One day at a time.

A new semester started. One with different difficulties and stresses than the last. There is less focus on class work and more focus on clinicals. Sometimes I feel like I'm running around with no idea of what I'm actually doing. It's exhausting. But I am learning so much. And this coming week the semester will be half way over!!!! Thank goodness.

With all the different things to work on and worry about it, I have just as much free time as last semester. So basically no social life... But I REALLY do try to reach out as much as I can.
My roommates and I planned a roommates night out (we have to plan things well in advance because we are all so busy and we are never all home at the same time)
We went to dinner at Cracker Barrel and then went to see a play "The Foreigner" at Hale Theatre. I had never heard of the play and I was pleasantly surprised with how funny it was.

The roommates (and kelsey) at Hale Theatre. Oh and an old fashioned looking candy bar that I bought at Cracker barrel. Its the simple things like that old fashioned looking candy bar that  make me happy.The simple things...and chocolate. :)

I have been trying to balance my hectic life with more uplifting activities to help ease the burden of stress. (Like trying to be a better visiting teacher, serving others,trying to actually read the chapters for institute each week, listen to better music...etc.) So when there was an opportunity to donate blood...I jumped at the chance.

Donating blood...saving a life. :)

 But the most important goal that I have been trying to keep is by going to the temple each week. The Salt lake Temple was closed for a month for renovations and cleaning, so I had the opportunity to go to a few other temples in the area including the beautiful Bountiful temple with Anne Marie (a girl in my ward)

I forgot my camera...so this is a picture I found online. It really is a beautiful temple!

I also had the opportunity to meet up with Kelsey at the Jordan River temple. It was so nice to see Kelsey again. I just love her.

Kelsey and I at the Jordan River temple. No makeup. No worries.

A few weeks ago, my friend Julie came down from Logan. She took me to Pei Wei ( a delicious Chinese restaurant that I had never been to before). I got to try their delicious lettuce wrap...which I'm pretty sure changed my life. ;) She and I also went and watched her nephew's volleyball game and then went and got ice cream after.It was so nice to see her and catch up. I really love when friends come to visit. 

Oh and speaking of friends in the area, an old roommate of mine (Alysia) moved to Layton and invited me over for a movie night at her new apartment. It was nice to be able to catch up with her and meet the fun people in her ward.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to rexburg for the long weekend to spend time with my "little family" as well as my best friend maria. Maria arranged a double date (which turned into a group date) on Valentines Day to a masquerade dance. I hadn't been  to a dance in a while and I had SUCH a good time. And it was so fun to see maria. I love how much she makes me laugh.

Date night with my favorite maria!!!!

And of course I got to see my "little cuties" while I was in rexburg. Grace and Carson are just the cutest. The first morning Carson tried to wake me up early to play with him by saying "wake up kitty...its church day". It was Saturday. Carson made me laugh so much and grace was as cute as always.
Unfortunately I got pretty sick over the weekend...so if didn't get to do as much cuddling and give as many kisses as usual. But I got to play fun new games like "keeping Carson from drinking out of my cup" (which was quite the task) and "pretending to squeeze Gracie from afar". Carson even mimicked me as  I crawled from the bedroom to the bathroom...I was a little too sick to laugh...but now I think its pretty cute.
Oh and then there was the time where I was napping in Carson's room (because i wasn't feeling well) and Katrina told Carson that he could go into his room to grab his toy but HE HAD TO BE REALLY QUIET. Carson ran into his room, sat by my bed, and said "kitty be quiet!" and then ran out of the room with his toy. I was a little too out of it to understand what had just happened but Katrina told me later and we both laughed about it.
 Also on my last day there (last story i promise!) Carson brought me a cookie that he had decorated for me. I set it down for two seconds (literally like two seconds) to pick Gracie up off of the floor and turned around to grab my cookie only to find that Carson had just licked all the icing off and was currently working on licking the icing off his own cookie. Little sneak! haha  Those kids always make Rexburg so fun!

This week, my stake had stake conference. On Wednesday we had a stake temple night which was nice to be able to go do baptisms with people my own age. Afterwards  my visiting teacher (Liz Moffit) and I went and got hot cocoa and walked around city creek. It was a nice break and I just love spending time with Liz. I like to listen about all the trips she has planned and her philosophies on dating as well as our similar love of reading. She is a free spirit and I admire that.

Sarah and Natasha had convinced me to go to provo on friday night, but due to some last minute changes, sarah and I ended up spending our friday here in salt lake. We went to dinner (Cafe Rio)and then went shopping/window shopping at city creek mall. We then came back to my place and watched a movie. It was so fun to have a girls night with sarah just like old times. I'm usually so busy (even on the weekends).

