So Inspiring..This Woman makes me want to be better!

So, I love love love Mormon Messages. I am always so anxious for the new one to come out. I always feel so uplifted and edified by them. Well, one came out about a month ago that just really made me feel so sad for her, but so uplifted by her positivity and testimony. She has been through incredibly hard things but she has managed to make the most out of her life. She has spent time sharing her life with others even though its probably so difficult. I recently was lead to her blog address and I'm so glad. I had been wanting to read it. Her blog address is http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ it's incredible. I have also tried to have the video on here so you can all view it. It really is so good and I hope it can inspire you and help you appreciate every special moment we are given here on Earth despite our trials and hardships.


My-New-Life

Bucket List Club

So, here is the skinny on my new life. I got connected with the funnest person, named Ceri Allsop. She served in the Minnesota Mission with me, but we were never companions.  Because we had this connection she has been kind enough to be my friend. Let me tell you what, she is a blast. I am laughing all the time when I'm with her. She took me to the beach with them, invited me to the Soiree party, and just invites me to do awesome stuff like trapeze and hip hop classes. I am yet to make it to the hip hop class and we are planning on next Monday for Trapeze. It should be awesome. I'm very excited. Well, last night she invited me to come to the Bucket List Club meeting. So, I went and I'm glad I did. It was me, her, and a guy named Will.  We sat in Will's room literally making our Bucket List's and sharing them. It was actually quite entertaining. Will and Ceri already had most of theirs done. So, they read theirs off one by one and it was hilarious. I loved every second of it. I continued to make mine. So, here is my bucket list I excluded some things that are kinda personal. But for the most part here it is in no particular order.

1. Go Skydiving
2. Learn to Krump
3. Work in an orphanage in Africa
4. Go to Australia
5. Learn how to surf
6. Run the Boston Marathon
7. Do an Iron man Triathlon
8. Coach track or Cross Country
9. Go to Paris-See Alex's home (my brother in law)
10. Get Married
11. Go on a week long four wheeling/backpacking trip in the mountains
12. Birth 4 or so Children
13. Shoot a deer
14. See a Bear and shoot it
15. Learn to play the drums
16. Learn to play Guitar
17. Get a Master's Degree
18. Write a Song
19. Adopt an African Child
20. Ride an Elephant
21. Overcome Fear of Commitment
22. Be kind to Everyone
23. Jump the Wake on a Wake board
24. Learn from the Scriptures everyday
25. Play a Good Prank-like Punkd style
26. Myth bust Kraft House in Pocatello
27. Learn to Cook
28. Read More
29. Go to Portugal
30. Learn to Sail
31. Go Parasailing
32. Go deep sea fishing
33. Read Jesus the Christ
34. Be more outgoing
35. Go to Hawaii
36. Own a Boat
37. Go to a Yankees Vs. Red Sox game
38. Get Laser Eye Surgery
39. Learn how to cut hair
40. Meet the Prophet
41. Photography skills
42. Be more creative
43. Start my own organizing company
44. Learn to Box
45. Ride my road bike over the Colorado Mountain passes
46. Go to a Jewish Synagogue
47. Go to a Masonic temple
48. Go to a Mosque
49. Read the Koran
50. Give away 3-5 pass a long cards a month
51. Attend temple 2x a month
52. Be my own personal best
53. Go to Jerusalem
54. Go on a mission with my husband
55. Do family history
56. Find my life's passion
57. Learn to play golf well
58. Go kayaking
59. Take up a marital art-Karate or Kung Fu
60. Learn conversational French
61. Learn how to Rhumba
62. Learn how to belly dance
63. Go scuba diving
64. Go paragliding
65. Ride in a hot air balloon
66. Go on a helicopter ride above Mt. Everest since I know Ill never climb it
67. Heliski
68. Go on a Cross Country Motorcycle trip
69. Ride a mechanical bull
70. Race a sports car
71. Heave a Guinness World Record
72. Visit Machupicchu
73. Attend the la tomatino in Spain-a huge food fight
74. Visit Coney Island Boardwalk
75. Go to Mecca
76. Learn to perform magic tricks
77. Learn to juggle
78. Take a painting class
79. Make stained glass windows
80. Learn how to sew
81. Finish my mission scrapbook
82. Take a scrap booking class
83. Go on a Humanitarian aid trip
84. Discover my life's purpose
85. Kick negative habits
86. Get my Real Estate License
87. Volunteer at a homeless shelter
88. Help build a Habitat for Humanity home
89. Have a Garden (I gotta learn how to Garden first)
90. Design my own home
91. Drive a Lamborghini(I don't want to own one, I just want to drive one)
92. Be respected by Co-Workers
93. Eventually be a College Professor
94. Save money for my children's missions and college
95. Write a book about my life experiences and what I've learned for my children
96. See a Koala Bear
97. Ride a Camel
98. Milk a Cow
99. Go on a Safari
100. Run with the Bulls
101. Don't make excuses
102. Have no Regrets
103. Heal my past
104. Learn to live in the Now
105. Go to a psychic
106. Be debt Free
107. Go Trapezing
108. Actually do stuff on this list!

