A Couple of Heros

Sundays really are the best days of the week. Today was even better because I didn't have to drive back down to Salt Lake for class tomorrow. Sitting in church today my mind began to wander a little bit. Big Sam was conducting sacrament meeting today and I got to thinking about how much I love that man and how amazing he really is.

I don't know how well any of you know my Papa Sam but even those who have only had the opportunity meet him for a few minutes can tell you just how warm and kind he is. I have never met a man who thinks more about others and less about himself than Sam. He is the most genuinely generous and giving man I've ever met. He is always looking for ways to help everyone around him and never expects anything in return. He gives of his time, means, and spirit like it is the only option there is. December 2nd was my parents 6th wedding anniversary and while parents' anniversaries are not something that it's necessarily normal for a 19 year old girl to get excited about I did have a second to think to myself about how wonderful my Papa Sam has been to me, all 6 of my siblings, and my sweet mother for the past 6 years. I can't recall a single sporting event of mine, Perri's, Zach's, or Miles' that he hasn't made it to over the years. The number of times I forgot something for school and the big guy dropped everything to make the 20 minute drive out to Hyrum to bring it to me is ridiculous. I know I give the big guy a hard time.... most of the time, but I really am so thankful to have this amazing man as a role model in my life. 

After Sacrament at my parents home ward my mom informed me that my big brother Zachary was going to speak with his friend from the high counsel in another ward yet again. He was speaking in my parent's building so I decided I was just going to stay and listen to him.

If you don't know how much I adore my big brother it's either because you don't know me that well or are just a little bit oblivious. If you ask me, Zachary Clyde hung the stars and can basically do no wrong. I absolutely idolize my big brother and I look up to him like no one else in this world. When my parents were married 6 years ago I was in a place in my life where I needed someone to look after me, to love me, and to be my hero; Zach became that instantly. Part of it could be the closeness in age and part of it could be the way our personalities connect but, to me, Zach and I have a bond that is different from the relationship that I share with any of my other siblings. He can calm me down when I'm in the middle of a panic attack like no one else can. He makes me laugh constantly, and has a way of assuring me that everything is going to be ok. Zach makes me want to be better in every way. In everything from sports, to friends, to church I always want to be like him. His senior year of high school was my sophmore year and I will always remember the goofy random times and memories we shared that year. He may have felt like I was his annoying tag a long little sister, that might very well still be how he feels, but nothing meant more to me than when he'd invite me to hangout with him and his friends, or his given girlfriend of the week, or just us two.

 During high school when Zach was still trying to decide if he would serve a mission I fasted every fast Sunday for 6 months hoping he would decided to go. When he actually did decide to turn his papers in I realized that I was going to be without my brother for 2 years and quickly began to have second thoughts about what I had been praying for. It all turned out for the best even if I did bawl my eyes out every time someone asked how he was for those two years. I admire my brother so much for all that he has accomplished throughout these past few years. Zach has been monumental in helping Waylon and myself with Waylon's conversion and baptism and I will owe Zach for his help with that forever.

As we grow up, things change. We both have different things going on in our lives. I live far away and don't get to see Zach, or anyone in my family, as much as I would like. We're both busy working, going to school and dating. I'm coming to the harsh realization that someday as we both continue to grow up we are going to have our own families, spouses, jobs, and lives. No matter where our lives take us Zach will always be one of my best friends and hero.

I'm amazed at all the ways the Lord's hand is in our lives that we don't even notice until we look back days, weeks, months, or years later. I've had an interesting 19 years here on this earth; filled with tremendous joys, terrible heartbreaks, seemingly insurmountable hardships, and innumerable blessings. With all the things I've encountered on this journey we call life I've learned at least two valuable lessons. 1. The Lord will never abandon his children. While it may be difficult to find the Savior when you are in the middle of trials it is important to remember that he is probably the only thing keeping you afloat even if it is by such a narrow margin. 2. Everything happens for a reason. I am a firm believe in this. I am not saying we will know the reasons in this life but every trial and blessing we face in this life are brought to us with a purpose. I know you can't change the past but even if I could, I wouldn't. The trials, however menial they may seem, that I have faced have led me to the person I am today and the person I am today is a stepping stone on the way to the person my Heavenly Father wants me to become. 

I am so very thankful for the time I had today to think about these two amazing men in my life. They have shaped and molded me for the better during the time they've spent with me and I am eternally grateful to have been blessed with their presence in my life.

Love always

Dan 

Staying alive, Staying alive, Ah-ah-ah-ah Staying alive

I'm not sure what prompted the 70s disco themed title to this post. I'm sure it's just the strangeness of finals week working its way out of me. However, the point is that I made it!! It was touch and go there for just a bit but I did actually make it. I had 2 finals to take during finals week, one was schedule the other one I got to decide. My hatred for finals week prompted me to opt for taking them the same day. The best thing I can say about how the finals went is that they are over. They weren't that bad but they were definitely not enjoyable. At least they're over. I think the awfulness of Finals Week is part of the ploy. It's so miserable that by the time you are done with your last tests you don't even really care how they went you just want to be done.

Also on the up side, It's almost Christmas!! I love Christmas time, I can't put my finger on what it is about this time of the year it just makes me happy inside. I love trying to find the perfect gift for everyone and I get so excited to see the look on their face when they open them.

So for this week I'm just working and waiting to go home. I'm headed back after work on Friday night until next Wednesday then I'll come back down to Salt Lake to work a few more days before I head back home again for Christmas.

