good times in p-town

So there was this time when I went home and just kind of stayed there.
For a month.
I came back to the lovely Provo to pack up my apartment, move out officially, and get everything set to leave for eighteen months.
I will be back home for the rest of the summer getting ready for the mission.
Here are the adventures of my two week stay in my home away from home.

Explored the Milwaukee airport. Quite a lovely experience actually.

Day with Rachel. This included walking around the entire BYU campus, going to a friend's wedding reception, a drive up the canyon, a late night visit to the Edwards.

her future home. Man I miss freshman year.

Bridal Veil falls. and some adventurous kids. 

love her.

Volunteering at Summer New Student Orientation. Love the little freshman.
But seriously: get involved with Y-Serve while you're at BYU. Best thing ever.

Missionary Broadcast. Absolutely incredible meeting!
Along with some quality time with my friend, Marian.

Sunday drive by the Provo Temple. And a beautiful sunset.

An interview with my Stake President to finally submit those mission papers.

Watching and studying other devotionals and talks. Like this one by Elder Holland.

Exploring Fairview, Utah with grandparents and finding a few common ancestors.

Selfies: what happens when grandpa has an iPhone and his two grandkids are stuck in the backseat on a long drive.

we found them!

And then watching the Manti Pageant.

gorgeous.

Training new Center for Service Program Directors.
Again: Y-Serve is the greatest.

Dinner and the Despicable Me 2 premiere with Rachel, Clark, and Steven. Fantastic movie!

Visiting baby Zachary, hanging out with Steven, and baptisms at the Jordan River Temple.

Lunch with the Champion family. Basically the sweetest kids ever.

photo cred: Lionell.

Dinner with the Pettitt's. Loved catching up with them!

And of course, the more menial things like running errands, packing up my life, and getting a haircut.

Until October Provo. 
I'll miss you. Just a little.

back at home: photo dump

I've been back home for almost a month now.
It's been absolutely crazy. But so much fun spending time with the family!
Enjoy the photo dump of events at home.

Nathan's 13th Birthday

My baby brother is a teenager. 

Where does the time go?

guys that is my foot next to my brother's feet. I am surrounded by giants.
or I'm a dwarf. either works.

happy birthday little brother!

Rachel's High School Graduation

Top of her class and they pronounced her name right.

Congratulations on finishing high school Rachel!

Enjoy reality, graduates.

Sunday Afternoons

We believe in Sunday naps.

Though they sometimes occur in strange places...

We also believe in playing games. Constantly.

Preferably in big, comfy sweatshirts [or t-shirts] from BYU.

the most intense game of Jenga ever.

Finally: We believe in Sunday pictures. 

Because we look good. So why not?

Me and my not-so-little little brother. Isn't he the cutest?

Family Camping Trip

Minus Rachel. She's hanging out in Utah helping with my aunt and uncle's kids.

Campsite: Chain-O-Lakes

Elevation: minuscule

It's not the Utah canyon, but we still had a blast.

this happens when you give the girls matches

so. many. games. of. Nerts.

Let's all just appreciate that this happened:
Dad scaring away the terrifying raccoon by banging tongs against a propane tank.
Parent Trap anyone?

pretty sure this is what happiness looks like.

the joys of camping: dishwashing after breakfast

This is Wilmot Mountain.

The local ski mountain.

That is NOT a mountain. That is a sledding hill. 

They even have a chairlift.

My heart aches a little. 

LZ people: you need to get out to Utah at some point in your life to understand that this is NOT a mountain.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert

Family outing to Ravinia to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir live!

Probably the most incredible concert I have ever been to in my life.

And I've been to a lot.

Megan and I spend lots of time together at home. She loves it.

Janine from the Y-Serve office at BYU sings in the choir, and I ran into her!

pardon the people covering up the choir.

Father's Day

Shout out to the greatest dad around!

Not sure where I'd be today without his devotionals on common sense, lessons on home repairs, cooking skills [fudgies], learning to not take life too seriously, and the fact that Colgate is the best.

Isn't she adorable? Come and get her boys.

hey, we really do love each other.

Dad ate part of his cake before we sang to him. Silly Daddy.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!!

my adorable parents.

Along with all of these exciting events, I've been working, chauffeuring, studying, preparing for a mission, frequenting the singles ward and institute, and cleaning.

Gotta love the home life.
Thanks for the fun LZ. Be back real soon.

feeling sentimental

My littlest sister turned sixteen earlier this week.
Where did the time go?
I miss those days when we could just run around in the backyard with the only problem being the limitation of our imaginations.

back when I was the tallest. and we were all totally adorable.

I get in these sentimental moods every now and then.
Usually it comes from some sort of traumatic experience.
But I think this time it's mostly been from religion classes, talks I have been reading, some reflection, and this general time of year.

My activities when I'm in said moods include:
     listening to some classic songs with those lyrics that actually make you think. like this.
     going through some old family pictures. see above.
     taking a few more minutes to just look at the mountains. I really love mountains.
     writing in my journal for a while.
     maybe even doing a blog post. which is kind of a journal.

I have such incredible friends here in Provo.
They are amazing examples to me.
Almost forty of my closest friends have received their mission calls over the past three months or so. I know several more who have submitted papers and are anxiously waiting for their calls to arrive.
These girls are like sisters to me. Their faith, their diligence, their willingness to obey and to serve astounds and inspires me to improve each and every day.

