Stake Armageddon

Last night we had what I have heard some refer to as our Stake Armageddon meeting. It was held in the conference center and we learned the boundaries of our new YSA Stake instead of our current University Student Stake. The brethren have redone all the YSA Stakes in Utah and they are currently implementing in Salt Lake and Davis Counties. That includes me. :) It was great to be in the conference center and listen to Elder Ballard, Sister Julie Beck, Brother Snow, Brother Evans, and other 70 speak. It was great to feel the Spirit there and be a part of this historic change in University and YSA stakes and wards. At least that is what they all said. That this was historic. I know that missionary work will be able to prosper more because we now can't ward hop or shop around for bishops. It was great to hear them lay down the law and say you only have two choices: go to the YSA ward in which you live or the Family Ward in which you live. I know it will make it so that we are more able to rescue our lost sheep. I love this Church and I know that the brethren are inspired and know what is best for us. I am excited for our new Stake Conference at 3:00 on Sunday (I know, that's slightly late, but they are having 3 stake conferences in the same building the same day!). I am also excited to meet my new bishop and get involved in the new ward. It's going to be awesome and I can't wait!

Baptism, Cinderella, and Easter

This past weekend was awesome! It started out with the baptism of my cousin Johnny Loveless. He was so adorable and I'm proud of him for making that decision. It was also great to have lunch with his family and enjoy their company. After the baptism, we headed to Grace, ID to watch my little play the Prince in the GHS production of Cinderella. I have to say it was amazing! The stepsisters and stepmother were hilarious and it was just fun overall. I am also proud of little Chase for how well he did. He even had two onstage kisses (They were with his girlfriend who happened to play Cinderella, but still.)

 

Natasha and Chase after the play in their wedding atire

The rest of the weekend was spent watching movies, playing games, and spending time with my wonderful family. It was great to be home! 

Whoa- Whatever- Whoa- It doesn't matter...

Lately, I am really enjoying this song called "Tonight, Tonight" by Hot Chelle Rae. It is wonderful! That where the title for this post originated. I am trying to live by it at the moment. These past couple of days have been kind of roller coaster-y (I know, coaster-y isn't a word but at this point who cares?!?) There have been some good things, some in between things, and some down right rotten things... Let's start with the rotten.


Rotten: Why do girls let boys play them? And how stupid can boys get? First off, the girl getting played happened to be me. I know, I'm smart and supposed to be able to see through that stuff, but when you're inexperienced with boys acting interested you kind of lose logic for a while. I have friends who are experienced in the boy area and they assured me that he was, in fact, interested... at least it appeared as such. Now, here is where it starts getting rotten. This said boy invited me over to watch The Office last Thursday night. I decided to bring three of my dearest friends along, whom I also happen to be moving in with in a matter of two weeks. The plan was to get to know him better and just have an enjoyable evening. It was a fun evening... now fast forward to Thursday, that is approximately a week after said get together and said boy asks one of my friends for her number... I had already decided that he was not the greatest guy based on earlier red flags, but still, one of my best friends! He then proceeded to text her and say that I was misled and got the wrong idea. Okay, maybe I did, but so did everyone else who was around! Other things were said and done to solidify said boy's standing as a jerk. Boys, are you all this stupid? We girls talk and share most things especially when we are such good friends! Okay, now on to the in-between things.

In-Between: The only really in-between thing was that I didn't do as well as I would have liked on my chem test, but don't worry. I'm going to go speak with my professor and see if I can weasel a few partial credit points out of him... who knows, it's worth a try right?

