I love to see the Temple,I'll go inside someday!

The morning of May 19, 2011 was a windy, slightly overcast spring day in Rexburg, Idaho and yet from that blustery begining comes the start of a singularly memorable and special day in my life. On that windy morning I found myself at the Rexburg Temple and there I was blessed to receive my endoowments! I have been preparing for that day for a long time and even now, I can't beleive that I am an endowed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was warned by many how overwhelming it could be but I didn't find it to be so. I wasn't always sure what to expect but there were friends and family close to help guide me. I loved the temple and already have plans to return and I hope to return often, every week if possible!

I never really understood before this experience just how much joy can be felt when one is doing God's will and following his path for your life. More than once in the days before I went to the temple I awoke so full of happiness that I jsut seemed to float and bounce through the day with an exceedingly great joy! Even now the thought of the temple and the knowledge that at any time I can go back fills me with such amazing feelings of happiness! Life couldn't be any better and I couldn't be anymore blessed than I am right now, I KNOW my Father loves me, He's shown me in so many ways as of late that this is true!

The Conquering Graduate

Graduated, what a strange term to be able to apply to myself. I have been in school for the last 21 years and it is weird to realize that I am no longer a student. I have found myself doing alot of reflecting lately. It's interasting to look at where i have been, where I am right now and to look at a future with so many different optons and possabilities. It's pretty exciting when you think about it, and yet it is kind of scary as well because there are so many unkowns. Where am I going to find a job, where will I be living, how long will I be there? Will it be in Idaho, Oregon, California, etc? Who will I meet there? Will I like it there? So many questions and not a single answer yet.
Everyone wants to know, where to now? The answer is 'I don't know". I have some ideas about where I may go. There is always southern California, with sunshine, friends, the beach, and of course Disneyland. I would love to go back to the Newport Beach area. Perhaps I can make it my official vacation destination if I don't end up living there!
For the past year or so as I have began thinking of where I might go after graduation, i have thought alot about Oregon, a place I haven't been to since I was only two or three. I feel a draw to Oregon that I don't feel for other places and so the majority of my job hunting is focused on Oregon. It is interesting to feel like there is somewhere you need to be, but you just can't seem to figure out where exactly it is that you need to go. I have been feeling this way lately and I can't help but think that Oregon holds the key to answering the question of where and what I am meant to do next.
So I keep going forward one step at a time, trusting that God will guide me to where he wants me to be. It'll be intersting to see where I end up! And so we begin a new chapter in my life: Career Woman. I wonder what amazing adventures this new chapter will see me having!

PLANET 2011

Third Place again! Yup we made the top three in the nation! What a busy week and a great end to a busy semester! We were sweating there at the end wondering if we'd even made the top ten so needless to say we were super excited when we were called as the third place winners! Also a major plus this year was that Bro. Byron John, my design teacher was awarded the teacher of the year award!!! I am proud to say that I wrote one of the recomendation letters when Bro. Nelson submitted his name!
There are some amazing landscape companies in Chicago land and if I ever felt the need to move to the mid west I would defiantly start looking there, though I wasn't a fan of all the toll roads, who wants to pay to get off the road honestly!!!
I was happy to get in the top five with my exterior design but was bummed that my my interior didn't do so well, comming in at 16th. To put it into proper prospective though that is 16 out of 50, so it is still pretty darn good, just not what I was hoping to get especially since I got fifth in it last year, I was hoping to improve my scores! Oh well. All in all it was a great trip.
Pictures to come soon!

Graduation!

Anyone wanting to come just needs to let me know asap so I can get tickets if you want to go to the first part of commencment where they have the main speaker and what not. At 11:00 I'll be walking in the BYUI Center with the rest of the graduates in my department and no ticket is required for that! We'll be having a get together after graduation to celebrate! Just let me know so we can know how many to plan for!

Shopping!!!

