to eleven thirty..... I didn't breath fresh air for like 12 hours.... UUUGGGHHHH!!!!) I really enjoy being back there. I couldn't find any better people to work with and I actually make pretty good money. Some of my best friend are there and I love them so much. Every one is so close and, for the most part, we all get along. Anyways, it's nice to have money again and it's even nicer to be around people who make me better. I do need to vent for one second though.... my two best friends there are both leaving me this summer!!! And they aren't just leaving B.O.... they are leaving Provo too! I'm not going to see them EVER!! GRR!!! I just want to let them know that I'm not happy about that part.

2: Becca blessed her twins this month. I can't believe all that has happened since we graduated. Life seems to just be coming at me fast. Too fast sometimes. I'm getting over the "jitters" of having Hudson come home and now I'm ready. I ready to stop waiting. I'm ready to have my best friend back. I'm ready to start an eternal life with him. But this section isn't about Hudson, it's about Becca. Now, I'm probably a little bias, but these babies are just adorable.... and as you can tell in the picture, they take after their beautiful mother (Ha Ha Becca.... that's what you get for not co-operating for the picture!!!) I love all these girls. I hope we all keep in touch for LIFE!!!

3: I mentioned a new calling.... Let me pre-date this by saying that like HALF of the girls in my singles ward are getting married. There are seriously like 6 leaving this summer. So, it was no surprise to me that I would get a new calling. When I was called in I was just hoping and praying it was not Relief Society President.... which thankfully the Lord know I'm not ready for and so I was instead called to be the Activities Committee Co-Chair. The othe Co-Chair is a male so that means that basically on my own, right??!!??! LOL :) Well we have on activity per month to plan and so I'm getting basically thrown in. It's good. It's fun. But it's pretty busy. Lots to think about and plan. We'll see how the first activity in two weeks.

4: I've taken up a new hobby. DESSERTS!!! I know that sounds funny, but it's so true. I have found that I really love to cook. Especially the sweets. A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I were bored and created this masterpiece of cheesecake and fruit. It was just marvelous. My current repetoire also includes mini cheesecakes, cookies of all sorts, butterscotch pizookies and tonight's work of art will be Caramel Chocolate Brownie Cake!!!! YUM YUM!!!

5: This semester has been BY FAR the craziest one yet. And from what I hear, it should get easier from here on out. I've liked doing the news. I know I only said "liked" but that is because it was so stressful, I'm not sure I LOVED it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my major, but the day-to-day reporting is not something I love. I'm sure excited because I'm getting started on my documentary. I LOVE producing and I'll be taking that class next semester. This semester has been good though. I've learned a lot. I've made friends. I've shaped some of my future. And I've avoided KOOKIES (Shout out to ANNA!!!). Most of you can ignore that last part. Overall it's been good. And I thank heaven that it's almost over.

6: I just have to post this picture because I love it so much! I love this family and am so grateful for the love they show to me. I always feel so welcome and loved. I couldn't ask for better examples to me. Oh and in case you were wondering..... Only 3 more months til he gets home everybody! YAY!!!

Nice to hear....

2009-03-11T13:46:00.002-06:00

I did a story today about Big Love and the controversy that exsists there. I must say that I was very upset, having to read many comments/bashings of my faith. Then I came across this video.... it made me realize there is still some good and outstanding individuals in this world. {click here}

A Happy Note...

2009-03-05T22:32:00.008-07:00

My dear "sister" Michelle tagged me.... and it's one that sounds really good and uplifting. It called.....

6 things that make me absolutely happy...

1: My FamilyThese people are a complete inspiration to me. They've shaped me and made me all that I am today. I've learned from them many things that I needed to. I know I'm not bias at all when I say they truly are the best family in the world.

2: My Future FamilyYa'll can judge and doubt and wonder about what's going to happen with Hudson and I, but I know that I will marry him. I'm so grateful that I've gotten so lucky to have him. Just thinking of him puts a smile on my face.... I can't wait to be with him forever.

3: The gospelAnd speaking about forever, I'm grateful for the knowledge that I have and the truth that I feel in my heart. The gospel is happiness... it's as simple as that. Living fills my life with happiness. It's one of the only things thats gotten me through these past 2 years.

4: Ben and Jerry'sTo supplement for Hudson's absence, I've found pure happiness.... in a carton. Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm

5: Scales.... sometimesI only mean then when I lose weight. And on those rare occasions... I find I am REALLY happy!

6: Producing

I LOVE making things. I love seeing something in my mind and making it come alive. In high school I loved it when it came time to do the layout for the paper, because I could take all my ideas and bring them to life. I love wednesday mornings when all my video is shot and I'm able to put together my story for other people to enjoy. And my latest project - I'm always happy when I work on or think about putting my dad's website together. It's coming, slowly but surely.

Yes??? No???

2009-03-02T20:53:00.003-07:00

I just had to post this really quickly before I do my homework. I've been really frustrated with what to do with my hair now that I'm on TV. I don't want to look like an old lady, but I need to look professional. I think my hair has been o.k. thus far, but if any of you were able to see my first live intro you might have noticed the lovely strand of hair that fell in my face... ugh. So really I just needed to do something with my bangs. And let me tell you, in these hair emergencies, it pays to have a sister than can work miracles with hair. Ok... here it is......I LOVE the way it turned out. I've always thought that my bare forehead was just too big and I like having bangs. I'm going to keep up on them. I feel I look a little younger, but definately more put-together.... what do you think?

On a different note..... MOM AND DAD ARE GONE TO VEGAS!!! Jon and I are at home by ourselves this week while my parents enjoy some time away. It's a vacation for my dad, but my mom has a work conference that she has to attend during the day. I'm really hoping that whatever happens in Vegas really stays in Vegas. And in the meantime.... ya'll might want to call and make sure Jon and I haven't killed each other yet. :)

A nice little break.... and engagement!!!

2009-02-27T22:08:00.010-07:00

Don't worry.... it's not my engagement yet. My cousin Jake has been dating this girl for a while now. He was going to wait a few weeks, but just couldn't. I guess the ring was burning a hole in his pocket. SO... he and I picked up and went to California to surprise his now FIANCE!!!

Well I didn't want to be a little tag-along and so Jake dropped me off and his older sister's house, my cousin Kim and I spent several days with them. They were so nice. I was treated like royalty and had such a good time getting to know the kids more and just hanging with Kim. The weather was beautiful... until Sunday when we came home. Cali was sad to see us go so it rained as we were leaving, but not too much. These pictures just show how beautiful and fun it was. They live in Laguna Beach and one of the days we took the ferry across to Balboa and just had fun in the sun.

This was my view when I woke up in the morning.... AMAZING... i know!!! I want to live here someday :)

Venting....

2009-02-25T22:59:00.002-07:00

So I REALLY like the new way that they are doing the judging for American Idol this season. I like the 3 rounds of 12 each. It is narrowing down everything quickly so that we get the ones (supposedly) that we really like. BUT SINCE it's narrowing down so quickly, I have a little advice for the contestants. OK, so if I'm one of the contestants this is what I'd be thinking:

There are only 3 of the 12 of us that are going to continue. I can only let 1 girl be better than but, but then I have to better than 5 guys too. SO the chances of me actually going through are very slim. What do I have to do? I have to take a risk. Either I totally rock it and I have a good chance. OR i bomb it and my odds don't change all that much...

If every contestant was thinking like this (1) the show would be so much more fun and entertaining.... right now I feel like I am listening to my grandmother's radio station (with the exception of Adam... LOVE HIM!!!) and (2) there would actually be a competition. Right now it's pretty easy to predict who's going through.

OK... done venting for now!!!

My Valentine's

2009-02-16T18:35:00.003-07:00

This is the last February without Hudson. I'm so excited. And he's so great... he thought of this all himself. I got a beautiful necklace with my birthstone in it. Here are some pictures for you. Even though I wasn't with him, it was a great Valentine's present.

Sadie and me and my sister Amy all "waited" on Jon, his girlfriend, and another couple. We did a romantic dinner at our house and then Sadie and I went and saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic." It was pretty cute and definately fired up my urge to SHOP!

In your senior year.....

2009-02-15T12:08:00.006-07:00

1. Did you date someone from your school? yes and i still am.... sorta

2. Did you marry someone from your high school? Not yet.

3.Did you car pool to school? Sophomore year I rode the bus and occasionally my cousin would drive me. My junior year I usually hitched a ride with Hudson. Then my senior year I had my own .... well.... vehicle for a lot of the year.

4.What kind of car did you have? I had a 1996 teal Astro van! oh baby!!!

5.What kind of car do you have now? None

6. Its Saturday night now you're...... working or hanging with the family.

7. It is Saturday night then you're..... probably with hudson. Or working.

8.What kind of job did you have in high school? For a while I worked cleaning church buildings before they were opened. I loved it because I got to travel all over. Hudson and I even got to go to Hawaii one time. And then the last half of my Senior year, I worked at Winger's in Lehi. 9. What kind of job do you do now? That is a very good question.

10.Were you a party animal? I enjoyed going out, but it wasn't like and "every weekend" occurance.

11. Were you considered a flirt? I guess, but I had a boyfriend so I think I was more just outgoing. Although if you had asked Hudson, he would have said that I was very flirty :)

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Choir baby!!!!

13.Were you a nerd? No. I got good grades, but I wasn't very nerdy.

14.Did you get suspended or expelled? Yeah right...

