Pranks, Guys!

The prank war continues.

Yeah. We're basically up to no good in this picture.

Mischief managed.

The spoils!

But don't fret. They retaliated. 

And got it on video! Haha

Pranking takes so much effort. We stood outside for a long time trying to get the Wyoming state flag from the boys' wall. We were frozed!

 After much patience, we were rewarded. :)

Wyoming. Long may she reign. I didn't know there was such a thing as Wyoming pride until I had these brothers... It exists. And it runs strong!

Then they bought flowers and impersonated a guy who is.... quite enamored with Sara. They wrote a creepy poem and ding don ditched it.

IT WAS SO GOOD. They totally got us. Sara about died!

This is such an awesome and fun way to find joy in the journey. Our brothers rock.


The ball is in our court again. And boy, do we have plans! ;)

Stay tuned!

Febru... Anything Goes!

This month has been absolutely insane! It has been a roller coaster of ups and downs and all kinds of loop-de-loops!

I have cried a lot. I have laughed a lot. And I have learned a lot.

There is this talk by President Hinkley. He quotes a colomnist, saying:

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. . . .
Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

I just found this super applicable. I have learned that sometimes we just have to go with the flow. Our plans don't always work out, and life sometimes just keeps taking unexpected turn after unexpected turn. But really the trick is to be grateful and hold onto the Lord through it all. These are the times that we learn and grow the most!

Take it as it comes, because anything goes!! 


That was pretty ambiguous, I know. But I've just been thinking about roller coasters and climbing and all of those wonderful metaphors lately. :)

I don't want to share the downs, but I DO want to share a few of the "Ups" that have been going on. Because I believe in miracles and tender mercies. I have been smothered in them!

Raisins.

A little bit of awesome FHE. We played "knock out" or "lightning." Ashley and I needed to tuck our shirts in to do cartwheels... We looked awesome.

And I went for a quick run on the track above this court while everyone else was playing. I didn't know this, because I had headphones in, but everyone cheered for me as I ran by them. They even got other people in the court in on it!

We have THE greatest FHE family!  (You'll hear a lot about them in this post. They are such a blessing to our apartment.)

We decided to take some pictures at Sara's BBall game. They were cute....

And THEN we said do a "funny" face. Cameron needs to look "funny" up in the dictionary. Hahaha! Creepy!!! ;) But we'll keep him anyways.

ALL of my room mates and I are working on our mondo blankets! Haha! My mistake has turned into the trend! Can you believe it?!? We have even had several neighbors join in the club and start their own! It's so great!

My "mondo the second" is bubblegum pink and navy. :)
 

This picture speaks for itself. What a blessing to be so close to the temple.

Our sweet FHE brothers invited us over for Valentine's Day and we dipped strawberries in chocolate. They were all of our Valentines. :) We played a fun game and went to Wendy's.
 

Cameron attempted to photo bomb Elsa's picture.

FAIL. Haha 

He didn't account for the strawberry in the way.

Sometimes, when you're in college... Your neighbors come stick their faces creepily against the window at night...
In mustaches... Not that I know from experience or anything...

And sometimes your FHE brother takes everyone out for ice cream. Just because.
Joseph. What a stud.

Sometimes you have inside jokes with your FHE brothers and give them cupcakes that may or may not have fallen on the ground...

Don't fret: We took the pine needles out of them and brushed the dirt off...

Sometimes, the highlight of everyone's week is our Saturday walley ball date! :)

Sometimes so much joy happens in one weekend. Here's the list:
2 Room mates got their mission calls
2 neighbors got their mission calls.
2 Couples in our ward got engaged. (One of them is our FHE brother. Now, we have a FHE sister-in-law! Yessss!)


And now. The grand finale of this post.

I got kissed in church today.

Yep. Right in the middle of Family History (Sunday School), Ashley and I were talking about the Ancestry app when we hear this sshhhhh. We look down at the table.

Sure enough, these two guys in our ward [that we do not know] had slid hershey's kisses across the table to us. Haha. Oh the adventures of college.

Much Love!!

Confessions of an English Major

I have a confession.

I've decided to tell everyone about it today on this blog because I cannot keep it to myself anymore...

And also... I just discovered it today... But that's beside the point.




 I...

Deep breath. Ok.




I kind of... sort of... mostly, a LOT love grammar.

[See what I did there? It's ironic... Because I used poor grammar. Haha]

Yep. I'm talking the ultra-geeky kind where you diagram sentences and figure out parts of speech.

Want me to name the 9 kinds of pronouns? Should I diagram this sentence? How do you tell if a prepositional phrase is adverbial or adjectival?


At first, I hated it with a fiery passion. And now, I'm in love.

And apparently I am dang good at it too... I'm able to help the people around me in my class instead of asking for help! It's fantastic! I hope it lasts!

Whew. I am so glad I got that off my chest. :)


Now for some smiles. :)

This is one of our favorite little gems in our apartment right now. Quite the treasure, isn't it?

 This is possibly only second to the Grape Lady Video, which takes the cake, hands down.

Lizzie sent me this:

Hahahaha! Frodo's face is priceless.
I just must interject here and express gratitude for my major. No more math classes for me! Just good ole grammar! ;)

Last night, an unnamed room mate decided to help out and do the dishes. It was a new experience for her.

She used dish soap. :)

A favorite Austen quote from Pride and Prejudice comes to mind. I shall modify it:

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our [roommates] and laugh at them in our turn?"