My Mom and I decided to go and spend our money the other day as we claimed a mother daughter shopping trip, which we haven't done in quite a while. We spent the entire day out and about and had a great time. We went into Joann's Fabric and craft and got a bunch of fabric, beads, patterns and other stuff that was all 50-75% off. It was great! I got some fabric for upcoming projects for super cheap. you can't beat 1.25 when it's regularly  7.99 of more! The purples are for my Rapunzel costume for this next Halloween, Hair...Check, material and ribbons for dress... check, now all I need to get are purple flowers for my hair and manage to not get so fed up with my hair before Oct 31 that I give up and cut it! The solid green is for table cloths and the shears are for other miscellaneous projects! So now I just need to find time to get all my new projects sewn up!

Turning 26 in Texas

So I must admit that I wasn't looking forward to my birthday this year, 26 just seemed.... OLD. I know that it's not that old but for some reason as I looked at it it seemed that way. Perhaps that it's also where I am in my life, about to graduate and facing the 'real world'. In January I received a text from Ephraim that went as follows " I have a plan, it involves a plane ticket and you coming to Texas". So that's what we did. Within a few days I had bought a ticket to Dallas Texas and on Friday, February 4th I drove to Salt Lake. Big Thanks again to the Pease family for letting me stay the night with them!

Saturday morning bright and early I found myself sitting in the SLC Airport waiting for my flight. 45 minutes after we were supposed to leave we finally boarded due to a sick flight attendant who had to be replaced so we could leave. When I got to Texas I was enthusiastically greeted by Ephraim and we quickly set off the start our weekend together. Our first stop was at the Gaylord Texan, a huge resort which has an atrium in the middle, Ephraim knows I'm a nut for those types of things. We had a great time looking at everything and oohing and awing, as well as geekily naming as many of the plants as we could!

After stopping to grab a small bite to eat and walking around in a park we drove to Ephraim's house where I fell asleep cuddling, three hours of sleep at night is defiantly not enough for me to function on. That evening we went to a restaurant called Babe's with Ephraim's  three best friends and his sister Estrella. On the way there I was the at the center of a series of questions as Eph's friends tried to get to know me better. By the time we got to the restaurant we had determined what our assassin names were, what super power and weapon we would have and many other interesting topics. The food was so yummy and I had a great time despite the fact that I had to wear a horrible chicken hat while they sang to me (stupid birthday traditions anyway), needless to say I was thoroughly embarrassed and flat out refused to do the chicken dance. We finished up the night at Allen and Jen's house playing games. What a fun night!

The next day was Sunday and stake conference for Ephraim's family so we went to church and there I got to meet many the important people in Ephraim's life.
After church we watched the super bowl,mostly for the commercials and the excuse to have a lazy day. Ephraim's mom made a really yummy apple cake for my birthday. Ephraim's adopted nephew Adam was really happy when we finally cup into the pie! It took him a while to warm up to me (He's 2) but once he did it was really cute because he came and wanted to cuddle with me, between Adam and Ephraim I was occasionally a Vallie sandwich, which was fine with me! 

Monday I found myself back at the airport waiting for my 12:15 flight. At 12:20 I realized something was up because they weren't announcing the flight, they weren't loading and come to find out when I went and asked what was going on it wasn't even at the airport anymore, having taken off ten minutes earlier. Apparent;y they like changing gates without telling their passengers  at the DFW airport. After six miserable hours at the airport I finally was able to get a ticket to SLC leaving at 8:55 pm. Ephraim came back to the airport and as I was a mess by then and stressed almost beyond my ability to handle. We sat and talked and hugged for about thirty minutes before I went back through security and finally flew back to SLC. I then drove 2 hours to Pocatello where I crashed on my brothers couch for the night before heading the rest of the way home the next morning.

So in conclusion, being 26 isn't so bad, especially when you've got a great boyfriend and his Friends and family to help make the day a memorable one! Thanks again Strasser Family and FATS for making it a

great weekend!

26 Years of Lessons Learned

In nine days I will have been alive for 26 years. I can't help but look back at those years and wonder what I have learned and reflect on all the many things I've done and accomplished in that time.At times I feel as though I haven't really done that much but then I stop and really think about it and I am amazed at the life I have been blessed to live.

