Horseback Riding and an Engagement

Glorious day - I had so much fun on this shoot tonight. We went up South Fork and rode horses up to a meadow where we took some beautiful engagements for my cousin Kinzie and her sweetheart, Quinn. I love how they turned out and can't wait to show them to you. Yay :) Here is me riding a horse for the first time. It was also Britani's first time riding. That was fun to experience this with her. I'm glad I wasn't the only rookie going ;)

Oh and here are some from the actual shoot! Enjoy :)

Expressing Thankfulness [Day 1]

Today I am grateful for my ability to find the good in people. I played a game (and am continuing to play) on Facebook and the main idea is for someone to send a random number of their choice to my inbox on Facebook and I post a status using that number to write to them. The idea is to tell them the good things about them. It's fun because it forces me to think in a certain way and sometimes it's hard for me, so I like to find the good in people and share it with them. Some friends I've known for a long time and I some I don't know as well, but I still did my best to be genuine.

Here are a few things I said about some people:

5,000,000,000: hey there little brother :) you are so fun and spunky and are always looking for a new adventure. You're so lively and wonderfully fantastic and I love all of your witty jokes. They make me giggle. I wish we lived a little bit closer so that we could hang out more often, but of course you are closer than you used to be :) miss you booger :)

13: Well, we've had our ups and downs in the last few months, but they were all worth it. I love how close we are and I love spending time with you. I'm sorry I've been so crazy lately. You've been a good friend to me and I love you. I love that you're so open with me and that you're so comfortable around me. I also love how funny you are and when I get you on those random tangents about things that you love. It's fun getting you to talk a lot because it doesn't happen very often. I also love that you're so spunky and full of life when you wanna be. It's magnificent. I love that you're so passionate about what you love and you treasure those that you love. You're incredible. Never forget it :)

2: You are, no joke, one of the FUNNIEST people I have ever met. And by far the best story teller. How do I know this? Because of how you made our ENTIRE group of like 20 people bust up laughing and die while rolling on the floor because we were all laughing so hard at your stories. One of the best dates ever. You always have a smile on and are doing your best to make everyone around you feel better when they're down. You are a sweetheart. You are going to be a wonderful missionary. Always remember to keep smiling and lifting others up, because that's what you do best. Love you kiddo :)

3212333: First of all, what you wrote about me - you SERIOUSLY made my day. In fact, you made my week. Nope, scratch that, my LIFE. That is seriously what I hope everyone will see in me. Of course I say stupid things sometimes, but I'm only human. Okay, this status isn't about me, it's about you. Whenever I think about you or see a post written by you on Facebook, I always subconsciously wish that we were better friends. I watched you all through high school wishing that I had gotten to know you better, but the opportunity just never came up. We never crossed paths much, but I know that people look up to you. I don't know what kind of challenges that you've overcome in your life thus far, but I can tell that you didn't make it to this point in your life by giving up. Keep on smiling and remember who you really are. Thanks for looking for and seeing the best in me (and everyone else around you). You are absolutely wonderful. If you ever need anything, I'm here for you, even if you just want to talk :)

 

Now with this girl ^^^, I need to post what she wrote about me, because well... you'll just have to read it...

 

7: You mentioned that we don't know each other very well. You're right - but let me share with you what I do know about you. You want to be good; you have a desire to be good and to spread good. You are one of the least judgmental people I know. You're friends with so many people; so many entirely different groups of people who are all so diverse. You have goodness within you that attracts so many others because you make them feel welcomed and good about themselves. I think you are darling. Thank you for accepting me.

 

Doesn't that just make your day? I almost started crying and the amazing thing with that, is that I hardly ever cry. I mean, I cry a lot more than I used to, but I usually don't get too emotional in that way. I don't know how you feel about people cloggin up your newsfeed with a bunch of random people that you don't know who they are, but in all seriousness, it's better than that crap that people have been posting now-a-days. It's positive, uplifting and I am so grateful for that. The more time we spend on being positive and optimistic, the less time we have for being negative and destructive of others. I'd say it's a good trade.

 

"If you look for the good in people, you'll find it."

Three Hours Worth of Waiting

I woke up to a text message this morning from my good friend, Kiara. She asked what I was up to today and said that I had something going on this evening but just planned on lounging around the house for the rest of the day. She then asked if I wanted to go to the temple. Of course I said yes and asked her what time she wanted me to come and pick her up. She said 9:30. Brilliant. I went to pick her up at her apartment in Provo and we headed over to the Provo temple. We were expecting to have to wait for a bit, but I did NOT anticipate the morning ahead. When we got there, we went downstairs and got our jumpsuits. I started heading to the locker room when they stopped me and told me that there was another room full of kids waiting to do baptisms.

They took us around the corner where there was a small chapel that was about halfway full and they were all singing hymns. AWESOME. I'm glad that we could sing while we were waiting. After a few hymns, someone else needed the room, so they transferred us over to the cafeteria to sing while we waited. It was magical and the little old lady that was there was so feisty. I told Kiara that I wanted to be like her someday :)

After a little over an hour, it was our turn to go into the locker rooms to change. We then came out and waited to do confirmations. That only took about 20 minutes, but then we waited another hour and a half probably to get into the baptistry. Kiara decided that we were in there for about 3 hours. Was it worth it to only do 2 confirmations and 3 baptisms? Absolutely. Anything to help.

