4 freshman roommates + 2 pairs of pants = hours of fun!

So once upon a time there were two young girls who had just graduated from high school. These two girls just so happened to be cousins only three weeks apart. They decided to celebrate the closing of one stage and the beginning of the next with a weekend trip to Park City. During their short stay, these two girls had many adventures. They laughed, they played, they shopped, they stayed up late, and they even had some fun with the local law enforcement. In the midst of their exploit, they made an unsuspecting jaunt to the nearby Walmart. There they discovered more than they ever hoped for. They left with enough fabric to make matching VeggieTales quilts and pajama pants. Fast forwarding about nine months, we find the two girls immersed in their second semester at none other than Brigham Young University. The quilts lay on the girls' beds in their shared room, however, the pants were a mere memory; the fabric lay nearly forgotten in the basement of one girl's home. However, luckily for the girls one of their mothers remembered the fabric and took it upon herself to make the pants for them. Okay, so you've probably guessed by now that this is no ordinary story. And yes, indeed, the two girls are in fact me and Courtney. My mom finally made our pants for us; however, my sister told her to make them big because we like big pajama pants. Well, my mom definitely accomplished that one. Courtney and I were putting them on for the first time and we started to get ideas...here's what the result was about ten minutes later.

This is me and Kathryn - Courtney and I decided that we wouldn't be able to fit into the pants together but one of us with either Kathyrn or Nichelle would be able to.

Please keep in mind that these pictures are all at about one in the morning, after we had started getting ready for bed.

Oh cute!

The girls from 124 felt a special bond this night that never has been felt before...

One Semester Down, Only Seven More to Go!

Wow - it has indeed been a very long time since I last blogged. But with a new semester comes a chance to start new again! I quite like the beginning of semesters actually. I can make of the next few months whatever I want to. So let's see...what have I been up to? Well maybe I should start way back where my last blog left off...last November.

This was Nichelle beating me up after taking her yellow belt
test for jiu jitsu. She's a real ninja now...

The most important thing that month happened during the third week of the month...yes, you guessed it - RIVALRY WEEK. Wow. It was so amazing to be here on campus as a student. I still sometimes find myself in the dazed freshman stage, hardly believing that this is all real. Afterall, BYU is what my focus has been on my whole life - it's what I've always wanted to do with my life. Now the future seems so open, so uncertain. Anyway, back to rivalry week. I think that pictures are all that will suffice at a time like this. Words just can't explain...

YAY! Rivalry Week! Nichelle and I
may or may not have matched all week...
Look we are friends!
The fans storming the field after the game...there's no better feeling.

I tried to offer comfort to my very sad ute friend.

Sigh...good times. That game was one of the funnest games I have been to at Lavell Edward's Stadium. Moving quickly along to December. As December drew near I was torn between my excitement for Christmas break and my anxiety for finals week. The fear of the unknown was what really got me. As it turns out, however, the anxiety was worse than the actual event. Finals week turned out to be not too bad. My roommates and I pulled mattresses into our living room and had a week-long sleepover. My days were composed of studying, playing with roommates, studying, eating, sleeping, studying, and taking tests. Sure the studying and taking tests thing wasn't my favorite, but overall not too bad of a week.

Christmas break...Christmas break was amazing. Two weeks with absolutely no obligations, expectations, or stress. Of course by the end I was ready to go back to my life at college, but it was great while it lasted. I loved being with my family again and seeing friends I haven't seen for a while.

Richard, Courtney, Nichelle, and Me skiing over the break...

Nichelle and I on the ski lift.

Spending a day with Mary and Em and Steph was the highlight of my break. It felt so...right to be back with them. I had almost forgotten how much fun it was to have all four of us in the same place just having fun. I've been so lucky to have such amazing friends come into my life. Being with them again made me realize how much they really meant to me and how much I really did miss them. It was so cool. It also reminded me of how easy it is for me to laugh when we are together. It doesn't seem to matter what we are doing - it just makes me happy to be with them again.

It did surprised me how much I really missed being here at BYU. I realized that in just one semester BYU really has become a home for me. I love the people I've met, the friendships I've gained, and the memories I've already made. It made me grateful for the circumstances that allowed me to come here. I know it's where I'm supposed to be and I'm ready to make the most of my time here. I can't believe I really have one semester of college behind me - I'm officially a college student now.

With winter semester comes another exciting stage in my life - attending BYU basketball games, sitting in the student section, as a real live student. This is Nichelle and Courtney and me at one of Nichelle's first college basketball games...


So far this semester has been going well. Some think I'm crazy when they hear that my schedule involves Math 343, CS 124, CS 235, and Physics 121 all in the same semester. But I am loving it. I'm starting to get more specific in my studies and it's awesome. No English or geography or history or art classes to get in the way! Don't worry though - I still am well rounded. One of my favorite classes is my self defense class that I'm taking with Nichelle. Now I know how to defend against her... :) Maybe someday I'll decide on a major....But for now I'm just trying to make the most of here and now.

In Loving Memory....

Wow, much has happened since my last blog. Where do I start? First of all, I no longer have a job. I decided to quit because, well, let's just say that Foundations Insurance was not the best option for me in this point in my life. I find myself with much more free time, and yet I still don't get everything done. Go figure. It's kind of invigorating really to not have to be tied to that place. But hopefully I'll have a job for next semester.

Within the same week that I quit my job, I also had an adventure with my car, or former car. I was driving home from work (actually the last day I did drive home from work) on I-15. I'd rather not go into lots of details, so let's just say that my car is no more. It was one of the scariest things I've ever done and I have no desire to ever relive it! I was shaking for a good hour afterward and I still just kind of want to cry when I think about it. But, alas, it IS just a car. Life will go on, even if it has to go on without the Altima. I think that one of the saddest parts was emailing Brian in Uruguay to tell him that the car he has grown to love he will never see again. This is how his email back went:

"It was one of those things...it was one of those relationships you knew was too good to last. I loved her like I have loved no one else, but, it was time to part. If thats the way things have to be, then....I will move on. I can still dream about her late at night, and still remember the good times we shared together. She will live on in my heart forever! "

Clearly he was heart broken. The Altima was more than just a car to him, and to me; it was a loyal friend always there when you need them. He is right though - we will just have to move on. I would post pictures, but they are kind of painful still, and they're on Courtney's camera. I'm still working on getting over my fear of driving, or even riding in cars, particularly the freeway. I avoid it as much as possible. And I think that I kind of scare Nichelle when I jump when the driver of the car I'm riding in applies the brakes.

Other than that, I've just been trying to make the most of my time here at BYU. Football games, late nights, homework, studying, midterms, labs, roommates, church callings...it's all part of the experience I guess. And I can't wait to see what the future holds for me!