Heather

2012-01-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

I have been accused of not blogging (which is true). So, I am going to try to highlight some of the events that I have failed to blog in the past year. Lets begin in June 2011...

13.1 Miles : On June 4, 2011 I ran the Fight for Air Run Half Marathon in Salt Lake City. This was my first half marathon. A few years ago it was an accomplishment just to run a 5k so a half marathon was a kind of a big deal. I have almost forgotten how long 13 miles is and may try to train to run another one this summer. :)

This happened to also be the 25th Birthday of my friend Kristi. We trained together and then ran the race on her birthday. It was so nice to have a good friend to run with and motivate me to keep going. Thanks Kristi!

My roommates, Maryn and Lisa, came to greet me at the finish line.

2012-01-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas

Luckily I have a great friend who not only spent a weekend showing me around Vegas but also took all of the pictures and blogged about our weekend. Thanks Elise!

Read about my trip here:

http://dustinandelise.blogspot.com/2012/01/heather.html

2011-05-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Weekends in Idaho

It has been a busy month with 2 trips to Arizona for work and two weekends in Idaho. Here are a few pictures from the Idaho trips.

WICKED

BYU Freshman Reunion...and Happy Birthday Joelle.

Joelle's friends asked her if she was having friends over for her birthday. She replied, "No, Heather's friends are coming." It may seem a little strange but I think she had a great birthday! After 4 missions, 2 graduations, and 1 marriage between us, we all got together for a fun weekend reunion in Idaho. We ran, milked cows, made fresh cheese, kayaked and just had a wonderful weekend together.

2011-02-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

Disney Vacation!

I forgot to post these pictures. So one month later here is a little highlight of my vacation to Florida!

We spent a day at Magic Kingdom..

Universal Studios
Which meant a stop in HogsmeadeEpcot...

And we had a few days at the disney resort...time for swimming and sand castles!

These are the 11 great kids I went with. Taking 11 kids under the age of 12 swimming...thank heaven for life jackets! I got really good at counting to 11 :) We had a blast.

2011-01-12T22:30:00.000-08:00

BASKETBALL WEEK

Tuesday: BYU vs. UTAH

WEDNESDAY: JAZZ vs. KNICKS

2011-01-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

My HAPPY BIRTHDAY week (or two)!

I am now 23! It has been a great couple of weeks of celebration so hear are the highlights...

Monday December 27th these wonderful people came to visit...

Mom, Dad, and Joelle came down the week before my birthday and took me to dinner at Olive Garden. After dinner Dad was really nice to chauffeur us around shopping. Mom helped me pick out a new black dress coat for my birthday and I LOVE it. You will see it in most of the recent pictures below.

Monday January 3rd I picked Brent and Kristen Ludwig up at the airport after their Christmas break and they took me to Zupas for dinner.

Tuesday January 4th (MY REAL BIRTHDAY). After a 5am trip to the gym with my good friends Wendy and Janae and then a good day at work I went night skiing with Lee and Ian at Brighton. It was COLD but it was a wonderful way to spend a birthday! I love the skis that I got for Christmas. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Friday January 7th was the day of the big birthday party. At our ward auction in December I bought a party planner :) My friend Wendy planned my party and did an amazing job. I didn't have to worry about a thing. Look at this cute cake and cupcakes. Fun decorations, great food, games, and lots of wonderful friends!

Saturday January 8th I went to Provo for an evening with Elise Kelly Call. We went to YoZone for frozen yogurt but not until we had spent over an hour looking at old Jerusalem pictures. I gave you a small sample below :) Thanks for the great night Elise!

Saturday continued...after spending time with Elise I stopped by David and Ryan's apartment. If you will remember, these were some of the boys that sang to me at my birthday party last year. See here When I told David that he needed to come to SLC to my party on Friday because none of my friends here would be singing to me, he responded, "I guess you need to find new friends." Luckily I still got my birthday song when I showed up at his apartment. I tried to upload the video but it might take all night. Sorry.

Needless to say I had a wonderful time celebrating my 23rd birthday!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes.

2010-11-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

The Table

I finished my table a few weeks ago and finally got a picture of it to share. Next project...coffee table?

2010-11-07T08:53:00.000-08:00

Next vacation...Kirtland, Ohio

I have been very blessed to have had the opportunity to visit so many church history sites, both modern and ancient. However, I still have one church history site that has yet to be check off my list...I think my next trip will be to Kirtland.

I am taking a Church History Institute class and this past week we talked about what took place while the saints were in Kirtland, OH. Elder M. Russell Ballard gave a CES fireside in 1994 entitled "Our Kirtland Legacy." He said, "It has been said that we may yet discover that Kirtland is our most significant Church history site."

Elder Ballard lists the following to describe just how important Kirtland is to the Church:

Reveled basically all the priesthood offices that we have in the church today
Schooling period for the leaders of the Church
About 1/2 of the revelations recored in the Doctrine and Covenants were revealed there
School of the Prophets began
Joseph made his Bible translations
Pearl of Great Price was largely translated
First edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was printed
More heavenly manifestations and appearances occurred in Kirtland than any other place

2010-11-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

Last April Holly and I won the Home Based Business Plan Competition at BYU with our business Vinylize It. Seven months later we had the opportunity to return to BYU as guest speakers in the Women Entrepreneur Lecture Series. This is the class that I was the TA for last year and I never imagined that I would return so soon as the one speaking. View here
I love working with Holly. She has worked so hard on this business and I am continually amazed at everything she has learned and the things she is able to do with one hand while taking care of her kids. She is an amazing mom, wonderful sister, and great business partner. Thanks Holly!

2010-10-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

Conference

I went to the Saturday afternoon session with my friend Spencer Mun (from freshman year), Joelle, and my roommate Maryn. I love being on Temple Square for conference and it is so nice to live close!

Kristen, Heather, Maryn, Joelle, and Katie

With Joelle

2010-10-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

Project #1...check

I finally finished my bed and I love it! About a month ago I moved to Salt Lake and was without any type of furniture. Luckily I have a sister-in-law who convinced me that rather than buying a bed, I should just make my own. Robbie recently built a beautiful bed that you can see here. The plans came from an awesome website ana-white.com. Thanks Robbie!

Project #2

My day of building with Robbie also included a large table and benches. This one is still in the works...stay posted for more.

2010-08-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

This is my new home...
Meet my new roommates...

Lisa (Left)

1. From Fruit Heights

2. Served a mission in Estonia

3. A teacher at a middle school in South Jordan

4. An awesome runner and was on the BYU track/cross country team

Maryn (Right)

1. From Logan

2. Served a mission in Mongolia

3. Going to school at the University of Utah, and plans to apply to the Nursing Program

4. Loves to ski and wakeboard and plays the piano really well

Lisa and Maryn are cousins and yesterday I joined their family reunion and we went to Raging Waters. They are great!

This morning we went to Music and the Spoken Word. So far I am enjoying being in Salt Lake. If anyone has any extra furniture sitting around let me know :)

Travis, Amy, Lisa, Heather, Maryn, and Matt

2010-08-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

Goodbye PROVO...
I have a home...well, ALMOST!

Last Saturday I had to move out of my apartment in Provo and I had no where to go. It has been a long week of searching and I have spent hours browsing KSL and visiting apartments, houses, and duplexes. Luckily that has come to an end.

Last week during my lunch hour I went up to the Institute at the U to check out their housing board for the third time and met a couple of girls who were also looking for a place to live. It turns out that one of them is friends with Eliza Dickson and I had met her a couple years ago before she left on her mission! They are great girls and they are going to be my new roommates.

So after 4 great years in Provo I am headed to Salt Lake. I am sad to leave my friends, intramurals, and the beautiful blue of BYU, but I am excited for a new adventure.

2010-08-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

"Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence" -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

I just listened to one of my favorite BYU devotionals given by Elder Holland. He really has a powerful way of speaking. In this talk he teaches us about revelation and I love it. I would suggest taking the time to listen to it. You can find it at BYU Speeches

As he talked about fear I was remind of something that my mentor Paul McKinnon shared with me. He told me that he has as quote from Elder James E. Faust sitting on his desk at work that says, "Let us not take counsel from our fears." Thanks for the great advise Paul!

2010-08-04T22:39:00.000-07:00

New inspiration...

This may not mean anything to you or you may wonder why I spent money on this little decorative board. It just seemed to speak to my heart yesterday so it is now sitting above my bed. Depending on how you read this, I think it could mean a few different things but for me...it has caused me to rethink how I am choosing my "endeavors."

2010-08-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today I went with some friends to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! No better way to spend the afternoon. It was also interesting to see the difference between this temple that was dedicated 1 year ago, with the Manti Temple, dedicated over 100 years ago. It has been a great week!

2010-08-01T18:43:00.001-07:00

On Saturday I took a trip with my ward to the Manti Temple. It was beautiful and I had a wonderful time. Click here to learn a few things about the Manti Temple.

2010-07-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

Number 25!

I now have 25 nieces and nephews and I love them all! Brandon and Lindsay were in Beaver for the 24th of July Celebrations so I met up with them for a few minutes at the Wendy's in Orem on their way home. Grant is so cute and I wish they still lived in Provo so the two of us could have more bonding time. I guess I may just need to move to Idaho! Are their any openings at any of the dairies?

As I was talking to Lindsay she was telling me that Grant has brought quite the change to her life. We all face so many different changes no matter what stage of life we are in. Some we can anticipate but most of the time it seems to come upon us without warning. Steven E. Snow gave a great talk entitled "Get On with Our Lives" in April 2009 conference on the topic of change. I would encourage all to read this one!

"By listening to the prophets, keeping an eternal perspective, having faith, and being of good cheer, we can face life’s unexpected challenges."

2010-07-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend we...

Went here...Stayed in this...And by the end felt like this...

2010-07-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

SUNSETS...

It has almost been one year since I returned from a study abroad in Israel. In a blog post from that time, I shared how I had fallen in love with sunsets. I was reminded again just how beautiful they are when I watched the sun set over Provo as I reached the "Y" after a hike up the mountain a couple of weeks ago.

There have been many sunrises and sunsets over the past year. It is amazing to me to look back at everything that has happened in the last year. As I left Jerusalem I couldn't have imagined all of the new opportunities and experiences that I would face as well as the passing of many of those same experiences. It is a time of transition and a time of new opportunity. The sun may be setting on some parts of my life but it is soon to rise and I look forward to what the Lord has is in store for me.

