Another Typical Week as a BYU Cougar

Oh, BYU.  I love it here so much! It is the perfect place for me.  I love the way it feels here.  But I seriously think one of my favorite parts of the whole BYU Experience is the fact that there are so many stereotypes what makes it even better is that the stereotypes are alive and real.  It's so fantastic! So, here is another summary and let's see how many stereotypical BYU situations I encountered this week...

Monday~Monday, the day I spent 13 hours on campus.  That was not such a good idea...I left for my 8:00 class and walked home with Jordan at 12:00 followed by going to my 1:00 class and other afternoon classes.  Then I went to the geology lab to study for a quiz, grabbed a bite at the Cougareat and spent the rest of my night with my good ol' buddy Harold.  At 10:00 Jordan came to walk me home. As we were walking, Alec met us in the parking lot and then I got one of the coolest hugs ever and then went to bed.

Stereotypes:

• Eating at the Cougareat
• Spending the night in the Harold B. Lee Library
• Having a guy walk me home from the library

Tuesday~It SNOWED like CRAZY on Tuesday! It was, of course, the one day that I wore my longest pair of jeans and tennis shoes and a sweatshirt when I went to class.  It also happened to be the ONE DAY that I didn't check the weather before leaving my apartment.  Oh well.  It wasn't really cold, my head just got covered in snow which then melted leaving me with a very wet head.  I met Emily and David at the bell tower to go to devotional together.  After devotional, I had lunch and ran over to my lab and science lecture.  That night, Heather and I went upstairs to an apartment for dinner which was delicious! 

Stereotypes:

• Going to devotional
• Having dinner with another apartment

Wednesday~Wednesday was probably one of the best days of the week (it was so special I even blogged about it! Aren't you lucky to get two posts in one week?!?) Well first off, my classes were good.  My dance class was especially fun because we finally finished the foxtrot and pretty much had free range as to what we wanted to practice.  I actually danced with a guy I hadn't danced with before and he was REALLY good at leading and at doing all of the steps.  I think I may ask him to be my partner when we test in a week or two.  We also started to learn the basic step of the cha cha.  I'm really bad at it. I guess that just means I need to practice :) I got 100% on my Doctrine and Covenants quiz and I talked to my mommy :) So, I came home and was super productive so I could finish my homework before the big game.  BYU (#9) played SDSU (#4) and it was AWESOME! David, Emily and Westin came over to watch it with me...well, they did homework and sort of watched it while I was talking to the TV.  My dad called and had me try to Skype the game to him but that didn't last long.  Anyways, we WON!! It was such a good game.  There is now a new verb in the BYU lingo: to Jimmer as in, "SDSU just got Jimmered!" After the game, the five of us went over to Alec's to watch him open his mission call (if you want to read more about it look at my previous post).  On the way over to his hall, there were screams and cheers and shouts of victory.  BYU was WIRED!! And all of it was without the use of alcohol :) Yeah, we're pretty awesome like that.

Stereotypes:

• Taking social dance
• Religion class
• BYU Men's Basketball 
• Jimmer-mania
• Going to a mission call opening
• Partying without the use of alcohol

Thursday~Thursday was pretty much filled with classes, laundry and a mid-term.  Nothing much really happened

Stereotypes:

• Not really any unless you count classes, laundry and a mid-term but those are typical of ANY college student

Friday~Another one of my best days of the week.  First off it was BEAUTIFUL again! So sunny, I probably didn't even need to wear my sweatshirt.  So I had my class at 8 and my class at 11 and was productive in the Wilk. in between those two classes.  After class, I went over to my friend's apartment for lunch and it was REALLY good.  After lunch, I came home and prepped for my RA interview.  It went pretty well, I think...After walking home in the lovely sunshine, I chilled for a bit with Heather before going to Emily's to meet up with her and David to go to the Men's Volleyball opener. We won! It was really fun to watch volleyball again :) Probably one of the best parts was when the announcer found a couple on a date and was asking them questions. After their little interview, he said "Let's hear it for dating! *cheers* Let's hear it for hanging out! *more cheers* Let's hear it for the Friend Zone! *even MORE cheers*" After the game I went over to Emily's apartment where we watched some movies and talked and made a Creamery run.  

