A CRAZY trip to UTAH!

I have ALWAYS wanted to take some crazy long road trip just for the heck of it and this semester I found myself doing JUST that!! As I have mentioned I love Flag, and NAU, but sometimes things get to ya. It may be people, it may be hw, it may be your CRAZY 8am assessment teacher who believes in authentic assessment, but NEVER assesses authentically....that's another post all in itself. When these situations come up and you feel like life is too much, I have the solution. Go on a crazy long road trip and see AMAZING people!! It fixes ya right up!!

That is exactly what I did in the month of October 2008! I went to Provo, where I have never been before, and stayed with my good friends Amber and Ally. I had an AMAZING time. The trip was long, (8 hours) but worth every second! I got to have some amazing laughs, walk up a KILLER BYU hill, pretend to be a BYU student while "studying" in the library, and feel what it is like to NEVER be able to park ANYWHERE!!! It was just about one of the best weekends I have ever had. I don't think I ever properly thanked Amber and Ally. THANK-YOU my lovelies!!! You were there for me when I really needed it! Love you both!!

Flagstaff!

So my last post was that of my countdown to NAU! Anyone wondering how that turned out? Well ya see, I LOVE IT!!!! My roommates have all been really fun to get to know, and Flagstaff weather is AMAZING in the Summer and beginning of Fall!! I am taking SO many classes, and institute on top of that. I have a calling as the Enrichment Chairperson, (I still can't figure out why I am not Chair Woman, as there will never be an Enrichment Chair MAN, but whatever) and as much stress as I experience I get back ten-fold in blessings. I am not going to pretend I don't have REALLY hard days, and even weeks when I think, "Did I REALLY pick this?!" Overall though, I see the beauty of God in my life, and in the choices I make everyday. I am learning that it does not get easier being a "grown up." I'm not sure why as kids we can't wait for what is inevitable anyway. I will say that taking classes through Distance NAU really gave me an appreciation for the REAL thing. Actually going to classes, and talking to teachers and fellow students is such a resource I have taken for granted.

I also REALLY lucked out when it came to roommates. My fellow "North Wingers" and I have really hit it off. Sarah is AWESOME and Chani and I have become pretty close friends pretty fast. Sometimes I think if we didn't have each other we would be Flagstaff friendless. We have way more fun than should be allowed...

I am also really glad that I am starting to make some friends in my classes. The Senior Education group is surprisingly small, so we run into each other a lot and I am making some good friends.

Mary's Reception

So a VERY interesting phenomenon has happened in our family...The cousins, starting oldest and working their way down have managed to be married in PERFECT sequential order. My cousin directly older than me just got married. That's right...DIRECTLY older...Dun, Dun, Dun! I have a feeling I might let the family down on this one... Anyhow, I traveled down to Mesa to share in the joyous occasion. I stayed with Pam and it was a pretty fabulous weekend! Mary looked beautiful and it was great to see my Graunt and Gruncle.

The Countdown Begins

It is a crazy feeling when something you have been waiting SO long for is finally within reach! Of course I am talking about FINALLY going up to Flagstaff to attend NAU. I have been dreaming of NAU and Flagstaff since I started high school. I took detours and every time I got even close to the idea of NAU-Flag something came up. It almost seems surreal that I have 15 days til I leave. I just hope it is everything I want it to be.

Life has its frustrations...but it has good points too!

It has been a while since I last wrote and life doesn't seem to have gotten any easier. My calling is difficult because I feel like I'm not doing enough for the girls. I feel like I'm not reaching them, and like I don't have what they need from me. It seems incredibly overwhelming to do this all by myself. I signed on as 2nd counselor and out of our presidency...I'm the only one left! It's hard to juggle and balance everything I feel like I need to do. I feel let down by the rest of the presidency and yet I know I have to stick it out. This isn't about me, people have problems that will take precedence over other things. One piece of advice to anyone reading...if you do have to abandon something in your life, make sure you do it in a way other people will understand. Communication is a marvelous thing! It only takes a minute or so to say "Hey, my life is upside down right now, I need you to take over, is that cool?" I would be more than happy to handle things. It's harder to find out after the fact.

So along with all those wonderful frustrations comes some really great stuff as well. Life can really surprise you! It is important to take stock and really cherish the great things in your life! My best friend came and stayed a whole week with me! I don't think there is anything better than that in the WHOLE world! We played, and acted stupid, and did all those silly, fun things you can only do with your best friend! It renewed my faith in life and happiness! It can be really hard to feel joy and excitement when life just pushes you down. That's why I'm glad I have an amazing friend like Pam!