15.Can you sing the fight song? oh ya.... Dear ol' A.F. High. Yes we will love you til we die. Our banner's bright with red and white. You'll be a beacon through the night. Dramatic arts and ball and track, we'll always bring the honors back. We'll sing our praises to the sky, we'll always fight for A.F. High!!!!

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)? Ms. Mary - Journalism. Warby - Choir.

17.Where did you sit during lunch? Usually Hud and I went out to eat... or I was finishing up stuff in the Journalism lab. 18.What was your school's full name? American Fork High School

19.When did you graduate? 2007

20.What was your school mascot? The Cavemen.... or Cavewomen if appropriate.

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Yes... mostly because it would mean that I would get to be with Hudson.

22.Did you have fun at Prom? oh yes. There was drama, but it made the night memorable. Plus I LOVE dressing-up! 23.Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? Yes... well I write him.... does that count?

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? Probably. It's fun because Hudson and I graduated the same year so we have a lot of the same friends.

25. Do you still talk to people from school? YEAH!

26.School Colors? Red, White, and Black. (Boo... for UTES colors. I bleed blue now!!!)

27.What celebrities came from your high school? I don't think any... kinda lame, I know.

So now is the time to tag you all... I tag Jen, BreeAnn, Sam, Michelle, and Elise Clark

Yay for FHE!!!

2009-02-11T22:20:00.005-07:00

This last monday, my family and I went to see the "world famous" harlem globetrotters. I think I've been to see them once before and I must admit, they were pretty cool. Since I understand backetball pretty well, it was enjoyable to know what was going on in between all the tricks. It was basically a complete act, but there were some pretty cool things that happened.

Out seats were pretty good. We were up in the highest bowl, but like dead center so we could so really well.

Have I said how much I love this lady? She is awesome. Recent experiences have helped me realize how lucky I am to have the family I have. My mom is my best friend right now and I'm so grateful for all she does for me. Also, I'm glad that she takes me shopping (like in Park City on monday :))

Amy and I were trying to take a cute pictue, but Jon felt a little left out I guess.... There is a lot of love in this picture.

Ah, that's better. Now, eveyone says we look alike, but I can't see it.... can you?

Of course I have to throw in a fun picture of Sami. She is such a little diva.

OH!!! So, I've been in my beginning Broadcast Reporting class for 5 weeks now and I've finally made my first appearance on TV. So you need to go to this link and click on the day of February 11. I'm in the first like 10 minutes of the show... so ya! Enjoy.... and remember... i'm still a student, so be easy on me.

Oh and in case you needed a laugh today, he's the one I got from Jon recently. Happy Valentine's Day!!!

We've found lane 7

2009-02-08T22:32:00.007-07:00

Yesterday, my YSA ward went up to Midway and enjoyed a lovely evening at Soldier Hollow. We went sledding and for those of you who haven't been there... you are MISSING OUT! It's is absolutely genius what they have done. There is a tow rope that pulls you up half a mountain on your tube and then you get up and walk up to the lane you want, and TA-DA - you're ready to go down. I took Sadie, a friend from high school and we tore up the lanes. Actually, we literally did. There are only 6 lanes that are plowed, but we were in a chain of 4 people and actually went off the side of the lane and into all this powder and non-plowed-packed-down snow. It was so funny! But... i guess you had to be there. Anyways, enjoy the pics!! P.S. This is Bro. Welch. I've already said how much I like him, but this picture only solidifies that fact.

So here is a really funny video. This is Sadie and I enjoying our ride down one of the slides. Turn sound on... it makes it ten times better. :)

Bethie, Git Yer Gun

2009-02-08T22:03:00.011-07:00

I LOVE my cousin. Jake Funk is just awesome. We both have our "significant other" in some place OTHER than Utah and so we kinda date each other I guess... That sounds bad, but it's innocent I promise. 2 weeks ago we went on a hot date to the movie "Paul Blart - Mall Cop" and then just this last week, he invited me to go shooting with him and Matt and Uncle Ron. They are all a LOT better than I, but I felt pretty tough with that gun in my hands :) Here are some pictures of our exciting time. P.S. Liz comes out this next weekend so I guess I'm on my own for valentines day.... I'll probably just go to a loser party. Those are always fun.

Are those.... butterflies?

2009-02-01T20:51:00.003-07:00

I don't get nervous very often. Speaking, performing, testing.... they just don't affect me very much. And it's been that way for me for a long time. I'm the same about getting embarrassed... just doesn't happen to me much. This is why I was so suprised when I had basically had an anxiety attack the other night. Now, it wasn't like full-blown and I was just sitting in my room by myself. So what was making me so nervous? um..... you're never going to guess...... but I was getting nervous about Hudson coming home.

It all started Wednesday night when I was e-mailing with him. It was like midnight and I was trying to kill time while he responded. I was doing the usual: checking blogs, facebook stalking, and watching "House." While facebooking, I came across several sites related to girls with missionaries. I was playing around and reading some of thier stories. It's actually really funny because I'm "old" concidered to all of the girls. I mean.... I only have 5 months left. (P.S. the picture is is of my link chain that is pinned to my wall.... only about 150 days)

I was reading stats and only 1 in 7 girls actually WAIT for their missionaries. Of those that wait, 1 in 10 end up marrying their missionary. Now, I'm absolutely positive that Hudson and I will get married... I'm not doubting that, or my love for him. The thing that makes me nervous it what is going to happen when he gets home.... just the every day things. I want things to be how they used to be, but at the same time I don't. I want to go back to talking about everything, but at the same time I don't want to go back to not having anything to say to each other over dinner. I want to go back to being comfortable enough with each other that we don't have to put on faces, but at the same time I don't want to be so comfortable that we don't dress up for each other or remember the "little" things. I want to go back to SHARING everything with each other, but I don't want to go back to using him for his generousness.

We've both changed a lot in the last 2 years and I'm just a little apprehensive of how it'll all play out. I can't WAIT til he gets home. I just want to get on with this part of my life. But I hope that I'll always remember this feeling right now. I hope I always remember what it's like to be without him and never take it for granted when I'm with him. And most of all, I hope I remember forever how much I love him.

January.... lump sum

2009-01-28T23:23:00.002-07:00

Ok, so the first few weeks of school.... have been.... wierd??

First, I was supposed to start work at this new restaurant which is absolutely amazing, but we had some staffing problems and some equiptment malfunctions, and so we've been closed. We have a company meeting on Saturday to find out more details. But I did get the Team Leader position that I was going for so that helps a lot. Starting next week I should be working about 35 hours/week. So, everyone ... come visit me!!!

Next, the classes.... wow..... all i have to say is WOW!!! I still absolutely love my major. I've never doubted that, but I am finding which areas I excel in. So far I've been involved in 2 broadcasts and they've gone ok. I've felt that my personal packages have gone well. I haven't had any camera time yet because of lack of time, but I'm not too worried. In fact, I'm a little relieved to not have to be on camera. I'm finding that I'm REALLY liking the behind-the-scenes stuff. I love using the editing programs and writing the stories and then sitting in the production booth and watching everything come together. As of right now, I think I'm leaning a little more towards that part of broadcast, but I'm only a semester into the program, so I have a few more to figure out what I want to do.

Well folks, January is almost over. My 2009 goals are set. And Hudson has 162 days to go. February is going to be a good month!!!

"Stand together and lift where you stand"

2009-01-28T22:54:00.003-07:00

Usually I tune out during high council sacrament meeting, but I've been trying to keep a weekly Sunday journal where I just reflect on things that are said in church. Well this week, my quote is the title of this post....

"Stand together and lift where you stand."

It is so hard to do things by yourself. It is near impossible .... and I don't EVER want one of my friends to feel alone. One in particular is going through some really hard times right now and I need to do all I can to help her. Sometimes I feel like I'm the wupport for everyone in my life right now, but the I realize I'm not alone and I, myself, have one of the greatest supports systems ever.... the Lord and my parents. I could not ask for anything better to turn to and I'm so grateful for that.

As an afterthought, I was thinking that not only do we need to lift others, but we must also allow our Heavenly Father to lift us in return. It's the only way we'll end up where we need to end up.

The Real Messages from Moscow

2009-01-22T22:24:00.007-07:00

Warning... a bit long, but by far one of my favorite letters from him so far. I can't believe how much my best friend has grown over the last year and a half....

The beginning of the week was awesome!!!! As I had talked about in my letter last week we had a baptism planned for Saturday for Margarita and her son Paul. I am happy to report that the baptism was great. It was also awesome because the zone leaders had come down on splits the day before and they where able to come to the baptism with us. I have to say the one thing wrong that happened is that Elder Cannon and I forgot to bring a white tie for our branch president as he helped with the baptism. He was kind of upset about it but he forgave us. We has just been so busy trying to get everything else ready that we forgot. Sometimes it is a little hard because the members expect perfection out of us and we are so far from perfect. The baptism and planning was left up to the missionaries entirely to execute and make sure everything happened. God blessed us and it ended up being a great one!

