I'm Dreamin' of a White Christmas

I think I have become a bit of a winter lover!  The cold weather, the snow, the bundled up layers, the crisp air, the 3-ft icicles hanging from the roof, etc.  I LOVE it!  (I would love it even more if our apartment wasn't so cold, but even that is getting easier as we are finally adjusting.)  All the Christmas songs talk about things like, "let it snow" and "the weather outside is frightful" and "Jack Frost nipping at your nose."  I understand those songs now and love them even more now!  It really is "beginning to look a lot like Christmas."

Whatever will I do in winters to come when I don't live in snow?!  I guess I'll just be, "dreaming of a white Christmas."  My mom and sister and I went to the musical, A White Christmas at Gammage last weekend.  It was fantastic!!  Legend has it that Irving Berlin wrote the song while staying in Tucson, Arizona.  I guess it isn't too weird for people to miss having a White Christmas.

I hope that no matter what kind of Christmas you are having, you enjoy it!  It truly is, "the most wonderful time of the year!"

It's Kinda Hard to Wait!

There is a talk from this past general conference that has seriously been on my mind since I read it a few weeks ago.  I don't even remember it from when I listened to conference the first time, but I seriously think it may have been written just for me!

It is Elder Robert D. Hales talk titled, "Waiting Upon the Lord: Thy Will Be Done."  

We wait for test results/race results to post.  All growing up my dad would say, "We are waiting for Kourtney." (Promptness is not my forte!)  We wait in traffic.  We have waiting rooms at doctors offices.  We wait in lines when we shop (especially this time of year).  Etc, etc! 

Needless to say, we all are acquainted with waiting.  After reading this talk though, I realized I really did not understand what waiting meant according to the scriptural term.  

The scriptures speak of waiting upon the Lord time after time.  But to wait in that sense means, "to hope, to anticipate, and to trust."  It doesn't just mean to sit around and do nothing.  "Waiting upon the Lord means pondering in our hearts and 'receiv[ing] the Holy Ghost' so that we can know 'all things what [we] should do'." 

Then he states, "In my life I have learned that sometimes I do not receive an answer to a prayer because the Lord knows I am not ready.  When He does answer, it is often 'here a little and there a little' because that is all that I can bear or all I am willing to do."

That statement hit me like a ton of bricks.  I realized a lesson I had never learned and I recognized a weakness of mine: I am terrible at waiting!  Waiting upon the Lord never includes complaining; it requires hope.  Waiting doesn't include dreading; it includes anticipation.  It doesn't include skepticism; it includes trust.  Welp, I find that when I am waiting, I typically just complain, dread and question all the things I am waiting for.  I complain when I get stuck waiting in traffic.  I dread finding out my test scores, and I struggle to believe something will turn out.  

No wonder figuring out what is next is so difficult.  I am doing it all wrong.  For instance, I have enjoyed learning about the different areas of interest within my program.  One area in particular interested me from day one: the NICU.  I decided that day that I wanted to end up being a SLP in the NICU.  As the time drew closer to decide on an externship, I looked up tons of pediatric hospitals and fell in love with Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake.  That was it!  I researched everything.  I found apartments online.  I looked up the institute.  I looked forward to Utah and all it had to offer!  I prayed about it, waited (or thought I was waiting), and got nothin!  No answer.  Then, life happened.  I got busy, didn't have time to focus on it, and some new pieces to my puzzle of life had me thinking maybe the NICU wasn't the area of interest, and Utah was not the place.  A new plan started in my mind and I studied it out, weighed the pros and cons, and knew I needed to pray about this new plan instead.  But I wasn't anticipating this new plan with any kind of hope or trust.  Finally once I humbled myself enough to ask, my direction has become much more clear.  

Lessons Learned:

1. When praying about Utah, I forgot one little (ok, major) thing... "Thy will be done."

2. I wasn't ready to hear what God's answer was when praying about Utah... so He didn't give me an answer but instead opened my eyes "here a little and there a little."  

3. I wasn't truly waiting when I first asked about my new plan of moving back to the valley; therefore, I didn't know what to do until I asked, "waiting upon the Lord, Thy will be done."

I have learned that I really need to learn how to wait better.  I am going to start with temporal things - being more patient with traffic, more trusting with others, and do less complaining in general.  

The promise given in the scriptures states, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).  The promise given to those who wait are quite incredible!  I guess you could say, they are "worth the wait!"  

Thankful Day

Thanksgiving began with the Turkey Trot Tradition.  My dad and I ran the 10K and for the first time, A joined us and she ran the 2 mile fun run.  And that crazy sister of mine came in 1st place for girls and 5th place overall out of 1500 runners.  She is quite the athlete!!  