"I begin by mentioning one of the most inevitable aspects of our lives here upon the earth, and that is change. At one time or another we’ve all heard some form of the familiar adage: “Nothing is as constant as change.

"Throughout our lives, we must deal with change. Some changes are welcome; some are not. There are changes in our lives which are sudden, such as the unexpected passing of a loved one, an unforeseen illness, the loss of a possession we treasure. But most of the changes take place subtly and slowly.

"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."

Thomas S. Monson "Finding Joy in the Journey"

2010-07-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

A day with the Christensens

Yesterday Adam and I went to the Christensen's to spend the afternoon and evening with Katie and Eric and their kids. We had a blast at the neighborhood pool. Annie loved "diving" and I loved her stance. Fairy in hand and tube around her waist.

Annie and Cameron loved the slide.

We also enjoyed a few games of pool basketball I must brag that Adam and I won 2 of the 3 games. Katie and Eric are great shooters but Adam transformed the game into Rugby-Basketball and I will just say that I was glad that he was on my team!

2010-06-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Helping at the dairy...

It was so fun to go home for memorial day weekend. Too bad that it was freezing cold on Saturday. It is a sad day when you have to wear a stocking hat and three jackets instead of going out on the river in a swimming suit!

Adam was great to come along and help Ben and me with the vet check and probably learned more than he wanted to. However, Adam loves being a new expert on cows and telling everyone we see about what he learned.

One of my favorite moments is when we were driving and Adam saw some cows out in a pasture. Ben taught him all about the different breeds of dairy cows so he asked me what kind of cow the black ones were that he saw. I told him they were Angus and his response was...."oh, yummy!" The only thing missing from his weekend was a steak!
The one thing that Adam really wanted to see was a cow giving birth. Just our luck...(along with the cold weather) the only calf that was born while we were at the dairy happened while we were out helping Ben, so we missed it :( Until next time...

2010-05-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

A wedding in Nauvoo...

Kristen and Brent Ludwig were married on May 1, 2010. They lucked out on having a messy car after their wedding. Instead they were riding in style with a vinyl decal! It looked so much better than cool whip!

On the banks of the Mississippi at the end of Parley Street.

Emily and I on Preacher Rock. Emily spent part of the trip with us. We have been friends since freshman year and it was fun to tour around together. She leaves next week to go on a mission to San Antonio, Texas! She is going to be a great missionary.

Adam-Ondi-Ahman with the Permanns from Rockland. They were so nice to take us around and teach us all about the site. It was so beautiful and we had the greatest time!

Emily and I did baptisms for the dead in the Nauvoo temple while we were there. That was one of the highlights of the trip.
It was so fun to go on a trip with my mom! She took care of everything and made sure that we made it to the sites. We had so many wonderful experiences. Thanks MOM!
The long awaited day finally came and my roommate got married. Kristen and I met on my first day at BYU. I had driven to Provo and stayed with my friend (Erin Mower Harris) the night before I could move into my apartment. The next morning a hauled my stuff up to my dorm room and caught a ride to FOL (foundations of leadership) registration. I got in line right behind Kristen Anderson! And that is where it all began. We were in the same freshman ward and have been roommates for the past three years. Kristen is the greatest!

Emily, Heather, Kristen, Brent, and David...It was so fun to be in Nauvoo with my best friends!

2010-04-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

BYU GRADUATION!

I know that it has been months since my last post so let me tell you why...I have been getting ready for graduation! And that day finally came so I guess I no longer have an excuse for not blogging. On Friday night after graduation John asked me if I would be helping Brandon and Lindsay move the next morning. I tried to think of some excuse to get out of carrying boxes to the trailer all morning but could think of nothing. Is this what graduation is supposed to feel like?

I have so much to update from this semester but I might as well begin at the end...graduation!

Ever since I was a little girl and had a dream to come to BYU. It never even crossed my mind that there were other universities out there. My dreams came true and I have loved being at BYU and the experiences and associations that I have had here have shape my life.
Brandon and I have grown up doing a lot of things together. Swimming lessons, feeding calves, getting our wisdom teeth out, 4-H, and I am sure much more. I guess things haven't really changed because we graduated together with the same degree. I have always had him there to follow and so it made things pretty easy as I followed him across the stage at graduation. Congrats Brandon!

Krystal (my best friend since kindergarten) made the trip from Boise, ID to come to my graduation! It was so fun to have her there...Thanks Krystal!

2010-02-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

January 4, 2010

I was reminded today that I never posted anything about my actual birthday. After a few parties at home with family and neighbors I came back to Provo and started school on my birthday. It was a great day! After classes and work I went out to dinner with some of my best friends. These girls all went to Jerusalem with me and I love them all so much. We went to Zupas and had a wonderful time talking. Monica even drove down from Salt Lake. Thanks girls! (Raven, Katie, Me, Monica, Elise)Later that night we had a birthday party! Kristen and Emily decorated the apartment and made a birthday cake and we had the Boise State v. TCU game on TV. Despite what everyone seemed to think, I do have a lot of friends and so many of them came to the party! I started to look around the room to figure out how I knew so many people. I had friends from my new ward, my past ward, Jeusalem, American Falls, family and roommates. It adds up pretty quick and I found out that there is a limit to the amount of people that can fit in one apartment. We filled it to the max and had a great time. Austin Hayden, Me, Tyler Batt

This is my dear friend Allie. I serve with her in the RS presidency and just love her! She was so kind to make me a cake too :)

These are some more of my fravorite Jerusalem friends. I am telling you I have some really good friends! (Mandy, Jane, Me, Lisa, Brigette, Rachelle

Ryan, David, Brent, me, Brad, and Ben...And these are "my boys" These guys were all of my best friends when I lived in the dorms freshman year. It is so fun to have them back from their missions. They even sang me a song for my birthday which I have included below for your enjoyment! The clip is pretty long so if you skip to the second half you can hear the part that they wrote just for me :)

Ryan, David, Ben, and Brent (Brent is Kristen's Fiance)

2010-02-13T19:27:00.000-08:00

O' Falafel, Etc.

A return to the Holy Land...

I can't believe that it has been 6 months since I was in Israel! However, in memory of the good times Brian and I went and got Falafel in Salt Lake last week. This is one of those foods that is unique to the Mediterranean and was something that I learned to love while I was in the Holy Land last summer. It was quite the treat! The only things missing with our Salt Lake Falafel were the french fries, the unsanitary conditions, and the sweat dripping down my face :) Eating Falafel last July!

2010-02-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

SKI JORING in downtown Ogden

Today we went to Odgen for what you might call a winter rodeo. They trucked in snow to fill the streets and then they had snowmobile races, people skiing and snowboarding behind horses, and fair food and country music. It was awesome!
This skier got sweet air when he was going off this jump. And, the cool thing is that he LANDED IT! My friend Jon Cox tried to get a high five (but failed in his attempt). Hoyt Brothers--these are my 4 favorite non-family boys in the world! ('specially the one on the right.) They are from the beautiful state of Washington, and they lived on a dairy for a few years, so we hit it off INSANTLY! John Bradley is on the left. He's a doctor (well, almost--he's in his first year of medical school in Vermont). He flew in for the weekend, mostly to attend the Ogden Winterfest (and see friends and family too). Eric is next to John. He is the youngest and smartest of the 4 (he's a TA!). He served his mission in Denver South. He graciously shares his meal plan with us on occasion. Pete is next in line. He is the funniest and most creative. Brian is the last in line (and the shortest!) But he's nice which makes up for it. :) Brian is also extremely smart and will be graduating in April and heading to medical school. My dear friend Emily tried to capture an action shot during the snowmobile race, but the snowmobiles were so fast that we could barely catch them on film. I found this cool Polaris Ranger that I am really excited to buy one day when I have a job and become rich! :) Or I will just wait until I can find a way to win one like Holly and Garrick!

2010-01-23T14:50:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks I have really been missing Jerusalem so I thought I would just post a few pictures in memory of the wonderful summer that I had there. This was the evening we left, right before I got on the bus and drove away for the last time.

In front of Damascus Gate...our favorite place to enter the city.
Eating a bagel at the entrance to the city

This was our first trip to the Western Wall...It was a Friday and it was packed with Jews welcoming in the Sabbath.

With Lisa at the Western Wall just before sunset.

This is with Sister Madson at the Tiberius branch...the Sea of Galilee is in the background

Just inside Damascus Gate...this was early on a Sunday morning on our way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for morning services.

The Garden Tomb

Looking through the window of Dominos Flevit (Church on the Mt. of Olives) looking to the Temple Mount.

Garden of Gethsemene

2010-01-22T09:49:00.000-08:00

Brigham Young University "Enter to Learn, Go forth to Serve"

I love reading this motto as I enter campus. We did not come to earth to simply learn and progress only for our own sake. We are hear to learn and grow together. God has blessed us with so much and it is our responsibility to help each other through this life. I have been greatly bless to come to BYU and I have learned so much. I have learned so much and I am excited to be able to share the talents that I have developed and the knowledge that I have gained with those who I will associate with throughout my life.

Michelle (our speaker at the dinner) was also nice enough to take pictures at our event. I have decided that I just love this picture because it is my new goal to come back to speak at BYU sometime in my life. As my college career is coming to an end I am realizing more and more how blessed I have been to have the opportunity to study at BYU. I love being able to mix religion and academic and I love the atmosphere here!

I always planned to come to BYU but I would never have guessed that I would graduate with a degree in Business Management. I have grown to love it and I enjoy my classes. Outside of the classroom I have also been blessed with a great job. I thought I might give you a little update on my new job. I am working in the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. cet.byu.edu My job has many parts to it...one part is TAing for the Women's Entrepreneur Lecture Series. This semester I have been given the task of finding and scheduling speakers. These are amazing women and they are all eager to come and share their story with our students. Last week we had Kristin Murdock who sells "cow pie clocks" Check them out at cowpieclocks.com. Many of you may also know of the blog giveawaytoday.blogspot.com. The founder of this blog (Emily) is coming in a few weeks. I love being in contact these women and learn how their businesses got started.