We arrived in the city that we were going to do the baptism in at about 1:15 p.m. It was a little more than two hours to drive there. Fortunately the elders that were serving there had gotten everything prepared. We had to make sure to get everything finished quickly because we had English Club at 6 that night back in Tver. We helped Vladimir, husband of Margarita, get ready in his jumpsuit and we also help Paul. Then we got everything underway and had two great talks by President Sergay, our branch president, and by Elder Cannon. Then we started the baptisms. Margarita was first. I don’t know if I already told you but it was a special occasion because Vladimir got to baptize them. He can’t really move his arms so he couldn’t actually dunk them under the water but he got to say the baptismal prayer and then President Sergay dunked them into the water. Margarita got a little scared and President Sergay had to force her under the water to get her all the way under. After about drowning she finally totally submerged and came back up. Paul went a lot easier. Then we say hymns until they were all finished. Then everyone who wanted had the opportunity to bare their testimony. Margarita was the first one to bare her testimony and it was awesome. The spirit was so strong and I loved hearing her testimony and how she felt cleansed from her sins. It was so rewarding to be able to see all of this and to hear all of it. After we hurried and rushed back to English Club and made it just in time. The Lord truly blessed us.

Then on Sunday it was a busy day for me! I had to talk in church and then do a musical number and teach priesthood. And I thought that when I had to give a talk at home was a lot lol. I don’t think I will ever complain again when I get home about having to talk in church lol. But the best part is that on Saturday night President Sergay called and told me that he had talked to Paul and he had chosen me to give him the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was really an honor and I felt great that I would be able to do that. So we can add that on the list of things I had to do on Sunday. It was really cool as we laid our hands on his head to give him the Holy Ghost. And it was so cool to think that the opportunity we now have to give that precious gift to people all came because of a 14 year old boy who prayed to know with which church he should join. I know that the priesthood was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that those keys are on the Earth today and there are many many people that hold those keys but President Monson being the person who holds all the keys of the priesthood. I’m so thankful for the priesthood and the great role it has played in my life especially buy having a father who holds some of those keys and has been able to bless me through them so many times in my life!

Well as the scripture says, “there must needs be opposition in all things” the second half of this week we have come up against some opposition. On Monday after we had deposited tithing in the bank we went to a lady’s house that Elder Cannon and Elder Jones had found when we were on splits. The lady seemed nice but said that her neighbors that take care of her didn’t like that she talked to us. Little did we know that she was trying to hint something to us. Well we went to the apartment building and like usual there is a phone type thing that we have to use to ring up to her apartment for her to open the door. As we rang we called the wrong door but asked if they knew what apartment number this lady lived in. Well she didn’t tell us which apartment number. Then this fatter guy came up and said something to us. We didn’t understand what he said. He had his wife with him and he was maybe in his forties. Then he grabbed Elder Cannon, because he was the one who had said the lady’s name we were looking for, and shoved him into the wall. Now this took me for a surprise cause I hadn’t had any hostility for a while. The he grabbed Elder Cannon by the coat and hit him a crossed the head. That really ticked me off but I swear the spirit just restrains me in these moments that I have had on the mission to stop me from retaliating. I started yelling at the guy as he is yelling at my companion telling us that we shouldn’t have come back. And then his wife started telling us, “you better leave or we’ll call the cops.” And Elder Cannon and I are thinking, “oh please call the cops and we aren’t the ones that will be into trouble for starting a fight.” Well Elder Cannon is still pinned against the wall and has been hit a couple of more times. I just wanted to run and jump on him but I knew that would make matters worse. So I started to grab the guys coat and finally he turned his attention on me and went after me a little bit just enough for Elder Cannon to get away. After the guy saw that Elder Cannon got away he started yelling at us again be we just quickly left. Well to say the least we were a little flustered from what had happened and I was a little angry and myself that I couldn’t have done more to help or in other words flatten the guy on his back and give him a few words of how I felt. But I knew that wasn’t what the spirit had wanted me to do in this case and had restrained me. Fortunately Elder cannon and been protected and wasn’t hurt at all even though he had been hit a couple of times in the head. But I will always remember that Elder Cannon was smiling the whole time. He is awesome.

Well we had a meeting planned after all that for three o-clock with Demetree. We contacted around the area until our meeting. And then unfortunately our meeting with Demetree wasn’t the greatest because he just wanted to kind of argue that God didn’t have a body. At this point we have decided that Demetree does not have a baptismal date. He just isn’t ready. So Monday just wasn’t the greatest. We had only had one meeting wear as the last 3 Mondays we have had 5 meetings on Monday. Well then Tuesday came. We had a good meeting with Roman at 12:30 but then the rest of the day we were on the streets and door contacting. That was hard for both of us because it was really cold. But the Lord blessed us and we found some new good people but it wasn’t without a lot of hard work. We actually met with one of the people we found on the street. His name is also Paul. He knows English very well and is 21. We met with him last night and it was a good first lesson and he said a very good thanksgiving prayer at the end on our knees. Then to top of the hardness of the day on Tuesday night we talked to Ray and he decided that for the time being he wasn’t going to meet with us anymore. Therefore he also doesn’t have a baptismal date. That was sad too but all is well.

I tell you all these things because I learned a lot those two days. Even though I was happy during those times I realized that I needed to do better. I felt that yes the Lord had blessed us through our trials but I felt like a little bit I had failed. It comes down to a scripture in D&C 78:17-19, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are alittle children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; And ye cannot abear all things now; nevertheless, be of good bcheer, for I will clead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the driches of eeternity are yours. And he who receiveth all things with athankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an bhundred fold, yea, more.” The last verse is what I want to focus on. I realized that I had not gone through all those things with thankfulness as it says and if I had it would have been even better. So I have committed myself to do everything in thankfulness so that I can be even more blessed than by just enduring with a smile.

We still have Roman’s baptism and he is for sure getting baptized. He is awesome and so happy and optimistic even though life is hard for him right now. We love meeting with him! I am happy to say that yesterday was also a better day than the last two. I am so grateful for my Father in Heaven and His love for me and blessings He gives me.

There was so much more I wanted to write and say about what I have learned this week but it will have to wait for another time because I don’t have a lot of time.

Too long....

2009-01-17T22:00:00.007-07:00

Hypocrite.... I know I am. I get on my friends' backs about not updating there blogs and then I go WEEKS without touching mine. To my defense, I have been pretty busy! Since I got back from Florida, life has just whirled right by.

OH!! FLORIDA!!!! I never talked about florida. We flew out Christmas morning and got into Orlando around 3 or 4 I think. It was so fun to see Adam and Andrea. By far my favorite part was seeing their play. It was so fun and Andrea was the best Dory I've ever seen!!! I can't describe all the fun we had and so I'll let the pictures do that :)

Ok.... I do have to explain this. I had to wear a mask on the airplane, because since simply BREATHING peanut air sent me overboard last time. The mask has a special filter in it to take the allergens out of the air. I think everyone thought I was like terminally ill, even though I just wore it to make myself look like a big DWEEB!!!!

Pirate of the Carriebean.... got to love it!!!

OK, I guess this is a family joke, but if you think about me... and my medical conditions.... you'll get it!

And here is some video of Andrea in here show... she's just so amazing!!!

Moving right along... Becca came down with her twins last week. It was so good to see her and to finally meet the little angels. I can call them angels because I don't have to wake up with them 2 and 3 times a night for feedings. They really are the sweetest little things and while they look very similar, I can tell them apart pretty easily. One night, Becca and Kylee and I all went out to dinner and it was so good to sit and talk and laugh about everything. I love those girls and I really hope that we all keep in touch for a very long time. If you want to see Becca's little angels, click here.

Now let's see, what else did I do recently..... OH YA... I started school again, along with a new job. School is going great. I have 4 communications classes and then an AWESOME D&C class. The class I'm most nervous about??? No question: comms 325- broadcast reporting. In fact, i start shooting video for my first package on TUESDAY! I'm so nervous. But it will be good and I'm prepared. SO, if you aren't doing anything on Wednesday's at NOON, turn on KBYU and watch the Daily News at Noon..... You might see someone you recognize.

About the new job, there are have beena few hang-ups because it's a brand new restaurant and everyone is new with what's happening, but it's a great place. We're opening on monday and EVERYONE should come try it. I'm a shift leader there and so I'll be there at night a lot. But I'm working full time and so you should be able to find me there!!! Check it out here!!!

Well I think that's about it for now.... Oh and if any of you needed a little pick-me up.... here's a picture of Jon that always puts a little smile on my face. Thanks for being such a great supportive little brother Jon! You always make me laugh!!!

All I want for Christmas...

2008-12-31T23:37:00.007-07:00

First of all, I got a new editing program and I'm having WAY too much fun with it. It's like my journalism days all over again.

The best part of the season for me right now is that chance I get to talk to Hudson. Elder Gunther called Christmas Eve during the day. My rule is that he has to talk to his family first and then whatever time he has left he can use to talk to me. By the time he called me, it was like 3 in the morning - his time. I felt bad because he sounded pretty tired, but I guess he loves me or something because he was willing to stay up and talk. I love him so much and it was so good to talk to him. Can't believe only 6 more months!!!

As you can tell from Jon's face here, we had an AWESOME christmas. It was just a little group. And we told Santa to come early because we left early Christmas morning for Florida. So, we did all of our Christmas opening on Christmas Eve. My big present this year was a Hope Chest. I was dumb and forgot to take a picture of it, but it is GORGEOUS. It's black and a little antiqued. It's got tons of storage room and even a few secret compartments :) Then I got a few other things.... definately more than I even expected.

I made out like a Bandit!!! SO much good stuff there!

Let's just say that Edward fills part of the Hudson-void I'm feeling right now. This is a GREAT soundtrack for anyone who hasn't gotten it yet.

Jon finished his Eagle Project before we went to Florida so he got to get a new cell phone. He pushed so hard to get it done because he needed a way to stay in touch with Lindsay (his girlfriend) while we were gone. He was absolutely glued to in.... and he still is.