I absolutely love the turkey trot.  So many spend the day gorging and focusing on the FOOD!  But to see 10,000 people show up to support healthy living at the turkey trot is so awesome!  

I am thankful for a healthy body.  I am thankful for all it is capable of.  It is such a blessing!  I have battled the flu and a crazy cold this season.  I know that is nothing compared to what some bodies are called to endure, but even this minor flu has reminded me how amazing our bodies are!  

It is a blessing.  It is a gift.  I am setting a goal to take better care of it!  I am going to get better sleep.  I am going to go to bed earlier.  I am going to eat healthier.  I am going to work out more consistently.  I am going to try to focus on the blessing my body is and not find fault in it! 

(If you hear me fault-finding, hit me!)

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the yummy food on Thanksgiving: everything in moderation! :)

But what I absolutely LOVED was my time with my family (both sides)!  

Games, football, holding babies, laughing, planning Black Friday shopping, chatting, napping!!  

It was ALL amazing!  

Friday consisted of TONS of shopping!! - DUH!  

Every year, my family has participated in helping with the Salvation Army's Christmas Angels.  Last year, my sister really wanted to do her own angel like us, but had never saved a penny in her life.  We told her she should do it, but that it would be REALLY hard to do!  She was excited to shop on Friday, but her main reason for shopping... to spend her $200 of hard-earned (and saved) money to help bless another child with Christmas.  As we walked up to the Salvation Army trees to choose a child, she was SO exited!!  She then began to look at each tag.  She turned and told us she wanted to help ALL of them!  She was disappointed she didn't save more.  I was humbled by her love and determination to help these children!  She ended up walking out of there with THREE kids!  She is such an amazing example!!

Friday evening, we started an 1,000 piece puzzle as a family.  We ended up working on it for a good chunk of time on Saturday too!  It was so fun to all be there together and working together!  We finished it Saturday afternoon and decided that we want to make that an annual tradition from now on!  It was so fun! 

I truly do have SO much to be thankful for!

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Saturday morning I woke up to the only clear morning we had in California. It was my wish - to be able to enjoy the 180* view of the ocean from Kathy's kitchen while eating breakfast. It was incredible!! I love that view so much!

After we ate, we packed up and drove up to

SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN

(yes, I ditched the last day of my convention to go ride roller coasters)

We got there a little late due to my lack of planning and the park was PACKED! I was a little frustrated that we got there late and that practically half of the entire nation's high schoolers were there!

But one of those high schoolers was my brother D! His high school physics class drove all the way out on Saturday to go to six flags too! It was SO fun to have him there with us!

The only roller coaster I had been on before was the one in California Adventure and the few in Disneyland so I was super excited! I nearly passed out on Goliath (due to the G-Force on that ride). I LOVED scream!! (we went twice). The wooden roller coaster was hilarious - I think it almost chopped our heads off! We broke down while on the Ninja. We went on a few more and then we stood in line for Tatsu (it's a roller coaster that you ride while laying down on your stomach!) It was well worth the wait!

That night, Kristin's parents took us to dinner! We were so spoiled on this trip and ate some wonderfully amazing food! It was a very fun day!!! 

ASHA

ASHA: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Last week was the national ASHA convention held in San Diego. Since it was so close, I decided to go! I left late Wednesday night and drove the 7 1/2 hours to San Diego.

Thursday morning, I drove down the convention center and joined the biggest group of Speech Pathologists ever! It was overwhelming! I was among hundreds of professionals. I couldn't believe that I was even allowed to be there with them! I couldn't believe that I am almost one of them! It was a humbling and nerve-racking thought!

The opening speaker thanked our field for giving her communication after a stroke. It was powerful. I was reminded of the true reason for why I am in this field - to make a difference, to inspire others, to improve education, to empower people! How exciting!

The classes throughout the day were amazing and I feel like I was able to remember how much I do love this field instead of how much I despise schoolwork! It was refreshing! It was exactly what I needed to finish up this semester strong!

The classes were even better on Friday and I had the chance to even walk down the bay to my favorite little outdoor shopping plaza EVER - Seaport Village Plaza! I ate lunch as I looked out over the bay and I walked around enjoying the live music and the Christmas decorations! It was a wonderful afternoon followed by more wonderful classes!

Friday night, I drove just up the road to one of the prettiest buildings - the San Diego Temple! It was incredible! I was able to jump in with another group and enjoy the beauty and peace inside the temple! It was one of the more neat experiences I have had in the temple in a long time! I love how you are never done learning in the temple!

And....

.......I got this..........

