Christmas and Skiing!!

It's winter!! And that means SKIING!

This is Michael when we tell him to make a nice face

And... this is pretty normal

Our cousins on my mom's side all came over the Saturday before Christmas. We had dinner, played games, and exchanged gifts. I was with the two littlest girls, Serenity and Jade, playing with dolls in my room all day.

So much snow! :D

Christmas Eve dinner. Brittney, Lindsey, me, Jacob, Matthew, Justin, Caroline

John, Halle, Matthew (M-Dog), David, Joshie, Jordan, Hank

Grandpa, Nana, Ali, Dave, Brad, Cindi

Lisa, Kib, Mom, Dad

I was already in my costume for the nativity when Santa arrived

Caroline decided to jazz up the role of shepherd and bring dynamite as her gift to the stable.

The Three Wise Men and an angel. David doesn't like to smile normally in pictures.

My cousin Jordan and I take turns accompanying the carols. I did it this year since I will be on a mission next year.

Since Michael wasn't here, we switched the order going down the stairs. Which actually makes more sense, since I'm the shortest and David's the tallest. I was pretty happy about it, Caroline was just super excited about Christmas (and her spot in the line didn't change), and David was not too thrilled about having to go downstairs last.

Classic David face

David got a Vuvuzela for Christmas. It is very loud. And it never stops. He likes to wake up the neighbors with it. For more on Vuvuzelas, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrv6_CUyF0

It's kind of funny, for the gifts that are for the entire family, we always open it together. No matter how small it is.

We got a PS3 :D

Michael sent us these sweet little boxes that we had to figure out how to open. The parts of the box slide around in a certain order until eventually you find a key, and then you can unlock and open the box.

Of course my mom had to get me some missionary clothes :)

Our Christmas family picture!

BYU is the place to be

Being in college makes it really hard to do stuff like update your blog... So here's my life at BYU in a nutshell before I go back to studying for finals!

I was hired by the Church to be in a photoshoot for the New Era magazine during General Conference and was actually put in the Ensign magazine instead! (If you go to http://www.lds.org/ensign?lang=eng and click on "download this month's pdf", I'm on pg 105). I came home from my choir concert to find that my awesome roommate Anna and our friend Tara had printed it out a ton of times and put it up all over the hall!!! It was EVERYWHERE!! There was a copy on every door, on the bulletin board, the mirror in the hallway, the mirror in the bathroom...

Missionary week at BYU!! Anna and I both took "The Missionary Challenge" in which we had to do what full-time LDS missionaries do as far as scheduling and rules go. So every night at 10 we had companion scripture study, went to bed at 10:30, got up at 6:30, had a half hour personal scripture study, and then went about our day as normal. We also had to be in best dress all week long (never have I appreciated leggings more than that week) we couldn't hug boys or get on facebook or anything like that. It was hard at first, but I ended up loving it! It was an awesome experience to have a chance to kind of be a missionary.

"Read our book....."

And this is the lovely Bridget, Tara's roommate. :)

I have SO MUCH money on my meal plan. I have to spend $22 every day for the next 10 days. It'll be hard. So Anna and I went to the store and got $115 worth of food. (mostly treats to bring on the trip to st. george, candy canes for ward choir, stuff like that) 

This is Tanner and Taven. Two days before Tanner left on his mission, we went to Tiny Tots so that he could say bye to Taven. It took Taven a little while to understand that Tanner will be gone for two years, but he was pretty excited when we told him that going on a mission means that Tanner is going to Mexico to help Jesus. :) I'm pretty happy with this picture, lots of the time Taven won't smile for pictures. oh and we also had a pretty awkward but really funny experience with a guy who decided to pull his pants off. It's always an adventure at Tiny Tots! :)

My American Heritage class is really hard, but probably one of the most entertaining I've had this semester. My teacher, Dr. Karpowitz, likes to do lots of demonstrations. Once he brought in the cheerleading squad and helped them do a lift, once he auctioned off donuts in class, the list goes on and on. Well right now we're learning about Yippies and Hippies and the Summer of Love and all that fun stuff, so he dressed in these clothes with this awesome wig. Sorry it's blurry, he kept moving.