He did find a little time to to put his phone away and entertain us. He and Lucian make quite a pair.... Oh my little brother just makes me laugh.

Amy and Sam.... Oh I love them. Don't tell anyone, but I helped Santa put up and play with her lifesize barbie playhouse. I WANT ONE NEXT YEAR!!!

Jon and Sam competed over who has the bigger muscles.... I think Sam won this time. She's so tough.

And what's better or cuter than my parents. They are so amazing and they are the main reason why my Christmas was so great. One tradition that Hudson and I will have is one that my dad has with us... Every year he reads us the REAL christmas story.... but even better is that the past couple of years he ends with reading the scriptures about the atonement and talks about why it was so important that that little baby was born. I love the Christmas season and am so excited for this new year!!!

Only 7 More Months...

2008-12-05T16:26:00.002-07:00

I just got this picture from my handsome Hudson and I had to share it with you all. I can't believe that he's almost home. It will be great and I just can't wait for that day. OK, so before it gets too mushy.... here's the picture!

Thanks Andrea...

2008-12-01T21:31:00.016-07:00

Ok so I got tagged.... Leave it to my sister! So here is my tag of 8's:

8 TV Shows I Like....

1: House (this is my new personal favorite)

2: The Office

3: American Idol - I wish it were on right now!!!

4: King of Queens... that show never goes out of style

5: Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? (Can you guess what's on my mind?)

6: Crossing Jordan

7: Bones

8: Without A Trace .... are you disocvering a theme here?

8 Things I Did Yesterday...

1: Took a shower

2: Played with Amy and Sam

3: Sang in Amy's ward

4: Organized my branch Christmas program

5: Taught my branch choir.

6: Ate a nummy dinner my mom made

7: Wrote an essay for my New Testament class.

8: Blog-stalked my friends and family :)

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To...

1: I'll give ya one guess as to what's #1

2: 4 more class periods and then school with be out for Christmas.

3: Seeing my wonderful sister and her husband in Florida.

4: Appearing on my first BYU newscast next semester (Make sure to tune into BYU Weekly Fridays at noon)

5: Meeting Becca's twins.... hopefully soon.

6: Talking to Elder Gunther at Christmas.

7: Getting my new shoes that Ben, my boss, owes me

8: And in case you didn't get it, #1 is I CAN'T WAIT FOR HUDSON TO COME HOME!!!

8 Of My Favorite Restaurants...

1: Los Hermanos

2: California Pizza Kitchen

3: Biaggi's

4: Brick Oven.... even though i worked there, their food still is pretty good.

5: Chili's... gotta love it!

6: Barbacoa's - Hudson introduced me and it was love at first bite :)

7: Goodwood's Barbeque

8: Chef's Table. We went there for dinner on Prom night '07

8 Things I Wish For...

1: For Hudson to be safe

2: For my dad's new book to do well.

3: To raise a good family in the gospel.

4: To graduate from BYU

5: A shiny new car

6: To serve a mission with Hudson

7: Learn ASL better

8: Be a better friend

8 People I Tag...

1: Lisa Andersen

2: Abbie Swenson

3: Becca Clark

4: Heather Hill

5: Michelle Giovannoni

6: Kylee Applonie

7: Whitney Padilla

8: Kaitlin Hale

Go for it LADIES!

Here we are...

2008-11-30T21:01:00.004-07:00

So I just had to post these pictures. The first one is us being happy and "posing" for the picture. The next one, for those of you who know us, is more realistic for this bunch.

I'm addicted

2008-11-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

Mom and I went to a midnight showing if the movie "Twilight" last night. HOLY COW!!! I'm still walking on air. It is the greatest movie ever (or at least really close behind "Pride & Prejudice"). It just made me so happy and just giddy or something. It wasn't great acting or filming or anything like that, it just fully met my expectations. I've seen it twice and have my apoointment for the third time already set up. And yes... we are dorks... we bought shirts!

I think that the atmosphere that we were in totally made the movie too. We got the tickets through a salon that had bought out 2 theaters. They had a raffle before and gave out bags of candy to everyone and then when we left we got a bunch of gift certificates and stuff to different places. It was AWESOME! They got us all pumped up before the movie. The second that Edward walked on the screen, everyone SCREAMED! Then at the part where Edward showed his sparkling chest, one woman stood up and yelled "Take it off!" It was just great fun to be with such an excited crowd. Anyways.... I thought it was a fun movie!

Sillyness :)

2008-11-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Amy and Sami had dropped in for something and they stayed and talk for a while. Mom and I had just gone to the party store to pick up a few things for her primary songs. Sami and I got into them and this is what happened....

I was up first. No, not my real eyes. Yes, I'm upside-down. And Yes, my chin makes the perfect "nose."

This is me "picking my nose" with my tongue.... :)

I know we look basically the same, but this one above and below is actually of Sami. Her little chin wrinkles so well that it looks like the holes in a normal nose.... She is SO funny!OK, now I don't have the right software or something to turn the video, but make sure your sound is on for this one. She was making us laugh so much!

Oh and P.S. This is Sami's latest dance. She says she learned it from Disney Channel.... Oh the all-knowing source of goodness and truth.

Baby Steps Re-charge

2008-11-24T10:48:00.002-07:00

Ok, so after the "accident" my self-help improvement weeks got thrown off a little. But, after a wonderful visit from my home teachers last night, I'm back at it. One of my home teachers, Allan, talked about how thankful we need to be (good topic considering the up-coming holiday). He asked me a question that threw me off gaurd a little. He asked me how my relationship with Christ was. Now, this shouldn't be a hard question to answer, but usually the question is, "How is your relationship with Heavenly Father?" That one I can answer immediatly... But the "Christ" question was a little harder. It got me thinking about how much time I really spend thinking about my savior and all that He did and still does for me. I had to stop and evaluate: Am I thankful enough to Him for the tremendous gift which He has given me? Do I think about Him and all that He has done for me? Am I treating others how He would treat them?

I'm not saying I'm an awful person, but for the next couple of weeks I want to try and focus a little more on Christ and improving myself in a more spiritual instead of physical manner. Plus, I think this will really help to bring a unique spirit for this Christmas season.

The first Christ-like attribute that I want to work on is that of loving and giving more of myself. Few people know how demanding and impatient I've been in the past. To those people I say I truly am sorry. In high school, I realize I was too controlling with Hudson. I had him wrapped around my little finger and unfortunatley, that wasn't always a good thing. Hudson definately has gained a backbone in Russia, but I want to be better myself.

This week I'm going to try my hardest to serve wherever I can serve. To listen to people who need a shoulder to cry on. And to love, not judge, first.

"We are asked to be kinder with one another, more gentle and forgiving. We are asked to be slower to anger and more prompt to help. We are asked to extend the hand of friendship and resist the hand of retribution. We are called upon to be true disciples of Christ, to love one another with genuine compassion, for that is the way Christ loved us." “An Easter Greeting from the First Presidency,” Church News, 15 April 1995

Once upon a time...

2008-11-12T21:54:00.008-07:00

So I was trying to think of something to blog about this week. I wasn't sure what you all wanted to hear from me... so I'll tell you a little story. Once upon a time there was this girl...Well, actually she was more like a young woman. Now this girl was very young for her grade. She didn't turn 16 until the summer after her sophomore year of high school. So that year, she had to sit by and watch everyone else go on date and dances and have fun. Well, the summer she turned 16 she started to like Mr. Redhead. Because of that, she decided to throw a pit of a birthday party at her house and invite Mr. Redhead and some of his friends. And so she did just that. Unfortuantely Mr. Redhead had to work. But she put on a good face for her guests. There was one guest in particular that she talked to a lot. He was Mr. Redhead's best friend at the time. His name.... Hudson. OK, ok.... so maybe this is my story. So what?!?! I just thought some of you might enjoy hearing how my whole situation came to be... put no worries. This isn't going to be a novel. It's going to be more of a.... um.... picture book! So, that night at my house we watched "Hitch." Kinda ironic now that you think about it. Hudson and I ended up sitting by each other and talking almost the whole way through the movie. When it was over, everyone else left, but Hudson stayed to help clean up a little. I ended up walking out to his car with him. Apparently I said something along the lines of "OH, I wouldn't mind going out on a date with a soccer player." or something like that.... but he heard, "Hudson, I really like you and want to go on a date with you!" :) And so the magic began. Right after that, my family and I drove my oldest brother out to Virginia. it was like a 2 and a half week trip. And my parents claim that I texted Hudson THE WHOLE time.

When we got back, he took me on my very first date. We went to the "Voice Male" concert at Thanksgiving Point. It was rather funny because his mom and his little brother came with us. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun. Sweet little Hudson, during the concert, turned and ASKED to hold my hand. I had never had someone ask before and was completely shocked. I wasn't sure that I wanted to hold his hand on the first date and so I told him "no." Looking back, I don't even know why it was such a big deal to me, but it was. Anyways, he seemed ok, but i knew that he wa dying inside. By the end of the night I had reasoned with myself and when we were in the car on the ride home, I reached over and grabbed his hand. He said, "Beth it's ok if you don't want to. I'm not mad. And I don't want you to do this out of pity or something." I told him that i wanted to, but I don't know that I had him completely convinced.

