Days are Good. And that's the way it SHOULD be!

Remember when I used to keep a blog...oh you forgot? I don't blame you...it's been awhile!

 A lot has happened since I last posted. I'm going to do a lot of summarizing so here goes...

 I am still living in Texas and loving it!

I've had a few visitors since my last post which is my FAVORITE!

One of my BEST friends, Liz, came to visit in September during Labor Day weekend. She came on a nice, hot, Texas weekend. But Liz was a champ and we had a nice time!

 Also in September...at some point...my aunt and uncle invited me to a ropes course at the Natural Bridge Caverns. I helped Emily climb the small ropes course and then she and I went through the maze. It was fun getting one on one time with my little cousin.

OCTOBER:

My friend Ali invited me to watch General Conference at her home. I loved spending the weekend with her family. I always LOVE watching conference but this time was extra special because I saw my grandparents (who are currently serving missions in Salt Lake) on the television.

 My grandparents are Sign Singing on TV!!!!

 A week or two later, I went to a YSA conference in Houston. I stayed with my friend Christina which was so nice because we were able to catch up in between activities. I went to a Korean Festival and the Houston Natural History Museum with friends from San Antonio. It was fun meeting new people from around Texas. And it was also fun running into old friends from BYUI.

Kitara in Korean

Natural History Museum of Houston

I also went on a few dates in October. Ive been impressed by the unique-ness (dont judge...I like this word) of each date.  For one date, we went to Painting with a Twist which is something I had always wanted to do. We bought grape juice and gold fish to bring along with us and we learned how to paint "Happy Tree". I really enjoyed myself and decided I want to experiment with painting :)

I also went on a double date to the airshow. I had never been to an airshow before so that was ALSO a pretty cool experience. :)  (Also, this was my first date with Sam. We were set up.)

For Halloween, I dressed up as Little Red Riding hood. I came up with the idea SUPER last minute and decided to throw together some items from my closet. My costume turned out pretty great if I say so myself :) I love Halloween. I went to a Halloween party at the institute and danced the night away AND my friend Sariah had a party on Halloween at her home so I got to dress up again to dance, eat food, and sing karaoke. So fun!

Being Crafty.

My super amazing costume. Yeah that's right...be impressed! ;)

Come get some candy.

My cousins' spoils after trick or treating. SO MUCH CANDY!

NOVEMBER:

In November, I went to another YSA conference in San Antonio. I was worried it wouldn't be as good as the one in Houston, but it was even better. I'm not even sure what my favorite part was. I learned to country swing dance, played carnival games, made a Christmas stocking for people in need, and made even MORE friends from all around Texas. A few friends from Houston visited and we visited the temple grounds and went out for sushi during free time. My friend Steve, who I knew from BYU-I came to visit during the conference. It was fun seeing him, talking about old times and driving around in his super nice sports car. So fancy! BYU-I is the best! 

My parents came to visit me the weekend after their anniversary. I LOVED having them visit and being able to show off "my life". I wanted them to get the BEST Texas experience I could give. We did ALL of the touristy things downtown, we went to Six Flags, and went out for "Texas Steak" at The Little Red Barn. And of course we went to the San Antonio temple.  I love my parents! I can completely be myself around them and even though we did non-stop sight seeing, I felt so relaxed. That weekend was full of a lot of laughter!

 

I also went to The Magic Time Machine for the first time for my aunt Elaine and our Brazilian foreign exchange student, Gabriela, birthdays. They share the same birthday!  The Magic Time Machine is a fun little restaurant. The food was meh...but the rest of the experience was entertaining. The restaurant is a bunch of randomness crammed into one place with your servers acting as famous movie characters like Katniss, Captain Jack sparrow, Pocahantas, and Buddy the Elf. Sounds fun right?

For Thanksgiving I was able to visit Mary and Colton in Nevada. I was so excited to meet little Adelaide Kitara Hickman. When Mary called me a few weeks before to let me know that she named her daughter after me, I cried. Such a compliment! I'm glad my sister Samantha was able to join us. And my grandparents came too! We went and walked around the Cactus Christmas gardens, drove to the Hoover dam, and I met up with my friend Liz to take my sister Samantha on the strip for the first time. I'm glad Liz was there because she knew where all the "good places" are on the strip so Samantha had a good first experience :) I also ran into one of my old roommates from BYU-I at the Las Vegas temple. Seriously, it was meant to be. The timing was impeccable! It was such a tender mercy running into Alysia! 