The second big part of my job is working with the Young Entrepreneurs Founders Organization. These individuals give back to the center and help fund the events and competitions that we put on, such as the Business Plan Competition. I also get to help plan events and help students use the resources that we have to help them start their own businesses. Isn't it awesome! I just love it.

BYU has given me so much and whether I get involved as and entrepreneur, as an advisory board member, or volunteer as a mentor, I plan to give back to BYU and I am excited to see what the future holds.

2010-01-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

A girls outing to the ski hill...

On New Years Eve I went skiing with Joelle, Caroline, Abbey, and Gracie. My mom was nice enough to watch Hilary and Carter so the rest of us could go. It was great to get in my yearly ski trip and it was super fun to hang out with these awesome girls!
Gracie, Heather, Joelle, Abbey, and Caroline

Joelle and Abbey Gracie and Heather on the lift

2009-12-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday!

On Sunday evening we invited some of our neighbors over for cake and my mom's delicious home-made ice cream and a few founds of the "name game." I had a great time celebrating my birthday with my neighborhood family! It has been a wonderful blessing to move into this neigborhood and become friends with such amazing people.

2009-12-25T23:10:00.000-08:00

JENNIFER GARRARD

Here is a little shout out to one of my best friends who is getting married in 4 DAYS!

It is hard to believe that it has almost been five years since my family moved to the Burley area. I remember the first Sunday I was home I went to church with the attitude that I didn't need to make friends because I already had friends in American Falls. Well, it didn't take very long for that to change. I quickly made friends of all ages and they have been a huge blessing in my life. Lucky for me Jenni was "assigned" to be my friend. She didn't tell me this until a few years ago :) Jenni and I have been best friends ever since! With birthdays just 11 days apart we have had a special birthday celebration together every year which. We have enjoyed time on the river, summer bike rides, late night movies, double dates, long talks, family game nights, and plenty of popcorn! I just love this girl and I am so excited for her and Scott. He is a lucky man!My mom, Jenni, Julie Gararrd, Julie Breshears, and Me at Jenni's bridal shower

2009-12-25T22:23:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It has been so fun to be home for the Christmas break. I love the holiday season. I have found much joy in being with family and friends. On Monday Dec. 21 we had Andersen Family Christmas Party #2. We celebrated on Thanksgiving while Katie and Eric were here but Holly's family wasn't able to come so we just had another party. Santa made a special visit, we had a program, sang, ate great food, and went caroling! One of my favorite memories of Christmas growing up is when we would invite the neighbors over and we would all pile into the back of suburbans and go caroling. It is a little different now that we can just walk around the neighborhood but I still love it!

Favorite Christmas tradition #2...going to Grandma Robert's house for Christmas Eve and then driving around to see Christmas lights before going home to wait for Santa to come. This year we went and visited Grandma in the afternoon and then went out to Greg and Gwen's for the evening. Wyatt and Lydia love grandma's rocking horse.It was fun to be with Greg's family for Christmas Eve. We had a great dinner and then Lydia sang for us, we acted out the nativity, and we sang with candles (a Christensen tradition that Katie and Eric have shared with us). We played a few games of "don't eat Pete" and Lydia and I played dominos. By then it was time for magic coco to help the kids sleep through the night. It kicked in pretty fast! As soon as Lydia finished her coco she was so sleepy she could hardly stand up on her own :) Now that is what I call MAGIC! Christmas Morning...
In the past 21 years that I have experienced Christmas I believe that this is the quietest Christmas morning I have ever experienced! This was the first time that it was just Joelle and I with our parents. There was no rush and we did all we could to drag out the unwrapping. It was kind of fun to only have to share the spotlight with one other person ;) Greg and Gwen came over for lunch and we spent the afternoon playing games, just as every Christmas day should be spent!

2009-12-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

Sledding...
Despite the fact that I had not yet finished all of my finals, I took a break on Thursday night to enjoy the snow. Brian Hoyt and I doubled with Jeff and Tammy and we headed up Provo Canyon. I think this picture is so funny because it makes Brian and I look really short. In reality Jeff and Tammy are just tall :)

2009-12-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

Elise is finally married! On Thursday night I went to Elise and Dustin Call's reception. Elise got engaged just before spending 4 months in Jerusalem with me. I am so happy for her and I had a great time getting together with so many of my Jerusalem friends. Below (Monica, Katie, Elise, and Heather)

Women in Business Dinner: This past Thursday we had a big dinner that was sponsored by the Undergraduate Advisory Board. I conducted the meeting and wore my purple suit! I love being in the business program and it has been really fun to get involved this year.

We had about 120 female students come for a nice dinner and then we had a member of the advisory board speak to us. Her name in Michelle Linford. She spoke on the important role we have as women. We are needed and we can do great things. As she shared her story she made the point that no matter how hard we try to plan out our lives, things are not going to go exactly like we want them to. We need to rely on the Lord and trust that the He can plan our lives better than we can. What a great reminder!

It was so fun to see so many women gathered together in the Marriott school and be reminded that we are not alone in the program. We had about 20 people sign up for the club and I talked to a lot of students that want to get involved. I am so excited for this club and as I talked to people following the event I started to see how much this club is needed and the great impact it can have on individuals.

2009-11-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

More Flag Football Pictures...

David and Brad were our coaches our freshman year. They were happy to be back this year and even more happy to see that we had improved by great measures in the past two years.

With Kristen and Emily

With Stacie and Tammy.

2009-11-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't been really good at updating my blog. Here are a few things that I have done in the past couple of weeks.

BYU FOOTBALL vs Air Force
If you watched the BYU game on TV you may have been lucky enough to see us cheering and dancing. We had front row tickets and it was awesome! Here are some pictures from the game:

We were trying to show that we were cold but it turned out that we just looked scared.

Lovin' life on the front row!

Brent and David where getting really excited. "That's another Cougar FIRST DOWN!"

Me and Katie Cooper

Brent, David, Me, and Emily

Cookie Dough and 101 Cookie cutters! Katie Cooper (friend from Jerusalem) and I made sugar cookies last Friday afternoon. I forgot how long it takes to make them. Katie had a new box of 101 cookie cutters and we wanted to try them out. It was a blast!

One year ago I ran my first 5K. I ran it with Eliza and Kristen for a Make a Wish fundraiser. This year I went back and did it again with Melanie and Amy. It was a beautiful day and I love what Make a Wish does!

Blue Lightning! It seems that playing flag football became more fun each year we played. That may be due to the fact that we all got better but either way I had a great time playing with my team this year.

2009-11-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday on of my childhood dreams (ok...well at least my college dreams) came true. We won our flag football championship game and I got the most coveted t-shirt on campus! It would be difficult to describe my college career to anyone without including all of my intramural teams. My first intramural experience was flag football my freshman year. I recruited the girls on my floor to play and we showed up to the first game and got humiliated. Even the refs were laughing at us. From that day I have been determined to win a t-shirt for flag football. 4 years and many games later we won the Championship. Go BLUE LIGHTNING!

2009-11-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!
This weekend I went to Logan for Halloween. We had a wonderful dinner (thanks to Jenni) and carved pumpkins. As seen below, there was a little rivalry between schools. The pumpkins didn't last long. Sunday morning the street in front of Jenni's apartment was covered with pumpkins.

Logan Canyon

BYU Football

2009-10-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

General Conference:
Saturday afternoon Caroline, Abbey, Clint, and I went down to Salt Lake for conference. We had great seat about 20 rows from the front and sat right in front of my cousins (Brant, Katie, and Broady, Derrick and Erica, and Camie). It was fun to see them and as always it was wonderful to be in the Conference Center.
I am currently taking a Living Prophets class from Brother Llyde Newel. Conference is what our class is all about! It is wonderful to see and hear from the men that we are studying. How grateful I am for living prophets on the earth.

BYU vs. Utah State

Despite Clint's prayers for the last month, BYU still beat Utah State. Caroline and Gracie came to the game and we sat with Brandon and Lindsay. At half time, Tyler Driscoll, Tyler Batt (Tyler's friend), Austin Hayden and Clint showed up and sat with us for the second half. It was so fun to see all of them. Sitting in the middle of the BYU student section didn't seem to keep Clint from cheering for the Aggies. I am sure that Garrick and Kyle would be happy to know that he is a loyal fan.

2009-09-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

Petting Zoo and Showing Cows

Rodney Atkins Concert at EISF

Utah State Fair with my Jerusalem Friends

2009-09-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

BACK ON THE BLOG

Well I know it has been a few month but I just didn't know if anything I could report on could live up to what I did in Jerusalem. However I realized that I still have a wonderful and I should be keeping track of what is going on. So although I am a month behind I will try and record a few of the things that I have done.

Labor Day weekend I had a wonderful time back in Idaho. My roommate Kristen and her boyfriend Brent came home with me and Clint and I had a great time with them. We were able to stop and see Trey's new tree house on our way home from Provo, went out on the river, watched the BYU football game, visited the Call Farm, milked cows, drove out to the pivot, watched a cow calve, played a lot of Mario Cart, and my dad even let us drive the convertible! What a weekend, I always love going home!

2009-08-10T07:05:00.001-07:00

Setting Sun....
This summer I have fallen in love with sunsets! I have seen the sun set over Jerusalem, over the Great Pyramid's in Egypt, over the Sea of Galilee, and over the Mediterranean Sea. I have started to realize that this life is full of sunsets. I remember sitting in the locker room my senior year and my volleyball coach telling us that this was only the beginning to "last times." Time passes and eventually everything comes to an end whether it is a high school volleyball career, a year of college, or an amazing study abroad in the Holy Land.

My summer is now coming to a close and I will be returning to the states on Friday. The sun is setting on this portion of my life and as my friend Monica said, "I am ready for this phase to be over and for a new one to start." It has been a wonderful experience. I will always remember the time that I have had here but I am looking forward to what lies ahead. There are many more sunrises ahead that will bring many more beautiful sunsets.

I can't wait to see everyone soon!

(Thanks Katie Cooper for the beautiful picture and letting me use your laptop)

2009-08-04T03:49:00.000-07:00

Last few days in the Holy Land...

It is hard to believe it but I will be returning home in just over a week. Things don't seem to slow down around here.