I find it to be a bit frustrating when people (like the ones that left early) are frustrated with the long wait. Well, in all honesty, I make it a big deal to not go to the temple unless you have the time to be there and to be there patiently. If you're in a hurry, you tend to focus more on where you are going to be rather than where you are. It's okay to go other places; we're all busy people in this busy world, but the temple is a place for peace and NOT contention.

While I was waiting to perform the ordinances, I sang, read out of the Book of Mormon, pondered, meditated, prayed. . .all of which are great things to do. So if you're in need of some great pondering and meditation and are more than willing to be patient, Saturday is a great day to go to the Provo temple. :)

A List of Gratitude

This is what I'm grateful for from yesterday:

I got to. . .

• sleep in.
• write a blog post about Elder Erekson.
• do my scripture study in the morning (which I've been working on)!
• pick up the chub and head on over to the campus.
• get my textbook reading done for the week.
• go to class and sit next to my twin, Hannah :)
• finish my homework and go eat lunch at Sensuous and chat with one of my childhood besties, Lexi, while doing so.
• go pick up Drew, take him home, and rush to my house to hurry and gather everything for a photo shoot.
• take pictures of the most wonderful family EVER, the Youngs (here's a sneak peek) :)

 

 

Aren't they wonderful looking? I thought so :)

 

• Then I was able to enjoy dinner with them and their kids. It was delicious... I'm kind of wishing now that I hadn't given my leftovers to Dad when I got home last night... ah well. What's eaten is eaten. I won't ask for it back!

So I would vote that yesterday was a successful day and all in good company. As for today... I would consider it equally as brilliant. Today I...

• had a midterm in my English class and it was pure extra credit. 29 points of extra credit and I got to choose which category the 29 points went in to and divide it however I wanted. It was freaking sweet!
• got to sit and chat with Hannah, cause let's be honest, she's my favorite, before my history class. It's so great :)
• got to listen to a lecture in my American Civ class about Mormons. The teacher told us that no one was allowed to proselyte during class. I laughed because that sounds like something I might consider doing. Okay, maybe not so much preach, but of course correct. ;)
• got to hang out with Brit and Kinz for a little bit. After my last class and before institute I headed over to the grandparents where they were hanging out and started making spoon rings with them. (Shh... don't tell grandma we used her old silverware ;)) And just a shout out to Neal for helping us. I can't wait to see how they turned out!
• went to Institute. I'm currently in a class called "Teachings of Joseph Smith" and let me tell ya, it's freaking awesome. I love it. Sometimes it's hard to go, but it's worth it every time.
• signed up for TWO more institute classes. I feel as though the adversaries are fighting against me since I've been proclaiming my desire to serve a mission. Therefore, I shall fight back. Go. Fight. Win. I signed up for "Teachings of Thomas S. Monson" and it only seemed appropriate to sign up for a missionary prep class. Besides, every mission prep class is different and the one that my stake offers is only once a month. A girl needs a little more than that.
• picked up the Drewmeister, took him home, and then made my way to the temple with my lovely neighbors. It's such a blessing to go every week. And it's super hilarious whenever they call Dallin "Sister" Openshaw. Seriously, at least four times in the past two weeks. It never fails. It was the funniest when the elder said it in the prayer without realizing it during the confirmation. Seriously, I had to cover my mouth because I was barely able to hold in the giggles. Of course after the prayer, both his sisters, as well as myself, busted into laughter and they asked what was wrong and joined in our laughter with us. They then redid the prayer, but seriously, SO funny.
• got to see one of my best friends before he got set apart as a missionary. I rushed over there after the temple in order to catch him before he left. I knocked on the door and when they said to come in, I rushed in to meet Izak and ask if he had been set apart yet. When he said no, I rushed to give him a hug. Seriously, the best hug ever. I'm going back later in order to visit with him, along with other friends, but gah, I'm gonna miss him so much. He's my first CLOSE close friend that is leaving. It's so hard, but it's totally worth it. So about an hour ago, I got my last hug from Elder Erekson for more than 2 years (because I won't get home from my mish till a few months (give or take) after him). Love you buddy.

Happy Things

(Because I am in need of some optimism in my life.)

• Raising almost $35,000 for Make-A-Wish on the Ride-for-Life a couple of weeks ago.
• Staying caught up on homework, no matter how boring it is.
• Realizing that college is hard, but knowing that I have the capability to get myself through it.
• Visiting with my second momma this afternoon
• Finding out that I'm most likely going to be able to go to Cedar this weekend with my parents, who are running a half marathon, and I'm going to visit friends! (AKA Kristy, Michaela and Carly! So excited! :))
• Donating money to this wonderful family. Seriously you NEED to read their story. It's incredible.
• Just reading up on their blog and finding out that my donation will be doubled. WOW. That's A LOT of money... I love knowing that it will make all the difference. Please donate even the slightest if you can. Even if it's just a dollar, it will be accepted with gratitude.
• Having the best friend in the world! Love you chub :)

• And I can't really think of anything else. College is hard and I'm still not used to it, but as my good friend Lauren Van Cott would quote,

"Never give up, never surrender."

 

Good night everyone :)