Cactus Christmas Lights

Pretty Adelaide!

The Hoover Dam

Samantha at the Bellagio

Liz and I

Alysia!!!

DECEMBER:

It's been funny living in Texas because even though it's Winter, the weather has mostly been in the 60's and 70's  (and sometimes even the 80's!!!!)  which is really new to me coming from Ohio...and Idaho...and Utah. Regardless of the warm weather, I did all I could to celebrate the Christmas season in December. My favorite activity was caroling on the boats on the river walk. My friend Ramona invited me and some friends to her families Christmas party AND I went to a couple Christmas parties for FHE.

Caroling on the Riverwalk

Friends at Ramona's Christmas Party

Buttons the Donkey

And of course I went home to Ohio for Christmas. It was actually a longer trip than expected due to some unexpected flight cancellations which ultimately turned out to be a tender mercy. I loved spending time with my family! I always do.  And due to the flight delay, I was able catch up with some of my old friends as well. :) It was interesting to me how ready I was to return to Texas after my trip. I love Ohio...I always will. But Texas is starting to feel more like home.

Mills kids minus Katrina

Annual Twin Pic :)

The cutest little shepherds you ever did see

I love me some Carson

Christmas caroling with the cool kids

Mills Christmas Pajamas

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Okay back to the present...ish...

Since i've been home for Christmas, Ive been spending a lot of time with friends. My life (when I'm not at work, church functions, or working at the temple on Thursday nights) consists of sleepovers, the bachelor, movie and game nights, and parties. And I LOVE it.

 Last month a group of us went to visit Austin. I had never been before so it was ALL a new adventure for me. Austin is only about an hour away or so, so it made for the perfect day trip. We visited the University of Texas campus, walked along 6th Street, ate at Kerbey Lane Cafe, and visited the Cathedral of Junk. Austin is such a fun city and there is still so much more to see!

At the University of Texas Campus

Sam and I

Sam and I at Zilker Park

I also visited Houston a few weeks ago. My friend Christina (mentioned above) was receiving her endowment at the Houston Temple. That was such a special experience and I am so happy that she invited me! The night before, she took me around downtown Houston to take in some of the sights that I didn't get to see during my first trip to Houston back in October. We went out to dinner at this delicious Tex Mex place and then went to the Rice district to go to The Chocolate Factory to get ice cream. I loved spending time with her.

Also, that SAME weekend my Aunt Liz (I basically love all Liz's that I meet) got baptized!!!! After YEARS of praying, my uncle Ben returned to the church and his wife was baptized. I love them. I love the decision they made. And I love that we will be sealed together for eternity.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention...(I know this is what you all really wanted to know)  I've started dating someone. His name is Sam. And I kind of really like him. We have been dating for a little over a month now and its still pretty new so there isn't a whole lot to say...except that I enjoy spending time with him and getting to know him. I like when he holds my hand and I like the way I feel around him. Okay...enough sappy-ness...for now. ;)

 My first time on a Ferris Wheel :)

 Sam and I on our second date at Six Flags

My Valentines Gifts

other random pictures I found since my last post......

New Years Eve Party with friends

 So this is a "thing" here... It's called a "Mum" and it's a Texas tradition. The guys give these to their homecoming dates and the girls wear these...like ALL day!

 I ran into a couple friends in Texas. Mark was in my last ward in Utah and Sister Smith is related to my friend Jessica Smith from Logan! The Mormon world is SO small!

 Setting up the murder mystery party for our foreign exchange student (Gabriela's) birthday

My aunts (Elaine and Dorothy) and uncles (David and Alden) looking through old yearbooks helping me to figure out what to wear to the 90's dance...there was a whole lot of reminiscing going on ;)

One of the few girls nights I put together for girls in the ward. With my calling in the relief society presidency, I've been trying my best to bring the girls together. And what brings girls together better than yummy food and chick flicks?? :)

So at the moment life is good! There are a few major changes on the horizon. My clinical fellowship is ending soon which means I will officially  be a certified Speech Language Pathologist! Woot Woot! And my baby sister is getting MARRIED!!! That's pretty huge! So yeah...I'm excited for the future. Here's to 2016!

The Adventure Lives on

Well this has been QUITE an exciting summer.