My week down here will probably consist of some online "Paper-work" too. Now that I'm done stressing about this semester I can start to work on my application  to.... USU. That's right, the cat is out of the bag. After  this spring semester I'm coming back home to Logan. It was a tough decision and a very easy decision  at the same time. I love it here. I love the University of Utah, My job, My house, My friends, and My roommate but my family and cute boy are in Logan and it's just too far away. I'm driving back and forth so much lately and it's just not worth it. I will miss Salt Lake and the life I've made here very much but I'm also pretty excited to get back home to my family.

I may not blog again until after Christmas, I'm not sure what craziness these next few weeks are going to bring but I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and also a Happy New Year! I hope we can all remember the Reason for the Season and feel the true Christmas spirit during this great time of year :)

Loves,
Dan

Some Thursday Night Thoughts

So I was supposed to be going to St. George for a softball tournament this week to help coach the high school girls because it's moratorium and the coach isn't allowed to coach. But we couldn't get enough girls at the last minute so we had to drop out :( The upside to this story is that I got work covered and now I have tonight and tomorrow off with little to nothing to do :)

So I thought I'd catch up on some blogging! It's been awhile. That mean's I dunno what to say so I guess I'll just pull a full out mental download!

1. Per-Dogg turned 16 and got her drivers license!! I was able to sneak home on her birthday and help my mom with a little surprise party we through with a bunch of her friends it was great.

2. My cute Waylon is getting ready to move out and I'm so very excited for him.

3. So many of my friends are leaving on mission and I'm just sitting here like "Guys, I am going to have no friends"

4. I love to see the temple especially the Salt Lake Temple! I had the opportunity to go to the temple with a couple of friends early last Friday morning and it was amazing! I'm so glad to live so close to the house of the lord.

5. Mountain Crest is good at football again this year! Who knew? They play down here at Rice Eccles tomorrow and I'm pretty pumped that I get to go.

6. Per and 6 of her friends are coming down here to spend the night with me tonight because their mommas didn't want them driving in the snow that is supposed to be on the ground tomorrow. Wish me luck! Just kidding, my bedroom door locks; I should be fine.

7. The past couple of weeks I've been coming back and forth to Logan a lot lately which leaves a lot of time for contemplating and lousy car singing. The past few times I've been thinking about how lucky I am to be from such an awesome place like Cache Valley. I went to a homecoming a few weekends back for one of Zach's teammates and I was so amazed at the sense of family that was there with all these people that hadn't seen each other in approximately 2 years. It's amazing how well you can know all these people from small towns and care about them. It's like one big giant family! I think it's funny how that is something that I absolutely despised when I was going to high school. I wanted to move out and be where no one knew me. Now, it's like a breath of fresh air when I get to go home and see all these people that I know just at Macey's on a Saturday night.

8. I sure do love and miss my family especially my sweet momma bear!

I think that's it for my little mental download. I hope all is well with any and all of you that should happen across this little blog.

Lots of loves

Dan

"How Shall I Bear So Much Happiness"

Jane Austen once said "How shall I bear so much happiness!" I read that quote and it spoke to the deepest, most personal cavity of my heart. It made me realize how very blessed I am in my little life and how unbelievably happy I should always be because of that.

I seriously don't know how I could ever be more blessed than I am right now. I have my amazing, strong, supportive family. I have parents that love and would do absolutely anything for me; and siblings that are the best role models and greatest friends I could ever ask for. My sweet boyfriend is the greatest man I could have ever found; hardworking, kind, smart, funny, spiritual, compassionate, and loving. I have The Gospel of Jesus Christ to help guide me through my life. I live in the greatest country on earth where I have all the freedoms I could ever desire. I am blessed with the means I need to go to school at an amazing university and to live in such a comfortable manner. I am lucky enough to have a job; one that works with my student schedule and one that I enjoy! Lastly but most certainly not least I have the most amazing friends on the face of this earth. It's amazing the impact that a few people who you at one time didn't even know can have on your life. I am so grateful to be able to claim these people as my second spectacular family. "When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching - they are your family." - Jim Butcher. I have to say that there are very few feelings greater then when you realize someone knows you well enough to recognize your many flaws and they still claim you as a friend and love you all the more in spite of those flaws. Growing up, especially in high school, I always tried to remember that it was not the quantity of friends you had that mattered but rather the quality. I was fairly well convinced that I only needed 1 maybe 2 friends and I'd be just fine. I'm still sure that that's all that I NEED, but I am blessed with many more true and great friends than I will ever deserve.

I know that I have the rest of my life ahead of me and I like to think that I am destined to enjoy many more happy moments but I'm hoping to be more observant in my life so that I may notice all the reasons I have to be the happiest person out there! One last quote and then I'm outta here! "Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want." - E. James Rohn.  This is my motto for the next... however it long it takes to get it through my thick skull!

-Dan

Homework? Nah... I'm going to blog

So I'm sitting here in the library... unable to focus on the O-Chem lab I should be preparing for so I'll catch up on my blogging. I have a lot of random thoughts so this is your fair warning that I'm going to be jumping all over the place.

This past Saturday Per went to her first high school dance. She didn't tell me that she had been asked to homecoming until Thursday when I had called her for a different reason entirely and it just kinda slipped out. Last week was one of those weeks that I was absolutely freaking out about living in Salt Lake because I felt clueless and helpless about my family's life. I texted Perri for some reason while I was in class assuming she'd answer me later but she answered right back and kept talking to me for about a half hour. I finally told her she needed to pay attention in class and that I'd talk to her later but she responded telling me she was at home not at class. I asked her why she wasn't at school and she said it was because she had a heart condition and she'd been at the hospital all night. I told her she was a dirty rotten liar and asked why she really wasn't at school. Then she sent me a picture of her hospital bracelet. I began the freak out. I told her I'd call her as soon as I got out of class and that was probably the longest 10 minutes I've had in a very long time. I finally got her on the phone and she was being the basic vague Per that she usually is. I tried to pry as much information as I could out of her but she'd been up at the hospital all night so she was sleep on top of her indifferent attitude. As I was finishing up the conversation with her I mentioned that she probably wasn't going to be coming down to spend the weekend with me like we had discussed before because of the fact that she was on a portable heart monitor. She said "Yeah, and I got asked to homecoming so I guess I've got to go to that" I probably burst her little ear drum when I screamed at her for not telling me sooner! So I decided that even if she didn't care if I was there or not I was not going to miss my little sister getting ready to go to her first dance.