That Concludes my Bucket List for now!! I'm sure more will come to me, but first I better get going on all these things!!

I am 25....What an Accomplishment:)

This is Me the Sunday before my 25 Birthday..can you see the wrinkles? ;)

I say what an accomplishment, because I've managed to make it to the age of 25 in the Mormon Singles World. My sister Emily used to always tell me Ill probably get married when I'm 19. Well, i definitely surpassed that age. So, for my 25th birthday I just wanted to remind myself of all the really awesome things I've done. I have been so blessed and I think it's important for me to document, because I already have forgotten so many things. This is for me to help me be grateful, not for me to sound prideful or something. So, here is my list of things I've done in my single years that were amazing and I really am grateful for the opportunities. If I were to get married anytime after this point I'd really feel fulfilled and have no regrets!

• I lived in Stanley, Idaho in the Sawtooth Mountain Range close to Redfish Lake the summer between my Junior and Senior year.  I loved my time there. I learned a lot about myself and what I want in my life. I also met some pretty sketchy but great people. I also had the cool opportunity for FHE go on a plane ride through the Sawtooth Mountain Range. It was AWESOME. It was so beautiful and the lake and the mountains were just to Magnificent for words.
• The summer after I graduated I got to live with my Aunt and Uncle in Virginia. I got to hang out and go with them places. That year we travelled across the country. We got to see a lot of really cool places especially church history sites. We followed the Mormon Trail on our way to our Family Reunion. The family reunion was great and my whole family went to the temple to do some work. It was awesome I got to be baptized for some family members. It was a great experience. Wow, that seems like a long time ago! We got to stay in this BEAUTIFUL lodge in Jackson Hole completed with a Spa and Beautiful Waterfall Fountains. We also got to go boating a ton at Lake Anna and on the Potomac to see all the sites of D.C. We got to go rock climbing, running through the Forrest and all sorts of other great and exciting things. It was a great summer. I believe we also went to Mississippi that summer. We did so much it's really hard to recall everything.
• My first year of College was a blast. I lived with 11 other girls and we had a good time. I remember being so nervous to meet my roommates and get to know them .However, it turned out to be such a great experience. We did a lot of fun things stayed up all hours of the night every night. We made some fun trips to Salt Lake to go dancing and also Boise. I went to a Good Charlotte Concert with a bunch of people from my ward. My ward was pretty much awesome. BTW, previously I had been to two Backstreet Boys Concerts, live couldn't have been much better than that!
• After my first year of College I didn't get to be as adventurous. I stayed in Pocatello and worked and lived with the family. For some reason this summer is pretty blurry. I must not have done anything to exciting. I did train all summer however to complete my goal of running a marathon. In September of 2004 I ran my first half marathon in Pocatello and my first Full marathon in St. George Utah. It was awesome. Right before this I met some awesome people namely Mikkel and Chelsey. These two girls became my good friends and still are to this day. We did a lot of fun things together, mostly watch basketball games. I also met one of my other really good friends to this day, Sarah Smith. Sarah and I loved to just hang out and no matter what we did whether it was clubhouse dances at the apartments or driving around telling jokes we had the greatest time together. This was a good year for me and I made some great friends whom I just love and adore.
