Speeding through

SO many things will be changing here in the next little bit. Finals are coming up next week and then after that we leave. I really hate thinking about it. I don't appreciate change but I know it's inevitable. I was mentioning to my friend the other day that change really stinks. I try to imagine the future, the near and the far, and I have to keep telling myself that good things will happen but it's hard to imagine anything better when you've already got it good. Be grateful in the moment and embrace what I have now. Be flexible with change. Change can be good. All things I have to tell myself.

Tender Mercies

There are so many tender mercies that occur, but the real question is....do we see and recognize them? Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is the scripture James 1:17. It says,
 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." I really love this scripture. If you think about it, it's all about recognizing tender mercies. I came across this video and it explains what a tender mercy is. I really couldn't have worded it better myself. You'll just have to watch it.

The Lord loves us and is mindful of us. He gives us these tender mercies to show us that He doesn't forget about us and He knows us. An example of one I had recently recognized is that I was going to have a super busy Wednesday. There weren't enough hours in the day to accomplish all that I had to do. I knew that the day could end with me being frazzled. Instead, it wasn't so bad. I was about to head to my class and low and behold, the class was canceled. I was able to use that time to refocus on what was priority and able to get a small break from the rest of my crazy day. I know the Lord knew I needed that break. It was no coincidence. Tender mercies are incredible.

Spring Break

I had a great spring break. It's really an understatement just saying that. It was fantastic! Not to mention this that I am talking about was only half of my great break. Wednesday night I couldn't sleep. It felt a lot like the day before the first day of school or the night before Christmas morning. I was so excited. Thursday morning I woke up and shortly after, B and K came and picked me up and we headed to Riverton. We met up with M and S there. We went to S's grandparents house and his grandpa was so kind in letting us use his four-wheelers. We made a quick breakfast and to make a long story short, we headed to our camping spot in San Rafael. We set up camp and we four-wheeled for as long as we could. Unfortunately the weather wasn't in our favor that night and coming back was quite an adventure. It started raining and eventually it got to snowing. We were all soaking and as the hale hit our face it stung pretty bad. M rode with S, K rode with B, and I rode with P. We got back and it held off a little bit but we all congregated to the truck. We were really wet. It was getting dark and no one wanted to leave the warm truck. Eventually we got out and built a fire and ate hot dogs. That night it way still raining and we slept in the tent. The wind was blowing real hard. A lot of the things we slept with were wet and prior to it raining and us heading to bed we held it next to the fire to get things dry. The next day we ate breakfast and we four-wheeled most of the day. The scenery was incredible. Not only is P such a great driver but he was also very kind and patient with me when I drove. He taught me so much. We went to some cool places and the weather was so much better. That night we made dutch oven potatoes which are sooo good. We also ate smores. That night S and P slept on their cots and M and I were in the bed of the truck. It was cold but so worth it. The next morning we watched the sun come up and that was an adventure all by itself. But then the trip was over. Man, I wish it could have been a lot longer. We took a ton of pictures but this is the single picture I have access to.

Pre-Spring Break

Man I really failed at taking pictures this time. Wish I would have gotten more. This past weekend leading into Spring Break was awesome. Friday we played soccer and then ate a nice breakfast like any other Wednesday and Friday and then K and B left shortly after. M and I went to Friday Forum at the Institute and then played ping-pong with S and P. We played so many rounds of Around the World. We made plans for the rest of the day and then S had to go to class. P and M and I played Foosball and then some Basketball. M and P are real good at Basketball. We played 21. After that we went back to the guys' place and S was super kind in helping me finish my math homework. P and M had control of the kitchen and we had grilled cheese and they made deviled eggs. They read the recipe wrong and instead of putting 1/2 cup of mayonnaise in, they put 1/2 cup of vinegar in by accident. YUCK!!  We hustled and were able to play 15 minutes of Mine-Craft before having to leave to meet some friends, M, G and K, for dinner at Snow Dragon. Our end of the table shared what we got so we could try new things. After dinner we went to Walmart and bought Pokemon cards. We went to the GSC and learned how to play. I remember S collected them when I was little. There was one time I guess I must have been real kind to him because he gave me one. I never learned how to play though. I also remember watching the show on Saturday mornings. After that we went to our apartment and S and P made some really yummy brownies. Graham Crackers, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate chips. Dang good stuff. We watched a couple episodes of Silver Spoon. We then all took K and G home and it was snowing. The night wasn't over yet because I stayed up later and worked on packing.
The next day we tried to leave town by 7 am, can't remember when we actually left but my guess is not too later than that. I sat shotgun in the guys' car and with the combined effort of everyone in the car we kept each other awake. S rode back in B's car. Got to S and P's house and while M and S went to drop K off at her house, P and I made German Pancakes. After breakfast we played more Mine-Craft. I didn't have my computer charger so that was kind of short lived as well. We then turned on Adventure Time and watched a dang hilarious episode "Up a Tree" and then eventually we all took a nap. The nap lasted a couple of hours and then we went to Provo and saw 10 Cloverfield Lane in the theaters. Cool movie!!!! We then went to Rancho Market and an Asian Market. This is the picture of the crackers. They are small cookie/crackers with creme in the middle. As you can see they have the cutest prints on them. I just wanted to try something new. Their cousin bought some cool ice cream. It is ice cream wrapped in rice dough and rolled in powdered sugar. It was real good. When we got back to SF they dropped M and I off at a ward building to watch whatever was left of the General Women's Session. 2/4 talks ain't bad. When we got back to their house we ate dinner S made which was Carne Asada. We then started Mad Max 4 but Mom and Dad came by and picked up M and I. Wished we could have stayed longer. I tried quite a few new things this weekend and I loved it. There were a couple of times it felt like one long exciting day or that we had spent the night at S and P's house but it wasn't. It was just a ton of fun!

Roommates

I LOVE this picture. I am really going to miss these guys once this semester is over. They are incredible and I've learned so much from them. They mean the world to me. We also joke that since S and P live right underneath K and I, we consider them our step-roommates. Wish they could have also been in the picture. I can't imagine life without any of them.

Weekend with S&T

One weekend T came to hang out with me for the afternoon. It turned out to be more than an afternoon but rather a weekend. T and I went to Miller's in Manti for lunch. We explored Main Street in Mt. Pleasant and let me tell ya, that was an adventure. Note to self: Even if the sign says that it's a boutique, it still doesn't mean it is one. We also found the official center of Utah and took a picture. Then we drove up the canyon and took a few pictures. I went home with her and we went to Olive Garden for dinner. We stayed up and did quite a bit of math homework and S helped me with my Preach my Gospel Lessons. I'm suppose to practice teaching RMs. I also got to hear T's dad play his drum set. He is real good. He plays Rock and Roll and I loved it. May have been deaf after leaving the room but it really was the coolest thing! The next day we went to Heber after T got back from work. We went to a book shop where I found a book I'm excited to jump into by Gerald Lund. She found an old edition of The Secret Garden. We both scored. We went to a home decor place and out to eat lunch at a yummy pizza place followed by another antique place. That night they took me grocery shopping and we watched a movie. It was such a good weekend!! P.S. Something that made me incredibly happy was looking out the sunroof of their car on our way to Heber.

Jack

We also stopped off to the side of the road and took some cool pictures

Standing in the center of  Utah

Flippin' Through Pictures

These pictures were from last November but I realized that I hadn't posted them and I absolutely love them. We went to the Hogle Zoo and it was raining most of the animals weren't outside. If they were outside they were under some kind of cover. Despite not seeing very many, we had a good time.