 I worked Friday night and then got up Saturday morning and headed home. When I got there Per was getting ready for her day-date where they were going to go paint-balling and the rest of the family was getting ready to head out to Miles' last regular season football game. We sent Per off with her date and then me and Mom went out in search of shoes for her to wear to the dance. We found a pair and headed back out to Hyrum for Miles' game. They won and when it was over we headed back so I could pick Perri up and take her to get her hair done. When we got back from getting her hair all done we went to work on the large red splotches that were left all over Perri's neck and chest from the stick tabs and tape from the heart monitor. We used some odd remedies that I'd heard friends had used to get rid of hickies because that's what these kinda looked like and then in the end we wound of covering what we couldn't get rid of with make-up. All in all it turned out pretty well and she looked absolutely breath taking when Trevor came to pick her up!  You'd swear I was her mother with how emotional and how excited I got overt this whole endeavor.

I went to church with Waylon and Zach on Sunday and then of course hung around long enough for my parents to feed me dinner before I headed back to Salt Lake for a fireside I was planning on going to with a friend. I picked her up and we headed to the Institute building to hear Elder Paul V. Johnson from the first quorum of the seventy. I was so impressed with the talk he gave. One of the first things he asked was how many of us in the audience were married so I was worried it was going to be one of those "Get married and have babies other wise your life is incomplete" sort of talks but it definitely wasn't. He talked about adversity and trials and things we can use to help us get through those things. He talked about how we can be doing everything right and trials still come up; sometimes again and again and again until we just don't think we can stand it any more. We think that we've just barely made it over one trial, that we're doing life just great and then the next one is there waiting and glaring down at you. Then he said one thing that I really loved, he said, "Life is not a theory class, it's a lab class." Granted this probably meant a whole lot more to us students than it would to someone who's been out of school for a while but it struck home with me. Sometimes you're doing everything right, you know exactly what you should be doing in life and how and why you should be doing those things and that's the theory part which everyone has to figure out at some point. But then you have to go to the lab where you actually have to get your hands dirty. You have to act on the things that you know. And sometimes that means trying the same thing over and over again until you get the right result that you have read about in the literature but everyone has to figure it out. Now my best friend that is a sociology major didn't really love this because she hasn't taken a lab in the 2 and 1/2 years she's been here going to school (Pretty sure they don't exist in the sociology major's world) but for me as an ESS-Phys kid that just basically spends my whole life in the chemistry building it just made so much sense and I loved it!

So now I've rambled on her for a while I still don't know what I'm doing in my Chem Lab that starts in just over an hour. Moral of the story.... I don't know :( Haha All in all it really was a fantastic weekend. I'm super pumped for the USC vs Utah football game on Thursday. Per has softball game in South Jordan on Saturday and then I'm headed home for General Conference and the first part of Fall Break before I have to come back and work :) Well... I hope you all have a fantastic week! Laters!

Love Dan

3 Weeks Down!

So 3 weeks later I think I'm about as back in to the swing of things as I'm going to get. There has been a lot going on but I love it. It helps the time I'm in school go by faster. 

Classes are going well. I've been doing better at balancing my time thus far, I don't know what it was about last semester but I did a terrible job of it. This semester is going a lot better. 

I'm still spending a fair amount of time driving back forth from Logan, It's hard not to when most of my family and Waylon are there.  I've been back for Farewells, football games, and Labor Day. I'm not complaining, the drive isn't that bad, I think my car and my wallet are getting a little sick of all the miles I'm putting in though :/  Oh well, it's worth it.

Right now I'm just living one day at a time and loving it, life's good for now. We'll see what tomorrow brings :) 

U of U Take Two!!!

Well it happened, as much as I begged, and hoped and pleaded for it not to, it did. Today was the first day of school for  us Utes down here. I really don't dislike school as much as it might seem that I do, I just got so comfortable in my routine this summer that it's hard for me to let go. All things considered I am pumped for a new school year. I only have 2 classes on Monday so it wasn't a terrible first day. This semester I only have a 7:30 class on Thursday's which is a nice change from having one every day of the week last year. I started my morning at 8:30 in my familiar old chemistry building... I have not missed that place since May! The first day is never that bad, My professor seems okay. Last semester the professor was so bad that I feel like there is nowhere to go but up! I did however totally space the fact that when you go to school sometimes you are supposed to take pens, pencils, and paper : / talk about embarrassing! Luckily I didn't have to write much and everything that I did need to write I just typed into my phone and copied it down once I got home.

My other class, besides O-Chem, on Mondays is Institute. My first semester last year I didn't take an institute class. I figured that I needed to keep my schedule empty for all my classes. I couldn't have been more wrong. Last spring Zach was just getting home from the mission and he told me how I needed to get my butt to institute. I humored him because I also learned that if you take a class from them you can park in the parking lot which saved me from riding the bus all the time. I eventually learned that I actually enjoyed my class. I adored the teacher and he had such great things to say. So much so, That I decided to take another class from Brother Marshall this semester! I'm taking gospel doctrines and after just today I can tell it's going to be great.