This Thursday and Friday I will take finals and then I will try to soak in as much of this city as I can before I leave. Monday and Tuesday we have our "Last Week" fieldtrip where we will follow the last week of the Savior's life and visit the sights. I have done a lot of reflecting the last couple of weeks and I am overwhelmed with amazment at everything that I have had the opportunity to see and learn in the past 3 months. This experience has truely been life changing and I know that it is something that I will be able to draw from for the rest of my life.

Sadly, my computer has decided to stop working for the last week so I will have to see if I can find another way to post a few last pictures before coming home. You never realize usefull somthing is until it doesn't work anymore. :(

2009-07-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

11 days in the GALILEE...

I returned home to Jerusalem a couple of days ago from a wonderful 11 day stay in the Galilee. Most students would agree that this is the highlight of our stay in Israel. It is a beautiful area and it was wonderful to live on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and visit sites around the sea where the Savior walked and taught. Our group of 79 is split into 2 classes so, with an exception to the last 3 days, one class would stay at the Kibbutz and have class in the morning and have the afternoon free to play on the beach and the other class would go on a field trip. Needless to say we saw a lot of sites and had a great time playing in the water. So as not to bore you with endless pictures and information I have decided to share a couple of my favorite locations and the experiences assocated with them.

First...this is Ein Gev where we stayed.

On the days that we had class we set up chairs on the beach and had the first hour and a half of class on the beach before it got too hot and then we would go inside to a classroom. I loved learning in the same setting that Jesus taught, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Our Sea of Galilee field trip was my favorite day. It began by climbing on a boat and riding out into the sea. While there wasn't a storm it was quite powerful to sit out in the water while we read the account from the New Testament of Jesus calming the sea. We also read a talk by President Hunter called, "Master the Tempest is Raging." We each face many tempests during our life but I know that Jesus can calm the seas, a calm that penatrates the soul.

Mt of Beatitudes

This is one of the most beautiful sites in Israel and I loved the spirit that was present here.

Tabgha: There are two churches at Tabha, one that honors the loaves and the fishes miracle adn the other honoring Peter's mandate, Church of St. Peter's Primacy. I have loved learning about Peter. We discussed a talk entitled, "Peter My Brother" given by President Kimball. I highly recommend reading it. Peter is a great example of faith and repentance. In John 21 Jesus showed himself to the disciples, had a meal with them, and commissioned Peter to "feed my sheep." It is interesting that Jesus says "feed my lambs...feed my sheep...feed my sheep." Peter is being asked to switch from a fisherman to a shepherd and Brother Huff suggested that maybe the Lord is telling Peter that he needs to make him the shepherd over ALL the flock. The baby lambs, the young sheep and the old sheep. In the statue below you can see Peter with a staff in hand as Christ is calling him to be the shepherd.

Tabgha means "seven springs." This is where seven springs flow into the sea.

Capernaum

This is a picture of the synagogue in Capernaum. It is built over the foundation of the synagoge dating back to the time of Christ. While we were there someone pulled out their bible and opened to a picture of this synagogue that we were standing in at that moment. It has been really fun to look at the pictures in the bible and recognize them. It is a great reminder of the wonderful places that I have been when I flip through my scriptures.

Capernaum became known as "His own city" 31 miracles are recorded as taking place here. Peter's home was here and the Savior spent a lot of time there. Our teacher, Brother Huff asked students to help teach and bear testimony at various sites that we visited. I had the opportunity to bear testimony of Apostles. It was a really neat experience and I will forever remember Capernaum.

Here is a little something that I wrote up for a book that the students here are putting together...

While in Galilee I gained a greater testimony and understanding of the apostles. As my uncle, Elder Neil L. Andersen, was called to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles last April, the spirit testified to me instantly that he had been called of God and prepared in advance for this calling. With this experience I really wanted to better understand what an apostle was and I feel like my prayers were answered as we learned about the apostles that Jesus called while in Capernaum. Of the twelve called, eleven of them were from Galilee. I love Matthew 4:19-22 where Jesus calls to Peter, Andrew, James and John to “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Peter and Andrew straightway left their nets, and followed him and James and John immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. This is the epitome of the apostles. They have dropped everything and followed the Lord without hesitation. I have personally watched my uncle leave his occupation and the comfort of his home and lifestyle to serve in various parts of the world in answer to a call to “follow me.” He has now been called to be an apostle, “one sent forth” as a special witness of Jesus Christ. Continued below...

Caesarea Philippi
In Caesarea Philippi my understanding of apostles was strengthened as we discussed Matthew 16. Jesus asks, Who say ye that I am? Peter responds with power and emotion as he says, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” As we sat there I flipped to my copy of The Living Christ, the testimony of modern apostles, and read the final paragraph where it says, “We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of god.” The apostles on the earth today testify of the same thing that Peter testified as his apostle on the earth 2000 years ago. Jesus is the Christ! The organization is the same, the priesthood is the same, and Jesus Christ is the same. I testify that the Lord has called apostles for our day and there are 15 men on the earth today that we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators.

Banyas Waterfalls

There are some very beautiful areas in northern Israel. These are some wonderful waterfalls that we were able to visit.

Steven, Rachel, Monica, Me, and Isaac

2009-07-20T04:26:00.000-07:00

I have been in Galilee for the past week and will be here for another 3 days. It is so beautiful here and it is wonderful to learn what the Savior taught and read of the miracles he performed in the locations that they took place. This picture is taken from the Mount of the Beatitudes looking out at the Sea of Galilee. I will try to give you more of an update after I return to Jerusalem.
This is on the Mediterranean Sea at Cesarea.

2009-07-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a nice little town and it was really neat to visit the place that we sing of each December. I have always loved Christmas, nativites, and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas story came to life this week as we studied the story, sang Christmas hymns as we drove to Bethlehem, and then walked into the cave where they believe baby Jesus was born. Everything has begun to together as I have come to understand geography, culture, history, and religion of this Holy Land. I love being here!

City street of BethlehemThe Church of the Nativity Down in the cave at the manger where they believe Jesus was born.

2009-07-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my wonderful patio. It is sad to think that I only have one month left here where I can step outside my room and look out over Jerusalem. I am so lucky to be here! A few nights ago we had a birthday party for one of the girls and the sunset was just beautiful.

2009-07-08T05:25:00.001-07:00

Jerash
This is one of the most well preserved Roman City. We have seen a lot of old cities but most of them are not standing anymore. This was a really cool place to see.
This is where they would have chariot races.I have always loved going to theaters so sitting in the seats of a Roman Theater was so much fun for me. There are two theaters in Jerash. This is the big theater. The acoustics are awesome and some men played the bagpipes and we danced around them on the floor level. It was great!Walking down the main street.This is the stage of the smaller theater. We had some free time so Lisa, Jane, and I did a little exploring and ended up on the stage. No one was around so we decided to dance around and after a few minutes we looked up to find Eric (a friend of ours) watching us. We then proceeded to put on a little show and after it ended with all of us laying dead on the stage we glanced to the top to see 8 more friends watching our spectacular performance. It was a little embarrassing but probably the funnest part of the day!

2009-07-08T05:16:00.000-07:00

2009-07-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

THE WEEK FINALS...

So I have been stuck in this building for the past four days and can't wait for Friday afternoon when I can finally escape to the city. The tension is high and everyone is ready for a break. My friend Lisa wrote a pretty funny post about finals that might paint a picture of what it has been like this past week. It might not be as funny if you haven't been here but this might give you a slight taste of what the past week has been like. http://lisanicolefoote.blogspot.com/2009/06/finals-week-explosion.html

2009-06-29T02:41:00.000-07:00

PETRA

Petra is most famous for the "Treasury" which is shown in the 3rd Indiana Jones movie. Although the movies might spark your interest as to what is inside, it might be a let down to know that it is actually just a large room cut into the stone and was built as a tomb. It is about a 1 1/2 mile walk into the Treasury so this is where our Petra visit began. It was a beautiful morning and a beautiful site.
We had a good time playing with our shadow.

Our tour guide had us line up with our heads down as we walked forward and when he finally told us to look up, this is what we saw...(if only pictures could capture the reality of it!)

Steven and I sporting our Arab head scarves. Katie, Monica, Me, and Elise. These girls are awesome and I love spending time with them. It is no longer strange to see camels everywhere we go...

or cats! There are cats everywhere.

We spent part of the day climbing up hundreds of steps to the top of a couple of mountains. This one was the way up to the High Place.

This is the view all over Petra.

After 800 steps this is the Monastery that we saw at the top on one of the surrounding mountains...

From the Monastery it was a short walk to "the end of the world." I am not quite sure what they meant by that but I followed the path anyways.

I guess this is what they call the end of the world. It was a little disappointing. Okay, not really. Although I don't really enjoy hiking the view always seems to be worth the climb!

2009-06-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

Jordan was a wonderful place to visit. If you can see this map you will see the places that I was able to experience. Stay tuned for my upcoming adventures from the top sites in Jordan being: Jerash, Amman, and Petra.

2009-06-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Mount Nebo
Our first stop in Jordan was at Mount Nebo where Moses saw the promised land but was not able to proceed. It was from this mount where Moses was translated. It was a beautiful lookout and we could see the Dead Sea, Jericho, Jordan River Valley, and the road leading to Jerusalem.

2009-06-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Shawbak Castle
Roman fortress built along the Kings Highway.

2009-06-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

BACK FROM JORDAN!
I spent the past 4 days in Jordan. This is a wonderful country and I loved it. Tomorrow I will try to post some pictures from the places we visited.

2009-06-26T06:53:00.000-07:00

Gummies!
One of the favorite treats among the students here is gummies. There are shops all over the city that have gummies sitting out like this. It doesn't seem very sanitary but I just try to forget where I got them before I get back to the center and then they taste really good!

2009-06-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

A day in Bible Life

Our field trip last week was to a place called Neot Kedumim. This is a biblical landscape preserve where we were able to learn about the land and customs of the people during bible times.

Shepherding 101...

My favorite part of the day was when we were able to practice our shepherding skills. Our tour guide split us into 3 teams and then the challenge was on. Each group had to get the sheep into one circle, keep them there for 30 sec. then take them around the outside of another circle and finish with all of them in a third circle. It was so funny to watch! My group had the advantage of going last so of course we won! The first group took 9 minutes and we took 5. After the excitement was over we had a great lesson on leadership. You can learn a lot about how to be a good leader be following the example of a shepherd. No wonder the great leaders of the bible grew up as shepherds in the fields.

