We See Babylon Everywhere.

     "We do not need to adopt the standards, the mores, and the morals of Babylon. We can create Zion in the midst of Babylon."

-Elder David R. Stone

     This semester I changed my minor to Sociology. I am loving it and so glad that I decided to make that change. However I am learning so much and a lot of what I am learning is upsetting. It is scary to me how much society influences us. Don't get me wrong society is not all bad, but there are so many things out there that permeates our environment with evil. After this semester I cannot walk outside without seeing the negative affect society has on the people around me.

     As the semester has come to an end our teacher had our class read a General Conference talk titled Zion in the Midst of Babylon given by Elder David R. Stone in April of 2006. I thought it was amazing! In his talk he goes on about how we can be lights in the darkness that encompasses our society and culture today. We truly do see Babylon all around us, we must do all that we can in order to remain in our own personal Zion.

    I recommend that you all read or listen to his talk. It had a great impact on me and we can all have a simple reminder to better ourselves.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/zion-in-the-midst-of-babylon?lang=eng#watch=video

Power Outage.

     If you ever want to know what's going on with the weather, forget the weather channel just check any social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc). I woke up this morning to get ready for work and the power was out. I was the only one awake so I just went about my routine and started to get ready. It was actually really difficult trying to put on makeup while holding my phone up as a flashlight and then not being able to straighten my hair... #firstworldproblems.  I just kept getting ready and then one of my roommates came out and asked if I had checked Facebook yet, she told me that everyone was posting that because of how cold it was there was a massive blackout. It was affecting most of Southeastern Idaho. It was crazy, I've been in super cold weather before but never lost power.  I looked at my phone and realized that it was -9 degrees but with windchill it felt like -15. Oh and I forgot to mention, Anna and I slept with our window open last night, so our entire apartment was an icebox (sorry about that one guys!).  Our apartment thermostat was dropping by the minute. I was really reconsidering this whole going to school in Idaho thing.

      Then the text's started flooding in. There was no power in the whole town which meant campus was shut down. Classes were cancelled for the morning and until further notice. We had no heater, no hot water, and no way to warm up food or hot chocolate. Anna has a power outlet in her car so we thought it would be a genius idea to take our toaster out and try and make warm toast. Unfortunately it took too much power and burnt out the outlet. We were then notified that classes would be cancelled until 12:45. This meant no work for me and I didn't have class until 3:15. We were getting desperate for something warm, we went all through town looking for something that was open. I seriously felt like I was in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, no one was out, nothing was open, and it was so dark. Maybe I have been watching too much Walking Dead, but town was creepy.

     The hours kept passing and still no power. We decided we needed some warmth, we drove out to Rigby and found one and only one open gas station. We went inside and got some hot chocolate. Im not a huge hot chocolate fan but let me tell you that was the best hot chocolate I've ever had.

     The power had been out for three hours already and we started to get concerned about our food, so we just put it outside, we all know it was cold enough!

     There was really no hope for warmth, so I just bundled up, Im talking two pairs of fluffy socks, a fleece and a sweatshirt, gloves, a headband, and then got in bed with three blankets. I just wanted to be warm and take a nap. Later I was able to take refuge in some friends apartment who was able to get power back early. Seriously I have never been so grateful for a heater! Our apartment finally got power back around 1:30 after 8 hours of no power. After today I seriously am question my sanity and why I am going to live here in the winter. I can guarantee there will be more posts like this in the upcoming months.

So I May Be A 12 Year Old At Heart.

     I may or may not have been waiting for this day for a few months now. Lets be real Anna and I have been counting down the days. 

     One Direction debuted their third album Midnight Memories today. Anna and I were stoked! We got up early and went right to the store. They hadn't even unloaded the boxes yet, we had the store attendant go in the back to get the CD's. Yes we may have been a little too excited, but we didn't even care. We popped the CD into the car and immediately began taking in the glorious sounds. It was beautiful. And yes I know I sound like an overly excited 12 year old girl, but you know what thats how I felt.

