Live Your Life and Be Happy

Where to Start...

2011-10-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

Oh my has it been a long time since I have put anything on here! I didn't think anyone really looked on here that much anymore but my friend Camille has been waiting a long time to see my updates on life so I thought I should do my part so she can now stalk me properly :)

So since I last wrote on my blog a lot has happened....

I graduated!!!

I am now certified as a Medical Laboratory Scientist!!

And I got a job at Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, Oregon. I am loving my job and the area. It is good to be back home and with my family. Who knows how long I will stay but I am glad I am where I am.

I am attending a singles ward here and I like it so far. They seem pretty fun and there is a good split of older and younger people.

One thing that I have recently done is this weekend I was able to go to the BYU vs Oregon State game. It was AMAZING and we won :) I loved being with BYU fans. It was such a good atmosphere.

At the tailgate party!

Cosmo and I at the tailgate party!

My mom and I in Cougar blue

It has been a wonderful experience being home and I hope to have more adventures soon! I can't wait to get use to this life of no tests and no homework! It is fabulous :)

Weekend of fun!!

2011-06-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

So this last friday I finished my six month internship and I decided to have fun to celebrate! It feels so weird to be done but it feels so good at the same time. I just have 4 tests this weeks to take and then I am done with my program. Then I have two classes over summer term and graduate in August!! It hasn't sunk in yet that I will be done with my college career in a few short months.
On Friday my friend Lexie (who is also in the program) and I went out to Cafe Rio and then to a dollar movie! It was so much fun to go out with her! Then on Saturday I laid out by the pool and got a little too much sun, went to our apartment pizza party and then finished the night off by going to Velour with my roommate and friend Stephanie. Velour is an amazing place in Provo where local bands come to play. My Elder's Quorum President is the drummer in one of the bands so we went to see him. There was another band after them called Imagine Dragons and they were awesome!! Couldn't ask for a better weekend with amazing friends :)

Lexie and I getting ready for our night of fun!!

Steph and I at Velour

Sunflow

Chad (the drummer)

Chillin outside between bands. It was hot in there!

Imagine Dragons

Girls Night Out!

2011-04-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

Last night a couple of my girlfriends and I went to a place called Velour in downtown Provo. It is a place to hear local up and coming bands. Fictionist was playing when we went and two other bands. They all ended up to be pretty good! Fictionist especially! They may be on the cover of Rolling Stone soon!

It was fun to finally have a girls night and just have fun and relax! Can't wait to have another soon!

Birthday!

2011-02-24T14:53:00.000-08:00

So even though my birthday was a few weeks ago I still probably should put some pics up. It was such a fun night!! My friends and I went to Texas Roadhouse and it was so yummy!! For birthdays they make you sit on a saddle and twirl a napkin over your head while they yellyeehaw as loud as possible :) It was such a fun night!!!

Karrie and I :)

Peeps at my table!

My birthday dessert :)

The saddle

Yum!

Our awesome waiter!

Table 2!!

The Badge!

2011-01-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

So today was the first day of my internship and I am excited for it! It was orientation today and I got my badge so that added to the excitement! I know it's lame but here it is :)

I can't wait to actually start tomorrow!!

Christmas in Medford :)

2010-12-29T21:25:00.000-08:00

I am home again for Christmas and I have had a blast!! I love coming home and spending time with my family is always fun and a nice break from school. I love my family so much and I love the little traditions we do every year. We always have a family gathering Christmas Eve and open some presents then and eat lots of food and cookies. Then after we leave my mom and I go around town looking at Christmas lights and then Christmas morning we just chill and open presents and watch movies :) I am not ready to go back to school this year even though I am graduating because it means a really hard semester for me. I know it will be worth it though.

Here are some pictures from the Christmas Eve when we looked at the lights :)

The End Is Near

2010-12-12T17:20:00.001-08:00

This past Friday was Shaunarama. It is a tradition of the CLS program to have a luncheon with everyone and just spend some time before the oldies go off to their internship. There are also awards handed out to every oldie that are just little fun things that the teachers have noticed about you. It used to be at Chuck-A-Rama but this year it was at The Golden Chorale (another buffet place) so we couldn't really call it Shaunarama. My award was The President (I was the CLS Club president) and the Finding Nemo award (because I am a swimmer..lol).

It is so weird to think that I am almost done with college. It seems like yesterday that I was moving into the dorms. I can't wait to be working and making a career and applying everything that I have learned. I am so excited!!

The Festival of Trees!!

2010-12-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

Every year in Utah the Primary Children's Medical Center hosts a Festival of Trees and all the proceeds (entry fee, buying of donated christmas trees, quilts and wreaths) goes to help the kids in the hospital and to research. It was loads of fun and there were so many neat trees! Here is a slideshow of all the beautiful trees :)

So Much To Be Thankful For

2010-11-25T06:39:00.001-08:00

Today is one of my favorite holidays. Even though I haven't been home for it in three years I have always been with a part of my family or with a close friend and their family. This Thanksgiving I am spending it in Draper with my roommate Stephanie's family. So far it has been fun. Her family is really funny. After this break from school I will only have two weeks left and then finals week and I am free! This semester has gone by way too fast but I am thankful for that at the same time.

I truly have so many things to be grateful for and I am not just saying that because of the day. I have been so blessed in my life with people, experiences and trials. I thought I would make a list of what I am thankful for :)

1. My membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Without this Gospel in my life the rest of this list wouldn't mean as much to me as it does and some of the people in my life may have never been in my life if it wasn't for this church. I am so grateful for this church and everything and everyone it's brought me. My Heavenly Father loves me so much that he gave His only son to come down to earth and pay the price for me and everyone on this earth so that we could have the power of repentance. The Atonement is so special to me and it means that I can one day live with my Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ one day. I am blessed to have this church as a part of my life and I don't even want to imagine my life without it.

2. My family. Everyone in my family means the world to me. My mom is my best friend, my rock and my world. She has done so much for me all my life and she continues to give. Throughout my life we have had our fair share of trials and hard times but here we are and I am so happy we went through all that. Without those experiences with my mom we wouldn't be as close as we are now. She is such a wonderful example to me of how a mom should love her child. I can't imagine living her life and going through the experiences she has gone through but I know that I love her more than anything because she has gone through them because she is stronger because of it. I love you mom and I will never stop! My oma is another piece of my family that means the world to me. She has supported my mom and me so much and I will forever be in her debt. She has been there for my family every hard step we took. She has put me through college and has given me the support so I didn't have to work while I was at school. She makes me laugh and it is amazing talking about her childhood and marriage with her. She is a strong lady that hopefully will still be on this earth when I marry and have children. This woman is amazing and she is so tough that she will live forever. I love you oma and I always will!

3. My friends. I have had so many friends over the years and I am grateful to have kept most of those and also to have made many more. My friends play a HUGE part in the way I live my life. I always try to surround myself with good friends with good morals. My friends have gotten me through rough times growing up and especially here at college. The friends that I have made throughout my life will hopefully be with me for the rest of my life. I am so thankful for the old and new friends that I have made and I will never forget everything that you have done for me.

The list could go on and on but to spare you all I will end there. I am truly thankful for everything in my life ranging from the church, family and friends to music, swimming and reading. I love my life and I am glad I get the opportunity to live it especially with the people I am living it with. I hope while you read this you can think of all the things you are thankful for during this holiday of thanks.

Hope you all have a safe holiday and safe travels!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Parasite Halloween!!

2010-11-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

For parasitology we could all dress up as our favorite parasite or anything to do with that parasite for extra credit. Most of us did and I decided to also! I dressed up as a cat that was carrying Toxoplasma gondii. While I was a cat my friend Aubrie dressed as my liter box (this is no reflection on how our friendship is). Almost everyone dressed up and it was way fun!

Das Wetter

2010-10-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

The weather is so nice here. It has been raining for the past couple of days and I have enjoyed it very much. I love the rain. It's calming and beautiful. It also smells amazing outside once the rain has stopped. I have noticed that we never had a fall season here this year. It was summer and then the leaves changed colors last week and now they are falling off and before we know it snow will be coming. I don't mind it much but I love when the trees change colors. I am just looking out my window contemplating life and other things while sipping hot chocolate and I am very blessed for everything I have and rain is definitely on my grateful list :)

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." -Langston Hughes

BYU vs SDSU

2010-10-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

So this happened a couple of weeks ago but I have just been really busy and haven't been able to blog. So BYU played against San Diego State and we won!! It was amazing :) We also had really good seats which made it that much better! School is going well and it's a little over 2 months until my internship at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center!!!