This is my friend Carie Crawl. This is who I spent most nights playing volleyball with. I am very grateful that they have a gym here. I love playing volleyball until 11pm every night I can!

Anyone miss Camping? The smell of campfire was surprisingly a wonderful treat. I have never been much of a camper but have always loved the smell of campfire and I felt like I was back home for a few moments while we ate lunch and made pita. The pita was wonderful but I think that after the summer is over I will have eaten enough pita to last me a lifetime! Torah Scrolls: At the end of our tour a Torah scribe taught us about Torah scribes. A scribe and make about one Torah per year and a scroll will generally cost around $25,000.

2009-06-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday June 14, 2009

Sunday morning I attended a 6:30 a.m. Latin Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This was my first experience with mass and what better place to attend than here. After growing up in Idaho where my only real exposure to other faiths was attending one Luteran church service with a friend during high school, I feel like I have been submerged in a pool of differing beliefs and practices. I have loved learning about the domonite religions of this area and have a new appreciation and understanding for people.

Every Sunday night the BYU-Jerusalem Center hosts a concert that is free for the community to enjoy. The center draws in some of the best musicians in Israel. This past Sunday night the Israeli Stage Orchestra performed. It was a wonderful performance and the audience didn't want them to stop. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to gather with members of the community to enjoy beautiful music. I sat next to a man who told me that he comes almost every week. The BYU-Jerusalem Center is doing wonderful things and I love being a part of it.

2009-06-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

A WEEK FULL OF EVENTS!
Sorry for the delay in an update from the Holy Land. It was a busy week which made it difficult to get this blog post up. So here is the rundown on this past week. Enjoy!

Sunday: The Biblical Zoo

The zoo made for a relaxing break from our studies and busy days on field trips. I had forgot how much I love going to the zoo. There were hundreds of young kids there on field trips and I quickly realized that adults don't generally go to the zoo without kids. We didn't really care though...we are kids and who doesn't love animals! We are in bible land so of course there was a noah's ark!Part of the zoo experience was a 3D movie about bugs. It was fun to watch but i might have got a little bit more out of it if I understood Hebrew.
Monday: City of David and Hezekiah's Tunnel

Just a quick history lesson on the City of David...

The origional City of David is located south of the Temple Mount on a small ridge. King David conquered this city (called Jebus) and made it the capital where he and Solomon ruled over the Twelve Tribes of Isreal. The city of Jerusalem grew to the northwest and the City of David remained an important section until the Babylonians destroyed the temple (that Solomon built) in 587 BC.

The Gihon springs provides water to the city. This water system was changed from its origional engineering by Hezekiah in efforts to protect against the Assyrian siege. Part of our field trip was walking through Hezekiah's tunnel. This field trip just moved up to the top of my favorites list. It might be because we were walking though water in the dark and the it wasn't hot! This is a great contrast to our regular outings in the heat of the sun, hiking up mounds of dirt, or should I say tels. For your information a tel is an archeological dig. Don't get me wrong, I love tels but I struggle to keep each mound of dirt straight in my head. I love it all but water is always a bonus around here. (below is Jane and I making our way though the tunnel) You can tell how deep the water was at the begining where we got in. Most of the way, the water level was below my knee.Part way through the tunnel we turned off our flashlights and slowly felt our way along. Ashley and I pretended to be scared. Of course I was just acting though, remember that I loved the tunnel!Meet Ashley Bradshaw! Ashley is a dancer if you can't tell. She recently switched her major from dance and plans to apply for the nursing program. After we made our way toward the light and out of the tunnel we had fun taking some pictures while we waited for everyone to make it through.The tunnel carried water about 1/3 of a mile from the spring to the Siloam Pool. The pool was inside the city wall so no water escaped the fortified city. This pool was still used in the New Testament era and below you can see some of the remains of this pool. You can read about what happend here by reading in John 9. Jesus cured a blind man by having him wash in the pool of Siloam. It is a great lesson about spiritual blindness.

Wednesday: Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. The name means "a name and a memorial" taken from Isaiah 56:5. After an orientation by our teacher Mr. Yarden we went on a 3 hour guided tour through the museum. It was packed with people which made it difficult to really see all of the exibits but it was very interesting to follow the history of the holocaust. I think this will be a place that I will need to return to with a small group so that I can explore the exibits more closely. One thing I found interesting was that at the exit of the museum you come out looking at a land where modern Jews now live. Our guide made the point that although this was a great tragedy, we need to look to the future and the future is full of hope. I think that is important to remember.

Thursday: Seder Dinner
Our Judaism teacher led us in a wonderful Seder Dinner. All of the students got involved in preparing and performing. I was lucky enough to help prepare the floral arrangements for the head table. We took a taxi into town and picked out some flowers and then came back to the center and went to work. I had almost forgotten how much I love playing with flowers. I knew my floral design class would pay off!

These are my new running buddies. Katie and Lisa are two of my best friends here and I love hanging out with them. Last week we decided to start running. It is our new goal to go every morning and so far we are 3 for 3. I am sure that you have heard that every road in Jerusalem is uphill. I am here to tell you that it is true, especially when you are running. I am yet to find a flat road in this city! Jerusalem is beautiful in the morning and that makes it worth running up the hills.
Friday: Orson Hyde Park and Gethsemane

Photo shoot...by Friday afternoon everyone ready to get out of the center. We decided to walk over to the Garden of Gethsemane. We went through Orson Hyde Park and decided to take a few photos. Lisa loves the timer on her camera because it takes three pictures in a row. If you can't tell, we had a great time with that feature!

Those seen below: Heather, Jena, Kyle, Jane, and Lisa

This picture is a sample of the boy to girl ratio here at the center. There are 19 boys and 60 girls. The boys are great to follow girls around to various shops and escort us on our various outings. I don't think they really mind it too much! Of the 20 pictures we took I think this was the only normal one we got. The Garden of Gethsemane

This shows a little different point of view of the city. I liked that you can kind of see the temple mount from this view and see how big it is.

After little trip out of the center, we had to get back to the center to get ready for Synogogue. I attended a reformed Jewish Synagogue. I spent most of my time trying to figure out where we were in the reading. Once again it would have been helpful to know Hebrew! The rabbi was very welcoming to us and pointed out what page they were on every now and again. After the service he answered questions and showed us some Torah Scrolls. It was a wonderful way to welcome in Shavuot.

2009-06-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Egypt take 3!

So here are a few more pictures from Egypt.

This is a picture of the Zin Wilderness. This is in Israel on our way to Egypt. The children of Israel spent quite a bit of time in this area and this might give you an idea of what the land looked like that they were wandering through for 40 years. My eyes have been opened to why the Israelites might have been complaining. It is hot and dry and there is not much to look at! More of the Pyramids!This is one of our friends that spent the week traveling with us in Egypt. Yes, we had security guards that went everywhere with us. So don't worry about my safety!
Jerusalem...
The Western Wall

Dome of the Rock

Last Sunday I took my first trip to the Temple Mount.

A street in the Old City

Friday afternoons are different than most days in the city. As you can see the streets are pretty empty and many of the shops are closed because every begins to prepare for Shabbat. Usually the street is packed with people and we have to walk single file to get through.

Field Trip

Part of our field trip this past Monday was in the Elah Valley were David fought Golieth. A few of the students took on the responsibility of creating a Golieth. You can see him below. He is made out of water bottles and may not be a little thin but it worked as a great target. We each had a sling and took on the role of David. I am not as practiced as David to say the least. I think this has been our most dangerous outing. We had rocks flying in all directions but we all made it out alive. That is everyone except Golieth. When we failed to hurt our Golieth with our sling shots, the guys took it upon themselves to drop the slings and start thoughing large rocks at him. They knocked him down and attacked. I don't want to be graphic but I think he went home without his head attached. I think they just wanted it to be as close to the bible story as possible!

We went to a lot of caves on this field trip as well. The accustics were awesome in this cave so we sang some hymns as we usually do whenever we get a chance.

Who can answer the riddle?

On Friday afternoon we went to look at some olive wood and went into Bagdaddy's shop. He was very friendly and said if someone could answer his riddle he would give them a gift.

What is between heaven and earth? (anyone know the answer?)

You guessed it, I answered his riddle and he gave me this nice little lemon juicer. I am pretty proud of my prize!

Meet some of the couples serving here...

We are very lucky to have wonderful directors, teachers, and service couples here with us. If any of you are familiar with the documentary "Journey of Faith" our academic director Brother Kent Brown was one of the executive producers. The film is about the journey of Lehi and Sariah to the promised land. We watched it last night and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested. I really enjoyed it and you can see Brother Brown in it. There are some shots in Jerusalem and looking out from the Jerusalem Center.

(Roy Huff-religion teacher from BYU-I, Sister and Brother Masters-religion teacher, Brother and Sister Brown, Brother and Sister Whipple-Service Couple at the Center and Brother Whipple is the Organist, Brother and Sister Thomas-Service couple who had been over the tours at the center, they just returned home last week)

Meet a couple of my friends...

Here we have Lisa Foote. She is from Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a Math Ed. Major with a Business Minor. As you can probably see from the pictures that I put up, I spend a lot of time with Lisa and she is usually in my pictures. Lisa also happens to be one of the two that jumped into the Nile River. If you have ever seen the Nile or know anything about it you would know that that it not the healthiest thing to do. She is adventurous and a lot of fun! P.S. Lisa is the one in the white hat :)

Next we have Jane Barlow. We hadn't really ever talked until we went to Egypt and somehow we ended up sitting next to each other in the back of the bus and had plenty of time to learn all about one other. Since then we have be come great friends! Jane is from Rochester, Minnesota and is a Comparative Liturature Major.

2009-05-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

Outside the Center

This afternoon I had some time to walk around the grounds of the Jerusalem Center and play with my camera. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.

Dome of the RockFront door of the center Looking out from the 8th floor of the center
This is Katie and I in front of the center on the 7th level. To the left you can see the big windows of our chapel.

Visit to the Hospital

Thursday afternoon I was able to go with two other girls to a hospital just down the road from the Jerusalem Center. We went as volunteers to help feed the babies. Below is a picture of the nursery. While we were waiting, one of the nurses called us in to see a baby boy who had just been born. They were all so tiny and it was so fun to see all of them.