Our relationship only got stronger after that. It's funny because I had been praying for a long time for Heavenly Father to send me a friend.... someone I could talk to that would listen to me. Someone who loved me for me and just wanted to always be with me. I, personally, was thinking that someone would be a girl, but turns out the Lord had different plans for me. That someone was Hudson. We have shared so many good times and have had such great experiences together, I can't wait to see what it's like when he gets back.Hudson took me to the homecoming dance our Junior year. We look so little in this picture! I used to have a really big problem with the fact that I am ALMOST the same height as him. It never bothered him and so I got past it. Plus, now-a-days you can see tons of girls that are taller than their husbands. (Although, Hud has claimed that he's grown another inch on his mission... we'll see if that's just wishful thinking)We've been all over the country together..... From choir tour in california....To cleaning churches in Hawaii, we were ALWAYS together in high school. Here some more good pictures of dances and hanging out with friends.... these are some of my most favorite memories!

This is Prom of our Junior year. We had so much fun and I LOVED that dress. My mom and I made it.

Football games.... need I say more?

Yet another choir tour in California. This one was fun because both of our moms came... and they actually got to be roomies!

I feel so blessed to have been able to graduate with my best friend! He means so much to me!

This one is more the REAL us... This is actually at a Jon Schmidt concert (OUR FAV!!!) the summer before he left.

See... i do have a small social life! :)

2008-11-10T13:28:00.011-07:00

So I just want to say that I have THE BEST single's ward on the face of the earth.... and it's not even a ward, it's still a branch. We are so small and so we're the only "branch" in American Fork. But that does not mean that we lack in excitement and fun. A couple of weeks ago we went up to my branch president's cabin in Heber, Utah. We stayed in "the mansion" Friday night and then came home Saturday afternoon. I drove up because I had to come back earlier than the group on account of work.

I got to spend a lot of time with some of my GFFL (Girlfriends For Life!) It seems that no matter what happens, how long we go between talking, or how far apart we drift, when we get together, we have fun. We party and talk and laugh like we're the closest of friends. I love them! Loran drove up with me and we just had the best time. I'm working on not talking so much and being better at letting others express themselves and so it was good to hear what she had to say. I learned a lot about her and I just love conversations that are more than knee-deep. Plus, it was good to have her there while we were driving through the scary mountains.... And Bro. Welch was getting us lost.

And speaking of the leaders...I'm not standing alone when i say that they are the bomb!!! Bro. Welch and his wife are in my parents' ward. He is so funny and one of the only ones that gets away with teasing me.... and I just have to take it. Pres. Myler is so kind and understanding. I have a deep love and appreciation for that man and all he does. He and his wife are adorable. I love that I can go to this single's ward and not feel like they're pushing me to get married right away.

And what would the ward be without it's members? The group of people that I get to hang out with at the branch are just great. We cry, laugh, and learn together and I feel like everyone is pretty open and honest with each other. It's cool to go and not feel like you're being judged constantly.

Can I just say that I love 4-wheelers. I haven't been on one for a very long time though.... probably the last time I was on one was a Jen's parents' house. And that was a good 4 years ago. Anyways, this is a picture of me and Andee Rowley. It took me a minute to warm up and get comfortable, but once I got going, I didn't want to get off. Hudson, I want one of these... just so you know!

Some good news!!!

2008-11-06T20:23:00.005-07:00

Ok, quick update... I'm doing really well. The good thing about Anaphylactic Shock is that people tend to recover really quickly. I came home Tuesday at about 3 p.m. (They actually let me vote in the hospital!!! It was a pretty interesting experience concidering it was my first presidential election. I don't know how much my vote should have counted though because I was so drugged up I could barely read the words on the paper! he he) I took of Wednesday and today and tried to mostly relax. Thanks to all of you who have visited or called or prayed... I know it's all helped me so much. My mouth is a little scratched up still because of tubes and I have a lovely scrape above my left nostril because of the tube the had down my nose to pump my stomach, but other than that I'm doing pretty well. My arms are banged up too because (and this may not surprise soem of you) but I guess even when I was knocked out, I was fighting the nurses and DID NOT want to tubes in my mouth or nose. They had to tie me down that night so I wouldn't hurt myself. Needless to say, I bruised my arms a little.

Now, Here is a little update from Moscow... seems like life over there is a little better than here... FOR ONCE! "Last week I said that on Friday we would be having a 'Fall carnival' to celebrate Halloween. I am happy to say it turned out great. Unfortunately someone forgot to pass the memo around that missionaries were, to a degree, allowed to dress up. So I had to find something at the branch to wear as a costume. I found a hardhat so I did the best I could to be a missionary and builder (Missionary and builder are kind of the same. We are building the kinding of God lol). We had more than thirty people show up which was great because at least 20 of them were investigators or people from English Club. There were also a lot of inactive members there. And oh did I mention, THERE WERE LOT OF KIDS!!!! It was awesome to have the little kids there. It's not to often that there are more than two kids at a branch function but on Friday there were about 10 kids atleast. We played a bunch of games after we watch Elder Wirthlin's latest conference talk. It was a great time for me to mingle and mix and get to know the branch members and everyone that came. It was a great night!!

Elder Gunther had to show the little kids how bobbing for apples is really done in America!!!

This is Elder Cannon with some of the kids from the branch who dressed up for the Halloween Party!!!

"On Friday, for our weekly planning, Elder Cannon and I set some high goals. We set a goal to have four investigators at church. Sunday was great because there is a family that has four kids. One is amost nine, so we are trying to get him baptised. His dad is a member but him mom isn't. They are a sweet family and we tried really hard to get them to come to church on Sunday. And they came. It is really hard for them to come to church because the dad is crippled and really can only come to church if someone comes and picks them up. So they came because we got the branch president to pick them up. The kids were very loud though lol during sacrement meeting. We actually ended up taking them into the primary room and watching them the last 15 minutes or so during sacrement meeting because of how roudy they were. I had to run but in before sacrement meeting ended to play the piano. I am also the 2nd counselor in the Elders' quorem. Then my favorite part was that because I'm the only one that knows how to play the piano in the branch, I was asked to play the piano during primary. I LOVED IT!!!! It was so fun to play the primary songs and to sing with the kids and watch their big smiles. I love primary. I am hoping we can work it out somehow so I can continue to play the piano in there because it really invites the spirit and it really calms down the kids!

"The work is picking up as we are focusing on being 100 percent exactly obedient and we are seeing the hand of the Lord in helping us in His work."

Scariest day of my life...

2008-11-05T09:41:00.002-07:00

OK so instead of telling the story a million times, I'll just tell you all here. Monday I came home on the bus between my 3-5 break. I was going to take the car out to BYU for my class so that I could hurry home instead of having to wait for the bus. Well, I got home about 4 and my mom started to make those peanut butter rice crispie treats. She made them before and I've been fine before. Well, I stated my laundry and decided I didn't feel like going back to BYU. So i was sittin at the counter and started to have what I thought was an asthma attack. Well, it came on really quickly and my chest got really tight and I went outside to see if some fresh air might work, but it didn't. I got my mom and we hopped in the car and started driving to the hospital. I tried to keep sucking on my nebulizer, but it wasn't working. I stopped and just started praying. I didn't realize it, but my mom said that I was using every breath that I had to pray outloud to my Heavenly Father. My mom said that I was asking Him to give me strength and bless the doctors and to protect me. The last thing I remember was passing the cemetary (which is about 2 miles from my house) and looking out the window in the rear view mirror and seeing my white face and completely blue lips.

Now the rest is my mom's point of view: She said that I couldn't hold my body up by myself and I had my seatbelt in but was really wobbily. She said I slumped over onto her shoulder and about 30 seconds before she got to the hospital she heard the little "gasps" of air from me and then I stopped breathing. She stopped at the ambulance exit and ran inside telling them her daughter was in the car and wasn't breathing. They brought out a stretcher and two people put me on it. My mom went around and parked the car. She said that by the time she got back in, they had about 8 people around me tryin to get me to breathe. They had to cut my sweatshirt off (sorry hud, it was your soccer sweatshirt). My mom said they let her stay in the emergency room with me. She said even though I was unconscious I was fighting them. I didn't not want the tube down my thoat, but they had to get it down before my throat closed off all the way. She said when I would get really ornery, they would ask her to stand by my head and stroke my forehead and talk to me and tell me everything was goign to be alright. She said it actually helped and it settled me. They got the tube down and then they had to stick a tube down my nose to pump my stomach. I kept trying to pull my tubes out and so they had to strap my hands down to my bed.

See, I was out for the whole night. My mom and my sister Amy Jo stayed with me and switched off watching over me. I was hooked to a breathing machine all night and because my arms were tied down, my mom said i kept sitting up and trying to get my face to my hands to pull out the tubes. I don't remember anything. Tuesday morning I woke up about 7 i think. I don't remember much til about 9, but I do remember one thing. I remember waking up (my mom said I still had the tubes in me) and I had to go to the bathroom. I was hooked up to a machine that I could pee in, but it was clogged or something and it wasn't working. Now, I'm in an ASL class right now and so I couldn't talk, so I signed the sign for bathroom. Of course, nobody could understand me and so I signed J-O-N because my little brother knows a little sign language. He wasn't there yet, so I spelled out B-A-T-H-R-O-O-M and one of the nurses knew the letters. They then unhooked me from all the machines and I was able to go to the bathroom.

From about 9 to 3 I was awake and watched some TV and they let me take a shower because I had throw-up and crap in my hair. Apparently it was really scary and my mom had to watch it all. She's the real hero in all of this because she kept it together. I'm so blessed to have such a great family and the technology that save my life. Anyways, thanks for all the prayers and worries. You guys are the best. I love you all!

