Sosa's Visit

The Sosa Family

A dear family from my mission came and visited Utah. I was so happy that I got to see them. I love them so much. The Sosa were always ready and willing to help. We had many that were willing to help but not all were ready like the Sosa's. They helped us move, with lessons and most importantly they helped us with member work. They are such a good family. They examples of Christlike love will always be with me.
Their little girl, Bella, had brought me a handful of rocks from one of their outings. She was so happy to give me a gift. We were able to have dinner together at Texas Roadhouse. Bella wanted peanuts so badly and we didn't have any on our table. When the manager came by to see how we were doing, Bella said she wanted peanuts. The man came back with a brown paper bag full of peanuts. Bella was so happy that she ripped open the bag, only to discover that she doesn't like peanuts! It was so cute. I am so thankful for my mission and for the wonderful people I am associated with! Thank you Sosa's for making time for me. I love you.

Bella and her peanuts

Bella asked if I could have a sleepover. We tried to explain to her that it would be hard with the miles between here and Florida. She said it would be okay because her family could just move here1

Oh, to feel loved!

Last week my mom's class went to the Bean Museum on a field trip. I was really happy because I could come help because it was on campus. I did my work and then headed up to the museum. I was there before the bus came. As it turned the corner you could hear the bus erupt. But it wasn't because they were at the museum. Almost all of the children were yelling my name. It was so cute. They were really excited to see me. I have been to class a number of times but it has been sparse the last little while. One little girl cried because she wasn't in my group. It was so good to feel loved. It made my whole day. Nothing else mattered to me but the 50 hugs I got that day! I love her class and am so glad that I get to associate with little people. They make life sweet!
This post was written about a month ago. Since then I went to the movies with my mom's class. We had so much fun! If you ever want good entertainment just fill a movie theater with 100 kindergarteners. It is pure enjoyment!!! (only half are in my mom's classes. The others are from the other Kindergarten classrooms)

Spring Break

At BYU we don't officially have a spring break. This is the first year I have been okay with not having one because I realized that we get out earlier for summer and we have 4 semesters at BYU instead of 3 like most universities. But my mom has always had spring break so I just kind of take a break with her. Mom was able to come to two of my classes which we both enjoyed. Then on Friday she came to work with me and then we went to go babysit Marley. I have been babysitting Marley on Friday for the last semester because Ryan has an art class. I have really enjoyed it because Marley makes me laugh. It has been a nice break on Fridays to have her and I will really miss it when it is done.
Anyways mom and I decided we would take Marley to the aquarium. We had so much fun. Marley's favorite things were petting the sting ray (she laughed so hard), the bright colorful fish (she sang a song to the Nemo fish), and the big sea turtle. She wouldn't touch the starfish though. I guess they were to hard for her. She wasn't too interested in the anaconda and by the time we were almost finished, she was done.

Singing to Nemo
On a toad (she wasn't at all interested in the Bull Frog)
This is how tall Marley is compared to a penguin.

After the aquarium we went to eat. Marley ate a corn bread muffin and made a huge mess. When we got up from the table she looked at the floor and said "Big Mess." She is so funny and we couldn't help but laugh! We then did a little shopping and by the time we got back to the car we were all ready for naps. Marley fell asleep in the car.
We stopped by Cabella's to see if they had any nice winter coats on sale. They did but we didn't buy one because they didn't have the right sizes. Marley soon woke up and we let her find the trout in their pond. She loved it almost more than the aquarium! She would throw the food in and then make eating noises. It was a nice finish to our day. We loved spending the day with Marley and are so thankful that Ryan and Sam would let us take her!

Pretending to be asleep at Cabella's

Easter

Easter was really fun this year. It could have been our special guests (Todd, Deedra, and Hunter) or that Marley is old enough to understand what an Easter egg hunt is; I believe that it was a combination of things. We had a really nice Easter dinner with all of the family. Then we had an egg hunt for Hunter and Marley, followed by a hunt for the older kids. We then played some games and just relaxed. It was so fun to be with the family and we hope that we will be able to do it in the future!

Marley in her new clothes that she got from the Easter Bunny. I didn't get a picture of her Easter Dress but it was beautiful!

Marley was sooo excited when she found this egg!
Marley and Hunter collecting eggs in the backyard
Enjoying some Brother Time. Mom asked for a serious picture, this is the most serious they get.

Deedra and I
Hunter and Grandma
Hunter in a huge egg. He was our Easter Present. I bought the huge egg for Scott and filled it with healthy treats! It was really fun.
The Grandkids! They love each other so much!


The adult hunt. Why, you ask, is Scott running for his life? It isn't because he wants to find an egg. Sam found this great idea to empty out raw eggs, sterilize them, and then fill them with glitter and sprinkles. There was one egg with gold glitter. You had to smash the egg on someone to see if you had the gold egg. Todd found it and smashed it on Dad. The prices were fun things like a slinky, a kazoo, and a golden chocolate egg. It was fun to get the young at heart involved as well.
Hunter trying on Grandma's prize.
Marley got into some Easter Eggs that were within reach. Who knows how many she ate before we found her!

Best.Week.Ever.(and weekend)

This last week one of my best friends from Florida came to visit. When I was on my mission, this friend would fix us dinner, help us with our work, and most of all, party with us on P-Day's. I have gotten to see her twice since the mission but both times have been quick trips and we haven't had much time to just hang out. This last week, since the first of the month, Dallas came into town to house sit for her uncle and train his dogs. I was sooooooo excited when I heard she was coming. Her uncle lives about a 30 minutes from Provo so I would be close enough to go visit. Dallas didn't tell very many other people that she was coming to town and, although it is selfish, I had Dallas pretty much to myself!
Dallas got 8 tickets to General Conference, 4 for Saturday afternoon and 4 for Sunday Morning. My parents came with us on Saturday and Ryan and Sam came with us on Sunday. We had really good seats, the best we have ever had! We loved every minute of it and were so excited to be together at such a marvelous event. We also got to hang out with my mom, Sam and Marley during Priesthood session. We went to Roberts crafts. We had so much fun!