I have had a bumpy road with friends. I always seem to be the doormat, or the one who does all the listening. For the first time in my life I know what friendship is! Pam has stuck by me through heartaches, troubles at home, troubles at school, aggravation, frustration, disappointment, depression, loneliness, and the greatest thing of all, true happiness! She's the only person who I can tell anything to and not feel judged, or awkward, or stupid. She makes me feel safe and important. It may seem silly to "need someone to make you feel important" but we all have those times when we wonder if we matter at all, to anyone. With Pam I know that answer is always going to be a yes. Even if its after 12am and I am cranky as all get out! Its a blessing to know what true friendship is. It is a miracle in my life to call Pam my friend!

Another amazing thing in my life is that I have FINALLY been accepted into my apartment in Flagstaff. I know this is really small compared to my last bout of thankfulness, but it is an incredible feeling to know I have a place to live! I have gone through so many housing issues in the last year that I am ELATED to just be settled!! I am finally feeling like I get to have a little piece of my "regular" life back! Its a new phase and I am ready to face it head on!

I guess what I have realized is that life has ups and downs. It is what we take from each experience and how we use it to better ourselves that really matters. If we wallow and don't get back in the game we only end up hurting ourselves. The worst thing we can do, other than wallowing, is taking others down with us. If we need help we should seek it, or allow others to offer, but we should never hold on while we're drowning, if we don't want to be saved.

Girl's Camp

So I am 2nd Counselor in the YW Presidency and we went to camp June 16th-20th in Taylor, AZ. All-in-all I had a terriffic time at camp! I finally saw what camp is all about from a leader's perspective. I met some great YW leaders, and some great and hysterical young women. Our theme was Steadfast Like the Stars. I think it helped me realize that as long as I stand strong in holy places I will be doing whats right.

I found out that just because someone is supposed to be "leading" you, doesn't mean they will always be the best example! You can't count on anyone else to put you in a good situation. It is only up to us to protect ourselves.

I think this Girl's Camp will be the most memorable no matter how many times I go. Our girls decided....after the second day of camp, that they weren't having fun. So they decided to put hand sanitizer, face wash and hair product in the water and let me drink it. I was so thirsty I chugged about half my bottle and thought, "this doesn't taste right." The girls all laughed, supposedly because of my facial reaction. I finally got 2 of the girls to say they (the whole group) had put some hair stuff in the water as a joke. I said okay, I figured a little practical joke was okay. I started feeling really sick and I didn't want to make the girls feel bad so I didn't say anything. Well on the way home we had a confession. The girls wanted us (myself and the Pres. however she didn't drink it I warned her) to get sick so we would have to go home. I finally felt as though my sickness was verified. I'm not sure what hurt most, that they intentionally made me sick, or that they lied to my face about it. I talked to the Bishop on Sunday, he was supposed to take care of it, but neither he or the YW Pres. have said a thing to the girls. The hurts on top of everything else. I guess I feel as if I am stuck between a rock and a hard place! Oh well! It just makes it hard for me to feel as though I have a connection to these girls. I guess only time will tell! So I guess camp was tainted, as was I, but I am trying to remember the good parts!

A little accident?

So I was awakened Thursday to my cell phone ringing. I thought about ignoring it because I was super tired and I wasn't sure I really wanted to talk to anyone who was calling me. However, just on the safe side I checked who was calling. I picked up my phone and it said "GrandPoobah" I was glad I decided to wake up enough to check. I andswered my phone and it was my grandpa, Mr. GrandPoobah. Anyhow, he said "We've had a little accident, can you come down here?" and he was crying, just enough for me to know something was WRONG! I jumped out of bed, threw on a shirt ran down the hallway grabbed my purse, shoes, and keys and bolted out the door. I vaguely remember my mom saying, "What's wrong?" I shouted that there had been an "accident" and I had to GO! I drove faster than I should have and my less than five minute drive seemed to take an eternity. I was crying and praying the whole way, basically that I would have enough strength, and clarity of mind to take care of everything.


I pulled into my grandparents drive way and my grandpa was standing by the car. I ran up and said "Where is she?!" He said she was in her bed. I was so scared and don't think I have ever moved so fast! I walked in and saw THIS...

So my grandma had tripped going up a curb and landed on her knee! It is hard to tell the scale, but her knee looked like a softball was growing out of it! It doesn't look NEARLY as terrifying as it did in person. After seeing my grandma I started to breathe again. While this was bad....it would be okay!


So, I decided to move in with my grandparents until I have to leave for girl's camp on the 16th. It has really been a blessing to spend time with and help my grandparents. My grandma, especially, has done so much for me, and like I have said before, she is pretty much my best friend! I guess being scared poo-less is a pretty good incentive to spend time and enjoy what you have!