The football team coming out of the tunnel

A couple of fans that were really dressing up for the occasion :)

Jake Heaps passing the ball

Jake getting ready to throw

My awesome roommates Erin Stay and Steph Kirby

Another ultimate BYU fan

Kaitlyn and me

I was proud of this shot. haha

Celebratory hudle!!

The final score!!

We played Wyoming just yesterday and we won also!! Hope the rest of the season works out for my cougs!!

General Conference!!

2010-10-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

I went to the afternoon session of General Conference today and it was amazing! I was sitting so close!! It was a really great experience and I am really glad I had the opportunity to go and listen to the leaders of our church who spoke the words of the Lord. I love General Conference!!!

Full Moon

2010-09-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

Last week there was a full moon in Provo and I thought it was simply beautiful! So I naturally took some pictures of it :) School is going well and I am loving life right now. I am excited for General Conference this weekend and to spend some time with my friends!

Safetysuit Concert

2010-09-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

My friend Kittye and I went to a safetysuit concert last night and it was AMAZING!!! I didn't know much of their songs but I had a really good time and we were so close to the stage! We had to wait outside for like and hour which made the concert start about an hour late but it was totally worth it. The opening act was The Wayne Hoskins Band and they were the band of the year in 2009 for Utah. They were surprisingly AMAZING! I really enjoyed their music! Then safetysuit came on and their language was clean, their singing was awesome and they were really enjoyable! I had a blast and I posted more pictures on facebook but here are some :)

The Wayne Hoskins Band

Safetysuit!!!

Go Cougars!

2010-09-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Today was the home opener of BYU football and boy was it hot outside! It was a good game and we won! You may not be able to tell by the picture but the score was 23-17. We played against the University of Washington (The Huskies).

Coast Adventures

2010-09-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted anything for a while and even though this trip happened a few weeks ago I have been busy with school starting that I haven't posted anything about it yet. The last weekend I was home my mom and I decided to take a trip up to Astoria and drive the coastline down to see all the different types of sites. Our first stop was Astoria. We rode the trollie, saw the beautiful Columbia River, and saw some houses and sites that some famous movies were filmed at. These movies included Short Circuit, Kindergarten Cop, Free Willy and The Goonies. It was pretty fun! Then we saw some lighthouses and some more sites.
Next stop was Cannon Beach which was really pretty! We then stopped for the night at Tillamook. The next day we started off with the Newport Aquarium. Then some more lighthouses and finally dinner! We stopped at Mo's in Florence which has the best clam chowder I have ever eaten! In 1946 Mohava Marie Niemi opened her first chowder house in Newport, OR. Mo is gone now, but her grand daughter still runs the business with help from the great grandchildren. With six locations, we heard about Mo's through friend's for a while but we have never been. The restaurant looks over the bay and is the perfect setting for a dinner. I highly recommend going!
Overall this trip was really fun and I am very happy that I got to go on a trip with my mom before I left for the semester. Enjoy the pictures :)

Album 1 - making a free slideshow

Last Week

2010-08-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

So this is my last week here in Oregon and then I head back to school. It has been nice here and I am glad I decided to come home but I am ready to go back and start school. I was hoping my mom and I could take a trip before I went back and we finally are! We are going to take a little two day vacation up north to Astoria and drive the coastline down! I am excited and I can't wait. Will update you all when I get back and pictures will be included :)

One of the 9 lighthouses I will see. This one is the Cape Meares Lighthouse :)

Jackson County Fair 2010

2010-07-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

This last week we had our annual county fair! My mom and I went to two concerts there and we had a blast! We first went to Little Big Town and had 7th row seats! They were awesome! The second concert was Loverboy! We had second row seats but we stood by the stage for most of the concert. I am glad my mom got to go with me for both and I had such a fun time with her :)

Little Big Town

Loverboy

Oregon Coast!!

2010-07-06T10:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my mom, oma and I went to Brookings and spent the day at the beach! It was very windy but the weather was perfect! It was so nice to just get out of the city and have the good old rest and relaxation.

Ralphy's first time on the beach!

Summer!

2010-06-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I have officially been on summer vacation for about two months now and I haven't really done much. haha I am going to do a lot more before I go back to school in two months. I started an online class which I hope to finish pretty quickly. I also am starting my major workout and eating plan which I know will be successful! Also I am planning to hang out by the pool on my downtime from work :)
My mom and I have done a few things together this summer but I hope to do more with her before I leave because this might be the last time I have this much time to spend with her before I graduate. So I hope her and I can do some trips to the coast and her and I are planning go to the fair here in CP in July and go to the concerts!
Recently my mom had an idea that we should go to San Fransisco. I have never been so of course I loved the idea! I hope it turns out that we can go because time with her and in San Fran would be so much fun! I will keep you updated if we decide to go! Woohoo for summer :)

Portland Trip!

2010-05-17T15:54:00.001-07:00

So on Friday my friend Amanda and I left for a two day trip to Portland. She needed to visit some places for school and I decided to go along with her. It was way fun! We went to two gardens that were absolutely beautiful! The Chinese Garden and the Japanese Garden. There are way too many pictures to post so I will only post a few :)

The Chinese Garden

The Japanese Garden

Beautiful waterfall!

The Sand and Stone Garden

The Poetry Stone. It reads, "Here, miles from Japan, I stand as if warmed by the spring sunshine of home."

The Flat Garden

I had so much fun with Amanda! I am looking forward to more trips this summer!!

CLS Adventures!

2010-04-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

So every semester to say goodbye to the oldies in the program we all go to Chuck-A-Rama which is a buffet and have fabulous food and just relax! It was so much fun and I am going to miss the oldies :( Enjoy the many pictures!!

My Internship!!

2010-03-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

So for my major in order to graduate we must do a 6 month internship at a hospital. 2 weeks ago I had an interview for my internship and I talked with about 6-7 other hospitals who were all telling me reasons why I should go to their hospital. In the end though I still only had one hospital in mind and that is exactly the hospital that I was chosen for! The hospital that I will be interning for 6 months will be.....

Utah Valley Regional Medical Center!! I am very excited to be interning there. The people are great and the facility is super nice! 11 people applied to that hospital but they only chose 4, so I feel extremely blessed to have been chosen. I am very eager to start in January of 2011 and learning as much as a can :)

Alice and Wonderland in IMAX 3D!!!

2010-03-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

So last night my friends and I went to see Alice and Wonderland in IMAX 3D and it was AMAZING!! I absolutely loved the movie. If you want to go seen it you need to see it in 3D, that's the only way to go. Enjoy the pics!

Chelsea, Megan and Aubrie

Chelsea and me

Aubrie and me

Megan and me

Chelsea workin those 3D glasses

Gangsta!

The gang!

I love her!

Tea Party!

Yea for movie nights!!

Midnight Bowling!

2010-03-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

A group of my friends went midnight bowling on Friday night and it was so much fun!! We bowled 3 games and I got home around 3am! I definitely needed this fun night after all the stress that school is putting on me :)

Maddi and Kelli

Chelsea :)

Kelli and me

She makes that ball look good!

Chelsea and me

Kelli's sweet bowling moves!

My roomies!

We were a little tired :)

Kelli was getting loopy by 2am

Celebrating 21 in Style!

2010-02-07T23:01:00.000-08:00

I turned 21 on the 2nd and I was lucky enough to spend the night with my girlfriends! I reserved the upper lounge at a place called Sparks. It not only looks amazing inside but along with the food they are most famous for serving non-alcoholic drinks. They have a lot of varieties and they are all very tasty! Sorry to disappoint by not really drinking on my 21st birthday but this was so much better! ;) I had so much fun and I am so lucky for all of my great friends!!

Amazing Friends=Amazing Brithday Party

2010-02-01T17:32:00.001-08:00

So this weekend my friends put a birthday party together for me at a place called The Pizza Factory. My mom being the amazing mom she is paid for everything :) A lot of people showed up and I got to see a lot of my friends that I haven't seen in a long time. You really don't realize how many special people are in your life until they are all together in the same room! I had so much fun and I can't wait for my next party on my actual birthday which is in two days! I will be the big 21!! I am super excited! There are so many pictures so I decided to go back to my old ways and make a slide show for all of you to enjoy!!