Stereotypes:

• Studying in the Wilk
• Lunch with a friend
• Volleyball game
• Movie night with friends
• Creamery runs

Saturday~I woke up at 9:30 and got ready.  Then I caught up on some reading.  Took a nap at noon and woke up at 1:30.  Then I made some lunch and went the library for a bit.  I also went with Heather to pick up her brother's car.  When we got back from that we went to the Creamery for dinner followed by watching TV for a little bit before David and I went to a movie for my Spanish class at the International Cinema.  After the movie, Heather and I were up for a while, finally going to bed at around 2:00 am.

Stereotypes:

• Creamery for dinner
• International Cinema

Sunday~Today was another really good week at church.  The speakers and musical numbers for Sacrament meeting were again fantastic.  We had a combined Priesthood and Relief Society meeting that was also really good.  Heck, even Sunday School was good! I Skyped my family and had hall meeting and ward prayer which brings us to now :)

Stereotypes:

• Student Ward
• Hall Meeting
• Ward Prayer

There are just things that every BYU Cougar does.  I am most definitely a Cougar :) I'm looking forward to another week in the life of a typical BYU co-ed.  This week I have classes, a mid-term, another mission call opening, speed dating and probably a movie night with a friend or two.  Oh to be a Cougar :)

Tribute to Elder Judd

Sorry this is earlier than usual but I cannot sleep because I am so happy and excited.  (I won't be going to bed for a while ;)

After an awesome BYU victory over SDSU, a few of my friends and I went over to our other friend Alec's hall because...

HE GOT HIS MISSION CALL!!!!

It was super exciting to actually be there when he opened it!  We waited with great anticipation until his cousin/roommate/best friend/person-who-is-closer-than-a-brother Jordan came home from work (he works at the basketball games). After Jordan finally arrived, Alec opened his call.  Elder Judd will be serving in the Mexico, Tijuana Mission and reports to the MTC on June 1st.

This post is in honor of him :)

Alec is one of the greatest people you will ever meet! He is always willing to help and will be there in two minutes if you need him for something.  I can't even count the number of times when he as come over to give Heather or I a blessing or how many times he has walked me home from the library at night.  Alec was one of my first guy friends here at school.  It was so fantastic to have a guy friend around :) He has such a big, kind heart.  Alec has a strong testimony and loves the Lord.  He is such a wonderful friend and always puts a smile on my face when I see him :)  He is the first of my BYU guys to get his call, it is sort of scary to realize that they will all be gone next year! Luckily they will all be serving the Lord which makes it WAY easier to handle them being away.

Missionary work is such a wonderful thing! Without it, my mom would have never gotten baptized and I would not be here today.  I would not have gone to BYU and I would not have met Alec! I am so proud of him.  He kept saying tonight, "Why are you proud of me? What did I do?" You decided to serve a mission Alec! You are willing to give up two years of your life to the Lord!  You are going to be bringing people of Mexico the Gospel! You will make them so happy by sharing one of the greatest gifts that is on this earth today!

Thank you Alec Judd for wanting to be a missionary and wanting to serve the Lord.  Thank you for being my friend.

Te quiero Alec. Será un misionero fantástico.

 I LOVE this picture of Alec (on the left) and Jordan.  This was one of the first times I had been around Alec and the first time I met Jordan.  These two guys have probably one of the greatest relationships I have EVER seen in my entire life.  They are crazy and fun but they love each other so much.  It is so wonderful to see that they are best friends and so close. 

Yup, Alec is part of my little BYU family. 

Flowers always make me smile :)

Did I mention one of the other reasons why I love Alec? He makes the BEST bacon I have ever had.  It was so good! I told this to my littlest brother and when he comes out for Spring Break, he wants to challenge Alec to a bacon throw-down.  We'll see if that happens ;)

 Elder Judd

I can't write that without smiling :)

Here Comes the Sun!

