Since I got home I learned I that my job no longer existed. Well, since i deferred they decided i can no longer work on campus which is all fine and dandy except that before i turned it in i was told i could work til i left. BAH! so anyways, Ive been looking for a job through several applications I still have yet to hear from anyone. So what do i do with my time. Besides applications... uh... not alot. I read. Ive read five books in the last week; Everything is Fine ( thumbs down ), Kiss in Time (Thumbs way up!), Keturah and Lord Death (Ditto), Princess of the Midnight Ball (and again, thumbs up), and My Fair Godmother (super good too). Thus, learning about several authors that have really good cute books. Shannon met them at a book conference i believe... Jessica Day George, Jeanette Rallison, Martine Leavitt... anywyas... they are good but im working on reading Things Fall Apart for my History class.. I guess we will see how that goes... I went to Zion National Park with Shannon and three of her sibilings on Thursday and we hiked the Narrows! It was amazing! The water was cold, around 60 degrees, but we got used to it eventually though it ended up being so cold we turned around making our hike about 12 miles. But a very very beautiful 12 miles. We spent the night at Shannons aunts house in st. george and played with her cousins for the evening. We went to their uncles house and played in the pool for a couple hours. After stopping by the cemetary, to see her grandpa and uncles grave, we stopped at this smoothie place called the orange peel. I got a mellow yellow, peach and mango in vanilla mix, which was delightful. Then I drove home which amazingly only took 3 1/2 hours. So we got home and crashed. We were beyond tired! So yesterday I stayed home and got my syllabus printed off, planned princess night, took a shower, read some more, watched music and lyrics (love it btw) annalisse came for a visit... but pretty much my life has been lame... Maybe ill go hike more often. In cool places. not rock canyon. ive done it 4 times in the last semester. mulitply that by 6 semester... yeah. i hike that one alot...

my trip and thereafter.

okay so i wrote what we had planned to do thinking we had it planned perfectly blah blahblah. well to be honest we did stop everywhere i said and even an extra place. but everything worked out well and i had pretty much an incredible two weeks. we started at 4 am (on the road we were up earlier) and made it to Salina, KS the first day. Stopping merely for gas and we went to the cathedral in the prairie. There was nothing else to do and we needed a stretch. Then two of my favorite days came. On monday we went to independance, liberty jail, far west, and adam ondi ahman. not only that but our old roommate Kaitie lives close by in Gallatin, MO so we were able to see her. We drove until we made it to Nauvoo, IL, stopping only at Hannibal MO. the small town where Mark Twain grew up. It was a nice stretching place and fun things to see. On Tuesday we were able to spend the day in old town Nauvoo and do several activities. Then we traveled to Carthage and experienced the small jail that is known my all members. It was wonderful. That night we stayed with Shannon's Aunt Sandy and Uncle Rob. They, as in aunt sandy i didnt meet uncle rob, are very kind. Our plan was to wake up and be on the road by 4, which we did, and make it to Virginia. Another long day of driving lay before us. This is the part of the plan we didnt stick to. My car broke down in Ohio. St Clairsville to be exact. About twenty miles out of Wheeling West Virginia. By the time my dad culd get there it would be 3 AM so we got a hotel room (that was incredibly awful) and slept until the next morning before getting breakfast at the local cracker barrel. of course breakfast was delightful. Eventually dad and brother nelson, who i owe big time, came hooked up the car, got lunch and headed for home. We got home late thursday night and pretty much just went to bed. the joys of on extra day in the car... But the next day was a pretty big day... I went to the temple! The Fellows, nicoles parents, came along with Sister Boxer. I was really excited to see them as it had been awhile. And to share my special day with good friends is always brilliant. Boxer- as you are one of the few that read this I will say it directing it to you. I was super excited to ahve you come, you helped me alot in young womens and set an example that I wanted to follow. You know... awesomeness. :) anywyas thanks for coming. i was happy to see you. so then i went to visit Sister england, my young womens leader in england that moved into my home ward. then i saw ronny kaye. what a great kid! i wasnt going to stay long as i had to do laundry and pack for florida as i was leaving te next morning then all the sudden it was after 9! so then i got home around 930 or later... Stilll my laundry had to be done so i got working on that and went upstairs to get packing when stacy called and came over. we looked at mary kay and talked... postponing my packing again. but i was okay with that... i love my friends! though i dont have to many out there anymore... so around 12 1230 ish i finally got going on the packing... but sorting through everything to bring back to utah and what to leave in VA was not as easy a task as i thought... anywyas i eventually finished allowing myself just a couple hours of sleep before getting in the car... again. we drove to orlando and met granny, jake, lance, jordan and jazmine at Westgate Lakes resort. It was a pretty nice place, we enjoyed our time there. We then spent a few days at Universal Studios. Though it was stormy most of the time... oh the joy of central florida... and all of florida i guess... that thrusday i met shannon and her mom at teh orlando temple with my parents and after a session and lunch i went to ft lauderdale with her family before we flew back to utah... so that friday we took an airboat ride around the everglades... well a small part of it. This one gator was way to close for comfort... anyways it was pretty cool and we went to the little sanctuary they have and really enjoyed seeing the animals and talking to one of the animal people... Then we, shannons siblings and i, threw shannon in the pool and ended up having a large water extravagnza party stuff... we played til dinner. it was fun. then the next morning, bright and early- another 4 am morning..- we headed to the airport and boarded our straight shot to SLC. Elise, shannons other sister, picked us up and we dropped shannon off at school and i came home. since then... i have been to the temple twice, monday and tuesday, and were going to the SLC temple this afternoon... other than that... i havent really done much... i guess i should get on looking for a job... anyways thats my life up to now... had a brilliant past 2 1/2 weeks. now to pass the next eight weeks and ill be doing great :)

