Closing In

I can see it! I can finally see the end of the semester! Just three more weeks of classes and one week of finals and I will have completed my freshman year! How crazy is that?

This last week has been great (as usual :) filled with more birthday celebrations and homework and studying and friends.

Monday~I made myself sick studying for my Civ. midterm.  Note to self (or anyone else): Sleeping for a few hours followed by studying for a few hours all night is a BAD idea.  Don't do it.  It's not worth it :P

Tuesday~I got my box of birthday presents from my family! I got the cutest jacket and jewelry from my mommy, an adorable scarf from Hannah, Inception from Hunter and Apples to Apples from Bridger.  It was a great day :) I also went out to dinner with my childhood friend, Tyler.  We went to Los Hermanos, one of the restaurants our families went to together when we were younger.  Our birthdays are four days apart, so Tuesday night was the half way point between our two birthdays which is why we went out to eat.  Tyler reminds me so much of my dad it is ridiculous!  It was so great to catch up with him and talk about our futures and what we will be doing in the next few years.  I told him multiple times that night that we are too old for him to be going on a mission.

I opened up my box and it was PINK! It made me really happy :)

Here is a picture for my Mommy so she knows how cute all of the stuff she got me was :)

I LOVE these earrings.  I wore them to dance on Wednesday and while we were doing the cha cha they were really loud and fun :)

Wednesday~I officially finished my Physical Science class.  I locked myself in a reserved study room in the library and studied for two hours before taking the final.  I finished that stupid final at 10:15 pm and was wiped out.  My friend David was kind enough to walk me home from the library that night.  After I got home I passed out and went to bed.

Thursday~I went to lunch with Emily at the Creamery and did homework and laundry.  A very exciting day I know.  I also watched the BYU basketball game.  We lost :( I even busted out the double pom poms and it was no use.  After the game, I ate a bowl of ice cream and life was slightly better.

Friday~I went to a university forum by Mark Zuckerberg (the founder of Facebook) with my friends Emily, David, and Jordan.  It was so fantastic and very interesting.  He is a pretty chill, down to earth guy.  On our way back to the dorms from the Marriott Center, it was SNOWING really, really hard.  As soon as I got back to my apartment, I blow dried my hair, jeans and feet.  And to think I almost wore sandals that morning...Later that night, I went to a Tri-ward neon dance.  It was a lot of fun.  It was sort of funny because most of the night I was the only girl in our dancing circle which consisted of Jordan, Alec, David and one or two of their various roommates at any given time.  Every once in a while another girl would pop in but wouldn't stay for long.  It was so much fun and I had a blast dancing with my guy friends.  They really are the best :)

This is what my hair looks like after a 7 minute walk in the SNOW :(

Me with Jordan and David at the neon dance.  

(LOOK HOW SHORT I AM!! Isn't if fantastic? ;)

Saturday~I slept in really late.  I must have been really exhausted.  After doing some homework and goofing off, I went to Emily's ward's talent show with David.  It was really funny and very good.  I am amazed with people and their talents.  After the talent show, David, Emily, and Westin came over to watch Inception.  It was so great! After the movie, we talked until curfew with lots of mind blowing questions.

Sunday~Another Open Mic Sunday in the BYU 68th Ward.  For the first time in a while, we didn't go over! After Sacrament meeting, I left to go up to my grandparents' for dinner.  My uncle was there recovering from a surgery he had earlier in the week.  I LOVE talking to my Uncle Russ.  He is so funny and teases me a lot.  But the way he teases me, makes me laugh at myself.  I always end up crying from laughing so hard.  He drove me back to campus and we had a really good talk.  He told me things I needed to hear and really made me think about where my life is currently going and where I actually want it to go.  I love my uncle so much and I am so glad that he is part of my family.  I am so grateful for him and the advice that he gives me.

Birthday Week!