............... for FREE!!!!!!

Yes, I won an iPad!!!!! I entered in a few drawings at the convention knowing that I probably wouldn't win. Much to my surprise, I WON! :) I was shocked and so excited! (I guess I have my mom's luck: she always wins drawings!!) I can't wait to start using it!

Friday night, Kristin and I (Kristin came with so I didn't travel alone) drove out to Kathy's and they took me out to dinner for my birthday! It was so fun and the food was amazing! Then we walked out on the pier and looked out at the ocean until we couldn't handle the cold any longer (a whoppin' 10 min).

It was a wonderful weekend full of so many awesome things! :)

Half Marathon III

Race Week:

Monday - didn't get to workout

Tuesday - didn't get to workout

Wednesday - woke up SICK, slept for 17 hours, drank a soda,

and... didn't even get out of bed

Thursday - slept for 10 hours, drank another soda

Friday - hung out with family and attempted to eat

Saturday - ran 13.1 miles

I was maybe, just slightly determined to finish this race.

The first 6 miles were amazing!

I ran my fastest 10k ever!

And then....

I tanked!

I thought those next 7.1 miles would NEVER end!

I walked my entire last mile!

(Pathetic)

My dad ran the 10K and kept me going for that final mile! Thanks dad!

I still got my best time yet! - 2:17:30

Take THAT flu!!!

The only problem? - I was aiming for under 2:10:00.

I probably would have had it if I had ANY nutrients to rely on after my entire 600 calories from the past 72 hours would have lasted longer than 6 miles!!! ;)

Oh well, I finished!

Ultimately, that is ALL that really matters!

(It's like life... we all start at the same place and are trying to get to the finish line. Some get there sooner. Some take longer. Some are better prepared to get there. Some follow the path closer than others. Some take detours. Everyone has moments where finishing seems hard! And ultimately the time doesn't matter as long as each person makes it! - Running and the gospel have a LOT in common! - I could talk about this topic alone for HOURS!)

A New Season

Things are changing....

I feel it!

We had a beautiful fall that consisted of me wearing shorts until last week.

The red-colored trees never became a typical sight taken for granted.

The smell of pines never ceases to make me happy.

The trails I've been running never get old.

It was an amazing fall!

The view from our porch looked like this...

Saturday I woke up to a winter wonderland.

The skies are pink at night again.

The world is so quiet.

It looks so fresh.

I forgot how pretty a snow-covered world is.

I forgot how quiet it gets.

I forgot how beautiful it is.

It's a change.

But each season has it's perks.

I only have 7 months of school left.

I only will be living up here for 7 more months.

I only have one winter left up here.

I only have one more snowboarding season here.

I only have one more semester up here.

I only have one more spring to hike every single trail.

Today, my professor let me know that I got the externship site I wanted.

I couldn't be happier!

It is exactly what I think I want!!

My externship site is back in the valley.

That means I am moving back home in 7 months.

That means so many wonderful things...

But

I will miss it here.

Just like I will miss fall.

I guess that is what seasons are: things that come and go.

Spooktacular Festivities

This Halloween season has been celebrated for the past week!

We kicked off the holiday with Halloween Cupcakes

Yeah, those cupcakes have a TON of food coloring in the frosting!

But are they not the fun or what?!?

Next, we searched and searched and searched for halloween costumes...

and found NOTHING!!

So, we went out and bought all of the stuff to make our own.

Then our apartment became the biggest mess ever!

We definitely questioned our decision a few times,

but I feel that they turned out pretty darn cute!

Can you tell what we are?!?

(Please say you can....)

We ended our celebrations with a festive pizza!

Happy Halloween!

Spelling Bee??

Who knows when to use the following:

their and they're and there

or

two, to, and too

or

your and you're

or

a lot and alot (never use the second one - it's not a word!!!)

or

affect and effect

I am not perfect at spelling and I am not claiming to be, but some words just need to be memorized and used correctly!

Well, tonight my sister (who is hilarious and so awesome)

was texting me and spelt a word wrong in her text.

I corrected her in my response.

She then responded with the following text,

"Sorry, my phone doesn't have spell check! :)"

Heaven forbid you have to actually LEARN how to spell something!

I died laughing and then realized how true her statement is:

maybe spelling is a thing of the past!

From now on,

I am going to chalk up my misspellings to a lack of a comprehensive "spell checker"!

(yes, I am now very self-conscious that I misspelled something in this post!! haha!)

Arizona State Fair

I seriously LOVE the Arizona State Fair!

I am not quite sure why...

The people are super random!

The entire place smells like fried-something!

It was 100* when I went.