So Mondays and Wednesdays aren't bad at all and Fridays I only have Chemistry which will be nice. Tomorrow I only have one class its ESS 2500 I have no idea what that means so I guess we'll see tomorrow. I usually will have a lab that lasts from, get this, 12:55 until 5:00!! That is a whole lot of Chemistry! Thursday's are similar except that I have a 7:30 Chemistry class and I later Chem Lab discussion. I also took 3 online classes this semester. I'm hoping that I can stay motivated and on top of them so wish me luck!!

I'm excited to get this year rolling! Happy Back-to-School everyone!!

Slow Down!!!

I am so not ready for summer to be over :( and the fact that I start classes in like 2 weeks makes me want to lay down on the floor kicking and screaming and throwing a tantrum like the giant 5 year old I really am. I don't feel like a bunch has happened lately since I blogged last but I know some stuff has so I'm just going to do a mass mental download.

Perri finished her last summer softball tournament this past weekend and now has a little bit of a break until fall ball when she is going to play with the 18U team.

Miles is just starting football practices he has lots of friends on his team and Papa Sam is helping coach again.

Waylon is just finishing up his Northern Utah Baseball League (or something to that effect I can't exactly remember the exact name) and says he is retiring at the end of this year due to age ;) We'll see if he really means it when next year rolls around and he can't live without it.

I just got back last week from a girls trip to St. George with my friends Lindsey and Lexi. We went and stayed with Lindsey's grandma, shopped, swam, tanned, watched the Olympics and played dominoes. I'm just finishing up my last couple of weeks at The Country Club before I have to start school back up and stay in Salt Lake a lot more. Last night I had to buy textbooks/ actually more like a had to rent them but it still cost me a small fortune.

In other new's, this weekend is our trip to the cabin and I'm totally stoked. It's most definitely my happy place. Something about the cabin makes it so easy to relax even if we do have about a billion small children running around. Plus, the fact that my family are all excellent cooks doesn't exactly hurt. So, I will try to take some pictures but I make no promises.

Per, bugging me to go get a drink so I'm outta here. Laters

So Much Happiness!

So, I think everyone that reads my blog already knows this but; MY SWEETIE GOT BAPTIZED LAST SUNDAY!!!  I'm so proud of him :) It makes me heart smile every time that I think about it.  I know it was a huge decision for him and I'm so glad he decided to be baptized and join the church. He was quizzed pretty hard by friends and family close to him about making sure that he was doing it for the right reasons and I'm happy to report I definitely believe that he did! It was such a special day and I'm so glad that I got to be a part of it. I loved being with him while he took the missionary discussions. I learned a lot that I didn't know and it helped me to value my testimony that much more. All in all it was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of it. 

Simply Blessed

So... I'm sitting here at my computer not exactly sure where this post is going to lead me. We'll see how it ends up and what I wind up titling it. Tonight my heart is full, and I don't know how to describe the feelings I'm having. I feel so blessed. You know those days where you're just kinda going along and all of a sudden you realize how amazing your life is. Let me tell ya, I don't have those very often cause there is usually something going wrong and most of the time I let one little speed bump throw me for a huge loop but; this week is different. 

First things first, my sweet boyfriend Waylon recently started taking the missionary discussions. It's funny because a lot of my friends and family don't realize that he isn't a member of the church yet because he's such a great guy. I'm so very proud of him for his choice. I know that the gospel will bless his life as much as it has blessed mine. We've been having the missionaries over at my parent's house and I feel so blessed to be a part of this very special experience. The missionaries keep asking me to share my testimony during the lessons but it's so hard for me because, well, I'm basically an emotional wreck! I guess you could say that the spirit reaches me through my tear-ducts! But, honestly I am so grateful for this experience in my life, and I know it will help me avoid taking the gospel for granted in my life. 

As I've mentioned I'm currently driving back and forth between Logan and Salt Lake working two jobs. It gets tiring sometimes but I am grateful to be working so that I can save money for school in the fall (coming way to quickly :/) This past week when I got down to Salt Lake my new roommate Aleisha was already here. I'd been feeling a bit guilty about her because I helped her move in 2 weeks ago and then headed to Logan and hadn't seen her since. Luckily she forgave me, as far as I can tell, and is still such a sweetheart. I'm so grateful that everything worked out for us to live together and I am so lucking forward to a great new experience.  

After work on Wednesday my sweet friend Lindsey came over to chill. I sure do love her. I feel so lucky to have met her and had the opportunity to make her a part of my life. As strange as it may sound I feel like I was supposed to meet my wonderful quirky new best friend. She brings so much of what I need into my life and I'm seriously so thankful that we fell into each other's lives. We're very quickly becoming experts on how to deal with each other's special issues! Because if we're being honest; our issues have their own issues! And I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Tonight when I got done with work I came and picked up Aleisha and we hurried over to Per's softball game in West Valley. We only caught the last little bit (I did get to see Per's homerun, she's hit one in each of the 3 past tournaments, woman stud) of the game but it was a good time. I don't know if it's normal for a 19 year old to enjoy hanging out with my parents as I do. My mom is one of my best friends and even though Papa Sam and I give each other a hard time, all the time, we really do love each other. 

All in All, as I'm laying here in bed, I feel so extremely blessed, and looked over. I know the rest of this year isn't going to be easy, It's not supposed to be. But nights like this do help me realize that I am going to make it through whatever life has to throw at me. 

Birth-Week!!