This last week has been overly fantastic.  I am still in shock about how drastically different it was from the previous week.  I am thinking that it was the sunshine: it made me (and everyone) super happy :D I don't think there was a single day this week where I was not in an overly happy/bubbly/fantastic mood.  This really has been one of the best weeks I have had in a really long time.

Monday~ Monday we did not have any classes (which was AMAZING!) So, we held a Breakfast Club meeting and it was a blast! I FINALLY got to use the waffle iron I got for Christmas :D In addition to our waffles, Alec made some of the most delicious bacon I have ever had in my entire life (sorry Hunter). The only down side to that was the fact that my apartment smelled like bacon ALL day long.  Luckily it was nice enough that I kept the window open for a good part of the day :) In addition to it being so lovely, I was able to hang out with my friend Emily for an hour or so (she gave me a singing lesson...) We also had an intense FHE.  We played Nerts and you could really tell we are like a real family because of all of the trash talking ;) It felt great :D

 Me making the waffles :-d

 Jordan and Sydney being...Jordan and Sydney.  I love them so much :)

 Please note the puff of smoke on the ceiling...that would be from Alec cooking the bacon

So typical: boys being boys, Sydney being Sydney and me trying to look normal 

Tuesday~ Another FANTASTIC day! The devotional was phenomenal! I also got a box from my mommy and I went on a date with Jason to an a cappella concert thing.

Devo! David, Emily and I go every single week and always sit together :) 

Wednesday~ Sunny and beautiful and feeling like...dare I say it...SPRING! My dance class was so much fun! I learned a TON of new steps to the foxtrot but I still needed serious work on following...

Thursday~ Let's see...I signed up for housing with my friend Emily and we saw Jordan and talked to him for a bit too.  Also, it was the first time EVER that we haven't had to re-do part of our cleaning check :D

Friday~ This was probably one of the best days this week :) First off, I only had two classes, both of which went very well.  Then I had lunch with one of my good friends followed by pounding it out on our newly TUNED piano! After taking a quick nap, I went to the geology lab to practice identifying minerals for a quiz I have this upcoming week.  The best part of the day (and week I think) was going to the Temple with Emily and David.  It was super packed but it really was one of the best Temple trips I have ever been on.  I felt so overwhelmingly happy and peaceful.  And being there with two of my greatest friends just made it a million times better.  The Temple President even was there and talked to us about how grateful he was that we were there waiting in the really long line to do baptisms for those people who have waited hundreds of years for their work to be done.

 BEAUTIFUL sunset we saw as we were about to go into the Temple

Me with David and Emily after doing baptisms.  I didn't think anything could make me happier than I had already been this last week, but going to the Temple did it :)

Saturday~ This was probably either tied for the best day of the week or came in at a close second.  I got up and was pretty productive for a few hours then went to the library to be even more productive.  I worked on homework and my Relief Society lesson pretty much nonstop from 10:00 am until 4:00 in the afternoon.  But after 4:00, my day was FANTASTIC! I met Jason in the Wilk so he could help me practice my foxtrot.  I know all of the steps pretty well but I have serious issues with following and not anticipating.  So, Jason was kind enough to practice leading me.  We worked on it for 45 minutes and I feel SO much better and more confident in my dancing ability.  After dancing, Heather and I went to the Creamery to grab some dinner.  Then Heather had a hang-out/date/movie thing (I'm not really quite sure what it was) at our apartment so I went over to Emily's and we called David and spent time in the Eyring Science Building and the HFAC looking at the cool things :) Then we went to Emily's for ice cream and ended up talking until curfew.  It was so much fun! I LOVE talking to those two :D

 Hehehe, silly Emily

I love my Emily SOOOO much! (even if she doesn't want her picture taken ;)

Sunday~ Church was amazing.  The talks and music during Sacrament meeting were so beautiful and made me feel even happier than I already was.  My lesson in Relief Society went well.  I am really enjoying teaching in Relief Society.  At first I was super intimidated because I didn't really like teaching people my own age but now, I LOVE preparing the lessons and giving them.  I am definitely supposed to be a teacher :) After church, I came home and cleaned up a little before starting to make dinner.  Heather got home from choir practice and David and Jason came over for dinner.  It was really good, if I do say so myself.  It was really nice too just to sit around the kitchen table and talk about the randomness of the freshman college life.  Jason gave an idea to David and I for the next Breakfast Club: gummy bear pancakes.