Baby Steps Week #3

2008-11-03T10:39:00.002-07:00

Let's not really talk about last week's goal... I didn't do so well. But with the help of my mom this week... I'm going to SMASH it! Anyways, the sleeping thing is going well, but I want to add something onto it. As we have all heard "early to bed (which I'm already working on) and early to rise (can you guess my goal for this week?)" Yep, that's right! I'm going to work on getting up earlier. I want to be awake and altert BEFORE i go to my first class. So, for this week, I'm going to wake up at 6:00 a.m. every morning so that I can catch the 7:00 bus in.... I did it this morning and I really do feel great! and I actually learned stuff from my teacher. Waking up earlier will also help my body to go to bed earlier too.

RULES:

1: When my alarm goes off... get out of bed. Whether that's sitting up or rolling off the edge... GET OUT!

2: Turn on lights immidiately so that I can't fall back asleep.

3: After I gain enough consciousness to stand, make my bed.... that way i won't be tempted to fall back into it.

I think this will all help!

P.S. I just wanted to say this real quickly before I go. I've always wondered what I would do when I ran into "him" again. I know i broke his heart, but it was what I had to do. Well, this morning it happened... I walked into the library and there he was... unavoidably. So I went over and said "HI!" He seemed to be doing well, figuring out what he's going to be doing with his life, and I think he's moved on. He did ask a lot of questions about my life and I could tell he couldn't take his eyes off "the ring" but I ignored that subject and figured he didn't need to know. It was actually a really good thing for me because I've always wondered and now I don't. There is nothing there for me anymore and I don't feel anything. I actually kept thinking about a certain Elder in Russia while I was talking to "him." I LOVE ELDER GUNTHER!!! FO SO!!!

Baby Steps Week #2

2008-10-27T12:04:00.003-06:00

If I were to give myself a grade for last week and getting to bed on time, I'd have to give myself 50%. Let's not figure out what grade that acutally is....I think the word "failure" is a little too harsh sometimes. I'm just going to do better this week. But along with this week, I'm going to add another baby step.

I've debated on what I really want to cut out/add. And I think that sleep and exercise go hand in hand. SO my goal is to exercise 6 times this week. I don't care if that's running or Wii Fit or whatever... i'm going to do it. (I'm giving myself Sunday off.... :) ) I figure if I can do it for 6 days then going down to 4 or 5 on a regular basis will be easy. I know I can do this.

Rules for this week:

1: Exercise must be completed before 10 p.m. so that I can get to bed on time.

2: I'm going to try and exercise 20-30 mins... no stopping until then

3: Try to talk to my mom and see if a certain time to exercise works for her.... you know, there is power in numbers!

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." -Jim Ryun

A warning to you all...

2008-10-24T09:39:00.003-06:00

So pretty sure that I'm sick of getting on my blog and seeing that I'm the ONLY ONE that's updating anything. So you all can keep up on my life but i have NO CLUE what's going on in yours. Sure, i could pick up the phone and call you all, but seeing pictures is so much better. So here is my threat (especially to you Becca and Kylee). If you don't update soon... so help me I WILL come after you (and your twins Becks!) Come on, you don't have like 30 minutes to update a little and throw some pictures up..... OK, I'm done venting now. I just had to get that off on my chest!

Baby Steps Week #1

2008-10-20T22:21:00.005-06:00

I want to be a good mom. I want to be around for a long time. I want to be able to get up and go outside and run with them without having to stop every 5 minutes to take my inhalor. But for right now, since I don't have kids, I simply want to make it up the RB "stairs of death" without passing out at the top. In order to accomplish this goal, I'm taking little steps and tasks each week to focus on and change in my life so that I can be healthy and ENTERGETIC.

And I've decided what my first goal is...

And, for me, it's a big one.

You see, for any of you have lived with me or have had the pleasure of being present at the time that yours truly awakes from her beauty sleep, you all know how pleasant I can be. Actually, I'm more like the beast than sleeping beauty.... (And yes I realize I'm mixing my Disney classics....so sue me.... I don't mean that literally Joe). I think part of the problem is that I don't think that sleep is as important and urgent at 1:00 A.M. as I do at 6:00 A.M. So, to fix this problem I'm setting a goal this week to get to bed by 11:00 P.M. every school night.

To do this, I'm outlining a few baby steps for me to work at this week:

1: Accomplish as much work at school as I can. Use my time wisely and don't waste it. (Good, full nights of sleep will also help me to stay awake during school and study periods.)

2: No TV at home or school until all homework is finished.

3: I'm grounding myself to my room after 10 P.M. I need to use this time to check last minute assignments, get ready for bed, and read scriptures/say prayers.

Hopefully this little habit will help me with a lot of areas in my life, but I think it's my first step to a healthy, happy life! Wish me luck!

Now on the other side of the world....

2008-10-17T11:10:00.007-06:00

Here is my latest letter from Hudson (with a few editoral comments for fun!)

"General Conference was awesome!!!! I loved being able to sit and be spiritually fed for 10 plus hours!!!! (I wish that i could be that enthusiastic about it) It was like Christmas come early."

Obviously he is really excited about conference here.... he claims he was only asleep for like 10 minutes.... right!

"A lot of people have asked me what my favorite talk was but honestly that is a really hard question. I don't know if I have a favorite talk because so many of them were so great. However I think my most favorite part of conference weekend here for us was that we got to watch the special on the life of President Monson. I knew he was a great amazing guy but after watching the little documentary I had a spiritual reconfirmation of just how great he is. I loved how at the end of the documentary they ask him something along the lines of what makes him most happy. His answer was really powerful to me. He said, 'Ï loved to listen and act upon the promptings of the spirit just to find out later that acting upon the promptings was an answer to someone's prayers.' To me that reheiterated the importance of listening and immediately reacting to the promptings of the spirit. And also I love how at the end of the statement it says, 'prayers' because it just goes to show that we don't always get an answer right from our first prayer to our Heavenly Father. It, most of the time, takes prayers and not just one prayer. I was just truely touched and inspired by the love of President Monson. It made me want to do everything I can to become like him. "

This past week are so, all the elders had to get flu shots and fun medical stuff so that they don't get sick. Elder Gunther told me that he was watching the shot go in the whole time and actually asked the guy if he could do it himself to "practice" for later in life. While all the other elders were passing out at the thought of needles, Elder Gunther could not take his eyes of the thing.

And on a more funny note:

"So to start off the letter I'm going to tell you of a prank Elder Woodland pulled on me this week. So on Tuesday, it was just like any other morning. However as we were leaving after lunch to go contact on the street my companion said, 'Elder Gunther I feel change coming on.' I then said, 'What do you mean? Transfers aren't for like another 4 weeks.' Then he said, 'I don't know I just feel change coming on.' I then just blew it off. We then went outside and contacted most of the day. Then around 6 at night the AP's called and wanted to talk to my companion. That was a little strange and they talked to him for about 10 minutes. I, after he finished, asked him what they said. He said they were just double checking his passport information so he can get his second passport. I didn't believe him cause he was acting weird and because there is an office elder that usual does that stuff. I grilled him some more on it but then accepted his answer. After English club though Elder Harker, who is the person that usually checks on things like passport stuff, called my companion and talked for a sec. I followed my companion around to see if I could get what they were talking about. Now at the end of the his conversation, little did I know that Elder Harker had already hung up, my companion said, "Wait so will there be room for all three of them?" Then after that, as I thought, I thought he was totally moving because in my mind 3 meant 3 things of baggage. I grilled my companion some more to tell me were he was going. He then said, 'Ok fine. I'm going to Belarus next Thursday and Elder Armstrong is going to be my companion.' When I heard this I was so sad. I really like Elder Woodland and I really wanted to have at least 3 transfers with him. We left the branch in silence because I was feeling 'in the gulf of misery and endless woe.' (I think Elder Gunther is a little melodramatic somtetimes) I sat on the transport all the way home just thinking of how much was going to change. I texted the AP's and asked them if I could know who my new companion was going to be and if I was still going to be in Ryazan or if I was going somewhere else. They didn't text me back though so I just thought they were finalizing everthing with president. After we got off the transport I called the AP's but they didn't answer. So we finished walking home. I can't tell you how depressed I was lol. When we got home the APs called me and I said to him, 'Did you get my text?' He said, 'Ya.' I then asked him who my new comp was going to be. He said what do you mean. I then said it's ok you can tell me. Elder Woodland told me everything. He then said He told you what. I said, 'That he is going to Belarus.' By this time the AP had no idea what I was talking about. He said, 'Elder Gunther I honestly am really confused.' Then it hit me as I looked into the smiling face of my companion. He had pulled a prank on me. And as soon as he realized I figured it out he ran into the bathroom and locked the door. I just started laughing and kind of explained everything to the AP but he still didn't get it and I felt really stupid that I had been had by my companion. I felt a lot better afterwords though knowing that Elder Woodland and I will still be companions at least for another 4 weeks hopefully more though.
This is a picture of Elder Gunther and Elder Woodland with their newest investigators. They are 7th-Day Adventists and are putting up some very interesting questions for these two to answer. They seem to be doing a great job and love teaching Sergay and his daughter Anna.

Along with quilting and cooking, Elder Gunther has also been learning how to play the guitar in his "down time." I don't really know if he ever has down time, but I just can't believe all the stuff he is learning over there. It's amazing and he's just so darn cute eh?