LEAF- Life Eternal As my Focus

2010-01-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been thinking a lot about life and some decisions that I have been making and certain feelings that I have been having. Yesterday really hit home for me in a lot of ways. I always love Sundays because it is usually my day of rest and recuperation, but this day was also a day of realizations. During church there were many lessons on specific topics that I have been pondering lately and also had questions about. The talks that were given were mainly about insulating your body inside and out so that the Devil cannot get in and influence you. Our Sunday school lesson was about the Fall and the Atonement which I have been really been studying and trying to gain a greater testimony of lately. And finally our Relief Society lesson was about prayer and that is something I have continually been working on.
After church I drove around Provo and took some pictures of the temple and then I went up to the lookout point and wrote in my journal and also took time to look at the beauty that the Lord has given us and everything that he made for our eyes to see! I also waited until sunset and got some neat pictures also. It was really good for me to get away from my apartment and to really see the beauty around me.
Later that night my home teachers came over and they talked about life's paths. Meaning that we all have a path and sometimes during life we get off that path and that we need help getting back on. They also talked about that most of the things we do in life aren't going to be easy and that we will get discouraged most of the time. We should all know by now that the things most important in our lives are always going to be hard to get because then how are we supposed to know if they are important to us. One of my home teachers gave me a story to read and it really made me realize a lot of things. It is called the Devil's Tool Sale:

It was advertised that the devil was going to put his tools up for sale. On the date of the sale, the tools were placed for public inspection; each tool being marked with its sale price.
They were a treacherous lot of implements ...
Hatred, Envy, Jealousy,
Deceit, Lying, Pride,
And so on....
Laid apart from the rest was a harmless looking tool, it was well worn and priced very high. "What is the name of this tool?" asked one of the shoppers, pointing to it.
"That is Discouragement replied the devil.
"Why have you priced it so high?"
"Because it is more useful to me than the others.? I can pry open and get inside a man's heart with that, when I cannot get near him with my other tools. Once I get inside, I can make him do what I choose. It is badly worn because I use it on almost everyone, since very few people know that it belongs to me."

I really enjoyed reading this story and it is so true. The Devil can get inside of us and make us think the worst of a situation or an event that has occurred. We just have to be strong enough not to let it get the better of us. After I was left to ponder everything that occurred that day I really got an overwhelming feeling to just read my scriptures and to pray for everything that I have been given. Pray for my family that has been there for me through everything, for my friends who have loved me and supported me, for my trials that have molded me into who I am today, and for the beauty that has been given to me so that I can be reminded of God's love for me everyday. I am so blessed to be where I am right now and to be living the life I am! I just hope I am making my Father in Heaven proud also.

"The earth in its pristine beauty is an expression of the nature of its Creator." ~Gordon B. Hinckley
"Jesus followed His instructions exactly and created an earth filled with gifts of beauty and love for you. The beauties of the earth are all gifts of love from Heavenly Father." ~Karen Ashton

Girl's Night Out!!

2010-01-17T16:40:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my friends and I went to this restaurant called Sparks. It is a place that serves non-alcoholic drinks and also food as well. It was way fun! I had an apple martini and it was way good! We also went to some random house and took some pics in front of their Christmas decorations that were still up!! We then went to someone's house and played games! I had a blast and it was definitely fun to have a break from school!!

Clinical Laboratory Science!!

2010-01-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

So on Monday I started my CLS program and I am liking it but I was very overwhelmed the first day! I seriously had no idea what was going on and I almost wanted to just drop out and defer a semester. Then after the second day I calmed down and I started getting the hang of things and now I enjoying it. It is a really tough program but I know that it will be worth it. I am taking five classes this semester and they are Diagnostic Microbiology, Hematology, Hematology Lab, Blood Banking and Blood Banking lab. Micro is for the whole semester, hematology and lab is the first block and blood banking and lab is second block. This program is going to keep me very busy. I have 3 tests for hematology every friday and one test for micro every tuesday. So our grades are determined by our weekly quizzes, assignments, our lab work and our comprehensive tests. Oh my!!
I do have something to look forward to this semester though....where I will be interning next January!!! There will be interviews this semester and then I will know where I will be interning next year by March!! I am excited for that to come :)
Well I hope everyone is enjoying this new year and I will keep you all updated about my life!!

Christmas Time!!

2009-12-26T23:39:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was so nice! I got to be with my family and I am so blessed :) I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year!

Our tree by the fireplace in my new home!

Ralphy :)

Oma and the dog

I love her :)

My Oma made me this! It is The Testimony of the Apostles with different pictures of Jesus around it :) I love it!!

Ralphy got a gift too....a raincoat. Oh dear

All my gifts :)

I finally got twilight so I can stop going over to Shawna's every time I want to watch it! haha Also 27 dresses, love it :)

All of the X-Men including the Origin movie!

Mom's cruel punishment for the dog. lol

This was not my idea

Christmas lights in Pleasant Grove

2009-12-26T22:18:00.001-08:00

The previous video that I posted that showed awesome Christmas lights was actually taken from a house in Pleasant Grove, UT which is about 20 minutes from Provo! When I found this out I told my roommate about it and we decided that we would go see them the day I finished my finals and it was also the day before I would leave for Oregon (home) for the break. All you had to do when you got there was pull to the side of the road, turn your lights off, and turn to the radio station that they provided and enjoy! The lights were synced with the music on the radio and it was just nice to be in a warm car, relax and just enjoy a little bit of Christmas! Here are some pictures :) I have some videos of the lights but they won't load for some reason so check my facebook! They are all on there :)

Amazing Christmas light decorations!!

2009-12-14T14:23:00.001-08:00

My mom emailed me this video and it is simply amazing! You must see this!! So sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy someone's hard work :)

Last Day of Classes in Style!

2009-12-11T12:09:00.001-08:00

So yesterday was the last day of classes at BYU and my friend Aubrie and I decided to have a fun day since we didn't have anything due that day :) We started out by just relaxing in the Wilk and then later that day we went bowling before our last class. There is a bowling alley at our school! We had a blast! Here are the pictures from our amazing day at BYU!

Our nicknames :)

We were just warming up...

We tried to be serious but that isn't our style :)

AHHH!!!!

I love her :)

Okay so maybe we aren't that good but we had fun! Haha

The First Snow!

2009-12-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

So I looked out my window and what did I see?? Well I lot of snow on the ground. It was snowing yesterday also but not as much. It is officially winter here in Utah and I love it!!! My roommate Shelley put up her Christmas tree and it is beautiful!
So this week is my last week of classes and then a week from today finals week starts. I only have three finals so it shouldn't be too bad. On the 18th I fly home! Well I actually fly into Portland and then my mom is picking me up there. We are going to stop at some malls on the way home and shop :) I am excited to see my family and friends and spend time with them. It has been a long and difficult semester. Then when I come back in January I start my program!!
So here are some pictures of our Christmas tree and the snow!!!

Hawaii :)

2009-11-29T20:32:00.000-08:00

I was so blessed with the opportunity to go to Hawaii over Thanksgiving break and visit my Grandma and her husband Larry. It was so amazing! I did so many things and I also relaxed a lot too. I loved every minute of being there. I got a great tan and I am slowly getting back into reality. It is hard adjusting to the cold but hopefully I will soon. I had to make a slide show because there were too many pictures to just put up individually. Enjoy!

A Snuggie+Friends+Being Tired=Awesome Pictures!!

2009-11-10T09:40:00.000-08:00

So my friends Shawna and Melinda came over on Sunday night and we were all tired and it made for great pictures. Enjoy!!

Happy: having a sense of confidence or satisfaction with..