Sarah and I at the mall. Because we always have to take at least ONE crazy glasses picture at the mall :)

Last night, before the night session of Stake conference, a few girls from the relief society got together to go out to dinner beforehand. That was so much fun. I hadn't done anything like that for awhile so it was nice to be able to meet new girls in the ward, AND try out a new restaurant. We went to the Neapolitan pizza place which is right here in sugar house. I had the most amazing Caesar salad (yes I got a salad...at a pizza place. Don't judge.) ;)

Another image I found online...

And of course stake conference was just so wonderful! Both last night AND this morning. I  love being Mormon. I love knowing who I am and that I have a divine destiny. I know that Christ lives and that he loves us and that Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for each of us. A plan of happiness. A plan of so much incomprehensible joy. I am grateful for the peace that the gospel brings in my life. It is the main thing that gets me through the loneliness, stresses, and trials of this life. That...and chocolate. But mostly the gospel. :) And honestly I have had a pretty hard time lately (i know the pictures and stories make it sound otherwise) but its true. I'm just grateful to know that the Lord knows me personally. He knows how best to comfort me in the middle of an emotional breakdown. haha Grad School is hard. There. I said it. And I'm just taking it one day at a time. Thank goodness I have Him on my side to help me get through it. I guess I'm pretty blessed :)

And all of the sudden...It's Christmas time.

And once again...it's that time of year. Not a huge fan of the cold weather...or the snow. But I'm loving the special spirit that the Holidays bring.

Speaking of holidays,I completely skipped writing about thanksgiving (finding time to update a blog is a pretty difficult these days). This year I wasn't able to go home to Ohio for thanksgiving. Luckily, I have Mary and Katrina who live close by, so I was still able to spend Thanksgiving with family. I spent thanksgiving in rexburg and it was so nice to have a little break from school. I pretty much just ate,slept, and played with Carson and Grace. It was great.

Here in Good Ol' Salt Lake:

I've been lucky enough to do a few "christmas" activities this past month. A couple weeks ago, a group of friends came to Salt Lake to go see the play "Savior of the World" with me. The play wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, but I still really liked it. It was about before and after Christ's life. It was kind of cool to see the perspective from Mary and Joseph's point of view. Both Mary and Joseph had to be incredibly strong people to do what they did....especially Mary.  I keep reflecting on it...so yeah...I liked it!

 A few of my friends came down earlier (before the play) and we went out to eat at a local pub called Squatter's Pub (Liz's recommendation). The food was delicious and we all got the homemade root beer I had never had homemade rootbeer before..probably because I'm not a huge fan of rootbeer. haha But I had to try it for the experience! I noticed that the pub had a special kind of beer called "outer darkness". Yep. That's right. I am definitely living in utah... haha

After dinner, we went and walked  around City Creek Mall. My favorite part was when Liz and I went into Tiffany's with Ryan and Mike. The people working there assumed they were our boyfriends and Liz and I went along with it so we could try on rings. Actually Liz went along with it...I'm terrible at "pretending" so I just smiled a lot.
After the play, a few of us quickly walked over to temple square to see the lights. They were only open for a few more minutes so we didn't stay very long....but there is always such a special spirit on temple square.

 Squatter's Pub

I <3 these girls!

 Our group at the play :)

Temple Square Lights

Last Monday for FHE, my ward had our ward christmas party at the Lion House. The Lion House is Brigham Young's old house which has been turned into a nice restaurant  located on temple square. It was a pretty cool experience. They have delicious rolls! ALMOST as good as Elements. ;)

 The girls at my table...don't worry mom...I sat with boys too.

The Lion House

Unfortunately...its also FINALS time. ( And there is no better time to update a blog than when you are procrastinating studying for finals ;) )This past week has been full of anxiety and stress...and I'm sure this week will be equally just as stressful. But luckily I have awesome guys in my ward who gave me a priesthood blessing. AND taking an entire day off (sunday) from studying really makes me ready to take on this next week. I feel less stressed and more motivated. But it probably couldn't hurt to have some extra prayers ;)

The one good thing about finals is that it means that this semester will be over. I wont ever have to take these classes again. One semester down...three more to go. I CAN DO THIS!

This past weekend I was able to squeeze in some fun in between study sessions.
On friday night (after LITERALLY studying all day) I went to this place called Wing Stop with a few girls from my program. The only things they sell there are wings and fries. It was really good! The fries are sort of sweet (they must put sugar on them or something) and fresh. And who doesn't love wings...i mean really! Then afterwards, Cassee Russell and I went with a group of her friends to see the 2nd Hobbit movie in theatres which I was totally geeking out about the whole time. It was so good!

 mmm.wings.

THE HOBBIT!!! I've been waiting all year for this!

