20.

     Yes it is true..and even hard for me to believe, but today I turned 20. I am no longer a teenager! Everyone is always asking me if I like having my birthday the day after Christmas and my answer is always yes. People are normally pretty shocked, but I like it because no matter what I always have family around to celebrate with me. My family has been really good about separating my birthday and Christmas every year. I have been back from school for a little over a week now and I am loving it. It has been so good being back home, especially for the holidays.
    My family was gracious enough to wait until 9am to wake me up with our traditional birthday breakfast in bed. They sat around and watched me eat and then open my gifts. I got some fun things, clothes, movies, books, shoes, and a trip to Chicago. It was great! Then we all got ready and went to the movies to see Les Miserable. It was amazing! I have seen the musical two times and I have loved it every time and the movie was no different. I recommend that everyone go out and see it, especially in theaters, the big screen and surround sound only adds to it. Then we just came home and relaxed the rest of the day. It was a really good day!

     To add to the festivities Mom, Dad, and I are going into New York city on Friday. I love living close to the city, we can just take a day trip and explore.

Finals

     The stress of finals week is upon us. Today marks the last full week of classes for the semester. This past week has been super stressful. All of my professors assigned projects due the exact same day. So I have spent all week getting them done. One day I spent three hours in the library, I don't think I have been in the library for that long in all three semesters I have been here. It was crazy. But Im glad everything is done. All I have left is two minor tests and three days of classes, other than that NO FINALS!!
     The main thing I have to worry about getting everything into storage, packing to go home, and cleaning. Its crazy that it is already time to pack up and leave, the semester has flown by. Its going to be hard saying goodbye to my friends but I am so ready to be home with the family!

Thankful.

      This Thanksgiving Break was great! I was able to see my grandparents and Matt and Sarah in Salt Lake and then went to Saint George with Kazia. We spent Thanksgiving with all of Kazia's extended family. It was really fun being with her family but it made me really miss being home with my own family. Luckily I only have two in a half weeks until the end of the semester and get to go home.
      Like everyone else this Thanksgiving I reflected on all the things that I am thankful for. Just like everyone else I am thankful for my family, friends, health, the gospel, etc. The one thing that has been very prominent in my life these past few months are missionaries. Now that I am getting older I have lots of friends my age going out and serving missions, and ever since the age change I have even more friends preparing to leave. I am so thankful that I have friends who are such great examples to me and are ready and willing to serve missions. This past weekend two of my best friends received their mission calls. Sam was called to the Russia Moscow mission. She will be speaking Russian. She will enter the Provo Missionary Training Center on March 13, 2013.

     Kazia had to wait a few days to open her call because we were in Saint George. Once we got back to Rexburg there was no wasting time. She has been called to the Everett Washington mission speaking English. She enters the Provo MTC on January 16, 2013. 

     These girls are seriously the greatest examples to me and I could not be more grateful for them! They are going to be the most amazing missionaries, the people of Russia and Washington are so lucky to have them. I am going to miss them so much but I know that they are out serving our Lord and bringing the gospel to people who really need to hear it.

Concert Junkie.

      Well my mom refers to me as a concert junkie, and yes it's true. I love going to concerts. There is just something about being smashed next to people in a small venue to watch one of your favorite band  perform. Granted I have a lot of "favorite bands" so there a lot of concerts that are a must for me. Since I have been going to school in Rexburg the nearest venue is in Salt Lake City, UT. So I make a trip out

of the thing. The good thing is that I have concert buddies! Kazia and I are always looking at event calendars and planning which concerts we are going to drive to. Like I mentioned in my last post we are in Salt Lake for an extended Thanksgiving break, before heading to Saint George we stopped in SLC for non other than a concert (and to visist Gma and Gpa of course!)

    Saturday November 17, we saw The Maine and Mayday Parade. Two of my top favorite bands. I had never seen either of them prior to Saturday so to say I was excited is an understatement. It's weird because I have been listening to these guys since my freshman year of high school, and now here I am a sophomore in college and I still love them.

5 concerts together and counting! 

The Maine

Mayday Parade

     The best part was after the show The Maine came outside to say hi to everyone that stayed after the show. They are seriously the nicest guys I have ever met! They were all just hanging outside in the freezing cold and rain just to show their appreciation to their fans. I was able to meet all the members and get them to sign my shirt and took pictures with them all. It was so fun!

John O'Callaghan-The Maine

*I posted all my videos on my Youtube channel if you want to check them out*

Sick..

     It sucks being sick while at school. This past week I had some sort of virus, and for the second time this semester. The thing is I never get sick and now twice in one semester...its not fun! This past week it started out with me getting a cough, then it turned into a super sore throat. Then Sunday night I completely lost my voice. It was horrible, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to swallow and it hurt to try and talk.
     The hardest thing is that I still have to go to classes. Let me tell you trying to be in class when you have absolutely no voice is quite the challenge. I swear my professors new something was up so they all decided to call on me to answer a question. I struggled to get words out and nothing. I just wanted to be home snuggled in blankets, watching movies, and having my mom take care of me. Being sick in college really makes you appreciate everything your parents do for you when your home.
      Unfortunately I got two of my roommates sick, SORRY! Luckily I've got my voice back and am feeling much better. Im getting all ready to leave Rexburg for the next ten days for Thanksgiving break. We technically only have 5 days off but sometimes you just need a little extra time off. So Kazia and I are going on a road trip! First we are headed to Salt Lake City to visit Grandma and Grandpa and to go to a concert! Then we are headed to Saint George for Thanksgiving with Kazia's family. I am so excited for our little adventure!

The First Snowfall

     A few days ago we had the first snowfall of the season. We ended up getting about 4 inches. It was so pretty watching it fall..as long as I was inside:) The weather has been pretty weird this semester. It has been pretty cold and rainy and now its snowy. I guess thats what I get for going to school in Idaho. Last fall it didn't really snow until right before Thanksgiving and it has already snowed quite a bit and its not even Halloween. It makes me think the rest of the semester is going to be rough. Winter is already here.

The parking lot of my apartment complex

     So we decided to have a little fun in the snow. Anna, Kazia, Ashton and I went to one of the fields and had a mini photo shoot.   It was fun being able to mess around with my camera. We had so much fun and the pictures turned out super cute! I love having friends that I can just go out and be crazy with.

    

School and Football

       School has been keeping us all so busy this semester. We are constantly doing homework and really haven't had much of a social life. It has been hard being cooped up all day with nothing but homework. Its safe to say we are a little bit stir crazy...

    Luckily this Saturday we were able to find some time and get out of Rexburg. It has been a goal of
ours to go to an Idaho State Football game, so we finally did it! ISU was playing UC Davis. We all decided we were going to bring out our California roots and cheer for Davis. We dressed up and drove down to Pocatello. We were surprised when we got our tickets and saw we were on the twenty yard line...row one! Thats right..we were four of about 25 UC Davis fans there. It was so fun!

Thor (Kazia's cousin), Kazia, Anna, and Me

UC DAVIS TAKES THE WIN