• Summer of 05 was Classic! I decided I really just needed to get out and experience life and go to a new place. So, I started looking on the Internet at resort places and ultimately decided and got a job in Lake Powell.  Bullfrog, UT. So, I packed up my car and by myself at the age of 20 left Idaho and went to live in Bullfrog UT for the summer. I was terrified at first, but I knew this was the right move for me. I had an INCREDIBLE SUMMER!! Oh my goodness It was a crazy one for sure, but so good. I loved meeting people here, I also learned a lot about myself this summer. I met some really great people from all over the country and all over the world. I was one of the only Mormons out of a whole bunch of young kids. Its crazy to look back now and see how Heavenly Father helped mold me into becoming a future missionary. This experience definitely played a huge part in me being prepared for that. I got many opportunities to share the gospel and I gained some good friends I wish I still had contact with. I also got to be at LAKE POWELL I mean seriously how could I not be happy. Every night was a party and every day off was time at the Lake. It was so glorious and I just really can't explain the amount of Joy and the amount of fun I had here. It really was a great great experience that I'm glad I went through with and that Heavenly Father helped me do.
• The next year I lived again with a previous roommate and we had a good time. We met some new guy friends and we lived in a sweet apartment with a pool and game rooms and they were new so not a lot of people lived there. I had a lot of fun meeting new people and hanging out with them and doing random things like going on hikes and what not. At the end of my time at this apartment is when I really decided to go on a mission. I had met some great people who were good examples and encouraged me to serve a mission. I had many blessings and cool experiences that helped me see that I was supposed to serve a mission. I never thought I would, but fortunately God knew better. So, I moved to Virginia again for the summer
• This time the summer in Virginia was quite a different experience. It was still great but it was more humbling and more spiritual. It was the best preparation I could of had for my mission and for life. I got to spend three months spending time with Uncle who was very sick from a brain tumor and my aunt who is such a faithful woman. I spent time in serving my uncle and seeing countless amounts of people serve my aunt and uncle. My uncle was like a father to me and I love him very much. I spent many hours with him at the hospital and at appointments and going to work or on walks. My aunt and I's favorite story of my time there is as follows: My uncle although he was sick and could hardly walk was a fighter. He hated that he couldn't be his active self doing rock climbing, mountain climbing, running, swimming, biking, and whatever else. So, one of his pleasures was having someone take him on a walk. The lane they live on was awesome and every house put out a bench for my uncle to sit on to rest when we'd go on these walks. So, one time I was with him and he got tired and wanted to sit down. At this house it was not a bench but rather two wooden chairs. Well, my sweet uncle sat down and guess what? He fell right in. The chair broke and he was stuck in this chair. I tried to pull him out but I couldnt' do it on my own. So, I ran home laughing and crying at the same time. I walked into the door and my aunt was like what is going on..I was laughing so hard I couldn't tell her anything except I need your help lets go. So we hoped in the car and drove up to where he was we both just sat there laughing and crying at my sweet uncle. We did eventually help him out:) It was those moments where we just had to laugh or it would be to hard. I watched my aunt do incredible things and I learned so much this summer about faith and love. I felt the spirit constantly and was a part of some pretty amazing things.  I love my aunt and Uncle very much. My uncle Dave is greatly missed but I know he is in a a good place. I can't wait until we can all be reunited with him.
• This experience in Virginia really helped me be prepared for my mission. I left for my mission to Minneapolis Minnesota on Sept 13th 2006. I officially became a representative of my Savior Jesus Christ. I was nervous and excited all at the same time. It was definitely some hard times, but overall my mission was such an amazing experience. I learned so much in a year and half about the gospel, and life, and people than I could have ever hoped or dreamed of. I met so many amazing people and I learned so much from them. I loved sharing the gospel with others. I have never felt the burning of the spirit so strong as when I could testify to the world of the gospel. If I could do it all over I would. I love this gospel and I love all the people I came in contact with and my mission prepared me to be a better wife and mother in the future. It helped me to just be a better person overall. Now, I still struggle with being that same person I was on my mission someone I feel I loved a lot more than myself now. But, I'm working on being that person again, it's really hard though.