On Saturday, I went to Katherine's house to study for exam which we had this morning.  I was there from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. studying for this comprehensive exam. So. much. information. haha But afterward I went with wendi to a Christmas Fiesta Party which was hosted by Wendi's friend (and now my friend) Amber Squire. Most of the people there were teachers because apparently 60% of Amber's ward are all teachers. That's just so funny to me...I'm not sure why...but it is.

Matching red pants, nachos, sombreros, and fun.

Yesterday (sunday) I took a break and didn't study at all. And it felt OH SO GOOD! Our relief society was having a special christmas brunch before church. We had crepes and bagels and oatmeal and fruit and donuts and  many more kinds of breakfast food. President Hinckley's daughter came to speak with us. Unfortunately I had to miss that part because I had choir practice and it was our christmas program that day. The program went so well! I have SUPER talented people in my ward.

After church, my roommates and I had a roommate dinner and the secret santa gift exchange. It was pretty fun. All of us are usually super busy so we dont really spend a lot of time together. So it was nice just sitting down and getting to know what is going on in everyone's lives.

 Oh Christmas Tree

Roommate Dinner

Im looking forward to finishing up my finals and spending the holidays with family...just a few more days! Wish me luck! Or better yet...pray for me :)

  

Halloween, Harry Potter, and Happiness.

Last thursday was halloween and my friend Liz was holding her LAST Halloween party in Logan. She has been planning this for months, and I told her this last summer that I would DEFINITELY be there. So thursday night, after class, I drove to Logan for the party and it was worth it! It was a fun party! I dressed up as a witch this year....I was pretty proud of my costume because I made my skirt. :) If any of you know me that is a HUGE accomplishment :) Even though I had to drive back to Salt Lake to make it to my class on friday morning, it was worth the drive.

My costume this year. This is the skirt that I made...it was kind of static-y and kept sticking to my arms. haha

 yay for friends! These boys make me laugh.

Liz dressed up as the mad hatter. A pretty Legit costume. She MADE that hat. Cool huh?

On friday after class I went back to Logan to go to my friend Skye and Dean's wedding reception. My roommate Morgan came with me. The plan was to stay friday night and come home saturday night, but it ended up being an ALL weekend vacation. I don't mind...I love Logan! :) A HUGE shout out to Maddy and Shelby for letting us take over their living room for the weekend...have I mentioned how much I love those girls?

On friday after the reception (skye looked absolutely gorgeous by the way!) a few friends and I went to a haunted house. They took this picture of us while a man jumped out at us...so the pictures look pretty funny!

My scared face...not quite pleasant...but pretty funny!

The next day, Morgan and I decided to visit a few of my friends at work. We stopped by the Kutting edge where Jessica and my friend Hailey work. It was fun to surprise them. We then decided to surprise my roommate shelby at work at El Sol. She was our waitress and just the cutest little waitress you ever did see! AND i got to eat some of the delicious chips and ranch that I had become addicted to when I lived with shelby.

YUMMY!!!! Honestly this is the best ranch I have EVER had in my life!

That night (saturday) was stake conference and since morgan and I decided to stay in logan, we went to their stake conference. I really loved the talks that night about patriarchal blessings! In fact both saturday night AND sunday morning stake conference talks were great! There were a lot of personal things that I needed to hear and I feel blessed to have been reminded of them. It was pretty cool sitting in the spectrum at USU on Sunday Morning listening to Elder Perry speak. I'm glad we got to be there for that.


On saturday night, after the saturday night session of stake conference, a group of us went to see the movie "Enders Game". I really liked it! I want to read the book now! AND it was fun to watch the movie with all my friends that I watched movies with last year...good times! Morgan and I were feeling a little wild...and well... hungry...so we ran over to sonic before the movie started and snuck our shakes in with us. ;) such rebels!

On Sunday, after stake conference at the spectrum, Liz invited us over to watch an 80's movie and eat popcorn. It's funny how little things like that are SO much fun! I like watching movies with liz too...because she pretty much knows every actor and actress and EVERY movie they have been in. Its pretty entertaining!

As far as living in salt lake goes, I'm still adjusting. I still don't know very many people here...Luckily I made a friend (my VERY last day in Logan actually) who moved to salt lake the same time I did. Her name is wendi (cool name huh? ;) ) She just started her masters program for occupational therapy...so we have a lot in common. We also go to the same institute class each week. Its so nice seeing a familiar face!

