grrr.

Well I am currently frustrated with school... Winter Semester is so hard - there are really no breaks, it's cold and  you can't do anything outside, spring is so close i can feel it, and this year London is officially less than two months away  - all of which just make me not want to be in school. Plus some of my classes drive me crazy and hindsight, I should not have taken them.. but oh well, such is life right?? and for the moment I'm on to bigger and better things.... like blogging?? Okay, well I guess not bigger, but definitely better than my homework right now!
Since i'm here I will try to catch up on on my 31 day photo challenge that I am failing miserably at!

Day 16 - A photo of someone who inspires me

Yep, Pink pj's and all. This woman is one of, if not the most inspiring person I know. She is just tremendous and amazing, besides being my mom! She is such an example to me of never giving up, and working hard for the things you want. 

Day 17 -Something that has made a huge impact on my life recently

BYU basketball... just kidding, but really GO JIMMER! 

I know he is a person, not something, but recently he has had the biggest impact on my life. Life is a whole lot different when you are dating someone, but I love it. He is so fantastic and I am incredibly lucky to have him in my life! 

Day 18 - A picture of my biggest insecurity. 

I am going to have to say school and graduating and getting get grades. I have always had a fairly easy time with school, but it just seems to get harder and harder. I am great with homework assignments and writing papers, but I have the hardest time taking tests. Getting good grades is definitely an insecurity for me. 

Okay! Well that should do it for tonight - I will keep on this though and I will finish this photo challenge - I will!! 

Home is Where the Heart is

Sorry, I haven't been on for a couple weeks, last weekend Laren and I hopped in the car and headed to Oregon for the President's Day weekend. It was an absolutely fantastic trip! We drove all night Thursday night, which was quite the experience for both of us. We hit a snowstorm in Ontario and had snow for about 4 hrs of the drive. I have to say that was probably the worst part of the trip - I do not do driving in the snow very well, so it was a learning experience for me and great bonding for us! We made it in about 12.5 hrs which was awesome time.
Friday we slept and played with my nephew McCoy and niece Oaklee for a few hours. I showed Laren around my hometown, said hello to some old teachers at the High School and then we took another nap! Friday night we headed over to the high school and watched the Varsity Boy's and Girl's basketball games and just enjoyed playing with McCoy and Oaklee. Laren also FINALLY met my best friend Alichelen and her boyfriend Bryce. It was so good to see her and get to spend time with her!!
Saturday we got up and headed to Corvallis to watch my nieces Mckenna and Maia play basketball. It was so fun to watch them! They are both growing up so fast - I can't believe they are both playing basketball. Laren met my sister Stephani and her husband Zak and we spent a couple hours visiting with them at their house after the games. Saturday night we picked up my friend Ashliegh and took her over to Florence. After we dropped her off, Laren and I headed down to the beach for a little bit. I have always had a love for watching the waves crash onto the sand at night and so it was fun to stand and watch the waves and look at the stars. Then we hit up BJ's for some delicious ice cream and headed back to Veneta.
Sunday we went to my home ward for church and visited with some friends of mine. I LOVE going to my home ward because Bryce and Bren are there and I always get to hold Oaklee during church. She is just the cutest baby and I have to say church is a lot of fun with her!! After church we went by the cemetery and visited Brooke's grave. Then ran up to Corvallis for a family dinner with the whole gang! The whole family was really excited to meet Laren and I am excited and happy to say they all approve ( well as far as I was told ;) ) !!! My nieces and nephews loved him and I had to give them time limits and tell him we had to share him with everyone. I'm not sure how he felt about all this sharing, but he's still alive, so I think that's a pretty good sign!
Monday we got up early, hopped in the car again and headed back to Provo. The drive was nice and long, but very enjoyable. We were proud of our roadtrip abilities with each other!! After 14 hours we made it back to Provo and well we just crashed!
But, reality came early Tuesday morning, so that it why I have been absent from my blog. I will start back up on my 31 day photo challenge this week, and hopefully I can get it finished!!

Laren and I at the family dinner

L is for the way you look tonight

Well today is Valentine's Day and usually I would be less than thrilled for this day to come around, but this year is a much different story! This year I can gladly say that I am looking forward to a wonderful Valentine's day with  an amazing guy!

My Valentine <3 

Having the intent to enjoy this day to the fullest I am lucky to have Pandora by my side! I turned on my Disney station ( yep, i am a child at heart!) and so far every song has been a love song. 

Disney + Love songs = the start to a fantastic day in my book! 

So in the spirit of today here are some pictures of my and my valentine and of course a few of my favorites things as of lately thrown in there too!

 His Tangled smolder 

Sunday Gratitude

1. The Sabbath ~ I  absolutely love Sunday's!! Ever since I was a little girl Sunday has been my favorite day of the week. I love being able to go to church and partake of the Sacrament and feel that spirit in my Sunday meetings. 