I sat for about 45 minutes trying to get this little girl to drink her bottle. She just kept falling asleep. I couldn't stop smiling as I held this little infant in my arms. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon!

On our way home from the hospital we stop to talk to some kids that were out playing by the street. While we were talking we were attacked by two boys with water guns. These weren't wimpy water guns either. They were the kind that had backpacks filled with water. We escaped with minor damage and I am sure they got a good laugh from it. I think we are going to go to Toy Land and get our own water guns so we can defend ourselves next time!

A few more pictures from our trip to Egypt...

Below is a picture of the Step Pyramid which was the first pyramid built and later led to the building of the great pyramids. After walking around the area I was walking out of the temple structure a young man grabbed my arm. I have gotten used to just ignoring anyone that I pass by but I was surprised that a white tourist would try to stop me. As I turned back around I realize that it was someone I knew. This young tourist was actually a friend of mine from my freshman year at BYU. He just completed his mission in Romania and his family had picked him up and they were doing some traveling and then visiting his sister who is on a mission before going home. What are the chances that I would see him in Egypt at the oldest pyramid in the world. It was a very fun surprise.
Here is a picture of the kind of boats we road down the Nile River on.Camel Ride! Luxor Temple at Night

This is the tomb of the famous King Tut. The interesting thing is that he really was an insignificant king but he was made famous because his tomb was the only one found that had not been found by the tomb robbers. All of the treasures found in the tomb now fill one level of the Cairo Museum. Inside the tomb they had the mummy of King Tutankhamun. I loved seeing the mummy in the original tomb he was found in.

2009-05-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

Trip to Egypt!

Egypt was so much fun and I saw so many amazing things. It was amazing how much we packed into a week. After a lot of warm bottled water, no fruits or vegetables, and every person getting sick, I think we were all glad to see the Jerusalem Center again. With everything that we did it would take me hours to share all of it but I will just give you a sample of a few of the things we saw and did.

On our way to the border on the first day we stopped at a Kibbutz in Israel for a tour. Stepping off the bus was like stepping into the sauna. I was amazed that they have been able to keep anything alive. And just my luck...they took us for a tour of their dairy operation. I don't know if I have been on a vacation where we have not visited a dairy along the way,the streak continues. They milk about 600 cows three times a day and produce 60-70% of the milk in Israel. They give the cows showers 6 times a day where they shower them for 1 minute and then turn on the fans for 2 minutes. It was quite interesting.

The Great Pyramids! The pyramids were amazing and it was so wonderful to drive into Cairo and see them in the distance. The night that we arrived we went to the light and sound show at the pyramids. If you look closely you can see the outline of one behind our heads. Kristen, Me, and CathrineThey switch which pyramid they allow tourists to enter and we were lucky enough to go into the "Great Pyramid" which is the largest one. It was a long climb into the center and inside I thought we might run out of oxygen with all of us in there. Tomb area is about the side of a large living room with a tall ceiling in the center of the pyramid. The size of the blocks of stone are amazing and the size of the pyramid even more impressive. It was quite the sight! Below you can see us sitting on the bottom layer.After a day in Cairo we took a flight to Luxor which is south of Cairo. We all got on and found our assigned seats. After taking my place in the second row I found out that I was sitting first class! The flight attendant came and pulled the curtain behind my head and the six of us in front of the curtain just started laughing. We were brought a hot towel, warm drinks, and a meal while the rest of our classmates and teachers were out of our sight and received a small drink. We could not stop laughing! Who would have guessed I would sit first class on Egyptian Air. I am guessing that will be my first and last time sitting first class but we lived it up and got a lot of laughs out of it. Traveling the Nile River. We were in Luxor for two days and in that time took almost every form of transportation available. This included: airplane, bus, taxi, sail boat, camel, motorboat, horse carriage, and train. My favorite was the camel but I had some fun experience on all of them. Karnak Temple. The oldest parts of the Karnak Temple date to about 2000 BC. The temple is mostly the product of the New Kingdom pharaohs and each pharaoh added on to the temple. The pillars are huge as you can see in the picture and every wall and pillar has engravings on it and many depictions of important ceremonies. Always a time for firsts! We went to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was my first time in Egypt, my first time at the Hard Rock, so I thought it might as well be my first time for a hamburger. It only took 21 years and a trip to Luxor, Egypt to try a hamburger! On our final day we woke up at 2 am to climb Mt. Sinai. The sky was beautiful and it was difficult to have to look where I was walking. I have never seen so many stars in the sky. We made it to the top after about 2 hours and waited for the sun to rise. It was freezing cold on top so we huddled together for warmth as we waited. It was a beautiful sunrise! After spending a week looking at some of the greatest creations of man there was nothing that matched the creations of God. After seeing what Moses had grown up seeing, I understand better Moses 1:10 where he says, "Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed. But now mine own eyes have beheld God." He had been surrounded by the greatness of man but found out as I did when I sat on top Mt. Sinai that man is nothing.

2009-05-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

Headed to Egypt!
Tomorrow morning I will be leaving for Egypt. We will be there for the next week and I am sure that I will have great pictures when I get back. This past week has been packed with many exciting things. The Pope has been living next door all week so we have had soldiers on the side of our building. They were protecting the Pope but one of the guys made a flyer that said "Thanks for protecting us from the Pope" and gave it the the soldiers. So don't worry we are in good hands here :)

We also had a few great visitors last Tuesday. Governor Huntsman and Attorney General Mark Shurtliff and their party ate dinner with us and then provided our forum. The week was also full of classes and our first midterm. We are all looking forward to a great vacation in Egypt! Here is a little update on a few of the things I did last week.

It is hard to believe that another week has gone by. On Sunday we went to Ien Kerem which it the town just east of Jerusalem where John the Baptist was born. It was nice to get away from the populated streets of Jerusalem and visit this quite little town. The landscape was beautiful and we were able to go up and hike up a few trails on the hillside. Idaho girls! Kristen, Amy, and Rachelle are from Bosie so we tried to recreate Idaho in our picture so if you look really hard you might be able to see why we look so funny.This is at Mary's Spring. It would be a great watering hole except for the fact that there is a big sign warning that the water is not safe to drink!So I can't figure out why this picture will not go the right way but oh well. I have officially been to the lowest city as well as the oldest city in the world. That's right, we went to Jericho! This is my friend Ashley as we began out day at this great city.Do you see anything wrong with this sign? If not read it again! This has to be one of my favorites so far.This is up on the side of a cliff that we climbed to the Monastery of Temptation. This is where they say Satan tempted Jesus to turn the rocks to bread. It was amazing how they built out from some caves and made this monastery. This is looking out on the city of Jericho. And you my look at what I wearing and think that it was cold. Wrong, it was very hot but we had to have long sleeves going into the monastery and wear a scarf over our heads. Don't get the wrong idea, it is warm here :)Here we have all of the students in the program. 79 in Total! These are the people I spend all of my time with, and I mean ALL of my time. These people are wonderful and it is amazing how one can make best friends in a matter of days and weeks when you spend 24/7 with them! After the sites in Jericho the bus dropped us off at this location and I never caught exactly where we were. Where ever it was it was an amazing sight to see! It is Shabbot again! After church today we went to the Garden of Gethsemane. We went into a quiet garden that they keep locked next to the main site where all of the tourists go. It was nice to take some time to ponder the atonement and the sacredness of this location.

2009-05-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

2009-05-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

More adventures in Israel.
First of all, this first picture is for my Dad. I thought he would like that we found this sticker on a window in the middle of the old city. There are a few shops that cater specifically to the LDS tourist and some that cater to the BYU students. There is one stop in particular that all of the students do there shopping at. He has BYU Jerusalem T-shirts, sweatshirts, scripture cases and I am sure he claims...anything we want. He also pours us a drink of lemonade or something else any time we stop by. I am pretty sure that he makes almost all his money off of the students that come here each semester. So after that, it wasn't to surprising to find something like this in another part of the city...This week we really got started into our classes. Because we go on field trips we have to use the time that we are in the Center for classes so some of the days can be pretty long. I am learning so much here and I love the chance we have to learn about something and then actually see it. Last Monday we went out to a few different outlook points to get a better feel for the layout of the area. As you can see in the picture below, it was a little difficult to see everything that we were looking for due to the heavy haze. I think this was the only day that it was that hazy. Just our luck! Understanding the geography is important to understanding the history. These are my roommates...(left to right) Savannah, Mandy, and Brigitta. This is on our way to the Western Wall. Behind us is the Mount of Olives and you can see part of the Garden of Gethsemane just above our heads.

Friday night we were able to go as a group to the Western Wall as the Jews welcomed the Sabbath as sundown. It was a great experience and we had a good time talking to a few Orthodox Jewish girls, and watching some of the dances, and hearing them sing. One interesting thing I learned was that not to long ago there were houses and buildings that filled this area and there was only about 4 meter thick strip of space that people were able to go down along the wall. After the 1967 war they came in and just cleared out the area so that it is accessible. The cracks of the wall are just filled with little pieces of paper with prayers written on them.

Today we had a wonderful Sabbath service. I am still getting used to having church on Saturday. There has been question as to why we worship on Saturday here. The branch president said, "the Prophet has given approval to do so." That was a good enough answer for me. Due to the area, Saturday is the best day to do it. Today I was also reading about Sabbath in the Bible Dictionary and found something interesting. It said, "The change from observing the last day of the week to the first day of the week is not so important as is the concept and principle of the Sabbath." The day is not so important as the principle of our worship.

After our meetings we went to the Garden Tomb. After a long walk through the crowded streets, the Garden Tomb was a sanctuary from the chaos of the town. This is the most peaceful place I have been thus far. It was beautiful and it was wonderful to sit and feel the spirit here.

2009-05-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

A DAY IN THE CITY...
I know my mom said that I wouldn't be able to blog but I have found that I can compress the pictures and put a few on. Today we had a free day and spend about 8 hours walking around the city. There is so much to see and I don't know if I have ever walked so much in one day! Around 5pm I was standing on top of a building looking out over the city and spotted my home way off in the distance. I suddenly realized that the little building that I was looking at was where I was headed next. Lets just say it took about an hour to get back to the Center.