2009-11-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

This happiness is in relation to getting into my program here at BYU. I applied for the Clinical Laboratory Science Program about three weeks ago and I found out yesterday that I got in. I will start winter semester (January 2010) and I will have winter and fall semester and then my internship from January-June 2011. I will walk in April of 2011 and receive my diploma in June! I feel like all my hard work and all those nights where I thought about giving up on school finally means something. I am finally getting what I want and it feels so good. All that work is finally paying off!! I will hopefully get a job right after I graduate which will be so nice! I am so grateful for the support from my friends and family through all my hard times. My mom has never given up on me no matter how many times I have felt like I was giving up. She is such a support for me and she always knows how to lift my spirits up! My mom has shown me that if you really want something you can achieve it. When my mom walked up to that stage that day to get her diploma, it confirmed to me that she was with out a doubt my hero. She is now working at a job she loves and she is finally happy! I can't believe the strength she has shown over the years of raising me and trying to support us. My oma has always been the one to make me laugh when I needed it. She is too cute! She always knows when to send cards and little notes even if there is no specific reason to. Some of her notes are congratulations and birthdays, but they are mostly just notes of gratitude and "just thinking of yous." Her cards always seem to come at just the right time! My friends from home and those here in Utah have always been an amazing support. Especially my friends Kayla and Amanda from home who still keep in touch with me even though I am two states away. They are my little taste from home!! Thank you again to everyone that has been a part of my life!! I am so extremely blessed and I will forever by grateful for what I have :)

I am really in :) :)

Good News!

2009-10-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

So last week I found out that my grandma (who lives in Hawaii) is flying me out there for Thanksgiving break. Because of when I have my classes I have a longer break than most people. I will by flying out there on November 20 and flying home on November 29! I am so excited to go there and visit with them and have Thanksgiving Hawaiian Style!! I am also excited for the warm weather because by the time November roles around Provo will be covered with snow :) So yeah, I am really excited and there will be pictures posted once I return :) My grandma emailed a picture of a flower that is in her backyard right now to give me a little taste of paradise ;) Enjoy and I hope you all are doing well!!

BYU Football Games!!

2009-10-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

I love going to BYU football games! They are so much fun and I am so happy I sit with the people I do. The first picture is from the BYU vs Colorado State and the rest are from the BYU vs Utah State. We won both games :) At the game against Utah State that was this past weekend, there was this little girl sitting by us and she was so distracting (in a good way). She kept grabbing my hand and she was just too cute. At the end of the game she took my hand again and my friend took a picture and the little girl looked up and smiled for it (the pic is down below) I love the BYU spirit at the games and how much people get into the games! Enjoy the pics!!

Weekend of ups and downs

2009-09-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

So on Friday night I went to see Transformers and it was pretty good besides some parts that were just unnecessary. Then on Saturday I went to the BYU vs. FSU football game. Let's just say that it did not go well for BYU. The final score was 54-28 FSU. Here are some pics from the game (I did not take these by the way. lol ) On a better note though Oregon beat Utah!! I was pretty excited about that just because Utah is BYU's #1 rival in the MWC (and this was probably the only time I was hoping for the Ducks to win). I hope we end up beating Utah this season though, especially because we are playing at BYU.

Our running back Harvey Unga

Our quarterback Max Hall

Now for the up! Saturday night a bunch of us went disco skating to celebrate Kelli's 21st birthday! I was so much fun and I have some awesome battle wounds to go along with last night. It was fun just doing something different and kicking back with my friends that I haven't seen in a while and also meeting knew people! I love living here and I love the friends that I have so much. I am so blessed with the life that I am living and so blessed with the people that are in my life :)

We are so ready!

Camille and I trying to not fall :)

Kelli and Camille (Kelli was pretty much awesome!)

I love her :)

Freshmen friends forever!

Yea for Family!

2009-09-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

So my Grandma and Larry came and visited me on Wednesday and I haven't seen her in about 2 years! We went out to dinner to Olive Garden and just caught each other up. It was so nice to see her and to spend time with her, even though it wasn't for very long. I am so blessed with the family that I have and I would never change my family and my life for anything in the world! I love my life so much :)

Keith Urban Concert!! (9-9-09)

2009-09-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

I went to the Keith Urban concert in SLC at the Delta Center and it was AMAZING! Little Big Town opened for him and they were awesome. When Keith came out I about died! He is so talented and it didn't hurt that he is Australian!! He got so close to his fans. My friend Shawna and I were up kind of high but it didn't matter because he was on the stage, then he would move closer to us on a another stage and he also walked all over. He really made the concert enjoyable for everyone no matter where they sat. I have a lot more pictures on facebook but here are some of my favorite....I had such a fun time and he has always been my favorite singer so it was a dream come true to see him live!!

The best $15 I have ever spent!!

2009-08-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

I went to a Lonestar concert at the Scera Shell in Orem. I went with my friends Shawna and Melinda. It was so much fun!!! After the first song Shawna and I went down to the stage and we danced and I got to touch the lead singer's hand TWICE!! It was so awesome :) My friend Shawna also touched his hand twice. They sang all the songs I wanted and more! One of the other band members blew a kiss to Shawna, Melinda and I at the end of the concert :) There was this one lady (who was like in her sixties) who hugged Shawna after the lead singer touched her hand, I guess she was so excited that she had to hug somebody. She was so cute! So the concert was only 15 bucks and it was the best 15 bucks I ever spent! These guys were way attractive and they were so awesome!! We even had seats by the stage too but we stood up next to the stage for the most part :) Well here are just some of the pictures. There are more on facebook.
Enjoy!!

GO LONESTAR!!! WooHoo :)

Haley and Ryan's Wedding (August 15, 2009)

2009-08-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to fly to California and see one of my dearest friends get married to the love of her life. She was sealed for time and all eternity on August 15, 2009 in the Oakland, CA temple to Ryan Cole. The two met during Winter semester and they were engaged 2 months later. Ryan is an amazing person who is perfect for Haley. Haley was my roommate from Fall semester through Spring term. Her wedding was simply beautiful. I wasn't able to witness the sealing but I am sure it was everything she dreamed it would be and more. Her reception was back in her home town which is Lakeport. It is a 2 hour drive north from Oakland so there was a lot of driving involved. The reception was very nice and a lot of people showed up. Haley and Ryan had the biggest smiles on their faces the whole day! It was so cute to watch them together. I got to do Haley's hair for the wedding and I am glad I got to do that. Tell me what you think though...I think I did a pretty good job for not being a professional ;) I wasn't sure at first if it would be that fun to fly all the way there but after I got home I definitely knew that it was worth the money and the hours flying and driving to be there to see one of my best friend's dream come true. It was truly the happiest I have seen her and I am very glad I was there to witness it! Enjoy the pictures...there are a lot of them!!

The World's Weirdest Hotels

2009-08-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

So I was on msn today and I saw this article about the world's weirdest hotels and I thought they were pretty cool! I hope to visit one of these one day!

Upside-down stay: At Berlin's Propeller Island City Lodge, each of the 30 rooms is weird in its own way. The artist-owner, Lars Stroschen, has seen to that. One room, the first built, is made to look like a brightly painted medieval town, with an ultra-mini golf course surrounding the castle bed. Another has furniture attached to the ceiling, another has coffins for beds, and still another has lion cages on stilts (the website claims that kids "love to sleep" in them). Then there's the Freedom Room, which resembles a prison, complete with a toilet next to the bed — oh, that German humor!

A place to unwine'd: When they were owned by a Swiss château, the four enormous casks on the grounds of the Hotel De Vrouwe Van Stavoren in the Netherlands held the equivalent of 19,333 bottles of wine. Now, after some creative recycling, it's guests rather than booze that mellow out inside the casks. The richly worn and airtight oak barrels have two narrow beds, with a small sitting area outside. The grounds are quite close to tiny Stavoren's harbor, which was a major port in the Middle Ages.

A bad trip (with none of the consequences): The daughter of Ho Chi Minh's number two masterminded the Hang Nga Guest House and Art Gallery, a complex that more than earns its local nickname, the Crazy House. This LSD nightmare's three main buildings are Gaudi-esque concrete treehouse-like growths that appear as if they flowed organically out of the ground. Inside, the walls seem to dissolve into the floor, and right angles are avoided entirely. Each guest room is built around a different animal theme: the Eagle Room has a big-beaked bird standing atop a huge egg, while another has arm-sized ants crawling up the wall. The animal theme continues outside — a large giraffe statue on the property contains a teahouse, and human-size "spider webs" are set up here and there.

In a league of its own: Hydrophobics should stay far from Jules' Undersea Lodge, named for novelist Jules Verne of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" fame. The 600-square-foot lodge, a former marine lab, is 21 feet underwater, close to the bottom of the mangrove-filled Emerald Lagoon, in Key Largo. You'll have to know how to scuba dive to reach your room, and guests without the mandatory certification must take a course at the hotel. Once you've reached the lodge, which sleeps up to six, you'll be close to angelfish, anemones, barracuda, oysters, and other creatures — each room is equipped with a 42-inch window, so you don't need to be suited up to keep an eye on the neighborhood.