And then the TAs started a revolt in the class! They all stood up and started playing "Gangnam Style" really loud and had signs and got people to lay in the aisles and stuff. One TA even swore! (big no-no at BYU). Another TA took his pants off (don't worry, unlike Tiny Tots, he had underwear on underneath) and then proceeded to crowd-surf. It was a pretty entertaining day.

This is one of the TAs screaming with her sign. It says, "If you agree, lay in the aisles!"

Finals next week, I'm so scared!!! And then the Hobbit comes out! (totally going to the midnight showing :D)  and then CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!!!

AND only 6 months till Michael comes home!

I guess I'll update my blog...

I love hiking! It was good to go with Andy and Taft

I think we have the best cleaning methods

I am dating this lovely boy named Taft Green. As you can tell, we're pretty special people...

Probably Anna and I have the best room ever because of this totally scandalous poster

Sometimes we go on walks around the temple (I never even knew you could walk around the whole thing!!). 

Oh and sometimes my organ teacher and Abe Krizin think I'm engaged and it's super awkward.

My whole life

I feel like it's been my whole life since I last blogged. Oh well.

Sometimes Showtunes Saturday Night plays songs from shows I've been in :)

Last time I wrote anything was the beginning of August. And now it's the end of September. There's a lot to cover!!

FIRST of all, I finished teaching swim lessons. I LOVE teaching swim! I'm super excited to get to teach again next summer.

I also had Fiddler on The Roof!!! That was an amazing experience. I felt so lucky to get to be a part of such a wonderful show with such a wonderful director (Jerry Elison) for my first show out of high school. I was incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to play Hodel. I love that part, she was my favorite when I watched the movie prior to auditions.

I moved out to go to BYU!! It's so strange being all moved out, but feels so good! And I've gotten used to the dorm, so now that's what I consider home, not my house in Orem. Weird.

I made it into Women's Chorus!! It's an amazing choir. I love the hard music, it's fantastic having something difficult.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egcQEDZpuOE

That is the link to my concert. It has all of the times for the different choirs listed on it so you can skip to watch whatever you want.

Recently I've had a lot of opportunities come up, but who knows if any of them will work out. I tried out for "A Christmas Carol" at the Hale Center Theater, but haven't received an email from them, and it's been about a week and a half since auditions, so I'm guessing I didn't get in. Oh well. I am also being considered for a photoshoot to take place at Temple Square during Conference weekend. I'm thinking it's for those pictures they put in the New Era and Ensign for the Conference editions. So we'll see if they end up liking my pictures enough for that. I also just auditioned for two voice-over projects for a Mormon message video and for a Seminary teacher training video. Hopefully it all works out!!

A Beloved Soul Returned to Christ

So much to write about. Mainly though, my dear friend Emily Austin passed away on the morning of August 2nd. When I found out that afternoon, I couldn't do anything but cry. I was home alone and for the first time in a long while I felt utterly helpless. I went to my room and sobbed into my pillow, then went over to friends' houses to mourn with them. I kept crying literally all day long. I would stop crying and think I was fine, and then about 20 minutes later not be able to control myself anymore. I am so sad about her death, yet overjoyed at the same time because I know that she is finally done with her 14-year battle with leukemia. I know that she is fulfilling the Lord's work right now up in heaven and I can't wait to see  her again.

Honestly, this gospel gives me so much comfort. There is so much going on all of the time, and the trials don't get any easier as they come. During some hard trials in high school, I remember almost wishing that trials could be like when I was young. Not that people would die or anything, but I'm much better at dealing with sickness (or I think I am) than with other things. After Kayleen's and Emily's passings, I realized that no matter how many times you go through a trial, it doesn't get any easier. You never just get used to it. And death is much harder than sickness. In different ways, but probably harder.


I listened to some fantastic songs that friends wanted to share with Emily's family. The first was "You'll Never Walk Alone" sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the second was "I Will Rise" sung by Alex Boye and featuring LDC. Go listen to them.

I also read a talk given by President Monson in General Conference in 2009. Here is the link to it: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/be-of-good-cheer?lang=eng. It is a wonderful talk, as are all conference talks.


I know that it is through the trials we have in this life that we become stronger and able to live with our Father again in heaven, and I know that Emily was placed here at this specific time to become the best she could be while blessing the lives of countless other people. As 3 Nephi 12 verses 4 and 8 say, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted," and "Blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God." I know this to be true.

I love you Emily!

LAKE POWELL!!!