This is Where I live. The bottom 5 levels have apartments for the faculty and students. Level 6 is the student level where we have our cafeteria, classrooms, lounge, and gym. Level 7 has the office and then level 8 is the library and a few other rooms they use for tours.
This is what I see when I step out on my patio. This is me and my friend Lisa on some roof tops inside the old city. We went exploring and ate lunch up here. As a side note I might add that they want us to blend in and yet require us to carry a water bottle around with us in a bright blue carrier. Can I just tell you that everyone knows who we are. As we pass by the shops they will say. "Oh the Mormons, we love the Mormons!" Lets just say that we really don't blend in :)
These were a couple of cute boys that were talking to some of the guys in my group. And yes, that is The Dome of the Rock that you see in the background.

2009-05-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today is fast Sabbath here in the Holy Land. It will take a little time to get used to having Sabbath on Saturday. There is a branch here which is mainly made up of the students but we also have a few people from the area as well as a few travelers who come. A lady in the relief society presidency is from Bethlehem. It is kind of funny to hear someone stand up and introduce themselves and say they are from Bethlehem! She said that she grew up down the street from where Christ was born but had to go to Provo, Utah to really find out who Christ was. We hold our sacrament meeting in an assembly hall that is basically a large lecture hall with a stage in front and large arched windows that look out over the city. As we had the sacrament and as testimonies were born, it was amazing to look out at the city and think that this is where Christ taught in the temple, walked the streets, had the last supper, atoned for our sins, was laid in the tomb, and was resurrected that we too might live. It is a powerful experience and I know that Christ really did come to the earth.

2009-05-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

I made it to the Holy Land

After a long plane ride and a few time changes I have made it to the Holy Land. As we pulled up to the center I was amazed at the beauty of this place. We are living in what you might call a 5 star hotel. Every window looks out on the city and it is still hard to grasp the reality of actually being in Jerusalem. Walking through the city definately a new experience. I feel like it is one giant maze and I now know why we have to go in groups of three!

There is great security here. It is nice to know that our security guards always know when we are out and start looking for us if we are not back when we should be. It is also a new experience to have someone standing at the gate waiting for our return from the city. We finally got our cell phones and id cards today so we were able to go out to the city on our own this afternoon after classes. I went with a few poeple to the Orson Hyde Park. The story behind this park is very interesting. There is an article about it at lds.org. Check it out: (David B. Galbraith, “Orson Hyde’s 1841 Mission to the Holy Land,” Ensign, Oct 1991, 16)

2009-04-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Jerusalem here I come!

This is where I am going to be in 11 days! Finals are almost over and in a few days I will be packing up and heading home for a few days before leaving for BYU-Jerusalem. I have a feeling I will have more than just flowers to blog about :)

2009-04-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

New Adventure for the 2009-2010 School Year

I don't know if I have mentioned this, but my friend Ann that I have been mentoring for the past year and a half just got moved to a new foster home in West Jordan. We are going to stay in contact but my official mentoring days are over for a while. So without mentoring to take the spare time that I don't usually have, I decided to get involved in a new way.

I have the great opportunity to be the president of the Marriott Undergraduate Women in Business Club next year. This club was started this past year and I am excited to get involved. You can look at some of the things that they have done at http://byu-uwib.blogspot.com/. If you have any great ideas for activities let me know!

2009-04-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Spring Flowers
So I have come to realize that about the only things I have taken pictures of this semester are the flower arrangements that I have made. So, as not to break my streak here is my last one. This was my Spring design. It has been such a fun class!General Conference

I went to Salt Lake with a few friends Sunday morning and we met my family there. It was a beautiful day but we decided to have our picnic in the underground parking lot! It was a great day. Brian, Paul, Meagan, and Me

Dad, Grandma Kay, and Aunt Lauri

Me, Joelle, and Mom

Fernanda, Me, and Aline (These are my Brazilian roommates)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSAY!

Lindsay is 20! Thanks for being a great sister-in-law :)

2009-03-31T16:04:00.000-07:00

Charity Ball and Auction

Last Friday night we went to the Charity Ball and Auction that was held in the Provo City Library Ballroom. It was beautiful and we had a great time. I don't know how many of you I told about this event but it is something that I got involved in this past semester through a friend in one of my classes. A few years ago some students here at BYU started a group called Students Giving Back. They work with the United Way and put on this event to raise money for children in the area. I did some work on the blog (thanks for your help Gwen!) and I am currently working on a Micro-franchise report for it. We are going to present it to United Way and our hope is that other students across the nation can put on the same kind of event.

Austin, Eliza, Kristen, and Heather

2009-03-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

Ward March Madness
There are a few benefits to being ward activities co-chair. We put on a 3 on 3 basketball tournament for this months activity. We had a good turn out and it just so happens that my team won! After it was over I did decide that it is hard to be in charge and play at the same time. Luckily I had a few great friends that helped run the tournament. If you can't tell my team even had matching shirts. These were some shirts that a few girls made for these boys and their intramural team last semester. The shirts have their names on the back and it just so happens that one of the guys on the team has a great last name...Andersen. He even spells it correctly so it work out really well. I played with Bryce Johnson and Kari Olsen.

Have I said anything about how much I love arranging flowers?

One of the assignments for my floral design calls was to do a silk floral arrangement. So I decided to fulfill my assignment by making a summer arrangement for my mom's dining room table. I spent about an hour trying to pick out flowers and then a few hours Friday night putting it together. The final product was not what I had envisioned in my head but I think that it turned out pretty well. I also decided to help Ann pick out flowers and make one herself. It is so much fun!

2009-03-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

Finally a post...
I am afraid that it has been a very long time since I have posted on my blog. I am not sure that anyone even looks at it anymore. But for those who still may take a look now and again here are a few pictures from my life.

First of all...I love my floral design class! Today we learned how to do bridal bouquets. They are so fun. For my class I also have to be able to identify a long list of flowers. So as you can imagine I look at flowers a whole new way and it is wonderful.

A while back Eliza and I went to the BYU Gymnastics meet. We even went down on the floor before it started and participated in the handstand contest. I know you might be surprised but we didn't win.
For Valentine's Day I went to my first Monster Truck Rally. What an experience, especially on valentines day.

2009-01-16T23:12:00.000-08:00

My Creations...
So I have always loved using my hands to fix things, put things together, or just create. As I looked back over the past year I just wanted to share a few of my creations.

#1. Last Christmas break I made a quilt out of a selection of my old t-shirts. #2. This past summer my good friend Julie got me started on stitchery.

#3. This Christmas Katie taught us all how to crouchet hats. After I got the hang of it I made 4 before coming back to school.

#4. My new task is learning floral design. I am taking a class this semester and can't wait to make my own designs.

If anyone has any new ideas of what I can learn to do or make after floral design, I would love the suggestions!

2009-01-15T21:18:00.000-08:00

I am 21...
A lot of birthday and a lot of cake!
So although I am a couple of weeks late on updating about my birthday I must say that it might be because I wasn't sure the partying was ever going to end! It started on New Years Eve when we celebrated at home while the family was there. My mom made her amazing homemade ice cream and we had my traditional, strawberry cake! I can't remember a year when I haven't had a strawberry cake. (I think it is kind of like my Christmas Stocking, after 21 years I just can seem to give it up!) It was a fun night and I was grateful for the help I received to blow out the candles. I think they were out before I even made my wish! Thanks kids
Birthday #2...
Jenni and I started a tradition the year I moved to Burley to celebrate our birthdays together the night before my birthday. Her birthday is January 15th so we decided they are close enough to combine. This year her mom made some waffles instead of brownies and we had a fun night together before, once again, went our separate ways back to school. Birthday #3...
My third birthday took place on my actual birthday. January 4th! I came back to Provo on the 3rd but Mom had me covered and sent a cake and some ice cream back with Brandon and Lindsay. Eliza and I had Carl and Derick over for dinner and then Brandon and Lindsay joined us for the cake and ice cream. Thanks mom for taking care of my birthday even when I am not at home!

Birthday #4...

So I thought that I had already reach my max on birthday candles but on the Tuesday after my birthday my roommate took me out to dinner. It was so much fun and I was not expecting the surprise party that I found when I got home. My roommates had planned a great little party and it was fun to have friends over once again. And of course we played a few games of catch phrase. My favorite!

Thank you everyone for making my 21st birthday so wonderful! I think I have had enough cake to last me until next year.

2008-12-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

Night on Temple Square
A couple of weekends ago, my mom and dad came down for dinner and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, to celebrate Grandma Kay's birthday with her. So Eliza and I met them in Salt Lake to hang out with Joelle and we had a party of our own. We walked around and saw the nativities and listened to a high school choir in one of the visitor's centers. Then we went to dinner at the Lion House and finished the night off watching the concert from the Tabernacle. It was a great night!

2008-12-01T17:31:00.001-08:00

THANKSGIVING

I had such a great thanksgiving and it was so fun to have Eliza come home and spend the week in Idaho! We did so many fun things it is hard to pick the best part. Here are just some of the highlights:

On Tuesday night we went to Les Mis is Sugar City and Wednesday we put Christmas lights up and went bowling. Thurday was the great day of Thanksgiving! Eliza and I went and ran the Mini-Cassia Turkey Trot 5K in Paul and then there was lunch, ping pong, football and lots of pie! Friday, Eliza and I went to Twilight while Joelle and Mom went to Bolt and then that night we went out and played games at Ben and Robbie's.

A trip home is never complete without going out to the dairy so Saturday morning we put on the coveralls and paid a little visit to the cows. Satuday night we went over to the ISU vs. BYU men's basketball and I found out it is more fun to watch when you can see the players and you aren't sitting on the top row of the Marriott Center! Sunday we went out to Arobon Valley listen to Austin Hayden speak. He just returned from his mission and will be coming down to BYU in January. As you can see it was an exciting trip! Only a few weeks left in the semester! We couldn't help but stop to take a picture of Arbon.

On Wednesday we picked Joelle up from school and went to the Schoolhouse Grill for ice cream and a few games of connect four.

2008-11-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

Mission Call and Halloween!

My roommate Amy Alletto recieved her mission call a couple of weeks ago and she can't stop smiling. She is going to Kyiv, Ukraine! She leaves the middle of January. I am going to miss her so much but I know she is going to be an amazing missionary. The day before Halloween Ann and I made dinner and carved a pumpkin. I forgot how fun it is to scrape out the insides of a pumpkin!