Okay...Finally

So yeah i dont like writing i thought perhaps if i wrote online i would do it more often. Thats a lie, i just proved it. So the last few weeks have been pretty busy. I have been working out at the quarry still, got my mission call to the Idaho, Pocatello (and sent in the acceptance etc.), got my temple recommend so i can go through next week! Im driving home to Virginia starting Sunday- June 28- and we are traveling to kansas then through independance, liberty, far west, adam-ondi-ahman, carthage, and nauvoo. then were staying with shannons family. then off to indianapolis and then home to VA. we are going to stay there for a couple days then going to florida, shannon to ft lauderdale, me to orlando. im going to disneyworld with my family for another couple days before shannon comes to pick me up, go to the orlando temple, and then go back to her house and then fly back to Salt Lake City. its going to be a packed two weeks! other than that ive been studying and... well nope thats about it. but here are some pictures of some of our shananigans.

oh yeah here are some of my basic beliefs,

God is your Father in Heaven. He knows you personally. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and your Savior. His life and teachings are the way to peace and happiness.

God's Words Never Cease (2:57)

God knows you personally and loves you more than you can comprehend. He wants you to be happy now and always. To accomplish this purpose, Heavenly Father has provided a plan called the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God; His teachings are the way to peace in life and joy for eternity.

As part of His plan, God has followed a simple pattern from the beginning of the world. He chooses a prophet (like Noah or Moses) to teach the gospel and lead the people. Sadly, most of God’s children have disregarded, disobeyed, and rejected His prophets.

As promised, Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life. He established His Church, taught His gospel, and performed many miracles. Incredibly, even Jesus Christ was rejected. Following His death, many people began to drift away from or distort Christ’s true teachings. As a result, God withdrew His authority to direct the Church that Christ had established.

Our loving Father in Heaven is the “same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (see Hebrews 13:8). As in ancient times, He has followed His simple pattern in our day. He has again established the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth through a prophet. This prophet whom the Lord called to restore God’s truth is named Joseph Smith. The evidence of this Restoration is found in the Book of Mormon, which you can read, ponder, and pray about.

God continues to speak His words and reveal His truth in our day through a living prophet. If you ask your Heavenly Father in prayer, He can confirm the truth of this to you.

Learn More

• God is your loving Heavenly Father God is your Father in Heaven; He knows you personally and loves you more than you can comprehend.
• The Gospel Blesses Families and Individuals A home established on gospel principles is a place of refuge and safety, where the Spirit of the Lord can abide, blessing family members with peace, joy and happiness.
• Heavenly Father Reveals His Gospel to All Throughout history and today, God has chosen prophets to teach the gospel and direct His Church.
• Jesus Christ established His Church The Savior established His Church “upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20).
• The Great Apostasy Following the death of Jesus Christ, wicked people killed the Apostles; as a result, priesthood authority to direct Christ's church and receive revelation from God was lost.
• The Restoration of the Gospel Jesus Christ has restored his gospel to the earth, established a prophet and apostles with priesthood authority to receive revelation and perform saving ordinances such as baptism. Christ's restored church is called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• The Restoration of the Priesthood Jesus Christ has restored his gospel to the earth, established a prophet and apostles with priesthood authority to receive revelation and perform saving ordinances such as baptism. This restored authority is found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is an actual record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel.
• How can I know this is true? You can know if the gospel of Jesus Christ has truly been restored to the earth. Ask your Heavenly Father in prayer and you will receive an answer from Him through the Holy Ghost.

this site will explain more about my faith and what i believe. www.mormon.org this is why im going on a mission. please learn more!

kinda bored but talking to Amy!

besides the fact there is so much to do it feels like i have nothing to do im just bored. i kinda want a nap but i cant be a lazy bum... i ought to be doing something productive... Anyways one of my roommates, also amazing, Amy is currently in Europe and we miss her stinkin guts but I am talking to her right now! Thank goodness for facebook chat :) But true statement: I MISS HER! anyways im going to entertain myself eslewhere...

ps we went to DI and found this sign pictured here and thought it described our lives perfectly so it now hangs above our door.

Pics of my "sisters" and other fun stuff!

Jaycee my little sis attached to my back and Shannon and I giving Jaycee a new background on her phone :) its true we are the coolest kids ever. I love 'em! Sabrina got our pet python stuck in her belt loops and put him on my head once we finally got the thing out! He has gotten so big! At least doubled in size since last August! and yes, his name is monty... monty python... haha

Heres the drive in!

Garden Pics and Drive In!

Here are a few pictures of our garden. They are from my phone so they aren't fabulous but... You know... These are our strawberries, which I ate one yesterday and it was incredibly delicious..., then our trellis with the climbing clematis and our vegetables then our bird bath flowers, flower pot flowers, and our picnic we had with Sister McEwan which unfortunately we didn't get to mow the lawn at that point... but now the lawn is much better cause I mow it twice a week!

Anyways this is the day we pu the garden in, of course the strawberries have been there since last year at least...

Last night we went to the drive in theater and saw star trek and monsters vs aliens double feature! Its kinda funny watching them together cause the latter had many star trek puns. It was a really fun night! I loved having my roommates, friends, and cousin hang out it was indeed a fun activity that I will definantly do again soon! Ill put some pics of that up soon!