Wendi and I have gone to a few mix and mingle parties to meet people since we are both new here. It's nice to not have to go alone. haha Like on friday we went to this bonfire that her ward was hosting and on sunday night we went to a Waffle party that a girl in my ward was throwing. I tried "wassail" for the first time...it smelled and pretty much tasted like a autumn apple spice candle. haha

She and I also went to this super awesome Harry Potter party a few weeks ago. Seriously...i was geeking out the WHOLE time! I just LOVE harry potter! Luckily, Wendi brought her camera because I just can't even describe how awesome the decorations were. The people who owned the house take decorating for halloween VERY seriously. They had a pirates of the caribbean themed room and a haunted mansion themed room. And their living room, kitchen and dining room were all harry potter themed. ( my favorite )
Another cool fact is that the family MADE most ALL of the decorations...some of them look so authentic! I was amazed!

 Me and wendi :) Isn't she adorable?

 The sorting hat and the Monster book

 I feel like i've been transported into a dream!

and here is a video of all the decorations...

http://youtu.be/FeLDbRYCs0M

I'm kind of ridiculously bubbly in the video...probably because I'm just so excited!!!

This past saturday, Mary came to visit! I keep forgetting that she doesn't live "far away" anymore. She is only like 30-40 minutes away. It was so nice to see her. She and I went to the Salt Lake temple for the first time to do baptisms for some family names. Not only was it my first time in the Salt Lake temple (which is gorgeous by the way) but it was also my first time doing family names. It was such a cool experience. And doing the names with mary made it even more special! Afterwards, mary and I stopped at Dunkin Donuts on our way back to my place. As soon as we walked in the door Mary said "it smells like Rhode Island". That made me smile :)

 Mary and I at the Salt Lake temple ( it was funny explaining to the temple workers that she is my aunt)

Isn't it just gorgeous?

Dunkin Donuts Forever :)

You all probably think I eat here all the time...thats false. Only special occasions ;)

As far as school goes, I'm still CRAZY busy. My only down time is on the weekends...and thats if I force myself not to do school work. The good news is I'm keeping my head above water. At least I think I am....I'm still waiting to see how I did on one of my midterms...kind of makes me nervous. haha

I'm starting to take over more responsibilities with my client in the clinic. I get to come up with activities to help with her articulation/language goals. Its kind of fun...kind of stressful. haha But SO good to be getting the hands on experience!!! Especially since next semester I get 3 clients all to myself. I'll no longer have a mentor clinician teaching me what to do...so this is good :)

Oh p.s. My Best friend Maria Cardenaz came home from her mission in Costa Rica after serving for 18 months...YAYAYAY! If you can't tell....that makes me SUPER happy! :)

Anyway...thats the update on my life...
Love you all. Thanks for caring enough to read :)

A Letter to Grandma Mills (a.k.a. Grandma Next Door)

This post is dedicated to my Grandma Mills... my Grandma next door...

Hi Grandma!

I know you are probably wondering how your tara is doing all the way in utah, so I thought I would write you a letter.  I want you to know that I am doing just fine. I am pretty busy with school work this semester. Grad school is a LOT more work than my undergrad.  I'm really enjoying what I am learning though and I'm starting to pick out what I want to to specialize in within the speech pathology field.

 I'm taking an aphasia class this semester. They are teaching us how to work with patients who have had a stroke and how to help them eat and communicate again. I think of you a lot in that class. I always wonder how you are recovering from your stroke and whether you are happy. I hope that your speech pathologist is good to you. I like to think that I will be good to all of my patients, because I know they are someone's grandma or grandpa.

I know you are wondering if I have a boyfriend yet... *sigh* and the answer is no. And I know that you would tell me next "that I have time and to not rush into anything". Thanks grandma. I've always loved that about you. :)

Like I said earlier, school takes up a lot of my time! So i haven't really had a lot of time to meet new people. But i have made friends within my program that I study with and often find time to laugh with. Salt lake is a LOT bigger than where I was living before and there are SO many people here! It's a little overwhelming...but kind of exciting! It's the first time I've lived in an actual city before...so very different from little ol' Brookville.

There have been a few weekends where I have had some friends come to visit me and I have actually been able to explore Salt Lake City a bit. I've been to the planetarium, MULTIPLE malls, hockey games, the lovely temple square and I even found this painting hidden in the heart of salt lake. It's a big painting of books and I just love it! I think you would too! It has such pretty colors...and they are books...so how can you not love it?

Last week I had a break from classes so I went up to Idaho to visit Katrina, Casey, Carson and Grace. I cant believe how big Carson is. He grew so much over the summer. And Grace, she is just so beautiful! Such a little lady. I loved spending so much time with them. They are so good for the soul. You can't help but be happy when you are around them!  I miss that whole family already! But i'm planning on visiting them again for thanksgiving. :)

I heard it snowed in Ohio. Did you see the snow? It's still pretty warm here. No snow...yet. There is a bit of snow in the mountains though and it makes them look so majestic. The leaves here have all turned colors and are beginning to fall. I just love fall!