Sorry, I really liked my outfit for church today and thought I would share :)

Foxtrot, Russia, Dad and Stoplights

Overall, this week was not an overly fantastic week.  There are only a few highlights.

Foxtrot~This is the first dance that we are learning in my Social Dance class.  It is SO much fun! I love learning how to actually dance.  It is a WONDERFUL class and I am very glad that I am taking it.  I am decent at most of the steps we have learned so far except for the turn and the swing step.  I just need more practice but sadly I won't have my class again until next Wednesday :(

Russia~One of my oldest and best friends ever got his mission call.  He is going to the Russia, Novosibirsk mission! I am so proud of Tyler.  Him getting his mission call really hit me hard that we are growing up! I remember when we were still in Primary together, how he had always talked about going on a mission when he was 19.  It is so wonderful to see him fulfilling the goal that he has had since we were little.  I wasn't able to go see him open his call but I still felt honored because I was the second person he called, his grandparents were first :)

Tyler and I dancing at Chuck E. Cheese when we were little.  Even then we both knew that he was going to be a missionary some day :)

Dad~Another highlight of the week was that my Dad came! He has meetings for work on Monday but flew in Friday night and spent the weekend at my grandparents' and hanging out with me :D He picked me up Saturday morning and we went shopping at Costco and Wal-mart for a few things that I needed.  After that we went "car shopping." Well it was more like browsing.  My dad thinks that he needs a Corvette so we went to go look at some.  I got to sit in one and my dad wanted me to take his picture sitting in one, so I did.  

Now when he calls me on my cell phone this picture comes up along with his Darth Vader, "I am your father" ringtone.  After looking at cars (I found a BEAUTIFUL green Camaro that I liked a million times more than the Corvette ;) we headed to his parents and went to lunch at Rodizio Grill.  It was so delicious :-d We spent the rest of the day watching football and spending time at Cabela's.  My dad was shocked to find out that I have never shot a gun nor have I ever been to the Cabela's in Highland.  I was almost disowned...

Sunday, I went up to my grandparents' to have Sunday dinner with them, my dad and his sister and her family.  I LOVE spending time with  my family :) They are so awesome, I love them so much.

Me and two of my cousins: Marley and Mitchell

Stoplights~Saturday night, after getting back from American Fork, there was a stoplight dance for all of the on-campus housing residents.  Normally at a stoplight dance, you wear a color depending on your relationship status: green-single, yellow-"it's complicated" and red-taken.  I was explaining this to my family when I was with them and we made so many jokes about the dance and how silly it was.  The best part was when my grandpa found a Christmas light necklace that lit up.  When you pushed a button, green and red lights flashed.  So I wore it to the dance.  My family warned me that it would be sending "mixed signals" to the guys I was dancing with.  Us making fun of the dance was so much fun!

Well, my friend Emily had a FANTASTIC idea to dress up as actual stoplights.  (When my dad heard this he suggested that we make an arrow and move it to the color we wanted it to be according to the guy we were with...hehehe)

Me and Emily in our stoplight attire.  Please take note of my GREEN earrings and Emily's GREEN socks.  So we kind of participated accurately ;)

Now for Westin and David. Also please note that Westin is wearing a blue shirt which has nothing to do with a stoplight at all and David is wearing an orange shirt underneath his black one.  Again nothing to do with a stoplight, but whatever, we had fun :)

First Week Back

My first week back at BYU has been so wonderful! I have loved getting back in the swing of things and getting together with my friends.  Strange to think that I could miss these amazing people (who I only met a mere four or five months ago) so much! I LOVED seeing everyone again and hanging out with them.  