Ok, so i hoped you all enjoyed that. It's so cool how Elder Gunther is really starting to write well and is so decriptive. Mr. Weyand (our 12th grade English teacher) would be so proud of him. It's actually funny to see that he is starting to write more "scripturally" and talks so much like a missionary. I'm so proud of him.... 8 months and 3 weeks left!!!

Now the fun can really begin!

2008-10-17T10:41:00.002-06:00

I did it, I did it, I did it... YAY! (Dora the Explorer, for those of you that are less educated in the art of children's programs) What did i do, you might ask? Just keep reading and you figure it out. Monday i was sitting in class, bored out of my mind, and decided to check my e-mail. Not a good idea.... there, just sitting innocently in my inbox was a message that I had been dreading/awaiting. It was from the Communications Department here at BYU telling me that my acceptance/denial letter was waiting for me in the Comms office. I coud pick it up at any time... except for the fact that I had classes it 3:00. Needless to say, it was a very long couple of hours as i anxiously waited for classes to end.

Note: It crossed my mind as I was saying several prayers that it's funny how i found myself wanting to pray that the words on my letter would be good (meaning that i got in). I almost wanted to as Him that if I had gotten denied, that He would change the words to "accepted." I realized that I don't think it words that way. After all that we can do, then we will be rewarded. I changed my prayers to ask Him to help me receive a confirmation that whatever the answer may be, that I may find peace in it.

So at 3:00 I almost RAN to the Comms building to get my letter. The secretary placed the letter in my shaky hands and i headed out of the building. I walked around for a couple of minutes to find a quiet, secluded spot where i could open the letter that felt SO heavy in my hand. I found a spot, sat down, took my inhaler (because I was freaking out a bit) and opened the letter by myself.... except for the fact that my mom made me call her while I opened it.

The first words in the letter: CONGRATULATIONS!

Oh what a relief this is. I have hated telling people that I am a pre-communications major and that I still don't know FOR SURE what I'm going to be doing with my life, but now I know! I am Beth Walker: newest Broadcast Journalism Major at BYU.

My Angels

2008-09-19T16:30:00.012-06:00

So, I'm sitting in the HBLL, thinking about the many ways I have been blessed in my life and don't think that I've ever given appreciation to the people who deserve it the most... so here it goes:

It all began with my grandmother. My mom's mom and the only real Grandma that I've ever known has been such a hero to me and she probably doesn't even know. You see, when my grandma met my grandpa, he was not a member of the LDS church. She had strong values and knew that even though she loved him, he could not take her to the temple which is where she knew she needed to be married. She challenged him to take the discussions and sure enough he found it to be true. It's because of her faith that my mom was born into the gospel, thus enabling me to have the gospel in my life.

My daddy has helped me in so many ways. I'm so grateful for the honorable mission he served and the wonderful man he's become. I know that he is my daddy for a reason. After all, if it weren't for him, i wouldn't have found my love for writing and journalism. He's always provided for me and my family and works harder than anyone I know. He loves the Lord and is not afraid to show me that. I love that anytime I want I can go sit on his lap and cry and he'll just hold me til I'm better. Daddy, thank you for always being there for me and thank you for always showing me and Amy and Joe and Jon and Andrea how much you love and respect our mom. I love the way you look at her and how cute you are to her. Because of you, i know what kind of man I want to marry.

This dedication is to all my siblings. We've laughed and cried together. We've eaten and sang together. As one of the last children, I've had you to look up to and to learn from. Amy, thank you for always taking me under your wing. Thanks for being a good big sister without playing the "I'm 12 years older than you" card. Joe, thanks for keeping me humble - and i mean that in a good way. You've always been one to answer my questions, no matter how juvenille, and explain things to me. Your love of learning has worn off on me. Also, i wanted you and jen to know that I am so grateful for the example of hard work and trust in the Lord that you have set for all of us. Truly you have shown that "with God, nothing is impossible." Next is Andrea. Oh how I love your innocence. As the last of my older siblings to be in the house, I'm grateful for the different connection we have. I loved it when i could wear your clothes (even though you probably didn't enjoy it). Thanks for sharing and for loving me unconditionally. Lastly Jon... oh man... what to say. I know before i left for school we didn't get along that well. I'm sorry for those times that we lost, but I can't tell you how grateful I am that things are so much better now that I'm back. I love to just be entertained by you. You make me laugh so much. Thanks for singing and dancing and annoying mom and dad with me. You all are the best!

Like any girl, where would she be without her girlfriends? Unfortunately, I've lost contact with several from high school, but i still love them all. They got me through high school. Through puberty and first kiss, choir tour romances and stressful ACTs, my girls have been there for all of it. They make smile and give me hope. With half of them married, it's so cool to see us all becoming adults. I learn new things from them every day and love to see who they are becoming. GIRLS: you have helped me in more ways than you know and I'll love you til the end!

And where would I possibly be without Hudson? I don't know that he'll be able to see this, but I want you all to know how deep the love is I have for him. With Hud and I, it's not just some immature little high school relationship anymore. It's deep.... it's real... it's eternal. We've been through a lot together. We've had ups and downs, but the most important thing is that we've always come out closer than before. If any of you have had to get to know someone through only letters, you'll know what i mean when I say that Hudson and I know eachother completely. Ya, we were basically inseperable in high school, but i know him so much better now. With only 9 months left, I'm completely and utterly ecstatic to be waiting for such an amazing guy. Every day I ask myself how i got so lucky. I truly am blessed. Hudson, i love you!

Now don't worry everybody. I haven't forgotten the most important person... my mom. See, i get emotional just thinking about my mom. She has been my best friend for my whole life. I can tell her anything and she gives the best advice. Part of the reason I moved back home is because I didn't like not being able to talk to her as much. She loves everyone and is willing to serve in whatever way she can. She's been to every basketball game, every doctor's appointment, every choir concert, and every SEOP. She's our #1 supporter and not afraid to stand up for her children. I love her so much. Mom, your testimony is so strong and true. I know that you love your children more than life itself and you're so good at showing it. Thank you for showing me and teaching me how to be a great mother, wife, and member of the church. You are my hero and I'm so grateful to have you.

Ok, well now that I've poured my heart out, i just want to thank all of you that I might not have specifially mentioned. You all have blessed my life and helped me to be who I am now. So, Thank You! Now, go eat a peice of chocolate or something because I sure am going to.

The best present EVER!!!!

2008-09-15T22:41:00.010-06:00

So hudson did the cutest thing for me. It was supposed to be here for my birthday, but Russian mail is so unpredictable and lame, I just got it like a month ago. My dear sweet missionary made his first attempt at quilting and let's just say I'm more than impressed. So in one of his area's, Tula i think, he had a sewing machine. He decided on his P-days that he would make me a quilt. Now, this whole idea began because I made him a quilt before he left on his mission... that little COPY CAT! Well, on the quilt are squares that contain little quotes of songs or sayings or scriptures that are important to us. I can't believe he did this. Man, did I say that I love him yet? Because I do... I really do!

If you can't already tell, this quilt never really leaves my side when I'm at home. I eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom with it.... well, maybe not go to the bathroom, but you get the idea!

Rise and SHOUT, the COUGARS are out!!!

2008-09-03T20:52:00.002-06:00

OK. So today was my first day of class. I don't have classes on tuesdays or thursdays so i get a little bit of a break. Today on campus I got the usual chills of realizing how priviledged I am to be at a such a great university with Heavenly Father's choice sons and daughters. The one thing for me that's different this semester is that it's a "float" semester meaning I have all of my pre-requisites done, but I'm applying to my major and am not in yet. So, my classes are all mostly GE requirements. I'm not super excited about any of them, unfortunatley. They aren't horrible like American Heritage or anything, but just kinda... BLAH! I guess i just have to continue to get my behind out of bed every morning and go to school... I have a feeling this is going to be hard than it looks. Please pray for me :)

My FAB Life.... yeah right...

2008-09-01T21:23:00.004-06:00

So my summer has come to a close all too quickly. Classes will begin and the events of these past few months will become nothing but a faint memory.... OK, maybe that's a little melodramtic, but it just seems like this summer has flow by. Now I look at my life and wonder what has happened: I have no job (because I quit), I live at my parents' house (because it's cheap and I love being with my family), I ride the bus 20 miles to school (again, because it's cheap), and I don't date (because my social life is currently in Russia). Enough of the pity-pary, let's get to some good pictures. After my older brother Joe and his family went back to Virginia, my mom and I decided to follow them back there. Actually, my mom had a work conference and I tagged along with her. This conference was HUGE and it was at an AMAZING RESORT! I've never been to a hotel as nice as this. We got in and the nice lady at the counter upgraded our room to a balcony view which opened into the middle of the resort which was this huge glass atruim that looked out onto the Washington D.C. National Harbor. It was G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S! So, I got to hang out with my nieces and little nephew a little more. This hotel, I can't even explain, was so nice. We had wonderful meals every day and it was just so well-put together. If anyone is looking for a nice place to go for a trip or anniversary or something the name of the hotel was the Gaylord Resort! Awesome. Like I said before, we got to hang out a little more with the east-coast family. Here are some pictures of some of our good times.