What a wonderful week this has been! I did something fun every night this week, a lot of those things were in connection to my birthday which made them even better :D

Monday~Happy Pi Day! Yes, it is a huge holiday on the BYU campus.  And yes, we are a bunch of nerds.  But that is ok :) Miss Emily came over and we had dinner together followed by the Breakfast Club coming over and help me finish off the cake from Sunday night's birthday party with the fam.  I spent the rest of the night licking rocks...don't even ask.

David brought me a balloon and chocolate as an early birthday present :)

Tuesday~MY LAST DAY OF LICKING ROCKS EVER!!!! I talked to my dad and to my brother for a while.  I got my brother excited (well, as excited as Bridger can get) to come out here for a visit in a few weeks and for him starting school here in the fall.  It was another BEAUTIFUL spring day.  Sunshine is the best medicine :)

Wednesday~Classes, homework, the usual.  I also hung out with Jordan for a bit before going to Jane Austen's Persuasion with Emily and some of her roommates.  I have officially converted to the Jane Austen Fan Club.  I am no longer an Anti-Austen.

Thursday~Only ONE CLASS!!! Woohoo!! I spent the rest of my morning doing dishes, laundry and homework.  Then Jordan came over to say good-bye before he left to go back to San Jose for the weekend to see his brother who just got off his mission last week.  I watched the BYU basketball game. We won!!! That made me happy :D After the game I went to my last dance lab.  It was even better than the first one! I mostly danced with Jason and Ramon.  We waltzed and cha cha-ed and it was fantastic.  They are both such amazing dancers and are very strong leaders which is good because they are both a level ahead of me and I was able to follow them into more advanced steps!

Friday~More homework and nothing too exciting.  I was quite the party animal and kicked off my Friday night by taking a Doctrine and Covenants midterm.  The rest of the night was spent watching Cinderella, painting my fingernails and catching up on some TV shows with Heather.

Saturday~Probably one of my favorite days of the week :) I woke up and went to a midterm review session for my civ. class (THE most boring class in the history of the world) After that, Emily took me out for lunch and ice cream as a birthday present.  We went to Olive Garden and it was DELICIOUS!! Cold Stone was our next stop.  Good thing we walked home...we were able to burn off some of what we ate ;) Once I got home, I was in a food coma for a few hours but pushed through and went to another review session for my civ. class with a guy from my ward and another girl from my class.  I came home and worked on my Relief Society lesson (only one more to teach!) and watched the BYU game.  We are headed to the Sweet Sixteen Baby! It was a fantastic game. So much fun to watch :) After the game, Miss Sydney came over and we had a princess party.  We watched The Princess and the Frog and The Swan Princess, made paper crowns and ate ice cream.  It was a wonderful night.

Ah, Cold Stone :-d

I swear, Sydney and I really are twins.  See? We matched without even planning it!

Pretty, Pretty Princesses :)

Sunday~ Today I am 19! Wow.  I'm getting old.  It was a very chill birthday which I quite enjoyed.  My dad was in town so he picked me up after church and took me to my grandparents' where he cooked me dinner (steak and baked potatoes: one of my favorites!) We then Skyped with the rest of the family in Michigan for a while before he drove me back to the Bubble.  I got bombarded with cake so I am declaring another cake eating party tomorrow night.

Heaven

Another AMAZINGLY fantastic week (with only one mishap).  I am SO in love with life right now! They say that your college years are the best years of your life. I can totally see why! I am having so much fun and am enjoying every minute of my BYU experience.  So many great things have happened this week!

I re-discovered this weekend just how amazing my friends are and how much they love me.  I had a girls night with Alex and Sydney on Saturday night.  We ate pizza, talked about boys, saw Tangled (third time for me!), got ice cream and I ended up sleeping over in their dorm with them.  I was having a rough day and they were so loving to me.  I don't see them as often as I should, I mean we only live MAYBE a ten minute walk apart.  Even though it is half way through the semester, I guess it is never too late to change things :)

This is Sydney.  She is my long lost twin sister.  Seriously, we are so similar in so many ways we SWEAR we were separated at birth.  