2. I am alway grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the role it plays in my life. Lately though I have been thinking a lot about the atonement and just how amazing it is. I have been so blessed in my life and I have been able to see the power of the atonement in my life and in the lives of those close to me and it brings me to tears because I love it so much. It has changed me so much and continually pushes me to be a better person!

3. Sunny Days ~ The weather in Provo has been absolutely gorgeous lately! Today was in the high 40's / low 50's with blue sky and tons of sun! It felt so good to be outside and enjoying this weather! It was giving me spring fever and making me so ancy for Utah's dreary winter to be over!

4. Friend Reunions ~ Friday night I headed up to Alpine to see the girls from my dorm last year. It was so much fun!! I loved visiting with my old roomie and seeing the other girls in the dorm!

5. Google Docs ~ Google Docs = my life saver! Well the people who are so generous and willing to create them are the life savers, but either way! In my bigger classes there are always one or two people who create study guides on google docs and it is SOOO helpful and wonderful, especially when I don't have the time to go through an entire study guide by myself!

6. Accidental naps ~ Today I closed my eyes and the next thing I know I had taken a 3 hr nap!! I love naps so much, they are so great and one day my soon to be 13 yr old nieces will understand just how great they are!

7. A job ~ Finding jobs at BYU are so ridiculously hard to do!! It took me a lot of job hunting and sending 

e-mails to finally find one, and the best part is that I love it!! My boss is so wonderful and great to work with and the other students I work with are wonderful as well. 

8. Ikea ~ Last night Laren and I made a stop at Ikea on our way home from dinner with some friends and I fell in love with it again, like I do every time I go! If I had the money I would probably have an entire house full of Ikea and some Pottery Barn of course :) 

9. The arts ~ I am taking a ballet class this semester and I am loving it! Saturday afternoon I went to BYU Ballet Theatre's production of Cinderella and it was amazing! I had such a greater appreciation for the dancers after being in a ballet class and knowing how hard it is. It made me so thankful for all of the wonderful arts and talents that other people have and are willing to share with others! 

10. My Family ~ I am going to Oregon this coming Presidents Day weekend with my boyfriend Laren and the last week I have just been so grateful for my family and excited to see them! I love all of my family more than I could ever express and I am filled with an immense gratitude that I get to have them as my family!!! 

Day 14

WHYY is this silly thing so darn hard?! Today is supposed to be a picture of someone I could not imagine my life without. Too bad, there are way more than just one person that I cannot even begin to imagine living my life without. Here is a few fun pics of some of those people !

 I can't say enough words for how much I love and adore my mother!!

LOVE!!!

 kicking it back to the old days 

Stalking

It's not as bad as it sounds.. ok well maybe! I can't help that there are some incredibly cute blogs out there and I happen to stumble upon them. Stumbleupon.com is going to be the death of me and my grades!!! It is so great! You select the topics you like and then click stumble upon and it sends you to websites / pictures that match what you selected. The most amazing part is it actually sends you to things you like!! I put up a few of my great finds for you to see :)

Day 13

A picture of my favorite band or artist... hmmm...

Judge me as you may, BUT I have to say that the you cannot go wrong with a good  jonas brothers rock out on those days when you need a pick me up, your feeling goofy, or actually really just anytime of anyday !

Day 12

Today is a picture of something I love and if you read my last post you probably realize that is a lot since I don't really hate anything!!! Just to list a few : Chocolate, Sunflowers, Horses, Good Movies, Channing Tatum, Disney, the color Pink, Rain, Soccer and sports in general, BYU Basketball Games aka JIMMER!!, Did I already mention Chocolate?! There are so many more things that I love, but I will leave it at that and
this  -

I LOVE SHOES! Haha, yes, if you have seen my closet you would know that I love shoes and I am always wanting more. I recently found this nifty gadget that makes storing heels so easy! I want one!!!

Day 11

A picture of something I hate... well I honestly do not "hate" anything. I don't believe in hate, but there is something I dislike with a passion!

SEAFOOD!!!!!! 

If there is one thing on this planet that I really cannot stand it is definitely seafood. And, yes I have tried seafood plenty of times, I really just do not like it!

Day 10

Today is supposed to be the day where I show you a picture of the person I do the craziest things with. But, you see I wouldn't be honest or fair to you if I just put a picture of one person. So I am making today's challenge plural!

See the girl in the middle with one hand in the air? That's ME!!! Yep, this summer while camping at Blue Lake up the McKenzie river me and my beyond awesome friends decided to jump off this road bridge. 

We also like to make pyramids and ride backwards while tubing.

I love my friends. They are such great people and I am glad I have so many fun memories with them!

Day 9

A picture of the person who has gotten me through the most.

1. Jesus Christ. I love him so much and I know that without him in my life I would not be where I am today. 

2. My family. My family is my everything. We have been through everything together and they the most amazing people I know. I love them so much!!