Monday I finally got to Provo after an interesting flight into Salt Lake Sunday night.  I unpacked and just hung out with some of my best friends I have here at school :) 

Tuesday: FIRST DAY OF CLASSES!!! I started out with my 8:00 Spanish class...my professor didn't show up...great way to start the day right?  I went to my only other class, Physical Science 110B, and was done by 3 :D

Wednesday: One of the craziest days of my life! I have six classes on Monday and Wednesday, I start at 8:00 and don't get home until 5:30.  I came home at noon for lunch and was almost to the point of tears.  I was ready for the day to be over and it was only 12:00! Luckily my friend came over and made me feel better which was followed by the best class of the semester: Social Dance 180.  I LOVE my dance class!! It is so much fun and I am REALLY looking forward to the dance labs and other fun activities that we do outside of the already amazing class.  

Thursday: Another day of classes, luckily only two :) It was also a day that I spent three hours in the library doing homework from the previous day.  I also went to the Temple with David.  That was really nice :) It was the first time in almost two months that I had been AND there was almost no one there.  We got there at 5:30 and had left by 7:00! I also went over to Emily's to talk and just kind of relax and de-stress about our first week of classes.  

Friday: I had my Spanish class at 8:00 and then was DONE for the day :DD After spending the morning in the library, I came home and Jordan came over for lunch.  Then I took a nap because I was super tired.  I woke up and made myself look decent before our GIRLS NIGHT!! Emily came over at 5:00 and she and I played the piano and sang until Sydney and Alex came over.  The four of us then went to the Creamery to get ice cream.  It was quite the trip, full of awkward sights and overheard conversations.  We then came back to my apartment and made french bread pizza followed by goofy games until we went to go pick up the guys to go to the dance which was a BLAST! I had so much fun goofing off with my friends.  Alex and Sydney came over after the dance and we watched (and sang to) Anastasia followed by boy talk, because what girls night would be complete without boy talk? ;)

Emily, me and ICE CREAM!!

Typical...xD

Saturday was a very unproductive day.  I spent three hours in the library and got almost nothing done :( I came home and played the piano for about an hour then David came over and we played a duet and goofed off on the piano.  Then he went with me to the Creamery to get some milk and stuff for dinner.  Heather, David and I had dinner and dessert and talked for a while.  It was super fun :) After David left Heather and I had a movie night and watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Bedtime Stories.

This brings us to today.  I went to church and it was really good.  It felt fantastic to be back in my student ward.  After church, I went to a CES fireside (where Elder Christofferson spoke!) with David, Alec, and Jordan.  Then I ate, Skyped with the family, had hall meeting and ward prayer and that brings us to now, writing my blog :)

My life is crazy busy but still pretty boring.  Mostly consisting of class and homework and it's only the first week! I'm very excited for this new semester.  It is going to be tough but I think once I get a schedule down, it will be a lot better.  

Big Year, Big Changes

2010 has been a HUGE year for me.  I have had so many new experiences that have really helped shape me this year.  This post is to recap 2010 for me, to remind me of how far I've come since January 1st, 2010.  In short, here are the highlights of each month of 2010.

January~

BRAND NEW YEAR!! January was the first month of the big year :) I found out that I had received a full ride four year scholarship to Central Michigan University.  I also went on an AP Government trip to Lansing downstate.  

We Da Peeps

February~

Ah February, the month of "Single Awareness Day" and probably the month with the greatest stress for me.  I had to decide if I was going to accept the scholarship to Central or go to Brigham Young University.  Doesn't seem too bad right? WRONG! I had to decide BEFORE I knew if I for sure got in to BYU.  It was super scary.  Luckily, I heard back from BYU before I had to tell Central my decision.  If you're reading this, I'm going to assume that you know the answer...and if you don't just keep reading and you'll figure it out ;) The other major even that happened in February was bowling finals downstate. Bowling is always fun because I get to goof off with my friends.  Putting the three of us in one hotel room together means epic craziness for 3 days :D

Meagans with red spirit hair can only mean one thing...BOWLING FINALS!

March~

My 18th birthday was this month! For part of my present I went out to Utah with my daddy and toured BYU and visited with my grandparents.  I went Prom dress shopping and got a GORGEOUS one for another part of my present :)  My actual birthday was unforgettable.  TWIRP (my high school's preference dance) was held the night of my birthday.  We went on a scavenger hunt at Wal-Mart before going to dinner at Border Grill where my friends stuck a candle in my salsa and sang to me.  We then took pictures around town before going to the dance.  Super fun and unforgettable day.

