smile moments

ten great things about this week:

fairy tales

hanging out with cousins
rain

fireworks

celebrating America

skyping family and friends

clean room
pinterest

my friend getting his mission call (AHHHHH!!!)

movie nights

today was a long day. I applied for some more jobs and cleaned my room. I've gone on a letter-writing spree. I purchased more milk. I played epic mancala. which is code for I refilled my medications for the week. it makes the chore seem slightly more exciting.
I cannot wait for an adventure tomorrow.

some thoughts:
my major. I have 2 minors picked out and a graduate program. the only thing left is the major.
books. I absolutely love having time to read books again. I can't wait to give a report on the one I have almost finished.
missionaries. They have a hard job. And they're awesome.
temples. I love the temple and the peace that I can have from going there.
family. While I miss my immediate family every now and again, I have a blast getting to spend time with my cousins and aunts and uncles out here in Utah. So much fun!

saw this yesterday and had to take a picture. way too cool!!

Welcome to the weekend!!

song of the day: josh turner

I heard this on the radio the other day and immediately fell in love with it. and so, your song for the day:

Josh Turner 

"Time is Love"

also this a song Brooke introduced me to that I heard today and I can't get enough of it. song of the day number two:

Thompson Square

"Glass"

today was a mixture of errands, exploring the Wilk, applying for other jobs, writing some letters, talking to friends, making grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner, and reading my book.

but the best part about today:
IT RAINED!!
one of the things I miss most about home is the huge thunder and lightning storms. and today it was a huge, rainy downpour. and I love it. I'll take what I can get.

fourth of july

So instead of a first "letters from me" post, here's my report on the Fourth of July!

I absolutely love the fourth of July. It is the epitome of summer: barbecue, parades, swimming, fairs, having fun, country music, and fireworks! Everyone comes together to show support for this incredible country. I am so incredibly blessed to live in the U. S. of A.

Woke up early to go to the hot air balloon fest! I was running late and got lost and didn't see the people I wanted to, but it was still really neat.

I then drove around for about an hour searching for a parking spot near my apartment. The 5k that morning cut off all roads leading to my complex. But I discovered a great place with a beautiful view of the flying hot air balloons.

Finally walked back from the parking spot and crashed for a few hours.
I called my aunt and spent the rest of the day with my cousins: at the festival (the fair), in the canyon, making and eating dinner, and watching fireworks.

the view of the valley with the hot air balloons flying over!!

in the MOUNTAINS!!

brothers :)

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!

fun facts: andy griffith

Andy Griffith passed away today. Upon finding this out, I decided to do a little research into the television icon's history. Here's what I have learned today.

• The Andy Griffith Show debuted October 3, 1960.
• The show ran for 8 seasons with a total of 249 episodes.
• Andy was from North Carolina.
• He was raised Baptist, was a shy kid in school, participated in drama, and loved swing music.
• He originally was going to be a preacher, but later changed his major to study music. there is hope for me.
• Andy was a singer. He has an album of country songs that I must track down.
• In April 1983, Andy was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome. which my three-year-old cousin also has.
• He passed away on July 3, 2012 at the age of 86.
• The Andy Griffith Show is by far one of my favorite old television shows. I love the simplicity of the times, I love the humor, and I love the small town of Mayberry. Thank you Andy Griffith.

information courtesy of Wikipedia. photo courtesy of imdb.

my Tuesday involved work and some phone calls.
I went visiting teaching that morning which was great.
and another movie with the roommates: Listen To Your Heart. great music, great plot. cute chick flick.

resolutions report:
blog post. check. though published two days late...oops.
wrote a letter. other half check.
made bed. check. I'm getting good at this.
two hours intellectual stimulation: continued reading my book (report later) and learned about Andy Griffith.
took a picture. check.
the story: our friend Andy came to visit the apartment. and he hid notes all over. we discovered the first one today.

not a bad day, if I do say so myself.

words of wisdom

day 1 of following the schedule. I can do this!

words of wisdom for the week:

I got my first parking ticket the other day. Apparently I couldn't park in a student lot during certain hours. But it wasn't for much.
First ticket: check.