     The album does not disappoint. It is a much more grown up sound for the boys and I love it. It has been playing nonstop since I bought it and I basically know all the songs by heart now;)

Just A Normal Friday Night.

     Last Thursday night Brad calls me at 11:30 at night wanting to come over and tell Anna and I something, and if you know me and Anna our bedtime is 10:00pm. He was persistent so I climbed out of bed, and well Anna, she fell out of bed.  So Brad is all excited and tells us he got free tickets to the BYU vs. Boise State football game in Provo for Friday night. So in that moment the three of us decided we were driving down to Provo the next day. The problem was that I had work until 2 on Friday and the game started at 6 so we knew we were going to be cutting it close. The other problem was that Brad had a football game he had to be back for on Saturday early afternoon and Anna had work at 5. So our decision was either drive back that night after the game or get up early and drive back Saturday morning. Let me remind you its now like midnight, so we weren't thinking straight and decided we would just drive back after the game. We would be driving through the night but Brad promised he would drive back, so that Anna and I could sleep for a bit. So the decision was made, we were going to Provo the next day. This was not going to be just our normal Friday night!

     They picked me up from work and we were off. We knew we were going to hit traffic so we tried to go as fast as we could while still being somewhat legal. We sailed up until we hit Salt Lake and then we were pretty much in a dead stop. At this point we knew we were going to be late to the game but we weren't too worried about it. 

     We made it to the game and in the stadium right as the second quarter was ending. So we actually made pretty good time, oh and we found free parking that was close to the stadium so that was a score! Our seats were in the north end zone right underneath the jumbo-tron. For free tickets our seats were actually pretty good.

 

     We ended up not even really being in our actual spots for most of the game, we were walking around the stadium finding friends. I was able to see Justin and his dad which as a fun surprise!

It was my first BYU football game and it was so fun to be in the stadium. Its time like these that I wish I went to Provo. It was so fun being in the stadium. It was a pretty well matched game too. BYU ended up winning with a final score of 37-20.  

     After the game we were headed over to Justin's for a bit just to wait out traffic before we headed back, but on the way the most traumatic thing happened. We were stopped at a stoplight and all of the sudden we hear someone yell, "WHOA" and then we hear a thud and then we see someone literally fall out of the sky right in front of the car. A guy on a bike was riding across the crosswalk and the car turning didn't see him and literally smacked into him. It was so scary and we witnessed the whole thing. None of us knew what to do. I made Brad get out of the car to see if he was okay but even he didn't know what to do. Then a few other guys got out their cars to help him. Someone was calling the police and there were a lot of people helping the guy that got hit. We were all in so much shock that we just drove off after we knew he was being helped. We slowly made our way to Justin's and once we parked I still couldn't move, I was shaking and felt like I was going to throw up. I have never seen something like that up close before. It was so surreal and I was definitely in shock. I was able to get out of the car and we went up to Justin's and just sat there still just in shock and what had just happened. I hope I never have to witness something like that ever again!

    After hanging out for a while we figured we should probably hit the road. We stopped at In-N-Out for dinner. Anna started out driving so that Brad could sleep a little bit before he started driving. It was like 1am when we officially started leaving. Anna and I had been up since 6am and we were hysterical! We literally were laughing at anything and everything, but at least we were keeping ourselves awake. We made it to Manan, ID and Anna started getting tired so we were going to pull over so Brad could take over. Like I mentioned earlier he was insistent that he drive during the night. So I turn around and try to wake him up...nothing. He was passed out, there was no waking him up. So Anna kept driving. I offered to drive but since Im pretty much blind now, and haven't been to the eye doctor, we figured that wasn't the smartest thing to do. Anna and I just blasted some classic boy bands and sung along to keep ourselves up. I accidentally fell asleep for like 20 minutes but Anna pulled through and kept herself awake. We got to Idaho Falls and Brad decided to finally wake up. He actually felt bad that he had slept the whole way. We made it back to Rexburg at 3:45 and all I wanted to do was get in bed! We were all so exhausted. Despite it all it was one of the funnest trips yet. If you ever want to experience hysterically laughing for no reason come hang out with Anna, Brad and I at like 3 in the morning. We really did have so much fun, and driving to Provo and back all in the same night just added to the adventure. We were gone for a total of 13 hours and we were in the car for 9 of them. Never again will we make that short of a turn around again, but it sure was fun!

