Home and other things..

  I am back in Utah now after a week of fun at home! I had such a great time. It was a really quick visit, again, but just what I needed for a break between my semesters. The main thing that I wanted to do while being at home was see family, which I got to do a lot of. I absolutely loved seeing my adorable nieces and nephew that I hardly get to see anymore. It's so weird that they are growing up so quickly! They are so, so precious.

   I really did have such a great time at home and it was so nice to be able to celebrate Easter with the family. It is nice to be back in Utah though. The weather is decently nice, a lot nicer than it is at home. Not as warm as I would like it, but that time will come. I am anxious to go home again in 2 months. But, for now... time to get to work on Spring semester. 

Love this little goofball! She's such a sweetheart. I'm just going to brag about Claire for a minute. So, we had an Easter Egg hunt for the kidlets and there was a competition to see who could get the most eggs. When Claire found an egg, she felt that she needed to distribute them to her little sister, little brother and any of the other kids. Such a sweetheart!!! 

Another new thing... I have to change my major. I have been majoring in the Elementary Education program for a short time. I was enjoying it but figured out that I might have to stop playing basketball in order to complete it. So, with the NCAA it is a rule that you must complete a certain percentage of the major per semester in order to stay eligible to play. Since I just barely began the major, I was pretty far behind and on top of that... BYU has decided to completely change their Elementary Education curriculum and added somewhat of 30 credits to the major. Which would make things even more tough for me! The solution, since I'm not quite ready to be finished with basketball, would be to switch majors. Something that has always taken my fancy is.... FOOD. You would think that BYU would have some sort of culinary school, considering the amount of women here that are aspiring to be good wives ;-). Unfortunately, they don't offer that! But, they have what is called Food Science; which I will be majoring in. Essentially what I'll be doing is studying the technical aspects of food, beginning with harvesting and ending with cooking and consumption. I feel that it will be pretty difficult because of the chemistry and all but, once I get to work with the food... I think I'll quite enjoy it!! 

Fus, Kim and I going to see AFRICAN CATS!! It was really good... you all should go see it. 

Favorites!

   So, let me tell you a little bit about my Saturday. This sounds a little crazy and it is border line pathetic but, I slept in until 1:00 in the afternoon today. I went to sleep at about 1:30 last night and I had set my alarm for 9:30. I woke up to the alarm, turned it off and slept until 1:00. Is that not ridiculous? I felt like the biggest waste, ever. However, it did feel incredible! I guess my body needed it. This leads me to the first of my favorite things lately...

1. Sleep! 

  Sleeping is so great. I love it and I have had some really good sleeps lately! I have the PERFECT room for it. For blinds, I have towels and NO light gets through those puppies. I have a super comfortable bed and it is just the most relaxing room ever. Hence sleeping in until 1:00 in the afternoon... 

2. Running! 

  I have been running everyday and I go about 3 miles. I always thought that running would be chore because I do so much of it with basketball. But, for the first time ever, running isn't a competitive thing. I do it because I enjoy it and because it makes me feel really good. Especially going in the morning, it just makes you feel so great and the rest of the day you have more motivation to get things done. 

3. Edamame Beans! 

  This is my favorite treat! They are more addicting than chips... I just want to keep eating them and eating them. So delicious! And they are really healthy for you which is an added plus. 

4. Painting my nails!

Coral nail polish! I used to really love all of these funky colors on my nails but, I've come to the decision that I really love 'warm' colors on my fingers. Especially coral! Love it. 

5. Sour dough bread! 

I love this treat, as well! Some sour dough bread dipped in a little bit of EVOO and pomegranate balsamic vinegar. It is SO so delicious! Try it.


HOME IN 2 DAYS!!!!!!! 

Weekend BLISS!!

  Okay everyone... I warn you, this is going to be a lengthy post. A LOT happened this weekend and it deserves a thorough description! Enjoy!!

Finals week is pretty much here so studying is in high gear!! But, thanks to my mom ordering an egg that was a little on the 'cool' side which got us gift certificates...Aubs and I took a delightful break and went and ate at Megleby's for free!!! So delicious. I love that place! I had the most amazing sweet shrimp tacos with a delicious pineapple salsa. Yum-o! BUT... that isn't the only thing. Magleby's is FAMOUS for it's chocolate cake. I kid you not it is the most dense, moist, heavenly, exquisite and gratifying chocolate cake in the whole world. Aubs and I noticed these boxes in the front of the restaurant with THAT cake in it. So, after our meal... it was only the right thing to do by getting that box of cake (probably weighed about 4 lbs.). We got it... and we ate it and shared with our friend Marcus. It was a fun night and a wonderful break from stupid homework. 

The day before miss bean got hitched Aneka and I drove up to Salt Lake to meet some ladies at this cute little nail place. This day/ evening consisted of A LOT of laughs, shopping, rocky mountain chocolate factory, fedora's, music, mint oreos, projectile sparkling apple juice vomit (which is a story in and of itself, and yes it was done by me), McDonalds and.... a Bride's/Bride's Mother and Father's WORST nightmare. Let me explain...