Crash in a jet plane: Near a beach that's within Manuel Antonio National Park, the Hotel Costa Verde doesn't lack for great sights. But few are as amazing as its own 727 Fuselage Suite, a salvaged 1965 Boeing 727-100 that looks as if it's crashed into the Costa Rican jungle (it's actually mounted atop a 50-foot pillar and reached via a spiral staircase). The jet's interior was once able to hold up to 125 passengers, but there are few reminders left of its days in the service of South African Airways and Colombia's Avianca Airlines. The suite's two bedrooms, dining area, and sitting room are now covered over entirely in teak to match the surroundings. Guests can play "spot the toucan" on the small wood deck that sits on top of the right wing.

Your escape pod awaits: Colored bright-orange for easy visibility, the '70s-era escape pods that make up the Capsule Hotel once hung outside oil rigs, ready to be deployed in case of an evacuation. Recycled by self-proclaimed "garbage architect" Denis Oudendijk, the fleet of pods now rotates among different moorings in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. At the moment, two are in the western Dutch town of Vlissingen and another is in The Hague. For a kind of James Bond-meets-Barbarella twist, opt to book your pod with a disco ball and all the spy's movies on DVD. It's a super-kitschy nod to a similar pod's appearance in

On the road again: Imagine how much ground you could cover if you took your bed with you. That's the idea behind Exploranter Overland Hotel, a converted 25-ton truck that's a true hotel on wheels. An awning extends out from the truck's side to provide some al fresco shade at lunchtime. The "kitchen" comes tricked out with fridges, freezers, and a large convection oven — on this trip, the restaurant comes with you too, and sometimes nearby cooks are brought in to give guests a taste of the local cuisine. Your luggage and sleeping quarters are towed behind you, in a trailer that sleeps up to 24. With so much flexibility, guests can see Brazil's back country, far from crowds and sometimes any other people at all. The tours, which last from three days up to three months or more, have included horseback riding, vineyard tours, bird watching, and rodeos.

Where the penthouse is a trailer park: Cape Town's sleek Grand Daddy hotel has a surprise on its roof: a fleet of seven Airstream trailers, six of which were imported from the U.S. The aluminum-clad "rooms," which sleep two people, have been done in playful themes that incorporate icons like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (a blonde wig and a bear suit are available for dress-up), and John Lennon and Yoko Ono (the room's white-on-white furnishings include an enormous bed, natch). If you don't want to stray as far from the trailers' original looks, there's the Pleasantville model, an Eisenhower-era fantasia with chintz, harvest-gold curtains, and flower-covered throw pillows.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T09:50:00.001-07:00

So on July 4th my best friend Kelli Jo and I hung out and we walked over towards BYU to meet my ward to watch fireworks that were being set off at the football stadium. The fireworks were awesome and it was a way fun night! Sorry I am not looking at the camera. :)

In Loving Memory of Clayton Thomas

2009-07-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

On Sunday June 28, 2009 my best friend Whitney's brother tragically passed away. Whitney is my friend who got married just the day before. Her family was staying in Whitney's grandparent's cabin. Whitney and her husband Ryan left for their honeymoon that Sunday morning and so did Clayton's father for a business meeting. After he had finished with a walk in the woods with his brother, Clayton went upstairs to take a shower. After 30 minutes the shower was still running and his mom was getting kind of worried. She knocked on the door and there was no answer. She went into the bathroom to find Clayton unresponsive in the shower. Clayton's older brother Dallin started to perform CPR on his brother until the paramedics arrived. The paramedics tried so hard to revive Clayton but he was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital. The Thomas' later found out the Clayton had died from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. The family discovered that their heater was on full blast and that there must have been a leak.
I have been to that cabin before and I have been in that very bathroom. This is such a horrible thing to happen to such a wonderful family. I was able to attend the funeral on Thursday the 2nd of July. There were so many people there and it just was such a strength to the family to see so many people there to honor Clayton.
Even though this funeral was very hard for me I have never felt the love of my Father in Heaven and I have never had a stronger testimony of the Plan of Salvation. I know that Clayton was needed by his Heavenly Father for a more important mission in heaven and I know that he is with his family up there also. I also know that he is looking down at his family and he will forever be their guardian angel until that wonderful day when they will see each other again. I believe with all my heart that we will be with the ones we love again, and we will be able to be with them forever.

Clayton David Thomas
July 15,1992-June 28, 2009

Here is the website if you would like to read it. It really shows how strong this family really is.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12728345?source=email

Whitney and Ryan's Wedding (6-27-09)

2009-07-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

On the 27th (Saturday) I got to go to my best friend Whitney's wedding reception. She was married for time and all eternity to Ryan Lewis in the Salt Lake City Temple. Their reception was in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in the Empire Room. It was a luncheon with many many family members. There were about 150 people there and there were only 4 people who weren't part of the family (including me). I felt so privileged to be a guest at their luncheon. It was simply a beautiful day!

The beautiful bride!

The table I was sitting at

The Empire Room

A gift from the bride and groom

Each table had a name to it (As you can see I was at the "Adore" table)

The gift table

Picture of the bride :)

The cake!

The guest book

The happy couple

Father and Mother of the Bride

Whitney and Ryan's siblings sang "Kiss the Girl" from the Little Mermaid

Daddy Daughter Dance

Cutting the cake :)

Visit from the family!

2009-06-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday my family (My Mom and Oma) came into town and they are here for a couple more days! We did a lot of stuff while they were here. On Thursday we went went shopping and just relaxed. On Friday we drove down south to the Arches National Park which was way fun! Saturday we went to Salt Lake and went on a tour of the Conference Center because my Oma hasn't been to Temple Square since she was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in 1969 so it was neat for her to see all the new stuff. After the tour we saw the Joseph Smith Movie which is always nice to see! Then on Sunday they went with me to my singles ward and I think they had fun and it was nice for my friends to meet them. Today (Monday) we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple open house. Going to the open house with my family was so special! I felt the Spirit so strongly and I also felt the presence of Lord there in the temple watching his everyone who entered it see the wonderful rooms that were built and the symbolism in them. I do not know what tomorrow holds but I do know that we are going to Taconos!! Here are the pictures from our experiences :)

Need a Laugh?

2009-06-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

I got this email from my mom today and I had to share it!

Heartbreaking

2009-05-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.exmormon.org/whylft45.htm

I recently read this article a woman from SLC wrote. She is writing a book and I believe this is an excerpt from it. She discusses her heartbreaking wedding day and how men and women in the LDS church are pushed into marriage. She talks about how her wedding day was the loneliest day that she has every had.
What she writes breaks my heart. She was married when she was 21 and now that she is 40 she is falling away from the church. Throughout her wedding day she kept wanting to leave and not go through with it, but because she thought that is what Christ wanted of her that that is what she needed to do. She wasn't happy and she wasn't in love. The worst part of is it that she feels sad for her children who are getting ready to be sealed in the temple because she believes the only reason they are doing this is because they were raised to think that this is something you do.
I feel so bad for this woman. She converted when she was 18 and her and her husband only went on 4 dates and were separated for a good amount of time and then they were married when she was 21. She wasn't in love and she was doing this because she believed that you must do this in order to be a more righteous person and because she needed to please her friends and church leaders. She also wrote that the members of this church think that you are not righteous if you are not a member.
On her wedding day her family stayed home because the weren't members and she didn't want them driving her to the temple because she was afraid of what people would think of her (especially because her father smoked and she didn't want anyone thinking she wasn't righteous).
My heart goes out to this woman. I feel like she didn't have a strong enough testimony to get married so quickly. She shouldn't have dated for such short of time. She stereotypes all Mormons and thinks that we all act and think alike when in truth most do not. She had the wrong mentality and I feel so bad that she felt she couldn't express how she felt especially to the one she was supposed to spend all eternity with.
I hope you read this and think about how you are living your life in the Gospel. Is it to please you and your Heavenly Father or is it to please the members and non-members of the world?