Im mad this turned out so dark...But we LOVE Cosmo!

Party Planners.

   Celebrating your birthday in college can sometimes be hard. You are away from your family and you are always super busy with classes. You never want to make a big deal out of your own day so more often than not your birthday comes and goes with little recognition.

     It was our roommate Marlie's birthday a little bit ago, so Anna and I decided to go all out. She was turning 20 so its kind of a big deal. Luckily her birthday was on a Saturday so that made things easier. Friday Marlie told us she was going to be going hiking all day Saturday, so it was the perfect opportunity for Anna and I to plan a little surprise party and decorate. We spent Friday night scouring Pinterest for fun ideas. And boy did we find some! We couldn't just pick one thing so we went a little overboard, but it was so fun!

The first picture: We took streamers and taped them at the top of the wall and then just twisted them until they curled and taped them at the baseboard.
Top Right: We had white cupcake holders and we dip dyed them in food coloring and water. We had a few technical difficulties with this one. The cupcake holders are waxy so they didn't hold the color as well, so we dyed them and put them in the oven in hopes that it would soak up the color. Well it just resulted in a lot of smoke and a potential fire hazard. We got enough to work to stick them up to make the 20, but I recommend using coffee filters, they will soak up the color much better!
Bottom Right: Obviously we had a blue and yellow theme. We set up our cake and cupcakes, yellow plates and napkins with a fun blue and white zebra table cloth.

Top Left: The finished kitchen portion!!

Top Right: Chocolate cupcakes and a yummy chocolate cake. We were actually able to frost the cake to make it look like it had an ombre effect. We were pretty proud of ourselves.

Bottom: To add more we strung balloons across the ceiling in our living room. We just strung the thread through each balloon in the knot and then taped the thread to the ceiling.

Top Left: The ombre cake. I made the Happy Birthday banner. It was super easy. I just cut out each little flap, colored them yellow and then just used Elmer's glue and blue craft glitter for each letter. Then I just taped each flap to a thread and attached it to the skewers.

Bottom Left: All six roommates with the birthday girl in the middle.

Top Right: Some of the party goers. Marlie's cousins were able to come and celebrate with us.

Bottom Right: The birthday girl waiting to indulge in some chocolate cake.

     It was a successful night! Marlie was surprised and Anna and I had such a fun time planning and decorating the apartment. It was fun for us to make her big birthday a little more special. No one likes to not celebrate their birthday and being away from home it can be hard, but not when your roommates with Anna and I!! We are always ready and willing to plan a party!

Kris Allen.

     Kris Allen was a contestant on American Idol back in 2009. I can remember watching in anticipation every week hoping that he would continue on. He made it to the finale and was up against Adam Lambert. Both extremely talented singers. And as I had hoped Kris Allen was declared the winner of the eighth season of American Idol. 

     Unfortunately like most American Idol winners, they are extremely successful for the first year but then they sort of fade away. This is what I felt like happened to Kris Allen. He released an album in 2009 and then we didn't really hear anything from him until 2012 when he released his sophomore album Thank You Miss Camellia. I'm going to admit right now that I didn't even know he was still making music, but let me tell you I am now sure glad he is!

     Friday night Kris Allen performed here at BYU-I. Don't ask why he came here, but we were all happy to have him. Anyway Anna and I got tickets for his show because we didn't have any other plans and figured it would be fun. We went with two of our roommates as well. Let me just say we did not expect the show that we got. I was so surprised by the performance. Kris Allen is AMAZING! Like I said before I loved him on American Idol but that was about the extent of it. However seeing and hearing him live was a whole new experience. He was so engaging to the crowd and even went into the crowd to perform his famous song Live Like We're Dying. And boy that man's got pipes!! He is so talented and all of his songs are so good. We all got the chance to meet him after the show and he was so genuinely nice. I can now say that I am a big fan of Kris Allen and I immediately went and bought all his music and it has been on repeat ever since.