This is Alex.  She was the first friend I had at BYU.  She is one of the sweetest, nicest, kindest, most loving people you will ever meet.  She always makes me feel loved :) (plus her hair is FANTASTIC! ;)

No girls night is complete without Creamery ice cream :-d

Sleepover! We squashed their beds together and slept.  It was actually pretty comfy.  Jordan suggested we sleep perpendicular to the way you would usually sleep in a bed until he realized that we are all really tall and that wouldn't work out so well....

Jordan was also extra sweet this week.  He let me tag along with him to various events and didn't seem to mind (at least I hope not!) I went with him and Alec to our stake musical fireside on Wednesday night.  Friday night, I went to the A Cappella Jam to support him and Alec (who was able to do percussion!) and David who sang in the A Cappella Club Choir.  After that we all went to go get ice cream and it was great.  And Jordan also let me tag along with him and a few of his roommates to Stake Conference Sunday morning.  He also randomly, unexpectedly stopped by on Thursday to give me a hug because he knew that I had two mid-terms that I was pretty stressed about.  

Alec was a great friend this week too.  He helped me study for my Spanish midterm.  It took me 20 minutes to learn the words for peach.  But, Alec had SOOOO much patience with me.  Let's just say learning Spanish vocab is not one of my strongest abilities. ..but Alec was kind enough to work with me for almost an hour on it.  And I think my exam  went pretty well!

In addition to my friends being so wonderful this week, I also got to see my amazingly wonderful, crazy family :)  We had my birthday dinner (even though my birthday is next Sunday, my grandparents are going to be out of town so we had it tonight.)  My birthday week-and-a-half party has officially begun! I love my family so much.  I always seem to think, when I get back to my dorm after spending time with them, "That is what Heaven is going to be like."  All of us around.  Laughing.  Loving. And just being so happy it is ridiculous.  

Marley and Mitchell were hiding in the pantry, behind the potatoes.  Why? I have no idea.  My only explanation is that they are 5 and 2...

Miss Marley put the candles on my cake.  She was able to count all of the way up to 19 (I know! I'm getting old!) all by herself.  

Didn't she do a wonderful job?

Mitchell had to help me with those last two candles. ;)

  Three generations: My Gooma, My Aunt MaryAnn and me :)

Yup, I'm pretty sure the feelings and experiences I have had this week are as close as I will get to Heaven while I'm still here on Earth.  :)

How Can I Be So Lucky?

Another week that has just flown by! Hard to believe that I am officially one week into the second half of the semester! Sometimes I wish that time would just slow down.  I wish there was more time to enjoy life.  While I do try to enjoy life as much as I can, it still seems like it isn't enough.  Somedays I just take a step back and look at my life and think "Wow.  I am really here.  I am really at BYU having the time of my life.  Life can't be this good.  It really can't.  How can I be so lucky?"

Sunshine: This has been another gorgeous week in the Bubble.  So much sunshine! You can't not smile :) I started running again this week and it really helped to have the sunshine be out.  It made me not so miserable on my runs ;) Well, I actually don't get too miserable while running.  It is hard but I alway feel fantastic afterwards that it is totally worth it.  I like the quote from Legally Blonde "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy."

Devotional: The devotional was exceptionally good this week.  On the way out of the Marriott Center I heard a guy say to his friend, "Dude! That was such a bomb devo!" And that it was ;) It was all about how we chose to come to BYU for a reason.  How BYU is very different because every class, no matter what the subject is, is taught with the Spirit.  It is so true! Almost all of my classes start with a prayer and it isn't unusual for a professor to pull a scripture into our lecture for the day.  I mean, where else in the world would you diagram sentences in Spanish from the Book of Mormon? The speaker also talked about one of the aims of BYU, "Become a lifelong learner." He used a quote from James E. Faust that I really liked, "Learning is more than cramming for tests.  Education is more than bulimia at exam time." It really made me think about how I am treating my education.  Am I a student or am I a learner?