But, I have a love for the Fair!

Maybe it came when I danced there every year as a little girl.

Regardless, I LOVE it! :)

So glad I got to go this year!

Tricky, Tricky

Don't judge the fact that this chocolate is from last Christmas! I'm not too picky and when I'm craving chocolate, any form will do.

(Lately, I have been craving lots of different things! I am going to be the worst pregnant lady ever!

- But, that is an entirely different topic!)

I peeled off the wrapper and put this Reeses Peanut Butter Cup in my mouth to quickly realize it had another wrapper.... and another, and another,

or six to be exact!

Tricky, Tricky!

One of THOSE kind of days

You know it's one of those kind of days when you eat cookies for breakfast and listen to Christmas music in October...

Is this semester over yet?!?

General Conference Goals

If you don't know what General Conference is or you didn't get a chance to see it, go here!

I love love love LOVE conference!

As one of my friends said, it's like the super-bowl for mormons - we gather around the t.v. with lots of food and laughter and tears!

Below are some goals I set after listening to conference:

-Memorize scriptures (Elder Scott)

-Remember the greatness of God (Pres. Uchtdorf)

-Get involved in family history (Elder Bednar)

-Eliminate wasted time (Elder Andern)

-Study the Book of Mormon (Pres. Eyring)

-Develop charity (Pres. Eyring)

-Have the courage to share the gospel more often (Elder Ballard)

-Pray more earnestly (Pres. Monson)

-Be a real student (Elder Richardson)

-Recognize tender mercies (Elder Cook)

I'm excited to get started and read these talks over and over again!!

Grand Canyon - Rim to Rim

Saturday morning we woke up really early and packed up our overnight bags and jumped back in the van to head over to the North Rim trail head. We officially began hiking at 5:21am! It was pitch black and freezing cold! The freezing cold didn't last long and our day adventure through the canyon was off to a great start!

The Grand Canyon is full of remarkable things you never expect to see down there! It holds aspen-wooded forests, 6+foot tall grasses, tall waterfalls, metallic rocks, beach-like sand, clear-water creeks, cactus-filled deserts, chocolate-milk-like rivers, towering canyon walls, and on and on!

We saw the most amazing things and pictures don't even do it justice! No matter how many corners you turned, a new terrain was there to await you!

Until the last 4.6 miles... then no matter how many corners you turned, another switchback awaited you! I never thought the last few miles would end!!!!!

My dad and I finished together coming in at 24.5 miles in 9 hours and 53 minutes!! It was so rewarding to then look out at the canyon knowing I just walked all the way across it! It is by far the most challenging thing I have ever done!! I did indeed demonstrate a very wonderful version of what they call the "Grand Canyon Shuffle" while at church yesterday! I think it took me three or four tries to bend over and pick up my purse from off the ground. I am not sure if my quads or hip flexers will ever recover and I surely don't want to even think about gatorade or beef jerky ever again!! BUT, it is one of the most fun things I have ever done! And I am so glad I was able to do it with my dad!

Grand Canyon - North Rim

On Friday, Cami and I snuck out of class early to jump in a 15 passenger van with my dad and family friends from the valley as we all headed up to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. I had never been to the north rim until this trip. It was so beautiful and secluded (unlike the south rim) and unlike what you typically expect of the Grand Canyon.

(here is our crew... or most of us!)

The Lodge (rebuilt in 1937 after a fire) was breathtaking! It is housed on the actual rim and has rows and rows of chairs and couches overlooking the Grand Canyon. The starry sky that night was the most incredible I've ever seen and the milky way was impossible to miss! After staring into the sky at all the stars, it was easy to imagine how close heaven is!

(The Lodge behind us!)

We went to dinner at the Lodge as the sun set at the canyon and then watched a live musician play his personally, hand-crafted guitar. It was so fun and quite relaxing!

In order to stock up on as much energy as we possibly could, we headed to bed as early as possible! We stayed in one of the 100 quaint little cabins that were built in the 1930's. They were so simple and small; yet so wonderful well-kept!

And this contraption below was in the shower!! - I am finding myself one of these for my kids bathroom (ya know... once I have some of those!). Isn't that just the coolest thing?!?

Pumphouse Wash

Yes, it is another hiking post!

Last weekend's adventure consisted of...

Slot Canyons at Pumphouse Wash

What can I say?!? We only have so many good weekends left!

And we have WAY too many good hikes to fit in!

Did I mention that I still haven't done Humphrey's OR Mt. Elden?!?

We do take the greatest jumping pictures if I do say so myself!