The First Few Weeks.

     I am approaching the third week of school and I think I am finally getting into the swing of things. I only have two on campus classes and three online so my schedule is a little weird. Its different not being on campus a lot. I have to force myself to actually do my online homework but I think I've got it down now.

     The best news is I got a job!! Having such an open schedule during the day gave me lots of opportunities to find a job and I did. I am nannying for Anna's cousin. I watch a one year boy everyday from about 8am to 2pm. It is perfect and I love it. The boy is so good and easy. I am able to get homework done when he naps, which is great.

     This semester is going to be the busiest one yet with me working 25 hours a week on top of taking 15 credits, but its going to be a good one. I have already been having so much fun!

So here's to a good start to the semester!!

Long Days.

     So Anna and I have always wanted to get involved with a program known as Get Connected here at school, but we never got around to, that is until last semester. At the end of the Spring semester some people came knocking on our door begging for volunteers for Get Connected, and when I say begging they were literally begging, they might as well have been on their knees pleading for us to come interview. They were pretty desperate for volunteers because Get Connected is a huge event each semester. Basically Get Connected is the new student orientation here at BYU-Idaho. I really enjoyed my experience at Get Connected my first semester (that's where I met Anna), so I figured why not interview and see if I make it. And I think you can conclude that yes Anna and I both got elected to become I-Reps. Basically we are set as representatives walking around campus while all of the new freshman are moving in. We didn't really know much else.

     We had to be at school a few days early in order to train for the events. Let me just say I was not prepared for how long each day of training was going to be. It was 9.5 hours of straight training both Wednesday and Thursday. Honestly we got back from it and went straight to bed. We just exhausted in every way possible.

     Well here comes the real kicker... Today we had to be up on campus at 6:30am to get our assignments. I was in charge of checking in new students at an off campus apartment complex where I sat outside in a lovely polo and khakis for 7 hours. Let me tell you I am now rocking a great farmers tan and a sunburnt face. However it was fun to see the excited freshman right as they got here. It reminded me of how excited I was two years ago to start college and be on my own. It did make me feel really old though. It seems so crazy that it has already been two years since I started school.

     And after seven hours of being outside the day was far from over. I had to walk around campus guiding the new students all over. Basically I just felt like a tour guide telling where people to go and where they can find things. In a weird way it was fun. I really liked being looked to for help. So by now its like 8:00pm and I finally have a break (hence the creation of this post). But not for long I am just headed out the door to host the game night. My day won't end until around midnight.

And the worst  best part is I get to do it all over again tomorrow morning starting at 6:30 am again!

I-Rep Get Up.

That One Time I Met Ed Sheeran.

     So last week we went into Chicago and of course it was crowded, but when is the city not crowded on a summer day? However this Saturday was particularly crowded, turns out Taylor Swift was playing at Soldier Field as a stop on her 2013 RED Tour. We saw plenty of girls running around doused in red glitter. I knew that Ed Sheeran was opening for T-Swift and was very jealous of everyone going. I also looked up if there were any tickets left, there were, but at $100 a pop. There was no way that was happening. So I gave up and we went on our way luckily avoiding most of the concert crowd. We had gotten lunch and walked through some stores when we all started to head back to where the car was parked. We weren't sure if we wanted to just go home or if we wanted to go anywhere else so we just pulled over to the side of the sidewalk to discuss what the next plan was.