I have a skill, where I am pretty good about stretching my birthday into a birthweek. I absolutely love my 4th of July birthday. I love being an American Baby, the fireworks, barbecues, home-made ice cream, everything that comes with the great American Summer holiday. This year was no exception to my list of great birthdays. I started celebrating when I got back to Logan from Salt Lake. Waylon got a whole week off of work and we took advantage of it! His job is great but I hate that he always has to work at nights. This week we watched movies and made late night treat runs, and just hung out. It was so great. I hate that he had to go back to work tonight! For my birthday I woke up around 9 and my mom had made me quiche for breakfast, we went to the parade in Hyrum, when we got back I went to my dad's for a bit, After that we went to dinner, and last we had some family and friends over for cake and ice cream. After everyone had gone home I opened up some presents from my parents. They got me the sewing machine I asked for as well as some roller blades so that I don't have to steal Miles' any more. After we got done with our 4th and Birthday festivities it was time for the Cruise In. I love the cruise in, the atmosphere is so much fun and I love to check out the cars. Thursday was a bit rainy so Waylon, Perri, and I went bowling and to see the Katy Perry movie. Friday we got the chance to go check out the Sock'hop at the Cruise in which is just all the old music that matches the cars. All in all it was a great week filled with lots of family and friends.

There's just been so much nothing going on that I haven't even had time to blog. I kinda love it. I took this past week off from The Cowboy Grub down in Salt Lake because I wanted to be around for my mom's birthday and to check out Per's tournament in Kaysville. So I haven't been back down to my place since two Fridays ago which is kinda weird. It's almost like I've got 2 lives going on. Which isn't really a bad thing, it's just that when I'm here in Logan I don't really think too much  about Salt Lake and when I'm down there at my place I'm just focused on work and friends there.

This week my roommate from last year is moving out and I have a new roommate moving in. I'm excited to have it all done and taken care of because it has been causing way too much stress in my life. If nothing else this whole crazy stressful experience has taught me two things. It's great to try to please people and help them out but, if it is making you physically sick, causing you to lose sleep, or making you an emotional mess it just isn't worth it!!Sometimes I just need to be able to tell people no. Lesson learned, won't do that again! The second thing I learned or to be more specific realized came from the Wonderful World Wide Web! I was wasting time on Pinterest (Which I actually feel like I am doing more often than I care to admit) and ran across a quote that read "You can either pray about something or you can worry about it. You can't do both, Praying requires putting trust in the Lord and if you trust him you won't worry." It didn't tell me who said it but I took it to heart. It's something I need to work on. I'm not sure why I have such a hard time trusting the Lord when I can recognize and appreciate his hand in my life every day. But it's something I'm working on :)

Other exciting news in my world... Per and I have a new hobby. We are becoming hard core roller bladders. Okay, Per is more of a hardcore bladder than I am. I fall fairly hard and frequently. But it is a great time. The other down side is that I don't have my own roller-blades. I have to borrow Miles'. They are pretty small so if I stay out there too long my toes begin to fall asleep. It's been so hot lately that we have to go at night after the sun goes down, which makes it difficult because I can not see the bumps and rocks that like to jump beneath my wheels and make me fall. As a solution to this problem my sweet Papa Sam went and bought us headlamps at Walmart tonight so that we can see where we are going. He's the best! We didn't get to try them out tonight but I am looking forward to trying them out when I get back here next week!

By the way, I am not slouching in this picture. I actually have wonderful posture. Perri is just that much taller than I am now :/

Another hobby we have taken up this summer is 4-wheeling. I love it. I took Waylon up Providence canyon on a ride but it was closed and then Per and I decided to explore Millville canyon a little bit. Since then we haven't been able to get enough of it!! Per and I get a little braver and go a little further up Millville canyon each time that we go. Although it sometimes takes her a little while to get up the courage to face all of the cows that live up there!

Checking out a pretty sunset in Providence.

Cool kids in our helmets and glasses

That's about a wrap on my summer happenings. I'm headed back to Salt Lake tomorrow because I have to work tomorrow night and Friday night. Sunday I am heading back to Logan for a full week and then some. I am so excited for the week of the 4th and that is only partially because it's my birthday (19 isn't really that exciting.) The Cache Valley Cruise In is the weekend of the 5th-7th and that is always I good time. Also, Waylon has the whole week off from work which I am way excited about. I'm loving my summer but it's a bummer when he has to go to work every night when I want to watch movies or have bonfires or star gaze and stuff. So that week that he has off is going to be great. Like I said, that's about it for my current summer stories. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Later Gators!!!

Little Waitressing Rant (WARNING contains whining, Read at your own risk)

So I really do love my job a lot, but on a night like tonight I don't love the general public population. I just am going to rant and rage for a little minute and hope that it makes me feel better. Number one, If you don't want to deal with people then don't go out to eat. I am so sick of the people that just seem pissed that I am talking to them. If I can put on a fake smile through sore feet, and a tired back then you can at least be decent to the person who is serving your food.  Number two, If you have good service the tip you leave should reflect that. If you are going out to eat in the state of Utah it is more than likely that your server is being paid $2.13 AN HOUR!! Waiters and Waitresses are living off of your tips, the majority of us never see a pay check due to taxes. If you have a good server then don't leave them a two dollar tip even if it is a ten dollar check. I read somewhere that the lowest amount that should ever be left for a table is $5. I realize this is unrealistic because we live in Utah and people are cheap but it's nice to dream. Number three, and the last thing I want to rant about. Do not fight over the check like children, it is unfair to your server and not a problem they should have to deal with. If you can not handle this problem in a discreet manner then LET IT GO!! Is it really that terrible to allow someone to buy your dinner? Ok, that's all. I'll get off my little soap box now. Have a great rest of your day :) 