Basketball: The last two games of the season were this week, one on Wednesday and one on Saturday.  Wednesday night was so depressing.  After the whole Brandon Davies fiasco, we fell apart.  New Mexico KILLED us.  It took a long time of me yelling at the TV before Coach Rose finally listened to me and went to a man-to-man defense instead of a zone.  We also started to take less threes and go for buckets in the paint.  Emily and I made a goal for the Cougars to get within 20 points by the end of the game.  We did. New Mexico 82- Cougars 64. Saturday's game I was much more impressed with.  We played Wyoming and won 102-78.  We actually played as a team! It was really nice to see everyone step up and to have a lot of other people scoring, not just having a Jimmer show.  I was very happy with Charles Abouo and  Kyle Collinsworth.  They were AMAZING and really stepped up their game.  And of course you can't forget my favorite, Jackson Emery, finishing his last home game with 18 points.  Now onto the Mountain West Conference Championships!!

Temple: I went to the Temple by myself this week and it was great! It was a lovely walk both there and back.  And it was not overly crowded like it is some Friday nights.  I took my journal this time and wrote for most of the time I was waiting.  I filled many pages and it was such a good feeling.  I wrote my testimony.  I have never really done that before.  It was so peaceful, just writing what I know to be true and how I feel about the Gospel.

Date Night: After getting out of the Temple, I checked my phone to see that I had a missed call from my friend Jason.  So I called him back to see what he needed and he asked me on a date :) We went to go see Tangled in 3D with Jason's roommate Carlos and his girlfriend.  The movie was so cute! It was the second time I had seen it and I love it even more now :) There was a miscommunication about the time so Jason ended up picking me up early so we just played Nertz at his apartment.  I was quite proud of myself, I held my own and didn't lose horribly like I usually do. (Thank you FHE!) But I think my favorite part of the night was when we were going to the movie.  Jason opened the car door for me, something that has never happened to me before, ever.  When we got to the theater, I started to open the door but he pulled it shut and told me to wait.  He then came around and opened the door for me again! I really didn't think guys did that anymore.  It was a very nice surprise.  :)

Fireside: This week there was another fireside after church.  This week I was lucky enough to hear from Elder L. Tom Perry! The main theme of his talk was us stepping up and becoming the greatest generation.  It was very, very good.

What a Wonderful Time to Live!

Another week.  Another update.

Monday~Ah, a day of no school.  Around BYU, President's Day weekend is referred to as Spring Break. Yes, we get a one day spring break.  But I guess that is fine since we get out in April :D  I spent the day at my grandparents' and shopping with my grandma for things for Hannah for her birthday and baptism.  I came back to my dorm later that night and went to FHE.  We played Wii sports.  Apparently my brothers thought it would be fun to put Heather and I against each other in boxing...yeah, it didn't go very well.  I can't play video games.  Period.

Tuesday~It was actually Monday.  BYU declared it so.  This means that we have Monday/Wednesday classes, which was good because it meant DANCE!! I LOVE my dance class.  Definitely one of the highlights of this semester.  After classes and finishing some homework, Heather and I went to the library to be part of a music video.  Yes, an a cappella group here on campus filmed their first music video in the library and we were part of it! We saw David, Alec, and Jordan there too as well as a few girls from the ward.  It was a lot of fun being in it.  Once it gets put online I will try to remember to post the link :)

Wednesday~It was actually Wednesday which means DANCE!! Yes, this week was good, dance two days in a row! That night, I went to a missionary fireside with Emily and two of her roommates.  It was so good! Even though I am not planning on serving a mission, it was still so great to go to.  I learned so much and it made me so excited for my guys who are going to serve missions soon!  Later that night, after I got home, I was just getting ready to go to bed when there was a HUGE thudding knock on my door.  I went to open it and this is what I found...

(except the paper was COVERED in the fish)

Ryan from my ward, asked me to go to the ward date Saturday night with him.  

