Toboggan...BEST night EVER!

My roommates Chani and Sarah took me out to dinner and we had a great night. It was the first and last time we had ever gone out like that, but we had a blast! I am glad we did it!


We had Olive Garden for dinner and it was FABULOUS!

Then we went to Coco's for pie. I heard it0 was supposed to be good, but I was not impressed. We did make some pretty good commercials though.

And then we decided to take crazy pictures. Things got a little out of hand. Haha! We made a wicked awesome music/dance video as well.

October, WHY?!

I decided to differentiate from the last post for this little talk. Ya' see, while I was in Utah, I got a call from my Gigi. She told me my Papa probably wasn't going to make it through the day. As "prepared"as I thought I was for this call, I lost it. And while part of me was FURIOUS with myself for going to Utah when I had a feeling to go home that weekend, I was amazingly comforted by the fact that I was with Amber. She knew my feelings, she knew my Papa. I can't ever express to Amber the gratitude I had for her that day!

I got home to Flag about 6:45, I was debating whether or not to just head straight home as soon as I got here, but my mom and Gigi both told me I needed to stay in Flag and not miss class. As I brought my luggage in from the car I got a call from my sister that said my Papa had passed away. It was so difficult to hear the words, and as sad as I was mostly for my Gigi, I felt a sense of relief that he was no longer in pain. My Gigi and Papa are the crux of our family, and even though we all knew this was inevitable, it still shook us.

I think where I found the greatest strength was my older sister. She was there for my Gigi, and she was there for me. I feel I have grown closer to her from this experience. She made sure I was okay, even in her time of grief, she took care of me. I love her, and probably don't tell her that enough! It is amazing how tragedy or loss can make you really appreciate what you have!

You may be wondering about the Blog title...I would be...October....it isn't just any month, it just so happens to be the month my father passed away 10 years ago. 10 years, nearly half my life he has been gone. My mom said, "Just cry the whole month of October and you will be fine the rest of the year!" I guess loss just makes us stronger. And as weird as this is for me, death isn't quite as scary as it used to be. I don't see it as an end at all anymore. For the first time in my life, I realize that it is just the means to something greater.

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.