We fit together like a strange wonderful puzzle

So the other day I was pondering a conversation a had with my brother Zachary a few years back. We were talking about how we had basically the best family ever. Now let me explain before you get the wrong idea. We were talking about how we pretty much have everything covered in our family. Everyone has a different skill that will help us out with any problem we can really come up with. My mom is in charge of all the financial advise that we could ever need. Taxes, savings, Big purchasing decisions anything. Big Sam is kinda the catch all, Mostly he is the pro of sales. One of the best sales man I have ever met actually. My oldest sister Amber is the crafty one in the family. She does interior decorating, takes photos, sews many crafty things, and is very trendy. Her husband Ryan is our legal expert. He is a lawyer and one of the smartest men I know. My next sister Erin is a nurse, she has all of the medical knowledge. We call her when anyone is hurt or sick Erin's husband JT is our defense man. Jt is in the army and he takes care of all scaring off boyfriends and such. Christopher is Mr. fix-it. He can literally fix anything!! Sabrina, Chris's wife was a hairstylist in Denver, she makes sure we all look good. Zachary is our bilingual man. He will handle the Spanish if we ever need them. Zach is also pre-dental, at this exact point in time it could change at any given second, so he will keep all our teeth squeaky clean. Per is our humor master. She makes all of us giggle on a regular basis. Miles, and the rest of the nephews are just waiting to figure out what their jobs/characteristics will be. And then there is me... I am a waitress and you know what we do? We ALWAYS have straws!! Ha ha Hopefully one day I can contribute more than that. It wouldn't hurt to have a pharmacist or PA in the family too

Summer Catch-Up

Well... I try to be better about blogging but I guess spuratic blogging is better than not at all. I guess I forgot to blog because I don't exactly feel like anything specifically worth mentioning ever happens to me. I'm just living and loving my summer! I'm not going to lie the driving back and forth from Logan to Salt Lake is getting a little old but I wouldn't have it any other way. I find myself sorry to leave my friends and my job in Salt Lake on Friday night but then on Tuesday night I absolutely dread leaving my friends and family in Cache Valley. It's a really weird situation haha. For now I'm going to stop trying to over analyzing everything and just roll with it. This weekend my parents went out of town so it was just me and Per for most of Saturday. We decided to build a blob! It was a blast!!!! We went to Home Depot and bought some heavy duty plastic sheeting and gorilla tape which we used to make a big waterproof bubble and filled it up with water on the lawn. We slip and slidded and laid out and goofed around on it and it was loads of fun. We're definitely going to have to do it again on a warmer day!

My Best Friend!

I told myself I was going to be better about blogging more often so here goes nothing. Tonight I am one proud big sis. Today the MC softball girls took on Murray High School in the first round of the 4A state tournament; and my little sister got her first varsity start! The game didn't go as we would have hoped but I could not be prouder of how Per played. She started at second base which is a little different from the short stop position that she is used to. She played very solid in the field and I was even more proud of her batting. Her first at-bat she battled of a bunch of pitches to finally draw the walk. Her second at-bat she was just barely off of crushing the ball and popped it up foul. It amazes me how good she is at all the sports she tries. I'm glad she doesn't rest on that alone. I know she wouldn't have gotten this chance if she had been slacking off in practice. I know it surprises a lot of people that Perri and I can look so similar and be such polar opposites in our personalities, but despite all of differences she is my best friend and I am so proud of her today and every day.

My Mama!

The idea of trying to write a post about my Mother is the definition of overwhelming. I have the best Mom in the whole wild world, I know everyone says that but I know I really do. I could go on and on forever but I will keep it short. Everyone that has the opportunity to meet my Mom and get to know her is immediately drawn to her genuinely sweet personality and her desire to help anyone and everyone. She puts her family before herself on a regular basis and is honestly the best person I know. My Mom supports me in everything, and has shaped me into the woman that I am. She has taught me how to be strong and tough but to stay soft and loving. She is everything I ever hope to become. The best compliments I ever receive are when people tell me that I remind them of my Mom. She is my biggest fan, my support team, my best friend, my guardian, my role model, my critic when I need it, my rock, and my hero. I am so thankful that I get to be home for Mother's Day at least part of the time tomorrow, I am bummed I have to work :( I'm thankful today and every day for the amazing woman I am blessed to call Mom.

I didn't have any pictures of just me and my Mom but we love the big man too!

Pseudo-Freshmen Year... Check

Well I had my doubts about if this day would ever actually get here but it has. Yesterday at 5:30 I was done with my first year of college. That still sounds so weird to me, I bet it's weirder for my mother. I called it my Pseudo-Freshmen year because it technically wasn't my freshmen year. I had a bunch done when I graduated from High School and I've been a Sophomore since the end of last semester. Spring semester was rough, I took two classes that my adviser called "Involved courses" which I took as her fancy way of saying it was really stupid of me to take them in the same semester. I didn't have enough time to devote to both of them and I think I'm going to have to take one of both of them again later on. On the up side, I declared a major! I am hoping that those two classes do not bring down my GPA enough to get me kicked out of my major. It's hard for me to stress too much about school right now because it is officially summer break!!! I am so stinking excited!! My summer is going to consist of a whole lot of driving but I am still very pumped for it. Since I have fallen in love with my house down here in Salt Lake and I don't want to loose it for next year I am staying down here.... sort of. I also didn't want to quit my job down here so I worked out a plan. I changed my schedule at the Cowboy Grub to Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. When I get done with work on Friday night I will drive back to Logan where I am going to stay until the next Wednesday when I'll come back to Salt Lake to start all over again! While I am in Logan I am planning on working a couple of days a week at the Logan Golf and Country Club, where I worked the past few summers. Basically the plan for this summer is to work, work, work, work, save up money and play every second that I'm not working. Basically there is no time for sleep and  I wouldn't have it any other way! Bring on the sunshine and summer time!!