SO MANY FISH!! Good thing I love them :-d

This is how I responded (with a plate of cookies of course)

Thursday~Another day in the college life: classes, an exam, doing laundry, more class, homework and cooking.  BUT, the highlight of the day was definitely towards the end of the day: DANCE LAB!! Dance lab is a night where members of all of the different levels of Social Dance come together in the Ballroom and just dance! We practice the dances that we know (I even learned a new one: the two step) and just have fun.  It was nice to dance with a lot of different guys, most of whom I didn't even know.  But I have to say that my favorite dances were my last two (technically three).  I danced a cha cha with Jason.  I have greatly improved since the last time we cha cha-ed.  After I danced with Jason I danced the last two songs with my FHE brother, Ramon.  We danced a waltz and a two-step.  It was really fun and I can't wait to go to the next one (three more weeks!) I also found out that I didn't get the RA job, but that is ok because I will be rooming with my best friend Emily next year and it will be a BLAST! In addition to that, I found out that my little bro got accepted to BYU! Watch out Provo! The Cherry kids will be rocking this campus.  

Friday~Yay Friday! This is what I woke up to...

It was totally sunny and with no snow on the ground on Thursday...oh well.  It was a nice surprise and kind of reminded me of home :) Also on Friday, after my classes, I made a birthday lunch and birthday cookies for Jordan (even though his birthday was on Sunday).  After Jordan left, I did homework (I think...) and that night, I went to Mr. Heritage (a "beauty pageant" for the guys' dorms in Heritage Halls) The guy from my ward, Michael, WON!! I was so glad because he really was the best.  After getting home, Heather and I caught up on our TV shows from the week while on our MONSTER BED! Yes, we pushed our two beds together and watched our shows on her computer.  It was really fun :)

Yeah, we are definitely in college.

Saturday~ Happy Birthday Hannah! Today, my baby sister turned eight years old! She is getting so big! I am sad that I didn't get to go home but I talked to her on the phone for a while and that was good :)  I watched the BYU v. SDSU game on TV with David and Emily.  We won: 80-67! Boo to the ya.  After the game, I went to the library to get some homework done.  Then, I walked back (in the snow!) to get ready for the ward date.  A little before 6:00, Ryan picked me up and we walked over to the stake center for our etiquette dinner.  It was a really fun date.  We had a delicious dinner of Hawaiian haystacks and Ryan and I actually talked! We got along really well and there wasn't any awkwardness which was good seeing as I have never actually met him before tonight.  I have seen him at church but that was pretty much it.  After dinner, there was dance instruction on the cha cha.  Luckily, since I already knew it, I taught Ryan a little bit quicker than everyone else was being taught and he even learned a few more steps I showed him.  He was really good! Especially for not knowing the cha cha beforehand.  After dancing, everyone helped clean up and then, Ryan and I shot the basketball around and ended up playing a quick game of 4-on-4.  Let me tell you, it is hard to play basketball in a dress and tights: no traction and it's hard to post-up and box-out and jump modestly while wearing a dress.  But it was so much fun! Definitely one of the best dates I've been on.  After getting home, I talked to my dad for a bit and then watched some TV with Heather.  At around 11:00 Emily called and I met up with her, a few or her roommates, Alec and David to go sledding.  

After sledding and getting snow inside of every piece of clothing I was wearing, we built a snowman. 

 Emily built her first snowman EVER! (She's from San Jose)

 Alec is a snow-hugger.  But we still love him ;)

Sunday~What a wonderful day! There were wonderful talks and FANTASTIC musical numbers as well as an amazing Temple Prep class at church today.  My baby sister got baptized! And it was my best friend's birthday.  But, if that wasn't enough, I was able to Skype my family followed by one of the best firesides I have ever been to.

