This Week...

is going to be a great week!

why?

Well, there are two reasons:

1. Tomorrow I'm finally done with the dreaded summer semester. I have never done summer semester before and I don't know why I started to do it this summer. Not a good idea for me. I have basically hibernated in the library and my house the past week studying and finishing big assignments so I can take my final early. Which leads me to reason number 2...
2. I'M GOING TO LAKE POWELL ON TUESDAY!!! I couldn't be more excited. A) it's one of my favorite places in the world and B) I'm going with some of my favorite people. I cannot wait for 5 days full of sun, water sports, and laughing.

Lake Powell here I come!

To-Do-List

Very slowly, but very surely, that to-do-list of mine is getting

smaller

and smaller

and smaller

I think I have learned it will never be completely finished, but it sure does feel good to cross things off!

Pioneer Day

I had my first experience at the Days of 47 parade and I gotta say, it wont be my last! I saw some of the most amazing floats I have ever seen. This one probably being my favorite, need I say why?

GO UTES!!!

I got to spend the day with family and friends and topped the night off with one of my favorite things...

... FIREWORKS!!!

I don't know how the pioneer's did what they did, but I sure am grateful for them!

UT ---> NC

11 states and 2,034 miles later, Danny and I made it from SLC, UT to Winston-Salem, North Carolina where he will be going to school. I like to refer to it as "The Ultimate Road Trip." We left early on Saturday and drove through Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and finally North Carolina getting there early Tuesday evening. Luckily we had places to stay in Nebraska, Missouri, and Kentucky where the families were so sweet and treated us like we were their own children. It was a long drive, but it went by really fast and it was so much fun. Wednesday I had to fly home and although the goodbye was tough, I am so glad I was able to go out there with him and I couldn't be more excited for him and this new adventure in his life. Of course now I am hating myself for not taking more pictures, but here are a few from our "Ultimate Road Trip"!

Windmills in Wyoming... and lots of them!

Danny's whole life in his truck

My turn to take over and get behind the wheel!

First stay: North Platte, Nebraska

Pretty rainbow

Although Nebraska is super flat and there isn't much to see, it sure did have a pretty sunset!

(the picture doesn't do it justice)

Lots of time in the car

We made a little pit stop to see the arch in St. Louis! Gateway to the west

The Colonel waving us off from his cute Kentucky home

Pretty rolling hills of Kentucky

I sure did miss the mountains but boy is it pretty back east!

We also saw the new Harry Potter... WOW! That is all I have to say. So sad it is over :(

The Duck Nibble

Change

"Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are."

-Bertolt Brecht

I have never been one that does well with change. I'm a planner so when change occurs I can get super stressed. I have to try and create a new plan and that can be a scary thing. Lately it seems that there has just been change after change happening in my life. Not just little changes, but fairly big ones.

Gamma is no more, we are selling our house, and Danny is moving. (Cue stress mode!)

The end of Gamma was a pretty big thing for me considering I had pretty much planned the whole rest of my year around it. I knew it was going to be a very time consuming, but very rewarding, calling and I wanted to make it a top priority so I could fulfill it to the best of my ability. I was so excited and could feel that we were going to have such a great year. The swift and sudden end of it really hit me and I realized how this next year is going to be very different than I had planned.

I also just recently found out about a week ago that we have to sell our house. Being older and having lived away from home I didn't think this would be that big a deal to me, but this is my home. I have lived in my house ever since I was 7 years old and have made so many memories in it. The news made my a little more upset than I thought and I have been dreading the task of packing things up. This is going to sound selfish, but I had never really planned on moving out of my house unless it was on my terms, like when I moved out to go away for school. But even then this was still my home. It's hard to imagine life not in this house.

And Lastly, Danny is leaving this Saturday to go to medical school in North Carolina. This is something I have known for a while now, but I just can't believe how fast it came and what a big change this is going to be. I never expected to meet someone and get so close to them and then have to say goodbye. It will go from seeing him every day to not knowing the next time I will see him. He could still potentially stay if he gets into the U, which he is on the wait list for (I'm still crossing my fingers!), but as of right now North Carolina is where he will be. I really am so excited and happy for him and know he is going to be amazing, but saying goodbye is not going to be easy. Luckily I get to drive out there with him and he bought be a plane ticket to fly home (isn't he the best?) so I will get a few more days to spend with him. But a week from today is going to be a very hard day.

The purpose of this post isn't to be negative and about me complaining so I should probably hurry and make my point. Sometimes change happens and it is unavoidable. It can happen gradually or quickly but either way we have to accept it and be able to adapt and know that things happen for a reason. The changed plan can end up being better than the original. The end of gamma could lead to great things in my singles ward, moving to a new home will save money and the thought of getting to have a new room and design and decorate the way I want is very exciting, and Danny going away could end up being a good things for us. Basically the future is unknown, but we have to make the most of what comes our way and do it with a positive attitude. I know that sounds cliche, but that is one very important thing I have learned. It is pointless to be negative because then it is so much harder to see the good in something.

So instead of looking at these things as "changes", I've decided to look at them as "adventures." Let them begin!