     As we are standing there talking I just happen to turn my head and I see the one and only Ed Sheeran! He was walking right towards us, no entourage or anything, just him and a friend strolling the streets of Chicago. On the inside I am freaking out because holy crap freaking Ed Sheeran is like ten feet away from me. No one else Im with sees him, let alone knows who he is so Im was in this by myself. He got closer so I just stepped out said hi and asked him for a picture. He was nice enough to stop and take a picture, so I whip out my phone and throw it at my mom. Everyone I was with was so into their conversation to even notice until I was actually with him. Like I said no one really knew who he was and the looks of utter confusion on everyones face proved that they were all wondering who this guy was. So I got my picture and talked with him for a second, it was great! The british accent wasn't so bad either ;) I was in shock that this famous singer/songwriter was just walking around without a care. It just goes to show that fame can affect people in so many ways and it is apparent that he has not let his fame change who he is and how he acts. I was still very jealous of everyone that got to see him perform...but you know what meeting him was pretty freaking awesome too!

     For all of you who haven't heard of Ed Sheeran watch this video and listen to his music. This song is called The A Team and it is off his debut album +. 

I'm No Longer Living Out Of A Suitcase.

     After three weeks of traveling I am finally back home! It has been so fun going all over visiting family and friends. Our three week vacation started out in Utah. I drove down from Idaho after school ended and met the family. We were able to spend time with Sarah, Matt, and Benson. They moved into their own house so Mom, Sarah, and I had fun decorating the place. It looks so cute! Of course playing with Benson was so fun. He is starting to get so much bigger. He is really developing his personality. I loved seeing my Grandma and Grandpa one more time before they moved back to Arizona. Jill and Nana came up too! I hadn't seen either of them in a long time, so it was great to spend time with them too. The whole family came in town for a very special occasion. Benson was blessed. It was truly a great day.

     The next part of our vacation landed us back home in Chicago. Parker, Mom, and I drove from Connecticut to Illinois. We did it in two days so it really wasn't that terrible. Dad, of course, got the great pleasure of flying. 

     Our purpose of going to Chicago was not just to see our friends but my best friend since the day we moved there, Justin just got home from serving his two year mission in McAllen Texas, and Parkers best friend Scott was leaving for his mission to Fresno California. The funny thing is these two are brothers so it was cool to welcome one home and send another off. We were able to do a lot and also just hung out like old times. We played cards, went to all our favorite restaurants, played just dance, Justin and I went to a White Sox game, and of course we went into the city. I was also able to see one of my old roommates Jenny who is serving her mission in Chicago! It was such a great trip. 

       

    

     All of the travel has fun and it was great seeing family and old friends, but let me tell you it sure is nice not living out of a suitcase anymore! I am home for about three weeks and then am headed back to school. I am just going to relax and enjoy the weeks I have at home with my family.

End Of The Semester and a Photo Dump.

      Well I cannot believe yet another semester has ended. It never ceases to amaze me how fast time flies! I will be starting my junior year next semester. That is just weird to me. Well I think I have said this multiple times on here but this semester was honestly the greatest semesters. There were a few ups and downs but overall it was amazing!
     It was a weird semester because so much had changed over the winter. Most all of my friends had left to serve their missions and Anna was leaving for Mexico for the first half of the semester. I was going to be all on my own. I actually really enjoyed it. It was a great way for me to be my own person and really break out of my comfort zone. I was able to make so many new friends and do so many fun things. The Spring semester is definitely harder to stay focused on school because all you want to do is be outside but somehow I did it! I finished off the semester well so thats always a plus. Im excited to get back to school again this fall and see what it has in store for me!
     These are just a few pictures of what I have been up to the last few weeks of school. Of course it was stressful studying for finals and packing and moving my stuff to my new apartment but I still made time to relax and have fun.

The view outside my apartment. Most nights in Idaho end up looking like this!

Day Trip to Yellowstone National Park

Paddle Boarding at Rigby Lake

 

Sunset Hike Up "R" Mountain

Jess's Wedding Reception

     It was truly a great way to end the semester! Now my seven week break consists of travel. I will be in Utah with the family for my nephews blessing and then Im heading to Chicago to welcome Justin home and to send Scott off. It will be so fun to see them all again. Then back to Connecticut for a short break home. And then right back to good ol' Rexburg. It is going to be a great summer!

Color In Motion 5k.