• Anyway, I again went to VA after my mission. I worked in a Law office and I played and saw the sites and went to the Ocean and went to the Lake.I went to Mississippi.I went to New York City and have gone to Broadway shows. I had a great time. It was a little difficult at times, missing David since it was just a short time after. I also never had the closure while I was on my mission. It wasn't until coming here that I could have it. I know that he's in a good place. But, It was a good summer and helped me get adjusted to real life before I had to consume my life with school and work after a mission.
• The next two years up and to this point have been a lot of school and work and a lot of time invested in Social and other endeavors. For the last year I served on Institute Council of Religion. It was great. I got to meet a lot of people and help plan and participate in all the great activities of the church. I also met my institute Bro. Laga who has been a huge blessing in my life. I am so grateful for his counsel and guidance in the last few years. He has truly been a huge huge example and great friend. His family has been great and welcomed me into their lives and their home as family. I have been horseback riding, and boating and swimming. I got to make lots of fun and short trips to Salt Lake and Boise and Lake Powell with my friend Brittany.I also in 2009 went to California to see my friend Ammon where I also met a new friend who is great Robert Holgate. I got to go to Mission Reunions and conference every time since then. Lake Powell of 2009 was such an amazing and fun trip! Oh it fulfilled my need for the water and for Lake Powell it was my first time back since working there and I absolutely love it. So we wake boarded and cliff jumped and all the good things associated with Powell. In the summer of 09 I also camped a ton, went swimming a ton, and had a great summer with my friends. In september of 2009 I ran my second full marathon. It felt great to accomplish another marathon and I felt pretty good. During the summer of 09 we had a another family reunion, we have one about every two years. they are always so great! My uncle had just gotten home from his mission in Portugal. I love my family. Some of us did a triathlon to honor and remember my uncle DAvid. He loved doing stuff like that. I think I won too which helped my bragging rights.  haha I have done so many fun things with friends and family it's unbelievable.
• In my lifetime I have seen and been through approximately 44 of the 50 states. I have visited and seen all the church history sites, some more than once. I have had many times with family camping and playing in the mountains or lakes. I have four wheeled and had many adventures there.  I have travelled by myself and been on my own. I have been to Washington D.C. more times than I can count. I got to go to the temple with Kim Lowe and her husband Zak which was an INCREDIBLE experience. I have just had more and more experiences that I could ever list and I have many more on the way.

Overall, I have had a great 25 years. A whole quarter of Century and it has been filled with mostly bliss, a little heartache, and hard times. However, I know that God loves me and I know I have a family that loves me and that alone makes me one of the luckiest people on the Earth. I am indeed grateful for all I have and turning 25 isn't so scary when I've been as blessed as I have. I can't wait to see what the next 25 years of life bring, hopefully some babies:)

Duck Beach..Singles Event of the Season

Unfortunaltey I didn't take many pictures while at the beautiful beach, I was to busy maxing and relaxing! It was soo nice to have a vacation. I left home and came straight here to begin working. Although work is a vacation all in itself because I don't do much, going on a real vacation was really nice. So, the best/worst part of this Memorial Day weekend trip is that it was a huge Singles Event. Its not an officially organized thing, but singles from all over join together in North Carolina. Its pretty awesome. There were some boys down from Minnesota, people from Utah, Cali, New York, but mostly the D.C. area. It was really fun and I had a great time and met some really great people which I was really grateful for. Im looking forward to spending time with the people I met and just having a good time. I just had so much fun at the beach and boogie boarding and relaxing and playing volleyball.  I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!