On Halloween night Eliza and I drove up to South Salt Lake with a few friends in the ward to a Halloween Party John Hoyt and a couple of his friends had at their little house. They had a fire and lots of treats.

2008-11-09T15:55:00.000-08:00

I finally ran my 5K!
On Saturday I did a fun run in Orem for Make a Wish Foundation. After running all summer and was wishing I would have ran a 5K but I finally did it. I ran the whole thing and it was a lot of fun. I ran with my roommates Eliza and Kristen and Jeremy and Josh who are in our ward.

Jeremy, Heather, Eliza, Kristen, and Josh

We made it to the Elite 8!
Our flag football team is in the elite 8 in the second division. We had a bye the first round of the tournament and then won our game on Thursday. The tournament is now double elimination so there isn't quite as much pressure but we are hoping to make it all the way to the championship!
We will play this Wednesday and Thursday.

Steve Merrill (our coach), Stacie, Eliza, Kayla, Emily, Amy, Kristen, Heather, and Annika This is our team and fans from from the ward who came out in the cold to cheer us on.

2008-10-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

My wonderful roommates!

School is going well and I am loving my ward and my apartment. At first I was a little apprehensive about living in the same place for a second year but it has turned out to be wonderful and I am grateful to be here. This week was Homecoming! The game was cold but a lot of fun. I just have to say that I love BYU! And these are my wonderful roommates...

Melanie, Kristen, Amy, Emily, Eliza, and Me

Amy, Kristen, Eliza, Emily, and Me sporting our quest shirts after the game

Kara (Kristen's friend), Kristen, Me, and Eliza at the football game

2008-10-05T15:36:00.001-07:00

A challenge to all the women...

So a couple of weeks ago my roommate Kristen and I decided to spend a little time memorizing The Relief Society Declaration. This has brought new meaning to Relief Society for me. It is a great reminder of what we are striving for and what we can work on. So my challenge to all of you is to memorize the declaration before Thanksgiving. Good Luck!

We are beloved spirit daughters of God, and our lives have meaning, purpose, and direction. As a worldwide sisterhood, we are united in our devotion to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Exemplar. We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity who:

Increase our testimonies of Jesus Christ through prayer and scripture study.

Seek spiritual strength by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Dedicate ourselves to strengthening marriages, families, and homes.

Find nobility in motherhood and joy in womanhood.

Delight in service and good works.

Love life and learning.

Stand for truth and righteousness.

Sustain the priesthood as the authority of God on earth.

Rejoice in the blessings of the temple, understand our divine destiny, and strive for exaltation.

2008-10-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

From TEMPLE SQUARE...
Caroline, Abbey, Eliza, Amy and I took the trax into Salt Lake on Saturday morning to attend General Conference. We stood in the standby line for about 45 minutes before we sent Amy and Abbey to try to get tickets. It only took about 10 minutes before they had four tickets and we were on our way in. I love going to Salt Lake for Conference and was glad that Caroline and Abbey came down.
After the morning session we got back on the trax and met Brandon, Lindsay, Gracie, Hillary, and Carter for lunch in Sandy. It was a great morning!

2008-09-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Intramurals have begun!

Last night we had our first flag football game as well as our first co-ed basketball game and we came out with two wins! It is fun to be back playing intramurals and I am excited for the season. I will try and keep you updated how we are doing.

2008-08-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

I'm back at BYU!

Well I got back to Provo in time for the 1st football game and the excitement has begun. After the game on Saturday we (Kristen, Eliza, Whitney, Jordan, and a couple of Jordan's roommates) went to Erin (Mower) Harris's and had pizza and ice cream. Then this evening Jordan rode to salt lake with me to switch the Navigator for my car and we went to Whitney's apartment and played a game. I've been here less than two days and had a social overload!

I am moved into my apartment and excited for the new semester. First Sunday back and I already had a meeting with the Bishop. I am the new 2nd councelor in the Relief Society Presidency. They get things going pretty quick around here. Me and Whitney

Kristen, Melanie, and Me

2008-08-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

Brandon and Linsday were married 8-8-08 in the Mesa, Arizona Temple! Here are some pictures from the great event. Joelle, Hilary, Rachel, Abbey, Amy, Gracie, and Kaitlyn outside the Mesa Temple during the wedding.

Joelle and Heather

Lindsay and Brandon coming out of the temple.

Joelle with Lindsay and Brandon

Yes, I was a bridesmaid!

The sisters

The grandmas with the bride and groom

With the lucky kids who got to go to Arizona.

The Brothers holding the bride...Brandon's face is my favorite in this picture. :)

Rachel and Abbey

The girls watching Brandon and Lindsay dance

Brandon dancing with his mother

2008-07-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

I'm HOME...
Well I got home a couple of weeks ago. I am loving the river and having a good time attending singles branch activities. I also bought a new bike a couple of days ago and Joelle and I like to goes for rides in the evening around the neighborhood.

John, Caroline, and the kids came over last Friday to go out in the boat.

Joelle played a lot of softball the past few weeks. Her team beat the number one seed in the second round of the tournament and they ended up taking 3rd place.

Lydia and Wyatt had a great time pretending Brandon's leg was a horse during Joelle's softball game.

Brandon is playing on a city leauge softball team. It is fun to watch and is a nice way to spend a summer evening.

My last morning in Provo I played basketball and then went swimming some people in my ward. It was a fun morning and I was able to test out my new swimming suit!

2008-06-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

I got THE shirt!

After playing on 9 intramural teams this past year, I finally won the prized intramural champion shirt with my ward's womens softball team! As many of you know the shirt is very coveted on this campus. I was very excited to win a championship! I played 3rd base most of the time and then pitched a little bit in the last few games.

2008-06-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Afternoon with Ann:
Ann and I went to the family day at the Museum of Art on campus and then went back to my apartment to hang out. I taught her a few chords and we had a good time trying to play the guitar. When I went to pick Ann up at her house she had a plastic cup in her hand with some flowers. She cut a couple of roses off the rosebush in front of her house for me. It was so nice for her to think of me and the roses smelled wonderful!

2008-06-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

My friend AMY...
This is a picture of me and Amy at the outdoor movie at the baseball field. Amy is not only an awesome friend but also an amazing basketball player and I love playing with her. On Saturday she set me up on a blind date with her friend's roommate. We went to a nearby church and played two on two basketball and then went to a fun Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was a fun afternoon date. Amy is planning to go on a mission after fall semester so she is going to redshirt this year for basketball which means she can play intramurals! She will be a great addition to all of our teams:)

2008-06-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

Aspen Grove reunion and Cross-country skiing
I know that this post is about 5 months late but I just got these pictures from my Annika. In January we went up to Aspen Grove for a little reunion and went cross country skiing. It was so much fun!

This is me coming down a hill....and this is about 5 seconds later! Luckily I fell over before I ran into the cabin:)

2008-06-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Fun
Here are some fun pictures from Memorial Day. It was fun to go spend some time at Holly's house Sunday night and be in Preston with the family on Memorial Day.

2008-05-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

MY BEST FRIEND IS GETTING MARRIED!

I know this is new of the past but I talked to Krystal yesterday and I just can't believe that she is getting married. Krystal and Shane came down to Provo the evening before she flew to Equador. We went to Krispy Kreme and it was so fun to see them. I was shocked the next morning when she called me from the airport during a layover to tell me she was engaged! I am very excited for them and can't wait for Krystal to get home from Equador the first of July.

2008-05-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

Weekend Activities

HIKING: This weekend has been full of fun. I am really enjoying being in Provo and not having to worry about school:) This morning I went hiking to First Falls up by Aspen Grove with Annie (Kristen's sister). We wanted to go to Stewart Falls but the snow kind of prevented that from happening. It was a fun hike and a beautiful day!
SHOOTING: Yesterday afternoon my friend Chase took me to West Jordon to go shooting. This was a new experience for me. I didn't do to bad as long as the target was close! Chase even brought a holster for me to wear:) After shooting we went to his parents house and saw his horses. It was great.

2008-05-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Wednesday is officially the night to grill

My friend Jon Brooks, who has been my home teacher for the past year and also works in the Electric Shop, bought a grill last week and has made Wednesday a night that you can bring whatever you have to grill. Tonight Jon made my dinner and I want to let everyone know that I have come a long ways as far as my eating goes. I have gotten pretty good at trying new meals. Tonight Jon grilled steak, peppers, corn on the cob, toast, and jalapenos. I will have you know I tried it all!

Security

As you all know I am working at the electrical shop on campus. The shop is in charge of the security camaras and alarms. Yesterday I started learning about the security on campus so I can help test the system and all of the alarms. It is kind of neat to learn about what goes on behind the scenes at BYU. From the computer I have the ability to lock and unlock any door on campus and look at any of the camara shots. It is pretty cool!

2008-05-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

Birthday Party for the Roommates

Gwen has informed me that I have no excuse for my slacking performance on by blog. So now that I have little excuse when it come to time...I am going to try and improve my blog and let you know about the fun things that I am doing in Provo.

To start things off here is what we did tonight:
Tonight we had a party for two of my roommates. Melanie's birthday was on Saturday and Lisa's was today! I made the cake and my roommate Emily made the frosting and we were set to go. A few people from the ward came over and it was great. I am playing on our ward softball and kickball teams. I have a game for both tomorrow night so I will let you know how it goes.

2008-05-07T15:08:00.001-07:00

New Roommates!

All of my old roommates moved out and five new ones moved in. They are fun girls. On Monday we had a Cinco de Mayo party and it seems like there is always something fun going on. I am working full time and just having a good time here in Provo! Emily, Lisa, Me, Amy, Melanie, and Melissa

2008-04-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

FLASH GAME PROPOSAL

We went to the Flash game Saturday night and during one of the time outs some guy proposed to his girlfriend! I thought you all would like to see what happend.

Sorry the video is not very clear. That is my mistake but at least you can get an idea of how exciting it was! Lindsay is the girl in the black shirt shooting the basket and Brandon is the prize under the box:)

I am trying to post a better video. Check back later to see if it is up.

CONGRATULATIONS BRANDON AND LINDSAY!