After spending the weekend with each other, we talked everyday. Dallas came down to Provo for a class performance I was having. We then went and had ice cream. Then we decided we better have dinner. We ended the night by going to the movies and even though it wasn't my favorite movie, it was fun to have a friend to hang out with.

Thursday, Dallas invited my family up to her Uncle's house for dinner. My family was super excited about this because we were going to watch Tangled(I was the only one there that had seen it) in her Uncle's theater room after dinner. It was so much fun and the food was amazing. After my family left Dallas helped me work on a few of my school projects. We laughed and talked all night.

Friday we tried to sleep in but it didn't really happen because we are so talkative. We watched t.v all morning and into the afternoon. We only stopped once for yummy breakfast burritos. We finally got dressed and ready to go about 2. We then jumped in the car and headed to Logan. Why to Logan, you ask? One of my favorite companions, Sister Stephanie Walton, lives there. She was my companion in Dallas's ward. Stephanie didn't know that Dallas was in town. Dallas was her birthday surprise!
We drove for what seemed like a minute. I think it was our anxiety to get there. We were both so excited! We finally made it to Stephanie's apartment and ran out of the car to her door. Dallas hid on the side of the house while I knocked. Stephanie answered with a big grin on her face. She began to hug me when Dallas popped out. It took Stephanie only a minute to figure out who was standing there. She then grabbed Dallas and starting hugging her. They were both screaming and jumping up and down by this point. It was the best part of the evening! We talked for awhile and then went to dinner at Texas Road House. Of course Stephanie got to sit on the saddle. But Dallas and I had come prepared. We had bought a crown for her and confetti poppers for when they sang to her. It was quite the experience. At one point during the night we were laughing so hard that we had to pull the car over to the side of the road!!! After dinner we walked around the temple. We finished the night by getting ice cream cones and trying to watch a movie. I was asleep within the first five minutes of the movie. The other two only made it half way through before we were all in bed. We had so much fun. That night will always be a very sweet memory for me!
We woke up on Saturday and had to head home. We cried and laughed and cried some more. It was hard to leave to leave Stephanie in the drive way. Stephanie is very dear to my heart. She makes me want to scream for joy when I get to see her or talk to her. I want to make a better effort to go up and see her more often. But I knew the hardest part would be saying good bye to Dallas at the end of the drive back to Utah County. And I was right. Dallas has become one of my very closest friends in my life. I love her like a sister. It was so nice to have a friend here in town. What a joy to pick up the phone at any time and set up a time to just hang out together. I thank my Heavenly Father for His beautiful and tender mercy for sending me this time to spend with not only Dallas but also Stephanie. I love them both so much and miss their friendship when we are all busy. It was nice for life to slow down for a few days and just relax! Defiantly on the top 20 best week/weekends ever!

The World Will Know

Every summer since I can remember, my aunt has run a Music Camp. It has since evolved since I was a little girl to be called Music, Art and Technology (MAT) Camp. It is so much fun. I have such good memories of Music camp and I tell you all of them are good. Because my Aunt runs the camp, a lot of family usually comes. It is so much fun to not only be with our family but her side of the family too (we are related to his side of the family, but we always have a good time with the Blackhams!). I am sooooooo excited because I get to teach at camp this year. If anyone wants more information on this camp, you can go to www.youngmusicians.net. It really is an awesome deal for families because they have classes for all ages and the price isn't bad either!
Anyway, this morning I started humming a familiar tune. I stopped and had to laugh. The song I was humming was a song that I learned at Music Camp. One year Scott and I were in the same Musical Theater class. For the class we sang "The World Will Know." This song is from the musical Newsies. Both Scott and I had solo's in the song. I remember mine to this day. When I did my solo I sang to Scott who was sitting next to me on a stool. I was happy afterwards to know that someone took a picture of us when we were next to each other. It is a really cool picture because Scott looks like he is looking into a mirror. Him and I look almost identical in the picture. I am sad to say though that I have misplaced that picture. But I still love the song and have such good memories of it!
P.S If anyone has a copy or knows where I can find a copy of this picture; please let me know!

3% to the Lord, 90% back

The title of this post might be a little misleading. The Lord always gives a 100% or more back but it is all in the name of my story! Two Saturdays ago I had this great desire to go and help the Payson Singles Ward with their BYU booth. I don't know why I felt so inclined but I really like doing the booth. My only problem is that it takes a lot of time. This same Saturday I was suppose to be taking a math test. But I sacrificed my time and went with Scott and his friend. We asked if we could leave early and the ward said that it was fine to leave. But when we got there, they were short handed. So we stayed the whole time and worked fast and furiously. We spent a total of 5 hours there and because of that I didn't get to take my math test when I wanted to. The Bishop of that ward is amazing! I love him so much! He told me that if I would serve the Lord, the Lord would help me on my math test!
I ended up taking the math test last Monday because of the booth. The only problem was that I wasn't feeling well. I had a really sore throat and my body ached. I missed class to go take the test. I knew I probably wouldn't do that well because I hadn't studied like I had wanted to. But I went on faith in the bishops promise.
Well, yesterday we got our tests back. I did extremely well, better than I think I have done on any test that I have ever taken at BYU! Because I gave 5 hours of my time to serve the Lord, which is 3% of my time for a whole week, I got a 90% on my math test! I pray that the Lord gives me more opportunities to serve!