D&C 50: 40-41 "Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me;"

Home! (April 23-27)

2009-05-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

So after finals I decided that I needed to get away for a while and so then I decided to go home. I had a long drive but it was so worth it to come home! I got to see my mom, oma and my friends! I spent one of the nights just with my friends and it was so much fun! The other days I spent with my family:)

Enjoy the pictures!!

Festival of Colors (March 28,2009)

2009-04-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

My best friend Haley and I went on a double date to the Festival of Colors. Some of you might remember this same kind of post from last year. The Festival of Colors is a celebration of Spring in another religion. We throw chalk at each other to celebrate the new spring and all of its colors. We got there late this year so we didn't get a lot of color on us but it was still fun. I definitely had a different viewpoint on it this year though. Even though I didn't like the whole aspect of it I still had a fun time with the people I was with!
Here are pics!!

Pranking our friend's car

2009-03-21T10:19:00.001-07:00

So after Haley and I got home and after we watched a movie we decided to have some fun! Around midnight we went out to our parking lot and saran wrapped our friend Randy's car! It was so much fun doing it because we both have never done it before so it was a little of a challenge at first.

Hiking the Y

2009-03-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

So last night Haley and I decided to hike the Y. We have never done it before and since it is like a BYU tradition we thought we should be a part of that. It was a beautiful view once we got to the top, it was getting there that was the challenge. haha Haley and I had a lot of fun!! Enjoy the pictures:)

BYU Gynmastics Meet again Utah State

2009-03-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

So this was a while ago and I apologize for being such a bad blogger but it's better late than never right? lol Well we didn't win the meet but it was fun to go anyways. I love having fun with my friends and relaxing! Right now I am getting ready for another round of tests and hopefully I will do well. Life is pretty crazy right now but that's okay. I wouldn't want it any other way! I hopefully will be going to the temple next Saturday morning with two of my very good guy friends and do baptisms for my ancestors which I am really excited for. This will be my first time doing them so I know I will have an unforgettable experience! I will let you know how it went!!

Well till next time enjoy the pictures!

Photo Tag

2009-02-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

So Amber tagged me to do this photo challenge so here you go!

Go to where you store your photos on your computer.
Go to the SIXTH folder and pick the SIXTH photo.
Post that photo on your blog along with a SHORT story about it.
Tag SIX people and leave a comment on their blog or email them letting them know you chose them.

That is so funny, Amber's was a picture of her dog. This is my dog Ralphy and he is the cutest thing in the whole world! I love him so much and I miss him so much!!

I don't really want to tag anyone cause they probably won't do it:)

Life is a Journey

2009-02-04T00:22:00.000-08:00

So I had to make a hard choice today and thinking about the choice I had to make I went to the Lord for guidance and comfort. I prayed about the decision I had to make and I didn't really get and answer. When I talked to me friend about this she started talking about the different ways we receive personal revelation. She said one way is that we get the feeling of that it is a right decision, another way is that we get the feeling that is isn't the right choice, and the last one is that we simply do not get a feeling at all. The last feeling is what I had after I prayed about my decision last night. Kelli made an interesting point and that was that getting no feeling for the choice that I am supposed to make isn't a bad thing but it just means that Heavenly Father supports my choice and is proud of the choice that I am making. So I went to the Bishop tonight and after he gave me a blessing I was even more sure that the choice I had to make was the right one.

Even after having made my choice I feel good about it. I still feel terrible but not because of the choice I made. I don't feel regret and I feel relieved that I trusted myself with this decision and I trusted that my Heavenly Father would be there for me and he was.

This semester now is all about me, my education, and the Gospel. I really want to strive to have more knowledge in the Gospel and in the scriptures. I also want to strengthen my relationship with my Heavenly Father and get closer to him.

Well I think that is all that is going through my mind at the moment but I know there will be some more stuff soon that I will have to write down. I just need to enjoy life and know that every step I take I will be okay as long as I am walking with my Haavenly Father

My Birthday Party/ Updates

2009-02-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!!

I hope you all are doing well! It is my birthday tomorrow and I am turning 20! Last night I had a party will all of my friends and we all went to dinner at Taconos and then to a movie. Taconos is a delicious restaurant where all they do is serve you meat after meat. They come around with meat on a stick and you just eat all you can. You also get an all you can eat buffet! The movie we saw was New In Town with Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. It was a really good movie.

Other than last night my life has been about the same. I am taking amazing classes this semester and I am loving my life. Some of you might have already heard that I have a boyfriend. He is a returned missionary and his name is Troy. I guess I can give you some info on him. He is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He served his mission in Costa Rica, Spanish Speaking. He has a twin brother but he is not identical. His name is Lundy and he served his mission in the West Indies, French speaking. They are two amazing people. Troy is majoring in biology and he is pre med.
I guess that is everything really new with me. I hope everyone is doing amazing and I miss you all!

Here are some pictures from my party!

Troy and I

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T21:46:00.000-08:00

So I am now home for Christmas break and it is wonderful so far! I am having so much fun and I am relaxing which is always nice!! I had a wonderful Christmas spending time with my family. I am here for one more week and I am going to relax a lot more and have fun with friends! Enjoy the Christmas pictures:)

HeyThere!

2008-12-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

So I just wanted to take a quick break from studying to tell you all that I come home this Friday! I will fly out at 9pm and should be in Oregon at 10pm!! I am super excited:) I have four finals this week and I only have two left! I have New Testament tonight and Organic Chemistry tomorrow, then packing Friday! I hope to see a lot of you over break:)

Love you all,
Ashlee

Salt Lake (11-29-08)

2008-12-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

So I haven't really had any pictures to put up for you guys to see but I have had so much fun this semester and my last day of classes are this thursday and then there are finals and then I come home! I have had a blast living in an apartment and I have made so many friends and unforgettable memories. I promise I will try to be better next semester with updates and pictures. On saturday I went to temple square with some friends and we saw the Joseph Smith movie and then went to see the lights. It was so much fun and I am glad that I got to go.
Here in Utah it has only snowed once and that didn't even stick! I hope it snows before I go home but I know I will have plenty of snow once I come back after break.
Well not much more updates here. I am just living my life one day at a time and I am loving it!!!
Oh and I dyed my hair really dark. You might not be able to tell in the pictures though.
Enjoy!

Weezer/Angels and Airwaves Concert (10-7-08)

2008-10-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

I went to a concert with a friend from Spring term and it was amazing. It was at the E Center in West Valley and the bands were pretty cool. Angels and Airwaves were okay but Weezer was classic. They were pretty cool to see live and we had GREAT seats!
Enjoy:)

General Conference (October 4-5, 2008)

2008-10-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

So General Conference was a couple weeks ago and this is something that is for my church. It is a nation wide broadcast of the leaders of our church. It is held in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. There are four sessions which are Saturday Morning and Afternoon and Sunday morning afternoon. I was able to attend the Saturday morning session with a really good friend of mine who is also my roommate, Whitney. We had really good seats and it was a wonderful day. I have never been before so this was definitely an unforgettable experience!! I hope I will be able to go again. Enjoy these pictures!!

Apartment Pictures

2008-09-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

So this last Sunday our apartment decided that we needed to have some pictures of us in our apartment. So we had someone take pictures of us. Their names are Haley, Whitney and Kristen. Haley is wearing black, Whitney is wearing blue and she is the blonde, and Kristen is wearing the Green. I love these girls so much!! They are so much fun. This semester is going to be amazing!!

Second BYU Football Game BYU vs UCLA (9-13-08)

2008-09-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

So this game was the absolute best game ever!!! We beat UCLA 59-0. We didn't even score in the last quarter. This game was so good. Last Saturday we played Wyoming and we beat them 44-0. We are going to have an awesome season!! Enjoy these pics!!

Haley, Me, and Kelli Jo

Haley, Me, and Whitney

Haley, Me, and Whitney

My First Apartment!!

2008-09-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!! Sorry it has taken me so long, college is busy busy busy. So I moved into my first apartment and so far I am loving it. I have been living in it for almost a month now. My roommates are the best, I will be losing two at the end of this semester though. One is doing a study abroad and the other one is getting married. I am so happy for them. I will still have my best friend Haley with me though. Well here are the pictures from my first apartment, hope you guys enjoy!!

MY NEW CAR!!

2008-07-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

So I got a new car on Saturday (July 19th!!) and here are the pictures...

