A needed va-cay

In just a couple of days I will be jumping on a plane to Texas!! Yes, jumping!! I could not be more excited and happy. Who knew that I would need a vacation from my very boring life that I lead right now.
I am very excited to see some of my favorite old roommates from BYU and catch up on our lives.
Sam and Charlie taught me more than they know while living with them for 2 years. Haylie and I shared a room- we got close- and she taught me things too.
It has been fun to see how our lives have changed since we parted ways back in August 2010.
To keep from getting too emotional this far out from my flight, Char's wedding and the 2nd reunion of Sam, Charlie and Jannette I will end this post now.

T- 58 hours and counting!!!

Change

Nobody likes change. However, after a talk that was given in sacrament meeting today I have better feelings about the process of change. We had Elder Gibbins come to talk to us, he's a area 70 I think. He gave an awesome talk. Here is what I took away from it.
- There will never be a time in life where everything will make sense and will know what to do.
- Life is tough... Cowboy up!
- Moses doubted- he was called on to deliver. The Lord didn't respond back with a yeah, you're right, you can't do it. Instead He told Moses- Moses go, I will take care of it. I will be with you, I'll take care of you.
- Jeramiah in premortal was foreordained. The Lord also told him- if you go I will take care of you.
- Enoch cried repentance. He was slow of speech. The Lord told him- go forth and do what I have commanded.
- As He was with those 3 great prophets He will be with us.
- As we make changes He will be with us. He tells us to go and He will help us.
- In order to change we have to take action, not just rely on Him.
- Stars won't be perfectly lined up before we make a move.

A Viking First

While watching the CES Fireside about 2 weeks ago I was thinking how cool it was that they were broadcasting from the Conference Center in Salt Lake. It wasn't until they said that they were in fact coming to us from the new BYU-Idaho I Center. How things have changed. 

It was back in 2006 that I was first there. I was by myself living on campus with 5 other girls in a dorm. 3,000+ miles away from home. Having to eat in the school's cafeteria for pretty much every meal. In a ward of all 18 & 19 year olds. Only a couple of feet of snow blanketed the ground that winter only to be surpassed the following winter by 5 feet. Classes never getting cancelled but having to run to class in negative degree weather. 

That new I Center was just a huge hole in the ground when I left that campus in 2008. We had seen pictures of it and had been told what it was going to become. We saw the Manwaring Center start the transformation to be a new and improved cafeteria. 

That campus has a special place in my heart. I would love to go back and see for myself how much things have changed. 

That place gave me my first college degree. It made it possible for me to go down to Provo to finish up the education I had started. I was a Viking before ever becoming a Cougar or a Blue Devil. 

That place gave me some lasting friendships, some good memories and some not-so-good memories and personal growth that could only come from going 3,000+ miles away from home.   

Don't Judge

Being a huge Disney fan and being from Florida one might think that I have seen all things Disney. However, that is not the case. One day in a conversation with Jennifer she became flabbergasted that I had not seen a particular Disney film. So this started the chain of Netflix movies to get me caught up on watching all the "classic" Disney movies. Here is a list of the classics with the ones I've seen crossed off. Like I said- don't judge.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (recently)
Pinocchio (recently)
Fantasia
Dumbo
Bambi (recently)
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland (recently)
Peter Pan (recently)
Lady and the Tramp
Sleeping Beauty
101 Dalmatians
The Sword in the Stone
Mary Poppins
The Jungle Book
The Aristocats
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Robin Hood
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Rescuers
Pete's Dragon
The Fox and the Hound
The Black Cauldron
The Great Mouse Detective
Oliver and Company
The Little Mermaid
The Rescuers Down Under
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
The Lion King
Pocahontas
Toy Story
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hercules (2010)
Mulan
Tarzan
Fantasia 2000
The Emperor's New Groove
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
Monsters Inc.

Cinderella

Today while at Disney I was able to meet Cinderella. I've never been one to take pictures with characters at theme parks but today was different. I'm glad that Jennifer and I decided to spend a little extra to have the character dining experience at Cinderella's Royal Table. It was awesome and it made my night.

Come Fly With Me...

... let's fly, let's fly away

In the last 2 weeks Jennifer and I have planned so many travels.
You would think that we like traveling or have the funds to do so.

NC-> Florida tomorrow.
Jennifer FL-> NC Feb 22 to work a couple of days
Jennifer NC-> FL Feb 28
Disney for 24 hours- Feb 29th
Florida-> NC March 1.
NC-> Texas April 5.
Texas-> NC April 11.
Jannette hopefully getting a job somewhere during this time off.
NC-> NYC May/ June (hasn't been exactly planned to see Newsies on broadway)
NC-> Italy/Greece on Cruise maybe (for my 25th b-day- hasn't been exactly planned yet either)
NC-> Spain, France and Italy Aug/Sept 2013 on Disney cruise

I'm sure there will be more added. Hopefully not until I have a job where I can help pay for these trips. Traveling is getting expensive.

The big picture

In the past, lets say 5 years, I have made some pretty big decisions. Maybe not the biggest decisions that I will make in my life but they are big ones.

My parents are on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to worrying. My dad is not a worrier at all and then there's my mom who is a worry-wart. I say that with as much love as I can. I feel that all 3 of us kids are somewhere along that spectrum. Jennifer seems to be more like my mom, I am usually in the middle and Jorden, I feel, doesn't really have all that many cares in the world- so more like my dad.

Maybe because of my middle ground stance on worry I kinda feel like there is a possibility of anything to occur. That's because we honestly DON'T know if something will happen in our future. Maybe I am not a realist. But we CAN'T see into our future. But there is that one person that KNOWS the whole story. From the beginning to the end. He knows how my life will pan out and what will happen and when. He knows if and when I will mess up and deviate from the path. He knows my intentions and what I truly want to do.

Maybe if I do the things that I have been taught that I am supposed to do then things will fall into place. I know that there is a path for me to follow. I just have to find that path and have faith in that path so I can end up in the right place. In the words of President Uchtdorf, "The truth is, God knows how to get there! And He has created a map for you; He knows the way. He is your beloved Heavenly Father, who seeks your good, your happiness. He desires with all the love of a perfect and pure Father that you reach your supernal destination. The map is available to all. It gives explicit directions of what to do and where to go to everyone who is striving to come unto Christ and "stand as [a witness] of God at all times and in all things, and in all places." All you have to do is trust your Heavenly Father. Trust Him enough to follow His plan."