halloween decor, general conference, & old friends

This past week has been so much fun! My roommates and I have started to get into the Halloween spirit early and kicked off our week by making the Pillsbury Halloween cookies. I remember loving these as a kid, and we couldn't pass them up when we saw them at Wal-Mart. We also got into the decorating mood and hung up our Halloween banner and lights. It was really fun and it made our apartment feel more like home. It made it feel really cozy and fun, especially after the rain that we had for the last few weeks. After decorating and making our cookies we went to the Clubhouse and played pool and ping-pong. It was fun to just hang out and let loose before another stressful week.

On Tuesday I went to go see our school's first play. At first I wasn't really sure what to expect, and I haven't ever heard of the play before. I was worried that I wouldn't like it very much, but I ended up loving it! It made me laugh so hard! I ended up loving it so much I saw it on Friday too. Afterward, my roommate Jenna and I went on got some frozen yogurt, since they gave a discount for people who went to opening night.

 On Saturday, I watched General Conference by myself at my apartment. All my roommates except for Maddie had gone home for the weekend. It was really weird to watch conference by myself, but it was actually very neat. I payed more attention to what the speakers were saying and really took their words to heart. I also had crafted some more decorations, from the care package my mom had sent me. In between sessions, I got to go to lunch with my old young women's president Melanie, and her husband Kent. I haven't seen them in over a year, so it was so good to catch up with them. Melanie had given me a graduation/congrats on your personal progress card with a very cute necklace. I'm so grateful for her example of selflessness and humility. She is one of the sweetest people I've ever met and I'm so grateful that I could have her as my Young Women's President and friend.

For the Sunday sessions of General Conference, Kent and Melanie invited me to join them at Kent's parents house. I had breakfast with them before the morning session. Turns out that Kent's dad is the first counselor in my Stake Presidency and he heard me speak last week! I felt so bad that I couldn't remember him... For the afternoon session, I joined Kent and Melanie for a canyon drive. It was so pretty! We ended up driving up to the highest point of the Manti Canyon. One of the best parts about living in a small town is that you can see sheep and cows up the canyon! It was a lot of fun to spend time listening to the words the Lord wants me to hear, in the world He created. Afterward, we had dinner and dessert before leaving. 

I loved being able to spend time with Kent and Melanie this weekend. They were so kind to invite me to join them so I wasn't alone. It made it a lot easier to be away from my family this weekend. I'm so glad that I could visit with them. They are so cute and so much fun to be with. I can't thank them enough for all they've done for me.

dates, general women's session, & family day

This week was full of firsts for me. I had my first date in college, which was super weird! I'm not used to going out with strangers. I'm used to going with friends that I've known for a while, and it made me super nervous. I didn't know if we would have anything in common, or if we'd have anything to talk about. But it turned out great! We ended up going bowling and getting frozen yogurt.

It was great to get to know him better, and make a new friend.

On Saturday night Jenna and I had watched the General Women's broadcast. It was so good! I loved all the reminders to be different, happy, and charitable.

On Sunday, it was family day in my ward. Our parents were invited to join us for our meetings, and since my parents couldn't be there, my grandparents came down. It was so nice to see them and know how much they cared about me. They surprised me and came to listen to my talk in Sacrament meeting. We then had dinner and talked about what college has been like so far.

My parents felt bad that they couldn't be there so they had sent a care package with my grandparents. It was filled with snacks, cold medicine, and crafts for General Conference next week. 

I'm so grateful for their support with all that I'm doing. It makes me realize that even though I've had me hard moments, I'm doing the right thing. I've loved these moments of experiencing my first exam, first family visit, first college date, and first Women's Broadcast away from home. I can't wait to experience even more "firsts" while here in college.

homecoming, baseball, & family time

This past weekend I was able to go home and spend some time with my family since I had a mission farewell on Sunday. Friday night my family and I went to dinner. I had been craving Panda Express for about a week, since the closest one from campus is about an hour away, so we decided to eat there. Later we had played our favorite game Cover Your Assets- and believe me when I say we get pretty competitive.

Saturday was a very busy day! It started with P-dog having a baseball tournament that morning. I had so much fun watching him. He's improved so much and has been such a happy boy. It was really cute when he pointed at me after scoring a run- seriously melted my heart. His team did such a great job and ended up taking first place at the tournament!

After his game I went to help Syd get ready for her first dance. She looked so pretty! I couldn't believe that my little sister was getting so grown up! It was so fun to send her off and stay up until she got home to hear all about how it went. To finish off the night Syd, my mom, and I just stayed up talking and laughing until 1:30. It was so good to catch up with them and hear how everything was going for them.

On Sunday I went to my friend's mission farewell and visited with some old friends for a bit. After that I came home and packed to head back to my apartment, said goodbye to everyone, and headed home. I had such a fun time visiting with them. I am so grateful that I chose to live only two hours away from them. It's always great to spend time with them and visit. I sure love them all and am so grateful to have them as my biggest supporters.