Oregon Caves and Illinois River (7-5-08)

2008-07-08T18:16:00.000-07:00

So this last weekend I met my best friend Haley and her sister Liz in Cave Junction because she was in Crescent City with her family and it was the halfway point between us. So we decided to go to the Oregon Caves and we had a blast. It was so cold in the caves though, but we had a lot of fun. After that we went to the gift shop, then went to lunch. We then went to a thrift store and bought three of the same charms to remember the awesome day we had. We then had about four hours left before we had to go home so we decided to try to find a river. We drove about a mile and found the Illinois River and had fun there too!! We made two hilarious videos but they are too big to put up here. Hopefully I can find another way to put them on or find a link you can go to. Until then here are the many pictures (seriously). Enjoy!!

Here is the slideshow from the Oregon Caves

Here is the slideshow from the Illinois River

My Poor Car

2008-05-31T12:37:00.001-07:00

So I was driving to Salt Lake City, UT picking up my friend from the airport when I was in the parking lot I was hit by this guys slamming on the gas and backing into me. My car is now totaled but I am driving a rental car right now and I don't have to pay for anything because it was not my fault. I guess everything worked out but I am going to have to get another car this summer which is going to cost money...here are the pics.

Spring Pictures!!! (5-18-08)

2008-05-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

I finally have some pictures from Spring term. These pictures are with past semester friends and new friends. I know it has only been like three weeks but I have gotten close to some girls and I love them so much. It is so neat that you can make friends here at BYU without knowing anything about them. These girls are awesome!! I am loving spring term and it is over very soon. I am taking two classes and working 20hrs a week but it is so much fun!! Enjoy!!

Last Night with the Ward (4-23-08)

2008-05-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

This was a sad night. We all basically said our goodbyes to everyone and to the guys for two years or for some forever. It was a really good night though. We went to a bonfire and had an awesome time!!! I hope you guys enjoy the pictures below and the videos. Please do not try the bombs in the video below, those are done by a professional RA with no sense of reason...haha Well I hope you guys enjoy:)

End of the Ward Activity (4-12-08)

2008-05-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

This was the last ward activity that we had before finals started and before we all left to go home or to stay here. We had a barbecue and played volleyball. It was so much fun. At the end of the night we got to see the ward slideshow which someone in our ward made for us. I got to get a copy of it so that was neat. I enjoyed my first year at BYU more than anything. It was a wonderful experience and I met so many people and I hope that I can talk to them and see them again. Most of the guys in my ward will not be returning to BYU next year because they will be serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I hope to write to most of them and I am so excited for them. I hope to see the girls next year and I am so glad that I made so many meaningful relationships with people this year. I wouldn't change this experience for a life time. If any of your children show interest in this college or a good college experience please allow them to go. This University is so wonderful; you not only get a wonderful education, but the people here are so real and genuine that you just want to talk to everyone you see. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Color Festival (3-29-08)

2008-05-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

A group of people from our ward decided to go to Spanish Fork and go to a Color Festival. It is put on by a church (not mine) at their temple. You celebrate spring by throwing packets of colored dye at people. It was so much fun and please check out the pictures!!

Rascal Flatts Concert (3-7-08)

2008-03-16T21:25:00.001-07:00

So I am having trouble with putting my description with the slideshow so the slideshow is on down.

I went to a Rascal Flatts concert with some friends and got to sit with my friend Audryn. Seeing them live is so cool. I loved it so much!! I had trouble creating a slideshow so if you want to view my pictures just click on the thing below to see them!! If you ever get a chance to go to their concert please go cause you will love it:)

Rascal Flatts Concert (3-7-08)

2008-03-16T21:23:00.001-07:00

My new hair!!

2008-03-16T20:28:00.001-07:00

So I dyed my hair and I love it! Here is a picture!!

Day of Fun in Salt Lake City (2-8-08)

2008-03-16T18:37:00.001-07:00

So it was president's day and my friends and I decided to go to Salt Lake for the day to get away from campus. We went to Temple Square and the we went to the Gateway which was so cool. It is a mall/imax theater/movie theater/everything else you could think of. I bought some clothes and my friends and I had the best day. These aren't all the pictures, but just my favorite ones! It was so much fun. Enjoy the pictures...:)

My Birthday!! (February 2nd)

2008-02-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! So yesterday was my birthday and I turned 19!! I got a lot of presents from my oma and friends!! I have yet to get my mom's card but when it comes I will be so excited!! I did homework for most of the morning and I also went to a study session. At 6pm though I cut off my study time to go have fun with my friends. We went to the movies and saw 27 dresses which is a fabulous movie, I highly recommend it!! After that we went to the BYU v. Colorado State hockey game. Before we got there though we were headed down a street and there was a huge line of stopped cars and they were turning around one by one. We then saw that there was a train stuck on the tracks and that we would never get by. We then turned around and then we turned on another street only to find that the train was stuck there too. We finally found a street that was clear and made it to the hockey game. We didn't win but there were a lot of fights which was fun to watch. At one point three people from our team and four people from Colorado's team were penalized and sent to the bench for a certain amount of time, so there were only 2 BYU people and 1 Colorado person on the ice for about 5 minutes. It was a pretty fun game. The score ended up to be 5-3 Colorado. Here are some pictures from the night and my presents...hope you enjoy!

This is a video to show you some hockey it isn't that long but you get the picture ...

Sunday Pictures (January 13, 2008)

2008-01-22T09:49:00.000-08:00

So I bought two dresses over Christmas break and I have never worn a dress to church since I was about 8 years old. So I thought I would take some pictures with some of my hall buddies. Enjoy!!

I am Legend Movie (December 20, 2007)

2008-01-22T09:18:00.000-08:00

So it was the night before I was supposed to leave to go home for Christmas break and I was all done with my finals. It was about 6pm and I hadn't packed yet and I really just wanted to get out of the dorms. So my friends and I decided to go see I Am Legend at 10pm that night. So while it was snowing we got into my car and drove to the movies. The movie was really good but scary at some parts. And when you go to the movies at night here you have to wear your pjs..Enjoy the pics!!

Salt Lake City Trip with my Ward (December 15, 2007)

2008-01-21T16:40:00.000-08:00

So our ward for church went to Salt Lake City, Utah to see a movie and to see the lights at temple square. We saw a spiritual movie about our Prophet Joseph Smith and then we looked at the lights. It was a really fun trip and you will see from all of the picture! Enjoy!!

WInter Snow (December 2007)

2008-01-21T16:36:00.000-08:00

So as you all probably know it snows very often in Utah. This winter it actually snowed on December 1st which was kind of neat, the sad part is that it hasn't stopped since then. These pictures I took a while ago but it basically looks the same now as it did in December. The only part of the snow I don't like is hiking in it to school and to church.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert (December 13, 2007)

2008-01-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

So I got these tickets to go see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert and I invited my friend Haley to come with me. This performance was awesome! It was there Christmas concert so all they sang was christmas songs. It was a really great night. The King Singers were there as a special guest. This group of four men are from Britain and they sing like no other group around. If you ever get a chance to go to a MOTAB concert I strongly suggest it! They have different special guests each year. And it is also shown on PBS around christmas!

Hello Everyone

2008-01-21T16:05:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone is doing well. I apologize for not updating my blog. I have put that on my to-do-list now so whenever something goes on I will put it on here. I will start tomorrow by putting some stuff that happened to me before break up till now. So just wait and I will put stuff up. It should all be here by tomorrow. Thanks for those who are still stickin around!!

First BYU Date (October 27, 2007)

2007-10-29T11:29:00.002-07:00

I asked a guy to our preference dance and my friend Whitney asked his roommate to preference also. We were going to go to Heber and ride the Heber Creepper train for the BYU Dance but when I went to buy the tickets they were all sold out. So then we decided to just have a fun date. The four of us started our date at 1:00pm. We went to a Hot Springs and had sooo much fun there. We decided to cover ourselves in sulfur mud and take some pictures. You will see those on the slideshow. We then went and bought dinner and some food to go with it. We then went to Whitney's grandparents cabin and ate dinner and watched a movie. We made an arabian fort and we watched Alladin. We had the songs on paper and we sang along to every single one. We then made brownies and my date (Brian) drew our initials on the brownies which was awesome. We then just hung out and then we went home. We got to the dorms around 1:30am, so it was about a thirteen hour date which is long. It was fun and it was also one of the best dates I have ever been on. Here is the slideshow from our awesome day!