The boys who are on their missions [and who are about to head out] are just as incredible.
I could not have asked for better people in my life.

I have amazing family members that I have been blessed to be with for eternity.
Parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents.
They are some of my best friends. They continually teach me and support me.

There is nothing particularly special about today.
But the fact that I have today is special for me.

To all of you who have been with me since the beginning.
To those who have come into my life a little more recently.
And to you who will bless me sometime down the road.

Thank you.

You have made each minute of this journey wonderful.

I can't wait to see what adventures lie ahead.

Keep smiling. 

Life is a beautiful thing.

And that smile of yours is going to bless someone else today.

In other words: 
I just wanted to say thanks to you all, ok? Because you're awesome and deserve to be recognized for that awesome-ness. So forgive the sappy post and just take it for what it's worth.
Love you all.

january, mountains, and epic music

I am kind of a movie nerd. which you probably already knew.

One of the best parts about movies: the music.

While I study and work, I often listen to movie scores, such as:

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron

The Chronicles Narnia

The Incredibles

and of course... UP.

[They work wonders for motivation.]

I am still obsessed with the mountains. With snow on them, they are just gorgeous.
And at sunset? Gosh they are absolutely beautiful.

This has been one of the strangest weeks of my life thus far with some random things happening with family and friends.
But it ended wonderfully as I got to spend time with some friends. Oh, and I got an A on my New Testament exam.

Today I washed every single dish in our apartment that had been piling up.
Life is interesting with a Brazilian roommate who pretends to not understand you when you ask her seven times to wash the dishes.
An hour and a half later, my hands are raisins and I'm finally eating some lunch.
But it's clean. And that's what matters for now.

My cousin, Christopher, opened his mission call! 

I am beyond excited for him to serve the people of Paraguay! 

[seven of my good friends also opened their calls that day. craziness]

Last weekend, Rachel and Mom came to visit!
Rachel had an audition for the music school, so Mom flew out with her.
I spent some time with them in the mountains taking "senior pictures" for Rachel.
They explored my apartment and BYU campus. I still don't have a roommate by the way. 
They joined me for lunch in the Cougareat one day. I joined them for dinner with some family.
Basically, it was a blast.

Up Provo Canyon with my sister. Absolutely gorgeous.

Best friends since the days we were born. Gosh I love these boys! 

Mom and Rachel with me. It was great to see them!

January basically consisted of me working, studying, studying, and working.
You know, that fun stuff big kids do.
I have become a pro at HTML programming. sort of.
And I became even more of a history nerd, if that's even possible.
I have approximately zero social life as all of my friends live on south campus, are at home waiting to go on their missions, or work early-morning jobs.
I can no longer stay up past eleven.

Some inspirational thoughts for you:

"A Pep Talk from Kid President"

[basically the most adorable pep talk you will ever hear in your life]

Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and focus on what could go right.

No one looks stupid when they're having fun. Amy Poehler

What would be the point of living if we didn't let life change us.

Happy February to all of you.
It's going to be an exciting month of birthdays, anniversaries, snow, and who knows what else!

thanksgiving eve

[day twenty-one]

basketball

[sort of]

I can't count how many basketball games I have been to in my life. And most nearly all of them were for my siblings. Namely, Megan.

Megan made the high school varsity team as a sophomore this year. Going back home for Thanksgiving, I was able to go to three of her games. I guess being away from home has made me appreciate watching her play a little more.

Anyway. The point is, I am slowly gaining more of an appreciation for basketball than I really ever thought was possible. Particularly as I understand what is actually going on in the game.

So yes, today I am grateful for one of the very few sports I [am starting to] truly enjoy watching; basketball.

you're a good man

[day sixteen]

my little brother

This kid is too cute for his own good. I was excited to see him in his middle school musical, but being a middle school production I didn't expect much. 

Nathan earned the lead role in this year's production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." 

I was completely blown away. That kid is so talented, so energetic, and just so gosh darn adorable. The whole musical was incredibly well done, but I have to admit, Nathan was by far the best one up there. Not that I'm biased or anything. The musical had zero plot line, but it was quality entertainment and so much fun to watch!

warning: lots of pictures coming your way

or you can just skip to the end. your choice.

the opening number 

"I'm standing up!
I'm sitting down..."

"she's looking at me"
*puts bag over head*

"I've always wanted to be called 'Flash'" 

"It isn't on the ground, it isn't in a tree"

"Hey Lucy. Happy Valentine's Day"

"nothing echoes like an empty mailbox" 

"I've always been stupid at spelling and numbers" 

"if I start writing now, when I'm not really rested it could upset my thinking, which is no good at all."

"dear pen pal, you won't believe what happened at the baseball game today" 

"Happiness is anyone or anything at all that's loved by you"

Along with being the cutest Charlie Brown there ever was, my little brother is the best. 

Nathan always gives me the biggest bear hugs when I am home. He's excited to see me and to play games with me. He's just a little sweetheart. All the girls his age absolutely adore him [as made quite clear after each performance]. He is brilliant in math and just about everything else he works at. He always brings a smile to my face.

Nathan's taller than me now and holds it over me. But that's ok. I will always be his older sister. 

I love you little brother! 

ps: the internet at home is crazy slow, so I will have to post all my videos once I get back to Provo. sorry about that.