     Over the winter break I noticed that there was going to be a color run in Rexburg. I was so excited because it is rare that something big actually makes it to our little college town. So I called up my roommates and we decided to sign up for our very first 5k.

     So race day comes along and lets be honest none of us actually trained for it. So we decided we would just kind of run/walk the whole thing. It was only a 5k so only about 3.1 miles. We started off the race so clean but once it started every few kilometers we were blasted with colored chalk. It was a blast! We ended up finishing in about 35 minutes. We were pretty proud due to our complete lack of preparation.

Before the race.                                           

After!

4th of July.

     The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. The weather is always amazing, you are outside, fireworks, and of course celebrating the great United States of America! I cannot remember a year when we didn't celebrate. Unfortunately Rexburg is too small of a town to actually have fireworks, so you have to go elsewhere. Last year a bunch of us went to Idaho Falls to watch the fireworks over the river but this year Anna and I decided to do something different. 

Stadium of Fire! The Stadium of Fire is in Provo, Utah and is a huge concert and fireworks show at Lavelle Edwards Stadium. This year the performers were Circ De Sole, Carly Rae Jepsen, and KELLY CLARKSON!

   Anna and I drove to Utah Thursday morning and stopped to see Sarah, Matt, and Benson. It was so fun to see them! Benson has changed so much. I can't believe he is already a month old. Then we ventured into Provo and basically waited around all day until the stadium opened. Finally we were allowed in, we were so excited! It was so fun to see all the performances but the highlight was definitely Kelly Clarkson. Anna and I have both been huge fans ever since her American Idol debut 11years ago! It was a trip hearing her perform a few of her old songs. She is seriously a power house! Her performance was incredible! I am so glad that we got to experience the Stadium of Fire, it is definitely something I would love to do again. It was a great day to remember how lucky we are to live in such a blessed land.

Carly Rae Jepsen

Kelly Clarkson

Bridge Jumping.

    I have hear about people bridge jumping since my first semester here in Idaho, but I had never had the opportunity to go. Also I have been to scared to go. Im not the biggest fan of heights. Well the past few days have been in the high 90's and all we have wanted to do was be in the water. So Monday our friends invited us to go bridge jumping and we took advantage of the opportunity to go with some more experienced jumpers (a.k.a locals). I was still super nervous because from the bridge it was a good 15 foot drop to the water. Everyone immediately started jumping with no problems so I figured I would be okay. I just got up and jumped I couldn't just stand there or else I would continue to psych myself out. It was such an adrenaline rush, I loved it!!!

    The jumps don't go without a few battle wounds. I somehow bruised the palm of my hand on impact, one of our friends over extended their flip and back flopped pretty hard and then the third time I jumped the pressure from the water was so hard that I ended up hurting my ear to the point where I thought I ruptured my ear drum. It was pretty bad later that night but luckily Nurse Anna diagnosed it as swimmers ear and a few over the counter ear drops and orange juice later I was totally fine. 

     So the next day we decided to go jumping again expect this time to a different bridge. The bridge was pretty much the same height as the one the day before. I didn't know if I was going to jump just because I didn't want to hurt my ear again, but I couldn't resist! So I took a few jumps, the water was like pool water and felt divine on such a hot day! I didn't get a video of me jumping but this is Matt and Kelly jumping on day 2. This gives you and idea of what the bridge and jump was like.

Then we ventured to Fun Farm, another bridge, which was a lot higher than all the ones we had been to. It was so scary. None of us wanted to jump but our friend Dane decided to show off his manhood and jump. Lets just say we were all thoroughly impressed! I got the jump on video as proof he actually did it! 

     We can all now say we have experienced the fun of Idaho Bridge Jumping. 

Photo Dump.

     It has been crazy busy these past few weeks but it has been full of fun. So here are a bunch of pictures that basically sum up what I have been up to.

Going to the lake

Throwing parties

Celebrating birthdays

Enjoying the heat

and I guess going to class fits in there somewhere too.

              

  

Seriously this semester would not be the same without these people! I am so grateful for the friendships I have made.