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This past weekend has been one of tears and sadness for my neighborhood here in Highland. While one of our neighbors was pulling out of his driveway he did not see our other 4 year old neighbor running behind him and accidentally ran over her. Life flight landed and took her to Primary Childrens Hospital and little Elle was in critical condition. We did a ward fast this past Sunday for Elle and her family and have been praying for her recovery. Today they decided to take Elle off of life support and she will pass away tonight. Something tragic like this makes me realize how I shouldnt take every day things, such as my siblings, for granted. I cant even imagine what life would be like if I had to wake up one morning without one of my siblings there and realize that is how it was going to be for the rest of my life. It can be taken away for us all in a second just like Elle was taken away from her family so fast. I always complain when my siblings are being loud or annoying but I would rather take that then a silent house any day..I cannot begin to imagine what they are going through right now but my heart and prayers go out to the Evans family during this trial.

Making A Change

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Last week while Stacey was in town we had a lot of good discussions amongst the girls. One of the conversations we had has really stuck with me. We talked about how us girls know exactly what we want in a guy, from the looks all the way down to their attitude towards the church. We were talking about how we want the type of guy that pushes us to want to stay the full three hours of church-because we know how difficult this is to do sometimes-or that is the elders quorum president. But then one of our friends pointed out that how can we expect these things in a guy and to get a guy like this if we aren't doing these things ourselves? And I have not been able to get that thought out of my mind the past week. Whenever I meet a guy I am looking for all of these amazing qualities but realized after my friend made this comment that I am not going to find this "perfect" guy until I have instilled these qualities in myself. So I am making a change and every quality that I expect of a guy, I am going to work my hardest to make sure I posses them also. Now lets just hope all these changes I'm trying to make in 2012 will actually bring some good!

Best of Friends.

Its weeks like this that I realize how lucky I am to be able to have such amazing friends and influences in my life. I love that I have people I can turn to when I need advice or just need to vent. This weekend/week was exactly what I needed and perfect timing! First, me, chelsi, and ashly had a little girls night and went to a basketball game and frozen yogurt before having an intense match of wii dodgeball with some new friends..



Then on Sunday Stacey got into town. I always love when she comes to visit and enjoy the time we get to spend together. Sunday night we got to hang out with my family-always a blast. Then on Monday we did what I think every girl does on a Monday night....BACHELOR!!!! Its always fun watching it with a bunch of girls because then we can all throw in our comments and judgements and laugh at the ridiculous girls, aka, Jenna the love blogger. The night ended with a very long conversation about dating, relationships, love, marriage, and divorce. Yes, we covered all the bases. But during this conversation it made every one of us realize how grateful we are to still be single and finding ourselves before finding someone to share our lives with. Tuesday was a blast. Me, Stace, Bryn, and Madi all went up to Bountiful to go to Teresas(staceys sister) zumba class that she teaches. I had never done Zumba before and was a little bit skeptical but it turned out being so much fun and Teresa was such an amazing teacher. Afterwards we went and grabbed some dinner at Kneaders, went back to Teresas and watched New Girl until calling it a night and having a slumber party :) Then today I had to say goodbye to Stace which is never fun. We went and grabbed some lunch with Madi and Bryn and did some shopping until she had to leave. Its no fun having your best friend live so far away but it makes seeing each other so much better and meaningful. Cant wait until our next vacay together..when we come to vegas for my 21st :) but until then ill miss you stace!

This small, circle necklace is what Stace gave me for Christmas! I absolutely love it! It means "FriendsxInfinity"..couldnt have said it better! Love you Stace!


I wish I had more pictures of all of our activities while Stacey was here, but the only one was from lunch at Malawis!