I started my first job at an assisted living center. My first few days (okay more like first couple weeks) were pretty rough. I was only given a 2 hour orientation and was kind of thrown into everything without a supervisor present. It's taken me awhile to get to know how to do all the paperwork, meet my patients, and figure out how things run at the facility, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it. I was kind of miserable at first. I hate hate HATE feeling incompetent. Its the worst! And that's how I felt at first. But now I'm getting to know my patients and I really enjoy being a light in their life, even if its just 30 minutes a day.

Oh AND I had a birthday! I turned 25. Quarter of a century! Woot Woot! My birthday was pretty low key since I had to work that day. When I came home from work David and Elaine took me to a local (and pretty legit) BBQ place for dinner. Yay Texas!  Elaine also made me an Oreo Icecream cake and it was DELICIOUS!

I've started making friends here in San Antonio which has been a major blessing. Ive been invited to movies and game nights and even a ghost tour down town! Some friends and I went out to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (THAT was an experience in itself. The rain forest had interactive animals and "thunderstorms" every half hour) on the riverwalk and then met up outside the Alamo for a ghost tour. They took us around downtown San Antonio and  told us about the history of the buildings and the supposed ghost sitings. It was actually one of the coolest tours Ive been on. AND San Antonio night life is so fun!

 These are all places that are supposedly "haunted"

Here is a video of a light show that they do downtown.

The next weekend my friend Christina (the first friend I made here) invited me to an outdoor movie night down town. We brought blankets and snacks and chilled with friends on the lawn before the movie started. I met a few new people there too.

A week ago, I rode with David and Elaine's family to Destin Florida where our family reunion was being held. We split the car trip into two days and stayed the night in New Orleans. We stopped to get some Cajun food and the next morning we toured down town New Orleans since I have never been there. The city is rich with culture. It was such a neat experience.

 I may have bought a voodoo doll for good luck :) Hey, I'm "online dating" now, I guess I need all the luck I can get ;) haha

This was the BEST pasta I have had in a LONG time. And of course I got jambalaya on the side, just because I can. :) When in New Orleans...eat jambalaya.

Later that day we made the rest of the trip to Florida where we met up with all our extended family. And let me just tell you, that was BY FAR the BEST vacation I have ever been on. Everything worked out perfectly! The weather, the dinners, the activities all went off without a hitch. No family drama. Just family love and fun. It was so nice to spend time with my parents and siblings. It's weird that my siblings are all grown up. I still see them as children in my mind and so it's crazy to think that my brothers will be going on missions soon and that this was probably our last vacation together for a couple years. I feel so blessed to have had this time with them. And in such a beautiful place!

Destin is gorgeous! Clear blue ocean. White sand. And did I mention gorgeous sunsets every night?
We went jet skiing, saw dolphins, ate fresh seafood at an ocean side restaurant, swam in the resort pool every night, had a scavenger hunt, and played games. We kicked the reunion off with fireworks at night on the beach.

This one is actually my favorite because it's SO my family. Laughing at our dad for being ridiculous :)

 

 Dad and the girls.

Mom and the Girls

 Noelle and I at the Bay

 Grace and I at the Beach

Siblings at the beach watching the Fireworks on our last night together.

Katrina and I threw Mary a baby shower. The venue was perfect! The kids played on the wii while the adults participated in the shower games. The party was story book themed and the families bought Mary and Colton books that were easy to take home on an airplane.

After the reunion was over, Katrina's family and I traveled to Orlando to visit Universal Studios. I had never been before and I loved it! My favorite part of course was the Harry Potter portion of the park. I bought a wand at Olivanders wand shop, drank Butterbeer (yum!), bought candy at Honeydukes, and ate "The Great Feast" at the Three Broomsticks. Oh and I rode a few rides. :) It rained a few times in the park, but only for short periods and we were all wearing clothes that dried pretty quickly. It made for some shorter lines though which was nice :)

 The first day we decided to take things easy and we stopped at the Temple. SUCH a good decision!

 The Adventure Begins

 Jurassic Park :)

HARRY POTTER!!!!

One of my favorite pictures is the one of Noelle at the bottom. She was so astounded with the wand shop. :)

Chocolate frog from Honeydukes :)

 

The Adventure Lives On

I flew home (San Antonio. Isn't it crazy that this is my home now?) yesterday. And its back to work tomorrow. Ive had the best vacation I could dream of and I'm a little worried that my life will seem boring from now on. But I have friends and family coming to visit so I have THAT to look forward to :)