Good, Dare I say, Awesome: Now, the good stuff. Despite some rottenness and some in-between iffy stuff, there have been some absolutely wonderful goings on as well. Let's start off with the silver lining of the rotten stuff. This rotten stuff brought the four future roomies closer and made our friendship stronger. (There is always a silver lining if you look for one). Thursday, Sarah, Jaycee, Shannon, Dylan, and I went to a Modern Dance concert. Why is it called a concert? I do not know, but it was certainly enjoyable. Especially because we finally got to see our dear friends Kylie and Jessica dance. They were wonderful!! It was so great to see them do what they love and finally start to grasp modern dance. They are both amazing dancers and it was great to see. Friday went something like this: Chemistry, Hike, Roll down a hill, and A Capella Concert. The hike was fabulous! I really understand why the prophets of old went to the mountains to talk to God. It's so peaceful and you just feel closer to Him and you can see his hand in the creations you take in. It was great to just think and hike. Awesome! Following the hike, I asked Sarah and Shannon if they would roll down the hill by Legacy Bridge with me... if you have spent any amount of time with me on-campus, you have heard my ramblings about wanting to roll down a hill... that's right, I finally did it! It was amazing! So much fun and took me right back to the baseball games in Lava rolling down that awesome hill in the outfield. Then, we went to watch Jaycee sing her heart out in the last concert of the year performed by the A Capella Choir. It was wonderful! She sang beautifully and it was a great beginning to what I'm sure will be a fabulous weekend. The evening ended with a visit to Sarah's sister's home. What a great Friday! I love my life!

This is Jessica (the dancer), me, and Shannon at a sleepover conference weekend.

Do you know what is even better? I'm going home in almost 9 hours!! Woot!! Watch out Grace, ID, here I come! 

P.S. If you have never heard the song reference in the title, you should look it up. It makes me happy :)

Refuge from the Storm

Sunday is my favorite day. I love every part of it. Today I feel like my worry and stress was replaced with peace. I have been worried about getting a job and keeping my scholarship and whether or not to do school during the summer... just life, you know. I was filled with peace and the feeling that I shouldn't worry. I need to keep doing what I'm supposed to be doing like reading my scriptures, paying my tithing, serving others, going to FHE, praying, etc. If I do this it will all work out as it is supposed to. I need to learn to trust in the Lord more and trust in his timing. I have been thinking how much easier it would be if I just lived at home this summer, so I didn't have to worry about rent or food, but I know that I am supposed to stay here in Salt Lake. Yes, it will probably be harder and even more stressful but it is what I am supposed to do. So today, I am praying that I will find a job. If any of you have any connections in the Salt Lake area, please let me know.

P.S. I am also praying for the Painter and Tibbitts families. You are an inspiration to all of us and both Kim and Jeanne will be sorely missed.

Home is Where the Heart Is

So, I finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and create a blog. I'm not exactly sure what to write but at the moment I really miss home. Home being the lovely Grace, Idaho. I love home and get to go there in one week! A few things I miss about home:
1) The stars: I love it when the whole sky is filled with stars! The immensity used to scare me, but now that I live in Salt Lake and rarely see more than two or three every night I miss that immensity and beauty that used to frighten me.
2) Driving: Don't get me wrong, I do drive sometimes in Salt Lake, but what I really miss is the driving with no other cars around with the windows down and the radio blasting country music. I miss dirt roads and an the endless expanse of fields.
3) I miss knowing everyone I see on the street: Yes, living on-campus I know more people than I imagined I would. I rarely go somewhere without running into someone I know. But, I miss knowing everyone I pass. I miss wondering who is visiting so and so down the street because there is a car I don't recognize in front of their house. I miss people asking me how my family is and telling me random irrelevant stories about their life. But mostly, I miss
4) My family: I miss the whole lot of them... I just saw them over spring break not three weeks ago, but I miss them. I miss hearing about Hailey's Jr. High drama everyday. I miss teasing Chase about his girly-friend. I miss seeing Lexi everyday and watching her grow up. I miss Dad's lame jokes. I miss Mom talking about the hospital and telling stories about her nurse friends. I miss seeing Dustin and Alyssa every time they come home. Yeah, I'm a little homesick right now.

This is my desktop picture... it's not really helping on the homesick front, but it makes me happy. :)

I apologize for the sappy first post, hopefully next post will be more upbeat.