This is a little fountain that was outside our hotel. I just have to say that I have the most beautiful neices ever.... Becky really should be a model! I guess I am a little biased though.Becky and Dallin on the dock in the harbor. She is such a great big sister to that little-big boy.My cute mom and I in front of our hotel. I told you all that the glass atrium was just huge. P.S. I look like a giant next to my skinny little mom.Remember what I was saying earlier about the most beautiful neices ever.. ya... pretty sure this pic prooves my point. Let's just say she was really excited about her "banilla" ice cream.Everyone says we look a lot alike. I promise she's not my child, but I can see similarities... What do you think?

I'm free, I'm Free, I'M FREE!!!

2008-08-20T20:02:00.005-06:00

Ok... This is all you will hear from me on the matter, but I just had to say that I'm so PUMPED that I NEVER have to go to Brick Oven if i don't want to. I don't ever have to smile when a little kid demands more "juice." I don't have to choke to death because my tie is on too tight. I don't have to pull my hair back in a pony every day to keep it "out of my face." I don't have to wipe my sneezy nose and teary eyes because the pepper shakers made me that way. And most of all, I don't ever have to come home smelling like B.O. (Brick Oven, that is)! I'm so thankful that I have been blessed so much so that I am able to take this next year and just focus on school!

Too Much Love In The Room

2008-08-18T22:10:00.007-06:00

This week, my older brother, Joe, and his family are spending the week at my house. They live in Virginia and are taking a vacation before school and work begin to take over their lives again. Here are some picture, along with stories of the events so far.Ok I guess I can just brag because this is officially the CUTEST little boy ever and he's MY nephew. He's 7 months old, yet looks like he could be a year... we call him TANK!Derik, Joe, and Jon had to get all manly and play Wii for a little while. Boys will be boys.Here is Becky playing with her cousin Dylan. These little kids have been running wild playing with each other.On Tuesday they went to temple square and played around up there. Dallin loved the conference center because he discovered that his loud voice echoes in it.We had swim night and the girlies loved it. It was the best family night ever complete with pools, wrestling, and water fights.This is a super funny video of Joe and Jon having a "relay" race in the pools that didn't turn out so great.

Don't be fooled.... they aren't embracing out of love. They were wrestling trying to get the best of each other. Just for the record: Joe totally kicked Jon's Hiney!

Funny story time: Right after I took this picture, Jon started coming after me with water. I know that it was just water, but I didn't want to get wet. Anyways, I splashed me good and I was mad. SO i went inside and filled up a bucket from the sink so that he didn't see me do it. Well, I snuck up on him and went to dup it and he got up so I had to kinda throw the water at him. Well, needless to say it went all over the place and I ended up getting water on everyone because they were all sitting near each other. Well, that pissed my siblings off and they ALL came after me, hung me from my ankles and wrists, and dragged me into the pool.... so much for not wanting to get wet, right?

Last night we went to the Gateway mall. The married couples went to eat dinner and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse while Jon and I watched all the little ones. Everything went suprisingly well although I can say I'm not ready to have kids for a while. Once their parents got back, we let them run wild in the fountains and they just had so much fun.

This video is so funny... Sami decided she wanted to stand right above the fountains as they came shooting out... well.. you can guess what happened...

I'm writing.... a sister missionary?

2008-08-18T21:01:00.002-06:00

Here is a little funny story from Elder Gunther. "Yesterday as Elder Woodland and I were door contacting we knocked on a door and no one answered. So we went to the next level below. As we did a younger guy walked up the stairs onto the level we had just been on. Then all of the my companion and I heard an older voice talking to the guy. She said, '' Did you see that guy and girl that were just here?'' The guy answered, “No.” The lady then answered, “Just barely there was a guy and a girl standing at my door.” When elder Woodland and I heard this we just looked at each other because we had just been at her door and she hadn't opened it for us and she didn't even say anything to us through the door. And we thought it was weird because Elder Woodland and I had been the only ones there. Then the lady said to the guy, “Are you sure you didn't see the guy and the girl that were just here. The guy was taller and the girl was shorter.” Then me and my companion looked at each other and laughed because she was totally talking about us but apparently hadn't gotten a good view of us. She thought that I had been the ''short girl'' and my companion and been the ''tall guy'' lol. I asked my companion if I really looked like a girl and he just laughed and said no. I didn't even have my hair curly like usual. So I don't know how the lady thought I looked like a girl."

A few of the latest stories from Russia

2008-08-07T23:08:00.004-06:00

"So to start out this week as far as the work goes has been pretty good. Last night we had an interesting experience. Earlier that day we had had District Meeting. One thing we talked about was trying to ask more questions and not just the regular questions we usually ask people. So having had that in mind as we went door contacting I tried to ask questions that would make people think and that applied specifically to them and what they would say to us. So the last door, it's always the last door, a man opened up. He was in his mid 20's I think. We started talking to him and he said that he wasn't interested. He also said that he didn't believe in God. I just kept asking him questions and he eventually came out of the hallway and started talking to us. We told him we had a book we wanted to give to him. We told him we wanted to tell him how we got the book and what it was about and he agreed. So we started teaching him the first lesson. Right before we finished, one of his friends who was a cop came out and started smoking. I was really bummed because I thought his friend was going to ruin everything. But as soon as his friend came out I started to ask his friend questions to make him feel important and it worked lol. He opened up and he actually said he would like to read the Book of Mormon too. So we got two contacts and had one lesson. And one funny thing that happened while we were talking to them. I turned to the cop guy, who had a gun on his belt which you don't see very much here in Russia, and I was going to make an anolgy with the rules we follow in the countries we live in to the commandments. Anyways I said to the cop guy, 'so we all have rules we have to follow no matter where we live right?! The rules may be different but there is always some kind of law.' He then laughed and said, 'ya that is right except for in Russia. Here we follow about 25% of the laws. The rest are more like guidelines.' SCARY!

"The second story happened today as we were in Moscow. We were going down into the metro we met a group of older people who saw us and said, 'we know who you are!' Sorry I forgot to mention that they said this in English because they were from the US. It turns out that they weren't Mormon but they had family members who were. SO we talked to them for about ten minutes and started going down in to the Metro. As we were about to get on to the Metro train a lady stopped us again and talked in English but had a thick Russian accent. She was just smiling so big. She said, 'I'm so glad I saw you guys! I have seen you guys two or three times in the metro but you have always been going up the other side of the escalator. I have always wanted to say hi cause I LOVE you guys. My husband is Mormon and we live in Houston Texas.' We ended up talking to her for about an hour as we were going to the bus station and she was even able to talk to the other Americans we had met. She knew English really well and so we talked to her in English. I can't tell you how many times she said she loves missionaries. Unfortunately she isn't a member but she is a great lady and says that she knows that we are sent here from God and that we are 'angels without wings.' She says that she always tells people that Mormons are great and that people need to marry Mormons because there isn't a greater people. She says she can't stand when people say anything bad about mormons, especially when Russians say it. She says that she is our defender and wants everone to know who great we are. She also kept sayin that it was a miracle that we met up with eachother. She said that she was thirty minutes late to something she needed to do because she had gotten held up. She said that she knew that God had put us into each other's paths'! In short it was a great conversation and we got her information down and she said she couldn't wait to tell her husband and the missionaries in Texas lol! The mission is great and I am so thankful for the many people that the Lord puts in our way even if a lot of them don't result in a baptism! I just love talking to people and especially when it comes to talking about this great gospel."

Here are some recent mission pictures for ya'll!

2008-08-06T22:51:00.009-06:00

This is Elder Gunther and Elder Wagner, another missionary from his area. Behind them is a river/lake that they performed their FIRST BAPTISM in!

This is Elder Despain, their new convert, and Elder Gunther prior to the baptism. Note: I'm not sure if the bare-chested man is part of the group the took with them or just an innocent, curious bystander.

I'd just like to point out in this picture that while Hudson is not a super tall person, these members in Russia don't seem to be giants, so he fits in quite well with them. Oh man.... LOVE HIM!

I guess P-days aren't super buys... but it looks like Elder Despain has taken a liking to doing Elder Gunther's hair. I don't know if the whole fau-hawk thing works for a missionary....

As missionaries, they aren't allowed to hold or really even touch little kids and so here we see Elder Gunther's urge to cuddle something being taken out on the homeless kittens in the street. Don't worry, I don't think he took any home with him.

What do I do with my life now?

2008-08-06T21:55:00.003-06:00

So, I, like almost every other BYU girl, just finished reading the last of the "Twlight" saga. Oh. My. Goodness. I just want to put it out there right now that this was, by far, my most favoritest of them all. So many twists and turns. Also, I feel that Stephanie Meyer herself has become a better writer. I think it's so cool that we all can sorta find someone in the book that we connect with. I'd like to think that, not getting too churchy here, some of us are a lot like Bella. We're timid girls and daughters who just want to be madly in love with the person that we are going to spend ETERNITY with. Hopefully, through and with that person, we can find our true potential and become all we really can be. I think it's so cool how she will do ANYTHING and sacrifice herself for her family. I only hope to be that good of a mother someday. Anyways, now that I'm done with the book, i guess i can really get into this blogging thing. I don't know how to fill all this extra time that i have on my hands now. Any other good book suggestions?

The humble beginning...

2008-08-02T22:11:00.000-06:00

So since EVERYONE else seems to have a blog, I guess it's time that I start one. The thing is, though, that i don't have a husband or kids to blog about. Don't worry, this isn't going to turn into my dairy. But this is how it's going to work: our life lessons/lectures will come from the missionary in Russia and I'll be here to be the comedic relief. So hold on folks and we'll make it through this next year together.