Lessons I've Learned

1. God KNOWS what He is doing and things go alot smoother when you trust Him and don't try to fight His plan for you; He really does know whats best for you because He KNOWS you!
2. The church really is true!
3. Not everything good is good for you at that exact moment
4. Patience is a virtue (though at times a hard one to practice)
5. Sometimes you gotta close your eyes and just jump
6. School and learning can be really fun!
7. Nothing beats sand between your toes on a warm summer day
8. Sometimes the little things are really the big things
9. Life never goes as planned so just enjoy the ride and do your best
10. Life surprises you with great things when you least expect it to
11. Dogs can give hugs
12. True good friends can be hard to find but they are well worth the search to find!
13. Family is always there
14. Dirt under your finger nails is good for the soul
15. Anything worth having is worth the effort
16. No one is perfect
17. Learning a new language can be really hard
18. You really can learn from others mistakes without trying them out for yourself
19. Goals really are important
20. If you have to stop and ask yourself if you really want or need something... you probably don't
21. Being the 'Teachers  Favorite/Pet' isn't necessarily a bad thing
22. A smile can change someones day
23. It's okay to be afraid as long as that fear doesn't stop you from moving forward
24. Life is easier and funner when you stop caring what everyone else thinks
25. Change can be a very good thing
26. Things and people aren't always what they appear to be
27. Sometimes you just have to let loose
28. Never leave home without your camera because the day you do is when you'll see something you want to take a picture of and you won't be able to.
29. Never say never
30. It's okay to try something new, even if it turns out you aren't good at it; at least you can say your tried
31. Trust your gut instincts because they are often right
32. Being different can be alot of fun
33. Some things are worth waiting for
34. Time really can be the best gift you can give someone else
35. Life is an adventure, enjoy it!

Things I've Accomplished/Done

1. Associates degree
2. Almost have a Bachelors degree in Horticulture:Landscape design (finishing in April 2011!!!!!)
3. Hiked Hurricane Pass in Tetons
4. Lived in California
5. Lived in Utah
6. Graduated from Massage School
7. Nationally Certified as a Massage therapist (no longer certified)
8. Designed 3 landscapes (Installed 2), and designed and installed one irrigation system outside of school
9. Graduated High school
10. Came in fifth at PLANET in interior scape design (hoping to place in top three this year!)
11. Bought a season pass to Disneyland and made it worth the money in one month!
12. Bought my first car
13. Felted a blanket and a hat
14. Learned to canoe
15. Learned the basics of surfing
16. Taught children about llamas for over 5 years
17. Made a clay pot
18. Found a Major and career path that I love and am passionate about!
19. Worked for the same company for 12 years (Lonepine Nursery)
20. Made some great friends from all over the country
21. Made a bucket list and started checking things off
22. Made a buckskin shirt form a hide I tanned (only took me five days to tan)
23. Started a fire with two sticks
24. Learned to survive with nothing in the woods
25. Found MY OWN style

2011: The Beginning of a New Year of Adventures

Well the new year has officially began and with it comes lots of new adventures. This is sure to be a busy year full of many wonderful new changes. The first of which is that I will be graduating in either april (my goal) or july depending on how much my teachers like me and are willing to work with me. One of my teachers changed the time of their class so now I have a conflict in my schedule that if they won't work with me then I'll be here on more semester to take just that one class.

The rest of the changes to come are still very much up in the air and hidden from view. With my graduation will come a move, that much I know for sure but the where is not as certain, though at the moment it's looking like it will likely be in Texas. This is largley in part becausee of a certain guy who has recently entered my life and he lives in Texas.

Yes it is going to be an exciting and busy year and I am looking forward to seeing what the year 2011 will bring and where it will take me in this great big world that we call home!