Sister Beck, the General Relief Society President came and spoke to just our stake.  She said that the church was not fully restored until the Relief Society was put into action.  She also said that Relief Society is often lumped with Primary and Young Women's because they are all run by women.  But, Relief Society should be lumped with Elders Quorum because we are much more similar.  We are both a support system and are referred to as a sisterhood and brotherhood.  We are both responsible for taking care of our own and supporting the others of the Church.  She said that Relief Society is specifically part of our Heavenly Father's plan.  We aren't just what is "left over."  After her speaking to us, she opened up to the audience for questions that we may have.  I learned so much! What amazed me was the fact that she had no idea what question was going to be asked but she pulled out a scripture or two for almost every question that fit perfectly with what she was trying to convey.  She answered questions like, how can I be a better missionary to my family? How can I better trust in the Lord? How can we gain righteous desires and endure to the end? Where do we start to become the person God needs us to be? How can we prepare now to go to the Temple? How can we get personal revelation? How can the men who hold the Priesthood support the women of the Church? How can we find comfort in times of hardship? After answering these questions, she gave us so much encouragement!  We live in crazy times but we as the young adults of the Church have so much potential! The Church invests so much time, effort and money into the youth programs and young adult programs and schools and education of the young people.  It is because we will be expected to do great things! The Church and the gospel are sweeping the globe.  There is so much growth, so quickly.  We will be called to be the next leaders of the rising church.  She told us that, while the world is a scary and crazy place now, it is also such an exciting time to live! There is so many wonderful and good things happening now! We will be part of a great and marvelous work! We are so lucky to live now, in this time!

Dear Good Guy, I Know You're Out There

This week has been a long week, full of me being exhausted, dizzy and sick.  But, in spite of all of this, I realized just how wonderful the guys in my life are.  The are such a HUGE blessing to me and I am so thankful that they are part of my life.

For starters, my dad sent me flowers and a cute monkey for Valentine's day and my friend David gave me Conversation Hearts.  Now that may not seem like a lot, but, I came home from a rough morning of classes only to find flowers at my door from my wonderful dad.  Also, Conversation Hearts are my FAVORITE thing about Valentine's day.  Usually my mom or my sister will give me a box on Valentine's day so I was sort of sad that I wasn't going to be getting a box from anyone but then Heather came home from class and threw a box of them at me and said they were from David.

Also, when I was sick towards the end of the week Jordan came over and hung out and talked to me for a bit.  It was nice to have human contact after being dead on the couch for a day and a half.

And last but not least, my guy friends all helped me with my Relief Society lesson today.  Part of it was on modesty so I asked a handful of guys that I knew pretty well what their thoughts on girls and modesty were.  Here are their responses:

• Modesty is good.   If I have to concentrate on fighting temptation, I won’t be able to focus on you.  There should not be any reason for immodesty.
• Immodesty makes me uncomfortable.  It makes me feel like someone would rather take my attention away from their personality.
• Modest is hottest :) I personally love it.  Girls always look way better when they are modest. 
• Immodesty is a big turn off.  Really.  When I see a girl who is immodestly dressed, I don’t really want to talk to her, because it is hard to view her as a daughter of God instead of something on a magazine cover.
• I like girls that are modest, it shows me that respect themselves and those around them. It also shows me that they love the Lord and are faithful. These are two of the most important traits I want in my future wife.
• I know modesty doesn't often seem fair.  For some reason, it doesn't come naturally to validate a modest girl.  I'm not sure I've ever gone up to a girl and said, "You know, I've noticed that all of your shorts are fingertip length.  That's awesome!"  particularly at the Y, where modesty is more of the norm than it is outside of Utah.  Meanwhile, I know that the girls that are compromising their wardrobes and pushing the limits a little bit are getting the crowds of boys around them and the turned heads.  I'd be lying if I said I was never in one of those groups.
  
  
  Despite how little glory there is right now in being modest, the relationships that I know stick (and are meant for all eternity) are those that rely on love and not lust.  Yes, you've all seen the girl in a tank top and boxer shorts who seem to have every boy hanging on her, but the truth is that the boys' attraction to her is only shallow, so any relationships she forms with them are shallow, too.
  
  
  Contrast that with the girl who sticks with modesty.  The boys she'll attract are those who the gospel matters to.  When it comes down to it, the righteous priesthood holders, those who are prepared to lead their families with you equally in the gospel, are looking for girls committed to gospel standards, and a powerful indicator of this is your personal modesty.  When your Captain Moroni comes along, he'll be looking to bring to the temple a woman who he loves emotionally and spiritually, not just physically.  And, if he's truly the spiritual giant you deserve, he'll only consider a woman who's completely modest.  When he doesn't have to worry about your hemlines, it becomes so much easier for him to learn two things.  First, he learns the attributes that make you beautiful eternally: your personality, your preparation for motherhood, your interests, your dreams.  Second, he learns his own responsibilities:  what you expect from him emotionally, as a father, and as an eternal companion.
  