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I love you and that I am thinking of you and praying for you! I told dad to give you a big hug for me.

Love always,

Kitara (tara)

The next chapter.

You know when you are reading a book and you are nearing the end of a chapter and you can just feel a change coming on...and then boom! There's a surprise on the next page.

Well, here is my suprise...I moved to Salt Lake City! Surprise! Okay so most of already know that so it's not really such a surprise anymore.

But honestly, It was a surprise to me. One day I'm working and living in Logan, and the next day I'm in Salt lake looking for a place to live. After  going to about 7 different residences, I started to become a little discouraged. It's not like I actually WANTED to move, and none of the places just...fit. At about 6 pm I went to visit an old roommate of mine (Morgan) from BYU-I since I was in salt lake and she lives there. As I started to tell her how I was looking for a place to live, her roommate told me that she was planning on moving out. So the next day I put in my two weeks notice and a week and a half later, I officially moved in. (Thanks Skye and sarah for helping me move in!)
The house I live in is in the sugar house area which is quaint-ish and has lots of shops and is about 4 miles from campus. (Which I hadn't realized before) And an added bonus, morgan is my roommate again :)

 Morgan and I with our fancy cupcakes after grocery shopping

Morgan and I drinking White Grape juice and watching a chick flick  :)

I have to admit, leaving cache valley wasn't easy. I love it there. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was supposed to move to salt lake. Kind of a BIG change because salt lake has SO many people and its a lot bigger and busier than any place I've lived before. Just a bit intimidating. But slowly, here and there, I'm starting to learn my way around. At least from my house to campus and back ;) Thank goodness for my GPS!

I think the hardest part of moving was leaving all my friends behind. Of course I only live 1.5 hours away so I'm determined to visit! I had such amazing support and felt so loved and appreciated by all the people in my ward and at work. I received so many texts and messages and even some goodbye gifts.

Kelsey is adorable! Her gift is almost as adorable as she is :)

Oh yeah...and I started Grad school. My program is intense! I'm not allowed to get a C in any of my classes. And they discourage C's on assignments, quizzes and tests. Each class has SO much reading and you learn SO much information. I've never typed so fast or taken so many notes in my life. Luckily I have made friends in my program that are as willing to spend all day (12 hours) at the library as I am. Even on saturdays. This is gonna be a tough 2 years...but It'll be SO worth it!

Kassi, Katherine and I studying Aphasia for 6 hours on Saturday...Katherine is expressing how we are all really feeling haha

Last weekend I was able to take a little break to visit Katrina, Casey, Carson and Grace in Rexburg to help them move and get settled in. I just happened to be there for Casey's birthday as well so I got to celebrate with all of them. Carson is as adorable as ever. I cant believe how big he is. Walking and talking like a 4 year old. He isn't even 2 yet! Well not for another week or two. He and I had fun playing outside at the park and inside with his toys. Whenever he said " Hi kitty" it just melted my heart! I finally got to meet beautiful grace, my niece. She is such a pretty girl. She is smiley and happy and does so well with a brother that "loves" her so much. And she is just so squishy and kiss-able!

Oh how I love them!!!

 Meeting Grace! Isn't she just the cutest thing? besides carson of course...

Mommy and Grace matching for church.

One of my favorite moments (that almost made me laugh in sacrament meeting today just thinking about it) was last sunday during the passing of the sacrament. Katrina handed carson and piece of bread and right after he ate it he started saying "more". Katrina tries to quiet him down by telling him that they will bring him water next and Carson starts shaking his head and hand and during the complete silence he says really loud " no water! no water! no water!". It may have been one of those "had to be there" moments but it was SO funny. Both katrina and I had to smother our giggles.

Another break I was able to make from studying was on wednesday. I wanted to spend some time with sarah before she set out to Rexburg for the semester so she and I went to Liberty park (where the ferris wheel from Charly is placed) and we walked around the park. Then we stopped to get a Jamba Juice smoothie before making a last minute decision to hike to Ensign peak....in our sandals. We didn't go all the way to the top because we weren't wearing proper clothes, or shoes. haha  But the view was still pretty amazing!

 Hiking in our sandals...oh yeah!

Me and Sari!

Like I mentioned earlier, School has pretty much consumed my life. I spend all my time on campus. I've been to quite a few job interviews as well but its really difficult finding a job that will work around my school and clinical schedule. I may have to just live off my school loans for the semester, which actually may be what I need considering how much time I study and I STILL feel behind in my reading. haha
I havent completely given up the job search yet...but I'm sure it will all work out the way it's supposed to. :)

Sometimes I miss Logan and my friends there, and my old apartment, and my old roommates and even my old job. Actually I miss it most of the time. But I have to remind myself that this is where I am supposed to be and that there are new adventures ahead. My story isn't over yet. I'm just moving on to the next chapter.