Peanut Butter Sandwiches

In 8th grade, I ate a bagel and cream cheese, an entire tray of french fries, a huge chocolate shake, and always finished it off with a bag of sugar babies for lunch every single day.

In 9th grade, I accepted the truth that I was in need of a healthier lunch and started taking a peanut butter and honey sandwich to school every day.

I have eaten that for lunch nearly every school day since.

Eight years later, I am quite disgusted by peanut butter and honey sandwiches, but I am poor as ever and STILL packing lunch for school daily.

No fears thought, I have rediscovered JAM!

Peanut Butter and Jam is SO delicious!!

It looks like I will survive my last year of school lunches after all!

Oak Creek Canyon

On Labor day...

(p.s. my dad happens to be the best person I can ever imagine to celebrate this holiday! He is the hardest worker I know!)

...we planned a quick last-minute trip down to Oak Creek Canyon.

Us four girls jumped in the car and belted out the song, Take a Back Road by Rodney Atkins...

"so sick and tired of this interstate system

I need a curve and wind and twistin'

Down a dusty path to nowhere...

Yeah, it makes me wanna take a back road

Makes me wanna take the long way home

Put a little gravel in my travel

Unwind unravel all day long..."

We sure did "tear down some two-lane country" and pulled over at a random spot and hiked down to the creek and played in it for hours.

It was so beautiful and so relaxing!!!

There really is something about driving down a winding two-lane road lined with God's creations with the fresh air blowing through your hair that can make any bad day good and any good day even better!

I thank Heavenly Father time and time again for allowing me to live in such an incredible place!

Sprint Triathlon

Cami and I decided to cross off yet another bucket-list item this year!

We signed up for the triathlon many months ago

but...

the 3 weeks leading up to the race were not filled with as much training as they should've been!

So...

We loaded up my Target bike and drove down to Anthem Friday night to meet our friend, Jaime

for a yummy Italian carb-load, European chocolate, and a few "Say Yes to the Dress" episodes before we finally fell asleep at the hotel.

5am came quite early and we were quite nervous going into it.

But the race began and it was SO much fun!!

My ultimate goal was 1:30:00.

I got 1:29:17!!

And 3rd place in my age group!!

(There were only 6 total)

I am addicted.

Olympic distance now?!

As soon as I can afford a real road bike...

Walleyball Champs

My roommate, our neighbor, and I went down to the newly opened recreational center on campus (boy is it a beauty... as it should be! It only costs us $200/semester). We heard there was a walleyball tournament and we decided to play in it.

Walleyball: (sport) similar to volleyball but in a racquetball court played

with 2-4 players per team.

Once we got there, I was starting to wonder if we were making a poor choice that involved humiliation as many of the teams seemed "hardcore." Regardless, we swallowed our pride and decided to just have fun with it!

To our pleasant surprise, we WON!!

Yeah, we even won shirts for it! It was a blast and it made me realize how much I miss playing!! I think it's time I start playing more often again!

All Together

My siblings and I all went and did baptisms in the temple the other day TOGETHER!!

It was pretty awesome!! I love the temple!

I can't wait till we all can be there together as a family in the Celestial room.

THAT will be pretty neat!

Don't Mess with Texas

Yep, I have now been east of Arizona. I've been to the great state of Texas. Last week, one of my absolute favorite families invited me to spend a week in their home with their four sweet kids! I have been looking forward to this week for a very long time!! I had so much fun seeing downtown and all the cute, quaint shops, and eating tons of delicious food!

The kids were so cute and I can't believe how fast they grow up!! I loved waking up two smiley twins each morning and then watching them excitedly wake up the older two kids. I loved hearing them sing-a-long to their favorite songs in the car. I loved how excited the older kids were to tell me all about camp. I loved bouncing around with the twins and playing Just Dance and making goo with the older kids.

I loved watching the twins race across this bridge over and over and over again! (I loved the tree covered streets there!!)

I loved taking silly pictures with the older two.

But my favorite moments most of all included giggling with the kids until my stomach hurt, and all the hugs and kisses I got...

and talking with the older kids right before bed about whatever they wanted, and having a family night lesson in a fort, and watching them help each other.

I was so lucky to get to spend a week with them and I already miss them again so much BUT the opportunity to go and spend an entire week with them was the best ever!

Fossil Springs

I went to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen last weekend with a group of YSAs from the institute!!

This place is so close!

We hiked past waterfall after waterfall until we got to "The Waterfall."

(Look how clear the water is!!)

And I jumped off the top of it (the rock at the very top right side of the picture - about 35 feet high) and swam behind it and hiked back through the creek. It was seriously SO much fun!!

If you haven't been, and you live close, you are missing out!!