  
  I know modesty's never been harder or seemed more unfair at times.  But sticking with it is the best way I know to invite the Lord in your life and, in the future, attract the man who's everything you deserve in a husband and father.
  
  
  
  Aren't guys just amazing?!? Thanks to all of the guys in my life.  Thank you for being who you are and thank you for everything you do for me.  I really do appreciate it :)
  
  
  (Here is a link to one of my FAVORITE articles Good guys are the best :)
  
  
  
  

Extra Special Surprises

Looking back on this week, it seems like every day had at least one thing that was extra special about it.

So, here are my extra special happenings from this past week.

Monday~Emily and I picked up tickets for the dance on Friday and I talked to her for a little bit :) For FHE we opted out of Nerts and switched it up and played Pictionary.  It was a nice change and still just as competitive.  :)

Tuesday~Tuesday I went to Jordan's to pick out a tie for him to wear.  Heather and I went to the Temple where we saw Alex and Sydney.  That was a nice surprise.  After the Temple, I made cupcakes and Emily called so we went to get ice cream and to talk (one of our favorite past times :)

Isn't the Provo Temple BEAUTIFUL?!?

It's a very gorgeous place to be :)

It was cold on the way back so Heather and I needed to wear our crazy awesome hats.

Wednesday~HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEC!!! I took over the cupcakes I made for Alec.  He loved them! The color of the frosting was just perfect apparently :) I also had my first dance test on Wednesday and it went amazingly well.  I'm sort of sad that we are done with the Foxtrot but the Cha Cha is slowly growing on me ;)

Thursday~I was SO productive! I came home from Spanish at 9:00 and I got my laundry and all of my homework (except for my Book of Mormon reading) DONE before I had to leave for my 1:00 class.  I was proud of my productivity and was really glad I was because I had a date Thursday night and it was nice to not have to do homework.  My friend Jason came over and we made (get ready for it) gummy bear pancakes for dinner (I know they sound so bizarre but they are so fantastic) After dinner, he helped me practice the Cha Cha.  I am enjoying it a lot more now.  My hips still aren't moving as much as they need to but my movements are a lot snappier so it looks better :D

Me and my favorite text book ;)

Friday~Probably the best day of my week :) I was again very productive which was good because I had another date to a dance Friday night.  I was so antsy that afternoon, I couldn't have gotten any homework done even if I had tried.  I was quite proud of myself for doing my own hair and make-up.  I've never done my own for a dance before.  And it didn't turn into too big of a disaster (the hair and make-up that is ;) I went over to Emily's after I got ready so we could give each other a final once-over before the guys came to pick us up.  After picture taking in the kitchen, our little group of six walked over to the Wilk for the dance.  It was a really fun night and I am so glad that Jordan said yes and went with me.  He was a fantastic date :)

 Katie and David, Jordan and me, and Alec and Emily

Here we look normal...

 And now we tried to be funny...but I think we just look weird.  

Oh, you know, it's just me and my fantastically amazing date :)

Saturday~For the third day in a row I was SUPER productive!! I went to a mid-term review and the library from 9:30 until about 2:00! I got so much done, but my brain hurt. So, I came home and relaxed until the BYU v. U of U basketball game came on.  Then I watched that and it was a great game (we won!) After the basketball game, I went to a stake Valentine's Day dance which was pretty fun.  After the dance I helped Emily clean up a bit and then I went over to her dorm and we talked...for a long time...about stuff....yeah...

Sunday~Today I went to church and had good lessons :) It was SOOOOO nice today!! I LOVE the sunshine and the warmth! I also went up to my grandparents' again to celebrate my aunt's birthday.  Then the standard hall meeting and ward prayer.  I talked to my mom for a bit and now I'm ready to pass out!