This ain't my first rodeo...Oh wait...

July was a CRAZY busy month! So when Mary and Colton said they wanted to visit, the first week in August was the PERFECT time! It was so nice having them come visit me. The last time they came, I was an invalid with a broken leg and they spent the entire day at my house. This time I wanted to take them around Logan so they could have a good time. They got here on Friday night and we spent our time playing the Harry Potter Scene it game. I was ashamed that I had forgotten so much! Once upon a time I used to live and breath Harry Potter...I was a super nerd! Needless to say I need to brush up on my favorite books :)

On Saturday, Mary and Colton came over for a breakfast feast which I prepared. I have to admit its so nice to have a reason to cook again! Its so hard to cook actual meals for just one person. After breakfast we hiked up to the graffiti walls so Mary and Colton could experience life on the wild side ;)
We then went to a late lunch at the Elements restaurant (where I work and just happen to get an employee discount) The food there really is my favorite in ALL of the valley! Its kind of pricey but SO worth it!!! It was funny having to explain to people that Mary is my aunt and Colton is my uncle...I think I'm just going to start calling them my cousins because its just easier :)
We then came back to my house to watch a movie and relax before preparing a delicious dinner then going to listen to a band play at a local pizza place. It was a fun day and so nice to be with family!

https://www.facebook.com/mary.l.hickman.16/media_set?set=a.10100315367859014.1073741829.193300616&type=1
Here is a link to all the pictures :)

That  week I finally finished all my finals. I had a hard time getting motivated to study but I did it! :) And I actually did really well on ALL of my tests! BOOYAH! Like a boss!

On Thursday, I went with a group of friends to watch the Martin Harris Pageant. I love pageants! There is just something about singing, dancing, and acting that makes me all warm inside! The pageant was A LOT smaller than any other I had been to before. And unfortunately the man they had playing Joseph Smith (a pretty critical role) was monotone...the ENTIRE TIME!! But it made for a good laugh and I still enjoyed myself! It was a neat experience. The pageant is right next to the cemetery where Martin Harris is buried. The cemetery is in the middle of the country with beautiful rolling hills and mountains. Kind of picturesque.

On Saturday, Kelsey invited me to join her in going to the county fair/ rodeo. There is just something about fairs. The smell of fried foods,the sounds of rides, and of course frozen lemonades! I had never been to a rodeo before and I must say I really enjoyed it! And Kelsey was the perfect person to go with because I am by no means a "country girl" and she is...so she was able to explain everything to me. Like how long a person needs to stay on the bucking horse and why they are sitting they way they do. My favorite part was the children riding the sheep. SO CUTE! and a little boy named Carson won by staying on the longest. His sheep ran right by our seats and the boy was holding on for dear life. It was adorable! Oh and kelsey caught a free t-shirt. SCORE!

Frozen lemonades, awesome wristbands, and free t-shirts makes for a good time! :)

On Sunday, after taking a 3 and a half hour nap (oops) after church, a few friends invited me to go camping up at Tony Grove to watch the meteor shower. I jumped at the chance! Quickly ate dinner, dressed in warm clothes and met up with the group. While we were driving to the camp site, a real life MOOSE walked right in front of our car. I have never seen a moose in real life so I was pretty excited about it. Even though I know they aren't the safest animal... ;)

We got to the camp site, made a fire, ate snacks and talked while we started watching the shooting stars. We had planned on going to sleep for a few hours and waking up at 2 am to drive over to the lake area where we would get a better view of the sky. Jessica Smith, James and I slept in the bed of the truck so we could watch the stars as we fell asleep. The bed was padded with multiple pillows and we were snug inside our sleeping bags. We ended up going to bed around midnight...and I maybe got a half hour of real sleep. I had to use the bathroom the whole time! I kept hearing the sound of a toilet flushing but when James and I went searching (in the pitch black darkness) for a bathroom we couldn't see one..so when we came back to the camp site at 5:30 when it was light out (after watching the shooting stars by the lake ALL night )and I found out that we were LITERALLY right next to a bathroom during those torturous 3 hours!! I couldn't help but laugh...Oh what a night! It really was a lot of fun! I don't think I have ever pulled an all night-er like that before. And I spent the whole night staring at the stars, laughing about silly things because we were all a little slap happy and just enjoying nature! It was great! Monday I pretty much felt like a zombie all day...but it was worth it!

The flash was really bright....