Cancun, Mexico

So this year as our "big" Christmas present my whole family and I went to Cancun Mexico the first week of December. We had a blast! You cant complain much when you're staying in an amazing resort, laying on the beach or by the pool every day, and eating good food. It was so relaxing to get away and spend time with my family. The highlight of my trip would most likely have to be when me and my aunt Brittany went parasailing. At first we were freaking out even talking about it but then we decided that we just needed to go for it! So we hopped on the back of a jet ski and rode out to the middle of the ocean, signed our lives away(literally!!), got hooked up to the parachute and next thing I knew we were up in the air. It was so amazing! The water is so Blue and it was so peaceful..UNTIL...ten minutes into the ride Brittany told me she was started to feel sea sick. I looked over at her and she was literally green. I started to panic thinking that if she threw up and got in on me I was going to throw up also! Next thing I know Britt is puking into the ocean while we are all the way up in the air. I was closing my eyes and plugging my ears and laughing hysterically-props to britt for getting it all in the ocean :) Even though we had that little mishap we both agreed that was the highlight of our cancun trip. Then, one of the days we went to Tulum and saw the ruins. Not gonna lie, with the humidity plus the heat plus the 13 grandkids running everywhere I was just not havin it. But on the way back to our resort we stopped off at Akumal beach which is supposed to be an amazing beach for snorkeling. And it was! I was a panicking mess when I was out in the water but it was so worth it. There were absolutely no waves so my family and I took our snorkeling gear pretty far out and saw a bunch of colorful fish, 2 sting rays, and a sea turtle that was swimming all around us. For those who dont know, I have a BIG fear of the ocean. So while we were swimming out I was scanning the water underneath back and forth for sharks. Then I remembered watching a movie where a girl had on flippers and a shark thought it was a seal so the shark attacked. Needless to say-those flippers were off my feet in ten seconds flat. Then when we kept going out further and further I was starting to panic and breathing really hard. My mom told me to go up and lay on my back to relax. So while I was laying on my back I started thinking in my head that I probably looked like a dead body to sharks so the last thing I was doing was relaxing. But even though I was a stress case the whole time Im so glad I got to experience it. We ended our last few days on our trip with doing nothing but laying by the pool and beach. It was an amazing week and I am so glad I got to experience it with my whole family. Here are a few pictures from the trip!

Trust in the Lord.

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How simple is this. I have been putting a lot of faith in my Heavenly Father lately. Its crazy to me how much of a difference I feel in my life when I am relying on the Lord. Exactly what this quote says. Happy. I just feel at ease and I feel happy. I may be stressed at times but I know that "if the Lord brings me to it, He will bring me through it" and in the end I am just grateful.

But in other words my best friend is coming on Sunday and I could not be more excited! Counting down the days! Everything is always so much better when we are together! Our days will be filled with talking about Greys Anatomy, watching Bachelor, and talking about life but until then...

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Have a good weekend!

New Year. New Blog. New Me.

With the start of the New Year and the kind reminders of my best friend, Stacey, I realized that I needed to make a new blog with new posts. I was sitting and thinking about my new years resolutions for this year and wanted to make really good goals that I could stick with and actually accomplish. I decided to take this quote that Stace put on her blog and base my resolutions for this year around it.

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I have had a lot on my mind lately and have been talking to my friends about it, but every time I do, this quote comes into my head. Maybe if I would pray about it as much as I have talked about it with my friends then I would understand a lot more. So here they are. My New Years Resolutions for the year 2012. Lets hope I stick to them.

1. Pray about it as much as I talk about it.
2. Read Scriptures daily.
3. Strengthen my testimony.
4. Every year I say I want to start a journal and keep up on it and that never works. So I decided that this is going to be my journal and I'm going to keep up on blogging.
5. Be a better sister.
6. Be a better daughter.
7. Be a better friend.
8. Get into shape :)
9. Forgive the people that have hurt me in the past.
10. Make 2012 a memorable year.