Come on Summer!!!

I don't know what it is but my spring fever is absolutely terrible this year. And I'm not just antsy for spring I want summer to get here ASAP!! I don't know what it is but I absolutely love the summer time I just can't wait for all of my favorite things that come in the Summer months.
-My Birthday
-Family Barbecues
-The Cruise in
-Fire Works
-The long days
-Warm nights when you don't need a jacket
-Walks around the neighbor hood at sunset
-Sleep outs on the trampoline
-Camp fires
-Tank tops, shorts, and flip flops
-Trips to the beach
-Late night Ice cream runs
-Full days out at the pool
-Weekends at the cabin
Oh my gosh I am just so pumped! Needless to say, these rain/snow storms have not been well received by me :/

I don't do this a lot but I just have to

Anyone who knows me but at all knows that I am not necessarily the most out spoken person when it comes to my testimony. I have one but I tend to keep it close to my heart and to myself. However, while I was sitting in fast and testimony meeting today, an experience that I had recently kept coming to mind and I just couldn't get it to leave me alone. Trying to find an open slot to get up and bare your testimony in a singles ward is really tricky though so just stayed in my seat and told myself I'd come home and blog it to the cyber world.
This week I had the opportunity to go down to St. George to watch one of my best friends Bri play basketball at Dixie State. Bri plays for BYU Hawaii and I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I told my mom that I wanted to go but she wasn't thrilled about me driving 8 hours all alone and I couldn't find anyone to go with me. I'd about given up hope that I would get to see her when at 11:00 the night before one of Bri's boyfriends and my friend that goes to the U sent me an instant message. I had totally forgotten that maybe he would like to go with me and was so pumped when he said he had been trying to find a ride down.
This friend that decided to go down with me is honestly one of the smartest guys that I know. This friend is from Logan and since he doesn't have a car down here at school he occasionally rides back and forth from home to Salt Lake with me. We have very different tastes in music and as a result we tend to have some very interesting and deep talks on our drives. I mentioned that this friend is very intelligent. At a young age this friend decided that he didn't quite buy into the church and has been somewhere between an atheist and agnostic ever since. This is so sad for me but I try my best not to be pushy. It's always interesting whenever we find our way to religion because surprisingly we both are very good at respecting each other's views. On this trip he ended up bringing up a few of the key points that he disagrees with. I was able to listen to his thoughts and respond to them with words that I know are not my own. I pointed out some facts that he had neglected and when it came to me telling him that there is reason behind everything that God does he asked me something to the effect of how I knew that well enough to claim that. My response wasn't very intelligent but all I could muster was this simple phrase. I told him "I am going to play the faith card. My faith can't prove anything to you but you can also never disprove it." Our religion based conversations carried on for a while long but they always seemed to end on that note. I could make my case as best I could but I always ended up relying on my faith. My mom once shared a quote with me but I didn't know who originally said it until recently. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "All that I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all that I have not seen" This is what I fall back on when my testimony is tested. I find it interesting how an conversation with someone so smart who brings forth many good questions about the church can only strengthen my testimony. I'm so glad for the testimony that I have.
I know that my Redeemer lives, that he came to this earth to be and example for the world and to atone for my sins as well as the sins of the world. I know that God the Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the grove and that he did under their direction establish the only correct gospel on this earth today. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet called of God to guide us in these latter days.
I know that was a bit of a random tangent but I'm thinking about having this printed for a journal so felt I needed to include it.

Sugar Cookie Maddness!!!

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I am currently having a rough start to my Valentines Day because of the fact that I am running on 3 hours of sleep for last night. I may have mentioned all ready that the restaurant I work at has it's own bakery attached. We make all of our breads, cookies, pies, dressings, really just about everything in house. So, when holidays roll around my cute owner Kim makes sugar cookies to match the season. Valentines Day is our biggest cookie holiday! Sunday night I got a text saying we had a Cowboy Grub SOS that we had a huge order or cookies for Monday and Kim needed help in the bakery. I love her to death and wanted to help out so I agreed to go in. I got there about 10:00 Sunday night, we made cookies, brownies, decorated boxes, organized the shipping orders and sang our hearts out until the wee hours of the morning. at 3:15 AM I finally pulled my little bum into my drive and crashed in clothes and all on my bed. Last night was basically an exact repeat. I'm glad we all went to help other wise she would have been there all night and still not finished. But, Man! I am tired! So after classes are over today I get to head in to work again this time to waitress!! You could say it's probably going to be a rough night. Oh by the way the huge amount of Sugar cookies I said we had to make.... It was 3,500!! Both nights. That's not counting the mini cookies, the cookie cakes, the brownies, or the special order cookies!!! We used 140 lbs of powdered sugar to make all the frosting the first night!!! Haha oh goodness I laugh just thinking about it. Oh well, who needs sleep! Happy Valentine's Day!!

Welcome Nephew #6 Mason Christopher Lindley

On Monday the 6th of February my sister in law, Sabrina, had her and my brother Chris's first child; Mason Christopher Lindley, 7 lbs 15 oz and 20 in. He is basically the cutest little buddy ever. I just love him so much. I was home last weekend for the Super Bowl and I decided that I didn't want to drive back to Salt Lake Sunday night so I decided I would drive back early Monday morning. The drive is way worse in morning traffic! When I got done with my last class I had a text from Chris letting us all know that Mason was here so I decided to jump back in my car and head home to see him. I haven't got to hold a brand new little baby like that since Miles was born. He was just so stinking tiny and adorable. We visited up at the hospital for a little bit and then headed back home. I decided that I didn't want to make that drive a third time in 24 hours so I stayed the night at home again and left early in the morning again. All the driving was totally worth it to see and hold the cute little friend. After I am done at work tonight I'm heading home again to see the family. I am pretty sure that my car just makes the drive home on it's own I just have to sit there, don't tell my mom though!!