On Wednesday ( on my day off :)  I decided to do a trial run of the commute that I had planned on doing from Logan to Salt Lake for school. There were a few kinks in the journey, like the fact that I couldn't find the bus stop or parking lot in Perry, or that my directions didn't give me specifics about which trax I need to take to get to the university and I hadn't anticipated it taking me almost 3 hours each way. But using this brain of mine, I back tracked, asked for directions (a lot) and tried my best to enjoy the ride. The frontrunner was pretty cool. There I was...sitting in a train. It was like the Hogwarts Express! only not...

The trax in salt lake were a little more sketch. I'm not sure why I felt that way...maybe it was the two men sitting behind me talking about just getting out of jail...or riding past the corners with signs everywhere that say "Report every drug deal" or watching the homeless people as we drove on by...
I probably wont be taking the trax on Tuesdays when I have my night class...I just think that's probably best. But in the morning at 7 and 8 am...I think it will be pretty safe :)

It was nice being able to go to campus and walk around and find the buildings where my classes will be held. I picked up my student ID and found the Institute building. At this point I was feeling extremely overwhelmed! UofU's campus is WAY bigger than I am used to, the commute took longer than expected and I had the sudden realization that my classes started in less than two weeks. So at this point it was nice to walk into the air conditioned institute building and sit down next to a picture of Jesus and think " I'm going to have institute classes here...I'm going to feel the spirit here". It made the commute back home much more bearable and I was able to hold off my mini panic attack until I got home. :)

My salt lake adventure did however put a lot of questions in my head. Is the commute that long worth it? Should I move? Can I afford the commute? Can I afford to move? Where would I live? What about my job?  Do I still belong in Logan or am I needed in Salt lake?
My life at this moment is filled with uncertainties. But with a little reminder from my sister (and after a visit to the temple) I was reminded that Lord will guide me. He will watch over me and HE knows what is best for me!

I was reading in Doctrine & Covenants section 11 and I was again reminded of this beautiful promise. He will lead me to joy.

 7 Seek not for ^ariches but for ^bwisdom; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made^crich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.

 8 Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be done unto you; and, if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation.

 9 ^aSay nothing but ^brepentance unto this generation. Keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my ^cwork, ^daccording to my commandments, and you shall be blessed.

 12 And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your ^atrust in that^bSpirit which ^cleadeth to do ^dgood—yea, to do ^ejustly, to walk^fhumbly, to ^gjudge righteously; and this is my Spirit.

 13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall ^aenlighten your ^bmind, which shall fill your soul with ^cjoy;

 14 And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of^arighteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.

I still tend to have anxiety from time to time about what the future holds. But reminders like this keep me in place :)

On friday, Kelsey invited me to go to dinner with her and some of her family who was visiting. I was able to meet her mother, aunt, and two sisters. They are such a fun group of women! I was surprised how different they all were...but it was the perfect mix! I had such a great time. We went to this italian place in Smithfield called Calloways and it was really good! I thought it was funny that they kept thanking me for "taking care of Kelsey since she moved here". Like its hard! I love spending time with kelsey!!! I'm so happy she moved here...even for a little while.

On saturday, after work I went to Provo to celebrate Mary's birthday. Mary doesn't like cake...so I thought I would surprise her with a cookie cake. I just love surprises! :) When I got there, mary had made this delicious shrimp scampi dinner. I love Mary's cooking....seriously I always over eat! Then after we all had a piece of the cookie cake we went hot tubbing at Colton's Mothers' house.

oops there is a glare...Mary got a better picture on her camera! Anyway this is Mary with her cookie cake :)

The next morning, the three of us woke up early, picked up my old roommate natasha and drove down to Salt Lake to go to my bestie Sarah's mission homecoming. She just got back from Argentina. It was pretty cool because her brother was serving in the neighboring mission and they got to come home together. Both of their talks were wonderful! and it was fun to hear the slight accent that they both had. After sacrament meeting we went to sarah's home to have lunch and sarah showed us some of the things she brought back from Argentina. One of her favorite treats (that she shared with us) was this double oreo thing covered in chocolate. YUM! I am just so happy she is home!!! I have missed her like crazy! Now all I have to do is wait for Maria to come home this fall and I will have both my besties back in the states :)

YAY for Sari being home!!!

In other news...I start classes next week. Wish me luck! I'm excited...and pretty nervous at the same time.

The Pioneers sang as they walked and walked and WALKED!

So it turns out Pioneer day (aka July 24th) in Utah is like a BIG deal! I guess it makes sense. I mean pioneers founded Utah and made a lot of sacrifices doing so. Utahans are proud of it! I'm from Ohio, so we don't really celebrate pioneer day...unless its like a special church activity in primary or something...but mostly its just like any other day.