Me and Cody (my date :) and my B-E-A-U-TIFUL corsage

April~

Two main events in April: Spring Break and Prom.  They both happened within two weeks of each other! For Spring Break (since my dad nixed Costa Rica with the Spanish Club) our family went on a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico and Belize City, Belize.  It was really fun.  I quite enjoyed it and I almost made it the entire vacation without burning to a crisp, then I fell asleep by the pool at our hotel in Miami...

Hannah and I on our hotel balcony in Miami

Beto y yo on the ship

Prom was fun.  This year was different and instead of having it in the high school gym, we had it at Upfront and Company (a restaurant downtown by the lake).  It was an interesting night to say the least...I think my favorite part was being literally stuffed into my car so that I could drive xD

My Prom date Kyle and I

May~

May was a CRAZY month filled with track, AP testing, friends, memories, awards, ceremonies...so many things that I think it will be best explained through pictures. 

 I was a counselor for a 5th grade overnight camp.  Here I am with my girlies :)

 Here I am at the Excellence in Education banquet with my spanish teacher and my friend Max.  By simply going to this banquet to accept a scholarship, I pretty much paid for my first semester of college!

Me and my daddy at Seminary Graduation: no more waking up at 5:30 am for me :D

Top 10 of the MSHS Class of 2010

This was after we were "honored" at a school board meeting in a room that was at least 80 degrees :(

Me and two of my best friends at the Local Scholarship ceremony.

 

Me with my Kaufman Award AND this is the first picture of me with my braces off! After 4 long years of having metal in my mouth, I finally said good-bye three days before I was done with high school.

Last day of school! Last day of school! Here is the group on our last day of lunch together :'(

June~

If I had my last day of school in May that means that June brought GRADUATION! I graduated from Marquette Senior High School within the top ten of my class.  It was rainy and yucky the days leading up to graduation but luckily it was only cold for my graduation party.  We woke up Sunday morning to find it raining, just perfect for graduation :P As the choir sang "Here Comes the Sun" during our ceremony, the sun actually did come out and picture taking after the ceremony was so much more pleasant.  The night of graduation, our school hosted an all night party for us.  It was lots of fun and I ended up staying awake for 36 consecutive hours (my current record).  Later in June I got a job working at Bay Cliff Health Camp in the kitchen.  It made for a long summer but it was fun :)

Me with my "shrine" at my graduation party 

This is probably my favorite picture from graduation.  I was told by my grandparents to shrink :)

My friends from high school and I at the beach watching the sunrise after our all night party.  By this point we had all been up for 22 consecutive hours.

This is one of my first pictures from work (which will now be referred to as camp). The week before the campers came, the staff were invited to do the "Polar Bear Plunge" where we jumped in Lake Superior at 6:00 one morning and watched the sun rise as we dried off.  It was super fun and totally worth getting up so early :)

July~

July consisted mostly of work at camp.  I spent many afternoons at the beach and cooling off in the chilly Lake Superior but it was so refreshing to get chilled after working all morning and most of the afternoon in the hot kitchen.  There was also Fire on the Bay which is where locals put on a huge fireworks show for the campers (and other nearby residents :)

Jenn and I spending an afternoon at the beach.

Some of my friends came to visit me and watch fireworks!

August~

August brought the end of camp and the closing banquet.  It also brought me moving out to Utah to go to school at Brigham Young University.  On my way out to school, I found out some terrible news: one of my classmates who I graduated with died in a motorcycle accident.  It was a very rough few weeks for me being alone, away from my family and not being back in Marquette to comfort or be comforted by anyone.  The 14th of every month is still hard but Danny is always in my heart.  I started school a week early and participated in a program called Late Summer Honors.  That is where I made my first friend at BYU who in turn introduced me and made it possible for me to make so many MORE friends.  All of my close friends at BYU came via Alex and the Late Summer Honors program. 

Miss Jenn, me, and Miss Jelly at the closing banquet at camp. (My hair was SO SHORT!!)