Halloween Dance 2007 (October 26, 2007)

2007-10-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

This was our ward dance and it was awesome. I was a hippie and my roommate Kelli Jo was a girl from the 80's. It was the best dance I have ever been to. Here are the pictures from it. Enjoy!!

BYU vs. Eastern Washington (October 20, 2007)

2007-10-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

This game was soo much fun. I sat with my friends from my hall and we were in the second row right behind the touchdown posts. It was cold but then it started to hail and then it snowed like crazy. We won 42-7 which was sweet. A player got injured but he is fine now. I didn't take much pictures because it was wet outside but I did get a picture of me and cosmo which was nice. He came up into the stands and got pictures with all of my friends and I. Football games are really fun!!

Wednesday October 10

2007-10-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well today I just went to classes and went to some meetings, but I thought that I would show all of you that it is officially Fall here!!! It won't be for long so I thought I would take pictures now before there are no more leaves. Enjoy.

Saturday October 6 and Sunday October 7

2007-10-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend wasn't very exciting. I had just finished three tests that week so I wanted to relax a little bit.
~Aren't tests just the best thing in the world~
So this weekend I did some homework that was due the next week so I would be ahead. I also watched General Conference.
*This is the Conference Center, it is where Gerneral Conference is held.*
General Conference is where leaders of our church and our prophet come to Salt Lake City, Utah and speak to our church about topics they think need discussing. This conference can be heard all around the world by satellite and radio. I listened to Saturday’s on the radio and Sunday’s on tv. It was a very uplifting experience because they only do this every six months, so when it comes it is fabulous. Other than watching conference and doing homework I didn't do much else. Did watch Footloose on Saturday night on my laptop with Haley. That is a sweet movie!!

Well that was pretty much it for my weekend. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

Friday October 5

2007-10-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

After school was out I decided to go shopping with my friend Haley. We went to University mall and I bought a bunch of stuff (well in my book).
I bought two pairs of shorts for $.75, each which is a bargain. I also bought a long sleeve shirt for $6 and a hat for $5. I then bought a pair of warm boots for the winter that were normally $50 and I got them for $22. I think that shopping day was a good one for me. After we went to a couple more stores, Haley and I went to dinner at Fuddruckers. I have always heard of this place but I have never been. It is pretty pricey for a burger place but it was delicious. They make the burger or hot dog for you and then they have a cold bar so you can put your own toppings on your burger and they are all fresh toppings. If anyone has never gone before you need to. Trust me it is one of the best burgers I have ever had. After we came back from shopping it was raining again. Haley ditched me (not in a bad way) to go to the volleyball game and I went downstairs and played some games with some people from our hall. It was 8pm and my friends and I were bored. We were going to play pool but you have to check out the supplies from the RA desk and she wasn't there, so we decided to go see a movie. We went at like 9:30 and saw Ratatouille. It was a very good movie. When we came back from that we had a dance party outside of my car while my stereo was on and then we went inside and I went to bed. It was a very exciting weekend.

Sunday September 30

2007-10-09T18:24:00.000-07:00

Hello again. Nothing really exciting happened on Sunday except that I went to church and then after that we went around and took pictures with Flat Fred. Let me explain Flat Fred to you. He is a one-dimensional boy that was sent to me by someone from home for an assignment. She is supposed to send Flat Fred to someone in another state and the people in the other state are supposed to go around where they live and take pictures with Flat Fred at places they go to a lot and like to go to. So here are some pictures of our adventures that day. Hope you enjoy! P.S. Flat Fred's head was not very stable so it kept flopping down so that is why in one of the pictures his head looks decapitated:)

Saturday September 29

2007-10-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Sorry that I haven't updated my blog lately. I have been very busy as you might know. Well this blog update is from about two Saturdays ago but I thought I would fill everyone in. Well on Saturday I didn't do a lot of homework because I left all of that for the Friday before. In the morning I felt like sleeping in and then I hung out with some friends. We all watched our General Relief Society Broadcast downstairs in our basement which was fun. Before the broadcast it started to snow! It didn't stick or anything but a bunch of my friends and I went outside in our shorts and t-shirts and played in the snow. Since it was the first snow fall of the school year a bunch of us decided to go rent a christmas movie. They all decided on watching Elf. I have never seen that movie but it turned out pretty good. After we rented the movie some of my friends went into a store and bought a bunch of goodies for smores. We decided to have some smores before we watched Elf. Since we can't have any fire on campus we decided to put marshmallows on some tin foil and put it on one of our bell tower lights. It actually works, well it doesn't burn the marshmallows but it does melt them. I have got to say that those were one of the best smores that I have ever had. After that excitement we watch Elf. After the movie my friend Haley and I went to a soccer game which we dominated like always.
We didn't stay the whole time because it was pouring rain so we decided to go to volleyball game which we lost but that's okay. The games were fun and I love going to them. Well that was pretty much the whole day!

BYU vs. Air Force (September 22)

2007-09-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well I told you that I would tell you how the football game went and include pictures. The game was fun but I left about 5 minutes into the fourth quarter because it was pouring rain and was very cold. The final score was BYU 31-6. I am happy we finally won a game. After the game I went shopping with two of my friends Haley and Emily. After we came home Haley and I went to the soccer game while it was pouring down rain and I got soaked. To dry off Haley and I then went to the volleyball game and that was fun. I also went to the Spectacular on Friday night and it was amazing. There was a group there that were from broadway and they performed from Tarzan and Mary Poppins. They were really good. We also had proffesional dancers there that did some performances, but my favorite one was they did a performance on the Pirates of the Carribbean which was awesome. The orchestra also played some beautiful songs and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang a bunch of lovely songs including Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz. The whole weekend was fun except on Sunday (today) when I got sick with the flu or some kind of virus and had to stay home from church to sleep it off. I feel better now but I am sad that I missed church. I miss all of you and really want to hear from you. Hope to talk to you all soon.
Ashlee

This Week

2007-09-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

Well I took my first my Chemistry test and I think I did pretty well. The testing center here is so intimidating. When you go into the door there are like 500 desks and you pick one and sit down and take you test. When you have a scantron, you hand your test to the person working and when you leave the testing center (and go down the creepy stairs) you will find you score on a screen. So it is a good thing but it isn't always. My test was a written one so I won't know until next week. I am going to a BYU Spectacular tonight at 7:30, which should be fun. There is singing and dancing, and the Tabernacle Choir is going to be there, so it should be fun. I am also going to the BYU football game tomorrow and we play the Air Force. I will take pictures and post them this weekend. Well I have an appointment soon with my professor so I will talk to you tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing good!!

Ashlee

BYU Update (Saturday September 15)

2007-09-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hello Again. I know that it has been awhile since I have written but I have been quite busy. I am enjoying my time here at BYU. The classes are challenging but fun. I am meeting lots of new people and making lots of new friends. I had my first test this last week and I got a b+ on it which is pretty good. Yesterday I went to Salt Lake City (Utah) and visited my friend Susannah and her family while she was at Temple Square for a wedding. I have a slide show of my visit there, so I hope you will all enjoy that. I have gone to one dance which was fun and I have yet to go to a football game, but I am going this Saturday when we play the Air Force. I think that will be fun. I will take pictures and I will keep you guys updated. Other than that I am still having fun here and just doing homework and hanging out with friends. I have gone on one date which was very fun. On one Friday night a group of us piled into my car and my friend Paige's car and went and saw Hairspray (the movie) at around 11pm. That was pretty amazing. Well I am pretty much done with my update, but I will hopefully be telling you about my week this weekend and about our exciting game!

Till next time,
Ashlee

BYU so far

2007-09-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! So I am here at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah) and my classes will start on Tuesday the 4th. So far my days here have been a blast. I have met so many people and my roomate is the best! I have basically been doing Freshmen Orientation stuff all week but today was my first day of church with my fellow roomate and my floor. Yesterday night we had a Freshmen get together. We had a dance with a bunch of other stuff going on. I played volleyball for the most part, but I got some dancing in though:) I have also learned how to play ultimate frisbee which is the best if I may add. So that has been my week in a nutshell. I will put up some pics of my dorm room and my roomate. I will keep all of you updated on what is going on with me. Thanks!!

My Desk (before it was set up)

My Bed

My Roomate Kelli Jo