I had planned on pioneer day being like every other year, a day just like any other. But at about noon, after going to the gym (like I do everyday on my day off) and studying for an upcoming test (another thing I do EVERY day I am off work) my friend Jessica invited me to go to the American West Heritage Center with her to celebrate. I had never been to the American West Heritage Center before. It was pretty neat. Kind of like Nauvoo and Palmyra...or any other historical site where you get to step back in time. Most of you know that I LOVE history! I find it completely fascinating! So I enjoyed being able to pan for gold, crack a whip,gather eggs from the chickens, and learning how they made hats back in the day.

It was also pretty cool because my friend Liz was there (as part of her internship) so we got a personal tour guide :)

I don't think I really have any pioneer heritage...but I DO know that I have some native american blood...so I got in touch with my ancestors by throwing tomahawks and saying "wingapo" in the Tee Pee. ;) The things you learn from Pocahontas ;) There may or may not have been singing about river bends...I cant remember. haha


Later that night, Dex ( a boy from my ward) invited a large group of us to a bonfire at his house where we set off fireworks. In utah it isn't illegal so there were all sorts of fireworks. It was kind of cool watching them go off right above us...and just a little frightening haha

One of my favorite parts of that night was jumping on the trampoline. It reminded me of my early childhood when I practically lived on a trampoline. There is no better place to sleep under the stars, play in water or have impromptu picnics than a trampoline :)

Wingapo! ;)

me, liz, and jess learning how to crack a whip. I was mostly scared it would come back and whip me in the face...

That weekend, my ward had this AWESOME overnight-er activity at Bear Lake. I had to work on Saturday so I was only able to make it to the activities on Friday but I had SO much fun. That morning we did Skit Shooting, then had lunch.

Me and THE GUN!!! I know...I look pretty legit!

Then we hiked up to Bloomington Lake. I have never seen a more beautiful lake ( well besides echo lake of course ;). The water was clear! You could see your toes and the rocks at the bottom as you were swimming. They had a large rope swing that looked pretty fun, but after breaking my leg in September, I have become a bit of a wimp when it comes to activities that could possibly do me harm. I did however jump off cliffs on the other side of the lake. I HAD to have some sort of adventurous fun ;) And of course I swam...and swam...and swam. I didn't even get tired! Swimming just comes so naturally!

My camera batteries died soon after I made it to Bear Lake...so I got these pictures off the internet...

The water really looked this beautiful and clear!

 I have no idea who that guy is...but this is the cliff I jumped off of. NOT headfirst though...crazy kid!

The rope swing :) and random people

After we left Bloomington Lake, we went back to the cabin for dinner and to quickly change before we went to a go-kart track to race Go Karts. SO FUN!

(I don't have any pictures of the go karts either...dumb camera!)

Then we went back to the cabin and made a fire and ate smores. At about the time they started the outdoor movie, I had decided to go home with Skye and Dean instead of spending the night. That way I wouldn't be stressed about getting back early the next morning to get ready for work. I had car pooled with a few people and I didn't want to be THAT girl that made them hurry.

Skye and Dean were gracious enough to give me a ride back to providence and Skye came up with the genius idea of having a sleepover at her house (which is like RIGHT around the corner from my house). Not only was it a sleepover, but we slept outside under the stars!!! I slept in the hammock. It was wonderful! And Skye was cute enough to make me breakfast before I had to leave to get ready for work. She really is just the cutest!


On Saturday night after work, my friend Kelsey (my old roommate from BYUI that just moved to logan) and I had a girls night. We bought pizza and ice cream and watched movies in our pajamas. Just like old times! It was so great! I love having her in Logan!


Sunday was Julie's Birthday. After ward prayer, a few of us stuck around until midnight and we went to Beto's to celebrate :) Happy Birthday Julie!

On Monday, my group joined with another group to go Horseback riding. I haven't been horseback riding since I was 17, so I was SO excited! We had such a large group of people show up that we had to split up into two groups. While the first group went on their ride, my group had an hour to kill, so we decided to drive to Bear lake (which at this point was only 15 minutes away) and get milkshakes. We piled all 7 of us in a car. Fun (and slightly squished) times! We got back just as the first group was finishing. By this time the sun was setting, so we got to ride our horses, in the mountains during the sunset! SO LOVELY!!!!

My horses name was Belle. She is a mama mare.:) Her son's name is "Chile" or maybe its "Chilly". So cute! When he was born ( a surprise one January day) he was small and vulnerable to the cold weather. Belle made him run circles around her to keep warm to survive. Such a good mother!

Belle and I

Horseback riding was so fun! I applaud the FHE leaders that put together the activity! We had a bit of drama towards the end when one of the girls cars wouldn't start, so we squished  into the van and drove the lengthy drive home. It was quite the experience! haha


I've also taken a few finals this week...but that isn't really that exciting...expect for the fact that after the 2 finals I need to take next week, I will be finished at Utah State. :)