Me and Alex at a Late Summer Honors dance

September~

To start out September I had my first week of classes followed by spending Labor Day weekend at my family’s homes.  Also in September I developed the friendships I had with the amazing people that I had met at school.  We started the Breakfast Club, where we meet occasionally for breakfast on Saturday mornings just to catch up with each other and have fun :) I made a goal to go to the Temple at least three times a month and I did very well on that goal…except for the fact that I haven’t been to the Temple since Thanksgiving…but when I did go it was fantastic and a great thing to look forward to every week.  I hope to try it again this next semester :) Speaking of Temples, David, Heather and I went to Temple Square one Saturday night for fun in September too. 

Me and three of my cousins on Labor Day

My Chicas: Heather, Alex, Sydney and Emily

They are the best and help me with so much <3

My artistic interpretation of the Breakfast Club.  We have

Alex, Sydney, Emily, Alec, Heather, Jordan, Me, and David

Sydney, David and I on one of our Temple trips :)

David, me and Heather in front of the Salt Lake City Temple 

October~

October brought another month of school.  More tests, more papers, more college life in general.  At the beginning of the month Heather’s friend Aaron came and spent a night hanging out with us wandering around campus.  Homecoming was also in October.  I participated in a few of the Homecoming activities such as hiking and lighting the Y, watching the parade and going to the football and soccer games.  Homecoming is a super fun week and a great way to break up the monotony of school.  I spent a weekend at my grandparents’ house again and my aunt convinced me to run a 5K with her on Thanksgiving Day.  I reluctantly said yes and I started training.  I actually found out that I don’t hate running like I thought I did.  It is nice to have 15 or 20 minutes to myself in the mornings just listening to my music or just thinking.  And last but not least was Halloween.  Heather and I were Mac and PC.  We went to a stake dance and had a blast hanging out and dancing with our friends.

Me with Heather and Aaron wandering around campus

Heather and I on Y Mountain

Emily and I at the parade

Heather, David and I at the football game. (We won in case you were wondering :)

After one of my morning runs.  I believe this was taken the morning that it snowed...

Heather and I just before going to the Halloween dance

November~

The first week of November was Missionary Week on campus.  Heather and I went on a Facebook fast (which was hard but super nice at the same time) in honor to strive to live like missionaries.  There was a wonderful fireside and we were invited to participate in a fast one day and to fast for something missionary related.  I fasted and got an answer which was wonderful :) Later in November, I went on my first date of the semester! Woohoo!! My date's name was Jason and we went to see Despicable Me (which was super cute) followed by ice cream and watching Youtube videos until 1:00 am.  I was successful in introducing him to Julian Smith :D There was also Thanksgiving break.  I spent the week of Thanksgiving at my grandparents and had a wonderful time.  I ran my first ever 5K with my aunt in 5-degree weather but I actually had fun and plan on doing it again.  I also got super sick after Black Friday shopping and was really sick the first few days I was back at school.

My aunt and I after our 5K!

Two of my cousins (no they're not twins) and I one night.  I babysat them and their other two siblings over Thanksgiving break while their parents spent the night in Salt Lake.  

December~

Let's see....I went on my first ever date where the GUY asked ME! Jason took me to a Christmas concert by the various choirs and the Philharmonic Orchestra at BYU.  After we ate peppermint ice cream from the Creamery and walked around campus feeling very Christmas-y.  There was also (duh, Duh, DUHHH) every college student's worst nightmare: FINALS! I spent at least 15 hours in the library over the course of 3 days studying (I really was surprised that I still had friends after that weekend ;) I took my finals on the Monday and Tuesday so I could fly home on Wednesday! Being home is FANTASTIC! I have spent a lot of time with my family, which has been amazing.  I spent some time with two of my best friends: Brittony and Kelly doing traditions that I always do with each of them.  Cards and talking with Brittony and picture taking, Border Grill, and rocking out in my car with Kelly.  

Heather and I taking a study break. I'm SO glad finals are over!

 While I was home we got family pictures taken :)

 Typical...

Kelly and I on a traditional picture taking adventure.