 Grandpa and Baby Mason 

 Grandma with our new little friend

I love this little guy so much!!!

January Catch-Up!!

I had been doing really well at blogging more often until school got started up and then it all just went right down the drain. My classes this semester aren't hard, it's more that they are just time consuming. This semester I'm in Music 1010 Chemistry 1220 Chemistry 1225 and Biology 2325 which is a Human Anatomy class. The anatomy class is my favorite by far. I've always loved that stuff, this class is basically just memorizing what everything is made out of and I can't wait to take the Physiology class that is more about what everything does and how it works. The Anatomy class has two components a lecture that is the normal class basically and then a lab section too. I was really nervous going into the lab the first time, the cadavers (just a fancy name for dead bodies) really weird me out. The class is only once a week and the first week was about bones. That lab wasn't bad because the bones we were working with and holding didn't seem real or I could at least pretend that they were fake or super super old but this week the lab was about soft tissues and the cardiovascular system :/ I was really nervous when I went in and it was weird that there were bodies sitting on the table but I did ok for the most part. Our first stations were about the heart and we held human hearts! I made it through that just fine and thought that it was actually kinda cool. then we looked at a leg and that was kinda weird cause the skin was still on it and it was all leathery but I got over it. Next we looked at our first full body cadaver that was showing the major blood vessels. I was nervous about that but it wasn't a big deal. I was feeling really good as we headed into the last station that was about joints. We were looking at a knee joint and then all of a sudden the room started to spin. I stumbled back into a table and one of my friends in the class apparently tried to tell me that I looked really white but I couldn't hear him only see his lips move. So I had to leave and go sit in the hall for a second to try to compose myself. I was really frustrated that I got faint and I was in a really foul mood last night until I talked to my mom. She told me that she thinks it was maybe the formaldehyde getting to me. That makes me feel a little like less of a wimp. I feel like that is really all I do down here. School and work. I am kinda lame that way. Nothing exciting seems to happen.

 I had Perri and Jordi down here a couple weekends ago. That was quite an experience. I met my parents at dinner to pick up the crazies and then they went to the Zac Brown Band concert while I took the goobers to the mall. After they shopped around there and bought some sweet nerd glasses we drove back to my house which took about 3 times longer than it should have due to all of the snow. When we got back here we decided to go play in the snow but since we didn't have snow clothes we just wore sweats in it was freezing. When we came back in Per told us that her bum was totally frozen and that she needed to get in the shower IMMEDIATELY so she walked through my house and jumped into my shower with all of her clothes on including shoes!! It's a good thing I found it funny or I would have pounded on her. Then we played poker with the cards and poker chips Per bought. I of course slayed! Then we decided we need to go on a midnight In-N-Out burger run and it was delicious!! When we finally made it home I went to bed and left the crazies in the living room with a stack of movies. In the morning we went and took Jori to meet her aunt down town and then met my parents for breakfast down at their hotel. After breakfast we went on a drive up the canyon to Park City, it was beautiful with all of the new snow. It was a good weekend.

This past weekend my big brother Zach came up to hang out with me. He's going to school down in Cedar City at SUU and he's not loving the super small town feel of it there. So, he came up to hang out in the "Big City" of Salt Lake. I had to work Friday night so he hung out at Erin's house and spent the night there. Saturday morning I went over to Erin's to  go to Brayden's basketball game after that Zach had to go get his oil changed so I rode with him and tried to make myself scarce while he was flirting with the cute girl that worked at Jiffy Lube ( really weird that she worked there). When we got back to my house we did some homework and played Dominos with Whitley. We rented movies to watch that night and just hung out. Sunday morning we made breakfast and watched some more movies. Zach had to head home around 6 and I had to go to a concert for my Music 1010 class. It was overall a really fun weekend.

 Not much is going on this week. I'm just trying to make it through 2 tests and work to get to the weekend so I can go home and see the family and watch the SuperBowl! I don't really care who wins I'm mostly just excited for real food and to see my family! Have a good week everyone :)

 Getting ready to go play in the snow with the girls

 Time to thaw her bum!

Ready to play some poker in their sunglasses

After I poned them at Black Jack

Bring it on 2012

Well, another year has come and gone. I had a fantastic Christmas break with my family, I loved every minute I got to be home with them. Thankfully Santa found the Lindley/Eck home this year. I was a little worried cause us kids had a hard time falling asleep at our sleepover in the basement. I've been back and forth from home and Salt Lake through the whole break. It's been really hard to come back down to my house for work because I just wanted to be home with my family. Hopefully it gets easier once I am back into the swing of things and busy again. I was able to be home for New Years and it was a lot of fun. My parents took Zach, Me, Waylon, Perri, and Miles to the New Years Eve Buffet at the Coppermill. It was delicious! When we got done me Zach and Waylon took Miles out to my cousins house and then went home to wait for my parents to get back from taking Perri to a party. When they got back we watched True Grit (the new one) in the basement. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my New Years Eve!! I got to stay in Logan until this afternoon because I had to be back to work tonight. I have to work tomorrow and then I get to go back to watch Perri's basketball game against Logan, and my cousins' wrestling match against Box Elder!!  I am really excited.

While the break has been totally great I am still thinking about how I have to go back to school next week :/ Part of me is really excited because I get to take anatomy this semester and I absolutely love that stuff. Another part of me is scared to death. I have classes that take a lot of time outside of class time and it's going to be hard to make sure I spend enough time studying to do well. Oh well, I made it through the first half of the year, the second half can't be that much worse... I hope