After we had finished painting our nails and staying up late to create a music playlist for Trina's reception. We all settled down and were in the middle of saying our bed time prayers. However, in the middle of my prayer I hear this huge GASP!!! I could sense the fear in Trina's voice. My two thoughts were... someone died or the wedding was called off. Yes, it was THAT bad. However, it turned out to be something just about as scary. Trina had thought she left her temple recommend in Idaho!!! No recommend, no marriage. It was so scary and stressful and Trina was hysterical. I felt so, so bad! She has been under so much stress. So, she tried getting some of her friends to look for it and Aneka and I would get in a car and drive to Rexburg and back to get the recommend to her before the sealing. Then... Trina had an epiphany.... WES HAS IT!!! This frantic panic went on for a good hour. She got a hold of Wes and he luckily said that he had the recommend. Apparently, a few days ago, Trina had given him the recommend after going through the temple and forget to get it back from him. It was quite the evening! I felt so bad... she was so overwhelmed by everything already. We all ended up going to sleep at about 2:00 only to get up at about 5:30. Hectic, hectic, hectic!! But, we KNEW that this was absolutely meant to be because from there on out... everything went perfectly! 

She looked absolutely stunning! Her dress? Perfect. Her hair? Perfect. Her make up? Perfect!! She looked so elegant and SO happy. Trina is such a joyful person and was absolutely glowing when she walked out of the temple. Wesley is perfect for her!! It was so great to see a long time friend walk out of the temple. WE'RE GROWING UP! 

 How cute are my friends, right? I love these gals. I had so much fun over the weekend! Aneka actually goes to school at BYU and I don't see her nearly as much as I want to. Laura on the other hand, SUCH a sweetheart, goes to BYU-I and drove down for the weekend. We had a great time and were just overwhelmed by seeing our sweet lil' friend Trina be married. Blissful! 

GORGEOUS!! It was cold outside, but I thought it was really pretty lighting. Trine and Wes both looked incredible! 

The reception was awesome! Food was great, music was great and speeches were great! It was in a cute little place called the "Canterbury". I really loved it, it was so cute. It was decorated so sweet! However, after we saw Bean at the temple.. Aneka, Laura and I were a bit on the hungry side, so we stopped at Wendy's. JUST for a JBC though... that's hardly anything! Zach and Nin made the trip down to Bountiful for the reception. We all had fun on the dance floor and enjoyed our time with our friend who is now MARRIED! So, so, so crazy to me. 

It has been a LONG day. I've been up since about 5:00 and have been on the go all day. I went and played basketball with a bunch of the guys and I just wanted to come home. Curl up in a blanket, pop in 'Tangled' and snack on some popcorn. I just bought these little '100 Calorie' popcorn bags and carelessly threw it in the microwave. I was in my room and smelt BURNT popcorn. I'm talking TORCHED! The kitchen was pretty steamy and I am pretty sure the whole house smells very smoky. I learned my lesson, small bags= less time. Don't worry though... I opened a new bag and it turned out perfect :) 

Congratulations to...

Trina & Wesley Parkin

established. April 9th, 2011

Countdown...

14 More Days until I get to go home!!!!!! 

I am doubtful that Airdrie will be THIS green and luscious BUT regardless, I am so excited to go home. 

4 More Days Until TRINA HILL (soon to be Parkin) GET'S MARRIED!!!!

The little bean.. a grown woman

Can't wait to see her walk out of the temple with Wes! It's gonna' be a special day indeed. I've now seen a bunch of people that I am close to walk out of the temple with their husbands and I will say this... there is no bride more beautiful than one that walks out of a temple of the Lord. I am SO excited for Trina and what she is about to experience (not that I know what it's like to be sealed in the temple) BUT from what I hear it is pretty incredible. 

7 More Days of School...... (until spring semester)

15 More Days Until Joel Kay Leaves for ALBANIA!! 

You're going to be a stud missionary!!!!  Sorry you can't grow this modest mullet out until you're an RM.

  Life is good with lots to look forward to! 

Conference Weekend

   I had,yet, another great weekend here in Provo! I was able to get things finished that I needed to, saw some good friends from home and to top it off I was able to sit, relax and enjoy General Conference. As bad as this may sound, I have to say that this is the first time that I have really listened to all of the talks. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them and could see how each talk and the lessons taught could apply to my life. That is the whole intent of Conference and just like anything else that is very important... it has taken me some time to really understand the concept and act on it. I am so excited for the talks to come out next month some I can read and study them! I really loved the themes of service and temples and knowing that it really does apply to me NOW... not 5 or 10 years down the road. It is extremely motivating to be so much better after listening to all of the talks. I recognized how flawed I really am and I am so grateful for the many opportunities I have to become better and serve others.

The Church is TRUE, ladies and gents. It's TRUE! 

  A bunch of my good friends came to visit this past week/weekend. I got to see CUTE lil' Jess Comfort! Love that girl. I hung out with her all day on Wednesday and it was so fun! She's such a baller and is playing at Mount Royal next year. THEN... on Thursday night... I was watching a movie with Jordan and all of a sudden, this guy comes down the stairs and just sits on the couch. I had NO idea who it was so I was kind of like... "umm.. hi, who are you?" and he didn't really answer me. About 7 seconds after that... a bunch of guys come running down the stairs. I recognized Nin and was still a little confused. Then, I saw good ol' Dallon Martin and Morgan Duce! They drove down for Lethbridge for Conference. The guy that came down the stairs first and that was just chillin', yeah, his name was Travis Seaborn. I've heard so much about this kid and finally met him.... hilarious. I had a great weekend with all the guys! I introduced them to my roommates and they all hit it off well. It felt like home again and it was just what I needed! That being said... I AM GOING HOME IN 2 WEEKS!!! 

  Then, I finished off the weekend seeing ALEXIS KAUFUSI! My hero. Seriously, I'm sure everyone knows this but... she is a trooper. She is handling everything so well. She has 3 of 6 chemo treatments done! Half way there. So proud of her and I love her guts.