Never Gets Old

There a few things in life that I believe never get old. They are always great no matter what. I know these can be different for everyone, but here is a list of my personal "never gets old" things:

Hairspray (the movie)

This movie is one of my all-time favorites. It's just such a happy, feel-good movie with a great cast, great music, and great dancing. The ending scene of "You Can't Stop the Beat" is like my dream scene to be in. I got the movie for Christmas a few years ago and I'm not kidding when I say I watched it once a day for about 2 weeks. I still watch it pretty often and I still love it just the same!

Old Navy

This is a store I can always go to. It didn't have only a phase like abercrombie or hollister that I refuse to ever step foot in again. Every once in a while I will think "hey, I should go check and see what old navy has" and I'm usually not disappointed.

Dressing up for Halloween

I still have just as much fun dressing up for Halloween as I did when I was just a little thing. I still try to plan months in advance my costume and try to come up with something as creative as possible. And I still love collecting candy.

Trampoline's

I have had a trampoline ever since I can remember and I have always loved bouncing around on that thing. I used to spend hours a day trying to learn and perfect tricks. It was always the best feeling when I was able to perform a new trick for my parents. I may not have learned a new trick for a few years, but I still have a blast jumping and trying to maintain old ones.

Julia Roberts

I simply adore her and everything she is in. She is beautiful and talented and just seems to get more and more beautiful and talented. Who doesn't love Julia?

PB&J

I can't even tell you how many of these I eat. In fact, I had one today for lunch! This has always been my sandwich of choice and it is always delicious. They just seem to hit the spot and the best is saving the middle of the sandwich for last. Mmmmm....

"Yeah"

There are quite a few songs out there that never get old to me. However, the one I always think of is "Yeah" by Usher, Lil John, and Ludacis. Yes, out comes my inner gangsta... It's just one of those songs that no matter how many times I hear it I still love it and still sing along. If it comes on the radio or on shuffle on my ipod, I never skip it or go past it. Never.

Disney

Anything Disney. Disney movies, Disneyland, Disney songs, Disney anything. Disney is great and entertaining no matter what age. I still consider some of my favorite movies Disney movies. You can never go wrong with a little Mulan or Lion King.

Dances on SYTYCD

I have talked about this show enough that I'm sure you get the idea, but seriously I can and do watch dances on this show over and over and over again and still love them. Even dances from 4 seasons ago I still love to go back and watch. I am left amazed and in awe of how talented the dancers on the show are each and every time.

Hanging out with the bro's

I love hanging out with my brothers. We act like 5-year-olds and just giggle and laugh and do silly things. My mom still tells us she can't take us anywhere because of how we act... and here I am a 21-year-old. That's embarrassing. We still wrestle, tease, and joke around with each other. It's funny I used to always beg my mom for a sister, but now I wouldn't have it any other way!

Well, there's just a few things I came up with! What never gets old to you?

4th of July Fun

I absolutely LOVE the 4th of July, it's my favorite holiday. There's warm weather, family, good food, and fireworks. What's not to love? And these past couple days have been filled with so much holiday fun!

First we went up to Logan to celebrate my mom's birthday. We went to dinner with the grandparents, played on the farm, then went to the Beach Boys concert! I know what your thinking.... and yes, the Beach Boys are still around. I have to admit I was a little nervous considering there is one original Beach Boy left who is about 70 years old, but they still know how to jam and it was a ton of fun to be there. I've never seen so many cute old folks dance their hearts out. We ended the night by a game of bowling (which by the way I beat Niel. He wont admit it, but it happened) then back to the grandparents to spend the night.

Next on the agenda was Richfield. We left Logan Friday morning, arrived in Salt Lake to pack up a few things, then Danny and I were off the Richfield later that afternoon to spend a few days with his family. We spent the next few days at his grandparents house eating delicious meals, playing Farkle and Uno, lighting fireworks and dry ice bombs, spending a day on Cove Mountain, hiking, dipping our feet in the stream, getting eaten alive by mosquitos, seeing the progress on the cabin, trying to make fire, laying in a meadow, watching home videos and looking at old photo albums, star gazing, going to church, napping, watching people hunt for big foot, and listening to stories. It was such a fun few days and his family was so great and sweet. They made me feel right at home and they were tons of fun to be with. (And just for the record, Danny is the boyfriend. My cousin gave me a hard time about not saying that on the blog so here I am! Haha love you Jackie)

After Richfield it was time to head back up to Logan for the 4th of July and to Celebrate my grandpa's 90th birthday, my grandma's 86th birthday, and their 65th wedding anniversary. Lots of things to celebrate! We watched the classic Hyrum parade then headed to a pavilion where the Hawaiian themed party would begin. Literally every single relative on my mom's side was in town for this, all 83 of them, and that hasn't happened since I was a baby. It was so fun to have everyone together and see all the relatives that I never get to see. The family has grown so much that I didn't even know some of them. It was a great way to celebrate my grandparents and all they have done. There was a program full of music, dancing, skits, and tributes to the grandparents along with a presentation of a timeline of their entire life. Every little detail was on that thing. We played minute to win it games, had a water fight, played bingo, watched a game of football the guys were playing, and just chatted and kept entertained by all the little ones. We ended the night by watching the Hyrum fireworks then lighting off a bunch off our own. (Wyoming ones of course).

isn't he cute?

Hope everyone had a happy 4th as well! God bless America!