What is already passed is not more fixed than the certainty that what is future will grow out of what has already passed, or is now passing. - G.B. Cheever

Merry Christmas Time is Here

The end of the semester has finally come and I am so ready for the break that it provides. School was very busy last semester and its nice to finally not have to constantly be working on homework. I was sad for the end of the semester to come though because it meant that a very dear friend would be graduating and leaving Rexburg.
As usual our weather has been crazy  and it has rained twice already this month which is strange considering it is december. It's pretty easy to find scating rinks around the yard thanls to all the rain  and melting we've been getting the pst couple days.
I am looking forward to being able to graduate next semester and despite complications with my schedule I am bound and determined to not let it keep me from that long awaited goal. I am definalty ready to be done with school!
Happy Holidays to any who may read this post, I hope you are surrounded by family and friends and I pray that you may remeber the reason for this very special holiday, the celebration of the greatest gift  ever given, God's gift or his precious son Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Apple Mashing

My Uncle Brian and Aunt Deb had their annual cider pressing yesterday. We made lots and lots of fresh apple cide. There is nothing quite like fresh apple cider straight off the press. We had beautiful weather, very few bugs and lots of really good food. It was great to get together and spend the day squezzing apples. I took a bucket of crabapples to press for making jelly with. It came out the most beautiful red and had a cranberry tang to it, super yummy! My uncles press is one that he's restored that belonged to hsi great grandfather who got it new during the civil war era. My Uncle brought it over from Vermont along with a bunch of old stop go motors when he moved to Idaho. There was about six steam motors there. There was also old fashioned bikes, old cars, and a grain mill. It was fun to see all the resstored historic machines!

Sun, Surf, Sand, and Screams with my Mom

Ever since I came home from my internship last fall I have wanted to return to California and this past month I got that oppertunity! My Mom and I took off for nine days and went to California! We drove to Springville on friday Aug 27 and spent the night with Jenn and Ricardo. Saturday we drove to the SLC airport and at 12:25 we took off. We had a one hour layover in Vegas before flying on to the Orange County airport. At the airport we picked up our rental car, a bright blue Ford Focus, and set out for my friends house. We spent three nights with my friends Nacolynn, Natalie and Mandy in their super cute apartment. Saturday night we went to a great pizza place in Balboa called BJ's. Their food was amazing! Nacolynn and my friend Austin went with us to dinner and then we all went to the Great Park for a concert by a group called Te Vaka, they play a modernized version of island music, lots of Samoan and polynesian influences. They were really good! Sunday I was able to catch up with another friend, Brenda who spent most of the day with Nacolynn and I.

Monday my mom and I got up and going early and by 9:30 we were walking down the beach, picking up sea shells and enjoying the sand between our toes. We walked almost the whole distance between the Newport and Balboa piers. When we got to Balboa we were just in time to go out on a whale watching boat. It was alot of fun! We went out for two hours and got to see four blue whales, a minkee whale, which we were told are hard to find, and a pod of dolphins! My mom also saw a jelly fish. On the way back into the harbor we saw some sea lions hanging out on a bouy. We went out just over six miles from the coast. We spent the rest of the day shopping in Balboa and Newport. We also got Balboa bars and sat on the beach eating them, boy are they messy when they start melting! I left my mom laying on the beach under the umberella Naco let us borrow, thanks Naco!, while I went out into the water to look for shells. I found lots of little shells and one really big one. I was so excited becasue I've never found a shell so big but alas I wasn't able to keep it as it's owner was still living in it so I took a picture and threw him back out into the water as far as I could. He was pretty cool and it was still fun to find, even if I couldn't keep it.

 Tuesday we packed up our stuff and loaded it in the car, and drove back out to Balboa to do a little more shopping before driving down to Anaheim to check into our hotel. By three we were all checked in and dressed to head over to Disneyland! Our hotel was directly across the street from the main Disney entrance and it took us about five minutes to walk to the main gates of Disneyland or California Adventures. We had so much fun and dropped into bed each night with our feet aching from all the walking we had done that day! We rode almost wvery ride at least once and most of our favorites three or four times. We spent three and a half days at disneyland!

We couldn't have planned a better time to visit California as the tourist season was over and the kids were all back in school. The beaches and Disneyland were both fairly free of crowds. At Disneyland we rarly had to wait more than 10-15 minutes for even the most popular rides! Friday night we spent to night with my friends Rachel and Brant. Saturday we went to the airport and set backoff for first Vegas and then Salt Lake before driving home. We got home about 9:30pm and boy were we glad to be home. All in all it was a great vacation! I can't wait till I get to go again! Thanks to all my friends who let me stay with them!

