Adios!

Well, I'm waiting to get set apart as a missionary in just an hour and a half, and thought I'd do one last blog post before I turn the reins over to my mother. :) 

Here was my 21st birthday cake... I wasn't feeling an entire cake, so we settled for a lovely red-velvet cupcake from Bliss Cupcakes. The cake itself was pretty good, the frosting ... not so much. So it was good that it was a little thing.

For dinner my parentals and I went to Cafe Rio. The first choice would have been Chipotle, but I went the week previous, and since Cafe Rio has so many Utah connections, I decided it would be a great way to spend some eating time. And the left-overs were great. :)

We took a little adventure on our way home past the hospital where I was born. It is now an abandoned shambled building, but hey who cares.

This weekend all the family is in town, and it has been awesome. Family time = best time.  The End.

How could it not be with a face like this?

Hooray! Some very sweet friends drove out to hear me speak in church.

So there you have it. Life is great, and I'm finally going on a mission! I feel like I've been waiting for a long time. Because I have. There is still a huge list of to-dos to tackle between now and Tuesday morning when my parents and I load up and drive out, but I'm happy. It actually still feels really surreal, and maybe that's how the entire mission will last; I'm just glad to be going.

Something that you might not know is that missionaries (or their families) pay $400 a month for their missionary to serve. That's $7200 for:

- two phone calls home (one Christmas and one Mother's Day)

- 18 months away from home

- weekly emails to the family

- sweaty, sweaty days in Mesa

- missing weddings, graduations, three semesters of school

Why on earth would I pay all that money for all those things?

Because I also get these things:

- HUGE opportunities to learn and become better

- meet hundreds of new people that I will come to love

- have experiences that will stretch and teach me

but most importantly,

- watch others come unto Christ by accepting the restored gospel. And that makes it completely, entirely, beyond worth it. 

I can't wait!

See you in Mesa!

P.S. - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GREATEST MOM EVER IN ALL THE LAND.

MTC Countdown: 68 hours. (WAHOO!)

The Word of the Day: credulous \ KREJ-uh-lus\ , adjective; 1. ready to believe on slight or uncertain evidence

The Waiting Game...

MTC Countdown:    F I V E __ D A Y S






... what?! when did that happen?







Word of the Day: lexicographer \lek-suh-KAH-gruh-fer\ , noun: an author or editor of a dictionary

Pictures might not be worth a thousand words, but a few good laughs will do

I'm in the middle of going through ALLL my pictures on my laptop (if you know anything about me, you know I have my camera close by, and will take more than one photo at the opportunity). When I started this project, I had over 17,000 pictures. Now I've whittled down to a nice 11,300, with about 3,000 more to sort through. (Lesson learned: You do not need ten pictures of the same pose of anyone or anything. Ever.)

It is a good thing I like looking at pictures, because otherwise this endeavor would be incredibly boring. It has been one of the more entertaining housekeeping projects I've undertaken in preparation for my mission (My laptop can't come with me, so it needs to be suitable for someone else to use... so having an additional 15+ GB due to all my deleted photos will be a favor to them.)


Several times I've just stopped and giggled over the photos I've rediscovered in my collection. And so why not share some of them with you? You might not find them funny, but I sure do. Some are for obvious reasons, and some ... well you just have to be me. But who doesn't like looking at pictures of strangers they've never met? (What else is facebook for these days?)

If you're one of the lucky ones that made it into this selection, take comfort in the fact that you're providing me some very healthy, enjoyable entertainment. And that you and I both know I'm being far too kind in my selections. ;)

MTC Countdown: 14 DAYS!

Word of the Day: acolyte \ah-uh-lyte\ , noun: 1. one who assists a member of the clergy in a liturgical service by performing minor duties 2. one who attends or assists : follower