exciting things I did today:
purchased milk and Kleenex.
slept in.
saw a few fireworks.
watched the movie "Sarah's Key" with my roomies. which was absolutely amazing.
proceeded to have an hour long conversation about old books, history, and what things could be hidden in the apartment.

resolutions report:

blog post. check.
up at 8:30. not check.
daily schedule. not check.
wrote a letter. half check.
made bed. check.
took a picture. getting ready for the apartment tour post that's coming soon.
2 hours intellectual stimulation. read a book and started another.
other side of the room. organized so only a few pieces of desk have been occupied.
in bed by midnight. so close... but no check.

five and a half out of nine. not horrible for the first day.
hope your first monday in July was as good as mine :)

google and goodbyes

I finally broke down and got on to the Google bandwagon. And I love it. Google Plus, Calendar, Gmail, Docs, everything. Google is brilliant.

Brooke (who is here for summer!!) convinced me to sign up when I saw her awesome pictures on her latest blog post which she edited with Google Plus.
So I imported some pictures I needed to blog about and played around with the editing tools on Google.
Lots of fun, and I think they look pretty cool :)

Being in Provo for the summer means I get to see a lot of the guys before the go into the MTC, and I get to attend a lot of farewells. And I get to talk to/hang out with friends I didn't always get to spend time with back in freshman year... but more on that later.

Last Sunday, Brooke, Kaley, and I drove up to Sandy for our friend, Jordan's, farewell. He is off to Edmonton Canada in a week or so. He did a fabulous job on his talk, and it was so good to see him!

Some fun notes about Jordan's farewell:

• his bishop is John Bytheway. that was pretty cool.
• his dad was my Personal Finance professor. and Jordan has some of his mannerisms which is quite entertaining. I was also sitting right in front of Bro. Marsh during the farewell...
• our other friend, Mike, came down from SLC! Another great guy who's farewell is next week.
• the best surprise was Lindee and Amy!! They drove all the way down from Idaho Falls for the farewell to surprise Jordan. It was so much fun to see them and got me so excited for fall when I can see all of the girls from freshman year again! 

My great friend from Oregon, Ethan stopped by to talk and eat some Tillamook ice cream with me and our friend, Nick, (and his brother Thomas who happened to be mission companions with my cousin) before he headed off for the MTC. It was so good to see him, even if I only got a handshake. The people of Nicaragua are lucky to have him!

Temple trips last semester and intense game nights during spring term with Derrick. It was great to see him before he headed back home. Plus I got a free meal at the Cannon which I am beginning to miss quite a bit. I am so excited for him to get his mission call soon!!

From FHE activities in fall, to eating at the Cannon, and basically being the best home teacher ever, Andy Pyper everyone. He came to town, so Brooke and I went to lunch with him and just talked for a few hours. And he's going to my mom's mission - Montevideo Uruguay! It was so much fun to just catch up and reminisce on freshman year.

All of these guys are going to be such incredible missionaries. I am so glad I was able to get to know them the past few months. I can't wait to hear about the great things they do over the next two years!! 

Good luck Elders!

And while the boys are gone, I get to hang out with these lovely ladies (and all the other Stover Sisters) in just two months!!! I cannot wait for fall semester when we can all reunite :)

fourth of july resolutions

I am one of the most inconsistent bloggers around, as you probably already know. Sorry about that.

I never really did a post about my New Year's resolutions, and those sort of fell through. So I decided to write up some "Fourth of July Resolutions."

Among those resolutions...

• blog every single day
• get up by 8:30 am
• ...which means go to bed before midnight
• write a letter every day
• spend at least 2 hours doing something intellectually stimulating
• establish a daily schedule to follow
• take a picture every day
• don't take over the other side of the room

Kind of random, but it's what I need right now.
I'm in the process of making a chart to track my progress. I really like charts. And stickers.

Let's get started.

to come: Rules of Summer, apartment tour, spring term, and more pictures!

side note: I'm almost done adding all the labels to my old posts so you can find certain old posts. mostly for my own benefit. just htought I'd share.