Teton Creek to Jenny's Lake in Three Days

 few years ago as we were driving around as a family we stopped at the Teton Creek trailhead and my Dad mentioned that you could hike that trail clear to Jenny's Lake. At that moment I knew that was a trip I wanted to make and so earlier this week my Dad and I loaded up our gear and set out on a three trip up Teton Canyon into Alaska Basin, over Hurricane pass and down through Cascade Canyon to Jenny's Lake.

Day 1: My Dad and I reached the trail head of Teton canyon at about noon, doned our packs which each weighing about 40lbs and set off up the trail. The trail was a fairly gentle climb, with one or two steeper stretches that didn't last too long.We traveled about 6 miles before setting up camp at the base of Alaska Basin. We ate dinner, did a little bit of exploring in the rocks around camp and got our food prpoerly hing for the night. We were in bed by about 8:30pm.

Day 2: We took our time getting up and going and didn't get camp broke and on the trail until after 10am. Neither of us slept very well despite bing tired and so we layed in bed for a while hoping to get just a few more minutes of sleep. The only sign of bears in this area that is supposedly very active with bears was some old scat that we noticed at the edge of our first campsite after we got set up, oh well. Once we got going we finished hiking into the main part of Alaska Basin and then quickly contined on the trail up to Sunset lake and the base of Hurricane Pass. We stopped and ate lunch at Sunset lake. It is a beatuiful lake and a very popluar place, there was alot of people also stopped there to eat lunch and take a break. We contemplated stopping there and setting up camp and then continuing on up Hurricane pass the next day but chose to contine on up the pass and try and find a campsite on top of hurricane pass. Hurricane pass was a steep climb and it was good to get it over with. Once we reached the top I understood why it was called Hurricane pass and the wind never seems to stop blowing up there. We hiked to the border of the Jedadiah Smith/ Targee wilderness and the Grand Teton National Park Boundary where we were treated to a great view of the Tetons! Here we had another choice to make as you have to have a permit to camp in the National Park(which was something we didn't have), hike back down to Sunset lake (yeah not going to happen), or try to find a sheltered place on top of Hurricane pass (difficult to find). We chose to look for a spot on top of the pass and after hiking about a mile off the trail we found a small patch of trees where the deer had cleared out a spot to sleep when they are up there. It was just the right size for our tent and sheltered us from the worst of the wind. We had planned for no water on the pass and had stocked up at the base but we were able to find a small spring and so was able to pump water for breakfast rather than using our supplies and hoping we had enough to see us to the next spring or stream. We had a great view of the Tetons, Alaska Basin and the upper part of the Teton Canyon from our camp site. We were in bed by 7pm.

Day 3: We were up at 7am and on the trail by 8:30, as we knew we had alot of ground, about 11 miles, to cover that day. At the top of Hurricane pass we were at an elevation of 10,372 ft and had covered about 10 miles already. The day started off pretty cold and it was noon before I warmed up enough to take off my jacket. As we dropped down into Cascade Canyon we were greeted by a spectacular view of the Tetons, high mountain meadows and Schoolhouse glacier and Lake. As we worked our way down this beautiful canyon we had continuous views of the Tetons, the many cascading streams for which the canyon gets its name and many other beautiful mountain views. The trail was almost completely downhill the entire way out. Both my Dad's and my feet started hurting ont he way out as the three days of travel began to fully kick in. The last few miles were almost the hardest as we got more tired and sore and knew the end was drawing near. That first glimps of Jenny's lake was a very welcome sight as it signled the end of our journey. We met my Mom at Hidden Falls and from there hiked the remaining distance to the Boat Launch ( boy was I glad I didn't have to hike the 2.5 miles around the lake to get back to the car!)

 

On the way home we stopped at Wendy's in Jackson and ate, I thought I was going to fall asleep on my cheesburger. After picking up the truck at the the trail head where we had left it on tuesday when we started up the trail we drove on to Green Canyon Hotsprings to soak and soothe our sore muscles before going home, showering and going to bed.
Today my lower legs are sore and have me hobbling like and old lady every time I sit down for very long. Despite the sore muslces it was totally worth the time adn effort to get to stand so close to the Tetons and to see the beautiful high mountian country.