Sometimes you enjoy reading for fun. Sometimes your motto is "Only one more paper to write... tonight!" Sometimes... You're just an English major. :)

Much Love!!

Elmo Likes to Sing BASS

A beautiful moment in the cold. :)

Why did God make snowflakes so beautiful? Maybe because He knows how cold places like Rexburg get and decided to throw a few raisins into the bran.

P.S. -20 is VERY cold.

The Rexburg temple is so beautiful. :) And cold days are often crisp and clear. Again. Raisins!

Sometimes this is what room mate prayer ends up looking like...

... And it is only the second week of school! Yikes!

 I've gotten so many letters and things in the mail from people already! I am so grateful! There is just something so special about getting snail-mail in our world of texts and Facebook posts! [Although those are pretty wonderful too!] Shout out and special thanks to one of my Primary kiddos! Thank you for the Hello Kitty picture, sweet Kathryn! :)

Last night my room mates and I went to BYU Vocal Point's performance here on campus. OH. MY. GOODNESS. It was so wonderful. I loved it so much. It amazed me that they had the perfect mix of fun an uplifting songs and powerful, spiritual songs.

It was so much fun! Here are a few of us during intermission- being our beautiful selves, of course. ;)

One of our favorite parts was the elmo part... Watch this clip. You will be amazed. :)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJbpNSlZECE

 Their bass was IN CHARGE! What a range!

I'm so grateful that people have such great talents and are willing to share it and share while giving recognition to He who gives us all. It was a powerful experience! If you ever get the chance to see them, TAKE IT.

Stay warm, Ladies and Gents. :)

Much Love!!

Meanwhile... in Idaho

Dear Mom, You wanted me to blog sometimes.
This one's for you! :)

That's right.

 I went for my first run since August of 2011.

And I made it for 3 laps [About a half mile] before my foot was VERY done.

Actually... If we're being honest, I am pretty sure it was super done after lap 1... or maybe 2, but I ran 3 anyways.

Oops.

I am probably gonna need to go back to physical therapy for a bit before I can ever run again [not to mention walking normally again...] I killed it pretty bad.

BUT I am so grateful for the 3 laps I got. Aside from my foot, it felt SO good to be running again. :) There is just nothing like it.


Ready for some pointless updates!?!

You know you're in college when...
Hawaiian Haystacks are a delicacy. :) Thank you, FHE.

The good news: I got THE LAST COPY on the shelf at the BYUI Bookstore on opening day!!!

The bad news: I'm only on page 200 because I've been buried in homework.

Literally. :)

The bad news: The zipper on my coat broke.
The good news: It wasn't the zipper on my pants! ;)


My space heater is my best friend and homework [TONS of reading] is my constant companion... So I guess it's safe to say that life is good. :)

My three 300 level English classes are keeping me very busy! It's so great. I'll become an actual intellectual one of these days... Just wait for it.
I just sort of wish I didn't have to bother with my non-English classes anymore... BUT this is hopefully the last semester of generals! 


P.S. Here are the roomies.

Elise, Sarah Ruth, Elsa, Sara, Ashley.
Ain't we cute?


Ashley showed me this hilarious video. Enjoy. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVrJ8DxECbg

Much Love!!

Quinci. Erin. Basilius.

[Posted a day late. ... Better late than never, right?]

Ode to Quinci. Quinci Basilius.
(Yep. Someday I'll be able to spell your new last name without looking it up.... :)

Yes. It is memory lane time. Yippee!


TWO WORDS. Marriage Prep.

Thanks for making me attend that class with you even when I didn't know you and thought you were probably mean and scary.


Remember that one time we tried a cactus? ... Raw? 

 Mother/Daughter pic... Oh Rodney.

Matching finger calluses on our CTR fingers. Obviously related.

Gah! Remember this?? New Spice.
You're welcome.

Thanks for always supporting and encouraging me like only you could. ;P
Go Abe.

Lunch Date. 
[And the... interesting people we meet there. Wrestling on a double (thank goodness) date... and bleeding? No big deal.]

Chauffeurs and Spicy McChickens were meant to be.

Thanks for taking care of me [and wearing your cute but jeans] when I am too sick to move.
You look good in bearded glory.
"Do you even know what a dorsal fin looks like!?!?!?!"

Hung up? Bahaha
Joke's on that one person.

 Skype dates... From across the street.
And mustaches. Always mustaches.

Pause for "Sterling pic."

Laundromat date. It's classy.

How can you not love this face?
"Punch."

Stupid human tricks.

Husband's dime.
[Hey! This is actually a reality now! Nifty!]

Oh just sightseeing the joys of Rexburg. :)
"Don't ever look a goat in the eyes."

 Remember when Cymoni bribed us to go to a dance. But ONLY if we talked to boys. Hahaha.
 Thanks for always looking out for us Cymoni. :)

Quinci fearlessly conquers tarantulas...

But is terrified of the Ferris wheel....

 Joy.

Fanny pack. :) And "Spot the Mormon."

Taking charge of our happiness in CA. :) [And in life as well.]

Diet Coke anyone? 
She's not addicted... Ok? ... Sort of.

"I'll be the big spoon."

Basically I couldn't have made it through college this far without you. Thanks for being Mama Quinci. And thanks for getting married so I will finally [hopefully] grow up. :)

I'll see you in a couple weeks, Quinc!
Happy Wedding. :)


Much Love!!