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Its true, I am a different person compared to who I was this time last year. 2011 has been a tough one. It has come with love, heart breaks, laughter, and a lot of tears. And I wouldnt trade it for anything. I made some amazing friends, came closer to my old friends, and made a lot of memories. But I would be lying if I said I wasnt ready for 2012. Time to make some changes and see what comes my way. Here are some of my favorite memories from the year 2011...

Me and Sydney went to Vegas

and we got to hang out with Stacey :)

I turned 20 years old

Festival of Colors

Biggest blessing of 2011...Charlie David Nelson was born





Fourth Of July with my best friends

Charlies Baby Blessing

Tovah was born

One of my best friends got married

Had a photo session with my best friend :)

"Best Date EVER"


Trafalga Game Night!






Now lets make 2012 better...

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Change.

The last time that I blogged I was on cloud nine and so happy and didn't think my life could get any better. A lot has changed since then. I would keep coming back and re-reading my last post and I couldn't bring myself to blog something new because I couldn't figure out how to say that I have had a complete 360 degree turn. Me and Brayden are no longer dating. I guess after two years of not seeing each other we finally realized that we were not the same 16 year old. I'm not going to lie, I was heart broken. But I got over it when I met Danny. He was so funny and caring and made me so happy. Me and Danny dated for the next 4 months and it was one of the most fun times I have had with someone. Some of my closest friends and family didn't agree with mine and Dannys relationship and I couldn't see why until my best friend, Stacey Clark, sent me an email that was a talk from Gordon B. Hinckley. After a long hard month I finally realized that I could not keep waiting for Danny to change and not keep making the choices that he had recently made a part of his life. After many promises of him saying he wont do it again and many promises broken I knew what I had to do. Its been really hard but I know that its what best for me and for Danny so that he can focus on himself. He is moving to Hawaii this week to work on getting the issue fixed and I could not be more proud of him and wish him the best and hope that he can get everything resolved because I know he has the potential of being an amazing guy again. The reason that I decided to finally post about what has been going on in my life, even though it is not the greatest, is because of a really good conversation I had last night with one of my good friends from high school. Me and him got to talking about relationships and learning things from each one. It was last night that I finally realized that I shouldn't be bitter and mad at the boys who have let me down but instead be grateful that I had the chance to date them because they truly did each teach me something about what I want in a husband and what I don't want. From my first boyfriend I learned that it is so important to marry someone that you are best friends with. Me and Sam were best friends for about a year before actually getting in a relationship and because of that we never fought and always could joke around and have a good time. I wish that I could take something positive from my next relationship but instead I learned exactly what I don't want in a husband. But now I can be grateful for those hard 6 months I had with him because if I start to date a guy that posseses those qualities I know to get out and get out fast. Brayden taught me that I actually do deserve someone that cares about me. And Danny taught me so much about both sides. He taught me that I deserve someone that puts me on a pedestal and treats me like a queen. He taught me that I can be myself around a guy that truly cares about me and that he wont judge me and he will think I am pretty even in sweats and a sweatshirt, no makeup, and hair in a bun on top of my head. But he also taught me that I deserve someone that wont give into the peer pressure of the world and make the choices that the church has so clearly laid out that we should not make. I have been feeling so down lately wondering why I have to keep having all of these trials with the guys I date but I am glad to now know that there is a reason. There is someone out there that is going to be everything and more and I know that if someone can make me feel as good as he did that it is going to be one hundred times better when it is the person Im supposed to be with for eternity and I cannot wait for that day to come. But until then I am going to take this time to spend time with my family and close friends and to come closer to my Heavenly Father. All of these hard trials I have gone through have made me a stronger and better person and for that I am also grateful. Its time to be picky about the guys I spend my time with. I know what I deserve and I will not accept any less. Just like President Hinckley said, "Make yourself worthy of the loveliest girl in all the world. Keep yourself worthy through all the days of your life." And this is the guy I will get by being picky. A WORTHY return missionary that holds the priesthood and has a testimony. And I will not settle for less. Its time that I'm the selfish one :)